Angst if your weak, teeny bit suggestive, toxic relationship.
not proofread
A/n: it was originally inspired by misbehave - monsta x but i think it’s kinda more sweet misery - shinee coded.
My first nct fanfic yay~
It’s midnight, 1:22 am to be exact.
The wind is flooding in through the window, brushing past the exposed skin of your leg. You’d spent so long crying that you couldn’t get another tear out even if you wanted to. Now your head is just throbbing and it’s hard to tell if it's because of the sobbing you’d just done or if it’s because of all the alcohol you consumed. It might have been both.
It’s 1:22 in the morning and your boyfriend is nowhere to be found. No calls, no text, nothing. Lord knows where he could be, he could be cheating or maybe he’s over at a friend's, he might be at a bar or he might be working late. It’s left to your imagination because he hasn’t told you anything. You doubt he will, he’ll probably sneak in like he always does when he’s sure you're fast asleep. And wake up in the morning as if everything’s fine.
Now what’s worse? The fact that you allow him to do it every time, scotch free and pretend that it doesn’t bother you? Or the fact that you stay up every night with tears dried to your face waiting for him to come back?
Neither.
It’s the fact that you’ve stayed up all of those nights telling yourself that it was gonna be the last. The last time you allow yourself to be treated like this.
Your heart skips a beat when you hear the doorknob turn. You’re not sure if you should hide or pretend to be asleep. Your muscles make that decision for you when you stand up, both of your feet planted on the floor. Your breath hitched and your eyes wide open, gazing at the boy who walks in front of you.
“Oh man, you’re awake?” He unintentionally stomps into your shared apartment. You try to read him but you can’t. He’s walking and talking perfectly fine, so you know he’s not intoxicated. His hair is somewhat neat or better yet not messy. And his clothes look almost the exact same way as he walked out this morning. So maybe he’s not cheating.
“Where were you?” you mumble barely enough for him to hear you.
“I was with Johnny.”
“What about last night? and the night before that?” You’re on the verge of tears. He hadn’t even answered the question yet but you’re already recoiling. And he sees it.
“Are you crying?” He reaches for your cheeks to dry your tears, not even acknowledging your question. Half of you appreciates that much, you were already crying, you don't know how you’ll react once he tells you the truth.
You close your eyes and take a deep breath, relishing the way his hands feel. They’re kind of rough and bruised but it doesn’t bother you at all since this is the most he’s touched you in probably a month.
“I was giving you some space. Like you asked.” He almost whispers. Your eyes flutter open and meet his immediately, that’s how you know he’s being honest. You know he is but you’re still doubtful.
You asked for space and some time to think. Now that he was giving it to you, you felt neglected.
“Doesn’t it bother you that we can only talk to each other when we’re arguing?” You think aloud. Watching the way his face contorts into confusion.
“All of our conversations end with ‘I hate you’ and we never fail to throw things at each other,” you add
“What are you trying to say?”
“We’re a mess, Mark.”
“Okay, and that’s why we’re together. I’d rather fight with you than with anyone else.” He kneels down in front of you when you plop down on the couch. Tears welling in his eyes, he blinks them back and grabs onto your hand so you know how sincere he is.
“I need you, Y/n. I really do, I don’t think you understand that.”
“This can’t be healthy.” You say, looking off to the side so you don’t have to face him. That way you won’t feel as bad for what it is you’re about to say.
“We’re not perfect, but name one person who is? We’re gonna argue then we’re gonna make up and argue again. But my love for you is never gonna fade.” Mark never let go of your hand.
“I think we should break up.” You whisper, eyes closed and fresh warm tears streaming down your cheeks.
“What do you want? I’ll do anything, anything you want anything but that. Baby please.” His tears match yours, his grip on your hand is tighter now and you feel like you should’ve just pretended to be asleep.
“This isn’t working, this can’t be what love is supposed to feel like. We should just-“ Mark shushes you with a kiss. It was his way of avoiding topics he didn’t wanna talk about.
Conversations like this always ended with the both of you tangled in sheets, muttering a bunch of “I love you’s” and “I’m sorry.” You’ll make a promise to never talk about splitting up again and he’ll promise to never give you a reason. But ultimately you both fall through on your promises.
shooting my shot for the requests bc i use tumblr as a form of escapism and i love ur writings :') can i req just hardcore sad emotional angst with jay(enha)/mark(nct)? smthn off the idea of watching them fall in love w someone else kinda based off the song 'somebody else' by the 1975 bc god knows i am most DEFINITELY not going thru that shit rn 👍😃
Ꮺ title: somebody else [SFW]
Ꮺ member: nct mark
Ꮺ genre: uni! au - best friend! mark x [fem] reader , alot of angst
Ꮺ warnings: a broken heart
Ꮺ wc: 1.65k
Ꮺ a/n: for mj. 'the worst tides will always change' - me, 2k21
the world is passing too slowly. way too slowly.
it's the freckle on his neck. it's the little curve of his lips. it's the twinkle in his eyes. all lodged into some crevice of your mind like a parasite, refusing to detach.
maybe it was my fault - no. it was my fault for choosing you to fall in love with.
so mark was your best friend. what's new?
inseparable - that was the word that people used to describe the two of you. it's kind of cliché, how many people you've managed to convince that you were dating in the last 5 years you've been friends with him.
but of course, mark being the person he is, always took it with a grain of salt and never showed his dissatisfaction towards the incessant shipping of the two of you. in fact, he made it a point to make it an inside joke between the two of you.
part of you might've secretly prayed and wished every night at 11:11, while staring at the stupid, childish neon glow-in-the-dark stickers on your ceiling, that maybe, just maybe, he was just hiding behind a mask. hiding behind his cowardice, and that it wasn't impossible that he secretly held a torch for you.
it's his laughter you can hear - the day he spent in your room, re-decorating your newly painted walls. he had been the one who stuck the stickers to the ceiling.
but life is no drama. it's not a netflix series. it's not a korean rom-com where you end up with the main male lead.
why?
because you weren't the lead in the first place.
it's his voice that you feel thrum through your heart - when he thanks the crowd before him after he blows out the candles.
the crowd bursts into hoots and cheers but all you can process is the angle his smile takes in his cheeks.
with the most care he can summon in the heat of excitement, mark pushes the knife into the cake and you can see the cream pile up against the surface of the cake - that's how slow time seemed to be passing. a second feels like a minute, and every blink of his eye feels like butterflies coming out of their cocoons, only to fly away and never to be seen again.
then the immediate dread of replacement fills your lungs when he waves you over to take the first picture with him. he asks with his irrejectable politeness and you can't do any less than to relent with a smile, walking around the table to stand next to him.
but it's the girl behind the camera that threatens to hide your smile in the flash of the camera.
parasite.
and yet that's the worst part of it. the countdown echoes in your head when she makes it to 1, and it almost feels like she's trying to make sure she's counting down to your innate disappearance from earth's surface.
she's the lead, and you're just the main lead's best friend.
mark gestures for the camera to check the shot, and your grin fades away when you can see the minuscule brushing of their fingers as she hands the camera to mark.
the little coo runs over his lips as his eyes reflect the light from the screen, and he hands it back to her. this time, her fingerpads running over the grooves of his fingers and it's a stab in your gut when you can see the shine flash through both their eyes.
usually, mark's mother would ask you to help with the food preparation and serving the drinks but you were no longer her right-hand man. she was.
