A/N:
We're nearly at the end of the 'Summer' part of the story, hurrah! This chapter is bit longer than normal, so I hope that's alright.
In other news, my finals start in a week and I depserately need to do last minute cramming soooo updates will be slow -coughnonexistentcough- for the next two weeks or so, but should resume as normal after =D
Any comments are very appreciated! Positive ones motivate me and criticisms help me become a better writer so don't be afraid of the lil comment button. Enjoy! xx
...
True to your word, you shot out of bed when you heard the beep of a new chatroom at 7 a.m. sharp.
You were happy to see 707 logged on as you knew he would fully waken you from your sleepy state. You helped him sell his 'SevenStar' drink, which you thought was genuinely catchy, to Jumin and Jaehee once they had also joined. You smiled throughout the whole conversation and was a little disappointed when everyone left to go do their respective jobs.
You were waiting for Ray to arrive with breakfast for an hour until there was a knock on your door. You jumped out of your seat and quickly ran to the mirror to see if you were presentable. You took in your lacklustre complexion and dishevelled hair in disdain. You grabbed some lipstick from your bag and gently applied some to your lips and a little to your cheeks to give you some colour. You were smoothing down your hair when another knock came. You huffed in frustration; you still looked like a mess.
You took a deep breath and opened the door with a wide smile. It died on your lips as soon as you took in the person at the door. It wasn't Ray.
You ushered the cloaked figure in and tried to hide your disappointment.
'Your breakfast, miss,' they said once they had put the tray down on your usual dining table. 'I have also left you your keycard on the tray. It will give you access to the rooms on this floor.'
They turned to leave but you couldn't help yourself from stopping them.
'Thank you, but uh, do you know where Ray is?' you asked.
'Mr Ray is busy working on an important project. He instructed me to relay an apology to you if you enquired after his whereabouts.'
'Oh, I see,' you said dejectedly.
The robed figure bowed their head slightly. 'Apologies.'
You gave a forced laugh and waved away the apology. 'No, it's fine.'
They nodded once and left the room, leaving you standing alone and staring at the closed door. You were irritated at yourself for feeling so disappointed.
With a sigh, you slowly made your way towards your breakfast, catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror as you walked past. You angrily rubbed your lipstick off with the back of your hand, wondering what had possessed you to do all that in the first place. Once you sat down around the table you received a notification on your phone. You opened the messenger to see Ray had sent you a message and your dark mood lifted perceptibly. He had sent a selfie of himself with a piece of toast halfway into his mouth, his eyes smiling. It was reassuring to see him look so happy and carefree; the conversation you had with him last night had been looming over you like a dark cloud. The room he was in was dim and his face was lit up with a greenish glow.
Below the picture read, 'Enjoy your breakfast! See, I'm eating too so it's like I'm there with you'.
You smiled broadly as you studied Ray's face on your phone, before realising you had been doing so for far too long. Once you realised this, your smile dropped and you quickly exited the messenger and placed your phone out of your reach, just so you wouldn't be tempted to sneak a glance at him again. Having a picture of Ray on your phone was a dangerous thing.
You ate quickly, itching to grab the keycard and explore the other rooms with your new freedom.
Once full, you grabbed your phone. You allowed yourself to look at the picture he had sent again for a few seconds, before putting your phone away in your pocket. You took the keycard in your hand and marched up to the door, feeling jittery. You swung your door open in enthusiasm and left your room.
Now that you were outside in the hallway, you tried to think of the best places to go. You would try to elevator eventually but you were pretty certain they hadn't give you access to that. First, you would go in the opposite direction to the lift, around the corner you had seen many staff emerge and disappear into.
You set off, feeling more and more excited as you neared the end of the corridor with each step. Once there you tentatively looked around the bend. Your mouth fell open in surprise. It was another hallway similar to the one your room was in, except for the giant window spanning the entire corridor on its left side. You took a few steps forward, mesmerised. The view was completely breath-taking and not at all what you imagined. Wherever this building was, it must have been built somewhere of high altitude like a large hill or small mountain because you all you could see were trees below you and in the distance.
'So much for a chic office building in the city centre', you thought. You should have predicted this with how long the drive here took, but apparently your naivety knew no bounds.
You resisted the urge to press your nose up against the glass – you should show some semblance of maturity after all – and decided to take a picture of the view instead. You fished for your phone in your pocket and unlocked it. You opened the camera and held it up landscape in front of you, trying to get everything in the shot. You were about to press the 'capture' button when you heard footsteps hurrying towards you. Distracted, your phone moved and the picture taken was blurred to an extent that it was a mass of green and nothing could be made out.
