Night-Owl Romance

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Note: Thank you for paying attention to this fic ^^ your support is very much appreciated! I hope the story will keep being to your liking.

I know I said future chapters will be happier... well... let's just say most 'convo' based chapters will be more cheerful - ;;; or at least, not as dreadful. I think I'll have more embarrassing moments in the next one though - or at least, I'm aiming for more chat interactions.

Maybe~!

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Chapter 3: Adjusting to the R.F.A.

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It was 3:51 a.m. when she noticed the time displayed on the clock, the girl taking a well-deserved break. Her eyes were burning from the fatigue-slash-crying combo, Mina rubbing them gently before yawning softly. At this rate she would be able to witness the sunrise in person – not that it was her sole intention to do so.

In general, sleep didn't feel like a priority for Mina anymore.

She normally fought the urge until she would no longer be able to physically resist it as sleep became more of a hindrance rather than a basic physiological necessity for maintaining her health and overall mental state. The girl mostly dreaded her dream world because it usually portrayed things she was desperately yearning for but could not have due to her current living arrangements.

Mina's family would make frequent appearances in there and just as frequently they would tear her apart.

The three members of her household would be gathered at their garden back in Daegu, sitting on those familiar blankets sprinkled atop the lush green grass. Her mother would be calling for the girl to sit together with them, inviting her to share a warm meal with her most favorite dishes laid out in front. Despite Mina's obvious joy at their precious sight and her impatience to reach them and hug them dearly, the girl's body remained locked into its position no matter how much she'd will her legs to move forward.

"?"

She was panicking.

The space surrounding her family was distorting until their features were nearly unrecognizable and started fading. Their heads then turned away from the girl while they'd continue on with their meal, unhindered and undisturbed by her desperate pleas. They were ignoring her.

Like she did not exist anymore.

Like she had been written off their lives as an afterthought.

And these heartbreaking scenes would take place during the bad nights. During the worse ones, her mother whom used to love her so unconditionally would no longer show the girl any affection as her views would ultimately succumb to the outside pressures. There were many vultures disguised as well-intended people who simply loved basking in the plight of others as a hobby. In the past, before Kim appa came into the picture, those closest to her mother had aggressively berated her for not solving the issue regarding Mina after learning of the inconvenience of her inception. Any talks of marriage that had been previously mentioned in passing had vanished after receiving the news. Mother's boyfriend at the time did not want to take responsibility as a father and disappeared soon after. His family had even sent death threats not to contact them or else there would be dire consequences.

Anyway,

Relatives were the top tier of this long list of busybodies who did not spare their unsolicited advices. They believed her mom could still save her bright future despite her mistake and have a real chance at finding a decent, well-off husband, plus build a proper career. She just needed to get rid of Mina swiftly – she could always have another when the time was proper.

"No."

Mina's grandparents being furious at her blatant refusal was an understatement. They scolded her mother like she were an absolute idiot for her decision in keeping Mina in their home as if it would automatically erase the possibility of living any kind of fulfilling life.

A child out of wedlock, the scandal would be massive and this would wreck the family's good name and reputation if she followed through with this tomfoolery.

But her mother had stubbornly never listened to those sharpened tongues and thus departed on a lonely, ostracizing journey, where she had sacrificed far too much before things changed for better.

That is the type of woman Mina's mother was and is in reality.

However, in her dream world, the woman would morph into an unrecognizable beastly figure from the pent-up resentment which had been brewing inside of her for many, many years. She'd stab her daughter with cruel words and curse her entire existence, blaming Mina for tainting everything the woman had ever truly adored and destroying the balance of the picturesque family portrait she had since lost for good. And if that wasn't bad enough, Mina continued to meet the woman's sacrifices with blatant lies, atop of lies, atop of even more lies and disrespect her mother with her shamelessness despite having the privilege of living out her artistic dreams without repercussions. She couldn't even do a full semester of courses at the university before having to postpone her studying, diligently hiding this fact from her to this day. But the lies were becoming less and less convincing with each phone call... and her mother's heart would be crushed when she'd finally discover the truth.

