AN: Hey there :) I hope you're doing better than I am because I'm supposed to study for exams, but instead I'm writing fanfiction and feeling guilty about it. One day I'll learn how to be a responsible human being ... hopefully. Anyways, there are a couple of references in this chapter (as always) and I hope you'll enjoy it ;)
Chapter Fourteen
Curse of the Ouija Board
It's been almost a week since their breakthrough in the case and Mei found herself sitting in the back of an orange cab, driving past the outskirts of Seoul. She had spent most of her mornings in the archives of the police department, her afternoons planning the next party in Rika's apartment and her evenings with one of the RFA members. The detective was exhausted and already felt as though she had never been on vacation in the first place.
Outings with her friends were the only break she got, but even those weren't entirely unrelated to work.
Guilt nagged at her heart when the detective thought of their carefree smiles and the trust they put in her. Unaware that with almost every question she asked, she was trying to obtain information on V and Rika. She didn't find out much since—especially the latter—was still a sore subject with most of the members. Still, Mei appreciated every piece of information she got and stored them in the back of her mind, even if it was useless like her favorite food or an anecdote of her kindness.
Nevertheless, Mei had enjoyed herself despite the knowledge that she wasn't meeting them with entirely pure intentions.
It was unexpectedly fun to have fancy dinners with Jumin, giving her the rare opportunity to enjoy high-class cuisine, which cost double her monthly salary. The lawsuit against Glam and Sarah Choi was going well, not that she ever believed otherwise, but it seemed like a burden had been lifted off of him. Generally, Jumin was more relaxed when his personnel wasn't around and she even managed to get a laugh or two out of the stoic man.
On the other hand, Jaehee seemed more stressed than ever, which was probably a direct result of the former's newly awakened enthusiasm. Cat projects this and cat commercials that, the chief secretary hadn't stopped complaining the entire evening and not even watching one of Zen's DVDs together could stop her from cursing her boss.
If this continued, Mei feared for her friend's sanity.
Another evening, Mei hung out with Yoosung at an Arcade since his mom forbid him to invite her to play LOLOL. The power of a true mother was incredible, being four cities away and over one hundred kilometers apart couldn't stop Mrs. Kim from going full mother hen on him. She knew her son well and Mei could tell that the gamer was appreciating it despite his embarrassment.
Together, they went to visit Zen and helped him around the apartment since his left leg was still partially numb. After he had been discharged from the hospital, the press had been staking out his complex, so they had to sneak in through the backdoor to avoid unnecessary attention. Mei had promised Jaehee to keep Zen's reputation clean and Yoosung was happy to accompany her as buffer in case the paparazzi spotted them anyways.
However, while she had spent a lot of time with everyone, she had barely heard from Seven at all.
The first few days after the party, he had vanished from the face of the Earth as though his presence had always been a mere illusion. When he entered the chatroom again pretending everything was normal, Mei was relieved and worried in equal amounts. Something must've happened, she was sure of it, because no matter how many times he claimed that he was fine, he kept ignoring her calls.
Mei missed the sound of his voice, their long conversations about random topics and his quiet laughter that warmed her heart.
The distance Seven put between them made her lonely, leaving a hole in her chest that ached every time they talked through the messenger. A part of her was worried that it was because they had almost kissed in the parking lot and he didn't feel the same way about her. Maybe he was putting up a wall so he wouldn't have to reject her directly, but she wasn't sure.
Seven was all hot and cold.
One moment he was telling her that she couldn't get close to him, the next he was building a bodyguard robot to protect her. It was so confusing and Mei wasn't sure how much more of it she could take. She wanted to confront him about it and tell him how she feels, to get the truth out in the open, but she always chickened out in the end.
It wasn't like he was giving her a chance to talk to him anyways.
Unfortunately, criminals didn't care whether she was in love or not, which was why she was marching through the front gates of a shady charity organization while putting her feelings for Seven in a mental box. Mei had told the uber driver to wait at the front, hoping to get this over quickly and save what was left of her day off.
