Author note: Things diverge slightly from canon here differently than they have in past chapters. Yoosung is in a relationship with MC, and the RFA party is approaching, but the bomb threat/Unknown haven't surfaced yet.

"I can't believe MC is with Yoosung," Zen grumbled, looking down at his phone in irritation.

"Why? Jealous?" He looked out the window and I tried to ignore the slight ache in my chest from his words.

"I just… she could do better."

"Do you have someone in mind?" His cheeks flushed, and I felt a tingle of desire running up my thighs, although I was sure the blush was meant for someone else.

"What do you want me to say?"

"I'm just curious to hear your thoughts," I replied, my voice mockingly innocent.

"Since when do you care what I have to say?"

"Touché."

"What about you? Does Jumin Han is gay for MC?" I rolled my eyes at him.

"No. Jumin Han does is gay for no one." He didn't say anything, gazing out the window. "Although I'm sure that disappoints you. Were you hoping for a three-"

"Oh my god," he groaned. "Why am I here? I always forget how much I hate the words from your mouth." His insults, although sharp, were slowly dulling some of the hostility in tone as we spent more time together.

"Because you like the other things from my mouth. And you don't think with your head." I paused, grinning smugly. "At least not the one attached to your neck."

"Fuck you."

"Are you asking? That's unlike you. I was expecting you would just grab me again." Zen seemed to realize that he had walked into yet another verbal trap and sat silently. I could feel the frustration simmering from his skin, hitting me in waves. I had, without knowing why, offered him a ride in my car to the RFA meeting. For other reasons unknown, he had said yes. "Do you like her?"

"I mean… She's like, the only girl in RFA-" he paused when he saw the glare in my eyes, which were shooting daggers.

"Zen. RFA is nearly half women."

"You know what I mean."

"I don't. Would you explain yourself?"

"You aren't like her. You aren't… soft. You're ruthless. Calculating."

"You like soft? You don't seem to mind my fingernails."

"I meant emotionally soft." Ouch. "And Jaehee doesn't have time for me, even if I was interested. She's busy - your fault, by the way." He returned my glare.

"Feel free to ask out either of them, then." My voice was falsely light. "My assistant can do what she wants, as long as you don't distract her from her work… Well, actually, it seems the sort of thing that could bring a scandal to the company. Just try to refrain from PDA and it shouldn't be a huge problem, although you are, in essence, a colossal waste of time. And as for MC, I don't think she and Yoosung have even kissed yet. It's not like they're engaged. Ask her out."

"Why do you care what I do?"

"I don't," I insisted. Even if my words weren't entirely true, I was determined that they would become so.

"Can you believe that jerk? Stopping everything while she takes a call for her job? Can't it wait?" I had excused myself from the meeting briefly to take a business call, and they were still in the room, wildly off-topic. The rest of the groups was occupied, but Luciel and Zen were sitting near to the door, talking more loudly than they likely intended. MC and Yoosung were sitting in the corner, holding hands, eyes locked, murmuring, and Jaehee was deaf to the world, on her laptop working - although I found it more than a little suspicious that she wore earphones and didn't seem to be typing. I would have to take a peak at that computer later. She was being paid during this time, after all. I ensured that she clocked in every time she did work, even if not at the office. Although I wasn't hesitant to keep her there all night, I would be sure to give her a bonus for the overtime after HR had given me a scolding when Jaehee had passed out in the company cafeteria. She couldn't very well complain when she was getting additional pay, after all.

"Would you wait if it was a director calling about a role?" Luciel's voice was dry.

"Well, no, but that's different." The redhead didn't seem to think so, but didn't bother to continue the argument.

"You called her a jerk, but you've been busy lately." I could hear him snicker under his breath. A slight chill hit me. I did not like the sound of that sound from him, in conjunction with the two of our names.

"It's true. I've had so many auditions-"

"I'm talking about our resident robot."

