By the end of the week, both students were worn out. Their minds fried and bodies aching. They would constantly go to his house to study and Jilin would leave after two hours, then she’d sneak out with him blocking her and say that she’d see him tomorrow. On Friday, Jilin was too lazy to climb the tree and Zelo knew for sure his parents were working late. He brought her in through the front door and she sighed, throwing off her shoes before hitting the couch and falling on top of it. “Junhong…I’m so tired. Can’t we rest first?”

He rested a hand on his hip and shook his head, “If you’re gonna nap, at least do it in the middle of science and upstairs so that my parents won’t see you.” Today, Jilin was able to stay later than usual; Zico was with the other leaders discussing plans to work around the finals for Jilin. The Battle of the Best was close by; Zelo could already feel the anxiety and pressure get to him. He tried to will it away, but he couldn’t. “Come on.” He bent down and poked her arm, making her groan and shuffle, her face looking into the couch. “Get up or I’m gonna pick you up.” She threw herself up and scowled.

“Fine. I’m getting to your room.” She hurried up the steps and opened the door to his room. He followed as she let a gap in the doorway and heard her plop down on his bed. “Ugh, I’m so tired. Please let me sleep first, Junhong.” She pouted and tapped her head, “It hurts.”

“Jesus, you’re whiny.” He complained and sat down beside her, “Ok, go ahead and sleep. I’ll be reading when you wake up, hopefully.” She smiled in thanks and pulled his blanket up to her chest, sighing and closing her eyes. Her hand met his and she smiled. He could feel his cheeks go warm, but he was able to push this back.

“Thank you.” She squeezed and separated their hands, pulling it under the pillow and rubbing her cheek against the silk.

He watched her, smiling and leaning beside her against the wall. She fell asleep quick, her breath went slow and steady, her smile fading as she drifted off to her dreams. He picked up his book and opened it up, biting his lip as he flipped the page. Zelo used one hand to hold up his book and the other to flip the page, but suddenly, he couldn’t. He looked at his hand and found it wrapped in Jilin’s. When did that happen? He forgot, he didn’t know, it felt so comfortable. Her fingers were through his, clasping ever so gently on them. Her other arm was under her head, supporting her neck. He squeezed and she squeezed back, sighing with relief in her sleep. Setting down his book, he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles and smiled. He pulled back, making her hand search for his and then stop. “Jilin, wake up.” He urged.

She moaned and turned, “No. I’m so comfortable here.” She slapped his side and smirked, “Come on. Let me sleep a little bit more.”

“No, we have work to do. If you get past science, I’ll let you sleep some more.” He got up and fished his book out of his backpack, “Come on.”

“Fine.” She sat up, rubbing her hair back into place and checking the time, “Holy . I slept for an hour?” She collapsed back onto the plush mattress and groaned, “It felt like a second!”

He pushed her back up and sat down, but her head fell into his lap and she looked at him with pleading eyes. Zelo rolled his eyes-he’s been getting good at that ever since she first complained about a headache on Tuesday, “No, Jilin. Up. We have work to do. Finals are coming up in two weeks.”

“And so is the Battle of the Best.” She had to mention it. “Don’t worry, CL, G-Dragon, Zico, Yongguk and Victoria are all discussing it. It’s for me, but you’re also off the hook then.” Her head lifted from his lap and she decided to get serious, “Fine. I’m up, and ready to learn.” Zelo laughed at her fake enthusiasm and laid back down on his bed.

“Alright. Good to know.” He went on, telling her about the day’s earlier lesson and what the teacher was talking about. She listened intently, fighting the urge to sleep and tried keeping her eyes open. Zelo noticed this and peeked at her while she was figuring out a problem he gave her. She was pointing the pencil in between her teeth, her left hand supporting her chin while her legs kicked the sheets around. Her hand twirled the pencil and she quickly wrote down something. He moved his gaze away and bit his lip, sighing. His own eyes were droopy and Jilin’s tiredness was starting to affect him. So he shut his eyes and placed the book over his face.

