(NEW POSTER THANKS TO MY LOVELY DONGSAENG, DEE. <3 I HAVEN'T GOTTEN TO USE IT UNTIL NOW BECAUSE...I...haven't updated...BUT ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL? <3 THANK YOU, DONGSAENG~~ ;3)

Chapter Seventeen: Someone Important

L fidgeted as he sat in one of the hair salon chairs, getting his hair styled for today’s magazine shoot. He played with his phone idly, frowning when he looked at the date that glared back at him. It had been far too long since he had last seen his (fake) girlfriend. Really, she was like the worst (fake) girlfriend in the world. No calls, or texts, or hang out invites or-

He stopped his thought process short.

But it’s not like he missed her or anything- no. No. Just. No. That would be silly!  Nope.

They are only “together”, in the loosest sense of the word, because he technically doesn’t even know if she is alive at the moment, by contract. So nope. There are no icky feelings that might be something akin to missing someone to be found.

But there is a contract.

And according to their contract, they were due for another public outing soon.

It is with thoughts like those that L then proceeds to flip through his contact list, eyeing the name “Krystal” very skeptically.

It took him five more seconds of intense glaring and skepticism before he practically pouts and presses the call button. (But not because he has missed her or anything- it’s in their contract, after all!)

It took twenty seconds for Krystal to pick up. Not that Myungsoo noticed or anything. “Hello?”

Myungsoo felt slightly inclined to smile- which then made him want to frown. Why did he want to smile anyway? (Okay, well, he kind of knew why.)

He internally stomped on whatever happiness he felt from hearing her speak. And because he has just stomped on all of that happiness, he can’t find himself greeting her back (in fear of letting the happy seep out), so he just cuts to the chase. “We need to meet up soon.”

Myungsoo heard Krystal let out a little sigh before she asked, “When?”

“Tomorrow?” L kind of wished he could take that back, because wow, he did not like how desperate he had just sounded.

There was an awkward pause before Krystal slowly said, “Sorry L, but I can’t go out tomorrow.”

“Why not?” he also kind of wished that he could just take those words back, because why should he care? With a noncommittal shrug, he figured that he just didn’t like being brushed off. Yeah. That was it.

There was a sheepish tone to her voice as she admitted, “I’m actually going somewhere with Minho oppa tomorrow.”

L felt his mouth go kind of dry as he scowled to himself. “Bye, then.” He clicked the button to end the call before even waiting for Krystal’s response.

From besides him, Sungjong grinned and asked, “Problems with the girlfriend?” It was a joint photo shoot today, with the main models being Sungjong and L. Sungjong had been minding his own business, idly chatting with the noona that was teasing his hair, before he noticed the frown on his favorite hyung’s face. It took him about three seconds to realize that his Myung hyung had been talking on the phone and that quite recently, there was only one person who could make Myungsoo frown like that. “I don’t know why you fight with Krystal so much.” he teased.

Miffed, L huffed and retorted, “I don’t fight with her that much. And besides, I don’t have a problem with her. I have problems with the fake boyfriends.” (He magically didn’t realize that by saying that, he said he had a problem with himself. He would much rather disregard that part.)

He glared at his mobile device like it was the most distasteful piece of technology on earth. “She said she couldn’t come to the company today because she has something to do with Choi Minho.”

Sungjong hummed thoughtfully. He vaguely knew about Krystal’s other boyfriends, but got confused from time to time. It was hard to keep track, after all. Myungsoo practically ranted about the both of them in the same way. “Is that the older one or the younger one?”

“The older one.”

Sungjong hummed thoughtfully again. So Krystal was out with the soccer-playing gentleman? No wonder his hyung was feeling grumpy. “But I thought you were okay with the older one? Isn’t it the younger one that you didn’t like?”

L pursed his lips thoughtfully, agreeing with the statement. He really didn’t like the younger one. “At least she didn’t blow me off for Taemin.” he said, taking a positive where he could see one. But as an afterthought, L added a sulky, “But I don’t really like Minho either.”

He remained irritated for the remainder of the day.

(Whereas Lee Sungjong was all sunshine and rainbows because he figured out quite quickly why L was so irritated- and proceeded to tease and taunt his hyung mercilessly.)

