A/N: Hello guys!
I just want to share a little something for a while; so my friend—the one who I dedicate this story to—and I saw each other this week and hung out at her dorm. I was working on my designs when I heard sniffling. I turned and found her tearing up over something she was watching in her phone—which turns out to be the new opening for V's route. She made me watch it, and I got to say, there were really a lot of feels—real different from the first opening theme that they have.
Watching it contributed to the changes I made in this chapter recently, as a treat for her, so this may be a bit more serious than the recent chapters. But I hope you guys enjoy this, anyway.
Thank you for those who are still looking forward to this. Your support really keeps it going.
Warning for some spoilers. And Rated T for language, thoughts and actions.
Disclaimer: Mystic Messenger belongs to Cheritz. Any known names, ideas, characters, events, products and merchandise that you may encounter belongs to their respective owners. Really, the only thing that is mine here is the storyline. And M.C.'s character maybe.
Chapter 10: In which the RFA gets M.C. as an alarm clock
M.C. opened the front door using a duplicate key and was greeted by silence. She checked at her watch, 7:19 Am.
She stepped in and set her umbrella at the drying rack beside the door. It was drizzling outside, not too heavy to be a burden, but enough to warrant a use of an umbrella. Due to the light spray, it was even colder inside the house, with the ACU on.
She crept her way through the short hall and entered the living area, where she found Seven sprawled on the couch, snoring lightly. He was on his back, one arm over his eyes and the other dangling on the edge of the couch. The hacker's sleeveless black shirt wrinkled and up to his stomach. His glasses were settled on the table, beside his phone and her laptop.
They are still here. RFA is still here.
She sighed. The situation is really absurd that it surprises her greatly how she's taking all of this in.
M.C. settled her bag at the foot of the couch and rubbed at her lower back. Really? No one up yet? She went up quietly to loft and found Yoosung slumped on a sleeping bag on the floor, surrounded by pillows. She grabbed two blankets from the shelf and spread one over to the blonde. He hummed softly and snuggled deeper into his sleeping mat, hugging a pillow and burying his face in it.
The girl stared at him for a while before climbing back down and settling another blanket over Seven's form. He grumbled something that she didn't comprehend before he turned to his side to hug a throw pillow from the couch. M.C. frowned. Weren't secret agents supposed to be light sleepers? She nudged his leg with her knee. She heard something crunching. What the—?
Seven only mumbled more incoherent sounds before grabbing the blanket to cover himself completely and curling up once again. The girl could only assume that they must have stayed up real late again.
M.C. decided to leave the hacker more minutes of rest and stared upstairs. There was no sign of anybody waking up. She sighed and proceeded to the kitchen. Might as well start on breakfast.
V squinted his eyes open as he roused from the arms of sleep. He yawned and rubbed at his face. There was a certain blurriness in his sight now that would probably only get worse too, as time passes. He sat up and stared blankly at the spot above his blanket-covered legs.
He was fond of the concept memories, and being an artist at heart, he saw photography as its preservation. To look back at a certain photo and recall a certain event from it brings wondrous feelings to a person. How a picture printed on paper can be a whole lot of different things, all depending on who sees it.
His eyesight is obviously important for this career. Now, he wonders what he would do if the time comes that he loses it. What will become of me then?
He loves photography. He loves capturing a story in its moment, wondered how a person could interpret his shots.
But he loves Rika more.
He loves her so much more, that he is hurting so much too.
But that is not important.
Rika…I hope you are well. Please hold on, until I get back.
V let out a shaky breath. He rubbed at his eyes, and felt a lone tear escape. The photographer wiped at it and took a deep inhale of air before shaking his head slightly. Not now. There are other things to do.
He hopes his sight can last him at least a few more weeks. He cannot exactly work on the hacker issue right now, and Rika is not in this world either. Everyone is doing their job of coming up with ideas on how they will proceed next—if they will end up staying here longer, the least he can do is contribute to getting them money. With the equipment and a few days, his photography can be an immediate solution to that.
The RFA is his responsibility most especially now, in this new world.
He sighed and got up before his thoughts would lead him anymore astray. There are more important things to tend to today, and seeing as Jumin and Hyun are still sleeping contentedly, breakfast is atop of those concerns.
V was contemplating what to cook for breakfast, when he opened the door and was greeted by the scent of chocolate.
