Night-Owl Romance

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Note: Chapter 3 was already long enough. = ; Slight continuation of the night. I really need to plan chapters better, LOL. *sobsIcan'tdoitsobs*

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Chapter 4: Insomniacs

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"Nghhhhhhh!", stretching her arms above her head and yawning, jaw wide like a roaring lion, Mina felt like the online exploration had been fruitful enough for the time being. Any more web surfing and her eyes would drop onto the floor from overstraining herself.

It was beginning to feel like she had been prying too much into their private affairs and it wasn't OK doing so behind their backs... ;-;

But then she remembered the ending of Seven's call and this bad feeling passed by fairly quickly. But it brought her mind to another territory. Mina wondered what kind of information the members had gathered about her up until now... actually, she was curious and even considered searching up her own name online with the first given opportunity. 'Should I worry...?'

Regardless,

A brand new day would be awaiting her, one where she would be officially entering the R.F.A. party-planning role and dive into her new activities. She had to be in the best shape possible, less insomniac zombie and more human... preferably. And for this to happen, she needed to rest while the night still reigned high in the sky, stars and moon shining in their fullest glory~!

"..."

*sigh*

It was an uncomfortable sensation to sleep in the bed of a person who was no longer part of this world thus Mina settled for the nearby couch, using a thin blanket she had scavenged in the closet as a bed cover. Before she even had the chance to properly rest her head onto the pillow, the phone started vibrating chaotically for a few seconds, her heart instantly constricting. The girl feared it might have been the hacker since the same chaos erupted when he had first contacted her. She gulped down heavily as she reached for the device on the coffee table. To her relief, it was just an R.F.A. announcement of a new chat room opening, 'Unknown' having nothing to do with the buzzing.

She exhaled happily.

Until,

Her eyes widen when she noticed it was Zen who was currently online. The clock showed it was 4:35 a.m. 'It's so late in the night.'

Mina was unsure whether she should make her presence known or just let it be as her finger hovered on top of the chat window. The girl couldn't easily forgive her foolishness during their call, already feeling her cheeks heating up again just remembering the shameless flirting.

It was annoying how easily swayed her emotions were... *DING DING DING* "Oh! He wrote first.", she resumed her laidback position onto the couch, resting her head onto the pillow while keeping the phone steady above her head.

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~oOo~

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[ZEN]: MC?

[ZEN]: Why are you awake at this hour?!

[ZEN]: Can't you fall asleep?

[ZEN]: Or is there really something bothering your stomach?

[ZEN]: *shocked emoji*

[MC]: Only a beautiful night, Zen.

[MC]: I'm doing fine, he he~!

[ZEN]: MC...

[MC]: Really, really I am OK.

[MC]: Trust me. ^^

[MC]: I was just...

[ZEN]: Anything else bothering you?

[MC]: Well...

[MC]: I sleep pretty late usually so it is not that late for me~?

[ZEN]: *shocked emoji*

[MC]: He he he~~~!

[ZEN]: That's not healthy! A girl like you should be sleeping properly or else your skin will suffer in the long-term.

[MC]: Oh... (눈_눈)

[ZEN]: Hm?

[MC]: *stares at you*

[ZEN]: Do you want me to stare back?

[MC]: ... No.

[ZEN]: Is the avatar picture too small for such a handsome face?

[MC]: No!

[ZEN]: Should I send you a better picture of me? *winks*

[ZEN]: I'll have to look for a really good one, especially for you~!

[MC]: NO!

[ZEN]: WAIT!

[ZEN]: This is not time to do this!

[MC]: I agree 100%!

[ZEN]: I'm serious, though. MC. Why aren't you asleep? It really isn't good for your health to stay up throughout the night.

[ZEN]: I mean it.

[MC]: Why are you awake then, hm?

[ZEN]: *sad emoji*

[ZEN]: Tomorrow is an important rehearsal with the entire cast and I still need to practice the rest of my lines. Only 12 pages left out of the total 89.

