sximsoc

[sximsoc]

the way this never posted…ts pmo OMFG i’m sorry to everyone fr (the few ppl who read this, i love you)

𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 6, 027

chapter 009 now playing…

Nari was right. It had been a couple of months since her run in with Mark Lee. She only ever saw him on T.V, billboards or on her social media feed every now and then. Other than that, she had yet to run into him, even at her work place. Every time she worked, he was no where to be found, even his members who knew where she worked never showed up.

It's not like they could. After their ISTJ promotions, they were back at work, getting ready for their new comeback and album, Baggy Jeans being the song they were promoting, and after that, NCT 127 had their new comeback of Fact Chek, they were still doing. However, even with all of their work still buzzing in his mind, Mark still had thoughts of Nari every now and then. If he has a break, or time to leave the company, he went to the bookstore, but she was never there when he showed up, and she was always there when he wasn't.

Even then, Nari's shifts went down. Since it was fall, she was back at school, going to class, studying and keeping up with her homework. It was essay after essay, quiz after quiz and of course, project after project. There was no ending to her routine, so she only had distant memories of her night with Mark Lee, almost fading despite seeing his face everywhere she looked on her way to school.

Nari was walking out of her class, the nice weather and wind flowing through her hair as her wired earbuds were playing music into her ears. Nari walked to the bus station for her bus, and once it arrived, she got in and sat down, pulling out her book to continue reading. This was her life, her normal life that was filled with no drama, just her school work, family and friends.

Nari kept reading, minding her own business when she decided to look out the window. She didn't know why, or how, or what prompted her to think about Mark, but she did. It came to every now and then, at night, in the middle of class, during a test, even when she's taking a shower, for some reason, Mark Lee and his dumb, awkward and stupid smile came to her mind.

It was like a virus, something that couldn't leave her mind no matter how much she thought about other things. Nari assumed she was going insane, but didn't tell anyone. It's not like she could, her friends never brought it up, her sister had long forgotten the NCT party and the aftermath of it all, and so she only ever talked about it in her journal.

Every little secret, every thing she ever wanted to say, experience and thought of, was inside her journal. Nari hated to admit it, but Mark Lee was in her journal for about six pages. She ranted and ranted, wrote and wrote all she could about her night with him. And every now and then, he'd pop up again.

I thought about him again.

He's so weird.

I don't know why I keep remembering Mark Lee, it's weird.

Am I weird for like remembering things about Mark?

My brain keeps reminding me of Mark when trying to fall asleep. It's annoying.

She'd write small things like that, small notes, one liners usually, and then move on to whatever else she wanted to write about. Nari had shame when mentioning him in her journal. She was no one, no one to him other than someone he had to spend a few hours with. Nari was a nobody and she had assumed that Mark had long forgotten her, no memories to pop up when they were trying to fall asleep.

Mark Lee was somebody. A somebody who would never remember a nobody like her.

It's why she has no reason to expect for them to meet again after months of no talk. After all, he was still going through promotions for Fact Check. She saw it all over Korea and her living room, Nayeon blasting the music video and song since it came out. Nari was working the night shift for the bookstore. They closed at ten-thirty, so Nari only had an hour left.

Watching as people came in and out, buying things, on a date, or having their headphones in, Nari would just watch. It's how she passed time, watching people, how they acted with one another, how they acted when alone, the way they were dressed, not ever judging them, just watching.

People watching was a habit she picked up while working at the bookstore. Nari kept watching people, hearing the bell ring from the door, making her to look over at the enternece. Nari offered them a smile and a bow, saying welcome in. They were well covered, a face mask on and a hoodie over their head, she thought nothing of it. But, the person paused, paused and locked eyes with her.

No way. It was Nari. Of course it was Nari, she works here, but Mark didn't think he'd run into her. Yeah, he tried to show up in hopes to see her, but he had given up hope after a week or so. So, he just came by to come by, liking the books they had and the music selection.

Mark didn't expect to see her again, especially like this. He didn't know how to act, other than bowing slightly and continuing on like he was a normal customer. Mark realized that Nari didn't recongnize him. Assuming she forgot about him, he felt a little disappointed, but he didn't want anyone to know that, especially himself.

Why was he disappointed anyways? It's not like she liked him or was a fan of his anyways. It's only normal for her to forget him after a couple of months. They saw each other in July, it was October now, so what made him think she'd remember him?

Nari rang up one of the customers, bidding them a goodbye when Mark decided to go up to her, a random book in his hands. He placed the book down on the counter, his hands fidgeting in his pockets as he shifted his weight of his feet.

Nari noticed this as she checked out his book. "You okay?" Nari asked, eyeing him suspiciously. Mark was startled, giving her a wide eyed look as he nodded.

"Y-yeah" His voice cracked, quickly clearing his throat. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay" He said more confidently, no more cracks.

Nari gave him a nod and a smile. Telling him his total, and him blindly giving her his card. As she wished him a good day while giving him his bag, Mark paused. He paused and stood in line.

Nari would usually tell him to move, but it was late and no one was behind him. "Anything else you need?" She asked, hoping he was just having an off day.

Mark was confused as to why he couldn't just leave like a normal customer in a shop. But no, he had to pause and just said the words that made Nari pause in astonishment.

"Can't believe you don't remember the jerk that hit you with a door" Mark chuckled out, hoping his words made this situation funnier than weird.

It didn't. In fact, Nari paused herself. Her brain trying to rack up any excuse as to maybe she heard him wrong, maybe she was delusional, maybe he was delusional and god the wrong person.

"Uh" Nari let out and Mark swore that his heart went down to his stomach. "Mark?" Nari asked and Mark felt relief going through his body.

He wasn't insane.

"No, you're not insane. I remember you" Nari told him and Mark's face flushed with embarrassment.

"I was thinking my thoughts out loud wasn't I?" He asked, mumbling it out like an embarrassed child trying to order for himself.

"Yeah, you were" Nari chuckled out, knowing he was prone to speaking without thinking. Nari then looked around and leaned in a bit closer. "I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?"

Mark paused. What was he doing here? Honestly, he wanted a book, any book, but subtly, he was hoping he'd run into her. "Well, that's a question, a good one at that" Mark replied awkwardly, his hand taking off his cap, running a hand through it before putting it back on. "I come by often, I like this bookstore and had no idea you worked here until like a few months ago"

"A few months ago?" Nari asked, confused by what he meant.

Marks heart dropped to his stomach again. She forgot? Nari forgot how they met here a couple of months ago by chance. How he grabbed a book and she told him how it was a cute and good one. How she treated him nicely and with no rude comebacks. Mark thought about that moment every now and then, even though he saw more people and experienced more memories than Nari could with her normal routine, he was able to remember more than her.

Nari, however, wrote them all down. She wrote down the interaction with him, wrote down every time she thought about him, even if it was in one liners and not much paragraphs, he was still there. Mark was everywhere too, she saw his face, heard his name, heard his voice. Yeah, Nari remembers the night, but hardly remembers the day she saw him again by chance. But, her diary knows everything.

"I ran into you by accident here, grabbed a cute book" Mark replied, not expecting her to remember after her first reaction. He honestly felt weird remembering it, it was a small interaction he remembers while Nari hardly did.

"Oh!" Nari said, her eyes a little wide as she remembers the small incident. "Yeah! now I remember, you scared me that day" Nari joked, a small smile on her face.

"I did?" Mark questioned, a little apologetic at scaring her that day. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to"

Nari shook her head, waving a hand to brush off his apology. "No it's fine, just spoked"

"Yeah" Mark mumbled out as he still stood in line and Nari didn't dismiss him.

"Yeah" She replied back, an awkward silence settling around them. They could feel the conversation was ending, Mark had to leave anyways and Nari had a shift to finish.

"S-so, uh, nice seeing you?" Mark questioned, thinking if that was the right thing to say.

Nari nodded. "Yeah, don't go around hitting more people with doors, yeah?" She advised and Mark laughed this time.

"Yeah" Mark replied again, beginning to walk away, but stoped as he turned around to look at Nari again. "Actually" He said, making Nari look up from the counter where she was going through this whole interaction in her head.

"What?"

Mark wanted to ask her for something, her Instagram maybe? No, instagram feels too weird, and phone number was way too personal. They didn't even know each other, but he felt this pull, this weird thing to talk to her more. At least, Mark wanted to talk to her more. He didn't know why or understand why.

"Um, never mind actually" Mark dismissed as he quickly realized, he didn't know what to ask her for and why he would ask her for it.

Nari raised an eyebrow at him, questioning his actions. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later" Mark affirmed with a nod. See you later? Was he actually coming back in hopes of seeing her?

No, not possible. Nari thought it wasn't possible he meant his words. After all, when would he find the time?

"Even with your extravagant life?" She asked, knowing and not expecting him to drop by any time soon with his idol life.

Mark smirked under his mask, liking how she couldn't see his smug face. "How can I not visit my number one fan?"

Nari froze as Mark was now making his way to the door. "Not your fan!" Nari called out to him.

"You will be one day" Mark replied, leaving the small bookstore and getting back in the van.

"What took you so long?" Hyunmin asked, looking into the rear view mirror to look at Mark.

Mark shook his head, taking off his mask. "No reason" He mumbled out, looking out the window to see Nari's bookstore leaving his view.

"You saw her again, didn't you?" Hyunmin asked, teasing him.

Mark felt his face flush as he felt exposed. Mark looked down at his lap and groaned a little. "Don't tell Donghyuck again" He begged.

"Again?" Hyunmin asked, glancing into the rear view mirror every now and then. "I never told him anything"

"He ratted you out" Mark replied to him.

"Snitch" Hyunmin mumbled out. He told Donghyuck not to tell Mark what he told him. Hyunmin thought that Donghyuck and him had a pact, a trust, that when Mark spilled something they never told him what they said to each other. Hyunmin felt betrayed, at a loss for words, he was never driving Donghyuck anywhere ever again. "When did you become so bold anyways?" He asked.

Mark furrowed his brows, looking at the back of Hyunmin's head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, talking to a girl you can't stop thinking about" Hyunmin teased, winking at him in the rear view mirror.

Mark cursed at him in his head to keep his eyes on the road. But what did he mean by being bold? Mark knew he was a little awkward sometimes, but he could speak confidently, it came with the territory of his job. Mark was able to talk to girls, he talked to them all the time, Xiaotong, Hyemi, Jina, Jukyun, the girls in Aespa too. He talked to a lot of girls, confidently too.

So why was he so awkward around Nari? She was just another girl.

Mark rolled his eyes at Hyunmin's words. "I stop thinking about her from time to time" He defending himself.

"When you're asleep it doesn't count" Hyunmin laughed out.

"I don't think about her all the time!" Mark exclaimed, feeling himself be a little exposed and called out. "She's just, interesting" He clarified.

And she was. Nari, although a fairly normal girl just trying to survive university, was interesting to him. Mark wanted to know her more, wanted to see why she was so interesting to him.

"Calling a girl interesting is insane to me" Hyunmin pointed out.

Mark groaned again. "What would you call her then?"

"Fair point" Hyunmin said after thinking about it for a few seconds. He quickly sighed as it dawned on him of what he does for a living. "Does this mean I have to drive you here every time you wanna see your interesting girl"

Mark thought about it. He did want to see Nari again, if that means asking Hyunmin for a few rides, he doesn't think it could hurt. He'd just have to find the time. "Perhaps, but don't tell Donghyuck" Mark told him, firmly posing the order of not telling Haechan about it.

"I won't, I won't" Hyunmin promised. He promised not to tell Donghyuck, but he didn't promise he wouldn't tell the others.

Nari had her ear buds in as she was walking from the bus station to her work place. It was an impromptu shift, one of her co workers called out sick and asked her to cover his shift. Nari had nothing better to do, other than an essay that was due in the next week, but it was due next week, so she had nothing to do today. 

Opening the door, the bell chimed signaling someone came in. It was around 5 pm when she came in, around the time her co worker was going to start his shift. Mark's ears perked up at the sound and turned around. A book in his hand, skimming through the pages, when he saw Nari come in, she was in her own world as she went behind the corner and to the back rooms where he assumed was their employee room.

Mark noticed how she didn't see him, he figured she wouldn't, after all, Nari was oblivious. Anyone could pick up on that fact. Mark chuckled at his thoughts about Nari being oblivious and went back to skimming through the book in his hands. Mark sighed, not finding the book interesting anymore, putting it back on the shelf and continued to skim the spines to see anything interesting.

Nari then came out of the employee room, looking at the schedule. Sure enough, now she found out why her co worker called out sick, either he knew he had to restock the whole music section due to the new collection coming, or he was actually sick. 

"Cheeky whore" Nari mumbled under her breath. Soojin looked over, asking what she said, "Nothing, nothing" Nari quickly replied, a customer service smile on her face and Soojin furrowed her brows but went back to work. 

Nari went to the back to grab the assigned box that she needed to restock the music section. It was two heavy boxes filled with, she didn't care much, but it was filled with music. Nari sighed as she grabbed one of the boxes, cursing her life as she dragged the slightly too big box to the music section that was on the other side of the stock room. 

Nari was struggling to carry the box, cursing her co worker for calling out. "If he's not sick I hope he starts coughing in the next three days" She mumbled, still carrying the box, her pace rather slow as she struggled to walk.

Nari swore her arms were gonna give up when the box felt a little lighter. "Jesus?" Nari mumbled to herself as she felt another persons presence.

"I wish" The voice said and Nari felt shock flow through her, but she quickly laughed it off.

"This is so crazy" Nari mumbled out, feeling her self get more and more delusional at her thoughts. "Either you're Jesus or you sound like Mark Lee" 

Mark laughed at her comment. "It's crazy because it is me" 

Nari paused and raised an eyebrow, the two still standing, holding the box, not being able to see one another. "Jesus?" Nari asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she felt confused and slightly disoriented. 

Did she die and not know? Is Jesus actually in her presence? Is Nari dead? How did she make it to heaven? 

"Yo what?" Mark laughed again, amused by her words and thought process. "Nari, it's me, Mark?" He said, leaving his body to his right to look around at Nari. 

Nari leaned over to her left and saw Mark Lee. "Oh, it's you" She mumbled, but then her eyes went wide. "Wait! What are you doing here?" She asked. 

"Well, first I was looking around and now I'm helping you" Mark replied as he began walking backwards and Nari followed his lead 

"You gotta stop showing up to my work, Mark Lee" Nari sighed out as she hoped this wouldn't be a regular thing. Them two meeting, especially if it involved doors in any way. "I might start to think you're a stalker"

Mark caught her words and laughed awkwardly. "Yo? What?" 

"I said what I said" Nari brushed him off and saw how they got closer to where she needed to restock. "Stop walking, set it here" 

"Okay, on three" Mark suggested as they stoped next to a shelf. 

Nari nodded. "Three" She said and her grip on the box loosed, making Mark cary most of the weight. 

"Wait—Jesus, that was heavy" Mark huffed out as the box was now on the floor. 

"Now I know why my co worker called out" Nari replied and looked off with annoyance. "Stupid boy"

Mark looked down at the abnormally large box and wondered what was in there for it to be so big and heavy. 

"So, what's in the box?" He asked, looking back at Nari who pulled out a box cutter and started opening. 

"Other then new copies of your new album, a bunch of other music I need to restock and another box has even more music, but that's like western music" She explained, pulling out a few albums of his and putting them on display. 

"Oh" He mumbled. Mark went to stand next to Nari who was squatted down, putting things on the waist height shelves. Mark then plopped down next to her. "Want me to help you with the other box?"

Nari stoped stocking to look at him next to her. Their faces in slight close proximity, but not enough to make either of them feel uncomfortable or notice it enough. "Don't you have schedules?" Nari asked him, going back to putting albums on the shelves. 

"W-well, yeah" Mark stuttered out. 

Nari chuckled as she began to assure him that she was okay. "Then I think I can handle it on my own"

"You cursing the guy who called off saying he was gonna cough says otherwise" Mark pointed out and Nari froze for a second, she didn't know he heard her curse her co worker.  

Nari quickly went back to work. "I have no idea what you're talking about"

Mark smiled at her reaction and decided to change the conversation. "So, what did you think?" He asked her. 

"Think of what?" Nari asked back, wondering what he was asking about. 

"Fact Check"

"Oh, your comeback?" Nari asked, glancing at Mark every now and then. She then thought about the song. Nari nodded, although she found it annoying after listening to it on repeat due to Nayeon, the first few plays were good. "It was good"

Good. Good? Mark didn't really know what to make of that, he hintly didn't. Nari was a hard person to read when it came to his music and to his performances. She wasn't a fan, but that didn't mean she didn't like his music. but said she found it annoying when it was on a repeat. So, did Nari like his songs? Oh good Lord, he was overthinking her response.

"Good? like good good or like good?" Mark asked, adding a fake tone to his stressed good. 

Nari playfully scoffed at his tone. "What's the difference?" She asked, stoping her stocking to give him her full attention. 

"Well, good-good means it was, you know, good-good, but good, means you said it as a compliment" He explained.

Mark didn't know why he wanted to know her opinion so badly, but he did. Maybe it was his pride, maybe he wanted to know that, even if it was just one song, she liked his music. 

Nari furrowed her brows at his explaination. "But what if I said it was good good, would that mean I absolutely hated it?"

"Probably" He didn't even hesitate. Mark knew exactly what he meant and knew exactly what she meant. He was overthinking. 

Nari laughed at his antics, but smiled at him. "It was a good comeback, Mark" She assured him. 

Mark shook his head and his face fell, despite not being able to see it, Nari saw it. "You hated it" Mark replied, faking a cry in agony. 

"I think you're overthinking my tone" Nari remained calm as she replied to him. 

Mark looked back at her and copied her calm statute. "I think you're underthinking my overthinking of your tone" He said and Nari scrunched her nose in confusion. 

Nari lifted up her hand to pat him on the shoulder. "I think you're going insane over my opinion" Nari went back to stocking and noticed how the shelve designated to the new album was getting full. 

Mark sighed. "A little bit"

"You're funny" Nari laughed as she gestured for him to move down and he did what she wanted him to do.

"I've been told" Mark replied, watching how Nari dragged the box with her as she moved onto re stocking the other shelves with albums from another artist. 

"So, what kind of book you looking for?" Nari asked as she remembered why he was here in the first place. 

"Anything really" Mark brushed off. "I finished the other ones I bought, so I'm kinda bored and need a new one"

"Ah, okay" Nari understood. "Well, Dracula is always a good read" She suggested, remembering the story from her high school years. 

Mark tilted his head in interest. "Really?" He asked. He's heard of the classic, of course he did, knowing it was a part of english class curriculum. Mark didn't read it of course, only ever looking up the sparknotes. 

"I enjoyed it" Nari said with a smile as she vaguely remembers finishing the book within a fee weeks, unable to put it down. 

Mark hummed. "Might check it out then"

"Actually don't" Nari called out to him, just as he was about to leave to find the book. "Last time I read it was like my senior year of high school, so"

"Anything fresh on your mind?" He asked and Nari thought about it for a second. 

"Well, the last book I read is like really short and kinda embarrassing" Nari mumbled out, running a hand through her hair not wanting to share the book she read. 

Mark found it amusing, how she was slightly embarrassed at the book that was on her mind. "What is it?" He was even more interested than Dracula. 

Nari sighed and said the name of the book anyways. "Flipped, it's a little book, took me like a day or so to ready"

"What's it about?" He asked. 

"Just these two kids who live across one another, she has a huge crush on him and chicken eggs are a huge thing along with a sycamore tree"

Mark furrowed his brows. "A sycamore tree?"

"Insane, right?" Nari asked as she chuckled, remembering how important it was to the story. 

Mark shook his head. "Sounds sweet"

"It's a cute little book. It's uh, it's in the Young Adult section, look for Van Draanen" Nari instructed and Mark nodded. 

However, Mark wanted more. He wanted to know another book Nari had read. "Any other book you recommend?" 

"Little Women is always a safe option" 

"Where's that one?" He asked. 

"Coming of Age"

Mark smiled at her, a genuine smile as he felt more comfortable with her. The conversation was easier than he expected. "Thanks, Nari" 

"Anytime" Nari smiled back, knowing he'd come back and ask for more book recommendations.

Nari didn't mind giving them to him. It was her job after all. At least, that's what she was telling herself. 

"I'll hold your word for it"

*gigis thoughts*

I SWEAR MORE ONE ON ONE MARK AND NARI MOMENTS ARE COMING!!!! trust this is a slow burn for the ages

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo @bbykaixx

𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 | 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌 | 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍

[sximsoc]

𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 6, 027

chapter 009 now playing…

Nari was right. It had been a couple of months since her run in with Mark Lee. She only ever saw him on T.V, billboards or on her social media feed every now and then. Other than that, she had yet to run into him, even at her work place. Every time she worked, he was no where to be found, even his members who knew where she worked never showed up.

It's not like they could. After their ISTJ promotions, they were back at work, getting ready for their new comeback and album, Baggy Jeans being the song they were promoting, and after that, NCT 127 had their new comeback of Fact Chek, they were still doing. However, even with all of their work still buzzing in his mind, Mark still had thoughts of Nari every now and then. If he has a break, or time to leave the company, he went to the bookstore, but she was never there when he showed up, and she was always there when he wasn't.

Even then, Nari's shifts went down. Since it was fall, she was back at school, going to class, studying and keeping up with her homework. It was essay after essay, quiz after quiz and of course, project after project. There was no ending to her routine, so she only had distant memories of her night with Mark Lee, almost fading despite seeing his face everywhere she looked on her way to school.

Nari was walking out of her class, the nice weather and wind flowing through her hair as her wired earbuds were playing music into her ears. Nari walked to the bus station for her bus, and once it arrived, she got in and sat down, pulling out her book to continue reading. This was her life, her normal life that was filled with no drama, just her school work, family and friends.

Nari kept reading, minding her own business when she decided to look out the window. She didn't know why, or how, or what prompted her to think about Mark, but she did. It came to every now and then, at night, in the middle of class, during a test, even when she's taking a shower, for some reason, Mark Lee and his dumb, awkward and stupid smile came to her mind.

It was like a virus, something that couldn't leave her mind no matter how much she thought about other things. Nari assumed she was going insane, but didn't tell anyone. It's not like she could, her friends never brought it up, her sister had long forgotten the NCT party and the aftermath of it all, and so she only ever talked about it in her journal.

Every little secret, every thing she ever wanted to say, experience and thought of, was inside her journal. Nari hated to admit it, but Mark Lee was in her journal for about six pages. She ranted and ranted, wrote and wrote all she could about her night with him. And every now and then, he'd pop up again.

I thought about him again.

He's so weird.

I don't know why I keep remembering Mark Lee, it's weird.

Am I weird for like remembering things about Mark?

My brain keeps reminding me of Mark when trying to fall asleep. It's annoying.

She'd write small things like that, small notes, one liners usually, and then move on to whatever else she wanted to write about. Nari had shame when mentioning him in her journal. She was no one, no one to him other than someone he had to spend a few hours with. Nari was a nobody and she had assumed that Mark had long forgotten her, no memories to pop up when they were trying to fall asleep.

Mark Lee was somebody. A somebody who would never remember a nobody like her.

It's why she has no reason to expect for them to meet again after months of no talk. After all, he was still going through promotions for Fact Check. She saw it all over Korea and her living room, Nayeon blasting the music video and song since it came out. Nari was working the night shift for the bookstore. They closed at ten-thirty, so Nari only had an hour left.

Watching as people came in and out, buying things, on a date, or having their headphones in, Nari would just watch. It's how she passed time, watching people, how they acted with one another, how they acted when alone, the way they were dressed, not ever judging them, just watching.

People watching was a habit she picked up while working at the bookstore. Nari kept watching people, hearing the bell ring from the door, making her to look over at the enternece. Nari offered them a smile and a bow, saying welcome in. They were well covered, a face mask on and a hoodie over their head, she thought nothing of it. But, the person paused, paused and locked eyes with her.

No way. It was Nari. Of course it was Nari, she works here, but Mark didn't think he'd run into her. Yeah, he tried to show up in hopes to see her, but he had given up hope after a week or so. So, he just came by to come by, liking the books they had and the music selection.

Mark didn't expect to see her again, especially like this. He didn't know how to act, other than bowing slightly and continuing on like he was a normal customer. Mark realized that Nari didn't recongnize him. Assuming she forgot about him, he felt a little disappointed, but he didn't want anyone to know that, especially himself.

Why was he disappointed anyways? It's not like she liked him or was a fan of his anyways. It's only normal for her to forget him after a couple of months. They saw each other in July, it was October now, so what made him think she'd remember him?

Nari rang up one of the customers, bidding them a goodbye when Mark decided to go up to her, a random book in his hands. He placed the book down on the counter, his hands fidgeting in his pockets as he shifted his weight of his feet.

Nari noticed this as she checked out his book. "You okay?" Nari asked, eyeing him suspiciously. Mark was startled, giving her a wide eyed look as he nodded.

"Y-yeah" His voice cracked, quickly clearing his throat. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay" He said more confidently, no more cracks.

Nari gave him a nod and a smile. Telling him his total, and him blindly giving her his card. As she wished him a good day while giving him his bag, Mark paused. He paused and stood in line.

Nari would usually tell him to move, but it was late and no one was behind him. "Anything else you need?" She asked, hoping he was just having an off day.

Mark was confused as to why he couldn't just leave like a normal customer in a shop. But no, he had to pause and just said the words that made Nari pause in astonishment.

"Can't believe you don't remember the jerk that hit you with a door" Mark chuckled out, hoping his words made this situation funnier than weird.

It didn't. In fact, Nari paused herself. Her brain trying to rack up any excuse as to maybe she heard him wrong, maybe she was delusional, maybe he was delusional and god the wrong person.

"Uh" Nari let out and Mark swore that his heart went down to his stomach. "Mark?" Nari asked and Mark felt relief going through his body.

He wasn't insane.

"No, you're not insane. I remember you" Nari told him and Mark's face flushed with embarrassment.

"I was thinking my thoughts out loud wasn't I?" He asked, mumbling it out like an embarrassed child trying to order for himself.

"Yeah, you were" Nari chuckled out, knowing he was prone to speaking without thinking. Nari then looked around and leaned in a bit closer. "I'm sorry, but what are you doing here?"

Mark paused. What was he doing here? Honestly, he wanted a book, any book, but subtly, he was hoping he'd run into her. "Well, that's a question, a good one at that" Mark replied awkwardly, his hand taking off his cap, running a hand through it before putting it back on. "I come by often, I like this bookstore and had no idea you worked here until like a few months ago"

"A few months ago?" Nari asked, confused by what he meant.

Marks heart dropped to his stomach again. She forgot? Nari forgot how they met here a couple of months ago by chance. How he grabbed a book and she told him how it was a cute and good one. How she treated him nicely and with no rude comebacks. Mark thought about that moment every now and then, even though he saw more people and experienced more memories than Nari could with her normal routine, he was able to remember more than her.

Nari, however, wrote them all down. She wrote down the interaction with him, wrote down every time she thought about him, even if it was in one liners and not much paragraphs, he was still there. Mark was everywhere too, she saw his face, heard his name, heard his voice. Yeah, Nari remembers the night, but hardly remembers the day she saw him again by chance. But, her diary knows everything.

"I ran into you by accident here, grabbed a cute book" Mark replied, not expecting her to remember after her first reaction. He honestly felt weird remembering it, it was a small interaction he remembers while Nari hardly did.

"Oh!" Nari said, her eyes a little wide as she remembers the small incident. "Yeah! now I remember, you scared me that day" Nari joked, a small smile on her face.

"I did?" Mark questioned, a little apologetic at scaring her that day. "I'm sorry, didn't mean to"

Nari shook her head, waving a hand to brush off his apology. "No it's fine, just spoked"

"Yeah" Mark mumbled out as he still stood in line and Nari didn't dismiss him.

"Yeah" She replied back, an awkward silence settling around them. They could feel the conversation was ending, Mark had to leave anyways and Nari had a shift to finish.

"S-so, uh, nice seeing you?" Mark questioned, thinking if that was the right thing to say.

Nari nodded. "Yeah, don't go around hitting more people with doors, yeah?" She advised and Mark laughed this time.

"Yeah" Mark replied again, beginning to walk away, but stoped as he turned around to look at Nari again. "Actually" He said, making Nari look up from the counter where she was going through this whole interaction in her head.

"What?"

Mark wanted to ask her for something, her Instagram maybe? No, instagram feels too weird, and phone number was way too personal. They didn't even know each other, but he felt this pull, this weird thing to talk to her more. At least, Mark wanted to talk to her more. He didn't know why or understand why.

"Um, never mind actually" Mark dismissed as he quickly realized, he didn't know what to ask her for and why he would ask her for it.

Nari raised an eyebrow at him, questioning his actions. "You sure?"

"Yeah, I'll see you later" Mark affirmed with a nod. See you later? Was he actually coming back in hopes of seeing her?

No, not possible. Nari thought it wasn't possible he meant his words. After all, when would he find the time?

"Even with your extravagant life?" She asked, knowing and not expecting him to drop by any time soon with his idol life.

Mark smirked under his mask, liking how she couldn't see his smug face. "How can I not visit my number one fan?"

Nari froze as Mark was now making his way to the door. "Not your fan!" Nari called out to him.

"You will be one day" Mark replied, leaving the small bookstore and getting back in the van.

"What took you so long?" Hyunmin asked, looking into the rear view mirror to look at Mark.

Mark shook his head, taking off his mask. "No reason" He mumbled out, looking out the window to see Nari's bookstore leaving his view.

"You saw her again, didn't you?" Hyunmin asked, teasing him.

Mark felt his face flush as he felt exposed. Mark looked down at his lap and groaned a little. "Don't tell Donghyuck again" He begged.

"Again?" Hyunmin asked, glancing into the rear view mirror every now and then. "I never told him anything"

"He ratted you out" Mark replied to him.

"Snitch" Hyunmin mumbled out. He told Donghyuck not to tell Mark what he told him. Hyunmin thought that Donghyuck and him had a pact, a trust, that when Mark spilled something they never told him what they said to each other. Hyunmin felt betrayed, at a loss for words, he was never driving Donghyuck anywhere ever again. "When did you become so bold anyways?" He asked.

Mark furrowed his brows, looking at the back of Hyunmin's head. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, talking to a girl you can't stop thinking about" Hyunmin teased, winking at him in the rear view mirror.

Mark cursed at him in his head to keep his eyes on the road. But what did he mean by being bold? Mark knew he was a little awkward sometimes, but he could speak confidently, it came with the territory of his job. Mark was able to talk to girls, he talked to them all the time, Xiaotong, Hyemi, Jina, Jukyun, the girls in Aespa too. He talked to a lot of girls, confidently too.

So why was he so awkward around Nari? She was just another girl.

Mark rolled his eyes at Hyunmin's words. "I stop thinking about her from time to time" He defending himself.

"When you're asleep it doesn't count" Hyunmin laughed out.

"I don't think about her all the time!" Mark exclaimed, feeling himself be a little exposed and called out. "She's just, interesting" He clarified.

And she was. Nari, although a fairly normal girl just trying to survive university, was interesting to him. Mark wanted to know her more, wanted to see why she was so interesting to him.

"Calling a girl interesting is insane to me" Hyunmin pointed out.

Mark groaned again. "What would you call her then?"

"Fair point" Hyunmin said after thinking about it for a few seconds. He quickly sighed as it dawned on him of what he does for a living. "Does this mean I have to drive you here every time you wanna see your interesting girl"

Mark thought about it. He did want to see Nari again, if that means asking Hyunmin for a few rides, he doesn't think it could hurt. He'd just have to find the time. "Perhaps, but don't tell Donghyuck" Mark told him, firmly posing the order of not telling Haechan about it.

"I won't, I won't" Hyunmin promised. He promised not to tell Donghyuck, but he didn't promise he wouldn't tell the others.

Nari had her ear buds in as she was walking from the bus station to her work place. It was an impromptu shift, one of her co workers called out sick and asked her to cover his shift. Nari had nothing better to do, other than an essay that was due in the next week, but it was due next week, so she had nothing to do today. 

Opening the door, the bell chimed signaling someone came in. It was around 5 pm when she came in, around the time her co worker was going to start his shift. Mark's ears perked up at the sound and turned around. A book in his hand, skimming through the pages, when he saw Nari come in, she was in her own world as she went behind the corner and to the back rooms where he assumed was their employee room.

Mark noticed how she didn't see him, he figured she wouldn't, after all, Nari was oblivious. Anyone could pick up on that fact. Mark chuckled at his thoughts about Nari being oblivious and went back to skimming through the book in his hands. Mark sighed, not finding the book interesting anymore, putting it back on the shelf and continued to skim the spines to see anything interesting.

Nari then came out of the employee room, looking at the schedule. Sure enough, now she found out why her co worker called out sick, either he knew he had to restock the whole music section due to the new collection coming, or he was actually sick. 

"Cheeky whore" Nari mumbled under her breath. Soojin looked over, asking what she said, "Nothing, nothing" Nari quickly replied, a customer service smile on her face and Soojin furrowed her brows but went back to work. 

Nari went to the back to grab the assigned box that she needed to restock the music section. It was two heavy boxes filled with, she didn't care much, but it was filled with music. Nari sighed as she grabbed one of the boxes, cursing her life as she dragged the slightly too big box to the music section that was on the other side of the stock room. 

Nari was struggling to carry the box, cursing her co worker for calling out. "If he's not sick I hope he starts coughing in the next three days" She mumbled, still carrying the box, her pace rather slow as she struggled to walk.

Nari swore her arms were gonna give up when the box felt a little lighter. "Jesus?" Nari mumbled to herself as she felt another persons presence.

"I wish" The voice said and Nari felt shock flow through her, but she quickly laughed it off.

"This is so crazy" Nari mumbled out, feeling her self get more and more delusional at her thoughts. "Either you're Jesus or you sound like Mark Lee" 

Mark laughed at her comment. "It's crazy because it is me" 

Nari paused and raised an eyebrow, the two still standing, holding the box, not being able to see one another. "Jesus?" Nari asked, her eyebrows furrowed as she felt confused and slightly disoriented. 

Did she die and not know? Is Jesus actually in her presence? Is Nari dead? How did she make it to heaven? 

"Yo what?" Mark laughed again, amused by her words and thought process. "Nari, it's me, Mark?" He said, leaving his body to his right to look around at Nari. 

Nari leaned over to her left and saw Mark Lee. "Oh, it's you" She mumbled, but then her eyes went wide. "Wait! What are you doing here?" She asked. 

"Well, first I was looking around and now I'm helping you" Mark replied as he began walking backwards and Nari followed his lead 

"You gotta stop showing up to my work, Mark Lee" Nari sighed out as she hoped this wouldn't be a regular thing. Them two meeting, especially if it involved doors in any way. "I might start to think you're a stalker"

Mark caught her words and laughed awkwardly. "Yo? What?" 

"I said what I said" Nari brushed him off and saw how they got closer to where she needed to restock. "Stop walking, set it here" 

"Okay, on three" Mark suggested as they stoped next to a shelf. 

Nari nodded. "Three" She said and her grip on the box loosed, making Mark cary most of the weight. 

"Wait—Jesus, that was heavy" Mark huffed out as the box was now on the floor. 

"Now I know why my co worker called out" Nari replied and looked off with annoyance. "Stupid boy"

Mark looked down at the abnormally large box and wondered what was in there for it to be so big and heavy. 

"So, what's in the box?" He asked, looking back at Nari who pulled out a box cutter and started opening. 

"Other then new copies of your new album, a bunch of other music I need to restock and another box has even more music, but that's like western music" She explained, pulling out a few albums of his and putting them on display. 

"Oh" He mumbled. Mark went to stand next to Nari who was squatted down, putting things on the waist height shelves. Mark then plopped down next to her. "Want me to help you with the other box?"

Nari stoped stocking to look at him next to her. Their faces in slight close proximity, but not enough to make either of them feel uncomfortable or notice it enough. "Don't you have schedules?" Nari asked him, going back to putting albums on the shelves. 

"W-well, yeah" Mark stuttered out. 

Nari chuckled as she began to assure him that she was okay. "Then I think I can handle it on my own"

"You cursing the guy who called off saying he was gonna cough says otherwise" Mark pointed out and Nari froze for a second, she didn't know he heard her curse her co worker.  

Nari quickly went back to work. "I have no idea what you're talking about"

Mark smiled at her reaction and decided to change the conversation. "So, what did you think?" He asked her. 

"Think of what?" Nari asked back, wondering what he was asking about. 

"Fact Check"

"Oh, your comeback?" Nari asked, glancing at Mark every now and then. She then thought about the song. Nari nodded, although she found it annoying after listening to it on repeat due to Nayeon, the first few plays were good. "It was good"

Good. Good? Mark didn't really know what to make of that, he hintly didn't. Nari was a hard person to read when it came to his music and to his performances. She wasn't a fan, but that didn't mean she didn't like his music. but said she found it annoying when it was on a repeat. So, did Nari like his songs? Oh good Lord, he was overthinking her response.

"Good? like good good or like good?" Mark asked, adding a fake tone to his stressed good. 

Nari playfully scoffed at his tone. "What's the difference?" She asked, stoping her stocking to give him her full attention. 

"Well, good-good means it was, you know, good-good, but good, means you said it as a compliment" He explained.

Mark didn't know why he wanted to know her opinion so badly, but he did. Maybe it was his pride, maybe he wanted to know that, even if it was just one song, she liked his music. 

Nari furrowed her brows at his explaination. "But what if I said it was good good, would that mean I absolutely hated it?"

"Probably" He didn't even hesitate. Mark knew exactly what he meant and knew exactly what she meant. He was overthinking. 

Nari laughed at his antics, but smiled at him. "It was a good comeback, Mark" She assured him. 

Mark shook his head and his face fell, despite not being able to see it, Nari saw it. "You hated it" Mark replied, faking a cry in agony. 

"I think you're overthinking my tone" Nari remained calm as she replied to him. 

Mark looked back at her and copied her calm statute. "I think you're underthinking my overthinking of your tone" He said and Nari scrunched her nose in confusion. 

Nari lifted up her hand to pat him on the shoulder. "I think you're going insane over my opinion" Nari went back to stocking and noticed how the shelve designated to the new album was getting full. 

Mark sighed. "A little bit"

"You're funny" Nari laughed as she gestured for him to move down and he did what she wanted him to do.

"I've been told" Mark replied, watching how Nari dragged the box with her as she moved onto re stocking the other shelves with albums from another artist. 

"So, what kind of book you looking for?" Nari asked as she remembered why he was here in the first place. 

"Anything really" Mark brushed off. "I finished the other ones I bought, so I'm kinda bored and need a new one"

"Ah, okay" Nari understood. "Well, Dracula is always a good read" She suggested, remembering the story from her high school years. 

Mark tilted his head in interest. "Really?" He asked. He's heard of the classic, of course he did, knowing it was a part of english class curriculum. Mark didn't read it of course, only ever looking up the sparknotes. 

"I enjoyed it" Nari said with a smile as she vaguely remembers finishing the book within a fee weeks, unable to put it down. 

Mark hummed. "Might check it out then"

"Actually don't" Nari called out to him, just as he was about to leave to find the book. "Last time I read it was like my senior year of high school, so"

"Anything fresh on your mind?" He asked and Nari thought about it for a second. 

"Well, the last book I read is like really short and kinda embarrassing" Nari mumbled out, running a hand through her hair not wanting to share the book she read. 

Mark found it amusing, how she was slightly embarrassed at the book that was on her mind. "What is it?" He was even more interested than Dracula. 

Nari sighed and said the name of the book anyways. "Flipped, it's a little book, took me like a day or so to ready"

"What's it about?" He asked. 

"Just these two kids who live across one another, she has a huge crush on him and chicken eggs are a huge thing along with a sycamore tree"

Mark furrowed his brows. "A sycamore tree?"

"Insane, right?" Nari asked as she chuckled, remembering how important it was to the story. 

Mark shook his head. "Sounds sweet"

"It's a cute little book. It's uh, it's in the Young Adult section, look for Van Draanen" Nari instructed and Mark nodded. 

However, Mark wanted more. He wanted to know another book Nari had read. "Any other book you recommend?" 

"Little Women is always a safe option" 

"Where's that one?" He asked. 

"Coming of Age"

Mark smiled at her, a genuine smile as he felt more comfortable with her. The conversation was easier than he expected. "Thanks, Nari" 

"Anytime" Nari smiled back, knowing he'd come back and ask for more book recommendations.

Nari didn't mind giving them to him. It was her job after all. At least, that's what she was telling herself. 

"I'll hold your word for it"

*gigis thoughts*

I SWEAR MORE ONE ON ONE MARK AND NARI MOMENTS ARE COMING!!!! trust this is a slow burn for the ages

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo @bbykaixx

𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 | 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌 | 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍

[sximsoc]

CHAPTER 9 COMING OUT TMR 1:11 CST!!!!!!

𝐢 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 6, 340

chapter 008 now playing…

While Nari was having fun on one side of Seoul, Mark Lee was inside the SM Building, getting ready for the NCT Dream comeback of ISTJ, that was on Monday, the next day. They were in the practice room all morning, getting breaks every now and then. Right now, he was on a break, sitting on the couch, trying to catch his breath from the instense choreography.

He drank from his water bottle as his members around him did different things to calm themselves before their break was over. They had just gotten off tour and were now going straight into promotions. It was insane how much they worked, especially him and Haechan. Having comeback after comeback, tour after tour, interviews and promotions, it was a lot for the two young adults. But it was their lives, everything they trained for, this was the dream they hoped to achieve. They just never thought that they would hardly get any breaks, any chance to hit pause, any chance to breathe.

Maybe that's why he couldn't get his mind off of Nari and their fiasco out of his mind. He still thought about it, it was two days ago that they had met and, boy did Nari leave a lasting impression on Mark. When he got home that night, he couldn't stop thinking about her, how she was so rude to him, so out spoken and so, he hates to say this, different compared to the other fans he's met. Considering she isn't a fan, it made more sense, but she knew who he was, ergo she was different compared to the people he met that knew him and his status.

Nari didn't really care for his idol image, until it came to the thought of being caught seen with him, but Mark assumed it was her being worried about herself rather than the rumors that could hurt him. Nonetheless, she still didn't care. Nari talked backed to him, was kinda rude to him, was annoyed with him and didn't change the way she spoke to him when she found out who he was. It was insane to him, how those few hours of awkwardness, tension, and slight anger made him normal, even though it was an abnormal encounter.

"What you thinking about?" Haechan asked, sitting down next to him on the couch next to him.

Mark shook his head, brushing off the idea that he was thinking. "Nothing" He replied, but Haechan knew him too well to know that Mark had a certain face when he was thinking and right now, he was thinking.

