Night-Owl Romance

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Note: I actually really like Jaehee as a char – surprisingly, while she was hateful in Zen's route and annoying, her intentions were well-intended. And in her route, she's a precious cinnamon who needs protection. TwT Either way, after this chapter, keep in mind that Jaehee is Baehee. XD Yup – I used that phrase. Without regret.

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Chapter 27: Interference

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Mina was not going to lie.

Jaehee's message tore open a truckload of fears and insecurities that were now pouring out of her system and invading the girl's mind. She was concerned that the damage done on the C&R's affairs was the main issue of the woman's dire messages. Or, maybe, there had been something inadequate in the girl's performance when handling the guest invitation process. Though, the feedback received had been generally positive so far, people noting the effort Mina was putting into completing the task.

Was she inviting the wrong people...?

But, she fully followed their suggestions. Apart from Mr. Lee who had been the girl's acquaintance and former teachers. "What is it then? What have I been doing wrong?"

She was clueless. And, to calm her nerves down, Mina was taking larger sips of tea while awaiting the terrible scolding she assumed would receive after engaging Jaehee in the chat room. Yet, not once had it crossed the girl's mind that the ensuing topic would end up revolving around something other than her R.F.A. duty.

Much more painful as well.

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~oOo~

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[MC]: Hello, Jaehee...

[Jaehee Kang]: Ah, you were online after all ^^ That is wonderful to see.

[MC]: Is the company doing ok?

[Jaehee Kang]: Excuse me? The company? *questioning emoji*

[MC]: Hmm...

[MC]: So it's not that then.

[Jaehee Kang]: *questioning emoji*

[MC]: You've spoken about something which cannot be overlooked about my actions so I'd assumed... it was linked with the SKY incident again. ^^;;;;;;

[Jaehee Kang]: Oh, forgive me for frightening you. It was not my intention. *happy emoji*

[Jaehee Kang]: The SKY scandal is already dimming, nearly forgotten by the public.

[Jaehee Kang]: I wish I could say this is a good thing.

[MC]: O-O Is it not?

[Jaehee Kang]: Yes and no.

[MC]: ...

[Jaehee Kang]: Ah, it is not my place to reveal any information. ^^ Know that it might be a difficult situation after tonight's dinner with Chairman Han. Mr. Han shall be present there and... someone else.

[MC]: Oh? O-O

[Jaehee Kang]: Either way, this is not what I was referring to.

[Jaehee Kang]: Please, excuse my forthrightness but only now have I caught up with the chat room conversations since your arrival to the R.F.A.

[Jaehee Kang]: Moreover, I have scanned the ones from the other day with utmost attention.

[Jaehee Kang]: I've since noticed an alarming trend.

[Jaehee Kang]: And I feel that it has to be dealt with, while at its inception. ^^ I hope you will not find anything out of line from my part, but I am doing this for everyone's best interest.

[MC]: A-Alarming trend? O-O

[MC]: Best interest?

[MC]: Out of line?!

[MC]: T-T

[MC]: Regarding what?!

[Jaehee Kang]: Your relationship with Zen.

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Needless to mention how the tea sips suddenly morphed into a tea-fountain sprayed all over the party planner's precious phone, keyboard, laptop screen, clothing and coffee table. Mina's heart nearly jumped right out of her throat too, the palpitations similar to those felt after an extensive workout, which, in her case meant climbing 5-storeys worth of stairs and then crumbling to the floor.

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'R-R-Relationship?!'

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Seriously, Mina had to take a hard look over Jaehee's ludicrous affirmation, the coordinator's cheeks catching fire from the shock and... and...

"..."

The girl was not in a relationship with the actor in the way she was imagining things, trying to disprove Jaehee's statement as afunny, although kind of bad joke she had made. "You actually made me believe you were serious for a second there!", Mina giggled at the incredibly silly notion, however the woman did not show any signs of amusement, quite disappointed by the party planner's rapid dismissal. Or denial. Jaehee was stubbornly holding onto this idea of Mina linked with Zen on a level deeper than that of a harmless friendship, offering motives as to why their conversations were leading to something...

Inappropriate.

Hence, the need to address the situation before it was reaching troublesome lengths. ^^

"Huh?!", the girl could not believe what she was witnessing, Jaehee spewing out so many mind blowing words – and without moments of hesitation. Mina's body was trembling, her hands turning cold as ice in the process. "Whether you have been doing this consciously or not, I am only offering my opinion in order to avoid unnecessary complications in the future."

"For the sake of the R.F.A. and the dynamics of the group."

"As well as for Zen's own wellbeing, you two must not be this close in proximity with each other anymore." *happy emoji*

"For Zen's sake?!"

