A/N: I was tempted to call this Lion Heart… But I don't like Lion Heart... Oh well, there are a few baby lions involved. And they're cute.

Genre: AU | Fluff 
Rating: W for way too long | PG
Word count: ing 4880...

It had been four months since Minha had broken up with her ex-boyfriend, which according to Hyemi, her best friend, had been about time. Sure, he had been cheating on her and was a total douchebag, but Minha had loved him and it had taken her time to accept that he wasn’t the prince charming he pretended to be.

Right now, she was sitting in Hyemi’s apartment, on her couch, while Hyemi was busy talking to Kyungri, their other best friend. She was probably complaining about Minha again, but the brunette was really not in the mood to do anything.

In fact, she wasn’t in the mood for two weeks now.

Two weeks ago she had realized how ed up all her past relationships had been. At least the longer ones.

Because as sad as it was to admit, her ex, Jackson, was not the first to cheat on her. He probably wasn’t the last either…

A sigh escaped her lips. Out of four relationships, she had been cheated on in two and Minha was starting to lose faith that she’d one day get into a stable relationship, one where she could trust her partner completely.

Minha would have continued drowning in depressing thoughts if it weren’t for Hyemi who had thrown a pillow square at her face.

“What was that for?” Minha asked, puffing her cheeks a little and frowning.

“I was talking to you, but you weren’t listening!” Hyemi complained while whining, which, kind of made her look like a little child.

“Well I’m listening now.”

And the whining noises instantly stopped, while the frown on her face was replaced by a grin. “Great. Kyungri, Erin and Sungah are coming over. We’re going to set you up on dates.”

Minha shot her best friend ‘fine-if-you-say-so’ look. Setting her up on a date? Sure, brilliant idea, maybe she’d finally get laid, or just have fun. She needed fun right now.

Erin and Sungah tagging along? Not so good… She really appreciated her friends’ help, but doubted that being surrounded by lovey-dovey couples was a good idea.

“They’ll be there in twenty.”

-

Minha sighed, they had set her up and she had agreed. Gladly. But somehow, she didn’t want to go. When she saw his profile picture there was no spark. Nothing that made her want to look at him forever.

Sure, he was handsome, he had a poignant look, on that you wouldn’t forget this easily. But there was something about his face that Minha just found boring, he just didn’t manage to grab her attention. Which didn’t meant that she wouldn’t give him a chance.

“You must be Minha.” He spoke in a low, surprisingly soft voice, when he stood in front of her.

“Yes, then you must be James?”

It was a stupid question, really, but they were exchanging pleasantries, therefor it was a must.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you.” His smile was charming, very charming. Minha had to give him a point for this.

“The pleasure’s all mine.” She smiled right back at him.

He then held his arm out for her to take, leading her to the entrance of the Zoo. Minha really like Zoos, they were popular for first dates, you could easily get to know the other, plus, the animals were always cute to look at.

That was another point for him.

She wasn’t measuring his behavior on some scale or anything of the sort, she was just counting the things he did that made her appreciate him. Simple things. Because when they had looked at his profile, Minha had been quite hesitant to go on a date with him, he liked a lot of things she didn’t.

-Flashback-

Minha just stared at Sungah and Erin in disbelief, they really had just created a profile for her on this renowned dating site ‘LovePoint’. And in less than ten minutes.

“All that’s missing is a picture.” Kyungri contemplated after having looked through her profile. “Good job.” She then whispered and pressed her lips against Erin’s.

Minha rolled her eyes, god they were so in love it hurt.

“Do we have to take a picture?”

Sungah nodded, taking the camera that Hyemi had found. “Yes, now turn around please.”

Minha did as told, showing a cute expression when Sungah asked her to.

She wanted to tell them that a picture was useless, on top of that, there were a bunch of old, creepy men on this site. She didn’t even want to know what they were doing.

“See? A picture was necessary. You’re totally popular!” Kyungri exclaimed after checking on her profile about ten minutes later.

Minha just gave her a doubtful look. So far she had, five comments and fifteen ‘taps’. The ‘taps’ simply were a substitute for ‘likes’ and the short version of ‘I’d tap that’. Minha found this pretty stupid.

