(aka how he picked you to be his precious tester. warning: mentions of stalking)
ray found you on social media first
he doesn't ever leave mint eye, so social media would have to be the first place for him to look
what kind of person he was looking for, he had almost no idea. his savior wasn't very specific about who must be chosen, she just decided to let him take the lead for once. the only thing was that it couldn't take more than a month to find you, as the revenge plan against the rfa was already in its early stages.
in ray's mind, his savior was letting him choose his partner. he was choosing someone to share paradise with.
this trust, this freedom to choose someone special is what made ray obsessed. he was picky in his search, meticulously analyzing and researching local people close to his age. he knew he would never get this much freedom again, so whoever he picked had to be perfect... not just for the mission, but for him.
he chose a variety of platforms to observe, but he wanted to make sure he could see what you looked like. posting faceless on twitter wouldn't be enough. he knew the right person would be obvious to him, he just had to keep looking until he felt that spark.
the search took about a week. he needed to make sure that you were someone who could disappear without too many people noticing. he didn't want a huge crowd looking for you, it'd be too much of a headache.
ray will never forget the moment he first saw your photo. his face felt hot, his breath faltered, and he couldn't look away. he couldn't stop his hands from moving on their own, desperate to see more of you.
it was like he was under a spell. he was in awe of you, the way you carried yourself, your looks, and every word you wrote on your account. you were perfect. you were the one.
since your account was public, ray took it as an invitation to watch you. he didn't follow you or like any posts, but he was obsessed with everything you posted.
he studied you, even if he had limited content to work with. through your social media, he learned your favorite foods and how you decorated things. he made notes on all of it, spending hours finding things to make your room to your taste.
he began fantasizing about being yours. he would look at your hands in your photos, imagining how they would feel in his. he wondered if you would be struck by him at your first meeting like he was with you. he prayed that he could get even a fraction of your attention, that you would show him a glimmer of your light.
what kind of person were you interested in?
ray wanted to be your prince--that was his biggest dream of all. he wanted to be the pinnacle of romance for you and to sweep you off your feet.
he spent another week just following your socials before he took things a step further.
finding your address was easy, the phone number easier. ray was ecstatic. you left yourself so exposed to him. no vpn, no ways of protecting yourself, so he kept an eye on you... just to keep you safe until you came to magenta.
all he had to do now was figure out how to bring you to him.
this is when anxiety crept in. how could he get you to agree to come? to abandon your life? what if you hated him?
he worked harder to princess-ify your room. he spent more time in the garden. he stayed up all night scanning through your pinterest account. he will be everything you could ever want. he will prove it to you.
happy valentine's day! 💝 (these may be suggestive, and i wrote mc as a girl in mind)
saeran wants to celebrate every second of valentine's day with you. literally the moment you open your eyes in the morning til you close them to go to sleep, the festivities of valentine's day are in full effect, it's pretty much the same with your birthday
saeran will wake up extra early to prepare breakfast in bed, lay out your outfits, and set up decorations as quietly as possible
he'll gently wake you to a room decked out in pink and red: balloons, roses from his garden, streamers, a giant sign, fairy lights... and when it clicks, you break out into a giant grin, which makes him chuckle
you're only mad you couldn't get to him first, but how could you when saeran has been preparing for this for months?
before you even touch your elegant breakfast, eager to show him how you have returned the favor, you tell him to check under the bed, as this is the only place you knew he would never look
saeran ducks under to see a bouquet of (his) flowers, chocolates, a card, and a mini shark plushie to befriend his large one!!
to say that he's touched is an understatement, and now he is determined to give you a valentine's day you'll never forget (lowkey all you guys do is try to one up each other lol)
"i have the whole day planned, my love... but anything you want is yours."
you're just happy to be with him, so you accept his invitation!!
after you force him to eat some of the breakfast he made for just you, he starts telling you about the day he planned: a picnic, a walk in a flower garden (a bigger one than his), and a home cooked dinner
he bought you a dress just for today, either pink or red (or both) depending on what's more your speed, and an outfit for him to match. it's the cutest thing ever
the two of you snuggle in bed for a while, talking about your feelings and hopes for the future (because that's what saeran does best), just taking it easy and passing the time before lunch
after some time, you get ready together and saeran goes to prepare the picnic basket. he even made a small, heart shaped cake the day before for you two to share :')
he is so thoughtful and sweet, as usual
he drives you to the garden where you'll have the picnic and walk (he got special permission for the picnic on the property)
he doesn't want you to lift a finger, but you help him set everything up anyway because you love him just as much as he loves you
he'll feed you chocolate covered strawberries and the sandwiches he made
will interlock your fingers on your walk, or place his hand on the small of your back
you come home to get ready for dinner, but you will probably get distracted and make out on the couch for a little >_<
whether it leads to more is up to you tehe!
this is also a good time to properly exchange gifts!! saeran, like you, prepared a bouquet and chocolates, but what's this wedged in the flowers? a sappy poem!
he smiles with pride as you read it aloud, blushing slightly, but not embarrassed one bit
you look at him, eyes a bit glossy, and he just caresses your cheek with an "i love you."
you say it back, but it never feels like it's enough to really convey how deep it goes... so you decide to spend the rest of your lives returning the favor
though saeran initially wanted to spoil you today, when you offer to help cook, he can't turn down his princess!!
he'll direct you on what he wants, and in between tasks you will go set the table for that romantic candlelit dinner atmosphere
this is getting long but all in all, he had high expectations for himself for this day, he did his research on what a perfect valentine's should be, but every day with saeran is practically already full of love, and isn't just limited to this holiday
thinking about how different ray is at the start of another story compared to how much more unstable he grows after day 4... ray during the start of another story mustve been preparing himself mentally to look as mentally stable and well put together as he can and be his best possible self in order to look good infront of his tester. cause it's the first time he could choose something for himself, and the first opportunity he had to form a relationship with another person that wasn't family or a guardian. so he wanted to perfect everything for his tester, so his tester will like this place and so this tester will like him and wouldn't want to leave. so he put so much effort into everything, he decorated the room and picked everything himself, he tried to make everything perfect for his tester and only show her his good side so she'd never want to leave. but then when V inevitably shows up and ruins everything at the end of day 4 he falls apart because everything was going perfectly, and he just had to come and take it all away from him, take his precious tester away from him. and she even saw how weak and pathetic he really is, she saw him cry and have a mental breakdown. the image of himself he worked so hard to maintain in mc's mind just fell apart, and now she sees him for who he really is...so he grows visibly more and more unstable infront of mc than how he was like before, because now its too late, she already saw through him and knows how he's truly like...and that just makes him grow even more anxious that she'll leave him, because he sees himself and his weakness as so inherently unlikeable. so his instability only shows more and more.
i just think ray's change throughout another story is soo interesting
