Bodyguard *FANFIC EDITION*

Come Down

A knock thundered through my room, making my heart jump. The door was ajar, and I could see I.M's silhouette on the other side. I pinched my lips together, inhaling a deep breath of courage before walking towards the door.

"Are you ready to depart?" I nodded quickly, unable to part my lips from one another. He nodded along, extending his hand out, for me to walk first. I took small, quiet breaths as I walked down the staircase, heading straight for the door. Before I had even reached it, he'd somehow managed to get ahead of me and open the door for me. Looking over my head into the car park, he followed close by as we made our way towards a black, tinted window car.

He opened the car door for me, shutting it quickly, before making his way to the other side. He opened his door but stopped to get his phone and sunglasses out of his blazer pocket.

"What's the address?"

"Excuse me?" I cleared my throat, feeling myself slowly choke with every word I had to say to him.

"The address, of where we are going?" His tone was simple, but tight.

"Oh, King's Cross. Richmond avenue." I stuttered, feeling my whole-body flush. Why do I feel like he hates me? And even if he does, why do I care? He's a stranger I hardly know. I bowed my head, keeping to my half of the car. I wasn't planning on initiating a conversation if he wasn't going to. I didn't want things to be even more awkward.

We drove for just under an hour in complete silence. I felt myself slowly dozing off and him shifting in his seat. As if I was irritating him without even doing anything. I noticed his glance jump to me a couple of times, but I stayed put, looking out of my little window and minding my own business.

"Would – would you like me to put on some music?" He hesitated for a second.

"If you'd like." I replied timidly. I was surprised by his exasperation, it made me jerk my head towards him to look at him for the first time at such close proximity.

"Have an opinion." His tone was blunt and a little annoyed, but not surprised.

"I did have an opinion and you yelled at me and called me selfish." I snapped. Word vomit.

"I didn't..." His tone was loud, and he was yelling again without even realising it. "I wasn't yelling. My job is to guarantee your safety and it would have been a lot more difficult to do that if you stayed living with your parents." He spoke softly to prove his point. I had to stop myself from smiling. We were both trying to get a reaction out of each other. Maybe we had a lot more in common than I had thought.

"So, you played me." I asked, which made his glance jump straight to me. Unfortunately, he had his glasses on so I couldn't see his eyes or what they were really looking at.

"I didn't play you." He chuckled, amused.

"You insulted me in order to get me to stay in the house and make your job easier for you."

"To guarantee your safety." He corrected me. So, he agrees that he did insult me to get me to stay. And I fell for it. Somehow, we went from nearly arguing to smiling, amused by our similar tactics against each other. Maybe he isn't so bad.

We arrived at King Cross, and I helped him navigate through the streets to my mother's apartment. We stopped outside and I suddenly felt my lungs fill with frigid air. Was she going to be angry that I was gone for so long? Was she going to be happy to see me? I felt even more under-pressure with I.M right behind me. I hoped he didn't judge our little flat and my mother's mood swings. I just hoped he stayed out of the way and didn't say much. I didn't need the extra anxiety.

He gave me a reassuring smile, which made me feel much better. It was as if he anticipated my anxiety. I assumed he was trained in making people feel better in uncomfortable situations, so his demeaner was suddenly much nicer and friendlier.

I knocked on the door, before bending the handle to check if it was unlocked. It was. I could hear my mother inside, her slippers dragging across the floor. I walked inside and I.M followed after me. After spending a day in Minho's and Jin's mansion, my mother's tiny flat looked to be made for ants.

"Mother?" She peeked her head from the corner of the kitchen, before dusting off her hands and coming to embrace me in a loose hug.

"How are you? Are you okay?" I was taken aback by her hug and her soft voice. I nodded along, as she let go of me and completely ignored I.M standing behind me, which wasn't the usual her. She was usually extra attentive, but she seemed – spaced out.

"Mum, this is one of the children that Minho sent." I walked after her as she made her way back into the kitchen and I.M followed me. He chuckled, rolling his eyes, but my mother didn't seem to have heard what I had said.

"Who?" She asked, with her back to me. She continued to chop some vegetables on a cutting board, as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened in the last two days.

"I said, this is one of the men that Minho sent. The bodyguards. One of them called you to tell you I was arrested?" I leaned onto the counter, waiting for her to turn around and acknowledge I.M.

"Right, of course. Is he staying?" She asked, still paying more attention to the vegetables than to a guest and her daughter who spent a night in jail.

"No mum. I actually need to speak to you." I cleared my throat, trying to project my voice a little more to get her attention.

"Well, Joonie isn't here." She turned her head, just enough to see me.

"I don't need Joon, I just need you to listen to me, okay?" She exhaled an annoyed breath. She didn't like it when I left Joon out. He wanted us to be a small happy family and any time I accidentally forgot to include him, it was made into a tragedy. My attitude was suddenly a problem, and I was spoilt, disrespectful, a brat.

"Did you offer the nice man some tea? Would you like some tea?" She finally turned around and came to stand on the other side of the counter, facing us fully.

"No, we don't really have time for that mum. Can we just please talk?"

"Go ahead, I'm listening." She folded over a towel, placing it on the counter and looking around for other things.

"Okay. Minho invited me to live with them for the time being, just until they are sure that there is no one out there that knows who I am or wants to hurt me. So, if anybody comes around asking about me, let the agents know immediately. You have their number, don't you?" I waited for a reply, despite knowing that I wasn't going to get one until she found the utensil she was looking for. "Ma? Did you hear me? Is that okay?" I asked again and she finally turned around. Her eyes were wide like I had annoyed her, before she exhaled and began to smile.

"I think it's a fantastic idea. You should most definitely stay there. That way me and Joonie have our own space and you get to spend time with your brothers. It's just so perfect. I am so happy for you." What? I stared at her a little gobsmacked, but figured it was enough to get on with packing and if she was confused, I could just come back another time and explain it all to her then.

"Oh – okay, but did you hear what I said?" I took a step back, ready to head for my room.

"Of course, I did. I really need to get on with dinner, Joonie will be home soon."

"Yeah, I'll – I'll go pack some stuff." I hesitated for a second, before making my way into my bedroom around the corner. I'd forgotten I.M was even with me as he walked in after me, leaving almost no space to move around inside the room. He leaned against the door frame, cupping the top of the frame with his hand without even extending his arm fully. He was rather tall. I hadn't noticed it till then.