Soora's POV

Our Saturday was spent in silence. Zelo didn't come out of his room except for the time when Hye-sun called us out for lunch, but I didn't even dare to look at him then, because I was afraid he'd retreat right away. That's why we were silent instead.

Both of us weren't very cheerful, but at least we weren't shouting at each other either. After picking at my food, I walked back into my room, getting lost in the depths of the internet and thought about what I could do to help the stick-figure. Jongup would come back the next day in the evening and we could do something together...

That's when I got an idea. I opened a new window and started writing an email to my grandma. They should be in the midst of reaping now and it would be the perfect distraction. I would have to wait for the reply and I decided to call Daehyun. He had told me that his week-end would be boring before, because there wasn't anything he had planned. Now he would have something to do.

“Dae-oppa~!”, I exclaimed when I heard him answer with a short: Yes?

“Soora! What's up! Are you alright? The fever didn't return, did it? If you don't feel well-”

“I'm fine”, I chuckled to shut him up. “But I'm bored. What should I do?” Hye-sun had left to go to the doctor, because of the baby she was expecting and wouldn't be back until dinner-time.

Daehyun stayed silent for a moment, obviously thinking about what he should answer. “Hmmm...So you want to do something?”

I nodded before realizing that he couldn't see me. “Yes, it's just sooo boring here. There's nothing to do and the internet doesn't seem to be very active today...”

“I'll be there in ten minutes!”, he stated and hung up, causing me to look at my phone in surprise. Normally, he would have suggested something for me to do – like watching a new drama he had discovered – and that would have been it. But he had been more clingy lately, walking Mocha with me and stuff. Not that I was bothered by it, not at all. I enjoyed being around him, just like I enjoyed being around Jongup. They were very special to me and they never failed to make me laugh.

As if he had planned it like that, the doorbell rang exactly ten minutes later and I opened the door with a disbelieving smile while shaking my head.

Daehyun's POV

I had never managed to get to Soora's house in less than fifteen minutes. Okay, I had “overlooked” some red lights to reach it in time, I admit it... But I was on time! And it was totally worth it, I thought when she opened her door with a smile that made me smile in return. “I can't believe you're actually here. So, what did you think of?”

My body tensed up and my smile froze for a split second. “Just... Get on the motorcycle. Here, I brought the second helmet along and the last time you drove with me, you were sick and had a fever, so... Get on!”, I stated cheerfully as I offered her the helmet, but she glanced back at the corridor, causing me to frown. “What's wrong?”

“I... Zelo will be left alone then and-”, she broke off her sentence, slowly breathing in as she thought about the situation again, shaking her head. “Never mind, I'll just put on my shoes, wait a second!” Soora smiled with a shrug while looking for a piece of paper to write a message that explained that she was with me and that there was no need to worry.

I took a deep breath and relaxed on the spot while she grabbed her boots. Zelo... I didn't know much about him, but there was something about that guy that made me be aware of him. Maybe it was because he had left Soora alone when she was sick. Maybe it was the suspicious bandage around his arm. And maybe I had an inferiority complex, because he was taller by a head. To be honest, it could be all three of them.

Soora put on her jacket and closed the door, glancing at me again before pointing at my motorbike. “I get to ride on that beauty?”

I nodded with raised eyebrows. “Yup”, I replied, stuffing her head into the helmet and she shrieked while I was chuckling and sitting down on the machine before looking at her again. “Come on.”

She turned to stare at the door again, but then shook her head as if to get rid of her thoughts and sat down behind me. I didn't miss the tiny sigh that escaped her lips, but I decided not to ask her. Yet. Soora hesitantly grabbed my jacket and I smirked under the darkened ventail of my helmet. “What...What if I fall while you are driving?” My smile widened and I chuckled. “What's so funny about that?” Her angry voice was cute, because I knew that she was actually trying to cover that she was scared.

“It's just that you asked the same question when I drove you home from the party a few days ago. Don't you remember?” She seemed to shrink on her seat.

“Oh...no... I don't.”

