Night-Owl Romance
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Note: I'm not in the best mood these days ^^ So probably the fic might head into directions that feel too – internalized and weird, apologies in advance if the emotional ramblings bother anyone~!
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Chapter 21: Snooping Secrets
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Zen's initial reaction was to reject the idea wholeheartedly, not desiring to hear any of the Director's ramblings on the benefits it would have upon his career. This type of excuse was used quite frequently by old man Kwon – and, in the end, a large percentage of these impromptu meetings were not related to the field of acting, people interested in using him solely because of his handsome features and tall sculpted physique.
He had enough.
Seriously!
If he wanted to become a runway fashion model or CF model, he would have done so from the beginning!
People were always complimenting on his good looks, online and off, Zen adoring every single word when it happened; nevertheless, sometimes, he did not appreciate this type of attention for it was frequently overshadowing his acting abilities and, on especially crappy days, this would affect the silver haired male negatively. For example, during his teenage days, scouting agents would often chase him down the streets and offer Zen business cards, urging him to audition for various companies.
He wasn't required to have any special talent or skill.
His visuals, by far, were spectacular and no plastic surgery was needed in the nearest future!
Recruitment would be inevitable for someone like him so he should choose the best option while young~!
... ^^;;;
That honestly stung him the wrong way, lol. Zen took pride in his abilities so when people dismissed his work for his genetics, then... he wanted nothing to do with them. He had lost track of the number of business cards he had collected throughout the years. Some recruiters kept stressing him years later, Zen harassed by these people on more than one occasion – they disregarded his heart and interests, their greedy intent visible. Their sole interest was in the potential cash cow residing in the silver haired male and the large number of fans he could attract.
They believed his future could only be brightest by choosing the top companies within the industry!
He should refrain from showing an arrogant and stubborn attitude when this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity showed up, right at his doorstep!
Others would kill to be in his shoes right now!
... -.- ;;;;;
None gave a damn about how Zen truly felt, labeling his rejections as 'silly excuses' made by an ungrateful, naive brat who was thinking too highly of himself.
Maybe he was a brat.
...
Well.
He actually was one.
LOL~!
And still remained one to the present~~~!*winks*
But Zen had never once regretted the challenges he had faced on this obstacle course he chose, always careful not to stray from his beliefs and work his hardest to achieve his goals because only in this manner may he come closer to his dreams,
And make them a reality.
The actor could not feel alive unless he was acting, the best moments of his life happening on this theatre's stage, drinking in the audience's reactions at the end of each performance until he became completely drunk with their love and admiration. It was a blissful drug to his senses, fuelling his heart and masking the pain he would feel whenever he returned to his empty, cold and lonely apartment, no one to greet him and be interested about his day, his successes or struggles.
It was disheartening.
Winters were especially rough on the actor. It was the time when everyone around him at work kept babbling on and on about all these activities they would do together with their loved ones, such as eating in large family gatherings or bringing their significant other to special dates, opening presents bought for each other, wearing matching outfits, drinking hot cocoa with cinnamon sticks and other treats while watching romantic movies. On new years' eve, they would be watching the fireworks underneath the starry skies and spend the rest of the night making lo-
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'ASHI!' *sigh*
Just imagining these things made him want to tear up...
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As for those people residing in a deep pool of suffering during the holidays – just like Zen was, year after year *deep sigh* – the actor wanted to use the full array of his skills in order to release the spectators from their heavy burdens, even if momentarily, and help them forget about their loneliness.
It was one of the main reasons why he was avoiding modeling jobs for some years now, despite the tempting pay; which, truth be told, was not much for his low ranking in this industry... ;===; It would save him enough money to maybe buy a few extra meals. However, the job satisfaction was simply not there.
Not like on the stage.
So, yes, Zen wanted to fully reject the proposition from Eos/Evo Girl until the Director rushed in with more of the details from the manager – it surprised the actor. "Echo Girl is currently starring as the main heroine in a production that exceeds our own by a hundredth."