He took in a breath of the sweet-bitter scent and sighed. Due to his slowly-failing eyesight, his other senses have increased. He can also smell a hint of jasmine and basil in the air—certainly a weird combination of scents. V wondered for a moment if Luciel was the one cooking. He gulped nervously and head immediately to the bathroom to wash his face and proceeded to look over the railing.
The sight of Luciel sleeping on the couch confused him more. He looked to the loft, his view landing on the sleeping form of Yoosung. He blinked and wondered who was in the kitchen then. Maybe Jaehee got up early. The photographer got back inside the room to fix himself a bit more and went downstairs to the kitchen.
He was a bit stunned to see M.C. standing over the stove, peering into the pots and pans. The sight of her at this time of the morning surprised him, since she very nearly went berserk when woken up early yesterday.
M.C. beat him to greeting her when she turned suddenly and nodded at him, "Yo, V. Good morning!" she turned back to the stove. "You should sit down first. I'm not done with breakfast yet."
"Good morning, M.C." V greeted after he come over his brief shock. "You are quite early, if I had known you would be arriving at this time, I would have gotten up earlier to help."
She waved him off, "Nah, its fine. I got here earlier than I expected too, so I decided to start on breakfast." She grabbed the kettle and poured tea on a blue mug and handed it to V. He nodded his thanks.
M.C. turned back to a pot on the stove and began stirring its contents. "I guess you guys slept late. Again."
V chuckled and sipped at his tea before replying, "Yes, well, we had to settle things before going to bed. And we came to a number of thoughts last night." M.C. turned to him at this, a question in her eyes, but the photographer merely shook his head. "We will tell you more on it later, after breakfast." He walked towards her and looked over at her shoulder. "What are you making? How can I help?" he asked.
M.C. squirmed a bit and scooted a bit further from him, "Oh, this? It's called champorado. You could say it's like…chocolate rice porridge." She snorted as she stirred the contents of the pot, "I made this intentionally, by the way."
V blinked before he laughed. "Right, I apologize if our accidental plain porridge is not up to par with your intentionally-cooked chocolate-flavored one."
She scratched at her cheek and laughed lightly with him. "Yes, well you'll eventually learn." She tasted the porridge. "Still needs more…" she mumbled to herself before adding another small cocoa ball from a pack beside the stove. M.C. stirred before bringing the ladle to her lips and tasting again. "Better." She stirred a bit more and turned off the burner for the pot of champorado.
She had the ladle at her hands when she stared horrifyingly at it, then at V, who was looking at her amusedly. She gasped and brought a hand to her mouth, "Sorry! I didn't mean to—it's just—we cook that way. At home. We don't bother—I don't have a cold so don't worry! I'm not sick or—" she looked at the ladle with wide eyes.
V merely smiled and handed her his mug of tea. She grabbed it and he took the ladle form her hands. The photographer brought it to his mouth and took a taste of the chocolate treat, right off the ladle. M.C. stared at him incredulously as he slowly licked at his lips, "Tastes good."
M.C. gave him a blank look before yanking the ladle from his grip. "Why did you do that? Now I have to wash this!" her lip curled as she reprimanded him. The photographer only chuckled and shook his head at her.
She set his mug on the counter and proceeded to wash the utensil clean. "And that is not quite done yet. You can add any other flavor or sweetener to enhance its taste. It all depends on the person, really." She rinsed the ladle and wiped it dry. "That's how most dishes are done here. Filipinos tend to play with flavors concerning their food according to their own tastes." M.C. stirred the champorado with the newly-washed ladle, "I like to drizzle condensed milk on mine. Lots of it, really. I even add bits of dried fish sometimes."
The photographer blinked his aqua-white eyes. "Dried fish, you say?"
M.C. grinned, "Yes! Mostly, tuyo." She crossed her arms, "It may sound weird but it actually makes the champorado taste even better—it's the Sweet and Salty Rule!"
"That sounds like something Luciel would say."
"Seven may be odd but he says things with the most sense, at times."
Said man suddenly sat up, before groaning and falling back to the couch, slumbering again. M.C. could only wonder what he could be dreaming about.
V took his mug again and sipped at his tea. "Anyways, that law quite is interesting." He paused and added, "And don't worry, I won't tell Jumin about the tasting thing."
M.C. scoffed and started fixing the rest of the meals. "I don't care if he knows. If he is not pleased, then his highness can fix himself his own breakfast." At that she paused and sighed. "Sorry. That was rude. I have eggs here," she lifted a lid off a big plate filled with different kinds of omelettes, "and I promise it doesn't have any traces of me or my spit."
