Requested by: ---  

 Characters: Nicole (KARA) & Leo (VIXX) ft. VIXX 

       “Stay with me Nicole!”

The bottom of her white collar shirt was damped with her red blood, from the bullet she took that was coming towards Leo. The blood didn’t seem to want to stop, not matter how many times Leo tried pressing it and tearing his own uniform to wrap around the wound. Leo was holding her as the guys that were trying to gang up on him earlier, lay on the floor lifelessly.

“Leo..”

       “..Yeah?”

“Smile for me please…”

He gave a hesitated laugh as Nicole stared at him earnestly.

        “Why are you asking me this?”

“.. Just please..”

       “But you’re going to live anyway.. Right?”

“Just in case.. Please just this once.”

Caressing her cheek, Leo cracked a smile as tears threatened his eyes.

       “It won’t be just once, you are going to see it more. I know it.”

“Maybe.”

Nicole laughed with her face showing slight pain as she held his hand that was caressing her face. His smile was addicting to her but her laugh was even more addicting to him. Who knew fate could be so cruel sometimes.

~ Flashback~

       “Have a good day, Sir,” one of the maids bowed to him as he exited out the door, walking towards his ride.

The driver opened the door for him, letting him enter the car before closing it beside him. Leo could be labeled as the perfect man in Korea; actually he is already labeled as that when people see him. Having the perfect looks, smart, tall, strong, perfect voice, sports prodigy, and the next heir of the largest phone company in Korea, who wouldn’t want to date him? Just by looking at him, no one would think he had a single flaw. Of course, even if he is Mr. Perfect, he has one major flaw.

He doesn’t smile.

Why doesn’t he smile? No one knows why. He could laugh but he does it with a straight face, that you would think he was faking his laugh not to hurt anyone’s feelings.

Placing his school bag beside him, he looked forward as he waited for the car to start. His driver started the engine and began driving out of his mansion’s drive way. Nine minutes passed as they finally pulled in front of Seoul Elite Private High School, aka the school of the rich and smart. Half of the populations of students are heirs of high social classes like him, while the others are servants that follow their masters around. His driver placed the car in park and got out of the car to open the door for Leo. Getting out, he already heard some girls screaming and some pointing at him.

       “Have a good day, Sir,” his driver bowed before taking off, leaving him in this prison.

       “You’re 2 minutes late,” a voice was heard behind him.

He turned around to see Nicole with her blonde hair down in her school uniform. Since some students are in different ranks, the school provided 2 different types of uniform. One for students that are actually there for academics, which was dark blue, while the other half are there for more physical classes, which was darker red.

       Leo grumbled, “Chillax, I’m just a little late.”

       Nicole shook her head as she placed her hand on her waist, “I thought something might’ve happened to you.”

       “You always think something might’ve happened to me even if I’m just a second late.”

       “I am your bodyguard so what am I supposed to do?”

You heard right, the petite little framed girl is Leo’s, a strong built man’s, bodyguard. But don’t doubt her ability; even if she looks like someone you could beat easily, you would definitely regret it. Nicole was raised by Korea’s top trained bodyguard academies. She’s one of the top rank bodyguards in the entire school, beating all the tall and strong framed males. Make her mad, you would think it would be the biggest mistake in your life. Nicole was also pretty and smart. If Nicole was born rich, she would probably be named Ms. Perfect by others around her. But she has a big flaw just like Leo.

She doesn’t laugh.

Leo and Nicole are opposites you could say..

       Using his height to his advantage, he messed up her hair, “Just relax, it’s just the beginning of the morning. Don’t start your nagging now.”

Nicole pouted; she always hated how she used his height against her.

       He nudged her arm, “Come on, we should get going.”

She sighed and nodded. They walked beside each other as they entered the school building. Entering the big hallways, you could see students, that were wearing dark red uniform, were following their masters, who were wearing a dark blue uniform.

