You're Already Mine
“It’s too much!”
“It’s my security detail, so of course the pay’s high.”
“Even so, this is ridiculous!”
“Shut up and just sign it.”
“I refuse!”
“Sign!”
Sihyun and Yuri locked horns in a fierce war of nerves, neither willing to yield an inch.
“No!”
“Hey, you’re dropping the formal speech now? Sign the damn thing!”
“I said I don’t want to!”
The stalemate looked ready to drag on forever—until both sides finally reached a dramatic (or so they called it) compromise.
Salary: 3,010,000 won per month
“This is still way too much… And what’s with the extra ten thousand at the end? That’s just petty. Just drop it.”
Even as he signed, Sihyun couldn’t stop grumbling under his breath.
“Quiet. You’re the one who kept whining that it was too high, so I matched it to a rookie bodyguard’s salary and cut it down as much as I could.”
Yuri was just as full of complaints—grumbling included. She had gone so far as to dig through three or four job sites she had never once visited in her life, just to look up the average bodyguard salary in Korea.
“Why the hell did I have to research the average annual salary for bodyguards in this country…”
They had compromised, yes, but neither of them was happy about it.
“Here.”
Sihyun finished signing and held the contract out to her. Process aside, the fact remained: right now, in this moment, a contract bound Kim Sihyun and Han Yuri together.
“Good. From now on, you’re my bodyguard.”
Yuri gazed down at the papers in her hand, a satisfied smile curving her lips.
“Kim Sihyun.”
“Yes.”
“You’re mine.”
Her sharp blue eyes pierced straight through him, locking him in place like iron chains. A sudden chill raced down Sihyun’s spine—an inexplicable, dangerous sensation that made him feel as though she might swallow him whole if he stayed silent a second longer.
“I’m a bodyguard,” he blurted.
The sight of him bristling like a newly adopted kitten made Yuri snort with quiet amusement.
“Right. My bodyguard. Which means you’re mine.”
“Bodyguard.”
“Ugh… You really won’t give me even one word, will you?”
“Look who’s talking.”
His unyielding tone made Yuri’s brow furrow.
“Hey.”
“Yes.”
“Are you going to keep calling me that forever?”
“Calling you what?”
Sihyun shot back curtly.
“My name.”
Yuri narrowed her eyes at him.
“It’s Han Yuri. Han. Yu. Ri.”
“Yes, I know.”
“Hey!”
Yuri shot up from her seat and barked the word.
“You’re the one who only ever calls me ‘hey’!”
“You and I are the same? I’m your employer!”
“Ah-ha!”
Sihyun clapped his hands together once, eyes lighting up with mock realization.
Yuri felt a flicker of relief, thinking he had finally grasped the situation.
Then he opened his mouth again.
“Employer-nim.”
Yuri nearly tripped over her own feet.
“You little—!”
She barely caught herself on the table, staring at him with a look that screamed, Are you really going to keep this up?
“How about you start by addressing me properly first, Employer-nim.”
“Haaah—?! What did you just—?!”
“That’s workplace abuse!”
“Hmph. Workplace abuse is when my employer-nim destroyed every single one of my part-time jobs.”
“Ugh…”
Yuri’s mouth opened and closed soundlessly for a second before she snapped back, voice thick with injustice.
“Hey! I did all of that for your sake!”
“You think that crazy woman who tried to frame me yesterday and those gangsters are just going to give up?”
“And if they don’t give up, so what? You’re Cheonryong, Employer-nim.”
Sihyun shrugged, the sarcasm dripping from every word.
“Shut up. I never relied on that family much to begin with.”
Yuri clicked her tongue and turned her head sharply toward the window.
“What?”
Sihyun echoed the unexpected admission, but she didn’t answer. She simply stared outside for a long moment, as if shaking something off, then turned back and met his eyes squarely.
“Whatever. The point is, they might still come after you.”
“Ah… Yeah, that’s true.”
Sihyun nodded slowly. Unlike her, he was ordinary—no, less than ordinary.
“That damn woman and those pants-wetting punks are one thing, but that gangster in the yellow sunglasses? You know as well as I do how dangerous he is.”
“Yes.”
He had no choice but to nod again. Suhyeon’s resentful glare right before she left, Taesu and his crew—those had been unpleasant enough. But Dongchul, who had appeared at the very end, was in an entirely different league.
If we’d gone all the way to the finish…
The memory of that solid fist colliding with his foot sent a phantom jolt of pain through his right leg.
“I looked into the bastard. Turns out he’s pretty well-known among the thugs.”
