Los Angeles, California.

After finishing the first concert in New York, Gary, Gil, Jung-in and their entourage took a straight flight here. They have two days before their concert starts, so they took this opportunity to go sightseeing on the first day. Being the entertainment centre, they know they shouldn't miss the chance visiting tourist spots there.  After visiting Hollywood  Hills (They all wanted to take a picture of the Hollywood sign), the group now arrived at the infamous Walk of Fame. As soon as they arrived everybody turns ecstatic with the scene there. Street performers, shops, everything there is themed with the Hollywood scene. Gil and Jung-in took this chance to shop to their hearts content. They stopped at every shop they can see to buy any souvenir they can find.

Gary on the other hand, took more pleasure in taking pictures of the surroundings. With his camera, he took pictures of the autographed pavements. He also took some time to enjoy the street performances there. "Even the street musicians are top-notch here," Gary is indeed inspired by the scene. He took out his phone and recorded them. As the music stops, he paid the musicians in gratitude and continued on his way. He opened his map, scanning through them intently. "Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan," mumbled Gary to himself as he walked. He wants to take a picture of Jackie Chan's star pavement. "Ji-hyo sure would love to see the picture of that," Gary folded back his map and continued on his way. "What is she doing now? Sleeping?" Gary continues to talk to himself.

Little did he know, he is walking farther and farther away from his group, alone.

*************************************************************************************

Techno Mart, Gangbyeon, Seoul

"Hmm, what do you think of this eonni (sister)?," Eun-hye held up an electric yoga mat."Seeing Jong-kook oppa doing yoga............ what a sight right? " Eun hye's eyes glitters with mischief.

Looking at the mat, Ji-hyo made a disbelieving look. A sight of Jong-kook bending his muscle should be a sight for her. A frightening sight. And the thought of that gave her the shivers. "Is that a Christmas gift or a punishment Eun-hye?" The light pink color of the mat is really striking her eyes, and it's making Ji-hyo a bit dizzy.

Eun-hye placed the mat back on the display shelf."Oh, he's being punished now," looking at Ji-hyo's questioning look, Eun-hye continues. "He's getting some silent treatment for a couple of days,"

"Really?" hearing The Commander being punished is interesting news for Ji-hyo. And she needs to hear the details. "What you're punishing him for?"

*************************************************************************************

Tavola Calda (Do-young's restaurant)

"Moon Geun Yoong?" HaHa is trying hard to keep a straight face. And God knows how much did he wanted to laugh right now. Jong-kook is sitting next to him at the countertable, head slumped on it.

"So she finally saw the episode(114-115)?" HaHa continues. Jong-kook slowly nods, still not lifting his head from the counter. "She saw the episode a couple of days ago," Jong-kook stared blankly at the half empty cup in front of him. "And of course she doesn't want to talk to you. You and your big mouth," HaHa concluded in amusement. Jong-kook replies with a huge sigh. 

Do-young , standing across the counter turned his head facing Eun-hwan, his assistant. "How many rounds did he drink now?" he whispered.

Eun Hwan held up one finger. "It's his first one, Do-Young ssi,"

"For one hour? What liquor is he having?"

Eun-hwan shook her head. "No liquor. He's just having drip coffee. No sugar,"

"No Liquor?"

"Ani(no). Just coffee," Eun-hwan continued to clean the espresso machine. "He's just lovesick,"

Do-young shifted his sight to Jong-kook. Now He is pouting his mouth while holding his phone, looking glum. Do-young shrugs his shoulder and continued on his work, sighing heavily.

*************************************************************************************

Techno Mart

"So, It's about Moon Geun Yoong?"

"He did say she's his ideal type. I'm giving him time to think about what he said," Eun-hye frowned as she crossed her arms.

"For how long you're going to punish him?"

"I'll call him tomorrow.................okay, I'll call him today," Eun-hye hesitantly answered. She wants to continue her sulk longer, but it seems like she missed Jong-kook more than she thought.

Ji-hyo raised her eyebrows hearing Eun-hye's answer. "Already missed him?" Ji-hyo teased. Eun-hye let out a smile. "Of course, now I feel bad for him," said Eun-hye, now looking at some selections of sport shoes which should be a perfect gift for Jong-kook.

Hearing the antics of the couple made Ji-hyo laugh. As she continued her search for a Christmas gift, Ji-hyo's attention is diverted to something displayed at the electronics section. She excused herself from Eun-hye and walked to the display case, examining it closely. It's a large headphone, jet black in color with red streaks adorning it's side. "A headphone huh? Should be perfect for him," Ji-hyo mutters to herself. She called the salesman for the item and made the purchase quickly.

