26

The six-hour drive from Seoul to Busan was tiring. Stopping only for breakfast and lunch, you take turns driving for the other to rest. 

Reno tries to entertain you by singing some of the songs on the radio, and you find yourself singing along with him. He's fun to be with, always very accommodating and thoughtful. You look at him from the passenger seat and think he really would be a fine boyfriend. 

JB welcomes you when you park in front of a two story cottage. They've rented the whole villa just for this occasion.  

"Sis," he hugs you and shakes Reno's hand. "I'm glad you could make it." Then he stops you before you could even enter. "I have to warn you before you get it in," he looks a bit worried, and you get nervous all of a sudden. 

"What is it?" You eye him suspiciously. 

"You see, when the TV station knew we were coming on a vacation, they...uh....wanted to film our day off and the company agreed. So, there would be a lot of cameras inside." He grins.

"Shit, Oppa. Why didn't you tell me?" The public doesn't really know you even if your brother is very famous. 

"Sorry. One more thing," what again? "WGM is here, too." 

What? So, Mark's here with his 'wife'? How bad could this get? 

You try to hide your disappointment. You take Reno's hand and you enter hell. 

The living room on the first floor is very spacious. A wide kitchen and dining room fills the back part. There are two rooms down and three wide bedrooms upstairs. 

Five boys and four others with cameras welcome you as you enter the house. Your face goes red as the cameras turn your way. You're not used to this, it's making you nervous. You don't know what to do and how to act. 

Seeing your discomfort, JB puts his arm around you and says, "don't worry. They won't be bothering you that much. I've already told them to leave you alone."

The cameras turn to the boys again as they approach you to give you a hug and greet Reno.

Mark is nowhere to be found, much to your relief. 

As if reading your mind, Junior says, "Mark and Jane are filming by the beach for WGM. They'd be coming back soon." 

You just smile and nod. Good, you wouldn't know how to face him with his wife.

JB shows you the room you'd be staying in. It's at the second floor, just across the room where Mark and his 'wife' are staying. 

"I didn't know you were taking Reno with you, but I guess he can sleep with the other boys. I'll just sleep on the sofa out here." He says pointing at the sofa near the window. 

"No, that's fine," Reno says shyly. "I'll sleep here outside."

"Why can't you just sleep together?" Bambam jokes, earning a glare from you.

"No," JB shouts at him and he shuts up. 

Reno insists on sleeping on the sofa and JB lets him. 

As you and Reno unpack your things in the room, you hear noise downstairs. Mark and Jane must be back from their filming at the beach. It's a bit chaotic since there are two groups of station crew fixing up their equipment in the living room.

"Sorry about this," you tell Reno. He's also not very comfortable in front of the rolling cameras. 

"It's not so bad," he says grinning, "we're finally gonna be on TV." He chuckles.

"Ugh," you giggle, too. 

"Let's take pictures at the beach after this," he says, sounding excited. 

The both of you take your cameras and go down, where everybody is gathered, filming. The first face you see is Mark. He's sitting on the couch in the living room with the other GOT7 members while the cameras roll. He looks up and sees you. He smiles but it soon disappears and his eyes get bigger as he sees Reno coming down the stairs behind you. 

You force yourself to smile. Your heart starts beating fast again. You've missed him. Then a girl standing at the side with the crew catches your attention. It's her. She looks really pretty in her white and sky blue sun dress. She's laughing at the jokes Jackson makes and you see her lovely face light up. 

You pass behind the cameras quietly as you make it to the door. Reno takes your hand and you head towards the beach. 

Luckily, the beach is not crowded. You take a walk hand in hand with Reno to the rocks not so far away. 

Mark's face comes to your mind as you sit on one of the big rocks. He's still as pretty as ever. 

You hear Reno already clicking away. "You look like a model in that dress," he says as he takes a picture of you and you smile at the camera, posing silly. 

The water glimmers as the sun hits it, making you want to dip in the tempting water. You run towards the water, taking off your sandals before letting your toes touch the foamy seawater. Reno continues taking pictures of you as the small wave crashes to your legs, wetting the bottom part of your dress. 

You hear somebody clearing his throat, and you look at the man approaching. Mark. 

He looks at Reno. "Can you give us a minute?" He asks him. Reno politely nods and walks farther up the beach to take pictures of the birds. 

Mark walks up behind you, soaking his feet in the water with his hands in the pockets of his shorts. 

"So, you and Reno, huh?" he asks, his voice soft.

Should you tell him yes and see if he gets jealous? 

"He's...not my boyfriend." You say instead. The smile on his face shows relief. 

"I miss you," he finally looks at you. Why didn't he call then? Or visit? Or even text?

You nod quietly, still looking out the the sea. 

