Title: Protector
Characters: Kim Myungsoo (L), Son Naeun, Kim Jongin (Kai) [ MyungKaiEun ; exopinkfinite ]
Written: July 11, 2013
Words: 1,848
Requested by: PinkBerries
Author's Note: Oh my gosh...I really like this one shot in my opinion. It's one of my best ones yet ;_; I think Kashiwa Daisuke's piano music are definitely letting me get in the mood! If you haven't listened to him yet, listen to A Silent Summer (Kotonoha no Niwa OST). It's seriously amazing. <3 Ever since the anime movie came out, I'm hooked on his music. Also, sobs one more week until our maknae Hayoung's birthday (KST)! ^^ And one last note, I finally learned A-Pink's NoNoNo dance today. I learned it within...15 minutes! ouo Because I watched a gazillion times before dancing it OTL -shot- Anyways, enjoy the one shot! <3 

☁☁☁

She stood with grace, walked with grace, and smiled with grace. Is it so possible to capture such a beauty in action? Well, if you’re a professional photographer, then yes, it is possible. However, that’s not the main point. This woman—she just seems so flawless. She had long wavy hair that flows naturally, a petite innocent face, and she had an aura of a warm protected heart.

“Um…go ahead and lift your head up slightly,” I whisper as I look through the camera, clicking a picture as she poses in front of the camera. The concept for this photo shoot is elegance. The female is dressed in a white dress that complimented her skin tone and she honestly looks even more beautiful.

After a few more dress changes, the photo shoot finally ends and I start packing up my equipment. “Thank you for the hard work, Myungsoo,” The female smiles lightly as she bows respectfully. Holding my camera, I bow in return, nodding my head, “You’re welcome, Naeun. Thank you for your hard work as well…These pictures will turn out great in the magazine.”

Naeun nods and holds her hands together, “Do you want to grab some coffee with me? It’ll be my treat for your hard work.” Is she really asking me? Out of all the people in this room, she chose me? I swear I must be dreaming. I couldn’t help but smile at her request, “You really don’t have to pay for me, Naeun. I should be the one paying you. But I’d love to join you. I’ll be done in a few minutes.”

She smiles lightly and starts walking towards the exit, “I’ll be waiting outside then.” As she leaves, I hastily pack up my bags and fix my clothes. Taking a deep breath and grab all my bags, walking outside towards my car. “Did you come here by yourself or with your manager?” I asked as I place all my bags in the trunk, looking at her.

“My manager brought me here, but I told him I’ll be back later,” She replies as she looks at me. “Let’s get going then,” I smile as I walk towards the passenger door, opening it for her to get in.

We both arrive at the small coffee shop where not a lot of people were in at the moment. We took a seat by the corner after we placed our orders and waited in silence. It’s my first time ever being with her after all the photos shoots we’ve done.

“So what made you go into photographing?” Naeun asks softly as gentle piano music plays in the background. A warm smile overtakes my straight face, “I just have this liking towards cameras. I feel very comfortable being in front of them so I decided to go behind the camera and capture any moments I found. I guess from there, it rocketed.”

The female nods and soon our orders arrive. The summer heat definitely overtook as we both ordered cold drinks. She takes a small sip, “Your works are very nice, to be honest. I’m sure you’ll be able to thrive well.”

I bow my head in gratitude and reply, “Thanks. Do you have any other passions besides modeling?” She looks at me and plays with the straw, “Drawing. It’s been a passion of mines.”

“I’d love to see some sometime,” I beam as I take a fairly large sip out of my drink. Isn’t it amazing that after one question and one offer, a new friendship immediately blooms? Aren’t I lucky that I’m able to befriend such an angel before me? I guess I am; however, when it comes to friendships that means finding out many more things about them—even the bad.

It took three months for us to become close friends. We’ve exchanged numbers, gave our emails, saw each other more in person outside of work, and been hanging out naturally. I can admit that I’ve officially opened up to her.

Today I decided to go to the local park where kids are running around like no tomorrow and young couples walking at a slow pace through the walkways. Luckily I have my camera as I snap a few pictures here and there. One of them was a child holding onto a bunny while pouting as her friend cheers her up with a flower. Another was of an elderly couple laughing and smiling as they walk through the park. It shows how much true love can last.

Moving my camera around with my eye glued to it, I spot a tanned male standing on the walkway as a girl from behind places her hands over his eyes. I couldn’t get the girl’s face so I keep my camera in place, waiting for the element of surprise.

However, my mouth drops as the girl’s face is finally shown. A bright smile emits from both faces as the male wraps his arm around her shoulder, kissing the side of her head. It was the beauty—the one who is my muse. “Naeun…” I mutter as they start walking towards my direction. I immediately place my camera on my lap and look at it, pretending I didn’t catch them.

