Author's note: I've been playing Mystic Messenger lately, and I played Zen's route first because I simply adore this narcissistic man (haha). Great game with awesome dialogue, CGs and storyline. This fanfic is just simply my two cents of imagination of Zen's date with the MC (my IGN is Airika) when they first encountered one another (Day 7). This is just a normal MC x Zen fanfiction, and Zen belongs to Cheritz and everyone who adores him! (:

SPOILER ALERT to those who haven't played Zen's route yet! I had fun writing it, so I hope you enjoy reading it too!

Mystic Messenger – An Offline Date with my Love

I went to Zen's house in hopes of cheering him up, and also to convince him to do the modelling job for the cat food line as requested by Jumin. The corporate heir was gracious enough to give me an opportunity to visit Zen, and I immediately jumped at the chance I was given. I wasn't supposed to leave Rika's apartment as my safety would be compromised as advised by V and Seven. My heart started to ache upon hearing Zen's injury, that I just wanted to fly to him immediately. After all, it wasn't just a simple case of a twisted ankle. Zen was getting extremely depressed and angry at himself for getting injured at the last minute, and the big production that he had longed for - might be in jeopardy.

I met Jumin's chauffeur, Driver Kim in front of the 73 building where Jaehee had directed me to go. An impressive looking black limo was parked right in front of the building, and it was inviting many onlookers. It made me felt like a celebrity for a moment, but I was anxious enough not to care for the unnecessary attention, and told Driver Kim to step up the engine. In my mind, all I could think of was Zen.

While on the way there, I turned on the RFA messenger app on my phone. Zen was online, and he was shocked but overjoyed to hear that I was coming over. He wanted to show me a good time, and I was anticipating happily as well. Zen told me that he had met Echo Girl this morning – she was a famous idol, and also Zen's co-star for the upcoming big production. Apparently, Echo Girl was also Zen's fan and that she specifically wanted him to act alongside her. She did not mind his injury, and told him that the rehearsal would still go on as planned. Hearing how popular Zen was in the industry, I grew a tad bit jealous of Echo Girl, but glad for him. That opportunity was very important for Zen after all.

Upon arriving at Zen's apartment, I was escorted by Driver Kim to his front door. I could not help but feel shy upon my first meeting with Zen, but the latter blushed hard when he saw me, and gave me an enthusiastic welcome to make me feel comfortable. I knew Zen felt the same, and I immediately started to grin like an idiot. I was in falling in love with this man right in front of me, and looking at him confirmed our mutual feelings. Sensing the presence of Driver Kim, Zen immediately gave him an excuse for him to move away.

"Oh, Driver. You can ignore Jumin's orders. We will have fun and call you again once we're finished, alright? Bye~" Zen hastily escorted him out and closed the door behind him.

"Hey Airika, I'm sorry that I don't have much in the house"

From Zen's tone, it seemed that he was being apologetic for not being able to prepare for my sudden visit. I did not mind it at all - after all, I came all the way to visit Zen. I really wanted to see Zen after chatting with him in the messenger. He seemed so friendly and cheerful that I really wanted to know more about this man. I remembered Driver Kim's words before he left, and tried to remind Zen.

"Is it okay to just ignore Driver Kim? He said that he would come to pick me up 2 hours later"

"It's fine, It's fine". Zen consoled me while he reached out for my hands and held it gently. He was so close that I felt that my heart was beating like crazy. I could see my reflection in Zen's lovely red eyes, and I turned to look away in embarrassment. It was my very first time meeting him after all.

Zen started to break the silence and stared lovingly at me. "Wow...you're a cute lady. Your eyes are so bright. Nice to meet you! And…I really wanted to see you. I mean it."

I was embarrassed at his compliments, but overjoyed deep inside my heart. I felt an immediate connection with the man standing right in front of me.

"I wanted to see you too…you're more handsome in person"

Hearing my words, Zen started to look at me with puppy eyes, and started whining. "…. I don't want to let you go! You can't live here, can you? I haven't been so happy to see someone at my house…I had so many things I wanted to show you."

"First, what do you want to drink, let's sit down and talk." Zen held my hand and guided me to his living room and both of us were seated on the sofa side by side. Zen's simple gestures were adorable in my eyes as he tried hard to make me feel comfortable. I felt warm and safe inside just knowing that he cared.

"If you're bored we can play games. Or later do you want to go shopping for groceries…? It's uncomfortable for me to walk so I can't go by myself though".

I smiled at him, and grabbed his arm to support him. "It's okay, I'll help you. Let's go together shall we?"

I saw Zen's face light up - it was to the point where I felt that I was meeting a kid in a candy store. I giggled as I was equally as excited as him.

"Really!? Yay! I'm so excited to go grocery shopping together! Let's quickly get ready to go out now!"

I accompanied Zen to the nearest supermarket in town to get groceries. I chatted a lot under the sun with him. It felt comfortable to finally be able to talk to him and hear his voice in person. Zen told me about many interesting stories about the previous RFA parties, and I enjoyed our chats very much.

