"[Name]?!"
You jumped out of your skin in surprise as Seven's panicked voice rang through the apartment. Immediately, you zoomed out of the kitchen, mixing bowl in hand and apron tied loosely around your waist, patches of flour covering your clothes. In one hand was the bowl, and the other was a wooden spoon.
Frightened and aware that something dangerous could be happening, your heart raced and adrenaline flooded through your veins as you came face-to-face with Seven.
"What is it? What's wrong?" You asked nervously, preparing yourself for bad news again.
However, as soon as you revealed yourself and stepped out of the kitchen, Seven's tensed shoulders visibly relaxed and he looked weirdly relieved. Then, as if remembering that he was supposed to be irritated with you, started frowning again and backing away to his spot in the corner of the room.
"Nothing..." he mumbled, sounding slightly embarrassed from his outburst. "I couldn't see you anywhere and thought... never mind. Just tell me if you're leaving the room for something, okay?"
You were speechless from this. Seven had simply panicked and worried for your safety because you weren't in the same room as him. Is this how he reacted when you left the apartment and he watched you on the CCTV? No—you weren't in danger then, but you imagined his response was a muted version.
"Oh... well, sure..." you agreed, nodding your head. You could understand his anxiety for you being out of sight, and you tried to be sympathetic for how much he was shouldering at the moment.
Seven's eyes glanced over your clothing, finally noticing that you had been in the kitchen making something. Despite wanting to maintain distance, it seemed like he couldn't contain his curiosity. "What are you doing, anyway?" He asked, gesturing to the flour-stained clothing that you wore.
You looked down, a silly smile appearing on your face. "Oh... I'm making pancakes," you explained with a small chuckle, "they always make me feel better if I'm feeling stressed. I thought that maybe you'd like some, too."
"Pancakes..." Seven repeated. He shook his head and sighed loudly. "You're so strange."
You didn't see this as an insult anymore. It was like Seven was trying to convince himself that you were unappealing personality wise, but you spotted the dusting of red on his face that proved him wrong. Even if his words were cruel and harsh, he couldn't hide his true feelings for you.
Seven returned back to his usual spot, and you headed back into the kitchen.
You continued mixing away at the batter, humming cheerfully to yourself to a song that you couldn't remember the words to. You enjoyed making American-styled pancakes—thick ones gathered in a tasty stack. You had a huge sweet tooth, so of course you had honey to add to the treat. You would normally have fresh fruit to pair alongside it, but you weren't sure how Seven would feel about you leaving the apartment by yourself, and you guaranteed that he wouldn't want to go with you, either.
You were just thankful that you had bought some honey a few days prior to these events.
A sudden movement caught your attention. You whipped around in time to see something scurry across the floor. It was fast, small, and most obviously a bug of sorts.
You shrieked loudly as the little bastard scurried towards you, charging with the purpose of striking fear into your heart. Without thinking, you jumped up onto the counter, effectively knocking the frying pan and mixing bowl to the floor at the same time. Batter mixture went flying everywhere, splattering across the cabinets and on your clothes, and then along the floor.
It was like a bakery-crime scene. Tragic.
Within seconds, Seven was in the doorway and appearing somewhat panicked, disturbed. He peered around, his golden eyes widening a fraction upon seeing you perched on the counter, your legs tucked up so your feet couldn't be touched by the little bug.
"What... what are you doing?" Seven asked, the corners of his mouth twitching downwards into an annoyed frown. The commotion and you shrieking had disturbed him from his work, and it was clear that he wasn't impressed with the scene in front of him.
You vaguely gestured to the kitchen floor, feeling somewhat annoyed, too. "I just thought I'd play a game of 'the floor is lava'," you said sarcastically, rolling your eyes. "You should really sit on the counter if you don't want your feet to burn."
Seven crossed his arms firmly over his chest. "Are you being serious right now? I thought you were in trouble."
At that moment, the cockroach appeared and scurried across the floor, somehow dodging all the pancake mixture without fail. You spotted the bug and squealed loudly again, instinctively grabbing the nearest item—a fork—and throwing it in hopes of squishing the bug. It missed completely and bounced across the floor, landing near Seven's feet.
