CHAPTER ONE - - 

- - Safe

"Please excuse the mess..."

I sighed as I flicked on the apartment's light, instantly grimacing at the mess. Sulli, being her usual self, had left packing to the last moment and had gone on a packing spree. Unfortunately, that meant raiding the entire apartment for her belongings which were scattered everywhere. I was meant to clean it up later today, after the orphanage's picnic, but well, life had decided otherwise.

The male behind me chuckled as his scanned the shoes, clothes and cosmetics lying haphazardly across the wooden floor. I followed his eyes but they soon widened.

Underwear.

On the floor.

I squeaked as I rushed forward and dived to hide the undergarment from his sight, especially since it was mine. A blush coated my cheeks as I scrunched it into a ball in my hand and hid it behind myself. It was only then did I notice the ache in my knees from impacting the floor and I wanted to hit myself on the head. Did I always have to be such a strange child in front of others? This was probably the reason I didn't have very many friends.

"I promise I didn't see anything," the male stated with an amused smirk. I wasn't sure whether to blush harder, or to smile. Thus, I settled on an awkward smile as I rose to my feet and stuffed my underwear into my jacket pocket. The male remained at the doorway, the smirk still coating his lips.

I took a moment to finally study him in the light. He was handsome. Very, very handsome and I was lucky that there was already a blush on my cheeks. His hair was natural, jet black and cropped short with a slight fringe. I was glad for this as his hair didn't hide his eyes. They were big and bright, however, they hid secrets and I found myself curious. He had defined features, yet everything was perfectly proportioned. My eyes then trailed lower-

Gash.

Bleeding wound.

My eyes widened as I remembered the purpose of me bringing him here.

Within seconds I rushed to his side and clasped his wrist before dragging him into the living room. He didn't resist, but I'm sure it was out of confusion more than anything.

"You just sit here ok?" I said as I pushed him onto the worn couch, "I'll go get my first aid kit!" And with that, I scrambled to the bathroom, jumping and side-stepping over various obstacles, aka clothes and shoes, as I did so.

Luckily my first aid kit was stocked and ready to be used so I was soon at the male's side again. I carefully positioned myself next to him on the couch, so that I was only a few centimetres away from his shoulder. I sat on my legs so that I could tend to the wound better.

But, before I began, I found a problem.

His shirt.

Even though his shirt had been cut too, it didn't have enough of an opening for me to work with. I bit my bottom lip as once again, my cheeks were tinted with red. Really? I barely even knew the man and I got myself into these awkward situations?

Honestly Krystal-

"Is everything ok?"

I shook my head as I woke from my thoughts, only to be greeted by soulful brown eyes watching me. My own eyes widened at the gaze and I swallowed deeply at his eye's intensity.

"Ummm..." I stammered, "I'm going to need you to take your shirt... off."

The man raised his eyebrows at my sentence before he grinned. Really, did he have to be so confident?

"You'll have to help me get it over my left shoulder though," he replied as he began fiddling with the hem. I nodded as my breathing became shallower.

I'd never helped a man take off his shirt before and while this had no ual connotation, my heart began to beat anxiously.

The man began to pull his shirt up and my breath hitched as his stomach became visible. While he was 'ripped', I could see the outline of a six pack on his abdomen. Then up it went and more of his slightly sun-kissed skin was revealed. Sure, I'd seen a man's bare upper body on TV before and in high school, but never had been this close to something so perfect before. This really hadn't been a good idea at all.

The man managed to get the shirt bunched up to his neck before he looked to me for help. I gulped once as I reached out to hold the material for him as he wiggled his right arm out of the plain white cloth. Once it was freed, without touching him, I directed his head out and then slowly peeled it off of his left side. I could see him wince in pain once as the material draped over the wound and I bit my bottom lip. I didn't like seeing him in pain, much less being the reason the pain was caused.

Luckily now with his shirt off I could see the wound better and it managed to distract me from his body.

I frowned.

"Were you cut by a knife?" I asked as I inspected the skin. It was ripped apart really and it'd cut quite deep. Who on earth would do this to someone?

"Eh, how'd you know?" he asked as his brows lifted.

"I told you, medical aid training," I replied as I began to dig in my kit for some antiseptic, "Also, my sister is an intern, so she teaches me these things."

Yes, my older sister Jessica.

