Chapter Text
One of the only significant relationships Jinyoung has ever been in happens in college his freshman year. It's a week after move in day and everything seems to be going as planned, his room is unpacked, all of his books have been ordered and he’s made sure to make his presence known to every one of his professors and department staff. Everything is right as rain.
That’s the day Jinyoung meets Mark.
He’s heading out of his dorm to take a shower, bath towel wrapped tightly around his body, brand new shower shoes on his feet and his hands full of shower essentials - currently regretting not buying a larger shower caddy. It seems locking his room door behind him and holding onto all of the things in his hands is proving to be a virtually impossible task.
Next time I go food shopping, I'll get a new one. He thinks. No big deal. Until it is and he's accidentally dropping all of his supplies on the floor, oh and of course his towel goes right along with them. That leaves Jinyoung standing in a relatively populated hallway; naked as the day he was born. There's only a few seconds of embarrassment though, because he's soon making eye contact with a guy a few doors down who immediately rushes over and actually gives Jinyoung the towel he’s wearing… from around his waist… one he probably needed.
Quiet giggles startup, and Jinyoung can see the exact moment when said guy comes to this same realization a second or two later – his brows furrowing attractively. “Maybe I should have thought this through better.” There’s full blown laughter coming from around them now, and he’s sure the whole hall is looking at this guy's bare ass. Jinyoung sends his best glare over his shoulder towards the other students in the hall, before figuring he should actually do something besides just glaring at people – because it wasn’t really helping the situation.
He entertains the thought of maybe shielding the guy's ass with his own hands – thinking that could possibly appease the situation a little, so they could reach the other towel off the ground; nothing in it for him, just trying to help of course. Jinyoung shifts a little to make it easier to actually look at the stranger - to you know communicate all of this - but his thought process stops completely when he gets a good look at the guy's face. Holy, shit he's handsome. He’s extremely handsome and Jinyoung can't do much but stare; his mind is only focused on the pair of brown eyes and the cute smile he’s on the receiving end of.
It's then that Jinyoung notices how close they actually are to each other; literally hugged together, with nothing but a thin towel separating their very naked bodies. He quickly comes to his senses and coughs up the courage to use the situation to his advantage then. Never going to get another opportunity like this again, Jinyoung – use it wisely.
“Hi, I’m Jinyoung.” The guy laughs, high pitched, head tilted all the way exposing two rows of pretty white teeth.
“Mark.” Jinyoung is kind of in love.
From then on that’s just how it is, ‘Jinyoung and Mark’. It's great. Jinyoung is content, Mark looks at him like he's hung the moon and they've supported each other through the struggles of college life. Four years later, Jinyoung thinks that maybe he just wants to be ‘Jinyoung’. Not saying he doesn’t want Mark anymore, just that he’d like to strike him out for a little while.
It's the end of college, they've finally gotten around to packing the last few items in their room and soon they'll be heading to New York City to start another stage in their lives; but not so much together. Well not for the time being at least, Jinyoung’s brain supplies.
“It’s like a break,” Jinyoung pauses, cutting through the thick tension between them, “I’ve never been on my own; I went from living with my parents, to living in a dorm, to living with you.”
Mark, stops packing to look over a Jinyoung with wide eyes, “We’re happy though.”
“Are we? Or are we just boring?”
“I’m not boring, I’m fun as fuck.” Mark says it seriously enough that it looks like he actually believes the words. Am I doing the right thing? Mark doesn't want this... He shakes his head trying to get back on task. But it has to be done.
“I keep saying I’m going to do things that I end up never doing. Oh! I’m going to cook or take a self defense class or travel! Then I end up reading a book or watching lame movies on the couch with you.” Mark looks slightly offended for a second.
“No offense,” He sighs.
“Look, if we really want this to work long term, I just think that I need to know who I am alone", Jinyoung awkwardly shuffles to pick his clothes up from the floor, halfheartedly folding and placing them on the bed. The room feels like it’s suffocating again, everything is way too silent, he can hear Mark take in slow breaths as if to calm himself down. "I don’t want to spend the rest of my life wondering about the ‘what ifs’.” When Jinyoung looks back, Mark is sitting with his head in his hands; it takes a few more seconds until Mark is finally looking up at him.
“This is stupid Jinyoung, the minute you walk out that door you’re going to realize how much shit I do for you and how useful I am, and then you’re going start stalking me and that’s sad.”
