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Brook: female host, usually plays the more moral, empathetic role, offering advice and emotional support.
Jubal: male host, usually plays the guy who backs the wild cards, prods people into saying more extreme stuff, and loves making dark jokes.
You: that's you.
Mark: we all know who he is.
"Hello?"
"Hi, can I speak to Y/N?"
"That's me. What's up?"
"Hey, how are you? This is Jubal from Brook and Jubal in the Morning."
"……"
"It's a radio show?"
"Ugh… not again…"
"What?"
"The answer's no."
"Oh no no, please just give us a minute. We're not selling anything. We're—"
"I know, Second Date Update, stuff like that. I know what you do. The answer is still no. Even if you're footing the bill, I don't want a second date with him."
"So you know the show? Like, really know it?"
"Sort of. I've gotten a call from you guys before."
"Wait, you have? But we don't have a record of you."
"Maybe because I changed my number. Not a big deal."
"Okay, that makes sense. Since you know the show, then you know we need a reason—so the other person knows what they did wrong, and maybe others can learn from his mistakes."
"Don't say no just yet. You don't even know who asked us to call. Could be a total hottie."
"I thought you only took emails, not meet fans in person?"
"Well, we don't usually, but this time he sent his photo along with his story. I gotta say, you'd be missing out."
"Hey, Brook. Listen, my answer is still no. I know it's Mark who contacted you. I know he's hot, and yeah, he's fire, but it's still a no. It's mostly a me thing. If you really need a reason… let's just say his bloodline isn't right for me."
"Wha—at??" Brook's voice shot up, almost cracking.
"No way!" At the same time, Jubal, who always plays devil's advocate and cracks dark jokes, sounded genuinely shocked. You couldn't tell if he'd dare to back you up on this one.
Even Jose, who'd been providing the perfect canned laughter in the background, went dead silent. The line was so quiet you could almost hear the gears turning in their heads.
You sighed, hoping a bomb like that would be enough to make the radio show and Mark back off.
"Wait, I don't get it. You say it's because of his bloodline, but he said you approached him first?"
"Yeah. Maybe you only realized his bloodline was written all over his face after the date was over?"
Typical Jubal.
"I know. Look, I was way too drunk. It was a mistake, okay?"
"Too drunk to notice his bloodline?"
"Not exactly. He just looked way too much like my ex. That's all."
"Mark looks a lot like your ex?"
"But you just said…"
Yeah, yeah, you thought, trying to figure out how much to reveal so Mark would just leave you alone.
"Yeah, I guess I'm kind of racist. Yeah, my ex had the same bloodline as Mark. So what? You don't get many chances to land a guy that hot and that easy."
In the silence, Jose let out a choked, wheezing laugh. After a moment, Jubal slowly repeated,
"So, even though you're racist, it doesn't stop you from having yellow fever. Perfect explanation. It's like Hitler having a thing for Jewish women."
"That's awful."
"Nah, it's not that bad. At least them hasn't built a concentration camp to execute everyone them's hooked up with who had the wrong bloodline."
"Wait, I'm still not getting it. You say you're racist, but you hit on him that night."
"Like I said, he does have a nice face."
"That doesn't explain how you knew his name."
You frowned. What did that mean? "I knew his name because he told me?"
"Uh, no. He said you called him Mark right off the bat. He thought you might've known each other and he just forgot you, which is why you were pissed."
"Yeah, according to him, everything was magical and perfect until he asked for your name and number—then things went south."
"Okay, maybe I overheard someone else call him that."
"No, he said you waved him over the moment he walked into the bar."
God, I really was way too drunk, wasn't I. You facepalmed and let out a long sigh. On the other end, they were getting excited.
"Ooh, sounds like there's more to this story."
"No, there's nothing more. Just a coincidence. My ex happened to be named Mark too. I mistook him for someone else, that's all."
"That's a lot to unpack. Maybe you have a thing for guys named Mark with the same bloodline? Your ex just happens to have the same bloodline as Mark, and both of them are named Mark? That's a little too convenient, don't you think? Sounds like the start of some romance story."
"Uh, no, them just said them's racist and used the word 'bloodline' to describe Mark."
"But that raises another question. If you're racist, why did you get with your ex in the first place?"
You could feel a headache coming on. Damn it, one lie needed a thousand more to cover it up. Maybe a bit of honesty would work better?
"If you really have to know, my ex is the reason I found out how dangerous their bloodline is."
"How is a bloodline dangerous?"
"Was your ex a serial killer or something?"
"Something like that."
A moment of silence.
"Come on, you've gotta explain. What do you mean 'something like that'? Are we gonna see this ex-Mark of yours on the news?"
"Not anymore."
"Not anymore? Whoa, sounds like you did something to him."
"Yes and no. Bottom line, he's not coming after me anymore, and you won't be seeing him on the news."
"That doesn't sound suspicious at all. So you hate Mark because of your ex-Mark? But Mark is a different person. At least on the phone, he doesn't sound dangerous at all. Maybe you should give him a chance?"
