Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

 It was a beautiful, sunny Monday morning. Birds were singing, people bustled about, and the warm sunlight bestowed its light on all those below. Clouds, white and puffy, rolled along in the open sky, as blue as a robin’s egg. It was a magnificent sight.

She glared up at the sun, eyes squinting in aggravation. ‘You’re number one on my shitlist, asshole,’ she vowed, barely restraining herself from shaking her fist at the sky in broad daylight.

Clutching her coffee tightly to her chest, she slunk down the sidewalk, head bowed low. She all but dragged her feet along the ground. The dark shadows under her eyes underscored quite well exactly why she was in such a foul mood—she was exhausted. She had stayed late at work yesterday, helping out one of her co-workers, and had consequently gotten much less sleep than she usually did. And then, today, she somehow got roped into helping some random exchange student find someone who’d lost their phone. He’d messaged her on some app she must’ve downloaded in her exhaustion yesterday, and now she was walking along the sidewalk, going to someone’s apartment. She was about 99% sure that she was going to die this day; regardless of how nice the person texting her seemed, the entire situation was sketchy as all hell. She was just following her GPS’s instructions on where to go. Thankfully, the area really was developed, on a pretty quaint corner of the street.

She made small talk with the person who’d enlisted her help—he still hadn’t told her his name. To be fair, she hadn’t told him hers’, either. He didn’t seem to be expecting her to be curious at all; he paused when she asked him where he was studying, was perplexed when she asked him how he was doing. She didn’t get it. She was just being friendly.

*[Unknown]: I’m studying in China. I’m doing well, thank you. And you?

*[???]: Oh! You’re studying in China? You must be super smart!

She very pointedly did not answer the question on how she was doing. ‘I’m exhausted and I want to fight the sun’ isn’t something you tell people you’ve just met, regardless of whether they were the reason you were outside when you should be sleeping in the first place.

She was not bitter. She was not bitter at all.

*[Unknown]: Ah, not really. Thank you, though.

*[Unknown]: …what about you? Are you a college student?

*[???]: Haha, not anymore! I actually just moved to South Korea from America.

There was a pause.

*[Unknown]: America? That’s cool. Why did you move?

Her smile, which had reluctantly slid up her face as the conversation continued, and he came out of his shell a bit, fell.

*[???]: Oh, you know, I got offered a really good job here, so I thought “why not?”

*[Unknown]: It must be strange, to be so far away from everyone you knew.

She swallowed down the growing lump in her throat, forcing a smile back onto her face. It was kind of him to be concerned for her.

*[???]: A little bit, yeah. But I still get to talk to them over the phone! And I really like it here. So it’s not so bad.

*[???]: What about you? Is it lonely for you to be away from everyone you’ve known?

She entered the apartment building that her GPS was pointing her towards, examining the helpful signs hung up on the walls to find the correct apartment. It was still somewhat difficult for her to read Korean; she was getting better at it, but it still took her a moment. She pressed the button for the elevator, curiously glancing around the lobby while she waited. There were a couple people, sitting at tables or lounging around. None of them looked at her, so she supposed they weren’t very concerned about the random girl that dragged herself into their building like a cat forcing itself to take a bath. The elevator doors dinged and opened, and she got in, pressing the button for the fourteenth floor. The ride was shorter than she thought; the elevator moved fast. When she got out, she glanced down the hall on either side. There weren’t that many apartments on this floor; only a couple, actually. They must be bigger than regular apartments. Maybe this was the fancy section.

Glancing down, she realized that Unknown had texted her back.

*[Unknown]: No. I like it here.

Well. That was a curt response. She supposed the topic might be a difficult one—God knew it was for her. She could respect that.

*[???]: Say, what’s it like in China? I’ve never been!

*[Unknown]: It’s nice. I’m lucky to be here.

Oh. Maybe studying abroad was difficult to do in South Korea? She wouldn’t know.

*[???]: That’s good! Say, what are you studying?

She walked down the hallway, counting off numbers. She was coming near where the apartment was. Should she knock on the door when she got there? Leave a note? She had no game plan.

*[Unknown]: Computer science.

He had resorted to more clipped responses now. She wondered if she was bothering him. Tough. He was the one who had asked for her help, so he could endure her questions as she went out on a limb to give a phone back to someone.

*[???]: Computer science?? Oh, wow! You must be super smart! That’s so cool!

She came to a stop at a door, glancing at the numbers above it. She scrolled back up their conversation, and looked at the address she’d been sent. This was the right apartment.

She bit her lip, thoughtfully staring at the door. What should she do? She was actually kind of terrible at talking to people in person. It was easier through text. How on earth was she going to explain that some random person in China had found their phone?

…actually, how had some random person in China found their phone? Wasn’t it kind of strange that someone in China had found the phone of someone who lived in South Korea? How on earth did the phone wind up in a completely separate country?

She had the sinking feeling that she’d been duped. She jumped as her phone buzzed. Glancing at it, clutched in her hand, she lifted it with shaking fingers.

*[Unknown]: You’re very kind. Have you reached the apartment yet?

She shivered. What should she do? Tell him the truth? Logically, if he really had tricked her here for some reason, she shouldn’t give him what he wanted. But if he was who he said he was, then she would be cruelly rejecting to help him at the last moment. She had no evidence for either side, except for her own suspicions, and his selfie.

She closed her eyes, and prayed that she wouldn’t regret this.

*[???]: Yeah, I just got here! I’m about to ring the doorbell.

Having said so, she then followed through, pressing the doorbell. A buzzing noise, slightly muffled by the door, rang out in the apartment. She noted thoughtfully that there was a pretty intense lock on the door, with R.F.A. carved beneath it. She waited a bit, but there was no answer.

“Are they not home?” She wondered aloud. That was…quite reassuring, actually. If no one was there, then there was no way that someone inside was about to try and grab her.

Just to be sure, she rang the doorbell again, with a bit more force this time. She waited again. A minute passed, then another.

Huh.

*[Unknown]: Is anyone answering?

*[???]: No, no one’s coming to the door. I guess they must be out.

She shuffled her feet a bit, heaving a sigh. While it was a good thing that whoever lived here wasn’t home—and therefore the chance of this being a trick lessened—it also meant that she was kind of stuck here, staring at a door, unable to actually do anything.

*[???]: I could try to leave a note?

*[???]: Wait, I don’t have any paper. Or a pen.

*[???]: …we didn’t really think this through, did we.

There was a small pause.

*[Unknown]: …not really, no.

She couldn’t help but smile, a little laugh escaping her. Well, at least he agreed with her. Clenching a fist, she could feel the fires of determination growing inside her. She would not give up here!

*[???]: Don’t worry, though! I’ll come back later! I’m sure we’ll be able to catch them at home eventually!

He answered quickly this time.

*[Unknown]: Actually, I think…Is there a lock on the door?

*[???]: Yeah, there is. Why?

She raised her eyebrow at the lock. It was kind of intimidating, actually. None of the other apartments had a lock like this, so the person who lived here must’ve installed it themselves. She supposed they really didn’t want to chance a break-in.

*[Unknown]: Well, there’s a number here. I think it’s probably the passcode. Why don’t you try putting it in?

Her eyebrows, so recently at her hairline, dropped to furrow right above her eyes. Was he…serious?

*[???]: Um, I’m not sure that’s the best idea. I can just come back later.

*[Unknown]: They might not come back later. Surely this would be easier.

Oh my God he was actually serious.

*[???]: Dude. That’s illegal.

*[Unknown]: There’s no need for you to worry. I’d take full responsibility. You’d only have to write a note with my contact information and leave it for them.

Right, because he’d totally be able to take responsibility all the way from China.

*[???]: This person has a really big lock on their door. I’m pretty sure they don’t want someone going into their apartment without their permission, and I really don’t want to get arrested for breaking and entering.

Her phone buzzed a second after she sent that. Was it just her, or was he growing more agitated?

*[Unknown]: You won’t be arrested. I promise.

She shook her head, running a hand through her hair in frustration. Heaving a sigh, she muttered, “This is…ugh!”

*[???]: How can you guarantee that? You’re in China. Listen, you seem to be a really nice guy, and I like talking to you, but I don’t even know your name! How on earth am I supposed to trust you enough to break into someone’s apartment for you? It’s wrong!

Minutes passed. There was no response. She frowned, growing…concerned, despite her best judgment. Was he okay? She had no interest in fighting with him—she actually did like talking to him, though she’d known him for maybe an hour at best. He had a dry sense of humor, just like her, and she’d found herself laughing softly on her way over. She thought that she’d like to be friends with him. But doing something like this…it was wrong. She knew that deep down in her gut. It was wrong, and she didn’t have enough justification to break her own moral code for someone she barely knew.

Finally, finally, her phone buzzed with a new message.

*[Unknown]: My name is Mikael. I know it doesn’t sound Korean, but it’s my baptismal name. I know this is strange. I’m sorry. It must seem weird to you, but my religion dictates that I can’t turn away from any opportunity to do good. I don’t have anything else I can say to sway you. Please. It’s really important.

She stared at the message for a while. She could feel undesired sympathy welling in her gut.

*[???]: You’re…Christian?

*[Unknown]: Catholic, yes.

Aw, shit.

“Figures,” she groaned, agonized. How the fuck was she going to refuse now?

*[Unknown]: Why?

*[???]: Because I am, too. I…fine. Fine. I don’t even know if you’re telling the truth, but…I’ll trust you. Can’t very well turn my back when you’re asking me for help so sincerely.

*[Unknown]: Thank you!

“I’m totally about to die,” she said, blankly, as Mikael sent her the passcode. “There’s going to be someone waiting for me behind the door, and I’m going to die, because I can’t leave well enough alone. Tell my family I’m sorry. Someone please feed my cat when I’m gone.”

She sighed as she punched in the number. The lock beeped, and with a click, the door opened. She paused, thoughtfully glancing down at her phone. “Huh,” she hummed.

*[???]: I’m still kind of suspicious of you, but…I hope we can become good friends, Mikael. It’s fun talking with you.

*[???]: Oh! My name’s Seasnan, by the way. Nice to meet you!

As she entered the apartment, a string of numbers and letters—code?—ran across her screen. She stared, confused. Looking up for a moment, she realized the apartment was dusty, dirty. Like no one had lived here in a while.

What…what was going on?

*[Unknown]: Seasnan. That’s a nice name. Thank you, Seasnan. You’ve helped more than I can say.

*[Seasnan]: Hey, wait, Mikael, this place is really dusty—I don’t think anyone lives here—

In the space of a moment, she realized that her username had changed. And then the app closed down right before her eyes without her pressing a single button. Her eyes widened, surprised.

“Oh, shit,” she said, as the app re-opened, with a great many people she didn’t know talking to each other. She watched, horror unfurling in her gut, as they noticed that she was there. "Oh, shit."

She knew she shouldn’t have gotten up this morning.

Chapter Text

It only took a second for one of them—707? What kind of username was that?—to notice that someone had entered the chatroom that wasn’t supposed to be here. Cue panic.

She watched, bemused, as they began to freak out, calling her a hacker, and then a robot, and then…a robot hacker? Huh.

She had literally no idea what was going on, but the situation was so surreal that she was able to keep her cool.

*[Seasnan]: Hello.

It was only polite to greet them, after all. Of course, that only made them panic again, but hey, that wasn’t her fault.

She explained that no, she wasn’t a hacker, and she didn’t know where she was. No, no, she wasn’t lying. There was this guy. Yeah, he texted her and asked for her help delivering a phone he’d found to someone. What was his name? He said Mikael, but it was his baptismal name, not his official one. How did she know he was a guy? Well, he sent her a selfie. Yeah, really. Sure, she can send it. Wait. …she didn’t know how to send pictures on this app. Yeah? Okay, she was looking. Um…she didn’t see anything. No, there’s definitely nothing there. She can’t send pictures? Oh. Well. That’s rough. You’ll fix it? How? You made the app?? Damn. That’s cool.

As 707 stopped chatting, presumably as he went to change the app so she could upload pictures, the others questioned her. And then sent selfies. Okay.

Zen was nice looking, she could admit, though she was sensing a strain of narcissism in him. Yoosung was just plain cute. Damn. The only photo that she had of the other three was 707’s picture of himself crossdressing. He was cuter than she was. She tried not to feel bitter about that.

She failed.

Zen posted photos of Jaehee and Jumin, when it became apparent that they had no intention of showing their own photos. She felt kind of jealous, since currently, her own profile picture was just a black square. She supposed she would be able to change it after 707 let her upload pictures. She hoped. It was kind of creepy.

Yoosung and Zen took over for most of the explaining of who people were, and what group they were in—the R.F.A. That explained the insignia on the door. They were upset that she was in this apartment; it had apparently belonged to someone named Rika before she died. Seasnan instantly felt terrible. She knew she shouldn’t have walked in here.

The R.F.A. was an organization that held charity parties, inviting people from all different businesses and lives, bringing them together to forge connections and try to help organizations in need of help. But they hadn’t been able to hold any parties since their planner, Rika, died.

707 came back online, crowing that he had made it so Seasnan could upload pictures. Cool. She followed his instructions, going to the photo button now at the top right of her messenger, and scrolled through her photos. Oh. Fuck.

*[Seasnan]: …it’s not there.

707 sent an emoji of his glasses breaking. Whoops. Sorry, dude.

*[ZEN]: What?! Did the hacker somehow delete the photo?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Can we even be certain there was ever a photo?

Ouch. Harsh.

*[Seasnan]: There was definitely a photo. I think he actually deleted the entire chat that we had together; I can’t find it anywhere.

Which set off an entire new wave of belief and doubt. She tried not to be offended when Jaehee was openly suspicious of her, and Jumin questioned her at every turn. 707 seemed more interested in joking than actually contributing to the conversation, but Zen and Yoosung seemed to believe in her, for whatever reason. She appreciated it, though she had no idea why they were so staunchly supportive when they’ve never met her before, and she came into their private chatroom under such suspicious circumstances.

Eventually some guy named V got involved, who was the leader of the R.F.A. 707 was talking to him the entire time that he was memeing around. That’s some multitasking.

She was sensing some tension between V and Yoosung.

Because she had managed to join the R.F.A. chatroom, which was private, and access Rika’s apartment, which was very private (classified documents?? Oh shit), she had to be inducted into the R.F.A. now. Well. Okay. She was the party planner now, which sent a wave of excitement through the entire group. Understandable. But also terrifying. She was terrible at social interactions; how was she supposed to successfully coordinate an entire charity party? Would she have to talk to people? Oh, God.

Not that she had any choice in the matter. She knew quite well that this was them being kind to her; they probably could do a lot worse if they wanted. They were choosing to believe her when she said that she had been lured here, and she really didn’t want to find out what would happen if they no longer believed her. 707 was a secret agent? …Well. She was going to have to do her best to not get on his bad side.

Eventually, the chat came to an end. Whether content or not, the other members accepted V’s decision. She was an official member of the R.F.A.

She had the feeling that her life had just taken a radical turn. This was what happened when she did something she knew was wrong because she wanted to help someone. Sometimes she couldn’t believe her own stupidity.

She took a moment to breathe as the full realization of what just happened crashed down upon her. She’d broken into someone’s apartment. Somehow this had booted her into the chatroom of a private organization, who decided that instead of pressing charges, or telling her to, y’know, get out, they instead made her a member. Because that made sense.

Slowly, she sank down onto the dirty floor of the apartment. She sat there for a while, focusing on taking slow, even breaths. This was insane. This was absolutely insane! But she couldn’t change what had happened. It was over. Focus on breaths.

She felt a mild sense of amusement, thinking it quite lucky that she’d kicked her dust allergy before she’d wound up here. Wouldn’t that have sucked.

Organize her thoughts. She needed to organize her thoughts. She thought back on how quickly everything had happened, and centered the events in her mind. She’d helped Mikael find the apartment of someone who’d lost their phone. She’d entered the apartment like the dumbass she was. Turns out she’d been duped; she was dumped onto some private messenger app that the R.F.A. members used to communicate. Because she was in the hub of confidential information of the R.F.A., aka this dusty apartment, she had to be inducted into the group. So now here she was, doing her best not to hyperventilate on the floor of some dead chick’s apartment, wishing that she had decided to sleep in this morning. She knew that nothing good would come of waking up early, but noooo, she had to try to be responsible, like a mature adult! Good going, Sea. Nice job.

She stayed on the ground for a while, until she decided that while moping was all well and good, it wouldn’t actually get her anywhere, and she had to confirm something. She scrolled through the app, finding the text feature. She ran through the numbers, the little profile pictures right next to their names. Clicking ‘707’, she began to type.

*Seasnan: So, exactly how often do I have to be in this apartment? Can I still use the app if I’m not in the apartment?

And then she waited. And waited. And then—surprise!—she waited some more. No response. It appeared that 707 was busy at the moment.

Snorting, she forced herself up from the floor, grimacing at the dirt she got on her hands. Well, she didn’t have work today, so she had an entire day to get set up for her…new job? She supposed she was working two jobs now. Yay. She wondered if she was going to get paid for organizing the party. That was, she wondered until she remembered that she’d broken into the apartment that held all their confidential documents, and she could literally be arrested if they wanted. They weren’t going to pay her. Shit.

She wandered through the halls, familiarizing herself with the apartment. There was only one bedroom, but it was fairly spacious. There weren’t any decorations or knick-knacks. She wondered who had cleaned them out after Rika died; apparently only V and 707 knew where the apartment was. She felt absurdly bad for a second, thinking of V cleaning out all traces of his dead girlfriend from her place. She wondered why they hadn’t moved the documents out of the apartment after Rika died; how would they even know if someone broke in and took everything? Was a lock on the door really a good enough security system?

One bathroom, a small kitchen, a bedroom and a living room. All dusty and dirty. It was very obvious that no one was taking care of this place.

Well. Time to find some cleaning supplies.

~

In retrospect, it seemed obvious that when she was so intent on fixing up the apartment (and singing cheerily as she did so), she wouldn’t notice her phone buzzing. When she was done cleaning all the windows and checked her phone, she saw that 707 had responded a couple of minutes ago. Clicking on his face, she raised an eyebrow at the message.

*707: You’ve gotta stay there a lot! Being in the apartment is what lets your phone connect to the app, so you’ve gotta stay there all the time!!

That made an unfortunate amount of sense.

*Seasnan: Alright. Should I just move in here, then, or do you think that would upset anyone?

The answer came much quicker this time.

*707: It’ll be fine! Everyone’s really excited to talk to you!

She paused. She’d…been joking. But, now that he’d responded so positively, she realized that if she actually did have to plan this party…she would have to be here a lot, and it just wasn’t logistically possible for her to walk twenty minutes to Rika’s apartment each day.

She decided to think about that later, and turned back to the conversation with Seven.

*Seasnan: You know, I don’t think Jaehee was actually looking forward to making friendship bracelets with me.

She waited, but nothing was forthcoming after that. Had she offended him? Feeling slightly uncomfortable, she turned back to cleaning. She got a Clorix wipe and started wiping down countertops and other surfaces, feeling slightly gross at all the dirt that accumulated on the wipe so quickly.

Her phone rang, and she dropped the cloth, quickly pulling her phone out and checking it. A picture of 707 took up the main screen, and her incoming call ringtone was playing. He was calling her? Huh.

She picked up, only to hear hysterical laughing on the other end.

“F-friendship bracelets,” he wheezed. She could feel her mouth lifting into a smile.

“Hello, Seven,” she said. “Actually, now that I think about it, it’s not actually a bad idea. Might clear the air a bit: ‘Hi, sorry I accidentally broke into your app, here’s a friendship bracelet as a gift. No hard feelings, right?’”

“I’m imagining it,” he confessed, laughing even harder.

“Yeah?” She asked. “Does she accept? Do we become biffles?”

“Biffles,” he whispered, and nothing else. She wondered if he was okay. She couldn’t help but feel happy; no one had laughed that hard at her jokes in a long time.

“Which color beads do you think she’d like?” She wondered aloud. “I’m thinking of getting one bead that says ‘Best Friends Forever’. Hm. Maybe amber beads are the way to go—some kind of golden brown. Hmm.”

“G-get her one with a cat,” begged Seven.

“A cat,” she repeated thoughtfully. “Jaehee likes cats?”

For some reason, that made him laugh harder. She would take that as a yes.

“Would you like a friendship bracelet, Seven?” She asked cheerfully. His laughter cut off, and the line went dead silent. But she didn’t get the feeling that she’d gotten before, that she had gone too far, that he was upset. She thought he was probably restraining himself so that he didn’t laugh too loud.

Well. She couldn’t have that.

“I’m thinking of including a little computer bead on yours,” she mused. “Maybe use red beads. How about it? Is there a specific bead you want?”

He was snickering now. “I-I want a Ph.D Pepper and Honey Buddha Chips bead,” he said.

She laughed. “Gosh, you sure are picky, huh?”

She could imagine him drawing himself up, feigning seriousness. “Of course!” He said. “Only the best for the Defender of Justice, Seven-Zero-Seven!!”

“Defender of Justice?” She repeated sardonically.

He mock-gasped. “You don’t know about the Defender of Justice??” He yelled. He sounded very offended. She snorted. “The God Seven-Zero-Seven, who protects the world from boredom and seriousness!!”

She laughed, an unexpected laugh that went deep in her chest. “What a benevolent god,” she went along with it, and she could hear the delight in his voice as he continued.

“Of course! God Seven is the most benevolent god there is! He is—ah, crap.”

“Gosh,” she said, “I never realized God Seven was so self-deprecating.”

He laughed again, though this one was much quieter. “No, no, I just have to go. Work calls me! There is no rest for the Defender of Justice!”

“Right,” she agreed, though there was a welling of disappointment in her stomach. She liked talking to Seven. “The Defender of Justice must go help the people, I understand. Talk to you later, Seven.”

“Right! Then—“ and he made some strange noise right before hanging up, like the exit noise of a superhero. She shook her head, feeling much lighter. That had been…really fun.

“Thanks, Seven,” she said to the air. As she clicked through her phone, she saw that she had received a bunch of texts during her phone call from the R.F.A. members. They were just greetings, but the fact that they were all already welcoming her into the organization even though she appeared under such suspicious circumstances was heart-warming.

She replied to them all, and then got back to work. The apartment wasn’t going to clean itself.

~

When she finally decided to call it quits for the day, hours had passed. It was well into the afternoon now; it was probably around 3. Her stomach rumbled with hunger, and she grimaced. She never ate breakfast, so she hadn’t eaten yet today. She cursed herself for taking so long cleaning, but throughout the day more chats had happened, and she couldn’t help but jump in on them every time they appeared. Talking to everyone was really fun. Yoosung’s gaming addiction, Zen’s narcissism, Seven and Jumin’s love of cats, Jaehee’s unending serious attitude…they all mixed together into some sort of amalgamation that actually worked, somehow. And it felt nice to join in, because they welcomed her—they made a place for her effortlessly. She felt like she belonged.

It was a nice feeling.

But it also meant that she had dawdled while cleaning, and now she was paying the price. In hunger pangs. Ugh.

Shaking her head, she went to the kitchen table, where had she placed her purse while cleaning. Picking it up, she left the apartment, going back down onto the street. She searched for a café, hoping to find a small place where she could get a sandwich and a coffee. Eventually she found one, a nice coffee shop. Usually she preferred to buy and cook her own food—she still found ordering in Korean difficult—but she was too hungry to travel all the way back to her apartment to eat. She stumbled her way through the words, earning a few curious looks, but the person at the register understood well enough, and punched in her order without trouble.

She ate slowly, considering how to proceed from here. It wasn’t like she could just run away; Seven was a genius hacker secret agent. He could definitely find her again. Besides, she had done this to herself. It wouldn’t be fair to bail just because she couldn’t handle the consequences of her actions.

So she was staying. And planning a party, though her job really consisted more of corresponding with guests through e-mails. She wasn’t setting up the venue, or the decorations, or the food—so she wasn’t really a planner. Just the hostess. She was terrible at talking to people, but she didn’t think her job included calling anyone, which was the thing that really made her anxious. With all other aspects, she was decently okay—she would just have to try her hardest. She owed it to them, after all.

She had suggested moving into the apartment mostly as a joke, but she had a feeling that Seven had been serious when he agreed that she should. She considered it. It would be free, she assumed, which would be pretty great. It would make sense, if the app only worked when she was in the apartment—she wondered if that could be fixed somehow? Could Seven make it so that the app worked wherever she went?—but it would also be strange to so quickly move into the apartment owned by an organization she had broken into, only a day after joining. It was a serious topic, and she knew that she wouldn’t be deciding today. But—she had a feeling the decision would have to be made soon.

With some of her indecision put to rest, she finished her meal and left the café. She went home, all the way back to her apartment. It wasn’t a particularly long walk, but it certainly wasn’t short, either. It was about twenty minutes walking. She moved quickly down the streets, clutching her purse to herself, shoulders hunched. She didn’t like walking in such close quarters to so many people. It made her nervous, for whatever reason. She wished she had a car, but that would probably cause her even more anxiety. She’d never been good at driving in cities.

When she opened the door to her apartment, Claymore was already waiting impatiently on the other side. The moment she entered and shut the door behind her, he was rubbing himself against her legs, purring loudly. She laughed, soft and deep, bending down to rub behind his ears, watching with delight as his spine curved up in pleasure. His tail swiped through the air slowly, flicking against her shin. She sat on the ground, leaning back against the door, and let him climb into her lap, nuzzling against her chin. She kissed him on the forehead, combed fingers through his fur, and let out a sigh of relief. The tension from the day bled out of her slowly.

“Hey, loser,” she greeted. “Did you miss me?”

He purred in reply, and that was all the answer she needed. Smiling, she hugged him to her. “Yeah,” she said, “same here.”

She remained like that, petting her cat. Eventually, she forced herself up, Claymore meowing protest but reluctantly getting off so she could move. He padded back to her couch, hopping up and curling into a ball. She raised an eyebrow as he instantly closed his eyes, slipping back into sleep. Had he woken up just for her? Aw. She felt so loved.

Taking off her shoes, she moved through her place, looking around like it was her first time here. It would be strange to move. Could she? Should she? This was the first apartment she’d gotten here, in South Korea. It hadn’t been easy, moving here, and this apartment had become something of a refuge, a little piece of her own culture in a country so different from where she’d grown up. Here she could cook American food, and read books written in English, and drink from her ‘You’ve CAT to be KITTEN me right MEOW’ mug. If she moved into Rika’s apartment, she wouldn’t ever be able to truly make it a place for her; it would always be someone else’s first. It felt wrong, really. She liked it here.

Sighing, she sat on the couch, absentmindedly curling her fingers into Claymore’s soft fur. He began to purr again, quietly, and the sound was a soothing background to her thoughts. She forced herself to honestly, fully consider if she had to move to Rika’s apartment. She was only able to access the app there, and being able to access the app was kind of critical for answering the e-mails that potential guests would send—not to mention that it was the only way for her to keep in contact with everyone in the R.F.A. She had to be there just about every moment she wasn’t working, anyway. So moving in there was definitely the smartest option. If the apartment was closer to her place, she would consider just walking there every day, but it was over a mile from her, and she didn’t feel like having to make the trek so often.

Decided, she turned to logistics. To be quite frank, she absolutely refused to sleep on the bedsheets of a dead girl. She was bringing her own over, and that was final. She wondered how she was going to bring all of her food over; should she just buy new stuff for the other apartment? It seemed like a waste, but she didn’t really want to walk twenty minutes holding a gallon of milk in one hand, either. And how would she bring it all, anyway? Multiple trips? Not on her life—that was way too much exercise for anyone, and time-consuming to boot. She would compromise, she decided: bring over non-perishable things in boxes, and buy everything else. And then, of course, was Claymore. She’d bring him over last; she didn’t want him roaming around the new apartment without her there, at least not until he’d gotten used to it. The absolute last thing she needed was for her cat to find the only memoir left of Rika in the place and break it. And he would. He was an asshole like that.

He gently bit her hand, like he could hear what she was thinking. She blinked, glancing down at where his canines pressed into her skin, little pinpricks of pain. Yup, she mused. An asshole.

He started clawing at her wrist, so she used her not-mauled hand to make him let go (gently, always gently), rising from the couch before he could make another go for her poor, abused arm. He hid his evil behind a saccharine mask, but he truly was a cat through and through.

“Jerk,” she muttered, and walked away. She entered her bedroom, hands on her hips, looking around. The clutter on her desk and dresser made her wince. She was going to have to clean that, wasn’t she? Ugh. And then she had packing to do.

Rolling her shoulders to work out the kinks, she breathed another sigh and got to work. It was going to be a long day.

~

The sight of her room, bare, all her decorations gone, made her stomach start to churn. This was happening. This was really happening. Okay. Okay.

Her clothes were packed into her suitcases. Her makeup, her perfumes, her shoes, all packed. Her plates, bowls, silverware, cups and mugs, all wrapped and packed into boxes. She’d put her sheets, washcloths and towels into another box. There was nothing she could do about the furniture, though; there was no way she was carrying her couch to Rika’s apartment, she didn’t own a car, she wasn’t close enough friends with anyone here to ask them to help, and she really didn’t want to spend money on hiring a moving van. Besides, even though she was moving into Rika’s apartment, that didn’t mean she couldn’t keep this one. Just that she wouldn’t be spending most of her time here.

It was night now. Well, early evening, really. She fed Claymore, shuffling over to the fridge. She felt absolutely wiped; today was supposed to be her day to relax, dammit! But now she was more tired than she’d ever been. Great. Just great.

She had absolutely zero energy to put into making dinner, so she settled for a simple sandwich. Collapsing onto the sofa, she groaned in anguish. She couldn’t believe that she’d been able to pack up basically her entire life in South Korea in a matter of hours. It was surreal.

Of course, this wasn’t everything. She’d deliberately decided to leave some of her things, like the TV and the paintings on the walls. Why? Well, for one, she just didn’t want to carry them. No can do, no thank you. For another, she wasn’t actually sure how long she had to be at that apartment yet; would she have to stay there for months? Years? Or just a matter of weeks? Until she knew for sure, she’d be keeping this apartment as a backup, and she wouldn’t be taking the really difficult to move items.

When she was finished, she considered what she should do now. The clock on the wall told her it was around 7:30 (she fucking loved analog clocks, the one kind of clock that actually told time in the way she was used to). She had work tomorrow, so if she wanted to start moving then, she would only have a couple of hours until night. Should she just get started right now?

It couldn’t hurt, she figured. The more she did today, the less she would have to do tomorrow, right? Right.

Nodding decidedly, she picked up the box containing her dishes and silverware. It wasn’t exactly light, but she could handle it. Grabbing her purse and slinging it over her shoulder, she headed out, making sure that Claymore didn’t make a break for the door while she was exiting. He didn’t, of course. He hadn’t ever wanted to leave her house back when she lived with her family, and he didn’t seem to want to leave her apartment now, either. It concerned her, in a way. He was originally a stray; shouldn’t he want to go outside? But it made her life easier, so she couldn’t complain.

She hauled the box out of the building and through the streets. She felt absurdly grateful that the crowds of people had let up a little, thanks to it being night. The bars along the street were filled with people, all cheering. She huffed a laugh; South Korea was certainly different from America, but it wasn’t a bad kind of different, she thought. Well, except for the elbowing. Holy shit, the elbowing. Jesus.

She shivered, the echo of bruises twinging all over her body. It was like a battle royale to get where you were going before anyone else sometimes. And she always lost. Always.

But there was no danger of that now! She felt cheerful at the thought. Humming softly to herself, she continued onwards.

It took her a while, because she’d completely forgotten the way to Rika’s apartment, and had to consult her GPS, but eventually she reached the place where this had all started. Gosh, had it only been this morning? It was crazy to even think about. It felt like weeks had already passed since that moment.

Her arms were quivering from the strain of holding the box at this point, but she encouraged herself. She could do this! Only a little more to go!!

She took the elevator up, noting that there didn’t seem to be anyone in the lobby this time.

When she reached Rika’s apartment, she shuffled the box over until it was balanced on one arm, reached out to punch in the lock code… Until she realized, with a plummeting horror, that she couldn’t remember what the code was.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

She closed her eyes. She placed the box on the ground. She sank to her knees. She tried not to cry.

“Are you fucking kidding me,” she said.

What on earth should she do? Mikael had told her the code on the chat that he had deleted later, so she couldn’t check that. The only other people who might know were Seven and V, and she couldn’t contact either of them without the app, which she couldn’t use unless she was in Rika’s apartment. She was screwed. She was so very, very screwed.

Unless...she sat up abruptly, a desperate hope lighting in her chest. Maybe...maybe she'd be able to access the app from out here? She was literally right next to the apartment, right? It was definitely worth a shot!

She pulled her phone from her purse, quickly punching in the code and clicking the app. It loaded slowly, ever so slowly... She watched, nervously running a hand through her hair, as the loading bar filled and refilled over and over. Would it work? Would it work? She sent out a prayer, nervous and shaky. She was so screwed if this didn't work. She shut her eyes tight, and tried to telekinetically force the app to open.

With the heavenly sound of a 'ding!', she knew her prayer had been answered. Eyes flying open, she breathed out a heavy sigh of relief--and then the sigh turned into a strangled, confused groan. Holy shit. Holy shit. Look at all these missed calls. What the fuck.

How--why--she'd been in the organization for one goddamn day, and everyone was already blowing up her phone. Shit, man, she was more popular than she'd ever been. She hesitantly clicked on the chatroom.

Well. It wasn't so bad. She'd missed around four chatrooms, apparently. Not terrible, though it seemed that the other members had wanted her to be there. Chill, guys. She couldn't be in every one of the conversations.

Backing out, she clicked on the 'Call' button, then on '707'. As the phone rang, she prayed that Seven would pick up. She didn't want to have to make the trek back to her apartment with the box again, but she really didn't want to camp out in front of the door. She could just imagine that going over well if one of the neighbors stepped outside.

She shuddered; a visceral, horrified reaction.

"Hello hello!" Called her phone, and she brightened immediately.

"Seven!" She cheered, grinning from ear to ear. "Man, am I glad to hear you!"

"Ah," he said, blankly; then, "of course! The Defender of Justice, God Seven-Zero-Seven is here to dry your tears and protect you!!"

Sea snickered. "Right, right. Exactly how are you going to dry my tears over a phone conversation?"

He gasped, as offended as a cat sprayed with water. "Seasnan! Are you doubting the Defender of Justice?!"

She hummed thoughtfully, considering that. "I mean," she said, "yeah, I guess."

"No!!" He cried, sounding honest to God close to tears. "How is this possible? God Seven's own people doubt him! Whatever shall he do?!"

"Well," she suggested, "he could start by telling me the passcode to get into Rika's apartment, because I totally forgot."

Over the line, she could hear a snort that quickly turned into full blown, cackling laughter. She rolled her eyes, but she couldn’t fight down the smile pricking at the edges of her own lips.

“That’s right, laugh it up,” she complained. “Here I am, languishing outside the apartment I’m moving into to help you guys out, and you’re just making fun of me. It’s been hours since I was told the password! Hours! I can’t be expected to remember—would you—stop laughing, dammit!!”

Seven didn’t listen. Sighing, she waited for him to subside into giggles and the occasional snort. She couldn’t even find it in herself to be annoyed; he just sounded so delighted. At her misfortune. Actually, she retracted her former statement—as it turned out, there was indeed a kernel of aggravation deep, deep down inside herself.

“Are you done?” She asked.

She could hear him grinning through the phone. “Sorry, sorry~ But fear not! God Seven is here to help!!”

“Yay.”

He sighed mournfully. “That wasn’t grateful at all,” he bemoaned. “If you aren’t going to appreciate my kindness, why should I help y—“

“I’ll send you a picture of my cat.”

“Deal.”

The immediate compliance made her laugh, an abrupt, loud sound that echoed through the hall. “Oh my God,” she said, embarrassed, before recovering quickly. “Are you saying that you’ll do things in exchange for cat pictures?”

“One hundred percent!” Seven exclaimed without a moment of hesitation. She laughed again, a bit quieter, but no less amused.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she snorted. “Now, the passcode?”

He gave it to her, and she punched it in. The lock made a beeping noise, opening with a click. She picked up the box, cradling her phone in the junction between her shoulder and ear, and went inside.

“You know,” she said, “I’m actually kind of surprised that you didn’t lie about what the code was.”

He gasped. “Do I seem like that kind of person to you?!”

“Yes.”

“Cruel,” he sniffed. She rolled her eyes, huffing out a breath. Placing the box down on the coffee table, she sat in one of the chairs, breathing out a sigh of relief. Shaking out her arms, she mourned the walk back to her own apartment that she was going to have to do soon.

But first…

It didn’t take long for her to find a pad of paper and a pen—if there was one thing Rika had been, it was organized. She quickly jotted down the passcode for the apartment, ripping the paper off and putting it in her purse. Her memory was shit, so it was best to be cautious. She didn’t want to make a habit of begging Seven to remind her what it was. He’d been merciful this time, but she had no doubt if she kept bothering him about it, he’d eventually tell her a fake passcode just to hear her freak out over the phone.

“There,” she said, satisfied.

“Now send me the picture!” Seven demanded. “Send it, send it!”

“Calm down,” she admonished blithely. “I’ll send it. Text me that you got it, okay?”

“Roger!!” Seven exclaimed, and she hung up. Still laughing to herself, she scrolled through the copious amount of pictures she had of Claymore, eventually picking out one of her favorites, of the time that she had taken a ribbon and tied it like a bow tie around his collar. She sent it ceremoniously, with a wave of her fingers, and waited eagerly to see how Seven would react.

She was not disappointed.

*Seasnan: Here you go. [cat.jpg]

*707: !!! OH MY GOD!!!

*Seasnan: His name’s Claymore. Isn’t he cute?

*707: THE CUTEST!!

*707: He could give Elly a run for her money!! I’m totally gonna steal him!!

*Seasnan: What.

*707: He will be mine!!! Agent 707 will prevail!!

*Seasnan: Jesus, Seven. You could just come over like a normal person. It’s not like I’ve forbidden you from seeing him.

*Seasnan: YET.

*707: NO!! The Defender of Justice, Seven-Zero-Seven, must pet this cat!!

*Seasnan: I’m getting the feeling that I’m going to have to make some sort of organization with Jumin. The ‘Protect Your Cat from Seven’ Club.

*707: GASP! Enemies line up before me, but Agent 707 will not fail!

*Seasnan: …do you want another picture?

*707: Yes, please.

And so it went. She sent him another couple of pictures, free of charge, because she was a nice person like that. And also because it meant he owed her favors in the future. She wasn’t that nice of a person, come on.

Eventually their conversation subsided, especially as they kept jumping into chat rooms as they popped up. When she glanced at the time, she was astounded to find that it was nearly eleven. She’d been sitting here, talking to everyone, for hours, and hadn’t even noticed. Damn.

Standing, she gathered her purse and prepared to leave the apartment, before a notification appeared on the screen of her phone. She clicked it, thoughtfully, before she saw—

She had a text message from Unknown.

Freezing, she inhaled sharply. Mikael had contacted her? He was able to contact her? Didn’t that mean he had managed to hack into the app? She tapped the message, brows furrowing and mouth pulling into a scowl. What did he want?

*Unknown: Thank you for helping me, Seasnan. Things are going to be interesting from now on. I’ll come get you soon. Good luck~

Oh what the hell.

She dragged a hand through her hair, pulling fiercely at the strands. What on earth? He’ll come get her? That meant nothing good, absolutely nothing good. Helping him? Had her entering the chat allowed him to hack in? No, that made no sense. He didn’t need her for that; he knew the passcode for the door—

Eyes widening, she turned to the door. He knew the passcode to the door. How hadn’t she realized that? He was the one that told her the damn passcode in the first place!! He could enter this place at any time! This apartment wasn’t safe at all—there was no way she could move in here!

Furiously tapping away, she texted Seven.

*Seasnan: Seven, Unknown just texted me. He managed to get into the app somehow.

*Seasnan: He said something about coming to get me soon.

*Seasnan: Also, we all seemed to overlook this, but he obviously knows the passcode to get into the apartment?! He was the one who told me in the first place. Couldn’t he just waltz in here any time he wanted and kidnap me if I lived here?

Not that she wouldn’t put up a fight, of course. But she would prefer not putting herself in danger in the first place, thank you.

*707: Shit.

That was an understatement.

*707: Hold on, I’ll change the passcode.

…um.

*Seasnan: You can change the passcode??

*707: Yeah lol. Agent 707 can do anything!

Well damn. Her new meme friend was actually pretty scary.

*Seasnan: That’s awesome, Seven! But still, couldn’t he just break the door down if he really wants to get in?

And, strangely enough, that seemed to give Seven pause. She waited, mildly confused, for a response.

*707: Don’t worry, lol. I have a security system in place. No one gets in without me noticing them on the camera feed.

…camera feed?

Glancing up, she realized that there was actually a camera stuck to one of the walls, small and well-hidden in one of the corners. As she watched, it moved back and forth, almost like it was waving.

*Seasnan: I got in.

She felt it was kind of necessary to point that out.

*707: Yeah, but that’s because I didn’t have the cameras active then! I have the feed on now, so we’ll know if anyone comes to the apartment. Don’t worry!!

*707: The Defender of Justice won’t let anything bad happen!

And, strangely enough, she believed him. Hell, this place was probably safer than her own apartment at this point. If Mikael had targeted her specifically, which he in all likelihood had (Why?? What did she have to offer??), then he probably knew where she lived—and her own apartment didn’t have a fancy lock, or a genius hacker secret agent on the lookout for danger.

...Alright, that was a terrifying thought. She was relying on Seven to help her?? What was the world coming to????

Ugh. She grimaced, and tried to make her words a bit more cheery than her current thoughts. Mostly because she didn't really feel like insulting the person that she was relying on to protect her from Mikael.

*Seasnan: Alright, Defender of Justice. I believe you. ^^

*Seasnan: I have to head back to my apartment now, so I won’t be able to talk to you guys until after my shift tomorrow. I’ll start really moving in then.

*707: Good luck lol

*Seasnan: Thanks. Later! =)

The walk back to her apartment was uneventful, despite her worry that something might happen. She couldn’t help the hint of anxiety that churned in her stomach as she walked, but she was used to it by now, and ignored it with aplomb. She played a song in her head and forced herself to walk with confidence.

Tilting her head back, she looked up to the sliver of sky she could see. There weren’t any stars out tonight; it was difficult to see them even on good nights, what with all the light pollution from living in a city. It was a big change from America, where she’d always been able to see at least a couple of stars at night. She missed them, and her feelings changed from cheer to melancholy. She wondered if maybe she should take a trip out to the country to see the stars one night, or something. Maybe she’d feel a bit closer to home.

Claymore was waiting at the door when she walked into her apartment, like he always was. When she closed the door behind her, he padded away, tail swishing through the air. She watched him go, amused. Sometimes he wanted her to pet him, but there were other times when he would patiently wait for hours on end for her to get home, and then leave the moment she entered the room. Her cat was weird.

She put food into his bowl, and then headed into her room. She changed into her pajamas (which consisted of a pair of shorts and a sports pinny), and then went to go collect Claymore and bring him into her room. Usually she would stay up longer, watching anime on her computer or playing video games, something to pass the time until she was tired. But today had been exhausting, and she just wanted to go to bed.

Falling onto her bed, she felt so tired from the day’s events. She knew better than anyone that life could change quickly, but what had happened today was almost impossible to believe. And yet…despite everything, she felt more excited than anxious, and she couldn’t say why. But she felt like something was beginning, and she fell asleep to the thought that surely, no matter what happened next, things could only get better from here.

Chapter Text

The day flew by at work. She operated mostly as a translator for her company; she would proofread contracts written in English or other languages, and sometimes serve as an acting translator between the higher ups and whoever else they spoke to. It wasn’t an easy job, per say, but if there was one thing she knew like the back of her hand, it was the English language, and it was pretty great that she could actually use that as a skill that let her get paid. Of course, she could speak more than just Korean and English, but those were the primary languages she used in her work—Mandarin was a close second.

She returned to her apartment in the early evening, as she did every day. But today wasn’t like every other day. Today was the day she was going to move the rest of her things into Rika’s apartment, and begin to permanently stay there for however long she had to. And it was going to take a while, because she could only take, like, two boxes at a time over there. It was a twenty minute walk there, and then another twenty back, so just bringing two boxes would take her the better part of an hour, and that was without factoring in that she’d probably jump in on a couple of chatrooms and call some of the RFA members to check in on them. It was going to take a while. Ugh.

Well, no time like the present, right? There was no point in complaining about something she couldn’t change, so she might as well just get started.

~

Sometimes, she honest to God hated herself. This was one of those times. Because this? This was just fucking ridiculous. Ridiculous, she said.

She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t factored into account that one of the boxes she was carrying was basically all of her dishes packed together. She was so stupid. She couldn’t believe how stupid she was. Holy shit.

Her face was probably red from exertion, and her arms were shaking with strain. This was probably forty pounds’ worth of stuff she was carrying, and she was dearly wishing that she worked out more. This sucked. So bad.

Eventually she made it to the apartment building, only to stare at the flight of stairs leading to Rika’s apartment. Fourteen flights of stairs, to be exact.

Oh hell no. She was taking the elevator. Fuck that.

As she exited the elevator, breathing heavily out of aggravation and exertion, there was a buzzing noise from her phone. She paused, then placed her boxes on the ground for a moment so she could check who it was. She’d be more concerned about other people leaving their apartments and seeing her, except she was pretty sure that no one else lived on this floor. Because there was never anyone in this hall, anywhere, and it was pretty creepy.

She typed in the code to her phone, clicking the app. It was Seven texting her. She squinted at that; so, she got reception to the RFA’s app by just being in the general area of the apartment? That seemed inefficient, if they really wanted the app to be a secret. Then again, it wasn’t like she’d keyed in automatically when she’d first walked through the hall talking to Mikael. It was more likely that the app worked like a secure wifi network—you put in the password once, and then your phone connected automatically whenever you were near the network after that.

She shook her head; she hated it when she went off on tangents in her own head. What had she been thinking about?

Oh. Right. Seven texted her.

*707: Uh, are you alright? You’re looking kind of red faced. Like a firetruck!!

She scowled, eyebrows furrowing into a ‘v’ shape. Looking around, she zeroed in on the camera at the other end of the hall, trained on her. She promptly flipped it off.

*707: Rude!! Very rude! I was just expressing concern for your appearance!

“I’ll express concern for your appearance,” she muttered, even though that statement wasn’t even vaguely threatening. Picking up the boxes, she punched in the passcode to Rika’s apartment (which she had had to write down again after Seven changed it) and staggered in. Dropping the boxes on the table, she flopped down onto the couch, sighing in sweet relief. She stretched her arms, groaning in agony. This was the worst. She was the worst. Goddammit.

Her phone buzzed again, but she ignored it. In all likelihood, it was just Seven, still making fun of her. No Claymore pictures for him.

Actually, as it turned out, it was an e-mail. From someone who wanted to attend the party. And he was asking her what kind of party it was going to be.

She stared.

*Seasnan: Seven? Do you know what kind of party it’s going to be? That guy V was talking about is asking, but I have no idea what the parties have been like in the past.

*707: A space party!! With planet balloons, and Milky Way cakes!!!

*Seasnan: Right, ask Jumin, thanks Seven.

*707: RUDE

She ignored him, clicking the helpful little phone button. She called Jumin, waiting as her phone rang once, twice—

“Hello? Oh, it’s you,” said Jumin Han. She was surprised once more, briefly, at how deep his voice was. It kept taking her off guard.

“Hi, Jumin, sorry to bother you,” she said, quickly, before he went on another tangent on how strange it was that she kept calling him. Seriously, did this guy never talk to someone on the phone just to talk to them?

…well, actually, the answer was probably no. Damn.

“I just got an e-mail from Rui asking about what kind of party we’re going to be hosting, and I thought I should ask you. What have the parties been like in the past?”

There was a pause, and she could hear clicking noises on the other side of the phone. Was he typing something? She felt bad; she’d probably called him while he was working. She wondered why he had picked up if he was so busy.

Eventually, he sighed. He sounded tired. “Rui, huh? V’s acquaintance. The parties we’ve held in the past were rather lavish affairs. I expect that this party will be much the same.”

Lavish? Uh, okay. “Do you have any specifics in mind?”

“He is a photographer, so tell him we’ll have beautiful decorations, the kind that would catch his attention. Try to look up some of his photographs to see what he likes. We will provide whatever you tell him the party will have.”

Well. It was a place to start. “All right. Thanks, Jumin. That’s really helpful.”

“You’re welcome. If you require nothing else, I will get back to work.”

Should she be offended by that casual dismissal? She considered it, but that seemed more of just who Jumin was, rather than something he was doing specifically because of her.

“That’s all for now,” she confirmed. “Take care of yourself, Jumin. I’ll talk to you later.”

There was a slight, sliver of a pause before he responded. She wondered if she’d said something wrong. “Yes,” he said, his tone just slightly off. She frowned. “Then, I will speak to you later.”

He hung up, and she looked at her phone, eyes narrowed. Nothing that she’d just said could be construed to be offensive, right? There was no way. So…why had he sounded so…

…she couldn’t think of a good descriptor for how his voice had sounded. Strained? Tense? Didn’t anyone ever tell him to take care of himself?

She didn’t know enough about Jumin to answer that question. And yet, still, she resolved to tell him again the next time she talked to him, so that he’d know that he was more important than the work he was doing.

And maybe send him a cat video.

She accessed the internet, searching Rui on Noogle. She found a good amount of pictures, mostly focused on beautiful images. She supposed he would like…pretty decorations?

She shrugged and made some sort of grumbling noise, turning back to her e-mail. She was gonna go with it. She’d always been good at bullshitting her way through things, so she pulled together all of her skills, and described to Rui literally the most lavish party she could think of. She had Jumin backing her up. She could follow through with literally anything she said. Which was cool. Which was really cool.

After she sent the e-mail, she sighed, forcing herself to get back up and collect her purse. She had more boxes to bring over, and if she stayed here the hours would pass by without her ever noticing.

She left the apartment, giving a cheery wave to Seven as she went. She watched as she was disconnected from the app after she left the floor. Strange.

The walk back to her apartment was easy. It was early evening, and almost everyone was either in a bar, or heading to one. The streets were never empty, but they weren’t nearly as full as usual.

Of course, the moment she entered her apartment, she took a look at all the boxes she still had left, and did her best to not break down crying.

It didn’t work.

~

Claymore meowed irritably in his carrier. He’d been willing to get into the carrier, and he tolerated her carrying him all over kingdom come, but after twenty minutes of unabated carting around, he was reaching his limit. He reached out through the holes in the carrier, claws stretched forward, batting at her thigh. She sighed, moving her arm away from her poor jeans. He meowed again, plaintively.

“We’re nearly there,” she muttered, tired. Hauling boxes for hours on end was not the best way to spend a day. Her arms were cussing her out in at least four different languages. She was cussing herself out in at least four different languages. Ugh.

The elevator stopped at the fourteenth floor, and she got out, quick-walking down the hall. She knew, any second now, Seven would look at the feeds—

Her phone began to ring, and she picked up her pace. It stopped ringing, then began again. Was it getting louder? Oh God.

She was inches away from flat out sprinting to Rika’s apartment. She was not going to answer. She was not going to answer.

The phone was ringing.

She flipped off the camera as she entered the apartment, shutting the door firmly behind her. Placing the carrier down next to the many boxes she’d carted in, she took her phone out of her pocket, placed it on the table, and refused to look at it again.

Instead, she grabbed the sheets that she’d brought over from her apartment, and went to go remake the bed. Because she was not sleeping on a dead girl’s sheets. Nope. No. No siree. Not happening.

She took off the sheets and comforter. After a moment of consideration, she took off the pillows, too. She wasn’t risking it. She remade the bed with her own sheets and comforter, put her own pillows over everything, and then, finally, went to face the music.

The music came in the form of increasingly terrifying texts.

*707: Hey Sea, what’s that you’re carrying?

*707: Sea??

*707: Earth to Seasnan, this is God Seven-Zero-Seven, are you there Seasnan???

*707: Is that a cat carrier

*707: Is that a cat carrier????

*707: SEA

*707: IS THAT YOUR CAT???

She gulped. Oh God. She wondered, helplessly, if he was going to break into the apartment at some point to pet Claymore. If he could get into Jumin’s place, he could get into hers’.

She was so screwed.

*Seasnan: No

*707: That is DEFINITELY A CAT

*Seasnan: NO

She placed her phone down, crossed herself, and then she took a boxcutter out from her purse and moved to one of the boxes, the one that she knew would help her in this hour of need.

She opened it and took out a towel, grimly clutching it in her hands. Claymore meowed plaintively from his carrier, and a moment later her phone starting ringing again, vibrating so intensely that it threatened to fall from the table to the floor below. She wondered if Seven had the ability to transfer his emotions through electronics, because she could feel the excitement from the phone, and the vague, terrifying feeling of extreme focus on her and her cat coming from the camera in the corner. She ignored it. She ignored it with every fiber of her being.

She dragged a chair from the table over to where the camera was. It swiveled to watch her as she did so, which was creepy. Taking the towel, she carefully draped it over the camera, despite how it moved around to make it more difficult for her to accomplish. She carefully placed it so that regardless of how the camera moved, it couldn’t dislodge the towel. Dismounting from the chair, she moved it back to its’ original place, and then she opened the cat carrier, finally letting Claymore out. He meowed at her, annoyed, and then padded away to explore the new place, tail high in the air. Wow. After everything she’d done to protect him from the terrifying grasp of Seven, he still snubbed her like it was nobody’s business.

“Rude,” she muttered, before movement in her peripheral vision caught her attention. She turned to see the camera shaking itself back and forth, trying desperately to rid itself of the towel she’d placed on it. She snickered maliciously, mouth curving with amusement.

“Having a tough time, Seven?” She asked, before—the camera paused. And then moved to zero in on her. It couldn’t even see anything, but it knew where she was. She blinked at it.

Wait, that thing had audio feed, too?

…huh. That was kind of…creepy. Okay. She’d have to discuss that with Seven. …after he stopped being so weird about her cat, of course.

But in the meantime…

She made a show of pausing for a second, as if she hadn’t noticed the camera’s sudden attention. The phone was still ringing, but she felt untouched by the desperation she could feel emanating from it. If Seven wanted to see her cat, he could damn well stop being so very stalker-like about it.

“Oh,” she gasped, like she’d just seen baby ducklings or something walking by. She poured as much saccharine delight into it as possible. She made sure to speak in Korean, so that Seven could completely understand what she was saying.

“Claymore, what are you--? Oh, that’s so cute!!” She exclaimed, though all it earned her was a glare from her cat. But in the background, oh yes. The phone was ringing with abandon (had it ever stopped ringing, actually? From the moment that Seven spotted the cat carrier, he’d kept calling her over and over without pause), and the camera was still swiveling back and forth, but the motions had gotten jerky now, like someone was forcing it to go faster than the mechanisms actually could. She grinned, her mouth a sharp line, teeth bared. Yoosung complained about Seven teasing him all the time, so really, she was just giving the man his comeuppance. A taste of his own medicine. Karma’s a bitch, Seven.

“Do it again!” She entreated her cat, who had perched himself onto one of the shelves and was eyeing her like she was some foreign species of worm. “I can’t believe this!”

“Sea...” Someone whispered darkly, and she fucking gasped, jumping away from the source of the noise.

“What the fuck,” she blurted, and dimly took a second to be grateful that she reverted to English when taken off guard, because it had been well established by Zen that Seven didn’t like swearing. That’d he’d made an algorithm on the app that prevented people from swearing. Zen was rather bitter about that algorithm.

Seasnan was rather bitter about the fact that apparently Seven could hack her goddamn TV what the fuck Seven.

Because he was right there. On her TV. Glaring at her. She glared back reflexively. She didn’t know if he could actually see her (probably not), but he could hear her, so he knew that she’d seen him.

“You hacked the TV?!” She exclaimed.

“Sea,” Seven said, with all the fervor of a dying man. “I need to see Claymore.”

“No,” she said, blithely.

“Sea,” he begged, reaching out towards the screen like he could push himself through it and into the room through sheer force of will. Tough cookies, dude. If she couldn’t make the laws of nature bend to her will, then neither could he.

“Hmmm,” she hummed, tapping her finger to her mouth, mostly for her own benefit. He couldn’t actually see her, but she liked the dramatic effect the motion had, and it was entertaining to watch him stare at the camera so intently, like she held all the secrets to the universe. All this for a glimpse of her cat. Seven was a dedicated man, that was for sure.

“How about we make a deal, then?” She proposed, and watched Seven’s face—almost—darken? That…wasn’t the reaction she’d been expecting. She’d thought he would be excited, would immediately jump on it for the chance to see Claymore. Exactly what did he think she would ask of him?

“What kind of deal?” He said, not quite suspiciously. More bland than anything. But even that careful reticence gave away that he was more nervous about this than she’d thought. She honestly wondered if she was a dumbass. He was a goddamn secret agent, of course he’d be suspicious if she just up and asked him to cut a deal with her. She could be so stupid, honestly.

“I let you see Claymore,” she plowed on, because she’d come this far already, and her stupidity knew no bounds, “if, and only if—you agree to not steal him from me.”

She watched the screen carefully. Seven’s face when blank, before quickly flashing into a smile, the early seriousness gone in a second. She breathed out a quiet sigh of relief.

“Aw,” he complained with great cheer, “what?! But our love is meant to be!! You cannot stop Defender of Justice Seven-Zero-Seven from uniting with such a beautiful cat!!!”

Sea rolled her eyes. Honestly, Seven, you don’t listen at all. “I didn’t say that,” she corrected, raising an eyebrow. “You can come over and pet him whenever you want. He’s an attention snob, he will demand that you pet him all the time. I’m just asking that you don’t take him out of the apartment without my permission. I like knowing where he is at all times.”

“Woah,” Seven gasped, mock-surprised, but his eyes kept getting lighter and brighter, until she felt that somehow, she’d truly managed to make him happy. It was a nice feeling. “Sea’s more protective than Jumin!!”

“Hey,” she protested, “I take offense to that.”         

Seven snickered cheerily. “He’s never draped a towel over the cameras just to prevent me from watching Elly.”

“I don’t think he’s realized that you can watch her through the cameras,” she pointed out.

…She should probably tell Jumin that Seven was watching Elizabeth through the cameras.

“Besides,” she moved on, because now she was contemplating Jumin’s reaction, and deciding that maybe she wouldn’t tell him after all, “I’m not being protective at all. I told you that you could come over to pet him, didn’t I?”

“But you put a towel over the camera so I couldn’t see him!”

“Yeah, because you were creeping on my cat!” She shot back. He reared back, placing a hand over his heart. He was doing his best to look offended, but she could see his lips curling at the corners.

She supposed she had the advantage over him, then—he couldn’t see the huge smile that had overtaken her face. This was so fun. Talking with Seven was fun.

