Seven's kind of cute when all of his manic energy gets turned off. Don't get me wrong. The manic, in the right context, is great, too, but this? When he's sleeping soundly on my couch in my living room? This was nice, too. I'll take it. After last night, I didn't think I'd ever get something like this. Damn, I'm glad I was wrong. Possibly just as good, I'm glad my coffee pot's timer worked. Because coffee sounded like a hell of an idea. I leaned over my island, content with the world with my coffee in hand. As much as I could probably go back to sleep, I just wanted to be here like this.

Although, slowly, but surely, I wasn't the only one awake in my apartment. Seven opened his eyes and got a decent look around, "Where the hell…?"

"Good morning," I smiled sweetly.

"Morning," he rubbed his eyes, "MC, what am I doing at your place?"

"We came back here last night," I filled him in, "After we left the restaurant, we came here, watched a movie, and you crashed on the couch. It had gotten late and it's not like I was going to wake you."

"Thank you," Seven sat up a little better, "That was probably the best sleep I've gotten in the last month."

"You're welcome," I gave him a little nod, "You want any coffee while it's still hot?"

"No," he turned me down, "I should probably call Saeran, though. Let him know I'm still alive."

"I'm sure he knows," I settled him, "Saeran can take care of himself once in a while."

"Thanks for letting me stay here, MC," Seven got up from the couch, "But I think I'm just going to head home."

"Ok," I wasn't going to hold him hostage here. Seven was free to come and go any time he wanted to. However, I was feeling particularly brave this morning and took a monumental leap, "Do you think we could ever do this again?"

"With or without my panic attack in the bathroom?" he wondered.

"Preferably without."

"I don't know, MC," Seven sighed out, "Maybe. It'll be a while."

"You know where I live," I pointed out, "You know where I sleep. You've been on my bed."

"That I have," he laughed a little to himself.

"You're a mess, Seven," I teased him.

"Sister," Seven admitted, "You don't even know the half of it."

"Lucky for you," I took a good sip from my coffee, "I'm pretty good when it comes to messes. You should've seen the apartment next door before I got a hold of it."

"I heard the guy's kind of a hermit, though," he smiled, "But rumor has it, that place is spotless now. And a hell of a lot more user friendly."

"Yeah," I nodded, "I busted my ass in there, but I had a little help with the furniture and some of the documents. When it came down to it, all it needed was a little cleaning."

"Thank you, MC," Seven slipped his shoes on, "Maybe we will do this again."

"I hope so," I followed him out, "Will I see you later?"

"Depends on if I get a job or not," he leaned against the door.

"Ok." Let him come to me. That's what Saeran said, "In that case, I'll see you later."

"See you later," Seven got into the elevator and I retreated to the safety of my apartment. That was kind of weird, right? Seven just slept on my couch and I've never seen him so uncomfortable in my life. We were so good. But last night, he had completely turned off. He was fine. Now…He was a total deer in the headlights. Let him come to me.

I needed a distraction. One that'll hold my attention all day. Fortunately, I had just the thing. Thank you, Zen. Because today, I'm going to his place. Getting out of the house and out of my head for a while could do wonders for me. Now, where did I put my phone? Zen was kind (and possibly arrogant) enough to put his number in my phone. As a pure and innocent and strictly professional gesture, I'm sure.

"Hello?" Zen answered after the first couple rings. Jesus, was he posting?

"Hi, Zen," I chimed, "It's MC."

"Hi, MC," he perked up, "What's up? What's the occasion I get to hear your lovely voice this morning?"

"If you're that excited to hear my voice," I giggled, "I have some even better news. I got some free time today and I was thinking about coming by your place to look over the space and do that consultation. Is that ok?"

"Absolutely!" Zen insisted, "I mean, I have a photoshoot this morning, but I should be back by this afternoon. How does that work for you?"

"That's fine," I allowed, "I'll be there around, say, three o'clock?"

"Works for me," he approved, "I'll see you then."

"Bye." I hung up with Zen and tossed my phone aside. Honestly, I couldn't wait to start on Ze's place. After I did Seven's office, I forgot how much I loved freelancing. And how good I am at it. I just hope I get to go monochromatic in Zen's apartment. Fingers crossed. If it's a small space, I might cry, but I'll manage. I pulled my place together nicely. Besides, if I couldn't pull that off, my whole blog would be a sham. It is very on-brand for me.

