A/N Disclaimer: I do not own Mystic Messenger.
Discussion of past sexual assault in this chapter, which will be important for the whole Echo Girl fiasco later. I changed the Echo Girl dialogue to be shorter than it is in the game because I didn't feel it was necessary to include all of it.
Mun-Hee is staring in shock at the open fridge. After taking her advice and telling the director sooner rather than later that he couldn't do the role, she wanted to cook Zen something special to make him feel better. His stock has other ideas. "Zen, you have no food."
Zen blushes. "I haven't been shopping in a while."
Mun-Hee just sighs and closes the door. She pulls a notepad out of her bag, which is sitting on the kitchen table, and opens it to a new page. Grabbing out a pen, she begins compiling a list. "Do you need anything specific?"
"More beer," Zen says with a smile.
"You're hopeless," she laughs. Once she finishes the list, she tears it out of the book. "I'm going to run to the store and get you some things. You stay here and rest."
"I should come with you."
"I'll be fine. It's just two streets away." She grabs her purse and the list and heads for the door. "Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone!"
Zen just huffs, but he can't prevent the smile from creeping over his face. She's just as great as he thought she'd be. He's starting to get hungry, though. And the goldfish-shaped bread guy is right out front. A snack wouldn't hurt, right? His stomach wins over her orders, and he hobbles out to the stand.
As he's getting his bread, a limousine pulls up to the curb, and a well-endowed girl with brown hair pops out of the car. "Zen! Oh my gosh, what happened to your leg?"
"Um, have we met?"
"I'm Echo Girl, silly," she says with a bright smile. "The director told me you were injured, and I just had to come see if you were okay."
"Yeah, I won't be able to do the role," he admits sadly.
"Nonsense," she says. "All your fans know that you heal really quickly. I've been your fan for years."
"You're this young man's fan?" the vendor asks, flabbergasted.
"Yep!" she chirps. The two have a short conversation, and she gives him her autograph. After that, she turns back to Zen. "Let's go back to your place and talk about the role. I asked for you specifically, so we'll be able to wait while you get better. It won't be the same with another actor in place. The whole piece was designed with you in mind. We'll make a great couple."
"Sure, that's fine," Zen says, still a little amazed that she's his fan and only thinking of being a couple in terms of their roles in the production. The two go back to his house to discuss the role, and she leaves a while later with a much happier Zen behind.
Mun-Hee is carrying multiple grocery bags and has to shift them to mostly one arm to free up her hand to open the door. Zen is sitting on the couch with a silly grin on his face. "Zen, I'm back!" she calls.
"Babe! You'll never guess what happened!" he says by way of greeting, practically vibrating with excitement and following her into the kitchen on his crutches.
"Something good?"
"Echo Girl came to visit me! She's been my fan for years, and she told me that I don't have to give up the role. They'll be waiting for me to recover." The beaming smile on his face reveals how pleased he is.
"That's good news," Mun-Hee says, but she has a bad feeling about it.
"I'm so happy! Now I don't have to give up anything. I still get to act with a famous singer."
"I'm glad for you, Zen," she replies with a smile, deciding to change the subject so as to not seem jealous when she's actually not. Just apprehensive. "Now, how about I make you some spaghetti?"
"Spaghetti?" Zen asks, stumbling a little over the unfamiliar word.
"You've never had spaghetti?"
"Nope. Have you?"
"I guess I haven't really talked much about myself. I'm actually from the States."
Zen's mouth drops open. "You are? Why are you here?"
"Teacher program. I'm an English teacher, but school is on break right now, and night classes aren't in session. My dad is from South Korea, and my mom is American—German descent. I learned both Korean and English when I was younger." She starts pulling things out of grocery bags, leaving some things on the counter and putting others away. "You'll have to forgive me for using store-bought sauce. I usually make my own, but I want to eat sooner rather than later."
"My lady can cook?" Zen asks. "I have truly met an angel."
She blushes prettily. "Just simple things," she replies modestly. "Living by myself on a small income taught me to appreciate cooking."
Zen watches her while she cooks. When the spaghetti is finished, she scoops each of them a serving on plates and grabs forks and cans of beer. They sink down on the couch in the living room, and Zen actually moans when he takes a bite. "Where has this been all my life?"
Mun-Hee laughs. "It's not as common over here as I would have thought."
They eat for a few more minutes. "Why don't you tell me a bit about yourself? Why did you come all the way over here?"
Mun-Hee sighs. This isn't her favorite story to tell, but if she wants a future with Zen, she'll have to tell him these things. "People haven't really been nice to me. Ever. I guess I was just looking for a new start."
"What do you mean?"
