It was 2 o’clock in the afternoon on a bright sunny day. Everything was peaceful--the birds were chirping, there was a slight refreshing breeze, the tall grass was swaying along in a comforting way, until the silence was broken by the loud bickering of the town’s “dynamic duo”.

 

“Han Mira! Wait up!”

 

The said girl rolled her eyes as the seventeen year old boy called her name. She turned around and flipped her hair, accidentally whipping him across the face with it in the process of doing so. Finally catching up to Mira, the boy collapsed in front of her into a panting mess.

 

“You...weren’t….supposed to…..ditch me….with that…..THING.” he panted, trying to catch his breath.

 

Mira smirked and looked down at her best friend with a mischievous look on her face.

“If I didn’t give you two some personal time, you wouldn’t have gotten yourself a girlfriend.” she said in a sickly sweet voice, teasing the boy who had just received a promposal from the strangest girl at school.

 

The boy crinkled his nose in disgust. “You KNOW that I don’t like--scratch that--that I’ll NEVER like Yoo Seul Ah. Much less go to PROM with her.” he said showing a clear expression of distaste.

 

“You show that face to her, you’re a roasted squid before we even get back to school tomorrow morning.” Mira said helping her friend up from the area that he had collapsed in.

 

“We’re SENIORS, Mark. Just let the poor girl have her chance at going to prom with a...” Mira looked Mark up and down with a judgey expression. “Princley-ish person like you.”

 

Mark’s face brightened. “Do I really look princely?” he asked excitedly.

 

Mira scoffed. “No. I was just looking for a word that would fit the prom theme.” she said turning around to make her way back home.

 

Mark pouted as he joined her. “What if neither of us get a boyfriend or a girlfriend for the next twenty years?” he asked, taking her bookbag and shouldering it as the two walked up the hill.

 

“We can marry each other, I guess.” Mira laughed. “Though I can’t imagine someone like you not attracting a girl’s attention.”

 

“Hey! I haven’t had a single girl, MINUS Yoo Seul Ah, confess to me this year. It’s unbelievable!” Mark huffed as the two passed by Mira’s house without noticing it.

 

“How about we wait until our 35th birthdays? If the both of us aren’t married or in a relationship by then, we’ll marry each other.” Mira said, her eyes twinkling mischievously.

 

“It’s a deal.” Mark said, shaking her hand and grinning in agreement.

 

Heol….I didn’t think that he’d take it so seriously! Oh well, it’s not like I haven’t received any confessions from other guys this year.

 

“YO! WE PASSED BY MY HOUSE A WHILE AGO!” Mira shouted as she realized that their surroundings no longer consisted of neatly aligned familiar homes with flowers and trees decorating the lawn, creating a homey glow.

 

She whacked him in the head with a binder and dragged him back down the path that they had just traveled on.

 

How can someone who’s lived next door to me all my life NOT remember where we live?

 

Mira huffed as she snatched her belongings back from the boy with a menacing glare. Mark shot her an apologetic look before sprinting up the hill without looking back. “Bye Mira! See ya tomorrow!!!”

 

“YAH! YI EN TUAN! YOU GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!!” she shouted, chasing the male up the hill.

 

And that would start the love story of Mark Yi En Tuan and Mira Han.

---

Twelve years had passed since that fateful day. Mira grinned thinking back about how immature and naive the two friends had been at the young age of eighteen. Now she had a wonderful and caring boyfriend of three months, Chan Yeol Park. He had been nothing but sweet to her for the past few months and he hadn’t missed a single monthversary….yet. Mark, on the other hand, seemed to have some sort of personal vendetta against the playful Korean male, but that didn’t matter to Mira. As long as she was happy and Chan Yeol didn’t forget anything, she’d be fine.

 

“Mira! MIRA! HAN MIRA!!!”

 

Mira snapped out of her thought bubble as Mark shouted in her face with a large pink balloon in one hand and his other hidden behind his back.

 

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY BESTIE!!!” he shouted, pleasantly surprising her.

 

“Awww thank you!!! You’re the first person to wish me a happy birthday.” she grinned. “As always.”

 

“Here. I’ve got something for you.” Mark held out the wrapped gift that he had hidden behind his back.

 

Tearing open the wrapping paper, she found herself holding something very familiar. She grinned in approval.

 

“You remembered! I thought that you would have forgotten by now!” Mira hugged her best friend tightly.

 

“Wanna go grab something to eat? I’ll treat!” Mark offered, looking at Mira with huge puppy-dog eyes.

 

Mira sighed feeling conflicted. She had promised Chan Yeol that she’d go on a date with him that morning, but he still hadn’t shown up AND he hadn’t even wished her a happy birthday. Not to mention the fact that Mark and Mira’s traditional birthday burger “date” still hadn’t been broken since the first time they became friends.

 

“I guess I should take your silence as a no?” Mark asked, his face crestfallen and his voice tinged with sadness.

 

Mira shook her head. “No, we’re going. It’s a tradition! How could I break a tradition with my best friend, huh?” she said brightly linking her arm around his. “Let’s go!!!” she cheered pointing towards the direction of the burger joint.

 

The two friends chatted away as they walked towards Baek’s Burgers. However, as they rounded the corner to enter the restaurant, Mark saw something out of the corner of his eye. Something that seemed extremely scandalous and unlikely. An evil plan began to form in his mind as he recognized the couple in the end booth as Chan Yeol and Baek Hyun, except Baek Hyun was dressed as a girl. Mira turned around to see why Mark hadn’t moved. Seeing him frozen in place with an unreadable expression on his face, she turned around to see what he was gazing at so intently.

