Chapter 17: Saehee [Final Pt.1]

My head was leaning on the palm of my hand as I boredly stared at the wall ahead of me. Mom and Dad were in the master bedroom fighting again while Uncle Taehan read the newspaper. He was silently sipping his coffee and every now and then, he would look up; His eyes would trail from my face to the Biology textbook in front of me.

Exams were coming up and I would dedicate most of my weekends studying. This week however, I had absolutely no motivation to study. The snow outside killed the mood while the freezing cold air inside the house turned everything in the house into ice. Winter hit like a speeding car and everyday I would have to wear a thick sweater.

“You aren’t going to study?” Taehan spoke up and I lazily shook my head. Why study when I’ve got a date in a few hours? Deciding that I wouldn’t get anywhere, I stood up and went to my room to prepare. I had gone on countless dates with Mark but for some reason, I felt giddy today. Maybe it was because we haven’t seen each other for a week since he was busy with Basketball. Nevertheless, my heart started pounding as I rummaged through my closet. I pulled out a grey shirt and black leggings and searched for my brown long winter boots. Then, I walked to my dresser and started putting on some light makeup. Adding some BB cream here and there, I stared at myself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. My phone went off and I grinned in glee; running towards it, I picked it up and my mood skyrocketed.

“Hi,” his husky voice started a fire in my heart. “I’m at the front door.”

“Alright,” I wanted to laugh from excitement but I contained myself. Grabbing my bag, I rushed down the stairs and exited the house. His car was parked on the side of the road with snow accumulating on the hood and the top. I took a peak from the side and noticed how different he was. He was still wearing his jersey from practice; his teeth was the colour of the snow while his newly dyed light purple hair reminded me of lavenders. The way he stared at his phone was charming. He smiled every now and then until he looked up and noticed me. His grin couldn’t get any bigger as he gestured me to enter the car. A rush of warm air hit me when I sat down on the leather seat.

“It’s cold,” he kissed my cheek and started the engine. “You look prepared.”

“I am,” I laughed, “I know you aren’t.” He shrugged and stopped at the red light before reaching for something in the backseat. Producing a red bag, he handed it to me and stepped on the gas pedal.

“It’s my apology gift,” he replied, “for missing our one month anniversary.”

It was exactly a month and seven days since we got together. Everyone at school was flabbergasted but GOT7 took it quite well; they knew we would get together. Yugyeom and Sora also announced that they had been dating for quite some time and I ended up giving him a long speech (thought most of the time, I was joking). Jackson complained that Mark got all the girls and I couldn’t help but laugh. I hadn’t told them about my secret and I wanted to keep it that way. Sora wanted to tell them but I promised her that I would tell them when I felt ready.

“You didn’t have to,” I started, “you were busy and I had a project due on that day.” I wanted to say more but he covered my mouth with his hand.

“Just open it,” he grinned. Taking out a black box, I opened the top and my eyes widened at the product inside. It was hella expensive. I took out the watch and admired it from front to back, side to side.

“M-Mark, this is…” I couldn’t even talk because I was so shocked. The silver Michael Kors watch glinted in the light.

“I know you don’t like cheesy couple stuff but I saw this and thought ‘this is totally us’.” He was so sincere and I couldn’t help but tear up. At the next stop light, he took his right hand and collapsed it with mine; his watch made a clinking sound with mine and I grinned.

“Thank you.”

He took me to a restaurant in downtown and we sat in the upper level of the restaurant. The large window showcased the scenery outside as a fluffy white blanket covered the ground. We were the only ones on that floor so it was nice and calming while the small orchestra ensemble in the corner played soothing classical music. Both of us were in awe when the waiter approached us with couple specials. When he took our order, we started to engross ourselves in childhood stories. Mark told me more about his family and his life back in Arcadia. He has three siblings; two older sisters and one younger brother who he was really close with.

“I was really jealous of Joey,” he started. “When he was born, everyone paid attention to him. He was spoiled from day one and I couldn’t help but feel angry. I threw fits and created fights with my sisters.” He laughed, “now that I think about it, it was really childish of me.”

“Yugyeom and I weren’t any better,” grinning, I reminisced the time when my brother and I were five years old. “We fought over the silliest things. Back then, our parents would buys us identical objects like cups, toothbrushes and shoes and we would alway fight over which one were ours. When we found out one person was right and the other was wrong, the person at fault would never apologize.”

