the quiet things no one ever knows

mark tuan. xxii. volleyball and space.

[acaxmark-blog]

highlight.

[ @acasana ]

it was a particularly disgusting day; the kind that even though the skies are overcast and it’s raining the humid is so thick that it causes your clothes to stick to your skin. he had awoken this morning in a particularly dreadful mood. his roommate had decided to ignore the fact he had been trying to sleep and rest up for a particularly big test in his physics class, the same exam test that he had been worrying over for the past week or so.

he had forgotten to set his alarm and had almost overslept but had been saved by a loud thump from the next dorm over. his professor had a nasty tardy policy and after being scared awake he had less than fifteen minutes to get ready and get across campus before throwing himself in his seat. needless to say he was feeling a bit hurried as he threw on the first pair of clothes he could find and barely remembered to grab his bag before rushing out the door. although he managed to make it, he felt anxious and rushed the entire time he had been taking the test.

needless to say he was pretty sure there was some kind of cosmic deity out there who decided that it would hilarious to make mark tuan’s day and life a living hell. the last few minutes of class were exhausting and it leaves him bouncing his knee in anticipation for the clock to click off the last few minutes of this particular hell. and finally when the minute hand passes the 10 minute mark, he throws himself out of his seat and tosses his bag over his shoulder before slipping out the classroom door.

he manages to make it halfway across the campus before mark collapses onto an empty bench. he lets out a huge sigh and takes in the sight of his classmates lost in their own routines and schedules. he hears the jumbled conversations in passing, korean falling from their lips effortlessly and in a small space usually hidden pretty well on the edge of his heart tinges slightly. the feeling of homesickness washes over him and leaves him chewing at his bottom lip in worry. he misses the familiar feeling of english and mandarin, that complete feeling of fully understanding with almost little to no effort.

mark continues to chew on his bottom lip, weighing his options. it seems that he finally comes to a decision as he lets out another heavy sigh and fishes his phone out of his pocket. his fingers quickly flying over t  [ ☀ lady sana ] are you busy? [ ☀ lady sana ]  I had a pretty bad day and could use some ice cream 

[peaachjam-blog]

be good to me゛

[acaxmark-blog]

acajin:

「 @acaxmark 」

the kettle whistles from the stove, its high and heated sound, but jinyoung can’t hear anything beyond what mark says. he knows two things: it’s something playful since mark’s lips curl and twist to fit around a quiet smile, and he knows that it’s in english – entirely – because he can’t unravel it. he can’t find meaning; it only enters his ears as marbled sound, a tangle of intonations, seams that melt into the fabric, lost in a mess of threads.

so jinyoung stares, his head tilts; his eyes narrow and he wonders if mark knows more than he lets on.

“no, i don’t,” he’s guessing at this point – leaning back get more comfortable in his chair. all he’s sure of is that mark is pretty; that he’ll look better with a lighter shade of hair – that, if he trusts jinyoung, pretty can swell into beautiful. english aside, visuals becomes their universal language; that shared space that jinyoung flits into in order to compliment him, to groom him into the eventual and elaborate makeover that he orchestrates in his head.

“and even if i did, i wouldn’t tell you.” he figures that if he’s confident he’ll sound right – hopes that mark doesn’t understand enough of his korean to tell that something is off, that definition escapes him. that even if he were fluent in english, all he’d ever know would be the way mark’s lips move around words; the way his smile shapes itself a bit recklessly.

he stands only to turn off the heat, though he tosses a few english words over his shoulder, tries to sew them into a sentence from fragments of songs, from the wispy memory of his own lessons.

“do you want a hot car? cold? ice? i see you?” frustrated, he goes back to korean. “how do you drink your tea, pretty boy?!”

there’s something saccharine sweet in riling up jinyoung, to see the frustration begin to grow and boil under his skin. it’s almost sad with how easy it is to string a few words together in english and watch as jinyoung tries to process it, to try and find some type of understanding in mark’s words. “teasing you is the highlight of my week,” it’s true and it leaves mark trying to fight back a smile as he leans forward with his elbow resting on his knees, his chin cupped in his palms.

it’s jinyoung’s reaction though that breaks through the proverbial dam and leaves mark grinning widely before shifting back into his chair. he knows the frustration that comes with barely being understood, it’s a little bit of harmless fun with someone he gives his trust to so irrevocably. the first few days of their friendship had been shaky, like a tiny ship lost in the torrents of a raging thunderstorm.

mark knows that he should turn his attention back to the notes and textbooks spread out around them, his handwriting a messy mixture of english and mandarin sprawled on the page. but the situation at hand is much more amusing. he watches as jinyoung sprouts out a few remarks, totally out of line with what mark had initially said. he lets out a sharp laugh before shaking his head. “wouldn’t tell me, huh? what secrets are you keeping park jinyoung?”

he follows jinyoung’s movement and stands, moving to grab at a package of cookies he left on the counter last study session. he rips back the packaging before popping one into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully as he watches jinyoung move through the kitchen. he nearly chokes though, caught off guard, “hot car?!” his voice is a little choppy as he struggles to swallow down cookie crumbles and icing. he shakes his head again and pats at his chest, “just however you’re taking it.” if there’s one thing he’s learned in life, is that park jinyoung never fails to lighten his day. “hot car.” mark continues to mumble under his breath. “where do you learn this stuff?”

[acaxmark-blog]

hey there! i’m tiff and i’m really excited to be here and rping as mark. I’ve got a lot of muse for him and I’m ready to plot with all of you! unfortunately I’m trash and haven’t come up with a plots page for him just yet, however, I’m totally open to filling any plots you have free or brainstorming. tumblr im is pretty perfect but if you want you can find me on twitter (@defbums) or discord too. Also! please like this post if you’d like to plot! 

I also went ahead and came up with a little mini breakdown of mark as well so you can find that below. 

mark is originally from taiwan where he spent most of his childhood

his dad got a job in LA and the family moved when he was about 8 or 9

he had a hard time with english at first but now he’s completely fluent

he’s an avid fan of challenges and adventures so that’s partially his reason for wanting to attend university in seoul

he’s still learning the language, customs, and slang so please make all the jokes on his behalf

mark’s a pretty soft and laidback marshmallow who doesn’t mind meeting new people but seems to have a small number of those he considers friends

mark’s absolute favorite thing ever is volleyball so he typically tends to come off as a dumb jock honestly 

he won’t correct those who assume that about him and he doesn’t talk about it like at all

but mark is actually incredibly smart 

he’s currently enrolled in both astronomy and aerospace engineering 

but when asked about his major he tends to lie and give a different answer each time (mostly because it’s fun/funny and also because he’s tired of explaining it each time, and the looks that come with it) 

mark’s real goals in life are to work for NASA and to play volleyball for a national team, pls love him 

[marksseunie]

markeu ; ♡