“Creeping?!” He protested. “I was admiring him!! Admiring!! The Defender of Justice would never creep on someone!!”

She paused. A moment slid by, then another.

“You can’t see this, but I’m raising my eyebrow at you.”

He glared at her as best he could. “I take offense to that,” he complained.

“Tough,” she said. “Now, do we have a deal?”

He huffed a breath, placing a hand over his heart. “I can’t believe I’ve been foiled so easily!!”

Which—okay. That was just total bullshit. They both knew that if he wanted, he could just break in here. He even knew the passcode. But she appreciated him following her request, so she wasn’t going to point that out.

“Your love was never meant to be,” she said instead, because she was an asshole.

She watched blankly as Seven did his level best to shed crocodile tears, before sobbing, “Claymore! I will always love you!!!”

She looked over at her cat, who was still perched on a shelf, and had taken no notice that any of this was happening.

“…he’s touched.”

Seven sniffed, blowing his nose into—wait. She blinked, not quite believing her eyes. Where did he get a handkerchief from? Why did he even have one to begin with??

“One day,” he cried, “we’ll be able to be together, and there’ll be no one to tear us apart!”

“That’s nice. Could you get out of the TV now?”

“Cruel,” he whispered, before the screen went black. She paused, waiting for whatever might come next, but nothing was forthcoming. She supposed Seven was done messing with her for now.

Laughing quietly to herself, she wondered—how was this her life? She’d just had a conversation with a secret agent hacker who just happened to be a part of an organization that she’d joined by breaking into an apartment for some guy she’d never met. How weird. And mildly concerning, if she stopped to think about it, so she very pointedly did not.

She dragged a chair over to the camera again, climbing up and removing the towel from where it hung, blocking the lens, she grinned cheerily at Seven.

“A deal’s a deal,” she sang cheerily, with all the malicious undertone she could muster. “Feel free to stop by whenever I’m around!”

Stepping down, she noted absently that the phone had finally stopped ringing. It vibrated once, for a second, like a dim final note in an orchestral piece, and then fell silent once more. She walked over, pulling up the R.F.A. app and bypassing all the notifications on her missed calls (18 missed calls? What the actual fuck, Seven???).

*707: Thanks.

Simple and to the point. Nothing like Seven at all, actually, but she supposed even genius secret agent hackers could have a serious side. She wondered, for just a moment before she banished the thought from her mind, when the last time was that Seven had actually been invited over to someone’s house, just because they wanted him there.

*Seasnan: Any time.

And she meant it, too.

Chapter Text

When she first woke up, she stared up at the ceiling, squinting. What the fuck? This—this wasn’t her place. What—what—?

She sat up quickly, looking around with a restrained sense of panic. Where was she? How did she get here? She didn’t recognize the surroundings, she didn’t know where she was, where—where—

A grumpy meow sounded from next to her, and she turned to see Claymore curled up next to her, glaring at her with one yellow eye. He reached out a paw, batting at her arm, as if telling her to go back to bed.

Oh. She remembered, with a sudden rush of clarity, the events of yesterday—moving into the apartment, the Claymore debacle with Seven, and then collapsing in the bed of a dead girl, emotionally and physically exhausted.

She was in Rika’s apartment. Right. That was a thing that had happened.

Sea forced herself to take deep breaths, placing a hand over her racing heart. It was okay. It was okay.

Claymore meowed again, more disgruntled as he realized that she wasn’t going to go back to sleep. Sorry, dude.

She checked her alarm clock, a clunky old blue dinosaur that she’d gotten in a garage sale back in elementary school. To her ten-year-old self, a Tweety Bird clock was the height of coolness, and frankly, she’d had it for so long now that throwing it out would be a crime. Plus, it still worked. Like now, when it told her that it was around 7:15am, a full half hour before she’d set her alarm to go off. Better than she thought she was going to do, really. She’d thought for sure that she wouldn’t be able to fall asleep at all, in some place she’d never really been to before, especially when it was in all likelihood haunted by the ghost of a former party planner.

She stayed there, unable to muster the ability to get out of bed, for a while. Claymore snuggled closer, pressing his nose into her side, and she started to pet him. He was so soft. Petting him always calmed her down.

Eventually, she decided that if she couldn’t make herself leave the bed, then she might as well do something while stuck there. Picking up her phone, she checked to see if she had gotten any e-mails over night from potential guests, but there was nothing. However, she could see that Zen was currently online, so she went over and clicked the chatroom.

Zen was an interesting one. She wasn’t sure how he felt about him—he definitely was narcissistic, which would usually put her off, but he was also a really nice guy? He had immediately defended her when she showed up in the chatroom, even though it had been some really suspicious circumstances. He complained a lot about being single, and flirted with her, but even that was…kinda nice. She’d never had someone express interest in her so blatantly before. And even his narcissism was tolerable, because…she liked the fact that he liked himself. She liked Zen, and the fact that he was happy with himself, that he had high self-esteem, made her happy. Because she’d never had that, but Zen deserved it. She was glad.

And…it was fun to flirt with him. She didn’t know if she actually wanted to date him—he was really nice looking, and honestly deserved someone who could at least match him in that department—but he was really easy to talk to. A good personality, which was the most important thing.

Okay, she rescinded her earlier statement. She liked Zen.

*[Seasnan]: Morning, Zen!

*[ZEN]: Good morning, Seasnan.

*[ZEN]: It’s early and you are online!

*[Seasnan]: Haha, yeah. I woke up early today for some reason. What about you?

*[ZEN]: I was rehearsing my lines! It’s nice that we can talk to each other like this. I’m really curious about you.

Curious about her? She squinted at the screen. She wasn’t really the most interesting person, but she supposed that it would make sense for him to be interested in the new girl.

*[Seasnan]: I’m an open book. You can always just ask if you want to know something!

*[ZEN]: Then…what do you think is more important: good looks, or a nice personality?

Oh, that was easy.

*[Seasnan]: A good personality is much more important. I’ve never really put much account in looks, really. I care a lot more about whether a person is kind than if they’re handsome.

*[ZEN]: Oh! That’s good! That’s exactly what I think!

He sent an emoji of him smiling, which made her smile in turn.

*[Seasnan]: Woah! We’re so in sync! Could this be fate??

…don’t judge. She couldn’t help it.

*[ZEN]: …omg. My heart just jumped a little.

She burst out laughing, feeling her face heat up. Her lips curved almost without her permission into a smile.

*[Seasnan]: Sorry, sorry. It’s really fun talking to you.

*[ZEN]: You’re making me blush!

Jumin Han has entered the chatroom.

*[Jumin Han]: Must you two be flirting so early in the morning.

*[ZEN]: If it bothers you, go away.

He sent an emoji of him yelling in anger. Oh boy.

*[Seasnan]: Sorry, Jumin;;

*[ZEN]: Don’t apologize to this jerk, Seasnan. He doesn’t deserve it.

*[Jumin Han]: That was rude, Zen.

*[Jumin Han]: Revenge.

*[Jumin Han]: [cat.jpg]

It was a picture of his cat’s paw pads. It was…really cute, actually. She carefully angled the screen so Claymore couldn’t see, though she felt that he still knew. He always knew when she was admiring another cat.

*[ZEN]: Gahh, take that cat away!!

*[ZEN]: I feel like sneezing just by looking at the photo…!

…oh yeah. Zen was allergic to cats. She looked awkwardly at Claymore, who was snoozing away without a care in the world. That…might be a problem.

*[Jumin Han]: Feel more pain meow

She snorted, completely taken off guard. Holy shit, what?? Jumin???

*[ZEN]: Don’t meow!

*[ZEN]: It doesn’t suit your face!

Harsh.

*[Seasnan]: Oh my God Jumin. That’s great.

*[ZEN]: Don’t encourage him, Seasan!

*[Seasnan]: I’m sorry, but that was hilarious.

*[Jumin Han]: Of course. I am the height of humor.

Jumin apparently had a proclivity for deadpan snark. She could respect that.

*[ZEN]: The only thing people laugh at around you is your terrible personality.

 DAMN. Holy shit Zen, too far. WAY too far.

*[Seasnan]: Zen, that’s too harsh.

*[Jumin Han]: Apologize meow

She covered her face with a hand. Jumin, no.

*[ZEN]: Sorry, Seasnan.

*[Jumin Han]: You’re apologizing to the wrong person.

*[ZEN]: I’m not apologizing to you;;

*[ZEN]: I’m gonna go;;;

*[ZEN]: I don’t want to spend another second with that jerk.

*[Seasnan]: Alright. Let’s talk later, Zen!

*[ZEN]: Sounds good!

He sent an emoji of him smiling cheerily, then logged out.

*[Jumin Han]: I must go, as well.

*[Jumin Han]: I’m late for a meeting.

*[Seasnan]: This early in the day?

*[Jumin Han]: Yes.

*[Seasnan]: Alright. Have a good day, Jumin! Don’t work yourself too hard!

*[Jumin Han]: You as well. Thank you for your concern.

Jumin Han has left the chatroom.

She archived the chatroom, then left.

The phone began to ring a moment after she left the chatroom, and she blinked, surprised at the cheery face smiling up at her from the screen. White hair, red eyes—Zen was calling her?

“Zen, what’s up?” She greeted, pressing the ‘Accept’ button.

“Ah, hello!” Came his voice over the line, warm and cheery. “Is this my babe’s number?”

She paused, completely taken off-guard, before spluttering out a laugh. “Y-your babe?” She repeated. “Does that make you my babe?”

He drew in a breath, letting out a shaky laugh. “Gahh,” he complained. “You can’t say things like that! It’s not fair!”

She laughed quietly. “Sorry,” she said, completely insincere. “What can I do for you this morning, my lovely Zen?”

He groaned, and she waited patiently as he took a moment for himself. He cleared his throat.

“You’re going to be the death of me,” he said, helpless. She snickered, apologizing again.

“A-anyway,” he said, desperately moving on, “I just wanted to ask you what you thought of cats.”

She froze, expression turning quickly into the most neutral face she could manage. She very pointedly did not look at the cat snoozing away on her pillow.

“I like them,” she said awkwardly. “I think they’re cute.”

“You’re cuter,” Zen blurted, quickly. She thought that he was probably just trying to make up for how flustered he’d been before, but that didn’t change the fact that she flushed to the roots of her hair at his words.

“You don’t even know what I look like,” she said, laughing with a distinctly nervous edge.

He hummed thoughtfully. “There’s your profile picture,” he pointed out. “But you should post some pictures of yourself!”

“Yeeahh,” she drawled out, “not gonna happen.”

She could physically feel him pouting through the phone. “Babe, why not?” He whined.

Sea tried to maintain good cheer as she said, “Not all of us can have such God given good looks, Zen.”

The pause that came after her words was a sliver of a thing; she had barely noticed that it was taking Zen longer to respond than usual before he was speaking.

“You’re cute, Sea,” he said, with a firmness that left her unable to speak. “You’re really cute. If you didn’t know that before, now you do, okay? Every time you say you don’t know, I’ll tell you again.”

“I,” she said, then, hesitantly, “okay.” She’d been called a lot of things over the years, but cute was a first. She…wasn’t sure how to respond to that. But, if she was honest (and she almost always was) it was…nice. It felt nice. “Okay,” she said again.

There was silence on both ends for a couple of seconds, before Seasnan rallied herself and decided to bite the bullet.

“Zen,” she said, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Ah,” he said with great cheer, “are you going to confess your love for me?”

She hummed. “I think I’ll wait until after the first date,” she replied, and grinned with a bit too much teeth when he spluttered over the line. She subsided back into seriousness a moment later. “Zen,” she said, plowing through with determination, “I have a cat.”

There was a frozen pause on his side. He laughed a second after, but there was a nervous edge to it that made her wince. “What?”

“I-I own a cat,” she said, because she was nothing if not honest, nothing if not sincere in everything she did.

His first response was to sneeze, and then sneeze again, harder.

“O-oh,” he said, sniffling. “Ah. Maybe date nights will be at my house, then.”

And that was that. She breathed out a sigh of relief, body relaxing. She hadn’t even noticed that she’d tensed up until he’d spoken.

“Thanks, Zen,” she said with more gratefulness than the situation probably warranted. But she liked Zen. She didn’t want their relationship to be strained by his undying hatred of cats.

“Anything for my babe!” He sang. And then sneezed again. “Ah,” he said, awkwardly, “I think I might have to go take my allergy medication.”

She laughed; she couldn’t help it. “Sorry,” she said, between chuckles. He sighed melodramatically, but she doubted that he actually minded.

“The things I do for love!” He cried, and she could imagine him putting a hand to his forehead, sighing with all the drama that an actor could muster.

“Your babe appreciates your sacrifice,” she said with as much deadpan snark as she had in her body. And then she smiled beatifically, whispering, “I’ll talk to you later, love.”

She hung up before he could respond, laughing maliciously. Swinging her legs over the bed and standing, she made her way into the kitchen. It’d been a long time since she’d last felt eager and excited to start the day, but armed with the knowledge that each passing moment brought her closer to speaking again with the people she truly felt like she belonged beside, she knew that she could take on the world.

~

“I hate my life,” she moaned, burying her face in her hands. She was so flipping bored. Being a translator wasn’t a bad job, and it paid well, but…she had never imagined that she was going to actually spend most of her work day in an office, translating documents from Korean to English, or whatever other language her boss wanted. She’d abhorred the idea of office work from the very first moment that she thought about her future; she didn’t want to be in one stuffy cubicle all day long. She’d always longed to work in a field where she could do some real good, where she could wake up knowing that each day she was going to help people. But she didn’t have that here.

That wasn’t to say that she hated her job. She was good at it, and she did it efficiently. Her co-workers were friendly, though none of her relationships with them had progressed past acquaintanceships. She felt…lonely, so far from everything she’d ever known, in a country and culture alien from her own, without connections to anyone here. If she’d had some friends, she knew that she would enjoy her job so much more, but she couldn’t find the courage to actually talk to anyone for any length of time. It felt like they were all just tolerating her, the bumbling American girl who was too loud and too thoughtless.

She wished, not for the first time and not for the last, that she had never left America. She missed her family, she missed her friends…but she couldn’t go back there. Not for a long time. Maybe not ever. She had to get away from everything there, from her life. She’d taken this job not because she believed that she would like it, or that it was something she wanted to do with her life, but because it was the best way to get out of the country fast. And she had needed that.

But that didn’t mean that it didn’t hurt her to go.

She resolved to make a call back to the States when she got back to the apartment. She wanted to hear from her friends.

And, just as she made that decision, her phone buzzed on her desk. Confused, she picked it up, only for the notification to show that she had a text…from Seven?

Wait, what? Had he gotten her phone number somehow? How was he texting her without the R.F.A. app?

She input the code quickly, eyebrows flying up and eyes widening in surprise at the screen. The R.F.A. screen was open.

The R.F.A. screen was open?

*707: God Seven-Zero-Seven strikes again!

*Seasnan: Seven? What on earth’s going on? How am I able to access the app right now?

*707: I made it so that your phone connects with the R.F.A. app wherever!

*707: The Defender of Justice has come through for his Disciple!

She blew out a breath, one side of her mouth kicking up in amusement. He really was something else. And…it warmed her, a little, maybe, that he thought about her, that he made it so that she could access the app wherever. It made her feel welcome, like she wasn’t just some intruder who’d accidentally stomped her way into their chatroom and their organization without permission. Like they actually wanted her there.

Of course, she wasn’t telling him any of that.

*Seasnan: Oh God Seven, you’re too kind! This Disciple is in awe of your thoughtful generosity.

She could imagine him puffing up, sticking out his chest in pride.

*707: Of course!! God Seven always comes through for his followers!

She snorted, raising an eyebrow at that. Because Seven totally had a ton of followers, right?

*Seasnan: And it had nothing to do with you being able to pester me for pictures of Claymore more often, right?

*707: GASP!! God Seven is offended that you would think so lowly of him! He did this out of the kindness of his heart!!!

*707: Though he does think that his kindness definitely should earn him some pictures of Claymore!!

Uh-huh.

*Seasnan: Ah, there’s the rub. Alright, Seven, but you owe me one.

*Seasnan: [cat53.jpg]

She sat back, watching as Seven promptly lost his mind over the picture—Claymore had been eating whipped cream a little bit before she took it, and he still had some of the stuff clinging to his whiskers and dotting his nose. It was absolutely adorable, and she was pleased to see Seven give the picture the reverence it deserved.

*707: OH MY GOD!!!

*707: What a beautiful cat!! 10/10!! A+!!!!

*Seasnan: I know, I know. My cat’s the best.

Which led, as it always did, into a stirring debate between the two of them on which cat was the best: Elizabeth the 3^rd, or Claymore. Seasnan was firmly on Claymore’s side, and would never be persuaded otherwise, while Seven switched between cats depending on the day. Things got really interesting whenever Jumin entered the conversation—she’d been pretty sure that he was going to attempt to sue her for libel the first time. Jaehee talked him out of it, but only barely. Sea, for her part, had been completely and utterly willing to fight Jumin to the death over the topic. Claymore was the best, period.

*707: Argh, I just got more work. God Seven must return to the underground!

She frowned, lips pursing in concern. It seemed every time she talked to Seven, he would get more work. She was beginning to think that he was just as overworked as Jaehee, if not more.

*Seasnan: Alright, but remember to eat something, Seven. Even super-secret agents need food.

*707: I do eat!! I have Honey Buddha Chips and Ph.D. Pepper to bring me through the day!!

*Seasnan: I MEANT ACTUAL FOOD

She glared at her phone with all the annoyance that she could muster. Honestly, was there a single person in this God-forsaken organization that actually took care of themselves? Zen was objectively the healthiest of them all, but he had admitted to her that he worked out like, three times a day. Really intense workouts, too, which wasn’t healthy in the least, and he seemed like the kind of person willing to subsist off beer and the occasional piece of fruit. Yoosung played that game LOLOL every moment of his life apparently, which was also not healthy (and he was definitely going to need glasses in the future), but at least she had the guarantee that he regularly cooked himself meals. Jumin was stress walking, basically. Poor guy. Jaehee’s situation straight up gave Sea an aneurysm every time she thought about it. Did Jaehee eat?? Ever??? It was a mystery. She was pretty sure that poor woman never slept. And then there was Seven, who was a hacker working for a spy organization. Which was, honestly, probably the most stressful, time-consuming job that there ever was (though Jaehee’s position might give it a run for its money).

It was becoming more and more apparent with every day that passed exactly how much these people sucked at taking care of themselves, and Sea could feel herself growing more frustrated and concerned. Which was annoying. And she’d probably wind up exploding and buying them all groceries at some point. And then cooking the groceries, and then forcing them to eat the food, because they needed to fucking eat.

She blew out a breath, closing her eyes to calm herself down before she got too worked up. Arrrrgh. She kept getting angry when she thought about this. Keep your cool, Sea. Keep your cool.

*707: HONEY BUDDHA CHIPS ARE THE ONLY FOOD I NEED!! THE FOOD OF GOD SEVEN~!!!

Sea squinted irritably at the screen of her phone. And then, of course, whenever she got onto this topic with Seven, he would deflect the topic without seeming to deflect, adding humor to the conversation to calm her down. Which pissed her off, because it meant that he knew that she disapproved, and instead of actually addressing the problem, he was just trying to make her feel better.

“Idiot,” she muttered, scowling. Be concerned about yourself, dude.

“Seasnan,” came a voice from the entrance to her cubicle. She blinked, looking up to find one of her co-workers standing there, holding a pile of documents. They were frowning disapprovingly at her phone, which she instantly clicked off and placed down. She stood, going to take the papers.

“Which language does Boss want them translated to?” She asked, thoughtfully flipping through them.

“The documents about the business deal with the oil company must be translated into English, and the rest into French.”

“Easy enough,” she nodded, placing them down on her counter and turning back to address her co-worker. They dipped their head briefly in acknowledgement, and then they were gone.

She sank into her seat, sighing. No rest for the weary, she supposed. She clicked her phone back on, to see that Seven hadn’t sent anything yet. Was he still waiting for a response? Shit. Now she felt bad.

*Seasnan: I just got a huge pile of documents to translate, sorry. But don’t think I’m forgetting this. I’m going to get you to eat a decent meal if it kills me.

*707: Roger, Sea~ Have fun translating!

She made a face at her phone.

*Seasnan: -.- Have fun hacking.

*707: T.T

And with those cheery texts, the two of them dived back into their ever-growing workload.

But Sea made sure to write down on a pad of paper, ‘Make sure Seven eats something healthy.’ Because she wasn’t forgetting this. The fool had no idea what was about to hit him.

~

“Claymore, I’m ho—…uh.”

Seasnan paused halfway through her sentence, staring at her cat. Her cat, who was perched on the kitchen table, scratching at the bow tie that had somehow appeared around his neck. She stared.

Turning to the camera, she raised an eyebrow.

“Why,” she said. It wasn’t a question. Claymore meowed plaintively behind her, desperately scratching at the bow tie. She heaved a put-upon sigh, walking over to her cat. He glared at her like she was somehow at fault, instead of her secret agent meme friend. She raised her hands in a gesture of innocence.

“Don’t look at me,” she said, “this was all Seven. You should’ve just scratched him the second he walked in the door.”

Her phone buzzed a second after her words, but she knew it was just Seven complaining, so she ignored it. She inspected the bow tie, thoughtfully musing over how cute it made Claymore look. It was pink with white polka dots, and she made a mental note to ask Seven where he got his bow ties, because she wanted one for herself.

There was a little note tied around the bow tie, she saw, and she, confused, read it. Maybe it would explain why Seven had been here?

‘God Seven strikes again!’ It said, in an excited, messy scribble. It fit the hacker better than she’d thought, and her mouth kicked up in the corner, curving into the slightest smile.

“What a nerd,” she said, loud enough that she knew he’d hear her through the audio feed. Which she still had to talk to him about. “You do realize that you could’ve come when I was actually here, right? I’m not going to shut the door in your face.”

She paused, then tilted her head to the side. “I mean, unless you do something really stupid, I guess.”

Her phone buzzed again, and she didn’t think she was imagining the belligerence in the sound. Her smile widened into a smirk.

“Ah, but thanks for the bow tie,” she said a moment later, belatedly remembering her manners. “It’s cute.”

She patted Claymore once on the head, skillfully avoiding his claws, and walked away from his increasingly aggravated meows. But she made sure to take a picture before she went, because this was just plain cute.

Okay, so she took more than just one. She took a couple. (She took a lot.)

…Shut up.

She’d had…a pretty nice day, actually. It was fun, jumping into all the different chat rooms. Everyone had such vibrant, differing personalities, and she just…fit right in. Like she was meant to be there, teasing Yoosung, flirting with Zen, laughing with Seven. She had found herself fangirling with Jaehee once, because she’d looked up on the internet what Zen’s voice sounded like—and wow. Wow. And she discussed business with Jumin; he was a very reasonable person, so she defaulted into serious topics, but even those were fun. They were all…so fun to talk to. To be around.

She shook her head, pushing away all of her mushy feelings. Chill, Sea. God.

Her stomach rumbled, and she sighed, running a hand through her hair. Had she bought groceries yesterday? She…wasn’t sure. Well.

She supposed she could always get take out.

Opening the fridge, she placed a hand on her hip, fully expecting to find nothing but empty sadness.

She took a step back, honestly jolting in surprise. “What the fuck,” she blurted, staring at the overflowing contents. What—what the fuck? Wait, what??

How in the good Lord’s name was there food in her fridge? She’d thought that maybe, just maybe, she’d brought a couple of snacks with her when she moved. But not…this. This was insane.

There was so much food. Milk, water bottles, soda (lots and lots of Ph.D. Pepper), there was kimchi and fruit and baskets of fried chicken (why??), a cornucopia of junk food and snacks that only could’ve come from one person.

“Seven,” she said, honestly touched. This was…nice. Too nice. Why on earth had he done this?

The majority of the food was completely unhealthy, of course, but there were some rice and eggs, and a couple of fruits and vegetables in the drawers. She almost couldn’t believe it. What had she done to deserve this?

She closed the fridge door quietly, and then pulled out her phone. Part of her had thought that maybe there would be a text waiting for her, but the only things she’d received were complaints from Seven about her comments from before. Was this about yesterday? Had her invitation over honestly meant that much to him?

She thought about just texting him, but she knew he’d just deflect if she did that. There was only one way to do this.

She waited, hearing the phone ring, feeling—nervous, almost. She wanted to get this right.

“Hiya, Sea!” Came Seven’s voice, high and cheerful. Almost too cheerful. He was nervous, too.

“Seven,” she said, quietly. “You didn’t have to.”

“Whaaaat??” He gasped. “It is the sacred duty of the Defender of Justice to take care of his disciple!!”

She huffed a breath, because—there it was. Deflecting without looking like he was deflecting. Seven avoided feelings like the plague, apparently.

“The Defender of Justice is all well and good,” she replied, a hand going to her hip, voice getting sharper. “I’m not talking to the Defender of Justice. I’m talking to my friend.”

There was no answer. A blank silence came from over the line, and she plowed on before Seven could recover himself and try to change the subject.

“And my friend, dumb though he might be, is perfectly welcome to walk in the door when I’m actually here. I’m not going to kick you out, Seven. So next time you come over, call beforehand, alright? I’ll make you something actually healthy to eat.”

She’d thought that her last sentence would inspire some sort of reaction from him, some defense of his precious Honey Buddha chips, but nothing was forthcoming. She’d actually managed to blindside him. Well.

…she felt kind of proud, actually.

She waited as, over the line, there was an overwhelming silence. Was…was he breathing? She listened harder, but she couldn’t hear anything. Concerning.

“Uh, Seven?” She asked. “You feeling alright?”

Her answer came in the form of semi-hysterical laughter, which…was also concerning. He continued laughing for a while. She might’ve broken Seven.

“Deep breaths,” she advised, worry straining her voice.

The laughter stopped eventually, but he didn’t say anything. “Uh,” he tried, then, “Sea.”

“I get it,” she said, because she did. He didn’t have the words. “It’s cool.”

“I don’t,” he said.

“I know,” she said. “Take your time. I’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“…yeah,” he whispered, and then the phone line went dead.

She took the phone from her ear, looking at it mildly. She considered, thoughtfully, how simple gratitude seemed to take Seven more off-guard than anything else she’d seen.

She decided, with all the determination she had, that she wasn’t going to be meme friends with Seven. She was going to be best meme friends with Seven.

Sea didn’t know why he reacted so strangely to kindness. She didn’t know what was going to happen with Mikael. She didn’t know how to plan a charity party. She had, honestly, absolutely no idea what the hell she was doing. But she was absolutely certain that Seven needed a friend who could see past his bullshit walls, and if there was one thing that Seasnan did know how to do, it was see past bullshit. She was an honest person, which was actually a good way to inspire other people to be honest too. Honesty was like trust: you give some, you get some. And she was pretty sure Seven needed some.

She cracked her knuckles thoughtfully, absentmindedly bringing her hand up and scratching her neck. He might be a secret agent, but she was a stubborn, concerned friend. The dude stood a snowball’s chance in hell.

She almost felt bad for him, really. But that didn’t stop her from beginning to plan.

Chapter Text

Her phone was ringing. Sea cracked an eye open blearily, staring with all of the menace she held in her at the lit up screen of her cell. Why. Why, God.

She wondered if she could just let it go to voicemail for a second, before she saw the face that the screen was displaying. Blond hair, violet eyes…there was no way she could let Yoosung go to voicemail.

Grumbling under her breath, she pressed the ‘Accept’ button, picking up the phone and cradling it between her ear and shoulder.

“Yoosung,” she said, doing her best to sound less pissed and exhausted than she actually was. “What’s up?”

“Hey, Sea!” Came the cheery, completely awake voice of Yoosung over the line. She glared at the ceiling, hoping that somehow, somewhere, he would be able to feel her anger and annoyance. “So, I couldn’t stop thinking about this while I was playing LOLOL, and I was wondering…do you game?”

There was a pause, blank, as Sea turned her head to the side and stared at her alarm clock. 2:35am, it read.

She regretted each and every life decision she’d ever made.

Breathing out a sigh, she placed the phone against her ear again. “Yeah, Yoosung,” she mumbled, “I do game sometimes, but not usually online.”

He gasped, then cheered triumphantly. She winced at the sound, and Claymore grumbled, batting at her hand.

“I knew it!” Yoosung said excitedly. “I thought you seemed like a gamer! Do you play LOLOL, then?”

“No,” she said, “I don’t play online, like I said. I usually play games on the Zert Box, or Scheam.”

“Oh,” said Yoosung, and she could imagine him nodding, “I see. What games do you play?”

Which was…nice. She’d thought that he was going to jump into talking about how she should start playing LOLOL immediately, but she really should’ve known better. Yoosung was the kind of person to get to know the other side, and then convince them over to his. She had no doubt he was going to make a case for her to play LOLOL, but it would come later.

“Um,” she said, “I like Dragon Age, and Mass Effect, if you know them. Ah, Assassin’s Creed, I just got the Hitman games recently, Skyrim, the Fallout series, um…ah. Sorry. It’s really not that interesting.”

“No, no!” Protested Yoosung, and he sounded…strangely happy. “I liked hearing about them! You should tell me what they’re about!”

Sea blinked, then smiled tentatively. “Well, Dragon Age is a bit difficult to explain,” she started, “so I’ll just say dragons, zombies, magic, and a whole lot of worldbuilding. It’s fun, though, you should try it.”

“Okay,” Yoosung said, sounding like he was honestly interested in what she was saying. In fact, she thought that maybe…wait. What was that scratching sound she could hear, like someone was…

“Are—are you writing down what I’m saying?”

“Ah,” he said, embarrassed. “I just didn’t want to forget anything you said!”

“Oh,” she said, feeling her face flush. “Uh, okay.”

They marinated in an awkward silence for a second, before Yoosung coughed, then whispered, “Sorry. I’ll, uh, I can just--“

“No,” she said, hurriedly. “No, it’s okay. I was just surprised. Uh, do you want to hear about Mass Effect?”

There was a very quiet indrawn breath on the other line, and then Yoosung said, “Yeah,” in a warmer tone that any she had ever heard. She could feel herself blushing, but she ignored it, powering through.

“Okay.”

So for the next half hour or so, the two of them just talked and talked about the different games they liked to play, going from Zert Box games to computer games and everywhere in between. They both moaned and groaned about being poor college students who couldn’t justify spending money on a 3DS so they could play the newest Pokemon game, and then came up with a joint plan to somehow convince Jumin to buy it for them.

“Oh my god,” Yoosung said, breathless, interrupting the middle of Sea’s sentence. She blinked, confused and mildly concerned, because Yoosung had never interrupted her before, not even once.

“Dude?”

“It’s almost three in the morning! I am so sorry, why didn’t you tell me it was so late, I’d never have kept you up, I can’t believe I did this I’m so so—“

“Hey,” Sea said, gently as she could. She found herself smiling without even realizing. “Don’t worry about it. I was kind of annoyed when my phone first woke me up, but I figured you might have needed someone to talk to, and…it’s been fun. Just talking with you. So don’t worry.”

“Oh,” said Yoosung blankly. And then, with more warmth than she’d honestly thought a person could have, he said, “Thank you. You’re so nice, Sea.”

Well. Nice was not the word that she’d use to describe herself, but she wasn’t about to argue with Yoosung at three in the morning.

“You’re one to talk,” she said instead, because no one one-upped her when it came to compliments, “you’re like the nicest person I know.”

“Huh?” Yoosung made a confused noise. “Wow, really?”

“Yeah, really,” she said. “You believed me from the moment I entered the chatroom, even though there were some pretty suspicious circumstances…I appreciate it, Yoosung.”

“Oh,” he said, embarrassed. “Oh, it wasn’t anything—“

“No,” she replied, amused, “it was definitely something. I am absolutely sure that if not for you and Zen sticking up for me, Jumin just would’ve sued me for entering the apartment.”

He laughed nervously, because they both knew she was right.

“You make me sound so cool,” he said, but he didn’t sound happy about it. She paused, worried, as his voice grew more melancholy over the line. “But I’m not really anything special. I’m not doing well in any of my classes, and I can’t get a girlfriend, and I’m not at all smart like Seven or pretty like Zen—“

“Yoosung,” she interrupted him. He fell quiet, and she closed her eyes for a second, frustrated. He didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve any of this.

“Yoosung,” she repeated. “You’re something better than any of that.”

He drew in a quick breath. “What?”

“You’re a good person, Yoosung,” she said, certain. “An honestly, sincerely good and kind person who has known me for four days and worries about whether I’ve eaten enough, whether I’ve slept enough, if I’m feeling okay and if I’m happy today. It’s been a long time since someone’s worried about me, and the fact that you do…it means the world to me, Yoosung. Honestly. None of the things that you just mentioned have anything to do with your worth as a person. I know that if you really wanted to, you could apply yourself to your classes and get good grades.”

She paused. That wasn’t what she wanted to say. “But—that’s not my point. Regardless of whether you get good grades or bad grades, if you have a girlfriend or not, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re still one of the kindest people I know, and that’s worth more than anything else. So, don’t—don’t belittle yourself, okay? You’re great, Yoosung. You’re fine just the way you are.”

She finally managed to shut herself up at that point, stopping the word babble that had poured from her mouth. She, very calmly, put a hand over her face and prayed for the sweet embrace of death as absolute, poignant silence poured over the line. This was the second time in so many days that she’d blindsided someone over the phone. Why was she like this. Why.

She froze as the sound of a sniffle came from over the line. “Oh my God,” she said. “Yoosung, are you…?”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, and—yep. He was definitely crying. Oh God. A lump began to grow in her throat as she listened to him sob over the line.

“Don’t be sorry,” she said, but there was no strength in her words. She sounded lost, and sad.  Damn.

“No one’s ever said something like that to me before,” he said. Yeah, she’d kind of figured that when he started crying.

“I meant every word,” she said, because there was nothing else she could say. He sobbed again, softly, and it broke her heart to hear.

“Everything’s been so hard after Rika died,” he admitted quietly. “I can’t remember what I wanted to do anymore, why I thought anything was worth it. I go to school every day and I don’t know why I’m there.”

“I,” Sea said. She registered that she felt distinctly panicked at his words, because—wow. She was so not qualified to talk to him about any of this. Was he seeing a grief counselor? Because he should be. He definitely should be.

And then she closed her eyes and did her best. Regardless of who might talk to him later, Yoosung was talking to her now, and she couldn’t let him down.

“I’m sorry, Yoosung,” she said, and then laughed bitterly. “But sorry doesn’t really help, does it?”

He made a noise of disagreement, because he really was a good person. But they both knew that apologies felt hollow in these kinds of situations.

“You’re different now,” she said, “because someone you love, someone you look up to, they’re gone. There’s no way to stay the same when something like that happens. I…I never knew Rika, but if the way you talk about her is any indication, she was a wonderful person.”

“She was,” he sniffed.

“Yoosung, you based a lot of your life off Rika, right?” She asked. He hummed agreement.

“Then, it’s not surprising that you’re having a difficult time right now, because the person that you were doing things for is gone. You have to learn how to do things for yourself now, not anyone else.”

“I don’t know how to do that,” Yoosung admitted.

“It’s hard,” Sea said, honestly. “It’s really hard. But it’s important, too. People…” she sighed. “You can’t live your life for other people. That’s not how it works—it’s unhealthy. You have to find a path that you can be happy with. If you drop out of college and become a pro gamer—if you start studying again and succeed with high honors—you have to choose the path that you can be happy with. That you can live with. No one else can make that choice for you.”

“Sea,” Yoosung said quietly. “You sound like…”

“Like I know from experience?” She said, faintly amused. “Yeah. I do.”

“Oh.” There was a pause in conversation, where both of them shored themselves up, closed their eyes and simply breathed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

She sighed. “Not…not really. Not right now, at least. Maybe someday.”

“Okay,” he accepted that, and she felt her heart swell. She didn’t know what she’d done to deserve such a wonderful person in her life, but she’d do her best to deserve this blessing.

“How are you feeling?” She asked.

He huffed a laugh. “Tired. But…better. I think crying helped.”

“It usually does,” she agreed warmly. “Try to get some sleep, okay Yoosung?”

“Yeah,” he said. “You too. And, uh, Sea…”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you,” he said, with enough sincerity to make her blush.

“Anytime,” she smiled, and he hung up.

She sighed, looking at her phone for a moment before placing it down on her bedside table. She laid awake, staring at the ceiling of Rika’s apartment, thinking about how a year before the girl that shone so brightly in everyone’s memory had slept in this bed and planned charity parties, and planned her own death as well. Sea shivered, faintly, and shut her eyes tight.

Sleep didn’t come for a long time.

~

It became obvious that Seven was avoiding her the next day. There was no cheery good morning text sent at 3:04am on the dot, no reminder to eat breakfast when she walked past the camera, no phone call purely for the purpose of sniping at each other. She understood, mostly, though that didn’t mean that it wasn’t annoying. He needed time. She’d give him time.

She still sent him a reminder to eat an actual breakfast, though. Just because he wasn’t replying didn’t mean that she’d forgotten her promise to herself. But she left him alone other than that. She didn’t know what he was dealing with, but she knew that pressing too hard was more likely to make him want to run than anything.

She cooked herself breakfast, a simple meal of rice and eggs. Curling up on the sofa, she munched on her food while watching Claymore’s tail sway lazily back and forth as he ate. The sun was rising above the skyline, spreading sunshine through the window and into the apartment. She wasn’t used to waking up so early in the morning, but it had become apparent early on that everyone in the R.F.A. either didn’t sleep at all, or woke up at ungodly hours, and that morning and evenings were the best times to talk to them, before they all became too busy with work.

She listened to her kettle whistle, getting louder and louder until she knew that the water was hot enough. She got up, lazily shuffling over to the kitchenette, and poured the water into a mug that she’d brought over from her own apartment. Dropping in the tea bag, she mused that it was actually really lucky that she’d thought to bring her own dishes and silverware, because apparently she wasn’t allowed to open any of the drawers in the apartment—so spake God Seven.

…and thinking about Seven made her annoyed all over again. She huffed a breath, bringing her tea over to the coffee table (she was nothing if not a contradictory person) and placing it down to steep. She sat again, and then took out her phone, pulling up the R.F.A. app.

Oh. Jaehee was online! Sea smiled warmly, typing out a quick hello. She liked Jaehee a lot; the woman was efficient and hard-working, and Sea respected that in a person.

*[Seasnan]: Jaehee, are you still waiting for Jumin?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Oh, Seasnan.

*[Jaehee Kang]: You remembered ^^

Gah. That was cute. That was a cute emoticon. Sea had not been prepared for Jaehee to use such a cute emoticon. She took a moment to take a sip of her tea, refusing to blush.

*[Jaehee Kang]: No, Mr. Han came back safely an hour ago…

That was good. Jumin had gone on a business trip to meet up with some oil prince, and Jaehee had waited for him all night in order to ensure that everything went smoothly. Her dedication to her job was both inspiring and terrifying, Sea thought.

*[Jaehee Kang]: …;;;

*[Jaehee Kang]: “Pass Out After Drinking Caffeine Syndrome”

*[Jaehee Kang]: How childish.

Sea blinked, confused. Pass Out After Drinking Caffeine Syndrome? What was that?

*[Seasnan]: What do you mean?

*[Jaehee Kang]: It appears Seven is pranking Yoosung again. Check the chat above.

Obligingly, Sea scrolled up to the previous chats, eyes scanning the various messages, until she came to…

…oh for God’s sake, Seven. She felt pretty bad for Yoosung, actually; it looked like this chat took place only a little bit after she and him had talked. It figured that Yoosung had gone into the chatroom hoping for comfort, and was pranked by Seven instead. She’d have to call him after this.

*[Seasnan]: Why am I not surprised.

*[Seasnan]: Wait, the page that Seven showed actually says “I am writing random BS to mock Yoosung”

*[Jaehee Kang]:…;;;

*[Seasnan]: Oh my God Seven

*[Jaehee Kang]: Mocking someone younger than you is a bit much;;

*[Seasnan]: I can’t believe that Yoosung didn’t even actually read the page before believing him

*[Seasnan]: How many times has Seven tricked him by now??

*[Jaehee Kang]: …a lot

Seasnan took a second to calmly put her phone down on the coffee table before she placed her head in her hands and let out a deep, deep sigh. Yoosung. Yoosung, why.

Jumin Han has entered the chatroom

*[Seasnan]: Hey, Jumin. How was your flight?

*[Jumin Han]: It was good, thank you.

*[Jumin Han]: Though Assistant Kang was not there to greet me.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Ah, there was an errand I had to run, so the general manager went to greet you instead.

*[Jumin Han]: Yes, and because of that, the drive back was awkward.

Uh, okay. Maybe she should step in here, because that was a silly thing to put on Jaehee.

*[Seasnan]: You were meeting with the oil prince, right? Was the middle east cool?

*[Jumin Han]: Oh, it’s impressive that you remembered that, Seasnan.

He sent a smiling emoji, and she grinned faintly. It wasn’t actually as impressive as he seemed to think; she’d written down where he’d said he was going after the conversation so she wouldn’t forget. But she wasn’t going to tell him that.

*[Jumin Han]: The middle east was nice, yes. If you wish to visit sometime, I can have Assistant Kang arrange something.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Please do not make more work outside of company affairs…

She sent an emoji of herself sighing into a handkerchief. Sea didn’t know whether to be flattered or annoyed with Jumin. On the one hand, that was an incredibly generous offer. On the other hand, he just straight up put Jaehee in charge of something that had nothing to do with her job. Why, Jumin.

*[Seasnan]: That’s very generous of you, but I’m fine, Jumin. Thank you.

*[Jumin Han]: No need.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Anyway, how did the meeting go, Mr. Han?

*[Jumin Han]: It went well. As it turns out, he really likes Korean dramas, so I lent him some DVDs.

Wait. Did Jumin just…bring Korean dramas with him whenever he travelled? She snorted, unduly amused by the idea.

*[Seasnan]: Do you think we should invite him to the party?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Oh, that’s a good idea.

*[Jumin Han]: Assistant Kang, get in contact with the Oil Prince.

*[Jumin Han]: I must go now. Seasnan, I hope you have a pleasant day.

*[Seasnan]:Thanks, Jumin. You, too.

Jumin Han has left the chatroom

*[Jaehee Kang]: I suppose I had better get to work, as well. I hope Mr. Han doesn’t skip today.

*[Seasnan]: Does he skip work often?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Sometimes if he’s been away from Elizabeth 3^rd for a while, he will stay home with her.

*[Seasnan]: …he was only gone for a day.

*[Jaehee Kang]: ^^ I know

Oh. Um.

*[Seasnan]: Cheer up, Jaehee. I’m sure things will be okay.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, you are right. Thank you, Seasnan. I will go, then.

*[Seasnan]: I hope you have a good day!

Jaehee sent a smiling emoji.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, and same to you. I will speak with you later.

Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom

Sea archived the chat, then backed out onto the app’s mainscreen. It seemed that a couple of e-mails had appeared in her inbox while she’d been talking to Jumin and Jaehee, including one from…wait.

She squinted at the screen. Including one from the Oil Prince, holy God, how fast did Jaehee work? What on earth?

She made a mental note to beg Jaehee to teach her the ways of the efficient and punctual, before diving back into the wrangling of guests.

~

AH FUCK. She paused, frozen, her foot poised in the air, ready to step over the threshold and leave the apartment for work. She’d forgotten to call Yoosung.

“Shit,” she whispered, then, “fuck, bitch, damn, damn.” She dug her phone out from her purse hurriedly, swiping and unlocking the main screen before opening the RFA app. She dialed Yoosung as she closed the door behind her, beginning to walk down the hall.

“Hello?” Yoosung said. She grimaced at his voice; he sounded miserable. God, Seven, you really suck sometimes.

“Hey, Yoosung,” she greeted, pressing the button for the elevator. “I saw the chat you had with Seven earlier.”

“Can you believe it?” He demanded, gearing up already. “I just drank one cup of coffee, and now I’m going to pass out?!”

“That’s actually the reason that I’m calling,” Sea said, with absolutely no remorse over ruining Seven’s prank. Yoosung did not need this right now. “There’s no such thing as ‘Pass Out After Drinking Caffeine Syndrome’. Seven’s messing with you.”

The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. She got in and pressed the button for the lobby as she waited for Yoosung to process her words.

“There’s….there isn’t…”

“Nope.”

Yoosung groaned, and in that one noise was more longsuffering aggravation than she’d known one person could have. “He got me again?!”

“Yep.”

“Aargh. Why do I always fall for everything he says?”

Because you trust him, she didn’t say. “You’re kinda gullible, dude.”

“Ah,” he said, instantly embarrassed. “Yeah, I guess so. Um, so does that mean I’m not going to pass out?”

“You’re not going to pass out,” she said, mildly amused. “Don’t worry.”

He sighed. “Oh, that’s a relief! Thanks, Sea.”

“Sure thing, Yoosung.” She paused, thoughtfully, as the doors opened to the lobby and she stepped out. “Hey, do you want me to talk to Seven? I get that him teasing you is kind of your guys’ thing, but if you’re not feeling up to it today, I could tell him to knock it off for now.”

“You’d do that?” Yoosung said, surprised.

“Yeah,” Sea blinked. “Of course. Do you want me to?”

“I mean…if it’s not too much trouble,” he said, and Sea—well. Sea wasn’t putting up with that.

“Helping out a friend is never trouble,” she said, evenly.

“Oh,” Yoosung said, “okay. Thank you, Sea.”

“Yeah,” she nodded, though he couldn’t see it. She walked out of the building into the streets beyond, and the press of people. She instinctively hunched her shoulders, but knowing Yoosung was right there with her, even if only through a phone, actually…helped a lot.

She breathed out a quiet sigh. This wasn’t the time for her to feel mushy. She needed to focus on Yoosung.

“Hey,” she said, “why did the coffee file a police report?”

“What?” Yoosung managed, confused at the sudden turn in conversation. Sea repeated the question. “Oh, um, why?”

“It got mugged,” she said blandly.

“Oh my god,” he said.

“What did the buffalo say to his son when he left for college?”

“Um…”

“Bison.”

“…”

“I saw two satellites get married, you know.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, the wedding wasn’t much, but the reception was amazing.”

“I think I would prefer Seven’s teasing,” Yoosung admitted. She snickered at that, and he started laughing too after a second’s pause. She was glad that her horrible jokes had managed to pull him out of the funk he’d been in, even if only for a second.

Honestly, he was just lucky that she’d decided to spare him her arsenal of puns.

“Yoosung,” she said, after they’d recovered a bit.

“Yeah?”

“You’re going to be okay. Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but you’re going to be okay. I promise, alright?”

“I…okay,” he said, and then, stronger, “okay. I believe you.”

“Good,” she smiled. And then, “Shouldn’t you be heading to school?”

“Oh—oh my god!” He said, horrified. “I have to go!”

She laughed again, cheerily. “Have a good day, Yoosung,” she said. “I believe in you.”

“Thanks, Sea,” he panted—he was running, she thought. Trying not to miss his bus, probably. “I’ll talk to you later!”

“Later,” she agreed, and hung up.

She smiled down at her phone for a moment, glad she’d called. Yoosung needed someone in his ring, she thought—well, another person in his ring, she supposed. He had plenty of people in his ring, but sometimes it was difficult to see that people were there for you. And everyone in the RFA was jumping on Yoosung’s gaming addiction, instead of the problem causing it.

…she should probably tell Jumin to hire a grief counselor for Yoosung, but she could contemplate if that would be overstepping her place later. Now was for lowkey lecturing Seven.

*Seasnan: Hey, sorry to bother you, but could you chill on the teasing Yoosung thing today? He hasn’t been having such a good day so far, and that whole passing out thing was stressing him out farther than he could deal with.

There was a lag between when she texted him and when he answered, and during that time she finished the walk to her office building and made it all the way to her cubicle—where, predictably enough, a pile of papers had magically appeared overnight. She eyed it with all the distaste she could muster, but unfortunately enough she did not actually have the magical ability to light things on fire with her glare. It stayed there, mocking her. She turned her head away, pointedly ignoring it for the moment.

Her phone buzzed, and she checked it, glad that it seemed Seven wasn’t straight up ignoring her.

*707: Is he okay?

Ah, straight to the point. She felt a bit more respect trickle in. Seven might have been a goofball, but she’d been correct in her assessment that he was a goofball who cared about his friends—whether he was willing to admit that or not.

*Seasnan: Yeah, he’s doing better now, but he admitted that he’s having a really hard time still, so I think that pranking him should wait until he’s feeling a bit better.

*707: Okay

And…that was it. Ah. Okay. So he still wasn’t up to really talking to her, but he was willing to move past that to ensure that he wasn’t hurting Yoosung, at least. That was good. Kind of.

She was still annoyed that Seven had to take such a long amount of time to get over the fact that she didn’t bullshit about caring about him, but whatever, dude. She had decided that she was going to give him the time that he needed, and so she was going to give him the time that he needed, and that was that.

Sighing again, she put her phone down and turned instead to the pile of papers that needed translating. She cracked her knuckles, eyeing the documents with a gimlet stare. Well. The sooner she started, the sooner she was done, right? Right.

Nodding, she got to work.

~

Her head throbbed with each beat of her heart. She hated headaches with the burning passion of a million suns. Groaning, she took off her glasses, rubbing the indents left behind on her nose.

Sea turned away from the paper she’d been staring at for the past couple of minutes, picking up her phone instead. Maybe someone was in the chatroom right now? She could only hope.

Oh, shit, yeah there was. Right there was the icon for V, sitting in the chatroom. And there, also, was the icon for Yoosung.

Oh boy. Did she want to get in on that? She duly considered pretending that she hadn’t seen anything, but Yoosung was having too sucky of a day for her to leave him alone for this, and her work was looming in the background of her cubicle, staring at her. She really needed a distraction right now, and she would take it in the form of ‘stuck in a conversation between a friend and a friend’s dead cousin’s fiance’ if she had to.

Seasnan has entered the chatroom

*[Seasnan]: Hey, guys. It’s nice to see you, V.

*[V]: Seasnan, it’s good to see you as well. How have you been? Things have not been too difficult?

*[Seasnan]: Nah, everything’s been good. Everyone’s really nice, and they’re making the work much easier. How about you?

*[V]: I’ve been well, thank you.

*[Yoosung]: Sea! I made it to class on time!

*[Seasnan]: That’s great, Yoosung! Did you manage to catch the bus, or did you have to run?

He sent a crying emoji. Whoops. Guess he had to run, then.

*[Yoosung]: I had to run to the subway! I thought I was going to die; I was so tired!!

*[Seasnan]: But you made it! Good job!

Yoosung sent his blushing emoji. Aw. How cute. She grinned.

*[V]: It’s good to see that you two are getting along.

*[V]: I actually came here to make an announcement. I’ve made a decision on when the party will be.

Oh, shoot. She sat straight up in her chair, eyes widening. That was exciting! Her grin widened into a breathless smile, eyes alight. She’d started planning this thing only a couple of days ago, but she already had a good amount of people lined up, and was slowly convincing them to attend.

*[V]: In order to keep the party small, since this will be Seasnan’s first time planning it, I think that holding it in a week’s time would be best.

…what.

Wait, what?

*[Seasnan]: A week? Don’t you think that’s a little bit too soon?

*[Yoosung]: I agree with Sea! I don’t think that’s a good idea!

*[Yoosung]: We might not be able to gather a lot of people if it’s in a week.

*[V]: The party is going to be simpler this time, to make things easier for Seasnan.

Well, that was nice of V, she supposed. But shouldn’t he have consulted everyone before deciding this? Was the RFA organized so that V made all decisions without discussing them beforehand?

*[Yoosung]: Shouldn’t u have asked for our opinion before deciding that?

Ah. Maybe not, then.

[V]: Considering the situation…the party must be held a week from now. I don’t want to pressure Seasnan too much if the party becomes too grand.

*[Seasnan]: I appreciate that, V. But there’s really no need to worry; I have everyone helping me, as well.

*[V]: I’m glad to hear that. But I still believe that a week from now is the best time. There are members who still have good relationships with prior party guests, so things will be carried out fast.

*[V] If Seasnan handles the work well

*[V]: then I think there won’t be a problem with holding the party next week.

She frowned, running a hand through her hair. She didn’t really have the right to protest; she was a member who’d literally busted her way in. She always had to remember that her membership was conditional to organizing the party, and doing it well. She couldn’t afford to upset V.

*[Seasnan]: I’ll do my best, then.

*[V]: Thank you for understanding.

*[Yoosung]: Hosting a party in a week…It feels impossible.

*[Yoosung]: If we were going to do that, then we could’ve hosted at least 60 parties in the past year and a half.

Oh boy. Sea considered, nervously, if maybe she should just log out of the chatroom before this became a showdown between the two.

*[V]: You know that we couldn’t hold the party because Rika is not here.

*[Yoosung]: …We could have done it without her. If you took her place.

*[V]: I…can’t replace Rika.

*[Yoosung]: No one can replace Rika. But you could’ve helped. You were the one who created the RFA with Rika, but when she passed away, you grew distant.

*[V]: …You are misunderstanding me, Yoosung.

*[V]: I’m sorry…that I was that way.

*[Yoosung]: That’s not what I want to hear. I feel like you’re just trying to run away from Rika.

*[Seasnan]: Yoosung.

*[Yoosung]: Why do you push us all away?! You were so honest and open before, but now…

*[Yoosung]: It feels like you are holding all of us away from you. Like you’re hiding something.

*[Yoosung]: I don’t understand at all…

*[Seasnan]: Yoosung…

She had no idea what to say to this, and V didn’t seem to either, if his silence was any indication. She’d known that Yoosung was emotional today, because of their conversation earlier, but she hadn’t thought that it would all come bursting out of him like this. She didn’t know what to do.

*[Yoosung]: I’m sorry. I’m being too emotional.

*[Yoosung]: I have to go to class. I’ll talk to you later, Sea.

Yoosung has left the chatroom

*[Seasnan]: …I know that I’m not really in a position to say anything to you, V. But would it be alright for me to talk anyway?

There was a pause on the other end. She didn’t know if V was honestly considering her question, or if he was still blindsided by Yoosung’s words, but either way he did eventually respond.

*[V]: Of course.

*[Seasnan]: Everyone I’ve talked to in the RFA really respects you. Even Yoosung cares about you. They’re all really worried for you.

*[Seasnan]: I don’t know you that well, but you seem like a good, kind person. I know that if you’re keeping secrets, it’s probably for a good reason…

*[Seasnan]: But secrets only hurt people, V. I know that from experience. Regardless of why you’re keeping them, they will hurt the people you love—if only because they will feel like you no longer trust them.

*[Seasnan]: Regardless of who or what you’re trying to protect—you, the RFA, someone else—closing yourself off from the people who you love and who love you is a very sad thing to do. I hope you reconsider. The RFA honestly seems like a family to me, where everyone cares for and loves each other. That’s something that you should hold onto with all your strength.

*[Seasnan]: …I think I’ve talked too much. I apologize. I hope you’ll think about what I’ve said.

*[Seasnan]: I’ll talk to you later, V.

She went to log out of the chatroom, when her phone pinged.

*[V]: Seasnan.

*[Seasnan]: Yes?

*[V]: …I will consider what you’ve said.

*[V]: And…thank you.

*[Seasnan]: You don’t have to thank me for telling the truth.

*[V]: No, that’s what I have to thank you the most for. I am glad you joined us, Seasnan.

*[V]: I must go. I will speak with you later.

*[Seasnan]: Later, then. Take care of yourself, V.

*[V]: Yes. You as well.

V has left the chatroom

She logged out and archived the chat, then hurriedly called Yoosung. The call went to voicemail almost immediately—he must’ve turned his phone off.

She sighed, and then left a quick voicemail. “Hey, Yoosung, it’s Sea. I know that you probably don’t want to talk right now, but I just wanted to call and ask how you’re doing. Call me back when you feel up to it, okay? Or I’ll text you awful jokes until you can’t stand it. Later!”

Placing her phone down, she stared at the documents she’d left without really seeing them. Holy shit, that had gone down fast. Had she just lectured her kind-of boss? Yeah, she had. Okay. Okay.

At least he hadn’t seemed angry about it. Actually, V had seemed pretty grateful. What was with these people. Why were they so angsty. She couldn’t believe that she’d actually managed to find an entire group of people that she got along with, and they were all so very sad and angsty.

She groaned out loud, scratching desperately at her scalp. If this kept going the way it was going without improvement, she was going to have to step in. And do…something. She didn’t know what. Lecture them all. Maybe cry a bit.

A lot. Cry a lot.

No! She wasn’t going to think about this right now. She was going to translate these documents, and then she was going to go back the apartment, and then she was going to…talk with the angsty idiots and brainstorm ways to fix all their problems.

She plunked her head down onto her desk and groaned again, more drawn out and annoyed. God help her.

~

It became apparent soon after she went home for the day that both Seven and Yoosung were now avoiding talking with her. She paced around the living room, Claymore winding between her feet with each step, nervously biting at her lip. A pit of churning anxiety had formed in her stomach, making her feel sick with each new thought that entered her head.

It was definitely her fault that the two of them were so upset. She had been the catalyst for both of their emotional outbursts. She’d done something wrong. But she didn’t know what—she’d been too brash, she supposed. Too outspoken, she’d claimed things that she didn’t have the right to. She’d boldly declared that she and Seven were friends, she’d smashed her way through all his boundaries without permission, she’d crossed the distance that he’d tried to hold himself at without thought. She’d pressed Yoosung until he cracked, until he’d caved and cried and couldn’t hold himself together anymore. She’d forced them both past their breaking points without consideration for whether they’d be alright afterwards. How selfish of her.

But she couldn’t apologize if they wouldn’t answer her calls. She didn’t want to pressure them again by continually texting them, so now she was reduced to pacing, hoping that eventually one of them would call her so they could yell at her and put this all behind them.

Yoosung and Seven both entered more chats during the day, and talked normally to her during them. But she could still tell that they felt awkward around her. She’d made everything awkward and forced.

She figured that she should give Yoosung more time. But Seven had had just about an entire day already. She felt that drastic measures were now required.

*Seasnan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4txVqr1eNwc&t=43s

And then she waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

She sat on the couch, Claymore immediately jumping up and curling next to her. Folding her hands together, she calmly considered if she could—should—do what she thought perhaps she should do. There would be no taking this back.

Closing her eyes, she made her decision.

*Seasnan: According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly.

*Seasnan: Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground.

*Seasnan: The bee, of course, flies anyway, because bees don’t care what humans think is impossible.

And so it went, with her methodically typing up and sending the entirety of the script of the Bee Movie. If Seven thought that she’d give up when he didn’t answer, he was dead wrong. She just kept going, sending line after line after line, until eventually, half way through the script, he finally answered back.

