Jinyoung was about a year into his studies in America, completely fluent in English with a slight accent, when he walked into a Starbucks and he thinks he got hit on.

He received his cup when his name was called, noticing that there were words crossed out in the small text on the cup, crossed out by none only than the, mindless to say, extremely attractive barista.

Careful, you’re extremely hot. Jinyoung chucked, taking a sip from his coffee and sparing the barista a glance before exiting.

The next day Jinyoung came back, the barista was there again, and he wondered why he was the only one ever working in this Starbucks around that time, with a bright smile on his face. “And a name for that?”

Jinyoung knew very well that he remembered him, “surprise me.”

“Did you like my message yesterday?” Jinyoung nodded before paying for his drink and taking a seat at one of the tables. “For Jinyoung.”

And wow, Jinyoung could listen to his name roll off the American’s tongue for the rest of his life. He found the coffee cup in his hand, with the name Mark and a phone number scribbled onto its side. With his computer case tucked under his left arm, he left, making sure to not throw out the container once he had finished.

The shop was oddly empty the next morning, but Mark was still there, bright and hot as ever, when Jinyoung approached, already knowing that Jinyoung preferred a hot Americano with two shots of espresso. “Name?”

“You know the drill.” Mark laughed and smiled before beginning to brew Jinyoung’s coffee, Jinyoung pulling a paper from his bag and scribbling something down before leaving it in Mark’s tip jar. “For you.”

Jinyoung was in the midst of listening to a lecture when he received a text message from the phone number he had saved as Mark.

Is this the cutie that drops by every morning?

Is this the hot barista?

You’ve got the right person. Say, wanna grab lunch sometime?

How does tomorrow sound? I have only morning classes then.

It’s a date.

Jinyoung dropped by to pick up his coffee the next morning before his classes, greeted by Mark’s kind smile and he looked oddly even hotter today, unbeknownst to him that Mark was thinking the same thing. “Nervous for your date?” Mark inquired, not quite letting go of his coffee when Jinyoung set his hands on it.

“Not sure, are you? The guy I’m going on a date with is really hot you know, I should probably be nervous.”

“I don’t know about that, I’m probably even more nervous because this guy is gorgeous.”  

Around noon, Mark found himself in the seats of the Starbucks rather than behind the counter, as he and Jinyoung decided that they would meet there and find someplace else to eat from there.

“Are you not a student or something? It seems like you’re always working,” Jinyoung said in between bites of his meal.

“I am, I just prefer night classes. I’m kind of a night owl, unlike you.”

“So you get up early just to work?”

‘And you get up early to go to school?”

“Touché. But how come I’ve never seen you at the counter until a few days ago? I’ve been coming here everyday since I settled here.”

Mark found it really cute that Jinyoung’s voice was muffled due to the fact that he was trying to eat while keeping the conversation going, hand covered over his mouth as he chewed and talked simultaneously. “Someone quit so I had to take up the shift instead of working from noon up until three. Where are you from anyway? Your accent is cute.”

Jinyoung flushed a soft shade of red, swallowing his food after having (almost) choked. Mark wondered where all that food went. “Korea. I moved here to study about a year ago.”

“Your English is really good. I’m impressed, I can’t learn languages that fast. It took my parents ages to teach me how to speak Mandarin properly.”

“Some people are better at things than others. Kind of like how you’re better at scoring a date than I am.”

“I wouldn’t say that…” Mark rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly with a smile.

“Well you’ve got me, don’t you?”

One date turned into two, two into three, and eventually those turned into several, and eventually, they went out for lunch at a new place everyday along with the new things they learned about each other.

There was a particular conversation they had that Mark learned Jinyoung was a creative writing major. Not only had he told him, but he showed him – unintentionally, but Mark thought that he might’ve fallen a little deeper in that moment.

“Jinyoung?” Mark had called, after the Korean set aside his clean plate.

“Yeah?”

“Have you ever been in love?”

“Once. I have once. Why?”

“What’s it like? To be in love? To be painfully honest, I haven't.”

