FACE (Mark)

You, for these past few days,

No for a long time now

I wondered how you were, whether you were doing well

Yeojung wasn’t sure who had started the stupid conversation in the first place.

It could have been any of them really, but Yeojung was personally inclined to blame Bambam. If the three empty bottles in front of him were any indication, the boy was considerably drunk. The group hadn’t decided who was going to pay for all this alcohol quite yet, but it would most probably be Yugyeom or Mark. Yugyeom because he was extremely sweet and always offered to pay when nobody else did; Mark because he was the oldest of them all and the only one who had a full-time job.

Or Jinyoung would cut in rationally and suggest they divide the bill by the number of people present. Either way, there wasn’t going to be much money coming out of Bambam’s wallet so he was drinking as much as he could inhale.

“So, how does it work?” Ah-reum wondered loudly, tilting her head. The younger girl was sitting next to Bambam and she was addressing him; the second reason why Yeojung was certain that Bambam had started this inappropriate subject of conversation. “Are guys’ es proportional to their body sizes? How can you look at a fully clothed guy and tell whether he has a big ?”

Bambam laughed and threw his head back in amusement. “I don’t know, you just can.”

Ah-Reum looked unconvinced. “Yeah, but how? Is it height? Or like body size in general?” she demanded. “Do tall guys like you and Yugyeom always have big ?”

Yugyeom, who had been nursing his beer silently, looked up with flushed pink cheeks. It wasn’t clear whether he was blushing at Ah-Reum’s question or if he was just pink from the alcohol he’d had to drink. He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Not necessarily. Tall guys can be small too…” he said in a quiet voice.

Jinyoung snickered. “Did she hit a sore spot, Yugyeom?” the older boy teased.

Yugyeom flushed further and glared. “What? No!”

Ah-Reum sighed. “I don’t want to know your specific sizes, I just want to know whether they correspond to the rest of your body. Like- Mark oppa is kind of short and has a small face. Does that means guys like him have small ?”

As much as Yeojung wanted to blame Bambam for starting the stupid conversation in the first place, and Ah-Reum for bringing Mark into it, Yeojung knew that she was solely responsible for the next words that came out of .

“Mark is not small.”

Her cheeks flushed red in horror as soon as the words came out of . Yeojung usually didn’t show her emotions easily, but she was too drunk to process what was happening. The entire table was staring at her and fell open as her face flushed pink. She looked around helplessly and made eye contact with Mark. The owner of the in question was sitting a few seats further down the table and watching her with an expressionless look on his face. It was always hard to tell what Mark was thinking, but his eyes seemed more blank than ever. 

Jaebum was the one who broke the awkward silence. “Oh yeah, didn’t you guys used to date?” he asked casually, picking up the bottle of vodka that was lying on the table and shaking it to reveal that it was empty. “Anyway, guys, we’re out of alcohol and I don’t think we can afford to buy more. This place is way too expensive. I say we pay the bill and get out of here.” 

Bambam gave Jaebum a sneaky glance. “Does that mean you’re offering to pay, hyung?”

Jinyoung reached around to whack Bambam on the back of the head, shaking his head in a disapproving manner. “Yah. Stop trying to mooch off other people. We’re going to split the bill by the number of people here. Let’s see. Three… four… five…”

Everyone had turned away from Yeojung and diverted their attention to the bill payment discussion, but she could still feel her own cheeks burning. Why had she said that? Why couldn’t she keep her stupid mouth shut? Was Mark annoyed that she had practically announced to the entire table that they had had at some point? Her mind was spinning as she wordlessly handed over the amount of money that Jinyoung finally calculated each of them owed.

Soon, they all began filing out in groups of two and three. Yeojung could feel Mark staring at her from across the table and she avoided his gaze as she clumsily stood up and tried to find her balance. Her legs turned to jelly when she was drunk and she carefully put her phone and her wallet inside her purse, trying not to forget anything. Yeojung jumped slightly when Miran elbowed her in the side.