"Come on, tell Hyuck what you're thinking about" Haechan teased with a smile, putting his arm around Mark's shoulder, a way to coax him into telling.

Mark shook his head though, not wanting to spill his shenanigans to Haechan who already knew and teased him about it the next morning on their way to work.

Haechan noticed how Mark was being quiet and he had a hunch, a small inkling that Mark was thinking about someone, and not something.

"You're not thinking about that girl are you?" He asked and Mark instantly froze, his shoulders tensing before shrugging off Haechan's arm.

"N-no, no way dude" Mark mumbled out, defending himself to not seem suspicious. "Like, why would I think about her?" He asked.

Haechan raised his eyebrow and sighed, leaning back into the couch while Mark remained up right. "You're right, you can't possibly be thinking about that girl. I mean, after all, it's not like you ran into her again at a bookstore"

Mark froze again, his eyes going wide and his pulse quickened. He knew? Out of everyone, it had to be Lee Donghyuck who knew that Mark ran into Nari again? In a bookstore?

Mark ruffled his hair and let out a puff of air in disappointment. "Why couldn't it have been Johnny who found out" He mumbled to himself, embarrassed and disappointed that he was caught, let alone that his act was blabbed to Donghyuck.

Haechan's eyebrow raised, surprised that the rumor was true. "So it's true?" He asked and it caught the attention of the other members, Chenle and Jeno.

"Is what true?" Chenle asked as he approached the two on the couch, Jeno listening attentively from close by.

Donghyuck sat up and leaned on his knees, looking up at Chenle. "You remeber that girl Mark hit with a door?"

"It's not like I hit her on purpose" Mark butted in, trying to defend himself to not make it sound as bad as it was. "It was an accident"

"You still hit her" Donghyuck pointed out and Mark groaned out.

"Whatever!" Mark exclaimed and Chenle gave Mark a suspicious look while Donghyuck side eyed him, judging his sudden outburst at the truth.

"Yeah okay" Haechan mumbled out as he looked back at Chenle who was now accompanied by Jeno. "Anyways, he ran into her again and apparently ran off like a baby"

Mark's head bent down a little, in embarrassment again. "I didn't run off like a baby"

"That's not what Hyunmin said" Haechan pointed out, revealing who was the culprit who blabbed to Haechan.

"Remind me to have a talk with Hyunmin" Mark said to his friends and Chenle was quick to smack Mark's shoulder in retaliation.

"Hey, Hyunmin is innocent" Chenle defended the driver that drove them around.

Mark looked up at Chenle with a bored expression. "He blabbed to Donghyuck of all people, he should have blabbed to Johnny or Jaemin" He explained and Jaemin heard his name, instantly going into the conversation.

"Not me" Jaemin replied, putting an arm around Jeno's shoulders, putting most of his weight on his friend.

"Why?" Mark questioned, Jaemin was way too introverted or in another world to blab to people he knew.

"I'd blab to my cats" Jaemin started off and then listed off the rest of the people he'd blab to, mostly by accident. "And Jisung and then Jisung would have told Chenle and he would tell Donghyuck who'd still tease you after finding out"

Mark clicked his tongue in annoyance at the younger boys. "You guys are such gossips" He mumbled out.

"It's not our fault" Jisung chimed in with Renjun not far behind. "Blame Hyemi, Jina, Jukyung, and Xiaotong, they're the ones who introduced it to us" Jisung pointed out as he listed the names of their friends.

"Don't bring Xiaotong into this" Renjun instantly said, smacking the back of Jisung's head.

Jisung sucked in his breath in pain, rubbing the back of his head. "My bad, didn't mean to bring your girlfriend into this, wait she isn't your girlfriend" Jisung sassed the older boy.

Renjun instantly brought up his hand, threatening to hit the youngest boy. Jaemin grabbed Jisung's wrist and dragged him to where he was, leaving Renjun alone with no Jisung to smack.

Nonetheless, Renjun rolled his eyes at the younger boys tease. "Yet, she isn't my girlfriend yet. I'm working on it" Renjun said calmly, knowing he was slowly working his way into Xiotong's heart.

"You've been working on it for three years" Jeno pointed out, making a few of the boys chuckle at this.

"Give it some time" Renjun assured and then scoffed, looking at Mark who was giggling at the three year struggle that was Renjun trying to be Xiotong's boyfriend. "Besides, at least I'm not Mark running away from a girl I hit with a door"

"It was an accident!" Mark yelled again at the teasing they did to him. The boys laughed and Mark shook his head, feeling his face heat up with annoyance and embarrassment.

How did he get himself in this predicament? It's not like he expected Nari to be there, let alone actually work there. It was a bookstore he went to often, he never knew she worked there, never saw Nari Hwang, never even heard her name be mentioned amongst the workers there. It was pure coincidence, like the universe was throwing them together like a sick game they had planed.

Mark shook his head at the memories of Nari being nice. How she was totally different, how she was giving recommendations with a smile, how easily she spoke to him, and how much of a smile she had when speaking about books she enjoyed. It was something he hadn't seen before, let alone be on the receiving end for more than a couple seconds. For hours she wasn't so nice to him, for hours he dealt with the sass and the tiredness that Nari was experiencing and she took it out on him, as he expected and as he understood.

But when she got out of the car, bent down and said her goodbyes and thank yous, Mark's impression of her flipped instantly. Sure, he knew absolutely nothing about her, but he knew she wasn't mean or uptight, Nari was nice when she wanted to be, sassy, of course, she had comebacks that still made him wonder how fast her mind went, but it was what made him laugh when looking back at it all. Nari was someone he wanted to know more about, but knew he couldn't. Not with his job and image in the way, and not with the way he knew Nari wanted nothing to do with him. So why was he so caught up with her? He just met her too.

But she was interesting. Mark wanted to know more, maybe out of feeling the normalcy he felt when he was with her, or maybe it was out of this pull he felt towards her.

Nari on the other hand, she was already forgetting. With the amount of work from stats, those darn seventeen questions she cursed, and the amount of work from just her workplace in general, her mind was slowly forgetting the events of the Saturday night.

Soon enough, it was Wednesday. ISTJ had come out, Nayeon was blasting it, but with all the equations and swirly numbers in Nari's mind, she couldn't focus on the sounds coming from Nayeon's speakers and T.V. Nari could barely focus on her job, zoning out more than usual as she worried about statistics class. Her finals were coming up, the end of the summer semester and Nari couldn't get above a seventy in her statistics class.

Yeah, it was a passing grade, but it wasn't passing in her eyes. After all the praise and all the awards and the graduating in the top twenty at her high school, a seventy felt like the end of the world. Everything she worked for was going down the drain with her seventy. Korea made her feel dumb, dumber than she was and maybe she was. Numbers never made much sense, they always switched around or were crumpled up together. They looked off sometimes, even words sometimes looked off. Then, when you add the two, numbers and words, it was a mind field for Nari to navigate. She couldn't figure it out, so she went to tutoring, and tutoring turned into full on extra classes her parents paid for.

Nari always found a way to get out of the labyrinth that was math, that was mushy numbers and alphabet soup. But when it came to college and this god forsaken statistics class, she couldn't get out. It's like she was getting more and more lost as the days went by.

"Nari?" Nari's head shot up as she heard her name being called from her post. "You okay? You looked out of it" Soojin pointed out with concern, holding a box of new books to stock.

Nari nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm okay, just a lot going on in my brain"

Soojin smiled and continued waking to the aisle that needed the restock. Nari sighed and leaned on the counter of the register, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, a bored expression on her face as she looked around the slight joy empty bookstore.

Nari's eyes drifted to the small cafe near the front of the bookstore. "Always booked and busy" She mumbled to herself as she saw the like getting longer and longer while her register remained a ghost town.

Nari heard the bell ring and stood up straight, mumbling a small "Welcome in" and going back to her original position.

The masked and hooded figure gave her a small nod before going around the bookstore, looking through aisle and aisles until he found the book he was searching for. "So this is what Xiotong wanted" He mumbled as he grabbed it instantly, looking at the front and back of the book to make sure it was the right one.

Renjun nodded and headed to the line where Nari was messing around with the sticky notes they kept near the register. She didn't know why the owners kept it there, but they did. Renjun cleared his throat as Nari still handnt noticed him. Nari quickly looked up, her eyes slightly wide and her face flushed with embarrassment that he had to clear his throat for her attention.

"I'm not slacking off, I swear" Nari said instantly, no thought behind her words and her face flushed even more when she realized her words.

Renjun chuckled at her embarrassed face. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone" He assured, smiling under his mask which Nari couldn't see, but knew he was smiling at her.

Nari looked down at the book in his hand. "This all?" She asked and he nodded, mumbling a small "yeah" and placing the book on the counter for her to scan. Nari took one look at the title and smiled, remembering when she read it. "This is a cute book"

"Really?" Renjun asked, not really knowing what kind of book it was. All he knew was that Xiaotong mentioned wanting to read it and he went and bought it.

"Yeah, really lovey-dovey, but it was cute" Nari explained with a small smile as she put the book in a plastic bag. "Is it for your girlfriend?" She asked, guys don't really read romance books, and from the way he reacted to the lovey dovey comment, she could tell he wasn't the one reading this book.

Renjun felt his cheeks flush as his thoughts went to Xiaotong. "S-something like that" He stuttered out at the idea of him and Xiaotong being together.

"Ah, okay" Nari said with a smirk, it was complicated, she could only assume that much.

"Thank you" Renjun grabbed the bag from her after paying. "And I won't tell anyone you were slacking off"

Nari's face went into shock as she shook her head. "I wasn't!"

Renjun laughed again at her reaction. "Bye...?" He trailed off, wanting to know her name as to remember her for next time he came by for Xiaotong.

"Nari" She replied as she gestured to her name tag.

Renjun paused as knew that familiar name. "Nari?" He asked again and she nodded. "You're name is Nari"

"Yeah, that's my name"

"Oh, bye Nari" Renjun waved and walked out of the bookstore, his driver waiting outside the car for him. "Hey, Hyunmin. This doesn't happen to be the bookstore where—"

"Mark saw that girl he hit?" Hyunmin asked and Renjun nodded. "Totally is"

"Donghyuck, you'll never believe who I just saw" Renjun said into the phone after sitting down in his seat with the door closed.

Haechan groaned as he wasn't ready for another ted talk about how perfect Xiaotong was. "If you say Xiaotong, I am hanging up"

"What? No" Renjun dismissed, but then felt his smile grow on his face. "I mean I did see her but—"

"Bye bye!" Haechan said loudly as he was about hanging up, but Renjun remembered why he called in the first place.

"I saw Nari!"

There was a silent pause after the secret was revealed. "Who?" Donghyuck asked as he was confused on who Renjun was talking about.

"Nari"

"A butterfly?" Haechan asked, wondering if Renjun forgot Korean for a second. "It's nabi, with a b you idiot"

"You're the idiot!" Renjun exclaimed into the phone, taking note at how slow Donghyuck was with names. "I'm talking Nari, the girl Mark hit with a door"

"Actually?" Haechan asked, sitting up in his seat as he was interested in where this conversation was going.

"Why else would I call you?" Renjun asked.

Donghyuck smiled as he knew exactly what to say in this moment. "To confess your undying love to me and tell me how amazing and pretty and beautiful and how I'm the perfect sunshine in this sunshiny world we live in and how I'm the only sun you'll ever need in your dark and depressing life"

"I'd never say that" Renjun dismissed and Donghucks teasing face fell on the other line.

"It was worth a shot" He mumbled out. "How did you see Nari anyways?"

"Bookstore"

"Oh yeah!" Donghyuck yelling into the phone sarcastically. "I know exactly which one you're talking about! God, I love that bookstore! Love how it's called—"

"Okay! I get your point!" Renjun stopped him. "It's the bookstore near the convenience store that is always empty"

"The one where Chenle broke the water machine?" Haechan asked as he remembers the bookstore they went to after Chenle broke the water machine.

Renjun sighed as he felt the headache from that day come back. "Yeah"

"Oh! I know that one!" Haechan said with a smile.

Renjun took the phone away from his ear after hearing those words. "Can you keep your voice down, you yelled in my ear" Renjun sighed out at Donghycks antics.

"I'm sorry babe" Haechan apologized and Renjun uh he'd again.

"Don't call—" He paused as he knew it would have no effect on Donghyck. "Nevermind, I don't know why I try"

"I kinda wanna visit Nari now" Haechan said with a smile, curious as to see who had been in Mark's mind for the past few days, even with their busy schedules.

"What? No! Don't do that" Renjun shut down the idea instantly. He knew Donghyuck, knew him all too well and he knew that if Donghyuck ever met Nari, it would be a complete disaster. Mark meeting her was enough of a disaster in itself, Donghyuck meeting her would be on a different level.

"Why not?" Haechan asked and Renjun could hear his pout.

"Cause like no? We have promotions so when would you have the time?" He asked and Haechan smiled.

"When we're done with promotions, duh?" He pointed out as if Renjun was stupid and then looked at the clock. "Speaking of promotions, we have a stage in like an hour, so hurry back"

"I know I know"

Nari was hanging out with her friends again, decided what to name the group chat they had as they felt they'd grown out of National Volleyball Association (benchwarmers).

"What about, The Gang" Kangdae said as he felt proud of his thinking process.

"We're not fucking avatar the last air bender here, pal" Taeseol replied as she flicked his forehead, the four friends in their assigned seats at a cafe.

"The Real Housewives of Korea?" Taehyung asked and the four friends remained silent at his suggestion. "Wow, thanks guys, love the commotion" He said sarcastically as he took a chug from his drink.

"You're horrible at names, you know?" Taeseol asked, sassing Taehyung who rolled his eyes at her.

"And you're horrible at picking up girls" He shot back as he drank more of his drink, leaving Taeseol in silence.

Nari laughed at their bickering as Kangdae kept thinking of names. "Ah!" Kangdae said as he held a finger up in the air. "Universal health care recipients"

"That doesn't make any sense" Nari pointed out as her brows furrowed in confusion along with the other two.

"That's because you're American" Kangdae sassed with a roll of his eyes. "Fine, what about, Not so slim shady?"

"No, can't use that" Taeseol shook her head, her arms crossed over one another on the table.

Kangdae's face fell. "Why not? It was my best one" He pouted and Nari patted his shoulder in comfort.

"That's your contact name for me" Taeseol replied like it was common knowledge that everyone knew what Kangdae's contact name was.

"What?!" Kangdae said loudly, surprised at the reveal of his contact name. "I'm not blonde or bald!"

Taeseol hummed, nodding at his words. "Yeah, but you do like his songs, but you're not so slim shady, you're muscular" She explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Bullying" Kangdae mumbled under his breath, looking away from his friends. However, an idea then popped into his head as he looked back at them. "The Goofy Goobers?"

"Oh brother, this guy stinks!" Nari groaned out in English, quoting a Spongebob line she found funny.

Kangdae gasped as he gently smacked Nari's shoulder. "Your nicknames were bullshit too!" He exclaimed, referring to the countless names she suggested that were turned down instantly: Core Four, four(eign) policy wannabe's, and Wendy's 4 for 4 Combo.

"Let me kill my self while I'm at it" Nari said sarcastically, throwing her hands up in annoyance at Kangdae.

Kangdae pointed a finger at Nari, moving it up and down at he gave her a stern look. "You're on thin ice, pal"

"Don't start with the white people phrases" Nari said through narrowed eyes as she hated when Kangdae used them to annoy her. He knew it too, always used them to get under her skin.

Taeseol groaned at the two Native English speakers. "Stop speaking english, we can't understand" She pointed out, but Taehyung smiled brightly.

"I understand just fine" Taehyung replied, his smile huge and plastered on his face.

Taeseol looked over at him, a grim demeanor all around her as she prayed the worst for him. "I hope you pull on a door when it's a push door and you struggle for five seconds"

"That's so specific!" Taehyung replied in shock.

Nari sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Forget it, we can't come to an agreement"

"Because National Volleyball Association (benchwarmers) is too iconic right?" Taeseol asked, a smug smirk on her face as she sat up taller, feeling proud of herself.

"Yes, but how did you land on Volleyball?" Nari asked as she looked around at her friends. "None of us played volleyball"

"Well, we all watched Haikyuu together and attempted to play volleyball that one time and failed, so we would have been benched" Taeseol explained and they all hummed and nodded, understanding her thought process.

Taehyung then sniffled, catching the attention of the three friends. "Especially since Kangdae broke the damn ball" He commented, wiping away fake tears.

"I said I was sorry" Kangdae pointed out, but Taehyung shook his head.

"I paid for that ball and you broke it like it was nothing!" Taehyung exclaimed as he fake sobbed, putting his head into Taeseol's shoulder.

Kangdae then blinked a few times before apologizing again. "I'm sorry!"

"Let's just keep it as it is" Taeseol finalized, and since she was Taeseol, they couldn't help but agree. They didn't want to disagree, scared of the consequences that came with it.

Nari then had a light bulb go off in her head. "I have an idea" She said.

Taehyung stopped "crying" and Kangdae looked down at the girl who pulled out her phone. "That's not good" Kangdae said to her idea.

"Go drool over Nayeon" Nari sassed at him, bringing up old insults to add commentary.

Kangdae groaned as he regretted ever saying anything regarding his old crush to the older sister of Nari. "I don't have a crush on her!"

Taeseol pulled out her phone and saw the notification on Instagram saying how Nari changed the name. "You just added a trademark" Taeseol pointed out and Nair smiled proudly.

"Because our group chat name is iconic, duh?" Nari explained and the three friends agreed they'd keep it the same until they had another iconic moment in their friendship that couldn't go noticed.

The four friends continued to hang out, walking around, going in and out of shops, going to a restaurant since Taehyung claimed he was one step away from dying of hunger. However, he made it ten more steps to the restaurant without meeting an early death.

The four friends, of course, decided to drink. Even if it was a weekday, it wasn't going to stop them sadly. Kangdae of course was having no problem, mostly trying to keep his friends in check. Taeseol was taking a small break, feeling herself get a little too lost, but Taehyung and Nari were off the walls.

Nari was clinging onto Kangdae, who happily obliged to her clinginess. He knew she was drunk, it was a tell that she got clingier the more she was drunk. Kangdae didn't mind the touching and using him as something to keep her standing. It wasn't a romantic thing, it was a platonic thing to not mind. Kangdae only ever saw Nari as a friend and didn't mind Nari's clinginess, never seeing it more than platonic.

Taehyung on the other hand, he has his head on the table, whining about his work place and complaining that he wanted to be in a relationship.

"No, don't do it" Kangdae told him firmly, letting Nari grab his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. "Relationships are meant to happen organically, not on a dating app"

Taehyung groaned and looked up at him. "Nothing happens organically anymore. It's all dating apps or you were already in a relationship when dating apps came out" He pointed out and let his head plop down on the table again. "I'm not gonna meet my future husband at a bookstore or by him hitting me with a door"

Nari, not thinking at all, influenced by the alcohol, let her words slip. Giggling, she mumbled out a small, "That happened to me once" Still clinging onto Kangdae.

"You met someone in a bookstore?" Taehyung asked and Taeseol raised an eyebrow, taking a break didn't mean she was sobered up, still drunk, just not drinking.

Nari giggled again and nodded. "Well, yes and no" She hesitated before sitting up straight, Kangdae letting her go. "He hit me with a door, took me to the hospital and then home and then I saw him at the bookstore I work at" Nari explained, slurring some of her words while messing with Kangdae's hand.

"Is this about Mark?" Taeseol asked as she remembered the words Nari told her in the bookstore.

"Duh!" Nari exclaimed at Nari with a laugh. Her cheeks were flushed red with her two friends besides Kangdae.

Kangdae was confused, very confused. Who was Mark? When did he hit her with a door? When did all of this happen? And again, who's Mark?

"Who's Mark?" Kangdae asked as he looked between the two girls.

Taehyung nodded, "Yeah! Who's Mark?" He asked and then laughed, making the friends look at him. "Imagine if it was Mark Lee!"

"It was!" Nari exclaimed, the people in the restaurant looking at them, but not thinking much of it. No one could assume they were talking about Mark Lee from NCT, if anything, if they did think they were talking about him, they'd think she was delusional.

"Liar!" Taehyung called her out, but Taeseol shook her head at him.

"It's true, she told me" Taeseol said nonchalantly.

Nari let go of Kangdae's hand and pointed at her, accusingly. "I told you not to tell anyone!"

"You already told everyone!" Taeseol pointed back at her, rolling her eyes and shaking her head to make her bangs move out of her face.

Nari went back to messing with Kangdae's hand and groaned. "Still!"

"No way you got hit with a door by Mark Lee!" Taehyung laughed out as his head was still laying on the table, too far gone to pick up his head.

Nari nodded as her free hand went to the place where the door hit her head "I have the trauma to prove it!"

"Okay, I think it's time for us to leave" Kangdae mumbled to himself as he asked for the check to pay and leave.

"Why Daedae?" Taehyung asked, finally picking up his head to look at Kangdae.

Kangdae gave him a soft smile, knowing drink Taehyung responded well to kindness. "Cause us three have class tomorrow"

"I don't" Taehyung said with a smug smile, it quickly went away as Nari kicked his shin under the table.

"You want a cookie or something?" Nari asked as Taehyung shook his head, groaning in pain.

As Taehyung recovered, he really thought about Nari's offer and looked at Kangdae. "Can I?" He asked. "Can I have a cookie?"

"No" Kangdae replied.

"You're so mean Daedae" Taehyung grumbled out and quickly looked at Taeseol who was drinking water. "Seoseo, Daedae is being mean"

"Don't call me Seoseo" Taeseol shrugged Taehyung off her shoulder as he clung onto her.

Taehyung then looked at Nari and smiled happily. "Nana!"

"Thats Nayeon's nickname!" Nari scolded and looked down at Kangdae's hand she was still messing right "You're such a fake friend"

"Riri!" Taehyung said happily, thinking he hit the jackpot.

Nari looked up, annoyed with Taehyung's bad nicknames. "I'm not Rihanna!"

Kangdae went to pay, but had to gently pry his hand away from Nari's fingers that was fiddling with his. "What's your nickname again?" Taehyung asked as Kangdae finally got his hand away and went to pay.

"I don't have one" Nari said after taking a moment to think about it. She didn't have one? Nari's eyes went wide in shock. "I don't have one?! You guys are so mean!"

"I can give you one" Kangdae replied as he got back from paying, sitting down next to Nari.

Nari looked at him like he had the biggest bag of candy known to man. "Really?" She asked, her eyes gleaming and sparkling with anticipation.

Kangdae nodded, his brain trying to rack up some nicknames for her, but became stumped. Nari was too short and no nicknames other than Nana and Riri came to his mind.

"I can't think of one" Kangdae sighed out in defeat.

Nari gasped dramatically, smacking his shoulder. "Slut!" She yelled at him and Kangdae ruffled her hair in retaliation.

"Your names too short!" He exclaimed and grabbed her wrists that were still trying to smack him. "It's either Nana or Riri"

"Nana is Nayeon" Nari said calmly, her arms going down as Kangdae's grip loosened.

"Why wasn't she Yeonyeon?" Taeseol asked, still drinking her water to try and sober up.

Nari clicked her tongue and grabbed one of Kangdae's hands again to play with. "Nayeon was too hard for me to pronounce so I called her Nana"

"So that's the story behind it" Taehyung mumbled out as he felt himself leaving his body more and more as each second passed by.

Nari groaned as she shoved Kangdae's hand away from her. "I want a nickname!" She complained as she felt left out with her friends all having nicknames.

"Wait!" Taehyung exclaimed as he smacked the table with his hands. "Door" He said happily and proudly.

The three friends looked at him like he was insane. He was, he was insane, Taehyung always had so much energy and always lended some to his friends. But at times like these, they just wondered what went on inside his head.

"Huh?" Nari questioned as she tilted her head, confused by his thought process.

"Because you got hit by a door" Taehyung replied, acting as if it was obvious.

Nari narrowed her eyes and raised her hand to pretend to hit him. "I hope you get hit by a door Taetae!"

"Take that back!" Taehyung gasped out.

Taeseol groaned as she rubbed her temples with one of her hands. "Oh my god, you guys are so loud!" She yelled at the two.

"You're yelling too!" Taehyung yelled, whipping his head to point at her.

Kangdae tapped Nari's shoulder and she looked over at him "What about Nali?" He asked, it sounded close to her Korean name, just the change of accent since Kangdae said it in his Australian accent, making it more on the English side than Korean.

Nari raised an eyebrow. "Nali?" She asked in her American accent.

"Nari and Lily!" Kangdae said in English, happily with a smile.

"I'm not a ship you can make a ship name for!" Nari exclaimed in English, not caring enough to change languages. Kangdae jumped at Nari's small outburst, but Nari brushed him off and sighed. "Forget it, I want Riri"

"Riri!" Taehyung called her happily, a big smile on his face.

"Yay!" Nari said happily as she was now apart of their nicknames.

*gigi’s thoughts*

changed up the formatting lol also sorry for disappearing highkey i got busy with summer school (i failed and dropped a class…god forbid a girl goes through a depressive episode 😪😪😪) but i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter 😁😁😁😁 also forgot to add the trademark emoji on the ss for end messages….we don’t talk abt it

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo @bbykaixx 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇 !

𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 | 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌 | 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍

[sximsoc]

𝐢 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 6, 340

chapter 008 now playing…

While Nari was having fun on one side of Seoul, Mark Lee was inside the SM Building, getting ready for the NCT Dream comeback of ISTJ, that was on Monday, the next day. They were in the practice room all morning, getting breaks every now and then. Right now, he was on a break, sitting on the couch, trying to catch his breath from the instense choreography.

He drank from his water bottle as his members around him did different things to calm themselves before their break was over. They had just gotten off tour and were now going straight into promotions. It was insane how much they worked, especially him and Haechan. Having comeback after comeback, tour after tour, interviews and promotions, it was a lot for the two young adults. But it was their lives, everything they trained for, this was the dream they hoped to achieve. They just never thought that they would hardly get any breaks, any chance to hit pause, any chance to breathe.

Maybe that's why he couldn't get his mind off of Nari and their fiasco out of his mind. He still thought about it, it was two days ago that they had met and, boy did Nari leave a lasting impression on Mark. When he got home that night, he couldn't stop thinking about her, how she was so rude to him, so out spoken and so, he hates to say this, different compared to the other fans he's met. Considering she isn't a fan, it made more sense, but she knew who he was, ergo she was different compared to the people he met that knew him and his status.

Nari didn't really care for his idol image, until it came to the thought of being caught seen with him, but Mark assumed it was her being worried about herself rather than the rumors that could hurt him. Nonetheless, she still didn't care. Nari talked backed to him, was kinda rude to him, was annoyed with him and didn't change the way she spoke to him when she found out who he was. It was insane to him, how those few hours of awkwardness, tension, and slight anger made him normal, even though it was an abnormal encounter.

"What you thinking about?" Haechan asked, sitting down next to him on the couch next to him.

Mark shook his head, brushing off the idea that he was thinking. "Nothing" He replied, but Haechan knew him too well to know that Mark had a certain face when he was thinking and right now, he was thinking.

"Come on, tell Hyuck what you're thinking about" Haechan teased with a smile, putting his arm around Mark's shoulder, a way to coax him into telling.

Mark shook his head though, not wanting to spill his shenanigans to Haechan who already knew and teased him about it the next morning on their way to work.

Haechan noticed how Mark was being quiet and he had a hunch, a small inkling that Mark was thinking about someone, and not something.

"You're not thinking about that girl are you?" He asked and Mark instantly froze, his shoulders tensing before shrugging off Haechan's arm.

"N-no, no way dude" Mark mumbled out, defending himself to not seem suspicious. "Like, why would I think about her?" He asked.

Haechan raised his eyebrow and sighed, leaning back into the couch while Mark remained up right. "You're right, you can't possibly be thinking about that girl. I mean, after all, it's not like you ran into her again at a bookstore"

Mark froze again, his eyes going wide and his pulse quickened. He knew? Out of everyone, it had to be Lee Donghyuck who knew that Mark ran into Nari again? In a bookstore?

Mark ruffled his hair and let out a puff of air in disappointment. "Why couldn't it have been Johnny who found out" He mumbled to himself, embarrassed and disappointed that he was caught, let alone that his act was blabbed to Donghyuck.

Haechan's eyebrow raised, surprised that the rumor was true. "So it's true?" He asked and it caught the attention of the other members, Chenle and Jeno.

"Is what true?" Chenle asked as he approached the two on the couch, Jeno listening attentively from close by.

Donghyuck sat up and leaned on his knees, looking up at Chenle. "You remeber that girl Mark hit with a door?"

"It's not like I hit her on purpose" Mark butted in, trying to defend himself to not make it sound as bad as it was. "It was an accident"

"You still hit her" Donghyuck pointed out and Mark groaned out.

"Whatever!" Mark exclaimed and Chenle gave Mark a suspicious look while Donghyuck side eyed him, judging his sudden outburst at the truth.

"Yeah okay" Haechan mumbled out as he looked back at Chenle who was now accompanied by Jeno. "Anyways, he ran into her again and apparently ran off like a baby"

Mark's head bent down a little, in embarrassment again. "I didn't run off like a baby"

"That's not what Hyunmin said" Haechan pointed out, revealing who was the culprit who blabbed to Haechan.

"Remind me to have a talk with Hyunmin" Mark said to his friends and Chenle was quick to smack Mark's shoulder in retaliation.

"Hey, Hyunmin is innocent" Chenle defended the driver that drove them around.

Mark looked up at Chenle with a bored expression. "He blabbed to Donghyuck of all people, he should have blabbed to Johnny or Jaemin" He explained and Jaemin heard his name, instantly going into the conversation.

"Not me" Jaemin replied, putting an arm around Jeno's shoulders, putting most of his weight on his friend.

"Why?" Mark questioned, Jaemin was way too introverted or in another world to blab to people he knew.

"I'd blab to my cats" Jaemin started off and then listed off the rest of the people he'd blab to, mostly by accident. "And Jisung and then Jisung would have told Chenle and he would tell Donghyuck who'd still tease you after finding out"

Mark clicked his tongue in annoyance at the younger boys. "You guys are such gossips" He mumbled out.

"It's not our fault" Jisung chimed in with Renjun not far behind. "Blame Hyemi, Jina, Jukyung, and Xiaotong, they're the ones who introduced it to us" Jisung pointed out as he listed the names of their friends.

"Don't bring Xiaotong into this" Renjun instantly said, smacking the back of Jisung's head.

Jisung sucked in his breath in pain, rubbing the back of his head. "My bad, didn't mean to bring your girlfriend into this, wait she isn't your girlfriend" Jisung sassed the older boy.

Renjun instantly brought up his hand, threatening to hit the youngest boy. Jaemin grabbed Jisung's wrist and dragged him to where he was, leaving Renjun alone with no Jisung to smack.

Nonetheless, Renjun rolled his eyes at the younger boys tease. "Yet, she isn't my girlfriend yet. I'm working on it" Renjun said calmly, knowing he was slowly working his way into Xiotong's heart.

"You've been working on it for three years" Jeno pointed out, making a few of the boys chuckle at this.

"Give it some time" Renjun assured and then scoffed, looking at Mark who was giggling at the three year struggle that was Renjun trying to be Xiotong's boyfriend. "Besides, at least I'm not Mark running away from a girl I hit with a door"

"It was an accident!" Mark yelled again at the teasing they did to him. The boys laughed and Mark shook his head, feeling his face heat up with annoyance and embarrassment.

How did he get himself in this predicament? It's not like he expected Nari to be there, let alone actually work there. It was a bookstore he went to often, he never knew she worked there, never saw Nari Hwang, never even heard her name be mentioned amongst the workers there. It was pure coincidence, like the universe was throwing them together like a sick game they had planed.

Mark shook his head at the memories of Nari being nice. How she was totally different, how she was giving recommendations with a smile, how easily she spoke to him, and how much of a smile she had when speaking about books she enjoyed. It was something he hadn't seen before, let alone be on the receiving end for more than a couple seconds. For hours she wasn't so nice to him, for hours he dealt with the sass and the tiredness that Nari was experiencing and she took it out on him, as he expected and as he understood.

But when she got out of the car, bent down and said her goodbyes and thank yous, Mark's impression of her flipped instantly. Sure, he knew absolutely nothing about her, but he knew she wasn't mean or uptight, Nari was nice when she wanted to be, sassy, of course, she had comebacks that still made him wonder how fast her mind went, but it was what made him laugh when looking back at it all. Nari was someone he wanted to know more about, but knew he couldn't. Not with his job and image in the way, and not with the way he knew Nari wanted nothing to do with him. So why was he so caught up with her? He just met her too.

But she was interesting. Mark wanted to know more, maybe out of feeling the normalcy he felt when he was with her, or maybe it was out of this pull he felt towards her.

Nari on the other hand, she was already forgetting. With the amount of work from stats, those darn seventeen questions she cursed, and the amount of work from just her workplace in general, her mind was slowly forgetting the events of the Saturday night.

Soon enough, it was Wednesday. ISTJ had come out, Nayeon was blasting it, but with all the equations and swirly numbers in Nari's mind, she couldn't focus on the sounds coming from Nayeon's speakers and T.V. Nari could barely focus on her job, zoning out more than usual as she worried about statistics class. Her finals were coming up, the end of the summer semester and Nari couldn't get above a seventy in her statistics class.

Yeah, it was a passing grade, but it wasn't passing in her eyes. After all the praise and all the awards and the graduating in the top twenty at her high school, a seventy felt like the end of the world. Everything she worked for was going down the drain with her seventy. Korea made her feel dumb, dumber than she was and maybe she was. Numbers never made much sense, they always switched around or were crumpled up together. They looked off sometimes, even words sometimes looked off. Then, when you add the two, numbers and words, it was a mind field for Nari to navigate. She couldn't figure it out, so she went to tutoring, and tutoring turned into full on extra classes her parents paid for.

Nari always found a way to get out of the labyrinth that was math, that was mushy numbers and alphabet soup. But when it came to college and this god forsaken statistics class, she couldn't get out. It's like she was getting more and more lost as the days went by.

"Nari?" Nari's head shot up as she heard her name being called from her post. "You okay? You looked out of it" Soojin pointed out with concern, holding a box of new books to stock.

Nari nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm okay, just a lot going on in my brain"

Soojin smiled and continued waking to the aisle that needed the restock. Nari sighed and leaned on the counter of the register, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, a bored expression on her face as she looked around the slight joy empty bookstore.

Nari's eyes drifted to the small cafe near the front of the bookstore. "Always booked and busy" She mumbled to herself as she saw the like getting longer and longer while her register remained a ghost town.

Nari heard the bell ring and stood up straight, mumbling a small "Welcome in" and going back to her original position.

The masked and hooded figure gave her a small nod before going around the bookstore, looking through aisle and aisles until he found the book he was searching for. "So this is what Xiotong wanted" He mumbled as he grabbed it instantly, looking at the front and back of the book to make sure it was the right one.

Renjun nodded and headed to the line where Nari was messing around with the sticky notes they kept near the register. She didn't know why the owners kept it there, but they did. Renjun cleared his throat as Nari still handnt noticed him. Nari quickly looked up, her eyes slightly wide and her face flushed with embarrassment that he had to clear his throat for her attention.

"I'm not slacking off, I swear" Nari said instantly, no thought behind her words and her face flushed even more when she realized her words.

Renjun chuckled at her embarrassed face. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone" He assured, smiling under his mask which Nari couldn't see, but knew he was smiling at her.

Nari looked down at the book in his hand. "This all?" She asked and he nodded, mumbling a small "yeah" and placing the book on the counter for her to scan. Nari took one look at the title and smiled, remembering when she read it. "This is a cute book"

"Really?" Renjun asked, not really knowing what kind of book it was. All he knew was that Xiaotong mentioned wanting to read it and he went and bought it.

"Yeah, really lovey-dovey, but it was cute" Nari explained with a small smile as she put the book in a plastic bag. "Is it for your girlfriend?" She asked, guys don't really read romance books, and from the way he reacted to the lovey dovey comment, she could tell he wasn't the one reading this book.

Renjun felt his cheeks flush as his thoughts went to Xiaotong. "S-something like that" He stuttered out at the idea of him and Xiaotong being together.

"Ah, okay" Nari said with a smirk, it was complicated, she could only assume that much.

"Thank you" Renjun grabbed the bag from her after paying. "And I won't tell anyone you were slacking off"

Nari's face went into shock as she shook her head. "I wasn't!"

Renjun laughed again at her reaction. "Bye...?" He trailed off, wanting to know her name as to remember her for next time he came by for Xiaotong.

"Nari" She replied as she gestured to her name tag.

Renjun paused as knew that familiar name. "Nari?" He asked again and she nodded. "You're name is Nari"

"Yeah, that's my name"

"Oh, bye Nari" Renjun waved and walked out of the bookstore, his driver waiting outside the car for him. "Hey, Hyunmin. This doesn't happen to be the bookstore where—"

"Mark saw that girl he hit?" Hyunmin asked and Renjun nodded. "Totally is"

"Donghyuck, you'll never believe who I just saw" Renjun said into the phone after sitting down in his seat with the door closed.

Haechan groaned as he wasn't ready for another ted talk about how perfect Xiaotong was. "If you say Xiaotong, I am hanging up"

"What? No" Renjun dismissed, but then felt his smile grow on his face. "I mean I did see her but—"

"Bye bye!" Haechan said loudly as he was about hanging up, but Renjun remembered why he called in the first place.

"I saw Nari!"

There was a silent pause after the secret was revealed. "Who?" Donghyuck asked as he was confused on who Renjun was talking about.

"Nari"

"A butterfly?" Haechan asked, wondering if Renjun forgot Korean for a second. "It's nabi, with a b you idiot"

"You're the idiot!" Renjun exclaimed into the phone, taking note at how slow Donghyuck was with names. "I'm talking Nari, the girl Mark hit with a door"

"Actually?" Haechan asked, sitting up in his seat as he was interested in where this conversation was going.

"Why else would I call you?" Renjun asked.

Donghyuck smiled as he knew exactly what to say in this moment. "To confess your undying love to me and tell me how amazing and pretty and beautiful and how I'm the perfect sunshine in this sunshiny world we live in and how I'm the only sun you'll ever need in your dark and depressing life"

"I'd never say that" Renjun dismissed and Donghucks teasing face fell on the other line.

"It was worth a shot" He mumbled out. "How did you see Nari anyways?"

"Bookstore"

"Oh yeah!" Donghyuck yelling into the phone sarcastically. "I know exactly which one you're talking about! God, I love that bookstore! Love how it's called—"

"Okay! I get your point!" Renjun stopped him. "It's the bookstore near the convenience store that is always empty"

"The one where Chenle broke the water machine?" Haechan asked as he remembers the bookstore they went to after Chenle broke the water machine.

Renjun sighed as he felt the headache from that day come back. "Yeah"

"Oh! I know that one!" Haechan said with a smile.

Renjun took the phone away from his ear after hearing those words. "Can you keep your voice down, you yelled in my ear" Renjun sighed out at Donghycks antics.

"I'm sorry babe" Haechan apologized and Renjun uh he'd again.

"Don't call—" He paused as he knew it would have no effect on Donghyck. "Nevermind, I don't know why I try"

"I kinda wanna visit Nari now" Haechan said with a smile, curious as to see who had been in Mark's mind for the past few days, even with their busy schedules.

"What? No! Don't do that" Renjun shut down the idea instantly. He knew Donghyuck, knew him all too well and he knew that if Donghyuck ever met Nari, it would be a complete disaster. Mark meeting her was enough of a disaster in itself, Donghyuck meeting her would be on a different level.

"Why not?" Haechan asked and Renjun could hear his pout.

"Cause like no? We have promotions so when would you have the time?" He asked and Haechan smiled.

"When we're done with promotions, duh?" He pointed out as if Renjun was stupid and then looked at the clock. "Speaking of promotions, we have a stage in like an hour, so hurry back"

"I know I know"

Nari was hanging out with her friends again, decided what to name the group chat they had as they felt they'd grown out of National Volleyball Association (benchwarmers).

"What about, The Gang" Kangdae said as he felt proud of his thinking process.

"We're not fucking avatar the last air bender here, pal" Taeseol replied as she flicked his forehead, the four friends in their assigned seats at a cafe.

"The Real Housewives of Korea?" Taehyung asked and the four friends remained silent at his suggestion. "Wow, thanks guys, love the commotion" He said sarcastically as he took a chug from his drink.

"You're horrible at names, you know?" Taeseol asked, sassing Taehyung who rolled his eyes at her.

"And you're horrible at picking up girls" He shot back as he drank more of his drink, leaving Taeseol in silence.

Nari laughed at their bickering as Kangdae kept thinking of names. "Ah!" Kangdae said as he held a finger up in the air. "Universal health care recipients"

"That doesn't make any sense" Nari pointed out as her brows furrowed in confusion along with the other two.

"That's because you're American" Kangdae sassed with a roll of his eyes. "Fine, what about, Not so slim shady?"

"No, can't use that" Taeseol shook her head, her arms crossed over one another on the table.

Kangdae's face fell. "Why not? It was my best one" He pouted and Nari patted his shoulder in comfort.

"That's your contact name for me" Taeseol replied like it was common knowledge that everyone knew what Kangdae's contact name was.

"What?!" Kangdae said loudly, surprised at the reveal of his contact name. "I'm not blonde or bald!"

Taeseol hummed, nodding at his words. "Yeah, but you do like his songs, but you're not so slim shady, you're muscular" She explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Bullying" Kangdae mumbled under his breath, looking away from his friends. However, an idea then popped into his head as he looked back at them. "The Goofy Goobers?"

"Oh brother, this guy stinks!" Nari groaned out in English, quoting a Spongebob line she found funny.

Kangdae gasped as he gently smacked Nari's shoulder. "Your nicknames were bullshit too!" He exclaimed, referring to the countless names she suggested that were turned down instantly: Core Four, four(eign) policy wannabe's, and Wendy's 4 for 4 Combo.

"Let me kill my self while I'm at it" Nari said sarcastically, throwing her hands up in annoyance at Kangdae.

Kangdae pointed a finger at Nari, moving it up and down at he gave her a stern look. "You're on thin ice, pal"

"Don't start with the white people phrases" Nari said through narrowed eyes as she hated when Kangdae used them to annoy her. He knew it too, always used them to get under her skin.

Taeseol groaned at the two Native English speakers. "Stop speaking english, we can't understand" She pointed out, but Taehyung smiled brightly.

"I understand just fine" Taehyung replied, his smile huge and plastered on his face.

Taeseol looked over at him, a grim demeanor all around her as she prayed the worst for him. "I hope you pull on a door when it's a push door and you struggle for five seconds"

"That's so specific!" Taehyung replied in shock.

