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Resting her head on her right arm, Youngjae lets her eyes wander on the view through the window, placed on her left. The blobs on the green field looked to be kicking a ball around ━ perhaps a Physical Education class, she thinks, playing soccer . She brings her finger to push her glasses back and squints to refocus her vision.
Youngjae zones in on a lanky boy, presumably her senior, grabbing the ends of his gym shirt to wipe the sweat on his forehead before tousling his damp brown hair. He may have been lanky but even with Youngjae’s horrific eyesight, it was clear that there were some precious gems hidden underneath the flimsy shirt. The boy has the audacity to grin at his classmates, specifically the girls, with his teeth visible and his eyes crinkled tight. The sunlight frames his outline and the sparks of light create an illusion of a halo resting on his head.
Youngjae shakes her head. Once. Twice. Thrice.
She couldn’t be hallucinating, right?
She follows the figure with her eyes, as the boy rushes over to his duffel bag and retrieves a cylindrical object before placing it near his mouth ━ oh, it was his water bottle. She watches on, eyes fixated on the boy’s Adam’s Apple, albeit a bit blurry and unclear, bobbing up and down.
She laughs quietly in her head as she thinks of the hit pop song and tries to picture this ethereal young man following the choreography.
(Okay, maybe that’s too much for a drowsy Youngjae, who is now well alert and as she feels a dampness forming in her nether regions and her breasts starting to become sensitive, she realises maybe her body is too.)
Alright. Physics is not the class where you need to be thinking about these things, dummy.
She eases her head off her hand, which is now numb, but nevertheless studies the boy’s actions. The boy walks closer and closer into Youngjae’s view and Youngjae removes her glasses to rub her eyes vigorously.
There’s no way on Earth that he could look like an actual angel, right? It’s just Youngjae’s eyes playing tricks on her again, right?
She slides her frames over her face, making sure to adjust the pressure set on her ears, and studies the boy’s visuals. He had a small face but bright and vivid eyes; his smile was blinding, up closer, with his Colgate smile on perfect display. Setting his water bottle down, he rakes his eyes over the block Youngjae was in.
Nope, nope, nope .
Youngjae braces herself as the boy locks his eyes on her and smiles. It wasn’t similar to the ones he presented his peers but it was a gentler, calmer, almost knowing smile, that has Youngjae flushed from the hairs on her head to the tip of her toes.
She diverts her eyes quickly and tries even her breathing, and focuses on the whiteboard at the front of the class.
Crap.
Youngjae swears she only looked at the young angel for a few seconds and the teacher had already moved on to the next unit for the semester.
If it were any other subject, like Music or Art, Youngjae could have easily caught up with the information she missed but this was Physics - the one subject that she wanted to rip her head out and pluck every single hair on her body. She’d been searching for study guides, anything and everything to make life with Physics easier for her but the universe is mostly likely against her.
That seems to be the only plausible conclusion she could draw from her sixteen years of life, anyways.
Youngjae growls under her breath; she desperately needed to break this daydreaming habit of hers. She shouldn’t be remotely distracted in this class, too. Her favourite Maths teacher was teaching her Physics, so she has no reason to complain. Sure, she needs to learn about the fundamentals of kinematics to pass this semester and earn the credit for her secondary school certificate but who could focus on finding the centripetal force on cars spinning in circles when there, right before her eyes, lies a handsome being that has probably saved the Earth in his past life?
Fuck.
There she goes again.
She takes a glance at the clock and counts down the time left until he could leave. Twenty minutes, it seems .
Youngjae prays in her mind that her friends have at least taken some notes and are willing to help her out. She directs her attention on the boys seated next to her and their notebook.
Hanbin and Chanhyuk have always been helpful to Youngjae in the notes department as they’ve had their fair share of experiences with her and unlike Youngjae’s other peers, they have yet to complain about it, which she’s extremely thankful and grateful about.
She takes a closer look at Hanbin’s notebook, and eyes the words written down. ‘Do you feel okay if you have a leash around my neck? Were you constantly deceived?’ hardly sounds like it had any relevance to the course but she’ll take her chance when she could.
Youngjae nudges Hanbin’s arm with her elbow and greets him with a sheepish smile. “I’m sorry but you got any notes, man?” She lifts her arm to show Hanbin the empty pages on her notebook.
Hanbin glances down at his own book before looking at Youngjae. He points his fingers to the hastily written lyrics, some which have been scratched messily and some which are still visible.
“Sorry. Do you wanna catch up with Chanhyuk at lunch? He might have some,” Hanbin whispers back, gesturing his thumb at Chanhyuk’s direction. He drums his fingers, quietly, to a familiar yet unique beat and asks, “What do you think, man? You reckon it’ll work?”
Youngjae nods before closing her eyes, leaning back into her chair with her folded arms resting on her chest and lets the beat consume her thoughts. At least I’m not thinking about the angel - well, crap. I was doing such a good job too , she thinks to herself.
It works, Youngjae’ll give Hanbin that. It’s repetitive; it follows the same pattern as most other popular hits on the radio at the moment; it’s calculated, measured, precise but it’s fitting in a way.
“What genre?”
Hanbin turns to look at the teacher, creating eye contact for just the right time period to fake his participation in the class. “I dunno. Perhaps it’ll have a slight rock feel to it? I’m thinking upbeat, funky raps with rock vibes for chorus. You feel me?”
“Hanbin, the composition’s due in three days. Do you really think you can pull this off in three days?”
“I'm pretty sure a couple of all-nighters ━”
“Hanbin and Youngjae, would you be willing to share with the class what you're so distracted about?”
Youngjae jerks too suddenly, and she winces, rubbing her fingers over the muscle on her neck that she pulled. Her pupils dart as Hanbin taps her thighs, signalling her to keep quiet and let the teacher move on with the lesson. Youngjae curses her optometrist for prescribing her multifocal lenses. Out of the limited vision she has through her specs, she can’t interpret Hanbin’s rather syncopated tapping and what he wants her to do. Youngjae certainly doesn’t want to turn her entire head to face Hanbin to see what he’s trying to say, wanting to keep this entire imbroglio under wraps.
“We were discussing Hanbin’s tardiness with our Musicology composition due in three days, sir. I don’t particularly think it’s a good idea to have high ambitions for his envisioned arrangement with such a limited time frame. Do you think it’s plausible for him to do so, sir? Do you think it’s reasonable?”
Hanbin wraps his fingers around a small section of Youngjae’s plush thighs, as Youngjae tries to brush them off. It’s far too intimate for such a moment but ━ oh. Wait a minute.
“Why’d you pinch me?” Youngjae turns her head in an instant, her mind solely focused on the injustice arising from Hanbin’s actions.
The teacher coughs, with an unidentifiable expression in his eyes. “Youngjae, that is enough. Turn around. I’m letting you off this time because you were honest, at least.”