After some legal struggles, they got access to Rika's public bank account to test the theory the young detective had cooked up. It wasn't very helpful since she could've easily created a separate one under a different name. If the woman had been embezzling funds, she might have been involved with Mint Eye, though Mei didn't know whether she was forced into it or did so willingly. Her suicide, however, lead her to believe that she was innocent for now.
Well, the only way to find out for sure was to interrogate the recipients of the money and the Hope Foundation was the biggest organization on that list.
"May I help you, ma'am?" the receptionist asked in fluent English, eyeing her warily. "You don't look like our usual clients."
Silently, Mei wished that when a person spoke in another language, white subtitles would show up above their chest. Of course, that was impossible, but you should never give up on your dreams. It wasn't like her English was terrible, but it could use some work.
"Yes, I need to speak with Mr. Pyeon."
"Ah, Mr. Pyeon is a busy man," the woman replied, the patient tone of voice grating on her nerves. "Do you have an appointment scheduled?"
"No, I don't, but it's urgent."
"I'm terribly sorry, but that's impossible. The earliest meeting I could offer you is on January the 5th." Keeping her perfectly groomed hostess smile firmly in place, she turned to her computer to schedule the appointment. "Is that alright with you, ma'am?"
Six months? How busy was this guy?
"I see. I didn't want to play this card, but I'm a detective who is working with the police." Mei said, hoping her message came across despite her heavy accent and held up her badge for good measure. "Look … lady, I really need to speak with your boss."
"Right this way."
The detective sighed in relief when the receptionist motioned for her to follow after her. They walked through an unnecessarily long corridor, which was lined with expensive Chinese flower pots and ancient pictures of old people, not exactly the image that came to mind when thinking of a humble charity organization. Two grand double doors swung open in front of her, revealing none other than the head of the organization.
Ho-sung Pyeon was a big, burly man with a thick neck and a head that was slowly growing bald. He was dressed in an impeccably neat business suit that probably cost more than most people's car. Several women—six after counting heads—surrounded him at a large dining table on which an array of mouthwatering dishes was spread out.
So he was busy, huh?
"Mr. Pyeon, I'm Detective Mei Cheon from SIDA." Mei announced, holding up her badge. "I'd like to ask you a few questions concerning your previous connection to the RFA."
"I didn't think it would take you long before you sought me out," he muttered, wiping his mouth with a red silk napkin and swept his hands wide to dismiss the women at the table. "Get rid of the food. I was hungry, but I lost my appetite at the sight of her."
"You were expecting me?" Mei commented, surprised and more than a little curious. "Why?"
"Stop playing games with me, Detective." Sending her a knowing look, he leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "Isn't it the usual procedure to weed out people with good motives after a murder?"
"Are you someone with a good motive?" Mei shot back, pulling out a chair at the side of the table to sit down.
Mr. Pyeon chuckled mirthlessly. "I don't know. You tell me, Detective."
"Actually, you're wrong." she said bemusedly. "I'm not here to interrogate you on the party case, but now you've made me curious. Do you have a grudge against the RFA?"
"Well, that much is obvious." Mr. Pyeon rolled his eyes and the rings on his sausage-sized fingers glinted in the light. "If you ask me, the RFA deserves all the bad publicity they can get. However, it's truly terrible what happened at the party and I would never wish that on anyone."
"May I ask why?"
"You may not, but I don't have a choice anyway," the man grumbled and Mei's patient smile was answer enough. "It's not easy to run an international charity organization. If you're small, you won't receive donations and projects fall flat. If you're big, you constantly get accused of embezzling funds. Then, projects get delayed by government inspectors, who take an eternity to check where every last penny went. Every delay wastes more money that could've gone to charity."
"It's a lose-lose situation," Mei hummed thoughtfully, ignoring his accusing tone. "I assume you relied on money raised by events such as the RFA party to balance any losses."
