Chapter Text
“Mark hyung’s pretty cool, huh?” Jeno comments and Jaemin focuses his gaze on Mark’s silhouette in the mirror. The practice room speaker is still playing Shinee’s Replay and Mark is too focused on his fifth runthrough of the choreography since class officially stopped to pay attention to them sitting on the couches and eating ice cream.
In the last six weeks since Jaemin joined SM, dance class has always ended exactly at 8 PM and everyone usually leaves or enjoys their snacks at the corner of the practice room before heading home. That is, until Mark Lee showed up a week ago.
Donghyuck scoffs. “If you find a nerd cool, sure.”
“He’s really nice.” Jisung inputs, ice cream spots messy on his chin. Jaemin wipes them off with the sleeve of his hoodie.
“He’s so snappy.” Donghyuck rebuts.
“That’s because you annoy him.” Jeno says. “Mark hyung helped Jisung even with his English homework the other night.”
“Johnny hyung could have helped with that. He’s probably better than Mark at it.”
“I don’t know, hyung. One of the staff mentioned Mark hyung was an honors student back in Canada.” Jisung replies. Donghyuck furrows his brows as if taking personal offense to Jisung’s defense of Mark. Though in the last week, Donghyuck seemed to take personal offense to everything Mark does. Maybe it was born out of some jealousy of Mark’s sudden star trainee status. Jaemin hears enough of the others’ whispers to gather it’s a common sentiment among the trainees of their age.
“What about you, Jaemin? What do you think of Mark?” Donghyuck turns to him, searching for one final ally among their group.
Jaemin blinks at him before his gaze shifts over to find Mark’s figure in the mirror again. Mark is now huddled over his phone, gaze ever serious. As if sensing eyes on him, he looks up and makes eye contact with Jaemin. Mark smiles — an awkward, lopsided grin — and quickly looks back down at his phone.
“He’s cute, I guess.”
✨
Mark Lee is introduced to them in the middle of dance practice.
The music cuts as the dance trainer gasps a little and says “Oh, Mark!” as he exits the room.
“It’s that hyung.” Jeno whispers. Jaemin blankly looks at him in reply and Jeno exhales roughly through his nose.
“The one from Canada. The staff all say he’s some prodigy.”
“Oh,” Jaemin replies. Honestly, he mostly blanks out during dinner breaks. Trainee gossip is pointless to keep up with when he has Jeno and Jisung to relay it to him when it’s needed. Trainee gossip is also pointless when he plans to leave in a month or two.
The dance trainer enters the room once more and claps his hands.
“Everyone, gather around. This is Mark. He joined last year but only arrived now from Canada to fully be a trainee.”
The whole room focuses on the new boy. Jaemin doesn’t quite know what he was expecting but Mark is, in the nicest way possible, not what he would expect from a prodigy/trainee legend. The boy is only a bit taller than Jaemin and wears a pair of thick glasses over wide eyes with puffy cheeks.
“Hi, everyone. I’m Mark Lee.” Mark says, the words mildly accented and slightly unfamiliar, Korean clearly being Mark’s second language rather than his mother tongue like the rest of them. “I look forward to training with all of you.”
One of the trainees in the back snickers a little at that. Trainee period was a dog-eat-dog world. No one ever said they looked forward to training with everyone, knowing that every month meant losing at least one fellow trainee to evaluations.
“Alright then. Let’s get back to it. Mark, you can just follow along.”
“Guess we can see how good the famed Mark Lee is.” Jaemin turns to see Donghyuck watching Mark with an intense curiosity.
The rest of the dance class passes in a blur in Jaemin’s memory but he remembers one thing: Mark outshines them all.
✨
Before Jaemin entered the agency, Saturdays used to be his favorite day of the week. He got two more hours of sleep than usual. His mother would take him out for the afternoons and he could spend the whole evening watching TV between dinner and bedtime. But now, Saturdays are dreaded. Saturdays meant back-to-back dance and rap training and every third Saturday is evaluation day. It’s only been his second evaluation day and Jaemin has mostly decided that it will be his last.
It wasn’t all horrible. Jaemin thinks he did fine. They all just had to perform one and the same choreography and it wasn’t so hard. Right after the training heads dismissed them, one of the dance teachers beckoned Jaemin to the side. The whole talk lasted 45 minutes and by the time it was over, the cafeteria was nearly empty with Jeno, Donghyuck, and Jisung probably at the dorms or their family homes already.
Jaemin stirs the soup in his bowl around. We just think that you aren’t trying as hard as your peers . Jaemin feels oddly disappointed because he is trying. Or as much trying as he can do. He’s not like Donghyuck who loves singing or Jisung who loves dancing or Jeno who has experience with being on camera. In fact, he’s just here because the staff invited him and his mother thought it’d be a good experience.
