Insouciant | Mark Lee

18~ New Connections

Two Weeks Later~

It's been two weeks, everyone warmed up to Aera. The most closest people to her were Taeyong and Jaehyun. It's odd but true. She got treated like a younger sister, pampered by love and affection. Being ambivert by nature, she took time to open up to them but eventually came out of her bubble and now, its nothing but chaos. The atmosphere in the mansion had gotten more brighter after her arrival. Even the leader could not deny it. All 23 members grew an attachment towards her, even the new members. As for Mark, he was happy seeing her open up to new people.

They all were seated in the living room waiting for Mark to arrive. "-and then I accidentally kicked him where the sun won't shine," Aera spilled the beans. After listening to it some members ended laughing while some scrunched their face in pain. Mark entered the living room and everyone turned to him. He was confused at the sudden attention he got. Everyone busted out laughing knowing what happened to him, whereas he stood there puzzled, unknown to the fact that his beans were spilled. Haechan got up and walked up to him.

"Hey, you okay down there? I would still like to be an uncle in the future you know," he said and Mark was perplexed. Chenle got up too, "Did it hurt a lot?" he asked while pointing out. Mark was still trying to decrypt when it struck him. His eyes widened when he realized, Aera let the cat out of the bag. "MIN AERA YOU DID NOT JUST DO THAT. WE HAD A DEAL!!!" Mark said and stomped his way towards her. Aera immediately got up and hid behind Taeyong and Jaehyun. "Please save me from your psycho ace!" They both protectively stood in front of Aera, "Mark leave her alone, she's doing no harm to you," Taeyong said while chuckling. "Besides the damage is already done, you know," Aera nonchalantly commented which made the members laugh their lungs out.

The time was spent laughing and enjoying each others presence. Soon the members went back to their assigned work. Aera went back to her room catchup on some dramas. The members were consistently working on finding about their newly found enemy. Till now all they could find about the Black Serpents was that it was scattered gang getting together only for rare missions, but they still couldn't find the connection between them and Aera and why she was getting attacked by them.

The gang worked hard to find out the truth behind the conspiracy because even it had been 15 days, the girl had grown on them and they were protective about her.

Aera soon got bored with the dramas and decided to take a stroll in the garden which was attached to the pool. Taking a round or two around soon she found herself sitting on the edge of the pool and dipping her feet in it. She flinched at the cold water touching her feet but soon warmth engulfed it. She was lost in her own thought. Aimlessly staring at the clear night sky which was beautifully adorned by twinkling stars. The silence of the alluring night captivated her. She felt at peace. Undoubtedly she missed her mother and the two idiots whom she called her bestfriends. Yet staying apart from them didn't make her feel lonely. The new connections that she made here made her feel like home. Even the boy, Lucas, with whom she fought with constantly from the start oddly ended up being another bestfriend for her. She gained two dear older brothers and many friends. Her heart felt at content.

Lost in her own thoughts, she did not even recognize the figure that sat beside her. His voice snapped her out of it, "What are you thinking about?" Aera snapped her head in the direction of voice and she soon recognized him. "Oh Mark, what are you doing here?" she said with a small smile grazing her lips. "Nothing, just saw you sitting her. Thought it was peaceful and now here I am," he replied. Aera hummed in response and averted her gaze back admiring night sky. "Care to share a penny for your thoughts?" Mark asked Aera and turned to her. "Nothing much, just you know. I was scared at the thought of entering a gang base moreover I was petrified at the thought of something happening to my family because of me so I made the decision to come with you. And now I don't regret it at all," a smile formed on her lips as she continued, "It's like I found a new family and I am truly grateful for them." Aera poured her heart out to him. Mark was bewildered by her confession. He felt happy that she did not think of them differently despite being a part of a gang.

He just stared at her amazed by how understanding and accepting she was. His heart fluttered at the words spoken by her. Warmth, affection, care; her words had these hidden meaning yet visible. There itself he knew,

He had fallen for her.....

IN THE MEANWHILE~

"How is she doing over there?"

"She's doing fine. Comfortable to be precise."

"That's good. Keep giving me updates about every single thing. Do not miss any of them."

"I won't, I assure you. I am a man of my words. I will lookout for her."

"You better do, I will take care of the other business."

"Will do. I'll keep the call then or else they will start getting suspicious about me."

"Sure. Don't blow your cover."

"Yes."

A|N : Someone's sus. Who do y'all think it is?

ALSO Gimme Gimme is a BOP. I mean look at those visuals.!