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Mari lifted her eyebrows when she opened the door to her old bedroom, surprised to see it in the state it was when she left. Back in 2015 the Ahn family only took a bit of their stuff to Korea and left the bigger furniture in Vancouver. But what Mari didn't expect was that her bedroom still looked the way it did when she moved away.
"Is something the matter?" Her mother asked when she realized that her daughter seemed frozen in front of her room. "No... I was just surprised nothing has changed." Mari answered and walked into the room, pulling her suitcase behind her.
There she was, in her old bedroom. The walls were still painted light blue and her Queen-sized bed was resting next to the wall. Her desk was tidy and it seemed her mother had cleaned it. Mari started chuckling once she looked at the poster over her bed. "You never took it down?" She asked her mother, who had entered the room.
"I wanted to take it down since it hung there for so many years, but your father said to leave it there. He remembered your crush on him."
Facing her was a big poster of Japanese Idol Shinjiro Atae. "I can't believe it." Mari chuckled. "I haven't listened to his music for SO long!" She confessed and her mother laughed. "You were busy recording your own music."She said and pointed at the cupboard over her desk.
A few K-Pop albums were stacked neatly in it — most of them were bought before Mari had gone to Korea in 2015 but something caught her eye. Displayed on the cupboard were both of her mini albums. "Did you buy them?" Mrs. Ahn shook her head. "Your father pre-ordered them online. He even bought a signed Version from Mwave." - "You could've asked me! I would've sent them to you for free!" Mari pouted but her mother shook her head. "Follow me, I want to show you something."
Mrs. Ahn led Mari through the house and towards Mr. Ahn's office. She opened the door and Mari opened her mouth. Opposite the door and over her father's desk was a big poster of her first mini-album. Mari stepped into the room and opened her mouth in surprise.
On the wall behind the desk was a big pinboard, covered in articles and pictures of her. Even a slogan from one of Mari's fansites was hanging on the board. "Your father is your biggest fan, Mari." Mrs. Ahn spoke and Mari gulped. Her heart felt heavy and she suddenly missed her father a lot.
"He collects everything — official and non-official. He went out of his way to visit K-Pop stores to see the merchandise they offered of you. He even bought your first official fandom kit." Mrs. Ahn smiled and Mari gulped. "He didn't have to do that..." - "But I wanted to."
A male voice spoke and Mari turned around to see a mid-forties man stand in the doorway of his office. He looked like your typical Asian office worker — the only thing that seemed off was the official name-strap keychain on his backpack.
"Dad!" Mari yelled and ran past her mother to hug her father. "I'm sorry I couldn't pick you up, Munchkin. I had a lot to do in the office today." He planted a soft kiss on her head and gently stroked her back. "I'm happy you're back!" He smiled and Mari could see tears in her Dad's eyes.
She looked from her Mum to her Dad and suddenly realized how much she had missed her parents. "The next time I have a comeback and will have a concert, I'll make sure to invite you two! As an official fan club member, Dad gets to buy tickets first." Mari winked and engulfed her parents in a group hug.
― 💌 ―
After hugging, chatting and spending some nice time with her parents, the Ahn's decided to prepare the Welcome-Back party for their friends. Mari decided to rest a little bit and was sitting cross-legged on her bed, typing a message to Mark.
"He's probably asleep, but I should try nevertheless." She mumbled while adding a few Emojis on the text message when her phone rang. A picture of her boyfriend blinked on the display and her heart did a little jump. She quickly accepted the call and without giving Mark a chance to greet her, she started rambling.
"I was just writing you a text!" She laughed and could hear Mark chuckle in the background. "I guess you would text me sooner or later. Are you already at home?" He asked and hearing his voice made a warm shiver run down her spine. "Mhm. I arrived two hours ago. The neighborhood still looks the same and even my bedroom!" Mari laughed. "It didn't change a bit. Funny how my bed here is bigger than the one in my dorm." She rambled and laid back in her bed. Mark laughed.
"How are your parents?" He asked and Mari started talking about how her Mum was still as lovely as ever and how dedicated of a fan her Dad was. "Wow, sounds really nice. Ah, I wish I could visit my family as well... I miss my parents and my brother." He sounded sad all of a sudden.
"It must be even harder for you to be so far away from them." She mumbled. "SM doesn't really give you a lot of free time..." - "We are preparing a world tour after all" Mark spoke when Mari remembered something. "My parents are having a Welcome-Back party for me tonight. And I guess my Mum invited yours. I think they're still good friends!"
"My parents?!" Mark asked and Mari nodded — even though Mark couldn't even see this. "I get them to send you a voice message or something." She said and Mark sighed. "Now I want to be in Vancouver even more." He sounded sad and Mari sighed.
"Guess who my Mum invited," she started, her head buzzing. "Hm? Someone, I know?" - "Yes. I give you a hint. One starts with an A." It was quiet for a while. "No way..." Mark let out and Mari sighed. "Austin Hunter?" Mark asked and Mari sighed. "Exactly." - "Holy shit... why did she do that?" Mark asked and Mari shook her shoulders. "Mum said she invited 'old friends' and one of them is Austin."
Mark's sigh was loud. "Be careful, okay?" He simply said and Mari breathed out. "He wouldn't try anything. My family is around as well." - "But he is fetishizing Asians. Remember when we were still in school? He had the BIGGEST crush on APink's Naeun? He is a scary, almost Sasaeng-like Koreaboo. Be careful."
"Don't worry about me, Mark. I'll be fine." - "Call me after the party. I'll stay awake. I'm cooped in the Studio anyways." - "Will do." She promised and heard her mother call her name. "I gotta hang up. Mum needs me." She took a deep breath and smiled. "I miss you, Mark Lee." She spoke and quickly hung up to head towards her mother.
