Night-Owl Romance
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Note: Enjoy the update. ^o^ (re-edited in 10.08.2020)
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Chapter 45: An Evening inside a Wolf's Den 1
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*BADDUMP... BADDUMP... BADDUMP... BADDUMP*
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"Jagiya~~~~~~~~~~~a!"
Wide eyed and experiencing irregular breathing patterns, Mina had been stunned silent by the actor's mesmerizing figure suddenly towering over her and the immediate physical closeness formed between them. The party planner's face had become drenched in countless reddish hues, mirroring the color of his pretty eyes – or, so she'd presumed, had her make up not hidden most of the redness spreading across her cheeks. Zen's face was dangerously near hers and it engulfed her entire view, the girl unable to glance away for not even a second.
*gulp*
No amount of professional photographs or casual selfies at her disposal could fully prepare Mina for the array of excruciating attacks committed on the female senses, a direct result of merely being in the actor's presence. Zen's photos did not really do him complete justice in encapsulating just how drop-dead gorgeous his visuals were compared to actually meeting him in person. It shocked the girl stupid, her brain cells vanishing one by one until the few lasting survivors had been tasked in maintaining functionality of what remained of the brain fort.
His skin, despite being on the paler side much like hers was, did not seem to possess any kind of imperfection (unlike hers) and was akin to a spotless canvas which didn't even appear to have gone through the pains of puberty during his youth or its scarring aftermath – it looked so fresh, and clear, and healthy, and glowing! Not to mention Zen's strong and sharp jawline was visible from her angle too, as well as his popping collarbone, both of which could effortlessly slice up Mina's sanity and body into pieces. The rest of his muscles were (thank the heavens! ( ಥ ﹏ ಥ )) kept well hidden underneath looser clothing, thus the party-coordinator knockout effect wasn't at its maximum potential.
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*BADDUMP BADDUMP BADDUMP BADDUMP*
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Zen's perfume mixed with faded traces of tobacco had her lightly swoon while her body was further warming up from the harsh winter weather from before. Despite her intense distaste of everything surrounding such a terrible habit, the brand the silver haired male had shown to be smoking in a past picture combined with whatever perfume he was wearing at the moment was creating a sensory overload for the girl.
A rather pleasant one...
"I'm so happy that you're finally here~!", Zen announced excitedly, his grin reflecting a happiness so genuine and intoxicating.
Yet,
The party planner felt that she was highly undeserving of such a pure sentiment being this earnestly directed towards her. "Seeing you had really turned my day that much brighter..."
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"Thank you so much for taking time out of your schedule and coming here!"
"I appreciate it a lot~!"
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*B DD#mP-B*D$M#-b^Dd -%#D&U P*
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Mina's feeble heart was taking in too many critical hits one after another and this evening together had only just begun! From the get go, Zen did not refrain from complimenting his visitor whenever a fitting chance occurred, like when noticing Mina's outfit after the girl had left her coat onto the hanger and then immediately crying out how cute her overall appearance was.
His high praise had nearly caused her to faint right there on the spot! _
And, to make matters worse, the girl did not possess the ability to properly hide her facial expressions in front of the handsome silver haired man as waves of shyness mixed with embarrassment would flood out of her system.
Hearing such niceties aimed towards her were...
Frustratingly, Mina couldn't come up with more grounded and polite answers, for Zen kept destabilizing her thoughts with his blunt remarks, the party planner morphing into an absolute rude ass idiot with speech impediments. She would either clear her throat with a 'hm' and give a quick nod in acknowledgement, or casually answer with a measly 'thank you' while averting her gaze towards the room's wallpaper or various objects she could spot inside the living area as to regulate her breathing and pounding heart.
No eye-contact.
*sigh*
Mina didn't want to make him aware of how much his words were affecting her, the coordinator maintaining a modicum of coldness towards the actor. What's more, she was struggling to fight off the incoming smiles from spreading across her face since those alone could give Zen plenty of ammo to use and then ruin the girl's psyche entirely. Which he was in the process of doing regardless.
I mean, should the actor's behavior really come as a surprise?
