"How did you manage to get approval for your leave in such a short notice?" I asked before handing a can of beer to Yuri who was seated on one of the chairs at the balcony of my hotel room. 

"Lee Soonkyu." Yuri grinned as she held up her beer can for me to have a toast with.

"Is she abusing the power that I gave her? What reason did you give her for that short notice?" I sat down beside Yuri as my eyes wandered at the starry night.

"Emergency family problem." I rolled my eyes at Yuri's answer as she just chuckled before looking at her watch. "How long do you think they will take to talk to each other? You're lucky that Sica only nagged at you a little. But my poor sister-in-law will be getting an earful from her sister."

I looked behind and noticed that the bedroom door was still closed. The hotel room that I booked had a separate living room from the bedroom so Jessica had asked for my permission to use the bedroom for a private talk with Krystal.

After Yuri and Jessica arrived at the apartment earlier, nobody brought up about the incident when we had dinner together. All of us just randomly talked about the girl's studies and other topics. I guessed Jessica didn't want to scold her sister in front of Luna and Sulli since it might make both of them uncomfortable. 

Once dinner was over, Krystal wanted to follow me back to the hotel since she didn't have classes tomorrow and I agreed. Yuri offered to send us back to the hotel since she had rented a car. We said our goodbyes to Sulli and Luna before leaving the apartment.

Inside the car, Jessica started asking me about my whereabouts for the past few days so I explained everything to her especially the part where I had lost my phone. She nagged at me for not making an effort to at least find a replacement phone so that others could contact me.

"You have to remember that there are other people in your life who will be worried sick about you. No matter what problems you are facing, never shun away from the people who wants or might be of help to you. You've went missing once when you were kidnapped before. Imagine how worried everyone is with your disappearance, especially Tiffany. She really cares a lot for you and treats you like her real younger sister that she doesn't have."

I kept nodding my head at everything that Jessica had said, feeling guilty for my actions and ignorance. I promised her that I will call the other girls to apologize and thank them for their concern.

We had almost reached the hotel by now and I was surprised when Jessica wanted to follow us to my suite room, which was how we ended up in our current state.

"By the way, how come Uncle Park is in Japan? He's not working with your grandfather anymore?" Yuri's questions brought my attention back to her.

"Ever since Harabeoji handed over the company to me, Uncle Park has relinquish his post as the overall security in-charge to one of his subordinates. The new guy is the one currently overlooking the whole company's security. Harabeoji did asked me if I needed some personal bodyguards but I told him that I don't see a need for that at the moment." I paused for a while and started to look around as Yuri just observed my actions. "But just between you and me, there's actually one who 's assigned to shadow me all the time."

"Mwo? Jinjja?" Yuri's eyes widened in surprised as if it was about to pop out.

I tried to put on a poker face but failed as Yuri really looked too funny at the moment. I told her that I was just kidding and she slapped me hard on my shoulders, causing me to fall from the chair. I ended up rolling in the floor, laughing out loud while holding on to my stomach.

"Having fun?"

Both of us turned our heads towards the balcony's door and saw Jessica and Krystal staring at us. I stood up immediately to stand beside Yuri as both of us just grinned at the two girls.

"Seobang, let's go back to our hotel. I'm getting sleepy. By the way, thanks Eunjin. For giving me and Soojung the private space to talk." Jessica smiled at me as I just replied with a thumbs up before I escorted both Yuri and her to the door.

"So what did your Unnie talk to you about earlier?" 

"Just some advice on relationships. And obviously some scolding too." Krystal let out a sigh as she leaned back against the bed's headrest. 

Noticing that she was feeling down once again, I wrapped my hands around her waist to give her a side hug. Both of us had decided to watch a movie that was showing on TV since we were not yet sleepy after Jessica and Yuri left the hotel room. Krystal seemed to be having a lot of thoughts in her mind and I could see that she couldn't actually concentrate on the movie. I've been waiting for her to tell me about the talk that she had with her sister but until the end of the movie, she was still lost in her own thoughts. Which was why I decided to ask her directly.

"Was she harsh with her scolding?" I asked as Krystal shook her head. "What's on your mind? Care to share with me?"

Krystal bit her lips and looked straight into my eyes. "Thank you. For loving me. For being such an awesome girlfriend. For being so forgiving. For everything. I... I don't know what I'll do if I'm to lose such a great person but at the same time, I don't know if I..."

I quickly leaned forward and kissed Krystal on her lips to stop her from continuing her sentence. I could sense that she was feeling insecure again and I didn't want her to feel that way at the moment. When we broke the kiss after a few minutes, Krystal turned her body slightly so that we were hugging each other on the bed.

