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ah. mark seriously hated this ability.
no. this was not a 'shoot up a web from your wrist' or 'sparkled under the sun' type of ability. no. it was rather very ordinary, yet it caused him great stress.
you see, mark was quick. not on feet because on the contrary mark hated running. mark was quick when it came to things; people’s things. it just for some reason mark could catch on to what other people were actually thinking or feeling. he caught on to the little bits and hints about things unknowingly, just like that.
like for instance, he knew his mom was lying to him about the pudding, his pudding, on the fridge last saturday,
“i was the one who ate it, don’t worry i’ll get more later.”
weird. his mom wasn’t really a fan of fruit-flavored sweets. unlike his little brother. so, mark concluded; it was his little brother who ate the pudding.
everyone in the family knew, well except for his little brother apparently, that you don’t mess with mark and his food. you think it might be silly but food was food and there were certain lines that you shouldn't have ever crossed! mark had pictured the perfect setting to enjoy the beloved mango pudding he bought after school the day before; he planned to cool it even more on the fridge for one more day and have it after long hours of some pc game.
but instead, all he got was a lie from his mom. understandable, since going out to buy a new pudding across the block was so much easier for his mom to handle than having her eldest son going at it at the little brother who then was sleeping soundly on the living room’s couch, mouth slightly glossy, definitely because of the pudding juice. that little shit didn’t even clean his mouth properly after!
mark honestly wanted to smack that little brother of his but after much deliberation, he let it slide. yes, he let it slide because he loved his mom and no, not because his dad would get mad at him for smacking the youngest, who's clearly dad's favorite son. yeah, once again, mark just knew stuff okay?
okay, so the food thing was unnecessarily long and frankly unimpressive because you were bound to know a thing or two about your own bloodline.
so how about this to demonstrate mark’s amazing ability; he found out that the school's basketball team captain, the superstar athlete; lee jeno, has a crush. a massive one. and it was for mark's longtime friend; lee donghyuck.
he found out one day when jeno, who was in the same 2-3 class as him, talked about the rowdy friend,
“mark, can you please pass this back to donghyuck? i heard you two are close.” it was donghyuck's chemistry notebook that jeno handed mark.
if it was anybody, they would’ve definitely missed the faintest tinge of pink curled up on the athlete’s cheeks. but mark wasn’t just anybody.
“why'd you have this?”
“umm- donghyuck was kind enough to lend me his notes. you see, we went to the same academy.”
weird. donghyuck was dumb.
well academically at least.
to donghyuck's defense, he was quick-witted, the definition of street smart because how else he get through the eighteen years of his life -knowing how donghyuck functioned in society- if it wasn’t for his tricks? so once again, donghyuck wasn’t book smart, thus he took shitty notes. jeno, on the other hand, might be an athlete, yes, but he was no dumb jock. hell, the athlete might very well be smarter than mark himself! so for him to borrow donghyuck’s notes, of all people was a loud sign that something was up.
“oh yeah sure, i’ll give it to him.”
“and oh! tell him good luck with the singing competition next wednesday. his vocal color is very pleasant and he has an amazing range, i’m sure he’ll do great!”
okay, mark didn’t know that jeno was into singing, judging from his peculiar choice of words. like, vocal color? range? -what?
mark then glanced at another book that jeno had been holding, complete with its colorful sticky numbers that stuck out like a sore thumb.
singing for dummies
okay. so that was why jeno was somewhat knowledgeable about singing and its terms. but why would he study the book so seriously in the first place anyway? it was not like he was trying to impress anyone with his new profound singing knowledge right?
right?
wait.
huh?
oh.
