Night-Owl Romance

.

Note: Here is another update ^^ Thanks for the patience, guys 3 A little surprise at the end, keen eyes will notice the truth about the messages and not hate me too badly LOL.

.

.

Chapter 32: Insomniacs Fifth: Ominous Occurrences

.

.

.

"The number you have dialed cannot be reached."

"Please try again later or check – "

*CLICK*

.

Zen's hand dropped as the actor's insides clenched uncomfortably.

And it wasn't because of the chilling air penetrating his bones. After multiple failures, the actor had dashed outside his apartment, climbing the stairs heading towards the terraced roof. His phone could not get a better signal than here yet the outcome remained frustratingly unchanged.

Mina was unreachable, a terrible feeling swarming in the pits of his stomach.

Those static sounds were far too unusual to have been merely electronic glitches caused by either faulty reception or the phone provider's service. Also, the silver haired male could have sworn he was able to distinguish worded fragments back then, distinctively told in a heavy and raspy manner. Was it the answering machine? But the current one bombarding his head was sharp and precise, spoken in a female tone.

Zen hoped he was just paranoid and concerned over something presumably plain for an answer.

It wouldn't come as a surprise if Mina's battery had dyed out or the girl had simply yet to notice his calls. The actor could accept such a reality far better than the alternative creeping into his thoughts – being placed back on the ignored list. It did not make any sense to him because their last few messages had been highly... personal. Furthermore, they both seemed to have been on similar wavelengths.

It was flustering how easy his heart would flutter as of lately.

"Aigoo, jagi... That worrisome habit of yours needs fixing!"

"My poor heart cannot take this constant treatment...", Zen mumbled softly and brushed a hand over his heated face, the surge of excited emotions still fresh and unyielding as he was staring at Mina's messenger icon.

.

Even so, the memory of those static sounds was unsettling.

Only one person could put Zen's worries to rest.

.

~oOo~

.

In spite of the distaste he had for Seven during these past couple of days, Zen did not think twice before contacting him. Without any other pleasantries involved, he bluntly asked the red head about the party planner's wellbeing. In return, his ears were blasted by loud chuckles.

"Hah~?!"

"So you've decided to finally embrace your destiny in becoming a pro-MC stalker?!"

"Whoa... It's always so shocking watching how much power a cute girl can have over ya, oppa~~~!"

.

Maybe he should have thought about it twice! O_o

.

"Tch, we're just friends so stop pissing me off! And take me seriously for one damn second, okay?! I'm not in the mood.", he hissed aggressively, Seven's humorous side immediately turned down a notch as Zen was sharing his concerns. The actor was unsure whether Mina's safety inside Rika's apartment was a certainty or not. He was experiencing ominous warning signs proving the contrary.

"You know what these usually mean!"

"Okay, okay. I'm checking the CCTV now, Zen."

"Although, don't mind me saying this, but I do think you are overthinking the situation. And worrying a lot –"

"– about someone who's just a friend for ya ~~~!", Seven mercilessly teased the grimacing actor who was shocked by the hacker's straightforward observation. Zen did not appreciate his gesture one second, his sing-song voice incredibly irritating.

"D-Dude, I swear to god! I will drive right at your place tonight, break through the front door and –"

.

"MC is partly undressed and lying on the floor!"

"And she seems to be greatly struggling to break free!"

"Oh no! T-The innocence of my e-eyes at that vicious scene!"

"~~~ OH NOOOO!"

.

The actor choked, his cheeks brightening in a vivid red color at the possible scenarios emulating Seven's reactions. Mina's face was drawn upon a frail and disheveled figure, with half her clothing already discarded on the floor while an intruder was attempting to – "!"

.

Zen wanted to slap himself.

.

And wish to inflict the same stinging pain, or worse, on Seven while kicking that boy's ass. The actor did not find such an information funny, nor worthy of being mocked using his typical playfulness! WTF! Zen was so shaken up at the prospect of Mina being in such deep trouble, the silver haired male prepared to hop onto his motorcycle – the mechanical beast he swore never to ride again since his near-fatal accident – and rage through the city's chaotic traffic without a glance back.

He would do his very best to rescue the party planner.

Put some bastards in the hospital if necessary.

Or in a grave, he didn't care!

