Krystal had been stealing glances at her phone for the past 30mins as she tried her best to concentrate on the lecture that was on-going. Looking at the clock that was hung in the middle of the auditorium, she fidgeted and bit her lips. 

'Why does today's class seem to take so long to end?'

She mumbled to herself before stealing another quick glance at her phone.

'It should be almost to midnight now in Seoul. Did she lose her phone again?'

Just when that thought came to mind, the bell rang as Krystal immediately grabbed her belongings before dumping everything into her bag. She was about to stand up from her seat when someone blocked her way.

"Hey Krys, do you want to work on this project together?"

Krystal looked up and a frown appeared on her face when she saw Jongin grinning at her. 

"I'm so sorry but I'm fine by myself." Krystal replied as she stood up and was about to walk away when Jongin continued to block her way.

"Please, Krystal. I really need help with this project. If I don't do well, I might not be able to graduate. Even the lecturer is suggesting to me to seek your help because you're good at this subject." 

Krystal almost lost her patience because she was actually starting to be worried about Eunjin, who had not replied to any of her messages since two hours ago. Even when she called her, Eunjin didn't pick up her call.

"Jongin, I'm really sorry but I'm not in a condition to argue with you on this matter. There's other students in our class and some of them are even better than me. Honestly, it's not because I don't want to help you but something is bothering me at the moment so I really need to go."

Jongin tried to continue talking but Krystal brushed him aside and dashed out of the auditorium to find a quiet place to call Eunjin.

"Why is she not picking up? Is she already asleep? But she won't do that without informing me." Krystal mumbled to herself as she checked on Eunjin's last message which was telling her that she was done with work and was getting ready to go home.

Just when Krystal was about to dial Eunjin's number again, her phone vibarated and her sister's name appeared on the screen. She quickly answered the call.

"Hi Unnie."

"Wow.. I'm surprised that you answered the call so quickly. I only heard the ringing tone twice before hearing your voice."

"I was about to use my phone when you called. That's why I managed to answer it quickly. So, what's with the sudden phone call?"

"I've got good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"

Krystal frowned as she bit her lips and took a deep breathe. She replied to Jessica that she wanted to hear the bad news first.

"Bad news is, Eunjin's in the hospital. She got into an accident." Jessica didn't took long to inform her sister as she heard a gasping sound from Krystal. "Good news is, her injuries are not that bad. She broke three of her fingers on her left hand and had some abrasions on her left shoulders and left knee. And oh, her phone was damaged."

"Oh my god? That was suppose to be the good news? It seems like she was badly hurt.  How did that happened? No wonder she didn't reply my messages or answer my call." Krystal started to blabber continuously.

"Her motorbike skidded. It was raining earlier. I guess the road was slippery." 

"Is she there? Can I talk to her?" Krystal requested with a worried tone as Jessica replied that the doctors were doing some checks on Eunjin at the moment. 

"I'll ask her to call you back once it's done." Jessica suggested.

"Anni, Unnie. It should be quite late already in Seoul, right? Just tell her that you had informed me and tell her to get some rest for the night. She can call me in the morning." 

The two sisters continued talking for a while before they ended the phone call as Krystal noticed that she had received messages from Luna and Sulli. They told her that they would be waiting for her at the school canteen so Krystal quickly made her way to that direction.

10mins later Krystal met up with the two girls and broke the news to them. Not surprising, the two girls were worried about Eunjin too as they joined the queue to grab some quick lunch.

"Are you going to be okay, Krystal?" Luna asked with concern since Krystal has been quiet ever since she informed them about the accident. "You seem to be in deep thoughts."

"Are you planning to fly back to Seoul to visit Eunjin-unnie?" Sulli asked which caused Krystal to look at her, as if she had said something weird.

"Of course not. I'm just thinking of asking Eunjin to stop riding and maybe, purchase a car instead. It's dangerous for her to ride especially during rainy season." Krystal let out a sigh. 

"She will be fine. Don't worry too much. Your unnie and your family are there to look after her. Along with the other unnies." Luna tried to console Krystal who just nodded her head.

They were making their way out of the cafetaria when Sulli nudged Krystal's shoulders and pointed to something to her. From a distance, Krystal saw Jongin talking to their lecturer and it seemed like he was pleading with the female teacher.

"Do you think he got into any trouble? He seemed to be begging her for something." Sulli commented and Krystal was about to ask her to ignore them when she heard her name being called.

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

Yuri just stared blankly at the direction of Eunjin, who was conversing with the doctors. An arm wrapped up against hers as she turned to face her wife, who smiled at her.

"You called Krystal?" Yuri asked as Jessica nodded her head. "How did she react to it? Did she say that she wants to fly back right now to look after Eunjin?"

