(Yanna POV)

I woke up, and my parents are still here. Isn't that just a beautiful thing to wake up to? I love it when my mom and dad come home for more than one night.

I turned eighteen yesterday, and it was hands down one of my best birthdays so far. The past three years, my parents weren't able to be here for my birthday, but this year they made special arrangements so they could celebrate with me. I love my family. I don't know what I would do if I ever lost them.

I get dressed and legitimately slide down the banister.

"And she sticks the landing!" I exclaim in victory when my feet land at the bottom of the stairs.

I can hear my dad applaud from around the corner, "There's my favorite girl!" He sings when he sees me skip into the kitchen.

(Yes, I am eighteen... I'm just happy. Let me enjoy this, okay?)

"Good morning." I kiss both their cheeks.

"Good morning, Yanna." My mom greets me with a plate of eggs and toast with my favorite apple butter on the side. God, I love my mom.

"Ughh this looks so good!" I say along with the deep rumble of my stomach.

My dad almost chokes on a sip of orange juice, which makes me giggle. I start eating my toast before I make another comment, and my father chokes to death.

Okay, okay. My life right now? Pretty picture perfect. I can get used to this. But I just want to take advantage of this time. For all I know, my parents are being called away tomorrow, and I won't see them for who knows how long.

Breakfast ended pretty quickly actually. I never leave myself a lot of time in the morning for extra stuff like food when I could have been sleeping. Priorities, people... priorities.

I wave to my mom and dad as I grab my book bag and coat and slip out the front door.

I take a deep breath in of the leftover snowy air, and then let it out. The smile on my face doesn't seem like it's going to stop growing.

"Today is the best day ever."

(Yoongi POV)

"Today is the worst day ever."

I groan and roll over in bed. Last night's patrol at Yanna's house left me with two hours of sleep to go off of. Yes, I was trained to go days without sleep, but that doesn't mean it doesn't suck. I love sleep, okay? Probably more than life most days.

I sit up. My school uniform is hanging on the wall opposite me... it's taunting me. A full week of school is almost over. Day five of my mission. Status update so far? Mission successful. Actually, get this! I have Yanna's father's blessing. If that doesn't earn me some kind of medal, I don't know what will.

The floor is so cold when my bare feet touch it. It makes me shiver.

"Okay," I try to wake myself up, "Day five. Objective? Protect Yanna." I sigh and stand up, "... again."

I'm not sure what I'm protecting her from still, so I'm keeping my eyes peeled for anything and everything that could be a threat.

Actually, I spent a good amount of time last night thinking about her father and that tattoo. That small, black crow on his left wrist. I know where it's from, but he couldn't possibly-- I mean, there's no way he's affiliated with-- what I mean to say is there's no way he's actually-- oh, forget it. This man is more than what he seems. Just thinking about him puts me on edge.

I doubt anything will happen at school today, but just in case, I'll be with Yanna all day. If anything does come up, I'll be sure to be ready.

At home... that's a different story.

