Limitless || Mark Lee

Chapter 16

The dreamies ran to Mirae's room, only to find the door locked.

"Mirae? Can we talk?" Jaemin called, knocking lightly on the door.

"Please leave me alone." They head her call out between sobs.

"Mimi, please."

The sound of her cries only got louder.

"We should let her be. She wants to be alone right now, Jaemin. We'll see her tomorrow."

Jeno put his hand on Jaemin's shoulder and dragged him away from her room as darkness began to fall. All the boys retired to their rooms for the night, except for one.

Mark sat in the main room, staring at the dark screen of the TV. He didn't have the heart to turn it on, his head too filled with thoughts.

He felt anger. He was furious with his leader that he would lie to traumatize Mirae. He felt nervous about the offer in general.

It was strange. He felt opposed to it but not for the reason he thought he would. It wasn't out of his dislike or distrust for her, but rather that he wanted to keep her safe. She had so much life to live, she was too innocent to be corrupted by them. The thoughts swam through his head, surprised at himself for how protective he felt over the girl.

But even stranger was the strongest thing he felt. It resonated in his mind and pulled on his heart.

He wanted her to stay.

He didn't know why but despite his better judgement, he knew that something inside of him selfishly wanted her to stay. And it scared him.

- - -

Mirae couldn't sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could picture was her friends dead on the ground in front of her, the gun in her hand still loaded with bullets to kill more people. She was having a nightmare without even falling asleep.

Is this what it means to be terrorized?

The tear stains ran down her cheeks, sobs no longer leaving her mouth as she had no tears left to cry. She was sad, terrified, a thousand things that she couldn't even begin to make sense of.

She had been sitting on her bed for hours, desperately exhausted but unable to sleep. Staring at the ceiling, she wished for something to come help her. Someone. Anyone.

And as if her prayers were answered, the door to her closet opened, startling her. She grabbed the nearest object, which happened to be a book, and raised it at the stranger, ready to throw.

"Woah woah chill, it's me. Mark."

"Mark?"

She sat taller, shocked and confused as to how or why he was even standing in her room.

"Hi... Mirae. Uh sorry to scare you, I just figured that I should check up on you." He stood there, shifting nervously from side to side.

"How did you even get in here?"

"Oh through your closet. Behind the clothes rack is a trapped door for emergencies. Our rooms share a safe room and escape tunnel."

"Oh... cool."

There was an awkward silence between the two of them, neither sure of what to do next. Mark was just warming up to the whole 'being friendly' thing with her, and Mirae was too much of an emotional wreck to initiate conversation as she usually would.

Mark stared at her, the only light coming from the lamp on her bedside table. She looked so small as she sat there, staring at the ground. She was normally quite small but something about her seemed smaller, like she had shrunk in on herself.

He let out a sigh, crossing the room and carefully approaching her bed. When she didn't flinch, he stepped closer, gently sitting on the very edge of her bed, a few feet away from her.

"Are... are you okay? I might not be the best talker, but I can listen."

She raised her teary eyes, red and puffy with exhaustion. He wore the same expressionless frown but there was a warmth in his gaze, a genuine worry sparkling in his normally cold eyes.

"I don't know what to do." Her voice was barely a whisper as she spoke. "I didn't want this. I never wanted this but what else can I do? If not for my life, then for theirs."

Mark's eyes widened as tears started to stream down her face again. He felt panic rise in his chest but he forced it away, simply staring at her.

"Mark can I ask you a question?"

"Uh sure."

"I know you don't particularly like me, so I'm hoping you'll be honest with me. I think you're the only person I'd trust to give me a straight answer."

He felt a pang in his chest at her words but nodded his head anyway. She took a deep breath, settling her breathing and clearing her gaze.

"Do you think I should do this? Is Taeyong right? Am-am I in danger?"

He wanted to badly to say no. To tell her that Taeyong was lying and that it was all false but the words never came. As angry as he was, he trusted his leader and knew that there must be something he was missing. Taeyong wouldn't hurt her like this unless he felt he needed to.

"Yes. I think you need to do this. It'll be best for you, and Taeyong will make sure you're trained well. He won't let you die."

Mark spoke with an authoritative tone, his voice almost robotic, but she could see the slight glint in his eyes. The genuine concern in his gaze.

"Okay then. I'll do it."

With those three words, Mark felt a weight lift off his shoulders. She was staying.

"Hey Mark?"

"Yes?"

"I know this is a lot to ask, but would you please stay with me tonight. I just don't think I can be alone right now."

"I uh um... I-" he let out a breath, seeing the pure defeat and exhaustion written all over her face. "Okay."

He carefully crawled into the bed, awkwardly lying next to her, unsure of what to do. Mirae closed her eyes, the visions of her friends fading to a calming blackness.

Mark stiffened when he felt Mirae lean on him, her head coming to rest on his chest as one arm wrapped around his torso. He looked at her, seeing that she was well on her way to being asleep. Carefully, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, still quite unsure about the whole thing but trying his very best.

She nuzzled into his chest, his warmth bringing her peace as she drifted to sleep. Feeling her push herself closer to him, he started to relax, enjoying the feeling of comfort he got from the smaller girl and soon his eyelids began to get heavy as well.

"Thank you, Mark... good... night..."

"Good night, Mirae."