Siwon thinks he needs a babysitter.

 

Well, not exactly a babysitter. A bodyguard really, but a babysitter nonetheless because Siwon still thinks that he’s a child who needs to be watched at all times. He’s twenty-six.

 

“I’d sleep more comfortably at night knowing that you’re safe and out of trouble,” Siwon had said when Henry first refused. “You’re like a son to me.” Siwon is only three years older than him. Henry thinks that he’s taking being his manager too seriously.

 

But Siwon, being his manager since the very beginning of his career, knows exactly what to say to get him to agree with what he wants. It’s a dangerous side of him but he rarely use it on Henry unless he really wants something. So there he was at 8 AM, sipping coffee at his office, waiting to be introduced to this new bodyguard who Siwon only sang praises for.

 

“I think you’re really going to like him, Henry.” Siwon smiles reassuringly and Henry nods noncommittally. He doesn’t really care, he just wants to get this over with and catch some sleep before he has to go to a photoshoot. Siwon smiles again in that weird fatherly manner that he does before patting his knee and calling for the bodyguard.

 

Henry doesn’t really know what to expect. He’s never had a bodyguard before. He has always prided himself of disciplining and controlling his fans in a way that they won’t cause a lot of trouble but lately, ever since he did that movie in Korea, his fans have been steadily growing and they’re getting harder to control. But still, he thinks that he could manage.

 

There’s a knock on the door and Siwon calls for him to come in. Henry almost raises an eyebrow when he sees the guy. He’s very...masculine, to say the least. His cheekbones are very defined as well as his jaw and he could tell that he’s hiding a lot of muscles under the white shirt and leather jacket that he’s wearing. His stance is authoritative, his aura intimidating. Henry wonders if Siwon knows that the new bodyguard could pass off as his clone.

 

“Henry, this is Aarif Lee,” Henry could hear Siwon’s grin before he sees it as he stands up to shake his new bodyguard’s hand. “And Aarif, you already know who Henry is, right?”

 

To Henry’s surprise, Aarif smiles at him and it’s not the forced business smile like the one Siwon wears when he meets up with people who try to take advantage of Henry and his fame (common occurrence in his line of work), but an actual smile, easy, casual and almost comforting. He expected bodyguards to be more stoic and closed off and distant. Well, at least that’s how his other friends’ bodyguards are. His hand is big and rough as he shakes it and he might have imagined it but he feels a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

 

“Well,” Siwon starts. “Aarif will accompany you for your schedules today and he’ll fly with us to Korea for your drama filming.”

 

 

When he gets to the set, he’s already fresh and well-rested and Zhou Mi attacks him from the back with a hug and a loud ‘Henli!’ which startles Aarif, almost attacking his tall friend.

 

“It’s okay, Aarif, he’s a friend.” Henry says, patting Zhou Mi on the arm to let him go.

 

Zhou Mi grins and raises an eyebrow at Aarif, then back at Henry. “You finally agreed to get a bodyguard?”

 

“Siwon has his ways.” Henry sighs and glances at Aarif who settles in a corner of the dressing room, face blank and piercing eyes surveying everyone in the room. He’s starting to think that the smile he gave him earlier was just a figment of his imagination.

 

“Well, it doesn’t hurt to have one.” Zhou Mi says with a shrug. “You know how much he cares for you.”

 

Henry sighs again. Of course he knows. Siwon never fails to tell him that, never fails to see it in his eyes. And Henry’s so grateful, too grateful sometimes that it makes him guilty.

 

“I know.” He says, giving another glance at Aarif. He’s already looking at him, the piercing stare gone as soon as their eyes meet and he smiles. It’s not the same smile that he saw in Siwon’s office, it was a bit reserved and seems like he was pulling back but somehow, it’s still comforting so he smiles back, hoping it doesn’t look awkward before turning his attention back to Zhou Mi and let himself be fussed on by the hair stylist.

 

Maybe having a bodyguard is not that bad.

 

He’s leaving to Korea on Wednesday and wouldn’t come back to Taiwan for at least three months so Zhou Mi thought it would be a great idea to throw a sending away party for him and get him drunk on Tuesday night.

 

“How did you plan this anyways? You’re busier than I am.” Henry turns to Zhou Mi as Aarif drives them to some club that Zhou Mi rented for the night.

 

“Yi Fan helped.” Zhou Mi grins.

 

“That bastard is back and doesn’t even have the nerve to call me?” Henry says in mock anger, a grin playing on his lips as he takes out his phone to send Yi Fan a quick text. He was gone for almost a year, filming a Hollywood movie and having the time of his life and even though he annoys him sometimes, Henry really misses his bad jokes and lame puns.

 

When they arrive at the club, he almost didn’t recognize Yi Fan because of his buzz cut and Henry hides his snickers in his sleeve, Zhou Mi nudging him to behave but he’s also suppressing his laughter. Yi Fan knows, though, so he jabs them both on the stomach after giving them a hug.

 

“I throw a party for you and this is how you treat me?” Yi Fan says, prodding Henry on the shoulder with a finger. “I am hurt, Henry.”

 

Henry only rolls his eyes, slinging his arms around both Zhou Mi and Yi Fan’s shoulders. “Shut up and let’s go get drinks.”

 

He offers drinks to Aarif but he refused, stating that he’s still on duty and it wouldn’t be very responsible to have alcohol in his system and Henry feels dumb because of course he’s not allowed to drink on duty but he doesn’t really know what to do with him. He’s just standing there.

 

“Would you relax?” Yi Fan says with a chuckle, tugging Henry back to his seat. “He’s just doing his job.”

 

“It’s just so awkward.” Henry’s not exactly comfortable with having someone watch his every move which is weird considering that he’s an actor slash everything but that’s a different story.

 

“You’ll get use to it.” Zhou Mi smiles, handing him another drink.

 

Henry really hopes he does.

 

Henry wakes up just in time for his flight, sporting a huge hangover. He groans as he gets ready and regrets that he put Zhou Mi and Yi Fan responsible for his alcohol intake last night. He drags his suitcases out of his apartment with a splitting headache, struggling to get into the elevator until he feels his suitcases being peeled off his hands and he looks up, startled.

 

“Good morning.” Aarif greets with a smile and Henry’s not awake enough to register it quickly. Aarif gently pushes a cup of coffee into his hand as well as a pill.

 

“To help with the hangover.” He smiles again and Henry kind of wants to make a tally.

 

“Thanks.” Henry murmurs before downing the pill with coffee.

 

There’s already a car waiting downstairs and he climbs in immediately, leaning back to calm his pounding head. He feels Aarif climb in a few moments later, sitting close enough that he can feel his presence beside him but far enough to give him breathing space. Henry cracks an eye open as the car begins to move, peeking at the guy he’s supposed to entrust his life with.

 

He’s looking out the window with the same blank expression that he wears when he’s busy observing everything around him and Henry still can’t find it in himself to get use to the idea that he’ll be following him around wherever he goes. Not when he knows absolutely nothing about him.

 

“This is uncomfortable.” Henry states before he could even stop himself.

 

“Pardon, sir?”

 

Henry keeps his eyes closed to avoid looking at him. “Henry’s fine. Sir makes me sound old. And it’s uncomfortable because I don’t know what you’re thinking. You look so...intense most of the time.”

 

“Isn’t it part of my job? To look intense so I can scare the bad guys away?”

 

Henry could hear a teasing smile when he answered and it’s what he sees when he opens his eyes and Henry really wants to make a tally.

 

“Well yeah, but it feels uncomfortable to entrust my life to you if I don’t know you at all.” Henry winces at ‘entrusting my life to you’ because he only realized how cheesy that is.

 

Aarif chuckles lowly and Henry’s stomach started stirring. “Maybe next time, when you don’t have a flight to catch.”

 

Henry plans for that next time to be on the plane. He can convince Aarif to tell him stuff about himself. He could just flutter his eyelashes or pout or smile innocently at him until he gives in. That’s how he can get Siwon to do stuff for him, at least. But that never happened. Instead, the minute they got on the plane, Siwon called Aarif for a meeting and Henry fell asleep waiting for him to come back. When he wakes up, they’re already in Korea and Aarif is already leading him out of the plane.

 

He smiles and waves at the fans waiting for him, signing a few things and accepting gifts even though he could feel Siwon’s disapproving stare at the back of his head. Aarif is just a few steps behind him, expression blank and watchful eyes hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.

 

He signs a few more autographs before saying goodbye and getting into the car, smiling cheekily at Siwon who just shakes his head. Siwon doesn’t really like it when he gets too close to the fans because of his paranoid logic that he’d get mobbed or something.