V choked on his drink, "Oh please, M.C. It is fine. Let's just forget I ever saw that happen." The girl hummed before going back to preparing breakfast. "How are you guys settling in so far?"
"It's been good. And it is all thanks to you, for the help you have given and are continuing to give us." he stared forlornly at her back. "We…would have probably had a tougher time if it weren't for you."
"I'm pretty sure someone else could be of more help to you than I could have been," M.C. said it casually. With her back facing him, she did not get to see the confused stare that V had on his face. Before he could comment, she continued on. "But you are here now anyways, so that is that." She turned to him, plates of omelets in hand. "How are you, V?" she said in a softer tone.
V stood up from his seat on the bar stool and grabbed the plates from her. He set them down on the dining table. "I am quite fine, thank you for asking. How about you, M.C.?" he replied politely.
The girl snorted. "Quit being so nice and pleasant. Just be honest this time."
The photographer looked to the side as he gave a wry smile, "Your bluntness outstands me, even more so than Jumin's."
When M.C. remained silent, V took a hold of his mug again, but didn't take a drink. "I…I am really just confused right now."
The girl gave a nod, "That's understandable."
"And you?"
"My brain is still not processing any of this right."
V chuckled, "Pretty bizarre, isn't it?"
"Yes, but not the point. Nice try, but I am not letting you off the hook yet." She paused. "Am I not allowed to mention Rika?" she asked him quietly, her face not portraying anything.
The fact that she did mention her name anyway amuses V even more. What are you getting at, little girl? "Please do so if you see the need to."
"I'm not fond of talking about other people. But since she's got lots to do with you, it can't be helped." She looked him in the eye. "I know how important she is to everybody. I can't help but admire how she brought you guys together and form a fund-raising group." M.C. sighed. "But she isn't the main concern right now, this situation is—you guys are."
The photographer frowned, "I know that, M.C."
"And you should know that they will have to know eventually. All of it. What you think is best for everyone then wouldn't work anymore now. Not here, with me, at least. Because I know, and I wouldn't stand not doing anything about it." M.C. looked at him hard. "And it is not only Rika that is so important to them, V. You are too. Please think about that."
"I love her, M.C."
"I know you do. But know that love…sometimes, it is not enough of a reason."
V's brows furrowed as he bit his lip.
Guess it's time to lighten the mood. M.C. then cringed exaggeratedly. "Oh, wow. Can't believe I'm spouting this mush so early in the morning. That cliché line is giving me the shivers."
The photographer blinked at the honest humor in her eyes. He was thankful for it, nonetheless. "Well, you did start it. The morning does wonders for your mood, doesn't it?" He rebutted playfully.
She snorted. "Yeah, whatever. You should see me at night, I am a real monster, then."
V gave a small laugh.
A moment of silence.
And then, "Oh, M.C.?"
The girl raised her right brow at him in response.
"I am quite fine, honestly. The blurriness, I am still trying to get used to. And…I think the days we will get to spend here are something to look forward to, certainly."
"With you guys? I think it will be one heck of a ride." M.C. smiled. "Glad to know, Jihyun." She turned to the sink to wash her glass.
The young man fell in awe silence at her address.
The girl suddenly faced him again and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh, yeah. Once we get enough resources, we'll get you to a decent hospital and have your eyes checked soon."
"I agree with her on that one." A voice said from behind her. She jumped and turned to glare at the raven head. "Don't just sneak up on anybody like that!"
Jumin looked down at her. "Good morning to you too, M.C."
She glared at him some more before turning to the rest of the plates. She handed Jumin another mug of tea and set the kettle on the table, along with a bottle of honey and a small bowl of sugar. The pot of champorado soon followed, along with a can of evaporated and condensed milk. M.C. also brought out a bowl of fruit from the refrigerator. She poured fruit juice all over it and mixed in gelatin cubes before setting it out on the table. She grabbed a paper bag of bread from her bag and set it next to the plate of omelettes.
The heir turned to his friend, "It still confuses me as to why you do not want them to be treated. Now that all of us know about the condition of your eyes, you'll find how difficult it would be to deny treatment now."
Judging from the corporate director's lack of questions, V concluded that he did not get to hear the earlier parts of their conversation. The photographer just stared at the girl's working form, her words from earlier still playing on his mind, "I deserved what happened. I have done so many things wrong, and less things right."
