NCT: After Midnight

01. MARK LEE | Your Reputation

I didn't mean to stare. It just happened.

Mark had been talking for the last few minutes, explaining something about the project we were working on. I was supposed to be listening. I really was.

But somewhere along the way, I stopped paying attention to what he was saying and started paying attention to him instead.

The way his hands moved when he explained something. The way his eyebrows lifted whenever he got excited about an idea. The little smile that appeared whenever he thought he'd finally made his point.

I didn't even realize I was staring until he stopped talking.

"You get it?"

I blinked. "Yeah."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "What did I just say?"

I paused. "...Something about the project?"

He stared at me for a second before laughing.

"You're not listening."

"I am."

"You've been staring at me for, like, five minutes."

My face immediately felt warm. "I wasn't."

"You were." He leaned back in his chair, looking way too pleased with himself.

I crossed my arms. "You just talking too much."

"Sure."

He smiled, and I hated that smile. Not because it was annoying. Because I liked it way too much.

Mark picked up his pen and tapped it against the table. "So, what were you looking at?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yeah."

"You were staring at nothing for five minutes?"

"Maybe."

He laughed again. I looked down at the papers in front of me, pretending to read them. A few seconds passed before I felt his eyes on me again.

I looked up. He was still watching me.

"What?"

"You tell me."

I sighed. "You're annoying."

"That's not an answer."

"Neither was your question."

Mark smiled and leaned a little closer. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like you're impressed."

I tried not to smile. "Maybe I am."

He laughed and shook his head. "Don't look at me like you're impressed. You'll ruin your reputation."

I frowned. "What reputation?"

"You know." He pointed at me with his pen. "The cool, unbothered one."

"I don't have one."

"You definitely do."

"No, I don't."

"Everyone thinks you're hard to impress."

"Everyone is wrong."

"Are they?"

I didn't answer.

His smile grew. "You're not denying it."

"Because there's nothing to deny."

"Right." He turned back to his laptop, but I could still see the smile on his face.