 

“Are you sure, you’d be alright at Amber’s?” Siwon asks from the passenger’s seat. “You don’t want me to get you an apartment?”

 

Henry rolls his eyes. “I’ll be fine. Amber said everything’s already settled. Stop worrying.”

 

“Well I can’t help but. You and Amber together is a disaster waiting to happen.” Siwon sighs before turning to Aarif who’s sitting beside Henry. “Make sure you’ll keep Henry out of trouble. Amber, too.”

 

“Of course.” Aarif answers, a small smile playing on his lips.

 

“We are not going to cause trouble.” Henry pouts.

 

“Last time you and Amber were together, you turned off your phone so you can go to Jeju with her.”

 

“It’s a free trip to Jeju! Why the hell would I say no?”

 

Siwon sighs again. “Just promise me you won’t sneak off the set again and please don’t turn off your phone.”

 

“Fine, fine.” Henry crosses his arms on his chest, wearing a pout that he knows will make Siwon feel guilty. From the corner of his eye, he sees Aarif staring at him with an amused smile. Henry really keeps tally this time.

 

Amber is a close friend of his. They met about four years ago in a photoshoot and immediately hit it off. She’s a model in Korea and started gaining popularity in China after people found out that she has Chinese blood running through her veins. Amber found it amusing so she took a few photoshoots and got paired up with him in one. And the rest, you could say, is history.

 

They pull up at Amber’s apartment and is greeted by Amber herself, pulling Henry into a hug before greeting Siwon with a cheeky grin which she learned from Henry, of course.

 

“Hi, Siwon oppa!” She waves and Siwon greets back with a smile.

 

“Behave, okay? The two of you.” Siwon says sternly.

 

Still grinning, she slings an arm around Henry’s shoulder. “Of course oppa!”

 

Siwon squints at the two of them, nodding firmly at Aarif before driving off. Henry sighs in relief, glad to finally have him off his back. He loves Siwon, really. He’s just too much sometimes.

 

“Is he still mad about the Jeju thing?” Amber asks with a chuckle, grabbing one of his suitcases.

 

“I think so.” Henry answers. “But to be fair, I did sneak off the set.”

 

“There’d be none of that this time.” Aarif pipes up from behind them, taking the rest of Henry’s suitcases, giving Henry a pointed look, a warning that he’ll be watching him.

 

“Oh, this is your bodyguard?” Amber asks with an amused smile.

 

Henry sighs. He knows that look. “Amber, this is Aarif. Aarif, Amber.”

 

Amber shakes Aarif’s hand, the amused smile turning into a smirk. “You’re more good-looking than Henry says you are.”

 

“Um, thanks?”

 

Henry groans. He knew he shouldn’t have told Amber that.

 

That night, Henry sits in the kitchen with a glass of milk and a plate of cookies, Aarif’s resume on his hand since he’s impatient and curious and desperate to know anything about him. Impressive is one way to put it. He went to a fancy university in London and is trained in at least three martial arts that he doesn’t even bother pronouncing. He’d done jobs for a couple of celebrities too and a few politicians and Henry knows they’re still alive so he figures, he’s in good hands.

 

“You’re still awake?”

 

Henry jolts up from his seat, almost knocking over the milk and cookies. He looks up and sees Aarif in his pajamas looking so casual and laidback, so much different from the leather clad, man in black when he’s on duty. Henry quickly hides the resume between the pages of his script, feigning innocence.

 

“Just reading the script for tomorrow.” Henry answers with a shrug. He’s an actor, he could get out of this without breaking a sweat (except his hands are getting clammy now).

 

“Ah, so my resume is also part of your script?” Aarif smiles teasingly at him again, standing beside him to take his resume out.

 

Henry splutters, trying to form a decent excuse but failing, years of acting training and workshops thrown out the window.

 

Aarif laughs. “It’s okay. You’re my employer anyways.”

 

“Well, technically, Siwon is your employer.”

 

“Right.” Aarif says with a chuckle. “Go get some sleep, you have to be on set early tomorrow.”

 

Aarif reaches out and ruffles Henry’s hair and the latter grumbles, swatting his hand away. Aarif laughs again before retreating to his room, once again reminding Henry to go to sleep.

 

And Henry did. But not before grabbing his phone and checking if Aarif has social media accounts.

 

He doesn’t.

 

 

Henry has to film only three scenes on his first day and he remembers enough Korean to carry conversations without using too much hand gestures. Thankfully, Siwon is there to help when the Korean gets too rapid and to hopefully, keep him sane for the next three months.

 

He runs his lines while they do his hair and makeup, occasionally glancing up at Aarif through the mirror. He considers talking to him because he’s still not used having someone just stand there and watch him all day but before he can, Siwon comes into the dressing room and pulls Aarif out. He’s called to set a few minutes later and doesn’t see both of them until he’s finished with his scene, which was a good hour and a half and he only forgot his lines once.

 

“Where have you guys been?” Henry asks, looking up from his script.

 

“Meeting.” Siwon simply says and Henry doesn’t push anymore because he’s really not that interested in the business part of his job.

 

“Oh, okay.”

 

“Anyways, I have more errands to run and I’m leaving you with Aarif.” Siwon grabs his bag, clapping Aarif on the back. “I’ll be back soon.”

Henry rolls his eyes. “Yes, Dad.”

Siwon ignores the jab and smiles at him, ruffling his hair. For all he knows, Siwon might have liked being called Dad. Siwon tells him to behave even though he hasn’t done anything troublesome since they stepped in Korean soil before leaving to another meeting, he assumes.

 

He still has two hours to kill before he shoots his next scene and he sighs, throwing his script aside to plop down the couch, watching Aarif settle into his little corner of the room, his bodyguard face on.

 

“You can take a seat, you know.” Henry says with a roll of his eyes.

 

“I’m on duty, sir.”

 

“I told you that it’s ok to call me Henry.”

 

“I’m on duty, Henry.”

 

Henry huffs at that. “C’mon, Siwon’s not even here. And you promised me that we’ll talk when ‘I don’t have a plane to catch.’” He does some air quotes for emphasis.

 

“I didn’t promise. I said maybe.”

 

Henry scoffs. “Fine, then, I guess I’ll just have to call Amber and ask her to sneak me out of here so we can do something fun.”

 

He sees Aarif’s eye twitch, trying to keep his composure and he grins. He's got him. Henry watches as Aarif inhales through his nose, closing his eyes before sighing. His bodyguard face cracks, a scowl replacing his previous blank expression.

 

“Ugh, do you have to be a brat about this?” Aarif scrubs his face with his hands, making his way to the couch where Henry sits up, making room for him to sit, a cheeky grin plastered on his face.

 

“Siwon didn’t warn you about that?” Henry teases, still grinning.

 

“I wouldn’t have accepted the job if he did.” Aarif sits down next to Henry with a groan but a teasing smile is starting to crawl up his lips. “Celebrities are hard to handle.”

 

“I’ve been told that I’m very charming.” Henry smiles at him, the kind that perfectly shows his dimples and lets him get away with everything.

 

Aarif rolls his eyes. “You mean manipulative.”

 

Henry shrugs. “Same difference.”

 

Aarif’s laugh is kind of ridiculous and something that Henry didn’t expect from someone like him but he doesn’t mind. He likes this Aarif more than Stoneface Bodyguard.

 

“So what do you wanna know?”

 

Henry grins.

 

Siwon takes them back to Amber’s place at around 10 PM and Henry is tired but content, now that he knows more about his bodyguard and that Aarif seems more relaxed and less intense even when he’s around other people. With Henry’s curiosity satisfied, he doesn’t have to feel awkward having him around anymore. He really feels like he could trust him and having someone to trust in his line of work is something very important to him. Because no matter what he does, people will try to take advantage of him and use him for their benefit and he can’t let that happen. Not again.

 

They find Amber on the couch, watching some Korean show on TV and helping herself with a slice of pizza and a soda.

 

“I thought you’re on a diet?” Henry asks with a chuckle, throwing his bag on the couch and plopping down next to Amber.

 

“Cheat day.” Amber says with a shrug, taking a huge bite of her pizza. “Want some?”

 

“Sure, why not?” Henry reaches for a slice. “Aarif, want some pizza?”

 

The older looks up from his phone and shakes his head, smiling politely. “I have to make calls, you go ahead.”

 

Aarif excuses himself to his room and Amber makes sure that he’s out of earshot before turning to Henry with a smirk.

