Chapter Three

Night Watches

 

      Youngjae blinked with an empty expression as his attentive gaze, scanning over his notes, his back leaned against the bathroom stall as his books scattered around the tiles. His eyes naturally lingered on the highlighted sections of the text that were visible over the pages all around him.

 

      His hands worked with science notes while he mumbled calculus formulas to himself. His eyes just barely open with the small but clear bags, shadowing his sunken in face that riddled with exhaustion. At the tiniest sign of a breeze made his form stagger as he attempted to catch his balance with fidgeting apprehensive that had began to take over his body.

 

      He wasn’t exactly certain how long he had studied. Hours passed on and felt timeless as his head was too crowded with formulas, definitions, procedures, dates- too much to worry about pointless commodities like sleep and time.

 

      His neck was in aching pain when he glanced up to look at the math notes he had written on the bathroom wall. He grimaced as he pulled out a bag of pills, glancing over them before taking out a tiny yellow sphere. He wasted no time in popping it into his mouth, his hand quickly reaching for his water bottle, effortlessly taking off the cap with a single hand.

 

      It wasn’t too difficult to ignore the sound of the door slamming open unnecessary force as the pill ran down his throat. He quickly lifted up his pencil, attempting to get back to work when something suddenly kicked his hand out from his hold at balancing himself straight, causing him to instantly bang his head against the back wall with unnecessary force.

 

      Youngjae let out a small groan, having no time to curse at whatever had caused his attention to drift as the bathroom stall instantly banged open. The dim lights instantly illuminated the face of the newest pain in the of his security staff as Jung Daehyun had lately made it his personal mission to treat him like he was a disobedient child, unable to properly make his own decisions.

 

      “Well, this is an interesting place to spend so much time in…” Daehyun stated, glancing at the window, which was slightly open with a gust of wind escaping through the opening.

 

      “Go away.” Youngjae ordered quickly, his mind not wasting a single moment studying as they refused to meet the other’s own gaze.

 

      “I’d expected you to climb out of the window.” Daehyun stated, glancing at the open window that he may or may not have unlocked.

 

      “No time.” Youngjae replied, and didn’t bother meeting Daehyun’s raised eyebrows, although he could see its reflection through the freshly polished tiles. He made a snarl of annoyance, but other than that Youngjae’s face was almost as blank as Daehyun’s.

 

      “You are a real busy body, you know that right?” Daehyun’s question sounded rhetorical and rather nonchalant, so Youngjae’s reply nonexistent. “Annoying too. I don’t see the point in all your studying.”

 

      Youngjae didn’t answer, so Daehyun continued.

 

      “It’s not like you have parents to force you into it.” Daehyun stated simply, genuinely surprised at Youngjae’s lack of response, as he wanted a bit of a rise from the stoic and more emotionless boy. Daehyun didn’t really get much pleasure from anything else. “It must being an orphan.”

 

      Youngjae didn’t look up from his books, and Daehyun sighed as he said no more. His hands were restless and bored, still not used to being inactive with nothing to do. The entire bodyguard duty was far more tiring than he had originally thought, and quite missed his usual duty of knocking pedestrians off the road or pushing politics off buildings. He was good at that.

 

      “If you’re bored, then leave.” Youngjae commented, slightly offhand as his gaze was only on his notes.

 

      “Who said I was bored?” Was Daehyun’s immediate reply. “As it so happens, I am having the time of my life.”

 

      Youngjae’s eyes slightly flickered upwards before he scowled and went back to ignoring the other’s presence.

 

      Daehyun frowned and sat down adjacent to the boy, finding the immaculacy of the bathroom not the worst place he had found himself sitting. His black pants were loose and comfortable enough to lift his leg in a comfortable position with his arm resting on his knee while his other hand mindlessly played Angry Birds on his phone. The sound echoed and Daehyun had no remorse for disturbing the other’s studying hour in between classes, much to Youngjae’s distress as never had a sound penetrated his ears so loudly.

 

      Youngjae’s eyes snapped up in a glare, finding his ‘bodyguard’ paying him no heed. He snarled, trying to go back too much-needed studying that seemed to continuously escape his grasp no matter how hard he tried to hold it. His lip pulled into a tiny snarl as he quickly tried to get back to the business that seemed to continuously escape him.

 

      But Daehyun’s nonchalance to the entire distraction was far more annoying that Youngjae had first realized, as he quickly found his eyes continuously drawn to the other like a magnet that wouldn’t stop forcing his attention away from stacks on stacks of paper. It felt like he was in a palace of some sort, surrounded by his own work and Daehyun was the annoying moat monster that to protected him, but all it ended being was a nuisance that he had to feed and ruin all attempts at socializing. It wasn’t like Youngjae had any desire to interact with others, but he didn’t much care for no longer having the option that he wanted.

