Baeri had always thought that dinner at her place was really loud and bothersome because it was filled with her brother’s constant picking on her while she was stuffing her face with all the foods on the table. Turned out that there existed more families in the world that had this unfortunate constellation.

 

Amusedly, the artist watched Joey do the exact same thing she always did: use her chopsticks to fight with her brother off to get the most delicious pieces of each dish at the table. Unlike her, however, the younger boy continuously managed to swipe the good parts with his quick fingers.  

 

The large mahogany table stood in the middle of the dining room with comfortable chairs at all four sides of it. Mark’s father sat at the head of the table with his wife at his right, Mark at the left and Joey next to his mother. Baeri was seated next to her schoolmate and silently observed the reserved family dine with the two youngsters fighting, strangled groans and voiced whines filling the air.

 

Ten minutes into the dinner, however, Baeri caught Dorine sigh harshly before slapping both her son’s chopsticks with her own to calm them down. The girl expected the woman to set them straight but when she began to speak, she met with a surprise. Dorine began spouting in a language that was foreign to the girl but even though she didn’t exactly understand what the woman was saying to her sons, she was fairly sure it did the job nicely. After toning it down, Joey stuck out his tongue satisfied while Mark pouted and took a piece of meat in his mouth, chewing disappointedly as he eyed his brother.

 

Raymond, Mark’s father, chuckled at their antics and looked across the table when he met with Baeri’s curious eyes. “Our family is Taiwanese,” he explained with a gentle smile gracing his features. His goatee was perfectly trimmed and matched with the gray and white mustache that adorned his upper lip. He looked like he was a stern father but in reality he was just a gentle man that loved his family more than anything. Baeri frowned surprised and eyed Mark for a moment, almost insulted that he hadn’t told her that he wasn’t born here.

 

“While our four children were all born in America, Dorine and I were born in Taiwan,” Raymond continued his impromptu explanation before taking a bite of his rice. Again, Baeri was left surprised because the man had mentioned four children. She was fairly sure she had only seen Joey at their home but when she thought about it, Mark had never mentioned his siblings so it was obviously a possibility that there were more things she didn’t know about him.

 

“Four children?” she inquired with a frown and glanced at Joey as if he would answer all her questions. The latter laughed and finished the food he was chewing. “We have two older sisters but they already moved out,” he told her and dangerously leaned back on his chair to reach for something behind him on the armoire - his mother muttered some complaints but he just chuckled. When he sat back again, he handed Baeri whatever he had reached for and the girl realized it was a picture frame.

 

In an instant, the girl recognized the blue beanie mark always wore. A younger version of the boy sat in front of his parents that stood behind him with Joey who sat to his right whilst they were flanked by two girls, most probably their older sisters. “You all look so alike,” the girl let out softly and glanced to her left where she met with Mark’s lazy smile. He didn’t answer but the look he had on the frame was enough for her to realize that he missed them.

 

“They have families of their own now,” Dorine smiled as she held her husband’s hand and looked at her two sons. “And one day my two boys will as well.”

 

A subtle blush found the cheeks of said boys, resulting in the table to erupt in laughter and as Baeri handed Joey back the frame, she felt his fingers brush her own, lingering a second too long. The blush that had found its way on the boy’s cheeks before only deepened so to avoid being caught, he quickly turned and placed the frame back.

 

Baeri subtly smiled at the contact but soon felt a glare being sent her way. “Thank you so much for dinner, Mrs. Tuan,” she instead thanked Mark’s mother, ignoring whatever glance was meant for her. “Oh you are very welcome, dear,” Dorine smiled at the girl and stood up, stacking the empty plates. The artist followed her example and moved to help her but as quickly as she had stood up, Dorine stopped her from doing so. “No no Baeri, I got it,” she smiled, “Mark, why don’t you show our guest your room? I’m sure she’s curious.”