“Then I'll repeat myself: You won't fall off, because I'm here for you. All you need to do is hold on tight, got it?” She nodded and lay her arms around my waist, just like the last time. “Okay, here we go.” The words came out more sincere than I had expected, because I let the motor roar and its rhythmic vibrations made me relax. I loved my motorcycle, because it gave me the confidence I didn't normally have.

Soora's grasp tightened once more when I accelerated and she let out a gasp of surprise. “You really don't remember the party, do you?”, I mumbled silently, thinking of her feverish behavior. “Does she even remember how much I tried to help?” I had given it my all and yet there was a chance that she didn't even remember...That was sad.

“Did you say something?”

“N-No!”, I shouted over my shoulder to drown the motor's noise. I shouldn't talk to myself, I figured.

Soora snuggled up to my back as a sign of relaxation, signalizing me that she wasn't as scared as before. And more into skinship than last time. I tried to slow down my heartbeat, but it turned out to be quite difficult and I went along with slowly breathing in and out. “So, where are we going?”, she asked and I bit my lower lip.

I hadn't thought of anything.

“Somewhere beautiful”, I replied more or less convincing. I had been too concentrated on reaching her house in time that I didn't even have the slightest idea... Come on, think, Daehyun! Think! Where could you go? The café? No, Mom will be mad, because I left earlier to get to Soora. Another restaurant? No way, she doesn't like fancy meals. Uhm... Han River! That's good! It's always good!

I veered left to take the exit ramp, because I had almost missed it and Soora squeaked in surprise. Okay, that wasn't planned, but it had a positive effect anyway, so why apologize? The river came in sight and I slowed down, coming to a stop when we reached a little plane of grass. The motor fell silent and I looked at the sparkling surface of the river. “We're here”, I stated neutrally and Soora remained silent for a split second.

“Here?”

“Yup.” I got off my motorcycle after untangling her arms, leaving her on the machine and positioned myself on the lawn, hands akimbo. “Here.” How did I even manage to stay calm when she was this close and knew exactly what she was doing? Not now, Daehyun, later. Think about it later.

We took off our helmets and I saw the silent smirk that played around the corners of . I did it, she was cheered up! “And what are we doing here?”, she asked and I waved with my hand, signalizing her to get off the motorbike as I got closer and opened the small hatch that was under the seat. When I pulled out a bag of cookies, I showed it to her with a satisfied smile.

“We're making a cookie-picnic!” Her smile widened until I could see her teeth and she grabbed the package.

“Alright, you really know how to cheer someone up when he's bored, I admit it”, she stated and sat down on the grass without hesitation, opening the cookies.

Okay, I think you can guess it: I didn't plan anything. Don't judge me! ...Huh? Where those cookies came from? I always have something to eat with me! What if I get bored while I'm stuck in a traffic jam? Or in this case, what would I have done with a bored Soora? Cookies are the key to success, I say! Mark my words!

We then started chatting about random, unnecessary things like the weather, our school's most popular couples, what we wanted to do after finishing school... Anything we could think of. But I soon wasn't as cheerful anymore. Everything Soora said had something to do with Zelo. Shopping with Zelo, eating pizza with Zelo, having fun with Zelo... It was as if she bragged about being with him all the time and I felt anger bubbling up inside my heart. “And then we were late for dinner, but we managed to get past Hye-sun somehow. I'm sure she'll kill us the next time, haha! And then-”

“You're having quite a lot of fun it seems”, I mumbled casually and I noticed that the sun was about to set. We had been talking for this long?

“Well...I can't say I hate being around him”, she replied with a shrug as she leaned back, lying on the grass now and I examined her peaceful face when she took another cookie. I didn't expect her to eat this much, she didn't leave anything for me to eat! “He's got that...vibe. It's just like what I like about being around you and Jonguppie – you're different. And that's exciting for someone like me.”

“I see”, I said dryly, lying down beside her. Exciting. At least I was on the same level as that tall brat and not beneath. Still, that wasn't enough.

It stayed quiet for about a minute until Soora whispered: “You're mad.”

