Night-Owl Romance
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Note: Chapter may be slightly altered into the future. But – there ya go~!
First time ZEN meeting this story's MC.
^o^
PS: The rewritten version of this story can be found on Ao3. Will try to update the fanfiction version too this week - but so lazy man.
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Chapter 44: It's Really You... 3
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The remainder of the night had brought chaos into Zen's inner world. Not only had his depressive mood shifted to an euphoric 180 in the blink of an eye but he could not reduce the intensity of these bursting feelings and satisfy his cravings of interacting with the party planner due to her absence. He had been gripping his phone tightly as he was questioning whether or not he should be selfish enough to disrupt Mina's rest just for the sake of him regurgitating out his overwhelming excitement live~!
This unexpected news had managed to instill so much joy to his battered heart~! *crying emoji* Screw Jumin's rude intentions behind him sending Mina to his house! He wouldn't be caught dead acting in a stupid cat commercial!
Exhilarated chuckling sounds were erupting out of him in waves. In the end, however, the actor did not cave into his urges other than sending a single selfie taken right on the spot, showcasing Zen sitting cross-legged at the edge of his bed and hugging a large white pillow. "Cannot wait to finally meet you, jagi~!" *wink and hearts*The silver haired male had even joked how he'd wished it was in fact her body that had been squished into his embrace right then and there but had second thoughts regarding this text as his finger was hovering above the Sent button.
"No.", he shook his head with a pained smile and then deleted that entire sentence. The actor did not want to risk messing things up by acting this inappropriately. He didn't mean to scare Mina off into hiding as she had a tendency to frequently do so if her past behavior was any reliable indication. Nor did he want to risk the girl cancelling on him last minute... it would truly devastate him! *crying emoji* Thus, this lovely selfie remained his closing move for the night, Zen crashing with his back onto the bed in high spirits. And although he tried to quickly follow the party planner's footsteps and find the doorway into her precious dream world, his restless mind did not make it a very easy task to accomplish if damn right impossible. The sandman was being kept at bay no matter his actions – twisting and turning until he'd reached more comfortable positions in bed, dunking his head underneath the pillow to cancel all lighting and noise, drinking warm... tap water 'cause the alternative drink he had left in the apartment was Cass Beer and nothing else.
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...
Nothing did its proper job!
He'd become too alert and emotional to relax for even a second. And the temptations to commit mistakes he would most certainly regret were increasing with the telephone by his side.
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"Call her. Call her. Call her."
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Alas, he gave up on that front altogether and instead occupied himself with random stuff around the apartment as the new day had begun earlier than intended. Taking a discarded piece of paper used for some of his acting notes, Zen was imagining interesting and fun activities they could be enjoying while creating beautiful memories together~! 'Note to self: find my best musical DVDs!'In addition, he'd written down a list of chores which needed to be completed up to their meeting. After inspecting the unkept state of his apartment, an intervention was severely needed. Dust and dirt had settled in noticeable areas for the actor hadn't thoroughly cleaned his home in months.
His image, whilst having sustained a lot of critical damage this past week to the point of being irredeemably tarnished in front of Mina, should not be reflected within his living standards as well!
The actor wasn't really ashamed of living in such a small basement apartment – it wasn't at all a terrible place plus the neighborhood was fairly nice and quiet during most days as the predominant population was gravitating towards the elderly. Not many fans would visit this location either as the nearest transportation was a little too far so taxis were a go-to vehicle for emergencies. Not to mention, he had somewhat of a nice view of the sky when looking at a certain angle from his bedroom or living room couch. The open terraced roof at the last level was his most favorite part of the building which was accessible to him whenever he pleased~! So he never had the desire to move elsewhere, in a more upscale area – nor the necessary funds to achieve such a feat.
Still, he really wanted to make a good first impression when Mina would arrive, he he~!
And with that, a winter cleaning spree had commenced which had taken a good chunk of his time and energy, reaching way passed morning when he'd taken his first break to do some grocery shopping. He hadn't had breakfast yet and there were no leftovers from his recent take-outs in the kitchen anymore.
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So much for the doctor's recommendations to stay put and allow his ankle to heal~!
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~oOo~
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Upsettingly though, the actor hadn't travelled too far in his quest to the convenience store. It had been too difficult to maneuver through these snowed-up streets in his current condition. Moreover, he couldn't do anything to help out in the neighborhood by shoveling the snow away from the sidewalks just as he'd done in previous years.
*sigh*
In hindsight, even with the paths cleared up, the silver haired male would never be able to safely walk these roads while using his crutches and simultaneously carrying heavy grocery bags. His backpack had been stupidly left back at the apartment too... So this whole endeavor had turned into a pointless outing that created a significant dent in his plans. Why was his attention span so up in the clouds – "Oh~! How unexpected to see you out in this weather again, boy!"
Once again,
Zen had been so deep into his thoughts that he'd barely acknowledged the vendor's presence until the old man had called out for the youth's attention. 'Ah... fish bread. I guess I could settle for those...' the actor pondered for a few seconds and then politely greeted the jolly man before his eyes suddenly sparkled with glee.
"Is there any possible way you could do 11 for me today, old man Kim?!", he truly shocked the vendor with his inexplicable enthusiasm rushing out of him compared to the intense gloominess surrounding him mere seconds ago.
The goldfish buns delicious smell was quite intoxicating and, while on the more expensive side, the actor had decided to purchase 2 of each flavoring the man was selling, including his special red bean paste filling which was Zen's all-time favorite to munch on~! And also the more expensive sort so the youth had to sacrifice the savings he had kept for cigars this week to buy these yummy bundles – no regrets though~!
"My! What an appetite we have this morning!", the old man heartily chuckled as he carefully packed the treats away in a single paper bag but not before asking Zen not to overdo it. Even if he were injured, treats were just that – treats – and he should make sure to eat proper meals so he could recover that much quicker. "Thank you for the concern mister ~!", Zen smiled as he took a powerful whiff from within the bag and then took the extra bun that would mark his entire breakfast.
"But I didn't buy these just for me today, don't worry~! I am eating well.", he added the white lie at the end as he took a large bite out of his pastry.
"Ohhh. You're expecting a house guest?", the elder curiously asked and Zen nodded happily.
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"Your girlfriend perhaps~~~?! ^o^"
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Well, that made this goldfish bread travel down the wrong paths towards his stomach, the actor coughing up a lung out of shock from this old man's bluntness. "I see~! I see~! I see~!", his laughter inundated the empty streets while gazing at the youth's reddening expression. "Oh, to be so young again..."
"Ah, old man, seriously, it's not like that –", the actor was on the defense as he tried clearing out the misunderstanding but had been met with another package instantly shoved at him with four more goldfish shaped goodies in it. "On the house!"
"I couldn't take so much from you!", Zen was beyond surprised but the old man didn't want to hear it. The actor was basically his longest and most faithful customer in years – a few extra pieces shall not hinder his earnings for the day.
"Thank you...", the actor couldn't win any arguments against the elder so he accepted his kind gesture without further complaints. And as the conversation shifted towards a more lighthearted topic about the man's wife creating new filling mixtures for a special summer edition, a loud supercar had suddenly dashed through their streets and did a complete halt near the apartment block where the actor's home was. Both he and the vendor nearly had their hearts escape their body as the limo swooshed past them, the huge ruckus its motors created even alarming the tenants staying indoors who were peaking at them through their windows.
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~oOo~
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"No... Someone of oppa's caliber couldn't possibly live in such a rundown area! Those fanpage forums must be playing tricks on me! After all, those messages that had been allegedly written by him were posted during April Fools addressing his PO box details!", the woman hissed as she got out of the car while complaining to her fidgety manager who had been checking and re-checking the address for the tenth time already. There was no mistake to this information, though."Miss, even his company has the same address written on his bio..."
"Park-sshi! My Zen would never live here for sure!"
"His tastes are certainly better than this! I've seen his work and am following his SNS, so I know his style well!"
