Beyond the horizon, the sun illuminated the shimmering haze of pollution. In the far distance, the silhouette of the skyline pierced through the warm glow like a jagged mountain ridge. Millions of lights caused the dense mass of skyscrapers glitter. People were needle points and cars were blood cells flowing through the veins of the city. Despite the time, the hustle and bustle never came to a halt. They were all tired, almost nine hours spent working, rehearsing lines, changing clothes and of course, bearing with the shivering cold.
"-And it's a wrap for today everybody, good job on the set." A collective sigh of relief made it's presence, Mark could see the make up and styling coordinators stretching their long bodies and his co-worker happily followed him trough the building. Mark couldn't Help but notice how much the shorter girl bounced with a smile on her face.
"- What? You're hooping like a bunny since we sat on the chair for the makeup. It's making me a bit worried that my co-lead is an airhead." He raised one eyebrow towards the girl that only bit her lip with joy.
"-Mark-ssi, do you have any plans for tonight?" His ears were listening to her words but his eyes fixated on the mobile on his hand, a chuckle escaped from his lips when he saw the headlines.
ORIGIN: LIVE TOUR Today, 8:00 pm at the Memorial Hall.
"-Mark-ssi?" the boy blinked a few times, realizing that he was too lost on the prospects of what could happen instead on the girl next to him.
"-I'm sorry," He opened a smile that just seems so genuinely sweet with just the right touch of shyness, filled with unexpected warmth and daring, the typical smile that made hearts flutter and cheeks blush. Good thing that his co-lead was so used to that smile from their romantic scenes, or else she would be smitten by it, like the majority of the people."I admit I wasn't listening to your sayings before, my mind was elsewhere. What were you saying?"
"-I was asking if you want to keep me company today? I know it doesn't mean much for you but I was invited to attend an event but my date has some nasty diarrhea, so that means that I'll have to go alone and I really don't want that!" She pouted and he smirked.
"-What kind of event it is?"
"-It's a press conference for the new St.Laurent's shop. Anyway, I was wandering if you want to join me? Sucks to be alone."
Mark's grin softened the room, as if his pleasing lips could make the building more brighter. She could be his noona but that didn't stop him to stroke her head as if she was some sort of lost puppy."-I'm truly sorry but I think you have to relay on yourself this time. I have some last hour plans to do."
"-Really?" she had a long face but knowing her personality from all these days working together, he knew she wouldn't try to pry more. One of the things he enjoyed about working with her was how much she respected the silence. He nodded and waved before saying goodbye, leaving the building and heading towards his car. A man driving was sure manly, but he preferred the comfort of the backseat while someone else drove for him.
"-Hyung, in our way back can you stop on that chocolate shop we saw earlier?" The driver nodded and turned the radio on, the music fading the lights from the city reflected on his window, his eyes taking in every single moment of it.
A long overcoat in the a navy blue color, the rich fabric already making it very clear that it wasn't some ordinary piece of clothing: the shade of blue that could only fit a few and luckily, Mark was among them. The place was crowded and he knew very well the feeling: the screaming teenagers, the crying girls and their mothers, the crazy fans yelling 'Oppa!Oppa!'. It was annoying - of course, he would never think that way when the subject were his Supernovas whom he dearly cared about,but attending someone else concert was a big - and excuse the language - pain in the ass.
Even the backstage was a crazyness of sasaengs trying to pass trough the security while Mark tried to survive by walking smoothly on the floor, his best to prevent the chocolate box from falling.
For his own safety, the staff requested him to wear a dark mask and a cap - it was demented enough without a Hallyu Star meddling with the crowd, the moment they found out whom he was it would be chaos.
"- Mark-ssi!" he turned his head to see a very pretty face, adorned with some red lipstic and thick framed glasses. "- Annyeon! I'm Park Gal Eh, we talked on the phone." she smiled towards him and gently helped him to understand what was going on."- I apologize, we had some problems before and things got a bit out of control here, I hope you aren't afraid of the situation."
"- Not at all Gal Eh-ssi! Don't forget that I know these things too well."
"- Mark-ssi, you're as charming as the rumors surrounding you. The VIP section is that way and..." she searched something on the box near them, grabbing the dark blue lightstick, earning a muffled chuckle from the young man."-It's filled with fans there, if you don't appear with one of these they might try to shove you away."
He looked ridiculous with that lighstick, waving it back and forth, but he couldn’t help but laugh at his own wacky reactions. Yes, he yelled like a little girl when the curtains fell down and during MJ’s solo, the corners of his mouth turned up in a shallow smirk. Ah! It had been a while since he saw Minjae-yah! Their friendship was very unlikable to happen but somehow they made it work. He was tough and chic on the outside but whenever they were alone, Minjae became a fluffy cat that needed lots of cuddles, at least under Mark’s light brown eyes. And damn, he missed those cuddles! He didn’t saw the younger boy since the year’s end festivals, too absorbed with his first lead role in a drama and worried of eventually messing everything up. But destiny played it tools right sometimes, and their encounter was so near he could almost sense his smell. He probably couldn’t see Mark, but it was alright, that didn’t stop him to sing from the top of his lungs the next song.
The show ended, fans were crying, the staff was exhausted and Mark was on the backstage once again. He could see the younger boy with his back turned to him and using his best aegyo voice, just said.
“-Oppa! Please sign my lightstick for me!!Saranghae oppa!” That bastard, he thought. ‘That bastard is better to be nice to me’. When he finally turned, he put his empty hand around the boy’s neck and gave a small peak on his forehead, the other other holding tightly both the box filled with chocolates and the heavy lightstick.”- You did well, son.” It didn’t matter that Minjae’s body was full of sweat and exhausted, it just felt right to be there with his friend once again.