Bodyguard

A Moment

I looked around to make sure none of the same guys from before were around me. It was the end of the school day and I was gathering some things from my locker. I really didn't need another incident like the morning had brought. Thankfully, I had my bodyguard by my side. "They're not coming back. There's other things to do besides worry about you, you know." Young-Do cracked. "Thanks." I sighed and collected my things into my small backpack. I shut my locker and looked at him. "I guess this is where we part ways." 

"Oh no, you hired a bodyguard. Bodyguards don't just leave in the middle of the day." He stepped closer to me and smirked. I gulped. "Well, school's over. I don't think anybody's going to threaten me elsewhere." He put his hand to his chin. "Anything could happen, and it is my job to protect you. I think it's fitting that I walk you to your hotel." I smiled. "You really don't have to do that." "One more refusal and I'm going to up the charge of my final price." My eyes bugged out of my head. I was still nervous about that fee and I didn't need it getting worse. "Fine." He smiled triumphantly. "You better not use that to blackmail me again." "No promises." He winked. 

We walked out of the school doors, passed the courtyard, and finally we were off of school property and into the real world. I saw students being picked up in limousines by fancy drivers. The drivers would hold the door open for them and then take off to the nearest rich neighborhood. I knew my mom wouldn't be able to pick me up since she was working and we didn't have a car. That didn't bother me too much, I'd just get some exercise by walking. I turned to my left and started walking to where the hotel was, Young-Do walking right beside me. 

"So you've been here for how long and you still haven't found a real home?" He asked me. "Hey, Seoul's expensive for a teenage girl and her mom." I retorted. "You're probably wasting so much more money on this hotel than if you just bought a house." He declared. "Not really. My mom just happened to be friends with the owner so we ended up renting at half price, so it's pretty affordable." I told him. He just started laughing. "What's funny about that?" I asked. "Oh, nothing. It's just people like you who try to tell off rich people for using their money to get perks when you do the same. Not with money, but through friendships and other things." Sure, he was my bodyguard, but he could also be annoying. 

"I've never told off a rich person for using their money that way, so you can't possibly be referring to me." I huffed. "No, not you...people like you." He leaned in closer to me and smirked. Sometimes I wanted to slap that smirk right off of his face. But I had to control myself. Who knows how much he would have jacked up the price if I decided to let him have it. I shrugged my shoulders. "Who exactly is people like me? Poor people?" I asked him. "Well, are you poor?" I shrugged again. "I don't think so. I'm able to have a phone and have new clothes sometimes, but we're not that well-off either that we don't have to keep a tight budget or work hard for our money. I guess you could say we're middle class, maybe a decimal below that." I tried to explain our status as well as I could. 

He smiled. "It's better to see people working and making money honorably than dishonorable way. Wealth is nothing if you didn't acquire it honestly." I smiled up at him. "That's a really good point, Young-Do." "What can I say? I am super smart." He smirked again. I chuckled. "Didn't I overhear someone say that you got placed at 98th out of the 100 students in your school?" I could tell that comment embarrassed him. And surprised him. "You're such an eavesdropper." He whined. "I can't help what I hear!" I laughed. He broke out into a little laugh too. 

"I'm sure if you applied yourself more, you'd rank higher next test." I told him. "That's too much effort for something I don't care about." I gave him a little frown. "It's school though. Don't you want to go to a good college and have a good future?" "I don't care about all that. As long as I'm happy." He put his hands in his pockets and kept walking. "What does make you happy?" I asked him. He smiled. "Moments." "Moments?" "Yeah. It's not something that can be experienced more that once. A special moment you can remember for a lifetime." I didn't expect this kind of romantic thinking from him. "I hope you find many of those moments." I wished. He smiled. I could tell he was thinking something as he looked at me, but he kept silent. 

We finally reached the hotel doors. "This is my stop." I told him. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking up at the big "ZEUS HOTEL" logo on the building. He looked incredibly uncomfortable, and he was even keeping his distance from the building. "Are you okay? You seem like you're afraid of the hotel." He broke out of his daze and shook his head. "Oh, no, I've just had...bad experiences with this hotel." He clenched his jaw. Trying to ease up, I smiled. "Thanks again for walking me here." He smiled back and nodded. "I'll pick you up tomorrow." He added, walking away. Wait, what? "Wait, pick me up? Even when you said you had a bad experience with this hotel? Why would you do that?" I asked. He turned back. "It's my job." He smiled and winked, continuing to walk away. I looked at him disappear into the sea of people on the street. I smiled and walked into the hotel. 

What a nice moment.