"How long will our story be Tuan?"

"Maybe a page?"

"An infinite page."

"A nonexistent page."

Mark

Sighing happily I placed my coffee cup back on the table, the small sound it made when the edge of it touched the table made me smile. Nothing like a relaxing cup of coffee after such a long day of work. A waitress, who I didn't know the name of, walked towards my table, which was placed at the front of the shop by the window,"This is such a nice shop, and good coffee. Tell your boss they've got themselves a new regular." I told her once she had reached me.

Her lips curved up in a gentle smile,"I'm glad you enjoyed your stay." Standing up I pulled out my wallet and gave her two twenty dollar bills,"One for the coffee and one for you." I smiled back, leaving the peaceful atmosphere behind me. I'll be back tomorrow, I promised. Until then, back to work. Sighing I picked up my pace as I headed back home.

  Unlocking the door I stepped in to my apartment and took off my shoes. Walking down the thin hallway until I entered my office. Sitting down on my favorite chair I leaned back and stared at the black screen,"Maybe luck will be on my side now that I've had some coffee." Turning on my computer I opened up a tab and typed in 'publishers'. Clicking on the first link that caught my eye I dialed the number and placed my phone by my ear, waiting for the person to answer.

  "Hello?" A voice answered, my breath hitched,"Oh hello, is this Mr. Im?" I asked, idiot of course it is,"Yes, are you an author?" Surprised at the sudden question I almost dropped the phone, struggling to catch it I quickly answered,"Well, yes, how did you know?" A sigh came from the other line,"Listen, I already have ten authors on my list. I can't publish your book, sorry kid." Then the line went silent,"Okay then."

  I sighed,"Just like the last one." For hours I sat at my desk, calling one number and then the next, trying to get someone to publish my book. The response was the same,'look kid I've got a lot of author books to publish no can do' and I'd say okay and then they would hang up.

  Clicking on another link a whole new list of numbers and names appeared. Going from the bottom up I typed in the first number, prepared to get turned down. The phone rang, the sound echoing throughout the room. On what felt like the last second, the sound of someone answering the call entered my ears.

   "Hello?" A younger sounding voice answered this time. Quickly grabbing the script I had written I read it to the man on the other line,"Yes hello, is this Mr. Park, a publisher?" Waiting for what the man was going to say next I put the paper away,"For one don't call me Mr.Park okay? If we are going to work together you better start calling me Jinyoung." Silence.

"I'm sorry what did you say?" Shock spread through me, he didn't say no! "That's why you called right? To be your publisher?" I nodded even though he couldn't see me,"Yeah of course! I'm sorry I was expecting a no after two hours of rejection." Shut up! You are gonna weird him out! "Yeah it's not easy being an author. Anyways before we make any plans for anything I want to meet you." Already? Stuttering I looked around for an idea of what place we could meet at. Oh I know!

    "Jinyoung, do you like coffee?" I asked, grinning like an idiot at the thought of going back to the coffee shop,"Of course I do, why?" My smile grew bigger,"Well I know the perfect coffee shop. We can meet there!" Who can say no to that? "I don't know." My jaw dropped before I quickly shut it again, my teeth colliding painfully,"Um, what do you mean 'I don't know'? You wanted to meet up right?" There was a chuckle on the other end,"I don't even know what country you live in." I hung my head, duh! I'm so stupid!

"Well I live in South Korea." I told him, scratching the nape of my neck in embarrassment,"Really? Me too! Though it's probably obvious since it says in my information." Oh I should have checked his information! Come on Mark! "Then can you meet me at the cafe?" I pushed hopefully,"I guess so."

  Getting up from my chair I ran around my office excitedly, finally a publisher! "Uh hello? Author you there?" Oh yeah, I jumped down onto my bed, having ran all the way to my room(which is across the hallway),"Yeah I'm here!" "Oh good I thought you threw your phone out the window or something. What's the name of the cafe?" Turning on the now off computer I searched up the cafe, my phone between my ear and shoulder,"It's called Got Coffee Cafe." I read the direction out to him,"Okay, let's meet there this Saturday." I nodded,"Okay, see you there!"

