Falling asleep with Soojung became a routine. The fact that he was just always so busy and was having to study into the late hours past midnight really limited his time spent with his girlfriend. No matter how tired he may be, the male would ask for some time with her. Sometimes, the girl would successfully convince him to return to his dorm. Soojung knew he was trying hard, but she also knew that he was busy with work. She didn't want him to jeopardize his health for her. The male would stay up extremely late just to have talks with her or to have movie nights with her. Mark was just so head over heels for the girl that he was willing to give her his all.

Mark stirred in his sleep as he heard his phone ringing. The sleepy male quickly searched for his phone to grab in hopes that Soojung wouldn't wake up from the noise. He had fallen asleep over at her place once again. He felt her snuggle up to him as she stirred in her sleep. It was a weekday and the last thing he wanted was to cause her to lose sleep.

"Hello?" 

"Mark Lee, I better see you back up at your dorm immediately! You're in lots of trouble right now and you're expected to be at the company for a meeting, so hurry up!" The male winced as he heard his manager shout from the other end of the call. Before he could even respond, his manager had already abruptly ended the call on him. Right away, he began to feel a sense of anxiety sneak its way into his body. What could it be that he's in trouble for?

Carefully and quietly, he lifted her head off his chest before slipping out of the bed. Placing a gentle kiss on her forehead, he proceeded to tuck her in with the blankets. Mark felt uneasy as he snuck out of her home without creating any noise. 

When he entered back into the dorm, he was met by s and manager. His manager didn't say a single word to him, but chose to only glare at him. Feeling the heavy tension in the air, Mark decided it was best to remain silent as he got himself ready for the day. The car ride to the company was also silent due to the tension that followed them. 

One of his worst fears had come true when Johnny sent him a text to give him a heads up of what he was walking into. His eyes widened as he read the headlines of the article the older male had sent him.

"NCT's Mark in a Relationship with a Non-Idol Girlfriend?"

The male didn't bother reading the article because he knew just how screwed he was now. Nervously fidgeting with his fingers, he followed his manager as they made their way into the conference room where the meeting was held. There, the higher ups were already waiting