*707: Are you just going to keep sending me this???

*Seasnan: Yes.

*707: Sea, you’ve sent me over 400 texts so far

*Seasnan: Yes.

*707: T.T I’m sorry…please have mercy…

*Seasnan: No, I…I’m sorry, Seven.

*Seasnan: I wanted to make you understand that I consider you a friend, but I made you uncomfortable. That was never my intention.

*Seasnan: I wanted to apologize for pushing you.

*707: …there’s…really no need for that.

*707: You don’t have to apologize

*Seasnan: I made you uncomfortable

*707: No, I just…didn’t know how to react

*707: You’re too nice, Sea. You really shouldn’t be so nice to me.

She frowned at her phone, confused. She…wasn’t nice to him? She called him a loser?? All the time???

*Seasnan: I don’t understand what you mean.

*707: I’m not a good person, Sea. I don’t…deserve your kindness.

Her frown turned into a heavy scowl.

*Seasnan: Right, because someone who literally spends his own money to stock up some random chick’s fridge he met four days ago could be a terrible guy.

*Seasnan: A person who helps his friends so often with everything they do could be a terrible guy.

*Seasnan: Zen told me about how you helped him get famous in the musical business. And you check Yoosung’s grades to make sure he’s doing well, don’t you? You make sure that the places that V travels to are safe for him, don’t you? You do all these things to help the people you care about, and you tell me that I shouldn’t be nice to you?

*Seasnan: I decide who I’m kind to. If I believe that there’s something good in you, even if you can’t see it, then I’ll be damned if I don’t trust my own judgement. You deserve kindness, regardless of what you think.

*707: You don’t know me. Not really. You can’t say that.

She snarled, furiously.

*Seasnan: I can and I will!

*Seasnan: You’re right, I don’t really know you. Like I said, I met you four days ago.

*Seasnan: I’ve never seen your face. I don’t know where you live. I don’t know a lot of things about you.

*Seasnan: But I do know that you’re my friend. And that’s enough for me.

*707: …I don’t understand you.

*Seasnan: You don’t have to understand me. You just have to trust me. That I see something good in you. Please.

He didn’t answer back for a long, long time. Sea waited, nervously, tapping her foot against the ground. She prayed that he’d say yes. She was desperate for him to say yes. She didn’t understand what could drive Seven to the point where just the idea of someone seeing something good in him made him try to disengage from them entirely, but she knew that if she could just get past that, he would be so much better off. She just wanted to help. She wanted to help so much.

*707: …I’ll try.

She released a huge sigh of relief. Claymore meowed, paws stretching out and patting her thigh. Laughing, she high-fived his paw, grinning with such force she could feel her chapped lips stretch and crack. But it was so worth it. To know that Seven was willing to try.

*Seasnan: Thank you, Seven. I’m so glad.

*707: I have to get back to work now. I’ll…I’ll call you tomorrow, okay?

*Seasnan: Okay. Good luck with work.

*707: Thanks

*707: :)

And with that little emoticon, she knew that things had regained their normal track. She pumped a fist in the air, happiness coiling in her gut. Thank God. Thank God.

*Seasnan: :)

She logged out of the RFA app after that, getting up to go prepare dinner. She was so glad that Seven had decided to trust her, even just a little bit. She’d do her best not to let him down.

Chapter Text

Seasnan stared up at the ceiling of Rika’s apartment, eyes half-lidded. To say she was tired was an understatement, but sleep wouldn’t come no matter how long she closed her eyes for. Sighing, she listened to Claymore purr quietly beside her, combing her fingers through his soft fur. It’d been a while since she’d found it quite so difficult to fall asleep.

After a while passed, she decided that she would check the RFA app and see if anyone else was having the same problems as she was. And if there was a thrum of anticipation as the app opened and she thought about talking to everyone again, well, no one knew but her.

Jaehee was online, and Sea eagerly entered the chatroom.

*[Seasnan]: Jaehee! You’re still awake?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Oh, Seasnan. Yes, I’m watching DVDs of Zen right now.

She snickered. Why was she not surprised.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I finished preparing for tomorrow’s morning meeting…

*[Jaehee Kang]: and I couldn’t sleep

*[Jaehee Kang]: so I was watching DVDs of Zen.

*[Seasnan]: I looked up what Zen’s singing voice sounded like online

*[Seasnan]: and I was just blown away! He has an amazing voice.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, Zen is an excellent singer! But that is not all.

*[Jaehee Kang]: His acting is superb! His mannerisms, his accent…

*[Jaehee Kang]: even his looks match his characters perfectly.

*[Jaehee Kang]: His looks play a large part in his popularity… but it wouldn’t be the same if he weren’t a fantastic actor.

Well, looks weren’t something noticed much at all, other than in an abstract sense, but Zen was certainly pretty. Sea honestly wanted to ask him what kind of products he used to have such smooth, clear skin, because damn. She’d kill for some of that.

*[Seasnan]: I wish I could see him act, too.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I highly recommend it if you ever get the chance.

*[Jaehee Kang]: If you like his acting, then you might even want to join his fanclub.

*[Jaehee Kang]: It’s more enjoyable having other fans around you.

She sent an emoji of herself smiling, with flowers blooming around her. Sea wondered, thoughtfully, if she could convince Seven to make emojis of her. Probably, but she knew he’d prank her somehow if she tried. He’d probably make one of them turn into an emoji of Claymore, or something.

*[Seasnan]: I might.

She’d never joined a fan club for a celebrity, mostly because Seasnan had never taken much interest in pop culture. There were actors she liked, and singers she admired, but she’d never had an urge to cheer them on, or anything like that. She didn’t have a particular interest in joining a fan club for Zen, either, but she would like to cheer him on. Talking to Jaehee made Sea realize how hard Zen must work for his roles—she’d tried acting before, and she was no good at it. To be able to analyze a character and then portray them took time and effort and a lot of hard-work.

She supposed Zen was actually…rather cool.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Zen will become more popular in the future,

*[Jaehee Kang]: so he will have to manage his private life from now on.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I think an actor must appear quite secretive to the public.

Sea frowned, eyeing Jaehee’s remarks. She had never had much of an opinion either way on the idea of celebrity privacy, except for the passing thought that it probably felt quite invasive that people they didn’t know took such an interest in all the details of their life. But when she put Zen into the place of that unknown celebrity, she felt much more protective.

*[Seasnan]: While I agree that it’s important for an actor to have their privacy, I also think that they should be able to live their lives the way they want, too.

*[Jaehee Kang]: That would be nice, but a celebrity on stage…has to be admired.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I don’t think putting on a mask is a bad idea.

*[Seasnan]: While I admit that I haven’t known him long…

*[Seasnan]: I’m not sure Zen would be happy living like that.

Jaehee’s response took a little longer this time.

*[Jaehee Kang]: That may be true, but it is important for Zen to correctly manage his publicity. A scandal can ruin an actor quicker than anything.

*[Seasnan]: Yes, you’re right. At any rate, I’m sure Zen will be fine. I really hope I get to see a performance of his someday!

*[Jaehee Kang]: I hope so as well—it is well worth the price of the ticket.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I must go back to watching the DVD.

*[Jaehee Kang]: It was nice talking with you.

*[Seasnan]: Same to you. Have fun watching that DVD!

*[Jaehee Kang]: Let’s watch it together when we the get the chance.

And before Sea could reply, Jaehee said goodnight and left the chatroom. Sea waited a while, just staring at the chat. That was the first time that someone had offered to spend time with her since she’d left her home behind and moved to Korea.

She smiled, warmer than she’d known she could, and placed her phone back down on her bedside table. She still couldn’t sleep, but now instead of just staring at the ceiling, she had a whole bunch of thoughts flying through her head at warp speed to entertain her.

In some ways…Jaehee was right. Scandals were definitely something that Zen had to avoid at all costs. He wasn’t yet famous, so any mess-ups could seriously damage his career. But at the same time, she thought that Zen was the kind of person who would hate to have to hide the details of his own life. To be unable to live how he wanted, always at risk of losing support if his fans disapproved of his actions…seemed a sad way to live.

Not that it was any of her business. She scowled, turning over so her face was smushed into the pillow. Zen would decide how he wanted to deal with all these things, and Seasnan would support him through it, and that was that. There was no reason for her to be so upset about this.

Closing her eyes tight, she firmly decided that she was going to go to bed, and that was that.

~

It was nearly three in the morning, and she was still awake. She groaned, glaring at the ceiling. Seriously? She wasn’t going to be able to sleep at all tonight, was she?

Her phone buzzed, and she turned her gimlet glare over to it, hoping that it would somehow manage to light the damned thing on fire. It didn’t, of course, but she could always dream.

Except she couldn't, because she couldn't fucking fall asleep. Ugh.

She picked up her phone and clicked it on, the RFA app opening before her eyes. Seven was online.

Why was she not surprised. It was like clockwork; every night at 3, Seven would either enter the chatroom, or text her. She didn’t know why he was always awake at such ungodly hours, but it almost seemed like a facet of his personality now. 707- hyperactive, enthusiastic, and always awake at three in the morning.

He sent her an emoji of him taking off his glasses and his eyes gleaming. What kind of greeting was that?

*[Seasnan]: Do I even want to know why you’re awake?

He sent a crying emoji. Yikes.

*[707]: I was just working, and I came here to rest a bit. I usually work at night.

*[707]: Reading the chat history above makes me feel better lol

*[707]: Jaehee’s totally into Zen now after watching the DVDs lol

*[Seasnan]: I’m pretty sure Jaehee liked Zen way before she watched the DVDs

*[707]: True lol

*[707]: I’m a guy but even I admit that Zen’s a good-looking actor

*[707]: PR is a huge reason why Zen succeeded so much…

*[707]: The

*[707]: expert

*[707]: of

*[707]: marketing,

*[707]: me, Seven!

Sea watched, amused, as Seven kept typing up and sending one word messages. Sometimes he got like this, so excited about whatever he was saying that he would send each word one at a time, so as to get it all out quicker. He finished with an emoji of him humming cheerily, and she knew she could type now.

*[Seasnan]: Oh, yeah, you mentioned that you helped him somehow, right? You uploaded one of his videos to Youtube, right?

*[707]: Oh, you remembered!

*[707]: Yeah, I uploaded the video on Youtube, and ever since it’s gotten tons of views!

*[Seasnan]: Because you hacked it, right?

*[707]: So cruel…

He sent an emoji of him crying into a handkerchief. Was the handkerchief an actual thing with him? Did he just carry one around at all times so he could cry crocodile tears into it when he needed to? Because she could definitely imagine him doing so.

*[707]: I just made it so that the video came up as one of the ads before people’s videos…

*[707]: And made it so that they couldn’t skip past it…

Jesus, Seven. That’s one way to get views.

*[Seasnan]: And so the Defender of Justice turns to the dark side…

*[707]: NO!!!

*[707]: The Defender of Justice will always fight for the side of good!!!

*[707]: For the sake!! Of his friends!!!

He sent a picture of a Youtube video, the title being “[ZEN] Rising Star Debut”. Sea glanced at the number of views, and did her best not to choke on air. Holy shit. Holy shit.

*[Seasnan]: Over a million views??

*[707]: The Defender of Justice comes through again!!

Sea paused, staring at the picture that Seven had sent her. Wait…the little line that displayed how much time the video had left stated that about a minute and half of the video had been watched at the time that Seven had sent her the photo. Did-did that mean…?

*[Seasnan]: Seven…were you watching this before you sent it to me?

*[707]: ….

*[707]: ….

*[707]: ….

*[Seasnan]: Seven

*[707]: …maybe…

She snorted out loud, then covered her mouth, embarrassed. Seven. Oh my God.

*[Seasnan]: Wow.

*[707]: Don’t judge me!

*[Seasnan]: Oh, I would never.

*[Seasnan]: It’s only natural that one watches a friend’s video at three in the morning.

*[Seasnan]: I get it, dude. Zen’s voice is very soothing. Could send you right to sleep.

*[707]: I will log out, right now.

She cackled. Out loud. And didn’t feel bad at all.

*[Seasnan]: Sorry, sorry. I’ll stop.

*[Seasnan]: Anyway, it is pretty cool that you helped Zen so much with publicity.

*[707]: Yeah, he was really grateful when the video hit a million views

*[707]: Zen said he’d like to compete with just his skill without getting anyone’s help, but acting and looks are useless if no one knows about them lolol

*[Seasnan]: Well, that’s not technically true. If someone is happy with performing without being famous for it, then I think that’s enough

*[Seasnan]: But Zen wants to go big, so he’ll need to get publicity

*[707]: Ya

*[707]: Zen needs to maintain a balance between his skills and his PR lol

*[707]: It’d be nice if Zen could find balance in some other areas, too…

*[Seasnan]: What do you mean?

*[707]: Zen totally ignored this chat room before because of work

*[707]: And the only times he did come in, he just bragged about his looks.

*[707]: Almost got sick of it lol

*[Seasnan]: What do you think changed?

*[707]: Omg…

*[707]: Are you serious??

He sent an emoji of his glasses breaking. She grimaced at her phone. What?

*[Seasnan]: What?

*[707]: You!! Ever since you joined the organization

*[707]: Zen’s been coming here more often

*[707]: and started talking about normal stuff.

*[Seasnan]: What? Are you sure it’s because of me?

*[707]: Ya, duh.

*[707]: I think he’s kind of into u

*[707]: Though not completely in love lolol

“Gwuh,” Sea said blankly. She stared at the screen. She squinted. She rubbed at her eyes a little. The words didn’t change to something more comprehensible, so she was forced to admit that maybe that was actually what they said.

In which case…wait, what?

*[Seasnan]: Are you joking? Zen’s into me?

*[707]: He calls you babe all the time in the messenger…;;

*[Seasnan]: I thought that was just something he did!

*[707]: He doesn’t do it to Jaehee…

*[Seasnan]: I’m pretty sure Jaehee would judo flip anyone who called her babe

*[707]: …true lol

*[707]: You really never noticed??

*[Seasnan]: No! I didn’t notice at all!!

Zen liked her? Wait—wait. Zen. As in the person she’d been talking to for the past five days. The musical actor. That Zen. Had a crush on her? …Really???

*[Seasnan]: Are you absolutely certain of this??

*[707]: ya I hacked his phone. He was complaining to Yoosung that you never upload selfies cause he wants to see what you look like

*[Seasnan]: But that doesn’t mean he likes me

*[707]: He said that he thinks you must look just as good as him

*[Seasnan]: Oh holy sheet

She blinked, confused at the discrepancy between what she’d typed and what had appeared in the messenger, before remembering—oh. Right. Seven had an algorithm in place that scrambled any swear that someone tried to type. Dammit.

*[707]: ya

*[Seasnan]: Wow

*[707]: ya

*[Seasnan]: …I have no idea what to say to that

*[707]: Tap that, Sea

*[Seasnan]: SEVEN OH MY GOD

*[707]: Whoops, I think I hear my work calling me. Gotta go~!

*[Seasnan]: SEVEN DON’T YOU DARE GO

707 has left the chatroom

*[Seasnan]: …I’m going to kill him I swear

She logged out and archived the chatroom, swearing all the while. Seven. Goddamn Seven. She could only hope that no one thought to scroll up later today and see that conversation, because holy shit. She did not want Zen to see that.

Zen. Her face burned at the thought. Did he actually like her? Like, in a romantic way? There was no way. Absolutely no way, right?

She shook her head firmly. No, there was no way. Seven was just messing with her, the same way he messed with Yoosung all the time, and she refused to fall for it. She would not make this easy for him.

She placed her phone down again and slowly sank into the bed, curling up into as tight of a ball as she could. She couldn’t bring herself to believe that Zen honestly liked her in any way other than platonic, but the thought that maybe he felt something for her…no. She couldn’t let herself hope. There was no way.

And yet, just the thought that maybe…it made her lips slowly, hesitantly curl up into a smile. She drifted off to sleep with Claymore purring softly next to her, wondering what it would be like for her to be with Zen, together.

~

She couldn’t face him. She stared at the chatroom, nervously biting her lip. Glancing around her cubicle furtively, just in case another one of her coworkers was ominously looming around the corner, ready to glare at her the second she stopped working, she turned to zero in on her phone.

Zen was in the chatroom, alone. And she was here, gawking at his icon like an idiot, wondering what might happen if she entered the chat. Did he read the conversation from the night before? Did he see what Seven told her? She thought probably not; no one else had mentioned it today in the other chats she’d been in, so hopefully that meant that no one had noticed the chat. Or else they were politely refusing to comment on it, but really she’d take either one—as long as Zen hadn’t noticed.

God help her, all this talk of Zen was making her think of him so much more. He seemed like a great guy. Hard-working, thoughtful, kind…but she wasn’t stupid enough to think that he really liked her. That was just Seven messing with her, no doubt about it. However, would Zen be able to just laugh off what Seven had said? Or would he feel uncomfortable around her now?

She chewed her lip, hand reaching up to scratch at the back of her neck. She just didn’t know, and the anxiety was killing her. Damn Seven! Why the hell did he have to type that shit yesterday? What was the point of trying to make her think that Zen liked her? Or maybe there was no point, like when he messed with Yoosung. Maybe he was just tired and stressed, and taking it out on her. Ugh.

Well, she reasoned, if Zen hadn’t seen Seven’s words, then there was nothing to worry about. And if he had…she should probably talk to him and try to smooth things over before their relationship frayed at the seams. It would be terrible to lose a co-worker and friend before they could become close.

So, she just had to…click the button. Right.

She stared at the chatroom for a couple more minutes blankly.

What if he was angry with her for this? What if he didn’t want to talk to her, or if he ignored her, or if he yelled or insulted her? What would she do? What should she do?

She carefully placed her phone down and closed her eyes. Breathing carefully, she forced herself into stillness, and counted breaths until she was calm again. Then, when she felt that her fingers wouldn’t tremble over the keys, she pressed the button and entered the chat.

*[ZEN]: Seasnan…You’re here.

*[Seasnan]: Hello, Zen. It’s good to see you. How are you doing?

Are you upset with me, she thought and did not say, fingers tightening around her phone.

*[ZEN]: I’m better now.

*[ZEN]: I thought of you often lol

Wait, she thought. Wait, what? Is what I think is happening actually happening? Is he…genuinely flirting with me?

She faceplanted into her desk and made a noise like the air escaping a boiling teakettle. One of her co-workers poked their head into her cubicle for a second, face etched with lines of concern.

“Seasnan, are you okay?” They asked, and Sea nodded an affirmation from her place on the desk. Her face was very comfy against the pile of papers, and she entertained the brief thought of just staying there for the rest of her life for a moment before lifting her head. Her co-worker was still there, and still staring at her, possibly even more concerned now than they had been before. Seasnan carefully peeled one of her papers off her forehead, placed it down onto the pile that she’d just forcibly introduced to her face, and sat up straight in her chair.

“I’m fine, thank you,” she said, and they nodded hesitantly and walked away.

She buried her face in her hands. And then gasped, because Zen was still waiting for a response, holy shit. She fumbled her phone and then hurriedly clicked it on, to see a new message awaiting her.

*[ZEN]: Sea? Are you still there? Was that too much?

*[Seasnan]: No, no, it was fine! I just had a coworker talk to me for a second, sorry.

Her fingers twitched above the keys. Was she going to do this? Was she really going to do this?

Oh hell yeah she was.

*[Seasnan]: I feel better when I’m talking to you, too.

There was a brief pause, and she waited anxiously for his response. Was that too much? Had she driven him off?

*[ZEN]: Omg, that was…so cute.

He sent an emoji of him winking and blowing a kiss, and she laughed. She could feel her cheeks burning red, but she was smiling so hard that her lips strained at the edges. There was some sort of weird warm feeling burning in her chest, a soft burn that made her feel like she was glowing.

God, she needed to get a hold of herself.

*[ZEN]: I feel good today

*[Seasnan]: Did something good happen?

*[ZEN]: Yes, it did!

*[ZEN]: I wanted to tell you first, so I’m glad you’re here. ^^

*[Seasnan]: Tell me!

*[ZEN]: I just met with the director

*[ZEN]: I…

*[ZEN]: got a new role and it’s amazing!

*[Seasnan]: That’s great, Zen! Is it going to be a big production?

*[ZEN]: Yes, this is going to be a very big production, and…

*[ZEN]: I’ll be acting with a famous celebrity that acts on TV!

Oh holy shit. She gasped out loud, quickly muffling herself before another co-worker came to check on her. She did a mini-fist pump, because—holy shit, that was amazing! Zen was going to act with a famous actor? He was going to be so famous, if this turned out well his career would take off from here!

*[Seasnan]: Zen that’s incredible! Way to go!!

*[Seasnan]: You worked so hard for this, you totally deserve it!

*[ZEN]: Thanks, Sea ^^

*[ZEN]: Hearing you say that, I feel so excited I could crash through walls right now lolol

*[Seasnan]: Well, maybe don’t do that. Wouldn’t want to ruin that precious face of yours

*[ZEN]: True! This beautiful face must be protected at all costs!

Oh boy. She hoped that she hadn’t set him off on a rant on how God had made a mistake in creating someone so perfect again. She’d bet real money that everyone in the RFA could quote that thing verbatim by now.

*[ZEN]: Anyway, lol

Holy shit, Zen had veered off course. He must be really excited about this role if he was willing to talk about it instead of his looks.

*[ZEN]: The director says that if I do well on this one, I might start acting on TV now.

*[ZEN]: The actress is apparently a really popular singer these days…

*[ZEN]: I didn’t know her, but apparently she’s famous.

*[ZEN]: Echo girl…? Or something like that.

*[ZEN]: Do you know her?

*[Seasnan]: No, I don’t know her. But if she’s so famous, that can only mean good things for you when you work together!

She didn’t know anything about pop culture in Korea, actually, but she wasn’t sure if she was allowed to tell any of the RFA members that she wasn’t actually Korean. She’d have to ask Seven later. It’d be pretty awkward if she went to the party and she wasn’t allowed in because everyone was expecting her to be Korean.

*[ZEN]: Right? That’s what I thought.

*[ZEN]: I’m so happy today lololol

*[ZEN]: I read the script and it’s pretty good too.

*[ZEN]: Getting to act with a TV star…

*[ZEN]: I guess I’m being recognized for all my hard work?

*[Seasnan]: You definitely deserve it, Zen. Everyone can see how much effort and love you put into acting. I’m so happy for you!

*[ZEN]: Thank you…

*[ZEN]: That means a lot to me.

*[ZEN]: ^^

*[ZEN]: What I’m more worried about is that rehearsal is in 5 days

*[ZEN]: She’s so famous that her schedule is really tight.

Wait. Sea could feel alarms blaring in her head. Something was happening five days from now, right? But…what was it?

She counted slowly, confused about why she suddenly felt almost sick to her stomach. Five days from now, wasn’t that…

*[Seasnan]: Wait, isn’t that the day before the party?

*[ZEN]: Yeah…

*[ZEN]: That’s why I was a bit hesitant about it.

Her eyebrows furrowed, lips turning into a frown. What was she supposed to say to that? The party was really important, and Zen was one of the hosts…but this was the chance of a lifetime for him. He couldn’t pass this up.

*[ZEN]: Of course, there’s a high chance that the show will begin right after rehearsals, so I’ll have to practice more.

*[ZEN]: I’m not comfortable with not having a lot of time to rehearse but… well, what can I do.

*[ZEN]: I’ll just have to make sure that I have everything right.

*[ZEN]: I’ll start practicing from today!!

She sighed quietly, her joy from earlier evaporating into worry. The way this was turning out, it seemed Zen was planning on skipping out on one of his rehearsals in order to attend the party, but doing so would mean that he’d have less time to get his part down. And acting this well was critical for his career, so this would be his first time acting with such a popular partner. It seemed that he was going to be under a lot of stress soon.

*[Seasnan]: I know you can do it, Zen. I’m cheering for you!

*[ZEN]: Thank you…^^

*[ZEN]: I think I can enjoy practicing more with you here.

*[ZEN]: Then I’ll get going.

*[Seasnan]: Alright. I’ll talk to you later, Zen!

*[ZEN]: Ah, Sea?

*[Seasnan]: Yes?

*[ZEN]: Seven was right. I do like you.

*[ZEN]: Have a good day! ^^

ZEN has left the chatroom

*[Seasnan]: God have mercy

Seasnan has left the chatroom

She put her phone down on her desk. Standing, she numbly walked to the bathroom, and then proceeded to stare at herself in the mirror until someone started hammering on the door in annoyance at how long she was taking.

“Oh my God,” she said, blank. She watched as red slowly climbed from her neck all the way to her forehead, turning her face to a scarlet red. “Oh my God.”

~

She discovered later, via Yoosung, that Echo Girl was apparently a very big deal in Korea. A huge celebrity, she would undoubtedly boost Zen’s career by a ton if he was in a production with her. And Sea was happy for Zen, truly.

And yet, she couldn’t help but feel some sort of…pit in her stomach, clawing and angry. She didn’t understand why she was feeling this way; Zen had the chance of his life right here. Why on earth was she anything other than happy for him?

It was just that…she couldn’t stop thinking of Echo Girl.

Sea had looked up the celebrity when she got back to Rika’s apartment after work. She was beautiful, as it turned out. Sea didn’t know why she was surprised. But Echo Girl really was gorgeous; long brown hair, an hourglass figure Sea would kill to have, bright blue eyes, sweet, delicate features…

Ah, she understood now. Echo Girl was everything that Seasnan was not.

She couldn’t help but compare herself with the woman on her computer screen. They were nothing alike, really. Sea had shoulder-length hair the color of mocha, teal eyes, full lips, and skin freckled all to hell. But she wasn’t beautiful. She was nothing next to Echo Girl, and she could see clearly all the differences between them. Sea’s hair was curly and frizzly, nothing like Echo Girl’s sleek, soft strands, and Sea’s eyes were narrow and small. Her lips were constantly chapped, she had hang-nails all the time, and she was…stocky, for lack of a better word. Broad shoulders, big hips. She had the body shape of a rectangle, and she was short to boot. The best she could offer was that she was muscular—she had the calf muscles of a soccer player. But she wasn’t anything special.

And she knew that she could never compare with the woman who would be acting next to Zen. He would see Echo Girl for the first time a day before he met Seasnan, and she had no doubt that he would awed already by the beauty beside him when he met the short, stocky American girl that he’d been flirting with through an app.

He’d said to her that he cared more for personality than looks, but Sea’s personality wasn’t really that great either, so this was really a lose-lose sort of situation. She was sarcastic and brash, too honest, too loud, too annoying, with a laugh like a hyena. She scratched at her scalp, feeling honestly close to tears. She hated when she got like this, so upset and emotional that her throat clogged up and her eyes burned. How aggravating.

She knew, already, how this was going to go. He was going to meet Echo Girl, and next to such a beautiful, charming woman, Seasnan was going to seem worse than yesterday’s trash. She knew that. She already knew.

And yet, she couldn’t help but cheer Zen on anyway, encourage him to act with Echo Girl. Because Sea wanted him to succeed and be happy, even if that meant that he’d realize that someone else was so much better for him than she could ever be.

Claymore purred next to her, placing his head on her lap and kneading her leg gently. She pet him, but even he couldn’t make her feel better right now. On screen, Zen talked and talked about how happy he was, and with trembling fingers, she told him that she was excited for him. She knew he’d do great.

He’d do great. He was an amazing actor. He deserved this chance. This was a dream come true for him. She knew that.

She knew that. So why couldn’t she stop crying?

Chapter Text

Seasnan woke to the sound of something heavy landing on the dresser with a dull thud. She blinked, brow furrowing slightly in aggravation. There were only two ways that she woke up: either so groggy and exhausted that it took actual hours to drag herself out of bed, or immediately awake. This was a case of the latter, and she took a moment to resent her sudden wakefulness with as much annoyance as she could muster at—she took a second to check her clock—1:30 in the goddamn morning.

She groaned, glaring over at where she knew, knew with every fiber of her being, that Claymore was perched on the dresser. She was not in the mood for this today. Her eyes felt grimy, she still felt the leftover turmoil in her stomach from her crying session earlier, and overall, she wanted to sleep for maybe a day or two. But no. Noooo. Of course her cat had to wake her up at fuck-all hours of the night just to spite her. Figures.

She paused, blinking. Wow. That was a lot of self-pity that she’d just mustered up, huh. Damn.

Claymore meowed, as if to break her from her thoughts.

“What,” she said, chewing on each word like she could break each consonant and vowel down into rubble in her mouth, “do you want.”

Claymore meowed again, without a change in inflection, and then batted something off the dresser. It hit the ground, which was thankfully carpeted. Sea stared at him like he’d just stabbed her with a rusty knife.

“It’s 1:30 in the morning,” she told her cat. He was unsympathetic to her plight, and she watched as he batted over another object. Probably her perfume bottles, because apparently it wasn’t bad enough that she was miserable; she needed to be miserable and smell bad, too.

“You asshole,” she said wonderingly. She could see little pinpricks of light where his eyes were, probably reflecting the light of her alarm clock. They looked right at her, which was how she knew that her cat was actually maintaining eye contact as he knocked over her last perfume bottle and moved onto her lotions.

She got out of bed, picked him up off her dresser, and plopped him down again on her bed. She glared as best she could at the dark lump of fur and spite.

“Watch it,” she warned him, laying back down herself. She closed her eyes, breathing out a sigh, and prayed that she’d be able to get some more sleep.

Thump. Thud. Meow.

“Why,” she asked the ceiling. The ceiling had no answers for her.

She rolled over to stare at where her cat sat, planning her demise one lotion bottle at a time.

“Bro,” she told him, “you’re being a huge dick right now.”

Thud.

She paused, ruminating on that answer for a second, before nodding. “Alright,” she said, getting out of bed once more. She picked Claymore up, carrying him out the door and to the bathroom. There was nothing he could knock over in there, thanks to the fact that Seasnan had not yet fully moved in to this apartment, and therefore there was no way that he could torture her from here. Nodding in satisfaction, she closed the door behind her, trapping her cat in the bathroom. He started meowing again, but she ignored the calls with something close to bliss, and tromped back to the bedroom in triumph. She laid down on the bed, closed her eyes, and drifted off again.

…or not.

She opened her eyes once more, glaring up at the ceiling. She wondered if God was punishing her for something. She hadn’t been that bad of a person thus far, had she? Was it because she teased Seven so much? She could be better.

…who was she kidding. Sniping at each other with Seven was way to fun to give up.

But still. She was tired. She wanted to sleep.

Sleep was being a fickle bitch tonight, apparently.

She rolled over to her phone, going to the one alternative she had to sleep—the RFA. If she was going to be an insomniac, she was going to be an insomniac with a whole group of other insomniacs, where she could moan and whine about her problems and be given sympathy in return.

Zen was online, and she jolted, happiness fizzling within her. A moment later the uncomfortable feeling from earlier returned as well, and she frowned, the emotions mixing together in her gut to make some sort of horrible, stomach-turning combination. She hated feeling like this. Should she talk to him? What if she accidentally let something slip about that slimy, gross feeling she had whenever she thought of Echo Girl, and then Zen realized how horrible she actually was and refused to talk to her—

And she was going to stop herself right there. That was a ridiculous train of thought, seriously. Chill, Sea. Just click the damn button.

Sea clicked the damn button.

Seasnan has entered the chatroom

*[ZEN]: Oh, Seasnan.

*[Seasnan]: Hey, Zen. You’re not usually up this late. Is something up?

*[ZEN]: Oh…

*[ZEN]: You sure are observant, huh, Sea?

*[ZEN]: I…have some bad news…

And suddenly all of her emotions were overrun with worry. Was he alright? What had happened?

*[Seasnan]: Are you okay?

*[ZEN]: Ah, well, that’s the thing…

*[ZEN]: I think I hurt my ankle.

*[ZEN]: A lot.

Oh fuck. Oh FUCK.

*[Seasnan]: Your ankle? How badly did you hurt it?

*[ZEN]: I’ll have to go to the hospital to know for sure, but I think I twisted it

She gasped, actually gasped out loud. He twisted his fucking ankle?? With rehearsal for his show starting up so soon?

Oh my God, Zen’s show. Would he be able to do it now? Would he be fired from it?

No, no, focus on the task at hand for now. Worry about that later. First and foremost, Zen had to go to the hospital.

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, you definitely have to go to the hospital! How are you going to get there?

*[Seasnan]: Can you call an ambulance?

*[ZEN]: Yeah, I’ll have to do that. It’s too late for a taxi.

*[ZEN]: God… I can’t believe I did this to myself

*[ZEN]: I pushed too hard and now…

*[ZEN]: I’ll have to miss rehearsal now

*[Seasnan]: I’m sure they’ll understand if you explain to them

*[Seasnan]: But the most important thing is to make sure you’re alright

*[Seasnan]: So get to the hospital before you think of anything else, alright?

*[ZEN]: Yeah, you’re right. I’m sorry, I must look so pathetic to you

She pursed her lips together, suddenly angry.

*[Seasnan]: Don’t you dare. You don’t seem pathetic at all.

*[Seasnan]: I’m just glad that you’re okay.

*[ZEN]: Thanks, Sea.

*[ZEN]: I’m glad you’re here with me

*[ZEN]: It’s late, so I’m going to go to the hospital now

*[ZEN]: Don’t worry too much about me, alright?

She snorted, Yeah, right. Seasnan was a born worrier. It was in her blood.

*[Seasnan]: Just get better soon, Zen. Take care of yourself

*[ZEN]: I’ll do my best

*[ZEN]: I’m sure I’ll get better quickly, with you cheering me on

*[ZEN]: I’ll talk to you soon.

*[Seasnan]: Yes. I hope you recover quickly.

*[ZEN]: Thank you!

He sent a smiling emoji, and then logged out. Sea carefully placed her phone down, and then stared up at the ceiling once more. In the distance, she could hear the faint meowings of Claymore, still stuck in the bathroom.

She laid awake for the rest of the night, dry-eyed and exhausted, thinking and thinking and thinking herself in circles with no end in sight. She entered the chatroom once more around three in the hopes of catching Seven, but instead found herself in a conversation with Jaehee on how Zen was. It only served to exacerbate Sea’s fretting to near epic proportions, and when it ended she went back to twisting and turning in her sheets with useless pent-up energy, watching as the night passed and dawn broke through her curtains.

There was nothing she could do to help Zen. She wasn’t magic, she couldn’t just heal his bones or something. But still, it was so frustrating to just lay on her bed, knowing that in some hospital in this city, right now, Zen was dealing with the fact that he may have just wasted his big break before he ever really got it. What do you say to someone who’s going through that? What do you do?

Seasnan didn’t know, and though she’d found herself time and time again lacking in social interactions, never before had it been so frustrating. There was nothing she could do. There was nothing she could say that could possibly make this better, so she resigned herself to a vigil through the night, and exhaustion through the morning.

Eventually, at some point during the passing hours, she started to pray. She wasn’t even sure what she was praying for—for Zen to recover quickly, for him to not lose his chance, for him to not even be really injured in the first place—but she prayed for it with a fervency she hadn’t known she’d possessed, and hoped that it would be enough.

~

Around six, she gave up the ghost and rolled herself out of bed. Literally. She rolled off the mattress, impacting with the floor with an “oomph”. Sea grumpily stayed in place for a moment. The tiles of the floor were cold against her face, and at any other time Sea would be hauling ass out of the room to the nice carpet beyond, but today was apparently a day to wallow in her misery.

“Seriously?” She asked the ground. The ground did not answer.

She grunted, rolling to the side and forcing herself up. Her limbs felt heavy, like they were weighted down with rocks or something, and her feet dragged against the floor as she left the bedroom behind.

She felt gross from crying yesterday and worrying all night. Running a hand through her hair and grimacing at the grimy feeling, she decided firmly that what she needed the most right now was a hot shower.

Opening the door to the bathroom, she was immediately accosted by a very angry cat.

Oh. Shit. Right. She’d completely forgotten that she’d put Claymore in the bathroom overnight.

He darted out of the room with a loud meow, hurtling away from his prison. Sea watched him go blankly, idly wondering if she was supposed to go after him.

…Eh. He’d be fine, she was sure. It wasn’t like he could get outside or anything, and she hadn’t left any of her stuff out to be knocked over in his pursuit of revenge.

Shrugging, she stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

The water helped her relax, and by the time she emerged from the bathroom again, she felt significantly better about everything. Putting her hair up into a bun, she padded around the kitchen, putting on a kettle and pulling out some leftovers from the fridge. She still didn’t feel up to making breakfast, but thankfully enough she had a huge loser for a friend who apparently thought that convenience store lunches were a staple for any fridge. She munched one as she waited for the water to boil, musing over how quickly things had changed since yesterday.

To think that a couple of hours ago she’d been sick to her stomach at the thought of Zen and Echo Girl meeting, and now she wanted nothing more. The benefit of hindsight, she supposed, smiling darkly. She knew she was insecure, but she had never wanted that to get in the way of Zen’s happiness. Part of her was still hoping that maybe his injury wouldn’t be as bad as he’d made it out to be.

As she made her tea, she considered calling Zen. But it was still pretty early in the day, so she discarded the thought for later—she didn’t want to accidentally wake him up. He would need all the rest he could get in order to recover quickly. Instead, she went over the e-mails that had accumulated overnight, responding and generally kissing ass in an attempt to get as many guests as possible.

Unfortunately, the e-mails ran out quickly enough, which meant that she once again had nothing to do.

A short annoyed meow interrupted her thoughts, and she winced. Well. Almost nothing to do.

Claymore was glaring at her from his perch on a shelf—the same shelf he’d jumped onto when Seven had hacked the TV, actually. He’d been staring at her the entire time that she’d been on the couch, and she was pretty sure that he hadn’t blinked once. It was starting to freak her out.

Sighing, she placed her phone down. “Look, dude, I get that putting you in the bathroom was rude. But seriously, you were knocking all of my stuff over in the middle of the night. What were you expecting me to do? I was driven into a corner. I had no choice.”

Claymore seemed less than moved by her speech. He was still glaring at her.

“Don’t give me that look. You can’t blame me for this. You knew what you were doing, and you knew the consequences.”

He flicked his tail, and she glared back at him, unwilling to back down. Sleep was a sacred thing for Seasnan, and Claymore knew that. He’d been the one to start this fight, and she would not let herself be the scapegoat.

Her phone buzzed on the couch cushion, and she picked it up while ignoring the fact that Claymore still hadn’t blinked.

*707: Trouble in paradise?

Sea blinked, then looked up at the camera in the corner, which—yep. It was turned to face her. That was still pretty creepy.

*Seasnan: Claymore and I are having a disagreement

*Seasnan: He thought that it was alright to start knocking over the things on my dresser in the middle of the night, so I thought it was alright to put him in the bathroom

*707: I don’t know, Sea

*707: Do you really think this face could ever do something that cruel?

*707: cat.jpg[11378]

Sea paused, staring at the photo that Seven had sent her. It was a picture of Claymore, zoomed in on his face. He was staring into the distance with thoughtful eyes, like he was contemplating the secrets of the universe. Or of the perfect ways to make her life more difficult. It was up for debate.

But what wasn’t up for debate was the absolute certainty she held that she’d never sent Seven this picture. She’d never even taken this picture. She knew every picture of Claymore she’d ever taken, lovingly captured so she could look at her asshole cat even when she wasn’t home. And this wasn’t one of them. Which meant…

*Seasnan: …have you been taking pictures of Claymore through the camera?

She waited for a response, thoughtfully musing on the ways she could find wherever Seven lived and bring him to proper justice. She’d enlist Jumin. They would defeat this menace to cats everywhere.

*707: Uh. Will you be mad if I say yes?

*Seasnan: Yes

*707: …no?

*Seasnan: You’re a dead man, Seven.

*707: T.T

Sea tucked this conversation carefully away in the back of her mind. Seven would get his comeuppance. There would be nowhere he could hide from her wrath.

Claymore, seeming to sense the evil intent coming off her, hopped off the shelf and padded up to her. She blinked down at him thoughtfully.

“I would kill a man for you,” she told her cat. Claymore rubbed his head against her shin.

*707: Scary

*Seasnan: That man is you.

*707: You cannot kill the Defender of Justice! He is immortal!!

*Seasnan: Immortally annoying, maybe.

*707: I have a line of defense you’ll never be able to get past!

*707: Jaehee!!

*707: She’ll protect me!

*Seasnan: She’ll probably help me, actually.

*707: …

*707: …

*707: T.T

She snorted, tucking her phone away. It was about time for her to get ready for work, anyway, and it seemed the conversation was winding down. She patted Claymore’s head, moving back to the bedroom to prepare for the day.

Seven always seemed to know when she needed someone to lift her mood. The benefits of watching her through a camera, she guessed.

...still creepy, though.

~

Work was boring, and Sea was constantly nervous throughout the day, checking for updates on Zen’s status. After a couple of hours of drumming her fingers against her desk and staring blankly at the papers she was supposed to be working on, she eventually gave up the ghost and called Zen.

“Hey,” he said, barely a moment after the phone had started ringing. Had he been waiting for someone to call him?

“Hey, Zen,” Sea said, “how are you feeling? Are you at the hospital?”

“Yeah,” he replied, and he sounded…tired. No, he sounded exhausted. She closed her eyes, wishing that there was some way to help him. Something, anything that she could do, she would do if it would make him feel better—but she knew there was nothing. She hated feeling so helpless.

“How are you feeling?” She repeated gently.

He sighed. “It’s so frustrating. I can’t rehearse for my part like this…I’ll have to give up the role. I was the lead…I was so excited about this. I can’t believe it was only yesterday that I was given this part, and already I’ve lost my chance.”

“I’m so sorry, Zen,” she said, even though the words were bitter on her mouth. Apologies sounded so empty in situations like this. They were just fillers for all the words that she wished she could say instead.

“God, I didn’t want you to see me like this,” he whispered. “So pathetic…”

“You’re not pathetic,” she replied, an edge entering her voice. “It’s not wrong to be upset. You just lost a role that you were really excited for—I’d be surprised if you weren’t sad about it. You have the right to be sad.”

“But still,” he complained, “it was my own fault. I pushed myself too hard, and my ankle gave out. I did this to myself, it was so stupid of me.”

Sea paused. “Well,” she said. “I mean. Yeah. It was pretty stupid.”

...comfort was not her strong suit.

“But,” she pressed on hurriedly, “You can’t change the past. Being sad is alright, but beating yourself up about something that’s already happened is pointless, you know? It’s better to focus on the future.”

“The future where I lose this role?” He sounded morose. Sea rolled her eyes.

“The future where there are other roles. You’re an actor, Zen. There will be more roles—and once you recover from this, knowing your limits will be pretty helpful in making sure it doesn’t happen again, right?” She said sweetly.

“…You’re pretty scary, Sea,” Zen said, but he was laughing quietly. She grinned.

“I try.”

The two of them fell silent for a time, when the only noise was Sea’s pen scratching against her papers and them breathing.

“…Sea, have you ever failed anything that you worked really hard at?” Zen’s voice was quiet again, and more thoughtful than she’d ever heard him be. She paused, carefully placing the pen down onto her desk.

That…was a difficult question to answer. Leaning back into her chair, she looked up at the ceiling in the hope that it would provide her with the perfect answer. It remained as unhelpful as ever.

“…Yes,” she said finally, solemn. “I…tried to convince someone of something very important to me, once. I failed.”

“Oh,” said Zen. He didn’t sound surprised, only very sad. It was strange, that he somehow knew how difficult even that was to say. He didn’t ask for details, and Sea didn’t—couldn’t—provide them.

“That must have been frustrating.”

Frustrating. That was one word for it.

“It was inevitable,” she said, with the air of someone who had repeated it many times before.

Wisely, Zen didn’t pursue the question much farther.

Eventually, Sea had to go back to the work, and Zen had to get himself discharged from the hospital, so the phone call came to an end. But the heavy feeling stayed in her gut for the rest of the day—she could push away all the memories she wanted, but emotions were much harder to banish.

It was inevitable, but that didn’t mean it was okay.

~

It was later in the afternoon when Sea logged onto the chatroom again, furtively glancing around to ensure that no one was nearby or looking into her cubicle. Lately, one of her co-workers had taken to hovering around her, glancing in sometimes randomly throughout the day. She knew that they were trying to catch her in the act of being on her phone, so she had to be extra vigilant about the moments that she talked to the R.F.A.

The first thing that greeted her eyes was Jumin talking about Zen’s body.

…Huh.

*[Jumin Han]: I always think that Zen’s body goes against science.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Perhaps it is the result of hours and hours of exercise.

And now Seasnan was feeling distinctly nervous. Sure, she went to the gym a couple of times per week, but apparently Zen worked out like, every goddamn day. How ripped was he? She’d probably look incredibly unfit beside him.

She glanced down at the screen. Jaehee was now telling Jumin that he needed to work out more. Harsh. Sea was definitely not telling Jaehee how much she worked out a week.

*[Jumin Han]: I play golf often, so I’m fine.

That’s not how working out works, Jumin.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Will that be enough?

*[Jumin Han]: I’m sure you’re not saying that you want me to be muscular?

*[Jumin Han]: Like this, I mean.

*[Jumin Han]: photo.jpg

…Alright, first off, what the flying fuck.

It was a photo of an extremely muscular guy, but it was just…so awkward. Words could not describe. How awkward the photo was. Why.

*[Seasnan]: My poor forsaken eyes

*[Jumin Han]: Ah, hello Seasnan.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I am so sorry.

*[Seasnan]: Jumin, why do you have that on your phone??

*[Jumin Han]: It’s something to work towards when I’m exercising.

*[Jaehee Kang]: …

*[Seasnan]: …

*[Jaehee Kang]: Anyway

*[Jaehee Kang]: I am very worried about Zen…

*[Jaehee Kang]: There was talk about visiting him earlier, and if you don’t mind, I thought I could visit Zen to help him with things.

Oh, had people been talking about someone going to visit Zen? That was a good idea, in Sea’s opinion. Once when her little brother had broken his leg, he’d had difficulty getting anywhere around their house. It’d probably be for the best that someone help Zen out, at least until he got used to his suddenly restricted mobility.

*[Seasnan]: That’s a good idea, Jaehee! I’m sure Zen would appreciate that.

Actually, Zen would probably just think of it as a reminder of what had happened to him, but Seasnan wasn’t willing to point that out. He needed the help, regardless.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I’m glad you agree, Seasnan.

*[Jumin Han]: But he’ll get better in 2-3 days.

Sea squinted at her screen. Wait, hold the fuck up. What? They were joking, right? Nobody recovered from a twisted ankle that fast.

*[Jaehee Kang]: According to past incidents, that is very likely.

You’re kidding. Was Zen fucking Superman or something?

*[Jaehee Kang]: But…he seemed to be very distressed, so I thought I could go comfort him a bit.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Rather than talking through messages like this…

Aw. That was really sweet of Jaehee.

There was a part of Sea that wanted to say something like, “Well, I could go,” but she easily squashed that part down. Zen was most important right now; it didn’t matter who went, as long as they were able to help him and cheer him up. Sea didn’t want to be the kind of person who would get jealous so easily.

*[Jumin Han]: We have a meeting with the bankers soon.

…way to ruin the moment, Jumin.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Just a moment.

There was a pause, as both of them waited for Jaehee to do whatever she was doing—probably checking to see if Jumin was right.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, we do.

*[Jumin Han]: You’ll have to come with me. Guess you can’t go today.

*[Seasnan]: I can go today, if it’ll make things easier.

There was another pause, this one slightly longer. Sea blinked at the screen. Was something wrong?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Seasnan.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I would like to make it clear that considering Zen’s position, it is right that I go.

Hold up, excuse me?

*[Seasnan]: What?

*[Jaehee Kang]: As you know, Zen is a popular actor.

Oh no. She knew exactly where this was going.

*[Jaehee Kang]: If you two meet personally and the newspapers find out, Zen’s popularity will be damaged.

*[Jaehee Kang]: You must know that his popularity is directly related to his career.

Sea drummed her fingers against her desk, closing her eyes. Jaehee was only trying to look out for Zen, she reminded herself. And she had a point; Zen’s popularity was a huge part of his career, and if he jeopardized that in some way, it would be terrible.

And yet…

And yet…

…still, she felt so angry.

*[Seasnan]: Jaehee, I understand your point.

*[Seasnan]: But I think it’s unfair that you’re treating Zen like he can’t make his own decisions.

*[Seasnan]: More than just an actor, Zen’s a person, and he has the right to associate with whoever he wants—and to have someone come over to his house, if he wants. You can’t police his decisions like that.

She’d thought that after her words there would be another pause, but instead Jumin was instantly writing. Maybe he’d been writing even as Seasnan had been furiously messaging.

*[Jumin Han]: Also, why is it okay for you to go, but not Seasnan?

…well, yeah, there was also that, but Sea hadn’t really wanted to get into that debacle. Thanks, Jumin.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I…I was going to take the company’s limousine and security guards.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I am not trying to…police anyone’s decisions. I just wanted to ensure that Zen’s career wouldn’t be jeopardized by this.

By me, Sea thought. That’s what you mean.

*[Jumin Han]: Then, all I have to do is send Seasnan a limo?

Jumin, coming in clutch.

…how many limos did he fucking have?

Not the time, Sea.

*[Jaehee Kang]: But you don’t know where she is.

Was it just her, or was Jaehee’s response time slowing? She was probably upset.

Sea couldn’t find it in herself to feel bad for what she’d said. It might have hurt, but it was true.

*[Jumin Han]: We can merely find a location for her to walk to, and I can send the limo to pick her up there. Would that be alright, Seasnan?

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, that’d be fine.

*[Jaehee Kang]: …We should stop talking about this and get ready for the meeting.

*[Jumin Han]: Alright.

*[Seasnan]: Good luck with work, you two.

*[Jumin Han]: Thank you.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I’ll get going.

Jumin Han has left the chatroom.

Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.

Sea let out a sigh, archiving the chat and clicking back to the home screen of the app. Well. That had been…something.

Had she been too harsh? Maybe. But she knew that she was right, and Jaehee…Jaehee probably knew it too, if her lackluster responses towards the end of the conversation were any indication. Regardless of how much Jaehee liked Zen’s acting, or how much of a fan or concerned friend she was, she didn’t have the right to tell Zen who he could associate with—and, as a matter of fact, she didn’t have that right with Seasnan, either. Sea knew she was in the right here, but still the confrontation left a nasty taste in her mouth.

She hoped that Jaehee would eventually come around. But she’d never been one to have her hopes come true.

~

The rest of the day was, to put it lightly, a shit show. Everyone took sides about whether Sea should go to Zen’s house and help him out. Well, to say they took sides would be to say that there were sides to take. There weren’t. There was the entirety of the R.F.A. saying that Sea should go, and then Jaehee.

Sea was honestly starting to think that maybe Jaehee just straight up didn’t like her.

Perhaps the strangest thing was not that everyone was on her side, but rather that Jumin was her staunchest supporter in this whole thing. Every time that someone brought up the idea of Seasnan going over, Jumin was there to readily provide offers of transportation. It was bizarre. One did not have to be an expert at reading people to know that Zen and Jumin didn’t get along, and though Sea liked to think that she and Jumin were friends, she hadn’t thought him the type to be willing to alienate his top assistant to help out someone he’d met six days ago and a sort-of friend that he didn’t get along with.

Sea put the book she’d been reading down, scowling at the far wall. Claymore was curled up in her lap, purring softly, and she had a cup of tea sending gentle wafts of steam skyward. Normally, this would be the perfect night. And yet all she could think of was that conversation with Jaehee, and how aggravating this entire situation was.

Cursing under her breath, she grabbed her phone from where it sat on the coffee table and logged onto the R.F.A. app. Maybe Seven was online—she knew he’d let her complain to him to her heart’s content.

*[Jumin Han]: I see you’re the center of attention, Seasnan.

He sent it in some strange kind of text box shaped like a cat. Sea wondered if Seven had made that box specifically for Jumin, because she’d never seen anyone else use it. She certainly didn’t have it.

*[Seasnan]: Ugh. This is very frustrating.

*[Jumin Han]: I can imagine. I am quite tired of Assistant Kang acting all sensitive about your relationship with that boy.

*[Jumin Han]: I wish she’d focus on her work more.

Which was probably an unfair statement; if Sea was a wagering woman, she’d guess that Jaehee probably did the work of ten men combined, and did it well, too. But. She was kind of annoyed with Jaehee currently, so she didn’t say that.

*[Jumin Han]: She went home as soon as the meeting ended without sending me a report, and all she was doing was chatting with Zen.

*[Jumin Han]: I believe she might have gone overboard about being so suspicious of you.

Sea concurred.

*[Seasnan]: It’s understandable.

*[Jumin Han]: Is it?

*[Jumin Han]: You are being very patient about this.

*[Jumin Han]: Personally, I have no plans to doubt you when V has deemed you safe.

*[Jumin Han]: But I suppose it’s true that sometimes you must not let down your guard until the very end, so I hope you don’t hate her for being so uptight.

Hate Jaehee? Sea paused at that, eyes widening. Had she…really come across that cruel?

*[Seasnan]: I don’t hate Jaehee.

*[Seasnan]: I admire her, actually. She’s very hardworking, and trustworthy.

*[Jumin Han]: Ah. No wonder you were so upset with how she was acting.

*[Jumin Han]: There is nothing worse than to admire someone, and then to see them act in ways you never imagined they could.

Well. That was…certainly true.

*[Seasnan]: Yes.

*[Jumin Han]: Since we’re talking about trust, the only things that I deem are reliable are cats, cash… and that’s pretty much it.

She snorted, the abrupt moment of humor taking her off-guard. Before she knew it she was laughing, helplessly amused at Jumin’s words.

*[Seasnan]: Was that a joke?

*[Jumin Han]: There is nothing funny about my trust in Elizabeth 3^rd.

Sea giggled, eyes crinkling at the corners.

*[Seasnan]: Of course, of course.

She could imagine the side-eye that Jumin was metaphorically shooting at her, but she remained safe behind the screen of her phone, and eventually he continued.

*[Jumin Han]: I also trust family, of course, though I disapprove of my father’s playboy attitude towards women.

And suddenly Seasnan was sober again. Oh boy. This was getting into personal territory. Part of her wanted to pull away, to go back to the jokes and lightness, but…that would be rude to Jumin, who’d just honestly revealed a piece of himself to her. Trust for trust. She took a deep breath.

*[Seasnan]: I wish I could say the same. I think family is important, and yet my relationship with my family is…strained.

*[Jumin Han]: I’m sorry to hear that.

*[Seasnan]: Thank you. I thought, before, that maybe I could fix things if I just talked with them…

Sea pressed a hand to her face. Maybe this was getting a bit too personal.

*[Seasnan]: But maybe there’s hope for someone else! Zen told me that he also has a strained relationship with his family. Maybe he can repair that relationship someday.

*[Jumin Han]: Yes, I think that is a good idea. Family is family whether you like it or not.

Sea stared at that line blankly. Her stomach started to churn, and she felt bile rising in her throat. She quickly said her goodbyes after that, knowing and yet not being able to care that she probably sounded very abrupt. She thought that she agreed to help Jumin with something—some kind of commercial, and Zen? Something. She didn’t know. At any rate, she logged out quickly and placed her phone back down on the table.

Hunched over, she stared at her hands for a long time. They were pressed slightly into the fur of her cat, who had stopped purring and was now watching her quietly. Her hands were shaking faintly. She clenched them into fists, tightened them until her knuckles turned white. They wouldn’t stop shaking.

Carefully, she picked Claymore up and put him to the side. Standing, she made sure to grab her phone before walking quickly to the bedroom. She waited until Claymore had padded into the room behind her before closing the door firmly and changing. She ignored her clock, which informed her helpfully that it was around 8:30 at night. She was tired, and she wanted to go to bed.

Which meant, of course, that sleep eluded her once more. Her mind played on loop the messages she’d exchanged with Jaehee, the frustration of the day, and finally, damningly, Jumin’s words: Family is family, whether you like it or not.

Family was the home you could always return to. And yet, for some people, it was no home at all.

When sleep finally came to her, it was fitful and fleeting. Seasnan’s last thought of the night was that thus far, no house had turned out to be home for her.

Chapter Text

Exhausted, she rolled over, glancing tiredly at her alarm clock. It read a little after 2:30 in the morning, and she barely restrained a groan of aggravation at the sight. She’d been sleeping terribly recently; it was from all the stress that came with joining the RFA, in all likelihood. Understandable. But still…

She stroked a hand through Claymore’s fur, absentmindedly listening to him purr beside her. She wondered how Zen was doing. Still upset about everything, she’d bet. This had not been a good couple of days for the members of the RFA, it seemed. First Seven, then Yoosung, then Zen had all gone through different problems. Even Jaehee was having some issues, though Seasnan felt less bad about those, since they were kind of self-inflicted. Jumin was the only person holding out so far. Maybe Sea had brought some kind of curse with her when she’d entered the group. Or maybe she’d just infected them with her abysmal luck.

Grabbing her phone from the night stand, she entered in the passcode and clicked on the RFA app. At the very least, Seven would be awake right now (he was always awake), and she might be able to get him to check on the other members for her, if he wasn’t so busy.

Checking the chatroom led to the revelation that Seven wasn’t online—but Zen was?

…and Jaehee.

Well. That would be…interesting. She considered faintly if she really had the necessary energy right now to deal with the kind of interaction that awaited her in the chat. But she really wanted to check on Zen… and she didn’t want to avoid Jaehee. She liked Jaehee. She just…disagreed with her on a very personal topic.

Swallowing her anxiety, she entered the chatroom and hoped that nothing would go wrong.

*[Seasnan]: Zen, Jaehee, hello. What are you two doing up?

*[Zen]: Hi, Seasnan! It’s good to see you!

*[Zen]: I couldn’t sleep, so I was up practicing lines.

*[Jaehee Kang]: You’re here.

Sea winced at the cold greeting. Ouch. Harsh, Jaehee.

Wait, lines?

*[Seasnan]: Lines?

*[Seasnan]: Do you mean for the new role?

*[Zen]: Yeah…

*[Zen]: I know that I can’t do the role anymore…but I don’t have anything else to do. Since I can’t move around that much, my body’s just buzzing with energy!

*[Zen]: I figured that practicing would be good.

*[Jaehee Kang]: That is true, but…

*[Zen]: Yeah

*[Zen]: The more I practice, the more I…really want to do this role

Sea sighed, closing her eyes for a moment. What was there to say to this? Nothing she could offer would do Zen any good.

*[Jaehee Kang]: ….

*[Zen]: I really can’t stand losing the chance to act.

*[Seasnan]: I’m sorry, Zen.

*[Seasnan]: I don’t know what else to say. I can’t imagine how awful this must be for you.

*[Seasnan]: I’m always here if you need me, you know?

There was a pause.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I, as well. We both care about you, Zen.

*[Zen]: I know. Thank you. Both of you.