  My thumb went to press the end call button when Jinyoung yelled out a wait,"What is it?" There was a shuffling sound on the other side,"You never told me your name." Of course! I slapped my forehead out of realization, idiot,"Sorry about that, Mark Tuan, my name is Mark Tuan." "Well then Mark lets meet at that cafe tomorrow at.....1:30 pm?" "Sounds perfect."

  Waking up to the sound of a loud neighbor I groaned,"Why can't he shut up for one damn morning!" The constant sound of a hammer hitting the wall connected to my own irritated me. Knowing it wouldn't stop no matter how many curse words I threw at the wall I got out of bed. Heading down the narrow hallway I entered my bathroom, grabbing my tooth brush I did my daily two minute routine and used the bathroom before walking into my kitchen.

  Taking out multiple cereals I poured a little bit of them all into a bowl and added milk. Sitting down on the couch in the kitchen I ate to the banging sound that wouldn't go away.

   By the time I was done eating the noise had crawled it's way into my nerves. So I marched to my bedroom, put on my black hoodie and blue jeans, grabbed my keys, and walked down the hallway of doors for a second. Coming face to face with room 235. Knocking on the door, very loudly, I put on my usual 'so done with you' expression. Not like I ever greeted this particular neighbor with any other expression,"Coming!" The voice from inside called. A familiar boy my age opened the door, his blonde hair a mess and his white shirt a little brown from dust,"Oh Mark! What brings you here? I haven't seen you since last time I was hanging up pictures!" He smiled, happy to see me. I hated it.

  "Don't act like you don't know why I'm here Jackson! Can't you wait till after 12 to start hanging up your god damn family album photos? How many can you possibly have?" I ranted angrily, making Jackson give me his 'you idiot' face,"For your information it's exactly 12:15 and I started hanging up pictures at 12:01 so technically I'm not breaking any of your rules." I rolled my eyes, why can't he just forget about the lists of rules I gave him when he first moved in next door? Then I remembered what he said and my eyes widened,"Wait did you just say it's past twelve?" I placed my hands on Jacksons shoulders, shaking him harshly,"Well did you?"

  Jackson pushed my hands away and steadied himself,"Yes I did why?" Putting my hands on my head I started to pace in front of my clueless neighbor,"Oh my god what the hell am I going to freaking wear?" I waved my arms around frantically. Jackson stared at me like I was insane,"Did you have to be some where or......?" "Yes!" I screamed, outraged,"If you hadn't been so loud I would have had time to get ready!" Jackson tilted his head to the side, I wanted to rip his head off for a second.

"I have a business date!" My eyes widened at the thought,"W-wait! It's not a date!" I rushed when Jackson gave me a 'oh' look,"Don't worry Mark I know what you mean." My jaw dropped at his suggestive tone,"I can help you pick out an outfit!" Jackson smiled excitedly before running back into his apartment. When he exited he was fully dressed in new clothes,"I'm ready to go!" He shouted, I was still standing in front of his door doubtfully.

"But I don't even know you." I confessed making Jackson dramatically gasp and put a hand on his chest,"How can you say that Mark? We've been neighbors for two years!" He held up two fingers childishly,"And you obviously need my help I mean look at you!" Jackson gestured to all of me. Quickly closing and locking his apartment door he pushed me back into my own apartment,"Where is your bedroom?"

I point to a door a little ways down the hall and he dragged me into it. Almost immediately he finds my closet and starts throwing my clothes everywhere,"What the hell!" I yelled at him, he didn't even flinch,"Stop resisting I'll clean it later!" Jackson stopped throwing clothes for a second to point at my bed,"Go sit down and chill out." I rolled my eyes at the order. Now sitting down on my bed I watched Jackson pick up clothes, put them next to me, shake his head, and throw them out of his view,"You almost done?"

Jackson immediately threw me a glare, along with two of my shirts,"You can't rush beauty!" I threw a shirt back at him,"Why do you think I'm rushing?" Jackson looked at me confused, before his face lit up with realization,"Gasp! I can't believe you called my work not beauty. That's very cruel Mark." "We only talk when you're annoying me!" "So?" Groaning I fell onto my back, grabbing my phone,"It's twelve thirty-one! We only have an hour left to get me ready!" Not facing me Jackson spoke sarcastically,"Oh so now it's we?"

