When Zelo opened the door to the roof he was even more surprised than yesterday. Mirinae was wearing a knit sweater and skirt instead of her usual t-shirt or tank top. Her see-through tights had little hearts on them and her ballet flats each had a tiny bow at the top. He didn’t know she could look so…cute.

“Is it too much?” she asked nervously as Zelo stared at her. “I just wanted to be presentable…”

“No, no, it’s perfect,” Zelo told her, and he really thought so.

She picked up a lunchbox from the ground and Zelo held the door open for her.

“I’m nervous,” Mirinae said quietly as they walked and Zelo knew it took a lot for her to admit that. It made him feel warm inside that she told him things she wouldn’t tell anyone else.

“Don’t be,” he told her, “My hyungs are all really nice.”

When they got to the dorm, Zelo found his hands shaking a little as he opened the door to the tiny living room. B.A.P were all there waiting patiently. Zelo walked in first and Mirinae followed shyly behind him. It was strange but cute to see her like that since she was always so feisty with him.

“Um…hello,” she said bowing ninety degrees, “My name is Im Mirinae and I’m JunHong’s friend.”

B.A.P all introduced themselves then Mirinae held out her lunchbox.

“I made sweets for all of you. Please enjoy them.”

“Aigoo, she’s so cute,” HimChan whispered audibly making Mirinae blush furiously.

“I didn’t know you were so shy,” Zelo muttered and she nudged her elbow into his rib making Zelo cringe in pain.

“Please, sit,” YongGuk said and they all sat down. YongGuk noticed the way Zelo smiled at her and made sure she was comfortable.

“So how did you two meet?” HimChan asked sweetly.

“Um…we just bumped into each other, I guess,” Zelo said. “Then we started talking.”

Mirinae shyly nodded and looked at the ground.

“And how long have you known each other?” HimChan asked.

“A little before we debuted,” Zelo answered.

They all looked surprised but YongGuk just nodded.

“Did you say your name was Mirinae?” YoungJae asked.

Mirinae looked a little startled that he was talking directly to her but she nodded.

“What does it mean?” JongUp asked curiously.

Mirinae shrunk a little into the chair with all their eyes on her and Zelo rubbed her back discreetly to calm her down.

“It means galaxy…or the Milky Way…something like that…” she told them.

“It’s such a pretty name,” HimChan said and Mirinae gave him a small smile.

The conversation was awkward at first but soon Zelo’s hyungs were being their dorky selves and had Mirinae laughing happily at their silly jokes. They finished her sweets in record time and couldn’t stop complimenting her on how delicious they were. When it started to get late YongGuk announced that they should probably head to bed to wake up early to practice tomorrow. They all said goodbye to Mirinae and Zelo walked her outside of the dorm.

“See it wasn’t that bad, was it?” Zelo asked.

“They’re all really sweet. I’m glad I didn’t chicken out,” Mirinae said.

“You were so nervous though,” Zelo teased.

“I just really wanted them to like me…”

“I don’t see how anyone could not like you,” Zelo said.

Mirinae hid her smile and cleared .

“I should go…before they start to wonder if we’ve run off somewhere,” she said.

“Can I take you home?” Zelo asked.

“You’re allowed to do that? What if someone sees us? You’ll get in trouble.”

Zelo sighed. “You’re right. It sometimes being an idol. Will you be ok?”

“I always walk home, JunHong.”

“I know…I just…it would’ve been nice…” Zelo wasn’t sure why he was turning red and stuttering. He quickly cleared his throat.

“I guess I’ll see you?” He said, looking at her. But that was a mistake because when his eyes met hers his stomach flipped and his heart started racing. He wondered if Mirinae was feeling the same thing as she looked at him. They were standing so close to each other, or had they moved closer? Zelo didn’t know and he didn’t care. Mirinae stood on her toes and Zelo bent his head down to kiss her when the door to the dorm swung open.

It was DaeHyun.

“Oh! I’m sorry! I was just checking up, don’t let me disturb you!” He winked at Zelo and went back inside.

Mirinae covered her face with her hands.

“JunHong…” she whined in embarrassment.

Zelo uncovered her face. “He’s going to tell everyone we were about to kiss –”

“Way to make me feel better!”

