Nabi's eyes couldn't get enough of the beautiful interior, making her glance at her clothes every now and then, thinking she was definitely underdressed for a fancy place like this. As soon as Mark noticed, he put his hand on Nabi's, reassuring her she looked beautiful and there was nothing wrong with her outfit. "Why did you get all suited up?" she pouted, wishing she matched his elegancy.
Mark chuckled and shrugged, moving his hand away from the girl's since the waiter had just brought them a bottle of wine. Once the man left the two alone, he finally answered "I just wanted you to see a different side of me."
Nabi nodded and smiled in a funny way, making the boy chuckle as he poured the wine into their glasses. "Dude, you're going to make me spill it, don't make me laugh with your cute faces."
Her cheeks reddened at the sudden compliment, still not knowing how to take them coming from Mark.
She cleared her throat "tell me about your day, what did you do today?"
"Photoshoot. That's all I can say." he shrugged, teasing her with a smirk that painted his face. She pouted again, wanting to know all the details but she had to accept the fact that she had to wait just like other fans.
"I saw you gained a lot of new followers on your social media, that's so amazing Mark!"
His eyes widened "you're following up on that stuff?"
"Of course? Why wouldn't I? I'm still your fan, no matter what."
Mark nodded as a smile creeped its way onto his handsome face. "Thanks, it means a lot. But yeah, it's getting serious." he chuckled rather nervously.
"How does it make you feel?"
The boy sighed "I don't know. That's what I've always wanted, but it feels kind of weird, you know? And I'll be having my first ever fansign in a few days so that's pretty nerve wrecking too, I don't know what to expect."
The girl's mouth fell agape and she covered it with her hand "I completely forgot that you'll have to do fansigns and fancalls!"
Mark nodded and chuckled right away "it's ok though, it'll be fun. If they'll want to have a talk with me like that that means they like me, right?"
Nabi chuckled at how cute he was while the slight stress was suddenly visible on his face. "Exactly, don't worry. Besides, I don't know how anyone could dislike you."
"Dude, stop it, now you're just being biased."
The girl shrugged "maybe, but it's the truth. I know that anyone who knows you would confirm without a doubt."
As Mark looked at her lovingly, she suddenly felt a rush of jealousy. She didn't understand why she was starting to feel jealous of other girls trying to flirt with him as the fans always did during those events, when she was the one who was his best friend and currently on a date with, in a fancy restaurant on top of that, maybe starting a new chapter of their relationship that would mean he was hers.
"Nabi?" Mark took her out of her thoughts. She chuckled and shook her head, asking for him to repeat. "How are you though? And how's Jeno?"
"We're ok. His hand still hurt a little this morning but he was fine. We talked a lot and that helped to calm our nerves a little too."
Mark reached for her hand, rubbing it gently in result which she found incredibly comforting. "I'm glad. If anything, don't hesitate to call or text me, alright? No matter if I'm busy or not, don't hesitate."
Nabi smiled and couldn't take her eyes off of his that love and understanding beamed out of. "Thank you." she suddenly raised a glass of wine "enough of the sad topic. Cheers to the amazing start of your career. I'm so proud of you."
The artist chuckled and clinked his glass with hers, letting the sweet wine run down his throat right after the toast. He then glanced at Nabi who frowned a little at the bit of dryness of the liquor, making him laugh at her yet another cute expression. "Oh! Oh my God, I have to tell you about Bona and Jeno!" she suddenly exclaimed, almost scaring the boy.
After she had told him the love story of her twin brother and best friend while they enjoyed their meal, she leaned back on the chair and so did Mark. "I thought we weren't going to feel full after those dishes but man, I'm so full."
"Me too. Too full. It was too good, I'm actually surprised I liked it so much." she laughed and so did he, agreeing. He had never ate in such fancy restaurants nor he ever had that on this bucket list, but he really wanted to treat Nabi well. It was their first date so he wanted to make it really special and one to remember.
