#zelo au

Snow Falls – Zelo / Junhong

You were hurrying through the park, hoping that taking this shortcut would get you out of the cold and back in your warm apartment sooner.

If there was one thing you hated most, it was snow. It was cold, it felt funny shifting under your boots and it slowed everything else down. You didn’t like driving in it, which was why you took the subway to and from work, and you never understood why people frolicked around in it unnecessarily. Sure, kids found it magical, but you couldn’t wait for it to melt away completely.

Side-stepping around a water fountain, you continued on your trek towards your apartment block when you tripped over something hidden by the snow.

But instead of falling face-first into the powdered surface, you felt someone hold you up. When you looked behind you, the first thing you noticed was he was really tall. And that his lopsided grin was possibly the cutest thing ever.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh, I think so, thank you!”

“No problem, the snow is a bit of a hazard around here. You never know what’s hidden beneath.”

“I thought this would be quicker but it looks like I should stick to the sidewalk instead.”

“Why? Life is a bit of an adventure, right? You need to try new things to decide if you like it or not.”

“Well, I hate snow.”

“Really? I couldn’t tell,” he teased and despite being a stranger, you gaped at him.

“Let me guess, you like it?”

“If I wasn’t out here throwing snowballs with my –!”

He suddenly jumped on you, and you felt a force hit his body as you both jolted forward. You stared at him as he started to laugh again.

“Oh my God, are you okay?! Who does that?!” you exclaimed, looking around the man and scowling at his friend.

He held out his hand. “I’m Junhong. And if I wasn’t out here playing, you would have fallen face-first into that snow there. So isn’t it good one of us doesn’t mind the snow?”

“Junhong,” you started before bending down and scooping some snow up with your gloved hand and pressed it into his jacket. “Thank you, again.”

“It’s my pleasure. And if you want to learn how to actually make a snowball, I’ll see you here tomorrow.”

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To read who is next, check back at 8am NZST daily.

He was a gentleman, even though everyone labeled him as a player. You firmly believed that all of those accusations were created due to the people he hang out with and the rumors the girls’ made up to cover up the rejection. Even after all of these you still couldn’t bring yourself to talk with him. You didn’t want to end up being one of the pathetic girls. You adored him from afar ever since you first encountered him at the bar.

You had an exceptionally shitty day at work that day and the only solution you saw was to run away from your problems and what is better than drowning the pain in alcohol. You stumbled into the closest bar with tears running down on your cheek and ordered the strongest booze they had in store. The waiter took pity of you and tried to ask if you were okay or if you needed a ride home but of course you declined his offer and begged for your drink. You downed shot after shot, nodding your head along to the beat of the music and slowly getting more lightheaded.

Suddenly, a brilliant idea popped into your head. You wiggled down from the bar stool and walked towards a table. To be more exact, you walked to the table, that at that time you were oblivious of. The table, where Junhong and all of his friends hang out. You jumped atop of the table kicking of your high heels and dancing away with wobbly movement. The group laughed around you while took photos, some of them even called out for you but you were so deep in your own world you didn’t give a damn. The next moment you know Junhong holds your wrist and drags you down from the table and sits you down next to him. He attacks you with questions: “How much did you drink?” “How long have you been here?” “Did you leave your drink unsupervised even for a second by chance?” “Do you need a lift home?” - and such with great concern in his voice and in his eyes.

You shook your head squishing his cheeks until his lips pouted. You wanted to kiss him there. You would have kissed anyone at the spot but before you could do something stupid Junhong softly removed your hands from his cheeks and escorted you to the door of the bar holding you by your elbow securely. You stumbled over yourself feeling the cold stone floor with your bare feet. Junhong calls a cab and sits you in the backseat. He asks you were you live and with slurred words you reply to him. He furrows his eyebrows before crouching down in front of you.

“You sure you will be fine to go home alone?” He asks and you nod vigorously with the same goofy smile on your face. You reach out and squish his cheeks again and he sheepishly smiles before removing your hand. 

“Scoot over.” He pushes you slightly and he sits next to you. He tells the driver your address and leans back on the seat. Your thighs are touching as you are lying on the seat occupying most of it. He stares out the window, the city lights sparkling in his eyes and on his tiny nose piercing.

“Damn… you are so hot.” You exclaim suddenly still out of your head to which Junhong chuckles. “Are you a model or something?”

“Yep, something like that.” He giggles firmly looking at you. “You are really drunk aren’t you?”

