“But what does that mean? Why are we both targeted?”

You paced back and forth in CEO Choi’s office. That morning after Tiger’s visit, CEO Choi has called for your dad to talk to him about an increase in security. News about what happened to Seungcheol traveled fast among the people in the house. That being said, you requested an investigation among them, especially those who were on duty last night but the results weren’t satisfactory at all. According to their records, everyone clocked in and out on time. There were no people missing and no visitors either which could mean that Tiger sneaked in. But by himself? There were enough people guarding the house. Surely one of them could’ve seen him. If not, then he was either really good at sneaking in or he had help. Just like what happened before: Junyeong mysteriously escaped with no traces at all right after giving information about Tiger.

Visions of his disembodied figure flashed in your mind, sending shivers down your spine. That could’ve been Seungcheol. Tiger could’ve easily killed him that night but he didn’t. Instead, he left him a small (and thankfully not serious) mark on his face and left you even more questions: Who is he really? And why is he after you and Seungcheol?

“Dad?” You studied your father’s face but can’t make out what he might be thinking. “Any ideas?”

“Well, there’s always the criminals we caught before but that’s just on our end. With Seungcheol, it could be competitors. Business rivals. But you two together?” He shook his head. “I can’t think of any.”

“All the same,” CEO Choi turned to the chief, “I’ll be needing more people. Trusted people. I’ve canceled Seungcheol’s schedules so that he could stay here and rest. So Y/N, I need you to stay for today while we sort all of this out.”

After spending the day investigating on anything you can get your hands on (with the help of Seungkwan who’s currently camping out at HQ), you decided to start on your review. At least there could be some sort of accomplishment from that. Whenever you thought you had lead that would connect everything together, it ends up in dead ends. None of the criminals you caught had any chances of being connected with Tiger or Seungcheol. As for the competitors of Choi Industries, they didn’t seem like shady people at all. They weren’t involved with any of the recent crimes either.

You sighed and placed your book down. It was no good. Reviewing for your tests was a good distraction but it didn’t really took your mind off of the current situation. There wasn’t much to do today too. For the rest of the day, there weren’t any signs of Seungcheol at all. He seemed fine this morning but since he never left his room after lunch, you can’t help but wonder how he’s feeling with everything that’s been going on.

“He hasn’t even had his dinner yet.”

And so, you went to the empty kitchen and started cooking something easy. You chopped some kimchi to bite sized pieces and prepared all the other ingredients. You were so busy concentrating with getting this right (you didn’t exactly cooked a lot) that you didn’t even realized someone else was in the kitchen. You flinched and held back a yelp, nearly dropping the bowl you were holding when you felt a pair of hands settle on your shoulders.

“Ahhh I’m so tired. My head won’t stop pounding.”

“Choi Seungcheol, what are you doing??” you stood frozen, not daring to move as Seungcheol propped his chin on your shoulder.

“Y/N…I’m hungry. What are you cooking?”

You tried getting him off of you only to have his hands close around your waist. Is he crazy?? You scanned the room to see if there was anyone who might possibly see this scene. “Seungcheol. Get. Off.”

Seungcheol whined. “Make me food. Please.” You felt his arms hugging you tighter.

“I already am! Just get off so I can actually make something!”

Seungcheol nodded, a sleepy smile on his face as he stepped back and sat on a chair nearby.

You exhaled and tried to calm yourself down though your heart was still pounding like crazy. What’s gotten into him?? “I’m only making fried rice. Don’t complain.”

“Mhmm…”

Once it became quiet, you sneaked a glance at Seungcheol. The puncture on his cheek was so small it only needed a bandaid. Besides that, there weren’t any signs of what happened last night, almost as if nothing scary happened at all. Well, he was asleep the whole time. He looked more startled when he realized that you were in his room. Remembering that scene, it would’ve been really hilarious if not for the fact that a psycho was there earlier.

He was seated near the counter, his chin resting on his hand, drawing circles with his finger and mumbling names and companies you’ve never heard before. Is that what he was doing all day long? You shook your head. How can someone act so casual?

“How are you feeling?”

Seungcheol smiled, watching you prepare more ingredients. “I’m fine. Just hungry. You?”