As the teacher turns his back to change the document presented through the projector, hushed whispers swarm the room, travelling back to Youngjae’s seat.
“Yeah, and not because she’s a teacher’s pet.” Someone, particularly brave, says with a quiet yet clearly audible tone.
Sighing, Youngjae leans back into her chair, wishing for the ground to have a portal of some kind to transport her anywhere but here. Maybe, it could teleport her back home and she could invite her closest friends over or what if the portal allowed her to travel back in time? As much as that sounds very pleasing, Youngjae has stumbled across various theories and stories to know that meddling with time is a dangerous idea. But how was time first defined as? Who realised time was a concept? Is time a concept and not realistic?
“Dude, what the heck?” Hanbin elbows Youngjae in the ribs, ripping Youngjae from her stream of thought. She really needs to overcome this bad habit of going off on a tangent and wandering off into little streams ━ pebbles. Pebbles are cute, especially as they skip through the waters when they’re thrown.
Oh. Hanbin’s looking at her with an ambiguous smile.
“You needa stop being a goody two shoes, you could’ve just let him roll with it!” Hanbin flicks Youngjae’s ear and whispers, “Work on that little daydreamin’ habit of yours, noona .”
There’s something completely off with that honorific and Youngjae wonders if Hanbin really is trying to help her out or not.
Fifteen minutes left.
Youngjae shrugs internally. She figures that she’s got enough time to take notes now. She takes a peek at the board, filled in a quite aesthetically pleasing manner for Youngjae’s taste with pastel and sharp colours. There’s a bunch of letters, numbers, symbols and diagrams scattered throughout the whiteboard and Youngjae sighs.
A problem still lies, hindering her motivation.
She has no flying clue as to what’s going on in the class.
There’s less than two minutes to go until the official end of the period. Youngjae packs her pens into her duck plushy pencil case, which she considers quite adorable, thank you very much, Bambam . She keeps her notebook open, well aware that packing up early is a trait that her teacher despises. She darts her eyes between the teacher, who’s giving out final reminders that the problems sets are due next lesson (‘ Don’t forget to ask me if you’re running into any trouble’ ) and the clock, eyes focusing for short bursts of time on the seconds hand just passing over the final minute. Her teacher props his arm and adjusts his watch.
“Class is now dismissed.”
At the sound of the magic words, the students crowd around the doorway, trying to push their way through the crowd outside. Youngjae stands up after placing her belongings in her bag and slings her backpack over her shoulder, following Hanbin and Chanhyuk out to the library. She waits for the rush to quieten down as someone taps her shoulder. She jolts back and yelps before she faces them. “Ah, I’m sorry.”
“Youngjae, I’ll need to have a talk with you.”
Nodding meekly, she follows her teacher to his tidily arranged desk. She leans back against a student desk and watches the teacher fold his arms, study Youngjae’s expression and he gestures to the laptop on his desk.
“I’ve been noticing a few things throughout this semester.” The teacher drawls as he wraps his fingers around the soft corners of the desk. “It’s not your work ethic because as it stands, you’ve always been one of my favourites regarding that very issue. Rather, it’s about,” he pauses, “your performance and the content, or in this case, the lack of.”
Taking a deep breath, Youngjae turns her attention to her shoes. It’s great, knowing you’re on the good side of your favourite teacher’s list, but it’s also fairly disappointing, that he’s had to approach Youngjae about it.
“I know what you’re thinking, kid. I was the same.” He laughs, trying to ease Youngjae’s nervous demeanour. “It’s difficult. It really is.”
“It’s not that I’m not trying, sir. I just - I can’t seem to wrap my head around the abstractness of this subject.”
“That’s precisely what I wanted to talk to you about. At the rate this is going, you are, no doubt, going to fail this semester. And that is something I would never wish upon any of my students.” The teacher smiles bitterly. “Before the mid-semester exams, I would advise you to look for a tutor, or perhaps a senior, to help you grasp the basics. I want you to be successful, Youngjae.”
Youngjae nods, her lips drawn to a thin line.
“I’ve got a person in mind who I think can tutor you, for free, really. I’ll have a talk to them but don’t push this further than it should.” He pauses.
“Actually, I'll tell you about him - he's my son, in his last year of high school. Mark Tuan, you might have seen him around? He's recently transferred.”
He smiles fondly at Youngjae with an evident father smile. “He might be new here but he’s very knowledgeable in the Sciences, particularly Physics. Ah, here. I’ll give you his number whenever you’d like to act on this situation.”
He finds a recyclable small piece of paper and a pen, jotting down the number before handing it to Youngjae. She moves to place it in the pocket of her school shirt but the teacher gives her a look of suspicion.
“I know you, Youngjae. You’ll forget about that piece of paper and you’ll only realise you even had it with you until you do your washing. Just enter it into your phone.”
She chortles as she takes out her phone from her pocket and enters the number in, saving it under a plain Mark Tuan (Tutor) .
She could trust her teacher, considering he was literally offering her free tuition with his son but could she really trust the Mark person? He might be her teacher's son but on what circumstances and foundations should she trust him or believe that he's a safe person?
“Haven't seen him around yet but yup, got it, sir.” Youngjae winks, gesturing to the teacher using finger guns. “I’ll wait until after the mid-sem exam, though.”
Nodding, the teacher smiles. “Alright. See you later, Youngjae. Don’t let me down.”
“You know I’ll try not to, teach.”
Youngjae offers a thumbs-up with a blinding grin and laughs when the teacher returns it, quite awkwardly. She tightens her hold on his bag’s straps and walks out to the library, to get the notes from Chanhyuk. She walks leisurely, smiling politely at each person who walks by. She's never wanted to give off the impression that she was someone too far up her backside to offer a grin. Perhaps that one little interaction could make someone feel better after something happened.
“Yo, Youngjae, my dude. You coming down to lunch?” A familiar voice from behind speaks, as they wrap their hand around Youngjae’s back.
“In a bit. I’ve gotta go to the library to get some notes. I’ll come back really soon, I promise.” Youngjae pats Jackson’s shoulder.
“You want me to come with you?”
“If you want to.”
With that, Jackson links their arms together as they walk down the hallways. Youngjae smiles fondly at the senior, who’s never ashamed of being quite too friendly with his underclassmen. It was always Youngjae who had been apprehensive about their closeness; wouldn’t someone as social as Jackson be hesitant about others seeing him with a lowly peasant in their school’s social ladder, such as Youngjae? And, she thinks, that’s probably one of the reasons why no one could ever not love Jackson.
“How were your classes?” Jackson asks, a little skip present in his step as they open the doors to the library.
Youngjae scans through the multitude of students, crowded around large tables to cram for their exams. She finds Hanbin and Chanhyuk, situated in the back corner of the library, and moves towards them, her hands wrapped around Jackson’s.
