You stood still, glaring at Seungcheol. “Hand it over now if you don’t want me to hurt you.”

Seungcheol smiled, sticking his tongue out at you.

You sighed. You took a step forward only for him to take a step back. You took 2 steps forward and so did he backwards. You stood still, your hands on your waist. Not even 5 seconds have passed after getting your food from the lunch lady did Seungcheol decided to play with you, snatching the bread from your hands. So much for having lunch in peace. “What do you want?”

Seungcheol shrugged. “Your attention?”                      

“Seungcheol. My job is to watch you aka giving you my full attention at all times.”

“Yeah but,” he transferred the bread to his other hand, using it to point at you, “you have been acting weird ever since we went to Hoshi and Woozi’s performance.”

You scoffed. “Weird? Weird how? I’m doing fine.”

Seungcheol took a step forward, his eyes narrowed. “Really?”

You watched him closely, eyebrows raised. “Really.”

“You’re sure?” He stepped forward again.

“100% positive.” You stepped back.

“You’re acting normal?” Another step forward.

“I am.”

“Then why are you stepping away from me?”

“Cause you are being weird and I might get infected.”

“Really?” He said, an annoyingly handsome grin on his face. “Is that why your face is red right now?”

You cursed inside your head. Why is he doing this? How can he possibly notice? Although unfortunately, he was telling the truth. True, at that time, the experience was just so surreal and exhilarating that you didn’t really cared for anything else. All you could remember was how amazing the duo was during their performance. But once you saw Seungcheol again, the memories you remembered were different: him walking into the office looking all nice and handsome, the smile on his face every time he checked how you looked with the clothes that he asked you to wear, the warmth of his hand when you walked in the building with him, the thought of how he planned this whole event with you in mind…it was just…nice. More than nice.

“See?” Seungcheol leaned close, examining your face. “You’re acting weird again.”

You blinked, glancing at the sides. No one was watching. Everyone’s too busy stuffing their faces with cafeteria food. “Seungcheol, please. People are staring,” you lied.

As expected, that didn’t work. Seungcheol’s eyes never left yours, his lips tugged upward in a soft smile. He mentioned earlier that your face was red. By now, you were sure that it has gotten redder.

He took your hand and handed over the bread.

“FINALLY.” You said, rolling your eyes.

He stood there smiling, his hand still holding yours. Normally, you wouldn’t be bothered by it but there was something about his smile; it was so…warm. And genuine. And is definitely making you a blushing mess. You cleared your throat and glanced past him at the back of the room. You had to look somewhere else or you would have melted for sure.

He lightly squeezed your hand before letting go. “I’ll be in the faculty room. We’ll be missing classes tomorrow to meet Mingyu so I’ll be informing them. Okay?”

You nodded but continued to look ahead. After you were sure that he was gone, you exhaled deeply, as if you’ve been holding your breath for a long time. Turning to his direction, you whispered to yourself. “Calm down. Breathe. Breathe.” You watched his back disappear at the corner but found yourself thinking of his smile at once. You shook your head before heading towards a chair and sat down, your hand placed over your heart. You sighed. “This is bad.”

“Where is he?”

You watched Seungcheol’s fingers tap impatiently on the tabletop, his eyes glued on the scene outside the window. “Well, we are a bit too early.” You glanced around. You were back in the restaurant from before when you two first met with Mingyu and there really wasn’t anything to do right now except to wait.

“Hello Y/N.”

You glanced at the door, eyes wide in surprise. Standing before you was someone you haven’t seen for so long. You stood up and walked towards him, your mouth slightly opened in awe. It’s been 3 years since you last saw him and to be quite honest, he’s still as dashing as he was back then. Maybe even more.

Mingyu appeared behind him, fixing his coat. “Wonwoo-hyung. Are they there?” His eyes landed on you, a smile forming immediately on his face. “Ah! Y/N! It’s nice to see you again! I see you’ve met my new bodyguard,” he said, clapping a hand on Wonwoo’s shoulder.