“Whatever. How long do we have to wait?”

Kyungri shrugged as she leaned back into Erin’s backhug. “Probs an hour.”

Minha just mumbled some incoherent words, before she stood and walked to the kitchen, to get something to eat. She was dreading the coming hour. Spending it with two couples…

-

The hour had passed quite fast, in fact, Minha had forgotten about her profile, was it not for Kyungri yelling ‘oh my god he’s so handsome’ into the silence that had settled in.

Erin shot had shot her a pointed look, while Hyemi, Sungah and Minha just looked at the girl in confusion.

“Who’s handsome?”

“Why are you shouting?”

“What are you watching?”

They all asked at the same time, having Kyungri roll her eyes before answering.

“I’m on Minha’s profile, looking at all her suitors, I was taken by surprise. His name is Ken.”

They huddled up around Hyemi’s laptop, looking at all the guys that had commented on her page and asked her out.

“They sure are fast…” Minha mumbled, only to get a flick on her forehead from Hyemi.

“This is a dating site. What did you expect?” She asked.

“Okay, what do you guys think about him?” Kyungri asked, as they looked through his profile pictures.

“He looks good… Kind of.” Minha said, frowning.

“Eh not so bad.” Sungah…

“I don’t like him.” Erin huffed, still a little jealous that her girlfriend had called him handsome and ‘oh-so-attractive’ about ten times the last 10 minutes.

“Negative. He’s friends with Ravi, he can only be a douche…” Hyemi pointed out, as she hovered her finger over a comment on his picture.

Ravi was one of Minha’s exes, one of the ‘bad’ exes. He was the first to cheat on her and the first to break her heart. And it took a douche to tolerate a douche.

Kyungri pulled a face. “Eww, he suddenly isn’t as attractive anymore…”

They kept going through different profiles for about an hour, cracking jokes every now and then. And Minha had to be honest, she was having a really good time.

They saw a rather attractive guy called Mark, but he turned out to be a close friend of Jacksons, which meant he was ‘not an option’ as well.

Another of the guys was Jinwoo. He was cute, but a little too cute, looking very young. He turned out to be only 19, which was a deal breaker for Minha.

Two other guys were Minho and Taemin, however both of them were quickly crossed out by her friends. They claimed that Taemin didn’t look like someone who could protect Minha, also he looked like a ert, while Minho, well Hyemi simply didn’t like Minho’s face.

“It looks like an egg.” She had said, though Minha really couldn’t find any resemblance between that Minho guy and an egg.

At last they stumbled upon James’ profile. He was handsome, they were all quick to agree. But the more Minha looked at his profile, the less he attracted her.

While she liked the calm, reading books, anything with a serene atmosphere, he hated books and always had to do something, he couldn’t stand just sit around and do nothing.

But as much as she didn’t want to go on a date with him, she ended up agreeing, because her friends were all giving them some sort of puppy eyes and Minha couldn’t really resist that.

-FlashbackEnd-

“Where should we go first?” His voice was lower now than a few minutes ago, he was probably more comfortable.

“Lions. I want to see the wild cats.”

He gave her a grin and led her to the area where the lions were being kept. They didn’t talk much, well Minha didn’t talk much. James always tried to have a conversation with her, however it was quite hard with Minha only giving short replies.

She didn’t dislike him, but she didn’t feel the need to talk the whole time, just strolling around, looking at the different animals was enough. There was no need to constantly talk.

“Ahw look at the cubs, they’re adorable.” She smiled when seeing the mini lions play among themselves, their parents lying on the dusty ground under a tree, in the shadows.

“Yeah they’re cute.” He smiled when they made eye contact, and after some time he added: “Not as cute as you though.”

Miha blushed, quickly breaking the eye contact and concentrating on the cubs in front of her.

Well, he seemed to have game.

Sensing her light emberassment, he excused himself. “I’m gonna get us ice cream. What do you want?”

“Strawberry.” Minha spoke quietly, not daring to look at him.

When she was sure that he was gone, Minha decided to walk around a little bit, maybe find a better spot to watch the cubs.

She was so focused on them, that she didn’t notice the other person she walked into, sending them both to the ground, the stranger hovering over her, gazing down in astonishment.