And after she'd learn of everything – 'Mina, dear...' –the girl would lose the only love and support she'd ever known.

And Mina was certainly not going to survive through such an outcome. 'You have betrayed my trust, do you know that?', her mother would ask in a sweetened tone.

'You. Have. Be-trayed."

'My trust!'

Then, the rage would kick in. 'I don't remember ever raising such an ungrateful disgrace!'

'From this day forwards, we no longer share a bond through blood!'

'DISAPPEAR FROM MY SIGHT THIS INSTANCE!', her mother violently shrieked as her features twisted unnaturally. She would powerfully shove Mina away, the girl feeling her entire being slipping through the cracks appearing underneath her feet, falling deeper and deeper in a dense claustrophobic darkness as the screams followed in loud echoes.

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The woman had won a second chance at redoing things properly with the arrival of Mirae.

In the end, Mina's sister was her only beloved child and the blessing of her every day.

None other existed~!

Mina had merely been a miscalculated error,

An irritating glitch in her system which the woman was now ready to finally discard in peace,

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As she should have proceeded at the time.

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If Mina would have just been erased, then he wouldn't have broken off their relationship.

If Mina weren't alive, then her grandparents would not have kicked out eomma on the streets and disowned the woman of her birthrights,

And they would not have prevented her from ever entering their family household again, years later, a place where she'd spent most of her years on this earth growing up,

They would not have had such a young mother watch those closing gates in bawling tears and fend off the world alone for many, many moons.

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She wouldn't have had to go through so much suffering,

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If only Mina hadn't been around.

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"If only you weren't born, my life would have been so much better."

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It wasn't a rare occurrence to shoot up awake and be flooded with the remnants of her nightmares with drenched cheeks, although Mina knew better than to pay attention to the poisonous imagery. She would sometimes be spared from the guilt and pain by not having access to the dream world, but only when her exhaustion levels would reach the pinnacle. However, doing so often took a toll on her energy levels and health, the girl slimming down to such an extent and becoming her thinnest since she could remember.

Unfortunately, her nightmares had a different origin as well that leeched onto her day after day.

Upsetting events would often keep the girl awake until the lights of dawn, starting early from when she'd moved into the big city. Her issues with the stalker stemmed from her previous apartment block, namely the neighbor next door who was the main culprit of her terrors. He was a reclusive young man, ordinary looking, who was not that much older than Mina. Her kind nature and smiles were so very endearing to him that he had quickly taken a brazen liking to her. When she'd bump into him on their floor's corridor or down the entrance hall, he would prevent her from leaving his side with countless chit chatting that at first did not raise the girl any alarms. But, after the questions took a more personal route that became borderline creepy, Mina finally realized her actions caused some dangerous misunderstandings to flourish in this stranger's heart.

It was too late by then.

And she despised every second being forced to be around him. At one point, her stalker had taken a post at the same cafe she was working at and – frankly, her life went completely downhill afterwards.

Alas,

For now, she had escaped that menace and her mind was more at ease on that aspect.

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*BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ*

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But the girl had entered another potentially dangerous predicament.

Mina still didn't know whether to fully trust this organization, the R.F.A,and its unique members. And this sentiment was also shared by them as well regarding her sudden presence in their chat group and inside Rika's apartment. Jaehee was definitely not pulling back on her concerns over these strange circumstances of Mina joining the R.F.A., despite V or Seven reassuring everybody that she posed no threat to them and could be of use to revive their parties.

At least the dangers she'd pose would not be similar in fashion to that of 'Unknown', a hacker who turned out to be the actual threat to their organization.

*deep sigh*

Mina shook her head from her pulsating headache, brushing a hand over her heated forehead and then backwards towards her neck. She searched for the medical cabinet in this apartment for a pill to reduce the headache's intensity and grabbed a glass of cold tap water to gobble it down with.