“Love? Love is whatever you make it out to be. It’s a lot of things. Love can be anything from wanting to spend every second of your life with that person to wanting to protect them from any danger in the world. But to me? Love felt like nothing in this world could bring me down. It felt like fireworks behind in the darkness of when I closed my eyes or it felt like there was nothing in this world that could make me happier. That’s what love was. Love might’ve changed now, but I’m not sure.”

“How much longer do you have in the states?” Mark propped his chin on the palm of his hand while they waited for their food, admiring the features on Jinyoung’s face with a dreamy smile.

Jinyoung shrugged. “Until I finish my studies, I suppose. But I like it here. It’s more alive than the small district I lived in back in Busan.”

“Why don’t you just stay, then?”

“I’m not a citizen and I know very well that it takes ages for someone to get a green card around here. I’d probably apply for one if it weren't so hard to get. Otherwise I’m only here as a foreign exchange student.”

“I’ll marry you, then. That way you can get your citizenship right away and you don’t have to leave me.”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened as he began to choke on the water he was in the midst of swallowing, causing Mark to double over in laughter whilst moving to the other side of the table to pat his back while he coughed lightly.

“M-marry me?”

“Well, yeah. We are dating, aren’t we? Why not get married?” Mark’s eyebrows knitted together while he sat back in his seat, pondering to himself if Jinyoung thought all of this was just friendly, when clearly they were flirting on both ends.

“Are we dating?”

“If you’re okay with that…” Mark bit his lip and stared at Jinyoung’s flushed face.

“Yeah… I’d really, really like that.”

Meeting up at Starbucks or meeting up at restaurants turned into movie nights at Mark’s place once he had finished his classes, with Jinyoung cuddled up to the American’s side picking popcorn from the bowl in his hand. Mark’s hand rested lightly on his waist, and although the boy was practically skin and bones, Jinyoung came to the conclusion that he worked very well as a pillow.

On a particular Saturday night, their movie night started a bit earlier, because Mark was off work and Jinyoung had no classes, and for the fun of it, the Taiwanese American boy chose to watch a rom-com. That is what resulted in their first kiss (more like make out session, as they refuse to put it no matter how true it is). A kissing scene came on and the two immediately tensed, crinkling their noses and making eye contact as if to distract themselves from the gross kissing noises coming from Mark’s TV. Next thing they knew, movie nights were only background noise to the soft sounds of lips against lips and the battle of tongues. All in all, movie nights were renamed, “make out nights”.

Jinyoung met Mark’s family for the first time about three months into their relationship. His parents were welcoming and loving, as well as his siblings, they took him in as their own and even asked him to teach them Korean. So make out nights turned into sleepovers, and Sunday afternoons were usually “Give Korean Lessons To The Tuans” days. Mark loved watching how big his parents’ smiles got whenever he brought Jinyoung on Sunday afternoons, he’d brought several people he was in relationships with home and yet he’d never seen them smile like that until Jinyoung. And maybe that might’ve been a signal to Mark that they’d last a long time.

“Stop hogging him, can you? He’s my boyfriend, and I’m your son. It's your job to love me and my job to love him.” Mark’s nose crinkled and his parents burst into a fit of laughter, not to mention Jinyoung was giggling along with them.

“Oh, honey. Were you jealous? I’m sorry. We were having such a good time with him and we like him so much, we figured you’d like that.”

His face softened as his mother spoke, sitting down in the chair next to where Jinyoung sat. “Of course I like it. It makes me so happy that you like him and you get along. I just…”

“You just what, honey?”

“Ijustmisshim.” Mark mumbled under his breath, it was incoherent to the Tuan’s ears, but Jinyoung caught it easily, the wrinkles under his eyes showing while his lips curved upwards. He didn’t resist the temptation to kiss the barista on the cheek, his eyes glowed with the utmost love and admiration.

“You’re so cute, you know that?”

Mark groaned and hit his arm lightly, leaving the kitchen and face planting into his bed of his bedroom in his parents’ house.

The door creaked open, and Mark heard Jinyoung stifle a laugh before speaking. “Have you just been laying here moping because your parents might love me more than they love you?”

Mark sat up and crossed his legs, staring at Jinyoung blankly. “No one can love you more than I love you.”

Jinyoung raised an eyebrow, and Mark wondered when he got so cocky. “What was that? Did you say the L word?”

“Yeah, I did, I suppose.”

