The streets were packed that day.

The shopping district was closed off to cars due to construction, and the roads were now packed with pedestrians. SeungHyun and I managed to avoid the crowd by sticking close to the shop windows. We passed by many shops, but nothing interesting came up until the second block.

It was a little jewelry shop, not a big brand name store. Their merchandise looked original, and it's prices were reasonable. When I passed by the window, I stopped, did a double take, and retraced my last few steps, my gaze locked on the item in the big display case. There, sitting on a small pillow in the shop window was a beautiful necklace. The pendant was a key, except the top was in the shape of an open heart. For some reason, I couldn't stop looking at it. I stared at it in awe, absorbing the glow it gave off.

I guess SeungHyun saw me staring at the necklace, because he stopped too, following me to the shop's window. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw him look at the necklace, then at me, back and forth until his eyes finally rested on the gold necklace glittering under the lights in the shop.

"It's pretty, huh."

I jumped a bit. I didn't realize he was so close to me. "Yea...but I didn't bring money with me today," I turned away from the shop and sighed. "I'll just see if I can get it another day."

And we continued walking on.

To enter the shopping district was one thing, but exiting it was another. When we entered the area, we stuck close together on the sidewalk, being careful not to get into the gigantic crowd in the center. But when we finally had to leave, the only way out was through the crowd. I took a deep breath, hoping not to get seperated from SeungHyun while we took a step into the sea of people, sticking close together.

For every step I took, there was always someone on all four sides of me, sandwiching me in even tighter. I would glance to my left often to make sure SeungHyun was beside me, not lost somewhere in the crowd. After awhile though, I got a push from behind, causing me to bump into people around me, bouncing around like a ball being tossed amongst them all.

"Ahh! Sorry...ouch!" When I finally stopped moving, I was pretty far from where I had been before. I looked around me, realizing that I was alone. SeungHyun wasn't with me. Panic began welling up in my throat, suffocating me. Frantically, I jumped up and down, trying to spot SeungHyun's brown hair until I realized it would be impossible. I decided to continue moving, hoping that I would bump into him. "SeungHyun!" I would call out. "SeungHyun-ah!" 

After about four minutes of searching the crowd for him, I walked off to the side, standing on the sidewalk.

"Aishh...where did he go?"

Sighing, I decided that I would head home and give him a call later. I walked off towards the direction of my house, taking the long way back that didn't got through the crowd. As I headed back the way I came, I passed by most of the shops that I had passed by earlier. When I reached the little jewelry shop again, I made a beeline towards the window. I stood there for a long time, my eyes memorizing the shape until the little pendant was engraved in my mind. Gosh, I wanted it badly.

"Hey, young lady, wanna grab a drink?" A low, rumbly voice called out from behind me.

I turned around. A drunk man and his friend came stumbling out from the crowd, heading towards me. I could tell he was very intoxicated. 

"C'mon, let's go to the bar and grab some shotssss," he mumbled, coming within arm's length to me. I backed up until I was pressed against the shop window, my heart beating faster. He seemed dangerous, and I wasn't used to older guys.

"Come 'eree...." He reached out a hand and grabbed my shoulder. I let out a small shriek, shaking off his grip. "Ayy, I won't hurt ya, ya know..." He looked at me, his lips. How disgusting, I thought to myself. I needed to get away.

Turning around, I was about to walk off when my path was blocked by more people. Suddenly, I felt a hand on my waist. It was the drunk man. I screamed, grabbing at his hand to push it away, but failing. I continued to scream, yelling at him to get his hands off me. Then, I felt his grip loosen and fall. Instead of running off, I turned around to see what had made him let go. To my surprise, standing behind me was SeungHyun. He had grabbed the man's arm and yanked it down, forcing the man to let me go. 

"SeungHyun!" I gasped.

He was standing protectively in front of me, his legs apart, his face serious. 

"Don't, touch her." He said to the drunkard. His tone was intimidating, fierce and threatening. 

The man paused for a second. "Yeeeesh, I was just lookin' for a girllll....." He and his friend turned around, stumbling back off in the other direction.

We remained in our positions for about a minute until finally, SeungHyun relaxed his shoulders, letting out a deep breath.

He turned around. "Hey, ne-"

As soon as he faced me, I hugged him, cutting him off. He was shocked for a second, but then returned the hug, putting his arms around me. After a few seconds, I said,

"Thanks. It was hard to shake him off."

"Oh, it was nothing." I heard the smile in his voice."Just be careful next time, okay?" He pulled me away from him so that he could look at my eyes, making sure that I got his point.

I looked into his eyes again, my heart warm. "Okay." I gave him a soft smile. 

"Let's go home."

As we headed back into the crowd, he suddenly took hold of my hand. My heart skipped a beat.

"So we don't get seperated again." He explained, grinning at me.