As the song came to an end and the lights went on back, I stood up to give them a standing ovation. I was grinning from ear to ear when I saw Krystal's shocked expression as she covered with her eyes wide opened. Luna looked surprised too but she managed to pull Krystal to the side of the stage since the next performer was getting ready to perform.

Jessica pulled me to sit down before she whispered to me.

"I think we should go and look for Krystal before my sister become too restless and anxious after seeing you."

I nodded my head in agreement with Jessica's idea and after she had informed her parents about where we were planning to go, both of us left the event hall in search of the waiting room. But we didn't have to search for too long because from a distance, I saw Krystal running towards my direction.

Within seconds, I was engulfed into a tight hug as I noticed Luna trying to catch up with Krystal from behind.

"You're back. You came back."

I heard Krystal's mumblings as I smiled and her hair softly. "Yes, I'm back. I'm sorry I took so long to return."

She shook her head and buried it into my right shoulder before she distanced herself abruptly and looked at me with widened eyes.

"Oh no... Did I hurt your shoulder?" Krystal asked as she looked at both my shoulders and just realised that I was wearing the shoulder brace.

"Aigoo... This sister of mine. The way you had hugged Eunjin earlier, you might as well crush her shoulder with your embrace." Jessica teased as Luna finally reached at where we were standing.

"Yah!! How can you just run off like that? Do you know how hard it is for me to catch up with you?" Luna was already nagging away as Krystal pouted and apologised to her.

"By the way,when did you arrive? When you called me earlier, were you already here? Is that why you asked if I had wished you were here and asked for a hug?" Krystal quickly changed her attention to me and started shooting me with questions.

I told her that I had actually flew back with her parents but had left to pay a visit to my grandparents first before coming to the campus.

"I really wanted to see your performance so I pleaded to Shin Hye to let me return. Initially, she didn't allow me since she told me that my shoulder was still in the recovering process but Uncle Park gave his word that he would take care of me when I'm back so she couldn't say anything about it. So when she finally agreed that I can fly back, I booked the same flight as your parents and told them to keep it a secret from you." I smiled with confidence as Krystal arched her eyebrow at me.

"Seems like that doctor of yours is not willing to part with you." Krystal commented before folding her arms and pouted.

"And it seems like someone is jealous." I and poked her cheeks before she meronged at me.

The 3 of us ended up laughing at her cute reactions before she hugged me again. This time round, it was not as tight as before and she took extra care so as not to collide with my left shoulder.

"I miss you a lot. I really do."

My heart swelled in happiness when I heard Krystal's honest feelings. Even though we've been going out for some time, Krystal was someone who didn't really expressed her feelings openly and was never the first one to do so. Which was why I was really touched with her words.

"Aigoo... The both of them really missed each other so much that they didn't even notice their parent's presence." Sulli's voice echoed down the hallway.

I turned around and saw Krystal's parents standing behind us with Sulli beside them. Smiling and nodding my head a little at them, I was amused when Appa Jung showed a thumbs up at me.

"So Jung Sooyeon, when do you plan to let us meet up with your Kwon Seobang?" Appa Jung asked as I noticed Jessica blushing and looking away.

A few hours later, all of us had gathered at Twin Towers with the additional of Kwon Yuri who had arrived from work. She was surprised too when she saw me and was about to give me a headlock but stopped when she noticed Krystal glaring at her.

Since my shoulder was still injured, I was not able to ride my bike so I had to hitch a ride in Krystal's car along with Luna and Sulli. Earlier on, Uncle Park was the one who had send me to the campus from Harabeoji's house. Jessica drove their parents to the cafe and had arrived 10mins later than us. I had to hold back my laughter when I saw how nervous Yuri was when she saw Jessica's parents for the first time.

"Eunjin, did you notice that you were not having any of your symptoms when you were in the car earlier?" Krystal whispered to me, grabbing my attention away from Yuri while the rest of them were looking through the menu.

"I know. Shin Hye said that there's a possibility that my phobia has been replaced by the trauma that I had went through during the kidnapping incident." I explained as I saw Krystal's face looked a little sad when I mentioned about the incident. "But I still need to check with Doctor Ahn about it. Just in case, if there's any underlying phobia."

"Can I follow you when you visit her then?" Krystal asked and I was about to nod my head when I heard tappings on the table.

"Have you both decide what to eat or are you both full just by whispering sweet talks to each other?" Sooyoung asked with a grin as Krystal blushed while I chuckled.