“Same here. I was studying for the exams but I was kinda distracted.”

He nodded, though you can’t see him do so. He watched as you added the rice into the pan. “Y/N do you have a boyfriend?”

You paused and turned to look at Seungcheol, only to be met by one of his stupid asking-face paired with his famous innocent-looking smile. You shrugged and turned back to mix the rice. “I don’t.”

“Why?”

“Cause I don’t.”

Seungcheol shifted, laying his head on his arm as he stared at your back appearance. “So…you never dated anyone?”

You shook your head. “Never.”

“Huh…”

You placed the cooked rice on a plate, sprinkling dried laver on it. You walked towards the fridge and took out 2 eggs and started preparing them.

“If somebody asks you out now, will you go out with them?”

“Probably not.”

“Why?”

“Cause I have enough things in my life to keep me busy.” You finished cooking and assembled the dish before placing it in front of Seungcheol. He handed you a spoon as you sat across him, eager to start eating. “Besides. It’s too risky.”

Seungcheol took a bite and smiled, closing his eyes as he savors the food.

You rolled your eyes but smiled before digging in yourself.

“That dangerous huh?”

“Yep. The cons simply outweigh the pros.”

You both ate in silence before Seungcheol spoke again. “How old were you…when you started training?”

“6 years old.”

“Wow. I wonder how 6 years old you looked like, training with the adults.”

You chuckled, remembering the memories you had. “Well, for starters, I got beat up a lot.”

Seungcheol lifted his head, looking at you in disbelief. “You’re kidding.”

“I wish.” You shook your head. “In the academy, you learn a lot in practice. And since I was a small kid at that time, well, you could imagine.”

“Actually, I can’t. I’ve only seen you fight once and be cool all the time, you know.”

“Well, that’s now.” You placed your spoon down and motioned at Seungcheol. “You done?”

“Yeah.”

You took the plate and walked towards the sink, putting on the gloves only to get it taken by Seungcheol. “I’ve probably asked you this a hundred times by now but what are you doing?” you ask as he pushes you aside, taking over the sink.

“I wash, you rinse” he said, starting on the pan.

“And who wipes?” you waited, reaching for the pan once he was done.

“Us,” he smiles.

The two of you worked in silence for a few minutes and started wiping the newly washed items.

“…are you feeling better now?” you ask.

Seungcheol placed the plate on the rack before leaning on the counter. “Yeah. A whole lot better,” he smiles.

You placed the plate lastly on the rack before wiping the counter clean. “No I mean from what happened last night.”

“I don’t really remember what happened. And this thing,” his hand moved to the wound on his cheek, “it feels invisible. It’s like nothing happened at all. So really, I’m fine.”

Seeing him smile like that, you felt assured. What’s important is he’s alright. You can worry about other things later. “Well, that’s that. Good ni—“

“I was going to ask you.”

You raised an eyebrow and met Seungcheol’s eyes.

“What happened to that scar on your hand?”

Your gaze went to you left hand, your eyebrows knitted together.

Seungcheol cleared his throat, realizing that it was probably a taboo question. “Of course you don’t have to answer that. Uh…Anyway…” He took a step forward and stopped. “Y/N?”

You looked up to see him smiling awkwardly.

“Good night.”

Pushing your thoughts aside, you smiled at him softly. Maybe next time. “Good night Seungcheol.”

Seungcheol left the kitchen and up to his room, his hand over his chest, just above his heart. He kept on replaying the scene that just happened, your smiling face still fresh in his thoughts. “Good night.”

The next day, things got a little interesting. You just arrived at school with Seungcheol when someone came running at you.

“Hey Y/N,” Jeonghan jumps beside you, placing an arm over your shoulder. “Wanna see a movie with me and Josh tonight?” he said a little too loudly.

“Oh. Uh…”

“Your pick.” Joshua joins in. “Then we could go eat at this place that serves really good nachos.”

You look at them both and studied their expression. What was going on? You glanced for help towards Seungcheol who stopped just a few feet in front of you but even he was confused at what was happening.

“Uh…Seungcheol’s coming right?”

