The following Monday, Zelo texted Jinri early in the morning to let her know that he was not going to school.  She called him back and he answered, sounding like he was in perfect health.

   “What do you mean you’re not going to school?  You sound perfectly fine!”

   “I feel really weird, though; I don’t think I should go.”

   “What feels weird?”  She asked worriedly.  “You want me to bring you stew?  My mom taught me how to make a really good beef stew!”

   “No, no; just go to school and don’t come visit me,” he insisted a little too sharply.  Jinri clicked her tongue and rolled out of bed.

   “I’m coming over this evening with stew. Expect me,” she said before she hung up.  She could imagine Zelo groaning in annoyance, and she chuckled before looking at the clock.  “Ah, it’s early.  Guess I’ll make myself look nice, for once,” she decided.

   The lunch table was lonely that day.  Eunjung had gone around thanking people for coming to the party, and Woori was discussing a project with her partner while they ate.  So, Jinri and Sehun sat alone.  Surprisingly, Sehun was the first to strike up conversation.  

   “Where’s Zelo?  Sick?”  He asked.  “He told me he never gets sick.”

   “He thinks he’s super man or something,” Jinri laughed.  “Yeah, he’s sick.  I think he’s coming down with a cold.  Or he’s just fibbing.  Either way, he’s going to regret missing that math lesson today.”

   “Agreed,” Sehun said.  “So uh...  Are you going to visit him later?”  

   “Mhm,” Jinri mumbled through the food in .  She cupped a hand over her face so Sehun couldn’t see all of the chewed up food as she talked.  “You wanna come with me?”  

   Sehun awkwardly readjusted himself on his seat and nodded.  For a moment, she thought she could detect a soft pink in his cheeks, but his poker face was on and she dismissed the thought.  

   “What time?”

   “Well, I’ve gotta make him some stew right after school, and after that we’ll go over to his apartment.  It’ll be around 9 o’clock when we leave his place, probably.”

   “I’d really like to see Zelo, but I’ve got something to do at 7,” Sehun spoke softly.  “But...  I can probably go to your house and help you cook, if that’s okay.”  

   It was Jinri’s turn to uncomfortably shift.  She would be spending time with Sehun.  Alone.  The thought made her scared beyond belief; she didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of him!  But she calmed herself down by remembering that he thought she was taken.  She smiled at the irony that she felt most comfortable in a date-like setting when she was unavailable.  

   “Uh...  Jinri?”  Sehun waved a hand in front of her face.  She stopped thinking and lightly shoved him.

   “I guess you can come over.  Just don’t make a mess in my kitchen.”

   “No promises,” he stated, which made both of them chuckle.  

*** 

   “Sehun!  That’s the wrong broth!”  Jinri laughed as he brought over a can of chicken broth from her pantry.

   “I thought we were making chicken soup,” he innocently argued.  “That’s what you make for a person with a cold.”  

   “I’m making him beef stew, silly,” she told him.

   “That’s more expensive, though.”

   “Don’t give me your logic,” she waved a hand in his face.  He peered down at the beef she was cutting.  “Zelo is like my brother, and anyone in my family gets the best.”

   “Your boyfriend is like your brother....  That’s pretty weird,” Sehun blurted.  She panicked and passed him some carrots and a knife.  

   “Just chop those up,” she said weakly and continued with the beef.  Sehun followed orders but continued interrogating her.  

   “You know,” he began, “for a couple, you guys aren’t that lovey-dovey.”

   “Is that a problem?”

   “No, I think it’s cool.  Zelo and I are pretty similar, I think.  We don’t like girls to be all over us.  Well, at least, not in public,” he laughed.

   “Oh Sehun, what are you thinking?!”  She jokingly screamed.  “I didn’t know you had such a erted mind!”  

   “Kidding, kidding,” he assured.  He slipped the carrots in the pot and watched Jinri finish up.  Her hands were small and delicate and he wanted so badly to grab one.  “How long have you guys known each other?”

   “Too long,” she sarcastically said.  Sehun watched her face scrunch up as she made sure everything was correct.  He thought it was  adorable how she jutted her lips out and narrowed her eyes.

   “Then you guys must have kissed,” he sighed.  Jinri put her hands down and narrowed in on him.

   “We have not, thank you very-- AAH!”  She screamed as she pulled her hand up.  She’d accidentally put her hand on the stove and it burned her.  Sehun grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to the sink.  Ever so gently, he washed her hand with care.  

   “Do you have a first aid kit?”  

   “It’s in the drawer by your hip,” she mumbled.  She was trying very hard not to cry, but it wasn’t working.  She started to silently bawl as Sehun managed her hand.  It stung, but she knew he was making it better.  “Thank you.”

   “It was my fault; I got on your nerves,” he nervously stated.  “I’m sorry.”

   “It’s not your fault that I’m a klutz,” she managed to chuckle.  Sehun finished wrapping her hand and taped the gauze.  He ripped off a piece of paper towel from the roll behind her and wiped the tears from her face.  

