“Oh my god! Oh my god! There’s so much blood. Oh god.” She said, frantic.

Heiran grabbed his arm and slung it over her shoulder before helping him into her house. She kicked the door shut and tried to carry him to the couch but halfway to their journey, she buckled under his weight and they both dropped to the floor. 

She gasped, pushing herself up when Mark let out a pained groan. She hovered over him, eyes wide, “Are you okay?! Please don’t die! Are you going to bleed out? Let me call an ambulance, we need to go to the hospital. How did this happen? Does it hurt? Did someone do this to you? Did you see their face? Should I call somebody? ”

“Heiran, I need you to take a deep breath and focus just for 15 minutes, okay?” He grumbled out.

She paused and blinked at him in awe, “You used my real name.”

He smiled weakly, “Is now the best time for this, baobei?”

“ Mark, I don’t know what to do. Tell me what to do.”

“I need you to clean this. Just douse it in rubbing alcohol and wrap it in a bandage. It’s not deep enough to need stitches.” He said breathlessly.

She sat up, “O-oh okay, sit tight, I think I had some of that stuff.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” He garbled, closing his eyes.

“Don’t close your eyes!” She shrieked before running up the stairs, nearly slipping and banging her knee against the step.

She came back a few minutes later, supplies in hand, and dropped down next to him. She tore his shirt open and gaped at the wound. “Holy .”

He winced, “That bad?”

“Uhhhh, no?” She knew it wasn’t a deep cut but there was a lot of blood.

He laughed weakly until she poured the alcohol over his wound, and he groaned in pain, “Warn a guy, .”

“Sorry." She said meekly before dressing the wound.

Her eyes flitted over his lean form, glancing at the tattoos that covered every inch and the firm muscle that was hidden under it. “Okay, I think that should do it.”

“Do you have any painkillers?” He muttered.

She dropped the blood-soaked rags and scrambled to look through her things. “Yes! But they’re Lucy’s.”

“What?” He deadpanned. 

She held out a bottle of gummy tablets and he groaned again, except this time in disbelief, “Are you kidding me?”

“Sorry, I took mine to the office but these will do the job, they just taste like candy.”

He let his good hand take the bottle from her and flipped open the lid before dumping them in his mouth. She watched him worriedly, “I think you’re only supposed to take two.”

He glared at her from his spot on the floor, “Do I look like I’m the ages 6 to 12?”

“You don’t get to give me attitude when you show up at my house bleeding to death.” She snapped.

He rolled his head, “I’m not bleeding to death. I’m just bleeding.”

“You’re so annoying.” She grumbled. 

He touched his stomach with his hand, “Gotta keep you on your toes.”

She sat down next to him and smiled, “You scared me there. That was a lot of blood.”

“I’ll be alright.” He mutter, reaching his hand out to rest it against her waist, his fingers splayed against her. She just huffed as he rubbed his hand up and down her side. The heat seared through the fabric and pressed against her skin, “Your shirt is soft, silk is killer on you.”

Her breath caught in her lungs and she felt mildly dizzy despite not being the one suffering blood loss. His touch was firm but not controlling or forceful, it was still gentle and nearly submissive against her body. 

When was the last time a man touched her like that? “You are not loopy on children’s pain meds.”

He laughed before sighing, his hand still on her body. He blinked heavily before resting his eyes.  “I like to pretend I am."

“Mark, why did you come here?” Heiran asked, chewing on her lip.

“I can’t go to a hos—“

“Then why didn’t you go to your headquarters? They probably have better resources than pills shaped like the Disney princesses.” She fired back.

He looked at her before squeezing her side, "Because you’re here.”

Her eyes widened, “Wh—“

“I figured if I was about to die, I’d want to see your pretty face before I go out instead of Jinyoung’s.” His fingers were about to slip under her blouse to at her bare skin before she moved.

"You just said that you weren't bleeding to death. Why the hell were you thinking about dying?" She barked. 

He just smiled, trying to reach for her again, "M'always thinking about dying. Want to see something pretty when I do."

She laid down on her back next to him, trying to pretend the weird shift in her gut from his words wasn’t real, “What happened? How did you get stabbed?”

“Had a bad meeting.” He muttered.

Heiran raised her brow, “I’ve also had a lot of bad meetings before, they rarely ended in stab wounds.”

“You and I are in different businesses, duchess.” He rumbled. 

She sighed and eyed him worriedly, “Did my dad do this to you?”

“For once, no. He didn’t.” He said with a smirk.

She tilted her head and he turned his neck to look at her. Seeing her curious look, he snorted, “You’re not my only assignment.”

“But I thought you were good at your job. How’d someone stab you?” She asked.

He laughed but then groaned at the pain, “The fact that the cut could be patched up but a woman who barely passed biolog—“

“You don’t need to rub that in my face. I went to an Ivy League college and got two degrees in business. Who cares about a dumb high school biology cl—“

“Yeah but 55%?” He gaped. 

“Why did I tell you that?” She groaned before reaching out and pinching at his ribs. 