“Honey, I’m never drunk.” You point at him causing another fit of laughter to escape his lips.

“Sure, honey.” He says in a sweet seducing voice your blood boiling because of it. You bit down on your lip as you examine him from head to toe.

“So how often do you take girls home?” You ask slurred over your words teasingly.

“When they are drunk enough for my friends to take advantage of them.” He sighs seemingly annoyed and tired. “But to be honest this is the first time I actually take someone home instead of just putting them in a cab. May I know why you get so shitfaced today?” He asks cocking an eyebrow.

“My boss is an asshole… he tries to harass me every day.” You slur sadly pushing yourself up into a sitting position. That is when you realize how drunk and lightheaded you are and your head drops on his shoulder.

“That’s disgusting.” Junhong says his fists clenched. You don’t understand why he got so worked up since he doesn’t even know you.  “You should quit.” He whispers silently against your temple. You sigh, your eyes slowly closing of sleepiness.

“Why do you care so much? You don’t even know me.” You sniff and he chuckles slightly.

“I guess you are right.” He adds and the car stops in front of your house. “Can you walk up to your house or do you want me to carry you?” He questions but you don’t answer as you already has fallen asleep on his shoulder.

Junhong clicks his tongue in disbelief shaking his head as he asks the driver to wait he will be back shortly. He gets out of the car and picks you up in his toned arms and carries you up to your house in princess style. He lowers you onto your feet for a brief second and - in your half asleep state - you give him the keys. He opens the door still holding you securely close to his chest, his heart beating faster as your head falls in the crook of his neck, your warm breath sending shivers down his spine. He places you securely in your bed and tugs you in before leaving. He gets back into the car and asks the driver to take him home.

He still can’t believe that after all those years you have forgotten him. Surely enough, he changed a lot since high school but he never thought you would forget him. He never thought the girl whom he loved so dearly for all of his life one day will look at him and see a stranger in him. He bites down on his lip your scent still filling his nose and chuckles to himself sheepishly.

Of course you didn’t remember him when you first saw him. It took you a few visits back to the pub when finally one of your friends realized that indeed the tall stranger is Choi Junhong, your high school crush. He changed a lot. He grew quite a lot, his arms and thighs got bigger and even his baby face got slightly manlier.

All your friends encouraged you to walk up to him. To push aside all the begging thirsty girls and show them who is boss but to be fair after your encounter with him you felt ashamed. You felt ashamed for the way you behaved and for the things you said in your drunken state but mainly because you didn’t recognize him. Although the latter should have worried you less as you were 100% sure he didn’t recognize you either.

Today you wish to gather the courage as much as you had last time when you danced yourself up on their table. You want to catch up with him and nothing else. Well, you wouldn’t reject him if he would decide to take you home for a night but you couldn’t admit that to yourself either. That night you are wearing your best outfit. A sickly fit little red dress, with a leather jacket on top, with fishnet tights and a black high heel was your outfit with your hair tied up in a high ponytail.

You sipped on your drink at the bar glancing over every once in a while to Junhong until you locked eyes with him. You reluctantly looked away trying to keep a straight face as if you haven’t been busted. When your eyes wander back at him he still has his eyes locked on you. He smirks and downs his whiskey with one fling and licks his lips as he places the glass back on the table. A girl is already sitting next to him chirping and waving enthusiastically to Junhong as if she is telling the most important story of her life just to be ignored by him. Without taking his eyes off of you he stands up and slowly walks towards you.

You gulp and shift uncomfortably slowly inching away from your group of friends to finally be alone with Junhong. His eyes radiating lust and his body tenses with every move he makes as if a wild cat is about to catch his prey. He smirks at your flushed expression and as he reaches the bar he peers his eyes off you and turns his full attention towards the bartender. He leans on the counter, cutting you away from your friends and orders another round of whiskey for himself and another glass of wine for you. After his order comes he turns with his body towards you sliding over the wine glass to you. You click your glasses and take a big sip out of it.

“Handling the drinks better now, honey?” He asks with a cocked eyebrow teasing you. He clearly remembers you and your face flushes to an even darker shade of red.

“I guess I know my boundaries now.” You reply rolling your eyes that turns him on even more. He eyes you up and down his eyes lingering on your lips a tad bit longer. “Are you taking home another unknown girl today or what is the schedule tonight?” You ask teasingly sipping from the drink he bought you.

