NCT Imagines (Requests closed)

Self-worth (Mark) Part~2

It's her.

As if in a trance, Mark watched the woman rise from her chair and walk towards the front of the table. She addressed everyone in the meeting room before beginning her presentation. There he learned her name, Y/N.

He was mesmerized by her. Her charismatic way of speaking, and her voice garnered all the focus on her. And when she made eye contact with him, he felt his cheeks heat up as if he were still a teenager.

He couldn't believe that he was seeing her again, that too in his meeting room. Yesterday, Mark's secretary was running late so it fell upon him to get his own coffee. He strolled into the cafe near his company building, ordered a latte and a sandwich, and took a seat at a table to wait for his order. As he kept his iPad on his table and was reviewing some files, he paused.

On the table opposite him sat the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen. Sunlight poured over her side, highlighting the soft contours of her face. She swept her long hair back, twisted them in a bun and poked a pencil through it, stray strands slipped out of the bun and framed her face. She typed away on her laptop, unaware of the admiring gaze she had drawn.

I have to talk to her, Mark thought to himself.

"Mr. Mark Lee?" The barista called out his name. He stood up and walked to the counter to collect his order and when he turned back around, the woman was packing her stuff in a hurry. She glanced at her watch, picked up her coffee and rushed out of the cafe. Mark sighed.

He visited the cafe again this morning, much to his secretary's surprise. He ordered his breakfast, and ate it in the cafe instead of taking it to his office but the mystery woman never showed up. Eventually, he had to rush out to not be late for the meeting.

To his surprise, he saw her sitting in the meeting room, at the long table. She looked as beautiful as he remembered.

Now that the meeting was over, it was the perfect chance for him to speak to her. Only if he wasn't swamped by his employees. One of them gave him some files to sign.

Mark took the file from the man but his eyes followed Y/N as she left the meeting room. Later, he took his Secretary aside and asked him about her. "She gave a pretty good presentation," Mark said, which wasn't entirely true since he had not been able to pay attention to what she was saying. "I've never seen her here before though."

"Ms. Y/N?" Jisung mused. "I'm not sure I've seen her before either," he admitted. "Mr. Kim liked her proposal as well."

"Send me a copy of her proposal," Mark instructed, "and find out who she is." Jisung raised an eyebrow at him but nodded anyway.

After a lot of pestering, Jisung finally sent the information by noon. Mark abandoned the work he was doing to read her file. So Ms. Y/N had been transferred to this branch quite recently after being promoted, this explained why he'd never seen her before. She also had to move houses because of this transfer.

Suddenly feeling refreshed, he stood up and walked out of his office. He wanted to take a round of his company and check on his employees. He didn't have any ulterior motives, of course. Jisung followed him.

The two got on the elevator and pressed the button to the tenth floor. "The marketing team's floor, really?" Jisung asked.

"Yeah, why not?"

"And it's a coincidence that Ms. Y/N is on the marketing team, right?" Jisung asked, a hint of sarcasm in his tone, which Mark ignored. The elevator doors opened on the tenth floor but Mark stood frozen on his spot. Y/N stood on the other side, unsure whether or not to ride the elevator with the CEO.

Jisung cleared his throat, snapping Mark out of the trance he was in. The elevator doors began to slide close but Mark held them open. "Aren't you getting on?" He asked. She nodded, stepped inside and pressed the button for the lobby.

"So, Ms. Y/N," Mark said as casually as he could muster.

The woman turned to face him, her eyebrows raised. She was clearly surprised that he knew her name. "Yes, sir?"

"I enjoyed your presentation today," he said. "And I believe your proposal about the next marketing event is very unique."

"You think so?" She asked, smiling. Mark's breath hitched. The smile lit up her face, giving her an almost ethereal look. "I'm glad."

Mark nodded once and looked away, gulping. God, I'm in so much trouble.

"Are you going out for lunch, Ms. Y/N?" He couldn't help but ask.

"Ah, no, sir. I'm taking a half-day."

"I see. You're leaving already." He tried not to sound too disappointed.

"I finished all the work due today. Some files need to be-"

"Oh no, I didn't mean it like that," Mark quickly interrupted. "I was wondering if everything was okay. Since you just transferred here, adjusting might be a bit difficult."

"Oh, I'm completely fine. It's just..." she sighed and shook her head.

"What is it, Ms. Y/N? If you're facing any problems, I'd be happy to help."

"It's not me, it's my daughter, Mari. It's her vacation from school and I moved her to a different daycare, one that's closer to the office but she's finding it difficult to adjust. I was just called to get her." The elevator doors opened. "I'll get going, then. Have a good day, sir." She rushed out, leaving a snuffed-out Mark in her wake.

He felt like an idiot. He was so giddy about seeing her again that he hadn't even considered the possibility that she might be seeing someone or married!

"Where to?" Jisung asked gently. He could tell that Mark really liked her.

"To my office."

After an hour, Jisung was called back to the CEO's office. "Jisung," Mark beckoned him over. "I'm thinking about asking our employees to fill a form," he said eagerly. His mood had improved considerably after the elevator ride. "The form should ask them about any children they might have, their children's age, how they manage them during working hours, and any other necessary information. Tell the HR department to get on it asap. If there's a significant response, we could have a daycare facility built at the office."

"Okay," Jisung said. "Anything else?"

"Why didn't I think of this sooner? Our company has grown a lot in the past year and we have recruited many people." He gave Jisung a look, "it's not just because of Ms. Y/N."

Jisung returned to Mark's office minutes later. "So, I spoke with HR, they'll get on it right away."

"Thanks," Mark replied, not taking his eyes off his laptop screen.

Jisung turned to leave then stopped. "There was no ring."

"What?" Mark looked at him now.

"Ms. Y/N was not wearing a wedding ring. She could be divorced, widowed, or unmarried."

"That's terrible."

"Terrible, indeed," Jisung nodded.

It was only when Jisung left did Mark lean back in his chair, sighing. He couldn't believe he'd fallen so hard for someone he barely knew.

xxx

This was requested by @soft-for-mochi. Thanks for requesting!

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