"R-REALLY?!"
"At least. The exposure you shall receive will surely launch your career towards the stars! And our company to even higher grounds!", Zen could have sworn the man's eyes turned into shining gold nuggets from the excitement – his blotched teeth sure sparkled intensely. The silver haired actor was iffy about this news, though. It nagged at him, the way this opportunity came to be because of the pictures taken by the students who had illegally posted them on social media, thus grabbing Echo Girl's attention.
;===;
Really, should he be worried...?
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It was an unsettling feeling.
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~oOo~
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The great news wiped off any remnants of punishing Zen, the Director letting his behavior slide as he affectionately patted the young male's shoulder. In fact, because he was in such a good mood, old man Kwon dismissed everyone from work as the extra rehearsal hours were officially over.
'That was incredibly generous. O-o'
Normally, the silver haired would have remained at the theatre until late at night, however, today was a special day and he could no longer wait an extra second to get home. It was way passed 4 p.m. when he finished showering and dressed up in his casual attire, clean of any grime and residue of make-up.
Zen was already through the door and heading towards the main road home when he spotted Mr. Lee in the horizon. The man had still not left the area, lingering around with the pack of students gathered around him.
All were carrying unexpectedly gloomy figures.
'Ah well.', the actor did not put much interest to interfere with the problems going on, hoping to avoid detection and pass by them without interference.
"..."
Well... who was he freaking kidding?!
Zen was basically a beacon of light shining brightly in the middle of the day too – and this with his hood and sunglasses on. Just imagine how it would be without any clothing required to shield his perfect figure from the viewers' eyes *shudders*
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Pandemonium! The world would end up in chaos!
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The students diverted their attention towards the actor when they sensed him close by, many deaf to their teacher's scolding words. Mr. Lee was visibly displeased by the severe lack of professionalism for the children's focus now lied on Zen, showering the silver haired beauty with countless compliments, thus putting a stop to his walk.
It was relatively awkward... ^^;;;;;;
A few minutes into the musical and a whole lot had turned into instant fans of his~!
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"I never knew musicals could be so good to watch!"
"It was better than going to a concert!"
"Indeed! I cried so much, I had to spend 20 minutes to redo my make-up..."
"I was so torn, too. The ending was depressing!"
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They were a tad too vocal for his auditory sense, but Zen appreciated their enthusiasm and love expressed towards his hard work! He plastered his most charming grin and was signing autographs left and right, hand moving at lightning speed to satisfy the many requests. Selfies were pouring in as well, the actor going to the extent of crouching quite low, in order to minimize the extreme height difference, posing with each of the girls cutely in a boyfriend style as well ~ ^o^ ~! The pictures were instantly turned into screensavers and backgrounds for plenty of phones, and also posted on Tripter, alongside other social media accounts.
Zen was glad~!
Although...
Maybe he should put an end to it.
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Shit, maybe he should really put an end to it and move on.
The more he engaged with the students, the clearer MC's frail image contoured into his mind, unable to forget the slurs he had overheard thrown towards her before the curtains dropped to begin the show. This realization had him reconsider his misguided gestures, guilt and a sense of betrayal oozing from his side – he had actually enjoyed the attention coming from these people who had tormented MC.
And that made him shudder unpleasantly.
Zen's attitude shifted to a colder stance, the wide grin deflating into a thinly lined smile, not erasing his mask entirely. Nevertheless, he wasn't receptive anymore to further conversations or activities, politely informing his fans how he needed to reach his next schedule without further delay.
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"Oppa ~ please, take one more with me~!"
"Stay another minute, please~!"
"Oppa, look over here~~!"
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Their fun was put to a necessary halt, Mr. Lee skillfully ruining the joyful atmosphere. The day had come to an end and it could become potentially dangerous to walk on the streets, alone. It was not safe when dark loomed over the city. "But, Assistant Le-", one of the girls wished to protest loudly, appearing extremely crushed by the unwelcomed interference.
