She groaned, choosing to bury her face in her pillow instead of getting up. As much as she loved and respected her leader, she really couldn’t be bothered waking up so early in the morning. The older’s deep chuckles resonated throughout the room as he turned to more… persuasive techniques.

Namjoon essentially nudged her until she was lying on her back then took her hands, pulling her up into a sitting position. Not wanting to give in, she kept her eyes closed and let her head fall backwards.

“I thought you’d be more excited to get up today,” Namjoon’s smirk was visible through the tone of his voice. “Don’t you have a date?”

Her eyes snapped open while she shot straight up on her own. Right, she was meeting Mark. With the slightest bit of panic, she threw her blanket to the side and checked her phone. She gave Namjoon a pout upon seeing the time.

“Oppa,” she hit his arm, “you know I don’t have to be there until eleven! Why would you wake me up at eight in the morning?”

“Breakfast should be a pretty valid reason,” Namjoon placed a tray on her bed filled with a plate of pancakes and a cup of water. “That, and I thought you’d like to hear a few updates regarding the lawsuit we filed against them.”

She frowned but nodded as she started eating. Though she had not needed to be directly involved aside from discussing terms she’d like to include in their movement against her birthgiver and sperm donor. They did, however, continuously try to contact her to get her to call it off. How they got her contact details, she’d never know.

“It’s all good news,” Namjoon reassured her. “Given the rules of the concert and the copyright statement of BigHit, it does count against their actions and is enough to incriminate them. A restraining order is being drafted out as well by the legal team, you and Yoonsung hyung can go through it together tomorrow morning.”

“That’s good,” a satisfied smile appeared on her face, “because I really don’t want to cross paths with them ever again.”

Her leader patted her head, “You won’t have to. You don’t even have to fly back to London for this, your brother has it under control.”

“Remind me to thank Yoonsung oppa tomorrow,” her body relaxed upon knowing for certain that she didn’t have to see those people anymore.

Namjoon opened his mouth to speak, but a knock on the door caught their attention.

Yoongi stepped into the room, “We leave at 10:15, alright, Princess?”

Yoonmi saluted, seeing as she had just taken a bite when Yoongi opened the door and prefered to wait until after she has swallowed to speak.

Yoongi nodded, crossing his arms. “Hannah said she wanted you there for dinner, so eat, don’t skip. I’ll be at their dorm to pick you up by 9:30 after. Be in my sight by 10, okay?”

“Got it,” she smiled at Yoongi, satisfied at him smiling back at her before he left the room once again.

Namjoon chuckled at the interaction of his members before standing up, “I’ll leave you to it, then. Stay safe today, stay hidden, and have fun.”

“Thank you, oppa.”

“The outfit you have ready is cute, but don’t forget a sweater,” he kissed her forehead and walked out the room.

Yoonmi sat quietly at the small cafe Yoongi dropped her off at, gently stirring her hot chocolate while trying not to fall asleep. Maybe hot chocolate wasn’t the best choice of drink when she was fighting her own eyelids to stay open.

It was a rare free Saturday that she had in the midst of filming SKY Castle, the Japan leg of the Love Yourself tour, and the beginnings of discussions for her solo comeback. To her surprised delight, Mark also had the day off.

With the couple’s schedules being full in the past year, they found it hard to see each other in person often, but they made it work with quick visits to dorms or small and timed dates to hidden places.

A smile made its way to her face.

Mark had stuck to his word and had patiently stayed by her side for the year he was courting her, and now, almost a year into officially being together, he stayed with her despite the hassle of their schedules.

Yoonmi wasn’t as oblivious as most people thought her to be, not when she already knew what to look for. She was aware that there was a good chance Mark loved her.

The look in his eyes whenever he was looking at her, she could see it in the way her older brother looked at his wife. How could she not recognize a look she had wanted upon her for so long?

But she was scared.

What if she was wrong? What if there was a reason he wasn’t saying anything? What right did she have to assume he was possibly waiting for her to say it first? What if she couldn’t say it? Would he get tired of her eventually?

“Did someone order a double chocolate chip cookie with a boyfriend on the side?”

