chapter 25

Zaini came back to her flat and found Nazma and Javier sitting on the couch and having breakfast. She greeted them and went to take a bath. When she came back to the hall, Nazma and Javier were watching a series on TV. She stood in front of the TV and said, "Let's go out today."Nazma and Javier looked at each other and then towards Zaini."You seem in a good mood", said Nazma."I just want to enjoy and forget about the hospital and my prankster classmates and others whoever is making my life feel like hell right now", said Zaini in one breath."Hmm... The girl needs to smoke drugs!!""Shut Up!!""Good idea, let's go out. I need to do some shopping before we meet Kim Jae", said Nazma and got up from the couch."Shopping?? What will I do? You two go and have fun", said Javier and hinted to Zaini to move aside. "But we are not sure yet. I mean Kim Jae is a celebrity. Why would he want to meet us? He must be super busy in his life. And, we have not received any message from Kim Min Ho yet", said Zaini."What If he confirmed us this evening and asked us to come tomorrow after hospital hours? We will not have time to get a nice dress. I don't know about you but I don't have a decent dress to meet Kim Jae", said Nazma.Zaini realized she also needed some Korean clothes before meeting Kim Jae. But she had mixed emotions. She wanted to meet Kim Jae but she was not sure about Kim Min Ho. There was nothing wrong with buying new clothes. "We will call you when we are done with shopping. We can eat out together", said Zaini looking at Javier. "Sounds like a plan", said Nazma and went to her room to dress up."Done! Anyhow I am feeling lazy", said Javier in his broken English accent.After having fun shopping Nazma called Javier. "He is not picking up the call", said Nazma looking at Zaini who was busy scrolling over her cell phone and sitting on a chair opposite Nazma in a bar/restaurant."He was feeling lazy. Maybe he has slept", said Zaini without looking at Nazma."Let's order then. I am starving", said Nazma and snatched the cell phone from Zaini's hand."What??" said Zaini in irritation."Behave when your senior is talking to you!! You need to learn etiquette. You have not yet achieved anything that makes you behave proudly!!!", said Nazma in a harsh voice.Zaini realized her mistake."I am so sorry. I will behave", said Zaini."You need to greet your seniors at the hospital too. That day Dr. Ji Hoon came near our table but you kept on sit ignoring him. You may be angry with him but being a junior you cannot be disrespectful!!" "He looked so young. I could not imagine if he was someone senior", said Zaini.Nazma laughed and said, "Yes, you will find it difficult to judge people by their age. They are all young and beautiful!!""True. Thank you for guiding me. I don't know why I was behaving so immature", said Zaini feeling guilty."Come out of your college life. You are a professional now. You need to be careful with people around you and start making connections if you want to live in this country", said Nazma looking at the menu."What are you pointing at?" "I am not saying to blindly accept the pranks or bullying behavior of your classmates but if someone is coming forward to help you, let them help you. These incidents will make you familiar with a lot of people here", said Nazma."Are you talking about Dr. Ji Hoon?""Yes, you should talk to him and apologize for your behavior", said Nazma and she called the waiter to order the food. Zaini did not reply but placed her order too. They were in the middle of their lunch when Zaini received a message. The cell phone was kept on the table and Nazma's eyes fell on the screen.She hurriedly passed the cell phone to Zaini and asked her to read the message. Zaini did the same."Kim Jae has agreed to come to my place today evening. You two can come and meet him for a while. To reach here by 5 PM. Don't be late. I am sharing the location"Nazma who was reading the message with Zaini, jumped in joy. She hugged Zaini in excitement and spilled the mocktail on her dress."Shit!!" Zaini got up from the chair and looked for the washroom. Meanwhile, Nazma replied to the message and searched for the directions to Kim's house and the time to reach there. It was already 3 PM. Zaini came back after cleaning her dress. "We need to go from here only. It will take more than an hour to reach there and we are not even dressed up yet. Let's finish the food fast", said Nazma."Let me call Javier. He will come here and then we will leave with him", said Zaini."It will take him a minimum of one hour to come here. And, Kim has mentioned us only in the message. Moreover, Javier has no interest in meeting our beloved Kim Jae. Why to bother him?", said Nazma quickly biting the pizza slice. "But how can we alone go to someone else's place? We don't even know him", said Zaini feeling confused. "Don't worry. I have kept the pepper spray and I will share our location with my friends. Why are so worried? I am also going with you. Trust me Zaini, he is a kind man", said Nazma and finished her meal.Zaini could not eat anything. She could have shared this with Hema but she had no trust in her now. Prague had decided to break up with her when she told him about coming to Korea, she was scared if she told him about this, he would definitely break up with her again and this time he might not come back too. Zaini needed her pendant at all costs. Although her mindset was different from Prague she loved him. She did not want to lose him at all. "Everything will be alright, Zaini. We will meet Kim Jae and I will get my pendant back. Then there is no need to meet Kim Min-ho ever!" thought Zaini.