Night-Owl Romance

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Note: I'm an awful tease.

I'm even awful at chapter lengths.

I'm awful at plot progression, higher chances for zombies to attack than to have some actual MC x Zen happening. Don't expect anything before ch. 50 at this rate.

I'm awful at everything TwT

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Hehehehhehehehhehehe~!

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Chapter 19: Encounter with a Wolf

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Almost...

There...

I can see... the door.

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*THUD*

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"Damn, you're in a far worse shape than I had initially estimated."

The raven gave a short whistle, crouching down at Mina's level, who was currently in immense pain due to the intense running they had done since exiting the subway. It appeared as though her heart was trying to break through her chest, screaming wildly at her non-stop – what a stupid owner! She was barely standing, cupping both knees with her hands, whilst her body was kept at a near 90-angle bow. Jisoo joked she did not need to treat him so formally and was free to stand upwards properly~!

The coordinator listened to his insensitive remarks, knitting her eyebrows together, and sent off warning glares, too busy with breathing powerfully to articulate any kinds of accompanying threats. What's more, if she could raise a middle finger, without the risk of tumbling down the floor, she would heavenly do so and with the greatest pleasure imaginable.

"Even my grandmother can run lengthier paths than you without collapsing... It's worrisome at your age, Miss Choi. What are you, 18, 19 and already feeling worse than halmeoni?", he snickered, soon bringing up his hands defensively – Mina's mug had turned sour enough that she appeared ready to start crying any second.

"Y-You're... so c-cruel... to me...", her mewling whines did not hinder the raven, however, her acting skills were on the poor side. Nothing budged him, until she threatened to rad out his unprofessional attitude to his boss. "Huh?! "

"I was just trying to cheer up your gloominess! Show a little more appreciation over here!", Jisoo did not know for certain whether she was serious or not. Nevertheless, the report briefing with Miss Kang the other day and the private call from Mr. Han had shortened his life span a notch. He did not need any more career-ending issues. Thus, the guard offered Mina a truce, attempting to calm down her breathless spirit with some refreshing bottled water.

He did not expect her to chuck it down in one go. ^^;;;

"Feeling better~?", his question was akin to that of a morning sunshine caressing her face – when the only sleep she had lasted no longer than five minutes.

"Ecstatic.", was her tired, sharp tongued answer.

"Good! Now, stop stalling and head inside. Unless...", he mused happily at her reservation. "You're scared~~~!"

"I-I'm not scared...!", she halfheartedly announced, switching her immediate attention towards the door. She was hesitating too much, giving ammo to Jisoo's teasing. Despite the fun he had while babysitting the young girl, he really wanted to arrive home by midnight and get some sleep. "Do you want me to hold your hand and walk you inside~?", the guard suggested chuckling but the angered girl quickly went to pick the phone out of her pockets, thumbing over it furiously.

She then showed him Jumin's number. "I will do it!"

"You have no sense of humor!", Jisoo's cheerfulness dropped entirely, taking a firmer approach to her as he clicked his tongue annoyed. His arms went to stretch, hands resting on the back of his head.

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*CRACK*

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Jisoo turned his head swiftly, eyes inspecting the empty corridors and ears listening to nearby sounds. Nothing strange 'Hn... no matter'. The raven could not sense any potential dangers in the area so he dismissed the noise without further inspection. "Really now, you're already an hour late, nothing bad can happen to ya.", the guard complained at her frozen figure, poking Mina's back as he tried to give her a slight shove.

"I'm here to make sure of it.", he added reassuringly, the girl's nerves not getting any better.

"... Okay."(E)

Eventually, they disappeared through the large double doors, unaware that the one Jisoo had sensed was actually their helper from outside. Zen had followed the pair closely, remaining hidden at a relatively safe distance while close enough to overhear their loud banter. He wasn't proud of this moment, creeping on people not usually a habit he would ever want to pick up.

Still, those two were... 'Suspicious.'

The manner in which they communicated was odd. They gave off vibes that seemed as if they were close acquaintances, or deeper,yet at the same time... not.

