In the following days, Krystal prepared for the last battle. Despite what Amber had said, she still wanted to go through with her plan. Even if it was just about proving a point that she could claim the CEO position by force, she wanted to do it. She owed it as well to herself, her girlfriend, Victoria, Jackie and Amy Lee.

To get full closure, she needed this.

So, that’s why she called in all of the employees of the Jung Internationals’ Headquarters for the second time that year. In the meantime, she was being recorded, live, for the other facilities of Jung Internationals. As she adjusted her earpiece, she became aware that all of the employees, even those in Europe, would listen to her speak right now. That were over ten thousand employees.

She wasn’t scared at all. Speeching had become her second nature and now that it wasn’t about her personal feelings for Amber, she felt a lot more relaxed.

Her employees reacted to her liking. Especially those who had initially voted for her as the new CEO were shocked, together with those who had wanted to vote for her but hadn’t been able to. Those who were a little higher up and loyal followers of her father also looked at each other uncomfortably, knowing that their loyalty would be questioned soon. If the CEO who had proved year after year that he was good for his employees suddenly made the economy of the company crumble in less than a month, even the most loyal workers started to question him.

Within a few days, the company was in conflict with itself. Two groups had formed: those who supported Krystal and those who supported her father. As far as she knew, her group was the largest – as well as the angriest. Her father’s loyal men tried hard to try to convince the others that there was still something good in him and that all of his business plans had worked out so far. They would need to have a little faith that everything would be okay.

But Krystal’s supporters were almost protestors and were angry at her father as well as his helpers. They wanted him gone as much as she wanted to. They wanted a fresh face, someone with a clear mind and an eye for the future. The world changed and Jung Internationals’ had to change with it. To have a sick, old, tired man in charge didn’t do the company any good, especially now that he didn’t do anything with three of Jung Internationals’ biggest associates gone. On top of that, they feared for their jobs. They might not have a doctorate in economics like Krystal, but they knew well enough that the company didn't have any money at the moment, and that meant they'd have to fire people to create money.

Krystal let the uproar play for a day or two, then she got back to the judge. She went in appeal and her request was granted: another vote, this time for everyone in the company.

The whole process of voting and counting the votes took maybe a week. It was long, too long, she knew. The money was running out now that there was barely something coming in. They had been already forced to lend money from the bank. Since Jung Internationals’ had always kept their word on paying it back, they borrowed them the money for one time. They had been saved for at least a couple of weeks, but it wouldn’t last long and she knew that the counting had to be done quickly if she wanted to save the company. And even if so, Liu Economics, Song Software and Lee Electronics immediately needed to re-sign their contracts and transfer the money that had been earned by the combined products. With a little luck, she didn’t have to fire anyone, but it was going to be close.

Surprisingly, her father didn’t try anything to stop her. Perhaps he had finally seen the light and let her have the CEO spot or he trusted his followers so much that he simply didn’t care.

Krystal couldn’t know, because since their lunch date, he was barely ever at the office and she had reclaimed her spot as substitute-CEO. It surprised her that her father showed up at the result meeting. The votes have been counted and added up. The same man who had done the previous presentation was now leading them into this one. He skipped most of his talk, since he as well as the Board were getting sick and tired of the game they were playing. Everyone wanted the result as much as she wanted it.

Her father looked even more tired as he stepped into the small meeting room that morning, almost as if he had just rolled out of bed after sleeping for an hour or three. Krystal didn’t look at him much and tried to ignore his presence as much as she could. She was a professional after all.

The results weren’t surprising to her at all, although she heard some nervous whispers going around the Board as soon as it was revealed that Krystal won the votes with 80 percent. It took a lot of her self-control to hide her victorious smile.

As soon as the meeting was over, she stood up from her chair and shook all of the hands of the Board. Her father was last. He looked at her with a grim expression.

“Come with me to my office,” he told her.

My office, father, she thought, but didn’t say it out loud. It would be too childish and a bit painful, like salt in an open wound. She went with him and they sat down on the identical leather couch Krystal had in her office.

“I hope you’re know what you’re doing, Krystal. The company is dying,” he said to her softly. Krystal smiled and shrugged.

“Not if I rail Ms. Song, Ms. Liu and Ms. Lee in, father,” she said. He frowned and shook his head.

“They’re gone, don’t you understand? They won’t cooperate with us anymore.”

Krystal simply smirked.

