[ SEE NOTES AT THE END OF THE STORY ]

I DIDN'T TAKE THE PIC, SO CREDITS TO ITS RIGHTFUL OWNER (ON THE WATERMARK)

why he let himself get tricked into this, he had no freaking idea. he had been waiting for like 2 hours, and his date had clearly stood him up. mark was more upset than furious, after all, it felt as if he had failed. he was so... pathetic. he threw his arms in the table and dug his face in between his arms, feeling every bit the unsuccessful fool he was. he wouldn't let jinyoung and youngjae trick him into something like this ever again. in that moment he felt someone coming to his table and he, albeit reluctantly, lifted his face up. when he did so, he saw the most beautiful human being that he had ever seen, standing in front of him, his hair wet and clothes slightly crumpled, but perfect nonetheless.

"hello! i'm sorry you had to wait for so long, but I really really have a good reason for being this late. I'm not usually late, like, never, but this time I have a good reason and..." the boy in front of him was starting to rant, and if there was something that really got to mark's nerves were, exactly, nervous rants.

"don’t worry, it’s okay" mark said, calmly, trying to stop the word vomit of the other boy.

the boy in front of him sat down and smiled at him brightly, and mark felt himself go blind.

"i'm jackson, by the way."

"the name's mark" he answered, replying with another smile as well, and for the first time in the night, he felt like everything was going to end well.

“and then he fell off the chair terrified” jackson finished his story, while mark was occupied trying not fall off his chair himself, the way jackson did his story telling completely amusing him.

it was the first time mark was feeling so at ease in a first date, and he didn’t want it to end. he wanted to stay in that coffee shop, with the strange guy his friends set him up forever. jackson was a funny, caring, sweet and down to earth individual, who cared about his family and friends more than he cared about himself. mark was falling hard, to say the least, and he had just met the other boy, so he didn’t want to imagine what it would be like when he got to meet the other for real, got to know his habits and perks, and his day-to-day quirks. not to mention that he was a piece of art, his jaw line so sharp you could probably sharpen a knife with it, and his smile, goddamn, his smile was pure sunlight oozing from his mouth, really, and it made him feel so young and free, with those plump lips of his and those dark brown eyes that you could feel boring into your soul and…

“mark?” jackson was waving his hand in front of him and the older shook himself from his daydreaming.

“wha…? oh, sorry, i…” mark blushed profusely, trying to think of an excuse on why he was being a little creep and was watching the other with so much attention, but jackson got ahead of him.

“sorry, am i… am i boring you?” jackson said, apologetically. “i’m sorry, i just… i just talk too much and never let anyone say anything, and… and i’m starting to rant, because that’s what i do when i’m nervous and i don’t know what to…”

“jackson” mark smiled at him genuinely and, in an act of boldness, took the other’s hand in one of his. “it’s okay, you are not boring me, i was just…” mark didn’t know if he should be saying what he was going to say, but oh, well, to hell with it. “i was just wondering what it’d be like to have a second date with you”

the way jackson beamed at him after that made mark smile, and he didn’t regret telling him.

mark was smiling from ear to ear when he entered his dancing practice with his friends at ten in the morning and immediately, jinyoung came over to him.

“mark! i’m sorry, i’m really sorry”

mark frowned a