[MC]: You've got to memorize all of that by tomorrow?! (º □ º l|l)/

[MC]: It's so much...

[ZEN]: Huh? It does seem like a lot of content, but I've been practicing hard all week. All I have left are the script revisions and final touches upon my act.

[ZEN]: Pretty basic stuff.

[MC]: Basic stuff?! Wow...

[MC]: You're really diligent.

[ZEN]: *winks*

[MC]: No wonder you are that good on stage!

[ZEN]: Hm?

[MC]: O-O

[ZEN]: *shocked emoji*

[MC]: I mean... umm...

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Mina panicked. She wrote her remark down without giving it a second thought and then tried to quickly come up with an appropriate comeback to derail the conversation elsewhere – naturally, her exhausted brain malfunctioned, thus she was too slow to change Zen's explosive reaction. The last thing the actor needed from the girl was a compliment to boost up his already overconfident personality... he would use the compliment against her for sure in future encounters.

;;;;;;;;;

AH! Why was Mina like this?! TwT

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[ZEN]: That good on stage?

[ZEN]: So you've actually seen my musicals?!

[MC]: Nope, I've never actually seen one. ^^;;;

[ZEN]: *shocked emoji*

[ZEN]: You are one of my fans~!

[ZEN]: How cute~! ^^

[MC]: I...

[ZEN]: I've never met a fan in such a private setting before.

[MC]: A fan, ha ha!

[MC]: I've just mentioned that I've never seen you perform in a show before... ;=; what's up with that conclusion?!

[ZEN]: You're not the stalker type I hope~!

[MC]: A...

[ZEN]: Although, if you're as cute as Seven keeps bragging about towards us then I might not mind it one bit. *wink emoji*

[MC]: (ノಥ益ಥ)ノ

[MC]: I can't do this at this hour!

[MC]: Forget I said anything, Zen.

[ZEN]: Hmm... if you've never seen my show live, then...

[ZEN]: Ooooo~! Now I get it.

[MC]: ...?

[ZEN]: *wink emoji*

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[ZEN]:You've been stalking my videos and photos.

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[MC]: What?!

[MC]: That's not at all what I've done...!

[ZEN]: *inserts selfie from the gym*

[MC]: fwegrwgrwh

[MC]: fsaghjkg

[ZEN]: HAHAHAHA!

[ZEN]: Ah, MC you are so cute~!

[ZEN]: I knew it!

[ZEN]: I knew it was too abnormal for a girl to reject me this directly over and over!

[ZEN]: Virtually impossible!

[ZEN]: Don't feel too bad, though.

[ZEN]: It's not your fault, MC – my genes are far too ungodly for any human to resist.

[ZEN]: You did your best to guard yourself against this perfectly chiseled face and body.

[ZEN]: *wink emoji* Don't fight the inevitable outcome~! It will only bring you more frustrations.

[ZEN]: Enjoy the Zen effect~!

[ZEN]: My fans say it is a life changing event.

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That picture felt like a very low sucker punch for Mina, the phone slipping from her grasp in shock and plunging directly into her face. The hit caused her to yelp loudly and roll down the couch in pain, hitting the hardwood flooring. Her nose was now numbing, grabbing it painfully as she searched for the blasted phone and growling after it.

"You... YOU!", she was so flustered and appalled, glaring at the screen with the redness intensifying in her cheeks. "What's with this provocative picture?!"

It was...

He looked so...

"Guuuuh!", she slapped her cheek, unable to peel her eyes away from the full version, no matter how much she willed herself to. It was not real, it was not real, it was not real, it was not real.

He was not real.

There was no way a person like him existed in reality... in her reality. Zen's white training shirt was barely hiding anything from her sight because it tightly molded onto his body so she could plainly make out the contour of his sculpted abs through the fabric. It was damp, parts of the material sticking closer to his skin than other – he must have taken the shot right after a full workout session at the gym, draping a towel over his shoulders as he was posing in front of the mirror, phone held into his right hand. His grin was wide, winking in the shot in a seductive manner. A glowing pink sticker-heart was placed next to his face, on purpose there with the caption: 'To help you enter the sweetest dream world from now on, MC' *heart*

*groan* "How can I go to s-sleep now?!", she felt her heart racing the more she stared at his photo. The buzzing brought back her attention towards their conversation. If anything, Mina was glad the app didn't have video calls or else she would have to leave the country from the gruesome embarrassment she was being subjected to.

