Night-Owl Romance
.
Note: Hello everyone~! As of today, this story has been viewed over 4000 times, whuuuuuut - ! This makes me so happy, thanks so much guys for sticking with this fic or, at least, giving it a trial glance ^o^ Every bit of support is welcomed and motivates me to think up content ^^
.
.
Chapter 23: Drowning Insecurities
.
.
'Jagi, you've left so suddenly...
.
I'm sorry!
.
I know I can't apologize enough for what I've done to you and I take full responsibility for my blunder. T-T T-T T-T
.
And Seven! *angry emoji*
.
Yet, most of all, I will.
And I will forever repent my mistake for as long as I live.
*depressed emoji*
.
So, jagi, please cheer up soon~~~! ^^
.
Also, now that it's out in the open, I'm glad to finally be able to put a face on our R.F.A.'s MC even if it had been from afar. For now ~! ^^ I'm happy knowing a little more about you - the real you, outside the app.
.
It feels like the distance between us is narrowing and it's a nice sensation~! ^^
*happy emoji*
Or... it was before I messed up.
*depressed emoji*
.
Ah, I wonder, would that scare you to read?
Too late, heh ^^;;;;; I keep forgetting how there's no 'deleting feature' built in here... that Seven. *upset emoji*
Ashi, this app can be so annoying at times!
...
But, in all fairness, I have to come clean with one further thing with you. And that is,
.
You're a pretty amazing girl, Mina~!
.
And amazing people deserve to have the greatest smiles across their faces and be the happiest in this life. Because, whenever I hear the opposite happening to someone like you,
It's giving me a heart ache.
*sigh emoji*
And a far worse feeling when the reason behind your sadness lies in my stupidity.
*depressed emoji*
So,
What I'm trying to say is,
.
I'm so sorry and please cheer up soon~!
.
~oOo~
.
The endless buzzing sounds had become a sort of twisted background music for this 'unpackaging event'. Mina had sprawled the contents of the boxes everywhere across the floor, noting the sheer abundanceof healing ointments, bandages, sanitary alcohol, band-aids, creams and other medical items including syringes she was hesitantly poking at the tip.
O-O;;;;;;
Everything was stored in the first couple of boxes the girl had torn open alongside a really heavy printed book which contained data about all of the city's medical facilities, public and private establishments including information regarding the staff members and their outside collaborators. The list was so thoroughly researched that individual sheets were created – be it nurses, doctors, specialists, physicians or other individuals with specializations that the party planner had never even heard of. What's more, outlined in color were the phone numbers she could dial in case of an emergency, as well as –
"What...?" *sweat drop* "T-Their private house numbers and addresses ^^;;;;;; "
Mina was unsure of her feelings at the moment. Her hands were lightly shaking on the pages she was thumbing, the portraits of smiling doctors becoming quite uncomfortable to look at after dozens of pages.
.
How inappropriate!
.
Was this Seven's unsubtle hint to visit a doctor and receive proper treatment after yesterday's endeavor? ^^;;;;;;
Because, if so, Mina did not appreciate the thought as much as she should have, her reaction currently of pure bewilderment – in a negative sense.
"First Jumin, now Seven...", Mina gently brushed over her problematic wrist, glancing aside over the other items unwrapped from the hacker's remaining presents. They were also unsubtly linked to her decreasing health being packed full with various produce and ingredients normally used in dishes that would influence the healing process in a positive manner, encouraging the regeneration of damaged tissue. At least, that's what the hacker wrote in his sticky notes he had seemingly planted, quite randomly, on some of the weirdly shaped vegetables and fruits.
"So... many...", the coordinator whispered, unable to comprehend Seven's thought process.
.
'This is overkill.'
'What normal person does this?!'
.
Sure, her wounded side carried unflattering bruising however this was also due to Mina's fabulous genetics. The girl would sometimes smack into a table, by mistake most of the time, and then a huge-ass bruise would appear later throughout that same day. Normal individuals would barely have any marks while her skin would appear like in the aftermath of a car crash.
...
Well, Mina was probably exaggerating the fact.
A bit.
Just a tiny bit.
...
Mina wanted to relay a message to Seven, trying not to freak out by the unnecessary spending he kept doing on her behalf and his remarkable stalking talents which were really beginning to frighten the party planner. Severely. What was the cost anyway for these freebies? What were the hacker's intentions?! Did he expect anything in return?! She desperately wished to clear the air with the guy but her constantly buzzing phone would offer no chance to do so.
Zen continued to be relentless in his attempts to contact the girl and itmade her want to hide from him that much more. Her heart was still stinging from that hurtful misunderstanding, Mina unable to shake off the feeling that he would eventually come to think in such a negative way regardless of the vehement denials and sweet talking.
Indirectly, she would do something to set him off on a cursing spree.
And the actor will finally put an end to his helpful, nice-guy persona.
And then the rest of the R.F.A. will come to that same conclusion, following in Zen's footsteps.
