Hi everyone! I'm super excited to post the first chapter of a Christmas collab between me, KLSoEul and InHwa! We've had a lot of fun brainstorming ideas and hope you'll all enjoy reading this fic as much as we'll enjoy writing it:)
Edit:Each of us has quite different writing styles so it'll probably be easy to tell who's who, but for clarity purposes, we'll include our names on each new chapter. Thank you for all the lovely reviews!
Ga Eul breathed shakily into her cold hands, watching the warmth evaporate as quickly as it came. Where were the others? She shivered, stuffing her hands back into her oversized coat and turned to follow the next twist in the path.
The day had started out so differently, only hours ago she was decorating the porridge shop with Jandi, drinking hot cocoa, and singing (only slightly off key) to their favorite Christmas music while Choon Sik yelled at them to serve customers. Little did she know their brilliant idea to travel the hour out of Seol to hunt down the perfect tree from the Mount Cheonggye Christmas tree farm, would end up like this..
Earlier that day.
Despite the sharp cold, Ga Eul felt nothing but warm nostalgia as she walked into the grounds and breathed in the sweet scent of evergreens. Christmas trees surrounded her everywhere and, with not a cloud in sight, the day was turning out to be perfect! Not even the sudden appearance of a certain infuriatingly charming Casanova could ruin it.
By luck, or more likely through devious planning, Jandi and Ga Eul had run into all four members of the F4 moments after they arrived. How Jun Pyo knew where Jandi was, Ga Eul couldn't be certain, but she certainly wasn't buying his lame excuse that they'd been "in the area."
Perhaps he was trying to get an official answer to the girlfriend question he had been patiently (or rather impatiently) waiting on, Ga Eul wondered absentmindedly as she fell into line with the newly expanded group.
..Or maybe this was just another way of annoying her friend as the annoyingly rich man so loved to do..
One thing was certain though, whatever their reason for being here, Ga Eul refused to let them or thoughts of a certain someone spoil her fun.
Keeping her eyes trained on the path in front of her, Ga Eul listened to the others chatting around her, waiting for a moment to steal away. Apparently, that certain someone of whom she refused to look at had the same idea. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Yi Jung shuffling off towards the right. Great, she'd just have to go right, problem solved! Even as she thought this a prick of disappointment shot through her chest--Did he leave because he didn't want to talk to her either?Really Ga Eul, really? She chided herself for being so foolish. At least now there'd be no chance of a tête-à-tête with someone she'd rather not talk to..
Or. Not.
"Hey, sweetheart, anything I can help you with?"
Ga Eul turned towards the stranger whose arm now rested on her shoulder. Obviously a worker from the little tree ax in his other hand.
"No, thank you, I'm just looking around" she shrugged off his arm and turned away.
"Well, maybe you'd like to come inside for a bit and warm up by the fire then?" The words were innocent enough, but the way he'd said them and the return of his hand made her skin crawl. Couldn't he take a hint?
"That's ok, my friends are waiting for me." Ga Eul said pointedly starring at his hand until he dropped it. Feeling his glare still on her back, Ga Eul moved further towards the edge of the lot hoping to lose the stranger. Why did she always seem to attract the same type of men? Perhaps she should have just stayed with the others she thought miserably trenching towards the far side of the lot. She'd only made it a few steps when the sound of a male voice startled her.
"--You gotta stop calling. I already told you, it's over between us. I can't help it if you want more than a little fun."
Ga Eul froze. Whoever had said it was just ahead and looked uncomfortably familiar.
Great. Ducking back behind the tree, Ga Eul cursed her bad luck in always running into him. Ha, what some women wouldn't give for her "bad luck!" She could just see the simpering swarms of girls who'd kill for a second look...but for Ga Eul, it was different. However charming his dimpled smile might be, she smelled trouble whenever she was around him--he was bad news.
That was all there was to it.