"Don't exaggerate. She didn't have such a reaction. She wanted to talk to Eunjin but I told her that the doctors were checking on her. I asked if she wanted Eunjin to call her back but she told me to ask Eunjin to rest for the night and call her in the morning instead."

Yuri arched her eyebrow in surprised with Krystal's calm reaction before she noticed that the doctors were making their way out of the room. She pulled Jessica along towards the bed where Eunjin was resting with her head against the headrest.

"How are you feeling?" Yuri asked as she lifted Eunjin left hand slowly to look at her cast around her fingers. "This is the first time I saw a cast for broken fingers."

Eunjin replied that she was fine except for some slight discomfort around her shoulders.

"The doctor said that since I had an injury before, he might need to check on it again. So I will need to go for an x-ray tomorrow to check on my left shoulder. By the way, did you help me to inform Krystal about what happened? She must be feeling worried since I have not contacted her after leaving the office earlier."

"Oh yes. You dislocated your left shoulder during the kidnapping incident, right? Anyway, Sica already called to inform her sister about this accident. Surprisingly, Krystal seemed quite calm. I was expecting her to say that she'll be flying back to check on you." Yuri admitted her thoughts as Eunjin just smiled and shook her head.

"She's busy preparing her final thesis. 4 more months and she'll be coming home."

"By the way, are you sure the car swerved slightly to your side on purpose?" Jessica asked as Eunjin paused a moment before nodding her head.

"I've submitted my motorbike camera to the police for investigation. I had already explained to them that I had skidded because I was trying to avoid collision with a car that kept coming close to me from my right side. Lucky for me, I've been monitoring the car ever since I left the building so I think the camera managed to get a footage of the car."

"Did you mentioned about the car to Krystal?" Yuri turned to her wife and asked but Jessica shook her head.

"I only told her half the truth, since we are still not sure about the intention of the car driver. Eunjin did skidded from her motorbike and injured herself. I guess that's good enough for Soojung to know. I don't want her to get all worked up if I told her that someone had tried to hurt Eunjin." Jessica explained her action as Eunjin showed her a thumbs up.

"Hopefully the driver was just tipsy." Eunjin replied before asking Yuri and Jessica to return home, thanking them for being there with her for the past few hours.

"We'll come by tomorrow, most probably with the other girls. Rest well then. I'll go and get you another phone before I come tomorrow." Yuri waved goodbye as she and Jessica exited the room.

Eunjin's POV

The moment the door closed, I sat up straight and stared into the ceiling. Letting out a heavy sigh, I thought back about what had been happening the past two months. 

Mr Ok, my former Head of Logistics, tendered his resignation within 24hrs just like I intructed him to. Everyone was taken aback and as usual, rumors started to float around the company. No one had a clear answer to it and since he left abruptly, they couldn't find out the truth.

Mr Shin on the other hand was told to leave the company, two weeks after Mr Ok resigned. He didn't look surprised when I told him that he was fired during a meeting that I had purposely held just to inform him of the news. After all the Head of Department left the conference room, Mr Shin walked up to me and said that I would regret my decision as he would sue me for unfair dismissal.

For the next one month, the court ordeal took place as Mr Shin really sued the company but in the end, he lost the case. With Harabeoji's support and also solid proof of his participation in the embezzlement of the company's fund, everything ended.

While I was still lost in my own thoughts, I fell asleep without knowing.

The next day, I was woken up by the nurse who informed me that I was scheduled for a shoulder scan. I followed her and it took about an hour before I returned back to my room. By then, Harabeoji and Halmeoni had arrived to visit me.

We talked for another hour, with Halmeoni being overly worried about me. She kept asking if my shoulders were fine since the doctor had requested for it to be scan. 

"At the moment, my shoulders feels fine, Halmeoni. There were some discomfort yesterday after the fall but after resting for the night, it feels much better."

"Yeobo, how many times do you want to keep asking about her shoulder? The doctor already had it scanned and we should just wait for the result. Hopefully there's nothing wrong." Harabeoji commented as he shook his head at his wife.

"I'm just worried, that's all. Remember the kidnapping incident? She came back wearing shoulder brace." Halmeoni stated out her reason as she pointed at me.

I was about to tell her again, not to worry when my room door opened and Yuri walked in with Taeyeon and Sunny. We greeted each other before Yuri handed me a new phone.

"I've already keyed in all the necessary contacts in that phone, just in case you can't remember the phone numbers." Yuri smirked arrogantly as if she felt very proud about what she had did without being told to.

"Thanks, Yul." I took the phone and showed her a thumb up. "By the way, it's lunch time now so I guessed that the 3 of you have not had your lunch yet right?"