"Usually, we prefer to set up written contracts with charity fundraisers instead of accepting direct donations from them, but Rika was very convincing." Mr. Pyeon replied, nodding. "It's hard to say no to large sums of money when you have hundreds of starving children to feed. Everything went well the first few years ..."
"What happened then?"
"It's not good to speak ill of the dead."
"Sometimes we need to make exceptions," Mei argued. "I'm not religious and neither are you."
Mr. Pyeon shot her an annoyed look, though there was an ounce of respect swimming in his old eyes. "The RFA were still hosting their extravagant parties, but less and less money was send to us until it stopped completely. Guests were still donating, more than ever actually, so I thought Rika must be funding another charity project. It was frustrating because at that point we were already dependent on their support, but legally they counted as regular donor, so our hands were tied."
"Do you know which other charity project they picked over yours?"
"I was naive back then, Detective. As someone who works in a trade that is infamous for fraud, I should've noticed the signs sooner," he said, frustrated. "It was only when one of my employees attended a party and noticed that the new project they were funding was very similar to ours—including pictures and pamphlets—that it clicked."
"Rika was using your projects as disguise in order to collect money," Mei concluded. "Did you confront her about it?"
"She denied everything, of course." Mr. Pyeon took a sip from his red wine, bushy eyebrows drawn together in regret. "We didn't have the money to win against them in court and on top of that, only a few weeks after our argument, we've received emails that threatened to expose delicate private information of our employees. I just couldn't take the risk."
"I guess you're unwilling to share the contents of those emails with the police?"
"I know my rights, Detective. Unless you wish to talk to my lawyer, I suggest you leave now."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Pyeon. I'll get back to you in case I have further questions."
"Please don't."
Mei knew she had over-stayed her welcome and briskly made her way out of the building. She had already learned everything she wanted to know anyways. Rika had been embezzling funds, using them for her own means, possibly Mint Eye. It wasn't much, but it was one step closer to unveiling the truth behind the events that took place before her death.
Was she really just another victim or was there more to it?
In order to discover more about the woman, they'd have to go through her personal belongings and the folders filed by the policemen, who dealt with the aftermath of her suicide. They must be somewhere in the archives and she'd leave it to her partner to find out where. The rest could only be obtained by issuing a search warrant and those could take weeks to get approved.
Still, what bothered Mei the most were the different accounts on her personality. Sure, not everyone gets along, but it was as though the Rika who Mr. Pyeon worked with and the Rika who founded the RFA were entirely different people. One was kind while the other was ruthless in pursuing her own goals.
Mei sighed and rubbed her temples, internally scolding herself for not checking her profile more thoroughly. She could already feel the oncoming headache, which was probably caused from thinking too much.
This would be so much easier if Rika was still alive.
She could've just asked the woman directly, interrogated her and formed her own opinion on her character instead of relying on other people's accounts. Maybe she should consult a medium to communicate with Rika's ghost, if nothing else worked.
The cab driver turned on a popular radio channel and she relaxed in her seat. It was a one hour drive to Rika's apartment and having nothing better to do, Mei created a new chatroom to pass the time.
[A new chatroom has opened. What's the afterlife like?; Yoosung, Jaehee Kang, 707, MC]
707: Mei-day, Mei-day! I spy a detective in the chatroom!
Yoosung : Heya :) What's with the title?
Jaehee Kang: Hello, everyone. It's good to see you.
MC: I wish I had an ouija board.
Yoosung : … okay random much?
Jaehee Kang: Do I want to know why? (ఠ_ఠ)
707: To contact ghosts, of course.
707: Weggy boards are scary stuff though ;;
707: 2/10 people get cursed, wouldn't recommend!
Jaehee Kang: You seem to speak from experience.
MC: No, no it's called Luigi board (￣^￣)ゞ
707: lololol
She loved how easy it was to talk to Seven. He instantly caught onto her mood and his light jokes tempted her to fall into his pace.
Yoosung : No, but seriously, why would you need something like that?
MC: It's so that I can prove to everyone that ghosts are definitely real ໒( " •̀_ᗜ•́ " )७
Jaehee Kang: I knew it would be for something like this. I'm blaming you, Luciel.
