So first of all...WHATDAHEK! It's been a year since I've started writing this book and almost a year since I published a chapter. So I know what you might be thinking, "Oh shoot, SHE'S STILL ALIVE?!" Yes y'all, I'm very much alive :) a lot of things happened this whole 2019, but believe me when I say that literally 50% of this story is already written. I just really haven't had the time to edit and go through them because of everything :( but I'm back so there's a possibility that there's a chapter soon, yeah? ;) but then again, the possibility of that possibility being possible is still another possibility that might be possible - Mark Lee, 2019. Speaking of which, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARK LEE. The reason this book started was because it was his birthday so yeah. anyway, here's a pretty long one shot to kinda(?) make up for my lack of updates. It's still Herin and Mark, however, its is NOT a part of the official storyline. Fun fact, I originally wrote this as a Markhyuck au but changed it to Herin to fit the book. But if y'all want to see the original one, feel free to comment ☺️. Also, you might notice some highlighted lines, that's cause I wrote this as a creative writing excerpt for beautaefulmistake 's Book. I tried to use all the lines she gave so that's why it became pretty long. Check it out in her works for all y'all Markhyuck Trash: 'Markhyuck is the type of Couple'. Issa really cute book. Anywho, this has already been such a long message. If you actually reached this part, congratulations to you 😂 and of course, thank you ❤️❤️ so without further ado, LESGETIT!
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"Done?" The long-haired female asked, crawling onto a certain Canadian boy's lap.
"Rin, I've told you already, just five minutes."
"You've been saying that for the past hour, you know." Herin replied with a barely audible whisper and an adorable pout that may or may not have almost given Mark a mini heart-attack.
"Look Rin, I'm sorry. It's just that...you know, with graduation approaching soon...all these college applications, these requirements, these–"
The girl on his lap cut him off, "I know I know, I get it. You're graduating soon, getting into your dream college; leaving me behind..." Once again, the volume of her voice slowly decreased towards the end of her sentence.
But Mark heard it, he heard it very clearly.
Mark placed the computer and notebooks towards the edge of the king-sized bed.
"Love," he then gently lifted Herin off of him and moved her to lay on his side instead.
The said girl averted her gaze towards the messy corner of biology books on the study desk. She stared at it intensely, almost as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.
"I know things are hard right now. With our schedules that never seem to meet each others' vacancy, the piling works and home assignments; your duty as an officer, my college applications, we're both equally booked. If anything, me graduating and going into college isn't even half of our worries. You've been busy too–"
"Are you saying that us having barely any time left for each other is my fault? Are you really saying that it's somehow my fault that the council gives me more than I ever expected I would be given? Wow Mark, you are unbelievable."
Herin pushed Mark away from her and lifted herself off of the bed. Grabbing only her phone, she stormed out the elder's room and finally out of their shared dorm in her yellow pajamas; completely forgetting about the weather outside.
The raven-haired male stared at the door that the younger had just slammed on him. He shook his head in disbelief. He sometimes wonders how he's able manage this side of his lover.
The things we do for love.
Sighing, he also grabbed his phone and a jacket—he knew he would need it—;making sure to lock the door before going after his little ball of sunshine. Which right now, was more of a blazing ball of fire.
Mark dialed Herin's number again and again, and not surprisingly, the latter ignored all of her calls. Lucky for Mark though, he knew the girl way too well. At a time like this, when she's not in the mood and wants to be alone; there's only one place she'd go to. She always said it calmed her down.
The waterfall in the mini rain forest.
Herin loved the place, she'd go here every once in a while, especially during examinations or when she got really stressed over her duties in the council. Mark loved the place too, though. After all, it is where he met his love.
He smiled at the heart-fluttering memory. But before he could continue reminiscing about their first meeting, he realized that he had already reached his destination.
His eyes scanned the area.
Wow, even at night, this place really is beautiful.
Mark broke out into a large smile of fondness, even more so when his eyes landed on the figure leaning on the railings of the bridge facing the said waterfall.
He was right, behold, the Herin Seo stood there beautifully; gazing at the waterfall that ran continuously, her head then lifting up to glance at the dark night sky adorned with stars.
Deja Vu hit Mark as he felt like this scene had already happened once. And it did. A few years ago, at this very place; he stood there, for the first time in his life, completely mesmerized by the beauty of the mysterious girl he had only ever heard about. Herin Seo, the well-known head of the school choir.
Mark—who had just arrived—would've continued to stare at her, even for hours without a break, he really would have; the younger looked ethereal under the moonlight. But as soon as he saw the shorter female's fragile body shivering in the cold weather, his feet had a mind of their own and sprinted towards her.