He sent a smiling emoji, and Sea smiled at the screen faintly. Had that been enough? Had that helped at all? Maybe not, but it was all she could give.

*[Zen]: I’m sorry for worrying you all.

*[Jaehee Kang]: It’s okay. You shouldn’t think about that.

*[Seasnan]: Really, Zen. There’s nothing to apologize about. That’s what friends are for, you know? To worry and care about you.

*[Seasnan]: And make fun of you when you’re being too narcissistic.

*[Zen]: Hey;;

She grinned, laughing quietly as she imagined Zen’s offended face. She laughed even harder when she imagined Jaehee’s offended face, placing a hand over her mouth to cover the noise.

*[Zen]: Now you’re sounding like Jumin and Seven! Just because God gave me a perfect face…

*[Seasnan]: Sorry, Zen, but it’s my sacred duty as your friend to inform you that you are being narcissistic right now. Please put any and all mirrors you’re admiring yourself in away.

*[Zen]: You’re the worst, babe.

He sent her a pouting emoji, which she actually hadn’t known he’d had up until now. She snorted.

*[Seasnan]: I try.

Seeming to shake off the melancholy mood in the air, Zen pulled himself back together.

*[Zen]: Say, what’s with everyone talking about their families in the chat, anyway? Yoosung, Seven, Jumin, even you, Sea!

Sea winced. Oh. Oooh. Well, that wasn’t a conversation topic that she especially wanted to re-visit anytime soon.

She wondered if anyone would take offense if she just logged out right now.

…yeah, probably. Damn.

*[Seasnan]: Uh, I think that was set off from the talk I had with Jumin yesterday? We mentioned our families for a bit, and I guess everyone jumped on the subject.

*[Jaehee Kang]: They are talking about it because they’re worried about you, I’m sure.

*[Zen]: Do you think so? That’s nice if that’s the case, but…

*[Zen]: I hope they don’t think I’m pathetic.

Uh…Sea was pretty sure that just about every member of the RFA had some sort of family problems at this point, so she doubted very much that anyone thought Zen was pathetic for it.

*[Seasnan]: I don’t think so. No one thinks you’re pathetic for having family trouble…everyone has their own stuff to deal with when it comes to family.

*[Zen]: …

She blinked at the ellipses, kind of worried. She hadn’t said something wrong, right? Had she accidentally implied that his problems weren’t important because everyone had them, or something? She didn’t think so.

*[Zen]: Does you saying that…have anything to do with what you told me yesterday?

Her grip on her phone tightened reflexively. She was…pretty easy to read, huh?

*[Seasnan]: Yeah

*[Jaehee Kang]: What she told you yesterday?

Sea closed her eyes. Did she have to repeat what she’d said to Jaehee now? It wouldn’t be fair if she didn’t. She bit her lip. She didn’t want to. She didn’t want to think about this again.

*[Seasnan]: I don’t get along well with my family.

Jaehee must’ve been taken aback by this piece of news, because she didn’t respond for a minute or two.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I’m sorry to hear that, Seasnan. That is never an easy thing to bear.

She blinked. That was surprisingly sympathetic from Jaehee, noticing how distant she’d been to Sea up until now.

*[Seasnan]: Thank you, Jaehee. That means a lot.

*[Zen]: …do you think that you’ll ever reconnect with them?

Sea scratched nervously at her arms, shoulders hunching without thought. This wasn’t something she wanted to talk about. Ever. But this wasn’t even really about her, was it? Zen wasn’t asking that because he wanted to know if she’d be able to go back to her family. He wanted to know if he’d ever be able to go back to his.

*[Seasnan]: I don’t know.

*[Seasnan]: I wasn’t the one who decided it’d be better if I left.

*[Seasnan]: I’d like it if we could talk again someday. But I don’t know if it will happen.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I agree with Mr. Han’s previous statement.

*[Jaehee Kang]: When you are going through a difficult time, it is always good to rely on family.

*[Seasnan]: It’s your own decision to make. But if you can…

She took a deep breath.

*[Seasnan]: If you want to. It’d be nice if somebody could go home.

…maybe that was a bit too personal.

*[Zen]: …I’ll think about it. If you really think that.

*[Seasnan]: I think you should do what’s best for you. I’m here because being with my family wasn’t what was best for me anymore.

*[Seasnan]: You already have a family here, Zen. But if you want to go back, I’ll support you all the way.

*[Zen]: Seasnan…thank you.

*[Zen]: Anyway, let’s stop talking about family, okay?

*[Zen]: It’s making me feel kind of strange.

*[Jaehee Kang]: That’s fine. There’s no need to force you to talk about a subject you’d prefer not to.

*[Zen]: Thanks

*[Zen]: I’m going to go to bed, I think. I feel tired now.

*[Seasnan]: Get some rest, Zen. We could all use some sleep, I think.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Indeed.

*[Zen]: Alright. I’m going, then. I’ll talk to you tomorrow!

Zen has left the chatroom.

And now there were two.

Sea stared at the screen awkwardly, feeling like a someone who’d shown up to a final exam without having studied at all. Terrified and with no clue what to do.

Apparently Jaehee was also down to play this strange game of chicken, because she wasn’t typing anything either. Sea felt like she was waiting for a bomb to blow up in her face or something. There was a threat of impending mutual destruction hanging over her head.

She glanced at her cat. “Claymore,” she whispered, desperate. “What do I do?”

Claymore didn’t even bother to open his eyes; just rolled over to the other side of the bed with nary a purr. Asshole.

Her fingers twitched. She stared at the blank screen. Oh boy. Okay. Time to bite the bullet and just go for it.

She hesitantly started typing up a message wishing Jaehee a good night when she was interrupted.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Seasnan.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I…saw the conversation you had with Mr. Han earlier.

*[Jaehee Kang]: About you…not hating me.

Oh boy. Ohhh God. Where’s the escape button, she thought desperately. Where is Seven when I need him. Can God strike me down right now, please?

*[Seasnan]: Um. Yes. I don’t. Hate you, that is.

She placed a hand over her face very calmly. She wondered if it was logistically possible to smother herself in her pillow.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes. I know.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Thank you.

Sea eyed that kind of weirdly. …she was pretty sure that wasn’t actually something you were supposed to thank people for? Thank you for not hating me? Jaehee was strange.

*[Seasnan]: No problem?

*[Seasnan]: I think you’re a good person, Jaehee. Just because I don’t agree with you about something doesn’t mean that I’m going to hate you.

*[Seasnan]: I actually like you quite a lot. I’d like for us to be friends.

*[Jaehee Kang]: You would?

No, she thought, eyebrow twitching. I like lying to people on chatrooms at 3 in the morning. Just because.

*[Seasnan]: Yeah. You’re a very sensible person, which I think is pretty cool. And you seem to be very caring and hardworking. I admire you. I just wish we got along better.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I…oh.

There was a lag, as Sea waited for the next message. Was that…the only response she was going to get?

As it turned out, no, because a moment a veritable spew of messages appeared before her very eyes.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I admire you as well, Seasnan. I thought from the moment that I first began to truly get to know you that you were a very calm, rational person, and very dependable.

*[Jaehee Kang]: But I also truly believe that it would be a blow to Zen’s fan base if he was seen getting along with a girl as well as he obviously does with you, and I don’t wish for anything bad to happen to his career.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I truly am just worried for him, and want the best for him. He puts so much effort into his work, and I enjoy watching his performances, as you know. But I worry that if he loses the support of his fans because of something like that, then he will find it very hard to come back from that, and might even lose the opportunity for more jobs!

*[Jaehee Kang]: I was never trying to imply something about you, or that either of you would do something untoward. I merely thought that it would be for the best if the person to check on him was me, because I felt that of the two of us, I was the one that had the best ability to do so without anyone seeing me and thinking something that would be incorrect and could adversely affect Zen’s career.

*[Jaehee Kang]: And I never wanted to upset you by saying such things. I just…

*[Jaehee Kang]: I wanted to make sure that everything would be alright.

…oh.

And suddenly, Seasnan felt terrible. Because-- of course Jaehee was worried. Sea was worried, too. But Sea had never thought to put herself into Jaehee’s perspective, to really consider how all of these events would look from her point of view. Some stranger appears in their chatroom, joins their organization, and in the span of seven days somehow starts up some sort of relationship with Zen? The up-and-coming actor with the growing fan base, sure to become a hit as soon as he reached a more widespread audience? Oh. Oh.

She must’ve seemed like a complete ass, huh? Of course Jaehee was suspicious. Who wouldn’t be? The circumstances were suspicious as all hell. The only reason the others weren’t was because Seven had background-checked her himself, Jumin trusted V, and Yoosung and Zen were weirdly trusting. But to Jaehee, this was just sketchy. She was worried about her friend, and was trying to protect him from rushing into a decision that could adversely affect him quite a lot.

She must’ve been silent for quite a while as she processed all this, because Jaehee sent another message in the time that she was thinking.

*[Jaehee Kang]: …Seasnan?

*[Seasnan]: I’m here, sorry. I was just…

*[Seasnan]: God, Jaehee, I’m so sorry.

The little “…” symbol that indicated the other person was typing appeared, then disappeared, then appeared again.

*[Jaehee Kang]: …what?

*[Seasnan]: I wasn’t thinking about this from your point of view at all.

*[Seasnan]: I was so hyped up about defending Zen’s right to his own decisions that I never even considered your reasons for what you were saying

*[Seasnan]: Of course you didn’t want me to go over to his place after I’d only known him for a couple of days. I must’ve seemed really suspicious to you, right?

*[Seasnan]: Just insisting that I go see him without considering the consequences.

*[Seasnan]: I didn’t…well, I do want to go see him. I want to meet him in person.

*[Seasnan]: But I don’t want to hurt you in the process.

*[Seasnan]: Maybe…could we possibly go together? Would that be alright? You have as much right to visit him as I do, after all. You’re his friend, too.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I have too much work to go over.

Sea flushed, embarrassed. Oh. Right. …and after she’d given such a speech, too.

*[Seasnan]: Ah. Well, um. In that case…

*[Jaehee Kang]: No. It’s alright.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I think…

*[Jaehee Kang]: I think I was wrong. To doubt you.

*[Jaehee Kang]: You’ll be discreet, won’t you? When you go?

Wait, wait, seriously? This was happening?

…really? All she’d had to do all along was put herself in Jaehee’s place, and everything would’ve been solved this quickly?

God dammit.

*[Seasnan]: I’ll be discreet. I promise.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Alright. I believe you.

Holy shit, this was actually happening. Well alright then! The power of diplomacy!

*[Jaehee Kang]: I think I’m going to go to bed. Good night, Seasnan.

*[Seasnan]: Good night, Jaehee.

*[Seasnan]: And thank you.

*[Jaehee Kang]: There is no need.

*[Jaehee Kang]: If it is possible…I would like us to be friends, as well.

Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.

Sea stared at that last line for a second. Wow. Wooow. She placed her phone back on the night stand, then flopped back down on the bed. That was…something.

She couldn’t believe that had gone so well, actually. The whole family conversation had been awful, but her talk with Jaehee? That had been better than what she could’ve dreamt up, seriously. Incredible.

And…apparently she had the go-ahead to visit Zen, now. Oh God. Did that mean she was going to see him tomorrow? Actually—she glanced at the clock—today?

Well. Now she had an entirely new reason to be anxious. And excited. Very excited.

She wondered how he’d react to seeing her. He’d be happy, right? He’d smile, right? She imagined that he’d be really happy. Today. Soon. She was going to see Zen in a matter of hours.

Her phone pinged. Pausing, she squinted into the darkness of the room. The hell? Was that the RFA app?

She checked. It was, in fact, the RFA app. Who in God’s green earth would be up this late?

….Seven. It was definitely Seven.

She opened her phone, to see that he had entered the chatroom a second ago.

*[707]: Oh!! Seasnan!

He sent that weird emoji of him taking off his glasses and his eyes gleaming again. Why was that his go-to greeting? Why was he like this?

*[Seasnan]: Hey Seven. Doing work again?

*[707]: I just finished, actually!

*[707]: I had this complicated project to finish, and I just got it done.

*[707]: And I was eating my precious Honey Buddha chips to celebrate!!

*[Seasnan]: One of these days, you will eat something healthy

*[707]: Never!!!

*[Seasnan]: SEVEN

*[707]: The Defender of Justice will never give in!

*[Seasnan]: I swear to God, I will find where you live and force feed you

*[707]: You see, this is why people think you’re scary

*[Seasnan]: You’re the only person who thinks I’m scary, Seven

*[707]: Because you say things like this!!

*[Seasnan]: If you ate something healthy for once in your life I WOULDN’T HAVE TO

*[707]:…

*[707]: Anyway, I see everyone’s talking about their families all of a sudden!

…was he just…going to ignore the previous subject?

*[Seasnan]: Seven you can’t just change the subject like that

*[707]: I agree with Zen that it can be a sensitive issue

*[707]: Since…all families are different

He was going to completely ignore her protests, wasn’t he. What a dick.

*[707]: Some families can be pillars of strength… but some can be the worst weaknesses

That line sobered her. Shit. Sea was so used to Seven always dodging serious issues that when he actually talked about something seriously, she didn’t even realize at first. She didn’t really know much about Seven’s family, now that she thought about it. Actually…she didn’t think she knew anything about Seven’s family. Just that he didn’t have the best relationship with them.

*[Seasnan]: You’re right. Families are all different.

*[707]: Yup.

*[707]: For instance, Korean soap operas would never have done well if there weren’t families that didn’t get along well!

He sent another emoji of his eyes twinkling. Sea gripped her phone tightly, scowling at the screen. He was doing it again. Deflecting when the topic grew too serious. She understood, in a way—he was probably so used to doing it that now he just did it without thinking. But it was still so damn frustrating! He was the one who brought up the topic in the first place!

But, she reminded herself, she’d already proven that trying to force him to talk about stuff before he felt he was ready would just drive him away. She needed to wait for him to talk to her. Besides, it wasn’t like she’d told him everything about her family situation, either. It was pretty hypocritical of her to expect him to tell her all about himself when she’d only known him for about a week.

She scratched absently at her neck, sighing. She’d let him drop the topic for now. Sea knew quite well that she wasn’t good at being subtle, but she’d have to figure something out. She didn’t want to drive him off again, but she also couldn’t accept the idea of doing nothing. She’d just…have to be careful, that was all.

*[707]: Oh!! Sea!

*[707]: It looks like you finally have Jaehee’s approval!!

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, seems so. I’m glad that we were able to understand each other

*[Seasnan]: I’m kind of surprised that everything turned out so well, actually

*[707]: Does this mean that you can visit Zen now?!

She sighed, but her mouth curled up into a smile at the corners. Seven was really into the idea of her going to see Zen, for whatever reason. Sea personally believed that he was just a really intense fanboy.

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, I’ll visit him later today.

*[707]: Finally! The long awaited meeting between the two star-crossed lovers!

*[Seasnan]: We’ve known each other for seven days, dude

*[707]: What a glorious day! Love is in the air!!

*[Seasnan]: …you’re just teasing me, aren’t you

*[707]: GLORIOUS

She sputtered with laughter, ridiculously amused. God, he was such a nerd.

*[Seasnan]: Glorious?

*[707]: GLORIOUS

*[Seasnan]: Well, I should probably head to bed if I don’t want to fall asleep right in the middle of our glorious, long-awaited meeting.

*[707]: Sweet dreams!

*[707]: I’ll finish up my snacks, then go to sleep.

*[Seasnan]: What?! The Defender of Justice, Seven-Zero-Seven, is actually going to bed? He’s going to sleep?!

*[Seasnan]: What is this madness?!

*[707]: I KNOW!!!

*[707]: It’s unprecedented! A miracle!!

*[Seasnan]: A gift beyond our wildest dreams!

*[707]: Well then! I shall!! Go!!! To bed!!!!

*[Seasnan]: Go, God Seven! Sleep!!

*[707]: Onwards!!

707 has left the chatroom.

Still giggling, she archived the chatroom and logged out of the app. The cell phone was safely placed back on the night stand, and Sea relaxed back into the bed, carding a hand through Claymore’s fur again.

She was glad. Though there’d been some lingering awkwardness in the beginning of their conversation, soon she and Seven had gotten back on track with their friendship. She’d been worried that maybe there would be some left over resentment or something, but that didn’t seem to be the case. God, she was so glad.

This night had turned out a lot better than she’d been expecting, noticing how it’d begun. But now she felt much more hopeful for tomorrow. She thought, with most of her fears alleviated, that she would be able to sleep a lot better now.

She was right.

~

In the morning she chatted with Zen for a bit on the app. He was doing alright, as far as she could tell. Still pretty upset about losing the role, but better now than last night. He’d told the director that he’d injured his foot, and reported that he’d been pretty disappointed with Zen, but told him to get better quickly.

*[Seasnan]: There’ll be other roles, you know. I know that you wanted this one, but there’ll be even better ones soon enough.

*[Zen]: You think so, Sea?

*[Seasnan]: Definitely. You’re a hard worker, and you take this job seriously. Anyone can see that.

*[Seasnan]: You’re going to get better and better, and people are going to see that.

*[Seasnan]: I believe in you. You’re going to be great.

*[Zen]: I…thank you, Sea. That means so much, seriously.

She smiled at her phone with all the warmth she could, hoping that somehow he could feel it.

*[Seasnan]: Anytime. I’m here for you.

She had to log off soon after, but she didn’t feel disconnected from him. She was going to see him later today, if everything went well. She just had to ask Jumin for a ride over.

Time passed slowly as she sat around, anticipation swirling through her. She’d glance at the clock, watching the hands move at a ridiculously slow pace. Ugh. She wished that she had some way to speed up the day. This was going to be hard.

At around ten, her phone rang. Her head raised from where she’d been bent over a book, absently chewing on her lip. She blinked, staring at the cell, before jolting and throwing herself forward, fumbling for the phone. She barely got a glance at who was calling—Zen?!—before she took the call.

“Ah, yes?” She said, excitement mixing with worry. Had he accidentally hurt himself again?

“Honey!” Zen exclaimed, excitement coloring his voice. She blinked, moving the phone away so she could stare at it. The hell? This was the most cheerful she’d heard Zen in a full day.

“Zen?” She said, confused. “What’s up?”

“Ah, sorry,” he said, “are you free right now?”

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “I can talk for a couple of minutes, if you need something.”

“Oh,” he muttered, embarrassed. “Well, I don’t—need something. I just…well, it’s hard to explain, but I think. I think things are going to turn out okay with my role.”

Sea’s eyebrows pulled down, furrowing. “You—you do?” She said, then, “I mean, that’s great! But, uh, how?”

“Well, it’s kind of hard to explain, but someone came to my house—ah, but, actually, I think…I think I need to organize my thoughts before talking about it. I’ll, I’ll put it up on the messenger, alright?”

“Okay,” she said cautiously. This was the most off-balance Zen had ever been around her. She wondered who on earth had come to his house that had gotten him this excited.

“Sorry,” he laughed. “I wasn’t really thinking before I called you, I just…really wanted to tell you.”

Aaand she melted. Goddammit.

“You don’t have to apologize,” she said, smiling, the lines on her forehead smoothing away. She pushed her glasses up from where they’d been sliding down, leaning back in her chair. “I’m glad something good happened, whatever it was.”

“I’ll tell you all on the messenger,” he promised again, before pausing. “Ah…also. I saw the chat you had with Jaehee after I logged off last night.”

“Oh!” Her eyes widened, before she smiled. “Yeah, I’m glad that we could talk it over. I didn’t want there to be so much tension between us.”

He laughed gently. “You really are incredible, you know,” he said, soft. She flushed, glaring at her book.

“You’re incredible,” she grumbled belligerently.

He hummed. “Yeah, I know,” he grinned as she groaned over the line. “Guess that makes us a good pair, huh?”

Well, look at that. She was blushing again. What a surprise.

“Uuuuugh,” she covered her face with a hand. “Stop. You’re making me blush.”

“You make me blush all the time!” He pointed out, laughing harder.

“That’s your own fault!” She replied, clenching a fist in her passion. “You’re too fun to tease!”

He mock-gasped. “You can’t blame me for that! You sound like Seven!”

Sea froze. There was a pause.

“…too far?”

“A little,” she agreed, before they both broke out into heaving laughter. She desperately muffled the sound, not wanting to bother her neighbors.

“Okay,” she said, when she’d recovered her breath. “I’m glad to hear you’re doing better, at least.”

“Yeah,” he said, quiet. “I feel better, too. Thank you for helping me through everything.”

She shook her head, though he couldn’t see it over the line. “You don’t have to thank me for that. You’re my friend.”

“Just a friend?” Zen teased cheerily. She scowled, glaring at the coffee table.

“Hey, there’s no ‘just’ when it comes to friendship!” She lectured, before relenting with a sigh. “But… yeah. You’re…more than a friend.”

“Sorry,” he apologized warmly. “You know I feel the same, Sea.”

“Yeah,” she agreed quietly. “I know.”

There was silence on the line for a second, before Sea offered, “I’ll let you sort out your thoughts so you can tell everyone what happened.”

“Aw,” she could hear Zen pouting over the line. “Alright. I’ll talk to you later, Sea!”

“I’ll do you one better,” she grinned. “I’ll be coming over to your house today, so I’ll see you later.”

There was a pause.

“Was that…” Zen sounded both impressed and horrified, which was an interesting combination. She didn’t bother with restraining the absolutely awful grin that wanted to take over her face. “Was that a pun?!”

“Yes,” she cackled evilly, and then hung up. Let him stew in that for a while. Mwa ha. Mwahaha.

~

It was later on that Zen went onto the messenger to tell everyone what had happened earlier today. She scrolled through the messages that she’d missed while reading, surprise overtaking her at what she read.

Echo Girl had gone to his apartment…? Then, he’d already met her. And it seemed the meeting had gone really well…

She clutched her phone to her stomach, feeling sick. That was…well. That was something. So he’d already met Echo Girl. That…

And to think, Sea had actually…in the darkest part of herself, she’d been glad that because she was going over to his place today, she would meet him first. It had been possible that he wouldn’t meet Echo Girl at all. But that…that hope, that she could make her impression first, that maybe he could see her and not be disappointed, if he didn’t have Echo Girl to compare her to…that was ruined, now. That was…

…she was more selfish than she’d thought.

She kept scrolling. Zen had been so happy. Even if it hurt her, she was going to encourage that happiness. She just needed to keep going, and find out why he’d been so excited, and then she could take a break. Get her bearings.

He went on to say that apparently, Echo Girl was his fan. And that…that was…

Well, it was wonderful, actually. She felt pride welling up in her, clogging her throat. Of course. Zen was a wonderful actor, and anyone with talent could see that. She was so proud of him.

…it got worse. Zen wrote that Echo Girl had told him that she’d planned the role out just for him, and it was pointless if he didn’t have the lead role. That seemed…strange, to Sea. Was that something that you could do? Make a role specifically for one person? That seemed rather unfair to all the other actors that wanted the position, and deserved to have a chance to play it.

Regardless, Zen stated that since Echo Girl was so insistent on him having the role…he had it. It’d been given back to him. He just had to practice really hard, and recover quickly, and the part was his.

Sea read this with disbelieving eyes, stunned. That was…incredible for Zen. He’d wanted this role so badly, so desperately, and it was given back to him right when he’d thought it gone.

She smiled helplessly, an odd mixture of gratefulness and jealousy churning in her gut. She couldn’t wish that Zen hadn’t met Echo Girl, not when the meeting had brought such wonderful things to him. She was sad, because she knew that…that he wouldn’t really be interested in her after this. After she came over. And he could see the two of them, meet both of them within hours of each other…and he’d know which girl was better for him, which one fit him more. And it wasn’t Sea. But still, she couldn’t find it in her to resent this. She could wish she was better, she could wish she was more…but she was still so grateful to Echo Girl for giving this chance back to him.

Everyone in the RFA had congratulated Zen, and she added her own belated happiness to the chat. And she was happy. She was.

There was no point in being bitter over something she couldn’t change.

Jaehee texted her the address that the limo was waiting for her at, and she typed it into her GPS. She petted Claymore and added more water to his dish, waved at the camera, and touched up her make up before heading out once more.

The walk to the 73^rd building was easy enough. She focused on breathing on the way there, careful, calm.

She couldn’t change what was going to happen. There was no point in getting upset. She was going there to help Zen, and she would. She would. No matter what. No matter how much it hurt.

Seven texted her good luck. She looked around, amused, at the CCTV cameras that dotted the buildings. Was he monitoring her walk? That was…

…well, it was creepy. Why was everything that Seven did so well-intentioned, and yet so creepy? It was a talent, for sure.

She raised an eyebrow at the closest camera, smiling, before turning away. There, at the corner, was a limo idling in a parking space. It was…a really nice limo. A really, really nice limo.

…how rich was Jumin, actually?

She glanced around, just to be sure that there weren’t any other limos nearby, then opened the door. A middle-aged man was sitting in the front seat, and turned to greet her cheerfully.

He paused. He blinked. He stared at her for a second.

“Um,” he said in accented English. “Hello? Miss, I-I think you might have the wrong car.”

Sea froze, then turned red. Oh my God, she’d forgotten to tell Jumin that she wasn’t Korean. The driver was expecting her to be Korean! She knew this was going to happen eventually!

“Ah,” she said, blank. “…Driver Kim?”

His eyebrows furrowed. “Are you…”

She waved, smiling awkwardly. “Seasnan Moran, yeah. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh!” He gasped, horror clouding his face. Yikes.

“I’m so sorry! Please, come in!” He gestured, and she slid in, closing the door. She waved off his apologetic expression, laughing good-naturedly.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. There’s nothing to apologize for,” she reassured him easily. “It’s really my own fault—I forgot to give Jumin a description of myself, so you’d be able to recognize me.”

“But still,” he said, looking very disappointed in himself. “How rude of me.”

She shook her head, inexplicably warmed. “It’s no problem at all. It’s nice to meet you, Driver Kim; I’ve heard a lot of good things about you from Jumin and Jaehee.”

The man turned to her, smile lightening his face. “Really? Mr. Han’s talked about me?”

“He has!” She laughed. “He’s mentioned you a good couple of times. Apparently you drive him everywhere he goes.”

He confirmed the statement. “I’ve been driving him around the world ever since he was a child, Miss Seasnan.”

“That long?” She asked, as he pulled out of the parking spot and into the road. He nodded cheerfully.

“Yes! Mr. Han is good at many things, but driving…ah, is not one of them,” he said, chuckling lightly.

She snorted. “Really? Oh, you’ve got to tell me about that.”

“Well, when he was young, I tried to show him how to drive—so he could get his license, yes? But he took to the road a bit…too enthusiastically, you see.”

“Oh God.”

“That’s what I said when he first tore out of the driveway,” Driver Kim said with a glance to the rearview mirror. She could see a mischievous glint in his eyes as he talked, and she laughed as the story continued, and Jumin wound up crashing his father’s prized car.

She was having such a good time talking to Driver Kim that she totally forgot the anxiety weighing her down on the way there. By the time that they pulled up in front of an average apartment complex, she felt almost completely relaxed…and absolutely certain that one way or another, she was inviting Driver Kim to the RFA’s party.

When she got out of the car, all her nervousness came rushing back at once. She stared at the apartment complex, helpless. Oh God, she couldn’t do it. She couldn’t do it. Not when she already knew the outcome.

She curled her hands into fists, breathing steadily, deeply. She turned back to offer Driver Kim a smile and a thank you.

“Mr. Han told me to take you back in two hours, so I’ll be here!” He cheerily said, waving, and she exhaled deeply. That…was exactly the kind of thing Jumin would do—having her chauffeur wait for her for hours. Of course.

God. Okay.

She closed the door and forced herself to turn around, to walk forward. This…wasn’t about her. This wasn’t about whether Zen would want to be with her when he saw her. This was about helping him get better so he could get ready for his role. This was about being there for him. Even if it was only in a friend’s capacity.

She took a deep breath. Another. Another. She could do this. She could do this.

Sea looked at the listing of names and apartment numbers put up next to the door, along with a number of buttons. She located ‘Ryu Hyun’ and pressed the corresponding button. And then she waited.

It clicked only a moment after, like he’d been waiting at the buzzer for her. “Hello?” Came his voice, more..real somehow, than when she was talking to him over the phone. He sounded breathless.

She swallowed, her mouth suddenly very dry. “Hello,” she said quietly.

“Sea?!” He said, voice so excited. She found herself smiling despite herself.

“That’s me,” she sang, more cheerfully than she’d thought she could muster. “Zen?”

“Oh my god,” he whispered, before laughing. “You’re here! You’re really here!”

“I am,” she said, amused. “Are you going to let me in?”

“Am I…? Oh!” He gasped. The buzzer sounded, along with the door unlocking in front of her. She laughed, genuinely amused now.

Opening the door, she moved into the entryway, her laughter turning abruptly into a sigh. She combed a hand through her hair, grinning ruefully. What had she been thinking, really? This was Zen. Even if nothing came to pass…even if he decided he didn’t want her…

He’d still be her friend. And that was the most important thing.

She located the stairwell, heading down the basement floor. Thankfully, his apartment was easy to find—because he was opening the door as she looked around.

His expression blanked for a moment when he noticed her. She crushed the urge to recoil at that, and offered a smile instead. Be brave, Sea.

“Hey, Zen,” she said. “Nice to finally meet you.”

He blinked, before his hands came up to cradle his face, and he let out a deep, emotional groan.

Well. That wasn’t…the reaction she’d been expecting? She was so nonplussed, she actually skipped the usual moment of ‘oh-God-he’s-disappointed-and-disgusted’ and went right to concerned.

“Uh,” she said. “Are you okay?”

“Oh my god,” he said, with the same amount of despair one would use if someone told them that their entire house had just burned down. “You’re so cute.”

…what.

“What,” she said blankly. He had crumbled in on himself like some tragic hero, clutching the doorframe like a lifeline.

“You!” He accused, lifting his head to reveal that his face was completely red. It matched his eyes pretty well, actually.

“Me,” she repeated, helpfully pointing to herself. This exchange had passed confusing and gone to downright surreal. Now she was just coasting through. She thought it was kind of funny, really.

“You’re cute!” He exclaimed. He seemed mortally offended by this.

Sea blinked. “I…am?” She looked down at herself, like somehow her body had managed to change itself in the past couple of minutes. Nope. It was still her. She squinted at him, confused.

“Um…”

“You’re cute,” he insisted, dead serious. He was still clutching the wall.

Her face twisted into a belligerent expression. Why was he repeating that so much?

“You’re cute,” she muttered, glaring at him.

He blinked. She blinked.

She felt her mouth tremble, and before she knew it they were both laughing hysterically, still in the entryway of his apartment.

“Oh, oh my God,” she wheezed, wiping tears from her eyes. “Okay, okay. I get it. I’m cute.”

She looked up to find him grinning at her, eyes alight with joy.

“You admitted it,” he said gleefully, and she paused, staring at him.

She remembered.

“Every time you say you don’t know, I’ll tell you again.”

Oh. Oh.

And just like that, all of her thoughts of him turning away from her faded.

“Nice to meet you, Sea,” Zen said, holding out a hand, smiling at her with a warmth that she felt throughout her body.

She took his hand in her own, shaking it with a firm grip. She grinned back at him, all her worries taking a backseat to this moment, his hand in hers, and the knowledge that he really, really did care about her.

“Nice to meet you, Zen,” she said, and meant it more than she could say.

~

Zen’s apartment was sparse and small. There were four rooms: a kitchenette/living room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and a guest room. Everything looked freshly cleaned, and the counters in the kitchen all but sparkled.

Lips quirking, she noted that he must’ve been cleaning in preparation for her arrival. How adorable.

“It’s so great to have you here!” He enthused, making his way over to the couch. It was slow going, what with the cast, but he barely even seemed to notice. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been this happy to see someone at my house.”

Sea flushed, embarrassed and incredibly pleased at that. “It’s good to be here. It’s…good to see you. In person, you know.”

Eloquent, Sea. Great job.

But he just smiled (he actually hadn’t stopped smiling yet. It was beginning to worry her). Gesturing to the couch, he encouraged, “Sit down! Would you like something to drink?”

“Oh,” she said, part of her wanting to do that for him. She was here to help him with stuff like that, right? “I can…”

His face fell for a moment, and she rolled her eyes, smiling. “Water would be great,” she offered, and he brightened right up, immediately heading over to the fridge.

She thanked him as he handed her a water bottle, and they both sat down on the couch, facing each other.

There was a pause.

Sea snorted, eyes crinkling with her smile. “It’s funny,” she said, “The entire way over here, I kept thinking of all the things that we could talk about and do, but now that I’m actually here, I’m drawing a blank.”

Zen grinned, amused. “Well, I was wondering if you’re from here?”

Ah, of course. She’d figured she’d get a question like that.

“Oh, yeah,” she said. “I must’ve startled you.”

“Well,” he shrugged, “not really. Not because of that, at least. I’d already figured that you probably weren’t from Korea.”

Sea blinked, taken aback. “Really? What gave it away?” She knew she had an accent, but it was pretty faint at this point.

“Your name,” Zen said, raising an eyebrow. “It’s not…very Korean.”

…oh yeah.

“Oh my God,” she said, closing her eyes. She was such an idiot.

Zen made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a giggle. She glared at him, though the upturn of her lips gave her away.

“Be quiet,” she ordered, pointing at him. He just laughed harder, and she couldn’t find it in her to resist laughing along.

When they’d both recovered somewhat, she returned to the previous question.

“So yeah, I’m not from Korea. As you so helpfully pointed out, my name isn’t Korean.” He snorted. She made a face at him, and then continued like nothing had happened. “I’m from America, actually.”

“Oooh,” he said, sounding impressed. “Which part?”

“The northeast,” she offered. She doubted he knew any of the states’ names, so she didn’t bother giving him one.

He nodded thoughtfully. “What’s it like?”

That gave her pause. What was America like?

“Well…” she said, “I lived in a small town, so I knew a lot of the people that I saw in day to day life. Winters were cold and snowy, summers were hot and humid. Um, there was a small forest in my backyard. I used to play in there all the time as a kid. My dad worked at an office for most of the day. My mom worked as a secretary at a high school. My brothers...well, they were pretty annoying, actually. I doubt that’s changed much.”

She thought over it some more, before offering, “The food servings were a lot bigger.”

That entire description had been possibly one of the most watered down descriptions of her life that she’d ever given, but when she turned back to Zen, he looked fascinated.

“Is the food very different, here?” He asked.

“Yes,” she said immediately. “I never once tasted kimchi before I came here. I was so innocent then.”

“You don’t like kimchi?” Gasped Zen, a hand going to his heart like she’d just stabbed him through.

“No,” she said sourly. “And it’s everywhere.”

It was indeed everywhere. Every meal had kimchi. Every store sold kimchi. Kimchi was a way of life in Korea.

It was a nightmare.

“I can’t believe this,” Zen bemoaned, agonized. “How can you not like kimchi?!”

“How can you like it!” Shot back Sea. “It’s so…slimy. And…ugh!” She shuddered at the thought. At least when she made her own food, she never had to touch the stuff.

“I don’t know how this relationship will work if you don’t like kimchi,” Zen told her very seriously.

She raised an eyebrow. “Oh,” she said as snootily as possible. “I’m sure we’ll find a way.”

As the topic subsided, and Sea drained the last of the water bottle, she got up to throw it away and get another one.

…she refused to allow herself to make thirsty jokes.

Ignoring Zen’s protests as he made to get up, she opened the fridge, only to stop dead. She looked at the barren shelves with dead eyes, before turning to stare at Zen, who had suddenly found his wallpaper very interesting.

“Zen,” she deadpanned, “there is nothing in here.”

There was a pause. She turned back to the fridge. She stared at it. She looked back at Zen.

“…except for beer.”

Nice to know where his priorities lay.

“Ah,” he said, nervously smiling, “you know…I was planning on…”

He trailed off as her dead fish stare intimidated him into silence. Gulping, he whispered, “I’m sorry?”

“We’re going grocery shopping,” she announced, closing the door. She went to the entryway, toeing on her shoes and grabbing her purse from where sat on the counter.

“We are?” Zen said, confused.

She turned the dead eyed stare back on him. He smiled shakily, using his crutches to help him up.

“Grocery shopping sounds fun,” he offered optimistically.

~

Grocery shopping was…interesting, to say the least. Sea discovered shortly that Zen seemed to survive off a combination of take-out, protein shakes and beer.

Which was, you know, horrifying.

“You don’t even have milk,” she complained, hauling along a basket filled with other necessities. Like fruit. And milk. “How have you made it this long?”

Zen had seemed kind of poleaxed at the beginning of this trip, but was now resigned to making his way along beside her on crutches, listening to her lecture him on correct healthy eating.

“I eat well!” He tried, before the resurfacing of her dead eyed stare cowed him.

“Your idea of healthy is a protein shake,” she replied blankly. “Just a protein shake.”

Try as he might, he couldn’t actually protest that. He seemed to decide on just frowning, instead.

Sea sighed, letting a small smile come over her face. Much as it worried her that he wasn’t eating right, he was an adult. She didn’t particularly feel like bullying him over this.

“Let’s just get some stuff for some basic meals, alright?” She offered, grinning more cheerily at him. “If you want, I can teach you how to cook some easy stuff.”

“Oh!” Zen instantly brightened, eyes alight. “You should show me how to cook some American food!”

“American food?” Repeated Sea, surprised. “Like what?”

“Erm,” said Zen, stymied. “What do you want to eat?”

“Um?” Offered Sea, confused. She thought about it. She really missed…mashed potatoes. And burgers.

“Are you sure?” She asked, kind of nervous. She wasn’t entirely certain that was a good idea. What if he didn’t like American food?

“I want to try the food that you like,” Zen said, meeting her eyes. She flushed red, ducking her head.

She nodded nervously, steering him towards the meat aisle. “Okay,” she acquiesced, smiling softly. “American food it is.”

~

On the walk back, when they were about to enter the apartment, Sea saw that Driver Kim was indeed still parked nearby. She waved to him and he waved back, smiling cheerily.

Zen followed where she was looking to see the limousine, expression souring. “Is that the guy that Jumin sent with you? Why’s he still here?”

“Oh,” Sea said. “Jumin told him to stay there and wait for me, apparently. I’m only supposed to stay with you for two hours.”

She watched, kind of concerned, as Zen’s face changed from annoyed to aggravated, eyebrows furrowing.

She grew even more concerned at the smile that overtook his face a moment later. That was the kind of smile that someone wore when they were contemplating the best place to hide your body. Glancing between the oblivious Driver Kim and Zen, she wondered nervously if maybe she should say something.

Zen moved over to the car, still grinning with a malicious cheer. Sea inched along behind him, holding the grocery bags and beginning to feel like she was about to witness a train crash, or something similar of epically bad proportions.

Driver Kim rolled down the window, uncertainly looking at Zen. “Ah, hello?”

“Hi!” Said Zen, smiling. “Sea told me that she’s supposed to go home with you in about an hour, right?”

Driver Kim glanced at her, confused, before nodding. She shrugged. She didn’t know, dude.

“Right, well, Sea’s going to stay here for however long she wants, so there’s really no need for you to be here. Have a good day!” And so saying, Zen turned and walked away.

Sea stared at him, then turned to Driver Kim, who was also staring at Zen. They turned to each other. At the same moment, they both shrugged in matching confusion.

“Sorry,” she offered. He waved her off.

“Ah, no,” he said, smiling awkwardly. “It’s all right. I suppose I should tell Mr. Han that you will be calling him when you need a ride home?”

Sea nodded slowly. “Yeah, that’d be…good. Thanks.”

He nodded again, and she offered him a smile before turning to where Zen stood, waiting for her.

She raised an eyebrow at him, amused and yet also confused. “What was that all about?”

His cheeks went red, and he looked away for a second. “Ah, sorry,” he said, “I just hate it when that jerk thinks he can tell everyone what to do!” He shook a fist, then fumbled for his crutch before it hit the ground.

She snorted. “You know you’re going to get teased so much by Seven for this, right?”

Zen laughed for some reason. “I’m pretty sure you’re the one he’s going to be teasing, actually.”

Sea paused for a moment, realizing that he was right, before glaring at him sourly. He laughed the entire way to his apartment.

~

The day passed much more quickly than she’d thought it would. Seven did, in fact, tease her throughout the day for getting rid of her ride home. Jumin was much less pleased, but he did eventually tell her to just contact Jaehee when she wanted to go back to her place, and Driver Kim would be sent to get her.

She tried her best to teach Zen how to make mashed potatoes, and learned in the process that he was absolutely abysmal at cooking. Like. Hysterically bad. Like burning water bad.

Clutching onto the counter, she wheezed with laughter. Behind her, Zen tried desperately to explain himself, face red.

“It’s not that bad, really!” He tried, gesturing to the unholy mess he’d made of the potatoes. “We can salvage it!”

“You—“ she gasped, moving her glasses so she could wipe tears from her eyes. “You made it explode. How on earth—“

“I don’t know!”

“It literally blew up. It blew up, Zen.”

He placed a hand over his face, shoulders shaking. “Listen—“

“Oh my God.”

“There’s still some potatoes left!”

She snickered at the desperate look on his face. Finally taking pity on him, she nodded.

“Yeah,” she said, still deeply amused. “We can salvage what’s left.” And when his face rose with hope, she made sure to tack on, “And Zen?”

“Yeah?”

“This time, I’m peeling the potatoes.”

~

Aside from the whole potato debacle, the cooking went pretty well. It’d been a long while since Sea had gotten to enjoy a meal made like the ones back home, so she made sure to enjoy her burger. And pointedly didn’t think of the stereotypes she was feeding into.

As the hour grew late, she thought a couple of times that she should probably go. She had Jaehee’s voice in her head the entire time, telling her how easily she could ruin Zen’s career, just by starting a couple of rumors. But every time she wondered if she should call for Driver Kim, Zen would start a new topic of conversation, or suggest a game they would play.

For a while, they read from the script for the role he’d so nearly lost, and Sea finally truly understood why Zen was an incredible actor. His singing was amazing, and his characterization was impressive, but it was the passion that he put into each movement and every line that really made him shine. She could see how much he loved acting with everything he did.

She admired him all the more for it.

Night fell without her realizing it, when she finally recalled the stipulation that Jumin had set for her coming over in the first place.

“Oh yeah,” she said, blinking. “Jumin asked me to convince you of something in exchange for getting me here.”

As expected, his face soured the second she mentioned Jumin’s name. “Ugh,” he groaned, eyes narrowing. “Of course he wouldn’t do something nice unless he got something out of it.”

She shrugged. “I think he thought of this whole thing as more of a deal than him helping anyone out. He can be generous if he wants to be.”

“But he wanted you to do something for him, and he was willing to force you to agree,” Zen pointed out.

“Well…” she scratched the back of her neck. “He didn’t really force me to agree. I just…didn’t have many other options?”

“Uh huh,” Zen trumped, crossing his arms. “What did he want?”

“You to model for his new cat project,” she admitted easily.

The groan this time was longer and much more empathetic. The sneeze afterwards was pretty cute.

After he took his allergy meds, Zen sat back down again, grumping, “The bastard really doesn’t know when to give up.”

“I’m actually surprised that he still wants you to do it when you’ve told him so many times that you don’t want to,” she said thoughtfully.

“He just wants to kill me with cat hair,” Zen muttered bitterly.

She snorted. “Well, he offered you this role when you said on the chat that you’d lost the other role, so he was probably trying to cheer you up, actually. In a very…Jumin-like way.”

He harrumphed. “He doesn’t try to cheer anyone up. He subsists off the agony of his workers. Just look at Jaehee.”

“…I really wish I could argue that.”

“Why won’t he leave me alone?” Complained Zen, scowling.

Sea raised an eyebrow at him. She was doing that a lot today. “…Because he likes you? And you’re his friend?”

“What?” He turned to stare at him. “That jerk doesn’t like anyone.”

Was. Was he. Was he serious? She stared at him.

He stared back. Dear God, he was serious.

“Zen,” she enunciated very slowly. “Jumin is a business man first and foremost. Why in God’s name would he continually offer a role to someone who he knows will probably refuse it if he didn’t like them? When he could be giving it to someone else, who will actually be enthusiastic about it?”

“To torture me?” Zen suggested. Sea valiantly resisted the urge to hit him.

“To give you another chance,” she said, giving him a blank stare. “Jumin’s company’s really big, right? Exactly how popular would you get if you were seen starring on the ad of a company that size?”

Zen’s face was slowly transforming from sour to shocked. She grinned. Now he was getting it.

"Really popular, right?” She pressed. “He’s been trying to help you for a while now. You just thought that he was antagonizing you, so you never noticed.”

She gave him a while to take that in. It took a little bit, as he recalibrated his entire view on a person he’s known for years now.

Eventually, he turned back to her. “…I just…he reminds me so much of my brother,” he admitted, voice hushed. “Really, it wasn’t like me to accept Echo Girl’s suggestion. I usually distrust people elite people offering me anything...”

Sea stared at him, shocked. This was…deeply personal stuff that he was telling her. She scooted closer, bumping his shoulder with her own. He glanced at him, offering a small smile.

“He was like that. My brother. Always told me that I had to compromise with the world. Thought he knew best about everything. Jumin…he treats me the exact same way my brother did. And I can’t stand it,” he grimaced, looking at his lap. “I…don’t ever talk to him anymore.”

“I don’t talk to my family much either,” Sea admitted. He glanced at her, nodding.

She contemplated whether she really wanted to talk about this, but Zen’s face wasn’t demanding. He didn’t look like he was expecting her to tell him; he was just there, a comforting presence beside her. She sighed.

“I…got into a really huge fight with my dad about something,” she admitted. “I thought he’d understand, but… he didn’t.” She swallowed heavily, feeling like she was about to cry. “He kicked me out. Of the house. Told me I couldn’t come back.”

There was a beat of stunned silence, and then Zen hugged her fiercely. She breathed out a shuddering breath, wrapping her arms around him.

“After that…” she whispered. “I have family all over the country. There was nowhere I could go where they wouldn’t be close. So…I decided to leave. Find a job in a different country. Start all over. So…here I am.”

She laughed out a hiccupping breath, feeling silly and sad. His arms tightened around her, and she sighed. This was…nice. Zen was a really good hugger.

“I’m sorry that you went through that,” he said quietly. “But I’m glad you’re here.”

She paused, surprised, before smiling. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Me too.”

~

Cleaning up the dishes was easy enough, and then there was nothing really left to do. Sea was left to face the knowledge that she…didn’t really want to go. Today had been fun, but it felt so short now that it was over. She wished she had more time.

It didn’t help that while she was cleaning up, Zen had apparently been chatting with Seven on the app, who was encouraging him to just have her stay over for the night. Seven, the ultimate wingman. Constantly helping out with her romance, whether she liked it or not.

He also wanted a mummy to attend the party. Sea wasn’t sure how exactly that was possible, but she definitely wanted to find out.

Sea was pretty sure she shouldn’t stay the night, since that was inviting a whole host of rumors upon Zen’s head. When she told him this, however, he just waved it off.

“It’ll be fine,” he said. “Besides, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go home this late. It’s really dark out now.”

It was, indeed, really dark out. She wasn’t much relishing the walk from the 73^rd building back to the apartment this late. But still…

“I promised Jaehee,” she said apologetically. “That I wouldn’t do anything to endanger your career. I know that you don’t think it will, but I don’t want to take any chances, you know? You work too hard for me to ruin that.”

He looked disappointed at that, but she stood firm. As much as she’d like to stay, she wouldn’t do that to him.

“Then…” he tried, “can I at least show something to you before you go? It’s my favorite part of living here.”

She nodded easily. “Sure,” she said, smiling. “Of course.”

He moved over to the entrance to the apartment, toeing on his shoes and opening the door. He gestured outside, enthusiasm regained. He smiled.

“Come on,” he encouraged, and she followed him out, grinning.

He led her up to the roof, unlocking the door with a key that he pulled from his pocket.

She was taken aback by the view that appeared before her as she stepped outside: the skyline of the city, and the stars brightly shining in the night sky beyond. She picked out constellations that she recognized from back home in America, when she’d sit out on the deck at night and watch the stars shimmer.

“Oh,” she said faintly.

“Sit here,” Zen directed, smile stretching his face, and she obediently sat near the edge of the roof, still looking up at the sky. It was an incredible sight to see, and the breath of delight that left her was easily heard.

She turned to look at him, his hair gleaming silver in the moonlight. He was beautiful, she recognized again. So beautiful. And she was so lucky to have met him.

“Thank you for coming,” he said, and she registered that he’d turned to face her. She hadn’t even noticed.

“I’m so happy I got to meet you in person,” he continued, smiling gently, and she nodded.

“Same here. I’m…really glad I could see you. And talk to you without a screen in the way.”

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” he said wistfully, and she laughed.

“You say that like I’ll never come back,” she nudged him with an elbow. He blinked at her, before the smile on his face grew, face joyful.

“You’ll come back?” He said.

“Yeah?” She said, snorting. “’Course. We’re…dating. It’d be silly for me to not visit you.”

He leaned against her a bit, and she let him, smiling. “That makes me happy,” he admitted, and her heart swelled.

“Yeah,” she said.

They both looked up at the stars for a little bit, silently enjoying the picture and each other’s presence, before he spoke again.

“I still…am not sure I did the right thing with Echo Girl,” he admitted. “I swore to myself to never depend on the power of money, but now…”

She glanced at her to find that she was listening intently, and closed his eyes.

“Do you mind if I tell you a story?” He asked.

“Tell me anything you want,” she offered, and he wrapped an arm around her, tugging her closer.

“When I was little,” he started, voice quiet. “I was really close to my brother. And…I didn’t know I was good looking. My parents would tell me I was ugly. They’re both really conservative teachers,” he explained, glancing at the infuriated look on her face, lips quirking. “They figured I’d be offered a lot of temptations because of my looks.”

“But still…!” She protested, angry. How could they say that to their own son?!

He nodded. “My brother would always tell me the truth, though,” he said, voice warming. “He was the one that told me that getting attention was something to be proud of. I was…happy when he told me that. That I wasn’t something bad after all.”

“But?” Prompted Sea.

“But,” he said, “we started growing apart in middle school. I discovered how much I like singing, and he…I thought he’d support me.” He looked at her, and face was sad. After all these years, it must’ve still hurt him to say, “I was wrong.”

“Zen…”

“My parents started treating me completely differently. And he…started acting like them towards me. Told me I couldn’t make anything of myself if I didn’t go to college. I felt betrayed.”

“I understand,” she said quietly.

His eyes warmed as he looked at her. “I know you do,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “No, I mean…I’m here for you. I understand.” She drew him into a hug, like he’d done for her before, and then she felt him let out a shuddering breath. She didn’t say anything when she felt tears start to drip onto her shoulders; just held him tighter, like she could keep him safe in her arms forever.

“Thanks,” he said thickly. She shook her head, and rubbed a hand over his back gently.

“I ran away when I was in middle school,” he continued, stumbling through the words now. “Eventually I came here. I moved from one small theater company to the next until I met Rika. She was a fan of mine…she told me she knew a businessman who could help me.”

Sea blinked. “Was that…Jumin?”

He nodded against her shoulder. “Since her boyfriend V’s childhood friend was Jumin…but I didn’t want to be swayed by money, so I said no.”

“Stubborn even back then,” she laughed quietly. He snorted.

“He reminded me of my brother, always putting money or luck above talent…”

“I get it,” Sea said. “So you don’t like Jumin because he’s like your brother.”

“I wanted to prove that I could do without those things. But…then I decided to continue with the rehearsals.”

“And you feel like you’ve betrayed yourself,” she provided. He nodded again.

She looked up at the stars, unsure of what to say. “I…don’t think that it’s a bad thing. That you decided to continue with this role. I know how much you wanted it.”

“But still…”

“Zen,” she said seriously. “You earned that role. It wasn’t bought for you. You auditioned for it, and won it. Though I’m not sure about what Echo Girl did…you do deserve this. I want you to be happy most of all. If that means you give up the role, then do it. If that means that you keep it, then do that. But don’t think you don’t deserve it. You worked hard for it, and you have every right to play it.”

He pulled her closer, hugging her so tightly she felt her breath rush out of her. He pulled back a moment later, smiling so brightly she was almost blinded.

“Thank you, Sea,” he said. “You always know just what to say to help me.”

She flushed, embarrassed. “It’s a talent,” she said mock-snootily.

He laughed brightly, and she felt a strange warmness in her gut at the sound.

“You’re strange,” he said, but he didn’t sound upset about it. “Can I hold your hand?”

She blinked, then held out her hand immediately. “Yes,” she said, completely serious. “Absolutely.”

He paused, looking at her face, then her hand. “Have you…uh, wanted to do this for a while?”

“All day.”

He blushed again. He did that a lot. “You could’ve asked, you know,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I would’ve said yes.”

I know, she thought, amused. I figured that would set the rumor mill off pretty quickly. And give Jaehee a hernia.

On the outside, she just shrugged. “That’s alright,” she said philosophically. “We’ll be able to do it again soon enough.”

“You can’t say things like that…!” He complained, and she laughed at him cheerily as he covered his very red face with the hand not holding hers.

They went back down to his apartment a little bit after that, and it seemed in the blink of the eye, she was calling Jaehee and getting back into the limo.

“How was it?” Driver Kim asked, smiling at her from the front.

“Good,” she said, that warm feeling from before circulating through her. She pressed a hand to her chest, grinning foolishly. “Really good.”

He hummed in understanding, and the rest of the drive was silent. She watched buildings and cars go by, thinking of how well she and Zen seemed to get along. And how from the moment he’d seen her, he was immediately so happy… even though he’d seen Echo Girl only a couple of hours beforehand. And yet, he never was disappointed with how she looked.

She wasn’t beautiful. She’d known that for years now. But around Zen, she thought that maybe…maybe that was okay. Maybe she didn’t need to be. He thought she was just fine as she was.

That was a good thought, and she carried it back with her joyfully.

The walk back to the apartment was short. Unlocking the door, she laughed when she saw Claymore sitting right before her, blinking up at her with yellow eyes.

“Hey there,” she greeted, and he meowed. Padding up to her, he rubbed his cheek against her leg, and she brushed a hand through his fur gently.

She made sure to add food to his dish and she moved around the apartment, tidying up a bit. The events of the day seemed like a dream now, but they were real. Everything that had happened was real.

God, she still couldn’t believe it.

After cleaning up, she grabbed the book that she’d been reading earlier and brought it to the bed room. She changed into pajamas, nervously fidgeting with the book before placing it back on the shelves of her bookcase.

Taking out her phone, she logged into the RFA app, glancing at the chatroom. Zen was there, of course, along with Yoosung.

The moment she entered the chat, Zen was writing.

*[Zen]: Seasnan! Did you get home safe?

*[Yoosung]: Wait, you went back home?

Jesus Yoosung. Was everyone expecting her to stay the night?

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, I got home just fine, thanks.

Zen sent an emoji of him smiling, with sparkles surrounding him.

*[Zen]: Glad to hear it!

*[Zen]: I feel bad about sending you back so late

*[Seasnan]: It was no problem, really. Don’t worry about it.

*[Yoosung]: I guess if she had stayed any longer, we could have misunderstood

*[Seasnan]: Thanks, Yoosung -.-

*[Zen]: If she’d stayed any longer, then I wouldn’t have been able to control the beast

*[Yoosung]: The beast??

*[Seasnan]: …the beast?

The fuck was the beast?

…oh my God.

*[Seasnan]: Really, dude? The beast??

*[Zen]: I have to protect you from myself

*[Yoosung]: Wow, Zen, you’re so cool…

*[Seasnan]: Please don’t encourage him

*[Zen]: Babe…

He sent her a sad emoji. She glared at the screen, ignoring the urge to smile that tugged at her lips. This was ridiculous. Ridiculous, she said.

*[Seasnan]: No. I refuse to ever let you say something like that again. NEVER AGAIN.

*[Yoosung]: Called out lol

*[Zen]: But babe…

*[Seasnan]: No. Absolutely not.

*[Yoosung]: You know, I thought from the beginning that something like this would happen.

He was just changing the subject, huh. Nice, Yoosung.

*[Zen]: Yeah, since the first time that Sea showed up

*[Zen]: I thought I was just lonely at first, but after seeing Seasnan

*[Zen]: I don’t want anyone else.

Jesus Christ on a cracker. She watched, helpless, as he kept going.

*[Zen]: I don’t feel anything when I look at other pretty girls, but…

*[Zen]: If I think about Sea…

*[Yoosung]: Wow lololol

*[Yoosung]: I’m so jealous of you two!!

*[Yoosung]: Is she pretty in real life?

*[Zen]: Beautiful

Oh my GOD.

*[Seasnan]: You’re making me blush, stop!!

*[Zen]: I’m just telling the truth, babe!

He sent a smiley emoticon. She glared at the screen.

*[Yoosung]: Aw, man…when will I meet someone?

*[Zen]: When you stop playing video games

Unhelpful, goddammit!

*[Seasnan]: You’ll meet someone, Yoosung. I know it ^^

*[Yoosung]: Do you think so?

*[Seasnan]: Of course! You’re a wonderful guy. There’ll be someone who sees that and will want to be with you.

*[Yoosung]: Well, if you think so, Sea…

*[Zen]: As long as you stop playing video games so much

*[Seasnan]: ZEN

*[Yoosung]: Oh, speaking of, I need to sign into LOLOL!

*[Seasnan]: YOOSUNG

*[Yoosung]: I’ll talk to you guys later, then!

*[Zen]: Did you not see what I just said??

Yoosung has left the chatroom

*[Seasnan]: …well, we got ditched.

*[Zen]: I know;;

*[Zen]: Sea, are you going to bed soon?

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, probably. It’s been a really exciting day, but now I’m kind of tired.

*[Zen]: Alright. Let’s go on a date in our dreams tonight, okay? I want to see you again.

She laughed, happy despite herself.

*[Seasnan]: You’re so cheesy, my God.

*[Seasnan]: But alright. Let’s meet each other in our dreams, then.

*[Zen]: I’ll see you soon, then.

Zen has left the chatroom

She archived the messages, closing out of the app and plugging her phone into her charger. Turning off the light, she climbed back into bed and carded her hand through Claymore’s fur, listening as he purred softly beside her.

Today had been…more emotional than she’d expected. But it’d also been so fun, and she’d had such a great time, and Zen…

She closed her eyes, smiling. Zen made her feel so happy. With him looking at her, she’d felt pretty for the first time in a long time.

Sea hoped that she’d fall asleep quickly. She wanted to meet him again in her dreams.

Chapter Text

For the first time in a week, Sea actually had no problems falling asleep. Of course, something so wonderful couldn’t last; she was woken up by the sound of her phone buzzing, which was…weird. Nobody really texted her, unless they were doing it through the RFA app, and the RFA app didn’t buzz.

