Work Text:
The very idea of having to step into his little cubicle and have his nostril hairs singed by his coworker’s shitty, overpowering cologne for hours on end makes Mark want to die. It doesn’t help that he’d stayed up way too late last night listening to his friend recount every detail of the date he’d gone on. He’s happy for Renjun, really, even if he doesn’t understand the obsession with the fact that his date is a firefighter. “Like, a man in uniform! Ugh, I love it, I love Jeno,” he kept saying, and Mark just nodded, pretending like he understood. And when Renjun finally hung up, it was 3:30 AM.
Now it’s 9:30 in the morning and the urge to turn around and walk out into the street traffic is too real, but he’s also scared the traffic wouldn’t actually kill him and he’d just be left with unpayable amounts of medical bills, so it’s not a real option. Mark just has shitty luck like that. Instead, he squares his shoulders and walks toward the revolving doors of his office, only to be stopped by a man in an orange safety vest with the biggest eyes Mark has ever seen.
“Would you be able to help out our PJs with their final activity? We’re short on volunteers,” he asks, and Mark stares. The big eyed man must sense his hesitation because he adds, “If work is the issue, we can get you out of it. Just one activity, please.”
Mark was sold. “Yeah, of course!”
“Thank you so much mister. Right this way please,” he says before turning around to walk towards the neighboring building.
This man could be taking him towards his abduction and murder for all Mark knows but honestly, that’s fine by him. Probably. Maybe. He really hopes he is not being taken towards his abduction and murder actually.
They soon come upon a large room filled with people of all ages, children to people who seem old enough to be their grandparents. Imposing military uniformed people with smart buzz cuts rush around forming lines and carrying heavy ropes. The orange safety vest man that brought him here directs him to a group of children chattering each with each other. Why with the children? Does he think Mark fits in with the children? Because that’s just mean.
The safety vest man gives him an orange card on a lanyard. “This is your casualty card. Your right leg is broken and so is your rib”. Then he’s told to wait there until further instruction, so he stands there shuffling his feet, trying not to make eye contact with the kids who are, for some reason, staring him down. One particularly devious looking motherfucker comes closer to peer up at him, finger in his nose. “Why do you look like that?” he asks.
Mark splutters. “Uh, what?”
The kid continues to stare at him, unimpressed, before shrugging and settling on another victim. Relieved, Mark fixes his gaze across the room and happens to notice a very tall, handsome man with his hands in his pockets looking in Mark’s direction. Mark stares back, not realizing this man is staring at HIM until he smiles lightly at Mark before looking away. Mark’s heart thumps faster in his chest. He looks down to see another child looking suspiciously between Mark and the tall handsome man, but fortunately the little fucker says nothing. He appreciates this. He also starts to wonder if this is really any better than sitting in his shitty cubicle and inhaling his cowoker’s deathly cologne.
Finally the small orange safety vest man, who announces that his name is Taeyong, says they’re going to get started and explains what each group will be doing. His group will be lying on the ground with leg injuries, and the PJs are supposed to “carry you across the room quickly and carefully, and also console you, so it would help if you act distressed”. Distressed is easy. Mark is almost always distressed.
Taeyong tells them to get in position, so Mark follows the children’s lead and crumples to the ground. He feels embarrassed, lying there on his back, shifting his limbs so he’s not laying there like a corpse in a casket. He’s supposed to be rescued alive, after all. Is he supposed to do something different because of his broken bones? He has no idea.
Mark simply stares at the ceiling, hoping this can end quickly and also regretting his choices when a face suddenly pops up over him, nearly giving him a heart attack. It's the face of none other than the tall handsome man from before.
His heart jolts. “Hey, you’re going to be OK, I got you,” the man says, and Mark can’t help but notice his voice is kind of really nice. The man easily gets his hands under Mark and lifts him off the ground, bridal style, and damn him if he wouldnt accept an offer to be this guy’s bride right now if he asked because what the fuck? That was so hot. Mark is so touch starved.
The man holds him close to his chest and whispers to him with a look of caring concern, “Is this alright? Does it hurt?”
God. Damn. “Uhh it's fine. Haha.”
