Krystal's POV

I bite my lips when Eunjin-unnie skated off after releasing her hands from me. I didn't mean to sound arrogant with my remarks. Initially, I wanted to thank her for helping me at the haunted house but then I saw Amber and Ailee playing around happily with each other, just a few metres behind Eunjin-unnie. I didn't know why I got a little pissed off which caused me to be spiteful towards Eunjin-unnie.

I saw that Eunjin-unnie was skating slowly in front of me. She did informed earlier that she knew how to skate but the last time she did so was about 10yrs ago.

"Should I go up to her and apologise?" I asked myself and was about to make my way when I saw Ailee and Amber skating up to her. "Forget it then."

I skated off past them without looking behind, moving faster so that there would be a big gap between us. It was only when I was sure the distance was big enough, that I stopped at the edge. I looked around, trying to locate their location and saw that Eunjin-unnie was alone. She was on the other side of the rink, leaning by the edge just like me.

I realised that she was looking straight at me when our eyes met. 'Was she looking for me?' I asked myself before I took a deep breathe and clasped my hands together. Bowing down a little, I looked up before skating off quickly as I felt my cheeks getting warmer. 

"I hope she understands that I was thanking her for the help and also apologising at the same time." I told myself as I spotted Luna and Sulli from a distance and decided to join them.

(A few hours later)

"Did you really enter the haunted house by yourself?" 

That was the very first question that Jessica had asked her sister, the moment they returned to her apartment from the amusment park. Krystal had hitched a ride back with Jessica since she had arrived in Amber's car earlier, along with Sulli and Luna. They had moved off from the school campus together in the morning. 

"Was it scary since you were alone?" Tiffany asked as the 3 of them made their way to the living room.

"She was not alone." Jessica answered before Krystal could say anything.

"What do you mean?" Tiffany asked as Jessica just grabbed and clicked on the remote control to switch on the tv without answering. "Ailee entered with Amber while Sulli and Luna entered together. So who else was there?"

Jessica shrugged her shoulders as she glanced towards Krystal who suddenly sighed.

"I was with Eunjin-unnie." Krystal answered as Tiffany gasped while Jessica had a smirk on her face. "How did you know, Unnie? That I was not alone."

"Because you're my sister, pabo-yah." Jessica knocked on Krystal's head lightly. "You would have rebutted me earlier when I asked that question if you had really entered by yourself. By the way, why did you even agree with that arrangement when you know you won't be able to handle it by yourself? Was it because of Amber?"

Krystal grinned at her sister and gave her a side hug. "You know me so well, Unnie. But it's not really because of Amber. My friends didn't know of my fears. I think if they knew, they won't have gone ahead with their plans."

"Are you sure that they won't have gone ahead with it even if they had known about your fears?" Krystal was not able to answer Jessica's question so she just shrugged her shoulders and kept quiet.

"How did Eunjin end up in the haunted house with you, anyway? I thought she was afraid of ghosts too?" Tiffany asked.

"She just showed up out of nowhere. I didn't know that she was scared of ghosts until I heard Yuri-unnie and Yoona-unnie talked about it. But I did notice that she was having difficulty breathing when we reached the exit after going through the haunted house. I asked if she was okay and she said that she was exhausted from carrying me." Krystal replied.

"She carried you??!!!" Both Jessica and Tiffany had a similar reaction as Krystal started to narrate what happened inside the haunted house.

"You were lucky Eunjin was there. Freezing up in the middle of a haunted house. Who's going to rescue you if you were really alone inside?" Jessica nagged at her little sister who was pouting.

"I'm still curious as to why Eunjin appeared at the haunted house out of nowhere. Remember what Yuri said. That Eunjin will never step inside any haunted house her whole life." Tiffany rubbed her chin as if she was thinking.

"She knew that Krystal's friends were planning about the haunted house. Furthermore, there was a toilet near there. Eunjin must have seen them while she was looking for the Ladies." Jessica tried to think of a reason. "Eunjin knew that Krystal was afraid of ghosts."

"She knew?" Krystal asked as Jessica told her that she had blurted it out, way before lunch.

"I think Eunjin wanted to protect Krystal. Like what Sooyoung said. It's not safe to go in that haunted house alone. Anything could happen. But what Eunjin did was really very cool of her. Overcoming her fears to ensure that Krystal was okay." Tiffany said before she broke into a grin. "Do you think Eunjin likes our little Soojungie?"

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

From a distance, Krystal saw Amber waving her hands at her as she walked in between Luna and Sulli. They had just finished their class and were not expecting to meet Amber near their faculty building. Ever since the outing to the amusement park, Krystal had not seen Amber around for the past 3 weeks. It was almost coming to the end of their semester so everyone was busy rushing off to finish up their assignments and projects.