-

Krystal had to admit- she was more than curious when Minho asked her if she wanted to find out why he even called her in the first place. She remembered how unwilling he seemed in the beginning, which made her nod almost immediately at the offer. “Yeah, okay,” she said.

The only requirement to Krystal finding out the reason behind Minho’s call was if she didn’t ask any questions until they actually got there. She shrugged, but agreed to the conditions. She trusted Minho (even if he was a little liar and could totally ice skate- as stated by both Amber and Kibum).

They made an appointment to meet up with each other in a couple days, and that was that.

And now it was time.

(She felt marginally guilty for turning down L the day before, but she figured that he could handle a little bit of rejection. Besides- it’s not like he liked her enough to care, right? With that type of thought process, Krystal cheerfully got ready to go out with Minho.)

She had rushed out of her house, trying to their meeting place early; she wanted to beat Minho at his own game.

But of course, he would be one step ahead of her. As she neared the train platform, she realized with a frown that she recognized a rather tall, athletic figure. She stopped running immediately, choosing to rather stomp over.

“Twenty minutes early? Are you kidding me, Choi Minho?” she asked with a playful but irritated huff.

“I could say the same thing about you, Jung Krystal,” he teased, patting her head once as a show of affection. “And it is oppa- you’re not allowed to call me by my full name.”

It is probably out of pure spite of Minho foiling her plans of being earlier than the old gentleman that Krystal stubbornly says, “I can call you anything I want.”

Minho only patted her head once more before guiding her to the train.

“You’re horrible,” she complained. “When someone wants to be earlier than you, then you let them be earlier than you.” She let herself be led as Minho placed his hands on her shoulders and directed her gently towards their mode of transportation.

“But what if I want to be the one earlier than you?’ retorted Minho, directing her this way and that through the crowd.

“But I’m the girlfriend- anything I say automatically voids anything you say,” she huffed. “Isn’t that the right chivalrous thing to go by?”

“I’m chivalrous, not spineless,” was the dry response Krystal had gotten.

“…fair enough.” They boarded without any problems (besides Krystal fighting Minho for the right to carry her own luggage) and sat quietly as people filed into their seats.

They sat and waited quietly for everything to settle around them; a rather old couple sat next to occupied the row next to them and smiled softly as they took note of Krystal and Minho.

“Ah, young love~” What is supposedly meant to be a whisper from one person to another is completely heard by Krystal and Minho.

Krystal felt like indulging the couple a little by grinning and saying, “Is it that obvious?”

They looked completely unashamed at being caught whispering. “Oh, just a little dear.”

That made Minho grin a little because this couple, bless their hearts, could not have been more wrong. But, he supposed, that they did make a somewhat believable couple. (Or this couple just saw them fighting over Krystal’s bag not even five minutes ago- which made them kind of believable. Or possibly more than kind of.)

“Oh, you two make a beautiful couple.” The old woman sitting next to Minho (because Krystal had demanded for the window seat, to which she had gotten) playfully pinched at his cheeks.

And apparently, they were a beautiful one too.

Minho smiled politely and tried not to let the pain on his face show as she pinched his cheek. “Thank you.”

(Krystal stifled her laugher from her seat besides him.)

“Oh stop harassing the boy, dear. His cheeks are turning pink!” The old man carefully reached over and took his wife’s prying hand away from Minho’s face.

The wife looked a little put out from being stopped, but was quick to regain ground. “But his cheeks should already be pink from sitting next to his gorgeous girlfriend,” she argued. “I’m just making the color more noticeable.”

And now Krystal’s cheeks were pink. “You two are the best couple ever,” she announced, grinning brightly. She liked being called gorgeous.

The husband chuckled heartily at the comment and looked at his wife lovingly before asking, “How long have you two been seeing each other?”

Krystal and Minho both looked at each other, as if the answer was on the other’s face, before Krystal quipped up an, “I want to say a month?”

It was clearly a guestimate. But Minho nodded in agreement and said, “Yeah, lets go with a month.”

The couple laughed at their answer and the wife sighed happily. “Kids today are so laidback about dating, huh?”

“I guess you could say that.” If calling up someone to be your fake girlfriend was considered laidback. Minho smiled, hoping he wouldn’t start laughing.

The rest of the train trip was spent exchanging friendly banter with the couple besides them.

-

Krystal almost didn’t want to stop conversing with her new friends, but Minho got up immediately once he realized that they were at their stop.