"Look," he lets you face him and there's distress in his eyes. "I'm sorry I couldn't see you nor call you for the past days. My phone's being monitored and the group has been very busy with the concerts."

You nod again. He really doesn't have to explain himself. But, hearing him say these things make you feel a little better. 

"So...." your mouth finally opens, "you and that girl?"

"Jane? I don't know," he shrugs. "She's nice and all, but I don't think she's the one for me." He sits on the wet sand and looks out at the open water. 

You sit down beside him, the silence between you two is comfortable. No words are really needed. You miss him, too. You want to hug him and lay your head on his shoulder. But, with the situation you're both in, you have to know your limits. 

"There you are!" Jane comes running. "I've been looking all over for you." She looks at you and she seems suspicious. You quickly stand up, give her a smile and introduce yourself, shaking her hand. 

She just gives you a quick smile, then she turns to Mark and wraps her arm around his. "We're supposed to prepare dinner, remember?" She says, pouting her lips and trying to act cute. 

Your heart explodes seeing him smile at her. "I guess I'll just see you later," you tell them. You turn your back and walk towards where Reno is, not looking back. 

You hear Jane giggle at what Mark was saying and you wish it were you he was holding. 

"What did you talk about?" Reno asks, noticing your down mood. 

"Nothing," you tell him, taking your camera up and clicking at the birds perched on the rock. 

"He likes you, doesn't he?" He stops taking pictures and looks at you. 

"He's got his girlfriend."

"And you like him, too. Don't you?"

"I don't know, Reno. It's complicated. He wants a relationship I couldn't give him."

You're surprised at how comfortable you are talking to this man about Mark. 

"Why not?"

"You know the answer to that."

He falls silent, watching the waves as they crash to the rocks. 

"I'm sorry." You tell him. Feeling guilty of openly talking to him about another guy. "You shouldn't be hearing this."

"That's ok. I already knew the moment I saw your eyes lit up when you saw him."

You feel even more guilty with what he said. He's done nothing but be good to you. He doesn't deserve to be dumped this way. 

"I tried, Reno. Believe it or not, I did. I honestly enjoy your company but I still can't get my mind off of him."

"I understand. If I can't have you as a lover, I might as well take you as a friend.?" It was more of a question. 

You can't help but hug this man. "Thanks, Reno."

"You know what? You should just try it. I have. I've spent a lot of years trying to avoid it. But, after I met you, I finally decided to settle down again. I would have been loyal to you, you know?" He chuckles but you can hear some bitterness in his laugh. 

"I'm not as brave as you," you say. 

"You don't have to be. Just try your best to make it work out, so whatever happens at the end, at least there would be no regrets."

It's nice to finally talk to someone about your worries. You lay your head on his shoulder as you both sit on the sand. 

"I wish it was that easy. I think I made it more complicated. I don't even know if he still likes me. He seems to be enjoying his girlfriend's company."

"Wanna test him?" He suddenly pushes your head up with his shoulder. 

"What? What do you mean?"

"Just ride along with me." He chuckles. He has a sinister look on his face that makes you nervous. "Come on," he pulls you to your feet and you head back to the cottage. 

Everybody is setting up for the party. You take a quick shower and change before going back downstairs to help them out. 

Reno helps you hang the banner that says 'Happy Birthday, JB', between the posts in the middle of the living room. From where you are standing, behind the chair you're holding for Reno to stand on, you can see Mark and Jane in the kitchen. Mark is teasing her as she cuts the vegetables for the dish they're preparing. The green monster acts up inside you and your lips turn down to a frown. 

Mark looks your way and catches you staring at them, and you quickly turn your face another direction. Seeing this, Reno comes down from the chair after securing the last string and plants a kiss on your forehead, making you blush. 

"What was that for?" 

He just winks with a big smile on his face. He's acting really strange, you notice.

When all the preparations are done, all the food on the table set out in the middle of the living room, everybody gathers. JB pulls you in beside him as you sing him 'Happy Birthday'. He makes a wish and blows the candles. 

"Thanks for coming, sis." He whispers, then he dips his finger in the icing of the cake and wipes it down your cheek. 

"Eeewww...Oppa," you shout, making him run away, laughing. 

"Here, let me help you wipe that off," Reno comes in front of you with a tissue in one hand. He gently wipes the sticky stuff from your cheek. Then with his other hand, puts more icing at the tip of your nose. 

"Hey," you yell again. All eyes are on you. Grabbing the chance, Reno leans closer to your face. To your surprise, he removes the icing using his mouth. 

Your cheeks turn deep red as you glare up at him. He winks yet again and puts his arm around your shoulder. 

