Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

As loathe as he’d been to accept any kind of help from Jumin, it was extraordinarily exciting to be getting to work in an American film. Jaehee assured him that this was a great boon for his career and he should take the opportunity. It was merely a token of goodwill from the corporate heir, she’d insisted. The actual role was of minimal interest, as it contained little speech and certainly no singing. He normally would never have taken a role in an action film, but if that is what he had to do in order to get some international acclaim he had to agree with Jaehee that it would be worth it.

Zen only knew bits and pieces about America and his English was pretty poor. He remembered some from school, enough to ask basic questions but the writing was still very confusing to him. Jaehee had gifted him with a translation and culture book regarding the America and he’d spent a good month trying to memorize the phrases and how to interact but he still felt entirely out of his element at the Los Angeles international airport. Thankfully, a pair of local ladies who were going to their flight stopped when he was trying desperately to read a scrolling sign.

“ Do you need some help ?” one of them, a tall brunette with a simple yellow sundress, asked. The other, a blonde around the same height with terribly short jean shorts and light blue crop top, made little secret of appraising him and his well-tailored jacket.

“ Yes ,” he replied, offering them his characteristically charming smile. “ Thank you. I need …” he paused, looking at his translation book again. “ Baggage claim ?”

“ Oh! So you’re staying here ?” The blonde piped up. She looked at her friend and giggled. Her quiet note of, “ shame we’re leaving, then ~” wasn’t missed by Zen’s keen ears but he said nothing about it.

“ Yes ,” he answered, “ I have job .”

“ Well ,” the brunette mused, gesturing loosely down the hallway. “ Just head down that way and take a right at the big lobby you get to. Look for the little images of a suitcase on the signs and you’ll get there .”

“ Company said they have person waiting …” he started, uncertain what words to use to explain the situation. This having to speak in English thing was getting annoying quickly.

“ Like a driver ?” she asked, tilting her head in curiosity.

“ Yes !” Zen answered, eyes widening a bit in hope that she still understood him with a tiny vocabulary. “ Where ?”

Her friend grabbed at her skirt and tugged. “ We’re going to be late ~!”

“ Just a sec !” she sighed. She offered Zen a big smile as she turned back to give him one last bit of information. “ Anyone that’s supposed to pick you up will probably be either in baggage claim to help you or just outside. They should have a sign with your name on it .”

“ Thank you ,” Zen said, offering a long nod to her.

Both she and her friend blushed and as they walked off they giggled to themselves. Zen was just glad that he was apparently just as attractive here as he was back home. It was a precious thing for his ego, even though he’d prefer to be complimented on his actual talents rather than the beauty he was born with.

He took her advice to heart, paying attention to the images instead of the words on the signs, and soon found himself passing through another hallway and into a room with the machines that he recognized as carousels for luggage. Zen was relieved that he hadn’t gotten himself lost somehow and started looking around for a person holding a sign with his name on it.

Even though he wasn’t used to English letters, these were hard to miss since they were in a rich red printed on a tablet-sized piece of thick white poster board. He smiled broadly as he realized that his helper was a woman. Her attire reminded him of Jaehee, smart and tailored… the latter of which he could easily find himself appreciating. Her black hair flared out around her neck in an adorable flip that he wasn’t even sure was deliberate considering her lack of make up. She was interesting and he hadn’t even officially met her yet. This will be a fun journey~ he couldn’t help but think to himself. She was shorter than him by a good few inches but he could almost feel confidence radiating from her until he began to approach. She seemed shocked as it was made clear that he was heading towards her and a grin parted his lips at the reaction. Oh yes, this was going to be a very fun three months.

Chapter Text

This is the guy? Cassandra asked herself as a man approached. She appreciated the smart tailoring of his jacket and his overall presentation but he was not what she’d expected. For a moment she couldn’t even recall what exactly she had been expecting. He was taller than her, but not by so much that she’d have to crane her neck to look at him, had an incredibly lean frame and she swore that she saw a little tail of hair flipping around his waist as he walked. She wished that they’d given her a bit more to go off of than just ‘an asian guy with white hair’ and the name the agent had given him. She’d honestly expected it to be a terrible bleach job but the glossy snow adorning this guy’s scalp was just perfect. And red eyes? Red eyes ?! This was insane. A very attractive crazy… but still crazy.

She had apparently missed his introduction as she’s tried to determine if he had contacts in to change the color. “ You okay …?”

“Oh, my apologies,” Cassandra hurried to try and cover for herself, glad that he was kind enough to speak English to her first but she quickly slipped into Korean for his comfort. She offered a long, low nod to him in what would be considered a proper greeting. “I was surprised by your eye color,” she blurted out. At least the studio had told her that he spoke Korean so she didn’t mess up by assuming he would speak Mandarin.