"Is he in some sort of financial trouble...?", the deep frown was ruining her angelic features at that moment. The snowy roads did not make her mood any greater, nearly throwing a fit after she felt her boot catch onto something gooey hidden underneath the snow. Shitty neighborhood, couldn't they live in current civilization and sweep these sidewalks – "Huh? Isn't that Echo Girl?"
Her frown had been instantly erased as her eyes had captured the most gorgeous pair of red gems that her eyes had ever laid upon.
And her cheeks were suddenly being dusted in the same pretty color~!
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~oOo~
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"Boy, that's Echo Girl isn't it? The one who sang Free Friday! My nephews love her songs so much!", the elder patted the youth's arm for his attention but his enlarged eyes could still not fathom what he was witnessing in front of him. The person he was seeing in front of him, actually. And he remained uncharacteristically dumbstruck for a while, unable to even mutter intelligible sounds anymore. "I should get an autograph while I have this golden opportunity!"
"Miss Echo Girl! Over here, over here ~!"
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Had those insomniac episodes finally reached him now?!
Was he beginning to hallucinate so vividly outdoors?!
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What's going on...?
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What was Echo Girl even doing here?!
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"Oppa~~~~!", her shrill high-pitched voice was in a register so strange and foreign to his ears, unlike the sweeter vocal melodies Mina would be chanting while constricting his heart across the phone – "I didn't know you were waiting here! Did someone mention to you that I was coming here?!" OwO
"I... no?", Zen was a bit scared of how fast this famous superstar was running towards him. Thus he clutched harder onto the packages as he were afraid that a nasty impact would have their content spread onto the ground instantly.
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*BUFF*
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Food crisis averted.
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"Oppa~~~~!", Echo Girl had stopped just in the nick of time and harshly grabbed onto his left arm, linking their arms quite strongly afterwards. Her piercing laughter was destroying any semblance of calm and peace remaining within this neighborhood. The many eyes spying on the duo (trio if you counted the giddy starstruck vendor) from the countless houses littered nearby were quite unnerving to Zen who'd gulped down heavily as he tried to back away lightly, but was held into place tightly.
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Oh – he'll soon be getting fresh neighbors' complaints alright.
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T-T
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What's more,
Echo Girl was an incredibly skilled chatterbox! He could barely follow the array of information spewing out of her mouth regarding his acting work, the touchy-touchy woman revealing what a longtime fan she had been of his musicals and how his recent performances would especially move her to the core. *fakes a sob* She'd bought every DVD collection she could get her hands onto, even the limited deluxe editions~!
"Rea-Really?!", Zen was in complete awe by this situation but quickly shifted his stance, quite embarrassed by receiving so much earnest praise in rapid succession! He tried playing it cool and switched to a much friendlier expression – albeit still marred with confusion – when Echo Girl worriedly asked about his foot cast. And when she heard of the actor's plan to tell the production team that he could no longer play the leading co-star role because of his ankle injury, her grip onto his arms became even stronger.
And the area was stinging.
"That's not possible! I'll see to it that you can continue the production one way or another!", her intense eyes nearly evoked a fire storm.
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Echo Girl was serious about it, confessing she would do anything in her power to keep the actor's role in his grasp.
And her optimistic fire sprung tinges of pain into his heart as well.
A great part of Zen prayed that this wasn't a despicable dream,
Or the cruelty of life dangling some shred of hope in front of his eyes, only to snatch it away the closer he got to grabbing it.
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However,
Despite people's claims,
Zen was no fool.
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He knew better than this... what the outcome would inevitably be...
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"I want to act with you, Zen-oppa! My manager kept pressing me to do another more famous movie but I insisted that I really wanted to act alongside you!"
"Oppa~! We'd totally be AMAZING as a couple!"
"With your handsome face and my gorgeous looks and figure, we'd become the envy of everybody in the entertainment industry for years to come, ha ha ha~~~!",Echo Girl passionately explained and hit Zen with a final bombshell.
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"After all, it's why I'd suggested you so many times to the producer until he'd accepted the deal!"
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Echo Girl...
She did wha-what?
What deal?!
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It was because of her influence that Zen had even been considered for such an opportunity?
