Bodyguard | Heesun

7

This was a mistake.

And Sunoo doesn't mean coming shopping today, or even coming to Apgujeong Rodeo.

It was a mistake for him to tell Heeseung to leave his blazer behind and roll up the sleeves of his shirt. Because now, he can't stop looking at the way the material hugs his arms, at the way the ink from his tattoos peeks through, at the way he looks so good.

And Sunoo is aware that he should stop looking, that he should stop focusing on that, on him, but it's hard to.

He's considering telling him to go back to the car to get his jacket if only for the sake of his own sanity. In fact, Sunoo thinks he'd rather have people know he's a bodyguard rather than a model or something. At least that wouldn't spark dating rumors or whatever if they get spotted.

His stomach does an ugly turn at the thought of that, so he tries to focus back on the task at hand, but fails miserably.

They've gone through a few shops already, and although they saw some nice things, none of them felt enough for his mother. And he knows he might be overreacting a little bit because, like he told Heeseung earlier, she'll love anything that comes from Sunoo, and he's aware of that. But that doesn't keep him from wanting to find the perfect gift for her.

When he was younger, Sunoo's parents had to endure a lot of things for him. He wasn't the easiest kid to raise, and he's aware of that. They never made him feel bad for it, though, and that's why he's eternally grateful for them and, at every chance he gets, he tries to repay them.

A few years ago, after having been in the industry for enough time to save up, he managed to buy his family the nice home he never had as a kid and the house his parents and siblings always deserved. His mother told him then that, after that, no other gifts were needed from him. Of course, as usual, Sunoo never listened.

"What do you think about this?" Sunoo asks Heeseung, catching the boy slightly off guard and pointing at a rose-gold necklace. They're at a jewelry store now, after having stormed in and out of several boutiques empty-handed.

Heeseung shuffles closer to look at the necklace, nodding with round, surprised eyes as he reads the description under it, "It's beautiful. It also has a birthstone—is your mother's birthday in July? Next month?"

"Oh, I hadn't noticed that," Sunoo admits checking the little stone. "But yeah, it's July 8th," he smiles. He thinks that might be one possibility, but he wants to keep looking.

It's then that a woman that works at the shop approaches them.

"Can I help you?" she asks with a smile, her uniform as spotless as the floors they're walking through. Sunoo senses Heeseung get in what he's already starting to call his "guard mode." It's cute.

"Hi, um, I was just trying to find a birthday present for my mother," Sunoo tells her, and that seems to be all the lady needs to hear. Sunoo is glad that she didn't ask him if it was for his girlfriend or something because that would have been one awkward conversation.

And, once the woman returns, she does so with many more options for Sunoo to choose from. They are all really pretty, but for some reason, he keeps comparing them to the necklace they saw before and none of them make him feel as good.

So he decides to get the first necklace instead.

He's about to ask Heeseung for his opinion again even though he's already paid when he notices that his guard mode hasn't shut off and he's not even looking at Sunoo.

"What's wrong?" he asks Heeseung, but when he looks past him, he understands.

He thought they had been careful.

"I am sorry, Sunoo-ssi, but it's good press for us that you picked our establishment to find a gift for your special someone," the woman tells without an ounce of remorse as he hands him the bag, and Sunoo's stomach drops.

Of course.

Heeseung seems to be burning with the desire to say something back, but he doesn't, and instead comes closer to Sunoo to whisper in a reassuring tone, "We don't need to go to the parking lot from here, we just need to get out of this area, and find a taxi. Stay close to me, alright?" When he doesn't get an immediate response, he asks again, "Sunoo-ah, I'm here with you, alright?"

But Sunoo's panicking.

And, after so long, he should be used to this: to the lack of privacy, to the crowds gathering whenever his name is dropped, to the flashes, to the screams. And, sometimes, he is, but for some reason, today's different.

Maybe it's because he thought it was going to be a good day, because he was so convinced that it was going to be fine, and now it's not.

His eyes find Heeseung's, then, and where Sunoo is all panicked, Heeseung seems to be calm. He also seems mad, but it's almost as if he's trying to stay composed for Sunoo's sake.

"We're not gonna be able to get through," Sunoo says, looking back at all the people that have gathered at the entrance of the shop. At least they're not coming in. Yet. His heart is starting to beat a lot faster, and knowing that the only way out is through isn't helping.

"We are," Heeseung reassures, gesturing towards Sunoo's jacket. "You can take this off and use it to cover your right side." It might not do anything more than trick Sunoo's brain into thinking the crowd is farther away than it really is, but that is probably Heeseung's idea. "You don't have to worry, I'll be here. Come on." He gently guides Sunoo to the exit, helping him adjust the jacket over him. He is slightly ahead to be the one pushing the door open with one hand.

"Please, step back!" Heeseung's voice bursts over the loud brouhaha, although it doesn't seem to do much. Before they take another step into the crowd, however, Heeseung pulls the jacket just slightly over Sunoo's head to cover a small part of his vision, and slips an arm around him—stopping right before he could touch him. Close, but not close enough to touch. Just enough to protect him.

The rest of the world seems to vanish as Sunoo keeps his eyes on Heeseung, on the way he keeps making way for them to walk past and shoving phones and cameras away. Sunoo already knows this is going to be all over Naver and Twitter, but he can't be thinking about the repercussions of that. Right now his sole focus is making it out of here, and Heeseung is the only one that can help him do that.

He's so careful not to touch Sunoo that it's him that ends up reaching for Heeseung's shirt when someone else touches him from the back. But, soon enough, they manage to make it out and Heeseung signals for a taxi to stop.

Sunoo almost feels bad that the car is probably going to get mobbed by people as well.

Heeseung opens the door up for him and helps him inside, but when he is about to close the door, Sunoo stops him.

"What are you doing?" he asks, unable to keep the panic off his voice. He sees the heads and phones behind Heeseung's body and almost pulls the other boy inside the car just so they can leave.

"I'm going back to the parking lot to bring the car, you can go home first," Heeseung informs, adding when he sees the people coming closer, "I'll be quick, just get home safely. There won't be anyone there, so it should be fine—"

"No! Don't leave me, please."

Heeseung seems to hesitate just for a second, glances behind him and slips inside the car before closing the door behind him. "To Gangnam-gu, please," he tells the driver, before the latter starts the car without waiting, and hastily leaves the place, probably sensing that the crowd is after them. Hard to miss it, anyway.

Sunoo closes his eyes and breathes out.

It's finally over.