The levels of craziness were exceeding their limits, expanding into a world where nothing was making sense anymore. Had the girl not known any better, she would have assumed that Jaehee was acting jealous about how the actor was treating Mina and the care he was showing her. Zen openly did so and very sweetly, unlike with the assistant whenever she came online.

His attitude turned more amicable then – respectful too.

Even so, Zen had never once ignored Jaehee, always interested in the assistant's day and hoping work wasn't eating up too much of her life. He would go as far as to openly threaten Jumin's ass if that happened with abnormal frequency, much to the woman's dismay.

So why was she being this unreasonable...?

Jaehee never showed such a possessive side before when it came to Zen. Or... was it possible that the young coordinator was in the wrong,

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Regarding Jaehee's heart?

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"Since you appear to be a person who can be reasoned with quite easily, I feel this is not a hard request to accomplish."

"No."

"I beg your pardon?" *surprised emoji*

"You're accusing me of being a bad influence on Zen?!", Mina was beyond shattered and just typing the question was difficult to comprehend it happening. The assistant disagreed, feeling the girl understood her intentions wrongly.

"Ha, ha, ha..."

"You truly believe so?!", her breathing was hitched and eyes starting to sting uncomfortably. The sensations became worse at the on-pouring reasons the assistant spread inside the chat room, for Jaehee was only trying her best to protect Zen and his career. As a fan of his brilliant work, she respected the actor and wanted only the best for him and his future. ^^

"And I don't?!"

"Please, MC, listen to me calmly." *depressed emoji*

"I do not want to upset you, however..."

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"You and Zen show an undeniable chemistry that is dangerous to pursue."

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Mina was utterly lost. First Jaehee was accusing her of being unfit for the actor's wellbeing, now the assistant was sharing her thoughts on their dangerous chemistry that had to be dimmed down and put to rest. "Hah...", the youth gasped sharply, biting her lower lip and shaking her head. She really did not know what she had done to deserve this constant internal ache. Mina did not have a mission of pursuing anyone like Jaehee implied, especially not Zen.

He was off-limits.

The girl was not stupid, knowing fully wellshe would not be a good fit for him even if she tried anything.

The difference between them was plain like the moon and sun.

Mina felt incredibly inadequate and underachieving in many aspects compared to the actor.

He had everything she lacked – confidence, physical appeal, passion, a flourishing career, an extremely cheerful and positive mood, social skills... to name but a few.

They've also just met and, normally, Mina would not make a lasting impression on people outside the comfort of a messenger.

Not a decent one.

Zen could sweet talk Mina on how this would be an impossibility but he had surely never met anyone like her before~~~ she could make the impossible, possible, and vice-versa.

'...'

It was not going to happen no matter how one analyzed this.

Hence, Jaehee's words were ludicrous to the party planner. The woman should be happier and breathe in more easily because nobody had ever looked at Mina in a loving manner before – apart from family. Sometimes. When she wasn't being a nuisance to them. Thus, she had never been given a chance to explore the true depths of love, for people's eyes generally showed anything other than that when interacting with the girl.

And it was something that seemed never changing no matter how many years pass by.

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*DRIP*

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"The way you talk with each other; it is as if the rest might be intruding on you two."

"Dare I say, it is almost intimate."

"It's harmless fun and banter between friends~!", she argued back but Jaehee was annoyingly persistent.

"It is not."

"And I cannot fathom the conversations you might be having in close quarters – spanning three entire hours in the middle of the night?! Highly unacceptable."

Mina's eyes widen, unsure how Jaehee got word of what took place the other night.

"Zen had shared this to me after I've asked him why he was endlessly yawning in the morning."

"I have never heard him sound tired..." *depressed emoji*

"..."

"At the same time, I have never heard him sound this passionate before when talking."

"Not even when receiving parts in the musicals he desired."

"It is quite unnerving for his main interests seem to shift now,"

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"Towards you."

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*DRIP*

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"What...?", the party planner's confusion was only growing, her cheeks becoming a reddened beacon. Mina's heart was leaping out of her chest with these outlandish observations, the girl attempting to divert the conversation away from the topic.

No luck.

"Ha, ha, ha... excuse the following questions. However, are you feeling unwell in terms of your mental capacities?"

"Is Jumin making you sign too many papers or whatever work you are tasked of doing at the firm? ^^"

"Are you not having enough sleep yourself? ^^ "

"Experiencing visual hallucinations from all the unrest? ^^ ^^ ^^ "

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"Please, be serious for a moment." *depressed emoji*

"Zen's future is not a joking matter."

"You must realize that your actions can have consequences regardless of intentions!"

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*DRIP DROP*

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That stung Mina more than she could bear, the young one unable to control her breathing properly due to the severe harshness from Jaehee's writing – she was not trying to 'joke' around anything, Zen's future included. The assistant was misunderstanding a lot of things at the moment and, for some reason, she felt entitled to act like Zen's guardian, scolding the poor girl for merely talking to him.