Maybe Seven had implemented a new feature, or something? If anyone was willing to hack her phone so they could ruin her sleep schedule (what little of it remained) it would be Seven.

Sure enough, when she clicked her phone on she had a notification telling her that someone had messaged her on the RFA app. Frowning, she input her passcode and went to the app, entering the chatroom to see who it was.

Suddenly limp fingers dropped her phone as she felt her body freeze, fear running through her faster than she could comprehend. The messages were incomprehensible, but the sender was clear: Unknown.

*[Unknown]: Sae--_you*rayed?-0*

*[Unknown]: Is&__-#fun-_@

*[Unknown]: …

Was he…asking her if she was having fun? He was apparently having a difficult time trying to get his messages across. She doubted bypassing Seven’s security was easy.

She should answer, try to talk to him. This was her best chance to try to understand why he’d lured her here.

*[Unknown]: You^_ando%-#--?

*[Seasnan]: Mikael? That’s you, right?

*[Seasnan]: Why did you bring me to this apartment? What do you want?

There was a pause, before she received a brief and chilling response.

*[Unknown]: Traitor

As green lines of text ran across the screen faster than she could comprehend, she flinched away from the amount of vitriol she could sense in that one word.

Traitor…? What the hell? Exactly what had she betrayed? He’d fucking lured her here! She had never agreed to anything, she couldn’t betray anything! This was bullshit!

Furious, she started typing, hoping that before the chat closed he’d be able to read at least a little of what she wrote.

*[Seasnan]: Traitor? Traitor?!

*[Seasnan]: Fuck you! You lured me to some abandoned apartment for your own selfish wants

*[Seasnan]: And you keep tormenting me by sending me messages that Seven can’t track

*[Seasnan]: And I get to worry about what you want day and night

*[Seasnan]: And if you’re going to try to get into the fucking apartment

*[Seasnan]: I got catapulted into some strange group

*[Seasnan]: And all of these things got dumped on me

*[Seasnan]: And it’s all your fucking fault

*[Seasnan]: And you have the balls to call me a traitor?!

*[Seasnan]: You’re such an butt!

*[Seasnan]: Where do you get off on your fricking high horse, huh?!

*[Seasnan]: Screw you!!

*[707]: Uhhh, Sea…?

Her fingers froze above her screen, belatedly registering that she’d been kicked back onto the RFA chatroom. And had been swearing at Seven for the past couple of lines.

…whoops.

*[Seasnan]: …Seven. Hi.

*[707]: Hi???

*[Seasnan]: For what it’s worth, that wasn’t aimed at you

*[707]: ...then who was it aimed at??

As her anger drained away, her confusion and fear returned again, and nausea began to churn in her stomach.

*[Seasnan]: UNKNOWN

*[Seasnan]: That same thing that happened the first time that I talked to him happened again!

*[Seasnan]: There were these green lines of code that went by real fast, and then he was messaging me, but his messages were really difficult to understand because they had symbols in them and stuff

*[Seasnan]: And I tried to ask him why he’d lured me to Rika’s apartment and what he wanted

*[Seasnan]: But he just called me a traitor? And then he kicked me back onto the chatroom!

*[Seasnan]: So I was yelling at him

*[707]: Unknown hacked the app to talk to you

*[707]: Called you a traitor

*[707]: And you started swearing at him?

*[Seasnan]: Well, it’s not like I could punch him

*[707]: SEA

She shrugged. What? Dude deserved a good punch, with the hell he was putting her through.

Besides, there were more important things to talk about.

*[Seasnan]: Seven, you know what this means, right? That he would call me a traitor?

*[707]: …yeah. I do.

*[707]: I need to call V.

*[Seasnan]: Yeah

*[Seasnan]: If you find anything about this guy, tell me, okay?

*[Seasnan]: For whatever reason, he apparently thinks of me as the lynchpin of whatever his plan is

*[Seasnan]: If he’s calling me a traitor, that means that his plan’s falling through

*[707]: Sea…

She forced herself to keep typing, though her fingers were shaking now. Her anger had curdled, bile rising in her throat. She was speculating, this was all speculation. She was talking about things she knew nothing about. She was…she had no way of knowing that anything she said was actually happening.

So…why did she feel so sure that something terrible was about to happen?

*[Seasnan]: And if his plans are falling apart because of me…he’s probably going to retaliate

*[707]: You don’t know that for sure!!

Her lips pressed together. Of course Seven wouldn’t agree with her. Undoubtedly, he wanted her to be completely ignorant to any kind of danger she was in, so he could take care of it himself, without her ever realizing. That was how he dealt with his other friends, right?

He wasn’t going to admit that she was in danger, she knew that, but she couldn’t help but press anyway.

*[Seasnan]: Seven, we all knew from the beginning that something was wrong

*[Seasnan]: He brought me here

*[Seasnan]: And none of us know why

*[707]: But you aren’t helping him, Sea

*[Seasnan]: I know that!

*[Seasnan]: And now… he knows that, too

*[Seasnan]: I don’t know why he’s suddenly decided that I’m no longer helping him

*[Seasnan]: I have no idea what his plans are

*[Seasnan]: But if I was reading his messages right, I’m not part of them anymore

She waited as Seven took his time with his reply. She imagined that he was still probably trying to get a grasp on the situation. How did…how did everything turn so bad, so quickly?

*[707]: That doesn’t mean you’re in danger, though.

*[707]: I’ll talk to V. It’ll be okay, Sea.

She snorted.

*[Seasnan]: Seven, don’t you remember?

*[Seasnan]: The very first time he talked to me, he told me that he’d ‘come to get me soon’.

*[Seasnan]: That was always his intention. When…whatever he wanted me to do was done, he was going to get me

*[Seasnan]: And now that’s happened, so…

She trailed off. She didn’t want to complete that sentence.

A minute passed, and then another. She grew jittery. Closing her eyes tightly, she ran her fingers through Claymore’s fur. He was curled up next to her, and she carefully stroked his back, listening to him purr as she waited for a response. She knew she was right. Seven knew she was right; that was why he was taking such a long time to respond. He didn’t want to admit it.

Absurdly, she felt heat behind her eyes. She wiped at them viciously, angry all over again. God, she hated this. Why was it every damn time that she felt happy, something had to ruin it?!

All but snarling, she clenched her hands into fists. Mikael could try to tear her away from the life she’d just begun to create, but he’d have hell to pay.

Finally, Seven replied. Fumbling, she checked, and restrained the urge to throw the phone against the wall.

*[707]: I’ll call V. Don’t worry Sea.

Don’t worry? Don’t worry? How could she not worry? There was some nutjob out there who was probably out for her, and he wanted her to not—

*[707]: I won’t let anything happen to you. Promise.

…oh.

She took a deep breath. Counting slowly, she forced herself to wait a moment and let the anger recede. Count to ten, Sea. Think before you speak.

*[Seasnan]: …don’t take this all on yourself.

*[Seasnan]: I’m involved in this, too.

*[707]: I can do this, Sea. I’ll make sure you’re safe.

Heat built before her eyes again, but for a much different reason, this time. She let the tears fall freely, a shaky smile replacing the scowl on her face.

She…had such good friends.

*[Seasnan]: I know you will.

*[Seasnan]: But you don’t have to do it alone.

*[Seasnan]: I’m here for you, too.

*[707]: Sea

*[707]: …thanks

*[Seasnan]: Yeah. You too.

*[Seasnan]: I’m really lucky to have you as a friend

*[707]: …I’m going to call V

*[Seasnan]: Okay.

*[Seasnan]: Good luck, Defender of Justice

He sent a smiley emoticon, then logged off. She put her phone down, flopping back onto the bed with a huff. She stared at the ceiling, the same as it was yesterday and the day before. Had it really only been eight days since she’d first arrived here? It felt like an entire lifetime had passed.

She couldn’t bring herself to close her eyes and try to go back to sleep after that. Not after everything that had just happened.

Grimly, she got out of bed, wandering out into the hallway. Zen would have to forgive her for missing their dream-date. She had some preparing to do.

~

The buzzing of her phone brought her out of her blank staring at the coffee maker. Usually she preferred tea, but when exhaustion pressed too heavily upon her, she would resort to coffee to make it through the day.

Scratching at the back of her head, she checked her caller ID. A cheery smile and blond hair lit up the dark living room, and she frowned. Yoosung? It was—she checked the clock—three in the morning. What was he doing, calling her? He should be asleep!

She very firmly ignored the hypocrisy in that statement. She had extenuating circumstances right now.

“Yoosung,” she greeted, taking the call, “what are you--?”

“I saw the chat!” Yoosung gasped out, voice wavering. “I—I saw the chat—Sea— “

She listened, absolutely horrified, as Yoosung started crying over the line.

“Are—are you okay?” He managed between sniffles. She winced. Okay was…not the best word to describe her right now. ‘Paranoid’ was much closer to her current mental state, or maybe ‘murderously vengeful’.

…somehow, she doubted that such a revelation would help him.

“I’m fine,” she said carefully. “Nothing’s happened.”

‘Yet,’ was the unsaid ending to her words. Nothing had happened, but if she was right, it wouldn’t stay that way.

“Are you scared?” Yoosung asked, cutting right to the quick without even realizing. Stymied, she took the phone away from her phone to stare at it for a moment.

Was she scared?

Was she scared?

It had been two hours since she’d had that exchange with Mik—Unknown, since she’d spoken with Seven. Two hours of relentlessly pacing around the apartment, of eyeing the windows nervously, of reminding herself again and again of where she kept the baseball bat. Two hours of thinking about trying to fall asleep again, and then imagining Unknown entering the apartment and subduing her, doing God knew what—

Two hours of thinking, and pacing, and praying, and tormenting herself with all the things that could happen, that might happen, because that was better than just sitting and accepting it.

“I’m— “she spluttered over the line, “Am I scared?” In a moment of thoughtless honesty, she said, “Yoosung, I’m terrified.”

The sharp breath he took in response was audible over the line. She shut her eyes tightly, already regretting her words. She hadn’t…wanted to snap at him. He was already going through so much, and she just carelessly dumped more onto him…

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, and his voice was so shaky that she felt sick.

“No,” she said, her own voice rough with emotion. “I’m sorry, Yoosung. I didn’t…I mean, I didn’t mean to say it like that. You’re just worrying, and it was— “

“It’s okay,” he said, and she could hear the brave smile she knew he was wearing over the line. “I understand. It was silly of me to ask.”

“Yoosung,” she protested, “it wasn’t silly, I really appreciate you worrying for me!”

“But it’s not helping, right?” He poked, and her mouth curled into some sort of half frown. She couldn’t honestly disagree with him, but that didn’t mean she wanted to agree, either.

She could hear him take a breath, and then another. When he spoke again, his voice was firmer.

“Sea,” he said, “what can I do to help?”

Her mouth fell open, eyes widening. Breath hitching, she had to turn her face away for a moment and compose herself. When she finally felt strong enough to answer, she swallowed heavily and allowed all her walls to fall away, if only in this one moment.

“Just stay on the line,” she said desperately. “My head isn’t a very good place right now.”

There was a pause on the other side, a very quiet inhale. And then, with a seriousness and calmness that she hadn’t realized he had, Yoosung replied simply, “Okay.”

And he did. As the minutes turned to hours, Yoosung stayed on the phone with her, chatting aimlessly about video games and his studies and his favorite foods to cook and eat. In return, she offered him anecdotes about America, moments of culture shock in Korea, and how she was trying to teach herself how to bake.

They didn’t mention Unknown again, but it hung heavy in the air all the while, pressing down against her shoulders like an invisible weight.

She had no doubt that if Yoosung hadn’t called her, by this point she would have lapsed into apathy or her fugue state of exhaustion. But just by simply being there, a voice over the line, she found a point to anchor herself to as light crept through the window, and dawn rose on her eighth day in the RFA.

When they finally ended the call, Sea clutched her phone to her chest for a second, hoping that some residual parts of Yoosung’s bravery and kindness could transfer to her. Today of all days, she would need them.

~

She called in sick from work, unwilling to put herself through the fear she’d go through, constantly wondering if Unknown was somewhere in the crowd of people, waiting for her. Instead, she forced herself to focus on other things by emailing possible guests for the RFA party and working from home on her laptop.

Eventually, just sitting around began to make her jittery, and that was when she decided that she needed to find some way to relax, even a little bit. Being prepared was one thing, but if she was too keyed up, she’d be useless if anything actually happened.

She knew herself well enough to understand that when she was like this, the only way to really feel better was for her to move around a little. Some yoga would probably be good for her right now.

In keeping with her decision to relax, she did the positions that she liked best; focusing on her breathing, she made sure that throughout the exercise, she wasn’t thinking on anything but the next pose, the next stretch. She laughed to herself when Claymore decided to help out, batting his tail into her face and rubbing himself against her legs as she moved through the positions fluidly.

When she felt more calm, she breathed out one last time and ran a hand through her cat’s fur as thanks. Sighing, she wandered back to the couch. This was why she hated free days. Nothing to do but stress and worry. She needed a hobby.

Her phone began to ring, and she immediately snapped to attention, all but diving over the couch to grab it. Was it Seven? Had he found anything about Unknown?!

…no. No, it was not Seven. She resisted the urge to feel disappointed. No news was good news, right? Right.

And then it finally sunk in that Zen was calling her, and she fumbled her phone, desperately trying to answer before he was booted to voice mail.

“Oh sh—Hello?”

“Babe…” Zen said, sounding very downtrodden. Her heart clenched; had he read the chatroom? Had he seen that Unknown had contacted her today? “Echo Girl was at my place yesterday.”

Her mind screeched to a halt. What…? She took a moment to recalibrate, reminding herself who Echo Girl was and—

Wait, Echo Girl went to Zen’s place? The…the fuck? That didn’t…no way—

“Nothing happened!” Zen continued quickly, probably guessing her reaction. “I just wanted to tell you that Echo Girl came to see me. Nothing happened, you don’t have to worry. I’m already yours, you know.”

She breathed out quietly, tamping down on her initial reaction and forcing herself to listen to what he was saying. Zen wasn’t the kind of guy who would cheat on her. If he didn’t want her, he’d tell her; she needed to trust him. She did trust Zen.

Her continued silence drove him on. “It’d feel like hiding if another woman came to my house and I don’t tell you about it. I want to be sure about these things…I feel both parties have a duty to be honest when in a relationship. Trust is most important, right?”

Aaand now she felt guilty that she hadn’t told him about Unknown yet. Welp.

“Of course, we have to respect each other’s freedom, but I don’t want to be negligent either,” he just kept going.

Slowly, before she noticed it happening, her mouth was twisting into a smile. She listened Zen fumble with his words, going on and on about how he only wanted her and no one else, until she finally took the words in and really listened.

“Zen,” she said, cutting him off before he could work himself into a real state. “It’s okay. I know you’d never do anything like that. You don’t have to worry.”

“Oh,” he replied, then, “Oh!” He laughed quietly. “Okay. I’m glad, I just wanted to make sure…”

“Thank you,” she said, the smile widening. It was funny. She would have thought that just the thought of Echo Girl going over to Zen’s place late at night would make her upset, and to be fair, it had briefly. But as quickly as the nausea and sadness came, it left. After everything yesterday, and what he said just before in the call…there was no way that she could doubt that he really did like her, and didn’t want anyone else. “But you don’t have to worry about that. I trust you.”

“…oh,” he said, more gently. She could imagine him covering his face with a hand, cheeks red. “Why do you always make me blush?” He complained, voice kind of muffled. He was…actually covering his face with a hand, wasn’t he?

“Because it makes me happy,” she said with complete honesty. His groan over the line was also muffled, and brought joy to her heart.

She didn’t want to tell him. She knew that the second Zen found out that Unknown was probably coming for her, he’d immediately demand to know where the apartment was. And she couldn’t tell him that. But she couldn’t not tell him the danger she was in! He’d go onto the chatroom at some point today, and if he found out that she hadn’t told him, he’d feel so betrayed. And, just as he said, trust was most important in a relationship. What was the message that she was sending him, if she didn’t tell him? That she didn’t trust him with something as important as this?

She had to tell him. She had to tell him. She just…had to gather up the courage for it.

Swallowing, she noted that her mouth felt very dry all of a sudden. Oh god. She really didn’t want to do this.

“Zen,” she said grimly, “There’s actually something I have to tell you. Try…” She took a deep breath. “Try not to freak out too much, okay?”

“Uh,” was the eloquent reply. Then, concerned, “Are you okay, Sea?”

Christ on a cracker. How was anyone this perfect?

“I’m fine,” she said, ignoring how bitter the words were on her tongue. “But Unknown contacted me early this morning. Called me a traitor. Apparently whatever plan he expected me to carry out, I failed.”

There was a sharp indrawn breath on Zen’s part. It took him a moment to compose himself before he could speak again, and when he managed his words were rather shaky, with an undercurrent of tightly held anger.

“Isn’t,” he tried, “isn’t that…a good thing? Because he’ll leave you alone now?”

“Zen,” she sighed, “that’s the thing. He’s… I mean, we don’t have any proof here. But Seven and I, we think that Unknown’s plan was to have me do, uh, whatever I was supposed to, and then he was going to… ‘retrieve me’.”

“So…” Zen’s voice was harsher now. He probably already knew where this was leading.

“He’s…” Sea closed her eyes. “Unknown’s probably going to try and…take me. You know. To…wherever he’s based.”

“Like hell!” Zen barked out, furious. Sea clutched her phone, lips pressed together.

“Are you— “he choked on his words for a second, and when he spoke again his voice was quieter, but no less livid. “Are you telling me that you’re in danger right now? That bastard is gonna try to waltz in there and—and kidnap you?!”

He was breathing heavily. In some ways, his anger was comforting. It was exactly the same reaction she’d had, when she’d first realized what this meant. But seeing someone else go through the same thing made all of it flood back, all the emotions she’d managed to press back for hours now. She pressed a hand to her face, breathing shakily. Oh god. Oh god, this was a nightmare.

She nodded, before realizing that he couldn’t see that over the phone. “Y—yeah,” she managed, voice weak. “Probably. He’s going to try to…”

She couldn’t manage the words. Why was this happening to her? What had she done to deserve this?

“Sea,” Zen whispered, horrified. Oh god. Could he tell that she was crying? She tried futilely to stop the flood of tears down her face, breathing as quietly as she could.

“Sorry,” she apologized wetly. “I didn’t want to…do this. I’m sorry.”

“No!” He protested. “Don’t apologize! It’s not your fault. It’s that Unknown, he’s the one…” he seemed to lose steam halfway through the sentence, the vitriol dropping from his words. “I…Sea,” he said, “where are you?”

“In the apartment,” she said. “It’s the safest place right now, I think. I didn’t want to risk going through the crowds, just in case…” She had to screw up all her courage to say the words, “In case he’s waiting for me.”

“I— “Zen seemed torn. “I know we’re not supposed to know where the apartment is, because of all the confidential documents…but when all this is happening…don’t you think it would make sense for me to come over?”

Sea considered that. She tried to think logically, ignoring the part of herself that wanted desperately to say yes, to tell him the address and not think about the consequences. But even though she wanted another person with her more than anything, she couldn’t do as she wished thoughtlessly.

“I…don’t think that’s a good idea,” she forced herself to say. “Unknown already knows where this apartment is; the only thing that really makes it safe is that Seven is watching over it, and that security system he has installed.”

Zen snorted. “What good is a lock on a door going to do?”

She shrugged. “It’s more than what’s at your apartment, to be fair. I just…Unknown probably knows that we’re in a relationship, if he looked through the chats. And if so, it’s not impossible that he might go for you, as well. I want…both of us to be safe, and we’re the most unsafe when we’re moving around. I think we should stay inside as much as possible, and not take any risks.”

“Is it bad that I kind of want him to come for me?” Zen asked, an edge to his words. She stared at the phone like it was a live wire.

“Uh, yes?” She offered. “Why would you want that?”

“After everything he’s done to you, how much this asshole’s terrorized you, I really…I really want to punch him in the face,” Zen seethed.

There was a pause. She couldn’t resist snorting, a small smirk coming over her face.

“Dude,” she said, dry as a desert. “You’re going to have to get in line.”

And even though both of them were still filled with anger, with fear and sadness and so many dark emotions that they mixed together, that they almost drowned out everything else, the two of them still found a moment to laugh together.

~

At some point, someone had knocked on Zen’s door, and he’d hung up in order to answer it—promising that he’d text her that he was alright and it hadn’t been Unknown as soon as he could.

Sea went back to nervously pacing around the apartment, more keyed up after talking to Zen and having such an emotional outburst. Even Claymore, following her around like he was concerned, occasionally brushing against her legs, couldn’t cheer her up. She wondered if Seven had gotten a hold of V yet.

It was as she was pacing around the room that she realized that she’d never told Jumin the results of her trying to convince Zen that he should do the commercial. She should probably…do that?

Yeah. Right. She should totally do that. Get her mind off stuff. Help out Jumin. Cool. Great.

She dialed the number, waiting impatiently as her phone rang.

On the third ring, he picked up, greeting her briskly. “Are you alright?”

She took a moment to pause at that. She actually…hadn’t realized that Jumin knew her…situation.

“I’m fine,” she replied. She was saying that a lot today. It had kind of lost all meaning to her at this point.

“Say ‘yes’ if you are being held hostage,” Jumin commanded, sounding a lot more emotional than she’d ever heard before. Usually, he was very…well, not cold. Cool? Professional. But now, he actually sounded concerned. Like, really concerned. It was…disconcerting, actually.

“I’m actually fine, Jumin,” she reassured him. “Promise. No one’s holding me hostage.”

“That’s good to hear,” he replied, more gently than she’d thought he could manage. Who was this person and what had they done with Jumin Han? “What can I help you with?”

“Oh,” Sea blinked. “Uh, actually, I was just calling to tell you that I talked to Zen about doing your commercial.”

There was a very miniscule pause. “You…are in the middle of being threatened by an unknown hacker with a vendetta against our organization, and you are concerned with my commercial?”

“Uh…”

“Seasnan,” he said, heavy with disapproval. “Being able to work through pressure is a good thing, but it’s preferable to resolve such a situation before attempting to do anything else.”

Holy God, Jumin was actually…telling her not to work. And to focus on her own health and safety. Was this the Twilight Zone? Had she fallen into some alternate reality while she wasn’t looking?

“Jumin,” she said, feeling some sort of strange warmth flood through her chest. “I…I really appreciate you saying that. Thank you. But as much as I agree with you, I’ve already done everything I can. I just…well, I guess I just wanted to take my mind off things for a while."

“You are distracting yourself with work,” Jumin said, and the disapproval was still there, but lighter now. Sea shrugged, even though she knew he couldn’t see it.

“The curse of a workaholic?” She suggested, and was rewarded with a soft laugh. Holy shit, this was a day of miracles.

“Ah,” he agreed, voice knowing. “I understand better than I might wish to admit.”

Oh my god this was a bonding moment. She was having a bonding moment with Jumin. Incredible.

“Would you indulge me, then?” She asked, smiling.

“Very well,” he said, breathing out quietly. “What did he say?”

“Ah,” she paused, awkward. “Well, he was pretty opposed to it… at least at first.”

Jumin’s reaction was…pretty different than what she’d expected. Instead of being aggravated, he instead seemed to be surprised.

“At first?” He repeated. “Did he change his mind?”

“Well, kind of,” she hedged. “He never gave me a definite answer, but he seemed much more open to the idea at the end. For whatever reason, he had thought that you were offering him the role to taunt him.”

“He thought…” Jumin made an exasperated sound over the line. She winced. Poor guy. She wondered how long he’d been offering Zen roles for, constantly rejected and unable to understand why. Zen had said that Jumin had been offering him jobs ever since he met Rika, right? Jesus, that was years ago. How could two people misunderstand each other so much?

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “Honestly, Jumin, I think the two of you should probably just…talk to each other. Like, actually talk, without…uh, logging off or giving up when you get annoyed. I think you two have been misunderstanding each other for a long time.”

Part of her thought that she was probably going too far, telling him how to fix his relationship with his friend when she’d known them for eight days. On the other hand, there remained the fact that she absolutely knew that no one else was going to tell him this. The only person she could think of that might would be V, and V was currently very distant from the RFA, so…yeah.

Jumin sighed. She got the feeling that he was currently humoring her. “And how have we been misunderstanding each other?”

“Well, for one,” Sea said blithely, “Zen thinks that you offer him roles to make fun of him, like I said, and he believes you’re trying to give him handouts. Like, he can’t get the role by himself; you have to get it for him. Which is why he keeps rejecting them.”

She took a deep breath. “And you think that Zen keeps rejecting your roles because he’s immature and doesn’t take his work seriously, and cares more about his vendetta against you than the roles you offer. When in actuality the problem is the fact that you offer him roles; and he refuses them because he wants to earn them, not just be given them.”

Wow. Okay. She’d been wanting to say that for a good long while now. It felt good, actually. It probably would’ve been preferable to just smash the two of their heads together, but, well. You make do.

She nodded triumphantly, and waited for Jumin’s response. It was taking a while. Yeah. She’d blindsided him. She was good at that.

Eventually, there came the sound of little taps against some sort of heavy surface. Was he…drumming his fingers against his desk, or something? She hadn’t expected a noise of agitation from the usually calm and collected Jumin Han.

“I see,” he said eventually. “So the problem is not that I am the one offering roles; it is that I am offering him roles, and he believes they are…handouts.” He said the last word with a trace of disgust.

“Pretty much,” she nodded.

He sighed again, deeper this time. “Of course. I do not understand why it is so difficult for us to communicate effectively. Surely it would be easier for him to simply tell me this, rather than childishly refusing to explain himself.”

She flopped down on the couch, frowning up at the ceiling. “I…well, Zen has his reasons, but they aren’t mine to tell. I just think that…I think that if you two really try, you can come to understand each other. It’s worth a shot, right?”

“Zen and I have had a strained relationship for years now,” Jumin pointed out. “What makes you think that will change now?”

Sea tilted her head to the side, considering that. “Because you weren’t trying to see the other’s side before. I mean… I wasn’t there, of course. But that’s what I’m getting from how you interact; that for a long time, the two of you had decided what the other was like, and everything you saw just confirmed that, because you weren’t looking for anything else. And that’s…neither of your faults, really. That’s how people are. But I think…if you try to see things from the other side’s perspective, it will…help. Probably.”

There was a considering pause. “You are taking into account what happened with you and Assistant Kang,” he observed thoughtfully.

She flushed. “Yeah. I was surprised, actually…at how quickly we understood each other, when we tried to see from the other’s point of view. I figured it’d work for you, too.”

“It was surprising, how quickly Assistant Kang capitulated once you’d acknowledged her side,” he mused.

‘Capitulated’ was a strong word for it, but yeah. Basically.

“I was surprised, too, actually,” she laughed. “But I think it’s important to try and understand where people are coming from when you talk to them. To be able to…uh, communicate effectively.”

He huffed a breath, sounding amused. “Indeed,” he agreed. “For instance, you made this entire conversation sound very reasonable and logical in order to appeal to how I view things, and make it more likely that I would agree with you.”

She laughed nervously. Well, she hadn’t done it on purpose…but now that he’d mentioned it, she had…kind of…done that. Ha. Haha. Oops.

“Well,” she hedged, “uh…I guess? Did it...work?”

“I suppose so,” Jumin replied, with a definite edge of humor. “It’s a formidable tactic.”

She snorted. “Oh yeah,” she said, laughing. “That’s me. Formidable.”

“I would say so,” he replied, the humor dropping from his voice. “Not many could endure what you are going through, and spend their time trying to help someone else.”

She closed her eyes, the reminder bringing back the feelings of fear and sadness that she’d barely managed to banish. “Thanks, Jumin,” she said quietly. “That means a lot, coming from you.”

The sound of drumming fingertips stopped. Her eyes opened again, confused, as she waited for a response.

“It does,” he said at last, the words not quite a question. “Why?” Well, that last one was definitely a question. He sounded very puzzled.

“Why?” She repeated, blankly. Why did…his words mean a lot to her? “Uh…because you’re my friend?”

Wait, that sounded like a question, not an answer. “Because you’re my friend,” she repeated, with more surety.

On the other end, the tapping noise started up again. “I am your friend,” he repeated blankly.

“Yes,” she said, before she flushed and backed off a bit. “I hope.”

There was a long, considering silence. She restrained the urge to fidget. She’d…thought they were friends. They texted and chatted regularly on the messenger, and occasionally she’d check up on him to make sure he wasn’t working himself too hard. That was a pretty good basis for a friendship, right? She hadn’t gone too far, right? Oh god, was he going to pull a Seven and stop talking to her?

“I see,” was his eventual, completely unsatisfying response. “I will keep that in mind. And I will…try to talk to Zen.”

“Uh, okay,” she said numbly. That was…definitely a dismissal. Right? “That’s good to hear. I’ll…let you get back to work.”

“Be careful,” he said sharply. “Do not go outside, and do not open the door for anyone.”

“Yeah,” she said, tired. “I know. Don’t worry, Jumin. I’ll be fine. Don’t overwork yourself, okay?”

There was a much shorter pause, and then he replied, “Thank you, Seasnan. I will speak with you later.”

And the call cut off. She blinked at the phone screen, feeling…strange. He hadn’t sounded offended, though he’d cut off the conversation right after she’d said they were friends. She wondered what she’d done to upset him.

Sighing, she put the phone down and stared up at the ceiling, trying to reassure herself. She didn’t think it was something she’d done, because the concern that he’d shown for her at the beginning of the conversation hadn’t disappeared. But she didn’t understand why he’d been so surprised at her calling him a friend. Hadn’t she made that clear? Had it upset him? Did he…not want to be friends?

She placed her hands over her face. She didn’t want to think about this right now. Or at all. Why did it seem like she was always messing up when it came to talking to these people? Why couldn’t she ever say something right?

There were no e-mails to answer, and she didn’t feel up to talking to anyone right now. Dully, she closed her eyes and waited for the hours to pass.

~

She’d known this was going to happen. Too many emotionally charged situations and conversations throughout the day had led to her crashing, and now here she was, apathy and exhaustion covering her like a shadow. Claymore had curled up next to her a while ago, and she absentmindedly petted him as she waited for something—anything—to happen.

She couldn’t find within her the necessary energy to get off the couch. Everything just seemed so…useless. What good would pacing or crying or anything do? It wouldn’t change anything. It wouldn’t fix anything. There was no point.

Sighing, she turned over, gazing blankly at the coffee table. She’d placed her phone there after the call with Jumin, and now she found herself contemplating if she should try to reach out to someone. On the one hand…she was so tired. Just so…very tired. And she wasn’t sure if she had the energy to talk to someone. But she knew that she couldn’t let herself slip any deeper into this state, or it’d be a long, long while before she resurfaced again.

Even reaching out to the table took more energy than she’d like to admit. Fumbling with the phone, she eventually managed to curl her hand around it, the plastic cutting into her fingers as she clutched it tightly.

Typing in the passcode, she clicked onto the RFA app, curling around the phone. The glow of the screen hurt her eyes, and she squinted against it. It seemed that Jumin and Zen were in the chatroom right now. She wondered if they were getting along.

Seasnan has entered the chatroom

*[ZEN]: Sea! How are you feeling?

*[Jumin Han]: Seasnan, it’s good to see you. How are you?

*[Seasnan]: I’m okay, thanks.

*[Seasnan]: How about you two? Anything happen today?

*[Jumin Han]: I seem to have lost my pen.

He sent a picture of a pen, gold-plated, with a diamond on the tip. She blinked.

*[ZEN]: Don’t talk about that right now!

*[ZEN]: Don’t you have any tact? Sea’s going through too much to worry about your pen, you jerk!

*[Jumin Han]: Seasnan is the one that asked in the first place.

*[Jumin Han]: And I doubt she appreciates you reminding her of her position

*[Jumin Han]: When she is likely here in order to forget it.

*[ZEN]: …oh.

*[ZEN]: God, Sea, I’m so sorry

She sighed, curling into a tighter ball. Why was trying to talk so exhausting? With numb fingers, she typed out a response.

*[Seasnan]: It’s okay. I don’t mind. Where was the last place you saw your pen, Jumin?

*[Jumin Han]: A little bit before the morning meeting today…I noticed right when I was speaking with Echo Girl.

There was a pause as she processed that sentence, and suddenly she felt more awake.

*[Seasnan]: Echo Girl? You spoke with Echo Girl?

*[ZEN]: Wait…. did she run all the way from your office to my apartment?!

*[Jumin Han]: She went to your apartment?

*[ZEN]: She was talking about getting revenge on me…

Oh, holy shit, that was…not good.

*[Seasnan]: You didn’t tell me that!

*[Jumin Han]: Hm. That is what she told me, as well.

Oh MY GOD.

*[Seasnan]: She promised to get revenge on both of you and neither one of you thought to tell someone?!

*[Jumin Han]: It is not an uncommon occurrence.

Okay, that was…concerning.

*[ZEN]: …;;

*[ZEN]: Sorry, babe;;

*[ZEN]: I just didn’t want to worry you

*[Jumin Han]: It isn’t that concerning. I doubt she will do anything.

*[Seasnan]: I wouldn’t be so sure about that.

Zen had said it before, right? That it was weird that Echo Girl was so interested in having him act beside her, and that he thought she’d done something so that he could keep the role? Which meant that she was interested in him. And from what he’d told Sea, Echo Girl had come to his place yesterday, and he’d turned her down.

If Echo Girl was willing to play dirty to get Zen to act with her, Sea didn’t want to think about what she’d do for revenge.

*[Seasnan]: Jumin, you should contact Jaehee and tell her about this. That Echo Girl promised revenge against you and Zen.

*[ZEN]: …do you really think she’s going to do something?

*[Seasnan]: Maybe, maybe not. But it’s better to be prepared rather than unprepared, just in case.

*[Jumin Han]: I will speak with Assistant Kang, then. Seasnan, Zen. Take care.

*[ZEN]: Hey, Jumin.

*[ZEN]: I…need to say something to you.

*[Jumin Han]: ?

*[ZEN]: If it weren’t for my allergy, I would have said yes to your modeling job offer.

*[Jumin Han]: …why are you saying this?

*[ZEN]: I…the day you helped Sea get to my house…I thought about a lot of things.

*[ZEN]: I feel bad for giving you the cold shoulder.

*[ZEN]: It was because of my allergy that I declined your offer and accepted Echo Girl’s, but also…because I want to do theater more than modeling.

*[ZEN]: So don’t misunderstand and think that I said no because I don’t like you.

*[ZEN]: If you offer another job that won’t irritate my allergies, I’ll seriously consider it. Okay?

She smiled faintly, pride welling up inside her. She was glad that Zen was facing up to Jumin.

*[Jumin Han]: I see.

*[Jumin Han]: …the fault is also partly mine.

*[Jumin Han]: I didn’t attempt to understand your reasons for what you did.

*[Seasnan]: I’m glad the two of you are talking now.

*[ZEN]: …this is weird.

*[Jumin Han]: I agree

Aaand the moment was over. Damn.

*[Seasnan]: Well, it was good while it lasted.

*[Jumin Han]: I will go speak to Assistant Kang now. Be careful, both of you.

*[ZEN]: You too.

*[Seasnan]: Later, Jumin!

Jumin Han has left the chatroom

And then there were two.

*[ZEN]: So…how are you really doing?

She looked away, lips pressing together tightly. She didn’t need to look around the room to know what she would see; the curtains drawn, the lights off, the mess on the counter from where she’d tried to cook and had dropped a pan, and just hadn’t had the energy to clean up. It felt like all the color had drained from the room, from her. She was just…so tired. But she couldn’t find it in her to fall asleep.

*[Seasnan]: I’ve been better.

*[ZEN]: Sea…

*[ZEN]: I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could do…

*[ZEN]: I hate just sitting here

*[Seasnan]: You don’t have to apologize

*[Seasnan]: I just…I was so happy yesterday and now…

*[Seasnan]: It feels like everything changed so fast.

*[Seasnan]: I wish there was some way to go back to how we were last night

*[ZEN]: I do, too

*[ZEN]: It just isn’t fair. You don’t deserve any of this!

*[ZEN]: That darn Unknown…

She snorted wetly.

*[Seasnan]: ‘darn’?

*[ZEN]: Ugh, Seven…

*[ZEN]: I hate that we can’t swear on this thing…

She couldn’t stop herself from laughing at that. She could imagine him scowling at the screen, eyebrows furrowed with aggravation.

*[Seasnan]: Think of the children, Zen

*[ZEN]: Yoosung swears too!

*[Seasnan]: I was talking about Seven, actually

*[ZEN]: Babe…oh my god

*[Seasnan]: You can’t tell me it’s not true

*[ZEN]: STOP

*[ZEN]: I’m outside…I just laughed out loud;;

*[ZEN]: People are staring at me;;;

Her amusement died a swift death at that. She inhaled sharply, panic lancing through her.

*[Seasnan]: You’re outside?

What was he thinking? She’d told him that Unknown might be targeting him, too, and that he was most vulnerable when he was moving around. Why was he outside?!

*[ZEN]: Babe, don’t worry. I’m just got my cast off. I’m heading home right now.

Oh. His cast. Of course. She closed her eyes, running nervous hands through her hair.

*[Seasnan]: Right, right. Of course.

*[Seasnan]: Sorry. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.

*[Seasnan]: Promise me you’ll be careful?

*[ZEN]: Babe…

*[ZEN]: I’ll be careful. Promise.

*[ZEN]: I’m getting into a cab right now, I’ll be home in less than ten minutes. I’ll be okay.

She bit her lip, wishing there was some way she could make sure he was safe. If only she could be there with him. If only she could keep him safe.

*[Seasnan]: Okay. I trust you.

*[Seasnan]: The good news is that if Unknown comes after you, you can beat him with your crutch.

She waited for a response, snorting as she imagined the look on his face when he read her words.

*[ZEN]: BABE OH MY GOD

*[Seasnan]: A completely unsuspicious blunt object. The perfect weapon. He’ll never know what hit him.

*[Seasnan]: Literally.

At this point she was laughing quietly, hiccupping laughter that sounded more like sobs. Amusement mixed with sorrow in her gut, and she felt sick. Why couldn’t she ever just be happy?

*[ZEN]: Please…my driver’s giving me some really weird looks…

*[ZEN]: I’m worried he’s going to kick me out or something…;;

*[Seasnan]: Sorry.

She made to type more, when suddenly her phone started to ring. Jerking away from the sudden noise, she squinted at the screen in confusion.

Jaehee’s picture lit up the screen, and she blinked, before quickly moving back to the chatroom.

*[Seasnan]: Jaehee’s calling me, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon.

She logged out of the chatroom, feeling kind of bad for exiting the conversation so quickly. Accepting the call, she placed her phone to her ear.

“Jaehee?” She asked. “What’s up?”

“Seasnan!” Jaehee exclaimed, sounding breathless. “I apologize for not contacting you earlier, I only checked the chatroom now and I saw— “ She cut herself off, voice agonized. When she managed to speak again, her voice was very quiet. “I know that you have been asked this many times today already, but…how are you doing? Do you require anything? I know that we cannot know the address of the apartment, but surely if I ask Luciel he will deliver anything you ask for, so please, if there’s anything that you wish— “

“Thanks, Jaehee,” Sea said, interrupting the poor woman before she could work herself up even more. “But there isn’t really anything. Nothing’s happened yet, I just…” She sighed, grinning wearily. “It’s the anticipation more than anything, you know? Just sitting here waiting for something to happen, imagining what he might be doing…”

“I’m sorry,” Jaehee said, voice sad. “I know it doesn’t help. But I’m so sorry you are going through this.”

Sea closed her eyes, the smile turning into something a bit sincerer. Unbidden, warmth rose within her, a gentle glow of comfort. “It helps more than you might think,” she mumbled, “to know that someone cares.”

There was a small pause. “Of course I do,” Jaehee said, like it was set in stone. Like there was no other possibility. “We all do. You are our friend.”

Oh.

“Okay,” Sea whispered. “Thank you.”

There was some sort of noise on the other side of line, like maybe Jaehee was sniffling— and Sea’s eyes flew open, because was Jaehee crying?

But before she could ask, Jaehee had already moved on. “There was also…I wished to discuss something that Mr. Han spoke with me about today, if…you were willing.” Before Sea could say anything, she hurried to add, “Of course, I know this is presumptuous of me to ask this, but I saw in the group chat that you had mentioned that you wanted to take your mind off things, and I suppose I thought… that…well,” she said quietly, “sometimes it helps me to work on problems I can control, when things feel too big.”

“Yeah,” Sea managed, when she felt like she wasn’t about to burst into tears. “I would like that, Jaehee. Thank you. Again.”

Jaehee breathed out for a beat, the noise shaky, but when she spoke again she was composed. Sea couldn’t help but feel admiration for how quickly Jaehee could so quickly deal with her emotions. She wished she had the same skill.

“Then,” Jaehee said, “Mr. Han contacted me earlier today to say that he and you had discussed the possibility that Echo Girl might try to get revenge on either him or Zen. Is that correct?”

“Yeah, it seems that earlier today she stormed into Jumin’s office and declared that she was going to get revenge on him, and when he ignored her she ran all the way to Zen’s place to announce the same,” Sea confirmed.

“She ran to Zen’s apartment?” Jaehee repeated, surprised. Sea nodded, feeling more energy come back to her when she began to think about the situation.

“I know, right?” She said. “That’s what makes me think that she might really be planning on doing something. People that go that far aren’t usually making empty threats.”

“That is very concerning,” Jaehee agreed. “I didn’t realize that she was so upset with the two of them. Do you know why she is so angry with Zen?”

Sea paused, staring blankly at the ceiling. Oh. Oh my god. Jaehee didn’t know…actually, now that she thought about it, had Zen told anyone other than her what Echo Girl had done? She…didn’t think so.

“Uh,” she stammered, “she, uh, she…” She took a deep breath. “She went to his house last night and, uh…. well, she, y’know,” oh my god put her out of her misery, “she tried to seduce him! As one does. When they’re an awful person. I assume. Jaehee, you’re not saying anything.” She paused for a second. There was absolute silence on the other line. “Jaehee, are you breathing?”

“She what,” Jaehee said, in a tone that suggested that perhaps it was a good thing this conversation wasn’t happening face to face. Sea wasn’t really into the whole idea of getting judo flipped.

“She tried to seduce him,” she repeated, and a part of her, deep down, reflected that Jaehee sounded a lot angrier about this happening than Sea had been. Sea had mostly been horrified, not angry.

There was a long pause. She was pretty sure Jaehee was doing breathing exercises. She was beginning to fear for her life.

“And what did Zen do?” Jaehee eventually asked, and Sea was glad to note that she no longer sounded like she was seconds away from strangling someone. Oh god. What if Jumin asked her to do another cat project when she was like this. Sea would be accidentally aiding a homicide oh my god.

“He turned her down,” Sea reported, “and then Echo Girl’s manager showed up and dragged her away. But I assume that getting turned down didn’t do anything nice to her ego, so…”

“She might wish to humiliate him as she felt he humiliated her,” Jaehee filled in the rest, sounding tired. “How petty.”

“Yup,” Sea agreed. “So that’s why I thought it might be a good idea to…head that off. Just in case.”

“I agree,” Jaehee said. “It was a good decision to speak with Mr. Han about your concerns. I will look into this personally—perhaps I could speak with her manager, see if they know anything…”

“Sounds good,” Sea said. “Seven’s really busy right now with everything, so he probably won’t be able to help, but you never know, right? It might be good to ask.”

“Mm,” Jaehee hummed. “I suppose. I do not wish to dump too much on Luciel right now, and currently your safety is the top priority. If I believe that something is likely to happen, then I will contact him.”

Sea somehow managed to speak around the lump that had magically appeared in her throat. “Thanks, Jaehee,” she smiled. “I’m glad you’re looking out for all of us.”

“Of course,” Jaehee replied, sounding like she was smiling too. “Oh,” she paused a moment later, thoughtful. “And Seasnan?”

“Yeah?”

Jaehee’s voice was like iron when she said, “If you ever find yourself in a difficult situation, please remember that the solar plexus is a very vulnerable target. Any forceful hit there will knock the breath from your attacker, which gives you valuable time to escape.”

Sea’s mouth opened, and then closed, and then opened again. “I’ll…keep that in mind,” she said at last. “Thanks.”

“Be safe,” Jaehee replied. “I’ll speak with you later.”

She hung up, and Sea spent a solid minute staring at her phone. Holy shit. Jaehee was fucking scary.

~

At some point, Claymore had gotten fed up with her continued moping and sat right on top of her, batting at her face until she was forced to move him away. And then, when it became apparent that she still had no intention of getting off the couch, he climbed back onto his perch (which was her throat, thanks) and pawed at her face again. And she moved him away again.

This continued on for a while, before eventually she just gave up and rolled onto the floor. Face down on the carpet, she grumbled something very rude under her breath about her cat and his stupid asshole ways. Her phone buzzed. She ignored it, hoping against hope that she could somehow managed to just melt into the floor and disappear. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like that would be happening anytime in the near future. Damn.

And then, of course, Claymore sat on her head. Because of course he did. What else did she expect.

“Really?” She demanded, her incredulity muffled by the carpet. “Haven’t I suffered enough?”

Claymore’s thoughtful, enlightened response was to start biting her hair. What a dick.

“Get off,” she complained, moving her head so that he lost his balance. He hopped to the ground, sneezed on her, and wandered away.

“You’re a dick!” She called after him. He merely flicked a tail as he disappeared into the darkness of the hallway beyond, probably to go eat children or steal the souls of the innocent.

Sighing, she levered herself off the floor, shuffling over to where her phone had been carefully placed on the coffee table before she’d attempted to become one with the couch.

Opening the RFA app, she saw that Seven had texted her something. Curious, she opened the message.

*707: Has anyone ever told you about the time that Jumin brought Elly to one of our parties?

*707: Zen kept sneezing. I even managed to get a picture of it!

*707: [photo76.jpg]

Indeed, there was a photo of Zen sneezing, crying from his allergies as he sneezed. It was…it was really adorable, actually. She thought she might feel bad, because he looked miserable, but it was just…so cute. She couldn’t stop herself from smiling.

Looking over the texts again, she could admit that they were pretty clumsily written. Seven wasn’t really someone who did comfort—she’d been pretty sure that he dealt with all emotions by pretending that they didn’t exist, actually. But here he was, attempting to comfort her. He’d noticed that she was upset, and was reaching out to her.

She glanced at the camera aimed at her. “Creepy,” she said, but she was still smiling.

~

*Seasnan: Zen?

*ZEN: Honey? Is something wrong?

Curled up once again on the couch, she found herself wishing with a sudden fierceness that Zen was here with her in the apartment. She knew that if he were here, the fear and anxiety that seemed to appear each time she was left to herself would lighten until she could finally breathe again.

But no matter how much she wanted him here, she would never say that out loud. She knew that if she asked him to come, he would ignore all of the reasons that Seven had given for why no one should know where the apartment was. He would ignore all of the danger inherent in leaving his apartment when he was injured and Unknown could be anywhere. He would go to her.

And that was precisely why she couldn’t ask him.

*Seasnan: No, nothing’s wrong.

*Seasnan: I just wanted to make sure you got home alright.

*Seasnan: Did you have to beat anyone off with your crutch?

*ZEN: NO

She snickered. The idea of it was just so entertaining to her, for whatever reason. Zen, with one leg in a cast, hobbling along and hitting Unknown with his crutch. It was a very fulfilling image.

*Seasnan: Aww.

*ZEN: Babe, sometimes you worry me.

*Seasnan: At least I’m not at risk of blowing myself up

There was a pause in his typing, as she imagined him staring down at his phone, face red and embarrassed.

*ZEN: I’M NOT IN DANGER OF BLOWING MYSELF UP

*Seasnan: You’re a menace to cooking everywhere

*ZEN: That was one time, Sea!! Once!

Laughing, she shook her head in amusement.

*Seasnan: Do you really expect me to believe that the man who can burn water can actually cook something without risking bodily harm?

She watched as the “…” symbol appeared and disappeared next to Zen’s profile picture.

*Seasnan: Your silence says it all

*ZEN: Uuuughhh;;

*ZEN: Oh, honey, guess what happened at the hospital!

*Seasnan: You got your cast off?

It might’ve just been her, but she was pretty sure the pause that came when he was typing his reply felt vaguely bemused.

*ZEN: Why must you always make fun of me…

He sent a crying emoji. She actually had not realized that they could send emojis through text on the app. The amount of opportunities she had missed…she clenched a fist, rage burning through her. Goddammit.

She recovered a moment later, typing back.

*Seasnan: Cause it’s fun

*Seasnan: You make it really easy

He sent the crying emoji again.

*ZEN: Babe!

*Seasnan: It’s the truth!

*Seasnan: Anyway, what happened at the hospital?

*ZEN: Oh, a nurse came up to me and told me that she’s never seen anyone so handsome in her life

*ZEN: That she thought she fell asleep and was dreaming at work…;;

*ZEN: Sea…do you think…that my looks interfere with other peoples’ lives?

She narrowed her eyes at the screen, lips curling at the corners. Wow. Wow. Not even a day like this could stop Zen’s narcissism. In a way, it was kind of inspiring.

Only kind of, though.

*Seasnan: You’re looking at yourself in the mirror right now, aren’t you

*ZEN: Sea!

She snorted, breaking out into helpless laughter. Oh my god. She could see the offended look on his face.

*Seasnan: I knew it. You were making kissy faces at yourself, right?

*ZEN: Babe…you’re the worst…

*Seasnan: I notice that you aren’t actually denying any of these claims

*ZEN: UUUGH

Snickering, she rolled her eyes.

*Seasnan: You’re beautiful, Zen. Anyone can see that.

*ZEN: That…

*ZEN: Aren’t guys usually called handsome?;;

*Seasnan: You are

*Seasnan: But you’re also beautiful

She waited patiently for his response. She wasn’t entirely sure how he’d take the ‘beautiful’ comment; in America, masculinity could be a very sensitive topic. Most men didn’t want to be called beautiful. But she’d always thought that beauty was something that anyone could have, regardless of gender…and when she thought of Zen, hair glowing under the light of the stars, smiling so gently at her…the only word that came to mind was ‘beautiful.’

Eventually, he wrote back.

*ZEN: Is it wrong if that…makes me happy?

She smiled warmly, pressing the phone to her chest as if by bringing it closer to heart, Zen could somehow feel the affection that was welling up inside her.

*Seasnan: No.

*Seasnan: There’s nothing wrong with being beautiful

*ZEN: How do you…always know the right thing to say?

Before she could answer, there was another message.

*ZEN: I told you already, that when I was young my family would tell me that I was ugly

Sea’s eyes saddened, the soft smile gaining a mournful curve. She knew. It still upset her, that Zen had been taught to be so critical of himself so young.

*Seasnan: Yeah

*ZEN: I had a very low sense of self-esteem back then…

*ZEN: My brother told me that my parents were trying to protect me because I was so pretty

*ZEN: Because after I realized, it was impossible to be a “normal ace student” like they wanted

The typing message came up, and then it disappeared. She watched, concerned, as it appeared once again, and then once again vanished.

*Seasnan: Zen? Are you okay?

*ZEN: What am I doing…?

*ZEN: Sea, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking at all…

*ZEN: Talking about this, when you have so much you’re already worried about

*ZEN: I’m sorry. I was just so caught up in myself

When it seemed like he would just keep going, she cut in.

*Seasnan: Zen, it’s all right

*Seasnan: I’m glad you’re talking about this with me, actually

*ZEN: You are…? But with everything going on with Unknown…

*Seasnan: I hate to tell you, but I’ve kind of just been sitting around the apartment all day, scared out of my wits

*Seasnan: So actually, this is a nice change

*ZEN: Babe…

She sighed, rolling her eyes. Directing an exasperated glance at Claymore, who sat licking himself in the windowsill, she muttered, “Honestly.”

*Seasnan: I told you before, right? I’m happy that you feel safe enough to talk about your family with me.

*Seasnan: You don’t have to talk about these things if you don’t want to

*Seasnan: But if you do, you don’t have to worry about stressing me out with your problems

*Seasnan: That’s what caring for people is about, you know?

*Seasnan: Telling them your worries, and listening to theirs

*ZEN: You’re too good to me, Sea

She frowned, eyes narrowing. That sounded dangerously self-depreciating, and would not be accepted.

*Seasnan: No.

*Seasnan: You deserve all the kindness I give you, and you are not allowed to think otherwise

*ZEN: Not…allowed…?;;

*Seasnan: You are very dear to me, Zen

Her cheeks were steadily becoming red as she stared at that last message. It was true, dammit, but it made her feel so vulnerable. Taking a deep breath, her fingers pressed the keys steadily.

*Seasnan: And I don’t want you thinking you don’t deserve my kindness or my goodness

*Seasnan: You are someone who I treasure, and I never want you to forget that.

Biting nervously at her lip, she struggled with the urge to just chuck her phone at the wall and never read his response. What if she’d gone too far? It was all true, she knew, knew how strange it was that someone had become so great a part of her in such a short amount of time. It was completely possible that his feelings just weren’t as deep.

But that was okay, because that wasn’t the point. The point was that she cared for him so deeply, and she wanted him to know that. She never wanted him to think that he was undeserving.

At last, her phone buzzed. All but shaking with nerves, she read the text.

*ZEN: God, Sea…

*ZEN: You mean so much to me

*ZEN: I’m so glad I met you

The relief that washed over her was so overwhelming that she struggled to breathe for a moment, placing a hand over her mouth. Her eyes prickled, watered, but she stubbornly fought the tears away. Oh, but god. Thank god.

*Seasnan: I’m glad I met you, too

She sniffed, composing herself. They’d veered wildly off topic, and into some rather emotional territory, but that was all right. She felt better for it, actually.

*Seasnan: So, you were saying. About your family?

*ZEN: I’ve…I’ve been thinking about trying to reach out to them

*ZEN: I remember what you said before, about one of us being able to go home

*ZEN: Sea…do you think I should?

She wiped at her eyes, a tremulous smile growing on her face.

*Seasnan: I think it’s worth a shot

*Seasnan: No matter what, you have a family in the RFA

*Seasnan: And you’ll always have me backing you up

*Seasnan: So if you want to, then do it

*ZEN: But what if they don’t want to talk to me?

She considered that, lips thinning. It was a reasonable question; if his parents had been so dead set against him pursuing any career in the arts, then they likely wouldn’t change their minds just because he’d achieved a modicum of success.

*Seasnan: I think the most important thing to ask yourself is this:

*Seasnan: if you don’t at least try, will you regret it?

*ZEN: …I think so.

*Seasnan: Then you have your answer.

*ZEN: You’re so smart, Sea. What would I do without you?

*Seasnan: Crash and burn

Shoulders shaking, she couldn’t help but laugh and laugh and laugh at his reply.

*ZEN: THE WORST. THE WORST OH MY GOD

*Seasnan: But am I wrong??

The silence on the other end was very telling, and she was once again sputtering with laughter.

After a while of aimless talking, Zen announced that his director was calling him about the part he’d turned down a couple of days ago. Bidding him good luck, she clicked her phone off and laid back on the couch, putting her feet up on the coffee table. She felt lighter than she had all day. Zen always made her feel better.

Picking up the remote that had been sitting on the coffee table since the first day in the apartment, she clicked on the TV. She actually hadn’t used the thing in the time she’d been here; she’d always been so busy, either talking to the RFA on the messenger, or planning the party, or doing her actual job. But now she had nothing to do, so she supposed she could take an hour or two to luxuriate in the mindless entertainment of primetime television.

Clicking on the TV, she noted that it had been set to a news station. Maybe Rika had liked watching the news? Sea always thought that it was depressing. Too much bad stuff in the world going on.

Currently, it seemed there were two hosts to a celebrity section, a man and a woman, both sporting grim expressions. Despite herself, Sea felt curiosity wash over her. Leaning forward, she finally noticed the words running across the bottom of the screen, and suddenly it felt like all the air in the room had been sucked out.

“What…” she managed, her voice shaky.

There, in tiny characters, was Actor Hyun Ryu, stage name Zen, sexually harasses Echo Girl. And, as if the universe wanted to drive home to her that she hadn’t somehow jumbled up what the characters meant, there was a picture of Zen in one of his costumes up on stage shown on the screen.

They were playing a voice clip from no other than Echo Girl, was saying, “…he kept forcing me into his house. He said he wanted to check whether or not my breasts were real…”

Sea felt so, so sick. God, she was such an idiot. She’d thought that Echo Girl had been serious about her revenge talk, but she’d…she never thought the girl would go this far…

Zen. Oh, god, Zen. He was going to see this. The entirety of South Korea was going to see this. Echo Girl was a nationally celebrated singer. This was insane.

Over the sound of the news reporters seriously discussing this…this farce was the sound of a song playing…everything blurred in her ears. Was that…?

It was. It was her phone. She had an incoming call.

Hands shaking, she picked it up. Zen. Zen.

“Babe,” he said, his voice shaking. “Sea.”

“I saw,” she said. She was shocked to find that her voice was calm. There was no sign of distress. “Zen, it’s alrigh— “

“It’s not alright!” He burst out, desperate, anger and fear and a despair so deep it cut her open mixing in his words. “It’s not…” he sobbed, honest to god sobbed over the phone. “I… everything I worked for…for so long…Sea,” he said, helpless, “it’s all ruined.”

And Sea. Sea sat there, on her couch, confined in an apartment where the ghost of a girl haunted the halls, and she thought. And she realized. And she planned.

“No,” she said softly. “It’s not.”

Gently, ever so gently, she told him, “I’m going to hang up right now. I promise I’ll call you back soon. Don’t worry. I already planned for this.”

“What—?” Zen tried, but she pressed the ‘end call’ button, mind racing. Grimly, she scrolled through her contacts and pressed call.

“Seven,” she said when the line was finally picked up. “I know you’re busy, but I need a favor.”

~

Laying on her bed that night, she wondered if she’d made the right choice. Would this help or hurt? Would this turn out as she wished? Would Zen be okay? Would she be okay?

And, of course, she wondered about Unknown. Was he coming here, or was she just paranoid? What would happen if he did show up? What could she do? Why did a goddamn charity organization have so many mysteries?

But mostly, she wondered, strangely, about her family. Were they doing alright? Did they miss her? Would they ever welcome her back?

She thought that the answer was probably no. But she wasn’t quite sure, and she thought—she thought that maybe, if she never at least tried, she’d always regret it.

After this was all over, she resolved, she'd call her mom. She thought maybe she could be brave enough for that.

Chapter Text

She woke up to the noise of her alarm clock, opening her eyes to groggily stare at the ceiling. Confused, she glanced at her clock.

7:05 am, it read in blocky red numbers. She stared at it for a moment, uncomprehending. Had she…actually managed to sleep through a night?

…holy shit.