She collapsed onto the couch afterwards.

And closed her stinging eyes.

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She was tired...

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So tired...

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And...

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And grateful...

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To be fair, Mina hadn't expected the generous offer from the R.F.A.'s leader or the responsibilities that she had been entrusted with. She had to lean against the couch as her legs failed to support her body weight any longer while replaying the words inside her head.

V actually gave his 'OK' for the girl to live inside the apartment.

'W-Wait a second! Are you joking?', she had to make sure she hadn't misread his intentions, but – "Stay to your heart's content."– she read that part out loud and was flabbergasted. The owner, Rika, was no longer in a position to use the flat anymore and it had been vacant for long enough. Mina could be there for as long as there was a need to.

"Ok..."

Mina didn't question the man's decision anymore, sensing that this Rika person was a sensitive topic to him. To all of them. By the way V spoke about her, in past tenses, she could make a couple of guesses as to why.

'Also, the circumstances of 'Unknown' are too worrisome to ignore. It is far safer to remain there for your own protection. I do hope living there shall not pose any troubles to you. ^^;'

'NO, NO, NO! I-It's fine!' Mina might have come off a bit too desperate right there. The idea, however, that she might be in danger because of 'Unknown' was putting her on edge.

'I fixed the errors in the security code, switching up the algorithms to more difficult variations and adding extra layers for a boost in protection.', Seven typed, putting his entire faith in his latest updates. The girl would be much safer there than in a bank.

"A bank...? That feels a bit like a stretch." *sweatdrops*

Nevertheless, this free housing arrangement came with the sole condition of Mina becoming a helpful aid to their organization and to partake in the role of main planner for their future party. Its aim was to raise money for charity, her work requiring to find potential guests and to convince them of participating in their event. 'Pretty straightforward task!'

'I hope.'

Basically, the entire success of the party rested on her shoulders.

'No pressure.', V tried reassuring her.

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[MC]: (º □ º l|l)/

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Mina had no real restrictions in the decision-making process – she could accept or deny any of the member's suggestions whether it fit the pattern she was looking for or the party's theme. The girl could also aim for certain individuals if she had the desire to do so. For example: she may scout people who had numerous connections or possessed vast amounts of resources, like those working in the corporate business. They usually brought in the most funds and publicity to these R.F.A. events, so it was never a bad idea to consider inviting a few.

'You'll receive the e-mails in your inbox from the R.F.A. app, rerouted from Rika's computer. You may use this to communicate with the guests at your own pace.'

'If you encounter any issues, feel free to reach out to the members for guidance. We'll try to give a helping hand the best way we can.'

She diligently took notes, instructions flowing in rapid succession which were causing her anxiety to rise. It was quite a lot of responsibility to dive into, Mina feeling totally inadequate for the job as V continued his explanations about her party planning role. However, interferences started to stop the leader's flow, confusing the girl even further.

Zen wasadamantlyagainst the richer guests forming a majority at this party, being quite vocal about it for some odd reason. Mina really didn't understand his problem too well... ^^;;; it felt logical that the more money someone had, the better it would be for any charity – bigger donations were better, weren't they?

'Trust fund kid is bad enough by himself. You seriously want me to mingle between MORE of his kind at the party?!'*disappointed emoji*

'It's just a scenario, Hyun, for MC to have a better grasp of her new attributes and tasks.'

'Well, it's a really bad one. Erase these thoughts from her mind!!', he countered. "You hear me, MC? Focus on me now because it is very important! *wink* " If anything, MC's main focus should be on those carrying burning passionate fires in their hearts and who can share their most valuable stories with the potential to inspire thousands in the world with just one glance~! People more like himself and a lot less like Jumin!

'Burning fires and passion...?'

