78 Spending Christmas with Loved ones....

"Whe—" Ray looked in the crowd and he saw Siwoo standing across the road beside a tree. He was looking for something or maybe someone. "Oh! There he is."

"Oh god! Why is he here?" Mia said getting frustrated.

"…Maybe he is here with his friends…?"

"I hope so."

"Mia?" Ray said; his voice concerned. Mia looked up at him, still her hands on the sides of her face.

"Is there any problem?" He asked.

"Umm….Actually….That guy…Siwoo…is so creepy…"

"What do you mean by that?"

"I mean…He's everywhere!

I'm in the library, he is there.

I am on the ground after our P.E. class; he is standing there under the tree staring at me.

In the lunch break, he's always in our class.

Even if I go to the washroom, I saw him standing there while I came out, sometimes."

As Mia was talking, Ray was listening to her words carefully. His expressions were changed to serious.

"..I know it can be just some coincidences….But…It has started giving me creeps now."

"Do you think he's stalking you?"

"Stalking me?" Mia looked terrified to hear that. "I-I don't know what to do now." Her face darkened.

"Don't worry." Ray said.

Bringing his hands behind her head, he got the hood of her jacket.

"Huh?" She was looking up at his face, which was really close to her forehead now.

And then he pulled the hood in front and put it on her head.

Mia kept staring at him.

While making sure that Siwoo is not looking at them, Ray turned Mia to his left by holding her to her shoulders.

"Now, don't look back and just keep walking." He said.

Mia followed his instructions and just as he told her, she kept walking with her head down and her hood covering her face.

Without a word they kept walking for some minutes.

"I think we lost him." Ray said looking behind.

"Since when, is this happening?" He asked.

"Since we came back from the Hot Spring trip. Cause, before that I didn't even know him." Mia answered.

Ray nodded understandingly.

As they were talking, suddenly someone walking pass by Mia, slightly pushed her by mistake.

"I'm sorry." The person said and walked away.

Mia got out her phone as she felt its vibrations in her pocket.

"Oh! It's Hana." She said and picked up the phone.

"Oh hello, Hana. Where are you?

You are standing before the bakery?

Oh! I am…." Mia looked around to see a landmark. "I'm across the mall with Ray. Why don't you come here too?

Yeah. Yep. Hm. Come soon." And she hung up the phone.

As she was talking on the phone, Ray swiftly moved and went towards the road side and so Mia got on the inner side.

"Hana is coming here." Mia said turning back to him.

"Oh. Okay. We'll wait here. What about the others?" Ray asked.

"Wait. I'll call them." And Mia started dialing the numbers.

As So Hee and April didn't pick up their phones, Mia tried Ye Rin's.

"Hello? Ye Rin?"

"Oh Mia!"

"Where are you? Are you with So Hee and April?"

"Yeah. I am. We are in the mall right now."

"In the mall? What are you doing there?"

"These girls! Ughh… So Hee saw a dress on the display and then she just dragged us in with her. And now April has also started shopping." Ye Rin sounded a little frustrated.

"Hehe...Okay…I am standing across the mall with Ray right now. Hana is also coming here. So we'll be there soon. Hmm. Okay." And Mia hung up.

"What about your friend JinKyu?" Mia asked to Ray.

"Yeah. I just texted him to come to the mall. He'll be there."

"Okay."

Suddenly,

"Oh!! So you two are finally together."

Mia and Ray looked in the direction of the voice and they found a girl standing before them.

Both of them looked at each other and then at the girl.

"Oh…Wait…I know you…" Mia said remembering her. "…You are…Eun…Park Eun, right?"

"Your memory is pretty good, girl." Eun said.

"You know this girl?" Ray asked.

"Yeah. She—" As Mia was talking, Eun interrupted her,

"I can't believe you forgot about me, Ray!"

Ray looked at her frowned.

"I was the leader of your fan club last year. Remember?"

"Fan club?...Umm…" Ray started to get some glimpse of his memories.

"You scolded us when we tried to—"

"Shhhhh!!!" Ray shushed her right away as he remembered what she was talking about.

"Oh! So you don't want to….Ughm…Okay okay…."

While these two were talking Mia was listening to them confusedly. She couldn't understand what they were talking about.

"So…How are you two doing? Enjoying a Christmas date?" Eun asked.

"D-Date?" Ray and Mia said at the same time.

"No we are not dating…" Mia said.