becoming the designated photographer, you're stuck with watching mark smile through all the tens of photos he takes with his many friends, each shot putting an abrupt halt to your attempt at forgetting that he was the one who has your heart in his hands.
you could close your eyes and you'd be able to draw his face.
it's his mother's laughter from the kitchen that starts to tear your bones apart - when you realise it's no longer because of you.
what were three hours of barbecue and dinner and cake felt like three days. nothing anybody said to you, you registered, because you were busy glancing across the pool and at mark, thoroughly engaged in a conversation that you weren't a part of.
when the rumors no longer reach your ears because everybody knows that mark has set his eyes on, that's when you know your chapter in his book has ended.
it's the blue hues of the pool's reflection on their faces that make their faces so much more illuminated than they already were. their faces are so animated, fingers twitching on the chair's armrest as they gradually get physically frustrated with the distance.
her legs are crossed on the chair and her hair falls over her shoulders like she had paid a thousand dollars for the most expensive shampoo in the world. maybe if you had her hair, mark would just return his attention to you.
and yet you can't blame him. he's still treating you the same way he has been the last 5 years. he's still laughing like it was his last day on earth. he's still telling the same stupid jokes over and over again as if nobody's told him he isn't funny.
it's how high up his shoulders are next to his ears that tell you how smitten he is - as so is she.
the last friend of his makes their departure, leaving you with her and mark in the kitchen with his mother.
your heart is slow and calm, only because it hasn't really got much left to run on, before she chooses to part her pretty lips and ask you with the most sincerity you've seen on a person.
"y/n, can i ask you something?"
looking up from the empty food tray, your palms start to sweat, and your heart slows even more.
there's no reason to panic. you already know what's coming.
"do you think... i should go for mark? i mean... you're his best friend. i just... don't want to make a wrong move and leave a bad impression."
no. he's my best friend and I'm the one who's given him tissues when he cried over his first love. and you don't even know her name.
"mark? mark's... whipped for you."
"really?" her eyes hold a twinkle disgustingly similar to his. and god giving her that angelic smile was unfair.
you wouldn't hurt a fly, and yet all i want to do is to throw you into the pool. what does that make me?
"really."
she's obviously excited, and nervous, for she pulls her lips between her teeth and chews on her bottom one. she looks away, face blushing a bright pink shade as her hair swings over her shoulders.
it's her anxiety that fuels your dying spirit to keep mark by your side - because you know she's going to be the one to be with him by his death bed 50 years from now.
yellow hues glow around the moon while it's high up in the sky, rendering the shine of all the nearby stars useless.
she's in the bathroom when you choose to leave first, and mark's a little more than surprised that you hadn't tried to stay and make sure you were the last guest to leave.
"are you rushing home? did you have a curfew? why didn't you tell me?"
"i... I'm just tired. that's all."
"oh."
mark rubs the back of his head.
"anyway, make sure she gets home safely okay?"
"you too. text me when you get home."
"mhm. i will."
"bye y/n. rest well, and thank you for helping out today."
"anytime."
knowing that he's not gonna close the door on you, you reach forward and wrap your fingers around the handle, pushing him back into the house and closing it for him.
across the road, your feet are stuck to the ground. brittle and on the verge of giving in, when you watch her wander around the space that opens up into the pool in his yard, probably searching for you.
mark comes by, saying something to her, and receives an 'oh' you can read from her lips. her back is turned towards the window, and mark's standing right opposite her, looking down at her eyes and probably thinking to himself 'this is the most beautiful girl on the planet'.
then mark rubs the back of his head, grin wide across his face as his cheeks redden while saying something.
you definitely can't hear shit.
but you know exactly what he's saying.
you don't know which was worse - the fact that you couldn't hear anything and yet you knew what he was saying or the fact that you were choosing to stay, and let your heart be crushed into oblivion.
then you watch with a souring nose and blurring vision when he throws his arms over her shoulders, and she falls into his chest with his palm stroking her hair.
but mark looks up.
straight ahead.
and sees you.
with the last ounce of energy you have left in your lungs, you lift a hand and show him a 'thumbs-up' sign, silently hoping he doesn't run out to see the droplets of your unrequited love on the pavement.
his signature smile spreads across his face as he mouths a 'thank you', before his mother comes by with a baffled look on her face and offers the girl a hug.
finally cutting away what was left of you from the pavement, you drag your heavy feet towards the direction of your house, the moon now dominating the dark canvas in the sky.
Pairing: (F)Reader x Mark | ft Jackson and Jinyoung |
Word count: 7k
Genre: Fluff | Angst (?) | Ex Lovers to Lovers | CEO AU | Non-Idol AU
Summary: 緣份 (Yuan fen): The destiny written between people. Mark Tuan was your college boyfriend. Unfortunately, your relationship fell apart when he expresses his discomfort towards your friendship with Jackson. After you graduate, you assume you would never meet him ever again. It isn’t until one day when you need to form an alliance with another company that you realise your relationship with Mark isn’t over just yet...
Warnings: -
Masterlist
You run your hands over your light beige blazer as you look at yourself through the full body mirror. You take a deep breath to calm the nerves that were wreaking havoc in your mind. Honestly, there was very little reason for you to be this nervous. You’ve met clients before - but you knew this wasn’t a client. This man is vital for your company. If you fail to get him on board, the company would lose more money than it ever has before. Meaning you as the CEO would also lose more money than you have before.
There’s a knock on your office door and you turn around to see your secretary poking her head in, “Miss, he’s here,” Lex states and you nod in acknowledgement. She leaves your office and you give yourself a double-check in the mirror, making sure you looked fine before leaving. She hands you a folder, “All of the documents you need are in here - including the whole plan and everything. Mr Wang’s already in the conference room, I told him he should wait for you, but… you know how he is,” she further adds and you can’t hold back the laugh that slips past your lips as you flip through the documents.
“Jackson’s a handful, but he knows what he’s doing,” you reassure her. “Thank you, Lex.” The feeling of knowing that Jackson is already in the meeting room adds to your confidence. There’s no way this meeting could go wrong with him around. His charisma was one of the main reasons you started this company with him in the first place.
You push open the glass door and your heart drops when you see who’s inside. Your entire body freezes, your confidence leaving as you stare at him.
“Ah! (Y/n), you’re here.” Jackson immediately stands up and makes his way to you. Judging by the nervous look on his face, he already knows. “I’m handing it off to you,” he whispers hastily and forces your frozen body to your seat.
“(Y/n)? That’s a name I haven’t heard in years,” the man chuckles as he watches you sit down. You extend your hand to shake his.
“It’s really been a while, Mark.” He shakes yours. The feeling of his skin against yours brings back all of those distant, college memories that you had pushed to the back of your mind. “I honestly didn’t know that you’re the man we’d be meeting today,” you confess as you start to open the folder.
“I would’ve assumed that you would’ve done your research on me.” Mark leans forward, “it’s not exactly the most flattering thing when someone who’s trying to join hands with my company doesn’t even know who the head is.” His tone makes you even more nervous than you already were before.
“I-I,” you clear your throat and kick Jackson underneath the desk. His body flinches when you do and he’s quick to help.
“W-We assumed your father would be coming for the meeting instead. He is still the head of the company,” he quickly says and you thank the lord that Jackson is sitting beside you. Mark eyes the both of you as you slide the documents towards him; there's no way he didn't hear the thud from below the table.
