Without any care that he was recording out of focus, Jr picked up the video camera and panned it onto his six friends, who were spread around the living room. 

 

His cinema class required him to make a short movie, so what better to do then film the exciting adventures of him and his friends?

 

 Although right now, the 6 of them lounging around the house was as much excitement as he was going to get. They were waiting on Sena and Mark to come home, so that they could head out for the night. 

 

Pointing the camera towards himself, Jr put up a peace sign and slid himself onto the empty spot on the couch next to Youngjae. 

 

    "Right now, me and the guys are waiting for Sena and Mark to come home from their dinner. Before all you nosy girls in my film class faint, don't worry- it's not that type of dinner." He explained into the camera.

 

From the corner of his eye, he could see Jb squirm a bit. He had every right to tense up at the mention of Sena though; she was his girl. His girl that no one knew was his. 

 

    "As most of you at school know-- Mark's father, Chairman Tuan, and Mr. Lee or as I like to call him, 'Sena's daddy' are very close friends. So tonight, the four of them decided to go out for dinner, leaving us six at home." Jr made a cute frown into the camera, Youngjae joining in with a pout. 

 

    "So, until they get home, we will wait." He panned the camera onto his friends one last time, before shutting the camera off. 

 

He set the camera back onto the coffee table, and walked over to Jb to turn his frown upside down. "You're lucky that I didn't zoom in on your moment of sulking," he joked in attempt to brighten the boy's mood. "The pure expression on your face would have been enough to bust you and Sena's relationship." 

 

    "Did I look that bad?" Jb asked. 

 

    "Bro, you looked sadder than Yugyeom last month when he found he ran out pink hair dye!" Jackson interjected. 

 

    "I can't help it. It that I have to pretend that my girl, isn't my girl." Jb expressed, his voice flat and distressed. These days, he felt restricted by the fact that he couldn't openly date Sena. 

 

Jr patted his shoulder. He completely saw where Jb was coming from, it would having to hide the fact that you're dating the girl of your dreams. Let alone if that girl was Lee Sena, the magician's assistant in every boy's dream.

 

Jackson got up from his relaxed position on the leather couch, walking over to the armchair where Jb sat. He gave him a comforting squeeze on the shoulder also. 

 

    "I know it's hard man. You want to hold her hand in public, kiss her, make it known to someone out of our friend circle that she's yours. But it would more if your parents found out and separated the two of you, right?" Jackson had a point. "You two have been it work better than any other couple could have for the past 6 months. So, cheer up," he rooted. 

 

    "It's a classic Romeo and Juliet story. If only you two didn't have to hide your relationship, because it would have sooooo made for a great movie plot. An A+ movie plot," Jr cracked yet another joke, this time earning a chuckle from Jb. 

 

It was a classic tale of love. A love forbidden by their families. A 21st century version though. You see, Jb's dad, Jaehyuk. and Sena's father, Sungjoon, have been rivals ever since the early 80s. They attended the same high school together, and made everything between the two of them a competition. Sports, grades, girls, etc. They were arch-enemies up until the two finally split ways for college. 

 

Now, the two were big time company owners and are still competing. Instead of sports, grades, and girls though, now they're battling for the top spot in a world of industries, corporations, and empires. 

 

So you see, it wasn't exactly anything Jb did that made Sungjoon dislike him, it was decades of hate that Sungjoon had towards his father and vice versa. Heck, the two old men could barely tolerate the fact that their children were in the same friend circle. They would have a heart attack if they found out the two were romantic with each other.

 

    "And look on the bright side hyung, Sena noona couldn't be more into you." Bambam and Yugyeom, two youngest, boasted in unison, forming a heart with their hands. 

    

    "Thanks guys, you always know how to make me feel better." 

 

    "We'll die before we let you be sad on a Saturday night." Youngjae said back. 

 

    "Speaking of Sena, when is she and ol' Mark hyung coming home, I'm hungryyyyyyy!" Bambam groaned, holding his stomach. 

 

    "She just texted me, they just left the restaurant." Jb informed. He tucked his phone back into his pocket, leaning back into the comfort of the chair, waiting for his girlfriend to arrive.

 

The five hungry teens released sounds of joy at the news. Sadly, they didn't have the privilege of eating a family dinner like Mark and Sena did. 