“Say it again.”

“Say what?”

“You know what.” Jinyoung sat next to him on the twin bed, lacing their fingers together and tracing patterns on his skin.

“I love you.”

“Again.” Jinyoung's head was low, probably to hide the blush that spread across his cheeks.

“I love you, I love you, I love you.” Mark pressed a kiss to the crown of Jinyoung’s head. “Is that it?”

“One more time. Just to make sure.”

“I love you, Park Jinyoung. I love you more than there are stars in the sky or than there are waves in the ocean. I love you. Just to make sure.”

“I love you too.”

Mark couldn’t hold back his smile.

Jinyoung found it very endearing the way Mark’s nose was buried in an English/Korean dictionary, as well as an elementary school workbook on their plane to Korea. It was about eight months into their relationship when Jinyoung decided he should take Mark home for once, and it just so happened that the spring break for both of their universities landed in the same two weeks, perfect for travel.

“I really wanna get this right. I want to impress your parents. What if they don't like me because I can’t speak Korean-”

“Calm down. They’ll love you. And long as they know that you’re at least trying to communicate with them they won’t hate you. And you’re trying very hard with your cute elementary school workbooks and dictionaries. You’re the cutest.”

“Are you sure?”

“Of course? Plus, I’ve already told them a lot about you and they’ve seemed really excited. They didn’t really seem to mind that I am who I am, either.”

A wide smile spread across Mark’s face, intertwining fingers with his boyfriend after putting away his books when the flight attendants asked them to sleep. “I'm excited for you to meet them.”

They both fell asleep in content, rousing when the lights in the plane to signal that it was morning in Korea, and that they’d be landing soon.

Mark followed Jinyoung like a puppy the entire time, learning that the 14 hour flight wasn’t the end of their travels, as Jinyoung didn’t live in Seoul but in the Busan area, and they had to take the train to get there. That was another four hours of travel time, but it was a good thing that they landed in the morning, giving them time to spend with Jinyoung’s family and friends.

When they arrived at Jinyoung’s house Mark immediately froze in his position, suddenly extremely nervous despite the soothing circles that the Korean was rubbing into his palm. “You’ll be fine. Don't be so nervous.”

Mark swallowed and continued on, hand gripping tightly to Jinyoung’s while the other was secure on the handle of his luggage.

Jinyoung slid the door open and prompted to take his shoes off, something Mark himself was familiar with, having come from an Asian household, before announcing their arrival.

“We’ve arrived!” Jinyoung called out in perfect Korean, Busan dialect, and Mark nearly forgot until then how much Jinyoung speaking in his native tongue made him weak.

There was a loud squeak, whom Mark could only assume was Jinyoung’s mother, which was confirmed when she ran out with the same smile as her son and plastic gloves covered in kimchi on her hands. Her eyes widened as she rushed to the kitchen to remove the gloves and hold her son in a tight embrace, rocking their bodies back and forth.

Mark stared at them until they broke the hug, admiring how Jinyoung held his mother’s hands in his own, saying something in Korean that was probably an introduction, because he heard his name somewhere in there.

Mark introduced himself in broken Korean with an awkward bow, Jinyoung’s mother saying something he wish he understood before pulling him into a warm and welcoming hug.

“She says you’re very cute and handsome. And that I chose right.”

Mark felt his face heat up and really wished he could better communicate with Jinyoung’s family the way Jinyoung could communicate with his. A man appeared in the doorway, and upon seeing his son, Mark noticed that Jinyoung got the wrinkles underneath his eyes from his father. The same introduction happened and his father wasn’t as touchy as his mother, but he was given a warm handshake and an accented “welcome” in English.

Jinyoung’s parents were extremely kind, and it began to make sense as to why Jinyoung was who he was. They all had big, bright smiles and laughter better than the song of birds. They were all so warmhearted and kind to even accept a foreigner who knew nothing of their culture into their home as if he were part of the family. Jinyoung translated patiently, and Mark wanted to thank him over and over for dealing with him and his lack of ability to speak his native language, having to be the one to break the language barrier between him and his family, but Jinyoung only brushed it off with a smile.