Almost antagonistic.

His guts were flaring up warningly, the silver haired male actually intrigued by the unusual girl whose actions were unlike any other he had encountered. More so because of Seven's enraging phone call. Last time the hacker checked in with the actor, mentioning a surprise in store for him, she came into Zen's view.

Afterwards, he had lost track of the conversation flow, it ending with Seven ending the call upset.

Today, the same outcome happened.

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'Coincidence?'

'Is Seven trying to mess with me?'

'Or...'

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'Maybe...?'

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'Huh, no matter.'

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~oOo~

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The door screeched a bit too loudly for the coordinator's comfort, taking a deep breath before advancing with careful, inaudible footsteps, not wishing to interrupt anything important. Jisoo followed, remaining two steps behind the girl at all times, as they slowly descended the stairs. Mina scanned the small theatre room noting how a large group – by her standards – was already occupying the front row seats, people talking loudly with each other.

They had not noticed the two intruders yet.

Eyes peeled for Assistant Lee, she observed the theatre stage which was hidden underneath large curtains and only the frontal part was lit while the majority lied behind darkness. Mina thought it was odd. 'Was there a play going on at this hour? But then, why was the main entrance closed?'

'And why isn't anything happening...?'

"See the guy, yet?", Jisoo whispered but the girl shook her head confused, continuing their silent descent.

The latest creaking had the guard searching the double doors they came through, only to spot a shadowy figure heading towards the edge of the room, using the end stairs to hurry down. When he reached the front row groups, the girls began chanting and clapping, the figure doing a quick bow and wave before disappearing through the stage door.

It was as if his presence had triggered and important event for, almost instantly, a few individuals swarmed out of the stage and within their midst she was able to spot Assistant Lee. He was busy nodding endlessly while listening to an overly-enthusiastic plump man and Mina was uncertain how to approach the busy teacher. His expression appeared sincere and joyful but the party planner knew that hewas actually in a foul mood, judging by his hands turned into quivering knuckles.

"That's him.", Mina whispered to the guard, pointing towards the tall, well-dressed individual in the spotlight. Jisoo made a mental note of the guy and, as if he knew he was being talked about, Mr. Lee's head turned towards their direction. Like a magnet their gazes clashed, Mina's heart skipping a few beats from the intensity.

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"There you are, Ms. Choi~!"

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"And you're barely 56 minutes late~! I dare say it's an astounding accomplishment.", the man opened his arms widely, pronouncing words in an excruciatingly cheerful manner. This alerted everyone inside the theatre room, the murmurs having suddenly gone silent – all eyes were diverted towards Mina.

"An improved academic achievement already! Brilliant~!", his mocking tone was like a sharp blade plunged into her heart, Mina's color draining from her face as she faltered the next few steps on the stairs, before feeling her arm cupped powerfully by the guard.

"Oh, you've brought us a guest?"

"Apologies, my good sir~!", Mina's blood ran cold, shocked how easily Jisoo started speaking to the man, without a hint of hesitation whatsoever.

"Unfortunate and urgent family issues had prevented my cousin to attend the schedule on time. Please, excuse this rudeness for I take full responsibility for her belated arrival."

The coordinator was so surprised by the guard's lies and the unexpected shove to have them both make a bow, voice trapped inside her throat. "Man, you're really scared of him...", the raven whispered so only she could hear, displeased by the state of her shivering body – it was a reminder of how similar she felt after yesterday's rescue.

Jisoo's mask returned to his happier expression, piercing the older male's eyes.

Mina gulped down, unsure what Assistant Lee was thinking at the moment. The slight tension dispersed, however, when the one her teacher had been entertaining himself with began cheering in amazement. "Oh! Is this the artist you had bragged about in our last meeting?!"

"Director Kwon...", Lee's knuckles were audibly cracking.

"Wonderful news! Miss, come with me and I'll guide you to the conference room~! I've been told you have prepared an exquisite piece for us!"

