A/N: Here is the grand finale! We were originally going to make it canon but with all the drama in this story it had to be AU to make sense. SoEul fans: the ending will not disappoint!

A big thanks to KLSoEul and LilisLittleRose for putting their amazing creativity and hard work into the collaboration. Working with them made this all the more enjoyable! Thank you to JodiMarie2910 as our guest editor. We had a lot of fun working on this together, and hope you enjoy it too!

Christmas Tree Hunting - Chapter 6: All I want for Christmas


- Flashback -

Min Ha stepped into the darkly lit VIP room, heart beating wildly. He was here, and it was finally her chance to get close to him. He usually didn't come to places like the Star Encounter club, so she was convinced the invitations she posted on the message boards and letters she sent had reached him at last. She knew from the very beginning she had a special connection with him that no one else had. All the girls were clamoring to work in his room, but to their disappointment the hostess had come and pulled her out of the line. He had specifically asked for a Kim Tae Hee look alike, his ideal type who she had gone to the extreme to fashion herself into.

Min Ha scanned the room littered with male customers each flanked by her scantily clad colleagues, then finally zoomed in on him. So Yi Jung. He was sitting alone nursing a glass of amber liquid, waiting for her. She put on her well practiced sweet and innocent smile then sidled up to him.

Resting a hand on his chest, Min Ha put her head on his shoulder. "Jungie, you've come for me."

Yi Jung looked down at her, the smell of expensive scotch heavy on his breath. His eyes scanned her and then he smirked. "You really do look like her."

Min Ha batted her eyes, pleased. "Jungie, do you like it?"

"I'm supposed to, aren't I?" Yi Jung said with disdain. He downed the rest of his drink. "Do you believe in soulmates?"

"Of course. I can be your soulmate." She stroked his chest suggestively.

Yi Jung's eyes turned dark. "This is why it doesn't work out for women."

"Jungie?"

"Do you want to go somewhere with me tomorrow?"

Min Ha nodded eagerly.

"Good, I'll pick you up from here at two o'clock." He gave his phone to Min Ha, who punched her number into it.

"Oh, Jungie, I can't wait!" Min Ha wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in for a kiss.

He shoved her off of him then got up to leave, rudely passing the other guests seated at the table. Min Ha watched him go overjoyed. So Yi Jung had asked her on a date. All her dreams were about to come true.

- The next day -

Min Ha was happy just to be near him as she watched him play pool with Woo Bin at the exclusive F4 lounge. Ji Hoo was seated on the couch quietly strumming a melody on the guitar and Jun Pyo wasn't present. They all pretty much ignored her as if she were a piece of furniture, but she didn't care. She was here for Yi Jung.

Then two girls appeared and the mood in the air changed. What were these two plain-looking high school students doing here? Yi Jung draped his arm around Min Ha, staring in their direction. He seemed tense, so she tried to soothe him by caressing his cheek. The girls glanced at them and both seemed to become upset.

"Jandi, I said I didn't want to come," the one with long hair said.

"It'll just be for a bit Ga Eul. Ji Hoo wanted to show me the recording of his latest concert and I promise we'll leave right after it's over," said the short-haired girl. "I don't want to be here either, but it'll be quick. Please, don't leave me by myself."

"Okay, but you owe me some ice cream after."

The two sat on the couch next to Ji Hoo who started the video.

Woo Bin pulled Yi Jung away. He smiled at Min Ha and said, "I'm going to borrow my friend for a bit."

Min Ha waited for a few seconds, but being too curious she followed them to the alcove they were in.

"What are you doing? Can't you see you're making her upset by parading these women in front of her?" Woo Bin said.

"I'm doing this for her own good. She needs to learn."

"Learn what? That you're a jerk?"

"Yes. Then maybe she'll stop believing I'm her soulmate."

"I don't get it. You've never done anything like this before for a girl. You have feelings for her. Why don't you just tell her you like her?"

Min Ha put a hand to her mouth. Yi Jung liked one of those underdeveloped girls?

"You know why! You know if she has anything to do with me it'll just end up badly for her."