The wine must've gotten to Nabi since her mouth had started to say the things she wanted to say for a long time, but didn't have the courage to do so sober. "What are we?"
Mark almost chocked on his drink, being completely surprised with the sudden, straight forward question. "Damn, you really took me off guard, girl." they laughed and she almost wanted to apologize, but didn't. She wanted to know. She needed to know.
"Well," he raised his hand up to signal the waiter for a check. Then, his eyes turned back to Nabi who stared at him curiously and a little bit nervously. "I wanted to talk about this at a different location that I'm taking you to once we get out of here, but if you don't want to wait-"
"No!" she raised her hands to interrupt him "let's do it the way you wanted to do it. I'm intrigued now."
Mark laughed "good choice."
Nabi furrowed her brows at the sight of an unknown place that looked like it could be a cafe. She glanced at Mark who only smirked as he extended his hand for her to grab to comfortably get out of the car. She found the gesture so charming that she couldn't hide a smile. Once they walked inside the place, it was clear that it was indeed a cafe and she furrowed her brows again at the lack of customers and workers. "What is this place?"
"Let's just say I know people."
"I bet you do now, Mr. Rich and Popular." she teased as she followed Mark towards the back of the cafe.
He burst out laughing "dude, that's not- no. Me and this place go back way back, before all of this." the two laughed until they reached the patio in the back. Nabi gasped at the beautiful view of the streets and buildings that were decorated with street lights, as well as the sky was with stars and the moon.
She then noticed a cake and smoothies on a table in front of a garden swing. To make it even more romantic, a guitar leaned back against the table and Nabi's stomach filled with butterflies when she realized she was going to hear him play and sing again after awhile - after too long for her liking.
"Mark," was all she could say, her eyes looking at him softly as the boy only smiled. He gently took her hand in his and pulled towards the swing.
"I hope you like strawberry smoothies." he smiled, taking them in each hand to then hand one over to the girl who looked like she couldn't believe what was going on.
She nodded "a lot, actually." and eagerly took the first sip.
Mark put his drink down after having a taste and reached for the guitar. "Before we start, can I play you something?"
"You don't even have to ask, please, never ask, the answer will always be yes".
The boy laughed at her slightly drunken way of speaking that he found extremely cute. The soft sounds of the instrument filled the outdoors, making Nabi immediately melt. She loved when he played guitar and she missed their little sessions in his room.
You don't know, babe
When you hold me
And kiss me slowly
It's the sweetest thing
And it don't change
If I had it my way
You would know that you are
You're the coffee that I need in the morning
You're my sunshine in the rain when it's pouring
Tears immediately filled Nabi's eyes at Mark's choice of the song meanwhile her lips curled up in a smile. She felt sad and happy at the same time, which was a strange feeling, but she kind of liked it. Mark made her feel things she never felt before and that moment was another example. When he glanced at her few times during singing "Best Part" and smiled softly, she wanted to kiss him right there and then.
And so she did, right after he had finished his little cover because she had no intention of interrupting it. He seemed to be taken aback at first, but put down the guitar without looking and keeping his eyes shut while he melted into the kiss completely. His hand moved up to Nabi's cheek as they kissed more passionately, eventually needing to catch a breath. Their foreheads leaned against each other when the girl suddenly blurred out "I know that might sound lame, but I think you said everything I needed to know with that song."
Mark chuckled, sinking his lips onto hers once more. "I want to know how you feel." he said in between the kisses.
Nabi pulled away to look the boy in his eyes that weren't cute boba eyes anymore - for the first time ever, she saw desire and eagerness in them, making shivers run down her spine. "I want you to be mine and I want to be yours."
Mark smirked, nodding, liking the answer and pressing his strawberry tasting lips against hers. "You're mine, baby, and I'm yours."
who knows what's coming next? 👀
i love these two tho like 😭😭😭😭😭
WHO does what he does in this book tho ugh. the world needs more man like Mark Lee