“Yah. How drunk are you? Can you make it home alone?” she asked, trying to gauge if Yeojung was all right. Miran cleared . “I was kind of planning to leave with Jaebum.”

Yeojung smiled and lifted a hand confidently to reassure her. “I’m perfectly fine,” she said, a little too cheerily. “I’ll go take a cab, and I’ll be home before you know it! You go… you go have fun with Jaebum. You guys haven’t spent time together in so long.”

“Are you sure?”

“Absolutely!”

Miran nodded. “I’ll go, then. Message me once you reach home safely. If I don’t get a text from you within an hour, I’m going to assume you’ve been kidnapped. Be careful, okay?”

Yeojung nodded, waving happily at Miran as her friend rushed over to Jaebum and slipped her arm into his. The couple left the pub quickly. Yeojung found herself staring blankly after them at the entrance, head feeling slightly dizzy. Was she more drunk than she’d thought? Her arms and legs felt heavy and she didn’t particularly feel like moving them. It wasn’t until someone nudged her shoulder that she snapped out of her trance. “Huh?”

Mark was standing beside her, hands in his pockets as watched her calmly. His hair was flopping onto his forehead. It had been more neatly parted at the beginning of the night; Yeojung remembered seeing his forehead and thinking to herself that Mark looked much more handsome when his hair didn’t cover it. But at some point during the night Jackson had playfully strangled Mark and ruffled his hair thoroughly, so messy strands had fallen onto his forehead.

“Are you okay?” he asked quietly. “You’ve been staring at the door for more than a minute without moving. Everyone’s left.”

Yeojung flushed and pressed a hand against her hot cheek. “Oh? I guess I’m more buzzed than I realized. I lost count of how many beers Miran passed me…” she tore her eyes away from his perfectly angled face and tried to compose herself. She wasn’t usually this self-conscious but the thought of embarrassing herself in front of Mark was enough to sober her up a little bit. “I guess I should head home and make some coffee.”

“Let’s share a cab,” he suggested, starting to head towards the entrance. He turned back and glanced at her. “Your apartment is on the way to mine anyway, and Jaebum left without me.”

“Right,” Yeojung bit her lip. There was no logical reason to refuse and her muddled brain certainly couldn’t come up with one in this state. “Sure.”

She hurried after Mark as he walked out of the pub. He flagged down a cab and then opened the door for her, waiting for her to get in. Yeojung stumbled while stepping down from the sidewalk and she heard Mark make a soft ‘tch’-ing noise before grabbing her arm and helping her steady herself. Her cheeks turned pink at the feeling of his warm hand on her bare skin and she hurried to sit down.

“You shouldn’t drink so much,” Mark muttered quietly once he’d put on his own seatbelt and told the driver where to go. “You look so dazed and distracted that anyone would take advantage of you.”

Yeojung frowned and shook her head. She held up her purse and ped it carefully to show it to Mark. “They can’t. See? I have pepper spray and a knife in my handbag. First I’ll- I’ll burn his eyes and then- then stab him.” She made a stabbing motion and ended up banging her first against the back of the front passenger seat. “Ow…”

Mark smiled in amusement as she cradled her fingers in pain. “Oh. Seems like you can take care of yourself, then. As long as you don’t stab your attacker with the lipstick instead of the knife.”

Yeojung pouted and pulled out a tube of lipstick from her bag. “That would be a waste of lipstick. See this one? It’s from this really expensive range that came out last month, it’s called Peach Blush and you don’t even get it in our country, my aunt bought it for me from France. Isn’t it pretty?”

Mark raised an eyebrow. Yeojung was definitely tipsy if she was rambling on about lipstick colors with him. He found himself glancing at her lips. They looked soft but were a dull, natural shade of pink; it didn’t look like she was wearing any of it. “It seems to have come off already,” he pointed out, gesturing towards her lips.

Yeojung gasped. “What? Don’t be silly, I’m not wearing it! This lipstick is way too expensive and precious to waste. I’m saving it for a special occasion,” she explained, tucking it into her purse urgently as though she was afraid Mark would steal it from her. 

