The way he protected me- BL Romance

1

I knew something was wrong the moment I stepped inside.

The lights were all on.

Every curtain was shut.

And my dad was sitting at the dining table with both hands pressed against his forehead like he was trying to hold himself together.

"Dad?" I said quietly.

His head snapped up. His eyes scanned me- my face, my clothes, my hands- as if checking for injuries. It wasn't the first time he'd done that, but tonight it felt worse.

"You're late," he said.

"I texted you."

"You didn't reply after that."

I sighed and dropped my bag. "My phone died."

He stood up so fast the chair scraped the floor. "Dohyuk, you can't disappear like that. Not after what happened."

My chest tightened. I looked away. "Dad, that was months ago."

"It doesn't matter if it was months ago," he said, louder than he meant to. "It happened. It happened to you."

I swallowed hard.

I didn't want to remember it.

The crowd.

The shouting.

The way someone grabbed my wrist and wouldn't let go because they recognised me- because of who my father used to be.

Dad rubbed his face, pacing. "You think I don't see it? You flinch when someone walks too close. You check behind you when you leave school. You don't even go out unless you have to." 

"That's not true," I muttered, but it was.

He stopped pacing and looked at me with that expression I hated- fear mixed with guilt. "I should've protected you better. I should've known people would target you because of him."

He never said my biological father's name.

He didn't have to.

Everyone knew him.

Everyone knew me because of him.

And some people didn't like that.

My dad's voice cracked. "I can't lose you, Dohyuk. I can't go through that again."

I felt my throat tighten. "Dad...I'm okay."

"No," he said firmly. "You're not. And I'm done pretending you are."

He took a shaky breath, then looked toward the hallway. 

"I hired someone."

I blinked. "Hired...what?"

"A bodyguard." 

The word hung in the air like a weight.

My heart dropped. "Dad-"

"I've already signed the contract," he said, cutting me off. "He's trained. He's experienced. He's coming tomorrow morning."

Tomorrow.

So soon.

My dad's voice softened, breaking. "I don't care if you're angry. I don't care if you think it's too much. I just need you safe."

He looked at me like he was remembering the bruise on my wrist.

The panic in his voice when he found me.

The way he held me like I might disappear.

I didn't know what to say.

I didn't want a bodyguard.