( ⛅️ )

❛ i can already tell we're going
to be such good friends. ❜

—

"wait for me, okay? i'll be done in an hour." mark said nudging miyong's shoulder, as she nodded back in return.

it was tuesday again, and tuesday was practice day.

usually, miyong walked home alone on practice day, but today mark had asked her to stay behind and wait for him so the two could walk home together, and possibly stop by the local bubble tea shop that they both loved.

miyong decided to wait outside the gym, as she was too afraid of stepping inside and having to sit alone in the bleachers while cheerleaders gossiped next to her about which guy in the basketball team they would try to hit on next.

going inside was social suicide — and miyong did not want to have to deal with that.

sitting down on the ground right outside of the gym doors, miyong popped her airpods into her ears and hit shuffle on her favourite spotify playlist. the melodies of the song that played brought a smile to her face as she pulled out her journal and began doodling all sorts of things over the page of paper.

she mindlessly drew little shapes, pictures, and sketches, filling the page quickly.

drawing was her safe space — it was basically free therapy, especially when she drew the things she loved.

and before she knew it, miyong had started sketching a portrait of her very best friend.

everyone knew mark lee was a sight to see; his defined jawline, bright eyes, and healing smile were something you just couldn't miss.

she easily sketched out the shape of his face and slowly began adding in his features with detail.

not many people knew this, but miyong was an amazing artist. she wasn't excelling in all her classes at school, but she was for sure acing her art studio course with flying colours. she was definitely a creative learner. she would choose arts courses such as english and theatre over technical ones like science and math any day.

the sound of squeaking shoes skidding across the gym floor could be heard from where she was sitting. yells and cheers from the players echoed across the gym walls. the endless rhythm of the dribbling basketballs somehow seemed to sync with the music playing in miyong's ears.

she wondered to herself why she'd never been to one of mark's practices before. she found it oddly soothing to listen to all the ruckus while finding peace in her mind through it all.

miyong smiled to herself as she added some final touches to mark's portrait. raising it up in the light to admire before gently closing her journal. she decided to get up and stretch before her legs began to cramp.

deciding to leave the gym area and take a quick bathroom break, miyong slung her bag over her shoulder and walked down the quiet after-school hallways of seoul high. it had been a while since she had walked these typically noisy halls alone in solitude, as she usually never stayed after school on a normal occasion.

as she exited the bathroom after doing her business, without watching where she was going, miyong carelessly bumped straight into someone who was on their way in.

"oh sh— i'm so sorry—"

lifting her head to apologize, miyong was left speechless when she met the eyes on the one and only, seong hyejin.

hyejin was wearing her cheer uniform, clearly coming straight out of practice as her face glowed a rosy pink. the pleated skirt fit nicely around her waist resting at a stop just above her knees, while a slick white headband pushed back her long locks of pretty hair.

an awkward silence lifted into the air as hyejin's eyes trailed up and down the girl in front of her hiding her judgement particularly well.

hyejin flashed her prettiest smile and spoke up first. "no worries, mi... mi... sorry what was it again?" she blinked innocently, her glossy eyes shimmering in the sunlight peaking through the windows.

'there's no way in hell she doesn't know what my name is,' miyong thought to herself, mentally shaking her head. "it's miyong." she replied smiling back politely, while in reality all she wanted to get out of there as quickly as she could.

"oh right, silly me... of course, of course, miyong!" she let out an angelic giggle, and smiled at the girl once again. "you're that girl," she paused and lifted an eyebrow as if she were thinking, "the girl that's dating my ex-boyfriend."

miyong subtly clenched her jaw together in discomfort, as hyejin continued.

"you two must be such a sweet couple... he must adore being with someone as... cute as you." she spoke, lifting her left hand to inspect her delicately done acrylic nails, "you know, i remember him being the best boyfriend. he would always be by my my side no matter what — meaning he would drive me places, stay over at my house, ditch his friends just for me, and even lend me his sweaters."

placing her hand on her slim waist she turned her head back to stare straight into miyong's gentle almond shapes eyes. "he still does that with you too, right?... or perhaps that only with me?"

miyong swallowed harshly at the blatant truth hyejin had just presented. it was true he'd done all those things for her before, but since he met hyejin, those tiny gestures of tenderness had disappeared and belonged to her instead. "no he..." miyong began but trailed off in speechlessness.

