"So, Mark, do you really not recognize me or are you just ignoring your childhood best friend?"
When her best friend moved to Korea to become an idol, their contact died down and they soon started living lives completely separate from one another...
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"Good morning," the security guard in the lobby said. He recognized the girl now, as she'd been here a few times.
"Good morning," Gyuri replied with a bow. She entered the elevator and slid her tote bag back onto her shoulder, as it kept falling off. A good reminder of why she usually preferred a different bag.
Gyurit went up to the 10th floor and waited for someone to open the door to the boys' apartment after ringing the doorbell. After a few seconds, the door swung open with Mark standing behind it, who smiled in greeting of his friend.
"Hey Kenz, come in,"
Gyuri stepped inside and took off her bag, holding it in her hand instead. She had decided to take some snacks with her so she and Mark could have a chill morning together before he went off on tour. Gyuri wasn't sure how to feel about it all. She didn't want to attach herself too much to Mark, but she knew she was going to miss his presence while he was gone. At the same time, she was happy he had the opportunity to travel around the globe while doing what he loved most.
Gyuri made some small talk with Jaehyun and Nia, who both emerged out of his room in search of something to drink. Nia clung to Jaehyun's waist as his hand wrapped around her shoulder. They talked a little bit about the upcoming tour and how Jaehyun was feeling about it. Nia also expressed her sadness about not being able to see her boyfriend for the upcoming week and a half.
"Haven't you gone without him for longer periods of time before?" Gyuri asked and Nia sighed.
"Yes, but every day without him is torture," she said, hugging Jaehyun tightly, who just chuckled and rubbed her arm.
NCT 127 was only leaving Korea for 2 concerts in Los Angeles and Newark before they'd return to Seoul. After that would follow more concerts internationally, but they were not going to be gone for long this time. Not to say Gyuri didn't understand Nia's sadness about Jaehyun leaving. Due to his job and schedule, their time together was already limited so his being out of the country only made it worse. However, there was no doubt that these two wouldn't get through it, since they fit together like pieces in a puzzle.
The couple excused themselves to return to Jaehyun's room after getting what they wanted and Gyuri followed Mark to his room instead. Mark plopped himself down on his back and Gyuri did the same, except she let herself fall on her stomach. She turned her head to look at Mark, who turned his head to the side to meet her eyes.
"I can't believe we won't be able to hang out for, like, two weeks," Gyuri pouted and Mark nodded with a sorry expression.
"I know. It sucks. But hey, two weeks is doable. Some artists tour for months on end."
"True," Gyuri agreed. Most Korean artists took short breaks in between their tour legs to either rest or do some promotion in Korea before continuing their tour, but a lot of western artists did a full tour without breaks. She was glad this wasn't the case for Mark, both because she wanted to hang out with him and also because she didn't want him to be overworked (even though he already was, most of the time).