Mark’s voice shocked her out of her thoughts as he placed a tray in front of her. He quickly pressed a kiss to her cheek and sat next to her.

Another thing they haven’t done in their nine-month long official relationship. They haven’t kissed. She wondered if Mark got frustrated with how slow she was taking things.

She shook her thoughts away, choosing to focus on her boyfriend. “You scared me.”

“Sorry, Little Star,” he intertwined their fingers, “I ran a little late because the hyungs were curious.”

A laugh escaped her, “They still don’t know, huh?”

They had made a bet when they first became official about who would be the last to find out from their members. Yoonmi had her bets on Yoongi, but Jungkook lost that bet for her. (Thus her making Yoongi and Mark bond when they can)

Mark had bet on Taeyong mostly because the leader was faced with handling the entirety of NCT alongside the addition of Hannah and Jungwoo into 127, making him too busy to notice.

“Just Hannah,” her boyfriend took a sip from his drink.

“And Hyuckie oppa.” Yoonmi’s revelation made Mark choke a little. He hit his chest to clear his throat while she rubbed his back. “Did you not know that he knows?”

“You told him?”

She shrugged and gave him an innocent look, “We’re best friends, that’s kinda how it works.”

Mark nodded, “Right, somehow there’s no secrets there. Thank god, I didn’t think I could keep it from him any longer.”

Yoonmi took a sip of her hot chocolate and gave a dramatic sigh, “Ah, my boyfriend Mark oppa, and his boyfriend Hyuckie oppa.”

Mark simply laughed at her before noticing her drooping eyelids. He leaned down, aligning his face with hers, soft concern making itself known through his expressions, “You’re basically falling asleep. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” she reassured him, “I should be asking you that. Should I really be taking your rest time away from you?”

“You’re worth much more than my time,” he gently tucked stray pieces of her hair behind her ear and smiled. “How about this? We finish our snacks and our coffee, then we go back to my place and just have a lazy day. Sound good?”

She gave him an apologetic smile. Mark had already booked them tickets to visit an aquarium, meaning he spent money on their date for the day already, yet he was there offering to just not take the opportunity in favor of having a lazy day.

“Hey, I know that look on your face,” he tapped under her chin so she could look him in the eye, “no feeling guilty. I actually want to have a lazy day, I just want to hang out with my girlfriend. It doesn’t matter what we do. I can transfer the digital tickets to Hannah and Hyuck, anyway. They’d appreciate the aquarium.”

“I want to hang out with my boyfriend, too,” she leaned her head on his shoulder. “Whatever you want to do, I’ll do it.”

“Eat up, then,” he nuzzled his cheek to her head, “we have a lazy day ahead of us.”

The lazy day wasn’t working.

Given both their workaholic natures, Yoonmi and Mark had once again settled on their laptops, showing each other different things they have been working on and getting each other’s opinions.

Some may call them crazy for doing this when they could be leaving work behind them for another day, but they both enjoyed making music. Being busy is something they were both used to, as well.

That’s how they found themselves on Mark’s bed, laying on their stomachs while they were going through each other’s files. Well, she was on the bed. Mark had draped his arm around her shoulders, which led to her tucking her upper body partially under Mark’s torso so he could properly use both hands to navigate his laptop. Mark had finished his turn, so Yoonmi had pulled out a few tracks for him to listen to as well.

“Dude, this sounds really good,” Mark bopped his head as he listened to one of her potential songs for her comeback. “I think you could lower the tempo a bit in the chorus, but otherwise I really like it.”

“You think so?” she looked at him.

Her boyfriend simply smiled at her, “You know you make amazing songs. Here, let me set it up to the tempo I imagined, maybe you’ll like it.”

She just laughed and let him take over the keyboard. Usually, she’d keep people from touching her tracks unless they were her members or the in-house BigHit producers, but she trusted Mark.

Within a few minutes, he played the song back, watching her intently as she took it in. A smile graced her face upon the realization that Mark was right. The slower tempo worked better for the chorus and sounded more pleasing to listen to in combination with the verses.

“Save that, please,” she felt Mark rest his chin on her shoulder, “I’m taking that suggestion.”