Yuri must have gone home far later than Sihyun the night before, yet somehow she had already dug up this information and was now laying it out for him.
“And those Daeho Clan guys who came up from the provinces recently? They’re a lot more dangerous than they look.”
She added a warning, voice low and serious.
“If you’re not careful, even your mother could get dragged into this.”
“…!”
Sihyun’s breath caught. He half-rose from his chair, ready to bolt straight to Seojin that very second.
“Sit.”
Yuri held up a palm, calming him.
“For the time being they’ll keep their heads down just because of me, so take a breath.”
“…Yes.”
Her words finally restored enough of his reason that he sank back into the seat. He drew a deep breath, then looked her straight in the eye.
“So that’s why you came looking for me at the crack of dawn?”
He didn’t know exactly where she lived, but given the time they had parted the night before and how long the investigation must have taken, she probably hadn’t slept at all. She claimed the Daeho Clan would leave him alone out of respect for her, yet worry for Sihyun and Seojin had driven her to wait outside his house in the dead of night.
“Why are you making a big deal out of it? Looking after what’s mine is only natural.”
“…Thank you.”
“Good. Then take this back.”
A pleased smile touched Yuri’s lips at his gratitude. She pulled the thick bundle of cash he had returned earlier from inside her jacket and held it out.
“What the—why are you starting that nonsense again, Employer-nim?”
The grateful Sihyun of a second ago vanished; he recoiled as if she’d offered him a live grenade.
“Ah, for crying out loud… It’s a signing bonus. Just take it. You need the money for your mother.”
Yuri sighed as though he were giving her a migraine and shoved the wad of bills toward him.
“I already lowered the salary. Don’t be picky.”
“….”
Sihyun had no comeback. She was right. Day by day Seojin’s condition was getting worse; recently she could barely walk properly. If they delayed the surgery any longer, the worst could happen. The salary they had agreed on wasn’t small, but it was nowhere near enough for the operation fees he needed right now. For his mother’s sake, he should take the money.
And yet he hesitated, the same question circling endlessly in his head.
Is it really okay to just accept this much cash?
If I take it… I might stop being her bodyguard and become her property for real.
As if she had read the thought straight off his face, Yuri spoke in a low, serious voice.
“Hey.”
“Stop being so stubborn.”
“It’s not stubbornness, it’s—”
“I know. You’re worried I’ll pull some new crap the second you take the money, right?”
“Th-that’s…”
Sihyun faltered, then gave a small, defeated nod.
“Yes.”
His honest answer made Yuri snort with laughter.
“Honest to a fault when it comes to things like this, aren’t you?”
“‘To a fault’? I’ve always been honest.”
“Sure, sure, you’re right about everything. Now take the money.”
“Why does every conversation end with you saying that?”
Yuri shrugged and changed the subject.
“Your mother looked like she was really suffering yesterday. You barely have enough to get her to a proper hospital right now, do you?”
“….”
Sihyun lowered his head in silence.
“Take it. I’m not trying to chain you with this pocket change. It’s just a signing bonus.”
She pushed the bills toward him once more. Sihyun finally accepted them, muttering under his breath.
“You’ve already chained me plenty…”
The image of a bristling kitten refusing to back down made Yuri bite back another laugh. For a fleeting second she wanted to tease him further, but she had already succeeded in making him take the money. Pushing any harder would be greed.
This is only the beginning. Slowly… carefully… one step at a time.
Yuri clapped her hands once, sharp and decisive.
“Alright, you’re off the clock!”
“What? Already? We haven’t even done anything—”
Sihyun stared at her, completely lost. Yuri just grinned.
“It’s your first day. Take that money and go get your mother to the hospital.”
“Ah…”
Understanding dawned. Sihyun bowed his head.
“Thank you. Then I’ll—”
He turned on his heel and strode straight out of the café. Yuri watched his retreating back with a soft, contented smile.
“You’re already mine.”
She murmured the words under her breath.
A moment later, once Sihyun had vanished from sight, realization struck.
“Oh, right. I never told him what time or where to show up tomorrow.”
She felt a brief flash of annoyance at herself, then shrugged it off.
“Whatever. I already have his number.”
Smiling faintly, she reached for her phone to send him a text—only for the device to ring the second her fingers touched it.
“Han Yuri, you fucking bitch!!!”
Yuri took one look at the caller ID and burst out laughing. She jabbed the answer button without hesitation, and Seonye’s voice—thick with pure, unfiltered rage—exploded through the speaker.