“Zelo! Snap out of it, you need to stop gawking at him.” “Zelo, hello?” “What the hell! Jongup do something!” Himchan says before turning around to the male besides him.

            “What the hell do you want me to do hyung?” the younger male half whines, before turning his attention to the maknae of their group.

            “Zelo-ah… I know… I know he looks exactly like… well like…” Jongup pauses before leaning into the younger boy’s ear, “Yongnam”. He whispers before stepping back, “but you need to stop gawking at the dude like that, it’s kind of scary. Plus, don’t you think it’s time to you know… move on from uh people-”

            “That look exactly like your dead lover” a voice slurs as Himchan and Jongup stare in horror at the intruder.

            A drunk Youngjae with a Daehyun struggling with the weight of his lover

            “ Jae!” Daehyun with an arm around the other waist, supporting the drunken man snapped.

            “Yea, what the Youngjae, you don’t…say something like that” Jongup practically hisses, lowering his voice a few octaves. 

            “Zelo ah” Himchan coos, before turning his attention to the maknae for some damage control. To all their surprise, the boy was still staring at the figure that had recently entered the club. “I GIVE UP” he flails his arms in the air dramatically and leans against Jongup in feign exhaustion.

            Letting out an awkward chuckle, Jongup shoots a glare at the unfazed drunken Youngjae leaning against the bar for support. Silently he mouthed the words, you better ing watch your damn mouth.

            “Sorry about Youngjae, you know how he gets when he’s drunk” Daehyun instead apologizes, winching at the sharp glare of Jongup.

            “Yeah whatever, but that was crossing the line” Daehyun backs away slightly, unaccustomed to the deathly serious Jongup before him. He mouths a silent sorry before dragging the slurring Youngjae away from the trio to avoid further agitations.

            “Jonguppie, let’s go dance” Himchan almost whines, letting more and more of his body weight to fall on the shorter male.

            “YA! We can’t just leave Jun- I mean Zelo-ah here”

            “Kekekeke, you almost messed up real bad there Jonguppie, don’t you think it’ll be better if we just got away from the baby for a little bit” the taller male whispers into the other’s ear, successfully sending shivers down Jongup’s spine. Managing to give Zelo an encouraging squeeze on the hand, he agrees to his elder’s proposal. “Just, Zelo, remember why you came out here in the first place, have fun! Loosen up, this is your first night out in a long time, so just try and have fun ne?”

            When Zelo didn’t respond with his gaze still glued to the male that too oddly resembled his deceased lover, Jongup only sighs and drops down in defeat.

            Raising his finger to call the bartender over, “Get him a shot of vodka, the strongest kind you have please” Himchan winks at the male behind the bar.

            “HYUNG!”

            “Sh… let’s go Jonguppie” ignoring the thrashing of the smaller male besides him, he slaps down a bill to pay for the drink and pushes Jongup along into the massive crowd in the dance floor. “Like you said, Junhong needs to loosen up”

            “…” Jongup’s gaze darkened a considerable amount at the mentioning of their maknae’s real name, his lips nervously, he turns around to face the sly gaze of his companion. “You think Junhong will be okay? You think he’ll ever let us call him Junhong again?”

            Himchan’s swear his heart was going break from the hurt he saw in the younger’s eyes. “I honestly don’t know Jonguppie… Junhong… Zelo will be Junhong again when his heart heals…”

            “Do you think it will ever heal?”

            “Goddammit Jonguppie! Now I’m paranoid. Urgh looks like we need a drink” quickly returning to his melodramatic self, Himchan grabs the other’s hand and drags the boy towards the bar, careful to pick spot where Zelo’s gaze would not follow.

            “I guess… we do need to leave him alone…” Jongup mumbles after what seemed to be an eternity.

            “About time” Himchan says rather loudly as two shot glasses were placed before them.

            “You should win an award for most stealthful in ordering drinks or something” Jongup half jokes before downing the bitter liquid before him.

            “Maybe you should give me a reward” Himchan whispers against the shorter male’s ear along with some obscene slurred nonsense, the pair shuffles towards the dance floor.

