Amber is tuning her guitar when Luna returns, breathless and her cheeks tinted pink from the strong cold winds outside the student centre building. Fallen leaves from last autumn skids across the flagstones to clog up the drain grates. Amber strums an A chord and does a simplistic riff. “Did you finish posting up the flyers?”

 

“I did,” Luna says, divesting herself of her beanie and her fuzzy scarf that she drapes over the vacant chair. “Did you?”

 

Amber nods. “Of course. I’m not that lazy.”

 

“Just checking,” Luna grins and sits down beside Amber. “I think we already have a few interested patrons wanting to buy.” She points to the small group of students that have gathered in the student centre foyer. In their hands is the Lunber Musicians flyer. “It’s only the first day but there are already a lot of people. At this rate, we’re going to have to ask for volunteer musicians to cover every request.”

 

The older girl sets her guitar on her stand and grabs a notebook and the money box from the locked drawer of their desk. “Get them in here and we’ll see.”

 

The group of students flock into the cramped office space Amber managed to beg off Jessica Jung, the president of student activities, in exchange for a few favours, such as Amber and Luna playing in a few of her parties. One by one, the students paid five dollars to hire Amber and Luna to sing a song to someone they like, or as a prank to one of their friends. It amuses Amber that a bulk of the prank jamagrams, as the musical valentines are called, asks her to sing Let’s Get it On by Marvin Gaye.

 

So far, their duo raised fifty dollars. Amber scribbles the details of the performance: who paid for it, for whom it is, and the general time and place of the performance, when Valentine’s Day comes.

 

“Excuse me,” a young man with a pale complexion steps into the recently vacated office. Amber twirls her pen and flexes her wrist. “Is this where I buy a jamagram?”

 

“Five bucks for one of these songs, dude.” She says, pointing to the flyer that has the small list of songs.

 

“I want a custom one,” he says after perusing the list.

 

“It’s going to cost you twice as much,” Amber warns. “Do you have a song in mind?”

 

The younger man hesitates. “I… I don’t, actually.”

 

Amber tries to hide her frustration as she removes her snapback and rakes her fingers through her cropped blonde hair. She sighs. “Well, how about this: tell me your name and who you want me to sing to, and the general theme of the song you want us to sing. Like, do you want something to expose your feelings, something romantic?”

 

He nods. “Something romantic, for sure. But I can’t really think of a song off the top of my head,” he scratches the back of his hand. “Anyway, my name is Sungjae, and I want you to sing this song to Krystal Jung.”

 

///

 

“What’s that you got there, Krystal?” Sulli approaches her, holding two tall coffee cups in her hand, the top covered with a cloud of whipped cream and powdered chocolate. Krystal makes a pleased sound as she a bit of the whipped cream before stirring it into her coffee.

 

“A flyer thing,” she says. “You get to pay five dollars to a pair of musicians and they’ll sing to someone for you.” Krystal crumples up the flyer and tosses it into the trash. “It sounds troublesome to be on the receiving end of it. Can you imagine how embarrassing it would be?”

 

Sulli sips on her drink and together they walk into the cool outdoors, the wind rushing past them. “I don’t know, but I think you’ll be getting a few of those jamagram things. You’re pretty popular in our classes, in case you haven’t noticed.”

 

Krystal scrunches her nose at that. “I notice, but I just ignore them. If I pay attention to one person, they’ll all think they would have a chance and I don’t want to encourage any of them.”

 

Sulli grins and nudges Krystal with her hip. “You’re so mean sometimes, but oh well. What would you do if you do get one?”

 

“Ugh, I don’t know,” Krystal mutters, chewing on the plastic straw of her drink. “I’ll probably try to walk away. If they chase after me, I’m going to run. I did do track in high school.”

 

Laughing, Sulli loops her arms around Krystal as they head to the library building to find a desk where they can study in relative silence.

 

In the same building but downstairs, Amber is running through the halls to get to class after a short rehearsal with Luna and a few volunteers so they can partition the alarming amount of requests they received. While she’s running, her mind is still preoccupied. Sungjae’s song request nags the back of her head, because even though he already paid the ten bucks, he still has no song in mind, and Valentine’s Day is coming up, and fast.

 

‘You know what, screw him,’ Amber thinks out of frustration. ‘I’ll still sing to Krystal, but I’m going to pick the song!’

 

///

 

Valentine’s Day is today, and nothing is new in the air. Amber finishes the morning performances with Luna, and with her guitar strapped to her back, they head to the food court for some lunch. Amber buys herself a large cup of bubble tea and fries, while Luna heads off to buy something healthier. She returns with a sandwich and a salad, making a comment on Amber’s lunch choices which the older girl ignores.

 

“We have a few more performances left,” Luna says. “Thanks to the volunteers, it went by faster than expected.”

 

Amber nods. “I think I have three more performances to do.” She looks at her phone to check the list.

“But what about that one for Jessica’s little sister? Did that boy get back to you on the song he wants you to sing?”

 

Amber snorts and shakes her head. “No, which is really annoying. But he paid, so I’m still singing something. But don’t worry. I thought about it all night.”

 

“Do you even know who she is?”

 

“I’ve seen her around once or twice,” Amber says, stuffing fries into . “She’s really hard to miss.” Luna shoots her a look. “What?”