"You might be right, but you've gone too far this time. You need to stop. I'm saying this as your friend, but next time I might not be so nice," Woo Bin said sternly.

Yi Jung started walking away from Woo Bin but then he saw Min Ha and scowled. He pulled her by the wrist and dragged her outside. Min Ha was flabbergasted when he pulled out his wallet and put some money into her hand. "Take a taxi home."

"But Jungie– "

Yi Jung angrily got into his orange Lotus and drove away, tires screeching.

Min Ha was furious. She was going to get him back and make him see that they belonged together no matter what.

- End flashback -


Min Ha watched fuming with jealousy from around the corner as Yi Jung hugged Ga Eul and snuck away. She squeezed her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms. So that was the little slut.

Kyung Woo came into the clearing immediately after, holding Jandi hostage. He soon noticed Ga Eul's ties had been cut and screamed in rage. Min Ha ran over to him, agitated. "It's not this one. It's the other bitch, Ga Eul. We have to get her away from Yi Jung."

"You couldn't figure this out sooner before I lost her?" Kyung Woo bit out. "Nevermind, let's secure this one first." He threw Jandi down and roughly tied her up against a tree. "If I don't get the girl like you promised, you'd better pay me extra. That bastard Jun Pyo beat up my pretty face. Do you know how much money I paid for this?" He pointed at his bruised cheek.

Jandi struggled against her too-tight restraints. "I swear if you lay a hand on my friend I'll–" She was cut off short as he gagged her.

Kyung Woo laughed. "I don't like this one. The other girl better be worth the trouble."

Distressed, Min Ha wrung her hands. "Fine. Okay. You can have whatever. Just take me to Yi Jung."

Jandi watched in despair as the pair left to hunt down her best friend. Would the rest of the F4 be able to rescue her and Jun Pyo in time?


Yi Jung held Ga Eul's hand firmly as he led her away from her captor. He had to make sure she was safe before he could help Jandi and Ji-Ah. The trouble was he had to convince her to stay outside the maze and not try to help. There was no way he was going to let her get hurt any further.

Yi Jung stopped in his tracks and looked around in panic. He couldn't find the twig he left to mark the path to the exit.

"Sunbae, what's wrong?" Ga Eul said. He could hear the fear in her voice.

"Dammit. I can't figure out which way to go." Yi Jung gritted his teeth. Even if they couldn't find the way out, it would be best to get away as quickly as possible. He guessed at one path but there were still no markers, and they eventually hit a dead end. He looked down into Ga Eul's terrified eyes. "It'll be okay. Just stay with me."

Yi Jung was about to backtrack, but it was too late. They had been discovered.

"So there you are." Kyung Woo smiled maliciously as he pointed his gun at them.


Jandi took several deep breaths trying to collect herself. The two most important people in her life were in danger and she was helpless. It was of some comfort that Ga Eul wasn't alone, though being with Yi Jung had made her even more of a target. She knew Woo Bin and Ji Hoo were out there too, and she prayed under her breath that they could intervene. She had no sooner thought that when the two would be rescuers appeared.

"Geum Jandi!"

"Ji-Ah!"

Ji Hoo rushed to Jandi's side to release her as Woo Bin tended to Ji-Ah, who was just waking up.

"Jun Pyo… Ga Eul…" Jandi let out between sobs.

"We know. Jun Pyo is being taken to the hospital right now. The cut was pretty shallow so he'll be okay. We've been searching for Ga Eul, too." Ji Hoo helped Jandi to her feet.

"Yi Jung's ex and another man are after Ga Eul and Yi Jung. I think they're going to hurt Ga Eul. We have to go find them right now," Jandi said frantically.

"Woo Bin's men are looking for them right now. It'll be okay."

Woo Bin's men came soon after. One of them showed the screen on a remote control to Woo Bin. "Sir, we've picked them up on our drone. They're about thirty meters from here."

"Good work, Secretary Kwon." Woo Bin looked at Ji Hoo with resolve. "Let's get going and teach them what happens to those who mess with the F4."

Ji Hoo nodded but then he staggered and held a hand to his head.

"Ji Hoo sunbae, what's wrong?" Jandi said, alarmed.