That phrase grazed at her painfully as Zen was lost in his ranting, listing the numerous advantages of seeking out artists, such as himself, as guests. In the process, he unknowingly shredded a chunk of Mina's heart into pieces.

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The new party planner was an artist.

It was all she knew best to do.

But her fire had been already put out at only 21 of age.

And she was supposed to find such amazing individuals?

Convince them of joining this party and donate to their charity?

Listen to their amazing and passionate stories,

While she would be crumbling down even further after comparing their amazing stories to her catastrophe of a life and array of disappointments?

Haha...

Ha... ...

Ha.. ... ... ...

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Either way, Mina was quick to shift the conversation into another direction. She got the gist of the whole process and was ready to start receiving guest e-mails, feeling somewhat confident in her skills.

She'd try her best either way.

'If you ever feel overwhelmed, don't stress over it needlessly. We have regular attendees of our R.F.A. parties who will surely find time in their schedules to attend the event or at least send representatives in their place.', V told her, trying to ease any fears he might have sensed with her wording.

She was incredibly thankful to V.

And the rest of the group as a matter of fact who'd taken turns to show their utmost support of MC~!

Despite Jaehee's reluctance to entirely accept Mina in the group, her doubts not wavering a second, neither she nor the rest of the members were going to refuse in becoming a support for her during the planning process. Everybody was incredibly excited by the prospect of reviving the R.F.A.'s main activities. These parties were the real reason the R.F.A. existed in the first place. Thus, even Jaehee would join the efforts alongside the other members to ease the girl's burdens and suggest the best guests she could persuade to join the charity event.

All Mina required was diligence when handling the responses.

'You'll do great. I can sense from you that you're a kind soul and you're easy to communicate with.'

V was merely being polite, she was sure of it, but some others were fast to agree with his quick assessment. *blushing* "I'm not, though...", the girl rubbed her forehead, contemplating how she'll be able to pull this endeavor off successfully.

She reminisced how her mother, back in Daegu, would receive work calls and interact with her clients effortlessly, sometimes even during dinner time – the most sacred of times! But unlike her mother, the girl didn't have over 15 years of experience in dealing with people, nor advanced charms and social skills.

Mina was really lacking in those departments.

"No pressure ;;; right?", she mumbled to herself wearing a sour smile, continuously scrolling information about each of the R.F.A. members while sipping water from her glass. By now, Mina had a minimum grasp regarding the people she was dealing with, having researched about the members for nearly two hours.

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The conclusions.

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Seven was a complete mystery for she couldn't find online sources on him, not even one.

Yoosung didn't have much info spread about him other than a LOLOL profile.

Jaehee had an impressive curriculum posted on a professional site.

But the rest were highly popular figures on the web and that's where most of her focus had been tonight. Out of curiosity, Mina had also been researching articles related to the past R.F.A. parties as well. It was incredible how much information was at her disposal, the girl saving every written piece she could find onto her laptop. A few reviews were written in well renowned media outlets too, praising this young organization's efforts in aiding those less fortunate with donations and produce.

The common nominators were the pictures used within the articles.

The same few group shots circulated online and Mina could easily recognize the members' faces from the chat room selfies and avatar photos. Well... most of them. Yoosung wasn't in any photographs – maybe he was also new in this group? She thought so because she couldn't find his blonde locks anywhere in the shot, the only blonde color belonging to a really beautiful woman with green eyes. She was standing quite closely to the other members, clutching V's arm in a rare image as she sported an extremely enchanting smile.

Mina narrowed down her eyes slightly, assuming she was the one named Rika.

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'So...

'The R.F.A. really is such an amazing organization.'

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~oOo~

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The cold water and soft music were barely doing her any good to relax her nerves as the clock struck 4 a.m. Head supported by a pillow, Mina gazed towards the night sky through the window pane – there was no light in her room apart from the one her laptop gave.

Mina was still recovering from what happened after V had left.

