nct imagines

M A R K

Happy belated birthday to nct most hardworking member, Mark Lee❣️
I know I'm late a day because I was trying to finish this as fast as possible.

And I'm lowkey hoping that Jaemin will participate nct dream comeback :) i'm currently writing his story since he's birthday is close!

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Pushing up his glasses, Mark pushed the library cart down the bookshelves, stopping every now and then to place books back where they belong.
As he was passing the graphic novel section, he noticed a girl about his age, leaning forward at a desk, eyebrows furrowed in concentration at the book.
Ah, she's probably studying, right? It's that time of the year...

Mark was so busy thinking about her that he ran the cart right into a bookshelf.

The bang resonated throughout the quiet library and as the cart hit the shelf, a few books were knocked down, only to hit Mark's head.
The girl, startled at the sound glanced up from her book, eyes landing on Mark, whose cheeks were fire-engine red as he scrambled to pick up the books, wanting nothing more to just curl up and disappear at that moment.
He tried to keep his eyes down, hoping that girl would just ignore the incident, but then he saw two petite hands grab a book that had fallen. Looking up, he found himself staring into the girl's soft brown eyes. Before he could say anything, she shoved the book into his arms and darted back to her desk.
Mark was left staring at the spot where the girl was just standing, awestruck. He was disappointed that he wasn't able to strike up a conversation with the girl. Did she not like him? Maybe that's why she ran off.

He continued to shelve the books, trying to push the thoughts of the cute girl to the back of his mind.

Quite frankly, Mark was never good with girls. Although he was quite handsome, whenever he approached girls, the wrong things always left his mouth, leaving the girl walking away in disgust and him standing stark still like a loser.

The next week, he arrived at the library for his shift, secretly hoping that the girl was going to be there again. He knew it was probably a one time thing, but there was no harm in hoping, right?

This time he was charged with the task of checking out and checking in books for the people who came in. He situated himself at the desk, however it was very quiet as very few people were at the library.

The girl walked through the doors of the library, wondering if that librarian would be there again. She was smitten ever since she saw him crash his cart into a bookshelf. She recalled how he stared into her eyes as she picked up a book for him, and the memory made her blush.

She walked over to the check-in counter to return her books, and to her luck, the boy was manning the check-in/out counter.

As she walked up to him, he looked up and was surprised. Were the Fates looking upon him favourably today?

"Hello, how are you today?" He asked in a slightly nervous voice, reaching out to grab at the many books in her arms.

"I'm fine," The girl replied, fidgeting in her spot.

"That's good! Ah, I see we have a Mortal Instruments fan here, do we?" He threw a teasing grin her way, but she misinterpreted it. Was he making fun of her geekiness? He probably thought it was cliché, after all, the Mortal Instruments had a very large fanbase.

"Um, yeah I am..." She blushed and bowed before walking off.
Mark was hoping to make more small talk with her, being a fan of the Mortal Instruments  (a/n: best fantasy movie/ book after harry potter & percy jackson) series himself, but was shocked that she had just walked away.

"Maybe she just doesn't like me...wouldn't be the first time." He sighed and finished scanning the rest of the books and placing them on carts to be reshelved.

"Maybe he goes for the cultured type...should I start reading history books or something like that? He's probably bored of all the people who always say the like the popular series..."

The girl was pondering this as she took a walk through the human history section, grabbing a book on introductory anthropology, only to frown in distaste and place it back on the shelf.

Eventually she couldn't help but wander into the young adult section to bury herself into the series she loved. With a copy of City of Heavenly Fire in her hands, she found her eyelids growing heavier as she slumped down and sleep overtook her.

Time passed and soon, the library had to close. Mark was walking around the whole place, making sure no one was left behind. Nearing the teen section, he noticed that girl, slumped against a bookshelf, book in her hands, eyes closed and strands of hair falling over her face. He smiled to himself, getting closer to observe her. Yeah, it was probably real creepy, just watching a girl sleep, but he was able to observe her soft features that he thought to be beautiful. He reached out a hand to stroke her hair, but stopped midway when she stirred.

"Hmm? What time is it?" She asked, her voice groggy with sleep. She looked up to find Mark right in front of her, arm extended. Her eyes widened in shock as she tried to back away from the arm, to no avail.

"Oh! S..sorry..." he quickly withdrew his arm and scratched the back of his head in nervousness. "The library is closing pretty soon, so..."

She checked her watch for the time and stood up quickly. "I should be heading home!" But before she could make a move, Mark stopped her.

"Just wait till the end of that book," he nodded to the book in her hand. "It's great, but really sad."

She looks down at the book, then up to Mark. "You...read it?"

"Of course, I love that series." He nods before going to the shelf where the whole series was. "I borrowed them all in one day and read them all in less than a month." His face shows a look of excitement at the mere thought of the series, but it's quickly replaced with worry.

"Ah, that's probably really geeky, right?"

He's about to leave when the girl interjects.

"No! I think...it's really cute." Her face flushes as she summons the courage to look at him.

Mark's spirits are lifted at her compliment. "Say...will you come hang out with me more? We could...talk about books. Or whatever! Anything you want!" He speaks the last part in a jerky nervous way, scared of rejection.

She nods, accepting his offer. "I will."

For a moment there's just silence as they stare at each other. However, they aren't alone in the library. The head librarian is still there.

"You young's look atcha romance is blooming, eh?" He shoots Mark a sly wink before shuffling away.

"Don't mind me, go back to starin' each other down! Just don't take too long and make sure to lock up the library!" He calls out, waving and chuckling to himself.
Mark and the girl blushed before walking to the library entrance.

"Wait, let me lock up and I'll walk you home!" He scurried to get the keys, leaving her standing at the entrance. She giggles at his hurrying and as he rushes back to her, he trips and falls. She quickly rushes to his side.

"Oh my gosh are you okay? Why were you running?!" She's fretting, as she notices that in the fall, his glasses were knocked off.

He sits up, unscathed and looks up at her. "You got a stele I could use, because I hurt myself falling for you." He grins at his joke and the 2 collapse in laughter.