His high pitched laugh filled the room, “That sounds so like you.”

Gasping, I playfully slapped his arm, “Hey! It was Yugyeom who was always wrong!” Mark continued teasing me and my cheeks turned flush red. The orchestra suddenly started to play a slow, tempo rubato version of Silent Night. It reminded us of Christmas that was approaching soon.

“Are you doing anything for Christmas?” Mark intertwined our fingers. I thought about it before shaking my head.

“Probably just the usual,” I said. “Christmas dinner, present opening…”

“Ah…” he nodded and started digging into his meal. “I… was actually planning to take you somewhere.” Looking up, I started at him in curiosity. “The watch was just… a practice round I guess.” He put his utensils down and dug into his pocket and produced two pieces of thick paper that were shaped in perfect rectangles. He gave one to me and gestured me to turn it over.

“What’s… Oh my gosh… Mark!” It was a plane ticket to Los Angeles.

Scratching the back of his head, he gave me a boyish grin, “Everyone is going home for the holidays so I talked with my parents on Skype the other day. They want to meet you.”

“Mark wh-”

“If course if you’re busy I can always tell them some other time,” he was flustered and his cheeks turned red.

Laughing, I pinched his cheek, “I was going to ask when should I pack.”

“Really?” his face lit up like a lightbulb, “You… You’re coming?” I nodded and throughout the night, he continued telling me stories about his family and friends; the smile on his face never wore off.

After dinner, Mark took me to an arcade where we versed each other in a few rounds of DDR and Karaoke (Mark won most of the rounds). Passing by a claw machine, I spotted a giant stuffed tiger that drew me in. It’s eyes were telling me something and I couldn’t help but stare. After what felt like hours, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

“Do you want it?” he asked but I quickly shook my head. The purple-haired male lightly pushed me aside and inserted 1000 won into the machine. It came to life and skillfully, Mark aligned the claw with the tiger and brought it to the hole where it dropped. He handed it to me with a smile and I shyly thanked him. “You should name him.”

I stared at the stuffed animal and thought about it until I grinned. “I’m going to name you… Mark” It was cliche but the similarity was there.

“Why Mark?” my boyfriend asked and I giggled at the thought.

I put the animal side by side with the person and took a picture. “You look so alike.” He looked at the photo and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Only the eyes are similar.”

“No, the expression matches too! This is the face you make when you’re bored.” The large clock in the middle of downtown ran twelve times, interrupting our conversation. It’s already that late? “We should get going.” Both of us climbed into his car and he started driving out of the parking lot. It was dark and the roads were slippery from the snow that turned into ice. Being careful and thoughtful, Mark drove 10 km under the speed limit.

“I can’t wait for Christmas to come,” he grinned. “We’ll be able to escape this treacherous weather AND you’ll get to meet my family. It’s going to be great. I'll be able to rub it in Joey’s face that I have a girlfriend and he doesn’t.” He kissed my hand.

“You’re so excited huh? I can’t wait to walk along the beaches again.” I grinned.

“Damn it,” he laughed, “Finish your exams already!”

The car was filled with laughter until headlights shone in our direction. Mark’s hand gripped mine and I looked at him. For the first time in my life, I was scared. Driving on the wrong side of the road, a black Toyota truck was accelerating towards us. Mark became alarmed and immediately let go of my hand to take the steering wheel. He jerked it towards the right side of the road (near the sidewalk) and we just missed the truck. The car became warmer and I could hear a timer ticking in my head. “M-Mark, we need to get out of the car!” My screams fell deaf as I felt a sudden impact; the passenger side door had slammed into me. The airbags exploded and I became dizzy. I tried looking around but all I could hear was a timer.

“...Sae… don’t....” Mark’s mouth was moving and blood ran down his face but he looked unharmed.

I stared at him; the loud ringing in my ears continued and I cried. “Mark…” I couldn’t hear myself as my words were being drowned out but I knew I had said ‘I’m Sorry’.  You were so excited to go back home… I’m sorry your wishes can’t come true any more. I’m sorry I can’t save you.

The last thing I saw was his timer clocked at zero and the black truck speeding away.

Surprise? Haha, don't worry! I know it says Final Pt.1 but  Time Bomb is only the first series so far. I know TB is gonna have a sudden ending and that there wasn't much of a in this season but I assure you that the next part of the series will answer all of your questions that you are eagerly wanting to ask. Thank you so much for 90 subscribers! :D