 

“AH! Mira, don’t look! It’s not something pleasant.” Mark said, fully knowing that she wouldn’t listen to him and would misunderstand the situation completely.

 

Just as Mark had predicted, Mira turned around and saw Chan Yeol and Baek Hyun together in a booth. Just the two of them.

Fuming, she stormed into the restaurant and stomped up to Chan Yeol. Mark tried to hide a grin as he trailed after her with no intention to douse her fiery temper.

 

“Park Chan Yeol!”

 

Chan Yeol froze in his seat upon hearing the familiar voice yell his name in such an unfamiliar manner. He slowly turned to face her and smiled nervously.

 

“Mira...what are you doing here?” he asked quickly hiding something under the table.

Mira scoffed and glared at Chan Yeol. “Huh. A ring box? What, so you were going to propose to a GUY wearing a WIG? Nice one Chan Yeol. First of all, you blew off our date ON MY BIRTHDAY. Of all days, I would have expected you to have remembered that at least but NOOO, you didn’t. And of course I find out that you’ve been cheating on me with BAEK? I mean, I kinda figured you had a thing for him, but huh...not like this. Not this way.” she blinked back angry tears before leaning towards him.

 

With her face inches away from his, Mira spoke in a menacing tone. “Park Chan Yeol. We’re officially over. Done. ChanMi no longer exists. Have fun living a romantic life as ChanBaek.” she spun around in a posh manner and grabbed a glass of water from a nearby table before returning to the shocked Chan Yeol.

 

“This is my goodbye and congratulations present.” she said coldly before dumping the contents of the glass over his head. “Live a good life without me.”

 

She spun around once more and grabbed Mark’s hand. “Let’s go, Mark. I don’t wanna eat here...sorry I had to ruin our birthday tradition.”

 

Mark grinned as he mentally checked off Chan Yeol’s name in his head. He pulled Mira into a comforting hug.
 

“Hey...it’s okay. You’ll be fine. Don’t think about Chan Yeol, alright? Let’s get your mind off this jerk and get some good ol’ burgers into that stomach of yours.”

 

And that was the story of Mira’s first break-up involving Mark. The two may have been best friends since they were tiny children, but that never stopped Mark from his one-sided love towards Mira.

---

Three years later, Mark waited in front of Mira’s house, dressed completely in black with a mask covering his face. He couldn’t, no. He wouldn’t let her know that he was spying on her and her new boyfriend, Jackson Wang. He refused to accept the fact that out of all people on the face of the earth, she decided to date his best male friend. Mark scowled as he watched Jackson’s familiar sports car pull up in Mira’s driveway. His expression quickly changed when he saw that Jackson wasn’t alone, but with Yoo Seul Ah.

 

“What’s Jackson doing with Seul Ah? He’s always talking trash about that chick…” Mark muttered as he inched closer to the car, taking his phone out to record the scene that was unfolding in front of his eyes.

 

“I love you too, Seul Ah. But I gotta go in and pretend to be in love with Mira. It’s supposed to be our monthversary today.” Jackson’s voice spoke.

 

Mark felt his blood run cold as his protective instict over Mira kicked in. He straightened up and walked boldly up to Jackson’s car, where the couple was kissing, his phone still recording everything.

 

“Jackson Wang.” Mark said coldly with a threatening tone in his voice. The said male froze in recognition at Mark’s voice before turning around with a fake smile plastered on his face.

 

“Yo Mark! What’s up? I haven’t seen you in years! Seul Ah and I came over to party at Mira’s.” he said, pretending to have just gotten there.

 

“Why don’t you give up your act and just break up with Mira already. What’s the point in dating her if you’re just gonna cheat on her with someone as trashy as Yoo Seul Ah, huh?” Mark growled, his anger taking over all other feelings.

 

“Don’t talk about Seul Ah that way!” Jackson shot back.

 

Out of the corner of his eye, Mark saw a curtain move in Mira’s room. She had probably stuck her head out to see what the commotion was.

 

“Well if you’re dating Mira, I wouldn’t see why you’re being so protective over Seul Ah!” Mark shot back, purposely raising his voice for Mira to hear.

 

“I’m not even dating Mira because I like her, alright? I was dared to by the guys because I lost a bet!” Jackson shouted, unaware that Mira had stepped outside of her house now.

 

“You’re such a douchebag.” Mark growled softly before stepping towards Jackson and swinging a punch at his face. Mark swung the door open and dragged Jackson out of the car before swinging more punches directed towards his face.

 

SMACK!

“That was for Mira.”

SMACK!

“That was for cheating on her with Yoo Seul Ah of all people”
SMACK!

“That was because you actually went with the stupid dare.”

SMACK!

“That was because our friendship is officially over.”

SMACK!

“Mark, stop. I can take it from here.” Mira said, her voice as cold as ice. She walked over towards the two boys and bent over to look at Jackson in the face. She scoffed and blinked back her tears of hurt.

 

SMACK!

“We’re over. I never want to see you again. Get off of my property before I call the police.” she said, turning around to be wrapped in Mark’s warm embrace.

 

Mark pat her back comfortingly and shot Jackson a nasty glare. “Leave before I bloody your face even more.” he threatened menacingly.

 

“Oppa, let’s go.” Seul Ah said in a worried tone to Jackson, shooting Mark a dirty look.

 

Mark watched as they pulled out of he driveway and drove off. He pulled the sobbing Mira into his arms and drew comforting circles on her back.

 

“Don’t cry. You don’t deserve a guy like him, okay? You deserve better. So much better.” he whispered into her ear as she clung tightly to his chest.

