Chapter 19: Love Is Enough
The next morning was worse.
Headlines screamed across every platform — "Top Idol Lin Yue in Scandal with Male Bodyguard!" Photos, blurry but cruel, filled every feed. Comment sections burned with speculation and hate.
Lin Yue stared at the phone in silence until his manager called.
"Krit will have to resign," the voice on the other end said, weary.
Lin Yue clenched his jaw. "He didn't do anything wrong. I want him to stay."
His manager sighed, hearing the steel in Lin Yue's tone. "Do what you think is right," he said at last, ending the call.
When Krit arrived that evening, the air was heavy. He stood in the doorway, eyes shadowed, and said flatly, "I resigned."
The words hit Lin Yue harder than any headline. "Why?" he asked, stepping forward.
Krit's voice was calm, but his hands trembled slightly. "The news is spreading too fast. They're making it look like there's something between us."
Lin Yue's heart pounded. "And what if there is?"
Krit froze. He hadn't expected that. Lin Yue's eyes searched his face, desperate, tired, real.
Before Krit could answer, Lin Yue stepped closer and kissed him — not with hunger, but with the ache of someone afraid to lose the only person who made him feel human.
Krit didn't move, didn't push him away, only stood there as if time itself had stopped. When Lin Yue finally pulled back, tears clung to his lashes.
"You don't love me?" he whispered.
Krit's chest rose and fell. His defenses cracked. "You know that's not true."
He looked away, fighting the words that wanted to break free. The first day he saw Lin Yue, his heart had stumbled. The smile, the quiet way he carried himself—everything about him had drawn Krit in. But falling for his boss was never part of the job.
"I tried to keep things professional," Krit said softly. "But you made it impossible. Every look, every word—" he shook his head, breathing out, "—you got under my skin."
Lin Yue reached for him again. "Then don't walk away."
Krit's hand found his cheek, thumb brushing away a tear. "You don't understand. They'll destroy you. I can handle the hate, but you—your career, your fans—they won't forgive this."
Lin Yue smiled through his tears. "You loving me is enough. I don't care about them."
Krit closed his eyes. That was his weakness—those words, spoken with such certainty it hurt. He pulled Lin Yue into his arms, holding him as if the world could wait just one more moment.
When Lin Yue finally fell asleep against his shoulder, Krit sat there for a long time, tracing a strand of hair away from his face.
I'll protect you, he thought. Even if it means protecting you from me.