707: Who? Me?
707: I'm innocent ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭*
Jaehee Kang: You told her that there is no proof that ghosts exist.
MC: Right, right!
MC: The Path to Becoming a Great Detective; Chapter 1.
MC: Evidence is crucial, if you want others to believe you. Many criminals actually get away with their crimes after we arrest them because there is not enough conclusive evidence to convince the courts.
Yoosung : I've heard about that. In the end, it comes down to whether you can afford a good lawyer or not.
707: We live in a society ruled by money.
707: Jumin has plenty of it though, so Sarah and Glam won't be able to weasel their way out lmao
Yoosung : But why the oija board?
Jaehee Kang: Typo (-_-)
MC: Ghosts! I have sooo many questions!
MC: Do they eat ghost burgers in the afterlife? Is it a crowded place? Do they haunt people they don't like? Can they really phase through walls?
MC: And most importantly … it'd make investiagtions so much easier, if I could just ask the victim's ghost what happend!
707: Detective curiousity has reached max level lolol
Yoosung : Are you working a difficult case right now?
707: I was wondering the same, actually.
Yoosung hit the nail on the head. It made her frantic to steer the conversation away from her job and she crossed her fingers, hoping they wouldn't ask for details.
MC: Yeah, it's pretty complicated, but I'm not allowed to talk about it.
Yoosung : You sound like Seven.
MC: Anyways, I'm super curious about ghosts! I wanna see a real life séance!
Jaehee Kang: Thinking about those type of things out of the blue … you're a weird person.
Mei didn't know whether she should be offended or not. Jaehee practically called her a weirdo, but then again, she was unleashing her torrential thoughts on them without a filter.
Jaehee Kang: And your first questions is kinda …
MC: Important, I know. If there is no food, maybe ghosts rely on photosynthesis? (╭ರ_•́)
707: Interesting theory!
Jaehee Kang: You're making a habit out of completing my sentences incorrectly.
MC: Noooo you noticed (_)
707: Exposed! lololol
Yoosung : If I die from exhaustion, I'll definitely haunt my university profs.
Yoosung : People online say it's dangerous to play oujia board though.
MC: Wa weg boards are save, if you don't ask too many questions.
707: Ya. As long as you can burn a wega borad. It needs to be purified after use.
MC: Where can I get a wedgie board? Do I need to buy it from a witch or a vegan?
707: Both!
Yoosung : A vegan witch?
Jaehee Kang: You've lost me. What are we even talking about?
Jaehee Kang: Also ... TYPOS EVERYWHERE!
Mei was grinning at her phone and was about to reply when the music of the radio faded out in favor of the news segment on the hottest celebrity gossip. Usually, the detective couldn't have cared less about what a supermodel wore to the gym, but she tensed up once she heard a familiar name.
"The actor Hyun Ryu, who's stage name is Zen, is fairy popular within the musical theater industry. It was reported that last night he called famous singer Echo Girl to his home and sexually harassed her, shocking the whole nation. This scoop was reported to Celebrity A! News by none other than Echo Girl herself. She has immediately canceled her plans to go on stage with Zen and plans to go on hiatus to deal with this horrible incident."
"I was so scared." Echo Girl's voice came from the radio. "I though he wanted to practice lines for the musical, but I knew something was off when he forced me into his apartment. He said he wanted to check whether my breasts were real."
Apart from the fact that Mei didn't believe a single word out of her mouth, there was a glaring contradiction in her story. If she went there out of her free will, there was no need for Zen to force her inside. So which was it?
"I'm still so young, how could I have ever imagined? I mean ... my dad told me that since Zen is fairly unknown, he would probably try to gain something from my extreme popularity. It's super common in the entertainment industry too, but I trusted him to be different than all the others."
"Well from these photos of his apartment, he apparently lives in a basement, so there is no doubt he is struggling financially," the reporter commented eagerly. "Thank you so much for your time, Echo Girl. It was brave of you to speak up about this."