 

Five more years until we’re 35...five more years…

 

Mark smiled softly to himself with the happy thought that occupied his mind. He pulled away from the hug and wiped Mira’s tears.

 

“How about we go grab a burger from ChanBaek’s Burgers? Will that cheer you up?” he asked holding her arms.

 

Mira nodded and sniffled as he took his jacket off and draped it across her shoulders.

 

“I can’t believe Chan Yeol and Baek Hyun actually ended up getting married though. And all thanks to you!” he joked, causing Mira to laugh a little.

 

“Well if it wasn’t for you, we would have never known that they were gay for eachother and !’d probably still have no idea that they felt that way.” she sassed back wiping away her tears.

 

“Who knows? Maybe Jackson’s gay too!” Mark joked giving Mira a little shove.

 

“YI EN TUAN! DON’T YOU DARE GO THERE!” Mira shouted feigning offense.

 

The two friends trailed off down the hill towards ChanBaek’s Burgers bickering.

 

Chan Yeol Park? Check. Jackson Wang? Double Check. Five more years...just five more years.

---

Just a couple months after the Jackson incident, Mark found himself in the pit of jealousy once again as Mira found herself with a new boyfriend. His name was Jiyong Kwon, but he told everyone to call him GD instead. Mark hated him. He hated his self-centered and arrogant personality. He hated all the skinship shared between “GD” and Mira. He hated how Mira went on and on and on about “GD” and how he would soon become famous. But what he hated the most about Jiyong, was the fact that there was actually something THERE between him and Mira.

 

“OMG Mark! Jiyong Oppa got me these V.I.P. GOT7 tickets with Hi-Touch and everything!!!” Mira squealed, her eyes shining brightly, full of life and excitement.

 

“That’s great.” he responded flatly, refusing to make eye-contact with the excited girl.

Mira frowned. “That’s not the right reaction. You’re supposed to be more happy for me. YOU’RE the one who was pushing for me to get a new boyfriend and get my mind off that jerk.”

 

“Whatever. I’m bored here so I’m leaving.” Mark said getting up.

 

He needed to formulate a plan to get rid of Jiyong Kwon, a.k.a. “GD”.

 

“What’s wrong with you? It’s almost as if you’re male PMS-ing.” she asked grabbing his arm.

 

“It’s nothing.” Mark growled, shaking her arm off.

 

As he left her house, he saw the hurt forming in her eyes. He slammed the door behind him and sank down to his knees, tears stinging his eyes.

 

I’m sorry Mira, but I have to do this in order for you to break up with GD.

 

Mark angrily wiped his tears and stormed across the lawn to his house. He slammed the door and watched as GD’s car pull up into the driveway. Wiping the last of his tears, he came out of his house and pretended to cross the lawn on his way to Mira’s house. His trusty phone peeking out of his pocket recording everything, Mark went to greet Jiyong.

 

“Hi Jiyong Hyung.” Mark chirped with a friendly wave.

 

In response, GD scanned Mark coldly from his toes to the top of his head and scoffed.

 

“It’s GD Hyung to you, twerp.” Shocked at how well his plan was turning out already, Mark feigned offense.

 

“Hyung, did I do something wrong?” Mark slowly began to close the large distance between the two males. Suddenly, GD made a lunge for Mark and pinned him against the front door.

 

“Stay away from my Mira. You may have been childhood friends, but that doesn’t matter to me. Break off your friendship with her.” he ordered, staring straight into Mark’s eyes.

 

“Get off me, bro! I didn’t do anything to you or Mira’s relationship! What’s your problem?” Mark retorted, raising his voice as his anger level began to rise.

 

“You’re trying to sabotage me and Mira’s relationship! I know it!” GD growled pushing Mark against the door with more force.

 

Mira peered through the window and saw her boyfriend threatening her best friend. Mortified, she ran to the front door and swung it open, causing both Mark and Jiyong to fall in front of her.

 

“What in the world is going on right now?” she ordered, tapping her foot impatiently waiting for an explanation.

 

“I came out of my house to say hi to Jiyong Hyung and then he started getting all like that to me.” Mark said, the feeling of unfairness radiating off from him as he pointed at the older like a child.

 

“Spill. Now.” Mira ordered, shifting her firm gaze towards her boyfriend.

 

“He’s trying to ruin our relationship!” Jiyong accused, fire burning in his eyes as he grabbed Mark by the collar.

 

Mark pushed him away. “Dude, will you cut it out? I didn’t even do anything to you!”

 

Seeing Jiyong tense up, ready to punch Mark, Mira stepped in and pushed him away from her best friend.

 

“Let’s resolve this misunderstanding with words. Not physically.” she said sternly. “From my perspective, Mark has done nothing wrong and is being treated unfairly. Tell me your side.”

 

Jiyong took a deep breath, his anger obvious to any passerby by the dark aura that surrounded him.

 

“He’s. Trying. To. Break. Our. Relationship.” he said with poison dripping from each syllable.

 

“Where’s the proof then?” Mira asked, raising an eyebrow.

 

“THERE!” he shouted pointing at Mark.

 

“Me?” Mark pointed at himself.

 

“Yeah, you! You’re the proof! You’ve been out to break us up since before the day we met!”

 

Mark scoffed in disbelief. “WHAT are you SAYING? You’re making absolutely no sense at all.” he shook his head.

 

Tension filled the room with GD’s accusation towards Mark still hanging in the air.

 

“Get out.” Mira said softly, breaking the awkward silence that had filled the room.

 

The two boys looked up in confusion.

 

“I said, get OUT.” Mira said making eye contact with the male.