“We shall see. I don’t think there’ll be a problem. They need us as much as we need them and if they’ll hold up their end of the deal, it will be all fine.”

Her father furrowed his brows even deeper, so the wrinkles on his forehead looked like valleys and mountains. Suddenly, he seemed to get the hang out of it. Perhaps it was the way Krystal triumphantically looked at him, or perhaps he had suspected her all along, she didn’t know. All that she saw was anger, pure rage, forming in his eyes.

After that, nothing sensible came out of his mouth. He screamed to her that she was betraying the family, that she would be disowned, that she would never make it alone. She let him scream, partly because some things he said to her were true, partly because he probably needed to blow of some steam in order to think rationally again. With a cold gaze in her eyes, she looked at him and waited until he was done raging. When he was, she said:

“I told you, father, not to mess with me. Now I am CEO and you are jobless. And as much as I’d like to hear you call me all sorts of names, I request you to leave my office. I have work to do, you know, save Jung Internationals from going bankrupt.”

After that, he opened his mouth to yell out a final punch-line, but nothing seemed to come up in his head as he turned around and walked with large, angry strikes out of her office. Krystal was finally able to breathe normally when he left.

Not soon after that, Evans knocked on the door, as Krystal was moving her stuff from her old office to her new. Not that there was much difference, but everyone knew that this was the office of the CEO, which meant she needed to move places. It was all part of the ritual of becoming the new leader of Jung Internationals.

 She let him in, although she didn't exactly like the idea of him coming to visit her. She knew what he wanted.

With a sigh, she let him sit in the chair across from her.

“I suppose our deal still stands?” he asked immediately, not even waiting for the cup of coffee that Eloisa brought in a few moments later. Krystal waited with answering until she was gone and eventually nodded.

“It is,” she said. “Make sure the Board doesn’t vote me out and you’ll be my Vice-President.”

Evans smiled smugly and nodded. He stood up, placed his hands in the pockets of his trousers and told her good-bye, without even touching his drink. Krystal sighed and watched him go, not content about the whole situation. At least, Victoria, Jackie and Amy were trustworthy partners she could conspire with. Evans had something that was alike to a snake, crawling at your feet, biding his time until the perfect moment to lash out and bite. Deadly poison would run through your veins in no time, and you wouldn’t even know he had bitten you. Sooner rather than later, you would suffocate and die whilst he took in your place. Having Evans as your Vice-President wasn’t exactly reassuring. She now understood why her father put her in charge rather soon: your child would never betray you. It was a way to keep all those toxic people far enough from him that they would not able to reach him and teach her all the fine tricks about the business world.

Thereupon, Mitchell came in. The old man – the eldest in the Board – had nowadays difficulty walking and therefor came in with a walking stick. His hair was almost white and thinned so much that she could see his scalp. The deep wrinkles in his face reminded her of waves. He sat down in front of her with a sigh and placed his stick on the ground. By the way he was moving, she noticed he was stiff, perhaps in pain too. She had always liked Mitchell.

“I just came by to congratulate you on your victory, Ms. Jung,” Mitchell began, as soon as Eloisa had brought him a cup of tea. He was the only one who drank tea.

“Thank you very much,” she smiled. Mitchell smiled back and chuckled.

“Must have been a pain in the , as the youngsters say it, am I right?” he asked. Krystal tilted her head.

“What do you mean?”

“This whole campaign. It was stoked from both sides, everyone with an alert gaze could see that,” he said. Krystal’s cheeks colored.

“The end justifies the means, I like to say to myself,” she said softly. “If you are here for the Vice-President spot, then you’re too late. Evans came by.”

Mitchell smiled. His smile reminded her of her grand-father.

“I am not here for the VP spot, I am way too old for that. I would’ve guessed that Evans already came by. It’s nothing for him to stay silent during a power play like this one. Of course, he was going to try and get on the winning side. He chose wisely.”

“It was bound to happen anyway,” she said. What Mitchell didn’t know was that her father wouldn’t have let her become the CEO due to the fact that she was now together with Amber. If he resigned, he would probably name one of the Board members to follow him up, not her. She simply too her fate in her own hands.

“I agree. I hope you will stay for a long time, even later in your life.”

“I am planning to,” she answered.

“You know how hard this way of living is, especially with children,” he said softly. Krystal squinted her eyes suspiciously.