"A-a-a...?", the coordinator's brain had been erased of any intelligible thoughts, completely immobile from that stranger's excitement to see her which subconsciously brought her a smile. It did not last for the quiet in the front row seats was soon replaced by an array of questions coming from the people down there – highly negative ones. Only then, did Mina horrifyingly realize that they were not simple spectators or theatre staff members, but students.

More exactly,

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Her former classmates.

Hyeri being obviously one of them which froze the girl into place as countless flashbacks overruled her view.

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Needless to point out again how her experience with the group had been beyond... bitter.

And now,

It would turn worse.

Mina had freaking entered a nightmare and was being crippled left and right by the pain. Most students showed immense rage as anger was spreading across their features like wild fire, fueled more when they confused the girl's smiling attitude with arrogance. The most vocal of the lot was obviously Hyeri who did not accept Mina's presence in here at all. In fact,

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Mina did not deserve such an honorable praise from the director!

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They were most upset by their teacher's betrayal, the man hurting them with such private discussions with these theatre workers – why was Mina even brought in as a topic? She had been out of their lives for nearly years, a stupid dropout who achieved next to nothing in the art world because of her lacking skills and who had framed Hyeri for her dumbass accident on the staircase. Her grades had been between the lowest in Mr. Lee's class but he always showed a lot of leniency towards her, rumors of their unprofessional favoritism sparking amongst the youths again.

Naturally, they couldn't voice out most of their thoughts, emphasizing a few of these concerns subtly and without the profanities decorating them. None wanted to attract negative energy in this wonderful artistic environment that was threatening to be ruined by Mina's presence.

But Assistant Lee ignored each question, the director confused by the youngsters' questions. "SKY competition is truly fierce, do not mind them.", the teacher held his hand in front of the director, urging him with this gesture to move forward, towards the meeting room.

They disappeared through the backstage, soon followed by Mina.

The questions were louder now, specifically aimed towards the coordinator. "You whored your way into Lee's bed after you'd drop out, Mina?", Hyeri asked, looking straight towards Jisoo. "Your family has a vicious snake in their ranking. Too bad, since you have such a handsome face, your reputation has to be ruined because of this runt."

"Maybe she's adopted?", another implied, many gathering in to further bully the poor coordinator.

Jisoo did not expect such an outpour, attention back on Miss Choi's trembling figure whose eyes were glistening dangerously. Why were these people enraged about her presence? From her records and files, Miss Choi did not show signs of being the unscrupulous individual these people all claimed which only infuriated the guard.

He was reminded of his own family issues, his sister a victim of the intense bullying she had suffered throughout her school years due to her feeble nature and constant illness. Because of the intensity of these memories, the raven chained a strong, firm arm around Mina's shoulders, proudly affirming the following.

"I'd choose a snake over a sly, obnoxious fox in heat over me, anytime~", Jisoo winked at Hyeri, too startled by the guard's blunt rudeness to formulate a comeback. It shook her back to her rightful seat.

"He's not wrong with that.", a male voice sniggered, the girl now boiling with fury as they disappeared on stage.

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"Such a crude crowd! Very noisy as well, do they not know the basics of etiquette in this place?", one of the actresses pointed out, doing one last fitting check with a staff member who was examining the attire from head to toe.

"Will they even appreciate the art behind my performance?"

"Shh, the director shall hear you if you speak this loudly.", the assistant hushed the actress immediately, tapping down any loose folds in the costume before giving it the green light. The round man and his guest from the university had just appeared through the curtain, walking towards the nearest corridor and disappearing through it, disregarding everyone boiling in wait there.

Probably heading to the conference room.

Again.

"There goes the rehearsals for today.", the woman complained further, bringing out the fan she had in her sleeves and whooshed it rapidly on her heated skin. "Zen, dear, what do you think is happening out there?"

"Beats me.", he lied nonchalantly, though he assumed the real reason behind these delays had to do with the Choi girl's late arrival. The male stood closest at the edge of the stage, listening to the murmurs coming from the audience quite clearly from his masked position.

'What the hell-', he wondered curiously, picking up the array of verbal slurs when the curtains next to him opened wide. The flamboyant raven he had aided outside the theatre had made a sudden appearance, dragging the girl in question by the hand. On a closer inspection, her walking appeared much more rigid and complexion paler than before, bangs hiding her eyes as she kept her head tilted lower.