It took both of them a few seconds to regain awareness over their situation.

“Ah sorry, sorry. I didn’t watch where I was going.” The stranger’s voice was low, husky, yet higher than the average man’s voice. Minha liked it.

“N-no it was my fault. I was so focused on the little cubs, I didn’t watch where I was going.”

The stranger gave her a charming smile and Minha suddenly felt her heart beat faster. Not only did he have a pleasant voice, he was also attractive.

Well, his face at least, some dark red strands were poking out of the snapback on his head and he was clad in working attire. Was he working here?

“I understand, they’re quite captivating.” He chuckled, and oh god, Minha couldn’t describe how she felt when she heard him emit this chuckle. “You seem to like them a lot.”

Minha’s gaze had again wandered to the little cubs. They were still playing together, it seemed as though they were completely oblivious of the people around them.

“I do. They’re so adorable.” Minha grinned, making eye contact with the stranger.

“Well if you want you can come again Thursday after closing hours. I’m taking care of them.”

Minha’s eyes lit up. “Really? You’d do that?”

“Sure why not you seem to really adore them. Just enter the Zoo fifteen minutes before closing hours and then come here.”

Minha gave the guy in front of her a thousand watt smiles, nodding her head excitedly. “I will.”

Just then they heard a ‘oh there you are babe’, causing both to turn around.

James was standing a few meters away from them, ice cream in each of his hands and a smile that looked rather forced on his face.

Minha shot the guy an apologetic look and bowed. “Sorry for bumping into you again. Bye.”

She then turned around, joining James and taking the ice from him. His earlier, troubled, a little angry expression had softened as they walked away from the compound.

-

Minha didn’t even have the time to breathe, as she was already tackled to the ground and bombarded with question as soon as she had set foot in her living room.

“How was the date?”

“Did you kiss?”

“Was he nice?”

“Was he as handsome as he was on the profile?”

A groan was all that could be heard from Minha, as she was struggling to get her two best friends off her, then, finally, Erin and Sungah came to her rescue, by pulling the two energy pills off her.

“Geez, why are you so excited?” Minha whined when she joined her friends on her couch.

She didn’t question why they were in her apartment, after all they all had spare keys for each other’s apartments in case of emergencies. And this date could be viewed as an emergency. Somehow.

“Anyway, about the date. Well yes, he was handsome, his voice sounded kind of nice.” Minha said, adding a shrug when she saw her friends’ wide grins.

“He was a little too possessive though and he called me babe. We barely know us.”

Erin frowned. “What do you mean he got possessive?”

“Oh, we were watching the lion cubs and he went to get us some ice cream. I decided to walk around the compound to find a better spot, then I bumped into this guy and we talked a little. When James saw us, he had a scowl on his face and called me babe. It was like he was trying to kill the other guy with his eyes.”

Minha explained, her expression lighting up at the memory of the lion keeper.

Erin nodded. “Definitely too possessive, especially for a first date.”

Hyemi gave her a scrutinizing look, frowning her eyebrows as she examined Minha’s expression. “You were all gloomy before, but then you mentioned that guy and you started smiling… What’s going on?”

“Oh, yeah, the guy I bumped into. He’s working at the Zoo, he’s taking care of the cubs. We talked, his voice was so pleasant to listen to and his face, god he was so handsome.”

“Did you get his number?” Sungah asked when she saw the younger girl’s cheek turn red.

Minha shook her head. “But he told me to come over Thursday after the closing hours, to meet the cubs.”

As soon as she stopped talking, Sungah and Erin started whistling, Kyungri showed her trademark smirk and Hyemi wore a proud smile, nodding slowly.

“That guy’s got game.” Erin laughed, only to have a pillow thrown at her.

“You guys, really!”

-

Minha stood in front of the compound, watching the cubs when the keeper approached her.

“Oh you’re here. I never thought you’d actually come.” He said surprised.

Minha raised her eyebrows. Why would she not come, when she clearly stated she would? “I said I would, didn’t I?” He nodded. “Then why would I have not come?”

He shrugged. “Your boyfriend seemed very…” He struggled to find the right word, not wanting to hurt Minha.

