Zelo the coin in his hand, smoothing his thumb over the ridges of its printed side. He closed his eyes for a moment and just pictured her, muttering a quiet ‘please’ under his breath. Then with deadly accuracy, he tossed it into the inner bowl of the fountain and smiled with satisfaction when he heard the ‘plonk’ of it entering the water.

He turned and walked down the familiar pavement, taking his time to savor the sights, sounds and smells of the city he loved. Though his steps were light, he couldn’t hide the niggling bittersweet feeling from deep within his chest. Faded memories washed through his mind as he thought of her and him, walking down this very same pavement.

‘Please,’ he thought again when he finally stopped at the doors of the coffee shop. He craned his neck to peek through the glass windows on the off chance that she might already be in there waiting for him. He wasn’t really expecting it but it was a nice thought – That she might be waiting for him.

She wasn’t, as he’d guessed, so he moved to the sidewalk and planted himself there, leaning his long body against the red bricks warmed by the sun.

Noon turned to dusk, and day turned to night. People came and went and Zelo watched them from his perch. He saw mothers and their children, he saw a clown with his bright red wig and he saw businessmen rushing about with their thick briefcases. He made faces at the children, made a balloon giraffe with the clown and eavesdropped on the businessmen’s phone calls.

And he waited.

The night breeze had turned chilly when Zelo realized he was the only one left. With a little awe at how the city can also be so quiet and tranquil when it wanted to be, he forbade himself from letting the loneliness seep in. Instead, he began moving again, rounding the street and up the hill and then down the sloping bend. Climbing steadily up yet another hill, he finally saw the top of her building.

An unavoidable smile formed on his lips when he laid eyes on her home – He was this close to her and seeing her again! Then as if as an omen of things to come, Zelo noticed that his shoelaces have come undone. He stooped to tie them and when he rose again is when he saw her.

His heart soared and then sank in the same split second. It was surreal and happened in a way the Zelo had never thought possible. The pain was acute and yet so elusive at the same time that Zelo didn’t even know what was hurting. Instinctively, he clutched at his heart.

She catches him in that position and even in her drunkenness, she recognized him. Her inebriated state caused her to show that little bit of shock and regret and so when she turned away from him, her coldness didn’t quite have the same effect.

“Noona?” He croaked and she cursed under her breath - Cursed herself for being drunk and cursed him for being stupid. Harboring just the bit of hope that he wouldn’t pursue her with her present company hanging on her shoulder, she turns to walk away. But Zelo was persistent if anything and he gave chase with wobbly legs.

“Noona?” He called again, scrunching up his nose at the strong smell of alcohol.

The other man finally noticed the boy and straightened with a mocking chuckle, “yah, who’s this? You didn’t tell me you were into younger boys.” He looked Zelo up and down in an appreciative manner that made Zelo scowl.

“Noona, you promised you wouldn’t drink anymore,” he turned his frown at her and she rolled her eyes.

“Go home, Zelo.”

She pushed past him but he caught her arm, “noona, please?”

“Yah, yah, yah,” the man spoke up then, having gotten tired of being delayed by this teenager. “Listen kid, your noona’s gonna be a little busy tonight, so why don’t you go on and find a girl your age eh?”

He wound his arm tighter around her waist and then as if to prove his point, he leaned down to kiss her sloppily on the lips. Anger and jealousy flashed through Zelo and when the man’s hand moved dangerously close to her chest, he stepped forward and caught his wrist. Twisting the man’s arm painfully, he hooked one of his legs between the others’ and took him down in one swift motion.

She screamed at him, more surprised than anything because Zelo had never been violent before. He grabbed her hand and pulled her away, leaving them man in a heap on the ground. With a steadiness and masculinity she had never before witnessed in him, he led her into her own apartment, shutting the door behind them both.

“Zelo, what are you doing?” She asked pleadingly.

“What are you doing, noona?” He returned the question accusingly.

dropped open slightly at his tone; this was not the gentle Zelo she had grown up with.

“Going out and getting drunk at all hours of the night, hanging out with men like that?” His voice rose with every word, temper flaring because he couldn’t take it anymore.

“Do you think that’s all you’re worth? Don’t you see me standing here, noona?! Am I not good enough for you?” He was trembling now and tears were dripping down his face and he had to fight the urge to break something.

She stood stock-still, stunned into silence and too afraid to tell him that it was just the opposite – She was the lacking one. She would never be good enough for the patient, kind and gentle boy. He stepped forward when she didn’t answer and pulled her into his embrace, clutching her to his body as if she was the air the he breathed.

“Noona, please… Let me love you.” And he finally finished his plea, because each and every time he had asked her to stop drinking, to stop smoking, to stop hurting herself, was really a plea to let him love her.

The walls crumbled down with his sincere words. She sobbed brokenly into his sturdy chest, hesitantly returning his embrace and thus began her first steps to loving herself.