They followed the path which the director had taken.

"Ooo!", the actress' amazed reaction captured his attention. "No way is such a good looking man with one of those loud brats! Such travesty... Hn. Intriguing~~!"

"M-Madam!", her assistant was nearly teary eyed, the woman following their figures attentively, suddenly compelled to further pursue their footsteps. It wasn't as if they were doing actual theatre work here, might as well interact with potential fans.

Or more~!

"..."

Zen was unsure how to feel about the situation, though it was not his place to care so deeply about matters that were not his own. However... something was pressing him deep inside his guts, a feeling he could not pinpoint as to what it was.

And this due to Miss Choi's presence for sure.

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Mina had been so immersed from this profound shock overwhelming her body that she didn't even realize the moment they had stepped through the conference room until she felt Jisoo's nails dip into her skin. Apparently, he was allowed to stay with her before the presentation, though he had to exit after everyone had gathered around the table.

The sensitive information at the meeting were not for all ears to be heard.

"Family not included."

He was beginning to take his new role far too seriously to her liking. "Okay...", Mina answered, inspecting the room like she had just awoken.

"I'll be outside waiting for ya, so relax~! And don't take the brats' words at heart. Unless...", he winked. "You really like them older in that way.", he did a circle with two fingers, using the pointer from the other hand as a direct visual for-

"NO!", Mina blurted out, covering her reddened face, while earning chuckles from the raven. These people could not come faster and kick Jisoo out!

Even so,

She was thankful for the guard's constant help and inappropriate ways to cheer her up, even though it was not something he was obliged to do. "If you're really thankful, then you should convincemy boss about this fact as well. ^.~"

"(눈_눈)... So that's what you were aiming for from the beginning.", she muttered and he just shrugged. Nothing wrong with doing his best to get the most favorable reviews in return for the company – and potentially get him a raise~!

"..."

So blunt, too blunt! ()

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The guard just finished giving a quick update to Miss Kang, the resulting time having him stand in this shabby corridor and doing nothing more than explore its finishing. Half an hour had already passed since he had been nicely asked out of the room and, in the meantime, various female staff members and people in costumes walked by. A few would run walk faster when gazing directly into his golden orbs while others were more daring and curious, engaging in slight conversation with the guard and using the meeting inside the room as a pretext.

"Do you know if Director Kwon is still in there?"

He managed to pick up a few numbers this way – for private investigation reasons, mind you~!

Ah well...

Jisoo's instincts were to wonder around and stretch, eventually texting the girl about his departure. He would be near the actors' stage if she had trouble finding him. Truth been told, the raven was actually curious whether the students' ruckus was still echoing on stage, however the closer he got to it, the more he was certain that there were actual rehearsals going on at this hour. Hence, the students were too busy minding their own work, plastering lots of boards in front of them, paper and utensils that...

They were not really using.

Even the guard admitted, the musical's protagonist had an unusual charm for a man, able to play with the crowd's emotions incredibly easily. Hm... Jisoo wouldn't mind some pointers, although his own skills were beyond average with crowd manipulation. Miss Choi was always falling for his antics although she was not the best example to offer... ^^;;;

Jisoo silently grabbed a seat further back, long legs pressed onto the backrest in front.

Time was finally passing by faster.

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Mina did not expect such a turnout in the conference room, wishing she could really shut her eyes and dream this day away.

Public speaking was not her strong point.

The girl had a hard time hiding her anxiety and fears while presenting her work. She naively believed the director of this musical – not play, as she wrongly assumed – and Assistant Lee would be the only participants, but plenty others had joined in, listening to the reasoning behind the poster's design, her thought process and lasting impressions of the overall story. Mina was unsure what answers to give since she had spent most of the time hating this assignment. The coordinator cherry picked the positives, constantly having Zen's image flashed across her mind when focusing on what inspired some of the elements, cheeks turning tomato red by the end.