"Don't worry I'm already done." Jackson walked up to me and placed four pieces of clothing in my lap,"Here, a pair of dark blue jeans with a plain white shirt and a flannel hoodie. Oh and a beanie." I studied his choices. Picking up the beanie I threw it away,"I don't want to hide my hair, it's probably my best feature." Jackson nodded looking at my face,"Understandable."

After a few more minutes I sent Jackson away so I could change. I wonder how old Jinyoung is? Maybe he has a profile..... Going over to my computer with half my clothes on I open the tab I had off to the side. It was Jinyoung's contact info and profile page,"Twenty-three......only a few years younger than me. Wow look at that picture." He is handsome,"Mark are you done yet?" Oh shit getting changed yeah,"Uh one sec!" Quickly pulling the hoodie over my head I opened my bedroom door.

  "I've finished.........do you need to stay for anything else?" Jackson placed a hand on his heart, his expression shocked,"That hurt Mark! I'm shook by your rudeness." Scoffing I walked past him to my living room/kitchen,"You're such a teenage girl." "And that's a bad thing?" Shaking my head I checked the time again. My phone read 12:56,"Oh shit I need to go soon."

Jackson leaned over my shoulder to see,"When does your date start?" Closing my eyes to breath for a second I lightly pushed him away,"It's not a date for one, and it starts at one thirty." Jackson looked at the ground,"Then I should go right?" Feeling slightly guilty that I was basically throwing him out of my apartment I thought of something to cheer him up,"I guess so, but maybe next time I go out with my friends I could invite you to come along? If you want to of course."

   Jackson's face brightened at the suggestion,"Yeah that sounds great!" Practically bouncing Jackson ran out of my apartment. He reappeared for a second to shout "Good luck on your date!" Making me laugh with a small blush,"It's not a date!" I muttered, grabbing my car keys off of the kitchen counter.

   Arriving at the cafe a little earlier than I wanted to I walked in, being greeted by the same waitress I had spoken to the last time I was here,"Oh hello again......." I trailed off, waiting for a name. She gave me a small smile,"Jiwoo." I nodded, sticking my hand out for her to shake. She took it with a surprised look on her face,"Choose any table you like and I'll be right over." Jiwoo went to walk away but I quickly called out for her to wait,"I'm waiting for someone to get here. His name is Jinyoung! If someone comes in asking for Mark could you show him where I'm sitting?" Jiwoo smirked,"Oh? Sure. Are you waiting for a boyfriend? First date type of thing?"

   My face heated up at her words. Why does everyone think we are on a date?"No!" I quickly denied, waving my hands everywhere,"It's a business type of thing! Strictly business!" Sulking slightly I quickly went to sit at a table for two near the back of the cafe. Wanting to sit near the window but also near the little bookshelf they had. Placing my stuff down on my seat I scanned the bookshelf for a book I hadn't read that sounded interesting. Settling on 'Zoo' by James Patterson I sat back down and opened to the first chapter.

I'm not sure how long I sat there reading, since I had arrived a half hour early, but by the time I was on chapter ten a voice startled me,"Excuse me sir, are you Mark?" Looking up I was met with a familiar face, he looks way better than his picture. The thought sounded a little harsh but all I was thinking was how handsome he is,"U-Um yes. Are you Jinyoung?" Jinyoung nodded, taking the seat across from me with a smile. He opened his mouth to say something, the voice of Jiwoo interrupting him,"You boys ready to order?"

   Silently glaring at her for a second she sent me a wink before I quickly looked at the menu,"I'll just have the latte I had last time?" I wasn't sure if she remembered, relieved when she nodded and wrote it down. Jinyoung's eyes scanned the menu, settling on something,"I'll have uh...plain coffee?" Jiwoo smiled softly and wrote it down,"New costumer?" Jinyoung smiled back,"Yeah, but I think I'll become a regular so I might as well tell you I'm Jinyoung." He stuck a hand out, Jiwoo taking it,"Don't worry, if you become good friends with Mark you might come in everyday."