He dreamt of nothing. Everything was black, everywhere he turned nothingness stared back at him. His feet felt like there was nothing supporting him so he supposed he was floating. Zelo looked around in the darkness and saw a dot of white ahead of him. Curious, he pushed towards it, but he couldn’t move. The dot became wider and brighter and he realized it was coming to him. The sudden light blinded him and he had to squint. He tried bringing up his arm to block the rays, but he was frozen like that. And suddenly, pain engulfed his body and he groaned, his dark dream shattering. His eyes met the floor of his room and he shook his head, still in a daze. “YAH! Junhong! Were you sleeping?!” Jilin cried from his bed.

Zelo pushed himself up and groaned, “Sorry…I dozed off.” He picked up his book and sighed, pressing his hand against his right eye, “Where were we?”

She frowned, “Junhong…you look really worn out. Are you ok?”

He shrugged and nodded, “Yea. Yea, I’m fine.”

“I don’t think so. You look like you really needed that rest.” She closed her book and placed her arms over it, “Let’s take a break.”

His eyes drooped at her words and he forced them to stay open just a bit more, “Are you sure?”

“Junhong, we both need the sleep.” She smiled jokingly and handed him a pillow. Zelo made no hesitation to lay down, feeling a crack in his neck, “Go ahead. Zico won’t be back home for a while.” Her head lay next to his at a respectable distance, her back hit the light really well, letting her long scar show. He could even see the stiches the hospital used to sew up her wound, they were faded, but he still saw them. There were so many he’s haven’t even seen before, a few being only centimeters long, others being longer and trailing towards her lower back. He was sure there were more than his eyes could see. Zelo frowned and turned away, cupping the pillow towards his face before falling asleep again.

-----

Zelo woke up to the sounds of someone humming close beside him. He smiled, liking this much better than when he wakes up in the morning. The crisp air blew against his back, so the window was open. He shivered at the temperature and felt a hand on his back, patting him soothingly. His mind drifted to the touch and he felt warm again. Jilin continued to hum a soft tune, slowly getting off the bed to put away their strewn books. Zelo shifted to look at her and smiled slightly, “Hey…did you open the window?”

She looked up and nodded, “Yea. Sorry, it was getting a little hot in here.”

He shrugged and leaned up, “That’s ok.” A gust of air hit him again and he cringed, shoving his body back into the sheets. She giggled and scooted closer to him, rubbing his hair.

“You get cold easily?”

“It’s one of my many flaws.” He drawled, rubbing the grog from his eyes. She smiled and pulled away and he raised a brow, “What time is it?”

“Almost seven-o-clock.” She said, checking her phone.

“Really?” He sat up, lazily getting out of bed and stretching, “You hungry? I can get something for us.” She shrugged and stuffed her phone back into her back pocket and stood up. His eyes, still lazy, travelled up her legs and he smiled.

Jilin raised a brow at him and rested a hand on her hip, “Sure. I can go for something.” He stood up and went to his door, hearing no other voices in the house, “Sounds like no one else is home.” She observed and went down the stairs, “What’s there to eat?”

“Not sure, but I’m sure I can make something if there’s nothing.” He opened the refrigerator and looked through the contents. “We’ve got beef and a bunch of side dishes.” He grinned, “In the mood for some?”

“Sure. I could go for some meat.” She sat down, “Need my help?”

He shook his head, “No. Sit down. I got it.” She stayed seated and watched him.

“Don’t cut yourself.” She warned as he took up a sharp knife. He smirked but didn’t reply. Cutting up the piece of meat, he carefully watched his fingers from getting in the way of the blade. “You got a grill?”

“Yea. It’s in the pantry over there.” He nodded his head towards the door beside the refrigerator and continued cutting. Jilin shuffled through the room and pulled out a circular grill, almost looking like a pan with a deep width.

“Oh you got one of these.” She muttered, “Me and Zico use ours outside, classic wire and charcoal.”

