Sigh after sigh left his lips as he constantly took note of the time. The sun was setting and there was still no sign of her returning to her apartment. It seems like she really is celebrating. Changmin continuously peeked through his binoculars. He needed to keep himself occupied while trying to shake the anxiety away. This time, if anything happens to her, it will entirely be his fault since he has broken the President’s only rule which is to not let her go out unaccompanied. But how could he not? She craves for the total freedom. He doesn’t think she’d enjoy having him cling around.

He took another look at the time. She is celebrating, right? As long as she comes in before 9pm, she should be fine, right? But why is this unfavourable feeling getting worse?

The grip he had on his phone tightened.

“Argh. Shim Changmin, you need to calm down. This was your decision. You’re granting her the freedom. She’s happy. You should be happy when she’s happy. Nothing bad is going to happen. No one has been tailing her other than you. There isn’t a single suspect around her for the past weeks. Well, except that idiot sent by the President...”

His monologue went on and on until he’s lacking ideas on what to say anymore.

“You’re fast. You’re smart. And you’re strong. You can get to her side in a blink of an eye if she calls for emergency,” he added to his self-confidence. “Okay, that’s a bit of an exaggeration. But what the hell...” he sighed. “She’ll be fine, Shim.”

He put aside his spying tools and made his way to the kitchen to get something to drink. He needed something to cool down his throat and nerves.

“Maybe I should try to live my life normally as well.”

After he was done cleaning up the small mess he had made on the kitchen counter, he went to his computer and decided to go online. The term is starting soon, and as a student in his public life, it might be a good idea to check the details for his and YeonHee’s upcoming classes. He knew everything was already set to go for both of them thanks to the cooperation of the university, but it doesn’t hurt to double check. He might as well use this time to go through some random student’s profiles just to get a glimpse of who might be around. Maybe he could meet some old friends from high school.

A lot of faces appeared on his screen as he read through. However, there was one particular that caught his attention. The beat of his heart picked up and his muscles tensed. He clicked on the link nervously and all the horror flushed all over him when he saw the name alone.

“Kim Jaejoong, what in the hell are you doing here?”

***

“See, I told you it’ll be fine. It’s been days and I’m still alive and whole. You should’ve listened to me sooner,” YeonHee rambled.

“I’ve always been listening, Ms Lee, to each and every word.”

She stopped what she was doing and stared at Changmin from across the room. “Yah, you need to stop calling me Ms Lee. It sounds old.”

“But you are Ms Lee, Ms Lee. You emphasized this