[guardianangel!au] having him by my side was simultaneously the best and worst thing to ever happen to me. It was like seeing my reflection move on its own in the mirror; something so inexplicable that I couldn't help but freeze in my tracks. It was...
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Before I could look away, the woman graced me with a smile.
Hannah.
I smiled breezily back, though on the inside I was panicking. It wasn't like she wouldn't normally be here or anything -this was a convenience store, after all- it was more like I didn't want to see her here.
She confused me. I'd never heard of her before, and though I didn't exactly know what her relationship with Hyeokjae was, his reactions to certain things throughout yesterday made me painfully paranoid.
It made me feel ridiculous.
There were so many bad endings in my head as she walked over to me, greeting me as I half-heartedly returned the gesture.
"So, what brings you here?" She asked, making me look over my surroundings.
I was at this beach a lot, but I don't think I could say that I've ever been to this particular mart. Which, looking around, seemed to be a mistake.
The building was slick and modern, actually really nice for a convenience store, though it was still definitely no match to ones in Seoul. Everything was organised and clean, with shelves and machines strategically placed around the interior.
"Just bandages," I told her with a tight smile, holding up the said hand, making her lips shape into a frown.
"How'd that happen?"
I waved it off, not thinking as I said, "Hyeokjae's house,"
She got quiet at that, leading me to realise my mistake.
It was obvious to at least me, another girl, that she had some type of attraction to Hyeokjae. After the way she acted around him, or the way she got when I, someone who had literally gone out with him today, had mentioned him, it was becoming painfully obvious that there was something.
This all made me feel insecure all over again, like a little kid with no love experience. So, I just made the excuse of having to get home and walked off before she could say anything else.
When we were an ear's distance away, Taeyong told me lightly, "You probably shouldn't have brought him up,"
I just resisted a sigh, tears pricking at the back of my eyes at my mistake. "I know, Taeyong. I know,"
—
When I got back, Jiseon and Mark were finally home. They each sat in the floor of the living room, eating their dinner as they watched an animation movie.
But I barely spared them a glance as I put my bag down and went into the bathroom to put on the band-aids.
Taeyong just stood there as I did, saying nothing as he watched my shaky hands go over the couples of cuts in my fingers.
"Did it bother you that badly, bringing it up?" He asked me, making me nod.
"I wouldn't expect you to understand," I mumbled, throwing out the single wrapping as I moved on to the next cut.
"Dohyeong, anything to help you, I'll do it. It's my job to keep you out of trouble. It doesn't matter if I wouldn't understand." Leaning over slightly to try and catch my expression.
I instinctively turned away a little at that, making him sigh.
"Just," I started quietly, wary of anyone nearby as I said, "You being here is enough. So, don't worry about me," I told him, adding on with a small laugh as I looked over at him momentarily, "Not unless I do something weird. Ok?"
I admitted this, and, surprisingly enough, I really meant it. When he had appeared, it was like everything in my life had jumpstarted. And, being able to experience it with someone like him by my side was more fun than I cared to admit.
It was apparent that even as a guardian angel, he wasn't perfect. He was slow, tried not to show much emotion, and didn't really talk much, but sometimes, I guess another presence is all you need.
—
Taeyong and I didn't talk at all from the point of the bathroom and on, even when I picked up the knife to cut up some apples for a dessert Aera was making. Though, to my humour, I could see him biting his nails every time I did.
Even after that, I expected him to say something. Maybe yell at me for deciding to even touch a knife again, or to tell me that he wouldn't be there to give me bandages forever. But, nothing.
I didn't cut myself that time.
He didn't speak to me for the rest of the night, which, was fine, but a little abnormal at this point. And I'd just about had it with trying to act like he wasn't normal, because, as much as it was weird, he really was normal now. And his silence was a lot more deafening when I knew he could say something.
That night, when I was about to go to sleep, though, he did say something.
"Are you okay, Dohyeong?"
He asked this as I shut off the light, leaving the room to be drenched in darkness. Though, thanks to the light of the moon outside, I could still almost perfectly make out his face.
"Yeah," I nodded. "I'm fine,"
"Remember, I'll do anything to help you, okay?" He assured me, a hint of a friendly smile lifting up the corners of his lips.
This made my heart thump in adoration.
"Thank you,"
I fell asleep on my own with no trouble that night, and with Taeyong sitting by the side of the bed instead of the end. And, I was tired, so I can't say for sure, but I was almost certain that I'd seen him smile as I closed my eyes.
—
AN: wow, from a 'wtf are you doing here' to a 'you being here is enough for me' what a glow up lol.
thank you so much for 1k, I really enjoy writing this and i'm glad that people enjoy reading it. i seriously don't deserve some of your comments, so, thank you
also, my wig is on mars thanks to jaehyun in a suit. everyone say thank you to nct for the album of the year 🤧