Hold on…Did I go monochrome for Seven's place, too? No. He was more industrial. He was grayscales and chrome and soft yellows. I have a feeling that I'd be going with a lot of natural woods in Zen's place. Maybe I could take a little looksee at Pinterest. Something minimalistic sounded like a good idea. I like it. After a quick shower and a few hours on Pinterest (because falling down rabbit holes couldn't be easier than Pinterest), I headed off to Zen's place

Wow. For someone like Zen, the building was…Kind of lackluster. Then again, I have no room to talk. I live in one of the nicest buildings in town. My building was just this side of being better than owning a house. Regardless, I've taken on worse challenges. I could do it. Now, Zen said he lived in apartment number two. At this point, I just hope he's home. There was a motorcycle parked in the parking lot and I think I remember seeing that at the yoga studio. It had to be Zen's.

Knock, knock.

No turning back now. I stood and waited outside, bouncing on my toes to keep my nerves in check. If I'm moving, I don't know if I'm nervous shaking. It's a good way of tricking my body into thinking it's calmer than what it really is. But then, I heard footsteps on the other side. Please tell me I got the right door. I don't want to have to deal with Zen's neighbors.

"Hey, MC," Zen opened the door, setting me at ease. Thank God, "Please. Come in."

"Hi," I walked in, already getting a quick assessment of Zen's apartment. Just the living room alone was pretty big, all things considered, "It's cozy."

"Sorry," he took a seat on the futon. Oh, dear…With Seven's place, I was totally fine with putting a futon in it. Mostly because I knew he wasn't going to have much for company coming into his office. I doubt he ever brings clients to his office. But Zen seemed much more social. I already know what piece of furniture I'm burning first, "I just got back and I didn't have much of a chance to clean up."

"It's fine," I let it go, "I'll take care of it."

"A designer and a maid?" Zen smirked a bit, "What did I do to deserve this?"

"No, no, no," I stopped him, "I'm not your maid. I'm not cleaning your apartment today. For now, I'm going to look around and see what I can and can't do. The next time I come back is when I'll do all the tweaking and hard work. I did Seven's office in a day, so your place shouldn't be…"

"Wait a sec," he stared at me in total disbelief, "You did Seven's office?"

"Yeah," I nodded, "He was my last commission. Didn't realize I was going to do his office, but by the end of it, he seemed pretty satisfied."

Enough for us to go on a date last night as payment. And possibly another one, if he can get over the awkwardness from this morning. Zen held his face in his hand, "He let someone else in his office…How do you even know where it is? I thought Seven kept things under lock and key. Then, that lock and key was kept under a keypad and a retinal scan. And that keypad was kept in eight layers of cement and at the bottom of the ocean."

"If he's that secretive about it," I figured, "Maybe I shouldn't tell you how I know where it is. I mean, if you were to never come to my place, I guess I could tell you, but I'm sure you'd end up coming over eventually."

"I'm guessing he's across the hall from you."

"Nope," I shook my head, "But that's here nor there. Can we get back to the project please?"

"Sure," Zen shook off the fact that he was getting Seven's sloppy seconds, "So, what's the plan?"

"I was thinking a lot of light, natural woods," I sat next to him. Oh, god…Even the cushion was hella uncomfortable. I could feel the metal bar under my ass and…Oh, Zen…Please tell me there's a bedroom here, too. Because if this is a studio, my heart breaks for you. Although, I did see another door that led to a bedroom around the corner. Oh, thank God, "Some lighter grays. A few pops of green here and there in varying shades."

"Yeah," he thought it over, "Yeah…I like that. When can you start?"

"Well," I didn't really have anything going on today. Not to mention, I needed to get out of my head for a while. What better way than to throw myself headfirst into work? It's not like I haven't been working on a pin board for this before I even saw it. But it was too late in the day to start. No, not necessarily. I bet I could get the living room done today. By the looks of it, his kitchen was a ghost town, so odds are, I won't have to do much there, if anything. I could finish the living room today (and the kitchen, if I was feeling spicy) and do the bedroom and bathroom tomorrow, "Would you be ok if I started today? I mean, I need to do a little bit of shopping before I really got started."

"That'd be fine," Zen allowed, "It's a rare occasion, but I'm free for the rest of the day, if you need any help."

"Actually," I giggled a little, "My last assistant is probably free today, too. Unless he's ass deep in Cupcake Wars, but I'll give him a call first."

"Wow," he scoffed, "You're ok with your assistant taking days off just to watch Cupcake Wars?"