*Hope he likes it*

*************************************************************************************

TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood Walk of Fame

"Good sir, you want to buy some star maps?" A shady man approached Gary, holding some stack of papers. After finally finding the tile autographed by Jackie Chan, he realized, he has left his entourage and now he is a bit lost.. Maybe due to some dumb luck, his phone is out of batteries and now here he is a in a strange land with no clue how to get back to his group. The shady man is still there near him trying to shove his merchandise to Gary's hand. And that's the last thing he needs now. Gary shook his head signaling a 'no'.  "No maps? How about a personal tour? I'll give you a tour around Beverly Hills, all celebrities houses. Whole day.  Eight hundred Dollars and we're good to go, "the man seems undeterred by Gary's answer. "No, no thank you. Not interested, but thank you," with his limited English (at least it's better after some crash course from Jessica), Gary rejected the offer. He need to get out of here. Maybe if he tried to trail back his route he can find his group again.

"Come on, how about seven hundred. It will be worth it my man," the peddler tried to coax him again and it's really getting on his nerves now.  He was about to open his mouth when a small figure appears behind him.

"Mister, he didn't a tour or maps. He's with me. Take your business elsewhere," the figure speaks with a business-like tone. Gary turned around to face the figure.

"Jessica," Gary can only mutter this word as he face her. Wearing a long overcoat covering her jeans and t-shirt, Jessica stared at him, a mix of worry, relief and a bit of anger written on her face. For Gary,  seeing her here unexpectedly is a surprise. And feeling shocked is an understatement. "Anyeong," Gary said, meekly.

Still quiet Jessica reached Gary's right arm, and gripped it hard pulling him with her as both walked quickly out of the busy street. Taken aback by her action, Gary followed her quietly, wondering if he is in trouble.

Both walked quickly until they reached a whit SUV parked near the end of the street. The passenger window rolled down, revealing Krystal, smiling and waving at them."Gary oppa!!! Anyeong!!"

"Krystal? Anyeong!" Gary waved back and approached her. Krystal, still smiling signaled with her head for Gary to turn around. Gary does as instructed and is now facing a frowning Jessica glaring at him. "Gary oppa, where's your phone?" asked Jessica. "Gil oppa and your whole group tried to contact you. Why do you turn it off? You shouldn't wander around here alone,"

Gary held up his now dead phone. "Forgot to charge it yesterday. My fault , really,"

Jessica's face softens hearing Gary's explanation . "Well, that explains it all. At least you're here now oppa," Jessica pulled out her phone and started dialing. "I have to call Gil oppa, he's really worried when he called me before," said Jessica. While Jessica is on the phone, Krystal tapped his arm, getting his attention.

"She's the one that gets worried. She drove so fast to get here, I have to held on my seat belts all the way," Krystal rested her head on the window sills while Gary leaned next to her."By the way, how can you wander this far from your group?"

Gary scratched his neck. "Got too caught up by the surroundings, I think. So, your family lives around here?"asked Gary, now remembered that a couple of days ago Jessica did told him the sisters will be spending the holidays with their parents back at U.S.

"San Francisco. But we were on the way here to watch your concert. Nearly reached Central L.A when Gil oppa called eonni telling you were missing. So we went here to look for you,"

"but how did you girls know where to look?" Gary asked the obvious question. Krystal points to the Chinese Theatre. "Most Asian tourist will visit here. Took our chances, it works right?" Krystal yawns a bit as she answers his question.

"..........I will. I will take care of him oppa. See you tonight. Have fun," looks like Jessica has ended her call. Pocketing her phone, she walked to Gary. "Since they know you're okay, they are going to Universal Studios now. But you still have a lot of explaining to do to them,"

Gary motioned forward and hugged her gratitude. " You came all the way here to find me. Thank you Sica," said Gary. He then release his hug, looking at now smiling Jessica. "So, we are going to catch up with them right?"

Jessica shook her head.  She smiled naughtily. "Ani(no), you're coming with us. Get in the car,"

"Where are we going?"

"We are giving you a personal tour around . Sightseeing, shopping. It will be fun," Jessica's face brightens as she mentions shopping. And memories of shopping with the Jung sisters suddenly crawled back into Gary's head. The memory of  piles of shopping bag and the marathon shopping still gives him nightmares sometimes.  And Gary can only groan in pain hearing Jessica's plan.

*************************************************************************************

Next night, Club Nokia, Los Angeles

"Where are you girls sitting?" Gary asked the Jung sisters sitting behind him at the dressing room.