 

He scoffed and got up. “You’re only taking sides with HIM because you love him. You might think that this relationship is over, but to me, IT’S NOT. Watch your back, Han Mira.”

 

Mira sighed as she crossed the room to where the other male still lay on the floor.

 

“You okay, Mark? I’m so sorry about earlier and for what Jiyong just did.” she helped him up and dusted him off.

 

“It’s fine.” he said letting out a sigh of relief as he saw Jiyong’s car pull out of the driveway and leave. “Honestly, I was worried that your relationship was in trouble as soon as he yelled at me to stay away from you.” Mark confessed as he headed towards the door to leave.

 

“Wait...don’t leave..”

 

Mark turned around, surprised at Mira’s response.

 

“Let’s go out to eat at ChanBaek’s Burgers! We can bash Jiyong as much as we want there. Please?” she batted her eyelashes and clasp her hands together.

 

Mark laughed and put his arm around her shoulders. “Alright. Let’s go...but you’re treating! I treated the last time when you broke up with Jackson.”

 

“Hey! That’s not fair!” Mira pouted as the two walked off, bickering, towards ChanBaek’s Burgers.

 

Three down. How many more to go? We still have five years left before our pact takes place.

 

---

 

 

Two years passed with Mira and Mark staying single...that is until Yoo Seul Ah showed up in town again. She was no longer with Jackson, but had brought her brother along, claiming that they were there to visit her sick parents while she sat there flirting with Mark and trying to gain his love.

 

Mark sighed as he pushed Seul Ah’s head off of his lap for the millionth time that night. The four of them were having a four-way sleepover at Mira’s house and Seul Ah’s brother was hitting on Mira. He had to stay sober in order to keep a close eye on the two, but Seul Ah kept trying to seduce him. Suddenly, something cold and wet spilled all over his chest. Gasping in surprise, he stood up in annoyance.

 

“Yoo Seul Ah!”

 

“Oops…..sssssorree.” she said holding a hand up in fake apology. “My hand slipped.” she laughed hysterically in a drunk manner as she threw the empty plastic cup behind her.

 

Mark took deep breaths to control his temper. “Will you stop acting drunk? Mira literally just pulled out the alcohol and it’s only two shots mixed with soda, so it’s absolutely impossible for you to be drunk.”

 

“Yah, Seul Ah-yah. You never get drunk. You’re always drinking like four bottles of soju at the club while crying over that Yi Fan whatever his name is guy.” her brother, Seul Ong called across the room as he tried to pull Mira in to an unconsented back hug.

 

The annoyance was clear in Mira’s face as she untangled his arms and pushed him backwards.

 

“Will you stop touching me and leave me alone?” she asked politely, poison dousing her words.

 

Mark walked over and grabbed Mira’s wrist to pull her aside.

 

“Why’d you invite the Yoo siblings?” he asked flatly with a slight bit of annoyance tinged in his voice.

 

“I didn’t!! I thought you did!” Mira’s eyes widened in shock.

 

The two slowly looked towards the Yoo siblings with identical expressions filled with hatred. Mark turned back towards Mira with an expression she knew all too well. In the eighth grade, Mark had pretended to be Mira’s boyfriend to save her from being asked out by the school’s cheesiest guy, Woo Hyun Nam. MarkMi ended up setting Woo Hyun up with the school’s nicest girl, Hyun Mi Jang, who surprisingly had a weakness for his greasy remarks. Just the memory of the WooMi couple made Mira shudder. They were cute, but their PDA was over the top...though not as bad as her friend, Seul Yi.

 

Sighing, Mira gave Mark a subtle nod and excused herself to the kitchen to prepare snacks.

 

“Markie poo~” Seul Ah crooned as she draped herself over Mark’s body. “Your shirt is wet. You should change it or you might catch a cold.”

 

As she began to take the shirt off, Mark bat her hands away and shoved her towards Seul Ong.

 

“Hands to yourself! Didn’t you learn that in kindergarten?” Mark hissed with distaste as he side-eyed Seul Ah.

 

Seul Ah raised her hands and stepped back in mock surrender with a pouty face. “But Markie-poo, we do this all the time!!!” she said seductively stepping towards him while shrugging off her sweater, revealing a scandalous crop top.

 

Mark felt his face burn in anger and slight embarrassment for her as she stepped closer towards him.

 

“I’m freaking dating Mira. I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Mark growled quietly so that only Seul Ah could hear.

 

She quickly backed away as if she had just touched fire, her face turning a bright shade of red as she banged into Mira, who had just walked in holding a tray full of snacks.

 

“First you try to hit on me and now you’re taking it out on my girlfriend?!?! What’s wrong with you?” Mark exploded, taking a menacing step towards the ty girl.

 

“Sorree.” Seul Ah said sarcastically, trying to hide her embarrassment as she gathered her belongings.

 

“Where are you going, Seul Ah?” Mira asked innocently as she set the tray down and walked over to Mark, who instantly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a back hug.

 

“Ah...I just remembered that I left my oven on. Let’s go, oppa.” Seul Ah said flipping her hair as she stalked out of the room. Mira and Mark shared a knowing look as the confused Seul Ong stood up to gather his belongings.

 

“Sorry. I don’t know what got into her….she doesn’t normally act like this when she finds out that the guy has a girlfriend…” he said scratching his head in confusion. Shrugging his shoulders, he waved goodbye over his shoulder and left the room.

 

“What a hoe.” Mark grumbled under his breath, making Mira laugh. The two sighed in relief as the Yoo siblings left, only to be greeted with Seul Ong’s face as he popped his head back in.

