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106allibi · 11 days

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dive into you ; MARK LEE

pairing: swimmer!mark x sportsreporter!reader

genres: fluff fluff fluff!!, slight childhood friends to lovers?

disclaimers: mark and yn are so awkward and shy it's kinda painful

wc: 4.1k

a/n: my friend had requested for a bonus scene inspired by the pole vaulter who went to kiss his girlfriend after breaking the world record and I folded in half and ended up writing a whole ass part 2 so expect a part 2 🤗 also feedback is so so greatly appreciated!

you wiped your clammy hands on your cotton pencil skirt and tugged at the collar of your blazer for the nth time. you were feeling unbelievably stuffy in your formal wear, but you couldn't complain when you were given the privilege of free front row seats to one of the world's biggest sports events, more specifically, the swimming category of the event.

being a sports reporter for one of the mainstream news channels in south korea meant that you were sent to these international events and the task of bringing the victories (and losses) of your home-grown athletes back home. having been in the job for just over 2 years now, you've seen your fair share of matches and become acquainted with quite a few local and international athletes from various after parties and social gatherings, but this time round there was a new face on lane two.

you didn't expect to know every athlete in the world, not when you were still considered relatively new to the field, but your eyes couldn't help but travel to lane two, who seemed to be doing extraordinarily for an athlete you didn't recognise. maybe it was the comically blown up maple leaf on the top of his swimming cap, or the way his entire demeanor changed as he pulled his goggles down to his eyes. there was something about the air around him that drew you in even though you were there for the korean swimmers.

you couldn't help but applaud him along with the rest of the crowd as he swam up to the edge of the pool shortly after the second contestant. he was in third place, and you couldn't help but be amazed even though you weren't normally all that interested in swimming.

"absolutely phenomenal, did you know this is his debut event? I wonder where canada was keeping such a gem" one of your friends, who was a reporter for china, leaned over and commented, both your eyes never leaving the lanes. you finally got a front view of mr canada's face when the big screen panned over from another competitor, with his timing, ranking, and most importantly, his name showing up on the screen. "mark lee, third place." the serious, stone-cold gaze he held was now broken by the cutest shy smile you've ever seen as he swam over to the other lanes to congratulate them and receive his own for literally placing third on his debut event.

great, another athlete to add to my list of cute athletes.

your thoughts were interrupted by your colleague, who you now realised was waving frantically at you from the side of the pool while you were in a trance (read: mesmerised by mark), and that was your cue to leave the stands and do your job.

you bowed and congratulated your athlete once again for his gold medal as the cameras stopped rolling. as your team of camera men moved around you, transporting equipment and packing up, you felt something bump into your shoulder. something wet. you jumped at the damp sensation, whipping around to apologise to who you assumed was one of the swimmers, yet you were only met with the face of your newest addition to top 10 cutest athletes ever.

"oh my goodness, i’m so sorry-"

"no wait, um..."

mr canada, or mark lee, bronze medalist on literally his debut event, scratched the back of his head awkwardly. droplets of water dripped from the ends of his black hair like icicles as he held the towel around his bare chest with one hand.

"I saw you staring at me from the stands earlier."

you blinked at him as you felt heat creep up into your cheeks from embarrassment. when did he even find the time to catch you ogling at him?

"I just wanted to ask, do you perhaps... remember me?"

now you were blinking at him in confusion, your head tilting as your mind flipped through every sports-related memory. maybe team canada had brought him to an event before, maybe he had visited korea for a training session.

"oh if you could remind me where we met, I might have a more vivid recollection!"

you chirped shamelessly, forcing a polite smile onto your face. being a reporter, you’ve been in this situation far too many times, you knew how to save yourself! Mark cleared his throat, his eyes looking everywhere but at you.

"oh uh...sejeong middle."

"huh!?"

your confusion had escaped your lips faster than you thought as you clapped a hand over your mouth to stop your exclaims from embarrassing you even further. you expected him to name a country, an event, maybe even a person, but not your middle school.