“oh! ah! i- uh. got this for a little project of mine. you know for our music class and stuff ha-ha.”
the faint tinge of pink on jeno’s cheeks was burning into a passionate flaming red, all the way across to his ears, flustered, as he noticed that mark had been looking at him and the book in his hand suspiciously.
so, with that mark was certain, the little punk; lee donghyuck, had scored himself a crush.
so with that, we established that mark was indeed quick. he was like the flash when it came to realizing things.
in simpler words; he was not dense, unlike huang guanheng, his seatmate who took forever to realize that huang renjun, (the president of the tea ceremony club. erm- god knows why the school even had a tea ceremony club to begin with. mark insisted that it was just a scheme by those laid-back students for the school to sponsor them with an abundance of tea and cookies every wednesday afternoon) was pining for him since the first semester started. it was alright though because they ended up dating somehow shortly.
ah! speaking of dating, we have finally come as to why mark was troubled by this amazing (debatable) ability.
it was because someone had a crush on him!
someone was trying to date him!!
okay, the narcissistic tendencies jumped out a bit. but hear mark out for a bit, he was so sure of this.
the guy in question was na jaemin.
another superstar athlete (how many superstar athletes one school could hold honestly was a mystery), the school’s sprint runner. the fastest guy in school. literally. in other words, the actual flash himself.
mark noticed the caramel-haired would steal a couple of glances at him in the school’s cafeteria and when mark actually did return the eye contact, the sprinter abruptly tried to make himself look busy, occasionally weirding out his circle, which huang renjun is included. (mark wondered if the sprinter enjoyed tea and cookies himself. mark was amazing at baking by the way)
the light-bulb moment was when mark had to stay very late after school because he was on after-school duty that day and koeun, the class’ president who was supposed to do the chores with him, flat out ditched him because of a date or something. so, mark ended up doing double the chores. heh. what a great friend mark had.
“oh,”
mark wasn't expecting to see another student still in the area during that time but he forgot that the athletes might as well be different beings. they would come as early as dawn start to break in the morning and go home as late as the owls start to awake at night. even some of them, jeno, for example, would still have to go to cram school after all the training.
the devil worked hard but the school's athletes were working even harder.
mark cleared his throat a bit before asking, “.. are you done?”
na jaemin was practically frozen in front of the blinking vending machine that was signaling the buyer to take the goddamn pocari sweat off it already.
“oh. yes. i’m sorry.”
heh. jaemin reeked sweat that time.
and the sun.
and the flower daisy.
weird. because mark definitely had never sniffed a daisy before, they might very well be a scentless flower, but mark liked the thought of describing the glossy-skinned boy in front of him as daisies scented. it somewhat fit him perfectly.
“um. do you want the pocari sweat? i- uh. this was the last one.” as if jaemin was trying to strike up a conversation with him. with trying as the keyword here because the poor boy was stuttering the whole short sentence.
“no biggies, i wanted the coffee anyway.” there was no way mark would gulp down a drink that had the word sweat on it.
“oh, i love coffee!”
mark didn’t mean to, but he couldn't help but show an ‘okaaay’ expression because honestly, with all due respect, who asked but then he felt bad almost too immediately because jaemin caught all that and quickly mumbled another quiet sorry.
it was already the second time he apologized to mark and they only have been what? talking for like a minute at max. just great.
mark cleared his throat yet again, louder this time for; “oh yeah? what kind?”
mark didn’t want their first real conversation to end with him being a complete asshole, so he asked the question as he walked closer to the vending machine. jaemin was stunned for a bit but then had no problem answering as he started blabbing about his uniquely curated, one-of-a-kind coffee recipe.
his favorite was venti-sized ice americano with ice and no water apparently. and oh, 4 extra espresso shots. which sounded just as disgusting if not more than a sweat-named drink.
unlike before though, mark tried his damn best to not let his opinion sipped through because he was trying to be a good person, and no, definitely not because of the gleam in jaemin’s eyes when he yapped about the ground beans. nope.
mark didn't quite sure which one was more blinding though, jaemin's hazel orbs or the orange sunset glow that illuminated jaemin's profile delicately.
“ah, i had to go practice again.” mark didn’t miss the tint of disappointment in jaemin’s voice.
“wait, i thought you were wrapping up?”