 

      He almost jumped when Daehyun’s met his gaze head on without so much as a pause to process their connected gaze. Youngjae almost felt like turning back to his work, never one to care for petty blinking games, but didn’t have a chance as Daehyun proved impossible to keep silent.

 

      “Do you want to draw me?” He asked simply, and Youngjae’s brows scrunched together in confusion.

 

      “Draw?”

 

      “Like one of your French girls.”

 

      “Wha-”

 

      “I’m sure my face is imprinted in your mind at this moment. Considering how long you’ve been panting over it.” Daehyun continued, his voice completely nonchalant.

 

      Youngjae let out a rather disdainful snort as he continued writing notes on his study guide, definitions crowding up the not so blank margins. Daehyun made no show or desire to continue the narcissistic comment, and the stall went silent before the sound of shuffling papers filled the small, occupied space.

 

      Daehyun made no move to stand up until Youngjae was already out the door, bag over shoulder and looking rather dorky in his giant glasses and his lazy baggy pants. Daehyun blinked as he absent-mindedly followed along with the no fashion-sensed loser, all the while wondering just how he ended up in a situation so troublesome. He let out a low sigh as he picked himself up off the ground and headed over towards the direction the loser had just exited, only to find that the boy was nowhere in sight.

 

      Daehyun let out a low and annoyed exhale as he rubbed his eyebrows in a swift motion whist trying to hold back the urge to just go home and take a very long shower and forget that someone named Yoo Youngjae ever existed. It wasn’t like the stupid kid would actually tell on him, as a bodyguard who left him alone seemed a pretty good option to the boy who continuously ditched him at every turn.

 

      Following him was counterproductive, as the boy seemed to never go home, the primary place of Daehyun’s entire mission.

 

      Now he found himself forced to follow around some kid with a bad attitude and stupid glasses.

 

      “ it. I’m going home,” Daehyun mumbled, turning to walk out the store with only the thought of a comfortable shower in mind.

 

⚉—•♚•—⚇

 

      He was fairly certain that God was somewhere in heaven smiting him.

 

      The moment he got into his apartment, he found it ransacked, everything scatter to the ground and waiting to now be cleaned. His eyes gazed out at the mess with a rather placid expression before he immediately walked right out, allowing time for future Daehyun to worry about the possible robbery in the mitts. Walking back to his car, he reminisced of a time when he wasn’t so absolutely rich and the idea of having his house broken into meant more to him.

 

      He glanced at his cellphone, finding a missed call from Seoyeon. He stared at it for an entire thirty seconds before building up the desire to hit the call back button. He blinked, monotonously as he listened to the phone ring in response.

 

      He could practically feel his own boredom wanting to slip past all his defenses and barriers. The moment he heard the ringing stop and Seoyeon’s lyrical “Hello,” he placed a smile on his lips, his gaze placed to the elevator as he quickly pressed the enter button. The doors swiftly parted and he walked inside.

 

      “You called,” Daehyun stated and Seoyeon quickly spoke.

 

      “Is Youngjae okay?” She asked, getting right to the point.

 

      The little brat ditched him. Daehyun wanted to say, but thought better of it. “He’s  fine.” Daehyun said instead, to which he was greeted with silence.

 

      “He already ditched you…didn’t he?” She said, her voice sounding unsurprised.

 

      “Nah. I know where he is.” Daehyun effortlessly lied.

 

      “Aiish.” Seoyeon sounded exhausted, which he couldn’t judge. Having known Youngjae little over two days, he was exhausted as well. “One day…he’s gonna get in deep and he’s gonna be begging for his sister’s help.”

 

      “I’m sure.” Daehyun replied, doubting the thought entirely.

 

      “Find him quickly. Handcuff him to your arm if you have to, just make sure he’s safe.” Seoyeon ordered.

 

      Daehyun shudder at the thought of having that little pipsqueak literally stuck to him all day. “Yeah.” He replied simply.

 

      The call ended there, and Daehyun let out an exasperated sigh as he walked along the empty halls as he brought out his tablet and typed in a few details about the boy he had long since lost. His IP blocked, he quickly typed in the boy’s details, swiftly scanning through the track history of his credit card purchases. It looked like the boy had a difficult time staying away from Chi-tea and croissants in his time of study hour.

 

      Daehyun scoffed, exiting the condo complex as he blinked his tired eyes at the bright sun, just barely covered by clouds. The sunny day was just beginning to disappear as the daylight was fleeting in the horizon. He sighed once more as he brought out his phone, typing in the address of the café where Youngjae had bought the food at just barely two minutes prior.

 

      He wasted no time to walk over to his car, hands effortlessly on the wheel as his foot pressed quickly on the gas.

 

      The scenery blurred by as he began to wonder just how his life turned out so incredibly dull. Why he even agreed to watch some stubborn kid from Gangnam was beyond him and he was certain he’d sooner kill the kid than protect to him.