“Ah. Yeah. Wait, what??”

“Kim Mingyu. What took you so long?”

All three of you looked back into the room towards Seungcheol who looked terribly left out. His gaze went towards Wonwoo, a confused look on his face. “And he is…?”

Mingyu walked in the room, with you and Wonwoo behind him.

Wonwoo leaned quickly to your side and whispered. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Mingyu sat down across Seungcheol and motioned towards Wonwoo. “This is Wonwoo. He’s my bodyguard slash assistant…when needed. Wonwoo, you already know Seungcheol-hyung, right?”

“Choi Seungcheol-ssi. It’s nice to meet you.”

Seungcheol nodded in acknowledgment, his eyes never leaving you two. “Y/n?”

“Oh, right.” You walked towards the door, motioning Wonwoo to go with you. “We’ll be outside.” You closed the door behind you, not noticing Seungcheol who looked like he wanted to say something.

Seungcheol looked back at Mingyu unamused. For some reason, it felt like there was something off. And he didn’t liked it. Whatever it is.

Mingyu looked back. “I told you I wanted one too,” he smiled.

Outside the room, you glanced at the sides while drinking your iced tea. Your third glass of iced tea.

Wonwoo sat across you, studying you in amusement. “So. You’re a bodyguard.”

“You too.”

“Yes. Well, to be specific, I’m actually a liaison officer. Our agency has partnered with their company and so I ended up here.”

“I see.” You nodded slowly. “Now that I think of it, I guess I’m on the same boat. Kind of.” This was so weird. Seungkwan just mentioned him a few days ago and now he’s really here.

“So how are you? I’ve heard from Seungkwan that you’ve been pretty busy lately.”

“Seungkwan?”

Wonwoo nodded. “I’ve actually contacted him recently and found out that you’re working for them,” he says nodding towards Seungcheol’s direction. “It’s a small world isn’t it?”

“That little…Why didn’t he tell me?”

Wonwoo glanced at you, a small smile on his face. “I…I wanted to surprise you. I did well, right?”

You caught his gaze and for a moment, felt yourself melting. It’s been such a long time since you last saw him and now, he’s being all shy and cute like this?

“Uhm, so,” Wonwoo cleared his throat, rearranging the untouched cutlery in front of him, “how’s the chief?”

You sighed. Welp. There goes your fleeting moment of happiness. “The chief is, well, still him. Still strict. Maybe even more.” Even though everything’s fine with you being Seungcheol’s bodyguard now, you still can’t help but try and look into Tiger’s case from time to time. Only thing is there weren’t any new information at all. If there were, they were definitely doing a good job keeping it to themselves. Your father probably announced it to keep you from getting connected to the case again.

“What’s wrong?” Wonwoo asked.

“It’s…well…I was one of the team leads with this particular case. But since I got reassigned to be Seungcheol’s bodyguard, it was just really different. It was hard to get used to. So I got banned.”

“Banned? It was that bad?”

You looked at Wonwoo and smiled. “Alright. I’ll tell you but you do understand that I can’t say anything specific, right?”

“Of course.”

“Hmm…okay so two years ago, there’s this guy that showed up in our radar. You know, we’ve been hearing things about him.”

“Him?”

“We don’t really know who he is. We don’t have much information about him except for those that we hear on the streets. Mostly from those who used to work with him. Unfortunately, they don’t know much either. Just that things had been easier for them ever since he appeared. He’s never really done anything for himself but he was doing enough to make things even more difficult for us. That’s until recently when he actually killed someone. Or at least, I believe him to.”

Wonwoo nodded, listening silently and careful not to interrupt.

“I guess that’s why the chief doesn’t want me continuing this case anymore. It’s hopeless. I have to admit that. The guy’s like a ghost. Only thing he leaves is a mark. Kinda like his signature. Unfortunately, those are useless cause we can only identify him by that. Nothing else. Although I did saw him once.”

