p̶ ̶r̶ ̶i̶ ̶n̶ ̶c̶ ̶e̶ ➸ mark lee

xxi

" i'd like to order americano, ice latte, cappuccino, espresso, chamomile "

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

having earphones plugged into his ears, mark whistled lightly to the songs in his new mp3 player while he exited the huge apartment, on his way to the café where he worked. the streetlights brighten up the streets, a number of people walked by here and there. it was a simple feeling that was to mark's liking. the atmosphere of modern streets at night.

he arrived not more than five minutes later and pushed the café door open, the bell on top of it jingling as a signal. he walked straight towards the employee's room, meeting up with a hansom™️ brown-haired waiter, only a few years older than him but hella hot, not a joke.

"jaehyun-hyung!" he smiled almost immediately, earning a friendly pat on the shoulder in return.

"hey, kiddo! suit up, it's almost nine!"

mark had already considered him as a friend, since he was nice and all. besides, jaehyun helped a lot during his first day as a waiter, telling him what to do and what not. because of the young man, mark adapted quite fast with his work at the café, having fun throughly with his job.

the first hour of his shift came by as ordinary as it could, mark moved here and there occasionally, taking orders, serving food and drinks, the usual. he wasn't aware of a familiar figure entering the café a while later, taking his seat at the far corner beside the window. his face was hidden by a black cap he wore. only a minute or two passed had the prince finally took notice of the boy, taking steps toward him and asking for his order, of course in a kind tone.

"sir, your order, plea- eh— jeno-yah!"

mark blinked in surprise, while the brown-haired teen raised his head up with the same expression when he heard his name being called. instantly, his face had brighten up by a simple eye-smile.

"wow, didn't know you work here. hey, future rapper!"

"hey," mark got a bit flustered, embarrassed over the nickname, though he shrugged it off. "what brings you here though?"

"just.. going out for a bit to get my mind off things. vanilla latte?"

mark remembered the conversation he had with jaemin, about jeno's act of hiding something his friends had no idea of. but the prince didn't want to jump on him with sudden direct questions, that would make the other uncomfortable and pressured, obviously.

"coming right up. nothing to eat?"

"don't think so, but thanks," mark nodded and was about to head away until jeno stopped him suddenly.

"uh, hey, when does your shift end?"

"around half an hour. why?"

"i need to talk to you about something. it's nothing serious, it won't even take a while, if that's okay with you?"

mark blinked. he deemed it had something to do with what their friends were curious over all this time. but he wondered why jeno would break it to him rather than jaemin, or renjun, or hyuck or even haneul.

"it's fine, i'll come back here right after my shift ends,"

they exchanged waves before mark went back to work, thousands of questions popping in his head.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

🌱 thanks for reading 🌱