"I'm smart, Zen. Like, really smart. I love learning so much. I have an IQ of over 140, and I was one of the, if not the, very top students throughout all of school. I don't say it to brag, and I honestly hate even bringing it up. It made most people hate me. Back in school, this really popular girl started hanging out with me. I thought that she finally saw that I was nice—worth something. On the last week of school, I heard her bragging to her friends about how she used me the whole year to do her homework. I refused to help her with her finals after that. She did pretty badly."
"That's just horrible!" Zen exclaims. "Why would she do that?"
Mun-Hee just shrugs, still at a loss after all these years. "I don't know."
"What else happened?"
"I know I'm not beautiful," she says, tears pricking at the edge of her eyes. "I'm short and thin. I'm not gifted with any nice curves. There was this guy I liked back in high school. His older sister was my friend, but her best friend was in love with the guy too. They spread a bunch of nasty rumors about me. Said just awful things. And then I overheard the guy telling everyone in my class how ugly he thought I was. How he would never date me even if I would put out with a paper bag over my head and let him do whatever he wanted to me." A lone tear falls down her face.
"Honey, you're gorgeous," he says, leaning forward to cup her face and wipe away the tear. "You're so tiny it kinda reminds me of a little fairy. You're perfect just the way you are. I can't believe anyone ever said something that disgusting about you."
"And then in college, a classmate assaulted me."
"WHAT!" Zen screams.
"It's okay, Zen. It's in the past."
"Where is he!? I'll kill him with my bare hands!" He's trying to grab his crutches to get up and go find the guy. Across the ocean. On a broken ankle.
"Zen!" she chides, using all of her meager strength to pull him back to the couch and next to her. "It's okay. It was taken care of at the time."
"What does 'taken care of' mean?"
"He was given a no-contact order and had to work for the school."
His eyes widen in shock. "That's it?"
"He didn't actually rape me, just assaulted," she shrugs. "He held me down and rubbed his…parts…all over me." She represses a shudder at the memory, and Zen just barely manages to control his rage. "Anyway, it all just kinda piled up. About a year later, all of my friends stopped talking to me. I lost everyone all at once. I just didn't see a reason to stay anymore. When I saw the ads for an English teacher in South Korea, I jumped right on it. My parents supported it, but I would have left even if they didn't. It was all just too much, and I needed to get away."
Zen leans over and pulls her into his lap, her small body curling around his. "Princess, I'll make sure that never happens again."
"I guess that's why what Jaehee says hurts me so much. It's all stuff I've heard before. I thought that if I didn't show a picture of myself and didn't talk about any of my talents that it wouldn't happen again, but it did anyway. Maybe it's just me. Maybe there's something fundamentally unlikeable about me."
"Hey," he comforts. "All the rest of us like you a lot, even the jerk; it doesn't matter what she thinks. I'm sure she'll come around eventually. No matter what, you'll at least have me on your side."
"Thanks, Zen," she says with genuine relief. She pulls back from his neck and beams at him. His eyes flicker down to her lips, and he quickly leans forward to give her a chaste kiss. Her face breaks into an even larger smile, and she bites her bottom lip. "What about you?"
Zen swallows uncomfortably. He hates telling this story, but after everything she just told him, his story probably won't shock her. "My parents didn't want me to become an actor. My mom used to chop off my hair and scream at me because I was too attractive, too wild. I didn't do well in school because I just didn't care. I wanted to sing and play and act. I left home when I was still in school. I've worked my way up ever since."
"That takes a lot of courage," she comments, running her fingers through his hair and thinking how sad it is that his mother wouldn't love his beautiful hair. He's a little distracted by the feeling and leans into her touch.
"Sometimes I wonder if I deserve it, though," he whispers. "If the only reason I'm famous is because of my face."
Mun-Hee vehemently shakes her head. "Don't think like that, Zen. I'm not a fan on Jaehee's level, but I did look up some of your performances. Anyone with eyes can see the talent that you have. The face is just a bonus."
"A bonus, huh?" he asks, a grin spreading across his lips. "I suppose I can thank my family for good genes, then."
"Do you ever hear from them?"
"I haven't talked to them since I left. They've never tried to find me."
She just nods and hums in understanding. He knew it was a good idea to tell her. "Do you want me to go back to the apartment today?"
"No," he answers quickly.
She gives him another kiss, this one a little longer than the last. "Then can I stay the night?"
"Yes."
"I'll need to borrow your clothes again."
"Good. I like you in my clothes."
She giggles breathlessly. "Why don't we watch a movie?"
She moves out of his lap to sit beside him again, and the day passes in happiness. Jaehee is, of course, upset with Mun-Hee, but Mun-Hee finds that she doesn't care as much anymore. If Zen wants her here, she'll be here. "Do you want to go to sleep soon?" Zen asks as it approaches eleven o'clock.
"Can I take a shower first?"
"My lady naked in my shower? I might just have to join you."
"You have a cast, Zenny."
"If only I didn't," he sighs dramatically.
