Zelo woke to the sound of a camera shutter.  He looked up and saw Yongguk taking a picture from his phone.  He didn’t think much of it until he saw Jinri, who was holding his hand by her face.  

   “Hyung, leave us alone,” Zelo whispered.  Yongguk grinned and walked away, satisfied with his brother’s request.

   “You totally like her,” he muttered before walking away.  Zelo rolled his eyes and sat up.  He rubbed his eyes and began poking Jinri.  

   “Jinri-ah, wake up.  Let’s make breakfast,” he suggested.  She slept through his request.  Zelo shook her and started speaking in her ear.  “Wake uppppp!”  

   “Mmmm,” she sang.  She opened her eyes and saw Zelo hanging over her, trying to wake her up.  She pushed him away and shot up in embarrassment.  “What’d you say?”

   “Let’s make breakfast.”

   “Okay,” she yawned.  

   Jinri scrambled eggs and Zelo prepared all of the sides he liked to eat in the morning.  Yongguk watched them proudly and pretended to be occupied with a book.  

   “Breakfast is ready, oppa!  Come eat!”

   “Coming,” Yongguk replied.  He walked over to Zelo and gave him a back hug.  “Is my little brother turning into a man now?”  He said with a childish voice.  Zelo squirmed away from him and shook his head.  

   “It’s Jinri.  She’s been a friend for too long.”

   “It’s Jinri.  You’ve known her as just a friend long enough,” Yongguk retorted.  “She’s pretty cute.  And you know you get along with her.”

   “More so than with you,” Zelo snapped.

   “Then move in with her.”

   “What are you guys talking about?”  Jinri laughed.  “Oppa, you know better than to kick Zelo out.  He wanted a good, inner city education, just like you.”

   “Yeah, yeah,” Yongguk groaned.  “But he’s a pain in the .  He never says how he feels.” 

   “He’s gotten better at it.  He gets really worked up when I tell him I’ve been hanging out with Sehun.”  

   “Oh really?”  Yongguk laughed.  Zelo blushed and started serving the sides.

   “Whatever,” Zelo mumbled and began eating.  

***

   “Zelo!  Welcome back!”  Sehun greeted in front of the school.  “Jinri and I were lonely without you yesterday.”

   “Really?”  Zelo asked, surprised.  “Erm...  Thanks, Sehun!”

   “I hope you liked the soup we made,” Sehun added.  “Jinri worked really hard on it.”

   “It was good,” Zelo said.  

   “He liked it very much,” Jinri insisted.  Sehun smiled and walked around to her.

   “Maybe we should open a restaurant together,” Sehun joked.

   “Bad idea; Jinri would burn the place down,” Zelo scoffed.  

   “True,” Sehun added.  Jinri stomped away from them and they both laughed.  “Zelo, you’re so lucky.” 

   “What?  Why?”

   “You have Jinri,” he sighed.  “I know it’s messed up, but I’ve developed a crush on your girlfriend.  I’m not going to try and steal her away...  But if you let her go--”

   “Got it,” Zelo blurted.  Both of them awkwardly continued walking to class.  Zelo was torn; he didn‘t know what to do.  Tell Sehun the truth?  Confess to Jinri?  Either way, it felt like he was going to lose her.  

   Zelo walked a little too slowly with Jinri on the way to her house.

   “Zelo?  What’s wrong?”  Jinri asked, worried.  She gently grabbed his hand and saw him blush.  “Tell me.”

   “I’ve just...  I’ve been thinking...”  

   “And?”

   “I think we should break up.  How are you going to find someone you like if you’re tied down to me?”

   “I don’t have to,” she sighed.  “I’m too scared of boys.  Plus, no one would be interested in me in a thousand years.”  

   “Don’t say that,” he snapped.  “Because it isn’t true.”  

   “Um...  Thank you?”  Jinri replied.  He let go of her hand and she looked up at him.  “You’re not really breaking up with me, are you?”

   “I have to.”

   “Why?”  

   “Because I like you.”

   “That’s not a...  What?”  She asked, astounded.  Zelo was avoiding eye contact with her and was nervously pacing.  He was telling the truth.  “Zelo, I--”

   “I know.  I’m sorry.  It wasn’t part of the plan.  But I can’t...  I can’t go on pretending to date you when I actually want to really date you.”  Jinri stood in shock.  She was, however, able to maintain herself.  “I know you’ve got your eye on Sehun.  He likes you, too.  He told me.  Go after him...  But if you like me, please tell me right now,” he begged.  He looked sad and defeated, but she couldn’t lie.  She didn’t think of Zelo the way he wanted her to.  She was occasionally flustered by him, but she didn’t think that meant she liked him.  Dejected, he began walking away.  “It was a good fake relationship, Jinri.”