"I wouldn't say it quite like that," I admitted, "Because my assistant isn't even officially my assistant. It's not like I have him on a payroll. Or that I even officially call him my assistant. He just gave me a hand yesterday. If you know Seven, you probably know Saeran, too."

"Yeah," Zen nodded, "Now, the whole Cupcake Wars thing makes sense. But I didn't think Saeran would be down for something like that."

"He's the one that had to let me into Seven's office in the first place," I went on, "If he didn't, I couldn't have given Seven the surprise of a nicely decorated and much more functional office. But Saeran was definitely a help. I don't think I could've done it without him. Hold on. I'm going to give him a call and see if he'll help me again."

"Ok," he let me go, "Good luck."

I don't think I'll need it, but I appreciated the sentiment. I stepped outside and scrolled through my recent calls. Fortunately (yet simultaneously not), Saeran was at the top of the list. Hopefully, he'll say yes. It was fun doing Seven's office with him yesterday and it'll be nice to have a shoulder to lean on. Especially after what happened last night. And this morning.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Saeran," I greeted him, "Are you busy today?"

"What do you want, MC?" Saeran droned. I think I might have committed mortal sin and woke him up from a nap.

"I got another commission," I explained, "An actual paying commission. And I was wondering if you'd want to come help me again. Since we worked so well together yesterday."

"Can't," he shot me down, "I got other shit to do today."

Sounded like it, Mr. Sleepy. I handled Saeran just like I handled Seven. Let them both come to me, "Ok. Well…Maybe you could stop by later. Because it'd be nice to have another pair of hands."

"Sorry, MC," Saeran stood his ground, "I'm kind of tied up here."

"Ok," I dropped it, "That's fine. I can get someone else. My client said he'd help me out, too, so…"

"He?" That caught his attention, "Who's your new client, MC?"

"A friend of your brother's," I told him, "I met him at yoga the other day."

"Oh, God…" Saeran groaned in annoyance, "It's Zen, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I giggled, "How did you know?"

"Because out of all of Saeyoung's friends," he pointed out, "Zen would be the only one who would even consider doing yoga. Well…Except for maybe Jumin's assistant, but from what I understand, she could probably kill a man with her bare hands, so maybe yoga's not her poison of choice."

"You sound like you could do without Zen," I teased.

"I wouldn't go as far as to say I hate the guy," Saeran clarified, "But I wouldn't say he's my favorite person in the world either. He's kind of a douche."

"I understand where the vibe comes from," I agreed, "But deep down, I think he's got a heart of gold. He means well."

"That's Zen in a nutshell," he applauded, "Very good, MC. You've pinpointed him. Now, you find his weakness, take him out, and we'll all be home in time for dinner."

"Jesus Christ, Saeran," I gasped, "Are you ok? Do you need to talk?"

"You don't have that kind of time," Saeran let me go, "Sorry I can't join in the fun today, MC, but don't keep him waiting."

"Got it," I nodded.

"Bye."

Click.

Well…At least he said bye. I kind of expected Saeran to be the type to hang up on people. But that's here nor there. Dammit. I don't have my favorite assistant with me today. That sucks, but I'll be fine. I got this handled. If all else fails, I do have Zen here, too. I'm sure he can help me just as well as what Saeran could. I shoved my phone back in my pocket and went back inside. Maybe there were a few things I could do now without even having to do any shopping. At least I hope so.

Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck in that department, so I was going to have to go shopping anyway. To make matters worse, none of the dumpsters in town had anything I was looking for. However, there were a few thrift stores that usually worked like a charm for me. I'm not looking to do too much vintage in Zen's living room. Maybe I could save that for his bedroom. That'll be a project for tomorrow. On the plus side, I'll be able to blog this project!

By the time I got back, Zen had already thrown out his futon. Thank God. The thought of carrying that piece of shit out to the dumpster filled me with nothing but existential dread. Honestly, if I would've known Zen had this futon, I might have been able to salvage it for Seven's office. With better cushioning, though. I love you, Seven and you sure as hell don't deserve that.

Then, it dawned on me. I'm not sure if I meant that as a figure of speech or not. Last night hit me harder than I thought it did. Or now that the dust has settled, I'm finally getting a clear view of what may be ahead of me. I know Saeran told me to let Seven come to me, but after this morning…I don't think that'll ever happen. Seven's too timid, too skittish. Heaven forbid if anyone gets close to him. I just want to break the cycle.

"MC?" Zen wondered, "You doing ok?"

"Yeah," I brushed him off, "I'm fine. Why?"