“Possessive?” The girl suggested with a half-smile and continued when her opposing had nodded. “Yeah, he isn’t my boyfriend. We just went on a date together. From this site, LovePoint.”

The keeper nodded, “I’m on this site too”, then he leaned onto the railing, happily watching the cubs.

Minha used to opportunity to scrutinize him. He was wearing his black snapback again, and again there were a few strands falling on his face, they didn’t seem to bother him though.

His upper body was clad in an oversized white shirt, which was partly tucked into his pants. His pants were of a khaki color, they were a little loose at the crotch area and tighter around the legs, plus the classical pair of Timberlands to accompany the work attire.

It was quite simple, yet he managed to pull it off like a model.

“The last visitors should have left now, do you want to check on the cubs?” He asked with a grin, to which Minha only nodded.

They walked into the restricted area, Minha following her lion keeper closely.

“Okay, wait here, I’ll get the first one in. Don’t worry, they already ate.” He joked as he went to get one of the cubs.

And Minha had a hard time not starting to squeal when she saw the sight in front of her. The cubs’ front paws on the keeper’s shoulder, while the back paws were on one of his arms.

“This is Luna. She’s our youngest one. You can pet her, she won’t bite.”

Minha slowly moved her arm to pet the cub’s head and surprisingly, she let her do it, she even went as far as to purr and move against the motion of Minha’s hand.

“Gosh, she’s adorable!” Minha cooed, making the keeper chuckle.

“Come on, we’ll put her in her compartment and then I’ll get the others.” Minha nodded and followed him to the cub’s ‘room’.

He explained her that the cubs slept in a compound separated from their parents, but where with them the whole day. And when Minha inquired why, he just shrugged.

“It’s supposed to make it easier for them.”

She knew what he meant. It was sad, but it was reality.

-

“Thank you for showing me the cubs. I had a great time.” Minha said with a smile, when they both stood outside the Zoo.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He grinned broadly, a thousand watt smile that made Minha’s heart melt.

“Oh, by the way, my name’s Minha.”

With the grin still plastered on his face, he took Minha’s hand and shook it.

“Nice to meet you Minha, I’m Hyun-“, He was cut off by the sudden start of Minha’s ringtone.

“Ah sorry, I have to take it. I’ll see you soon, bye.” The goodbye was a little rushed, but the call was important and she was pretty sure the keeper understood too.

-

They met quite often, well, met up was exaggerated, Minha would just always go to the Zoo during Hyun’s working hours to see him.

Since she didn’t completely catch his name when he introduced himself, she had settled for calling him Hyun. It was a cute nickname, or so she thought.

Whenever she would go to the Zoo or tell her friends about it, they’d just show her -eating grins, making her blush. They were right when they said that she liked him, but she was far too shy to ask him out.

Right now they were in the private compound again, Hyun playing with Luna, as she seemed to be his favorite cub.

“Okay, time for you to get inside your compartment.” He grinned as he lifted the mini lion up.

After he put her inside her compartment, he got the other cubs and finally he closed the trap that led outside.

“Ah, do you mind waiting a little? My shower at home broke, so I have to shower here.” He was rubbing his nape sheepishly, letting his gaze wander around the room.

Minha shook her head. “No it’s fine, take your time.”

With a bow he turned around and left. And Minha would be lying if she said she wasn’t tempted to follow him.

-

Two words came to Minha’s mind when she saw Hyun walk out of the shower compartment, all dressed up.

The first was attractive.

 Now that he wasn’t clad in working attire anymore, she could see how handsome he was (very handsome), which lead to the second word.

Woman.

Minha had to do a double take when she saw her curves, realizing that all that time she had thought Hyun to be a guy, he actually was a woman. She still looked handsome though, somehow.

The dark red hair was now falling down on her shoulders, the snapback still on her head, but this time she wore tight black jeans with her Timberlands (this time they were a reddish brown, not the classic ones she wore during work) and a white shirt.

“Sorry, I was in the shower quite long.” Hyun apologized bowing and all Minha managed to do was shake her head.

“I-it’s alright.” She managed to say, with much effort.

They left the Zoo in silence and only started talking again, once they were outside the park.

“The cubs seem to be warming up to you. Luna, at least.”

