October 2015

Jessica, her mother and father, made their way over to the room where Krystal was still sleeping. It was almost time for her to wake up to go to work, but they wanted to surprise her with a cake before she left. They all quietly walked into the room and Jessica put the cake on a small chair, before her mother and her sat down on the bed. Her father was in charge of lightening the candles, while they woke Krystal up.

"Honey... Wake up, or else you're going to be late for work." Mrs. Jung started.

Krystal barely stirred in her sleep, and started cuddling up to her mother's side. She had not opened her eyes yet, so she did not realize that there were more people than just her mother.

"Eomma..." She whined.

"What?" Mrs. Jung asked as she patted her baby girl's back.

"I'm going to sleep some more."

Mrs. Jung chuckled at what her daughter said.

"Soojung-ah, you need to get to work." Mr. Jung said.

"I'm with your dad. He wanted to see you before leaving for work." Mrs. Jung added.

"Ap'daddy..." Krystal whined again, but she still kept her eyes closed.

" Appa... she has to wake up. The cake." Jessica mouthed.

Mr. Jung looked back and forth between his two daughters, not knowing what to do.

"Are you that tired?" He asked Krystal, weakening in front of her tired face.

"I came home late... And, Appa, can you please tell my big sister that frowning like that will only increase her wrinkles?"

The parents started laughing.

"Yah, Jung Soojung, I'm leaving soon! Wake up!" Jessica said, stepping in.

She lunged in and started tickling her sister, until they were both out of breathe.

"Happy birthday, Jung Soojung!" Jessica exclaimed.

Krystal finally sat up and blew her candles, before hugging her parents and her sister.

"Thank you!"

"Now go get ready, I'm taking you out for breakfast before I leave!" Jessica said.

"Oh! Hyogshi, Jessica Jung the CEO!" Krystal joked.

"Hey! Just go get ready, already!" Jessica said while giggling.

Krystal got out of bed and rushed to the bathroom, to do her morning routine. When she was done, she joined her family in the living room.

"I'm ready!" She said, talking to her sister.

"Alright, let's go!"

The two sisters made their way to the parking lot, and got into Jessica's car.

"Where are we going?" Krystal asked.

"To a restaurant near here. My staff will be picking me up from there, in an hour."

Krystal nodded her head and buckled her seatbelt. They drove to the restaurant, while singing and having a nice sisterly time. Once they arrived, they quickly made their way inside and ordered their food.

"What did you do yesterday?" Jessica asked Krystal.

They were at their table, waiting for their food to be served. There were not a lot of people this early in the morning, so the girls did not mind showing their almost bare faces.

"Minhyuk Oppa organized a surprise for my birthday. It was so romantic, Eonnie!"

"Really? What did he do?"

Krystal told her sister everything about the romantic evening Minhyuk had prepared for her. Jessica squealed every time her sister mentioned how happy she felt when she saw this or that.

"Look at you... I'm happy for you, Soojung!" Jessica exclaimed.

"Thank you. I'm actually really happy, Eonnie! I know I was questioning the relationship not too long ago, but I think I was just scared of my own feelings."

"I know what you mean. You were just scared of falling too deeply, and ending up getting hurt. But somehow, I am sure that it won't happen with Minhyuk. He is a great guy." Jessica said.

Krystal smiled as she looked down at her hands.

"I feel the same... How are things between Taec Oppa and you, by the way?" Krystal asked.

"Better. We're taking it one step at a time, but I like the place we are at, at the moment." Jessica replied.

"That's good to hear. You've went through a lot, you deserve to be happy now." Krystal added.

They stopped talking when their drinks and food were being served, and even a little after, both of them just enjoying the morning calm. Krystal checked her phone and saw that she had a message from her manager.

"The video just came out!" She exclaimed.

"For real? Show me, show me!" Jessica replied. She moved seats and went closer to her sister. "I'm so excited!" She added.

Krystal logged onto YouTube and typed 4 Walls in the search tab. Krystal let her sister listen and watch it alone, with her earphones. Jessica smiled the whole time, and she was really enjoying the video. She could not stop herself and started dancing to the addicting beat.

When she finished, she put the phone down on the table and started clapping her hands, making Krystal giggle at her excitement.

"I'm so proud of you, Soojung! You and the girls held on and look at you, now. This song is perfect!" She said.

"Thank you, Eonnie. It meant a lot to me and the girls, to have had you there to support us all the while."

"I'm so happy!" Jessica reacted.

Jessica grabbed her phone and immediately bought the album on the music app.

"This will be my travel playlist. I'll let you know which song is my favorite!"

Krystal laughed again. The two of them had their breakfast and Jessica left, after giving her car keys to Krystal. She did not waste any more time and drove straight away to the company. As she was making her way into the building, she received a text message from Minhyuk.

Just watched the video, and as predicted, there's no sound like f(x)'s! I loved it, baby! And you looked beautiful in it!

Krystal smiled from ear to ear, reading that message. What she liked most about it, was the fact that he started by complimenting the song, before talking about her appearance in the video. She quickly typed a reply.

Thank you so much, baby! Tell me what you think of the album, when you listen to it! Xx

She put her phone away in her bag and walked into SM's building. She happily greeted people she met on the way to the practice room. As soon as she put a foot into the room, the other three girls came running to her and they all erupted into screams of joy.

"I can't believe it's out! It's out!" Amber shouted.

"I'm so happy!" Luna added.

They all stood together and smiled at one another. Victoria patted each member's back, silently expressing how proud of them she was.

"Congratulations, girls! We are very proud of you!" Shim Jaewon said.

The dancers and crew gave each of them a hug, congratulating them on their hard work. Only the people close to these girls really knew what they've been through for the past year and a half. It got so uncertain, to the point that talks of disbanding were going around. It was a very long and hard process for all of them, but they made it. Together.

"And Happy birthday, Soojung-ah!"

One of their dancers said, reminding everyone that it was indeed Krystal's day too. All the others started singing to wish her a happy birthday, too.

"Thank you, guys! Thank you!" Krystal said.

"Last day of rehearsal before the first music show. Are you excited?" Jaewon asked the girls.

"Of course! I can't wait!" Victoria exclaimed.

"Alright! Let's do this, then!" He added.

They practiced for three hours, non stop. The girls could even do these routines with their eyes closed, at this point.

"What are you doing tonight?" Victoria asked Krystal.

"Sehun and Jongin organized something for me. I still have no clue what it is, to be honest."<