A restaurant in Notting hill

 

20:00 PM

 

“Mark, can you move your hands from your plate? I’m trying to take a picture here.” Yeri commanded.

 

Mark obliges and takes his hands off his plate and rests them on the table.

 

“Can you just have your hands off the table? It’s ruining the aesthetics.” Herin chimed in playfully with her camera aiming at their food.

 

Mark chuckles but follows her request anyway, “You girls are helpless”

 

Yeri and Herin gives him a look while squinting their eyes, Mark raised both of his hands in defeat, “Just saying”

 

The trio finally starts eating and caught up with each other’s lives. Herin listens with admiration as she listens to how her two friends have been living their idol lives and their crazy schedules—

The life she almost got to live if only she didn’t leave the company.

 

Mark also learns that Herin is currently enrolled in University of Manchester, double majoring in Public Health and Media Studies.

 

“Wow, girl! You’re thriving” Yeri commented, whereas Mark just nods his head in agreement.

 

He wasn’t surprised at all hearing that because he remembers that Herin has always been an advocate for health and well-being of the trainees even as a teen. He recalls that she once nagged him for fainting in the emergency exit stairs due to being overworked.

 

“How are you not surprised?” Herin lightly nudges his left elbow.

 

“Remember how you were always the advocate for health even back then? I’m definitely not surprised; I can totally see you doing this.” Mark answered gently.

 

Yeri and Herin looks at each other and back at him with wonder in their eyes.

 

“How can I not, you even nagged me for half an hour for not taking good care of myself and suffering from malnutrition back then”

 

“Oh no, I can’t believe you still remember that.” Herin laughs and covers her face.

 

Herin then grabbed a couple of asparagus spears with her fork and knife and places them in Mark’s plate, “Now, eat more veggies, young man”

 

Mark’s eyes widen for a second as he meets her eyes.

 

“Is asparagus still the only veggie you eat?” Herin continues.

 

“What do you take me for? I eat everything now, thanks to you.” Mark proceeds to eat the spears she just gave him.

 

Yeri looks at them in amusement and she decides to tease them, “What’s up with you two? This is suspicious”

 

“What do you mean” they chimed in at the same time.

 

Yeri laughs at them and proceeds to eat her own shrimp scampi, “I give up”

 

Their dinner was filled with laughter and warmth as the three friends took a path down the memory lane and they didn’t realize how long they’ve been talking until they noticed they were one of the only two tables at the restaurant.

 

“I have to take this call from my manager, can you settle the bill?” Yeri passed the black company credit card to Mark as she stands up.

 

Mark nodded and gestured her to take the call, leaving him and Herin alone in the table.

 

“So, how long are you staying in the UK?” Herin asks.

 

“Maybe until the day after tomorrow, I’m planning to travel Paris after. How about you?”

 

“My friends and I are staying for the next three days; we’re planning to go sailing tomorrow.”

 

Yeri comes back and then the three of them went out of the restaurant and see a white sedan parked with the manager rolling down the window to see them.

 

Mark waved at the manager and Herin gave a slight bow, she remembers seeing him as SNSD’s manager a couple times when she was a trainee.

 

Yeri hugs Herin goodbye and promised to see each other again when she comes visit Korea next time as Yeri is leaving tomorrow.

 

Mark snugs his left hand into the back pocket of his dark washed jeans as he observes Herin walking back towards him after sending Yeri off.

 

“I’ll walk you home” Mark voiced.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

The streets of London are still alive, and the city lights twinkle like a bunch of fireflies even though it was almost midnight as Mark and Herin walks side by side in comfortable silence.

 

A strong gush of spring night wind hits their faces and from the corner of his eyes, he noticed Herin shivered subtly as she only has her thin sweater over her sundress.

 

Mark takes off his white jean jacket in no time and places it over her shoulders.

 

Surprised, Herin snapped her head to look at him, “How about you?”

 

“I’ll be fine”, he reassures.

 

After 20 minutes of slow walks and small talks, they finally reached Herin’s accommodation in London—Liberty’s flat. She could see the light still on, beaming from the room’s window.

 

“So…” Mark opens his voice. He wished the walk was longer, and he can’t bear to be the one saying bye first.

 

“Do you want to join us sail tomorrow?” to his surprise, Herin cuts him off.

 

“I mean, I don’t have any plans. But will your friends be okay with me joining you? I don’t want to intrude,” Although his heart is festive, the last thing Mark wants is to make her uncomfortable and feeling obliged to take him around just because he’s visiting.

 

Her face beams brighter than the moonlight after seeing his concerned face, “Of course! They’re always excited to meet new people. Because you know, we’ve been stuck with each other since diapers”

 

Mark can’t help but beams with her, that is just how contagious her smile is.

 

“If you say so, I will.”

 

“Great! We’ll go to the market for brunch and then we’ll go straight to the pier. How does that sound?” Herin claps both of her hands together excitedly.

 

“I’ll be here tomorrow at 10 then”

 

Herin leans in as she places his own jacket across his shoulders then wrapped her lean arms across him as her warmth spreads across his entire being.

“Walk safe, see you tomorrow.” She then gives him a small wave and jogs upstairs towards Liberty’s unit.

 

‘Gosh, she needs to stop doing that’

 

Mark contradicts his heart internally, hoping it would stop beating so loud as he fears that she might hear it.

 

He observes her until the flat door is fully closed before turning around with a huge grin decorating his face. He ran his fingers across his jet-black hair, then proceeds to walk back to his Airbnb with a warm heart, giddy for another day with her tomorrow.

 

______________________________________________________________________________

 

Liberty’s flat

 

23:45 PM

 

Herin opens the door and dodges a pillow thrown across the room, she thanks her fast reflex for that.

 

“ SPILL! WHO’S THAT CUTIE TAKING YOU HOME!” Lia and Liberty runs to her in their pajamas.

 

“I thought you said you’re meeting a girl friend” Lia commented.

 

Herin sets her bag on the small, round, fluffy chair next to the door and sits down on the bedroom rug.

 

“That was a friend I used to trained with in Korea. I didn’t know he was visiting, but we ate dinner together,”

 

“Oh, do you guys mind if he joins us tomorrow?” She added.

 

Lia and Liberty looks at each other and shrieked some inhuman noise, Herin thought she was going deaf. They then shook their head furiously.

 

“Of course we don’t mind! You have never brought a friend to introduce to us, especially a guy!!”

 

Herin shakes her head after hearing their reaction and proceeds to the bathroom to take a shower.

As the hot water warms her body up, her mind wonders to their conversation over dinner.

 

“I can’t believe he still remembers every single detail”

 

She muttered to herself and hits her face with the running water, hoping it would calm her heart down.

 

*
*
*
*
*
*
*

 

Author's note: 

 

OOP THEY ARE MEETING AGAIN TOMORROW!! SAILING TOO