   I playfully whined at her,"I've been trying to cut back." Jiwoo made a mocking concerned face,"Aw, poor baby! If you're trying then you're not doing very well." Sulking in my defeat I caught Jinyoung staring at me with a look I didn't understand. I still can't believe I actually got a publisher. Jiwoo finally walked away to make our orders, leaving us in silence. Only when our coffee arrived did we start talking.

"So what kind of book will I be publishing?" Jinyoung asked, taking a quick sip of his coffee while looking at me expectingly,"It will be mystery horror." I told him, his eyebrows raising in question,"Will be?" I looked down in embarrassment,"Well when I publish it that will be the genre I put it under." I thought up the excuse, idiot,"Oh I see. Any romance?"

Looking out the window I shook my head,"I don't write romance." Even from the corner of my eye I could tell Jinyoung was shocked,"Why not?" I shrugged,"I don't believe it's real." Jinyoung leaned forward, interested,"Oh really?" His eyes sparked with questions,"It's something people think they feel, something that is only a feeling of being with someone not the person themselves. Love is imaginary." Jinyoung seemed to be unable to say anything, his eyes just examining me,"That's an interesting opinion. If you don't mind me asking, why do you think this?"

His eyes narrowed, a small smile on his lips. Why is he smiling? "I don't think, I know." Jinyoung looked unconvinced,"Have you ever experienced 'love'?" Thinking back to my life, I had never thought of loving someone. That's because it's imaginary! Loving someone is impossible,"No." This made Jinyoung even more interested,"Well if you've never loved someone, how can you believe it's imaginary?"

   Question after question of my personal opinion was starting to get on my nerves,"Why don't we talk about something else?" I asked, trying to change subjects. Jinyoung gave me an unreadable look before nodding,"Okay, how did you get into writing?" The question was simple, but I couldn't help thinking for a long time before answering,"Well I think it was around middle school. I just loved books and in English we had writing assignments, I guess I just started writing and didn't stop." Jinyoung hummed in response.

  "How did you get into publishing?" I jokingly questioned, watching Jinyoung take it seriously and space out in thought,"Well I was planning on being an author but no one wanted to publish my book so, I decided to help publish books for writers who were like me. I mean I'm publishing your book and I bet I made you super happy after hours, days even, of rejection." Can't argue with that logic. I sulked,"You described my situation perfectly." Jinyoung laughed, a bright smile appearing on his face. I noticed that crinkles would form around the edge of his eyes, Cute.

   Taking a drink I let the coffee fill my mouth, delicious,"Tell me more about your book." Jinyoung leaned back in his chair, seeming uninterested. I answered anyways,"It's about a girl who wonders into the woods and finds a tunnel. Sewer like actually, and then she goes home and tells her parents what she saw. Her parents then take her there where her dad hears a voice calling but the girls can't. He gets sucked into the tunnel and it disappears. That's the prologue." Jinyoung's eyes widened,"That's the prologue? What happens after that?"

A huge grin appeared on my face, he finds my book interesting,"Well then it becomes present time, and the main character becomes male................." I trailed on, excitement making me ramble on and on about my story and my ideas, Jinyoung hooked on every word,"And then he entered the tunnel and-" I felt a hand landing on my shoulder, making me jump. Turning around I saw the waitress, Jiwoo smiling at me,"Sorry to interrupt but we are about to close."

   Shocked, I looked out the window to see the sun in line with the horizon,"Woah, what time is it?" Jiwoo's eyes went from Jinyoung to me and back to Jinyoung,"Six forty-one." Jinyoung gasped,"Oh no! I have to be somewhere at seven!" Frantically he started to gather his things,"It was nice meeting you Mark. I'll call you or something and we can hang out again?" A goofy grin spread across my face,"Totally, but how are you going to do that without my number?"

Realization was clear on Jinyoung's face as he flushed red, grabbing a napkin off the table,"Uh I don't have a pen....." Jiwoo smiled, handing him the one she used to write down orders,"Thanks." Writing down a series of numbers he handed it to me in a hurry,"Uh just- contact me whenever." I nodded, taking the paper while quickly writing down my own number and giving it to him. I watched him run out the door,"That was fun."