Both Minho and Krystal politely said their goodbyes, Krystal took her bag, and they left the station. “So where to now, Choi Minho?”

“Why do you never say oppa?” wondered Minho, directing her by the shoulders once more.

“Why did you dodge my question?” she countered.

“No questions, remember?”

…right.

She pouted but walked quietly with Minho, making idle small talk.

They walked for close to fifteen minutes before Minho suddenly came to a stop, effectively stopping Krystal.

“Goyang General Hospital,” Krystal breathed, reading the sign that was only a little ways off. “You took me to a hospital?”

Minho made a little sound at the back of his throat, which served as his answer.

“So am I allowed to ask questions now?” asked Krystal.” Because if I’m not, then I am not liable for wanting to run in the opposite direction.” Krystal wasn’t particularly afraid of hospitals or anything, but having someone bring her to one, with her not allowed to ask any questions- well, it sounded very suspicious to her. Very, very suspicious.

“We’re going to visit someone really important to me,” was all Minho supplied. He didn’t talk for the duration of the rest of their walk.

Krystal didn’t feel like it was appropriate to say anything. (They were at a hospital, after all.)

“Oh, Minho. You’re here.” The nurse at the general waiting station greeted Minho with a smile, to which he returned. “You haven’t been here in so long, do I need to show you the way?” she teased.

With the same smile on his face, Minho said, “I would never forget, Nurse Kim.” He bowed politely to the nurse, which Krystal also followed, before walking off with a destination in mind. They walked in uncomfortable silence before stopping right in front of room 1205.

“Her name is Kwon Yuri.”

They both stood outside her door, neither wanting to push the door open yet.

“Was she- I mean, is she your…” She felt rather awkward, being the fake girlfriend in this situation. If this was Minho’s girlfriend, then, Krystal was about to run away and terminate his fake girlfriend services (because it felt rather wrong- kind of like he was cheating. Technically, Krystal had three boyfriends, but all of her relationships were fake so it didn’t really count, and they all agreed to it- but if this was someone that he was truly and romantically attached to, then Krystal was ready to hightail it out of there. But she would make sure to demand to know why he needed a fake girlfriend in the first place).

Minho smiled softly as he gazed down at the figure lying still in the hospital bed. “No, just a noona that I’m really close to.”

Krystal didn’t have to be psychic to figure out the meaning behind Minho’s unsaid words and his soft smile- that this woman was important, is important, and could have been so much more important.

He pushed open the door, let Krystal walk in first, and then started talking. “She’s in a coma right now. Has been, for about a year now.”

Krystal let out a little gasp at his words, staying rooted to her spot near the door. She didn’t know what to say in response to that, what she could actually say. She was sure that Minho was already tired of hearing apologies, but what could she say instead?

“Her boyfriend,” Minho said the word like it was the dirtiest, most horrid word in the entirety of the universe. “He was driving her and they were going to have one of their usual dates, but they had an unexpected crash. He walked away with barely any scratches.”

“While she is laying here,” Krystal finished, walking closer to the bedside.

“She’s your unnie by about five years,” Minho said this as a means of conversation. He walked right next to the bedside, staring down at her with a look that Krystal could only call gentle.

“Kibum oppa really wasn’t joking when he said you liked noonas.” Krystal murmured, only saying that to lighten the atmosphere a little.

Minho cracked a smile at the statement, which made Krystal feel as if she had achieved something wonderful.

They both stared at her in silence before Minho walked to re-water the flowers. Krystal stayed where she was, looking at the person who just seemed to be sleeping.

“So you called me to be a replacement for her?” Saying that stung more than she thought it would.

Minho paused, flower vase in hand. “I called you because Kibum told me that,” he sighed deeply. “He told me that it has been a year and that I need to accept that she might not come back.”

Krystal really wasn’t expecting Minho to say something like that. He seemed so open and vulnerable that she just wanted to take seventeen band-aids and stick them all over his heart.

“He said that I needed to be prepared to let her go.” He laughed dryly and shook his head, as if what he said was ridiculous and stupid. “I could see where he was coming from- I mean, Kibum always has my best interests at heart.” Minho let out a little chuckle, just thinking of how Kibum would go “damn straight!” if he were to hear that tidbit of their conversation. “But I didn’t want to. Yuri noona- we grew up together, you know? She’s really funny and bright, I think you would like her a lot.” His voice cracked at the end of his sentence.  He calmed himself, breathing deeply for a few moments, before refilling the flower vase with fresh water. “She’s always been there, so full of life you know?”