He blinked at her and bit back a smile. Yeojung had always been like that. She seemed like a calm and collected person on the outside. The sort of woman that had her life together, who was mature and responsible. But Mark had known her long enough to know that there was another side of her; a rather silly, childlike, dreamy side that rarely came out. Like when she got all excited and emotional about things like lipstick.

“You think you’ll have a killer hangover tomorrow?” he wondered lightly.

She wasn’t listening. “I’m hungry,” she decided.

“We literally just ate at the pub.”

“I want ramen. Can we stop here for ramen?” Yeojung leaned forward and tapped the driver on the shoulder lightly. “Ahjussi. Can you let me off over there? I want to eat ramen from that shop. Yes, that one.”

Mark blinked. “We’re barely halfway to your apartment-“

“But I want ramen,” she said stubbornly.

“Go to your house and make ramen, you can’t be wandering around here at night when you’re not even completely sober,” he explained, as the driver pulled up near the convenience store that Yeojung had pointed out. Mark frowned at her. “You’re not seriously getting down? You can make ramen at home-“

Yeojung shook her head at him firmly, looking almost offended. “I’m a responsible girl. I don’t use the stove when I’m drunk. Last time I burned myself by grabbing the pot handle and it left a scar.” She turned up her wrist and eagerly showed him a tiny scar on her hand. “Can you see it? That little moon-shaped one on the side of my finger, I grabbed the pot instead of the handle and it hurt really bad, so Miran had to put ice on it. She scolded me, so now I don’t cook when I’m tipsy.” 

Mark sighed. “You have a weird sense of responsibility. You can’t cook when tipsy, but you can sit alone in a convenience store at this time of night? You’re not getting off here. Ahjussi, just continue to her house. We’re not getting down here, I’m sorry, she’s drunk.”

Yeojung pouted at him. “But ramen-“ she whined.

Mark opened his mouth to respond, but Yeojung had already unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door. The cab driver looked confused and Mark watched helplessly as she headed straight for the convenience store. He fished out his wallet and paid the cab driver before running after her, hurrying into the convenience store where Yeojung was already choosing the ramen she wanted.

“Spicy chicken for me,” she sang quietly, picking up one of the cup noodles from the shelf. She hummed under her breath lightly as she scanned the shelf for another flavor. “And chilly cheese for you. Am I right?”

She was. Mark blinked at her for a long moment, looking at her adorably pink cheeks and the tipsy smile on her face. It was hard to define what their relationship was. They’d stopped talking for a while after their breakup in high school. Once they’d run into each other in college, they’d sort of wordlessly agreed to be mature about the whole past relationship and not make things awkward for their friends. Mark was roommates with Jaebum and Yeojung best friends with Miran, so they couldn’t avoid each other at gatherings like tonight. They’d been getting along recently, but to call each other friends was a bit of a stretch since they only met when others were around.

“I’ll pay for them. You go sit down before you hurt yourself,” he told her calmly, taking the cup noodles from her and gesturing towards one of the tables outside the convenience store. “Sit there. Don’t go anywhere else, okay?”

Yeojung nodded obediently. She went out and sat down in one of the plastic chairs, resting her elbows on the table. Her head felt extremely heavy from the alcohol so she placed her hand under her chin to prop it up.

It was because she was tipsy and the alcohol was clouding her judgement.

Surely, that could be the only reason why Yeojung was feeling so attracted to the sight of Mark Tuan paying for the ramen through the store window. He’d taken off his jacket and was wearing a simple white t-shirt underneath. It looked plain enough but knowing Mark, it was probably more expensive than it seemed. Yeojung suddenly realized that his shoulders were broader than she remembered. His hips were narrow, tight jeans fitting perfectly on his backside.

Yeojung slapped herself on the forehead. What are you doing? She screamed to herself silently. Did you just check out his ? What is wrong with you? Are you so -deprived and that you’ll jump on any man that comes near you? Don’t be desperate, Yeojung. Have some dignity.