"You are quite a stubborn little boy, aren't you?" M.C. suddenly turned around and narrowed her eyes at him, "Refusing to treat your eyes will just result to you letting an opportunity go. Your friends are obviously concerned for you, and would very much like to help you. What will you about that?" she looked at him intently.
This is the exact situation.
What will you do about it?
V looked at Jumin, then at her, "I promise to think about it."
M.C. sniffed, "Fine. That's good enough." she excused herself to the bathroom.
V translated it as, I am letting you off the hook for now, little fish.
The raven-head stared inquiringly then at the photographer, "The girl has you on a leash that quick? In just a few days?"
"Oh, quit it. We are all on her leash here."
"Is it because she knows, that you are actually listening to her?" the heir asked more.
"You know that I'm too stubborn to listen just because of that. You sound hurt. Are you infuriated that you do not know yet?"
"And you know that I'm too proud to get infuriated just because of that. Get serious and answer the question."
V sighed and rubbed at his eyes, "M.C. knows us as characters in a game, much like how a person knows a character in a movie or a book. Her views on us is entirely different from how we perceive ourselves and others to be because she can literally see outside the complicated box that is our lives. It is only natural to be curious about what a complete stranger who knows a lot about you has to say, don't you think?"
Jumin blinked, "I do not particularly care about what she would say about me."
"Even if she probably knows how your attachment to Elizabeth the 3rd came to be?"
"I would not care if she bashes about that either. Elizabeth the 3rd is the love of my life."
"What makes you so sure that she will bash about it? What if she completely says the exact opposite? Will you not be the least bit curious on what she has to say?"
The heir stayed silent at that. He eventually mumbled, "How bothersome."
M.C. emerged from the bathroom then, talking to someone in through phone. "No, I already said that I wouldn't come every Saturdays. Anyways, why did you call?" she looked bashfully at the other two. V gave her a small smile and Jumin shrugged.
She looked back at her phone strangely, "The files from yesterday? It's inside a brown envelope at the table where the blueprints are. Is Architect Angie not there yet?" a response from the phone. Then her eyes widened, "The boss?! Looking for me…?" she scurried off to her bag and shuffled through its contents.
Jumin sipped at his tea before asking, "How long has she been here, anyway?" His friend shrugged, "I woke up and she's already cooking a feast."
"Meeting?!"
They both turned to her. M.C. gulped and looked at Seven, who shuffled a bit then went back to slight snoring. She sighed and fiercely whispered, "I didn't know there was supposed to be a meeting today!"
They saw her shuffle through a worn-out notebook. "Okay, I got it! I'll send you the numbers after this. Call them in a little while, at nine maybe? Then if you open Architect Angie's computer, the floor plan that I was working on yesterday was saved at the lone folder there…yes. Yeah, that's it! Have it printed in five copies and hand it to those shameless bastards at the office."
Jumin choked on his tea, "Did she just—?"
V chuckled, "You didn't know? That's how most people refer to the heads of corporate offices these days."
The heir gave him an unimpressed look.
M.C. laughed at the other person on the line, "You just feed the paper through—yeah, that's it. Then press five, then 'OK'…yeah. Exactly. " She scratched at her temple, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was supposed to be today. I left early yesterday so I didn't hear the announcement. I didn't even get to eat the free pansit that Engineer Paul treated me for lunch!"
She was lax at that moment.
The heir blinked, "So she did leave her work early? And yet…"
"She must have been somewhere else when something happened yesterday." V looked at her again. "Let's drop it for now."
"Yeah, okay. I think that is all there is need to be done from us…" M.C. sighed. "No, I was supposed to have classes this morning, but something came up. So just call me if you need anything else…Alright, thanks. See you on Monday." She hung up.
"You skipped your classes today?" Jumin immediately asked.
"Of course that's what you'll say." M.C. mumbled under her breath. "It's not actually a required class. This is more important, anyway." She browsed through her notebook for the suppliers that her boss was looking for.
V poured himself another cup of tea, "You seem too busy for an apprentice." He commented.
"I don't even know why they keep handing these things to me, when there are six of us there. And I'm still new."
"Maybe because your nickname is two letters long." Jumin quipped.
M.C. blinked. "You know? I think I remember someone at work saying the exact same thing." She shook her head. "But anyway, the big boss is at the site and it turns out we have a meeting with the client today." She finished sending the contact numbers and sighed. "The head architect is still not there yet so he looked for me instead. But they'll be fine. I organized the papers that they would need for the presentation before too. Also, I already instructed my fellow trainees on what to do, and to contact me if needed."
