LADS
we hit 5k :'))) omfgggggg i am SCREAMING
thanks for reading my trash ladies and gents, it means the world to me and 5K WTF WTF THIS IS UNREAL
ly all 💓
now on with the chapter...
"minhee?? are you fucking kidding me?"
what kind of sick joke was it that the person youngjae had called to help mark escape his father was the very person who had ruined their relationship?
youngjae sighed, knowing throughout the duration of his call to minhee that mark would bring it up the minute he was done, "look, neither of us are fond of him.. but.. he told me he felt bad about what happened- and i thought this was a good way for him to make it up to you."
"i'll never forgive him youngjae."
and it was true, what with mark's stubborn nature and the fact that minhee had ruined one of the only good things in his life- mark wasn't exactly in the forgiving mood.
whenever mark thought of that boy, he pictured his messy blonde hair, the way youngjae's fingers were tangled in it.... he remembered the pain of his heartbreak. and it had been a physical pain, like a knife had been torn through his chest. mark had watched his boyfriend and minhee pulse against each other and had tumbled to the floor in pain. there had never been a pain worse than that, never in his entire life.
he still thought about it sometimes, and minhee had been the one to cause it, those sleepless nights where all he could do was replay the memory over and over in his head. there wasn't a chance in hell he'd ever be forgiven.
"i know, but it might give him some peace of mind." the nauseating sound of youngjae's superiority was evident, mark could tell how prideful he felt about being the bigger person, about giving minhee another chance, and it infuriated him.
of course youngjae couldn't get a random friend to help, one he hadn't fucked.
of course youngjae had to try and fix things. because youngjae had always been a meddler- telling mark what to do about his family, telling him not to go to korea, telling him his brother was dead... youngjae couldn't help but get involved in things that didn't concern him.
mark didn't want minhee to find "peace of mind", he wanted him to feel guilty, because he had messed up; he had messed up mark's life and he deserved to have that playing on his mind forever, just as it played on mark's.
"i don't car- y'know what.. whatever, let's just get this over with." a fight wasn't worth it, so mark stopped himself before he could go on a rant about minhee. it would only delay things, and anyway, minhee knew the plan now, after the call with youngjae
the plan, which then, had seemed foolproof.
first, minhee would buy mark a plane ticket back to korea (which youngjae would pay him back for later, once mark was long gone.)
"i've bought the ticket- £1,500 for a one way to trip to seoul. it departs in 2 days, at 5am. youngjae you're still down for paying me back?" minhee asked, voice crackling over the phone line.
youngjae replied with a quiet, "yes... somehow."
next, mark would pack away all his things, and prepare for the flight- without his father realising.
he had only travelled light, so packing his bags didn't take long. though he faultered slightly after emptying the drawer by his bed, and pulling out the list he had written up- the one he had given to jinyoung before he left.
he smiled- jinyoung was in his grasp now, and he imagined running his hands across his rosy cheeks, and kissing his soft lips again. at last, he had hope, and his love for jinyoung was just as strong as it had been when he had left.
without much thought, he shoved the list in his jacket pocket, his lucky token.
on the day of the flight, youngjae would enter the house at around 3am, claiming that joey was having some kind of emergency. this would distract mark's dad long enough for mark to sneak away with his suitcase.
mark was jolted awake at the sound of a key being rammed into the lock of the front door of the family home. the sound was followed by the door being thrown wide open, and youngjae's loud shouts.
"RAYMOND?" he called, and mark was surprised at how good his acting was, he sounded really distressed, "MARK...? ITS JOEY, WAKE UP"
hearing youngjae burst into his dad's room, mark set about gathering all his things. already wearing sweatpants and a black hoodie, all he had left to do was grab his suitcase and nervously wait until he heard-
"joey? what's wrong with him is he okay?"
--his father wake up.
"yes." youngjae replied, "listen, can i talk to you in your room for a brief second? i don't want mark overhearing."
mark crossed his fingers as he waited for his dad's response. he needed for him to agree, so that he could run past his room and out the front door, which youngjae had left wide open (on purpose of course).
"sure." mark heard a bedroom door being shut and his father's muffled voice asking, "what's wrong with joey?"
this was his chance, and he darted from his room, praying his teenage brain remembered which floorboards were the creakiest, to avoid making too much sound. with shaking steps, he made his way swiftly past his father's room, hearing youngjae's voice whispering from within, and down the old staircase.
the steps groaned beneath him, and he froze, but youngjae kept speaking and so he assumed he was fine.
he continued like this, stopping every so often to check he was in the clear, until at last- he could see the door.
the wind was causing it to creak against it's hinges, the darkness of early morning beyond it making it seem almost sinister- the way the blackness clung to it, an overwhelming mass of unknown. quietly shivering, mark took the final steps towards the door, half suspecting his dad to suddenly appear behind him.
but he didn't.
and then he was in the cold, or perhaps cold wasn't the right word- he was in la afterall. but there was a certain chill in the air, though maybe it was just his paranoid getting the best of him.
the world was dark, and quiet- save for the dull throbbing hum of a car engine.
a familiar boy sat behind the wheel, hardly recognisable in the moonlight, but mark knew exactly who is was.
minhee.
he opened the door quietly and hopped in, choosing not to acknowledge the boy's existence, instead keeping his eyes straight ahead, staring into the dark.
"i'm not driving till you look at me."
he was so annoying.
"mark, we're not going anywhere until you look me in the eyes."
mark flicked his eyes over to minhee, and for the first time since he left la, his heart began to throb with pain again.
minhee and his stupid face, a constant reminder of youngjae's betrayal.
the knife was lodged in his chest again, twisting, and the images of minhee and youngjae burned behind his eyes.
"good." minhee said, and mark remembered how that same voice had moaned out youngjae's name.
"now let's go." mark said, already agitated.
"wait.. look mark.. i'm sorry abo-"
"just fucking drive minhee!" and mark took the liberty of switching the car into second gear himself, "i'm on the run from my crazy dad, there's no time for your stupid apologies."
"fine."
the car roared into life, and in only a few seconds they were far from the house, and from youngjae, and from raymond and from-
SHIT.
his passport.
"minhee!" mark's voice rung with fear, "my passport- it's back at the house, youngjae forgot to get it for me. i-i.."
minhee's eyes widened from where they were trained on the road, "fuck. what do we do?"
"we have to go back."
"no we can't. if we go back, and your dad finds out you were leaving-.. this is your only chance." he tossed mark his mobile phone, from where it had been resting in the cupholder of his car, "call youngjae, and tell him to get to the airport as quick as possible. with the passport obviously."
"ok."
mark knew calling wouldn't be a good idea, what with youngjae talking to raymond, and so he sent him a few (all capitalized) text messages.
he had no idea if youngjae would see them in time, they hadn't left a big window for any mess ups, and prayed that he'd still be able to board that flight to korea.
and if it left without him... well, he'd be screwed.
after minhee and mark successfully made it to the airport, mark was supposed take his passport (which of course he didn't have yet) and board the plane.
so the plan had failed, mark didn't have his passport, leaving him and minhee to hang around in the lobby of the airport, praying youngjae would make it.