𝗨𝗦 𝗔𝗚𝗔𝗜𝗡﹕jay

－ 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

"Y-you-?!"

"Ah! You're finally awake!" The sound of her father coming in and passing by her to go to him interrupts what Jieum was about to say (or rather, scream).

"I see you've met already, huh? Well- god, Ji, why are you still in your pajamas? It's quite embarrassing for you to meet your bodyguard in this such state." Kangmin says, dissatisfied by how this first impression of each other is turning out.

That should be the least of his concerns, really.

The young man next to him choked on his saliva by what he said, not because of — erm, the girl in her morning look or whatsoever — but because now he regrets what he had gotten himself into.

He should've known better than to agree immediately with the job offer of being a bodyguard of a businessman's child, but you see, he specifically thought he'd be looking after a child.

"B-bodyguard...?" Jieum, still dazed, hesitatingly points at him, then to herself.

"Yes. Jieum, meet Park Jongseong, as I recall, he is months older than you. He just came back from America; the son of one of my very close friends, and I hired him to be your bodyguard. It's a relief, thus finding you one wasn't as hard as I thought it would be." Kangmin formally introduces him to his daughter.

Though it was no need, because hah! Jieum knows him very well.

"And, Jongseong, and this is my only daughter, who's a model, Moon Jieum. I hope you keep her safe at all costs, as that is your main job." Kangmin pats him on the shoulder with a small smile.

"A-ah, yes. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Moon Jieum. I'll be your personal bodyguard starting from today... so I hope we get along well...?" Jongseong bows at her and flashes a tentative smile.

Thousands of questions lap inside Jieum's body, but all she does reciprocate is a tight smile back.

Her father might think it's genuine. But Jongseong knows, it's the kind of smile that gives off that she wants to kill someone (him, precisely).

━━━━━

The moment Jieum gets back inside her bedroom, she slams the door close and locks it. She slaps her hand to her forehead in able to process what's been going through.

Was that actually her ex — No, not ex. Was that the guy she was in love with in high school?

She has moved on, or at least, better than the first couple of months without him. God, she still remembers. She couldn't go on a day without his image showing up inside her mind and crying every night that Sohee had to sleep over at her house for a week.

Would you call her dramatic for having a hard time getting over a guy who wasn't even her boyfriend? In her defense, he did act like one. They acted like a real couple. They were always together and secretly went on dates every after school (and in between classes sometimes). He got her fresh carnations or lilies every week, and they always surprised each other in small ways. Jongseong always made her feel better at times when she was down. He did a good job making her feel loved and treated her right, for a while. No wonder Jieum thought he was the one for her. She thought they were meant to be.

Does he do that with other people after he did it to her, too?

Life became different when they broke apart and never saw each other again for years. Just as she thought she'd never have to face Jongseong ever again, he returned. In the worst way possible.