Guarded by you

Chapter 1 – The Contract Bodyguard When the agency first told me I’d be assigned a full-time bodyguard, I laughed. I thought it was a joke. “Lin Yue, this isn’t optional,” my manager had said, scrolling through a pile of news updates. “The fans are getting too close. There’s that stalker case. The company won’t risk it again.” I wanted to argue, but I couldn’t. He was right — someone had been following me lately. Notes left on my car, gifts that weren’t from the fansites. A shadow always somewhere in the corner of my eye. Still, a bodyguard? 24 hours a day? It felt… too much. I didn’t want to be treated like a fragile thing. But that was before I met him. --- He arrived that morning — tall, expressionless, wearing a black shirt that somehow made him look colder than the surrounding air. His name was Krit, a Thai national with a clean record and a reputation for being the best in the agency. When our eyes met, he gave a polite bow. “Mr. Lin, I’ll be in your care.” His tone was calm, formal. No hint of nervousness. No curiosity. I couldn’t read him at all. “Do you always sound that serious?” I asked, half teasing. “Yes.” That was it. Just yes. I wanted to laugh, but something about him made it hard. Maybe it was the way he stood — perfectly still, like he was part of the air but always aware of every movement I made. --- The first few days were strange. He was everywhere. Outside my door. Behind me at events. At the studio, the gym, even the restaurant when I tried to sneak out with my friends. “Don’t you ever rest?” I asked one night as we walked back to the car. He looked at me from the corner of his eye. “It’s my job to make sure you’re safe. Rest comes after that.” The way he said it made my chest tighten a little. I didn’t understand why. --- One evening, after a late-night shoot, we were the last ones in the building. The lights were dim, the silence heavy. I sat on the edge of the stage, staring at the empty seats, feeling that old loneliness creep in again. “You should get some rest,” he said quietly behind me. I turned, meeting his eyes. “You’re not my mom, Krit.” “I know. But you still need rest.” There was something gentle in his tone this time, something that made me stop pretending. “Do you ever get tired of people like me?” I asked suddenly. He frowned slightly. “People like you?” “Celebrities. Spoiled. Complicated. Always pretending.” He walked closer until he stood just a few steps away. “You’re not spoiled,” he said simply. “You’re tired. That’s different.” His words hit harder than I expected. For a moment, I couldn’t speak. Then I smiled weakly, trying to brush it off. “You sound like you’ve been watching me.” “I have,” he said. “It’s part of the job.” But the way he said it made it sound like more than just a duty. It made it sound like… he actually saw me. --- That night, I couldn’t sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw his face — the calm way he spoke, the warmth in his voice that contradicted his cold eyes. I told myself it was just admiration. Gratitude, maybe. But the truth was… I liked the way he looked at me — like I was more than a name on a headline. The next morning, he knocked on my door. “The car’s ready.” “Yeah,” I mumbled, half awake. “Krit… you don’t smile much, do you?” He blinked, caught off guard. “I smile when necessary.” “Then smile now.” “I don’t think this is necessary.” I laughed softly. “You’re impossible.” But for a second — just one — I thought I saw the corner of his lips twitch. It wasn’t a full smile. But it was enough to make my heart skip. --- That was the beginning. I didn’t know then that those small moments — the silence, the teasing, the stolen glances — would become something I couldn’t control. He wasn’t supposed to cross that line. Neither was I. But sometimes, feelings don’t follow contracts. And mine were already starting to break the rules. --- Would yo