MC: Guys?! Did you hear the news about Zen?! ΣΣ(ﾟДﾟ;)
707: ?!
Jaehee Kang: Mr. Han and I just watched the interview on television.
707: What's going on?
Jaehee Kang: It was horrible. I can't believe this Echo Girl person (╬ಠ益ಠ)
MC: Zen would never do that!
Jaehee Kang: Of course not.
MC: She is lying, her story doesn't even make sense.
707: uhm enlighten me pls
Yoosung : Saw an article online. Seven, go to Celebrity A! News website.
Yoosung : I thought you guys were joking when you said you didn't like Echo Girl, but wow to think she'd spread false stories like that щ(ಥДಥщ)
MC: The worst is that everyone seems to believe her.
Jaehee Kang: This is really, really bad for Zen's career.
707: Up-to-Date-Now! Down with Echo Girl!ヽ(▼皿▼ヽ)
More than anything, Mei was worried how Zen was taking all of this. All of his flirting aside, he was a chivalrous person and always treated women with respect, so false claims of sexual harassment must be hitting him hard.
[ZEN has entered the chatroom.]
Yoosung : Zen! You're here!
Jaehee Kang: It's good to see you, Zen!
707: R u doin ok?
ZEN: Hello, everyone. Thank you for believing in me.
707: ofc we do, why wouldn't we?
ZEN: Well, everyone else doesn't ...
MC: What really happened? Why would she do that to you?
707: Yeah, wasn't she a fan or yours?
ZEN: Yesterday, she came to my apartment unannounced, claiming it was because she heard I was still sick and wanted to help me feel better.
ZEN: We talked for a bit and she confessed that she planned for me to get the lead role. She thought we'd make a cute couple because we are both beautiful.
Yoosung : She sounds like a shallow person (¬_¬)
ZEN: After hearing that, I told her I didn't want the role anymore, no matter if I'm wasting a great opportunity. I just can't accept a job that I got out of favoritism and just because I'm beautiful.
MC: And then?
ZEN: Echo Girl kept clinging to me and told me how pretty she was and that I couldn't reject her. Then, she tried to seduce me and I called her manager to take her home.
707: Scary! (◔ д◔)
ZEN: Right? When I told her to leave, she got upset and screamed something about revenge.
ZEN: Now, I know what she meant by that.
Jaehee Kang: I'm sorry that you have to go through this. You're an amazing actor and I'll always be your fan, no matter what happens. I'm sure your other fans feel the same way.
ZEN: Thank you, Jaehee. I appreciate it, but I'm not even sure I want to continue acting right now.
Jaehee Kan: Zen, first … try to calm down and don't let the media get to you.
MC: I hate to say this, but we need to find a solution and fast. If you don't respond to her claims, people will assume it's true.
707: I hacked into people's social media and saw ur name pop up a lot.
707: Your reputation (ಥ﹏ಥ)
ZEN: Hahahaha
ZEN: Haha ...
ZEN: What am I going to do?
Yoosung : Are you okay? (⋟﹏⋞)
ZEN: I feel like the world just ended.
ZEN: Someone please tell me this was a dream.
Mei wished she could tell him that and if she were in his shoes, she'd also try to deny everything that's happening. She wracked her brain for ideas, any angle of the story she might have overlooked.
MC: Who took the photos?
ZEN: Photos?
MC: The ones in front of your apartment that prove Echo Girl was there.
ZEN: Her manager did. She said it was so she had evidence that Echo Girl was skipping practice.
MC: Either she was in on it or she might be just the person to talk to, who can confirm your innocence.
707: Good thinking! ╭( ･ㅂ･)و
ZEN: Maybe ... I dunno.
Yoosung : I can't believe Echo Girl is such a scum.
ZEN: Why do I hate myself right now?
ZEN: I regret being so selfish, even after all of you have warned me.
ZEN: It was my fault in the end.
