play pretend | lty [IN PROGRESS]

xvi | happy birthday mark! [august, 2018]

xvi | happy birthday mark!
[ AUGUST, 2018 ]

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grckwn

[tagged: nct127 ]
127,076 likes.

grckwn happy birthday mark!

9,965 comments...

nct127 thank you gracie! - mark
↪nctea happy birthday mark!
user1 happy b-day mark!!
user2 happy birthday markiemark

━━━

we decided to all just crowd into my small apartment for the night instead of going to town. it meant that if taeyong and i were left sober again, and the other's got fucked up, we'd be in a slightly more private environment. i cooked dinner, and now we're all just hanging out.

"this is crazy," i laugh, shaking my head.

mark looks at me, "what do you mean?"

"you're so old now!" i say, reminiscing. "i don't know, it's just so weird. it feels like just yesterday you were nine years old, needing a babysitter. things have changed so much."

"now he's twenty, and i'm his babysitter." taeyong chuckles, looking at mark.

"haha, funny, hyung." mark says, narrowing his eyes.

"it's true though," doyoung says laughing.

"he's your babysitter too, doyoung." sora says and he just nods.

"so, what should we do now?" mark asks, looking between us all.

"we could play a game?" sid suggests, shrugging.

"like what?" i question, leaning back into the couch, resting my bottle of beer in my lap.

"truth or dare? um, would you rather? or--"

sora gets an evil look on her face, "seven minutes in heaven."

"no," taeyong and i both say in unison.

"that's a bad idea," taeyong elaborates, after giving me a short quizzical look.

"i think it could be an interesting idea..." sid says, looking at the floor.

"no. bad idea." i say, glaring at her.

"but—"

"no buts." taeyong says, his voice growing harsh. "someone could get their feelings hurt,"

"no one's going to get their feelings hurt," mark whispers, his eyes cast downward.

all lightheartedness, and fun has been replaced by tension. everyone is kind of awkwardly avoiding eye contact at this point.

"one of us would end up alone, i'm dating yuchan. remember?" i say quietly, hoping that would help ease some of the tension.

"everyone knows, grace." sora snaps, looking at me. "we all know he cheated on you."

"sora!" doyoung, taeyong and mark yell in unison, glaring at her.

she claps her hands over her mouth, her eyes widening in realization.

"grace i'm so sorr—"

"i think everyone should leave now, please." i say calmly, cutting her off.

i get up off the couch and go into the kitchen to start washing the dishes from dinner. i'd been upset about finding out months ago, but thinking back, i was more upset about the humiliation of the whole situation than of the real break up. yuchan and i had been really close at the beginning of our relationship, however we were always busy and it made us drift apart. i didn't want everyone to know, i didn't want that humiliation.

i head them pulling on their coats, and getting ready to leave as i scrub the pans furiously. no one says anything as the door closes behind all of them. feeling mad at myself for going and ruining mark's birthday like that, i let out a long sigh and stop scrubbing the dishes. i lean on the counter, hands on either side of the sink.

"wow, i definitely couldn't have handled that any better." i mumble to myself sarcastically, turning away from the sink.

i jump when i see taeyong standing at the other side of the small island wearing his jacket. he studies my face for a few moments, and then moves around the island. he brings his hands up to my face, wiping away tears i didn't realize were falling down my cheeks. he then wraps his arms around me and hugs me tightly. i wrap my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder.

"i'm an asshole," i mutter into his shoulder.

"no, as much as i love sora, she was the asshole in all that." he replies, rubbing my back as i hiccup.

"i shouldn't have kicked them all out like that,"

"it's okay, they're going back to sid's to make bad decisions. they'll be fine." taeyong chuckles.

there's a long silence, with us just hugging each other before he breaks it, pulling away.

"do you want me to leave?" he questions, looking down at me as i wipe my eyes with the sleeve of my sweater. "because i can, or we could hang out for a bit if you want."

"want to watch a movie?"

"sure," he replies sliding his jacket off his shoulders.