Zen was really not that different in real life compared to how he would present himself on the messenger. If anything, his flirtatious nature had been amplified because Mina couldn't hide behind a wall of technology anymore so the actor could easily pick up the coordinator's slips ups. And when he'd figure out the actual truth clumsily masked by her "colder" approach due to her betraying tics – his most adoring smile would be met in return.
Sometimes accompanied by his wink.
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*shudders*
*burning cheeks*
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Mina had been severely ill-prepared today when facing Zen!
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However, this didn't negate the fact that the party planner had been entrusted with an important mission by Jumin if she were to extend her visit past the given hour, and he would check on her progress soon. She furiously tried pulling her shit together and to stop exhibiting the social graces of a cardboard box and waste more precious time.
Easier said than done...
It was only when she'd overheard Zen wondering out loud where to put this strange box shoved into his arms by Jisoo, did she revive enough brain cells to break free from her daydreaming. Mina was already failing her responsibilities and she could not let this continue any longer!
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~oOo~
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Mina's nervous fumbling had been quite the endearing sight for Zen whose own heartbeat was going at a much higher pacing than usual and did not show signs of slowing down. His happiness meter was through the roof, however it was rather difficult for him not to overstep the social boundaries normally set between a man and a woman as they were getting to know each other, and not abuse all the "perfect date" tactics he had in his arsenal in his pursuit to discover more about Mina, explore more of her interesting reactions and selfishly desire to have her irreversibly fall for his cha– "AH!" – rms.
The scream had caught him off guard.
Zen almost dropped the box onto his healthy foot had he not caught it midair with his fast reflexes, panic swelling at the thought of something bad having had happened to Mina. He turned around to worriedly check on her wellbeing. "Sorry, sorry, sorry!(E)", she'd clapped her hands together and did a small bow as an apology before going for the heavy box in his arms to retrieve it – *Zen swoops it away from her reach*
"Oh?", she rapidly blinked a couple of times as she tried making sense of his action before going for another attempt *swoops it away again* her eyebrows narrowing down more and more with each unsuccessful move.
The actor kept shifting and twirling that box around his body like it were a basketball until he'd finally made sure that Mina couldn't grab it by holding it above his head with outstretched arms. Meanie!The party planner was basically fishing up air at this point while standing on her tip-toes, trying not to topple over the actor due to her poor balance. Nor get visibly upset. In fact, this whole scene was reminiscent of Mina's past days back in Daegu Town when she herself had been the mean one during playtime with her baby sister. She'd brilliantly decided that day to purposely keep certain toys out of Mirae's tiny arm's reach which had caused sporadic tear-jerking episodes. Plus a mother's persistent nagging and scolding. Alas, Mina's confusion had put another halt to her brain's activities and her face became too comical for Zen not to tease her about it later on. Nonetheless, the actor himself was equally as puzzled by her randomness and interest in this thing.
Unless...
Was this actually a present from her and not from the trust fund kid?! O-O
It wouldn't be that odd to consider the silver-spoon fed corporate heir to have snuck on a delivery through the bodyguard in order to persuade the actor in taking part in filming his stupid cat commercials with complete disregard to Zen's wishes and allergies! The silver haired male had fully read the previous chat rooms so he wasn't aloof over the scheme Jumin had concocted while using the party planner's kindness to his advantage!
"Ah...It's not like that!", Mina diverted the attention away from the topic as it was riling Zen up. "Nothing special in there. Some food I've brought from Rika's apartment... I mean, ingredients which I thought could be of good use... for dinner~!", she answered with a bit of strained laughter, each word spoken with less confidence though. "Or-Or later...(E)"
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Damn it...
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Already tonight's mission was a bust after Zen's mini rant and visible disgust over the prospect of acting in anything Jumin had proposed. : / And while it heavily discouraged Mina who was unsure how to ever bring up the topic again without obliterating the heightened mood, her focus had to be elsewhere now.
It didn't look like it, but the coordinator's arms were strong enough to handle the weight of that box so Zen needn't carry it and put needless pressure on his injured leg. He could pass it towards her with no problem and she'd take it to the kitchen counter~! "You are way too cute!", Zen blurted out with a wide grin and ignited another slight yelp from the party planner, but took a more defensive stance with her present, not allowing Mina – his guest – to do any inconvenient chore while he were around!