 

“How are you and Asian Adonis?” Amber teases, nudging his stomach with an elbow. Henry snorts at the nickname. “Is he the Frank Farmer to your Rachel Marron?”

 

“Shut up, it’s not like that.” Henry says, stealing a sip from her soda. “I just want to be friends.”

 

“That’s always the first step.” Amber grins.

 

Henry rolls his eyes, dusting pizza crumbs off his hands, shifting around so he can face her properly. “Anyways, speaking of dating, how’s that guy you met last month?”

 

“Ugh,” she starts with a grunt. “Nothing happened. We went to a couple of dates and both of them are boring as hell. I have more chemistry with your pet bird than with him.”

 

“That bad?”

 

“It’s a lot worse.” Amber groans, leaning forward and letting her head fall on Henry’s shoulder. He chuckles and pats her on the back.

 

“It would have been easier if I just date you but I don’t have a .” Amber mumbles.

 

Henry laughs, resting his head on top of hers. “I’m sorry I prefer es.”

 

Amber laughs with him, arms going around his middle and Henry squeezes her shoulder, kissing her hair.

 

“If you and Burly McFries don’t end up together, can I have him?”

 

“You’re crazy.”

 

The first week passes by quickly. Henry’s co-stars are nice and they take time to teach him Korean which he’s extremely grateful for. Aarif and him exchange small talks every now and then - about the weather, Siwon’s growing moustache, the more than obvious crush of the hairstylist on Aarif, and Henry’s pet bird. Henry really thinks that they’re becoming good friends but he still refuses when him and Amber invite him to their almost nightly late night cartoon binge watching.

 

“Do you not like me?” Henry blurts out in the van on the way to set and Aarif looks at him, startled and hyper aware of Siwon’s raised eyebrow from the rear-view mirror.

 

“W-what?”

 

Henry winces a bit. Maybe he should have picked a better place and time to confront him about this. Maybe when Siwon’s not there acting like he’s not listening but is painfully obvious that he is.

 

“Do you not like me? Or Amber?”

 

Aarif blinks at him, obviously caught off guard with the sudden question but answers it anyways. “I have no problems with you and Ms. Amber.”

 

“Then why do you always reject us when we ask you to hang out?” Henry pushes. “I thought we’re friends.” He pouts for a good measure, waiting for him to crack.

 

Aarif sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose like he can’t believe that he’s having this conversation with his boss and with his higher boss watching.

 

“I just thought you and Ms. Amber want to be alone and catch up. I don’t want to intrude.”

 

“You’re not intruding if we invite you.” Henry sighs. “Tonight, when we go to Amber’s friend’s party, can you please not just stand in the corner? Have fun with us.”

 

Henry ignores the warning look that Siwon gave him at the mere mention of a party.

 

“Deal?” He holds out his hand for Aarif to shake and the older stares at it before sighing.

 

“Fine.”

 

Henry flashes his signature cheeky grin as Aarif shakes his hand.

 

They take a cab to some club that Amber’s friend owns. Aarif says that it’s safer to take a car but Amber refuses, saying that she likes the normality of taking cabs especially now that she’s not as normal as she wants to be. And Henry understands because he takes pleasure at the times where he can just enjoy himself outside without being recognized.

 

They arrive a few minutes later and Henry sends a quick text to Siwon and his various versions of don’t get too drunk and don’t get caught by reporters. Sometimes, Henry wishes that Siwon could just marry his longtime girlfriend, Liu Wen, and start a family so he’d stop babying him so much.

 

“Eric!” Amber calls once she spots one of her friends from across the room, dragging Henry and Aarif along with her. He already met a few of them when he last visited, like Eric, Amy and Jackson but there are a lot more unfamiliar faces in the table.

 

After the introductions (Aarif as a friend and not Henry’s bodyguard), the drinks start coming in and at least half of the table rushes to the dance floor, drinks in hand and erupting in cheers as they start to dance the night away. Amber flies off somewhere to find her owner friend. Henry settles on his seat, grabbing his own drink and watches them with a sigh. He’s always up to meeting new people but he always has this bad habit of scrutinizing them and doubting their intentions. He knows it’s bad and he should trust these people because Amber trusts them and he trusts Amber.

 

“You’re doing it again.” Aarif pipes beside him, taking a sip of his water and raising an eyebrow at him.

 

“Doing what?” Henry feigns innocence. Why does he have to be so goddamn observant? That’s part of his job, doofus.

 

“I thought scrutinizing people was my job?” Aarif chuckles, finally relaxing on his seat when the rest of the people in the table leave to dance. “What, do you have trust issues or something?”

 

Henry stops midway into drinking. Aarif had said it lightly but it hits his gut hard. “Yeah, a boyfriend who uses your fame to get ahead in life and dumps you once you take a dip tends to do that to you.”

 

He watches as Aarif’s face fall as he realizes what he meant and immediately looks guilty. Henry wanted to laugh and he would have if he wasn’t still so affected by the memory.

 

“,” Aarif curses under his breath. “Henry, I’m sorry.”

 

Henry shrugs. “It’s okay. I’m just really careful not to let it happen again.”

 

“Hey,” Aarif shifts closer to him, hand falling on his thigh followed by a pat. “I’m here and I won’t let that happen.”

 

Henry can’t help but snort at that one. “I’ve been doing a pretty good job of it myself,” he says, looking at Aarif and realizing that his hand is still in his thigh. “But thanks.”

 

“Is that why Siwon is so protective of you?”

 

“That and mostly because he’s just paranoid.”

 

Aarif laughs and there’s a gentle squeeze on Henry’s thigh before the hand leaves and Henry almost wishes it would just stay there.

 

“Do I have an alcohol limit today?”

 

Aarif’s smile was a bit sad but understanding. “I was given specific instructions not to let you drink the night away.”

 

“I’ll take what I can get.” Henry mumbles as he downs the rest of his drink in one go before grabbing another one.

 

It was a good thing that Henry had the next day off because he wakes up with a huge ing hangover. He groans as he drags himself to the kitchen, mumbling a good morning to Aarif who’s eating breakfast, before taking a seat and burying his face in his arms.

 

“Where’s Amber?” He asks, muffled, even though he feels like his head is going to split.

 

“She has a photoshoot today.”

 

Henry hears a clink and he looks up and sees a glass of water and a pill.

 

“I didn’t tell Siwon that you almost bathe in alcohol last night.” Aarif says, watching him take the pill and Henry gives him a thumbs up in the middle of gulping down his water.

 

“Thanks. I owe you one.”

 

Aarif just pats his head and pushes a plate of breakfast in front of him. “Since it’s your day off, do you want to do something?”

 

“Sleep, watch TV, write songs.” Henry munches on his toast and Aarif gets up from his seat to get more coffee.

 

“You’re the most boring celebrity I’ve ever worked for.” Aarif teases, placing a cup of coffee in front of him.

 

“I make your job easier, you should thank me.” Henry teases back. “And my head literally feels like it’s going to explode so I have to pass.”

 

“You should really go back to sleep.”

 

Henry almost jerks when Aarif starts running his hand through his hair in hopes of soothing his headache. He blinks up at him because he has never touched him other than the occasional pats on his head or his shoulder. Not that his touch is unwelcomed because his hand is warm and soothing and he really believes it could magically take his headache away.

 

“Has anybody ever told you that you look like a puppy?”

 

“Only everyone I know.”

 

And Aarif laughs in that ridiculously high pitched laugh that he finds amusing before the hand leaves his hair and he’s being pushed gently into his bedroom. Henry obliges and he falls asleep, wishing that Aarif’s hand is still in his hair.

 

When Henry wakes up, it’s already past lunch and his headache is better. He reaches for his phone and sees a message from Zhou Mi, asking him how’s Korea so far. His stomach growls and he realizes that he had only eaten one toast for breakfast and completely missed lunch so he texts Zhou Mi that he’ll video call him later before getting out of his bed and into the kitchen.

 

“Oh good, you’re awake.” Aarif greets him with a smile from the couch, the TV and he’s flipping through the channels. “I left food for you in the fridge. You can heat it up.”

Henry raises an eyebrow and opens the fridge, finding a saran wrapped plate of food. “You cook? Should I be worried?”

Aarif turns to look at him, scowling. “I’m a world-class cook.”

Henry chuckles and puts the plate in the microwave and waits for it to finish. Aarif settles for watching Die Hard and he laughs because of course he would watch an action movie. Like his life isn’t enough of an action movie already, what with being a bodyguard and all (except now because Henry’s a boring person). The microwave beeps and he takes the plate out before seating next to Aarif, taking a bite out of the grilled chicken.

