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promises. what’s a promise, anyway? nowadays it looks like it’s something you just say out loud so you can get someone else let you borrow a pen you both know you’re not going to give back, two empty words that you say so your mum will stop telling you to clean your room (which you probably never do), words without any kind of meaning or actual commitment behind them because they’ve lost their meaning.
it’s not like that to mark lee, obviously. he was taught from a very young age that promises must not be unbroken, not only due to respect for the other person, but also to be able to respect yourself. they’re not something that people should use for small things like taking out the trash later or going to bed early, but to make a change, to give your word, to let people know that they can trust you. the time mark had actually promised something that can be counted with the fingers of his hands, and maybe he didn’t remember all of them, but he would always remember fondly that one that was forged on a playground on a cold, winter day.
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mark 🦁
heyy
i’m out already
where are you?
‘mark! over here!’ he lifted his head from his phone, his head immediately turning to his right and eyes landing on johnny, who was tall enough for his head to be seen above everyone else’s from the distance. he turned off his phone, threw it inside his pocket and stood up to grab his suitcase and walk towards his brother.
‘hey.’
‘how was the flight?’
‘it was okay, I think… I mean, there was this alpha that had a horrible smell but luckily I didn’t end up sitting close to him. I feel bad for those who did, though.’ johnny just laughed at that, quickly changing the topic until they got inside the car. he just kept talking during the drive, yet mark wasn’t really paying attention to what he was saying. it was 7am, so he could see the beautiful sunrise through the window of his brother’s car and how the orangey colors stained the city that had once been his home.
seoul, he was finally back.
it was a quite hard time for them when mark and johnny’s parents decided to move to canada: they were struggling with money, his brother had just presented as an alpha and was still learning how to live like that, his mother was jobless and… well, he was just a little kid, he couldn’t do anything about it. somehow mark’s dad managed to get a better job, so they left.
it wasn’t easy, leaving everything behind to start a new life, but it ended up working for them. mark’s dad was so good at his job that they promoted him and he was working as the head of the company based in seoul, his mother, who had always wanted to become a teacher but couldn’t because of the money, was now the english teacher of one of the best preschools there, and his brother and him ended up both getting into ivy league schools. mark’s family had moved back to seoul earlier, at the beginning of the school year, but mark had to stay so he could attend all his classes.
‘mark, baby! I’ve missed you so much.’ his mother said happily as she ran outside their house, embracing her son between her arms the moment he stepped a foot outside the car.
‘I’ve missed you too, mum.’ he answered with a wide smile, hugging his mother back and resting his head on top of hers (yup, he was obviously taller than her already).
‘and then you have the audacity to say that you don’t have a favorite child… you’re not fooling anyone, woman.’
‘I mean, it’s hard to miss you when you literally live next to us and we have lunch together every day.’ the brothers’ dad's voice sounded from behind their mother, and johnny just tsked as he took mark’s suitcase out of the trunk of his car.
‘yeah, but if I don't come and visit every day then I’m a bad son… besides, what’s wrong with wanting to spend some quality time with my parents every day? I wouldn't want to deprive you of the pleasure of my presence for anything in the world.’
‘just say you can’t cook bro, you ’re not fooling anyone.’
‘yeah that too.’ laughs echoed in the front yard of the lee’s family as they all went inside with mark’s things. the familiar smell of his mother’s vanilla scent mixed with his father’s peppermint filled his nostrils the first moment he got inside, embracing him completely and making him feel like a little kid once again. he looked around and the house was similar to what he remembered it, it seemed that no one was there when they were gone even though he knew that his parents had rented it to another family while they were in canada.
‘do you want some breakfast, dear? I’m making some pancakes.’
‘yes please, I’m starving.’ another thing he missed about not living near his parents anymore: his mum’s cooking. he laughed at johnny for going there every day, but god, he would do the exact same thing if he could. he helped to set up the table for everyone and made some coffee while his mother cooked, his dad read the newspaper out loud and his brother cut some fruit.
‘so… are you planning on doing anything today, sweetheart? you must be really excited to visit some places again after many years.’ his mum said as she placed a large tray filled with pancakes in the middle of the table, but he just shrugged.
‘I don’t know, actually… I’m pretty tired so I guess I’ll take a nap after we have breakfast and I’ll see what I’ll do when I wake up.’
‘oh, I see…’ mark frowned slightly at his mother’s disappointed tone.
‘did I miss anything?’
‘oh, no dear! of course not, everything’s-’
‘she just wanted to know if you were going to see jaemin.’ mark’s dad said without even taking his eyes away from the newspaper.
‘honey!’
‘I mean- you have been talking about it all week, mum.’
‘johnny!’ mark’s eyes widened at their words.
‘mum!’
‘what? I mean, you two broke up on good terms and maybe you were still friends! there’s nothing wrong in hanging out with him for a couple hours.’
‘she means “going out” with him, by the way. like a date.’ mark almost choked on the piece of watermelon he was eating.
‘darling!’
‘what? am I lying?’ mark just sighed.
‘I don’t have any plans on getting back together with jaemin, mum, and it’s been like a year since the last time we saw each other. plus, I don’t even have his phone number.’
‘oh, but she does.’
‘johnny lee!’
‘dad, can you pass me the sugar?’
‘of course.’ johnny and mr lee seemed to be having lots of fun exposing mrs lee, which would be really amusing… if it weren't something that directly affected him and his ex-boyfriend.
‘how on earth do you have jaemin’s phone number?’
‘that’s besides the point… nothing weird, I swear! but markie, think about it… you two made such a cute couple! and you were together for three years! even if you don’t get back with him, maybe you’d want to meet up to at least know what he’s currently doing! aren’t you curious?’