Laying down on my bed I picked up my phone. For the rest of the day I had been writing nonstop, now was my time of rest. Should I text him? I asked myself, the paper that contained his phone number stored safely in my hand. I don't want to seem needy, or desperate. Groaning I squeezed my eyes shut out of slight stress,"Why is this so hard? It's just my publisher!" Unlocking my phone I press on the contacts app. What should I save him as? Just Jinyoung? Or Jinyoung Publisher? Why am I freaking out over a contact name? "This is hopeless!"

I stopped throwing my mini tantrum when two knocks sounded through my room,"Who's there?" I called out, getting up off my bed and racing to the front door. I don't have any friends, who could it be? Turning the door knob I came face to face with Jackson,"Hey Mark!" He greeted cheerfully, flashing a smile. I groaned internally," Jackson it's eight o'clock at night. What are you doing here?" The said male pushed past me, entering my apartment uninvited,"How was your date?" I'm so not in the mood for an interview on my love life. Wait did I just say love life? I shook my head, trying to focus on how to get Jackson to leave. I have a contact name to decide on,"For the last time Jackson! It wasn't a date, it was just business."

Jackson flashed me a 'I know what you mean' smile,"So did you get their number?" Biting on my bottom lip I hesitantly nodded. Jackson squealed while jumping up and down,"So do I get to know who this mysterious love interest is?" I shook my head immediately,"They aren't my 'love interest'." I made the quotation marks with my hands,"But if you must know it's a he and his name is Jinyoung." Jackson squealed even louder,"That's so cute! Oh my god what should the ship name be? Marknyoung? Jinmark? Min? Markjin?" Widening my eyes at the sudden outburst I watched the boy run around my apartment,"Markjin is so cute let's go with Markjin! What does he look like?" I like Marknyoung.

  Before I could react Jackson grabbed my phone from beside me,"Password?" "I'm not telling you my-" "Password?!" "One, two, five, three." "So simple. Mines is the whole alphabet." I sighed, resting my head in my hands,"What makes you think I even have a picture of him on my phone?" A ding sounded,"Because someone just sent one? Aw that's so cute! Is this him?" My phone appeared in front my face. It showed a picture of Jinyoung and I sitting at the table. He was talking, his hands in the air explaining what he was saying. I was resting my chin on my hand, watching him with a small smile. The picture was taken from the cafe window. "Who the hell.....?" I trailed off, most of my friends don't even live in the city...who else's number do I have? My phone let out another ding, I quickly took it from Jackson.

   Hey Mark! It's me, Jiwoo! I took you're phone while you were sitting with that guy...Ji-something. It was unlocked...so I stole your number to send you all the photos I took of you two! Aren't you the cutest¿!¿!

   The constant sound of my message ringtone sounded through out my apartment. Picture after picture of Jinyoung and I. Drinking coffee, talking, looking outside, from almost every angle in and outside the cafe. Jackson sat on the couch with my phone in hand, letting out squeals and 'awwwww's at every image,"I'm saving them all! He is so handsome though! Like, can I have you in my room, forever? Of course he is taken sadly." My eyes widened,"He is taken?"

  Jackson looked up at me with a smirk,"By you dumbass. Getting jealous? Don't worry boi I'm taken too." I was even more surprised at that,"Who in the world would be idiotic enough?" Jackson just laughed, unlocking his own phone while smiling,"This idiot of course." I was astonished to see his eyes soften before he showed me a picture of him back hugging another male,"His name is BamBam and he is my baby Bamie." I pretended to gage to get rid of the sudden feeling of loneliness,"How long have you been together?"

  Jackson's eyes lit up,"Almost three years! Our anniversary is next month and I'm going to take him on this date to an amazing restaurant he loves but never goes to because it is so expensive! After that I'll take him to the park and we will walk together and talk about every amazing memory we have made in the past three years! I'm planning on proposing on our fourth anniversary since- you actually probably don't really care about my love life." I rolled my eyes at the sudden mood change,"It's fine, just feeling more single than ever." Jackson chuckled,"If you want we can talk about Jinyoung." He drawled out his name, making it sound lovey dovey. I scrunched up my nose.