“Yea well, Appa says it was one sale. So why not get it? Right?” Jilin set the grill in the middle of the table and took a match from her pocket. “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” He said, “Why would you carry these around?” He pointed to the matches.

She scoffed, “In case of emergency.”

“You got switchblades in there too?” He jokingly slipped his fingers into her back pockets and she slapped his arm away. Instead, she pulled out a spike ring and raised a brow. He retreated back to his meat, “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”

“Better not, or I’m gonna have to kick your .” She threatened, her hand putting away the ring. Her attention went back to the matches and scraped it across the sand paper back. A small flame set ablaze, and she placed the fire into the grill. “Ready for meat~!” She sang.

He gave her a platter of meat, “Go ahead and start. I’ll get some rice.” She took a pair of chopsticks and picked up piece by piece, placing it on the grill. The sizzling noises made water, she didn’t know how hungry she was until the sound came into her ears. Zelo handed her a bowl of rice and smiled, “You look more hungry than tired.”

“Well, I didn’t know how hungry I was until now.” She sat down and flipped some over, “How do you eat your beef?”

“Leave it a little rare for me.”

“Alright.” She handed him a few slices and grabbed some for herself, “This is a good cut.”

He laughed, “You got rice right near your lip.” She pouted and he gestured her forward, “Let me get it.” Hesitantly, since she didn’t know where it was, she leaned forward and he wiped it off her upper lip, smiling, “There.” He continued eating, but she was still processing what happened. After a few seconds, she picked up her chopsticks again.

Zelo jumped at a vibration in his pocket and took out his phone, “Oh. It’s my Appa.” He said and answered, “Appa? What’s wrong?” Jilin heard a deep voice over the speaker and nearly choked. Why his father’s voice so low and Zelo’s wasn’t even that close? She shrugged it off. “Ah, ok, Appa. Is Omma going with you?” He paused before stuffing some food into his mouth, “What?!-Uh-I mean ok. See you tomorrow.” He hung up and gave Jilin a look, “We got a problem.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My parents are going out tonight and they’ll be staying over at their friend’s for the weekend. Bad part-they’ve called my friends from school and gave them permission to come here.” Jilin coughed and Zelo rushed over, rubbing her back. He grabbed a water bottle and she quickly took a gulp. “They’ll be here any minute.”

“Holy crap! I have to go then!” She rushed up to his room and paused as the doorbell rang, “ is that them?!” She hissed. To answer the question, boys outside hollered out his name. Jilin hurried back up and closed the door.

“Don’t go anywhere!” He called up to her.

“I don’t have much of an option!” She called back.

Zelo opened the door, “Hey guys.” His group of friends came in, smiling and greeting him. He closed the front door and looked back up to his room, “What are you guys doing up here?”

“Your parents, Junhong. Dude, you look terrible. How much sleep have you gotten?” Changjo looked at him closely, “There are bags under your eyes, man.”

Zelo pulled away and remembered the earlier nap he had with Jilin in his room, “Um…a few hours, but I’m fine.”

“You sure? Dude, we’ll be up all night. Are you up for it?” Maru crashed on his couch and smirked.

Zelo scowled, “I’m not gonna be checking out girls in the park.”

“That’s not fun! Yo, were you eating?” Zelo bit his lip; the two bowls of half eaten rice were still on the table, the grill still ablaze and the beef still resting. Examining the table, Minhyun gasped, “WITH SOMEONE?! OH MY GOD! IS THERE A GIRL HERE?!” They quickly checked through the bottom floor and pointed to his room.

“HIS ROOM!” Zelo got in front of them, jumping over the railing, “Whoa!”

“Don’t you dare.” He warned.

Sungjae gasped loudly, “You do have a girl over!”

“I don’t! I was hungry.” He insisted, crossing his arms and frowning, “My room is my room. I don’t want any of you guys looking in there.”

Minhyun snorted, “Touchy.”

