Bodyguard Lee Pt. 8
You met a kind stranger wandering the streets of Athens who was willing to go out of his way to help you. But across the globe weeks later you cross paths with him again. Could having this many unexpected meetings be a happy coincidence or an ill-fated destiny?
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The next morning you woke up feeling like a thousand ton weight had been removed from your shoulders. You didn’t know what it was about hotel beds that let you sleep so soundly but you were serious about finding out why and implementing those things in your own home. You yawned and stretched before reaching for your phone to check your messages and there was only one.
Possibly Taemin: Good morning y/n, this is Taemin. This is my personal number, so save it in case you need anything.
You read it with a smile and were quick to catch yourself. You forced yourself to wipe the smile away and you threw the phone away from you before you could be tempted to reply to his message. Although it would be rude to say nothing at all… You reached for the phone and stared at the message on your screen thinking of what to write.
Good morning Taemin! Thanks! You typed out and looked at it. Was it too short? Did it come off as cold or casual? You contemplated it for a moment but decided to send it anyway. There was no reason to be so worked up over a stupid text when you knew that you were going to see Taemin shortly anyways. You quickly added him to your contacts and then tossed the phone away again. You had roughly thirty minutes before you had to be dressed and downstairs ready to go to your first schedule of the day and you would be damned if you were late and caused a ripple effect in your entire day's schedule.
You walked over to your luggage and looked at the clothes that you had packed. You wanted to wear something cute but comfortable but bit your lips when you saw the ruched bodycon black dress that you had brought along. It was definitely more revealing and exciting than what you had anticipated on wearing, but you knew that it hugged you in all the right places, making your body look curvy and your legs look long. You slipped it on and made your way to the bathroom to curl your hair and apply light makeup to make your eyes look large and bright. You looked yourself over in the mirror as you added your accessories and smiled to yourself. The shoulders of the dress were cut out, broadcasting your delicate collar bones and it revealed just enough cleavage for the dress to be considered both sexy and cute. You smiled to yourself and then made your way downstairs where the rest of your team was surely waiting.
You were anxious the entire elevator ride down to the lobby of the hotel but as soon as the doors opened you forced on a confident small smile. You walked with your shoulders back and clutched the handle of your purse as you entered the seating area and were happy to see that everyone was gathered and waiting for you.
“Oohhh” your manager exclaimed as she looked at you with appreciation “You decided to dress up today for your big release huh?” she said with excitement
You gave her a smile in return and then scanned the rest of the team members who were present, looking for one person in particular. Taemin was in the corner of the lobby talking with Kai and Minho as he looked at you with a barely noticeable smirk. He held your gaze for just a second before he turned back to the men and continued his conversation.
“Are you ready to go?” your manager asked you while standing up from her seat and gathering her things for the day
“As ever” you replied as you waited for everyone to be ready to go.
You watched as the team slowly stood and made their way towards the front doors. You made sure to follow them closely and stay in a position where you were covered by someone on all sides. You reached the van door and were about to reach out to grab it but were beaten by Taemin grabbing the door and holding it as it slid open. You looked up to him and gave him an appreciative smile before you hopped onto a seat in the back of the van. Your manager was next and she quickly claimed a captain's chair towards the front of the van. You watched as she began to load up bags and items into the other captain's chair and you started to get flustered. If she puts those there…then where is Taemin going to sit. You looked over to the seats next to you. It's not like you didn’t want Taemin to sit next to you… it’s just that you wanted to let him appreciate you from afar, not up and close where he could see the bags under your eyes and see you yawn open mouthed.
“Why don’t you put those back here so that Taemin can sit comfortably up front” you asked but it came out more as pleading.
Your manager looked you over and then scoffed “I have so many things for today, if i put them all back there they’d probably fall on you.”
“It’s okay I can watch them and make sure that they don’t fall” you explained
Taemin popped his head into the van to assess the situation “It’s okay I can sit in the back with you” he said with a polite smile
You watched as your manager continued to load bags into the car filling up the floorboard space at her feet and stacking up bags and boxes in the chair next to her. You were going to have to sit self-consciously next to Taemin and smell his delicious cologne. She finally took her seat and Taemin crawled into the back carefully trying not to knock items over or step on anyone's toes.