Nari sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Forget it, we can't come to an agreement"

"Because National Volleyball Association (benchwarmers) is too iconic right?" Taeseol asked, a smug smirk on her face as she sat up taller, feeling proud of herself.

"Yes, but how did you land on Volleyball?" Nari asked as she looked around at her friends. "None of us played volleyball"

"Well, we all watched Haikyuu together and attempted to play volleyball that one time and failed, so we would have been benched" Taeseol explained and they all hummed and nodded, understanding her thought process.

Taehyung then sniffled, catching the attention of the three friends. "Especially since Kangdae broke the damn ball" He commented, wiping away fake tears.

"I said I was sorry" Kangdae pointed out, but Taehyung shook his head.

"I paid for that ball and you broke it like it was nothing!" Taehyung exclaimed as he fake sobbed, putting his head into Taeseol's shoulder.

Kangdae then blinked a few times before apologizing again. "I'm sorry!"

"Let's just keep it as it is" Taeseol finalized, and since she was Taeseol, they couldn't help but agree. They didn't want to disagree, scared of the consequences that came with it.

Nari then had a light bulb go off in her head. "I have an idea" She said.

Taehyung stopped "crying" and Kangdae looked down at the girl who pulled out her phone. "That's not good" Kangdae said to her idea.

"Go drool over Nayeon" Nari sassed at him, bringing up old insults to add commentary.

Kangdae groaned as he regretted ever saying anything regarding his old crush to the older sister of Nari. "I don't have a crush on her!"

Taeseol pulled out her phone and saw the notification on Instagram saying how Nari changed the name. "You just added a trademark" Taeseol pointed out and Nair smiled proudly.

"Because our group chat name is iconic, duh?" Nari explained and the three friends agreed they'd keep it the same until they had another iconic moment in their friendship that couldn't go noticed.

The four friends continued to hang out, walking around, going in and out of shops, going to a restaurant since Taehyung claimed he was one step away from dying of hunger. However, he made it ten more steps to the restaurant without meeting an early death.

The four friends, of course, decided to drink. Even if it was a weekday, it wasn't going to stop them sadly. Kangdae of course was having no problem, mostly trying to keep his friends in check. Taeseol was taking a small break, feeling herself get a little too lost, but Taehyung and Nari were off the walls.

Nari was clinging onto Kangdae, who happily obliged to her clinginess. He knew she was drunk, it was a tell that she got clingier the more she was drunk. Kangdae didn't mind the touching and using him as something to keep her standing. It wasn't a romantic thing, it was a platonic thing to not mind. Kangdae only ever saw Nari as a friend and didn't mind Nari's clinginess, never seeing it more than platonic.

Taehyung on the other hand, he has his head on the table, whining about his work place and complaining that he wanted to be in a relationship.

"No, don't do it" Kangdae told him firmly, letting Nari grab his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. "Relationships are meant to happen organically, not on a dating app"

Taehyung groaned and looked up at him. "Nothing happens organically anymore. It's all dating apps or you were already in a relationship when dating apps came out" He pointed out and let his head plop down on the table again. "I'm not gonna meet my future husband at a bookstore or by him hitting me with a door"

Nari, not thinking at all, influenced by the alcohol, let her words slip. Giggling, she mumbled out a small, "That happened to me once" Still clinging onto Kangdae.

"You met someone in a bookstore?" Taehyung asked and Taeseol raised an eyebrow, taking a break didn't mean she was sobered up, still drunk, just not drinking.

Nari giggled again and nodded. "Well, yes and no" She hesitated before sitting up straight, Kangdae letting her go. "He hit me with a door, took me to the hospital and then home and then I saw him at the bookstore I work at" Nari explained, slurring some of her words while messing with Kangdae's hand.

"Is this about Mark?" Taeseol asked as she remembered the words Nari told her in the bookstore.

"Duh!" Nari exclaimed at Nari with a laugh. Her cheeks were flushed red with her two friends besides Kangdae.

Kangdae was confused, very confused. Who was Mark? When did he hit her with a door? When did all of this happen? And again, who's Mark?

"Who's Mark?" Kangdae asked as he looked between the two girls.

Taehyung nodded, "Yeah! Who's Mark?" He asked and then laughed, making the friends look at him. "Imagine if it was Mark Lee!"

"It was!" Nari exclaimed, the people in the restaurant looking at them, but not thinking much of it. No one could assume they were talking about Mark Lee from NCT, if anything, if they did think they were talking about him, they'd think she was delusional.

"Liar!" Taehyung called her out, but Taeseol shook her head at him.

"It's true, she told me" Taeseol said nonchalantly.

Nari let go of Kangdae's hand and pointed at her, accusingly. "I told you not to tell anyone!"

"You already told everyone!" Taeseol pointed back at her, rolling her eyes and shaking her head to make her bangs move out of her face.

Nari went back to messing with Kangdae's hand and groaned. "Still!"

"No way you got hit with a door by Mark Lee!" Taehyung laughed out as his head was still laying on the table, too far gone to pick up his head.

Nari nodded as her free hand went to the place where the door hit her head "I have the trauma to prove it!"

"Okay, I think it's time for us to leave" Kangdae mumbled to himself as he asked for the check to pay and leave.

"Why Daedae?" Taehyung asked, finally picking up his head to look at Kangdae.

Kangdae gave him a soft smile, knowing drink Taehyung responded well to kindness. "Cause us three have class tomorrow"

"I don't" Taehyung said with a smug smile, it quickly went away as Nari kicked his shin under the table.

"You want a cookie or something?" Nari asked as Taehyung shook his head, groaning in pain.

As Taehyung recovered, he really thought about Nari's offer and looked at Kangdae. "Can I?" He asked. "Can I have a cookie?"

"No" Kangdae replied.

"You're so mean Daedae" Taehyung grumbled out and quickly looked at Taeseol who was drinking water. "Seoseo, Daedae is being mean"

"Don't call me Seoseo" Taeseol shrugged Taehyung off her shoulder as he clung onto her.

Taehyung then looked at Nari and smiled happily. "Nana!"

"Thats Nayeon's nickname!" Nari scolded and looked down at Kangdae's hand she was still messing right "You're such a fake friend"

"Riri!" Taehyung said happily, thinking he hit the jackpot.

Nari looked up, annoyed with Taehyung's bad nicknames. "I'm not Rihanna!"

Kangdae went to pay, but had to gently pry his hand away from Nari's fingers that was fiddling with his. "What's your nickname again?" Taehyung asked as Kangdae finally got his hand away and went to pay.

"I don't have one" Nari said after taking a moment to think about it. She didn't have one? Nari's eyes went wide in shock. "I don't have one?! You guys are so mean!"

"I can give you one" Kangdae replied as he got back from paying, sitting down next to Nari.

Nari looked at him like he had the biggest bag of candy known to man. "Really?" She asked, her eyes gleaming and sparkling with anticipation.

Kangdae nodded, his brain trying to rack up some nicknames for her, but became stumped. Nari was too short and no nicknames other than Nana and Riri came to his mind.

"I can't think of one" Kangdae sighed out in defeat.

Nari gasped dramatically, smacking his shoulder. "Slut!" She yelled at him and Kangdae ruffled her hair in retaliation.

"Your names too short!" He exclaimed and grabbed her wrists that were still trying to smack him. "It's either Nana or Riri"

"Nana is Nayeon" Nari said calmly, her arms going down as Kangdae's grip loosened.

"Why wasn't she Yeonyeon?" Taeseol asked, still drinking her water to try and sober up.

Nari clicked her tongue and grabbed one of Kangdae's hands again to play with. "Nayeon was too hard for me to pronounce so I called her Nana"

"So that's the story behind it" Taehyung mumbled out as he felt himself leaving his body more and more as each second passed by.

Nari groaned as she shoved Kangdae's hand away from her. "I want a nickname!" She complained as she felt left out with her friends all having nicknames.

"Wait!" Taehyung exclaimed as he smacked the table with his hands. "Door" He said happily and proudly.

The three friends looked at him like he was insane. He was, he was insane, Taehyung always had so much energy and always lended some to his friends. But at times like these, they just wondered what went on inside his head.

"Huh?" Nari questioned as she tilted her head, confused by his thought process.

"Because you got hit by a door" Taehyung replied, acting as if it was obvious.

Nari narrowed her eyes and raised her hand to pretend to hit him. "I hope you get hit by a door Taetae!"

"Take that back!" Taehyung gasped out.

Taeseol groaned as she rubbed her temples with one of her hands. "Oh my god, you guys are so loud!" She yelled at the two.

"You're yelling too!" Taehyung yelled, whipping his head to point at her.

Kangdae tapped Nari's shoulder and she looked over at him "What about Nali?" He asked, it sounded close to her Korean name, just the change of accent since Kangdae said it in his Australian accent, making it more on the English side than Korean.

Nari raised an eyebrow. "Nali?" She asked in her American accent.

"Nari and Lily!" Kangdae said in English, happily with a smile.

"I'm not a ship you can make a ship name for!" Nari exclaimed in English, not caring enough to change languages. Kangdae jumped at Nari's small outburst, but Nari brushed him off and sighed. "Forget it, I want Riri"

"Riri!" Taehyung called her happily, a big smile on his face.

"Yay!" Nari said happily as she was now apart of their nicknames.

*gigi’s thoughts*

changed up the formatting lol also sorry for disappearing highkey i got busy with summer school (i failed and dropped a class…god forbid a girl goes through a depressive episode 😪😪😪) but i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter 😁😁😁😁 also forgot to add the trademark emoji on the ss for end messages….we don’t talk abt it

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo @bbykaixx 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇 !

𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 | 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌 | 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍

[sximsoc]

𝐢 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐧'𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 6, 340

chapter 008 now playing…

While Nari was having fun on one side of Seoul, Mark Lee was inside the SM Building, getting ready for the NCT Dream comeback of ISTJ, that was on Monday, the next day. They were in the practice room all morning, getting breaks every now and then. Right now, he was on a break, sitting on the couch, trying to catch his breath from the instense choreography.

He drank from his water bottle as his members around him did different things to calm themselves before their break was over. They had just gotten off tour and were now going straight into promotions. It was insane how much they worked, especially him and Haechan. Having comeback after comeback, tour after tour, interviews and promotions, it was a lot for the two young adults. But it was their lives, everything they trained for, this was the dream they hoped to achieve. They just never thought that they would hardly get any breaks, any chance to hit pause, any chance to breathe.

Maybe that's why he couldn't get his mind off of Nari and their fiasco out of his mind. He still thought about it, it was two days ago that they had met and, boy did Nari leave a lasting impression on Mark. When he got home that night, he couldn't stop thinking about her, how she was so rude to him, so out spoken and so, he hates to say this, different compared to the other fans he's met. Considering she isn't a fan, it made more sense, but she knew who he was, ergo she was different compared to the people he met that knew him and his status.

Nari didn't really care for his idol image, until it came to the thought of being caught seen with him, but Mark assumed it was her being worried about herself rather than the rumors that could hurt him. Nonetheless, she still didn't care. Nari talked backed to him, was kinda rude to him, was annoyed with him and didn't change the way she spoke to him when she found out who he was. It was insane to him, how those few hours of awkwardness, tension, and slight anger made him normal, even though it was an abnormal encounter.

"What you thinking about?" Haechan asked, sitting down next to him on the couch next to him.

Mark shook his head, brushing off the idea that he was thinking. "Nothing" He replied, but Haechan knew him too well to know that Mark had a certain face when he was thinking and right now, he was thinking.

"Come on, tell Hyuck what you're thinking about" Haechan teased with a smile, putting his arm around Mark's shoulder, a way to coax him into telling.

Mark shook his head though, not wanting to spill his shenanigans to Haechan who already knew and teased him about it the next morning on their way to work.

Haechan noticed how Mark was being quiet and he had a hunch, a small inkling that Mark was thinking about someone, and not something.

"You're not thinking about that girl are you?" He asked and Mark instantly froze, his shoulders tensing before shrugging off Haechan's arm.

"N-no, no way dude" Mark mumbled out, defending himself to not seem suspicious. "Like, why would I think about her?" He asked.

Haechan raised his eyebrow and sighed, leaning back into the couch while Mark remained up right. "You're right, you can't possibly be thinking about that girl. I mean, after all, it's not like you ran into her again at a bookstore"

Mark froze again, his eyes going wide and his pulse quickened. He knew? Out of everyone, it had to be Lee Donghyuck who knew that Mark ran into Nari again? In a bookstore?

Mark ruffled his hair and let out a puff of air in disappointment. "Why couldn't it have been Johnny who found out" He mumbled to himself, embarrassed and disappointed that he was caught, let alone that his act was blabbed to Donghyuck.

Haechan's eyebrow raised, surprised that the rumor was true. "So it's true?" He asked and it caught the attention of the other members, Chenle and Jeno.

"Is what true?" Chenle asked as he approached the two on the couch, Jeno listening attentively from close by.

Donghyuck sat up and leaned on his knees, looking up at Chenle. "You remeber that girl Mark hit with a door?"

"It's not like I hit her on purpose" Mark butted in, trying to defend himself to not make it sound as bad as it was. "It was an accident"

"You still hit her" Donghyuck pointed out and Mark groaned out.

"Whatever!" Mark exclaimed and Chenle gave Mark a suspicious look while Donghyuck side eyed him, judging his sudden outburst at the truth.

"Yeah okay" Haechan mumbled out as he looked back at Chenle who was now accompanied by Jeno. "Anyways, he ran into her again and apparently ran off like a baby"

Mark's head bent down a little, in embarrassment again. "I didn't run off like a baby"

"That's not what Hyunmin said" Haechan pointed out, revealing who was the culprit who blabbed to Haechan.

"Remind me to have a talk with Hyunmin" Mark said to his friends and Chenle was quick to smack Mark's shoulder in retaliation.

"Hey, Hyunmin is innocent" Chenle defended the driver that drove them around.

Mark looked up at Chenle with a bored expression. "He blabbed to Donghyuck of all people, he should have blabbed to Johnny or Jaemin" He explained and Jaemin heard his name, instantly going into the conversation.

"Not me" Jaemin replied, putting an arm around Jeno's shoulders, putting most of his weight on his friend.

"Why?" Mark questioned, Jaemin was way too introverted or in another world to blab to people he knew.

"I'd blab to my cats" Jaemin started off and then listed off the rest of the people he'd blab to, mostly by accident. "And Jisung and then Jisung would have told Chenle and he would tell Donghyuck who'd still tease you after finding out"

Mark clicked his tongue in annoyance at the younger boys. "You guys are such gossips" He mumbled out.

"It's not our fault" Jisung chimed in with Renjun not far behind. "Blame Hyemi, Jina, Jukyung, and Xiaotong, they're the ones who introduced it to us" Jisung pointed out as he listed the names of their friends.

"Don't bring Xiaotong into this" Renjun instantly said, smacking the back of Jisung's head.

Jisung sucked in his breath in pain, rubbing the back of his head. "My bad, didn't mean to bring your girlfriend into this, wait she isn't your girlfriend" Jisung sassed the older boy.

Renjun instantly brought up his hand, threatening to hit the youngest boy. Jaemin grabbed Jisung's wrist and dragged him to where he was, leaving Renjun alone with no Jisung to smack.

Nonetheless, Renjun rolled his eyes at the younger boys tease. "Yet, she isn't my girlfriend yet. I'm working on it" Renjun said calmly, knowing he was slowly working his way into Xiotong's heart.

"You've been working on it for three years" Jeno pointed out, making a few of the boys chuckle at this.

"Give it some time" Renjun assured and then scoffed, looking at Mark who was giggling at the three year struggle that was Renjun trying to be Xiotong's boyfriend. "Besides, at least I'm not Mark running away from a girl I hit with a door"

"It was an accident!" Mark yelled again at the teasing they did to him. The boys laughed and Mark shook his head, feeling his face heat up with annoyance and embarrassment.

How did he get himself in this predicament? It's not like he expected Nari to be there, let alone actually work there. It was a bookstore he went to often, he never knew she worked there, never saw Nari Hwang, never even heard her name be mentioned amongst the workers there. It was pure coincidence, like the universe was throwing them together like a sick game they had planed.

Mark shook his head at the memories of Nari being nice. How she was totally different, how she was giving recommendations with a smile, how easily she spoke to him, and how much of a smile she had when speaking about books she enjoyed. It was something he hadn't seen before, let alone be on the receiving end for more than a couple seconds. For hours she wasn't so nice to him, for hours he dealt with the sass and the tiredness that Nari was experiencing and she took it out on him, as he expected and as he understood.

But when she got out of the car, bent down and said her goodbyes and thank yous, Mark's impression of her flipped instantly. Sure, he knew absolutely nothing about her, but he knew she wasn't mean or uptight, Nari was nice when she wanted to be, sassy, of course, she had comebacks that still made him wonder how fast her mind went, but it was what made him laugh when looking back at it all. Nari was someone he wanted to know more about, but knew he couldn't. Not with his job and image in the way, and not with the way he knew Nari wanted nothing to do with him. So why was he so caught up with her? He just met her too.

But she was interesting. Mark wanted to know more, maybe out of feeling the normalcy he felt when he was with her, or maybe it was out of this pull he felt towards her.

Nari on the other hand, she was already forgetting. With the amount of work from stats, those darn seventeen questions she cursed, and the amount of work from just her workplace in general, her mind was slowly forgetting the events of the Saturday night.

Soon enough, it was Wednesday. ISTJ had come out, Nayeon was blasting it, but with all the equations and swirly numbers in Nari's mind, she couldn't focus on the sounds coming from Nayeon's speakers and T.V. Nari could barely focus on her job, zoning out more than usual as she worried about statistics class. Her finals were coming up, the end of the summer semester and Nari couldn't get above a seventy in her statistics class.

Yeah, it was a passing grade, but it wasn't passing in her eyes. After all the praise and all the awards and the graduating in the top twenty at her high school, a seventy felt like the end of the world. Everything she worked for was going down the drain with her seventy. Korea made her feel dumb, dumber than she was and maybe she was. Numbers never made much sense, they always switched around or were crumpled up together. They looked off sometimes, even words sometimes looked off. Then, when you add the two, numbers and words, it was a mind field for Nari to navigate. She couldn't figure it out, so she went to tutoring, and tutoring turned into full on extra classes her parents paid for.

Nari always found a way to get out of the labyrinth that was math, that was mushy numbers and alphabet soup. But when it came to college and this god forsaken statistics class, she couldn't get out. It's like she was getting more and more lost as the days went by.

"Nari?" Nari's head shot up as she heard her name being called from her post. "You okay? You looked out of it" Soojin pointed out with concern, holding a box of new books to stock.

Nari nodded and gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm okay, just a lot going on in my brain"

Soojin smiled and continued waking to the aisle that needed the restock. Nari sighed and leaned on the counter of the register, her chin resting in the palm of her hand, a bored expression on her face as she looked around the slight joy empty bookstore.

Nari's eyes drifted to the small cafe near the front of the bookstore. "Always booked and busy" She mumbled to herself as she saw the like getting longer and longer while her register remained a ghost town.

Nari heard the bell ring and stood up straight, mumbling a small "Welcome in" and going back to her original position.

The masked and hooded figure gave her a small nod before going around the bookstore, looking through aisle and aisles until he found the book he was searching for. "So this is what Xiotong wanted" He mumbled as he grabbed it instantly, looking at the front and back of the book to make sure it was the right one.

Renjun nodded and headed to the line where Nari was messing around with the sticky notes they kept near the register. She didn't know why the owners kept it there, but they did. Renjun cleared his throat as Nari still handnt noticed him. Nari quickly looked up, her eyes slightly wide and her face flushed with embarrassment that he had to clear his throat for her attention.

"I'm not slacking off, I swear" Nari said instantly, no thought behind her words and her face flushed even more when she realized her words.

Renjun chuckled at her embarrassed face. "It's okay, I won't tell anyone" He assured, smiling under his mask which Nari couldn't see, but knew he was smiling at her.

Nari looked down at the book in his hand. "This all?" She asked and he nodded, mumbling a small "yeah" and placing the book on the counter for her to scan. Nari took one look at the title and smiled, remembering when she read it. "This is a cute book"

"Really?" Renjun asked, not really knowing what kind of book it was. All he knew was that Xiaotong mentioned wanting to read it and he went and bought it.

"Yeah, really lovey-dovey, but it was cute" Nari explained with a small smile as she put the book in a plastic bag. "Is it for your girlfriend?" She asked, guys don't really read romance books, and from the way he reacted to the lovey dovey comment, she could tell he wasn't the one reading this book.

Renjun felt his cheeks flush as his thoughts went to Xiaotong. "S-something like that" He stuttered out at the idea of him and Xiaotong being together.

"Ah, okay" Nari said with a smirk, it was complicated, she could only assume that much.

"Thank you" Renjun grabbed the bag from her after paying. "And I won't tell anyone you were slacking off"

Nari's face went into shock as she shook her head. "I wasn't!"

Renjun laughed again at her reaction. "Bye...?" He trailed off, wanting to know her name as to remember her for next time he came by for Xiaotong.

"Nari" She replied as she gestured to her name tag.

Renjun paused as knew that familiar name. "Nari?" He asked again and she nodded. "You're name is Nari"

"Yeah, that's my name"

"Oh, bye Nari" Renjun waved and walked out of the bookstore, his driver waiting outside the car for him. "Hey, Hyunmin. This doesn't happen to be the bookstore where—"

"Mark saw that girl he hit?" Hyunmin asked and Renjun nodded. "Totally is"

"Donghyuck, you'll never believe who I just saw" Renjun said into the phone after sitting down in his seat with the door closed.

Haechan groaned as he wasn't ready for another ted talk about how perfect Xiaotong was. "If you say Xiaotong, I am hanging up"

"What? No" Renjun dismissed, but then felt his smile grow on his face. "I mean I did see her but—"

"Bye bye!" Haechan said loudly as he was about hanging up, but Renjun remembered why he called in the first place.

"I saw Nari!"

There was a silent pause after the secret was revealed. "Who?" Donghyuck asked as he was confused on who Renjun was talking about.

"Nari"

"A butterfly?" Haechan asked, wondering if Renjun forgot Korean for a second. "It's nabi, with a b you idiot"

"You're the idiot!" Renjun exclaimed into the phone, taking note at how slow Donghyuck was with names. "I'm talking Nari, the girl Mark hit with a door"

"Actually?" Haechan asked, sitting up in his seat as he was interested in where this conversation was going.

"Why else would I call you?" Renjun asked.

Donghyuck smiled as he knew exactly what to say in this moment. "To confess your undying love to me and tell me how amazing and pretty and beautiful and how I'm the perfect sunshine in this sunshiny world we live in and how I'm the only sun you'll ever need in your dark and depressing life"

"I'd never say that" Renjun dismissed and Donghucks teasing face fell on the other line.

"It was worth a shot" He mumbled out. "How did you see Nari anyways?"

"Bookstore"

"Oh yeah!" Donghyuck yelling into the phone sarcastically. "I know exactly which one you're talking about! God, I love that bookstore! Love how it's called—"

"Okay! I get your point!" Renjun stopped him. "It's the bookstore near the convenience store that is always empty"

"The one where Chenle broke the water machine?" Haechan asked as he remembers the bookstore they went to after Chenle broke the water machine.

Renjun sighed as he felt the headache from that day come back. "Yeah"

"Oh! I know that one!" Haechan said with a smile.

Renjun took the phone away from his ear after hearing those words. "Can you keep your voice down, you yelled in my ear" Renjun sighed out at Donghycks antics.

"I'm sorry babe" Haechan apologized and Renjun uh he'd again.

"Don't call—" He paused as he knew it would have no effect on Donghyck. "Nevermind, I don't know why I try"

"I kinda wanna visit Nari now" Haechan said with a smile, curious as to see who had been in Mark's mind for the past few days, even with their busy schedules.

"What? No! Don't do that" Renjun shut down the idea instantly. He knew Donghyuck, knew him all too well and he knew that if Donghyuck ever met Nari, it would be a complete disaster. Mark meeting her was enough of a disaster in itself, Donghyuck meeting her would be on a different level.

"Why not?" Haechan asked and Renjun could hear his pout.

"Cause like no? We have promotions so when would you have the time?" He asked and Haechan smiled.

"When we're done with promotions, duh?" He pointed out as if Renjun was stupid and then looked at the clock. "Speaking of promotions, we have a stage in like an hour, so hurry back"

"I know I know"

Nari was hanging out with her friends again, decided what to name the group chat they had as they felt they'd grown out of National Volleyball Association (benchwarmers).

"What about, The Gang" Kangdae said as he felt proud of his thinking process.

"We're not fucking avatar the last air bender here, pal" Taeseol replied as she flicked his forehead, the four friends in their assigned seats at a cafe.

"The Real Housewives of Korea?" Taehyung asked and the four friends remained silent at his suggestion. "Wow, thanks guys, love the commotion" He said sarcastically as he took a chug from his drink.

"You're horrible at names, you know?" Taeseol asked, sassing Taehyung who rolled his eyes at her.

"And you're horrible at picking up girls" He shot back as he drank more of his drink, leaving Taeseol in silence.

Nari laughed at their bickering as Kangdae kept thinking of names. "Ah!" Kangdae said as he held a finger up in the air. "Universal health care recipients"

"That doesn't make any sense" Nari pointed out as her brows furrowed in confusion along with the other two.

"That's because you're American" Kangdae sassed with a roll of his eyes. "Fine, what about, Not so slim shady?"

"No, can't use that" Taeseol shook her head, her arms crossed over one another on the table.

Kangdae's face fell. "Why not? It was my best one" He pouted and Nari patted his shoulder in comfort.

"That's your contact name for me" Taeseol replied like it was common knowledge that everyone knew what Kangdae's contact name was.

"What?!" Kangdae said loudly, surprised at the reveal of his contact name. "I'm not blonde or bald!"

Taeseol hummed, nodding at his words. "Yeah, but you do like his songs, but you're not so slim shady, you're muscular" She explained with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Bullying" Kangdae mumbled under his breath, looking away from his friends. However, an idea then popped into his head as he looked back at them. "The Goofy Goobers?"

"Oh brother, this guy stinks!" Nari groaned out in English, quoting a Spongebob line she found funny.

Kangdae gasped as he gently smacked Nari's shoulder. "Your nicknames were bullshit too!" He exclaimed, referring to the countless names she suggested that were turned down instantly: Core Four, four(eign) policy wannabe's, and Wendy's 4 for 4 Combo.

"Let me kill my self while I'm at it" Nari said sarcastically, throwing her hands up in annoyance at Kangdae.

Kangdae pointed a finger at Nari, moving it up and down at he gave her a stern look. "You're on thin ice, pal"

"Don't start with the white people phrases" Nari said through narrowed eyes as she hated when Kangdae used them to annoy her. He knew it too, always used them to get under her skin.

Taeseol groaned at the two Native English speakers. "Stop speaking english, we can't understand" She pointed out, but Taehyung smiled brightly.

"I understand just fine" Taehyung replied, his smile huge and plastered on his face.

Taeseol looked over at him, a grim demeanor all around her as she prayed the worst for him. "I hope you pull on a door when it's a push door and you struggle for five seconds"

"That's so specific!" Taehyung replied in shock.

Nari sighed as she leaned back in her chair. "Forget it, we can't come to an agreement"

"Because National Volleyball Association (benchwarmers) is too iconic right?" Taeseol asked, a smug smirk on her face as she sat up taller, feeling proud of herself.

"Yes, but how did you land on Volleyball?" Nari asked as she looked around at her friends. "None of us played volleyball"

"Well, we all watched Haikyuu together and attempted to play volleyball that one time and failed, so we would have been benched" Taeseol explained and they all hummed and nodded, understanding her thought process.

Taehyung then sniffled, catching the attention of the three friends. "Especially since Kangdae broke the damn ball" He commented, wiping away fake tears.

"I said I was sorry" Kangdae pointed out, but Taehyung shook his head.

"I paid for that ball and you broke it like it was nothing!" Taehyung exclaimed as he fake sobbed, putting his head into Taeseol's shoulder.

Kangdae then blinked a few times before apologizing again. "I'm sorry!"

"Let's just keep it as it is" Taeseol finalized, and since she was Taeseol, they couldn't help but agree. They didn't want to disagree, scared of the consequences that came with it.

Nari then had a light bulb go off in her head. "I have an idea" She said.

Taehyung stopped "crying" and Kangdae looked down at the girl who pulled out her phone. "That's not good" Kangdae said to her idea.

"Go drool over Nayeon" Nari sassed at him, bringing up old insults to add commentary.

Kangdae groaned as he regretted ever saying anything regarding his old crush to the older sister of Nari. "I don't have a crush on her!"

Taeseol pulled out her phone and saw the notification on Instagram saying how Nari changed the name. "You just added a trademark" Taeseol pointed out and Nair smiled proudly.

"Because our group chat name is iconic, duh?" Nari explained and the three friends agreed they'd keep it the same until they had another iconic moment in their friendship that couldn't go noticed.

The four friends continued to hang out, walking around, going in and out of shops, going to a restaurant since Taehyung claimed he was one step away from dying of hunger. However, he made it ten more steps to the restaurant without meeting an early death.

The four friends, of course, decided to drink. Even if it was a weekday, it wasn't going to stop them sadly. Kangdae of course was having no problem, mostly trying to keep his friends in check. Taeseol was taking a small break, feeling herself get a little too lost, but Taehyung and Nari were off the walls.

Nari was clinging onto Kangdae, who happily obliged to her clinginess. He knew she was drunk, it was a tell that she got clingier the more she was drunk. Kangdae didn't mind the touching and using him as something to keep her standing. It wasn't a romantic thing, it was a platonic thing to not mind. Kangdae only ever saw Nari as a friend and didn't mind Nari's clinginess, never seeing it more than platonic.

Taehyung on the other hand, he has his head on the table, whining about his work place and complaining that he wanted to be in a relationship.

"No, don't do it" Kangdae told him firmly, letting Nari grab his arm to wrap it around her shoulders. "Relationships are meant to happen organically, not on a dating app"

Taehyung groaned and looked up at him. "Nothing happens organically anymore. It's all dating apps or you were already in a relationship when dating apps came out" He pointed out and let his head plop down on the table again. "I'm not gonna meet my future husband at a bookstore or by him hitting me with a door"

Nari, not thinking at all, influenced by the alcohol, let her words slip. Giggling, she mumbled out a small, "That happened to me once" Still clinging onto Kangdae.

"You met someone in a bookstore?" Taehyung asked and Taeseol raised an eyebrow, taking a break didn't mean she was sobered up, still drunk, just not drinking.

Nari giggled again and nodded. "Well, yes and no" She hesitated before sitting up straight, Kangdae letting her go. "He hit me with a door, took me to the hospital and then home and then I saw him at the bookstore I work at" Nari explained, slurring some of her words while messing with Kangdae's hand.

"Is this about Mark?" Taeseol asked as she remembered the words Nari told her in the bookstore.

"Duh!" Nari exclaimed at Nari with a laugh. Her cheeks were flushed red with her two friends besides Kangdae.

Kangdae was confused, very confused. Who was Mark? When did he hit her with a door? When did all of this happen? And again, who's Mark?

"Who's Mark?" Kangdae asked as he looked between the two girls.

Taehyung nodded, "Yeah! Who's Mark?" He asked and then laughed, making the friends look at him. "Imagine if it was Mark Lee!"

"It was!" Nari exclaimed, the people in the restaurant looking at them, but not thinking much of it. No one could assume they were talking about Mark Lee from NCT, if anything, if they did think they were talking about him, they'd think she was delusional.

"Liar!" Taehyung called her out, but Taeseol shook her head at him.

"It's true, she told me" Taeseol said nonchalantly.

Nari let go of Kangdae's hand and pointed at her, accusingly. "I told you not to tell anyone!"

"You already told everyone!" Taeseol pointed back at her, rolling her eyes and shaking her head to make her bangs move out of her face.

Nari went back to messing with Kangdae's hand and groaned. "Still!"

"No way you got hit with a door by Mark Lee!" Taehyung laughed out as his head was still laying on the table, too far gone to pick up his head.

Nari nodded as her free hand went to the place where the door hit her head "I have the trauma to prove it!"

"Okay, I think it's time for us to leave" Kangdae mumbled to himself as he asked for the check to pay and leave.

"Why Daedae?" Taehyung asked, finally picking up his head to look at Kangdae.

Kangdae gave him a soft smile, knowing drink Taehyung responded well to kindness. "Cause us three have class tomorrow"

"I don't" Taehyung said with a smug smile, it quickly went away as Nari kicked his shin under the table.

"You want a cookie or something?" Nari asked as Taehyung shook his head, groaning in pain.

As Taehyung recovered, he really thought about Nari's offer and looked at Kangdae. "Can I?" He asked. "Can I have a cookie?"

"No" Kangdae replied.

"You're so mean Daedae" Taehyung grumbled out and quickly looked at Taeseol who was drinking water. "Seoseo, Daedae is being mean"

"Don't call me Seoseo" Taeseol shrugged Taehyung off her shoulder as he clung onto her.

Taehyung then looked at Nari and smiled happily. "Nana!"

"Thats Nayeon's nickname!" Nari scolded and looked down at Kangdae's hand she was still messing right "You're such a fake friend"

"Riri!" Taehyung said happily, thinking he hit the jackpot.

Nari looked up, annoyed with Taehyung's bad nicknames. "I'm not Rihanna!"

Kangdae went to pay, but had to gently pry his hand away from Nari's fingers that was fiddling with his. "What's your nickname again?" Taehyung asked as Kangdae finally got his hand away and went to pay.

"I don't have one" Nari said after taking a moment to think about it. She didn't have one? Nari's eyes went wide in shock. "I don't have one?! You guys are so mean!"

"I can give you one" Kangdae replied as he got back from paying, sitting down next to Nari.

Nari looked at him like he had the biggest bag of candy known to man. "Really?" She asked, her eyes gleaming and sparkling with anticipation.

Kangdae nodded, his brain trying to rack up some nicknames for her, but became stumped. Nari was too short and no nicknames other than Nana and Riri came to his mind.

"I can't think of one" Kangdae sighed out in defeat.

Nari gasped dramatically, smacking his shoulder. "Slut!" She yelled at him and Kangdae ruffled her hair in retaliation.

"Your names too short!" He exclaimed and grabbed her wrists that were still trying to smack him. "It's either Nana or Riri"

"Nana is Nayeon" Nari said calmly, her arms going down as Kangdae's grip loosened.

"Why wasn't she Yeonyeon?" Taeseol asked, still drinking her water to try and sober up.

Nari clicked her tongue and grabbed one of Kangdae's hands again to play with. "Nayeon was too hard for me to pronounce so I called her Nana"

"So that's the story behind it" Taehyung mumbled out as he felt himself leaving his body more and more as each second passed by.

Nari groaned as she shoved Kangdae's hand away from her. "I want a nickname!" She complained as she felt left out with her friends all having nicknames.

"Wait!" Taehyung exclaimed as he smacked the table with his hands. "Door" He said happily and proudly.

The three friends looked at him like he was insane. He was, he was insane, Taehyung always had so much energy and always lended some to his friends. But at times like these, they just wondered what went on inside his head.

"Huh?" Nari questioned as she tilted her head, confused by his thought process.

"Because you got hit by a door" Taehyung replied, acting as if it was obvious.

Nari narrowed her eyes and raised her hand to pretend to hit him. "I hope you get hit by a door Taetae!"

"Take that back!" Taehyung gasped out.

Taeseol groaned as she rubbed her temples with one of her hands. "Oh my god, you guys are so loud!" She yelled at the two.

"You're yelling too!" Taehyung yelled, whipping his head to point at her.

Kangdae tapped Nari's shoulder and she looked over at him "What about Nali?" He asked, it sounded close to her Korean name, just the change of accent since Kangdae said it in his Australian accent, making it more on the English side than Korean.

Nari raised an eyebrow. "Nali?" She asked in her American accent.

"Nari and Lily!" Kangdae said in English, happily with a smile.

"I'm not a ship you can make a ship name for!" Nari exclaimed in English, not caring enough to change languages. Kangdae jumped at Nari's small outburst, but Nari brushed him off and sighed. "Forget it, I want Riri"

"Riri!" Taehyung called her happily, a big smile on his face.

"Yay!" Nari said happily as she was now apart of their nicknames.

*gigi’s thoughts*

changed up the formatting lol also sorry for disappearing highkey i got busy with summer school (i failed and dropped a class…god forbid a girl goes through a depressive episode 😪😪😪) but i hope you guys enjoyed this chapter 😁😁😁😁 also forgot to add the trademark emoji on the ss for end messages….we don’t talk abt it

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo @bbykaixx 𝗈𝗉𝖾𝗇 !

𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 | 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌 | 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍

[sximsoc]

JAMES POTTER ANGST PREVIEW!!!! it’s for the one request abt james being with lily and reader has a crush on james 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

hopefully i capture the characters well and their dynamics, im still new to the marauders lore and such, i only really know the harry potter books and movies, im not too caught up on marauders lore so if anything is inaccurate in my one shot DONT COME FOR MY HEAD PLEASE IM ONLY TAKING LORE FROM THE FICS I READ ON HERE PLEASE and like just tell me like idk that’s it really

[sximsoc]

hongdae guy rizz works guys

[sximsoc]

𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 5, 060

chapter 007 now playing…

"He hit you with a door?" Taeseol questioned as Nari nodded in horror and embarassment at the retelling from Taeseol's perspective. "I'm not following" Taeseol said with a shake of her head, not understanding how and what happened between Nari and Mark Lee.

"He hit me with a door" Nari said again and Taeseol nodded.

"I know, you said that. I'm just not understanding" Taeseol added on. Nari took a deep breath before sitting up straight, explaining everything above the sun of what happened last night. The conversations they had, although they were minimum, the actions that happened, what happened with Nayeon and Jaemin Na, and of course how Mark took her to the hospital and back home. "Thats crazy"

"I know!" Nari exclaimed as she turned around to look at the door to make sure no one came in or heard her, even though she locked the door. Looking back at Taeseol who was still processing the words what Nari said. The whole thing sounded insane, familiar and just completely dream like.

"And you're sure this wasn't a dream?" Taeseol asked and Nari nodded. "How?"

"He was just here" Nari mumbled out as she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs at how overwhelmed that not only was it all real, but she ran into him again. "The guy—the guy, the guy that said my name, that was him"

Taeseol was suspicious, how could Nari know it was him if he was all covered up. Yeah, voices could be recognizable, but Nari isn't good with voices let alone knowing idols voices.

"How do you know though?" She asked and Nari leaned in closer to Taeseol.

"I know, it's weird, but I know" Nari said with full confidence and Taeseol looked at her friend.

Nari wasn't one to lie and it felt like she really wasn't lying about this. Nari always laughed when she lied, it was her tell tale sign, but she wasn't laughing about this. However, it all seemed so out of reality and so bizarre that Taeseol's mind couldn't wrapt around the idea that Nari spent almost the whole night with a kpop idol.

"Nari" Taeseol said gently and grabbed Nari's hands in comfort. "I'm not saying you're lying, but maybe Nayeon has been playing too much NCT and you dreamed it all last night"

Nari quickly got her hands out of Taeseol's grip and groaned. "Taeseol! I'm being serious!" Nari said in despair, desperate for her friend to believe her.

"Nari!" Taeseol yelled her name since Nari was mumbling small things to herself. "I know you are, it just" Taeseol paused and looked away. "It doesn't sound real"

"How do you think I feel?" Nari asked as she felt her mind and thoughts racing. She doesn't know why this was keeping her up and making her mind race. Why was Nari so hung up on this? It's insane to her and it's even more insane to keep thinking about it. Nari told herself and told Mark that she would forget about that night and move on, yet she's doing everything but what she promised.

Nari leaned back in her chair and stared at the table. "I feel like I'm going insane and I can't tell if what happened yesterday and just now is real or a fragment of my imagination" Nari explained in a calm voice.

Taeseol took notice of this shift in personality. Nari was always energetic when it came to telling a story or something bizarre, but when she got quiet and calm, it's when she knew that Nari was in deep thought about something. It was usually something negative and not good. Taeseol sighed as she gave Nari a soft smile, wanting to comfort her.

"Listen, maybe it did happen" Taeseol assured her and Nari looked up at the girl. "People see idols all the time, none of them have your confidence to talk to them and turn down vip concert tickets, but it happens"

"And what if it didn't happen and it was just a really, really detailed dream that felt way too real?" Nari asked as she took in consideration of lucid dreaming.

Taeseol chuckled as she knew exactly what to respond with. "Then Nayeon needs to start wearing headphones around the house"

"No, actually though she does" Nari joked back and Taeseol knew she got Nari back. Nari signed as she looked at her friend with full sincerity. "Promise not to tell Taehyung and Kangdae about my crazy dream?"

"I promise"

naarihw’s instagram story

Nari heard their number being called and went to get the drinks and food they ordered from the cafe they met up at when Kangdae messaged them that he was ready. Nari came back and set down the tray, Taeseol grabbing her drink and her food, Kangdae still napping and Nari shaking her head at him.

"He wants to hang out and falls asleep" Nari groaned out, taking her seat next to Taeseol and crossing her leg over the other.

Taeseol tilted her head to the side as she looked at Kangdae. Shaking her head, she brought her cup closer to her mouth and said, "He's a straight Australian man, I expect no better"

"True, we're lucky he got out of bed" Nari said with a nod as she remembers how many times they would ask to hang out with Kangdae during the summer break just for him to reply late and say he was asleep.

Kangdae rolled his eyes from under his cap. "I can hear you!" He exclaimed, but it sounded muffled due to the cap still being over his face.

Nari chuckled. "My bad eshay" She apologized to him.

Kangdae sat up and took the cap off his face, leaning his arms on his knees, inching closer to Nari across the table. "You don't even know what an eshay is" He pointed out and Nari looked him up and down.

"I know you used to be one" Nari stated and Kangdae rolled his eyes.

"I was never an eshay!"

"Stop yelling" Taeseol scolded the two you get kids. She grabbed the drink from the tray and handed it to Kangdae. "Here, take your drink and stop yelling"

"Yes, Seol" Kangdae replied respectfully, taking his drink from the older girl.

Taeseol sighed as she leaned back in her chair, shaking her bangs away from her eyes. "You kids are the reason I'm getting grey hairs"

"You're like a year older than us" Nari pointed out as she took a sip from her cup.

"And I'm acting like your parent"

Kangdae laughed as he put his drink down on the coffee table. "That's actually crazy"

"We're not even that bad" Nari commented and it was silent. Taeseol looked at her with surprise at how she thought they weren't bad. To Taeseol, when Kangdae and Nari got into it in public, it was the worst feeling for Taeseol.