After all of us were done with our orders, Appa Jung took the opportunity to start 'interviewing' Yuri. It was the first time that I saw Yuri stammering and being so cautious with her answers. We were surprised when Appa Jung seemed to know a lot about Yuri herself.

"Don't get me wrong. I didn't ask anyone to stalk you or investigate about your background. All information that I have are given to me by my own daughter. Our family always have the practice of being honest to each other and there's not much secrets between us. The reason as to why I said that there's not much secret is because I believe that Soojung and Sooyeon still do keep some secrets from me but I'm fine with them. Sometimes, you do need to keep some secrets from your parents." Appa Jung words caused some of us to laugh while we agreed. "But with regards to their future partner, I will need to know in depth about the person since they are going to be part of their lives for a long time."

As I listened to everything that Appa Jung had said, my respect for that man increased and suddenly, it made me missed my dad. If he was still alive, I'm sure he would be a great father too.

"Are you okay?" Krystal held my hand as I turned to look at her. "You let out a heavy sigh just now. Is something bothering you?"

I smiled at her and shook my head. I knew that she didn't believe me from the looks on her face but I was relief that she didn't probe any further. Talks among us continued as Yuri seemed to be at ease after Appa Jung assured her that he was just trying to get to know her better. Sooyoung and Yoona managed to join us at the table since there was not much customer around and the chats continued with laughters and smiles.

It was almost 10pm when Appa and Omma Jung excused themselves to return home to rest for the night. Yuri followed Jessica and her parents to the car while the rest of us helped to clear the tables.

"Krystal, will you be going back to the dorm later?" Sulli asked I noticed Krystal had a frown on her face.

"It's okay, Krys. Me and Sulli will take a cab back to the dorm later. We know you don't have the heart to return to the dorm tonight." Luna had a teasing tone and a cheeky smile as Krystal pouted and blushed.

"I can send both of you back since it's along the way." Yuri appeared from behind us and smiled. "Krystal will need to send Eunjin home since she doesn't have a ride back. And I think Eunjin needs someone to take care of her for the night."

The 3 of them simultaneously nodded their heads in agreement as they started to say their goodbyes even without waiting for our answers.

"Don't do anything strenuous tonight. Your shoulder has not fully recovered." Yuri's parting words caused me to clench my teeth at her while showing her my fist as she left the cafe, laughing out loud with Sulli and Luna.

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

I felt some ticklish sensation in my ear as I tried to swipe it away. It stopped for a moment before the sensation came back again so I had no choice but to open my lazy eyes slowly.

"Good morning."

A smile appeared on my face when I saw Krystal's smiling face just inches away from mine. I pretended to close my eyes again but received a light slap on my right shoulder for doing so.

"Wake up, sleepyhead. It's almost noon and we've missed breakfast."

"Are you hungry?" I asked with a concerned tone but to my surprise, Krystal shook her head and giggled before she placed her head on my shoulder and laid down sideways beside me while wrapping her arm around my waist.

"I'm not hungry yet. I just want you to wake up so that we don't waste anymore precious time together."

"Waste precious time? Every moment with you is precious to me even if it's just lying in the bed with you." I replied as Krystal lifted up her head and arched her eyebrow at me.

"Since when did you became so cheesy?"

"I'm not cheesy. I'm just romantic and I've always been romantic. It's just that you didn't realise it at all." I answered with a pout.

"I realise it. I guess I must have missed your presence a lot that it gives me fluttering feelings when I heard your romantic words again after so long."

"Did you miss me a lot?" I asked as Krystal nodded her head. "I miss you too. This is the 2nd time that we were apart for so long. Remember the first time when you left with your sister to visit your parents for Christmas and New Year. I kept messaging you to tell you how much I miss having you around."

"And at that time, I thought you were being too clingy. But now I understand how you feel." Krystal answered as she apologised for thinking that way about me then. "During that 2 weeks that we were apart, I didn't really feel so empty at that point of time. Maybe because my family was around but now, I really felt the emptiness in my heart without your presence. Especially when I found out about what had happened to you. I wish I could be by your side when you had to go through all that recovering process. It hurts so bad when I heard about the injuries that you had sustained during the incident. Appa told me not to worry so much since he and Omma were looking after you but how do you expect me not to worry when I don't get to see you with my own eyes?"

I could see the tears swelling in her eyes as I cupped her cheeks and it slowly. "I'm sorry for making you worried."