Talking to him!

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As if it was a sin.

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*DRIP DROP*

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To make matters worse, she managed to plant this idea inside Mina's head that somehow Zen showed signs of being directly affected by her presence and actions. Furthermore, he had an interest in the girl that went beyond curiosity of her being a new member of the group. And Jaehee had never seen such a thing beforehand, worrying it would lead to their feelings entwining.

"Inappropriately."

She just had to repeat that word again. "Highly unlikely after this...", Mina scoffed, disliking the brutal way Jaehee had torn open a path between her and the actor, erecting a steep mountain afterwards. And this was just the start, the woman unyielding. And, frankly, the party planner did not want to remain online anymore, wishing to leave the chat room immediately –

"..."

– but was prevented in doing so, the ' x ' button not working properly. Mina wanted to throw the bloody phone away in irritation, giving out a sharp cry.

Unfair...

Jaehee was being unfair!

Zen was the only friend Mina had ever made that made her feel,

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Happy.

Beautiful.

Important.

Talented.

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Special.

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*DRIP DROP DRIP DROP *

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And Jaehee was expecting Mina to limit her time around such a person...?

"Why don't you push me out of a window... it would hurt less.", the party planner whispered annoyed but soon felt appalled for having such terrible thoughts about the woman, soon realizing the place she was coming from. It was not jealousy that made Jaehee open such a difficult topic. It was genuine concern for a person she cared about and had admired for years, a family far more precious to her than what connected her through ties of blood.

"In the years I've known Zen, this is the first time I've seen him exhibit such strong reactions to another person."

Jaehee carried knowledge about things Mina was not aware of or had simply chosen to ignore about Zen's career.

And how it directly impacted his personal life.

"Zen is a musical actor, a public figure and well respected in the field he is working in."

"For his young age, this is a remarkable accomplishment – many look up to him for his work ethics, which, dare I admit, are even overshadowing mine at times. ^^"

"It is very inspiring for me to watch him. His musicals motivate me every single day and give me strength. ^^"

"Zen has great potential, the stage obviously the air he is breathing every waking moment. It is not far-fetched to imagine his career will reach extreme heights one day. ^^"

"As a fan of his, I can feel this become reality and can only cheer him on with all my heart."

"However, his destiny can only be made possible if he deters from the distractions appearing during his path."

"His focus and energy should not be derailed in such precious moments of his lifetime."

"It is dangerous for someone in the entertainment field to be emotionally invested in anyone."

"And a relationship will only hinder Zen's progress, or worse, crush everything he has been diligently working for nearly 8 years and tear it to the ground."

"Ashes remaining behind."

"I am not writing this to put you in a difficult spot, MC."

"It was not my wish to do so."

"As I had expressed before, it may not be something intentional that you were doing."

"However, it is better to have such matters discussed and put to rest early. ^^"

"Avoid any unnecessary emotions or feelings."

"And contact when things not related to the R.F.A. come into view. ^^"

"I do hope you end up sharing my view and will also support Zen on the sidelines, as a fan and member of the R.F.A."

"And nothing more."

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Everything was unfair...

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[MC]: Understood.

[MC]: Later.

[MC]: Need to cook.

[Jaehee Kang]: ...

[Jaehee Kang]: Good bye and have a pleasant day.

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*DRIP-DROP-DRIP-DROP-DRIP-DROP*

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It wasn't stopping.

The pain...

Jaehee's words were a burn in Mina's heart, nesting a painful ache that was sickening to an extent. Her face was drenched in tears that were continuing to contour her cheeks and taint the already tea-blotched clothing. The girl hated this overwhelming feeling, unsure why the assistants' words had wounded her this badly.

...

It was a lie, Mina knew why...

She noticed the 'why' for a while now.

And...

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She was right.

Jaehee was right, Mina remembering a story from the first day of interacting with Zen.

The actor did not like to mix up business with pleasure and this golden rule had been learnt by him the harsh way and he'd applied it ever since. During his rookie days, Zen was witness to a scandal between top actors that lead to problems for everyone surrounding them, endangering his own financial security in the process. Careers ended in a day, for the matters of the heart were not something fans took lightly when supporting their favorite artists. Rarely people genuinely supported couples in show business.

Mina knew this, knew this very well, however,

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She never fully understood this notion until now,

when her heart was in deep pain.

Because she really...

Really liked Zen.

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A lot...

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~oOo~

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Mina had been drawn to Zen from the first set of selfies, unable to get tired from staring at his face despite days passing by since. She wasn't one to fawn over looks, but ... it was instantaneous how tight his clutch was on her heart, beating faster each and every single time she saw his name pop up on the screen. The coordinator was lying on the couch, resting on it while swiping her photo gallery containing his photos.

She had been drained of energy, K.O. by Jaehee...