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[ZEN]: Jokes aside.

[ZEN]: That's not the only reason why I'm still up.

[ZEN]: I just couldn't relax after what had happened today.

[ZEN]: ...

[ZEN]: MC?

[ZEN]: Hello?

[ZEN]: U still with me? O-O

[MC]: Yes, yes, yes.

[MC]: I'm still here~!

[ZEN]: : )

[MC]: My phone had problems and had to charge it.

[ZEN]: Interesting timing, jagi...

[ZEN]: *wink emoji*

[MC]: Battery drain is a real problem!

[MC]: Anyway! \( □ l|l)/

[MC]: Because of what happened today?

[MC]: You mean me joining the R.F.A.?

[ZEN]: On one hand, yes.

[ZEN]: On the other...

[ZEN]: It bothers me how someone outside the group could seamlessly hack into the system like it was nothing.

[ZEN]: How do I say this... It feels very unsettling, knowing there's someone who is at Seven's level at whatever he does with computers.

[MC]: Oh... Troubling indeed.

[MC]: ;-;

[ZEN]: Don't get me wrong, MC!

[ZEN]: I trust in Seven's skills a lot, it's just...

[ZEN]: The R.F.A. deals mostly with charity since it was Rika's goal to begin with when creating the organization, so I really can't be sure why anyone would go to such an extent to disrupt our activities in the first place. ^^;

[ZEN]: We've never had an incident such as this before.

[MC]: I see.

[ZEN]: And now you're caught up in that apartment while this hacker's on the loose.

[MC]: I really can't complain about it. ^^;

[MC]: Honestly, I truly did not expect all of this when I've received those messages from Unknown.

[MC]: It's almost surreal. I still can't believe it even now.

[ZEN]: MC...*sad emoji*

[ZEN]: You were too trustworthy of Unknown!

[ZEN]: It could have ended up to be a very dangerous for you!

[ZEN]: That's also quite bothersome...

[ZEN]: And I suppose you would rather be safely back into your home rather than there.

[MC]: Well, my home is at the other side of the country so that wish doesn't do me any good either way.

[ZEN]: *confused emoji*

[MC]: Oh... you meant home in Seoul. He, he... . ;;;

[ZEN]: MC, do you not live here? O-O

[MC]: I should really get some sleep...

[ZEN]: Wait!

[MC]: Good night, Zen.

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~oOo~

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"Ack, what a troublesome girl...", the boy muttered, brushing a hand through his wet silver locks, unsure what to make of MC's sudden disappearance from their chat.

He had just gotten out of the shower, towel still wrapped around his torso when he'd logged into the R.F.A. app. He'd been curious whether he were alone at this hour or if Yoosung was still playing his silly game. He kind of wanted to talk with somebody now, to anyone frankly, because his thoughts were sizzling about today's events. He was rather unfocused, unable to properly do a last hour revision on his lines from the script.

The whole situation was insomnia inducing - as if staying up late was a novelty for the actor. In fact, his nightly routines started the week prior, shortly after he'd experienced a confusing dream during one of his scheduled naps. Actually... it resembled closer to a nightmare in how it affected him after opening his eyes. Zen's heart pounded rapidly for an hour after he'd woken up at max speed. The weather didn't make it any better, heavy rainclouds in the sky as a sudden thunderstorm started.

It was an ominous feeling.

He hated such rainy days a lot...

Zen preferred his days to be filled with sunshine because this brought in more positivity to his life. These dark sensations would usually hit the actor when big life-changing events were right at the corner. Sort of like premonitions... It sometimes helped him. He would become more careful at work during practice, gym activities or performance shows. He thought the dream was somehow related to his acting career again – he had such psychic dreams before.