"Hey." Amber said the moment she was closer to the 3 girls. "How's school so far?"

They took turns to answer Amber's question and continued chatting while they made their way back to their dorms. Just when Krystal was about to enter her dorm room, Amber called out to her.

"Hey Krystal, can you spare me a few minutes?"

She asked as Krystal turned to look at Luna and Sulli who then shrugged their shoulders and walked in to their rooms. Krystal shared her dorm rooms with Luna and Sulli while Amber was sharing with two of her classmates just 3 doors apart. The moment Krystal saw that the door was closed behind her, she turned to face Amber who seemed nervous suddenly.

"I.. Actually... I.. How should I say this?" Amber frowned as she avoided eye contact with Krystal while scratching the back of her neck before she finally took a deep breathe. "I want to get to know you better."

It was Krystal's turn to frown. She didn't really understood it and kept blinking her eyes at Amber, who seemed to be interested in looking at the ground.

"I thought you already know me? We've been friends for almost 3 years now." Krystal finally replied as Amber looked up.

"Of course I know you but I want to know you more. As in... at a different level. Not just as friends." Amber bite her lips and looked at Krystal with a nervous grin.

"What exactly do you mean by getting to know me better? As in how exactly are you going to do so?" Krystal kept shooting Amber with questions. "Are you trying to confess to me?"

Amber was left speechless as she didn't thought that it'll be as difficult as this. "I like you. More than a friend. I was thinking that maybe we can go out on a date sometimes. Just the two of us. You know... just chilling and chatting. Know each other better."

Krystal looked at the flustered Amber and finally, she smiled. "Okay. Keep me updated then."

Amber nodded her head with a wide grin as Krystal excused herself to enter her dorm. She was surprised when she saw Sulli and Luna sitting at the living room with silly grins on their faces.

"What does Amber wants?" Luna was the first one to ask as Sulli gestured for Krystal to sit down in between them.

"She ask me out." Krystal's answer was short and sounded as if she was not bothered by it.

"Out? Like on a date?" Sulli asked for reconfirmation as Krystal nodded her head. "That's so cute. Both of you will be the first girl and girl couple that I know of."

"She only ask me out. We're not a couple." Krystal replied as Luna chuckled.

"You don't seem to be eager about it though. I thought you have a huge crush on Amber?" Luna asked as Krystal sighed and leaned back on the couch.

"I don't know. I mean, of course I'm happy that she's asking me out but..." Krystal paused for a while before continuing. "I've always thought about the day that Amber will come up to me to confess or maybe asking me out, like just now. But what I had imagined before doesn't seem to be the same as what I'm experiencing right now."

"You don't feel excited or those fluttering feelings inside?" Sulli asked as Krystal shook her head. "Maybe not yet. Maybe after the date. Come on. Be more eager will you? Your big time crush had just asked you out."

"I think Sulli sounds more excited about it than you." Luna said, as she and Sulli broke out into laughter while Krystal rolled her eyes at her friends. 

"I'm going back to my room for my revisions." Krystal replied as Luna and Sulli continued teasing her about not needing to study since she was one of the top student in class. "Even though we're only left with a year to our graduation, we should not slack off."

Her friends meronged at her and laughed again as Krystal stood up and made her way to her room.

Meanwhile, at the workshop.

I rolled myself out from under the car and sat up. I looked around to search for Taeyeon and found her daydreaming in front of the car that she was supposed to be repairing.

Taeyeon had both her hands, resting on either sides of the car's bonnet with the hood up. From a distance, it looked like she was repairing the car but if you observed properly, she was just staring into thin air.

I threw a dirty rag at her, catching her attention. 

"Mwoya?" She asked as I grinned and stood up to walk towards her.

"What's in your thoughts? You were daydreaming earlier." I asked.

"Where's Yuri?" She asked as I frowned with her question.

"Yuri had went out with the tow truck since we had received an emergency call earlier. Yah!! She left 30mins ago. What's wrong with you?" I gave Taeyeon a pat on her back as she released a sigh.

"Do you think I'm a good catch?" Taeyeon's question caused me to scratch the back of my head. 

"Good catch? You mean as a partner?" I asked her as she nodded her head.

"I'm scared that I'm not good enough for her." She replied before pouting and looking lost again. 

I placed my arms over Taeyeon's shoulders and dragged her slowly to the bench. "What's wrong? Something happened between you and Tiffany?"

"Nothing happened. It's just...I don't know. I mean.. We've got to know each other for some time now. A few months. And honestly, I really love that girl. But.." Taeyeon paused and sighed before leaning back and placing her arm on her forehead.

"But?" I repeated her last word since she had been keeping quiet for almost 5 seconds.

