Ephemera

four

Chapter 4

"Trying... so... hard... not to knock... any piece..."

Mark entered the dining room only to see his friends playing Jenga on the dining table. He raised a brow, confused to see some of his friends early in the morning.

"Why are you guys here?"

One of them looked at Mark and accidentally knocked over the tiles. The Jenga pieces fell on the table and they all groaned.

"Hyung!"

Mark rolled his eyes, "Good morning to you too, Chenle." He sighed but smiled afterwards.

He walked towards the refrigerator and got a carton of milk. He placed it on the table and got some glasses for him and for his friends.

They all looked at Mark, confused about his sudden concerned actions.

"Mark-hyung, did you wake up on the right side of the bed?" Chenle asked.

Mark looked at him and raised a brow, "Yeah? Why?"

"Hyung why do you seem so happy?" The guy beside Chenle asked.

Mark laughed, and his laugh was a strange tune to every one of them.

"Jisung-ah, I'm always happy. What are you talking about?"

The rest on the table looked at each other, still wondering what's with Mark's sudden change of moods.

"Anyways, where's Taeyong-hyung?" He asked.

"He called Jaehyun-hyung and his sister."

"Oh.." Mark nodded. "I'll just go to the washroom for a while."

When their hyung left, they immediately looked at each other.

"What's with Mark-hyung?" They asked in unison.

"He's not like... Mark-hyung?" Jisung said.

"Don't get me wrong. It's not like I want to see the emo and gloomy Mark-hyung again... but isn't too sudden? His change of mood is unpredictable."

Chenle nodded, "I agree with Jaemin-hyung. It feels weird because a few months ago, we've been suffering because of gloomy and sad Mark... and now... he's back to his old self?" He said, questioning himself.

"I hope he stays like this though. It's better for him. Let's admit it, we missed seeing his smiling face."

Jisung nodded, "I can't believe I'm sayig this but... Haechan-hyung is right."

Mark immediately locked the door and looked at the mirror. He slapped himself once.

"Yah, Mark why are you acting stupid?!" He scolds himself from acting weird in front of his younger friends.

His heart was beating fast and he's starting to wonder why. "You too!" He points at his chest. "Can you calm down?! Even for a minute?!" As if his heart understands him, it did calm down.

He sighed and fixed his hair, deciding to leave the washroom.

He could hear people's voices while walking. They were talking and laughing.