“Not bad.” He says with a smirk and Aarif rolls his eyes at him.

“Just eat.”

 

Henry had to force himself a little bit as he watches Bruce Willis go into a killing spree, covered in blood and managing to escape multiple explosions. It’s not really an appetizing sight but he’s starving and he needs to eat. He catches the way Aarif mouths along with Bruce Willis and he’s going to bet he had seen this more than a hundred times and most probably the reason he wanted to be a bodyguard.

 

“I’m gonna guess this movie’s the reason you’re in this bodyguard business?”

 

“Partly.” Aarif chuckles. “But my dad’s in the same business and this was the closest thing to being a superhero.”

 

Henry laughs at that. “Have you gotten in any cool fights?”

 

“There were a lot when I was working for a politician. A lot of people didn’t like him.”

 

“Sounds scary.” Henry comments. “Did you get hurt?”

 

“I’m really good at my job.”

 

“You’re very modest, too.” Henry laughs. “But don’t you have someone who’ll cry or mourn for you if you get hurt?”

 

“Not anymore.”

 

Henry sees the way Aarif clenches his jaw as he said it and he knows that he shouldn’t pry but he’s naturally curious person and couldn’t stop his mouth from opening and saying, “Bad break up?”

 

Aarif is quiet for a moment and Henry is about to tell him it’s okay if he doesn’t answer it but the older cut him off with an answer he wasn’t expecting. “She died.”

 

Henry really hates how curious he is sometimes.

 

“She got mugged on her way home,” Aarif continues and Henry feels so goddamn guilty for opening his mouth. “She put up a fight and got shot.”

 

“I’m sorry,” Henry whimpers. “I’m so sorry.”

 

“It’s okay.” He says, patting him on the head, still wearing that sad smile. “I guess we’ve both had not so pleasant relationship experiences, huh.” He chuckles darkly.

 

Henry doesn’t say anything. He just wishes he could do anything to make Aarif stop looking like his world has fallen on his feet.

 

Henry has a lot of scenes to shoot the next day, including a carefully choreographed fight scene and him getting patched up by his love interest. He sneaks glances at Aarif through the mirror as the makeup artist make him look like he’s beaten up. He had apologized again in the car earlier that morning to which Aarif just chuckled and told him to stop apologizing. Henry thinks that he’s spending way too much time with Siwon that his paranoia is rubbing off on him.

 

“How do I look?” Henry asks Aarif once the makeup artist was done and has left the room. Aarif strides to where he’s seated in front of the mirror, and leans down, taking his chin in his hand and tilting his head from left to right, examining the “cuts” and “bruises.” Henry tries not to shiver at how tenderly he holds his face.

 

“Pretty bad.” Aarif chuckles, leaning back and letting go of his chin.

 

“Do you have an urge to patch me up?” Henry smiles cheekily up at him, dimples showing.

 

“You have a love interest for that.” Aarif says just as Henry is called to the set. The actor gets up and Aarif falls behind a few steps, stopping at a spot near where Henry is but far enough that he doesn’t cause any disturbance.

 

Henry smiles at his love interest, Krystal, who is a lot younger than him but thank God she speaks English, which makes working with her easier. She teaches him Korean whenever she can and he helps her with her Mandarin since her management is trying to break her out in China. Yi Fan was shameless enough to make him ask for her number the moment he found out they’re working together. Henry likes Krystal enough not to let her fall into the hands of Wu Yi Fan.

 

“You look horrible.” Krystal teases with a laugh.

 

“Thanks, love,” Henry patronizes, waving away her jab and sitting beside her on the bed. “Ready to fix me up?”

 

Krystal holds up the first aid kit prop and she gets her makeup fixed one last time before they start rolling.

 

“Hey, did Siwon tell you that I’ll be taking a few days off?” Aarif asks once they arrive at the dressing room.

 

“You’re leaving me?” Henry hadn’t meant for that to sound so pathetic.

 

“Just for a couple of days.” Aarif chuckles. “I have things to take care of in Taiwan. I told Siwon I’d find a replacement but he said he’d take care of it.”

 

“When do you leave?”

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

Henry is not a clingy person as far as he knows. He likes his space and only clings to people he’s really comfortable with so he absolutely does not understand why he wants to protest against Aarif’s few days off. It’s just three days, he’s not gonna leave forever. Then the thought of Aarif leaving him makes all the alarms in his head go off.

 

Goddamit, Siwon’s paranoia is really contagious.

 

“Dude, you are so totally into this guy.”

 

Henry lets out a sigh as he watches Amber fix his tie through the mirror. They’re going to a fancy party slash exhibit launch that Amber’s photographer friend is having so she hauls up his from the couch and tells him to put on something nice. He doesn’t really want to go and he already planned on going through Amber’s Netflix queue and judge her questionable tastes in romcoms but his best friend is the scariest woman on earth next to his mom so he doesn’t have a choice.

 

“I am not.” Henry answers, wincing as Amber pulls on his tie a bit harder than necessary.

 

“It’s not even 24 hours since he left and you’re already sulking.” Amber raises an eyebrow, giving one final tug on his tie. “Sure, you don’t like him, sure.”

 

“I don’t!” Henry exclaims with a frustrated sigh. “He works for me, Amber.”

 

“Like that stopped you before.” Amber snorts. “You slept with your Korean tutor.”

 

Henry almost chokes on his own spit. They vowed not to speak of that ever again. Especially since he’s still on awkward terms with Sunghoon. “That was one time! And we were both drunk so it doesn’t count.”

 

Amber rolls her eyes and waves him off, typing away on her phone. “The cab’s downstairs, let’s go. Let’s talk about your Rachel Marron complex some other time.”

 

“Hey!”

 

Amber watches his alcohol intake at the party because she said she’s not going to carry his drunk back to the apartment. Henry grumbles and looks over his shoulder before realizing that oh yeah, Aarif’s not there. He grumbles some more as Amber drags him to meet her friends that weren’t in the party before. Apparently, the girl is friends with everyone in Korea.

 

“Seriously, I don’t visit you for a few months and you gained friends the size of China.” Henry says, waving when he sees Eric, Amy and Jackson across the room.

 

Amber ignores him. “Ok, so if you don’t like Aarif, you wouldn’t mind me introducing you to someone, right?”

 

“Depends on who it is.”

 

“How do you feel about singers?” Amber waggles her eyebrows, grinning as she drags him yet again. The next thing he knows, he’s standing in front of a tall lanky guy with dark tousled hair. He’s staring disinterestedly at one of the exhibit pieces, swirling the drink in his hand absentmindedly. He looks like he doesn’t want to be there. Well, that makes the two of them.

 

Amber taps him on the shoulder. “Hey, rockstar.”

 

He turns around and grins, hugging Amber with a pat on her back. “Hey! Thank God you came, I was starting to get bored.”

 

“Be careful or Christian might hear that.” Amber laughs. “Oh, I want to introduce you to someone,” she tugs Henry to her, clapping him on the back. “Joonyoung, this is Henry, the guy I told you about.”

 

Henry squints at her. That makes him nervous a little bit.

 

Joonyoung stretches his hand out and Henry takes it, smiling back when Joonyoung did. Amber takes that time to wink at Henry, telling both of them that she’ll just go look for Christian before sprinting off to God knows where.

“So,” Joonyoung starts, still smiling. “More drinks?”

They got along really well which Henry didn’t expect but Joonyoung was nice and really funny so it wasn’t hard to like him. They ended up exchanging phone numbers before Joonyoung got dragged off by his manager but not before promising him that he’ll contact him soon. Henry just laughs and waves him off.

“So, what do you think about Joonyoung?” Amber asks in the cab on their way back to the apartment.

 

“He’s nice.” Henry shrugs, smiling. “Funny, too.”

 

“That’s it?”

 

“We only talked for a few minutes, Am. I can’t judge him entirely from that.”

 

“You didn’t feel sparks or anything?”

 

“Sparks?” Henry snorts. “What are you, fifteen?”

 

Amber punches his shoulder. “Shut up.”

 

He goes to set the next day with Siwon doubling as a manager and an entire security team and Henry’s absolutely sure that Siwon would probably take that job if he hadn’t hired Aarif and had more free time. He studies his script and half listens to Siwon telling him his schedule for the rest of the week. He is bored out of his mind. He already has his lines memorized by heart and he usually spends his breaks talking to Aarif but since the latter is not there, he tunes Siwon out and pretends to read his script.