"We'll explain later. Ji Hoo, you need to go back. Don't worry, I've got this." Woo Bin motioned to the other men. "You two, take him and Ji-Ah out. I'll go with Secretary Kwon."

Jandi grasped Woo Bin's arm. "Let me come with you. I need to see that Ga Eul is okay."

"Okay, but you need to stay behind me."

Jandi nodded, but she couldn't promise not to get involved when her best friend's life was on the line.


Kyung Woo leered at them. "Ga Eul, I thought we were going to have fun together. You're the one who wanted to follow me."

Yi Jung instinctively stepped in front of Ga Eul. "She's not going anywhere with you."

"Ga Eul. Come with me, if you don't want your boyfriend to get hurt." He gestured with the pistol at Yi Jung.

Ga Eul slowly moved from behind Yi Jung and took a step forward. He grabbed her by the elbow. "Ga Eul yang, no!"

Ga Eul looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. She was going to do it. She was going to exchange herself for his pathetic excuse for a life. At that moment Yi Jung finally knew how he really felt about her. He would die before he let the kidnapper get his hands on her.

Suddenly a drone zoomed down from the sky with a loud buzz. It circled Kyung Woo's head several times, causing him to be distracted, and Yi Jung saw his opening. He rushed forward and kicked the gun out of Kyung Woo's hand. Thrown off, Kyung Woo couldn't avoid the other foot coming at his face. Kyung Woo stumbled back and pulled his already bloodied knife out and swung it at Yi Jung, but was disarmed almost immediately by another quick blow.

Yi Jung hooked a foot behind Kyung Woo's knee and felled him to the ground. Yi Jung kicked him repeatedly in the ribs as Kyung Woo grunted in pain. All Yi Jung could feel was blind rage at the thought this scumbag would even touch Ga Eul.

Ga Eul screamed.

"Jungie!" a woman's voice called out.

Yi Jung stopped pummeling Kyung Woo and turned to see the woman gripping Ga Eul by the hair, pointing the gun at her face. Min Ha? Was she part of all of this? He froze, dread coiling in the pit of his stomach. She had been obsessively calling him and sending him fanatical messages since he had cut things off with her. There was no telling what someone that deranged would do.

"Min Ha, what are you doing? Let her go."

"You told me I was your soulmate but she's getting in the way. If I just get rid of her, you'll finally realize you belong with me."

There was a crazed look in her eyes. Yi Jung had to calm her down. "Let her go first and then we can talk."

"This is the only way I could get your attention. This tramp is just confusing you into liking her. That's why you were using me to make her jealous."

Yi Jung took a careful step forward. "Min Ha, listen to me. She means nothing to me. She's just another annoying girl who's been bothering me. It's true I used you, but it was to chase her away. Let her go and I'll come with you."

Ga Eul's eyes widened in hurt. As much as it pained him, Yi Jung had to do whatever he could to get her to safety. "Min Ha, we can be together but first you need to put the gun down."

Min Ha seemed to hesitate and her grip on Ga Eul loosened a bit. It was working. Yi Jung slowly walked towards them.

"You son of a bitch! Do you know how hard I worked to look like this?" Kyung Woo staggered onto his feet and grabbed Yi Jung's injured hand. Yi Jung closed his eyes from the sharp pain it caused and dropped to his knees.

"Don't hurt him!" Ga Eul yelled. She twisted around grasping at the hand clutching her hair and kicked at Min Ha's shins.

"Ga Eul yang, stop!" Yi Jung tried to get up, but Kyung Woo squeezed his hand harder making the pain even worse.

Min Ha struck Ga Eul in the face, causing her to fall, then pointed the gun at her. She was about to pull the trigger.

Yi Jung screamed, his heart rending in two, "No!"

There was a small click. A tiny flame appeared at the end of the gun's barrel.

Min Ha looked at Kyung Woo, stunned. Kyung Woo growled, "You stupid! Do you know how hard it is to get a gun in South Korea?"