“By joining hands, both our companies would be benefitting from both incomes of our merchandise. Jackson’s jewelry line as well as my makeup line are already very well-known. If we collaborate with your clothing line, we would be exposing our brands to more buyers.” You're surprised that you manage to explain it calmly, and it seems that Jackson is as well when his hand squeezes your knee.
“You would seriously be helping us a lot here, hyung-nim,” Jackson adds. Mark glances up at the two of you before returning to read through the folder.
“Jackson and I are also planning to start a model agency under our company. Doing so would make it easier for us to find models as well as guaranteeing that our models would be treated fairly. We don’t tolerate mistreatment in this company.” You finish with a soft chuckle. Mark finally looks up from the folder and flashes you a smile,
“It seems you’ve both gotten quite far. Why do you suddenly need our company to help?” he raises an eyebrow. Shit. The plan in your mind is fleeting by the second.
“It would reduce the competition for both of our companies, hyung-nim. We’ve been against Def. for the past few years, and I know that you’ve had a handful of rivalries with Ars and Dandelion. You’d be surprised how many of our rivals are actually people that went to our college," Jackson chuckles, clasping his hands in front of himself as he gives Mark a look. Mark stares at him for a moment, the words moving around in his mind before he shrugs.
“If you're doing so well, then how do you explain your sudden drop in sales?" he questions.
"The sudden drop in sales is one of the few reasons we've asked for this alliance. There was a small issue with a few of the batches for the makeup. The factory wasn't following the hygiene orders, and they're being reprimanded for it," Jackson explains.
"We hope that you'll at least take this into thought, Mark." You bite your lip as you watch the way he goes through the contract you slid towards him. He gives you a look that you can't quite understand before looking down at the contract.
"I'll think about it," he speaks up after a moment as he stands up. "I'll get in contact with you when I've made up my mind." Mark's halfway out the door when he speaks up, "I honestly never thought I'd be seeing you again (Y/n)." And with that, Mark left the conference room. You stared ahead with your mouth agape as you tried to process everything that just happened.
Never in your life had you thought you'd see Mark Tuan again. What adds to the disbelief is that his company is the one that you and Jackson need to pick up your sales. Mark’s existence was nothing more than a memory - a college fling - that you had pushed away when you graduated. You weren’t supposed to see him anymore.
“Hey,” Jackson’s hand finds your back and it makes you turn to him. “I don’t think whatever happened in college might affect what’ll happen now,” he reassures you, but it’s not enough to convince you.
“It just might, Jackson.” You shake your head. Whether or not Mark agrees with the merge would determine the future of your company. The drop in sales was massive, and if Mark decided against it just because of what happened between you two, your company would plummet even further.
“He can’t be that immature,” he shakes his head, leaning back in his chair.
“We can’t be too sure,” you mutter out.
»»————- ————-««
“(Y/n), come on! Let loose!” Jackson laughs as he hands you a drink. You glare at him as he does. The line between drunk and tipsy was starting to get blurrier and blurrier to in his mind, and he didn’t really care.
“I told you. I’m only here to drive you home,” you remind him, but you take the drink from his hands nonetheless.
“God,” Jinyoung groans, his head hanging back as he leans against the bar. “Go get laid or something. You haven't gone wild since our second semester. Get drunk. It’s not like there’s any exams coming up anytime soon,” he shrugs as he orders another drink while you stare at him, wondering how he can always remain calm.
“Guys, we have exams in two weeks!” you exclaim in disbelief and he snorts in response.
“You’re smart. You’ll pass.” Jackson’s gaze moves towards the crowd of drunk, dancing college students. “Go find yourself someone nice, get drunk, get laid - I don’t know. Just don’t be a buzzkill.” You watch as he downs his drink. “There’s a nice girl over there. If you’re going to leave, let me know,” is the last thing he says before he leaves you at the bar. You turn to Jinyoung with a pleading look.
“There’s a girl here that I’ve been trying to ask out for months,” he pats you on the shoulder. “I’m not letting this moment go,” he says and leaves you alone, disappearing into the crowd.
You look down at your drink with a sigh, swirling the alcohol inside of it. You wonder how Jackson keeps convincing you to come to these parties even though he knows you’re just there to drive Jinyoung home and Jackson to your shared flat. You don’t release as much energy as Jackson does, leaving you more isolated from the groups whenever you did party. You’re not as good at sweet talking as Jinyoung is which meant you could not flirt properly to save your own life. You’re always the person at the bar, watching your friends get drunk so that you would eventually drive them home, and that’s the only thing that keeps you at the club.
You watch from the bar as Jackson grinds on a girl while Jinyoung tries to sweet talk his way into Jade’s heart. As your eyes scan the crowd, you lock eyes with an unfamiliar face watching you from the booth filled with a few students you do recognise. The only one you can put a name on is Jaebeom; he’s in your management class.
You turn your attention away from their booth and towards your phone instead. It’s only one a.m., the night is still young and you were going to be stuck here for another two hours or so. Might as well burn the hours by scrolling through your feed to see what your other friends were doing instead.
“Hey.” The voice makes you look up to see the same man watching you from before. You flash him a small smile as you take a sip from your drink. “Is anyone sitting here?” he gestures to the empty seat beside you and you quickly shake your head, gesturing for him to sit. He orders a drink before turning to the crowd, leaning back against the bar. “I’m Mark.”
“(Y/n).”
“What are you doing sitting here all alone?” he questions. You let out a hum, clicking your tongue as your eyes once again fall on your friends who are wasting the night away.
“I always get invited to clubs, but I’m more of a chauffeur than anything. I come, I wait, and I drive my friends home,” you raise your hand, pointing with your glass towards Jackson and Jinyoung.
“I see we have the same job,” Mark chuckles as he reaches behind to grab the glass from the bartender, bringing it to his lips. “I always have to drive Jaebeom home because he insists on coming. He also ends up bringing Youngjae with him, too.” He gestures to his own friends.
“These people need to pay us for this one day.” You joke, enticing a laugh out of Mark. It’s a nice sound that comes out of his throat.
“If I earned a dollar for every time I had to drive these guys home, I’d probably have enough money to actually hire a driver for them.” He chuckles. You laugh as well, glancing over to look at Mark. You have to admit he was pretty handsome. If his chiseled jaw wasn’t what made you realise it, then it was his smile. “Wanna dance?” Mark turns to you and you look at him wide eyed.
“I’m not much of a dancer,” you shake your head.
“It’s not that hard.” He downs his drink as he slides off of his chair and reaches for your hand. “No one’s even going to notice. Everyone here is drunk.” He flashes you a smile and it was enough to convince you to join him. You finish your own drink, taking Mark’s hand and he pulls you into the crowd. With the amount of people on the dance floor, your body is flushed against Mark, causing your cheeks to heat up. “You okay?” he questions and you’re glad it’s too dark for him to properly see your face.
“Y-Yeah,” you nod. He leans down to your ear,
“Just put your hands around my neck.” His breath tickles your skin and you oblige, snaking your hands up until you lock your fingers behind his neck. You both start swaying with the music, his hands resting above your hips to guide you gently.
As you look up at him, you’re hit with this strange feeling in your heart. You assume it’s the alcohol because never once had you ever seen someone this… ethereal. The multicoloured lights flash above the two of you, every colour seeming to make him more and more beautiful in your eyes. You wouldn’t exactly call it ‘love at first sight’ because you know you’re not in love with him, but is strangely feels like you may be soon enough. Your hands gently tug on his neck, bringing his face closer to yours.
