“I’m not sure how I feel about that joke...” his voice slowly fades as he takes in a deep breath, only to let out a heavier sigh.

”I’m afraid the witty Park Jinyoung could not figure this out, despite pondering on it for quite a while...” he taps his foot against the floor as he continues to think of a possible answer before letting out a final sigh of defeat. “What is a fake noodle called?”

— “Thank you for your faith in me,” she smiled, ducking her head in gratitude. Pondering her schedule, “Hm…” She hummed, “I’m good for any day too, I’m only in the studio once or twice a week to review clips and all. How about the day after tomorrow?” she suggested.

Miran pictured herself giving her own self a few pats on the head. What a great idea she’d just had. Jinyoung’s shoulders relaxed noticeably and now that he was on about how to prank the younger of the group, the dude even was smiling in a manner that the young photographer couldn’t doubt. It was sincere. Kinda cute, that way the male’s smile had to crease the skin at the corners of his eyes. Young Miran made sure to snap a picture of it. The camera inched away from her face for a short instant and, as she checked out what she’d taken so far - many bad shots, few good ones -, the young student made sure to keep the chitchat alive and interesting. « Hopefully he won’t start crying. I can’t handle crying people, » a minuscule smile graced the female’s fleshy lips. 

It lasted, even as she brought the camera back up to her face. « I’ll have to be smart about it and take my pictures before he starts doing so. Otherwise I’ll end up with bad photos of a tall baby with puffy eyes and red cheeks, » that should be avoided at all cost. The student gave the idol a couple of instructions on how to behave and hold himself for the next shots. « Have you already done that? Prank the dude? Or another of your members, » with such question, Miran clearly was unveiling how little she knew about the idols. Not just the group she had to take care of today, but all of them.

He noticed the photoshoot was nearing an end to which he began to draw away from his professional side once again. He felt as though he could finally relax. Despite the new technique for modeling-- he still felt a strain having to be in front of a camera. It was always a little nerve wrecking to allow someone else’s artistic abilities determine your image. Making his way over to the photographer, he made sure to bow in appreciation for all the other staff members working on the day’s project. “He is not the type to cry from a prank, but rather become very nervous. It’s not in his nature to shed a tear unless something truly moves him.” He nodded softly as he spoke until he made it to her. “How did the pictures turn out?”

“I mean, I’m in no rush right now. I think it’ll help when it happens but I mean… Kids don’t really like me. I kinda like them. But I think my own kids will be the light of my life, you know?” she said with a soft grin, knowing the topic was quite heavy. “Ah, I don’t know how I’d deal with the lack of sleep and the inability to get up properly because they need something but… well, it’ll still be fun!”

“Of course you did.” Henry lets out a small laugh, patting the younger on the shoulder. “It’s all good, don’t worry.” There were times in which the man actually considered going to the army — many, many years ago. He was (and still is) fascinated by the men who defends their homeland, and a part of him still wishes he could do the same. But the experiences he’s gone through on that show definitely changed his mind about wanting to become a soldier himself one day — and at the same time, the respect he’s always had for the army only grew even more through it. “Yeah,” he then answers the other’s question, nodding his head, “my first and only one. I was really excited to go at first — I mean, what man does not want to fire a gun or drive a tank at least once in his life?” There’s a boyish grin playing around his lips, and that’s when he realizes that it’s actually boys who dream of these things … and not grown men. “Anyway, yes.”

He chuckled softly, nodding in agreement with the other’s words. As he was growing up, it was normal to hear parents tell their children the great wonders of the army. One being the ability to fire a rifle and ride the tanks. However, as he grew up he learned there are only a select group in charge of those equipment. And he definitely did not want to be a part of it. It was more normal for men who enlist to be placed in paperwork for the army. Nevertheless, there was still the daunting idea war could break at any moment and men would be forced into combat. “I can just imagine the excitement you would have-- did you get to live the dream of firing a gun? Or sitting in a tank?” He smiled at the other, “If you suffered through all the pain, you should at least have gotten rewarded, right?”

Silence overcame her as she listened to the other speak instead, where the new knowledge of his struggles brought a further insight about him, and some bits of relation, if in some way. “Would you say that your relationship with him now is better than it was in the past?” Surely, she had heard of the duo and recalled watching and hearing their releases, but not really sure just what had happened to the pair. “I suppose that’s why they say that everything does in fact happen for a reason– In the end you’re with your group, and one could assume much happier? I can understand how frustrating it can be not to succeed at first. Happiness did okay, but Be Natural was basically a flop in itself as well since the public thought we were going straight for a sexy concept, when we were in fact showing the dual concept of our name instead.”

He let out a soft smile along with a short nod. “Our relationship has improved much after the split of JJ Project.” He chuckled softly and scratches his head, “It was a problem of us both being too immature at the moment we debuted. We had ideals we wanted to become reality, but had no sense of compromise. It was plain black and white-- we needed the grey area in between. The members of GOT7 really filled in that area for us,” he paused for a moment, reflecting back to all the past fights between his members and him. “Whenever there is a fight, there’s also someone else to help defuse it now-- it’s something I really needed.” As he listened to the other’s story, he felt a bit of his own journey through hers. Similarly, GOT7 had many flop songs-- sometimes their fame in Korea was still questionable. It was a known fact their international fans made the majority of the fanbase, but he couldn’t help but wish there were more national fans. “I think it’s normal for every group to have a song which failed-- it helps us develop our colors and determine the kind of music we wish to pursue.”

