The day had passed but I still couldn't face him.
It wasn't because I felt ashamed that it happened - though I did wish to turn back time to stop it all - but more because it hurt me to know that it meant nothing. He didn't seem to want to talk about it so maybe that meant he didn't care about the issue at all.
I was different. My feelings for him probably made this seem bigger than it really is. I guess it seems kinda stupid of me to let this affect our friendship so much, but I couldn't help it. But then again, BamBam didn't make much of an effort to talk to me either.
I was guessing that it was the guys' free day since they were just chilling back at the dorm. Some of the others had gone out, but Kasey and I were too lazy to leave the dorm so were left behind. Mark, Youngjae, Yugyeom and BamBam were the ones who decided to stay in too.
Yugyeom and BamBam were somewhere inside the dorm, probably in their room, while the rest of us were just hanging out in the living room. Mark watched as Youngjae tried to teach Kasey and I Korean. It might have been easier for us to learn if he helped too because I was thinking more of how cute Youngjae's engrish was than paying attention to what he was saying. Though in return for the Korean lessons we decided to help Youngjae with his English too.
"Stop laughing!"
Okay, so maybe Youngjae did notice my giggling.
I nodded and took in a deep breath to stop my laughter. "Sorry," I said.
Youngjae muttered something in Korean, making Mark laugh, and I sent him a glare.
"Well, you don't have to be so rude," I mumbled jokingly.
"Mianhae," he said, a small sarcastic smile on his face. I waved him off, not accepting his insincere apology.
"Hey, is something wrong with you and BamBam?" Kasey asked all of a sudden.
I frowned when her question seemed to get both Youngjae's and Mark's attention. Their curious looks made me uncomfortable but I tried not to let it show.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said.
Kasey gave me a look. "When someone says they have no idea, it usually means that they do know."
"Skylar, something's up and everyone notices it," Mark said.
I shook my head. "It's nothing serious."
Mark looked annoyed. "What do you mean? It's something serious if you're both avoiding each other."
I shrugged. "It's alright," I muttered. "It's nothing."
I didn't want to talk about it and they knew that. Kasey let out a sigh and went back to the room, saying she had to call her parents. Youngjae, too, left but I didn't know what his reason was.
That left me with the one and only Mark Tuan.
Two years ago when I met these boys, I was only really close to the foreign line. I mean, the others were cool but I felt more comfortable around the three non-Korean members. It was probably because I could speak to them more easily. BamBam was the one I was most comfortable around -- even though his English wasn't as good as the other two's -- but Mark came a close second.
I shouldn't have been surprised with the amount of concern he was showing. Mark was the quiet type, but he cared a lot. And, well, this issue involved two of his friends. Normally I wouldn't have liked someone poking in on my business but I had to admit that I really needed someone to talk to.
"You really don't want to talk about it?"
I shrugged. Honestly, I wanted to. I wanted to vent, to scream. I just didn't know how I was going to tell someone. BamBam was really the only person I had ever shared my problems with, but he was obviously out of the question. Kasey and I were close but we never had those heart-to-heart talks that really deepened our friendship. The same went for Mark.
"Have you been to Kimbap Heaven?" he suddenly asked. I was confused, but at the same time grateful, for the change in topic.
I shook my head. "Never even heard of it."
"Really? Well, do you wanna go?"
I thought about it for a moment and decided I didn't want to be stuck inside the dorm for the whole day. "Sure," I said. "Lemme just get ready."
I went into the room to get my clothes -- I asked Kasey if she wanted to come with and she declined -- and took a quick shower.
Mark was already ready in front of the room when I opened the door. I was too lazy to find my comb so I just ran my fingers through my hair. Mark commented on it, and I just brushed him off.
We walked past BamBam and Yugyeom's room just as the door swung open.
Yugyeom came out first. He said something in Korean -- I was guessing that he asked where we were headed off to.
Mark replied and I saw something flicker in BamBam's expression. It could have been my imagination since I was actually looking at him, more like I can see him from the corner of my eye.
I followed Mark out, ignoring the two maknaes as they spoke to each other.
The whole way to Kimbap Heaven was quiet. I mean, Mark and I barely said anything. It wasn't until we were already at our table in the restaurant when he spoke.
"You know what you're gonna get?" He called the waiter and ordered for the both of us. When the waiter left Mark gave me a serious look.
"What?" I questioned, feeling a bit uncomfortable with his gaze.
Mark shrugged. "Nothing."
"So, you sure I'm going to like whatever it is you got?" I asked so we wouldn't have to deal with an awkward silence.
He chuckled. "I dunno. It's something I always order," he said. "I didn't t think I could give you something even I didn't know was good or not."
"Thanks, I guess," I mumbled. "But why did you bring me here?" It didn't register until now that there could have been a reason that he wanted to eat out.
"What do you mean? There's nothing wrong with two friends hanging out," he replied.
I rolled my eyes. "If you think this is going to make me spill about what's going on, think again."
He sighed. "That wasn't it," he said. "It's just... I can tell you stressing out over whatever's happening or what happened. I figured you'd want to take your mind off of it."
The ends of my lips curved upward and I muttered a thanks. It got kind of awkward after that as none of us spoke, though when the food arrived the awkward silence was less noticeable.
"So, you have an aunt here in Korea, right?" Mark asked in an attempt to get a conversation going.