Zelo rolled his eyes and went up the steps, “Be right down.” He opened his bedroom door and found Jilin talking to someone on the phone. She hung up, “What’s the plan?”

“Zico’s not home. I’m gonna crash at 2NE1’s.” She pulled on her back pack.

Zelo wrinkled his brows, “They’re all the way on the other side of the city!”

“I have to, they’re expecting me.”

But he refused, “No. I’m not letting you around Seoul at night and alone.” He grabbed for her arm but she pulled back.

“Junhong, I can pretty much handle myself. In case you haven’t noticed, I can handle myself in a Jongup and a Seungri situation.” She made her way to the window but he wasn’t done.

“Wait.” She stopped, “Why can’t you stay here?”

Jilin crossed her arms, “Junhong, Zico would never allow that.”

“Just tell them you’ve found a different place to stay.” He begged, not wanting to let her go. Not yet.

“Your friends?”

“I can ditch them.”

She shrugged, “They’re your friends, and I don’t want to get in the way of that.”

Zelo sighed frustratingly, “Look, no. Just because they’re my friends, doesn’t mean I have to be with them 24/7. I’m not letting you wander Seoul alone. Got that?” She crossed her arms and frowned. “I’m tired of having them near me, I might just burst out with my secret life. I can only handle it for so long, Jilin.”

She paused, “I’ll call 2NE1 and Zico. Go get rid of your friends.” He hurried out of his room and sighed.

“You guys-“

“Junhong, what’s this?” Changjo flashed off a ring-a black ring with a long pointy spike. “This looks…” He looked up, “You have her with you don’t you?”

Zelo pretended to be bewildered, “What are you talking about?” They shoved past him, “HEY!” But Minhyun and Sungjae jumped on him while Maru and Changjo ran up to his room. He struggled, but was able to get the two off of him as his bedroom door opened. Running up, he was surprised to see nothing. Not in his bed, his closet or his bathroom. “You guys! Get out!” Zelo looked around, still surprised. He shoved out his friends and looked up, nearly screaming. She was on the wall, and gestured him to shut up. “Jesus! What point in privacy don’t you understand?!”

They were speechless, “But. This ring-“

“I found it on the floor at school! It looked nice so I took it!” He insisted and grabbed the ring from Changjo, putting it in his pocket, “Get out!” He pushed them out of his house and closed the door, gasping. Waiting a few seconds, he went back to his room, “How the Hell did you do that?!” She jumped down, landing on her arms and feet. She grabbed her back pack from underneath the bed and pulled out a grappling hook from her shirt.

“I told you, I come prepared.” She smirked, “Thank goodness you got a big ceiling. I would’ve been found out. Idiots don’t know how to look up.” She sighed and grabbed a blanket and pillow from his bed, “Well, today has been somewhat exhausting. I’m gonna crash on the floor.”

He raised a brow, “No way. You’re my guest. Take my bed.”

“Are you sure? I don’t mean to be a bother.” Her small smile showed him that she really was fine with the floor. But his parents raised him to be a gentleman during his original life. And his company never slept on the floor.

“Seriously, take my bed.” He took the blanket and pillow from her hands and smiled, “I’ll sleep right at the foot of my bed. Just shake me if you need anything.” She didn’t argue, she was tired and he knew it. They’ve been tired all day and Friday night and Saturday morning would be their sleep-in time. She crawled under the covers and looked up at him.

“Junhong?”

“Yea?”

She sat back up and stood on his bed, leaning to his face and kissing his cheek. Zelo’s face went hot and he clenched his hand against the pillow he was holding. Something flickered in his stomach at the contact and he wasn’t sure if it was a good feeling or not. Her lips parted from his skin and she smiled, “Thanks. I really owe you.” Jilin went back to lying down in his bed and closed her eyes. He turned off the lights, still in a small daze by the kiss to his cheek. It may have been something small…but he wasn’t sure why it felt so big. In the darkness, Zelo took out her ring and placed it on his desk before he plopped on the floor and closed his eyes as well. He deserved sleep and so did she.