"That's right. Which is why we brought food. To eat with you. Harabeoji and Halmeoni, you can join us too. There's plenty to go around." Sunny said politely as she showed the bags that she and Taeyeon were carrying.

"Tiffany and Jessica said that they could only come over after work so the Sooyoung, Yoona and Seohyun decided to tag along with them later. Me and Yuri will also be coming again later." Taeyeon explained as I just nodded my head.

"I'm just going to give Krystal a call first before she goes to sleep. You guys go ahead and I'll join in later." 

Krystal's POV

I had just finished stretching my body after sitting in front of my laptop for a few hours. Preparing for the final thesis, I let out a heavy sigh. I guessed I was feeling a little drained at the moment.

I was about to continue typing when my phone rang. I didn't recognised the number but it was from Seoul so I cautiously answered it.

"Yeoboseyo?"

"Hi, sweetheart. It's me."

"Eunjin? How are you feeling at the moment? Were you hurt badly from the accident?" A frown appeared on my face even though I felt a sense of relief to hear her voice.

"Just some scratches, here and there. Some broken fingers and I went to check on my shoulders this morning. Hopefully, there's nothing bad."

"Are you alone at the hospital? Have you eaten?" I took a glance at the small clock on my table and did a quick calculation on the time difference. "It should be almost lunch time there, right?"

Eunjin confirmed my question as she replied that her grandparents were there, along with Yuri, Sunny and Taeyeon. She continued explaining that the other girls would be coming in the later afternoon.

"Since you broke your fingers, you won't be able to ride for the time being. Furthermore, it's been raining in Seoul lately. So how do you plan to get to work?"

"I'm not sure yet. I haven't really thought about that. Maybe I would request to be on medical leave until you return, then you can drive me to work everyday." Eunjin chuckled at her own suggestion.

"If you're really on medical leave for that long, might as well you fly here and accompany me. I'm feeling very stressed up at the moment." I let out a sigh.

"Accompany you? Shouldn't you be the one who's accompanying me?" Eunjin chuckled again. "Is it very hard for you at the moment? Because of the thesis or the project? Or the person you have to work with?"

I bit my lips and let out a heavier sigh, without saying a word. Eunjin knew that I was working on my final project with Jongin. Even though it was an individual submission, I had to work with Jongin. I didn't know how he managed to convince the lecturer about the arrangement but she came to look for me and advised for both of us to work alongside each other. 

"Did he do something to piss you off?" Eunjin asked after I kept my silence.

"Not really. Sulli and Luna are usually with me at the library while I go through my project with him, so it's not that bad. But sometimes, he just irked me for no apparent reason."

I heard a short giggle from Eunjin before hearing someone calling out to her to eat. 

"You should go and join them. I'm going off to sleep soon anyway. Do take care and update me often about your condition."

"I will. Anyway, save this number. Yuri got me a new phone. By the way, I hope you don't stress yourself too much. Have plenty of rest and proper meals. Hwaiting!"

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

"Krystal, why don't we go to a cafe tody instead of the library? We can have some drinks and snack while we share ideas on our project." Jongin walked up to where Krystal was seated as the girl was busy packing up her stuff.

"Sulli and Luna are already waiting for us at the library." Krystal answered without even looking up to him.

"Talking about them, I'm just wondering as to why they always have to be around when we are doing our discussion. They are not even in the same course as us. I don't really see the need to always hang out with them."

This time round, Krystal looked up and gave Jongin a cold glare. 

"They are my friends and the library is open to every student. There's nothing wrong with them being there."

"I'm not saying that it's wrong. It's just..." Jongin looked a little taken aback with Krystal's constant cold glare as he couldn't complete his sentence. "Never mind. Let's just proceed to the library then."

Both of them walked side by side as they left the lecture hall to proceed to the library which was about 20mins away. Through the time, Krystal kept playing with her phone, trying her best to avoid any conversations with Jongin. Without her realising, two bicycles were heading towards her with the riders busy chatting with one another and not noticing Krystal in their path.

They realised it almost too late but Jongin managed to pull her aside as she ended up resting against his chest.

The two of them stood in that position for a few seconds as the riders also braked a few metres away from them. Thinking that it was their fault for not looking forward, the two riders apologised.

"We're so sorry. Is your girlfriend okay? Both of you are not hurt, right?"

Hearing their questions, Krystal pushed herself away from Jongin and looked at them.

"It's okay. We're fine." Jongin replied with a smile.

"I'm sorry too. I was busy playing with my phone that I didn't see both of you coming my way. Anyway, I'm not his girlfriend."