“yeah no, we practiced for 4 hours if it’s tournament season.” ugh, that sounded tough. mark couldn’t bear to run for 4 minutes tops, let alone for 4 hours.
“well good luck out there then, jaemin.”
ah.
mark was horrible. no, really, he was.
he couldn’t help but chuckle at jaemin who was so visibly caught off guard with his name being called.
jaemin had his entire whole face and even fingers? painted pink. fucking adorable honestly. mark guessed it was maybe a runner’s thing since all they do was run under the sun all the time.
“t-thank you. i-i uh, will go now!”
jaemin was indeed; fast. in just a second he was gone in front of mark’s sight, leaving him with nothing but a rosy air that was somewhat suffocating the older.
so, once again mark didn’t mean to be a conceited ass about this but he was just so certain, almost 100% sure that the fast runner has a crush on him.
so there was the backstory.
and the vending machine meeting was two months ago. and nothing has ever happened since then.
sure, jaemin would still steal some glances at him, not only in the cafeteria now, but also in the hallway when they miraculously would pass each other, or when their classes happened to have joint pe classes together every once in a while.
but that was it.
jaemin hasn’t tried to talk to him again. so, mark took the initiative and tried to talk jaemin first. but all mark got were awkward greetings that he didn’t particularly care about. well, sure greetings were nice and all but mark wanted the sweat and disgusting coffee talk. he wanted to talk to jaemin again as they basked under the sunsets.
huh.
that escalated quickly.
ugh.
.
mark wished he was a dense fool. like, just as they said ignorance is bliss.
“you could very well ignore his feelings you know.”
mark and donghyuck were at a newly established cafe. which has the most ridiculous price-tag mark has ever encountered in his life, no joke. but it was almost worth the cool, hip, aesthetic instagram pictures they took. so it was alright.
“i could, but what to do? i’m nice like that.”
donghyuck’s gross scoff filled the entire nude-painted property resulting in them having one and two judging looks from the other customers and waiters alike.
well, the weird looks might not aimed to donghyuck’s scoff directly, but rather to their order anyway; one lonely tall caramel latte and one lonely blueberry muffin were served on top of the marble table, ready for two people to enjoy.
seriously, mark and donghyuck should’ve gone to lotteria next door instead.
“bullshit. you smartass think so highly of yourself,” donghyuck pulled out the blueberry chunks off the muffin carefully, “you think you know everything about everyone but the truth is you don’t know the one thing you should know about the most important person of all,”
donghyuck finished separating the berry chunks from the muffin itself and the blueberry muffin was now, ironically, blueberry-free. dongyuck hated berries and mark really didn’t care for them. the sole reason they got the blueberry muffin in the first place was that; it was the cheapest menu there was in the damn cafe.
“please, who is this very important person anyway?”
mark sipped the caramel latte in moderate amounts because he was sharing it with donghyuck. pathetic. once again, if they were to go to lotteria next door earlier, he would be bloated with the giant cola by now.
“it was you, you dumbass. yourself,”
mark raised one of his eyebrows as he looked at his best friend weirdly.
what kind of philosophical bullshit was that. mark certainly didn’t expect that kind of answer coming from a donghyuck. well maybe sharing notes, tunes, and who knew maybe even a kiss or two? with jeno finally putting some senses into his friend’s brain.
“what’s that supposed to mean?” mark's tone was definitely miffed.
“you were so busy figuring out other people's feelings and thoughts that you completely forgot about your own."
okay, donghyuck was just talking dog shit now.
mark clearly wasn’t taking himself seriously because he was then rolling his eyes as he took a bite of the not-so-blueberry-muffin no more. it tasted like shit. what a scam. it shouldn’t be sold at the original price. hell, it shouldn’t be sold at all!