"we were partners for PE, remember?"

your eyebrows furrowed as you pulled up a hazy memory of you back in Sejeong middle, with your PE teacher, Mr Jung, making you and your partner run laps around the field for forgetting to lock the gymnasium storeroom the day before. your partner, who you had to drag by the arm to complete the final lap, was a small, scrawny kid who was a whole head shorter than you, and had chubby cheeks that made his head seem rounder than it already was from his bowl cut.

"lee…minhyung?"

you blurted out from the memory and watched as mark's eyes lit up. he nodded like an excited puppy and started bouncing on the balls of his feet.

"that's me!"

you knew minhyung had migrated overseas later that year, but you didn't know he had gone to canada, or even started swimming.

your eyes subconsciously traveled the length of his body, from his slicked back, pitch black hair you traced the features he had grown handsomely into; his high cheekbones that were hiding behind his baby fats and his boyish smile that was still reminiscent of the lee minhyung you remembered. his stick-like arms were now defined biceps that flexed underneath his skin whenever he crossed his arms. and now you even had to look up to speak to him.

"you look so…different.”

red crept into his cheeks as you trailed off. he cleared his throat nervously again.

"um, if you don't have any plans after this, team canada is throwing an after party later tonight and I'd love to have you there. of course, that is if you want to!"

he completed anxiously, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. you nodded blankly, still trying to process the fact that your ex-middle school classmate was now an international-competing swimmer, and a bronze medalist for crying out loud, and also the embarrassing fact that you had unintentionally ogled over your ex-middle school classmate.

both of you exchanged contacts, with mark promising to pick you up from your hotel. light pink dusted his cheeks as the offer left his lips, his eyes looking at you expectantly for some confirmation. for some reason, your heart skipped a beat, quickly nodding in hopes that he didn't notice the way your body stiffened or the way your breathing changed. it wasn't the first time a guy picked you up, in fact your colleagues, regardless of gender, did that all the time when it was convenient. he was just being a gentleman, and you were just being weird (and painfully single), you told yourself.

“okay, um, see you later!” was all you managed to blurt before scrambling away.

you had changed out of your blazer and skirt into a pair of comfortable jeans and a t-shirt. you stepped out of your hotel lobby and instantly regretted not choosing the sweater as the breeze tickled your arms and permeated the thin fabric draped around your torso. you hugged yourself, rocking back and forth as you waited for mark to arrive.

mark. you weren't sure if you could get used to calling him mark.

lee minhyung was all you had known him as.

the little boy, significantly shorter and smaller than the other boys in class, who always got picked on for his thick, owl-framed glasses that always slid down the bridge of his nose, his comically gigantic school bag, and of course his metal spider-man lunch box.

the little boy who was always on chalkboard cleaning duty, which you soon realised was one of the ways he was picked on as the boys just loved to see him struggle to clean the top.

the little boy who didn’t know how to stand up for himself, and that infuriated little you, who had a bad habit of being painfully straightforward. you suddenly remembered your argument with his bullies that had sent you and the bullies to the principal’s office, where you continued to fight in front of the principal herself.

your trip down memory lane was cut short when the said boy arrived, his lips stretching into a smile when he saw you waiting for him.

his eyes traveled to the way your upper body curled as the breeze blew again and, without a word, immediately slid his team canada windbreaker off his shoulders and wrapped them around yours, exposing his bare (and broad) shoulders and the black tank top that hid under his windbreaker.

“wait- minhyung- I'm alright-”

“you get cold easily, don't you?”

your eyebrows furrowed in confusion. had you mentioned it to him before? he seemed to read your mind as he quickly added,

“oh it’s just that, you often wore a cardigan to school so i assumed…”

you did, and you were speechless because you couldn't believe that he remembered something as insignificant as that after all these years, when you could barely recognise his face earlier. your ears burned and you couldn't tell if you were touched by his gesture, embarrassed that you couldn’t recognise him, or the fact that his bare biceps were now staring at you (you always had a thing for biceps.)

you quickly looked away before he could catch you staring.