“It’s fine,” he assured her. “I’m glad that you speak Korean. My English… is a little rusty.” At that he rubbed at the back of his neck with a sheepish smile.

Despite his brilliant looks, it was that little show of nerves made Cassandra feel worlds better about all this. “We can work on that in your free time if you would like,” she offered. “But there is little call for it, considering the role.”

She slipped the sign into the tote she had put on the ground while she waited. After a moment she pulled it up until it was hanging off her shoulder again. “Would you prefer to use my first name or last? I know it’s unusual in Korea to use first names…”

Zen blinked, a light blush coming to his cheeks. “I mean… if that’s more comfortable for you… that’s fine I guess. I can call you whatever you’re comfortable with.”

Cassandra chuckled at his sudden rambling. He was much nicer than the men she was used to dealing with. She got the feeling that this would be a great gig. “While I appreciate your kindness, I am here to help you, Zen. My whole name is Cassandra Whilmer. Feel free to call me Cassandra, Cassie, Cass or Miss Whilmer.”

“Uhh… okay… Cassie?” he offered after a few moments. “And, I mean, Zen is my stage name not my real name. Do they know any other name at the studio?”

Cassandra paused, brows furrowing and lips pursing as she thought back to her meetings. “They mentioned your name was Hyun Ryu, but that you preferred your stage name. Did you want me to refer to you by your proper name, Mr. Ryu?”

That only seemed to confuse her charge. “Uh… no. That’s… weird. Thanks for calling me by the name I like.” The confusion subsided and he offered her a bright smile. “Zen may be my stage name, but it feels more a part of me than anything else. It is all my hard work.”

“I’m sure you’ve worked very hard if you’ve gotten international attention,” Cassandra replied, offering her own smile. After a moment of comfortable silence between the two, she gestured for him to follow her. “Let’s go find your luggage, shall we?”

As they walked she questioned him further. “How many bags did you check?”

“Two,” Zen answered easily. “One’s black and the other’s a dark blue.”

“Rectangle?”

“Well, yeah… do they make any other kinds?”

Cassandra chuckled again. “You’d be surprised. If there’s any kind of market for it, things will be made.”

They returned to silence for a few minutes as she lead him along reading the scrolling signs for his flight number. When they stopped to wait with a handful of other people, earning the pair some excited whispers from nearby women and jealous murmurings from the men. This’ll get old fast … Cassandra couldn’t help but think to herself. She looked over at Zen, who seemed completely nonplussed by all of it. I can only imagine how it is for him, dealing with it everywhere he goes. For a moment she felt bad for him, but her thoughts were cut off as he looked over at her.

“So, what exactly is it you do?” he asked her, eyes and expression gentle.

“I’m a translator, mostly,” Cassandra replied. “But I often act as a liaison , as I will be doing with you.”

“What exactly is a liazon ?”

“I am essentially tasked with caring for you so that being in a place you’re so entirely unfamiliar with is not particularly stressful,” she explained. “Make sure you have a place to stay, food outside the meals that the studio will provide you and almost anything else you could want.”

He seemed to catch the hidden meaning behind her saying ‘almost anything else’ and didn’t make a sexual comment, which relieved Cassandra. “So you’re gonna be my Mom while I’m here?”

Cassandra couldn’t help but burst out laughing at that idea. It surprised some people nearby, but she didn’t care. By the time she stopped, she wiped away a few tears that had gathered in her eyes. “You’re funny! But, no. I won’t be picking up after you or singing you bedtime lullabies. Just helping you acclimate and making sure you have anything you need to be in good health while you’re here and working for the studio.”

“But what if I need you to sing me bedtime lullabies to sleep?” Zen asked, though judging by his expression Cassandra was fairly certain he was teasing her.

“Then I will have to find a file to play you because I would break your ears if I sing,” she replied, barely stopping herself from rolling her eyes.

“I’m sure it’s not that bad,” Zen insisted. “You have a nice speaking voice—”

Thankfully for Cassandra’s sudden rush of blood to her face she caught sight of what she assumed to be Zen’s luggage. She scrambled up to the conveyer. “Is this yours?” she asked, grasping the handle to keep it from moving forward.

“One of them, yeah,” he answered. For a brief moment he seemed surprised and confused by the move. As she pulled the bag back to where they stood, however, a small smirk parted his lips and she knew she was in trouble. “You do realize I was just saying the truth, right?”

