Hi people :)

Here's the next chapter, I hope you like it. The internet might turn off here tomorrow so it might be the last update for a week. I get back to England on Thursday at like 2 am so I might get an update up on thursday but I'm not sure. The internet might stay on anyway; it did last year, but that might have been a one off.

I can't believe that I've got so many subs, it's insane.

By the way, if any of you want to friend request me, I'd love that, and I could check out some of your stories too if you've written any <3 :)

Enjoy

Four weeks later

“You can’t be serious” I choke out through my laughter. Kris just glares at me, refusing to grace my statement with a response. In the end, I regain control of myself and respond to his question. “Ok, fine I’ll go with you.”

Kris’s glare weakens slightly and he turns away whilst muttering to himself. He says something about me being the most annoying bodyguard ever, and I smirk to myself but stay quiet.

Kris has just returned from taking a call with his mother and it seems she has arranged a meeting between him and a lady who she thinks will be a suitable match for him. Kris spent half an hour arguing with his mother before giving in and agreeing to meet her.

The reason I’m laughing is that he’s asked me to go with him. His excuse is that it will be less awkward with me there and that hopefully he can get out of talking to her too much. I think it’s just because he’s nervous and I plan on teasing him about this as much as possible.

When the day arrives, we’re both dressed in suits and I drive us to the arranged meeting place. It’s a restaurant in Gangnam and it is the most high class restaurant I’ve been to since I was last with my parents. I slip into my role of body guard well, making my face expressionless and upping how scary I look whilst ensuring I’m always a step behind Kris.

Kris glances back at me and I see him mask a smirk at my submissive behaviour. I resist the urge to hit him and concentrate on scanning the building. I spot a lady in the corner and tap Kris, pointing to her. “She’s the only one on her own, I bet that’s her.”

I wait silently as Kris speaks to the waiter at the door. It turns out I was right and we are led over to her. It seems Kris phoned in advance to inform them that I would be accompanying him as the table is arranged for three people.

I’m taken by surprise when Kris suddenly pulls a slight smile onto his face and introduces himself. My eyes widen involuntarily as she turns her face up to us. She’s extraordinarily beautiful, but I soon see that she plays her role perfectly and she’s obviously spent most of her life being trained for this type of encounter.

As I listen to their conversation, occasionally speaking when necessary, I come to the conclusion that she’s like a trained doll. It seems Kris is oblivious and he seems to like her and I’m forced to push down a weird surge of irritation at this that I’m unable to explain. I resist the urge to glare protectively at her, refusing to think about why I feel so irritated by the sight of him staring at her.

He’s so dense; surely he can’t actually like her. I have to remind myself the he’s straight and she’s beautiful so yes he probably does.

The car ride back is silent; I’m silently seething, more at myself than at Kris, as I’m gradually allowing myself to think over why it is I’m reacting this way. The whole encounter has left a sour feeling in my stomach. Kris must sense my mood, probably from the aggressive way I’m driving, and says “is there a problem Tao?”

My lips twitch at the corners into a slight smile as I’m filled with amusement at the way he tries to ask if I’m ok whilst trying to keep his cool. “I’m fine.”

He tries again, “really?”

“I said I’m fine.” I shoot back, a bit more forcefully than I’d intended and I regret it immediately when he frowns and his face closes off. He turns away and I see his jaw clenched slightly when I glance over at him.

“I’m sorry,” I try, “I don’t know what’s going on with me at the moment.”

He glances over at me, meeting my eyes for a moment before nodding. The rest of the drive is filled with uncomfortable silence and I’m driving even faster than before, feeling frustrated at myself for acting that way. I shouldn’t even care who he likes anyway. I have to stop feeling this way; I’m just going to get hurt in the end.

As we walk into the elevator back home that afternoon, Kris informs me that he’s having some friends over later.

“Anyone I know?” I ask. When he hesitates to reply I feel uneasiness well up in me. “Are they people from high school?”

Kris nods, and I look at the floor, trying not to complain and to remember that this my job and he is my boss. “Do I have to be here?”

He nods again and I repress a sigh. I resist asking why he would do this to me, reminding myself that he probably doesn’t care about me at all, and is just being nicer to make this arrangement less awkward.

I help him fix up the lounge and kitchen before heading out with him to the store around the corner. It’s a weird sensation walking around a shop with him, but I decide not to think about it. We choose snacks and I cringe at the amount we’ve piled into the trolley. When Kris picks up several six packs of beer, I press my lips together in an attempt to keep my mental freaking out to myself over the idea of Kris and his friends drunk in my vicinity.

We head to the check out and I pack as he unloads the trolley. He pushes the trolley over to me as he takes out his card to pay. I glance up as I’m lifting the bags into the trolley and smirk as I see the girl serving us checking Kris out. Kris blanks her completely, though not intentionally I think, and she switches her gaze to me.