‘mum, please-’
‘shhh! just- take this. I won’t insist anymore! you can do whatever you want with it.’ the woman ripped a small piece of mr lee’s newspaper, who didn’t even complain about it as he tried to complete one of the crosswords, and quickly wrote down a series of numbers with a big “JAEMIN:” right in front of them. mark rolled his eyes and just took the paper, immediately putting it inside his pocket and hoping that his mother would just forget about it for at least a couple hours. she did thanks to her husband.
‘darling, how do you say “love” in italian?’
‘love in italian? mmh… let me see.’ she stood up and hovered over her husband’s shoulder, examining the crossword and helping him do it. mr lee looked at mark and he mumbled a small “thank you” at him, making him wink one eye his way before going back to arguing with his wife about the crossword’s answers. the four of them ended up inside that discussion while they had breakfast and laughed with each other.
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mark began to stir slightly under the covers, slowly waking up from that long nap he said he was going to take right after he finished his breakfast. he opened his eyes while he patted his nightstand looking for his cell phone, which he found after just a couple seconds.
‘holy shit.’ he whispered to himself after turning on the phone, letting the strong light hit his still not used to light eyes. he made sure that his blinds were down before going to bed so the light wouldn’t bother him while he slept, but now it was kind of backfiring him.
the phone showed that it was 4:43pm already, which practically meant that he slept for at least seven hours and that he was going to eat his lunch really, really late. he was just hoping that his parents left him some food because, well, knowing how much his father normally ate it was highly unlikely. after a couple minutes he managed to earn the strength to stand up and lift the blinds, letting the sunlight come through the windows and illuminate his bedroom.
the first thing he saw was his suitcase, which was still there with all his stuff inside, so he decided to unpack it first so he wouldn’t have to do it later. he took his phone once again to play some music and, of course, justin bieber was the first that popped.
‘ cause if you like the way you look that much, oh, baby, you should go and love yourself… ’ he sang as he hang all his jackets and hoodies, placed all his shirts, pants and sweats in their spot, put his underwear and socks in the two drawers that that closet had and finally walked towards the chair where he had left the clothes that he was wearing when he arrived to the house. he carefully folded and put away the shirt, hung the sweatshirt with the others and was about to do the same with his pants when that small piece of paper that his mother had given him just a few hours ago came back to his mind, so he took it out of his pocket.
JAEMIN: +123 456 789
“even if you don’t get back with him, maybe you’d want to meet up to at least know what he’s currently doing! aren’t you curious?”
“you can do whatever you want with it.”
na jaemin, his ex boyfriend, his first love and the first and only alpha he has ever dated… how could he not want to know how he’s doing? jaemin and him dated for three years and only broke up because jaemin had to move back to korea and they both knew that a long distance relationship would end up badly for them, not because of cheating or because the feelings were gone. yes, it was one of the hardest things mark had done in his entire life, but he was pretty sure that he didn’t have feelings for jaemin anymore, especially after more than a year of not talking to each other.
he didn’t know how or why, but he suddenly found himself sitting on his bed with his phone in one of his hands and the small piece of paper in the other, writing jaemin’s number to add his contact and ready to send him a text. shit, what was he supposed to say? would it be creepy if he reached out after so long? what was the best thing he could text him without sounding weird?
mark 🦁
heyyyyy
nope. too many y 's.
mark 🦁
heyy
it’s mark :)
that was even worse than the first one.
mark 🦁
hey
mark 🦁
hello
mark 🦁
good morning
“good morning” at almost 5pm. genius. he sighed and let himself fall on his bed, passing one of his hands through his face and taking a deep breath. come on, it was just na jaemin. he had seen mark doing far more embarrassing things than sending him a lousy weird text. he sighed as he started to type once again, now more confidently.
mark 🦁
hey
is this na jaemin?
and sent. now he just had to wait until jaem-
‘oh shit.’ he didn’t even have time to close the app and turn off his phone, jaemin had already seen his text and was typing. did he always reply that fast?
jaemin 🐰
who’s asking?
jesus, mark, calm the fuck down.
mark 🦁
oh shit sorry
I’m mark
jaemin 🐰
mark?
mark 🦁
yeah
mark lee
do you remember me?
jaemin 🐰
how on earth would I forget you?
we literally dated for years
hey markie :)
mark was finally able to breathe again.
mark 🦁
you scared the shit out of me for a sec
jaemin 🐰
hahahah
you’re still cute, I see
it’s been a long time since the last time we saw each other
mark 🦁
that’s right
that’s actually why I’m texting you, though
jaemin 🐰
really?
mark 🦁
yeah
maybe you don’t know but my parents moved back to korea a couple months ago and I’m here for a couple weeks before uni starts again.
so I wanted to know if you wanted to hang out someday?
just have some coffee, yknow
and chat a little bit
jaemin 🐰
that sounds great :)
i have to go see a friend in a while so I can’t today
maybe tomorrow? 3pm?
I’ll send you the address of a really nice coffee shop
mark 🦁
perfect
works for me
jaemin 🐰
alright
see you tomorrow, then
mark 🦁
alright
see you tomorrow
jaemin 🐰
oh and
mark
mark 🦁
yeah?
jaemin 🐰
it’s really nice to know that you’re here
thanks for wanting to meet :)
mark 🦁
oh haha
well thank you for agreeing
jaemin 🐰
sure ;)
he wasn’t going to say it out loud, but he was thankful to his mother for being a snitch and getting involved in matters that do not concern her for the first time in his entire life.