            “Stop it…” Zelo whispers to himself, clutching the shot glass before him with crushing force. He had managed to tear his gaze away from the man that had entered the club a good half hour ago. Quickly he downs the glass, feeling the liquid burning, trickling down his throat. “, I hate that stuff” he mumbles quietly, but nonetheless quickly waves the bartender over and orders another.

            When an unfamiliar glass of bright red liquid enters his vision, the boy’s brows furrow in confusion. “Raspberry Daiquiri” he explains, “from the gentleman on the right” he finishes and gestures towards his right.

            “No thanks, I just want the shot”

            Zelo gazes at the reddish liquid with half-lidded eyes. He wished the vodka would work faster. “Raspberry…” he mumbles.

            “Hyung, how do you even like raspberries? They taste so bland and blehhh” Junhong groaned as he looked down at the newly purchased fruit tart, filled with raspberries.

            “What? How do you not like raspberries? They’re my favorite fruit”

            “Urgh, you’re so weird, you like a fruit that no one likes” Junhong turns away from the elder in feign annoyance.

            “Raspberries are like the underground performers don’t you think? I mean if you think about it, they look just like blackberries except they’re in a different color. They, like you said, don’t taste like much. Their seeds are more annoying than those of strawberries. I don’t know, I guess I like them because they’re underrated”

            Zelo swallows back a sob, ignoring the tears threatening to fall from his orbs. And so what if he cried, he could just end up blaming it on the alcohol, though he had been relying on that excuse for the past few months.

 “What a weird drink,” he notes mentally beginning to feel the effects of alcohol. Before stretching out to pull the glass closer to him, inhaling the fumes of the so-called underground fruit. “What a weird drink,” He restates just as another shot glass is placed before him. He downs the shot in a second.

            Tentatively he reaches for the taller glass filled with the dark red liquid. Bringing it to his lips, he sneaks a glance at the ‘gentleman’ who had purchased the drink for him. His movements stop and his body completely come to a halt. Eyes widening at the man smirking and moving towards his direction, he swallows a large lump in his throat, taking a bit of the bitter sweet liquid in the glass along.

            Nearly choking on the drink, Zelo places down the glass on its proper mat and takes the moment to recollect himself. He coughs slightly to cover up whatever emotions he was going through at the moment.

            “I saw you staring for a while” the male chuckles as soon as he was in hearing distance of Zelo.

            Well then. The voice sent shivers down his spine. It was nothing like Yongnam’s. It was deeper, raspy, y even. But that confirmed Zelo’s worst fears. Whoever the man was, he wasn’t Yongnam, and he wasn’t Yongnam’s ghost visiting to wish him well. It was a separate entity sent to torture his existence, to taunt him, and torment his already shattered heart. Zelo dared not to turn his gaze towards the source of the voice. He didn’t need to confirm his worst fears. He didn’t need to see just how similar the man was to Yongnam, closer up. He didn’t need that in his life. Breathe and be Zelo. He reassures himself. “You’re flattering yourself” he manages to say with his gaze fixed on the liquid before him.

            “Hm, though I would be lying if I said I wasn’t staring back”          

            Zelo instinctive snapped his amused gaze towards the voice, towards the man that resembled his deceased lover. And he immediately regretted doing so. His breath hitched and his heartbeat raced, his palms sweaty and the awfully familiar feeling of sting tears heightened his level of discomfort. The resemblance was uncanning. It scared Zelo. The man before him was a near perfect clone of his beloved. Just for a moment, he thought he was in heaven. Just for a moment his heart warmed the sight, and just for moment he believed that maybe, just maybe, Yongnam wasn't really dead. 

            But that vision shatters as quickly as it was formed.

            The subtle differences, the male’s voice, the way his hair fell, the way his smile formed, they were all different from those of his deceased lover.

            It pained Zelo to stare the man before him.

            It hurt like nothing has ever hurt him before.

            It was a different kind of hurt, different from that generated from the loss he experienced. 

            It hurt almost as much as when he had first lost Yongnam.

            “You okay?”