I get dressed and grab my coat and a small breakfast to eat on the go. Walking out the door, a familiar winter breeze greets me. I feel awake now that my face is half frozen. Thanks a lot, Winter.

~~~~~~~~~

Turns out, school is bustling today. Did the student body multiply over night? I guess, I'm still getting used to coming back to high school.

I see Yanna spinning the combination lock to her locker ahead of me. She pauses to catch her glasses from falling. You know, things would be a lot easier for her if she didn't have to worry about those frames falling every two minutes.

"Hey!" I say with a strained smile and walk up to her, "Having trouble?"

She sighs and punches the locker, "Today was going great until this stupid lock didn't work. I've tried the combination a hundred times, and now I'm gonna be late to class because of it."

"Can I try?"

She looks at me for a moment before stepping back with a shrug, "Sure, and the combination is--"

"I got it." I wave her off. Half-asleep me doesn't feel like dealing with this today, but here we go.

I lean down to the padlock and slowly start to turn it. I was taught how to pick over sixty-five different lock designs, so something like this? Doesn't even faze me.... not that I'm bragging.

I close my eyes and concentrate as much as I can on the sound of the lock with all this hustle and chaos around me. But even with all the noise, after a moment, I pop that padlock and open the locker with ease.

"Tada."

Yanna gawks at me with unbelieving eyes, "How did you do that?"

I just shrug. I mean, I could tell her that my training locked me in a tank of rapidly filling water and a padlock keeping me trapped inside, and the only way to escape was to pick the lock within sixty seconds... maybe I'll tell her another time.

"Lucky try?"

Suddenly something catches my eye as it falls from the locker. Another note? Like the one from before? I quickly pick it up and read it before she can snatch it away. My gut sinks when I see what's written in black, sinful ink.

Every protective instinct I have comes to the surface as my eyes darken, and I hold the note out to Yanna, "Who wrote this?"

I can tell by the way Yanna's breath hitches that she wasn't expecting my voice to be that deep. However, that doesn't matter now that this note exists.

"Yanna, this is a threat on your life. Who wrote it? Tell me." I demand.

But instead of answering me, she shakes her head. I watch as Yanna quickly lifts a finger to her cheek to catch a runaway tear.

Okay, that's it. This mission must be messing with my head. In my line of work, people cry 24/7. I just killed their uncle or their brother or their business partner who owed them six million dollars, and now they cry. That's just what they do. And normally, it doesn't bother me.

Yanna crying bothers me. I don't like it. At all. I don't know why, but something about seeing such an innocent, normally happy girl, break down because a stupid note... that shouldn't sit right with anyone, and it doesn't with me.

I sigh and step closer to her so we can both hide behind her locker door. I lean down so only she can hear my whisper, "Hey, don't cry. I promise I just want to protect you. I'm here for you, but you have to tell me who put this in your locker."

She looks up at me but doesn't say anything. Although, I can tell through her eyes that something out of this world is happening in her mind.

"Yanna." All I have to do is say her name to emphasize how serious I am, and she holds her breath.

She doesn't respond though. Instead she hangs her head while her eyes glance over at the group of boys down the hall. They're leaning on the lockers with suckers between their lips, and annoying smiles on their faces. Even from here I can hear the whispers and scoffs as they high five.

"No one, Yoongi." Yanna whispers, "It's fine."

The note crumbles in my fist as I make my way over to them. This is it. Finally! This is what my mission is. Protecting Yanna. Even if it is just from bullies. I'm finally doing something to protect her.

The crowd parts when I walk up, "Which one of you wrote this?" I ask and instantly see the fear in all their eyes.

The rest of the boys step to the side, leaving their friend pressing against the locker with wide eyes. So, he's the one?

I step up to him, my fist with the note pressing on his stomach, my lips close enough to his ear so he can clearly hear me, "Listen closely, you little prick. Yanna is under my protection. You hurt her, you deal with me. Understand?" Just for a little extra emphasis, I press a little more pressure on his gut, "Leave her alone."

The boy nods quickly.

"Good. Now go to class where you're supposed to be." And with that I step back, so he has the room to grab his backpack and sprint down the hall. The rest of his posse follow behind him with their tails tucked between their legs.

I smile to myself, watching them all run. "Kids."

Hey, at least I got to carry out my mission. Maybe dealing with high school bullies isn't as awesome as my usual daily routine, but hey, this mission is gonna be a piece of cake. Now all I have to do is wait until the agency contacts me and says I can leave this dumb school.

"Yoongi?" I hear a soft voice behind me.

I instantly turn around to find a timid Yanna holding her Math book close to her chest, "Oh, hey, don't worry about those jerks. They won't bother you anymore." I say with a half-smile.

She nods, and tucks her hair behind her ear, "Thanks, I guess. You didn't have to do that. I'm used to those kinds of notes." She gestures to the paper still in my hand.

