The Close Strangers

t h i r t y - f i v e

"Didn't I tell you I'm not going?" Yerim closes the car door, continuing the argument she has with Mark through the messages before.

She puts down her stuff on the backseat but leaving her makeup pouch with her.

"You keep on complaining, but you end up sitting here, anyway," Mark responds while watching her fastens her seatbelt.

Yerim turns her head, giving him the annoyed look, "So, you expect me to just tell you to leave even after you came here? Don't you see how I'm trying to respect your effort inㅡ"

She just pauses talking when Mark pinches her nose, "You might explode in no time if you keep on getting mad."

He pulls in the car to the road, going to where Mingyu's house is. Today, Mingyu will be held his birthday party in there and somehow ㅡ Yerim is invited too.

She has refused a couple of times since she doesn't think it'll be nice to come when she's worried about being left out, actually. There will be Mingyu's friends and family only ㅡ and Yerim doesn't count as any of them.

"I swear if you end up leaving meㅡ"

"I will not, oh my God," Mark cuts her off, "I might get kicked out of his house if I don't bring you with me."

Yerim stops herself from applying her foundation, "Oh, should I really believe that?"

"I told you that he really wants you to be there," Mark explains, "No, actuallyㅡ my whole family wants you to be there."

Yerim sighs as she continues, "I'm just afraid I'll be left out, you know? There will be your family and Mingyu-oppa's friends only."

"Meanwhile, me? I'm onlyㅡ"

"You know you've become a part of our family even before you started to live in my house back then," Mark interrupts her once more, "You're worrying about nothing, Yerm. I swear."

She takes a couple of seconds to think, still worrying about the same thing even after Mark said that. It's been so long since the last time Yerim met Mark's cousins.

The time when she was still living in Mark's house ㅡ it's actually the last time. It means this will be the first time Yerim shows up as Mark's girlfriend and that's probably the reason why she kind of feels nervous right now.

"Anyway, you brought the gift I gave you a couple of days ago, right?" Yerim says as she applies an eyeshadow on her eyelids.

Mark gasps, causing Yerim to turn her head spontaneously.

"You didn't bring it?" Yerim raises her voice a bit. She might explode for real this time. She bought the birthday gift for Mingyu but gave it to Mark since she was planning not to go.

Mark chuckles when he can see how panic Yerim is even though he just glance for a second. At that point, Yerim knows Mark is joking around.

Yerim looks at the backseat, spotting a box with the same wrapping paper of the birthday gift she has prepared. She smacks Mark's arm right away, feeling pissed by how he's playing around.

"Don't joke around! I'm not in the mood for that, Mark."

Mark winces while laughing as Yerim just keeps on smacking him, "I'm sorry, Yerm. You just look really mad at me."

Yerim rolls her eyes once she stops on smacking him, "Because I do!"

"You're on your period, aren't you?" Mark asks.

She groans as checks out her eyes, worrying if she messes up her own makeup just to deal with the guy beside her.

"I am, but that's not the point," She replies, "I'm really mad at you ㅡ purely, wholeheartedly, seriously."