Then they will kick Mina out of the group and out of Rika's apartment.
And then,
.
She'll be completely alone without an ounce of hope left...
.
"Ngh."
Swimming in a self-depreciative cesspool was no walk in the park, Mina disliking the way her imagination would fly towards the worst possible outcomes. No! She had to remain positive, the coordinator thought as honey brown eyes landed on the desk.
"..."
Her arm was temptingly close to that phone, outstretching it towards the object.
.
*GROWL*
.
Her eyes suddenly went wide open, stopping the action in midair.
"No, Mina!", the party planner slapped both her cheeks – forgetting her wounded wrist, ouch – sticking her palms atop the heated skin. Mina's curiosity was often too problematic for her own wellbeing and, as she were now, the youth would probably combust while misreading and questioning everything Zen had messaged. Thus, she decided on prioritizing her stomach's rumbling wish and carried a handful of Seven's ingredients to the kitchen where she would clumsily cook an edible meal – hopefully. Afterwards, to boost up the depleted confidence regarding her usefulness in the R.F.A., Mina would need to start answering those darn e-mails she had been neglecting since receiving Assitant Lee's assignment and work her hardest for this party's success!
One confirmed guest attending their event was not enough to cement her party planning position in the organization!
She had to keep proving her worth and show what an important asset she could become for them in the future.
"Yeah, that sounds like a healthy plan!", Mina nodded proudly, leaving the room – *BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ* – and trying to ignore those sounds to the best of her mental capabilities.
.
~oOo~
.
Night had long taken hold of the city, clock handles close to pointing 9:40 p.m.
Once again, Zen had found himself lingering atop the building's terraced roof and gazing at the star lit sky, this peaceful serenity disrupted by only his raspy coughs and intricate smoke patterns. The actor's appearance was partly disheveled and extremely tired, the result of an extensive workout session he had dived into in order to clear his mind of the pain pooling inside his chest. Multiple cans of beer had been discarded to his right while cigarettes were piling up far too eagerly on the small ashtray.
'This day has not gone as planned...'
Zen's expectations were lowering with each message alert flashing across the screen to the point he was growing numb of them, not expecting anything in return anymore. Crimson orbs had been seeking out Mina's username for hours, hoping it would pop up within the next chat alert, however, no matter how much he'd wished for it, the party planner did not show any life signs.
.
Towards Zen.
.
He had spotted Mina using the messenger app on several occasions, interacting lightheartedly with the R.F.A. members present. Apart from Zen. The coordinator would always turn silent whenever the actor came online, disappearing abruptly from the on-going conversations. The first few times Zen had chosen to blame this oddity on the lousy timing he had with his training breaks – he dismissed these actions as purely coincidental. ^^
Unfortunately, this had stretched over the hours to the point it was hard to come up with excuses to explain Mina's behavior – jagi was definitely doing it on purpose. Plus, her latest disappearance had brought despair to Yoosung, the boy in the midst of heated explanations of LOLOL's game mechanics as he was trying to familiarize the girl with more depth regarding the storyline and characters one could play as.
"Yo kid, do you really think MC is this interested about LOLOL, wanting you to teach her everything you can do there?", Zen had playfully asked through burning sensations in his heart, only to have the blonde's answer make him feel worse.
.
"She's the one who'd asked me~! ^w^ I can't say 'no' when she is this eager to learn LOLOL~~~!"
"I hope this means she might want to play the game in the future with me~~~~! 3"
"That would brighten up my life so much *sparkling emoji*"
"I should call her and finish up the story ^o^"
"Bye, hyung~!"
.
Roughly twenty minutes later and back came a happy, bubbly blonde who was waggling an invisible tail as his overflowing cheerfulness splashed so much over Zen. His gag reflexes activated because of that kid, unable to sit through a second longer of this shit. However, he logged instantly, already seeing new messages written down by Mina.
"Hah..."
She was thanking Yoosung for his 'tremendous help, appreciating every minute of his time'.
.
Smiley face!
.
To make matters worse, shortly afterwards Jumin had made his annoying appearance in the chat room and the girl immediately rushed over to greet the guy, requesting the trust fund kid's help with some dilemmas only he would know the proper solution to. ^^ *heart stab* Because of that, Jumin had to excuse himself from the on-going discussions for he could best explain matters on the phone.
"Thank you, Jumin! Really appreciate it ^o^!"
Zen smiled, the edges of his mouth slightly crooked.
It's safe to say that the discovery had left quite a bitter taste in his mouth, the actor's mood scrapping the dirty ground. Mina's cheerfulness and excitement towards the other members, including his greatest R.F.A. foe, was rubbing Zen the wrong way, forcing the young male to become quite reckless with his physical activities, nearly spraining a limb in the process.
Fortunately, it was only a sore muscle which could be neatly resolved with an ice pack.
...
Zen eventually took a break, the silver haired male wanting to relish within the comfort brought by his Black Angel however its effects weren't long lasting. Mina's cold treatment was bothering him more than the winter air biting into his damp skin. Yet, the actor was far more upset at himself than the girl, not harboring any ill feelings towards her actions – he deserved this silence, Mina probably not ready to forgive his idiocy.