   “Yeah,” she mumbled.  “I’ll...  I’ll see you at school tomorrow!  We’re still best friends, you got that?”  

   He didn’t answer.  

   Over the next few days, Zelo avoided Jinri and Sehun.  Sehun kept his word and stepped up, asking Jinri if he could walk her home.  One day, he asked her to go somewhere with him.  

   “Where are we going?” Jinri laughed.  Sehun had his hands over her eyes and was guiding her into some building she’d never seen before.  

   “You’ll see,” he told her.  “I think you’ll be impressed.”

   “That’s a bold assumption,” she laughed.  He lightly kicked the back of her heel as punishment for the sarcasm and she tried pulling his hands off of her face.

   “We’re almost there; calm down!”  Sehun ordered.  She nodded, and finally, she was permitted to see.

   They were in a dance studio.  

   “Sehun...  You dance?  Like, for real?”

   “You said I was a good dancer, didn’t you?”

   “But I didn’t know you actually took lessons!” 
   “Yep.”  He grinned.  For the first time,  Jinri noticed how genuine his smile had become.  “I have a friend who teaches me privately.  This place is owned by my parents.”

   “Your parents dance, too?!”  She said in shock.  He nodded and ruffled her hair.  “Only for fun.  And occasional therapy.  They’re both doctors, though.”

   “Jeez...”  She hummed.  The studio door swung open and a beautiful boy came walking in.

   “Luhan!”  Sehun exclaimed.  He grabbed Jinri’s hand and brought her to the boy.  “This is Jinri...  The girl I’ve been talking about,” Sehun giggled.  He was blushing and Luhan raised an eyebrow at him.

   “I think you’ve swept him off his feet,” Luhan whispered to Jinri.  She blushed and laughed.  “Nice to meet you.  I’m Luhan.”

   “Nice to meet you, too.”  

***

   “I didn’t know you could move like that,” Jinri said, amazed, after practice was over and Luhan had left.  “That was awesome.”

   “You really think so?”  

   “Mhm,” Jinri answered.  Sehun walked over to her and gave her a hug.

   “Thank you,” he softly sang.  She smiled and hugged him back.  Sehun pulled away, just a tad, and put their foreheads together.  “I really like you, Jinri,” he said.  He leaned in and kissed her sweetly, and she stood still.  She was expecting some sort of fireworks, but she didn’t feel it, even though it was her first kiss.  She was, however, flattered that he’d taken the initiative and gotten it over with, so, she folded her hand in his.  

   “I like you too, Sehun.”  

   Just like that, the two started secretly dating.  Zelo knew about it because he had encouraged it, but he wasn’t happy about it.  It had been two weeks and he still wasn’t able to talk to either one of them.  By the third week, he came around and began eating lunch with them again. 

   “Are you guys getting back together?”  Eunjung loudly asked.  All three of them blushed for different reasons and Jinri shook her head. 

   “We’re just friends.”

   “Darn,” Woori sighed.  “You guys were really cute together.  Don’t you think, Sehun?”

   “No,” he admitted.  Everyone looked at him in wonder.  “They’re best friends, not lovers.”  

   “That’s right,” Zelo sadly agreed.  Jinri felt her heart drop and she had to leave.

   “I’m feeling a little ill; I think it’s the food I ate last night.  I’ll be back.”

   “Want me to come?”  Sehun offered.

   “No, thanks,” she said.  He nodded and let her go.  

   Zelo thought to himself, “follow her,” but he remained seated.  

   Jinri made it to the bathroom before throwing up.  She usually did this whenever she was really nervous or felt guilty.  “What’s this about?”  she whispered to herself.  “Zelo told you to go for it, so do it.  Don’t pity him.”  She looked at herself in the mirror and began crying.  The earrings she was wearing were from Zelo.  Her hair was in a ponytail because Sehun liked it that way.  At that moment, she wished she didn’t know either of them.  When she came out of the bathroom, Zelo was leaning against the wall next to the entrance.

   “You okay?”  He asked sincerely.  Jinri started bawling again and Zelo brought her into a hug.  “Stop crying.  I know you’re sick because you feel guilty.  I don’t want you to feel that way.”

   “Zelo, I’m so sorry...  I would give you the world, but--”

   “Shhh,” he whispered.  She continued crying on his shoulder and he patted her back.  “It’s okay.  When you stop crying, I want you to go to Sehun and have him comfort you, okay?”  

