It had been a long time since Gyuri had seen the inside of a hospital. That was a good thing, of course. The last time she'd been in a hospital was when Byeongho had fallen down the stairs when he was drunk, and they rushed him there to get him checked out. Luckily for him, he was so out of it that he hadn't even felt any pain. Less fortunate were the several injuries he got from it.
Gyuri now sat up on the side of a hospital bed as a nurse rummaged around in a drawer. After monitoring Gyuri, the nurses had decided she didn't need another dose of epinephrine and instead they observed her closely as the allergic reaction died down. It didn't take very long, what took the most time was Gyuri's panic to dissolve as she was very shaken up by what happened. It had been so long since she had gotten an allergic reaction that she'd almost forgotten how it felt, but this experience was a very strong reminder of the discomfort a nut allergy could put you through.
After about an hour and a half in the hospital, Gyuri was free to leave and she walked over to the boys who were still in the waiting area. Mark rushed up to her as soon as he caught sight of her and took her arm gently.
"Hey! How you feeling?" He asked softly and scanned her face to see, to his relief, that all the swelling was gone. Her skin was back to its normal color as well, any sign of redness had disappeared.
"I'm all good, don't worry," she reassured, squeezing his hand.
"Gyuri," Yuta said from beside Mark. "I'm so so sorry, I didn't know about your allergy but I should've checked and-"
"Yuta-san," Gyuri joked and saw a small relief on Yuta's face. "Don't worry about it, okay? I'm not mad at you. Everything is fine, let's just go home. I don't like hospitals."
"Me neither," Jungwoo agreed and the four of them made their way out of the hospital. Mark kept his hand on the small of Gyuri's back as they walked to the car, scanning the area to make sure nobody was around taking pictures.
Gyuri sighed as she let herself drop into the car seat and tilted her head so she could see Mark. He raised a brow and smiled faintly.
"Thanks for... reacting so quickly. I didn't even realize what was happening, and you were already thinking about my EpiPen and everything."
"Ah," Mark nodded. "It's nothing, really. I recognized the symptoms from that one time back in Canada. I did some research on your allergy after that because it scared me so bad back then," Mark chuckled softly.
Gyuri picked up his hand and stared at it, immersed in her thoughts. "Thanks for saving me, bestie." She smiled up at him and he chuckled before kissing her hand. "No problem, bestie."
❦
"So, basically, I casually almost died Monday," Gyuri explained to Bonhwa and Mina, who sat at the dinner table in the apartment.
"Jesus," Bonhwa said and Mina shook her head. "That's crazy. Imagine dying because of nuts," she said with a chuckle repressed in her throat and Gyuri slapped her hand against her mouth.
"Cause of death: deez nuts," she laughed and the girls joined her, slapping the table in amusement.
"Oh my god. In all seriousness though, glad you're okay."
"Honestly, I owe it to Mark. He noticed it before I did and rushed to get my EpiPen."
"He knew you were allergic?" Bonhwa asked.
"Yeah, I had one allergic reaction when we were, like... 8 or something. He said he got so scared that day that he did some research on it in case it ever happened again," Gyuri said with a small pout. She found it incredibly sweet of him.
"That's adorable," Mina said and Bonhwa nodded. "You got yourself a good one there, miss." The doorbell rang, cutting off their conversation and Mina chuckled. "Speaking of the devil..."
Gyuri opened the front door to see not so much a devil as an angel standing in front of her apartment, wearing a soft smile when his girlfriend appeared. "Hey."
"Hey there," Gyuri smiled, closing the door so she could give him a peck on his lips. She giggled softly after and took his hand to take him into the living room. The two friends at the table looked up at the couple walking in and smiled seeing the joy of their friend.
"Hey Mark," Mina nodded. "Hey Mina," Mark replied. They chuckled at the depth of their dialogue before Mark's eyes fell on the other girl at the table, whom he hadn't met in person.
"Mark," Gyuri said, guiding him over to the table. "This is Bonhwa, one of my best friends. Bonhwa, this is Mark."
"Hey, Bonhwa. Nice to meet you," Mark said, bowing his head. Bonhwa did the same after she'd stood up and smiled. "Nice to meet you too. I've heard some great stuff about you."
"I'm flattered," Mark said and looked at Gyuri, who shrugged. "I tell them like it is. It's all you, baby," she said in a flirty tone and Mark had an amused smile on his face at the name. His heart had definitely jumped a little when she said that.
"Okay, we're going upstairs," Gyuri announced, walking away as Mark followed her after giving the two girls at the table a kind smile.
"Stay safe, you two," Mina teased and received a warning "Oi!" from Gyuri which she and Bonhwa laughed at before the couple disappeared into Gyuri's room. Gyuri lay down on the bed and stretched out her hands, inviting Mark in.
"Come here," she mumbled. "I need to hug you as much as I can before you leave," she said and Mark chuckled softly as he joined the girl on the bed and rested his body against her. His arm swung over her stomach as Gyuri's arms went around his shoulders to pull him closer. She inhaled his fresh smell and sighed deeply.
"I wish I could just hop into your suitcase and follow you around wherever you go."
She felt Mark's smile against her shoulder. "Same."