Claymore meowed, batting at her hand from where he was curled up beside her, and she obediently shut off the alarm. Climbing out of bed, she thoughtlessly went through her morning routine; go to the bathroom, brush her teeth, make toast, put the kettle to boil for tea…

Autopilot got her through all of her necessities, and then she stalled out in the middle of washing dishes. She…didn’t know what to do now. She had to go to work. She had to…call Zen. She had to do…something.

The events of the day stretched forward before her, and she found herself suddenly so incredibly tired that it took everything in her to not just fall back into bed and sleep through it all. But she couldn’t do that. There were people that needed her right now, and she would be there for them no matter what.

Picking up her phone from where she’d left it charging last night, she checked the chatroom for anything she’d missed.

She grimaced at all the chats that had happened in her absence. It wasn’t surprising, really, but she still felt bad that she hadn’t been there. Why did they all have such awful sleep schedules, anyway? It was actually making her feel bad for getting a decent night’s sleep.

Shaking her head, she placed her phone down again and instead made herself really think about what she had to accomplish today. First things first: work.

Should she go? The situation with the hacker hadn’t changed at all from yesterday, as far as she knew. There was still the possibility that if she left the apartment, she could be kidnapped. It was probably better to call in another sick day.

Besides, she had…other things to do today.

Grimacing, she dutifully dialed her work and explained that she still didn’t feel any better than she did yesterday, of course she’d be willing to do the work from her home, and yes, she was sure she’d be feeling better soon, thank you for the concern.

After finishing with that she logged into the chatroom to see how everyone was doing. It seemed that Jaehee was the only one currently in the chatroom.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Seasnan, how are you doing?

*[Seasnan]: Alright, thank you. I’m surprised I managed to sleep with everything that’s happened…

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, I found myself having a hard time sleeping as well.

*[Jaehee Kang]: To think that something like this could happen to Zen…

She sent a sighing emoji.

*[Seasnan]: Was he on the chat earlier? Do you know how he’s doing?

*[Jaehee Kang]: I believe he said he was going for a ride on his motorcycle…

*[Jaehee Kang]: I’m worried he’ll get hurt

Sea frowned.

*[Seasnan]: It’s not a good idea to go on a motorcycle if you’re upset. Too much chance you’ll get into an accident

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, I agree

*[Jaehee Kang]: I hope he cheers up soon, though I know it won’t be easy

Sea drummed her fingers against her thigh, biting her lip.

*[Seasnan]: Jaehee, by the way…

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes?

*[Seasnan]: Yesterday we actually talked a bit about Echo Girl’s possible revenge, and you mentioned that you’d start preparing for if that actually happened

*[Seasnan]: Is there any chance that you…managed to do anything with that yet?

She knew it was a long shot; Jaehee was a miracle worker for sure, but she wasn’t a god. And yet, still Sea hoped that maybe through the sheer force of fangirlish rage, Jaehee would find some way to defend Zen from the accusations thrown at him.

*[Jaehee Kang]: No, I’m sorry…

*[Jaehee Kang]: I’ve been working through the night to try and think of something, but I’ve found myself at a blank…

*[Jaehee Kang]: There’s just no way to corroborate the story one way or the other when the only evidence is the statements of the involved parties

She breathed out a heavy sigh, shoulders slumping. Hearing that was disheartening, to say the least. If Jaehee couldn’t do it, who could?

But, well, it wasn’t like she could just give up. And Sea had never been the kind of person to put all her eggs in one basket, anyway.

*[Seasnan]: That’s alright, Jaehee

*[Seasnan]: I really appreciate you working so hard. I’m sure you must be tired

*[Jaehee Kang]: I am actually quite used to this ^^

…sometimes, Sea was really surprised that Jaehee hadn’t judo flipped Jumin by now.

*[Seasnan]: I…appreciate it anyway?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Of course.

*[Jaehee Kang]: …I do not wish to say this, but…

*[Jaehee Kang]: I think that it will likely be difficult…for Zen to continue as an actor

Sea swallowed, nervously starting to pick at her hangnails. She…well, Jaehee wasn’t wrong, of course, but still…acting was what Zen loved. What he lived for. If that got taken away from him…

The worst part, Sea thought, was that Echo Girl didn’t seem to be planning to press charges. If she had been, then though the court case would have been hell on Zen’s reputation, the evidence would’ve been wholly in his favor, and she had no doubt he would come out victorious.

But instead Echo Girl had just levelled the accusation, and without any way to prove her wrong Zen’s career would end before he could even try to defend himself. And she couldn’t let that happen.

*[Seasnan]: I know that things will be hard…but Zen’s worked too hard to let this stop him

*[Seasnan]: I have to believe that he won’t give up

*[Jaehee Kang]: I’ve talked often about how important reputation is to actors…I’m worried that Zen will be hurt

*[Jaehee Kang]: I think it will be difficult for Zen to come back to the musical industry

*[Seasnan]: What about if we can prove that Echo Girl’s lying? Do you think he’ll be able to make a comeback then?

There was a little pause between her message and Jaehee’s, like Jaehee was trying to comprehend her meaning.

*[Jaehee Kang]: If we could prove without a doubt that Zen didn’t harass Echo Girl, then I think it’s possible…

*[Jaehee Kang]: But like I said, I’ve found no way to do that so far

*[Seasnan]: I don’t want to confirm anything now, just in case I’m not right

*[Seasnan]: But I think Seven might be able to find something that’ll help

*[Jaehee Kang]: Really?!

She sent her gasping emoji.

*[Jaehee Kang]: What is it?

*[Seasnan]: Like I said, I’m not certain…

*[Seasnan]: But when I went to visit Zen, I noticed that there’s a camera in the hallway outside the apartments

*[Seasnan]: If Seven can hack into it and get the video footage proving that Zen didn’t touch Echo Girl…

*[Seasnan]: I’m sure we could prove without a shadow of a doubt that he’s innocent

*[Jaehee Kang]: I see!

*[Jaehee Kang]: And here I was making plans to change Zen’s stage name or to have him go into a different form of acting…

Sea let out a little laugh.

*[Seasnan]: You’re prepared for everything, aren’t you, Jaehee?

*[Jaehee Kang]: Not everything, unfortunately

*[Jaehee Kang]: But hopefully enough

*[Jaehee Kang]: While I’m hesitant to dump more on Luciel, especially when he’s busy trying to find the hacker…

*[Jaehee Kang]: I do hope that he has enough time for this

*[Jaehee Kang]: If not, I don’t think that Zen will be able to continue acting…

*[Seasnan]: I’m sure it won’t come to that

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, you’re right

*[Jaehee Kang]: I will try to find more ways to prove Zen’s innocence, as well

*[Jaehee Kang]: We shouldn’t leave it all on Luciel

*[Seasnan]: Good idea. I wish I could help more…

*[Jaehee Kang]: You are helping much more than you know

*[Jaehee Kang]: I know that I have been…critical of your relationship…

*[Jaehee Kang]: But I am truly glad you’re there for him

Sea, feeling her heart clench with a strange mix of happiness and sadness, smiled.

*[Seasnan]: Thank you, Jaehee

*[Seasnan]: That means a lot to me

*[Jaehee Kang]: Of course

*[Jaehee Kang]: I must head to work now. Please be safe.

*[Seasnan]: I will. Cheer up, Jaehee. Everything will turn out fine!

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes, if you say so…I will believe it

*[Jaehee Kang]: I will speak with you later

Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.

Sea placed her phone down again, leaning back on the couch. Trying to project confidence was exhausting. She was sure that Seven would be able to pull the necessary footage from the camera, but the fact remained that she had no idea what the hell to do with the footage once he’d retrieved it.

Well, she was sure that if they just gave it to Jaehee, somehow it’d wind up doing as it was meant to. How they’d get from point A to point B was a bit more up in the air for her.

The fact that Zen was riding a motorcycle right now was still worrying her. She knew that he’d had the thing for years and knew how to drive it, but still…it was never a good idea to drive when upset, and Zen was so far beyond upset he was probably in “emotionally compromised” territory right now.

And here she was, stuck in an apartment and unable to check on him like she wanted to. Ugh.

Pulling out her laptop, she decided that if she was going to have to stay inside all day again, she was going to at least be productive. She could get her work done and then answer the emails that’d been sent to her over the night, and then she’d definitely be in a better place of mind to think critically about what to do.

…well, or that’s what she had thought. Twenty minutes later she’d barely typed four sentences, too busy constantly glancing over at her phone in the vain hope that Zen would call her and tell her that he was alright. She didn’t want to call him, in case he tried to answer while driving…but no, motorcycles were different from cars. She doubted he’d even be able to tell if she was trying to call him while he was driving, he’d be so focused on the road.

Did that…mean it was alright…?

Psyching herself up, she logged back into the RFA app and pressed call on Zen’s contact number.

It rang once, twice, three times, before going to voice mail. Frowning, she sighed before placing her phone down again and turning back to her work. Of course he wouldn’t answer. He had so much on his mind, he must want time to himself. She’d call again later.

Work was slow going, frustratingly so. Her mind drifted back to Zen every couple of minutes despite herself, wondering how he was doing, where he was, how she could help him. She’d never been in a relationship before, and though she’d of course felt concern for the ones she loved, it’d never been so intense that she couldn’t focus on anything else.

It was pretty annoying, honestly.

After about an hour of ever-so-slowly going through her work, she decided to take a much needed break. Logging back onto the messenger, she saw that Jumin and Yoosung were currently in the chatroom.

*[Seasnan]: Hey, you two. How’s everything?

*[Yoosung]: Sea!!

He sent a crying emoji, so things probably weren’t good.

*[Yoosung]: I’m so worried about Zen…I tried to call him earlier, but he didn’t pick up…

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, I did the same earlier, and I went to voicemail too

*[Yoosung]: Wow…if even you went to voicemail, he must be somewhere that he can’t receive calls

She smiled quietly. Yoosung always managed to make her feel better. It must be his special talent.

*[Seasnan]: I just think he needs a bit of time to himself…but I hope he’s okay

*[Jumin Han]: Hm. He drinks, smokes, and now he is riding his motorcycle again…

*[Jumin Han]: He is the worst

She snorted, amused despite herself. Jesus, Jumin, don’t hold back.

*[Seasnan]: Well, I wouldn’t say that…

*[Seasnan]: In this circumstance, it’s understandable that he’s upset

*[Seasnan]: I just hope he’s careful…

*[Yoosung]: I just wish we knew where he was

*[Yoosung]: I’d worry a lot less if I knew that Zen was somewhere safe

*[Jumin Han]: I’m all but certain I know where he is

Surprised, Sea paused, blinking.

*[Seasnan]: You do? Where?

*[Jumin Han]: I know of a place, sort of his secret place, I suppose

Zen had a secret place? He hadn’t mentioned that to her yet. It must be very important to him, if he went there in a situation like this.

She firmly shoved down the bit of envy in her. Zen would show her when he wanted to, and she wouldn’t be upset that he hadn’t mentioned it before. They’d known each other for nine days, for god’s sake!

*[Yoosung]: How do you know that, Jumin?

*[Jumin Han]: That’s…because that is the place where I first met Zen

*[Yoosung]: You met him for the first time at his secret place??

*[Jumin Han]: Yes

*[Jumin Han]: The coordinates pointed to the middle of the mountains, so I thought he was going to kidnap me…but instead it turned out to be his secret place

…Jumin thought Zen was…going to kidnap him?

…and he still went with him??

*[Jumin Han]: I offered him many suggestions, like that I’d support his study abroad if he let me be his sponsor, or that I could help him debut as a musical actor

*[Jumin Han]: I even offered to pay his tuition…but he refused me, saying he didn’t even go to school

Sea felt dizzy just from reading that. Holy shit, that kind of offer…that was what people literally dreamed about. That was one of the most generous things she’d ever heard in her life.

*[Seasnan]: …and he turned you down completely, didn’t he;;

*[Jumin Han]: You know him well

She sighed. She definitely would’ve taken that offer, if he’d given it to her. Pay for all her tuition…she could’ve gone to grad school right after college. Goddammit.

*[Yoosung]: You offered all of that yourself??

*[Jumin Han]: No, Rika asked me to

*[Jumin Han]: She wanted Zen to pursue his dreams on a larger stage, so I was going to make an investment

*[Jumin Han]: Of course, I was rejected, so it ended up being a waste of time

She could feel the bitterness rolling off that statement. Oh, Jumin.

*[Seasnan]: Well, like I said, back then he had thought very…particularly about you

Jumin sent a sighing emoji.

*[Jumin Han]: Yes, I know

*[Jumin Han]: In the future, I will ensure that all offers are based solely on his talent

*[Yoosung]: Right, I remember when Rika first met Zen…

*[Yoosung]: She said that Zen’s acting was so passionate that she could feel her soul being drawn in

*[Yoosung]: She really wanted the best for him

*[Seasnan]: Rika…seems like she helped a lot of people

*[Seasnan]: I wish I could have met her

*[Yoosung]: She would’ve loved you…I’m sure you would’ve been the best of friends

*[Jumin Han]: Yes, I am also sure that Seasnan and Rika would’ve gotten along well

Sea bit her lip, feeling bad despite herself. She was the one who had said that—and meant it, sincerely—but she felt that it added even more sadness and nostalgia to the conversation.

*[Seasnan]: Was Rika the one to invite Zen into the RFA?

*[Yoosung]: Actually, that was V!

*[Yoosung]: Zen didn’t want to join at first, but V managed to convince him

*[Yoosung]: Rika was really happy when Zen became a member

*[Jumin Han]: Rika really admired Zen

*[Jumin Han]: She and V were very fond of him

*[Jumin Han]: I never really understood

Well…Zen did treat V very differently than he treated Jumin, so she could see why that would be. Still, though…

*[Yoosung]: Yeah, Rika was a huge fan of his

*[Yoosung]: And V was always talking about how much he wanted to photograph Zen

Zen was very photogenic. Sea could understand the urge.

*[Jumin Han]: Speaking of V, he called me a bit earlier to ask what was going on with Zen

*[Seasnan]: Really?

*[Yoosung]: V????

*[Jumin Han]: Yes. I thought he didn’t watch the news, but he must’ve found out somehow

*[Jumin Han]: If the news has reached even V, though he is currently travelling, then the news station must be fairly powerful

*[Jumin Han]: I may have underestimated the situation

That’s great. Just what she wanted to hear right now.

*[Jumin Han]: I will prepare materials to put a stop to all of this

That…was much better. Faith restored.

*[Yoosung]: You’re going to attack Echo Girl?!

*[Jumin Han]: Yes

*[Seasnan]: Jaehee mentioned earlier that she was also working on stopping Echo Girl

*[Seasnan]: If you speak with her, she might have some ideas already

*[Jumin Han]: Yes, I will do so

*[Jumin Han]: Has Luciel contacted you on your plan yet?

Oh. Sea hadn’t actually realized that the two of them had read that conversation.

*[Seasnan]: Not yet. I don’t want to bother him, since he’s so busy

*[Seasnan]: I figure if he doesn’t reach out to me in the next hour or so I’ll check on him

*[Yoosung]: I feel bad for Seven…he’s still dealing with the hacker, too

*[Jumin Han]: There’s nothing to be done about it

*[Jumin Han]: We will have to put our faith in Luciel

*[Seasnan]: …did that hurt?

*[Yoosung]: Sea lolol

*[Jumin Han]: I seem to have developed a sudden headache

She giggled lightly, glancing up at the camera that was trained on her. She wondered when Seven would come onto the chat and see that. She was the sure the response would be…

Well, he’d probably just whine about it to her, actually. Though that would be pretty amusing in of itself.

*[Jumin Han]: It cannot be helped

*[Jumin Han]: V mentioned earlier that when he spoke with Seven, he was already gathering evidence, so I am sure he’s already working on your proposal

Damn, Seven was fast. Had he even slept last night? She really would have to check on him later.

*[Seasnan]: That’s good to hear

*[Yoosung]: Also, I heard of this guy called “Black Kitty” who investigates false rumors spread by the media…

*[Yoosung]: Do you think he’d be willing to help Zen?

*[Jumin Han]: With I, Assistant Kang, Seasnan and Luciel all working together, I doubt we will need anyone else…

*[Jumin Han]: It might be good to invite him to the party, though

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, tell him to shoot me an email

*[Yoosung]: Yay!

She bit her lip, thoughtfully wondering about whether or not Jumin would agree to another request. Noticing his relationship with Zen, he might resist…but they had begun to repair it yesterday…

She’d just have to go for it, she decided. You never succeeded in the things you didn’t try, or something like that.

*[Seasnan]: Jumin, also…if you know where the place is that Zen is right now…

*[Seasnan]: Would it be possible for you to check on him?

*[Seasnan]: I know you’re busy right now, but I want to make sure he’s okay

*[Jumin Han]: …I doubt he’d want me to be there

*[Yoosung]: But the two of you started really talking yesterday, right?

*[Yoosung]: I’m sure he wouldn’t be upset to see you

Yoosung was the best wingman ever. What a bro.

*[Seasnan]: Yeah, exactly!

*[Seasnan]: I think it might also give the two of you some real time to just talk to each other, like I was telling you

*[Seasnan]: I won’t pressure you on it, but consider it, alright?

*[Jumin Han]: …I will consider it

*[Jumin Han]: Then, I must return to work. Seasnan, Yoosung.

*[Yoosung]: Bye, Jumin!

*[Seasnan]: Remember to take breaks between working!

*[Jumin Han]: Yes.

Jumin logged out, and soon afterwards Yoosung’s professor caught him on his phone during the lecture and (presumably) took away his phone, so Sea logged out of the chatroom. She turned, with a feeling of dread deep within her, back to her laptop. Even more emails awaited her, along with the rest of her actual work.

…it was going to be a long day.

~

After another couple of hours of work and a couple of chats with other people, Sea found that she’d completed all her translations for the day. Fist pumping into the air, she finally got off the couch to make herself something to eat.

Claymore meowed at her from where he’d been perching on the top of the kitchen counter for the past hour. She didn’t know why he did the things he did. Cats were weird.

Zen still wasn’t answering his phone, so she was assuming that he was still at his secret place, wherever that was. Somewhere in the mountains, Jumin had said. She hadn’t known there were mountains nearby.

She wondered if maybe Zen would like to go hiking with her sometime. She’d liked going hiking back in America, but she’d never had the chance once she moved to Korea. Hopefully the terrain wouldn’t be too difficult.

It was only when she glanced at the clock and did a double-take that she realized exactly how much time had passed; it’d been three hours already.

Fuck. She needed to call Seven and see how he was doing.

Drumming her fingers against the kitchen counter, she clicked on his contact picture and waited as her phone dialed.

“Ah, Sea,” Seven said, voice cheery, “nice timing! I was just going to go on the messenger—“

“What’ve you eaten today?” She interrupted him blandly.

“…ah, what?”

“What have. You eaten. Today,” she repeated, as patiently as she could.

The nervous silence that followed really said it all. She sighed; just like she’d thought.

“Go make yourself something to eat,” she commanded, glaring at the camera.

“God Seven-Zero-Seven doesn’t need to eat!” He laughed. “I have my precious Honey Buddha Chips and Ph.D. Pepper— “

“Either you eat, or I tell Zen about the camera you installed in his apartment hallway,” she offered.

“Ah—wait, how did you--?!”

“The camera in his hallway was the exact same make and model as the kind that’s in the hallway outside this apartment. And the one in the apartment,” she explained, holding three fingers up and ticking off them as she went. “The camera moved to follow me when I walked past it. Also…you just confirmed it.”

“You played me!!” He gasped, sounding mortally offended. She rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell Zen!” Seven begged, sounding comically on the verge of tears. “He’ll never let me hear the end of it!!”

“Neither would Yoosung, I bet,” she continued serenely. “Or Jaehee. Or Jumin. Noticing you did the same thing to all of them, too, right?”

“…Jumin already had a security system,” Seven muttered, and she was absolutely certain he was pouting. She rolled her eyes.

“Right, then you definitely hacked it at least.”

“Don’t tell them,” he said again, though he sounded a bit more serious now. “How’ll I see my precious Elly if they take the cameras down??”

She refrained from pointing out how only one of those cameras would let him see Elizabeth the 3^rd; the rest were exclusively for keeping an eye on the RFA members. Seven really had a thing for watching over his friends without them knowing, huh. She wondered if that came with the territory of being a secret agent, or if Seven just went above and beyond the normal level of strangeness.

“Well,” she compromised, “better get something to eat then, huh?”

“Don’t you want to hear about what I’m doing with Echo Girl?” He complained, though she could hear noises that indicated he was moving around now.

“Yeah,” she admitted. “I do. But not nearly as much as I want to make sure that you’re taking care of yourself.”

“I take care of myself!”

“If you say so,” she said with clear doubt in her voice.

Muttering unkind phrases under his breath, Seven proceeded to loudly narrate himself making a sandwich, and then eating said sandwich. Sea applauded sarcastically when the deed was done.

“Good job,” she said, wiping a fake tear from her eye. “Maybe soon we’ll be able to move on to basic hygiene and how much water a day you’re supposed to drink.”

Seven groaned. “Do you do this to Zen, too?”

“Zen takes care of himself without me blackmailing him into it,” she replied, amused—until she remembered the whole ‘stare at Zen until he went grocery shopping with her’ thing.

…she wasn’t gonna bring that up.

“Bzzt!” Seven made a buzzer noise, like she’d answered wrong on a spelling bee or something. “All he drinks is beer,” Seven said, “and he orders takeout more than he goes to the grocery store!”

Sea stayed silent, letting the both of them absorb that. “But you definitely don’t keep track of everyone, right?”

There was a pause.

“…shut up,” Seven replied.

She laughed, and a moment later she could hear him laughing quietly too. “Don’t worry,” she said. “Your secret’s safe with me.”

“As long as I eat?”

“And drink enough water,” she confirmed.

“So merciless,” he sniffed. After a moment he recovered, asking, “Can I tell you about Echo Girl now?”

 “I suppose,” she said snootily, gesturing with a hand for him to continue.

“Your graciousness knows no bounds,” Seven said.

“I know. I’m a saint,” she posed like she was praying for a second, before her face assumed a deadpan expression. He gasped excitedly.

“Saint Seasnan! Please bless me with the ability to complete work on time!”

“I bless you,” she said benevolently.

“Now I can definitely find out everything about Echo Girl!”

Sea blinked at that, surprised. “You’re doing a background check on her?” That made sense, she supposed. Echo Girl had managed to pull this entire thing off rather smoothly; she wouldn’t be surprised if the woman had actually done this to someone else before.

“Mm-hm,” Seven agreed. “I’ve been looking for things she’s done in the past that she wouldn’t want people knowing about. That way if she keeps pressing this, I can blackmail her into stopping.”

Sea did her best to compose her expression, but felt that she might still be gaping blankly at the wall. Holy shit. That was…

Seven had just straight-up admitted that he was willing to blackmail someone to protect Zen. He’d said it so casually, without even thinking that maybe it would be a surprise. She was reminded once again that he was quite literally a secret agent. If blackmail was something that he’d easily talk about, exactly how far would he go if he had to?

…she felt kind of queasy. It wouldn’t get that far; she was sure it wouldn’t.

Still. Better to make sure.

“What about the camera footage?” She asked, glad that her voice was steady. And that she wasn’t currently looking at the camera, so Seven couldn’t see her face.

“It shows Zen and Echo Girl talking, and then Zen clearly shuts the door on her and she leaves,” Seven said. “I’m thinking of doing what I did with his debut song; putting it as an ad on Metube that people can’t skip.”

Sea hummed. “That might work,” she said. “But people can download videos pretty easily these days. What if someone just downloads it and edits it to make it look like Zen did assault Echo Girl?”

“Oh,” Seven said, surprised. “That’s true. Hm, in that case…why don’t I add a little feature where if someone tries to edit the video, their computer will fry?”

Time and time she was reminded, and time and time she forgot again, but Seven really was scary when he wanted to be. She got the feeling that the whole reason for him being so cheery and playful all the time was because he didn’t want any of them to remember exactly how terrifying he could be.

“That would work,” she agreed. “How difficult would it be to do that?”

There were some clacking noises as Seven probably typed something on his computer. “Not more than a couple of hours!”

“Awesome,” she smiled, aiming a thumbs up at the camera. From the little laugh, she knew he’d seen it. “Why don’t we start with that, and if she still doesn’t stop then we can consider other options?”

“Sounds good to me,” easily agreed Seven, and she felt a wave of relief through her. She may hate Echo Girl with every fiber of her being, but she didn’t particularly think it a good idea to let Seven blackmail anyone for them.

“Alright. Try to get some sleep later, okay?”

“You really like mother-henning people, don’t you?” Seven asked rhetorically.

She flushed. “I wouldn’t need to if you would take care of yourself!”

“I’m fine,” Seven dismissed her protest, though his tone was warm. “You don’t need to worry about me so much, Sea.”

“Worrying’s your job, right?” She said knowledgably, and as he spluttered she continued, “I know you don’t understand why I worry. But do it for me anyway, alright?”

There was a sigh, drawn out for so long that it could only be teasing. “If Saint Seasnan asks me…”

She put her hands together again, making doe eyes at the camera. “Oh please, God Seven, won’t you grant my wish and get some sleep?”

“If my disciple asks it of me, I must obey!” He laughed. “God Seven will complete his work and sleep!”

She cheered, before saying goodbye and letting him get back to his work.

Sea found herself glad that Seven was at least willing to take care of himself if she asked him to, even if he didn’t seem to care enough either way to do it without prompting. Worrying, but manageable. She could work on that more after this whole fiasco had blown over.

After that, she spent much of her time just laying around reading. There wasn’t much else to do, really. The apartment was small, and it wasn’t like she’d been planning on being trapped here for days on end when she’d brought over her stuff. Other than her books, there wasn’t much in the way of entertainment.

Without her permission, her worries and doubts started creeping in again. She wondered about when Unknown would make his next move. There was no way of telling really, unless Seven warned her. And now that Seven had yet another thing on his plate, she doubted he’d be able to give her any advanced notice on the hacker moving in.

She’d…probably be on her own for this one. It was a good thing she’d decided to bring her baseball bat over to Rika’s apartment, for some…extra insurance.

Just in case.

When she entered the chatroom again, she found Jaehee fuming on how Jumin had apparently fled the office without telling anyone.

Sea thought back to when she’d asked Jumin to check on Zen and felt herself begin to sweat. On the one hand, that meant that maybe Jumin had decided to do as she’d asked. On the other, that meant that she was the reason that he’d left the office, which meant Jaehee would be angry at her…

She found herself hoping very fervently that Jaehee hadn’t thought to check the messages from the other chats.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Seasnan, how good to see you ^^

*[Jaehee Kang]: Do you happen to know the reason that Mr. Han decided to leave the office early? ^^

Sea felt the cold, clammy hands of death upon her.

*[Seasnan]: …I’m sorry

*[Seasnan]: I didn’t actually think he’d do it

*[Seasnan]: Please don’t kill me

*[Jaehee Kang]: There’s no need

She sent the emoji of her smiling, flowers blooming around her. Sea felt visceral terror go through her, freezing the blood in her veins.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Mr. Han is the one who agreed to it, anyway

*[Jaehee Kang]: But next time, please keep in mind to time your requests in a practical way

*[Seasnan]: Of course

*[Jaehee Kang]: Thank you.

Sea jokingly made the gesture of wiping sweat off her brow, but she was pretty sure that if Jaehee didn’t like her, there might have been an actual assassination in Sea’s future. God, her friends were scary.

*[Seasnan]: …do you think that he went to see Zen?

*[Jaehee Kang]: I am inclined to believe so, yes

*[Jaehee Kang]: Mr. Han is not one to pretend to do something he will not

True that.

*[Seasnan]: I hope that they get along better after this

*[Jaehee Kang]: The relationship between the two of them has been strained for so long…

*[Jaehee Kang]: It is hard for me to believe that Mr. Han is going out of his way to help Zen

Was their relationship really that bad? Sea had known that they didn’t really like each other, but neither of them were the kind of people to let friends, even nominal friends, suffer if they could do something to help.

*[Seasnan]: I think that after this, they’ll be better friends

*[Seasnan]: …I hope, at least

*[Jaehee Kang]: Not so long ago, it would be impossible to think about Mr. Han and Zen getting along…

*[Jaehee Kang]: But now I think maybe it will happen

*[Seasnan]: I’m happy to hear that

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes.

She sent a smiley face again, but this time without the accompanying ominous undertones.

After a moment, she sent another message.

*[Jaehee Kang]:…still, this means that likely for the rest of the day, I will be taking care of the office by myself…;;

Sea awkwardly looked away from the phone for a moment. She felt bad, now…if only she wasn’t stuck in this stupid apartment, she could do something nice like bring Jaehee a coffee. As it was, she would have to content herself with nice messages on the RFA chat.

*[Seasnan]: Cheer up, Jaehee!

*[Seasnan]: When this is all over, let’s watch one of Zen’s musicals together

The mention of Zen’s musicals seemed to do the trick, as Sea hoped.

*[Jaehee Kang]: Yes! I would like that very much

*[Jaehee Kang]: Now I feel like I have the strength to face the rest of the day

*[Seasnan]: Go Jaehee! You can do it!

*[Jaehee Kang]: Thank you, Seasnan. I hope the rest of your day is good.

*[Jaehee Kang]: I will speak with you later.

Jaehee Kang has left the chatroom.

Sea put down her phone, smiling slightly, and sat back in her chair. Then she paused.

…what the hell was she supposed to do now?

With a lack of anything else to do, Sea whittled down the hours by surfing on the Internet. She wished she’d brought more books with her. This sucked.

Occasionally, Seven would text her a quick update on how creating the video, adding the bug, and uploading it as an unskippable ad on Metube was coming. Was he doing this while monitoring the cameras and tracking Unknown at the same time? Seven was fucking incredible.

She wondered how the conversation between Jumin and Zen was going. Hopefully they hadn’t gotten into another argument.

…. hope springs eternal, after all.

Like she’d summoned it through her thoughts, her cell phone began to ring. Surprised, she glanced over at it. Was Seven or Jaehee calling her for an update?

Zen, read the caller ID. The noise that escaped her throat was inhuman.

Scrambling to accept the call, she pressed the phone to her ear. “Zen?” She said, concerned. “Are you alright?”

“Babe,” Zen greeted. His voice sounded…tired, but much calmer than when she’d talked to him yesterday. “I’m fine, sorry for worrying you.”

She sighed. “Don’t apologize, just be more careful,” she said quietly. “Please try not to ride on your motorcycle when you’re upset. It’s dangerous.”

“I saw you talking with Jaehee about that on the chat,” he acknowledged. “I didn’t know it would upset you.”

“It’s not that you driving your motorcycle upsets me. It’s just that it’s dangerous to do that when you’re upset. You could get hurt.”

“I’ll be more careful,” Zen promised warmly. “I…Sea, there’s something that I want to tell you.”

“Okay,” she agreed, swallowing nervously. “What is it?”

Zen paused for a second, and she waited for whatever he wanted to tell her. She felt a stirring of anxiety in her gut, but pushed it down. There was no need to be nervous around Zen.

“I know that you said that we’re dating yesterday,” Zen said, “but I don’t want to pretend we’re not dating in public. I want people to know what an amazing person I’ve found!” He laughed quietly. “So…when I see you again, I’m going to officially ask you to be my girlfriend. You don’t have to answer now— “

“Yes.”

He spluttered. “Wha-hey! I said you didn’t have to answer!”

“Too bad,” she replied, grinning like a loon. “I’m your girlfriend now. We’re dating.”

The happiness that welled up in her abruptly died, her eyes widening. “We’re…dating,” she repeated, staring at the coffee table numbly.

Didn’t that…didn’t that mean that…

…she had to tell him now.

“Sea?” Zen asked, concerned. “Babe? What’s wrong?”

“I— “ her voice shook. Fuck. She swallowed heavily. Couldn’t she just…not tell him? Pretend?

No, no, he’d—he’d find out, and then…

No. Better to do it now. She should’ve done it before, actually, probably when she went to his place. But she hadn’t thought of it, and so now she was stuck.

She took a deep breath, then another. “Zen, there’s something that I have to tell you about me. It’s…important. Please…”

And Zen, who was so good to her, only said, “Anything.”

“It’s about why my dad kicked me out.”

He cursed softly. “Oh, babe.” He sounded so sad. “You don’t have to tell me if it’s too hard.”

“No,” she said. “I—I want to tell you, it’s just…I’m scared, Zen. I don’t want you to hate me.”

“Hate you?” He said, appalled. “I could never hate you!”

She didn’t say anything. She didn’t want to doubt him.

…she hadn’t thought her father could hate her, either.

“I don’t know the right words,” she sighed. “I could barely explain this in English, let alone Korean. I don’t know if there even is a word for it in Korean.”

“Sea, whatever it is, I’m not going to hate you,” Zen said fiercely.

She managed a wobbly smile. “Promise?”

“Of course.” He sounded so sure. Despite everything…she trusted him.

“Okay,” she breathed. “Zen, I’m not…um, fuck. I don’t…hm.”

“Take your time,” he reassured her. She smiled, brighter this time.

“I don’t…feel…what the fuck is the word,” she muttered, racking her head. Figures she’d forget now of all times. “…uh, I don’t feel interested in people?”

“What?” He sounded confused.

Muttering something rude under her breath, she looked up the word. What were the chances that she’d forget the frigging words in Korean? It’d been a while since the last time she felt so nervous she forgot the words.

“Right,” she said, annoyed, “I don’t feel sexual attraction. Fucking Korean. God.”

“…what?” Zen repeated, sounding even more confused.

She froze, remembering exactly what she was doing. “Uh…” She put a hand over her face and sighed, defeated. There was no point in pretending otherwise now. She’d already blurted the damn thing out.

“I don’t feel sexual attraction,” she said again, tired. “I…it’s…a kind of sexuality. Or a lack of one? I think it counts as a lack of one, actually.”

“You don’t…feel attracted to me?” Zen said. He sounded heartbroken.

She winced. “I don’t…feel attracted to anyone.”

“But…you said I was beautiful,” he said.

“You are beautiful,” she replied, confused. “That’s pretty obvious. I can tell when people are nice looking. I just don’t…feel…anything?”

“I’m…” He paused, taking a deep breath. “Okay. I’m kind of confused,” he admitted.

Sexuality wasn’t…a big thing to talk about in Korea, from what she’d seen. Unless people were asking whether Jumin was gay, which was more of teasing—and something she vigorously did not take part in.

“It’s difficult to explain,” she said. “It’s not like I’m a robot or anything. I still feel love. It just…doesn’t have…lust with it.”

“So…you don’t want to…ever…”

She flushed. “Um, I don’t know. I’m kind of ambivalent on that. I don’t feel, like, disgusted by the idea, but there isn’t really a draw either. We could talk about that…maybe when we’ve been dating longer?”

That was, admittedly, a big maybe. Assuming that he would just accept this and still be willing to date her was…a big leap. But…she wanted to believe.

“Okay,” he agreed, sounding relieved himself. She closed her eyes, thanking god that he was still hearing her out. “Babe, I have to admit I don’t really understand. But…you haven’t changed at all, you’re still Sea. You’re still you.”

“Do you still want to…be with me?” She asked softly.

“Yes!” He said without any hesitation. “More than anything. You’re so wonderful, and you’ve been supporting me through everything…I want to support you too. No matter what.”

She felt on the verge of tears. God, how many times had she cried this week? Ugh.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you so much.”

“Babe…if your dad was willing to throw you out because of this, then he’s an idiot. You deserve so much more,” Zen told her. And then he paused.

“Zen?” She asked after a moment of breathless silence on the line.

“…babe,” he said, voice unreadable, “if you don’t feel…attraction, then…why did you…”

He didn’t finish the sentence. She blinked. “Why did I what?”

“…ah, nothing, nothing, it doesn’t matter--” He tried to laugh it off. Her eyes narrowed.

“Zen,” she warned.

He was quiet for a moment, and then muttered, “Why did you…like me?”

 …wasn’t that obvious?

“Why did I like you?” She repeated. “Well, because…you were so welcoming to me at first, when I was confused about everything. And you’re so passionate about acting, and you’re so nice, and it’s fun to tease you, and you always make an effort to make me feel comfortable. You’re amazing. Why wouldn’t I like you?”

“So…my looks didn’t factor into it at all,” he said. His voice was…indiscernible.

“Uh,” she could feel her heartbeat start to pick up again. Was he…upset with her? “I did notice that you were very good looking. But no, that didn’t…it wasn’t really what I was interested in.”

There was a pause.

“Oh my god,” he said faintly.

“Zen?” She said, her mouth like cotton. “Are you okay? I’m sorr— “

“I love you,” he burst out, voice shaky. “God,” he said a moment later, “I love you.”

Stunned, her mouth opened but no words came out. After a second, she managed, “…what? Zen, I— “

“I love you,” he said again, with more surety. “You don’t have to say anything. But I…god, you, you liked me from the beginning because of me, you—I love you so much. Sea,” he said, like a prayer.

She actually was crying now. Jesus.

“You…oh my god,” she said. From the way he was breathing, she was willing to bet Zen was crying, too.

“I’ve never…been in love, before,” she said.

“I know it’s soon,” Zen said. She snorted. Yeah, no kidding.

She didn’t know what to think. Could she say it back? Should she? How…how did you know when you loved someone?

“Zen…can I ask you something?” She said.

“Anything,” he replied, and she could feel the brightness of his smile from miles away.

Nodding, she said, “If I…think about you when I wake up…and I wonder what you’re doing during the day…if I daydream about when I get to see you again…and I try to think of things that’ll make you laugh…and I want, more than anything, to make you happy…do I love you?”

Zen was sobbing quietly now. She smiled softly. “Is that a yes?”

“God, Sea,” he whispered, voice cracked.

“Yeah,” she said. “That’s what I thought, too.”

~

After that wonderful, terrifying, incredibly emotionally exhausting conversation, Zen and her didn’t have much else to say. They both were pretty wrung dry by the events of the past few days.

She hung up after saying goodbye a little afterwards. For a long moment she clutched her phone to her chest, barely able to comprehend how much better that had gone that she’d thought it would.

He…loved her. He loved her. And she loved him.

Laughing weakly, she brushed a hand over Claymore, where he’d been eyeing her judgmentally for the past couple of minutes, ever since she started crying.

“Isn’t life beautiful?” She said, the sardonic tone edged with genuine joy.

He bit her. Yeah, that figured.

Sighing, she removed her wrist from the clutch of her cat and shook it out, not even bothered. Nothing could bring down her mood right now.

Wiping her eyes and standing, she went and splashed some cold water over her face. Smiling at the mirror, she couldn’t help but feel herself standing a bit taller. For so long, after everything with her family, she’d been convinced that if she tried to date anyone and they found out her sexuality they’d reject her.

But Zen…Zen wasn’t like that. She breathed out, feeling like some great weight that had been pressing her down for so long was finally gone. She was so relieved. So, so relieved.

Walking back to the living room, she flopped down onto the couch. She let out a big sigh as Claymore let out a disgruntled noise and hopped off the cushion, and she let herself relax. She felt better right now than she had in the past two days combined. Sure, Unknown was still probably going to try and kidnap her, and that was still a terrifying thought…but for at least this moment, it took a backseat to her happiness.

She laughed breathlessly, placing her hands over her face. “Oh god,” she muttered to herself, voice thick. “Thank god.”

There was a pause, before an annoyed meow sounded out from the ground. She looked through the gaps between her fingers to find Claymore sitting on the ground next to the couch, watching her distastefully.

“Hey, boy,” she beamed, wiping away the few tears that made their way down her face. Reaching out, she gently scratched behind his ears, watching as his eyes slit with satisfaction, purring softly. “Don’t worry,” she laughed. “This time they’re good tears, promise.”

Claymore simply purred, and she continued to pet him, wiping away the tears as they came. There was a feeling of relief in her stronger than she could say, a relief she hadn’t dared hope for ever since she’d been thrown out. But…Zen loved her. Loved her, loved her even after she’d told him the truth, loved all of her—loved even the part of her that he didn’t really understand—

It was amazing…it was amazing, and yet she also felt regret. Regret, because Zen was so kind, and loved her so much, and it made her wonder…

…why couldn’t her father have loved her too?

Shaking her head, she put that thought out of her mind. Wiping away the last of her tears, she grinned cheerily. She couldn’t control how people reacted to her or her sexuality. She couldn’t comprehend why her own dad wouldn’t be willing to at least learn about a part of his daughter. But she knew that it didn’t matter…because the people who really loved her wouldn’t care either way.

And the relief that came with that thought was freeing.

~

A little bit before she remembered to contact Seven again, she sent a quick text to Jumin:

*Seasnan: Hey, Zen contacted me. He sounds a lot better now.

*Seasnan: Thanks, Jumin :)

Tapping away at her keyboard, she glanced over after a couple of minutes when her phone buzzed.

*Jumin Han: You are welcome.

*Jumin Han: We were able to communicate more effectively than before.

*Jumin Han: Thank you, as well.

Smiling, she quickly typed out a reply.

*Seasnan: No problem.

Returning to the last of her work for the day, she spent a good half hour translating and proofreading a document for one of their business partners in America before sending the finished product to her boss and closing her laptop.

Sitting back in her chair, she glanced over at her phone. Seven had said that he’d contact her when he finished working on the video…so she shouldn’t bother him.

Or well, that’s what she thought, until her phone started ringing. She stared at it for a moment, wide-eyed, before suspiciously glancing to the camera that was—yep. Trained on her.

Glaring at it, she answered the phone.

“Seven,” she greeted, not even having to look at the caller ID.

“Sea!” He cheered. “How is my favorite disciple?”

“Hoping for good news,” she laughed. “How did the editing go?”

He made some sort of triumphant noise. “God Seven has done it again! Praise me, my loyal follower!”

Rolling her eyes, she said, “Oh God Seven, I am in awe of your skills. I bow before you.”

“No need, no need,” he said magnanimously. “I’m here to help.”

“Seriously, though,” Sea said, smiling. “Good job. You must’ve worked really hard.”

He laughed. “Nothing’s too hard for God Seven! With the help of his trusty sidekick, Saint Seasnan!”

“Ah, yes. I’m here to help you remember exactly how many times you’re supposed to eat and drink something a day. It’s a hard task, I know.”

“But necessary!”

“Especially for you,” she suggested, restraining laughter.

“God Seven is kind enough to ignore that comment!”

“Because he can’t deny it,” she replied.

There was the distinct sound of Seven deflating over the line. “Sea…” he whined. “I’ve been working all day. Give me a break!”

She relented, amused. “You’re right, you’re right. I’ll save it for tomorrow.”

He didn’t seem very content with that, but she figured that was really his problem.

“So?” She prompted. “Did it turn out alright?”

“Aw, did you doubt me, Sea?” She could literally hear him pouting. She didn’t even need to see him to know he was pouting at her. She glared at the camera.

Perhaps feeling the threatening aura radiating off her, Seven started to actually explain. “I finished the edits on the video and uploaded it to Metube. It’ll take a couple of days for anyone to take it down, and by then everyone will have seen it! Oh, but you might want to stay off Metube for a couple of days, it’ll be showing up before every video.”

Every video? Jesus Christ, Seven…

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, hoping her sheer horror wouldn’t come through her voice. There was going to be a riot. She desperately hoped that only internet users in South Korea would be getting the video, or else there would soon be a lot of coverage from all over the world on Zen.

…no, Seven wouldn’t do that, right?

“Uh, Seven, you did make sure that only those using Metube in Korea would see the video, right?”

There was a long pause.

“…Seven…?”

“I’ll be right back,” Seven said abruptly, before hanging up.

Sea stared down at her phone for a second, before carefully placing it down and putting her head in her hands. Holy shit, if she hadn’t said something…!!

A couple of minutes later Seven called back, and she picked up.

“It’s all good!” He announced, with the voice of someone who was trying very hard to pretend that he hadn’t been about to release a viral video on the entire world and start a mass riot.

“Holy shit,” she told him, with the voice of someone who was desperately reconsidering why she was friends with him.

“It’s fine now,” he said. She doubted him with all the strength she could.

“Just in case,” she said very carefully. “Do you have a backup plan?”

She got the feeling that that comment would have earned her a lot of complaining if he hadn’t nearly just turned the entire internet-using world against him.

Instead of just the internet-using population of South Korea, she supposed. That wasn’t…actually that much better, now that she thought about it.

“Jumin filled up my bank account,” Seven said, bringing her back to the conversation at hand, “so if this doesn’t work I can do a full background check and find something to blackmail her with.”

And they were back to blackmail. Great.

“But this should work, so don’t worry, Sea. God Seven won’t let you down!”

“That’s not what I’m worried about,” she shook her head. “Won’t doing this make a lot of people angry with you? Aren’t you worried that someone might try to track you down?”

Seven’s response was to laugh hysterically, which she did not appreciate. When he finally got himself under control (it took a bit), he took some deep breaths.

“Sea,” he said, his voice a bit weak from the laughter, “hackers try to track me all the time.” She had no response to that, since it was…a kind of upsetting statement. All the time? Constantly? Was Seven fighting off attempts to discover his identity all the time?

Perhaps aware that his words were a bit more serious than he’d meant them to be, Seven continued, “But they’re no match for secret agent 707!”

“Seven,” she said quietly. “Thanks. I know you don’t think much of it, but what you’re doing for Zen…I really appreciate it.”

He didn’t say anything for a second, before very quietly he muttered, “You’re welcome.”

She beamed at the camera, proud of Seven. Not very long ago, he would’ve just brushed off her gratitude with cheerful, vapid words—but now he was really acknowledging it, though she knew it must make him uncomfortable. But she refrained from telling him how proud she was, because she knew that would be too much for him.

“Alright,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “That’s taken care of, then. When are you going to upload the video?”

“I’ll do it right after this,” he replied. “And then I’m going to bed! You should, too, Sea, it’s pretty late.”

“It is?” She said, surprised. Turning to her clock, she realized dimly that it was indeed—it was nearly midnight, in fact. “It is. I’ll head to bed, then. Talk to you later, Seven.”

“Till tomorrow!” He replied, before hanging up. Sea shook her head, pocketing her cell phone before turning off her laptop and crossing over to the kitchen. She was sure that she put her pad of sticky notes somewhere…

Yes! She grabbed a pen before carefully jotting down in block letters, DON’T USE METUBE, and placing it on top of her laptop. There, that would hopefully let her avoid getting a ten-minute long unescapable ad of Echo Girl coming on to Zen. She doubted her reaction to that would be good.

Glancing over at Claymore, she gestured to the hallway that led to the bedroom. “Coming?” She asked.

Claymore dismissively looked away from her, so she shrugged. “Suit yourself,” she muttered, padding over to the hallway. She was stopped by Claymore’s meow, and turned curiously to see him staring at the wall intently.

Frowning, she shook her head. Why did cats stare at random walls and corners sometimes? It was really a mystery.

Before she could resume her walk, she froze in place at the sound of something, some robotic voice, saying in a monotone, “The special security system has been reset.”

Looking around hurriedly, she couldn’t identify where the voice was coming from. Was it a prank, played by Seven? Special security system? What was that?

“Seven?” She asked warily. “Is that you? What the hell’s going on?”

“Restarting…three, two, one…”

“Seven?” She asked again, voice wavering now with worry. “…Seven, knock it off.”

“Welcome to the special security system,” said the voice, and she realized with a wave of fear that this wasn’t any prank.

This was real…and something was very, very wrong.

Chapter Text

On the third try, Seven finally picked up. She could understand his frustration, noticing how he’d been about to go to sleep after an undoubtedly exhausting day.

However. She was currently freaking out, so he’d have to postpone his long awaited sleep for a bit longer.

“Seven,” she said, the barely restrained fear in her voice cutting off any complaints he might have, “I think Unknown did something to the apartment.”

He sucked in an audible breath over the line. “What?” He demanded. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, I heard—something,” she said, one of her hands brushing through her hair with frustrated movements. “Some weird robotic voice said something about the…the special security system? Seven, I thought the apartment’s security system is your cameras?”

For a moment there was no response. Then, so quiet it was almost inaudible, Seven whispered, “Oh god.”

Before she could question him, he demanded, “What did it say? What about the security system?”

She racked her brain, trying to recall. “Something…something about it being reset, I think? Seven, what the hell is going on?”

“I can’t…” Seven mumbled, sounding horrified. “I can’t tell you without V’s permission.”

She pulled the phone away from her ear for a second to stare at it with disbelief. “What?!” She demanded. “This is an emergency, isn’t it? Seven, you have to tell me what’s happening! Am I in danger?!”

“I have to call V,” Seven replied, voice thin. “I’ll—I’ll call V right now! Sea, just hold on a second!”

“Seven, don’t you dare hang up on me,” she growled. “Tell me if I’m in danger!” There was a beeping noise, and she once again pulled her phone back to see she had an incoming call from—“Zen?” She mumbled, confused.

“Pick up for him,” Seven commanded. “Don’t hang up until I call you back, okay? It’ll be okay, Sea. I’ll be right back!”

Before she could yell anymore he’d already hung up on her. Shaking a fist at her phone, she yelled, “Why do you always do things yourself, you bastard?!”

Forcing herself to take deep breaths, she picked up the call from Zen.

“What,” she seethed.

“Babe—uh, babe?” Zen said, sounding first panicked, then confused. “Are you…okay?”

Sighing forcibly, she began to pace around the room, glaring at whatever crossed her gaze. “I think so,” she muttered. “Why are you awake, Zen? It’s past midnight, you’re always asleep by now.”

“I was,” he explained. “I had a dream…something bad happened to you. I just wanted to call and hear your voice, sorry to wake you.”

“Oh, I was already awake,” she replied, glaring at a particularly annoying spot on the wall. Claymore, perhaps feeling the waves of fury emanating off her, fled to the bedroom. She glared at him, too.

After a second, she forced herself to refocus. She could yell at Seven all she wanted when he called her back, but first, Zen.

“What was the dream about?” She asked, gentling her voice.

“It was…there was a man, and he took you…” Zen explained in halting phrases. “I was so scared, Sea,” he breathed out like a confession.

“I’m fine,” she reassured him, thinking back to what Seven had said only seconds ago. Something was wrong with the security system.

She bit her lip. Should she tell Zen? On the one hand, if it was nothing, she’d be panicking him for no reason. But if something really was wrong…

“Sometimes my dreams,” Zen said quietly. “Sometimes they really happen. Babe…please be safe. Please…”

“Zen,” Sea said. “I need to tell you something. I just called Seven a couple of seconds ago…I was on the phone with him until you called. I think…there’s something wrong with the apartment.”

She winced to hear the gasp he gave. “Wrong? What—what’s wrong? Sea, are you okay?!”

“I’m fine,” she replied quickly. “But Seven couldn’t tell me what was wrong, he said he had to call V…I’m waiting for him to call me back and explain.”

Her phone buzzed as if on cue, and she pulled back to see she had a text from Seven.

*707: I’m going to post on the chatroom

*707: I’ll explain there

“He just texted me and said he would explain everything on the chatroom,” she reported. “Let’s go on there and see what he says, okay?”

“Yeah,” Zen whispered. “Sea, if it turns out that something’s wrong…don’t worry. I will…I will definitely make sure you’re safe.”

Without even intending to, she found herself breathing out an amused sigh. “Did I ever say I doubted you?” She said, smiling. “Why would I worry when I have you to do it for me?”

“Hey,” he protested, but he was laughing a bit himself now.

“Let’s go see what Seven has to say,” she said. They hung up, and she clicked into the chatroom.

*[707]: Sea!!

*[Seasnan]: Seven, did you reach V?

*[707]: No…I couldn’t reach him

*[707]: I…I don’t know where to start. I usually discuss things like this with V…

*[ZEN]: Seven, what’s going on already??

*[707]: There’s a special security system at Sea’s apartment. I installed it when Rika used to live there.

*[Seasnan]: Other than the cameras and the lock on the door?

*[707]: Yes. Two years ago, there were a lot of famous businessmen and politicians at the RFA party, and Rika stored a lot of private information about those guests at the apartment

*[707]: Because it involved a lot of famous people there were some groups that tried to get that information…Rika, V and I tried to handle it ourselves, so the other members weren’t told…

*[ZEN]: What??! Something like that happened?

*[ZEN]: Why wouldn’t you tell us??

*[707]: Rika didn’t want to worry anyone…she asked V and I to not mention it…

*[707]: She found evidence of people trying to break in to the apartment, so we decided to strengthen its security.

There was a pause, and Sea waited with baited breath to find out the rest.

*[707]: Rika asked me to install a security system that could blow up all the stored documents in the case of an intruder getting into the apartment

Sea froze, staring at the words. Seven kept typing, his posts getting more and more hurried as she gave no response.

*[707]: I was opposed to it!!

*[707]: But she was so persistent that I gave in as long as she promised not to stay in the apartment

At last, she found the ability to move her fingers. She numbly watched her fingers tremble as they punched in the letters for her message.

*[Seasnan]: Seven…are you telling me…

Gulping, she felt sweat prickle and bead on her forehead.

*[Seasnan]: Is there…is there a bomb in the apartment?

*[707]: Sea…I’m so sorry. I’m so so sorry…

No way. No way, no way…she stared around the apartment, the living room and kitchen. There was a bomb…a live, active bomb that could blow up the apartment…?

*[ZEN]: WHAT???!

*[ZEN]: What the frick are you saying?! There’s a bomb?!

*[ZEN]: YOU KNEW THERE WAS A BOMB THIS WHOLE TIME?!

*[ZEN]: WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! YOU TOLD SEA IT WAS SAFE THERE

*[Seasnan]: Zen, let him finish

Curled over her phone, she watched as the flow of angry messages was halted.

*[Seasnan]: We need to know the whole situation. There’s more, right?

*[ZEN]: Sea…

*[707]: Yeah…there’s more

*[707]: A couple of minutes ago, the algorithm of the special security system was hacked

She took in a shuddering breath.

*[Seasnan]: By Unknown, I’m guessing?

*[707]: I can’t say for sure…but probably

*[Seasnan]: It said that it was reset. So I’m guessing it was…recalibrated or something, right?

*[707]: Yes…but since I don’t know who Unknown has allowed access to the apartment, I can’t go there

*[ZEN]: Does that mean that he could take access away from Seasnan at any time and the apartment would just blow up?!

*[707]: NO. That’s not how it works

*[707]: Even if he did take access away from Sea, it would only activate if she tries to leave or enter the apartment. As long as she doesn’t try to leave the apartment, she’ll be fine

*[Seasnan]: But he’s definitely given himself access, right?

*[707]: That’s…there’s a good possibility

*[ZEN]: So he can enter if he wants, but she can’t leave?!

*[ZEN]: Seven, tell me where the apartment is!! I can go make sure he doesn’t try to enter!

*[707]: I can’t do that…

*[ZEN]: WHY NOT?! Sea is in danger right now!!

*[707]: I need V’s permission…

*[ZEN]: Are you insane?! V isn’t here right now!! We can’t wait for him to give permission when Sea’s life is in danger!

*[707]: I’m sorry. I can’t tell you

*[707]: I’m going to do everything I can to contact V and restore the security system as soon as I can

*[707]: Sea, if anything suspicious happens, call me immediately. I’ll be sure to pick up.

*[707]: I will do everything I can to protect you…so please trust in me

She stared at that last message quietly.

*[Seasnan]: Yes. I know you’ll do everything you can.

*[707]: Sea…thank you

*[707]: I’ll get to work. Be safe!

707 has left the chatroom.

*[ZEN]: Babe, I don’t know what to say…

*[ZEN]: How could V and Seven let you stay somewhere they knew was so dangerous?!

*[ZEN]: If something happens to you…I’ll never forgive them!!

*[Seasnan]: I’ll be fine. I think…I think I understand what’s happening

She chewed on her bottom lip, mind firing furiously.

*[Seasnan]: I get it. Since Seven changed the passcode on the door…Unknown couldn’t get in anymore. So to bypass that, he reset the security system…now he can enter the apartment without worrying about the bomb going off.

*[Seasnan]: We knew he was going to try and kidnap me, but this definitely cements it. And since he no doubt knew that Seven would instantly start to fix the system…

*[ZEN]: He’ll make his move today, right? Then you should leave the apartment!

*[Seasnan]: Unknown might have made it so that the security system would go off if I tried to leave…there’s no way to tell for sure without trying it

*[Seasnan]: And I really don’t want to do that

*[Seasnan]: So I can’t risk trying to leave…and no one else can risk trying to enter…

*[ZEN]: Babe…then what can we do??

What could they do? What…what could they possibly do in this kind of situation…?

*[ZEN]: I should come over to your apartment building! Even if I can’t come in…if I just stay there and make sure that no one tries to get into the apartment, even that would be enough!!

*[Seasnan]: That would put you in danger as well, Zen. We don’t know what Unknown’s capable of.

*[ZEN]: Why are you concerned about me right now?! Think about yourself!

She gripped her cell phone tightly, scowling.

*[Seasnan]: Zen, we have to think rationally. Do you really think that Unknown wouldn’t anticipate you rushing over here if you think I’m in danger? If he’s smart enough to trap us in this situation, I’m betting he’s relying on our reactions to get him through.

*[ZEN]: What do you mean…?

*[Seasnan]: I mean that he definitely has a grudge against the RFA, so he’s probably learned some basics about us. He knew exactly how to trick me into going into the apartment. He’s probably studied us all. He knows how we’ll instinctively react.

*[Seasnan]: What if he’s relying on you rushing over here, like you want to?

*[ZEN]: Even if you say that…Sea, that guy, he’s not normal…

*[ZEN]: Do you remember that dream I mentioned earlier? Sometimes, I’ll have a dream…and then the next day it will really happen.

*[ZEN]: And they’re always the same…I wake up with a headache, and covered in cold sweat.

*[ZEN]: And in my dream, this guy with white hair was trying to kidnap you…he looked dangerous.

*[ZEN]: I still think…I should go protect you.

Sea closed her eyes, tired.

*[Seasnan]: And what about me? Don’t you think I want to protect you, too?

*[Seasnan]: If you came here and got hurt, how do you think I’d feel?

*[ZEN]:…babe…

*[Seasnan]: We have to wait.

*[Seasnan]: At least until Seven says it’s safe for you to come…we have to wait.

*[ZEN]: Then I’ll go call Seven. I will…definitely not give up.

*[ZEN]: Sea. Wait for me.

ZEN has left the chatroom.

Sighing, she tried to ignore her trembling hands. “Not like I could do much else,” she muttered, but the joke sounded flat to her own ears. Sighing again, she finally let herself collapse back onto the couch.

Staring around the apartment, it was impossible to see the home she’d made for herself in a short number of days anymore. The entire place seemed to leer back at her ominously. Inside here, somewhere…there was a bomb, just waiting to go off.

Swallowing heavily, she stared down at her hands, then tightly clasped them together to stop their trembling.

A bomb, a bomb…she couldn’t comprehend it. She’d been able to divert herself by thinking about the implications of the situation and talking it out with Zen, but now…there was only her.

