idolboyfriend!mark
โก 2.6k, fluffย =^._.^= โซ
you first met Mark on a Nature Republic photo shoot where your friend was a hair stylistย
she called you frantically because the SM staff caught multiple employees from each department posting on their personal social media stories the location and whereabouts of the members and dismissed them from the site
they were shooting at an island in the middle of nowhere which you were conveniently writing a thesis on different landscapes of South Koreaย
you had no experience of styling other people and only did it for yourself but you knew you couldnโt leave your friend deserted so you came to help in any way that you could
half of the staff were fired on the spot so they immediately pushed you towards the members to prepare them for their next shoot after threatening legal action if you decided to act as stupidly as the other stylists didย
you saw your friend quickly adjusting the collar of theHawaiian shirt that was roughly put on Jaehyun and she gave you an apologetic look and mouthed a โthank youโ
you were assigned at styling Markโs hair, which you were scared of because you had never styled a manโs hair before never mind a celebrity but you squared your shoulders and hoped for the best
he was already used to the chaos but he was slightly concerned at how well you would perform considering that your eyebrows were furrowed and had sweat rolling down your temples as you scrunched the ends of his hair with mousse to create beachy waves
every stylist that he met was always either professional and stoic or overly friendly to try and get with the members romantically but he tried to suppress his laughter when he saw your distressed face under your medical mask
in such a stressful and hectic situation, he would never talk to the staff to help them focus but he couldnโt help but strike up a conversation with you
you looked younger than him too so he felt more comfortable
โfirst time?โ he asked with a smile on his face as he looked up at you
your hands stopped in the middle of combing the fluffy mousse through his hair and your face dropped slightly, โyou could tell?โ
Mark covered his laugh with his hand as he didnโt want to discourage you but couldnโt help but chuckle at the cute expression on your faceย
โyeah,โ he answered but then realized that it came out meaner than he had intended
โbut youโre doing a great job! Keep going!โ He tried to encourage you by motioning with his hands to continue
you patted his hair into place for finishing touches but you pouted under your mask when you realized, โhow would you know? You canโt even see itโย
there were no mirrors in sight except for the hand mirrors that stylists held on their belt
he choked on his saliva out of embarrassment and rubbed his hand awkwardly on the back of his neck
โwell letโs see then!โ He exclaimed and you begrudgingly gave him the hand mirror to seeย
you were bracing yourself in case he thought you made his hair into a birdโs nest and demanded you to be fired on the spot but he let a โwahhโ escape his mouth as he admired the hairstyleย
โthis actually looks great!โ He said a little too excitedlyย
โwe were both expecting it to look bad then, huh?โ You joked but really you were relieved that he thought it didnโt look atrociousย
Mark shook his head to deny but you held his shoulders in place to not disrupt his hairย
his face went pink and you realized that you just touched a client, a very influential clientย
you lifted your hands off of him quickly and stepped back so that he could stand up from his chair and go in front of the cameras to prepare for the shoot
โthank youโ he said and you both exchanged bows before awkwardly getting back to workย
you stayed on the set with your friend for the rest of the day until the sun went down and the sky turned a bright pink from the previous ocean blueย
luckily, that was the last hair and clothes change that NCT needed and everyone started to pack up after the photographer and managers shouted โthank you for your workโ and everyone bowed and clapped to each otherย
while each member started to load into their vans to get back to the city for their next schedule, Mark ran up to you and asked if you were apart of the SM staff or were for hire from another beauty boutique
โoh, I just came last minute,โ you saidย
โIโm not actually licensed for this I came to helpโ
he let out a disappointed โohโ and decided not to take your number down since it was unprofessional and knew that after the fiasco today that there could be anyone around to expose him if he didย
โgood night, see you around,โ he said in hopes that he would see you again
you doubted that he would see you around but you repeated what he said and waved at him as he ran into the vanย
the other members were confused as to why he ran off to greet you and were ready to tease him since they noticed that you were his type physicallyย
but he knew that they were about to so he lied and said that he forgot to take a bracelet from you and pretended to fall asleep so that they couldnโt question him further
you thought about that was a once in a lifetime experience until 2 weeks later the campaign was a hit and everyone was fawning over Mark specifically since he looked like boyfriend material in a white button up shirt and blue jeans with messy beach hairย
your friend called to tell you that she recommended you as a freelance hair stylist after they asked her who did Markโs hairย
as a broke college student living in another country you took the offer but felt guilty getting an amazing job with no credentials so you got licensed at a beauty school within 2 monthsย
the next time you saw Mark was on the Punch music video setย
he had everything on except makeup and hairย
you were taken aback at how different he looked with the leather pieces, chain jewelry, and overall bad boy vibes
he was sitting in front of the dressing room vanities and his face lit up when he saw you stand behind him with your cart of hair products and toolsย
usually heโd stay still in his chair but this time he turned around to face you, โhey! I thought you said you werenโt even licensed?โ
โI decided to after getting offered a jobโ you smiledย
he turned around and looked at you through the mirrorโs reflection, โor did you come back because of me?โย
you coughed through your mask and felt the heat creep from your neck all the way to your cheeks and temples
Mark smiled to himself when he saw your bright red face and was even more excited for the music video shoot knowing that the stylist he thought was cute would be doing his hair on a regular basis and could see him act cool on stage
to not let you out of his sights again, Mark pulled his phone off of the vanity table in front of him and went straight to his Instagram search page, โcan I have your Insta by the way?โย
you were combing the translucent gel through his hair when you tilted your head out of curiosity of why he would want your socialsย