He turned his head, placing a light kiss to her cheek before turning back to the screen in front of them, “I got you. And, save. Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to exit the… What’s this?”

“Oh,” she looked at the audio file open just behind the one she had originally shown him, “this one isn’t really finished yet. It’s actually more like word vomit from my brain straight into a track, but I think you should listen.”

She pressed play and zoned out, debating if she should excuse herself to the bathroom as soon as the first line played. In My Dreams was a song she made after their last in person date in early September, just before she left for LA. It was then when she realized that she didn’t just like him, she loved him. She was actually in love with him, and it scared her because she—despite all the signs she sees pointing to yes—was not completely 110% sure he loved her back.

Looking back at the past year in her life, she would have saved herself a lot of grief. That’s why she decided to let this cat out of the bag now that the opportunity had presented itself. She may not be absolutely certain of Mark’s response, but she could have hope in the signs he had been giving her, right?

She zoned back in when she recognized the end of the song, hand coming up to tug at the ends of her hair.

“Okay,” Mark retracted his body, resting his hand that was once around her on the middle of her back so he could see her better, “first of all, that was amazing. Second, I don’t want to get ahead of anything here, but did you write this on a whim, or is this something you wrote, like, I don’t know… How do I say this?”

“With you on my mind?” she offered, not meeting his eyes.

His gaze on her felt warm yet curious at the same time, “Yeah. That.”

“I did,” she focused her vision on her hands and hair, avoiding even looking at Mark through her peripheral vision. “I wrote it with you in mind.”

There was a moment of silence that passed between them that made Yoonmi internally panic. Maybe this was the wrong move. Maybe it wasn’t time for this yet.

A finger placed under her chin and turning her head broke her out of her panic, and she was met with the softest look in Mark’s eyes.

There it was. The look she saw on her brother when he was looking at his wife. She could see the same emotions so clearly in Mark’s eyes that most of her doubt melted away.

“For real?” he asked her. “I don’t want to assume anything or to rush you. We go at your pace, okay?”

That was it. She was going to say it. No regrets, no listening to doubts. She wanted Mark to know. She took a deep breath.

“I love you.”

Her voice came out almost like a whisper. It wasn’t as confident as she wanted to sound, but it was genuine and honest. That was what mattered.

A smile broke onto Mark’s face as the words processed in his mind. He sat up, pulling her along with him before standing up. Yoonmi watched curiously as he. walked around the bed, closer to her side and kneeling in front of her.

“Was that necessary?” she laughed at his antics.

“I just want you to be completely comfortable when I tell you this,” he smiled up at her. “I love you. I have for a while now. I remember the moment I realized I love you. It was back in June and you fell asleep here, remember?”

She nodded, remembering that day. They had gone for a walk by the Han river and a quick trip to a dog cafe, where she had ended up absolutely covered in fur, so she had to borrow some of Hannah’s clothes as soon as Mark brought her back to his dorm. He had, of course, lent her a hoodie on top of Hannah’s clothes, just because.

Mark hummed in thought, “I think I just spent a good fifteen minutes watching you when it just clicked in my head. I love you. I love how passionate you are about your music and hobbies, I love how you’re still one of the kindest and most humble people I know, love being by your side, I love spending time with you, I love that I get to call you mine, and I just love you.”

Not knowing how to respond to that, Yoonmi just lunged forward to hug him, draping her arms on his shoulders and burying her face in his neck.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” her voice was muffled by his sweater.

His chuckle sent vibrations through her body as he wrapped his arms around her waist, sitting back on his rug and pulling her onto his lap, “We take things at your pace, Love. I’m ready whenever you’re ready.”

The new nickname made warmth spread from her chest the moment she heard him say it. She leaned back back, looking at him with a shy smile.

“Did you just call me ‘Love’?”

He nodded, pressing their foreheads together, “Seems appropriate, don’t you think?”

“You’re right, Love.” The nickname felt foreign yet natural at the same time, coming from her mouth.

Just then, she felt the urge to kiss him. With the adrenaline of their confessions and today’s theme of not listening to doubts, she made a decision.

Mark’s breath hitched as she leaned forward, letting their noses touch, but he leaned backwards so he was looking her in the eyes.