 

Mark had a hard time forming an answer but luckily his father jumped in. “He would love to, won’t you, Mark?” he asked and smiled at his son, who just dumbly nodded as a response. He then stood up and, to everyone’s surprise, gently took Baeri by the arm and began leading her through the living room to the stairs that ran up to the second floor. On their way, Baeri marveled over the contemporary interior design, hardly noticing that Mark hadn’t let go of her, even when they already found themselves in the hallway of his room.

 

Awkwardly, he opened the door and stepped aside, motioning for Baeri to enter first. The girl shyly smiled at him before she walked into the room. Unlike the contemporary style that reigned in the house, Mark’s room was fairly tuned down and empty. A king-size bed with dark bedspread stood with the headboard against the dark wall to the right with a wooden nightstand next to it, a low armoire against the left wall and covering the farthest wall was a large closet with sliding doors and drawers. Even though it was already evening and it was dark outside, Baeri noticed the dim light that shone into the room and lit it the slightest.

 

Mark entered after the girl and while she was admiring her surroundings, he took a seat on his bed. “I’m thankful to them that they kept it like this for when I come home in the weekends or feel like staying here,” he explained, not per se to Baeri but it caught her attention nonetheless. “It’s really nice,” the girl smiled at Mark and walked towards the armoire, trailing her fingers over the smooth wood before her attention was pulled to the large window on the left side of Mark’s bed.

 

When she arrived at the window, she found out it was a glass door that led to a balcony that was connected to the boy’s room. Carefully, she pressed her hands against the cold glass and gasped at the view the boy had from his room. Technically speaking they found themselves on the second floor of the house because the living room was on the first floor so when Baeri looked out at the view, she could see just above the houses opposite from her and spot the dozens of lights the city casted.

 

Suddenly, she felt something being draped over her head and her sight got obstructed by it. When she touched it, it felt like fabric but she couldn’t think much of it because Mark passed her and opened the door to the balcony. The icy winter weather bit at Baeri’s cheeks when the air allowed itself inside and the girl couldn’t help but frown when her schoolmate walked onto the lit balcony and took a seat on the garden bench. Hesitantly, Baeri took the piece of clothing that Mark had given her and studied it, only to find out it was one of his hoodies. Taking his hint, the girl slipped her arms into the sleeves and instantly felt herself warm at the feeling of the soft fabric around her. Obviously the hoodie was much too big but in a way, Baeri felt comforted and appreciated the gesture.

 

She then tiptoed into the cold when she had zipped it up but to her surprise the girl found the balcony warmer than she thought it was. “It’s heated but the hoodie should keep the cold from getting to you,” Mark explained when Baeri entered and nodded at the lights in the floor that kept it warm. The girl gaped at the advanced use of technology and took a seat next to Mark. “This is so amazing,” she let out in admiration and stuffed her hands into the hoodie’s pocket. Mark chuckled and leaned back against the chair, letting out a long sigh to reveal a trail of white smoke in the cold air. “When you grow up with this kind of luxury, it kind of becomes normal,” he said with a small smile and glanced at the girl before nodding. “It still is pretty neat.”

 

The girl let out a laugh and also leaned against the back of the chair. With a sigh, Baeri pulled up her legs and enjoyed the silence that emerged between Mark and her as they sat on the balcony. The city traffic barely reached their premises but stayed a messy buzz in the background, not breaking any moment of tranquility. It surprised Baeri how much she had learned of the boy that night. She hadn’t expected for her to meet his parents - especially not that fast. But Mark didn’t seem to mind at all, nor did Baeri for that matter because she felt she had become closer to him in way. There was still much to learn of the boy but for now this was enough.

 

It was mark who broke their moment of serenity. “I hope you had a good time,” he spoke up as he looked up at the clouded sky, a slither of moonlight breaking through it. Baeri felt a small smile curl her lips when she thought back to their dinner. “Your parents are really nice,” she then answered, the smile widening.