"But she seems to be too perfect. I mean I'm not complaining about that. I feel like we're not compatible. I'm just a mere mechanic in this workshop while she's in a top management position at Sica's company. When I go over to fetch her after work some times, I saw how she mingles well with almost everyone. But I'm an introvert. I only have a few close friends. She comes from a wealthy family while I'm just of an average background. She dressed up well and looked beautiful everytime we meet up but I'm usually in my casual attire." Taeyeon explained in details as I listened attentively.

"Does Tiffany complains about your dressing?" I asked as Taeyeon shook her head. "Does she ever bring up about your employement status? Or your family background or even compare herself with you?"

Taeyeon continued shaking her head as I smiled warmly at the girl beside me.

"Does Tiffany knows how you feels about her and about all these?" Another shake of her head as Taeyeon sighed. "You are putting unnecessary thoughts in your head, Taeng. I don't know Tiffany as well as you do. But from my observation, Tiffany's a nice girl who is humble and nice to everyone around her. The fact that she had agreed to go on dates with you more than a few times, that means you meant something to her. If she was concerned with whatever that you had mentioned earlier, I don't think you could have gone out with her that long."

"You think so?" Taeyeon asked me as I nodded my head. "I'm just afraid of losing her. Every time we went out together, I feel myself falling deeper for her. So deep that I feel like she deserve someone better than me."

"Have you confess to her yet?" I asked as Taeyeon shook her head. "Take the chance. Talk to her about how you feel. If she means a lot to you, pluck up your courage and fight for your own happiness."

"What if she rejects me?" Taeyeon asked with a slight fear in her voice.

"Then treat it as part of a learning journey. Everyone has the right to choose, including her. If she doesn't choose you, it doesn't mean that you're not good enough for her. It just means that she's exercising her right to make her own decision. But don't let the fear of rejection control you. Remember, you don't gain anything if you don't try."

"But you might lose her friendship." 

Another voice was heard behind us as both of us turned to see a smirking Yuri.

"That's what I'm afraid of." Taeyeon said. "Losing her."

"Yah, Kwon Yuri. Can you be more supportive?" I glared at Yuri who was chuckling. 

"It's true. I've dated so many girls and went through so many rejections. It's better to just remain as friends and keep your feelings to yourself. At least, you can always spend time with her and keep the friendship." Yuri gave her opinion.

"But what if Tiffany likes her too? Do you expect Tiffany to continue waiting for Taeng to confess and just treat her like a friend? Until when? Until Tiffany gets tired of waiting for their relationship to progress or until Tiffany finds someone who is more willing to fight for her love?" I countered back to what Yuri had said earlier.

Both me and Yuri started to bicker with each other, trying to prove our point while Taeyon tried to stop us from arguing.

"Stop, stop, stop. Don't have to argue about this. I can understand and accept both your opinions.There's pros and cons to everything but I think what Eunjin said is true. I have to learn to fight for my own happiness. I believe that Tiffany likes me too. It's just that I was feeling inferior at times." Taeyeon confessed. "From the first time I saw her, I already knew that she's the one for me. I want to make her mine, always making her happy and provides whatever that she needs. I just need a little bit more of confidence that I can do all that."

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

I was stopped at the big gate as the security guard walked out from his post. I lifted up my visor and smiled at him.

"Good evening, Uncle Park."

"Ouh, it's you Eunjin. I'm sorry I didn't recognise your bike from inside." He quickly pressed the button so that the gate would open.

"It's okay, Uncle Park. It's been a few years since I came back so I don't expect you to remember also." I smiled at the old man who had spent his last 20yrs working for my grandparents.

After asking him to take care and to eat his meals regularly, I rode my bike towards the big white mansion in front of me as I stopped just at the side of the main door. Halmeoni was waiting patiently on the steps as I switched off my engine and removed my helmet.

"Halmeoni, you didn't have to wait for me outside. You could have just waited at the living room." I said before making my way towards her as she engulfed me into a hug.

"How are you, my child?" 

I smiled a little as Halmeoni hugged me tighter. It always warmed my heart everytime Halmeoni called me 'my child.' At least it makes me feel like I'm totally not alone in this world.

"I'm fine, Halmeoni." I replied as the elder woman released her hold on me.

"Let's go inside. Dinner will be served soon. Harabeoji will be joining us for dinner too."

My smile disappeared the moment Halmeoni informed me about it. She must have noticed the change but she quickly just pushed it aside by dragging me into the house. It's been almost 3yrs since I last came to visit Halmeoni at her house. I remembered at that time, I was in my 3rd at the university. I found out from Uncle Park that Halmeoni had fallen sick for a few weeks. I had wanted to visit her as soon as possible but because of Harabeoji, I had to postpone my plans.

I would usually come down to visit Halmeoni when Harabeoji had to travel overseas due to his work. Sometimes, I would meet up with Halmeoni outside instead, at the shopping mall or cafe. We would chat and catch up on each other's well-being whenever we meet up. But lately, we've not done so since Halmeoni was not that well to go out often. Furthermore, it seemed that Harabeoji had reduced his travelling frequency in recent years.

