Stranger : Mark Tuan

Stranger

I see you and you dazzle me

The first time I saw her was when she was late for her class. We went to different schools, it just chanced that her school was the one that I always passed when going to mine.

She bumped into me on the sidewalk and only bowed as a sign of apology because of her lack of time to get to class. But believe it or not, it only took me that short a time to be dazzled by her beauty.

On the same day, at the afternoon, I couldn't help but wait at the gate of their school after my class ended. I wanted to at least see her again, or maybe even get her name.

But she walked by me, chatting with a couple of friends, not even looking at me. I went back the next school day, thinking she just didn't see me, but I was wrong. She was really ignoring me.

I caught her name from staying around after she went home. I asked a few people whom I guessed to be in her class and they told me.

The first time I saw her alone, I just came up to her and talked to her. That is, after she ran away from me and I caught up to her, saying over and over again that I was not a stalker.

"Don't you remember me?"
"Should I?"

That was how our first conversation really went. I didn't think of a reply fast enough and she walked away from me. I left her alone starting from that, thinking that if I was meant to see her again, I would.

So lonely, by myself, thinking about you

Don't ask me how. I just naturally thought of her in my free time, even during class sometimes. She was the reason for me spacing out and getting scolded by the teacher.

To clear my mind of her, I went to a coffee shop to buy a drink. And as if the world wasn't letting me stop thinking of her even for a second, she was also there, studying.

She was alone so after I paid for my drink, I sat down in front of her, to keep her company as she studied.

"Please go away, stranger. I'm trying to study here," she spoke, not bothering to even glance at me.
"Am I a stranger to you, then?"
"Yes, you are,"
"My name's Mark. Mark Tuan,"

Well... Now that she knows my name, she can't technically call me a stranger anymore, can she?

"Hello, Mark. Please go away,"
"I want to keep you company,"
"Keep quiet, then,"

And that was I did. Instead of speaking, I just watched her. The way her forehead would crease when she most likely didn't understand what she reading, and the way she drummed her fingers on the table as she read.

She was beautiful. She really was.

Come closer to me so I can get to know you

The only way we kept in touch was of my persuading. She didn't want anything to do with me anymore, but I insisted for us to meet up and get to know each other more.

"Why are you so interested in me?"
"Just because,"
"You're not a stalker, are you?"
"How many times do I have that I'm not?"

She always asked me if I was a stalker, because of my interest in her. I mean, any normal person would someone like me was a stalker, waiting for her after class, practically begging her to meet up with me and so on.

We ended up eating out, then taking a walk at the park. As we walked, I constantly sneaked glances at her. I almost wanted to reach out and push her long hair out of her face but I stopped myself before I could do so.

We talked a bit, but we mostly kept our silence. She sat down on a bench and I followed her.

"Sit down for a while, Mark-ssi,"
"Mark oppa,"
"W-what?"
"I'm older than you. Call me oppa,"

I knew at once that she would protest and I didn't dare force her to call me that. Like she said, we didn't know each other very well, and we weren't close. But I strangely felt this fluttering in my heart whenever she spoke to me, or merely looked in my direction. It was weird, seriously.

She let out a yawn, covering her mouth.

"Are you tired?"
"Not so much,"

I gave her a faint smile and gently pushed her to lean her head on my shoulder. She didn't move away and just rested her head, closing her eyes.

"Am I still a stranger to you?" I asked her softly.
"Hm..." she said, her eyes closed, thinking for a while before she shook her head. "Not so much anymore, I suppose,"
"That's good to hear,"

She didn't speak anymore and I looked at her face, lightly brushing her fringe out of her eyes.

"I think you're beautiful,"

I didn't know why I said those. Even I, myself, was surprised. Hers was a given, but she didn't expect me to be surprised also. I noticed a light blush appear on her cheeks.

"... Thank you,"

You and me, just us two, everything stops in this moment

Our relationship grew better with time. We became closer, and more friendly around each other. But as we became even better friends, I found that the fast beating of my heart whenever she was around was harder to control.

Is that the feeling of falling in love?

I've heard about falling in love and they say this is what it's like. Your heart beating faster, you can't stop thinking about her and you hate seeing her with any other guy except you.

If that was falling in love, then I was definitely in love with her.

"Where are you taking me?"

We were in my car right now. Since she had been studying hard for the past days, I thought I should bring her somewhere she could just relax, even if it was only for a few hours.

"Isn't Han River for couples?"
"Yeah, but it's not wrong to be here with a friend, is it?" I asked.
"I... I guess not,"

We sat down on the grass after laying out a mat that I brought. We just sat there silently, looking at the stars or staring at the people around us.

"The moon's beautiful tonight,"
"But it's not as beautiful as you,"

I didn't know why I was doing this. I didn't want her to feel so surprised, I wanted her to be relaxed, but I realized that if I liked her, I should tell her already and not care if she liked me back or not. At least she knew, that was better than keeping it from her.

"I like you. I really do,"

Just confess and be done with it.

"Mark..."
"I just wanted you to know,"

I was speaking so fast now and I had no idea why. My hands were suddenly sweating and my heart was beating much faster than normal.

"And I want you to know that I somehow ended up falling for you, too,"

Wait, what?

I turned to look at her. She was smiling at me, an extremely beautiful smile that made my heart stop. I leaned in close to her, so that our lips were an inch apart.

"May I?" I murmured. She didn't answer and just leaned up, her soft lips touching mine in a gentle kiss. It only lasted for a second, but it was enough to make me smile like I had just won the lottery.
"I'm getting hungry," she suddenly said.

I burst out laughing and pulled out my phone, scrolling through my contacts list.

"You want Chinese food or what? Let's order,"

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This was a bit random, but did you enjoy it?? (And if you noticed, yes, I based the story off of the lyrics of Moonlight XD)

Unnie!! How do you like it?? Hehe ~ ^_^