A look of concern flickered on Wonwoo’s eyes. “You did?”

“Yeah.” You nodded, reminded of the hovering face you saw from before. “It was blurry but I know it’s him.” You looked back at the room where Seungcheol and Mingyu are. It looked like their discussion was almost over since they’ve put their gadgets away. That and Seungcheol has been sending you looks ever since you and Wonwoo got out of the room. “I just hope we know why he’s doing it. I’m tired of playing his games.” Your eyes met Wonwoo’s who looked like he was deep in thought. “What do you think?”

Wonwoo shrugged. “Maybe he’s a psychopath. Or just really bored,” he smiles. “Don’t worry. Whoever he is, I know you could solve it.” Wonwoo reached out and placed his hand on yours. “And if you need anything, just call me. I’ll do what I can.”

The whole thing was nonsense to be honest. He’s never really made the first move which was bad. With the marks that he keeps on leaving, it felt like he was taunting you. Like he’s inviting you to play his game even more. He could’ve been a total ghost and just disappear without a trace but he didn’t. What is he playing at? To gain power from the criminals he was helping? Probably. Revenge? The cases he was involved in made no connection at all. The closest reason you can deduct right now was that he was plain nuts. You shook your head. His case never failed to make your head hurt. “You’re right. Maybe he’s just crazy.”

Wonwoo smiled and looked back at the room. “They’re done.”

Mingyu and Seungcheol came out of the room and shook each other’s hands. “I can’t wait for the next few weeks, hyung. I’m glad you’re finally showing interest with your business.”

Seungcheol rolled his eyes and laughed. “You sound like my dad. Let’s talk about it again soon. Just give me a call.”

Mingyu nodded and walked towards Wonwoo. “Let’s go.” He looked at you and smiled. “Bye Y/n.”

Wonwoo turned to you and nodded. “It’s nice seeing you Y/N” he smiles before waving goodbye. “I’ll see you around.”

You watched as Wonwoo escorted Mingyu out of the restaurant and into the car waiting just outside until they drove away. It was nice to see him again but now that you’ve talked to him, he felt different. Sure, he mostly kept to himself before but he was still friendly and playful at times. But right now, it felt like he really matured a lot. He felt really dependable.

Seungcheol stood behind you and tapped you on the shoulder, his eyebrow raised in question.

You smiled. “Let’s go.”

Tap tap tap the keyboard went as it made contact with your fingers. You’re back in the office after dropping off Seungcheol earlier. There weren’t any reports needed to be finished. Just a couple of readings and reviewers you had to do for the exams. You paused and stared at your screen, wondering if it was possible to dim the brightness more as your eyes hurt from the light. You read the words you typed over and over again until they seemed misspelled and made no sense. You let out a sigh as you hung your head in between your hands, feeling a throbbing pain in your head.

“Why does it feel so many?” You took a glance at the books beside you and the papers you have left. It was past midnight and there were only a handful of people left in the office. You leaned back on your chair and closed your eyes, relieving them from staring at the screen for too long. You allowed yourself to relax, recalling the events that happened today. It was pretty calm. Nothing big really happened. After the meeting Mingyu and Wonwoo, Seungcheol went home to do some more work for their big project.

Seungcheol…he’s probably asleep right now. He’s been working hard recently with the upcoming exams and with the project. His face slowly formed in your mind; his eyes then his lips, curved into the smile he readily gives to people. The image faded when you felt the vibration of your phone on the desk. You opened your eyes and reached for your phone to see Seungcheol’s caller ID on the screen. Right on cue, you thought. “Still awake?”

You heard nothing but silence at the other end. You pulled the phone away from your ear. You didanswer it. “Seungcheol?” your brows furrowed, your body growing tense with every passing second of silence.

“Hello Y/N.” A weird voice filtered through the receiver. It sounded somewhat distorted and faraway.  

“Who are you? Why do you have this phone?”  

