❤︎ Day 15 - 04:17 PM ❤︎

POV: Saeran Mode

It had been over three hours since he and Zai had kissed but Saeran was sure that his heart still hadn't resumed its regular speed since. Zai was holding on to one of his hands, lightly swinging them both together, while the other held onto a bag full of miscellaneous make-up products. They had been walking together for a while, just enjoying the early evening air while absently looking for a good place to eat. After all the commotion with Jamming and Zai's phone earlier, all he wanted to do was sit down and enjoy spending time with his...girlfriend? Honestly, the boundaries in their relationship weren't as clear as he would like them to be, but Zai was comfortable enough around to kiss him in a decidedly non-chaste manner, so he'd take what he could get.

Saeran still wasn't quite used to not being busy all the time. When he was with Mint Eye, he was solely responsible for any dealings that required leaving the 'sanctuary'. Except for duties such as grocery shopping and such, he had handled anything and everything involving either technology or plain brute force. Just being able to be outside and exploring without worrying about deadlines or time limits made everything so much more enjoyable. Focusing on the warmth blooming outwards from where his and Zai's hands were connected, Saeran smiled to himself. This was nice.

The sun was on its way down the horizon, but Zai and Saeran were too preoccupied to even think about the time. Zai had gotten tired of walking around and had asked Saeran what his favorite food was. He'd been forced to admit that Mint Eye wasn't very big on any cuisine that was not to be given to their Savior, so he wasn't very picky when it came to food that didn't come in the form of dry biscuits or vitamin supplements. Her expression had fallen for a split second before she bounced back and asked him what he thought his favorite food would be, if given the opportunity.

"Ice cream." He responded so fast that he blushed and turned his head away so he wouldn't have to see her reaction. What was he thinking? It was so incredibly childish, yet it had been something he wanted to try for years. Missing the wide smile she gave him, he didn't notice when she searched up directions to an ice cream parlor on her new phone.

"Look, there's a place just a couple blocks away! Let's go!" He wasn't prepared for her enthusiastic tugging but stumbled along behind her anyway. Now they were currently in the middle of what might qualify as a sea of ice cream. Once they arrived at the establishment, Saeran had been completely overwhelmed by just how many flavors there were. Upon noticing his dilemma, Zai had suggested they just try all of them. He thought she was joking, but after finishing his last bite of cotton candy swirl, he knew otherwise.

"I don't know if we're going to be able to finish all of this." They'd eaten a substantial amount already, but there were still at least a dozen more flavors left. He was glad he only agreed to get one scoop of each flavor, because if it had been any more, he might not have survived it.

"Don't be silly, you said that five flavors ago." She swiped a stray dot of melted cream and sugar off his face with her thumb and casually licked it clean. Saeran swallowed hard and tried not to think about how cute she looked in the moment and made an attempt to focus on something else. Looking down at all of the discarded paper bowls they'd been using, he wondered.

"Speaking of which, where do you get your money from anyways? I know I'm a little behind on social norms, but most people can't afford to just buy every single flavor from an ice cream store. Even if it's only one scoop per flavor." Looking up at the girl across from him, he noticed that she was already halfway through the scoop of caramel walnut praline and started scrambling for a clean spoon. Zai pulled her phone out from her pocket and hummed lightly, a tiny pink spoon handle sticking out from between her lips.

"Oh, well, I get monthly bank deposits from my parents." He was so focused on savoring the taste that he almost missed her reply before running it through his mind.

"They just send you cash every month for no reason at all?" Something similar had happened to him when he was younger, but his mother had never spent a dime on him or Saeyoung. Banishing those negative thoughts away, he tried to pay more attention to Zai's words.

"Actually they're supposedly sending it to pay for my education. Except I don't think they noticed that I finished over a year ago, and I'm not really inclined to tell them." Saeran almost choked on his spoonful of mint fudge drizzle as he took in her words.

"Wow, you're a lot smarter than everyone expects you to be." He watched her face brighten at the compliment before she stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

"I mean, I did outsmart you, didn't I?" It wasn't one of his proudest moments, but she was correct, she had him beat before he had even arrived at Rika's apartment.

"Yeah, and it's probably the best thing that's ever happened to me." In a bold move, he leaned across the table and kissed her cheek before sitting back down so he could see her reaction. Zai dissolved into a fit of giggles and hid her face behind her phone. He thought he might have even caught a whispered 'How daring' from her before she was straightening up and raising a spoonful of vanilla marshmallow creme up to his lips.

"Say ahh!" Smirking before pulling the spoon out of her grasp with his teeth, he sighed at the taste before offering her some of his key lime twirl. "You know, if you think this is good, wait until I introduce you to frozen yogurt!"

Words lost to him, Saeran simply smiled and nodded. He could get used to this.

❤︎ Day 15 - 10:23 PM ❤︎

POV: 707 Mode

Typing with one hand wasn't easy, but it was absolutely illegal to wake Yoosung if he was asleep. Seven could not move his arm and end up accidentally pulling his precious, adorable boyfriend out of dream world right now. So he would suffer the consequences and attempt to work with only his non-dominant hand free, the other trapped beneath Yoosung's head as he dozed away in the now dark meeting room. Seven knew that the past few days hadn't been exactly easy for the smaller blond. Even though he himself had gotten very little rest, Yoosung had been up and about for much longer than him, and he had been doing things a lot harder than sitting in a chair and staring at a screen.

Seven's job was hard, but he wasn't coding while cooking, cleaning, and occasionally leaving the house to pick up food and other necessities. Looking down at his sweet, perfect lover, Seven found it hard to believe that just about a week ago, he'd wanted to keep Yoosung away from him. At this point, he couldn't even imagine his life without the other boy in it. He'd fallen hard, but all the same, if this was the price he had to pay, he didn't really want to get up.

Yanked out of his internal monologue by a rather loud notification, he rushed to silence it before Yoosung could wake. However, upon clicking it, he realized that he'd gotten a hit on the facial recognition bulletin he'd attached to the city's security camera interface.

"Ohoho...what do we have here?" Zooming into the image, he tried to make out just who was in the photo. "A couple on a romantic walk? Wait- no way..." After enhancing the image quality, he could plainly see that it was definitely Zai in the picture. His heart leaped for joy. He'd actually found her! Score one for the Defender of Justice! But who was that other person with her? He groaned lightly when he realized that the other individual's face was turned away from him, and he noted that Zai was laughing in the picture and had she cut her hair?

There was an increasingly anxious feeling in his chest as he wondered whether or not she really wanted to be found, however, he couldn't bring that up with the other RFA members. Zen and Jaehee especially. It would shatter them completely, and he couldn't do that to his friends. He would just have to see how the situation played out.

Saving the location where the surveillance photograph had been taken, he quickly erased the bulletin as well as any traces he'd been in the system at all. No need to have other people snooping around in places they shouldn't. He then went back to his previous task of trying to access the closed network that Zai's phone had been connected to before its unfortunate death-by-dog. The security was surprisingly tight, and not something he'd expect from what appeared to be a building out in the middle of nowhere. But he had to get in if he wanted to pinpoint her exact location. However, he'd been up for over twenty-four hours and sleep was looking pretty good right now.

Swallowing a yawn, he figured he could take a quick nap and get back to work right after. Plus, Yoosung always said his work was best when he was fully rested!

Seven set his computer on standby before letting his head fall back against the seat. Just fifteen minutes of rest never hurt anyone, after all.