Stay Stay Stay ||Choi Yeonjun||

19

It was Sunday, a week till Christmas. So I decided to go ahead and do some Christmas shopping at the Mall. I would just buy some presents for Mom, Hueningkai, Bora, Suyeong and.. Yeonjun. I'll give the presents to them this week, before we all leave for vacation.

There was this pair of Ray Ban sunglasses I wanted to buy for Mom. I had been saving for it. Now with our vacation bonus, I could buy glasses and a woollen scarf for her.

The attendant at the shop helped me pick her glasses. Then I headed into one of the makeup shops to get Bora's present, her favorite lipgloss.

The next stop was for Suyeong's scrabble set. He had been whining about practicing after his crush admitted about loving scrabble. He had been a bit morose as his crush had ghosted him for a few months. But their chat revived back recently. I remembered playing scrabble with Hana. She would win every time cause she was a pro. In the same toys and games shop, I spotted a cute plushie and I immediately got it for Hueningkai.

Most of my shopping was done. Only one present was left and I didn't know what to get for Yeonjun. So I roamed around the different shops to get something for him. But nothing caught my eye.

While searching what to get him, my eyes fell on a most elegant dress on a mannequin in the window of a boutique. It was black satin which hugged the body until mid calf, below which there was pretty white lace ruffles till ankle. It had a square neckline, with black and white ribbons as straps. It was simple but it looked so pretty that my heart craved it. It had been long since I got something for myself. I looked at the sale poster behind with an almost 50% off for holiday season and suddenly I jogged in.

Ten minutes later I came out of the boutique, the shopping bag hanging from the tips of my fingers.

"Got what you wanted? "

I jolt up at hearing his voice. Yeonjun stood in front of the shop, holding a few bags and smiling at me with that same soft smile which melts my insides to puddles.

"Uh-hmm, couldn't resist it. It looked so pretty. "

"Well you deserve nothing less than extremely pretty things. Christmas  shopping, eh?"

I almost choked at the first part, but to make sure not to look like a stuttering mess I focused on his question. We both had resumed walking together.

"Yup, I love giving Christmas gifts to loved ones. Seems like you do too! "

"Yeah, it's for my mom, aunt, cousins and my nieces and nephews."

I looked down at the many shopping bags he was holding. I remembered how fondly he talked of his four nieces and nephews while working in Hokkaido. He was definitely a family man, through and through.

"That sounds a formidable list."

"It sure is. But most of them are very easy to please. Who are you shopping for? "

"Oh just, my Mom and friends. "

I didn't want our abrupt meeting to end so quickly. Time seems to tick faster when I'm with him and I wanted to savour his presence. I asked him for coffee and he readily agreed. We went to a cafe in the mall and ordered our drinks. I went for a peppermint flavoured latte while he got his usual Americano.

"You seem really happy. You love Christmas so much? "

"Yes and no. I do love Christmas because I spend it with my Mom. We would bake gingerbread cookies and she even made peppermint flavoured cookies.

But now I'm so happy because for the first time in a while I'm getting holidays without overworking myself. My old job was quite messed up as Hueningkai must have told you before the interview. "

Yeonjun was listening to me smilingly at first but as I mentioned my job he looked furious, clenching his fist. But as I said the last part, he looked perplexed.

"Before the interview? No no, you got it all wrong. I only got to know about it that night when that ugly green shirt gnome was harrasing you. Hueningkai never mentioned you before. "

"What?! — no he,— He saw me getting humiliated by my boss at Kim Co. Then he approached me and told me to apply for Hylift. Co. I thought he might have—"

"No, he never told me until that day. It must have been really bad right? "

He placed his hand on mine, squeezing it.

"Uh- yeah. It started fine, until my internship ended and I was forced to work under my ex-boss. And I think you already have an idea about Dawon. He... was cruel. And to be honest, I think I could've dealt with it all if I knew there was somebody who cared. Except my Mom, of course. But my closest friends, the ones I considered family, they didn't care, putting it aside as regular workplace problems. "

"What kinda friends do that?! "

"Never mind, Yeonjun. You and Hueningkai gave me a new life with this job. I finally got friends who seem to give a shit. If it was at my old job, nobody would blink when Cha Siwon stole my ideas. But here, everybody was ready to fight for me. I couldn't even tell you how much it meant for someone like me, who until now had only been pushed aside, neglected and trampled on. "

Yeonjun's eyes glowed with concern. His eyes had a way of showing me so much care that everytime they were on me, I felt all soft and covered up in soft blankets.

"I'll never let you feel like that again, Ahrin, on my word. You're like a wild daisy. You face so much storm, get stomped on, tugged at. But yet you stand strong, beautiful and resilient. "

And he kept his word when another personal storm came my way. He may not be able to shield me, but he kept me safe and rooted me back on solid ground to grow prettily for him.