"Pfiu.", Zen exhaled loudly, resting his forehead on the back of his hand, coming to grips with the reality of the situation.
.
Mina was ignoring him...
.
~oOo~
.
The messenger alerts were pushed away from his mind as Zen busied himself with his fan pages.
He had a habit of lurking around the forums with a dummy account, downloading fan arts or screenshotting comments and letters every now and then. Tonight, though,the increased number of threads had sky rocketed in the wake of the students' teasers of his newest musical role. Not to mention, somehow there was a rumor spreading regarding him and Echo Girl possibly collaborating in the nearest future on the singer's new production.
"Huh?", Zen's ruby orbs enlarged, the actor unsure how word got out so quickly when there wasn't anything set in stone yet, only an introductive meeting happening tomorrow at his boss' insistence – probably Director Kwon or her management team leaked the information to the press. Surprisingly, many, many, many of his fans got excited by this prospect.
But there were those against this idea, protesting with all their might.
They disliked the idea of a handsome, brilliant musical actor to be in the presence of anyone from the opposite gender – let alone near someone with her high ranked status in the entertainment industry.
"What if they end up dating?!", the user spammed every thread with these fears, soon gathering a good amount of followers whom shared similar views. "That would be terrible, my oppa can't do this to me!"
"I would quit supporting him if he did!"
"...", Zen's right brow momentarily twitched, his mouth partly hanging. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes as he leaned against the cold wall. "Don't worry, everyone...", he whispered to no one in particular, opening his eyes to continue his watch over the stars.
.
Zen was not planning to win any singer's heart.
.
Echo Girl was indeed a very gorgeous woman by today's standards, nevertheless this came with many draw backs. Her following seemed more intense than his from the quick searches online and quite overprotective of the girl, gaining a pretty bad reputation over time. Zen would be torn into shreds by antis if he would ever decide to pursue her romantically.
He did not wish upon a career suicide, the actor still retaining will power despite his weakness for pretty girls and pretty faces. ^^;;;;;;
Moreover, Zen had loosely checked a few of Echo Girl's songs but they weren't his cup of tea. The woman had the tendency of overusing aegyo in all of her performances, something which the actor adored but in a little more moderation. Also, the genres she was experimenting with did not tickle his senses or affected his heart in any way – too much noise. The silver haired male was more of a ballad person, preferring softer tones in singers' voices fructified in musical videos with deep stories and symbolism.
.
Love songs were his favorite.
Tragic ones were his demise.
.
All in all, Zen's impression of Echo Girl was not in the 'favorable' spectrum – they were two opposite individuals without sharing anything in common other than the paths they chose to pursue in the entertainment industry. How would they manage to work together on a project...? The actor was hesitant, really considering in rejecting any proposition coming from Echo Girl's management tomorrow.
.
*BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ*
.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a new wave of messages flooding the MysMe app.
Zen's eyes sprung wide open, his concerns rapidly forgotten.
.
~oOo~
.
Mina's eyes were drooping as she was struggling to read through the remaining e-mails which urgently needed to be dealt with. If not, she'd be deemed unprofessional and bring a negative rep to the entire organization!
The bad part was... both guests seemed to have been recommended by Zen and,
.
Oh so she needed his help right now! TwT
.
The girl could not find anything relevant to their questions because those either focused on the actor's debut work, most of which was not fully documented online – or, at least, she couldn't find anything useful in the 27 forums pages she had checked-in so far – or they put emphasis on his personality traits, habits, likes, dislikes and various other things only someone close to Zen would know.
Or a sasaeng fan.
Seriously, his fan club's president had a 30-questions introductory quiz specially prepared for the coordinator, aiming to find out whether Mina was a genuine supporter of Zen's work or someone wishing to profit from his fame, not caring about his well-being and professional interests.
.
Mina was in neither category TwT!
.
She had barely become acquainted with the silver haired male and that happened through an unorthodox, potentially life threatening way. Sure, Mina looked Zen up on various websites but she didn't linger on them for hours and hours like a passionate fan would – it was becoming too uncomfortable for her to continue to do so.
It felt too intrusive when she knew the person...
And this method wasn't how she wanted to discover things about the actor, liking it more when he was the one telling the girl stories himself.
"..."
So many people adored Zen and everything surrounding his presence while Mina was just sitting here, in front of a laptop, doing her best to ignore the messages piling inside her inbox coming from his number.
Why was that?
.
Because of her undying stupidity and insecurities. ;====;
.
"Ugh...", Mina rubbed her tired face, plopping her body over the coffee table and moping defeated.
"Maybe I should write back to him...", she exhaled deeply, looking past her shoulders and eyeing the phone lying on top of the couch. The buzzing had intensified lately, the girl finally bringing up the courage to check the updates.
...
...
...
...
"WHAT IS THIS?!"
