underrated | Mark Tuan ff

10 ~ Unchangeable

The next day, JB picked me up from my house to bring me to school. When we arrive, I see Mark at the front of the school talking to BamBam. I smile when I see them as I exit the car and cross the street. Mark is in mid-sentence when he pauses to wave at me.

"Hi!" I smile.

"Hey." Mark smirks. "Are you okay?" My eyes widen. Does he know? Oh, right, my 'stomach.' I give him a small smile and a nod.

"Mae," I hear behind me and turn to see JB. "We have a test today, we should go to class early." I look at Mark and BamBam and sigh.

"JaeBum-ah!" BamBam calls JB. I giggle when I realize he is not being formal with JB. I look over at JB to see him clench his fists and bite his tongue. I cover my mouth as I try not to laugh. "JellyBum-ah come with me! I have to show you something."

"Why are you so arrogant?" JB questions with an annoyed head tilt. BamBam punches JB playfully and runs away making JB chase him into the school. Mark and I watch as they disappear into the crowd.

After laughing at BamBam and JB, I look up at Mark awkwardly and sway from side to side in nervousness. He stares at me which makes me feel uneasy. Should I tell him about Jinyoung and Marie? I barf inside just hearing their names together.

"Wh..." I stutter. No. Don't hurt him. "What did I miss when I left?" I ask.

"Nothing. We just ate and then went home." Mark says in a bothersome tone. I look at his face, investigating his irritated look.

"What's... Did something happen to annoy you?" I question.

"N...no." Mark says as his face falls to the ground while he kicks the concrete. I place my hand on his shoulder.

"Tell me." I urge him to. What if he is already hurt?

"Just..." Mark breathes out. "I don't think I like Marie that much anymore." I'm not surprised.

"Why?" I ask anyway, knowing the answer.

"On our way home, Jinyoung was very worried about Marie. He kept asking her questions and trying to make her laugh and flirting." Mark confesses. I sigh as I listen to him speak more.

"I..." I try to speak but a small squeak leaves my mouth. "I have to go." I run towards the doors of the school and try to flee the situation. I sigh when I make it to my locker and lean against it as I fall to the floor. Let go of him, Mae. He's not yours anymore.

"Mae?" I hear a familiar voice and look up. I didn't notice I was crying. The perfect person to see right now. "Why are you on the floor?" Marie kneels down next to me and hugs me. I wipe my tears away and sigh.

"You and Jinyoung?" I question without hesitating. I see her eyes widen in shock.

"Mae, we're..." Marie tries to speak.

"Dating? Hooking up? Cheating on Mark?" I attack her with accusations. My anger took over me.

"We..." Marie sighs and holds my hand. "I like him a lot. Okay? Mae?" She tries to search for my eyes but I look away.

"How long?" I ask as I grit my teeth.

"Wh... a few... a few months." She says quietly. My brain expands and my heart collapses as I listen to her answer. She liked him while Jinyoung and I were dating?

"Why?" I ask more, trying to contain my anger.

"The... I realized I wanted the love Jinyoung gave you." Marie says shyly with guilt in her throat. "I noticed how happy you were and how he made you feel. I... I wanted to experience that." I swallow my rage and let out a sigh as I try to look back at her. So she had to take Jinyoung away from me? She was the reason why we broke up.

"I don't think we should be friends anymore." I say as I look into her eyes. I notice her eyes are watering too. Marie has been crying a lot lately. It's not like her.

"What?" Marie sounds shocked.

"Best friends don't steal boyfriends from each other. Best friends don't push each other around like trash. I'm not supposed to hate everything you do." I let out everything in my mind. "I can't take it anymore."

"Mae, I'm..." Marie tries to speak.

"I have to go." I say and get up from the ground. I wipe the tears off my face as I hear the bell ring and watch everyone rushing to their class. "Bye, Marie." I walk away to my first period. Why didn't it hurt? It felt like I broke up with someone important to me. But I don't feel sad. I'm relieved.

Mark's POV

At lunch, the group gathers at the same table we sit at, in the corner of the cafeteria. Yugyeom and I get there before everyone since we have P.E. together. I watch as the cafeteria begins to fill in with more hungry people. I see Mae walking in wearing a black hoodie. A familiar hoodie that she wasn't wearing this morning. I begin to study her as she walks over to the table. She looks sad.

"What's wrong with Mae?" I ask Yugyeom. He looks over at Mae's direction with a frown.

"Noona? Has she been crying?" Yugyeom questions right when BamBam arrives at the table.

"Hm? Crying?" BamBam turns to see Mae standing in front of him.

BamBam jumps in fright and pretends to dance which makes Mae giggle a little. Although she is laughing, I could still tell she's hurting. BamBam pulls a chair out for Mae for her to sit. She smiles a little as she sits but then buries her face into the sleeves of her sweatshirt.

"Mae?" I ask. "Are you okay?" Who made her sad?

"Mhm." Her answer is muffled as she nods while still having her face covered. She lifts her head and sees something through the windows of the cafeteria which makes her sit up in alert. She quickly stands up and sighs.

"Where are you going?" Yugyeom asks.

"I... I need to go. Sorry." She stutters as she exits the cafeteria immediately. I look out the window and see Marie and Liz walking down the hallway. I sigh as I watch Mae leaving the cafeteria. Without thinking, I leave the table and run after her.

"Mae!" I call her as she turns the corner. I grab her arm and pull her to turn around. After facing me, I can see her puffy cheeks and tears falling from her face. I remove my hand from her arm slowly, in shock. "What happened?" I breathe out. She sighs and puckers her lips as she tries not to cry more.

"I didn't know fixing my life would hurt me." Mae says and turns around again.

"What does that mean?" I ask as I stand in front of her to look at her again. She looks down at the ground.

"I'm not... I'm not good enough." Mae blurts out. I can hear her quiet sobs as she pauses. How could she say something like that about herself?

"That's not true." I calmly say.

"If someone loses feelings for me because they started liking my best friend, that shows I'm not good enough." Mae confesses. "Especially if it was the guy I've dated for a long time." Her voice gets quieter.

"You're too gorgeous to frown." I say as I wrap my arms around her. "Don't cry." I can feel her freeze up as I embrace her and rest my chin on her head. I comb her hair as I comfort her. After a while, she wraps her arms around me and starts sobbing into my chest. It's okay, you're in my arms.

Mae's POV

"You're too gorgeous to frown." Mark says softly as he pulls me into a hug. You're too gorgeous to frown. I think as he hugs me tighter as I remember where I have heard those words before. No way.