“Yoonmi,” he began, glancing downwards before meeting her eyes again, “can I kiss you?”

“Yes, please.”

That was the confirmation Mark needed. Not just a yes of agreement, but a yes of want as well.

Yoonmi closed her eyes as she felt Mark’s hand come up to the side of her face. She let him guide her towards himself until she felt him slot their lips together into a chaste kiss.

He pulled away, chuckling as she hid her face in his shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m sorry,” she apologized, “I don’t actually know how to kiss.”

Mark just gently lifted her face to his. “Don’t worry. I can take the lead on this one.”

With that, he pulled her in for another kiss, finding a rhythm for them that she could keep up with.

From then on, Yoonmi only had two thoughts: Mark actually loves me and God, I think I might get addicted to kissing my boyfriend.

taglist: @sunflower-0180 @seaoffangirling @yourwonderbelle @1-800-enhypennabi @kamiiyou @strwberrydinosaur @uraveragefangirlsposts @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @toriluvsfics @billboard-singer @stopeatread @allthings-fandoms @jammingjaem

|| The Friends Era (2014-2016)

Yoonmi and Mark actually met in 2014 because SHINee’s Jonghyun introduced them, but we didn’t actually get any public interaction or word of their friendship until 2015. Yoonmi was 2 years into her career, and Mark hadn’t even debuted yet, but he was on Mickey Mouse Club. Yoonmi guested on one episode where the concept was having all the staff leave the kids with Yoonmi so they would be comfortable asking her for advice and what to expect as kids in the music industry.

Mark had taken one of the seats next to her and offered her a blanket to cover her legs with because she was in shorts. Although Hannah led the others in speaking to Yoonmi, the latter often looked to Mark for what seemed like encouragement to speak.

We don’t get any interactions between them again until Mark debuts a year later. NCT U’s The 7th Sense promotions overlapped with BTS’s Fire promotions. When Fire won 1st place in Music Bank, Mark can be seen giving Yoonmi a one-sided hug. Just a month later, Yoonmi was promoting her solo debut the same time NCT 127 was promoting their debut. When Yoonmi won 1st in MCountdown, the tannies weren’t there, so Key had 127 accompany Yoonmi on stage.

Though many people got distracted by the fact Yoonmi and Haechan had a secret handshake, no one missed how Mark and Yoonmi lingered in their hug a little longer, or how he stayed next to her the whole encore stage. An ex-SM staff mentioned that Mark walked her back to her waiting room, which was on the opposite end of NCT 127’s.

Months later, it’s awards show season. Most known NCT-BTS interactions consisted of Hannah and Yoonmi hanging out, but apparently Yoonmi went to NCT Dream’s dorm often. Back to awards shows, MAMA was a gem. Not only were there Markmi hugs (the ICONIC ending stage hug where he lifted her), we had Yoonmi rapping along to Mark’s verses, Mark cheering especially in Yoonmi’s parts, and even Mark possibly jealously watching Yoonmi and NCT Jisung talking.

|| The Courting Era (2017-2018)

We didn’t actually know this at the time, but Mark and Yoonmi talked about it after they were exposed. Fans had released pictures from down the street of a KFC where you could see Mark and Yoonmi talking. At the time, we all thought it was them bonding while preparing for the SM Station Yoonmi would feature in and Mark’s feature in her album, but apparently Mark had also confessed to her and promised he’d prove himself when she said she felt scared.

They did a good job of keeping it lowkey. Aside from rare school photos together, the release of All I Wanna Do, Wannabe, Mark promoting with Yoonmi for Wannabe, their KCon Mexico special stage, and the selfies they posted after each of those, there was no visual evidence of them spending time together. Hannah and Jungkook (Chocouple nation presidents) sometimes would mention Markmi hanging out, but that was it.

|| The Secretly Dating Era (2018-2020)

Their anniversary is in early February, that’s all we know. They like keeping it private, and we respect that. But apparently Mark set up an at-home date for them and officially asked her that day to be his girlfriend. 

