Chapter 22

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Days and weeks had passed and soon it was a few months before the winter break. Sarah had to admit, she missed Mark. He was very busy, constant practicing, filming, or performing but he always took the effort to call her when he had a chance. He often sent her snaps and messages, sometimes with the other members as well. She had learned about the different personalities of each of the members through this, and was happy that Mark had such supportive friends around him.

Tonight, Sarah's mother was visiting for dinner. Sarah was in the kitchen, preparing their meal when the doorbell rang. Sarah quickly made her way to the front door, opening it.

"Hi mom!" Sarah said, wrapping her mom in a tight hug. Her mom hugged her back before entering her apartment.

"How's my daughter?" Her mom asked, ruffling her hair.

"I've been good, school has been busy." Sarah told her, guiding her inside the house. She let her mom sit on her stool by the counter.

"How's that boy you were seeing over the summer? Is he okay in Korea?" Her mother asked her. Sarah chuckled as she recalled the times she spent, telling her mom about Mark over the phone.

"He's doing good, he's been busy." Sarah said. Her mother knew that he was an idol. When she first told her, her mother was shocked, finding it hard to believe. Sarah had showed her pictures of Mark on the internet and the pictures they had together on her phone and her mother still thought they were photoshopped. It wasn't until Mark video called them that her mom believed her.

Sarah quickly finished dinner, setting the table for the two of them. They caught up with one another as they ate.

"When you're not as busy, you should come home for a meal." Her mother said. Sarah slowly nodded her head.

"Maybe sometime during the Winter Break." Sarah suggested. She noticed her mother's face change.

"You might be quite busy over the Winter Break." Her mother said. Sarah tilted her head, confused.

"Why would I be busy, I have nothing planned." Sarah told her. Her mother got up, heading towards the couch where her purse was. She reached in, taking out a white envelope.

"It's your last year in University, and your father and I wanted to give you a gift for the winter." Her mom told her, passing her the envelope. Sarah opened it up, revealing a plane ticket to Korea. Sarah covered her mouth in shock.

"When did you get this?" Sarah exclaimed as her mother took her seat again across from her.

"Remember the one time you gave us the phone when you were talking to Mark to go clean up the kitchen? Mark exchanged contact information with us. We always wanted you to visit our home country, but we don't really have anyone that could possibly take care of you there. We asked Mark if he had any recommendations and he said that he could take care of everything so we went ahead and bought the ticket." Her mother explained. Tears of happiness began forming in Sarah's eyes.

"I can't believe you did all this." Sarah admitted. Her mother smiled at her.

"We just want out daughter to be happy." Her mother said, softly patting her daughter's hair.

...

*(Bolded text = Korean)*

...

"Have you been studying hard?" Mark asked through the video call with Sarah. He had a bit of free time before his next schedule and Sarah desperately needed a study break. She had a week before exams started and it felt like her mind was going to explode.

"There's so much information to absorb, I don't know if I can do it." Sarah admitted. Mark gave her a small smile.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll be fine. Plus, after exams you'll be coming to Korea!" Mark said excitedly. Sarah smiled at how happy Mark was to know that she would be visiting him. But before that, she had to go through her worst nightmare. Exams.

"I guess even if I fail all my exams, I'll be seeing you afterwards." Sarah said. She watched as Mark began to pout.

"Yah, don't say that! It's bad luck!" Mark scolded her making her chuckle. She soon heard another voice.

"Is it Sarah noona?" Sarah heard Haechan ask.

"Yeah, do you want to talk to her?" Mark asked him. Haechan must have nodded since the camera soon shifted to the younger male.

"Noona fighting! Also don't listen to Mark, he's stupid." Haechan said, making Sarah laugh.

"Thank you, Haechan!" Sarah replied. The camera returned to Mark, who did not seem happy with Haechan's comment.

"At least I graduated high school!" Mark said defensively. Oof, that was a burn. Sarah thought to herself as she watched Haechan begin to repeatedly smack Mark on the arm, making the camera shake.

"Ow, that hurts!" Mark cried as he rubbed his arm.

"You two are cute." Sarah said, looking into the camera.

"I know I am but once you meet this devil, you won't be thinking the same thing." Mark told her.

"Hyung, speak slowly, I don't understand!" Haechan whined, beginning to shake Mark's arm.

"Can you be quiet so I can talk to her properly?" Mark said, flicking his arm off.

"Fine, I'll let you talk to your girlfriend." Haechan said. Sarah could tell that the younger male was pouting. Mark raised his hand to hit the male but Sarah's giggle reminded him that she was still on the other side.

"Man, I can't wait for you to come so I won't have to deal with this mess alone." Mark said to her.

"I'll be there soon, don't worry." Sarah told him. She looked at the clock. She had already been on the phone with Mark for fifteen minutes.

"Do you have to get back to studying?" Mark asked, seeing the concern on her face.

"Yeah, I probably should." Sarah told him. She watched as sadness filled his eyes but she knew that he understood.

"Okay, let me send you something before you go." Mark said, as her screen turned black. Mark had exited the call. She got a notification, seeing that Mark had sent her a recording.

"What is that?" Sarah asked him. A cheeky grin appeared on Mark's face.

"It's just a little something that will hopefully motivate you to study hard." Mark told her.

"Alright, I'll send you a text before I sleep." Sarah told him before waving goodbye.

"Okay, sounds good." Mark waved as well before hanging up.

"Let's see what this is." Sarah mumbled to herself as she opened up the recording. As soon as it started, she felt her heart melt at the sound of the guitar playing and Mark singing. It was Daniel Caesar's Get You.

Sarah smiled as she listened to the recording again and again, falling in love with Mark's voice every time as she studied her notes, looking forward to seeing him again.

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Who's a cutie? Mark leeeeee

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Who's a cutie? Mark leeeeee

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