            “…” his lips nervously, Zelo manages to tear his gaze away from the man for a split second before his orbs involuntarily returned themselves onto the older male before him. “Yeah.” He starts at the visage with incredulous eyes.

            “Am I that attractive?” the taller male chuckles lightly. Zelo couldn’t help but to gawk at the sight. A smile slightly gummier than that of his Yongnam’s but the resemblance was there. A way the man’s dark locks swayed back and forth in the air held the younger’s attention in an inescapable grasp.

            “You look a lot like someone I know,” Zelo mumbles under his breath, attention finally returning to the tall glass before him.

            “I hope it’s only good memories. The name’s Yongguk by the way, you are?”

            Even their names are similar.

            “Zelo” the younger male answers immediately despite his knuckles turning white at the mentioning of Yongguk’s name.  

            “That doesn’t sound a real name”

            “Do you need my real name?” he almost snaps, his heartstrings threatening to break. He badly wanted Yongguk out of there, but there was a part of him that wanted to throw himself into the other’s arm and mutter words of affection and tell Yongguk just how much he looked liked his late lover. The blonde male gnaws at his inner cheeks in an attempt to suppress his inner desires.

            For his sanity’s sake he wanted Yongguk to leave.

            “Maybe not now, but maybe sometime in the future?” Yongguk suggests.

            “Maybe” mumbling quietly in an attempt to cover up his nervousness, Zelo does everything he can possibly do to suppress the incoming tears.

            “Hmm, maybe isn’t exactly what I want hear, but it’s better than nothing. See you around Zelo” the older male flashes a quick smirk and Zelo swears he was seeing things. For just a split moment, the briefest second, the stranger’s visage contorted to an awfully familiar one.

            He loses it then.

            Tears overflowing from his eyes as he chokes back a sob. The obscenely loud music of the club covered his sobs. He could feel his body shaking from the tension. He had tried so hard to suppress the urge to throw himself against the departing male. He wanted to so badly. He needed to.

            So that’s what he did.

            A few quick strides later, he embraced the slightly taller male from behind.

Zelo knew in his heart that the man before him wasn't his beloved. But nonetheless, he couldn't quiet his trembling heart. He couldn't deny the attraction. And most importantly, he couldn't suppress the urge to thrown himself into another man, who seemed to be the exact clone of his beloved. 

            Yongguk swallows back whatever slurs of insults that would’ve came out as a result of the sudden intrusion of personal space as soon as he realized who it was.

            Of course Yongguk knew who it was. Of course. It was, after all, the boy he had watched over for the past two years, behind the scenes. No, he had never met the boy on normal conditions. He kept his distance because he was told to, because he was respecting his late brother’s wishes.

            Slowly, Yongguk cups the hands that encircled him waist and swiftly turns around, pulling the young male into a hug. “I guess not really pleasant memories,” he mumbles against the bleached locks. “But we can change that can’t we?” loosening his grip on the younger boy’s shoulder, he tilts his head downward to meet the melancholic gaze of Zelo.

            The sobs died down as tiny droplets of tears fell from the boy’s eyes.

            “Sh… don’t cry anymore.” Yongguk coos encouragingly before placing a piece of folded paper in the boy’s hands. “Everyone needs a second chance”

            “Yongguk promise me something, promise me that you will take care of Junhong, protect him, heal him.”

            Yongguk turns around from the boy and slowly backs away, leaving Zelo, Junhong, lost in his own thoughts.

            He glances down at the piece of paper in his hands.

            XXX-XXX-XXXX – mysterious stranger

           Whenever you’re ready 

Author's Note

the XXX-XXX-XXXX is his number LOL cuz i couldnt come up with random digits 

LOLOL
but 

CLEARING THINGS UP

Yongguk and Yongnam are brothers (but Zelo doenst know that) for reasons later explained 

Zelo and Junhong are the same person LOL. as explained, Zelo is what he goes by after the death of Yongnam 

I know it says in the intro that Yongnam died by some tragic acident --> it's what Zelo/Junhong believes.

even though the story is in 3rd person it will be more like a 1st person perspective thing, each chapter majorly focused on a one character's interal conflicts but that might change too XD