“Thank you again for having me, Mrs. Jang,” I said endearingly, but also honestly, as I bowed once more.

“Oh, that’s really no problem, dear. It was a pleasure to have you.”

Wooyoung then walked up and hugged his mother as well. “I’ll come again when I have time, umma.”

“You better.”

“Oh, he’ll probably be visiting more often,” I interjected, receiving a slightly surprised look from Wooyoung, which I merely smiled at as a reply.

“Really? Splendid!”

“Well, we’ll be off, umma.”

“Alright alright,” she said, finally letting him go, “See you two again soon!”

And we were off, walking down the same pavement from which we had come around six hours earlier. However, this time, the pavement looked more...relaxed? (If that makes any sense) Perhaps it was the dimmed, softened illumination of the setting sun that had made it seem more calm and relaxing, and honestly, right now, I felt the best I’ve been in a really long time. Those many hours we had spent with Wooyoung’s family had been the most fun thing I’ve done in a while, and though I was not directly part of their family, they treated me as such, which I was more than thankful for, and I immediately felt comfortable around them.

On the other hand, there was Wooyoung walking beside me. Yes, just Wooyoung, and not Wooyoung my bodyguard. Did this mean we were friends now? Either way, the silence surrounded us, but it wasn’t any type of awkward silence. It was...comfortable...calming, and we were both grinning like idiots for some reasons...not that I noticed.

“I...uhh...young miss?”

“Didn’t I tell you to call me Min Young when we’re not around others?”

“Eheheh...right...”

Did he just laugh nervously?

“Min Young-ah,” he called me casually, which I stopped in my tracks at. “T-Thanks for joining me t-today...” Since when did he ever stutter in front of me?

“That’s no problem, Wooyoung-ah~” And then I remembered something I was planning on saying earlier. “Yah.”

“Y-Yes, young miss?”

I mentally sighed in frustration. He was way too used to his formality around me.

“Quit being so formal around me. Did my parents tell you to do that or something?” Because I knew very well I had never told him to be so formal around me.

“No...”

Well... “Then why?”

“In all honesty, Min Young, I was nervous when I first took on the job, so I had to create some threshold of formality for me to keep my job. And also...you...sorta...scared me.” I blinked; he really just said that. He thinks I’m scary? Has he ever paid attention to my dad on Sundays, when he has to send in reports of whatever the hell he does for his company? Or my mother when we have social functions at the mansion?

“You can’t be serious,” I said in a deadpanned voice.

He scratched the back of his head, looking more nervous than ever before, but... “Yes, I am telling the truth. You tend to come off too strongly, and I...felt that one wrong move would have me fired, so I decided to be extremely formal with you from the start.”

“Yah, that’s offensive.”

“My apologies young mi-”

“Yah, quit that!” I stopped him mid-sentence and...mid-bow. “Fine! Since you’re so insistent on being this way, I will see to it that you’re fired if you keep being formal with me.” Oh, how I loved my authority right now.

“EEEEH?! Young mi- I mean, Min Young-ah! That’s not fair!” He pouted...as in pouted. Oh my God, he looked so damn cute, I wanted to pinch his cheeks... “Ow!” Oh, so I actually did. In response, I stuck my tongue out at him.

“Too bad. Deal with it. No formality unless in front of my parents, okay?”

“Hmph. Fine.”

For a little bit longer, we walked in silence. I still fumed a little at his insistence on calling me young miss (though it seems I had fixed that problem) but...now that we’ve gotten a bit closer...I can’t help but wonder what he’s thinking. His face was a bit blank, minus the minute furrowing of his brow. After a while, I broke the silence. “Yah, Wooyoung.”

“Yes?” He turned his head slightly in my direction, showing his acknowledgement.

“...why’d you even take the job in the first place?” I was actually very curious about this subject. He already admitted that I scared him, and that he felt like he could be fired at any minute...so why take the job? Why keep it?