As nerve-wracking as it was for her, each of the members took turns to actually talk to her live, using the calling feature of the app. Mina's head became a toasty-hot tomato by the end, able to melt ice with her heated cheeks. She was certainly not used to running her mouth in such a short time frame, taking quite the damage on her limited energy reserves. At the end, she was trying so hard to pay attention to the topics spoken to her as to not seem rude that the filter between her brain and mouth broke down a few times.

She was occasionally blurting out English phrases in between the Korean OR have clumsy stuttering moments. 'It was inevitable!' Overall, Mina hoped she wasn't too socially awkward. So far, the vibe had been pretty... positive. Shockingly positive and – dare she say – fun too...? Which was a very odd sensation, bringing forth warmth in her body.

'Hehe... ^^;'

She had her doubts about Jumin thoughhis cold demeanor was a massive barrier between them on the phone. He was talking matters so much like a senior old man, really strict with his words and formal to the bones. Mina felt like she was speaking to one of her former university teachers and had been influenced to use the same type of respectful language in return, but he dismissed her attempts rather quickly – she wasn't Assistant Kang so she did not need to do so.

Woah...

Mina was amazed that he was merely 27 years old.

His demeanor added 20 extra years to that number. -

Jaehee wasn't fairing behind either with her formal speech, but she seemed a tad warmer on the phone compared to her chat room texts – a welcoming contrast.

Seven was a... erm... eeeerm... interestingly unique person~! The conversation could be summed up with both of them blurting out variously associated words with no explicit understanding of where the conversation was heading to or what they were actually saying... basically. Seven seemed to have enjoyed himself, a lot, laughing so much that it became too intoxicating for her not to join him.

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When was the last time she had even laughed anymore...?

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It was confusing as hell but it was really refreshing. Until -

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707: 'Lololol, good night ~! Seven One Seven is out to protect the world from the injustice~!'

MC: "Save me from the injustice every night!"

707: 'I will Secret Agent, Mina Choi~! Adieu-'

MC: "Huh?"

707: 'Erm...'

MC: "Mina... Choi?"

707: 'Is what I would call you if I knew your identity~~~!'

MC: "How could you know that about me - ?!"

707: 'Look at the time! Got to ruuuuuuun fight some bad fellas, see yaaaaa~!'

'...'

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- that fiasco happened.

Lololol... was her life really such an open book online?

Should she worry?! O-o;

She didn't have many social media platforms and was rather discreet with her posts.

And speaking of lolol. Yoosung was very sweet and quite bubbly for a guy. Overall, Mina felt the closest connection with him than with the rest of the members. Being so close in age helped – from the start, she sensed that she could talk more naturally with him. Her birthday turned out to be slightly earlier than his, so she instantly became his noona. He was having many giddy moments because of this... it was kind of endearing. ^^ The bad news which disrupted the convo flow swiftly was that Yoosung attended SKY university, instantly flooding Mina with bad memories from her disaster semester there. She was the one to end their call.

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MC: "I see..."

Yoosung: 'You studying anywhere now?' ^^

MC: "Umm... You can say that I'm freelancing."

Yoosung: 'AAA... lucky~! It must be great not having a tight controlling schedule!'

MC: "Eh... yeah. (E)"

MC: "I suppose."

Yoosung: 'The teachers here can be so strict.'

Yoosung: 'The coursework is also growing and it never ends-'

MC: "Anyway~! Sorry, but I have to get some of my stuff ready! Later."

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Zen was the worst caller out of the five.

However, worst not in a truly bad way – his entire demeanor was outstandingly surprising, the conversation immediately becoming a direct assault to the female senses. She truly believed nothing could beat the encounter with God Seven but she had been proven terribly wrong. His way of talking so openly and casually had clashed massively with his unusually good and serious visuals, forming an irresistible poison that could be hard to ignore or counter.

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ZEN: 'The lovely lady's voice sounds this sweet and cute~?'

MC: "S-S-Sweet and cute?!"