"What do you mean?" For an actor, Zen was a terrible liar. I would have to pocket this information for later. Trusting him with secrets was a bad idea, although he had as much to lose if the truth about our private meetings came out as I did. The limo had not been the last time. We kept 'accidentally' running into each other, and subsequently sneaking off. I would deliver RFA information at his rehearsal, and we would hook up in the dressing room. He came to C&R to discuss modeling for one of our lines, and, after very thorough examination to ensure privacy, we had sex on my desk. We had indeliberately run into eachother at bars or restaurants where the other casually mentioned to the group chat they would be. Although both of us vehemently denied intentionality, I was well aware of what was happening. As much as I really couldn't tolerate his personality, it was mutually beneficial. Zen was more satisfying than my vibrator and I didn't have to worry about Elizabeth the 3rd walking in and being traumatized

"Do you really want me to spell it out? The two of you could do a lot better with secrecy, by the way. The security cameras in - literally everywhere you've fucked - aren't exactly secure. But don't worry. I've been erasing it all. After watching, of course." How could he know if it was everywhere? If he couldn't see the camera, he didn't know it had happened. I scoffed at his logic before internalizing its meaning: Luciel knew what had been going on. I was torn between shock and shame, but the overriding feeling was discomfort - no, not discomfort - disgust that the hacker had been watching us. Zen was silent. "Why so quiet, Zen? Aren't you going to tell me how it was? And how did you manage to seduce the ice queen? So many questions!" His voice was mocking and I could tell he was really getting a thrill out of making Zen uncomfortable. He would only receive more schadenfreudic pleasure if he knew I was listening. Luciel's sadistic streak was really getting under my skin.

"Don't talk about her like that," Zen snapped, finally finding his voice. Was he defending me?

"Oooh, I see how it is. Rushing to your paramour's defense… could it be… L-O-V-E? Did you manage to turn the robot into a human?" Something inside me jolted and I listened carefully.

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not Pygmalian. I didn't turn her into anything, and it's just rude to objectify women like that." I was pleasantly surprised to hear the mythology reference coming from Zen's mouth. The discussion we'd had about how the Greek story had been the inspiration for both the play of the same name and My Fair Lady was one of the only civil exchanges we'd had. He must have internalized it more than I'd thought.

"I'm surprised to hear the mythology reference, Zen, although if I can remember correctly, Galatea was a statue, not a robot. And isn't objectifying women what you do best? I see a hypocrite, Zen. You aren't exactly the king of consent."

"That's the beast, not me." Seriously? That was his defense? Not even, "Jumin used body language to indicate consent?" That was the truth. I was well aware that this was a terrible standard, but the situation wasn't one such that the two of us were going to have a chat about safe words, even if that was what we both privately preferred. This was an unfortunate byproduct of a sexual relationship that was built on mutual dislike.

"Oh my. She awakens the beast? I see she's quite a special woman to you. What are her preferences? Do y'all DDLG? Do you call her princess?" If he had watched us, there was no reason why he needed to ask these questions. This clearly only had an intent of mockery. Zen seemed to come to the same conclusion and ignored the latter remarks.

"It's not her, specifically. Just women." Oh. I was a woman, now? I smirked at the small progress but couldn't suppress the growing grimace at the rest of his sentence. Zen could be really sexist. I tried to blind myself to it, but there were times when he couldn't help himself. I rolled my eyes in frustration and tried hard to avoid the comparisons between Zen and my father. Flirtatious. Women made him weak. Objectifying. The more the thoughts unrolled in my mind, the sicker I felt. I had my fair share of problems, plenty of which revolved around a certain albino narcissist, but I had prided myself enough to think Daddy issues weren't included in them. This was something I refused to think about, and I would continue to refuse. It wasn't like we were in a relationship, and emotional problems don't apply to hookups... right?

"If she's not your soulmate - which I would totally buy, the sexual tension has been awful forever. V even said something to me - why do you care? It's just a little talk between us guys." I could practically hear Luciel batting his eyes and see Zen squirming in his seat. My nails bit into my hands when I thought of V discussing this with Luciel. I knew that V had a high opinion of Zen, but something about the situation still felt deeply degrading. V was special to me in ways that Zen would never be, and I wouldn't do anything to damage that relationship. He was, aside from the angry outburst after Zen's play, the one person I could be open with. Rika had flirted with me on more than one occasion, but eventually stopped when she realized that it wasn't she, in the relationship, that I had eyes on. After Rika's death, V was shattered, and so were my feelings. I repressed them, avoided him, and vowed never to think of it again. I was drowning in guilt. How many times had wished him available? I would turn back time if I could, because I never wanted it like this. I knew I would move on eventually and we could mend our friendship. Lately, the prospect seemed easier. It was odd how the timelines matched up with my first kiss with Zen, but that couldn't be anything other than a coincidence.

"Don't be a dick."