   “It’ll be okay,” he hummed.  She nodded and looked at her bandaged hand before he pulled her into a hug.  One of his hands the back of her head as he gently said “shhh.”  She felt like she was about to explode, but she stood, lifeless in his arms.  She heard a door shut and looked over Sehun’s shoulder to see who it was.

   “Ah!  My mom!  Get off!”  She whispered.  Sehun obeyed but he was a little too late.  

   “Jinri!  You didn’t tell me you had a boyfriend!  You didn’t even tell me you had a cute friend!”  Her mother whined as she walked in the kitchen.  Sehun eyed Jinri, who looked confused as ever.  He laughed and wrapped an arm around her.  

   “We’re just friends.  I’m Oh Sehun,” he introduced with a smile.  “Jinri, I need to go.  Text me the news on Zelo,” he said.  He gave her a light squeeze with his arm, bowed to her mother, and left.  Jinri’s mom stalked him out the door.  She came into the kitchen with a menacing grin.

   “Quite the catch, Jinri,” she complimented.

   “No, no, no.  It’s not like that,” she argued.  She couldn’t help but smile, however.  

***

“You let me in right now, Zelo!”  Jinri yelled over the phone as she knocked on his apartment door.  “I’ll break it down if you don’t!”

   “Yeah, right,” Zelo said.  “Just leave the soup at the door.  I’m not feeling well enough to come out to see you.

   “You’d refuse welcoming me in, even if I'd made something for you?  Tsk, tsk,” she chided.  A hand grabbed her phone from her and she turned to see a hero for her situation.

   “He’s useless; I’ll let you in as long as you stop screaming,” Yongguk, Zelo’s older brother, said.  She nodded and he handed her back her phone before unlocking the door.  Zelo was sitting on the floor watching variety shows.  When he saw Jinri, he quickly wrapped up in a blanket and laid down.

   “Oppa, is Zelo really sick?”  She asked Yongguk.  Zelo cringed every time she used the word “oppa,” which was why she used it.

   “I don’t know.  He is acting weird,” Yongguk assured.  “But his health seems fine, so I’m sending him to school tomorrow.”

   “Hyung, why’d you let her in,” Zelo complained.  “She thinks she’s going to take care of me.  Really, she’s only going to make matters worse.”

   “Oh really?”  Jinri said.  “I must not be of any use at all.”

   “Pretty much,” Zelo sarcastically agreed.

   “I guess I can break up with you then, correct?”  

   “WHAT?!”  Yongguk gasped.  “You two...  Are dating?”  

   “It’s a fake relationship, hyung,” Zelo added.  “And you know what?  I’ve been thinking that we should break up, too.  So go for it.”

   “I was only kidding,” Jinri pouted.  “Having you as a fake boyfriend makes me less nervous around other guys.”  

   “You’re welcome,” Zelo grinned.  Yongguk eyed the two suspiciously.  He waited to see if Zelo would think about what she just said, and waited for him to get jealous.  He did.  “Wait, what?!  Who have you been hanging out with?!  Don’t tell me...  Oh Sehun!”  

   “He came over to my house today,” Jinri added.  “We cooked together.  And then I got hurt and he bandaged me up,” she told him as she waved her wounded hand in front of him.  Zelo frowned and pulled the covers over his head.  

   “I don’t want to eat your lovey-dovey soup.”

   “It’s not lovey-dovey.  Sehun wants you to get better, too,” Jinri insisted.  She put the soup down on a matt on the ottoman in front of Zelo and pulled the covers off of his face.  “Sit up.”

   Without arguing, Zelo sat up.  Jinri went and got a bowl and a spoon for him.

   “You better eat this, and you better love it.  I injured myself because of you.”

   “It’s not my fault you’re a klutz!”

   “Whatever,” she laughed as she filled up his bowl.  “I hope you like it.”  

   Zelo took a spoonful and nodded.  “It’s good.”

   “Good.  Now, get better!  I don’t want you missing any more days of school!”  

   Zelo nodded once again and started thinking to himself.  He didn’t have the guts to tell anyone that the real reason he stayed home was to sort out his feelings for Jinri.  After the party on Friday night, he had been confused.  It took the entire weekend for him to admit to himself that he was starting to have a crush on her.  However, he concluded to not let it go any further.  

   A loud bang of thunder ripped through the apartment and Jinri dashed to the window.  

   “Oh no!  I have to go.  I just hope I don’t get soaked!”  She sighed and began hurrying to the door.  Yongguk grabbed her hand and pulled her back.  

   “Tornado watch.  You’re not going anywhere.”  

   “For how long?”

   “The news told me the weather’s going to be bad all night.”

   “Then I’ve got to go right now,” she demanded.  “I don’t want it to get any worse--”

   Before she could finish, there was a heavy downpour of rain and a flash of lightning.  The power went out, too.  

