Back again with today's episode ♡
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See you at the end.
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"The person in front of you is no longer Zee, NuNew, Max, or Nat," the intimacy coach instructed, pacing slowly around the room. "As of now, they are the most important person in your life. Move closer to them and look into their eyes until I tell you to stop."
Zee's breath hitched the moment his eyes landed on NuNew. They stood in opposite directions. The room felt still until the coach clapped and they walked toward each other.
Zee moved first, slow and deliberate, letting the coach's words settle into his chest like gravity. NuNew followed, his smaller frame moving straight toward him with no hesitation, no apology, no attempt to hide the soft intention blazing in his eyes.
It rattled Zee more than anything else.
NuNew had always been an important person to him Zee wasn't confused about that, but these past few weeks had been different.
Something in the workshop was bringing out feelings Zee had never thought he would feel, and NuNew wasn't helping at all. Every exercise, every eye contact drill, every skinship session had cracked open some door inside him, and NuNew walked through like he had every right to be there.
As they finally stopped, inches apart, NuNew tilted his chin up. The look in his eyes wasn't just a performance. It was full, warm, and devastatingly sincere. Too sincere for just acting. Too much for Zee to call "work."
"Hia," NuNew called softly, pulling Zee out of his spiraling thoughts.
Zee was shocked at how close NuNew was. No space between them Just the smell of their perfume mixed, the sound of their breath, and the tremble beneath NuNew's eyelashes. "Look at me," he said, voice low, almost a plea disguised as instruction.
Zee did. And immediately regretted it.
Because NuNew wasn't just looking at him. He was trying to communicate something to Zee, something dangerous, something Zee wasn't sure either of them was supposed to think.
Then NuNew's hand slid up Zee's chest slowly, exploratory, fingers dragging heat into the fabric of his shirt as if mapping out the shape of him. The touch was intentional enough to burn questions into Zee's mind, the kind he couldn't shove under "is this just acting." It can't be, not when NuNew's pupils dilated every time their eyes locked. Not when his breathing changed when Zee touched him back. Not when every inch of him felt tuned toward Zee like a magnet finally finding its source.
Zee didn't know if he was imagining it or if he was just too starved for intimacy. Maybe it was in his head. Maybe NuNew was just that good at acting.
Except Zee had worked with many partners over the years, and none of them made him feel like they were doing anything more than acting.
Is it all in my head? Or... is he trying to tell me something?
"What are you thinking about, Hia?" NuNew whispered against his ear, the word "Hia" turned into something far more intimate than script. His lips brushed Zee's ear as he spoke in a soft, warm, voice that shot a shiver straight down Zee's spine and made him almost moan. It felt illegal the way Nunew used his voice.
"You," Zee breathed before he even registered the word leaving his mouth.
A sweet smile spread across Nunew's face like he'd been waiting for that answer.
Then the coach's voice cut through the tension:
"Try kissing the person in front of you."
NuNew leaned in again, voice barely above a whisper.
"Aren't you going to kiss me, Hia?"
It came out teasing, but the way his hand kept moving beneath Zee's shirt was nothing short of bold. His fingers pressed into Zee's chest and gave it a small squeeze.
Zee's breath escaped him in a shaky exhale before he could stop it.
Instinctively, he caught NuNew's wrist.
"Nu... stop," Zee managed, swallowing hard.
But even his voice betrayed him it wasn't command, it was surrender.
"Kiss me, Hia," NuNew repeated, softer this time, eyes flicking from Zee's mouth to his eyes in a slow, hungry drag, with a quiet certainty that he was done being seen as a child.
Zee leaned in without thinking, his hand coming up to NuNew's mouth. His thumb brushed across NuNew's lower lip. Soft. Warm. Too tempting. Zee's mind flashed with a wrong, selfish want
'I wonder how he tastes'. The thought alone made his chest tighten, I shouldn't be thinking like this. Zee thought as he leaned in he wanted to kiss him. God, he wanted to. But instead, he pressed a small kiss to NuNew's cheek.
And that was when everything inside NuNew dropped.
If disappointment could take human shape, it would be Nunew. His jaw tightened, his eyes lowered, and the warmth he'd been offering so freely evaporated. This was the last day of their Cutie Pie workshop four weeks of intimacy drills, chemistry, and emotional exercises, and for some reason, Zee had dodged every opportunity to kiss him. It hurt more than NuNew expected. It bothered him as an actor too.
Cutie Pie wasn't a show with shy skinship they had intimate scenes, kisses, make-outs. How were they supposed to make it believable if Zee wouldn't even brush lips with him?
As soon as Zee pulled back, he saw the hurt, the confusion, the tiny crack in NuNew's expression before NuNew stepped away without a word.
Zee wanted to chase him down the hallway, pull him aside, and explain, "explain what, exactly? He asked himself even though he didn't know.
But the coach called him over, and by the time Zee finished answering their questions, NuNew was gone.
That's when Zee knew NuNew was actually upset. NuNew never left without him. He always waited so they could go home together.
Zee pulled out his phone and dialed Nunew's number.
"Hello." NuNew's voice sounded small, flat, and too polite.
"Where are you?" Zee asked.
"On my way home," NuNew replied.
"Why didn't you wait for me?"
"Didn't want to disturb you," NuNew said.
"Since when do you disturb me?" Zee countered. "Are you mad at me?"
"No."
The lie was quiet, but sharp enough that Zee felt it in his teeth.
"Then I'm coming to your place," Zee said immediately.
"I'm not going home. I'm staying at a friend's place tonight."
"Nat's?" Zee asked.
"No."
"Whose place, then?"
"You don't know them."
"Then send me the address and name," Zee said.
"Phi, I'm not a child," NuNew shot back, voice colder than before. "I can take care of myself. You don't have to worry about me. I'll see you on shoot day next week. Bye."
The line clicked dead before Zee could say anything else. He stood there staring at the screen, the silence loud and suffocating in his ears. For the first time, he had no idea what to say or what to do.
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That's it for today's episode! See you in Episode 6 💫
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