I snap my eyes away and fix them on the closest figure, which happens to be Kris. He glances over at me and we make eye contact. We both glance away at the same time, with faint smirks on our face.

I notice the girl glancing back and forth between us and my jaw drops when she suddenly says “are you two a couple?”

Kris doesn’t seem able to form words, so I reply, “no, he’s straight.” I cringe inwardly at how that sounded, no, he's straight? Well done Tao. I probably should have said something more forceful like ‘no, that’s gross; he’s totally not my type,’ or something that made it seem like I definitely don’t like him, even though I’m not even sure anymore.

I refuse to look up at Kris as he takes his card out of the card reader and puts it back in his wallet as I’m loading the last bag into the trolley. I glance up at the girl, and cringe when I see her looking at me with something akin to sympathy in her eyes. Am I that transparent?

The walk back to the apartment is slightly awkward as we both try to ignore what happened in the shop. I concentrate on carrying the bags in my hands and I’m glad when we reach the front door, as we’d bought slightly too much beer in my opinion and it was getting uncomfortably heavy. Kris places some of his bags on the floor and keys in the code to open the door.

We head over to the elevator after closing the door, and put down our bags inside. Kris lets out a slightly breathy laugh in an attempt to alleviate some of the awkwardness, and says “I think we might have overdone it on the food.”

I laugh and roll my eyes, “you think?”

He shoots a glare in my direction at my sarcasm, and I smirk before picking up the bags again as the doors open onto the fourth floor.

When we’ve sorted everything out, I disappear into my room to change into some work out clothes. By now Kris has probably realised that I work out when I’m stressed or nervous other than my usual morning routine, so I don’t make eye contact as I walk through the lounge to the elevator even though I can feel his eyes on me.

I ride the elevator to the floor below and use the key card to enter the gym. I’ve spent a remarkable amount of time in here during the month or so that I’ve been working for Kris. There’s an empty area in the centre of the room that I use in the mornings, and I head there to warm up before heading over to the punch bag to the left.

I vent all my pent up frustration on the bag, kicking and punching in a violent but controlled manner. I keep at it for twenty minutes straight until I’m feeling tired and there’s sweat poring down my body. When I’m feeling calmer I work through various martial art styles that I’ve perfected over the years.

Eventually I come out of my mental work out zone enough to notice the things around me again, and I become aware of a presence to my left. I turn to find Kris leaning again the door frame and watching me. His eyes widen slightly at being caught before he clears his throat and shifts his weight. “That was pretty impressive,” he says, glancing up at me before looking away, slightly flushed.

To say I’m surprised is an understatement, but amazingly I manage to keep my face calm.

“I could teach you some stuff if you want.” I say, before glancing at the clock. It’s nearly five and Kris’s friends are due to arrive at half six. “Just some moves that might help you defend yourself if you’re ever in trouble when I’m not around.”

I know he used to get in fights when he was younger, but that was a while ago and against kids that were just as unskilled as he was. If a trained person attacked him he’d have no chance.

He glances at the clock just like I’d done and nods, “ok, why not.”

He joins me in the area where I do my morning work out. He’s hesitant to make any physical contact, I notice, but I ignore this and show him the correct foot placement for this type of movement.

“I’m going to throw punches at you slightly slower than normal and you block them in the way you normally would and I’ll correct your form if necessary.”

He nods and waits for me to move. I slip effortlessly into my favourite attacking stance and meet his eyes, reading the strange mix of anticipation and reluctance in them, before launching my first attack.

I go for the basic attacks at first, just observing the way he naturally moves. There’s no point in teaching him a whole new style of movement which will go completely out of the window in a moment of panic, it’s better to just build on the way he moves already so it will come more naturally in a fight.

After a few minutes, I stand straight and say, “Ok, stop. The most important thing is to protect is your head. This means that you have to have your hands here, ready, when you’re not deflecting blows.”

I grip his hands, moving them to the right place, before blinking in surprise at the blush that blooms on his cheeks. My eyes scan his face and I feel my heart rate speed up as I realise how close we are. I swallow before forcing some words out of my throat, “you need to return your hands there once you’ve blocked an attack. Let’s try.”

I move back, letting out a subtle sigh of relief when we’ve got some distance between us. We try again, me sometimes nudging his arms back up to protect his head when he forgets. In the end, out of exasperation, I land a light smack on his forehead.

He blinks in surprise at how fast I’d moved. “Other people won’t be as gentle as me and will attack faster and harder than this. You’ve got to remember this. If they hit your head, that will change the balance of the fight. You’ll probably be dizzy and you’ll lose your focus. If that happens it’s over. They’ll over power you in seconds and that could be it.”

His eyes have widened slightly at the serious tone I’m using. I blink, realising I’d probably sounded too passionate during that speech and I glance at the clock before stepping back and starting to warm down.