She closed her eyes and tried to block out the sight of Mark Tuan. But she couldn’t close her mind, and her drunken mind kept bringing up memories of the past.

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I didn’t know that you were having a hard time,

You gotta know,

Damn, now looking at it baby

There’s so much I couldn’t do for you

“I heard they have this new game at the PC café-“

Yeojung felt disappointed. Were they really going to the PC café again? It wasn’t that she hated computer games. Mark had gotten her interested in a couple of them and she found that she really enjoyed them. But other couples went on more… normal dates. She had seen some of the other couples from school sitting at the cute bakery down the street and sharing a piece of cake.

“The PC café again?” she mumbled. “Mark, let’s go the new bakery near school-“

“Bakery? I thought you were on a diet? Didn’t you say so yesterday?” he wondered, confused. Yeojung had spent most of the previous day talking about how she was going to go on a no-sugar diet in order to lose weight. He tilted his head at her. “What would you eat at the bakery?”

“I… I can find something-“

“That’s stupid. Why would you go there just to tempt yourself?”

“But I’m hungry.”

“We can eat ramen at the PC café,” he insisted, grabbing her hand excitedly. “Please? I have to go there before that college hyung beats my high score. Then we can play a multiplayer game together. You enjoyed it last time, right? I could tell, you were having fun.”

Yeojung bit her lip. It was hard to resist when Mark got excited. He was usually so quiet and stone-faced that she couldn’t really turn him down when it came to the one thing that he enjoyed. She bit her lip and followed him quietly to the PC café, wishing her boyfriend could be just a little bit more romantic now and then.

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“Yah, I didn’t see you at the carnival last night, Yeojung!” her classmate chirped at her after class. “I thought that now you and Mark are dating, you guys would have come together. Where were you?”

“Uh… Mark didn’t really want to go.”

Her classmate frowned. “Oh, really? But it was so much fun. Minho won me a bunch of stuffed animals and we shared cotton candy on the way back. It was kind of silly but it was a lot of fun. What kind of dates do you and Mark go on?” she wondered curiously.

Yeojung bit her lip. “You know. We hang out at the PC café and the park and at his place…”

“But you can do that with friends, too. What’s the point in going to places like that on a date?”

As time passed, Yeojung’s resentment grew. Mark had to be literally dragged to the local bakery and to the movies and the beach. He was sweet enough normally but he never did anything that made him seem like a boyfriend. He laughed at her for being silly when she wanted to celebrate their one-month anniversary, and said things like that didn’t mean anything. He had behaved very awkwardly and uncomfortable the one time she convinced him to go on a group date with some of her friends and they’d left early. Sometimes Yeojung wondered if he even really wanted to date her.

Then there were times that her heart fluttered, too. Once they had been walking on the street and some guy had cat-called her, Mark had turned to glare at the guy and pulled Yeojung into his side. And he had kissed her that day after he had beat the high score at the PC café; it wasn’t the most romantic place to have her first kiss but Yeojung hadn’t thought about it in that moment. She had flushed pink and her heartbeat had thudded and Mark had smiled at her shyly too. It was only later, after Jieun told her that her and Minho’s first kiss had been while they were stargazing on the hills, that Yeojung regretted kissing Mark in the noisy PC café.

It had all escalated around five months into the relationship.

“For their six month anniversary, Jieun and Minho went to Namsan tower and put locks there,” Yeojung explained excitedly. “Should we do it too? We should go there that weekend. We can write messages on the locks and everything!”

Mark raised an eyebrow. “ What’s the point in writing a message to me when I’m standing right here?”

Yeojung wasn’t sure how to answer that. “It’s just… it’s meant to be romantic.”

He shrugged disinterestedly. “It’s such a long walk up the hill. But fine, if you insist.”

 Yeojung snapped. “I shouldn’t have to insist! Why do I have to drag you around to do these things! Minho plans his and Jieun’s dates himself, he paid for a separate cable car so that they could be alone in the car and then bought locks and gifted her a heart-shaped locket-“

Mark narrowed his eyes. “Minho?”