█ ▌「 ӎ ☄ 」    Mark glances away from the t.v in front of him, lips wrapped around the straw of his juice box as he sips said drink before craning his neck to look at the commotion the younger was making. “ Wha— What did you do ? “ His eyes widen comically as his body moves on its own, jolting upright as he tries to get a better look at the stain on Jackson’s shirt. “ Ah… Well then. “

Jinyoung was taken aback from the other’s lack of emotions. He thought the other would’ve been in a panic, just as he was, but to his own disappoint did not share the same feeling. “Hyung-- is that all you can say?” He fumbled with the shirt in his hands, still in a clear panic. “What am I suppose to do? You know Jackson the best-- don’t you?” 

Mark followed along, trying not to laugh at the way Jinyoung’s eyes lit up at the prospect of meat. “Mmhm. We’ll eat lots and have a good day.” He did feel a little guilty that he hadn’t asked any of the other members to come out, but he was already intending to pay for Jinyoung; adding five more mouths to the bill would really drain his bank account. 

The restaurant was a little smaller than he had expected, but Mark didn’t mind. The store front was quaint and welcoming, definitely giving off the vibe of a family-owned place rather than a corporate chain. The smell is what really pulls him in, closing his eyes for just a second as the alluring scent of grilled meat wafts in the air.  

He was almost too eager opening the door, propping it open with his arm. “Let’s hurry and grab a table. Hopefully there’s no wait because I need to eat. Like now.”

Jinyoung couldn’t help but feel nostalgic when we entered the restaurant. The scent of the food brought him back to his childhood, reminding him of the moments when his mom would spend the entire day cooking one meal for the family. He had to admit, he truly missed being home-- living carefree. Nevertheless, this smell was enough to pacify the temptations of leaving everything to return.

He looked over to the elder and points to the empty table. “It looks like we can sit there hyung-- no longer do you need to wait to eat!” He chuckles softly, smiling at the other before heading to the table and settling himself into the seat. Shortly after the menu arrives he hands one to Mark and takes one for himself.

She laughed as she cupped her cheek with her hand, “don’t you think a lot of people are like that, though?” Nodding her head in agreement she hummed softly, “I guess, that’s what you get for choosing this career right? It’s the same for me and sometimes I’m okay with it and sometimes I ask myself if this was a mistake.”

       “ah, you’re lucky.” she tells him, sanhee doesn’t really know what she wanted to do in her life until she turned seventeen. her entire life has been written ahead for her by her parents but at that point, she chose to take the pen and write her story herself. “you’re lucky because you know what you always wanted and you’re living the dream now. that’s amazing!” she says, landing a small, congratulatory punch on the other’s arm with a chuckle. sanhee pauses for a while, thinking if she’ll tell him the truth or tell him that she too has always wanted to be one– she opts for the former. “it’s mostly rebellion.” she confesses with a grin. “my parents wanted me to take up a business course or hotel and restaurant management at least, but i’ve always liked the arts and when i was a teenager, i started being into fashion. combine those two and you got yourself a fashion designer.” her palms come up to frame her face as she smiles cutely at the other, eyelashes batting before she bursts into laughter. “i just really wanted to piss off my parents too, i guess.”

“Yeah, I get it,” Henry says with a small smile, furrowing his eyebrows a little as he actually feels somewhat bad for the other’s future in the army. But, who knows? Maybe he’ll turn out to be a much better soldier than Henry ever was — or could have been in the real army. When the younger speaks again, Henry first blinks at him in confusion before he gets what he’s actually asking. “The real — … Oh! I didn’t go,” he says, chuckling quietly as he moves his hand up to rub at his nape. “I’m Canadian, and conscription in my country isn’t enforced. Means, I don’t have to go do my military service.” Henry is actually really content with that, as he strongly doubts he’d do well in the army — even less in a real war. The mere thought of that scares him, though he’s aware that if he ever has to fight or join military service, then he will. 

Jinyoung couldn’t help but feel dumb after his question. He knew prior the elder did not come from Korea-- more so, he isn’t even Korean. He shook his head, hitting his palm against his forehead several times. “Ah-- I knew that...” He chuckled softly, trying to distract himself from his own awkwardness. In a sense it was normal for the other to feel slightly jealous of the other’s fate-- being free from joining the army is definitely some Korean men looked for, however, on the other hand it was an honor to join the army. Jinyoung felt as though he were in the middle. He didn’t feel saddened by the idea of leaving for the army, but he knew the kind of toll it took on his career. It was hard to drop everything for years and come back with the same amount of love. When the industry is constantly changing, if you aren’t in the field, you may never get back on. “Was ‘Real Men’ the only experience you’ve had in an army then?”