“Well...” He hesitated before answering. Weird. Things had really changed between us, huh? “The pay was something I couldn’t resist. A good amount of my paycheck goes to my family. I do have to support them since times are hard and they can’t make as much with the work they do. I interviewed with many other positions, but your father seemed a bit fond of me and was impressed with my martial arts skills. He offered me quite a lot of money for just a bodyguard position, so I took it.” He glanced sideways at me; I detected a bit of an humorous glint in his gaze...wait, what? Humor? No way. I imagined that look. “Little did I know I would be dealing with such a handful of a young woman.”

“HEY! I...resent...that...” Even though I sounded offended...I couldn’t help but smile. He didn’t call me a girl or a chick...he called me a woman. Well, a young woman, but in my book, that counts. “I didn’t think I was...that bad...”

“Min Young.” He stopped in front of me. “I never said you were bad. Just that you happen to be a bit of a handful. You actually...” He tilted his head to the side. “You amuse me.”

“...amuse you?” Was it getting hotter as night fell...or was that just me?

“Well, yes. I have to hold back my laughter at some of your antics. Otherwise, I am afraid you will bite my head off for teasing you.” He smiled at me, and my stomach pretty much decided it was a seasoned cheerleader and backflips were the greatest thing in the world. “But maybe I’ll start laughing a bit more.”

“YES!” I ran in front of him and held out my hand...pinky aloft. He stared at it in confusion. “Jang Wooyoung, you have got to get out more. This...is a pinky promise.” I held out my hand farther; he still looked down at in with a puzzled expression. “OH, FOR BACH’S SAKE!” I reached down for his hand and wrapped my little pinky around his...big...one. Jesus, he has huge hands. And you know what they say about- okay, stopping right there. “We wrap them around each other, and that symbolizes a promise we can’t break.”

“Hmm...” He nodded and hooked his pinky around mine tighter. “But what are we promising?”

Good question. I thought about it for a moment before grinning. “That from now on...whenever it’s just us two, or if we’re around friends...” I was repeating myself from earlier. Let’s make this a bit more original, Min Young. “You have to promise to be comfortable like this with me. No formalities, no checking of one’s self.” I almost flinched at what I said next. “Even if you happen to fart in my presence, I will sit and stand the odor. Don’t feel like you have to be so...rigid with me. I want you to be you, and I want to be me.”

...okay. I think...that about did it for me. Our fingers remained hooked together, but I looked away, blushing madly.

“Done deal.” But he didn’t let go of my pinky. I turned back to look up at him; his eyes had crinkled...because he was smiling fully.

...God help what I did following the smile.

“WOOYOUNG-OPPA, YOU ARE JUST TOO CUTE!” Pinched cheeks. Ruffled hair. Poked him in the stomach with my other hand, since our...other hands were still...technically touching...

He sputtered and immediately dropped my hand. I bent over laughing as he walked away, still mumbling under his breath. “Me...cute...she...crazy...pft...cute...”

I...really, really like this side of Wooyoung. A whole bunch. Hmm...I wonder what else I could get out of him...I shall try later at the mansion. He’ll have his guard down, and I will pounce on him (in the non-physical sense, of course) and get whatever I can out of him! Cue the evil laughter~

“Wait, what did you call me?”

“I said Wooyoung-oppa...”

Wait...

---

Junho’s hands rested lightly on my waist, pulling me closer to his chest. “I don’t know how I can go on without you...” He pressed me against himself. “I mean...I used to be the only man you fantasized about. But now...you think about the other one. The stuffy one.”

“Eh? Whatcha mean?”

“Your feelings for Wooyoung are getting in the way of our fantasy.”

Oh dear lord. Even my fantasy guy knew that things between Wooyoung and I had changed. Grr...

Wooyoung bent his head closer to mine, brushing my ear with his lips. “Young miss,” he whispered-

No, no, no! Not “young miss!” UGH, DAMN YOU, IMAGINATION!

“Min Young,” he whispered. “Can I tell you goodnight again?”

“What do...you...mean?”

