707 Dreams (707 x Reader)

Thirty-One

Stupid! Stupid stupid stupid stupid!! Stupid Seven! Why didn't you do anything earlier? Or say anything earlier? Even if you weren't certain before, but that's mostly your own fault for losing track in the first place. Just like Saeran... You should have been keeping a better eye on him. But you had known where he was, and when work had truly started up it was so easy to just drift into the rhythm of work and be content with yourself that you didn't need to check. Because nothing should have happened. So why did things suddenly feel so wrong?

Running your hands through your hair, you sit and listen to Mari as she's off talking with Zen. She sounds so happy... Was she really though? The things you've seen from her and the things you've heard make you wonder if things ever did get better for her or not. You knew her parents never made the best home life for the poor girl, but she was always strong in front of you and your brother.

You turn back to start focusing on the computer again. You had to find him! But how? Your emotions start to cloud your typing, and you make a few mistakes as your fingers race along the keyboard until suddenly a notification sounds, and you pause. That's right. You were supposed to be looking for someone else... Looking at the notification, you see it's an email from an unknown sender. And then a second one comes through, this time from Jaehee. Clicking on the second one, you blink in slight confusion.

Seven,

I seem to have been sent this strange email a few moments ago. I am not sure if perhaps it is worth looking into or not, but I do find it rather unsettling. Would you mind taking a look either way? As someone who works for Mr Han, I am usually very good at knowing most organizations within the city, but I have never heard of this one. If you have the time, it would be appreciated.

- Jaehee

You frown slightly, clicking on the link she had sent with her email. Popping up on the screen is a large image with bright green text on a black background. Mint Eye. Now that was certainly a unique name... Now, at first glance you assume it to simply be spam. That's what it looked like at least, the odd colours and off-key promotional statements sounding like those cheap flyers you find shoved in people's mailboxes. You're about to reply to Jaehee that it's probably nothing before you realize you have a copy of the email as well: the first notification you heard sound on your computer was an email from this Mint Eye group. Now you were curious. Because no one should have been able to send you emails like this. You had everything set up just right to only let in a set few senders. That and the odd comment about "paradise" on the virtual flyer made you curious enough to look into it.

A simple web search doesn't bring up anything noteworthy, so you decide to be more thorough. You check through the sender, follow the IP address and search through the hidden lines of code to at least try and find where it came from. It would give you a starting point. Maybe a store you could visit, or some kind of information centre. So that's why it concerns you when coordinates finally come back not too far out of town. A couple hours drive, at most. You lean back in your chair and run a hand through your hair as you look at the small blip on the map. It was surrounded by emptiness, so your first thought is a warehouse. But why would they be so isolated if they were inviting people...?

"What's out there?" a voice asks curiously, making you jump slightly as you look up to see Mari had returned from her phone call. She offers you a warm smile, and you instantly relax.

"Oh, nothing really," you reply after a moment. "Just some warehouse belonging to a new organization that Jaehee wanted me to look into."

Mari leans forward, looking over the map's location before glancing at the email and back again. "I know where that is. Used to mess around in that old empty building when I was a kid! I never knew someone finally bought it."

You shrug slightly, clicking the email closed. "Yeah, well, it seems new enough that I don't think anyone would have known if it weren't for the email Jaehee got. Sounds like they're recruiting or something too, so obviously very new."

Frowning slightly, Mari gently rests her head on yours and stares up at the computer screen. "You gonna go check it out?" she asks quietly, and you simply shrug. "It might be cool. And if Jaehee asked you to look into it, maybe it's serious. Who knows, maybe paradise really is waiting there...?"

You blink, looking up at her as she begins laughing. "It's just what the email said! Relax," she giggles, ruffling your hair before stretching out. "You looked so tense for a minute there, it's like you thought I knew something! But I've never seen that in my life... Strange, huh? How can things just pop up so easily? Oftentimes they feel random, but they aren't always..."

You blink, raising an eyebrow at her, but she simply shrugs in response. "I've come to learn that the world can have a very strange way of showing you something you really badly need..." is all she says, before smiling. "It's vague, I know, and you don't have to believe it! But... Enough of my life has come to show this, so I try and believe that there's at least a little part of fate at play in my life..."

You reach out and gently take her hand, seeming to sigh. She was always so happy, even when she wasn't... Kind of like you, now that you think about it. Except that she was always better at finding the good rather than just pretending it was there in the first place. It always did amaze you.

"That's a great way to look at things,"
you finally say with a small smile. "Maybe I will go check it out then, if not just for curiosity's sake."

Mari smiles at you - no, she's grinning, actually - as she listens to you. "That's awesome! Let me know when you plan to go, okay? I'll keep you company!"