"Good morning!" Areum cheered aloud as she walked towards the field of roses. She loved how she could have something to look forward to every day, for now on—the roses. No matter how many times she entered the backyard, it never fails to amaze her at how beautiful it looked— like she was entering the world of fairy tale. 

She walked around the backyard, arms placed behind her back as she tipped toe to have a better glimpse of the roses. Then, she went through the pots, still walking on the tip of her toes so that she wouldn't fall on the roses and ruin its beauty. 

All she wanted to do was check on the roses that were hidden in between the other prickly bush of red. She wanted to give them love by just looking at them— its kind of ridiculous, but you can't blame the amount of affection she has for them.

Seeing how it was starting to look dead— although it has only been a day since it arrived— she quickly yet with careful steps, got out of the narrow path and grabbed the hose before turning on the tap. With the mouth of the hose faced towards the roses, sprinkles of water showered them as she watered the roses thoughtfully.

As she raised her heels to walk in between the pots, she accidentally tripped over the hose, making her land on the pots and crush some of the roses. "Owwww.." she whined as the water continued running out of the hose, wetting her whole self and giving a second shower of the day.

Meanwhile, Jongin has abruptly woken up from his sleep when he heard the crashing and shattering noises from the first floor— including Areum's painful whimpering.

He groaned in frustration and when he heard the familiar voice of his girlfriend, he immediately sat up on his bed as his eyes widened. The first scenario that came into his mind was Areum being dragged into a black van by some evil kidnappers. "Areum?" he called from his room while he got up of bed. 

He pushed Areum's door open to check if there was anyone inside, and when he found that no one was there, he walked down the stairs with light steps while looking around cautiously  like an idiot. Little did he know that the villain was solely Areum. Still keeping a look out for the possible dangers, he went into the kitchen, grabbed a whisk on his left hand and a silver cooking pot with his left. Although there wasn't any use of protection or deterrence from the utensils, he just thought it would be fun and amusing to see a blackguard being attacked by an ordinary kitchenware.

"Areum.. Where are you?" Jongin asked as he followed the noises. He scanned everywhere—not forgetting to raise his weapons—that he tripped on his own foot from being too anxious. 

The closer he got to the balcony, the louder the cries became. So he continued walking towards it, leading him to the chaotic backyard— making him confused as he found it empty and the cries he heard from before, had turned into silence. "Areum?" he asked once again when he saw a feminine leg sticking out from the left corner of where the roses were placed. 

He jogged towards her with his weapons held tightly by his sides but dropped it as soon as he saw Areum sitting between the pots of roses. He found it hilarious that she was blending in with roses— that he could barely recognize her presence. 

Areum tilted her head upwards and squinted her eyes as the sunlight shone above Jongin's head. "I really want to laugh right now but i can't because my whole body hurts." she laughed bitterly and lifelessly. Falling on grass would be less painful because at that moment, she felt like her skin had been scratched repeatedly by a wild stray cat. 

Jongin bit his lips to hold back his laughter but when he saw how vulnerable yet adorable she looked, he lost it and burst into laughter— the kind that would last probably for a few hours. "Aren't you going to help me?" Areum asked sadly as she tried sitting herself upright— which was almost impossible because the area was too narrow. 

He placed his hands on his stomach as he continued laughing hysterically—crying at the same time. "You are such a wonderful help Jongin." she told him sarcastically. Then, she smirked mischievously to herself and grabbed the unattended hose that rested on her legs. She lifted it up and aimed it towards Jongin. He didn't even have a chance to react that it made him soaked within a matter of seconds. 

"YAH YAH YAH!" he shouted as he ran away from the water. This time, Areum was laughing so hardly that the scratching pain became disregarded by her. But when the pain started to kick in again, she released the hose from her grasp and began weeping again. 

Jongin combed his wet fringe to the back and since he had finally stopped laughing, he quickly turned off the tap before really helping her out this time. "What happened here?" he asked as he pulled her up by her arm. 

Fortunately, her legs weren't affected by any of the sharp surfaces and it was completely fine— allowing her to stand on her own. But her arms were red and had a few tiny cuts here and there— causing her to wince at the stinging pain.

She patted them lightly and blew them, hoping to reduce the pain. Jongin grabbed her right arm gently and patted her wounds with the hem of his shirt, absorbing the blood with his clothes. Areum looked towards the mess she accidentally created and pouted to herself. Seeing this, Jongin asked her again with a small smile on his face, "What were you doing Areum?" 

She sighed, "I was just giving some love to these babies.. Turns out, i only created a disaster." She explained with full agony. "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. I KILLED SEVEN ROSES!" she removed her hands from Jongin's touch to cover her face in discomposure and regret. 

"Heol.." she sighed dejectedly.

"You're so dramatic, you know that? Gosh, i can get you all the roses you want in the world and i'll make sure you won't run out of them." he had her in a headlock and messed up her hair, before pecking her on the head. 

She bit her lips and thought about it as she stared at Jongin who looked so gorgeous in his soaked clothes. He cupped her face and leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "I'm sorry, you're irresistible." he smirked and grazed her lips.