“Yeah, he’s a really good boyfriend-“

“Why don’t you go date him then?” he asked irritably. He was jealous; Yeojung was constantly comparing him to the older, popular boy and Mark hated it. “If he’s so great and he spends so much money on his girlfriend- is that what would make you happy? Do you want me to buy you expensive presents? I can do it, it’s not a problem!”

Yeojung felt tears come to her eyes. “Don’t make me sound cheap. It’s not like that.”

“What do you want, then?”

“I just want to feel like you’re my boyfriend sometimes! When do we ever do anything romantic? When have you ever done anything romantic for me? Am I really your girlfriend or are we just friends? Because we act like friends.”

“We’re not friends.”

“But we only act like-“

He leaned forward and kissed her. His hands cupping her cheeks, not the sort of shy, hesitant pecks that they usually exchanged but a full, deep kiss. Their lips melted together and Yeojung felt her knees go slightly weak as she grasped onto Mark’s shirt. She was breathless and dizzy by the time he pulled away, pressed his forehead to hers lightly. “Friends- don’t kiss like that,” he breathed out. “Right?”

Yeojung nodded. Her heart was skipping and the adrenaline made her forget about the argument they’d been having. She leaned forward and kissed him again and Mark wrapped his arms around her tightly, making her feel warm and giddy. They tumbled into his bed together, clumsy but passionate as Mark showed her that he certainly didn’t think of her as a friend.

As Yeojung caught her breath and laid in his arms, she wondered if it was okay. Maybe it didn’t matter that they didn’t go on dates all the time. Mark cared about her, Yeojung was certain of that.

But it wasn’t enough.

They broke up less than two weeks later.

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 Hey, if it’s not too late,

Hey, tell me what I got to do, yeah.

You need to be there by my side.

Yeojung was jerked out of her thoughts by Mark, who waved a hand in front of her face. He looked concerned and Yeojung felt her heart skip a beat as he gently pushed some of her hair aside so he could look into her unfocused eyes.

“Hey. Are you okay?” he asked with a frown. “Did you fall asleep like that?”

Yeojung shook her head. She hadn’t fallen asleep, she had just been remembering all the times back in high school with Mark. Yes, it had been puppy love but she could never forget the way she felt around him. A sudden feeling of nausea took her over. Why was she so stupid? Why had she given so much importance to stupid things like dates and anniversary celebrations and thrown away something so much bigger?

“I’m fine,” she told Mark quickly. “Just drowsy.”

“Right. Well apparently you’re not answering your phone,” he told her, pointing at her handbag. Yeojung looked at the handbag blankly and then up at Mark, not comprehending what he was saying. Her brain felt muddled.

“Phone?” she asked.

“Miran was trying to call you. Here- she’s on the line. Just talk to her using mine.”

She took the cellphone that Mark handed to her and held it up to her ear. It was much bigger than her own phone and she had to keep a firm grip on it so that her drunken butterfingers didn’t drop it on the floor. Yeojung lifted the phone to her ear just as Mark headed back into the convenience store to finish buying and preparing their ramen.

“Hello?”

“Yeojung! You were supposed to call me and let me know you were safe!” Miran scolded her. “I got worried when you didn’t answer. You’re lucky that Mark told us you were with him when Jaebum called or I was going to freak out!”

Yeojung felt guilty. “Sorry.”

“Well, I guess it’s okay as long as you’re with Mark. He wouldn’t leave you without seeing you home, he probably cares about you too,” Miran said with a giggle. “Just don’t do anything you’ll regret later, okay? I don’t know what happened between you two in high school but you probably broke up for a reason. Don’t let him put the moves on you.”

“The moves?”

“Yeah. Because you know he still has some sort of creepy feelings for you, he even keeps a picture of you both on his phone and everything. I thought it was kind of weird.” Miran suddenly stopped talking and went silent. Yeojung could hear Jaebum saying something to her on the other end of the line. Miran sounded upset “, I wasn’t supposed to say that- Jaebum, it’s okay, she’s drunk, she won’t remember- Bye Yeojung, take care, okay?”  she chirped suddenly, before cutting the call.

