Mark Me

<34>

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"Mark, I need your help." Jeno says, entering his friend's bedroom.

Mark sits up from his bed and raises an eyebrow. "What's up?"

"Uh..well.." Jeno fidgets in the doorway, making Mark sigh and gesture for him to sit.

"What's on your mind man?"

"Ok so, my mark is fading...a lot." Jeno says, pointing to the barely visible patch on his knuckles. Mark hums and nods. "Which means, well you know, I'm really loving him now. Thing is, the topic of 'I love you' is really tricky in our situation. Ever since Seongji, Jaemin has been super jumpy about the topic."

"Yeah?"

"And you know that we aren't actually dating yet..."

"Oh shit, I forgot about that part." Mark says quickly.

Jeno sighs and rubs the back of his neck stressfully. "Yeah, so here's my problem. I want to ask him out before both our marks fade, but I just, I don't know how to do it."

Mark laughs and smiles widely. "Well I'm glad you've come to me for help." He slings his arm over Jeno's shoulders roughly, making his friend let out an 'oof' sound. "I' be happy to help. And I think Hyuk would enjoy to lend a hand as well, since he is Jaemin's best friend."

Jeno hums in agreement. "That makes sense. I just, it's still really weird. I feel super guilty."

Mark's smile falters. "Why?"

Jeno slumps and sighs. "I know he loves me. His mark is barely visible, like I seriously never notice it anymore...and I know he's stopping himself from saying 'I love you' to me because he knows I'm not at the same pace as him. And I feel so bad for it, because whether we both know it or not, it's hurting him. I don't want him to hurt anymore, Mark." Jeno turns to his friend, lips trembling. "Why is it, no matter what I do, I always end up hurting him? Am I cursed?" Jeno's voice weakens.

Mark takes a long sigh before shaking his head. "You aren't cursed, things are just hard between you two. I mean, you had to go from hating each other to loving each other in such a short amount of time, of course there are going to be bumps. And yeah, Jaemin may be hurting, but you coming to me and asking me for help on asking him out, that's the best thing you can do. I don't mean that in a condescending way, I mean that you really care and love him and want to be there for him. You want to stop his pain, and I think that's wonderful. And considering your situation, preparing this for him is your best ticket." Mark smiles, hoping his little pep talk helped Jeno.

The younger boy looks at his lap in thought. "That....makes sense. But seriously, I have no idea what to do for him. He's never been one for big actions, so I just have to keep it small.."

Mark hums before taking out his phone. "Let's give Hyuk a call."

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"Hyung.." Jisung turns to the honey-haired boy beside him. "Who's that short guy waving at you?" He points to the school gates where a certain Thai dancer stood.

Jaemin raises an eyebrow and a smile breaks onto his face once he sees who it is. "Ten hyung!"He runs to his friend, embracing the older in a tight hug. "I've missed you!"

"Jaeminnie! I've missed you too, how have you been?" Ten asks, pulling away.

"I've been great actually! I started working again." Jaemin states proudly.

"Really?" Ten raises an eyebrow. "Glad to hear you're feeling better."

"I'm feeling great!"

Ten hums and glances over Jaemin's shoulder to the tall boy standing a few feet away. "Who's beanstalk over there?"

Jaemin turns around before laughing and waving the kid over. "Jisung, come here. This is my friend Ten, the one from dance."

Jisung, being the shy child that he is, merely bows and mutters a small 'hello' before telling Jaemin he was going to head home. The older nods and waves him off.

"He's tall." Ten waits a moment. "I don't like it."

"Don't be so salty hyung, he's only 16."

"Even worse!" The Thai man throws his hands in the air, clearly annoyed about his height.

Jaemin nods and waves his hand dismissively. "Right right, anyways. What brings you out here?" He asks, not that he didn't like his hyung greeting him but it certainly was a rare occasion.

At the question, Ten breaks into a blinding smile and starts squealing. "Johnny proposed!"

"Oh my god! Seriously!?" Jaemin jumps slightly and grasps his friends hand.

Ten nods furiously. "Yeah! See, look at the ring!" He points to the ring on his finger, a gold band with a sapphire in the middle shaped like a teardrop.

"Oh my god..." Jaemin gently holds Ten's hand up, examining the piece of jewelry. "It's so beautiful."

"Isn't it?" Ten says wistfully. "He's such a dreamboat."

"You two are so cute together...When's the wedding?"

"We hope to have it before the new school year starts up, so some time in late August." Ten shrugs, not fully settled on the details.

"I need to be like, the flower boy or something. Anything!" Jaemin demands, only half joking.

Ten lets out a lough laugh before nodding his head. "Ok ok, understood Minnie. I should go now, I skipped practice just to come and tell you."

Jaemin gasps. "Hyung! Get back to your studio! Go, now!" He pushes his friend to his car. The Thai man was only laughing and smiling widely at the ring on his finger.

The two friends send each other a final goodbye before Ten drives off, leaving Jaemin ready to walk home.

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Jaemin enters the house to find his family (Taeyong, Jaehyun, Taeil, Jisung) all in the kitchen. He smiles wide and stands proudly with his hands on his hips.

"Ten hyung is getting married!!"

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<Hi, sorry this was so short, I needed it to be a filler because, alas, this book is slowly coming to a close. I know! I know, I've enjoyed this journey with you guys as well, but I can't keep writing forever lol. Thank you all so much for getting me to 12k, it means the world to me and I love you all so much! Thank you again, and I'll see you soon my Lovelies>