Mina had always been a cheerful girl. This morning, I was disturbed from my sleep when my phone rang. At first, I thought it was my alarm and tried to turn turn it off, however, as I sleepily pressed a button, my best friend's voice blasted from the other end.

"Mi-hyun! Are you still sleeping? Get up you lazy !" She yelled loudly which made me immediately sit up from the bed.

I rubbed my eyes and yawned. "Oh my god. Why are you calling me at 7:00 in the morning?"

"Come on, the mall is open today. It's the beginning of a new year, actually the second week. But we need to go buy new clothes and have fun!" She exclaimed. "A new clothing store just opened and they are having give away during the grand opening. We can't miss that opportunity, get up now, I'm coming over in 30 minutes!"

"Wait, wait, what? 30 minutes? No, I'm not ready-"

"Hurry up Mi-hyun, I'm coming. See you soon!" With that said, Mina hung up on me, leaving me sitting on the bed, dazed.

As soon as my brain processed all that had just happened, I shot up from my bed and ran to the washroom to get ready. I quickly washed up and brushed my teeth. When I was done, I went back in my room to pick out an outfit for the day before hopping down the stairs.

To my surprise, Luhan was already awake. He sat in the living room and was watching TV. My parents were both in the kitchen, chatting and drinking coffee. I greeted them and quickly took a pancake and stuffed it in my mouth. As I desperately tried to swallow the chunk of food, I proceeded to pour myself a glass of milk and chugged it at the speed of light.

After I finished my quick breakfast, I commented on how early they woke up and told them that Mina will be here soon to pick me up. I told them that we'll be going to the mall for the grand opening of a clothing store. They gave me permission and I quickly went to pack my bag. 

I managed to get everything ready in under 30 minutes and I was proud of it. I asked Luhan if he wanted to come along, but he couldn't because he had his teen health class in the morning. 

Mina arrived shortly after I got ready. When the door bell rang, I eagerly went to open the door to find Mina's grinning face. I big goodbye to my parents and Luhan as the two of us headed out.

On the way to the bus stop, Mina seemed like an overly excited child. The grand opening of that store was one thing, but something else was on her mind. We boarded the early morning bus. There weren't a lot of passengers aboard since it was just 8:00 in the morning. 

My best friend smiled widely as she told me about her new year's celebration. "I can't believe Kai and I actually celebrated together. Like, how did that even happen? It makes no sense! I didn't know our family knew each other. Gosh, he was so handsome in his leather jacket. I wish you were there with me."

"Mina, calm your girl. Okay, you are grinning way too much. Did something happen?" I giggled and questioned.

"Wow, you are so sharp," she replied and giggled cutely. I had the urge to squish her cheeks.

"I am your best friend, of course I'd be," I laughed. "So, tell me, what is it?"

Mina fidgeted with her fingers, quickly looking away. "Well, Kai sort of asked me out."

I squealed and grabbed her wrist. "What did you say? He asked you out? Oh my god! What did you say?" I questioned as every nerve in my body just shot up in excitement. Mina and Kai were a thing, everybody saw that, but for them to go out so quickly!

"I said yes to him. He is a nice boy okay?" Mina answered and snuggled on my arm. I was so happy for my best friend. Kai was indeed a nice boy, and I wished the best for those two love birds. 

Time flew by quickly and the bus arrived at the mall. More awake than ever, I hopped off the vehicle along with Mina and tried to keep a normal disposition on in public. But Mina and I couldn't stop grinning. We made jokes and talked about our future. Mina asked me how Luhan was doing, and I told her he was pretty well and how the two of us made up on new year's day. She was happy to hear that everything was going to be fine. I decided not to tell her about the part where Luhan whispered 'but I don't have much time left'. I wasn't even sure if that was what Luhan said.

When we arrived at the mall, it was still very early, twenty until nine to be exact. The grand opening of the shop would be at nine o'clock. We decided to buy something to munch on as we waited for the shop to open. A nearby coffee shop was the perfect place. I bought a bagel with butter and Mina bought a sweet Donut along with a cup of warm tea. I brought my own water bottle so I didn't get a drink.

As we sat on a bench near the new soon to be opened clothing store, Mina and I chatted and ate food. For some reason, I finished my bagel in two bites and proceeded to drink some water, and that was when an accident happened.

Mina was speaking to me, talking about how terrible Xiumin and his friends were. I totally agreed with her and nodded along.

"Also, it shocks me that there were drugs involved at his party, I mean like, he is just a student after all. Actually, now that I think about it, Lay always looked like he was high on something. It makes sense... But still, how could Luhan ever have associated with those people?" Mina ranted on as she chewed on her donut.

"I know right, Xiumin, Lay, and Tao, they are terrible people. But you know, I feel a little differently about Chen," I said.

Mina looked at me, "What about him?"

I laughed, "He seems more idiotic compared to his friends."

I took a big sip of water and kept it in my mouth before a person walked up in front of us.

Chen suddenly appeared out of nowhere and pointed at me accusingly. "I heard that!"

I gasped, totally forgetting the fact that I still had water in my mouth.

That instant, a wave of watery mist shot from my mouth, directly at Chen. As if everything was played in slow motion, I watched as thousands of tiny water drops fly toward Chen's face. I didn't know how to react or what to do. Mina's loud exclamation pierced my ears and I tried to apologize.

