After class, I find myself at the sports block where the hockey locker room is located, waiting for Haechan.
The double doors soon swing open to reveal a group of rowdy, sweaty twenty-somethings, and I cringe at the sight. It doesn't take long for me to spot the familiar brown-haired boy, and I push myself off the wall I was just leaning against.
Haechan rolls his eyes as he approaches me, his entire frame seemingly engulfed with his duffel bag and other hockey gear. "Couldn't you have just went ahead without me?"
"You know I can't," I spit, and he rolls his eyes again.
"Remind me why you're dragging me into your stupid lovers quarrel with Mark Lee, again?" He asks, and I ignore him as I walk towards the exit, Haechan following suit.
After the... incident, two nights ago, Mark hadn't reached out to me at all, which only aggravated my annoyance towards the boy even more. Sure, it was just a petty fight, and while I have to admit that I was rash at him at some point, so was he.
I had resorted to spam-texting Haechan about what had unfolded, but he had only returned my numerous messages with a yawning emoji.
Bitch.
"I don't want to be alone with him when he's mad at me."
"He's not mad at you," Haechan sighs, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Mark Lee can be a pissy brat if he wants to, and the reason why he was being one yesterday might have something to do with you cozying up to Lee Taeyong."
His assumption makes my cheeks flare up— Mark? Jealous? Yeah, no.
"You're insane," I scoff.
"Because you guys are driving me insane!" Haechan groans, hiking his duffel bag further up his shoulder. "When are you two just gonna admit that you like each other?"
"He doesn't like me like that," I mumble, not really having anything to say to defend my case.
"Yeah, we both know that's a lie, Yena. You like him, and you know he likes you too. Why aren't any of you making a move?"
I sigh, knowing that he is right. I've always had the feeling that Mark might like me back, and Haechan's statement only confirms it even more, but would it really be wise for us to confess to each other under the circumstances that we are in?
The rest of the walk outside of school is silent until Haechan manages to hail down a cab, and we shuffle in the back seat.
The plan is to go to Seo Industries for a debrief since we didn't really get to do that the night we went to Black On Black, and I'm not sure what to expect— what more with Mark and I not being on talking terms. Hell, I can't even remember why we're so angry with each other.
When the building comes into view, I can't help but to feel slightly nervous. Haechan leads me to the top floor where Mr. Seo's lab is located, and the door looms before me when Haechan raps his knuckles against the frosted glass.
I'm not given the time to ready myself when the system beeps, and the door opens to reveal Mark.
His face is passive, just like it was two nights ago, and his eyes linger on me momentarily before he pulls it open even further, giving us space to walk in.
Haechan wastes no time in dragging his gear inside, soon leaving Mark and I by the entrance. For some reason, I'm frozen. I'm not mad at him anymore, but the air between us is awkward, and I'm not really sure if I'm supposed to say something.
Clearing my throat, I avert my gaze as I step inside, deciding that not saying anything would be the best for now. I don't make it far, however, when I feel a hand capture around my wrist, and I turn to see Mark staring at
me, as though he wants to say something.
"Duty calls, lovebirds!" Mr. Seo claps as he passes by us, and Mark promptly lets go of me.
I share a glance with him momentarily before I walk towards Haechan, who is busy hooking up his computer system to Mr. Seo's built-in monitor. He gives me a side glance.
"Still no progress?"
I nudge him. "Not now, Haechan."
"I heard you found something, Yena." Mr. Seo stands behind us in his signature white coat, and I turn to look at him. "Mark told me it would be better if I heard it from you."
"Yeah." I rock on my heels, glancing towards the boy at the other side of the room who is busy fiddling with Mr. Seo's trinkets. "I managed to talk to Lee Taeyong. He has another cherry tattoo— it was a skull. Two skulls, to be exact."
"Like this?" Haechan sounds from behind us, and I turn to look at his monitor. I feel another presence behind me— Mark— who crosses his arms as stares at the new image Haechan had brought up.
"That's exactly it," I mumble. "Is this him?"