They still did a good job of keeping it lowkey to the point where apparently most of the neos didn’t even know they were dating, but everyone noticed how, despite how both of them had increasingly busy schedules, they both seemed to glow and be happier. (Aside from those few weeks Yoonmi and Yoongi were at odds, which is rumored to be because Markmi started dating)

|| The Reveal (January 1, 2020)

Every year, kpop and kdrama fans wait for Dispatch’s celebrity couple drop on New Year’s Day. To everyone’s surprise, Mark and Yoonmi were announced. Stan Twitter went into pandemonium, and everyone was clowning dispatch because we all knew they were “just friends”. 

To everyone’s further surprise, SM and BigHit both confirmed it later that day, and Mark and Yoonmi themselves tweeted about it, confirming they were dating.

|| The Struggle Era (2020)

Around late January of 2020, Yoonmi released a M.Y. Everyday video titled “I have a Boyfriend”. Here, we found out about the courting era, how long they’ve been dating, and the fact that they have been dating for around two years by then. It’s also cute because around the middle of the year they ended up both having pink hair!

It was rough for them since their schedules kept them apart, then Covid hit, and they didn’t get to see each other at all. It wasn’t until around August, eight months later, that they were able to see each other. Mark said it was the best birthday gift he could get, seeing Yoonmi and even having her play the leading lady in his “As We Wish” mini drama. Watch it, I’m begging! Every source ever that was there for the filming said the two were just holding hands and silently exchanging smiles and stories almost the whole time.

They did a weverse/vlive together, each of them streaming from each of their phones. They were smiling and leaning on each other the whole time, answering questions, and everyone could see how happy and comfortable they were with each other.

|| The Private but Not Secret Era (2021-eternity)

We don’t actually know too much about their relationship since they have been keeping it between them and their close friends and family (WHICH WE SHOULD RESPECT, OKAY?), but we do know from some stories that they try their best to spend time together whether it’s going out or staying in each other’s places. As fans, let’s remember that we should be more than happy with the fact that they actually talk about or mention each other a lot, especially compared to other celebrity couples. We also get the birthday posts and the occasional random instagram stories, but that’s it, and that’s more than enough.

Mark and Yoonmi are two of the most precious, talented, and hard-working people in the entertainment industry, and I’m glad they found comfort and solace in each other. As of this month (december 2023), they have been together for five years and about ten months. Cheers to a bright future for the both of them!

taglist: @sunflower-0180 @seaoffangirling @yourwonderbelle @1-800-enhypennabi @kamiiyou @strwberrydinosaur @uraveragefangirlsposts @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @toriluvsfics @billboard-singer @stopeatread

Yoonmi laid in Mark’s bed, glancing between her laptop and his back. She decided to come over that night just to check up on him to make sure he, and the rest of the dreamies, weren’t overworking themselves for their comeback.

The past hour has been filled with her working on schoolwork while Mark’s constant muttering and humming filled the silence. He had been working on making new songs on his own laptop on his desk. The whole time, though, the two haven’t spoken. Aside from Yoonmi giving him a small kiss on the cheek or on the lips whenever she left the room to get water or go to the bathroom, they didn’t really mind each other. Well, Mark didn’t.

Sure, this was how they usually were, but she was in the mood for actually spending time with each other together and not doing their own things.

Her phone dinged, pulling her out of her thoughts. It was a message from Jisung.

거대한 쥐🐹: hey, you’re in the dorms?

me: yeah why?

거대한 쥐🐹: wanna come over to the eighth floor? hannah noona says mark hyung’s way too in the zone to do anything else

거대한 쥐🐹: i can try teaching you mario kart again

me: sure

me: give me a few minutes, i’ll be right up there

거대한 쥐🐹: got it. hurry up, haechan hyung wants you to try this new thing he cooked

She laughed and put her phone back into her cardigan’s pocket. “Oppa, I’m heading over to the Dream dorm. Jisung wants to teach me games and Donghyuck oppa wants me to try something he cooked.”

“Okay,” he hummed in response.

She got out of bed and moved to walk past him, but she was held back before she could walk out the door. Mark was holding on to her arm.

“Hold on, Love,” he began, “did I do anything wrong?”

“Of course not.” Her giggles filled the room while she scrunched her nose at him. “What makes you say that?”