There was a bomb in the apartment…and both V and Seven had known. V, she could be angry at, though she knew the situation hadn’t been his intention. She didn’t think he was a bad person, but she could resolve herself to her anger.

But Seven…Seven was her friend. She’d joked around with him, she’d cared about him, she’d worried about him. And he’d done the same for her!

And this whole time, she’d been living in an apartment with an active bomb…and he knew. And he didn’t tell her. Never even hinted. He’d actually…encouraged her to live at the apartment. Maybe he’d thought it was just a simpler solution at the time, but…

Shaking her head, she willed away these thoughts. There was no time to stew in her feelings right now. Once everything was over…then she could think more about this.

But for now…she had to prepare for her uninvited guest.

~

Predictably, the next morning was a total shit show.

One by one, the three RFA members discovered what had happened the night before and promptly, in their own varying ways, freaked out.

Jaehee was the first to enter the chatroom that morning and see what had happened earlier. She reacted, in true Jaehee fashion, with as much composure as someone could have in this kind of situation—advising that Sea stay inside the apartment and alert.

Then she brought up a point that Sea hadn’t even thought of, so preoccupied with the idea of Unknown coming for her that she was. What about the party? The party that Sea had so painstakingly, meticulously prepared for, inviting all kinds of guests, researching their organizations and personalities to try and convince as many people to attend as possible. All of that work…and now that Sea was trapped in the apartment, in danger, that could all go down the drain.

Perhaps aware that what she’d brought up would only upset Sea more, Jaehee apologized and said that the party wasn’t nearly as important as Sea’s wellbeing, and could always be rescheduled if it came to that. Hurriedly leaving the chatroom, she said that she was going to contact Jumin and see what they could do about resolving the situation.

Yoosung, unsurprisingly, was a bit less composed. He cried a lot, if the emojis he sent to the chatroom were any indication. Thankfully, Seven had logged onto the chatroom a bit before him to check on Sea, and he was able to divert Yoosung by having him come over to Seven’s place to help him with his work.

Jumin, on the other hand, who already knew about the situation by the time he logged onto the messenger, surprised her with his reaction. There were…no questions. Immediately after she greeted him, he asked her how she was doing, then advised her to stay calm. He offered to send bodyguards over to the apartment, in order to prevent Unknown from breaking in. When she pointed out that no one was allowed to know where the apartment was, he instead stated that he would attempt to contact V, and he would have bodyguards on standby in case they were needed.

With nothing else to do, Sea called in to work once more and used another sick day. She could tell that her boss was beginning to grow annoyed with her, but there was nothing she could about that right now. However, she was getting the feeling that unless she was able to go back to work soon and smooth things over, she’d be looking for a new job. Which was a lot of stress that she didn’t need, frankly.

And then, once everything had been taken care of, she sat back on the couch and waited. Claymore meowed at her, but she just folded her hands together on her lap, closing her eyes. She breathed in the air of the apartment, still somewhat dusty after a week of staying there. Must be because she wasn’t allowed to dust any of the shelves or cabinets.

For a quiet moment, she just stayed there on the couch, focusing on her breathing. Her heart rate slowed down, her muscles relaxed, and her expression softened into something resembling peacefulness.

And then her phone rang, breaking the silence and causing her to jump. Clutching at her chest, she glared over at it vibrating on the coffee table. Goddammit…just when she was starting to calm down. She needed to be more relaxed; what was she going to do if she panicked when Unknown appeared?

Sighing, she leaned over and checked the caller I.D. Yoosung…? Wasn’t he supposed to be over at Seven’s right now?

Picking up, she worriedly greeted him, “Hello?”

“Sea!” Yoosung cheered. “Oh, thank god. You’re a translator, right?

“Yes?”

“Can you speak Arabic?”

Sea’s eyes narrowed slightly, lips pressing together. “I’m not fluent, but I know a few phrases. Why?” And then, a smile starting at the corners of her mouth, “Wait. Is Seven—“

Yoosung groaned. “I keep calling Seven, but he won’t pick up or answer the doorbell! And this voice keeps asking me if I know how to count to ten in Arabic, or say a phrase or something! Seven!! OPEN YOUR DOOR!!” His voice got farther away at the end as he was pretty obviously yelling at Seven’s door.

She snorted, grinning. “I don’t think that’ll work. What phrase is it asking you for?”

“Uh…” Yoosung took a second and listened to a tinny voice that she could barely hear through the phone. A moment later, a faint tinny noise came through the speakers.

“Please list Seven Zero Seven in binary numbers,” it requested in a monotone.

Her eyebrow twitched with aggravation. Only Seven would go between an entire other goddamn language and binary code for his password. Goddamn secret agent.

“Sea?” Begged Yoosung. She shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t know anything about binary numbers, Yoosung. Sorry.”

He groaned, before yelling at Seven to open the door again.

The monotone voice said something she couldn’t hear, before faintly, “…did you doze off during math?”

Rude.

“No!” Moaned Yoosung. “I just forgot everything once I went to college!”

“Yoosung, it can’t understand you,” Sea tried. “It’s just a recording—“

“College Student Number One who chose the wrong major and lost interest in academics, next question.”

Her mouth clicked close. She and Seven were going to have a real talk about what and what wasn’t appropriate teasing material.

“So rude!” Complained Yoosung.

“Say ‘Welcome, Master,’ in Arabic.”

“I’d rather die,” she said automatically.

“Sea!!”

“I’d rather die.”

She could almost see him pouting over the phone. “Please?”

Sighing, she muttered, “’Welcome’ is ‘ahlan wa sahlan,’ and…” she grimaced, “’master’ is…uh, actually, what is it?”

“You don’t know?” He asked, sounding offended.

“In what world would I need to know how to say that sentence, Yoosung?” She demanded. “Why would I just know off the top of my head?”

“But you’re a translator!”

“Of French, English, and Mandarin! Not Arabic!”

“What am I supposed to do now?” Yoosung banged on the door, before the monotone voice informed him that it would explode if he continued.

“I’ll look it up,” she said, already on Noogle. She wouldn’t trust its translator, but hopefully one of the sites that came up would have something for her.

Unfortunately, all she could find quickly was more of an honorific than a title, and she didn’t think it would have the same connotations. But it was better than nothing, she supposed.

“Try ‘sayyid,” she offered.

“’Sayyid,’” he muttered, before louder, “Ahlan wa sahlan, sayyid.”

There was a pause, before a little ding sounded, and she heard Yoosung cheer over the phone.

“Congratulations, College Student Number One,” said the robot voice. “Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”

“Thanks,” Yoosung replied cheerfully, before souring. “…I think.”

“I wonder what choosing to answer that sentence says about you,” continued the voice, sounding almost gleeful. “Maybe we should tell the chatroom—“

“No, no, no!” Yoosung replied, horrified. “Seven! Turn this thing off!!”

A moment later Sea pulled her phone away from her ear, looking with faint amusement at the ‘Call Ended’ display. He must’ve hung up to prevent her from hearing more. Poor Yoosung.

She texted Seven that Yoosung had gotten past the door, and that it was pretty rude to hear someone yelling for you and to not answer.

He replied with a frowning emoji and told her he’d been setting up that door for the next time that Yoosung would come over, and that she’d ruined all his hard work.

*Seasnan: Sucks to be you

*707: >:(

A bit later Yoosung reported back that Seven had set him on reading through documents on Echo Girl to help with the press conference. He complained about the sheer volume of them that he had to go through, but it was playful, and he was clearly feeling better about everything now that he had a way to help. She was grateful that Seven had so easily redirected him from his worry and fear before.

Sitting back on the couch, she sighed and wished that there was something, anything that she could do other than just…watching all her friends go and try and fix the situation without her able to help.

But there was nothing...nothing she could do.

And so the hours passed, and she waited.

~

She’d thought for sure that the anticipation about what was to come was going to be what got to her while she was waiting. She’d been prepared for it, even; she’d told herself that she would try breathing techniques, or yoga, or pacing, or all of the myriad of things she did when anxiety kicked in and turned her stomach into knots.

As it turned out, the awful thing about the waiting was that in the meantime, her mind spun itself into tight circles again and again, fruitlessly thinking about all the information that’d been revealed earlier.

Unknown, Seven, V, the bomb…over and over again in her head, she tangled and untangled the threads of what had been said and done, the full understanding of her situation that had only now been revealed.

And with that revelation came…thoughts. Ideas. She wondered about how Rika, V and Seven had decided upon a bomb. What precautions they had taken to ensure that innocent people wouldn’t be hurt, and they wouldn’t be arrested for a fucking bomb going off. How they had planned to deal with the fallout if someone actually did enter the apartment and set off the bomb.

From those wonderings came…an understanding. An understanding that sat heavy in her gut, that made her shoulders bend under its weight. And she couldn’t sit with it for long. Fingers trembling, she reached out and called Seven.

The ringing as she waited was almost blocked out by the rushing in her ears. She didn’t want an answer. But she needed one. After everything, all the secrets, she needed truth.

Even if it hurt. Especially then.

He picked up, and before he could even greet her she was already talking.

“Seven…can I ask you something?” She made sure that her face wasn’t within view of the camera. “I’ve been wondering about something for a little bit now.”

“…what is it?” Seven questioned, tone wary. She bit her lip.

“What were you going to do if I accidentally set off the bomb?” She asked quietly.

There was no response, except for a very small inhale. But then, she hadn’t really expected him to answer.

“I’ve been thinking about it,” she continued. “That must be why you told me I couldn’t use any of the drawers, right? Because the bomb would go off. But I didn’t know that…and what if I’d forgotten? What if I’d opened a drawer?”

“…that didn’t happen,” he replied, voice weak.

“But what if it had,” she pressed. “What were you going to do? What were you—“ She cut herself off, taking a deep breath.

“I thought it was so weird, when I first moved in here. There are no people living in any of the other apartments on this floor. In fact, there’s…there’s barely anyone in this building at all. Because…V owns the whole building, doesn’t he? And he only rents out the floors that wouldn’t be affected if the bomb goes off. Isn’t that right?”

“Sea— “

“Tell me, Seven.”

“…yes,” he said. “V owns the whole building, but only the lowest two levels are allowed to have tenants—they’re the ones that are least likely to be hurt from the bomb.”

“So no one would be up here,” Sea said. “And no one knows I live up here. And the bomb must be small enough that it wouldn’t cause damage to the lower floors…small enough that you could pass it off as some sort of gas explosion or electrical mishap, right?”

“Sea, please,” Seven said. He sounded so tired.

She closed her eyes, feeling an absurd urge to laugh. “Tell me, Seven. Tell me the truth. If the bomb had gone off…you’d have pretended I was never here, wouldn’t you have? You would have told the public it was an accident. You would have gotten rid of the evidence that I’d been there. You would have told everyone in the R.F.A that I must’ve been a spy looking through Rika’s documents.” She placed her head in her hand, feeling the first tear burn hotly down her cheek.

“You…would’ve completely hidden that I’d been here. I’d just have disappeared one day without warning.” She said bitterly, before shutting her mouth as her words threatened to turn into a sob.

There was complete silence on Seven’s line for a moment, until it was obvious that she was done talking. Finally, he creaked out, “I’m sorry. Sea. I’m so sorry. I’m so…sorry.” That was it. Just ‘sorry,’ over and over again, until his voice broke and he fell silent.

She had to take a deep breath before she could manage to speak again. “You’re my friend,” she told him as her shoulders shook. “You’re my friend, Seven! I—“ She sobbed. “I! What do I do? What do I do?!” Clutching her phone, she begged him, “Just what the hell am I supposed to do?!”

Before he could respond, she pulled the phone away from her ear and hung up with shaking fingers. He immediately tried to call back, but she just ignored it, standing and stumbling away from the couch to the hallway and the privacy of her bedroom.

Tears streamed down her face, and she closed the door behind her before sliding down to lean against it. She could still hear her phone ringing from the living room, but nothing Seven could say could take back what she knew now.

That he’d really seen her as a friend. That he really cared about her. That he was willing to cover up her death anyway, if he had to.

Nothing could take that back.

Curling in on herself, she cried silently, muffling any noises that might have come out with her hand. It felt like all the weight she was bearing, just barely balanced on her shoulders, had all come crashing down atop her, and now she was buried beneath it.

Seven, her friend…her friend despite it all. How was she supposed to react? What was she supposed to do now?

This unbearable truth, this painful knowledge…it was too much. It was too much, with everything else. She expelled it all out in her heaving cries, until there was nothing left to give.

And then there was just silence for a time. Her phone in the living room had stopped ringing at some point. She sat by herself in her bedroom, staring out the window into the city beyond. It was sunny and beautiful outside.

She wanted to be out there. She wanted to walk around. She wanted to see Zen, or go to work, or bring Jaehee a coffee. She wanted…

She wanted to not be here, in this apartment haunted by a dead girl. She wanted to be a part of the RFA on her own terms.

…she wanted to be friends with Seven without having this horrible thing between them.

But none of these things she wanted were things she could have, and instead all she was left with was the sunlight through the window and the emptiness in her chest.

~

A bit later, she received a text message from Seven, saying simply that he had restored the security system and made it so that she could leave the room. He told her that she should stay there, in case Unknown tried to take her when she was leaving, and that it would be okay soon.

She didn’t know how he could be sure about that, but she couldn’t find it in herself to reply to him and ask what he meant. She didn’t hate Seven, but she was…so upset.

What was she supposed to do with these feelings? How could she resolve them? Could she forgive Seven and V for what they’d done? Did they deserve to be forgiven?

Sitting on the couch, she contemplated these thoughts. She didn’t want to be angry with Seven, but every time she thought about what he’d done her pulse sped up, her teeth gritted. She was furious. Were these feelings right? What would be gained by refusing to speak with him?

She didn’t know what to do.

It was when she finally decided that she couldn’t think of these things anymore and stood to brew herself some tea that she noticed something odd; Claymore, who’d been meowing since the moment she’d coaxed him into his carrier, was completely silent.

A feeling of foreboding swept over her, and she looked around the apartment nervously. Nothing was there, and after a moment she let out a sigh, cursing her nerves.

The window shattered and she shrieked, reflexively covering her face as the glass shards flew. She could hear Claymore yowling as she shut her eyes tight.

“Busy with the party?” An unfamiliar voice asked her, and she opened her eyes, lowering her arms to find a man standing in front of the broken windows. He was slouching, an emaciated figure before her, his stature less than intimidating, but still…

Eyes widening, it felt like the blood in her veins was freezing as her heart clenched with fear. Unknown. It had to be…it was Unknown!

“Y-you…” she managed, stumbling backwards. Staring, she took in the face of the man who had tormented her for the past week. He was wearing a mask that covered the lower half of his face, leaving only his nose and startlingly green eyes visible.

Eyes darting around to take in as many details as possible, she found herself focusing in on the most obvious features: the messily bleached hair, the tattoo of an eye on his shoulder.

“You want to scream? Shh,” he warned, holding a finger up to where his lips would be under the mask. The gesture sent another beat of terror through her. “I’ll just force you to shut up, so you’d better be quiet.”

Not that it would make much difference. No one lived on this floor; no one would hear her even if she screamed.

No one was going to help her. The room swam before her eyes—was she having a panic attack? Her breaths were coming faster. Focus, she had to focus…

“You’re…Unknown,” she said quietly, lips numb. “Mikael.”

“That’s right,” he nodded, seeming pleased at the recognition. He held up a hand when she shifted her weight nervously. “There’s glass on the floor,” he said. “This was the only way to avoid the thermal sensors and security cameras. You shouldn’t move, I’ll go to you.”

If he’d thought that was reassuring, he was so goddamn wrong.

“Don’t come near me,” she warned, gritting her teeth.

He tilted his head to the side. “Why not? You’re coming with me to paradise.”

Paradise?

“What paradise?” She barked. Her hands curled into fists at her sides. The room has stopped swimming in place, but now the lights seemed brighter than usual, sharper, everything in focus. Like someone had switched the prescription on her glasses when she wasn’t looking, and now everything was so detailed it was giving her a headache. “Why the hell did you bring me here?”

Though she couldn’t see his mouth, she could guess he was smiling from the way his eyes creased. “I know it took me some time to come for you,” he said, like he was trying to reassure her. “But since the moment you downloaded the app, you’ve been invited to paradise. Now, let’s go together to Magenta!”

“What is Magenta?” She asked, almost hysterical. “What do you mean by paradise?”

“Paradise…” he sighed the word, looking rapturous. It just terrified her more. “It’s endless parties, overflowing love, joy without pain.” And then his expression turned hateful, black with anger. She stumbled another step away, but he didn’t seem to notice. “Reality is ugly. There’s nothing good about this world.” He offered her another smile. “But I’ll save you.”

Holy shit. “Save me?” She repeated incredulously. “You’ve been putting me in danger since the beginning! You reset the damn security system so that—that fucking bomb could go off!”

He tilted his head again, confused. “But how else was I supposed to get in?”

She gaped at him, stunned. Was he fucking serious?

“Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?!” She demanded, hands clenching into fists at her sides. Bubbling underneath the terror of the confrontation rose another emotion, stronger and blacker than the first: fury. “What the hell was the purpose of bringing me here?”

And for the first time, Unknown seemed disquieted. The smile left his face, his eyebrows creasing in what was probably a frown.

“The Savior chose you to complete her desire and bring the others to paradise,” he said solemnly. “But you didn’t obey.” When she gaped at him, he continued, “She is generous. She will forgive you.”

“I don’t want her goddamn forgiveness,” she hissed before she could stop herself. He reared back as if she’d struck him, and she thought for a moment she might. “I don’t care what she wants. I don’t know who she is! I want to live in peace!”

His hands, she noted, were also clenched tightly shut, before one of them dove into his pocket and pulled out something; a device with a red button at the top.

It was like she’d been doused in ice water. She stared at his hand, holding the trigger to the bomb, and knew as she slowly met his gaze that she was the closest she’d ever come to death.

“Don’t talk about her like that,” Unknown said, his voice shaking. “Don’t ever talk about the Savior like that.”

Everything slowed down. The lights glinted in her eyes like the glass shards that were still on the floor. Barely any time had passed, and yet she thought perhaps she suddenly understood something fundamental that she hadn’t just a bit before.

Her hands relaxed at her sides. Quietly, she asked, “Mikael isn’t your real name, is it?”

He paused, blinking. His weight shifted from foot to foot. “That isn’t any of your business.”

“I meant what I said back then, you know,” she offered. “I want to be your friend. Why Mikael?”

“…Michael,” he muttered after a second of hesitation.

She nodded. “The arch-angel,” she mused. “The protector of the good and faithful. It’s a good name.”

He didn’t say anything, just stared at her.

“Why was I chosen for paradise, Mikael?” She wondered if perhaps there would be no need for fighting after all. He was holding the trigger loosely in his hand now, just looking at her. “Why was the R.F.A. chosen?”

“I chose you,” Mikael said. “The Savior wanted someone who could join the R.F.A. and bring them to paradise. Someone righteous. I looked through candidates…I picked you.”

“Why?”

“You’re American,” he said simply. “No one to look for you when you’re brought to paradise.”

She shuddered, unable to help the reflex. The horror on her face drove him to continue, “I had to go through all the backgrounds of the candidates. You know what it’s like to be failed by your family. The Savior can help you.”

That was…too private. She stepped away, swallowing heavily. It felt terrible, to have everything about her known to people who wanted to use her like a tool.

But he seemed earnest. He really believed that this ‘Savior’ and ‘paradise’ would help her.

He was misdirected, unstable, and completely terrifying. But he…he thought he was helping her.

“Mikael,” she started, and then someone rang the doorbell. She jumped at the sound, whipping around to stare at the door, before looking back at Mikael. He was glaring at the door, hand once again tight around the trigger.

“You invited someone?” He said, voice almost bitterly amused. She could hear her heart beating in her ears as the person began to bang on the door.

Who was it? A neighbor? Someone who’d seen Mikael crash through the window? God forbid, one of her friends?

“I didn’t invite anyone, Mikael,” she said quietly. “I promise.”

It didn’t seem like he heard her. His eyes were narrowed almost to slits, glaring at the door. “I wonder who it is,” he muttered darkly. “Maybe…Luciel Choi?”

“Seven?” She asked, worried, as the banging continued. “How do you know Seven?”

“Of course I know him,” Mikael laughed. “Since—“

With a beeping noise, the door opened.

Spinning, Sea barely heard the “It seems someone knows the door password,” that Mikael said, instead focusing on the very familiar person racing into the room.

“Are you hurt, Sea?!” Zen gasped, face red and appearance unkempt. As he took in the other person in the room, his face twisted into rage.

“Zen?” She breathed, stunned, before shaking her head. “I’m fine,” she said, before whipping around at the sound of crackling glass just in time to dodge Mikael’s grab for her.

Mikael’s expression was black with anger, but determined. “You’re going to come with me,” he told her with certainty.

“Mikael, don’t—“ but she had to cut off when he lunged forward, trigger still in his other hand. “Please!” She begged, but he wouldn’t listen.

“Get away from her!” Zen growled, running forward before Sea flung out a hand.

“Don’t!” She commanded. There was no telling what Unknown would do if cornered. He still had the ability to set off the bomb, if he wanted.

“Sea?” She heard from behind her, disbelieving, but she didn’t have the time to concentrate on that. She focused completely on staying just a step away from Unknown, trying desperately to talk him down.

“You don’t have to do this, Mikael!” She exclaimed. “I don’t want to fight you!”

“Then come with me!” He replied, incensed. “I’m trying to help you! Don’t you want to be free of all your pain?”

“No!” She said. He paused for a moment, staring at her. “I am who I am because of the things I’ve gone through, Mikael,” she said, meeting his eyes earnestly. She could only hope that she got through to him. “And your paradise wouldn’t be freedom to me.”

“You’d rather be here? Where people use and betray you?” He demanded. She flinched away, thinking for a traitorous moment of Seven.

He latched onto her expression, continuing. “You’re useful to them, but they don’t care about you. They just want you to plan their parties…to do their work. They let you stay here, knowing you could be hurt!”

“That isn’t true!” Zen yelled furiously. Both of them turned to him, having forgotten in their conflict that he was still there. In one of his hands, he was holding the cat carrier.

“What Seven and V did…I still can’t forgive it!” He declared, jaw clenched tightly. “It was terrible. But Sea isn’t a tool for us! She’s our friend!” Zen looked her in the eyes, and she was blown away by the forthrightness of the emotion she saw—love. Honest, pure, love.

“Sea’s our friend,” he said again, his voice thick. “She’s a precious member of the R.F.A.”

He held out a hand to her, and suddenly everything else seemed unimportant compared to the swelling of joy inside her. All her life, all she ever wanted was this—someone who called her name and held out their hand.

“Zen,” she breathed, feeling tears begin to trickle down her cheeks as she ran forward, reaching out her own hand. Behind her Unknown said something, but she couldn’t hear it over her heartbeat and breathing, watching Zen’s expression grow relieved as she took his hand and ran out of the apartment.

“Come on!” She declared, feeling his hand grip hers tightly, knowing he was right behind her as they raced down the stairs as quickly as they could. When she risked looking behind her, there was Zen, his face fierce, but Unknown was nowhere to be found.

That didn’t make her feel reassured, but there was nothing else to do but run.

Making it out onto the street, she let Zen take the lead and direct them past the bustle of people, still racing like their lives depended on it—and maybe they still did. They had no way of knowing if Unknown had come alone.

She tried not to think of anything else other than the hand still in hers, her breathing and the beat of her heart—but still, as she ran away from the building that had been her home for only a week, she couldn’t help but feel like surely, there was something else she could have done.

Surely, there could have been a way to help Mikael.

~

Eventually, sweating and panting, they made it to Zen’s apartment. He let them in while Sea glanced furtively around, trying to determine if they were being watched. All the people passing them had become possible enemies, and she wouldn’t be caught off guard again.

They stumbled inside the building, and then inside Zen’s apartment. She carefully placed Claymore’s carrier down on the floor, grateful beyond words that Zen had thought to grab it before helping her run.

“Are…” She took a second to breathe in and out carefully, trying to calm her racing heart, “Are you okay? You just got out of your cast—“

A moment later she squeaked as she was all but tackled to the floor, Zen squeezing the life out of her. She tried to wheeze out a protest, before freezing as she felt him tremble above her.

“…Zen?” She tried, worried. “Zen, what’s wrong?”

A stupid question, she thought regretfully, especially when Zen’s shaking increased.

“Oh my god,” he said hoarsely, “he was right there. He nearly—he could’ve—“

Expression crumpling, she hugged him back just as tightly as his embrace. “Zen, I’m right here,” she swore. “I’m here. I’m here.”

He nodded, face buried in her hair, and they held each other until both of them felt more stable.

Eventually he pulled away, face red once more; this time with embarrassment instead of exertion. “Are you okay?” He fretted, hands quickly roaming over her scalp, her arms, trying to find any injuries. “Did he do anything before I got there? I’m sorry I took so long—“

“Zen, I’m fine,” she promised, taking his hands in hers. “I promise. Unknown didn’t even touch me.”

“Good,” he said, face dark, but his hands held hers gently. A moment later, his face turned to concern once more. “You’re cold,” he said quietly, which was when Sea realized that Zen wasn’t the only one trembling.

She looked at her own hands, watching as they shook. Breathing out harshly, she attempted a smile, though it was likely more of a grimace. “Could be worse,” she offered philosophically. Zen seemed very unimpressed as he stood, quickly making his way into the hall that led to his bedroom.

Quietly she watched him go before standing, noticing at last the pervasive noise of her phone going off. It was Seven, and she watched, bemused, as the call ended, the display showing ‘9 missed calls,’ before it lit up again with another incoming call.

Swiping to accept, she said, “Seven, I’m fine.”

“SEA!!” Seven called, sounding panicked. “Where are you?! I saw you and Zen running out of the apartment from the cameras!”

“Unknown got in,” she said, wrapping her unoccupied arm around her waist, feeling cold at the memory. “He crashed through the window. I managed to keep away from him, and Zen and I ran for it. We’re at Zen’s apartment now.”

The sigh of relief was audible, though she could hear sounds of a car accelerating harshly over the line. Was Seven driving?

“How did he get in through the window?” Seven muttered, aggravated. “You were on the fourteenth floor…”

Sea paused, stunned for a second. That…was true. How the fuck did Unknown crash through a window on the fourteenth floor of a building? Had he rappelled down from the roof or something?

Her life had become some sort of goddamn action movie when she wasn’t looking. This was ridiculous.

“I don’t know,” She said, taking a deep breath. “But, Seven—“ She was cut off by something draping over her back; turning, she saw Zen there. He smiled gently down at her, and her hand trailed along the blanket he’d placed atop her shoulders. It was soft, and when she drew it tighter around her, she felt some warmth start trickling in again. She smiled.

Zen held his hand out, mouth tilted inquiringly, and she obligingly handed it over. He kissed her cheek, and then she watched as his expression darkened into a scowl suddenly.

Horrified, she stared as he growled into the phone, “Seven…”

From a distance, she thought she could hear Seven squeaking.

“You said she was safe,” breathed Zen, sounding inches from murder. “But when I got there, there was some white-haired psycho in the apartment. She was almost kidnapped!” He took a snarling breath, threatening, “You’re just lucky that Sea was okay.”

Seven said something else, his voice serious this time.

“That’s not the point!” Zen yelled, clutching the phone in a tight grip. Sea jerked slightly at the volume, and he subsided, directing an apologetic glance at her. “You and V are so irresponsible! Refusing to tell us the address for so long, just to protect some papers, when Sea’s life was on the line! How does that make sense?!”

More indistinct words from Seven’s side. Zen sighed. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “Sea saw him better than me, I was far away from him.”

Sea held out her hand, and Zen snorted, smiling slightly, before handing it back over. He sat beside her, pulling her into a hug as she placed the phone back to her ear.

“Hey, Seven,” she offered.

“Sea,” Seven said, subdued. “Do you remember what the man looked like?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “He was lean, with bleached hair, and he had a tattoo on his right shoulder of an eye…and his eyes were really, really green.” She recalled how Unknown had stared at her, fervently convinced kidnapping her was doing her a kindness, and shivered. Zen tightened his grip on her slightly, and she leaned into him.

“They were such an unnatural color, I’d almost think they were contacts,” she mused. “He was about five—uh, fuck,” she muttered. Turning to Zen, she asked, “What would be like five feet, eight inches in centimeters?”

He stared at her. She paused for a moment before closing her eyes, letting out a breath and ignoring Seven sniggering on the other line. “How would you know,” she said very calmly, “you don’t know what that is.”

Zen laughed beside her before pulling out his phone and hitting up Noogle. “177 centimeters,” he told her, and she repeated it to Seven.

Sea bit her lip, the moment of levity gone. “Also…Seven. Unknown…he knew you.”

“What?” Demanded Seven and Zen at the same time.

She nodded. “He was talking about you a second before Zen entered the apartment, said something about ‘of course he knew you,’ but he never explained what he meant. And he talked about where he was going to take me: some place called ‘Magenta,’ a paradise led by some ‘Savior’ who he thought would help me.”

Seven said nothing for a long minute, and she listened to the sound of a car stopping, before a door opened and closed. Seven must’ve been driving before; had he been looking for them?

“I can’t think of who it is,” he admitted, the frown undoubtedly on his face obvious in his voice. “But I’m going to start collecting evidence at the apartment soon. I’ll find something, Sea, don’t worry.”

She sighed. “That’s your job, right?” She offered, and this time he laughed for a moment.

“Right,” he said.

They were quiet for a moment, and Sea knew that the conversation was far from over—but they both needed a moment to decide what they wanted to say, when there was so much between them now.

A hand brushed over her hand, and she looked to see Zen smiling at her. “Would you like some tea?” He offered, and she was grateful for both the offer and the tacit opportunity for a private conversation with Seven.

She nodded, brushing a kiss against his lips. “Thanks, love,” she whispered, and had the joy of watching him blush brightly before beaming and going to the kitchen.

Smiling after him, she drew in another deep breath, holding the strength of knowing Zen was with her inside her heart.

“Seven,” she said seriously. “We need to talk.”

And to his credit, there was no deflection, no joke. Just a quiet, “I know.” And then, “I’m so sorry…”

“I know,” she said. “I know you didn’t do it because you wanted to. But it still hurts, Seven. I still don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.”

He was silent.

“Seven, I told Zen that I didn’t want him to come over to the apartment,” she said. “And I know he would’ve respected that. He wouldn’t have come unless he was convinced he needed to.” She waited, but there was still no response, so she continued. “Seven, you called him and convinced him to go to the apartment, didn’t you?”

Seven sighed. “You’re really too smart, Sea,” he complained, but she could tell he was smiling. “How am I supposed to keep any of my super-secret agent coolness if you keep figuring out everything?”

“Sucks for you,” she offered, smiling slightly at his offended noise. “Seven…thanks.”

Seven snorted. “Don’t thank me,” he muttered bitterly. “It was the least I could do, after everything.”

“Still. Thank you,” she said. “The confidentiality of those documents means a lot to you and V. I appreciate you sending him over, even knowing it would compromise them.”

“…you won’t stop saying thank you until I accept it, will you?”

“Nope!” She grinned.

He sighed again. There was a lot of sighing going on today, which was pretty understandable, frankly. “You’re welcome,” he said after a second.

Nodding, she scratched at the back of her neck. “Seven, I want to make something clear, okay?”

“…yeah?” He said, sounding like he was cringing.

“You’re my friend,” she told him seriously. “I won’t pretend that I’m not upset with you after everything, but you’re still my friend, okay?”

The stunned silence over the line informed her that no, Seven probably did not think that was okay.

“What?” He demanded after a second, absurdly sounding upset. “You, you can’t just—after what I did, you—“

“I’m angry with you,” she said firmly. “And I can’t bring myself to trust you again just yet. But you’re my friend. Seven, listen to me. I forgive you.”

“You can’t,” he protested weakly. He sounded like he was on the verge of tears. “You can’t.”

“I can,” she said, lifting her chin.

“I don’t deserve—“

“That’s my choice to make,” she told him sharply. “And it’s not about what you deserve. No one deserves forgiveness for their mistakes; it’s a gift the other person gives you.”

“…how?” He asked tiredly after a moment. “How can you forgive me so easily?”

And Sea—Sea thought about that for a moment, because it was a good question, and it deserved an honest answer.

And the answer, when it came, was as simple as one could be.

“Because I love you,” she said calmly. “You’re my dear friend, and I love you.”

There was no reply, just a very sharp indrawn breath, then silence. She sighed tiredly. “I have to admit I don’t know how stuff like this works in Korea,” she said. “In America, it’s possible to say you love someone platonically. I’m not sure if the connotations of the word are the same over here…but you know what I mean, right? You’re my friend and I love you. And that’s enough for me.”

His next breath was definitely a sob. She felt herself frown, looking away tiredly. Had she said the wrong thing again? She didn’t think Seven was really ready for honesty like that, but…well, he had asked.

“I…have to go,” he said at last, voice wet and so quiet she could barely hear him. She swallowed heavily, clutching at the phone.

“Okay,” she attempted a smile and hoped it came through clearly. “Text me, alright? And be careful investigating. We still don’t know where Unknown is.”

“Yeah,” he said. “Sea…I…I’ll talk to you later.”

“Okay,” she said again, and he hung up.

Placing her phone down, she dropped her face into her palms and groaned quietly. A moment later, she felt a warm presence sit down right beside her.

“Babe,” Zen said gently, brushing a kiss against her hand, “I brought you your tea.”

“Thanks, love,” she whispered, dropping her hands and offering him a wan smile. Taking the warm cup, she blinked after a quick examination. It was white tea, and from the smell…there seemed to be a bit of honey mixed in.

Actually, now that she thought about it, when did Zen get tea? He definitely hadn’t had any the last time she was over.

Curiously, she glanced up at him, to see he was blushing and smiling faintly.

“You mentioned in the chat that you usually drink tea to calm yourself down,” he explained, leaning against her a bit. Mumbling, he continued, “I bought some for the next time you would come over.”

Oh.

Oh. If she hadn’t been holding the carefully brewed tea in her hands, she had no doubt they would have flown to her chest, where her heart had just squeezed tightly with affection.

“Thanks, Zen,” she said, taking a sip of the tea, closing her eyes with contentment at the taste. It was perfect, just how she liked her tea.

They sat in silence for a while, Zen leaning against her while she drank her tea, parsing through her thoughts and feeling the draining emotions of the day leave her to her peace. When she was done, she placed the cup down on the floor and turned, hugging him tightly to her.

“Babe?” He asked, tone worried. His arms went around her in return, hesitantly tightening.

“Thank you for coming for me,” she said, before pulling back. “But…why did you? I understand that you were worried about me, but…if anything had happened to you…”

Zen frowned, taking her hands in his. “Babe…I know you told me not to go to the apartment. And I wanted to respect that. But thinking about you being hurt…” his face turned agonized for a moment, before he smiled and gently touched her cheek. “I wanted to protect you, even though I knew you didn’t need it.”

“And I felt the same about you,” she countered quietly.

“I know,” he nodded. “That’s why I thought about it, and I decided…you should protect me, and I’ll protect you.” He smiled. “That way, both of us will be happy.”

She blinked at him, before her lips twitched. “Pfft…” she laughed, wiping away some tears that threatened to fall. “That’s so simplistic. But…alright. I’m willing to work with that.”

He beamed at her. “But babe, that’s why you’re here, to be the smart one!”

“Oh? Are you my eye-candy, then?”

She should’ve known that would just make him puff up with pride. He even flexed a bit, showing off a corded bicep. “Only for you,” he winked.

“And anyone else you can show a selfie to,” she said wryly. He put a hand to his heart in a mock-offended gesture, but he was smiling as he did so.

“Babe, you know you’re the only one for me,” he said. The smile was still there, but his eyes were serious.

Quietly Sea looked at him, before her she gently took the hand from his heart and kissed the knuckles softly. “Thank you,” she told him, taking in the flustered look on his face. “For supporting me through all of this.”

His fingers slowly curled around her own.

“Always,” he said.

~

Zen had insisted on making dinner that night, until it became very obvious that his cooking skills had not improved in the past couple of days.

After laughing hysterically at the despairing look on his face, she took pity and rescued the remains, until they had a decent meal of stir fry. Eating at the table together, Zen distracted her from her thoughts about the events of the day with stories about acting mishaps, strange people he’d worked with, and both good and hilariously bad directors he’d had before.

It was only when her phone started ringing from where she’d left it on the couch that she took a moment to stare at the clock and realize that it’d been at least three hours since they’d abandoned Rika’s apartment and fled from Unknown.

And that everyone else in the R.F.A. had probably found out what had happened by now.

Nervously checking the caller I.D., she found Jaehee Kang on the screen. She directed a worried look at Zen, who smiled encouragingly at her.

“Hello?” She answered after accepting the call.

“Sea?” Jaehee asked, sounding breathless. “If you’re picking up the phone, then you must be safe.” She sighed deeply, sounding more frazzled than Sea had ever heard her before. “Thank goodness.”

“I’m fine, Jaehee,” Sea said. “Sorry for worrying you all.”

“Please do not apologize,” was the strong reply. “If anything, it’s us who should be apologizing to you, for putting you in such a terrible situation…I’m just glad that you’re alright. Are you with Zen?”

“Yeah, we’re at his apartment right now,” she confirmed. “We figured it would be a better idea to be here than to go back to my old apartment, since Unknown can’t really break into an apartment on the basement level.”

“I can’t believe this,” Jaehee said, upset. “First a bomb, and now an intruder? And we still haven’t been able to reach V…to think this is all happening the day before the party. I want to hear V’s explanation for all of this.”

Sea pursed her lips, not sure what to say. “I doubt V meant for any of this to happen,” she said slowly. “But still…I feel as though he should have told us if he knew this was a possibility. And the bomb…” She fell quiet, unsure of how to put her feelings on that one politely.

“It was foolish and put your life in danger,” Jaehee had no such trouble, apparently. “And there is no possible explanation good enough for that.”

She snorted. “That’s a nicer way of putting it than what I was thinking. My way had a lot of swears. But yeah.”

Jaehee actually laughed a bit at that. “I can’t blame you,” she said. “I would have some choice words as well if I were in that situation. At any rate, I’m glad you are safe. I hope this hasn’t traumatized you in any way. I would suggest going to the hospital and getting checked to ensure you aren’t suffering from shock.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to go out right now,” Sea said. “But it’s not a bad idea. I’ll make sure to be careful and not overreach myself right now.”

“Thank you,” Jaehee sounded truly grateful at that. She really must’ve been worried. “Since I’ve checked that you’re alright, I will leave you in peace. I will see you at the party tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you then, Jaehee,” Sea smiled. “It’s going to be great to meet you in person.”

“I feel the same,” Jaehee said warmly. “Then, good night.”

“Night, Jaehee.”

Predictably, soon after she received a call from Jumin also checking in on her.

“I must apologize to you as a member of the R.F.A.,” Jumin said quietly. “While you were working alone trying to help us, we put you in danger.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for,” she tried to tell him. “It wasn’t any of your faults.”

“You’re very generous,” he replied. “But we as an organization are responsible for placing one of our own in danger. I will not forget that.”

He sighed. “I still have not been able to contact V. I will keep trying…but my patience is reaching its end.”

“I don’t understand why V would keep away for so long,” she said. “I understand that I haven’t known him for that long…”

“No, it is not normal,” Jumin said darkly. “I will make sure to ask him about why he is avoiding us when I get a hold of him.”

That was going to be an awkward conversation. She almost felt bad for V.

Almost.

“I hope Zen is also doing well,” Jumin continued. “He has gotten much more colorful expressions after meeting you. I suppose that is a good thing.”

Amused, she glanced at Zen, who was obviously trying not to show that he was listening into the conversation. More colorful, huh?

“I’ll take your word for it,” she laughed.

“It is good that you are safe,” Jumin repeated. “I will send some bodyguards over to Zen’s apartment to ensure that Unknown cannot attack you again. Please get some rest.”

“You, too, Jumin. I know you must be going through a lot of stress right now. Take care of yourself, okay?”

There was a short pause. “…I do not understand how you can worry about someone else right now, but I will do as you say. I will see you tomorrow.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Jumin,” she said, smiling.

She pulled the phone away from her ear, expecting to see the ‘Call Ended’ screen flash in front of her, but after a moment and Jumin still hadn’t hung up, she placed the phone back to her ear.

Opening her mouth to ask if anything was wrong, she was cut off by him.

“Do not be anxious,” he said, and hung up.

She blinked at her phone, before a much warmer smile curled up her lips. Jumin…was really an excellent friend. She was very lucky.

Sea conveyed to Zen that Jumin was sending bodyguards over to his apartment to make sure that they were safe, and watched in amusement as he cursed furiously at Jumin for not asking him first.

About the time that the bodyguards appeared and Zen went out to go talk to them (or curse at Jumin in front of them, it was really up in the air) was when Sea decided that she should probably call Yoosung herself, to make sure that he knew about everything that had happened. She assumed that Seven had mentioned it in the group chat, but he might’ve been busy and not have seen it yet.

“Oh, man,” Yoosung sighed with relief the moment she greeted him. “Hearing your voice makes me feel better. I’m…I’m so glad that you’re safe.”

“Thanks for worrying about me, Yoosung,” she said. “I wasn’t hurt at all, I promise.”

Yoosung sniffed miserably. “Why am I crying?” He asked, and she laughed quietly. “God, maybe because I feel so relieved…”

“I get that,” she said. “I’m just so glad that everyone’s okay.”

“I’m grateful that Zen went over to make sure you were alright,” Yoosung sniffed. “Or else…god, I don’t want to think about it. The two of you should seriously be happy forever, you went through so much. I’m going to make sure that you’re really happy.”

Her mouth opened, but she could find no words to say how incredibly grateful him saying that made her feel. “Yoosung,” she managed around the lump in her throat. “Thank you.”

“Oh, speaking of helping you…you shouldn’t worry about Echo Girl so much, alright? Seven and I have been working hard all day, finding stuff on her. It’ll definitely all be okay…so you can relax.”

Sea snorted, carefully combing a hand through Claymore’ fur. Zen had kindly allowed her to let him out in the bedroom, as long as he didn’t go anywhere else in the apartment. Sea was just glad that she’d thought to pack some of his food in the cat carrier, and one of the bodyguards had gone to buy a litter box and some cat litter.

“You know, everyone has told me that today at least once,” she mused. “I’m really lucky that I have such good friends.”

“You’re lucky?” Yoosung asked, surprised. “We’re really lucky, too, you know. I mean, just two weeks ago we all thought we’d never have any parties again…and now, despite everything, you’ve made it so that we can. You’re really incredible, Sea.”

She flushed bright red, embarrassed. “I didn’t do it alone, you know,” she protested. “If anything, we’re incredible, all of us pulling this together in less than two weeks. Everyone worked hard.”

“And now we’re finally continuing Rika’s legacy,” Yoosung enthused. “I’m so happy. It feels unreal. Like there’s finally something for me to do again.”

That crushed her to hear, but in a strangely good way.

“I’m glad,” she whispered.

“Babe?” Came a call from behind the closed bedroom door. “There’s a box here for you, from…ugh, Jumin.”

“Jumin?” She muttered, eyebrows pulling down with confusion. Why would Jumin send her something.

“I’ll let you go,” Yoosung said. “I can’t wait to see you tomorrow! At the party!”

“Yeah,” she said warmly. “I’m finally going to get to see all of you in person…I’m so excited.”

Yoosung gasped. “Oh, yeah! This’ll be your first time seeing us. Oh, god…I have to look nice, what should I wear…?”

He hung up still mumbling about how he had to look nice for when they met, and she shook her head with amusement. Oh, Yoosung.

Carefully opening the door and slipping out of the bedroom, she looked curiously at the box that Zen held at arms’ length away from him, a grimace on his face.

“Jumin sent it, you said?” She questioned, though there was really no need. Zen’s face conveyed very effectively who it was from.

He nodded. “Yeah, one of those bodyguards handed it over. Said it was for you.” After giving her the package, he watched as she placed it on the table. When she looked around for something to open it with, Zen walked over to one of the cabinets and pulled out a pair of scissors.

Nodding in thanks, she carefully opened the box, pulling the flaps back to reveal—

“Holy shit,” she said, stunned. Gaping, her hand gently touched the soft fabric before quickly pulling it out of the box, revealing a gorgeous dark blue dress.

“Jumin, what the fuck,” she breathed. This was…a really nice dress. Like, really, really nice. Like, hundreds of dollars’ nice dress.

There was also a little note at the bottom of the box. In elegant script, it read, ‘Since it is due to us that your belongings are unavailable to you currently, I have provided an alternative. Until tomorrow. –Jumin

Behind her, Zen was making noises of incoherent rage. Before she could stop him, he was already dialing, and then yelling furiously at Jumin when the other man picked up.

She watched, both concerned and amused, as Zen all but started breathing fire at the phone in response to whatever Jumin was saying.

“How did you get her measurements?!” He demanded, which was, frankly, kind of a dumb question. Sure enough, a moment later he snarled, “Seven…”

She had a feeling that tomorrow was going to consist of a lot of distracting Zen from strangling Seven.

He hung up a bit later, after venting his rage a bit more, and Sea covertly typed up a message thanking Jumin when Zen wasn’t looking.

She had left all of her clothes back in the apartment, after all. She’d thought that she’d simply have to go out tomorrow before the party and find something suitable, but this certainly made things easier.

…as long as she didn’t think about how much the dress had probably cost, she’d be fine. She wasn’t thinking about it. This was undoubtedly the nicest, most expensive piece of clothing she’d ever seen in her life, and she wasn’t goddamn thinking about it.

She shuddered a bit at the thought of the dry cleaning cost. This was a one-time wear only dress, that was for damn sure.

~

Before she knew it, the whole day had passed. Everything was set up for tomorrow; all the guests had been confirmed, the venue prepared with decorations, the catering attended to, all the evidence on Echo Girl had been collected and prepared, and there was nothing else left for her to do.

She even thought for an honest to god second that she could relax.

Which was why, naturally, V showed up in the chatroom exactly then.

She stared at the profile picture above the chatroom for a second, before clicking into the chat.

*[V]: Seasnan, I’m so glad you’re safe

*[V]: I’m so sorry for being late…

“Zen!” She called, “V’s in the chatroom!”

“What?!” She heard, before a banging noise, then hurried footsteps towards the living room. A moment later, he entered the chatroom as well.

*[V]: Hyun, I wanted to apologize for not being here

*[ZEN]: YOU SHOULD

She watched silently as Zen began to furiously yell at V. Sighing, she combed a hand through Claymore’s fur, hoping she could remain calm.

It wasn’t like she hated V or anything…but out of everyone, he was the one she blamed the most for everything with the bomb. He was the leader of the R.F.A.; he knew that bomb was there, but he still let her stay. That responsibility was on his shoulders most of all.

And so she waited until Zen had finished, and then she waited to see what V had to say.

*[V]: I understand why you are so upset, Hyun. I promise this won’t happen again

*[ZEN]: Where the hell even are you? What reason could you possibly have for not being here when one of our members was in danger?!

*[V]: Luciel probably told you all, but I went on a trip

*[ZEN]: And didn’t take your cell phone?!

*[V]: …no

*[V]: This was meant to be my last trip

*[ZEN]: What do you mean by that?

*[V]: I had a small accident

And then the conversation continued. Sea watched, both frustrated and saddened, as V explained that he was going blind and would soon not be able to do his work.

Zen reacted much as she would expect, demanding to know what had happened, still incredibly angry but also concerned for his friend.

…it was understandable. V was losing his sight, so he had gone on a last trip, paying attention to his photography to the exclusion of all else. She could sympathize with that.

But there were still things that she couldn’t accept. And there was something that bothered her more than anything…the way V spoke, the things he said…

Even if it costs me my life.

And then, once Zen had left the chatroom, it continued.

Please take good care of the RFA members. I think you’ll be able to heal everyone.

If there is a god in this world I wish he’d put me in hell and save everyone.

She closed her eyes and sighed.

*[Seasnan]: V. Please call me right now.

She had to wait a bit for his response.

*[V]: Isn’t Hyun waiting for you?

Her eyes narrowed.

*[Seasnan]: Now.

Another moment of waiting, and then:

V has left the chatroom.

Before she could begin to curse, her phone changed screens and began to buzz. On the caller I.D. was V’s profile picture.

She accepted the call.

“V,” she greeted calmly. “There’s something that I want to ask you about.”

“Of course,” he said, after a brief pause. “That would be the least of what I owe you.”

“I understand why you were difficult to contact during this time,” and she softened her voice. “And I’m very sorry for what you’re going through.”

“…thank you.”

“But I don’t understand why you had me stay at the apartment to begin with if you knew the bomb was there. You clearly know the danger it represents; why would you allow someone to stay there?” She pressed, an edge to her voice.

“…I know that I made a mistake,” he said. “I’m…so sorry for the danger you were placed in because of my decision. But I truly thought that you would not be placed in harm’s way.”

“That is exactly what I mean,” she stated. “Seven told me about the precautions that you took to ensure that no one else would be hurt by the bomb. But you thought that I would be okay. It makes no sense.”

When he offered no answer, she demanded, “V, what made you so sure I would be fine? What are you hiding?”

The silence on the other line dragged on. She grew impatient. “V,” she repeated.

“Seasnan,” V said. “I’m afraid I don’t—“

“Don’t you dare lie to me,” she snapped. “After everything, I deserve at least your honesty.”

Another pause.

V sighed, sounding exhausted beyond measure. “I…cannot tell you. I’m sorry.”

She scowled, frustrated. “I see what everyone meant when they said you don’t tell them anything.”

And, surprisingly, he huffed a quiet laugh at that. “Yes,” he agreed. “That is another thing for which I must apologize.”

She combed a hand through her hair, before asking, “V…why do you keep trying to take everything on yourself?” With a wry tone, she continued, “If even I can tell, after, what? Two weeks? Then it’s probably become a problem.”

“I have to,” he said seriously. “It’s because of me—“

“You don’t,” she interrupted. “I don’t know what you’re blaming yourself for…other than this whole debacle, but no one is meant to work alone, V. You have people who want to help you. There’s no harm in letting them.”

“Thank you, Seasnan,” he said. “But I can’t. I was the one who did all this…so I have to be the one to fix it.”

“That’s total bullshit,” she offered helpfully.

He was silent, so she continued.

“Having a sense of responsibility is all well and good, but there’s absolutely no reason that you can’t receive help. Anything that you can do yourself can be improved with the help of others, and trying to go alone unnecessarily is ridiculous.”

“While I appreciate you worrying about me,” V said, voice firm, “there’s no need—“

“No need?” She said, feeling real anger bubble up. “V, do you think I’m stupid?”

He actually gasped, like he was affronted that she’d even think such a thing. “Of course not!”

“Then why are you assuming that I can’t tell what you mean when you say things like ‘please take care of them’ and ‘even if it costs me my life’?”

Absolute silence. She couldn’t even tell if he was breathing or not.

“Who do you think you are, V?” She asked. “Have you forgotten about everyone else?”

“No,” he said, choked. “No, that’s why I’m—“

“Do you think it’ll help?”

“It has to,” he breathed. “Nothing else has.”

Sea clutched her phone close, shoulders hunching with strain. “Who do you think you are, V?” She asked again, more softly. “Let me tell you. You’re Jumin’s best friend. You’re Zen’s encouragement. You’re the person Seven relies on most of all. You’re the force that keeps everyone together. V, you’re the leader of the RFA. All of them trust you, rely on you and care for you. Don’t you see that?”

“If I could help them in any way, I would,” V swore.

“Then come to the party tomorrow. Come to the chat more often. Spend time with them, V. They don’t need to be saved; they just need you there with them.”

“I—“ and for the first time, she listened as this horrible sob ripped from his throat. “I can’t.”

“V, you can—“

“No,” he cut her off. “I’m sorry.” He took a shaky breath, and then his voice was firmer. “Thank you, Seasnan. You’re…you’re very kind. But I know what I have to do. There’s…something else that I know…I know can help us all.”

“V,” she started to panic a bit, sensing that he was ending the conversation. “Anything you want to do, we can help with! There’s no reason for you to go it alone when we’re all here for you!”

 “’We’,” he repeated. She could hear the warmth in his voice, but it just made her more scared. “You really have become a member of the RFA, Sea. I’m glad. I’m…very glad it was you that came to us.”

“V, please, don’t hang up,” she begged.

“Thank you, Seasnan. You don’t have to worry about me; I know how I sounded, but I promise everything will be fine. Good night.”

“V!” She exclaimed. When she looked down at her phone, ‘Call Ended’ flashed on the screen.

“Fuck,” she muttered, quickly redialing his number. It rang, then went to voicemail. She called again.

Again.

Again.

But V never answered the phone, and eventually she just stared down at her lap, eyes wide.

After a bit, there was a hesitant knock on the door.

“Babe?” Called Zen, sounding worried.

She couldn’t find it in her to respond. V was…V was…

The door opened with a click. “Babe?” Zen whispered, “are you alright?”

Slowly she looked up, feeling tears begin to seep from her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. He stared, shocked, as her face scrunched up, agonized.

“Zen,” she managed. “I think I messed up.”

Chapter Text

V never answered any of her phone calls, nor any of the calls from Seven or Zen. When the night had passed and there was still no reply, they were forced to admit that V had disappeared once more.

He’d promised that he would be at the party, though. Sea didn’t want to think that he was so caught up in whatever was happening to him that he would even lie to them; so, until the party, she had no choice but to hold out hope.

And if he wasn’t there…she didn’t know what was next.

The next day dawned without further trouble, another beautiful sunny day. This time she watched the sun rise without enmity, but a frown still on her lips. She wondered how the party would go, how the Echo Girl crisis would be resolved. She wondered about Unknown and V. It seemed that the future was full of doubt.

She padded out into the hallway, the tiles cool on her feet. Zen was sleeping on the couch, his long hair unbound by his customary hair tie and instead spread out and spilling over the side. Smiling, she dipped down and brushed a kiss against his forehead before heading over to the kitchenette.

She set the electric water heater to boiling, pulling out some eggs and rice. Whisking the eggs was easy and quick, setting the rice to cook on the stovetop at the same time. As they cooked, she set the tea to steep and sat at the table.

Taking in a deep breath, she luxuriated in the scent of the white tea, a small smile tipping her lips up.

A moment later something warmed draped over her back, arms coming around to circle her in a hug.

“Mornin’, babe,” Zen greeted, voice raspy with sleep. “Smells good.” Kissing her cheek, he released her to move around the table and examine the nearly finished rice.

“Thanks,” she said. “Yoosung mentioned that he made omurice a bit ago, and I’ve been wanting some ever since.”

Zen hummed, nodding and heading back to the table, sitting next to her. “Did you sleep alright?” He asked, stifling a yawn.

“Mostly,” she admitted honestly. “I had a hard time falling asleep, but there were no nightmares.” Since she’d been expecting some pretty awful dreams after everything with the bomb and Unknown, not having any was an unexpected boon. She didn’t think it would last very long.

“Mm, good,” he said, offering a beatific smile that made her heart clench with love. She couldn’t resist leaning forward and kissing him softly in response. He hummed, eyes only slightly open, slivers of warm red.

Smiling helplessly, she made him a cup of tea as well before finishing up the eggs and rice. Allocating the rice into two bowls, then placing the eggs on top, she grabbed the ketchup from the fridge and carefully drew a smiley face onto each.

“Here you go,” she said, sliding him the food and a spoon. He mumbled thanks, mechanically picking up the spoon and going to take a bite before freezing, eyes going wide.

“Zen?” She asked, worried, watching his face as he took in the smiley face, slowly turning red.

He dropped his face into his hands, letting out a little groan. “So cute!” He complained, laughing. “Babe, you can’t just do something like that without warning…I can’t handle it.”

“What?” She frowned down at the food before them. “The faces?”

“Yes, the faces!” He whined. “How am I supposed to wake up in the morning to see you making breakfast for us and then drawing a smile on it?”

Amused, she raised an eyebrow.

“Gratefully,” she offered. He pouted at her.

“Babe…” he whined, and she rolled her eyes.

“Eat your breakfast,” she commanded, and watched with satisfaction as he did so, still looking somewhat flushed.

The profuse compliments she got for the food were nice, but kind of embarrassing. Once they’d both eaten, Zen placed the dishes in the sink and then they sat together at the table, slowly drinking their tea as they woke up fully. It was idyllic, almost a miracle after the events of the day before. It was more than she’d ever had, and she had to close her eyes for a moment before her feelings could overwhelm her.

After that, she went back to the bedroom to feed Claymore and clean his litterbox. Once those chores were done, she carefully smoothed back the fur on his back, smiling as he stretched into her hand.

“Hey,” she greeted softly. “I’m going to be heading out to that party that I was talking about soon, okay? I’ll be back in a couple of hours, though, so don’t worry.”

Claymore stared at her blankly.

“Of course I won’t worry about you, you foolish peasant,” she mocked in a snooty voice. “Make sure you get back in time to bring me my meal. Now leave me, knave.”

Claymore eyed her hand the way he always did a second before—

Yup, and he leapt forward right as she jerked her hand away. “Not this time, you punk!” She cackled, dancing out of the room before her murderous cat could try to finish the job.

…only to run into an equally murderous looking Zen, who had his hands clenched into fists and was breathing harshly, glaring at the wall.

She peered at him thoughtfully for a second. “…Jumin?” She hazarded.

“Jumin,” he confirmed.

Glancing at the table, which had—oh dear god—another box on it, she gulped worriedly.

She grabbed the scissors that were still on the table from the package yesterday, opening the box quickly, like ripping off a bandage.

“Oh,” she said, blinking curiously at the contents. Inside were a familiar, silver pair of heels, her makeup bag, and a couple changes of clothes.

The note this time read: Luciel retrieved some items he felt you might need from the apartment. Until later. –Jumin

“Seven grabbed some of my stuff from the apartment,” she reported to Zen, gratefully grabbing the stuff and heading back to the bedroom, where she had the hung dress up in the closet last night.

“Good,” Zen sighed, relaxing. She patted him on the back as she went, smiling a bit.

“Do you want to use the bathroom first, or me?” She asked.

“You can go first, babe,” he offered gallantly.

She peered out of the bedroom for a second with her eyebrow raised. “You know I have to put makeup on and everything? It might take a while.”

He paused, blinking at her. “…Uh, then do you mind—“

She jerked her head towards the bathroom, grinning, and he went obediently.

Huffing a laugh, she went through her makeup bag, choosing which jewelry in it she thought would look good with the dress. Silver, silver…she had silver jewelry, didn’t she? Oh god, she hadn’t really thought to bring much in the way of makeup or jewelry to the apartment, most of it was back at her old place.

She’d have to wing it and hope for the best, she guessed.

“Babe?” Zen called. “Bathroom’s all yours.”