She should relax on the couch and watch some TV while he was prepping their meal~!
He'd be super fast~~~the girl would barely notice his absence~!
He'd also brewed some tea in advance that he thought she would might like to try~!
Shocked, Mina tried protesting after receiving the drink in her hand and being guided to the couch, but his repeated dismissal of any help she could provide caused her expression to gradually sour, watching Zen's back who did not even hear her weakly call him.
*sigh...*
Another lost battle.
Failures after failures were piling up atop her responsibilities.
She truly felt so useless at the moment...
She didn't come here to lazy around his couch!
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But that's what she was currently doing while slowly sipping her tea...
It was delicious though.
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Mina didn't want to disrespect Zen's wish either since... he obviously didn't like it when others did disregard them. : /
So she was stuck sitting here...
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There was nobody online to keep her mind occupied after sipping the last droplets of the hot liquid.
And Zen was too busy with dinner to interact with her properly apart from a few questions regarding her stay in Rika's apartment and how she was fairing there.
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Nothing on TV was of value but she did not see the point in switching channels.
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Mina plucked up the courage and had once more audibly asked Zen if he were sure about her not helping him with anything~~~!
But the outcome remained unchallenged, the actor's rapid dismissal slapping the party planner's confidence across the cheeks yet again.
Zen had done it with a reassuring smile, too...
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He'd be there soon with the treats~!
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*deep sigh*
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Really...
Was she even capable of accomplishing at least a single goal this evening...?
So far,
She really blended in this living room perfectly like decoration.
That was the extent of her usefulness here.
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*sigh...*
In general,
For anything and anybody,
Mina would only be of use as a useless piece of decoration occupying space in a room –
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"Mina?"
"Is everything ok?"
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Her heart nearly came out of her body as he'd knelt right next to her. _
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~oOo~
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The actor had been humming an uplifting tune while unpacking the box, all these exotic looking vegetables at his fingertips but the recipe to make a delicious meal out of them was... unknown. Actually, Zen had no freaking clue what more than half of these foods were in name, let alone make something edible with the whole lot! O-O Plus, the instructions in whatever note lied at his fingertips were written in English. While he could understand some phrases and may be willing to watch a movie without subtitles to sort of get the gist of the plot (but not by much), reading these cooking instructions were beyond his comprehension levels and were severely head ache inducing!
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Was this a foreigner delicacy? O-O
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...Ngh.
Biting in one strange fruit made him wanna chug down some Cass Beer
just to forget its nasty aftertaste _ ;;;
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Were these really any good...?
Did Mina actually enjoy eating through these things especially?
Were these her favorite foods...?
_ ;;;
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Oh, man...
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He should make sure not to criticize the meal then!
T_T
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"Aigoo...", Zen whispered concerned at what he'd managed to achieve solo, covering half his face with his hand but eventually gave up on being a culinary hero after these countless taste tests had almost rekt his appetite entirely, feeling the uncomfortable cramping of his stomach. Trying to impress the girl with his impeccable cooking skills and not relying on her had been a mistake – he was definitely ruining dinner! Before he could even shamefully ask Mina for her guidance due to his inexperience with these strange ingredients, Zen's body suddenly got the chills while following the gloom clouds gathered above the coordinator's head.
Hearing her sigh was like an arctic wind passing by his soul and freezing it into a solid block.
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She seemed terribly upset.
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*gulp*
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'Unsettling...'
'Damn, I must have taken far too long with the food!', he clicked his tongue and silently cursed, nervously scratching the back of his neck before heading to the couch with slow, calculated steps. The closer he'd gotten to the unsuspecting coordinator, the more his forehead creased as the atmosphere turned that much glacial – man, that disappointed glare of hers could shatter even the most confident of men.
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*Mina sighed again*
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It was nice while this romantic dream of his had lasted...
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Inhaling deeply in preparation for an upcoming scandal, Zen had knelt next to Mina in defeat and was awaiting a punishment which was slow to come. "Mina? Is everything ok?", he broke the eerie silence and, immediately, the girl did surpass his expectations. However, his mind and vision had temporarily gone blank from the sudden screaming.