I look down and see the note still crumbled in my fingers. I shake my head and sigh. Walking to the trash can in the corner, I start ripping it up into tiny pieces, "You don't have to deal with any of this crap anymore." The pieces fall into the black trash bag, "I'm gonna protect you."

Yanna's eyes go wider than any other eyes I've ever seen. Her face is as red as cherries. Did that one action have that much of an effect? Well, a job is a job. I have to sell this act until I'm told I can leave.

"Thanks." She bows to me.

It looks like Yanna wanted to say something else, but she doesn't get the chance.

Riiinngg Riiinngg~

"Oh, no! Hey, we better get to class. Don't want to be late, right?" I rub her arm softly for a moment to try and comfort her. I have to admit, getting notes like that one everyday can't be easy. I never knew exactly how bad it is at this school for her. Is that it though? Bullies? There has to be more to this girl for the Chief to assign me as her protector. Right?

Yanna looks up and smiles at me with pink cheeks, "Yeah, we should go."

I nod and drop my hand from her arm only to have her catch it at the last minute. Her fingers grab hold of mine gently, and she moves to stand next to me, "Lead the way." She says shyly.

I look down.

No. No. No. And did I mention...no!

She's holding my hand again. I repeat. Yanna is holding my hand.

(Yanna POV)

I'm holding Yoongi's hand again. I repeat. I am holding Yoongi's hand.

Last night made me think. My parents are so out there and ready to take on everything. They're so brave when it comes to the world, and to be honest, I want to be more like them. Besides, I like Yoongi. He is sweet to me. And the idea of maybe being his girlfriend doesn't scare me like I thought it would.

"Lead the way." I decide to say.

Yoongi blinks a few times, staring at our hands. He's not moving. Is he's disgusted? He hates this, I knew it. Ah, this was a terrible idea! I should drop his hand. I should just run away and jump off a bridge. This is the end. I'll never have another friend. I just screwed up the only real friendship I've ever had. And I've only known this guy for a week! What am I thinking?!

I'm about to let go and run away when I feel his fingers slip in between mine, and his thumb rubs a circle over the back of my hand. I instantly look up and see him smiling at me.

"Follow me." He says sweetly.

The hallway is a lot quieter now that Yoongi and I are walking. I've never had a crowd part for me before, and the feeling makes me seem suddenly powerful. But I know they're all moving for him.

As soon as Yoongi took hold of my hand and stepped from the lockers, everyone in the hallway stopped. Boys and girls all looked us up and down before Yoongi started walking, just a little bit in front of me like he always does.

My face must look like a fire truck at this point. How did this even happen? Last week I was a walking joke, and now? Someone walks with me, holds my hand, stares down bullies, and sits with me in class. I'm lost in a fairy tale. Is this even real?

I don't even notice the way people are actually shrinking away from Yoongi's stare. All I see is the way his profile looks as he walks. Maybe I'm romanticizing this a little too much, but I just feel like he was sent to protect me. He's like a guardian angel.

I bite my lip nervously when I see the way he scans the classroom. We're standing in the doorway. In front of us are five seniors dressed in black hoodies, their arms raised with crushed balls of paper in their fists.

As if out of instinct, Yoongi pulls me behind him, steadies his stance while lowering his gaze, and moves my grip from his hand to the back of his shirt.

I can't help but gasp when he does this, and I take hold of his shirt. I peak from around Yoongi and see the way all those bullies slowly lower their firearms and freeze as Yoongi stares them down.

"What did I say to you before?" Yoongi asks, his voice dropping so low my grip tightens on his shirt automatically, "Why don't you guys sit down before things get ugly."

It doesn't take two seconds and the floor is flooded by all the paper balls they drop before they step back. Except one.

Yoongi tilts his head when he notices the one boy still standing in front with his weapon in hand, "And you are?" Yoongi sounds annoyed.

The boy smirks, "I'm your worst nightmare. You think you can just come in and take over MY school, Transfer Boy? Yeah, I've heard about you. And I heard about that little threat you made to my friends just now too."

"They told on Yoongi to their sunbae?"

Yoongi shrugs, "They threatened my friend first."

That's when all the boys standing behind their leader chuckle.

"Friend?" The main boy laughs, "You mean Scaredy-Cat over there? She's nothing important."

Yoongi stands a little more in front of me, "She is to me."

The boy points at me and frowns, "She can die for all I care. What I want to know is, who are you exactly?"

My eyes widen. What's gonna happen? I don't know how Yoongi has such a powerful presence, but for the past week, I haven't seen one student stand up to him. Until now. Either this guy is just as intimidating or just really stupid.

But then again... I've never really seen Yoongi actually fight. Maybe he's one of those guys who never had to learn how to fight because he could just scare people off with his words and presence.

I look down before Yoongi slowly takes a step forward, my hand slips from his shirt. I stay standing in the doorway, and Yoongi speaks....

"I'm someone you don't want to make angry."

The boy snickers, "And how do I make you angry."

Yoongi just shakes his head, "You already did."