"Ew! This is so gross!" Chen exclaimed as he desperately tried to wipe his face clean with his sleeves. "Can't you swallow your water first? Ugh..." The boy made a face and continued to clean himself.

I quickly put the water bottle away and stood up. "I am so sorry. What are you doing here?" I was shocked by his sudden appearance. Chen frowned at me. "That was an accident. You surprised me and I spat my water. Sorry sorry," I apologized and a giggle escaped from my mouth. Mina too, was choking as she drowned in laughter.

Chen grumbled and looked at the water on his sweater. Drops of water dripped from his face. With a disgusted expression, he glared at me. "Clean it up Mi-hyun."

"How?" I asked and looked around for some napkins but found none. "You know what, let me it clean," I said jokingly and stuck out my tongue. It was actually quite fun to bully Chen.

Hearing my words, the boy immediately jumped away from me. "What have I ever done to you, why are you always harassing me?"

"I'm just kidding. Calm down and I'll go get you some paper towel from the washroom. And I am very sorry, okay?" I responded and headed for the nearest washroom.

Mina and I both went to grab some paper towel from the washroom and hurried back to Chen. But when we came back, more people had arrived. Xiumin, Tao, and Lay were standing by Chen, pointing and laughing at him. I was quite scared to find all of the trouble makers here, especially after learning that they associate themselves with drugs. I hurried up to Chen nervously and passed him the paper towels. He took them and wiped himself as cleanly as possible. 

It was strange, although I was afraid of the boys, Chen was the only one I could actually interact with. In fact, talking to him made me feel at ease, whereas just the sight of Xiumin, Lay, Tao, scared me.

The best option we had at the time was to leave the boys alone, but before I could slip away, Xiumin called out. "It's nice to see you girls here."

"Hi Xiumin, we'll see you later," Mina chirped and dragged me away. But Tao blocked out path and smiled.

"Leaving so soon? But we have so much things to say to you two," the tall boy said with a smirk. "We were going to find you later, Mi-hyun, but since you are here right now, we should talk here."

I gulped and Mina stopped beside me. We looked at them and nodded. Since we were in a mall, and there were people around us, they shouldn't be able to try anything inappropriate. It was better to hear them out here than at a back alley some place dangerous.

"What is it?" I asked, trying to conceal my upset tone.

Xiumin stepped forward and gestured for us to sit on the bench. We did so, and he sat beside us. "You probably have already heard from Luhan, there was a little accident at my Christmas party. Because of that, the police alarmed the school and the four of us was told to leave. So, we won't see you again at school once the break is over."

Mina and I nodded at his words. It made sense for them to get expelled. But another worry popped up into my head. "Is Luhan going to get kicked out as well?" I asked bluntly, earning a chuckle from the boys.

"Kicked out? Damn, you make us sound bad," Lay commented. "But no, I don't think he'll get kicked out from school. Your brother didn't do anything wrong. He did have a few drinks, but that was it."

I let out a sigh of relief as I heard Lay's reassuring words. Mina was the one to speak up next. "Did you four do anything bad? Like, smoke pot?" My best friend questioned and stared at them intensely. 

Xiumin shook his head. "No way, that stuff kills. Actually, we didn't even know some people brought drugs. It's just the fight that got the police's attention, and then some crazy high kid decided to smoke weed right in front of the officer's face."

Mina and I regarded Xiumin in surprise as he told the story calmly like he didn't care. He didn't show any sense of worry or regret as he spoke. What was up with these boys? As Xiumin told the story, it didn't sound like he did anything wrong either. All he did was host that party, and took out a knife to threaten people. Okay, that was really bad, but I felt like the boys weren't so bad like I imagined.

"Wait, wait," I interrupted the boy. "Why are you getting kicked out of school? You didn't do anything TOO out of order," I questioned and Mina nodded with me.

Lay spoke up this time. "When the school asked for our guardians, we told them that they weren't living with us, and the school got pretty suspicious. And we don't blame them. Anyways, it's really complicated, and it goes back to our history."

"Where are you guys going to go? Now that you are kicked out and stuff," Mina asked.

"Don't worry. This kind of stuff happens all the time. We'll just move somewhere else," Tao replied. I eyed them weirdly, getting kick out of school shouldn't happen all the time. Who were these people?

It turned out that these four boys were also at the mall for the grand opening of the clothing store. The doors opened exactly at 9 o'clock. Loud music played from speakers in front of the shop, and there were balloons and ribbons hanging by the entrance. The shop looked colorful and fun.

We shopped separately from Xiumin, Lay, Tao, and Chen. It was rather awkward with them, and we weren't particularly friends. Mina, as usual, began to take various clothing off the shelves and headed straight for the change room. I accompanied her and help her to pick out a few dresses, pants, along with a new winter jacket. 

After we finished shopping, the two of us went outside to take the bus. Mina invited me over to her place. As we waited in the cold, Mina's boyfriend, Kai, called her. She smiled like an idiot and the lovers talked. It was so nice to see Mina being happy, and in love. Sehun crossed my mind that moment. As I thought about him, butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

When I was at Mina's place, her mother made delicious hot chocolate, it warmed me up from the freezing winter. Mina and I didn't do much. We lazed around on the couch and watched a cute romantic movie. I had a great time.

School would be starting next week. It was pretty strange for me to think this, but I was excited for school to start. I hoped Luhan's relationship with me would heal, and the two of us could return to what we were.