Yeojung felt her heartbeat thud. What was that? What had Miran meant by ‘he even keeps a picture of you both on his phone’. Was she talking about Mark? Feeling a sudden desperation to know more, she pressed uselessly at Mark’s phone and tried to call Miran back. But the phone had locked itself and was demanding a numerical password to be re-entered.

His Mom’s birthday was always his password, Yeojung remembered suddenly. She supposed that the fact that she still remembered that probably wasn’t normal, but she didn’t care. Yeojung rapidly entered the familiar numbers and watched in satisfaction as the phone unlocked and his home screen came up.

Oh my God.

Yeojung’s hands trembled slightly as she looked at the picture set on Mark’s home screen. It was a picture of the both of them; taken years ago, the night that Yeojung had forced him to get dressed up and they’d gone to the school dance together. Mark looked uncomfortable in his tie and she remembered that he had badly wanted to stay home that night. But he was still looking at the camera with a gentle smile on his face while Yeojung kissed his cheek. Her lipstick was staining his cheek and her hair was a mess after the long night of dancing, but it was still a beautiful picture.

Yeojung felt her heart drop into her stomach.

She was staring at the phone in silence, her head spinning when Mark coolly walked over to her and placed the cup of hot ramen in front of her. He was trying to hand her a pair of chopsticks and frowned. “Are you done talking to Miran? What did she-“

Yeojung turned the phone to face him, so he could see the picture that he was looking at.

“What’s this?” she whispered.

Mark’s expression hardened. He set the ramen down quickly and snatched the phone away from her, locking it before shoving it into his pocket. His eyes glanced down at the table and he clenched his fingers around the chopsticks in his hands. “Sorry, you weren’t- you weren’t supposed to see that.” He looked up at her, eyes wide, and then turned away again. “I’ll delete it if you think it’s creepy.”

Yeojung swallowed softly. “I won’t think it’s creepy if you tell me why you have it.”

He was still for a long moment before he spoke softly. “I guess- I don’t know. I couldn’t bring myself to delete it. I guess I keep it as a reminder to myself.”

“A reminder of what?” she asked. “Our relationship?”

He closed his eyes and sighed. “Of what might have been if I’d known how to handle things better back then.”

Yeojung was silent for a long moment, and she picked up the chopsticks Mark had placed on the table with trembling fingers. She didn’t want the ramen anymore. She couldn’t eat it. There was too much going through her mind. “I hate remembering those times,” she said quietly. “I’m surprised you want to keep a reminder of them. Our relationship was doomed to fail, really. It was so embarrassing.”

“Was it?” he wondered.

“I was stupid. Any guy would have dumped me eventually, for the way I was being.” Yeojung felt close up. She didn’t want to talk about it; but the words kept tumbling out. “I cringe when I think about how stupid I was in high school. I let other people tell me how my relationship should be. I gave more importance to stupid things like where we went on dates and how many surprise gifts you got me. It was so superficial. I was so superficial. I missed the whole point of being in love.”

Mark looked at her, his dark eyes staring into hers. “Is that what you think?”

Yeojung couldn’t hold his gaze. She dropped it back down to her ramen, which was now smelling more unappetizing than ever. “Yes,” she replied quietly. “I hate thinking about the time we dated. It only reminds me how stupid I used to be and I feel like dying of embarrassment. I forced myself to forget about it long ago.”

“I tried that too,” Mark said softly. “But I couldn’t forget. I kept thinking about it.”

Yeojung blinked at him. He was watching her calmly, his angular face even more handsome under the soft moonlight. How had she never noticed the way he looked at her? Mark was usually emotionless but there was something tender in his eyes; something that made Yeojung feel warm inside, that made her cheeks heat up. He reached across the table and took her hand in hers, rough fingers gently hers.