"Rin here, have my jacket." He took off the one he was wearing and placed it on the said girl.
Herin flinched at the sudden action but didn't dare turn around. She had to admit, the sudden gesture and words had scared her; she thought she was alone. But she'd recognize that voice anytime and anywhere. Exactly why she didn't have the guts to face him.
She didn't move an inch. She didn't return the jacket either; she'd actually been freezing for fifteen minutes now, it was really stupid of her to forget about what the weather conditions were like and not bring a jacket with her. Can you blame her though? She was just really hurt by her lover's words. Call her sensitive or whatever, but to her, it really did sound like the other was putting all the blame on her. It wasn't entirely her fault, right? They both lacked time at some point.
The younger of the two moved away, keeping the jacket with her. No matter how upset she was with the boy behind her, she couldn't deny how much she loved his scent. And boy did the jacket give her just that.
"Leave me alone," she shooed him off sternly. Frankly speaking, it was hard acting this way towards Mark. Especially with his jacket wrapped around Herin's body and the small smile that played on his lips. The same smile Herin had involuntarily fallen for. But then again, who could ever resist a Mark Lee? Definitely not someone by the name of Herin Seo.
"Rin, I'm sorry," Mark slowly made his way towards her, being careful not to upset the younger even more. "You know I didn't mean it that way–"
"Didn't I tell you to leave me alone?!" The tanned female's body was shaking. She couldn't stand it anymore. Mark annoyed her so much at the moment. And unfortunately for her, it wasn't because of the upsetting words the seagull-eyebrowed male had said to her earlier, but rather the power he had over the latter. Herin knew that if her boyfriend insisted on his apology just a little more, she definitely wouldn't think twice in forgiving him.
"Sunshine–"
Herin moved further away.
"Love–"
Again, the shorter girl took little steps away from him.
"Seo Herin."
The said female finally stopped and froze.
She knew that tone. She also knew better than to ignore it. She grudgingly sighed, "I..." she stopped and sniffed, "hate you."
It was Mark's turn to be taken aback. Was his sunshine crying? Did his words really hurt his loved one so bad? He should've known. The girl was a sensitive one. Now he feels double the guilt; one for saying those things to Herin (which he swears he really didn't mean), and the second is for letting her stay out here in the cold—without a jacket, deeming it worse—for more than ten minutes.
"Love, I'm...I'm really terribly sorry." Mark felt like a fool; for the whole night, he noticed that all he had been saying was sorry. But it wasn't like he had any other option. He's been messing things up, a lot. What else was he suppose to say?
"I'm sorry I made you feel that way. I'm sorry if you think that I'm blaming you for what's happening to us. I'm aware that we both had our own reasons and are both to be blamed. I didn't choose the right words and I'm really sorry, Rin, forgive me. Please?" Without the other noticing, Mark had already made his way towards the latter during his little speech and engulfed her in a sweet embrace. One that emitted both building guilt and satisfying warmth.
"I...I hate you so much," Herin couldn't hold it in anymore and sobbed into her boyfriend's chest. As the words left the younger's mouth, the older finally understood. He shook his head at himself in disbelief.
You really are stupid, Mark Lee.
He now knew what this is about. And they definitely needed to talk about it. But that can wait for later. For now, he had one job; and that was to stop the adorable girl in his arms from crying even more. It hurt him to see the other like this. Especially now that he knows the reason why.
Mark lifted the shorter's chin up gently, "Do you really?" He asked in a joking manner.
Herin's faced flushed and her cheeks turned into a deep crimson. She averted his gaze. She was suppose to be mad, but what can he do? Mark was too irresistible.
"N-no..." she shook her head as she shyly answered and instead just buried her face deeper into her boyfriend's chest. This was too embarrassing.
Mark smiled even more at that; but didn't wanna embarrass the girl even more, even if it was only the two of them out there. That's all he needed to hear anyway. A confirmation that his sunshine didn't really hate him.
He decided to change the topic. "I'm just teasing," he caressed the younger's soft brown locks.
"You know..." he started off, "You look amazing tonight," he complimented out of the blue. Mark felt bad for not noticing it earlier, he must've been too caught up in all his works, that he didn't even notice his baby girl looking as gorgeous as ever; even in just her yellow pajamas.
"R-really?" Herin finally lifted her head and met Mark's gaze. But as she did, she immediately regretted doing so. Mark had a teasing grin on his face. One that she really wanted to erase at the moment.
"Aish...I-I mean...of course I do! Don't I look amazing every night?" She tried to say sassily; but Mark wasn't buying the act. And at that moment, the younger of the two wanted to bury herself alive. She's just digging her own grave now, isn't she?