Krystal didn’t actually know, but she wasn’t in any place to speak at the moment.

And I’ve always- I’ve always-” Minho didn’t finish his sentence, but it was clear by the small shake of his shoulders. Krystal knew what he wanted to say, and that hit her right in the heart.

“Come here, you need a hug,” she muttered. Krystal dragged a chair over, forced Minho to sit on it, and hugged his head.

“Don’t talk like she’s dead, Choi Minho. She’s going to wake up.” Krystal couldn’t actually prove that she would, but she something was telling her that this Kwon Yuri would, if only to make Minho happy.

Minho grinned a little before pushing Krystal away so that he could continue talking. He stared at her intently as he explained. “And at first, I thought that the idea was stupid, just a complete waste of time. How would I ever move on from Yuri noona, especially with a fake girlfriend?”

Krystal made a good naturedly offended face and Minho couldn’t help but chuckle a bit.

“So you were meant to be my distraction. Someone new to befriend. It just helped that you kind of looked like Yuri noona too.”  He added. Krystal said nothing- she already figured out that part.

“But I was completely proven wrong.” He smiled slightly at her. “I’m glad I called, Krystal. I really am.”

Krystal stared awkwardly at him- was it appropriate to say thank you to that? before clearing and walking over to Kwon Yuri’s bedside, effectively turning away from Minho. She talked loudly and confidently, as if her voice would rouse the older girl.

“Kwon Yuri unnie, Minho oppa is waiting for you to wake up.” She watched the monitor that read the older girl’s heart rate and vital signs. “But I’m willing to be a friend and stand by until you’re ready to take over.” The ending sentence was said a little quieter, but just as sincere.

Krystal wanted this Kwon Yuri to wake up- she hasn’t even seen what her eyes look like, but she wants her to wake up so badly because she doesn’t like feeling like Minho needs his heart to be bandaged immediately. He was her friend, and she hated to see friends sad like this.

Minho stared blankly at Krystal’s back as she talked. He could only look blankly in disbelief at her words before letting a quiet, heartfelt, “Thank you, Krystal,” escape from his mouth.

“Why are you thanking me for?” Krystal looked at the person lying on the bed intently; as she stared at Kwon Yuri’s face, she mentally wished for this girl to wake up soon.

“Because even though I don’t think I can ever or ever will completely move on someone who was and is so important in my life,” Minho gestured to the still-body of Kwon Yuri before continuing his sentence, “I don’t regret meeting you one bit.” He paused, but continued. “I feel happy when I’m with you.” And Minho isn’t lying in the least. He does feel happy with her- he feels like he has made a new friend, a new person to share possibilities with.

“Thank you,” she said, feeling a little embarrassed at his words. She felt the sincerity in the tone and how he smiled at her, and that just made her feel even more embarrassed.

“No, thank you.”

-chapter end.

Alright so I am the lamest loser ever and I haven’t been updating or replying to comments- but please let me spastically babble as I plead for forgiveness. ;A; sorry, lovelies! ;o I don’t have any excuse besides the fact that I didn’t want to update- but now that I have and have gotten a significant amount of my feels for this fic back, I will try to update on a schedule. (I make no promises, but I will try!<3)

And so this ends Minho’s solo time with Soojungie! Don’t worry, he’ll keep popping up though~ ;3 I might be stressing the friendship/maybe not just friendship with MinStal too much, but…>< (Anyone else excited for the TaeStal that is soon to come? No one? Just me? Well, alright then.) Never fear for the MyungStal fans, by the way. Myungsoo will get his little tidbits too ;3

(Kibum tells Amber that Minho can in fact ice skate. Minho and Kibum go ice skating in London. Heh.) I LOVE YOU SWEETHEARTS. <3 (and I’m not sure any of you would like a really old comment reply that should have been sent months ago…) ;A; BUT I LOVE ALL OF YOU.

(This will be edited tomorrow. Hopefully. Don't mind my mistakes, please~ ;D)

THANKS FOR READING, COMMENTING, AND SUBSCRIBING <3

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