IFHY .. nct

THIRTY-TWO

tilly:
we're going out tonight markie

tilly:
yang has the baby and i have some news

mark:
aw you remembered my birthday ❤️

tilly:
... uhhhh|

tilly:
of COURSE I REMEMBERED

tilly:
drinks on me buddy 😎

mark:
i've been needing a night
out like soooo bad dude

tilly:
yessss and we have a lot to catch up on

mark:
friend group drama?

tilly:
friend group drama

tilly tipped her head back, downing the rest of her shot before slapping the empty glass back onto the bartop and grinning at mark. she failed to contain her laughter as he grimaced in disgust.

"how can you do this with a straight face?" mark asked through a cough.

tilly tapped her finger against the side of her glass, signaling to the bartender to fill it up. she turned her face to mark, who was staring in intimidation at his fourth tequila shot. "may i remind you that i got pregnant at twenty? i wasn't exactly sober before she came into the picture."

she could tell mark was fighting the urge to smile as he said, "in case you forgot, we were in the same friend group back then."

"speaking of which," tilly cut in, twirling her glass of tequila. "i think we're drunk enough to start spilling everyone's deep, dark secrets."

mark nodded his head and turned his body on the barstool so that he could better face the girl with orange hair. "agreed. you first."

"why me first?"

"you're better at drama than i am."

tilly considered his words for a moment before shrugging. "fair. iseul and tern got engaged."

mark's eyes widened, and he blinked wildly at the girl next to him. "engaged?! like, to be married?"

"um, what other type of engaged is there?" tilly asked with furrowed brows. she could tell that mark was about to give her the other definition of engaged and cut him off with a chuckle. "they've been together for years!"

to her surprise, mark's smile turned almost... sad.

"hey," she began, her express shifting into one of confusion. "what's up?"

he shook his head and turned his dejected attention back to his shot. shrugging, mark sighed out, "it's a little strange. like, tern is my age. my age and getting married." he shook his head. "i don't know. i can't remember the last time i genuinely thought about settling down with someone."

tilly pursed her lips. she wanted to relate, and a few months ago she would have, but now johnny was in her life. she hoped that one day he could be her tern.

"come on, don't be like that. you just turned 25! you have plenty of time to find someone; to decide if that even something you want in life." tilly squeezed mark's shoulder. she mentally cheered herself for still having sense after however many shots she took.

the side of mark's mouth quirked up and he leaned into the touch. "thanks, til. it's just hard sometimes with work and the girls. i kind of skipped straight to the dad stage." he laughed, but there wasn't much emotion in it. tilly could see how worn out he was.

with a sigh, mark forced a tight smile to his lips and decided to change the subject. "how are things with johnny?"

tilly blamed the alcohol for her blushing. "oh, um... he's cool, i guess?" she said hesitantly. they'd just talked about how lonely and worried about the future mark was, and she didn't want to add salt to the wound.

unfortunately, or fortunately, mark caught on and gave her a nudge with his shoulder. "go on. my feelings won't be hurt if you gush about your boyfriend."

the words just left his lips when tilly jumped in her chair. "mark, he's amazing. like, he's so mature and honest, and we had a little issue with his ex, but he was so patient and understanding! he makes my face hurt from smiling, and he's a god in bed—"

"okay! tmi on that last part," mark cut in, laughing.

tilly snickered. "okay, okay. how about your group chat? how are the boys?"

mark threw his head back, swallowing the shot in his hand before delicately placing it back on the table. "pretty good, i think. haechan got an axolotl thinking it was a fish."

"he what?"

"yep. he's basically co-owning it with renjun, since renjun actually knows how to take care of one."

tilly pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle her laughter. "oh god, that guy..." then she remembered what was going on the last time she heard haechan's name and immediately stopped laughing. "so, you two are friends again?"

mark waited a second too long before nodding. "yeah. we're friends again."

"mark?" tilly tilted her head to catch his eyes.

"... i'll never trust him again." his voice was painfully quiet.

tilly wasn't quite sure what to say. she was never a big fan of haechan, especially when he and her sister were a thing, but the two boys were always together. they'd been best friends for as long as she could remember, and it made her a little sad. she completely understood and believed mark was doing what was best, but she still frowned.

she shook her head and smiled. "topic change. how do you feel about malory and jeno?"

mark choked on his shot. "malory and who?!"

•
mark and tilly chapter for mark's birthday!! (this took WAY too long i'm sorry my loves)