Day 9 - 06:51 PM
It had already been late in the afternoon by the time Zai got home from her outing. Minus the time she spent listening to Jumin rant about the injustices of life and calling Zen to scream with him over Jaehee's newfound independence, she hadn't actually spent a lot of time shopping. Regardless of how much of her trip was spent gossiping, she still thought she had everything she needed to survive tomorrow without any physical harm to herself or anyone else. As for emotional wounds...
Carelessly dropping her bag of purchased goods to the floor, she let herself collapse on the short couch in the apartment. She'd been sleeping less recently, with all the excitement from being with Zen and Jaehee, as well as the upcoming party and Unknown's threats. Silently wondering if Seven could see the bags beneath her eyes from his cameras, Zai fished out the concealer she'd bought before dragging herself to the bathroom to make some sort of attempt at putting on makeup. If she was going to go on one last date with both of her most favorite people in the world, then she at least wanted to look nice for it.
Day 9 - 08:09 PM
POV: Jaehee Mode
It was slightly past eight by the time Jaehee found the restaurant that Zen had sent the address for. Unlike the establishment that was chosen for their previous date, it was much smaller and had a very homey atmosphere. As soon as she stepped inside, she could see Zai waving at her enthusiastically from a booth, with Zen sitting across from her. Upon noticing Zai's movements, he turned around, and Jaehee could feel the breath leave her lungs at the absolutely blinding smile he shot her way.
Making her way to the table, she saw Zai scoot over so she could sit next to her. Climbing into the booth, she did her best to keep in the wild storm of emotions currently rolling around in her chest as she slowly processed the day's events.
"Jaehee! You made it!" She smiled at Zai's enthusiasm. The other woman seemed even more excited about the news than she did.
"Of course. After all, it isn't like I have any work to do now." All three of the booth occupants shared a conspiratorial look, before bursting into giggles. Zen was desperately trying to hold in his chuckles, but Jaehee could see the moisture beginning to collect in the corners of his ruby red eyes.
"Ahaha..I'm just imagining the look on Mr. Trust Fund Kid's face when he got the news..." Zen wiped the tears away with the back of his hand, before leaning forward and grasping one of Jaehee's hands between both of his. "Just think, Jaehee! This is a brand new start for you! I know you're going to do great at whatever it is you want to pursue." His movements startled her, but remembering that this man had supported her, loved her even, made the tension melt away as she looked back at him.
"Thank you..." She felt Zai shift and looked over to see her reach across the seat to grasp her hand. Jaehee could feel the warmth from both of them filling her chest and she nearly started crying then and there. She loved these two so much.
"So what are you going to do now, Jaehee?"
"Hmm?" Zai lifted her elbow onto the table and let her head fall into her palm. The sheer adoration in her gaze made Jaehee feel like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.
"You're one of, if not the most capable person I've ever known. I know you wouldn't have just quit on a whim without having a plan first." Thinking back, there was another set of files in the folder that she hadn't needed at the moment, but now was as good a time as any to talk about them.
"Well, I did have the paperwork to lease a building that closed a few months ago. I contacted the owner on a whim, just in case the opportunity ever came to me." Zen and Zai both looked like they'd won the lottery.
"Jaehee this is great!"
"Yeah! You can finally open that cafe like you've always wanted!"
"What?" Jaehee was taken aback by their sudden enthusiasm. They'd remembered her dream and wanted her to pursue it?
"Are you sure I should?" She withdrew her hands from their grasps and noted how their expressions fell after she started curling into herself. "All this time, I've spent it working for other people. I don't know how to do things for myself. What if it all ends in failure?"
"Don't be foolish!" Both she and Zen whipped their heads around to see Zai with her hands clenched into fists. "You won't know what'll happen unless you try. If you convince yourself that your efforts won't ever amount to anything, then that's how you'll be forever. Isn't that what happened with Jumin?" Her expression softened, and she let her hands fall into her lap, clutching at the soft fabric of the slightly large sweater she was wearing.
"Zen and I are here to support you, Jaehee. So please don't look down on yourself. We want you to succeed." Jaehee loved this woman. Loved her with every inch of her being and more. She promptly did her best to express this feeling by wrapping her arms around the shorter woman and letting her head rest against her shoulder. She could feel Zai stiffen momentarily, before returning the hug and melting into Jaehee's embrace contentedly.