"that's besides the point, i'm sure he loves you and is totally over me anyways." hyejin giggled, cutting miyong off, "how long was he upset over our breakup again? a couple days, right? what a heartfelt and emotional person he truly is..." she sighed dreamily, "and hey... you seem like such a sweetheart, miyong. i'd love to get to know you better, you know?" hyejin suddenly exclaimed, "i know! why don't you sit with me at lunch starting tomorrow? i can already tell we're going to be such good friends."

miyong had to hold herself together to prevent her jaw from falling to the ground. she really wasn't sure if it was more appropriate to laugh or cry in that situation, so she mentally did both. seong hyejin, the school's it-girl-cheer-captain-pretty-girl-pageant-queen, had just asked her, park miyong, to sit at lunch with her.

miyong wanted to scream, laugh, and run away, but she knew she had to stay calm or things would escalate in the wrong direction. "that sounds nice and i'd like to get to know you better too... but unfortunately i can't abandon my friends and especially my boyfriend at lunch." she smiled kindly at hyejin, but internally hit herself for having to sound like a suck-up.

the smile on hyejin's face immediately shifted and fell into a scowl. yet somehow she still managed to look pretty, which miyong really didn't understand.

so much for things not escalating in the wrong direction.

"listen here, you... no good pick me girl. i tried to be nice to you, but yet you decided to reject this rare offer of mine." she scoffed, "mark? he'll never love you. we all know he's still hung up on me and will always be, no matter what this is going in between you two."

"so... i'll give you one last warning," hyejin's scowl morphed into her sweet signature smile once again. "this is just plain girl to girl advice, miyong." she walked up to miyong and tightly grabbing her wrist, pressing her long nails into miyong's skin, "you should stay away from mark... he'll only break your heart when he comes crawling back to me."

with that, hyejin tossed her perfect chocolate locks over her shoulders, and walked into the bathroom without another word. the door swung firmly closer behind her leaving miyong in a panicked state of mixed emotions.

getting ahold of herself, miyong slowly walked back to the gym in nervousness, lower lip still trembling in anxiety.

by now, practice had ended, and the guys on the basketball team were huddled up and bidding their goodbyes. miyong stood slightly off to the side as she waited for mark to finish his conversation with his friends.

she couldn't help but admire him from a distance. he was just perfect to her in every way. his hair was slicked back in an incredibly attractive way, while his toned arms peaked through the sides of his team jersey. a wide smile was evident on his face as he laughed at a joke another team member, felix, had just told.

mark's eyes suddenly caught sight of the girl standing across the hall from him, with a small worried look on her face and eyebrows creased together. he quickly waved goodbye and headed over to where the girl stood and immediately wrapped her in a tight hug.

"ew mark... you're covered in sw—sweat. don't touch me." miyong stammered as a pink hue began to form on her ears. lie. she didn't care about how sweaty he was, she craved his touch.

"you okay? you seem upset," mark asked resting his chin on the girl's head and kissing it gently before pulling away and grabbing her hand. "mhm." she nodded, as a hug from him was all it took for her bad mood to seemingly go away.

"still up for bubble tea?" mark asked grinning down at his best friend and their intertwined hands, guiding her towards the school doors.

"i think... i think i just wanna go home today." miyong quietly replied, looking down and following his lead.

"oh... you sure? you usually never pass up bubble tea," mark nudged her shoulder gently, "i'll even treat youuu."

"yeah, uh— next time... i'm just a little tired." she smiled back at him, standing on her tippy-toes and placing a small kiss on his cheek to reassure him.

a smile appeared on mark's face as he gripped her hand tighter. though, deep down he was sure that something wasn't right.

"alright then, let's go home."

( ⛅️ )

a/n !

wasn't going to update today but it's the man himself, mark lee's birthday today 🎂 the loml deserves a chapter and so do all of you readers 💗 might i add it's also cai xukun, the other loml's birthday today as well ??? if you're born on august 2nd you're blessed i swear

anyways this chapter is bleh i hate how it's so bland but whatever we move ‼️ things are coming and i hope you're ready. this is the first time i've had every single chapter planned out for a book and i'm literally dedicating my heart out to it (!sos someone save me from this app!)

also jay & jill how does it feel knowing that you got to read the first sentence before everyone else 🙄🙏