"Yi Jung-ah!" Woo Bin had arrived. He knocked Kyung Woo's hand away from Yi Jung and threw him to the ground. Secretary Kwon put a knee into his back and tied his hands together. Woo Bin helped Yi Jung to his feet, checking him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, but Min Ha's gone crazy. I need to get her away from Ga Eul."

"But Jungie, I thought you said we could be together," Min Ha cried. She turned angrily to Ga Eul, who was just standing up. Min Ha lurched towards her. "This is all your fault!"

Min Ha was off balance this time so Ga Eul was able to dodge her. Then something seemed to snap inside Ga Eul. Yi Jung, Kyung Woo, Min Ha, it was too much and she had enough of being the victim. "YAH! You crazy psycho bitch!"

She launched herself at Min Ha. Ga Eul snatched a fistful of Min Ha's hair and yanked her back. "You think you can just hurt me and my friend and I'll do nothing?"

Min Ha swiped her hands at Ga Eul. "Jungie's mine! You're just a slut trying to seduce him."

"He doesn't even like me!" Ga Eul kicked her feet at her. "You're his type. Get him to like you instead of coming after me!"

Min Ha finally landed a blow and slapped Ga Eul across the face. Ga Eul let go of her hair and put a hand to her cheek, wincing.

Yi Jung was about to step in, but then someone beat him to it.

"Don't you hurt my friend!" A diminutive figure burst into the scene and planted a foot in Min Ha's face. Jandi straddled the woman on the ground, slapping her. "And this is for my boyfriend!"

Min Ha pushed Jandi off and flipped her onto the ground, their hands swatting at each other.

"Jandi!" Ga Eul yelled and tackled Min Ha. Min Ha tumbled faced down into the snow. Ga Eul sat on her middle and grabbed one of Min Ha's flailing legs.

Jandi came and sat astride Min Ha's shoulders and pressed her head into the ground.

"He's my soulmate!" Min Ha wailed.

"What kind of garbage are you saying? He doesn't even believe in soulmates!" Ga Eul pulled even harder on Min Ha's leg causing the latter to yelp.

Woo Bin and Yi Jung looked on, frozen in place. Yi Jung was shocked at seeing the sweet and innocent Ga Eul on the attack. Woo Bin was smiling, entertained at the exchange.

Woo Bin walked up to the girls. "You two can let go now. I can take it from here."

He helped Jandi up and tied Min Ha's hands together, then lifted Ga Eul to her feet. Both Jandi and Ga Eul were still enraged and extremely disheveled.

Kyung Woo started laughing hysterically. Ga Eul stomped towards him, fuming, then kicked him hard in the groin. Kyung Woo groaned and doubled over in agony. All the males present winced involuntarily. "You're laughing? You disgusting psycho pervert! Don't ever touch me or my friends again!"

Kyung Woo crumpled miserably towards the ground as Ga Eul huffed, leaving him in the snow. She walked up to Woo Bin avoiding Yi Jung's gaze. "Woo Bin sunbae, how do we get out of here?"

Woo Bin smiled at her, a bit amazed at Ga Eul's unexpected show of violence. "Go with Secretary Kwon. He'll lead you out."

Jandi put an arm around Ga Eul and followed Secretary Kwon, who seemed a little afraid of them.

Woo Bin sighed and patted Yi Jung on the shoulder. This day had gone much differently than any of them had planned, and it was the F4's fault for ruining the girls' outing. If Woo Bin had to guess, Yi Jung was in the worst trouble of all, but had finally learned his lesson.


At the hospital everyone gave their reports to the police. They found out that Kyung Woo and Min Ha had met while working together at the Star Encounter club, and together had been defrauding various people by impersonating their respective celebrities. Kyung Woo was in addition wanted for sexual assault, and had thus far evaded the police by getting plastic surgery and changing his identity. After this day's attack and attempted kidnapping, they would both be put away for a long while.

Jun Pyo was in stable condition, but would need to stay in the hospital for another day or so since he had lost a lot of blood. Ji Hoo had a mild concussion and was sent home, ordered to rest for the next few days. Ji-Ah was a little worse for the wear, but thankfully only had minor injuries. Woo Bin was tending to her, but judging from the way she was screaming at him he would soon be on the outs with her.

