“Y/n…Y/N!”

You snapped out of your thoughts and remembered you were now in school. You just filed a letter of excuse to the faculty and were on your way to class when Seungcheol passed by.

Seungcheol waved his hand in front of you, eyes filled with concern. “You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

Well, he’s not wrong. After all that happened, you dreams weren’t exactly nice. You’re back in school and thankfully, the alibis were well accepted though definitely humiliating. Supposedly, you forgot to check the stove before going to school and almost burned your house down. As for the burn on your arm, you were just thankful that it wasn’t that serious. You just really want to take the bandage off now though because it’s causing you more attention than wanted.

“Is everything alright with your house?”

“Yeah.”

“How about you? Are you alright?”

“Yes.“

“Doesn’t seem like it. Are you sure?”

You stopped walking, turning to face him and looked him square in the eye. “Yes, Seungcheol. I’m sure I’m alright.”

“Oh. Okay.”

For the next few minutes, you both walked in silence into the classroom. It was still early so it was alright to relax and take your time. However, you can’t help it, your eyes scanning the area every now and then making sure that there were no suspicious people or activities waiting to strike just like that night.

“You sure you’re alright?” Seungcheol cocked his head to the side.

“I told you I’m alright!!” you snapped. “Just leave me alone! Please!”

Seungcheol raised an eyebrow, frowning at your sudden outburst. He shook his head, walking back to his seat.

You scoffed, rolling your eyes at him. Who even told him you needed his concern? With what happened, turning you all back to square 1, Seungcheol being mad at you is the least of your problems. You saw Tiger and you weren’t able to catch him. And you’re at school instead of tracking that guy, all because your dad endorsed you to become a professional babysitter.

Joshua came in and headed at the back. “Sup!” he hi-fived Seungcheol before placing his bag on his seat. “Hey y/n you’re back in one piece!”

You shuddered, remembering the thought of the other guy’s burnt upper body and the fact that you almost got burned like the house. Not to mention, you remember the cold blade that was against your skin that night. Tiger spared your life. And as thankful as you are, you promised that he would regret it. “Yeah. I am.”

Joshua raised an eyebrow at Seungcheol while the other just shook his head, not knowing what exactly happened either. “Don’t ask me.” He turned to give you a disapproving look. “She doesn’t need any of our concerns.”

You eyed Seungcheol during class, practically burning a hole on him every time you see him. You still don’t understand why you’re stuck with him when you’ve been working on the Tiger case for so long. How can they do this to you? Can’t they find someone else??

Seungcheol caught your eye, raising an eyebrow, confused as to why you were staring at him. You turned away, not wanting to have anything to do with him as much as possible. It’s not like he’s going to be attacked in class anyway.

Seungcheol scoffed, still annoyed at what happened and shook his head. So much for thinking he could make a new friend, he thought.

“And they say women take lots of time shopping.” You kicked a pebble on the ground as you tried acting normal. Well, as normal as someone like you could act. If you were a bystander, you would probably think that you were a stalker or anyone suspicious in general.

It was after class and Seungcheol decided to hang out with his friends in the nearby gaming street that was famous for students and gamers alike. The street was lined with arcades, toy shops, and all things entertaining, except that they have been playing for more than 2 hours now and hiding is getting exhausting. They went from the arcades to toy stores and even spent quite some time belting out Ailee’s tunes in the karaoke. Now, they’ve been in the computer shop for almost an hour and you were just waiting outside in an alley nearby since the area was too cramped.

“Y/N?”

You froze at your spot, eyes widened at the sound of Seungcheol’s voice. You racked your brain for a good alibi or whatever you can do to escape. It was one thing that you had someone you could use an excuse before but right now, it’s just you and him. How did he even sneak up on you without you noticing him?

“Wow. You tell me to leave you alone but now you’re following me?” he scoffed.

You sighed and turned to him when your eyes widened. “Move!” Not even waiting for him to move, you pushed Seungcheol away as the hands behind him missed.

You eyed the man who was donned in an all-black suit with a mask, gloves and a cap. The works. Not suspicious at all.