“Kiss me,” you state and Mark pulls away for a moment to look at you in slight surprise. When your eyes show no trace of regret towards the words, his eyes darken and he slowly leans down to press his lips against yours.
»»————- ————-««
Of course you had to bump into him here. Out of all of the places in the world, it would be at a park where you’re walking Jackson’s dog. You look around frantically, trying to find a place - anywhere - to hide.
“(Y/n).” Damn it. You turn around and force a smile when you see Mark standing there.
“Hi, Mark,” you force out. His gaze moves down to the golden retriever that’s looking up at him curiously.
“When did you get a dog?” he questions as he crouches down, “may I?” He glances up at you and you blink a few times before nodding.
“He’s not mine. This is Jackson’s dog,” you tell him. You take note of the way Mark’s hand stops moving for a moment before resuming to run through Kika’s golden coat.
“How’s life been since college?” Mark asks, his eyes still on the dog.
“Well...” You don’t know exactly where to start. Should you start after college or after you and Mark split ways? “After college, I worked at Sony for a few years before Jackson and I decided to start Charmed together.”
“Together?” He looks up from Kika and you nod.
“We’ve known each other for so long, and we both decided that it would be easier and safer to start with someone we trust,” you add. Mark nods at that as he turns back to the dog before standing up. There’s an awkward silence that settles between you two for a moment before you decide you can’t stand it anymore. “I-I need to go. I need to take Kika back home,” you quickly excuse yourself and start walking in the opposite direction from Mark.
“(Y/n),” he reaches out to grab your wrist and it stops you from moving away any further, “I’ve changed.” You turn around slowly to look at him, you register his words before quickly retracting your hand.
“That’s…” you trail off as you stare at him. Without saying anything else, you quickly walk away from him and back to your apartment only to see Jackson rummaging through your fridge like a parasite. Well, maybe parasite was a bit of a stretch, but you knew giving him the code to your apartment was a bad idea.
He peeks up from the fridge to greet you, but he can tell from your face that something went wrong. Jackson being someone who could see right through you, does not leave you alone until you give up from trying to hide it. Turning on your Netflix, you plop yourself onto your couch and explain everything.
“Now, why would your college affair affect us now?” Jackson questions as he pulls two bottles of beer out from your fridge.
“Well, for starters, he hated you in college,” you groan, throwing your head back to lean over the edge of your couch. “I broke up with him because I would never abandon you,” you tell Jackson. He stands behind the couch with the opened bottles in his hand.
“Well, if he says he’s changed, then maybe he has.” He shrugs, plopping himself onto the spot beside you as Kika jumps up onto his lap.
“God, when I said Kika was your dog and not mine, he fucking froze, Jackson. You don’t do that if you’ve moved on,” you argue and Jackson responds by clinking his bottle with yours. “And that time in the conference room, you should’ve seen his face when I kicked your leg. I’m pretty damn sure he heard it.”
“You always overthink things, (Y/n),” he mutters out with a chuckle as he presses play on a random movie. “You don’t let things just go with the flow. That’s how you acted when you dumped him, and that’s how you’re acting now. Don’t try and force yourself to figure out whether he’s okay with you now, just wait things out and see.”
“Yes - but Jackson, if he lets those old feelings come back, it’ll affect his decision,” you grumble. Jackson lets out a sigh,
“Drink your beer before it gets warm. You hate warm beer,” he states and leans back, kicking his feet up onto your coffee table.
“And I hate it when you do that.” You smack his thigh and he whines as he lowers his legs.
“If you ask me, I really don’t think he’ll let me being your best friend affect business. If he does, then he’s really unprofessional,” Jackson shrugs as he takes a swig from his beer. You bite the inside of your cheek as you turn away from Jackson and towards your TV. Hopefully, Jackson’s right.
»»————- ————-««
The knock on your door makes you dash out of your bedroom to answer it. Opening the door, you see Mark with his usual gummy smile when he sees you.
“Mark? What are you doing here?” you question, slightly surprised that he had suddenly shown up. After that night with Mark, you honestly had a lingering feeling that you would end up meeting him again. As though it was some kind of fate that you would end up crossing paths once again.
“I was wondering if you’d like to have dinner with me.” He licks his lips nervously as he scans your face for your reaction. You immediately nod, smiling slowly.
“Yeah, of course.” It was no secret that you may have grown to like the mysterious man from the club. That night you spent with him was one of the best nights you ever had, and you had to admit that you were quite sad when you remembered he was a one night stand.
“If you’re not doing anything now, maybe we could grab something to eat at the barbeque restaurant right outside campus,” Mark suggests and you immediately agree.
“Let me just grab my purse.” You gesture for him to step into your apartment before you disappear into your bedroom, grabbing your purse and your phone. You’re lucky he had come at a time when Jinyoung had cancelled your plans to grab some McDonalds, meaning you were already dressed up to go out.
“Do you live alone?” Mark asks as you lock your front door. You shake your head.
“I live with Jackson. Saves money for the both of us,” you hum.
“With Jackson? The guy from the club?” His eyes go wide and you nod.
“I’ve known Jackson since we were in elementary. We graduated high school together, and we’re probably gonna graduate college together. Who knows, maybe we’ll even work together.” You laugh lightly, failing to miss Mark’s baffled expression. He quickly wipes it off of his face as he walks beside you.
“You guys must be close,” he mutters out and you nod once again.
“Jackson’s pretty much been through everything I’ve been through. We’re like opposites of each other, but he’s almost like my other brain cell,” you joke. Mark purses his lips as you walk down the stairs of the apartment - walking saved time since you lived on the second floor - and out of the building.
“Isn’t it weird living with another guy?” His question surprises you and you quickly shake your head.
“Jackson’s like a brother to me,” you tell him and he lets out a hum at that. “Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ve just never met someone who I’m able to connect with that well.” Mark shrugs. You give him a weird look and decide to just brush it off.
“It’s never crossed my mind as weird. Jackson’s really just family for me,” you say. He lets out a hum and you can feel a strange tension starting to build between the two of you. “Is it weird?” you question softly. It’s rare to both you and Jackson that someone doesn’t find it weird.
“A little bit,” he mutters out, but you can hear from the tone in his voice that he really doesn’t mean it in a bad way. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that close to someone before, so maybe it’s just new to me.” Mark turns to you and gives you a reassuring smile.
“Are you okay with it?” you ask. He turns away from you for a moment before shrugging.
“I guess I’ll just try and get used to it.”
»»————- ————-««
“Mark? Like Mark Tuan?” Jinyoung questions and Jackson nods. You’re laying your head on the table while Jackson tells Jinyoung of how unfortunate you are to have met Mark again. “If he isn’t over it, he’s a dick,” he scoffs as he takes a sip from his iced tea.
“See?” You look up to see Jackson giving you an ‘I told you so’ look.
“If he’s a dick, he might reject the contract,” you whine.
“She still overthinks, huh?” Jinyoung chuckles. You respond by glaring at him. “(Y/n), if he doesn’t want to have an alliance, do one with my company,” he suggests.
“Your company doesn’t make as much money as Mark’s company,” Jackson snorts and Jinyoung punches his arm.
“Yah, at least I’m still making more than you guys,” he snaps.
“I guess an alliance with Jinyoung’s company wouldn’t be that bad.” You sit up straight and Jinyoung gives you a smug look.
“I’d be saving your asses,” he proudly states.
“You’re still not our first option, Jinyoung,” Jackson points out, “if Mark accepts the alliance, then we’ll stick with that.” He takes a sip from his coffee while Jinyoung slides the plate of tiramisu your way.