I nodded, swallowing the food in my mouth before replying. "Yeah. I should probably visit her."
"We could go after we're done here," he suggested.
I frowned. "I dunno. Don't you think you're gonna be bored or something?"
He shook his head. "I don't mind. Besides, I get the feeling that you don't want to head back to the dorm just yet."
I didn't say anything and just continued eating. He was right, though. There was a certain someone that I knew was in the dorm that I wanted to avoid.
"You sure you don't mind?" I asked Mark as we headed out of the restaurant.
He assured that he didn't and called for a cab. We got in and I gave the address.
It wasn't long until the two of us were standing by the door of my aunt's apartment. The moment brought back memories of two years ago when I first stood in front of Aunt Abbi's old apartment. She had moved from that old place. This new apartment was bigger, which was more ideal now as the old one didn't really fit a family of five.
I still liked the old one more, though.
I knocked on the door, already hearing the ruckus going on inside. It took a while for Aunt Abbi to answer the door and when she did she was still yelling for her kids to quiet down. She faced me and squealed.
"Skylar!" She pulled me into a tight embrace then let me go. "How are you? How is Ate Laila?"
"Mom's doing fine. You should go and visit us in LA sometime," I replied.
"When the kids start learning to sit still, maybe we'll visit." She shot me a smile and I noticed her gaze move from me to the boy behind me. "Oh, who's this?"
"This is Mark. Uh, me and my friend Kasey are staying at his and his friends' place."
She raised an eyebrow. "Your parents are okay with it? Two young ladies living with a bunch of boys?"
"She's cool with it." I mean, she was also cool with it two years ago in Jeju.
Aunt Abbi was about to say something but then a shrill scream cut through the air. She grimaced and muttered a curse in Tagalog.
"Why don't you come in? Wait in the kitchen. I just have to go take care of the baby," she told me. We followed her inside and I didn't hesitate to sit down on the nearest chair as my aunt disappeared into one of the rooms. Just as she did so, her daughter came running out of the room followed by a male version of the little girl.
I hadn't really seen the twins yet. Aunt Abbi sent pictures but seeing them in person was different. The images I saw looked more innocent than the two kids running around. If her hands were already full with these two, I wondered why she and Hyun-soo decided to go for another baby.
The little boy -- Youngseok, I think, was the name -- came up to me. He mumbled something in Korean, earning a very confused expression from me and a laugh from Mark. The girl, Young-ae, joined in and I swear Mark was enjoying my situation a little too much.
Thankfully my aunt came out of the room and cut in before my nose started bleeding.
"You look funny when you're confused," Mark commented and I resisted the urge to smack him in front of the kids.
"Sorry about them," Aunt Abbi apologized. She held her youngest child in her arms. "Hopefully Eunjung won't be running around like those two." I just smiled in response. "You should have told me earlier that you were coming. I would have cleaned up or prepared something."
I shook my head. "You don't have to. We were just stopping by," I said.
She nodded and gestured to Mark with her head. I looked back to see him playing with him.
"Is he your boyfriend?" Aunt Abbi asked in Tagalog.
My eyes were probably wide at her assumption. I shook my head and denied it. "He's just a friend, tita."
"No boyfriend?"
I chuckled. "I'm not looking for one." Because only one guy has my attention.
Mark called my name and I turned to face him. "Uh, JB just texted," he said. "He's asking what time we'll be getting back."
"Oh, uh, we could go back now," I said then turned to my aunt and muttered a farewell.
"She thought I was your boyfriend?" Mark asked all of a sudden when we were on our way back to the dorm.
I let out a low laugh. "Yeah. Unfortunately she thought you were my type," I muttered jokingly.
"I'm everybody's type," he muttered before reciting his famous line from Girls Girls Girls. "Every lady wants a piece of me."
I shook my head. "Were you always this cocky?" I joked.
He laughed and shook his head. "You know, I was wondering when you said you weren't looking for a boyfriend," he said, "How come?"
"You were eavesdropping!" I accused.
"I overheard your conversation," he defended. "It's different, right?"
"It's basically the same thing," I answered with a shrug.
"So, how come?"
"Did you enjoy playing with my cousins? They seem like a handful, don't they," I said. "I've always wanted a little brother or sister. I mean, I do have a younger bro-"
"You're not answering my question," Mark said, cutting me off. I shrugged and he let out a sigh. "I'm just going to assume it's BamBam."
"What's BamBam? He has nothing to do wi-" I didn't finish as he sent me that knowing look. I groaned. "Okay, fine. Maybe."
He didn't say anything but I saw the satisfied smile on his face.
The rest of the day passed by, and I had to put up with Kasey's questions on how my "date" with Mark went. We ordered in for dinner so I barely left the room. I made Kasey interact with everyone with the excuse that I was tired from my day out just so I didn't have to leave the room.
It was probably around midnight and I couldn't get to sleep. I decided I wanted a glass of water. Kasey was already asleep and surely no one else would be awake at this time so I got up and walked to the kitchen.
I had gotten a drink and just finished washing the glass when I heard someone come in to the kitchen.
It was BamBam.
He took the initiative and muttered, "Hi."
I nodded in response and put the glass away.
The abience was strong and I looked away as I passed him.
It was even harder to fall asleep when I jumped back in bed.
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a/n: sorry for the long wait but, hey, this chapter's longer than the previous chapters so that's a good thing, i guess.