“Awww. I missed.” The man cooed behind the mask.

“Y/N are you okay?” Seungcheol moved beside you, narrowing his eyes towards the stranger.

“I should be the one asking you that. I think I pushed you too strongly,” you said, taking a glance at him. “My bad.”

The man chuckled. “Choi Seungcheol. Future heir of Choi Industries. Do you know how much money you’re worth?”

“Y/N get behind me. I got this.” Seungcheol moved in front of you, keeping you at bay behind. “Have I mentioned that I have a black belt on taekwondo?”

You rolled your eyes. What a show off. You glanced back at the man who was now a few feet away from you. If only carrying a gun to school was allowed, dealing with this guy would be easier. You studied your surroundings, carefully taking in any detail present. A dumpster, some neatly tied trash bags, a few dirty boxes…a steel rod! Rusty, but it will do.

“So,” you stood straight, walking casually near the rod. “Who sent you? A rival company? Some random rich guy who wants to be richer?”

“Y/N what are you doing?” Seungcheol hissed.

You ignored him, eyes still trained at the guy, slowly but surely inching your way towards the rod. You just needed to make sure that Seungcheol won’t be harmed in any way and that he would have a 100% chance of escape.

“Not telling, sweetie.” he taunted, stepping closer.

You stepped back. This guy is either playing or just downright wacko. Unfortunately, either’s just as dangerous. The stranger pulled out a knife taking small steps towards you, tilting his head side to side.

“Seungcheol back off!”

“What?? Why??”

“Are you blind?? He’s got a knife! Just back off!”

Seungcheol stepped back unwillingly, shifting his gaze from you to the man and back. You’ve shouted at him before. But not like this. There was definitely a hint of panic in your voice. And hearing that, fear finally settled in him.

“And when you get him? What are you gonna do with him?” you asked the guy as he took another step, seemingly bored with the question as he relaxed and even let out a faint laugh.

“You don’t have to know, sweetheart.” The guy advanced at you, his knife ready to stab. “I’m just here for the money.”

You ducked and rolled to the side. You grabbed the rod and swiped it beneath him. You hit his leg hard and caused him to fall on his feet, making him lose hold of his knife. You grabbed Seungcheol’s wrist, only to realize that he was frozen in fear. You threw the rod at the side and practically pushed and dragged Seungcheol away past the man. You knew fighting him without a proper weapon and with Seungcheol to protect would be careless and hard, especially since you had no other exit but past him and out the street. What’s important now is to escape and make sure Seungcheol’s safe.

Righting himself with great difficulty while getting his knife, the guy reached forward and blindly swiped, an attempt to slice your leg. You pushed Seungcheol forward as you tried to step away from the blade but you were late. You let out a small cry, feeling the sting as the blade connected with your skin, the blood dirtying your socks at once.

The man stood up and smiled like a madman.

“Where do you think you’re going, sweetheart?”

You tried not to wobble as you stood in between him and Seungcheol, eyes trained on the knife in his hand. “Call your driver now!” you yelled at Seungcheol.

The man cocked his head like a creep from side to side. “Awww…Do you actually think you’re getting away from me?”

You took a breath, calming yourself and your thoughts.

It’s okay. It’s not him. This guy was just acting creepy.

You smiled, taking a step forward, hands in position, ready to grab or elbow the guy, whichever opportunity presents itself first. “Who said anything about getting away from you? You’re going to jail, sweetheart. I’m simply calling for a ride back home.”

With a yell, the man charged forward, his knife in his right hand, ready to stab you in the gut. At the last moment, you sidestepped and grabbed hold of his wrist from below, twisting it upwards. Not giving him the chance to yell out in pain, you struck it with your free hand, releasing his hold on the knife once again as you kicked it behind you. You moved in and elbowed his stomach before connecting another punch to his jaw, rendering him unconscious as he fell face down on the ground.

You stepped back panting, shaking your hands off of dirt. “I so regret not doing warm ups today.”

You picked up the knife and turned around, hoping for some good news from Seungcheol, but he wasn’t there.

