FLASHBACK

"Promise that you'd be there?" you said.

Mark twined your pinky finger with his and smiled.

"Promise..." he said.

You had your first soccer match when you were 13 years old. That year, you and Mark had started getting close and he was the first to know that you'd be having your first soccer match. The rest had to practice and so did Mark but he'd rather miss practice than miss your match. So since then, Mark, no matter what, ALWAYS, came for your games... then that changed. Mark was walking with you from your school to the company building when you remembered something.

"Mark! My soccer match is in two days time. You're coming right?" you asked.

He slung his arm around your neck and started messing up your hair. This was how the two of you teased one another. You finally got out of his hold and he squished your cheeks with his palms and started swaying your face side to side.

"Yah! Have I ever missed one?! I'm not planning to miss any!" Mark nagged.

"Okay! You promised, okay!" you said and he nodded.

"Dude, I'll be there. Don't worry!" Mark said reassuringly.

THE NEXT DAY...

You were at home... kicking a ball against the wall and when it bounced back, you kicked it again. You were supposed to study but... nah, you weren't in the mood so your book was just there, closed, beside you. Then there was a knock on the door and as per usual, it was Bambam. The 7 boys were allowed to come in when JYP or his wife weren't allowed... because you gave them the password to the security lock of your front house. They all came at least twice a week but Bambam comes at least 4 times a week. You got used to them just wandering around the house when you thought you were alone. Yeah, its pretty weird but you know... whatever.

"What's up, Bam?" you asked as you caught the ball between your feet.

He lied down on your bed beside you and sighed.

"I'm soooooo bored," he groaned.

Bambam was the one that usually finshes practice the fastest. He memoriaed his lines and his dance moves the quickest so he was usually allowed to leave earlier than the rest. He'd usually come over to your house if there was no one back at the dorm.

"Wanna play soccer?" you asked, not knowing what else to do.

"Psshhhh... You'd win anyway... Why even try?" Bambam said making you smile.

"I heard from Yugyeom about the theoretical situation question you asked him..." Bambam said suddenly making your eyes widen.

"You want to talk about that?" Bambam asked.

You sighed. If anyone could know about how you were really feeling, that person would be Bambam. For some reason he was just good with reading people's behaviors and expressions. Maybe it was because he left Thailand at a young age and he had to learn how to read people's expressions since then. Even Mark said that whenever there was a monthly assessment, Bambam's predictions on the results were usually correct and that was solely based on looking at the judges' faces.

"... I think... I think I'm in love with Mark..." you said sadly.

You heard Bambam sighed and you turned to look at him and you saw him nod.

"It was a matter of time. When you spend a lot of time with someone, you tend to fall for them," Bambam said.

"I don't know what to do, bro... Ugh... WHY MARK?!" you groaned as you squished your pillow with your arms.

"Well... If he wasn't with someone else, it would've been better," Bambam said... stating the obvious making you chuckle sarcastically.

"You think?" you said with a sigh.

"How about... finding someone else? Not to replace Mark as a best friend... but as a crush," Bambam suggested.

"But I... the thing is... I... I can't picture myself being with someone else," you stuttered.

"Woah... You really like him... Well, how about just waiting it out? Just see if the feelings fade! I mean, thats all you can do now since that is the most harmless method," Bambam said and you sighed in agreement.

He was right... it was a sad suggestion but he was right.

"Oh yeah! We're all coming for your soccer match by the way! Its gonna be the first time ALL 7 of us go. Do us proud!" Bambam exclaimed and you threw the ball at him lightly, making him fall of the bed.

"DO ME PROUD AND DON'T BE LATE LIKE THE LAST TIME YOU WENT!" you scolded and Bambam just chuckled.

THE NEXT DAY... THE DAY OF THE SOCCER MATCH...

"Park Jisung!" the coach called out and you raised your hand, signaling to her that you were present.

Then, you and your team ran out onto the field in a single line. You closed your eyes briefly, taking in the glorious moment. Cheers, fan chants and sound of the band playing made you have an adrenaline rush. Your whole team stood in a line, facing the crowd and stood at attention for the National Anthem. While everyone was singing or mouthing the anthem, your eyes darted from left to right, trying to spot where the boys were. Then, out of the corner of your eye, standing just outside the field, hiding beside the wall that was attached to the benches, you spotted them. You then remembered that they were idols and had to keep a low profile with personal matters.

