Supernerd! MARK

13 | opposites react

I find myself back at work the day after, Chaerin sitting at the counter while she works on her art assignment.

"Hey, so how's Jeno?" I ask, suddenly thinking of the blue-haired boy.

Chaerin chuckles as she keeps her eyes on her paper. "Why the sudden question?"

"I don't know, I just thought about it. Besides, you haven't talked to us about him since the party. What happened?"

"Nothing happened." Chaerin puts down her pencil. "I mean, I did leave early with Donghyuck to come get you. I never really got to talk to him in school after that."

The mention of the incident causes me to bite my lip in guilt. "Hey... I'm sorry. I mean, if it wasn't for me, you would have gotten your chance with him."

Chaerin scoffs loudly as she looks at me. "Yena, are you actually insane? Why the fuck would I care about some dude if my best friend was in danger?"

"I know, but," I sigh. "I don't know. I could tell you really liked him."

"I didn't." Chaerin rolled her eyes. "It's called having a crush, Yena. It comes and goes. Besides, we're far too different in personality, so if something were to actually happen between us, I imagine it probably wouldn't work out in the end anyway."

The bell at the entrance chimes, interrupting my conversation with my roommate. I look up from my place behind the cash register to see that it's Lee Haechan.

"Cherry! Fancy seeing you here." He grins smugly, wasting no time in heading straight towards Chaerin who has a scowl on her face.

I feel a smile tug up my lips. If Chaerin thinks Jeno is far too different from her, I have someone in mind who isn't.

"What can I get for you today, Haechan?" I ask, moving behind the counters to stand before my two friends.

"Hey, Yena. Sorry I didn't greet you— I was too distracted by Mrs. Doubtfire over here," he says, nodding towards Chaerin's outfit consisting of a knitted cardigan and checkered skirt.

Chaerin shoots him a nasty glare before turning back to her drawing block. "I'm too tired to deal with you today, Donghyuck. So I'm just simply going to ignore you."

"Shame," Haechan drawls boredly before flopping on the stool next to my roommate. He turns to me. "Can I get the usual?"

I nod. "Coming right up."

From my place at the coffee maker, I could still make out the duo's constant bickering (so much for wanting to ignore him, Chaerin) which causes me to smile in amusement. There truly isn't anyone else who can bring out the worst in my roommate if not Lee Haechan.

Bringing his order to the other end of the counter, I settle his plate of donut and mug of cup coffee before him.

"Thanks," he cheers, not wasting a second more before taking a bite of the sweet treat.

"Gross," I hear Chaerin mutter under her breath. "Why are you even here? Don't you have pucks to slam, or something?"

I recall Mark having said the same thing from a few weeks ago, and I feel my cheeks start to heat up. Instantly, I duck my head, pretending to busy myself with wiping off the stubborn stain on the steel counter.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I've only been slowly trying to come to terms with the fact that I'm starting to fall for Mark Lee, but being with him yesterday kind of took me a few steps back, opening up new overwhelming emotions I never knew was possible to feel towards a person.