   “Call your mom's cell and tell her you’re staying here tonight.”

   “WHAT?!”  Zelo and Jinri yelled simultaneously.  Yongguk suppressed a smile and took her phone.

   “Fine.  I’ll call her and tell her it’s too dangerous.  They trust me,” he said as he dialed their number.  Jinri stomped over to Zelo and plopped herself next to him on the ground.  

   “I hope they trust him,” she mumbled to Zelo.  He laughed and tried not to show his nervousness.  

   “They said it’s okay and that it’s safer that way,” Yongguk said.  He opened the blinds a little more so that they’d have natural lights.  “I’ll go get candles for when it gets dark.

   “Wait, wait, wait.  You’ll go get candles, yet you won’t let me go home?”  Jinri questioned.  Yongguk shrugged.  “The grocery store is a block away.  Your house is a 30 minute walk from here.”  

   “I can catch a cab,” she suggested.

   “Cabs don’t come around here,” Zelo sighed.  Jinri ruffled her hair and put her forehead on his shoulder in frustration.  Yongguk smiled warmly and saluted Zelo before he left.

   “This fake dating thing is amusing,” he said to himself as he jogged down the stairs.  “It’s not going to be fake much longer.”

   Back in the apartment, Zelo was trying to keep composed.  Jinri was propped against him, complaining about the storm, and he was too nervous to console her.  He quietly sat and listened to all of her words.

   “Ah!  I can teach you the math lesson from today,” she said.  She got up and went to the corner of the living room where Zelo kept his stuff.  He was slightly touched as she skipped back with the books as if it was a blessing to teach him what he skipped out on.  “It’s really hard, so bare with me.  Maybe we can do the homework together.”  She frowned.  “Actually, let’s just go ahead and do all of our homework together.  I haven’t started any of it.”  

  Zelo laughed and agreed to it.  

   About an hour and a half later, it started getting dark.  Yongguk had brought candles.  He decided to pick on his little brother and bought the most romantic candles he could find.  

   “These smell so good, Oppa,” she complimented.  “And they’re really pretty.” 

   “Good, it’s all that was left,” he shrugged and looked over to Zelo, who looked like he was lost in confusion.  Yongguk patted his head and sat across from them.

   “So, you guys are sleeping out here tonight?”

   “Hyung, I thought I’d move in with you, just for tonight,” Zelo nervously stated.  Yongguk put his hand up.

   “You already moved in.  To my apartment.  I’m not letting you sleep in my own bed.”

   “Where will Jinri sleep, then?”  Zelo panicked.

   “With you!”

   “Hyung, that’s insensitive!”

   “Are you going to bother her?”  Yongguk teased.  “Tell me, Zelo, what would you do to her?”

   “Nothing!”

   Jinri laughed at their quarrel.  

   “It’s alright.  I’ll stay as far away from you as possible, Zelo,” she said.  Zelo frowned and turned to Yongguk.

   “I hate you,” Zelo mouthed.

   “You love me,” Yongguk responded.  He got up and went to his room to go to sleep.  “‘Night, guys.”

   “Goodnight oppa!”

   “Stop calling him that!”  Zelo whined.

   “But it’s fun to bother you~” Jinri teased.  Zelo huffed and continued doing his homework.  

   After they finished their work, Jinri went to wash up for bed.  Zelo moved the ottoman and unfolded his mattress, then, he put a big, fluffy quilt over it.  He shook the pillows to puff them up and got up to wait for the bathroom.  Jinri came out with a bun on top of her head and Zelo poked it.  

   “What’s up with that?”  He teased.  She rolled her eyes and grabbed his wrist to pull his finger out of her hair.

   “It’s to keep my hair from getting tangly when I sleep.”

   “Okay...”  He said.  She marched away from him and he laughed.  He quickly washed up and came back out to see Jinri curled up in a ball on the edge of the mattress, far, far away from where he was going to sleep.  It both comforted and bothered him, but he didn’t say anything about it.  

   He crawled under the covers and looked at her back.  

   “Zelo, this is really weird,” she blurted.  “I don’t like it.  I don’t like it at all,” she laughed.  

   “I know, but we have to deal with it.  We did this all the time as kids, remember?  It’s fine.”

   “But we’re not kids anymore,” she yawned.  She stopped talking and Zelo sighed.

   “No, I guess we’re not,” he responded.  She rolled over and faced him.  “What?”

   “Aren’t you going to blow the candles out?”  She asked.  Zelo groaned and sat up.  He stretched himself to the candles, blew them out, and laid himself back down.

   “Happy?”

   “Mhm,” she hummed.  She snuggled under the covers and closed her eyes.  “Goodnight, Zelo.  I love you,” she said.  She was used to telling her parents that every night.  She didn’t think much of it, but Zelo thought the world of it.  He smiled and watched her rest for a few moments more.

“Goodnight, Jinri.  Thank you.”