She noticed that all lights were green as she approached them on her way to Zen's small apartment. Pulling up to said apartment, she got out of her sizable Toyoto and walked rather hurriedly to his door. "Oi, Zen? It's MC! Hellooooo?" MC knocked at his door.

No response.

Why would nobody be home at this time of day? It's still fairly early in the morning… She knocked again, insistently. "Zen, I really need to talk to you!" Finally, she heard footsteps approaching the door, and she stood back expectantly.

What she wasn't expecting, however, was to see Zen in a black sweatshirt with the hood pulled up. His posture was droopy, and he looked towards the ground as he opened the door. Peeking inside the room, she was baffled at the absence of the many mirrors that used to cover his walls last time she visited.

"Uh, Zen? Are you okay?" MC was too stunned to say much else.

He stuffed his hands inside his pockets and glanced up at MC with shy eyes. "Yes, I am. You said something about wanting to ask me something?" He asked, eyes still trained on the ground.

"Yeah, I did… can I come in?"

He hesitated for a moment but stood back slightly to allow her into the apartment. "Thanks."

Walking to his living room, her shock only grew when she realized that his mirrors weren't the only things missing; his musical memorabilia and props from his own musicals, previously on proud display in most areas of the apartment were nowhere in sight. There were stay bags of chips, soda, and the like spread around the floor, but it wasn't as bad as 707's bunker. Reaching the sofa in his living room, she sat down and patted the spot next to her. Zen averted his eyes, his cheeks tinged pink, and instead sat in a recliner adjacent to her.

MC cleared her throat. She knew that the direct approach that she took with Yoosung earlier wouldn't work on the red-eyed man in front of her, so she decided to play along with his acting capabilities. "It's been a while, Zen!" She offered him a warm smile.

He slowly returned it, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"So, what's up? How's life? Did you have breakfast?"

"Uh… yeah." He pointed to the scattered chip bags on the floor.

"...Wait, YOU ate those?"

"Yeah, who else would? I live alone, in case you forgot."

"I thought you had a party or something…" MC pursed her lips. Since when did Zen eat anything unhealthy, let alone in that quantity? "I thought you would've had a proper breakfast, you know, to start the day off right."

Zen frowned. "But it was a proper breakfast. I mean, it was food, so. I also woke up late, so it was quick."

Zen never woke up late. He always mentioned that it would make his perfect, unblemished face puffy in the chatrooms. "I see… would you mind if I went to get something from your fridge? I'm really thirsty and forgot to bring my water…"

"Okay."

MC, acting as casual as possible, rose from the sofa and went to the kitchen. It was in a similar condition to the living room; random bags of the chips were scattered everywhere, and there were even a few cans of energy drinks resting on his counter. Opening his steel refrigerator, she braced herself for the worst.

The fridge was barren except for two bottles of water.

With a sigh of both relief and frustration, she grabbed both of the bottles and joined Zen back in the living room. "Here, thought you might need it." MC held out one of the water bottles. Zen glanced at the bottle, then at her, then back at the bottle before taking it. "T-thanks…"

"No problem. Say, I was surprised to see you didn't have much in your refrigerator. I thought there'd be at least a couple beers." MC attempted a lighthearted chuckle.

Zen looked at her with wide eyes before quickly looking back down. "I… I don't drink."

MC shouldn't have been surprised at this point, but she was. "A-ah, right. Sorry, my brain isn't working right today! Although Zen, I know I'm right about at least one thing. You seem really… I don't know, kind of like you're having a bad time. Do you want to talk about it?"

Zen looked her over carefully, and MC had the strangest urge to cross her arms over her chest and cross her legs. "MC, are you okay? I'm not sure why I have to tell you this, but this is how I normally am…?" He pulled his hood just a tiny bit farther over his unreadable face.

"Oh… I'm sorry Zen." He shook his head dismissively, signifying it was no big deal. "Do you wanna go to a musical or something later?"

"I'm not exactly the most social person either, MC. Uhm, I think you should go home. You don't sound well. Sorry if it seems like I'm kicking you out."

His words rang in her head. Why were things so different, but still a bit similar? She remembered when she had visited him for the first time, he had said the exact same words to her, but with completely different meanings. "Alright Zen, sorry to bother you so early. Please remember to eat your meals, proper ones. And don't be afraid to call me if you need." With that, MC walked to the door but spared a glance at Zen who was still seated on the couch. He had sunk further into its cushions and was now gaming on a red Nimtendo. MC blew hair out of her eyes in an irritated fashion and stepped out the door.

She barely made it five steps outside when her phone rang. The caller ID was none other than Jaehee. MC breathed a sigh of relief and picked up. "Hey, Jaehee! Good morning, how's work?"

"What's up, Kristie? Ugh, please don't mention the word 'work' to me at this time in the morning." Jaehee spoke in an almost sassy manner.

Right, right. Everyone is acting weird today, just figure out a pattern. "Oh, right, sorry Jaehee. Did you have breakfast?"

"Nah, you should come over and chill for a bit and then we can eat."

"Um, sure. I'll be over there in a few, I guess."