Chapter Text
Rika’s eyes darkened as a sinister smile slowly found its way on her lips. She stood there unmoving as Jumin’s strong grip restrained her arm, knife still in her hand.
“Oh, I see how it is,” she purred as she glanced over at Reine, who clutched at her bleeding arm. “Now I understand.”
Confusion flickered in Jumin’s angry gaze. “Understand what, exactly?”
“Backup!!!” Reine shouted.
Before Rika could even answer Jumin’s question, she slipped past Jumin’s grasp and grabbed Rika’s free hand, and swooped her leg under to disrupt the other woman’s balance. With her bloodied arm, Reine broke Jumin’s grasp from Rika with an upward strike from under his wrist. With his hand out of the way, Reine seized Rika’s other arm and pivoted to her right to safely push her face-first on the couch with her hands restrained behind her.
Within the same three seconds, two guards that were on standby outside stormed in the penthouse, guns drawn and ready to shoot.
“Sorry Mr. Han,” Reine apologized as she kept the restraints on the other woman. “Please stay back.”
Rika seemed unfazed with the turn of events as her light chuckles filled the silence. She turned her head to the side, towards Reine. “Say, what is your name? I found it odd that Jumin would take a female in the guard ranks--as his personal guard too. I’m quite curious about you,” she spoke in a soft voice tinged with dark amusement.
Reine’s expression did not change, nor did she make any attempt to reply. She straightened to stand up and pulled Rika along with her, keeping her hands tight and secure behind her, and hoisted her up to help her stand.
“Send her away,” Jumin ordered the guard beside Reine, who immediately replaced his gun back in the holster. He grabbed both of Rika’s wrists and nodded towards Reine, who mouthed her thanks to the man before letting go.
“Oh Jumin Han,” Rika purred as she stood defiantly in front of the corporate heir. “You’re still running away, after all these years. Sending me away will not change anything, you know,” she teased.
“Call Driver Kim and to take her to her hotel,” Jumin commanded, completely ignoring Rika’s taunts. “If she tries anything, feel free to drive her straight to the police station.”
-----
Tense silence hung heavy in the penthouse as the door shut with the guards who took Rika away. Reine turned towards Jumin and bowed her head low, her hand clutching at the sleeve of her suit to keep her blood from dripping on the pristine floor.
“I will take my leave, Mr. Han,” Reine spoke with respect before she turned her heel to go towards the door.
“Wait,” Jumin called.
Reine stopped and turned once again to face him, confusion evident in her eyes. “Yes sir?”
“Come,” the corporate heir beckoned with a slight nod.
“Sir?”
Jumin looked at her impatiently. “That wound. That needs to be treated.”
“Oh,” Reine muttered, seemingly embarrassed. “This is no big deal; I can go to the infi--”
Her eyes widened when Jumin’s hand found its way around her uninjured wrist, and pulled her towards the kitchen. Reine let herself be led towards the sink where she finally snatched her wrist away, to Jumin’s surprise.
“Mr. Han,” her tone was stern. “What you did was dangerous. Don’t ever do something like that again! And this is just a scratch, I can take--”
Jumin merely gave a few seconds of eye contact as a reply to her statement, to Reine’s obvious dismay. He proceeded to carefully raise her injured arm and ripped the torn sleeve wider to allow more access to the gash on her forearm. Jumin sighed in relief to find that it wasn’t as bad as he thought it was; but it was bleeding and it needed to be cleaned, at least.
Reine hissed slightly when the wound got in contact with the running water from the faucet, her arm tensing as the pain shot up from her cut. Jumin’s grey eyes were apologetic when he looked into hers, but he busied himself in inspecting the wound.
“Keep washing it. Let me get the first aid kit,” he said and turned his attention to the lower cupboard, and brought out a white box.
“Mr. Han, are you even listening to me?” Reine insisted, and winced as her sudden movement caused pain on her wound again.
“Will you please stop being stubborn and let me see to your wound?” Jumin placed the white box on the countertop and opened a fresh white towel for her. “Here.”