'He had a c-c-calming effect! No other reason whatsoever!'

The projector had the drawing on full screen, Mina finding it the easiest to explain things with her eyes glued onto the monitor, afraid to look at the group of people gathered around the table. Although, the few evident throat clears from Assistant Lee ruined this for her, having to turn her head multiple times to check for any reactions or questions.

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... Mina felt like passing out.

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The man was also curious as to why she had discarded some of the ideas and sketches he found in her sketchbook. Many held potential that he found worthy of use. "They were lacking... emotion.", she explained shortly, receiving a curt nod as he continued skimming through with a firm gaze.

"..."

The musical director also expressed that he found something enchanting about her poster, many agreeing with him that there was something which set it apart from the previous bulk. It could not be properly expressed into words.

"It reminds me a lot of what Hyun does on stage!", one of the staff mentioned, bringing forth an idea.

"Hyun...?", she asked inaudibly, suddenly spotting the plump man darting up from his seat. "Maybe we should bring him here, what do you think~?! ", he suggested grinning but Mr. Lee spoke that he did not want to interrupt the rehearsals any further – especially, not for such a minor thing.

"And your sincere reactions are already the feedback I had desired in the first place.", Mina's heart was beating frenetically as the presentation ended, many showering the girl's talents with clapping she did not expect to receive, rendering her speechless and with a pair of sparkling orbs.

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The people were leaving, one by one, carrying on their normal activities while the coordinator remained behind with Assistant Lee. He wore a somber expression, finally putting the sketchbook to rest onto the table. "There is a lot to improve, Ms. Choi. Your skills are subpar with the work you've presented in your portfolio years ago.", Mina lowered her hopeful gaze, feeling like these words had slapped away the previous compliments tenfold.

"However..."

"If only you showed me such attention to details and care for your actual homework during your attendance at SKY...", he scolded the girl, black eyes twitching from the annoyance. Nonetheless, his gaze fell onto the cast she had failed to properly hide with those long, woolen sleeves. "I presume that is one of the reasons for its low quality."

"Oh. Y-Yes... indeed one of them.", Mina quickly hid the wounded hand behind her back, glancing sideways while Mr. Lee sighed deeply, removing his glasses to clean them up.

"...", the tension hadn't left the air, Mina busying herself with packing away the bo- "Well done, Mina.", he instantly said in a softer manner.

"Eh?"

She turned her head, noticing with confusion the presence of a genuine smile on the man's features. "Consider this my answer for the R.F.A. party, as well.", he added, mentioning that he would be looking forward to it, the girl's expression lighting up tenfold. "And do persuade V to set up a date already."

"Y-Yes!"

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Mina could barely hold back the pressure that had built up inside her body.

The moment Assistant Lee had walked out of the room, that's when countless tears poured out of her eyes in harsh waves – stress, depression, sadness, anger, all were being pushed out of her system thanks to this newfound achievement and success. It was a very, very tiny first step, but the feedback and love she had received for this flawed poster meant so much to her! It truly gave Mina hope that she had finally, finally! found the path to steer back her life back on tracks.

She could afford to dream again and gain more confidence in her skills!

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And all of this could not have been possible...

Had Zen not been part of her life.

This realization had made her become even more thankful

to have discovered the R.F.A. in the way she had had.

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For some reason,

Mina really wanted to talk to the silver haired actor and have him be the first one to know of today's success and her happiness, however...

He did not pick up.

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She was a little disappointed.

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The crying fit did not last long, Mina willing herself to stop before anyone would discover her still lingering near the projector. She was an outsider in this theatre and the girl did not need the extra attention on her silly self. Moreover, she did find it odd how Jisoo did not bother to rush inside, panicking at her first wave of tears and what not.

Mina soon learnt the answer from his text message, realizing how he had mercilessly ditched her for the on-going musical rehearsals. Probably got bored – that's what really happened. "How did you even become a C&R security leader...?", she mumbled sourly, rethinking whether to let the raven loose in front of his boss or the opposite.

Anyway, such cranky thoughts aside...