 

Mark nodded but otherwise didn't answer. The artist took this as her opportunity to continue. “I never knew you had sisters,” she lightheartedly let out when she folded her legs. Mark didn’t respond right away but when he did, Baeri was happy that she had spoken up.

 

“I’ve never been very interested in girls; I had two of them most of my life and thought that was more than enough because rather than being bullied by them, Joey and I were treated like the most important people in their lives,” he began; Baeri noticed the nostalgic smile that had settled on his full lips. “I had my intensive acrobatics training and Joey trained for soccer so us two would always come home with a scratch or an injury. Whenever either Tammy or Grace, or sometimes even both, noticed that, we were put in 'quarantine' and babied until we were better.” A light chuckle rumble in his throat. “When we were younger we always hated it but the older we got, the more appreciative we felt towards them. But to all good things must come an end so when our sisters reached the age of twenty-one and twenty-three, they left home to start on their own.”

 

“At one point it was just me and Joey left, and that was hard to realize,” he sighed and sat up straighter, “but after a while we managed to accept it; it wasn’t like we would never see them again anyway.”

 

Baeri would never tell her brother this but she felt the exact same way as Mark did about his sisters. Jihoon might’ve been a bully and used her as his little punching bag but when times called for it, he would support her through thick and thin. “I know what you mean.”

 

At this, Mark looked to his right, a gentle smile curling his lips when he saw the content expression on the girl’s face. “Thank you for coming with me, Baeri,” he said, making the girl look at him. The gentle expression on her face never faltered when he spoke to her, and even though she felt herself blush at his words, she didn’t dare to look away. “Of course,” she answered, her voice barely above a whisper. No other words filled the air as their vision was locked on each other, for the silence spoke book folds.

 

Mark turned his body slightly towards the girl as he moved his hands out of his pockets. He seemed to be searching for his words for a moment but when he looked up, a spark of determination could be seen in his eyes. “How long has it been since our building was opened for class?” he suddenly asked, leaving Baeri confused because if she had expected him to ask anything, this wasn’t it. But before the girl could properly answer, the muffled sound of her phone ringing broke through the confinements of her jean pockets.

 

Mark’s shoulders visibly deflated when Baeri muttered an apology before fishing her phone out of her pocket and answering it without checking who the caller was.

 

“-e’ll pick up; I’ll kick her if she won’t,” a voice sounded from the receiver. Baeri winced at the loudness but rolled her eyes as soon as she realized who it belonged it. “What do you want,” she asked monotonously and eyed Mark for a moment but - to her disappointment - he had already pulled back into his seat and averted his eyes to the night sky. “Still no manners, I see?” Jihoon tsk’d from the other line, irking Baeri. “I’m hanging up,” she replied in the same lifeless tone but Jihoon quickly called her name accompanied with multiple ‘no’s’ to stop her.

 

Baeri sighed harshly and leaned her head into her propped up hand as she listened to her brother’s explanation. “Mei is coming back next Friday so I need you to be pretty by then,” he said, “or is that a hopeless request?”

 

“Ha-ha fatass,” Baeri replied mockingly, catching Mark’s attention the moment her brother’s nickname came up. The girl, however, was too occupied spouting more curses into her phone so she didn’t notice the amused looks. “No but for real, are you free then? Because Shindae has already made the reservations and wants to talk with you about the surprise,” Jihoon continued explaining. Baeri played with the string of Mark’s hoodie when she replied. “Do I even have a choice?”

 

 

“Hardly.”

 

 

Baeri sighed at the tiring thought of having dinner with the comical duo Jihoon and Jackson with Shindae being her only backup, and internally winced at the outcome. Unconsciously, her eyes found Mark’s questioning ones, making an idea pop up. “Can I bring someone?” she then asked and mentally whooped when her brother muttered a ‘sure’. “Then Friday it is,” she smiled at Mark and hung up as soon as she had received the messy details of the evening.

