In My Arms 

[Sehun's POV]

The house inside was a disaster. 

It wasn't that hard to break in; all it took was a hard round stone from the outside gardens, a strong precise throw with good aim, and there you have it. A smashed window. 

I know very well that my chances of explaining the break-in as believable as possible were slim, but I think the Cha family would be more concerned over burned possessions than just one little broken window. 

Climbing over the prickly hedges and getting a good grip of the exterior ledge beneath the window, I heaved my body upwards with strong firm arms and effortlessly crawled in through the broken gaps I created. 

It was more darker inside than it was in the night outside, and it didn't take a lot of guessing to figure it out: smoke filled the air, concentrating in thick black clouds near the ceiling. There were less means of breathing here. 

As soon as my body quickly adjusted to the mystical atmosphere, I was already moving to the next room. Paintings and frames of famous landmarks and presidential's portraits glared at me as I trespassed the hallways. The house felt less welcoming the more I intruded in it. 

For every room I passed by, I made sure to shut all the doors on my way to find the girls. Why? Because closing a door slows down a great fire by at least ten minutes, and I needed all the time I could get my hands on. 

"Where are the guards?" I questioned to no one in particular, wondering why the sprinklers weren't showering the rooms with carbon-dioxieated water or why the moisture-sensitive smoke detectors had not been set off yet. And weren't the fire-fighters supposed to be here by now? 

That's strange.. 

I jogged across the silent empty corridors and covered the lower half of my face with my shirt. The air was so filthy and corse with fumes that I was more worried about what it'd do to my hair than how it affected my lungs. 

"Damn.. Why didn't I think of stealing a gask mask on my way here??"

The next room was just like every other: clouded, dark, miserable, frightening. 

..And then I heard it. 

A cry. 

I didn't need telling what to do. Pushing the swirling coulds of smoke to make way for myself while still covering the lower-half of my face, I desperately searched for means of life. 

The cry wasn't just my imagination, it was real. 

"Is there anyone here?" I asked with a tense voice. The air was becoming heavier by the second. It was a wrong idea coming here, but there was no turning back now. 

Just then, I felt something drop to the carpeted floors a few meters ahead of me. 

"Someone... P-Please help!"

I quickly jolted to the source of the fall, only to find a girl on her knees, her hands rasped around her neck, fighting the struggle to breathe. 

"Here, let me help." I leaned down to assist her standing up, feeling her skin frozen cold from my touch. 

Her arm was slung around my shoulder and her body was as flimsy as a rag-doll's. She could have been dead any time now. 

"Who are you..?" The girl questioned with a half-frightened, half-shocked face. She stared at me as if I came here to kill her. 

"You're Cha Haewon, correct?" I ignored her question. 

She could only nod in her terrified weakened state. Poor girl...

I began to drag her body out, but she only stopped me in my tracks. Didn't she want to be saved? 

"Eun Mi, my friend's still back in there!" 

"Do you know where I could find—"

"Just save her!" The short-tempered rich girl screamed and I almost jumped at her sudden yell. 

I nodded with understanding, pointing to the direction of the low window I had smashed earlier. 

"There's a broken window by the first floor next to the lobby. It's the only place not covered in smoke or flames. Hurry!"

She didn't need any further instructions and I'm sure she'd know what to do. 

With almost no time left to spare, I turned around and wiped the salty tears away from my stinging eyes. Blindness would soon take over. 

"Eun Mi!" I called out with a few raspy coughs, hoping to hear any response. 

All I got in return was a wave of silence, save for the crackling of the flames nearing close. My heart thumped like crazy against my chest. 

What happens if I don't manage to find her?

A miracle decided to visit. I gasped as I saw an unconscious girl lying still and motionless on the floor, so tiny that you wouldn't have thought she was aged 17. 

This had to be her! 

"Eun Mi!" I rushed over to her and dropped to my knees, leaning closer to her face to evaluate her situation. 

She was tightly curled up on the floor like a baby in their mother's womb. Some dark strands of silky hair covered her face and neck, and I didn't hesitate to slowly brush them away. Eun Mi's face was even more beautiful than I had imagined. 

I checked her pulse rate, breathing, and body temperature. So long as she was still alive, that's all that mattered to me now. 

My bodyguard instincts were triggered immediately and I gently slipped an arm under her neck, lifting her head from the ground. I considered if I should try to awaken her, or just pick her up and run the hell out of here… 

The latter was the only option I could go for. 

I quickly scooped her up from the ground in bridal style, intensely careful incase I hurt her anywhere, and rose to my feet in a rush. 

The air was so dangerous to breathe in now, therefore I positioned her head higher and closer to my chest, keeping as low to the ground as possible while I crawled through the rooms again under the smoke. 

My feet led me back towards the route I came from. 

