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Two Birthdays
I wrote this piece today in honor of today’s birthday celebrators, one of which NCTzens should know by heart.
Mark Lee has been my gateway to the world of NCT, and now I am fully immersed in it. Well, not so much with the Dreamies but I appreciate them.
Then, who’s the other one celebrating their birthday? I guess you have to find out who! Johfam knows – don’t embarrass me, guys.
As always, I put a GIF to hype you up – here’s Marky with black hair, which is the best color on him.
Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)
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Summary: This piece is dedicated to Mark Lee and Mama Suh, who share the same birth date of August 2. Johnny and Essie prepare something for them, and then get emotional at the end. Aren’t they such attention-hogging drama queens?
POV: 3rd person as usual.
Word count: 1,160 words
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August 2 is an important day for Johnny Suh – not only is it the birthday of his dearest eomma, but it was also the special day of his bro Mark Lee.
Since Essie Park has been living with the two boys for quite some time now, those days have also become important to her. She loves both of them – Johnny is her boyfriend, while Mark is the little brother she never had.
She woke up early to prepare a feast for the birthday celebrators, which in turn, made her partner do so as well. Both of them were puttering away at the kitchen at five in the morning, preparing a mixture of both Korean and Western dishes.
“Baby, why don’t you check on the birthday boy?” Johnny suggested after placing a newly cooked omelet on a plate with mashed potatoes and vegetables on it. Essie gave him a thumbs-up and silently ran to Mark’s room, whose door was slightly ajar. She could see that he was cocooned in his comforter, and she couldn’t tell if he was still asleep or pretending to be.
“I can’t tell if he’s still sleeping or not,” she whispered once she was back at the kitchen. The couple glanced at the clock – it read 7:40 a.m. – and giggled. “Probably not yet,” her boyfriend said, who picked up the French press nearby to make their coffee. “Let’s give him a few minutes, and then we’ll surprise him.”
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At around 8:30 a.m., Essie led Johnny to Mark’s room as he carried a small tray of breakfast food. She opened the door carefully and saw that the young man was still asleep. This time, they can see his bare face – he always had a mustache forming – and they could hear him snoring lightly.
She went to the left side of the bed while Johnny went to the opposite side, placing the tray at the foot of the bed. The couple looked at each other first before they decided to surprise Mark by screaming their birthday greeting.
“Happy birthday, Mark Lee!”
The birthday boy, who is now 21 as of writing, was startled and kicked the comforter off the bed. “What the hell,” he grumbled, looking at his hyung and noona in disbelief first, “but thank you, guys. You didn’t have to scream into my ear like that.”
“But that wouldn’t be fun, right?” Johnny snickered, which earned him a glare from the younger guy. “Happy birthday, Marky!” Essie squealed, messing with his hair. He bit his lip as his hyung joined in on playing with his hair, trying his best not to be annoyed at the situation.
When they were done, Johnny reached over to the small tray and placed it closer to Mark. “Of course, you know how it is in this household when someone has a birthday. We made you breakfast fit for a king like yourself.” Essie made dramatic hand gestures to emphasize that, as there were three plates crammed into the tray that contained a full-course meal.
“Thank you again, Johnny hyung and Essie noona! I truly appreciate it,” the birthday boy said, now less grumpy than a few minutes ago. Once he got his utensils, he dug into his majestic breakfast. The couple patted his back affectionately as he bit and gulped his food.
After he finished eating, Johnny left the room briefly to grab his Polaroid camera. Then, they took pictures – the couple’s favorite was of them kissing Mark on the cheeks with the guy completely flustered in the middle.
“This is so cute!” Essie gushed, staring at the newly-developed photo lovingly. “I’m going to hang it up in my gallery. May I, love?” Johnny winked at her, which meant she could. She replied by tackling him in a hug, in which she also included Mark after.
“I love you boys so much,” she murmured while still in proximity with them. “We love you too,” they said in unison, and everyone giggled at their harmonization.
They spent a few more minutes in bed talking and teasing each other until Mark had to go home to his parents’ house to spend the rest of the day with them.
“Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow, guys. I might spend the night there,” he said as he tugged at the straps of his backpack.
“It’s okay, Mark. You deserve the time off with them. And I’m sure it has been a while you went to Mass with your family too,” Essie said softly, remembering the time that she and Mark went to church recently to pray for their intentions.
“Yeah, that’s true. Well, I’m off then. Have a nice day ahead!” Mark waved at them until he was out of their eyesight.
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“Then, that leaves us with the next thing on our agenda – call Mama,” Johnny said once they retreated to the couch.
“Check what time is it there first, dummy,” Essie teased, flicking the space in between his eyebrows. “I’m sure she’s awake at this time,” he replied, rubbing the part she hit. “Come here, my big baby,” he patted the space beside him, “and let’s call her up to say our birthday greetings.”
It was already late in the evening in Chicago when the couple called Mama Suh, who was already in her pajamas. “Happy birthday Eomma! I hope you had a fun and fabulous day there,” Essie said while she waved enthusiastically at her boyfriend’s mother.
“But of course, my darling! We went to this hotel and had a nice steak and wine dinner,” the older woman shared, which got her son ‘ooh’-ing and ‘aah’-ing at the details of her day.
Johnny and Essie snuggled closer to each other as they listened to Mama Suh talk about her day and more. “I wish you two could go here again, I’d love you to experience what I had too,” she said wistfully, making the couple hug each other tighter.
