The room was dark, only lit by a phone that laid in a pool of blood. The child could only gaze in disbelief in what she witnessed.

Please wake up from this nightmare.

She calls for her parents, but there is no response from the motionless bodies that rest in a puddle of red. A shadow creeps slowly to the girl. She couldn’t move, as if she was petrified in place, frozen in terror. She tries to call for help, but her voice refuses to comply. The shadow stops and slowly turns to her. All she could see was the lifeless stare from the eyes of a pigeon’s head...

HeeJin abruptly wakes up in a cold sweat, her panting breath echoed in the dark bedroom. Ugh, that horrid dream again she thought to herself. 

She had this dream too often, but no matter how many times she’s had it, she could never stop herself from trembling in fear. The girl finally decided to collect herself, as if it was part of her morning routine, shutting her eyes as she consciously took slow deep breaths. She reluctantly grabs her phone from her bedside table and checks the date.

“Of course,'' she sighed, this dream only becomes this vivid on this day, the day her parents were murdered. 

~ ~ ~

“Good morning Mr. Jaden”

Jaden nods to his personal bodyguard as he enters the penthouse living room, “So who are the candidates you have selected?”

“Sir, I have handpicked the best from our agency according to your requirements.”

Jaden grabbed the files and sat down in his favorite chair that overlooked the city skyline. He sifted through the paperwork and carefully went over each detail of the documents.

“Good morning father.” As HeeJin shuffled in and sat on the couch in front of her father.

“Oh, HeeJin, you are up early.” Jaden was startled from his daughter’s sudden appearance.

HeeJin rubbed her temples and responded, “I had trouble sleeping, so I figured I would have a head start today.”

Jaden concerningly looked at her, “Are you still having those dreams?”

The girl shifted her eyes from her father and looked around for anything to change the subject. She spotted the files in her father's hands. “Do you have more meetings today? You seem like you have been busy.”

He already knew the answer to his question, he let out a sigh and continued with the conversation. “Oh, this? Well, I am thinking about hiring a personal bodyguard for you.”

“What do you mean? I already have guards that me.”

“Well this is different, they will be by your side even at school and wherever you go.”

HeeJin rolls her eyes, “I thought we were over this already, it’s already hard enough for me to make friends because of my position. Now I need to have a bodyguard by my side all 24/7? It’s not like I’m the daughter of a king or president.” 

She has fought over her father many times about having a personal bodyguard, she dreaded the thought of having her small amount of freedom being taken away. She figured she could achieve victory again.

“HeeJin, I have been meaning to tell you something.” As Jaden got up and sat next to HeeJin.

“What is it?” She stammered.

Suddenly, his tone became more serious. “You already know you are the next heir to Blockberry. I believe you will be ready to take over in a few years.”

HeeJin’s heart sank, her eyes widened and stuttered, “Wh-What do you mean? Where are you going?!” She panicked, she never imagined Jaden would ever leave her after taking her in. She didn’t want to lose another father.

The father held his daughter’s hand, she could feel her hand tremble. “HeeJin, you are very diligent and brilliant, in fact, you are almost too smart for your own good. I know you will do great things. Blockberry is your parent’s company, I was your father’s best friend and business partner for years and I know this is what your father would have wanted.” 

He looked at his daughter’s watery eyes and knew he needed to reassure her. “I won’t go anywhere, I will watch over you as you run the company, but I planned on making an official announcement soon. This is why you will absolutely need a personal bodyguard now.”

HeeJin let out a sigh of relief, but still couldn’t utter a word. She was in complete disbelief and shock about the news. She knew Jaden has been educating and training her to lead her parent’s company ever since he adopted her, but she wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon, she was only 24. 

“Now go get ready, we need to pay a visit to your parents and tell them the good news, ok?” Jaden said reassuringly.

HeeJin nodded, speechless, and scurried to her room. Jaden let out a sigh and looked at the documents over again. He remembered the countless arguments he had with HeeJin about her safety and security and thought about her wishes as well. He tossed the documents aside and glanced over to his bodyguard.

“I have a new set of requirements, I would like another list of candidates.”

=(˃ᆺ˂)=

“HyunJin! Kim HyunJin! Kim HyunJin!!! AAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

Jungeun finally had enough and violently shook HyunJin, she couldn’t believe how much energy she had to waste to wake up this corpse, she usually wakes up easily, as both of them are early birds.

HyunJin groggily woke up, and glared at Jungeun. “What is with all the noise so early in the morning!”

“YA!” Jungeun snapped. “You obviously forgot that you have your first day of work this morning.” She flipped her hair back and placed her hand on her waist and sarcastically said. “And as your ‘mom’, I thought I was being nice enough to wake you up.”

HyunJin glanced at the clock and all her color drained from her face. “AHHHHHHHH! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier!!!” As she stumbled out of her bed and onto the floor.

“What do you think I have been trying to do for the past 10 minutes! You’re alarm even woke me up from across the hall, I don’t know how long it’s been going off for!”

Jungeun gave her that look as HyunJin struggled to get dressed. 

“I will never understand how or why you were selected as a personal bodyguard, you are a complete mess, but I will admit, your athleticism is incredible. Even the boys can hardly keep up with you.”

HyunJin glanced at her and mimicked her face. “Don’t give me one of your infamous stank faces while you are trying to compliment me!”

Jungeun smirked. “Well good luck on your first day. Fighting!” as she tossed a piece of toast towards HyunJin.

HyunJin instinctively caught it in as she ran out the door, Jungeun couldn’t help but burst into laughter at her ridiculous roommate. 

~ ~ ~

HyunJin sprinted through the city, taking any shortcut she could, jumping and dodging any obstacle in her way. It was quite a spectacle to see, as if an Olympic runner was racing through the rush hour crowd...with a piece of toast in their mouth. 

AISHHH, I knew I shouldn’t have drunk last night HyunJin thought to herself. She wasn’t great at holding her alcohol, but it was a special occasion. She completed her executive bodyguard training last week, was selected for this new job and was notified just yesterday, and today started her trial period as a personal bodyguard. Jungeun even organized a party with their close friends, Hyejoo and JinSoul. How could anyone not celebrate?

As HyunJin’s head was in the clouds, regretting her decisions from the night