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*THUD*
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~oOo~
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Mina had been so utterly terrified of Zen's sudden appearance, the actor having stealthily popped up into her peripheral vision thus the girl had stupidly mistaken him for a ghost thanks to his long silver locks and red orbs. And she didn't necessarily believe in the paranormal which made her outburst quite unwarranted. "Sooooooooooooooooorry!(E)", the girl cried out with all her might after seeing Zen tumble backwards, wanting to slap the stupidity out of her faulty brain so damn hard and desperately wishing to rewind time and just redo this evening... or, better yet, redo her entire persona if she could, because the current Mina was a socially broken human being anda danger to those around her!
God dammit, why was she like this? T-T
To be this screechy or jumpy when taken by surprise... shameful! Not even when plunging deep into horror movie territory would it garner such an intense scream from Mina, seldom the scares generating vocal outbursts out of the girl.
But she really didn't notice the actor approaching her because of these whirlwinds of thoughts causing her to not pay attention to her surroundings!
ACK! T_T
"Aigoo, I almost saw my life passing before my eyes again!", Zen unintentionally complained as he got up from the floor, massaging his aching tail bone from the fall he'd just taken, but swiftly panicked at the girl's own immense panic after noticing he'd received an injury because of her foolishness and – for heaven's sake!
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This visit was beginning to feel like a complete disaster!
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~oOo~
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Misunderstandings seem to love latching onto this coupling, quite a trail left behind with merely a week's worth of interactions. These bloody tiresome annoyances aside, the actor could not fully buy into the party planner's feeble explanations (if one could call them that) of the whole unnerving ice princess aura she'd viciously exhibited on his couch. Being lost into one's thoughts wouldn't normally shape someone's expressions to look that jarringly stern and upset. Mina's excuses had been weak but Zen did notice her reluctance to continue on with the discussion and, in spite of his concerns, he did not pry any further on the issue.
If it was an issue anyway...
Maybe Mina was being truthful and this was how she simply was while absent minded...?
Aigoo!
Who knew at this point what to think...?
Alas, the girl's eyes finally carried a cheerful glint within them after Zen had sought out her aid. The mood turned a lot sweeter as her smiles slipped on more often... the actor shifted his behavior towards his flirty-happy self from before even though there was a lingering heaviness in his heart since realizing Mina's expression could become this intensely chilly out of nowhere. His past experience never attributed such a look on a pretty girl that could be a harbinger of good news or intentions – ever.
Still, her explanation would have to suffice and his concerns would need to take a step back. : /
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Dinner was ready after the two had carefully followed the written recipe together. The actor was amazed at the easiness of Mina reading through the instructions and then translating the sentences on the spot for him to also understand, Zen realizing the mishaps and wrong turns he took with his previous version. "You're really amazing!", he was really overwhelmed and impressed by the girl's language skills as they cheerfully resumed to talking about random topics, banding together on the couch and holding the plates in their hands whilst nibbling on their meals with delight.
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X_X
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If food poisoning had a specific taste, it might have been this one ready to gauge out their stomachs' contents outside.
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"I don't understand!", the party planner's usual weak and hesitant voice was replaced by a stronger tune as the redness from her coughing pushed through the layer of make-up. She had just finished gobbling down what must have been her third glass of water when she couldn't hold in her frustrations. "The instructions had clearly mentioned us to do these steps in that order!"
"I don't know what happened...", she whined, her eyebrows drooping, wondering whether she could sneak outside Zen's apartment while he wasn't looking, find a hole and fall into it to remain there forever.
"...You do love experimenting with unique recipes, don't you?", Zen chuckled as he tried making light hearted jokes over this clumsy situation until his own rage increased tenfold at the truth.
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And the culprit behind sabotaging their date!
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"I don't know what half of these ingredients are!"
"EH?!" O_o
"But... These are supposed to be healthy foods that can help in improving your healing rate! That's what Seven suggested me bringing from the apartment and faxed me the recipe of his favorite meal before I'd left, saying it wasn't in the original booklet he'd sent me days ago...", Mina argued as she fought for her reputation's resurrection in the actor's eyes until she'd realized where her mistake had lied from Zen's 180 change in attitude.