The tears in her eyes were long gone and instead were replaced by his red tinted cheeks. Only Mark Lee had this effect on her, only him.
I sure am whipped.
She thought to himself.
Herin was starting to feel better. Her chest started feeling lighter as well.
The Mark effect. Yeah, that's it.
She was feeling so much better that she almost forgot about it. The very reason they ended up in this situation was still left unspoken of. She didn't directly say it, but she was sure that Mark was aware of that reason; and they needed to talk about it right now—or they might just never get the chance to do so ever again.
"Mark," she called. Her tone becoming more serious now. With the voice she used, Mark knew he had to listen to what his lover had to say, he had to listen; and he had to listen well.
"Yes, love?"
"I..." Herin paused for a few seconds. How was she suppose to word it? "I really..." she somehow couldn't get the words out.
"It's okay, love. You can say it," the older assured her and gently rubbed circles on her back.
"I can't...make you stay, c-can...I?" And once again, the smaller girl broke down. Her lips quivered and her voice broke. Mark was right, this was the real reason his little fluff ball had thrown a fit: his departure for college.
Mark honestly didn't know what to say next. He wasn't really sure about how to comfort the crying girl that was saddened by his approaching move to college.
"Rin, my sweet sunshine," he cupped the younger's cheeks and lifted her head to face him, "look at me please." He sweetly asked the girl who had been avoiding eye-contact.
"Mhm," the latter met his gaze and hummed in response.
"I know, just thinking about being separated from you hurts like hell for me too, but that's life, Rin. We're growing up. There are some things that need to be done before we can finally settle in and never move apart from eachother again." Mark sighed and leaned down a little to wipe the tears off of the female's small face, "Thinking about it, yes, it's still quite a long time. But all you have to get through is one school year," he pushed the messy brown locks away from his baby's face to see her better, "just one school year."
Mark continued, "And then, you can move in with me at the apartment my parents bought and just like we've been doing for the past year or so, we'll see each other every single day. Well, maybe not when we're busy, and still depending on our schedules, or which college you're attending. But you know what I mean," he smiled at her childishly.
"It's gonna take a few more years...but then I'm gonna graduate, and then you are too; and then we're both two free adults. We'll get stable jobs, move into an apartment of our own; and finally, I'm gonna marry the love of my life; I'm gonna marry you." Mark finished it off by placing a chaste kiss on Herin's forehead.
"And what makes you think I'm gonna say yes?"
Mark froze. He pulled away but still kept his hands on the girl's waist, "You won't?"
"I'm just kidding, silly. Of course I'll say yes." The shorter of the two pulled him closer once again.
The smile on Mark's face was back, "That's good," he placed his forehead against the other's own, "because when that time comes, I promise you, I'll make every day worth living."
He placed a peck on Herin's nose this time, "We should go now. It's pretty late, although we don't have classes tomorrow, I'm pretty sure you don't wanna catch a cold in this weather. And besides, it's a little," Mark rubbed his hands against each other, "too cold." Then only did the other realize that the older had given his jacket to her.
"Oh yeah," she removed the mustard colored jacket, "here, take it. I'm feeling a lot warmer now anyway."
But the older only stared at her. "Rin, no. I gave it to you, keep it. I know you steal most of my jackets, anyway. Let's just get going, shall we?" The accused female didn't feel the need to argue with her lover and just decided to follow him.
Hand in hand, the pair made their way back to their shared dorm. Despite the chilling cold, warmth surrounded the two as they enjoyed the calming silence of their walk back home.
An hour later, the both of them had already gotten all ready to go to bed (Herin had to change her pajamas again too).
"Goodnight, Love." The two said at the same time. Hearing this, they both laughed at their little shared moment of telepathy. It was one of those cute moments they had, one that they both dearly treasured and mentally embedded into their minds and hearts.
"Yeah, goodnight to you too." Herin was the one to respond first. She hugged the older tightly and left a short but sweet kiss on his cheek before making her way to her own room, leaving Mark standing frozen like a statue in the middle of their mini-living room.
It took him a few seconds to get back to his senses. Did Herin really just kiss his cheek?
Damn. His girlfriend sure was bipolar.
Without a second thought, Mark caught up to the younger and pulled her body to face his own.
Guess he was a little bipolar too.
"Kiss me," he said way too eagerly, shocking the younger.
"Sorry, come again? Did you just say–"
"Yup, I said–" just kidding, the confident female didn't need to be told twice. She hurriedly pulled the collar of Mark's pajama towards herself and placed her lips on top of the other's.
