Arcadia 11

Two

Everyone froze as they stared at the eldest member. His neck and the parts of his chest they could see had quickly begun to turn an irritated and blotchy red color. His face joining in, however this was not due to the scalding liquid. When he stood up in a panic because of the pain, they saw the large wet spot that had begun to leak down to his pants as it soaked through his pajamas. Mark couldn't hold in his pained whimper any longer, his eyes large and filling with tears that rapidly spilled down his blotchy red cheeks.

The sound of Mark in distress spurred movement from the rest of the group. Jackson jumped up to calm the eldest, Yugyeom rushed to the bathroom to start a bath with cold water -although he made sure it wasn't too cold-, BamBam ran to the MarkSon room and grabbed new clothes, making sure to snag a shirt from Jackson's pile of laundry, Jaebum pulled out his phone to call the manager in the hopes of getting a doctor over to look at it tonight, Youngjae and Jinyoung began cleaning up the mess wanting to stop Mark before he tried to do it himself and create any further injuries. The American had been known to disregard his health and safety in order to clean messes and avoid conflict in the dorm. Usually he would keep quiet and just do it, but he was frozen, the pain the only the Little could think about.

Turning his doe eyes on Jackson, tears officially falling, pained whimpers leaving his plush lips, he could only stare. It broke everyone's heart knowing he was this hurt. Mark tried his hardest to never show what he was feeling if it was negative, he wanted to be someone strong and reliable to his group, especially since he was the oldest among them. He'd been known to work himself to the bone, cooking meals and cleaning up after them when everyone else was too tired to, he'd given up multiple friendships and missed countless occasions with his family, always keeping himself available and open when they needed someone to vent to; never thinking of himself. This only made the others need to help stronger. Everyone making an unspoken agreement to do all they could for their beloved Hyung.

By the time they got to the bathroom and he'd been placed in a cool bath their manager, Seunghoon, had hung up and gotten in contact with one of the JYP physicians. To Jaebum's relief the two would be headed over in the next ten minutes. Jinyoung and Youngjae had finally gotten the last of the soup and Yugyeom and BamBam had fled the bathroom earlier to give their hyungs privacy. They'd all gathered into the living room waiting, the silence deafening in the usually rambunctious dorm. Whispers from the bathroom along with whimpering and the occasional sob stabbing the men in the heart.

"Oh, Markie." Jackson cooed, gently rubbing his back while also running his hand through his hair, trying his hardest to ignore his protruding spine and the fact he could count the man's ribs without having to touch him. "Is this better?" He calmly asked, watching Mark's eyes fall shut, tears still falling down his face, another whimper falling past his plump lips. Giving his friend a pat on the head, he continued the soothing touches, hoping to get the other males breathing back in order. "You're doing great, just keep breathing." He continued. "You're so brave. You're being so good, such a good Markie. That's it, nice deep breaths for me, you're doing great."

Once Mark started shivering Jackson decided it was time to get him out, without even thinking the younger lifted his hyung out of the tub as if it were nothing. A startled yelp echoed in the quiet room, he could only chuckle before he sat the elder on the toilet seat lid grabbing a towel and gently patting him dry, trying to keep pressure off the angry red blisters appearing on the pale chest. The male could only stare, his large eyes concentrated solely on the man treating him with nothing but gentleness. He couldn't bring himself to look down, fearing it would make the numb feeling go away, and make him cry again.

The stress of the comeback, the sleepless nights, the dancing, the secrets, the fights he'd stopped and been thrown into, the pressure, and keeping up appearances had finally gotten to Mark. His already regressed mind and fatigued body forcing him to stay in his headspace, begging him for a break. Jackson's tenderness and care having him feel even smaller, effectively making it harder for him to comprehend what was going on around him, all he could focus on was the man diligently looking after him and whispering encouragingly sweet words.