 

“....so Aarif should be here by then.”

 

At the mention of his bodyguard’s name, Henry snaps out of his daze, looking up from his script. “What?”

 

Siwon raises an eyebrow. “Were you tuning me out again?”

 

Henry only smiles sheepishly at him. “Sorry. What was that about Aarif?”

 

“I couldn’t find a replacement for your fansign tomorrow so he’s flying back tonight.”

 

Henry couldn’t contain his excitement for the rest of the day and couldn’t stay still (Krystal had to hold him down at one point because he was starting to annoy her). He wants filming to be over soon so he could go back to the apartment and wait for Aarif. Wait, should he call and pick him up at the airport? But he could get recognized by fans and Siwon would kill him. He doesn’t even know Aarif’s flight schedule. God, he really should calm down.

 

As soon as he finished filming, he rushes to the van, leaving Siwon confused as he follows after him. Siwon climbs in the passenger’s seat, eyebrow already raised in question. Henry waves him off, making up some excuse about dinner with Amber and thankfully, Siwon bought it. He arrives at the apartment just as Amber trudges out of the kitchen, a bowl of mini tomatoes in hand.

 

“Aarif’s coming back tonight.” Henry says with a huge grin and Amber can practically see the excitement oozing out of him. “And I need to calm down.”

 

“Excited to see your boyfriend, aren’t you.” Amber smirks, shoving Henry to the couch.

 

“He’s not my boyfriend. I don’t even think he swings that way.”

 

“Well, you never know.” Amber shrugs. “You didn’t know Sunghoon was gay until you two had .”

 

Henry glares at her. “This is the last time we’ll ever talk about Sunghoon, okay?”

 

“Fine, whatever.” Amber rolls her eyes, stuffing a mini tomato in before throwing one at Henry’s face. The latter winces, rubbing his forehead where the tomato hit him.

 

“What was that for?!”

 

“Let’s do something fun!”

 

And that is how, a few minutes later, Henry ended up with eighteen mini tomatoes stuffed in his mouth while Amber laughs and takes pictures.

 

“What’s going on?”

 

Amber looks up from her phone, grin widening when she sees who it is. “Aarif! You’re back!”

 

Henry’s eyes go wide, almost choking with the amount of mini tomatoes in his mouth before grabbing the bowl and spitting them all out with the rest of the untouched mini tomatoes. Amber scrunches her nose in disgust, flicking his forehead.

 

“I was going to eat the rest of those. You ruined the whole bowl!” Amber whines, pushing the bowl away.

 

“What were you guys doing?” Aarif asks, patting Henry on the back as he approaches them, sitting on the armrest of the couch.

 

“Have you seen Henry with eighteen mini tomatoes in his mouth?” Amber waves her phone with a mischievous grin. Henry tries to snatch the phone but she shoves his face away, tossing it to Aarif who catches it just in time.

 

Aarif looks at the phone which is still showing Henry’s picture with his cheeks stretched out, almost bursting from the amount of mini tomatoes in his mouth and he bursts out laughing and now, Henry is horrified.

 

“Give it back.” Henry groans, trying to take the phone again but Aarif tosses it back to Amber, earning a whine from the actor.

 

“But you looked so cute.” Aarif coos with a laugh, pinching Henry’s cheeks which immediately heat up. Normally, he doesn’t blush at that kind of comment because just about everyone, in one way or another, calls him cute. In fact, he was trying to shed that image and yet, there he is, blushing.

 

Dammit, Henry, get yourself together.

 

The fansign is Aarif’s first event as Henry’s bodyguard and Siwon has been doing nothing but give him notes and reminders the whole time they were in the van to the venue. Henry tunes him out, checking his Twitter and Instagram until they arrive at the venue. He’s rushed out to the van and his fans welcome him with screams. He smiles and waves, jumping slightly when he feels Aarif’s hand on his back, gently directing him to where he’s supposed to start signing. He sits behind the long table, Siwon by his side as Aarif and the rest of the security team start guiding fans to the line.

 

He signs and tries to make a conversation with his fans using his limited Korean but thank God there were a lot of non-Korean fans, too, otherwise it’ll be awkward as hell. He catches Aarif’s eyes from across the room and the latter makes an exaggerated impressed face, pointing at the long line in front of him. Henry snorts and goes back to signing posters and receiving gifts.

 

The fansign eventually comes to an end and Henry chuckles at the fans’ protests. He says a few words of thanks with the help of his translator, making sure that his fans know how thankful he really is. He spends the remaining moments of the fansign going around, waving and smiling to everyone. Aarif is just a step behind him, making sure no one would get too close. After that, he’s rushed out of the venue and that’s when things started getting chaotic. There’s a crowd outside waiting for him, cheering and screaming his name and he smiles once again, waving to everyone. The crowd is too thick to pass through so the security team waves everyone off. Henry reminds them to be careful not to hurt anyone. When there’s finally a space to walk on, Aarif immediately wraps an arm protectively around his shoulder, pulling him close. For a second, everything becomes a blur, the screams muffling in his ears and the hands trying to grab him become distorted. All Henry could focus on is Aarif. They’re just about the same height but when he’s holding him like that, he feels small. And he doesn’t even mind.

 

Aarif ushers him to the van, the crowd of fans still trying to get close to him, and quickly tells him to go inside before climbing into the van as well, all the while still trying to fend off the crowd.

 

“Are you hurt?” Aarif asks as soon as he sat down beside him.

 

Henry shakes his head mutely. Is it inappropriate to ask if he could hold him again?

 

Siwon climbs into the van, sighing as he closes the car door, mumbling about crazy fangirls. “Good job, Aarif.”

 

Aarif nods in acknowledgement before leaning back on his seat, finally letting out a breath of relief.

 

“Thanks.” Henry says after a moment of silence and Aarif turns his head to look at him, smiling.

 

“Just doing my job.”

 

That breaks Henry’s heart a little bit.

 

Henry decides that he shouldn’t be so distraught about what Aarif said, after all, he’s just his bodyguard. And Henry doesn’t like him that way. Nope. Sure, he’s attractive - very attractive - and sure, he’s nice and funny and very considerate but that doesn’t mean that Henry likes him, right? And sure, sometimes he thinks of what it would be like to hold his hand (would Aarif like his calloused hand?) or hug him or just let Aarif pin him against the wall and kiss him like his life depended on it. But that doesn’t mean anything, right?

 

Goddammit, he hates it when Amber is right.

 

Joonyoung invites him to his show a few days later and Henry takes it as an excuse to be away from Aarif for a while. He really can’t read into everything Aarif does for him because he’s just doing his job. Siwon hired him to be Henry’s bodyguard, nothing else. Siwon wasn’t thrilled that he’s going to the show without Aarif but he insists that he’ll be fine and Amber butts in, reassuring Siwon that Joonyoung is a good guy (she doesn’t tell Siwon that she’s not going with Henry, though).

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” Aarif asks as he watches him fix his hair.

 

Henry chuckles. “You sound like Siwon.”

 

“Sorry.” Aarif says. “I’m just worried. I don’t know this Joonyoung guy.”

 

Henry turns to face him. “He’s Amber’s friend, it’s fine. He won’t hurt me or anything.”

 

“You trust him?”

 

“I’m getting there.” Henry shrugs.

 

Aarif sighs before nodding. “Just give me a call when things get uncomfortable.”

 

Henry just pats his shoulder and heads to Amber’s car which he borrowed for the night. He messages Joonyoung that he’s on his way before driving off. When he arrives at the venue, he lowers his cap and keeps his head low in case someone recognises him. He calls Joonyoung and tells him that he’s already there. A few moments later, someone taps him on the shoulder and Henry turns around, finding a small woman probably in her mid twenties, wearing an ID with ‘STAFF’ written on it.

 

“Are you Henry?” she says in a heavily accented English. Henry smiles and nodded. “Follow me.”

 

She leads him to a back door and into a room Henry assumes as Joonyoung’s dressing room. Joonyoung breaks into a huge grin once he sees him and the small woman excuses herself out of the room.

“You made it!” Joonyoung exclaims, still grinning, before giving him a hug. Henry awkwardly hugs back.

“Thanks for inviting me.” Henry says, feeling a little shy all of a sudden. They’re not exactly close and he’s more of Amber’s friend so being there without Amber is awkward.

 

“Any friend of Amber’s is a friend of mine.” Joonyoung says with a pat on Henry’s back. “I hope you enjoy the show!”

 

And Henry did.