"All in good time," she promises. "Do you need me to help you take a shower, though? In all seriousness? I can wrap your leg in a bag and help you wash up?"
"I should be fine until tomorrow," he assures. "Go and shower. I'll keep watching this, and then we can go to bed when you get out."
She hops off the couch and grabs her oversized purse. Mun-Hee always carries a hairbrush with her. In fact, she tends to be a little paranoid and always packs her purse for possible emergencies. She thinks it's good to be prepared. She has a smaller bag inside her purse with a brush, underwear, a change of day clothes, a toothbrush, deodorant, a razor, pain medicine, tampons, etc. Luck favors the prepared.
Zen is waiting for her to be done when the knock comes on the door. He wonders who it would be at this hour, and he hobbles to the door on his crutches. "Echo Girl?" he questions when he opens the door.
"Hey, Zen!" she greets. "I ditched my manager to come and see you. I was hoping to talk to you about our relationship."
"What relationship?" he asks, confused as to what she means. They already talked about the play earlier in the day.
"You don't have to be all proper," she giggles coyly. "I know my body is irresistible. You won't be able to keep your hands off of me. If we start dating like I mentioned today, you'll get so much more work."
Zen blanches, realizing that he must've misunderstood her intentions at some point. "Um, I'm going to have to say no to that. When you said couple, I assumed you meant our roles in the musical. Not real life."
"What do you mean? I didn't want to say this, but my breasts are natural and a D-cup. You don't have to think I'm innocent. I know enough. I know how the world works."
"What's your real name?" he asks instead.
"You can't tell anybody, but it's Kyungju Choi."
"Kyungju…go home," he replies sternly.
"W-What?" she stammers, her eyes wide with surprise.
"Go home. I am perfectly capable of controlling myself."
"What do you mean?" she shrieks. "I'm gorgeous. I could help your career."
"I already have someone. Please, just go home."
As if on cue, Mun-Hee walks out of his bedroom, toweling her hair dry. "Zen, is everything okay?"
"It's fine," he replies, thankful for the intrusion. She comes to stand next to him and see Echo Girl at the door. "This is Echo Girl. She was just leaving."
"This? You're refusing me for this? She might as well be a boy with that body."
Mun-Hee winces at the insult. No matter how many times she hears it, and she's heard it plenty of times, it hurts every time. Sure, her hips aren't large, but her A-cup breasts aren't that bad considering she's 5'0" and 105 pounds. She doesn't think she looks like a boy.
Zen growls at the slight against the object of his affections. "Don't come to my house and insult her. I won't be doing to the musical either. It's clear that the only reason you asked me is to get something from me. Good bye."
Despite her screaming, Zen closes the door and calls Echo Girl's manager. He explains the situation, and the manager picks her up within minutes, having lost her a few streets away. "I'm so sorry, Zen!" Mun-Hee apologizes. "She saw me here. This is going to ruin your career. Jaehee was right about me."
"No," Zen denies emphatically, gripping her hands in his own. "It won't ruin anything. I'm not ashamed of you, and I can't just spend the rest of my life alone to appease fans. I'm more upset at myself to be honest. It's clear Echo Girl didn't want me for my talent. I can't believe I was so wrong about her."
"It'll be okay, Zen. Any other actor would've said yes too. It really sounded like a good offer," she comforts, turning her attention away from herself and back to him and his worries. "You're a wonderful actor. You'll find something better soon." She suddenly smiles. "And if not, I might be persuaded to be a Sugar Momma." She pinches his butt and waltzes away.
Zen just laughs at the absurdity of her comment. She has a knack for making him feel better, even if it's through shock factor. The two of them walk into his room to get ready to go to sleep, but he can tell that there is still some underlying upset with Mun-Hee. "Babe, is something wrong?"
She turns to him, picking at the hem of his shirt she borrowed. "Do you think I look like a boy?"
"No, honey. You're perfect," he praises.
She seems to internally debate something and then looks up at him with determination in her eyes. Reaching for the hem of her shirt, she quickly pulls it over her head, revealing herself to his gaze. "Are you sure?"
His breath catches in his throat. She's so small and delicate. Her gray bra and matching underwear showcase her body nicely. Mun-Hee certainly doesn't look like a boy. She looks like a woman. Just a small one. "Positive," he growls. "I'll repeat myself again: you're perfect."
Her face lights up crimson. "I-I'm sorry for being so f-forward." She moves to put the shirt back on, but Zen stops her.
"Leave it. Let me hold you like this." He moves over to the bed, leading her by the hand and be careful for his ankle. She sets up his leg with a pillow again and allows him to pull her close. When her skin touches his, she has to restrain a moan. Zen doesn't bother holding his back. "Babe, you're so soft."
"When you're better, you can see the rest," she promises.
"All the more incentive for me to get better," he quips with a kiss to her forehead. The two of them curl around each other and fall into a contented sleep.