 

“If you ever break up with him, call me!” Seul Ong said making a phone motion with his right hand before being yanked out the door by Seul Ah. “I LEFT MY NUMBER ON YOUR BATHROOM DOOR!!!” he hollered, a loud slam of the front door abruptly ending his obnoxious failed attempts at getting a girl.

 

Mira sighed. “I swear he’s worse than his ty sister.” Mark said with distaste, his face twisting into a sour expression at the thought of the messed up siblings.

 

Mira laughed. “I second that.” she lifted her wrist to check the time as the two collapsed side-by-side on Mira’s bed. Turning her head towards Mark, she grinned as an idea weaseled its way into her brain. “Wanna grab a burger from ChanBaek’s Burgers?”

Mark turned towards her, his face holding an unreadable expression. “Now?”

 

“They’re still open for a good twenty minutes. We’ll probably be their last customers but that means…” the two friends looked at each other with identical grins that stretched from ear to ear.

 

“FREE FRIES!!!” they jumped down from the bed and grabbed their jackets before racing each other down the stairs to get to the front door.

 

Mark smiled as he let Mira beat him to the car by a couple of seconds, pretending to trip over the threshold of the front door.

 

“Darn it Mira, you beat me again!” he feigned disappointment as he opened the car door to the driver’s seat.

 

That’s around four now, right? We have less than three years left….

 

Mark turned the key in the ignition of the car, making it rumble to life with Mira’s favorite music blasting through the speakers. Mark smiled as he watched Mira squeal in delight as her favorite song, GOT7’s Hard Carry filled the car with the EDM-style music. He watched as she sang the lyrics along with the members of GOT7 as the two drove towards their most favorite place in the world.

 

I will NEVER let her be taken by another guy. I’ll make sure of that.

 

Mark tightened his fingers around the steering wheel as they pulled into the parking lot of ChanBaek’s Burgers.

 

“Race ya~” Mira trilled as the song ended and she unbuckled her seatbelt.

 

Four down. Let’s go Mark. You can do this.

 

---

 

 

“MARK YI EN TUAN! I HAVE BIG NEWS!!! YOU NEED TO COME HERE RIGHT NOW, THIS INSTANT!!!”

Mark groaned as he instantly recognized the voice that was squealing on the other end of the line.

 

“Han Mira, it’s freaking five in the morning. Can’t you wait until I’m fully awake?” he whined as he pulled on a hoodie.

 

“This can’t wait. Hurry up!!!”

 

The line went dead and Mark sighed collapsing on his bed in defeat. It had been three years since the fateful day with the evil Yoo siblings, who still believed that MarkMi was a thing. Forcing himself out of bed, Mark slipped on a pair of slides and trudged over to Mira’s house. Using the spare key left in her mailbox, he let himself in and climbed up the stairs to where Mira was freaking out.

 

“What is it?” he asked flatly, praying that it couldn’t possibly be what he thought it was.

His heart sank to his stomach as he saw the glow radiating from her body. The last time he’d seen her this excited and happy was when she met Jackson….and that had NOT ended well.

 

“Ho Ya’s gonna ask Bi Ah out!!!” she squealed, completely in fangirl mode.

 

“I just spent the last hour coaching him on how to win her heart and he’s gonna do it tomorrow!!!”

 

Mark shook his head with a smile playing around on the corners of his lips. He joined MIra on the bed as she continued to tell him every detail of the phone conversation she had just had with Ho Ya.

 

“And then there’s gonna be fireworks that go off once she accepts him!” Mira squealed in delight. Just the thought of the confession made her feel all giddy.

 

“Mmhmm….”

 

Mira turned her head to be met with a sleeping Mark. She laughed a little before realizing that he pretty much took up the entire bed. Sighing, she went to the closet and pulled out a couple of blankets and spread them out on the floor before snuggling into them.

 

“Girl shouldn’t sleep on the floor ya know.” she said bitterly, giving the sleeping male a dirty look. She turned around, a slight smile decorating her face as she drifted off to dreamland.

 

“HAN MIRA!!!”

 

Mira groaned as she turned towards the annoyingly familiar voice that shouted her name.

 

“What do you want Yi En?” she whined as she pulled the covers over her eyes, blocking out any source of light that might fully wake her up.

 

“How could you sleep on the floor?!?!? Girls are supposed to sleep on the bed! I could have just taken the floor!!!” Mark whined, hitting her continuously with her favorite duck pillow.

 

“YAH! Let me sleep!!!” she shouted, batting away at the empty air as Mark slowly approached her from the other side. He pounced upon her with a tickle attack, filling the room with shrieks and colourful words directed towards him. Releasing her from the torture of getting up in the morning, he shot out of the room before Mira’s wrath could be let out on him.

 

“See ya in two hours! Don’t forget, we promised to meet up with ChanBaek at the pool!”

Mark called as he ducked out the front door and sprinted across the lawn towards his house. They were at the ripe age of 34, neither of them were married or had been in a serious relationship since the disgusting incident with the Yoos.

 

Mark ran up the stairs of his house to get ready. This wouldn’t be like their traditional simple pool parties with the ChanBaek couple, but more of a surprise one….for Mira. Her brother, Mi Hyun, had chosen the career of an army man as soon as he graduated from high school. It had been close to ten years since he last saw Mira because she had been away at university during his last visit. This would be the best day of her life...that is, IF everything went as planned.