“what i’m saying is; you, like na jaemin,”
donghyuck finally got the attention that he deserved as mark stared at him, eyes wide open, flabbergasted. “you were so busy thinking about his crush on you that you didn’t even notice your feelings towards him. but then again sometimes you don’t see things that are too close to you,” shrugged donghyuck before he snatched the muffin out of mark’s hand. it tasted shit to donghyuck as well but hey, they already bought this overpriced dessert so might as well finish it.
“in fact, i noticed that you might like him before you noticed that he liked you.”
“come again?”
“it was last year’s school sports festival when our class was against jaemin’s class for a relay. and of course, you weren’t running. but then, of course, jaemin was.”
ah, the sports festival. mark remembered that. their class lost to jaemin’s class, (duh. it was jaemin's class so it's expected) and everyone in mark's class was on the verge of crying, frustrated because they did their hardest but their hardest wasn’t quick enough for jaemin’s feet. and mark remembered how he was so infuriated by the scene. weird. (if you didn't notice by now, yes, weird is mark's favorite expression to use because he is easily one weirded fellow) because he wasn’t even participating whatsoever,
“so what if we lost? you guys ran your damn hardest and that’s what's important! be proud of yourself!!” mark yelled a out loud.
it was so embarrassingly cheesy when mark thought about it again, but he knew, it somehow did touch everyone’s heart (okay maybe mark was indeed a little bit of a conceited ass, sue him)
jaemin, whose skin was glistening -drenched in sweat- walked to their class crowd, eyes fixed on mark, “he's right. your class was amazing still." a smiled then bloomed on the sprinter's lustrous lips, "and you, you should’ve run before, you talk like someone who would win a whole tournament.”
“and that made you blush,” donghyuck finished the muffin, but not before he gagged a bit.
“what? i was not!”
“you totally were!”
“it was just because i was under the sun for far too long, dumbass.”
“last time i checked, the sun didn’t make you stutter your words, dumbass.”
wait? did he? he honestly didn’t remember that.
he did, however, remember the faint crease on jaemin’s cheeks when he smiled at him. cute. it reminded him of gideon, the lee family's cat.
mark liked cats. he liked gideon. mark liked jaemin's smile. he liked-
wait. huh?
what!?
“oh no,”
“what? you still want to drink this?” donghyuck has finished their shared caramel latte. “for the record, i only drank a quarter of this. you drank more!”
can donghyuck shut up about the ludicrously expensive coffee for a bit? mark was in the middle of thinking. he was finally thinking for himself, about himself. about his feelings.
“shit.”
donghyuck rolled his eyes and held the two of his hands up in defense, “okay, if you are so mad that i finished this we can always order one more glass, gee.”
“it’s not about that you idiot, besides, really? another glass?” mark squinted and donghyuck just shrugged his shoulder lightly.
“it was about my feelings. shit. seems i do like-“
“please excuse me, but with all due respect if you have finished your meal, can you move out from the table, please? people are waiting in line to dine in,” this waiter dared to cut off mark’s confession like that huh!
their eyes then follow the direction the waiter has pointed, to the long line of people in front of the glassed door. “or if you want to chat here longer, you are most definitely welcome to order again.”
the waiter offered them her bright smile and with that mark and donghyuck took their leave.
it was tuesday and to be honest, mark shouldn’t be here at the track field. tuesday was mark’s turn for washing the dishes but then what was the point of having a little brother? besides, he should at least do that since he ate mark’s precious mango pudding many moons ago. yes. mark still remembered that incident. all too clearly.
mark’s thoughts about his bratty little brother were disturbed by a gust of wind that tickled his little nose lightly and his attention then shifted to the center of the field, gaze immediately fell upon jaemin who was bending down holding his knees, catching a breath, taking a break. as if he was calling jaemin through telepathy, the caramel-haired lifted his head and turned it to mark’s way. mark mustered a small wave and the runner was visibly surprised. he was looking very troubled, didn’t know what to do. cute.
mark then saw another runner, kim jungwoo? if mark didn’t remember it wrong, patted his back and gave him some teasing smile. and the next thing mark knew, jaemin was jogging with light steps toward him. mark took a deep breath as their proximity getting closer and gulped,
“mark,” jaemin was breathless and his voice was shaky probably because of all the running, “what are you doing here in the field? never seen you run before, don’t you hate running?”
heh. mark couldn’t help his warmed heart. jaemin really liked him huh? he even knew about mark’s sentiment towards the activity hee.