“let's get going, shall we.”

you always thought you were pretty social for an introvert, or you were at least skilled at looking social, but all the confidence in your social skills went out the window when you entered the hotel suite.

all eyes had turned to you and mark as soon as the door swung open. you had no idea you were even late for the gathering, but you must've been considering that almost all the canadian athletes were already present.

you suddenly felt small under their gazes. you squeezed the hem of mark’s oversized jacket for some comfort.

“oh my god, mark brought a girl.”

a voice piped up as the entire room erupted into ‘ooos’.

you were sure they were teasing mark, but you couldn't help but feel like you were being teased too. your hand stretched out for a small wave and you squeaked out a “hello”.

“it’s not like that guys, and you're scaring her.”

you had been conversing in korean with mark the entire time, but it hadn't occurred to you how hot his accent would be while speaking english. and you hoped it had never occurred to you because now you couldn’t get his voice out of your head.

“this is y/n, she works for team south korea, but she's an old friend from middle school.”

the athletes swiftly came up to greet you and shake your hand as you struggled to keep up with the names. you had planned to stick to mark, but the plan flew out the window when some of them dragged you for a drink with them on the couch.

“by the way, how come you're wearing markie's jacket?”

a female gymnast you already forgot the name of asked, her and a few other athletes leaning closer to get the gossip.

you would've laughed at the cute nickname they gave mark if they weren't implying that there was something going on between the both of you.

“oh uh, I get cold easily and he must've noticed. mark has always been a sweet boy!”

you ended off your reply with a forced laugh. you attempted to address him in the most casual, nonchalant tone you could muster to convince them that you felt nothing for each other.

but in reality, you were feeling… a lot. nostalgic at the reunion, awe for how far he has come, and unexplainably shy around him.

as time passed, you could feel your energy seeping out of you. another polite laughter and ingenuine ‘really?’ and you knew you’d be out. gossip and chatter grew softer around you as you sunk deeper into the couch in exhaustion, your brain automatically drowning out the conversations while you fiddled with the tab of the beer can with your thumb. you still made it a point to look up from time to time, just enough in order to come off as not rude.

but mark, who had been observing you ever since you were dragged away from his side, noticed the way you rubbed your hands against your lap, the way your lips curled into corporate smiles and let out strategic laughs he knew weren't genuine, and the way your cheeks didn’t quite reach your eyes when you smiled. it could’ve fooled everyone, but definitely not mark.

mark, who has had the biggest crush on you ever since you stood up for him against those bullies. and that crush lingered in the back of his mind unresolved and unrequited even as he moved across the globe.

“hey y/n, could I have my jacket back?”

you snapped out of your daze, your attention now on him as you let out an ‘of course’ and stood up almost too quickly to slide yourself out of his jacket, too eager to escape the suffocating, superficial conversations. you immediately missed the warmth of his jacket.

and his smell.

your cheeks flushed at that thought. his jacket smelled like a vanilla-scented candle; sweet, familiar, comforting.

and that was what Mark was in this very room; the sole candle burning brightly, bringing you warmth in this cold, winter-esque room.

he met you halfway across the living room, not even bothering to stretch out his hand to take his jacket when he dipped his head so that his lips were at your ear-level. his breath sent goosebumps up the back of your neck as he spoke, his voice low.

“wanna leave?”

your eyes widened as his head lifted to look at you. not just at you, into you. his eyes seemed to search yours and once it did, it held you in its grasp relentlessly. it was magnetic. for an entire second, you lost yourself in his eyes, and the longer you looked at him, you felt your exhaustion and fatigue dissipate.

you would’ve said no. you would’ve smiled and shook your head and lied that you were perfectly fine. but today, you just couldn't help it. maybe it was the familiarity of an old friend, or the way his eyes seemed to already know your answer, because strangely, you felt like you could be honest around him. you gave him the slightest nod, still unsure if you were being an inconvenience to him, but the small smile that followed quelled any doubts you had.