“If you consider being distracted by a really gorgeous senior playing soccer throughout the entirety of Physics absolutely great, then I’d like to think my class was exceptional.” Youngjae says, a breathy laugh decorating her words.
Jackson wiggles his eyebrows, making weird hand gestures to Youngjae near his lower regions, oh.
“Damn it, Jackson. I don’t need to get off like you do every time Bambam smiles!”
That was supposed to be a defensive statement but as everyone in the library turns around to face them, Youngjae realises she may have been a tad too loud. Beside her, Jackson lowers his head. Rubbing her hand on Jackson’s back to calm him down, Youngjae bows to everyone. “Please disregard what I just said. It was just friendly banter. I’m sorry for causing a scene.”
Youngjae grabs Jackson’s hand and walks further towards Hanbin and Chanhyuk, muttering sincere apologies. Jackson had trusted Youngjae with the truth; he’d been a little too infatuated with their group’s collectively proclaimed ‘Meme Queen ’, Kunpimook or Bambam as everyone knew her.
“I’m so sorry, dude. You have no idea. That was such a douche-y thing of me to say. I understand if you never want to be my friend but please forgive me.” Youngjae begs. She stops when he sees Jackson quivering and shaking, his head still down.
“Are you crying?! Oh my God, I’m so sorry!” Youngjae wraps her arms around Jackson in a warm embrace, and rubs her hands down the span of Jackson’s back.
“Hah! Got’cha!” Jackson all but hollers and doubles himself over with laughter.
“It’s not funny.” Youngjae bites out, with a softness tinged in her words, as she sits down on the chair facing her friends, watching as Jackson follows her.
“Chanhyukkie, got notes?” She asks, carefully grabbing her notebook and pencil case out of her backpack. “I’m so sorry to be a hassle again. I promise,” she says, offering her straightened little finger amidst her curled fist, “that I will endeavour to focus in class and not be distracted nor daydream.”
Chanhyuk returns a tender smile as he wraps his long, tanned and calloused pinky finger around Youngjae’s smaller one. “What would you do without me?” He coos, reaching over to pinch her cheeks playfully.
Grinning widely, Youngjae takes a hold of Chanhyuk’s notebook, flipping to the recently used pages, bombarded with sketches, formal and side notes, and some rough drafts for lyrics and chord progressions. She deems the progressions to be cohesive ( ’it could work albeit the keys are alternating all throughout ’) but focuses on the neatly presented notes.
She had to hand it to him; keeping up with their teacher for notes is no joke, let alone adding handy side notes and mnemonics on the fly while trying to concentrate on the content being hurled at them.
As Youngjae starts to paraphrase Chanhyuk’s notes into her notebook (and never forgetting to add the handy side notes, because those save her ass everytime when she crams last minute), Jackson wraps his arm around her shoulders, laughing brightly at Hanbin’s bad puns.
“Where were you you two? We were waiting for so long…” Bambam drawls as she parts her fringe to rest behind her ears.
“Jinyoungie wouldn’t let us eat until you came.” Yugyeom says, wrapping her hand around Bambam’s back. She adds a meek, “Jinyoungie unnie”, as Jinyoung glares at her and raises her chopsticks as a threat.
“Well, we’re here now, aren’t we?” Jackson smiles as he slides into the seat beside Bambam. “Jae had some catching up to do.”
“I’m sorry for having you guys to wait for us. You didn’t have to!” Youngjae protests as she squeezes into the space that Jaebum and Jinyoung have cleared out between them.
She’s always enjoyed being coddled and looked after by the two. She doesn’t know if they’re dating yet or not, but if what they’ve both told Youngjae is true, they’re both deluded, thinking that they have an unrequited love for each other. There’s nothing more that Youngjae wants to do than to tell them to confess to each other but it’s their life, it’s their choices. Even if they weren’t aware of their feelings, Youngjae would still be their daughter that they loved more than the world.
“We didn’t have to but we did,” says Jaebum with an odd paternal and affectionate smile directed at her. He grabs a tray sitting beside him and places it in front of Youngjae, placing some of his food on the tray as Jinyoung does the same.
Beside her, Jinyoung smiles warmly. “We figured you were rushing this morning and forgot your lunch after we picked you up. Eat up, sweetie.”
Youngjae leans into Jinyoung’s open arms and sighs. “Thanks. I love you both.”
Jaebum leans closer to them and wraps his arms around both of them, grinning fondly. “We love you too, our precious angel.” He laughs when Youngjae’s tummy rumbles. “Eat well.”
Yugyeom hits her head on the table and slaps her thighs from laughing too hard, when Bambam sulks. “I wanted a hug too! How could you exclude me?!”
With a playful glint in his eyes, Jackson wraps his arms around her skinny figure and smirks. “Aw, come to Papa Wang. You could’ve just asked.”
Bambam only pats his back as she returns the embrace and grins. “I’ve been waiting to eat for so long! Let’s eat!”
“Wait, eat what? Me or your food?” Jackson winks, ruffling her short hair.
“Oh, shut up, Jackson.” Yugyeom whines. “Why is there so much tension in the air? Youngjae, let’s run away!”
Youngjae only smiles warmly as Jinyoung kisses the top of her head.
“If you're going to ask me when you’re going to get your tests back, wait for a moment. I've got them and I'd like to give you some collective and general feedback on your performance, as a class. Sure, there were some students that exceeded my expectations but there were also some who didn't quite reach there. Hence when I hand your test results back, check for an asterisk on the top corners of your test.” The teacher pauses, resting his palm on the nape of his neck and sighs.
Youngjae shudders when his eyes are fixed in her direction.
“Do not think that this mark is an indication of your semester’s achievement but please do not disregard this, either. Use this as a guide to reflect, review and improve your study methods and attitude towards this subject as this will certainly boost your final exiting rank.”
The teacher ambles through the rows and columns of desks, placing test papers on each desk, with a reassuring smile. He never made anyone feel terrible about failing the subject but always stayed optimistic for both the student and himself, unlike Youngjae’s other teachers (which she was extremely glad about). As he returns Hanbin’s and Youngjae’s papers, he pushes his glasses down and nods at the them, moving his finger to the corner of the test papers.
She scans the top line of the front page, sighing when she sees a hastily sketched figure that she assumes is supposed to resemble an asterisk. She turns over to Hanbin’s and lets a cheeky grin rest on her features.
“At least I’m not alone, ‘ey?” She whispers, turning her attention to the front where the teacher has instructed for all eyes to be on him.
Hanbin hums, patting Youngjae’s knee.
“I’m sure I’ve provided adequate time for you to realise whether you’d need to be staying behind or not but I’d like to move onto the feedback before I explain the worked solutions. Questions need to wait so jot it down anywhere so that you won’t be ‘umm-ing’ and ‘ah, I forgot-ing’ when I ask you.”
Youngjae does a quick nod, enough for the teacher to realise some students are paying attention. She grins but her smile never quite reaches her eyes as she tries to focus on the positive side of her results - she had just scraped through with a pass. At least she didn’t fail the exam, right?