Moonlight glimmered into the mansion's hallways and I'd use the natural source of light to take a short glimpse of Eun Mi's face after every ten or so seconds. 

Her face was small, defined and absolutely adorable. I've never seen a girl so gorgeous before… She was like an innocent princess— No. An angel… 

"You're the cutest thing ever" I couldn't help but sigh, knowing she couldn't have heard me, anyway. 

I wondered what she'd be like, her personality, her tastes. 

A girly girl, or tomboy? Smart or clumsy? Shy or outgoing..? 

Choi Eun Mi was as light as a feather and I cuddled her close and tight to myself, not too hard or else I might injure her. Breathing intact and her chest slightly raising up and down, I knew she was at least safe for now. 

Maybe the shock of everything just caused her to black out. 

Wicks of red and orange reflected from the glass window panes behind us, illuminating the hallways with sparks. I gulped, knowing for a fact that I could have lost the girl in the growing inferno if I were late for even ten seconds. 

Luck was on my side for now. 

We just had to make it through to the first floor again, near the grand lobby which was the furthest place away from the fire. I greatly hoped that her best friend managed to climb down from the window. After all, it wasn't that high up from the ground.. 

Hundreds of questions swarmed around in my head and I had not the courage or clue to answer any of them, the greatest one being: what was wrong with the stupid alarms? 

The place should've been booming with the wails of sirens and crazy-loud sounds. I should've been deaf by now. 

Where were the maids and butlers? The security guards, the rescue services?

Where were her parents?

How did the fire start, and was it anyhow intentional??

I guessed those'd have to wait. The main problem in my hands now were Eun Mi. My foremost priority was to protect her, and even though I wouldn't officially be able to until 18, I still had the chance to prove my worth as a bodyguard. 

....Actually, no. I change my mind. 

Saving Eun Mi may prove to Suho and the rest of Exo that I'm suit for the job, but that's not a valid reason. What's important now is that I get her out in the safest condition; not for my benefit, but for hers. 

Bodyguards are there to shield victims from harm. Not for money, or pride, nor to gain advantage. 

That defeats the whole purpose. 

"You're safe with me, Eun Mi" I whispered into her ears. "I'd never hurt you."

At last, the broken window arrived as I had hoped. Fragments of shattered glass lay in a messy heap below it, and now I could see how powerful my throw must've been. Where there was once a window left nothing more than a hollow rectangle in the wall.

That would cost me a lifetime's worth of trouble. 

I daren't peak over my shoulder to observe the fire's status as I gradually began to feel the mortifying heat reaching my neck and back. I had to sprint to the only exit there were or else I'd be stuck with no way out. 

Gently holding the back of Eun Mi's head against my collarbone to protect her from the fall, I mounted on top of the window ledge. The last thing left to do was jump; but how was I going to do it with a girl in my arms?

From a dozen different landing techniques I know, there wasn't one which was supposed to soften the fall… well, not for me, anyway. 

I looked back inside the house, still standing on the window sill. The fire was roaming proudly, growing fiercer by the second. 

"Ready?" I prepared myself, since no one here was to do it for me. 

"Okay. 3… 2… 1..!"

A cold blast of wind rushed to meet my face as I fell at high speed. It felt as if I were more dropping down from a fifty-floor building than just a window three metres above ground level. The fire almost caught up to us. 

I automatically landed on the balls of my feet, bending my knees slightly to absorb the impact, just as trained. 

The ground was rock-hard but gazing at the sleeping beauty in my arms, she looked as peaceful as a princess. She was unharmed. The fire we were once escaping from now devoured the window entirely and began eating more of the house. 

I straightened up from which I was leaning on one knee, and breathed heavily as the adrenaline coursed through my veins. My heart was beating wildly, my chest heaving up and down. 

What was I going to do now?

Taking her back to the Watch Towers might not be such a good idea… but maybe I can explain my way out of things and—

"Oh Sehun." A deep voice cut my thoughts. 

I knew that voice very well.

"Hyung.. I…" The words I wanted to say were stuck in my mouth and I my bottom lip. He stared at me with unreadable eyes, I couldn't tell what he was thinking or what he felt. 

It was Luhan. 

An awkward silence had already stood between the both us. Neither him or me spoke, letting the strong wind play with our clothes and hair. 

He probably had Haewon buckled up in the front seat of his car, because I noticed a faint figure sleeping in another vehicle. So she landed safely...

Luhan's eyes never once left mine. He didn't have to look at the unconscious Eun Mi carried in bridal style, since he already knew who she was. I clutched onto her tighter than before and felt her stir a little. Her fingers unknowingly gripped onto my shirt. 

"You're in for big trouble."

A/N: I chose Luhan since he might go a little easier on Sehun, and be on his side too. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your summer! :3