Supernerd! MARK

17 | dumb and dumber

I wake up with a lighter heart, and the first thing— or person— I think about, is Mark.

Mostly because yesterday felt like a fever dream; I had to pinch my arm to convince myself that I am in fact awake.

Having come to a realisation of what I truly feel about him is overwhelming, but Haechan is right— it's not a bad thing to come to terms with your emotions.

I pick up my phone, surprised to see that I'm awake at nine in the morning despite it being a Saturday. My fingers instantly find their way to my messaging app, opening up my messaging thread with Mark.

For some reason, I feel the need to leave him a text. It's the least I could do after he bravely poured his heart out to me yesterday, right?

Hey, good morning! I type out before hastily deleting it. Too cheerful.

Hey, how are you feeling? Nope.

You up?

I groan in frustration, placing my phone on my chest. When did a simple action turn out to be so difficult?

My phone suddenly buzzes on my chest, causing me to jump. Picking it up, I see that it is Mark, and my eyes widen by a fraction. Why is he calling me at nine in the morning? Is he hurt?

At the thought of him potentially being in danger, I waste no time in answering his call. "Hello?"

"Yena, hey." He sounds calm. His voice comes out as a deep rumble through the phone— wait, did he just wake up? "Did I wake you up?"

"No, no," I laugh awkwardly at my overreactive mind. "I was already awake. Are... you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry, I just," he pauses, and I imagine him shaking his head like he always does when he messes up his words. "I just... wanted to talk to you."

"Oh." My lips part in surprise, not expecting for him to say that. "Um. I'm glad you called. I was actually just about to text you."

"Really?" Mark chuckles in relief. "Are you, uh, working tonight?"

"Yeah. I'm doing the closing shift." I turn around to my side, hugging my pillow close to my chest as I try to calm the erratic beating of my heart. I think what happened yesterday is causing things to be weird between us— a good kind of weird, hopefully.

"Okay. Can I... come see you?"

I bite my lip, though it doesn't do much in stopping the smile already threatening to show. Shit. I can't believe Mark Lee, out of all people, is the one making me act like a high school girl all over again.

"Yeah," I say softly, though my cheeks are already starting to hurt from me grinning like a lovesick fool. "Don't you have work, though?"

"What, like, Spider-Man stuff?" Mark asks, and at this I find myself laughing, even though his words aren't even all that funny. "I mean, yeah. But I still wanna come and see you," he says again, and it is not helping in calming down my nerves.

"Okay, Mark." I turn on my back to face the ceiling.

"Yeah," he whispers, and I hear Lee Haechan in the background screaming at him about something. "I gotta go. I'll... see you later?"

"Yeah." I don't bother stopping my smile now. "See you."

The call ends, and I instantly throw my phone aside, like it's acid burning my skin. It feels like I have to physically restrain myself from giggling out loud like an idiot, so I resort to stuffing my face into my pillow.

The things this boy does to me.

🕸️

I find myself looking at the door every time I hear the bell at the entrance chime, only to be disappointed when it's a customer and not Mark. I glance at the clock every few minutes, and it seems as though time is purposely passing by very, very slowly today.

"Are you waiting for someone?" My colleague Jungwoo asks as he wipes down a table, eyeing me at my place behind the counter as I clean the empty donut display.

"No?" I respond, though it comes out more like a question than a statement.

Jungwoo wiggles his eyebrows as he loops his towel in his apron pocket, walking back towards our station. The bell rings again, and I immediately snap my gaze from Jungwoo to the door to see who it is.

My lips unknowingly lift up into a smile to see the boy I've been waiting for, finally walking through the door.

Mark has his head cast downwards as he ruffles his hair, presumably ridding himself off the rain seeing as it's drizzling outside. As always, he has his bomber jacket on, paired with a pair of jeans and Converse. His usual Jansport bag hangs on both his shoulders, and it makes me wonder what he carries around since I never see him without it.

"Oh? Lee Mark?" Jungwoo greets, and Mark lifts his head up to look at my senior.

"Jungwoo, hey. I didn't know you worked here."

"Yeah, I've been busy so I haven't been for a while. So you're the boy who's been making our little Yena so happy lately, huh?"

I clear my throat loudly, and the both of them look in my direction. "Ignore him." I plaster a fake smile on my face before shooting a not-so-subtle glare towards Jungwoo, the teasing smile on his face not fading one bit.

Mark chuckles softly as he steps inside, placing his bag on the counter before taking a seat on his usual stool. "Hey," he greets me with a shy smile.

"Hi." I grin, biting my bottom lip slightly to suppress it so I wouldn't look like the Joker. I let out a small oh, bending down to reach for a small to-go bag that I placed on the shelf under the counter. "Here. I saved this for you." I place paper bag on the counter, inside it Mark's favourite cinnamon roll donut.

His eyes widen a fraction, as though surprised by my gesture, before he breaks out into a grin. "Thanks. Sorry, I wanted to come earlier but I... was busy."

I glance at Jungwoo who has his back facing us as he bends down to clean the other tables, but it's clear to anyone that he's eavesdropping on our conversation with the way he's been wiping the same spot over and over for the past two minutes.

"Let me just finish up here and we can go," I tell Mark, and he replies with a nod.

"Or, you can go ahead on your little date and I can close up the shop," Jungwoo proposes, and I look at him.

"What's the catch?" I ask, ignoring his usage of the d-word.

"Catch? There's no catch..." Jungwoo trails off, albeit suspiciously.

At my silence, he turns around with a sheepish smile on his face. "You tell Taeil hyung that it was you who spilled all the flour."

I scoff loudly, shaking my head at his audacity. "In no way is that equal to working an entire shift! You're on your own."

"I take stuff from the high shelves for you!" Jungwoo tries to argue, but I wave him off.

I hear Mark chuckle from in front of me, and he tells me that it's okay and he doesn't mind waiting.

But I do. He doesn't need to know that, though.

I take my washcloth to the sink to rinse it, and glancing at the clock I realise that it's already close to nine, nullifying Jungwoo's stupid proposal.

He bids me goodbye with a pout, mumbling something about not wanting to be put in a headlock by Taeil again, and soon I am left alone with Mark at the front door.

"Should we?" He asks, and I nod eagerly.

Mark grins, naturally taking my hand in his as he leads me down the empty streets.

I have no idea where Mark is taking me, or what he even has in mind in the first place, and I know I should have clarified before, but it's okay. Nothing else matters as long as I have him with me, anyway.

—

Happy new year everyone! 🎉