MC: "No, you're wrong, I-I'm not...' (E)

ZEN: 'Eh'

ZEN: 'MC...You sounded foreign for a few seconds! O-O'

ZEN: 'Am I hearing things?'

MC: "Ah-ha-ha. No."

MC: "About that – I do know how to speak a few other languages."

ZEN: 'WOAH! Amazing!'

ZEN: 'I thought Seven was the only one with the insane language skills in the group.'

MC: "S-Sorry... it slipped out. OwO;;;' *whispers* 'From the shock..." (E) ^w^;;;

ZEN: 'Ah no, no, no! I thought it was really super cute~!'

ZEN: 'You have to help me improve my English one day~~!'

MC: "O-Okay? (E) I'll g-give it my best when that day comes!"

ZEN: 'Ashi, stop it~! You'll make me fall in love with you faster.'

MC: "HUH?! *panics* No, no, no, no! (E)"

ZEN: *hysterical laughter*

ZEN: 'Oh, jagiya, my heart can't take so many painful rejections one after another...'

*feigns a hurt voice*

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Zen had been so bravely bold, confident and flamboyant during their call, playing with his voice range a lot – ranging from high notes that made her heart do a scary flip, to lower, deeper tunes, which*gulp*raised temperatures in rooms very fast. Mina became a melting pot of a human, requiring a lot of glasses of ice water to calm down and not combust internally.

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S-She had never been s-spoken to s-so flirty before...

Such a playboy!

Danger, danger! (º □ º l|l)/

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The actor had used his acting skills efficiently to purposely toy with her and pushed many buttons in a flirty manner. 'Jagiya?!' Didn't couples used this word, usually...? - ;;; Why was he using it this frequently when speaking to her? What was the meaning of this?!

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ZEN: 'You don't like it, jagiya?'

MC: "Eh! You used it again!"

ZEN: 'Jagiya~!'

MC: "S-Stop-"

ZEN: *whispers seductively* 'J-a-g-i-y-aaaa~~~~!'

MC: "OH MY LORD! (E)"

ZEN: 'How can I not say it when you give me such honest reactions... It's really exciting.'

ZEN: 'I don't blame you, though.'

ZEN: 'After all, I am too irresistible for my own good. ^.~'

MC: "Ha, ha, ha... If you say so...;;"

ZEN: 'Falling in love with me is the inevitable next step. Don't fight it~~~!'

MC: "NEVER! "

ZEN: 'Oh, oh!... s-so cold again. It's not even snowing, but it feels like my heart is this frozen already...'

ZEN: 'You're a really harsh woman. *deep sigh* so cold... so very cold.'

MC: "I... I'm sorry..."

MC: "Don't be so upset at me!" (E) w

ZEN: 'Joooooking~!'

MC: "..."

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This was ridiculous!

Her nerves had been shattered because of his flirty playfulness, needing to fake a stomach ache to end their call before she blurted out anything more embarrassing or become an actual illiterate fool over the phone. After mentioning her discomfort though, Zen instantly showed a completely opposite side to him that confused the girl and equally moved her. His playfulness was all but gone. He was riling up questions after questions, frenetically asking if she had eaten anything today or if her health was okay – did she need a doctor?! Stomach aches weren't a joke. Did the fridge in there even have food that hadn't expired? Come to think of it, that place hadn't been properly used in months ever since Rika... And also, it was very late in the night for a girl to go buy anything from the grocery stores. It could be dangerous if she tried to do anything! He'd have to talk with Seven and get her some supplies pronto –

Mina was listening with eyes as big as saucers and mouth slightly hanging open. Eventually, she interrupted the actor.

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MC: "No need to worry about me, Zen ^^ The day was too eventful for me, t-that's all.", she said it too honestly. "I'm good with food, had a great meal already."

MC: "It's all good! Everything is good~!"

MC: "So don't worry about me, I'm fine."

ZEN: 'Really?'