"What—" Seven jumped away in surprise as the fork clattered by his feet. His eyes quickly scanned the floor for the danger, and when he spotted the cockroach, it was like he understood. The cockroach, seeming to sense that Seven had spotted it, suddenly turned direction and scurried fast towards him. Seven gasped and pulled himself onto the nearest counter, avoiding the bug touching him. "How did a cockroach get in here?!"
You snorted at the sudden attitude change. "I didn't have any problems before you arrived... did you bring it with your bag of clothes?" You innocently asked, raising a brow while gesturing to his duffel carrier perched nearby. It was open slightly and revealed the haphazard mess of his unfolded clothes.
Seven decided to ignore your comment, though you could tell he was trying not to laugh by the way he quickly looked away from you. "Where's the bug spray?" He asked.
"Under the sink..."
Seven began awkwardly crawling along the countertops towards the sink, where he had to reach down and look inside from the wrong angle. He grunted and huffed while shuffling cleaning products around, and eventually retrieved the bug spray he had been searching for. Seven held it up triumphantly, and you let out a cheer and a small clap of applause.
"Right... where did the cockroach go?!"
You gave a quick skim of the kitchen, but your heart stopped at the realisation that the cockroach was no longer in sight. It had been loitering by the bin a few moments ago, so where did it scurry off to now?
Something came flying at your face. You screamed in surprise as your hands flew up to protect yourself, uselessly swatting at the buzzing creature. You ultimately lost balance and tumbled off the counter, crashing to the floor in an ungracious heap. Pancake mixture splattered from the floor and squished into your hair and clothes.
"[Name]!!" Seven yelped. He leaped off the counter and shook the canister of spray, aimed it at the cockroach and began mercilessly chasing it with its doom.
The cockroach continued to breathe for all of thirty seconds before the aerosol became too much, and soon it shrivelled up and crashed into the floor. To ensure that it was truly dead, Seven picked up a broom and squished it.
You peered up at Seven, watching as he began assessing the mess in the kitchen. He sighed after a moment and shook his head, now looking down at his socks which had stepped in the pancake mixture at some point during the panic. Seven walked over and reached out a hand, helping you to your feet and giving you a once-over to ensure you weren't hurt.
You offered a small smile, silly but reassuring. "Thank you for rescuing me again," you said sincerely.
Seven's cheeks started to burn, and he waved you off with his hand before exiting the kitchen. "It's fine," he muttered, resuming back to his grumpy self and heading to his laptop. "Just don't bother me again, okay?"
"Okay," you mumbled. However, you didn't feel deflated at all. In fact, you were elated that Seven had willingly come to your rescue to save you from something insignificant as a bug. He could have easily scoffed at you and left you to deal with it, but instead he joined in with the madness and heroically put a stop to the tiny terrorist.
But this left you with an issue.
You looked around at the pancake mess, feeling extremely sad that you no longer had the ingredients to continue making your delicious treat. You had barely enough to cover the last batch, and now you had none at all. It was a shame, since you were seriously craving your sweet meal, but there wasn't a lot you could do about that.
You began cleaning up the mess promptly, knowing that if you left it any longer then the mixture would be harder to clean up. You didn't want any of it to dry, or else you'd be scrubbing for hours. Then, once the kitchen was cleaned, you headed into the bathroom to wash the batter mixture from your hair and skin. It was a tedious process because the mixture had started to clump together and dry up, but you managed in the end.
jumin han | [Name], why is Luciel not answering my calls?
You cringed at the message on your phone. Seven had been ignoring Jumin all morning, and now that it was around lunchtime, it was clear that the corporate heir had given up and decided to pester you instead.
With a towel wrapped around your head, you exited the bathroom and walked back into the kitchen. You started making yourself some coffee.
[name] | He's super busy with work...
jumin han | V and Luciel are both the same in the aspect that you can never reach them when you need to.
Yikes. Jumin seemed really mad.
Zen logged in at that very moment.
zen | THE SPECIAL SECURITY SYSTEM IS A BOMB?!