Sighing, she leans her head against her shoulder, pressed against the wall. Maybe she should consider the tutor option; it wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?
“Most of you seemed to be comfortable with the relationships between different displacement-, velocity- and acceleration-time graphs, which I’m very pleased and relieved about as that was the basic knowledge you needed before you chose this subject. However, I realise that I didn’t place much emphasis on pulleys, circular and two-dimensional motion and that was my fault. I sincerely apologise for not preparing you guys enough and expecting you all to ace this exam.” He states, bowing, and offers a sympathetic smile.
A chorus of ‘That’s quite alright, sir’ and ‘Don’t fret about it too much’ erupt through the room as she sighs.
Youngjae bites her lower lip - he always found a way to blame himself for the lack of perfect marks, never stating that it was instead because of the lack of participation from the majority of the class.
“I’ll make sure to make a list of all of the topics we’re covering next term and plan lessons so that each topic gets enough time before I commence the first lesson. Now,” the teacher pauses, strolling back to his desk, standing in front of it and leaning back against it, “while I continue with the feedback, I want you all to take notes on things you could improve on and make goals for your study habits next term. Strive to either improve it within a reasonable frame or maintain. Sometimes, maintaining proves more strenuous than improving. I’ve also added comments on each paper, so take photos of it, if you wish.”
“That will be all, then, students. Take use of the spare time as you wish. Just don’t disturb me or make unnecessary ruckus."
“We’re screwed, aren’t we?” Hanbin groans from beside her as Chanhyuk laughs at his misery. “Damn it, we should’ve taken the study sessions more seriously."
Youngjae leans back into her chair, arms folded over her chest. It's strange, she thought. She knew she wouldn’t do terribly well and fail but she somehow managed to scrape by with a passing grade. She couldn’t decipher whether she’s more upset over the fact that she barely managed to pass the subject or grateful, for that same matter. She turns her head into Hanbin’s chest as he and Chanhyuk wrap their arms around her in a comforting embrace.
“That’s right. At least we all passed?” Chanhyuk adds, sheepishly. It clearly isn’t wrong to conclude that he managed to receive a solid B or higher.
“Shut up, smart-ass. No one asked you.” Hanbin mutters.
“However, we will end up asking for your help so behave, Hanbinnie,” says Youngjae. She rummages through the pockets of her backpack to retrieve her phone and takes a picture of the comments before reading them and checking her accuracy rate for the exam.
“Class is dismissed. Students who need to see me, please stay behind."
As the multitude of students rise and make their way to lunch, Youngjae stands up and brushes her skirt, straightening her tie and jumper. She packs her bag, slinging it over her back and waits for Hanbin to make room.
“Off you go, Hanbinnie. Any day, now.” She taps his shoulders, urging him to leave his seat.
“Alright, alright. I’m up. Let’s go."
Gripping her hands tightly on her bag straps, she lowers her head as they stand behind the other students waiting for a personalised comment on their achievements. Hanbin nudges her sides, offering her some comfort that her grades wouldn’t be the end of the world.
“Ah, Youngjae. I’ll talk to you last so please wait for a while.” The teacher gestures his hand to the back of the classroom, as he prods his glasses up higher on his nose with his forefinger.
Giving an understanding nod, Youngjae leans against the desk, hips flush against the corners. Although it would give her tailbone quite a traumatising experience, she straightens the folds of her skirt and looks down at her legs. They’ve always given her quite a grief and have proven to be the reason why she hasn’t scored in the romantic department for a while. Always choosing to keep herself natural in a holistic manner, she’s received some definite backlash from her peers - her close friends supported her, hairy legs or not. Maybe her lack of interest in the makeup and beauty section of her gender may have also prompted that lack of action but who cares? As long as she does what she wants to do with her body, that’s all that matters, right? Youngjae gasps, toppling to her side as Hanbin shoves her to get her attention.
“What the hell was that for?! What did I do to you?”
Hanbin doesn’t respond, just nodding at the teacher’s direction.
Brushing her overgrown fringe out of her eyes, she stumbles ahead to the front desk. “I’m sorry, sir."
He gives her an amused grin, wiping it off his face as soon as it made an appearance. “We’ve had this talk before, I know you know why I left you as last."
“Tutoring?” Youngjae suggests.
“That’s right.” The teacher says. “Even with my terrible memory, I’m sure I’ve handed you Mark’s contact details. Now’s the time when I would really urge you to take some action regarding your steadily decreasing grades."
Her eyes wander through the room, as she tries to think if she saved the number. “Could I just check if I did save the number, sir?” She reaches for the phone in her pocket, regardless, waiting for his response.
As he gives the all-clear, she flips it out, hurriedly scrambling through her contacts and lets out a deep sigh, as she finds a contact named Mark Tuan (Tutor) . She opens the details and all but shoves the screen in her teacher’s face. “Is this it?"
“Yes, I’m certain it is. I recommend you contact him sometime today and get something sorted. You can’t waste any more time, Youngjae. I’ve told you time and time again, your work ethic is one of the best I’ve seen in my career so far but it only makes an appearance if you truly understand what you’re doing. I’m not just saying this as your teacher, I’m saying this as someone who wants you to succeed."
“Hello, is this Mark Tuan?”
“Why, it is.” A serene voice fills Youngjae’s ears. Mark pauses. "Who am I talking to?"
"I’m Choi Youngjae, a struggling Physics student. Mr. Tuan recommended me to contact you for tutoring?” She says, her voice raising the last syllables as though she’s asking a question.
There’s a faint shuffling through the speaker, something akin to papers. “He did tell me about you."
“Only good things, I hope.” Youngjae says, a breathy giggle decorating her words.
“Of course.”
She kicks her legs from where she’s currently seated on her bed, left leg resting on top of her right leg. “That’s good."
“Yeah,” is all Mark says as Youngjae counts the glow-in-the-dark stars on her ceiling.
“Regarding the actual tutoring, when and where is it going to happen?” She asks, eyes closing on their own accord. Mark’s voice was gentle and lulling, his tone almost legato , she thinks. Youngjae has to pinch her thigh to restrain her laughter at the unconscious Basic Music Theory revision she did.
“We can start whenever you’re available. As for the location, I would suggest my house. Dad’s got a bunch of great textbooks around with questions.” He says. “When I say a bunch, I mean there’s enough for anyone to complete for a solid couple of years.”
She hums. “I see. I always did wonder where he got those large ass textbooks from. Um,” she trails off, scampering through her backpack to find her planner and settles back down on her bed when she opens it up to the current week’s view, “I’m free almost every evening after school except for Tuesdays, from 3 to 7. Does that work well with your schedule?"
“I should be thanking you for having such a lenient schedule. I won’t be available on Wednesdays from 5 to 10 but apart from that, I think we’re settled."