Yi Jung was finishing up talking to the police, and Jandi had gone to check on Jun Pyo. Consequently, Ga Eul found herself sitting alone in the hallway outside Jun Pyo's room. She was in a daze, hardly paying attention to their loud bickering. Even though she was able to give her statement to the police, she was still trying to make sense of the events of the day. She knew he was only trying to diffuse the situation but Yi Jung's harsh words still rang in her ears. Putting together what Min Ha had said and Yi Jung's actions for the past few weeks, she knew part of what he said was true. Was she that much of an annoyance to him that he had to go to such lengths?

After he was done talking to the police and his lawyers, Yi Jung went in search of his friends carrying a small paper bag. When he arrived at Jun Pyo's room, he saw Ga Eul sitting by herself. Her hair was still a mess, and no one had taken care of her because the others had worse injuries. Or maybe she had refused because it was just like Ga Eul yang to put others first. She jumped in her seat when he approached. When she saw it was him, she went back to staring at her feet.

He carefully took the seat next to her. Though she appeared calm, he noticed that her hands were trembling slightly and she had them clasped them together as if to still their shaking. He felt a pang in his chest, and not a small amount of anger.

"They're still going at it in this situation. They must be okay." Yi Jung said, trying to lighten the mood. Ga Eul merely nodded. He listened to their friends for a bit, trying to recollect the words he had been preparing to say. Though Jun Pyo and Jandi were quarreling, it was oddly comforting.

"You stupid, idiotic moron! Why didn't you just listen and not fight!"

"I'm the great Jun Pyo– I don't back down from a fight!"

"You could have just waited and gone to get help! Instead you got yourself injured and wound up useless anyway!"

"What am I supposed to do when my girlfriend's in danger? All I could think about was that the most important person in my life was going to get hurt!"

There was a pause. "Well, at least stop moving around so much and focus on getting better."

"Then do your job, woman, and take proper care of me!"

"Yah!"

Yi Jung had to smile at their strange but obvious affection for one another. To admit the truth, he was slightly jealous and wished Ga Eul would yell at him too. Instead, she had avoided him after everything was over, riding with Jandi in Ji Hoo's car. She was still ignoring him, but he couldn't leave without trying to explain.

For now, he could at least attend to her physical injuries. There were scratches on her hands and face that hadn't been treated. Yi Jung pulled out the ointment out of the paper bag that he brought. He maneuvered the tube between his leg and right hand and squeezed some onto his left index finger. She drew back when he tried to apply it to her. "Sunbae, I can do it myself."

Ignoring her protest, Yi Jung continued. "Stay still. It'll only take a moment."

When he finished with her hands and the nearer side of her face, he cupped her cheek to tilt her head so he could examine her other cheek. Now that she was facing him, he could see her eyes filled with tears that she was holding back. She pulled her face away. "Did you get your hand checked out?"

"They ordered some x-rays for me but I had to finish talking to the police first."

"Why are you here then? You should go get those x-rays." Ga Eul frowned.

She was still thinking about him even though she was clearly upset at him. This made Yi Jung feel even more guilty about his awful behavior. "I needed to see you first."

"Why? I'm fine."

"No, you're not."

"Maybe, but I don't need your help, sunbae."

"Ga Eul, about earlier–"

"I don't want to hear it! I've had enough for today!" Ga Eul started choking back sobs.

"Please let me explain."

"No, I already know. You couldn't have made it clearer to me! I know I'm not your type. I know I don't fit your rules." Ga Eul's voice was gradually getting louder

"No, Ga Eul yang, I–"

"So Yi Jung, this is all your fault! You and your stupid rules. Did you ever think about adding a rule to not fool around with psycho girls no matter if they look like Kim Tae Hee or Lee Hyori? You didn't have to shove it in my face that I'm not good enough for you!"

People in the hallway turned their heads, hearing her shout. Ga Eul was breathing heavily, and she bit her lip, trying to contain her tears.

"Ga Eul yang please let me explain."

She shoved his chest. "Just leave me alone. I don't want to see you."