Mark is watching the whole time. The expression on his face is of annoyance. "Is he jealous?" You think. But that thought immediately disappears when Jane steps in front of him, feeding him a piece of her chicken, and he smiles. 

"You just wish, Bel," you tell yourself. 

After everybody has eaten, Jackson calls everybody's attention. "Let's play a game guys," he says clapping his hands together. "We have to go outside for this." 

Outside, strings were laid out on the sand, making a big square. 

"I think you all know this game," Jackson, being the emcee, shouts. "It's dodge ball. Divide the group into two. One female in each group." He lets you and Jane stand on opposite direction. "Now, the girls would choose who their teammates would be." He continues to explain. "Jane, you pick first."

Of course, she picks Mark. Instinctively, you pick Reno. She selects Junior, Yugyeom, and Youngjae. Your team consists of Reno, JB, Bambam and Jackson. 

Jackson explains the rules and tosses a coin to determine who gets the ball first. Jane's team gets to have the first throw. 

Automatically, Reno pulls you behind him, holding on to your hand as he keeps you close. Mark gets the ball first. He eyes Reno and smirks. Reno was quick enough to side step the incoming ball, making Mark frown. JB gets the ball and throws it at Youngjae who instantly gets hit. Mark grabs the ball again and aims at Reno. Reno carries you with one hand and pulls you away from the ball, making Mark miss just centimeters. 

Mark just keeps on attacking. He doesn't even try to protect Jane. Whenever he gets the ball he aims at Reno. But, Reno is too fast for him. They're down with only two members, Mark and Jane. There are still three of you in your team, including Jackson. Mark takes the ball again and throws it at Reno with all his strength. The ball goes directly to Reno's face, making him fall back on the sand. 

"God!" You see his nose bleeding as he stands up. "Are you ok?" He wipes off the blood with his shirt and nods. "Mark," you yell at him, "that was too strong." 

"Not my fault he couldn't dodge it," he says sarcastically, making you angry even more. 

You were about to attack Mark when Reno holds your arm, stopping you. "I'm ok," he smiles and pinches your cheek before walking to the side. Jackson takes the opportunity. He picks the ball up from the ground and throws it at Jane, who was taken by surprise. 

"Yes," Jackson shouts. 

"Hey, that's unfair." Mark complains, walking up to Jackson. 

"What is? I hit her and we win." Jackson sticks out his tongue at Mark like a child and does a crazy dance around him. 

You all laugh at how funny he looks. Reno comes up to you and takes you in his arms, carrying you and twirling you around. 

"Whatever," Mark walks out of the box. He pulls you and Reno away from each other and passes between you to the step in front of the house. 

"Don't mind him," JB whispers, "he's really a sore loser." He laughs. 

The cameras stop filming after the game. You all gather around the fire the boys started. Reno sits beside you and Mark takes the chair to your left, Jane sits beside Mark. 

JB takes out a can of beer from the cooler and starts shaking it. 

"Time to party," he shouts. He opens the can and the beer sprays straight to you. 

"Ugh," you feel the cold bubbles hit the top of your head and drip to the side of your face. "Oppa," you shout at him. 

Reno's hand comes up fast. But, Mark is faster. His hands were already on top of your head when Reno puts in his. 

You look up at Mark, "thank you," you whisper. His eyes lock in with yours and he bites his lip. The air becomes awkward as you just stare at each other. 

"Here," Reno breaks the tension and hands you a tissue, wiping the sides of your face with another he's holding. Mark quickly puts down his hand and looks at his feet. 

JB and Junior goes around, distributing cans of beer. Reno gets a guitar from his car and starts playing. The boys start singing with him. Mark keeps quiet beside you as you sing along with them. 

"Oppa, are you ok?" You hear Jane ask Mark, "You've been quiet all evening."

"It's nothing," he answers. 

As the night deepens, the boys go in one by one, drunk. 

"Oppa," Jane is a bit tipsy after her third can, "I'm sleepy. Let's go in," she lays her head on Mark's shoulder and tugs at his arm. 

Mark stands up quietly and heads inside with Jane following close behind. 

"How about you guys?" JB asks, feeling tired himself. 

"It think I'm gonna stay a bit," you say. Not wanting to sleep yet. "You go on ahead," you tell them. 

"Good night, sis." He kisses you on your forehead. 

"Happy Birthday, Oppa," you hug him and he goes inside with the rest of the guys. 

You lean your head on Reno's shoulder, feeling a bit sleepy yourself.

"Wanna call it a night?" Reno asks, noticing your tired eyes. 

"Just one more beer," you tell him. You stand up and your foot trips on the hem of your dress making you fall face first on top of Reno. His hand goes around you to support you. 

"Are you ok?" 

But before you could answer, a pair of hands stands you up and blows a hard one on Reno's face.