Day 8 - 09:02 AM
Jumin Han has joined the chat room.
/ Jumin Han: Assistant Kang, did you and Zai remember to remind Zen of the cat commercial? /
/ Jaehee Kang: My apologies Mr. Han. /
/ Jaehee Kang: Due to some unforeseen events, we were unable to request his help with the project. /
/ Jumin Han: What sort of unforeseen events could have prevented you from simply asking him to participate in promoting the most glorious creatures on earth? /
/ Jaehee Kang: The personal kind. /
/ Jumin Han: ...Make sure it does not happen again. /
/ Jaehee Kang: ... /
Jaehee Kang has left the chat room.
707 has joined the chat room.
/ Jumin Han: For some reason, I feel like she has changed. /
/ 707: Who? /
/ Jumin Han: Assistant Kang. /
/ 707: lololololol /
/ 707: Maybe she just got tired of being stepped on all the time lolololol /
/ Jumin Han: What sort of nonsense are you talking about now... /
/ 707: Oh nothing! /
/ 707: I'm just saying, maybe you should learn to be a little nicer to your employees. /
/ 707: You can't guarantee that they'll always work for you, after all! /
/ Jumin Han: Luciel, as far as I know, I am not paying for you to discuss the treatment of my workers. /
/ 707: Uh..right. /
/ 707: I'll just go;;/
707 has left the chat room.
Jumin Han has left the chat room.
Day 8 - 12:02 PM
Due to being thoroughly exhausted by the previous day's events, Zai forgot to set her alarm. As a result, it was a little past noon when she finally woke, and even so, she didn't even want to think about getting out of bed.
By the time Zai was finally coherent enough to get out of bed, it was afternoon. She was hungry from skipping breakfast even though she'd had a large dinner last night. Slowly making her way to the kitchen with at least two thick blankets draped across her shoulders she unlocked her phone and tried to blink away the blurriness in her sight.
While idly cooking herself a vegetable and egg stir-fry brunch with one hand, Zai used her other to scroll through the messages and calls she hadn't been able to answer. There were a few missed calls from Zen and Jaehee, as well as one from Jumin. There were also a lot of private texts from Jaehee and Zen that Zai took her time responding to. Once more, Zai found herself lamenting the RFA App's lack of private group chats and calls.
Looking at the calendar app on her phone, she could feel nausea beginning to stir in the back of her throat. Only two days left. The knowledge of her plans soon coming to fruition filled her with both excitement and fear. Her hunger vanished as soon as the thought hit her, yet she ate anyways. Jaehee and Zen would've wanted her to.
After finishing, she settled down at her laptop to work on preparations for the party. It was going to be held whether she succeeded or failed, regardless.
Day 8 - 03:14 PM
POV: Jumin Mode
It had been two days since Echo Girl had come to Jumin's suite to threaten his and Zen's reputation, but there was nothing further from his mind as he sat at the edge of his bed, observing the other man whose hair was the only thing peeking out from beneath the plush blankets that covered him from sight. Jumin was exercising an incredible amount of self-control to keep himself from running his fingers through those soft cerulean strands. V had been sleeping for most of the time he'd spent at Jumin's house.
'He must have been working quite hard to get this exhausted in only a few hours,' Thought Jumin. 'But on what?'
V's glasses were on the nightstand beside the bed, and when he tossed and turned, Jumin could catch glances of bags beneath the other man's eyes. Had he not been sleeping well? What had tired him out so much that he needed to rest for almost twelve hours a day?
Jumin was startled out of his thoughts by movement and shifted his gaze upwards to connect with the teal eyes that were now looking at him with confusion.
"...Jumin? What time is it?" Although his voice was somewhat rough from lack of use, Jumin found it no less attractive and no, he was not having these thoughts again with a barely clothed V lying in bed next to him.
"Ah, it is nearly half-past three, you were sleeping for most of the afternoon. Yet you seemed so tired, I thought it best to let you rest." Jumin tried to calm himself down and V slowly rose to sit up, the soft duvets falling away to reveal an expanse of smooth pale skin. Heart in his throat, Jumin picked up V's glasses and handed them over to his childhood friend while turning his head away. Both to hide the rapidly growing blush on his face and to provide the other man with some sort of modesty.
"Oh, my apologies. I didn't mean to sleep so long. These past few weeks have been more taxing than usual." V accepted the glasses and Jumin tried his best not to jolt as he felt soft and slender fingers brush against his palm.
"If you do not mind me asking, why is it that you have been so worn down recently?" He almost put a hand on his friend's shoulder but quickly recoiled. "Is taking photographs truly that much work? Would you like me to provide you with an escort?"
If Jumin had been expecting any response from V, it certainly wasn't the sudden shout of "NO!" that echoed in the room almost immediately after he had finished speaking. V's eyes were blown so wide that Jumin could see blue peeking out from behind dark tinted lenses, and the other man's hands had the sheets in a death grip so strong that his already pale skin whitened noticeably.
"V..." The atmosphere was tense, and the only thing Jumin could hear was the sound of quick breaths and the slight rustling of blankets as V slowly released his hold on the bed covers.
"Jumin...forgive me."
"For what?"
"For keeping things from you. Please know that I'm doing this to help you- help the RFA. You're all like family to me." Sensing the tension in his voice, Jumin through caution to the wind and gripped V's shoulders lightly.
"What are you talking about? What did you do to make you act this way? It isn't like you, Jihyun." At the usage of his real name, V looked up to lock his eyes with Jumin's slate-gray ones.
"Jumin...Jumin, I'm going blind. Soon I won't be able to take pictures any longer. I wanted to go on a solo trip...to get photos to help fund the RFA's party one last time." V was shaking now, and it was all Jumin could do to keep the shorter man stable, his voice beginning to break apart. "I'm selfish, Jumin. So incredibly selfish. I let Zai convince me to stay because I knew...I knew this would be my last chance to see you clearly with my own eyes."
"Jihyun..no, no. Everything will be fine. I can pay for your surgery. You don't have to lose your sight, don't think this way!" Jumin was doing his best to prevent himself from falling into hysterics, but V was affecting him in ways he hadn't thought about for years.
"You don't understand... I deserve this. I shouldn't be allowed to exist like this without suffering more for what I've done. It isn't fair." Pulling off his glasses, V pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes in an attempt to stifle the quickly forming tears. Now he was alarmed.
"Jihyun, what is going on?" Removing his own hands from V's shoulders, Jumin gently pulled the other man's wrists away from his face so he could thread their fingers together. "Please...I want to understand you, I want to help you with whatever is bothering you. Stop shutting me out like this..." It had been a long time since Jumin had left himself this open to another person, but at the same time, he couldn't think of anyone he'd rather bare himself to than his best friend.
After he had gotten his breathing under control, V tightened his grip on Jumin's hands.
"You might not like what I tell you."
"That's fine."
"You might hate me for it."
"I won't."
"You might want to leave."
"Never."
The two held each other's gaze for a few moments before V dropped his head to let out a mirthless laugh.
"You were always very stubborn, Jumin."
Glad that they were finally making some progress, Jumin squeezed his hand tighter before moving to sit completely on the bed next to V, their thighs pressed together.
"Only because you hardly ever give in so easily, Jihyun."