Making a choice

A Run-In with Zen

The air was beginning to grow stuffy, even outside. The summer heat bearing down on the city caused the residents of it to slow in their steps and congregating in the stores in an attempt to escape it. MC's store was no different. Men and women both wandered the aisles, most ignoring the clothes all together as they chatted amongst themselves and took advantage of the air conditioning. MC herself stood, stiff spined with her hands clasped before herself, and watched each one that passed by her with the same gentle smile she had been trained to keep on her face during working hours.

A young woman stumbled into the store wearing a pair of heels that looked as if they could break at any moment. MC barely had a chance to take in her long brown hair before a large crowd was forming around the woman. Shouts and requests for autographs were filling the air. MC's skin prickled, she wasn't good with these sorts of things but she was the nearest one to the incident. She hesitated, hovering outside the fray as she attempted to get their attention. No matter what she said, it became swallowed by the white-noise of voices around the poor woman. She attempted to push her way into the throng only to be knocked back by someones flailing arms.

What she was knocked back into ended up being the firm chest of a man. She jumped away from him when it happened and began to apologize profusely only to feel a firm but gentle hand on her shoulder. She raised her gaze from the floor slowly, taking in the dark slacks and white peacoat of the man who she had bumped into. When she made it to his head her breath caught in her throat. Long white hair that was only shortened around the fringe and pulled back into a ponytail covered his scalp, and deep red eyes stared down at her from under the wispy fringe that brushed his eyebrows. His features were well defined, and elegant nose and lips that weren't too plump or too thin. She would know him from anywhere due to how many of his selfies littered the RFA chat.

"Are you okay?" He asked in a tenor voice that she could imagine singing songs of all forms onstage.

"Y-yes. Yes, I'm fine." She mumbled quickly. "Sorry for bumping into you, Zen." He hesitated for a moment, looking at her as if she would leap at him like a fanatic.

"You are, very reserved for a fan." That was when she realized she called him by name. Her mouth opened in a small o before snapping shut once again as she looked away from him, shifting from foot to foot.

"Oh... uh, n-no not exactly... um..." She rubbed the back of her neck as she gave him a weak smile. "I'm your um... the Coordinator... for the um... the RFA..." His eyes widened slightly, his pupils contracting with shock before a bright smile slipped across his lips.

"MC!" He exclaimed, placing both hands on her shoulders and giving her a once over. "I didn't think we would meet until the party, you are so tiny just look at..." He paused as he studied what she was wearing then glanced around the store. "You work in a department store... and here I thought you stayed in the apartment day in and day out."

"Nope, I go to work. I have to call Seven before I head out though because..." Zen raised his brow and she fell silent, scratching behind her ear as she glanced towards where her manager had emerged from the break room. "Shoot. I have to get this crowd cleared." She mumbled under her breath, "Sorry, Zen." She added before turning to the large mass of people.

"Hello..." she called, attempting to be heard over the crowd. "Please disperse from the front doors or else no one else will... be..." the crowd had only grown louder. She shifted nervously from foot to foot, her eyes darting from the crowd to her manager and back.

"Everyone! Listen up!" She jumped at the loud clear voice that filled the area. Turning quickly, she spotted Zen standing on a display table with his hands on his hips. He looked so demanding, the table adding to his height and bringing the attention of everyone nearby to him. "If you want an autograph perhaps not surrounding the woman like that would be best. An orderly line-up, if the Madame is willing, should be formed instead of this smothering crowd."

Her manager was approaching, her heart rate picked up at the sight of the man staring down Zen with a scowl. Zen was still staring down the dispersing crowd with his hands on his hips and his lips pulled into a firm line, oblivious to the other man's approach. She panicked, fear of losing her job bubbling over and filling her entirely. She couldn't breathe no matter how much she tried to force herself to do so. The walls around her began to close in and her chest tightened in response to the lack of air. She could feel her legs getting weaker, her knees were already wobbling and the room swayed as she attempted to hold her balance.

Keep smiling. I have to stay upright. Oh no he looks so mad. Gotta keep smiling.

"MC!" She couldn't see anything except what was in front of her. The darkness was sleeping in from the edges of her vision. "MC!?"

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she noticed was the ceiling of the break room. She groaned as she shifted to sit up.

"Don't sit up yet." She turned to see Zen sitting in a chair beside her, and concerned tilt to his brow as he studied her face. She grunted softly as she reached up to touch her throbbing head.

"I'm fired aren't I?" She asked as she looked up at the ceiling once again.

"No."

"No?"

"I spoke with your manager, demanded to know why someone who is in her first week would be required to run the front on her own." She groaned as she covered her eyes with her palms. "Then I gave him an autograph. Your manager is a Zen fan apparently." Even without looking, she could tell that he was smiling around the words. "I called Seven." That made her lift her hands from her eyes and narrow them at Zen.

"Why?"

"To take you home, of course."

"But, my job- I have four hours left and-"

"Shh darling." He laid his hand lightly on her arm as he leaned in closer. "It's all taken care of, no one should work four hours after going through a panic attack." When her brows shot towards her hairline he chuckled lightly and gave her a warm smile. "I know what a panic attack looks like darling, don't worry. Just get some rest."