When they found themselves alone, Mark would place innocent pecks all over Jinyoung’s face, whispering ‘thank you’ between each one. “You have no idea how grateful I am for you. Loving an ignorant prick like me and being so patient in trying to translate for both me and your parents. You’re godsent, I swear.”

“Stop with the flattery.” Jinyoung laughed as he organized his and Mark’s clothing in one of the drawers in his bedroom. “I’m doing it because I want you to get along and I want them to like you before we get married.”

“Married?”

“Well I need that citizenship, don’t I?”

Mark played along with the joke, poking at Jinyoung’s side before pulling him onto the bed and cuddling him. “Oh, so I’m only with you for the citizenship?”

“Definitely. Not like I’m head over heels for you or anything. Definitely not that.”

“I love you,” Mark mumbled sleepily, but Jinyoung clicked his tongue, motherly instincts taking over.

“Not happening, Mark Yien Tuan. You are not sleeping before you brush your teeth and change your clothes.”

Mark groaned and rolled out of bed, crawling to his suitcase to find his toothbrush and change of clothes. “Yes, mother.”

Mark awoke the next morning to the hustling of Jinyoung, whose hair was freshly washed and a towel slung over his shoulder. “Rise and shine.”

“What time is it?” Mark asked groggily, somehow still set in California’s time zone despite following Korea’s.

“It's about nine. My friend from Mokpo was on his way to Seoul, so he decided since I came home he’d stay in Busan for the day and hang out with us. We’re meeting him at eleven, so get ready.”

Jinyoung drove the two of them (Jinyoung never drove, probably because he didn't have a US license, but wow, could Mark get used to this).

“You’re really hot,” Mark said in a half awake state, having just woken up from a catnap due to the jetlag.

“Nice to know you still think I’m hot after all this time.” Jinyoung chuckled, hand mindlessly searching for Mark’s.

“Damn right you are, you’re even hotter at the wheel. You need to do this more often.” Mark got the hint and joined their hands, kissing the back of Jinyoung’s hand before speaking again. “Are we almost there?”

“Yeah, we’re like two minutes away.”

Jinyoung dragged Mark behind him, spotting his friend and his friend’s boyfriend, greeting them with big smiles and hugs while Mark stood there awkwardly, hands interlocked and crossed in front of his body.

Mark recognized what Jinyoung was saying as an introduction of him, which was followed by cheeky eye smiles of the two fellows whose names were Youngjae and Jaebum.

“Markeu… Markeu, hyung?” Boy who was named Youngjae pondered, looking at Jinyoung for confirmation, who only nodded.

“Nice to meet you, Markeu hyung. I’m Youngjae. This is… Jaebum.” Youngjae said in broken English, and Mark wholeheartedly enjoyed the effort that the boy made to speak to him in his native language. Mark returned the effort, doing his best to say the introductions Jinyoung so patiently taught him in the car on the way there. Jinyoung played the role of translator again, but Mark could tell he didn’t mind by the way he spared loving glances at him and the way he smiled at his friends.

“Are you… hyung?”

Mark furrowed his eyebrows and looked to Jinyoung for answers as to whatever hyung meant. “It means older brother, but he’s asking if you’re older basically.”

“Older than him?”

Jinyoung shook his head, “older than me. He knows you’re older than him. Everybody is.”

“Oh. Yes, I am… hyung.” Mark replied slowly with a smile.

“Jinyoung hyung.. does not… call hyung?”

Before Mark could reply, Jinyoung further explained to Youngjae what was going on, leaving Mark in the dust and lost in the Korean language.

“I told him that I don't call you hyung because formalities aren't used in America. You don't even use Chinese formalities with your sisters, so I figured it would be unimportant for me to do it for you.”

“But what if I want you to?”

“Then I will, if it pleases you.” Mark smiled and bopped his boyfriend’s nose, turning back to Youngjae and Jaebum.

Mark never thought he could have such wild and entertaining conversations with a language barrier, but Youngjae and Jaebum were such a joy to have around, and they would definitely be invited to their wedding.

Mark and Jinyoung returned back to the states several days before their spring break ended, each going their separate ways to catch up on their studies without getting distracted by each other, but not without calling each other for an hour everyday.