She had been duped by the hacker!
And Zen would not let the red head's nasty prank go unpunished! "ASHI! Seven will need to hide out deep into the outskirts of the forest to stay safe from me!", he remarked with gritted teeth as he furiously typed DMs to the silent hacker who was ignoring the actor's calls to scold the boy.
Meanwhile, Mina was gradually taking in the complete mess having unfolded on the plates and the cause of her taste buds having gone numb. She had to admit, Seven got them really good...
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Mina started laughing.
Actually laughing.
At this entire disaster.
Still,
It was immensely funny to her.
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And, even though Zen's fury hadn't really subdued due to the red head's interference in such a crude manner, seeing and hearing Mina genuinely having a good time regardless of the sheer pain located in the pits of their stomachs – it was honestly worthwhile watching. Plus, to make up for the lack of a proper meal, the actor came to the rescue with the fish bread he had purchased earlier in the morning and their tummies instantly thanked them for these delicious buns.
At least the evening could still be salvaged.
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They were sitting on the couch together, each near a corner to leave some space between them for the treats that Zen had bought.
The coordinator was in the middle of munching on Zen's favorite type of fish bread, the actor staring at her intently for a feedback on its impeccable taste O-O!, when some messy strands of hair had gotten stuck to her lips. It took some serious self-control for the actor not to start calling Mina an adorable cutesy right then and there or instinctively glide his fingers towards those naughty hairs and fix them in her stead. Her embarrassed smiles and reactions were really lovely and a sight he'd want to replicate countless times for sure. So Mina hurriedly combed her hair away and, during the process, her woolen sleeve had slipped a bit further down her arm than it should have.
Zen's own grin vanished.
"Jagi, your wrist!", the actor blurted it out but then immediately regretted it, Mina freezing uncomfortably for a few seconds as they were making eye contact until she realized where his concerns lied. Her cast had been revealed in full view. *gulp* But this was something the actor couldn't just willy-nilly ignore anymore despite restraining himself not to bring it up in previous conversations.
Days went by yet she continued wearing a cast.
He just couldn't believe this.
In how much pain was she to still be needing to wear one?
Fearful, Zen couldn't help but wonder whether she'd been badly injured solely because of entering the R.F.A., however the girl's answer had him mortified. "Oh! I've been using this for years.", she admitted in a surprisingly calm manner and then shrugged it off, smiling a bit too forced while masking it with the sleeve once more. "The R.F.A. had nothing to do with it, so relax~!", she laughed it off and took another bite of the fish bread but he did not find her laidback answer amusing for a second, his stares and worries far too serious and ruining the lighthearted mood set between them.
"It's the hand you're using for your art, isn't it?", he pushed another uncomfortable question which caused another emotional obstacle for Mina to surpass, the party planner unable to prevent the pooling melancholy from her eyes and slight trembling. Even pretending to smile was impossible even for her now, the party planner setting the plate down and appearing as though she was pondering a very important decision.
"Ah, if it's too bothersome to answer, don't. I was meddling –"
"You're correct." She had the courage to make sharp eye contact again before gazing back towards her injury. "It is my dominant hand which I'm using for most of my artwork.", she interrupted the stunned actor and afterwards there really wasn't any stopping the party planner. "Amongst other things, my wrist's condition is also one of the main reasons why I'd stopped attending my university classes."
It was like Zen had opened the tap to an outpour of water, Mina revealing – not in too much detail to be fair – the key points which led to her joints being in such a terrible condition.
Firstly, it had been the surgery she had at the young age of 16 years old, not long after starting her studies in her hometown. She didn't share with Zen too much about what had led to her desperately needing it, only that she had overexerted her limits at the time and she didn't have the best posture when creating her artwork, the girl unaware of the consequences such prolong abuse would have.
