“Good morning.”

Hyukjae was stunned to see an unfamiliar face standing beside the bed, when he had just woken up that morning. He thought it’d be Donghae, but it turned out to be a man he hadn’t seen before. He quickly sat up and covered himself with the comforter, afraid of what the man might do to him.

“Rest assured, I’m working for Lord Donghae. My name is Kris.”

“Kris…” Hyukjae repeated. He looked at the young man up and down, studying his strange appearance. “W-where’s Donghae?”

“He has some things to do. He’ll be back soon, you don’t have to worry,” Kris replied, trying to hide the smile on his lips. “I’m here to be your bodyguard.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard.”

“You sure do. Someone like you is not supposed to be alone, you let your guard down easily.”

Hyukjae frowned. “What do you mean someone like me?”

“Let’s have breakfast first, shall we?” Kris said, changing the topic instantly. He wasn’t surprised to know that Donghae hadn’t told a single thing to the blonde, because he knew exactly what kind of person his lord was. He might seem harsh, but somewhere deep in his heart, he had his good side too. Though, it was always hard for other people to figure him out.

“You haven’t answered my question.”

“What question?”

“Where’s Donghae?”

“Oh…” Kris cocked an eyebrow. “Do you miss him?”

“D-don’t make me laugh. I was just asking.”

“If you really want to know, I’ll tell you. Lord Donghae is actually on his way back to Seoul.”

“What?!” Hyukjae widened his eyes, unable to believe what he had just heard. Did Donghae just leave him here by himself?

“He’ll be back soon, don’t worry.”

“That ,” Hyukjae gritted his teeth as he stood up and stomped his feet towards the bathroom before slamming the door hard after he stepped inside. “He left me?!”

...................................................................................

He wanted to deny it so badly, but he failed. Hyukjae had to admit he felt lonely, even though Donghae had always been annoying him ever since they met. He had been watching TV the whole day, and now he was bored to death. He was glad Kris was here though, the younger was friendly and he was quite comfortable around him, but somehow, he felt as if something was missing. Was it because of Donghae?

Hyukjae quickly shook his head, shoving the thought away. Why would he be thinking about a devil who only knew how to annoy him? And he even left him without saying anything. Was Donghae mad at him? No, he was the one who should be mad, not Donghae.

Breathing out deeply, Hyukjae finally stood up and walked out of his room. He knew Kris would be sitting somewhere watching him from afar, though he could never figure out why he should be doing that.

There weren’t so many people around when he arrived at the lobby. And he immediately noticed a familiar figure sitting near the glass windows, reading a newspaper. “Minho…” Hyukjae whispered to himself.

He could still remember that man, and…the strange aura surrounding him. He was hesitating whether to approach him or just walk away, but it was too late, because Minho had already seen him. He reluctantly made his way towards the latter, who then smiled at him brightly.

“We meet again,” Minho said and patted the empty couch beside him, telling the blonde to sit down.

“Yeah,” Hyukjae smiled as he sat down. “What are you doing here?”

“Reading this,” Minho handed the blonde the newspaper he was holding, showing the current news about a waiter at a local hotel who was arrested yesterday. “He’s accused for brutally murdering 30 innocent people in total for the past few days,” he said.

“Goodness,” Hyukjae’s lips formed an ‘O’ shape when he looked at the pictures of the victims. “That guy must be a devil.”

“You might be right,” Minho replied, a small smile appeared on his lips as he took the newspaper back and put it aside. “Are you alone too today?”

Hyukjae sighed. “Yeah, since someone is ‘kind’ enough to leave me here.”

Minho chuckled. “I’m always alone too. Why don’t you accompany me?”

“B-but I-“

“I heard the sunset view here is amazing. Do you want to see it?”

Hyukjae wanted to scream in excitement at the latter’s offer, but he managed to calm himself down. He had always wanted to see the sunset. And this was definitely a chance he couldn’t let go of. “S-sure, I’d love to.”

“Let’s go, it’s already past 6 and it’ll be nightfall soon,” Minho said and stood up, before extending his hand towards the blonde.

Hyukjae looked at him in confusion, wondering if he was telling him to hold his hand. “U-umm…” he scratched his head, unsure of what to say.

“Oh, sorry,” Minho chuckled and pulled his hand back, “I’m just used to it. Please don’t get the wrong idea.”

Hyukjae quickly shook his head. “No, of course not.”

The walk to the beach was only filled with silence, and Hyukjae somehow felt restless. The silence between them was kind of giving him an eerie feeling, for some reason. He glanced at Minho beside him from time to time, studying every inch of his face. He was always wearing a calm expression, making it hard for people to know what he was thinking.

“Minho-sii…” Hyukjae finally decided to ask, when they had just arrived at the empty beach, “Where do you come from?”

“Oh, didn’t I tell you before? I’m from Seoul, and I’m here because of work.”

“You’re working at a company?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Do you…” Hyukjae stopped for a second and looked at the evening sky, before turning back to Minho, “Do you have…a problem or something?”

Minho looked at the blonde, a glint of surprise could be seen in his eyes at the sudden question. Realizing that he had just asked about something personal, Hyukjae quickly looked down in embarrassment.

“I’m sorry, it’s…it’s just that…when I look at you, you seem…troubled.”

“Is that so…”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be nosy, but I-“

“It’s alright,” Minho cut the blonde off, chuckling silently as he took a step forward, “I just thought it’s really…surprising that a stranger could see right through me.”

“So…you do have problems.”

“I don’t even know myself.”

“I can lend you my ears if you want to,” Hyukjae said, “I’m a good listener.”

“Really? Are you sure you’re not going to regret your own decision?” Minho walked closer towards the blonde, causing him to step back spontaneously.

“W-why?”

“You never know what a stranger like me can do to you.”

There was something about those words that made Hyukjae shiver. But why would he be scared of Minho? The latter seemed like a kind person to him. Just when he was about to open his mouth to say something, his phone rang all of a sudden. He quickly answered the call,