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Zen felt like he was being torn apart once more.
He didn't want any handouts roles given to him like he were a charity case,
A person unable to earn good work thanks to his own strengths and skills.
He didn't want roles offered to him on a silver platter,
Just because he was...
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Handsome.
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"With your unbelievable talents to reach into people's hearts, you could explode in popularity if you see this production through!"
"And I want to be next to you every step of the way!"
"I want you to keep playing the lead and not give up on me!"
"Oppa!"
"Rely on me and you'll become a true star!"
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Listening to Echo Girl's alluring promises and how passionate she was about them acting together,
And beyond...
And then overlapping her angelic image with that of a trickster who'd admitted to having basically used her influence to push Zen into this high-end production...
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It was boiling conflict deep within his heart.
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And the fish bread vendor was absorbing all of this chatter.
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"Boy, is this the lady whom you'd wanted to gift these treats to?", the old man suddenly interrupted their private conversation – more like interrupted her non-private monologue – and Echo Girl finally noticed the pastries tucked inside the packaging in Zen's hand.
"Goldfish-shaped bread, that's so cute~!"
Her hand darted towards the tinier package in his hand and cooed at their pretty shapes but quickly declined them before a terrified Zen could even formulate an excuse to further defuse this misunderstanding. "I'm sorry, oppa! I can't accept such a thoughtful gift even if you'd insist on it ~~~ I can't eat such fatty foods, it's going to ruin my diet!"
"I-I see...", he nervously laughed, shifting more weight onto his healthier leg because her weight was pressing onto him uncomfortably.
"Besides, I need to maintain my figure and keep looking my best for the fans~! *cutesy face pose* Also, I've heard a rumor that you guys are resuming the R.F.A. parties~! It was one of my early dreams to attend such an amazing event! The last time it had been held, I was still in college so I couldn't go there with my dad – but now that I'm pretty well known in the media, can't you please invite me there? OwO I've heard a lot of big people from the industry are sure to be there!"
Zen's breathe caught into his throat and friendly mask was faltering. "How do you even know about the party?!", he asked alarmed. As far as the actor was concerned, this event Mina was helping to coordinate was still a very private matter between the group members and the very few guests being considered to attend – not even local news outlets had received tips that they were reviving Rika's charity parties and that the R.F.A. organization had resumed its activities. Not even the guests' had shared the information on their private SNS, Seven making sure that their posts would be erased the moment they'd pressed Enter.
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So,
How could Echo Girl catch word of the upcoming party?!
It didn't make sense...
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"How could I not?! Jumin, you Zen-oppa, and that amazing photographer... I know of all the members in the R.F.A., but especially you three ^o^~! I had even texted Jumin the other day to invite me since my dad overheard the news coming from old-man Han himself!"
Zen's brows twitched. "You know of that guy as well?!"
However, this remark had gathered a small story-time regarding how poorly Echo Girl had been treated by the trust fund kid during their brief interactive window in the past. Jumin used to help her a lot with the necessary requirements and demands that were needed for a successful shoot and maintaining quality levels of comfort while she was filming at C&R's studio. But after the her commercial to his heart-shaped vitamin pills had been wrapped up, the girl had never received a single glance in return from the man or a measly message.
She had been ghosted ever since by Jumin! "Yeah... that sounds like something he would do...", Zen sweat dropped apologetically to the girl. He didn't understand Jumin's rude and cold demeanor towards Echo Girl. He couldn't comprehend how easy it was for the guy to have used her so shamefully and then dispose of her when he no longer required her services! (Professionally-wise.)
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Ah well,
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Moving on,
Zen had already started making peace with the fact that this role would no longer be his. He hadn't even practiced the lines since the shooting day had been moved ahead to an earlier time slot. But now Echo Girl was fighting off his resolve to come clean to the Producer with her perseverance and desperation to keep the silver haired male on board, and hide his injuries from the team.
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She wouldn't wanna act with anybody else in this production!
It would either be with Zen or it would be with nobody else!
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*sigh*
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Zen didn't know what viable solution there were to achieve such a miraculous feat,
But by the looks of Echo Girl's optimism and constant reassurances for him to trust in her,
The show must go on.