She could understand where he was coming from, but disagreed wholeheartedly. If anyone was to blame for this, it was Echo Girl. Even though a tiny voice in the back of her mind kept whispering that maybe Zen would've never met the bratty star, if they hadn't accepted her bribe in the first place.
Jaehee Kang: Please don't blame yourself, this wasn't your fault.
Jaehee Kang: No actor would've turned down an opportunity like that. You know that.
707: 99.9% of musical actors would've accepted the job.
ZEN: I can't believe I'm part of a 99.9% ＿ﾉ乙(､ﾝ､)＿
MC: Besides, it's A! News. They say things that don't even have evidence.
Jaehee Kang: What Mei said earlier was right though, you need to speak up about this when you're ready.
ZEN: But I'm just a lowly actor. I can't beat that. Reputation is everything to me.
MC: Doing nothing about it is not going to make it better. We can work together on a solution (ง •̀ω•́)ง✧
707: She is absolutely right ( • ̀ω•́ )✧
ZEN: I think I need some time alone right now.
707: I don't know if this will help, but the RFA will always be the same!
Yoosung : Yeah!
Jaehee Kang: We'll always be there for you! (◡‿◡✿)
MC: What they said ⊂(・﹏・⊂)
ZEN: Thanks for saying that, everyone. I'm gonna clear my head and go for a ride with my motorcycle.
[Zen has left the chatroom.]
It wasn't long until Mei logged out as well, trying to come up with a solution for this miserable situation. Echo Girl might've payed for those articles to be written and for the story to be covered by every news outlet possible, but if that was the case, it would be a cakewalk to turn this around.
They just needed to expose her and if that didn't work, maybe Jumin could help.
More importantly, Zen needed space to recover from this and she hoped with all of her heart that he would rely on them for support. In a way, Mei couldn't even fault him for trying to be strong by himself because the two of them were similar in that way—living independently from others. But Seven was right when he told her that asking for help when you need it was important and perhaps, it was time that Zen learned that too.
The elevator pinged once she arrived at the second floor and the metal doors slid open soundlessly. A wrinkle appeared between her eyebrows while Mei kept thinking about Rika. She had been trying find clues to a potential link between the RFA and Mint Eye inside of her apartment, subtly of course. Apart from the locked drawers that contained classified information, she hadn't found anything incriminating and soon gave up searching.
Hopefully, her partner had more luck than her. As far as she knew, Kyu had been slaving away in the archives and got the permits to access the police's private data bases. The stern woman was in the middle of double checking every missing person's information in case they had missed something.
Furthermore, their two suspects, Nam and Kwon, hadn't said a single word after the former revealed their organization's name. They seemed lifeless during interrogations, watching the world around them with empty eyes and blissful smiles like used puppets in an abandoned dollhouse. Their creepy expressions sent shivers down her spine every time. It was as though they had been brainwashed.
Suddenly, Mei stopped walking and stared.
There was a brown package in front of Rika's doorstep.
With the caution of a cat on the hunt, the detective stepped closer to examine it. She sure as hell didn't order anything and unless ghosts can call up delivery services, only Seven, V and Unknown knew the address. Maybe it was a mix-up and the mailman dropped it at the wrong place?
To: Miss Detective
From: Outerspace God
The brunette laughed, relieved that this wasn't a trap from Mint Eye to murder her. She should've known it was from Seven, only he would try to surprise her like that. Shaking her paranoia off, Mei picked up the parcel and entered the apartment.
Everything was just as she left it.
Over the past few weeks, she had made herself comfortable and added a few personal touches to the blank canvas. Maybe she was being a little petty, especially after discovering that Rika worked as an interior designer, but the plants and books she added made the room feel more alive than before.
After setting her bag aside, Mei plopped down on the sofa and pealed the sellotape off the package. Inside was a white cat robot with bright blue eyes and an orange ribbon around its neck. Meowy was even more adorable in real life than it was in the picture. Next to it was a thin manual with instructions on how to use it and a short note written by Seven.