“Seungcheol??” You looked around. The amount of students seemed to double over the short time that passed. Still, there was no sign of him, and you can just feel the panic slowly creeping up again. “Seungcheol!” You glanced back, weaving through the vast amount of students blocking the way. “Seungcheol!”

“Hey lady your leg is bleeding!” A kid tugged at the back of your shirt, pointing at your right leg.

Turning around, your gaze landed on the man emerging from the alley just a few feet from you, speeding away into the crowd. “Hey!!”

The man turned around and smiled, tipping his cap your way before running, blending in completely.

“Hey!!” You limped forward, wincing at the growing pain.

“Y/N!” Seungcheol ran towards you, 2 policemen right at his tail. His shirt was drenched in sweat and covered in dirt, his chest panting hard. “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” He held your arm, eyes wide with concern, searching for any additional injuries you could’ve gotten when he left. “Are you alright??”

Your eyes still towards the direction the man ran off to, you can’t help shake the feeling of panic and fear. Obviously this was a different person, but the way he acted was just too familiar; like it was happening all over again: the accident from 8 years ago. But you can’t help noticing the growing pain on your leg and with each second, you felt yourself feeling heavier than normal.

“Y/N are you alright??”

You snapped from your thoughts, irritation filling your head. “Where the hell did you go??”

Seungcheol froze, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “I…my driver said he’ll be here as possible so I tried to find help…why are you so mad?”

“You were gone! How could I protect you if you’re too far from me??”

“Protect me?? You were almost killed! And you’re still bleeding!”

You shook your head, turning towards the police officer. “I need a favor.”

“Can you please explain what just happened?” Seungcheol asked.

“Thank you. I’ll come back later.” You nodded to the officer as you walked out the station.

“Y/N.”

You waved him off angrily. “I’ll tell you later.”

Nearby, a black car slowed to a stop just in front. Seungkwan exited the car and approached you.

“Seungkwan? What are you doing here?” you said, eyes wide at the sight of your partner.

“Me? What about you?? What happened with your leg?” Seungkwan demanded, shifting his gaze from you to Seungcheol and back.

“I cleaned it before wrapping it up. But that’s not important.” You moved Seungcheol in front of you. “Take him and make sure no one’s tailing you. Keep your eyes on him until you get him safe in his house. I’ll have to go back to the office to file everything and talk to the chief.” You pulled out your phone only to have Seungkwan stop you from doing so. You looked up to him, raising an eyebrow.

“There is no need.” He stepped back, looking you in the eye. “He already knows. I was sent here to you both back.”

“Y/N, what’s going on?” Seungcheol leaned in, his voice a mere whisper. “Who’s he? And why’s he in my house?”

You continued walking, following Seungkwan into the maze the house is. Apparently, the chief and the CEO heard about what happened from Seungcheol’s call with his driver during a meeting.

“Y/N!” Seungcheol hissed.

“Why are you whispering if you’re in your own house?” you said, not even sparing a look at him.

“…oh. Right.”

“They’re inside.” Seungkwan stopped in front of a large door and turned to you. “I’ll be here if you guys need anything.” he shrugged.

“What? What is it?” Seungcheol asked.

You took a deep breath, opening the door with Seungcheol behind you.

“Chief Park!” Seungcheol passed by you as soon as he saw who was in the room and shook his hand, smiling. “It’s nice to see you again!”

You raised an eyebrow at this friendly scene. He knows your dad?

“It’s nice to see you too.” The chief replied, meeting your eyes, sending you a nod, before looking back at Seungcheol. “I heard what happened. Are you alright?”

“Yes I am. Although my friend here, Y/N, got injured while saving me.” He said, pointing at your wound.

“Y/N?” your dad turned to look at you, his brows creased in concern.

“Uh she’s my classmate.”

“Seungcheol.”

You both turned to face the owner of the voice.

“Father.” You heard Seungcheol’s voice change at the sight of his dad sitting behind the table, his eyes practically sending daggers.

“Sit.”

Seungcheol scoffed. “No thanks. I’m not planning on staying long.”

His father sighed and shifted his gaze on you. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“And the perpetrator?”