Oh, Zen was definitely winning for the spot of being #1 mad. You could practically feel his rage seeping through the screen, to the point where you needed to set your phone down and take a deep breath.
[name] | Hi, Zen... are you having a good day?
zen | Hi, [Name], I was having an amazing day until I read that bomb-shell of a message!!!!!!
Without saying a word, you managed to balance two cups of coffees and your phone into the next room. You quietly set one of the cups next to Seven, then you retreated to the desk chair to continue your conversation in the chatroom.
zen | How does it make sense to implant a bomb inside a building full of innocent people?!
jaehee | It doesn't.
You hadn't even realised Jaehee was logged in, she had been so quiet.
[name] | Jaehee, I didn't realise you were here ^^
jaehee | Yes... I was quietly observing while taking a break from paperwork. I'm feeling somewhat overwhelmed since I read about the bomb. I'm not sure how you are so calm...
zen | It's not wonder Seven ran over to the apartment so fast
[name] | Zen...
zen | If the system is hacked or whatever, that bomb could go off!!!!!
[name] | Seven won't let that happen! He's working super hard to make sure myself and everyone else is safe!!
zen | You're too nice of a person. Don't shield him just because you like him.
zen | Letting you stay there with the knowledge that there is a bomb... it's extremely irresponsible!!
jumin han | I wonder...
zen | Wonder what jerk?!
jumin han | If it would be possible to evacuate [Name] to another location.
jaehee | I was thinking that, too. It wouldn't make sense to keep [Name] there now that we know there's a bomb.
[name] | But... what about the party??
zen | The party...?
zen | [Name], that isn't important right now!!! Your safety is important!!!
You squeezed your eyes shut and took a deep breath, inhaling the delicious scent of your coffee. You would have much preferred some delicious pancakes, but that was no longer an option...
jaehee | However...
jumin han | However?
jaehee | If it were possible to relocate [Name], wouldn't Luciel have done so already?
jumin han | Hmm. You have a point.
[name] | I thought that too, since Seven has been really thoughtful about my safety.
zen | Thoughtful...
zen | I'm not sure what your definition of thoughtful is, but leaving you alone with a bomb is definitely not thoughtful
zen | I'm so mad, where is V?!
jaehee | Zen, please calm down.
jumin han | Please consider how hard this must be for [Name], Zen. Getting mad isn't going to support her.
[name] | I appreciate the worry, I really do, but I fully trust Seven with my life and I have no doubts that he'll continue to protect me with his best interest.
[name] | I'm also grateful for you guys too... you're all very kind for worrying about me like this.
zen | You are too forgiving and kind...
jumin han | Zen, why don't you go and calm yourself down and then come back with a clear head?
zen | ...
zen | I don't like that you're giving me orders
zen | But I have worked myself up a lot...
zen | I just can't accept the fact that one of our own put [Name] in danger
zen | I want to interrogate Seven myself...! And where the hell is V right now?! I feel so betrayed.
zen | I'm going to go out for a ride to clear my head
jaehee | Are you referring to your motorcycle...? Please do not ride while you're angry, that makes me worried for your safety.
zen | I'll be fine. It's what I need.
zen | I'll talk again later.
Zen then logged out.
jumin han | I doubt Zen is much of an idiot to speed while he is upset. Do not worry so much, Assistant Kang.
jaehee | You seem very composed, Mr Han.
jaehee | [Name]...
jaehee | Are you really okay with staying in the RFA after discovering all of this...?
[name] | Of course!
jumin han | A very fast response.
[name] | It's like I said before... I wholeheartedly trust Seven.
jumin han | Assistant Kang, I think we should prepare a security team in case of any accidents. There are also some other things I'd like to talk about. Let's meet in the conference room in 10 minutes.
jaehee | Of course. I'll prepare some materials before heading over.
jumin han | Then I'll be going now. [Name], please take care and stay safe. Contact me if you no longer feel safe.
[name] | ... Thank you, Jumin.
jaehee | I will talk to you later, [Name].
Jaehee and Jumin logged out together. You followed suit and shoved your phone to one side, now focusing on the chance to finish your cooling coffee.