  "I've already told you Jackson, it was a strictly business meeting." Jackson hummed in thought,"Then what was the meeting about?" Should I tell him? "Without telling you my whole life story....I'm a writer and Jinyoung became my publisher. We were talking about my book and what to do when it's finished blah blah business stuff." I explained, my hands moving all over the place. Jackson's jaw dropped,"You're a writer?! Can you write me gay smut? Can you write a Markjin fanfiction for me? Senpai please!" I leaned away from him, my eyes wide at the sudden demands,"What the hell is smut?" Jackson moved his hand over his chest dramatically,"Ouch!" I rolled my eyes as he began talking,"If you must know innocent child smut is written sex."

   "Why the hell would I write smut?" I questioned, wondering if Jackson was even in his right mind to read such a private thing,"Uh duh! Because it shows how much characters love each other! Well somewhat." He 'awwww'ed at another picture as my phone dinged,"I don't write love." I mumbled, remembering the conversation I had with Jinyoung earlier. Have you ever experienced love? Getting up from the couch I walk into my kitchen, craving microwaveable noodles. My phone let out yet another ding. How many picture can someone take? "Mark, someone texted you." I hummed, filling up a cup with water to heat up,"Who is it?"

    "Uh...I don't know." I rolled my eyes,"None of my relatives or friends have complicated names." I retorted, pouring the now hot water into my dinner,"Well it's an unknown number so if you have a relative named 'unknown number' I'd be a bit concerned." I practically ran out of the kitchen when he mentioned an unknown number,"Give me the phone!" I demanded, ripping it out of his grasp,"You could have said thank you." He mumbled, not that I cared at the moment.

   Is this Mark?

I tilted my head to the side, not wanting to get my hopes up.

  Yes...who is this?

  Oh! It's me, Jinyoung?

Oh hi! I hesitated on hitting the send button. 'Oh hi'...are you serious?

  Hi! I was just about to text you.

  Oh really?

Yeah.

The conversation stopped there. I wasn't sure what else to say. 'How are you?' 'What are you doing?' 'Have you had dinner yet?' "Hey Mark, who is it?"  Jackson looked over my shoulder, trying to catch a glimpse of the text messages,"It's no one!" I shouted quickly in some sort of defense. He doesn't need to know its Jinyoung. This conversation is for just us.

   You were in a rush earlier....how did that thing go?

    "Wow, real smooth Mark." I mumbled, unaware of Jackson reading from behind me,"Oh! Is it Jinyoung?" He squealed excitedly,"My ship is texting each other! Stage two, success!" What the hell was stage one? I shook my head,"It's Jinyoung..." I admitted quietly, making Jackson 'aww',"You are blushing Mark!" He let out a laugh, making me blush harder(I hadn't even known I was blushing),"Shut up and help me pick a contact name." I gave up on not letting Jackson see the conversation,"You still haven't change it to 'Babe'?" I hit him in the chest with a frown,"We aren't even friends yet! More of just people who know each other. Business partners, colleagues."

   I clicked on the edit button of his contact. Changing his name to 'Jinyoung' Jackson let out a scoff,"You expect my ship to sail from that?" I sighed,"A ship can't sail if there is no ocean to sail on." Jackson let out a sound I couldn't identify,"Don't say that Mark! Your life is so sad you practically live on an ocean of tears!" "Stop dissing my life you bitch!" I frowned as Jackson fell to the ground in laughter. My phone dinging made me instantly look away.

It went fine. Sorry to leave so suddenly. Maybe I could make it up to you?

"Ooooh make up sex!" "Jackson I am this close to punching you in the face!" Before I could reply to Jinyoung's text message he had already sent another one.

  How about I take you to get dinner sometime? With out all the business stuff.

I felt my face burning. If Jackson sees this-"Oh my god Mark! He just asked you out on a date!" Too late,"No he didn't! It's more like a 'I'm sorry' meal." I argued, trying to defend Jinyoung because he definitely only meant it as a platonic meeting.

Yeah that would be great! Even though you didn't have to! Any ideas on when and where?

