bodyguard ; kth

23 ; take me

that evening, aera was up in her suite. she had time to herself so she played with makeup, trying not to think about taehyung. delicately, she brushed highlighting powder on her cheekbones. satisfied with her application, she smiled in victory as she reached for the final step, lipstick.

but midway, she was interrupted by a loud ringtone.

BEEP BEEP

"hello?"

there was a long pause.

"jiae? kitae? is that you?"

still nothing.

"if this is a joke, it's not funny."

"aera."

she paused at the voice. her heartbeat quickly accelerated.

"i'm coming for you."

"w-who are you?"

"i know where you are. watch your back."

"wha-"

BEEP BEEP

it was late afternoon when i came back to the hotel room that day. my hand was sore from punching that guy but it didn't matter. i spent time recollecting my thoughts and i've made my decision. i can't keep doing this, i'm exhausted.

i'm done.

i stepped inside the suite and walked towards my bedroom. i'm packing my bags and getting out of here, i don't think i can stand to stay here another second.

but before i could, jaeho stepped in my way. he looked at me with a sad expression and said, "taehyu-"

i stopped him before he had the chance, "i quitting. i'm leaving in the morning."

jaeho's eyes widened in fear and he exclaimed anxiously, "you can't, taehyung. while you were gone, aera got a call. it was him! the killer! he threatened her and said he's coming."

"i don't care," i quietly retorted, moving away from him and tried away towards my room, but his strong grip on my arm stopped me.

"of course you fucking care! i've never seen you care for someone that much in my life. you're mad at her and i get it, she's a handful. but you have to understand that this isn't easy for her either, her life is on the line and she's freaked out. please, taehyung. you have to help, i know she will listen to-"

"listen to me? face the facts, jaeho! she's never going to listen to me because her ego is so big! she doesn't care about me and my job, she's just being selfish." jaeho listened to me speak and he looked away, frowning at the ground. his grip on my arm loosened.

i ruffled my hair and snapped at him, "this is why i told you i don't do celebrities." i began to walk away when i heard him say something quietly.

"she does care about you. junsoo was going to fire you but she said she wanted you to stay. she said she's never felt so safe around someone before. she said she hurt you and lost someone special to her. but she's going to try make it better for you to stay...because she needs you, taehyung."

i listened quietly, having my back turned against him. i sighed, feeling a weight being lifted off my shoulders. that's all i wanted to hear...that she still cared about me.

"where is she," i asked quietly.

"outside on the balcony."

i padded my way up to the glass door and slide through the door. looking at jaeho, i smiled and said, "thanks." he returned the smile, nodding at me.

the view from the balcony was once again breathtaking. the ocean glistened under the moon's light. the cold wind brushed past my skin, sending chills to run through my body.

the sound of someone sniffling quietly brought my attention to the other side of the balcony. aera was standing there, also looking out at the ocean.

even though the situation was dire, i couldn't help but stare at her.

she wasn't good at hiding her emotions on her innocent face. the pain was evident in the crease of her brow and the downward curve of her lips. her eyes...they showed her soul. it was a deep pool of restlessness, oceans worth full of grief. she brought her hand up, covering her face as a small tear of grief cascaded down her face.

i subconsciously made my way towards her, i went to touch her shoulder but she immediately jerked away with a scream. she covered her face with her hands and crouched down onto the floor in fear. i stared at her frightened figure and also kneeled down beside her.

"hey, it's me," i whispered softly to her, all my anger i had subsided. after hearing me, she lifted her head and looked at me.

"i'm sor-" i started but aera wrapped her arms around me, cutting me from my words. her body shivered as she sobbed into my chest. my heartbeat accelerated, i was more than taken back. i placed my hands on her arms.

"aera, we need to talk," i said after a few minutes, releasing her arms from my neck.

"taeby.." my eyes widened slightly after hearing her say my nickname again. she held my hands and spoke quickly, "nothing that's happened between us matters. i understand what situation we're in now."

i blinked, taken back.

"i need you, taeby. i need you more than anything," she blurted out, "i'm scared, so scared. i know i was being a bitch before but please forgive me." i watched as her sore red eyes penetrated into mine.

"please help me, please help protect kitae, if anything ever happened to him..." she drifted from her words, looking down. i brought my hand up to her cheek and wiped her tears away.

"i can't protect you like this. it's impossible, the killer has the advantage," i whispered, looking at her with hopeless eyes. aera thought for a few moments and blurted out, "i'll do anything you say."

i raised an eyebrow, looking at her with shock.

this was the first time aera has offered to listen to me. from the beginning, she always tried to avoid anything i said. i studied her face and looked away, "you wouldn't want to listen to me. if it was up to me, i would want to take you away, far away from here."

there was a pause.

"then take me," aera replied. i looked at her, making sure she wasn't joking.

"that would mean cancelling your modelling shoot," i told her to which she merely nodded.

i added, "gun, junsoo and jaeho would take a vacation. i don't want them around." aera nodded again with no hesitation.

"okay.." i said. aera's eyes grew wide, she asked, "okay? you'll stick around?" i chuckled and nodded, saying, "i'll stay."

aera beamed and attacked me with tight hug. i smiled and hugged her back. i knew she would cooperate this time, she's willing to stay by me.

i made a mental note to myself, this was the last chance. i can't stuff up again. i needed to stop acting like her boyfriend but as her bodyguard.

bring it on.