MC: 'Really...'

ZEN: '...'

ZEN: 'Hey, jagi...'

ZEN: 'You're in the R.F.A. now – if you have troubles, lean on us and we'll help you.'

ZEN: 'Don't hesitate for a second to do so at any hour of the day.'

ZEN: 'It's just like V said - You're one of us now.'

ZEN: 'Okay?'

MC: *low gasp*

ZEN: 'MC? What's wrong?'

MC: 'I...'

ZEN: 'You can talk to me, jagi-'

MC: 'Good night!'

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Mina's voice was beginning to crack and she did not leave him a chance to reply. Her hands had gone cold, using her fingers to wipe out the stream that did not want to stop from falling from her eyes – again. Ugh... why was she so weak like this...? It's like her daily natural state was having inflated bloody-red eyes and puffy rose cheeks.

N-No one in Seoul had ever s-shown so much interest and c-concern for her well-being before...

It was... a strange feeling.

...

All of these R.F.A. members were so damn strange!

Trusting in Mina already, offering so much help to someone they had barely known online. These guys – they didn't even hate on her for barging into their business thanks to that 'Unknown' hacker. They accepted the situation and didn't alienate her as retaliation for the dangers this person imposed on the group. What's more, they worried she might become a future target for this hacker again – which was still unsettling in its own – so V insisted she should stay in the apartment where she'd be safe from harm.

Stay in his departed fiancée's apartment for free, no charges or unreasonable demands expected out of her.

And then... the members each took turns to contact her personally on the phone. They... they wanted to be her friend or at least treated her in a friendly manner, no malice in their voices... not even Jaehee. *sniffs harder* Yoosung was the happiest and the most cheerful one when she had accepted his friendship openly after he'd boldly asked her like a preschooler if she'd want to one of his friends. She overheard him hit his knee in the table from the excitement. *snorts laughter*

"Ngh...", she needed to wash her puffy face.

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The crits have been brutal tonight, both unpleasant with her worldly issues and highly pleasant in these recent hours...

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Even now, little over 4 a.m., Mina was still thinking of the members and their surprising acts of kindness. The good part was, her crybaby side decided to sleep and all that remained was the warmth they had brought to her aching heart. Grabbing her phone, she searched the app's features some more and realized that all the calls that had been made were now registered and stored inside the phone's memory – similarly with the chat room messages and direct messages. If Mina really wanted to, she could choose to re-listen to any of the members' recordings and hear their voices again.

She started off with Zen's and continued searching information about him.

Being an actor, she assumed he was between the more popular figures out of all the R.F.A. and she was somewhat correct. Browsing his name on a popular streaming website, she spotted some videos listed of him and clicked onto the top choice with nearly 2 million views. Mina was watching a solo act, having Zen on stage right in the center, lights falling on him alone. His expression was unreadable because it was zoomed out but his posture was straight and tone grave. His attitude was serious and with simple movements accompanying his recital the actor was expressing so much more than those simple words could convey by themselves.

The short performance mesmerized her and she was stuck in front of the screen until it turned black. The shock of seeing him perform in such a manner remained for a while.

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'Was this really the same guy like on the phone...?'

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Mina tried to compare both Zens together: the one from the website and the one found in the call registry of the app, but her own blatant stupidity during their conversation made her want to throw the phone away and hide under the earth from embarrassment.

! TwT

Hearing herself blabber was so... so cringe. Nevertheless, the Zen on-phone and Zen in-video were quite similar in voice. Also, the selfie the actor had posted in the chat room wasn't even one Mina could find during her internet photo searches, thus he must have taken it on the spot just for her to see.

In addition,

Mina conducted similar research when it came to Jumin and V, so by the end there was no longer any lingering doubt in her mind regarding this organization. They didn't lie about their identities or the R.F.A.'s purpose.

They were a legit organization.

So,

Maybe,

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Some wishes do come true if you pray your earnest.

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