Fourth

Old Blood New Money
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“Tell me everything!” 

Mark glanced over at Jinyoung who was seated on his couch with his laptop as he walked through his door. Sometimes he really regretted giving his best friend a key. Jinyoung always used the excuse that Mark’s place was bigger, nicer, and quieter but Mark was pretty sure he was just nosy and needed to keep up to date on his personal life. 

He was tired and his new tattoo was still sore, so all he wanted to do was fall asleep, for the love of all that was evil in the world, that was all he was asking for.

He shucked his leather jacket off and hung it up before walking to the kitchen, rolling his shoulder, “Everything about what?”

Jinyoung scoffed before setting his laptop aside and running over to his friend who was rummaging through his fridge, “You just spent hours with the youngest and most successful financier in this city. What was she like?  What industries is she projecting will experience the largest growth? Are the rumors true about the Samsung merger? Does she think they’ll be any issues with the stock once it’s publicly announced?”

“How can you say so much, so quickly?” Mark muttered, tipping a bottle of cold water down his throat.

“I can’t believe all this time that fake SmartLogic software I made was for a company that she was investing in. This is insane. It’s basically like we’re business partners, now.” Jinyoung gushed.

Mark glanced at the stars glittering in Jinyoung’s eyes before furrowing his brows, “You do remember that I was there to make sure no one kills her, right? People are literally out for her blood.”

“Fine, at least tell me what she’s like. Is she really the Dragon everyone calls her?” Jinyoung asked, b with curiosity.

“Dragon?” Mark asked incredulously. The only information he was given on her was what he learned during the course of the meeting with her and the Boss. “They call her that?” 

Jinyoung looked appalled at his lack of knowledge, “It’s her nickname because she’s so intimidating and relentless when it comes to her work. How do you get to spent time with her when you know so little?”

Mark nodded, absorbing the information, and leaving out his snarky jabs. Dragon seemed fitting for the little that he saw of her. “Well, she swears a lot.”

“Unexpected, but okay.” Jinyoung said. At this point, he was willing to take any crumbs he could get about the Seo Heiran.

"Wears expensive-looking clothes." Mark tilted his head at his friend, “And did you know she has a daughter?”

Jinyoung’s eyes widened, now this was bigger than a crumb, “No , really? I had no clue, but then again no one cares about the personal life of businesswoman. The dad in the picture?”

He shook his head, the thought definitely crossed his mind a few times when he was around her, “Not that I can tell. I was going to ask you if there was someone in her life that could be a problem. Nosy, jealous boyfriends are difficult to deal with.”

“It’s hilarious that you think her hypothetical boyfriend would be jealous of you, but no, she’s good at guarding her private life, you know, hence not knowing about her kid. She’s been single as far back as I can remember, it’s been the topic of a lot of feminist debates and I ha—”

Mark gave him a look that shut him up, “Yes or no answers only.”

”You’re so boring.” Jinyoung pouted, “No, okay? No boyfriend.”

Mark's gaze fell past Jinyoung’s shoulder as he sunk in deep thought. It was almost unbelievable that someone like her managed to be a parent and a successful businesswoman without any help. He wondered what that was like, to have even one parent be a present and healthy guardian in your life.

She didn’t have a whole lot of that growing up apparently and now her kid might not either. 

All because of them. Huh. 

“Oh god, this means you have to spend time with a kid.” Jinyoung snickered.

Mark cut him a glare, “She actually had the balls to tell me that I’m not allowed to have my ‘weapons’ out in front of the child. As if I’m not saving their asses with those weapons.”

“See if Jackson can childproof your gun. Maybe your gun can shoot jellybeans.” Jinyoung joked before shaking his head, impressed. “But damn, she’s vicious to be barking orders at you. She’s my idol.”

Mark made a face before turning away, muttering under his breath, “Yeah, never knew you could be so vicious in 6-inch heels.”

“Oh, , I totally forgot about her heels,” Jinyoung said, slapping himself on the forehead.

Mark was dubious, “She’s known for them?”

“She has a notorious love for them, and has a huge collection, apparently,” Jinyoung stated factually.

That was some good news. She had more which meant she was going to wear them often.

“Someone from DS came after her today,” Mark informed.

“Already? .” Jinyoung muttered, “Do you know who?”

Mark shook his head, “They were wearing a helmet, and, on a motorcycle, I think a few of them drive those.”

Jinyoung shook his head, “Thank god you were there.”

“She called me, actually, after all the big talk about not needing me,” Mark said quietly. “Thought she’d have to be on the brink of death before admitting she needed my help.” 

Jinyoung smiled slightly, “Impressive, someone whose pride doesn’t get in the way, something you should probably learn. I’m guessing you followed through?”

“That’s the only reason she agreed to let me do my job properly.”

Jinyoung chuckled, “She has a reputation of having a thorough recruiting process.”

“I barely made the cut. Nepotism didn’t work in my favor.” Mark muttered.

“Wow, she hates him that much, huh?” Jinyoung said, his brows raised high.

