[Mia’s POV]

"Oh my god. Really?! You said all those things?!" Nikki gasped after I told her about the embarrassing event last night. Jaehyun oppa has spent the entire afternoon having a movie marathon with us at the apartment so I only got the chance to tell Nikki everything when he left half an hour ago.

I nodded. "I'm doomed." I face-palmed myself and continued telling her about what happened between Mark and me earlier this morning.

"Oh my god. You almost freakin' kissed Mark freakin' Tuan! Oh my god. I can now see your future in the headlines of Dispatch!”

"Ya. Stop over-reacting." I lightly hit her in the head. "Aish. I don't know what happened. What was that all about, huh? Why was he acting that way?! Why did he do all those things?"

"Isn't the answer to those questions too obvious already?" Nikki raised her eyebrows while trying to hold in a mischievous smile.

"Wh... what?" I asked and then I somewhat kind of read what was going on inside her head. "No... no... no... impossible!"

"But hey... who knows?” Nikki moved an inch closer to me. “Mark Tuan isn't all that high and mighty, dude. He's human, too. And he's capable of being attracted to...uh... gorgeous and smart women like you." Nikki said in an as-a-matter-of-factly tone. "Well, unless he turns out to be another version of your super-ex boyfriend. Hahaha." Nikki joked.

"No way!" I uttered disbelievingly.

"He's too close with Jinyoung though." Nikki said with a straight face, teasing me.

"No."

"And they look pretty good together." Nikki continued with the teasing.

"Shut it. He's not gay. Everything between him and Jinyoung is just pure fan service." I said. I was kind of surprised at myself for sounding defensive about the subject.

"We can never tell. It's an ever-changing world, baby." She said and we both proceeded to the kitchen to start cooking for dinner.

"Ugh. I ship JinMark but they can't be seriously gay. No way! That's double jeopardy already. Falling in love with a gay once is enough!" I said while starting to get the ingredients from the fridge.

"Well, there's that saying from Paulo Coelho. Everything that happens once can never happen again. But... everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time." Nikki was giving me her crazy look. "Just make sure it won't happen again or you'll be stuck with a gay for the rest of your life.” She looked so serious and yet so hilarious.

I laughed. "That's crazy. There's no way I'm turning into a gay magnet or something."

"It would be an awesome twist in your story though. Hahaha."

"Ya. Let's just concentrate with the cooking." I said and started heating the pan.

"Yes chef!"

---

“Hey, I’m visiting a bookstore in Seoul today. Wanna come?” Nikki appeared on the kitchen counter with a messy hair and a puffy face while I was making corn soup for breakfast.

I looked at the wall clock to check the time. “What time?” I asked.

“Around 9AM.” She replied.

“I have to buy some ingredients this morning for a new recipe. Let’s just meet somewhere in Seoul after lunch.” I said.

“Oh. Okay.” Nikki responded. “Any message from your MK?” She walked towards the dining table and lazily sat on the chair.

“MK?”

“Mark. Duh.” Nikki playfully rolled her eyes.

“Haha. No. I think they had a really packed schedule yesterday.” I said, turning off the gas stove. And I was again reminded of that intimate moment we had the other day when we almost kissed. Seriously, it has been constantly bugging my mind since he walked away from that door.

“Awh. Yeah. I saw some posts in Instagram.” Nikki said. “You’ll know if he’s no longer busy once he sends you a message.”

“I’m not keeping my hopes up.” I said, placing a bowl of soup in front of her. “Thanks eomma.” She muttered.

“You should start learning how to cook.” I said, sitting on the opposite chair.

“Soon eomma.” She responded, gulping a spoonful of the corn soup.

And then my phone rang. I lazily picked the phone up to check who was calling.

“Omo….” My hands trembled as soon as I saw his name on my phone screen. “It’s Mark!”

“Oh my god. Oh my god!!!” Nikki became outrageously hyper and frenzied all of a sudden as if it was her who got a call from her imaginary rebound. “Pick it up, dude! Pick it up! Ah…no…no… after three more rings. Three more rings…” She said in her unusual fast-paced speech.

Like an idiot, I followed her advice and waited for three more rings.

1…2…3…

“Hey.” I said, trying to make myself sound calm and cool as much as possible.

“Mwohae?” He asked.

“Uh… Eating?” I replied, looking at my soup.

“Good. Any plans for today?”

“Uhmm… I’m going to the market to buy some ingredients?” I said, somehow feeling a bit weird about the fact of Mark Tuan asking about my plans for the day.

“With Nikki?”

“Uh… No. She’ll be going to a bookstore this morning.”

“Oh. You’re going alone then?”

“Yeah.” I replied.

“Oh. I’ll go with you then.”

“Eh?”

“I’m outside your apartment.”

“What?!”

“He’s outside!” I mouthed the words at Nikki, motioning at the door.

“I’m outside. Aren’t you going to open the door?” He asked. I felt a smirk tugging at his lips by the sound of his voice.

“Oh. Ah. Wait.” I ended the phone call right away and glanced at my reflection at the mirror. I haven’t even taken a bath yet!

“Ya. Don’t open it yet. We look like a total mess!” Nikki whispered forcefully and we both hurried to our room and tried to make ourselves look decent in front of a Hallyu star.

In less than five minutes, I greeted the pretty boy Mark Tuan at the doorway. He was wearing a plain V-neck white shirt beneath his denim polo, and his perfect face was partly covered with his black cap.

“Hey.” He smiled. I melted.

“Hey.” I said back.

“Am I allowed to get inside?”

“Ah. Yeah. Yes.” I said and made way for him. He stepped inside and I instantly smelled that familiar manly scent.

“Hey Mark.” Nikki coolly greeted him and then I shut the door closed.

“Hey Nikki.” He greeted back.

“Whoa! Why do I get chills every time you mention my name?” Nikki said in a daze and Mark just laughed at it.

“Have you had your breakfast already?” I asked.

“Not yet.” He cutely pouted and rubbed his stomach. I slightly blushed upon seeing his effortlessly cute gesture. He has never acted this cute in front of me before.

Nikki coughed to detach me from my momentary stunned state. “Hey. I have to go and start preparing. And maybe I’ll just leave the apartment quietly if I see you two so engrossed in your conversation. Hahaha. See you guys later then.” Nikki beamed and walked towards our room. When it was only the two of us left, I motioned for him to follow me in the kitchen.

“Uh… I only cooked corn soup for breakfast. But I can make pancakes and bacon for you if you want.” I said.

“Really?” Mark flashed a smile. Unlike his normal handsome smile that he always so effortlessly flaunts to his fans, it was one of those rare smiles that genuinely represents bliss. And it somehow overtook me. And I suddenly felt genuinely happy myself for this opportunity to cook for him.

“You must be really hungry, huh?” I smiled, offering him first a bowl of soup as he positioned himself at the diner.

“I left early because I was afraid that fans might spot me leaving the apartment alone.” He said and then started sipping the soup.

“Oh.” I giggled inside and faced the kitchen stove to start frying the bacons. “Are you sure the fans didn’t spot you leaving the apartment? They’re like ninjas. I mean… we’re like ninjas.” I laughed.

“I’m not sure.” He shrugged his shoulders.

I looked at him from time to time while frying the bacons, observing his every move. And I couldn’t help but smile again. “Are you allowed…I mean, does your manager allow you to go wherever you want when you don’t have any schedule?” I curiously asked.

“My manager seems to trust me a lot.” He let out a proud smirk.

“Oh. You look kind of trustworthy, though.” I grinned and placed the plate of bacons in front of him. “Here’s your order, sir. Pancakes coming up next.”

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