"I caught this yesterday when I was tailing Lee Taeyong. He met up with a man at a cargo port around forty minutes from here. This tattoo belongs to him," Mark says, nodding towards the image.
Haechan zooms out, and sure enough, the image reveals a man I have not seen before.
Lee Taeyong's back is covering his face slightly, but his striking white hair is obvious, along with the many piercings that line the shell of his ear.
"Who is he?"
"Not sure. But based on the tattoo, it's obvious he's not a client. Maybe a partner, of some sorts?" Mark looks at me, and though he is merely answering my question, I feel like the tension between us is slowly starting to dissipate.
"So it's safe to assume that the tattoos do mean something then. A hierarchy," Mr. Seo confirms. "We're getting somewhere."
"It's not enough," Mark quips, his tone determined. "I need to know who he is. They were too far for me to make out their conversation, and we still don't know where their HQ is located."
"It would make sense for it to be there, though, right?" Haechan pipes in. "They wouldn't go to a random cargo port in the middle of nowhere just to talk. You didn't stay long enough to see where they went after?"
Mark shoots the tanned boy an annoyed look. "They went their separate ways after. There was nothing out of the ordinary when I looked around."
Haechan huffs under his breath, turning back on his swivel chair. "What's next?"
"Plant some mics around the port. Haechan is right— it must be a place of importance of some sort. Could you tap into the cameras there?"
"I can try," he mumbles, his fingers already busy working on his keyboard. "I'll get Doyoung hyung to do a facial scan and see if we can get a name on that guy."
"That works. I'll provide the mics so you can plant them tonight." Mr. Seo turns to Mark. "It'll alert the system if they catch noise. Meanwhile, keep your eye on that Lee Taeyong dude. I don't trust him."
Mark nods, and the mini-group disperses, leaving me still standing behind Haechan's chair.
"Um," I say to no one in particular. "What about me?"
Mr. Seo turns around with a brow raised, Mark doing the same.
"What do I do?" I ask when neither of them say anything. "I can go to Black On Black again. I might be able to get some intel on Lee Taeyong."
"You've done enough, Yena." Mark steps towards me. "It's confirmed that Lee Taeyong is a part of Neo Seoul. It would be a risk to be close with him."
His dismissive statement causes me to scoff in disbelief, and the annoyance that I felt towards him prior is beginning to rise again. "Seriously? I got you his number!"
"And we'll use it if we have to," Mark tells me sternly. "We can't have Neo Seoul on your back even more than they already are. Stay low."
"Lee Taeyong doesn't even know who I am," I argue. "In fact, none of them do! We sent those two to jail already."
"And what makes you so sure about that?" Mark challenges me with a raised brow. "Neo Seoul is using you to get to me. For all we know, Lee Taeyong knows what is going on and is using you as bait."
While it is true that Neo Seoul hasn't done anything the past few weeks, there could be some sense in Mark's words. I stall, not able to find any words to refuse his statement.
"The kid is right," Mr. Seo steps in, and my cheeks almost flare up in embarrassment from arguing with Mark so openly. "We need to be careful. But, we can't let Lee Taeyong know that we know... that he knows."
"This is so confusing," Haechan mutters from behind. "Anyway, Doyoung hyung can't find the other guy in the system. It's like he's a ghost."
"I'll continue to tail Lee Taeyong. See what I can find," Mark tells us. "I'm going back to that port."
"Good call," Mr. Seo says before he turns to me. "Stay low for now, kid," he mutters, patting my back before looking back at Mark, nodding his head towards the exit.
I nod wordlessly, staring at Mark's back as he walks out the door.
Despite that, I can't help but to feel as though the distance between our hearts is even bigger.
—
Helloooo!!! hehe I'm so happy to see so many new readers here, hope you guys are enjoying the book! 🫶 I truly enjoy reading your comments, some of them really crack me up I swear hahaha.
We are not that far from the end & I'm dreading the day that happens T_T What has been your favourite part of the book so far? I know mine's coming soon 🤭 See you in the next chapter!