"Come in." a voice called out from the room, a voice that was sort of like an order. Hyomin took her bags, looked at her mother for a while and gave her a little nod. She stood up from her seat and did as the voice told her. Her mom followed her along, placing a hand on her shoulder. Hyomin looked around the room. The familliar scent of cheap perfumed candles and wood from the fireplace. She managed to notice that the sofas and curtains had changed, from furry white to leather black, and from floral to plain beige. The wallpapers were the same though. Wood coloured. The whole place seemed dark. Her psychiatrist however, looked a few years older than what Hyomin had remembered. Her hair was graying, her lips slightly twitching at the sight of Hyomin. "You again," the psychiatrist remarked. Hyomin raised a brow at the tone her psychiatrist then later nodded.

Both Hyomin and her mom took a seat on the leather couch. "I dont see why I should be here." Hyomin sighed, looking at her mom.

"She's been seeing him again, doctor Kim." Mrs. Park informed the doctor. "That imaginary boy when she was six years old."

Hyomin began to exhale deeply, rolling her eyes at the mother's statement. "Imaginary Boy" was always what her mother called him. But to her, he was real. Doctor Kim averted her gaze towards Hyomin, her eyes asking if Hyomin had anything to say. So she began clearing and gave her full explanation. "He's not imaginary, he's real." was all that she could say to the man he was in love with.

"How often do you see him, Miss Park?" Doctor Kim asked, scribbling on her notebook behind what seemed like a hard carboard-like file. 

"On Christmas, usually the first day of snow."

"And if it doesn't snow?" she asked again, raising her eyebrow. Hyomin hated the look on Doctor Kim's face. were tiny, curved together like a tiny pout, but her eyes cynical and sarcastic, judging every vein in Hyomin's body, thinking she was crazy.

"If it doesn't snow, then I don't see him." Hyomin muttered under her breath slowly, realising maybe what her mother said was true. Maybe he isn't... real? No-- it couldn't be. She's seen him herself, of course he was real.

"Who else could see him?"

"I see him when I'm alone. There are passerbys, but they never really noticed him." 

"Tell me about the first time you met him, Miss Park.

--------------------------------------------

It was a cloudy cold day and I was only nine years old. Freezing cold, i rubbed my hands together, blowing on them once in a while. My head covered up underneath my pink muffled hat, keeping me warm. It was a gift from my father. My mom and dad divorced you see, and he usually visits on christmas. So that day mum and I went shopping for christmas clothes, I was excited to meet my dad, i could only meet him once a year. Sometimes, i call him Santa although he looks nothing like him. My dad is handsome, and tall....

We were shopping happily when I got distracted by a Christmas tree, tall and proud, the decorations on the tree were colourful and I remember how it glittered and glow. I turned around to find my mum but she was nowhere to be found. I was only nine back then, I didn't know what to do. He came to me.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked.

I tried to nod, but i couldn't breathe because I was too caught up with everything else that was going around in my head.

"It's a pretty christmas tree right?" He looked at me, and then back at the tree. I looked at it again, and then my eyes found its way to his, his eyes were the same as the decorations, glowing and glittering. He gave a mischievous grin. "Don't cry." he noticed my red nose. 

I didn't know what to say, I wasn't the kind of person who talks to strangers at any given time. So I decided to just look at him and sniff. 

"Do you like the decorations?"

I nodded.

"Pick a letter." he said, smiling.

"... H" I said shyly, my eyes were still on him.

He reached towards the tree and grabbed a decoration on the tree, a letter "H.", it was covered in silver and gold glitter, tiny and it could fit in his hand perfectly. "Before I hand this to you, let me guess..." he smiled, "Is your name...... Hyori?"

I shook my head.

"Hyo..rin?"

"Nope." I began to smile. "But close." 

"Hyojin?"

"Nope." I grinned. "Wow you're really bad at this!" I laughed, and he laughed with me, scratching his head. "It's Hyomin." I gave him a soft smile. 