Krystal didn't allow me to see her tears flowing as she leaned in and placed her forehead into my shoulder. We stayed in silence for the next minute until we were interrupted from the ringing of my phone. Krystal wiped her tears away, sat up and helped me to reach out for the phone but a frown appeared on her face as she shoved the phone into my face.

"Your girlfriend is calling you." She said with a pout before leaving the bed and heading towards the fridge.

"My girlfriend?" I sat up and looked at the phone screen as a smirk appeared on my face. "Hi Shin Hye. What's up?"

I noticed Krystal's sulky expression as she took a bottle of cold water before pouring it into a glass. As she took small sips of the drink while staring at the wall, I knew that she was actually eavesdropping on the conversation.

"Yes.. I had arrived yesterday afternoon... That's right... I'll make an appointment as soon as possible. Thanks for the reminder.. Arraseo.. Take care then. I'll see you when I see you."

As I ended the conversation, I scooted closer to the edge of my bed and started chuckling to grab Krystal's attention. When I noticed that she was looking at me with a frown, I started to pretend as if I was sniffing something.

"Did you smell something in here?" I asked, changing my expression into a serious one.

Thinking that something was not right, Krystal started to sniff the air before shaking her head. I told her that I could smell something different from where I was seated so Krystal walked closer to me and sniff the air again.

"I don't smell anything different." Krystal commented and by then, she was already standing in front of me.

"I smell jealousy." I replied as I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her closer to me, placing my head on her tummy. "What's wrong, princess?"

Krystal pouted and tried to wriggle herself out from my arms but she couldn't do so and she stopped moving when I told her that she's hurting my shoulder with her actions. Her looks on me softened but her pout was still there.

"What does your girlfriend wants?" She asked while glaring down at me.

"I don't know. What do you want?" I asked with a smirk as I looked up to face a confused looking Krystal before her cheeks started to change color when she realised what I was trying to imply.

"Who says I'm your girlfriend?"

"I said. In my heart, there's only you and no one else." I replied with a sincere smile.

"Are you asking me to be your girlfriend? Because if that's what you're doing, I was expecting something better than that, Han Eunjin." Krystal folded her arms and tried to maintain her glare on me but it didn't last long when she had to cover her blushing face with both her hands.

"Don't worry. When the time is right, I'll ask you to be mine and I'll make sure that it's something that you'll never forget."

I replied before our conversation was interrupted by the growling sound of Krystal's tummy as both of us bursted out laughing.  A quick shower later, both of us were out from the apartment and were making our way to the carpark when Halmeoni called and asked us to have lunch at her house instead. With Krystal's agreement, we made our way to Harabeoji's house.

I was quite surprise when I saw how close Krystal was to Halmeoni and even to Harabeoji. Throughout lunch, the 3 of them were conversing among themselves as if it's the most natural thing to do. When I stopped eating and placed my utensils on my plate, it grabbed their attention as they asked if the food was not to my liking.

"Anni. It's not that. I'm just curious. Since when did the 3 of you got so close to each other?"

My question must have sounded funny to them since they started giggling and laughing about it. Harabeoji then explained that Krystal had been coming over to to the house whenever she's free to check on both of them and spend time together.

"Jinjja?" I said with disbelief as Halmeoni just nodded her head while Krystal grinned. "Does that mean Harabeoji and Halmeoni didn't miss me at all when I was away?"

The two elderly laughed when I pouted and pretended to be sulky as Krystal just rolled her eyes at me. We continued eating until we were done before Aunt Nancy brought out fruits for desserts as we moved to the living room.

"By the way, what are your plans for your birthday celebration next week?" Harabeoji asked as I could only blinked my eyes repeatedly.

"Celebration?" I scratched the back of my head while I tilted my head and pondered. "I don't know. The last time I had a birthday celebration was when I was nine. I remembered Appa bringing me to ice-skate at the amusement park. Omma made kimbap for the 3 of us."

Silence filled the dining room as Harabeoji and Halmeoni looked at each other. Harabeoji then stood up and gestured me to follow him as we made our way to his study room on the second floor.

Halmeoni's POV

When I saw the study room door closing, I scooted nearer to Krystal and started talking to her in a lowered tone of voice.

"Krystal, do you have anything special planned for Eunjin's birthday?"

I saw a frown on her face as if she was in deep thought before she pouted and looked at me. Krystal informed me by saying that she wanted to come up with something special but she couldn't think of anything at the moment. She then asked me if I was planning anything for Eunjin's birthday.