He cleared his throat as he took a seat next to you and you refused to look at him. You looked straight ahead and out of your window pretending not to care, but you were caught off when your phone vibrated. You pulled it out of your purse and looked at the message.
Taemin: You look great today. Excited about the release?
You looked over at Taemin to give him a look of disbelief, but he was taking a play out of your own playbook and looked out of his window like you had just mere seconds ago. You waited for a second to see if he would turn around to face you but he stayed petty and continued to look away. You looked down at your phone and quickly typed out your message.
You: Thanks. Of course im excited
Taemin: You don’t seem excited. You seem nervous
You: Why do I seem nervous? You furiously text back holding back a scoff
Taemin: Because you’re quiet and won’t even look at me
You looked back over to Taemin who was now cocking his eyebrow at you. You blinked a few times at him as if trying to prove your point that you weren’t nervous to look at him, but then Taemin began to type again. You watched him as he padded away at his phone and anticipated the next incoming text
Taemin: Aren’t you cold with your shoulders so exposed? You are wearing so little today I hope you don’t catch a cold
You: you make it sound like I'm nearly naked! I won’t catch a cold!
Taemin chuckled to himself and shook his head as he read your text and then he silently put his phone away in his jacket pocket. You wanted to do the same but thought that you decided to check the weather instead. You hadn’t even considered what the weather was going to be like today before you chose this outfit. You just wanted to look good.
“y/n” your manager called out to you, grabbing your attention “It looks like Song Mingi has just sent you a bouquet of flowers for your release!” she said, shoving her phone in your direction to show you a picture. You took the phone from here and looked at the image. It was a giant bouquet of pink and cream roses, camellias, peony, and primrose. It was an impressive bouquet and it looked like it weighed a ton.
“Wow” was all that you could say in response to the small garden that you stared at
“That boy has tried hard to get your attention for years” your manager said as she took back her phone “Poor boy” she whispered to herself
You sat back in your seat and released a small huff. Every release or special event Mingi makes a grand gesture with either roses, giant stuffed animals, or luxury foods. You hadn’t said anything other than a polite thank you to him in all this time and he still tried relentlessly to woo you.
Taemin shuffled in his chair next to you and you looked over to see what he was doing. He adjusted the collar of his shirt roughly and looked ahead of the van through the windshield as if he couldn’t wait to get out.
“Please remind me to send him a thank you card when we get home” you flatly said to your manager
Another text came in and you looked down at your phone
Taemin: Song Mingi? Is that who you are thinking about dating?
You looked down at the text message and contemplated long and hard about how you wanted to reply. How were you supposed to tell him that he was the one who made you realize what a normal relationship could be like? That he was the one that gave you the butterflies, and he was the one who you were secretly trying to impress deep down. You were about to type out a single ‘no’ but felt that there was no reason to feel the need to explain to Taemin who Mingi was to you. Because the truth of the matter is that Mingi was just another boy who thought that you were pretty and liked who you were for what you showed to the public.
The rest of the car ride was done in complete silence and you could feel the questions from Taemin quietly brewing on the surface. If the two of you were alone you were sure that he would try his best to get the answer out of you.
You had pulled up to the first venue just in time and you waited anxiously to get out of the car, hoping to escape from the weird vibes. And as soon as you were out you were immediately dragged to the greenroom where you were once again dressed up and fit for the show you were set to guest appear and perform on.
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Twelve hours later and you were finally on your last leg of the day. You sat across from your closest team members in your manager's hotel room and watched as your released song garnered attention across multiple platforms. It had seemed to be doing exceptionally well and you were happy that it was finally out and over with. You sipped on your third glass of wine, laughed and made small talk about how far you had come. The same dialogue was shared each time that a release came out but you smiled along as your drunk manager reminisced about the ‘old days’.
Your manager had gotten up from her chair that she had been sitting in and excused herself to the bathroom and wobbled, nearly falling over. You got up to attempt to help catch her but were instantly hit with headrush. You knew that you were buzzed, but you didn’t realize just how buzzed you were until now.
“Okay! Okay!” a staff member said as she helped your manager find her balance and escorted her to the bathroom “I think we’re all pretty well wasted. Maybe we should call it a night!” she exclaimed a little too loudly.
