'He's late again,' you thought to yourself as you cast a look on the wall clock. It read 12:47am; it's been around 6 hours since and your boyfriend has not texted you back after saying that he had an errand to run. You lived in an apartment building with Seventeen's dorm just a couple of floors above your flat, and there has not been any sign of anyone coming into the building--no footsteps, no voices.

After a moment's hesitation you took your phone out of your pocket and were about to call his best friend Joshua when you heard someone entering the pin code of your door. Besides you and your mother, the only one who knew your pin code was Jeonghan.

"I'm hom--"

"Yoon Jeonghan! Where were you? It's so late!" you blurted out, half-relieved that he was home, half-angry that he didn't tell you he was going to be late. Because your flat was a few floors lower than theirs and a great deal quieter, he would so often crash at your place when he was too tired to join the boys upstairs. When he came into full view, he had  the obnoxious leather jacket on and his bleached blonde hair was tied back in messy low ponytail. Under the dim light of the kitchen you could see that his forehead was gleaming with sweat and his face was flushed. He looked tired.

"Hey," you said, your voice softening as you took a step toward him, "are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

He just sighed and said in a low voice, "I'm tired," and then made his way to the spare room that was almost his already, not answering any of your questions. Unfazed, you trailed his heavy footsteps to the room and stood like a sentry at the door.

"Where were you?" you asked again.

"Just somewhere."

You rolled your eyes at the elusive answer. "Can't you just answer me properly?" you demanded in a louder voice.

He sighed again as he removed the jacket, and then made his way toward you until he was only a breath away. You could feel heat radiating from his torso, but his fingers that grazed your arm lightly felt cold from the air outside. You looked up at his face and met his dark eyes that were lacking their usual luster. He really did look tired, but doing what? He wasn't scheduled for anything for the past few days, and Joshua made sure to let you know that. He isn't answering my question... Is he hiding something?

An unexplainable sadness suddenly overtook you and you started to cry. Anxiety gnawed at your chest at the multiple possibilities than ran through your mind, each one worse than the one before.

Jeonghan suddenly grippped your arms in a firm hold. "Yah. Why are you crying? Are you hurt? Are you sick?"

You shook your head and struggled to string together a proper sentence in between your sobs. "Are you cheating on me?" When he didn't answer at  once, you cried harder and said in between hiccups, "Don't you love me anymore? Was it something I said? Or did?"

You didn't catch the look of surprise on his face when he heard what you said, which softened into a small, rather relieved smile when he pulled you into a tight embrace. Right then you remembered how you've always said to yourself that there is no place safer than Jeonghan's arms. You kept crying onto his chest, but he didn't seem to mind that your tears were soaking through his shirt. He smelled of the air outside, and you could feel his muscles slowly relaxing beneath the cloth of his shirt.

"Babo," he said softly, which caught you a little by surprise. "Why would you think that? I won't leave you." His voice was low and soothing, and it resonated through his chest and onto your cheek.

Afraid to look up at him, you stayed still and said hesitantly, "Why won't you answer the question, then?"

"Just as I said, I was tired, and it's really no big news to tell at once. But for your peace of mind," he said and paused, then continued, "I was coming back from vocal practice with Shua when we saw a couple of antis outside the building. Maybe they knew we lived here, but luckily they didn't go on up or they would have seen you. I think rumors have gone out that my girl is living in the same building we are, so we led them away and made sure they won't come after you."

Surprised, you couldn't resist looking up at his face. His lips were curled slightly into a tender smile as he looked at you with so much adoration in his gentle eyes. He never failed to look beautiful despite his hair being unwashed and his face haggard with sweat--he was the most beautiful man you knew.

"Is that okay, though? I mean, you're an idol and all..." you said shyly upon knowing the truth. It was a must never to get entangled with anti-fans, and if he went through the trouble just to protect you, you will be part of the blamed if his work is compromised.

But he just kept smiling. "Don't worry, we didn't hurt them or anything--we just gave them a strict talking-to. You know how Shua gets all steely-faced when he's reprimanding the members, right? It's just kind of like that, only more strict."

You blinked. "Really?"

Jeonghan nodded reassuringly and hugged you tightly once again. "Please don't even think that I'll leave you ever again. You know I love you too much to do that."

"I'm sorry," you said sheepishly.

You felt Jeonghan shake his head and he placed his chin on top of  your head. "It's fine. No one will ever be able to touch my  girl, I promise."

You stayed in his embrace for a few moments more, just relishing the feeling of his arms around you, then you said, "Jeonghan."

"Hm?"

"I think you need to shower."