"Her Harabeoji seems excited to hold a celebration for it. Maybe a party. But I'm not sure if he's intending to hold it privately or do it at the company." I explained while Krystal nodded her head. "By the way, how was your performance yesterday? Eunjin was in a rush to proceed to your school after coming to check on me and my husband."

"It was nerve-wrecking for me but luckily my friend kept encouraging me and stayed by my side. The performance went by faster than I thought. But it was a bigger surprise for me when the lights were on and I saw Eunjin standing in the crowd, clapping her hands wildly with a cheeky grin on her face. If it was not for Luna, I might have stayed rooted on stage."

I had to chuckle with the explanation that Krystal gave me as she continued to explain that she was not aware of Eunjin's return to Seoul. She asked if I knew about it and I nodded my head.

"She informed me 30 mins before she board the plane. And she kept telling me not to tell anyone about it. That naughty grandchild of mine."

Both of us chuckled before Krystal asked the reason as to why Harabeoji wanted to talk to Eunjin in private.

"He has a lot of things that he needs to apologise to Eunjin. I'm not sure if my opinion is the right thing to actually have but I'm actually thankful for the arrest that happened to him. Because of the incident, it made him realise how precious family is to him and how great a child Eunjin had grown up to be. The best part is, she grew up without having the love that she deserved. Eunjin has really made her parents proud."

Krystal nodded her head in agreement as I saw a slight sadness in her eyes.

"Halmeoni, do you think I deserve such a great person?" Krystal let out a sigh as I held her hand and asked her the reason for her question. "Even when we were at the stage of knowing each other, she had proven herself to be such a cool and awesome person. Her way of thinking is so selfless and considerate. But I'm immature and at times, selfish."

"So, do you want to let go of Eunjin?" I asked with a gentle smile as Krystal bit her lips before shaking her head. "Eunjin might look perfect on the outside but she's still a child inside. You're 4 years younger than her. Obviously your thinking will be less matured but Eunjin grew up in a situation that forced her to mature faster than her age. Which is why Eunjin likes to be with you. You are able to let the child in her out."

Krystal smiled as she told me of the times that Eunjin was behaving like a kid, teasing her and making fun of her while having ice-cream or playing around during their dates. Krystal also told me about how clingy Eunjin was whenever they were apart before she covered her reddened cheeks with both her hands.

"The clingy part of Eunjin might be due to the fact that she's afraid to lose you. She lost her parents even before she could express how much she loved them. Which is why she's more expressive when she's with you."

Krystal's POV

When I heard what Halmeoni had told me, I was reminded of the time when we were at the club, a few months back. On that night when Amber had suddenly proposed to me.

(Flashbacks)

"I used to be someone like that when I was young. And I lost the opportunity to show and express how much I appreciated the presence of people who had loved me."

I listened to everything that Eunjin was saying as she continued to look forward while I stared at her side view.

"You've lost someone that loved you?" I asked as she turned to face me before nodding her head. "Was she special?"

"They were very special to me." Eunjin smiled a little. "Maybe that's why when I found another special person, I wanted to make sure that I will protect her and show her how much I really care."

(End of flashback)

'I guess I'm the special person that she was referring to.' A smile appeared on my face without me realising it until Halmeoni commented on it.

"Why are you suddenly smiling to yourself, Krystal?"

My cheeks flushed with embarassment as I told Halmeoni about the conversation between me and Eunjin in the club. Halmeoni giggled and kept nodding her head before she teased me about taking so long to realise that Eunjin was referring to me at that time.

"I also knew about the time both of you were in the haunted house." Halmeoni said as she arched her eyebrow and added on that she had her own sources to find out about things.

"Halmeoni, I really didn't know that she's afraid of ghosts. If I had known, I would have asked her to leave." I quickly tried to explain.

"And do you think she would leave you behind like that? All by yourself?" Halmeoni's question caused me to think for a while before I shook my head. "It was right then that I realised about Eunjin's feelings for you. Because when you love someone, you will want to protect that person no matter how scared you are or how much you hated to be in that situation."

"Love?" I repeated that word as I felt once again the tightness in my chest.

"You don't have to rush to say the word love if you're not ready to. Just because Eunjin says it to you, never feel burdened to reply just for the sake of replying. That was what I told Eunjin before also. I know that love is a big word and there's a lot of commitments attached to it. So don't ever say it if you're not ready to do so. Because saying it nonchalantly might hurt others."

I nodded my head to Halmeoni's words before both of our attention was distracted by Eunjin's voice from above.