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*DRIP*

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There was no denying how unbelievably handsome Zen was, his visuals exceeding the intensity of stars across the night sky. Deep down, Mina knew how troublesome it would be to approach the actor in matters unrelated to the R.F.A.'s activity – the same could be said for the rest of the group. She only wanted to do her best while maintaining a relative safe distance from everyone.

Mina had been far too careless, these plans never following through.

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Zen was like wildfire, capturing the girl off-guard from every angle before she even found cover.

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Her first reaction was to shield away from his presence, running away plenty of times throughout conversations. Heck, she had even done so in real life and that was purely accidental. Other times, the party planner would try to appear cold to the point she'd been called out an 'ice princess' and not cave in the flirting or sweet talking, only to fail miserably with each chat room and phone call they'd shared.

It was difficult to ignore the person known as Zen.

The actor became a complete surprise for Mina.

A pleasant one.

His personality was so open, carefree and gentle... fresh, genuine and, yet, awfully familiar. A sensation Mina could only replicate back home, whenever she was surrounded by precious loved ones – her eomma, Kim-appa and baby Mirae. It was that type of warmth she had been deprived of for almost two years and the girl had not expected to find another source so... unexpectedly. It was addicting. And now, the girl was being advised to be weary of Zen because the risk of harming the actor's future was too great if their interactions continued with the current pacing.

Hearing that was,

"Awful, ha ha ha~!", the party planner started laughing at this twisted turn of events, though her expression showed the opposite, hiding her face in the stained pillow she was hugging. She had been too f-ing careless... and the consequences were not to her liking. Jaehee's request was almost impossible for Mina to handle though they were a logical step to take.

"For Zen's sake..."

Problem was, the coordinator had already emotionally connected with the actor in ways she had done with none other, confiding to him past things that she had kept a secret... fears, struggles and even silly little victories, still awkwardly remembering how she sobbed about the success of her latest art project in that voice mail.

It was reckless from her part but in those moments... it felt like the right thing to do.

Mina sensed that Zen was a trustworthy man and that he wouldn't mind the girl's blabbering one bit. ^^ Instead, the actor found her reactions incredibly endearing, his selfies all carrying messages of appreciation for the party planner, good wishes and... care. Lots and lots of care that only now had she fully noticed with this new perspective Jaehee had opened.

Some were definitely quite romantic in nature.

And that was an understatement, the girl's sobbing slowly diminishing while her heart was throbbing recklessly. She had been so certain it was due to his happiness that Mina had become their newest group member, Zen wanting to do his best to cheer the gloomy coordinator's days up in the best way he knew possible...

Zen was an actor after all and was using what he had been taught to achieve this goal. ^^

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But... what if it was more than that?

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"Even if so..."

"It would lead to nowhere...", Mina sniffed loudly, finally putting down her phone and trying to wipe off her eyes with the back of her palms. "What am I doing...?", she breathed out heavily, staring back at the image gallery bearing mostly Zen's pictures while the other members barely took up 5% of the total content.

The difference was enormous.

And it had to drastically change.

So, the girl decided to give each of the members their own personal folders, thus shrinking the attention given to Zen by at least 80%. As a result, many selfies had to go right into the rubbish bin but when the moment came, she did not have the heart or the conviction to erase anything entirely. They were Zen's precious little personalized gifts to Mina. She did not want to do so, but keep everything as a fond memory...

*gazes at laptop*

That thing was often unreliable and would glitch whenever Mina needed it to work the most, the reason why she kept a high-storage space USB at her side, to back up the most important files and folders in case its death was near. The thing basically contained her artwork collection plus folders themed with family pictures and the extreme unmentionables, which werevideos the girl did not acknowledge as being part of this earthly existence – the karaoke ones topped the rank of shame and if those ever reached the wrong paws... *looks at Seven's icon*

*intense shuddering*

'Let's hope not or there will be consequences to his car ^^.'

Mina was forced by her mom to film those silly videos in the days previous her leave for Seoul so the woman could show Mirae whenever there was a birthday celebration or other holiday the art student might miss from home. To keep the baby connected to her big sister in any way, shape or form.

'Apparently, those videos helped Mirae sleep peacefully too...'

"Lies.", Mina pouted, knowing her mother well – the videos were for the woman's own pleasure who hid the fact that she would miss her daughter tremendously and their karaoke sessions back at home, blasting Kim-appas ear drums to insanity whenever boredom struck.

"Ah well..."

Mina continued her search inside the stuffed backpack, cream coat and jeans before realizing something was wrong with the USB's location. The party planner could not find the critter anywhere, in 30 minutes turning the apartment upside down whereas the conclusion remained unchanged. "It's not here.", she muttered, her skin ice cold, which only left to one possible place where it could have been misplaced.

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Back at the theatre.