"And all this time I thought you were an exhibitionist. You disappoint… I'd expected you to share deets with me. You know, to be a good boy." The smugness in Luciel's tone escalated. I could hear Zen stand up and walk towards the door, but I couldn't get away in time. I grabbed my phone from my jacket pocket.

"I think that the shipment should be ready by tomorrow at noon. Will that work?" Zen glanced at me momentarily and started walking down the hall. His breathing was rough and his fists were clenched. He was angry.

"Yes, I see you -" I continued talking into the phone.

"Okay, I'll add that to your schedule. Do you need anything else?" Siri loudly interrupted me, revealing the truth: there was no one on the other end of the 'call.' Zen turned around, and he was even redder in the face than when he walked by.

"How long have you been standing there?"

"I didn't hear anything."

"If you hadn't heard anything, you wouldn't have known there was anything strange to hear, and wouldn't have said that." An intelligent comment from Zen? That was both out of character and attractive.

"I see my rationality is rubbing off on you," I said, taking a step closer and lowering my voice.

"And my horniness is rubbing off on you," he muttered, meaningfully glancing at the slowly closing distance between us.

"You're so crude." He sighed.

"Luciel doesn't know anything. I mean, he knows what has been going on, but the rest - feelings and all that… He must know that we don't get along and is just trying to get a rise. Just ignore him." He took a deep breath, and his muscles untensed slightly. He was speaking as much, if not more, to himself. As he looked back at me, a wave of exhaustion seemed to hit him, dulling the expression in his eyes.

"Really?" I asked, taking another step forward. Zen walked back, stumbling into the wall. "Then why are you so flushed?"

"I'm pissed off!"

"Are you sure? Your dilated pupils say differently."

"Whatever." He tried to push past me, but I grabbed his shoulders, pushing him back. "Okay, fine, sexual chemistry is a thing. It doesn't mean anything. I doubt V said anything, either. I'm sure that bothered you." He successfully derailed the conversation, but that didn't mean that I would forget. I would not tolerate Zen developing feelings for me. Emotions were a luxury neither of us could afford in the situation. I had to remind myself of this constantly.

"Why would it bother me?"

"You're a good liar, Jumin. If you were still… well, if I still thought you were a robot, I might even believe you."

"You don't… think I'm a robot anymore? Didn't you call me that yesterday? You're pretty inconsistent. I guess it's because you only think about yourself." The dig was unsubtle and sloppy, but Zen just slumped slightly in response. His usual crackle at our repartee was missing. Zen must have really been exhausted. He looked defeated.

"I don't want to play games with you right now. I know how you feel about him." He looked over my shoulder, glancing at the door to make sure no one was coming.

"Are you jealous?" I inched closer, pressing my chest against Zen and sliding one of my legs in between his. Streams of heat started to rush through me at the proximity, and I bit my lip, looking up at him.

"Don't do this here," he groaned, his voice growing throaty.

"You didn't answer my question, Zen." I gently pressed my lips against his, grazing him with my teeth.

"Anyone could see us!"

"That doesn't excite you? You're an actor. And it's not like RFA wants to hurt us the way the scandal would if someone else found out." Part of me knew this was a bad idea, but a larger part of me wanted to touch him, and the largest piece of all desperately wanted to know how he actually felt.

"That door has a window in it!"

"If you're so insistent, you should answer my question, and then I'll stop punishing you." I grabbed his thigh and slid my fingers up it, pressing my palms against him in the way I knew he loved to be touched.

"This is punishment?" I smirked and put my hand back on the wall. He flinched at the loss in sensation.

"Yes," I replied, my voice smug.

"Fine, whatever, trustfund. I'm not jealous. Are you satisfied?" No. I was not. I hadn't been expecting it, but his words cut me, piercing my skin in a place I hadn't realized was paper thin. "I'm not in the mood for you right now. Leave me alone."

"Are you sure?" I teased him, kissing him again and putting my hand back on his thigh, feeling that he had slightly stiffened.

"Yes," he snapped, grabbing my hand and pushing me backwards. "I'm not fucking you because I like you. We may both enjoy this, but it's pretty much hate sex... right?" I didn't answer him, startled at his outburst. It had been a while since he had lashed out at me like this. He shook his head at my silence. "If I don't want to touch you, there isn't a reason for us to interact." As he pushed me again, I stumbled briefly but caught myself. The twist in my ankle hurt, but not as much as the shock I felt running through my chest from his words. When I looked back at him, my eyes were steel, reflecting the coldness that was washing over my body. I had been doused in ice water. If he was going to treat me like I didn't have feelings, I would act like it.