Jinyoung lets out a short laugh, walking over to stand in front of him. He’s looking at Mark seriously; eyes pleading for him to understand. Maybe even trying to convince himself in the process. “This is going to be great for the both of us; we need to be single at least once.” Mark’s pouting cutely at Jinyoung, and he can’t help but smile – albeit sadly.
“Couldn’t you just fuck my brother? Just do something to make me hate you?” Mark whines a little. He huffs out a breath, finally giving up on his resistance, hands moving to grip Jinyoung’s ass tightly and Jinyoung lets out an exasperated sigh. Why is he like this? He chuckles.
“I’m gonna miss your ass so much.”
The next few days practically flash before Jinyoung's eyes, he's already moved into his brother’s apartment in the city, geared up for his first day of work the following week and ultimately ready to begin his journey into Singledom. Or well, as ready as he’ll ever be.
~
Jinyoung wakes up early on his first day of work, barely getting any sleep due to the pure adrenaline running through his veins. He's promptly showered, dressed and out the door, hailing a taxi on the bustling streets of Manhattan. 25 minutes later, the taxi pulls up to a modern lavish skyscraper, the words ‘Jinson & Markson Law’ spelled out on its façade in large lettering. He pays the driver, fixing his suit and satchel bag before heading in; through security, a large set of doors and finally stopping at a secretary’s desk in the center of the corridor.
He smiles warmly at the secretary, Deanna Michaels - as it states on her name plate - hoping his nerves aren’t getting the best of him. “Hi, I’m Park Jinyoung, I’m here for my first day.”
“Ahh, yes, Park Jinyoung; we’ve been expecting you.” Deanna smiles back. “Zach here will escort you to the office you’ll be working in. Have a nice day.” She gestures over to a tall, black-haired man approaching her desk. The man nods at Deanna, leading the way to a bank of shiny gold elevators across from them. Zach doesn’t speak much; idle chit chat here and there as they make their way up 6 floors – the air is comfortable though, making it a lot easier for Jinyoung to gather his wits. It’s just your first day; you’re going to be fine.
The elevator doors open to a large foyer, mahogany paneling covering every inch of the walls from ceiling to floor, couches and other accents tastefully placed around the space.
“Mr. Park. Mr. Park?” Jinyoung doesn’t realize he’s ogling until he hears Zach calling his name near the large opening just to the right of the elevator bank. The work area spans out beyond that point, large bookshelves full of legal documents fill the room, near the far left side there is conference room and what looks like other offices, and at the back next to the bathrooms is a mini kitchen. A fair amount of people are moving about, doing work or talking with each other around the room. He follows behind Zach like the new kid at school taking it all in, the smell of fresh coffee and paper tingling in his nostrils – Jinyoung thinks this might be bliss.
Zach finally stops at a desk a little ways from the entrance, introducing him to a tan blond haired man, another Aid – desk sat right beside the one with Jinyoung's name plate on it.
“Hi, I’m Jackson.”
“Park Jinyoung.” He places the name plate down from where he’s practically been fondling it and reaches a hand out – which Jackson takes in his immediately, grip firm, hands warm. Jackson sends him a bright smile. Cute.
“Wow, this place is great.”
“Yep, it is! Well I guess I’ll show you around.” He walks Jinyoung through the room, stopping at each area to explain its use or even just to tell him a funny little story about it – most of which include Jackson and office supplies.
It’s not even 15 minutes into their tour that Jinyoung realizes his nerves are gone and he’s beyond relaxed. Just being around Jackson has him breathing easily; it's almost effortless laughing and having a great time while they’re together. Jackson seems to be brightening up the place as the walk; which is even more obvious in comparison to literally anyone within 5 feet of him. It doesn’t hurt that he’s also really hot either. And you know thinking about it now, as he’s following Jackson around, the guy has a great body from what Jinyoung can actually see.
His mind comes back to reality when Jackson stops abruptly and Jinyoung almost slams into him.
“Oh! That closet is good for making personal calls but whatever you do. Don’t. And I mean DON’T hook up with anyone in the copy/supply room – they record everything…” He glares at the obvious security camera on the back wall. “So unless a leaked sex tape is a part of your 5 year plan. Don’t do it.” Jinyoung snorts, following Jackson back to their desks where they settle for a good few minutes before Jackson is turning to face him, smile wide on his face as he stage whispers to Jinyoung. “I think you’re going to have a lot of fun here.”
“Yeah, me too.”