My eyes widened in surprise when I heard her slightly husky voice. “Why would I be mad?”

“I don't know.” She took a bite of the cookie before frowning and glancing at me. “Maybe it's because I ate too many cookies!” I snorted in disbelief, opening my mouth to retort something, but my mouth was full of cookie all of a sudden. “Here, take a bite”, Soora mumbled and I made sure not to suffocate of laughter and cookie-crumbs.

“You're too much”, I managed to say in amusement after preventing myself from dying. “If you continue like that you can come to my funeral in a few years.” I coughed a few more times, but Soora frowned.

“It wasn't just the cookie?”

The child-like tone in her voice made my anger vanish and I sighed in resignation, slowly reaching out with my hand to ruffle up her hair. “It was the cookie. You'll gain weight and I will starve if you continue like that.”

“Yah!” That comment seemed to surprise her and I chuckled, thinking about it for a moment before making an effort and pulling her into an embrace.

My ears started burning from the blood that rushed into them, but I stayed brave and hugged Soora. “Joking, you won't gain weight...I'll just starve.”

Soora pushed me away with a wide smile. “As if I'd let you! Here, have another cookie!” She grabbed the package, holding it in front of my nose and I took another pastry, just to satisfy her. The sky was tinted in red and purple when I looked up again and I looked at my watch.

“Come on, let's get you home. Hye-sun won't forgive you if you're late for dinner again, right?”, I suggested, getting up and offering her my hand to help her get on her feet. She took it and stood up with a happy and satisfied grin on her face as she looked at the river that was now pitch black except for some red reflections of the sky.

“Thanks for spending time with me”, she mumbled and we both got on the motorcycle.

I thought of my Mom's anger that I'd have to endure when I came home, but I smiled back with a slight bow of my head. “It's been a pleasure, Miss Kim.”

“Don't be like that, I know you didn't plan anything until we got here!”, she chuckled, punching my arm and I bit my lower lip in embarrassment.

“Was it that obvious?”

“You're not very good at acting. No wonder they threw you out of the drama club when you were twelve!”

I spun around. “Who told you?!”

“Your Mom.” She shrugged with a mischievous smile playing around her lips before patting my back and sitting down behind the embarrassed me. “But don't worry, I can't act either. And now, let's go!”

The excitement in her voice made me grin under the helmet I had put on in the meantime. “You really like my bike, don't you?”, I asked, suppressing a chuckle at her always-changing and child-like behavior.

“I do”, she whispered when she slung her arms around my waist like before and sent a wave of heat through my body. The motor roared once again and Soora rested her head on my back as I accelerated. “Dae-oppa?”

“Hm?”

“If someone doesn't talk to you, because you found out something he wanted to keep a secret from everyone... What would you do?”

I frowned, wanting to believe that it was about the thing with the drama club, but I knew it wasn't. “It's Zelo, right?” She groaned something I didn't understand, but it was probably a 'yes'. “What happened? Tell me.”

“I can't”, she mumbled and I almost couldn't hear her because of the loud traffic around us. “It's his secret and I won't hurt him even more by telling someone else... But I don't know what to do either...”

My body tensed up. Didn't she trust me? Didn't she think I could keep a secret? And how bad could that secret be anyway? Zelo was a normal person, he had probably popped a child's balloon and she found out or something like that.

“He doesn't talk to you?” Soora nodded. We remained silent for a few minutes and I bet she had given up already, but I was really thinking and trying to understand the way Zelo was thinking. “Try to act normal around him”, I concluded after some time. “Talk to him like before, even if he might not reply. Maybe he just waits for a reaction to his secret?”

Look at me. I was the one who liked her and yet she only cared about Zelo. And here I am, giving her advices. “You think that will do?”, her voice interrupted my thoughts.

I shrugged while stopping at a red light. We were already close to her house. “If it doesn't then he needs time. There's nothing you can do about that.”