"Unnie said that it was my fault that all these had happened and I agreed with her. She didn't really scold me though. All she did was to ask me to envision if you didn't actually return at all after witnessing the whole scene. She asked me what would I do if you had decided to just end it all without listening to my explanation. When Unnie asked me all those questions, my tears automatically poured out. I was reminded of the expression on your face on that day at the campus. From your eyes, I could feel how hurt you were at that moment and when you dropped the bouquet of flowers, I felt my heart shattered into pieces. I'm so sorry, Eunjin. I should have thought things through before agreeing to this plan. I should have at least told you about it no matter how temporary things were supposed to be."

I pulled Krystal closer into my embrace and her hair slowly when she started to sob. I told her that I could understand where she was coming from and I had already forgiven her for what she did. We stayed in that position for some time until I realised that Krystal had fallen asleep in my arms. I smiled when I saw her sleeping face as I slowly placed her head on to the pillow.

"You must have been exhausted with this whole matter. I could see that you've not been sleeping well in my absence and you've just recovered from your fever too. Sleep well, my angel. I love you."

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

Krystal's POV

"Yes, Appa Jung. She's still sleeping. What time will your flight be?... So Yuri will fetch both of you to the hotel? You're staying at the same hotel? Arraseo."

I blinked my eyes rapidly when I heard Eunjin talking to someone at the living area so I went out from the bedroom. I overheard her conversation and saw that she was talking on the phone with someone so I just stood by the bedroom door.

"Who was that?" I asked the moment I saw her ending the conversation. "And who's handphone is that? I thought you lost your phone?"

"I did. I bought a new one at the airport when I arrived from Japan yesterday. I was talking to your Appa." Eunjin replied as she gestured me to sit beside her on the couch. "Morning, my princess."

She wanted to give me a kiss but I stopped her from doing so and covered my mouth. "I haven't brush my teeth." Eunjin chuckled at my words as I just meronged at her. "By the way, why didn't you get a replacement phone when you were in Japan instead of getting it after you flew back to New York? At least, you could inform any of the unnies about your whereabouts so that they won't be too worried."

"I've got my reasons for doing so. Firstly, my state of mind was in a mess at that point of time because of what happened. Secondly, I wanted to have some time alone to sort out my thoughts. Thirdly, even if I had a replacement phone, I couldn't remember any of their numbers since everything is stored in my old phone." Eunjin explained as I arched my eyebrow at her. "You don't believe me? Do you remember any of your friends number?"

When Eunjin asked me that question, I paused for a while before breaking out into a grin. Come to think of it, I can't remember any numbers too except for Sica-unnie's number.

"I remembered Sica-unnie's number though." I replied confidently as Eunjin chuckled again.

"Of course you will remember her number. She's your sister and you will usually look for her for any emergencies." 

I pouted at Eunjin's teasing before I asked her about her call to Appa.

"Appa just want to check if you're still having a fever. Actually, I gave Appa a call when I reached here yesterday as I needed to know the address to the apartment that you're staying with Sulli and Luna. I've always kept Appa's business card in my wallet which was why I could call him. When I called, it seemed that Appa already knew what was going on so I told him that I was going to look for you to hear out your explanation. Appa said that he knew what happened because Yuri had informed him. He told me to keep him updated about the whole matter."

"Since Appa knew what had happened, I think I'm going to get another round of nagging from him. He's coming here a day after my birthday, right? This must be the worst birthday celebration ever." I mumbled to myself as I felt Eunjin smiling at me. "Wae?"

"I've already told Appa Jung that you've had your share of nagging from Sica last night so he promised me that he won't nag at you when he arrived. Furthermore, what makes you think that this is going to be the worst birthday celebration ever? Your birthday is only tomorrow so don't dampen your spirits so early. Go and take a shower. I'm bringing you out for breakfast."

No one's POV

The two lovebirds went around the city, after having their breakfast together. Eunjin had rented a car from the hotel so that it was more convenient for them to move around as Krystal acted as a tour guide for Eunjin. They took the ferry to the Statue of Liberty, went back to mainland to have their lunch and decided to catch a movie before continuing on their shopping.

"By the way, what do you want for your birthday present, Krystal?" Eunjin asked as they walked past a few shops while holding hands.

"Having you here with me is already a present to me. Sincerely, I'm just thankful to have you with me on my birthday."

A wide smile spread across Eunjin's face as she felt really touched with Krystal's honest reply. She was about to say something when they heard someone calling out Krystal's name so they turned around to look at the caller.

"Oh my god. Kate!!"

Krystal hugged her friend excitedly as Eunjin just observed from the side. The two of them talked to each other for a while before Kate went to greet Eunjin. About 30mins later, Kate excused herself and continue on her way after saying goodbye to Krystal and Eunjin.