'Excuse me, miss!' the robed figure jogging towards you shouted, 'You are not allowed to take pictures here.'
'Oh, I-I'm sorry. I didn't realise.'
They finally reached you and you quickly lowered your phone, feeling embarrassed. Their face was covered in the shadows of their hood and they held out a hand expectantly. You blinked and stared at their outstretched hand.
'Please give it to me so that I can delete it.'
'Sorry?'
'This building and its location are highly confidential. I need to make sure myself that the photo you have taken has been deleted.'
You reluctantly placed your phone in the palm of their hand. You watched them curiously as they browsed through all your apps until they settled on the photo gallery. They deleted the photo and gave you your phone back.
They looked up at you for a millisecond and smiled. You caught a glint of a light mint colour. 'Thank you.'
Then they lowered their head again and brushed past you as they walked by. You watched their tall retreating figure in thought. That voice and those eyes…
It was the same man that you saw yesterday when you had left your room for the first time.
You briefly wondered who he was and what he did here, before brushing off the questions and continuing on.
You spent the next few hours exploring the rooms down both the hallways. Some of the rooms were dark and empty, but you occasionally found some you really liked and promised yourself you would return to. You found a music room, with a large piano in the centre and various instruments leaning against the walls. You also found a library, with numerous bookcases and worn wooden desks stacked with books of all sizes. This was probably your favourite room and you spent an hour just reading all the titles strewn around. There were a lot of books on programming but a few caught your eye such as 'Hacking for Dummies' and 'Encyclopedia of Tropical Plants'. You squealed as you found one of your favourite novels and gently ran your hands over its cover. You assured yourself that they wouldn't mind if you borrowed it for a little while and tucked it under your arm as you left the room.
There was one room a few doors down from yours which wouldn't open with your keycard. A group of people walked by and gave you an odd look as you tried to push against the door with your shoulder. You gave up with a huff. The door didn't look as polished as the other ones and was worn out, the wood shredded and rotting in some places. This only fuelled your desire to see what was behind it, but after embarrassing yourself quite a few times already today you decided to stop trying to pry the door open.
As suspected, you checked and discovered that you still hadn't gained elevator privileges and you decided to call it a day.
You returned to your room and placed the book you had taken onto the table, which was now clear of food. It still made you slightly uncomfortable knowing that everyone had access to your room and were able to come in whenever they pleased.
You were relaxing into an armchair when your phone started ringing. You took it out of your pocket and saw that it was Ray; you brightened up instantly.
'Hey Ray!'
'Hello, MC. Where are you right now?'
'Um, I'm in my room. Why?'
'Oh. I was in your room just a few minutes ago but you weren't there. Where did you go?'
Ray sounded a little put out and you were disappointed too knowing that you had missed him by a few minutes.
'Ah that's because I was doing some sightseeing in the other rooms.'
'I see,' he paused, 'So we missed each other. I'm glad you finally received your keycard. You can explore that floor whenever you want.'
'Thanks, Ray.'
He was quiet for such a long time that you had to check your phone to see if the call was still connected.
'Umm, you said you were in your room right? Could you take a look on your bed? I brought you some flowers.'
You sat up in your chair immediately. 'What?' you asked in surprise.
You looked over to the bed to see a bundle of crimson roses wrapped together with a red satin ribbon. How had you completely overlooked them when you entered the room? They were beautiful.
'I picked only the pretty and fresh ones for you. I hope you like them,' Ray's voice velvet murmured in your ear over the phone. You were only half listening, so overtaken with emotion at Ray's care and thoughtfulness that you had to swallow a few times before you could speak.
'Ray, you-I-Wow.'
You took in a deep, shuddering breath. 'No one has ever given me flowers before. Thank you so much. They're beautiful.'
Ray gave a relieved chuckle and your lips automatically lifted into a smile at the sound.
'I was thinking about you as I cut the flowers and tied the bow… I'm so glad you like them!'
You sat down next to the bouquet and caressed the soft petals as he continued to speak.
'This is nothing. I wish I could give you so much more. But, hmm, what could be better than flowers? I'll try to come up with something better!'
'Ray, this is already too much.'
'It would have been better if I could have put those flowers directly into your hands myself. It's kind of a shame.'
'Yes, I would have really liked to see you.'
'I'll try to come and visit you soon.'
He hummed in thought then spoke a bit more seriously. 'Although it's not in that bouquet there's a really pretty flower called an anemone.'
'I think your garden had some, right? It was really nice.'
'Yeah, the flower itself is pretty, but its language is sad so I didn't want to give it to you.'
You relaxed, leaning back against your pillows and hugging the bouquet to your chest. You bent down your face to take in its scent as you continued to talk with him.
'What does it mean?'