 

Two hours went by like two minutes, and the MarkMi friends were soon on their way to the pool where Mira’s surprise waited. As Mark pulled into the parking lot, he noticed something wrong...something terribly terribly wrong. The friends had agreed to meet Mira’s brother in front of the lemonade stand in front of the entrance of the pool, but standing next to Mi Hyun was a boy. A boy that Mark knew all too well -- his younger brother, Joey. Joey had been in search of a girlfriend, more specifically, a Korean girlfriend, for the longest time. However, instead of using his brains to search for one in Korea, he took a plane and moved to the States to find one there. He was more brawn than brains and took after absolutely no one in the Tuan family. Before he left for the States, he had gotten in a major fight with Mark, leaving the two brothers on non-speaking terms. Whenever they saw each other, they acted like strangers and refused to interact with one another.

 

“What are you looki--MI HYUN OPPA!!!!” Mira began to sob as she ran towards her brother, her arms open wide as Mi Hyun ran towards her and wrapped her in a tight hug.

 

“It’s been too long oppaaaaa” she cried as the military man held back his tears and laughed at his younger sister.

 

“Let me look at your face. It’s been so long that I don’t know what the non-baby face Mira

looks like.” he teased pulling her cheek and leaning back to see her face.

 

“Long time no see...hyung…” Joey said awkwardly clapping Mark on the back.

 

“Yeah….why are you here?” Mark spoke with a slightly cold tinge in his voice, shooting Joey a look that could kill.

 

“Same reason. Still looking for a girl.” Joey laughed. “She’s not that bad though.” he motioned towards Mira, who was still crying tears of joy for being reunited with her older brother.

 

Mark growled, grabbing Joey by the collar of his shirt. “You touch her, you’re dead. I’ve told you once before and I’ll tell you once again. We’re no longer brothers. You made that choice when you destroyed my friendship with Mira in the past and moved to the U.S. to run away from it all, using that pathetic excuse about looking for a girlfriend. I’m freaking older than you and so is Mira, so don’t even think about aegyo-ing or flirting with her. If you do, you’re dead meat. No, you’ll be dead to me. I won’t even consider accepting you as my brother ever again.” He released his younger brother and watched in anger as the younger rubbed the area around his neck and pretended to have a cramp. Mark rolled his eyes and entered the pool area without a word, refusing to talk with Joey and not wanting to break Mira’s happy reunification with her brother.

 

“Yo, Mark! Did Mira meet him yet?” Chan Yeol asked raising a hand in greeting.

 

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?” Baek Hyun asked, immediately noticing Mark’s dark expression.

 

“HE’S back. If you see that jerk anywhere around Mira trying to hit on her or whatever, call me. Right away. Alright? He’s not to be trusted.” Mark said, his bad mood showing in an obvious manner as he continuously shot dirty looks towards his younger brother.

 

“I’m sure he won’t try anything. I mean, you DID come here with her, right? He might just assume that the two of you are dating.” Chan Yeol said taking a swig of his lemonade.

 

“Yeah! Your friendship kinda looks beyond friendship anyways.” Baek Hyun chimed in as he took his shirt off, preparing to get into the water.

 

“Let’s hit the deck!” Chan Yeol shouted grinning as he pushed Mark into the pool.

 

“Relieve your anger. Mira will have a chance to look at your precious chocolate abs that you’ve been hiding in your closet all winter long.” Baek Hyun teased splashing water towards Mark’s face.

 

Laughing, the three boys splashed each other and enjoyed themselves as Joey pretended to need help putting sunscreen on. Mark rolled his eyes as he watched his brother’s pathetic excuse to have a female’s hands on his body. Getting out of the pool, he walked over to where Joey sat and took the bottle of sunscreen from Mira’s hands.

 

“Usually, it’s the girl who wears sunscreen. Not the guy.” Mark said with a fake smile as he helped Mira put on the sunscreen.

 

Joey scowled knowing that Mark had foiled his plan. “Watch your back. I still have plenty of time left today to get her.” he hissed as he got up and went towards the pool.

 

Mark scoffed and finished putting the sunscreen on Mira.

 

“That’s Joey, isn’t it?” Mira asked softly, knowing that he was a sensitive topic for Mark.

 

“...yeah…” Mark replied silently as the two friends watched the ChanBaek couple play a three-way Marco Polo with Mi Hyun.

 

“He’s changed...a lot….he’s more bolder now.” Mira said in a slight joking manner as she patted Mark’s hand. “Don’t worry. He can’t ruin our friendship this time. I won’t let him.”

 

“Promise?” Mark looked deep into her eyes.

 

“Promise.” she said grinning and locking their pinkies together.

 

“What are you two lovebirds doing? Get over here!” Chan Yeol shouted sending a huge wave towards the two who were sitting at the edge of the pool.

 

Mira shrieked as the cold water met her skin for the first time that day. “PARK Chan Yeol, YOU’RE SO DEAD!”

 

The three-way game of Marco Polo instantly transformed into a full-out water fight between the four thirty-plus-year olds with Mi Hyun and Joey watching them from the side.

 

“Aren’t you going to join them? I’m pretty sure you’re younger than all four of them.” Mi Hyun said in a friendly tone. He was met with silence as Joey got up and walked off towards the men’s restroom.

 

Shrugging his shoulders, he slipped into the pool and joined the game, enjoying the freedom and fun that he had missed out on for the past several years.

 

The day went by quickly and the five friends plus Joey soon found themselves in front of a meat buffet to finish off the day with a bang. Chan Yeol and Baek Hyun could eat enough for ten people between themselves, Mi Hyun could eat up to 4 servings, and both Mira and Mark ate enough for twenty people. Joey claimed to be vegetarian.

 

The large group entered the meat buffet and the Gogi Party began. Galbi, bulgogi, beef, chicken, pork, you name it. They were all on the grill within the first ten minutes of their entry. After around five rounds of eating meat, the friends were ready for some alcohol.