"No, Ga Eul yang. I'm not leaving you until you listen to what I have to say," Yi Jung said firmly.

Ga Eul looked away but she no longer protested, which Yi Jung took as a sign of concession. He took a deep breath. "I didn't mean what I said to Min Ha today. I was afraid she would hurt you, so I told her what she wanted to hear."

"Then what about when you said you used her?"

Yi Jung opened and closed his hand a few times, trying to measure his words. "I did use her, but nothing happened between Min Ha and me. I only brought her to the F4 lounge so you could see… could see that I wasn't a good guy."

At this, Ga Eul looked up at him. "Weren't you trying to show me that I wasn't what you wanted?"

Yi Jung swallowed. He was going to have to put it all out there. "It's not that you're not good enough for me. I'm the one that's not good enough for you. I thought being next to me would only hurt you so I pushed you away. But you got hurt anyway. Everything that happened today was because of me."

"But I don't understand, sunbae. I know you don't like me."

"I never said that." Yi Jung steadily held Ga Eul's gaze. "I never said I didn't like you."

Ga Eul paused remembering the day when she had confessed her feelings to him. He had said she didn't fit his rules and that he wouldn't date her because of that, but he had never outright said he didn't like her. A threadbare hope started fluttering inside Ga Eul. "Then, what do you mean?"

"Ga Eul yang, I'm done pushing you away. And you're right, I'm changing my rules."

Yi Jung gently combed his hand through her disheveled hair to put it back into place. His heart ached at seeing the bruises on her neck. He took off his gray cashmere scarf and wrapped it around her neck.

At his gentle touch Ga Eul's tears broke. "Sunbae."

Yi Jung wrapped her in his arms as she bawled into his shoulder. She gripped the lapels of his coat, clinging to him desperately. He would take on her pain if he could. They stayed like that until she had finished crying and her breathing became regular. It felt good to hold her.

All of a sudden, Ga Eul's head popped up, nearly knocking his chin. "Sunbae, what about your x-rays?"

Yi Jung smiled. That was Ga Eul for you. "I'll go if you come with me."

Ga Eul wiped her tears away. She nodded and smiled for the first time since before the trouble had started. He held his hand out to her and she shyly placed her hand in his, not unlike their fateful evening at that nightclub, seemingly ages ago. Yi Jung had a lot to make up for, but at least this was a start. When he squeezed her hand, she squeezed back. If he was lucky, he would be able to hold it and never have to let it go.


- One week later -

Ga Eul put her hands on her hips and stared at the ridiculously large fir tree that barely cleared the ceiling of the small porridge shop. Jun Pyo had just sent it that day along with an equally excessive amount of very expensive looking decorations. Master and Jandi had gone out to buy ingredients, with Master mysteriously claiming that Venus was in Andromeda and they needed to prepare for some special guests. That left Ga Eul alone to tackle this task.

Ga Eul sighed and started stringing the lights. Although she was somewhat annoyed, Ga Eul was in a good mood. Yi Jung had been attentive to her all week and it gave her a warm feeling just thinking about it. She had been jumpy for the first few days after the incident, so he made sure she always had someone nearby so she would feel safe. This meant he accompanied her to and from school and work, took her to his studio when she needed a quiet place to study, and bought her treats to cheer her up. He even called her every night before she went to bed to make sure she was okay.

In fact, his attention was starting to get a bit much. Her friends had started asking questions about her being chauffeured in an expensive looking Cadillac, and why she had a dreamy smile on her face all the time. For now, though, she would bask in Yi Jung's constant company.

Ga Eul stepped on a chair as she tried to string the lights around the top of the enormous tree. The bell on the door rang and she spoke without turning around. "We're closed for the rest of the day. Please come back tomorrow."

Suddenly, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her legs and lift her up. Startled, she looked down to see a handsome face wearing a devastating smile. "Yi Jung sunbae."

"Ga Eul yang, can you finish before my arms get tired?"

"Oh!" She quickly looped the end of the lights around the treetop.

When he set her down on the ground, he looked into her face with concern. "How come you're here by yourself?"

"Master and Jandi only went out for a bit to get ingredients. They'll be back soon."

