suteruberry
"I spent ten years being the Moon for a Sun that was never mine to orbit. I thought turning to ice was the only way to survive the cold-until I met her."
Following the heartbreaking Bataan wedding of Stell Ajero and Risa Quijano, Justin de Dios flees to the winter wilderness of New Zealand. The man once known as the "Golden Retriever" of the industry has traded his warmth for a camera and a wall of ice, determined to disappear into the shadows.
But in a smoky Queenstown bar, he meets Aimi, a blunt, coffee-obsessed Filipina on a "forced vacation" of her own. She's the only person who doesn't see the "Moon"-she sees a man who is desperately over-thinking his own life. What starts as a whiskey-fueled one-night stand evolves into a slow-burn journey across the South Island, from the turquoise waters of Tekapo to the glacial peaks of Aoraki.
As Aimi systematically dismantles his "Ice King" persona, Justin must decide if he's ready to stop being a ghost. When the professional world he leaves behind calls him back to Manila, he has to choose: will he return to the comfortable shadows of the past, or step into the high-contrast light of a future he never dared to frame?
A story of espresso, expensive whiskey, and the beautiful mess of finding yourself in the middle of nowhere.