As I have nothing to give you, I give you my heart (IU Verse Book#1)

Chapter 44

     The next few weeks after their second date, Both Jihyuk and Jieun proceed to their normal lives. It was an unspoken agreement to them that Jihyuk was going to permanently live with Jieun, even if the case was closed and nobody is going to try and hurt her again. The CEO of the agency didn't dismiss Jihyuk as Jieun's bodyguard either, so Jihyuk found himself going back and forth between two jobs, being an agent at the agency and Jieun's sort of personal bodyguard plus assistant. Everyone close to Jieun, whether it was some of her team members, came to know the relationship between the two, and had been supporting them all the way. They were glad that Jieun found someone that could protect her and love her even if for who she was, and not the persona that most people knew her as (IU). They had witnessed Jieun's relationships with her past lovers, and they would argue in Jihyuk's defense that those people were seeing Jieun as IU first, not as herself. Jihyuk was different. He had first approached their boss for the sole reason of protecting her but ended up falling in love in the process. If that isn't a beautiful and unexpected love story, then what is?

     Since the case was closed and Sujin was brought to justice while the perpetrator, Kim Daeyoung, had taken his own life, everyone in the company began to feel at ease. The security checks weren't as tight as before, and there were fewer security guards than there were compared to the second incident which had taken place in Jieun's office. Of course, no one was able to find out who was helping Park Sujin, and that person, whoever they are, hadn't been trying again. So the incident was forgotten, even after Park Sujin was captured.

     The person who did it, however, did not forget about it even for a bit. He, unlike others, had felt agitated when he first heard that Park Sujin, one of South Korea's renowned actors, had been captured and investigated by the National Police Agency. He had not been sleeping well at night, afraid that Sujin would mention something about a helper inside Edam's walls. She was afraid she would get investigated by the police as an accomplice, which she was not. He was merely following orders from her, and it wasn't big of a crime. Yes, it was not. The incident was meant to give Jieun a message. Yes, he was merely relaying the message. He was just a messenger. But every time he looked at Jieun, who was potentially his boss, he couldn't help but feel the guilt crawling from inside him.

    "June Oppa," A voice behind him broke his thoughts as he whipped his head around cautiously. Minyoung, the maknae of the stylist team, was looking back at him with a quizzical expression on her face. "I've been calling you for the past five minutes." She paused as her eyes scanned his face.

     "Are you okay?" June nodded and gave Minyoung a fake smile. "Yeah, Sorry. I was just...lost in my thoughts. What's up?" Minyoung looked at him carefully for a moment before she broke into her usual cheery character as she sat down next to him. "I came to remind you that the staff meeting is in 30 minutes." June nodded. "Okay." He glanced at her and added, "Is that it?" Minyoung nodded. "Mmhmm. So what were you thinking about so deeply that you didn't even notice me coming in?" 

    "Nothing. Don't worry about it," June reassured her, giving her a real smile this time. He decided to change the subject before she could ask any further. "Any idea what the meeting is going to be about?" Minyoung shrugged. "Beats me. Been trying to find out through Hanteo Oppa, Seri unnie, and even Jieun unnie. But they all said that they didn't know." At the mention of Jieun's name, June's face became slightly pale. Thankfully, Minyoung didn't notice it as she continued, "I wonder if they are going to continue those fighting classes. We only had one class so far with everything that was going on. Even if we caught the perpetrator, it's good to learn just in case." June nodded absently beside her. Minyoung glanced at him for a moment and giggled, "If we happen to have another class, I don't know if I want to be your partner again."