never not ✧ mark lee

74

"You both are loud, funny, and you love picking on me for your own amusement."

Well, they clearly had at least had that much in common. If she had nothing to talk to Donghyuck about, at least Dasom could just talk about Mark.

She had mad cookie dough earlier that morning since she was bored, so while she waited for Donghyuck to come get her, Dasom put a batch of cookies in her oven to bake so she could share them with him.

When the text from him finally came, Dasom quickly put on a pair of sneakers, grabbed a tote bag that had the cookies waiting, and then went downstairs to look for the car he was in. She was expecting to see a black SUV as per usual, but to her surprise, there was a Nissan waiting on the road at the entrance, and Donghyuck himself was in the driver's seat.

He noticed her jogging up to the car and rolled down his window. "Get in loser, we're going shopping," he joked.

Dasom laughed as she opened the door and sat down in shotgun. "I didn't know you can drive," she commented. "I also didn't know you've watched Mean Girls."

"I've had my license for a year I think," Donghyuck answered, revving up the car as Dasom fastened her seatbelt. "And I've seen my fans say I'd make a good Regina George so of course I had to find out what that meant."

"And do you think they're right?" Dasom chuckled.

"Of course they are," Donghyuck grinned as he drove. "She might even be more iconic than I am."

"Impossible," Dasom fed his ego a little for the fun of it. "Where are we going anyway?"

"A shopping centre," he answered. "Stuff might be a little pricey there though."

"Don't worry, I saved up so I can splurge a little on Mark," she told him. "I already got one present lined up but it's not enough."

Obviously, Dasom had been thinking about what to get Mark for a couple of weeks now. A few days earlier, while browsing online for gift ideas, she found a notepad that would be perfect for him and his thoughts. One just for his thoughts and his little poems, not for his raps.

When they arrived at the mall, she showed it to Donghyuck as they walked together from the parking.

"Dasom, that's so cute," he validated her gift idea. "He'll love it for sure."

"Thank god," she sighed. "I really wanted to make this birthday good for him."

"Honestly, he's so down bad for you that if you gave him a toothpick he'd probably treasure it forever," Haechan laughed.

"I should give him a singular KitKat when I come over on Monday and see how he reacts," Dasom joked.

"Can you actually? That would be so fucking funny."

"You just love the idea of pranking Mark, huh?"

"Always," Donghyuck smiled. "Messing with Mark is like my side hustle, you and I can be partners in crime for that."

The two strolled around the mall searching for presents they each could give to Mark, vetoing and approving each other's choices. Despite the mall being fairly active, nobody really paid them a second glance, much to Donghyuck's relief.

"But I was thinking of getting him a watch," Dasom complained when Donghyuck led her into one of the stores that had rows upon rows of different watches. "He told me yesterday that his stopped working."

"Yeah, that's why I'm getting him one," Donghyuck shrugged. "Too bad I called it first."

"So what do I do then?" Dasom complained. "I can't think of anything else right now."