"Remember, Hyeri, your assignments are due by tomorrow, 12 p.m. sharp."
"That's too soon-"
"No deadline extensions.", he crooked a devious smile, pressing a few digits onto his glasses and tilting them up. His stern gaze fixed the youth, the crowd soon dissipating at that thinly veiled threat. Mumbling silently, the whole lot deemed it incredibly unfair from their teacher, considering how his favorite ex-student had a pass after being late for more than an hour and pushing everyone's schedule without having the decency to apologize and then scrammed!
'Same as she did in class... TCH!', Hyeri thought bitterly, her hatred overstepping past defined boundaries – it did not feel possible to feel such anger. Mina had been long gone from their existence and the university's but her presence continued to linger.
Her portfolio continued to be regarded as better than the girl's!
And what's worse, that old geezer at the theatre was going on and on about how great Miss Choi's artwork was and thanked Lee for his tremendous help while not acknowledging their owndamn efforts.
Her own efforts!
'Tch!'
Hyeri was fed up with this shitty situation – no matter the respect she held for Assistant Lee's abilities, he was treating them, his actual students, quite unfairly! If this meant Mina would soon return to SKY and if he had a hand in this matter, then the girl was not going to have this type of favoritism happening in front of her!
Hyeri would put an end to it.
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No matter the cost!
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~oOo~
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The sound of camera flashes resonated through the air, the students sharing their heartfelt good-byes to their new favorite musical actor – Zen was like a balm for their aching soul~!
"We'll come back soon, oppa~!"
"Take care and I'll be waiting!", he lied, faking a perfect grin while holding a raised hand in a static wave.
"Oh my...", Mr. Lee gave a small sigh of relief, eyeing the too cheerful actor. "Do forgive my students' rude behavior. They have never had the chance of interacting with a musical actor beforehand."
"Ah... it's no problem, sir.", Zen added, keeping a respectful figure towards the man despite his reticence to be around the guy. Phew~! Now that the chaos was over, it was time to continue with the original plan. "If there is nothing else, I will take my leav–"
"If I could trouble you with one last request.", Mr. Lee stopped him in tracks, rummaging through his briefcase and took out a USB drive, grabbing the actor's curiosity. He was hesitant though – why was he giving it to him?
"It was left inside my laptop after the meeting with Ms. Choi –", Zen was taken aback, hearing MC's name out of the blue and so casually spoken. "- and I doubt I will get the chance to return it before the future event. If you happen to meet her these days, I would appreciate you doing it in my stead."
"Meet... Mina Choi?"
The actor's reactions were strange. "Hm? Have I misunderstood something here?", the man was profoundly curious now. "I assumed you two being in the same fundraising organization meant the members' schedules would eventually collide. Same as it happened today."
"Ah... No. It's just a tight knit schedule for the moment, but I will do my best.", Zen somehow managed to pull himself together and utter the words without raising further suspicions. Mr. Lee appeared happy enough by the answer, thanking the actor.
"Give my best regards to her.", he started walking towards a car that pulled closely next to them. "And I shall greet you again, soon~!"
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'What had just happened?!'
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~oOo~
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"Ashi!", Zen hissed to no one in particular. He was constantly rewinding the shocking moments from today, deeply lost in thoughts. It was mechanic the way he ended up in front of his door step, not paying attention to his surroundings at all until he reached the stairs leading down to the apartment's door. Zen did not notice he had walked past the fish-bread seller and, for the first time since its discovery, he had not stopped at the food stall, nor bought fresh samples or simply talked with the cheerful old worker.
He was greatly apologetic, too weirded out to turn back now.
"What a mess..."
The silver haired male knew MC was sleeping at this hour but he could not stop wishing she'd be awake, call, after call. *deep sigh* He gave up eventually, realizing he was acting pretty recklessly and selfishly himself. ACK! The situation was stressing him out! Zen had so many puzzling questions that only the girl could settle down with her share of the story.
He tried to relax.
He really did, but he could not enjoy the newfound freedom from today's rehearsals.