"That's a pretty name, just like its owner." he smiled. I smiled too and he gave me a thumbs up. "See, you're smiling now. That's better." He took my hand and placed that little ornament in my hand. He looked around anxiously before waving his hands towards me "Nice knowing you, Hyomin. I have to go now." he smiled, before dashing off.

I never knew his name, and for seven years, despite going there again to the christmas tree every year, he never came back and I thought I was never going to see him again.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Doctor Kim listened patiently at Hyomin's story, writing down all the details and fixing her glasses, tapping her pencil on the paper which annoyed Hyomin. "And you met him again?"

Hyomin nodded. 

-------------------------------------------------------------

I was with my friends for an outing, we had a shopping trip but they left early because they had special family dinners. I had no family... only my mum and she spent her night at Grandma's. I received a text from her, telling me I should go to grandma's too, that night, because all of our cousins would be there. It was a special christmas dinner, she says, but it's not christmas without my father, who passed away just a year before. So i sat next to the small pond, which was located near the christmas tree outside the shopping mall, kicking snow, which was a bad idea because my boots became wet. I kept on kicking and kicking and kicking before he came. I couldn't recognise him at first. 

"Hello." He said. I ignored him, thinking he was a stranger. "The crying girl, right? Hyo...jin?"

"Min." I looked up,finally the puzzles were put back together, I could recognize him now. Same jawline, different hair and height, but same cheeky smile. 

"I recognized from that." He pointed towards the "H" ornament I hung on my handbag. "You still keep it."

"And you still remember me." I grinned. 

"I guess we both left an impression for each other, eh?" He smiled his mischievous smile again. "Why are you always alone when I see you?"

"I should ask you the same thing." I raised my brow, folding my arms and grinned.

"I'm --- I'm not always alone." He shrugged. "I'm never alone on Christmas." he said again. 

I tried to understand what he was trying to say but I really couldn't. What did he mean by that? Never alone on Christmas? but I decided to just shrug it off. "I'm always alone on christmas."

"I could see that, princess." he smiled. "But you don't have to be. Come, let's skate."

"N-now?"

"Yeah!" he smiled, as if it was already obvious. He grabbed my hand and i followed, trusted him without thinking and just following him wherever he directed me to go. We skated the whole night that night. I ignored mum's messages, and although I couldn't spend my christmas with my dad, or my grandma, it felt nice to have a company. I don't know, he made me feel safe.

We went back to the Christmas tree after the tiring attempt to skate. I looked at him curiously and asked him, giving a sly smile. "Pick a letter."

"....J."

"Jaejoong? Junho? Jaebum?" 

"You're worse than I am, you idol-maniac." He poked my forehead lightly and playfully, noticing that I only mentioned names of korean pop idols.

"Okay then, what's your name?"

"Joon."

I picked up the letter J from the tree, not caring at all if it was 'stealing' or not, and handed it to him. He took it without a word, smiling and kissed me on the lips.

------------------------------------------------------------

"Alright." Doctor Kim cleared as she began to feel uncomfortable. "Save me the details for later." she snickered sarcastically.

"It really happened." Hyomin defended.

"That's what you think, Miss Park. I think you are just lonely, that's why you are seeing things. And especially since the loss of your father, you're imagining him caring and handsome, just like your father.But I might be wrong. I'll give you the results next week, if you meet this man again, however, Miss Park,do inform me. And MrsPark, please try to watch over your daughter." She rudely spat.

Hyomin were almost in the verge of tears. She came out of the building and rushed off somewhere else. She couldn't talk to anyone-- not even her mom, not her friends. Only she knew how real it all felt. 

"You're crying again."

Hyomin looked up. He always came at the right time.

"Joon." she sniffed, wiping her tears. "Is this all, real? Whatever this is?"

Joon raised an eyebrow, giving her a questioning look. He then wiped her tears and softly whispered, his voice loving-- "I don't know, maybe I am real, maybe I'm not." he said. "I know my feelings for you is, that's for sure."

"But I want to know if you're real."

"I'll let you be the judge of that." he took her hand and kissed her softly.

And in Hyomin's mind she reminded herself for the third time; "Real."

-----------------

hey guys sorry thisis horrible and sorry for the late update!

do you think he's real though?! :D