"I might have to talk to your managers, try and convince them you know?"
"Yeah, you should honestly. I bet they'll give in."
Mark and Gyuri shared a laugh. "Honestly though," Mark continued. "Imagine how fun it would be if you, like, came along to all those places."
"Dude, I would have the time of my life. I've only ever been to Canada, the U.S., and Korea. I wish I could see more of the world."
Mark hummed softly. He knew he was very lucky to travel for his job so often, no matter how tiring it was a privilege to see the world and all its cultures. He always tried to explore as much as he could during tour stops, he loved seeing all the cities and also the beautiful nature some countries had to offer.
He imagined doing it together with Kenzie, exploring cities, and observing all the different people. Walking and talking for hours together, taking pictures, trying new foods... it sounded perfect. He could only hope they'd get the chance one day.
"Where would you go if you could go anywhere?" He wondered aloud.
"Ohhh," Gyuri hummed. "Good one..."
She let her mind browse through all the different travel dreams she had built up over the years. From the places she wanted to visit as a kid, to the places she'd fallen in love with in more recent years. The world was so wide, it was sad to think she wouldn't ever see everything.
"I've always wanted to visit Brazil, to be honest. That country seems so rich in culture and nature, it would be incredible. But some European countries also really appeal to me. Like Italy, or Switzerland."
Mark hummed as the girl listed her dream destinations. He could picture her loving those countries, just like he would. The idea of traveling the world together made him want to pack his bags and leave right away without looking bag. Of course, he knew very well he had his responsibilities in NCT but it sounded very tempting.
"We should go on a trip together someday," he said.
"Where do you want to go?" Gyuri asked, looking at Mark.
"Anywhere. I don't care, as long as I'm with you I know it'll be fun," Mark said, raising his head off her shoulder to smile at her.
"Again, such a cheeseball," Gyuri tsked. Mark laughed an shrugged as he put his head back down again. Gyuri softly rubbed his back. "Kidding, I would love to travel with you someday."
The two lay in silence for a while, simply enjoying each others presence and the peace of the moment. She noticed how Mark had his eyes closed and a small smile on his lips as he hugged his girlfriend's figure. The moment they shared was proof that you didn't always need to talk to each other when hanging out. Sometimes, just laying in bed together was all you needed.
Feeling his arms around her, Gyuri wished he'd never let go. She wished they could stay like this forever, in a little bubble nobody but their loved ones knew about. Her heart ached knowing this wasn't the case, in fact Mark would leave the very next morning to the other side of the world. She realized this was the first time they'd be away from each other as a couple. She wondered how it would go, if she would be able to handle it. Before, when Mark left for tour, Gyuri would definitely miss his presence but had enough other things to keep her occupied. Things were different now. He was not just her best friend, he was her boyfriend.
The mere idea of being away from him made her sad, like she had no idea she should do without him. Deep inside, Gyuri hated how dependent on him she'd already become so quickly after they started dating. She didn't want to be so clingy to him, feeling like it was annoying for him. He had his own life, just like she had hers. She didn't want to get in the way of his life by always sticking to him.
"Hey," Mark said after he had observed the girl's thoughtful face or a minute. He snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked at him. "What's going on inside that head of yours?"
"Hmm? Oh, nothing."
"Come on," Mark pushed. "Tell me."
Gyuri sighed and stared up at the ceiling. Mark then propped himself up on his arms and hovered over her to enter her sight. He smiled comfortingly and she chuckled at his perseverance.
"I was just... thinking about how you're leaving tomorrow. I really hate the idea of being away from you, but then I also hate how dependent I am on you already. I don't know," she sighed. "I just- I don't want to be one of those clingy girlfriends who can't let her boyfriend live his own life in peace, you know?"
"Kenzie," Mark said softly, taking ahold of her hand. "You don't ever have to worry about being 'too clingy'. I live my life in peace because of you, you know," he smiled. "You make my days better, I hate being away from you as well because it's simply not as fun when you're not there."
Gyuri stayed silent as Mark continued, "It's also not a bad thing to be dependent on one another, you know. It just means you work really well together," he winked playfully and Gyuri scoffed, slapping his chest.
"Why are you such a cheeseball?"
"You bring it out in me."
Gyuri raised a brow and shook her head before looking into his eyes. "Thank you, though. I don't know, it just all feels so weird still. Not you, or anything like that, just- I've never really felt like this so I don't know how to handle it all."
"I understand. It's all very new to me too. But don't ever feel embarrassed to share your thoughts and feelings with me. We're in this together, okay?"
"Okay, Zac Efron," Gyuri chuckled and Mark shook his head with laughter falling of his lips before he fell down next to her and nuzzled his head in her neck.
"Don't you think I'm way better than Zac Efron?"
"Okay, okay. Don't get too confident now, sir."
"Damn, aren't you supposed to, like, be a supportive girlfriend?"
"Hmmm... was that in the agreement?"
"The agreement? What, you want me to draw up a contract?"
"Actually I would love that, yeah."
"Okay. I'll call my lawyer."
"Tell him hi for me."
Sorry the updates are taking a little longerrrrr I'm a bit distracted lololol
Anyways I hope you liked this chapter see u next time :)