 

“What was that all about?” Mark asked with the same amused smile as before when Baeri had stuffed her phone back into the pocket of his hoodie. “Just a phone call from hell,” she casually replied and sat back into the chair. Mark chuckled, forgetting all about what he wanted to say before the call and kicked his legs up onto the table before the bench. “Well, what was the message?”

 

“An invitation to have dinner with the devil himself.”

 

“Sounds lovely.”

 

“Good,” Baeri smiled satisfied, “because you’re coming with me.”

 

 

The week couldn’t pass too fast for Baeri. For one, she would see her good friend Mei again after three months; the other – and possibly the deal breaker – Mark was going to join her during the dinner. She hadn’t seen him at school nor properly spoken to him, only occasional greetings when they bumped into each other in the hallways, so the girl was really looking forward to their ‘date’.

 

“Would you like something to drink, sir?” the waitress asked as she held her pencil over a notepad, ready to jot down the orders. “Water, please,” Mark answered with a small smile. “Sparkling or flat?”

 

“Sparkling, please,” Mark again replied and nodded thankfully at the waitress before she left to get their drinks. Such simple yet polite answers but Baeri couldn’t help but feel like this was truly the Mark she knew – brought up in a well-off family he was bound to have good manners. She was happy that the boy had a ‘wild’ side to him as well because if he had been a stiff and boring boy, it would’ve been a lot harder to become friends with him. Simply because their personalities would clash too much.

 

But even if you wouldn’t look at their personalities, you’d see an instant difference between them. Their attires were like the absolute opposites; Baeri wore dark jeans, a neat black blouse, topped off by dark sneakers whereas Mark went for the casual yet sophisticated look with his checkered blouse, cream sleeveless sweater and striped tie. The both of them knew the restaurant they were going to had a certain dress code and dressed to it – one a little bit better than the other.

 

“How’s the competition preparation going?” Baeri asked Shindae to distract herself from the handsome boy next to her. Her friend smiled widely and spread her arms. “I’m the greatest human being in the world, Bae,” she exclaimed, extracting a laugh from Mei, “I swear I must have been an organisatory genius in my previous life because I got this down.”

 

Baeri laughed as well, eying Jackson who simply shook his head lightly at his girlfriend’s cocky attitude. “But still thank god Sora sent me the file with the names yesterday or else I would’ve still been working on it to properly get it through to the board,” Shindae added as she folded her arms in front of her on the table. “When’s the showcase?” Mark asked, surprising Baeri that he even knew of it. She mentally knocked herself in the head, though, because she was quickly to remember that Mark was friends with Shindae and Jackson as well. “Next week,” Shindae replied, “but we still have enough to do.”

 

“Your drinks,” the waitress of before returned with a platter filled with various glasses with beverages. She smoothly set them in front of their designated owner and told the six that she would return in a bit to take their dinner orders. “So!” Mei’s chirpy voice caught everyone’s attention, “how has my Bae been? How’s school?” she asked with a gentle smile as she looked at the petit girl in front of her. Baeri took a sip from her drink before answering her friend. “It has been so-so. The art course turns out to be a little too competitive for my liking but I’ll survive.”

 

“What do you mean ‘so-so!” Jackson suddenly jumped in and pat Mark on the shoulder. “You met this Casanova! And we became a total group because of that fact.”

 

“Who are you calling a Casanova,” Mark muttered and shrugged his friend off before he sent Mei and Baeri an uncomfortable smile. Mei’s eyes rounded in realization when Jackson had uttered his comments. “Oh right! You’re the dancer that has been hoarding Baeri, right?” she asked with a smile of mischief on her lips. The boy in question frowned but before he could answer, Baeri had already punched her brother in the arm. “What kind of bull are you selling her!” she exclaimed, immediately lowering her voice when she realized she was acting a bit too loud in such a posh restaurant.

 

Jihoon whined as he rubbed the sore spot. “Well, I haven’t seen you home that much so can you really blame me?” he countered and eyed Mark. “And it’s not like you mind being with him or else you wouldn’t have invited him - ow!”