And then he’s running and Mark is pressed to his firm chest and those strong hands lift him like he weighs nothing and now Mark gets it, the appeal of a man in uniform. The confidence, the care, oh wow. He should tell Renjun he finally understands what he was raving about last night.
The man places him down gently and runs back across the room without giving him another look. An odd pain stabs him in the chest as Mark catches his breath like he was the one running around carrying a grown man.
Taeyong comes over to him and asks him for an evaluation of “Johnny Suh”, which must be the PJ’s name. Mark gives him the maximum rating for everything. If he ever needed to be rescued, that's the person he’d want rescuing him, he knows that much. Taeyong hands him an envelope with “absence excuse” scribbled on the back and says, “You are free to leave. Thank you so much for your help!” Then he moves to the next person, leaving Mark to stand there and watch Johnny Suh carry another person across the room the same way. Something twists in Mark’s gut.
Slightly deflated unbeknownst to himself, he trudges out of the room and back to the office where he edits spreadsheets and tries to breathe as little as possible. At least he got to start later. The envelope actually did manage to excuse his absence. Still, only about thirty minutes in, the constant whir of the fan starts getting on his nerves. About an hour in, the sound of his coworker constantly tapping his pen makes him want to commit murder. He endures another hour of misery before it’s finally his break. He needs to get out of here, and what better place than the Starbucks across the street to load some sugar into his sad, sad veins?
He steps behind a tall person in military uniform. Must be one of the PJs from earlier today. He peers to the side to see an annoyingly long line, but Mark can brave it knowing what awaits at the end. He glances upwards at the PJ to see a familiar face.
“Thanks for helping us out today!” says none other than Johnny Suh.
“Oh yeah, of course! You were great!”
Johnny smiles shyly and thanks him and it makes Mark melt a little as they shuffle forward in line.
“So, you work near here?”
“Yeah, right across there,” he jabs a thumb at his office, wondering why they are now participating in small talk. Mark gets stressed around pretty people.
“Cool. What’s your usual order from here?”
“I uh-I usually get the pink drink. How about you?”
Johnny raises his eyebrows. Mark’s not sure what that means. “I like the strawberry refresher, actually.”
It’s Mark's turn to raise his eyebrows. “The refresher? That’s just water…why would you do that?”
“It’s better! Coconut milk and pink things do not mix, that is so weird.”
Forget the people side eyeing him, this is serious. He cannot believe someone is actually drinking that god awful strawberry refresher when the pink drink is right there.
“No, you’re weird, for buying pink water. That’s terrible.”
“Have you ever tried the strawberry refresher even?”
“...No.”
Johnny’s smile becomes smug. “See, you can’t even speak on it then. It’s better.”
“No way. Absolutely not.”
They shuffle forward in line again.
“You’re trying mine when I get it, and then you’ll understand.”
Mark just laughs. “And when I still say it’s gross?”
“You don’t look like you’d lie like that.”
“You’d be surprised.” Mark lies everyday at work. Yeah, that presentation template looks good! Oh you look great in that shirt. These cookies are delicious! The list goes on.
Johnny pulls out his phone and hands it to Mark, “Would you lie about your number if I asked you for it?”
Jesus. That was smooth.
Mark splutters, switching the phone hand to hand, “Uh, I would not lie at all, no,” he says, double checking his number as he enters it into a contact titled Mark Lee.
He hands Johnny back the phone, and Johnny orders his strawberry refresher, and Mark orders his pink drink, which is made unreasonably fast, and then Mark’s phone is going off.
“What do you want, Haechan.”
“Where are you? Did you forget we’re presenting in two fucking minutes?”
Mark hangs up. Why can’t things ever go right for him?
He notices Johnny is looking at him with concern.
“Late for work, gotta run!” he blurts before bolting out and across the street. And today had been going well too, dammit!
He’s in the elevator when his phone buzzes with a text from an unknown number.
Good luck Mark Lee!
Mark shoots a text back before he can overthink, pumped up on adrenaline.
thankss lets plan a date later
Oh definitely, you still need to try my strawberry refresher
Or maybe today will continue to go well. Mark Lee’s got good luck, after all.