What I Feared the Most

Chapter 3

Wonho emerged from his room, wearing his signature baggy clothing. Almost everything in his closet was XXL. To Julia, it seemed like an odd choice to cover his body in giant clothes and not show off his stellar physique. Yes, she had noticed that all the working out Wonho did was paying off, but as a consummate professional, she had no intention of letting him know she had noticed.

When Wonho walked into the kitchen, he found Julia making a turkey sandwich to take with her on the video shoot that day.

"Hey, can you make me one too?" Wonho asked as he mixed his protein shake.

Julia rolled her eyes. "If I wanted this kind of abuse, I could just get married," she groused good-naturedly.

"Oh, sorry," Wonho apologized. "It's not part of your job to make me food," he amended.

Julia laughed. "It's fine. I have everything out anyway," she said as she set about making another sandwich. "But I meant that about not getting married. I don't need some overweight jerk in a stained T-shirt ordering me around all day. No, thank you," she declared.

Wonho smiled. "You paint quite the picture," he said, laughing. "But I don't want to get married either. I just think it's not for me. I don't mind commitment. I just don't want my whole life to be dictated by one relationship."

"Amen!" Julia agreed, giving Wonho a high-five. Something about the way she said it, with so much conviction and passion made Wonho feel sad, which he knew was hypocritical since he didn't want to marry either.

Julia carefully wrapped their sandwiches and they headed out to the video shoot. When they reached the building where they were shooting, Julia was surprised to see several people were already there, setting up backgrounds and working on lighting. Even though Wonho was on his own now, he still put a lot into the production quality of his videos.

While Wonho and the crew went about filming, Julia wrote out some preliminary thoughts about the security plan she wanted to put in place for Wonho. As a woman, it was a given that people would probably not recognize her as a bodyguard. They were more likely to assume that she was a family member, a tutor, or even his girlfriend. Her breath caught a bit at the thought of being his girlfriend.

"No! No! No!" she scolded herself silently. "We don't think about his broad shoulders, or his muscular thighs, or his tattoos.... Oh, dear Lord, give me grace," she prayed silently.

When everyone took a lunch break, Wonho sought Julia out.

"Hey, let's eat together," he suggested. "I hate eating alone," he explained.

"Don't all these crew members beat down the door to get the chance to eat with you?" Julia wondered aloud.

"No, nobody wants to eat with the boss. It cramps their style," Wonho lamented.

"Ah, I see," Julia replied and tapped on the crate beside her, inviting him to take a seat. They both opened their sandwiches and Wonho took a big bite.

"Oh, my gosh, I'm so hungry," he complained. It didn't take long, however, for his face to flush bright red as he began to sweat profusely. His eyes began to redden as well. Reaching for a bottle of water, he gasped, "What did you put in this?"

Julia shrugged. "You know, the usual --- turkey, mayo, mustard...habaneros," she answered.

"Habaneros?" Wonho choked out between swigs of water.