"You are" Taeseol replied, taking a bite from her food.

Nari faked a pained expression and put her hand to her heart. Kangdae was quick to follow as he sighed in fake pain. "That's just rude, Taeseol" Kangdae said, exaggerating his pain even more with Nair following his gestures.

"Shut it eshay" Taeseol mumbled out and the two younger friends stoped their performance.

"What?!" Kangdae questioned in a loud voice, that even Nari shushed him.

"Shut up!" Nari told him as she put a finger to her mouth.

Kangdae then looked at her and sassed her back. "You shut up!"

"Both of you shut up before we get kicked out because you two don't know how to be quiet" Taeseol scolded the two forgeiners again, mumbled out an apology to the people near them. Taeseol sighed and gave her two fiends an annoyed glare. "God damn Americans and Australians"

"Hey, I'm a proud American" Nari defended herself with a smile. Although America had its many, many flaws, many Nari didn't agree with, when it came to patriotism when others hated on America, for some reason it filled her up that she had to defend it.

"Okay, Patriot" Kangdae coughed out as he took a chug from his drink.

Nari shot her gaze at Kangdae and narrowed her eyes. "At least we won the Boston Tea Party" Nari boasted and Kangdae furrowed his brows.

"I'm Australian, not British" He pointed out and leaned back in his chair, a smug look on his face. "That insult doesn't effect me in any way"

Nari glared at Kangdae more who seemed unfazed by it. "I hate you" Nari said through her teeth.

"I love you too" Kangdae replied with his charming smile.

Taeseol looked between her two friends and faked gagged at the two. "Disgusting" She said with a shake of her head, continuing to scroll on her phone.

Nari quickly looked at Taeseol with a smile and cooed. "We love you too, Seol"

"Whatever, drink your stuff" Taeseol instructed and the two did what she said.

After the cafe, the three friends walked around their neighborhood. Going into a few shops, Kangdae buying a few things, not out of necessity, but because he wanted to. It was a lot of unnecessary things, but he had the money so why not buy what you don't really need.

Taeseol constantly lead them to the music section of each shop they hit up that had one. Looking around the records, seeing what they had, listening to the music they were playing on the headphones.

While Taeseol did that, Kangdae and Nari were left to their own devices. The two messing around, trying to make the other trip, playing games like rock, paper, scissors, or anything to keep them entertained. It wasn't until they hit up a department store, that Kangdae and Nari were getting into it.

Taeseol was looking at the music section again, but along the way there, Kangdae and Nari saw two free hangers with no clothes. The two looked at each other and came to the mutual agreement of what they were going to do to pass time while Taeseol looked around. Kangdae grabbed the two hangers and handed one to Nari.

As Taeseol looked around the music section, in her own little world filled with music she loved and music she always tried to decipher; Kangdae and Nari were playing with the hangers. The two treated it like a sword or a bow and arrow, pretending to fire shots at one another or full on soward fighting like in Star Wars or Narnia.

As Kangdae and Nari were play fighting, Taeseol turned around and Kangdae was reeling back his arm, his elbow collided with Taeseol cheek. Nari's hand went straight to her mouth, covering it in surprise, Kangdae's eyes went wide with shock and fear while Taeseol held the side of her face as she groaned at the pain.

"Oh, my God" Kangdae mumbled out as he quickly dropped the hanged and checked on Taeseol, who let him. "Seol, I'm so sorry, I didn't even see you there, I'm so sorry" Kangdae apologized, profusely and sincerely.

Taeseol nodded and brushed him off, gently rubbing her cheek. "You want me to get you an ice pack?" Nari asked as she gently approached Taeseol.

Taeseol shook her head and grabbed the hanger from Nari's hand. The two friend were so occupied with making sure that Taeseol was okay, that they didn't realize that she had a hanger in her hands.

"My turn" Taeseol mumbled out in a teasing way as she raised her arm to try and hit Kangdae who was quick to run away. Taeseol laughed as she bent down and grabbed the fallen hanger from Kangdae.

"Remind me to never accidentally hit you" Nari mumbled out as she watched how Kangdae ran from her with so much fear.

Nari swore she had never seen Kangdae run so fast in the time that she's known him.

Taeseol hummed im agreement. "Don't accidentally hit me"

"Thank you" Nari thanked for the reminder and looked at Taeseol with concern written across her face. "You sure you're okay?" She asked again.

Taeseol smiled at Nari. She's noticed that with Nari, she always worried, especially when it came to people she cared about. Although it's normal for people to care about their loved ones, Taeseol noticed how Nari cared way more than she or anyone could comprehend. It was like ten times the normal ammount, maybe even twelve times. Either way, all Taeseol knew was that she liked how much Nari cared about her, Kangdae, Taehyung and her family. How she always checked up on them, always making sure they were okay or comfortable.

"I'm fine, dang, dang, I'm fine" Taeseol replied, quoting an tiktok Nari sent her a few days ago.

Nar groaned playfully. "Stop quoting that"

"It's funny" Taeseol replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

The two did notice, but Kangdae had come back, but was standing behind one of the shelves, peaking into their aisle. "Is it safe now?" He asked, wanted to make sure he wouldn't get hit with a hanger.

Nari sighed as she nodded to him. "Yes, Charlie, it's safe"

"It's not safe when you call me Charlie" Kangdae replied, eyeing the two girls with suspicion. The more he hesitated to come out the more annoyed Taeseol would get.

"Charlie, just come out" Taeseol ushered him with her hand. Kangdae was quick to follow her orders and instantly began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry, Seol, really"

"I know!" Taeseol exclaimed as she laughed at the poor boy who seemed so distressed about this small accident. "Calm down, be happy it wasn't an old man who's out for revenge"

"I am"

As the night was winding down, Nari, Taeseol and Kangdae were walking to Taehyungs work place. Reason why, Taehyung had spammed messaged them saying he was ready and needed to leave now before his manager asked him to work overtime like he usually did.

The three friends were outside his workplace, a small shop next to a few more shops. A tea shop, a ramen shop, a grocery store, and of course, Taehyungs work place. His shop sold plushies, clothes, snacks, and a few other things like merchandise from Sanrio and other companies.

Nari dragged Taeseol in by her wrist, smile on her face while Taeseol had a bored expression on. Kangdae was quick to follow them to the plushy asile, Nari was looking down the shelves on the search for lonely plushies she was attracted to. As they were looking around, Kangdae searching with Nari while Taeseol looked at her phone, Taehyung came running to them, still putting on his jacket as he knew exactly where they would go.

"Guys!" Taehyung called and the three friends looked up, Kangdae smiled as he ran to Taehyung, the two hugging and jumping around like they hadn't seen each other in years.

"They're at it again" Nari said to Taeseol as a few customers in the shop looked at them, some with cringe, others in awe, and some in second hand embarrassment.

Taeseol sighed as she shook her head, knowing there was nothing she or Nari could do to stop them. "Let's just go" Taeseol instructed and walked over to the two boys and told them that her and Nari were leaving without them.

The two boys instantly started walking with the two girls. The four friends were walking the streets of their neighborhood at night, the street lights illuminating their path and the restaurants buzzing with life.

Taehyung had his arm around Kangdae's shoulder with Taesol and Nari leading the way to the karaoke place they always went to. Not only was it karaoke, but it was also a restaurant, usually people had to wait for their karaoke rooms, so they ate while waiting for a room to open.

Taeseol opened the door for Nari, letting her in and letting the door close on the two boys. "Seol!" Taehyung complained while Kangdae opened the door for him. "Thanks Daedae" He said with a smile and went in.

"Don't call me that" Kangdae mumbled out in embarrassment, hoping no one heard Taehyung call him Daedae.

"I'll call you whatever I want" Taehyung rolled his eyes at him, following Taeseol who was looking for a place to sit four people.

"Here" Taeseol said as her eyes landed on a small booth that fit them. The friends sat down, Kangdae next to Nari and Taeseol next to Taehyung. It was their seating chart, never changing and always on the same side.

As they ordered and waited for food, the four friends were playing small drinking games, not wanting to cause too much commotion. Kangdae kept loosing which made him drink more than the others, which he didn't mind, having a high alcohol tolerance came in handy when it came to drinking and losing to his friends.

Nari on the other hand, sadly she couldn't hold her alcohol at all, so she tried her best to always win and never lose. Nari usually won, like tonight, she kept winning which meant she didn't drink as much as her friends.

Taehyung was losing the small game of rock, paper, scissors, making him whine and drink the shot of soju. Taehyung drank and slammed his shot glass on the table.

Nari was quick to shush him, Taeseol smacked the back of his head while Kangdae laughed at them. Soon enough, their food came and Kangdae was quick to eat as much as he could. Taeseol kept fighting with Taehyung over the eggs the came with their rice cakes, as it was their favorite part and Nari was feeling the tiredness of the day and just watched her friends.

She smiled at them. Really smiled at them, Nari was admiring them, like an outsider watching a movie. Nari honestly didn't know what she would do or what she'd be doing right now if she didn't meet these people. Nari assumed she'd be cooped up at home, or back in America after not finding her place in Korea. It was a scary thought, knowing that if she didn't find a place to belong, she wouldn't have met Taeseol, Taehyung or Kangdae.

"You okay?" Kangdae asked. He noticed how she went quiet and how she wasn't grabbing at the food on the table.

Kangdae had always been observant. It was a trait that drove Nari crazy, or made her smile at how much he saw that others couldn't.

Nari smiled and nodded. "Yeah, just really happy right now" She explained and Kangdae nodded, understanding what she meant.

When Nari was with her friends, she'd sometimes feel like it was an out of body experience. Like she was watching a movie from above, and she'd feel this warmth flow all over her body, covering it in this golden light. It was peaceful and filled with content when watching her friends interact and laugh. Something about it made her want to take a mental snap shot and come back to the moment whenever she could.

"Here, take some" Kangdae said as he put food onto her plate, giving her as much as the plate could handle.

Nari smiled at his action and thanked him. Eating her food she took small sips of her water, starting to get annoyed at how much the two Tae's were arguing over an egg.

"Yeah, but it's literally my favorite part of this thing" Taehyung defended himself as his chopsticks gestured to the egg waiting for them, coated in the spicy sauce they craved so much.

Taeseol furrowed her brows. "You don't even like the rice cakes?" She asked, still confused at how he didn't like rice cakes when they were everywhere.

"You know I hardly do!" Taehyung, said a little loud and offended that Taeseol was still confused about it.

"You're Korean!" Taeseol exclaimed to Taehyung. "You have to like rice cakes, it's like the law" She said to him, emphasizing how important it was he liked rice cakes.

"No it isn't?" Taehyung rebutted, Kangdae still eating away and Nari looked between the two bickering friends. "Besides, you hate radishes, and you're Korean!"

Taeseol held a finger up to stop Taehyung from speaking. "Radishes is acceptable, it isn't everywhere like rice cakes" She pointed out and Taehyung shook his head.

"Yes it is!"

Taeseol, having enough, groaned and smacked his arm. "Just let me have the damn egg!" She yelled a little too loud that it made Kangdae cringe.

"No?!" Taehyung yelled at the same volume.

Taeseol sat up straighter as she noticed how Taehyung wasn't backing down. "It's not like it has your name on it!"

"It doesn't have yours either!" Taehyung pointed out at the egg that was still waiting.

Nari had a pained face as she noticed how their table was getting a few stares from patrons and from the staff working. "Guys, please keep it down, people are starting to stare" Nari asked them and the two friends looked at her.

Kangdae however, was growing more and more annoyed with his two best friends. He loved them, of course he did, he loved them so much that he'd do anything for them. Except for going on a roller coaster, but that's a different story. Kangdae having enough, looked at the egg that was growing cold and grabbed it, putting it in his mouth and eating it while his friends kept arguing.

"Then tell that horrid thing that the egg is mine!" Taehyung gestured to Taeseol.

"Tell this Thomas Edison wannabe that the egg is mine!" Taeseol said to Nari as she gestured to Taehyung who looked offended by this comparison.

"I'm not even an engineering major!" He yelled.

"Can you guys shut up?" Kangdae asked as he leaned back in the booth him and Nari were sat in. He glanced at the plate that held the spicy rice cakes. "I already ate the egg"

"What?!" Taeseol and Taehyung exclaimed in shock as they followed Kangdae's gaze and saw the complete horror. Their egg was gone.

Kangdae shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. "You guys were arguing, had to take out the common variable in this" He explained while uncrossing his arms to grab stuff from Nari's plate, knowing she wouldn't eat all of it as she was too entertained with Taehyung and Taeseol arguing.

"Common variable my ass you nerdy whore" Taeseol muttered out as she grabbed a rice cake and chomped on it like a rabid animal, upset at the thought of the egg she wanted so bad, being eaten by Kangdae.

Nari laughed at Taeseol's reaction. "He's the real Thomas Edison" Nari mumbled out as she smacked Kangdae's hand from grabbing more of her food.

"That doesn't make sense" Kangdae mumbled out as he rubbed his hand that was slapped by Nari.

Taeseol looked at him with pure hatred and narrowed eyes. "He was a nerd like you"

"At least I can do something with my degree" Kangdae replied back as he looked at Taeseol.

Taeseol laughed and looked at him with curiosity. "Do what? Free the bees?" She asked and Kangdae rolled his eyes.

"And what if I wanna free the bees?" He asked.

Taeseol rolled her eyes. "At least people will enjoy my degree"

"Only on SoundCloud" Kangdae insulted and Taeseol gasped at him.

"Take that back!" Taeseol yelled at him as say up straighter, her hands on the table.

Kangdae raised an eyebrow. "No?"

After what felt like years, Taehyung finally muttered something after staring at the rice cakes that had no egg. "I feel betrayed" Taehyung mumbled and everyone looked at him.

"Why do you feel betrayed, Tae?" Nari asked as they all waited for his response.

Taehyung faked sniffled at the plate he was still staring at. "Because Daedae ate the egg I love so much" Taehyung mumbled out as he whined and buried his head in Taeseols shoulder.

Taeseol let it happen, but was quick to groaned and lift her shoulder to make Taehyung get off.

"If you guys shut up and just cut the egg in half then I wouldn't have eaten it" Kangdae explained as Taehyung got up from Taeseols shoulder, shoving his hair back with his hand.

Nari then spoke, suggesting another idea. "Or you could have cut the egg in half"

"True" Kangdae replied as he grabbed more of the food on their table.

"You're a horrible human being" Taeseol finalized and Kangdae shrugged his shoulder, knowing this argument was all in good fun.

Taehyung leaned over and did a horrible job at whispering, clearly wanting Kangdae to listen. "It's because he's from Australia"

"Okay, no need to go that far" Kangdae replied instantly, his Australian pride taking a hit from the insult from the Korean.

"Never trust an Australian" Nari agreed with the two friends with a smile.

Kangdae scoffed at how Nari was agreeing with them when she was also a foreigner. "Never trust an American Patriot" Kangdae insulted.

"I said I love 'Merica once" Nari complained as she regretted that drunk day for so many nights.

Taehyung gently grabbed Nari's free hand and offered a pained smile. "Once was too much" He said and Nari scoffed him.

"Shut it, Cedric!" Nari exclaimed as she snatched her hand away from Taehyung's grasp.

The two friends laughed at the use of Taehyungs never used English name. "No need for that" Taehyung muttered, embarrassed at the name he chose.

"Cedric is crazy" Taeseol laughed out as Kangdae smacked the table, his drunken stare making him think that something was funnier than it was.

"I was eight!" Taehyung exclaimed, defending himself. "They asked for a name and all I could think of was Cedric from the Harry Potter movies" He explained and the friends didn't care as the name still held so much confusion and humor.

Taehyung sulked until the friends eventually moved topics and he joined in again like nothing happened. Their banger was fun, it was insulting yes, but they all knew their limits. They knew each other so well, they knew when they had to stop playing and to stop insulting. Besides, bullying aside, they cared about each other so deeply it was like a connection from another world. Something about them being a group made sense, it was like a bunch of puzzle pieces fitting together and staying stuck, no moving and no room for space.

They were meant to be. Taehyung always said they were destined to meet, that they were a constellation of stars. Taehyung was poetic for a math major, it was a nice constrast. They expected the poetic lines from Nari as she was the writer, but no, it was Taehyung that always thought about things from a different perspective and had a way of saying things.

As the friends finished their food, Kangdae asked the staff if one of the rooms were open, they said yes and finished up their food, saying they wanted that room. The staff led them to the open room and the friends went in. As they all got set up, still giggling around, their bones and humors lose from the soju.

The first one to sing was Taehyung as he was always the opener to their karaoke world tour. He sang his song that was "New Face" by Psy. After his song, it was time for Kangdae and Taehyung to sing a duet, which was from 2PM, any song it could be for the mood they were in.

After them, it went to Taeseol who sang an English song she was into these past few days. She was the better singer out of the four friends, it was expected as she was the music major. After her song, it went to Nari who sang her rendition of "Replay" by SHINee.

Then it was a free for all. Taehyung sang another song, then a few duets between the four, another few solos of old songs they listened to as kids, a few English songs Nari and Kangdae grew up listening to.

They kept on drinking soju, of course, which made them want to sing more and scream into the mic. Nari was on the couch, catching her breath after singing a Justin Bieber song, drinking a bit of water and then a shot of soju.

Kangdae went down to sit next to her as Taehyung and Taeseol screamed into the mic to "Trouble Maker".

"Slow down" Kangdae advised as he was starting to feel a little tipsy from the soju, meaning everyone else was starting to get a little too far gone. He grabbed the shot glass from Nari and took it away from her.

"My glass" Nari whined, still trying to catch her breath, leaned back into the couch in the room. "This is exactly what I needed"

"Really?" Kangdae asked and she hummed. "Why?" He asked, curious as Nari usually never needed to drink to take away the stress.

"No reason, just needed this" Nari assured him and Kangdae nodded.

"Hey!" Taehyung yelled into the mic as the song ended, catching the attention of Nari and Kangdae. "Let's sing NCT!"

"No!" Nari opposed, yelling her dislike of the idea. "Absolutely not! Everything but NCT!"

"Why?!" Taehyung yelled into the mic and Nari rolled her eyes.

"Because no NCT!" Nari yelled again as she was felt so strongly about this. "I'm so serious, last thing I need is to hear Mark Lee's voice!" Nari yelled, no filter on as she quickly shut her mouth and looked around at her friends.

"What did Mark do?" Kangdae asked as he laughed at how Nari disliked Mark Lee. "Did he like wrong you?"

"No" Nari said quickly and Taehyung grew bored of them and had Taeseol choose another song. "Just, Nayeon was listening to NCT again, and Marks solo song a few times" Nari quickly lied as she shook her head at the rush of memories or thoughts from last night.

"Oh god" Kangdae said with pain as he heard the song that was coming on. "I'm so sorry, I have to sing this" Kangdae apologized as he grabbed the mic from Taehyung's hands and began singing along to Girls Generation's "Gee".

"Hey!" Taehyung exclaimed as he tried to fight the tall Kangdae for the mic to sing too.

naarihw’s instagram story

*gigis thoughts*

i domt own any pics, i got them from pinterest also MY BAD FOR POSTING THE SAME CHAPTER TWICE THATS MY BAD MY B and the only thing i know abt eshay’s and australian culture around that is from heartbreak high too good of a show

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo

masterlist | previous | next

[sximsoc]

𝐢'𝐯𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨 𝐦𝐮𝐜𝐡

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 5, 060

chapter 007 now playing…

"He hit you with a door?" Taeseol questioned as Nari nodded in horror and embarassment at the retelling from Taeseol's perspective. "I'm not following" Taeseol said with a shake of her head, not understanding how and what happened between Nari and Mark Lee.

"He hit me with a door" Nari said again and Taeseol nodded.

"I know, you said that. I'm just not understanding" Taeseol added on. Nari took a deep breath before sitting up straight, explaining everything above the sun of what happened last night. The conversations they had, although they were minimum, the actions that happened, what happened with Nayeon and Jaemin Na, and of course how Mark took her to the hospital and back home. "Thats crazy"

"I know!" Nari exclaimed as she turned around to look at the door to make sure no one came in or heard her, even though she locked the door. Looking back at Taeseol who was still processing the words what Nari said. The whole thing sounded insane, familiar and just completely dream like.

"And you're sure this wasn't a dream?" Taeseol asked and Nari nodded. "How?"

"He was just here" Nari mumbled out as she wanted to scream at the top of her lungs at how overwhelmed that not only was it all real, but she ran into him again. "The guy—the guy, the guy that said my name, that was him"

Taeseol was suspicious, how could Nari know it was him if he was all covered up. Yeah, voices could be recognizable, but Nari isn't good with voices let alone knowing idols voices.

"How do you know though?" She asked and Nari leaned in closer to Taeseol.

"I know, it's weird, but I know" Nari said with full confidence and Taeseol looked at her friend.

Nari wasn't one to lie and it felt like she really wasn't lying about this. Nari always laughed when she lied, it was her tell tale sign, but she wasn't laughing about this. However, it all seemed so out of reality and so bizarre that Taeseol's mind couldn't wrapt around the idea that Nari spent almost the whole night with a kpop idol.

"Nari" Taeseol said gently and grabbed Nari's hands in comfort. "I'm not saying you're lying, but maybe Nayeon has been playing too much NCT and you dreamed it all last night"

Nari quickly got her hands out of Taeseol's grip and groaned. "Taeseol! I'm being serious!" Nari said in despair, desperate for her friend to believe her.

"Nari!" Taeseol yelled her name since Nari was mumbling small things to herself. "I know you are, it just" Taeseol paused and looked away. "It doesn't sound real"

"How do you think I feel?" Nari asked as she felt her mind and thoughts racing. She doesn't know why this was keeping her up and making her mind race. Why was Nari so hung up on this? It's insane to her and it's even more insane to keep thinking about it. Nari told herself and told Mark that she would forget about that night and move on, yet she's doing everything but what she promised.

Nari leaned back in her chair and stared at the table. "I feel like I'm going insane and I can't tell if what happened yesterday and just now is real or a fragment of my imagination" Nari explained in a calm voice.

Taeseol took notice of this shift in personality. Nari was always energetic when it came to telling a story or something bizarre, but when she got quiet and calm, it's when she knew that Nari was in deep thought about something. It was usually something negative and not good. Taeseol sighed as she gave Nari a soft smile, wanting to comfort her.

"Listen, maybe it did happen" Taeseol assured her and Nari looked up at the girl. "People see idols all the time, none of them have your confidence to talk to them and turn down vip concert tickets, but it happens"

"And what if it didn't happen and it was just a really, really detailed dream that felt way too real?" Nari asked as she took in consideration of lucid dreaming.

Taeseol chuckled as she knew exactly what to respond with. "Then Nayeon needs to start wearing headphones around the house"

"No, actually though she does" Nari joked back and Taeseol knew she got Nari back. Nari signed as she looked at her friend with full sincerity. "Promise not to tell Taehyung and Kangdae about my crazy dream?"

"I promise"

naarihw’s instagram story

Nari heard their number being called and went to get the drinks and food they ordered from the cafe they met up at when Kangdae messaged them that he was ready. Nari came back and set down the tray, Taeseol grabbing her drink and her food, Kangdae still napping and Nari shaking her head at him.

"He wants to hang out and falls asleep" Nari groaned out, taking her seat next to Taeseol and crossing her leg over the other.

Taeseol tilted her head to the side as she looked at Kangdae. Shaking her head, she brought her cup closer to her mouth and said, "He's a straight Australian man, I expect no better"

"True, we're lucky he got out of bed" Nari said with a nod as she remembers how many times they would ask to hang out with Kangdae during the summer break just for him to reply late and say he was asleep.

Kangdae rolled his eyes from under his cap. "I can hear you!" He exclaimed, but it sounded muffled due to the cap still being over his face.

Nari chuckled. "My bad eshay" She apologized to him.

Kangdae sat up and took the cap off his face, leaning his arms on his knees, inching closer to Nari across the table. "You don't even know what an eshay is" He pointed out and Nari looked him up and down.

"I know you used to be one" Nari stated and Kangdae rolled his eyes.

"I was never an eshay!"

"Stop yelling" Taeseol scolded the two you get kids. She grabbed the drink from the tray and handed it to Kangdae. "Here, take your drink and stop yelling"

"Yes, Seol" Kangdae replied respectfully, taking his drink from the older girl.

Taeseol sighed as she leaned back in her chair, shaking her bangs away from her eyes. "You kids are the reason I'm getting grey hairs"

"You're like a year older than us" Nari pointed out as she took a sip from her cup.

"And I'm acting like your parent"

Kangdae laughed as he put his drink down on the coffee table. "That's actually crazy"

"We're not even that bad" Nari commented and it was silent. Taeseol looked at her with surprise at how she thought they weren't bad. To Taeseol, when Kangdae and Nari got into it in public, it was the worst feeling for Taeseol.

"You are" Taeseol replied, taking a bite from her food.

Nari faked a pained expression and put her hand to her heart. Kangdae was quick to follow as he sighed in fake pain. "That's just rude, Taeseol" Kangdae said, exaggerating his pain even more with Nair following his gestures.

"Shut it eshay" Taeseol mumbled out and the two younger friends stoped their performance.

"What?!" Kangdae questioned in a loud voice, that even Nari shushed him.

"Shut up!" Nari told him as she put a finger to her mouth.

Kangdae then looked at her and sassed her back. "You shut up!"

"Both of you shut up before we get kicked out because you two don't know how to be quiet" Taeseol scolded the two forgeiners again, mumbled out an apology to the people near them. Taeseol sighed and gave her two fiends an annoyed glare. "God damn Americans and Australians"

"Hey, I'm a proud American" Nari defended herself with a smile. Although America had its many, many flaws, many Nari didn't agree with, when it came to patriotism when others hated on America, for some reason it filled her up that she had to defend it.

"Okay, Patriot" Kangdae coughed out as he took a chug from his drink.

Nari shot her gaze at Kangdae and narrowed her eyes. "At least we won the Boston Tea Party" Nari boasted and Kangdae furrowed his brows.

"I'm Australian, not British" He pointed out and leaned back in his chair, a smug look on his face. "That insult doesn't effect me in any way"

Nari glared at Kangdae more who seemed unfazed by it. "I hate you" Nari said through her teeth.

"I love you too" Kangdae replied with his charming smile.

Taeseol looked between her two friends and faked gagged at the two. "Disgusting" She said with a shake of her head, continuing to scroll on her phone.

Nari quickly looked at Taeseol with a smile and cooed. "We love you too, Seol"

"Whatever, drink your stuff" Taeseol instructed and the two did what she said.

After the cafe, the three friends walked around their neighborhood. Going into a few shops, Kangdae buying a few things, not out of necessity, but because he wanted to. It was a lot of unnecessary things, but he had the money so why not buy what you don't really need.

Taeseol constantly lead them to the music section of each shop they hit up that had one. Looking around the records, seeing what they had, listening to the music they were playing on the headphones.

While Taeseol did that, Kangdae and Nari were left to their own devices. The two messing around, trying to make the other trip, playing games like rock, paper, scissors, or anything to keep them entertained. It wasn't until they hit up a department store, that Kangdae and Nari were getting into it.

Taeseol was looking at the music section again, but along the way there, Kangdae and Nari saw two free hangers with no clothes. The two looked at each other and came to the mutual agreement of what they were going to do to pass time while Taeseol looked around. Kangdae grabbed the two hangers and handed one to Nari.

As Taeseol looked around the music section, in her own little world filled with music she loved and music she always tried to decipher; Kangdae and Nari were playing with the hangers. The two treated it like a sword or a bow and arrow, pretending to fire shots at one another or full on soward fighting like in Star Wars or Narnia.

As Kangdae and Nari were play fighting, Taeseol turned around and Kangdae was reeling back his arm, his elbow collided with Taeseol cheek. Nari's hand went straight to her mouth, covering it in surprise, Kangdae's eyes went wide with shock and fear while Taeseol held the side of her face as she groaned at the pain.

"Oh, my God" Kangdae mumbled out as he quickly dropped the hanged and checked on Taeseol, who let him. "Seol, I'm so sorry, I didn't even see you there, I'm so sorry" Kangdae apologized, profusely and sincerely.

Taeseol nodded and brushed him off, gently rubbing her cheek. "You want me to get you an ice pack?" Nari asked as she gently approached Taeseol.

Taeseol shook her head and grabbed the hanger from Nari's hand. The two friend were so occupied with making sure that Taeseol was okay, that they didn't realize that she had a hanger in her hands.

"My turn" Taeseol mumbled out in a teasing way as she raised her arm to try and hit Kangdae who was quick to run away. Taeseol laughed as she bent down and grabbed the fallen hanger from Kangdae.

"Remind me to never accidentally hit you" Nari mumbled out as she watched how Kangdae ran from her with so much fear.

Nari swore she had never seen Kangdae run so fast in the time that she's known him.

Taeseol hummed im agreement. "Don't accidentally hit me"

"Thank you" Nari thanked for the reminder and looked at Taeseol with concern written across her face. "You sure you're okay?" She asked again.

Taeseol smiled at Nari. She's noticed that with Nari, she always worried, especially when it came to people she cared about. Although it's normal for people to care about their loved ones, Taeseol noticed how Nari cared way more than she or anyone could comprehend. It was like ten times the normal ammount, maybe even twelve times. Either way, all Taeseol knew was that she liked how much Nari cared about her, Kangdae, Taehyung and her family. How she always checked up on them, always making sure they were okay or comfortable.

"I'm fine, dang, dang, I'm fine" Taeseol replied, quoting an tiktok Nari sent her a few days ago.

Nar groaned playfully. "Stop quoting that"

"It's funny" Taeseol replied with a shrug of her shoulders.

The two did notice, but Kangdae had come back, but was standing behind one of the shelves, peaking into their aisle. "Is it safe now?" He asked, wanted to make sure he wouldn't get hit with a hanger.

Nari sighed as she nodded to him. "Yes, Charlie, it's safe"

"It's not safe when you call me Charlie" Kangdae replied, eyeing the two girls with suspicion. The more he hesitated to come out the more annoyed Taeseol would get.

"Charlie, just come out" Taeseol ushered him with her hand. Kangdae was quick to follow her orders and instantly began apologizing.

"I'm so sorry, Seol, really"

"I know!" Taeseol exclaimed as she laughed at the poor boy who seemed so distressed about this small accident. "Calm down, be happy it wasn't an old man who's out for revenge"

"I am"

As the night was winding down, Nari, Taeseol and Kangdae were walking to Taehyungs work place. Reason why, Taehyung had spammed messaged them saying he was ready and needed to leave now before his manager asked him to work overtime like he usually did.

The three friends were outside his workplace, a small shop next to a few more shops. A tea shop, a ramen shop, a grocery store, and of course, Taehyungs work place. His shop sold plushies, clothes, snacks, and a few other things like merchandise from Sanrio and other companies.

Nari dragged Taeseol in by her wrist, smile on her face while Taeseol had a bored expression on. Kangdae was quick to follow them to the plushy asile, Nari was looking down the shelves on the search for lonely plushies she was attracted to. As they were looking around, Kangdae searching with Nari while Taeseol looked at her phone, Taehyung came running to them, still putting on his jacket as he knew exactly where they would go.

"Guys!" Taehyung called and the three friends looked up, Kangdae smiled as he ran to Taehyung, the two hugging and jumping around like they hadn't seen each other in years.

"They're at it again" Nari said to Taeseol as a few customers in the shop looked at them, some with cringe, others in awe, and some in second hand embarrassment.

Taeseol sighed as she shook her head, knowing there was nothing she or Nari could do to stop them. "Let's just go" Taeseol instructed and walked over to the two boys and told them that her and Nari were leaving without them.

The two boys instantly started walking with the two girls. The four friends were walking the streets of their neighborhood at night, the street lights illuminating their path and the restaurants buzzing with life.

Taehyung had his arm around Kangdae's shoulder with Taesol and Nari leading the way to the karaoke place they always went to. Not only was it karaoke, but it was also a restaurant, usually people had to wait for their karaoke rooms, so they ate while waiting for a room to open.

Taeseol opened the door for Nari, letting her in and letting the door close on the two boys. "Seol!" Taehyung complained while Kangdae opened the door for him. "Thanks Daedae" He said with a smile and went in.

"Don't call me that" Kangdae mumbled out in embarrassment, hoping no one heard Taehyung call him Daedae.

"I'll call you whatever I want" Taehyung rolled his eyes at him, following Taeseol who was looking for a place to sit four people.

"Here" Taeseol said as her eyes landed on a small booth that fit them. The friends sat down, Kangdae next to Nari and Taeseol next to Taehyung. It was their seating chart, never changing and always on the same side.

As they ordered and waited for food, the four friends were playing small drinking games, not wanting to cause too much commotion. Kangdae kept loosing which made him drink more than the others, which he didn't mind, having a high alcohol tolerance came in handy when it came to drinking and losing to his friends.

Nari on the other hand, sadly she couldn't hold her alcohol at all, so she tried her best to always win and never lose. Nari usually won, like tonight, she kept winning which meant she didn't drink as much as her friends.

Taehyung was losing the small game of rock, paper, scissors, making him whine and drink the shot of soju. Taehyung drank and slammed his shot glass on the table.

Nari was quick to shush him, Taeseol smacked the back of his head while Kangdae laughed at them. Soon enough, their food came and Kangdae was quick to eat as much as he could. Taeseol kept fighting with Taehyung over the eggs the came with their rice cakes, as it was their favorite part and Nari was feeling the tiredness of the day and just watched her friends.

She smiled at them. Really smiled at them, Nari was admiring them, like an outsider watching a movie. Nari honestly didn't know what she would do or what she'd be doing right now if she didn't meet these people. Nari assumed she'd be cooped up at home, or back in America after not finding her place in Korea. It was a scary thought, knowing that if she didn't find a place to belong, she wouldn't have met Taeseol, Taehyung or Kangdae.

"You okay?" Kangdae asked. He noticed how she went quiet and how she wasn't grabbing at the food on the table.

Kangdae had always been observant. It was a trait that drove Nari crazy, or made her smile at how much he saw that others couldn't.

Nari smiled and nodded. "Yeah, just really happy right now" She explained and Kangdae nodded, understanding what she meant.

When Nari was with her friends, she'd sometimes feel like it was an out of body experience. Like she was watching a movie from above, and she'd feel this warmth flow all over her body, covering it in this golden light. It was peaceful and filled with content when watching her friends interact and laugh. Something about it made her want to take a mental snap shot and come back to the moment whenever she could.

"Here, take some" Kangdae said as he put food onto her plate, giving her as much as the plate could handle.

Nari smiled at his action and thanked him. Eating her food she took small sips of her water, starting to get annoyed at how much the two Tae's were arguing over an egg.

"Yeah, but it's literally my favorite part of this thing" Taehyung defended himself as his chopsticks gestured to the egg waiting for them, coated in the spicy sauce they craved so much.

Taeseol furrowed her brows. "You don't even like the rice cakes?" She asked, still confused at how he didn't like rice cakes when they were everywhere.

"You know I hardly do!" Taehyung, said a little loud and offended that Taeseol was still confused about it.

"You're Korean!" Taeseol exclaimed to Taehyung. "You have to like rice cakes, it's like the law" She said to him, emphasizing how important it was he liked rice cakes.

"No it isn't?" Taehyung rebutted, Kangdae still eating away and Nari looked between the two bickering friends. "Besides, you hate radishes, and you're Korean!"

Taeseol held a finger up to stop Taehyung from speaking. "Radishes is acceptable, it isn't everywhere like rice cakes" She pointed out and Taehyung shook his head.

"Yes it is!"

Taeseol, having enough, groaned and smacked his arm. "Just let me have the damn egg!" She yelled a little too loud that it made Kangdae cringe.

"No?!" Taehyung yelled at the same volume.

Taeseol sat up straighter as she noticed how Taehyung wasn't backing down. "It's not like it has your name on it!"

"It doesn't have yours either!" Taehyung pointed out at the egg that was still waiting.

Nari had a pained face as she noticed how their table was getting a few stares from patrons and from the staff working. "Guys, please keep it down, people are starting to stare" Nari asked them and the two friends looked at her.

Kangdae however, was growing more and more annoyed with his two best friends. He loved them, of course he did, he loved them so much that he'd do anything for them. Except for going on a roller coaster, but that's a different story. Kangdae having enough, looked at the egg that was growing cold and grabbed it, putting it in his mouth and eating it while his friends kept arguing.

"Then tell that horrid thing that the egg is mine!" Taehyung gestured to Taeseol.

"Tell this Thomas Edison wannabe that the egg is mine!" Taeseol said to Nari as she gestured to Taehyung who looked offended by this comparison.

"I'm not even an engineering major!" He yelled.

"Can you guys shut up?" Kangdae asked as he leaned back in the booth him and Nari were sat in. He glanced at the plate that held the spicy rice cakes. "I already ate the egg"

"What?!" Taeseol and Taehyung exclaimed in shock as they followed Kangdae's gaze and saw the complete horror. Their egg was gone.

Kangdae shrugged his shoulders and crossed his arms over his chest. "You guys were arguing, had to take out the common variable in this" He explained while uncrossing his arms to grab stuff from Nari's plate, knowing she wouldn't eat all of it as she was too entertained with Taehyung and Taeseol arguing.

"Common variable my ass you nerdy whore" Taeseol muttered out as she grabbed a rice cake and chomped on it like a rabid animal, upset at the thought of the egg she wanted so bad, being eaten by Kangdae.

Nari laughed at Taeseol's reaction. "He's the real Thomas Edison" Nari mumbled out as she smacked Kangdae's hand from grabbing more of her food.

"That doesn't make sense" Kangdae mumbled out as he rubbed his hand that was slapped by Nari.

Taeseol looked at him with pure hatred and narrowed eyes. "He was a nerd like you"

"At least I can do something with my degree" Kangdae replied back as he looked at Taeseol.

Taeseol laughed and looked at him with curiosity. "Do what? Free the bees?" She asked and Kangdae rolled his eyes.

"And what if I wanna free the bees?" He asked.

Taeseol rolled her eyes. "At least people will enjoy my degree"

"Only on SoundCloud" Kangdae insulted and Taeseol gasped at him.

"Take that back!" Taeseol yelled at him as say up straighter, her hands on the table.

Kangdae raised an eyebrow. "No?"

After what felt like years, Taehyung finally muttered something after staring at the rice cakes that had no egg. "I feel betrayed" Taehyung mumbled and everyone looked at him.

"Why do you feel betrayed, Tae?" Nari asked as they all waited for his response.

Taehyung faked sniffled at the plate he was still staring at. "Because Daedae ate the egg I love so much" Taehyung mumbled out as he whined and buried his head in Taeseols shoulder.

Taeseol let it happen, but was quick to groaned and lift her shoulder to make Taehyung get off.

"If you guys shut up and just cut the egg in half then I wouldn't have eaten it" Kangdae explained as Taehyung got up from Taeseols shoulder, shoving his hair back with his hand.

Nari then spoke, suggesting another idea. "Or you could have cut the egg in half"

"True" Kangdae replied as he grabbed more of the food on their table.

"You're a horrible human being" Taeseol finalized and Kangdae shrugged his shoulder, knowing this argument was all in good fun.

Taehyung leaned over and did a horrible job at whispering, clearly wanting Kangdae to listen. "It's because he's from Australia"

"Okay, no need to go that far" Kangdae replied instantly, his Australian pride taking a hit from the insult from the Korean.

"Never trust an Australian" Nari agreed with the two friends with a smile.

Kangdae scoffed at how Nari was agreeing with them when she was also a foreigner. "Never trust an American Patriot" Kangdae insulted.

"I said I love 'Merica once" Nari complained as she regretted that drunk day for so many nights.

Taehyung gently grabbed Nari's free hand and offered a pained smile. "Once was too much" He said and Nari scoffed him.

"Shut it, Cedric!" Nari exclaimed as she snatched her hand away from Taehyung's grasp.

The two friends laughed at the use of Taehyungs never used English name. "No need for that" Taehyung muttered, embarrassed at the name he chose.

"Cedric is crazy" Taeseol laughed out as Kangdae smacked the table, his drunken stare making him think that something was funnier than it was.

"I was eight!" Taehyung exclaimed, defending himself. "They asked for a name and all I could think of was Cedric from the Harry Potter movies" He explained and the friends didn't care as the name still held so much confusion and humor.

Taehyung sulked until the friends eventually moved topics and he joined in again like nothing happened. Their banger was fun, it was insulting yes, but they all knew their limits. They knew each other so well, they knew when they had to stop playing and to stop insulting. Besides, bullying aside, they cared about each other so deeply it was like a connection from another world. Something about them being a group made sense, it was like a bunch of puzzle pieces fitting together and staying stuck, no moving and no room for space.

They were meant to be. Taehyung always said they were destined to meet, that they were a constellation of stars. Taehyung was poetic for a math major, it was a nice constrast. They expected the poetic lines from Nari as she was the writer, but no, it was Taehyung that always thought about things from a different perspective and had a way of saying things.

As the friends finished their food, Kangdae asked the staff if one of the rooms were open, they said yes and finished up their food, saying they wanted that room. The staff led them to the open room and the friends went in. As they all got set up, still giggling around, their bones and humors lose from the soju.

The first one to sing was Taehyung as he was always the opener to their karaoke world tour. He sang his song that was "New Face" by Psy. After his song, it was time for Kangdae and Taehyung to sing a duet, which was from 2PM, any song it could be for the mood they were in.

After them, it went to Taeseol who sang an English song she was into these past few days. She was the better singer out of the four friends, it was expected as she was the music major. After her song, it went to Nari who sang her rendition of "Replay" by SHINee.

Then it was a free for all. Taehyung sang another song, then a few duets between the four, another few solos of old songs they listened to as kids, a few English songs Nari and Kangdae grew up listening to.

They kept on drinking soju, of course, which made them want to sing more and scream into the mic. Nari was on the couch, catching her breath after singing a Justin Bieber song, drinking a bit of water and then a shot of soju.

Kangdae went down to sit next to her as Taehyung and Taeseol screamed into the mic to "Trouble Maker".

"Slow down" Kangdae advised as he was starting to feel a little tipsy from the soju, meaning everyone else was starting to get a little too far gone. He grabbed the shot glass from Nari and took it away from her.

"My glass" Nari whined, still trying to catch her breath, leaned back into the couch in the room. "This is exactly what I needed"

"Really?" Kangdae asked and she hummed. "Why?" He asked, curious as Nari usually never needed to drink to take away the stress.

"No reason, just needed this" Nari assured him and Kangdae nodded.

"Hey!" Taehyung yelled into the mic as the song ended, catching the attention of Nari and Kangdae. "Let's sing NCT!"

