i think they're different in personality for sure, but martin has always been able to get along with everyone so them being different in that respect isn't what's causing that weird "distance" between them. i think it's mostly that james Won't open up and martin tries his best to respect that. i think they both have a terrible sense of self-worth and uniquely suffer from bearing some extra weight in the group due to their respective roles, what with martin being the leader and james the mathyung (which is something he's never liked), so both of them are a bit isolated in that respect, james moreso. couple that with james' experience in the industry, i think marjames probably interact the most when it comes to their work and martin looks to/respects him a lot as a hyung. this Also means that he sees a bit more of james than the others because he's still technically the Leader, and he's kinda taken on the role for himself to watch over everyone I Think. they kinda Have to be interacting with each other moreso as equals in that regard, which i don't think james is accustomed to since they're all Kids to him and it's Weird being Vulnerable. but martin's smart and insanely neurotic so he overanalyzes everything, which means it was just a matter of time for him to be aware of james's vulnerabilities.

when it comes to the reverse, martin depends on him a good amount because of his experience, so james gets to see the times he spirals when it comes to workload and everything, yadda yadda yadda. also because james is more accustomed to seeing the way stress takes a toll on people in comparison to the other members, so like. He's built for this shit, or whatever (the supposed "merits" of being in TA, i guess.....)