Supernerd! MARK

26 | #WWCD?

But despite that, my heart feels like it's about to rip out of my chest. My cheeks are starting to hurt from all that fake-smiling, and honestly, I might just throw up.

The moment is interrupted when his phone buzzes on the bar, and it forces me to tear my hands away from him— thank God.

"Duty calls," Lee Taeyong tells me, and I offer him yet another sweet smile.

He reaches out to his breast pocket, taking out a simple white card before sliding it on the bar towards me. "If you're ever in need of some fun, princess, just give me a call." He shoots me a wink.

I eye the name card, his full name and the word OWNER under it first catching my attention before I notice just the thing I need right below it— his phone number.

I pick it up, keeping it securely in my clutch before I stand up, albeit with wobbly legs that I hope he doesn't notice.

"I'll be waiting," he says smoothly, and I let out a high-pitched giggle which makes my insides burn.

Without thinking twice, I place my hands on Lee Taeyong's chest to place a chaste kiss on his cheek, the red of my lipstick leaving a mark on his skin.

The club owner smirks, giving my waist a slight squeeze before he disappears into the mass of bodies on the dance floor.

I let out an exaggerated sigh of relief, the entire interaction having taken years off my life. I let myself fall back to my stool, and my phone buzzes in my clutch the moment I do so.

Mark Lee
I'm tailing him. Wait with haechan outside

I look up, and true to this words, Mark is no longer at the spot he was just at. I quickly stand up, not wanting to spend a minute more in this place without him, and I head straight to the exit where I know Haechan is waiting for me.

"How was it?" Is the first thing the tanned boy asks me the moment I fall into the passenger seat, and I let out a loud groan as I shut my eyes.

I blindly open my clutch, finding for the namecard I had scored before throwing it to Haechan's lap. "I feel like gauging my eyes out."

"Woah," he mutters. "You got his number?! Huh. So I guess our acting lessons did pay off even despite you being so terrible at it."

"Shut up, Haechan," I groan again. "I feel so... icky. God, I never want to do that ever again."

"It can't be that bad."

"Easy for you to say!" I exclaim, turning to look at him, and Haechan raises his hands in surrender.

We settle into a comfortable silence as we wait for Mark, and I can't help but to worry at how long he's taking. I stare out of the window mindlessly, wanting nothing more but to take a long, warm shower before burying myself under my sheets— just the place I want to be at right now.

I'm not sure how much time has passed before Mark enters the car, closing the door behind him. "Drive," he says flatly.

I turn to look at him, but he is not looking at me as he leans his head against the head rest with his eyes shut, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with every gulp he takes.

"Are you okay?" I question, but Mark doesn't reply me.

"What happened?" Haechan asks, his eyes on the road.

"Just shut up, Haechan," Mark mutters, and I raise my eyebrows weirdly at his demeanour. Sure, he's never been... gentle, with his roommate, but the sudden tension in the car makes me feel like it's something else.

Haechan merely rolls his eyes, probably used to the older's attitude. "Am I sending you home?" He directs the question to me.

"Don't we... need to talk about what happened?" I ask as I glance at Mark through the rear-view mirror, the boy now staring out of the window blankly.

"Not tonight," Mark curtly says.

I frown at his cold tone, but decide not to say anything until my apartment building comes into view.

"Alright," Haechan sighs as he kills the engine. "See you tomorrow." He stares at me with an eyebrow raised as he tilts his head subtly towards his roommate— huh. I guess I'm not the only one who senses that something is wrong.

Mark promptly opens the car door to exit, and I utter out a small goodbye to Haechan as I follow suit.

Unlike always, Mark doesn't wait for me as he stalks towards the lobby, and I find myself blurting at his back, "what's your deal?"

My question causes Mark to halt, and for the first time since our car ride, he turns to look at me— albeit with a blank stare on his face.

When he remains silent, I continue. "You've been nothing but cold to Haechan and I the entire ride home. What happened in there? Are you hurt?"

Mark sighs. "I'm not hurt. C'mon, it's late." He brushes off my question as he turns back around, but I quickly capture him by the wrist to make him face me again.

"Mark, just- did I do something? What-"

"Nothing, Yena, okay?! Jeez," he snaps as he frees himself off me, and I instinctively take a step back, mostly out of shock at his harsh tone.

Mark's eyes widen momentarily as though having realised his mistake, and he reaches out for me again, to which I avoid. "Yena, I-"

"What's it to you?" I ask, growing increasingly annoyed at his pissy attitude. "I just wanted to know if you're okay. Do you have to be such an asshole about it?!"

Clearly, I hadn't meant for that to slip.

I guess it's just my brain being all messed up from what I had to do in the club earlier, and I had at the very least expected for Mark to tell me that it's okay and that I did well. His sudden change in demeanour, if anything, isn't doing much to help my case.

An incredulous scoff escapes his lips at my words. "Right. I'm the asshole. I never wanted to go forward with this plan in the first place and look where it got us!"

"What the hell are you talking about?" In the silence of the night, it sounds like I'm on the verge of yelling. "If you had just listened to what I wanted to say, you would know that I got Lee Taeyong's damned number and I saw another tattoo! Isn't that supposed to mean something?"

"Not when you're in there cozying up to him like it's the most normal thing in the world. Don't you have any idea how dangerous that man is, Yena? One wrong move and you could've gotten yourself killed!"

My lips part in shock at his accusation. "So that's what this is about? You're acting like a fucking child, Mark! You're supposed to trust me."

"Just because I'm looking out for you doesn't mean I don't fucking trust you, Yena," he spits, and I turn to look away. I can already feel the tears of frustration welling up behind my eyelids, and I am not about to let an argument as stupid as this get to me.

"Whatever. Just leave," I mutter, going up the steps towards the elevator.

As much as I had expected for Mark to follow me, or at the very least call for me to stop, he doesn't.

—

Mark and Yena's first fight, yay~