'It has several meanings in the language of flowers, but the most well-known is betrayal.'
'Betrayal?'
'Yes. Even thinking about it makes my heart ache,' he paused, 'and that term doesn't suit you either.'
Your reply was instant and firm. You really wished there was a way for him to feel your sincerity through these ornately decorated walls and across the building.
'I will never betray you, Ray, never.'
'Thank you… you're so thoughtful.'
His voice was soft. 'I'll trust you just like how you said you would trust me. I hope your room becomes full of flowery scents that'll cheer you up when you wake up in the morning and help you relax when you go to bed at night.'
You felt your eyes burning with unshed tears. You had never met someone so kind, and honest and innocent your entire life. No one had moved you the way Ray had.
What made the lump in your throat bigger was that you knew that there was darkness in his life that he wouldn't show you, but you were sure followed him around constantly.
'Thanks for staying here, MC,' he continued, oblivious to how you were falling apart inside, 'I want you to be happy for as long as you stay here.'
'Thank you, Ray.'
'MC? Are you alright? Your voice sounds kind of strange. Uh, just a sec.'
His voice started to sound more distant and you could tell he was talking to someone in the room. 'Looking for me? Alright.'
'You have to go?' you asked, trying to stop the disappointment from bleeding into your voice.
'Yeah I'm sorry. Someone important is looking for me. I'll try to talk to you again. Bye!'
He hung up so suddenly that you didn't have a chance to say goodbye. You let your phone tumble out of your hand and onto the soft bed. You managed to prevent all of the tears from falling, except for one which fell onto one of the soft, red petals below.
You wiped your eyes and scolded yourself for crying so easily. You needed to be stronger. What happened to the vow you made yourself last night?
You gathered yourself mentally and got up. You took the empty glass vase in the corner of the room and filled it with cold tap water from the bathroom sink. Once it was mostly filled you carried it carefully and placed it in the centre of your dining table. You then undid the bow around the roses and gently slid them inside the vase. After arranging the flowers for a few moments, you stepped back and admired them. They looked perfect.
You snapped a picture of them and sent it to Ray with the caption, 'I loooove them 3!'.
Your phone beeped and you saw the notification for a new RFA chatroom flash across your screen. You plopped yourself down onto your bed and logged on.
V was online! Just the distraction you needed; you loved talking to V.
V: MC! You've come online ^^
V: I wanted to speak to you.
MC: V! Hi! What's up?
V: The truth is there are some things that are troubling me…
MC: ?
V: No, it's nothing
V: I hope you're having a good day. Everyone's really putting in effort to prepare for the party, aren't they?
V: I find our guests… somewhat extraordinary ^^
MC: Yes haha so do I. But, I think it'll be fun!
V: Yes but if the emails seem really strange or something doesn't sit right with you it's okay for you to decline.
V: Inviting the guests is your task so we'll all respect your decisions!
MC: Aw thank you, V! I'll do my very best ~
V: I'm sure you will ^^
V: It's only because we haven't had a party for such a long time that the guest recommendations are…
V: Exotic.
You snorted softly. Exotic was one way of putting it.
-JUMIN HAN HAS ENTERED THE CHATROOM-
V: Jumin!
Jumin Han: V… MC you're here as well.
MC: Hey Jumin. This is nice; two friends gathered in a chatroom ^^
Jumin Han: Three including you, MC.
That really warmed your heart and you felt privileged to be a part of such an amazing group of friends – even if they weren't real.
V: I can talk to you over the phone Jumin -
Jumin Han: So, you want me to leave and be alone with MC?
'Oh, Jumin,' you said out loud to yourself, laughing, 'how scandalous of you.'
V: No, no.
V: I was just kidding haha…
If you could see V you would imagine he would be blushing at this moment. Soon, talk turned to V's father and his visit. At first you didn't see what the big deal was but you quickly learnt that V and his father were estranged and nothing alike in character or looks. You had imagined V's father would be kind and gentle like his son, but according to Jumin he was quite 'aggressive' in his approach to business. You insisted that V and Jumin talk about this matter on the phone – it seemed really private - but V assured you that he didn't mind you being a part of the conversation.
You were glad that V trusted you now. He had already decided to hold the parties and had told everyone to be nice to you earlier but little things like being welcomed in his personal affairs was a nice affirmation.
V: I just thought of something…
V: Jumin, if I were logical like you… then maybe Rika
V: Wouldn't have made such a choice
You frowned. You wished he was real and in this room so you could give him a comforting bear hug.
MC: V, don't say things like that. Rika's choices were her own.
MC: You aren't responsible for the choices that others make.
MC: It's hard and I'm not going to even pretend to understand the pain you're going through, but don't you think that it's the job of those left behind to carry on?