 

Joonyoung’s voice was beautiful. He has the grit and rawness needed for a rock song, yet he could still skilfully sound gentle and sorrowful when it comes to his ballads. Henry was in complete awe. He’s more of an instrumentalist and is more interested in the production side of music but he thinks he’s not that bad of a singer but listening and watching Joonyoung makes him question his skills just for a little bit. After the show ends, he goes back to Joonyoung’s dressing room with a huge grin before congratulating him.

 

“You were absolutely wonderful!” Henry gushes and Joonyoung smiles shyly.

 

“Thanks.” Joonyoung says, wiping his forehead with the towel around his neck. “Do you want to have dinner?”

 

“Sure!” Henry exclaims almost immediately. He hasn’t eaten anything before coming and the hunger is slowly starting to get to him.

 

Joonyoung chuckles. “Okay, let me change into something dry first.”

 

They eat at a small but cozy restaurant. It’s where he usually ate when he was just starting as a singer and the owner treats him like a son, he explains as they sat down on one of the booths. Henry had something like that back in Taiwan, too, - Siwon’s house. Siwon and Liu Wen took care of him when he was only starting - when he was alone and lost and has absolutely no idea what he’s going to go through - making sure that he doesn’t starve and that he’s getting enough rest. That’s why Siwon is so protective of him.

 

“Amber has told me a lot about you.” Joonyoung starts, chuckling when he sees Henry’s horrified expression. “They’re all good things, don’t worry.”

 

Henry sighs in relief. “Good, otherwise she’s going to hear from me when I get home.”

 

Joonyoung laughs. “Amber told me you’re an excellent violinist.”

 

“I wouldn’t say excellent.” Henry scratches the back of his neck shyly.

 

“Stop being modest, I saw some of your videos.”

 

“Oh dear God.”

 

“Hey, you’re amazing. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” Joonyoung laughs. “I was thinking, maybe we could do something together. Like a collaborative track or something. What do you say?”

 

Henry squints at him a little, studying him. Joonyoung doesn’t seem like the type to take advantage of people. At least Henry hopes he’s not.

 

“My talents don’t come free.” Henry teases with a lopsided grin and Joonyoung laughs again.

 

He doesn’t know what time he went home but he knows that it’s late. Joonyoung and him spent the rest of the night talking about music and before he knows it, it was getting late and he needs to get home because he still has an early shoot the next day. Henry offers to drive him home but Joonyoung refuses, saying that he’ll just take a short walk and call his manager.

 

When he enters the apartment, the lights are already turned off but he sees Aarif on the couch, watching some documentary on Animal Planet while staring distractedly at his phone.

 

“You’re still up?” Henry asks and Aarif looks up from his phone, sighing in relief when he sees him.

 

“Hey,” Aarif starts. “I was waiting up for you. I was getting worried.”

 

Bodyguard duties, Henry thinks bitterly. “I’m fine. You didn’t have to wait up.”

 

Henry was going to run straight into his room but Aarif gently grabs him by the wrist. “Are you okay? You’re avoiding me these days.”

 

Of ing course. Stupid attractive Aarif and his stupid observant self. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just stressed.”

 

The older doesn’t seem to buy it but he nods anyways, letting go of his wrist and Henry takes this time to escape to his room, letting out a huge breath of relief. He needs to sort this thing out before it gets worse.

 

The next day on set is filming a kissing scene. Well, it’s more of a prolonged peck than a kiss, really. The scene is as cliche as it gets - an accidental kiss that’s caused by someone bumping into him, therefore, leaning forward and accidentally landing his lips on his love interest, Krystal. He’s not a stranger to kissing girls on screen, what with being one of the most sought off leading men in Taiwan. Oh, if they ony knew tat he play for the other team, they would freak.

 

“Are my lips kissable enough?” Krystal teases, puckering her lips.

 

Henry laughs. “Looks decent enough. Needs more chapstick, though.”

 

Krystal swats him on the shoulder and he laughs again. From the corner of his eye, he sees Aarif watching him carefully and he realises that it’s his first kissing scene with Aarif standing there, watching. He gulps. He’s nervous all of a sudden. Krystal must have noticed it because she grabs his hand.

 

“You okay?”

 

Henry blinks before shaking off his thoughts, smiling at her. “Yeah. I guess I’m just nervous to kiss a pretty girl like you.”

 

Krystal scrunches her nose, snorting. “God, you’re so greasy.”

 

The scene took at least five takes because Henry could see Aarif in his line of vision and it’s distracting him. He keeps getting his lines wrong and the kisses were too stiff. Clearing his mind, he takes a deep breath before trying the scene again, only focusing on Krystal and he was finally able to give a more natural delivery, stumbling into Krystal with a practiced ease, his lips crashing into hers. He makes a mistake of glancing at Aarif during the kiss and he immediately wonders what he would taste like. He blinks and tries to focus on Krystal again. He doesn’t need his fantasies about his bodyguard to ruin his career. The director finally yells cut and Henry sighs in relief.

 

“What happened to you?” Krystal asks once everyone’s out of earshot.

 

Henry shrugs. “Got distracted.”

 

Krystal raises an eyebrow and her head slightly to the side. “Because of your insanely hot bodyguard?”

 

Henry chokes. “What?!”

 

“What, you think I don’t notice you always making googly eyes at him?”

 

“I do not make googly eyes at him!”

 

“Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” Krystal winks at him, smirking before walking away.

 

The tension between him and Aarif didn’t get any better after that. In fact, it got a lot worse. If what Krystal said was true, that he does make googly eyes at Aarif, that means he’s beyond obvious. And now, he can’t even look him in the eyes, can’t even hold a proper conversation with him. Amber, it seems, has taken notice of what’s happening and pulls him aside one night to get to the bottom of things.

 

“What the hell is wrong with the two of you?” Amber hisses, closing his bedroom door behind her. “The tension is going to suffocate me to death.”

 

“It’s nothing.” Henry tries to wave her off but Amber is having none of it, raising an eyebrow that says Tell Me Everything or I’m Not Leaving This Damn Room. Henry sighs. “Okay, fine. Everything is wrong. You were right, I do like him and I constantly think of what it’s like to kiss him but Amber, he keeps me close because it’s his job; he watches me closely because it’s his job and I can’t stand knowing that everything he does for me, he does because it’s his goddamn job!”

 

Henry takes a deep breath and Amber steps closer to him, eyes gentle as she hugs him by the waist. If there’s anyone in this world who understands him the most, it’s Amber. Not even Zhou Mi knows him better than she does and he knows him longer.

 

“Okay, I get it. But it wasn’t his job to be your friend yet he treats you like one. And I bet he’s really confused right now.” She says gently, poking at his cheek.

 

Henry wraps his arms around her, burying his face on her shoulder. “I need to calm down first before I go talk to him. I can’t look at him without wanting to pounce on him.”

 

Amber chuckles. “Keep it in your damn pants.”

 

Henry plans on talking to Aarif the next day when he has already calmed down and he had actually thought of what he’s going to say. Shaking off his nerves, he trudges to the kitchen to get something to eat, taking his phone and typing his name on the search engine. It has become a habit of his to check on himself every now and then. Sure he stumbles on a lot of hate comments but it doesn’t bother him that much anymore. He has put a lot of things in perspective and learned what are the things that matter and what doesn’t - something that he has to learn to keep himself sane. He’s reading through a forum of the drama that he’s filming, pleased to know that people are anticipating to watch him even though he’s only a minor character.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Henry jumps in surprise, accidentally dropping the chocolate chip cookie in his hand.

 

“Oops, sorry.” Aarif chuckles, picking up the cookie and tossing it on the trash bin.

 

“You scared me!” Henry exclaims, clutching his chest and trying to calm the beating of his heart. “And you owe me a cookie.”

 

Aarif looks relieved that Henry’s finally talking to him and is not looking for ways to escape the conversation. “So what were you doing?”

 

“Monitoring myself.” Henry says with a shrug, still trying his hardest not to look directly at Aarif.

 

“That’s a pretty fancy term for Googling yourself.”

 

Henry shrugs again, leaning on the countertop and continues scrolling through his phone. “Sometimes you need to know what people say about you.”

 

Aarif steps closer cautiously, like he’s afraid that Henry would run away if he gets any closer. “Aren’t you scared of what you’ll find?”

 

“In this line of work, you have to be strong. If you show the even slightest sign of weakness, you’ll get eaten alive.”

 

Aarif leans against the counter, their arms brushing together and Henry tries not to let his breath hitch. “And you’re not scared of that?”

