Work Text:
Seven took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. The harsh light of the computer left a painful burning feeling, but he needed to finish his work. Perhaps he would have finished already if he weren't distracted by the security feed on the monitor next to him. It was his duty in the RFA to keep an eye on Rika's apartment, and V hadn't told him to stop watching even after... she... arrived. It's only been a few days since she started living in Rika's old apartment, but Seven had a certain fascination with her from the start. He unknowingly took note of her daily routine; when she logged into the RFA messenger, when she ate, when she finally decided to go to bed. Of course, Seven only picked up this information over the course of a few days and only through quick, subtle, glances at the security monitor. Because of this, he didn't pick up on her changes in routine right away.
If he were watching intently, he would have noticed how she hadn't actually eaten yet, and it was well past the time she normally ate. Secondly, she made a microwaveable meal for her dinner and had forgotten it and, finally, she was crying. It's understandable that Seven didn't notice the latter as immediately as it seems he could have; she was turned so her back faced the camera and her shoulders were so subtly shaking from suppressed sobs that one could mistake it with shallow breathing. Seven possibly wouldn't have noticed the disturbance at all if she didn't sit up after a few minutes.
Seven witnessed the change in position out of the corner of his eye and it caught his attention immediately, though he didn't realize he was even watching out of the corner of his eye until now. He almost immediately stopped typing as he examined her expression to try and figure out what part of her routine this was. Her face was almost expressionless, almost neutral, except for her open mouth turned in a slight frown and the outer corners of her eyes turned just as slightly downwards. Looking at her joyless expression left Seven with a sudden lump in his throat. Confused and worried, he turned his full attention to the screen. He searched her face for clues, but only saw the moment when she shifted from sad indifference to utter anguish. Her face crumpled and she visibly shook and trembled as she brought her hands to cover her face.
Seven didn't know what to think, what to do, what to feel. It's important to note that Seven isn't known for being a sympathy crier, but watching her in such despair and defeat made the lump in his throat swell and brought tears to his eyes. She laid down, on her back this time, in full view of the cameras. Seven watched as she brought her arms up over her face, her hands grabbing at her hair and pulling hard. She looked as if she were in so much pain, her muscles flexing and relaxing periodically. Just looking at her made Seven physically exhausted, yet he watched her to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself. Like Rika. It was all he could do, she wasn't exactly aware of the 24/7 surveillance and he didn't know what he would say to her if he tried calling her right now. He selfishly and silently thanked V for not ordering him to install microphones along with cameras in Rika's apartment. Seven definitely wouldn't have been able to handle hearing her cry so forcefully.
His phone pinged on his desk. He reluctantly leaned back in his chair and grabbed it. Jaehee and Jumin were online, talking about potential guests for the party. A message from her appeared in the chatroom, a cheery little "Good evening, Jaehee~ What about those guests?" Seven whipped his focus back on the security monitor to see her face illuminated by her phone, her face wet with tears. She periodically brought up her arm to wipe at her nose or her hands to wipe at her eyes. The conversation was continuing on his phone, but Seven wasn't paying attention because he suddenly didn't care. What mattered to him right now was: how many times has this happened? How many times has she been crying while she so happily talks to the rest of the RFA? Why is she crying? For once, Seven had no answers and it hurt his chest to think about them. He wasn't sure what he could do to help her, he just knew he had to do something. He entered the chatroom and was greeted with "Hey! It's Seven!" He looked back at the monitor. She was still wiping away her tears in order to see the screen better, but she looked less distraught.
707
Hi!
It's getting pretty late, huh?
Have you eaten yet?
-~-~
Yep! Did you?
Seven glanced at the screen again to see her rush over to the microwave and pull out a meal. She lied? She must not want to worry anyone.
707
It's good that you're taking care of yourself!
Hey...
Um....
Thank you for all you're doing for us!
Jaehee
For once, I agree with Luciel.
-~-~
Aw thank you guys, I'm really just doing my best~
Seven checked up on her again. She's eating and her expression is still indifferent, but it's better than the unrelenting despair she wore before. Seven felt like he could breathe again knowing she was looking better. Well-versed in the dangers of thinking, he vowed to keep a more attentive watch over her, to keep her safe from her mind. He doesn't know it yet, but she's suddenly become very important to him. Seven took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes.