To say that the last couple days have been infuriating and annoying would be an understatement. This though, Mark and I being stuck in an elevator together takes the cake. “Can you call the others?” I ask Mark while sighing heavily.

He doesn’t argue, simply pulling his phone out and calling the others. “Yeah, no we probably won’t make it. Yeah, we’re still in the elevator.” Mark says, the pauses in the conversation irritating me more and more. “Look, we won’t make it and maintenance says it might be a while.” Mark passes me his phone. “Julia,” He says simply.

“Hello?” I say as I close my eyes.

Julia’s frantic voice comes across loud and clear, flinching I hold the phone away from me to listen to her. “Oh god, are you okay? What happened?”

“We were on our way up to pick my phone up on the elevator when it stopped working; we’re between floors right now. It’ll be a couple hours before we can get out.” I say frustrated by this whole situation.

It takes a while but I finally convince Julia that Mark and I should conserve his phone’s battery in case something more happens.

I pass the phone back to Mark who simply puts it on the ground next to him. “How’d everything turn out for you after you got back?” Mark asks quietly.

“I got angrier.” I tell him simply as I rest my head against the wall. “I got back to the dorm and I was ambushed.” I tell him irritably, the whole conversation with Junhyung running through my mind again. While I shouldn’t be irritated about it, I am. Mark doesn’t say anything for a while and I consider conversation over for us. I debate if I’ll take a nap or what I’ll do instead.

“Jaebum told Nichkhun about what I did.” He says finally. I open my eyes slowly and nod for Mark to go on. “He just got back from China yesterday, during lunch Jaebum dropped it on everyone.” He says while rolling his eyes.

“Sounds just like him.” I say rolling my eyes as well. “What did Nichkhun say?” I ask quietly, the curious part of me winning over the part of me that just wants to sit silently until we get out of this mess.

“Said that it’s impressive I was able to keep you more or less calm.” Mark says quietly. “Wooyoung and Chansung mentioned that Nichkhun had a hard time with your temper.”

“I usually just bottle everything up until I finally explode. It drove Nichkhun crazy; I’d just get fed up with a ton of little things until I snapped.” I say leaning back again. “I haven’t been able to tell Julia that you kept me company.” I say frowning. “It’s weird because I can usually tell her anything, but I just haven’t been able to tell her we were able to go on a walk without either of us really pissing the other off.”

“It’s easier to get along with you when you’re not surrounded by people.” Mark answers while letting out a sigh. “To be honest I’m not a hundred percent sure why I always pick fights with you.” He voices out.

“Nichkhun said the same thing to me before,” I say looking away. “I’m hard to handle when I’m with friends or people I get along with really well.”

“What about your other friends?” Mark asks quietly, while he managed to ask, it sounds more like he’d forced the question out. “We don’t have to…” Mark adds on hesitantly. He sounds torn between wanting to talk about it and not wanting to know. The thought strikes me as odd and not really Mark, he’s probably just being polite.

“I wasn’t really around friends or we worked our way from friends to more.” I say honestly. “Julia is easily amused with my various interests.” I tell Mark after sighing.

It takes a little before Mark speaks again. “How do you handle all that plus your career?”

“Right now it’s just my career,” I say while shrugging my shoulders. “Before it was deciding what I wanted more, I guess it still is.” I explain slowly. “It’ll always be like this for me I think.” I say slowly.

“Deciding if you want a guy or a career?” Mark asks frowning. “I just, that’s what is so hard for me to think about. How you can so easily pick.”

“It’s more about the long run right now. I want a lot of things and it isn’t easy for me to just pick, but I can just go with my choices and run with them until I change my mind or decide I want something else.”

“So all that applies to everything, dating, friends, music, people, your career, everything?” Mark presses frowning more and more. “You pick what you want and do that?”

I let out a long sigh. “We both know I’m impulsive, but I’m about being happy. Mark, what’s the point of anything if it makes you unhappy and has no possibilities of making you happy?” I ask simply.

“You’re a risky person,” Mark says simply and easily. “I can see why so many people like being around you though.”

“I could say the same for you.” I tell Mark smirking a bit. “You’re calming to be around, and on the rare occasion we do get along, I find you rather fun to be with.” I say honestly.

For a second I think I’ve offended Mark, but he smiles at me and lets out a relieved sigh. “You’re not annoyed anymore.” Mark points out.

“I’m still stuck in an elevator.” I point out; I glance to Mark and smile. “I’ll be damned,” I say laughing and shaking my head realizing I don’t care that I am.

“What?” Mark asks when I simply end up hitting my head softly on the wall.

I look at Mark and smile. “I’m not irritated at all, I’m not even bothered I’m stuck in an elevator, you’re good Tuan.” I say simply. Mark smirks at me and shrugs his shoulders in a very self-satisfied way. “Don’t let it go to your head.” I say before chuckling and shaking my head.