“Your opinion,” she corrected him with a huff, though his current expression made it difficult for her to push aside her blush. “But, yes. I understand.”

“And you also must realize that the more you react like that, the more I’m going to pick on you?”

Cassandra shot him a venomous glare, her blush finally dissipating, but he just laughed. “Maybe I got too comfortable. This is supposed to be a professional relationship, after all.”

That made him drop his intent for the moment, expression softening to something akin to concern. “No, I like it. Please, treat me like a friend. It’s nice.”

“Then I will,” she replied with a nod, finally able to relax a bit again.

“You’re so cute, Cassie~” Zen cooed, reaching over and ruffling her hair.

“H-hey!” she muttered, leaning away from him before putting his suitcase between the two of them just to make sure he had a harder time getting to her from now on. “I don’t get this look effortlessly, you know!”

Zen just chuckled and returned his attention to the carousel. It seemed like the suitcases had all gone around twice by the time Zen finally spotted the other bag. This time he didn’t let Cassandra get it, lunging forward himself to grasp the handle and drag it off the conveyor.

“Taking my job now, are we?” Cassandra asked, clearly able to tease Zen right back.

“Well, I have to be in charge of the heavy things. I am a guy, after all.” He offered her a wink as he grasped the handles to both of his suitcases and dragged them along behind him while they walked.

Cassandra couldn’t help but snort derisively at that. “ Please. I could bench press you ,” she said, forgetting that she was speaking in English.

Zen quirked a brow at her reaction. “What?”

It was only then that she realized what she’d done. “Oh. Basically I could lift you if I wanted, so ‘heavy things’ aren’t really a problem for me.”

“What?”

As Cassandra turned to look at him with an irritated expression she realized he was legitimately surprised and not trying to be condescending. His eyes were blown wide and brows were raised to a point that they blended into his bangs. “Yes,” she admitted, relaxing. “I believe my deadlift current record is 170 pounds . I do not know what that is in kilograms…but looking at you it is likely more than enough.”

“Woah…”

She chuckled and shook her head. “It is not wise to judge someone by their looks—”

“—I wasn’t—” Zen started, holding up his hands in defeat, but she quickly cut him off.

“—or gender.”

Zen offered a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

“No harm done,” Cassandra replied with a small nod. “Now, let’s go to the car. I’ll be driving you around while you’re here.”

Chapter Text

He followed her out of the carousel area, happy to keep an eye on her back. Zen had to remind himself several times that this was to be a professional relationship as they walked. A casual one, they’d already established that, but still. He couldn’t let his beast out. Thankfully her attire, while well-tailored, wasn’t particularly tight so simply admiring the view was easy to do without encouraging more. “So,” he piped up, earning a quick glance from Cassandra. “Will you be staying close by as well? Since you’ll be driving me around and everything…?”

“Just a few doors down,” Cassandra replied, though the words drifted back to him as she spoke while they continued their quick pace. “Same floor. Hopefully you will be alright with the quality of the hotel. If not, I can change it.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine,” Zen said. “I’ve got a fairly small and simple basement apartment back home.”

“Basement apartment?” Cassie asked, turning her head again to look at him with a quirked brow. She still managed to keep walking, somehow.

“Yeah,” he replied with a nod even though she probably wouldn’t even see it. “I like it. And since most people don’t like the tiny windows, the landlord works with me on rent if I’m short. That hasn’t happened in a long time, though.”

“So you live in a small, cheap place even though you’re famous?”

Even though they hadn’t known each other for more than an hour, he easily picked up on the sheer surprise in her tone. Just what kind of people was she used to working with? “Yeah. Why not?”

Cassandra shrugged. “I do not know… I guess I am just so used to the people I assist being rich and flashy…” She paused, but when she spoke up again he noticed a tint to it that was new. He wondered if maybe she was smiling. “It is a nice change. You are responsible and money-conscious. I am like that as well.”

“Responsible?” Zen laughed as he echoed her praise. A part of him itched for more compliments, wanted to show her every wonderful thing about himself and have her sing his praises. The rest was refreshed by her honesty about herself and it made him feel as if he needed to expound more on himself. “Some people might argue with you on that one.”

“How so?” She led them over a crosswalk and into a parking garage as they continued speaking.

“I smoke and drink. A lot.” It was weird, Zen usually didn’t talk about his faults. It was much easier for him to brag about his many amazing qualities. With Cassandra, though, he felt oddly at ease. Like she needed to know these things and wouldn’t judge. Was this what a session with a therapist was supposed to feel like? If only they’d been pretty women and not bland older men...then maybe he might have actually gotten some help. “My friends harp on me about it, but it’s how I grew up. Life was tough and you got through however you had to.”