“So, tomorrow night? Do I need to bring anything?"
“Bring yourself, your physics notes, a calculator and the essentials.” Mark says. “I’ll see you tomorrow then. I’ll text you the address."
As Youngjae slowly lies down on her back, she sighs dreamily. “I can’t wait. Bye."
“Bye."
Easing her paces into slower strides, Youngjae tightens her hold on her bag as she walks down a strangely familiar path to Mark’s home. Raking her eyes over the neighbourhood, she feels her heart stuttering in pure anticipation and another feeling she can’t yet pinpoint.
This street’s situated right behind hers.
She walks up to a rather modest house, with gates towering at her height. As she presses the doorbell, she conjures ideals of Mark’s visuals, praying that he was the cute senior she saw playing soccer. There isn’t even the slightest possibility for him to be the same Mark Tuan but she could dream, she reasons. That’s all she’s ever done, really.
The door opens, bringing her out of her trance. She can almost hear her mother subjecting her to a harangue in her mind.
Her heart stutters as she watches a tall figure inviting her in. He is the cute senior from school. Screw everything. She thinks that she has both the best and worst luck to be in this state.
“I’m guessing you’re Choi Youngjae?” Seeing Youngjae’s nod, the boy steps back. “Come on in."
Youngjae takes tentative step inside the house, raking her eyes over the humble design.
“Oh, I almost forgot to introduce myself. I’m Mark.” He says, offering a warm smile. “Would you like to stay here or go upstairs?"
“I’m fine with either, really. Which gives you less trouble?” She asks.
“The books are upstairs so that might be the best option. Follow me?"
Trying to balance her weight evenly on the stairs, she advances slowly to not make any unnecessary noises. She presumes his parents are still out of the house, the thought itself results in her tripping on her feet.
As Mark leads them into a room, she remains standing behind him until he gestures to the desk with two chairs on the side of the room.
“Make yourself comfortable, I’ll go ahead and grab some textbooks."
Youngjae moves towards the chair near the wall and places her bag to rest against the table’s legs before taking her notebook and pencil case, settling them neatly on the desk. While she awaited Mark’s return, she flips through her notebook to find certain topics that she had the most trouble with.
(Youngjae doesn't really want to make Mark uncomfortable by saying she has trouble with literally everything being taught in class. Besides, wouldn’t she be implying that his father was a horrible teacher?)
“I’m back,” says Mark, huffing as he all but drops the five thick textbooks he was carrying on the desk. He sits down on the chair next to Youngjae and he turns his attention on her.
He asks, “Do you have an idea as to which topics you need more practice on?"
Perhaps staring right into Mark’s dark hues is one of the dumbest things Youngjae has done in her sixteen years. He’s already unforgivingly blessed in the looks department, making his pyjamas look like an outfit from this year’s Spring/Summer runway. Averting her eyes quickly down to her notebook, she moves her unit outline closer to him as he leans his head on his hands and looks solely at her.
She smiles gently. “Out of all these topics that we’ve covered in class this term, I only really understand definitions of displacement and velocity as well as the difference between scalars and vectors.” Laughing gently to ease Mark’s slight discomfort, she adds, “I can remember formulae well but I don’t understand the concepts or theory behind them."
“That’s a good starting point,” he says. “See, that’s what I struggled with the most with my dad. He focuses too much on the derivation and not enough on the practical aspect. If that’s the case, I can show you ways how I learnt these."
Youngjae honestly isn’t sure how much of Mark’s voice she can tolerate before she melts into an infatuated puddle of goo. He had to be a handsome nerd with Youngjae’s ideal characteristics for a man.
“That should help me plenty then,” she grins.
“He doesn’t give you much practice problems to work on, does he?"
Youngjae nods with a slight pout.
“Okay. Before I do anything, are you okay with each session lasting two hours? It’ll give me enough time to detail each topic in depth and I could also teach you the next units beforehand so you don’t have trouble in class."
Running her mind through her mental planner, she weighs the advantages and disadvantages. She’d be with Mark for two hours doing nothing but solely Physics, but she would also be with Mark , alone . She prays that she doesn’t slip up and do or say anything embarrassing in front of him.
“That’s fine with me. Are you okay if there’s a ten minute break in between? I don’t know how my brain will manage afterwards,” she says as he laughs.
“I would need one too, don’t worry about that. But for today, I was thinking of giving you a diagnostic test, to see how much you’re comfortable with doing? And then I can explain things afterwards. Does that sound alright?"
“Perfect.”
She digs through her bag to find her trusty calculators and cracks her knuckles. “Hit me with your best shot.”
Mark smiles fondly as he hands her a sheet of paper with questions he made. Watching her eyebrows furrow in concentration, he sighs softly. His father didn’t tell him much about her appearance than he did about her abilities in the subject but he really is thankful towards him for arranging this. She’s too cute to be alive, Mark swears he had to calm his breathing when he saw her through the peephole on their front door. He averts his eyes as she turns around to face him with a pout resting on her lips.
“Am I supposed to be comfortable with these questions?” She asks and Mark definitely hears the whine albeit finding it cute.
“Well,” he begins, “some of them should be ones you’ve done before. But I wouldn’t put it past you if they’re challenging since they are supposed to be like that."
Youngjae simply laughs, bummed at the fact that she couldn’t even begin trying to attempt the first question. “Alright, I believe you."
“You know, if you wanted to, I could just start teaching you the concepts behind these questions and you could do these questions as practice afterwards."
Fixing her fringe, she looks up at Mark. “Are you sure?"
“Of course."
“I’ll propose a deal.” Mark lowers his voice, sliding another problem set over to Youngjae after teaching her the bare basics required. “If you get these problems done without a single mistake, I’ll give you a kiss. How about that?"
Youngjae’s heart and lungs refuse to function as she gapes, wide-eyed.
“What?"
“You heard me,” Mark says, a mischievous smirk coming to rest on his features. “If you ace this problem set, I, Mark Tuan, will provide Choi Youngjae with a dutiful kiss."
Unable to comprehend her pure luck at this stage, she blurts out, “Are you out of your mind?” Biting her lips out of habit, she adds, “I mean, I’m a lowly peasant who doesn’t deserve kisses from ethereal beings, such as yourself. Just you offering to help me is more than enough."
Chuckling, Mark pats her shoulder. “Enough chit-chat. Let’s do the questions."
She takes a deep breath and sighs, knowing she’s well-armed with the knowledge he’d shared with her moments before. The pencil resting in her hand wobbles as she tries to write down her known variables - he’d told her that doing so would ensure all mistakes from the get-go being erased. Reading each question thoroughly, she comes to realise that all of these questions were covered whilst he was explaining and she finishes the set, the biggest grin she could muster after gaining slight confidence in her abilities.
As he looks over her work, Youngjae admires his side profile, making sure she’s stealthy enough that he doesn’t realise.
“You aced it! I’m so proud of you, Youngjae.” Mark smiles, “As promised, I will give you a kiss. Close your eyes."
She closes her eyes, tilting her head back, in expectation. A small object is placed into her palms and Youngjae blinks at the object and back at a Mark, who was currently dying from laughter.
“I gave you a kiss, didn’t I?"
Looking back down at her palm, she realises he did, indeed, give her a kiss. A Hershey’s Kiss. Of course, he’d do something to bring her hopes up, that bastard.
She laughs it off, “You nearly gave me a heart attack, man!"
“You’ll never know what you’ll get, so be alert.”
“Youngjae,” Jaebum begins, watching Youngjae stuff three doughnuts into her mouth at once, trying to disprove Jackson’s bet, “Jinyoung and I wanted to perform a duet for the upcoming musical showcase but we wanted you to be in our performance too.”
Hiding his chuckle as she swallows the doughnuts before pointing at Jackson with a proud A-ha , he asks, “Would you mind being a part of our act?"
“Of course! I can play the piano!” Youngjae says.
“Perhaps you could sing as well,” Jinyoung adds as she walks to their table with a familiar face in tow. Sitting beside Jaebum, she motions the boy to sit near Youngjae. “Guys, this is Mark. Mark, this is everyone I was telling you about. Go forth and introduce, guys."
Youngjae smiles briefly, a rush of emotions surging through her. It was enough seeing his handsome face for tutoring but could she handle this artwork everyday as well? Fuck my life , she thinks, actually, scratch that. He can fuck me up for all he wants . She prays for her sanity and laughs as Kunpimook and Yugyeom all but wink flirtatiously.
“I’m Bambam but you can call me anything you wish.” Kunpimook offers her hand but squeals when Mark leaves a kiss on her hand.
“Likewise, I’m Yugyeom, and this dumbass here is Jackson, also known as Wang Kong.” Yugyeom simply waves, not wanting to be flustered like Kunpimook.
“Oi,” Jackson bites with a grin on his face, “watch your profanity. It’s nice meeting you, Markie."
Jaebum leans over Jinyoung’s frame and shakes Mark’s hand. “I’m Jaebum."
“I heard a lot about you,” Mark says, “A lot of good things, might I add. It seems as though Jinyoung’s awfully fond.” He flinches when he sees Jaebum glare at him momentarily before smile slowly to himself. Deducting the situation between them, he taps Jaebum’s back, “Don’t worry. As much as she’s nice, she’s not my type."
Kunpimook nudges Youngjae and whispers to her, “Why haven’t you introduced yourself? Girl, he’s just your type. Go for it."
Giggling, she turns over to Mark. “Hey, I’m Youngjae."
He smiles fondly and wraps an arm around her shoulders briefly. “I know, sweetheart."
This impromptu interaction results in Jackson emerging from the shadows of his fatigue, whistling. He sends some exaggerated winks in their direction as Jaebum’s jaw drops.
“What’s going on here?” Jaebum asks, highly protective of his baby girl. “Youngjae?"
“Don’t worry, Dad. He’s my new tutor, you remember the one I told you about?” She says, only realising moments later that she’d called him Dad. “Shit. Sorry, oppa."
Jinyoung watches on, standing up to ruffle Youngjae’s hair affectionately. “Remember, you’re our daughter. It’s alright.”
Jaebum faces Mark’s rigid posture after their interactions. It’s only understandable he’d feel confused and out-of-place. “She’s an angel, just don’t treat her otherwise.”
“You got it, sir.” Mark playfully salutes.
Youngjae watches on, a peculiar sense of home resting in her chest. She doesn't know what brings about this sudden change in her heart but just spending five minutes with them makes her realise that Mark truly was the last piece of the puzzle they were missing, even if they didn't realise it yet.
“So, about that performance, Youngjae…”
Mark really wants to question why Jackson decides showing him some of Youngjae’s special charms is the best thing to do after Mark all but tells him that he’s frustrated with himself because his knees shouldn’t be buckling every time he sees her and his heart shouldn’t be tickling his ribcage when she smiles. He admits it, she’s the type of character Mark’s always been fond of, obliviously cute and strong, no matter what she does.
“Don’t make any noise from here on,” Jackson brings a finger to his lips as he whispers. “If she sees us, she’ll be all over the place.”
Mark lets Jackson drag him to hide behind a door. Looking through the gap made by slightly ajar door, he sees a grand piano resting in the center of the room with an awed Youngjae stroking the keys with such fondness, leaving Mark swearing at himself. He watches on as she smoothes her skirt and sits down, closing her eyes and letting her fingers wander on the keys. Occasionally humming harmonising tunes, he finds himself thinking that of all the times he’s seen her and admired her, this time has him wondering if he’s infatuated with her or if it’s something else deeper he’s feeling for her.
This couldn’t be the same Youngjae he’s met, right?
He turns over to Jackson, who sports a well-knowing and teasing grin, and realises maybe his jaw had stayed dropped this whole time. Swallowing the last bit of pride he had, he glares at Jackson.
“If you’re done thirsting over her, we can go,” Jackson nudges Mark’s arm, stumbling as Mark pushes him before all but sprinting away from Youngjae.
Catching up, Jackson laughs. “I didn’t know you had it that bad for her.”
“Shut up,” says Mark, grabbing Jackson’s hand to guide them to a fast-approaching Jinyoung. “Save me, Nyeong. Jackson’s being a dick.”
Jinyoung sighs sympathetically before smiling widely at Mark. “What happened? Let him be.”
Jackson speaks up before Mark even has a chance to open his mouth. “So, Markiepoo’s going through a little existential crisis,” he begins, making sure to grin at Mark. “Current status: very interested in Youngjae and is possibly treading on the lines of love. Also, I may or may not have sneaked into the piano rooms to show him Youngjae’s piano abilities, which left him shook . I’m not even relatively joking.”
Mark scratches out any thought he had of Jackson being a genuinely nice person, and huffs instead. “Don’t blow things out of proportion!” He fumes when he sees Jackson outright laughing at him ━ “Blow, haha, get it?” . He also erases any consideration he has for the other after that.
“I’m planning on getting a puppy soon, sometime tomorrow,” Mark bites his lower lip ━ a recent habit he’d picked unknowingly from watching Youngjae. He doesn’t know why he chose to disclose it now to her while she’s stuck, doing one of the problem sets he’d given her. Her eyes light up and Mark thinks she really does resemble a puppy; too adorable with her actions. The familiar glint in her eyes appear and before Mark can stop himself, he blurts out, “Would you like to choose the pup with me?”
“Of course,” she squeals, clasping her mouth shut when she’s aware of her true volume, “if it isn’t too much of a hassle.”
“Trust me,” he finds himself saying, “it wouldn’t be, even in the least. I can pick you up, if you’d like?”