“I’ll try not to.” Mark says while smirking. “We could play a game.” He suggests after a while. Mark doesn’t seem to be joking; he looks serious as he usually does.

I glance at him warily, it sounds risky playing a game of any nature with Mark, in good fun or not. “What kind?” I ask as I study the guy, not too sure how this will turn out for either of us.

“Well Jackson and Julia have suggested Truth.” Mark says showing his phone. “Well, more like are demanding that we play.” He says while I read through the texts they’ve both bombarded his phone with.

“Jackson,” I mutter reading a particularly amusing one. Mark sends me a questioning look. “He’s apologizing in advance for the texts I’ll have when I get to my phone. Apparently he texted me for a while before he remembered that I didn’t have it.” I say while smirking rather amusedly.

Mark simply sighs. “He would, at least you know.” He says chuckling slightly. “Anyways, since I can’t think of a better way to pass the time we have in here.”

I decide to dive right in, besides we aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, “When do you want to throw Jackson out a window most?” I ask amusedly, Mark laughs. “What?” I ask completely serious, before smiling rather happily as well.

“Going right for the, throw the roommate out the window question,” Mark says smiling rather happily as well. “Mostly when he pesters me about you or Cheonmi. Well, no, more when he pesters me about Cheonmi.”

I can’t help but laugh, Jackson as captured on camera on several occasions and as I’ve seen firsthand, is extremely and easily jealous. “He has mentioned his envy of you and Cheonmi.” I say chuckling. “Which I’ll admit is hilarious to hear him go on about.” I say while shaking my head. We’re both laughing for a few moments; I nod for Mark to ask his question after we both settle down.

“How’d you get to be a trainee at JYP?” Mark asks. I find the question slightly suspicious until I remember only four people know, Henry, Nichkhun, Julia and then myself. “I know you’ve been ‘traded’ and moved to a couple different companies, but I’ve never heard how you got yourself started.” Mark says slowly.

“It was after my parents moved us back to Hong Kong, I was scouted while out at a park,” I explain quietly, the details all very vivid to me. “I was on a date with Henry; he’d been the one to convince me to accept the invitation to join.”  I continue on, “For months I told them I wasn’t really that interested, at the time I was more into Henry than the idea of being famous.”

“So then what happened?” Mark asks curiously.

I smile and let out a long sigh. “Henry would be going on tour soon; he’d then have a solo career to worry about. Eventually when we broke up he told me that it might be worthwhile to give being an idol a shot; something about me having the charms for it.”

“Henry from Super Junior?” Mark asks now shocked. “Jeez, here I thought it was just some random guy in Hong Kong.”

“Henry was, I didn’t know anything about Korean Pop at the time.” I say as I shrug my shoulders. “Henry had been this really strange guy who is extremely good a dancing, something I’ve always admired him for. Anyways, I finally accepted and joined JYPE after Henry left.” I say summing up the story, feeling slightly uncomfortable with how I’d revealed an old relationship. “Why’d you come with me to get my phone?” I ask gaining my confidence back.

“To talk to you alone,” Mark says simply, “I wanted to not be on bad terms with you all the time; I want to apologize for the jerk I’ve been. I’m sorry Melody.”

“Well you’re forgiven.” I answer smiling back at him, “I’m sorry too. I know I’m a bit difficult to be around sometimes and that I can tend to give the wrong impression.” I say quietly.

“What’s the one thing you wish you could get back?” Mark asks, moving on with our little game.

I think about everything I’ve lost and that I miss. For a moment I’m not sure what I do what back, I’ve lost a lot of thing that I don’t particularly mind losing. “Room for error,” I answer finally. Mark glances at me and nods his head. “I miss having the cushion for making a mistake, I miss not being under a microscope and having every single thing I’ve done wrong looked at and dissected. It hasn’t happened really yet, but when it does I hope I can take it.”

“You won’t be alone when it does happen.” Mark says smoothly. I nod my head accepting this and hoping that it’ll still be true years from now or even for tomorrow. “Your turn,” Mark says when neither of us says anything for a long while.

"What are you the greediest about?” I ask curiously.

Mark chuckles, I find myself again struck by how much I like hearing him chuckle, by how nice it feels to make another person laugh or even just to chuckle a bit. “You’re asking all the questions to hit home with.” He says after a moment. “Time with people that I like, I’m not very good at sharing so when I’m around someone I like I tend to just monopolize them any way that I can.” Mark says quietly. “Why do you run to Nichkhun all the time?”

I blink surprised by the question, not at all offended since I do admittedly have the tendency to run to him for comfort. “I’m not sure how much you know,” I say slowly glancing at Mark, now seated next to me. “Nichkhun has always been really good to me. Caring and understanding, he’s one of the few people that I can complain to, talk to, confide in, and know that he’ll make me feel better. I’ve known him for a while now so I guess part of me is still stuck back in what had been,” I confess quietly. “It was another one of those it was safer for me to leave and move on than to stay.”

