“Uncle,” Jongin suddenly came inside without knocking, somehow startling the old man who was busy finishing the documents he requested for the client meeting this afternoon.

The older abruptly stood up from his seat, but still managed to keep his demeanour. “Young Master, is there anything I can help?” he fixed his thick glasses sitting down on his nose with one swift move.

Jongin suddenly looked a bit hesitant. He opened his mouth to speak, but quickly pressed it back into a thin line. “Um… no, I was just—forget it.” Jongin turned his heels, didn’t even understand what was he trying to do, leaving the older wondering what happened to that kid. When he reached the door, the uncle suddenly spoke up.

“Young Master. You might not want to know about this, but...” The younger halted his steps, he didn’t care to turn his head, but the uncle knew that he was going to listen. “The housekeeper told me that Agassi collapsed a week ago.” The older could see a tiny bit of worry flashing on his eyes when Jongin shot him a glare, but that was just for milliseconds before it went back to his usual cold and distant stare.

“I assumed she is okay now? If yes, then there’s no need to tell me that kind of unnecessary thing.” His tone was so firm it sent shivers down the elder’s spine. There’s no doubt this boy inherited it from his father.

And just like that, Jongin left the room and went back to his own. The older could only shake his head dealing with this stubborn kid. He fixed his glasses once again and tried to find the most comfortable sitting position. He was just about to continue where he left when the younger suddenly back, already standing beside the glass door with both his hands slipped inside his pocket.

He cleared his throat.                                      

“Uncle, please rearrange my flight ticket, I’m coming to the annual shareholder meeting.” He said. The uncle nodded to him as a sign of understanding. Jongin turned his body, but again, he stopped for a while before finally letting out some words that made the older smiled.

“And I want to stay a little bit longer.”

Chanyeol was out with his favourite girl today. Going home from school, he brought her to the bookstore as he promised her some days ago—of course after he got a legit proof that she already finished reading all the unread books on her shelf. Aerin had already finished with her long list of books she needed to buy after rummaging through the romance section. They were on the self-improvement section—since Chanyeol asked her to find a book for him—when the boy realised that someone apparently has been following them.

He felt it since they were out from the school. The boy noticed a man with a suspicious look—a black-loose hoodie, a black cap, and a mask covering half of his face—was standing outside their school gate. Chanyeol didn’t care as he thought he was just another passer-by, although he was suspiciously watching them from afar. He lost the sight of him when they were entering the mall. But Chanyeol found the stranger’s eyes again, behind the pile of books, clearly throwing daggers to their direction. To be more exact, the man was looking at Aerin. The boy shifted slightly, trying to cover her back so the man wouldn’t be able to see her.

“Chanyeol, what are you doing?” Aerin looked back as she felt a pair of arms circling around her neck from behind. Chanyeol only responded her with a smile, casually leaning his body on her which earned him a pinch on his stomach. He groaned. “You’re so heavy don’t you know that?” They both chuckled and realised that they were being loud on a supposed to be quiet place. Chanyeol then stole a glance at the direction the suspicious man was standing at before.

He wasn’t there anymore.

The boy felt half relieved, but the worries were still hanging there in the air since he knew they wouldn’t be a hundred percent safe until they reached home. So right after they finished with the purchase, Chanyeol held her hand tight and went straight to her home.

The older was right. Junmyeon was right when he said that Aerin was in danger. Yesterday, Junmyeon asked him to meet right before he went back to London. The older made him promise to keep her company everywhere she went. Although he didn’t say why, Junmyeon also asked him to report to him if there’s something happened, even if it was just a small thing. Chanyeol was a bit sceptical, but he nodded anyway.

And Chanyeol now believed that the girl was really in danger.

They were walking down the alleyway, not too far from the girl’s house when he spotted the suspicious man back in his sight, and dangerously closer than he had ever been. And the boy notices that he was holding a small knife on his hand. Trying not to make the girl worried because he was afraid she might be scared, Chanyeol suddenly pulled her into a mini market without saying anything.

She looked confused. “Do you need to buy something, Chan?” She asked as she followed him straight to the beverage show case.

“Um... I want banana milk.”

The girl looked at him in disbelief before rolling her eyes. “You seriously just finished a box of banana milk earlier, Chan.” She nagged only to earn a grin from the boy as he snatched a box from the refrigerator and went to the cashier right away.

Chanyeol was looking for his wallet when he realised that the girl was already out from the mini market, waiting for him outside. He placed the money on the counter and bowed slightly before rushing outside. And his heart sank when he saw the suspicious man was already standing behind her.

“Yah! Aerin run!”

The girl turned her head back to see why was her best friend screaming but then she met with a sturdy chest crashing her from behind. “I guess you’re lucky today because I couldn’t do anything.” She heard him whispering as the man behind her catching her chin in a tight grip. She gasped because it hurt, and at the same time trying to keep her balance but she failed as everything happened really fast. The man ran away, leaving the girl collapsed on the ground, shaking.

“Oh my god!” Chanyeol ran to her side and kneeled down beside her. “Aerin, are you okay?”

The girl was still shaking and she tried to clutch on Chanyeol’s shirt. “W—what… what was that, C—Chan?”

“Did he hurt you? Are you okay?” He asked again. His voice was full of worries as he scanned the girl’s body, trying to find any scratch.

“Chan… H—he… He’s…”

“Ssh… ssh… It’s okay, Aerin.” Chanyeol said as he pulled her into a hug and rubbed circles on her back. “It’s okay, I’m here. No one’s going to hurt you, Sweetheart.”

Jongin was halfway through reviewing the new sponsor proposal when the sound of tapping shoes was heard inside his room. He didn’t hear any knock, and he looked up to find Junmyeon already stood up in the middle of the room while grinning widely at him. Jongin rolled his eyes. The younger remembered how the last meeting with him didn’t really go well. Jongin remembered how they ended up in a cold silence because that’s what Junmyeon always did. But still, no matter how annoying his cousin was most of the times, he could never find himself getting mad at the older.

Junmyeon walked straight to the couch, placing a big blue box with a nice ribbon wrapped tightly around it right on the table. Jongin