“Are you trying to imply that I will neglect either my job or my children when I get any?” she growled. “I am fully capable of raising children with my partner and be the CEO. Unlike my father, I know how to spend my time wisely.”

Mitchell looked up to her and shook his head.

“I’m just saying it’s a lonely life to live your whole life. Don’t you miss living like any other twenty-something-year old? Going out, partying, celebrating life like you still can? You’re stuck here, playing dirty tricks that not even the most experienced business men would play due to the risks.”

Krystal smiled.

“It almost seems like you’re concerned for my well-being, Mitchell.”

“Of course, I am,” Mitchell chuckled. “I don’t want you to end up like your father.”

“I won’t. If I want to party and get drunk, I will. But I will always show up at work at nine o’clock the follow morning. Perhaps it’s the power of the other gender.”

The old man smiled and laughed softly.

“Perhaps it is. I have always thought that women are more compatible than men. I cannot do more than to trust you in your decision. But, if you ask me, my trust is not forced. You have showed countless of times that you know what to do. And to have Song Software, Liu Economics and Lee Electronics sign out so that your father would be an easy target, is such a calculated attack that I know better than to mistrust you.”

Krystal frowned.

“How do you know about that?”

“Your father told me. He found out today, finally. He told me he still wanted to have a word with you later. I think you should better prepare yourself.”

Krystal nodded and took a sip of her espresso.

“I am not scared of my father anymore.”

Mitchell smiled and took her hand. He pinched in it like her father never had.

“That’s the spirit, my child.”

He bowed back and took the last sip of his tea. He put the cup down and stood up on his shaking legs. Krystal stood up from her desk and bowed down to give him back his walking stick. Thankfully, he took it from her.

They said their good-byes and Krystal finally could go on with decorating her new office.

That evening she returned home with a grim expression on her face. She was tired of the day. A lot had happened and her new responsibilities as CEO had immediately started. Even though she simply wanted to decorate her new place, several people came back or demanded a meeting. Krystal had been talking to people the whole day and she was mentally exhausted.

She was glad that Amber had texted her that they’d be eating Italian at her place that afternoon. She would’ve probably ordered take-out if it wasn’t for Amber, even though she had a policy to not order out ever.

Exhausted, she went home first, took a shower and changed her clothes into something comfortable before she went to her girlfriend’s place.

The smell of the delicious food was overwhelming when she came in. Loud music was playing, and she didn’t hear the usual ‘Babe!’ when the door fell shut. Jack Jack immediately ran towards her and jumped against her legs. Krystal bowed down to pet the little dog and she smiled. He returned to the couch when she walked along to the kitchen. The short-haired girl she loved so much was humming along softly to Uptown Funk, shaking her shoulders dorkily on the beat as she stirred in a pan with sauce. Krystal grinned and wrapped her arms around her waist. She felt Amber stir for a moment, then turn around.

“Hey, I didn’t even hear you come in,” she said, before she kissed her. Krystal kissed her back and placed her chin on Amber’s shoulder after that.

“You should turn the music down then,” she muttered.

“This is Uptown Funk!” Amber huffed. “The best song in history!”

Krystal rolled her eyes and nuzzled her face in Amber’s neck. She got the hint immediately and put the spoon down, with which she had stirred in the pan, to turn around in her arms. Krystal pressed her body closely to her girlfriend’s as she felt two strong arms around her.

“Today were the results, right?” Amber asked, after a few moments. Krystal nodded, not lifting up her head.

“Should I take your silence as a bad sign…?”

Krystal looked up and couldn’t hold her big grin anymore. Amber’s face lit up.

“You won?” she asked. To answer her, Krystal pressed her lips firmly on her girlfriend’s. She felt Amber grin against . She wrapped her arms around Amber’s neck and let her be pressed up against the kitchen dresser. When they broke apart, both of them were grinning like crazy.

“With how much?”

“Eighty percent.”

“Eight?!” Amber exclaimed, so loud that even Tuna looked up disturbedly. “We should celebrate! This is huge, you did so great! Finally, they see how great you are. I cannot believe that-”

“Shh,” Krystal shushed, although she couldn’t wipe the big smile off of her face. “Eating spaghetti with you is enough. And I’m pretty sure it’s going to burn if you don’t stir in it now.”

Amber rolled her eyes and sighed, making a sign that she was probably crazy in her head that she wanted to eat her badly made, almost burned spaghetti over a five-star restaurant, but turned around eventually. She stirred in the pan and put the fire down.