“I really think you’re overthinking this, (Y/n),” Jinyoung adds, watching you take the plate and scoop the desert into your mouth.
“You guys don’t have to keep telling me that,” you grumble.
“Well, you keep bringing him up. Of course we’re going to keep telling you that.” He shrugs. “Why did you guys break up again?”
“He didn’t like the fact that I was so close to both you and Jackson,” you mutter out as the memories start to replay in your mind. “It was why I tried to spend less time with you guys and more time with Mark.”
“(Y/n) already told him about how we’ve been friends since forever,” Jackson adds and you nod.
“He tried to get me to stop hanging out with both of you. So,” you let out a sigh as you sat up, “I dumped him instead.”
“Understandable,” Jinyoung hums. “It’s the same reason Jade and I broke up.”
“Is it so terrible that the three of us are so close?” Jackson questions. There’s the familiar hint of annoyance and frustration in his tone.
“Maybe it’s less of the three of us and more of us,” he gestures to Jackson and himself, “and (Y/n).”
“Is it really that big of a deal? I’m tired of hearing the same ‘guys can’t be just friends with girls’ bullshit,” you sigh, “I even tried to make a deal that I would spend less time with Jackson, but he wanted me to cut ties with him instead.” Your two friends share the same tired glance. Ever since high school, it seemed to be some kind of weird narrative that you - a girl - couldn’t be close with a guy - Jackson, and it only heightened when the two of you met Jinyoung in college.
It was frustrating whenever people would question your relationship. The three of you are friends, and that was all. Whatever romantic or sexual feelings that were present had disappeared long ago. There was a moment in time where your platonic relationship with Jinyoung almost turned into something more, but you both decided it would be better to stay as friends rather than turning it into something more.
“If anything goes wrong with the contract, just give me a call,” Jinyoung spoke up. “You guys are free to join hands with my company.” He flashes you a reassuring smile and it helps to lift your spirits a bit more.
“Thanks, Jinyoung.” You return the smile.
“The best thing you can do right now is wait it out. Don’t do that thing where you end things because you’re scared someone else will end it,” Jackson warns jokingly.
“Shut up, you do that, too,” you snap at him. He lets out an exaggerated gasp and clutch his chest dramatically, starting the playful bicker between you two while Jinyoung watches in disbelief.
“We’re almost thirty and you both still argue like a bunch of fucking kids.” Jinyoung laughs. He lets out another laugh when you both ignore his statement and continue bickering with each other.
“Hold up, can we backtrack for a moment?” Jackson asks after your childish argument is over. “Didn’t Mark try and get you back up until he graduated?”
“Yeah,” you nod with a sigh. “That’s honestly what I’m the most scared of. He probably hates me because after he graduated because he kept trying even after we graduated a year later. Then, he just stopped contacting me completely. I honestly thought that was the last I would hear from him.” You mutter out.
“Wait, he kept trying even after our graduation?” Jinyoung’s eyes go wide. “Why didn’t you tell us?” He questions.
“I didn’t want you guys to beat him up or something - I don’t know.” You shrug.
“(Y/n), it was more than a year after you guys broke up. You told us he kept trying until right before our graduation.” Jackson’s tone sounds like he’s almost scolding you. You have to admit, you kept his messages away from the two because you knew for a fact that they would’ve tried to hunt him down and make him stop.
“If I told you he kept bothering me, it would’ve made it worse. Leave me alone, it’s been like seven years.” you grumble.
“If he held on for more than a year and even told her that he’s changed, doesn’t it mean he’s probably…” Jinyoung trails off and the real problem that was brewing in your mind hits Jackson.
“He’s probably still in love with you…” Jackson mutters out in realisation. “That’s why you’re so bothered by it.” He turns to you for clarification and you nod.
“Do you still love him?” Jinyoung questions and you breathe out through your nose as you think about it.
“Well, if I’m going to be honest, I don’t think I ever really fell out of love with him,” you confess softly and both of their eyes go wide. “I think I just pushed it away because if he’s not okay with my best friends, then I don’t want him,” you mutter out, leaning forward and resting your chin onto the table.
A silence falls between the three of you as Jackson and Jinyoung think through it. Say Mark is still in love with you, but has not gotten over the fact that you’re best friends with Jackson, he could easily reject the offer to avoid heartache. But, if Mark isn’t in love with you and he hates you for leaving him for your friends, then he could also reject the offer out of pure spite. The more they thought about it, the harder it seemed to get out of the situation.
“Can we just hope he’s finally moved on?” Jinyoung suggests and you sigh for the umpteenth time, your head nodding slowly.
»»————- ————-««
“I just don’t trust him, babe,” Mark mutters out. You turn to him with sad eyes. A year and a half, and it’s always the same fight with him.
“Mark, I’ve known him since we were eight, and I’ve known Jinyoung since our first year. We’re just friends, I promise,” you try to assure him.
“It’s not exactly comforting when your girlfriend’s only best friends are two guys,” he huffs out. You shut your eyes and hang your head. Of course it would be because Jackson and Jinyoung. Mark’s dislike towards Jackson and Jinyoung was getting more and more obvious as the months went by; specifically towards Jackson. For some reason, he just couldn’t bear through the fact that you two were so close.
“I don’t understand why it’s such a problem. I’ve been spending less time with the both of them to be with you. I want to be with you - I love you.” You reach out to hold his hand. Mark looks down at yours on top of his for a moment before interlacing your fingers together.
“I love you too, (Y/n). But, I don’t think I’m comfortable with you hanging out with them at all.” Your hand immediately retracts from his and you stand up from the couch, his words replaying in your head.
“I’m not going to leave my friends behind, Mark,” you scoff, “I’ve been trying so hard to get you to see why they’re so important to me, but you keep pushing that away and focus on the fact that they’re men.”
“It’s more than that!” he exclaims, shooting from the couch. “I just don’t trust Jackson! Is it that hard to ask you to not see him anymore?” Mark’s words sound so childish to you. It would’ve been more understandable if he took the time to get to know them, but he wouldn’t. He always declined whenever you invited him to hang out with all three of you.
“Make the effort, Mark. I’ve tried to bring you over so you could actually sit and talk to both of them, but you always push me away whenever I try to get you guys to meet. I can’t just throw away my best friends just because you tell me to.” You see Mark’s jaw clench as he stares at you.
“(Y/n), come on!” His eyes hold so much disbelief and anger.
“I’ve known Jackson for more than ten years. I’m not just going to drop him because you don’t trust him. I’ve already tried to spend more time with you instead so that maybe you could just stop thinking so negatively of him!” you defend, your voice faltering as tears start to well up in your eyes. Mark’s increasingly getting more and more upset. You can practically see the steam shooting out of his ears.
“Would you choose them over me?” His voice is low, and by the way it falters ever so slightly, you know he’s close to tears as well.
“I can’t just abandon them,” you answer softly. It strikes him to the core and Mark has a hard time trying to keep himself composed. Tears are falling freely from your eyes and you don’t care to wipe or hide them. “I just don’t understand why you won’t just try and see who they are as people instead of judging them straight up,” you sniffle, “we’ve been fighting over this for a year and a half, and... I can’t do this anymore.” You grab your bag and your sweater off of the arm rest of his couch before rushing out of his apartment, leaving Mark alone in his living room.
You stand outside of his door for a moment, debating whether or not you should wait to see if he would come for you. You shake your head and walk away. You weren’t going to give him the chance.