After the anthem, there was a 2 minute performance by the cheerleaders so with the little time you had, you ran towards the boys. You smiled brightly, knowing that they still came eventhough they were going to be skinned alive by their manager for coming to your game. However, you realised... Mark wasn't with them.

"Where's Mark?" you asked cheerfully.

Bambam's expression changed instantly and the rest just sighed.

"He couldn't make it. He told us to tell you that he's sorry and he's going to make it up to you... he promised," JB said.

You couldn't believe what you were hearing... and looking at Bambam's sad expression, you knew it was linked to Minah.

"Yeah...Well, he should only make promises that he can keep," you said coldly.

"Jisung ah..." Jackson called out but you ran back out onto the field, not wanting to let the 6 of them see your tears fall.

THE NEXT DAY...

The match could've been better... actually a lot better. You never once missed a goal since your third match when you were 14 and that night, you could have scored 3 goals... but your mind was so busy thinking about what Mark. Your team just managed to beat the other team just by one goal... and that goal wasn't by you which wasn't normal.

You and the rest of the guys were in the dance practice room when Mark strolled in with a beaming smile on his face. Everyone had tried cheering you up but even Jackson and Youngjae couldn't make you smile the slightest bit. Mark saw you and his smile grew wider.

"So! How was the match? Sorry that I couldn't make it. Minah was having a commercial shoot by herself and she was lonely during her breaks so I was with her," Mark said.

"Um... Mark hyung, I think it'd be better if---" Bambam said halfway when you interupted him.

"ARE YOU F**KING KIDDING ME?!" you screamed at the top of your lungs making everyone in the room shudder.

Everyone knew you had a loud voice. It was usually bright, loud and cheery and when you cursed it was usually because you were just fooling around. You never really scolded people with vulgarities unless you were really pissed... like at that moment and the boys were never there when you exploded so that was something new. Everyone just remained rooted to the ground.

"Huh?" Mark said.

You stood up and walked in front of him.

"So much for best friends..." you said coldly as you shoved your small gold trophy to him and purposely bumping into his shoulder before storming out of the room.

Mark looked around at his friends and they just showed the same "What have you done?" expression.

"Come on, Hyung... You should've known better..." JB sighed.

With that, Mark went off to find you and just like he predicted, you were at the rooftop. 

You were standing near the edge, letting the soft breeze cool you down. You knew Mark was walking towards you, you just couldn't be bothered to turn around. He stopped exactly just an arms length behind you.

"... I'm sorry..." Mark said.

When you didn't turn around, he placed a hand on your shoulder but you stepped to the front slightly, making his hand fall.

"Look bro... I won't miss any more matches after this. I promise," he said, a hint of desperation in his voice.

You turned around and glared at him through your teary eyes. You raised up your hand, ready to hit him and so he closed his eyes and was getting ready for it. However, your hand remained in the air... you couldn't hit him... because you knew it wasn't even a crush anymore. This was the real thing... you loved him. In frustration, you exhaled and dropped your hand to your side. He opened his eyes to see you still glaring at him, tears streaming down your face. He placed his thumb on your cheek to wipe the tears but you turned to the side and he placed his hand back down.

"I'm really sorry..." he said again.

"You said that I was getting distant... Now how about you? The Mark Tuan I know stays true to his promises," you said and Mark just looked down.

"... Minah or me?" you asked.

Mark shook his head and looked up at you.

"That's not fair, Jisung..." Mark said.

"MInah... or me?" you asked.

"... Minah..." Mark answered.

You squinted your eyes and bit your lip to control your tears then you turned around. Mark remianed standing there, not knowing what's going to happen. Then you laughed a little and turned back around, smiling althoough your eyes were red and teary.

"Of course... Why would you pick me right?" you said.

"Jisung, its not like that---" Mark said halfway.

"No, don't... Just... Fine, you can have her. Be happy with her," you said.

"How about you?" Mark asked.

"Me? Why bother caring?... You chose her..." you said, no sadness in your voice, making Mark tear up slightly.

With that, you walked away... realising that you couldn't have him and he couldn't ever understand you.