 

“Let’s get drunk tonight!” Chan Yeol shouted grabbing a couple bottles of soju from the free-for-all fridge in the corner.

 

“I’m only going to drink one shot. I gotta stay sober to drive Mira home.” Mark said, refusing the bottle that Chan Yeol towards him.

 

“Ayyyyy. Fine.” Chan Yeol poured the soju so that it filled the whole shot glass.

 

“Bottoms up!” Baek Hyun cheered as Mark took it all in one shot.

 

Within the half hour, all five of the friends stumbled out of the meat buffet, completely drunk. One shot had to turned to two, which turned to three, then five, then twelve, until Mark lost count.

 

“Who wants to go to a noraebang?” Mi Hyun grinned goofily as he stumbled into a streetlamp.

 

“Let’s go!” Mira shouted as she pointed towards the opposite direction and stumbled down the street.

 

“It’s the other way, silly.” Mark grinned pulling her arm towards the right direction.

 

“Ah! Why’d your arm fall off?”

 

“That’s her jacket you idiot.”

 

The five figures wandered down the street, disturbing the peace, and soon found themselves inside a brightly painted building behind bars. One by one, the five of them had passed out at random areas and were reported.

 

Mark groaned, rubbing his head to rid himself of the splitting headache as he woke up sober. “What happened last night?”

 

“Eh? You’re up too?” Mark turned towards the voice and found Mi Hyun doing the same thing. “I think we got a bit too drunk last night.” he laughed, then held his head as a flash of pain split through it.

 

“Ugh...who’s idea was this all?”

 

“Guilty as charged.” Chan Yeol raised one hand while gripping his head with the other.

 

“I’ve never been so drunk before.” he gasped, noticing that his wedding band was missing.

 

“WHERE’D MY RING GO?” he freaked out searching for the piece of jewelry on the floor that surrounded him.

 

“It’s right here you idiot.” Baek Hyun sighed holding up the golden ring. “You took it off and put it on my middle finger last night at the noraebang.”

 

“We went to a noraebang?” Mi Hyun asked as he crawled over to the four other males.

 

“You’re the one who came up with the idea!” Chan Yeol glared as he gripped his head and slid on the wedding band.

 

“Says the one who came up with the idea to get DRUNK.” Mark hissed, his voice laced with poison.

“Ah. Good morning, sleeping beauties. I see you are all sober now. You were reported for disturbing the peace last night at 3:00 in the morning. Your female friend is in the other cell as males and females are separated. You are each allowed one call to be bailed out, but if not, you will be fined ₩430,000 each.” A police officer said as he strolled over towards the four males who were busy trying to pin the blame on one another.

 

Their attention immediately went to the officer as Mark’s heart sank into his stomach in immediate recognition of the male. The officer’s name card read Jiyong Kwon.

 

“Ah...Mark Tuan. We meet again.” he scoffed. “So I guess the female in the cell would be my love, Mira Han, correct?”

 

“Do anything to her, you’re dead.” Mark growled.

 

“Threatening a police officer? Tsk tsk. You should know better than that. Do you want this to go on your criminal record?”

 

Mark silently shot invisible daggers at Jiyong with his eyes as he watched the male strut back and forth across the outside area of the cell.

 

“KWON JIYONG! Get back to your post this instant or you won’t be considered to be an intern!” a voice shouted.

 

Mark had to suppress his laughter at Jiyong’s reaction upon having his bluff uncovered.

 

“Pfft. What a loser.” Chan Yeol laughed as Jiyong’s flushed embarrassed face as he scurried off to return to his post.

 

Not even a minute had passed before an actual official, with the uniform and everything, approached the four males in the cell.

 

“You guys are released. We only kept you here overnight because there was a complaint about a disturbance in the peace and silence of the night.” he said in a friendly tone as he unlocked the cell door. “We wanted to make sure that you would stay safe even while you were drunk.”

 

“Is our friend okay? Mira?” Mark asked as soon as he was released.

 

“Your lady friend? She’s fine. It appears to be that she didn’t drink as much as the four of you, so she woke up earlier with less complaints about heads hurting and whatnot.” the officer chuckled as he led the males out to the main area of the police department.

 

The five friends left the police department joyfully, knowing that they had managed to dodge the law and leave with a clean criminal record. Suddenly, Mira stopped and began counting the heads she saw in front of her.

 

“There’s only five of us….are we missing someone?” she asked as she recounted again.

 

“Naw. I’m sure we’re all here. Me, you, Mi Hyun Hyung & the ChanBaek couple. We’re all here and accounted for.” Mark grinned, slinging an arm around her as they walked down the street, looking for wherever they had parked the car.

 

“Let’s look for a place that sells hangover soup. We all need it right now.” Baekhyun suggested as the friends passed by an unopened soup restaurant.

 

Nodding in agreement, the five piled into Mark’s car and drove off, looking for a place to get rid of their hangovers.

 

Five down. One year to go. Bye bye baby Joey. Toodles to you!

 

Mark grinned at the thought of getting rid of his annoying younger brother. No more flirting, no more fake-ness, completely TURNED DOWN. HA! He pulled into the parking lot of Jeon’s Hangover Soups, a nearby restaurant that sold good quality hangover soup for cheap prices.

 

“Hyung! Five hangover soups over here please!” Mark shouted, grinning from ear-to-ear. Success would come in an year. All his hard work would not be in vain.

---

One year later, Mark found himself leaving little tiny missions around Mira’s house in the middle of the night. It was still February 13th, the night before Valentine’s Day. The day he would propose to her. No, MarkMi had never dated, but it was according to their promise with each other back in the autumn of their senior year.

