Jaehyun sat cross-legged on the floor right beside the bed as Hyeyoon slept soundly. He was mesmerized by how innocently beautiful she looked while sleeping. She didn’t deserve any of the harassment she experienced this morning, he thought as he watched her.

He tried to recall what words the sasaeng fans were shouting at her but he couldn’t make anything out of his memory. He could only remember the panic in his heart when he saw Hyeyoon get attacked and the anger he feels for each and every one of those stalkers. They don’t even deserve to be called fans after what they did.

He noticed the sun was beginning to set; everyone must be home at the dorms now. He’s been thinking of what course of action to take to teach those sasaengs a lesson but he couldn’t come up with anything right now. He was still too agitated to think reasonably.

Jaehyun decided it would be best if he called their manager, Ingyu hyung, and tell him what happened. Even though he knows he should tell their leader Taeyong first but he decides against it. He thinks Taeyong would let his feelings for Hyeyoon get in the way of good judgement, just like Jaehyun.

He goes out of the apartment as quietly as possible so he wouldn’t wake Hyeyoon from her nap. He takes one more glance at her sleeping figure before he shuts the door slowly. After a few rings, Ingyu picks up Jaehyun’s call.

“Jaehyun what’s the matter?” Ingyu speaks, he sounds like he’s driving their company van.

“Hyung something happened to Hyeyoon this morning,” Jaehyun begins but he’s interrupted by a very alarmed Haechan.

“What?! Jaehyun hyung, what happened to noona?” Haechan spoke loudly.

“She got attacked by our sasaengs on her way to our dorm this morning.”

He hears Haechan cussing furiously in the background. He didn’t mean for Haechan, and the others to hear about the assault this way. Jaehyun also figured Mark and Jungwoo were certainly also listening in, the four of them were probably going home from the photoshoot.

“What? What did they do to her?” Ingyu asks. SM would not like to hear this especially a few days before the boys’ comeback, he thinks to himself.

“I’ll tell you the details when I get back to the dorm later,” Jaehyun answers.

Jaehyun still doesn’t know everything that those sasaengs did to Hyeyoon but he’ll try to ask her later when she wakes up, if she feels comfortable enough to tell him. He wanted to get the facts right before he tells Ingyu and the rest of the members.

“Where are you now hyung?” Jungwoo suddenly asks. He was quietly listening to the conversation while exchanging looks of concern with Mark who was seated beside him.

Jungwoo was worried about Hyeyoon but he was also worried about his roommate. He hopes Jaehyun didn’t do anything rash to the sasaengs. He’s been observing his hyung this past week and he’s got a hunch that something happened to him and their housekeeper when they were alone in the apartment last Monday. If he’s intuition is correct, Jaehyun definitely likes Hyeyoon and when you see the girl that you like get hurt, you could momentarily lose your mind and do something that could cause a scandal.

This is the worst timing for a scandal, Jungwoo thinks. Their repackaged album and new music video will be coming out on Tuesday next week, just a few days from today. He’s suddenly reminded about what happened last year, when they released Simon Says and a scandal broke out right before their comeback. It affected their sales and they barely got any music show wins. Not that their group’s performance on the charts mattered to Jungwoo, he was just happy to be able to live his dream of becoming an idol. What concerns him is how it affects the way their company treats them. When you don’t make a lot of money, the company tends to neglect you and gives you fewer opportunities.

Jaehyun pauses before answering, “I’m at Hyeyoon’s house right now taking care of her.”

“You’re at her place?” Haechan repeated incredulously.

Jaehyun knew the maknae would react this way. He lowers his phone and sighs, so they wouldn’t hear him. He tells them he’ll talk to them in person about everything and hangs up.

 

 

 

“Could Hyeyoon noona be badly hurt? I’m so worried hyung!” Haechan says as he and Ingyu enter the 5^th floor dorm.

Taeyong, Doyoung, and Johnny were all hanging out in the kitchen, eating snacks when they overheard Haechan’s loud talking. Taeyoung and Doyoung were particularly affected by what they just heard. Is Hyeyoon hurt again? Taeyong thought. He still felt guilty about the time she fell and sprained her ankle. She got injured and missed a day of work because of him.

The three of them came out of the kitchen, wearing very alarmed expressions on their faces, to meet Haechan and Ingyu and ask what was going on. Doyoung was the first one to speak, “what do you mean Hyeyoon is hurt?”

“Apparently, sasaengs suddenly attacked her this morning but we don’t know all the details. Only Jaehyun knows since he was there when it happened,” Ingyu explained.

“Sasaengs attacked her?” Doyoung was furious. He’s called the cops on those stalkers at least once and have confronted them multiple times. He was livid that they dared to hurt Hyeyoon.