“I couldn’t forget because I keep thinking about what might have gone differently. If I’d just gone with you to Namsan tower when you asked instead of throwing a fuss about it. If I’d just let you take me to that carnival and on that group date with your friends.” He bit his lip and shook his head, letting out a small scoff. “I thought that love was supposed to be easy. I thought the fact that I didn’t really want to do those things meant that I didn’t love you.”

Yeojung bit her lip as she felt Mark’s grip on her fingers tighten.

“They were so silly when I think about them now, I should have just done them,” he said, his voice cracking slightly. He looked up at her and Yeojung realized to her horror that his eyes were glossy. “I was a stubborn . So yeah; I keep that photo as a reminder to myself that you need to make small sacrifices for the things that matter, or else you risk losing everything at once.”

“Did our breakup hurt you that much?”

“I didn’t realize it then. But I would have climbed up to Namsan tower a million times for you if I had known that things were going to end this way. I just didn’t know how much I loved you until you were gone,” Mark whispered.

Yeojung grasped his hand tightly. “We were both so stupid.”

“Mmm.”

“I’ve missed you,” she told him honestly.

“I’ve missed you too. So much.”

There was a loud explosive noise that made Yeojung jump suddenly. They were both jolted to reality as they looked up and saw a huge red firework explode in the sky. It was followed quickly by a few more, all in different colors and lighting up the sky with more noise. They both turned to look at each other with wide eyes, before collapsing into helpless giggles at their own shocked expressions. Yeojung stood up and walked over to the sidewalk to get a better look at the colorful sky.

“Looks like it’s midnight,” she whispered, as she felt Mark come and stand next to her. Her eyes fixed on the next batch of fireworks that exploded into the sky. Then she turned and looked up at the man standing next to her. Mark’s gaze was fixed on her. “I know you probably think kissing at the start of the New Year is stupid, but-“

He cut her off, leaning down and pressing his lips to hers gently. Yeojung felt her head spin as his arms wrapped around her and pulled her closer, into his familiar and yet excitingly different embrace. Mark her hair back from her face gently before pulling away and giving her a small smile.

“I’d have to be an idiot to make the same mistake twice,” he said.

Yeojung giggled giddily, as she pushed herself up on her tiptoes to kiss him again. His arms wrapped around her more tightly and their kiss became more heated until she suddenly remembered they were in the middle of the street and gently pushed him away.

“Want to go watch the fireworks together?” Mark asked her hopefully.

Yeojung raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? It’s a long walk to the park and there are probably a bunch more cheesy couples smooching there and holding hands-“

“Then let’s be one of them,” he suggested.

Yeojung flushed and smiled.

“I’d like that.”  

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I’m missing your face,

I miss you like crazy

Come back to me, remember

Like our first promise, last forever

“-it’s just surprising that we never got over each other after so long,” Yeojung mumbled. They were sitting in the grass at the park, her back pressed against Mark’s chest as he wrapped his arms around her and held her close. His jacket was draped over her arms and she let herself inhale his scent happily. More fireworks exploded in the sky above them. “It’s been three years since we broke up.”

Mark hummed lightly, his chin resting on her shoulders. “I might have managed if we never saw each other again. But I kept running into you once Miran and Jaebum started dating and you would do these little things that would drive me crazy every time I saw you. I couldn’t get over you when you were always around.”

Yeojung turned slightly to face him with a playful smile. “Little things like what?”

 “Like getting excited over that stupid lipstick in your bag. And getting all dreamy-eyed and distant when you’re tipsy. And biting your lips when you’re worried about something.” His finger came up and brushed against her lower lips gently. Mark smirked. “I particularly enjoyed when you reassured the entire table that I wasn’t small at the pub earlier.”

Yeojung flushed red furiously. “Oh my God-“

He laughed and wrapped his arms around her tightly. “It’s okay, baby. I thought it was sweet.”

“I honestly don’t even have any way of telling. I dated a few guys in college but I never had with any of them. Yours is the only one I’ve ever seen,” she admitted, her ears turning pink to match her cheeks. “So don’t feel so flattered, you might be small for all I know.”

Mark only leaned his head back and laughed harder as the fireworks exploded above them.

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