»»————- ————-««
You step out of the lift and make your way to your office, being greeted by Lex who was already sitting at her desk.
“Miss (Y/n), you have a message,” she speaks up, stopping you from entering your office. You step closer to her desk and give her a questioning hum. “It’s from Mark Tuan; he wants to talk to you.” Your body tenses at the mention of his name.
“Let him know I’m here,” you manage to say and Lex nods as she sits back down. You make your way into your office, immediately moving to sit at your desk. Curse professional looking glass walls for not giving you any room to obviously panic for a moment. Instead, you take a few deep breaths as you wait for his call. It doesn’t take long before the phone starts ringing. You pick up the phone without hesitation.
“Morning, (Y/n),” Mark’s voice comes through the speaker.
“Good morning, Mark,” you greet, leaning back in your chair. “Have you given the offer a thought?” you ask.
“I’m still thinking about it. I called to ask if you were free for lunch,” he clarifies and once again, your body tenses up. “It’s nice to catch up with an old friend. You could also explain more about the alliance to me.”
“I- Sure. There’s a cafe by the park where we bumped into each other. I’ll meet you there.” You place the phone down and stare at it for a moment. Your eyes move to the clock to the wall; you had about three hours before you would meet him. So, you burn the hours with work and skimming over documents that need your approval. You're lucky Jackson’s off to Jeju Island with his fiancee for the week, meaning you don’t have to think about lunch with the amount of work you have to cover for him.
“Miss (Y/n),” Lex knocks on your door before poking her head in, “It’s lunch time.” She tells you and it causes you to look away from your computer monitor to look at her. “Mr Kim is already here to take you to the cafe.” You nod at her and she leaves. You grab your leather messenger bag as well as your phone before making your way down the forty floors to reach the lobby. The ride to the cafe is nerve wracking, and you’re so quiet throughout that your usual chauffeur takes notice.
“Are you alright, Miss (Y/n)?” Mr Kim questions, looking at you through the rear view mirror. Mr Kim’s pretty old, but sometimes you and Jackson feel as though he deserves a raise since he works pretty well as your therapist whenever he’s driving you around.
“Ah,” you’re too nervous to feel flustered that he notices. “The man I’m meeting is someone I used to know in college.”
“An ex lover, perhaps?” He raises a brow. Now, you’re blushing.
“Yeah,” you chuckle nervously. “I’m worried that maybe he’s still holding on to those spiteful feelings.”
“You must’ve been quite a wild one, huh,” Mr Kim chuckles.
“I had no other choice. He made me choose between him or Jackson and Jinyoung,” you explain softly, leaning your head against the window as you watch the buildings go by. Even to this day, you would still admit that you would choose both Jinyoung and Jackson in a heartbeat. “You know how close I am to those two. I could never just leave them behind because Mark told me to,” you sigh. Mr Kim nods at that, peeking at you through the mirror once again.
“Based on the stories I’ve heard from the two of you, you both might as well be siblings - especially with the way you bicker. You remind me of my children,” he chuckles, enticing a soft laugh out of you as well. “I don’t think it should matter what happened in the past, Miss (Y/n). A word of advice: people regret the things they didn’t do more than the things they did. If he’s taken the time to mature, there’s a possibility that he might be hurting inside more from the things he failed to do as your partner,” Mr Kim hums out. His words lift your spirits slightly and it sparks realisation deep within you. You think that maybe you should’ve thought about what you failed to do as Mark’s girlfriend as well. “Now, what didn’t you do while you were together?”
“I-” You pause and think about it deeply. “I don’t think I listened to him the way he wanted me to,” you say slowly, thinking through your words as the memories flood your mind.
“If he was upset over your relationship with Jackson, he may have some form of insecurity hidden deep within him - maybe another ex of his had left him for someone he trusted,” Mr Kim adds. That’s when it hit you. Mark had mentioned once of his ex girlfriend who ended up cheating on him with her best friend.
“Oh my god,” you let out a breath as you let everything come into your mind. More and more regret starts to fill your gut as you realise that Mark was scared. He wasn’t being a dick because he wanted to, he was just scared. Instead of being able to translate it into words, his mind built a hard wall instead. That wall was the anger he kept showing whenever he heard Jackson’s name in college.
“Do you understand now?” he questions just as he parks outside of the cafe. “That feeling of feeling wronged tends to blind you from what’s really happening on the inside.” Mr Kim adds. You nod slowly as you look at the cafe, already seeing Mark sitting inside with his back facing the large glass window.
“Thank you, Mr Kim. You made me realise just how blind I was being in college.” You chuckle as you make sure you have your things.
“Good luck, Miss (Y/n).” He chuckles as well as he watches you leave the car. You puff your cheeks with air, holding your breath as you walk into the cafe. Mark immediately looks up when he hears the bell and raises his hand into the air to wave at you, a soft smile on his face as you make your way over to him.
“Hey,” you greet him and sit down across from him.
“I ordered a green tea latte.” He clears his throat, gesturing towards the green beverage. “It was, uh, it was always your favourite when we were in college,” he mutters out. You stare at the drink in front of you for a moment before smiling softly as well,
“Thank you, Mark.” You take a small folder out from your bag and place it in front of him. “This has all of the details for the possible projects that could come from the alliance.” You watch as he looks through it, the round glasses on the bridge of his nose slowly sliding down until he’s forced to push them back up. “Are those the same glasses from when we were in college?” The words slip out of your mouth before you could stop them, and he looks up at you, flustered. Your cheeks immediately go red as you look at him with wide eyes.
“I actually broke those a few years after,” Mark explains softly. “I thought round glasses looked nice on my face, so I bought one that was similar.” He nods before looking back down, obviously trying to hide the faint blush that was creeping onto his cheeks. There’s a pause in his movements before he looks up at you. “Everything here seems tempting.” He nods slowly, his eyes still going over them. “I’ll agree to the alliance,” Mark smiles. You feel a wave of relief wash over you and your shoulders start to relax. “If you have the contract with you now, I’ll sign it right here.”
“Thank you so much, Mark.” You smile as you reach into your bag to pull out the contract, sliding it towards him as well as a pen. You watch as he reads through it briefly before signing it and handing it back to you. You look at the paper, seeing his signature at the bottom. “Your signature never changed, huh?” you chuckle softly and Mark’s ears turn slightly red.
“I never thought I needed to change it. It looks legit enough,” he chuckles nervously.
“I remember how you only figured out your signature when we were together, and even then it was only because you were tired of signing your notebook over and over again,” you giggle, enticing a laugh from Mark. You notice that his laugh is still the same. Pretty much almost everything about him is the same. The only thing different is that his hair isn’t the same messily styled lilac it used to be. Instead, it’s highlighted with light brown streaks and styled neatly. “It’s nice,” you state softly as you run your thumb over the dried ink.
“Do you regret being with me?” he asks. You look up from the paper with wide eyes and quickly shake your head.
“Of course not!” Your voice comes out louder than you expected it to, and you quickly shut your eyes at the embarrassment of doing so. “I don’t regret anything between us. I just,” you pause for a moment. “I’m just upset that I didn’t try to understand why you didn’t like Jackson,” you confess softly and you can see Mark’s body relax slightly. “I think it took a while before I realised that maybe I wasn’t listening to what you were trying to tell me.” He exhales softly, sitting up straighter.
