Pov: Chu Scarlett
"One would think you would have slept properly last night, given the fact that you were off duty. How come you only just woke up?" Lily questioned.
She had visited the villa while I was asleep, and waited again till I woke up at 5:30 pm.
"No.. I was busy, so I couldn't get back home till morning," I said.
"Busy? Doing what?"
"Your intelligent friend got herself locked up on JYPe's roof."
"That must have sucked." She scrunched up her face, trying not to laugh.
"You have no idea."
"Well, at least you're awake now. Have you eaten anything? Here, have this sandwich. I brought it for you from your hotel."
I gobbled down the food as I reached for my phone. "Lily, have you talked to Olive? He was pretty bitter after the battle."
"No need to call him. I just came here after visiting him. He was also asleep, and woke up like nothing had happened yesterday. When he found out I'd be visiting you next, he told me to let you know that he's fine."
"That's weird. How come he didn't tag along?"
"He said he was going back to work. He must have a shift this evening."
Good. That means I'll see him when I get there.
"How's your conference going?" I asked.
"Better. I've been working hard to create new designs I'm really proud of."
I wasn't even worried about you. I knew that you'd pull through.
"You know, you always complain about people who give you 'flawless' vibes, but you're no different yourself. You're just not aware of the fact that you're a perfectionist," I pointed out.
"Whatever, let's just go. Agent John is waiting for us already."
***
I finally got to the company, while Lily left to the hotel to work on her designs. Isabelle greeted me as soon as I entered my room. "Hello Scarlett, how are you today?"
"I should be asking you that. How's your mother?" I rummaged through my drawers.
"She's safe. That's what matters most."
"Ok then, let's get down to business. Did you check the blueprints you found yesterday? Are any of them familiar to you?" I asked as I took them out of my drawer and handed them to her.
"Nope. I only knew of that one subunit we infiltrated. All these structures are foreign to me. They could be subunits I'm not aware of, but I'm not sure."
"We need to check them out. I'll tell the organization to send us new troops so we can go tomorrow." I joined her by sitting down on her bed.
Her eyebrows shot up. "Already? People are still recovering!"
"Those who are not up to it don't need to join. You, for example, will not be coming. You've never been there, so you won't be of additional help anyway. I'd rather you stay here and rest."
"I'm not going to argue with you on that. I don't want to leave mom alone. I'm visiting her everyday." She shook her hands, as if dismissing the possibility of leaving her mother unattended.
I finally stood up and walked towards the door. "Where are agents Venus and Pak? I need to have a meeting with everyone." Her shrug made me sigh. "Fine then, where's Christopher?" I asked.
"Oh, he's in the studio with Han and Changbin."
I got it.
Changbin is the last person I want to see, so I'll make this quick.
I neared the studio's door and loitered around, getting ready to face the inevitable. Inhaling a deep breath, I knocked on the door and entered the room.
"Scarlett! What's up?" Olive stopped laughing with the boys, and turned to me.
"Can I talk to you outside for a second?"
"Oh? Sure," he replied.
As I was leaving, my treacherous eyes glanced at Changbin and saw him smirking at me from the back of the room.
Please, may nobody mistake my red cheeks for blushing. It is only hot because I'm boiling with anger.
Anger at his smug face.
Or maybe at my irrationality.
I closed the door behind me, and faced Olive, explaining my plan to him.
"There's no way I'm staying here when you're going. Isabelle can stay, but I won't!" he protested.
Here we go again.
I opened my mouth to argue, but he placed his finger on my lips, shaking his head from side to side. "Save it. I'm coming. Don't pull the 'I'm your leader' card on me. If you don't like my 'disobedience' then kick me out; that's if you can."
I laughed while moving his finger away. "And where did all this confidence come from?"
"Am I wrong?"
He's not. He's rarely wrong.
"I really don't get you. I'm trying to save you from getting into a sour mood again," I reasoned.
"Imagine how sour I'd get if I were to be left behind. Overthinking about all the things that could happen to you would drive me insane."
"Hey, I get it. No need to be so cheesy." I was passing by him when he spoke again, stopping me in my tracks.
"Scarlett, when will you get it? Don't ever come to me, asking me to let you go to a bloodbath without me. That's the worst kind of torture you could ask me to withstand. I never want to hear you suggest something like that ever again."
I turned around and faced his back. "I'm trying to protect you, Olive!"
"And I'm trying to protect you!" He didn't look back as he opened the door and joined the idols.
Why is someone like you wasting his energy, trying to protect me?
I'm not worth it.
I took out my phone and called the other agents for a meeting.
***
"Little Haven sent some spies to the building in the blueprint, and found that it was, indeed, a subunit. We have to invade it and see if we can find any useful information there," I started the meeting.
Isabelle and Minji were guarding the boys, while the rest of the team were listening to me intently. "Are we splitting into teams again?" Olive asked.
"That would be wisest. It's a two-story structure this time," I answered.
"I think splitting up into three is still the most effective. Who do you think must lead each group?" agent Venus asked.
"I volunteer to be in the team Scarlett is leading, while you two lead the other two," Olive said.
I looked around the room. "Anyone have a problem with that?"
All the agents shook their heads.