“yeah i don’t, but i do like fast runners.” jaemin’s eyes were big as his face turned into a shy reddish hue. mark honestly didn't know where that came from but he did mean it.
“gather up everyone! we’re resuming!”
ugh. why did the world against mark so much? jaemin looked back at the field’s center to see his coach lining up the runners and then mark simultaneously, teeth biting his lower lip, contemplated, “i- uh- gotta go.” his little face clearly looks bummed out.
“jaemin!”
mark didn’t mean to shout but he did. and it startled jaemin. mark could very well dig a hole right now but he had no time to be embarrassed. with a much quieter and low voice, mark assembled his courage, “a-are you free after practice?”
great. he was stuttering.
jaemin choked on his short breath a little, in disbelief.
“wait. are you asking me out?” both are surprised by the statement. and seeing how surprised mark was, jaemin chuckled, almost mocking himself, “ha-ha, of course, you're not right? god, that was so conceited of me! sorry!” oh if only jaemin knew how the adjective associated with mark so much, he’d be surprised.
mark shook his head and waved both of his hands vigorously “no! you’re right. i am asking you out." mark then locked gaze with the sprinter,
"i like you na jaemin. i, uh- like you.”
the busy area felt like stop moving. fucking cliche, yes, and mark always hated it whenever they did the time still shit on movies but just like what oscar wilde said, life imitates art so maybe the film's crackheads knew exactly what they were doing.
“na jaemin! get your ass back here!” their movie-like moment was interrupted by a loud voice and mark wished the coach would trip on his own feet later.
jaemin though, ignored the call as he cleared his throat a bit before walking towards mark. he stopped at just the right distance from mark, perfectly in front of his blooming face. one tiny smile and the sprinter leaned,
“i, like you too mark.”
it was wet.
jaemin’s soft lips pecked mark’s left cheek quickly yet it still managed to send down a fuck ton of electricity to mark’s tingling skin.
“wait me up okay?”
jaemin smiled sheepishly as he backpedaled a couple of steps, back to the center of the field before he turned and ran with all his might. the coach scolded him a bit but the huge grin on his face showed that he didn’t mind it one bit.
weird. just like what mark had been thinking, na jaemin did like him. he should be able to expect this. but here was mark, with a heart that was beating a lot too fast and a lot too loud as if he had just finished a team marathon. by himself.
mark waited for jaemin while calming his nerves. occasionally, jaemin would throw him a big bashful smile and if he braved enough, a little wave. anybody that has eyes could very well tell jaemin looked like a sick puppy in love, dangling his invisible tail whenever he jogged, sometimes even skipping his feet a bit but despite all that, he was still the fastest sprinter of the practice.
ah. mark really did like fast runners after all.
the practice had finished and jaemin had just showered, hair still wet and his cheeks were naturally rosy. mark had to mentally pinch himself, can't believe he lucked out, jaemin was so beautiful.
jaemin leaned his body closer to mark, and brushed the older's shoulder, lips slightly pouted, hopeful, he said “hey, can we go to the cafe that just opened? the one near lotteria?”
mark wanted to tell jaemin that the place was kind of shit but he didn’t have the heart to, not when jaemin’s eyes were so sparkly just talking about it. besides, it was their first date, right? going on a splurge in a high-end cafe was just fitting. and oh, the caramel latte wasn’t half bad anyway. he did drink the coffee more than donghyuck yesterday so he knew it very well.
mark nodded before he curled up a smile and shyly took jaemin’s unoccupied hand (jaemin intertwined their fingers after) as they walked off the field,
“uh, one question, how do you feel about blueberry muffins?”