“We’ll fly there again once things are better, Mama. We promise that,” her son replied.
“Yes, Ma. You can count on that. We miss you so much,” his girlfriend added.
As much as they didn’t want to end the call on a sad note, Mama Suh got teary-eyed, and soon, they were crying and sniffing.
Although it has been years since Johnny decided to work in Korea, he always made it a point to fly back to his hometown in Chicago yearly. However, given the current pandemic, he couldn’t.
The couple held each other for a while after their call, saddened by the effects of the global situation and a million other thoughts.
“Baby?”
“Yes, love?”
“Promise me we’ll be together forever?”
Essie looked at her boyfriend’s distraught face, and she kissed him squarely on the lips. “Yes, I promise you that.”
He returned the gesture and carried her to their shared bedroom, presumably to make sure that she will stay true to her words.
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FIN
P.S. I know, it doesn’t feature enough Mark! Don’t worry; I have another post to make up for that.
MK (Part I)
As promised, here’s another Mark post to make up for that brief birthday piece that didn’t get to highlight him that much.
I’ll try my best to post a lot of Mark content since it’s his birthday month, so stay tuned.
Let the GIF below remind you of that. By the way, this is one of my favorite looks on him! Don’t you all agree?
Mahal ko kayong lahat! :)
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Summary: This piece was inspired by one of the prompts in @neoculturedrabbles list:
Prompt #20: “What did you do this time?”
POV: 2nd person since I wrote this late last year.
Word count: 749 words
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“Essie noonaaaaa!” It was the first thing you heard from Mark when he called you up late in the afternoon.
You just woke up from your nap and was about to start a relaxing day doing nothing, but the younger guy had to call you after drinking a glass of lukewarm lemon water.
“Yes, Mark? What can I do for you?” Your voice sounded hoarse, and you cleared your throat, so you sound better.
“I need your help, like, right now. Please. I really need you.” You sensed the fear in his voice, and you held onto your comforter tighter.
“What did you do this time?” Your voice could not hide the exasperation you felt at his call.
You should know by now that when he calls you with a whiny voice, he is up to no good.
“I forgot my wallet at home. I’m with Haechan, and you know how he is, he doesn’t bring a wallet when he’s with his hyungs,” you heard a sharp objection from his dongsaeng, “so can you please bring it here? You know how it looks like, right?”
You sighed, remembering his beat-up leather wallet that could’ve belonged to your uncle. “Yes, Mark. I know what your wallet looks like. Because I’m delivering it to wherever you and Donghyuck are eating, you have to treat me.”
It was his turn to sigh now but in defeat. “Okay, Essie noona. I got you. I’m really sorry I had to disturb you…”
“It’s fine, Mark. As long as you treat me to my fave cake and coffee, we’re good.”
The next thing you heard was Haechan laughing diabolically in the background before you hung up.
///
An hour after he called, you were on your way to the restaurant with his wallet. It felt heavy, and you wondered what it contained.
As you opened the door to the restaurant, you saw Haechan waving at you excitedly. You returned his wave in the same manner, making Mark sink deeper into his seat.
“Here you go, Mark Lee,” you said, handing his wallet before sitting down beside him. “Please don’t forget this every time you step out of the house, okay?”
He bowed in apology after getting the wallet, his face almost hitting the floor. “I’m really sorry, Essie noona,” he then looked at the guy across him, “but this one’s nagging me to hurry up a while ago, and I forgot to bring this in return!”
Haechan looked away, whistling a particular tune. You laughed at their interaction before you patted Mark on his shoulder.
“You should already expect that when you’re with him, okay?” You glanced at the blond boy, who gave you his trademark wink-and-hand-check pose.
Mark could only grumble in response, carefully fishing out bills out of his wallet.
///
After he paid for the meal he and Haechan ate, it was your turn to be treated.
You walked alongside the hyperactive boy, who you did a secret handshake with when he stood up from his seat. It took a minute and a lot of hype sounds (e.g., a lot of ‘hey’s’ and ‘get it’), making Mark embarrassed and amused at your thing.
“Hey, how come I don’t have like that with any of you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at both of you.
“’Cause you’re not cool enough?” Haechan replied in his usual sassy way, eliciting giggles out of you. “And you’re always out, dude. How can we have a special handshake when you’re not here?” You added, planting your hands on your hips.
Your housemate pouted, defeated again with your ‘teamwork.’ “Haechan and I have become close over the past few months too,” you said softly, glancing at the guy beside you who responded with a bashful smile.
“I’m sorry that I’m always out, you know I don’t have much control with my schedule,” Mark mumbled, digging his hands deeper into his pockets. “But anyway, let’s have cake and coffee. My treat.”
You and Haechan exchanged your special high fives and screeched in delight. “Oh yeah! Mark’s treating us!”
“Guys, please. Stop doing that. It’s embarrassing,” your housemate whispered as he walked faster and farther from you.
Haechan, who was taller than you, hooked an arm around your shoulder and walked animatedly beside you. His energy was infectious, and you followed suit, later on singing a Queen song as you trailed the person who was going to treat you to dessert.
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FIN
Mark every time he meets someone for the first time: I'm from Canada
{nct!moodboard} ❝ and they said that the blood of the stars flowed in his veins maybe that's why you're so bright.❞
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY LION!