"What a responsible trainee you are." Jumin praised. "If you ever work for me, I would pay you generously."
"Yeah, working for you? Sounds like the dream." She snorted.
"A lot of people would think so, yes."
M.C. gave him a blank look.
V chuckled, "She's not actually fond of people who chiefs the corporate offices, remember?"
"You just indirectly called me a shameless bastard."
"I didn't say anything like that. She did."
M.C. shook her head, "You are a bunch of kids." She went to the kitchen counter to prod on the coffee machine.
Jumin looked over her shoulder. "Where are the coffee beans, M.C.? Is it Arabica or Robusta?"
The girl started and inched away from him. After deeming the machine too complex and utterly useless—V pursed his lips to prevent his smile from growing—she proceeded to the kitchen drawers and grabbed a pack instead. "Sorry. No coffee beans."
The heir blinked. "How are we supposed to have coffee without coffee beans?"
M.C. only huffed before handing him the pack. "This, dearest Jumin, is instant coffee."
"Instant coffee? How does it work?"
The girl snorted and gestured with her hands. "It is magic." She grinned and grabbed the filled thermos to set in the bar counter.
Jumin read the pack's contents as he sipped at his tea.
M.C. sighed and shook her head at him. She turned to V, "You two should get settled, I'll wake the others."
She went to the couch and put a hand on the hacker's shoulder. "Hey God Seven, time to wake up and grace the world with your exasperating presence."
Seven grumbled and opened his eyes, "Did I hear you say awesomeness?" he slurred.
"Nope."
"Pretty sure you did."
M.C. shook her head. "What were you dreaming about anyway? You keep shuffling and groaning."
"I am always a restless being, even in my slumber."
M.C. saw something peeking out from his back and reached for it. Her hands grazed Seven's exposed back, from which his shirt has ridden up due to his scuffling.
The hacker felt a shiver run down his spine, and goosebumps flood his skin.
M.C. did not notice as she yanked the object and frowned. "Or maybe you are stupid enough to sleep on these." She stared hard at the paper origamis she held in her hands. "What…are these supposed paper sheep?" she joked before narrowing her eyes at him. "And how can you stand this cold in that?"
Seven, who was still lying down, fixed his shirt embarrassingly. To save face, he grinned at her from his perch. "You should really stop staring."
"Pretty sure I wasn't." she jabbed, her eyes on the paper sheep.
Error. Face not saved.
V and Jumin snorted. Seven lifted his head to glare at them before grabbing the origamis from M.C. and the rest from behind his back. He settled them on the table. "Yes, those are paper sheep. I needed to sleep, didn't I?" he huffed.
Oh, wow. How is this a sheep? "Usually, you just count them in your mind and avoid wasting paper."
Seven shook his head at her. "Where's the fun in that?"
M.C. shook her head at him, right back. "You are so peculiar." She mumbled softly, her brows furrowed.
"You…have such a cute voice when it's all small like that…" he yawned and stretched.
Her brow ticked. "You better be up by the time I get back down if you do not want to hear some nasty things coming from my mouth next time." She growled and stomped up the stairs.
Jumin and V choked on their tea. "We seem to be doing that a lot this morning."
Seven's ears turned pink. "Ah…not what she meant, not what she meant…" he grumbled into his pillow before getting up. He turned towards the two figures at the dining table and whispered fiercely, "I knew it! We are all perverts here!"
"That is because it is still too early in the morning." Jumin said quietly as he shook his mug gently. V rubbed at the back of his neck before waving him off. "Wash up Luciel, before she hits you again."
The redhead jumped, grabbed his glasses and dashed to the bathroom. She does have soft hands. He growled at that thought before shutting the door.
V and Jumin blinked.
"You know, that was quite dirty."
"Shut up before she hears you."
Jumin turned back to the instant coffee pack. "Isn't this just quaint, V? It says here, you only have to add hot water and mix it altogether."
"I know how instant coffee works, Jumin. I'm not a caveman."
The heir frowned at him. "That's twice now."
V just laughed at his childhood friend.
Upstairs, M.C. stared down at the sleeping form at the floor.
Yoosung always imagined his dream girl waking him up with sweet whispers, and maybe even a bit of cuddling…
M.C. kneeled beside the blonde's sleeping form on the floor and shook him awake. "Yoosung! Wake up~ Time for breakfast. Get up!"