Jinyoung took a break and decided that he missed his Taiwanese-American boyfriend too much and that he should visit him at work as a surprise. Jinyoung walked in and Mark wasn’t at the counter, nor was he brewing up drinks, so Jinyoung sat down at a table, deciding not to order until the brunette showed up. Resting his chin in the palm of his hand, he dozed off for what felt like two hours, but most likely was five minutes. He decided to give up when Mark was a no-show, he guessed it was an off day that he didn’t know about.

But in the midst of his walk back home, he ran into Mark who had a big smile on his face. “Jinyoung? What are you doing out?”

“I came to see you at work but you were a no-show.”

“Oh. I quit.”

A puzzled look spread across Jinyoung’s face and Mark only laughed, grabbing his hand and walking in the opposite direction of Jinyoung’s dorms. “I’ll tell you why when we get to my place. It’s good news.”

“So are you gonna tell me?” Jinyoung threw himself on Mark’s bed while Mark got changed into more comfy clothes and threw Jinyoung the spare pajamas he usually kept at Mark’s house for when he spent the night.

“Get comfy first, you’re staying the night.”

“I’d love to but I have to-”

“Studying can take a break. Pretty please? I miss you. Your textbook has gotten to kiss you more than I have.”

Jinyoung nodded, “Mr. Textbook and I have been having some pretty wild nights, if I do say so myself.”

“Your damn textbook getting some before I can even get some-”

“Is this what this is about? You getting in my pants?” Jinyoung asked teasingly, grabbing the change of clothes and walking toward the bathroom. “Are you ever gonna tell me the news?”

“After.”

Jinyoung groaned and returned from the bathroom a few minutes later, dragging himself to attach himself to Mark’s side while the elder mindlessly flipped through TV channels.

“You gonna tell me yet?”

“Yeah… I quit because I got a job to be a dance instructor at the studio across the street from your university…”

Jinyoung's eyes immediately lit up and a smile grew on his lips. “That’s amazing! You’re amazing. I’m so proud of you.” Jinyoung mindlessly straddled Mark’s lap and cupped the American boy’s face, peppering motherly kisses all over and between each crevice. Mark’s hands held Jinyoung’s waist closely, pulling him even closer when Jinyoung’s lips found his own in a slow, languid, yet passionate kiss.

“Does you having a dancer boyfriend give me brownie points to getting closer to getting in those pants of yours?”

“Maybe, but not enough.” Mark rolled his eyes and placed a light pat on Jinyoung’s to signal him to get off, the Korean reluctantly falling at his side, not forgetting to join their hands. “I can't believe how fortunate I am to have someone as amazing as you.”

“I should be the one saying that. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever laid my eyes on inside and out and I honestly don't know what I’d do without you. You inspire me.”

“Cheesy…” Jinyoung muttered in Korean, confusing Mark immediately, “I’m so proud of you. You, chasing your dreams and I’m really in disbelief. You’re amazing. I love you.”

“Yeah?”

“I don't think I’ve ever loved someone as much as I’ve loved you. I’ve been in so many relationships before you but I’ve never felt those fireworks in my heart and I was never able to appreciate a the little things that made them mine. But with you, God, with you, I love every mole and every canine, the love the way you hiccup when you laugh or the way you try to hold back a smile.”

“When did you become so good at English?”

“I’m not a creative writing major for nothing, am I?”

“Touché.”

“Do you love me?”

“If love is fireworks in my mind when I close my eyes or feeling like nothing in the world can bring me down, then yeah. I’m madly, deeply, in love with you.” Mark said before his eyelids began to droop, the television running in the background while Jinyoung wrote words on his skin.

“What does that mean? It was in Korean, I couldn’t tell.”

“Remember this forever, okay? You can’t forget how to say this or what it means. It’s everything.”

Mark hummed in response, concentrating as Jinyoung drew the characters again, mimicking the and movements in the air as he went.

“사랑해요. I love you.”

Mark furrowed his eyebrows in attempt to repeat the saying, leaving Jinyoung with a smile on his face, watching Mark with love in his eyes.

Summer break rolled around, and Jinyoung went back to Korea for the few months they had off, leaving Mark sad, alone, and cuddle deprived, and often worried because Jinyoung’s Skype calls didn’t come every night. Mark spent his summer either drinking with his buddies, working, or curled up in Jinyoung’s bed because he’s needy and clingy (as worded by Jinyoung himself).