 

“Shut up, fatass!”

 

A flight of laughter filled the air, catching the girl’s attention. “You guys haven’t changed a bit!” Mei laughed and rubbed her boyfriend’s cheek in her mirth. This kind of put a lid on Baeri’s irritation because she was truly happy to hear her friend’s laughter again. It had been way too long since she had seen the woman so she chose to let this moment slide for the time being.

 

“Thank you for allowing me to join Baeri, by the way,” Mark suddenly commented. “Oh no problem!” Mei smiled, “I totally understand that Bae wouldn’t want to be the fifth wheel in this so see it as a triple date!” she winked at the boy with a satisfied grin. Baeri sneered at the woman and was happy that the waitress returned to take their orders once again. Surprisingly, their food came faster than they expected so the six friends could soon enjoy their quality meals while sharing their stories. Mei was obviously the main topic, telling about her experiences in China and how she has been in general. Since she didn’t know Mark that well, he had also been set in the spotlight, much to Baeri’s discontent because that meant that Jihoon and Jackson had many windows to make fun of her and the obvious liking she had taken to the boy.

 

Thankfully, the dinner went smoothly and everyone had a lot of fun, simply because of the fact that they had missed Mei and were happy that she had returned.

 

“Excuse me for a moment,” Mei smiled and pressed a kiss on Jihoon’s cheek before she left the table to use the bathroom. Baeri grinned as she followed the girl’s path, subtly glancing at the boy next to her. Mark seemed less nervous than he had been before but she couldn’t blame him for being so. Even though he knew everyone at the table aside from Mei, now, he was there with Baeri. And for some reason this was enough to set Mark’s heart in a constant rate of nerves – but he wasn’t going to voice that out.

 

Shindae leaned over to her boyfriend, resting her chin on his shoulder as she reached for his hand. “Is the waitress coming with the cake or should I go pick it up?” she asked and rest her eyes for a moment. Jackson turned to her and pressed a light kiss to her lips. “What cake?” he replied casually but this made Shindae frown. “The chocolate cake,” she clarified but the frown deepened when Jackson didn’t show any form of recognition, “for Mei?”

 

At this, the man’s lips rounded in realization before they pressed together, his eyebrows pushing together into a frown. “Please don’t tell me forgot,” Shindae pleaded when saw Jackson’s rapid change of facial expression and sat up, letting go of his hand. He looked around the table, lost as he met eyes with Jihoon. Baeri pulled her eyes away from Mark when she heard her friend’s raised voice and noticed that the once happy atmosphere had dropped the moment she laid eyes on Jackson.

 

“I –” he managed to stutter out and looked back at Shindae with the same frown, slightly shaking his head. “It slipped my mind,” he truthfully answered, “I’m so sor–”

 

“Jesus Jackson,” Shindae sighed defeated and for a moment closed her eyes before burying her face in her hands. Baeri glanced at her brother and saw that he wore a just as clueless expression as her. “Dae, what’s up?” she asked but her question fell upon deaf ears. “I asked you one thing,” Shindae instead let out against her boyfriend, “One thing, Jackson!”

 

Again, Baeri wanted to speak up but Mark noticed this and quickly placed his hand on her lower arm to stop her. Normally his touch would leave her blushing and surprised but right now, her focus was on her seemingly arguing friends. Jackson reached out for his girlfriend but the latter simply flinched away. “Please don’t touch me,” she moved her arms, her eyes still closed. “Shindae –”

 

“What was so damn important that it made you forget such a simple task?” Shindae instantly interrupted her boyfriend as she dropped her hands to her lap. Her eyes locked with Jackson’s but all she got as an answer were his words that barely managed to stumble from his lips.

 

As if that were the drop, she held up her hand. “You know what? Never mind,” she finalized and stood up from her seat. “After all this time, I’m honestly surprised that I’m still getting worked up because of something like this. Because by now I should be used to the kind of bull you pull.”