He whined, "Five more minutes…" he turned over to the other side and buried himself in the pillows. M.C. shook him harder. "Yoosung! Up!" The girl huffed when he remained lax and dug through the pile of pillows. She took one and slapped him with hit, "C'mon now, we must not keep food waiting. We have a long day ahead of us!"
"Alright, I'm up! I'm up…" he yawned and sat up. Only to fall on his back again.
M.C. huffed and put her hands on her hips. "Get up Yoosung, or Seven will finish all the food before you have any." She hit him hard with a pillow one more time before proceeding to the second bedroom.
"Ooof!" Yoosung groaned and peeked an eye open. What a wake-up call.
…He got a violent shake and a pillow shoved at his face instead. Figures.
Yoosung yawned again and waited for M.C. to enter the bedroom before finally getting to the bathroom on the same floor.
The girl peered up at the top bed of the double decker and saw silver hair peeking out of the blankets. M.C. stepped up on the edge of the bottom bed and reached over the railing to shake the sleeping form gently. "Oy, Zen. Wake up."
M.C. pulled at the blankets and it revealed the young man's handsome face. She pouted and grumbled, "How can anybody look this good while sleeping? Good-looking people like this one should at least look horrendous at some point of their lives…" and said in a louder voice, "Hey, come on. Time to get up for breakfast, pretty boy."
Zen, eyes still closed, gave a small smile and replied in a husky voice, "I'll wake if you call me by my name, darling."
Her brow twitched. "Call me 'darling' again, and I'll beat you to pulp before you wake."
Zen's eyes snapped open and shook his head. "No, sorry M.C.! Don't hit me please!" he buried his face in the blankets.
She scoffed and pulled at his sheets. "Get up, you!" She pulled hard and revealed Zen's shirtless scrunched up form, his arms protecting his face. M.C. snorted, "Come on and stop acting like a baby. You are a grown man! And why are you shirtless again?!" she grabbed at the shirt that was hung on the railing and slapped him repeatedly with it.
"I'm used to sleeping this way…" the musical actor grabbed the shirt from M.C. and gave a small glare.
M.C. glared back before tossing his hair tie at him. She stepped back on the floor and went to the door. She sighed and turned back, "I made breakfast this time, Hyun. Come on out in a little while when you're decent." She rolled her eyes at him and shut the door.
Zen stared at the door a bit more before rubbing at his eyes. Women are scary.
When M.C. attempted to knock on the first bedroom door, Jaehee beat her to opening it. M.C. jumped, "Oh! Hey Jaehee." She smiled at her. "I was just about to wake you. Breakfast is ready. I made coffee too!"
Yoosung just got out of the bathroom, his face washed and hair fixed. Zen also emerged from the other bedroom door, even with bed-ridden hair he still looks good. Yoosung gave him a stare and Zen shrugged his shoulders. They both turned to the two ladies conversing.
Jaehee gave a gentle smile at her. "Yes, thanks M.C. I will be down in a little while. Sorry to bother you with breakfast."
M.C. just laughed it off. "It's fine. I got here early anyway."
"She talks so pleasantly with her, I'm jealous." The blonde grumbled under his breath. Zen nodded, "Women are strange, strange creatures, Yoosung."
After a hearty breakfast ("What is this?" Stare. "M.C. said it's called champorado." Blink. "Yeah…and what is it?" Sigh. "It's like chocolate rice porridge, alright? Now will you just eat?" Glare. "Yes, mama." Slap. … "What are you doing?" Look. "Are you blind, huh? I'm pouring milk." Gasp. "Hey, be more sensitive, will you?" Groan. "Why are you pouring milk?" Pause. "Because he said M.C. takes hers this way, and I want mine to taste the same." Nod. "Oh, M.C., can I—" "MIX WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH THAT DISH AND JUST EAT IT, WILL YOU?!"), the rest of the RFA told M.C. what ideas came up last night.
The aspiring architect stared blankly at her tea and listened to what they said. She would nod at times, and hum and mumble to herself at a few; otherwise, she kept quiet.
When they finished, V turned to her. "So…what do you think?"
M.C. shook her head slowly. "It's…yeah. I don't know." She scratched at her head and sighed. "Stupid…it's pretty stupid."
"And I agree with you on that one." Seven quipped. "As a being of logical thinking and coherent reasoning—"
Yoosung snorted. "Yeah, sure."
"—I deem this situation as stupid and senseless."