He turned my head towards his...our mouths barely inches apart. “Can I...tell you...goodnight...again?” he said while smiling the smile I loved him to smile. Just when I finally understood what he meant, his soft, plump lips met mine-

“Min Young, we’re here.” He pushed the button on the side of the gates, and they swung inward. He drove up the driveway (because we made our way back to my car, which I had taken earlier in the day but parked somewhere reclusive so Wooyoung could not find it, but turns out he had known the whole time), humming cheerfully to himself. Back in the day, I would have said that Wooyoung acting this way meant he had planted a bomb somewhere in the vicinity or something, but now...well, I liked it. And he had a wonderful...humming voice? I should ask him to sing one day...

“Thanks for driving me home...” Tard. This is your car. Of course he would drive you home. “I mean...I don’t know.” I stared at my hands. “Thanks anyway.”

---

I was in my room now...what was I doing here again? Besides going to sleep, of course...I honestly forgot what I was doing here.

...Oh I know! I shall go annoy Wooyoung til I get tired enough and just pass out onto the floor. I’m sure Wooyoung would just end up carrying me back to my room anyway!

“Yah, Wooyoung-ah-”

I stopped mid-sentence, for as soon as I opened his door, there he was, again, shirtless in all his milky skinned glory. Wooyoung cleared his throat, and I snapped back into reality.

“Young mi- I mean, Min Young. What are you doing here?” And the awkward atmosphere between us had completely diminished.

“Ah, well...I’m bored.” I smiled at him.

“And clearly, I’m the most logical option for curing your boredom.”

“Duh!” I fiddled with a chipped piece of paint on the door. “So...what’s up?”

“In the past hour that we’ve been apart? Not much.”

...he said we. Lord help me, I will faint right here and now. “So...you’ve been sitting here without a shirt for the past hour? Why? I mean, were you like doing exercises? I know a lot of guys at school who go to the AAC (short for Alumni Athletic Center) like to work out without shirts or even sometimes clothes in general, because Junsu once told me that he saw this guy doing push-ups in the buff, which I thought was kinda gross, since, like...yeah, and then I’ve seen a few guys in boxers working out in there, and-”

“Min Young-ah,” he interrupted, “You know, our promise said for us to be comfortable around each other. You’re not holding up your end of the deal.” He smirked.

Oh. My. God.

When I was about to reply, he held up a hand. “You tend to ramble when you become nervous. Take a deep breath.” He pointed to the dresser beside me. “Mind tossing me a shirt from in there? One of the white ones. I never wear black to sleep.” Oh, no. Does he have a better fashion sense than me?! “Black makes me sweat during the night, and no one likes to sweat in their own bed.”

Oh. Oh. Oh~ how wrong he was about OH EM EFF GEE, PARK MIN YOUNG, STOP THINKING SUCH DIRTY THOUGHTS!

“...my shirt?”

“RIGHT!” Since when did we switch roles, and now he gave orders? Well...I mean he did ask...I guess...I tossed him a plain white t-shirt, which he immediately pulled over his head. “Um...I don’t know what else to talk about. Oh!” How have I never asked him this before? “How are your classes?”

He looked at me with a questioning look, raising one eyebrow, but deciding to dismiss it as he answered my random question. “They’re fine, other than Chemistry, of course.”

“Huh?”

“It’s the JJ flirt session in there.”

“JJ?”

“Junsu and Jin.” Ooohhh...Junsu flirts?! “You know, not one moment goes by where they aren’t trying to choke each other to death. I think it’s just ironic that it’s Chemistry class, for that’s what those two seem to have going on.”

I wanted to laugh so hard at that, but I maintained my composure. “Funny. What about your other classes?”

“Well there’s not really much going on in the others. I usually end up leaving early because it’s all review, so I can watch after you.”

I felt the heat rushing to my cheeks.

“Y-You really did that?” Great, now I sounded like a stupid idiot...

“Of course, young miss,” he emphasized, “And what do you mean by did? That would imply past tense. I still do.”