The rehearsals were taking place now? The coordinator was rather tempted to see he show, curious how the story would be portrayed on stage – would it be like she pictured it or entirely different? Unfortunately, knowing she'd have to be in the audience with her former classmates kind of slaughtered that curiosity and wish.

Perhaps, she could buy a ticket when it gets released~!

"..."

"Or not...", Mina lowered her head upset, suddenly remembering the emptiness of her wallet and bank account. Ah well, before she got to Jisoo, the girl needed to clean any remnants of these stupid tears off her face and freshen up the eye liner, which was currently a blotched stain on her skin.

And sleeve.

She texted the guard, announcing the schedule was finally over. "I know, I've been listening to your lovely teacher for the past 10 minutes. He's amusing and nearly made that nasty gal choke on her words and wheeze out of anger~!"

"Then why did you not come look for me?!", she hissed while searching for the lavatory, ending up asking a nice staff member for directions. Apparently, they only had the one functioning on this entire floor level for actors and staff.

The others were in the course of renovation before the next show.

"Great...", she scrunched her nose, not liking the idea of a crowded unisex toilet.

"You're fine! Nothing can happen to you – and even if it does, I requested driver Kim's assistance. He is waiting outside the theatre."

"He is skilled in various fighting techniques."

"Worst case scenario."

"Worst case...", she suppressed a face palm, not having the patience to answer him with anything but an emoji – (ノಥ益ಥ)ノ.

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~oOo~

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*SPLASH SPLASH*

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Mina was happy that there weren't many people in here, just a few women gossiping about coworkers presumably, whispering more to themselves when the coordinator had entered. They left rather quickly and she managed to find a nice corner sink with a mirror at the end.

The redness of the eyes was still present after a few sprinkles of water, but... oh well~! Maybe she could blame it on the exhaustion. The end result with the eye liner was pretty sloppy, but, considering her trembling injured hand, it could be no better. At a distance, one wouldn't notice the shaky lines so easily.

She would pat herself on the back if she could.

Furthermore, Mina was distracted by the messenger, suppressing a lot of laughter after reading the unfolding conversation. It came off as soft snorting – almost like suppressed crying sounds. Seven was online and busy teasing poor ole Yoosung who was continuing to be incredibly apologetic towards the party planner.

"If only Zen-oppa could apologize so honestly towards me TwT", the red head wrote, Mina curious about his problem with Zen. "He had been so c-c-cold to me today~~~!"

The party planner winced at that phrase, having deja vu flashes. It's usually what Zen wouldcall her. ^^;;;;;

"Lol. Maybe because it's winter time so people are naturally like that?", she wrote back cheekily, getting spammed by the hacker who couldn't help from pointing out how eagerly she had defended the actor, Yoosung agreeing with a hint of jealousy.

"Wouldn't call it eagerly...", she scrunched her nose and pouted, reading an odd question from the fiery red.

"Have you talked to Zen, today?"

"Not really.", she truthfully answered, not really considering the few messages exchanged in the morning as proper 'talking'.

"Then he didn't have the chance to rant to you yet~~~!"

"Rant...?"

"Why are you asking her that? You want me depressed again?! T.T T.T T.T", poor Yoosung cried in return and Mina panicked, quickly attempting to cheer up the poor student before he would lash out at her again.

"Thanks...", this wasn't the reaction she expected to receive for her work.

"^^;;;"

"If she can't then I will make you happy, my Shooting Star~! *winks* Oh, here *inserts another one of Mina's paintings* A star for a shooting star~!"

"Ugh..."

"No need."

"Stop spamming me with those nasty things!"

"Nasty things, ha ha ha...", she felt depleted of energy, the blonde dissing her work to no end. Did he really hate the paintings that much?! In fact – did everybody in the R.F.A. hate her paintings this much or was this retaliation because those came from Seven's account as his newest spamming material?!

"I think they look pretty okay ^^;;;;", she wrote, but Yoosung would not let it go and pointed how dangerous it was for her to admit that!

"He'll never stop posting these drawings now! TwT"

"Oh, my sweet Shooting Star~~~! Embrace the love in these *posts another galaxy related painting*"

"I would rather be killed in LOLOL than have to see one more image from you!"