“That’s the only thing Jaehyun hyung said,” Haechan says as he plops down tiredly on the sofa.

“He’s at her apartment right now, taking care of her,” he adds with a clear tinge of jealousy.

“Why don’t we ask the building’s security officer for the cctv footage? She probably got attacked right outside of our condominiums building cause that’s where all the sasaengs wait around,” Johnny was the only one thinking smartly.

“You’re right, let’s go down there now,” Taeyong says and they all headed down to the first floor. A single staff member was seated behind the counter in the lobby, he smiles and bows as he sees the men approaching. He knew what they would be asking for.

“Hello gentlemen, how may I help you?” he politely inquired.

“There was an assault that happened infront of the building this morning, do you know about it?” Doyoung asked.

“Yes, there was an incident this morning. First of all, I’d like to apologize that the security team didn’t handle the situation. The guards thought it was an isolated case, a petty fight among young girls that didn’t involve any of the building residents that’s why they didn’t interfere. We only found out that it was your housekeeper who was getting attacked when Mr. Jaehyun came out to help her.”

“So the guards just stood by while someone was being pounded on?” Haechan couldn’t believe how incompetent and apathetic these so called guards are.

Johnny put a hand on Haechan’s chest to calm the younger member down. “We understand, it’s out of your line of responsibility but you could have done something instead of just letting it happen” Johnny says calmly.

“I’m really sorry for our actions Mr. Johnny,” the employee bows.

“Do you have the cctv footage of what happened?” Taeyong asks.

“Yes, we were planning to give it to your manager, Mr. Ingyu tomorrow. It’s in this flashdrive,” he hands Taeyong a small black USB.

“If you need anything more, I’ll gladly assist you.”

“No this is fine, thank you,” Ingyu dismisses the employee and ushers the guys back to the elevators. He didn’t want to them to cause a scene at the lobby where a lot of people might see. It’s his job to monitor everyone and keep them from doing something scandalous.

The guys were giving Ingyu looks but they realized he was just doing his job as their manager to keep their images from getting tarnished. They all head back to their apartment to watch the cctv footage.

 

 

 

“You’re awake now?” Jaehyun says as he comes back into the apartment.

Hyeyoon was seated on the edge of the bed, looking much better than she did this morning. She nods and smiles shyly at Jaehyun, she felt kind of weird that she was alone with him in her sister’s place. Looking at his handsome face, reminded her of the two times he’s kissed her on her head.

He’s always been kind to her but you don’t just kiss someone just because you’re kind, right? She didn’t mind the kisses, in fact, she welcomed them. The first time, she was still too shaken up from the attack that it didn’t really register in her mind. But after the second one, she couldn’t shake the feelings of faintness and ecstasy that he was causing.

When she was getting jumped by the hostile NCT fans, she genuinely thought they were going to kill her in broad daylight. She didn’t expect that Jaehyun would be there to save her. If it wasn’t for him, she would have had another major panic attack just like when she saw her aunt collapse during her first night in Seoul. She doesn’t know why, but Jaehyun managed to calm her and stop her anxiety. He was able to do something that the qualified medical officer couldn’t even do without giving her sedatives.

But what happened wasn’t caused by the memory of her father’s death, it was because of the intense fear she felt being surrounded and nearly trampled on by a dozen of people. She was on her way to work when the girls suddenly ganged up on her. They started pushing her around while swearing at her and calling her awful names. She didn’t understand why they were acting rudely to her.

“Stay away from Taeyong oppa, you ugly !” they screamed while they poured rotten milk all over her.

When she heard that, it all dawned on her why this was happening. They were probably mad when they saw Taeyong driving her home last week. She was right when she sensed somebody was watching when she got into his car. She should have said no and stayed away from him.

“You’re just Taeyong’s housekeeper, so know your place you dumb !” they shouted while they grabbed her bag and poured out all her things on the ground.

“You’re just a piece of useless trash, just like this cheap bag!” they yelled while they ripped the bag that her Hyerim unnie bought for her.

She felt helpless and was just frozen in place as she watched them tear the bag that meant so much to her. It was the very first thing Hyerim bought for her, and it pained her to see them treat it like a piece of garbage. Her anxiety was beginning to get out of hand; she tried to calm herself by drowning out their blaring voices through covering her ears.

Her vision was getting blurry because of the milk and tears in her eyes, making it difficult for her to see. She felt somebody wrapping their arms around her and thought it was one of the girls but she recognized it was Jaehyun. Her head was spinning and her entire body was trembling so she doesn’t remember much after Jaehyun came.