“I don’t blame you.” He shakes his head. “Honestly, I thought through it for a really long time and I realise it’s not that easy to give up someone you’ve known for almost your entire life. I’m sorry I tried to make you cut him off. When I saw you again at your company, I realised you two are pretty much joint together,” Mark chuckles softly and takes a sip from his coffee. “I’m sorry for being such a dick.” You see the genuinity behind his brown eyes and for the first time in years, you can feel your heart melting just from a look.
“I forgive you.” You nod with a smile. Mark’s lips slowly curl into a smile and he looks down at your hands that are resting on the table; inches away from his own.
“Did you fall out of love with me?” he questions, turning back up to look at you.
“I honestly don’t think I ever did,” you chuckle. He bites his lip as he tries to hold back his smile.
“Would it hurt to try again?” Mark’s tone softens further. As you look into his eyes, you feel that familiar feeling you felt all those years ago when you first met him; the feeling of knowing something about you two attracted each other. With a smile, you reach for his hand.
*Disclaimer, Jamie is an idol under SM Entertainment and is in their global girl group.
Genre: fluff
[Jamie's Pov]
If I had known vocal lessons would go on for this long I would have ate before I came. It sucked because I was the only one who had vocal lessons today too. I grabbed my bag out of the closet and headed downstairs to the cafe to get a sandwich before my manager picked me up to take me back to the dorms. When I turned the corner to enter the cafe, a group member of mine was charging at me. She place her hands on my shoulders and pushed me back the way I was coming.
"Oh my God, I don't understand why you don't check your phone." She said annoyed.
"Huh? Did something happen?" I asked confused finally turning around and walking beside her now.
"Dispatch posted an article saying that you and Mark from Got7 are dating."
"WHAT?! I don't even know him that well. They're lying." I said stopping. I could cry right now. I know that SM doesn't have any dating rule but I really didn't want to make any trouble; we debuted just about a year ago.
"We know that but... SM already confirmed you two dating."
"WHAT?!" I squat down to the ground and held my head trying to wrap my head around the situation that was happening right now.
"Jamie" Me and Terra turned to see our manager walking up to us. "I assume Terra filled you in for the most part?" Terra nodded and looked at down at me. I pushed my hair back and stood up to face our Manager.
"I don't understand.. I'm really not dating him."
"We have to go upstairs." Our manager said with a slight smile. "It's okay, you're not in trouble." Our manager reassured me. But I was scared shitless. "You wait down here okay?" she told Terra.
"Good luck Jamie" Terra said before heading off. Our manager locked her arm with me and we began walking to the elevators. Once we got upstairs we had to go to the main conference room and there our CEO, Director and other managers from our group were already seated waiting for us. We took our seats. I glanced at our manager that brought me up.
"Ahem, I just want to say that you're not in trouble so relax" said our CEO. I nodded in response.
"We have spoken to Park Jinyoung from JYP and we have come to the conclusion that it would be beneficial if it was true that you guys were dating. So we're gonna use this as a publicity stunt."
"But I don't know Mark from Got7." I spoke softly.
"That's okay, you can pretend. We have it all planned out. Think of this as a solo activity" My manager said beside me.
"Okay." The meeting was shorter than expected. I kept wondering if Mark was okay with this whole publicity stunt... it kind of seemed like we have no choice but to go along with it. I know that if I said I was uncomfortable with it they would have thought of my feelings but then again they confirmed it without me so I'm not entirely sure. Our manager took Terra and I back to our dorm and there I stayed in my room and thought about the situation even more. To be honest, I knew who Mark was of course. Before debut, I was a fan of Got7 and I have to say Mark was definitely a guy who was on my bias list and now all of our fans thought we were dating and I never even spoke to this man before. The CEO words replayed in my head "Think of it as a solo activity," does that mean we'll have to act like a couple for real; like hold hands and k-k-kiss. I sat up in my bed quickly. I haven't even had my first kiss yet and you're telling me I might have to kiss mark for fake?
——————————————————————————
Everything was normal for the next few days but today was the first day of my "solo activity." Today I would spend the day with Mark. He'd be picking me up from our dorms anytime now. I sat waiting on the staircase. I felt nervous and to be honest I was intimidated by Mark. I look up to see a car pulling up on the curb. The passengers seat window rolled down and a glimpse of Mark's face peeked through. I quickly got up grabbing my backpack and walked to the car and sat in the passenger seat.
"Hi" I said not making eye contact with him.
"Hello" he said as he switched the gear from parked to drive. I put on my seat belt and tried to get comfortable but I felt awkward. The silence was suffocating. Mark reached for the radio and turned on one of his playlists once we got to a red light. He must have sensed the awkwardness in the air and tried to make up for it with music. The tunes from the radio was enough to get my mind off some things. I bopped my head to the melody. The car slowed down and came to a halt. Mark put the car in parked and sighed out loud.
"Um I'm not really sure what to do.." He admitted. I tilted my head in confusion and blinked. "They told me to take you out but it feels awkward because I don't know you. I don't even know what you like" He said half laughing.
"I like food." I said trying to lighten the mood.
"Yeah so you want to get something to eat?"
"Yeah, I want a ..burger." I said covering my mouth with my sweater on accident. Mark slightly chuckled.
"Okay we can go get burgers" he said nodding as he put the car back in drive. I turned the music up a bit.
"Sorry I didn't mean to touch.."
"Nah it's all good." He said shaking his head in my defense. I nodded my head and stared out the window. Was I really in the passenger seat of Mark Tuan's car right now. I couldn't believe it.
When we arrived at the restaurant, Mark held the door open for me. He asked the waitress for 2 seats and she let us to a booth at the back of the restaurant.
"What can I get to drink for you two?" The waitress asked.
"Water for me and a raspberry lemonade for her" He said looking at me for approval.
"Yes please" I said in a small voice.
"Okay, I'll be right back" she said smiling and leaving.
"I kind of read your kpop profile last night to get some kind of information about you." he said scratching the back of his head and looking away. I smiled and just stared at him for a moment. I cleared my throat a bit.
"so how are you holding up?" he said looking back at me.
"I'm okay, I haven't look at any comments because I'm scared. I'm still shocked about the whole thing. How about you?" I said leaning my head into the palm of my hand.
"believe it or not but a lot of people are really happy about it. International fans especially. I'm not really sure how dispatch ended up picking us two out but I'm glad everyone is taking it well."
"that's a relief. um so now that we're "dating" do we have to see each other often?" I said looking away. The waitress came back with our drinks and asked if we were ready to order. We paused our conversation to order. Once the waitress left with our orders I turned back to face Mark and awaited his answer.
"I uh well.. I would think so..maybe we should." It look like he was getting flustered. I bit the inside of my lip and waited for him to gather his words. "Well, I'm kind of thinking of it as dating.. like I know we're technically fake dating but we have to spend time together anyway to convince the public that we are dating.. so maybe we should.. like date i guess old fashionably? I think I'm speaking too much" He said covering his face with his hand. A big grin spread across my face.
"I'd like that." I admitted. "Okay confession, I'm a ahgase." I softly giggled and turned my face to the side to avoid eye contact with him.
"Oh really? Who's your bias?" He said leaning forward a bit.
"Hmm I'm not telling."
"Oh wow.. must not be me" He said sucking in the air to make a noise come from his mouth in disappointment. I pressed my lips together causing myself to pout. Did I ruin it? Soon our waitress came with our food and interrupted the silence. We said our thank yous before she left.
"Take a picture of your food or the restaurant and post it somewhere on social media and I'll do the same" Mark said pulling out his phone.
