Before you disappear

Chapter 49

Jungkook was glad to see the dark van approach. On the way to the airport he'd called the head of their security, to inform him where he was going but he head purposefully left out the explanation as to why he went to the airport by himself. Based on previous experiences, he knew the explanation would've caused a long talk on the phone about the procedures they had for these kinds of situations and how Jungkook wasn't allowed to just invite anyone without any prior notice.

The only thing Jungkook knew for sure was that, if anyone would recognize him, a cab wouldn't be the wisest way to travel back to the hotel. He didn't want to put the burden of staying out of the hands of Sasaengs onto a cab driver, especially since he had a team of bodyguards at his disposal, who were much more qualified to deal with such a situation if it occurred.

So, he'd kept the phone call short, only asking to meet him at the airport and hanging up before Sehun, his bodyguard, could ask any questions.

From the way Sehun was looking between him and the woman he'd brought with him, Jungkook knew he'd won some disapproval because of what he'd done, but he could also tell the relief on Sehun's face seeing he was fine.

Jungkook felt her fingers trembling against his hand as he held hers tightly when they entered the van and Sehun closed the door behind them.

Sitting across from them, Sehun glanced at both of them before instructing the driver to take them back to the hotel.

"Thank you for picking us up."

The bodyguard looked at Jungkook and released a sigh, as he shook his head. "What were you thinking, coming here by yourself?" He leaned forward. "You could've asked any of us to take you here and keep you safe."

"Having you around would have drawn attention to me. I didn't want that," Jungkook answered simply. "I figured being here by myself would be the best way to meet her." He pointed at the woman sitting next to him, whose hand he hadn't let go off.

Sehun turned to look at the woman, recognizing the shy demeanor of someone who gave off the vibe that she wasn't comfortable in this situation.

He took a deep breath and as he slowly exhaled, he reached his hand out to her. "I am Sehun," he introduced himself as she cautiously took his hand to shake it. "Nice to meet you."

When she gave her name, her voice was barely a whisper. "I'm sorry to put you guys in this position. I never intended for any disarray-"

"You didn't," Jungkook cut her off, then smiled softly as she looked up at him with her doe eyes. "You didn't ask me to come pick you up. That was on me."

"You took a big risk," she whispered, looking down at her hand and then slowly taking it out of Jungkook's.

He felt a sting when the warmth and comfort of her hand left his, but didn't say anything about it. "Shouldn't I have?" he asked instead.

She shrugged, but didn't look up at him.

He hated the fact that she seemed so uncomfortable and instantly, he turned to look at Sehun. The look on his face must've startled the bodyguard, because the man held up his hands as if to say he wasn't responsible for her discomfort.

Jungkook sighed and looked at his hands on his lap. Had he been too impulsive in picking her up? Should he just have let her come to him on her own time?

"To be honest, I don't know what I would've done once I got here. When I got onto the plane, I didn't think ahead. It was just 'get on the plane' and then my mind went blank." She managed a small smile. "It's perfectly possible that, had you not been there, I would've had a small break down. You know, doubting my own sanity, slightly panicking on whether I should get to a hotel, or just book the first flight back home and definitely scolding myself for getting on the plane in the first place."

She chuckled.

Jungkook didn't laugh. He sensed there was truth in what she said, even though she said it in a way to lighten the mood. Instead, he stubbornly took her hand in his again and placed it on his lap. "See? Then it's a good thing I got here."

He felt her eyes burning on him, but he didn't turn to look at her. Fortunately, she didn't take back her hand but let it comfortably settle inside his. It felt like a small win in his book.

Whatever was going on between them, the fire he had felt when he kissed her, it was still there. He needed to find out what that was all about and to do that, he needed her close. But he also realized that he couldn't just invite her to stay with him in his hotel room.

Apart from what the other guys would say, seeing him bring a complete stranger into their space, he didn't want her to feel uncomfortable either.

"Sehun, do you think it's possible to get one of the empty rooms on our floor ready, so she can stay there?"

"You want her to stay on our floor?" Sehun's eyes bulged for a moment as he turned to look at her. "I mean, the floor is reserved for BTS and staff. I didn't mean to make it sound like you weren't welcome there-"

She shook her head. "It's okay. You don't need to explain." Then she turned to Jungkook. "I'm perfectly fine with a room on a different floor."

"You might be." Jungkook's eyes locked with hers. "But I'm not." He looked at Sehun. "If she's on a different floor, the chances of people seeing me with her are a lot higher than when she's on the same floor as us. That floor is reserved for us, no other guests can get there because you'd need a special key. She needs to be on the same floor and considering the number of rooms I saw, I'm sure there's one we can give to her."

Sehun nodded, then took out his phone to make a call to the reception desk. In perfect English, he asked them to get room 417 ready for one guest and have a key ready upon arrival. He then hung up and turned to look at her.

"The room will be ready when we arrive at the hotel. Do you have a face mask, so we can hide your identity?"

She shook her head. "Flying here was kind of a spur in the moment decision, so I don't have anything with me other than this bag with some clothes." She tapped on the bag that stood next to her.

Sehun nodded, then reached inside his jacket. He took out a face mask, still wrapped in plastic and handed it to her. "Here, use this one. Once we get to the hotel, I'll make sure you'll get some extra."

"She needs to get a few extra things as well," Jungkook said. "There wasn't a lot I could bring for her, so if one of the female staff members could perhaps take her to a few shops later today, that would be great."

"No, no, no." She waved her hand dismissively. "I can manage just fine. Please, no need to burden your staff with me."

Jungkook looked at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Having one of your staff with me, might only cause people to notice me more. It's fine. Let me just act like a normal tourist and not someone who came here because Jungkook invited her, okay?"

Jungkook chuckled, softly squeezing her hand. "Okay."

As she turned to her window, his attention was drawn to Sehun. A big grin appeared on the bodyguard's face. I like her, he mouthed, making Jungkook smile.

"Can I just say," Sehun then said, pulling her attention back to him, "that I think your Korean is excellent?"

She frowned. "My Korean?"

Sehun nodded. "It's not every day that I get to meet a Western woman who speaks so well Korean as you do. It's like you've grown up in South Korea. I don't hear any accent. Did you grow up in South Korea? How did you learn the language?"

***

Author's note

Disclaimer: I have no idea if BTS has (or ever had) a bodyguard named Sehun, so please don't roast me if they don't. I'm just letting my imagination run free and since another guy named Sehun has been roaming in my mind recently, I thought it best to put him in the story - as a bodyguard (instead of his real persona). 

Sehun's not the only one roaming in my mind. But... I can't be the only one who got into Kpop and Kdrama and now has like fifty tabs open in their mind, all containing different guys/groups/scenes right? 

I guess it's true what they say: getting into Kpop/Kdrama is a full time job! :P