On your Mark

When Mark pointed out her outfit, she shows off by giving a twirl, "why not? I'm here to support my sunbaes and make sure they have a good show. I might as well wear some of the merch to blend in too~." She lets out a soft laugh before his next comment has her rolling her eyes playfully.

"Oppa, you won't know where I'm sitting. Even if you did, what exactly are you going to do if I didn't wave it around properly?" She hums, raising an eyebrow as if challenging him.

"I'm your biggest fan, oppa~." She teases, sounding like the thousands of fans who are always clamouring for the chance to be notice. "Besides, I didn't ask for Jaehyun-oppa's signature, I'm asking for yours. I'm going to display it in the practice room."

A short pause, processing. Like if spoken by his own lips, it would buy him more time to actually picture it. His signed photocard, dangled somewhere inside AESPA's dancing room... for everyone to see. Would it be embarrassing for him.... or for her? Probably both. Obviously caught off guard more than he'd like to admit.

❝ Yah⸻ ❞

Ballpoint tip of the pen stops mid-signature, right at that first upward stroke, head tilting, lifting to look her straight in the eye. And there it is again—those brows of his, quirking in that same soft curve whenever amused. It all but pulls a quiet chuckle, instinctive. As it always does. A known armor almost like second skin that settles quickly in self-depreciating humor.

❝ Don't do that. Unless you really want everyone to know I'm your ultimate NCT bias? I mean, uhm, do you really want that? My face, right there, judging your footwork every eight counts? ❞

Resuming the downward stroke of his signature, the pen hesitating, slow moving. A small scoff under his breath, much softer, less teasing. More careful.

❝ That's kinda a lot of pressure now, you know? What if I mess it up...? ❞

Pausing but catches himself, a small smile slipping through before nodding toward the lightstick once more.

── 「 ✦ STARTER ✦ 」 for @markpls

When the girls all got invited to the concert for NCT Dream, Karina made sure to show her support. While some people may not realise it, she was rather close with some of the guys and didn't want to miss out. Dressed up in a merch shirt with her light stick in hand, the woman made her way through the backstage so that they could talk to their fellow company mates and wish them good luck. "Here," she places some Vitamin C drinks on the table. "To help with your energy tonight. From the looks of the seats filling up, you'll need it to keep up with your fans." She waves her stick as if she's one of them. "Nervous?"

Already twisting the cap open, taking a quick sip. Her whole fit didn't go unnoticed to the pre-show's discerning eye. ❝ Oh wow⸻wait. You actually bought merch? With your own money? That's kinda uh⸻that's actually touching. Really. Wow. ❞

Tapping the bottle lightly against the table, setting it down though angling it slightly towards the unmistakable neon green glow of their official light stick. ❝ I better see you wave that properly later, by the way. I will notice if you're slacking. Oh and⸻ ❞

Peering at the photocard (which probably came with the merch), the smile tugs wider, teasing.

❝ Uhh⸻hey, I'm just gonna⸻uh⸻ ❞

A vague gesture toward nowhere. Perhaps the air? Freedom? A Gongcha somewhere in Gangnam? Not even bothering to finish the sentence since there's no clean version of it... just that urgency to dismiss oneself from—'Where are you going?' a staff calls out, quickly answered by a ❝ Just uh… meeting someone⸻ ❞ Body inching further, already halfway out, that if there's a second wasted, there might be more follow-up question he won't be able to survive.

Quick shower, too quick. Water droplets still clinging at the edges of hair, one hand on the towel to scrub it off and the other extending to secure his bag. Oh right—Perfume. One spray. Okay, maybe two. That's normal. Three, four—Still normal.

Hoodie on. Mask up. Phone out.

Kakao T loading and searching.

MARK: i'm omw MARK: save me some taro or we're gonna fight MARK: don't finish everything ok??? 😭

And then, another because he just can't help it.

sophia: I need to drown my sorrows and misery loves company