“Um, we should do this more often, in case something happens and I’m not there to protect you.”

He nods, before warming down himself.

I’m all sweaty, and once I’m done I take off my shirt, hanging it over my shoulder before grabbing my towel from the rail to the side. I pat the sweat off my face as I turn back to Kris. My eyes widen in surprise when I see him frozen halfway through a stretch, his eyes fixed on me. I swallow at the fierce look in his eyes, before clearing my throat nervously.

He snaps out of his trance, reddening slightly and tearing his eyes away. I pretend not to have noticed his confusing reaction, and take this opportunity to say “you did well today, seeing as it was your first lesson.”

He straightens up, having finished his warm down, and nods. We head to the elevator together and I pass him my water. He nods gratefully and drinks some, passing it back when we reach the top floor. I head into my room to grab a clean towel and have a shower.

I spend a few minutes just letting the water wash over me, relaxing me as I think about the weird reactions Kris has been having. I know he’s straight so it’s really confusing for him to react in that way. It can’t be jealousy or anything because I know he works out too and he’s just as muscular as me, so I really can’t think of any reason why he’d acted like that.

I decide to just let it go; he’s probably just feeling weird today.

I head back into my room feeling refreshed and change into my favourite black skinny jeans with rips on the thighs and a tight black tank top. I put on my bracelet from Kevin all those years ago, just for some encouragement.

I hear voices from the lounge as I head out to the kitchen to grab some food to take to my room, and feel nerves spike in me as I realise they must have arrived slightly early.

I take a deep breath and attempt to slip into the kitchen unnoticed, but this inevitably fails and I hear a deep voice call out, “woah, Kris who’s he?”

I tense slightly but force myself to keep composed as I turn to face them. I can see Chanyeol here with Lay and Xiumin. I cringe inwardly; seriously, he picked the three worst people to invite over.

I see their eyes widen in recognition when they see my face, and I bow slightly in greeting as Kris informs them that I’m his body guard. I see Chanyeol’s face light up in delight, and I’m filled with nerves. Chanyeol obviously realises he can do what he wants seeing as he’s Kris’s friend and I’m just someone working for him.

“I’ll keep out of your way,” I say, before turning to get the hell out of there. I only take one step before Chanyeol calls out “no, stay. This is like a high school reunion. Isn’t it great Tao?”

I turn back, taking in the scary expressions on his face. I turn my gaze to Kris, hoping to get some help, but he’s currently absorbed in his task of untangling the wires inside the cupboard to the side so they can get the controls for the play station working.

I glance back, sensing their smugness, and let out a breath in resignation, before nodding. I head into the kitchen to grab a coke, unwilling to get drunk and let my guard down in their presence, before heading back in to take a seat as far away from Chanyeol as possible.

Time goes by, and I watch them all getting progressively more and more drunk as I slowly work my way through my food. Occasionally I’m challenged to a game on the play station, but after seeing Chanyeol get angry at Lay because he beat him, I start letting them win, not wanting to do anything to make them angry.

It’s about midnight when Xiumin eventually passes out on the sofa. The others are pretty far gone too, so I place a pillow behind his head, propping him up and ensuring he can breathe.

I hear a growl behind me and turn in time to see Chanyeol’s fist just before it collides with my jaw. I stagger backwards, before regaining my balance and moving behind the sofa, out of reach.

“Keep your hands off him,” Chanyeol snarls, his voice slightly slurred. “You’ve already infected two of my friends, Xiumin isn’t gay, so don’t try to change him.”

My jaw drops as I listen to his drunken ramblings. It seems he blames me for turning Jongin and Sehun gay.

“That’s stupid Chanyeol, I didn’t do anything. You can’t turn people gay, you either are or you’re not and it just sometimes takes a while to realise it.”

“Shut up!” he yells, causing everyone in the room to jump in surprise. He rushes round the sofa, charging at me. I move back, trying to get away from him without having to fight back and hurt him, but there’s only so far back I can go before my back collides with the wall.

I raise my hands, blocking his attacks, but he’s stronger with his anger and it still hurts as he slams his fists into me. I move to my right, trying to get into some space, but he follows me, punching me hard in the stomach. I glare up at him, before raising my hands, preparing to fight back properly as anger starts building inside me.

He raises his fist to land another blow, but a hand wraps around his wrist, pulling him back.

“Stop it Chanyeol,” Kris says, voice hard, “Leave Tao alone.”

My eyes widen in surprise, but I take the opportunity to move back, creating some much desired space between Chanyeol and me.

“Why do you care?” Chanyeol demands, “don’t tell me he’s turned you too?”

Kris rolls his eyes, “it’s not Tao’s fault that Jongin and Sehun are the way they are, being like that is not a disease or anything, it’s just who you are.”

My eyes widen impossibly as I listen, since when does he stand up for gay people? He’s homophobic isn’t he?