She'd never grown up with me as she'd been from my father's previous marriage. But recently, ever since she'd moved to Seoul to work in a hospital here, we'd seen more of each other.

"Well, yes, I was cut with a knife. I didn't expect him to have one and he was aiming for my neck."

My eyes widened at this as I poured some antiseptic onto a chunk of cotton. Immediately, the pungent smell of 'clean' filled my nostrils and blinked it away. I'd forgotten how potent this stuff was.

"This is going to sting," I warned him as I approached.

He nodded and grimaced, "I can smell."

Somehow, his slight wisecrack managed to make me crack a smile.

However, the moment was short-lived as the cotton touched the edge of the wound. The man's eyes closed in pain as a strained look creased his features. I once again bit my lip as I focused on cleaning the edge of the wound as quickly and efficiently as possible so that he'd be in the least amount of pain possible. Fortunately his t-shirt had soaked up most of the blood and now, the wound was only leaking a few streams.

I exhaled deeply as I finished cleaning the wound and put the dirtied cotton down.

"See, not so bad," I said while reaching for a healing cream of some sort. "You're going to need stitches though. I'll take you to my sister for that tomorrow ok?" I asked as I thickly applied to cream to his wound, being careful not to press too hard.

"Is she as gentle as you?" he asked charmingly and I rolled my eyes.

"Nope, she's like a construction worker," I teased as I found a plaster that would cover the wound.

The man's face paled, "Well... are you sure I need stitches then?"

I nodded as I stuck the plaster down, "No, I promise she's good."

And then, I relaxed.

The wound hadn't seeped through the plaster yet, which was a good thing. It wasn't the best care ever, but it would hold until tomorrow and it wasn't likely to get infected. I felt proud of myself.

"Choi Minho by the way."

I tilted my head, "Eh?" I hadn't been paying attention.

The man chuckled, "My name," he paused, "Is Choi Minho."

"Oh," I spoke, my lips in a perfect 'O', "Jung Soojung, but everyone calls me Krystal" I said with an inclination of my head.

Choi Minho.

It was a nice name.

It suited him.

"I like crystals... they're very beautiful."

I found myself wanting to blush at this. Really, this man was a charmer.

A half charmer.

My blush rose as I was reminded of his ness. I instantly averted my eyes.

"Umm... I'll go see if I can umm..." I paused, "Find something for you to wear since your shirt is you know... and well..."

Somehow, Minho understood, "Thank you."

I bolted up as I retreated to my bedroom.

Once there, I exhaled deeply and slid down one of the walls. I needed to somehow collect myself.

It had been a crazy past hour really.

I'd found an injured man in an alleyway and then I'd taken home to patch him up. Yes, that was the core of it.

I really was naive.

I knew nothing about this man, Minho. He could be a criminal running from the police. He could be a serial ... or murderer and I'd taken him to my home, alone. Really, did I have no logic? I ran a hand through my brown locks.

But somehow...

He just didn't feel dangerous.

Weren't women supposed to have a sixth sense of sorts?

Maybe mine was broken.

Because, in all honesty, it told me that Minho was nothing but safe.

I sighed as I stood up.

I needed to get back to Minho.

I found a shirt in my cupboard that seemed like it would fit him. It was a sports shirt and they'd run out of my size when buying it, so I'd been forced to get a larger size.

Slowly, I made my way back to the living room.

Only to find Minho passed out on my couch.

I halted at the sight of him - head pressed against the couch, eyes shut, face unwrinkled and lips slightly parted. He looked perfect even while he slept. What madness was this?

In this state, I didn't even find myself blushing at the sight of his exposed torso.

Instead, warmth embraced my heart as I went back to my room to fetch a spare blanket.

I tip-toed my way towards him before gently placing the blanket on top of him, smiling tenderly as I did so.

The adrenaline of getting cut had probably worn off and I felt pride in knowing that he deemed me safe enough to pass out in my living room.

I shook my head as I then crept back to my room, my heart light knowing that he'd be there when I woke up. 

- - - - 

Hello =D Firstly, a big thank you to everyone who commented and subscribed :3 Honestly and truly, thank you <3 I wasn't expecting this much of a response to the preview ^^ I know this chapter isn't long, but I have a hectic week and I wanted to post something xD I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but I hope you enjoyed this one and I'll try to update asap!