Krystal’s POV

I woke up in the early hours of the morning. I could see that the sun had not even risen yet. I yawned, then stretched my limbs across the bed. After staring at the ceiling for a while, I sat up properly. I had already been tossing and turning for some time. I gave up on trying to sleep again. The house was warm and inviting. But-

“Why does it still feel so cold in this room…” I shivered.

‘Or is it just empty?’ I thought

I scanned my eyes over the room. It was cold and empty in this room. Except for the children’s drawings and photographs. I went to have a closer look at the photographs. They were the only source of color in this room. I found myself looking at a kid smiling brightly at their friends, ignoring the camera. Last night I was eager to go to sleep, but now that I’m restless - I need something to occupy my mind. I examined it closely and saw that in one other photo, Amber was generally ignoring the camera. As she seemed more preoccupied in making the others laugh for the camera. I could tell that, because she was either pulling a weird face or tickling the others. I felt myself smile a bit. I quickly replaced that smile with a poker face. 

‘How can someone that cute grow up to be a jerk who walks up to people and says: You’re ugly?!’ my teeth gritted at the thought

I’m still pissed that she would say that in a crowded room to me.

I saw another picture of Amber, this time in her doctor uniform. I was still mad over thought I just had. I saw a marker on the nightstand and was tempted to draw horns on her. Instead I decided to take the high road and be the bigger person. 

So I drew fangs instead.

I smiled at my masterpiece and laughed a little to myself. That may have been a bad introduction the other day, but I’m not falling for any more tricks. From Anyone. 

I heard a noise come from the other room, causing me to flinch a bit. I opened the door and saw Amber sitting on the couch with her laptop. She didn’t look up from her laptop or even hear me approaching her. The light was shining on her skin from the device. Jack jack came running in and nearly tripped me over. He had a ball in his mouth. I figured that was the noise that startled me. Amber was on autopilot. She typed with one hand and grabbed the ball from the dog. She raised the ball in her hand and was aiming it in my direction. My eyes widened, I quickly said:

“Amb-” 

“Omg!” Amber shouted in fear, she threw the ball at me like it was a weapon. 

It bounced off of me. 

I mouthed the word Wow and shook my head. Amber was clutching her heart, wide eyes were displayed on her face and everything else that may show I scared the hell out of her. I couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.

“I’m sorry, I was just-” I cut her off from explaining.

“Scared?” I grinned.

She seemed to shrink behind that laptop, it was funny to watch her squirm. 

“No!” she denied “Jack jack! Attack!”

Jack jack trotted up to me and started my legs. I caught sight of Amber face palming herself. 

“Dork.”I said.

“Ouch.” she replied “Okay, so today we will…”

Amber went over what will happen to me today. It will be okay, she reassured me. I don’t really care, but something about the passion behind her words sparked some hope inside me. She instructed me to go back to sleep, because it will be a long day tomorrow.

Amber’s POV

Morning arrived, which means it was time to prepare Krystal for her treatment. On my way to the room she was sleeping in, all the apprehension I felt yesterday vanished when I saw her sleeping figure. She looked peaceful and less angry in her sleep. It wasn’t as uncomfortable being around her like this. I let out a small sigh.

‘Here goes nothing.’

I was about to reach out to her, but I thought better of it. Especially after my fight with Jessica. I decided to just open the curtains.

A groan was heard and I smiled knowing she was awake.

“Good morning-”

“Shh.” Krystal said.

I looked at her and she was back to looking pissed off as usual. 

‘What happened to you?’ I thought to myself ‘I prefer it when you look peaceful.’

I wondered about what she must have been dreaming about or why the only time she lets her guard down is when she’s unconscious. Nevertheless, I rolled my eyes at her and said it’s time to start preparations. She blinked and nodded slowly. Probably processing that there was no time to waste. 

“Don’t worry, this will be over before you know it.”

There was silence. I found it odd, I was expecting her to say some witty comeback like: Thank god, I can’t wait to leave. Instead she was staring at the bed sheets, after a while she spoke with a small voice:

“Will it hurt?”

I sensed her vulnerability. I caught me off guard. I moved closer to her, gaining her attention. She watched me as I kneeled down next to the bed. I offered a sweet smile.

“No.” I paused “Because I’ll knock you out first.” I cracked my knuckles and laughed theatrically. 

Krystal’s jaw dropped. Shock took over her.

“All those times you hit me and now I get to-” 

Before I could finish my sentence my face came in contact with a pillow. 

“Sorry” I apologized. 

I moved the pillow to check on her reaction, she was back to normal. No more fear was present on her face, except she had a soft look in her eyes. 

‘Why is she looking at me like that…’

I shook off my confusion then pulled out my phone to call Minho. 

“It’s time.”

Krystal’s POV

I was grateful for Amber cheering me up. She really hasn’t changed since she was a child. She still focuses on others and tries her best to make others smile. Even someone like me. 

I was laying on the operation bed. My heart was beating fast due to my nervousness. Minho arrived and I felt relieved to see a familiar face. He gave Amber a thumbs up after all the preparations were made. I could sense Minho’s anxiety, but I saw determination in his eyes. Amber looked at me and smiled. It was a confident one. As Amber had promised, she knocked me out. Everything went black as I lost consciousness.