Limitless || Mark Lee

Chapter 13

"Hey Mark, how are you doing today?"

Mirae and Taeyong walked into the medical office, seeing Mark already awake and sitting up in his bed. Mark looked at his leader, a slight warmth to his normal cold eyes, despite the still emotionless expression on his face.

"In pain, but alive."

"Well, the pain should hopefully get better soon, but you're going to be resting for a few weeks."

Mark nodded his head in response to Taeyong. His eyes then flickered to Mirae, finally noticing her presence.

"Why is she here? And where is Doyoung?"

Mirae forced the small smile to remain on her face as she stared back at Mark. Taeyong scoffed lightly before smirking at the injured boy.

"Doyoung and Taeil are gone, remember? And Mirae is here because she's the one who removed the bullets and saved your life last night."

Mark's eyes widened ever so slightly as he glanced at Mirae. He quickly averted his gaze, instead staring back at his leader. Taeyong let out a sigh, shaking his head at the boy's stubbornness and turned back to Mirae.

"I'll leave him to you, I guess. Do whatever you need to do."

Mirae nodded her head with a smile as Taeyong walked out, leaving her alone in the room with Mark. Clearing her throat, she walked over to him and grabbed the clipboard from his bedside table.

"So Mark, any pain other than in your chest?"

"No"

"Feeling dizzy or light headed?"

"No"

"Have any spotty vision or anything else unusual?"

"No"

"Good. Then you should be just fine. You'll just have to rest. I'm going to change the dressing on your wounds."

She set to work carefully removing the bandages that were wrapped around his chest. Without the blood there, she could see his clearly defined abs and muscular chest. A slight redness appeared on her cheeks but she pushed it away, forcing herself to focus on the task at hand.

"Ouch!" Mark growled lowly as she rubbed the disinfect and medication on his wounds.

"Sorry sorry! I have to clean them. I'll go quick."

Mark just watched her, wincing slightly with a clenched jaw. He stared at her as she worked swiftly in complete silence.

"Once I'm done here, I'll send one of the boys down to bring you some food and anything else you might need."

It was like a lightbulb went off in Mark's head at the mention of the boys. Mirae noticed a shift in his demeanor, his muscles becoming tense so she stepped away from him slightly, concerned that she hurt him.

"Mark? What's wrong?"

"The boys... are they all okay? I was the only one hit, right?"

The frown was still on his face, but his eyes were filled with concern. Mirae relaxed, a small smile on her face.

"Yeah, they're all doing just fine. No one else was injured, thankfully, so don't worry."

Mark let out a deep breath, nodding in relief as a warmth flooded his gaze. Even though his expression didn't change, she could see it in his eyes. There was a happiness there, a love that she didn't know he was capable of feeling.

"You know it's funny." She said with a huff, finishing up her task. "You said you don't have emotions anymore but that's clearly not the case."

"What are you talking about?" He turned his gaze on her, cocking an eyebrow in confusion.

"Mark, just because you frown all the time doesn't mean I can't see it in your eyes. I know the guys make you happy. You care about them even if you don't want to show it. There's nothing wrong with feeling happy, you know?"

She knew she struck a nerve when he turned away from her, an unreadable emotion lingering in his eyes.

"Monsters don't deserve happiness."

Mirae recoiled at his response, shocked by the words that left his mouth. She paused for a moment, thinking of what to say.

"Well it's a good thing your not a monster, then."

"You don't know anything about me."

"Doesn't matter, I know enough to know that you're not a monster."

He turned to look at her again, his gaze piercing into her eyes, a pain in them that she hadn't seen before.

"I promise you not. I've killed more people than you've probably ever met in your whole life. There's more blood on my hands than could fill the Han River. I'm a criminal. A killer. I'm not someone you want to know, Mirae."

Mirae felt a pang in her heart when he said that. Despite the way he's acted, she knew that he was a good person inside. The boys all cherished him too much for him to be some type of a monster and she knew he needed to know that.

"Who you are and what you do are not the same thing, Mark. You're not a monster." She spoke softly, staring into his eyes.

"Then what do you see when you look at me?"

His voice was so faint, lacking all of the normal bite it held when speaking to her. He looked like a hurt puppy and if affected her a lot more than she thought it would.

"I see someone who's gone through more difficulty than I can probably even imagine. Someone who loves his team even if it's hard for him to say. I see someone who's never been told how important he is, or how much those around him truly care for him."

"What?" He stared at her in complete shock.

"Mark, do you realize just how special you are? I don't think anyone has ever told you that you matter. But I've seen the way the boys look at you. They love you. And you do matter."

He looked away and she could tell she was right. He didn't believe her.

"I think you've convinced yourself that you're a monster, but you're not, Mark. And it's time for you to stop hiding behind your monster mask because that's not you. Somewhere in there is a person screaming to be set free. A boy who's worth getting to know."

She paused when he turned his gaze on her again. For the first time, his eyes weren't cold. His expression wasn't so hardened.

"and I'll be here to meet him whenever you're ready."

After listening to Mirae, a girl he had treated so horribly, save his live and then say all these things to him. To really look at him as a person. He felt terrible for how he misjudged her.

"Mirae.... thank you...for everything and... I'm sorry."

She saw how genuine he was being and shook her head with a small smile on her face.

"There's nothing to apologize for. I hope you're feeling better, and I'll send they boys down for you. See ya."

With one last smile, she walked out of the room to go and find the others. As Mark watched her leave, he felt a hint of a smile pulling at his lips.