Rika's address was the only missing piece preventing Zen from rescuing the girl – "It's not necessary for you to know the address~!"

Seven interrupted his thoughts, the actor quickly retaliating. "Why is it not when Mina is in so much danger?!"

"Hm? Whoever said she was?"

The hacker's question was mindboggling, freezing the actor for a few seconds before exploding. "YOU DID, BARELY A FEW MOMENTS AGO!"

"I've only mentioned how she was partly undressed, lying on the floor and greatly struggling."

"It really isn't nothing dangerous~!", Seven nonchalantly answered.

"What the... h-huh..."

"Explain yourself how this is not!", Zen was feeling both lost and furious, until Seven started his explanations anew.

The coordinator was most likely not aware of how the internal heating worked inside the apartment, let alone program it to a more comfortable room temperature. She had discarded a large hoody and kept picking on the hem of her remaining clothing, pulling on the fabric as to gradually expose bits of glistening pale skin. Her legs were completely revealed from the thigh down. Plus, Seven thought he could spot a bit of her torso region uncovered.

"Maybe if I zoomed in the footage...?"

"STOP, STOP, STOP!", Zen snapped his eyes shut as his mind became ruthlessly attacked. Shockwaves travelled throughout his body for the imagery was far too much to handle without severe repercussions on his physical health.

Seven did not stop there though, continuing to describe the way Mina was drowning in a puddle of pillows which she had chosen to nimbly spread across the floor. What's more, she was experiencing difficulties in escaping from their fluffy grasp, every movement rendered in defeat. Mina was then seen trying to pick up random items that were found just above arm's reach, but her lack of energy and willpower made it seem like she was a struggling wobbly fish. Her disappointment was emphasized by the constant pouting she plastered on, the girl soon giving up and resuming the movie.

"That's it~!"

"A... A-Aha..."

Well, needless to point out Zen felt quite the stupid man afterwards. The actor was upset at how easily he got tricked by Seven. Again. He honestly assumed the vilest scenario was happening to her, his heart palpitations at the news draining his sanity.

Naturally, Seven did not let go of this aspect whatsoever, purposely teasing the silver haired male for his impure thoughts. "Naughty oppa, kekekekeke~~~!"

.

*END CALL*

.

It did the required job in setting off the actor and chasing him away.

.

~oOo~

.

"Aaaah!"

"This is bad.", the hacker moaned, tapping his fingers relentlessly on the keyboard while scanning a truckload of surveillance footages. Seven had hidden the entire truth from Zen, although the girl was enjoying a relaxing night, staring at her laptop's screen and hugging pillows. The rest were mere fabrications, meant only to entice the actor's rich imagination into leaving him be for he was in the middle of a witch hunt.

Something astray had gone with Mina's phone.

No noise or sounds were emitting whether people were calling her or not.

Nothing would register.

There was no doubt that Mina was in the dark about what was currently going on and he aimed to keep it that way for as long as possible. He was hoping to hurry it up with a special God Seven remedy but things did not go according to plan. Instead of solving the problem quickly, errors were painting the hacker's desktop and would not cease in numbers.

"Bad indeed..."

Mina's phone was draped in silence no matter the coding he was using to bypass the problem. It was as if every thought Seven carried in his mind was being countered before even having a chance to consciously apply the idea.

He was being outmaneuvered far too easily and it was overwhelming him.

From time to time, Seven's bloodshot eyes would peel away from the coding, the tiniest noise triggering a jump scare action whilst hiding the R.F.A. files. Vanderwood was currently out of the house but the male was expected to return any second now from his unplanned trip to the store. The snappy secret agent had left the hacker unattended in order to buy extra cleaning supplies for the apartment – by his own volition, since a health hazard was taking roots inside the Seven's bathroom and foully clogging the toilet. The red head was not even apologetic for the monstrous brown deed, too busy chanting a children's song to mark the cheerful occasion. He won precious seconds in such a way, the amount of ingested Honey Buddha and Dr. Penny finally taking its desired effect.

He was not faring well, though.

And Seven did not reveal his internal turmoil to Zen or any of the other members.

.

Besides V.

.

The older male was oddly calm when informed about the latest update.

"Noted. Please do continue keeping a close watch over the girl – if anything is remotely questionable, I would advise you to contact Jumin."

