As a hacker, there were ten rules that Mark Lee lived by.
He just didn't expect to break them all when he met Kwon Aera.
Short story feat. MARK of NCT.
Aera stood on her tiptoes as she tried to scan for the boy she was looking for in the crowd. She wasn't that familiar with him, having to keep glancing at her phone to make sure she remembered what he looked like.
"His name is Mark," Renjun had told her a few days prior. Aera glanced at her phone once again, the picture of Mark Lee flashed on her screen under her message thread with her friend.
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By pure coincidence, the two happened to attend the same college, which made it a little bit easier for her. The only difference was that the IT block was situated at the other end of campus, a good ten minute walk from the business block where Aera was usually at.
Upon hearing chattering grow louder, Aera peeked up once again to see the doors to the lecture hall before her burst open, the students seemingly done with their lectures for the day. Aera pocketed her phone, the face of Mark Lee now engrained in her head. She was confident she didn't need the picture anymore.
To her luck, a group of boys walked in her direction, a certain dark-haired boy catching her attention almost immediately. Mark Lee looked comfortable in an oversized yellow hoodie paired with black jeans and run-down converse, a stark contrast to his styled hair and blazer he donned in the picture Renjun had sent her.
"Excuse me!" She called out, turning around as the group of guys passed her. They halted in their tracks, turning around to face the unfamiliar girl that seemed to be calling out to them, considering the hallway was now close to empty.
"Mark... Lee?" Her eyes settled on the boy in the middle, her smile hopeful as she fidgeted with her fingers.
The boy muttered a few words to his friends, nodding a small farewell before they disappeared. Mark wasn't new to random people halting him in hallways to talk to him— he could already guess what this was about.
"Hi!" The girl chirped, her smile turning into a cheshire-like grin as she extended a hand. "I'm Aera. Kwon Aera."
Mark eyed her palm, giving it a few seconds before deciding to return her handshake. Her peppiness had caught him off-guard slightly.
"I got your contact from my friend, Renjun," she continued when he remained silent. "But I thought it'd be better if I find you since we go to the same school anyway. I hope that's alright with you...?" Her latter sentence came out as more of a question as she took in his passive look.
Mark nodded wordlessly, scanning the area around him before his eyes landed on hers once again. "Follow me."
Aera wasn't that familiar with the IT block— in fact, this was her very first time stepping into their territory. She was surprised she even managed to find Mark to begin with.
They finally found themselves at an abandoned classroom at the very end of the hall, one no student frequented due to the faulty projector screen. To Mark, however, it was the perfect place for him to do his job.
Without waiting for Aera, he approached one of the tables before setting his backpack on it, taking out his laptop and turning it on in the process.
"So, what are you looking for?"
The girl approached him, standing adjacent to him as she settled her things on the table as well. "Well... I want you to look into my father's company funds."
Mark nodded. This was a piece of cake to him— a lot of his clients seemed to have the same problem, a classic case of money laundering. "Name?" He asked as he dragged the chair out to take a seat.
He felt the girl hesitate. After a few beats of silence, she spoke up. "Kwon Jeongsoo. Of Kwon Group."
His fingers hovered above the keyboard, seemingly frozen as he took in the name. He brought his head up to look at the girl, no signs of humour on her face. She was dead serious.
"Kwon Jeongsoo? The one who-"
"Committed suicide? Yeah, that's him." The girl put on a small smile, the gesture making Mark immediately feel bad. He had to learn to be less blunt sometimes.
Aera took a seat as she tried to gather her thoughts. She knew she was going to have to come clean to Mark Lee if they were going to be working together, but the words still hung heavy on her lips and made her question if doing this was even worth it at all. "I know it's been a few months... close to a year, really. But better late than never, right?"
Coping with her father's death was something that had been difficult for Aera. Out of her two parents, he was the one she was closest to. The sudden news had broke her, and shocked not only her family, but the business industry to the core, leaving many wondering why a man of great power and money would ever do something like that.
And that was the very reason why Aera was standing here with Mark Lee, today. It took her a while to get back to her feet, but she always knew deep down from the very beginning that there was more to her father's death than just a mere suicide, like the police had been so quick to rule as.
She wasn't sure if it would be wise to share her actual motives to Mark— after all, growing up in the world of business, she was taught to never trust anybody. But a small step was still a step indeed, and she knew she had to start somewhere.
"Okay. I'll help you," Mark cleared his throat awkwardly, not really knowing how to respond. "But, you know I don't do this for free, right?"
"Oh, of course!" Aera jumped, as though only just remembering something. She reached into her tote bag, pulling out a thick white envelope before pushing it across the table to Mark. "I... haven't really done this before so I'm not sure what your rates are. Let me know if it's not enough?" She asked hesitantly.
Mark eyed her warily as he took the envelope, shamelessly ripping it open to view its contents. Fool, he thought. This girl was clearly an amateur. The first rule of business is to never show how inexperienced you are.
His eyes widened at the sight of the cash, his mind roughly estimating just how much was lying in the simple envelope. This was way more than what his clients would usually offer, and it instantly made Mark wonder just how loaded this girl was.
He could see her peek hopefully from behind the envelope, causing him to hastily close it before pushing it back to her. "I don't want your money."
He could tell he took her by surprise, seeing the small 'o' that formed on her lips. "Do you-"
"There's other forms of payment I accept," Mark interrupted, settling his gaze on the confused girl.
He could almost see the gears in her head turning as she processed his words, her face soon changing into what looked like a scared one.