"How come I didn't see Kate around at the apartment when I came over?" Eunjin asked after Kate walked away.

"Kate took some time off from her studies. Apparently, her mom had fallen sick and she had to help out her family to take care of her. So Kate went back to stay with them a few weeks after she returned from Seoul. She just told me that she had started working at some printing company to help with the family's finance." Krystal replied with a tint of sadness and Eunjin understood since Kate had been one of her good friends in school. "Ever since Kate didn't attend school anymore, there's no one to protect me from Jongin's disturbance. Kate used to be an unofficial bodyguard of mine."

"Should I employ a real bodyguard to protect you from now on?" Eunjin suggested as Krystal shook her head. "Aaahhh.. You've got Gong Myung now."

Krystal pouted when she heard that name as Eunjin grinned teasingly. Krystal glared at Eunjin because she thought that Eunjin was still thinking about the whole matter but Eunjin assured her that she was just teasing her.

"How about this? Why don't you call Gong Myung now and asked if he's free to join us for dinner? I need to lighten things up between us after what happened." Eunjin suggested as Krystal paused for a while and agreed to it.

Coincidentally, Gong Myung was hanging out at the same mall where Krystal and Eunjin were at. He was having a cup of coffee with his colleagues and agreed to meet them at a restaurant in an hour's time. While waiting for dinner, Krystal and Eunjin continued walking until they saw a jewellery shop.

"Let's go in. I want to take a look around." Krystal suggested as Eunjin just nodded her head.

They were welcomed by the salesperson who greeted them warmly. Krystal immediately informed her that they were just there to look around as the salesperson continued to smile and nodded her head.

"Do you have anything in mind then? A necklace, bracelet or couple rings maybe?" The lady asked her as Krystal just grinned shyly.

"Can we take a look at your rings collection?" Eunjin was the one who answered which caused Krystal to look at her with a confused expression.

"Sure, madam. This way please." 

The two of them followed the lady to a corner of the shop where the rings were nicely placed. The salesperson took out a few rings to show Krystal, who looked at them with interest. Krystal tried on some of the rings as she received a few praises from the salesperson about her slender fingers.

Eunjin just sat beside Krystal and observed the whole conversation between Krystal and the lady. They were in the shop for almost 45mins before Krystal thanked the lady for her great service and apologised since she was not going to purchase any of it.

"It's okay. Maybe one day, if you're interested to get a ring, you might want to consider coming back here to purchase it. We do provide personalised rings too but that will come with a higher price tag." The kind lady explained in details as Eunjin and Krystal nodded their heads before thanking her again.

Both Eunjin and Krystal left the shop and had only walked a few steps away when they heard someone calling Krystal's name again. Turning behind, a frown appeared on Krystal's face when she realised that the person who had called her was Jongin.

"Hey, it must be my lucky day to bump into you." Jongin said with a wide smile, totally ignoring Eunjin's presence as Krystal glared at him. "I saw you walking out from the jewellery store. Bought anything?"

"I was just looking around." Krystal replied as she wrapped her hand around Eunjin's arm. "Anyway, I'm late for an appointment so I shall take my leave first."

"Don't tell me your girlfriend couldn't afford to buy you anything from that store since it's well-known to be quite on the expensive side. I thought the article said that she's one of the young successful uprising businesswomen or did the reporter report it wrongly?" Jongin chuckled at his own remarks. "It's your birthday tomorrow, right? Want me to get you anything from the store as your present? I can afford it. No worries."

By now, Krystal was already losing her patience and was about to say something to Jongin for his rudeness when Eunjin intercepted her.

"Jongin-shi. Annyeong." Eunjin held out her hand for a handshake which Jongin reluctantly shook. "It's obvious to me that you seem to have poor eyesight because you didn't notice me at all. Anyway, on behalf of Krystal, I thanked you for your offer but I think my girlfriend has already stated it clearly that we're actually late for an appointment. So unless you have hearing problems too along with your poor eyesight, I suggest that this conversation ends here."

Jongin looked stunned at Eunjin's blatant and firm words as he stood there speechless. Krystal smirked at his reactions and turned away while pulling Eunjin along. When they were a distance away, Krystal slowed down her walking speed and turned to face her girlfriend.

"Yah.. Did you know that you sound so cool just now when you spoke to that butthead?" Krystal giggled cutely as Eunjin just smiled. "I was on the verge of swearing at him before you intercepted. How dare he looked down at you like that? You could easily afford to buy me the whole store if I wanted it."

"Whole store? Aigoo, I'm not that rich, Krystal-ah. It's a jewellery store, not a toy store. Maybe I could afford to buy a toy store but obviously not a jewellery store." Eunjin shook her head and pouted cutely, causing Krystal to giggle even further. 