Well..maybe that wasn't exactly fair. Despite his incessant teasing, he'd been kind enough to the "country bumpkin" even if she wasn't his style…and, if she were completely honest, Ga Eul found she didn't mind it all that much…
...but perhaps that was what irked her. She wanted to disklike him. She wanted to write him off as a player…but was that all there was to him? She'd begun to doubt…
Whatever, you just heard him fighting with his girlfriend, you really want to go down that road Ga Eul?Trudging forward, she was surprised to see a massive wall of trees directly in front of her, so closely grown the tips of the branches intermeshed with each other.
"Hey guys, look at this!"
Jun Pyo stared uncertainly at the small square peg marked off in large whitewash letters.
"A Christmas tree, maze? What, is this some commoner's idea of fun?"
"Yah! Why do you have to make everything about money" Jandi poked disapprovingly at his side while Woo Bin chimed in on his other side, "Looks like fun!"
"Yeah, if you want to get lost with your girlfri—" Woo Bin elbowed Jun Pyo in the ribs before he could finish and turned, leading his latest girlfriend forward while she giggled like the ditzy fake blonde she was. Ga Eul resisted the urge to roll her eyes, leave it to the F4 to turn innocent fun into some sort of playboy tryst.
"We could try the gift shop," Ga Eul offered, more than a little keen to avoid being paired up with you know who, but her soft words fell on death ears.
"Looks fun," perhaps sensing her thoughts, Yi Jung winked at the three before heading off towards the center path of the maze and disappearing from sight.
"Come on" Jandi tugged at Jun Pyo's sleeve.
"Just cuz Woo Bin's off to smooch with his girlfriend doesn't mean we have to join em"
"Yah, who said anything about—just come on!" Jandi led Jun Pyo stumbling towards the left, berating him all the way about being a stick in the mud while Ji Hoo chuckled and followed close behind, leaving Ga Eul alone to choose a path. She didn't have to guess why the aspiring doctor had followed. She'd seen the way he looked at her friend and was more than a little curious to know what drama might unfold after today's little adventure…but still…
Not wishing to be a third wheel, Ga Eul looked to the other two paths…she certainly didn't want to run into Woo Bin and his girlfriend. Yet, a run-in with Yi Jung wasn't exactly appealing…still, it was better than interrupting either of the two couples who had already disappeared into the maze and if she walked really slowly, she might just avoid any run-ins altogether—straight-ahead was the safest bet.
At least, that was what she had thought, but now, over an hour later, Ga Eul would gladly risk a run-in with any one of the F4 if it meant reaching the end of the maddening labyrinth.
She'd been following the right side of the maze diligently, hoping it would either take her to the center or another exit out the back, but she seemed to be only getting more and more lost.
Alone, cold, and now thoroughly disoriented, she was beginning to feel nervous…like a small child lost in the store. Only this time, she didn't have anyone to go to for help. No loudspeaker to bring her parents running. No security guard to offer her help and give her stickers until she calmed down...She was alone.
Ga Eul shook her head to clear the unwanted thoughts. This was ridiculous, the exit was probably just a few steps ahead! In no time she'd be out and laughing with whoever else had managed to find the exit...right?
New resolve strengthening her steps, Ga Eul swung her arms out about her, humming for distraction as she attempted to get the blood flowing in her numbed limbs.
Brushing her hand alone the evergreen branches, she suddenly jerked it back as something red and sticky covered her fingertips.
Great! Just great, Ga Eul, injure yourself on a tree!
She wiped at the sticky red smeared on her hand and now the white snowy pine needles.
Strange…her hand wasn't bleeding…There wasn't a single cut.
Paint maybe? Ga Eul scrunched up her nose and leaned in closer.
That wasn't paint...it was blood…
The unmistakable crunch of footsteps pierced the air-it was coming from somewhere in the maze.
And it was coming for her.
Rushing towards the right and left, Ga Eul crashed through the maze with wings on her feet. She didn't know what was chasing her, but she wasn't about to wait to find out. Rounding the last bend, she met a dead end. Horror pounded in her ears.
This was it.
There was no escape.
~LilisLittleRose