"You're right. There isn't a reason for us to talk, or anything else. Luciel pointing out our lack of subtlety just reiterated what I had already been thinking. This is a mistake." He looked at me, eyes widening slightly, but didn't say anything. Another silent slap to my heart. "I'll see you in the meeting, Zen." I turned on my heel and walked back into the room. I held a flicker of hope that he would grab my hand, pull me back, and apologize. He didn't.

All I wanted was to peacefully return to the meeting, but I could see that everyone had lost focus. Luciel was madly typing green text on a black screen, Jaehee was engrossed on her computer, and Yoosung and MC had remained in the corner, quietly giggling and occasionally pecking each other's lips. The sight of the two of them grated at my mind, and I instantly realized that this was what had sent Zen over the edge. Luciel had irritated him, sure, but anger had never made him less aroused before. It had to be seeing the two of them. I deflated slightly as I realized he must have stronger feelings for MC than I had thought.

"Can you two please stop?" I snapped, looking at them harshly. "We're here to discuss the party, not trade saliva. Don't act like teenagers."

"Really? Coming from you, Jumin? I don't think you have any room to talk." Luciel looked up at me, grinning wider than the cheshire cat - no, he didn't deserve such a favorable comparison… grinning like a batman villain, and pressed a few buttons on his phone. I looked down in horror as I heard five phones give simultaneous notifications. Luciel had sent a picture of Zen and I from minutes before, standing intimately, my hand on his leg, lips just an inch apart, to the RFA chat. "Don't worry. The app is secure. No one else will see this except the six of us. Oh, and V." Oddly, the first thing I felt wasn't the flaming, vitriolic anger. It was a small burst of warmth when I noticed Zen's hand, clutching my waist, and the softened expression on his face. That was erased almost immediately when I looked up as I heard Jaehee's voice. Her tone was aggravating on the best of days, but now, it made me feel like I would boil over.

"Miss Han! What are you doing? I hope you know you're jeopardizing both of your careers." She shocked, horrified, and… disappointed. Yoosung and MC were staring at me, expressions almost blank in disbelief. "If you two aren't careful, you, Zen, and I could all be out of a job." I ignored her, trying to keep from becoming violent with the redhead sitting in front of me. When Luciel looked up, meeting my eyes, he burst into laughter, tears running down his cheeks as he gasped for air.

"Oh my god, Jumin." His voice was croaky. "Your ears. They're red. I should have done this ages ago!" I looked at him.

"Luciel, we all know you're probably the only person in RFA who will be a virgin by the end of this week. If your lack of maturity regarding sexual relationships continues, it will stay that way." My voice was harsh, and the room became nearly silent. Yoosung's face was bright red when he realized what I had insinuated about him and MC. Jaehee's expression was increasingly disappointed. That kind of behavior was not what I needed from my employee right now

"That's not what your mom said last night," Luciel chimed, and I sent him a withering look. The comment was too juvenile and cruel to merit a response. Reminders of the situation with my mother… well, they should never be joked about, but he clearly had no sense of boundaries at the moment. I returned my gaze to the rest of the group, facing my assistant, ired by her continued look which was bordering on condescension. "Enough, Jaehee. I don't monitor your personal life. Leave mine the fuck alone." More silence. "This meeting is over." I turned around and slammed the door behind me. I was shaking and I felt a few tears prick at my eyes as I practically ran out of the building, stopping as Zen grabbed me.

"This is your fault," he said pointedly. I yanked my arm away from him and kept speed walking, trying to ignore the pain in my ankle. I stood still briefly, looking back at him before exiting the building.

"Don't speak to me. Like everyone else, I only bothered because you looked good." Zen's jaw dropped slightly, and I saw his face redden. The usually buoyant man looked deeply hurt, and I could have sworn I even saw a tear welling in one of them. The insult had been chosen for maximal impact, and I wasn't sure whether or not to be happy that I'd hit my mark. Either way, my temper was beyond lost, and I had full intention of making Luciel pay for his actions.

Author note: Thanks for reading! Seven is such a dick in this chapter. I love him to pieces but the way he (and Zen) treated Jumin in his route was a real indicator that he doesn't care about Jumin's feelings. He was definitely over the line - maybe Zen wasn't the only one upset by seeing MC with Yoosung.

Please review if you have any thoughts or criticisms!