"What about the idols? We can't leave Minji and Isabelle alone here," Agent Pak used his voice for the first time today.
"The agency is already sending out agents to take care of that for now. Meeting dismissed. Please rest well, and I'll see you all tomorrow at 6 am."
I waited till everyone left the room, then exited myself. Changbin was the first person I saw when I came out. He was leaning on the wall next to the door, completely worn out.
"What are you doing here?" I asked.
He fixed his posture, and looked at me with serious eyes. "Olive mentioned you'd be going to another battle tomorrow."
"Yes, and what's it to you?"
"You haven't checked the weather forecast, have you? There's another storm coming tomorrow."
Shit. How did I forget?
This is not good.
"It's fine. I can manage," I replied.
"Really? Okay, then." He turned on his heels and left.
He doesn't believe me.
I don't even believe myself.
I called Olive, and told him to come back to the meeting room. He didn't waste any time, and ran all the way back to me. "What's wrong?" he asked.
"How about you be the leader this time, and I join your team?"
He jumped back in surprise. "What?! Why would we do that?!"
"I'm still very tired from our last fight, and.."
"I'll do it if you don't feel like you're up to it. Here's my first order to you: Don't come tomorrow. You said it yourself, you're too tired."
That backfired.
"No, Olive. You know that I have to go. I appreciate everything you're doing for me though.."
"You call me the leader, but don't listen to my instructions," he sighed.
"Right, cause you're always listening to mine." I rolled my eyes as he gave out a guilty laugh.
***
It was almost midnight when I finished my training for tomorrow and visited Christopher's studio. He stopped working and stared at me when I entered.
"Hello?" I broke the silence.
"Why are you like this, Scarlett?"
Huh? I didn't even do anything yet.
"Um, may I know what you're talking about?" I scratched my scalp.
"A battle yesterday, and another tomorrow? What are you? A robot?"
"Says the guy who never sleeps. Why are you upset, anyway? It has nothing to do with you," I objected.
"Isn't it your job to guard me? Why are you going off and fighting battles that have nothing to do with my safety? I don't get it. There are millions of agents in your agency, so why are the five of you always taking on these missions when you already have your own?"
"You do have a point. We're not obligated to do it, but we want to. All five of us have a personal grudge against Black Galaxy. That's one thing we bond over most." I smiled at the memory of us in the meeting room, telling each other about how much we loathed Black Galaxy.
"What has Black Galaxy done to you?" he asked, completely emerged in solving the mystery.
"Go back to your work, mate. Stop procrastinating." I winked. His eyes went as wide as saucers at my reference. "That's right. I've done my research, Christopher. I've listened to your songs."
"You're so unpredictable, Scarlett." He laughed. "So what did you think of our work?" His warm smile reached his eyes.
I carried a chair, placed it next to him, and sat down. "I genuinely enjoyed them. Your passion is definitely clear in your lyrics and voices. Good job."
"Why thank you. Coming from you, that makes me beyond proud." He exaggerated his emotions by placing a hand on his heart.
"As you should be. You know, I even listened to the old 3racha songs, and one particular song was my absolute favorite," I smirked.
The amusement on his face immediately washed off, turning into pure horror. He playfully covered his eyes and turned his back to me. "Oh no, oh no, oh no. I know where this is going."
"Why are you covering your face? It's such a gem!" I got off my chair, and went to face him again, laughing when he turned back around.
"I know! I KNOW! You're talking about 'WOW' by 3racha!" He chortled as he finally took his hands off his face and looked at me. "I like you when you're like this. Please stay like this, Scarlett." He suddenly captured my fingers with his and smiled at me earnestly.
I like being like this too. I don't mind this change.
But what if I hurt you?
"Christopher, I-"
He stopped me by covering my mouth again. "Don't bite me this time!" he cried.
Then, he lowered his hand and sighed. "It sounded like you were about to find an excuse, so I shut you up. I can see the willingness in your eyes, so what's stopping you?"
"Usually, when clients become friends with their bodyguards, they end up alone. If we get closer right now, can you promise not to get hurt if something were to happen to me?"
"So you're trying to protect me both physically, and mentally. You're really something, Scarlett. How old were you again?"
"Christopher. Can you promise me that you won't get hurt?" I insisted.
"What's so wrong with getting hurt? I think having something to lose is worth more than having nothing in the first place."
"What kind of logic is that? I'm telling you it's painful." I abruptly stood up.
"What's painful is watching you act nice with everyone but me!" He stood up as well.
"Oh, look who's sulking. Are you jealous?" I joked.
"And what if I am? Call me Chan, or Chris! Anything but your formal Christopher. When you talk to me, stop suppressing your smile. When you're in my studio, stop sitting on the far corner of the room. When I say good night, say it back." He took a step closer. "Stop treating me like a stranger."
He was this fed up?
Living with me must have been exasperating.
I searched his eyes for any sign of uncertainty; anything that could stop me from giving in, but I only found conviction. "Okay then, goodnight Chris." I smiled.
He was not prepared for that, so he stood there, frozen as I opened the door and clicked my tongue. "What a bad kid. I wished him good night, but he didn't even wish it back."
Closing the door, I snickered as I walked down the halls, returning to my room.