cascade7
Mark misses Jackson but needs to keep his head on the mission.
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"Movement detected in L2, Sector 5," came Youngjae's calm voice over Mark's earpiece.
"Copy that," murmured Mark into the microphone that was fitted into his helmet as he skirted a pile of wooden crates to peek around them. A quick glance showed him that the room was deserted and the doorway was clear. But before Mark made his move, he took a few vital seconds to assess the situation.
Among his team, he was the closest to the target so he knew that whatever was in Sector 5 was an anomaly which meant one thing – they were not the only outsiders on the premises. Mark's teeth clenched. He disliked such situations. It was already enough to coordinate a covert operation, having to account for the target's own defences along with an unknown presence just made everything so much more complicated. If he knew it was going to be like this, he would not have agreed. However, Mark thought as he squared his shoulders and adjusted his grip on his gun, he was never one to back down after he had committed himself and he was not about to begin now.
Sector 5 was a few chambers away and Mark would rather do something ridiculous like wear a tight red miniskirt with a long blonde wig and dance to a factory-produced girl group pop song than allow the opposition to get to the target first. Jackson had mentioned something about that, about how Mark's extreme competitiveness caused him to be reckless. Mark had laughed it off, arguing that competitiveness was a good thing in their business. Plus, he was level-headed and way less impulsive than Jackson so Jackson really had no basis to criticise him. At that, Jackson would fall silent and pout but then Mark would delight in cajoling Jackson to smile again. Being able to bring a small smile, a sparkle, a giggle, a laugh, in short any reaction out of Jackson was something that always made Mark feel special.
It was strange how Mark felt drawn to Jackson, attracted by the high energy that Mark himself had but only showed in rare moments. To many people, Mark had been a reserved introverted trainee who would be a brilliant assassin due to his ability to distance himself from the moment and focus only on the task at hand, not to mention the cold iciness that Mark's eyes could slip into that could even make Jaebum wary. If one were to ask Mark why he had chosen to pursue this path, he would have said 'just because' but because of what? Because Mark was bored. Because Mark lived on adrenaline and thrill. Because Mark wanted change, different targets, the more challenging the better. So all the training to get there was just an ordeal he had to go through, the entire thing a routine he wished would end as fast as possible. Training was, in a word, a drag.
Until, that is, Jackson Wang showed up at base as a new recruit. Jackson's arrival provided Mark with a new subject to observe and since Mark could read people quite well and figure out what made them tick very quickly, Mark thought he'd be done with observing Jackson after a couple of weeks.
As things turned out, weeks became months. Months became years. Never once did Mark tire of watching Jackson. Everything about the younger man attracted him – the man's voice that ranged between high-pitched excitement and solemn heartfelt words that came from his heart, the man's eyes that sparkled with life, as if he saw a funny and positive side to anything and everything, and yet could draw into a sharp gaze when he was serious, the man's touch that could range between friendly nudges to the most sensual of physical intimacy – yes, somewhere along the way to becoming commissioned agents, they became more than friends. Jackson held nothing back from Mark, baring every single inch of his soul to the older man and all Mark ever wanted to do was to love Jackson in the same way, a vow that Mark renewed constantly whenever he gazed at Jackson's peaceful face as the younger man slept with his head resting in the crook of Mark's neck. Indeed, he renewed the vow every time Jackson even smiled at him, smiles that were precious because they were unguarded and projected absolute trust.