Chanyeol snarls angrily and wrenches his arm out of Kris’s grip. He shoots me a glare, and I cringe back, before he turns and heads towards the others. He grabs Lay’s arm and they stagger towards the elevator. Kris grabs a phone and calls them a taxi as he walks into the lift. We stare at each other silently as the doors close.

Whilst he’s gone, I walk over to Xiumin to check he’s still ok. He seems to just be sleeping, so I go to grab him a blanket and then get a bottle of water from the kitchen. I put the bottle down on the coffee table next to him before covering him with the blanket.

He looks so innocent as I watch him snuggle down into it. I let out a small sigh, feeling sorry for him to be involved with people like this. He’d caused me no trouble during my time at university and I’d like to think he's changed since high school; it's been over six years since that time where I was bullied. People can change as they get older and they see life with a different perspective.

I turn when I hear Kris re-entering the room. He glances down at Xiumin, then at me, his eyes softening.

“I’m sorry,” he says, surprising me. I nod, choosing to remain silent. He sighs, running a hand through his hair before heading slightly unsteadily into the kitchen to get some water. I watch him go and decide not to hold this against him since he seems pretty drunk and yet he still stood up for me.

I grab a bag and start collecting the rubbish and cans that litter the floor and tables. It’s crazy how much mess they’ve made, and I head back into the kitchen with a full rubbish bag.

I place it down in the corner and turn to Kris. He surprises me by holding out his hand with an ice pack in his palm. “Put this on your jaw,” he says as I take it, “I don’t want a bruise forming on your beautiful face.”

My eyes widen in shock, but I guess it’s the alcohol talking not him.

“Get some sleep Kris; your head is going to feel terrible tomorrow.”

 I tug him towards his room, taking him inside and pushing him towards his bathroom to wash up before saying good night and heading through the side door into my room and then on to my bathroom.

Ten minutes later I’m under the covers, feeling tired and just wanting to forget that any of this happened.

I see Chanyeol bearing down on me, before slamming his fists repeatedly into me. I try to move but I’m frozen, unable to do anything to defend myself. I can feel tears streaking down my cheeks as the pain intensifies, and I start feeling claustrophobic in the darkness.

“Tao!” I hear. It’s faint, as though from a great distance away. I cry out as Chanyeol lands his fist on my face, and yell in pain when he does it again. I hear my name called again, and then feel someone shaking me.

My eyes snap open suddenly and I jerk awake in my bed. I’m dripping in sweat and I blink rapidly, trying to see through the tears in my eyes. I can see Kris above me, leaning over me hands on my shoulders, obviously having woken me up. I'm more vulnerable in this sleepy condition, and the image is so similar to the one from that fateful day that forced me to return to China, when the last thing I’d seen was him leaning over me preparing to hit me again, that I cry out in fear and struggle to get away from him.

“Don’t hurt me,” I gasp out.

He holds me down, stopping me from hurting myself in my panic, and says “Tao, it’s ok, it’s ok. Stop fighting me.”

I stare up at him, feeling the fear draining out of me as I gaze at his face. He stares back at me, face strained and eyes filled with worry. I fight to control my breath, letting his presence calm me.

He releases my shoulders and gently wipes the tears from my cheeks, quite like how Baekhyun used to do for me, and then brushes the hair out of my eyes. He rests his hand on my cheek, gazing down at me with a gentle smile. I feel my heart rate pick up slightly at the caring expression on his face; I’d never seen him look this way before.

“It’s ok, I wont let anyone hurt you, go to sleep.” I feel myself drifting off again as he my hair soothingly. Just as I’m slipping into unconsciousness, I feel him trail his fingers over my face softly and hear him whisper “I’m so sorry.”

Kris’s POV

I watch him sleeping for a while. He looks so innocent and I can’t believe I’d ever wanted to hurt him. I'd been young, power drunk and cruel. This situation is so similar to that day when he’d saved me from being killed in the club. I’d been dreaming that we’d been there, he’d pulled the man off me and I’d watched as they’d fought. The knife had caught him across the chest and he’d cried out in agony. I’d wanted to help him, but I’d been frozen, unable to move as though paralysed. I’d watched as he’d been killed right in front of me. Tao had woken me just as the man had knelt over Tao’s bloody body and stared up at me with a grin as Tao’s blood ran down his face.

It was then that I’d realised that I felt something strange for Tao. I’m still working through these foreign emotions even today, but I know for sure that I don’t want to ever see him hurt because of me again.

People were asking me what Kris had dreamed about and when I wrote about Tao's nightmare then, I thought it would be a suitable place to mentiont Kris's dream. I hope this chapter didn't disappoint.

If anyone thinks this should be m rated for voilence or whatever, let me know, I didn't think so but you might think differently. :)

Leave a comment so I can find out what you thought :)
<3