They stared at him. "That's the result of your logical thinking and coherent reasoning?"
Jaehee rolled her eyes, "Anyway, M.C. As much as those theories don't make sense, it actually explains a little bit more about out predicament."
M.C. nodded, "Yes, I know. Well, you being here is unexplainable, so what is a few more to make sense of the situation, right?" she scratched at her head and laughed. "But anyway, let's try to make sense of what we have to do now, first."
V nodded and turned to Seven, "So, what do we got to work with, Luciel?"
"Well," the ginger scratched at his chin, "I got the identity cards and information fixed, though no hard copy yet. But it has already been ingrained in this world's system. Fakebook and tweeter accounts transferred to facebook and twitter database, though that is not quite done yet. Individual accounts are still at work. And…" he ran for M.C.'s laptop on the living room table and set it in front of M.C. on the dining table.
Yoosung grabbed at the paper figure that got carried away with the laptop. "Is this supposed to be a sheep?"
Zen shook his head. "It's just trash, Yoosung." He grabbed the paper ball from the blonde and threw it to the trash can.
Seven gasped. "You just threw Margaret! How could you?! She was a lovely sheep…"
The actor stared at him incredulously. "Seriously?"
"M.C. got it right!"
The girl rolled her eyes. Only because I was joking. "Whatever. What were you about to show?"
Seven sat next to her and turned the device on. He typed quickly and turned the screen to show it to the others. M.C.'s eyes widened, "I have no idea how to use banks so…what is this?"
Seven's eyeglasses glinted and he smiled cheekily, "This, my dear M.C., is the new bank account and financial record of RFA."
She gulped, "That's a lot of zeroes." She turned to the others, "What…?"
Jaehee looked at the screen too and merely blinked, "Well, we are a fundraising association." she smiled at her, "We are bound to have money, with the parties that we organize."
M.C. blinked owlishly at her, then at the screen, "Yeah, okay, I get that. But, this is—" she bit her lip, "Sorry, I didn't mean to offend or anything. I just didn't expect the RFA to have…this much."
"Jumin also had a hand in this as well, M.C. He manages our financial records and concerns. Of course, having a businessman as great as him would do well for our organization." V said as he finished his tea.
"I'm starting to think I only exist in this organization for the money."
"Aw, don't be like that! You don't look so bad either, you attract all those old married and unmarried women to donate to us!"
"Is that supposed to console me?"
"How did you manage to get it?" M.C. asked again, "Is it because of that 'filtering dump system' that you mentioned earlier?"
The hacker snorted, "Pretty sure those weren't the words that I used…but yeah! That is it, my dear. Let's call it 'FDS' because M.C. is that creative!"
The girl punched his shoulder.
Jumin scoffed, "Great, another acronym."
Zen whistled, "That hacking feat is still pretty impressive. I wouldn't even think that transporting information between worlds is possible."
"Not denying the fact that I am great, I wouldn't believe the transporting thing too, otherwise." Seven replied, "The FDS contributed greatly to making it possible. I tried deciphering the codes involved in it, but I don't want to risk M.C.'s laptop and personal information."
"Hacker, transporting dimensions, RFA secrets, FDS…this just keeps getting bigger by the day!" Yoosung frowned at his fruit cup.
Jaehee sighed. "At least the RFA bank account is now accessible. And we now have identities, what's left is to have the papers, hardcopies and other outputs."
"Papers for what?"
The RFA stared at each other before looking back at M.C. Their leader spoke up, "For whatever it is that may be required of us here."
M.C. blinked, "Why would you need those? Eleven days isn't that much of a time for you to actually need any other papers…" she trailed off. Then her eyes narrowed. "Unless you think that…?"
"We have no idea whatsoever, M.C., and are unsure about what is happening as much as you are." Jumin answered, "It is not that we doubt your reasoning, you are the one familiar with the game after all. But it would not hurt to be prepared."
V handed the architecture student a fruit cup and taped her lightly on the forehead, "Please do not worry. We will make sure to work on the remaining of the eleven days for now."
M.C. frowned and rubbed at the spot. She sniffed haughtily before muttering, "Okay, I get what you mean." She sighed, "But promise me we will work on getting you back in eleven days and not dwell on the possibility of staying longer."
V nodded at her, "We promise."