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With him in it.
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"Alright... I will continue to work as hard as I can then.", Zen hesitatingly smiled as he eventually agreed to follow Echo Girl's guidance. She was so glad to hear his words, latching onto the actor that much harder in a near embrace. It was becoming increasingly uncomfortable to be so close to her but he didn't really know how to remove himself from her grasp without inappropriately touching her.
Moreover,
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Why did it feel like Zen had just made a mistake now?
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"Miss, we have a problem!"
Her manager came jolting at her side and niftily broke the link between them. The woman had to rush the singer out of this area as social media accounts were posting about her presumed whereabouts around here. The paparazzi were already heading towards their vicinity and it would only be a matter of time until they would be discovered. The last thing the girl needed during her soaring popularity was a dating scandal with – "Oppa!"
"I know of your great work ethics but don't be so uptight with people wanting to help you!"
"Also, Park-sshi - I can hide in Zen's house while the paps circle the area and then leave!"
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HUH?!
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Thankfully, the manager did not consider this sneaky option for a second. So they both left the scene – but not before Echo Girl vowed that this wouldn't be the last that Zen would be seeing of her.
*cutesy wink*
She'd also left behind some additional autographs to Zen and that friendly grandpa.
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"Until next time, oppa~!"
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~oOo~
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Zen felt like he were going insane and had to desperately talk with somebody!
And his only outlet for these overflowing emotions was in the messenger where – sadly – no one had yet logged in!
*faint pout*
Not even Mina...
...
So, he poured out in the open his amazement regarding Echo Girl's unexpected visit to his neighborhood and how much of a shock he had when he'd realized she was such a huge fan of his musicals!
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So crazy!
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And this wasn't even the best part!
Zen had also shared pretty much everything that had garnered in the conversation between them, and how much Echo Girl valued having him as an acting partner in this gig.
Sso much that she were willing to vouch for him to the Producer and keep his spot in the production despite his injury!
She wants to help him keep his role so they could act together~!
So,
What was he really trying to say here was –
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Zen's back in the game, WOOT!
And he had to leave now and practice, practice, practice as much as he could
Before the lovely MC would reach his doorstep~!
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"And then, my princess, you'll be getting my fullest of attention ^o^~!"
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~oOo~
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"Eh?", the young party planner blinked a couple of times as she had just rolled off the couch, puzzled by the sheer intensity of the light pouring indoors. It was too bright for such an hour... wait... what was the hour?!
Soon,
Mina was worrisomely gazing at her dead ass telephone which had been carelessly left plugged in to be charged all throughout the night. Nonetheless, it still had zero battery life and maintained its 'black mirror' status despite poking its buttons over and over. No wonder she hadn't woken up until passed 2:30 pm, the party planner panicking beyond her wit's end at this realization! But, at least, her health seemed like it took a turn for the better today.
The party planner hadn't felt this refreshed and headache-free in a very, very long time. "Oh great. (E)", she frightfully complained as she traced the other end of the telephone line towards the extension cord on the floor which had been stupidly shut and not charging anything there.
So Mina had missed the alarm clock due to obvious reasons.
And hadn't charged her phone due to even more obvious reasons.
And it will keep being a dead weight device until 30 minutes passed because her phone charger was living its final days on this earth.
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TwT.
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This day hadn't even started well and she'd already gone M.I.A. again from the R.F.A.
Her only wish was that, meanwhile, Zen hadn't been stressing or worrying too darn much about her safety...
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~ 1 hour and a shower later~
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Mina's wish had obviously come true as Zen hadn't worried one bit about Mina's strange absence.
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O_o
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TwT
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He didn't message her anything other than a good night selfie alongside some sweetener texts to coat her dreams with and prepare her for the visit. Her heart should be fluttering out of sheer happiness and giddiness, but Mina chewed onto her bottom lip a tad upset that he didn't notice her missing by now. No one had really mentioned about her absence actually... However, she'd rather quickly got over this depressing sentiment as she went through the chat rooms she had clumsily missed due to unforeseen technical difficulties.