Yi Jung raised an eyebrow at her, which amused her. It seemed he needed more reassurance than her as of late. "I'm okay now sunbae. You don't have to worry about me so much."

That didn't seem to fully satisfy him but he didn't argue. He gestured towards a nearby table. "I brought you some hot chocolate and cookies."

Ga Eul grinned when she opened the lid of her cup. "Ooh, there's lots of whipped cream!"

In the seat across from her, Yi Jung watched with pleasure as she sipped happily at her drink and munched on the cookies. He would venture to guess that she wouldn't have been more ecstatic if he had bought her diamonds. That would have to wait until later, though.

Since the incident, Yi Jung hadn't brought up their conversation at the hospital again. He had wanted Ga Eul to have some time to recover and consider her feelings for him. He had seriously transgressed and knew it would take some time for her to forgive him. He had a good feeling though. She had let him take care of her this week and she was smiling at him again.

"Sunbae, how was physical therapy?," Ga Eul asked between bites.

"It went well. They said my hand hasn't gotten worse, but I need to keep up with my exercises."

"Sunbae, you better not be skipping them," Ga Eul said sternly.

She was scolding him, but he enjoyed it coming from her. She was cute even when she frowned, especially with whipped cream on her lips. He leaned over to wipe it off with his thumb. He almost laughed at her look of shock when he put that same finger to his own mouth.

To save her from further embarrassment, he switched topics, "Jun Pyo and Ji Hoo are all better now."

"Oh yeah, I heard from Jandi. That's great!"

"Jun Pyo is still really mad though. He almost bought the Christmas tree farm just so he could destroy the maze."

"That sounds just like him. That must have been why Jandi was yelling at him over the phone yesterday. She said he might as well buy the whole mountain and turn it upside down."

"Really? The farm owner wouldn't sell, so he actually was talking about buying the mountain."

They both laughed.

"Speaking of Jun Pyo sunbae, can you help me decorate this giant tree that your friend sent? You're taller than me so you can reach higher."

Yi Jung knew it wasn't a request but more of an order by the way she emphasized the "your friend" part. "Of course. Anything for Ga Eul yang."

Ga Eul blushed prettily at this. She got up and handed him an ornament. "Get to work."

They spent the next hour or so enjoying each other's company as they hung hand blown glass balls, Swarovski crystal snowflakes, gold painted angels, and red tinsel all over the tree. Yi Jung was just lowering Ga Eul to the ground after lifting her again to finally place the star at the top, when they heard a loud commotion at the door.

Jandi and Master came in carrying several bags, followed by Jun Pyo, Woo Bin, and Ji Hoo.

"Yah, Gu Jun Pyo. What are you doing here?" Jandi looked irritated at her boyfriend, though she didn't seem to be bothered by the others' presence.

"Do I need to have an invitation to see my girlfriend?"

"Can't you see I'm working right now? This is a porridge shop, not an F4 hang out."

"But Yi Jung is here. Why is he allowed and I'm not?"

"Yi Jung sunbae was helping me decorate the tree," Ga Eul volunteered.

"It's true." Yi Jung nodded at Jun Pyo.

Jandi scowled at Jun Pyo. "At least Yi Jung sunbae is being helpful. You just cause trouble all the time. Besides, didn't the doctors tell you to rest?"

"I'll have you know I just got clearance from the doctors to resume activities today. Anyway, this isn't your restaurant. You don't get to say who's allowed here. Right Master?" Jun Pyo looked to the shop owner for backup.

"Of course the F4 are always welcome." Master giggled and clapped his hands together.

"See?" Jun Pyo stuck his chin out a Jandi.

Master bounced up and down, delighted. "Since all of you are here, I'm going to shut down the store today and have a special F4 dinner."

"Wow, we're getting special treatment. If the food's good, maybe we can turn this into the second F4 lounge." Woo Bin said.

"NO!" shouted Jandi and Ga Eul at the same time.

"If you're going to stay, take these." Jandi shoved her grocery bags into Jun Pyo's hands.