"No!" Nari opposed, yelling her dislike of the idea. "Absolutely not! Everything but NCT!"

"Why?!" Taehyung yelled into the mic and Nari rolled her eyes.

"Because no NCT!" Nari yelled again as she was felt so strongly about this. "I'm so serious, last thing I need is to hear Mark Lee's voice!" Nari yelled, no filter on as she quickly shut her mouth and looked around at her friends.

"What did Mark do?" Kangdae asked as he laughed at how Nari disliked Mark Lee. "Did he like wrong you?"

"No" Nari said quickly and Taehyung grew bored of them and had Taeseol choose another song. "Just, Nayeon was listening to NCT again, and Marks solo song a few times" Nari quickly lied as she shook her head at the rush of memories or thoughts from last night.

"Oh god" Kangdae said with pain as he heard the song that was coming on. "I'm so sorry, I have to sing this" Kangdae apologized as he grabbed the mic from Taehyung's hands and began singing along to Girls Generation's "Gee".

"Hey!" Taehyung exclaimed as he tried to fight the tall Kangdae for the mic to sing too.

naarihw’s instagram story

*gigis thoughts*

i domt own any pics, i got them from pinterest also MY BAD FOR POSTING THE SAME CHAPTER TWICE THATS MY BAD MY B and the only thing i know abt eshay’s and australian culture around that is from heartbreak high too good of a show

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo

masterlist | previous | next

[sximsoc]

chat why did no one tell me i posted chapter 6 twice in my mark fic….IMM SO EMBARASSED OMG

[sximsoc]

chat i had adult time for the first time like two nights ago….shawty what 🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️🧍‍♂️ ummm did i write abt him in my journal and then proceeded to write a little song abt it? yes i did, its not a compliment that i wrote about him and it 😭😭😭

[sximsoc]

to everyone requesting stuff (like 2 of you) EEEEE IM SK EXCITED LIKE RAHHHHH IM SO EXCITED yall have some good ideas 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ ALSO IDC IF THEYRE OVERUSED i also love a good repeated trope that has different interpretations 😆😆😆😆😆

[sximsoc]

chat i kinda wanna write for the marauders perchance would yall like that???? PERCHANCE send me some requests as my asks are open 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️ SO LMK IF YALL WANNA SEE SOME

[sximsoc]

YALL PLEASE I SPEND SO MUCH TIME ON IT PLS LIKE AND COMMENT AND SEND ME ASKS MWAH!!

Hi, hope you're doing fine, if I can, can I request like a suggestive one-shot about haechan in the +82 pressin mv? 👉🏻👈🏻

𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄

genre - suggestive , mild angst , one shot

synopsis - two lovers end up with a mark on one another , what happens when they come face to face ?

pairing - (+82 pressin) haechan x reader

word count : 17 , 031

warnings : mdni ! suggestive , violence , weapons ( guns , knives ) a weird fight scene because i can never write them right but i tried , did a lot of research with dissecting the 82 pressin world and the world building and concept behind it, so very sin city inspo with rivalries that you’ll see soon , also took some inspo from mr and ms smith because i thought it was very fitting and i wanna give credit where credit is due yk

The rain was cold, freezing up every part of your body. Goosebumps raising on your arms as they violently shook, the grasp on your knife was getting lose, the rain not helping as the sweat on your palms were making it hard to grasp the smooth leather handle like normal. Were your eyes deceiving you? Were your eyes playing games with you? Since when was your job conflicting? Since when did you struggle to just hit your target like usual? It wasn't hard, it wasn't difficult, you were used to it all. The blood, the guts, the screams as they begged for you to not kill them, but this time as your knife was pointing straight at him, your strong resolve was falling. Cracks were forming and he could tell, but why wasn't he cracking? Wasn't this hard for him too? Why wasn't he shaking? Why wasn't he moving? Why didn't he pull the trigger already! Why is he stalling!

All these questions ran through your head like a marathon. Your vision blurring and you couldn't tell if it was because of tears or because of the rain. The dark night was looking upon you, the moon shining bright as his features glowed under its light. God, he was beautiful, even with a cold stare like the one he had right now. Why did this have to happen? Why did your next mission have to go the way it did? The second your handler handed you your next mission, your whole world fell apart. You should have said no, should have rejected the mission and gone back home without a job and without a life, and you'd laid in his arms like nothing happened. Like you didn't see your husband's picture in the manila folder. Like you weren't asked to kill him. His arms would be warm, his heart gently pounding and lulling you to sleep, his lips soft as they kissed your forehead and he'd mumbled a simple five more minutes before starting his day.

No, you can't be thinking about him like this, you can't, not anymore. His gun was pointed at you, his finger on the trigger, just pull it! Please! It's all you wanted him to do. End your life so he can live, that was the right thing to do wasn't it? How did this even happen? How did you end up here in the first place? How did your husband, the sweet, sweet Donghyuck end up standing in front of you with a gun pointing at you and your knife pointing at him?

20 hours before...

07:00 am...

The sun wasn't up yet, but here you were, wide awake as you stared at him. Even after being married for two years, it still felt like you were in the honeymoon phase. Donghyuck was good to you, he was caring, thoughtful, a tad over dramatic, but it was apart of his charm, you can't deny that. So, staring at him in the quiet of your small house was something you wouldn't give up for the world. 7 am and all you wanted was to be able to create the technology to craw inside his skin.

"Stop staring at me" Donghyuck mumbled, quickly feeling your cheeks go warm, you close your eyes in hopes of not being caught, even though you already were. "Don't close your eyes now" He chuckled out, gently grabbing your face and smothering you in small pecks all over your face.

The action made you giggle as you open your eyes and pretend to yawn. "What a way to wake up" You mumbled out, rubbing your eyes which made Donghyuck roll his.

"I know you were watching me sleep" He mumbled out, putting his arms above him to streak, his body twitching as he groaned.

"So what if I was?" You replied, leaning up on one arm to look down on him. Donghyuck looked at you with a sleepy smile as you bent down to peck his lips as they looked extra soft that morning. He softly moaned in pleasure and need, he chased your lips after you pulled away. "Don't lie, you love being watched"

Your tease went straight through his body as he gave you a smirk. "You saying you wanna watch me?"

"Maybe, it would be fun" You shrugged your shoulders, contemplating the idea of watching him pleasure himself in front of you.

Donghyuck furrowed his brows in hopes that you two were on the same wave length. "Are we thinking the same thing or are we still talking about you watching me sleep?"

"Depends, what would you be doing if I watched you?" Donghyuck gasped at your dirty words, covering his chest up with the covers.

"Mrs. Lee! You scoundrel! Taking advantage of a fair bachelor like myself" Donghyuck exclaimed, his voice going high and whiney to get into character. You laughed at his theatrics as he kept the covers up to his chin.

"A bachelor? What about that wedding band you have on?" You asked, grabbing his hand to rub your finger over the smooth band on his ring finger.

"That's decoration" He replied without a second thought which made you raise an eyebrow at him.

He smiled at you with all his teeth which made you fold for him. Shaking your head, you laid back down with your head on the soft pillows. "You're so dumb" You mumbled out, still holding his hand.

Donghyuck groaned, scooting closer to your warm body, tucking himself in your arms as he laid his head on your chest, flush to your neck. Your arms went around him, your nails gently scratching his back. "Five more minutes" He mumbled out, gently pressing a kiss to your neck as he sighed.

You should've said yes, should have said yes to him  and his request. Knowing what you knew 20 hours later in the future, you would've stayed home with him instead, should've made him call out from work and you yourself call out from work. You two should've spend the day together, sleeping in, cuddled up to one another until it was time to get up. You two would've had a slow morning, talking in bed, kissing one another, have nice, slow sex, the kind that had you begging and begging for more, legs shaking as he mumbled obscenities into your ear. Or maybe he would let you take the lead, your soft touches leaving him shaking, his eyes blown out from how bad he wanted you to touch him, to feel you swallow him up. God, the sex you two would've had would never end if you had the choice. Then you'd take a shower together, continue the fun in there until your fingers pruned up and Donghyuck beg you to finish so he could have breakfast. Again, breakfast would be slow, you gently cooking as Donghyuck had his arms wrapped around your waist as he followed you around, pressing a kiss to your neck and cheek.

Instead, you gently groaned and pushed him away from you to get out of his grasp. "Can't, we have work, baby" You said, sitting up in your shared bed as you looked down at him. "What?" You ask, getting shy under his strong gaze.

The way he was looking at you, the way your hair was messy, his shirt on your body, the way the sun was slowly peaking in through the blinds and showered you in its warmth. The way it hit you just right that it looked like a halo over your body, Donghyuck thought he saw an angel with wings. You were so beautiful in his eyes, your body, your face, your eyes, your laugh, it was all otherworldly to him. How did he get so lucky? How did he end up with you? If he knew what he knew now, he would have convinced you to stay home with him. Two stupid kids in love, not knowing what would happen next.

"I love you" Donghyuck said and for some reason, it's like everything clicked. Your whole world fell into place, this was supposed to happen. You and Donghyuck meeting and falling in love, your whole life was leading up to this moment.

"I love you, too" You replied, your eyes filled with love and your body buzzing with how he was looking at you like you were the only person in the world.

Donghyuck hummed as he shook his head at you. "Not as much as me"

"Nah, I definitely love you more" You denied, crossing your legs as you threw your hand in your lap, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Nope, no way, I love you more" Donghyuck said, still laying down as he stared up at you.

You shrugged your shoulders again. "Maybe you do"

"I definitely do" He said with a nod of his head, his hair flopping around with the movement. You smiled at him as once again, everything fell into place. This was what your 24 years of living led up to, this was your place, this was where you belonged.

Sighing, you laid back down, his arms going around your frame. You inhaled his scent and it made your brain go fuzzy, your body warming him as he played with the ends of your hair and you listened to the pounding of his heart.

"You're making it hard to go to work, you know that?" You asked him, resting your chin on his chest as you looked at him.

His next words were hushed, a whisper that felt like a spell. "Then stay with me" How tempting those words sounded coming out of his mouth. His face still flushed with sleep, his eyes dropping as he felt himself slip back into it. How your body felt on his, how he could reach for you so easily and how you'd let him do anything to you. You never thought much about how much control he had over you, how you really would let him do anything to you, anything he wanted. You never thought how far that would go.

You groaned, shaking your head at him. "Mark will kill you if you don't clock in on time" Your hand gently tapping his chest as you tried to get up, but he held you down.

"Who cares what Mark thinks" Donghyuck grumbled out, wanting to reach for his phone and texting his work husband to go on the mission without him. Donghyuck wanted to stay home with his wife and sleep in.

You let him keep you to his chest as he closed his eyes, while yours were wide awake. "He is your boss"

"He's a partner"

“He's a position above you" You pointed out, turning your head so you ear was against his chest now.

You felt his chest vibrate as he sighed. "Fine, boss, partner, either way, stay home with me"

"You have work and I have work" You told him, so adamant to go to work and earn money. You wish you didn't.

"Then we call out" Donghyuck said like it was nothing, just another day that would go by. But that's not how the world worked, the two of your rent to pay, food to pay, and credit cards to pay off.

"We have rent to pay and bills coming up" You got up out of his grasp and hovered over his face. You gently pecked the moles on his face until you ended up kissing his lips. He responded immediately, his lips kissing yours and his tongue licking your lips to open your mouth. As you did, the kiss went further on as your tongues fought for dominance, hitting against one another as you straddled his hips, his hands resting on your hips, the grip strong you knew there would be hand prints.

He moaned into your mouth, wanting more and needing more as he moved your hips on him, making your whine. It all felt so good, the friction hitting you and making pleasure go up your spine. This was a dangerous game he was playing as you two still needed to get ready for work. Donghyuck pulled away and started leaving kissing down to your throat. He gently sucked on your neck as your hands ran through his hair, gently gripping as he moaned at the pleasure. Your breath got heavier the more he kissed and sucked, you knew he'd leave a mark but you didn't care. Your hips began to move on their own, your eyes closed in bliss.

"Stay here with me" He mumbled once again, sounding more and more like a command than a suggestion. You were about to let the word slip out of your mouth, a simple yes and your morning would end in a bang. But your eyes opened and caught the red numbers on the clock, 7:37.

"We're late" You replied, gently pushing him off your neck, hands on his shoulders as his gently massaged your hips. "We're so late" You said again, trying to ignore his lustful gaze on your body, the way his chest went up and down as he filled his lugs with air and his eyes glossy and blown out. God, he looked like sex and you wanted him so bad, but at the same time, you needed money.

Donghyuck smirked as he caught how flushed your cheeks were, how he could feel your pussy pulsing against him, knowing you wanted so much more. Knowing how you were so close to begging for him to fill you up until you couldn't remeber your name or the fact that you had work today. But, he was a teasing husband, so he nodded and leaned back against the head board.

"Fine, fine, we'll go clock in" Donghyuck agreed, you nodded your head, ready to get off his lap, until he leaned back in and held your hips flushed against him. He leaned in, his mouth close to yours as mumbled against it. "After work though, we can have all the fun we want"

"Deal"

—

A typical 9-5 was the plan, originally when you were in university for marketing, a simple 9-5 where you'd have lunch at one point in time, where you'd collab with others to make profit and where you'd be able to put your degree to use. Except, that didn't happen. Instead, you graduated with a marketing degree, found no job and almost ended up homeless. Until, you found yourself drinking at a hole in the wall bar when a woman approached you. The conversation was normal, asking how you were and vise versa, asking if you had a job and you saying no. It was a normal conversation until the job topic, she handed you a card with her name and an address. She told you to meet her there the next day to talk about a position.

You were desperate, so you said yes. A job offering? If anything, you hope your drunken state didn't scare her off. But why would it scare her off if she gave you her card before she left? You didn't know, but the next morning you went to the shady address and ended up at a building you passed by everyday. You assumed it was a normal building for business people, somewhere you thought you belonged, but didn't.

You walked in through the glass doors and found a woman sitting at a receptionist desk. You quietly approached her and showed her the card the other woman gave you. The girl looked up from her computer and all you could think was woah, she's young, maybe a few years younger than you, but still. The girl you learned, her name was Miyeon and she was working here part time, working hard to be full time as all the people who work here are cool. Cool? The people who work here are cool? You guessed they were, but you honestly didn't remember the woman who gave you the card. Miyeon told you to use the elevator and go to the fourth floor, that was the floor you were looking for as all the other floors were used for training.

You nodded and made your way up. The elevator was sleek like no other, the metal cold as it dinged you up to the fourth floor. As you exited, your senses were hit with the smell of roses and your heart was pounding. Something was off, the way the fourth floor was laid out was like a normal office, but it didn't feel that way. Cubicles filled with women typing away or having a headset on, saying weird code words that sounded off. Execute, get information, denominate, and other obscene words that made you feel uncomfortable. What kind of office used that language? As you made your way down the aisle to the big back office that was made of glass, some of the women looked at you with raised brows, like they were examining you. Some of them were whispering to one another, sharing words you wanted to know. Did you dress wrong? You put on your best clothes for today, a fancy pencil skirt and a blouse you knew was within typical office dress code. Maybe your heels made too much noise when you walk, you didn't know.

However, you heard your name being called and looked up to see the women who approached you walk up to you with open arms, pulling you close and kissing your cheeks. You followed her into her office and sat down, handing her your resume. She gladly took it, your eyes landed on her name fame and it said Mantis. Mantis? What an odd name .

The interview went as normal, questions being asked and answered, however, Mantis asked some weird questions. Asking if you ever did martial arts, maybe knew how to fight, did you know how to use weapons? Guns? Knives? All these weird questions you thought were inappropriate, but you answered them in hopes that you'd get the job. You didnt know how to use a gun, but knives you had some experience since your family made you take some self defense classes as a kid.

All in all, it ended up with you being employed and started training the next morning. So, that's how you ended up here, a hit woman. You never thought you'd end up here, about to quit on the first day when you learned that training was fight training and not learning how to use Excel and Microsoft Word. However, you needed moneys and the only way to get out as a new hire was to die, no one could know about this line of work.

"Mako, you're late" Your handler, Lyra said, her eyes in slits as she walked up to your cubicle, leaning on your desk as you sighed. Mako and Lyra were code names, only ever referring to your coworkers as such. It helped keep your identities safe, no need for using your real names in this line of work. Code names are given by Mantis, your boss, the person who owns this whole operation.

You sighed, sitting in your chair as you crossed your legs. "I know, my husband kept me hostage basically" You explained, leaning back in your chair as you looked up at Lyra.

She shook her head, her mind still not grasping how someone of your caliber could get married. "Still can't believe you got hitched"

"Me either, wasn't exactly in the plan" You replied, sounding sad, yet you smiled so fondly at the thought of your husband sitting at his desk with a picture of the two of you on it.

"Or in the contract either, you're lucky Mantis likes you" Lyra added on, which made you cringe at how careless you were when it came to falling in love with Donghyuck.

The contract stated that marriage and partners were off the table. It was for everyone's safety, especially yours. If you get married or have a romantic partner, if anyone caught wind of it, you and everyone you love was in danger. However, you didn't think about the contract when Donghyuck first came up to you at the grocery store, you didn't think about the contract when he asked you out, took you to dinner, or when you ended up in his bed. You sure as hell didn't think of it either when you said your vows to him. The contract wasn't real in your mind when it came to Donghyuck, so when you asked Mantis for a few weeks off for your Honeymoon, she did give you an earful. She told you it was a breach of contract, that it wasn't allowed, it was frowned upon and most importantly, if you weren't careful, you could die.

You, however, assured her you'd be careful, you'd continue work like normal, but Donghyuck was your lifeline now. You weren't going anywhere and neither was Donghyuck, you two were a team, inseparable. Your determination to continue working while being married, and also being one of Mants's best employee had its advantages. Mantis, although still angry with you, let you have your way. After all, you made her a shit ton of money with your intel and assassinations.

"Mantis likes me because I have the most kills" You replied, saying it like it's normal. Saying it like you didn't kill people, just like it was another day in the office.

Lyra sighed as she thought back to when you two first met. "Who would've thought. I still remember your bambi eyed stare when you walked into the training room"

"I didn't think this place was that king of company" You joked, the two of you laughing at the memory of your training days. How shit of a fighter you were, but how clever you came out to be.

"You enjoyed it, don't lie" Lyra replied, pointing out how even though you were shit at fighting, it made you want to work harder and eventually you ended up loving it.

"I do" You nodded, being content with how your job turned you into the person you are today. "Has it been 3 years already?"

"About to be four in a couple months" Lyra pointed out, gently tapping your desk with the maxilla folder she still had yet to mention. "Be happy, you set a record at being a newbie and having more kills than the veterans" She whispered, making the two of you laugh as you're both somewhat new to the job.

"Heard that!" You both heard one of your seniors yell as she walked past the two of you.

This only made the two of you laugh a bit louder, Lyra mumbling a small, "Sorry, Aries!"

"You're gonna get us in trouble with her, you know that" You laughed at her, gently smack her arm as you put a hand in front of your mouth to hide your laughter.

"Sorry, sorry" Lyra chuckled out, clearing her throat as she silently locked into what she needed to tell you. Holding up the manila folder, she gave her a tense smile. "So, you have a new mission"

"Another one? Didn't I just kill a guy?" You groaned, knowing you just got off of a mission a solid two days ago. It was a simple mission, simple poison and he was gone.

Lyra nodded, but sighed a bit. "Yeah, but this one is different, come on let's go, we gotta discuss"

You sighed as she grabbed your arm and pulled you along to one of the private rooms to discuss the mission. Missions weren't as common as most people think, mostly your job was to get intel from people, gangs, companies, it was like you were a private investigator. However, those were mostly things you guys called tasks, missions were worth more money and were more dangerous. Your first mission was something that haunted you, but the money was too good to not do again. Killing people slowly became something you did like breathing. It got to a point where it was easy, desensitizing, and it scared you, but you knew you were doing something right. The people you killed were criminals, people who killed innocent kids and mothers, tortured husbands and random people on the street. You knew what you were doing was right, but it didn't meant it didn't haunt you, because it did. You still have nightmares sometimes.

Donghyuck would comfort you during those nightmares, thinking you watched a scary movie before sleeping. At least that's what you would tell him. Donghyuck didn't know your line of work, didn't know you were a hit woman, he just assumed you did marketing for a small business that paid you well. Donghyuck could never know what you do, it was too dangerous.

"So, what's the mission this time?" You asked Lyra, wanting to get it over with to come home in time to be with your husband. "Killing a criminal? A drug dealer? Rapist? What is it?" You asked, leaning back into the plush chair, your body relaxed as you had been through this so many times you lost count.

"Actually, you know our rivals right?" Lyra asked, your body going ridged and straightening up with tension. "The people who keep stealing our intel and selling it as their own?"

"NCT? Yeah, I know them" They were annoying little bugs. You'd heard rumors about them, sometimes running into them when you're both hired for the same job, but other than that, they're secretive like your company. Except for the fact that they steal your work and claim it as their own, little snakes. They've been on your companies radar for the past few years, Mantis doing everything in her power to take them down, but they're good at hiding themselves.

"Well, one of them kinda slipped up and we got them on camera. His name is Haechan, he's a hit man and he killed one of our allies for intel on us and what we have to sell, so we need him executed" Lyra reported to you, her voice formal as you nodded your head, yet it tilted in confused at his name.

"Haechan?" You asked, slight interest going up at the playfulness of his sunshine name. "Such a bright codename for a killer" You pointed out, Lyra agreed with you and sighed.

"Yeah, but that's his name" Lyra finally slid the manila folder holding all the information the company had on him, his name, photo, approximate height and stature. "Here's his file"

"Thanks" You mumbled out, opening it up and your body went cold. Heart pounding, yet not strong enough as it felt faint in your chest, your breath coming in short huffs as you stare at the photo infront of you. It's right there, Donghyuck's face staring right at you like he was taunting you. "That's not possible" You whispered to yourself, his beautiful face staring back at you.

You were convinced it was fake, it had to be. Maybe it was a clone, maybe it wasn't him and it was a trick of the light. But no, it was him, it was Donghyuck. His face moles all in the right spot, the same spots you kissed every night and morning, honestly any chance you could your lips would be pressed against his moles. Now, they were marks that you had to hit. Your silence and wide eyes concerned Lyra as she furrowed her brows, leaning down a bit to try to catch your gaze.

"Mako, everything okay?" She asked, her voice laced with concern, but in your mind, it was all fuzzy as it went through one ear and out the other. "Mako?" Lyra asked again, her voice a bit louder and it finally caught your attention.

"Everything's fine" You mumbled out, giving her a weak smile as you swallowed hard. You cleared your throat and closed the manila folder to encase Donghyuck's face. "So, I just need to kill him?" The words coming out so carefully, like if you said it into existence it would happen right then and there.

Kill him? Kill Donghyuck? The man you were going to spend the rest of your life with? How could you do that? How could that just be another day in the office? Kill Donghyuck. You can't do that, it was hard to even be mad at him, but you have to, it's your job.

Lyra nodded, not caring about how insane this is sounding to you. "Yeah, basically" Your mind kept replaying the same words over and over again. Another day in the office.

But wait, kill Donghyuck? A member of your rival company? Why not use him? Keep him alive, not just for your own selfish reasons, but for intel on NCT and how they work. Donghyuck could be useful to Mantis, and Mantis is anything, but wasteful, so why waste Donghyuck? Why get rid of him when she could use him?

"I don't need to keep him alive for dirt on NCT?" You asked, furrowing your brows and trying to stay in your Mako character. "I figured Mantis would want something like that"

"No, Mantis just said to execute him" 

Again, this confused you so much. Why kill off someone you can use? It defeated the purpose of anything. "But why? He works with NCT, you'd think she'd want information on them and take them down, why kill someone you could use to your advantage?"

"I don't know, but Mantis knows what she's doing" Lyra said with full confidence in your boss. Mantis is smart, Mantis always had the answer for everything, o of course you trusted her with your life, but again, this all seemed so careless.

"If you say so" However, you had to have trust in what you were doing, so you let it go. "So, when do I need to kill him by?"

"In 12 hours"

You got up out of your seat, eyes wide as the chair rolled away from you. "What?! 12 hours?" You voice loud that it caught Lyra off guard and made her confused.

"Yeah, that's not a problem is it?" She asked, making you blink twice and think about your outburst. Oh, right, Mako, who can kill so well and here you are, freaking out. "You usually knock them out in less then 10"

Your spine straightened up and you nodded. "Right, yeah, right" You quickly grabbed the chair behind you and cleared your throat, taking a seat. "Proceed" You instructed Lyra who just looked at you weird.

"Okay, what's going on? You're acting weird about this" She asked, putting her hands on the table to get a closer look at you. She can't know, she can't know that you unknowingly married Haechan from NCT, that'll ruin you. Not to mention, Mantis would kill you.

"Nothing, it's nothing" So, you shook your head as you trued to act a little sick. "Just, you know, feeling a little under the weather" You replied, coughing a bit and putting a hand to your head like it hurt.

Thank God for your skills at acting because Lyra bought it, at least you hope she did. "Oh, no, I'm sorry"

"It's fine, don't worry" You saying, sniffing to really sink it in that you're a little under the weather. "Uh, I'll get it done soon"

"Okay, just don't forget about the report you have to do after" Lyra reminded you in a soft voice, not wanting to make your head more.

"How can I forget?" You asked, staring down at the manila folder, opening it up and ignoring Haechan's photo staring at you. "So, where am I going to...to..."

"Kill Haechan?" Lyra finished your sentence, not wanting to say those two words that held so much weight to them.

You looked up at her and took in a deep breath. "Yeah" You breathed out, Lyra thinking you took a deep breath to fill your congested lungs and not because you were feeling heavy at the idea of holding your knife to your husband's throat.

"Sources say he's going to have lunch with his partner on 127th avenue"

127th avenue? There was only one place Donghyuck would ever have dinner, he took you there on your first date, took you there for your first month-aversary, he takes those things seriously, and he took you there whenever you asked because you knew it made him happy. It was a little Italian place, family owned and had great food, but Donghyuck only ever went for their garlic bread. It was a cute place, cozy and warm like Donghyuck, he got excited every time you asked him if you could skip making dinner and just go eat out there. It held a lot of good memories, so now that you had to go there to end his memories and end the ones that you thought you'd continue to have, it was a full circle moment you didn't want to happen. 

"The Italian place?" You asked, your voice cracking as the memories of Donghyuck making you laugh and giving you recommendations to food came to your mind. How he held your hand the whole time, how he insisted you two sat next to one another rather than sitting across from you, how he would pick from your plate and beg you to feed him. All those memories would be taken from him, because of you.

"Yeah, you know it?" Lyra asked, taking you away from your thoughts and you shook your head.

"No, I don't, just assumed"

"Oh, okay, well yeah, Haechan's meeting his partner there for dinner, we're assuming he's also NCT affiliated, but Mantis said to not intervene with Mark, your target is only Haechan"

Mark? As in Mark Lee? As in Donghyuck's boss/partner Mark? Just how many of Donghyuck's friends were apart of NCT? Well, it would be obvious that Mark would be apart of NCT since he works in the company as well, but what about the ones you met but didn't know how they met Donghyuck. You only met Mark by accident, running into them while walking around town, seeing that familiar head of hair you yelled his name. Looking back at it, you should have known something was off, how his back tensed up, how he turned around and didn't meet you with the same wide smile he usually gives you, how he didn't smother you in kisses like he usually does, even if he was in public, and how Mark looked at him with dagger in his eyes. Was marriage also a breach of their contract like it was yours? Did Donghyuck never tell his coworkers he got married? You should have known something was suspicious after that meeting, how Mark kept rushing and how Donghyuck looked uncomfortable, and you? You just kept talking and kept inviting Mark to have dinner with the two of you sometime since you never met any of Donghyuck's friends.

"Mark?" You questioned, your mind going back to that first meeting and all the others that came after it. "Sick son of a bitch" You mumbled under your breath.

"What was that?" Lyra asked, looking at you with raised brows.

You shook your head, looking back up at her and closing the manila folder as you finished reading all the info they had on Haechan. "Nothing, just, get my bag ready and I'll follow his lead"

"You got it"

6 hours later....

2:30 pm....

You knew Donghyuck's schedule by the back of your hand, so you knew what time his lunch would be. Sure enough, by 2:30 pm he sent you a text message, saying he was at lunch and going to get food with Mark. He didn't tell you where, but with the source you got, sure enough, you saw the taxi pull up and Donghyuck get out. You were in the restaurant, a wig on, sunglasses, and a coat covering your figure. You sat in the back corner, sipping on your water as you catch the two walk in.

"Mako to Lyra, sunshine walked in" You mumbled, your earpiece picking up your voice to send the message to Lyra your handler at corporate.

"Lyra to Mako, copy" She said in your ear.

The two sat down, five tables over and diagonal from you. Due to the small nature of the restaurant, you knew you had to act as normal as possible while watching your husband and from across the dining room. Your eyes left his figure periodically, going back every now and then as you continued on like this was your normal lunch break. Glasses of water and two entrees later, Donghyuck and Mark asked for the bill and paid. You watched his movements closely, how he buttoned his coat, how he pushed his chair back in and how he ran a hand through his hair. His soft hair, how you wished it was your hands running through it, how you knew if you gripped it the right way on the back of his neck, he'd whimper softly into your ear and his body would turn to putty in your hands.

"Mako!" You were brought out of your trance as Lyra yelled your name and Donghyuck looked straight at you. You froze, not only did you lose focus, but Donghyuck sees you, and you can't tell if he knows it's you or if he thinks a random woman is staring at a married man. "Mako! Do you copy?" Lyra yelled into your ear piece, but your eyes didn't tear away from Donghyuck as he continued to stare at you.

You quickly averted your gaze and looked away, the stare being too intense that it scared you. Clearing your throat you asked for the bill and paid, looking up to see that Donghyuck was gone. "Shit" You mumbled. "Mako to Lyra, I lost him"

"What? You lost him!" Lyra yelled into your ear, your hand going up to your ear piece to soothe your aching ear. You quickly got up from your chair and rushed outside the restaurant.

"It's fine! I'll find him" You assured her, looking left and right, but you didn't see him. You sighed as you heard Lyra sigh is disappointed.

"You better" She mumbled out, disconnecting your call as you took in a deep breath and made your way to the left, following whatever instinct you had.

Walking blocks and blocks, your heels were tiring you out. No one knew where NCT headquarters was, no one else had a lead on Haechan's where about, right now, you were close to giving up. You walked around the city for hours, looking down alleyways, looking into shops, glancing at anyone who looked remotely like your husband. You changed your disguise ten different times so no one could catch on to you. Your day was getting long, but maybe this was a good thing, it was a good thing Haechan got out of your sight, that way you wouldn't have to kill him. But then again, if you couldn't do your job, someone else would, someone else would kill your husband.

Maybe it was better for you to kill him, that way you could postpone it as long as you could, yeah, you'll do that. You'll tell Mantis a lie, say you had a showdown with him and he got away, but you know where he went, you say you can track him down and that you two were playing a cat and mouse game together. However, you knew Mantis and she would never agree to let you play childish games with someone apart of NCT, it was reckless.

7:40 pm

5 hours and 50 minutes remaining....

The sun was setting, your time was running around and your tenth disguise was starting to lose its charm. Staying in one disguise for too long would cause suspicion for some, especially for you. It was smart to constantly change so no one would notice you walking back and forth. Since it was turning nightfall, the sun going to sleep and the moon coming out to play, your last disguise was a black dress, a black dress with the same black heels you've been wearing and your hair down out of its updo. As you flawlessly changed in the midst of the busy streets, you knew where Donghyuck would go after a long day at work, the bar.

You tapped your ear piece and the line connected to Lyra. "Mako to Lyra, I've spotted him" You lied through your teeth.

"Lyra to Mako, you got eyes on him? Copy" You hear Lyra say on the other line, her fingers tapping on her keyboard.

You hummed as your heels clacked on the pavement to your destination. "He's at a bar, the one off of Dream street"

You heard Lyra hum on the other line. "Copy, you need backup? Is he with Mark?"

"Don't need backup, Mark is no where to be seen" You replied since you knew Mark always stayed after hours to get work done as Donghyuck would tell you.

"That guy overworks himself, I don't know how he does it" Donghyuck would say over dinner, sipping on his beer as you sipped on your wine. "He gets to work early and leaves super late, complete opposite of me. I get to work late and run out of that damn office like it's on fire"

"Why do you want to leave so early?" You asked, tilting your head like a confused dog. You set down your glass of wine, your eyes and attention solely on him. Donghyuck smirked as he looked at you, his beautiful wife.

It's like he was transported back to your wedding day, how you looked in your white dress, how he felt watching you walk down the aisle and how he felt when you said those words, "I do". Oh, how he dreamed that'd he'd wake up and it would be his wedding day all over again, how the nerves in his stomach would flutter around making him feel light, how his mind was filled with you and your memories together, and how he knew that in a couple of hours you would be his in every humanly way possible. So, of course, there was only one reason why Donghyuck would run out of the office like it was up in flames.

"To see my pretty girl" He flirted, his lips puckering up as he blew a kiss to you. You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you knew he was just saying that to be in your good graces. Happy wife, happy life, a motto Donghyuck lived by.

"You mean to get a drink at the bar" You called him out, your wine glass coming to your lips as Donghyuck faked a gasp, before chuckling.

"That's only on Fridays"

Which happens to be today. God, you were hoping he wasn't there, you were hoping that when you walked in that little dive bar he wouldn't be drinking a beer or any other concoction he felt like drinking. "Drinks on Fridays. Please skip it, please be the one day you don't come"

Please, don't be sitting there at the bar, up on a stool as he drank his afternoon beer away. You kept mumbling it, don't be there, don't be there, be walking home, be home and call me saying where I was, be home, cooking, making us food before we watch a movie and sleep on the couch. Please, don't be at the bar. It's all you kept telling yourself as your heels clicked on the parent, your steps going faster and your lungs burning as you breathed in the air. God, please don't be there.

You turned the corner, the sum was slowly being covered by grey clouds and the sight sky. Soon enough you saw the dive bar come in your point of view. The shitty LED sign buzzing and flickering its name, people already hanging outside of it, smoking cigarettes and talking. You walked up to the doors, pulling your ID out and went inside. As soon as you went in, the smell of beer and cigarettes hit your nose, inhaling you looked around, growing the looks the men around you gave you. Walking in slowly, hoping to not get noticed by your husband, you searched for him.

"Please" You whispered to yourself, your heart beating faster and faster as you approach the bar. As the crowd slowly got thinner the closer you got, the more you could see. Your breath fell out of your lips as you didn't see him, he wasn't here.

The bar stools not being occupied by your husband. He wasn't here. Donghyuck wasn't here, if he wasn't here that means he was at home, at home and safe and can live another day before someone else grabbed him. Maybe you'd run home, run home and tell him everything, tell him you needed to leave, to run, to change identities and live off the grid. You'd run away together, life together in hiding and it would just be the two of you again. No rivalries, no marks on your backs.

Yeah, that's what you'll do. So, with a smile on your face, you turned your body around, ready to run home and share your plan with Donghyuck. You couldn't wait to tell him, but even then, to tell him what exactly? That you were sent to kill him? Sent to en his life just as easy as he entered yours? And for what? Money? Would Donghyuck even want to still be married to you after revealing that? Would he still want to love you and be with you?

But your mind was made up. All the afterthoughts would come later, because you loved him so much more than a lousy paycheck. Turning around, a smile on your face, ready to start a new life, and you end up ramming yourself into someone. Looking up, your brain didn't register who it was yet, all you knew was that it was your husband.

"Oh, hey baby" You said with a smile, not thinking anything of it until you remember where you were, you remembered who you were and what you had to do. "Donghyuck!" You gasped, hand coming to your chest as you breathed in. "You scared me, what're you doing here?" You asked him, trying to catch his breath as he just looked at you.

gaze was different, it was something you noticed, something your assassin brain realized. Haechan was suspicious. "I can ask you the same thing" He said, his gaze looking you up and down, why were you in a black dress at a dive bar?

"Uh, I wanted to surprise you, duh" You said, trying to act cute for him. A pout here, your voice an octave higher and your eyes shining up at him like you weren't planning to kill him and then convince him to run away.

"You never surprise me" He said, his voice low as he looked down at you. His brows furrowed, lips downturned and not in their usual pout that you grew to love.

He was right, you never did surprise him. Surprises weren't your thing, you could never do them right and never did them justice. Even then, your idea of a surprise was making his favorite dinner on a random day and saying 'I made your favorite'. Donghyuck wasn't surprised by your actions though, as he always picked up on what you bought and would usually put two and two together. But, he'd still act surprised and shocked when you would tell him, wanting to make you feel special and loved. And even though you knew he knew, you still felt your heart swell when he'd say how surprised he was and how it was the best surprise.

It's why you fell in love with him. How he'd look at you with such love, how he'd bend over backwards to please you just because he wanted to. Donghyuck wanted to do things for you, he didn't do them out of a husband obligation, he did them because he wanted to see you smile. So, if it meant pretending, then he'd gladly do it. Pretending, is that what he's doing right now?

"Well, isn't that a surprise in of it self?" You questioned, trying so hard to not sound suspicious, even though he's already caught onto your little act: "Surprise!" You said happily, reaching up to pull him into a hug.

His arms instinctively went around your waist as yours went around his neck. You inhaled him and your knees went weak, your heart skipping a beat with the way he gripped your waist. Pulling away, you looked at him, hoping your cuteness and oblivious act payed off.

"Come on, let's go for a walk" He said, cocking his head to the door outside. You nodded as he grabbed your hand and led you outside.

Your stomach was churning, something wasn't right about this. Why talk outside? Sure, it's a little packed in the bar, but it isn't horrid, you two could still talk out here. As he lead you past the crowd of men, the air felt different. It wasn't was light as it used to be before you saw Haechan, it wasn't as breathable, because right now it was so thick and stuffy, your breaths were short huffs.

Your body was itching, your stomach feeling sick and Haechan's grip was too strong. He knew. He had to know, you couldn't help but think that he knew you were following him, he knew who you were and what you work for, he has to. Haechan was acting too cold, too nonchalant, he didn't smother you in kisses when you hugged him, he didn't pout and whine when you pulled away—in fact, he was the first he was the first one to pull out of your hug. The man pulling you out of the dive bar wasn't Donghyuck, your husband, but Haechan, the assassin from NCT.

This wasn't going to end well. But, maybe he'd have mercy on you, you are his wife after all. Maybe he'll let you explain and you'll tell him everything, tell him how you don't want to kill him, you want to run away with him and start over, be normal and actually have a normal 9 to 5 job, or even be a stay at like wife like some sick fairy tale ending. You don't know, but all you know is that Haechan knows what you're up to and you can't tell if he'll give you a chance to explain or your marriage was going to end in a death.

The air was colder now, a little sticky with the humidity. "Is it going to rain?" You asked, your question going unanswered as Donghyuck kept walking down the alley way. "Donghyuck, baby, where are we going?" You asked again and yet it goes ignored once more.

He just kept dragging you, turning corners, leading you to the dock where a lake was. This dock was where all the neighboring businesses collect their stock. "What are we doing here?"

You knew exactly why you were here. This dock, despite it being used 98% of the time, when it was dead night and everyone was out, this dock was secluded. Your nerves were buzzing throughout your body, he was just standing in front of you, ignoring your words as you stare at his back.

Donghyuck was contemplating. He was staring out at the water, how its soft waves reminded him of your soft voice, how gentle you were and yet when you wanted to, you were a storm of emotions he wanted to be drowned in. God, you were everything to him, he loved you so much, all these years of being yours, only to find you following him around.

It was odd, you following him. Your disguise might fool the people you kill, but it could never fool Donghyuck. "You know, you're not the only one who stares when sleeping" He said, his words conflicting as you stared back at him.

"What do you mean?" You ask, trying to act as normal as possible, but again, your instincts were itching at you to grab your knives hidden on your thigh. If only you could reach for them.

It was a conflicting feeling, wanting to reach for your knives despite your husband standing right in front of you. You knew you had to kill him, yet you can't you want to tell him everything and run away, and yet, you can't tell if he'll let you explain or go out fighting. All you knew was that the way Donghyuck was acting, you don't know if you'll come out talking. Did he want to fight? Did he want this to end this way? His guns blazing and your knives trying to cut him? You can't tell and it's making you paranoid. Maybe he had back up, maybe Mark was up on one of the building rooftops telling him, Haechan, she's reaching for her knives. You don't know what he's thinking, he's usually so open about everything, you can read him like a child's book, and right now, it's like you're looking at the worlds hardest language and trying to decipher it.

You can't, you can't read him, you can't see him and you can't understand him.

"I watch you too, when you sleep" He replied, his words so careful and so steady that it's throwing you off. No way Donghyuck, the man who loves you more than anything or anyone in this world is going to want to fight you. "Your face is so engraved in my memory that I can so easily spot you out in a crowd. It's funny"

"How?" You asked, confused at how him memorizing your face so much that it's carved into his brain is funny. "I just think it means you love me. Don't you think?"

Donghyuck hummed, he loves you so much. Your face is carved in his brain forever, it's so recognizable, so easy to find. "Yeah, I do love you"

"I love you too" You mumbled out, for some reason, you felt tears in your eyes. Hot, burning and blinding tears, you don't even notice how Donghyuck is reaching for the inside of his jacket.

"I just never thought I'd recognize your face in a silly disguise following me around town" He mumbled out, his words too soft for you to even hear them or to process them. "Let alone, be recognizable enough to be traced back as Mako"

Your world fell apart. How? What? How did he know? How did anyone know? You kept your alias a secret your work place was anonymous, everyone who hired you didn't know who you were, you kept yourself hidden when doing your assassins. How did anyone find out? How did he find out?

"What?" You questioned, your word coming out more like a squeak. "Wh-what're you taking about?"

"You're not as careful as you think you are, Mako" Your codename falling from his lips so naturally it made your breath hitch. "You had a run in with one of NCT's snipers not too long ago, maybe a year back" He said, finally turning around and your eyes locked onto his stone cold face and then trailed down to his hand holding his shiny gun. You felt your heart crack a little, he wasn't even going to let you explain. How did he know?  "TY, kinda tall, had pale blonde hair? You two were in Seventh City, ring any bells?"

Your face faltered. "Oh, no" You mumbled, the air getting knocked out of your breath as you remembered that mission.

1 year ago...

10:57 pm...

You were only a second year assassin and you were already climbing up the ranks. Kill after kill, intel after intel and paycheck after paycheck and despite being a newlywed, you didn't stop. It was normal to run into other companies doing the same job as you for other customers, but running into an NCT affiliate? That never happened. Yes, you both were rivals and always tried to get the better information to sell or people to kill for a greater profit, yet, you both never ran into one another. NCT and your company would always luck out on one another, either a customer chose you over NCT or vise versa.