“The Perfect Pair are coming!~” “They look perfect for each other” “Too bad they are just master and servant.”

In school, Leo and Nicole were known as the Perfect Pair. To them, they couldn’t understand the reason why they were named that but always brushed it off when hearing the name. They were different from each other. The two may be somewhat perfect, but Nicole speaks more that Leo. He hardly talks, which makes girls have interest in him more. Plus, Nicole smiles but can’t laugh, while Leo laughs but can’t smile.

After walking past a few classes, the two soon arrived in Leo’s classroom. He took a seat while Nicole stood beside him, as usual. Nicole would usually wait till the bell rings and class starts before leaving for her own class.

       “Yo!” a person greeted the two.

       Nicole bowed towards him and greeted, “Annyeong Ken. Where is Ravi?”

Leo just gave his usual nod as he continued to stare at Ken.

       Ken settled down in his seat, which was in front of Leo, “He’s coming; it’s just that he wanted to check something out.”

       “Ken,” Ravi came in, “sorry for being late.”

       “Annyeong Ravi,” Nicole waved.

Nicole and Ravi were friendlier with each other since the two are both bodyguards so they have most of the same classes with each other. There was Hongbin, the flower boy bodyguard, but he wasn’t here with N, his master, just yet.

       He stood beside Ken and greeted everyone with a smile, “Annyeong.”

The four began talking to each other until there was a loud slam from the door opening.

       “GOOD MORNING!~” the usual cheerful voice greeted them.

       “Annyeong, N. Good morning to you too,” Nicole greeted with a small smile.

Ravi greeted him also, while Leo and Ken made an annoyed face. The two were never really a morning person, and someone yelling isn’t really helping either.

       “N Hyung, please be a little more quiet,” Hongbin bit his lip as he followed behind him, “you will disturb others again.”

       Sitting on his desk, he started to get comfy, “Relax, I’m not that loud.”

       “Trust me you are,” Leo grinned.

       Hongbin stood beside N, who was seated behind Leo, “Annyeong. Good morning to you all.”

The others nodded in reply and greeted him back.

       “What did you eat for breakfast today, seriously?” Ken asked N who was still acting hyper.

N started to think about it, “Well I ate 2 eggs, 1 toast, and some pancakes. Wae?”

       “He ate it with a lot of syrup, even though I told him not to,” Hongbin face palmed.

The four of them stared at N, who looked at them innocently as if nothing was wrong.

       “Anyways,” Ravi changed the subject, “where’s Hyuk?”

       “He was running an errand for N,” Hongbin answered with a smile.

Hyuk is the youngest among the group plus the only person that is a butler. He may be young but never doubt his amazing skills. Many say he is a child prodigy by being the youngest skilled butler in Korea. He is also the very last member this friend line.

       “Oh Nicole,” Hongbin tapped on her shoulder, receiving her full attention.

       “Hmm?” she looked at him.

       “Are you ready for the exam today for Attack class?” he asked with a smirk.

       Ravi clapped his hands together, “I almost forgot about it! I’m so going to kick your guys’ butts.”

The room was filled with laughter at Ravi who puffed out his chest in confidence. Leo was laughing without an expression on his face while Nicole just smiled at him. Since the three of them are bodyguards, they have the same classes together which consists of Attack, Defense, and Weapon class, which Nicole is the top student for all three classes. 

       “You say that now,” Hongbin laughed, “And you’re going to get your kick by Cole just like last time.”

       Ravi waved his hand, “That was just luck, but this time I will beat you all.”

       “So was the last 40 battles,” a voice said with sarcasm, “But who’s counting.”

The 6 turned their heads to see Hyuk holding a bag in his hand as he stood in the door way, with a grin spread across his face. The group greeted him as he walked towards them and gave N the bag he was carrying before.

       “Gomawo,” N thanked him as he placed the bag on the side of his desk.

       “Anyways,” Nicole smirked, “Then I’m looking forward to our battle then.”