"First row of course. We'll be cheering you oppa," Jessica said, with Krystal nodding in agreement . Both the siblings stood up to leave the room. Jessica turned around at the door, smiling while holding up her fist. "Oppa, fighting!!"

Gary gives her a thumbs up, smiling while watching them leave the room. he closed his eyes, clearing his thoughts to calm his nerves.

A couple of minutes later, the concert coordinator announced Gary and his group. "Okay, we are starting in five minutes,"

"The crowd's waiting. Let's go Gary," Gil patted Gary's back as he walked out of the dressing room. Gary stood up from his chair and picked up his phone, rereading a text message he received a couple of hours ago.

From Ji-hyo

Kang Gary. Congratulations on LeSsang tour. I don't want to bother you with long messages. Just want to wish you good luck and do your best. Fighting!!!

Gary smiled looking at the text as he took a deep breath. All the stage fright and doubts are gone as he read the text message. "I'll do my best Ji-hyo yah,"

Reaching the stage, Gary and Gil were welcomed by huge applause from the sold out crowd. With confidence b, Gary turned his head to Gil, nodding as a signal to start the concert.

"Let's do this,"

*************************************************************************************

Ji-hyo's apartment

Gift wraps were scattered on top of Ji-hyo's coffee table. Now finally finished wrapping her gift, Ji -hyo lied down on her couch, not minding the mess. She can always clean up later, she thought. She unlocks her phone and found a text message from Gary.

From Gary

J-hyo yah . Your good luck wish is all I need. Concert is about to start. Felt like the luckiest man already!!!

"He always know a way with words. Maybe that's why he have a lot of fangirls,"  Ji-hyo chuckled. A bit sleepy, she decided to take an afternoon nap. Thinking about Gary's concert, she could imagine how Gary would like on stage, and that brought her to smile again before falling asleep.

"Kang Gary, fighting!"

*************************************************************************************

Incheon Airport (Christmas Eve)

The tour is over in a huge success. And now finally returning to Seoul, tired is an understatement. And the plane landed later than schedule due to snowing. But since it's the Christmas eve, everybody seems to have a bit of spirits left inside. The group separates at the car park leaving Gary and Gil.

"Gary, want to have a few drinks ?"

Gary is putting his bags inside his car. "Now? Two in the morning? Ani(no), I'm too tired. you go on ahead,"

"Alright then. I'll visit you tomorrow. Happy holidays man," Gil hugged his friend before leaving with his car. Gary entered his car and the ignition. Then he remembered something.

Last month

"If you're at Korea by Christmas, we can celebrate it together,"

His promise of spending Christmas with Ji-hyo. And when he thought about it, he never did ask her anymore about it after that day. And now he is here, at Seoul, Christmas night.

*Should I call her? At this time? Should I visit her home instead? What if her boyfriend is there too? I'm so not ready for this*

After couple of minutes, Gary have decided. He's trying his luck,by driving to her house. * I'll check from outside.If the lights are off, then I'll return to my apartment * Gary thought as his car pulled out of the parking area.

45 minutes later

Gary rolled down his window, checking Ji-hyo's house from across the road. And as he thought, the lights are out. . There's also no sign of her car. Gary smirked to himself. *Maybe I'm hoping too much of a miracle. What are you thinking Hee Gun? She must be celebrating with him now.* Gary rolled up his window as he continued his driving. All he wants to do now is to go home.

*************************************************************************************

Jung's family Residence ,San Francisco

"Eonni (sister) eomma (mother) is calling us downstairs. It's dinner time," Krystal entered Jessica's bedroom. Jessica is on her bed, holding a shopping bag. Recognizing the bag, Krystal sat beside her sister. "Isnt that the bag Gary oppa gave you?" Jessica nods.

Before taking his flight to Seoul, Gary handed the siblings a shopping bag for each of the siblings. "A thank you and Christmas gift for you girls. It's not much, but hope you girls like it," said Gary before passing the departure gate.

Jessica smiled as she opened the bag, pulling out its content. It's a plushie. A medium sized starfish plushie, pink in color . "It's cute eonnie," exclaimed Krystal. Jessica smiled again hearing her sister's remark. Jessica hugged the stuffed toy tightly. "I like it a lot, and I will place it here," Jessica placed the plushie beside her pillow.

"Of course you will like it. It's from Gary oppa," Krystal tried hold the plushie but Jessica pulled it back to her lap quickly, making Krystal pouts. She then moved nearer to her sister, hugging her from behind, her head rested on Jessica's shoulder. "You really like him do you?"

Jessica hugged the toy tighter, not answering her sister's question. She lifted the plushie to her face and gave it a quick kiss making Krystal giggled in amusement. She stared at the toy again and gave it a wide smile.