Your paths never crossed until that night. It was a clear and cold night, you were inside the building and waking down the dark hallways filled with windows. As you approached the double doors leading to the office of a man who your client hired you to kill, you knocked gently. The other side let out a loud "What", making you mumble your words.

"CEO Lim, I'm here to give you your mail" You said in a sickly sweet voice as you reached down to your holster to grab your knives.

"What? What mail? It's nearly 8 o'clock" He said, his voice tired and annoyed by your presence.

You knocked once more, ignoring his calls for you to shut up and go home. You kept knocking, knock after knock until he got so fed up with you that with great strides, he opened up his door.

"Shut up! Are you stupid? I told you I don't want your goddamn mai—" His words were cut off with a simple stab to the stomach. His voice gurgling as he looked down at your figure, your hair covering your face as you quickly took out your knife and looked up at him.

"Mr. Park says hello" You said, a smile being offered to him as he began to step back, his hands clutching his stomach to stop the bleeding.

"Mr. Lim, that's not going to work" You said with confidence, watching at the foot of the entrance as he walked back to his desk, limping in pain. "If you're reaching for you gun, it isn't there"

Pulling out his gun from your other leg. He looked at you in bewilderment as you held it up and gawked it around like it was a trophy. "I raided your office during your lunch hour. Wasn't that hard to seduce your staff"

You tsked, throwing the gun off somewhere as you walked over to him, his blood still pooling out of his stomach where you stabbed him. You gently tapped his shoulder and he fell into his chair. Sighing, you grabbed his necktie and pull him closer to you, your other hand holding his knife to his throat as he remained silent and his breaths staggering as he bled out.

"Now, I'm going to make this as painless as possible, okay?" You asked, your smile conflicting the situation. How can you smile during this? How can you smile knowing you're going to kill a man?

This line of work was never easy, your first few kills always haunting you. And yet, you always came back, it was the sick part of you that you enjoyed. Knowing you killed people who wronged others, that's what kept you coming back. That and the paycheck was always too good.

As you finished your mission, you looked down at the lifeless body covered in his own blood. Taking in deep breaths you wiped off your knives with your fingers, the blood making a sloshing sound as it fell to the carpet floor. You pressed your finger to your ear piece turning it on as you called for your handler.

"Mako to Lyra, finished the job. Send in clean up" You ordered, looking out at the huge window his office had. It was a nice night, a nice night that is going to end in sweet sex with your husband who was patiently waiting at home.

"Lyra to Mako, copy, sending in clean up crew" Lyra repeated. The line went cold as you continued to look outside the window.

You admired the city, how at night it looked so calm, the bright lights illuminating the dark streets. It was like stars almost, hey there'd even a star out there flickering. Wait a minute, that's not a star.

Turning back on your earpiece, your voice echoed in Lyra's mind. "Mako to Lyra, we have company"

"Who?" Lyra asked, her voice perking up as this usually never happened.

"I'm about to find out"

"Mako wait, wait for back—" You cut her off as you began to walk out of the office. Your feet fast as your heels clacked against the floor.

Once you made it outside the building, you quickly entered the next, the doors sliding open as the front desk receptionist said a curt hello to you. You nodded, making your way to the elevator, riding up to the top floor. You waited patiently, watching as the lights above you dinged with each passing floor.

8, 9, 10, it was at the 11th floor that the doors opened up. A man with blonde hair in a nice suit with a brief case walked in. He gave you a small nod as he went to hit the top floor button, but realized oh, you had already pushed it. Question was, why would someone who's on the 11th floor want to go up to the 12th floor if he could just take the stairs.

Ah ha. Your brain made the connection as you both hit the 12th floor and none of you came out. It was eerily silent, no one saying a word and yet you both knew who you were. Assassins. However, he worked on rooftops, so a sniper and whatever he had in that briefcase was his weapon of choice no doubt about it, it was a gun.

"Lyra to Mako, copy, sending in clean up crew" Lyra repeated. The line went cold as you continued to look outside the window.

You admired the city, how at night it looked so calm, the bright lights illuminating the dark streets. It was like stars almost, hey there'd even a star out there flickering. Wait a minute, that's not a star.

Turning back on your earpiece, your voice echoed in Lyra's mind. "Mako to Lyra, we have company"

"Who?" Lyra asked, her voice perking up as this usually never happened.

"I'm about to find out"

"Mako wait, wait for back—" You cut her off as you began to walk out of the office. Your feet fast as your heels clacked against the floor.

Once you made it outside the building, you quickly entered the next, the doors sliding open as the front desk receptionist said a curt hello to you. You nodded, making your way to the elevator, riding up to the top floor. You waited patiently, watching as the lights above you dinged with each passing floor.

8, 9, 10, it was at the 11th floor that the doors opened up. A man with blonde hair in a nice suit with a brief case walked in. He gave you a small nod as he went to hit the top floor button, but realized oh, you had already pushed it. Question was, why would someone who's on the 11th floor want to go up to the 12th floor if he could just take the stairs.

Ah ha. Your brain made the connection as you both hit the 12th floor and none of you came out. It was eerily silent, no one saying a word and yet you both knew who you were. Assassins. However, he worked on rooftops, so a sniper and whatever he had in that briefcase was his weapon of choice no doubt about it, it was a gun.

"You stole my kill" He mumbled out, the elevator starting its way back down. 10th floor.

You furrowed your brows, not daring to look at him as you could easily see one another through the steel doors. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You stole my kill" He said again, his voice stern as his grip on his briefcase made his knuckles go white.

You snapped your fingers, faking putting two and two together. "You mean CEO Lim?" You asked, your voice all happy compared to his.

"He was mine to kill"

You clicked your tongue and shook your head, your body relaxed compared to his stiff body. "Not according to my boss, he was mine"

"I was the one who was hired, not you" He pointed out, the elevator continuing to go down. 7th floor.

"Sure you were tough guy" You joked, making yourself chuckle as he remained stiff. "Say, why be a sniper when you can get all the action up close?"

"Why be an assassin when you can't even kill the man properly. You prolonged his death and for what? Some sick sadistic reason?"

"Client needed more info so I got more info. Snipers are always rushing. One after the other, one bullet and so forth. You don't listen to your clients when they say torture the guy for more info"  You ranted on about snipers and your distaste for them.

It's not that you hated snipers, they were fine for your field of work. Heck, you were friends with snipers, 98% of your company works as snipers, only 2% are assassins like yourself. Snipers are fine, they're just too quick. They want as many kills in as little time as possible, they see their target, they pull the trigger. Snipers are trigger happy and it pisses you off sometimes because as an assassin, torture was the only way to get more info and get a bigger pay check. Eventhough it is more personal, you earned more money and you were more careful. Snipers are careless creatures, who again, care more about a kill count then the clients who hired you.

"Snipers are quick, we don't prolong a death for extra info the clients won't pay for" Taeyong replied sternly, feeling offended by the perception you had of him.

"Well this client did. Maybe talk to your handler and boss, they'll make better deals for you" You boasted, thinking about the raise you earned for this mission.

Taeyong scoffed, annoyed at how money hungry you are. "We don't make last minute deals"

"Right, because NCT is just so quick with their kill count" You mumbled out, watching the light change from the 5th floor to the 4th. Times almost up.

Taeyong whipped his head to look at you, the first time since this elevator ride, he finally looked at you. "How'd you know I was NCT affiliate?"

Slowly turning your head to look at him, your eyes studied his body. Clean cut black suit, Italian leather shoes, a rolex, none the doubt that was modified to some sort of hidden weapon, maybe even his pager. Sighing, you looked at him with a blunt look, NCT affiliates are so easy to track.

"Your suit, the stitching is neon green in some lighting. You guys aren't as smart as you think you are. Some uniform" You pointed out, Taeyong's eyes glancing down at his suit and sure enough, in some lighting you could see the neon green stitching.

He looked back up at you and you raised an eyebrow at him. How could he one up you? Oh, he knows how. "Okay little miss Widow"

Now it was your turn to be surprised by this. "How'd you—"

"Your knife handle has a spider engraved on it. A bit on the nose, don't you think?" He asked, remembering how he looked through his sights to see your knives. Sure enough, there was a spider on it, Widows.

"I don't need the sass from an NCT" You shot back, annoyance running through your body.

He looked back at you with the same annoyance. "And I don't need a Widow stealing my kills"

You groaned out loud as your body slumped, it's not your fault two different clients hired two different people to do their dirty work. "I didn't steal your kill, you psycho! Clearly we were both hired by two different people, every think of that Sherlock?" You asked him, waiting for his response, but sure enough the elevator hit the 1st floor. Looking at the opening door, you glanced back at him, ready to leave. "Now, if you'll excuse me"

"How you know I won't follow you?" Taeyong asked, watching as you clicked your heels on the cold tile floor as you were walking away from him.

Your steps came to a hault, turning around to look at Taeyong who remained in the elevator, his arm stopping the doors from closing in on him. "Because then what's the fun in that?" You asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Taeyong stared at you and you stared back at him. It was a mutual agreement that didn't need words, one that you both understood. Don't kill each other right now, both of your paths will cross again and only then would you two fight to the death. However, Taeyong is a sniper, snipers love their rooftops and doing their dirty work from afar, and better yet, they love doing it when there's no risk, you being at home is a risk, because who knows what kind of things you have hiding in your closet.

Taeyong would wait until the field, he'd wait until your somewhere with no risks, he'd wait for his kill. That's the sick fun people in your work have and crave for.

So, he let the doors close in on him, he let the elevator doors close and send him back up to his safe little rooftop as he continued on with his night. You however, would walk away, your figure disappearing as you made your way outside, no one suspecting a thing.

Honestly, that interaction left your mind the next day, not caring for when you would see Taeyong again. You just didn't think it'd come back and haunt you.

"Oh, yes. So, you do remember?" Donghyuck asked, a wicked smile plastered on his face as he began to circle around you like a vulture getting ready to eat its food. "Well, let me tell you a little story. When I was out today, walking around, eating lunch with Mark. I noticed a girl sitting in the corner watching us, or at least pretending to not watch us. At first I was confused you know, who was this stalker watching Mark and I, and it wasn't until I was about to leave that I realized, oh, it was my wife. Now, logically speaking I'm thinking, oh, she wants to see what I'm up to, maybe she recognized me while she was on her own lunch break, that's funny. But then, as soon as I leave, she leaves too and is trying to find me. Now, I'm nice and as I'm about to scare her with Mark, I hear her say something funny"

"Donghyuck" You interrupted him, wanting to explain as you felt your body tremble with anxiety and sadness.

He's really doing this, he's airing out the whole day and is ready to fight you. Why? Why did he want to fight you? Why couldn't he just let you explain, let you tell him your plan to run away? Why couldn't he just shut up for a minute?

"Something along the lines of Mako to Lyra, I lost him. Now, I think this is funny because I remember TY telling me a funny little story on how he had a run in with this women who stole his kill and info and that her name happened to be Mako. Now, imagine my surprise when I hear my wife call herself Mako!" Donghyuck came to a stop, standing right in front of you, staring you down as you felt weak. "Funny story, don't you think?"

"Donghyuck, just let me explain" You begged, your voice coming out in a whine as you just wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him.

Did he really think you'd kill him? Did he really think you didn't come up with a different possibility? Sure, your first instinct was to kill him until you thought of a different plant. But honestly? After being together for a couple years, you'd think your husband would hear you out, trust you.

And he did trust you. Oh my God, he trusted you so much, trusted you with every atom that made up his body. That's why he doesn't want to hear you out, doesn't want to hear the excuses you're going to make or the plan you thought of. Donghyuck felt betrayed, felt like his world collapsed when he heard you say those words to Lyra. Donghyuck felt like his world shifted, it shifted to the other side of the universe, a whole new world where you aren't his wife, but an enemy.

Donghyuck began to think, was all of this a ruse? A lie? Did you even love him? Did you want to marry him? Did you mean the vows and words you said to him? Every laugh, every word, every meeting and interaction, was it all fabricated so you could end his life? Those are the questions running through his mind. If you were sent to kill him, was it since the beginning? Was this your mission the whole time?

Did your company catch whiff of him so early on that they tasked you to kill him? Did you only get into this relationship to end his life?

"Wait, I'm not finished" He stopped you, his gaze growing cold, his warm eyes going dumb as he towed above you. His face so close to yours that you could see everything on his face. Every line you memorized, every mole you once kissed, every word you ever said to him, it was all coming to an end. "Now, in my head I'm thinking, no, no way my wife, my beautiful wife is Mako, and no way is she hunting me down to kill me"

"Donghyuck, please" Those were the only words that could come out of your mouth. Your world is slowly crumbling, falling down like one of your victims.

This wasn't normal, the way Haechan was looking at you wasn't normal, the way he was standing tall, standing like a man ready to throw a punch, this wasn't your husband standing in front of you, this was a killer. But so were you, you were a killer, still are, and you were sent to kill him, so do it, kill him.

"No, you're here to kill me, so do it" Even Haechan wanted you to do it. His steps getting closer to you as he stared you down, not breaking anything in his stature. His chest puffed, eyes dark, face hard and he was angry at you, furious. And yet, all you could see was Donghyuck, the man you'd laugh with at 3 in the morning because of something stupid.

It was all you could see, you can't kill him, because if you kill him, you'd kill yourself in the process. So, with teary eyes you shook your head at him.

"No, I can't" You said, your voice weak with emotion and distress. How could he ask you to kill him? And so easily?

He took another step towards you, his face so close to yours you could feel his breath hitting your face. His next words were grim, "Do it, or I will kill you"

The breath was knocked out of your chest, your lungs burning as your body went cold. Kill you, Haechan will kill you if you don't kill him. How can he say that? How can he stand there and say those words without second thought? But, aren't you a hypocrite for thinking this? Aren't you the one who decided to accept the mission anyways? Weren't you the one who followed him around all day for hours and hours on end just to end his life? You accepted it without second thought, so this was his revenge, his way one gaining control over a decision you decided to take.

"Donghyuck" You said, his name dying on your lips.

"You've made your choice. Kill me" He said, his finger messing with the trigger of the gun he's holding. You glance down at it, was he actually serious about this?

Tearing your eyes away from his gun, you looked back up at him. "Don't make—"

"Fine, then I'll kill you" Donghguck said, his gun lifting up, the tip touching your stomach. You felt your heart beat faster and faster, panic settling in as you look ed down at the gun touching you.

"Dong—"

"No!" He exclaimed, moving away from you as he turned around. You let out a breath of relief as his back was now to you, his gun to his head as he closed his eyes, thinking about what he was doing. He turned around to face you, his gun coming down as he flailed it around, his body running hot. "You do not get to back out of this, you chose your mission, now I'm choosing mine"

"Don't—" You snake your head, but he shook his head, his gun going up as he pointed it straight at you. "Please! Just let me explai—"

Donghyuck pulled the trigger, the bullet barely missing you as you flinched away. "Let me explain!" You yelled at him, your heart beating out of your chest. Donghyuck shook his head as he pulled the trigger again, making you run away from him, Donghyuck continuing to pull the trigger to hit you.

You ran behind a wall in between an alley way, hearing Donghyuck's foot steps come closer to you. "Shit" You mumbled, lifting up your skirt to grab your knives from their holster.

You gripped them tightly, your knuckles going white as you peaked your head from over the wall. You quickly found him walking closer to you, looking away, your brain had to think of a plan fast. Looking down, you found some rocks, instantly, you grabbed one and threw it to a different place away from your spot. The rock hit the ground, making some noise which caused Donghyuck to look away, which gave you an opening to move slowly around him, wanting to make him confused before you attack.

You stepped out of your heels, knowing this fight would be a hard one to get out of. Your feet stepping onto the cold concrete as you slowly and quietly came out of the alley way to confront him. You watched his face, his gun held up as he turned every corner to make sure you wouldn't come out and attack him.

It was a tango, a dance, the warmup before the show as you slowly approached him. Suddenly, as soon as you got closer to him, Haechan's back straightened up, his shoulders going lax as he turned around.

Your knives in your hand as his gun was in his. No words were exchanged, no remarks, nothing, just the both of you standing there, ready to give into this fight none of you wanted, but knew you had to have.

Donghyuck moved first, his gun going off as you dodged it, throwing one of your knives at him, missing your target by a mere inch. With one hand free as Donghyuck tried to regain his composure, you grabbed his gun by the barrel, moving it up as he shot a bullet in the air.

Using this momentum, you bring the gun to your side and tried to get it out of his grip, but he pulled his arm in which made you two he face to face. Haechan reeled his head back as it made contact with yours. You groaned in paid as it caused you to stumble back, Haechan quickly pointed his gun at your again, ready to shoot, but you bent down and extended your leg to sweep his own which caused him to fall to the ground, making him loosen his grip on his gun.

You ran to it, quickly kicking it away as far as possible when Haechan grabbed your leg and pulled it, making you fall on the floor ready for him to crawl on top of your to pin your hands above your head to grab your other knife and throw it far away as well.

Both of your now left without weapons, it was time for your hand to hand combat to pay off. With Donghyuck on top of you, he made it clear to punch you in the face as you tried to get out of his grip, wrapping your legs around his waist and using your full force to flip the both of you over, this was done fairly easily since this was a move you could do in your sleep.

Now with you on top of him, you began to punch him in the face repeatedly, but Haechan was quick to push you off of him, making you roll away on your back.

Looking back up at him, Haechan was now standing up, adjusting his suit coat as his feet began to kick at your stomach, making you groan in pain. After a few kicks, you gathered enough strength to pull your first back and punch him in the groin, making him double over in pain.

You got up from the floor with him following in suit. The two of you looked at one another, blood coming from his lips as your blood was coming from your eyebrow. Similar cuts on both of your cheeks as you caught your breaths. Haechan moved first, lunging at

you with a punch, which you caught with your hand as your knee moved up to knee him in the stomach.

He groaned as you repeated this action until he reeled back his fist to punch you in the stomach, making you push him off of you. You now lunged at him as you tried to kick him, but he dodged your kick, as he tried to punch you. He got his hit on your cheek, making you stumble back before you jumped up and twisted around in the air as you kicked him in his face, making him fumble to the ground.

You quickly got on top of him again, until he brought his arm up to the side of your neck, blocking you as he pushed you down in the ground for him to get up from the floor. You wrapped your legs around him to get some kind of control when he reached down with both hands to choke you. His strong hands making it hard for you to breathe as you clawed at his face.

The more you clawed, the more Haechan got annoyed with you, so he let go of your neck, putting the full force of his body on top of yours as your arms went around the back of his neck as he lifted you up in the air.

You gripped on as he to shake you off, and realizing that he couldn't, he rand to the closets brick wall he could find and slammed you against if, making your head smack against the wall and your back slamming with it. However, your arms didn't movie, but you felt the pain and exhaustion building up, so he pulled back and slammed you against the wall again, making you close your grip on him as he let you go, making you catch yourself with your feet on the ground.

Your hair as a mess, your dress ruined and exhausted filled your bones. Haechan on the other hand, tried his best to stand his ground as he lifted his fists up to protect himself, but you just looked at him. Trying to catch your breath when you pulled your hand back to punch him straight in his nose, making his head fall back and he felt his nose begin to bleed.

With not wasting a second, you jumped him and held on to his neck, your upper body practically hanging off his back as you elbowed his head and he punched your side. You began to fall down his body the more he punched you until he threw you down on the floor.

You groaned in pain, your body starting to feel the effects of it all when you looked ahead on the floor and spotted your knife. You quickly grabbed it, standing up to face him, only to see him pointing his gun at you.

You don't know when it started to rain, but the first trickles of water began to fall, hitting your hot skin as it began to soak you and him down to the bone. There he was, standing just a few feet away from you, your husband, your best friend, the person you wanted to share your life with.

There he is, holding a gun to you, ready to shoot, this wasn't happening, but it was. You felt your body reject you, your eyes filling with tears as your hand shook, your knife no longer feeling as steady as it once did.

You could see Haechan's resolve crack. His once hardened expression falling apart as he saw your tears. He didn't know why his tune changed, why he suddenly cared when all he felt was betrayal. But seeing you, covered in blood and cuts from the harsh punches he gave you and scratched from the concrete floor, he wondered, why couldn't he just let you talk. Let you explain and all of this fighting could have been avoided.

Your jaw clenched as Haechan lowered his gun, his body going tense as his face cracked even more. "I can't do this" He said, his mind and body betraying his training.

"No!" You exclaimed, your knife shaking even more. How can he back out now? After begging you to kill him only to say he was now going to kill you. He should kill you, pull the trigger and put you out of your misery of taking this stupid mission in the first place. "Come on!" You yelled at him, your voice weak and gritted through your teeth. But Donghyuck didn't move an inch he didn't raise his gun back up to you, it was now at his side. "Kill me! Come on!"

"I'm so sorry" Donghyuck mumbled to you, but also to himself, his Haechan persona. "Baby"

"No!" You yelled through your tears, running toward him with all your might, but it was futile. His hand instantly went up to grab your wrist that was holding the knife, holding it hard enough that it loosened your grip and it fell out of your hands, falling onto the ground with a clank.

"Please, just kill me" You begged through your tears, but all Donghyuck did was bring your body to his, his arms wrapping around you with such a gentle touch that it contrasted the way his arms felt wrapped around you during the fight.

"I'm so sorry baby" He mumbled into your damn hair, his hand cradling the back of your head as his other arm was wrapped around your waist, securing you to his body.

You sobbed in his arms, your own wrapping around him as he felt your body tremble and shake. He was trying to stay strong for you, but he too felt his heart crack as the realization hit him. He tried to kill you, so easily, like it was nothing.

"I'm so sorry" He apologized again.

It was all he could say, the rain was drowning his words out, soaking both of you until you ran cold, but for some reason, the hug was warm and you could hear his voice loud and clear.

You both didn't know how you would get out of this predicament. After all you failed a mission, Haechan couldn't go back to his company and go on missions like normal because your company would find out that you didn't kill him and you couldn't go back to work without Mantis killing you after failing your mission.

You both didn't know what to do, that would be a plan for another day. So now, all you both could do was hug each other, cling on to one another like you were both a life line to each other's lives in this pouring rain. The both of you were still alive, injuries to be tended to later, but all you wanted, all you craved was Donghyuck.

So you stayed in his arms and pretended that you had a life tomorrow, had him tomorrow, because you honestly don't know if you will have all of him when sunrise hits.

"I love you" You mumbled into his neck as your sobs and cries subsided. His scent filling your nose and you held him tight like it was your last time saying those words.

"I love you too" Donghyuck said, his own words echoing the uncertainty the both of you had when it came to tomorrow. So, all you had was this, this simple moment wrapped in each other's arms as blood slipped from his nose and cuts and bruised form on your bodies.

However, a simple moment is all anyone can have, a simple moment that can turn sour. All you heard was a ringing, a ringing in your ear as your world began to blur together. Donghyuck's grip on you tightened as yours loosens up, your arms slowly falling from his waist to your side. Your mind was fuzzy, your senses going blind to everything around you.

"Hyuck, something's wrong" You mumbled out, feeling your lungs running out of breath as your knees gave out and you fell to the ground, Donghyuck holding you steady as he fell with you.

He cradled you in his arms as tears began flowing down his face. "You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay baby" He mumbled out through his tears, your breath going unsteady as you looked down at your stomach.

"Oh" It's all you could say, all you could come up with as your brain processed the fact that you're bleeding, you're bleeding from your stomach and that ringing in your ear was the sound of a bullet going off. "Who"

"I don't know, but you're gonna be fine, you're gonna be okay" Donghyuck said, his hands gently resting you down as he pressed down on your wound.

The blood seeped through his fingers, he was trying to stop your bleeding, but it wasn't working, he wasn't helping. "Help! Someone help!" Donghyuck yelled into the wet dark night.

His voice cracking as he screamed for anyone to help him, for anyone to call an ambulance. "Please! Help!" He kept screaming and it was hurting your ears.

"Hyuck, stop yelling" You mumbled out, your words coming out in short breaths and cut up words. "Please"

"You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay" Those were the only words he could come up with only words he could tell you.

What else could he tell you? What else could he do? He couldn't call anyone because if he did that would require him to take his hands off you, making you bleed out, but even if he didn't call, you would still bleed out. Donghyuck was crying tears and tears for you, your eyes slowly closing.

"No, don't close your eyes, keep them on me, keep them open baby" He begged, he begged and pleaded. You couldn't keep them open anymore, they were heavy, just so heavy and you were tired, you wanted to sleep.

"Five more minutes" Those words, those three words that fell from your lips brought him back to this morning. He looked down at you and gave you a weak smile as you smiled back up at him. "Please, just five more minutes"

"Okay, okay baby, just five minutes" Donghyuck cried, his words being soft as he swallowed the hard lump in his throat. "I'll wake you up" He mumbled out, his bloody hand leaving your bleeding stomach as he gently stroked your hair.

"I wanted...." Your voice trailed off, Donghyuck shushing you and telling you to not speak. "I wanted to run away...run away with you" You revealed, your throat feeling a bit clogged up as you felt something coming up your throat. "I didn't...didn't wanna kill you, wanted to run away"

Donghyuck felt his heart shatter, shatter into dust as he heard you. "Oh, baby, we'll run away together, we'll go to Denmark, you always talked about Denmark" He revealed, you smiled at this and he went on. "We'll get we a little house, retire, have a kid or two"

"A girl" You whispered, your eyes blinking slowly and staying closed for longer periods of time. Donghyuck knew your time was running out, knew he wasn't going to have this life with you.

Donghyuck chuckled, of course you both wanted a girl, maybe two girls, but girls were always on the list. Donghyuck wanted a little girl so badly, but the time never arises. You were busy with work and so was he, you both knew you didn't have time for a baby, but that didn't mean you both didn't dream about it or talk about it. You had a list filled with baby names, a Pinterest board of the kind of clothes you'll both buy her, how Donghyuck would keep you up, his head on your chest as he talked about how he'd react when his baby girl would come home with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, he didn't care who she loved as long as she experienced a love like the one you both shared.

"We'll have a girl yeah, of course we'll have a little girl, we'll name her Hayoon, yeah, Hayoon" Donghyuck said, saying a name you both really liked.

The name was a whisper in the world, a whisper you both talked about when creating a list. Donghyuck's obsession with sun and sunshine, how he said you were his sun or how he said he was your sun. Something about sun and something about the idea of sunlight made you and Donghyuck think about so many times.

"Sunlight" You mumbled out, noticing how through the clouds you could see sunlight. The gray clouds and the stormy sky didn't matter anymore since you could see the sun peaking through.

"Yeah, she'll have your smile, your eyes" Donghyuck rambled on, thinking about what your baby could've looked like, been like, acted like. Would she have your laugh or his? Have your eyes or his? Who would she be a copy of? Which parent would she like more? Donghyuck said she would be a daddy's girl, and that he'd do anything she'd ask. You laughed and always said that your daughter would have him wrapped around her little finger. Oh, the life you two could've had, would've had if he just shut up and let you explain. But no, now you're here laying in a pool of your blood as it came out of your stomach and mouth. You were closed and Donghyuck felt your body leave a last breath and your body is now lifeless. "Baby? Baby?" Donghyuck called your name, his eyes scanning your lifeless body and he let out one last sob and cry. One last emotion from his shattered and dusted heart. "I love you so much" He cried out, leaning down to leave one last kiss to your forehead, his lips quivering as his tears mixed with the rain falling down.

Donghyuck let out his screams, his sobs, his whole heart poured out of him like the rain pouring itself on his body and yours. All the memories, all your smiles and laughs, all our times together of late night laughs, the soft sex and the way you two made love to one another was gone now. Everything was gone, he wouldn't see your face anymore, wouldn't wake up to you staring at him anymore and wouldn't be able to touch you anymore. You were gone, you are someone who would slowly fade away from existence.

"Haechan" His name came out from the harsh rain and his tears.

Donghyuck looked up from your body to see the familiar head of hair and strong face that was Taeyong. "What are you..." He was so confused why would he be here? He should have been away, why was he here? Wait, the bullet came out of no where, probably from a few feet away, maybe up in a building and Taeyong as here. Donghyuck's brows were furrowed with anger as he glared at Taeyong who held no remorse for what he did. "You did this? You did this!"

Taeyong shook his head, knowing that Donghyuck would be furious a him, but it was the only way. "It had to be done, she was going to kill you"

"Why would you do this?!" Donghyuck yelled into the air, Taeyong not flinching as he glanced at your body, he was so apathetic about the whole thing, he just killed his co workers wife in cold blood like it was another work day.

"I did what had to be done!" Taeyong exclaimed, his anger getting the best of him. Taeyong closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. "I did what had to be done" He said once more, his voice calmed like his whole persona changed.

Donghyuck shook his head, his tears still falling from his eyes as he looked up at the man who he thought was his friend at least. "No, you didn't, no, you ruined her plans! You ruined us! You killed my wife!"

"She was going to kill you!" Taeyong yelled over Donghyuck's voice, his shoulders going tense as he looked at Donghyuck who was covered in your blood. Looking back at your lifeless body, all Taeyong could see was Mako, the girl who was their rival, the women who stole his kill a year ago, the women who was going to kill his co worker. "She was a Widow, she was Mako, the girl who stole all our kills, our money!"Taeyong yelled, looking back at Donghyuck who just sat there, his jaw open as his brain still clouding wrap around the idea that Taeyong killed his wife.

"I don't care who she was! I care that you killed my whole world!" Donghyuck yelled again, this whole conversation turning in of a screaming match in the rain.

Taeyong clenched his jaw, his body slightly leaning back in his stance, mostly in disbelief that Donghyuck didn't understand that you were going to kill him with no mercy. He didn't care that you had a plan, a second option, the first was to kill him and Taeyong didn't want that to happen, he couldn't let that happen.

"And she was going to kill her own. You" Taeyong pointed out, you were going to kill your world way before Taeyong would kill Donghyuck's.

a

Donghyuck's brain was spiraling, his thoughts funneling into one. His eyes glancing around, he found his stray gun just a mere free feet away from him. Donghyuck reached for it and pointed it at Taeyong who held his hands up calmly.

"Put the gun down" Taeyong said in a stern voice, calm and collected like he always as. The only emotion he ever showed as anger, and right now, he was so calm, so easy going and so annoying to Donghyuck.

"You killed her you killed her and you didn't even think...didn't even think about what that was gonna do to me" Donghyuck said, his voice getting breath as his mind as screaming at hm to pull the trigger. Taeyong did this, Taeyong did all of this and had no remorse no mercy and no sympathy for hm.

"Haechan, put the gun down" Taeyong orders again, but Donghyuck kept his up, pointing at his body as he clenched his jaw.

Donghyuck's tears dried up, the blood on his hand slowly getting washed away by the pouring rain that hadn't let up. Donghyuck didn't want to debate anymore, didn't talk anymore. He didn't abt to do anything anymore. All he wanted to do was go home, get in bed and sleep, wanted to smell your side of the bed, wanted to pretend that you had a late night at the office, pretend that you would come home any minute now. He'd fall asleep, wake up to feeing someone dare at him, only to open his eyes and see your face, your soft skinned face and watch how you closed your eyes since you got caught. And then, he would stare at you, stare at your nose, your eyelashes, your lips, how they were this perfect color that became his favorite. He'd watch how the sun wild seep through the curtains to wash over you in this beautiful warmth.

That's all he wanted, to see you in that state, that relaxed state that only he could see. He just wanted you back, hadn't even been an hour since he felt your soul leave your body and he already wanted you back in his arms, laughing without a care in the world.

"You killed her" He mumbled, his eyes going down to your body. You looked so peaceful, so relaxed with your eyes closed. You looked just like you did this morning, beautiful. "You killed her" He repeated.

Donghyuck's eyes tore away from your peaceful body to look back up at Taeyong who continued to stand there.

"So now you're gonna kill me?" Taeyong asked.

Was he? Was Donghyuck going to kill Taeyong? The guy who waited until he was in the field to do what he wanted to do for a year. Taeyong waited a year a fucking year until he saw you again. He just didn't think you were Haechan's wife, he didn't think you two had any ties until right now. However, he didn't feel bad, because at the end of the day, he got his revenge. Call him petty and all anyone wants, but Taeyong had a grudge against you and he promised himself he'd kill you one day and today was that day.

Did you want Donghyuck to kill Taeyong though? Yo avenge your death? Did you want that? Did Donghyuck even want that? He was the one holding the gun and he can't figure out if he wanted to kill Taeyong. Because deep down he did, he wanted to pull the trigger, but then his own wife would be in the same predicament like he was. Her husband dead and seeking revenge for the person who killed him and then it would be Taeyongs wife who'd be holding gun pointed at Donghyuck who held his hands up.

So, yeah, Donghyuck anted to kill him so badly, wanted to pull the trigger so many times until the gun ran out of bullets. But, would he feel satisfied? It wouldn't bring you back, you wouldn't come back from the dead, you'd still be in the other side and Donghyuck would still be here.

"I want to" Donghyuck admitted. "I want to shoot you so many times, but it won't bring her back" He mumbled out, throwing the gun away to his side.

"I'll call Mark to get clean up crew" Taeyong suggested, but Haechan quickly declined his suggestion.

"No, just get out of here before I regret not killing you" He said, his eyes in slits like a snake ready to attack.

"Hae—"

"Go!" Haechan yelled at him. Taeyong hesitated before turning around and leaving. Donghyuck looked back down at your body and pulled out his phone. Donghyuck’s phone began ringing as he waited for the other side to answer. "I need an ambulance, my wife's dead"

[sximsoc]

Hi, hope you're doing fine, if I can, can I request like a suggestive one-shot about haechan in the +82 pressin mv? 👉🏻👈🏻

𝐅𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐎𝐖 𝐌𝐄 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐁𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐍𝐎𝐈𝐒𝐄

genre - suggestive , mild angst , one shot

synopsis - two lovers end up with a mark on one another , what happens when they come face to face ?

pairing - (+82 pressin) haechan x reader

word count : 17 , 031

warnings : mdni ! suggestive , violence , weapons ( guns , knives ) a weird fight scene because i can never write them right but i tried , did a lot of research with dissecting the 82 pressin world and the world building and concept behind it, so very sin city inspo with rivalries that you’ll see soon , also took some inspo from mr and ms smith because i thought it was very fitting and i wanna give credit where credit is due yk

The rain was cold, freezing up every part of your body. Goosebumps raising on your arms as they violently shook, the grasp on your knife was getting lose, the rain not helping as the sweat on your palms were making it hard to grasp the smooth leather handle like normal. Were your eyes deceiving you? Were your eyes playing games with you? Since when was your job conflicting? Since when did you struggle to just hit your target like usual? It wasn't hard, it wasn't difficult, you were used to it all. The blood, the guts, the screams as they begged for you to not kill them, but this time as your knife was pointing straight at him, your strong resolve was falling. Cracks were forming and he could tell, but why wasn't he cracking? Wasn't this hard for him too? Why wasn't he shaking? Why wasn't he moving? Why didn't he pull the trigger already! Why is he stalling!

All these questions ran through your head like a marathon. Your vision blurring and you couldn't tell if it was because of tears or because of the rain. The dark night was looking upon you, the moon shining bright as his features glowed under its light. God, he was beautiful, even with a cold stare like the one he had right now. Why did this have to happen? Why did your next mission have to go the way it did? The second your handler handed you your next mission, your whole world fell apart. You should have said no, should have rejected the mission and gone back home without a job and without a life, and you'd laid in his arms like nothing happened. Like you didn't see your husband's picture in the manila folder. Like you weren't asked to kill him. His arms would be warm, his heart gently pounding and lulling you to sleep, his lips soft as they kissed your forehead and he'd mumbled a simple five more minutes before starting his day.

No, you can't be thinking about him like this, you can't, not anymore. His gun was pointed at you, his finger on the trigger, just pull it! Please! It's all you wanted him to do. End your life so he can live, that was the right thing to do wasn't it? How did this even happen? How did you end up here in the first place? How did your husband, the sweet, sweet Donghyuck end up standing in front of you with a gun pointing at you and your knife pointing at him?

20 hours before...

07:00 am...

The sun wasn't up yet, but here you were, wide awake as you stared at him. Even after being married for two years, it still felt like you were in the honeymoon phase. Donghyuck was good to you, he was caring, thoughtful, a tad over dramatic, but it was apart of his charm, you can't deny that. So, staring at him in the quiet of your small house was something you wouldn't give up for the world. 7 am and all you wanted was to be able to create the technology to craw inside his skin.

"Stop staring at me" Donghyuck mumbled, quickly feeling your cheeks go warm, you close your eyes in hopes of not being caught, even though you already were. "Don't close your eyes now" He chuckled out, gently grabbing your face and smothering you in small pecks all over your face.

The action made you giggle as you open your eyes and pretend to yawn. "What a way to wake up" You mumbled out, rubbing your eyes which made Donghyuck roll his.

"I know you were watching me sleep" He mumbled out, putting his arms above him to streak, his body twitching as he groaned.

"So what if I was?" You replied, leaning up on one arm to look down on him. Donghyuck looked at you with a sleepy smile as you bent down to peck his lips as they looked extra soft that morning. He softly moaned in pleasure and need, he chased your lips after you pulled away. "Don't lie, you love being watched"

Your tease went straight through his body as he gave you a smirk. "You saying you wanna watch me?"

"Maybe, it would be fun" You shrugged your shoulders, contemplating the idea of watching him pleasure himself in front of you.

Donghyuck furrowed his brows in hopes that you two were on the same wave length. "Are we thinking the same thing or are we still talking about you watching me sleep?"

"Depends, what would you be doing if I watched you?" Donghyuck gasped at your dirty words, covering his chest up with the covers.

"Mrs. Lee! You scoundrel! Taking advantage of a fair bachelor like myself" Donghyuck exclaimed, his voice going high and whiney to get into character. You laughed at his theatrics as he kept the covers up to his chin.

"A bachelor? What about that wedding band you have on?" You asked, grabbing his hand to rub your finger over the smooth band on his ring finger.

"That's decoration" He replied without a second thought which made you raise an eyebrow at him.

He smiled at you with all his teeth which made you fold for him. Shaking your head, you laid back down with your head on the soft pillows. "You're so dumb" You mumbled out, still holding his hand.

Donghyuck groaned, scooting closer to your warm body, tucking himself in your arms as he laid his head on your chest, flush to your neck. Your arms went around him, your nails gently scratching his back. "Five more minutes" He mumbled out, gently pressing a kiss to your neck as he sighed.

You should've said yes, should have said yes to him  and his request. Knowing what you knew 20 hours later in the future, you would've stayed home with him instead, should've made him call out from work and you yourself call out from work. You two should've spend the day together, sleeping in, cuddled up to one another until it was time to get up. You two would've had a slow morning, talking in bed, kissing one another, have nice, slow sex, the kind that had you begging and begging for more, legs shaking as he mumbled obscenities into your ear. Or maybe he would let you take the lead, your soft touches leaving him shaking, his eyes blown out from how bad he wanted you to touch him, to feel you swallow him up. God, the sex you two would've had would never end if you had the choice. Then you'd take a shower together, continue the fun in there until your fingers pruned up and Donghyuck beg you to finish so he could have breakfast. Again, breakfast would be slow, you gently cooking as Donghyuck had his arms wrapped around your waist as he followed you around, pressing a kiss to your neck and cheek.

Instead, you gently groaned and pushed him away from you to get out of his grasp. "Can't, we have work, baby" You said, sitting up in your shared bed as you looked down at him. "What?" You ask, getting shy under his strong gaze.

The way he was looking at you, the way your hair was messy, his shirt on your body, the way the sun was slowly peaking in through the blinds and showered you in its warmth. The way it hit you just right that it looked like a halo over your body, Donghyuck thought he saw an angel with wings. You were so beautiful in his eyes, your body, your face, your eyes, your laugh, it was all otherworldly to him. How did he get so lucky? How did he end up with you? If he knew what he knew now, he would have convinced you to stay home with him. Two stupid kids in love, not knowing what would happen next.

"I love you" Donghyuck said and for some reason, it's like everything clicked. Your whole world fell into place, this was supposed to happen. You and Donghyuck meeting and falling in love, your whole life was leading up to this moment.

"I love you, too" You replied, your eyes filled with love and your body buzzing with how he was looking at you like you were the only person in the world.

Donghyuck hummed as he shook his head at you. "Not as much as me"

"Nah, I definitely love you more" You denied, crossing your legs as you threw your hand in your lap, not breaking eye contact with him.

"Nope, no way, I love you more" Donghyuck said, still laying down as he stared up at you.

You shrugged your shoulders again. "Maybe you do"

"I definitely do" He said with a nod of his head, his hair flopping around with the movement. You smiled at him as once again, everything fell into place. This was what your 24 years of living led up to, this was your place, this was where you belonged.

Sighing, you laid back down, his arms going around your frame. You inhaled his scent and it made your brain go fuzzy, your body warming him as he played with the ends of your hair and you listened to the pounding of his heart.

"You're making it hard to go to work, you know that?" You asked him, resting your chin on his chest as you looked at him.

His next words were hushed, a whisper that felt like a spell. "Then stay with me" How tempting those words sounded coming out of his mouth. His face still flushed with sleep, his eyes dropping as he felt himself slip back into it. How your body felt on his, how he could reach for you so easily and how you'd let him do anything to you. You never thought much about how much control he had over you, how you really would let him do anything to you, anything he wanted. You never thought how far that would go.

You groaned, shaking your head at him. "Mark will kill you if you don't clock in on time" Your hand gently tapping his chest as you tried to get up, but he held you down.

"Who cares what Mark thinks" Donghyuck grumbled out, wanting to reach for his phone and texting his work husband to go on the mission without him. Donghyuck wanted to stay home with his wife and sleep in.

You let him keep you to his chest as he closed his eyes, while yours were wide awake. "He is your boss"

"He's a partner"

“He's a position above you" You pointed out, turning your head so you ear was against his chest now.

You felt his chest vibrate as he sighed. "Fine, boss, partner, either way, stay home with me"

"You have work and I have work" You told him, so adamant to go to work and earn money. You wish you didn't.

"Then we call out" Donghyuck said like it was nothing, just another day that would go by. But that's not how the world worked, the two of your rent to pay, food to pay, and credit cards to pay off.

"We have rent to pay and bills coming up" You got up out of his grasp and hovered over his face. You gently pecked the moles on his face until you ended up kissing his lips. He responded immediately, his lips kissing yours and his tongue licking your lips to open your mouth. As you did, the kiss went further on as your tongues fought for dominance, hitting against one another as you straddled his hips, his hands resting on your hips, the grip strong you knew there would be hand prints.