 

      Yongguk was certainly doing this on purpose.

 

      His car came to an abrupt halt, and he swiftly exited the vehicle, finding Youngjae typing away at a café table, in the corner of the room and surrounded in books. His chi-tea was almost empty and his croissant untouched. Daehyun scowled when they made eye contact, and frowned when Youngjae swiftly packed up his books with a rather impressive speed as he exited the back exit of the café, ignoring the stares.

 

      Daehyun groaned, and found himself tempted to just shoot the boy in the leg or pepper spray him to his knees. He took a deep breath and dashed down the street, knowing the way rather well as he entered the back alley. His feet splashed in puddles that he suspected to be piss or oil, but he continued on, ignoring the filthy stench.

 

      Coming to an abrupt halt, he quickly pulled out his gun and pointed it straight ahead just as Youngjae turned an inconvenient corner and found himself face first towards the barrel of the gun. His eyes widened in surprised as Daehyun cocked the gun back.

 

      “What the hell?” Youngjae snapped, slapping the gun away. Daehyun shrugged, his lips just barely formulating a smirk while he placed his gun back in the inside pocket of his jacket.

 

      “It got you to stop.” Daehyun replied.

 

      “Why do you have a gun?”

 

      Daehyun ignored that as he glanced towards the corner Youngjae had just came from. “We should go. Alleyways aren’t safe.”

 

      “Please,” was Youngjae’s rather stubborn retort. “I know what I’m doing.”

 

      “I don’t care,” Daehyun replied lucidly, hands curling around the back of Youngjae’s shirt and dragging him quickly out of the darkening alley as the sun began to fall past the horizon.

 

      “Yah! Let me go. I can walk on my own.” Youngjae snapped, his narrowed eyes matching his unamused scowl. Daehyun scoffed, his fingers only tightening. “My sister will hear about this.”

 

      “You do that. Go ahead.” Daehyun replied, his voice nonchalant calling Youngjae’s bluff. “Let’s see who your sister yells at, me or you.”

 

      “You’re a .”

 

      “Ohh, ouch.” Daehyun replied simply as he continued to drag the reluctant Youngjae to his car.

 

      “You can let go now. I won’t run.” Youngjae replied and Daehyun’s eyes moved to the corner, but didn’t loosen his grip. Youngjae sighed, and awkwardly moved his bag as he swiftly tried to regain lost dignity in the other’s grasp.

 

      “Get in,” Daehyun ordered, opening the door to his car. Youngjae wasn’t quite to certain why the other even bothered to ask as he swiftly threw his form inside anyway.

 

      Youngjae frowned as the door was slammed shut and the child locks were quickly applied, making him feel like a prisoner or a toddler. He frowned, feeling irritation creep in him in waves of defeat as he watched Daehyun opening the driver’s door and sitting in with a swift motion. Youngjae scowled at him as the man put the car in drive and sped off, without a single look towards the scowling boy.

 

      “You’re persistent.” Youngjae commented after a minute of bitter silence.

 

      Daehyun blinked, as if he had forgotten Youngjae’s existence entirely, a fact that caused the irritation to boil out and create a tension throughout the car. Youngjae was tempted to just start throwing things at his annoying driver, but thought better of it as he easily controlled his raising temper.

 

      “You’re troublesome,” Daehyun replied swiftly, all expression of surprise instantly disappearing from his face.

 

      “Then leave me alone.”

 

      “Nah.”

 

      “Nah?”

 

      “Don’t wanna.”

 

      “I am never in danger. Seoyeon is just worrying for nothing.” Youngjae retorted, to which Daehyun was immediately unaffected as he abruptly turned the wheel to a quick right, almost causing his head to fall into the driver’s arm.

 

      “Don’t care.” Daehyun replied simply, eyes never parting from the road. “Make some money instead of sponging off your sister, and then maybe you can pay me to leave you alone. Until then.”

 

      Daehyun stopped talking as he made quick left turn, causing Youngjae’s head to slam against the window.

 

      “The hell!” Youngjae gasped out, directing his harsh stare at the complacent driver

 

      “You’re annoying.” Daehyun said with what resembled close to an eye roll.

 

      “I’m annoying? Me? That’s rich spoken by practically my stalker.” Youngjae snapped, growing more annoyed with Daehyun only shrugged. The boy made a motion to speak further on just how irritating he found the man, but was interrupted when Daehyun’s hand instantly attacked his phone, grabbing it from Youngjae’s loose grasp. “What are you doing?’

 

      “My number,” was Daehyun’s monotone response as he typed in the digits.

 

      “How did you get past the passcode?” Youngjae lamely retorted as Daehyun tossed the phone back at him.

 

      “Please.” Daehyun stated simply, taking another left turn to which Youngjae just barely caught himself from slamming his head against the window.

 

      “You’re a real .”

