PULCHRITUDE | markoeun

five

Monday morning brings a dark gray cloud to hover over Mark's head. His head hurts, and his limbs feel numb. Monday morning brings an environment of shame and despair to settle around his atmosphere; something he has become accustomed to over the course of his life.

Mark gets up, swiftly running a hand through his soft, rather messy hair before heading over to the bathroom to get dressed.

The first thing that Mark sees when he gets downstairs is Koeun. She sits at the large counter in the middle of the kitchen; a common observation Mark has noticed daily. She notices his presence, but says nothing as she eats and reads from her seemingly interesting book.

Over the weekend, after the harsh words she'd spoken to Mark, the two hadn't talked once. At first, Mark had been tempted to say at least something to the girl in order to capture her interest, but she'd made it clear that she wanted nothing to do with him. Giving up and switching to his cold side, Mark spent the weekend hunched over his homework and spending time with Amber, who had somehow developed a close relationship with Koeun over the short two days they'd known each other.

It was Monday, and Mark and Koeun still hadn't spoken each other. The cold shoulder was given and registered by both teenagers as tension slowly filled the household.

Without a word, Mark grabs a protein bar from the dish laying on the piano at the bottom of his stairs, and heads outside into the drizzling rain, pulling the door shut behind him.

✢

"How were things with your family friend?"

"Huh?" Mark's expression twists into confusion as he turns his head towards Jeno, who looks at him expectantly from across the table in the library.

Jeno sighs. "I said, how were things with your family friend? You did say you were busy on Friday, didn't you?"

"Oh, right." Mark says, suddenly remembering the lie he had reluctantly told his group of friends. "It was nice. We mostly talked, not much else."

"Was he happy to see you?" Jeno asks.

Jeno's question catches Mark off guard, and he bites the edge of his tongue in hesitation. Of course Jeno assumes Mark's "family friend" is a boy, seeing as Mark isn't exactly the type of person to spend one-on-one time with a girl. Nonetheless, Mark finds it inconvenient to tell his best friend that he'd been spending with a female teenager he'd found in a dark alleyway, let alone living with her.

"Yeah." Mark finally responds, letting out a breath along with it. "Yeah, he was."

"So you're free to go over to Jaemin's house today, right?" Jeno questioned him persistently, seemingly not giving up.

Mark sighed. "What is up with you guys and going to people's houses? Is this an every day thing?"

"Sure." Jeno shrugged. "It's a nice way to spend time with friends, and we actually get a lot of studying done. You in?"

It was Mark's choice: spend time with his friends or go back to his house where Koeun currently resided. Seeing as Koeun wasn't even talking to him at the moment, Mark finds the first option more favorable, and he nodd his head in agreement to Jeno's question.

"Sure." Mark responds, hesitation barely noticeable in his voice. "I'm in."

✢

Mark finds the stay at Jaemin's house rather enjoyable, seeing as he is surrounded by all of his loved ones; minus his family, of course. Around him, Jaemin, Hina, Yiyang, and her boyfriend Sicheng are all chattering amongst themselves whilst typing up reports and such. Jeno is at his side, leaning his head against Mark's shoulder as he studies his notes for Literature.

Hours later, after a surprisingly successful study session, Mark manages to escape the pouring rain and returns home, almost forgetting that he'd left an emotional, unpredictable teenage girl by herself.

As soon as Mark through the front door, he sees a flurry of messy hair and gray clothing, and is immediately embraced by a warm being. He freezes in uncertainty as Koeun's arms tighten around him, her face buried into the crook of his neck as her hair tickles the side of his jaw.

"Where were you?" Koeun whispers. Her voice is shaky, and it dawns on Mark that she has been crying, perhaps out of fear. He feels a pang in his chest as he realizes that she'd been lonely without his presence, despite previously acting cold towards him.

"I'm sorry." Mark responds tentatively. "I was just at a friend's house, that's all."

"I was scared." Koeun sobs. "I thought you were leaving me for good."

Mark feels several emotions take over his mind - pity, guilt, sadness - as he slowly wraps his arms around Koeun's waist.

"I would never leave you." Mark whispers firmly.

He means what he says, and he can tell that Koeun senses the security lacing his voice as she holds on to him impossibly tighter, not caring that Mark's shirt was soaking wet from the rain.

In that moment, Mark realizes how fragile Koeun truly is. She might have a strong exterior, but deep down she has been hurt several times.

Right now, all Mark wants to do is hold her close for the rest of eternity.

✢

a/n: I haven't updated in like three months I'm so mad at myself, and I sincerely apologize!! I feel like a lot of you probably forgot about this book, and that's completely my fault. I'll try to update this more during thanksgiving break :).

in this chapter, you got to see koeun open herself up a bit more; not with her words, but by her actions. I was basically trying to hint at the fact that koeun has abandonment issues, which you'll learn more about later.

for now, thank you to all of you who have been reading this story! I'm so thankful for all of your support :) voting is also appreciated so much. love you guys, and I'll hopefully be back with another update soon!