He moaned into your mouth, wanting more and needing more as he moved your hips on him, making your whine. It all felt so good, the friction hitting you and making pleasure go up your spine. This was a dangerous game he was playing as you two still needed to get ready for work. Donghyuck pulled away and started leaving kissing down to your throat. He gently sucked on your neck as your hands ran through his hair, gently gripping as he moaned at the pleasure. Your breath got heavier the more he kissed and sucked, you knew he'd leave a mark but you didn't care. Your hips began to move on their own, your eyes closed in bliss.

"Stay here with me" He mumbled once again, sounding more and more like a command than a suggestion. You were about to let the word slip out of your mouth, a simple yes and your morning would end in a bang. But your eyes opened and caught the red numbers on the clock, 7:37.

"We're late" You replied, gently pushing him off your neck, hands on his shoulders as his gently massaged your hips. "We're so late" You said again, trying to ignore his lustful gaze on your body, the way his chest went up and down as he filled his lugs with air and his eyes glossy and blown out. God, he looked like sex and you wanted him so bad, but at the same time, you needed money.

Donghyuck smirked as he caught how flushed your cheeks were, how he could feel your pussy pulsing against him, knowing you wanted so much more. Knowing how you were so close to begging for him to fill you up until you couldn't remeber your name or the fact that you had work today. But, he was a teasing husband, so he nodded and leaned back against the head board.

"Fine, fine, we'll go clock in" Donghyuck agreed, you nodded your head, ready to get off his lap, until he leaned back in and held your hips flushed against him. He leaned in, his mouth close to yours as mumbled against it. "After work though, we can have all the fun we want"

"Deal"

—

A typical 9-5 was the plan, originally when you were in university for marketing, a simple 9-5 where you'd have lunch at one point in time, where you'd collab with others to make profit and where you'd be able to put your degree to use. Except, that didn't happen. Instead, you graduated with a marketing degree, found no job and almost ended up homeless. Until, you found yourself drinking at a hole in the wall bar when a woman approached you. The conversation was normal, asking how you were and vise versa, asking if you had a job and you saying no. It was a normal conversation until the job topic, she handed you a card with her name and an address. She told you to meet her there the next day to talk about a position.

You were desperate, so you said yes. A job offering? If anything, you hope your drunken state didn't scare her off. But why would it scare her off if she gave you her card before she left? You didn't know, but the next morning you went to the shady address and ended up at a building you passed by everyday. You assumed it was a normal building for business people, somewhere you thought you belonged, but didn't.

You walked in through the glass doors and found a woman sitting at a receptionist desk. You quietly approached her and showed her the card the other woman gave you. The girl looked up from her computer and all you could think was woah, she's young, maybe a few years younger than you, but still. The girl you learned, her name was Miyeon and she was working here part time, working hard to be full time as all the people who work here are cool. Cool? The people who work here are cool? You guessed they were, but you honestly didn't remember the woman who gave you the card. Miyeon told you to use the elevator and go to the fourth floor, that was the floor you were looking for as all the other floors were used for training.

You nodded and made your way up. The elevator was sleek like no other, the metal cold as it dinged you up to the fourth floor. As you exited, your senses were hit with the smell of roses and your heart was pounding. Something was off, the way the fourth floor was laid out was like a normal office, but it didn't feel that way. Cubicles filled with women typing away or having a headset on, saying weird code words that sounded off. Execute, get information, denominate, and other obscene words that made you feel uncomfortable. What kind of office used that language? As you made your way down the aisle to the big back office that was made of glass, some of the women looked at you with raised brows, like they were examining you. Some of them were whispering to one another, sharing words you wanted to know. Did you dress wrong? You put on your best clothes for today, a fancy pencil skirt and a blouse you knew was within typical office dress code. Maybe your heels made too much noise when you walk, you didn't know.

However, you heard your name being called and looked up to see the women who approached you walk up to you with open arms, pulling you close and kissing your cheeks. You followed her into her office and sat down, handing her your resume. She gladly took it, your eyes landed on her name fame and it said Mantis. Mantis? What an odd name .

The interview went as normal, questions being asked and answered, however, Mantis asked some weird questions. Asking if you ever did martial arts, maybe knew how to fight, did you know how to use weapons? Guns? Knives? All these weird questions you thought were inappropriate, but you answered them in hopes that you'd get the job. You didnt know how to use a gun, but knives you had some experience since your family made you take some self defense classes as a kid.

All in all, it ended up with you being employed and started training the next morning. So, that's how you ended up here, a hit woman. You never thought you'd end up here, about to quit on the first day when you learned that training was fight training and not learning how to use Excel and Microsoft Word. However, you needed moneys and the only way to get out as a new hire was to die, no one could know about this line of work.

"Mako, you're late" Your handler, Lyra said, her eyes in slits as she walked up to your cubicle, leaning on your desk as you sighed. Mako and Lyra were code names, only ever referring to your coworkers as such. It helped keep your identities safe, no need for using your real names in this line of work. Code names are given by Mantis, your boss, the person who owns this whole operation.

You sighed, sitting in your chair as you crossed your legs. "I know, my husband kept me hostage basically" You explained, leaning back in your chair as you looked up at Lyra.

She shook her head, her mind still not grasping how someone of your caliber could get married. "Still can't believe you got hitched"

"Me either, wasn't exactly in the plan" You replied, sounding sad, yet you smiled so fondly at the thought of your husband sitting at his desk with a picture of the two of you on it.

"Or in the contract either, you're lucky Mantis likes you" Lyra added on, which made you cringe at how careless you were when it came to falling in love with Donghyuck.

The contract stated that marriage and partners were off the table. It was for everyone's safety, especially yours. If you get married or have a romantic partner, if anyone caught wind of it, you and everyone you love was in danger. However, you didn't think about the contract when Donghyuck first came up to you at the grocery store, you didn't think about the contract when he asked you out, took you to dinner, or when you ended up in his bed. You sure as hell didn't think of it either when you said your vows to him. The contract wasn't real in your mind when it came to Donghyuck, so when you asked Mantis for a few weeks off for your Honeymoon, she did give you an earful. She told you it was a breach of contract, that it wasn't allowed, it was frowned upon and most importantly, if you weren't careful, you could die.

You, however, assured her you'd be careful, you'd continue work like normal, but Donghyuck was your lifeline now. You weren't going anywhere and neither was Donghyuck, you two were a team, inseparable. Your determination to continue working while being married, and also being one of Mants's best employee had its advantages. Mantis, although still angry with you, let you have your way. After all, you made her a shit ton of money with your intel and assassinations.

"Mantis likes me because I have the most kills" You replied, saying it like it's normal. Saying it like you didn't kill people, just like it was another day in the office.

Lyra sighed as she thought back to when you two first met. "Who would've thought. I still remember your bambi eyed stare when you walked into the training room"

"I didn't think this place was that king of company" You joked, the two of you laughing at the memory of your training days. How shit of a fighter you were, but how clever you came out to be.

"You enjoyed it, don't lie" Lyra replied, pointing out how even though you were shit at fighting, it made you want to work harder and eventually you ended up loving it.

"I do" You nodded, being content with how your job turned you into the person you are today. "Has it been 3 years already?"

"About to be four in a couple months" Lyra pointed out, gently tapping your desk with the maxilla folder she still had yet to mention. "Be happy, you set a record at being a newbie and having more kills than the veterans" She whispered, making the two of you laugh as you're both somewhat new to the job.

"Heard that!" You both heard one of your seniors yell as she walked past the two of you.

This only made the two of you laugh a bit louder, Lyra mumbling a small, "Sorry, Aries!"

"You're gonna get us in trouble with her, you know that" You laughed at her, gently smack her arm as you put a hand in front of your mouth to hide your laughter.

"Sorry, sorry" Lyra chuckled out, clearing her throat as she silently locked into what she needed to tell you. Holding up the manila folder, she gave her a tense smile. "So, you have a new mission"

"Another one? Didn't I just kill a guy?" You groaned, knowing you just got off of a mission a solid two days ago. It was a simple mission, simple poison and he was gone.

Lyra nodded, but sighed a bit. "Yeah, but this one is different, come on let's go, we gotta discuss"

You sighed as she grabbed your arm and pulled you along to one of the private rooms to discuss the mission. Missions weren't as common as most people think, mostly your job was to get intel from people, gangs, companies, it was like you were a private investigator. However, those were mostly things you guys called tasks, missions were worth more money and were more dangerous. Your first mission was something that haunted you, but the money was too good to not do again. Killing people slowly became something you did like breathing. It got to a point where it was easy, desensitizing, and it scared you, but you knew you were doing something right. The people you killed were criminals, people who killed innocent kids and mothers, tortured husbands and random people on the street. You knew what you were doing was right, but it didn't meant it didn't haunt you, because it did. You still have nightmares sometimes.

Donghyuck would comfort you during those nightmares, thinking you watched a scary movie before sleeping. At least that's what you would tell him. Donghyuck didn't know your line of work, didn't know you were a hit woman, he just assumed you did marketing for a small business that paid you well. Donghyuck could never know what you do, it was too dangerous.

"So, what's the mission this time?" You asked Lyra, wanting to get it over with to come home in time to be with your husband. "Killing a criminal? A drug dealer? Rapist? What is it?" You asked, leaning back into the plush chair, your body relaxed as you had been through this so many times you lost count.

"Actually, you know our rivals right?" Lyra asked, your body going ridged and straightening up with tension. "The people who keep stealing our intel and selling it as their own?"

"NCT? Yeah, I know them" They were annoying little bugs. You'd heard rumors about them, sometimes running into them when you're both hired for the same job, but other than that, they're secretive like your company. Except for the fact that they steal your work and claim it as their own, little snakes. They've been on your companies radar for the past few years, Mantis doing everything in her power to take them down, but they're good at hiding themselves.

"Well, one of them kinda slipped up and we got them on camera. His name is Haechan, he's a hit man and he killed one of our allies for intel on us and what we have to sell, so we need him executed" Lyra reported to you, her voice formal as you nodded your head, yet it tilted in confused at his name.

"Haechan?" You asked, slight interest going up at the playfulness of his sunshine name. "Such a bright codename for a killer" You pointed out, Lyra agreed with you and sighed.

"Yeah, but that's his name" Lyra finally slid the manila folder holding all the information the company had on him, his name, photo, approximate height and stature. "Here's his file"

"Thanks" You mumbled out, opening it up and your body went cold. Heart pounding, yet not strong enough as it felt faint in your chest, your breath coming in short huffs as you stare at the photo infront of you. It's right there, Donghyuck's face staring right at you like he was taunting you. "That's not possible" You whispered to yourself, his beautiful face staring back at you.

You were convinced it was fake, it had to be. Maybe it was a clone, maybe it wasn't him and it was a trick of the light. But no, it was him, it was Donghyuck. His face moles all in the right spot, the same spots you kissed every night and morning, honestly any chance you could your lips would be pressed against his moles. Now, they were marks that you had to hit. Your silence and wide eyes concerned Lyra as she furrowed her brows, leaning down a bit to try to catch your gaze.

"Mako, everything okay?" She asked, her voice laced with concern, but in your mind, it was all fuzzy as it went through one ear and out the other. "Mako?" Lyra asked again, her voice a bit louder and it finally caught your attention.

"Everything's fine" You mumbled out, giving her a weak smile as you swallowed hard. You cleared your throat and closed the manila folder to encase Donghyuck's face. "So, I just need to kill him?" The words coming out so carefully, like if you said it into existence it would happen right then and there.

Kill him? Kill Donghyuck? The man you were going to spend the rest of your life with? How could you do that? How could that just be another day in the office? Kill Donghyuck. You can't do that, it was hard to even be mad at him, but you have to, it's your job.

Lyra nodded, not caring about how insane this is sounding to you. "Yeah, basically" Your mind kept replaying the same words over and over again. Another day in the office.

But wait, kill Donghyuck? A member of your rival company? Why not use him? Keep him alive, not just for your own selfish reasons, but for intel on NCT and how they work. Donghyuck could be useful to Mantis, and Mantis is anything, but wasteful, so why waste Donghyuck? Why get rid of him when she could use him?

"I don't need to keep him alive for dirt on NCT?" You asked, furrowing your brows and trying to stay in your Mako character. "I figured Mantis would want something like that"

"No, Mantis just said to execute him" 

Again, this confused you so much. Why kill off someone you can use? It defeated the purpose of anything. "But why? He works with NCT, you'd think she'd want information on them and take them down, why kill someone you could use to your advantage?"

"I don't know, but Mantis knows what she's doing" Lyra said with full confidence in your boss. Mantis is smart, Mantis always had the answer for everything, o of course you trusted her with your life, but again, this all seemed so careless.

"If you say so" However, you had to have trust in what you were doing, so you let it go. "So, when do I need to kill him by?"

"In 12 hours"

You got up out of your seat, eyes wide as the chair rolled away from you. "What?! 12 hours?" You voice loud that it caught Lyra off guard and made her confused.

"Yeah, that's not a problem is it?" She asked, making you blink twice and think about your outburst. Oh, right, Mako, who can kill so well and here you are, freaking out. "You usually knock them out in less then 10"

Your spine straightened up and you nodded. "Right, yeah, right" You quickly grabbed the chair behind you and cleared your throat, taking a seat. "Proceed" You instructed Lyra who just looked at you weird.

"Okay, what's going on? You're acting weird about this" She asked, putting her hands on the table to get a closer look at you. She can't know, she can't know that you unknowingly married Haechan from NCT, that'll ruin you. Not to mention, Mantis would kill you.

"Nothing, it's nothing" So, you shook your head as you trued to act a little sick. "Just, you know, feeling a little under the weather" You replied, coughing a bit and putting a hand to your head like it hurt.

Thank God for your skills at acting because Lyra bought it, at least you hope she did. "Oh, no, I'm sorry"

"It's fine, don't worry" You saying, sniffing to really sink it in that you're a little under the weather. "Uh, I'll get it done soon"

"Okay, just don't forget about the report you have to do after" Lyra reminded you in a soft voice, not wanting to make your head more.

"How can I forget?" You asked, staring down at the manila folder, opening it up and ignoring Haechan's photo staring at you. "So, where am I going to...to..."

"Kill Haechan?" Lyra finished your sentence, not wanting to say those two words that held so much weight to them.

You looked up at her and took in a deep breath. "Yeah" You breathed out, Lyra thinking you took a deep breath to fill your congested lungs and not because you were feeling heavy at the idea of holding your knife to your husband's throat.

"Sources say he's going to have lunch with his partner on 127th avenue"

127th avenue? There was only one place Donghyuck would ever have dinner, he took you there on your first date, took you there for your first month-aversary, he takes those things seriously, and he took you there whenever you asked because you knew it made him happy. It was a little Italian place, family owned and had great food, but Donghyuck only ever went for their garlic bread. It was a cute place, cozy and warm like Donghyuck, he got excited every time you asked him if you could skip making dinner and just go eat out there. It held a lot of good memories, so now that you had to go there to end his memories and end the ones that you thought you'd continue to have, it was a full circle moment you didn't want to happen. 

"The Italian place?" You asked, your voice cracking as the memories of Donghyuck making you laugh and giving you recommendations to food came to your mind. How he held your hand the whole time, how he insisted you two sat next to one another rather than sitting across from you, how he would pick from your plate and beg you to feed him. All those memories would be taken from him, because of you.

"Yeah, you know it?" Lyra asked, taking you away from your thoughts and you shook your head.

"No, I don't, just assumed"

"Oh, okay, well yeah, Haechan's meeting his partner there for dinner, we're assuming he's also NCT affiliated, but Mantis said to not intervene with Mark, your target is only Haechan"

Mark? As in Mark Lee? As in Donghyuck's boss/partner Mark? Just how many of Donghyuck's friends were apart of NCT? Well, it would be obvious that Mark would be apart of NCT since he works in the company as well, but what about the ones you met but didn't know how they met Donghyuck. You only met Mark by accident, running into them while walking around town, seeing that familiar head of hair you yelled his name. Looking back at it, you should have known something was off, how his back tensed up, how he turned around and didn't meet you with the same wide smile he usually gives you, how he didn't smother you in kisses like he usually does, even if he was in public, and how Mark looked at him with dagger in his eyes. Was marriage also a breach of their contract like it was yours? Did Donghyuck never tell his coworkers he got married? You should have known something was suspicious after that meeting, how Mark kept rushing and how Donghyuck looked uncomfortable, and you? You just kept talking and kept inviting Mark to have dinner with the two of you sometime since you never met any of Donghyuck's friends.

"Mark?" You questioned, your mind going back to that first meeting and all the others that came after it. "Sick son of a bitch" You mumbled under your breath.

"What was that?" Lyra asked, looking at you with raised brows.

You shook your head, looking back up at her and closing the manila folder as you finished reading all the info they had on Haechan. "Nothing, just, get my bag ready and I'll follow his lead"

"You got it"

6 hours later....

2:30 pm....

You knew Donghyuck's schedule by the back of your hand, so you knew what time his lunch would be. Sure enough, by 2:30 pm he sent you a text message, saying he was at lunch and going to get food with Mark. He didn't tell you where, but with the source you got, sure enough, you saw the taxi pull up and Donghyuck get out. You were in the restaurant, a wig on, sunglasses, and a coat covering your figure. You sat in the back corner, sipping on your water as you catch the two walk in.

"Mako to Lyra, sunshine walked in" You mumbled, your earpiece picking up your voice to send the message to Lyra your handler at corporate.

"Lyra to Mako, copy" She said in your ear.

The two sat down, five tables over and diagonal from you. Due to the small nature of the restaurant, you knew you had to act as normal as possible while watching your husband and from across the dining room. Your eyes left his figure periodically, going back every now and then as you continued on like this was your normal lunch break. Glasses of water and two entrees later, Donghyuck and Mark asked for the bill and paid. You watched his movements closely, how he buttoned his coat, how he pushed his chair back in and how he ran a hand through his hair. His soft hair, how you wished it was your hands running through it, how you knew if you gripped it the right way on the back of his neck, he'd whimper softly into your ear and his body would turn to putty in your hands.

"Mako!" You were brought out of your trance as Lyra yelled your name and Donghyuck looked straight at you. You froze, not only did you lose focus, but Donghyuck sees you, and you can't tell if he knows it's you or if he thinks a random woman is staring at a married man. "Mako! Do you copy?" Lyra yelled into your ear piece, but your eyes didn't tear away from Donghyuck as he continued to stare at you.

You quickly averted your gaze and looked away, the stare being too intense that it scared you. Clearing your throat you asked for the bill and paid, looking up to see that Donghyuck was gone. "Shit" You mumbled. "Mako to Lyra, I lost him"

"What? You lost him!" Lyra yelled into your ear, your hand going up to your ear piece to soothe your aching ear. You quickly got up from your chair and rushed outside the restaurant.

"It's fine! I'll find him" You assured her, looking left and right, but you didn't see him. You sighed as you heard Lyra sigh is disappointed.

"You better" She mumbled out, disconnecting your call as you took in a deep breath and made your way to the left, following whatever instinct you had.

Walking blocks and blocks, your heels were tiring you out. No one knew where NCT headquarters was, no one else had a lead on Haechan's where about, right now, you were close to giving up. You walked around the city for hours, looking down alleyways, looking into shops, glancing at anyone who looked remotely like your husband. You changed your disguise ten different times so no one could catch on to you. Your day was getting long, but maybe this was a good thing, it was a good thing Haechan got out of your sight, that way you wouldn't have to kill him. But then again, if you couldn't do your job, someone else would, someone else would kill your husband.

Maybe it was better for you to kill him, that way you could postpone it as long as you could, yeah, you'll do that. You'll tell Mantis a lie, say you had a showdown with him and he got away, but you know where he went, you say you can track him down and that you two were playing a cat and mouse game together. However, you knew Mantis and she would never agree to let you play childish games with someone apart of NCT, it was reckless.

7:40 pm

5 hours and 50 minutes remaining....

The sun was setting, your time was running around and your tenth disguise was starting to lose its charm. Staying in one disguise for too long would cause suspicion for some, especially for you. It was smart to constantly change so no one would notice you walking back and forth. Since it was turning nightfall, the sun going to sleep and the moon coming out to play, your last disguise was a black dress, a black dress with the same black heels you've been wearing and your hair down out of its updo. As you flawlessly changed in the midst of the busy streets, you knew where Donghyuck would go after a long day at work, the bar.

You tapped your ear piece and the line connected to Lyra. "Mako to Lyra, I've spotted him" You lied through your teeth.

"Lyra to Mako, you got eyes on him? Copy" You hear Lyra say on the other line, her fingers tapping on her keyboard.

You hummed as your heels clacked on the pavement to your destination. "He's at a bar, the one off of Dream street"

You heard Lyra hum on the other line. "Copy, you need backup? Is he with Mark?"

"Don't need backup, Mark is no where to be seen" You replied since you knew Mark always stayed after hours to get work done as Donghyuck would tell you.

"That guy overworks himself, I don't know how he does it" Donghyuck would say over dinner, sipping on his beer as you sipped on your wine. "He gets to work early and leaves super late, complete opposite of me. I get to work late and run out of that damn office like it's on fire"

"Why do you want to leave so early?" You asked, tilting your head like a confused dog. You set down your glass of wine, your eyes and attention solely on him. Donghyuck smirked as he looked at you, his beautiful wife.

It's like he was transported back to your wedding day, how you looked in your white dress, how he felt watching you walk down the aisle and how he felt when you said those words, "I do". Oh, how he dreamed that'd he'd wake up and it would be his wedding day all over again, how the nerves in his stomach would flutter around making him feel light, how his mind was filled with you and your memories together, and how he knew that in a couple of hours you would be his in every humanly way possible. So, of course, there was only one reason why Donghyuck would run out of the office like it was up in flames.

"To see my pretty girl" He flirted, his lips puckering up as he blew a kiss to you. You scoffed, rolling your eyes as you knew he was just saying that to be in your good graces. Happy wife, happy life, a motto Donghyuck lived by.

"You mean to get a drink at the bar" You called him out, your wine glass coming to your lips as Donghyuck faked a gasp, before chuckling.

"That's only on Fridays"

Which happens to be today. God, you were hoping he wasn't there, you were hoping that when you walked in that little dive bar he wouldn't be drinking a beer or any other concoction he felt like drinking. "Drinks on Fridays. Please skip it, please be the one day you don't come"

Please, don't be sitting there at the bar, up on a stool as he drank his afternoon beer away. You kept mumbling it, don't be there, don't be there, be walking home, be home and call me saying where I was, be home, cooking, making us food before we watch a movie and sleep on the couch. Please, don't be at the bar. It's all you kept telling yourself as your heels clicked on the parent, your steps going faster and your lungs burning as you breathed in the air. God, please don't be there.

You turned the corner, the sum was slowly being covered by grey clouds and the sight sky. Soon enough you saw the dive bar come in your point of view. The shitty LED sign buzzing and flickering its name, people already hanging outside of it, smoking cigarettes and talking. You walked up to the doors, pulling your ID out and went inside. As soon as you went in, the smell of beer and cigarettes hit your nose, inhaling you looked around, growing the looks the men around you gave you. Walking in slowly, hoping to not get noticed by your husband, you searched for him.

"Please" You whispered to yourself, your heart beating faster and faster as you approach the bar. As the crowd slowly got thinner the closer you got, the more you could see. Your breath fell out of your lips as you didn't see him, he wasn't here.

The bar stools not being occupied by your husband. He wasn't here. Donghyuck wasn't here, if he wasn't here that means he was at home, at home and safe and can live another day before someone else grabbed him. Maybe you'd run home, run home and tell him everything, tell him you needed to leave, to run, to change identities and live off the grid. You'd run away together, life together in hiding and it would just be the two of you again. No rivalries, no marks on your backs.

Yeah, that's what you'll do. So, with a smile on your face, you turned your body around, ready to run home and share your plan with Donghyuck. You couldn't wait to tell him, but even then, to tell him what exactly? That you were sent to kill him? Sent to en his life just as easy as he entered yours? And for what? Money? Would Donghyuck even want to still be married to you after revealing that? Would he still want to love you and be with you?

But your mind was made up. All the afterthoughts would come later, because you loved him so much more than a lousy paycheck. Turning around, a smile on your face, ready to start a new life, and you end up ramming yourself into someone. Looking up, your brain didn't register who it was yet, all you knew was that it was your husband.

"Oh, hey baby" You said with a smile, not thinking anything of it until you remember where you were, you remembered who you were and what you had to do. "Donghyuck!" You gasped, hand coming to your chest as you breathed in. "You scared me, what're you doing here?" You asked him, trying to catch his breath as he just looked at you.

gaze was different, it was something you noticed, something your assassin brain realized. Haechan was suspicious. "I can ask you the same thing" He said, his gaze looking you up and down, why were you in a black dress at a dive bar?

"Uh, I wanted to surprise you, duh" You said, trying to act cute for him. A pout here, your voice an octave higher and your eyes shining up at him like you weren't planning to kill him and then convince him to run away.

"You never surprise me" He said, his voice low as he looked down at you. His brows furrowed, lips downturned and not in their usual pout that you grew to love.

He was right, you never did surprise him. Surprises weren't your thing, you could never do them right and never did them justice. Even then, your idea of a surprise was making his favorite dinner on a random day and saying 'I made your favorite'. Donghyuck wasn't surprised by your actions though, as he always picked up on what you bought and would usually put two and two together. But, he'd still act surprised and shocked when you would tell him, wanting to make you feel special and loved. And even though you knew he knew, you still felt your heart swell when he'd say how surprised he was and how it was the best surprise.

It's why you fell in love with him. How he'd look at you with such love, how he'd bend over backwards to please you just because he wanted to. Donghyuck wanted to do things for you, he didn't do them out of a husband obligation, he did them because he wanted to see you smile. So, if it meant pretending, then he'd gladly do it. Pretending, is that what he's doing right now?

"Well, isn't that a surprise in of it self?" You questioned, trying so hard to not sound suspicious, even though he's already caught onto your little act: "Surprise!" You said happily, reaching up to pull him into a hug.

His arms instinctively went around your waist as yours went around his neck. You inhaled him and your knees went weak, your heart skipping a beat with the way he gripped your waist. Pulling away, you looked at him, hoping your cuteness and oblivious act payed off.

"Come on, let's go for a walk" He said, cocking his head to the door outside. You nodded as he grabbed your hand and led you outside.

Your stomach was churning, something wasn't right about this. Why talk outside? Sure, it's a little packed in the bar, but it isn't horrid, you two could still talk out here. As he lead you past the crowd of men, the air felt different. It wasn't was light as it used to be before you saw Haechan, it wasn't as breathable, because right now it was so thick and stuffy, your breaths were short huffs.

Your body was itching, your stomach feeling sick and Haechan's grip was too strong. He knew. He had to know, you couldn't help but think that he knew you were following him, he knew who you were and what you work for, he has to. Haechan was acting too cold, too nonchalant, he didn't smother you in kisses when you hugged him, he didn't pout and whine when you pulled away—in fact, he was the first he was the first one to pull out of your hug. The man pulling you out of the dive bar wasn't Donghyuck, your husband, but Haechan, the assassin from NCT.

This wasn't going to end well. But, maybe he'd have mercy on you, you are his wife after all. Maybe he'll let you explain and you'll tell him everything, tell him how you don't want to kill him, you want to run away with him and start over, be normal and actually have a normal 9 to 5 job, or even be a stay at like wife like some sick fairy tale ending. You don't know, but all you know is that Haechan knows what you're up to and you can't tell if he'll give you a chance to explain or your marriage was going to end in a death.

The air was colder now, a little sticky with the humidity. "Is it going to rain?" You asked, your question going unanswered as Donghyuck kept walking down the alley way. "Donghyuck, baby, where are we going?" You asked again and yet it goes ignored once more.

He just kept dragging you, turning corners, leading you to the dock where a lake was. This dock was where all the neighboring businesses collect their stock. "What are we doing here?"

You knew exactly why you were here. This dock, despite it being used 98% of the time, when it was dead night and everyone was out, this dock was secluded. Your nerves were buzzing throughout your body, he was just standing in front of you, ignoring your words as you stare at his back.

Donghyuck was contemplating. He was staring out at the water, how its soft waves reminded him of your soft voice, how gentle you were and yet when you wanted to, you were a storm of emotions he wanted to be drowned in. God, you were everything to him, he loved you so much, all these years of being yours, only to find you following him around.

It was odd, you following him. Your disguise might fool the people you kill, but it could never fool Donghyuck. "You know, you're not the only one who stares when sleeping" He said, his words conflicting as you stared back at him.

"What do you mean?" You ask, trying to act as normal as possible, but again, your instincts were itching at you to grab your knives hidden on your thigh. If only you could reach for them.

It was a conflicting feeling, wanting to reach for your knives despite your husband standing right in front of you. You knew you had to kill him, yet you can't you want to tell him everything and run away, and yet, you can't tell if he'll let you explain or go out fighting. All you knew was that the way Donghyuck was acting, you don't know if you'll come out talking. Did he want to fight? Did he want this to end this way? His guns blazing and your knives trying to cut him? You can't tell and it's making you paranoid. Maybe he had back up, maybe Mark was up on one of the building rooftops telling him, Haechan, she's reaching for her knives. You don't know what he's thinking, he's usually so open about everything, you can read him like a child's book, and right now, it's like you're looking at the worlds hardest language and trying to decipher it.

You can't, you can't read him, you can't see him and you can't understand him.

"I watch you too, when you sleep" He replied, his words so careful and so steady that it's throwing you off. No way Donghyuck, the man who loves you more than anything or anyone in this world is going to want to fight you. "Your face is so engraved in my memory that I can so easily spot you out in a crowd. It's funny"

"How?" You asked, confused at how him memorizing your face so much that it's carved into his brain is funny. "I just think it means you love me. Don't you think?"

Donghyuck hummed, he loves you so much. Your face is carved in his brain forever, it's so recognizable, so easy to find. "Yeah, I do love you"

"I love you too" You mumbled out, for some reason, you felt tears in your eyes. Hot, burning and blinding tears, you don't even notice how Donghyuck is reaching for the inside of his jacket.

"I just never thought I'd recognize your face in a silly disguise following me around town" He mumbled out, his words too soft for you to even hear them or to process them. "Let alone, be recognizable enough to be traced back as Mako"

Your world fell apart. How? What? How did he know? How did anyone know? You kept your alias a secret your work place was anonymous, everyone who hired you didn't know who you were, you kept yourself hidden when doing your assassins. How did anyone find out? How did he find out?

"What?" You questioned, your word coming out more like a squeak. "Wh-what're you taking about?"

"You're not as careful as you think you are, Mako" Your codename falling from his lips so naturally it made your breath hitch. "You had a run in with one of NCT's snipers not too long ago, maybe a year back" He said, finally turning around and your eyes locked onto his stone cold face and then trailed down to his hand holding his shiny gun. You felt your heart crack a little, he wasn't even going to let you explain. How did he know?  "TY, kinda tall, had pale blonde hair? You two were in Seventh City, ring any bells?"

Your face faltered. "Oh, no" You mumbled, the air getting knocked out of your breath as you remembered that mission.

1 year ago...

10:57 pm...

You were only a second year assassin and you were already climbing up the ranks. Kill after kill, intel after intel and paycheck after paycheck and despite being a newlywed, you didn't stop. It was normal to run into other companies doing the same job as you for other customers, but running into an NCT affiliate? That never happened. Yes, you both were rivals and always tried to get the better information to sell or people to kill for a greater profit, yet, you both never ran into one another. NCT and your company would always luck out on one another, either a customer chose you over NCT or vise versa.

Your paths never crossed until that night. It was a clear and cold night, you were inside the building and waking down the dark hallways filled with windows. As you approached the double doors leading to the office of a man who your client hired you to kill, you knocked gently. The other side let out a loud "What", making you mumble your words.

"CEO Lim, I'm here to give you your mail" You said in a sickly sweet voice as you reached down to your holster to grab your knives.

"What? What mail? It's nearly 8 o'clock" He said, his voice tired and annoyed by your presence.

You knocked once more, ignoring his calls for you to shut up and go home. You kept knocking, knock after knock until he got so fed up with you that with great strides, he opened up his door.

"Shut up! Are you stupid? I told you I don't want your goddamn mai—" His words were cut off with a simple stab to the stomach. His voice gurgling as he looked down at your figure, your hair covering your face as you quickly took out your knife and looked up at him.

"Mr. Park says hello" You said, a smile being offered to him as he began to step back, his hands clutching his stomach to stop the bleeding.

"Mr. Lim, that's not going to work" You said with confidence, watching at the foot of the entrance as he walked back to his desk, limping in pain. "If you're reaching for you gun, it isn't there"

Pulling out his gun from your other leg. He looked at you in bewilderment as you held it up and gawked it around like it was a trophy. "I raided your office during your lunch hour. Wasn't that hard to seduce your staff"

You tsked, throwing the gun off somewhere as you walked over to him, his blood still pooling out of his stomach where you stabbed him. You gently tapped his shoulder and he fell into his chair. Sighing, you grabbed his necktie and pull him closer to you, your other hand holding his knife to his throat as he remained silent and his breaths staggering as he bled out.

"Now, I'm going to make this as painless as possible, okay?" You asked, your smile conflicting the situation. How can you smile during this? How can you smile knowing you're going to kill a man?

This line of work was never easy, your first few kills always haunting you. And yet, you always came back, it was the sick part of you that you enjoyed. Knowing you killed people who wronged others, that's what kept you coming back. That and the paycheck was always too good.

As you finished your mission, you looked down at the lifeless body covered in his own blood. Taking in deep breaths you wiped off your knives with your fingers, the blood making a sloshing sound as it fell to the carpet floor. You pressed your finger to your ear piece turning it on as you called for your handler.

"Mako to Lyra, finished the job. Send in clean up" You ordered, looking out at the huge window his office had. It was a nice night, a nice night that is going to end in sweet sex with your husband who was patiently waiting at home.

"Lyra to Mako, copy, sending in clean up crew" Lyra repeated. The line went cold as you continued to look outside the window.

You admired the city, how at night it looked so calm, the bright lights illuminating the dark streets. It was like stars almost, hey there'd even a star out there flickering. Wait a minute, that's not a star.

Turning back on your earpiece, your voice echoed in Lyra's mind. "Mako to Lyra, we have company"

"Who?" Lyra asked, her voice perking up as this usually never happened.

"I'm about to find out"

"Mako wait, wait for back—" You cut her off as you began to walk out of the office. Your feet fast as your heels clacked against the floor.

Once you made it outside the building, you quickly entered the next, the doors sliding open as the front desk receptionist said a curt hello to you. You nodded, making your way to the elevator, riding up to the top floor. You waited patiently, watching as the lights above you dinged with each passing floor.

8, 9, 10, it was at the 11th floor that the doors opened up. A man with blonde hair in a nice suit with a brief case walked in. He gave you a small nod as he went to hit the top floor button, but realized oh, you had already pushed it. Question was, why would someone who's on the 11th floor want to go up to the 12th floor if he could just take the stairs.

Ah ha. Your brain made the connection as you both hit the 12th floor and none of you came out. It was eerily silent, no one saying a word and yet you both knew who you were. Assassins. However, he worked on rooftops, so a sniper and whatever he had in that briefcase was his weapon of choice no doubt about it, it was a gun.

"Lyra to Mako, copy, sending in clean up crew" Lyra repeated. The line went cold as you continued to look outside the window.

You admired the city, how at night it looked so calm, the bright lights illuminating the dark streets. It was like stars almost, hey there'd even a star out there flickering. Wait a minute, that's not a star.

Turning back on your earpiece, your voice echoed in Lyra's mind. "Mako to Lyra, we have company"

"Who?" Lyra asked, her voice perking up as this usually never happened.

"I'm about to find out"

"Mako wait, wait for back—" You cut her off as you began to walk out of the office. Your feet fast as your heels clacked against the floor.

Once you made it outside the building, you quickly entered the next, the doors sliding open as the front desk receptionist said a curt hello to you. You nodded, making your way to the elevator, riding up to the top floor. You waited patiently, watching as the lights above you dinged with each passing floor.

8, 9, 10, it was at the 11th floor that the doors opened up. A man with blonde hair in a nice suit with a brief case walked in. He gave you a small nod as he went to hit the top floor button, but realized oh, you had already pushed it. Question was, why would someone who's on the 11th floor want to go up to the 12th floor if he could just take the stairs.

Ah ha. Your brain made the connection as you both hit the 12th floor and none of you came out. It was eerily silent, no one saying a word and yet you both knew who you were. Assassins. However, he worked on rooftops, so a sniper and whatever he had in that briefcase was his weapon of choice no doubt about it, it was a gun.

"You stole my kill" He mumbled out, the elevator starting its way back down. 10th floor.

You furrowed your brows, not daring to look at him as you could easily see one another through the steel doors. "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"You stole my kill" He said again, his voice stern as his grip on his briefcase made his knuckles go white.

You snapped your fingers, faking putting two and two together. "You mean CEO Lim?" You asked, your voice all happy compared to his.

"He was mine to kill"

You clicked your tongue and shook your head, your body relaxed compared to his stiff body. "Not according to my boss, he was mine"

"I was the one who was hired, not you" He pointed out, the elevator continuing to go down. 7th floor.

"Sure you were tough guy" You joked, making yourself chuckle as he remained stiff. "Say, why be a sniper when you can get all the action up close?"

"Why be an assassin when you can't even kill the man properly. You prolonged his death and for what? Some sick sadistic reason?"

"Client needed more info so I got more info. Snipers are always rushing. One after the other, one bullet and so forth. You don't listen to your clients when they say torture the guy for more info"  You ranted on about snipers and your distaste for them.

It's not that you hated snipers, they were fine for your field of work. Heck, you were friends with snipers, 98% of your company works as snipers, only 2% are assassins like yourself. Snipers are fine, they're just too quick. They want as many kills in as little time as possible, they see their target, they pull the trigger. Snipers are trigger happy and it pisses you off sometimes because as an assassin, torture was the only way to get more info and get a bigger pay check. Eventhough it is more personal, you earned more money and you were more careful. Snipers are careless creatures, who again, care more about a kill count then the clients who hired you.

"Snipers are quick, we don't prolong a death for extra info the clients won't pay for" Taeyong replied sternly, feeling offended by the perception you had of him.

"Well this client did. Maybe talk to your handler and boss, they'll make better deals for you" You boasted, thinking about the raise you earned for this mission.

Taeyong scoffed, annoyed at how money hungry you are. "We don't make last minute deals"

"Right, because NCT is just so quick with their kill count" You mumbled out, watching the light change from the 5th floor to the 4th. Times almost up.

Taeyong whipped his head to look at you, the first time since this elevator ride, he finally looked at you. "How'd you know I was NCT affiliate?"

Slowly turning your head to look at him, your eyes studied his body. Clean cut black suit, Italian leather shoes, a rolex, none the doubt that was modified to some sort of hidden weapon, maybe even his pager. Sighing, you looked at him with a blunt look, NCT affiliates are so easy to track.

"Your suit, the stitching is neon green in some lighting. You guys aren't as smart as you think you are. Some uniform" You pointed out, Taeyong's eyes glancing down at his suit and sure enough, in some lighting you could see the neon green stitching.

He looked back up at you and you raised an eyebrow at him. How could he one up you? Oh, he knows how. "Okay little miss Widow"

Now it was your turn to be surprised by this. "How'd you—"

"Your knife handle has a spider engraved on it. A bit on the nose, don't you think?" He asked, remembering how he looked through his sights to see your knives. Sure enough, there was a spider on it, Widows.

"I don't need the sass from an NCT" You shot back, annoyance running through your body.

He looked back at you with the same annoyance. "And I don't need a Widow stealing my kills"

You groaned out loud as your body slumped, it's not your fault two different clients hired two different people to do their dirty work. "I didn't steal your kill, you psycho! Clearly we were both hired by two different people, every think of that Sherlock?" You asked him, waiting for his response, but sure enough the elevator hit the 1st floor. Looking at the opening door, you glanced back at him, ready to leave. "Now, if you'll excuse me"

"How you know I won't follow you?" Taeyong asked, watching as you clicked your heels on the cold tile floor as you were walking away from him.

Your steps came to a hault, turning around to look at Taeyong who remained in the elevator, his arm stopping the doors from closing in on him. "Because then what's the fun in that?" You asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

Taeyong stared at you and you stared back at him. It was a mutual agreement that didn't need words, one that you both understood. Don't kill each other right now, both of your paths will cross again and only then would you two fight to the death. However, Taeyong is a sniper, snipers love their rooftops and doing their dirty work from afar, and better yet, they love doing it when there's no risk, you being at home is a risk, because who knows what kind of things you have hiding in your closet.

Taeyong would wait until the field, he'd wait until your somewhere with no risks, he'd wait for his kill. That's the sick fun people in your work have and crave for.

So, he let the doors close in on him, he let the elevator doors close and send him back up to his safe little rooftop as he continued on with his night. You however, would walk away, your figure disappearing as you made your way outside, no one suspecting a thing.

Honestly, that interaction left your mind the next day, not caring for when you would see Taeyong again. You just didn't think it'd come back and haunt you.

"Oh, yes. So, you do remember?" Donghyuck asked, a wicked smile plastered on his face as he began to circle around you like a vulture getting ready to eat its food. "Well, let me tell you a little story. When I was out today, walking around, eating lunch with Mark. I noticed a girl sitting in the corner watching us, or at least pretending to not watch us. At first I was confused you know, who was this stalker watching Mark and I, and it wasn't until I was about to leave that I realized, oh, it was my wife. Now, logically speaking I'm thinking, oh, she wants to see what I'm up to, maybe she recognized me while she was on her own lunch break, that's funny. But then, as soon as I leave, she leaves too and is trying to find me. Now, I'm nice and as I'm about to scare her with Mark, I hear her say something funny"

"Donghyuck" You interrupted him, wanting to explain as you felt your body tremble with anxiety and sadness.

He's really doing this, he's airing out the whole day and is ready to fight you. Why? Why did he want to fight you? Why couldn't he just let you explain, let you tell him your plan to run away? Why couldn't he just shut up for a minute?

"Something along the lines of Mako to Lyra, I lost him. Now, I think this is funny because I remember TY telling me a funny little story on how he had a run in with this women who stole his kill and info and that her name happened to be Mako. Now, imagine my surprise when I hear my wife call herself Mako!" Donghyuck came to a stop, standing right in front of you, staring you down as you felt weak. "Funny story, don't you think?"

"Donghyuck, just let me explain" You begged, your voice coming out in a whine as you just wanted to grab his shoulders and shake him.

Did he really think you'd kill him? Did he really think you didn't come up with a different possibility? Sure, your first instinct was to kill him until you thought of a different plant. But honestly? After being together for a couple years, you'd think your husband would hear you out, trust you.