 

“I used to be. I was just sixteen when I started and I was terrified out of my mind but Siwon was there for me, thank God,” Henry is finally brave enough to look Aarif in the eyes. “And now I have you.”

 

Henry swears he stops breathing when he feels Aarif’s lips on the corner of his mouth and he stands there frozen, blinking at the older.

 

“,” Aarif curses, realising what he just did. “I’m sorry. . I wasn’t supposed to do that. I’m so so—“

 

Henry doesn’t know what he’s doing but goddammit, he knows that he’s going to regret it if he doesn’t kiss him right now. Not when he did that. So he grabs Aarif’s neck, tossing his phone aside and using his free hand to clutch on the older’s shirt, crashing their lips together in an almost desperate kiss. Aarif gets over his initial shock and kisses back, hands going around Henry’s waist to pull him closer, making him whimper. Henry lets him take control, letting Aarif push him against the countertop as he parts his lips with his tongue and Henry moans, leaning backwards and propping himself up against the cold tiles with his elbows as Aarif leans forward and indulges him.

 

It’s funny, Henry thinks. He’s dreamt about kissing Aarif countless of times for the last few weeks but nothing holds a candle to the real thing. Aarif kisses him with an intense focus, opposite to the way he’s gently cradling his face in his rough hands and his tongue tasting like mint that Henry couldn’t get enough of. Henry’s knees are getting weak and his lungs are starting to burn and he pulls away reluctantly, letting out a breathy chuckle as Aarif tries to chase his lips. Aarif opens his eyes and grins at Henry who grins back, both of them trying to catch their breaths.

 

“Well, I guess we don’t need to have that talk anymore.” Henry says, laughing.

 

Aarif chuckles, pulling him closer. “Less talking, more kissing, then.”

 

Henry hums in agreement, closing the gap between their lips, both of them laughing into the kiss.

 

 

They both decided to keep it a secret. Mainly because they don’t know how Siwon would react. Aarif might get fired or something. Henry doesn’t tell Amber because she’d get overexcited and wouldn’t be able to shut up about it, hence, defeating the purpose of keeping the relationship a secret. Besides, keeping it a secret makes Henry more excited.

 

to: bodyguard aarif lee

from: Mr. Henry Lau

hey. up for a midnight walk later? :)

 

to: Mr. Henry Lau

from: bodyguard aarif lee

Is that safe?

 

to: bodyguard aarif lee

from: Mr. Henry Lau

i know a secluded park. amber used to take her dates there.

 

to: Mr. Henry Lau

from: bodyguard aarif lee

Okay, then. I’ll knock on your door.

 

to: bodyguard aarif lee

from: Mr. Henry Lau

see ya ;D

 

The weather is starting to get cold so Henry wraps his jacket tighter around him, letting his knuckles brush against Aarif’s who is walking beside him with a hand shoved on the pocket of his jacket. Aarif stops for a moment to bring Henry’s cap lower, adjusting the glasses that the younger wore as a disguise (a pretty unconvincing one, in Aarif’s honest opinion), and looks around to see if anyone’s watching them. Henry chuckles at him.

 

“Relax,” he says. “It’s two in the morning, it’s almost pitch black and this place might as well be a ghost town. No one’s gonna see us.”

 

Aarif frowns before sighing. “Yeah, but you never know where reporters are hiding.”

 

Henry laughs. “Amber hasn’t been caught once so relax, would you?” He grabs Aarif’s hand, lacing their fingers together before gently squeezing his hand. “We can’t go on normal dates so let’s enjoy this.”

 

Aarif finally smiles, squeezing back. “Okay, fine. But I’m definitely taking you to a normal date someday.”

 

“Hmm, I’ll be retired by then.” Henry teases, stepping closer to Aarif, seeking the warmth of his body. The older chuckles, pinching Henry’s nose. Henry lets out a nasally protest before Aarif lets go, laughing.

 

Henry laughs with him, somehow still in disbelief that Aarif actually likes him back. “You know, I thought you were straight.”

 

Aarif snorts. “Just because I told you about one relationship with a girl.”

 

“How was I supposed to know that you like guys, too?!” Henry says incredulously. “And it seemed that you really loved her.”

 

“I did.” Aarif says with a sigh and Henry notes that it wasn’t as sad as it was the last time they talked about her. “Have you been with a girl before?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Really? I kind of thought you and Amber…” Aarif trails off and Henry raises an amused eyebrow.

 

“You thought we’re together?”  

 

“There was a rumour sometime ago, right? You guys were photographed in Jeju.”

 

Henry throws his head back as he bursts out in laughter, the sound echoing throughout the park. “That’s the infamous Jeju incident that Siwon’s still mad about. Sometimes Amber and I just need to get away from everything.”

 

“So the rumour wasn’t true?”

 

“Of course not.” Henry answers with a teasing grin. “Were you jealous?”

 

Aarif averted his gaze, turning into an interesting shade of pink visible even in the dark. “You guys are very…touchy.”

 

Henry laughs again, detaching his hand from his, cradling the older’s face with both of his hands before pressing his lips against his in a chaste kiss. “Girls are not my type.”

 

Pleasantly surprised by the sudden affection, Aarif grins, grabbing Henry’s hips to pull him closer. “What about that Joonyoung guy, then?”

 

“He’s just a friend.” Henry kisses Aarif on the nose, laughing. “You’re the jealous type, I should take note of that.”

 

Aarif shrugs, grinning as he closes the gap between their lips, one hand on Henry’s hip and the other bringing the younger’s cap even lower to shield them from possible prying eyes.

 

Henry had a couple of days off from filming and as per usual, he spends it cooped up in the apartment. Except now, he has Aarif to cuddle with so they do just that, Henry sitting on the floor, back against the couch and his arms around Aarif’s shoulders while the latter leans comfortably against his chest. Amber is in a commercial shoot since yesterday and is yet to come back so they’re making most of their alone time.

 

“This movie is boring.” Aarif mumbles, reaching for the remote.

 

Henry slaps his hand away. “Not every movie has to have explosions and people killing each other for it to be exciting.”

 

“I don’t even know what’s going on!” Aarif whines (something Henry thinks doesn’t really fit him and it’s very amusing) leaning his head back on Henry’s shoulder to look at him, putting on his best version of puppy eyes. Henry practically invented that so he doesn’t give in, choosing to stick his tongue out and turning his attention back to the movie. Aarif huffs.

 

“I can think of something we can do that’s more exciting than this movie.” Aarif says, voice dangerously low, leaning his head back on Henry’s shoulders again, a mischievous grin on his lips.

 

Henry raises an eyebrow, slapping the older on the chest. “We can’t. Amber can come home any minute.”

 

Aarif laughs against his neck and Henry’s breath hitches. “That’s a really weak argument.”

 

Henry forgets the movie the moment Aarif’s lips touch his neck, his hand clutching the front of the older’s shirt, muttering weak protests as Aarif continues peppering his neck with kisses. Aarif detaches himself from him, grinning as he sits up, patting his lap with a waggle of his eyebrows. Henry chuckles, shaking his head but moves, anyways, straddling him. Aarif wastes no time in wrapping his arms around Henry’s waist, stretching his neck to kiss the younger. Henry hums appreciatively, tilting his head to the side to get a better angle of his lips, both his hands roaming across the expanse of Aarif’s shoulders.

 

“I don’t remember asking for a gift when I come home.”

 

Henry and Aarif freeze, looking up to face Amber who’s standing in the doorway with a grin on her face. Henry scampers to get off of Aarif’s lap, face burning red while his best friend hollers with laughter.

 

“This isn’t what it looks like.” Aarif tries to explain even though they’ve been caught red-handed.

 

Amber snorts. “What, Henry just happens to trip and landed on your lips? Is this one of your bodyguard protocols?” She laughs again. “You guys really think you can hide this from me? You think I didn’t know that you guys snuck off at an ungodly hour the other day?”

 

Henry bites his lip guiltily.

 

“You can’t hide anything from me, Henry Lau. Especially something like this. I am hurt.” Amber continues, clutching her chest in an exaggerated manner. “I put a roof over your head, I feed you, I clothe you—“

 

Henry sighs and rolls his eyes, guilt gone in an instant. “You don’t clothe me.”

 

“The disrespect!” Amber gasps dramatically.

 

“Are you done?” Henry asks with a sigh while Aarif raises an amused eyebrow.

 

Amber grins, leaving her bag at the door to tackle both of them in a hug. “It took you guys long enough!” The two men landed on the couch with an oof, a small whine coming out of Henry’s throat. “Does Siwon know?”

 

“Of course not.” Henry says, staring firmly at her as a warning. “And you are not going to tell him!”

