“So you went to the beach, huh?” Jaebum asked his daughter over the phone even if he already knew the answer.

“Yeah, it was really nice. And there wasn't much people around, so it was fine, we could walk around freely. And we ate at two different restaurants but the food was really delicious! The seafood really couldn't compare to seafood in Seoul!”

“Oh really?” her dad chuckled. “I'm glad you had a good day then.”

“And we even bought matching bracelets. It's nothing fancy but they are handmade. It's white and blue threads braided together and there's an anchor item on top. I really like it too. It's a nice everyday accessory.”

“Honestly, Jae, how many matching bracelets do you own? You don't even wear them!” Jaebum sighed and Jaeha could hear him rolling his eyes.

“But I like to have them, it makes great memories.”

“Yeah, whatever. Apart from that, what's up?”

“Well... not much, really.” She had already told him about Jackson's way-to-early phone call and the traumatizing bike ride, apart from that, there wasn't much to tell him about. “How is everyone doing in Seoul?”

“I'm fine. Tired, but fine. Had two big surgeries yesterday so today I'm just enjoying a day off. And Youngjae and Daehyun might come and visit in the evening. You remember them right? Yoo Youngjae, my childhood friend.”

“I remember him,” Jaeha answered yet a bit unsure.

“Well they are coming to Seoul so they plan on coming to visit me. I hope they will come, it's been a long time since I've last seen them.”

“Alright... and Youngjae, your Youngjae. Choi Youngjae. How is he doing?”

Jaeha suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder and she jumped a bit, startled. She turned around to see Mark smiling at her. She had been standing in the doorway of the kitchen since the beginning of the phone call and was kind of blocking the way to the room. Seeing him there, she stepped away for him to step in. As silently as possible, he walked past by her and grabbed a cup from the cupboard under Jaeha's watch.

“Youngjae?” Jaebum spoke. “Well he is doing great too. He is meeting with some of his friends for lunch so he is getting ready right now. He keeps on pestering me about his outfit even if I keep telling him he looks good in everything he wears. He insists on saying he just looks fat.”

“Oh? Yeah?” Jaeha frowned. “He never has this problem before... that's new.”

“Oh well... you know,” Jaebum chuckled but nervously, Jaeha could tell, which had her frowning even more if that was possible. And quite absent-mildly, as if she was expecting explanations for his sudden nervousness, she sat down on one of the chairs around the table, right in front of Mark who was drinking coffee. “It happens sometimes, to not feel good in your own body. But he looks good, really. He doesn't have to worry.”

“Well, yes, it happens. I guess. It's just very sudden, don't you think so?”

She heard ruckus happening behind her dad, quite far away, and Jaebum mumbled a few things she didn't catch. But a few seconds later, he told her he needed to go.

“Take good care of you, alright?” he said in a sweet voice. “See you on tomorrow, anyway. Have fun.”

“Yeah, take care of you too, dad. See you on tomorrow.”

He was the first one to hang up. With a long sigh, Jaeha disregarded her phone on the table and brought her knees against her chest, resting her head on top.

“Everything's alright?” Mark asked.

“I think so, yes,” she shrugged off. “Why are you up so early?” she changed the subject.

“So early? It's 10 am already, it's quite late in fact.”

“For you maybe, for me it's early.”

“Then why are you up?”

“Well I just woke up and I wanted to tell dad about yesterday so I called him. Is appa still sleeping?”

“He is,” Mark nodded.

She vaguely nodded, not knowing what to add to carry on the conversation. Instead, there was an awkward moment during which none of them spoke, Mark just emptied his cup, and then left it in the sink.

“I'm going to go play basketball outside,” he said to her. “Well, I'm just going to do a few shots. Would you like to join me? You like basketball, right?”

“Can I? Join you, I mean.”

“Of course, or else I wouldn't be asking you.”

She stood up and smiled.

“I'm going to change,” she announced.

“Alright, meet me outside once you're ready.”

She didn't exactly have sports clothes with her and what was the closest to a sport outfit was in the washing machine considering she had put it on for the bike ride. She put on the pair of sweatpants she used as pajamas bottom and because she didn't have a t-shirt, she made her way to the bathroom and stole one of her father's.

She tied her messy hair into a high ponytail and rushed outside. The sun was already high in the sky and was warm; fortunately there was a light breeze preventing them from being too hot. She easily spotted Mark at the back of the garden where the basketball ring was. According to what he told her, he was the one who had requested they set it up here so that he would have plenty of place to practice his shots and exercise.

“I'm an old man, I need to take care of my health,” he told her in a joking tone yet he was dead serious. “And I love playing basketball.”

He threw her the ball which she easily caught before she threw it right into the hoop. She let out a surprised gasp when the ball made it inside on the first try; indeed, she hadn't played in years now and had thought she had lost her skills, yet it didn't seem so.

“How long have you been playing?” Mark asked her between two shots.

“Started in middle school, during PE classes. Then in high school I was part of the team. Now I just play at random times with my friends when we go out together. And you?”

“In high school, but that was a long time ago,” he chuckled.

They didn't really talk much, both trying as hard as possible to score even if it got harder and harder the more they played: Jaeha was still young, yet she visibly grew tired faster than Mark did. Quickly what was just a peaceful morning exercise session turned into a duel when Mark asked her if she thought she could beat him and Jaeha, stubborn and proud, openly said she could because she was younger and healthier than he was. She even went as far as calling him “old man” to .

Mark played defense, she played offense, and she really did her best to score a basket yet Mark just played very well and prevented her from scoring even one single basket which quickly annoyed her. While her panting got shallower and she started complaining about her legs and arms hurting, Mark kept playfully shrugging and smirking while claiming he was still perfectly already but that it was fine if she wanted to give up. She tried even harder, pushing him and elbowing him in the sides in a very unfair way but her reaction was just too funny for him to even mind.

However, since he didn't want her to get mad at him, he stopped his trivialities and let her scored; yet he did his best to make it looked like she had actually managed to push him away and reached under the basket when really it was just him deliberately stepping away.

“Yes!” Jaeha cheered. “I did it! Take that, old man!”

Mark's laugh got even louder if it was possible and he gently patted her shoulder.

“Congrats, Jaeha. You did very well.”

“I see you're having fun, aren't you?” another voice spoke.

During their battle neither Mark or Jaeha had heard Jinyoung coming. He stood a few meters away from them, casually leaning against the wall of the house with a glass of orange juice in his hand. From his slightly damp hair, anyone could tell he had come out of the shower not long ago. He was smiling brightly and there was even a spark of pride in his eyes, probably from the fact that Mark and Jaeha were spending a moment together and the latter wasn't mad but on the contrary, seemed quite happy.

“Appa! You saw, right? I've just beaten Mark!”

“I saw, Jae,” he smiled and his gaze darted to his boyfriend who simply winked at him – indeed, Jinyoung had also seen Mark letting her win.

“That's because he is old,” she laughed. “You should have dated a younger man instead, just like dad.”

“Go take a shower now,” Jinyoung ignored her remark. “Your grand-parents should be here around 1 pm, they're coming for lunch.”

She disappeared inside the house in a fraction of second, leaving the lovers alone. Sweaty Mark approached Jinyoung and they shared a quick peck.

“Good morning,” the older one smiled.

“Was that your shirt she was wearing?” Jinyoung asked.

“It was, but who cares?” Mark laughed – at this point he had laughed so much already that his throat but also his cheeks were hurting. “Let's go inside, I must shower too.”