"I don't even know if Mark still wants to date them after hearing all this."
"Totally would. Finding out their ex has the same name and same face as me? I'd date them just to figure out if I had a long-lost twin."
"Speaking of which, you don't seem surprised that he has the same name as your ex?"
"Gotta say, Mark is a pretty common name."
"Can we just skip ahead to the part where Mark talks to me and I turn him down?"
"Oh, you really do know the show."
"Mark, are you listening? Can you just treat that night as a simple one-night stand and leave me alone?"
"No. I can't do that."
"Come on, you heard what them said. You deserve better."
"Maybe he just wants to find his twin. Who knows."
"You can't do this to me. It wasn't just a one-night stand. You said you understood me."
"Clearly not well enough to spot your bloodline."
You pressed a thumb to your temple and started rubbing. God, why did Mark always have to be so difficult?
"It was a one-night stand, plain and simple. We had a nice night, and that's it. Move on. Don't cry about it like some little virgin."
"I was a virgin. Before I met you."
Your brain short-circuited. No way. The three on the phone started chiming in, stirring the pot, and that snapped you back.
"Yeah, a virgin. Hah. Guess you can't just let go that easily."
"You're lying."
"I'm not. You're the first person I've ever been that close with. You can't just throw me away."
"How old are you? Still in high school?"
"No, I've been in college for a while. Actually, I'm almost done. We talked about this that night."
"What the hell? Are you kidding me? Where the hell is Amber? And Eve? Even William? You can't tell me you never tried to get with any of them?"
"Wait, what? Why do you sound like you know so much about the people in his life?"
"How do you know the name William? He died when I was ten. How do you know him?"
"Oh my god, so you do know him. That's so messed up."
"Yeah, explain how you know the name of his dead friend."
You were stuck. In your speechlessness, all you could manage was a low, "Shit."
"And how do you know about Eve? That was back in high school. Why would you think a queen like her would even talk to a nobody like me? Not to mention I have no idea who Amber is."
Crap, what universe is this?
"I'm so sorry to hear that. At least tell me your mom's okay?"
"No. She's not." Mark's voice suddenly cracked. "I went to the bar because she died. She always hated it when I drank. I thought maybe if I did this, she'd get mad and come scold me."
"Oh man. Sorry for your loss, dude."
"So sorry to hear that."
Mark mumbled a response, his sobs sounding more and more pitiful by the second.
God, I'm a monster, you couldn't help thinking. Even though you'd seen a million red flags from those other Marks, at least this Mark seemed innocent—and you'd just played with his heart and body.
"Oh my god, I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know. If I'd known, I never would've—"
"It's okay. I don't mind. It was a beautiful night. I just want to see you again."
"Speaking of which, Y/N, would you be willing to go on a second date with Mark? We'll pay."
Oh, that... Even though you felt sorry for Mark, you really couldn't...
"I'm sorry, Mark, but we really can't go on another date. I'm sorry about what happened to you, but it's just not possible."
"Why not?"
"Well, maybe you know something about your dad's side of things? I really don't want to get mixed up with all that. I just want to live a normal life."
"What about my dad?"
"He never told you? About your bloodline?"
"He left when I was little. My mom raised me all by herself."
"Oh..."
"What exactly is up with his bloodline? Is he in the mafia or something?"
"I'm curious too. Can someone please address the fact that you know so much about Mark, but Mark knows nothing about you? I'm getting more and more confused by the second."
This—you couldn't reveal it. The only reason you were still alive was because you hadn't told anyone about your ability. It was thanks to that you'd managed to escape that crazed Mark.
"About your dad—he's an alien. The kind that looks almost exactly like humans. All you need to know is that he's going to come for you sooner or later, and I don't want to get tangled up with aliens."
A few people nearby shot you weird looks. You ignored them. Just then, the subway pulled into the station. You stood up and let the crowd carry you out.
Jose let out another wheezing laugh. You knew the people at the radio station probably wouldn't believe it, but Mark would. Maybe his mom never spelled it out, but once he connected the dots, he'd believe.
"So you really are racist—racist against aliens, specifically. Gotta say, I'm behind you on that one. I'm a firm human-ist."
"Does that mean your ex was an alien too? Or half-alien?"
"So what do you say, Mark? Do you accept that reason? them won't date you because you're half-alien. Can't really change that."
"You still there, Mark? You didn't hang up, did you?"
"Hell yeah. If I just found out my dad was an alien, I'd have the same reaction."
Mark had been quiet for a while. You frowned. Maybe he was just too stunned and still processing it. You sincerely hoped he'd focus on tracking down his dad's whereabouts. That way, you could enjoy what little time you had left in a human world that hadn't gone to hell yet.
As you climbed the stairs, you casually scanned the street, looking for somewhere to kill time. The crowd seemed restless—several people were frozen, staring up at the sky. Had some superhero shown up?
You followed their gaze upward. Your phone slipped from your hand. The sound of shattering glass from the surrounding skyscrapers came a beat late, deafening.
"Found you."