"He's not working today?" I asked as we made our way to the living room.

"He is. But he should be on his way back from office. Unless he's held up with some matters." Halmeoni explained as we took a seat at the couch. "By the way, how's your work at the workshop?"

"It's okay. Everyone there is nice and helpful. Since it's not a big workshop, we don't really have that much cars to handle per day so it's not that hard." I explained as Halmeoni nodded her head. "How about you? Are you taking your medications regularly?"

"Of course, I am. I don't want you to nag at me for not doing so." Halmeoni replied, causing me to chuckle at her answer.

We continued chatting for the next 20mins until we heard the front door opened and heavy footsteps making it's way to the living room. I didn't have to look up to see who was the person that had arrived since I was expecting him anyway.

"Let's eat dinner."

I heard his husky voice as Halmeoni tapped my thighs, signalling for me to follow her. I was practically dragging myself towards the dining room which was on the opposite side of the living room. Harabeoji was already seated at the top of the table when me and Halmeoni arrived at the dining area.

The set-up of the plate and cutleries were in such a way that both of us would have to sit on either sides of Harabeoji. Since I didn't want to sit near to him, I took my plate and cutleries and placed it beside Halmeoni who had taken a seat on the right side of Harabeoji. I noticed that Harabeoji was observing my every movement but I continued to put on a poker face.

Aunt Nancy, who was the wife of Uncle Park, came in with two other new assistants with the food. She had also worked for my grandparents for the past 18yrs. When Aunt Nancy saw me, she instantly smiled widely. After placing the food on the table, Aunt Nancy walked up to me.

"Aigoo, Eunjin. Why didn't you inform me that you'll be coming? I would have cooked your favourite tteobokki for you." 

The elderly lady side-hugged me as she my hair slowly but she stopped when she heard the forceful coughing sound from Harabeoji. He didn't even utter any word but Aunt Nancy quickly apologised and left the dining area. I had to control my anger with how authoritative Harabeoji was with everyone around him.

Dinner went on in silence as I didn't eat much even though I was hungry earlier. Harabeoji's presence had really killed off my appetite.

"Until when are you planning to work at that workshop?" 

I heard Harabeoji's question as I placed down my cutleries. Taking a deep breathe, I turned to face the elderly man. "I've never thought of resigning."

The glare that Harabeoji gave me used to make me feel uneasy but at that moment, surprisingly it didn't have any effect on me.

'Krystal's glare is more scary than that.' I thought to myself as I maintained my blank look at Harabeoji.

"I'm getting old. I need someone to take over my position in the company." Harabeoji said. "I'll get everything ready for you in the office by the end of the month. Tender your resignation to your workplace with a two weeks notice. That should give them enough time to find a replacement by then."

"I believe that I've made myself clear earlier. I've no intention of resigning. You need someone to replace you, right? Just choose anyone from the thousands of workers that's working under you." I replied and looked away since I could feel that my anger was slowly creeping in.

"Stubborn. Just like the father. Both of you doesn't know how to appreciate what is good for your ownselves." Harabeoji's tone of voice was cold and emotionless.

"Yeobo... That's enough." Halmeoni's soft voice made Harabeoji rolled his eyes at her. "He's our son, no matter what."

"I don't have a son who disrepect and disobey his own father." Harabeoji's words pierced through my heart. "It's all that woman's fault. I know that she was after our money but she didn't manage to take anything from us because of the accident."

"Yeobo!!!" 

It was the first time that I saw Halmeoni showing her anger towards Harabeoji. She was obviously trying to control her temper after what Harabeoji had said but she held it all in and cried instead. I automatically hugged her and patted her back.

"Go home, Eunjin. You don't deserve this kind of treatment from your very own flesh and blood. Go home, my child." Halmeoni said to me, in her normal warm tone of voice. 

Halmeoni patted my thighs and stood up suddenly as she took my hand and led me out from the dining area while Harabeoji just observed her actions without stopping her or saying anything.

"Halmeoni... Are you going to be okay? Will Harabeoji be angry with you?" I asked with a concerned look when we reached the front door.

"Of course he will be angry. But he loves me too. Don't worry about me. He will never hurt me." Halmeoni replied as I used my thumbs to wipe away her tears. "Be safe when you ride, my child. Message me once you're safely home."

I nodded my head and hugged her tight. "You take care of yourself too, Halmeoni. Remember to take your medications and eat your meals regularly. I love you."

Halmeoni distanced herself away from me and grabbed both my cheeks before kissing me on my forehead. "I miss doing this to my son. I hope he's happy wherever he is at the moment. The least that I could do for him is to take care of his most precious gem. You."