Cora woke to someone shaking her shoulders. “Cora.” Came a whispered, which startled Cora. She opened her eyes to find Mark looking down at her, trying hard to get her to rise. “Cora, come on. I brought you breakfast.” He was still whispering.

Cora groaned and rolled over, throwing the blankets over her head. “How the hell did you get in here?” She asked, curling into a tired ball.

Mark laughed quietly. “I rang Reina’s apartment. Told her that I was supposed to get you to drive you to a rehearsal, but you were still asleep and wouldn’t answer the door. She said that was typical and let me in.”

“Thanks Reina.” She muttered, and Mark laughed again. “Go somewhere and let me sleep, son.”

The bed shifted, and Mark moved closer to her. “Your coffee is going to get cold.” He whispered, and Cora peeled the blankets away from her head. “It’s really sad that that just worked.”

“Are you saying you don’t have coffee?” She asked, and he shook his head. She kicked her legs violently like a child and threw herself into the pillows. “You’re so cruel to me.” He laughed and poked her side. “Really though, do you have coffee.” He nodded and she smiled, reaching over and grabbing his hands. She pulled his shirt until he crawled across the bed, over her and onto her other side. “Have you heard from MinHee?”

He made a face. “I was being all cute and you ask about MinHee. She’s not even here and she’s totally blocking.” Cora laughed and shook her head. “None of us have heard from her, but I didn’t really ask Bambam. He went out yesterday and didn’t get back until late. I don’t know what he’s doing.” Cora sighed and snuggled up against Mark. Eventually, she woke up enough to get her phone and check her messages. Nothing from MinHee. She sighed and threw her phone aside. “Is this the first time the two of you have been apart?”

“Apart as in her away from the apartment for the night without me or apart as in she’s in another country and I’m scared something is going to happen?” Mark held up two fingers. “It makes a little sense, right? I mean, what if she gets mugged?”

Mark laughed and wrapped his arms around her. “Come on. I’ve said it enough times. She’s stronger than you think.” Cora nodded and nestled her head under his chin. “Do you want to get up and eat?”

“You keep asking that. I’m starting to think you’re the one who wants to eat.” His stomach growled just then, and his eyes went wide as he nodded. Cora laughed and sat up. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s go eat.”

Mark sat up and brushed a hand through his hair before fixing the beanie that had fallen off his head. “Do you want to eat in here?” She nodded. “Are you just too lazy to get up?”

“I’m actually not wearing pants and am debating on not putting any on. Now, go fetch my coffee, wench.”

The two ate breakfast in Cora’s room, discussing how Mark wasn’t a wench as he wasn’t a woman, and Cora said she might disagree, which led to a small food fight. Afterwards, the two made their way into the living room, where they some drama television series Cora had been meaning to catch up on.

The two lay across the sectional, Cora on Mark’s chest, watching the series that he was clearly uninterested in. “So wait, she told him she doesn’t want to be with him because she loves him?” Mark asked, and Cora nodded. “That makes absolutely no sense.”

Cora sat up, straddling him. He inched up so he was on his elbows and smiled as she explained the situation. “She had to tell him she didn’t want to be with him, otherwise he would have proposed, and her crazy neighbor would have killed him. If you recall, crazy neighbor thinks that they’re in a relationship because of his mental issues and-” He cut her off, pressing his lips to hers.

He pulled back and shook his head. “I know what’s going on. I just think it’s cute when you try to recall everything that’s going on.”

Cora shook her head and opened to speak, but her BTS ringtone blared loudly from across the room. She looked at Mark, who shook his head, and shot off his chest. He grabbed her at the last second, knocking her to the floor and bringing him with her. The two wrestled on the floor, Cora clawing viciously to get towards the phone. “Mark!” She cried out. “What if it’s important?”

He lost his grip on her, and she shot across the room in an instant, grabbing the phone and doing a small victory dance as she answered the phone. “Hello?” She asked, still smiling.

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