   Jinri became angry.  She didn’t want Sehun’s comfort.  She wanted Zelo to tell her everything was okay.  Sehun had no idea what was going on.  

   “Go away,” she ordered and pushed Zelo off of her.  “Maybe I wouldn’t have gone to Sehun if you hadn’t told me to,” she snapped.  Zelo felt broken and couldn’t argue.  

   She walked away and did, indeed, find Sehun.  He made jokes to make her feel better, and finally her tears stopped.  Sehun held her hand all the way home and helped her do her homework.

   “Why were you so upset today?”  Sehun asked.  Jinri put her head on her knees and sighed.

   “I was just sad.  I feel bad for Zelo, but I really, really like you,” she mumbled.  Sehun put an arm around her and sighed.

   “Don’t pity him.  That’ll make him feel worse,” he told her.  “Just enjoy your time with me.  That’s what I’m here for,” he laughed.  Jinri elbowed him and chuckled.  

   “That’s what you think.” 

*** 

   Time passed and it was almost Christmas.  The trio were now acting like a normal group of friends.  Sehun and Jinri had “secretly” dated for two months and they were planning on telling everyone after Christmas break.  Zelo still harbored feelings for Jinri, but he couldn’t do anything about it.  

   Although Jinri and Sehun were ready to spread the word about their relationship, they both felt a little uneasy.  They’d both realized that, even though they liked each other, they didn’t make each other feel special.  They never got very romantic; they only kissed hello and goodbye.  Occasionally Sehun would feel a little spark between them and would steal a kiss from her, but he didn’t feel like it was leading to anything.  They really just felt like friends who were faking a relationship.  Jinri realized that she missed Zelo, and that fake-dating him was better than anything she’d ever done with Sehun.  Zelo understood her more, and he also tolerated her a lot better.  

   After enough thought, they both mutually decided it’d be best to break up.  They wanted to fall in love.  They liked each other, but they both knew they weren’t going to fall in love with each other.  When Zelo caught wind of this, he decided to take action and steal Jinri back.  Little did he know that Jinri was willing to give him a chance and was hoping for him to come back.  

   “Jinri-ah, let’s go to Christmas shopping for each other.  Together,” he suggested.  She raised an eyebrow and he laughed.

   “What?  We haven’t had quality Zelo-Jinri time since... You know,” he mumbled.  Jinri smirked and lightly punched him.

   “Okay, but you’re buying me dinner.”

   “Who said that was a part of the deal?!”

   “Me!”

   “Fine,” he agreed with a smile.  “Tomorrow night?”

   “Sounds good!”  

   Jinri spent a little extra time getting ready the next afternoon.  She dolled herself up with a red coat dress and high white socks with ribbons on them.  She wore her black boots and curled her hair.  She made her make-up look natural and was proud of herself for actually looking pretty.  The doorbell rang and she skipped down the stairs.  Grabbing her bag from the rail, she waved goodbye to her parents.  When she opened the door, she was pleased with what she saw and had to try hard not to blush. 

   Zelo was wearing a long, black, coat and some really nice skinny jeans.  He had on a red and white argyle sweater and couldn’t help but point out that they matched.  To say he liked what Jinri was wearing was an understatement.  He couldn’t help but think that she looked like she popped right out of a manga, in the good way. 

   “Excited?”  He asked her.

   “Yes!”  She shouted and instinctively grabbed his hand.  “Let’s go!”  

   Zelo pulled back and gestured towards their hands.  “You... Want to hold hands?”

   Jinri was embarrassed and pulled hers away.  “Oh, sorry.  Habit.”

   “I like that habit,” he boldly stated and grabbed her hand again.  “It’ll keep us warmer, anyway.”

   “...O...Okay,” she responded.  They headed towards the restaurant they were going to and admired all of the lights along the way.  “This is my favorite time of year.  Everyone shows how warm they are, on the inside.  And the lights are so pretty,” she told him.  Zelo smiled and nodded.

   “I like getting presents for people, especially if those presents make someone smile.”  

   “That’s so sweet,” Jinri complimented.  She saw the Hello Kitty cafe and stopped in her tracks.  “Let’s eat there!”

   “You’re seriously going to drag me into--”

   “Yep!”  She interrupted and dragged him in.  They both got hot chocolate and split a huge piece of cake.  

