I can't believe he really came to get me, but there he was: Zelo, as tall as a titan from Jongup's favorite Manga series and as inscrutable as a stone. “You're really here?”, I asked with a smirk when our eyes met, making him snort.

“How could I say Hye-sun-noona that I don't like you when, to her, you're my employer? Now come on, the faster we return, the faster we can eat.” I agreed with a quiet hum and had difficulties to keep up with stick-figure's big steps, falling behind rather quickly. Wasn't he already running?! That's when I tripped over a little stone that was peeking out of the pavement and I flailed about to regain my balance while squealing, but it was all hopeless when the ground got closer and closer.

Then, I felt a tight grip around my upper arm while another hand prevented me from falling any further, catching my body and I looked up frantically, trying to get what had happened.

There was Zelo staring at me with a raised eyebrow, taking a deep breath when he helped me regain my balance. “Y-You should...watch where you're g-going. B-Be more careful...”, he uttered and I was fast to act as if I wasn't confused about that reaction of his. Wasn't there a slight note of care and uncertainty in his voice? “You're way too heavy, don't eat that much.” Well, maybe I had imagined it...

“Thanks. And I'm not fat”, I answered, but he just shrugged, clearing his throat while letting go of the arm he still held with his hand, turning around to walk on again. I could feel my heart beating in my chest. Just a little louder than before. Shh, what are you doing? No need to be excited, nothing happened, right?

Right?

Zelo cleared his throat all of a sudden, slowing down his pace to match his tempo with mine. “Hye-sun bought a lot of jelly today.”

I cocked my ears. Ha, so she has been able to read it, that's good. “Oh, she did?”, I asked in acted surprise, but I think he looked right through it.

“She said, someone wrote it on her grocery list in the morning. You have no idea who it could have been?”, he retorted, shooting me an expressing glance, but I just smiled back at him.

“Who knows~?”, was all I replied, making him snort again.

“You are just too much. You even wrote down the color I like best! Why?”

“Let's call it a friendly turn?”, I suggested and he finally stopped walking like a possessed person, turning around with a straight face. Oops, I guess he will-

“But we're not friends.”

-turn cold again. I couldn't help sighing while shaking my head and looking at him afterwards. “It's still Soora and you'll see that I'm worth being a friend of yours one day. Why are you always this distant towards other people? You said that it was about losses, but what kind of losses? How can I help you with your chasers when you're not telling me anything?”, I started arguing while gesturing wildly. I wanted to help him by then, I really did! Then why was he like that?!

But once again, Zelo didn't intend to recognize my care for him. “I don't need you to help me. Then why should I tell you about my past?” I decided that it was hopeless to ask for details now, but I couldn't stop thinking of a way to get through to him...We reached my house without speaking another word, because I was pouting while he... well, he didn't behave different from any other time - cold.

Hye-sun smiled when we came in and I tried to get rid of the frown on my face. “Soora-yah, I made rice pudding today!”, she stated and I didn't even have to try to look happy anymore. Rice pudding! I love rice pudding!

“Really? Omo, Hye-sun, thank you!”, I squealed while hugging her tightly, making her laugh out loud. And then, we spent our dinner talking about my day at school. “Who would've guessed that Jongdae – the great Jongin – would be rejected by someone, huh?”, I was just saying, making Hye-sun's eyes widen.

“Oh you can't be serious! Who?”, she asked in disbelief. Everybody at school knew about our playboy Jongin and his friends.

Every girl at school wanted to be his girlfriend, it seemed.

And Everybody else knew that he was never serious about any of those relationships, leaving the girls brokenhearted. Hye-sun, Daehyun and I thought that he was secretly gay, because he never did anything without his friend, Kyungsoo, but that's something I didn't tell anyone else about... Back to the main point.

“Jinri. Choi Jinri, she is rather popular and everybody knows about her and Minho being an unofficial couple, but Jongin decided to test his luck. He was rejected in front of the whole class, you know? I've never been this happy in the past weeks”, I explained with a bright laugh, making Hye-sun chuckle along.