Jeonghan leaned in and whispered, earning a not so subtle look of disbelief from Seungcheol. “Yeah but don’t tell him until later. He’s always busy and owes us lots of his time so we’re gonna mess with him today. Look at him. He’s already sulking,” he laughs.

True enough, Seungcheol’s arms were folded and he was giving looks. You smiled. “You guys are so mean.”

Joshua met Jeonghan’s gaze and shrugged. “We’re not the mean ones.”

“What? What do you mean?”

Jeonghan patted your shoulder before letting go. “That’s classified.”

It was lunch time and you were on the roof with Seungcheol again. However, unlike the usual all smiles and nearly annoying chatty person that he is, it seemed like he was ignoring you (more like trying hard to ignore you). You smile as you looked over only for him to quickly look away. It seemed like he really wouldn’t talk until you heard him place his food down and sigh.

“Are you not even going to ask why I’m not talking to you?”

“But you’re talking to me right now?”

And just like that, he turns away from you and eats in annoyance.

“Aw you big baby. So why are you sulking? Is it Jeonghan and Joshua? If you turn away like that then I won’t be able to laugh at you’re pouting face anymore.”

“You knew then?”

“Of course I knew. It’s my job as a bodyguard and as your friend.”

“I hate you.”

You smile. “The feeling’s mutual.”

He continued to be like that for a few more moments before he spoke again, his back still facing you. “They were being flirty and touchy with you, you know.”

“Hm. Really? ”

Seungcheol quickly ly to feel pain on his neck, you can’t help but laugh at this pitiful yet cute sight.

“What’s gotten into you?” you laugh as you helped massage his neck. “We’re just going to watch a movie and hang out. They said you were too busy anyway so why not hang out with me?” You watch Seungcheol’s face change into that of curiosity. “What?”

Once the pain subsided, Seungcheol asked, “So you’re going on a date with them but without me?”

You paused. Is he seriously sulking over this? You caught his eyes and for a moment, he looked like he really wanted to go. No. He looked like he didn’t want you to go. You looked down, pushing the thought out of your mind and went back to massaging Seungcheol’s neck. Nope. You’re just imagining things. Probably.

“I’m sorry for last night.”

You looked up to Seungcheol whose eyes were set on you. Images of the hug flashed in your mind only to fade when he continued.

“I was just really curious. I thought you had a cool story about it. I guess it wasn’t a happy one though.”

Oh. He was talking about the scar. Of course. “Well, you caught me off guard last night.” In more ways than one, you thought. You lifted your hand and examined the scar on the back of it. Just below your ring finger was a thin line that went down to the middle. It wasn’t huge nor ugly looking but it was quite noticeable. “I got it when I was really young, when I was new in the academy. Remember that creepy guy with a knife in the alley?”

“You mean that time I caught you stalking me?”

You rolled your eyes. “Well, something similar happened in the past. I met this kid back when I was new in training. He and his dad visited quite often although he was always left to play by himself. He looked like a quiet kid but he was actually very chatty and very random. He’d even show me funny dances he made.”

Seungcheol watched as your face concentrated on the past.

“One afternoon when I promised to play with him in a park, there was this drunk man who wandered in the area. That little boy was very brave even when I told him to stay away. When he saw the other kids getting frightened, he stood up to the guy. But what can he do? He was just a child. It’s not like he was in training like I was. But then the guy took out a knife and went after him. Next thing I knew, the back of my hand was stinging and there was blood. Thankfully, some guys from the academy got the man and I was hugging the kid, shielding him with myself. And he was crying. Not because he was scared for himself. He said he was sorry I got hurt because of him.” You laughed at the memory. “Weird, huh?”

Seungcheol studied your face with concerned eyes. “What happened then?”

You shrugged, resuming eating while Seungcheol watched you. “I don’t know. They just stopped coming over.”

To your surprise, his hand went over yours and touched your scar, tracing it gently, his eyes studying it carefully as if he was trying to see how it all happened. “Thank you…for telling me,“ he smiles although his eyes were filled with concern and sadness.

You withdrew your hand, surprised with his reaction. “Y-yeah. No problem.”