How about I take you to go get some meat? I know a great place :)

Okay sounds good. When?

Tomorrow? Are you free tomorrow?

   Practically flying off my couch I sprinted to my calendar, checking if I had anything to do tomorrow,"Yes! All clear!"

  Yep! Can't wait to see my huh?

  Nope not at all ;)

   "Oh my god! Is he flirting with you? Gah my ship!" Jackson dramatically fell to the floor, clenching his heart,"I can die in peace!"

  "Does dying get you out of my apartment?"

  "You are so rude Tuan!" I just chuckled in response.

    "I can't believe I let you sleep over!" I pushed Jackson away from my phone, where he was re-reading the text between Jinyoung and I for the hundredth time,"Hey I wasn't done!" He whined, pushing against my amazing strength,"I can't believe you won't let me help you choose your outfit for the date! I did so well last time!" I went to tell him it wasn't a date, but I wasn't even sure anymore,"Still not over the whole 'I was straight five days ago' thing you've got going on." Giving him a 'you've got to be kidding' look I turned away and went through my clothes again,"I never liked labels if that helped. More of a 'you're hot so let's fuck' thing."

  Jackson shaking his head could be practically felt through out the room,"What if I wore a dark blue sweater with black jeans?" He sighed,"Your last outfit was the exact same thing just with a green sweater. Do you own any other color of pants but black?"

  "Dark dark blue?"

"For crying out loud you are hopeless."

"I feel like someone's told me that before."

"So you've been hopeless your whole life?"

"Pretty much."

"Makes sense." I hit his shoulder with a frown,"You aren't suppose to agree asshole!"

Jackson pouted rubbing his arm,"I only speak the truth." "That was a lie. Hey!" I yelped, rubbing my arm where he had hit me,"Karma's a bitch." I stuck my tongue out at him, grabbing the blue sweater,"Okay what time is it?" Jinyoung's 'let's meet at 7, I'll pick you up' text flashed through my mind,"It's five fifty-six right now."

"That's not that far away! Oh my god I'm not ready! What if I'm underdressed? Or worse, over dressed. Do I even look okay? Maybe I'm overthinking and he is not even interested that way! I could be putting so much effort into a non existent love interest when I don't even believe in love-" Jackson let out an overdramatic-like everything he does- groan,"Shut up Mark! I can always ask him if he is interested for you." My eyes widened,"That is not a good idea. In fact, don't talk to him at all. You might scare him away, or make him hate me!"

"I take offense to that."

  "Please do."

"My god I don't know how I'm going to distract myself for an hour! It feels like a long time but also too short." I sighed, going to fall down on my couch,"Whoa, whoa, whoa, no you don't!" Jackson's arm stopped me just in time,"You really want to mess up your amazing hair? That is your best feature." Frowning I pushed away from him and sat on it instead,"Better?" "Yes."

The ding of my phone made my jump. Jackson and I had been watching a movie to pass the time and Ariel was really pissing me off,"Who is it Mar- I SWEAR GIRL I WILL KILL YOU IF YOU DONT CLAIM YOUR MAN!" Rolling my eyes at his childishness I checked the text.

Hey um, I'm not sure if I got the place right..? Could you wait outside for me

"Oh my god it's Jinyoung!" Quickly checking the time I noticed it was already six minutes after seven,"And I'm late! He is probably outside waiting for me!" Springing into action I quickly grabbed my wallet, practically running towards my apartment door,"Go get em' tiger!" "Shut up!" I shouted, closing the door behind me I raced with time. Taking the stairs because the elevator took too long I appeared outside my complex. Panting from lack of breath I realized I had made myself a sweaty mess and there Jinyoung was in his car looking at his phone. Great, just great! I'm a mess! Now what?

Before I could do anything to clean myself up Jinyoung raised his head and saw me. Nervously I smiled, in which he smiled in return. Rolling down the window of his SUV he beckoned me over,"Get in the passenger seat, we've got places to be." Following his orders I sheepishly climbed into the seat beside his,"It may be pointless to ask, but where are we going?" Jinyoung laughed,"You're a writer and you still ask that question? Well writer, why don't you tell me my answer?" I had the urge to point out I don't write romance but I decided against it. Not writing wasn't the same as not reading,"It's a surprise." I mumbled mockingly, getting a smirk in return,"Now you know."