All she thought while she was being carried away from the scene was, “Jaehyun’s here. He’s here and he’s going to keep me safe.” What he did for her today, meant a lot for Hyeyoon and made her see her true feelings.

She realized now why she was able to manage her emotions for Taeyong. It’s because what she felt for him was a mixture of infatuation, her lack of experience with guys, and her fascination at his ethereal face. But what she felt for Jaehyun was different, she feels safe when he’s around. When he kissed her, she felt like she was protected, appreciated, and loved.

Jaehyun takes a seat beside her on the bed, their proximity made her feel shivers on her skin. She looks at him in the eye and he looks back at her with the softest smile.

“I know it’s too abrupt and crazy but I like Jaehyun, a lot,” Hyeyoon thought as she stared at his beautiful brown eyes that looked like pools of warm honey as they reflected the sunset shining through the window.

“You’re beautiful Hyeyoon…” Jaehyun suddenly whispered.

“You think I’m beautiful?” she echoed his words quietly.

Jaehyun couldn’t control himself anymore. “Yes,” he says before leaning in and placing his lips against hers.

Hyeyoon let her eyes close and allowed herself to feel his soft moist lips on her own. He cradled her face gently as he deepened the kiss more. It felt like his touches were causing small electric shocks on her skin. Jaehyun tilts his head slightly as he pecks her bottom lip, lightly grazing it with his tongue. The sensation made Hyeyoon lightheaded, she held on Jaehyun’s shoulder for support.

Her touch encouraged him and pulls her even closer, caressing her back as he kissed her again and again. It was Hyeyoon’s first kiss and she had no idea what she was doing but she let her body move on its own. She responds to his lips’ every movement and she didn’t realize she was getting out of breath when he momentarily breaks away to get some air.

Jaehyun couldn’t believe what was happening. The girl who owns his heart was allowing him to kiss her like this. He was breathless but he wanted more of her. He returns to kiss her, a bit more aggressively this time. Her lips tasted like salted caramel and he was intoxicated by her scent; vanilla with a hint of rose.

“I like you Hyeyoon.”

“I like you too, Jaehyun,” she answers back without hesitation.

He smiles and trails kisses around her face, leaving her lips last. He lightly brushed his lips on her and whispered “I like you” once again before fully sealing their lips together.

 

 

 

“What do you want to order for dinner?” Jaehyun asks as he scrolls through the menu on the online food delivery app.

Jaehyun had his arms around Hyeyoon, he held her tightly in a back hug not wanting to let her go. She was preparing the rice for their meal. They both felt high, like they were floating amongst the clouds. Hyeyoon didn’t care about anything other than Jaehyun right now.

“Just order anything,” she says turning to him and he gives her a peck on the lips.

“Okay,” he says and kisses her again. She giggles and tries to turn her attention back to washing the rice but he was distracting her with a barrage of kisses on her neck. She didn’t know her neck could feel so sensitive, the sensation was stirring something else inside her.

Jaehyun realized what he was doing and stopped. He unwraps himself from her and turns around, feeling the heat on his ears. I have to control myself, he thinks as he punches the air to dispel the urges within him. Hyeyoon lightly slaps her cheeks as she concentrate on getting the rice cooked.

Soon the two of them were sitting on the floor, waiting for the delivery to arrive. Jaehyun was holding her hand, just playing around with it while they waited. If he kissed her again, he doesn’t think he’d have the willpower to stop himself from doing more than just kissing.

He all of a sudden noticed a bruise on her lower left arm. Those sasaeng es will pay for what they did to her. “Does it hurt?” he says lightly placing a finger close to the bruise.

“Only a little,” she says smiling to reassure him.

“Do you want to tell me what exactly those people did to you?” he looks at her in the eye. “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it,” he adds.

“No, I can talk to you about it. If it wasn’t for you, I would have gotten even more hurt.”

Hyeyoon tells Jaehyun the whole incident and added all the details she could remember. His smile gradually disappeared while his forehead became creased with worry and his fists were tightly clenched with anger. After recalling the event, she smoothed out his furrowed brows and unclenched his fists, giving soft kisses on them to calm him down.

“I’m so sorry that had to happen to you,” he tells her.

“No don’t apologize, it wasn’t your fault oppa.”

His smile returns when he hears her say oppa. He gives her a hug and whispers, “do you know you drive me insane when you call me that way?”

She shakes her head as he lets go of her. The doorbell rings, “our food is here!” she tells him.

“I’ll be right back,” he says kissing her cheek before getting up to the front door.

As she watched him walk out, she was hit by the actuality that Jaehyun is really here with her and he likes her just as much as she likes him. This is the happiest she’s ever felt in her entire life.