Chasm.| Seo Changbin

Two.

Stella had no idea why there was commotion again. She was at the nurses' station, discussing with the head nurse which wings she would be helping with for the day. She noticed that the female nurses were giggling and snickering but she had no idea what was happening and she didn't give it a second thought as she was focused on memorizing the rooms assigned to her. But a few minutes later, she noticed how more nurses were gathering at the station around her.

Why would they gather up like that? They were all familiar with her and were never treating her like a celebrity.

Once Stella was done with the briefing from the head nurse, she realized that the crowd wasn't looking at her. They were all looking behind her. So, looking over her shoulder, she finally understood what was happening.

At the opposing wall, stood a hell of a fine man in a black suit, white dress shirt, and a tie. His hair was styled and slicked back professionally. An in-ear dangled at the lapel of his suit on the right side. His eagle eyes were scanning the corridors and the hallways, stopping at each face and scanning it. He wasn't affected by the smiles that the females threw his way and kept a stoic face. He was working and he seemed like the type who gets immersed in his work.

The man's eyes briefly caught Stella's that were looking at him. His features didn't change the slightest or even twitch as if his face was made of solid metal. His eyes then continued to roam the area around her.

Stella stepped closer to Hajoon. "Hey, who's that?"

Hajoon looked at her weirdly. "That's Changbin. The guard you just scolded a half an hour ago."

Stella's jaw dropped.

The man ahead of her was completely different from the green one she scolded before. The paint earlier obscured his features completely cause the man she was looking at now was so handsome that he might fit as a celebrity and not just a guard. He had a very solid stoic chiseled face that was very attractive and gave him a more professional aura.

Stella shook her head and cleared her throat, not wanting to dwell on his handsomeness for long. She clutched the schedule in her hands and then started walking away, heading to the first room she had to work at. Hot in her trail, was her manager and her newly assigned personal guard that made her very self-conscious.

And just as Stella was used to, her day was sweetly chaotic. She loved how she could get involved with the kids. She fed some, helped others to change or bath, and cleaned some rooms. She sang to the younger to sleep and read stories to the older to discuss. She joined the energetic ones in the playroom and the playground till they wore her out. She giggled and laughed all day with those kids and their guardians. 

During the whole day, Changbin was following her as her shadow.

Although Stella was very busy with the kids, she looked at him a few times to see different expressions on his face every time. She thought his face was made of solid metal but she was surprised to see him interacting with the kids. He smiled, laughed, and played along with them while still keeping a very cautious eye on Stella all the time. He even silently helped Stella in cleaning the rooms or carrying the kids around. He didn't care when some kids threw dirt on him or splashed his suit with water while bathing.

Stella surely adored her previous guard, Haewon, but Haewon never involved herself in Stella's work and always focused just on her own. So, Changbin's helping was a new.

The sun was setting as Stella finally breathed after the tiring day she had. The orange sky roofed the open garden as the wind blew lazily. Most of the kids returned back to their rooms, leaving a few ones in the garden, enjoying the sunset quietness as Stella just finished reading them the last story.

Stella lifted her head up to spot Changbin ahead of her. His jacket was off and the tie was loosened. His sleeves were rolled up. A hostler belt wrapped his shoulders and chest, down to his side where a gun was dangling in its holder. Stella's eyes widened. She didn't know he was armed! She looked up at the armed man to find him smiling softly at the baby boy whom he was cradling in his arms and lulling to sleep. A boy of merely three years old, who had been admitted to the hospital for heart surgery and couldn't play around like other kids so, Changbin had him in his arms for most of the day to make sure he didn't miss on anything.

One of the nurses came up to Changbin to take the sleepy boy from his arms, along with the rest of the kids who were still circling Stella after finishing their last story. At the same time, Hajoon came to hand Stella some food for her and Changbin before he ran back inside to finish up any needed documents for the day.

"Hey," Stella called from where she was seated on a bench. She waved a sandwich at Changbin. "Time to eat, Mr. Seo."

Changbin's face turned back to the solid one as he walked closer to the bench and received the food she offered with a formal brief nod. He unwrapped the sandwich and started eating. Stella looked at him weirdly.

"Are you going to eat while standing?" Stella questioned. "You don't have to be watching all day like that."

"That's what I was told." He replied shortly.

"My manager overreacts sometimes." She shrugged and patted the bench by her side.

Changbin turned around, eyeing every corner in the garden and each window in the building behind them. He examined every bush and tree before stepping back and cautiously sitting down at the far end of the bench while munching his sandwich.

"But according to your security file," He gulped his food down and talked. "he's not overreacting. You receive threats nearly every month, had someone breaking into your house before, and no one could find the culprit for years now."

"Oh, by the way." Stella talked, changing the subject that always triggered her. "I noticed that you are very good at dealing with kids. Do you have kids by any chance?" She looked at him with a smile.

He shook his head. "I worked with three kids for the past four years. The oldest of them was sixteen while the youngest was seven when I left them. So, I had to learn how to deal with kids." He gulped down the last bite of his sandwich.

Stella was looking at his side profile as he was talking and eating. Chewing the sandwich made his jaw muscles flex and his jawline became more protruded. And that was a sight that Stella enjoyed without Changbin knowing. As she was looking, she spotted something close to his hairline just above his ear.

Stella pulled a tissue from her pocket and turned to Changbin.

"Here," She poked his arm and handed him the tissue. Changbin received it with confusion, thinking he had food remnants on his face. Stella ate back her chuckle and pointed at her own temple. "Here. You missed a spot of the painting."

"Oh, thank you." He grabbed the tissue and rubbed his temple to clean the green paint off his face. He checked the tissue with a pout to make sure the painting left his face and was now sticking to the tissue. That made Stella really want to chuckle.

Maybe they did start on the wrong page, but Stella had a feeling that her new personal guard was a good one after all. At least, he seemed to have a good heart and to be respectful. They will have to evaluate his worth as a guard later on. But for now, him staying with her in the same house didn't seem very uncomfortable anymore.