He flinched with a chuckle but then hissed when he jerked his body too harshly. She pursed her lips and watched him cautiously, “Are you sure you’re okay? You really don’t need to go to the hospital?”

“I’m fine. My organs are untouched.” He said, readjusting his back. 

Heiran sighed and sat up, crawling to the couch and grabbing two cushions before coming back to his side. She used one to slide under his head and the other to put under his waist. 

“Thanks.” He muttered. He glanced down at his torso before sighing, “Was ripping my shirt open really necessary?” 

“Sorry.” She said with a laugh, she tried to pull his shirt together, “I guess I got carried away.”

He smiled, “Or you just want me shirtless. Just admit it.”

“Oh, yeah, I couldn’t help myself that while you were bleeding and just thought, what the hell might as well see if he’s muscled up.” She said blankly. 

Her eyes trailed over his chest, watching his rise and fall with each breath. She followed the lines and curves of the ink etched onto his skin. Up close, she could properly see each of the images that were drawn on him and how even though they were all different, they somehow managed to be tied together.

“Why tattoos?” She asked, “Why is that your thing?”

He looked down at his body, his finger trailing the compass that was inked on his , “Gives me control, I guess. I get to decide what I do to my body.”

“Why do you need control?” She whispered. 

He blinked at the ceiling before looking at her, “Everyone wants control. Even you. It just makes us feel more in charge of our own destiny. A lot of my life I wasn’t in control, I was led, I followed. Tattoos give me control. Plus, they’re pretty good at hiding scars.”

At that comment, Heiran’s eyes focused on some of the uneven texture of his skin. There were scars scattered all over his torso. “Well, they look pretty.”

“Why, thank you, duchess.” He mused. “I bet you’d look good with a few.”

She chuckled, “Maybe some day.”

“When you do, you should let me do it.”

Her eyes widened as she turned to him, “You can tattoo?”

“I am a man of many talents.” He drawled. 

She chuckled, “Of course you are.”

Reaching out, she dragged her fingers around the bandage that was plastered near his hipbone and Mark shivered, a moan escaped him. A moan that didn’t come from pain.

She didn't need to know that his mind immediately jumped to the way her touch would feel if she slipped her fingers lower, past his belt. Those children's pills had to stronger than he thought.

dried as she looked up at him to watch his face. His eyes were closed but they slowly opened, lidded and glazed as he stared down at her.

That sound was going to haunt her.

“Will you stay the night?” She whispered. 

His lips parted as he watched her before nodded, “Yeah, I don’t think I can drive back.”

“Can I leave you on the ground?” She teased weakly. 

His laugh was croaky, “No, but don’t bother dragging me up the stairs, I can take the couch.” 

She raised her brow, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, just help me get there.” He groaned as he tried to sit up. 

She took his arm and helped him up. He was better than before, able to carry more of his weight as she set him down on the couch. “You’ll be okay?”

“Don’t worry about me.” He muttered, eyes closed.

Her lips itched and she nodded before quickly cleaning up the floor and the drops of blood before coming downstairs with blankets and pillows. She tucked the pillow under his head and draped the blanket over him. Heiran was sat on the coffee table and watched him sleep, he looked so young and harmless. She ran her fingers gently through his silver hair and smiled to herself as he curled deeper into the couch. 

God, she didn’t know what to feel.

-----

Mark woke up to the smell of coffee and the sound of pots and pans clanging in the kitchen. 

He winced at first and took a pause to remember everything that occurred the night before. He slipped a hand under the blanket and prodded at the wound by his hip. It still stung when he pressed down but enough of the pain had dulled down to the point where he could force himself up the stairs to brush his teeth and wash his face before coming back down.

Walking into the kitchen, Mark didn’t know what to do with his hands when Heiran set down a pot of coffee in front of an empty mug before setting a plate of bacon next to it. “You can eat before you go.”

He sat down and poured a cup before watching her, “Twice in a row?”

“You’re a patient. Special circumstances.” She said with a slight smile, “Feeling better?”

He nodded and took a bite of the bacon before resigning to the mug of coffee, “Better, for sure. Um…thanks for last night. I shouldn’t have shown up like that.”

“It’s alright.” She said before raising a brow, “I’m kinda flattered. Oh, and I saw your car out front, there’s a dent in the bumper. Wanna tell me what happened or should I just find a mechanic that doesn’t ask questions and help you hide the body?”

He snorted, “I clipped a curb looking for Lucy. Was being a bit reckless with the driving that day.”

“Oh.” She said, eyes wide, “Wow.”

His smirk fell when he glanced over the counter at the little framed picture he had seen before. "Is that your mom?"

Heiran followed his gaze before a soft look washed over her, "Yeah, that was before the chemo took most of her hair."

"You loved her?" He asked.

Heiran looked at him, she was going to laugh at how absurd the question was when she saw genuine curiosity in his eyes. Like the concept of motherly love was foreign to him. "Yes, I did. Very much. I learned everything from her. Everything about being a person and everything about being a mother."

"And she loved you?"

It was the same almost naive curiosity, "Yeah, I think she did."