"I was just kidding, Stupid. Aigoo.. you're really a pabo, do you know that?" Krystal slapped Eunjin's shoulders lightly.

"Your one and only pabo." Eunjin replied as Krystal meronged at her before walking away.

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

"Thank you for the dinner. I'm glad that everything has been sorted out." Gong Myung said as I just smiled at him. We were almost done with our dinner and were currently enjoying our dessert. "Anyway, Happy advance Birthday, Krystal. What do you want for a present?"

I turned to look at Krystal who seemed to be thinking as a smile appeared on my face since I found her actions cute. 

"How about money? I can't think of anything yet right now. Maybe I'll get something later." Krystal grinned cheekily.

"Money? Yah, your girlfriend owns a shipping company. You can just ask for it from her." Gong Myung teased Krystal who glared at her.

"Do you think I'm with her because she's rich? You asked me what I wanted for a birthday present so I answered you." Krystal gritted her teeth and showed her fist at Gong Myung who flinched a little before he quickly apologised. "Talking about this, reminded me about that butthead earlier."

Krystal continued to explain about what happend to Gong Myung who shook his head continuously while listening to her explanation.

"Wow. That Jongin is really dumb. Don't tell me he didn't know about Eunjin's status?" Gong Myung asked as I just shrugged my shoulders.

"He did mentioned about the article which didn't actually mention anything about her company. So maybe he didn't believe it or maybe he thinks that Eunjin is a small time businesswomen." Krystal tried to guess as Gong Myung laughed. "Jongin's father owned a furniture company which he claimed to be quite big. So I guess he thinks that he is richer than her."

"Maybe he is richer than me. Who knows." I replied as Krystal just rolled her eyes and waved a finger at me.

"Anni, anni. I went to search online for his father's company, so I can confidently say that you are way richer than him. At least 10 times more. He was just bragging about his father's company during Unnie's wedding." Krystal replied as a thought came to my mind but before I could say it out, Gong Myung had already said it.

"Why did you even took the effort to search for his father's company? And why are you even comparing him with Eunjin?" Gong Myung asked with a teasing tone.

"I actually had the same thought too." I said as Gong Myung lifted up his hand for us to high-five each other before both of us burst out laughing.

"Yah!!" Krystal glared at us and pouted as she folded her arms. "I had no such intention of comparing both of them. In terms of mannerism and looks, they are worlds apart. I'm just verifying what he had arrogantly told us before."

Both me and Gong Myung continued to until our dessert finished. Gong Myung wanted to foot the bill but I told him that it was my treat since I was the one who invited him for dinner. We parted ways after we went out of the restaurant with Gong Myung, who kept saying that he owe me a meal and promised to treat me when we're back in Seoul.

"That was actually quite fun." Krystal said as we walked hand in hand towards the carpark.

"What was fun? The teasings?" I replied cheekily as Krystal slapped me on my shoulders. "I'm glad that Gong Myung is engaged to your cousin."

"Wae? You're scared that I would fall for him?" Krystal questioned me.

"He seems like a pretty decent guy and he's good-looking too." I replied just as we reached the car. I pressed the button to open the car door for Krystal as she took a seat inside. Pulling the seat belt acrossed Krystal's body and locked it, I was surprised when Krystal leaned in to kiss me on my cheek.

"I'm already in love with you so it doesn't matter if a hundred decent guys came by. My heart already belongs to you." 

Our gazes locked into each other and for a moment, we stayed still in that position before I leaned in to kiss her on her lips. When I pulled myself apart from her, Krystal had a shy smile on her face as I just chuckled at her expression before making my way to the driver's seat.

It took us about 20 mins to reach the hotel. When we went up to the room, I told Krystal to open the door since I had my hands full with the shoppings that we did earlier. When she walked in, Krystal gasped in surprise.

"Oh my god. This is so sweet." 

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart." I gave her a back hug after putting the shopping bags at the corner. "I asked the hotel to prepare this for you by midnight. It's already 5mins after 12 now."

Krystal lifted up her hand to look at her watch as she didn't noticed the time earlier.

"Did you purposely took your own sweet time at the reception counter earlier because of this?" Krystal asked as I nodded my head. "Thank you so much. I really love it."

"And I love you." I said before leaning in to kiss her on the lips. "Would you like to have some champagne?"

"Are you trying to make me drunk?" Krystal replied with a cheeky smile as she made her way towards the couch while I just shook my head. "In that case, can I open up my present tonight?"

"Present? But I didn't get you anything." I replied but I was surprised when Krystal pointed her finger at me. "Me?"

I finally understood what Krystal meant as a wide smile appeared on my face while I made my way towards her.