       “You bet,” Ravi smiled.

       Hyuk made a face, “Should I get the first aid kit ready?”

Everyone laughed except Ravi, who was pouting.

       Nicole smiled, “Don’t worry. I won’t leave any major injuries.”

The bell ringed, filling the whole school. Nicole, Hyuk, Ravi, and Hongbin bid their good bye and exited out of the classroom for the other students to enter. Walking down the hallway, they started to go to the other building near the one they’re in now. After walking for a few minutes, they finally arrived at the building and Hyuk separated from them so he could go to his classes.

       “So,” Hongbin began, “how are things with you and Leo after last week?”

Last week was Valentine’s Day, where Nicole finally confessed to him after years of hiding her feelings. Business and love never mixes well, and she knew that very well. She was hesitate at first but Hongbin, Ravi, and Hyuk, who were the only ones that knew about her crush, kept on pushing her to and she finally did. Nicole didn’t like the idea at first since one these kinds of holidays, Leo is never in a good mood because of the amount of girls that keep coming to him and tearing up when they get rejected. Leo was the type of person who hated to make people unhappy especially if they didn’t have a reason for being like that. When Nicole finally did confess to him, she was ready to embrace a polite rejection but she received a warm pair of arms wrapped around her petite body.  Finding out that Leo liked her also she couldn’t help but be over joyed but the two knew very well that their relationship won’t work out at all. He was a person with high social status while she was just one of his employees. So everything was back to normal, the only thing different was that they knew each other’s true feelings.

       “It’s been going fine,” Nicole swiftly spoke, not wanting to talk about the subject.

After arriving to their classroom, well technically gym room, they set their bag down and stood in line where the other classmates were standing. The teacher then took the attendance and class soon began in session.

♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  ♦  

        “Ow,” Ravi winced in pain as the three exited out of the classroom.

Hongbin laughed at him while Nicole smiled as the three walked down the hallway.

       “Noona! Hyungs!~” a voice called out, echoing the hallways.   

The three turned to see Hyuk running towards them as he waved. As soon as he reached up towards them, he stopped as he couldn’t help but start giggling at Ravi.

       “Do I need to apply first aid on you Hyung?” Hyuk slightly teased as he asked him.

       “I think you should massage his arm,” Hongbin answered for Ravi, who was trying to relieve the pain in his arm.

       Hyuk grabbed Ravi’s arm as he started to massage It, “Nicole again?”

       Nicole shook her head and cracked a big smile, “Not this time. Hongbin did it.”

       After he heard this, Hyuk couldn’t help but laugh loudly, “Are you serious? What happened?”

       Ravi started to grumble, “I thought he was going to go for my stomach but he kicked my arm instead.”

Hongbin was the 3^rd best bodyguard in their class while Ravi was 2^nd so he wasn’t the bit happy that he lost to Hongbin. Especially since it was just a small mistake he made.

       Hongbin patted Ravi’s shoulder, “At least you didn’t almost get punched in the face by Cole.”

       “That’s just the thing,” Ravi pouted. “If I were you, I could’ve blocked her and go for her opening.”

       Nicole shrugged, “Better luck next time?”

Ravi continued to groan as Hyuk continued to massage his arm while they continued to walk to the other building. Finally reaching the building, the four arrived in front of their masters’ classroom. Ken and N were out but there was now sight of Leo. They greeted each other and started to carry out a normal conversation.

       “Um..” Nicole bit her lip, “where’s Leo?”

       Ken’s eye brow rose up, “Leo left in the middle of the session, you didn’t know about it?”

       She shook her while she took out her phone to check the schedule she was given today, “But my schedule didn’t say anything about him leaving early.”

       N shrugged, “But it seemed pretty important since I think one of his dad’s bodyguards came to pick him up.”

Then it hit her. Leo hacked her schedule.

       “Can one of you guys drive me to Leo’s house?” Nicole quickly asked.