“Calm down.” You heard him laugh. “We’ve met recently, remember? By the burning house. I’m glad you’re still alive. I didn’t mean to harm you.” You heard footsteps resounding on the floor, clacking each time it hit the wooden boards. “I never knew you were friends with this person. So I decided to pay him a…friendly visit. Although it is a shame that he’s already asleep. What a heavy sleeper he is,” he sighed. “He doesn’t even know he has a guest.”

“Tiger?? What do you want?” You stood up, grabbing your keys and your gun on your way out.

“Oh, you’ll see.” Click. The line died, leaving you in silence.

You went in your car and closed the car door, turning on the engine and pulled out the driveway. “Be safe Seungcheol.”

The dark figure sat on the chair right across the bed. He watched the rising and falling of Seungcheol’s chest, his knife dangling loosely in his hand.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this. You weren’t originally in my plan but” he stood up, twirling the knife in his hand, “you shouldn’t blame me. Blame her. Blame them.”

He walked closer towards Seungcheol, his lips tugged upward to a manic smile. He traced the side of Seungcheol’s face with the cold blade of his knife. Seungcheol turned slightly, murmuring in his sleep, oblivious of the small puncture the blade made on his lower cheek.

“Don’t worry though. I’m not here for you. But,” he tilted his head slightly as he examined Seungcheol’s face, “I guess you’ll just have to be a piece in this game with everyone else.”

"Seungcheol!” The door slammed open as you reached to turn on the light. You surveyed the room, your gun trained to the front. There was no one there. Just a sleeping figure in bed.

You walked over to a half-asleep Seungcheol who looked like his sweet dreams just got interrupted.

“Y/N??” Seungcheol sat up, eyes wide open as he realized that he wasn’t dreaming anymore. As if it weren’t before, his eyes widened more as he scrambled to cover himself with his blanket. “What are you doing here??”

Making sure he was alright, you proceeded to search the room, looking for anything that may seem out of the normal.

“Son!” His father rushed in with 2 of his bodyguards. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?” He cupped Seungcheol’s face, examining him for any injuries. “You’re bleeding!” He touched Seungcheol’s cheek, wiping off the blood from it.

Seungcheol looked back at you and to his father, shaking his head. “I’m alright! What is happening? And why is Y/N in my room with a gun??”

You stood in front of the desk across his bed, tucking your gun behind you.

“Y/N came in and said someone called her using your phone! Son are you sure you’re alright?”

“I am.” Seungcheol sat up, his eyes scanning the room. “My phone…I was asleep. I don’t know what happened.”

“I think I do.”

Everyone’s eyes turned towards you.

“Y/N what is it?”

You turned back to them, snatching something on the desk and hiding it behind you. “Mr. Choi, we need to increase the security here. Whoever it was definitely got in and out of here without any problems.”

His father turned to his son, his face looking grim. “You’re right. I’ll arrange it with your father about this first thing in the morning. In the meantime, do you mind staying here for the night? I’ll feel more at ease if you’re here to guard him.”

Seungcheol’s eyes darted towards you, noticing the look of distress in your face. “Y/N are you alright?”

You shifted your gaze towards him, your fist clenched tight behind you. You shook your head lightly. “I’m fine. Go get your wound checked and get back to sleep. I’ll check the perimeter.” You nodded at him and to his father as you excused yourself out of the room.

You headed out of the house and walked towards the yard outside. You looked up to Seungcheol’s room on the 2nd floor, examining any means of entering and exiting the room. You pulled out the photo from behind and studied it, a shiver running down your spine.

It was during lunch at the school cafeteria yesterday, you recognized. You looked at Seungcheol’s face, smiling, holding a piece of bread. And on the left, was definitely you, your hands on your waist and a look of disinterest on your face. It was scary how clear the photo was, despite the obvious fact that it was taken from outside. Even scarier was a short but clear message on it, carved with such pressure it was a surprise the photo remained intact: both of your faces had been crossed out.