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Too often I feel the need of warm arms encircling and comforting me from this cold bleak weather. Thunders produced by lightning gave me frequent shudders and worries. As the thunder rumbles, I curled to my bed, covering my ears. It was terrifying. How I wish someone would pull me away from this nightmare I’m into right now. Unfortunately, there was no one. It would be bothersome if I’d wake up one of my maids or my guardian just to keep me company. Left with no choice, I pushed myself to sleep.

Morning came in a little late. Opening the curtains to take a view of the outside revealed the same dark skies I saw last night before pulling myself into a disordered sleep. With an unwelcoming view, I quickly shut the curtains close, leaning my back against it; my feet slid forward the floor slightly.

Knock. Knock.

The knocking begot me to hold onto my chest. A sudden interference from my fearful contemplations definitely surprised me.

“Who is it?” I asked.

“It’s Chanyeol. You need to have your breakfast my lady.”

Chanyeol was my guardian. Keeping track of me every single time of every day was his job. Talking about time, it had been years since he has been on my side. I honestly think of him as my own brother rather than some stranger who takes care of me.

I opened the door from being locked. A sight of a tray full of food readied for breakfast welcomed me. I looked up to the lad holding onto it. There on his face, he wore that smile - the smile that I could say was better at making me feel full than the breakfast he serves.

“An apple for breakfast. What a healthy meal to start the day,” I said, grabbing onto the apple and motioning for him to enter. He trailed behind me as I head to my bed.

I sat on my bed, resting my back onto the wooden headboard and my feet stretched on top of the mattress. Chanyeol sat on the empty space beside me, unlike me, his feet were on the ground.

The tray was sitting on his lap. Taking a spoon, he scooped the soup and placed it near my mouth.

“Here.”

“You don’t have to treat me like a child. I’m all-grown up already.”

“You are right but I grew doing this for you every day. It’s kind of a habit now.” He smiled shrugging, then again he nodded his head telling me to open my mouth. “Come on, say ah. I’m gonna miss doing this.”

“Fine.” I rolled my eyes and smiled, giving up to his demand.

After finishing my meal, I folded my knees and hugged them tightly. I rocked myself back and forth feeling uneasy of the storm rampaging outside.

“Chanyeol”

“Hmm?”

“When will the storm be over?”

He placed the tray on top of my side table. He placed his hand on my shoulder to reassure me, staring at m eyes intently.

“Look, I honestly don’t know but that isn’t what matters now. Even if it rains harder, just remember that I’m right here.”

I smiled hearing that from him. This is why I feel so attached to this person. He gives me a sense of belonging. He makes me feel loved. He’s like a true family to me.

The feelings crept onto me that I didn’t know I ended up hugging him all of a sudden. That gave him a momentary shock before the expression on his face calmed. He smiled with his teeth a bit showing as his hand brushed down to my silky brunette hair.

“This feels so warm,” I uttered with my eyes closed and my body pressed onto him. His embrace gave a sense of comfort. If I’ll be given one wish, I’d wish for time to stop at this moment.

He didn’t say a word. He only smiled more still my hair affectionately.

I didn’t pull away and continued hugging him. It was those times when I have forgotten of my fear of thunderstorms and only thought of one thing ─ which was love. So that was how being loved felt like. Over years of being locked up in this mansion, home schooled and forbidden to leave the place, this has been the time I felt this peculiar feeling I never felt before.

The last hug I received from my parents, I can’t even remember. I’m pretty sure it was during my childhood days. That’s because that was the time they left me as well. I can’t blame them; they need their jobs to provide me a good life. They’re only doing it for my sake. I can never say they were selfish.

Chanyeol was still a kid back then, only a few years older than me. His grandmother was responsible of taking care of me but not until she passed away. Needing the money, Chanyeol had to pursue his grandmother’s duty, which was being my guardian.

As a child, I’ve always been afraid of thunderstorms. I have an astraphobia a simpler way to describe it would be I have a phobia on thunderstorms, even until now when I’m already all grown up. I couldn’t say I’m fully matured. Explains why I still have a guardian ‘til now when I’m aging sixteen.

And I never really let go. But what was amusing was that he too never did. Instead, he continued repeating the action he had been doing for the past minutes ─ my hair while hugging me.

“This feeling is so foreign to me,” I admitted.

“You could have asked me to hug you even before.”

“I just never thought of doing so.”

“Well, you could hug me until the storm stops.”

“Really?” I pulled away looking at him with eyes filled with excitement.

He nodded so I hugged him back, with an adequate force of tackle and made it tighter than before.

“Mmph. Easy there.” He chuckled as he patted my hair.

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It took several months and we never repeated hugging each other ever since that stormy day. It would be pestering if I’ll request him to hug me at m