“I might change plans tonight.” He shrugs locking eyes with you. “But I don’t take strangers home you know.” He adds and you nod.

“I figured.” You admit defeat looking back at the girl who he left alone. “I didn’t have time to thank you for last time. You really saved me from a major embarrassment and what knows.”

“Don’t mention it.” He waves his hand in dismissal. “There is a way you can thank me though.” He leans closer to you, his breath in your ear sends shivers down your spine. 

“Dance with me.” He whispers before straightening himself again with a goofy smile plastered on his face. A similar smile appears on yours as he extends his hand for you and you squeeze it as he walks you to the dance floor. Several couples around you are dancing, grinding on each other as if they are in a brothel. You won’t lie the beat is perfect for body rolls and inappropriate touches but instead of that Junhong fixes his arms around your waist and you snake your arm behind his neck and slowly dance together.

“Can I ask you something?” He says pulling you closer so he doesn’t have to yell over the music. You nod your head yes. “Do you know me?”

“You are Choi Junhong, an up and coming model.” You reply smiling teasingly into his chest and he sighs.

“This is not… what I meant.” He shakes his head with a soft chuckle escaping his lips. “You know we went to the same high school.”

“Of course I know.” You nod fixing your gaze on his shoulder. You sense his body tense up around you. “I didn’t know when you took me home though. I realized it later.” You explain shamefully and he giggles into your ear.

“I thought so… You called me hot you know.” He giggles and your face heats up. “Did you mean it or not?” He questions again and you don’t know what to say. Of course he is hot, he is the hottest person you have ever seen in your entire life but he is more than that. He is caring and wonderful, he is kind, he is adorable and seducing.

“You know I couldn’t get you out of my head ever since.” He slows down his movement as he confesses. You freeze on the spot glancing up at him and for the hundredth time that night you lock eyes with him. His piercing gaze is looking right through you. His lips turn into a knowing smirk and he licks his lips briefly.

“Do you want to do something about it?” You ask breathily your heart beating faster. The mix of his musky cologne with the smell of strong whiskey illuminates your mind and keeps you captured. He looks around the bar to check no one is watching the two of you. He releases you from his grip and intertwines his fingers with yours dragging you towards the exit of the crowded pub. He pushes through the crowd with big steps and you do your best to keep up with him in your high heels. He calls a cab and you crawl into the backseat him closely following you. He tells the driver his address before he averts his attention back at you.

You look at him exquisitely, not daring to say a word. Your breathing speeds up, your chest rapidly falling up and down as he engulfs you with his gaze taking in every inch of you. He scoots closer to you, holding himself up with one hand right next to your thigh. He leans in close with his other hand cupping your face,  painfully slowly tracing it to the back of your neck to run his fingers into your neatly done hair. He only takes off his eyes from yours for brief seconds to look at your pleading lips. He leans closer and closer every passing second and you slowly run your finger up on his arm to settle it on top of his shoulder. He softly presses his lips against yours and you get a taste of wine and whiskey mixture. His hand that supported himself slides up on your thigh and plays with the hem of your dress as your other hand finds its way to his hair fisting it and pulling him closer to deepen the kiss. Your head is spinning with all the build up emotions over the years of not seeing him.

The same goes for him. Over the years of being helplessly in love with a girl whom he thought will never notice him, finally, was there beneath him slowly melting in his touch and deepening the kiss begging for more. His head was spinning as adrenaline rushed through his body. In the haze of the warm and foggy car he loses his mind as he dives in deeper with the kisses.

The car stops suddenly and out of breath you break away from the kiss. You frown as you were so rudely interrupted and Junhong feels the same. He pays the driver and rushes you out of the car your fingers intertwined with his. You run up the stairs missing the warmth of his hands around you already. He closes the door behind him and twirls around to pin you against the door. He kisses you again, his hands gripping your sides and biting your lower lip. Your hands travel up to his chest and slowly slip under his shirt to feel his skin.

He giggles into the kiss as your fingers run through his naked skin and you can’t help but smile. He backs away and presses his forehead against yours, eyes locked as he breathes you in. All the rush seems to die down and everything around you is so quiet. His hands find support on your waist holding you securely and insanely close to him. It’s just the two of you and the silent taps of the first few raindrops before it starts to pour. He plants a kiss on the tip of your nose and steps away from you.