Jun Pyo staggered. "Why is she so strong? Is she some kind of monster?" He said this smiling, however, and followed Jandi into the kitchen.

Everyone else laughed at their friends' antics.

The porridge shop had no customers but was bustling with activity that evening. Master was busy preparing a large feast with Jandi, Jun Pyo, and Ga Eul's help. Woo Bin, Ji Hoo, and Yi Jung set up a poker game, relaxing as if it really was their lounge. Somehow an Xbox magically appeared and the boys played games on the big TV screen. Ji Hoo even took a nap in the corner at one point. Jun Pyo was eventually kicked out of the kitchen for bossing everyone around and was reduced to serving duties.

When the last plate was set down Woo Bin gave Jun Pyo a shove, knocking him into Jandi. Jun Pyo gave him a questioning look and Woo Bin winked and pointed up. There was a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the ceiling. "You're welcome."

Jun Pyo grinned and leaned down puckering his lips, but all he felt was plastic.

Jandi removed her tray from Jun Pyo's dumbfounded face. "Stop fooling around. The food's getting cold."

"I tried." Woo Bin shrugged at Jun Pyo.

Yi Jung got up to check on Ga Eul when he himself was given a hard push by Ji Hoo. He collided with the said girl, who was none the wiser as she had missed the earlier exchange.

"Nice!" Woo Bin gave Ji Hoo a fist bump and laughed. "I wish I had a girl to run into."

"I want a turn!" Master said enthusiastically.

Ga Eul looked at Yi Jung confused. He pointed up and saw her eyes become wide with surprise, much to his amusement. It had only been a week since they had made up so he didn't want to push things. He was about to make some excuse to Woo Bin when they heard the door burst open with a loud jangle.

"What are you guys doing? I want to do it too!" The hyperactive heiress, Ha Jae Kyung, had crashed the party. She was followed closely by her dour looking bodyguard. Master seemed to shrink next to her.

"Unni!" Jandi ran up to Jae Kyung and gave her a warm hug.

Woo Bin grimaced. "Ack, monkey! I'm taking down that mistletoe."

Yi Jung turned his head towards the noise, thankful to see Jae Kyung for the first time ever. He would be able to let Ga Eul go while everyone was distracted. But just then, he felt a pair of soft lips briefly touch his cheek.

He looked down to see Ga Eul smiling up at him, eyes sparkling. "Merry Christmas, sunbae."

She blushed then ran away, leaving Yi Jung stunned. His heart was beating erratically and gradually his shock turned to elation. She was closer to forgiving him than he thought.

Ga Eul ran into the kitchen, not believing what she had dared to do. She had kissed So Yi Jung! He had said he didn't not like her, but he also never said he did. She couldn't have read things wrong this time, could she? She nervously started rearranging the spices on the rack. She was pondering whether she could brush it off as a joke when she felt two arms come on either side of her, trapping her against the counter. She spun around. "Oh! Sunbae. It's you."

"Mm. It's me." Their faces were only a few inches away from one another.

"What are you doing here?," she said, her heart beating wildly.

"I came because I forgot to tell you something." He looked so devilishly handsome with his crooked smile.

"What was that?" She couldn't stop staring at his lips.

"You were wrong about two more things."

"What do you mean?" Ga Eul frowned at him. He was trying to correct her in this situation?

"I never said I didn't believe in soulmates."

"Oh." Ga Eul blinked. Then what he said registered. "Wait, you didn't?"

"And I only have one type." His nose brushed against hers.

"What?" She couldn't think with his mouth getting nearer.

"Mm. I'm about to kiss her now."

Yi Jung closed the gap between them and took her lips with his. The kiss was gentle and sweet, but at the same time thrilling and consuming. Ga Eul's eyes fluttered shut and her hands crept up his shoulders. He hadn't touched her anywhere else, but she felt like her whole body was melting from the heat of his lips.

After he had thoroughly kissed her, both of them were breathless. Yi Jung enfolded her in a hug, and Ga Eul laid her head on his chest, circling her arms around his waist.

Yi Jung put his mouth close to her ear. "Merry Christmas, Ga Eul yang."

- THE END -


~Inhwa