The girl scoffed, "I take these promises seriously so, yeah, good." She looked back at the screen as she took in a spoonful of fruit. So many zeroes...wait—she swallowed deeply."Hey," she blinked and inched closer to the screen, "this RFA bank account is—"
The hacker looked at the screen, then at her and replied, "Hm? Oh, yeah. I had it registered under yours."
M.C. gasped. "What—" she swallowed hard, "—all that money is…" she took out her wallet from her bag and got her card. "…you mean to say, that all that money is accessible by this card? My card?"
Seven nodded. "Yup. It is the only account that we can connect to here, you know." He scratched at his head and typed some more. "It seemed that a few banks—including the ones you and your family are registered to—are having errors in their system as of late. The banks are probably updating their system. I saw it in the midnight news last night and the idea came to me!" he grinned, "Those small errors and pauses were all I needed to get into their records. Then I did my magic and—BAM! Hello RFA funds!"
The RFA members stared. M.C. continued to look at the screen, her mouth open. Yoosung gaped at him, "You…are one hell of a hacker, Seven!"
Seven laughed and put an arm around M.C. He smiled cheekily, "I'm pretty awesome, aren't I?"
M.C. nodded slowly and gave a small breathy laugh. "Yeah…" the redhead's smile widened. "…and you are one dangerous man."
Seven looked at her. She turned to him then, her face a few inches away from his…
"I should be really careful with my stuff when I'm around you, huh?"
M.C. mumbled some things to herself—"…keep my phone…wallet in my bag…should avoid posting much…passwords and locks…"—as she turned away from the hacker and back to the screen to inspect the webpage further.
Jumin scoffed. Jaehee shook her head. V tried to suppress a smile. Zen rubbed at his temples. Yoosung stifled a laugh—and failed.
Seven blinked and groaned. He clicked his tongue and took his arm off of her shoulders. "You really know how to ruin the mood, huh?"
"M-hmm…" M.C. continued to inspect the screen.
And Yoosung laughed out right.
Zen shook his head at him, "Denied, bro."
Seven crossed his arms and pouted. V gave an amused laugh at Seven before turning to all of them, "Let's get ready, then?"
Champorado. A Filipino cuisine of sweet chocolate rice porridge. It makes use of sweet glutinous rice (locally known as malagkit) and tableya (pure cocoa blocks) or cocoa powder as its main ingredients.
Tuyo. A type of salted and sun-dried fish popular in the Philippines. Pretty cheap and considered as a significant Filipino comfort food.
Pansit. Fried or boiled noodle dishes, mixed with meat and vegetables that varies on the type of dish. There are different kinds in the Philippines, and this dish is usually served and eaten on significant holidays or celebrations.
A/N:A bit longer than the other chapters too. Maybe some of you have noticed how there is many things happening that the story seemed scattered, but I like to write what is happening as close to the real life, where there are a numerous of things happening to us, in even just a minute. But if you think it is too much, then I hope you can make your thoughts known to me. I would be very grateful.
Well, see you on the next update! And for questions, please don't hesitate to ask.
And to:
BeautifulyCool
Hey thanks! I am glad the last chapter made you laugh at least. And yeah, I just could not resist the jab on the fourth wall, I had to give it a go.
You are starting class now, right? How was it? And how was the move?
My classes only fall on four days a week but everything is tiring nonetheless. Most of them are evening classes so it makes the day last much longer, really.
Anyway, thanks again! Looking forward to your review.
MirrorFlame
Hello! Well, all kinds of stuff. But I like drawing anime most of the time. I actually have a hand-drawn sketch cover for this story already, but I haven't gotten any coloring done. I laze when I am about to color, so most of my sketches are just grayscale.
Wow, that seems cool to. Just starveling and seeing the world, no? I would love that too, but that would cost so much that it hurts.
Thank you for taking interest in this! I can't actually give much of a spoiler, as I write what comes to mind at random times. But I hope you look forward to this anyways.
And yeah, how do you come up with these? Here in the Philippines, we call this Fast Talk, but it's like a fast interview thing. Anyway, I would like my last words to be, "I have done what I need to do." And my last meal to be a home-cooked one. And you?
Thank you again! And I hope to hear more of your thought on this story too.
littleteddybearstitches
I actually got the shivers when I read this. Thank you for thinking so! Nakakatuwa na may Pinoy din na nakakabasa nito, pero nakakakaba din kasi baka may mga masulat akong di ganon ka sakto. Pero salamat pa din! Sana patuloy mo pa 'tong subaybayan. At sana makapag-iwan ka pa ng reviews sa future.
Salamat po!