The messenger was not any better to relax while waiting for the girl to pop in.
Yoosung was making small talk with the trust fund kid and that asshole heir was pressuring the blonde to apply for an internship at his company. "If you have time to get bored, you should do something more constructive with your time."
Bleh!
What the kid did was way worse, switching the topic back to the fur shedding snowball and Zen's senses were running haywire, sneezing endlessly for a few minutes. This allergy was no joke, panicking for he could feel his face becoming puffier and nose itchier – *SNEEZE*
"ASHI!", that last one wounded his throat. "My face will fall off at this rate!", he chocked, over dramatizing the suffering he was going through – as per usual, no one listened to him while at home, discarding his white coat onto the couch in pure irritation. *CLINK* The noise put a rapid end to his ranting monologue.
It was MC's USB stick which had mistakenly fallen out of his pocket at a pretty nasty speed.
"Shit."
Zen quickly picked it up from the floor, hoping he did not ruin anything within. There was only one method he knew to make sure it was properly working, the actor grabbing the laptop he had borrowed from Seven quite some time ago yet never returned. But... the struggle was real whether to check the USB's functionality or leave it in peace, not digging up the issue further. He was probably over reacting, these things were pretty sturdy from what he could tell~! Also, knowing himself and the power curiosity usually held over his mind, Zen would definitely overstep his limits and discover things about MC...
... about Mina that should have been kept private.
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'Or, find nothing at all.'
'A tiny peek couldn't hurt~!'
'Right... ^^;;;;?'
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Wrong.
The minute he clicked into the device, confirming it was working, his eyes gazed over an array of folders and files, which had a total combined of nearly 6GB worth of content. Zen's first urge was to shut down his laptop and take out the USB stick – he had already accomplished the previously established objective. It was working properly!
However, the actor saw a folder with today's date on it and-
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"Aigoo!"
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Her privacy went downhill, afterwards.
Hard.
Crimson orbs were rummaging over the poster MC had created for the play. Zen finally understood why she had thanked him so much in the voice mail, despite him believing he hadn't done enough to help the girl. She chose the color scheme from his photos and blended them in a similar fashion to how the designers had painted the stage props. It's as if she had previously visited the theatre and discussed the set with the scenographers, creating a fitting extension for the musical's story.
Zen hopedit was his brain overanalyzing things – MC was simply not aware that she had stepped into his working place. She did not hide her visit from him on purpose.
'R-Right?! TwT;;;;'
Although, judging from how rapidly she had sprinted out of the room, it did not feel like so at all.
'That would be a devastating blow to his heart... TwT;;;;'
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He wasn't a scary person!
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"ASHI, now I feel worse!", he plunged at the silver roots of his hair and pulled harshly, punishing himself for thinking in such a negative manner. 'No! She wouldn't do such a thing on purpose!'
"Yes, it's just like what happened with Yoosung!", he shifted the blame to a twisted game of faith. Zen did not want to feel sorry for the kid, but, f**king damn, both their situations were just silly when it came to nearly bumping into the party planner.
'Why is life teasing us so sadistically?! TwT;;;;'
"Tch... I need a drink! And a smoke!", the actor fussed, returning with an entire pack of beer cans and his trustworthy Black Angel. He was shamelessly peeking for extra content within the folders, ending up devouring countless files, after files. If he honestly believed the poster was damn impressive at first glance, then these hidden gems he'd discovered in these older folders had left him utterly dumbstruck. He even mistook a few with actual photographs he thought she had taken – until he zoomed in to see the watermark at the bottom.
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MC.
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'It's inhuman. Is she really just 21 years old?!'
'Are all of these her artwork?!'
'If so.'
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'AIGOOOOO!'
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Zen was not an expert when it came to creative media other than the theatre and musical arts. The only outside exposure to other fields in this domain he had through V's work, observing a sensitivity to the leader's photos that could not be easily replicated by any other photographer. Well, maybe, it was not really the actor's main field of interest so Zen had never bothered with the research. He did not have the luxury to spend hours online and browse through stuff. This was similar with traditional and digital artwork, the young male recognizing a handful of works – the famous ones appearing on national TV.