"Hey! Don't leave me out of this!" Both women were startled by Zen suddenly sliding his entire torso over the table so he could get his arms around the two of them at once. The atmosphere was then filled with joy as the three laughed together.
At least, until the waiter finally came around to take their orders.
Day 9 - 11:26 PM
Zai had stayed out with Zen and Jaehee for as long as she could before the trio agreed to call it a night and return to their respective places of residence. Jaehee, in particular, had to sort through all the things she'd brought home from the office, and Zen needed to correspond with Jumin over the details of the cat commercial. This left Zai alone with her thoughts in an apartment belonging to a dead woman.
As soon as she stepped into the house, Zai made a beeline for her bedroom. She hadn't even closed the door completely before the tears started rolling down her face. They spilled over her clothes as she slid down the door to the floor, her shoulders heaving with the weight of her sobs. Jaehee and Zen... They truly didn't know what she was doing for them, and if Zai had her way, they never would. In fact, if everything went according to plan tomorrow, they would never see her again. The top of her sweater became soaked as Zai continued to cry.
"I l-love them so much... But in order to..to save them... I have to b-break their hearts!" Another desperate sob tore its way out of her throat as she let the emotions flood through her. How many times had she wished for something like this to happen? For both Zen and Jaehee to reciprocate her feelings, as well as the feelings of each other? Now she was going to take that all from them yet again. She could only hope that their bond would keep them both strong in the aftermath.
"No more resets, no more resets..." The words were a constant mantra as Zai got ready for bed. She'd washed her face, but the tears continued to flow even after doing her best to stop.
Opening her phone, she quickly logged into the RFA App.
Zai has joined the chat room.
/ ZEN: Zai! What are you still doing up? /
/ Zai: I couldn't sleep! /
/ Zai: Besides, I could ask you the same thing! /
/ ZEN: Ha, you got me! ^^ /
/ ZEN: I just finished talking to Jumin about the commercial. /
/ ZEN: I...agreed to work in his production as long as he doesn't have me working with actual cats. /
/ Zai: Whoa, really!? /
/ Zai: Zen, I'm so proud of you! /
/ ZEN: Thanks, Babe! /
/ ZEN: I haven't told Jaehee yet. /
/ ZEN: I was gonna message her but then you got on. /
/ Zai: Oh! Don't let me hold you up! Call her now! /
/ ZEN: Alright alright! /
/ ZEN: Gee, don't seem too eager! Everyone might think you're trying to get rid of me! /
She'd almost forgotten about the situation at hand when Zen's text struck a chord in her. Getting rid of him. Wasn't that what she was doing, ultimately? Ridding herself of the RFA in order to keep them safe? For whose benefit was she really doing this anyways?
Lost in her own head, she didn't notice Zen's messages until a few minutes later.
/ ZEN: Zai? /
/ ZEN: Hellooooo? /
/ ZEN: It was just a joke! Please don't be mad;; /
/ ZEN: Ah, maybe she fell asleep? /
/ ZEN: That's probably for the better.
/ ZEN: Get some rest, Princess! Love you! /
ZEN has left the chat room.
Consumed by her thoughts, Zai mindlessly logged out of the app and closed her phone. Lying back in bed, she stared at her ceiling as she tried to process everything that had happened up until this point.
Was leaving really the answer? She'd already decided on it almost ten days ago when she reset for her final time. There was no going back from that decision. Even if she didn't have a real plan to fix everything, she was tired of living these eleven days over and over again. She loved Zen and Jaehee, and every reset took a toll on her heart as she was forced to watch them forget her and go right to being strangers once more. If she never saw them again after tomorrow, at least she'd have the memories of her time with them. Clutching desperately at her pillow, Zai tried not to think about what might happen if she failed.
There was also Unknown to think about, but her plan for dealing with him was only marginally related to her plan for the next day. She'd do what she could for him. Thinking back to all the times she'd met the strange individual, she realized that she didn't know much about him at all besides his affiliation with the bizarre organization that was Mint Eye, and its apparent obsession with the current RFA members.
Turning over onto her side, Zai squeezed her eyes shut and tried to think about literally anything else. Tomorrow would be the deciding factor in the future of Rika's Fundraising Association, for better, or for worse.