   “I didn’t know we were going to be eating cake for dinner,” Zelo laughed.  Jinri cut a piece off the cake and fed it to him.  He finally felt accomplished; he knew Jinri well enough to know that she’d accepted his feelings, and that she was trying to return them.  He took the fork from her and fed her cake, too.  “Indirect kiss,” he mumbled to himself.

   “What?”  She asked, unaware of what he said.

   “Nothing, nothing,” he answered warmly.  She kicked him under the table and he pretended it hurt.  She apologized rapidly and he laughed.  “It’s okay, I was only kidding.”

   “...Jerk,” she hissed.  

   After they finished eating, Zelo paid and they headed towards a small shop that sold all sorts of ornaments and jewelry and delicate things.  Jinri looked at the couple rings in a glass box and found one she really like.  It had hearts engraved on the inside.  Zelo kept that in mind and walked past as if he didn’t notice her.  She followed along and watched him closely to see if he wanted something.  As much as she tried, all she noticed him looking at was her.  She finally started looking around by herself and found two hideous, matching sweaters with reindeer on them.  Their noses were red like Rudolph and they were furry, cotton balls that were sewed on.  They looked like they would fit both of them and she bought them.  She made sure that Zelo couldn’t see them.  

   “I bought you your present~”  she cooed.  “I beat you, Zelo.”

   “I bought yours while you bought mine, so, we tied,” he laughed. 

   “Nuh-uh,” she argued.  “You’re just saying that.”

   “I’m telling the truth!”  He insisted.  “I’ll give it to you if you come ride the ferris wheel with me.”

   “But...  I’m scared of ferris wheels,” she mumbled.  He took her hand and lowered his face down to hers.  

   “I’ll protect you,” he said.  She nodded and followed him to the ferris wheel.  When they got on and it started moving, Jinri crossed her legs and clutched the bag the sweaters were in to her chest.  

   “You go first,” she ordered.

   “Nope, nope, I go second.  I have a plan.  I need you to go through with it, for once,” he pleaded.  She frowned, sighed, and began pulling the sweaters out. 

   “They’re really ugly, but I got one too and I think it’d be kind of funny if we wore them around,” she said.  She passed Zelo his sweater and buried her face in her hands.  He busted out laughing and she shrunk back in her seat.

   “This is perfect, Jinri,” he told her.  “It’s so ugly, it’s beautiful.  Most importantly, you have one, too.  I can’t wait to wear something matching with you,” he said with a hint of mischievousness.  “Speaking of matching...  I got something for the both of us, too.” 

   “What?!”  She exclaimed.  Zelo opened a box and put a ring on his finger.  He passed the box to Jinri and her jaw dropped. 

   “I don’t really like the heart pattern, but if it’s for you, I’ll wear it,” he admitted.  She took her ring out of the box and put it on.

   “How did you--”

   “You’re so obvious when you like something...  Or someone,” he coughed.  They both looked around and Zelo nervously grabbed her hand.  “And...  I think...  I think that you like me, now.”

   Jinri looked at him in embarrassment and nodded, her eyes not making contact with his.  He laughed and crossed over to her side of the pod.  Putting an arm around her, he gave her a big hug.  

   “So, now... Can we really date?”  He asked her.

   “You like me a lot, don’t you Zelo?”  She laughed.  “You won’t even let me confess.  You just jumped right to the point.”

   “I’ve been waiting for a very long time,” he argued gently.  “Sorry if I rushed it.”

   “You’re forgiven,” she chuckled and pulled away from him.  She looked out the window and smiled.  “The first snow!”  

   Zelo watched her admire the snowflakes and couldn’t help but think about how much he loved her.  

   “There’s one more thing I’m going to rush,” he said.  She turned to him in confusion and he smiled warmly while looking down.  She cocked her head to the side, about to ask what it was, then it happened.  He looked up and kissed her. 

   Those were the fireworks she was looking for.  Zelo was the person she’d been looking for all this time.  He pulled back and looked out at the snow, obviously embarrassed.

   “I couldn’t wait any longer, and the snow added dramatic effect,” he explained.  Jinri grabbed his hand and kissed him on the cheek.

   “Thank you,” she said.  “I guess I’m really you’re girlfriend now.”

   “I know you are,” he laughed and put her head on his shoulder.  

***

   Everyone was happy to hear that Jinri and Zelo had gotten back together, including Sehun.  Actually, he and Woori had starting hitting it off over the Christmas holidays and looked like they had potential together.  After graduation, they all promised to hang out over the summer.  Zelo and Jinri were heading to the same college and they were excited to grow with each other and become who they were meant to be alongside one another.  What they were most excited about, however, was that their days of catching feelings were officially over.