“You give me little kisses before you leave the room.” The slight pout on his face made her shake her head at him.

“I just didn’t want to interrupt your flow,” she said before placing a kiss on his nose. “Jisung says you’re way too in the zone right now.”

“Well,” the older pulled her onto his lap, placing a hand on her cheek and pulling her forward so their foreheads were pressed together, “I’ll focus on you now.”

She melted into his hold when he pulled her in for a kiss. Her hands rested on his chest while she let him hold her up.

A short while passed before Yoonmi pulled away a little, giggling at how Mark chased after her. “I told Jisung I’d head up there.”

With a kiss to her cheek, Mark pulled her phone out of her pocket and messaged Jisung through it.

Me: you can’t steal my girlfriend from me. better luck next time, sung -mark hyung

거대한 쥐🐹: 🤦🏻

거대한 쥐🐹: yoonmi, you’re coming over here next time instead of down there

She watched in amusement while Mark placed her phone with his on his desk. Squeals escaped her mouth when Mark lifted her up and carried her to his bed.

“We,” he began while getting them both under the covers, “are going to cuddle and talk about what happened in our day. You have all my attention, my little star.”

“First of all, I might need a date to Jiwoo unnie’s wedding.”

“I’m all yours. Well, that is if Jungkook hyung doesn’t beat me to it. Or Yoongi hyung. Or honestly the rest of the Bangtan hyungs.”

The grin on her face while her heart lightened was all too much for her. She pressed a kiss to her boyfriend’s lips and tucked her head under his chin to listen to his heartbeat while she spoke about their practice earlier that day.

Yoonmi woke up to find Mark already looking at her. She watched his smile grow before he kissed her forehead.

“Good morning, gorgeous,” he greeted her. “You know, I wouldn’t mind waking up to this everyday.”

He had stayed the night after her showcase just to spend White Day with her. Well, in the morning. He had promised Chenle he’d go over to the younger’s house in the afternoon.

“It’s way too early for me to cringe at that.” She closed her eyes and buried her face in his chest. The light shaking from his soft laughter made her smile. She felt her chest warm upon hearing him. It had been a while since they last had a sleepover.

“Hey, don’t fall back asleep.” Mark sat up, pulling her along with him. “I only get you in the morning before the hyungs take you and I go to my little sister.”

“You guys have had the strangest family tree since Chenle got Daegal.” Her voice came out in a murmur. Mark hummed in agreement.

She could feel him shifting around and heard the familiar sound of him unlocking his phone. Still half-asleep, she barely processed the fact that Mark took a selfie of them with her cuddled up on him. She was slowly being pulled from her sleepy state when she heard soft music playing.

“One Direction,” she lightly lifted her head and smiled at him, “I’m proud of you.”

“Only because it can say how I feel better than me trying to get something out.” He got up from her bed and held a hand out for her to take. “Wanna dance?”

His smile made her heart stutter even after years of being together. She placed her hand in his and let him pull her up. She rested her head on his shoulder and clasped her hands behind his neck. She could feel the warmth of his hands find their place on the small of her back.

They danced like that for a while. Just the two of them in their pajamas, bed head still a big mess, yet she somehow found this to be a pretty picture. Her insides practically melted when Mark started singing along in a low voice. The heat rose to her cheeks.

“This must be the cheesiest way we’ve done White Day together yet,” she let out a little laugh. “Which film or drama did you get this from?”

“Hey; I thought this up all on my own!”

“Mhmm.”

It was a simple nonsense conversation. They didn’t talk too much. Being with each other spoke enough words for the two of them, which is something she always loves about their relationship. Deep in her thoughts, she didn’t realize she started singing along to the bridge. Not until she felt him press a kiss to her temple.

“I’m here to stay,” he told her, “for as long as possible. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be right here. You mean everything to me, too.”

His words made her feel like she was flying. Though she couldn’t say anything, the way she hugged him tighter and went on her toes to kiss his cheek expressed her appreciation for him.

“Let’s go brush our teeth, love.” She pulled him over to her bathroom, a content smile on her face. “Then you can help me out with breakfast, yeah?”