“But you clearly work hard,” Cassandra countered. “The smoking should probably stop, considering it messes with your voice… but drinking?” She shrugged again. “Might want to slow down once you hit 30 or so, but as long as you are not passing out from it… it’s not that bad for you yet.”

“I’ve tried to quit…” Zen admitted. “Lots of times. But it’s really hard, you know? Like, you get even the tiniest whiff and…” he trailed off with a sigh, unable to accurately portray his struggles with words.

“It makes you crave it?”

“Yeah…” It was nice to think that she’d understand, but he had a sneaking suspicion forming in his mind that she would probably push him to cut back or stop smoking while he was here. Hopefully he could charm her out of the well-meaning assistance when the time came.

“Ever thought about replacing it with a different addiction?”

Well that was an unexpected piece of advice. The beast jerked to life without his permission and assailed his mind with multiple images and scenarios. Zen was, for the first time during their walk, legitimately grateful that she was in front of him because his face flushed as he pushed back against the intrusive thoughts. “Like what?”

“I do not know. What else do you like to do?”

That wasn’t any more helpful to his leashed beast but he pushed the images away because she was clearly just trying to be helpful. “I pretty much just bury myself in work. That was how I escaped temptation. But people smoke. People I work with. And you can’t really get away from it.”

“Seems like a lonely life,” Cassandra mused. “Maybe you should take up a sport? It gives you interaction with other people…”

He had tried that in school. It… hadn’t turned out well and just thinking about the memories brought them back in full force. Guys were always jealous of his looks and if he ever got good and garnered a fan club they kicked him out to keep their own popularity. He pushed himself back into his current conversation, glad to have something else to think about besides bad past memories. “Eh. Not really a team player…” Zen said, scratching nervously at the back of his neck. It was a better answer than the truth, really.

“Hm,” she mused. “I suppose I’m not the best person to give advice on that front. I write to relieve stress. Or read. Neither of which requires other people.”

That seemed like an even lonelier life than she’d described of his. He briefly entertained the idea that maybe she wrote plays before refocusing on the present. “Do you not like people?” he asked.

“Not in my free time, no. But I do not mind having a job that requires a lot of social interaction. It is tiring, but not difficult.”

“What would you do if you didn’t have to work?”

“I’d retire to my house and live off the land.”

Yet another surprising answer from Cassandra. Zen was taken aback. This language collector wouldn’t want to travel the world? Use her skill? She wants to work a patch of land? “You want to be a farmer?!”

Cassandra chuckled. “Not in the sense you seem to be thinking,” she replied. “I have a house in Colorado, way out in the woods. I have set it up so it runs mostly on solar and wind power and has a rain catcher. The house alone took quite a few years, much less the solar, wind and water set up. Now I want to build a small greenhouse and a chicken house. Once those are set, I could just live off what I grow after the first harvest combined with what I would get from the chickens. Well, I could go into town to get ‘fancy’ food, but home grown is always best.”

“You really are extremely independent,” Zen marveled. “I don’t know if I could live like that…but that’s impressive. I’ve lived in cities all my life so the idea of growing your own stuff… seems super hard and not worth it.” He always heard about life on a farm or any rural area as being difficult. Long hours, manual labor all the time and just scraping by. He wasn’t sure why she wanted that, but maybe there was something he was missing to the experience.

A soft beep and lights from a car caught his attention and drew him out of his thoughts. Cassandra slowed and carefully opened the side door to the backseat of a black 4 door car before slipping behind it and turning to him. She smiled at him as she pulled it fully open and stood beside it. “Maybe it will be hard,” she admitted. “But it is still what I would like to do.” She gestured to the car’s interior. “Please, Zen, take a seat and relax.”

“I don’t know how much more relaxed I could be,” Zen replied, flashing her a dazzling smile. He swore he caught a light flush to her cheeks and that just made him even happier. “Maybe a few beers would help…” He wondered idly to himself if she drank, considering she didn’t seem at all judgemental earlier about his appreciation of alcohol.

“I can get some delivered to the room,” Cassandra replied with a nod, watching him carefully as he entered the car. “If you would like. You do not have to be at the studio until the morning anyway.”

Zen’s attention was quickly pulled to the seats as he slipped inside, hand appreciatively sliding across the surface. “Woah… these’re some swanky seats! Damn. Real leather it feels like…” He glanced over at Cassandra as she leaned over the door, the smile that split his lips was genuine and appreciative as it returned. “Thank you for going all out even on the car, Cassie!”

“It is part of my job, Zen,” she assured him, offering a polite smile in return, making one last check before shutting the door.