 

“But I’m done,” she continued and took her bag and jacket, leaving Jackson speechless as he watched his girlfriend slip her arms into the sleeves. “You may tell our friend that you forgot to order the cake because you’re the one to blame here. Not us.” With this, Shindae’s gaze lingered a moment longer on Jackson before she softly apologized to the rest at the table and left the restaurant. A few moments of silence filled the pregnant air around them until Mei’s chirpy voice cracked through the thick barrier. “I’m back~”

 

Nobody verbally responded to the girl’s return; Baeri showed the girl a tightlipped smile. “Wow, who died?” Mei laughed at her joke before she took her seat next to her boyfriend again and looked around the table for an answer. Seeing that no one was going to respond and undoubtedly noticing the crestfallen expression Jackson wore before he washed a hand over his face, Mei frowned. “Seriously guys, what happened?” she asked when she noticed the empty spot next to the man. “And where’s Shindae?”

 

With this question, Jihoon reached out for his girlfriend’s hand. “I think the party is over,” he pressed his lips together and lightly tightened his hold. Seeing her lost expression, his smile brightened the slightest to assure her. “We’ll talk at home.”

 

 

The weather had cooled down throughout the day and now, with the moon occasionally creeping through the clouds, Baeri felt it explained this day perfectly. The icy wind bit at her skin and the crispy snow gave everything a calm yet distorted glow of what really was; the ending of the dinner had gone anything but smooth and left everyone’s hearts cold after a nice talk.

 

“That was something else,” Mark’s deep voice rang through the cold air and warmed Baeri the slightest. She hummed in response and buried her chin deeper into her scarf as they continued to walk to her house that was nearby. “I didn’t think the evening would turn out like this,” she responded, her voice muffled because of the material that covered . “I hope they’ll manage to get through this,” Mark commented when they stopped at a traffic light. Baeri again silently nodded and crossed the street when the lights turned green.

 

The situation really made Baeri think because she had been single for quite some time already but she hadn’t been in a serious relationship as well. One time in third grade a kid had asked her to be his girlfriend and she said yes – a week later they broke up because he had tripped her. So truthfully, she couldn’t really place herself in Shindae’s shoes to see what truly went through her mind and what made her react like this. Because for outsiders this seemed like an unnecessary explosion of emotions but Baeri did have a feeling that it was not just another silly lover’s quarrel.

 

“When I see how couples around me act, I’m actually content with being single,” Baeri mindlessly commented once they had reached the other side of the road and pushed her hands into her pockets. “An intimate relationship like that is just a box full of problems that I really don’t need in my life,” she continued to speak but didn’t notice that the boy that had been walking next to her had stopped in his step. When she finally did see that the constant presence next to her wasn’t there, she turned her head in search for the boy. “What are you doing? My house is over there,” she pointed somewhere but Mark didn’t see – his eyes were fixed on the girl, a hint of an emotion that Baeri had never seen before on his face.

 

Without speaking up, Mark began walking again but unlike before, he didn’t speak up anymore and simply followed the girl to her home. Once they had arrived, Baeri pushed open the gate that led through a garden to her house and took notice of the fresh tracks that ran through the snow – her brother had already returned.

 

“Thank you for coming with me,” the artist spoke up when they had reached her door. “Even though it didn’t exactly turn out like we thought it would, I had fun with you,” she added with a smile.

 

Mark barely managed to return the vibrant smile Baeri sent his way, but without looking away from her he nodded, “Me too,” and took a step back onto the path and averted his gaze to the silent road. Baeri didn’t know what exactly it was but the boy hadn’t been as talkative the past few minutes as before. Choosing not to comment on it, she smiled again. “I’ll see you Monday?”

 

The dancer stuffed his hands into his pockets before slowly making his way to the road. “Yeah, see you,” he replied, once again not meeting with Baeri’s worried eyes.

 

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