She hid important information, like how every week her mother would be forced to interact with various people from her youth and neighbors, some of whom were very familiar with their estranged relatives and would act like liaisons for them to keep adding fuel to a fire that never got put out for decades. There would be a plethora of criticism thrown towards Mina and her mom by people who really didn't know them well at all, nor had any desire to understand them. The despair and anger enveloping Mina after hearing such uncalled for assumptions and mean spirited gossip had turned into a desire to prove these busybodies wrong. Thus, she'd been putting off sleep a lot, practicing over and over, and over, and over, until they'd all keep their mouths closed and recognize her talents. Mina wanted to take all of their ammo from loaded guns and no longer aim the trigger at her mother with their 'concerns' because of her future's instability.
How much would they feel sorry for the single woman raiding such a troublesome child who was rude and unappreciative of her sacrifices, not having any decency or common sense to choose a more suitable career to repay the woman's affections and the hardships she'd been through.
Alas, she mentioned to Zen how that initial surgery went really well and the recovery time had been rather swift. Since then she had the cast that would act like a support for whenever she'd feel pain that, unfortunately, would never completely go away.
But those moments used to be few and far in between~!
That is, until Mina had entered university, a place which marked the second and most painful reason her cast became a closer companion for Mina's wrist. She had an accident at SKY University which resulted in her falling with her entire weight on the hand. Unfortunately, the doctor at the establishment who was overlooking the entire student body did not see surgery as an option for her sensitive wrist. And his only solution had been for the girl to hope for the best and wear the wrist cast/brace for an extended period of time, one that forced her to take a break from her studying. Plus – she couldn't keep up with the amount of subjects and workload there, the array of projects that required a healthy limb being a majority.
Nor could she stand the people tormenting her daily there.
So the girl took a gap year, hoping that such a long time could heal her wrist and – for the most part – Mina could start drawing almost normally again in small dosage. And she'd recently discovered the feat thanks to Mr. Lee's insistence for her to participate in this poster project at Zen's theatre~!
By the end of the girl's story,
She was smiling widely and brightly, Mina patting herself on her back for not spilling out a single tear drop despite her eyes' glossiness, but she was surprised to be met with a deep silence. The coordinator's bravery to share bits of her story was due to her not glancing at the actor for its full duration, Mina too afraid she'd stop midway otherwise...
The girl was exposing her heart in ways that were very unfamiliar to her and... if Zen wasn't willing to listen to her then...
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Who was going to..?
: /
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Seeing Zen hide his face in both the back of his palms, fingers intertwined together, while resting his elbows just above his knees... Mina thought she had made the wrong call and realizing this had hurt so much.
So, so much that tears were threatening to spill out. "Zen...?", the party planner's bravery had dried up, Mina very regretful with her revelations as she had been unwilling to have burdened the actor with the extent of her life story and was going to apologize until... he'd replied ever so softly... wishing that his monster healing abilities could somehow be instantly transferred to her.
And heal her pain away.
Gosh – how hard he wished that right now!
"...", her breathing caught into her throat the moment she could see his side profile again, head snapping upwards with determination. The actor then mirrored her smile with a pair of pained eyes – Mina must have endured through a lot in order to keep her dreams of being an artist alive... It was something Zen didn't even have any doubts that she could succeed in and achieve from what she was already painting~!
And yet...
Her dreams were this strongly connected to her wrist's condition...
Meanwhile, the actor did not retain a single lingering medical problem from his motorbike accident from years ago, not even a single scar to remember the event by. If it hadn't been for the messed up helmet he'd kept as a memento, he would have probably forgotten about its severity.
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What a twisted life!
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End note: The new mystic messenger comic is really opening up things for me and bringing new joy with Zen's character. I even hope to use Hana one day in the story, she's such a lovely character and I could see her and my MC mesh well with their personalities together. 3
I want them to become friends!
And I was also picturing to introduce Heejung as an art student for Jisoo's ship and the red headed MC for a possible Jumin ship later on - which means, I am going to the route where Jaehee will open up her coffee shop and quit the C&R, and why not have MC work / help Jaehee with her business since she has experience with working at coffee shops.
Anywho,
Just some thoughts for a sequel since I may want to conclude this after I have MC and Zen officially become a couple and not actually drag this behemoth of a story to ungodly word counts for after party events.
Anyway,
Would appreciate if people give more input if they have better ideas for me to use since I'm in a constant rut with current events – and somehow have loads of ideas for around party events / after party events. Up to that point is a struggle X-X