“Thank you!” She carefully picked up the dress and hung it up on the bathroom door first, before ferrying her makeup onto the counter and placing her shoes on the ground.

The dress fit perfectly, not that she’d really expected otherwise. She stepped into the shoes, grateful for the thick heel that kept her steady on her feet. She’d never been very good at wearing heels.

The makeup was definitely the toughest part of this whole thing; she rarely wore any, even to work. She just wasn’t sure how to coordinate the outfit to look good, and after scowling for a bit, she sighed and peeked her head out—

To find that Zen was nervously standing outside the door, a light blush on his face as they stared at each other.

For a moment she took in his outfit: the white coat with the black shirt and gold buttons. He looked dashing, and she had to minutely shake her head to distract herself from the image before her.

“Did you need any help, babe?” He asked eagerly, offering a grin.

He was…hoping she’d ask, huh.

Sighing, she smiled. “I wanted to ask what you thought I should do, makeup-wise.”

His eyes lit up. Literally, she could see the excitement.

Amused, she opened the door and gestured him in. He made to enter, before freezing in place, staring at her.

She blinked, before looking down at herself; the dark blue against her pale skin, how it tapered perfectly at her waist before flowing down, following her curves and slimming her down at the same time. It really was a lovely dress. She would have to thank Jumin.

Sea offered Zen a bashful smile. “I don’t look too bad, huh?”

He nodded mutely, face getting more red with each passing moment.

“Uh, babe?” She questioned. “Makeup?”

“Makeup,” he wheezed. “Right.”

After he recovered, she got to see the true benefits to having an actor for a boyfriend; he knew a fuck ton more about makeup than she did. And was obviously very happy to help.

“So with this, you can put the darker shade right on your cheekbones, and then the lighter one above,” he explained, carefully brushing blush onto her cheeks. “It’ll emphasize them more.”

She did her eyebrows and carefully applied her eyeshadow and lipstick, smiling at herself in the mirror.

She turned to Zen, smiling, only to rear back when he ducked in and stole a kiss.

“Hey!” She laughed, hands going up to protect her mouth. “You’re going to mess up my lipstick!”

“Sorry,” he grinned, his lips now faintly red. She snorted at the sight, and his grin widened into a beaming smile. “You just looked so good, I couldn’t help it.” After looking at her for a second longer, his expression unexpectedly soured.

“This might sound childish,” he muttered, “but make sure to stick right by my side, alright? You look so nice…god, if I see any guys looking at you, I’ll bite their heads off!

Sea stared at him. Zen was…jealous? Because he thought people were going to…look at her?

She thought back onto that awful night when she’d realized that Zen had met Echo Girl, that horrible understanding that there was no way he’d be interested in Sea after seeing someone so beautiful.

A small smile crossed her face, and she took his hand in hers.

“They can watch me all they want,” she said, meeting his eyes. “But I will only be looking at you.”

He stared at her, face red, before his smile returned with more force than before.

“Okay,” he whispered, pulling her close, and she leaned back a bit to kiss him.

Laughing quietly at the stunned expression on his face, she grabbed his hand and tugged him along with her out of the bathroom. “C’mon, love. We’ve got a party to dazzle.”

~

Getting to the party was an adventure all by itself. Convincing Zen that it was a better idea to accept the offered limo sent by Jumin was, to be fair, easier than she’d expected; he was already pretty resigned to the idea, simply to ensure that Unknown wouldn’t be able to catch them in the public transit system.

Of course, that meant that she and Zen were in a limo with four bodyguards around them, reassured by the lead bodyguard that the venue was being heavily guarded and their route was being carefully monitored to ensure their safety.

Jumin sure was pulling out all the stops today; but she certainly appreciated it, after the danger yesterday. She was sure Zen did, too—he didn’t even complain about the security measures that were taken, the quick turns through the city streets onto smaller roads, the constant back-and-forth murmurs between their bodyguards and their earpieces.

Sea spent the ride looking through the windows, watching people walk on the sidewalks, looking curiously back at the limo. She wasn’t sure why she felt this current of tension in her until she realized that she was looking for a head of bleached white hair in the crowd—and then she looked over at Zen, whose eyes were narrowed into red slits as he, too, stared out the windows.

Swallowing the lump that rose in her throat, she carefully reached out and took his hand. It seemed that there was no way that the events of yesterday would stay there; she should have known better than to hope that.

It would be a while before either of them forgot that the places they thought safe could be so easily broken into.

Zen glanced over at her, before his eyes softened, and his hand squeezed hers.

The venue, when they finally arrived, was grand. She supposed she shouldn’t have expected anything else; Jumin was the one who’d chosen it, after all.

From the very moment that they stepped out of the limo, they were being photographed by the reporters that Jaehee and Jumin had invited for the press conference. They called out questions to Zen about the scandal with Echo Girl, in light of the footage that had been released two days ago; luckily, Zen ignored them, and they were prevented from getting into his face by the bodyguards.

Sea nervously got out of the limo, following behind Zen. He shot her a reassuring smile, but didn’t take her hand. The noise from the reporters was so loud that making out individual questions was nearly impossible. The little she got that was directed at her basically asked why she was getting out of a limo with Zen.

“Just ignore them,” Zen advised her, before promptly ignoring his own advice and talking to one of the reporters.

“Hey, this isn’t live, is it? It’s going to be edited?” He asked, looking at the reporter and completely ignoring the cameraman next to her.

“It’s live,” the reporter replied, holding a mic up to his face. “Zen, we heard that you’ll be conducting a press conference at the charity party today. What is your relationship with the host?”

Zen frowned. “I’m the host, what are you talking about?” He looked around, searching for someone. Probably Jaehee; wasn’t she supposed to be at the entrance?

More questions were called out, from reporters and fans and protesters. When it seemed that Zen would engage with them, Sea took a deep breath, then pulled him along.

The crowd only seemed to swell, pushing towards them despite the efforts of the bodyguards with them.

“Security!” Zen called. “Help, please!”

More security swarmed in, pushing the crowd back enough for her and Zen to move forward. One of the personnel escorted them, saying something about how there was more people than expected, so the guards were stretched thin.

They managed to get into the party hall, where some people were milling about.

“Guess they weren’t even invited,” Zen said, glancing back at the door they’d just escaped through. “Are you alright, babe?”

“Fine,” she replied, looking around. The chandelier on the ceiling was beautiful, with what looked like hanging balls of light illuminating the room. “The conference room seems full, too,” she commented, peering in.

Zen let out a sigh, and she saw that he looked tired.

“Looking at people who still hate me makes me feel…” he sighed again.

She moved her hand from his arm to lace their fingers together. “I’m sorry, Zen,” she said. “But after this, things will be better.”

He nodded, squeezing her hand. “Yeah.”

“Zen!” Called a voice, and they both turned to see a woman walking briskly through the crowd of people. She was wearing a brown dress, a gray jacket over it, and business heels.

Sea squinted at her, wondering why her voice seemed familiar.

“I’m glad you made it through the crowd,” the lady continued, offering a small smile. Her eyes, behind her glasses, were sharp as she glanced over at Sea.

And Sea—

Sea blinked.

“Jaehee!” Zen confirmed her thoughts. “Aren’t you supposed to be outside?”

“Jaehee?” Sea blurted, staring at the woman who had swiftly become her friend.

Jaehee turned, wide eyes taking in Sea. “Seasnan!” Her smile widened, reaching her eyes. She reached out, and Sea took her hand, beaming.

“I’m so glad to finally see you,” Jaehee said, shaking her hand.

“Same here!” Sea replied, taking in the little details in the face that she’d been waiting to meet for nearly two weeks.

Jaehee was a little bit taller than Sea, her eyes a warm amber behind her glasses. Her face was thin, her hands well-manicured, her hair a dark brown in a short cut.

“Is everyone else here?” Zen asked, Jaehee stepping back so she could regard both of them.

“Yes, everyone is here…though I have only heard that V is here. I have not seen him myself.”

Sea breathed a sigh of relief, almost slumping from the weight that was lifted from here. So V was here…thank god.

And…all of the rest of her friends were inside the venue. She was finally going to meet everyone that she’d grown so close to so quickly. Anticipation ran through her, and she felt her heart pick up its pace.

Zen nodded thoughtfully. “Alright. I’ll have to focus on the press conference for now…there’s so many reporters, it’s nerve-wracking.”

Sea intertwined her hand with his, offering a smile. “Don’t worry,” she tried to soothe him. “You’ll do fine.”

“Yes, there is no doubt that we’ll soon be able to put all of this behind us,” Jaehee nodded. “But currently you have to come back stage to prepare for the press conference.”

“Should I come, as well?” Sea asked.

“If you wish,” Jaehee said. “It might be better to watch from here, however. Soon the guests will be let in, and you’ll have to be there to greet them.”

Sea grimaced. “Oh,” she said, like she’d just been told she had to stick her hand into a bucket full of worms, or something similarly unpleasant. Writing emails to people was easy. Actually talking to them in person?

Not so much.

“You’ll be great, Sea,” Zen reassured her. “Just charm them like you did me.” He grinned at her, and she raised an eyebrow in reply.

“You’re easy to charm, love,” she teased, watching as the smile disappeared and a mock-offended expression replaced it on his face. “I don’t think getting all of these people to network with each other will be so simple.”

She rubbed her thumb against his hand for a moment before letting go. “But thanks. I’ll…” she offered him a big smile. “I’ll do my best.”

Jaehee cleared her throat, and they both looked to see her smiling minutely. “Right. Well, Zen, I will escort you to the back. Seasnan, I believe that I saw Yoosung in the conference hall a bit ago. He might still be there.”

Sea’s face lit up. “Yoosung!” She said, excited. “I’ll go find him, then. Good luck, both of you!”

“Yes,” Jaehee nodded. “Same to you.”

“Thanks, babe,” Zen said, but the same anxiety was starting to creep back into his face as before, when they’d just got out of the press of people outside.

“You’re going to be fine,” she told him confidently. “You’re Zen, after all. And I’m with you. We all are.”

Zen blinked at her, and then hesitantly turned to Jaehee. She nodded to him with absolute confidence in her eyes. “I admit that I thought that…perhaps things would not turn out well for a while,” she admitted. “But I have faith in you. That…” she flushed a bit. “That’s what family does, right?”

Zen stared at her, and then swiftly turned on his feet so they couldn’t see his face. “Right,” he said thickly.

Jaehee and her exchanged another smile, and then Jaehee turned and walked towards the back stage, Zen following after a moment of hesitation and a quick glance at Sea.

She watched them go, a satisfied smile on her face and her hands on her hips. God, what a bunch of absolute losers. How she loved them.

“Alright,” she sighed, rolling her shoulders. Time to go find Yoosung.

…wait. How was she supposed to find Yoosung if she’d never met him before?

…

“Oh, son of a bitch,” she hissed under her breath, before turning and stalking off into the conference room. Well, look for bleached blond hair, she supposed.

It took a bit, admittedly, but eventually she managed to pinpoint one of the guys walking around in the conference hall as…probably Yoosung.

His hair was blond, and he was wearing a blue dress shirt, dress pants, and suspenders, in the clear fashion sense of ‘I am a college student and these are the only nice clothes I own.’ She remembered that time in her life well.

She edged up to him, nervous that she would be wrong in her guess. He looked over at her, confused, but offered a polite smile.

“Hello,” he said, before his eyes widened and he hurriedly said “Hello,” again, but this time in accented English.

Oh, yeah. It was definitely Yoosung, though he didn’t seem to realize who she was.

“Hello,” she smiled, noting how his shoulders relaxed when she spoke in fluent Korean. “Is your name Yoosung?”

His expression turned surprised for a moment, before he looked her over again, gaining comprehension.

“Are you—“ He gasped.

She beamed, holding out a hand. “I’m Seasnan,” she introduced herself. “Yoosung, it’s so good to meet you.”

“Sea!” He exclaimed, taking her hand and shaking it. “Oh, wow, I’m so glad to see you!” He laughed a little bit.

“What?” She asked, amused at how his eyes were lit up. They were also purple. That was actually pretty cool, did he wear colored contacts or something?

“You’re, uh, sorry, you’re just a bit shorter than I thought you’d be,” he admitted.

She blinked. “Really?”

He nodded. “I don’t know why, I just thought you’d be around my height.”

She had to admit, she also thought the two of them would be a bit closer in height than they were. Yoosung was a good couple of inches taller than her; not as tall as Zen, and a bit shorter than the average guy in Korea, but still.

“I actually kind of thought the same,” she said thoughtfully.

He grinned. “Yeah, see! You thought—wait, you thought I’d be short?” His expression changed to vaguely offended.

“You thought I’d be tall,” she replied, shrugging.

He hummed. “You just give off that feeling, kind of?”

“You’re actually not the first person to tell me that.”

Amused, they both grinned at each other.

“How are you holding up?” Sea asked, more serious. “This week’s been hard for you.”

Yoosung looked away for a second, eyes tightening. He sighed. “I’m…better, now. Everything moved so fast, it felt like I could barely understand one thing before the next happened.”

Sea nodded. “I know exactly what you mean.”

“It was probably like that for you more than anyone,” Yoosung laughed. “Just stumbling into everything, and then somehow you manage to do all this.”

He looked around at the venue, the people already mingling, the podium set up, the refreshments on a long table. Jaehee and Jumin had really gone all out for this; not that Sea had expected otherwise.

“I wasn’t working alone,” she pointed out. “You guys were the ones to actually find the guests and set up the venue.”

“But you convinced everyone to come,” Yoosung replied.

“Well, you know. Teamwork makes the dream work.”

He smiled at her. “That’s what it feels like…a dream. I never imagined we could hold Rika’s parties again…but here we are.” She felt very small under the grateful smile he gave her.

“I’m glad,” she said quietly. “I know you all keep talking about how I really helped you all…but you really helped me, too. I’m happy to know that I can really do something good like this.”

“Sea…” Yoosung said, before shaking his head. Smiling, he said, “Let’s go find everyone else, okay? I think I see Jumin over there.”

“Jumin?” She asked, once more filled with excitement. The only people she hadn’t met yet were Jumin, Seven, and V, and though there was trepidation in her thoughts of the latter two, she still felt excited at the idea of finally seeing them in person.

Yoosung pointed out a tall man walking around in a nice suit, dark hair and a wine glass in hand. He offered small smiles and the occasional comments to the people he passed, but didn’t stay in one place for long.

He gave off an aura of absolute, untouchable confidence as he went, which really cemented it in her mind. Yup. That was definitely Jumin.

Yoosung took one look at the expression of half eagerness, half anxiety on her face and laughed. “That’s how I felt when I met him, too,” he said, grinning. “Don’t worry. I think Jumin likes you the most out of everyone in the R.F.A., save V.”

Ah, yes, the R.F.A. which included his assistant, the guy he’d been in a weird respect-hate relationship with for the past like three years, the guy who broke into his house to harass his cat, and the guy who was addicted to video games.

“Be still my beating heart,” she muttered as Yoosung guided her over. He shot her a teasing glare, and she aimed a grin back at him.

“Jumin!” Yoosung called out once they got close. Jumin looked over, expression neutral.

“Jumin, this is Sea!” Yoosung introduced them. “Isn’t it great to finally see her in person?”

Jumin’s eyes slid over to her, and she felt nervous for a moment before he smiled, seeming much more genuine than the small quirk of his lips he’d given the people he’d passed by before.

“Seasnan,” he said, and she was startled all over again at how deep his voice was. “It’s an honor to meet you. The guests here are excellent. I look forward to working with you in the future, as well.”

She flushed, happy at the sincere praise. Yoosung sighed.

“That’s so business-like,” he bemoaned. “Jumin, come on. This is Sea.”

The small smile left Jumin’s face, expression smoothing out. Sea shook her head.

“It’s fine, Yoosung,” she smiled. “I’m glad everything’s turned out well. The venue that you and Jaehee picked out is fantastic, too. Do you know when security will let the guests in?”

Jumin seemed more relaxed at the reply. “I expect it will be soon. We should all be over there to greet them, since Zen and Assistant Kang must prepare for the press conference.”

Yoosung made a high-pitched noise. “I have to greet them, too?”

“You are a member of the R.F.A.,” Jumin replied, and she was delighted to see a spark of mischief there.

She followed Jumin as he easily made his way through the crowd to the entrance hall, Yoosung behind her, all but drooping with anxiety.

“I’ll be okay,” she whispered. “Just smile, shake their hand, and say ‘Thank you for coming.’”

Once they reached the entrance hall and were waiting for the majority of the guests to be let in, she asked, “Do you guys know where Seven is? I haven’t seen him yet.”

Yoosung hummed thoughtfully, shaking his head.

“I believe he’s backstage,” Jumin offered. “He had a lot of equipment set up there.”

“Backstage?” She repeated, confused. “Why would he be backstage?”

“Maybe he’s making sure Unknown doesn’t try to get in here?” Suggested Yoosung.

“V said that the situation with Unknown was handled,” Jumin said, arms crossing across his chest.

Sea frowned. “Speaking of V, I haven’t seen him, either,” she realized. “Have you guys noticed him anywhere?”

“I haven’t,” Yoosung shook his head.

Jumin’s eyebrows slowly furrowed. “Neither have I. I believe Seven arrived with some of V’s photo prints, but I am unsure if V was with him. Personally, I think—“

“Mr. Han,” called a security guard, approaching with a harried face. “We’ve mostly gotten the crowd to back off. The guests have also arrived.”

Jumin immediately was once again putting off an aura of command, of untouchable confidence.

“Good,” he nodded. “Then let the guests in. Make sure none of the paparazzi outside are allowed inside the venue; only the reporters we’ve chosen can be at the press conference.”

“Yes, sir,” the guard said, before turning and heading back outside.

She and Yoosung exchanged impressed glances behind Jumin’s back. Wow. Jumin was actually pretty cool.

The doors started to open, and Sea gulped, glancing over at her two friends for moral support. As the line of guests began to make their way into the entrance hall, she realized, to her horror, that she was standing as the first in line.

She darted a betrayed glance at Jumin, who was smiling again. “You are the hostess,” he murmured, and easily avoided the heat of the glare she aimed at him.

That dirty snake. Throwing her to the whims of the guests so easily. Two weeks of friendship, ruined!

 Before she could try to enact vengeance she had to paste a smile on her face, because the guests were before her, and there was no escape.

~

Overall, it wasn’t as bad as she thought it would be. She knew all the guests, had spent an extensive amount of time researching their organizations, businesses, and personal idiosyncrasies, and had carefully picked out their personalities and what kind of answers they’d like. Which meant that when she met them, she only had to stick once more to the script she’d identified for each of them already.

“Hello!” Sea greeted, offering a smile to a middle-aged woman wearing an artist’s hat, who smiled back at her. “I’m Seasnan Moran. It’s good to meet you. I’m so glad you could make it.”

“Hello,” the lady replied. “I am the chairwoman of the Women Artists Organization. Are you the one who I spoke with over email?”

“Yes, that’s me,” Sea nodded.

The woman beamed, leaning forward and clasping their hands together. “I was so impressed with how much you knew about the history of art,” she enthused. “It’s wonderful to see young people interested in classic works. Tell me, are you an artist?”

Sea just smiled, shaking her head a bit. “Unfortunately not,” she laughed. “I never had the talent for art. But I can still admire it from a distance, right?”

“Oh, nonsense!” The woman pulled out a card from her pocket and handed it over to Sea. “As you well know, my organization specializes in encouraging young women to increase their artistic capabilities. We offer programs, and even provide the supplies if you cannot get them yourself. Please, I encourage you to look at them!”

Sea paused, before beaming and taking the card. “I will,” she said happily. “And thank you. I’ll look forward to speaking with you further later.”

The woman smiled back, before moving further along the line to speak with Jumin.

Sea tucked the card into her purse before turning to the next guest, a man in a nicely pressed suit, looking to be in his mid-thirties.

“Hello,” she greeted.

“Seasnan Moran, right?” He smiled and offered a hand. She shook it. “The hostess of the R.F.A.?”

“That’s correct. And you are?”

“I’m Fair Kang, from the Fair Reporters Association. Thank you for inviting me, this event has been very popular in previous years. I look forward to writing an honest, fair review on it.”

“And we appreciate your work in doing so. Your organization has a wonderful reputation for encouraging the publication of fact-driven media. I’m so glad you could be here,” she replied.

He nodded, and they exchanged some more small pleasantries before he moved on to Jumin, and she prepared for the next onslaught.

She continued to greet her guests, taking joy from each person who appeared through the doors and knowing that because of her and everyone’s hard work, there would be a lot of charities making connections and possibly getting funding tonight.

It was…incredibly rewarding, to say the least.

She greeted Driver Kim, who appeared very happy to see her and apologized once more for mistaking her the first time they’d met. She waved it off, and he greeted his boss before heading into the conference area.

Following him was the representative from Doctors with Conscious, the leader of the Homeless Rescue Team, the Oil Prince, one of Zen’s old friends, and the investigator Yoosung had suggested. Each of them already knew her from her emails, and she also knew at least basic facts about all of them, which helped relieve her anxiety; she wasn’t simply talking to faceless, unknown people. They were all pleasant and before she knew it she was effortlessly recalling conversations they’d already had, mentioning other people they might want to meet, and managing to actually do a decent job at this hostess thing.

The list went on and on, until finally she blinked and realized that she’d just welcomed the last guest, and that finally there was no one left.

She turned to see Yoosung beaming, and even Jumin had a smile lighting up his face.

“Wow!” Yoosung breathed. “I think this is the most guests we’ve ever had!”

“This is excellent,” Jumin agreed warmly. “You did a wonderful job, Seasnan.”

She grinned. “I couldn’t have done it without you guys,” she said. “We all worked hard.”

Jumin nodded. “I believe that the press conference will begin shortly,” he announced. “We should go to the conference hall, so we can see it.”

Sea clicked her tongue, eyes darting around. “I still haven’t seen Seven,” she muttered. He thought he could hide, huh? Well, they’d just see about that. There was no way in hell he was getting out of here without her finally meeting him and them talking about everything.

“He’s probably still in the back,” Yoosung offered. “You could go look for him, if you want.”

She frowned, unsure. “I want to be here for Zen’s press conference, though,” she hesitated.

“I doubt Seven will be going anywhere,” Jumin reassured her. “You will have time to find him afterwards.”

“Right,” she said. It wasn’t exactly like he could just run away; he was a member of the R.F.A., after all. He had to be here.

Though…speaking of members of the R.F.A…

She glanced at Jumin as he once more parted the waves of guests and reporters, her and Yoosung following closely behind. Other than the comment that had been cut off by the influx of guests, he hadn’t really mentioned his thoughts on V…

But still. Jumin was the person that knew V best. If he thought…if he was unsure whether or not V was here, then, that meant…it really was possible that V wasn’t at the party.

And if he wasn’t at the party, then where was he?

Her hands clenched into fists, and she consciously relaxed them before any of the guests could notice. Only Seven knew for sure whether or not V was here…which just gave her another reason to hunt him down after this press conference.

And if V wasn’t here…then she’d find out why. And, if need be, she’d go find him and drag him here. There was no way she was just letting this go. Not after last night.

V was definitely in some kind of trouble. And Sea was going to help him, whether he liked it or not.

As Jaehee appeared at the podium on the small stage they’d set up, Sea shelved her thoughts for later and instead paid attention.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the R.F.A. Charity Party,” Jaehee began, a small smile on her face. “We have more guests than usual here today. I hope that this will be a meaningful occasion for all of you.”

She took a breath, appearing as composed as always. That was Jaehee. There was nothing that could throw her off her game.

“I’m sure some of you are confused regarding why we are holding a press conference for a musical actor at a charity party. Zen is one of the R.F.A. members, who is in the midst of a controversy at the moment. As an organization, we would like to prevent any more false rumors from spreading about one of our members and maintain the status of our organization.” She adjusted her glasses for a moment. “It is our opinion that this is all a misunderstanding. Please be your own judge of this matter.”

“Doesn’t that sound kind of harsh?” Muttered Yoosung.

Jumin shrugged. “I rewrote the last part of that script.”

“Well, that explains it,” Sea offered, and pretended she didn’t see the mild glare Jumin sent her.

Jaehee introduced Zen to the stage, and Sea felt herself holding her breath as Zen appeared, nodding gratefully at Jaehee and moving to the podium.

He picked up the microphone, seriously looking around at the crowd of people. His expression was determined as he took a deep breath.

“Hello,” he greeted, voice calm. A reporter immediately interrupted him, but Jaehee quelled them, and attention turned back to Zen.

And what followed…was not what Sea had expected.

She’d thought that Zen would explain, succinctly, what had really happened that night with Echo Girl, present the evidence they’d gathered, and then would field questions from the reporters. But she should have remembered that this was Zen she was talking about.

He told them, instead, about how he’d run away from home in high school. About the difficulties he’d faced, living by himself, and the strained relationship he’d had with his family for years and years. About his desire to act from when he was a child on. His temper problems, his pride, how he knew that some of his success had come from his looks; he told this crowd of people about it all.

She stared, stunned, as Zen admitted all his faults, all his mistakes, to these people who didn’t know him and, at least in the reporters’ cases, had come here specifically to make a story off him.

The amount of bravery she knew it must be taking him…she couldn’t comprehend it. He, who had choked the words out about his family to her days before…to say them in front of an audience that he knew contained people that disliked him?

She watched in awe. The welling in her heart of pride almost overwhelmed her with its force as he went on to talk about Echo Girl, about how she’d come to his house in the middle of the night, how she’d told him that she wanted to sleep with him, how she’d told him that she had gotten him a role specifically because she’d liked him…because she’d wanted him.

Materials were handed out to the press regarding the online posts Echo Girl had made about Zen, claiming that he wouldn’t refuse her body. An eye witness account was given by the vendor of the bread stall that was near Zen’s apartment, that he had seen Echo Girl visit Zen earlier on the same day that she’d gone to his apartment that night.

Yoosung and Jumin talked to each other quietly as this happened, but her eyes were glued to the proceedings, the slowly more and more convinced expressions on the reporters she could see. He was winning them over, little by little.

The video that Seven had put up over MeTube was also brought up and discussed. Zen claimed that he didn’t know who’d done it, but it did show the events from that night from the camera that was in the hallway outside his apartment. As evidenced by the video, Echo Girl never even stepped foot inside his apartment, and he had never touched her.

Zen talked about his difficulties dealing with having to hide parts of himself from his fans in order to keep their good perceptions of him. He told them that he wanted to live an honest life, doing what he loved…and that there was no possible way that he could have feelings for Echo Girl, because he was in love with someone else.

There was a beat of absolute silence in the room. And Sea swore, in that moment, that she was going to kill him.

“Oh my god,” she wheezed, right before the room was filled with reporters shouting questions.

It was like someone had dumped ice water on her. There was no way…there was no way he was going to…

“Is she here?” A reporter shouted.

Don’t you fucking dare, she thought, trying to aim it at Zen like a dagger. Don’t, don’t, don’t—

“Hide me,” she begged, slipping behind Jumin. It’d be fine. Jumin was, what? Six foot? There was no possible way that anyone would be able to see her from behind him, so clearly there could be no way that they’d know it was her. Right?

Jumin glanced at her, before looking back at Zen, still on stage. His lips pressed together into a thin line.

“Seasnan, come here,” Zen said, very clearly, on the microphone that she was going to use to choke him.

Yoosung stared, his head whipping back to look at her. “Sea…” he whispered. “Are you going to go?”

She scowled, trapped. There was no way that she couldn’t, now that Zen had done this. It would embarrass him, and this was too important for anything to go wrong.

“We’ll have to make a way,” Jumin said, his voice heavily disapproving.

It felt like all eyes were on her and she stepped out from behind Jumin, and, well, they probably were. She set her face in a neutral expression, ignored the whispers that broke out in the crowd, and walked with her back straight up to the stage.

Jaehee helped her up, giving her an apologetic look. Sea offered her a smile; it wasn’t her fault, after all. There was nothing that could be done about it now.

“I’ll introduce my beautiful girlfriend,” Zen announced, audibly grinning, “so please pay attention! I won’t respond to any misunderstandings or rumors about my love life from now on, alright?”

She took deep breaths as she walked forward, until she was standing next to him on the stage. He beamed at her, leaning closer and taking her hand in his.

“Sorry,” he whispered, though he was clearly pretty happy. “I just wanted to tell them all…”

She rolled her eyes, but beneath the residual aggravation was a piece of understanding. They’d have to talk about this later, but for now…

“I love you,” he told her, and she smiled back.

“I love you, too,” she replied. Her smile took on a sinister edge. “And I’m going to kill you when we get home.”

He gulped, flinching, before another smile appeared, a bit shakier. “That’s…probably fair,” he admitted, before turning back to the microphone.

“I’m sure you all met her earlier, but this is the lovely Seasnan Moran, the hostess of this party. I care about her deeply, and I have no intention of looking at anyone else,” Zen stated without any sense of shame.

Sea, on the other hand, could feel her face heating up at the words. It was the same for her, of course, but saying it in public, in front of all these people…god.

The press conference concluded soon after that, with most of the reporters satisfied that they definitely had gotten a sensational story out of this.

Sea descended from the stage after Zen, letting him help her down the stairs. Just because these heels were thick didn’t mean she couldn’t take a tumble in them, and that would be an awkward way to end the night.

“Sea,” Zen said after a second, looking away. “I—“ He paused, and she waited.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally. “I wasn’t planning on doing that, but I realized that—if I didn’t tell them, if I hid you, then…I would be making both of us live dishonestly.” He looked at her, and she could see that in his eyes was both an apology and a declaration. “I love you. I want to walk with you down sidewalks, holding hands. I want to go out with you on dates. I want to take you places! I want—“

“Zen,” she interrupted quietly, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. When she met his eyes, there was nothing but a steady determination in hers. “You should have told me beforehand, so I could prepare.”

He blinked at her. She smiled.

“It’s not fair, you know. You said all those wonderful things about me, but I was too flustered to reciprocate.”

“You’re…not angry?” He asked.

“Oh, no,” she beamed. “I’m pissed.”

He closed his eyes, looking resigned and somewhat fearful of the smile filled with rage that she was directing at him.

“But I get it,” she conceded, squeezing his hand. “I want to do those things, too.”

The eagerness that came over him was endearing, and she laughed a bit, the relief of it all being over finally overtaking her. This whole debacle with Echo Girl, and her concern about having to hide her relationship with Zen…it was all done.

She nodded towards the guests milling around. “Let’s go be good hosts, okay?”

He followed her lead, and she brought them both forward, facing the people around them together.

~

Eventually, she split up with Zen, going to find Seven as he went and charmed more guests. She really had underestimated how lovely he could be when he was intentionally turning up the charisma; it was impressive.

On her way, she passed by Jumin and Jaehee, who were tag-teaming some of the more corporate guests.

“Seasnan!” Jaehee called out to her, smiling. Sea amicably walked over.

“Hey, how’s everything been going?” Sea asked, curiously glancing at the two of them. Both Jumin and Jaehee seemed very pleased.

“Excellent,” Jumin said. “The guests all have had very good things to say about you and the correspondence they received, and they are mingling well with each other. The party is turning out better than we could have expected.”

“That’s great to hear!” Sea grinned, relieved. She had had to put in some heavy duty research to talk with some of the guests, and she was glad to see that her efforts had paid off.

“You’ve done very well, Seasnan,” Jaehee nodded, eyes bright and almost amber behind her glasses. “For a first time, this is amazing. We’re very grateful.”

She laughed. “I’m just glad it turned out well. I didn’t realize how…rewarding it would feel, to see this all come together.” She looked out over the guests talking with each other, exchanging information. All these charities that would receive funding because of their efforts.

“It’s amazing,” she breathed, eyes crinkling from her smile. “I’m so glad I got to be a part of this.”

She turned to see them both smiling, though Jumin’s was more satisfied, while Jaehee’s was fond.

“That’s good to hear,” Jumin stated. “Because after this is over, I’d like to discuss with you whether you would like for this to be a permanent position. I realize that…you might not have much of a reason to trust this organization, after everything. But I can assure you—“

Sea sighed, amused. “Jumin,” she said. “It’s true that some unfortunate things happened. But…there’s no need to ask me like that. Right?”

Jumin looked at her for a moment, and then he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they were warmer. “Of course,” he said. “Seasnan. We would like you to stay.”

“I’d love to,” she said.

Jaehee looked between the two of them and then quietly excused herself, stating that she should go speak to more of the guests.

Sea thanked her internally, looking up at Jumin. She knew that the two of them were friends, now, but…this had messed him up more than she’d thought, huh?

“I must apologize,” he said quietly. “Again. For the danger we put you in. There should never have been a time when we prioritized the safety of our information above the lives of our members.”

Part of her wanted to say that there was nothing to apologize for, but she knew that wouldn’t work here. Jumin wasn’t the kind of person who could accept just waving away something like this, and her trying to would just insult him.

“I appreciate you saying that,” she said instead. “Everything you’ve done has meant a lot to me. You’ve been very kind, Jumin.”

This time in person, she got to see the confused expression that crossed his face at those words.

“You are so strange,” he shook his head, still smiling a bit. “You insist on calling me that.”

“What else am I supposed to call you?” She replied. “This whole time, you’ve been supporting everyone. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to meet Zen, and no one would have been able to calm Zen down after Echo Girl’s claims came out. You tried to offer him a position even in the midst of a scandal, because you knew he was upset about losing his role. This dress, the security guards you sent to Zen’s apartment…and you demanded the location of the apartment so you could make sure that Unknown couldn’t get in, even knowing it was classified.”

Shrugging, she asked, “Seeing all that, what else should I think?”

He stared at her, wide-eyed. She waited as he recovered, clearing his throat. “Many of those things were done because they were necessary,” he said. “I was not doing them to be kind.”

“Jumin,” she told him. “You saying that it was necessary to help us just proves my point.”

His eyes narrowed at her. She laughed a bit, holding up her hands. This was a conversation she probably wasn’t going to win, but it was worth the effort.

“I’m glad to be your friend,” she said simply. “That’s all I mean to say.”

After a moment, he accepted that with a simple nod. “…as am I,” he said finally, and she was too busy beaming at him to be annoyed at the eye roll her reaction garnered.

They stood there in companionable silence for a moment, before Jumin cleared his throat.

“I do not mean to pry into personal matters,” he said. “But I just want to state that I, personally, don’t approve of a man and woman living together before an engagement.”

She blinked at him, confused.

“I understand that Zen helped you escape,” Jumin continued. “But I do not believe that there’s a particular reason for both of you to stay in the same house.”

…stay at Zen’s house? Wait, what?

Jumin seemed completely oblivious to her confusion, offering, “I can provide you with an empty room in my penthouse, if that’s amenable. I understand that this is not long after a stressful situation, and the two of you likely wish to remain together, but…” He sighed. “This will only sound like nagging if I continue. I would recommend you think about it, however.”

She stared at him, mouth slightly open. This entire conversation was making her head spin. First, the idea that she’d been planning on staying with Zen after only knowing him for two weeks…after only getting together as a couple maybe a week ago…sure, they’d been moving pretty fast, but not that fast.

Second…had he just offered her a room in his penthouse? His penthouse? The one that he had dozens of security guards there to protect, and a security system made to stand up to Seven? The one that had inside of it Elizabeth III, who Jumin guarded fiercely?

Beyond the slight annoyance that Jumin thought she would move so quickly in her relationship, there was a warmth in her heart at the blatant declaration that Jumin trusted her, and that they really were friends.

“Jumin, I’m not planning on living with Zen right now,” she assured him. “I stayed the night yesterday because…after everything with Unknown, we were both kind of…” she wobbled a hand to indicate the state of mind both of them had been in.

Jumin blinked at her, eyes widening a bit.

“I still have my apartment, the one I was living in before Rika’s place. I’m going to go back there. But…I appreciate it, Jumin. It means a lot, that you would be willing to let me stay with you.”

“Of course,” he said, before offering a hesitant smile. “That…is what friends do.”

Oh. It felt like her heart was filled with joy.

“Yeah!” She lit up, smiling wide. “Exactly.”

Soon after, Jumin was called away by one of the guests who knew him, and Sea let him go after wishing good luck. Sighing, she brought a hand to her chest for a moment, feeling the lingering happiness inside her. When she’d first talked to Jumin, she never would have thought that they could’ve become great friends, but…god, she was so glad.

“It seems things went well?” Came a gentle voice from behind her, and she jumped.

Whirling around, she let out a huge sigh when she saw it was Jaehee, who offered her an apologetic smile.

“Jaehee!” She complained. “You scared me!”

“I’m sorry,” Jaehee replied, walking closer. “I should have expected that you might still be a bit on edge, after everything.”

Sea offered a rueful quirk of the lips. “I don’t think anyone’s going to get over everything that’s happened quickly. I’m happy that things turned out like they did, for the most part, but…”

“You’ve been through a lot,” Jaehee told her. “There’s no shame in being upset about it, or taking your time to deal with these events. It’d be more strange if you were able to get over it so quickly.”

“Yeah,” Sea sighed. “Honestly, I’m just happy things have turned out as well as they have. With the press conference and the party…”

Jaehee adjusted her glasses, and they glinted for a moment in the light. Sea took a second to wonder on how she could get her glasses to do that.

“The press conference did not go exactly as planned,” Jaehee said tactfully. Sea snorted, amused. “But it was a strong appearance on Zen’s part…and I…am glad to see that he will be honest about his life.”

Sea darted a surprised glance at the other woman, who met her eyes quietly, before a slow smile warmed Jaehee’s face.

“I don’t know if it’s possible for someone in the public’s eye to be truly authentic and still be liked by fans,” Jaehee admitted. “Part of me still believes that it will not turn out well. But, for Zen’s sake…and also for yours. I will hope that he can live honestly and happily.”

“Jaehee,” Sea whispered through the lump in her throat. “Thank you. That really…we both appreciate it.”

Jaehee nodded with a business-like air. “Now,” she said, “I believe I promised at one point that we would watch Zen’s DVDs together once you were able to leave Rika’s apartment. Since I know that after parties there is usually a lull in Mr. Han’s work, soon would be the most efficient time to do so.”

Sea laughed, unable to help herself. Honestly, but her friends could be so strange sometimes.

“That sounds good, Jaehee,” she said, eyes bright, “Sometime this week, my apartment? You bring the DVDs, I bring the popcorn?’

Blushing prettily, Jaehee ducked her head for a moment before smiling. “I’d like that,” she said.

Beaming, Sea declared, “I can’t wait!”

Jaehee giggled, a hand going up to cover her mouth. “Yes,” she agreed.

Soon after, Yoosung appeared, biting his lip a bit nervously.

“Erm, Jaehee, the representative from the Assistant Human Rights Committee has been asking to speak with you,” he said, smiling an apology for interrupting.

“Ah, yes,” Jaehee nodded. “I met her for a moment earlier, and promised we would speak more later. Where is she now?”

Yoosung led her away after both of them wished Sea a goodbye. Sea waited a moment, looking around, before taking a fortifying breath and finally, finally pointing herself towards the backstage.

She stepped through the door that Zen and Jaehee had disappeared through before the press conference, where people were moving around, bringing more refreshments, moving away parts of the stage, and generally keeping everything running. Unwilling to distract anyone from their duties, she walked around until finally she came across an area a bit sectioned off.

Quietly walking towards the quiet humming she could hear, she found herself before an assembly of technical equipment that baffled her. She was pretty sure one of them was a computer, but that was about all she could identify.

And there, in front of the computer and with fingers flying across the keyboard, glasses glinting from the light of the screen, was a familiar looking red-haired man. He was sitting in a chair, and she was willing to bet that he was so invested in his work that he hadn’t even noticed her yet.

Well. Never let it be said that she was willing to let an opportunity go. Carefully placing herself so that there were no ways past her, she smiled.

“Seven,” she greeted, watching with amusement as he startled, turning quickly.

“What!” He said, sounding annoyed, before freezing in place.

She offered a polite wave before moving inexorably forward. He just stared at her until she was right before him, and then he stood, taking a step back.

“Sea?” He asked, voice tight. She resisted the urge to sigh as she took in the look on his face; the shame, the sadness, the…almost fear before his face shut down. This was going to be harder than she’d thought.

“What are you doing back here?” He frowned at her, voice neutral. “You should be out there with everyone, talking to the guests.”

“I wanted to meet you,” she said.

“We already know each other,” he said brusquely, half-turning away. “There’s no need for you to—“

“Look at me, Seven,” she demanded.

“You should go back.”

“I just want to talk to you,” she watched as his back tensed, his hands clenched into fists. Oh, Seven.

“There’s no need to talk about anything,” he spat.

“Seven, I’m not angry.”

“You should be!” He exploded, trying to move farther away, but only bumping into the machine behind him. He looked cornered, helpless. “You should be angry! Don’t you feel tricked? Don’t you feel used? You could have been hurt, Sea, don’t you understand that?! You could have died!” It was like he couldn’t control himself anymore, the words coming out in a bitter, poisonous rush.

“I thought about it,” she said. “Yesterday, and today on the way here. I thought about everything that happened. And I realized something.”

She looked at him, really looked at him, and then before he could react she leaned forward and hugged him tightly.

He jerked away, but she held on. “I wondered what would happen if I had died,” she said. “Because I was angry. Because I felt betrayed.” He stiffened in her arms, but she pressed on. “But those questions were just to feed my anger. I…won’t lie. I’m still upset about…everything. I probably will be for a long time. But…”

She sighed. “I asked you what you would do if the worst case scenario came to pass, because I wanted you to be hurt like I was. In that situation…there would have been nothing you could have done for me. You would have tried to mitigate the damage. I…I understand that.”

“That’s not an excuse!” He said, frustrated.

“No. It’s not. But it does explain it. I should have asked you: what would you do if I had been put in danger by the bomb? If you knew I was going to be hurt by it, what would you choose, the secrets of the R.F.A., or my life?”

She huffed a laugh. “But I don’t have to, do I? Because you already—“

“Stop,” he said coldly. She paused, surprised, and he drew as far away from her as he could go. When she looked up, he was regarding her with furious eyes.

“Don’t you dare try to make my actions sound better than they were,” he seethed. “I put you in danger. I told you it was safe to live in that apartment, knowing there was a bomb there. At best, it was reckless endangerment of your life. You can’t try to tell me that I did anything right about the—“

And then he cut off with a choked noise, which might’ve been because she’d just stomped on his foot. But then, Seven was a pretty dramatic guy, so it was hard to tell for sure.

“Let me make something clear,” she said, voice like steel. “I am going to talk. You are going to listen.” He stared at her, but didn’t try to say anything. He was learning.

“What would you have done if my life was put in danger by the bomb?” She asked. “What would you have done if it came down to my life or the classified information of the R.F.A.? Those were the questions I should have asked. And those were the questions I didn’t need to, because you answered them already.”

She defiantly stared him down, daring him to disagree. “You chose my life over the security of the apartment,” she said. “You sent Zen there to help me, despite knowing the danger of revealing its location. You drove to the apartment to help us, not knowing what was going on, how many people were there, or how much danger you’d be in. You chose my life over everything else, Seven, including your own safety,” she shook him a bit, “and you think I’d hate you? Is that who you think I am, Seven?”

He shook his head, face slowly crumpling. “You should,” he whispered hoarsely.

“That’s for me to decide,” she said, before offering a wry smile. “And for you to graciously thank me for.”

He shuddered, before slowly leaning forward, arms going around her. Smiling, she hugged him tightly.

“I can’t say that everything is fixed. But it’s going to be okay. I know that,” she told him.

He snorted. “Why is it that when you say that, I want to believe it?”

She swallowed, letting her head drop onto his shoulder. “Because you know I tell the truth,” she offered, and he laughed quietly.

His arms tightened around her slowly. “…I’m sorry.”

“I know,” she said. “I already forgave you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“…I’m so sorry…”

“…I’m here.”

~

Once they’d both calmed down a bit, Seven and her sat down and really talked about everything. She knew there was still some things that he was holding back from her, but there was time for that later. For now, this was fine. This was more than enough.

Eventually, he admitted that V hadn’t come to the party after all. He’d just disappeared last night, not telling Seven where he was going or when he might be coming back. And though Seven had been trying, V had somehow disappeared completely from the grid; the tracker in his phone had been taken out, and he’d managed to evade all of Seven’s attempts to find him so far.

It was even worse than she’d feared. V told her, last night, but she hadn’t wanted to truly believe that he would just leave them all, and her hesitance had cost her. Now he was gone, and no one knew where he was.

“I want to wait until after the party to tell them,” Seven said. When she went to protest, he shook his head. “This has to go well. And…no one will be good at compartmentalizing this. There’s a reason I’m keeping to the backstage this time, after all.”

She sighed, seeing his logic. “We have to tell them right after,” she stipulated. “They deserve to know.”

He nodded. “Right after the party,” he promised.

“I think they already know, anyway,” she admitted thoughtfully. “Jumin definitely does, at least. Probably Yoosung and Jaehee, too.”

“Zen’s been kind of caught up in everything, huh?” He offered a grin.

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. But as time goes on and he doesn’t see V anywhere, he’ll figure it out, too.”

“At least we won’t get in trouble, then,” he said, but she raised an incredulous eyebrow at him.

“You definitely will,” she replied. “Since you knew from the beginning, and all.”

He pouted with mock-annoyance and muttered, “I always get in trouble.”

“Gosh, I wonder why.”

He shook a fist at her, and she smiled back. Popping back onto her feet, she rolled her shoulders.

“I should head back,” she decided. “Can’t skip out on hostess duties.”

“But Sea! The crowds of people! They’ll devour you whole!” Seven gasped, clasping a hand to his chest.

“Not if I throw Yoosung to them,” she replied. He stared at her, horrified. She waggled her eyebrows.

“Cruel,” he whispered. “So cruel.”

She grinned, before offering him a hand up from the ground. He took it, and she pulled him to his feet. “You should come out at some point and join us,” she said. “It’s boring without you around.”

“What, so you can throw me to the crowds?” He demanded, pointing at her.

“You are a bit bigger than Yoosung,” she mused. “They might like you better.”

She laughed at his actually kind of offended expression before waving and heading off, ignoring the protests on how much more useful he was than Yoosung from behind her. Besides, Yoosung had, like, emotional maturity. Sometimes. He was clearly her favorite.

Soon after she re-entered the conference hall, Zen made a beeline to her and caught her by the hand. “Are you alright?” He asked quietly, looking worried. “You were gone for a while.”

“I’m fine,” she said, quickly bringing his hand up and pressing a kiss to the back of it. “Seven and I had a lot to talk about.”

He flushed, but his eyes were gentle when he looked at her. “Are things better now?” He asked.

She smiled, feeling it take over her face in a wonderful grin. “Yeah,” she said, sounding like a weight had been taken off her shoulders. “Yeah, they are.”

“Good,” he sighed, carefully leading her along beside him to where Yoosung and Jaehee were. They greeted her, and they all carried on talking with the guests, encouraging them to network with other organizations.

She couldn’t contain her happiness when she looked around at one point and saw Seven talking animatedly with the woman from the cat shelter, real enthusiasm on his face. The woman seemed just as happy, keeping up with his gestures and undoubtedly crazy ideas.

Shaking her head, Sea turned away and went back to her job. Even with the situation with V up in the air, she knew…she just knew that they all were going to be okay.

~

When finally, the party came to an end, and the last guest had been thanked again and again and had finally left, Seven told everyone what he’d told her earlier: V was gone.

It wasn’t a surprise to them, but she could see that it still hurt. Even now, they had had faith that V would at least try to fix what had gone wrong. But instead he had left them all behind.

Yoosung, unsurprisingly, had the worst response.

“We finally deal with the hacker, and continue Rika’s legacy…everyone’s worked so hard to make it so that we can finally have parties again, and he just leaves us?” Yoosung demanded, expression crumpling into a mixture of sadness and rage.

“V is…I don’t know how to explain it. I know he thinks he’s doing what’s right, but he didn’t explain any more than that,” Sea said, standing next to Seven. “And he never said anything about disappearing, but…I’m worried. I don’t think this is just him running away.”

“Do you think he’s in trouble?” Jumin asked, face set in hard lines.

Sea bit her lip, her and Seven exchanging looks. “I think…probably,” she admitted. “He…he definitely thought this was something he had to do by himself, whatever…whatever he’s doing. But…” She shook her head. “He was so…upset when I talked to him. Whatever’s going on, I think he really needs help.”

“Why wouldn’t he just ask us, then?!” Demanded Zen, hands clenching, teeth gritted. “Didn’t he know he just had to ask, and then we would’ve helped?”

“Of course he did,” Jumin replied sharply, almost offended. “There is no way he did not know that we would provide aid with whatever he needed.”

“Then he didn’t want our help,” Jaehee theorized. “Or he was scared to admit he needed assistance. This is very unlike V…I cannot think of anything he might’ve been involved in that would require him to disappear like this.”

“Do you think he’s…involved in something?” Yoosung asked, his hands clasping together. There was still anger on his face, but now there was another emotion slowly growing more prominent: fear.

“V would not involve himself in anything against the law,” Jumin stated with enough force that it was obvious he would not accept any more suggestions on that topic.

“…we don’t know,” Seven said after the rest of them had subsided. “V didn’t even tell me everything, and a lot of his trips…he would tell me where he was going and I would make sure it was safe. He never told me what he was doing there, and…sometimes he would go places that he wouldn’t tell me about. But it’s safe to say that whatever he’s doing, he’s…in too deep.”

“Then, what are we going to do?” Jaehee asked.

And Sea watched as, without even seeming to realize it themselves, everyone slowly turned to look at Jumin.

Jumin looked around at them before focusing on Sea.

“Seasnan, you are the one who spoke to V last,” he said. She nodded seriously. “What did you think; were you able to discern anything about his plans?”

She bit her lip thoughtfully, trying to remember exactly what had been said yesterday. “I…I’m not sure, exactly,” she admitted. “But I find it hard to believe that this happening right after everything with Unknown is a coincidence.”

“You think the hacker and V are connected?” Yoosung asked, eyes wide.

She shrugged. “I don’t know if they…know each other,” she said carefully. “But I think maybe whatever V’s been doing has led to the situation with Unknown. He…said something, last night, of having been sure that it would be safe for me to be in Rika’s apartment.”

“And Unknown is the one who led you to the apartment,” Seven added, eyes narrowed. She nodded.

“You mean V was in on it?” Zen asked, betrayed. Jumin was slowly growing paler.

“We don’t know that,” she said hurriedly. “I’m just saying that they might have some connection.”

“I can track Unknown,” Seven declared. “He was good, but not better than me. I can find him.”

“And if we find him, we might find V,” Jumin said. “It’s worth trying.”

“But what then?” Yoosung asked. “We don’t know what he’s involved in, but Unknown…he could’ve killed Sea. He tried to kidnap her! Can we…can we really follow V, if it’ll put us in danger?”

Seven opened his mouth, but Sea glared at him before he could volunteer himself. “Don’t you dare,” she hissed under her breath, and he subsided with a mutinous expression.

“Yoosung is right,” Jaehee admitted. “If Unknown and Seasnan meet again, will he try to hurt her? And if he is willing to hurt her, how far could he go?”

“We can’t put Sea in danger,” Zen said immediately.

“We cannot abandon V,” Jumin replied.

“If we tried to find V, we’d all be in danger,” Sea pointed out. “Not just me. Unknown said that he was planning on getting all of us. And he…had some sort of grudge against Seven, so I think Seven would be the one in the most danger, actually.”

“I can handle it,” Seven shrugged, before offering a goofy smile. “That’s what secret agents are for!”

Everyone looked very unimpressed.

“I still do not see why we cannot just go to the authorities,” Jaehee frowned. “Surely they would help?”

“V wanted to leave,” Sea shook her head. “He isn’t a missing person, technically; he wasn’t taken. They couldn’t really do anything.”

“We must make a decision,” Jumin said. “This…is not something that can be decided with a vote. We all must agree that we’re willing to put ourselves on the line in order to find V. If there is someone that does not wish to do this, they should say so; I think we can all agree that there will be no penalty for doing so.”

Yoosung scowled. “I don’t like this,” he burst out. “This entire situation…how could V do this to us?!”

“You can demand answers from him all you want,” Jumin said. “I also have many things I want to ask him. But we can only do that if we ensure he returns.”

Yoosung closed his eyes for a moment, seeming almost hurt; and then, when he looked up again, his eyes were filled for the first time with determination.

“Then…let’s get him back,” he said quietly.

Jumin smiled with approval, nodding. There was no need to ask him what he wanted to do.

Sighing, Jaehee rubbed at one of her temples like she had a headache. “For the record, I do not approve of doing this without the support of law enforcement,” she said. “But, until we have enough evidence that the investigation can be passed off to the police…yes, we will have to work on our own to retrieve him.”

Seven grinned. “Of course, you’ll need the support of the Defender of Justice, God Seven!” He puffed out his chest, hands on his hips. “And how could I turn away from those who need me?”

Jaehee looked at him over the rim of her glasses until he deflated. Sea resisted the urge to laugh at his disappointed expression and Jaehee’s glare.

“Babe…” She turned to see Zen looking at her, his face conflicted. She was confused for a moment, before understanding came over her, and she sighed. Stepping over to him, she took his hands in hers.

“Zen,” she said seriously. “We promised, right? You protect me, and I protect you.”

He nodded, agonized. “I know,” he whispered. “But…I don’t want you to get hurt. What if I’m not there?”

“It’s the same for me, isn’t it?” She replied. “I worry about you, too. But, Zen, don’t you want to go?”

Zen looked at her, really looked at her, and she could see the desire burning in him. V was the one who’d convinced him to join the R.F.A.; she knew that Zen had respected V for a long time.

“I want to go,” she said. “I want to bring him back home. It was scary, with Unknown…but only until you were there.”

He clutched at her hand, overwhelmed. She smiled, trying hard to find the right words. “Facing things like that alone,” she said. “It’s hard. You know that too. But we’re not alone, right?”

Zen looked at her, and then he slowly turned, taking in how they were surrounded by the people they called family; Yoosung, Jaehee, Seven and Jumin.

“Right,” he said after a moment, with a small smile.

“Finding V alone,” she said. “It would be hard. And…dangerous. But all of us together?” She smiled back at him.

“We’ll find him,” Jumin promised, and Sea stepped back, standing next to Zen and facing everyone. “We will all find V, and bring him back together. No one will be left behind.”

“We can do it,” Sea said. “Absolutely. Wherever V is…we will get him out of there.”

And the determination she could see in everyone’s expression told her that they believed, as she did, that together there was nothing they couldn’t do.

She smiled.

~

Back in Zen’s apartment, both of them had changed back into regular clothes. As Zen cooked dinner, she’d observed from the living room and had called advice when he froze, stuck on what to do.

Seven had texted her once after they’d gotten home, stating that he was beginning to try and track down the last traces of Unknown on the servers’ systems. Hopefully that would lead them to a physical location, or at least a clue on who Unknown had been working for. Unsurprisingly, Seven couldn’t find anything just based off the words ‘Magenta’ or the ‘Savior’.

But it was a start, at least. She had no doubt that Seven could find Unknown with a bit of time, and then…then they’d have a better idea of what, exactly, they were getting into.

“Sea!” Zen called. “Dinner’s ready!”

She placed her phone down on the couch, standing. “Thanks, Zen,” she said, before pausing when he looked away for a second.

“Zen? Is something wrong?” She asked, worried. He offered a rueful grin, shaking his head.

“No, nothing’s wrong,” he reassured her as she came up to him. “But…” He hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath, a flush starting at his neck and crawling up to his cheeks. “You…you know, you can call me Hyun.”

She stared at him, open-mouthed. But that…that was his name. His real name, the one he’d left behind; he always used Zen now, she knew that.

So…saying she could call him Hyun, that was…

She buried her face in her hands, feeling herself go so red she could feel the heat against her palms. He laughed, still blushing a bit himself.

“Zen,” she muttered, before pausing and slowly lowering her hands. Meeting his eyes, she said quietly, “Hyun.”

The smile that overtook his face was breathtaking, as was the kiss that followed it.

Dinner was decent, for how Ze—Hyun had done it mostly on his own. She made sure to compliment him on the parts she’d liked, watching with amusement as he beamed at the praise. Maybe someday he could cook an actual meal all by himself.

…well, there was always hope.

Afterwards, without really discussing it, they found themselves migrating to the roof, until they were in the same position they’d been in what seemed like an entire life ago. The stars were just as beautiful as she remembered.

“Did you know, Haejung told me that he was really impressed by you,” Zen said.

“Really?” She asked, surprised. “I didn’t do much; he was pretty easy to convince to come.”

“Something about how you got all these different people to work together,” he explained. “He said that he would’ve made you his second if he’d met you back before his restaurant.”

Sea stared at Hyun blankly. His second? Like…the right hand man of his gang?

“What, really?” She boggled. Hyun laughed.

“Yeah, apparently. I think it was a joke.”

“You think?”

Hyun shrugged. “You give off a…feeling of competence, you know? Like you know what you’re doing. It’s something that’s good in a reliable second.”

She felt a bit flattered at that. “I like to think I know what I’m doing at least half the time,” she joked.

“And the other half?”

“Eh. I wing it.”

He snorted, eyes lit up by the moonlight above them, gleaming in his silver hair. “Reassuring,” he teased.

She waggled her eyebrows at him. “Don’t you trust me?”

“Hmm,” he pretended to think about it, pursing his lips. She watched, amused, as he aimed a grin at her.

“Maybe you could persuade me,” he suggested.

Delighted, she did her best to keep her face serious. “Oh? And what would could I possibly persuade you with?”

Hyun tapped at his lips, and she couldn’t stop herself from laughing as she leaned towards him, amiably kissing him once, twice, before moving back.

“Are you persuaded?” She breathed, smiling.

“Maybe a bit more,” he said, before moving closer.

A few minutes later, she sat leaning against him, both of them looking up at the moon luminous in the sky. It was a sliver away from being full, surrounded by stars gleaming in the cloudless night sky.

“Babe…do you really think that things will turn out alright?” Hyun asked quietly, arms tightening around her. She glanced up for a second, meeting his eyes, before looking back up at the moon.

“I…” She bit her lip. “I can’t say it’ll be easy. But I think…” Taking a deep breath, she laughed. “Well, after these two weeks, I’d be surprised if there was anything we couldn’t do.”

“And we’ll be together,” he said.

“Yeah. And we’ll be together.”

Pressing a kiss to her hair, Hyun whispered, “You make me feel brave, Sea. I’m…so grateful that I met you. I love you.”

“There’s no need for sappy stuff like that,” she muttered, embarrassed, but her hand went to his and clasped it tightly. “I love you too, you know. We’ll do just fine.”

He nodded, pressed against her, and they watched the night slowly slip towards morning together.

The future was still uncertain, but with all of them, all of her family working together…with her and Hyun together, she had no doubt they could face anything that came their way. And for the first time in a long, long time, she had no doubt that she finally had a place to call home.