Youngjae thinks she could die happy right then and there ━ only it wouldn’t be the same case for Mark as he would have to take care of her ━ at the prospect of their first, unofficial date. Worrying about tomorrow could wait, she convinces herself, when she sees Mark’s caring figure waiting patiently for her to finish her problems.
“Listen, Youngjae.” Bambam walks over to her with a baby blue dress in her hand, placing it on top of Youngjae’s pyjamas. “There’s no need for you to stress about anything when we’re right here, love. Also, if you don’t wear this dress, you bet your fashionless ass that I’ll ruin your date with Yugyeom and Jinyoung unnie.”
Jinyoung squints, arms crossed around her chest as she leans against Youngjae’s pastel blue wall, before nodding at Bambam. “As much as I don’t want to break your little happy bubble, I think I might side with Bam on this one, Jae. Besides, you could turn up to your date in sackcloths and Mark would still dote on you.”
“But, the doggo…” Youngjae pouts, already stripping off her pyjamas and trying on the dress. She twirls around twice with her arms spread out and her eyes closed. She finishes off her spin with a courteous bow. “I don’t want the pup to think of me in a bad way either. What if it doesn’t want to be adopted by Mark because it didn’t like me? What if Mark hates me because of that?”
Jinyoung takes calm strides and wraps Youngjae in a motherly embrace. Nuzzling her nose in the younger’s hair, she speaks calmly. “If anything, the dog and Mark will miss out on the treasure that is you, if they were that foolish. You don’t need to worry. We’re always here for you.”
“What did you take us for,” huffs Bambam, “if you don’t expect us to love and cherish you?” She places a small peck on Youngjae’s cheek before hugging the girls.
They pull away when Bambam peeks at the clock and shrieks, “It’s almost 10 ! He’s going to be here in, like, half an hour!”
“I’ll do her makeup, you take care of her hair. Youngjae, where do you keep your accessories?” Jinyoung moves Youngjae to a seat where they could accentuate her cute appearance as Youngjae grabs her trusty watch and wraps it around her small wrist.
“I only need this watch, Mama,” Youngjae frowns as Bambam begins to roll her fringe into a curler, fluffing up her shoulder-length hair. She pouts her lips when Jinyoung softly taps her cheeks in order to put on her lipstick. She makes indistinguishable sounds when Jinyoung rubs BB Cream onto her pale skin and pats her cheeks when she’s finished.
“See?” Jinyoung beckons Bambam to stand in front of Youngjae. “You don’t need much to be beautiful. Now, go get him, sweetheart.”
Mark fiddles with his fingers, keeping an eye on the clock on the wall in front of him. Well aware of the fact that they were just going together ( as friends ) to choose a puppy for him, which sounded very domestic now that he thinks it through, he still can’t help but let his memories fleet back to her smiles that were too wide and bright for her face and her laughs, where her mouth opens so wide he could see her uvula, and he laughs quietly to himself.
Checking the address she texted him, he grabs his keys and drives down the road to her house. He wonders if staying in his car until she gives him the all clear is better than walking in and disrupting her. He texts her after moments of consideration and flinches when he receives a reply just seconds after, urging him to come in.
Locking his car, he rings the doorbell with clammy hands. There was no need to be nervous in the slightest but at the prospect of this date being their first without any academics involved, he starts to feel slightly tense. The door opens to reveal Jinyoung who places a finger to her lips, saying, “She’s nearly done but she’s still really nervous. You can sit here and wait, I’ll stay here.”
He lets a small grin rest on his face as he is relieved that he isn’t the only one stressing about their outing.
“I thought I was the only one,” he sighs.
“If you do or say something to make her drop a single tear, we will not hesitate to castrate you,” Jinyoung says with a bright smile on her face.
Mark blinks. “Understood, ma’am.” He looks up to the stairs to find Youngjae’s head hung down as she takes cautious steps down to the living room, holding Bambam’s hand. She looks up shyly, placing a strand of hair behind her ear and smiles. Mark, most certainly, blames the fans set on a low breeze for making the room so uncomfortably warm. His heart races as he smiles back at her. “Hey.”
She looks absolutely stunning and he can’t tear his eyes off her ━ he finds himself agreeing with Jackson that he is absolutely whipped for her.
“Ready to go?” He asks, and she nods before being handed her wallet, keys and phone by Jinyoung.
“Treat her right, oppa, or you’ll regret knowing us.” Bambam adds, watching the light blush forming on both of their ears. “Have fun and don’t stay out too late!” She says, as they leave the house and get into Mark’s car.
He opens the passenger door for her and closes it when she’s seated before moving across to his side. “Should we get something to eat before we see the puppies?”
“Sounds good,” she nods. “Also, don’t take anything Jinyoung unnie and Bam said to heart.”
Starting the car, he looks at Youngjae and says, “I wouldn’t even think of giving you the second-best.”
She cups her cheeks, heart threatening to cause a racket in her chest. Glancing over, she spots the slightest flush on the tips of Mark’s ears and decides he’s worth taking the risk for.
“Have you decided on what breed you’d like to raise?” She asks, eyes trained on the road ahead.
He taps his fingers on the steering wheel after turning the radio on, set to a low hum. “Nah, We’ll know when we see the pup. It’s like an inevitable feeling, yeah?”
A feeling akin to what I felt when I first saw you , Youngjae thinks to herself. She hears a faint gasp as Mark pulls them over and genuinely looks at her. It’s only when she notices the corners of his mouth tipping upwards that she realises she had said it aloud.
“Say that again for me.” Mark’s eyes don’t stray away from her own and she tightens her hold on the ends of her dress. “Tell me you mean it.”
Youngjae bites the insides of her cheeks before she whispers, “I mean what I said.” She’s more embarrassed about her abashed self and her lack of a brain-to-mouth filter.
He lifts her jaw with his fingers, ever so lightly, afraid of hurting her. “Not that, love.”
Gosh , she thinks, she had to blow everything up when they had just left the house . Way to go, Choi Youngjae.
“Oppa,” Youngjae begins as she focuses on the slightest movements of his expressions, “I’m so sorry for ruining things and I know that the rest of the day won’t be comfortable because of what I said but I really do think I like you and that scares me more than anything.”
Noticing his eyebrows furrow before relaxing completely as a smile breaks out, she takes it as the all-clear to continue. “Just ━ Can we resort back to default? I’m making this even more awkward, I need to shut up but it’s your day. We were supposed to pick out your pup and enjoy the time we had but I ruined it, I’m so, so , so, sorry ━”
Mark throws his head back and chuckles as though Youngjae didn’t just confess and instead told a really funny joke. She reasons it might just be a joke to his ethereal self when mere mortals, such as herself, consider themselves somewhat worthy of him.
“Why are you so cute and pure,” Mark looks fondly at her, somehow managing to hold her hands and squeeze them amidst her rant. “There’s no need for you to worry about this. Let’s take things slowly, yeah? I’m not running away anytime soon.”