At the supermarket, Zen and I were getting groceries as Zen mentioned that he rarely stocks up his fridge- not exactly me, but obviously Zen. A couple of girls from the neighbouring high schools also approached Zen and also asked for his number. The shopkeepers from the stores we passed by also recognized him, and affectionately known him for his real name – Hyun Ryu. I knew he was popular, but I wasn't expecting that much attention. Nevertheless, it was just like Zen to be friendly to everyone – male or female, young or old. I was a tad bit jealous but I was attracted to that honest and innocent side to him.

We went to his favourite coffeeshop, where Zen usually visits as he knew the owner now. The owner came out to greet him when he entered the shop and gave him a friendly pat on the back. He seemed like a kind looking and friendly uncle.

"Oh-! If it isn't Hyun my boy! You got injured? I hope it isn't too bad...but you always recover astonishingly fast. Don't forget to take care of yourself, young man!"

The owner glanced and saw me supporting Zen, and gave a cheeky smile.

"Hello, young miss. Are you Hyun's girlfriend?"

His sudden words made the both of us flustered, that I accidentally dropped a bag of groceries. The owner gave a helping hand, seeing that I was still supporting Zen's arm. I thanked the owner and he brought us to our seats. Zen replied the owner with his usual cool face. "We're good friends who are just getting to know one another, Owner…. But I might be the one to wish for something more~ "

Zen engaged in some small talk with the owner while I was browsing through the coffee menu.

Afterwhich, Zen and I ordered and drank our coffees as I continued to hear his stories from when he started his career as a musical actor.

In the midst, I noticed Zen giving me a wink from a corner of his eye, and I started to feel my cheeks burning up in response. Zen started to chuckle as he looked intently at me, and pulled out his hands to touch my cheeks gently. "I would not have imagined that I would be this close to you when I've just known you for a week, but only met you for the first time today. You're so cute that I want to hide you from the other RFA members~"

Looking at Zen's expressions, I felt relieved as he was enjoying himself. He was just depressed from getting injured and almost losing his role yesterday. I was content to see him happy.

Zen slowly got out of his seat, and stood up gradually. He offered me a hand while holding a crutch in another. "Babe, we should be heading back now. The sky's getting pretty dark now. I'm afraid it would rain soon. We can continue the rest of our conversation at my apartment~"

I took his hand and locked arms with him to support him. He looked surprised that I could see his face fluster a shade of pink. It was comfortable being with him that I felt that it was natural to just be by close to his side.

Back in his apartment, I decided to stay back for a bit to have dinner together with Zen as he offered to cook dinner. When the other RFA members noticed that I was in Zen's house, all of them became concerned and started to ask me a lot of things in the messenger. Zen also entered some of the chatrooms too, and ensured to the rest of them that the both of us were doing fine. Jaehee was acting a bit uptight after hearing that I was still with Zen in the evening, but I understood her kind intentions as Zen's loyal fan. She was only thinking of what is best for his career and reputation in the public.

After dinner, Zen brought me to a secret place located at his underground apartment – an open-aired roof top. It was one of Zen's favourite places, where he would often go to clear his mind. The night breeze felt a bit chilling, but comforting. The stars filled the night skies with no cloud in sight, and it was just a sight to behold.

Zen started to share his stories about his family, and how he ran away from home in order to pursue his dreams. Hearing Zen talking sincerely about his family made me felt much closer to him. It did not felt awkward at all listening to him pour his heart out. I felt a strange but familiar feeling – like I've known this man for a long time. I could see him blushing till his ears went red when he politely asked to hold my hand. I happily obliged without any questions as I realised that I had fallen deeply for this man – not as a fan of the popular music actor as his public persona, but for the man known just simply as Hyun Ryu. I greatly admired his courage to pursue his dreams with his own capabilities and deep in my heart, I wanted to see him succeed soon. I felt that such a sentimental and talented man like him definitely deserves his chance of success. I could feel his warmth from his huge hands and I felt safe and secure.

Moments later, Zen gently removed his hands from mine. It seemed like his palm was starting to sweat a little, and I could hear his flustered breathing. He turned to face me but he avoided looking at me directly in the eye. "-It's going to be trouble if you stay the night…I should get you back to Rika's apartment soon. Thankfully, Driver Kim is still waiting downstairs so I'll escort you down. Do remember to text me once you reach home…okay…?"

I could tell from his speaking voice that he was feeling apologetic for keeping me up late at night. "I'm sorry that it seemed that I'm almost kicking you out…it's just that…holding your hand makes me imagine what will happen in the end…you should go home and rest before it's too late."

I smiled whilst shaking my head in response. "It's fine. I can always come over to visit you next time." Zen began to relax and started to caress my head. It was a good feeling. "That's only better for me. Since you know where I am, you can come over whenever you want."

On the way back to Rika's apartment, I could not stop thinking of Zen and the words that he said upon the starry sky. It was heartwarming to see his emotional side, as I could have the chance to get to understand him even better. I kept to our promise to text Zen, and he called me back just to thank me for coming, and to say good night to me. Zen's voice through the phone sounded unusually sweet that day, almost like music to my ears. I felt great comfort and had dreamt the sweetest dream that day.