“What does that even mean?” Mark asks, his tone spiteful as it usually is when it comes to anything about Nichkhun. “Safer for you to leave?”

I find it tedious to explain and I’m tempted to say it’s my turn, but I’m sure it’ll be his next question anyways. “You said it yourself, I run to Nichkhun all the time. Imagine if I’d stayed. Imagine if I hadn’t moved on. I’d have gotten lost in Nichkhun and I wouldn’t be okay when we were through. I’d have come crashing down and been the broken one. Nichkhun would have been the one to walk away more or less ok, I’m not the type to be okay with being broken Mark. I’m not the type to be okay with getting so lost in someone else; I don’t like what it’d done to me the first time. I’m good with not letting it happening again. I’m okay with walking away; I’m okay with being the flight risk.” Before Mark can comment or say anything else I ask him my question. “Why do you get so bent out of shape when Nichkhun comes up, even when you bring him up?” I ask quietly.

“I’m not sure.” Mark answers quietly. “Maybe it bugs me that you left Hyung and it’s like you’re teasing him now, maybe I just have a hard time accepting what had been.” While all of those reasons sound a bit convincing, I’m not sure I buy that’s why, I feel like Mark is holding back, but I won’t press because if I do, I’m scared of what he’ll say then. “Did that guy you got lost in walk away from you?” Mark asks quietly.

“Yeah,” I answer shortly, frowning I still feel a sting when I think about the first boy I’d dated, the first boy I’d fallen so hard for. “He’d been a first rate , got what he wanted then left that same night.” I answer coldly. “What about you, any past relationships?” I ask feeling drained and a bit angry with our current game.

“Some girlfriends,” Mark answers slowly. “Serious, but none of them really going too far,” He confesses, my confession about my previous relationship seems to have shaken him. “While I liked the girls I’d been seeing at the time, it never felt right to do more than what we were.”

“Perfectly alright,” I answer feeling a bit envious of Mark having the courage to hold back. “I wish I’d been the same way the first time,” I answer regretfully. “Some people can be pushy about it; I’m like that now though. Holding back I mean, not being pushy.” I answer quietly. “You asked before if I could take something back, I change my mind, it’s that moment, I wish I could take it back and change what happened.” I answer back frowning.

“So you’re not a…” Mark leads off, I glance at him to see him blushing, looking away from me and looking rather uncomfortable with the question, unable to even finish it.

“A ?” I ask letting out a sigh, “No, I’m not.” I answer with a shrug. “I try not to really think about the first time because it’s something I do regret, but I can’t hold onto it forever you know? The memory I mean, I think about a better time and just pretend that it was the first.” I say wishfully.

“Does it work?” Mark asks back just as quietly.

I shake my head. “Sometimes, but other times it doesn’t. I mean it’s not like that’s all I think about, I do have other stuff on my mind.” I tease trying to lighten the mood. “Are you a then?” I ask curiously, not at all condensing because then I’d just be a hypocrite. I don’t like being call or thought of as a , why think of someone as prude for not being on the same boat as me?

“Yeah,” Mark answers quietly. “I want it to feel right, I don’t want it to feel forced.” He answers slowly. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like we should take a break.” He says chuckling hitting his head back softly against the wall.

I nod my head; we sit quietly for a while, neither of us saying anything. “I don’t just tell anyone any of that,” I tell Mark quietly. “I trust you, is what I’m saying.” I say with my eyes closed.

“The feeling is mutual.” Mark says quietly in his usual quiet voice. “Melody, are you scared to be in elevators now?”

“Nope,” I answer back casually. “I’m not going to be able to avoid them, besides it’s not like we’re going to plummet to our death.” I answer back sassily.

“Because I needed that thought in my head.” Mark retorts with a chuckle. “But I guess you’re right.” He answers quietly.

“I’m kinda fond of them now to be honest; I got to know you a bit better.” I say trying to make the situation feel better. “I mean, who else can really say they had a heart to heart game of truth with someone they don’t always get along with.”

“Like the Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks movie.” Mark says.

I sit up and grin at him. “You’ve Got Mail!” I say excitedly. “It’s kinda exciting really; all the guys probably have bets how long we’ll survive in this tiny space together!” I say grinning.

“Kinda make me feel like we should fake being pissed just to mess with them.” Mark says chuckling. “Just walk out silently not saying a word to each other.”

I nod my head agreeing, though I feel like my reason is for something else. “To keep whatever this is,” I say gesturing to Mark and me. “Safe, something separate, it’s when we’re with the others that we seem to have a hard time getting along. I like getting along with you Mark.” I say leaning back feeling relaxed.

“Then it’s settled.” Mark says mimicking me. “We’ll keep up appearances for now.”

I thought this might be a bit of a fun chapter and to get a lot of
one on one between the two without an outside force working on them.
Let me know what you guys think!