She pauses, “Don’t do this if you’re pitying me. I’d rather have us forgetting about this than have you pretend to like me to entertain my feelings.”
“Who said anything about pretending?” Youngjae gulps as Mark sports a boyish smirk. “I like you too, Youngjae, from the bottom of my heart. We’ve got all the time in our hands to work things out but I think I’d like some time to prove to you that I’m not doing this because I feel obligated to do so but instead, I’m doing this because I want to treat you like the princess you are.”
“We’re good, then?”
“When weren’t we already so, sweetheart?”
Grabbing the pastries and coffee Mark had bought them, they make sure to walk slowly to the the building with a giant bone hanging on the front. Youngjae looks over at him, sporting an equally bright smile, and nods. He pushes the door open and waits for her to walk through into the store before he releases his grip on the door handle and greets the staff at the front desk.
“Welcome,” the staff says, jogging out of the area behind the desk to where Youngjae and Mark were standing. “Can I help you with anything?”
Youngjae lets her eyes train over all the small puppies, trapped by iron cages. The desire to take them out, play with them and even just petting them overwhelms her as she finds herself walking towards a small puppy who was out of his cage, yapping at her ankles. She lets the puppy sniff her hand before she picks it up and pets it. “Oh, did you want to play, little one?” She coos, settling the puppy in one hand and running her hand over it with the other. “Should we play or do you want to sleep?” The little puppy whines quietly before its eyes flutter shut.
There’s a light tap on her shoulder, frightening her, and she bites in her scream, afraid that the puppy would be scared as a result. She feels a sneeze coming but she sniffles it in. Turning around, Mark’s gaze is fond on her and he gestures to the retreating staff. “She’s got some to show us, apparently.” Eyeing down at the sleeping puppy and Youngjae’s near-bloodshot eyes, he takes the puppy into his own arms, watching it fuss momentarily before it settles down. “Let’s bring this one along but are you okay?”
“Don’t worry about me,” she says, waving it off. “It’s nothing I can’t handle.”
Mark stays standing, watching her sniffle. “Do you need some fresh air? I’m so sorry,” he says. “I should’ve asked you before if you were allergic or not.”
“Shh,” Youngjae hushes, and she isn’t sure if she’s trying to calm Mark down or keep her sinus in check, but she lets out the sneeze she held in, before relaxing her frame. “I’m fine, now! Let’s go!”
He fixes her a worried look before sighing. “If you say so.”
“Do you two need some time?” The staff member peeks her head around the corner with an understanding smile.
Youngjae shakes her head and jogs over to the waiting staff member. “We’re sorry for the wait,” she says, “but they’re so small?” She pauses, smile still stretched on her face, “They’re very adorable, I can’t resist them.”
Mark waddles over with the sleeping puppy in tow, asking, “Are there any puppies that won’t trigger allergic reactions?”
Youngjae’s breath hitches and she reasons the wires in her brain can’t handle the sweetness that oozes off his concerns, which would help elaborate why her mind has all but short-circuited. She lets an embarrassed squeak to which Mark laughs to. “You don’t have to do that, you know.”
“I’d rather prefer you being comfortable when you’re over.”
Youngjae likes to believe that she’s fairly independent and doesn’t like to be swooned , as Bambam would refer to it, but she has come to realise that that is the biggest lie of all time. She fixes her gaze on the staff member, who has quietly taken the puppy out of Mark’s hands and bounces it slowly in her arms.
“I’m sorry to interrupt,” she smiles, “but we have a new addition to our family. Her name’s Heart but you can call her whatever you wish.” She leads them to a small and white Maltese puppy, whose head is tilted, eyeing the strangers carefully. “She doesn’t have much fur, so there shouldn’t be much troubles with allergies.”
The staff member opens the door of the cage Heart was in, and waits for the puppy to come out on her accord. Heart waddles over quickly to where Mark and Youngjae stand with her small legs. Youngjae puts out her hand first as Mark follows suit. After smelling their scents, Heart lets out little yaps to which they both laugh. Mark picks her up and lets her lick his face.
Noticing Youngjae’s fond and longing gaze towards the two, Mark offers Heart to her. “She’s gotta know her mother as well, you know. She can’t just be Daddy’s little princess.” He holds out one of the puppy’s paws, whispering, “Meet Mum, Coco. Mum, meet Coco.”
“Coco?” Youngjae repeats, letting the name flow off her tongue. “Coco. Hey, little princess. Are you happy that you get to meet us?” She coos, choosing to ignore that Mark prefers to call her Coco’s mother.
Coco rubs her head against Youngjae’s chest and whines quietly. She massages the puppy’s scalp while Mark asks about the formalities of bringing Coco with them back home . She’s, undoubtedly, well aware of the fact that everything is sailing smoothly as can be but it all seems too good to be true and overwhelms her nervous being.
“Could we have some time to play with Coco?” Mark says, “We’d like to bring her home but I think it’d be better if she felt more comfortable around us, right, Youngjae?”
Blinking back, Youngjae regains her composure and nods. “That’s true.” She adds, “As long as it isn’t an inconvenience to you.”
“Oh, don’t worry about that! You can have all the time you’d like with her. I shall go ahead and get the paperwork ready.” The staff member stops walking and turns around and adds, “I might ask you to fill things out in a few minutes but please feel free to play with Coco in the meantime.”
“Do you like Coco?” Mark whispers, almost afraid if he’ll break the peaceful mood with them.
Youngjae breathes, “Why wouldn’t I? Look at her, she’s so pretty. Already stealing hearts, what a player. Oppa,” she whispers, shyly, “you don’t need to consider my opinion on this. We’re finding you a suitable companion.”
“You’re already a perfectly suitable companion, sweetheart. She’s your child as much as she is mine, alright?” Mark answers, one hand propping up Coco’s head to maintain eye contact and the other rests respectfully on the top of Youngjae’s back, underneath her shoulder blades.
“Oh, stop it, you. I’m beginning to think I prefer the less flirty Mark more now.” Youngjae takes deep, even breaths to calm her heart rate, which is already skyrocketing, and laughs without a worry in the world.
Coco tumbles over and bares her small stomach, which both of them pick up on rather quickly as their hands scramble to pet her. “Does it matter which version you like more? They’re all me, at the end of the day.” He shyly fleets a glance at her, the tips of his ears a flaming red. “It’s the same for you. I like all of you, too. I wouldn’t change anything for the world.”
Youngjae likes to think that she has made some of the best decisions of her life; choosing to not pay attention during class to ogle at Mark, receiving such low grades that her teacher urged her to get tutoring and falling in love with said tutor. It wasn’t exactly what she had planned, but she realises there’s always a force directing her to him, no matter how much she tries to run away.
“I really do like you.” She says, eyes fluttering shut as he leaves a small kiss on her cheek.