โI send what kind of hairstyles and concepts Iโd like to try to stylists on here,โ he saidย
in actuality Mark wasnโt one of the idols that really cared of how his stylists dressed him like Johnny or Jaehyun but he wanted an excuse so that his interest in you was too obvious
โoh sure,โ you spelled out your Instagram handle and you saw him follow you right away
for the rest of the shoot for the two days that it took place, Mark would admire you every time you came up to him between scenes to wipe the sweat off his forehead and to spray his hair with setting mistย
although you were a fan of the group, you didnโt want to make them uncomfortable so you invested all of your focus on making them look their best
Mark appreciated that; you werenโt completely cold and professional but you also didnโt cross any boundaries by asking him about his personal life or interviewing him like some new stylists didย
when you got home you decided to look at Markโs profile and saw that he was only following his family, friends from Vancouver, idols friends, and a few celebrities that he looked up toย
you were the only staff member that he was following other than his managers
but you didnโt think for a second Mark liked you
even though during promotions he would text you on his time off about your day and ask you about yourselfย
โbecause I donโt want to be to formalโ was his excuse to his unofficial game of 21 questionsย
even though after promotions when he was on his break, heโd ask you to go shopping with him โto get some inspiration from uh hair stuffโย
at one point he was bold enough to ask you to go to a cafe because he said he felt like you two were friends at one point
behind the scenes, Johnny caught on quickly at how Mark was on his phone more often when heโd usually just use it to play mobile games or listen to musicย
โI donโt think you left the bracelet with the pretty stylist,โ Johnny would tease Mark one day when he saw him re-reading your texts and smiling to himselfย
โyou left your heart,โ heโd say and slap himself on the knee from laughing too hard at his own joke
โcan you get out of my room?โ Mark would retort in embarrassment but it was worse for him from there
Johnny told both floors that Mark had a big fat crush on the young stylist and was flirting with them 24/7ย
Mark wasnโt really the type to get in his feelingsย
sure heโd find different celebrities or employees that heโd work with attractive but he knew it was for business or that theyโd just be really good friends in the industryย
but you felt like homeย
like he could imagine that if he was back in Vancouver that you two would meet at a library or something and heโd ask you for a coffee after you asked him to watch your bag to go to the washroomย
that was what heโd imagine before he went to sleep at night anywaysย
half of the time heโd stay up thinking about asking you out officially and keeping your relationship as a secret and the other half of the time heโd kick his blankets scolding himself for even thinking that because it would put both of your careers on the line and he didnโt want you to feel the burden of dating in secret
you also had feelings for Mark but thought that he was just friendly and flirtyย
even if he did have feelings for you, you thought that it would be best to just stay as friends because you didnโt want to get in the way of his career
one day Mark couldnโt take it anymore and went to the convenient store by himself instead of riding bikes with Haechan and Renjun like he originally planned toย
they noticed that he didnโt get embarrassed or annoyed at the teasing anymore and just kept to himself so they followed him to the store and found him outside on a bench with a beer in his hand
both of them sat beside him and Haechan grabbed the beer and took a swig, โjust tell herโย
Mark placed his elbows on his knees and ran his fingers through his hair in frustration, โI donโt want to ruin it for usโฆ Or for herโ
Renjun placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly, โif you both have strong feelings for each other then itโll always work out in the endโย
Mark shook his head although he appreciated the support, โwhat if the stress gets us to break up? What if I make it awkward for her at work?โย
Haechan stopped him and told him sternly, โI see the way you two look at each other and I know that sheโd accept if you asked. If the press or pressure causes you to break up then at least you tried.โย
Renjun added on more gently, โdo you just want to continue suffering forever? What if sheโs waiting for you too?โย
Mark didnโt want to think about it any longer and as a lightweight, the 2 cans of beer in his system were already giving him courage
if he had another night to think about it, heโd probably never confess to you so he decided in his tipsy state to confess right thenย
with urgency, he told you to meet you at Hangang River right awayย
โthank you guys,โ he said while standing up too quicklyย
he stumbled a little bit before starting to walk towards the meeting place, โI can do it!โ
โyou can do it!โ Renjun laughed while holding up too fists to show his support
Haechan on the other hand held up his phone and started to record Mark walking clumsily towards the river, โdonโt mess up loser!โย
you were finishing up on your readings when you got Markโs textย
it sounded like he was going to confess but you shook the thought out of your head at the thought of a global star asking you outย
โprobably wants to de-stress with a friend,โ you thought before putting on a hoodie and jeans before walking to Hangang
when you arrived you could smell a mixture of beer and mint in his breath
His face was flushed pink which was a result of the alcohol and the 2.2km he had just walked
โwhy did you call me out all of a sudden?โ You askedย
โwill you go out with me?โ He said a little bit too loudly
you quickly looked around to make sure that no one was within a kilometre near you too and asked in a hushed voice, โwhat?โ
โI like you!โ He nearly shouted, not aware of his volume due to the nervousness of the chance of rejection
โI tried not to like you ever since I met you but I canโt get you out of my head,โ he avoided your gaze and couldnโt believe how cheesy he sounded
Mark continued regardless, โI know that we have to date in secret if you do like me but I promise to protect you and I wonโt regret my decision if anything happens. So uh-โ
โyes,โ you grinned. โIโll go out with youโ
he was surprised at how you accepted with ease, โoh wow I wasnโt expecting this. Thank you for listening to me talk on haha, I donโt even know what to say I-โ
to stop his blabbering you held onto his arms to steady yourself for when you went on your tippy toes to peck him on the lips
โthatโs not fairโ he pouted
โwhatโs not fair?โ
โthatโs it?โ He murmured under his breathย
โthen get some moreโ you teased
his hands cupped the sides of your face and bent his neck down to reach your height
your hand wrapped around his waist to pull him into a hug while his warm lips pressed onto yours