Jaemin shoves a spoonful of rice and jjigae in his mouth and chews as he thinks. Well, it was a good experience of two months but this is clearly where the road ends. He’ll definitely miss Jeno and Jisung, Donghyuck less so, but he’ll see them in school anyway. He’s already told his mom before he wants to quit. Plus, idol training would hardly be a good credential for a future doctor’s resume. He can’t dance his way to medical school and -
“Hi. You’re Jaemin, right?” It’s Mark, holding a tray of his lunch and smiling like they’re friends.
“Yes?” Jaemin answers.
“Cool, can I sit with you?” Mark asks and Jaemin nods. Mark puts down his lunch tray right across from him and puts his backpack in the chair right beside. Jaemin continues poking at his jjigae, still plotting in his head about how he’ll tell his mom he’s quitting SM once and for all.
“So, Jaemin-ssi, do you like dancing?”
“What?” Jaemin looks up from his food, unsure if Mark heard the dance trainer earlier and is mocking him now but Mark looks at him unfailingly, wide eyes all round and expectant for a genuine answer. The silence stretches on and Mark turns sheepish and smiles apologetically.
“Sorry, was my pronunciation weird? I’m still learning. I’m not sure sometimes either if I’m speaking too casually.”
“No, it’s fine. It’s just… I was surprised you asked.”
“Oh. I was watching you and the others perform earlier. You seem to really enjoy performing for an audience or well…” Mark pauses while chewing. “You smile really nicely while dancing.”
Jaemin fights not to giggle. He’s never been told by anyone that he smiles really nicely aside from his mother telling him he looks best when he smiles.
“Oh thank you, Mark hyung. You dance really well too. I think everyone knows that.”
Mark shakes his head a little. “No, I think the others dance way better. Like Taeyong hyung or Jisung!”
Jaemin looks at Mark, admittedly scanning for that sign of fake humility he sees in some other trainees when they get compliments. But Mark seems so honest, his big eyes and open face telling everything. They keep talking till they finish their meal, Mark sharing about Canada and Jaemin talking about his favorite games lately. Maybe if Jaemin was smarter or wiser, he would have known that he shouldn’t be getting attached to more people but something about Mark’s easy laugh and clumsy speech made Jaemin want to know more.
“Oh, do you want to practice together on Thursday evening, Jaemin-ssi? I know we both end lessons earlier at 7 but we could run through the dance routine from today again if you want.” Mark asks him as they put away their trays.
“Sure, hyung.” Mark walks a bit ahead of him to the exit of the dining hall. “And it’s Jaemin.”
Mark turns around and looks confused. “Yes, I know your name, Jaemin-ssi.”
“No, I mean, you can call me Jaemin. Just Jaemin. We’re friends now, right?”
“Oh! Yes! Definitely.” Mark looks eager and his smile is so wide that Jaemin feels compelled to smile back.
✨
Thursday evening sees Mark waiting for Jaemin right outside the room they have rap training in. Jeno passes by Mark, sending questioning looks that Jaemin ignores as Jeno bids both of them good night and heads home. Mark tells Jaemin how excited he is since usually, he runs through dance practice alone and it’s better when someone else is there. Jaemin just smiles and tells him Mark can pay for tteokbokki later when they’re done as thank you.
That Thursday evening translates to Friday evening as well. This time, Donghyuck joins them and Jaemin spends the convenience store trip after practice, consoling Mark that Donghyuck’s style of friendship making is really through teasing people. Mark just scowls at Jaemin and says he prefers this style of friendship development more. Jaemin hides his grin behind his carton of banana milk.
Saturday means double dance class but Jaemin finds he doesn’t mind. His mother comments that he hasn’t seen Jaemin uncomplaining at all for training since he started until now. Jaemin tells her it’s just a phase and that he’ll quit next month. Maybe. His mom does that knowing hum and tells him to have a good day.
Surprisingly, it is a good day. Jeno’s mom sends over pizza which he shares with them all for lunch. Mark joins them at their usual table since Jaemin caught him right before lunch break and pulled him along with them to lunch.
“Thanks for letting me join you guys.” Mark says, holding on to the slice of pizza Jeno handed to him carefully like it’s a special present.
“Of course, hyung!” Jeno enthuses and Jaemin feels thankful for Jeno’s natural calm in soothing Mark’s nervous energy.
“Thanks for joining us, Mark hyung. I’m sure the other trainee groups have also been wanting to hang out with you.” Jisung says.
“Oh, I don’t know. I mean the hyungs are cool but they’re hyungs, you know. You guys are… comfortable? More comfortable? Is that the right way to say it?” Mark turns to Jaemin for an answer and Jaemin nods in quick reassurance.
Donghyuck smiles at Mark’s words and he quickly taps the table to get everyone’s attention. “What if for the next evaluation, we all perform together? We can do a Shinee song! Or a TVXQ song. There’s five of us. It’s perfect numbers.”
“That sounds fun.” Jisung agrees. Jeno nods in assent as well.
“I’ve never done a group performance for an evaluation but I’d love to do it with you guys.” Mark answers. “What do you think, Jaemin?”