The day Jinyoung came back home, Mark was two hours early (and maybe a little too excited) and sitting in the international arrivals while waiting for his boyfriend’s flight status to change to arrived. When it finally did, his heart pounded rapidly (despite knowing it would be probably another hour due to immigration being excruciatingly long), but the younger appeared with Choi Youngjae attached to his side and Jaebum trailing behind while trying to hide the excitement in his face. And Mark wasn’t gonna lie, as happy as he was to see his boyfriend’s friends, he was hoping for some alone time with the Korean boy after he came back because there was nothing that made more sense for Mark to finally get into the younger’s pants than the good ‘ol I missed you so goddamn much , but not that Jinyoung needed to know that. He just needed to feel it in his heart.

Mark swore their reunion was one of those slow motion moments that happened in the movies – and indeed, to put it in corny words, it was as if he found his missing puzzle piece again. Their kiss was only a sweet peck, as the PDA had to be saved for home where there were no judgemental eyes. Youngjae yelled something in English in a cheerful manner, and Mark decided he wouldn't mind having him around for a while.

The reunion hadn't gone as smoothly as the both of them had hoped – though Jinyoung had looked very happy in front of his friends, after letting them settle in, Mark was hit by a storm.

Mark wasn’t completely sure about what they were arguing about, all he could make sense of was that Jinyoung was angry at him for sounding annoyed while he spoke to his friends in the car.

“I promise you, that wasn't on purpose, baby.” Mark tried not to tell – every time he yelled in an argument the younger would immediately flinch and start sobbing and apologizing and saying that Mark hated him. Mark just wanted a civil discussion to settle their problems but Jinyoung was breathing fire and he was positive Jaebum and Youngjae were standing outside the door, petrified.

Mark was right. Jaebum and Youngjae were sitting on the couch, hearing the argument that took place behind closed doors, looking at each other nervously.

“Don't baby me. I brought my friends here because I wanted them to have a good time with the both of us and yet you sounded so annoyed and so unwelcoming.” Jinyoung’s accent grew thicker the angrier he got, the younger slowly starting to resort to what Mark could only guess was cursing him in Korean.

“Okay, Jin, I’m sorry. Just calm down, please. Can we talk about this like adults? I’m sure Youngjae and Jaebum can hear everything that’s happening and they’re mortified because all they hear is us yelling in a language they can barely understand.”

Jinyoung took a moment to process what Mark had said before sitting on the bed. “You’re right.”

Mark sat next to him, intertwining their fingers despite the Korean boy’s reluctance. “Listen to me, baby please.” Jinyoung nodded. “I do admit I was a little upset. It’s been three months since I last saw you and all I wanted to do was kiss you and make love to you with no end. When I realized you brought Jaebum and Youngjae with you I realized none of that could be possible. It’s not that I don't want them here. I love them dearly and I know how much they mean to you. Of course I want them here if it means you’re happy.”

“Yeah?”

“Always.” Jinyoung sighed and did what they always do to reconcile when they fight – the five points of success. Jinyoung cupped the Taiwanese boy’s face in his hands and kisses his forehead, his left cheek, right cheek, chin, and eventually his lips. Mark melted into the kiss with a smile, placing his hands on his waist and pulling him closer. Jinyoung pulled away, burying his face in the crook of Mark’s neck, mumbling something incoherent.

“What was that, baby? I can't understand you. Speak clearer.”

“I love you.”

Mark buried his fingers in the writer’s hair. “I love you the most.”

It turns out Youngjae and Jaebum came for more than just the reason that they wanted to come to America. To help out with Jinyoung’s little scheme, and Mark would’ve never expected it. A few mornings after the fight, Mark awoke to an empty bed, which he had just assumed was Jinyoung dealing with all his classes before the new school year started, but oh, boy he thought wrong. He didn’t start school until much later, so with much difficulty he asked Jaebum and Youngjae where they wanted to go. Coffee.

So it was about nine in the morning and he was driving to the old Starbucks he used to work at with the two Korean men in the back seat whispering things in Korean that he kind of wished he could understand.