Dear Alien Girl,
I hope God Meowy will protect you whenever I can't.
Greetings from the spacestation,
Astronaut Seven
Mei folded the note and put it in her pocket, stunned and a little touched. It was the nicest present she ever got and knowing how much thought he put behind it made her heart sing. Smiling gently, she pulled Meowy on her lap and patted its white exterior. The detective startled slightly when it came to life, announcing its name and purpose in a cute robotic voice.
After playing around with the robot, she opened the messenger app, hoping a certain redhead was online, so she could thank him. She'd rather do it in person, but she knew that wasn't possible right now.
[A new chatroom has opened. You can't drink coffee! 707, MC]
MC: Seven! ヾ(＾∇＾)
707: Mei!ヾ( ▽ )
MC: Thank you for Meowy! I love it so much!
MC: It's the best present I ever got. I would hug you, if you were here (｡ ‿ ｡)
She turned towards the CCTV with a big smile and waved at him. Meanwhile, Meowy had climbed on top of the couch and was inspecting its new surroundings.
707: No problemo (⌐▨‿▨)
707: I feel better knowing you're safer now.
707: Been tracing the weird emails too. No results yet, but it's only a matter of time.
MC: It seems like you're always working on something.
MC: Do you get enough sleep?
707: When I sneeze, my eyes close.
707: It's the closest I am to sleep lol
707: (๑ᵕ⌓ᵕ̤)
MC: That's terrible! Go to bed!
707: I don't feel tired physically, but mentally my stress level is MAX.
The detective frowned at that, but it wasn't just because she was worried about him. She was good at reading between the lines and despite his carefree words, she could tell he was putting a distance between them again. Otherwise, he would've reacted to her comment about the hug with some sort of joke.
707: And I'm worried about Zen too, which is why I need to take it out on Yoosung.
707: Abracadabra (∩｀-´)⊃━ ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ
[Yoongie has entered the chatroom.]
Yoongie : Take what out on me?
707: Don't worry about it.
MC: (⊃д⊂)
Yoongie : SEVEN (╯ಠ‿ಠ)╯︵┻━┻
707: lolol wut
Yoongie : CHANGE MY USERNAME BACK TO NORMAL NOW!
707: It suits you though. It's adorable ... like a name for a puppy.
Yoongie : Seven, I'm serious.
707: Hello serious, I'm Seven (⌐▨‿▨)
MC: pls not the dad jokes, anything but that lol
Yoongie : I swear, I won't come in the chatroom anymore if my name stays like this.
707: Okay fineeee
707: party pooper
[Admin 707 has changed username Yoongie to Yoosung ]
Yoosung : You really shouldn't have that power.
Yoosung : What else can you do that we don't know of?
707: You know nothing, Yoosung Kim. I'm the Chosen One! (¬‿¬)
Yoosung : Game of Thrones, really?
707: I am Seven Stormborn of the House RFA, First of His Name, Protector of the Realm, the Unburnt, King of the Hackers and the Spacestation, God of Cyberspace, Breaker of Firewalls and Father of Meowy.
MC: The prophecy is true! (ﾟ□ﾟ*川
Yoosung : That title is way too long. I already forgot half of it.
707: Anyways!
707: What have you been doing on this fine evening, sir?
Yoosung : I was just about to drink a cup of coffee and play games.
707: No way. U can't.
Yoosung : What?
707: Did you already drink the coffee?!
Yoosung : Yeah … why?
707: Big trouble.
MC: Yoosung … what do we do now?
Yoosung : Why? Did something happen?
707: Gah, I was just about to tell Mei.
707: I check in on the health reports of all members and you can't drink coffee.
MC: If I remember correctly from med school ... there was a disease like that. It had a really long name.
Yoosung : You're jokign, rihgt?
707: Not joking. We're dead serious.
Mei knew that she was probably reading too much into it, but when he referred to them as 'we' her heart skipped a beat.
707: U can never, ever drink coffee. If u do, ur hands will start shaking and u'll faint eventually.