With Jumin not giving her any choice, Reine sighed and turned off the faucet, then placed her arm gently on the waiting clean towel. Jumin gently pressed on the skin around the wound, careful not to worry it as it just stopped bleeding.
Reine’s cheeks flushed red. Jumin’s hands felt warm through the towel, and they were so gentle, almost like her arm was something precious. She cautiously lifted her gaze on him, and smiled at how focused he was with drying her arm.
“Does it hurt?”
Her breath hitched when his grey eyes caught her watching him, which caused her to blink away and swallow hard. “N-no,” she cursed at herself for stuttering, but did not pull back as he busied himself once more to applying antibiotic ointment on her cut.
“I don’t like it,” Jumin spoke, which made Reine lift her gaze to him once more.
“Pardon?”
“I don’t like you getting hurt like this.”
Reine paused. “Sir, I’m your bodyguard. It’s my job to--”
“No, it is not your job to get hurt. How many times have you been cut and bruised? You’ve only been working for me for six months, and the amount of danger you seem to have put yourself in on my account is unsettling.”
She was taken aback by the tone with which he spoke, and how much of his feelings he managed to say. Jumin was always calm and composed, but the way his hands shook--she just noticed now--and the tone of his voice gave away the amount of emotional turmoil he probably had been keeping to himself.
“My apologies,” Jumin averted his eyes and proceeded to replace the cap of the ointment before placing it back in the kit. “After...after what happened, I just--” he stopped himself mid-sentence and sighed, and gently pried her hand off for him to start bandaging her wound. “Self-sacrifice often ends up badly.”
“Self-sacrifice?” Reine challenged. “It’s my job, sir.”
Or was it? Reine pondered to herself as she quietly watched Jumin while he carefully wrapped the clean gauze around her arm. When did it stop being professional and started being personal for her? When did the call of duty end and her feelings start?
Jumin paused in the middle of his task of wrapping bandage on her forearm, but continued as he pondered what Reine had said. “I suppose,” he was back to his professional tone, which Reine could tell was his way of shoving his emotions in. “Please sit still and let me dress your wound.”
Without thinking, Reine lifted her good hand to rest on top of his, which made him abruptly look up at her. There was a storm in his grey eyes; a flicker of wild emotion that he failed to mask for a split second, before he blinked it away.
“Jumin...it’s okay. I’m okay,” Reine gave his hand a small squeeze. “You are an important man. You have people’s lives on your shoulders--your work brings food to their tables. I’ve...never been more proud to protect someone that works as earnestly and honestly as you do.”
Jumin’s eyes widened. His heart almost leapt out of his chest that he forgot to breathe, and ended up choking on air. He turned to his side and covered his mouth with the back of his hand as he cleared his throat.
“Wha--are you alright?” Reine asked worriedly.
“You…” he tried to form words but was unable to, and ended up sighing as he continued to evade her gaze by continuing on his task. “That’s unfair.”
Reine tilted her head slightly to the side, genuinely confused. “What is unfair?”
Jumin gave her a side glance as he tried his best to compose himself. He couldn’t help the smile that was forming on the sides of his lips as he secured the bandage with a strip of medical tape. He felt the tips of his ears grow hot, and he hurriedly replaced the items he used back into the first aid kit.
He stood up and took the kit with him. Reine’s eyes followed him, still waiting for an answer. He glanced at her, and he felt his defenses crumble ever so slightly with the confused expression she wore.
“I’m trying to lecture you for getting yourself in trouble all the time, and then you end up lecturing me instead,” he tried his best to be as stoic as possible, but a big part of him wanted to tease her. There was no way he wouldn’t pay her back for disorienting him like that.
He gave her a playful, almost sensual, grin. “But that’s all right...you called me by my name, after all.”
“Wha--”
Reine finally realized what she just said--and did--and her face immediately turned as red as her hair. “I-I-I’m sorry! I was just trying to--I mean, I just blurted it out--”
A light chuckle escaped Jumin’s lips at watching her flounder and stumble on her words. He turned his heel to leave her flustered and trying to find an excuse, while he felt his heart soar in happiness as he repeated her words in his head.
Too cute.