From the April Fools DLC Normal Ending:
“Even if I can never touch you, I know that the feelings we have towards each other can’t be trapped in any dimension.”
I KNEW THAT SOUNDED FAMILIAR. I JUST KNEW. AND I WAS COMPLETELY RIGHT. JUST LOOK AT WHAT HE SAYS IN THE AFTER ENDING.
Now, moving on to my theory.
On Day 7 of Zen’s route, you go over to his house and he brings you to the rooftop to stargaze. I’m sure all of you remember that CG of him staring at the night sky right?
This completely went over my head, but he had said this:
“It’s strange… I feel as if I’ve known you for a long time.
Why do you think that is?
We could look at this as Zen getting confused about his budding feelings for you, but it’s really all about interpretation. Even from the start, we already see mentions of the stars, the sky, and so on.
I mean, look at what he said in his After Ending! Isn’t it weird that he’s suddenly bringing up that no matter FAR APART both of you are, you’ll always think of each other? It’s like he’s linking the skies (or universe, DIMENSIONS) to your distance from each other. I’m assuming that at this point in time, he had felt strange because he just started to realise how unreal (because different dimensions) you were.
I really like to use the argument of his psychic dreams because it’s absolutely fascinating. And again, let’s look at this theory on the basis of the recommended route sequence:
Zen -> Yoosung -> Jaehee -> Jumin -> Seven
What if even in his own ending, he knows he won’t be able to keep you and you’ll just end up moving on? What if he knows that there is in fact distance between the both of you, be it emotionally (because you do all the other routes after him) or literally (because you’re in different dimensions)?
He never fully comes to terms with the whole dimension thing in the main game, but he did in the April Fools DLC. Every single time, no matter what, there’s bound to be distance between the both of you. Does Zen just know this?
We all label Zen as narcissistic but in his route it’s so obvious how insecure he really is, how unconfident he is. He constantly praises you and phrases it in a way that sounds like even he, the MOST BEAUTIFUL MAN IN THE WORLD, doesn’t deserve someone like you. But why is that so?
What if he just has an inkling that the both of you aren’t meant to be? He’s always known there’s something off there. That’s why, at least in my opinion, he shows the most affection throughout those eleven days he has with you. He always lives in the moment when he’s with you, taking care of you, keeping you safe, expressing his love… because he knows that’s the only time he has with you. Maybe he knows it’s unrealistic to think that the both of you will end up staying like that forever.
And you know, after the Seven’s route, Day 10 call you had with him when he confessed that “I could’ve made you happy too.” he doesn’t appear as much anymore. He’s actually the most uninvolved character in the Secret Endings.
Guys, Zen is aware of the distance. Zen is aware that it’s not meant to be. But he does love you. He wants you to know that, but being a gentleman, he chooses to keep his distance too after he sees how happy you are with another person. But you damn well know he’ll be there to support you just like how he does in every route.
I really don’t know if I’ve explained it well enough, but I see a lot of Seven reset theories and not really much on Zen, so here’s my take on it.
To end it off, let me give you Zen’s final lines in the April Fools DLC normal ending:
amandla
2087
turnnoffyourmind
titsay
dailybridgerton
stormborns
theartofmadeline