You waited for a reply with bated breath. You hoped you hadn't crossed the line or were mistaken in thinking that you and V were now friends. You really liked V and didn't want to ruin the friendship you had built with him. You also didn't want a 'Game Over' displayed across your screen so soon and you didn't want to see the disappointment on Ray's face when it happened.
V: …
V: Thank you for your words, MC.
You relaxed instantly.
Jumin Han: MC is right. It's up to people themselves to decide how to live their lives.
Jumin Han: Nobody would have been able to stop Rika's decision.
V: Yes, you're both right. Sorry. It's all in the past.
Jumin: I'm glad we can talk about Rika like this. It means your overcoming your sadness.
MC: It might not seem like it now, but it's going to get better little by little, V.
V: I dearly hope that's the case.
Jumin Han: You still need more time, of course, but it's up to your will.
V: Yes, seems like it. Thanks.
V: I should get going now.
V: Bye Jumin. MC, I'll call you soon.
Jumin: Take care of yourself.
MC: Goodbye V! Try to cheer up ^^
V: Bye!
-V HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-
Jumin Han: V has… changed a lot.
MC: How so?
Jumin Han: He brought up Rika of his accord… He would never have said something like that before you came.
Jumin Han: He has been avoiding talking about her for the past 6 months.
MC: Although he looks calm on the outside… I think he's having a hard time.
Just like someone else you knew. Although the chat was serving as a good distraction, you couldn't stop your thoughts from straying to Ray from time to time. As intricate as the game was, only he was real and you were desperately missing him.
Jumin Han: Can you feel it too? I think your arrival and presence is another factor that makes V think of Rika.
MC: Ah, I feel bad now. Is there I can do to help him?
Jumin Han: I believe you're doing more than enough with your kind words.
Jumin Han: Anyway, I should get back to work. Are you going to leave as well?
MC: Yes, I'll go too. Take care!
Jumin Han: Very well. Have a good rest.
Jumin Han: Excuse me.
-JUMIN HAN HAS LEFT THE CHATROOM-
You exhaled deeply. That was an unexpectedly heavy conversation.
You made your way to the window and leaned your forehead against the glass to gaze at the view. The glass was warm from the direct exposure to the afternoon sun.
There wasn't much to see; most of the view had been blocked by another part of the building. You were sure you were put in this room for that very reason - so that you couldn't breach their 'confidentiality' by figuring out your location.
Their AI technology did seem quite advanced, but was it enough to warrant this much security? And what about the strange uniforms they wore and the strange greetings they said? You just couldn't figure it out. The biggest mystery of all was Ray; he was a sweetheart but you knew there was much more to him.
You had been here three days and you didn't feel like you had learned anything significant about this place. At times like this when you didn't have much to do except lounge around your pretty bedroom, you felt yourself growing more and more impatient.
But that was the thing. Even though you hadn't physically done much, since coming here you had experienced so many vivid emotions that it made your life before this seem colourless and dull.
There was something about the RFA which made you feel warm and loved in a way that your old friends had never been able to do. You related to Yoosung's struggles. Jaehee's insights made you feel totally understood. You respected Jumin's reasoning and sensible nature. You admired Zen's passion towards his work and friends. You enjoyed Seven's teasing and his ability to turn your mood around. You loved V's kind and caring soul.
Every time you thought about them as being mere AIs, you felt a profound and indescribable sadness.
When you remembered that you were in the same place as Ray and that he was only a phone call away, however, it would cheer your little heart up completely.
There was something about Ray that both soothed you and set your heart on fire. You had never felt this way before towards anyone. It frightened and excited you in equal measures. That alone, despite all of the uncertainty and the large part of your brain telling you to run out of this place at full speed, made you want to stay. You needed to stay.
The ringing of your phone snapped you out of your thoughts and you withdrew from the window. You picked up your phone and looked at the caller ID. V's face lit up your phone screen.
You were surprised for a second, but then remembered he had promised to call. You quickly swiped to accept the call and put the phone to your ear.
'Hey, it's me', his smooth voice greeted, 'I did say I would call you didn't I? I hope I wasn't disturbing you.'
You wandered around your room as you spoke. 'Yes, I remember. Don't be silly, talking to you is always welcome. What's up, V?'
You could hear him breathing softly on the other end. 'It's nothing, but,' he sighed, 'there was something I wanted to ask you.'
'Go ahead.'
'Are you…staying alone by any chance?'
You thought you were now over the stage where he would try to pry secrets out of you, so you couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
When you didn't reply straight away he continued. 'Is there someone frequently visiting you?'
You stopped pacing around the room and froze.