“Myungsoo?” She greets as I look up to see their arms locked together, her hand wrapped around his upper arm. I give a small nod and a tiny smile, “Hey, Naeun.”

“It’s nice to see you here,” Naeun smiles lightly and looks up at the male who is staring right back at me. “Oh, Myungsoo, this is Kim Jongin. Jongin, this is Kim Myungsoo,” She introduces both of us as I bow my head, the male mimicking my action.

Naeun takes a deep breath and squeezes Jongin’s arm gently, “This is my boyfriend. We’ve been going out for over a year now.” The male who is now named Jongin cracks a huge grin as he pats her hand with his free hand, nodding after.

“Really? I didn’t know,” I reply as my small smile disappears, “I hope you two enjoy your date.” Naeun nods as the couple leaves. I should have expected it…She’s too beautiful to not have a boyfriend. However, my heart feels like it’s being squeezed out of my life and a fiery pit began forming in my stomach. That’s what you call—jealousy, right?

A few months passed again and at each photo shoot with Naeun, Jongin would be there, watching carefully over her. He’d be encouraging her and making her even happier. If only I was in his place—it would be nice. After the photo shoot, Jongin would hug her tightly while whispering sweet things in her ear. Naeun would giggle in return and pat his back as they start heading out.

Naeun and I did contact during usual days, but I can never be the same around her now. She has a boyfriend and I must oblige to that, huh? I’ll just be that silent protector and guard her from behind.

This morning, I lazily sit on the couch and watch a music show. A soft ballad plays and soon the door knocks. Maybe the person will go away if I don’t answer, yeah…

“Myungsoo,” A familiar gentle voice echoes as I immediately stand up from reaction. What is Naeun doing here? I quickly, but casually walk towards the door and open it to see her in tears. “I-I’m sorry if I’m disturbing you or anything and I’m sorry for coming to you like this—b-but, you were the closest person I could come to,” She places a behind her eyes, trying to fight with her tears.

I immediately let her in gently with my hand on her back, closing the door afterwards. “What happened?” I ask as my eyebrows furrow and my eyes strongly looking at her.

“Jongin and I had—a little problem,” She whispers as she stands in the middle of the room, taking a deep breath. Little? Yeah right. There’s definitely something major with this problem. “What was it about?” I quickly walk towards the counter and grab a tissue box, handing one to her.

She wipes her eyes, but soon crumples the tissue, her tears naturally flowing down her cheeks. “His ex-girlfriend came back from China and well, they started to hang out a lot. When I went back to the apartment, I found Jongin and her kissing.”

I heard enough…I seriously did. Why would this kid cheat on a beautiful woman?

“He told me that she kissed him, but I just ran out,” She tries to muffle her tears by clasping . The agony she had just pained me even more. The way her body heaves up and down while tears drop from her chin onto the floor—it was too much for me to just stand there.

Taking a deep breath, I hesitantly wrap my arms around her, rubbing her back soothingly. I can already feel her tears stain my shirt, but that didn’t matter to me. I just wanted Naeun to feel better. “You should—try talk to him again. Maybe it was just a misunderstanding,” I murmur as she calms down gradually.

My feelings for Naeun increases each time I see her. Honestly, I would have told her to just leave Jongin and tell her how much I like her. Though, that would be just plain rude.

Naeun stayed at my apartment for the rest of the day until she calmed down fully. We shared some laughs and smiles here and there, but I could still sense the suffering she’s going through.

The week after, Jongin and Naeun made up and are back to being that sweet couple. Why can’t I be in his place? I pray and wish for that every single day.

As I clean up my equipment, Naeun walks into her dressing room and I feel a tap on my shoulder. Standing up, I turn around to be greeted by Jongin who’s looking straight at me. “Naeun told me she went to you when we had our problem,” Jongin says as I hold onto my camera. “Yeah, why?” I reply with an uninterested voice, looking down at my camera.

“You like her, don’t you?” He flat out beams as I glance at him, a small chuckle escaping my lips. “Maybe, maybe not,” I tilt my head to the side and raise an eyebrow, “Afraid?”

Jongin tenses up and takes a deep breath, “No way. Just know that I’ll always love Naeun.”

“Oh, I know that,” I bend down and place my camera in my bag, zipping it up and slinging the bag over my shoulder. “I want you to know that I might just take your place if you two ever separate. But before then, I’ll be Naeun’s protector.” A small smirk tugs on my lips as I pass him, bumping my shoulder against his as I exit the studio.

As I exit, I look back and see Jongin with his hands in his pockets and his back facing me. Let’s see how this goes, Jongin. Let’s see.