 

 

---

 

 

 

The car ride from the restaurant was quiet, the only noise coming from the loud blowing of the AC. Mark focused on the road, while Sena was still gathering her thoughts. 

 

That was most catastrophic, stressful, down right insane dinner she had ever experience. It was a build up of words, so many that she barely had the chance to process them. The only word she really heard was marriage, and it alone was enough to make her throw up. 

 

She couldn't take this silence anymore. 

 

    "We're going to tell them no, right? --Right, Mark?" She turned to him, hoping for a nod of agreement. Nothing, he kept his eyes glued to the dark road ahead of them. 

 

    "Right, Mark?" She repeated, this time, her voice firmer and more assertive. 

 

Silence. 

 

    "You're must be absolutely out of your mind if you're actually considering this." She scoffed. "There's other methods of creating a solid business merger Mark, sure it'll take time, but it will happen. And it won't involve us to getting married to each other!" She raised her voice out of frustration. 

 

She looked at him with furrow eyes, searching for a response. 

 

Nothing.

 

    "Last time I checked you weren't mute Mark. Last time I checked, unlike our fathers, you're fully aware that me and Jb are dating, so why don't I hear the words ' no to this marriage' coming out of your mouth?! Why?!" She attacked the non-responsive boy with shouts.

 

Mark's grip on the steering wheel tightened. The hand that was against his head turned into a fist. his frustration over all the events of tonight had turned into pure anger. Not towards Sena, but towards the situation. 

 

    "Answer me Mark-" 

 

    "Think of my mom, Sena." He finally broke his silence. He paused for a minute to gather his emotions before continuing. "You think that I want to go through with this? You think I want to get married to my best friend's girlfriend? You think I want to live by my father's orders?" It was now his time to bombard her with questions. 

 

    "Of course there's other methods that don't involve us getting ing married! But those take time Sena, something that my mom doesn't have. Her hospital bills are taking out more money than my dad's business can take in. If this merger doesn't happen quick…" His strong voice turned into a weep. The hand that was gripping the steering wheel was now wet with his tears. 

 

Face red and soaked with tears, Mark made the smart choice of pulling over on the side of the road. He turned off his car and looked to Sena, whose eyes were red also. 

 

    "I… I…" Sena tried to speak, but couldn't. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I should have known-" 

 

    "No, you have nothing to be sorry for. You're the victim here, not me." Mark breathed in, up his runny nose. He released his hands off the wheel and used his sleeves to dry his eyes. Useless though, the tears kept coming. 

 

    "Look I'm so sorry for what you had to go through tonight. I'm sorry for not opposing it like I should have. Like any good person would have, it's just… she's my mom, Sena. Even if she's just laying still in that hospital bed… she's my mom." More tears filled up his eyes at the thought of losing his mother. The thought would seem all too real if they could't get the merger. 

 

Sena found herself mute now. She didn't know what to say, which words to choose, how to even begin to-

 

    "They gave us tonight to decide right?" Mark said, breathing in hard yet again. "L..L-Let's drive back and tell them no. I-I'm sure there are other ways to-" 

 

Sena shook her head, shocking Mark. It shocked her too, for the matter.

 

    "They gave us tonight to decide, right? I want to spend the night thinking about it. Your mom was like a mother to be, I don't want to make a rash decision." 

 

Her words surprised Mark. Was she actually considering it? 

 

He felt a range of emotions after hearing her words: confusion, guilt, frustration, and… relief. He knew he was a horrible person for feeling this way, but he could't help it. 

 

Her words only made his mother's chances of being saved greater, and for that he couldn't be more grateful. 

 

As much as he wanted to hug her, his mood kept him from doing so. He was still frustrated over the situation they were now in. A marriage? That's a crazy thing for a seventeen year old to be doing. 

 

    "Are you sure?" He made eye contact with her as he started the car back up. He didn't want a confirmation, he just wanted to know that she was okay. 

 

    "Not really. But if we drive back to the restaurant now, we'll be really late, and Jackson would skin us." She managed to joke, even though her eyes were puffy and red, her clothes stained with tears. 

 

Mark tried to break the tense air by chuckling. This was absolutely no time to be laughing, but, what else could he do?

 

    "Promise one thing though Mark," she waited for him to nod yes before continuing, "don't tell Jb about what happened. Nothing decided yet, and I just don't want to put all of this onto him. I'll figure it out." 

 

    "I promise." 

 

    "Good."