“He…” you glanced at Seungcheol who was still fixated on his father, “…got away.”

“I see.” CEO Choi placed his hands on the table, fingers interlocked.

Seungcheol crossed his arms over his chest, a sarcastic smile on his lips. “What’s this? You know her?”

“Seungcheol, Y/N is Chief Park’s daughter.”

Seungcheol’s brows shot up, glancing at you and back to his father.

“And she’s also your bodyguard.”

For a moment, an uncomfortable silence settled in, breaking the heavy tension that was building up just moments ago, until Seungcheol threw his head back in laughter.

“You’re kidding right? You’re kidding?” Seungcheol’s laughter slowly died down, his lips pursed tightly into a frown. “You’re serious?” he turned to look at you, his face having no trace of excitement or relief like what you expected.

Normally, you would’ve been blunt and asked him for his thanks. But looking at him, you found yourself feeling guilty over many things. Guilty of acting like a jerk towards him. Guilty of almost not being able to protect him earlier. Guilty of lying to him.

You watched Seungcheol exit the room, leaving his father astonished at his action, shaking his head as he sat back down.

The chief sighed and walked towards you, placing a hand on your shoulder. “Any other details Y/N?”

You pictured the image of the man from before doing and shook your head. “Fortunately, there were a couple of surveillance cameras in the area. But he probably works alone. He talked about Seungcheol being your heir and being worth a lot of money.”

Seungcheol’s father closed his eyes and nodded grimly.

“Was it okay…to tell him?” you asked.

“With what happened, it was best to tell him the truth.”

You nodded. “If you’ll excuse me, I have to go and uh…do my job. I’ll be sending my reports like always.”

Your dad watched you leave the room before walking towards the chair across CEO Choi and sat sighing.

After searching the house, you found Seungcheol out in the garden, petting the dog you saw from the picture. Seungcheol stood up and threw the ball in his hand and watched his dog chase after it before turning to see you standing a few feet away from him. “What do you want?”

You shrugged. “Nothing.”

“Oh right. You’re just doing your job, aren’t you?” He scoffed, tucking his hands in his pockets.

You rolled your eyes, folding your arms. “You know, I liked you better at school.”

“Really? Didn’t seem like it.”

“I had my reasons.” You shrugged, walking towards him.

Seungcheol watched as his dog came back, placing the ball at your feet, urging you to throw it for him. You stooped down to grab the ball and threw it hard, his dog chasing after it.

“Look. If you’re waiting for an apology, don’t. Cause you’re not getting one from me. I was asked not to tell you about it for your own good and honestly, I agree. You didn’t need to know.” You continued.

You watched as Seungcheol closed his eyes and shook his head in disbelief. Why is he suddenly being so difficult? This was a total 180 from his bright side at school. “Did you really think it was wise to tell you that your life is in danger while you’re trying to be as normal as you can in school? Your father didn’t want you to worry about it. He wanted you to enjoy your life as a normal student.”  

“It’s still my life, Y/N. I have the right to know!”

You sighed. How can a person be reasonable and unreasonable at the same time? “Seungcheol. I get that you feel confused and maybe even angry right now and you have every right to. But right now, I think it’s best for you to rest.”

Seungcheol looked down and saw the bandage on your leg. “And what about what just happened? Will I be dealing with kidnapping attempts from now on?”

Trust me. I wanna know why you’ve never had one before, you thought. “I told you. It’s best for you to rest right now. For your questions…some, I can answer. Some, I’d have to look on it. Tomorrow, I’ll answer them the best I could. I promise.”

Seungcheol sighed. He just wanted to make friends. But he got kidnappers and a bodyguard instead.

“Oh and Seungcheol?”

Seungcheol turned and looked back, raising an eyebrow.

“Don’t tell anyone…about my job okay?”

“Why? Isn’t that supposed to be a cool thing?”

You shook your head, a sad smile on your face. “It is but not when your safety is on the line. Just let me keep a low profile for me to do my job. Okay?”

Seungcheol nodded and walked away. Looks like babysitting him is serious business after all.