The two riders apologised again for the wrongful assumptions before they parted ways. All these while, Jongin remained silent before he let out a sigh and picked up his  bag that had fall off when he was trying to save Krystal.

"Watch where you are going. You could have colided with the bicycles. Even if you hate talking to me, at least stop staring into your phone. It's dangerous." He said in a solemn tone before continuing to walk, leaving Krystal behind.

His actions and words caused Krystal to feel a little guilty of her attitude towards him but she didn't know what to do as she followed Jongin from behind until they reached the library.

Sulli and Luna welcomed Krystal with a smile at their usual table but noticed a weird atmopshere between both of them as Jongin placed his belongings before making his way towards the shelves. 

"Pssst... Did something happen?" Sulli leaned in towards Krystal who had sat down beside her. "Why does Jongin look so solemn?"

Krystal let out a sigh and explained what happened earlier as Sulli and Luna listened attentively.

"So you ended up hugging him?" Sulli asked as Krystal shook her head, explaining that he was hugging her while she was just leaning on his chest. "Ouuhhh... He must be upset that you told those guys that you were not his girlfriend. It's like a blow to his ego."

"But it's the truth. I'm not his girlfriend and I'm even someone else fiancee." 

"Did you even thank him for saving you?" Luna's question caused Krystal to bit her lips and shook her head slowly. "Instead of trying to straighten out the truth with strangers who had accidentally assumed about both of your status, isn't it more important to thank the person who had prevented the incident?"

"I guess I was just taken aback when they said that I was his girlfriend and he didn't even rebutt it."

"Maybe Jongin was the least concerned about their assumptions and was just thankful that you're okay, which was why he didn't say anything about their assumptions. The fact that he knew you  played with your phone to avoid talking to him, could already hurt his feelings in a way." Luna tried to explain her thoughts on the situation.

They couldn't continue talking as Jongin returned to the table with a few books in his hand. He continued to remain in silence, doing his own things unlike his usual style of always asking Krystal about a lot of stuff.

His silence caused Krystal to feel even more guilty throughout the stay in the library as Sulli and Luna kept exchanging glances with her. In the end, Krystal tried to break the silence by talking to Jongin.

"Hey, about earlier. Thanks for saving me." 

"You're welcome." Jongin replied without lifting his head as he continued staring at his drawings.

With his short reply, Krystal became speechless again as she didn't expect him to react in that manner. Sulli nudged her shoulder and Krystal diverted her attention towards her friend. Giving some signals, Krystal understood what Sulli was asking and nodded her head.

"Hey, me and Sulli are going to the Ladies. We'll be getting some drinks from the vending machine on our way back. Do you want anything, Jongin?" Krystal looked at him as she asked the question cautiously.

"It's okay. I'm not thirsty."

Once again Jongin replied without looking up towards her as Krystal frowned. She left the table with Sulli as both of them made their way to the Ladies. Once inside, Sulli started giggling, causing Krystal to be confused.

"What are you giggling about?"

"It's the first time I saw your guilty conscience face and you looked so constipated." Sulli replied as Krystal showed her fist at her. "But on a serious note, I've never seen Jongin act in that manner. He's usually so thick-skinned that he didn't seem to be bothered with any of our sarcasm. Do you really think that he's offended or hurt in any way? He didn't even looked at you when you talked to him. I find that rude though."

"I did that to him earlier. At the end of our lecture, before we make our way to the library." Krystal bit her lips after hearing what Sulli had commented as she narrated what happened after the class ended. "Was I really being rude?"

"Kind of.. And you even glared at him after being rude. Then you ignored him all the way. If I was him, I might be a little hurt too." 

"I guess I did went too far this time round." Krystal replied with a heavy sigh as she looked at herself in the mirror.

The two of them left the restroom after 10 mins and walked towards the vending machine. They bought drinks for themselves, Luna and also Jongin, even though he had said that he didn't want any.

When they arrived back at the table, only Luna was there. Krystal placed the drinks on the table and started looking around. They had seen Luna alone earlier when they were walking in and thought that Jongin had went to look for some books again.

"He already left." Luna said when she noticed Krystal looking around. "5 mins after both of you went out, he stood up and told me that he was going back to his own place to continue his project. He said that he was not feeling that well and told me to pass this note to you."

Krystal reached out for the little paper in Luna's hand and opened it.

To Krystal,

Thank you for all your help all this while, even though I know that you did it unwillingly. I'll manage on my own from now on and won't bother you any further. All the best for your final thesis and project. I hope both of us will get the results that we've always wanted to achieve. Take care. Hwaiting.

p/s: I know that you could never be mine. But I want you to know that I really appreciate the friendship between us. 

From Jongin.