 

      Daehyun shrugged.

 

⚉—•♚•—⚇

 

      “Thank God! I was so worried,” said Seoyeon, throwing her arms around her brother’s neck as soon as the two men opened the door. Youngjae’s face immediately leveled into a scowl as he attempted to pry his sister’s hands off of him, his eyes narrowing at the innocent looking bodyguard who had successfully managed to drag him into the pits of hell.

 

      “It’s not like I was in any danger,” Youngjae muttered when his sister separated from him.

 

      “How would you know? Do you take your out of a book long enough to see the world around you?” Seoyeon snapped in return.

      

      Daehyun almost rolled his eyes at the childish banter between the annoying siblings as he glanced towards the door, paving the way to his exit. It was closed and teasing.

 

      He was so done with rich es and their endless supply of money.

 

      “Thank you for finding my brother.” Seoyeon turned her small frame toward him, immediately bowing as a sign of respect.

 

      “He’s the one who lost me in the first place,” Youngjae mutter in return, scowling at the ground. Almost immediately, Seoyeon slapped the boy upside his head.

 

      “Regardless, many bodyguards don’t last even this long. My brother is troublesome, but he really is a good boy,” Seoyeon said, bowing once more.

 

      Youngjae’s scowl deepened, but he made no motion of back talk as he accepted the humiliation with grace.

 

      “Did you even perform a background check on this guy?” Youngjae muttered, causing Daehyun’s eyebrow to slightly rise. “He could be a child molester or a .”

 

      Seoyeon slapped her brother’s head once more.

 

      “Anyway, thanks again.” Seoyeon repeated her bow, using her hand to curl up Youngjae’s neck and tangle in his hair, forcing the boy to give sloppy bow as well.

 

      “Thanks.” Youngjae muttered, using the full force of his bitterness.

 

      Daehyun blinked a few times, not really feeling like his actions really deserved a thank you since he was getting paid. No one had ever thanked him for anything before, so it was strange watching the look of unmasked gratitude from the woman.

 

      Youngjae didn’t say another word and almost immediately left, his shoulder slamming against Daehyun’s, causing the older man to glance at the boy’s retreating frame.

 

      “Aish. Rude jerk.” Seoyeon muttered and Daehyun’s gaze snapped back to her.

 

      “If that is all, I will take my leave,” Daehyun said, turning to walk to the door, but her voice immediately stopped him.

 

      “Actually, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you, if that won’t be too much trouble,” Seoyeon stated, all previous tone of playful was suddenly lost from her voice.

 

      “Is that so?” Daehyun said, eyes flickering to the door before he suppressed an annoyed sigh.

 

      “Follow me.” She ordered, and he sighed, but obeyed her wish as they walked through the rather giant house before they turned into a pitch black room to which immediately lit up with light the moment they stepped inside.

 

      “Is this gonna take long?” Daehyun couldn’t help but ask, and Seoyeon smirked as she pulled out a folder from her locked desk, opened with her fingerprint (something that Daehyun immediately noted).

 

      “No. Just a detail that I didn’t discuss before.” Seoyeon said simply, walking closer to him, holding the tan folder out to him. Daehyun glanced at it before taking it, eyes barely in slits as he open the folder, his gaze parting with nothingness.

 

      The first thing he saw was a photograph, looking like it was taken behind the safety of a car as the side view mirrors were clearly shown in the photo. The camera as focused mainly on two men, just barely visible under the shadows of the building. The scene looked like a transaction, as the men were trading off a black box, which was mostly covered by an arm.

 

      “The photo’s nice, but I don’t exactly see your point.” Daehyun said simply and Seoyeon slightly smiled.

 

      “These are the men who are set out to destroy my family.” Seoyeon replied.

 

      “Ahh. That’s a shame.”

 

      Seoyeon smiled, but for the most part emotion didn’t reach her eyes. “I want my brother to be safe. I need him to be safe. Watch over him carefully. Don’t lose sight of him again…but these men… they won’t hesitate to kill you along with him. This job is dangerous…”

 

      “I get that.”

 

      “You could become a target… your family.”

 

      “That won’t be a problem.” Daehyun said, nonchalantly.

 

      “Yes. I have full faith in you, Jung Daehyun.” Seoyeon said, a glimmer in her eye.

 

      Daehyun gave a quick bow and left the room. His eyes lingered on the photo one more time before he exited. He glanced back at the house once more, the shadow of a person was seen through the window, and the only lit up room in the house. Just as Daehyun noticed it, the light shut off and the shadow was gone.

 

Author's Note

Wow. It's been a while.

Fanime is this weekend, grad nite is next week, graduation is the week after.

Yay.

I told Siri to call me Supreme Ruler, but that ain't listening to me. No matter what I saw she's all like "Your name is Ul'Yana, but you told me to call you Supreme Ruler" like a .

I am so mad right now.