Mark shook his head in disbelief as he thought back to the scene he witnessed in her office, “She nearly clocked him with a paperweight shaped like an elephant.”

Jinyoung let out a laugh, "Now I have to meet her.”

“Good luck, she hates all of us,” Mark grumbled.

Jinyoung tilted his head, amused at his friend’s growing scowl, “You don’t like her either, do you?”

“She’s demanding, aggressive, she’s going to resist anything I do, I can already tell, and to top it all off, I’m going to have to follow her around while she does boring corporate bull and pretend to be her personal assistant. So yeah, not really her biggest fan.”

“Man, I should’ve been assigned to her,” Jinyoung whined. "I would worship the ground her heels walk on."

He snorted. “And do what? HTML code her to safety?”

Jinyoung laughed sarcastically before slipping his hands into his sweater pockets. “You think this plan is actually going to work? It's a big risk. It's rare the Boss does something this drastic and uncertain. She's a huge unpredictable variable and DS are just waiting for an opening.”

Mark leaned his head back and stared up at the ceiling, “If the Boss said it would work, we have to trust him.”

“Yeah, but people aren’t always objective when it comes to their family,” Jinyoung said wistfully.

Mark paused a second too long before speaking. “I wouldn’t know anything about having a family.”

“The world's tiniest violin is playing just for you.” Jinyoung snorted.

Mark let the silence suspend over the two of them before Jinyoung spoke, humour dried out from his tone, “Do you think she’d ever forgive him?”

“She really doesn’t like him,” Mark said simply. Hated would probably describe how she felt about him, she made that abundantly clear. Hearing her list out all the things that the Boss put her and her remaining family through surprised him. His Boss was always one that preached about loyalty and how GOT7 was more than just a gang, but family. He was surprised it ended the way that it did.

He was surprised he abandoned one family, in lieu of another.

Jinyoung cocked his head at the half-hearted response, “Did he even tell you he had a daughter before that meeting?”

Mark turned away, pulling his shirt over his head, saying nothing, but despite silence being the root of his personality, Jinyoung sense this silence to be different than most. This was a silence that was filled with a lot more than noise, “None of us knew.” 

“It’s different, that's for sure.” Mark muttered as he walked into his room.

Jinyoung followed him without hesitation, leaning against the doorframe as Mark disappeared into his closet, “It’s different because you’re his favorite but now you’re just like the rest of us, in the dark.”

Mark stepped out with a glare, a sweater hanging around his neck, doing little to cover the tapestry of ink curved across his skin and taut muscle, “Don’t be a . We aren’t in school trying to be teacher's pet.”

“Did you talk to him about it? About her?” He asked.

Mark gave him a bored look, “I don’t ask questions, I just do what I’m told.”

“No wonder you’re the favourite.” Jinyoung snorted.

Mark growled at his friend, his body tensing, “Watch it, Young.”

But Jinyoung didn’t look deterred, “Don’t get all ‘assassin alpha male’ on me, I don’t fall for that bull, remember? You’re hurt he didn’t tell you he had a daughter but you’re just going to bite your tongue because you don't want to defy him.”

“My job isn’t to bond with the Boss or question his decisions. My job is to protect him, GOT7 and now…her.” Mark muttered, shoving his arm through the sleeve of his sweater.

“How noble.” Jinyoung cooed sarcastically, “I’d like to meet her.”

"I heard you the first time." Mark rolled his eyes, “DS is trying to kill her, or did that fact slip your mind, yet again?”

“All the more reason I should shake her hand before she dies.” Jinyoung said simply.

Mark just shot his friend a look before walking out of his room and over to the fish tank on display by the front door. Jinyoung always joked that Mark having a fish as a pet was mismatched, that he should instead, own a Dobermann or pitbull, something powerful and menacing, like him. But Mark disagreed, there was something peaceful about fish and their silent floating that he appreciated.

Swim, swim, swim.

Jinyoung inspected his friend from afar, watching him slide the top of the fish tank open before sprinkling flakes of fish food over the water. He rocked on his heels uneasily, he wasn’t quite sure how to approach the topic, it wasn’t one they often talked about.

Their feelings.

“Are you…okay?”

Mark stiffened, lifting his head for a moment before looking over at Jinyoung, “What.” He deadpanned.

“Don’t make me say it again.” Jinyoung said with a wince.

There were a lot of things he could’ve said in response but all that it boiled down to, all that truly mattered was what he came out with, “It’s my job.”

“DS is sadistic and cruel. They want her ing bleeding heart on a silver platter, they won’t stop until they rip it out of her chest, by all means necessary.” Jinyoung said, even though Mark knew better than anyone.

Mark shook his head dismissively, he always did when it came to talking about DS, “I’m good at what I do. She’ll be fine, her kid too.”

Jinyoung sighed in exasperation, knowing exactly what he was trying to evade, and it pissed him off that he was going to have to spell it out for him.

“Yeah, but what about you?”

-----

Heiran didn’t know how long she had been seated by the kitchen table, just staring off in the very direction that Mark had exited in hours ago when he left her with an ominous, ‘See you soon, duchess.’

