long story short || Mark Lee x reader (nct)

Chapter 7

"Listen, I gotta go now, but it was super meeting you!"

I wave my hand towards Jaemin as he exits the store. 5:55 PM, the sky reveals, painting its orange hues all over the city.

Jaemin and I had talked from the start of my shift till the end. I showed him all of my favorite books, and he taught me which video games he likes.

'..and this one is Yoshi." he told me, pointing at the green dinosaur plush attached to his bag.

I knew nothing of the games he informed me of, and to my surprise, he invited me over to his dorm tomorrow night. 'So I can teach you Mario. Who doesn't know how to play Mario?' he had commented.

I accepted his invitation with delight, eager to play and know more about him.

He told me about his upcoming group called 'NCT'. 'You should definitely meet them.' he had offered me. As curious as I was, I declined his offer. 'Big parties are overwhelming,' I told him.

And from there, our friendship blossomed 1:1.

I walk through the halls of my dorm building, the lights just turning on, marking the start of the night.

When I get back to my room, it is just as cold as when I left. I slide off my coat, and it lands onto the arm of my couch.

After changing into more comfortable clothes, I open my fridge and begin analyzing the remaining ingredients inside. 'Carrots... Peas... Should I just make carrots and peas? That's such a sad college meal.' I consider. '...but I mean, it's easy...'

I sigh before closing the fridge door, taking out my phone, and opening the food delivery app not long after. I order from the nearest restaurant here. I'm doing everything in my will to not have dinner at the eating hall.

But as sad as it is, I shrug it off and pick up some fabric on the floor of my bedroom, deciding to distract myself by working on a project for my design class.

Time flies by quickly. After what didn't feel like a couple of hours, I find my phone revealing 11 PM. Now, since it was a Friday night, I am free to stay up as long as I want to.

I put on 'Meet The Robinsons' on my tv, but halfway through the movie sleep threatens me. And after a while of fighting it, I realize that I've been putting off sleep, so I don't have to face my nightmares again. But boy, I am so, very sleepy.

My eyes drop one by one, and only now can I see my mistake.

MEANWHILE, AT SM HEADQUARTERS

(A/n: This was right after he left Y/n at the book store)

Jaemin walks through the entrance at SM HQ, eager to get what's left of practice over with.

'I can't wait to tell Mark-Hyung about Y/n. He's gonna love her-' Jaemin stops in his track. 'Hold on... Y/n did say she didn't wanna meet any of the guys... Does that... include Mark?' He ponders.

"Boo!" Jaemin jumps at the voice scaring him. "What the hell, man?!" He snaps.

Mark laughs at his reaction, "Sorry, dude. What are you even doing? Just standing here."

Jaemin breaks into a cold sweat, '...Should I... tell him...? Would Y/n be mad...? Would Mark be mad if he found out I was technically gatekeeping her...?' he panics.

Mark stares at his friend's face in worry, "...Alright... Well, we should go now-"

"Yup!" Jaemin exclaims, walking past Mark.