He was torturing me...I ended up covering my face with my hands just so the hues of red couldn’t be seen by the man in front of me.

“Min Young, are you okay?” He sounded legitimately concerned. It was a first... I then felt his arm snake its way around my shoulders. “Yah, come on. Why are you just standing there? Let’s sit.” And he had me sit down beside him on his bed...his bed...oh dear. Mind going into overdrive. Protection. Contraceptives. I hope he has them. Agh, what am I thinking? He doesn’t mean it that way! Get your head together, girlie. “Let me feel your temperature. Your face is red.” He slapped the back of his hand over my forehead. “Perhaps you are coming down with a fever...I can fetch a fever reducer and a glass of water-”

“I’M NOT SICK!” I protested loudly. He blinked at me. Oh, crap. I’d yelled at him. “Uh, what I meant to say was...I am not...sick. Okay, I meant to say that. But I didn’t mean to scream it at you. I’m sorry, Woo...”

“That’s alright, Min Young. You always yell at me in your sleep.” When I stared at him in confusion, he shrugged. “I try to wake you up, and you kick and scream at me. Might I remind you of the incident from a few days ago?”

When I sacked him in the crotch? Oh, yeah. I remember. Poor Wooyoung Jr...

“What else can we talk about?” I crossed my legs and beamed at him. “It feels like we’ve never really spoken like this before, so I want to know everything about you!”

He gazed at me bemusedly. “Everything, huh?”

“Well...not the gross stuff, obviously.”

And that is when Jang Wooyoung, my once stoic and silent bodyguard of doom...threw his head back and laughed. My eyes widened to the point of pain; I could literally feel tears form from the stretched skin. “Min Young, you do amuse me so much.” He quieted down and sighed. “What do you want to know? Aside from everything? Please be specific.”

I bit down on my lip, thinking hard. Something I’ve wanted to know since forever... “When’s your birthday?”

“April 30th,” he replied automatically.

“Okay, shall mark that on my calendar...” I ignored his tiny scoff and rolled on. “What’s your favorite color?”

Without shame or embarrassment, he said, “Magenta.”

I stared. “You like pink?”

“Magenta,” he corrected. “It’s a very bold color and looks well on me.” He paused. “Not that I care how I dress. But I am quite fond of the hue.”

“...alrighty then. Let’s see...favorite time of day.”

He smiled wryly. “What kind of question is that?”

“Oh, fine. Next one. Um...oh!” I rubbed my hands together, delighted at how easily I could just slip this in. “Do you know who my future husband is going to be? Mother and Father won’t tell me anything, but you simply must know something! Isn’t that how bodyguards work? They keep the secrets? Well, TELL ME THIS ONE!” I shout-whispered. Whisper-shouted. You get the idea.

He seemed to be a little taken back from my sudden question, for he replied, nervously I might add. “W-What are you talking about? I know nothing.”

“Right, and I’m freakin’ Barney’s wife,” I said in the most un-sarcastic tone in the world. “Yah, now you’re not keep your end of the deal! Tell me!”

“...Do you really want to know?”

“No, you can tell me later.”

“Really?”

“NO, TELL ME NOW!” I shout-whispered...again...more on the shout side.

“...” He mumbled something under his breath that I couldn’t make out.

“Huh?”

“You’re marrying niibhsskfdghbs....” his voice drifted off into randomness once more...

“Yah!”

“You’re marrying Nichkhun!”

I paused...my brain still trying to take in what he had just stated.

“Excuse me?” I was marrying who? It certainly could not be that -

“You’re marrying Nichkhun.”

Yep...I was marrying that .

“And who else knew about this?” I tried to keep my cool, but honestly, I was angered. If I already knew who he was, then why the hell did they have to keep it from me?

“...Everyone. Well, on both sides of the family of course.”

“And you decided to keep it from me why?”

“...I-”

“Save it,” I commanded, abruptly standing up and storming off into my own room, making sure both our doors had slammed shut promptly. Oh, I was more than mad, and that was saying something.