Zelo frowned before raising an eyebrow. “Glee is a bad thing, you know?”, he mumbled, but I didn't even have to answer as Hye-sun did it for me.

“But Jongin needs to be fought! He's such a playboy according to what Soora says!”, she stated with a serious expression that made me grin. Zelo snorted and I could see him biting back a smile as he got up to bring his plate to the kitchen.

“If noona says so it has to be true”, he mumbled, making it sound ironic and not very convinced while grabbing himself a package of red jelly before disappearing into his room.

I knew he'd like that jelly and I was proud of myself for even remembering his favorite flavor! I hoped for some kind of thanks because of that later.

Hye-sun chuckled silently. “He's such a cute little boy”, she uttered quietly to make sure he didn't hear them and I rolled with my eyes.

She was still thinking Zelo was a nice and naïve cutie and I've had enough of her fancying him. “Now what would your husband say about that, huh? I don't get what you see in him, he is always impol-”

“You got a message”, my phone gave off a short extract from MYNAME's song, “Message”, making me and Hye-sun jump up at once.

The maid clutched at her chest, calming her breathing again. “Soora, you should really change this ringtone, or at least make it less abrupt! I'll die of a heart attack sooner or later, I swear!”, she complained with a grin, weakening her scolding with it, but I just acted as if I was pouting.

“But I like that song! I won't change it!”, I retorted, because I loved being persistent when it came to my music and I turned around to go upstairs, reading the message while walking.

From: Yongguk

“What is he doing right now? He won't pick up when I call.”

I sighed as I felt my hopes shatter. What hopes? I don't know... Maybe Yongguk had changed his mind, wanting to tell me some more about Zelo? But no... I thought about it for a second before replying. Did Yongguk really worry about him that much? Or did he have complexes as long as Zelo was gone?

“Is eating jelly an excuse?”

There was a short pause and I could imagine Yongguk, whose face was still unknown to me by the way, frowning at the question. Would he get my point? “It is when it comes to Zelo. Alright, thanks.”

I decided that he just worried about him. An awesome big brother, it seemed to me. Come on, he had to know something I didn't about the current situation. “Say, do you know where he is spending most of his mornings? Sometimes, he's gone until 4pm...”

But then again, I didn't receive a reply. Thanks, Yongguk. It's not like I was actually hoping for your help with the stick-figure. I my laptop to find a message from Daehyun. “And? Did you eat well?”

I snorted, but couldn't hold back a smile that played around the corners of my mouth. “Yeah. Rice pudding. How could I not eat that? Why? :D”

He sent me another reply after a few minutes. “You looked a little bit down today, I was worried. But as long as you're still eating and stuff, I'm happy~ <3 Sleep well, Soora~” What the hell, Daehyun-oppa? Writing random cute stuff... I let out a chuckle, imagining Daehyun's aegyo he did when he was happy. It was cute, no doubt, but even Himchan could do better.

“I wonder if Zelo has aegyo”, I mumbled, but was quick to deny it. How could that cold-hearted boy possibly be as cute as Hye-sun pretended him to be all the time? Well, maybe if he is really happy...but when is he happy? I bothered my head about how to crack Zelo's mask for hours after that, not being able to sleep for a while.

But then, finally, I could feel how my thoughts drifted apart, slowly guiding me into dreamland.

Another day, another adventure, right?

Then let the adventure begin.

You want to know why? Because that day, something was supposed to happen. Let me start with the moment I received a message via LINE during lunch.

“Who is it from?”, Sohee was quick to ask when I took a look at the message.

I stuck out my tongue. “It's a secret”, I cooed and winked, making Sohee lose her mind. Daehyun looked startled when Sohee began to shoot questions at me.

“A secret? Do I know that person? Is it a celebrity? Is it a guy?!”

Daehyun's eyes widened a her questions, but I replied teasingly: “What if?”, raising my eyebrow. Sohee decided to glare at me with all her glaring-power, which was a lot by the way, but I didn't react anymore, carefully reading the message while hiding the screen from her.

