Without missing a beat to the conversation, Minzy slowly extended her hand across the table towards him.

"Nice to meet you Tae Min-sshi," a petite and secretive smile crept upon her face. She wasn't stupid, the man's first name rang through her memory, bringing her back to the imaginary boy whom she spent time with as a child, before she waved off the thought, focusing the situation at hand. Tae Min was probably a common name in South Korea and it wasn't a very unique or original-sounding name.

Tae Min's smile grew bigger as he took her hand and shook it. Ji Yong was grinning as if he was dying inside with the corners of his mouth so high that one, anyone in fact, would begin to worry.

Once their greetings had finished, all three walked outside the hotel. Minzy and her bodyguard conversed politely with each other while Ji Yong remained silent from the moment they stepped outside to going into Minzy's car which had been waiting for her and her companions. With a glare, Minzy persuaded Ji Yong to sit in the front passenger seat beside the driver.

For the rest of the day, Minzy had cleared her schedule to situate Tae Min in her home. It was protocol for the Gong family security to live in with the family. One could say that Mr. and Mrs. Gong were quite diligent with who was in their house and Tae Min was no exception.

The car stopped at a red light just as a ringing sound came from Ji Yong's pocket. 

Minzy glanced at him, "Who is that?" She tilted her head to the the side with curiosity.

"It's Seungri, he probably wants to know if I'll go with him to the Solar Lounge tonight," he muttered before answering the phone.

"Solar Lounge?" Minzy turned towards Tae Min, his eyebrows had risen and he held a lopsided grin, obviously bemused and amused at the same time.

"It's a club that one of my cousins own," Minzy explained, "I'm surprised you don't know it."

There was a soft chuckle that Tae Min had released from his mouth, it reminded Minzy of a comforting breeze in the summer. Naturally, Minzy also smiled before she went back to facing the windshield with a happy mood.

"You pronounced my name wrong again."

It was a low and quick whisper but it was close to her ear making it enough for Minzy to hear perfectly clear. Her eyes widened and the smile disappeared from her lips.

 The car rolled up to the Gong mansion. 

Ji Yong was still conversing on the phone.

Tae Min sat upright with a small smile on his face. 

Minzy remained looking at what was ahead of the car, trying to compute what had recently happened in her mind.

The car parked, and Ji Yong begrudgingly went on his way. While Minzy had an open schedule, his was filled with many things involving his career, allowing Minzy to spend time with "that guy."

Because of his importance to Minzy's safety, the family had prematurely decided Tae Min would have the nearest guest room to Minzy's room.

Whispers came from the maids as soon as they entered the house. They were silent yet, Minzy had lived in the house long enough to know and hear the words of her servants as she spotted a couple of the younger, recently hired, maids giggling as they pointed towards her companion. 

If she hadn't been trying to straighten things in her mind, or get over the fact that her bodyguard was also her childhood imaginary friend, Minzy would have glanced at Tae Min herself. The guest room that he would be using was upstairs with the rest of the family rooms. 

"Here's your room Tae Min-sshi," she gestured while opening up the door to Tae Min's room. The area had been cleaned and made so that it would be comfortable for him. All the Gong's family pictures were removed so that Mr. Lee would have room to put his own personal pictures of family and friends in his room... Although it seemed as if they had left one. 

The abandoned picture was of Minzy when she was five years old. She had been looking out to the Wall. She hadn't known that someone had taken it at the time; she was too busy pining for her friend. Whether before or after he began visiting, Minzy did not know. It sat on the mahogany desk that was placed against the wall opposite from the bed.

As soon as Minzy saw the picture, she hurried towards it. The closer she was, the clearer it became, the more her desire to take it away increased as seeing it caused more complications in her head. Her arm gradually stretched out in front of her and she reached over to grab it by it's frame.

"You can keep that there, Minzy."

It was as if his words were magic. Minzy's outstretched hand went limp and she stood there with her shoulders slumped and her head at a tilt, staring at the picture that she was stopped from getting.

It was a moment of standing at a time where one would think it would last forever.

Tae Min stood by the door.

Minzy stood near the desk.

She gazed at the picture.

He eyed her without her knowing with a fixed and focused expression. If she had turned around, she would have stood there staring at him in confusion. She would have stared at the man who complicated her world much more than she would have able to manage. She would have stared at the man who taught her how to be a child. She would have stared at the man who taught her how to be lonely. Minzy knew well that she would have stared, not knowing if she would fire him for all the right reasons, or keep him by her for all the right reasons.

So she decided to just stand there and calculate what she would do next.

"Are you a monster, Taemin?" She asked, slowly, she turned towards him, studying him as he leaned against the door frame with his arms folded and a smile that she watched grow on his face.

"Not at all," he began, still smiling, his tone was soft, and inviting to her ears.

"I came back to protect my precious friend."