"You don't seem fine," he pointed out, "You seem down. Well…Not really down, but just kind of…off."

"I wouldn't say off," I came clean, "But…"

"You want to talk?" Zen offered me a spot at his kitchen table, "I hate seeing a lady in distress when there's something I could possibly do for her."

Now, I could understand why Saeran wasn't too keen on him. Zen's the type to thrive on being the white knight, isn't he? Well…If we're being honest, I really could use a friend. And that's what Saeran was supposed to be for me, but apparently, he's got other things going on. That's ok, though. I understand. He has a life outside of me, too. Just like Seven.

"It's just that…" I began, chewing on my bottom lip, "I went on a date with Seven last night."

"Really?" Zen gasped, "Seven doesn't seem like the type to go on a date with anyone. I couldn't see him doing romance."

"Well," I winced, taking a seat across from him, "I'm not a hundred percent sure how it went. If someone were to ask me, I don't think I could give them a pass or fail. It's just…It's a purgatorial answer."

"Seven is a mystery," he assumed, "What happened?"

"Things were going kind of good," I told him, "We were talking. Everything was ok. I mean, we were mostly texting each other from across the table, but he was having a hard time formulating words, so texting each other was the next best thing. Then, he kind of freaked out on me. He asked me why I was so nice to him and when I said it was because I liked him, it…I don't know."

"Seven's a massive hermit, MC," Zen explained, "That's probably why. He's not really used to affection and you probably spooked him. For as long as I've known Seven, he's never been able to really handle himself around women. Especially cute ones like yourself."

"Seriously?" I chuckled a bit, "I'm sitting here pouring my heart out about my date with Seven and you take that as your opportunity to hit on me?"

"I'm not hitting on you," he promised, "Merely stating a fact. And it's true. Seven can't talk to women on a serious and normal level. If he's screwing around with zero interest in her, then he's fine. But as soon as she shows any interest in him…"

"He clams right up," I remembered all too well, "And it leads us to only talking through text. But he did ask me if I'd still talk."

"Why?"

"He liked the sound of my voice," I smiled, feeling a warmth in my chest, "And that's ok. He's not the first person to tell me that. Apparently, I have a soothing voice."

"You do," Zen agreed, "But was that the first time you and Seven went out?"

"No," I shook my head, "We just went to a party a couple weeks ago. I figured if he could handle himself at the Googleplex event, he could…"

"Excuse me?" he gasped, "Seven got invited to the Googleplex event?"

"No," I'm not sure if I should just chalk that up to ignorance or take it as a biting insult, "I got invited to the Googleplex event and Seven went with me. He talked me into it. I wasn't going to go. But everything was cool then. Last night, though…He just got weird. And not regular Seven weird."

"Do you want my advice or do you just want to vent?"

"Advice, please." Maybe Zen could provide an inside/outside perspective. Not as good as Saeran could, but Zen could be the next best thing.

"Like I said before," he pointed out, "Seven is a special case. He's a walking enigma. He's the kind of guy that you need to approach with caution. If you take things slow and gentle with him, I'm sure he'll be eating out of the palm of your hand."

"I try," I sighed out, "But every step forward I take, he takes two back. I don't want him eating out of the palm of my hand. I want him to be comfortable around me."

"He's delicate," Zen shrugged, "Like an atomic bomb. But you'll be alright."

"Look at me," I shook it off, "I'm supposed to be working, yet I'm blubbering to you."

"It's alright," he allowed, "I'm not going to fault you. You needed a friend and I was more than happy to give you one. You can just start tomorrow. That way, you'll get a good night's sleep to sort out whatever's going on in your head and you'll be able to approach this with a clear conscience."

"Ok." I'm so glad Zen's being so cool about this.

"Hey, MC," Zen put an arm around me, "Don't worry about Seven. I'm sure he'll come around."

"Thank you, Zen," I hugged him tight, "Really. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome," he let me go, "Are you hungry? You want to grab something to eat before you go home? You really shouldn't skip meals."

"I'm just going to go home," I shot him down, "I got leftover Chinese food in my fridge. I should be ok."

"Alright." I think I may have bruised Zen's ego a little bit, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

"Bye." I waved behind me and started heading home. In all honesty, I had no Chinese food in my fridge. I just didn't want to go out tonight. As appreciative as I was to Zen, he's still coming on a little too strong for my taste. That's fine, though. Because once I get home, I can just crash and everything will be ok. Seven will come around, huh? God, I hope so.