"Ask for his security team's aid and send them to her location."

"We can't let them get to her."

"Wait, V – "

"Have a good night."

There was nothing else to add, Seven sighing deeply at how rushed their talk had been.

.

How rushed V had been as of lately.

.

He was expecting more from the photographer, but... never mind.

Thankfully,

The red head couldn't spot anything remotely dangerous near Mina's surroundings so her safety was ensured. For now. Unfortunately, Seven's search for the intruder rammed itself into a painful dead end as the signal seemed to have disappeared in the midst of the mountain region. The location did not contain anything special or peculiar.

At first.

A few kilometers nearby, though, and he was left with a different impression. "A church...is that the same one as before?", Seven mumbled out loud, checking more data on the building and the religious organization using it to practice their faith. At first glance, nothing felt out of the ordinary – until he realized the frequency in which they were popping up during his every investigation.

"Too often."

"It has to be related.", the red head concluded, becoming increasingly certain that there was indeed a connection between the church and Unknown. Although Seven was lacking evidence to back up these thoughts, he still felt that it was worth a shot to investigate this matter further.

.

*THUD* *BANG* *THUD*

.

If only Vanderwood would stop complicating matters, the agent's grumpy voice and curses echoing from across the hallway. *CRASH* Seven snickered.

.

Whoever claimed pranks were childish and not vital to one's work was greatly mistaken. ^^

.

~oOo~

.

Mina eventually dozed off during the movie and was abruptly woken up when music randomly started blasting through her headphones. Dazed and with a foggy vision, her eyes travelled towards the phone tightly clutched in her hand where she noted the late hour – it was already past midnight.

.

On top of that, there were no missed calls or messages in sight.

.

"Ah...", the party planner lowered her gaze. For some reason... she was truly hoping that something, anything, would follow up her last message sent to Zen. Nothing did. And the coordinator couldn't help from wondering whether there was an issue with the way she had expressed her thoughts.

Or maybe she had not properly conveyed them at all.

The girl was no expert writer, rechecking her clumsy texts and sighing deeper. "Maybe I shouldn't have said those things so openly..."

"Scary Oppa...", re-reading the end made her cringe.

"Ngh... What was I thinking?!"

Mina chewed onto her bottom lip as her eye brows sunk at their ends, expression turning gloomier. Her last jokes might have been too rough and cold for Zen to handle, the actor probably assuming she wanted to be left alone.

She did, but... not by him.

Soon, the coordinator realized that she had not ended the message to expect anything in return either which was an oversight on her part. However, Mina did not mention any goodnights to the actor. Nor had Zen. There weren't any sweet dreams or nightly meetings with him within the dream world so her day could end on the brightest note possible.

.

'Honestly, today was a chilling selfie-free day too!'

.

Not that she minded it that much, the girl appreciating how her phone's storage had avoided another day of being filled to the brim by Zen's charming photos.

Still...

Mina felt a bothersome emptiness growing within, remembering with exact clarity how the actor had 'forcefully' made the party planner accept a secondary role within the R.F.A. – it was super important to him. She was to supervise Zen in his quest to reach the pinnacle of male beauty, the silver haired youth nurturing his features enough to have them evolve into one final stage of artful and masterful perfection. Becoming his selfie expert was crucial to his acting career and only Mina's unnaturally high standards could help him shape his features into reaching the highest levels of beauty!

Well, something along those lines anyway.

Sorta.

She might have added extra details to the job description.

Or – a lot.

"Silly...", Mina did a fast eye-roll at herself, hating the dissatisfying feelings of clinginess she was suddenly harboring by Zen's absence. She knew she had to stop these hurtful thoughts because the actor did not have an obligation to write to the girl non-stop.

That 'R.F.A. job' of his was done jokingly, to raise the girl's spirits.

It was obvious he did not mean it, lol.

If anything, the girl should appreciate the amount of attention she was receiving and not complain. Zen was doing the best he could with his tight-knit schedule. Furthermore, he had this new acting role to thoroughly prepare for and had already voiced out to Jumin how busy he would be as a result. So to keep wishing for him to spend even more of his free time on her was not applicable.

.

Jaehee's words inevitably flooded her mind.

The last thing Mina wanted was for Zen's precious free moments to be wasted on her.

.