 

Although Mira may have forgotten everything, Mark definitely didn’t. He lit the candles in a pathway shape that trailed down her stairs and out the door, where the path transformed from candles to rose petals. The rose petals would lead her to a teddy bear holding a box that contained the birthday present he had gotten her when she turned twenty-eight. The present would be holding a hint that would lead her closer and closer to where he was located. It would take her on a wild goose chase around town to find the one who would propose to her.

 

Hearing the creak of her bed, Mark realized how behind schedule she was as sounds of her waking up filled the silence of the house. Checking his watch, he internally freaked out as he realized that it was already 6:30 in the morning. Quickly lighting the remaining candles near the door, he gently closed it behind him and sprinted towards his car, messing up a couple areas where the rose petals were laid out. Torn between being even later or making it perfect, Mark ran back and fixed the rose petals before streaking towards his car. Jumping in, he quickly turned the key to ignition and drove to his final destination.

 

From Mira’s perspective, everything was just another normal day. She didn’t realize that it was Valentine’s Day, nor did she know that there was another presence in her house. Getting out of bed, a loud creak resounded in the room as she made her way to her personal bathroom. Lazily getting ready for the day, she washed up and picked out a cutesy outfit. Unbeknownst to Mark, she had been harboring a crush on the male for around three years now. Whenever another female tried to flirt with him or seduce him, she’d feel a spark of jealousy and would instantly attach herself to him to ward off all females on two legs.

 

Smilling to herself, Mira got dressed and opened her door to go downstairs, only to be met with the scent of vanilla, her favorite, and a glowy pathway that led her downstairs. Following the candle-lit path, she found herself leaving her home. Grabbing a jacket that had been left on the couch right next to the door, she shrugged it on and followed the trail of rose petals that began at her threshold.

 

Who in the world would do something this cheesy? It doesn’t seem very romantic.

Not to say that Mira wasn’t interested in romantic little actions or cheesy lovey-dovey sayings, but this was a bit….what was the word? Oh. Cliché. Almost as if it came out of one of those typical Korean dramas or American romance novels.

 

She followed the rose petal trail to a clearing in a forested area, where a cute teddy bear sat atop a pedestal holding a gift box. Opening the box, she found herself smiling as she was met with the promise that Mark had fulfilled five years earlier.

 

//flashback//

Mark and Mira were on their way home from detention after school in middle school. They had been caught ditching school to go watch the last movie in their favorite movie series, Harry Potter, in theaters. However, as soon as they left the school grounds and entered the movie theater, they ran straight into the principal, who was also playing hooky to watch the movie.

 

No matter how much they begged and tried to bargain with him, the principal refused to let them stay and watch the movie and dragged them both back to school and assigned them with detention for a month along with the punishment of cleaning the school’s restrooms, including the teachers’ lavatories.

 

On their way back home from their first day of detention, Mark had promised Mira that he’d buy her the full set of the Harry Potter movies once everything came out. However, that didn’t happen until five years ago around the time of her birthday. Mark had pre-ordered the entire Harry Potter set and given it to her for birthday along with her first-ever wand.

 

Grinning at the fond memories, she picked up the tiny envelope that was placed on top of her beloved DVDs. Sliding the note out, she read the hint that Mark had left just an hour before.

 

My dearest Mira,

Oh my...this is so cheesy.

You probably won’t ever forgive me for

doing this cheesy thing, but I think it’s worth it.

If you want to find out the identity of
this cheesy chicken-like coward, go to
the place where Joey Tuan was ditched the night
your brother returned from his services.

~ Mystery Lover Boy

 

Mira laughed out loud. “Mystery Lover Boy? What is that? Couldn’t he have come up with a subtler nickname?”

 

Knowing full well who was leaving these cheesy messages, she set off to find her best friend at the meat buffet they had gone to just an year before. Instead of finding Mark though, she was met with another gift box containing a note. Opening the box, she found a tiny doll of Mark holding a heart. She smiled fondly at the cute plushie and slid the note out of the tiny envelope next to the doll.

 

My dearest Mira,

Was this too easy? Haha.
I don’t think it’d be fair to make you
go all over town when you already know
my identity. Go to the place where we
played as matchmakers and made
the most well-known couple in town.
~ Your Best Chin Goo

 

Immediately knowing the place that Mark was referring to, Mira set out for ChanBaek’s Burgers, their “after break-up” place. Pulling up into the parking lot of her favorite burger joint, she grinned seeing Mark’s familiar car already there. She pulled up next to his and slipped into the building. To her surprise, the lights were all turned off.

 

“Hello?” she called out as she carefully walked into the room.

 

Suddenly, a light directly above the love of her life, Mark Yi En Tuan. An instrumental of GOT7’s Confession Song began to play as he grinned and walked towards her. Her heart melted seeing him in a suit with that sweet smile resting on his lips.

 

“Han Mira. You made a promise to me twelve years ago. And I’m here to fulfill that promise.” Mark strode over to where Mira stood and knelt down.

 

“Since we both ended up not getting married even at the age of 35, will you marry me?” he grinned the most breath-taking grin Mira had ever seen in her life.

 

With sparkling eyes and a thumping heart, she took his hand. He stood up and wrapped her in a hug as she gave him her answer.

 

“Yes.”

 

 

 

Fin

 

---

---

Dear Kimmi,

hello hello kimmi!!! /hugs/ i hope you enjoy this MarkMi oneshot! i wasn't entirely sure if i portrayed your chara correctly, but i gave it my best shot :) happy valentine's day!!! ❤❤❤

Love
Poofferfeesh