Chapter 19 "Her vulnerable side"

Elio was so surprised to see that Noah didn't push her away and was letting her hold him tightly, he wanted to take a photo of this and send it to Master, Noah's father..

As the idea struck his mind, he took out his phone and captured the rare moment.. sent it to his Master..

"Master.. look at these two.."

Elio saw Noah's father come online within a few seconds.. the status showed 'typing'..

Soon a message popped up.. "It's quite rare for Noah to behave like a normal kid.. keep them safe.."

Elio quickly typed a message and replied.. "Yes, master.. but I'm afraid, it's time, we have to take action.."

"Wait for a few more days.."

Elio read the message and sighed "Understood.." He sent the message and put back the phone in his pocket.. Then turned to look at Da-eun, who was crying while holding onto Noah..

A few moments earlier, when Da-eun heard the doorbell ring, she came running out of her room to open the door..

The moment she landed her eyes on Noah, her body moved on it's own, and the next thing she knew she was hugging him..

She started crying.. the tears she held back from the moment Elio left to find him, started to pour out of her eyes..

She kept crying until she made sure that he was safe and fine, standing right there caged in her arms..

It's only been two days since Noah came to live in this house.. but she was already so worried about him.. this made her heart stir.. Although he was not her blood related 'brother' yet she felt a connection with him, that made her emotions, that she had hidden deep inside, come to the surface..

A few moments later when she finally calmed down, she loosened her grip on him and slowly let him go from her embrace..

Da-eun stood straight in front of Noah and saw him looking at her with his captivating deep eyes..

She averted her gaze and wiped her tears off of her face.. realization hit her finally.. she cleared her throat as she felt uncomfortable after what she did, and returned back to her tsundere self "Aham.. umm.. let's get inside.."

As soon as she finished, she turned around and hurried back inside the house.. Noah looked at her departing back and touched his nose.. he felt his face burning with embarrassment..

It was the first time that he felt like this.. her never let anyone touch him in the past, other than in his physical training class or when he was younger and couldn't take care of himself..

Noah turned around and looked at Elio, his eyes glaring holes in his mind.. He threatened him.. "I'll send you to the wolves if you speak a word, of what happened just now, to anyone.. understand?"

Elio felt his back covered in cold sweat all of a sudden.. he nodded his head and replied in a low voice.. "U-understood.. young master.."

Noah turned around and strode inside the house with his small but quick steps.. He entered the living room and saw Da-eun walking towards him with a glass of water..

She saw Noah come to a stop right in front of her and handed him the glass of water and said "Here.. sit down and drink some water first.."

Noah held the glass of water and sat on the couch.. he emptied the glass and then put it down on the table.. after that he looked up and saw Da-eun staring at him.. not just staring, she was glaring at him.. it looked like she was about to charge at him and beat him to a pulp..

Noah had gotten used to people looking at him with eyes like that, so he was unmoved.. it didn't affect him in the slightest.. but made him quite curious as to what she was going to do next..

Noah stared back in her eyes.. not giving her any chance to win the staring game they were playing.. finally when Da-eun felt like she was about to burst with anger, she blinked and started to scold him..

"What were you thinking, going out like that without telling me or even Elio? Do you think you're old enough to play outside after it's dark? You are just a small kid.. why can't you be like a small kid and stay inside after it gets dark outside? Do you think, just because father and grandpa is not home, you can do whatever you want?"

She stopped to catch her breath and started to scold him again "You should've told me or Elio.. and not just that, you should've asked him to take you outside if that's what you wanted to do.. but no.. you had to disappear all of a sudden.. making people worried.. what if something bad happened to you? What do you think I'd have said to father in that situation? How can I bear the responsibility of not taking care of his son while he's away?..tell me.."

As she went on, her eyes turned blurry, making it hard to see what face Noah was making..

She finally stopped and sat on the chair as she felt her legs shivering.. she was scared to even think about the slightest possibility of anything bad happening to him..

She covered her face with both her hands and felt like crying.. she was scared of showing her vulnerable side to anyone barely known to her..

But for some reason, she showed Noah how fragile she was inside.. getting worried for him on his second day in the house.. so worked up for a small mistake made by a kid who might not know how dangerous the world outside was..

She wanted to dig a hole and hide inside.. she was already regretting her actions right after she finished her rambling session..

She was still regretting inside when a low voice could be heard from right in front of her "You were worried for me?"

Noah heard everything what she said.. he felt his heart stir when he saw how worried she was for him.. how her beautiful little face turned red and tears rolled down her eyes..

It was a sight to behold.. the longer he kept looking at her the stronger he felt his heart clenching behind the strong barricade of his ribcage..

Noah never felt anything like that before.. this feeling made him want to hold her in his arms and wipe her tears dry with his hands..

He felt like he was in the middle of an ocean and strong waves were trying to pull him in the depths of it.. only the girl sitting before him could save him..

He didn't quite understand why he felt like that.. he was unable to pinpoint what it was that he was feeling inside..

When he saw her looking at him and not answering, he finally asked again "You were worried for me? Why? What is it that makes you so worked up, just because I went outside for some time without letting you know?"