“WHEN will this be over…” Ri-Ri mumbled to herself in annoyance. All she wanted was for the music video shoot to finally end. They had already done a couple of takes earlier. Her solo shots had also been done—the ones where she played the guitar alone on the bed and on the balcony. At one point earlier, while actually playing the guitar and lip-syncing to the song, she made the mistake of looking at Zion. His gaze was so intense that her hands faltered on the guitar for a few seconds. Because of that, she had to start over.
At that moment, they had another scene together. They were currently in the kitchen, preparing for it. This time, they were supposed to pretend to be eating breakfast while flirting. Zion was still shirtless, while Ri-Ri was now wearing an oversized shirt, with the bra and panties still underneath. After a quick makeup retouch, they began.
“Ri, move behind the countertop,” the director instructed, and she immediately followed. “Zion, go behind Ri-Ri. I want you to hug her from behind.”
She swallowed at that. It looked like her small attraction to him would be tested again. Just when she was trying to stop it from turning into something bigger, he ended up being her leading man—and now they had a scene like this.
“We want this to look as natural as possible, okay?” the assistant director added. She let out a small gasp when she felt Zion behind her. He seemed to know exactly what to do to make it natural because he wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his breath near her ear.
“Ri, your eyes shouldn’t be that wide. Remember, it’s your lover who’s hugging you.”
She blushed. “S-Sorry. I was just surprised,” she admitted. Behind her, she heard Zion snicker. She elbowed him, making him cough. That made her smile.
“Sneaky,” he muttered in a low voice that made all the hair on the nape of her neck stand.
“Okay, let’s do that again,” the director called out. She swallowed and prepared herself for whatever Zion was about to do. He liked doing things impromptu, and she often got caught off guard by his actions. “Action!”
Zion wrapped his arms around her again. She automatically turned her head toward him. Because of that, his lips brushed against her cheek. Though startled, she recovered quickly, especially since the director liked it and told them to keep going. In return, Zion buried his nose in her hair. Then his head slowly lowered to her neck. And when she felt his face nuzzling in the crook of her neck, she squeaked. She jolted, but couldn’t break free from his arms because his hold tightened. She heard some of the crew laugh, but they weren’t her focus.
With wide eyes, she turned around and looked at him. He was grinning from ear to ear. She instinctively held her neck. She subtly shook her head to signal that her neck was her weakness. He subtly nodded and went on with the scene. He bent down, and she was startled for a moment—only to realize he was just grabbing fruit from the countertop. When she followed his movement, she saw him pick up a strawberry and dip it in chocolate. She suddenly remembered that one morning when he was busy devouring chocolate-dipped strawberries while ignoring her as they were being introduced. He seemed to be very fond of it.
But at that moment, he didn’t eat the fruit. Instead, he tried to feed it to her. She opened her mouth and let him feed her. As he placed the food in her mouth, a trickle of chocolate slid down her chin. She whimpered softly and was about to wipe it away when his hand caught hers. Instead, he wiped it clean with his thumb, then brought his finger to his mouth and sucked the chocolate off—never taking his eyes off her. She heard the directors’ pleased comments, but she ignored them because she was more concerned about her heart, which felt like it was dancing the Macarena.
Zion continued feeding her, completely unaware of the effect he was having on her. She couldn’t help but wonder if she had any effect on him too. But as soon as the thought crossed her mind, she shook it away. He hates your guts, remember? she told herself.
“Okay, cut!” the director called out. “Your turn, Ri. Feed Zion this time.”
She complied and followed the director’s instruction. She fed him a small portion of pancake. Feeding someone was simple enough. But when she did it to Zion, it was as if everything slowed down. Her breath hitched even more when her hand brushed against his lips. She almost pulled away as if she had been electrocuted, but she caught herself. It wouldn’t look normal in the eyes of the directors.
“Cut!” the director said, and she finally breathed in relief. “That was awesome!” The crew applauded in agreement.
She looked at Zion when she realized he still hadn’t removed his arms wrapped around her. “Um…” she murmured and gently touched his arm. He blinked, and for a moment, Ri-Ri thought he looked embarrassed. Just as he was about to drop his arms, the assistant director cut in.
“Hold it, don’t drop those arms just yet. I’ve got an idea,” they said. “We’ll add some kissing scenes—”
“What?!” she cut in, shocked. She abruptly turned her head, almost snapping her neck.
The director nodded. “Hmm, I think so too. I agree.”
“What?!” she exclaimed again, unable to believe what the two directors were suggesting. “Wait, I don’t think it’s necessary—”
“Ri, your song is about love. Let’s live up to the title track, ‘Butterflies.’ It will have more impact if there’s a kissing scene. And besides, it was originally on the script, remember? You and Zion’s chemistry is no joke. It feels so real that we’re actually getting giddy watching you. The chemistry is almost palpable; we can’t help but think you both like each other.”
Her cheeks flushed, and she heard Zion cough as if he had choked on something.
“True, true!” Bella agreed enthusiastically, even waving the makeup brush she was holding. The other crew members agreed as well.
The director grinned. “Let’s do it,” he said, snapping his fingers to finalize the decision.