The things we do for love (Twice FF| Completed|Book 1)

1.Encounter

Hidden behind a mask and hair flowing by the side of her face, the figure of a girl walked hurriedly among the crowd in the decorated square of Al Plaza Kyotanabe. She looked around her: children walking with their parents holding their hands, amazed by the colourful streamers; a group of teen amused by their own talk; couples walking hand in hand; families and friends enjoying the festivities of Tanabata festival. Everyone around her seemed happy. She wished she was as happy as them.

'There she is! In pink shirt,' she heard voices and turned around. She noticed three men running towards her. She immediately ran away the opposite way, into the crowd, wherever her feet took her. She ended up in a kimono store. She thought she had lost the three men. She peered out to the direction she came running from, her body half hidden behind the store's door. To her dismay, the men were still on her trail, although they had difficulty passing through the crowd of people who had come out to see the Tanabata parade.

'Shit!' she cursed under her breath. She had come to a dead end in the store. She racked her fingers into her hair thinking what to do.

'I need to hide,' she thought. She snatched a kimono from among the many colourful kimonos displayed on hangers for sale and hastily wore it. She was trying to hide her clothes, which were easily recognizable to the men chasing her. Standing next to her was a man with a bewildered look who was staring at her.

'Is she trying to shoplift?' he thought. The girl looked towards the doorway and saw the three men walk in.

'I'm positive she went in here,' one of them said.

Her mind was in a state of chaos. In an instance of lost of wit, without thinking, she grabbed the shirt of the man standing next to her by his stomach and leaned her forehead on the chest of the man and buried her face.

'What are you doing, miss?' he asked. His Japanese accent was a little off. He was shocked by her sudden and strange action.

'Please be quiet and stay still. Some men are looking for me. Save me,' she whispered in urgency but audible enough for the man to hear. He turned his neck and looked around. He saw the three men who seemed to be searching for someone. He figured it must be them. When one of them came nearer, he embraced his arms around the girl. He bent his head down blocking the side profile of the girl's face from the view of the searching man.

'It's okay, I'm here for you,' he whispered into her ear and patted her back.

"I'm here for you," the phrase replayed in her head. His soft whisper gave her goosebumps. She had never heard anyone say such warm words for her. She became aware of his arms around her. Those arms felt reliable to her. She felt secure in their embrace.

The three men finally gave up and went out of the store absolutely unsuspecting the girl hiding right under their nose.

'They're gone,' the man said lifting his arms away from the girl. She stepped back away from man and looked up at him. He had kind and dreamy eyes.

'Thank you,' she said.

'You're welcome, miss' he said. She removed her mask and extended her hand to him.

'Hi, I'm Hirai Momo,' she said. The man smiled warmly at her and shook her small hand.

'Nice to meet you, Miss Hirai. I'm Jeongyeon, Yoo Jeongyeon,' he said.

'Korean? No wonder your Japanese was strange,' she smiled. 'Thank you once again for not letting me get caught.'

'I'm glad I was able to help.'

'Goodbye then, Jeongyeon,' she said. She took off the kimono and hung it back in its place. Meanwhile, Jeongyeon worried about what if she got caught as soon as she go out again. She started to leave but he called her.