Yoosung : Nah, I don't have that kind of allergy.
707: I'm sorry. U've already lost trust in me, so ur not listening.
MC: If you don't trust him, trust me. You're gonna faint for real.
Yoosung : Seriously? You're kidding, right? (ﾟдﾟ；)
MC: You should prepare yourself. Fainting isn't fun and you might injure yourself if you don't faint in a good place.
707: Listen carefully, you're going to faint today and there is a chance you might never wake up again.
MC: That's a bit much ;;
Yoosung : What?
707: Shhh!
707: Yoosung, you have the "Pass Out After Caffeine Syndrome"!
Yoosung : What is that?! A disease like that actually exists?!
MC: That's what it was called, I can't believe I forgot (ー∀ー；)
MC: Whoever named it is a bit …
707: It was made up at the last minute so no choice.
Mei snorted and raised an eyebrow at the camera in the corner.
Yoosung : ?
707: I'm doing whatever I can to save u ╭( ･ㅂ･)و
Yoosung : Okay ...
707: Don't get so excited (¬_¬)
707: It
707: exists
707: for sure.
707: I look at foreign reports everyday.
Seven sent a screenshot of an obviously fake Wikipedia page. It looked like it had been thrown together in a matter of minutes—possibly seconds considering his typing speed—and contained forged statistics on the fictional disease.
MC: It's a rare disease.
MC: Last year there were about 1024 deaths in South Korea alone.
Yoosung : Omg really? I can't believe I have it. What's going to happen to me?
707: According to my data, you'll faint sometime between 9 and 10.
Yoosung : I guess it could've been worse. I don't have class in the morning.
MC: A stroke of luck in this misfortune v(￣∇￣)
Yoosung : At least, I'm passing out at home（πーπ）
707: Ya.
Yoosung : I wish my mom was here though.
Yoosung : Thanks for telling me, Seven.
707: It's nothing lol
MC: Call me if anything happens. I'm a little rusty, but I didn't work in a hospital for nothing.
Yoosung : Okay, thank you so much (つ﹏⊂)
707: Oh.
707: I recommend drinking chocolate milk before u faint. U have to increase your blood pressure if u want to wake up faster.
Yoosung : Okay. I'll go to the supermarket to buy some then.
Yoosung : I really shouldn't drink coffee anymore.
707: ヽ(ヅ)ノ
Yoosung : I'm touched that the two of you are so worried about me.
707: … I'm glad to be of help.
MC: You're young, so you'll wake up quickly if you faint.
707: when you faint
MC: right
They continued to chat for a half an hour, discussing Zen's situation and how to possibly fix it. She learned new things about the musical actor as well, like how his family wasn't very supportive of his career choice and mistreated him because he was 'too beautiful' in their eyes. Once he was old enough, he broke off all contact with them and went to live by himself. It made her sad to think that someone as energetic and open as Zen had such a terrible childhood, but she also admired him for following his own path in life.
Afterwards, Mei opened her laptop and answered a few mails from guests, even though her heart wasn't in it. Surprisingly enough, most of the guests were sympathetic towards the RFA and eager to attend the next event, claiming that the attack wasn't their fault. Nevertheless, the detective would prefer to solve the situation with Unknown and Mint Eye before hosting another party.
The security system has been deactivated.
She snapped up from her work, her hair bobbing with the sudden movement, and regarded her surroundings warily. What was that? Seven said that he had manually disabled the security system because it was dangerous … so why would it activate itself now?
It was a terrifying line of thought, but maybe Unknown had noticed that she was digging into Rika's history and was warning her to keep her nose out of it. She was sure that Seven and Unknown were the only people who had access to the apartment's system and she doubted the former would mess with it, not when her safety was concerned.
The security system has been activated.
Mei remained quiet, heavy foreboding washing over her like ice. She could literally sense that there was something greater at work and if she were to dig deeper, she had a feeling that the truth would terrify her. However, she couldn't let that stop her, not when so many people relied on her to solve this case.
To Be Continued ...