that one stained shirt | mark lee

starry night

Mark stayed over till Saturday evening.

When we had woken up again, it had been already past noon and Mark had insisted on calling a takeout. He'd ordered a warm soup, ttaekbokki and after my endless persuading a set of nine donuts. We had talked a lot, about life, about passions and hobbies. He'd shared his childhood back in Canada while I'd talked about me and Johnny back in Chicago. After eating, we'd watched a few episodes of a show he loved.

"You see? I told you all along he would do it! Like, how could be you blind, Jess?"

"I wasn't! I just didn't believe you, bighead."

"What you'd just called me?" And he'd thrown a pillow on me, both of us laughing all along.

After lunch, he'd helped me clean the dishes and around five had bid me his goodbyes.

"If anything, call me, alright?" he reminded me while putting on his shoes.

"Don't worry," I smiled while leaning against the door frame of my room. "I'm all good now, thanks to you." He straightened up and smirked in an amused way, which made me come closer. "For real, Mark, I can't express how glad I am for you."

"You can show me," he shrugged and turned to me fully. My brows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"Let's go on a date, pretty. Monday evening. I'll pick you up at seven."

I stared at him for a good second, because my brain refused to comprehend. He must have thought he'd leave without questions, but I grabbed his arm before he managed to rush out of the door. "Don't you have schedules?"

Mark faced me again with a fake thoughtful expression on his face. "No, they got canceled. I wanted to go straight home, get a beer, you know, but... you're a better company."

"Stop it," I shoved him gently and shook my head in disbelief to cover the blush. A genuine smile brightened his face. "See you on Monday, then."

"Be ready on time," he warned with a lifted index finger. "I want you to see my favorite part of Seoul before it's too dark."

"Can't wait, superstar," I smiled and closed the door once he was out of sight. A warm feeling spread through me once again. This was going to be our first official date. And I didn't know if I was more excited or nervous.

☆

On Monday at five to seven, I was already standing by the door, waiting for Mark's message. The forecast showed a clear night with no rain, so I put on just a pair of jeans and a cute hoodie. The sneakers I chose were a gift from Sarah, one expensive pair, and I loved wearing them to memorable events.

Hopefully, this would be one of them.

Mark was on second accurate. I ran down the stairs, opened the door on the passenger side, and was greeted with a small bag of sweets on the seat. Mark was smiling like a little kid. "Come on in," he urged me, planted a quick kiss into my hair while I was fastening my seatbelt, and drove from my apartment complex. "It'll take us a little walking; I hope you took comfortable shoes."

"I surprisingly did," I nodded and looked through the candies on my lap, trying to shut down the warmth of his kiss. "What's this for?"

He glanced at me and reached to take one. "I thought you'd like a little snack. They're not chocolate donuts, but I hope it's alright."

"It surely is," I beckoned and took one too. It was filled with hazelnut cream, and I savored the sweetness. "Thank you."

"No need to thank me yet, Jess. You haven't seen the best part."