He bend towards her left ear and whispered, "By the way, you look really hot right now." He pulled back and his lips just to . She took a look at herself. Her shirt was drenched that it stuck to her body, making her curves more prominent and her inner wear more visible. She was already blushing like a doll when she saw the way he looked at her. 

He sent her a wink and walked away from her, leaving her bewildered and flustered. "Wh-where are you going?" she asked while fixing her hair.

"I'm going to take a shower. Why? You wanna join me?" he twisted his body back to her and walked backwards while wriggling his eyebrows playfully at her.

"You wish!!" she said.

"I do Areum, i do." he winked again and let out an evil villain-like laugh, making her frozen in her place. 

As soon as he was out of her sight, she sighed to herself knowing that she would have a short break from his cheesiness. Then, she started picking up the broken pieces of the pot and placed it aside. The roses that were affected, were either broken into half or squashed flat like a pancake— breaking a little part of her heart as well. 

When she was done with the cleaning, she watered the remaining roses and headed back to her room. "Another shower i guess.." she pouted and went into the bathroom. 

It only took her 15 minutes since she decided to repeat her whole bathing routine again. She didn't like feeling dirty. She wrapped herself in a towel, squeezed out the excess water from her hair, and stepped out of the bathroom. She let out a satisfying hum from the floral scent of her soap and picked out a simple black cropped top and a comfortable sweatpants— she had a ton of them in her closet.

She removed the towel wore her undergarments, followed by her sweatpants. But before she was able slipped on her top, Jongin had decided to barge into her room without any warning. Areum's eyes turned big like an owls'.

"." Jongin cursed. their eyes met for a split second before he immediately turned around. "I'm so sorry. Oh my god, sorry!" he closed his eyes tightly as he faced the door. And of course, Areum took the chance to quickly put on her top.

Areum bit her lips and patted her red cheeks. "I'm done!" she said but it came out like a shriek when she tried to hide her embarrassment. 

Jongin managed to control his self but he didn't really do a great job in cooling down his bulge. He had a brief look of her y . And he found it so attractive that it caused his hormones to go wild. Without facing Areum, he opened the door and said, "I-I'll make breakfast." And hastily walked out the door.

"Behave brother. I know, i know." he muttered to himself and hit his bulge, wishing for it to calm down. But the image of Areum's body continued to flash into his mind, making him frustrated at how he had no power to control his raging hormones.

Meanwhile in her room, Areum was panicking like an idiot. She walked back and forth, before plopping down to the bed. She covered her face in shame and muttered to herself. "He could have knocked. He could have freaking knocked! Oh my god, this so embarrassing. I should have changed in the bathroom, what is wrong with me? Oh god.."  

The rest of the morning was definitely awkward. No one really dared to speak. Jongin was afraid that he might slip out any inappropriate words that would make her uncomfortable while Areum was just simply, shy. They ate in silence for a while but when Areum noticed a drop of sauce on the corner of his lips, her fingers naturally made its way to clean it off for him. Jongin smiled bashfully, making her giggle. He mentally thanked her for breaking the silence because it would just make it harder for him to forget about the image of her being only in her bra and bottoms. 

The couple didn't do much for the rest of the day since Areum was desperate in catching up with school. Among her classmates, she was one out of five who were far behind on her two most hated subjects— biology and physics. But even when she hated it, she wanted to do well. Who doesn't? She wanted to make her parents proud, even if they were no longer there to witness her success.

While she studied, Jongin left her by herself so that she was able to concentrate better. Unlike his girlfriend, he really wasn't interested in studying. He knew how important it was for his future but he just won't bother. He knew he couldn't depend on his parents wealth but, he was just that lazy. 'Maybe next time', he tells himself repeatedly. 

***

Areum grabbed her necessary books for the period, with Jongin by her side almost everywhere she went. She felt really grateful towards him but at the same time, it made her feel like she was always depending on him— like she was a a burdensome girlfriend. 

Jongin certainly didn't mind being her bodyguard because he just wanted to keep her free from danger— in other words, safe. How ironic it is when school is supposed to be a place where safety is surely guaranteed. But if clinging onto her means that he'll get to be with her at all times, he surely has no issue with that.

While grabbing her books, Jongin wrapped his arms around her waist from behind— giving her a back hug. Then he pecked her cheeks over and over again, making her let out a small laugh. "What are you doing?" she turned to him with her books in her arms. 

"Showing people that you're mine." he smirked. Her cheeks reddened at his frankness and to hide her already flushed face, she walked away from him— leaving him chuckling at the back as he followed her from behind.

"Yahhh, wait for me~" he told her while taking slow steps, with his hands buried into his pocket— strolling cooly like his typical bad boy act when everyone else was briskly walking to class. 

Areum turned behind to face him while she walked backwards. "Gosh, you're really getting old Jongin. Hurry up gramps!" she teased, making him roll his eyes playfully.

As she turned back, she bumped into someone—someone she really didn't want to face. "Oh i'm so-" she took a step back before finishing her apology. She felt her heart racing— in a bad way— and she felt her body trembling when she met the latter's eyes. 

"Daehyun.." she whispered.