Drained.

This day utterly drained her until she had nothing left but a dazed stare.

It's not fair. This isn't fair.

Those words kept repeating over and over again in her mind.

It wasn’t until the sound of her front door opening and light footsteps patterning towards her did something good flicker in her and she was pulled from her thoughts. She straightened up and caught sight of Lucy racing towards her, holding the heels that she had kicked off in the middle of the hallway earlier, one in each hand. “You didn’t put your shoes away!”

For the first time since her father showed up, she let out an honest, happy laugh, “C’mere.”

Lucy dropped her heels and Heiran resisted the urge to wince knowing that they were probably scuffed now. She held her arms open and Lucy charged straight into her embrace.

“Hi sunshine.” She flinched when her own voice cracked. “H-How was ice cream?”

“Oh my god sooooo good! I had rocky road and cookie dough with chocolate sauce and—”

Heiran smiled and nodded but Lucy’s voice buzzed around the edges before it faded out. All she could hear was her heart pounding.

“Mom?”

Her eyes snapped to her little girl who was looking up at her curiously. Overcome with emotion, Heiran pulled Lucy against, her nose buried in her hair, breathing in the fruity smell of her shampoo. She reminded her of warmth, safety, innocence…and sunshine.

That settled it.

No matter what it took, she’d protect this little girl with everything she had. No more pain for her. 

“Mom?” Lucy grunted; her voice muffled against her shoulder. “You’re squishing me!”

She didn’t want to let go, she wanted to strap her to her chest and carry her around whenever she went, but Lucy was growing up and she knew better than anyone how important it was for a young girl to be able to stand on her own two feet.

If only she could do the same now.

She pulled back and cupped Lucy’s face, “Hi, sunshine.”

“You already said that.” She giggled.

She smiled weakly and kissed Lucy on the top of her head, “Sunshine, you should know that things are going to be a little different from now on, but everything is going to be okay.”

“What do you mean?” Her eyes were big and bright as they blinked up at her mother.

It should be easier to talk to a 9-year-old girl. Why wasn't it? “We won’t be going out as much on spontaneous trips, we might have to cut back on some of your after school activities and…you remember our password right?”

She nodded studiously, “A grownup has to say the word strawberry to show they are mommy's friend.”

“My smart girl.” Heiran whispered, “You might…um…notice some new things in the house and new faces. Mommy hired some people to help out.”

Lucy was already losing interest as she played with Heiran’s collar, “I guess that’s okay. Can I play with them?"

"No, sunshine. I hired this person to help me with work things. They don't have time to play with you." She wanted to shiver at the thought of Mark, tattooed and terrifying, glowering down at Luc

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Comments

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tonnettie
#1
Chapter 38: Going over the story, it’s just so twisted, I mean you don’t expect a story to twist and turn is so many ways. One moment you would feel that you have it figured out. But lo and behold, you’ll just get blow off your seat cause there’s another bomb. This is such a masterpiece
mizzinformation #2
Chapter 38: I enjoyed each and every chapter. I rarely read got7 fics… this is really good. Thanks for sharing this!
lovekji #3
Chapter 38: I dont know what to say but this storyline is soooo good. You are amazing author-nim
stars0514 #4
Chapter 38: Finished this story in 2 days because I was so hooked. The plot was well made, the twists were woven in well. Am very impressed. One of my favorite stories ever. Thank you!
neutron97
#5
Chapter 24: Dammmniittt.. I hate her father sooo much. Such a useless person
cityofgalaxy
#6
Chapter 14: god, mark is such a softie and lucy is such a sweetheart
moonlight12
#7
Chapter 38: It's been a while since I've been so hooked in a story in AFF. I just found this story on friday night and finished reading it in 2 days! I've read some of your stories, and each of them has a different feeling, but this one just went straight to the heart, there were a lot of lines in this story that got to me. So saying "this is amazing" it's not enough. I should say, I was kind of used to reading fics where Jackson and Mark are best friends and looking out for each other, but I liked the change about that fact in here, Jinyoung's character just won me.
Just how you portray everything, how you describe everything...I am so sure that I would be rereading this story and still feel the same way I felt for the first time. Ok, I know that was cheesy but it is so true! I JUST LOVED THIS! Thanks for this incredible story
natsumi4ever
#8
Chapter 19: Finally got around to rereading and finish reading this story. I already had a feeling DS would be her ex and I pondered if it was another got7 member. I have to say, this still got me cause lmao heiran sure does have a type? Or more accurately she has a habit of pulling dangerous men to her. Like dang girl…
hellroses
#9
Chapter 38: ahhhhhh!!!! i swear, it’s been years since i properly read on this platform in a while BUT YOU, YOU ARE AMAZING!!! where do i even start, the mark characterisation, giving him tattoos and the whole baobei name aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh! it’s like, you leveled up so much since ROD. you’re a freaking masterpiece i cannot, reading your fics give me so much joy GOD BLESS U now excuse me i’ll go scream at u on ur twit too
atasiwi #10
Chapter 38: I love heiran character