“– so we might as well still do it.”

Mirinae looked up at him surprised and Zelo took the opportunity to kiss her. She kissed him back almost instantly and Zelo couldn’t help but smile at how perfect their kiss felt. When their lips parted Mirinae smiled up at him and he grinned back.

“Mirinae, I really like you and I care about you a lot, will you be my girlfriend?”

Mirinae blushed even more than when HimChan had complimented her.

“I really want to JunHong but…are you allowed?”

He actually didn’t know but did it matter anyway? Even if he was told he wasn’t allowed he would still continue to see Mirinae and they would still be more than friends…but just in case…

“They don’t have to know,” Zelo said.

“I don’t want you to get in trouble because of me,” Mirinae said, looking worried. “Maybe…maybe we should just be friends for now?”

“Do you really think that’s possible? I know how I feel about you and if you feel the same way –”

The door swung open again this time to reveal YongGuk.

“You two are still out here? Is everything ok?” He asked.

“Everything’s fine, hyung,” Zelo said.

“Alright but you need to get to bed JunHong, we all do.”

“Can we just have a couple more minutes?” Zelo asked.

YongGuk nodded and went back inside. Zelo quickly took Mirinae’s hands.

“Mirinae, please be my girlfriend. Don’t worry about anything, please.”

She still looked hesitant and Zelo squeezed his eyes shut in frustration. Why did she have to care about him so much? Couldn’t she be a bit more selfish?

“At least ask your manager first?” she pleaded.

“Ok, fine, but what if he says no?”

“Then we just remain friends.”

“But –”

“I can wait for you, Zelo. I’m not going anywhere. You can wait for me too, right?”

Zelo sighed and nodded.

“I can wait.”

He kissed her on the cheek and wished her goodnight. He watched her walk as far as he could see her then he went back inside. When he entered the bedroom all eyes were on him and he glanced at DaeHyun to see a sly smile on his face.

“I thought you two were just friends?” YongGuk asked.

Zelo took a deep breath.

“I want her to be my girlfriend but I should ask first right? Am I allowed?”

YongGuk looked thoughtful. “We’ll have to talk to Manager Kang about that but I don’t know…you’re still pretty young, we’re still rookies, if anyone found out you’d be screwed.”

Sure enough the next day YongGuk and Zelo spoke to Manager Kang who in turn spoke to the CEO and the answer was no. He said Zelo was too young to be in a relationship right now. He needed to focus on school and B.A.P, not dating. Moreover if anyone found out it would spell trouble not just for him but for the entire group.

Zelo understood but it was still frustrating for him. He wanted Mirinae to be his. He wanted to walk her home, meet her mom, send her sweet text messages and go out to movies with her. YongGuk noticed his frustration and pulled him aside after their meeting.

“JunHong…I’m sorry. I really am. I can see how much you care about Mirinae.”

Zelo shrugged and kicked at the ground.

“Can I still see her?” He asked.

“Yeah you can; and that’s what I need to talk to you about. You and Mirinae obviously like each other and you guys are teenagers with…ah…raging hormones and –”

“Oh my gosh, hyung, no!” Zelo covered his ears but YongGuk forced him to listen.

“You need to control yourself, ok? Trust me; I know what can happen, JunHong. Don’t let things go too far or you won’t be able to stop. Don’t mess around because that can lead to a lot of trouble.”

“Mess around?”

YongGuk looked up at the ceiling.

“I’m not gonna tell you not to kiss her because that’s like telling JongUp not to watch Pokémon or telling DaeHyun to stop eating. But keep your hands to yourself, JunHong, I mean that. And tell Mirinae to do the same. This is for your own good because if anything happens you guys will not be allowed to see each other. Do you understand?”

Zelo nodded.

“And you guys can’t meet on the rooftop anymore, it’s too open. If you want to hang out bring her to the dorm.”

“But why?” Zelo whined.

“We have to watch you,” YongGuk told him, “Besides if you planned on following CEO’s orders you wouldn’t need to meet her anywhere private.”

“Ok, ok, I’ll tell Mirinae everything,” Zelo assured his leader.

“You better,” YongGuk said, “Now come on, we need to practice.”