reflection *ೃ༄ mark lee

ೃ༄ 1

sowon jolted awake, her heart racing as she blinked at the unfamiliar room. the walls, once covered in posters of her favorite idols, were now bare, leaving an unsettling emptiness that gnawed at the already numb feeling inside. how could she have taken down her posters when she knew for a fact that they were there when she went to sleep? did she sleep walk? she had never slept walked before, not that she was aware of. besides, she didn't think you could fully redecorate a room during a sleepwalking episode.

confusion clawed at her mind, each unanswered question twisting the knot tighter in her stomach. where was she?

as she tried to piece together the memories of the night before, her heart sank. she remembered her pleas, but could they have came true? this was something so far beyond anything she could have imagined.

strangely, she rolled over in the bed, hoping that this was some kind of hyper realistic dream she was having, over the years she had gotten better at pulling herself out of dreams after realizing she was in one. a sigh left her lips when she opened her eyes again and she was still laying in the same room, presumably in the same body still.

she pulled back the covers, taking in the new look of her body. her eyes widened, realizing that she was a boy.

"what the-" the voice that escaped her lips was deeper than she expected, making her almost yelp. the voice... it was so familiar, yet she couldn't place it. was she in someone she knew's body?

heart pounding, she rushed over to the mirror, anticipation and dread mixing within her of who she may be. the reflection staring at her was not just any stranger; rather it was a kpop idol none other than, mark lee of nct. his puppy dog eyes stretched wide in a bewildered look as they stared into her soul. panic and awe intertwined in her chest as she tried to process the situation.

"i'm mark lee?" her hand reached up to touch her face, trying to confirm the situation. her fingers traced every contour on his face. no longer a girl lost in her own world; she was living within the mind of someone who was adored by millions. her stomach kept flipping with every glance. the feeling of bewilderment, but also thrill, captivated her.

"yeah, no shit, mark." the voice pulled her from her thought, and she turned as quickly as she could to see another boy standing in the doorframe, a confused yet intrigued expression on his face. she pulled herself together.

"yo, hey man." she laughed nervously, so much for acting normal.

haechan raised an eyebrow, taking a step closer, his arms crossed in amusement. "you okay, mark? you look like you've just seen a ghost."

sowon stammered, trying to process that haechan was registering her as mark instead of sowon because she WAS mark. her tone was disoriented, "uh yeah, i'm fine! just... tired, you know?"

"you're acting like you've just woken up from a year long coma. you know breakfast is waiting, right? you can't skip it again, today' gonna be a long day and you need it." sowon's heart began to race.

"i'm coming, just give me a minute to wake up a little." as she rubbed her eyes she thought how persistent this dream was being. haechan nodded his head and exited the room with no other words being exchanged.

she looked back into the mirror, and mark was still staring back at her. a chill ran down her spine as she raised a hand; he mirrored the movements perfectly. she jumped up and down, and he did the same, as if they were two halves of the same whole. she stepped out of view and the reflection vanished, leaving her speechless.

"this is so weird." she whispered, her voice trembling with disbelief. not only was she inhabiting mark's body, she was now trapped in his world. his life was her life now, and she had no idea how to dance. she pushed it to the side as a later problem.

realizing shes probably spent a little too much time watching herself in the mirror, she made her way out to the kitchen, which was thankfully easy to find. the room was filled with laughter and chatter, growing louder with each step.

her heart skipped a beat for what felt like the thousandth time that morning. there they sat– her idols, the very ones that she had spent countless hours admiring from afar.

soon, all the boys were gathered around the table, the atmosphere was buzzing with energy. jaehyun and johnny had taken it upon themselves to play the part of chef this particular morning. the sight was both hilarious and chaotic– one trying to flip a pancake as the other pouted that flipping wasn't his job.

just as a pancake slipped from the pan, almost hitting the floor, sowon reached out to grab it. johnny and jaehyun looked at the boy in awe of the perfect save.

"nice save, man." johnny laughed, taking the pancake from the boy's hands and putting it on the plate.

"ew, mark's hands could've been dirty and now you've infected the whole stack!" haechan yelled from the table.

"hey, i wash my hands!" sowon protested, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment and amusement. she couldn't help but to chuckle at haechan's exaggerated horror.

"yeah right! i live with you; i know those hands are not food-safe!" haechan gagged dramatically, earning laughs around the table. sowon never would've joked like this in her old life, she was too shy to build relationships like mark had. a pang of sadness washed over her.

"hey, man i was just joking." haechan softly spoke, the sadness must've translated onto her face. sowon quickly readjusted, determined to not let her doubts get in the way of mark not living is life, or sowon living his life, or whatever this was.

before she could try revive the mood, jaehyun spoke up, "c'mon, guys, we're supposed to be making breakfast." he earned a few nods from the boys, before atmosphere fizzled back into its normal feeling.

she couldn't help to feel happy, something she felt like she hadn't felt in a long time. sitting around with the boys, excitement pulsed through her, but she couldn't help to finally wonder in that moment; what happened to her other body?