"Merry Christmas, Gary oppa,"

*************************************************************************************

Gary's Apartment, Seoul

It's nearly half past three in the morning when Gary arrived at his apartment. Not minding his surroundings, he quickly took out his travel bag and head to the elevator and pressed the button to his floor. He is too tired to think of anything. Gripping his bag, he walked out of the elevator, walking slowly to his apartment. That's when he saw someone sitting on the floor, leaning against his door.

*Ji-hyo?*

Gary quickly hasten his steps to her. He crouched to look closer at her. Her eyes are closed and beside her is a neatly wrapped gift box. "Ji-hyo?" Gary called her name again. Slowly Ji-hyo opened her eyes.

"Kang Gary? You've arrived?" Ji-hyo tried to stand slowly. From her sleepy state, it's obvious she's been here for a while. Gary held her hands , helping her to stand. "Why are you here? It's a past midnight. You should be sleeping right?" asked Gary as he unlocked the door and pulled her inside. He the heater and motioned her to sit on the long couch. He then went to his kitchen to prepare some hot drinks.

" I made a promise to celebrate Christmas with you. Checked your flight schedule with Gil oppa. So I decided to wait for you here," Ji-hyo opened her jacket lazily and placed it on the unoccupied singles couch.

"But do you really need to stay out there the whole night?" Gary asked while bringing two mugs of hot cocoa. "You could catch a cold," Gary sat beside her and handed her one mug. Ji-hyo sniffled her nose before taking a sip. "Well, It's a promise. I have to keep it,"

Gary's heart sank a bit looking at her. Right now, he really have a lot of questions in his head. Why can't she just wait for tomorrow? Shouldn't she be celebrating Christmas eve with Baek Chang-Joo? But he decided to keep the questions to himself now. He'd rather not spoil the night with his questions. Besides, she literally stayed outside his apartment for hours waiting for him.

"Your gift," Ji-hyo handed him his gift. After opening it and seeing the headphone, Gary smiled widely. He reached for his bag and took out a small bag and handed it to Ji-hyo. "My turn," said Gary. Ji-hyo reched for the content inside, pulling out a wool scarf."It's beautiful," Ji-hyo beamed as she quickly wrapped it around her neck.

"Is it still cold?" Gary tried to reach for the remote for the heater. "Ani(no) oppa. I just like it. Thank you Kang Gary," Ji-hyo said gleefully. "Now, tell me about your tour," said Ji-hyo as she snuggled herself closer to Gary.

Smiling, Gary told her about his tour oversea while Ji-hyo, hearing them intently, giving some remarks in between them. Gary noticed she pouts a bit when he is telling her about his time at Los Angeles with Jessica, inching closer to him to lean on his shoulder and gripped on his left arm. Her response really humored him.

"And when the concert starts......" Gary's story stopped there as he heard a soft snore. It looks like Ji-hyo is asleep now.

*Poor girl. She's too tired*

Gary slowly reached for one of his pillow and put it on his lap. Silently he moved Ji-hyo's head so it rested on the pillow, not wanting her to have neck cramps next morning. Looking at her sleeping face, Gary smiled again. he rested his head on his right arm, eyes fixed on her.

*Too cute. Merry Christmas Ji-hyo yah*

*************************************************************************************

Next Morning

Using the spare keys, Gil entered Gary's apartment accompanied by HaHa. Both brought some foods and wine to celebrate Christmas with him. "Jong-kook hyung will be here later. He stayed at Eun-hye's last night. Lucky man," said HaHa trailing behind Gil. But Gil didn't answer. he just stood there by the doorway looking inside. Intrigued, HaHa joined him. And seeing what made Gil stopped on his tracks, HaHa grinned widely. On the long couch, There is Ji-hyo, sleeping soundly with her head on Gary's lap who is also asleep leaning on his right arm. Both silently took out their phones, and snapped some pictures of the rare sight. "Wow. And we thought he'd be celebrating Christmas alone this year," remarks Gil. HaHa nods and smiled looking at the peacefully sleeping pair. "Merry Christmas Monday Couple," HaHa muttered to himself, a wide smile still plastered on his face.

To be Continued.

Note:

Greetings. Since it's been some time since I updated , I wrote it a bit longer(just a bit. It's Christmas chapter after all). A bit of a  note, Gary's US concert should be in January, but I decided to move it to December just to make it a bit interesting.  Made some part about Jong-kook and Eun-hye (I like playing with their characters) and of course Jessica (US born, so she fits to this chapter) So, hope you like it. I really appreciate any comments and suggestion (always smiling reading your comments). Thank you for your time(head bowed)