Watching the silver haired male react this excitedly to having regained his big role and continuing with the production was warming up the heart and exposed a cute smile. But the following arguments provided by Jumin were a complete and utter downer. The man had revealed to Yoosung how deeply disappointed he had been in Zen's dismissive attitude towards him after he'd used excuses which – surprise – no longer applied to a person like Echo Girl, the actor so easily accepting her aid while systemically denying his job offers time, after time, after time... No matter the potential explanations the blonde student had tried to come up with to appease the Director and portray Zen in a better light, Jumin would immediately spot the discrepancies in his comebacks, thus demolishing each of Yoosung's attempts with ease.
"I should quit all interests in Zen's career so that I will not be offended any further.", Mina read that sentence feeling quite saddened in the process. She could tell it was greatly bothering Jumin in spite of him saying he wasn't angry. The girl really wanted to help them somehow to return to better sentiments between each other and figure stuff out.
But she was lacking precious information and the full history of those two and what exactly keeps fueling Zen's animosity towards him.
She had never truly understood the reasoning behind the actor's dislike of Jumin. And nobody in the group had ever come forth to explain Zen's reasoning to her – also, she had never openly asked the actor or kept pressing the matters whether in private DMs or phone calls. It felt as if though she were prying in his private matters too much.
But she was so damn curious! TwT
Sure,
Jumin was a tad difficult to approach and carried a stern, more serious and intimidating demeanor compared to the others which translated to the online environment too, but that didn't necessarily make him a bad person. Not at all. His more official and cold personality was probably a requirement in order to maintain his high position in the C&R company. He couldn't appear soft or too caring. Even Jaehee was similar in personalities with the Director, although she did reveal the capabilities of sharing more emotions than him – especially when discussing matters involving Zen. Regardless, the party coordinator had never gotten truly bad vibes coming out of the CEO heir and he'd never presented himself poorly towards her. Even when he'd scold the girl for her actions, Jumin wasn't particularly mean about it.
Plus, apparently the Director kept making Zen countless job offers in the past which had all been instantly rejected and without a second glance...
And most weren't even cat related : /
Maybe she could bring it up as a topic of discussion to Zen after their meeting in – *gaps* "AN HOUR! (E)"
The girl's panic erupted in full blown force, rushing around the apartment to get dressed and clumsily do her make with whatever she had left from her waitressing job while *SMACK* not avoiding the furniture during her frenetic back-and-forth dance.
The car would be coming shortly to pick her up, too.
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~oOo~
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"Oooooooo~~~?"
A mischievous smirk was sprouting across the raven's mouth after indecently whistling at the surprising sight popping from out of the building. "So you do clean up well after all - hey, hey, hey! Don't call the boss now, come on!"
Jisoo kept waving his hands in a cross-like pattern as Mina non-verbally threatened the bodyguard with Jumin's handle name popping on her phone's screen. Her finger was ready to hit the button but had refrained to do so.
For now.
"Hmph!", the party planner grimaced nastily at Jisoo's rude reaction but deep down she felt as though she was internally dying and almost grateful at the bodyguard's lack of manners. It meant that she didn't look like a complete mess as Mina had gone above and beyond with her beauty routine and had doubts about the result. She had been lightly shaking out of concern for having used too much product in certain areas.
TwT
She had actually put so much effort into her appearance, even choosing the nicest clean clothing she could find in the closet (which wasn't even an outfit that remarkable or cute, just a pair of black jeans and a form-fitting brown top she would rarely wear in order to preserve the fabric) just so she could get that first good impression from the actor and not feel like an ugly discarded sock that sat underneath the couch for months.
"Tell you the truth, when I was assigned to guard you tonight, I didn't realize that this time you were heading on a date and not on R.F.A. business – Oh, stop, don't be like that, Miss Choi!" *viciously waves hands in a cross*
The girl was not going to entertain the bodyguard's silliness this evening, shoving the box she was carrying into the man's arms while passing by his figure towards the car. Despite its size, the box wasn't at all heavy since Mina had sorted through the best remaining foods which Seven had dropped by Rika's apartment. She had carefully picked the ones which recipes she'd been able to research in detail at night. And the meals prepared with the ingredients could be very useful in enhancing the healing speed of injured folks.
