bodyguard ; kth

24 ; winterland

soft glistens of snow flew in and around the trees as they guarded the house that stood proudly on top of the mountains. fifty metres away was the lake with a wooden dock. i remembered when my dad and i would sail the boat around the lake, looking for the perfect fishing spot. it seemed like centuries later, everything was different now.

our van emerged from the trees, the tires crunched through the snow as it stopped in front of the hosue. i slid open the door, only to see my father standing on the front porch. he was the same man i knew my life, with his knitted shirt, jeans and beanie. everything about him made me feel so much at home.

i stepped forward and bowed with respect to him. he smiled and patted me on the back.

"hi, dad," i said quietly, standing upright again. he looked up at my tall height and replied with, "welcome back, son." he glanced over my shoulder to the van, eyeing our visitors.

"who's in trouble?" he asked, looking at me. i turned around and looked at aera who was the first to step out of the van. her eyes were twinkling with excitement, it was the first time for her to see so much snow. she had her mouth open wide, taking in the sights.

"that one," i replied.

"she's the singer getting death threats?" he asked, turning to look at her. i nodded, staring at aera with a blank face. my dad noticed me staring and smiled to himself.

'so she's the one,' he thought, smiling at aera.'

aera brought out her hand and smiled widely, "nice to meet you, i'm aera."

while they were talking, jiae walked out the van with kitae. jae also walked out of the driver's seat, looking around at the winter land. i decided to take aera and everyone else to my house down south, everyone except jaeho and gun. it was far away from the city which meant we were far far away from the killer.

it was the safest place for aera. we would stay here for two weeks, or until things calmed down in seoul.

a loud scream screeched through the air. aera gripped my arm and pulled me in front of her, she hid her face in my jacket. i was confused but then realised why when i looked down. a small terrier was sniffing my shoe. i smiled and moved towards the dog, lifting him up and carried him in my arms.

"aera, meet buddy. good to see you, old pal."

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"taehyung tells me you're a singer?"

aera looked up from her coffee and smiled, "yes, sir."

"please, call me herb," dad said, smiling at her. aera returned the smile and nodded.

herb went to continue cutting some vegetables for dinner. aera watched from the counter, sitting opposite from him. she eyed her surroundings, everything was neatly organised with nothing out of place.

"it's very quiet here," aera spoke quietly. herb nodded, reaching for a pan as he said, "yes, especially since i live alone."

"oh..." aera said, slightly confused. she was sure taehyung mentioned something about his mother when they were dating. as if herb read her mind, he told her, "taehyung's mother? she, uh...she passed away after a terrible car crash three years ago."

an evident frown fell on aera's face, she looked away, thinking of how she upset him. but to this, herb waved it off with a smile.

"it's okay, it was a long time ago. at the time, it hit taehyung the hardest. he spent six months here after the accident. i never saw him smile after that..."

"oh...i'm sorry," aera spoke as she looked down at the cup in her hands, running her fingertips over the ceramic finish. it never occurred to her how much taehyung had struggled in his life. sure, he looked tough on the outside...but she knew... he was empty on the inside.

she was always too busy thinking about herself to even notice the suffering of other people. but after today, that was going to change.

'but man...i gave taehyung a hard time,' she thought, thinking to herself. she felt obvious guilt inside of her, wanting to erase all the bad things she's done or said to taehyung in the past.

herb noticed her go quiet and patted her shoulder in comfort, smiling down at her.

"you didn't let me finish, aera. i never saw him smile after that...until today when i saw him looking so happy, i nearly couldn't recognise him."

aera's eyes instantly lit up, looking at him with a smile growing on her lips.

"really?" she asked.

he nodded, saying, "and i know that smile of his was because of you. so when i say i'm grateful, i really mean it. thank you for bringing back my son."

aera looked down at the compliment, a small blush appearing on her cheeks. she said quietly, "we had a pretty rocky start but...now i'm really grateful to have someone like taehyung in my life. he might not know this...but i think he's really awesome."

the older male beamed at her words.

"i see why he likes you so much, aera."