“hey guys, it's getting late and y/n has work tomorrow so she'll be taking her leave.”

he announced on your behalf definitively. you gathered the remainder of your social battery to force out friendly goodbyes and see you agains (you really didn't know if you wanted to) as mark guided you out of the room with two hands firmly planted on your shoulders.

as the door clicked shut behind the two of you, the initial confidence you had to be honest with him was immediately replaced with a sense of guilt. you worried that you had ruined the mood of the party, the party that he out of everyone should be enjoying. it was his debut, and an extraordinary debut for that matter, and probably his first after party as a debuted athlete with his dear teammates, and you were taking up way too much of his time.

“hey, um, I can head back by myself.”

you stopped in your tracks, folding his windbreaker neatly in your arms and passing it to him.

“you should enjoy your after party, I'll text you when I reach back if that'll reassure you-”

“no.”

you blinked at his interruption. his eyes seemed to widen at his own assertion.

“I mean, no, it's no big deal. they'll be fine without me.”

“but-”

“y/n.”

the way your name rolled off his tongue so softly, so sweetly, had your next word lodged in your throat.

“to be honest i…i only invited you ‘cause i wanted to spend time with you. can we spend some time together? just us two.”

he eyes had suddenly found interest in the hotel carpet as he spoke in a quiet voice. you couldn't find a polite response, or any response at all for that matter, because your heart was beating too fast for your lungs to keep up. you only had enough breath to stand there and stare at him.

with your lips sealed shut, you nodded, squeaking out the only ‘okay’ your lungs would allow you to. he looked up and smiled. you could get used to that smile.

the two of you strolled back to your hotel, which was thankfully not a long walk away, catching up on the years and time lost. upon mark’s insisting, you had reworn his windbreaker (you almost want to buy it off him). you had learnt that mark took up swimming as a co-curricular in high school and fell in love with the sport.

“and, to be honest…”

he trailed off. you tilted your head in curiosity, prompting him to finish his sentence.

“i decided when I moved that I'd pick up a sport. as much as I hated the bullying, I hated it more that I couldn't protect myself. i really wanted to get stronger now that i was on my own. you always jumped to my rescue and that made me fall for you, but-“

your feet stopped moving, and mark seemed to understand why as you gaped at him, his words reverberating off the walls of your mind. he let out a nervous chuckle, his hand automatically rubbing the back of his neck.

“oh I thought I was really obvious. why do you think I requested to be your PE partner?”

“I just thought you…didn't have any other friends…”

“ouch.”

mark clutched his chest jokingly with a small chuckle. a beat too long of silence ensued between the two of you before you decided to break it.

“but…you don’t like me anymore, right?”

you didn’t know if you wanted to hear his answer or not. you didn’t know if you even could, considering how loud your heart was beating in your ears. in fact you almost felt embarrassed for even asking that question.

of course he didn’t like you anymore, it’s been quite literally years since the two of you talked, and you've changed since then. you were most definitely bolder at the age of 13, when all you cared about was bossing your classmates around and sucking up to your teacher (which earned you your role as class chairperson). life after middle school had taught you to hold your tongue and your thoughts. corporate had taught you not to speak unless spoken to, to bow your head to your superiors and nod meekly if you wanted next month's pay.

you weren't the protector mark knew you as, in fact you felt like the opposite. you went from the lion to the lamb in the years you were apart and you were ashamed at how lame you had become. how disappointed would he be to learn about the you now?

while you were lost in your thoughts, you hadn't noticed him inching towards you.

“the way you feel about me will determine my answer.”

he answered softly. you weren't dense. you knew what his words implied.

“minhyung, I'm…really not the same person you liked in middle school.”

you breathed out, your heart hammering against your chest as you awaited his disappointment.

“I know.”

