Marlon, still holding the photocard, suddenly presses it against his cheek. He then puckers his lips, similar to the pose that Jungkook is doing, and holds up a peace sign.
“I’m totally pulling it off, aren’t I?”
A fit of laughter escapes my throat, rolling off my tongue in waves. Marlon breaks character, observing me, his grin widening before he begins to chuckle himself.
“You’re an idiot,” I say, poking his cheek.
I grab the photocard off of him, gazing at Jungkook.
Marlon is definitely no Jungkook, but they both make me smile in the same way.
Once I’ve finished browsing, I make my way to the counter. As I fish out my wallet, Marlon’s card swoops in, beating mine at the cash register, paying for the BTS album I’d chosen.
“Marlon!” I gasp, as the transaction processes.
The store clerk smiles at the both of us as he hands over the kpop albums.
“That’s very sweet of you,” the clerk says, to which Marlon replies, “She deserves it.”
I slap at Marlon’s arm as we exit the store.
“You really didn’t need to!” I exclaim.
“Oh, I really did. You can repay me by unboxing the album right here so I can catch your reaction.”
He settles on a bench just outside the building where the kpop store lies, patting the free spot beside him. I sit beside him, and with impatience he grabs the kpop album from my grasp and places it atop my lap.
“I feel like you want to unbox way more than I do,” I chuckle.
“100%.”
Marlon winks, and my stomach flips in response. I ignore it. I don’t need that right now.
Marlon leaves me no choice but to comply with his wishes, so I rip the plastic from the album. Then, I slide the album from the boxed cover. Most kpop albums come with an array of goodies that make the unboxing experience so much more enjoyable.
With this particular album, I know I’m expecting to get a photocard of one of the members, along with a postcard, a poster of the group and a sticker.
I’m unbothered about which member I’ll get.
I shake out the postcard first, smiling when I see it’s J-Hope, the rapper. Then I glance at the sticker, which is of their logo. Lastly, I place the photocard face down between my fingers. Marlon is leaning forward, his eyes glued on it, anticipating it just as much as me.
Then, in a flash, I turn the photocard around.
A Jungkook photocard!
I squeal, kicking my feet like a little girl, my mood skyrocketing. Marlon grins, and soon he’s slapping at my hands, matching my excitement.
“You pulled Jungkook!” he exclaims, at the same time I say, “I pulled Jungkook!”
Eventually, my giggles turn into genuine laughter as I fall against Marlon. For a moment, I can forget what Rafayel did, and what a waste the last few weeks of pining this has been.
As our laughs fade away, I meet Marlon’s eyes. He’s gazing at me, this genuine glint of happiness clear in his stare.
“Thank you, Marlon,” I say, my voice soft. I reach forward, interlinking my fingers in his, and squeeze them, “And I’m sorry for what I said yesterday. I didn’t mean - I just hope you don’t think that I -”
Marlon raises his palm, telling me to stop. His grin quietens into a gentle smile.
“Don’t be sorry, Garcia. I’m sorry too, for being so harsh with you. I just didn’t want to see you hurt.”