There it was again. This thousand watt smile that made Minha’s heart want to burst through its ribcage.

She let out a soft chuckle, “I doubt it.”

And whatever Hyun was going to answer was prevented by someone, a girl, shouting ‘Moon Hyuna’ quite loudly.

Hyun turned around, a smile breaking out on her face when she spotted the person who had shouted, she waved then turned around to Minha.

“I’m sorry I have to go. I’ll see you around?”

“Yeah sure.”

And Minha didn’t know why she hadn’t turned around and left, for she saw that girl run up to Hyuna and hug her tightly, arms wrapped around the taller one’s neck.

It irked Minha.

She didn’t like that feeling that invaded her when she noticed Hyuna’s arms circling around the other girl’s waist, securing their position. She didn’t like how they stayed in this position for way too long.

And she didn’t like how hard it felt to just ignore it, turn around and walk home.

-

Minha sat on her couch, cross legged and with a coffee filled mug in her hands.

That thing with Hyuna still bothered her.

It bothered her that Hyuna was a girl, when all that time she thought she was a guy and it bothered her that this other girl had been so clingy towards Hyuna and that said woman had let it happen. Apparently she had even enjoyed it.

Okay, maybe that Hyuna was a girl didn’t bother her. No. It definitely didn’t, but she was taken aback.

In the end she didn’t really care, she had decided long ago that she would refuse to label herself and just go with her heart.

And this time her heart was going for Hyuna.

Without much thinking, Minha called her two best friends, telling them to come over.  They would certainly know what to do.

Ten minutes later, Hyemi and Kyungri entered her apartment, both looking a little worried.

“Is something wrong? You sounded rushed.” Kyungri asked, as she sat down next to Minha, a gentle hand placed on her knee.

“It’s about Hyun.”

Hyemi looked at her with curiosity. “What about him?”

“That’s the point. He is actually a girl. All that time I thought Hyuna was guy…”

“But that’s not what irritates you. Am I right?” Kyungri gave her a soft smile and Minha sighed.

“Yes, I’m as attracted to her as when I thought she was a guy, but, tonight, when we left the Zoo, there was this girl calling for her and hugging her tight and Hyuna seemed to like it and maybe they’re dating.”

Hyemi nodded in understanding. “You’re jealous.”

“Then how about you ask her out?”

Minha lightly shoved Kyungri, making her fall off the couch laughing. “I don’t even know if she likes girls!”

“Wait! Didn’t you tell us that she also had a profile on this site?”

“Uh yeah, that’s what she said.” She didn’t know why Hyemi suddenly brought this up. So what if Hyuna was also on this site called LovePoint or whatever?

“Let’s look her up. You know her full name?”

Now she understood. “Yup, Moon Hyuna.”

And a few minutes later they had found her.

“Okay, look we’ll skim through her profile and if she’s single and into girls you ask her on a date.”

Minha nodded, already reading about Hyuna’s likes and dislikes.

She liked cats, well somehow Minha understood that, as well as singing, eating and just laying around and spending time with those she liked.

“There, I found it. The profile says she’s gay and she’s currently single. I expect you to message her.”

Minha took the laptop and moved away from her two attentive friends in order to write the message in complete calm.

Hey Hyuna,
I was wondering if you would want to go on a date with me? Only if you’re okay with it of course.
And I completely understand if you don’t want to, or if this makes you uncomfortable.
But I don’t want to jeopardize our friendship, that’s if you even consider us friends, ergo if this makes you uncomfortable or you already have someone, or I’m simply not you’re type, which I would completely understand, because well everyone has their preferences, and I wouldn’t be mad at you for telling me this, just tell me, there’s nothing forcing you to go on a date with me and-

“You’re rambling.” Hyemi cut Minha off, as she was reading the message behind her back. “Give me this.”

Hello Hyuna,

I was wondering if you’d let me take you on a date?

-Minha.

And before the younger girl could even protest, Hyemi had clicked ‘send’.

“You, you. You just sent it. Just like that!” She said in disbelief, only to have Hemi nod her head at her.

“Duh, you were embarrassing yourself with the other one, therefor I decided to help.”