 

Amber lets out another dramatic gasp. “What do you take me for? I would never!”

 

Henry just looks at her pointedly and decides not to mention the Sunghoon Incident. Aarif doesn’t need to know that. At least not yet.

 

“This is like the real life Bodyguard movie,” Amber adds. “But without the creepy stalker and shooting and stuff.”

 

Henry and Aarif snorts but joined Amber in singing I Will Always Love You, anyways.

 

Henry is never good with relationships. He wants to be but because of what happened with his first one, he’s always holding back, afraid of giving too much. The short barely relationships he had after that always end up in the trash. He’s very detached, they always say. And Henry would always feel sorry because he felt like he wasted their time. After a handful of “relationships” like that, he stopped wanting to be in relationships altogether.

 

He doesn’t know how Aarif did it - how he got him to be so attached and trusting over the span of a few weeks and truthfully, he’s scared. He’s afraid that his overthinking might put a wall between them and everything would just crash and burn and tossed into the trash like his past relationships.

 

He sighs and opens his eyes, squinting as the sunlight seeping in through his windows temporarily blinds him. He turns his head to the left where Aarif is, still sound asleep, judging by his snores (which irritates Henry to death but relationships are about compromise, Amber said). He laughs softly and gently holds Aarif’s chin to close his mouth, laughing again as he notices the drool stain on his pillow. Aarif has taken the initiative to sleep in his room after that night they kissed in the kitchen and when Henry that he’s being clingy, Aarif answered that danger lurks in every corner and it’s his job to keep him safe before climbing under the covers with him, dangling an arm around his waist and pulling him closer.

 

Aarif finally wakes up, eyes squinting at the open window before focusing on Henry, smiling. Henry smiles back, snuggling just a little bit closer.

 

“Morning.” Aarif greets with a chaste kiss on Henry’s lips. “What are we doing today?”

 

“I’m going to Joonyoung’s studio.” Henry answers, hiding his grin because he knows how Aarif gets jealous easily. “I told you about the collab, right?”

 

“Are you sure that’s not just an excuse to get in your pants?” Aarif says, wrapping a possessive arm around Henry’s waist.

 

Henry tries not to chuckle at the visible pout on his boyfriend’s lips, patting him on the cheek. “Well, I am irresistible.” He yelps when Aarif slaps his .

 

“You’re also a brat.” Aarif is still pouting. “I’m going with you. Both as a bodyguard and a boyfriend.”

 

Henry grins cheekily and thinks sappily how this must be what happiness feels like. “Okay.”

 

Joonyoung didn’t mind that Aarif went along, especially not when Aarif introduced himself as Henry’s bodyguard in a way that clearly states that if Joonyoung makes a wrong move, he will not live a day more. Henry finds it funny and he has the urge to be a brat and provoke him more but he’s a little bit worried for Joonyoung’s life.

 

Joonyoung says he wants to try rock with classical music and as they work on a short draft, music sheets laid out in front of them, Henry’s violin tucked under his chin and Joonyoung’s guitar on his hand, Henry could feel Aarif’s gaze almost burning a hole on their backs the entire time. He manages to conceal it with a pair of sunglasses but Henry knows better.

 

“Are you sure it’s alright for you to do this?” Joonyoung whispers once he’s sure Aarif won’t hear (Henry doubts it, though).

 

“Yeah, why?” Henry whispers back, even though he knows Aarif can hear them.

 

“Because your bodyguard has been glaring at me since you guys walked in.”

 

Henry laughs out loud at that and Joonyoung looks at him alarmingly, shooting him a look to quiet down. “Don’t worry,” Henry says, definitely not whispering anymore. “Aarif’s nice, right?” He turns his head to look at Aarif, smiling at him with his dimpled smile that he knows no one can say no to.

 

Aarif sighs audibly before nodding and Henry smiled that dimpled smile again before turning his attention back to Joonyoung who’s watching them with amusement. A few moments later, Henry’s phone buzzed in his pocket.

 

from: bodyguard aarif lee

to: Mr. Henry Lau

You’re such a brat.

 

from: Mr. Henry Lau

to: bodyguard aarif lee

one of my many amazing qualities :P

 

Aarif is still sulking as they drive back home to the apartment even though Henry had decided to spare him and stop being a little for the rest of the session (Siwon still doesn’t know about the collab but Henry figures that if he gives him a really good track, Siwon would say yes). Henry tries his best not to snicker from the passenger’s seat.

 

“You’re not just work to me, you know.”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“A little bird told me the reason you avoided me was because you thought I only think of you as work.”

 

“Interesting,” Henry says with a scowl. “Is the name of that bird, Amber, perhaps?”

 

Aarif chuckles, keeping his eyes on the road. “I can’t pinpoint the exact moment I started liking you but I knew you were interesting the moment you offered me drinks at your sending away party.” He looks away from the road for a second to glance at Henry. “In my seven years of doing this job, I’ve never had a client so insistent on knowing more about me.”

 

Henry grins. “Was I annoying?”

 

“A little bit.” Aarif answers. “I hate feeding your ego but you are incredibly charming, Mr. Lau.”

 

Henry laughs and leans over to place a kiss on his cheek.

 

They continue hiding their relationship from Siwon, sharing meaningful glances and teasing smirks when no one’s looking and when Henry just can’t take it anymore, he’d haul Aarif to an empty room, making sure that they’re not gone long enough for Siwon to suspect anything (Aarif had teasingly called him irresponsible and unprofessional once to which Henry answered, “Aren’t you the same, shoving your tongue down your client’s throat?” Aarif shuts him up by tugging his bottom lip with his teeth).

 

Henry thought they were doing a good job at hiding it, they’ve been very careful. Siwon still doesn’t know and Henry would like to keep it that way. At least until he knows for sure that Aarif won’t lose his job.

 

“We’re planning on going to Tokyo this year!” Henry says to Aarif with an excited grin. He’s waiting to be called on set and Siwon’s taking calls outside while the rest of the staff is off somewhere he doesn’t really care about. Henry pats the space on the couch next to him and Aarif sits down with a sigh.

 

“You’re not planning on sneaking off again, are you?” Aarif gives him a warning look. Henry has been harping about his annual vacation with Amber since yesterday and frankly, he’s a little bit more scared of the idea of him sneaking off work again than Siwon finding out that they’re dating.

 

“Of course not,” Henry pouts. “I was planning on taking you with me.”

 

Aarif blinks at him in surprise. “Me? I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be intruding.”

 

Henry tsks, reaching for his hand. “I already talked to Amber about this. She’s the one who suggested I take you.”

 

“Are you sure it’s alright, though?” Aarif laces their fingers together with a light squeeze.

 

“Yes, I’m sure,” Henry squeezes his hand in return. “She said it’s better to take you because she’s getting sick of me.”

 

Aarif laughs. “Well then, I guess I have no choice. I have to save Amber from you.”

 

Henry makes a face, shoving him lightly with his free hand and Aarif just laughs, leaning forward to peck his lips.

 

There are days when Henry just can’t believe that he’s actually happy in a relationship and not plagued by his anxiety and trust issues and never ending overanalyzing of everything. He would never say it out loud because it’s embarrassing and entirely cheesy - but only Aarif can make him feel like this, so at ease and safe and loved.

 

He wants to be better with relationships and with Aarif, he’ll try hard.

 

“Henry-ssi, you’re needed on set in three minutes!” A staff yells from outside the door and Henry snaps out from his overly sappy train of thought.

 

“Coming!” he yells back, feeling Aarif squeeze his hand one last time before standing up from the couch. “Wait.”

 

Aarif looks back at him expectantly and Henry stands up from the couch as well, a grin making its way to his lips. “Kiss me?”

 

Aarif snorts, raising an amused eyebrow. “You’re needed on set.”

 

“I still have two and a half minutes.” He steps closer to Aarif, still grinning.

 

Aarif chuckles. “So unprofessional.” He mumbles with a laugh, pulling Henry close by the waist and crashing their lips together.

 

(Siwon barges in when Henry still hasn’t come out and when the actor tries to explain why he’s kissing his bodyguard, Siwon just sighs and tells him to get to set. Later, Aarif tells Henry that Siwon said he’ll “destroy Aarif’s career if he ever thinks about hurting his beloved son.” Henry just laughs and reminds himself to be extra nice to Siwon.)

 

---

(can you tell i ran out of ideas on how to end this lmao)

BUT PLS HAVE SOME MORE HENRIF THEY'RE BASICALLY HUSBANDS