The Canadian smiled into the kiss. He actually doesn't know what the heck he was thinking when he told that to his sunshine. What the hell came to him? He had no idea. What the hell came to Herin? He also had no idea. But he's guessing it's one of those 'spur of the moment' things. Oh well, he's not complaining.
A few seconds into the kiss and Mark already had Herin pinned against the wall, the innocence getting lost somewhere in the way.
The two poured all their emotions into it; making it even more special. The words that Herin couldn't seem to put into sentences, the apologies that Mark knew were way overdue; the questions that they both asked but were left unanswered, it was all there.
Their 'kiss'—but if you ask me, it was more of a 'make out'—lasted for at least five more minutes or so, before they both pulled away, panting and catching the breaths they didn't know they lost.
"That was–"
The sound of Mark's bedroom door slamming shut cut her off.
The girl left inside the living room shook her head in disbelief, "Seriously, Mark?" She said loud enough for the said male to hear.
Herin sighed, who was the older one again? Right, it was Mark. It was pretty hard to believe at times, honestly.
She got up to go to her own room when she heard a high-pitched shriek coming from the other side of the house.
"Did that really just happen?!"
And then a loud thud was heard.
Her head snapped towards the direction of her boyfriend's bedroom. What was happening in there?
She decided to ignore it and just be on her way. After all, Mark could handle himself, right?
The British female settled herself into bed, thinking about all that happened in the short span of just one night.
Herin still felt heavy-hearted and wanted to cry at the thought of her boyfriend graduating and then leaving for college in the next months to come. Her heart clenched at the image of living alone and spending her idle days without her loved one by her side. Even with their busy schedules, the two had always found some sort of way to meet or at least have the other around. But now that they were gonna attend two different places and live in two different houses, it was like living two distant set of lives. Ones that didn't clash or meet. Ones that were way too different to compliment the other's own. Ones that would make it impossible for them to spend time with each other.
She thought about so many things. So many things that hurt her mentally. And soon enough, it might just start hurting her as equally bad physically too.
She stood up once again. It had been at least thirty minutes or so. She couldn't do this. She'd end up getting nightmares with all this overthinking.
And so she followed where her feet took him: in front of Mark's bedroom door.
She silently prayed that the other was still awake.
"Um..." she knocked twice on the wooden door. "Mark?" She called, but there was no response.
Herin grunted, this was stupid. Of course Mark was sleeping already.
She turned around grumpily. How she wished she got up earlier. Maybe then, by now, she would've been wrapped up in Mark's–
"Love?" Mark's bedroom door flung open. There stood a shirtless messy-haired Canadian boy, confusion evident in his face.
He tried to cover up the embarrassment that he had placed upon himself earlier that night with all the shrieking he did. But it seems like that wasn't the reason his little sunshine was knocking on his door at one in the morning.
The younger threw away all the lingering thoughts of rejection and boldly told the boy of his intention, "Love I...I can't sleep, can I stay here?"
Mark, being the 'always confused one', stood there, not moving at all, a little longer than he should have.
"So...I can't?" The younger of the two asked sadly.
Then only did Mark snap out of it.
"Wait what–yeah! Of course you can, love!" He shouted and opened his door wider, giving Herin enough space to let herself in with ease.
Herin jumped onto her boyfriend's bed with a smile. She finally felt comfort. Even more so when her lover laid down beside her.
She found it quite funny how their night started and ended in a very similar way: both of them in Mark's bed.
The said boy wrapped his arms around the other's smaller frame, snuggling into her neck.
"I don't know why you came here, but thanks. For whatever reason it may be, thank you for trusting me enough to give you comfort and a good sleep." He said with his eyes closed.
The tanned female smiled, "I'd say the same, but that's probably enough cheese for the night." She giggled.
"Mhm...whatever. Goodnight, again. I love you," Mark said softly.
Herin found herself smiling wider than ever, "I love you more."
That night, even with the events of the previous hours filling their minds, the couple slept peacefully. No nightmares to keep them awake.
Mark knew he didn't need to worry about leaving Herin.
Herin knew she didn't need to worry about Mark leaving.
They love each other. They'll get through this.
They always have, they always will.
-fin-
Ayyy, so...how was it? Might not be too good since I haven't written in a long time, but I hope you enjoyed 🤗 and remember, stay tuned as you never know what's coming *winks twice*. Don't forget to vote and please tell me what you thought about it in the comments for encouragement. Thank you and I love you ❤️ oh and once again, HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY FIRST BIAS IN NCT, MARK LEE (LEE MINHYUNG)!