And he did trust you. Oh my God, he trusted you so much, trusted you with every atom that made up his body. That's why he doesn't want to hear you out, doesn't want to hear the excuses you're going to make or the plan you thought of. Donghyuck felt betrayed, felt like his world collapsed when he heard you say those words to Lyra. Donghyuck felt like his world shifted, it shifted to the other side of the universe, a whole new world where you aren't his wife, but an enemy.

Donghyuck began to think, was all of this a ruse? A lie? Did you even love him? Did you want to marry him? Did you mean the vows and words you said to him? Every laugh, every word, every meeting and interaction, was it all fabricated so you could end his life? Those are the questions running through his mind. If you were sent to kill him, was it since the beginning? Was this your mission the whole time?

Did your company catch whiff of him so early on that they tasked you to kill him? Did you only get into this relationship to end his life?

"Wait, I'm not finished" He stopped you, his gaze growing cold, his warm eyes going dumb as he towed above you. His face so close to yours that you could see everything on his face. Every line you memorized, every mole you once kissed, every word you ever said to him, it was all coming to an end. "Now, in my head I'm thinking, no, no way my wife, my beautiful wife is Mako, and no way is she hunting me down to kill me"

"Donghyuck, please" Those were the only words that could come out of your mouth. Your world is slowly crumbling, falling down like one of your victims.

This wasn't normal, the way Haechan was looking at you wasn't normal, the way he was standing tall, standing like a man ready to throw a punch, this wasn't your husband standing in front of you, this was a killer. But so were you, you were a killer, still are, and you were sent to kill him, so do it, kill him.

"No, you're here to kill me, so do it" Even Haechan wanted you to do it. His steps getting closer to you as he stared you down, not breaking anything in his stature. His chest puffed, eyes dark, face hard and he was angry at you, furious. And yet, all you could see was Donghyuck, the man you'd laugh with at 3 in the morning because of something stupid.

It was all you could see, you can't kill him, because if you kill him, you'd kill yourself in the process. So, with teary eyes you shook your head at him.

"No, I can't" You said, your voice weak with emotion and distress. How could he ask you to kill him? And so easily?

He took another step towards you, his face so close to yours you could feel his breath hitting your face. His next words were grim, "Do it, or I will kill you"

The breath was knocked out of your chest, your lungs burning as your body went cold. Kill you, Haechan will kill you if you don't kill him. How can he say that? How can he stand there and say those words without second thought? But, aren't you a hypocrite for thinking this? Aren't you the one who decided to accept the mission anyways? Weren't you the one who followed him around all day for hours and hours on end just to end his life? You accepted it without second thought, so this was his revenge, his way one gaining control over a decision you decided to take.

"Donghyuck" You said, his name dying on your lips.

"You've made your choice. Kill me" He said, his finger messing with the trigger of the gun he's holding. You glance down at it, was he actually serious about this?

Tearing your eyes away from his gun, you looked back up at him. "Don't make—"

"Fine, then I'll kill you" Donghguck said, his gun lifting up, the tip touching your stomach. You felt your heart beat faster and faster, panic settling in as you look ed down at the gun touching you.

"Dong—"

"No!" He exclaimed, moving away from you as he turned around. You let out a breath of relief as his back was now to you, his gun to his head as he closed his eyes, thinking about what he was doing. He turned around to face you, his gun coming down as he flailed it around, his body running hot. "You do not get to back out of this, you chose your mission, now I'm choosing mine"

"Don't—" You snake your head, but he shook his head, his gun going up as he pointed it straight at you. "Please! Just let me explai—"

Donghyuck pulled the trigger, the bullet barely missing you as you flinched away. "Let me explain!" You yelled at him, your heart beating out of your chest. Donghyuck shook his head as he pulled the trigger again, making you run away from him, Donghyuck continuing to pull the trigger to hit you.

You ran behind a wall in between an alley way, hearing Donghyuck's foot steps come closer to you. "Shit" You mumbled, lifting up your skirt to grab your knives from their holster.

You gripped them tightly, your knuckles going white as you peaked your head from over the wall. You quickly found him walking closer to you, looking away, your brain had to think of a plan fast. Looking down, you found some rocks, instantly, you grabbed one and threw it to a different place away from your spot. The rock hit the ground, making some noise which caused Donghyuck to look away, which gave you an opening to move slowly around him, wanting to make him confused before you attack.

You stepped out of your heels, knowing this fight would be a hard one to get out of. Your feet stepping onto the cold concrete as you slowly and quietly came out of the alley way to confront him. You watched his face, his gun held up as he turned every corner to make sure you wouldn't come out and attack him.

It was a tango, a dance, the warmup before the show as you slowly approached him. Suddenly, as soon as you got closer to him, Haechan's back straightened up, his shoulders going lax as he turned around.

Your knives in your hand as his gun was in his. No words were exchanged, no remarks, nothing, just the both of you standing there, ready to give into this fight none of you wanted, but knew you had to have.

Donghyuck moved first, his gun going off as you dodged it, throwing one of your knives at him, missing your target by a mere inch. With one hand free as Donghyuck tried to regain his composure, you grabbed his gun by the barrel, moving it up as he shot a bullet in the air.

Using this momentum, you bring the gun to your side and tried to get it out of his grip, but he pulled his arm in which made you two he face to face. Haechan reeled his head back as it made contact with yours. You groaned in paid as it caused you to stumble back, Haechan quickly pointed his gun at your again, ready to shoot, but you bent down and extended your leg to sweep his own which caused him to fall to the ground, making him loosen his grip on his gun.

You ran to it, quickly kicking it away as far as possible when Haechan grabbed your leg and pulled it, making you fall on the floor ready for him to crawl on top of your to pin your hands above your head to grab your other knife and throw it far away as well.

Both of your now left without weapons, it was time for your hand to hand combat to pay off. With Donghyuck on top of you, he made it clear to punch you in the face as you tried to get out of his grip, wrapping your legs around his waist and using your full force to flip the both of you over, this was done fairly easily since this was a move you could do in your sleep.

Now with you on top of him, you began to punch him in the face repeatedly, but Haechan was quick to push you off of him, making you roll away on your back.

Looking back up at him, Haechan was now standing up, adjusting his suit coat as his feet began to kick at your stomach, making you groan in pain. After a few kicks, you gathered enough strength to pull your first back and punch him in the groin, making him double over in pain.

You got up from the floor with him following in suit. The two of you looked at one another, blood coming from his lips as your blood was coming from your eyebrow. Similar cuts on both of your cheeks as you caught your breaths. Haechan moved first, lunging at

you with a punch, which you caught with your hand as your knee moved up to knee him in the stomach.

He groaned as you repeated this action until he reeled back his fist to punch you in the stomach, making you push him off of you. You now lunged at him as you tried to kick him, but he dodged your kick, as he tried to punch you. He got his hit on your cheek, making you stumble back before you jumped up and twisted around in the air as you kicked him in his face, making him fumble to the ground.

You quickly got on top of him again, until he brought his arm up to the side of your neck, blocking you as he pushed you down in the ground for him to get up from the floor. You wrapped your legs around him to get some kind of control when he reached down with both hands to choke you. His strong hands making it hard for you to breathe as you clawed at his face.

The more you clawed, the more Haechan got annoyed with you, so he let go of your neck, putting the full force of his body on top of yours as your arms went around the back of his neck as he lifted you up in the air.

You gripped on as he to shake you off, and realizing that he couldn't, he rand to the closets brick wall he could find and slammed you against if, making your head smack against the wall and your back slamming with it. However, your arms didn't movie, but you felt the pain and exhaustion building up, so he pulled back and slammed you against the wall again, making you close your grip on him as he let you go, making you catch yourself with your feet on the ground.

Your hair as a mess, your dress ruined and exhausted filled your bones. Haechan on the other hand, tried his best to stand his ground as he lifted his fists up to protect himself, but you just looked at him. Trying to catch your breath when you pulled your hand back to punch him straight in his nose, making his head fall back and he felt his nose begin to bleed.

With not wasting a second, you jumped him and held on to his neck, your upper body practically hanging off his back as you elbowed his head and he punched your side. You began to fall down his body the more he punched you until he threw you down on the floor.

You groaned in pain, your body starting to feel the effects of it all when you looked ahead on the floor and spotted your knife. You quickly grabbed it, standing up to face him, only to see him pointing his gun at you.

You don't know when it started to rain, but the first trickles of water began to fall, hitting your hot skin as it began to soak you and him down to the bone. There he was, standing just a few feet away from you, your husband, your best friend, the person you wanted to share your life with.

There he is, holding a gun to you, ready to shoot, this wasn't happening, but it was. You felt your body reject you, your eyes filling with tears as your hand shook, your knife no longer feeling as steady as it once did.

You could see Haechan's resolve crack. His once hardened expression falling apart as he saw your tears. He didn't know why his tune changed, why he suddenly cared when all he felt was betrayal. But seeing you, covered in blood and cuts from the harsh punches he gave you and scratched from the concrete floor, he wondered, why couldn't he just let you talk. Let you explain and all of this fighting could have been avoided.

Your jaw clenched as Haechan lowered his gun, his body going tense as his face cracked even more. "I can't do this" He said, his mind and body betraying his training.

"No!" You exclaimed, your knife shaking even more. How can he back out now? After begging you to kill him only to say he was now going to kill you. He should kill you, pull the trigger and put you out of your misery of taking this stupid mission in the first place. "Come on!" You yelled at him, your voice weak and gritted through your teeth. But Donghyuck didn't move an inch he didn't raise his gun back up to you, it was now at his side. "Kill me! Come on!"

"I'm so sorry" Donghyuck mumbled to you, but also to himself, his Haechan persona. "Baby"

"No!" You yelled through your tears, running toward him with all your might, but it was futile. His hand instantly went up to grab your wrist that was holding the knife, holding it hard enough that it loosened your grip and it fell out of your hands, falling onto the ground with a clank.

"Please, just kill me" You begged through your tears, but all Donghyuck did was bring your body to his, his arms wrapping around you with such a gentle touch that it contrasted the way his arms felt wrapped around you during the fight.

"I'm so sorry baby" He mumbled into your damn hair, his hand cradling the back of your head as his other arm was wrapped around your waist, securing you to his body.

You sobbed in his arms, your own wrapping around him as he felt your body tremble and shake. He was trying to stay strong for you, but he too felt his heart crack as the realization hit him. He tried to kill you, so easily, like it was nothing.

"I'm so sorry" He apologized again.

It was all he could say, the rain was drowning his words out, soaking both of you until you ran cold, but for some reason, the hug was warm and you could hear his voice loud and clear.

You both didn't know how you would get out of this predicament. After all you failed a mission, Haechan couldn't go back to his company and go on missions like normal because your company would find out that you didn't kill him and you couldn't go back to work without Mantis killing you after failing your mission.

You both didn't know what to do, that would be a plan for another day. So now, all you both could do was hug each other, cling on to one another like you were both a life line to each other's lives in this pouring rain. The both of you were still alive, injuries to be tended to later, but all you wanted, all you craved was Donghyuck.

So you stayed in his arms and pretended that you had a life tomorrow, had him tomorrow, because you honestly don't know if you will have all of him when sunrise hits.

"I love you" You mumbled into his neck as your sobs and cries subsided. His scent filling your nose and you held him tight like it was your last time saying those words.

"I love you too" Donghyuck said, his own words echoing the uncertainty the both of you had when it came to tomorrow. So, all you had was this, this simple moment wrapped in each other's arms as blood slipped from his nose and cuts and bruised form on your bodies.

However, a simple moment is all anyone can have, a simple moment that can turn sour. All you heard was a ringing, a ringing in your ear as your world began to blur together. Donghyuck's grip on you tightened as yours loosens up, your arms slowly falling from his waist to your side. Your mind was fuzzy, your senses going blind to everything around you.

"Hyuck, something's wrong" You mumbled out, feeling your lungs running out of breath as your knees gave out and you fell to the ground, Donghyuck holding you steady as he fell with you.

He cradled you in his arms as tears began flowing down his face. "You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay baby" He mumbled out through his tears, your breath going unsteady as you looked down at your stomach.

"Oh" It's all you could say, all you could come up with as your brain processed the fact that you're bleeding, you're bleeding from your stomach and that ringing in your ear was the sound of a bullet going off. "Who"

"I don't know, but you're gonna be fine, you're gonna be okay" Donghyuck said, his hands gently resting you down as he pressed down on your wound.

The blood seeped through his fingers, he was trying to stop your bleeding, but it wasn't working, he wasn't helping. "Help! Someone help!" Donghyuck yelled into the wet dark night.

His voice cracking as he screamed for anyone to help him, for anyone to call an ambulance. "Please! Help!" He kept screaming and it was hurting your ears.

"Hyuck, stop yelling" You mumbled out, your words coming out in short breaths and cut up words. "Please"

"You're gonna be okay, you're gonna be okay" Those were the only words he could come up with only words he could tell you.

What else could he tell you? What else could he do? He couldn't call anyone because if he did that would require him to take his hands off you, making you bleed out, but even if he didn't call, you would still bleed out. Donghyuck was crying tears and tears for you, your eyes slowly closing.

"No, don't close your eyes, keep them on me, keep them open baby" He begged, he begged and pleaded. You couldn't keep them open anymore, they were heavy, just so heavy and you were tired, you wanted to sleep.

"Five more minutes" Those words, those three words that fell from your lips brought him back to this morning. He looked down at you and gave you a weak smile as you smiled back up at him. "Please, just five more minutes"

"Okay, okay baby, just five minutes" Donghyuck cried, his words being soft as he swallowed the hard lump in his throat. "I'll wake you up" He mumbled out, his bloody hand leaving your bleeding stomach as he gently stroked your hair.

"I wanted...." Your voice trailed off, Donghyuck shushing you and telling you to not speak. "I wanted to run away...run away with you" You revealed, your throat feeling a bit clogged up as you felt something coming up your throat. "I didn't...didn't wanna kill you, wanted to run away"

Donghyuck felt his heart shatter, shatter into dust as he heard you. "Oh, baby, we'll run away together, we'll go to Denmark, you always talked about Denmark" He revealed, you smiled at this and he went on. "We'll get we a little house, retire, have a kid or two"

"A girl" You whispered, your eyes blinking slowly and staying closed for longer periods of time. Donghyuck knew your time was running out, knew he wasn't going to have this life with you.

Donghyuck chuckled, of course you both wanted a girl, maybe two girls, but girls were always on the list. Donghyuck wanted a little girl so badly, but the time never arises. You were busy with work and so was he, you both knew you didn't have time for a baby, but that didn't mean you both didn't dream about it or talk about it. You had a list filled with baby names, a Pinterest board of the kind of clothes you'll both buy her, how Donghyuck would keep you up, his head on your chest as he talked about how he'd react when his baby girl would come home with a boyfriend or a girlfriend, he didn't care who she loved as long as she experienced a love like the one you both shared.

"We'll have a girl yeah, of course we'll have a little girl, we'll name her Hayoon, yeah, Hayoon" Donghyuck said, saying a name you both really liked.

The name was a whisper in the world, a whisper you both talked about when creating a list. Donghyuck's obsession with sun and sunshine, how he said you were his sun or how he said he was your sun. Something about sun and something about the idea of sunlight made you and Donghyuck think about so many times.

"Sunlight" You mumbled out, noticing how through the clouds you could see sunlight. The gray clouds and the stormy sky didn't matter anymore since you could see the sun peaking through.

"Yeah, she'll have your smile, your eyes" Donghyuck rambled on, thinking about what your baby could've looked like, been like, acted like. Would she have your laugh or his? Have your eyes or his? Who would she be a copy of? Which parent would she like more? Donghyuck said she would be a daddy's girl, and that he'd do anything she'd ask. You laughed and always said that your daughter would have him wrapped around her little finger. Oh, the life you two could've had, would've had if he just shut up and let you explain. But no, now you're here laying in a pool of your blood as it came out of your stomach and mouth. You were closed and Donghyuck felt your body leave a last breath and your body is now lifeless. "Baby? Baby?" Donghyuck called your name, his eyes scanning your lifeless body and he let out one last sob and cry. One last emotion from his shattered and dusted heart. "I love you so much" He cried out, leaning down to leave one last kiss to your forehead, his lips quivering as his tears mixed with the rain falling down.

Donghyuck let out his screams, his sobs, his whole heart poured out of him like the rain pouring itself on his body and yours. All the memories, all your smiles and laughs, all our times together of late night laughs, the soft sex and the way you two made love to one another was gone now. Everything was gone, he wouldn't see your face anymore, wouldn't wake up to you staring at him anymore and wouldn't be able to touch you anymore. You were gone, you are someone who would slowly fade away from existence.

"Haechan" His name came out from the harsh rain and his tears.

Donghyuck looked up from your body to see the familiar head of hair and strong face that was Taeyong. "What are you..." He was so confused why would he be here? He should have been away, why was he here? Wait, the bullet came out of no where, probably from a few feet away, maybe up in a building and Taeyong as here. Donghyuck's brows were furrowed with anger as he glared at Taeyong who held no remorse for what he did. "You did this? You did this!"

Taeyong shook his head, knowing that Donghyuck would be furious a him, but it was the only way. "It had to be done, she was going to kill you"

"Why would you do this?!" Donghyuck yelled into the air, Taeyong not flinching as he glanced at your body, he was so apathetic about the whole thing, he just killed his co workers wife in cold blood like it was another work day.

"I did what had to be done!" Taeyong exclaimed, his anger getting the best of him. Taeyong closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. "I did what had to be done" He said once more, his voice calmed like his whole persona changed.

Donghyuck shook his head, his tears still falling from his eyes as he looked up at the man who he thought was his friend at least. "No, you didn't, no, you ruined her plans! You ruined us! You killed my wife!"

"She was going to kill you!" Taeyong yelled over Donghyuck's voice, his shoulders going tense as he looked at Donghyuck who was covered in your blood. Looking back at your lifeless body, all Taeyong could see was Mako, the girl who was their rival, the women who stole his kill a year ago, the women who was going to kill his co worker. "She was a Widow, she was Mako, the girl who stole all our kills, our money!"Taeyong yelled, looking back at Donghyuck who just sat there, his jaw open as his brain still clouding wrap around the idea that Taeyong killed his wife.

"I don't care who she was! I care that you killed my whole world!" Donghyuck yelled again, this whole conversation turning in of a screaming match in the rain.

Taeyong clenched his jaw, his body slightly leaning back in his stance, mostly in disbelief that Donghyuck didn't understand that you were going to kill him with no mercy. He didn't care that you had a plan, a second option, the first was to kill him and Taeyong didn't want that to happen, he couldn't let that happen.

"And she was going to kill her own. You" Taeyong pointed out, you were going to kill your world way before Taeyong would kill Donghyuck's.

a

Donghyuck's brain was spiraling, his thoughts funneling into one. His eyes glancing around, he found his stray gun just a mere free feet away from him. Donghyuck reached for it and pointed it at Taeyong who held his hands up calmly.

"Put the gun down" Taeyong said in a stern voice, calm and collected like he always as. The only emotion he ever showed as anger, and right now, he was so calm, so easy going and so annoying to Donghyuck.

"You killed her you killed her and you didn't even think...didn't even think about what that was gonna do to me" Donghyuck said, his voice getting breath as his mind as screaming at hm to pull the trigger. Taeyong did this, Taeyong did all of this and had no remorse no mercy and no sympathy for hm.

"Haechan, put the gun down" Taeyong orders again, but Donghyuck kept his up, pointing at his body as he clenched his jaw.

Donghyuck's tears dried up, the blood on his hand slowly getting washed away by the pouring rain that hadn't let up. Donghyuck didn't want to debate anymore, didn't talk anymore. He didn't abt to do anything anymore. All he wanted to do was go home, get in bed and sleep, wanted to smell your side of the bed, wanted to pretend that you had a late night at the office, pretend that you would come home any minute now. He'd fall asleep, wake up to feeing someone dare at him, only to open his eyes and see your face, your soft skinned face and watch how you closed your eyes since you got caught. And then, he would stare at you, stare at your nose, your eyelashes, your lips, how they were this perfect color that became his favorite. He'd watch how the sun wild seep through the curtains to wash over you in this beautiful warmth.

That's all he wanted, to see you in that state, that relaxed state that only he could see. He just wanted you back, hadn't even been an hour since he felt your soul leave your body and he already wanted you back in his arms, laughing without a care in the world.

"You killed her" He mumbled, his eyes going down to your body. You looked so peaceful, so relaxed with your eyes closed. You looked just like you did this morning, beautiful. "You killed her" He repeated.

Donghyuck's eyes tore away from your peaceful body to look back up at Taeyong who continued to stand there.

"So now you're gonna kill me?" Taeyong asked.

Was he? Was Donghyuck going to kill Taeyong? The guy who waited until he was in the field to do what he wanted to do for a year. Taeyong waited a year a fucking year until he saw you again. He just didn't think you were Haechan's wife, he didn't think you two had any ties until right now. However, he didn't feel bad, because at the end of the day, he got his revenge. Call him petty and all anyone wants, but Taeyong had a grudge against you and he promised himself he'd kill you one day and today was that day.

Did you want Donghyuck to kill Taeyong though? Yo avenge your death? Did you want that? Did Donghyuck even want that? He was the one holding the gun and he can't figure out if he wanted to kill Taeyong. Because deep down he did, he wanted to pull the trigger, but then his own wife would be in the same predicament like he was. Her husband dead and seeking revenge for the person who killed him and then it would be Taeyongs wife who'd be holding gun pointed at Donghyuck who held his hands up.

So, yeah, Donghyuck anted to kill him so badly, wanted to pull the trigger so many times until the gun ran out of bullets. But, would he feel satisfied? It wouldn't bring you back, you wouldn't come back from the dead, you'd still be in the other side and Donghyuck would still be here.

"I want to" Donghyuck admitted. "I want to shoot you so many times, but it won't bring her back" He mumbled out, throwing the gun away to his side.

"I'll call Mark to get clean up crew" Taeyong suggested, but Haechan quickly declined his suggestion.

"No, just get out of here before I regret not killing you" He said, his eyes in slits like a snake ready to attack.

"Hae—"

"Go!" Haechan yelled at him. Taeyong hesitated before turning around and leaving. Donghyuck looked back down at your body and pulled out his phone. Donghyuck’s phone began ringing as he waited for the other side to answer. "I need an ambulance, my wife's dead"

[sximsoc]

HAECHAN FIC TMR AT 4:44 PM ITS FINALLY DONE!!!!! CHEEWHOO

[sximsoc]

GUESS WHO POSTED NEXT CHAPTER OF THEY DONT KNOW ABOUT US IS OUT

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦 𝐢𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭

synopsis: nari hwang is a normal girl living in south korea with her older sister, nayeon, who loves nct dream. what happens when nari hwang has a run in with mark lee of nct dream? nayeons favorite group?

STARSTRUCK INSPIRED

word count: 4,033

chapter 006 now playing…

Nari had gotten ready to spend the day with her friends. But the more she got ready and the more time passed, the more she realized that she actually met Mark Lee and the more she realized that it still felt like a dream. To be honest, maybe it was. The dress hanging in her door was the only thing that confirmed that last night was real, but not that she met Mark Lee. No tabloids reported on it, so either they weren't caught, or she actually never met Mark Lee.

After all, he's an idol who had just gotten off of a tour. What would he be doing at a club so late at night and what would he be doing driving her around and helping to get her home say? It was bizarre for her to think about and it was even more bizarre for her to even dream of Mark Lee.

Nari looked at herself in the mirror as she sprayed her face with setting spray, her eyes wandering to the dress hanging in her door and shook her head. "No, stop it" Nari mumbled out and then looked at herself back in the mirror. "Nari Hwang, it was just a crazy and insane dream. You didn't meet Mark Lee and you didn't meet Na Jaemin" Nari confirmed to herself with a nod.

Nari got up from her vanity and grabbed her bag, grabbing her phone and texting Taeseol that she was on her way to the convince store near the bookstore Nari worked at. Nari opened up her door and saw that Nayeon was sitting on the floor, eating ramen, her hair up in a claw clip and still in her pjamas.

Nari noticed how Nayeon looked, not only hung over, but so confused and it looked like she was trying to piece together what happened.

"Nayeon, you okay?" Nari asked as she walked closer to her older sister who sat on the floor.

Nayeon blindly nodded, but clicked her tongue. "What happened last night?" Nayeon asked as she looked up at Nari.

Nari didn't know what to say. Should she say the truth? Come clean that she ran into Mark Lee and Na Jaemin? Tell her how Na Jaemin went inside the party and looked for her, drove her home and tucked her into bed? That sounded bad, from all angles it sounded bad and insane and just out of this world insane. No way would Nayeon believe her, let alone remeber.

"All I remember us getting here, me drinking and bit, and then it all goes fuzzy" Nayeon explained as she looked down at her bowl of ramen. Nari let out a breath of relief that Nayeon didn't remeber Na Jaemin. This meant that Nari could lie and make up some random story on how Nari got her home. But all that hope went down the drain, again. "Oh! And someone finding me in the party and taking me home"

Nari cursed herself in her head. "Really?" Nari asked and Nayeon nodded. "That was me, silly" Nari joked and let out a laugh, one too awkward and one that could easily give her away, but Nayeon was too hung over and confused to notice.

"Really?" Nayeon asked as she remembers how the voice that took her home was deeper, and their hair was shorter and a different color. "You sounded and looked so different. You were also taller" Nayeon pointed out and Nari laughed again.

"I was wearing heels, remember?" Nari asked and hoped that Nayeon's memory was too fuzzy to point out details. "Besides, it was dark and led lights were blaring"

Nayeon nodded and sighed. "I think I'm going crazy" She mumbled and Nari's eyes went wide.

"Crazy? Crazy how?" Nari asked as she prayed and hoped Nayeon wouldn't say anything about Na Jaemin.

"I'm gonna sound delusional and crazy, but" Nayeon paused and Nari could feel her heart beat faster and crazier as her finger tips felt light and her nerves felt fuzzy. "I could have sworn I saw Na Jaemin"

"What?" Nari asked loudly which made Nayeon groan at her. Nari really needed to stop praying and hoping. "What? N-Nayeon, you-you, woah, you sound like you've had too much to drink" Nari laughed out as she tried to cover up her lies and her nervous expression. "I mean, you were listening to NCT, maybe you mistaken me for Jaemin"

Nayeon pursed her lips as she thought about it. Honestly, she could have sworn up and down that she met him and that he was the one who took her home. Maybe she did have too much to drink. That, and Nari was right, she was listening to NCT and talking about them. Maybe her memory blurred lines and she mistaken Nari for Jaemin.

"Maybe you're right" Nayeon mumbled out as she looked up at Nari and gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry about last night by the way, I know I said only two hours and made you wait longer. I'm really sorry" Nayeon apologized and Nari gave her a soft smile.

Nari waved her hands and was quick to brush off Nayeon's apology. "Don't apologize, you were having fun. That's no crime" Nari explained and Nayeon smiled at her again.

Her eyebrows lifted up in realization. "Where you going?" Nayeon asked and Nari looked down at her clothes.

"Oh! I'm going out with Taeseol, and then we're meeting up with Kangdae and then when Taehyung gets off work we're going to the karaoke bars" Nari explained and Nayeon hummed.

"Kangdae" Nayeon said. "Isn't he the Australian kid who had a crush on me?" She asked and Nari nodded in embarrassment.

"Yeah" Nari mumbled out. "But! He doesn't anymore, at least I don't think. That's what he told us anyways"

Nayeon hummed and ushered her to leave, not wanting to make Taeseol wait up on Nari. Nari bid her goodbyes to Nayeon and headed her way to the small convenience store that was across the street to her small bookstore she worked at.

Nari was playing her music, consisting of mostly Western artists. It's not that she didn't enjoy kpop, she did, she had a playlist dedicated to kpop songs she grew up listening to, it's just Western is comfortable to her. For some reason, she always came back to Western music for some reason, something about it reminded her of home.

Nari was walking down the streets of her neighbor hood when a billboard caught her sight. It was a billboard with Mark Lee's face on it. Not just his face, but NCT Dreams face on it. Nari's eyes widened as she remembered last night and began to wonder if the world hated her this much. Yeah, she saw his face from time to time, but it never bothered her, not like this. Was last night real? Was this the universes way of confirming to her that it wasn't a dream? Or some weird freaky alternate reality?

Nari shook her head as she kept walking, ignoring the billboard. Nari kept walking, but turned around to see the billboard with Marks face still on it. It was creepy, how he was staring at the camera, and how his stare was looking down at her. Of course he wasn't actually staring at her, but from her perspective, Marks billboard face was staring her down, like he knew this was making her miserable. Nari turned back around and continued walking, ignoring Marks dumb face and his dumb stare.

"Why is he everywhere?" Nari questioned to herself in a mumble.

Nari eventually made it to the connivence store, opening the door as it made its small chime, significant that a customer came in. Nari said hello to the worker at the counter as she looked around for Taeseol. She looked down one of the aisles and found her.

Taeseol was looking at the chips, grabbing one and putting it back as she debated on weather or not to get it. Nari smiled and decided to sneak up on her, slowly approaching her, trying to stay as quiet as possible. Nari was getting closer and closer, thinking her plan was going to work when Taeseol sighed and lolled her head back.

"Don't try to scare me, Nari" Taeseol mumbled out as she eventually grabbed a bag of chips and turned around to face an annoyed Nari. "What? You annoyed with me now?"

Nari nodded as she crossed her hands across her chest. "Why can't you just play along with me?" Nari asked and Taeseol shook her head.

"No way" Taeseol dismissed and walked down the aisle in search of more snacks.

"Why?" Nari asked as she followed around the older girl.

"Because you're not scary" Taeseol pointed out as she looked at the drink aisle, lighting up when she found the peach flavored drink she was looking for. "Every time you try to scare us, willingly, it doesn't work"

"I scared you guys last night" Nari mumbled out and Taeseol turned around, gently flicking the younger girls forehead, Nari groaned in pain.

"Only because we were worried about you" Taeseol clarified and turned back around to look for more stuff. "And I said willingly, you're not scary, but when you worry us, yeah it's scary"

"Still, at least play along" Nari complained as she grabbed a small snack from the aisle behind them.

Taeseol shrugged her shoulders, walking down another aisle. "I can't lie"

"Why not?" Nari asked, continuing to follow Taeseol, also looking at the aisles for anything good she could munch on as they walked around and waited for the other two friends.

"I'm not good at it, ask my first boyfriend" Taeseol joked as she laughed at her own joke.

Nari blinked her eyes a few times, making a disgusted face at her. "I'd rather not" She said with a shake of her head, not enjoying the idea of finding Taeseol's weird and homophobic ex boyfriend.

Taeseol sighed as she turned around to look Nari."Still, if you're gonna scary anyone, scare Taehyung" She pointed out and spun on her heel to continue her search. "Kid scared of everything"

"He's not scared of me" Nari groaned out as she ran a hand through her hair as it got in her face. "If anything he's scared of you"

"Of course he is. I was born to intimidate" Taeseol said with a proud smile and pride filling her up.

Nari faked shivered and mumbled out a small, "Scary"

"Thank you" Taeseol smiled even wider as she grabbed one more snack off the shelf and went to the cashier.

Taeseol put her things in the counter and grabbed the small snack from Nari's hand and put it on the counter. Taeseol paid and Nari thanked her, they then headed out and went to the bookstore across the street. Nari went in with a smile as she smelled the scent of books, she loved that smell.

Nari looked at who was working a smiled at the co worker she grew fond of. Nari went over to her, Taeseol quickly going to the music section to see what new things they have and what things she hasn't seen yet.

"Soojin!" Nari waved with a smile as she approached the counter that Soojin was standing at. Soojin smiled and said a hello. "How's it going so far?"

Soojin sighed as she looked around the fairly empty bookstore. "You know, slow. I hate working Sundays" Soojin cursed as she groaned. "Like yeah, it's less work, but the time goes by so slow"

"I know, Sundays always sucked" Nari agreed as she leaned back and forth on her toes, her hands on the counter helping her lean back and forth.

Soojin face shifted into one of realization. "I forget you used to work Sundays"

"Yup" Nari said with a nod as she looked around at the several books on the shelf. "I'm so sorry you had to take them" Nari apologized as she made a sympathetic face to Soojin.

"Eh, I don't mind" Soojin shrugged off. "When are you even scheduled?"

Nari looked up, thinking about her scheduled. "Uhhh, I work on Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays" Nari said with a nod and looked back at Soojin.

"Opening till closing?" She asked.

"On Mondays, Wednesdays yes, but on Thursdays and Fridays I only work the afternoon shift" Nari explained and Soojin hummed.

"Right, right. Summer school right?"

Nari nodded, but hung her head low at the reminder of her current situation. "It's a nightmare, my stats professor is actually out to get me" Nari complained as she thought about the evil man that was her professor.

God she hated him. Hated his guts and hated the way he teaches, because not only does he not explain stuff, he goes so fast and when you ask him to slow down he constantly reminds them 'Everyone, this is a summer course. We don't have the usual time as a semester term, we must move fast. If you don't understand something, read the text book'.

If she hears the word 'textbook' and 'read' in the same sentence, Nari genuinely thinks she'll lose her mind.

"Really?" Soojin asked in surprise. She knew some professors weren't good, but Nari was always nice about her professors. So when Nari complained about this new professor for stats, Soojin was surprised.

Nari nodded with confirmation. "Mhm, I asked him if I could do extra credit, he said yeah"

"That's good though, isn't it?" Soojin asked. Confused at what the issue was like Kangdae when he first heard about this.

Nari leaned on the counter and looked Soojin dead in the eyes, not blinking. It spooked Soojin. "Seventeen questions for ten points"

Soojin's face contoured into one of disgust and annoyance. "What a dick"

"Exactly!" Nari exclaimed as she stood up straight. Shaking her head, Nari put her elbow on the counter to lean her head in her hand. "I can't pass that class to save my life"

"What's your grade right now?" Soojin asked, hoping that it was good to make Nari feel better.

"Last I checked" Nari began to think and then remembered. "Sixty eight?" Nari questioned as she remembered it was around there. Soojin needed to know better when it came to Nari's false sense of numbers.

"Damn, yeah, yeah good luck with that" Soojin said with a small smile.

Nari knew Soojin didn't mean malice with her comment or her small smile. Naur knew Soojin meant well and meant to encourage her.

"C's get degrees" Nari shrugged with a proud smile, even though she didn't have a C in the class.

Soojin laughed. "Got that right"

"Nari!" Nari heard Taeseol call as she walked up to the two co workers.

"What?" Nari asked as she turned her head to see Taeseol holding a record of one of her favorite artists.

"How come you didn't show me this last time?" Taeseol asked as she looked at the record in her hand and at Nari.

Nari shrugged her shoulders and leaned her side on the counter. "I dunno, didn't know we had that" Nari told her and looked at Soojin for answers.

"We just got it today" Soojin explained as she avoided Taeseol's gaze, feeling her cheeks fill with heat.

"Really?" Taeseol asked with her eyebrows raised and Soojin nodded.

"Yeah, stocked it in this morning"

Taeseol smiled at the shy Soojin who was usually never nervous around people until it came to Taeseol. "Cool" Taeseol said as she put the record on the counter.

Soojin scanned the record and Taeseol looked at Nari. Nari sighed as she realized why Taeseol was looking at her. "She only uses me for my discount" Nari mumbled out as she went behind the corner and scanned her work ID into the system.

"You only use Taehyung for his discount, why can't I use you?" Taeseol asked as she eyed the younger girl who walked back around the counter.

Nari rolled her eyes as she put her wallet back into her bag. "Cause it's Taehyung" Nari pointed out casually as Soojin finished ringing her up.

"I see no difference" Taeseol shrugged as she continued to walk around the bookstore, knowing Nari would want to look around.

"What?!" Nari asked as she followed Taeseol into one of the sections filled with books. "Ah, I don't even like this aisle" Nari complained, but Taeseol waved her off as she eyed the shelves.

"Well, it is the history aisle" Taeseol mumbled out as she stoped and grabbed one of the books on the shelf.

Nari rolled her eyes. "You're a music major, why be interested in History?" She asked as she continued to follow Taeseol around the history section.

Taeseol shrugged as she put one of the books back. "I find it interesting"

"You'd be the only one" Nari pointed out and sighed. "I'm going to the depressing aisle" Nari mumbled out as she walked past Taeseol who groaned.

"You and your sad books" Taeseol complained as it was usual for Nari to go to the sad book aisle to see how she can torture herself.

Nari turned around and gave Taeseol a proud smile. "I like to cry when reading"

"That's like not good?" Taeseol questioned and Nari shrugged her shoulders.

"It helps cleanse my soul" Nari assured and walked off.

Nari walked down past a few aisle before reaching the sad book aisle. Nari looked through each book carefully and her face fell as she noticed how many sad books she read. Whether that was on her break or she actually bought the book.

Nari was still looking through the books when her eyes landed on one of them. Nari went to grab it when someone else also went to grab it. Nari paused as their hands touched for a second, she was quick to retreat her hand and apologize to the covered up person next to her.

"You can have it" The masked and hoodies figure told her and Nari shook her head, brushing it off.

"No, it's fine, I've already read it" Nari assured them with a smile.

The masked figure wanted to smile back, but couldn't due to his face being covered up. The obvious man nodded and grabbed the book. "Is it good then?" He asked and Nari looked at him.

"Um" Nari thought about it and nodded. "Yeah, it was really sad, like way too sad for a book" Nari explained and smiled down at the book in his hands. "It made me cry and I couldn't stop thinking about it after I read it"

"Really?" He asked and Nari nodded. "You sure you don't mind me buying this right now? It's the last copy"

Nari gave him a reassuring smile, making him feel the rush of memories. "Yeah, of course. I work here so I can always order another copy" Nari told him and he nodded.

"Thanks, Nari" He said and quickly cursed himself for saying her name, not wanting her to realize it was him.

Nari not really paying attention just nodded. "You're welcome" She was used to customers calling her by her name, usually wearing a name tag, but today she wasn't.

Nari didn't realize he called her by her name, going through the motions of work on her day off made her think she was actually working. So, the masked man quickly walked away and purchased the book as fast as he could.

It wasn't until Nari looked down at her clothes did she realize that she wasn't wearing her name tag. "Wait!" She called out and went to follow the masked figure, but it was too late.

The second she got out he was already in a black van and Nari knew exactly who it was. "No way" Nari mumbled out as she watched the van drive down the street. "Not real, I'm going insane, actually going insane" Nari said as she put her hands through her hair.

"Nari?" Taeseol called out as she came out of the bookstore. "You okay?" She asked as she put her hand on Nari's tense shoulder.

"I'm going insane" Nari whispered to herself as she continued to look down the road at how the van was no longer in sight.

Taeseol followed her gaze and furrowed her brows, confused at what was happening. "What happened?"

"It was real" Nari said to herself again and Taeseol was still confused.

Was she talking about the guy? The guy that she told the book about?. "The guy?" Taeseol asked and nodded while Nari was still freaking out. "Yeah, he's human"

"No, it was real" Nari said as she shook her head and blinked a few times. "I—wow!" Nari exclaimed as she pinched herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming.

Taeseol furrowed her brows more at her friends weird behavior at the moment. "You're freaking me now, can you like stop?" She asked and Nari's eyes widened as she remembered where she was.

Nari looked at Taeseol with wide eyes while Taeseol was staring at her like she was a weird animal at the zoo.

Should she tell Taeseol what happened? Was it safe? Taeseol was good at keeping secrets, but they only ever told secrets between each other as a group, with Taehyung and Kangdae present. The secretes were usually petty secrets. Secrets that would he forgotten in a few hours or in a few days. But this one, this secrete was a secret no one could forget. One that sounded so insane and it could remain in your mind for years to come. But it was Taeseol. Nari trusted Taeseol with her life.

"You promise to not tell anyone what I'm going to tell you?" Nari asked her as she put her hands on Taeseol shoulders, emphasizing more on how important this was.

"Yeah, of—"

"No, I'm being serious." Nari said as she got closer to Taeseol face. "You can't even tell Taehyung or Kangdae, like no one"

Taeseol eyebrows went up in shock. This was serious, a real serious secret. They didn't have those. "Woah, okay. Yeah, of course"

"Swear up and down and right and left" Nari ordered and Taeseol nodded.

"North, East, South, West"

Nari looked around to make sure no one was listening, but they were outside. Anyone could pick up on it. Nari grabbed Taeseol hand and dragged her back inside the bookstore, dragging her to the back where their break room was, ignoring Soojin's confused face.

Nari locked the door and took a deep breath before looking at Taeseol. "I kinda met Mark Lee last night" Nari blurted out as she ripped the band aid off to her secret.

Taeseol looked at Nari with a blank face. She processed her words and laughed. "You're on drugs" Taeseol laughed out.

Nari, however, she wasn't laughing. She couldn't laugh because it was real. Taeseol kept laughing and bent over to clutch her stomach. Nari continued to watch and waited for Taeseol fit of laughter to die down so she can realize how Nari wasn't laughing.

As Taeseol began catching her breath and whipped away the tear that was coming down her face, she finally noticed how Nari wasn't laughing and was still looking like a deer in headlights.

"Shit" Taeseol mumbled out as Nari was one who could laugh easily when she lied. "Shit!" Taeseol exclaimed and Nari shushed her. "You—like actually?"

Nari nodded as she walked to the table to sit down. "It was horrible" Nari complained as she put her arms on the table and let her head rest on them in despair.

"How? How did you meet him?" Taeseol asked as she sat down next to Nari. "How was it? Wait was he the reason you couldn't text us? Wait, back to how you met him? Was he at least nice to you? Why did you meet him?"

"Taeseol!" Nari yelled as she shot up her head at the many questions being asked.

"Sorry, my bad my bad" Taeseol apologized as she took a deep breath. "Please, tell mommy seol what happened"

"He hit me with a door"

*gigs thoughts*

idk what to say 😔😔 haechan fic coming soon, i should be done with it by wednesday maybe friday by the latest so if you wanna be tagged comment or send me an ask and ill add you to the tag list

also tag list for this fic is still open so if you want in lmk again comment or send in ask and if u want send in asks about this fic yk as questions abt the characters and who they are outside of this fic yk ir even ask me abt the other fics i have on my master list that again are planned out yk, like i have plot lines and tropes and ideas and character dynamics done so again my asks are open and if you wanna converse just send in an ask and we can have convos 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @multifandomania @slayhaechan @iluv7tn @scoobysnackszoo

𝗆𝖺𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗅𝗂𝗌𝗍 | 𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗏𝗂𝗈𝗎𝗌 | 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