Other than that – nothing.
The topic made his mind go blank!
However, same as with V's pictures, as inexperienced as the silver haired man was, there was something special about her artwork which made it seem especially appealing and enchanting to keep looking at more and more.
"Wait a second.", Zen furrowed his eye brows, opening a few winter themed ones.
Then a few space themed ones.
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'Oh no.'
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He logged into the messenger and, in less than a minute, Zen found the identical version posted in one of the MysMe chat rooms. Seven had been spamming the party planner's paintings for days and everyone thought the hacker was in his crazy mood again, viciously dismissing his spam – no, Seven was in fact trolling everyone with hints about MC's talents outside the R.F.A. and was throwing glimpses towards them of her work!
*deep sigh*
That red haired idiot could be so cruel...
In many cases, the members' reaction to the paintings were - "F**k!" - not ideal, MC always following these with ellipses or crying emoji. Zen always thought it was a response from her side to Seven's spam, agreeing with their comments, yet it was painfully clear now how wrong he had been in his assessment.
Each of them actually had nothing good to say!
The comments did not have gentleness in them.
Hang on.
What did he say about them?!
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"Weird space art and shit spam which Seven should stop flood posting and waste our time with.", Zen read the essence of his messages out loud, blood drained from his face at MC's disappointed reaction.
Shit.
Shit!
SHIT!
The coordinator had logged off right after entering a chain of dots. Oh lord. He knew snooping in a person's belonging was a bad idea! TT;;;;; His regret levels were through the roof, incredibly apologetic regarding his attitude towards the girl's hard work! Nevertheless, the coordinator never came clean with her being the author of these paintings, allowing this secrecy to continue.
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Why was that...?
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On a closer inspection, these drawings and paintings appeared skillfully done and looked really, really good. Why would anyone hide such talent?! Lol~~~ o ~?! Zen would be the total opposite, wanting to share his work with the entire world if possible.
So what gives...?
"Her mind is so confusing.", he complained, humming a song from the musical while clicking away the arrow button, non-stop until –
"Huh?"
- the images became different, the paintings accompanied by a widely grinning female intruder, holding the tableau proudly in both hands. Long brown hair paired up with honey brown orbs, fringe framing a rounder face that carried cute, faint dimples.
"Aigoo!", he brushed a hand over his chin, scratching the skin there in shock.
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The girl was Mina Choi.
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Her transformation was too dramatic though, a severe contradiction between the smiling, bright pictures of the cheerful party planner Zen was discovering further within the files and the image of the girl at the theatre, her expression sorrowful and looking extremely tired, quite frail in composure – she had lost a huge amount of weight too.
"What happened to you, MC...?"
Zen could not believe how so incredibly stunning she had looked barely a few years ago, checking the date of the pictures uploaded into the USB. MC was glowing with great health and had appealing visuals despite not wearing any heavy form of make up in the shots – the constant smiling in pictures which mirrored in her eyes enhanced the girl's beauty tenfold and acted like a magnetic charm for the actor's heart. Long hair suited her features marvelously and framed her face cutely.
"Aigoo..."
He kept staring at her, unable to look away...
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*RING RING RING RING*
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Zen's phone instantly rang the special tune he had set up for the girl, nearly breaking the laptop as it slipped onto the wooden floor. His heart was beating loudly and too rapidly for his own comfort. The actor plunged for the ringer and stupidly called out her name instead of leaving it to just 'MC'.
"MINA!"
"..."
"I-I-I m-mean -", he painfully stuttered, unsure how to come clean with his discoveries when he heard something strange on the other end – a recognizable irritating male voice. Zen's pale skin turned a deep shade or red, hands forming into fists.
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"Zen-oppa~~~! You're such a snoop~!"
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One of his days, he was going to strangle Seven for sure.