"Yeah…We are waiting for our friends here…." Ray clarified.

Eun narrowed her eyes. "Really?"

"Yes! Really!" Both of them said at the same time again.

"Ok-ay. And what happened to that wicked girl? Your former best friend?" Eun asked looking at Mia.

"Ohh…Gyuri?" Mia's eyes saddened. "She went to China…."

"China?"

"Yeah…Her dad got transferred to the new branch of the company, he was working in." Mia explained.

"Good for her." Eun said.

"Hey guys!!" Suddenly Hana's voice from distance made everyone look behind.

Hana ran towards them. "Finally. I found you guys." She said panting a bit.

"So you were telling me the truth!" Eun said. "Nice!"

Hana looked at Ray and Mia's flustered faces and then at the girl's face about whom she didn't know anything.

"I should go now." Eun said. "Hope I'll see you soon as the ones I was thinking you were…" She winked at them and walked away.

"Hehe….She is funny…" Ray said awkwardly.

"Hmm." Mia forced a smile too.

~

"This one? Or this one?" So Hee asked as she put two dresses in her hands before herself and then showed it to April and Ye Rin.

"Anything is fi~ne." Ye Rin said rolling her eyes. Now she was really tired of all this. It has been half an hour now, that she was stuck with these two 'shopping loving' girls.

"I think this one's cute!" April said pointing at one of the dresses.

"You think so too?" So Hee said as she loved it too. "I'll try it now."

"And I'll try this one!" April said and then both the girls walked towards the changing room.

"Ughhhhhh!!!!" Ye Rin growled in frustration.

"Hey Ye Rin!" Mia's cheerful voice made Ye Rin's face relieved.

She turned back and saw Mia, Ray, Hana and Jin Kyu together.

"Oh god! Miaaa! Thank god you guys are here….."

"You okay? You look tired. And where are those two?" Mia asked.

Ye Rin pointed towards the changing room. "They have tried dozens of clothes by now. And I was getting bored to death here."

"Aw look! The winter collection here is so nice!" Now Hana was going through the clothes and picking out some of them.

Ye Rin put her hand on her forehead.

"Let's not get frustrated." Mia said. "While those two are shopping, we'll also look for something and spend the time….What say?"

"Hmm. I guess so…."

And with that, all the girls started wandering in the shop.

While,

"Hey man, are these girls serious? I mean, I am not here to watch them do shopping. I thought we'd have some fun." Jin Kyu said complaining.

"Wait for some time. They'll finish it soon." Ray said.

"Do you really think so? Don't you know about anything, when girls shop?"

As Jin Kyu was busy talking that, Ray saw a familiar figure through the glass, standing outside the shop.

'Siwoo.'

And without saying anything, he just started walking towards the exit.

"Hey buddy? Where are you going?" Jin Kyu shouted from behind.

"I'll be back." Ray said and walked out from there in hurry.

.

Mia was standing before a mannequin, which was kept in the centre of the shop.

"You like it?" Hana asked as she noticed, that she was staring at it for while now.

"Hmm."

"Then try it on!"

"Should I?"

"Sure!" Ye Rin said coming in between. "It is beautiful."

"Okay."

~

Ray came back after 10 minutes. By that time, April, So Hee and Hana were at the cash counter paying for whatever they bought.

"It's done?" Ray asked.

"Yeah. Thank goodness." Jin Kyu said.

"Do you wanna see something interesting, Ray?" Ye Rin whispered to Ray, and then she opened her phone and showed him the screen.

It was a photo of Mia wearing a beautiful black dress.

As soon as Ray saw the picture, he kept staring at it with widened eyes.

'She looks so….pretty…..' He thought.

"She looks pretty! Right?" Ye Rin asked as if she heard what he was thinking.

Ray didn't say anything.

"I told her to buy it right away. But she didn't."

"Why?" Ray asked.

"Donno." And Ye Rin closed her phone screen, snapping Ray out from it.

~

As the shopping finished, all of them went to eat at a café.

After which, they roamed in the market place, enjoying the Christmas celebrations everywhere. The city was decorated so beautifully for the Christmas.

Then they went to the main circle, to the big Christmas tree.

Clicking a lot of photos, laughing and talking with each other, they didn't realize how the time passed.

All of them had a great evening.

Every time they were got together, their friendship was getting stronger.

~

Spending the best time of the year with her friends and family, Mia felt nothing but a great happiness.

~