She hummed to signalize me that she had understood and leaned against my back again. I assumed that she had closed her eyes, because she remained quiet after that and I drove her home in silence. I wondered where my place was in her heart. Was it even decided yet? Could I still change something? Maybe I should conf- No, you'll faint if you do that, Daehyun, are you dumb? The motor fell silent once more and she got off the bike. “Soora?”

She took off the helmet and tilted her head to the side to signalize me that she was listening. “Don't be too worried about that, okay? And if nothing helps, I'm still there to help. Understood?”

A warm smile on her face made me grin back and she nodded before getting a step closer and hugging me. The second time that day. “You're always there, whenever I need you. Thank you.” A tingle went through my body and I managed to pat her head.

“No problem, Soora. Well then, I gotta go. See you on Monday, I guess?” She nodded and I stowed the second helmet away while she walked up to her door. Before opening it, she turned around again and waved at me while I accelerated again to leave for my own house. The strange warm feeling didn't fade, but it wasn't unpleasant. I enjoyed her hugs more than anything else and I pushed Zelo aside, thinking about what I could do the next time she was down. I should be prepared, at least once in a while. The happy smile on my face didn't fade and it wouldn't do so until I could see her again and replace it by a new one.

Soora's POV

I have to admit: The day with Daehyun had been very nice. The fact that he didn't have the slightest idea what he'd actually do when he stood in front of my door made the whole thing look even cuter in my opinion. I liked spending my time with him, his voice had some kind of melody to it when he spoke and I wanted to listen to it over and over again.

But now, I was left alone in front of the door. My smile faded as soon as Daehyun left my field of vision. Back to Zelo, back to the problems. I took a deep breath before opening the door. “I'm home!”, I shouted through the corridor and Hye-sun greeted me right away.

“Welcome back, what did you do with Daehyun?”

I shrugged, walking into the kitchen where she prepared dinner. “Actually, we were just chatting. Nothing special, but it was fun anyway.” A little smile tugged at the corners of my mouth when I thought of his “cookie-picnic” and Hye-sun raised an eyebrow.

“You're just too cute”, she stated and I frowned when she turned to cut some meat. “Why don't you just get married?”

“YAH!” Why was everybody assuming that I had a boyfriend?! Be it at the orphanage or in my own house, what was wrong with everyone? There was nothing true to those assumptions, but still, I was blushing furiously. “There's nothing going on between us! Do-Don't mention it again! Aish, why is everyone like this at the moment?” I shook my head, hurrying out of the room when I bumped into someone.

Someone very tall. I looked up to meet Zelo's eyes and my heart skipped a beat when I saw that he was angry. Was it that bad that I had seen the scars? The images flashed in my mind right away, but I forced them to go away. I my lips in order to calm down and pushed him into the living room. “Hey, I'm sorry for-” What exactly? Everything. “for invading your privacy yesterday.” I know, I know. Daehyun had told me to talk casually, but I couldn't, because he was angry. How could I overlook that? I sighed. “I'm just curious, that's all... You still want to go to Yongguk tomorrow?” He nodded slightly, without even looking at me anymore. He was staring out of the window instead. “Can I still come along?” He froze for a moment before closing his eyes and nodding slowly. Zelo then just turned around and walked back into the kitchen.

“Oh, you want to help? Sure, you can cut the mushrooms if you want to”, I heard Hye-sun say from the kitchen and scratched the back of my head. Okay, he hadn't talked to me, but at least he had allowed me to accompany him. I was still allowed to see his house.

I then realized something. He wanted to go to his house, but what if he didn't want to return here with me after that? A sudden fear spread inside of me and I swallowed. I had to convince him of staying.

I had to help him after all.

I have to help him.

And I would do anything to do so.

Sorry for not updating for some time, I should actually do my homework right now |D

Well, have some more DaeRa...sorry, TheRamenGiraffe, I hope you don't hate me for the feels xD

But hey, the next chapter will be very important for Zelo's character development, don't you think? Any guesses what will happen at his and Yongguk's house? I'm open for some alterations in my own thoughts :P

comments are appreciated <3

See you soon~~

~Kirin