Yet, the fingers gliding across his name were too eager and selfish to be stopped, the sharp ringing matching the intensity of her own heart beating.

Had she ever felt so nervous before...?

It wasn't as if this was the first time she had contacted Zen directly, the girl usually courageous in these dialing attempts. Tonight was different –

.

"The number you have dialed cannot be reached."

.

...

...

...

.

*CLICK*

.

Alas, her selfish side would have to settle for less.

"..."

Mina then shifted her attention towards the MysMe app which too had been devoid of any life forms apart from hers. It struck a nasty chord.

.

Alone...

Mina felt so alone.

.

And the sensation came annoyingly out of the blue. "Must be due to the sobbing movie.", she groaned and retreated inside the app where an idea had popped almost instantly. Mina would rarely do updates on the party guests, the last one announced after Mr. Lee's acceptance of the party invitation. Since then, quite a few had agreed to the conditions set and she could use these silent moments to inform everybody of her achievements.

Before she could tap the letters of her choosing,

.

Mina's phone convulsed with insane vibrations,

its screen rapidly changing colors.

.

She yelped, dropping the phone onto the floor from shock, and watched how black and teal tones replaced the brighter sepia nuances of the original messenger, the background going haywire with its animation. Numbers and letters kept interchanging as if they had come to life, surrounding a strange, pixelated logo that temporarily flashed across the screen.

Mina mumbled the unfamiliar name confused. "Mint – "

.

*BEEEEEEEEEP*

.

She did not catch its full name because everything had gone pitch black, the picture wiped out from the screen. Her phone showed a deep, unsettling abyss, the device appearing as though it had crashed beyond repair. The girl was unable to power it on regardless of it being plugged in or meddled with its battery whenever an error occurred.

This was not normal, Mina completely shaken up.

There was no way to contact the R.F.A. anymore, the computer unable to access the e-mails or messenger. Without the phone active, she had no working internet or means to contact virtually anybody. Loneliness was now the least of her problems, the girl coming to a frightful conclusion when she went to the apartment's door, checking the handle.

.

She was trapped inside a stranger's apartment, isolated from the world.

.

*THUD*

.

Mina's body jumped, thinking she could hear loud noises echoing closer to the apartment. The timing was incredibly horrendous compared to her diminishing sanity and courage. This error overtaking her phone had been unnatural so the thought of Unknown being nearby had suddenly crossed the party planner's mind with terror.

She was unable to sleep for the remainder of the night, worrying that harm could fall upon her at any moment if she dared slip into the dream world.

.

And nobody would notice her missing.

.

~oOo~

.

Zen begrudgingly opened his eyes to sounds of endless beeping coming from his buzzer.

It was dark inside the bedroom but the hour was not that early in the morning – the alarm clock would have alerted him awake in five minutes anyway.He yawned quite vocally, rising into sitting position on the bed while released silver locks chaotically fell down his under-dressed body. Red orbs were peering out the window, watching the storm clouds which had gathered above the sky, painting the day with their gray desolating mood.

'So ominous...'

The actor did not enjoy the pooling sensations.

Last night, the actor had given up on contacting Mina for it was a lost cause, shifting his attention back onto learning his new repertoire and dance routines. The scale of this production was incomparable to what he had played in before, Zen having slight difficulties in getting the correct flavor out of his new character.

.

Emptying his thoughts proved problematic,

Mina's face haunting him each time there were mentions of the female lead in the script.

.

It was insane...

Zen could usually do rehearsals mostly unhindered but the other night proved to be highly unsuccessful for practicing these new lines – and that was saying it mildly. The disaster was almost reckless on his part. And the feelings would only worsen after glancing over the messages that would morph into a lone company during this god forsaken day.

.

.

.

"There is no need to contact this number again."

"Until the day for the endless party comes,

painful interferences will be dismissed."

.

.

.

~oOo~

.

.

.

The cold was seeping deep into his skin.

His feet were dragging down the cold pavement,

As he was heading to the theatre's building.

Painful...

It was very painful to breathe in such an icy air brought by the wind,

Burning the lungs and grazing his eyes...

.

.

The ruckus of the neighborhood was getting louder.

His ears were bombarded by everlasting noise.

.

.

Or was it just,

.

.

The sound of his own heart breaking,

Which made Zen feel this coldest of winter days.