You agreed that it was definitely time and you quickly downed the last few sips of your wine in one shot. You carefully placed your wine glass down on a counter top across the room and thanked all of the staff for their hard work before you had excused yourself.
You quickly pulled your key card out from your purse and you entered your room letting the door shut on its own behind you. You let out a sigh as you threw your purse across the room to land with a bounce on the bed and you were just about to peel yourself out of your clothes when a knock came at the door.
You turned towards the door and stomped towards it expecting for there to be a staff member on the other side, but you were shocked and surprised when you saw Taemin instead.
“Taemin!” you said happily with a little shock “What are you doing here?” you asked as you grabbed his arm and pulled him into your room before someone would see or hear the two of you.
Taemin didn’t fight you as you pulled him in and he smiled as he went along.
“Congratulations!” he said as he held out an intricately designed canister
“What is this?” you asked as you brought the package up to your face for inspection
“It’s some tea” he explained with a nervous chuckle “It’s not much but I figured that it would be relaxing and soothing for your throat after performing so much”
You looked up at Taemin with a wide smile. It was the most thoughtful thing that someone had given you in a while and you were moved. You didn’t know if it was the wine, or if your emotions were just sensitive today, but you were overjoyed..
“You didn’t have to do this!” you said as you put the canister down on your dresser “But i am very thankful and happy that you did.” you confessed
“For this?” Taemin said sarcastically “Well its no bouquet of flowers”
You stared at him for a moment trying to process why he was still hanging onto that, but he seemed to refuse to back down. You blinked for a moment and decided to hell with it and asked him what you probably wouldn’t have dared to ask him if you didn’t have the wine in your system.
“What’s your issue with the flowers?” you asked with a scoff “Are you jealous or something?!” you asked half joking and half serious trying to make light of the situation.
You waited for Taemin to respond to you but he never said anything back. Your smile faded with the silence and you watched as Taemin looked back at you with a blank look.
“Wait..are you actually jealous?” you asked again but this time you were serious
Taemin turned his head away and licked his lip nervously. “Look, It’s been a long day and you’ve obviously had a few drinks so I'm going to call it a night.” He said as he tried to leave but you quickly maneuvered around him and stood in front of the door to block him.
“Answer me.” you softly demanded as you looked up to him
Taemin looked ahead to the front door refusing to look you in the eye and you knew your answer. You blinked a few times as you accepted the truth and a new rush rose up to your cheeks making them warm. You couldn’t help but smile shyly.You reached behind you and locked the door to your room without even bothering to look back. Hearing the lock click into place Taemin looked down to you with disbelief.
“You aren’t going to leave here until you tell me the truth” you demanded with confidence and taemin clenched his jaw “Were you jealous?” you asked him slowly
Taemin looked at you with defiance and leaned into you causing you to back up into the doorway. He put his arms up and rested his palms on the door just above each side of your head before leaning in farther and whispering
“So what if I am?”
You looked up at him shocked to be pinned in this position and butterflies flew through your stomach. The look that he gave you sent chills across your arms and back and you recognized it from the sparring practice. This look was anger and jealousy. You swallowed and looked up at him helplessly. A part of you wanted to cower with how dominant he was and the other part of you wanted to lean into this side of him. You didn’t know if you were ever going to find yourself in this position again so you decided to lean into your emotions.
You licked your lips as you looked into Taemin’s eyes and he watched your tongue as it swept across. He slowly raised his eyes again but this time his expression was softer, heavier, and sexier.
“If you don’t want things to cross the line then you need to let me out” he said sternly begging you to make what you wanted clear
The two of you stood at the door panting with heavy breaths of excitement and lust as you stared at one another. Taemin paused for a moment allowing you the time to back away and change your mind but you continued to stay in your place. All it would take was for you to duck down or step to the side, but instead you stayed as still as a statue as you waited for Taemin to make his move.
Taemin looked away from you for one moment and you watched as he latched the second door lock. You smiled as you watched him as if it was the sexiest thing that you had ever seen. He looked back down to you and leaned into your ear, tickling your neck with a soft and delicious whisper
“I hope you know what you’ve just done”