”….so,” he says, cleaning up as slowly as possible, “are you still going with them later?“

You turned to see a hopeful smile on his face and smiled. "Of course I’m still going.”

“Oh.”

You grinned. “And of course you’re going with me. I wasn’t supposed to tell but I think you’ve sulked enough. Of course we’re all going together. Besides, you’re probably still going even though you weren’t invited.”

Seungcheol smiled, walking with you back inside. “You know me so well.”

Just as planned, the four of you went to see a movie after class. Jeonghan and Joshua protested that they wanted you to sit in between them because apparently “Seungcheol always gets phone calls when he stays out too late”. Like expected, it didn’t happen. You were aware that they have been strict with him before but ever since you got assigned as his bodyguard, they had less to worry about. Although it didn’t stop you from checking and rechecking that everything was alright and that it was safe enough for him every now and then.

You looked over for the nth time just to be sure. But the only thing you were concerned of at the moment was the silent and one-sided bickering happening with Seungcheol and Jeonghan about the movie and Joshua being 100% focused on the film by himself.

“You should get used to it by now,” Joshua whispers as he reaches for some popcorn.

After the movie, Joshua took you three to the nacho place he was talking about and seeing how nothing and no one suspicious was present, you allowed yourself to relax. Of course you’ve been out with a couple of friends, mostly colleagues. Still, it’s been a long time since your last one. Work has pretty much taken over your life and there simply was no time to relax and have fun. But here you are, laughing with these amazing people, eating nachos messily and not caring, and just living. It was the best.

You said your goodbyes and the two left, leaving you with Seungcheol as you waited for his driver. You glanced across the street and saw a familiar face standing on the sidewalk, waiting to cross.

“Wait,” you say, your hand going over Seungcheol’s arm, “that’s…it can’t be…”

Seungcheol glanced at you and to where you were looking. “Y/n? You okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he laughs.

You continued to stare ahead. “Seungcheol I need you to stay inside the restaurant and wait for your driver.”

The light at the pedestrian lane turned green and you watched as the person walked across it. You walked near the lane until you were standing right in his direction when he saw you. You locked eyes, as if you were both trying to recognize each other until he turned and ran.

“Y/n??”

“Stay inside!” you yelled at Seungcheol as you ran for it.

You crossed the lane, pushing through a few people that was in your way. He ran without stopping, going through crowded and noisy streets. You felt yourself breathing heavily now, a stitch forming on your side but you can’t lose this guy. Not again.

You saw him take a glance back at you. It’s definitely him. It’s Junyeong. But how is it that he’s here? He’s supposed to be dead!

You saw a flash of clothing turn at a corner and went after it, only to see no one in the street. You looked up. There was no one in the fire escapes. He couldn’t be that fast, can he?

“Oh come on!” you stomped in frustration, before hearing a click behind you.

“Y/n?” a trembling voice spoke.

You turned, slowly, dreading the possible situation you are in right now. Standing in front of you was Junyeong, looking alive and well. But with him was Seungcheol, a gun pointed at his head.

You your lips and let out an exasperated sigh. “You never listen, do you?”

“Sorry.”

Junyeong laughs. “I’m sorry to interrupt but, I gotta go. But first,” he nods at you, “hands up where I can see them. No funny business.”

“You know, usually, I’m the one that says that,” you raised your hands slowly. “How are you still alive?”

Junyeong shrugged. “Guess I was valuable to him more than I thought. Fooled y’all didn’t we?” he scoffs. “Now just let me live the life of the dead again. I don’t need anything from your lot anymore.”

He’s nuts if he thinks that you would actually let him go. But there’s just one more important thing: he has Seungcheol.

You glanced around. Empty. There was nothing you could use in here. And knowing this guy, he wouldn’t think twice of harming you both the second he thinks you’re planning something. But you just can’t let him go like this. There must be a way.

“Just let me walk away from here and I won’t harm any of you.”

Click.

You looked over to the shadow behind Junyeong and smiled.

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere.”

You watched as Junyeong let Seungcheol go, raising his hands in surrender. The shadow stepped forward, taking the gun from Junyeong and cuffing his hands together. 

“Hey there Y/N,” he smiles. 

It was Wonwoo.