Supernerd! MARK

32 | date/dead

Seoul National University isn't a place I frequent, so it did take Mark and I a while to find our way there.

When we eventually do, Mark bids me goodbye with a kiss, telling me that he'd be waiting for me at this right exact spot in two hours so he could bring me to our date.

Date.

The word alone is enough to send tingles up my spine, a stupid grin on my lips.

I've never been on a date before, meaning I'm not really sure what I should expect, but weirdly enough I'm not nervous at all— maybe because I know I'd be fine as long as Mark is with me.

I see a standing banner to my left directing me to the auditorium for The Development of Personality by Oh Ilsung, a few people already making their way inside despite me being almost half an hour early.

Now this, I'm nervous about.

I guess it never really dawned upon me until now that I'd be sitting in a room full of... smart people, making me the odd one out.

It's fine, I tell myself. If I had to be Chaerin the other night at the club, tonight, I'll be Sera.

I take a deep breath, giving myself a reassuring nod before I take another step forward, but a voice halts me.

"Yena!"

I turn around, greeted by a familiar face. Professor Qian offers me a kind smile which I instantly return, but I'm soon enveloped with confusion.

"Professor?" I ask as he walks towards me. "I thought you said you couldn't make it," I chuckle, more in nervousness than anything.

Am I at the wrong place? Shit— did I even get the right date?

"Ah, yes, I had other matters to attend to prior." Professor Qian stands before me, his hands behind his back. My question remains unanswered at his cryptic response, rendering me wordless as I think of what to say. Now that he's here, doesn't that mean I wouldn't have to attend the seminar? Because if so, great, I'd just have to call Mark-

"Looks like we're still early." He checks his watch. "Care to join me for a drink? There's a café a floor below."

"Um," I stall, suddenly feeling weirded out by his offer, but the friendly smile he wears convinces me that maybe I'm just looking into it too much. So I find myself saying:

"Sure."

"After you." Professor Qian motions for me to go ahead, and I give him a small smile before turning around to head towards the lift lobby.

I don't get far, however, when I feel something cover my nose and mouth, blocking my airways completely.

And soon, everything goes black.

🕸️

"Wakey wakey." A voice floats into my ears, sounding almost distant, though I know that's just due to the black spots that are currently dancing around my vision.

Where the hell am I?

The room is barely lit by a small light bulb dangling in the middle of the ceiling, making it hard for me to distinguish anything else.

It is only once my senses start kicking in do I feel the throbbing of my wrists and ankles, tightly bound to the chair I'm tied to.

My first instinct is to scream, but nothing but a muffled shriek escapes my lips due to the cloth tied around my mouth.

"Hush, sweetheart," the same accented voice says from behind me, and my blood runs cold as I feel him move towards me.