       Ken raised his hand, “I could. I’m not doing anything.”

       Nicole beamed and grabbed his arm, “Great, let’s go!”

Ravi quickly followed behind as the others stared at them in puzzlement.

✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ 

Leo made way into the dark alley as he checked both shoulders, sensing someone was following him. He kept telling himself it was just him as he walked on.

       “I will not allow you to marry Nicole!”

“Appa wae?!?”

       “You two don’t really know each other that well.”

“We do!”

       “Then why doesn’t Nicole laugh? Does she know why you don’t smile?”

“….”

       “Exactly, tell me when you guys do know. I’ll think about it then.”

Why doesn’t Nicole smile he thought as he kept on walking. As he kept on thinking, he didn’t sense shadows creeping upon him. A hand grabbed his shoulder, but luckily he had quick reflexes and flipped him over. He looked up to be surrounded by a gang of 15 people. This is just great he thought to himself. Leo was never the one who liked using violence, that’s partly the reason why Nicole was his bodyguard. Everyone especially Nicole knew he could protect himself but he never used his strength against other, only if it was needed. A short but buff guy walked towards him with a club as he smirked at Leo, who could already feel cold sweat drops. Getting ready for a beating of his life, he braced himself but to hear a thump. The guy was down on the floor, probably unconscious. The figure, which knocked the guy out, stood in front of him.

       “What do you think you are doing huh?” Nicole frowned as he looked at him.

Leo scratched the back of his head as he laughed awkwardly. Nicole started to do her job by knocking each guy one by one as Leo watched. A guy tried to attack him from behind but he dodged the guy’s punch and snapped his neck. Using violence only if it’s needed, right Nicole rolled her eyes as she pulled two guys toward each other to hit each other’s head. There was only one guy standing who was holding a shot gun in his right hand. Just his luck, Nicole always brings a gun around just in case of emergencies like this happens. The two brought their guns up as they pointed it at each other. Nicole could tell the man was a beginner because of his slight shaking. But she was nervous also; Nicole never ever thought this would ever happen to her.

Bam Bam

The guy fell down fast, while Nicole held onto her wound and walked toward Leo. He stared at her with a worried expression as he held onto her waist. She then started to loose balance, making her to fall. Catching her, Leo tried everything he could think of to help. He quickly called 911 as he made sure Nicole was still on conscious at the same time.

~End of Flash back~

Tapping his feet on the floor, he couldn’t be patient when the one he loves is in the emergency room. The doctor told him to stay outside even though he wanted to come in also.

       “Cole-ah.. Everything will be ok.”

She just gave a weak smile as she lay on the stretcher in the ambulance. The crew did as much as they could do to stop the bleeding and it stopped only a little bit. Better than nothing.

       “Can I ask you a question Nicole?”

“Hmm?”

       “Why don’t you laugh anymore?”

“..Because you told me, my laugh sounded horrible.”

       “Oh yeah, I remember…”

“Why don’t you smile anymore?”

       “Because you said my smile looked scary.”

Two of them finally remembered what happened when they were little. Leo was jealous that other guys were hearing her sweet addicting laughter, so he told her that her laugh was disgusting. In result, she told him his smile was creepy. Who knew jealousy could lead them here right now.

25 minutes passed, making Leo even more anxious. He already felt guilty that he couldn’t do much, but he didn’t want his only person that knew him the best to leave the world. The emergency room light turned off, which made him jump out of his seat as soon as he saw the doctor coming out.

       “How is she?” he nervously asked.

       “Don’t worry,” the doctor patted his back, “the bullet missed her liver by an inch. All she needs to do is to get enough rest.”

Leo’s face lit up like a lamp. He thanked the doctor as the nurses started to bring Nicole out of the operation room to bring her to her own room. Running up to the bed, he grabbed her hand into his as he smiled at her, who was still half conscious.

Maybe fate isn’t such a bad thing.