( ⛅️ )

❛ i actually came here
to tell you something... ❜

—

everything had always gone great for mark lee all his life.

he was top-of-the-class-smart— always getting some of the best grades in school.

he was an athletics ace— captain of the basketball team and a member of the track team.

he had an extremely loving family, who always supported him in many ways— such as coming to all of his sports games and spending time with him on the weekends, and caring for him in all aspects. not to mention they were quite well off financially.

he had been voted 'most likely to become famous' in the yearbook superlatives column for the past three years of high school, a hard title to maintain.

he and his friends were named the best-looking guys in the school, by students, teachers, and everyone in between.

but most of all, he could get with any girl he wanted to, whenever, and wherever he wanted to.

he was charming in indescribable ways, an expert in flirting, and always knew how to capture someone's heart.

and that was his flaw.

he was a playboy.

he didn't care about the feelings of the girls he had dropped when he had his eyes on someone new. it was something that he had been labelled as from the beginning, and now it was stuck.

but he didn't mind.

he loved the exhilarating feeling of being with someone new frequently. he loved the way it was so easy to make someone fall for him. he loved the rush of adrenaline that came with it.

that was until he began dating her.

seong hyejin— seoul high's it girl. the cheer captain, the beauty queen, the wonder girl.

it was too cliché to be real. the cheer captain and the basketball captain? 'no, it couldn't be,' mark had told himself.

and he was right.

it was too good to be true.

( ⛅️ )

"hey," mark smiled walking up to the girl who stood waiting right in front of the school's art closet, which was in a hidden corner down the hall from the cafeteria. "you said you wanted to meet me here?"

hyejin flashed her winning smile. "mhm, come with me," she said gesturing him down a quiet hallway.

mark raised his eyebrows in question, his mind spinning with ideas of where this would lead.

hyejin looked both left and right before positioning herself in front of mark, wrapping her hands around the nape of his neck. his hands quickly found their way to her waist, pressing her body against his. her lips immediately attached to his, moulding together almost perfectly.

the taste of her matte lipstick soon overtook his lips, uniting the two together.

everything seemed perfect.

and it was, until he felt hyejin try and pull away.

"mark." hyejin breathed through the kiss.

"yes, beautiful?" mark asked, caressing her waist with small circles.

hyejin dragged out of the kiss and shook her head.

"i— i actually came here to tell you something..." she said biting her lip, guiltily.

"what is it, babe?" mark asked, frowning.

"i— we—" she swallowed.

"we need to break up." she uttered blatantly.

mark stopped in his tracks. his heart plunging to the floor. "what?"

"you heard me, we need to break up." hyejin declared, placing her hands on her hips.

"why?" mark's heart shattered, but his face remained neutral. "please... tell me."

"babe, i've been seeing this new guy." she grimaced. "i can't date the same guy for too long... plus this is for your good as well. don't you want to maintain your status as the most sought after guy at our school?"

"i just..."

"besides, the guy i'm seeing is actually kind of cute." hyejin shrugged nonchalantly.

'she never really liked me huh...' mark smiled bitterly. he opened his mouth to say it, but when he tried, no sound came out.

"shh..." hyejin said holding a finger up to his mouth, "don't overthink it, baby. i know you agree with me." she winked. "now, how about this... i'll even let you kiss me one last time, before we officially break it off." hyejin said leaning in towards mark, whispering the last part.

before mark knew what was happening, hyejin's lips had met his again.

he couldn't help but melt into her once more.

he loved her.

and he thought she loved him.

( ⛅️ )

mark couldn't concentrate for the rest of the day in his classes, nor at basketball practice that afternoon.

"hey! number two!" coach taeyong exclaimed, "you're the team captain, why are you slacking off today?"

"sorry coach... it's been a long day." mark muttered, and coach taeyong shook his head in disappointment.

"take two, boys!" taeyong yelled, signaling that they could take a quick break.

mark sat down on the bench closest to him. he placed his head between his hands, and rested his elbows on his knees, sighing loudly.

jeno slowly jogged towards mark and stopped beside him, giving him a pat on the back. "hey man, you good?"

mark grimaced and shook his head.

"is it about hyejin?" jisung said walking up to the pair, a towel wrapped around his neck.

"what else would it be about?" haechan said, joining the group.

"man, we all know she's the it girl, but you have to get over her at some point." jaemin piped in as he walked up behind haechan, taking a swig out of his water bottle.

mark shrugged. "but... she's not just the it girl, you know? she's special. she's— she's so much more than just a pretty face. she's talented, she's kind, she's sweet, she's—"

"she's an absolute bitc—"

renjun, as he was the team manager, slapped a hand over haechan's mouth before he could finish, sending him a glare. he didn't want any conflict going on during a practice.

'not now! not while he's literally having a crisis, you moron!' renjun mouthed angrily to haechan.

thank goodness mark had been too lost in his own world to hear haechan, or he'd probably be dead by now.

haechan rolled his eyes a mouthed a 'sorry' to an irritated renjun.

"times up! let's get back at it boys!" coach taeyong yelled.

"we'll continue this talk later, mark." chenle said patting him on the back as the group of guys walked back onto the court.

( ⛅️ )

a/n !

coach taeyong >

ALSO hELLO ?? JUST HERE TO SAY HOT SAUCE IS SO IMMACULATE I CAN'T BREATHE 🥲🥲

MY FAVORITES HAVE TO BE DIVE INTO YOU AND RAINBOW, WHILE DIGGITY AND MY YOUTH, ARE A CLOSE SECOND / 100% A NO SKIP ALBUM

ALSO I TEARED UP WATCHING THE DREAM SHOW STAGES 😭 ESPECIALLY WATCHING MARK PERFORM RIDIN' AND BOOM ?? I NEVER KNEW I NEEDED THAT SO MUCH IN MY LIFE