Jaemin looks at all of them. “Yeah, let’s do it.”
Donghyuck does a little celebratory dance that even Mark laughs at. They all quickly dive into a discussion over which song they should do and plan out how they’re gonna practice for it in the middle of school and training classes.
Two Saturdays later, they perform Shinee’s Ring Ding Dong. The trainers are so pleased that they decide to film the five of them. Jaemin is smiling all throughout and their dance teacher even pats him on the back and tells him it’s so nice to see him performing like this. Mark beams at Jaemin when the dance teacher walks away and tells him they should get ice cream to celebrate.
✨
They become cemented as a group of five after that, with Mark being their leader. Donghyuck claims it’s an age thing, but Jaemin knows it’s more that it feels natural. Enough so that one of the choreographers showed them a picture of a mother duck leading a flock of baby ducks and said this was their group, following Mark anywhere.
Mark takes one look at it and flushes red but his fond smile is undeniable.
✨
It’s weird. The feeling in Jaemin’s chest when he looks at Mark. He knows it’s a universal experience. Even in their little circle, he’s not the only one that looks at Mark like he carried the stars within him. Jaemin feels it in the urge to cling to Mark every time he orbits near enough. Sees it in the way Jeno watches and smiles at Mark with the devotion of a loyal dog. Watches it play out as Donghyuck pokes and plays with fire, taking Mark’s swats and glares as drops of attention.
Jaemin settles into it. A crush is harmless when it’s just an unspoken truth shared among them all. Maybe it’s a side effect of following Mark’s lead and being in his circle. He quickly understands that Mark’s time is a limited resource. Their group soon starts becoming a solidified plan and the heads start speaking to them about pre-debut promotions and shows. Mark starts splitting his time between all of them.
The thing is, Jaemin’s never been competitive his whole life. Yet he finds himself greedy for minutes with Mark and drinks up any compliment Mark throws at him for his improved dancing, for his visuals, for anything. He would die before admitting that he feels a little jealous of Donghyuck, of all people, who gets to be in two units with Mark.
All of these take a back seat the moment that they’re all shuffled together in a meeting room and told that they will debut. NCT Dream is their group name and Jisung beams in delight at that.
They get to work immediately. They have to learn how to ride a hoverboard and dance on it. Mark takes his leader role so seriously, pushing them in practice. After a long practice, the dance teacher tells them they can take a break. They all quickly disperse and Jaemin pats Chenle’s back, who still is adjusting to all of the chaos. Mark remains in front of the mirror, ready to run through the choreo again by himself.
“Hyung, do you wanna go get ice cream with me?” Jaemin asks. Mark looks conflicted, but gives in as soon as Jaemin pouts a little.
They walk to the convenience store two streets down from the building. Mark insists on paying for the two popsicles. “Hyung’s treat.” He says as he pushes the bills to the cashier.
They sit down on the bench right outside the store. Mark turns to him and Jaemin raises his eyebrow when Mark looks for a little too long.
“You good, hyung?” Jaemin nudges Mark with his shoulder.
“Uh yes. It’s just — I feel like I haven’t seen you in a while.”
“We’ve been in practice together for three days.”
“Yeah, but.” Mark coughs and looks away. “You’ve gotten more handsome.”
Jaemin feels his heart skip at that, but quickly grins in a teasing way. “Ah, of course, I have to be to be the best center for our leader.”
Mark shakes his head. “No, I mean, yes. But I hope you know I voted you as center because you’ve always had it in you. You’re magnetic, Jaemin.”
“Thank you.” Jaemin doesn’t know what else to say and decides to flip the conversation. “How are you, hyung?”
Mark seems a little startled by the question. “I’m excited, but really nervous. I feel like my emotions are on a rollercoaster with every debut. I don’t know. I feel like I have more at stake with our debut. Like we’ve all been together for two years and this is it. It’s special, you know? It’s us.”
Jaemin nods and observes the tense line that Mark’s shoulders have formed over the last few months.
“You’re doing well, hyung. I know even Renjun and Chenle feel more at ease with you leading us. Don’t push yourself too hard about it.”
“I know but I’m the leader. I set the tone, you know.” Mark says and sighs.
“But whether things go well or not, don’t blame yourself. We’re a team, hyung. We know you do a lot already for us. You can rely on us too.” Jaemin raises his pinky then. “Promise me when we go back, you’ll head back to the dorm with me right after.”
“But, practice -”
“Is done. Jisung’s bedtime is soon and you also look like you could need a whole ten hours of sleep.”
Mark just bites his lip in response. “Hyung, promise me.”
“Okay.” Mark says after a few seconds and interlinks their pinkies. “Just for today.”
“Good.” They finish the rest of their ice cream in silence and walk back to the agency building. Later, when they return to the dorms and are about to head to sleep, Jaemin’s phone alerts him to messages from Mark. The first message is a close up shot of their half eaten ice cream. The second is a picture of the moon with the message “Thank you for tonight.”