He dropped them off at the front door and opted to find a better parking spot, as rush hour was just settling in and they were in LA, for goodness sakes. Once he found one, he grabbed his wallet and keys and headed to the front door mindlessly, walking up to the other side of the register (wow, what a foreign feeling), ordering an Americano without glancing up. When he did, he found Jinyoung standing there with his cute smile and a green apron wrapped around his body.

“What are you doing?” He flashed his canines.

The Korean boy furrowed his eyebrows. “I work here now, you know.”

Mark raised an eyebrow, but disregarded it anyway because he decided that Jinyoung should wear white dress shirts with the sleeves rolled up and aprons more often.

After waiting a while, Jinyoung called his name, placing the coffee cup on the counter for him to grab. “I wrote something special for you, look closely.”

Mark nodded and sat at a table with Jinyoung’s friends before observing the cup, finding Jinyoung’s handwriting underneath the protective sleeve. Will you marry me?

He looked up and furrowed his brows, Jaebum and Youngjae were looking at him with the brightest smiles and when he stood up to find Jinyoung, he was already there. “I know it’s only been about a year since we met and since we started dating and I know you don’t want a ring, but this is just from me to you.”

Mark couldn't hold back the smile on his face as he threw his arms around the Korean boy’s neck, pulling him tight to his body. “This is so dumb I was supposed to be the one to ask you so you could get the citizenship-”

“But what’s your answer?”

“Yes, yes. A million times yes.” Mark pulled him in for a short kiss, cheers resonating in the background. He’d kind of forgotten how accepting people in the US were for these kinds of things.

“I was gonna ask you but I can't believe you beat me to it-”

“It’s okay. I love you either way and I get the citizenship either way. No more mooching off a visa whose renewal I kept cheating.”

“Do you want to explain that?”

“Nope.”

The day came and Jinyoung was oddly nervous. He was clad in a simple black suit, as they were only going to the city hall and having their wedding there - no ceremony or anything. There was a lot of questioning, too. Was he really making the right decision? They had only been together for a little bit over a year and there were so many things that were wrong with getting engaged after only a year and who knows where an early marriage where one was still in school and the other just finished college - whether they were even financially stable enough to have a marriage was in the question.

Jinyoung felt hands on his shoulders as he straightened his tie, eyes flickering up to the mirror in front of him, the beautiful brunette standing behind him in all his glory. “You seem tense.” He chuckled.

“I am.”

“Why’s that?”

“I was just thinking of all the things that could possibly go wrong. You know, we’re doing this so early into our relationship, you just finished grad school, I still have a year left. Are we even financially stable for any of this? I just-”

Mark shut him up with a quick kiss, moving his hands down from his face, to his arms, to grab his hands and intertwine their fingers. “Stop worrying baby. If neither of us wanted this we wouldn't do this. I want this, I want you.” He kissed his face. “To be all mine…” He whispered. “All mine even when I can’t remember your face anymore. Even when you don't remember my name.”

Jinyoung smiled, pulling the other flush to his body for a hug, and buried his nose in his neck. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Jinyoung was in love - and love was bigger and better than it ever had been and it was all the stars in the universe and more. Mark was Love. Mark was the comfortable silence and the joined hands while the T.V played whatever show they couldn't care less about. Mark was home, he was English to Korean dictionaries and he was kindergarten Korean practice books he was broken Korean and he was the smile on his parents faces when he visited them for the fourth time and he managed to hold an entire conversation with them in solely Korean. Mark was joy. He was the random tickle fights in the wee hours of the night and he was the cheesy jokes and lame puns that no one ever found funny but Jinyoung. Mark was everything that Love was, and Jinyoung wouldn't give up this love for the world.

And Mark was just the same. Madly in love with the person in his eyes that deserved the world, the person who, if it were human would be oxygen because he is life and he is beautiful and he is the reason we are all alive. Jinyoung was Starbucks coffee cups with cute little notes on them and he was Skype calls and movie nights, Jinyoung was everything and anything Mark believed he was.  Jinyoung was everything that Love was, but don't tell Jinyoung that he copied those words from the other.

“Hey, Jin?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

“I know.”

“Do you love me?”

“More than words can ever describe.”