 

“Nothing!”

 

“Luna,” Amber says with a narrowed glare.

 

The girl just smiles and ignores her friend. “Anyway, what’s the song you plan on singing?”

 

“That’s a secret.” Amber drains her bubble tea cup and finishes the rest of her food. “I’m gonna finish the rest of the jamagrams,” she says, checking her watch. She bids Luna goodbye and with her guitar hitting her back with every step, Amber heads back to the quad, rubbing her palms together to warm up her fingers.

 

Truth be told, Krystal is the one girl Amber can’t seem to ignore. In the entirety of the campus, she can almost sense whether the girl is within the same space as her, and it’s a little unnerving. She barely said two words to the girl, for crying out loud! But still, as Amber performs two prank renditions of Bump n’ Grind for amused students, in the back of her head, she is steeling herself for her upcoming performance.

 

After the songs, they thank her and Amber smiles. She hurries away to search for Krystal, her heartbeat thundering inside her chest. Finding the classroom, she waits outside until class ends and people start to stream out of the classroom. Some throw her a knowing look, some throw her a thumbs up, though Amber is unsure why for. When she sees Krystal emerge, however, she realizes that her stomach is weak and so are her knees.

 

“Krystal?” Amber calls out, and the long-haired girl looks up from her book. A look of recognition dawns upon her gorgeous brown eyes, and then horror. Amber bites the inside of her lip and together they stand there, staring at each other.

 

“Play something!” Someone shouts, and Amber in a breath. She positions her guitar to her hip and plucks a guitar pick from her pocket. Without looking at her fingers on the fret board thanks to muscle memory, Amber locks eyes with Krystal’s and begins to sing:

 

“I don’t know but I think may be

Fallin’ for you, dropping so quickly

Maybe I should keep this to myself

Waiting ‘till I know you better.”

 

 

So far, Krystal is still rooted to her spot which Amber takes as a good sign. She prepared herself for the worst, and that is having Krystal just walk away mid-song. She allows herself a small smile and continues to sing. Every word that spills out of , every chord her fingers strikes, Amber feels herself get more and more confident. And, to her surprise, believing the words of the song she is singing. She’s no longer singing as Sungjae, it seems, wherever he is.

 

 

“I can't stop thinking about it

I want you all around me

And now I just can't hide it

I think I'm fallin' for you.

I'm fallin' for you.”

 

 

Amber strikes the last chord, her voice lingering in the now quiet hallway. She lets a moment of silence pass before lowering her guitar to her side. “Um, so that was—”

“I know the song,” Krystal states. “Just because you sang a song well for me doesn’t automatically mean we’re dating.”

 

“I don’t—”

 

“But I wouldn’t say no to a date either.”

 

Amber stares at the girl, younger than her, but so domineering that Amber can’t help but feel charmed. She laughs a little and nods. “Okay. Do you want to go on a date with me, Krystal Jung?”

 

The younger girl looks at her for a moment before smiling, and Amber nearly doubles over. Her smile is so radiant, lighting up her entire face, that Amber’s heart skips a beat. “Sure.”

 

“Awesome.” Amber grins and they trade numbers. It’s not until Amber is walking Krystal to her next class that she remembers.

 

Sungjae.

 

‘Damn it,’ Amber thinks as she smiles and waves at Krystal. She leaves, her hands stuffed in her pockets. She wants to worry about the boy’s reaction when she tells her about what just happened, but her stomach is still doing backflips at the memory of Krystal’s smile that puts the sun to shame.

 

///

 

A week later, Amber walks down the street with Krystal’s hand in hers. Their fingers are laced together, and Krystal is laughing at something Amber is whispering in her ear. Krystal rears back and smacks Amber’s arm playfully. Their eyes meet and Amber catches Krystal’s gaze, flickering to .

 

Amber smiles and leans in to press a soft kiss against the corner of Krystal’s lips when she hears an indignant noise. “Hey!”

 

They both look toward the sound of the yelling and Amber swears softly. Sungjae stomps over to them, his ears and cheeks red. “I want my money back!”

 

Krystal looks at Amber, their fingers still locked together. “What’s he talking about?”

 

Amber is about to answer when Sungjae interrupts. “I was the one who paid for the jamagram for Valentine’s Day—she doesn’t really want to sing to you or even date you. I told her to sing it, and now she’s taking all the credit.”

 

“Oh, that.” Krystal shrugs. “She told me all about it. But I didn’t know you didn’t really want to date me, Am.” She nudges Amber, and the older girl laughs.

 

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be allowing you to freeload in my house every day for the past week.” Amber turns to Sungjae. “Look, I’m sorry things didn’t work out according to your plan, but to be honest, it’s your fault.” Sungjae shoots her an appalled look. “You didn’t give me song suggestions and you weren’t around to take the credit when I sang to her.”

 

“I was sick!”

 

“That’s not my problem,” Amber says. “I’m sorry, but—”

 

“Here,” Krystal reaches into her pocket and hands Sungjae a twenty dollar bill. “Your money back, and then some.”

 

She saunters away, and Sungjae and Amber share a look—Sungjae a look of confusion and sadness, and Amber a look of pity and adoration towards Krystal. She catches up to Krystal, her arm looping around the younger girl’s waist. Amber kisses her cheek and they continue walking, hand in hand.