Zen definitely didn't expect the R.F.A. to become the main target.

So when he logged into the app, he was very unnerved by MC's online presence. He quickly recalled her stomach issues from earlier that night – he hoped it wasn't truly something serious related to her health. She dismissed the issue far too rapidly for his comfort. Nonetheless, Zen knew better than to coerce he girl into sharing more though. She was fairly new to their group and maybe she didn't take too easily to share stuff towards people she had barely met. At least that was the vague impression he got from their slight interaction.

Heh, they were indeed a bunch of oddities in the R.F.A.

MC felt quite agitated on the phone but she'd display more strength and confidence in her answers when Zen riled her up. It was highly amusing~! He thought his teasing would break the ice between them, making the girl more comfortable around him. However, it wasn't his intention to become that playful during their call but it wasn't like her reactions warned that she truly disliked his behavior. MC wasn't a straightforward person with her feelings, acting in a certain way through her voice tone but the words coming out of her mouth being entirely different. Being an actor, he could identify these differences by analyzing people's gestures and the mimics of their face. Albeit, it was harder to notice these nuances inside the chat room which is why he preferred to hear people and see them face-to-face when having discussions rather than messaging online.

Anyway,

He couldn't stop himself from messing with MC again. Zen didn't know the last time he had so much fun with a girl – it was refreshing not being constantly pampered in compliments over his looks even if he was baiting her for them.

But...

She really did log off too suddenly. Zen was actually concerned that he had said something out of line but he wasn't exactly certain what. 'Did she not enjoy this picture? I thought it's between my best shots this week. I've even lost weight and gained more muscle mass lately.' Scrolling through the menu, he could still spot her online so he wanted to send her a text message. However, he had trouble finding the exact words of what he wanted to express.

'Was she really ok?' Zen wondered as he wasn't sure why she kept disappearing so abruptly if she were being truthful. First, it was when he tried to be extra nice and helpful towards her – he really wanted to help her adjust to the R.F.A., reassuring once more that she could confide in him whenever she struggled. Zen wanted to be clear about it.

Then MC went Poof~!

The second time was at the mentioning of her home – surely she must want to spend her nights in there rather than be stuck in a stranger's apartment. Wasn't it a natural feeling to have? Was he missing an important detail?

It was confusing. "Did I say something wrong?"

That must be it. Regardless, he didn't want to pry too much into her life. Curious as he was, he had boundaries and knew when to stop intruding. They didn't even know each other for an entire day yet so asking about familial matters was not ideal, nor helpful. Zen himself was the type to avoid such personal questions strikingly fast.

Ah well,

Whatever her reason, he hoped she would warm up to him as more time passes by.

'Have a good night, MC. ^^ It hasn't been long since our roads intertwined, but I really am happy someone like you has joined the R.F.A. It's a nice change of pace and I hope we become closer in time. Hope your dream world will be plenty of satisfactory. *winks*'

He was uncertain about his message but could not think of anything better. What he didn't expect was her reply mere minutes later. Zen raised his eyes from the script he was attempting to decipher, reaching for his phone to read it.

'Thank you. And... sorry if I sounded awkward. I'm still slowly accommodating to things here ^^;;; I'm not used to talking thiiiis much. Also – depends on your definition of close O-o dream world or not, don't do anything funny! Ok? Lolol... Well... Good night, Zen.'

"Oh? Not used to talking so much...?", he narrowed his eyes, looking at the timestamp of the call he did earlier. It didn't even pass the 15 minutes mark. Was she joking?

"Ah, maybe that's why she kept disappearing so rapidly... Shy? Or an introvert?", he pondered, but shrugged the thought away. Zen would pay more attention next time. For some reason... he was really tempted to call her but the hour was inappropriate. He hoped to have the chance soon enough – maybe in the following morning~!

So he could then have an excuse to ask about her dream world.

That should give him plenty of cute bubbly reactions~!

"MC."

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"Welcome to the R.F.A.~!"

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