It was from Yongguk. “I know where he is today. He goes there every Friday. Go to Euljiro - you know that street, don't you – at 3.20pm. House number 24.” I didn't know where that was, but I was sure Jongmin would drive me there if I asked kindly. I'd get to know something about Zelo and I was...happy. Maybe I'd start to understand what was going on then! Yongguk was such a big help even though he didn't know me! Thank god for that!

“Look at her, smiling like an idiot, Daehyun”, Sohee started teasing me, making me realize that I really was grinning widely at the message. “I'm sure she has a crush on someone.”

Daehyun swallowed, his lips and glancing at me with a nervous grin. “Y-you do?”, he asked carefully, but I could just snort.

“No way I'd like that person. Stop saying unnecessary things, Sohee. I never met him, we have... uhm... started writing through an... internet site a few days ago, that's all.” Daehyun sighed, a smirk playing around the corners of his mouth as he returned to his lunch and Sohee raised an eyebrow. “I swear”, I added while rolling my eyes to satisfy her. She really was, because she dropped the topic just like that and started talking about some new fashion stylist from America, but I couldn't just drop it. Yongguk was ready to help me understand Zelo and that made me excited.

It would be the first time I'd get to know the background story of a person I wanted to take a picture of. I just prayed I wouldn't be disappointed.

When the school's bell rang for the last time that day, I grabbed my backpack, almost running down the halls under the judging gazes of a cleaning lady and my teachers, slammed everything I didn't need into my locker and continued running until I got to Jongmin and our car that was waiting on the parking. “Jongmin, I need you to drive me somewhere later!”, I exclaimed, catching for breath as I threw myself on the backseat.

The driver turned around with a frown. “Now?” I shook my head, unable to speak, and showed him three of my fingers. “3pm?” I nodded. I shouldn't have been that excited after all. Why did I run?! I felt stupid at that moment, but Jongmin just accepted it the way it was and drove me to our house. Thank god it was already 2.30! Only half an hour to eat and then I would be able to go to the place Yongguk had written me about.

Time passed by quickly while eating the remaining rice pudding from the day before and changing into more comfortable clothes. I have never been this hyper in my whole life, I think. Zelo had told me about not being there in the afternoon and now I'd get to know why! Haha, take that stick-figure, the odds are in my favor!

I almost ripped the door open when Jongmin rang the bell, making him jerk before regaining his seriousness. Okay, slow down Soora. This is a little bit creepy to other people around you...Well, it's not like I really understood why I was like that either, but okay.

“I have to get to Eul...Eul...”, I stuttered, trying to remember the street's name. “Eulj...euh...”

“Euljiro?”, Jongmin suggested and I nodded effusively. “Which number? It's a very long street.”

I had memorized the number, but not the street's name. Wow, great work Soora. “24, please.”

And then? Jongmin drove me there and I got off.

And then? I tried to find out what kind of building I was standing in front of. I looked at my phone to check the time before writing Yongguk. “I'm here, what now?” While I was waiting for a reply, I inspected the house's shield. A picture of many children in that house made me understand.

It was an orphanage.

“Go inside and ask for a tall young man. Ask whoever you meet first, no matter what age. They all know him there. But don't ask for Zelo, the name is unknown to most of them.”

“O-kay... Then let's go”, I mumbled without talking to anyone but myself. I pushed the doors open just to find myself in what looked like a big and spacy home even though it could have been more modern. The paper was peeling off the wall in the corners, but that didn't matter as I spotted a young boy of maybe ten years coming towards me. He yawned and rubbed his eyes as if he had slept a few moments ago.

“H-Hello”, I greeted shyly, hunkering down to match the boy's height. Okay, Yongguk had told me to just ask, right? “Do you know a tall young man? He should be around my age...”

It wasn't until then that the kid seemed to notice me. He frowned, inspecting my face. “Tall?”

I nodded. “Very very tall. Almost a giant!”, I replied, but the frown on the boy's face deepened. Okay, I did a horrible mistake in coming here. What if Yongguk had lied when he told me about this place? Was Zelo even here? What if-

“JunJun never told us he had a girlfriend.”

Wait, what?

Who is JunJun? And why am I his girlfriend all of a sudden?!

Feel my love! No angst for now. But more ZeloxSoora to come :3