Tidal Wave ✔️

24

Mark texted one of his parents again that night, informing that he wouldn't be back home. He texted his father, because the man was easier to talk to.

They stayed in House of Beer until it was past midnight before saying goodbye to the hyungs. Once Mark and Haechan were already inside the Mustang, they stayed silent for awhile.

"It's too late to go to your dorm. Where do you want to go now?" Mark asked Haechan. Only half of his face was visible to Mark's eyes.

"I don't know. I'll go anywhere, I won't complain. As long as you don't ditch me in the sidewalk and let me rot there." Haechan turned to Mark with a grin.

"You're in a good mood, aren't you?" Mark turned the engine on, and in no time, they were out of Hongdae.

Mark decided to drove alongside the river. Haechan rolled down the window and let the cold air of 1 AM hit his face. The city looked very bright, even when it was so early in the morning. Honestly, Haechan didn't mind where they would go as long as Mark was there. But of course he wouldn't say it out loud.

"So... Who are we going to meet today?" Mark asked when they crossed the bridge.

"An old friend. He was in the orphanage too, but he is older than us." Haechan answered, still paying attention to the scenery outside. The water on the river reflected Seoul's shimmering buildings.

"Where does he live?"

"Jongno-gu."

"Let's find a place to stay the night in that area." Mark changed lane and started to speed up a little bit. "I'm actually kind of sleepy and tired."

"We can just stay in the car." Haechan suggested.

"It's too cramped in here. Don't worry, I'll pay for our accommodation."

Haechan didn't comment anything, because he knew when Mark wanted to do something, he would do it his way. For half an hour they sat in silence, Mark didn't bother to turn on the tape. There was something about the silence of the night that felt magical, and Mark didn't want to lose it.

They reached Jongno-gu in thirty minutes. Haechan clicked his tongue when Mark entered one of the most popular hotel around. Haechan thought they would stay in a small inn, but that's not how Mark rolled.

"Care to explain why you chose a four star hotel like this?" Haechan asked as they walked into the receptionist. Mark left his car on the lobby, he let the valet service man parked it on the basement.

Mark just shrugged. They reached the receptionist, a middle-aged lady greeted them politely. At first, Mark asked for a double room.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but we are fully booked." The lady informed. "Perhaps a superior king type?"

"Wait, pause." Haechan interrupted before Mark could answer. Both Mark and the lady turned to Haechan. "That's one king sized bed, right?"

"Yes, sir, it is."

Haechan turned to Mark with a glare, but the older guy just pinched his cheek and smiled. "We'll take one. Does this include breakfast?"

"If you want to add two breakfast coupon, it will cost 436.000 Won."

"Alright." Mark handed her his card. Haechan just watched helplessly as Mark signed some papers.

They got a room on the seventh floor, with a view of the main road. Haechan really thought that the room was too big for both of them. The interior was luxurious and Haechan swore he had never saw such a bathroom.

"Mark—"

"Haechannie, do you want some snack?"

Haechan just got back from washing his face in the bathroom when he saw Mark sitting crisscrossed on the floor, in front of the mini fridge that contained some snacks and drinks.

"What? No. They costs a lot." Haechan knew better not to touch anything from the fridge.

"I'll pay." Mark opened a pack of Snickers and a bottle of lemon water. He closed the fridge and plopped down on the bed. "Come here."

Haechan just sighed and sat on the edge of the king sized bed.

"I'm not going to do anything, if that's what you're afraid of." Mark chuckled. He scooted over and laid down on Haechan's laps. The younger guy tensed up, but soon relaxed when Mark's eyes were glued on the television. It was showing a program about the mystery of the ancient civilization. The program also made a connection between their gods and the aliens.

"Do you think aliens exist, Haechannie?" Mark asked.

"Of course. The universe is a very wide space with edges and corners that we haven't discovered yet. Inside the universe are a lot of galaxies, stars. There's no way we're alone."

"What about God? Do you think God exist?"

"Why are you asking these, Mark?"

Mark fiddled with the hem of Haechan's shirt, not even paying attention to the television. "If God exists, why did He... well, why did whoever God is let me live like this? Mark Lee, a lame half Canadian kid in your English class who likes to read science fiction and is kind of weird, but never really remembered what happened when he was young."

Haechan stared at one random point. None of them said anything for awhile. They let what Mark had said seeped into themselves, until Haechan spoke up.

"I believe there is... something. A higher power above human beings. But because either we won't or we don't understand yet, we created religions to cope with it. Human beings only use ten percent of their brains, right? God exists. Whoever that is, whatever that is, wherever that is, it's there. As for your life...

"I won't say that you're one of the most unlucky person out here, but I also won't say you're one of the luckiest. Sure, we all have flaws in our system, in our life. We also have potentials too, though. It's up to a person on how they face this fact. Everything in the world, I believe, is balanced. There's dark and there's light. There's positive and there's negative. One cannot exists without the existence of the other. We wouldn't live without neither suffering and receiving luck, because it's how it works. The universe and everything inside it. What's your choice, Mark? Are you going to sulk around or are you going to try?"

Mark sat up and stared at Haechan. "Johnny was right."

"Eh?"

"You pulled me back right on track." Mark tackled the guy and laughed as Haechan cursed on him. They rolled around the bed for awhile, trying to poke each other's side until they got tired from the lack of oxygen, because they just laughed.

Haechan and Mark laid scattered on the bed, both chuckled at their childish behavior a while ago. The time showed that it was already half past two in the morning, but none of them felt tired. Even after they had been with the hyungs in House of Beer for nearly six hours, and drove around for half an hour.

"Mark?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to leave after today?" Haechan turned his head, facing Mark. The older did the same.

"No." Mark ruffled Haechan's hair. "You and the boys have been a good friend, even though we've only knew each other for a week."

"We've known you for eleven years, but you've known us for a week." Haechan corrected.

"And I apologize for that. I'm not leaving you all ever again."

Haechan just looked at him with a stare Mark couldn't comprehend, before he looked away. Haechan positioned himself on the bed, his head on the pillow.

"I want to sleep for awhile. Wake me up if you want to grab breakfast, okay?" Haechan said. He didn't put the duvet on, he just laid on top of it.

"Alright. Sleep well, Haechannie. I'm here if you need me." Mark didn't plan to close his eyes that morning. He was just going to eat snacks and watch the television, in case Haechan had another nightmare.