never not ✧ mark lee

71

"I'll buy you literally whatever you want for the rest of the trip if you do that," Donghyuck said, encouraging Juhee. It honestly didn't even sound like he was joking.

"Slay!" Juhee exclaimed, standing up from her seat.

"Wait no, what the fuck?!" Mark sprang into action realizing she might actually do what she said. He stood up and reached across their table, pushing Juhee back down into her seat by the shoulders.

"Boo, Mark you're such a buzzkill," Donghyuck complained. "But you know what else is a buzzkill?"

"What?" Mark asked, amused.

"These French people all eat their pizza with a fork and knife," Donghyuck observed. "Look! We're the only ones picking the pizza slices up."

"Maybe it's just the etiquette here," Mark shrugged.

"Nah, everyone is else is wrong," Juhee concurred. "We're the only ones doing it right."

"Did you just agree with me?" Donghyuck asked her. "That's a first."

"Only one one thing," Juhee retorted. "Never again."

"We'll see about that," Donghyuck replied. "I'm never wrong."

Mark wondered if he should pacify the situation but he got distracted by his phone ringing. He thought it might be Dasom, but it was actually Kou.

"Hey man, what's up?" Mark asked.

"Don't freak out," Kou said. "But Soms passed out a few minutes ago."

"WHAT?!" Mark shouted, scrambling to his feet and surprising Donghyuck who dropped his pizza and making Juhee jump from being startled. "Is she okay? Where are you guys?"

"We're still in the club but she's fine, she just nearly collapsed on the dance floor but she knew she felt off so she sat down and pass out at a table," Kou explained. "But yeah, we're about ready to leave. She mentioned that you said you'd come get us so I thought I'd let you know."

"Okay, send me the location," Mark said, trying to stay calm. "We'll pay our tab here and get there ASAP."

"Cool, thanks Mark," Kou said. "See you soon."

When Mark ended the call, Juhee and Donghyuck looked concerned, so he quickly explained what had happened before running to find a waiter so they could leave.

After booking a taxi to the location Kou had sent him, Mark paid for all their food and drinks and then somehow managed (with some struggling) to drag Donghyuck and Juhee outside so he could pile them into the backseat of the car.

His brain was working in overdrive trying to figure out the best way to get Dasom home as soon as possible, so when they were five minutes away, Mark called Kou and told him to book an Uber big enough for all five of them, promising that he would take care of the cost later.

Withing twenty minutes, they arrived and since Juhee had sobered up significantly, Mark left her to deal with Donghyuck as he began searching for Kou.

"Mark! Over here!"

He heard Kou's voice behind him and saw him standing on the sidewalk with Dasom sitting down on the curb with her head leaned against his legs. He ran up to them and immediately bent down to be level with Dasom.

"Hey Desi," Mark said, tapping on her nose. "You awake?"

"Hnnghh, I don't know..." she murmured nearly inaudibly without opening her eyes. "Passing out isn't fun Marker."

Maybe it wasn't the right time, but Mark's heart soared when he realized he had barely touched her and said much, and yet she still somehow knew it was him despite being completely out of it.