“Are you hungry?” He asks heading to the kitchen on the first floor of his apartment. You look around in his house briefly, definitely something you didn’t expect to see. His living room is spacious, it could fit several people. The room is neat, with packed bookshelves at one wall and a huge flat screen TV on the other with several gaming devices connected to it. On the right to the living room is a small corridor where you are standing right now with a staircase leading up to the next floor on the end. Opposite to the living room is a kitchen but it is not separated by walls, there is only a bar in between the kitchen and the corridor. You kick of your high heels and slide onto one of the barstools while you watch Junhong make a sandwich for the two of you. On the counter you find a few family pictures. You pick one up and examine the chubby cheeked smiley boy with the same high cheekbones as Junhong and you smile to yourself.

“Find something funny?” He asks looking at you from the corner of his eyes before turning back to make a sandwich.

“Not something funny, it is just so precious.” You reply making him blush and chuckle a little. That’s when you hear silent taps of claws running down the wooden staircase. You turn your head to see a little ball of fur happily trotting towards Junhong in the kitchen who slides a slice of chicken to him as a reward.

“Sorry for waking you up Mochi.” He apologizes to the dog who barks once before running up back the stairs. “Ah- I love him so much.” He says clenching his shirt right around his heart.

“He is a charmer isn’t he?” You tease him and he nods vigorously.

“Definitely.” He nods with a proud smile on his face. He finishes up the sandwiches and put one right in front of you while he takes a place right next to you. You chew in silence none of you say anything but the thought of whatever happened in the car keeps bugging you.

“So,“ You start placing your sandwich on the plate and he stops munching on his food, his cheeks puffing out like a hamster’s “are we going to ignore what happened or?”

“Oh… that.” He chuckles making you embarrassed. Did that really meant nothing for him? “I told you I’m not a hook up person. That is not my style.”

“Oh so should I leave now?” You ask confused and he shakes his head and grabs your wrist.

“Hell no!” He retorts making you blush. He draws small circles on your wrist softly and soothingly. “I just want to take you on a date before we become more intimate.” He explains smiling from ear to ear.

“That’s really nice of you but you never actually asked me out if I recall.” You tease him and he shakes his head. You are unbelievable.

“Will you go out with me?” He asks, sliding his grip down to your hand playing with your fingers as he waits for your answer. You furrow your brows pretending to be deep in thought before you nod slightly once.

“I think I have time for a date.” You reply and he kisses your cheek happily. He knows damn well how much you will drive him crazy and he knows how much he will plead for you to continue.

You finish your midnight snack and help him wash the dishes before he walks you up to the next floor. He shows you the bathroom and the guest’s room. He hands you a towel and one of his oversized shirts before you head off to the bathroom to wash up. When you come out he is already in a pair of sweatpants, his toned muscles look perfect in the moonlight and your eyes linger a little longer on the tattoo on his stomach. He is typing something on his phone, probably to his friends, that he called it a night sooner then he intended. It takes him a while to notice your presence at the door. You lean on the doorframe your arms crossed in front of your chest, his big shirt hugging your body and filling your nose with his scent. You scan through his body and he looks up with slightly agape mouth. He smiles at you and you walk to the bed and lie down.

“Well, I’ll get to my room now I just wanted to see you got settled.” He says standing onto his feet but you cling onto his arm before he can move anywhere. He smirks down at you waiting with a raised eyebrow.

“Let’s talk. It’s been a while.” You ask him and he nods agreeing and plopping down on the bed next to you, your bodies inches away from each other perfectly comfortable with the closeness.

“Why did you become a model?” You ask sleepily and he smiles sweetly his gaze averting to the ceiling as he thinks to himself.

“I had a model friend and because of my height he prepped me at his agency.” He shrugs. “Did you still work there with the touchy boss?” He questions this time his voice running cold and stern.

“Uh… yeah.” You admit shamelessly and he puffs angrily.

“Why are you not leaving his ugly ass behind?” He burps out and you shrug.

“I need the money. I am looking for a new job but it is not that easy to come by.” You explain and he inches closer to you, his hand cupping your face running his thumb in a circle motion on your cheek.

“You can live here until you find a new job. I don’t want anyone to touch you inappropriately.” He says sincerely his eyes examining every inch of your face before he plants a soft and sloppy kiss on your lips.

“I can’t… I don’t want to use you.” You shake your head placing your hand on top of his.

“You are not using me if I offer it to you silly.” He replies sweetly with a soft smile and shining eyes.

“I will think about it. Thank you.” You whisper to him and he nods planting another kiss on your forehead gently.