"Why?" I asked grabbing my own.
"People will put it together that we were together here. It's like a tease and our own confirmation that we're dating."
"Ah okay" I said taking a picture of the menu that was by the door that read today's specials. Mark took a picture of his food with a menu visible. He posted on his Instagram and I posted on my ig story.
"Can I um... have your number?" I managed to get out my mouth.
"Are you flirting with me?" he asked in a serious tone.
"I.. I mean like.. I can be" I quickly covered my mouth and cringed at myself in the inside. Did I seriously just say that? Mark laughed loud and smiled afterwards.
"You're kind of cute." He said with his hand held out waiting for my phone. I could tell I was blushing now as I handed him my phone and watched him put in his number.
"I like phone calls before bed" He said sitting his phone down and digging into his fries.
"Are you being serious?"
"I never say anything I don't mean" He said slightly smirking. I looked down at my burger trying to contain myself.
That night I ended up calling Mark and he was waiting. We talked for hours about meaningless things and I was surprised that he was comfortable enough to speak to me. I asked him about it that night and he said that he might as well tried his best to get to know me since we would have to do things together anyway. After a few months.. I decided to finally tell him who my bias was in Got7 which resulted in a confession which resulted in a kiss. I posted on my twitter that Mark and I were done dating and were an official couple. After 2 years, we confessed that dispatch report was false but decided to role with it and ended up liking each other. We got #ThankYouDispatch trending. Now after 5 years of dating I had a ring on my finger and our careers were at its peaks. I cant wait to see what the future has in store for us.
“Hey, I'm new to your page but I REALLY love your imagines and I was wondering if you could write one that is the same as Yugyeom's 'Celebrity Crush' except with Mark? I would love it if you could. THANK YOU!!"
Name: “Ideal Type”
Character: Mark Tuan (GOT7)
Genre: Fluff
Word Count: 1,190
(gif credits to the original owner)
“Who's your ideal type?” the interviewer asked. Mark paused for a moment. However, it only took little searching in his mind to find the answer. “(Y/N)” he answered clearly. The audience and interviewer reacted accordingly. Mark suddenly became embarrassed. He giggled a little, flashing his big smile to the audience. A picture of you at a red carpet flashed on the screen, cartoon love hearts floating around alongside it. He wanted the whole world to swallow him whole, but he wasn't wrong. If he had to pick a celebrity crush it would be you. You were an actor: an actor who had made their fame through Western films that had began to spark Korean media outlets interest. You had done premiers, interviews and endorsed makeup brands over there. You were nothing short of a big name, despite not aligning with usual Korean standards of beauty. “Ahh yes (Y/N),” the interviewer responded. “She's very pretty, I love her movies too!” All Mark could do was nod shyly in agreement.
Whilst promoting your new movie, you were doing your usual rounds in South Korea. Your schedule was lined with interviews, mini segments on variety shows and you were excited. You loved being in Seoul. However, this time, you had a different type of show lined up. You were going to do a show with an English speaking idol. You had never really got into kpop, enjoying it from afar as to not let the medium consume you and distract you from your work. You had heard sprinklings. You also felt it to be in your best interests to research the idol you were starring with. The name “Mark Tuan” had passed into to you in contracts and in any mentioning of the program. So, whilst alone in a hotel room with nothing better to do, you pulled out your phone. It felt a little strange, but you never knew what kind of situation could occur. If they were to ask you what you thought of their music and you had no idea, what were you to say? The white background of Google lit up your features and you saw his name. You met eyes with a young looking, 20 something year old. He had a bright smile that allowed his almond eyes catch any twinkling light. He dressed well, as expected of all kpop stars. He seemed adorable, almost like a mouse. That's why you were all the more shocked to see he was a rapper. Listening to GOT7, you found the tone of his voice surprising. It could be both soothing, but gruff. You were taken aback. Nonetheless, you were all the more curious to meet him.
Mark, however, had his heart in his throat. He couldn't imagine ever being this nervous to meet someone, but there he was. He was even more quiet than usual, not to mention none of the other members were with him today. He remained focused on the quickly passing roads beside him – his headphones fixed in his ears as if they were glued there. He loved your movies, but he also wondered how in heavens could he speak to a girl he found so attractive it was unbelievable. That's where he felt himself, underneath it all, wanting for you not be as beautiful as he had seen. That way, perhaps, he wouldn't be so nervous even though he knew it was an awful thing to think. Deep down, he knew you'd be everything you appeared. When they pulled up at the building of the shooting, the crowds of flashing cameras and fans weren't his focus for once. He was just having his own internal conflict. Does she know who I am? Does she know I said SHE was my ideal type? He had to shake that off quickly, since the distance between him and the dressing room was quickly decreasing. The flurry of winding corridors flew past until he met the shared dressing room door.
The door creaked open. You were turned your head slowly, as to not disturb the attentive make up team. You smiled. “Mark, hi!” you beamed. He was shorter than you imagined; the massive hoodie he was wearing practically consumed him. Without makeup, his skin was still as fair as you saw in pictures. He blinked for a few moments, surprised you knew his name. You stood for a moment, waving your hand to pause the artists for a moment. “Sorry, I didn't mean to catch you off guard by calling you that!” you chuckled. “I'm (Y/N), it's nice to meet you!” you continued. He smiled – that particular smile shone through. “You too,” he managed to reply. His voice talking voice was just as deep as what you had heard in their songs. His heart was beating so fast he could barely register that his heart was beating at all. “I am a big fan of your work,” he stuttered out suddenly. You caught his gaze and smiled once more, bowing your head slightly out of politeness. “Thanks! I listened to your guys' stuff, it's pretty good!” you responded. He had to fight every nerve in his body that was making him blush. She knows our songs he was repeating over and over again in his head.
After that meeting, you both talked in the dressing room. You both discussed your individual careers, each having interesting stories of travelling all over the world. It was a little sad to actually have to shoot for this variety show. It was filled with jokes and references to one little comment Mark had said about you. You raised your brow at him. “Oh, you didn't know the host?” announced. You watched as Mark tried to hide his face. “What?” you asked curiously. You could only imagine the weird romantic songs they would play over the top as he turned to answer you. “Ah, it's nothing,” he mumbled awkwardly. The host shook his head, almost out of disappointment.
“He said you were his ideal type,” the host uttered bluntly. You chuckled. It was such an endearing comment. You were also laughing at Mark cringing in on himself. “It's fine Mark,” you giggled. Shooting finally ended, and you caught up with Mark after. “Hey honestly, what you said didn't bother me!” you admitted. He stopped walking. He could feel his own cheeks heating up. For this whole day, he couldn't stop staring at you. You were just as charming and funny as he had heard, not to mention how good looking you were. “That's good then, I don't want to seem like a creep,” he joked. “I actually thought it was quite cute,” you trailed off. His bright eyes widened. Nervously, he began to fiddle with his hands. “Thanks,” he mumbled.
You both looked like two high school students, clumsily confessing in the hallway. Mark thought for a moment, trying to find the right wording. “Hey, um. Is your schedule quite packed?” he asked.
“Well, I can always find the time to hang out with you,” you quickly responded. You shot him a wink and gave him his number. “Deal?” you asked.
“Deal.”
omg i am sorry if this is SO exceedingly average but content <3 sorry my life is a lil’ hectic atm bc the end of term is coming up and i have a performance next week as well as rehearsals for the upcoming musical. i am also doing stuff guys, y’all know this <3