However,
If only she'd been less careless and more attentive with her phone, she could have cooked the meal already... but alas, having woken up so late, Mina did not manage to achieve this goal. She had also lacked some ingredients from the market.
Oh well,
It was better than showing up at Zen's empty handed.
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~oOo~
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The drive towards the actor's house was excruciatingly long and yet remarkably short considering the traffic and weather. The actor's neighborhood came into full display around 30 minutes later, Driver Kim announcing that the destination would be reached in just a few blocks up ahead.
Meanwhile,
Mina's heart was going – BADUMP-BADUMP-BADUMP – at such a crazy rate. Her stomach was silently murmuring and churning at her while her throat started painfully constricting, as if something had been suddenly lodged in there and blocking her air pipes, thus making it harder to breathe. Despite these annoyances, the girl was thanking the lord that she hadn't chosen to eat a meal too consistent after having just woken up.
A repeat of her stomach content spread onto anybody's coat again was a big no-no!
Thankfully, all Mina had to be worried about now were her heart palpitations and the slight trembling which wouldn't want to slow down. Her winter coat was indeed hiding this issue enveloping her body, but for how long would this last? Eagle eyes could still notice the girl's worry and distress.
So Jisoo maneuvered the conversation to some meaningless small talk about random stuff. And while Mina strangely eyed the bodyguard for his weird questions, it did actually have a helping hand in offering the girl a more relaxing environment until Driver Kim had stopped the car.
Getting out of the vehicle, the chilling winter air seeped into Mina's skin in an instant as she shuddered even further, following the bodyguard to the apartment building while cupping both of her arms and brushing her hands over the fabric to create heat.
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BADUMP-BADUMP-BADUMP
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This was finally it.
No turning back now.
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~oOo~
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The bell didn't even have time to ring once before the actor had pulled onto the door with a large and quick gesture, opening it widely and revealing all of the glory of his apartment behind him. Zen's expression of pure bliss however was being challenged not by a cute and wonderful and lovable R.F.A. party planner, but by a stone-faced individual sporting black hair, and black sunglasses, and overall black attire.
And an unnerving attitude of the same nuance. "You...", the actor was confused as to why he was suddenly face-to-face with Jumin's bodyguard, for a second actually being terrified that plans had been suddenly changed by the trust fund kid without his knowledge.
That is,
Until the raven in front of him had planted the box he was carrying into the actor's arms, after which he'd stepped aside.
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*soft gasp*
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And that's when nothing else really mattered in this world for Zen anymore, his eyes locking onto the petite figure standing in front of him.
Both frozen in movements for brief few seconds.
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"It's really you...", Zen soon whispered as his eyes pierced the golden orbs of the person he'd been desperately wishing to see during his dreams.
Yet,
Only now,
The dream had become a perfect reality.
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"Oppa...", the girl shyly answered back in a soft tune as she felt completely and utterly vulnerable and trapped underneath the actor's piercing gaze, unable to look away while feeling her feet turn into both frozen ice and mush –
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"I'll be picking up miss Choi in two hours."
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The interference was enough for Mina to wake up from such an intense trance, immediately glancing sideways towards Jisoo who was speaking directly to Zen. "No funny business here or else I – ", he was attempting to instruct the actor as per Mr. Han's orders, warning him of his behavior around Miss Choi, but he didn't even get the chance to be finished.
Taking Mina's hand into his own, Zen then encouraged her to come inside his apartment and then slammed the door behind him shut.
"- am going to resort to..."
"..."
"Ah, forget it.", the raven sighed a little annoyed and then began stretching his limbs, heading back to the heat of the car while leaving the shivering rabbit alone inside a wolf's den.
.
.
End note:
I tried.
I really tried.
but damn, sorry it took over a year for an update lololol.
Not gonna lie, webtoon Zen hit my heart in critical areas
Also,
the writer's block is still a massive pain but I am trying to manage it
