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Mark bit his lip while mentoring Jisung and Mari's pre-recording. He knew she was a good dancer, but seeing her dancing like this was maybe a little bit too much for Mark. Especially since he knew her since she was a little girl with no signs of being a woman one day.

It was only recently that he started remembering everything that he and Mari had done during Middle School. He remembered the times he and Mari were forced to tag along with their mothers to the mall. It was Mark's worst experience, standing in the underwear section of the shop.

"Mum, please! Can I wait at the music shop for y'all?" The boy with the tomato-red ears asked, while awkwardly standing between shelves of women panties. "Mark" Mrs. Lee said and rolled her eyes while looking at her son, "Gloria and I really need to find something for Mary. Don't make this any harder." She walked over to where Mari and her Mum, Gloria Choi, were standing and Mark sighed.

"Mum..." He whined but then locked his eyes with his best friend, that had lost all color from her face. He couldn't imagine how weird it must feel to the twelve-year-old girl. Being dragged through an underwear shop by two grown women must felt weird.

"Mum, can't I just wait with Mark while you pick ... one out?" The girl asked, pink tint on her cheeks. "Don't be silly Mary!" Gloria spoke and ruffled her daughter's dark brown hair. She looked over to Mark who was looking anywhere but the underwear beside him. 

Mark chuckled as the memory flushed his mind. It was the day Mari had to buy her very first bra and the fact that Mark, a pre-teen boy was tagging along was making her all nervous. The rapper remembered how embarrassed Mari had thrown the tiny piece of fabric into the shopping bag of her Mum and ran out of the shop with red ears.

Thinking of it now, Mari was one of the few girls who developed female curves the earliest. She was different that Tabetha Jones, who presented her pre-teen boobs in tight shirts and wide necklines. Mari started wearing oversized hoodies and never showed her female side.

But looking at her in the screen made Mark realize that Mari had grown into a beautiful and confident young woman who moved her hips in almost an intimate way. She gazed into the camera with her dark brown eyes that made Mark look away from the screen.

"Gosh..." Mark sighed when he watched Mari move her hands down from her sides before turning around to grab Jisung's shoulders. "Maknae's lucky he's a pro dancer." Mark rolled his eyes and watched the performance come to an end.

Mark blew up his cheeks when Mari and Jisung said goodbye to their fans and walked off the stage. "They did great..." Mark whispered, not thinking someone would answer him when Mari's stylist took the word. "She practiced every day for this." Hong Jisung said and Mark looked up at the taller male.

"Her comeback got pushed back, so this was the only schedule she had during the end of her 'X' promotions." The stylist told Mark and he nodded. "No photoshoots or something? I bet fashion or beauty chains are fighting for someone like Ahn Mari." Mark said but the stylist shook his head.

"People consider her as spicy, not cute. We asked some beauty companies if they want Mari to be their ambassador, but their comment was that they want someone cute. Not someone who humps the floor in all her dances." - "Humps the floor?" Mark asked and cocked an eyebrow. "This", he pointed at the screen behind him, "was the only sexy dance she did. 'X's dance practice isn't sexy at all."

"Wow, thank you!"

Mark flinched when he heard Mari's voice and he gulped. "It's not like that!" He said, looking at Hong Jisung, hoping the older male would help him. "We were talking about 'X' and why Innisfree didn't want you as their model," Jisung said and Mari furrowed her lips. "Ouch." She whispered but shrugged it off in the next second.

"To be honest, I don't mind." The Canadian lass spoke and smiled at Mark. "All I wanted was meeting him again." She winked and walked into the fitting room to take off the tight clothes she had worn during the performance. 

Mark followed her with his eyes before both Jisung's looked at him. "I don't know where you and Mari met, but I can surely tell you, that you're everything she talks about." Hong Jisung spoke and Park Jisung pouted. "Wow, my favorite singer only became famous for Mark Lee. The impact!" He let out a screech before looking at Mark.

"You're really that man, ay!" Jisung threw his hands in the hair and left the two older men behind, walking into his own fitting room.

― 💌 ―

In the evening Mark found himself in 127's kitchen, sitting at the table and munching on a triangle kimbap while watching Videos fans and Blue Soda had uploaded of Mari at various events. 

Mari was always dressed to perfection, and she managed to make crowds of teenager scream her name with just a simple smile. 

To be honest, Mark couldn't believe that his shy best friend from his childhood was a confident woman who managed to capture people's heart in the blink of an eye — or with her million dollar smiles. 

It made him regret ignoring her for so long. If he had kept in contact with her, maybe their relationship wouldn't have changed so much (and maybe Mark could've been able to tell Mari to not go to prom with his sleazy classmates). 

"Yo, Mark. What are you doing?" Mark looked up seeing his Hyung Johnny walk into the kitchen, wearing his Winnie Pooh pyjama pants and a white shirt. He looked like he was about to go to bed. "Are you tired, Hyung?" Mark asked, locking his phone and looking at his band member.

Johnny ignored Mark's question and looked at him. "You look worried, are you okay?" The 95-liner asked and Mark sighed. "I was just remembering some things from my past, I guess." Mark spoke and rubbed his temples. "Hyung? Do you remember your very first love?"