Still...

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How should Mina feel about such appalling reactions other than utterly crushed?! ()

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It lowered her mood tremendously, enough to try and reach out for Zen again, dialing his number a few times before deciding on leaving behind a voice mail.

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*CREAK*

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"Ugh... so irritating!", a soft, growling male voice echoed as he entered the rest room, rushing to the nearest sink to replenish his sweaty body. Nobody had bottled water to offer him and his wallet was back in the changing room located at the end of the hallway. The actor was not going to return back on stage just yet, he needed a break since he felt like suffocating in this outfit already.

*SLURP*

"Finally some water...", he sighed, raising both his sleeves and tapping his chest skin and arms with ice cold water, then going for his neck.

"This is the life-", he breathed out heavenly, closing his eyelids as he allowed the ice to cool him down, albeit a little. He tentatively looked into the mirror, checking the makeup and whether it needed a bit of retouching in some areas when he heard a girl in here through the water jet noise.

Oh boy, which one of the actresses was hiding in here now -

"- a-also, before I head out... I'm sorry for leaving such a strange voice mail! B-But, I really wanted to share the good news since I'll probably pass out as soon as I walk through the apartment door~!"

"No regrets...", she sighed sweetly.

"God(E), I'm so tired...!"

"Although, that doesn't change the fact that today was an amazing day!"

"Is it spring yet?"

"Hmmm."

"Probably, because I missed this warm feeling so much~! It reminds me how I used to be when I was still living at home and..." *deep inhale*

"Damn... I feel like crying all over again. So annoying."

"AAAARGH!"

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"ASHI!", that screech made his heart leap, eyes wide like saucers as he felt the voice to be highly familiar, his chest painfully stabbed from the inside by his heart.

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"A-A-A! No, no, don't mind that, ha ha ha ha~! Ha... Anyway~~! Thanks again for the he-"

*voice mail has reached its limit/ end call*

"-lp you gave me last night.", her high, girly voice had plummeted to the ground, Mina feeling a mixture of annoyance and shame, wanting to slap herself hard and, this time, not prevent the urge.

*deep sigh*

She was swimming in regret, wondering whether she should have sent Zen such a stupid voice message or not. "He'll definitely think I'm crazy and whiney if he doesn't believe so already.", she muttered depressed, putting on her cream coat and backpack.

"I mean, if that was not clear to him before, then after today it will be a 100% certainty."

"God(E)..."

"Maybe that's why I lack frie- OHH!", she popped out unexpectedly from the corner side and nearly went through the man who had been shamelessly eavesdropping on her. He had nearly scared her to death, Mina yelping as she instinctively jumped back from the human wall in front of her, losing her footing slightly. Almost immediately, the individual darted his hand towards her wounded wrist and caught it tightly. The pain was excruciating, Mina biting her lower lip and wincing from the pressure. The coordinator quickly recovered her composure.

"You're that Choi girl-", the actor was surprised to see her seemingly hide in such a place but stopped talking as the feeling he had from her hand was too strange to ignore. Only then did he notice her hand had a cast wrapped around it. Shit! He removed his grip like he had touched fire, feeling extremely sorr-

"S-Sorry! I wasn't watching where I was going!", Mina apologized loudly before he had a chance to do so himself, the girl bowing down too respectfully for his own comfort.

She was so embarrassed, her stupidity too visible in this spotlight. Not even daring to look the man in the eye, she made her way around him rapidly, multiple apologies spoken once more before exiting the lavatory in a rush. "W-Wait, miss!", the wigged blonde called out for the shrinking Choi girl but she kept going at incredible speed.

It would be too hard chasing after her in this heavy attire. Also, considering the next musical act would begin shortly... there was nothing Zen could do.

"Mina Choi..."

"She sounds too damn much like MC.", the actor muttered, looking at the hand he used to touch hers merely seconds ago before suddenly coming to a startling conclusion.

"Mina Choi..."

"M... C..."

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It fit scarily well.