  Rolling my eyes at his childish behavior I sat back and enjoyed the passing scenery. My curiosity slowly overwhelming me as we passed by unfamiliar places,"I have no idea where we are going." I confessed, resting my head in my hand,"Good." The response made me laugh,"So Mark, tell me about yourself. What do you do other than writing?" Turning to Jinyoung his eyes stayed on the road. I hummed in thought,"I cook. Every night. I'm very dedicated to my heat up meals." Jinyoung scoffed,"'Heat up meals'? Ive never heard that before. Sounds challenging."

"Very."

By the time Jinyoung had parked, the car was filled with laughter,"I can't believe you actually said that to her!" He exclaimed, pushing his seat belt to the side. I followed his lead, exiting the vehicle,"I couldn't either! But all she did was laugh. Thank goodness." Jinyoung rolled his eyes as we approached the door to the restaurant,"I still can't believe she confessed to you like that. She obviously was only looking for a hook up. Like seriously, 'I like your body, it's hot' isn't exactly romantic."

  A woman appeared to greet us, giving us both a glance before asking "table for two?". I tried not to take it personal and reply 'it's just business' but Jinyoung had already nodded and the woman was already leading us into the room. Taking our seats we were both handed a menu, a very fancy menu. Oh jeez how expensive is this place? I skimmed through the menu trying to find an item that caught my eye,"Did you find what you want?"

  My eyes quickly left the menu to meet with Jinyoung's, his own menu placed off to the side. I let out an embarrassed cough, even though I had no reason to be embarrassed,"Oh, yes." No, I have no idea what I want to get. I've never gone to such an expensive restaurant. Jinyoung tilted his head to the right,"If this was a book, how would you describe this moment?" The question was so unexpected I had to lean back in my seat to process it,"How would I describe it?" The waitress from before suddenly appeared, two waters on a tray in her hand. She placed one in front of each of us before speaking. I muttered a 'thank you',"Are you two gentleman ready to order?"

Jinyoung gave me a glance,"Yes, I believe we are." The waitress had Jinyoung go first, he quickly gave her his order and handed her his menu with a smile. Looking through the menu one last time I choose the first thing that looked edible. The waitress nodded as she wrote and grabbed my menu, placing it with Jinyoung's. She walked away, but not before I noticed the ring on her left hand. I always felt bad for noticing such a thing, but in a way it came with the package of being a writer. You notice the little things.

Sort of like how I noticed Jinyoung's eyes slowly observing the room, or his hands that are almost always intertwined. Or maybe the way he seems to want to understand how everything and one works,"A boy walks into a room guided by another boy." I began. Jinyoung looked confused for a second, before realizing what I was doing and eagerly moving forward,"The room is very fancy, and the boy noticed quickly that he was out of place," Somehow speaking to him this way was like speaking in a native tongue when you had originally been speaking in a second language. Easier,"but that was fine, because the male he was with was comforting. So they sat down, and the boy didn't know what to get. He told the male he did though." Jinyoung's eyebrows rose but he stayed silent,"As the boy observed the male he started to notice certain things. The male wanted to know more about him."

I fell silent. Jinyoung frowned,"And?" I shrugged in response,"That's all that's happened so far." The response made Jinyoung scoff,"So that's how it's going to be?" With a nod from me he shook his head,"Well then, Mark, be prepared to tell one hell of a story by the time I'm done with you." I let out a laugh of disbelief,"I doubt there will be much to tell." Jinyoung mockingly held a hand to his chest,"Ouch! Trust me Tuan, you won't want to end our story. And guess what genre it is," I took a sip of my water,"What genre is it, al might Jinyoung?" He let a smirk fall onto his lips, his body moving closer to the table,

"Romance."

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Sooo this may be pretty sudden but this is actually a teaser to a new book I'm working on titled "Nonexistent Romance Novels" it is markjin(obviously) and this is an intro to it in a way. I will make an announcement when it's out, which will probably be after I finish Bandits(my present markjin fanfic)