PULCHRITUDE | markoeun

final

Seven Months Later

Mark opens up the door for Jeno, who immediately heads inside, carrying his college acceptance letters with him.

"I'm so nervous!" Jeno exclaims. "What if none of the colleges accepted me-"

"Stop overthinking things, Jeno." Mark said, rolling his eyes. "Jaemin, Hina, and Yiyang all got into their dream colleges; there's no way you didn't either."

"Well that's different." Jeno stated. "Yiyang's college is in China— where she was born, and Jaemin and Hina are both leaving high school a year early to study dancing abroad. I don't want to be a dancer, Mark; I DON'T WANT TO BE A DA-"

"Stop talking nonsense and open your letters, will you?" Mark says in annoyance.

Jeno sighs as he opens the first letter. "Fine, Mark, but if I don't get accepted into Gangnam Univers- OH MY GOSH I GOT IN!"

Mark covers his ears as Jeno drops the paper and starts shrieking and jumping around like a five-year-old, and he has to refrain himself from grabbing the chair next to him and whacking Jeno in the head with it.

"Good for you, I knew you could do it." Mark says monotonously, patiently waiting for Jeno to calm down before he loses his mind— he knew all along that his best friend would make it into Gangnam University, but apparently Jeno had thought otherwise. "I'll go now."

"Okay, okay." Jeno says, out of breath as he did back down. "Once you get your results, I have to go tell the others."

"Where are they, by the way?" Mark asks as he works on his first letter.

"Well Jaemin and Hina are celebrating, and Yiyang was on a date with Sicheng last time I heard-"

"They're still a thing?" Mark said, smiling to himself upon hearing of Sicheng and Yiyang. "I made that happen, you know?"

"How did you-" Jeno shakes his head, gesturing to Mark quickly. "You know what, just open your letter."

Mark obeys, opening the letter and staring at the words printed across it.

"Hokkaido University." Mark murmurs. "They accepted me."

"Hokka what now?" Jeno questions him. "Where even is that?"

Mark smiles as he looks up at Jeno, his eyes gleaming for the first time in forever.

"Japan."

✢

The minute Mark reaches his apartment in Japan, he flips through the address book on his desk, searching for the surname "Ko". After all this time, he has never forgotten about her.

He pauses as he sees the name "Ko Eunji". Beneath it is a listed address— only a five minute walk away from Mark's apartment, according to his calculations.

It has to be her.

Five minutes is easily reduced to a minute and a half as Mark sprints from his apartment, not paying any attention to his messy hair or baggy clothing. As soon as he reaches the place— a small, cozy-looking house painted coffee-brown— he knocks on the door, waiting for a response.

A familiar voice sounds from inside, calling the words "Be right there!" as bustling can be heard. Mark is already smiling when Koeun opens the door, stopping in her tracks and staring at him incredulously.

"Hello." Mark says, smiling widely as he extends his hand out to her. "I'm Mark, and I think you're beautiful."

Koeun— eyes still widened— lets out a short laugh at his attempt to recreate the first time they'd met, ignoring his extended hand and opting to embrace him instead.

"Shut up, kid." Koeun mumbles against his shoulder.

"Thought I told you not to call me that." Mark says affectionately, running his hand comfortingly along her back. "I missed you, silly."

"I missed you too, Mark." Koeun whispers, holding onto him tightly.

Now Mark truly knows what would have happened if he'd never walked up to her in the alleyway and struck up a conversation with her— he wouldn't know what love felt like. In fact, he would be nothing.

Because without a Koeun, there is no Mark.

Soulmates; that's what they are— because no matter what obstacles they face, they will always find each other in the end.

✢

a/n: yeah I know the ending is kinda sloppy and doesn't really make sense, but HEY, you finished the story! this entire thing was rushed tbh and I'm so sorry for overdoing the fluff and angst and whatnot; I'm honestly not good at that stuff. on the bright side, this is my first time actually finishing a fic!

thank you all so much for reading this, it means so much to me <3. I wouldn't be where I am now without you guys reading this story, and I'm so insanely thankful for you. I love you all ❤️.