And they would have continued to bicker, if it wasn’t for Kyungri interrupting them. “Guys, look there’s already a new message.”

“I’m sure she said no!” Minha whined, but Hyemi ignored her best friend, who was seriously starting to irritate her, and clicked on the notification.

“She said yes. You idiot.”

Minha whipped her head and hurriedly read through the message.

Hello Minha,

Sure, I’d love to go on a date with you.
Does Wednesday evening 7pm sound good to you?

-Hyuna.

A cry of happiness escaped escaped Minha’s lips, as she tackled her two best friends in a bone-crushing hug, knocking them to the floor.

“Oh my god, guys! She said yes!” The brunette squealed much to the two other girl’s amusement.

Minha was rarely this out of character.

-

Hyuna was seated in front of Minha, who looked incredibly nervous. They eating dinner in a fancy restaurant and even though Hyuna didn’t really like fancy restaurants, she appreciated Minha’s effort.

And it was kind of romantic.

“How come you asked me through the site?” Hyuna asked, a teasing grin playing her lips, as she leaned forward a little, watching Minha squirm around.

“I uh, it’s, it’s a little complicated.” Minha admitted, avoiding Hyuna’s intense gaze.

The red-head’s lips formed into a soft pout. “Ah you don’t want to tell me? I’m sad now…” She whined.

Minha instantly looked back up. “No, no!” She said, frantically waving her hands.

“Fine. I thought you were a guy when we first met.”

Hyuna arched an eyebrow. This was original and the first time it had happened.

“I guess I would have asked you out after a few more times seeing each other, but then you showered there and I saw you without your work clothes.”

Hyuna nodded every now and then, signaling the younger girl that she was attentively listening to the explanation.

“I wasn’t sure if you liked girls or if you were willing to go on a date with one, so it kind of destabilized my decision.”

And barely audible, Minha added: “And not to mention that girl that hugged you… She could have been your girlfriend…”

Hyuna’s eye widened. “Could you repeat that please? I didn’t quite catch what you said at the end.”

She didn’t know why she had lied to Minha, she didn’t know why she wanted to hear it again. A quick glance through the restaurant told her that they were in a secluded area and pretty much alone. The waiter and waitresses would only come if they rung the bell on their table.

“N-nothing.”

And she knew even less why her voice had suddenly become this sultry. “First you tell me that you are jealous and then you act as though you haven’t said anything? How disappointing…”

Minha’s usually white cheeks were now flaming red – or bright pink – depending on your point of view.

“I, uh I.”

“What you? You’re adorable, you’re already getting jealous although we aren’t even dating.” Hyuna smirked inwardly. She had way too much fun teasing Minha.

The brunette remained silent, probably because she was embarrassed and Hyuna wondered if she had too much.

“Well it doesn’t matter. I’m glad you still asked me out on a date.”

“You are?”

Hyuna had to bite her lip in order not to squeal at the adorableness that was the hope in Minha’s voice and eyes.

“Yes… And I hope you’ll take me out on many more.”

Minha tilted her head a little, now showing a smug expression. “Is this your way of asking me to be your girlfriend?”

Hyuna laughed. “Yes. I like you and I’d like to give us a shot. Minha, would you be my girlfriend?”

The brunette gave a hearty laugh, before she leaned to Hyuna, whispering ‘it’d be my pleasure’, before placing a soft peck on Hyuna’s cheek.

But before she could sit back, Hyuna’s hand had found her way onto her nape, holding her in place.

“That’s not how it’s done.”  She chuckled, then proceeded to press her lips against Minha’s.

This was bound to be an interesting adventure.

I wrote so much... How the hell did I come up with so many words??
Oh well. Ameliaaam I hope it's to your liking :)

On a different note, DID YOU LISTEN TO RED AND DUMB DUMB?
I swear the album is perfect and omg the MV!
Red Dress, Oh Boy and Cool World are my fav tracks in the album (w Dumb dumb ofc)
No but really, I love it so much <3
Red Velvet are seriously the best!!

And like Wendy in that muscle shirt and Seulgi looking perf with that messy hair and Irene's rap and Yeri looking like a hot af foreigner and Joy looking like the top madam.. >.>
I'm sorry the mv and album just killed me...