“then what else is there to like about me-”

“I don't know.”

you felt your heart sink at his answer. maybe, deep down, you had secretly expected a legitimate answer. maybe you had hoped to be proven wrong. but mark wasn't finished.

“I don't know. it's been years since we've spoken, since we've met, yet my heart still beats the same, fast-paced rhythm that leaves me breathless when I look at you. when I saw you in the stands, and I'm not kidding when I say this, my legs turned to jelly and I almost slipped back into the pool. thank god you didn’t see that- you didn’t right?”

you let out a small laugh at his silly question, gosh just how cute could he be? he mirrored your expression, letting out a small chuckle of relief. his eyes softened at the sight of your laughter, internally cheering that his stupidity had somehow managed to release some tension in your features. his fingers reached to touch yours gingerly, testing the waters to see if you'd recoil, and your lack of reaction and expectant eyes gave him the green light to hold more of you. his hold on your pinky was almost phantom, as if any sudden movement would cause a fracture.

“i know you've changed, but so have I. I don't know if we'll work, but could we try anyway?”

he looked at you in anticipation. this was your cue to speak. the line preceding yours. but like an unrehearsed substitute, your mind failed to form your line. what was your line even supposed to be? you wanted to say yes and no and maybe and you're crazy and I'm crazy. but all you managed to say was

“friends?”

you cracked a shy smile as you buried yourself deeper into his windbreaker, and he seemed to get your message. you weren't sure if you could date mark just yet, you were never one to jump into a relationship, but you knew a small part of you didn’t really mind dating him.

mark released a breath he didn't know he was holding. at least you didn't reject him, was what he thought. he smiled and nodded reassuringly.

“friends.”

though, with the way your ears turned red and the way your eyes sparkled when you looked at him, mark didn’t need a psychic to tell him that your friendship wouldn't last very long.

“minhyung! someone is here to see you!”

his teammate hollered from the pool side, wiggling his eyebrows as he gestured to something behind him. nobody called him minhyung, and he would never allow anyone to call him minhyung, except for you.

mark pulled his goggles off his head and looked up at the stands. god, he had never jumped out of the pool so quickly.

without bothering to grab the towel his friend was holding at him, he ran up the steps of the stands, almost slipping on the steps as he yelped, grabbing onto the railings. he looked up sheepishly, watching you cross your arms with a quirked eyebrow. he knew he was supposed to be embarrassed, but my goodness you just looked so. damn. cute. in the denim jacket he thought he had lost and the white polo cap he had mailed to you a few months ago. and that little frown on your face from watching him make an absolute fool out of himself in front of you, he thought he would have folded right there and then.

”mark lee minhyung don’t you dare-“

before you could even complete your threat, he threw himself onto you, wrapping his wet arms around your torso and pulling you in. he buried his dripping hair in your neck as you cringed at the dampness soaking through your shirt. you groaned, your hands come up to his bare chest to push him away, only earning an even tighter hug, literally trapping you in his arms.

”i miss you too, minhyung, but you’re getting me all wet.”

“dude i actually hate you. but i hate long distance more.”

he huffed, his breath tickling your skin. you chuckled, bringing up a hand to run through the back of his wet hair as the other wrapped around his shoulder. you pulled his face away from your neck, tip toeing to place a soft peck on the lips you missed so much. mark’s lips chased yours as you pulled away, a natural pout forming on his lips as your warmth slowly dissipated, his eyes practically begging for another. you giggled, placing one last kiss on his cheek to soothe him.

“enough, pretty boy. before I have to report my own scandal.”

mark rested his forehead against yours with a sigh, your presence filling him with comfort.

“you know, y/n, I think you're a much better swimmer than me with how you dived straight into my heart.”

“oh my god, shut up."

“you love me though.”

you rolled your eyes, unable to fight the small smile from creeping onto your face. he was right, though. you did, and you think you will for a long, long, time.

#mark lee #nct #nct mark #nct fluff #oneshot #imagine #nct dream #nct 127 #lee minhyung #rina dreams

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