“It’s done anyway. We can still put it away and eat it tomorrow, so we can go out tonight?” she asked hopefully. Krystal shook her head.

“Nope, I want to eat your spaghetti and after that I want to cuddle on the couch as we watch a movie.”

Amber sighed, but smiled. She took Krystal’s head and pressed a kiss on her forehead.

“As my Princess commands.”

The following days were even more hectic. She met up with Victoria, Jackie and Amy and all of three signed a new contract. Jung Internationals was saved at last and within a day, new money started to roll into the bank account. It had been a close call.

Victoria stuck along a little longer, appraising how she had handled the whole situation. Jackie had sent her a flower bouquet, since she was on a business trip to England. For the rest of the days, she was meeting up with the other leaders of associating companies, giving them her schedule and informing them about her plans with Jung Internationals. Eric turned up to the meeting with red cheeks and he apologized for not immediately supporting her. Krystal couldn't help it to forgive him: she would have probably done the same.

At the end of the week, she was drained. The only thing that kept her going and didn't make her call in sick was Amber, who supported her and brought her food and kept her company. She knew that as the CEO she needed to give just a little more to the company and that this week would be crazy. It would all settle down soon, but she still was tired and not able to do anything but sleep, eat and watch movies whenever she was off.

She had not expected to hear from her father any time soon, but at the end of the week, Eloisa announced that he had made an appointment with her for Friday afternoon. Krystal had simply nodded, since there was little she could do to stop him, but she wasn’t exactly looking forward to the conversation with joy. In fact, she was rather nervous. Even after all this time, the presence of her angry father still made her shudder in anxiety, even though she was a grown-up now. Perhaps that would never really leave.

Friday afternoon came way too quick. He would be the last one on her list who wanted to talk to her – saved the worst for last, sadly. She made Eloisa brew good coffee and get some cookies from the local baker just a little down the street. Krystal made sure everything was perfect and in place when the clock told her it was four o’clock.

After that, she simply waited, pretending to be busy as her father arrived in the hall. He was five minutes late – as usual – and knocked politely on the door before entering. Krystal immediately saved the thing she was working on and looked up from her laptop. She shut it off and closed it, without saying a word. Her father kept standing in the opening of the door, watching her as she neared him, until she was only a few feet away. They stared at each other for a moment. Krystal had a hard time to see through his barriers and guess what he was really thinking. His eyes were these hard rocks that seemed not to bear any emotion…

Until he started to smile. A twinkle appeared in his eyes as he pulled her closer, into a hug. Krystal was too shocked to even object, let alone hug him back. Her father pulled back and held her at arm-length, studying her whole appearance.

“My daughter…” he started, with a thick voice. “… I am so proud of you.”

Krystal opened to object, but closed it again, because she simply had no idea what was going on. Her father let her go and walked towards the leather couch, immediately taking a cooking and munching on it as Krystal slowly walked towards the sofa too. She sat down, a bit uncomfortably, next to him and watched him take another cookie and eat that too. He was getting a little belly, but she guessed it didn’t matter anymore now that he wasn’t the spokesperson of Jung Internationals anymore.

“Why did you want to see me?” she eventually asked. Her father looked up and lifted his eyebrows.

“Does a father need a reason to see his daughter?” he replied. “I just came in to check on you, if you’re holding together, as so to say.”

“One week of being the chief won’t break me, dad,” she sighed. “You must think of me badly if you thought I was going insane.”

Her father chuckled and shook his head.

“I raised you myself, I know what you’re capable of. Especially now. I will say it again and I will say it until I die: I am so proud of you.”

Krystal shook her head, not understanding.

“Why? I don’t understand why you’re being glad I kicked you out,” she said.

“My love, that was your last test, don’t you understand?” her father laughed. “I was always planning on giving you the company, no matter what. But a CEO should be fearless, should be willing to take risks and would do everything for the company. I wasn’t exactly sure if you were that bold, do you understand? That’s why I told you that you were not ready yet, hoping to unlock that fire in you that I knew you possessed. And look at you now: you have made it. One is not truly a CEO if you aren’t capable of ruining lives, and I prefer that to be mine than someone innocent. Sweetheart, I raised you well, I am so proud of you.”

Krystal stared at him with eyes big of disbelief.

“This-this was all a test…?” she murmured. Her father grinned.

“You passed it with flying colors.”

“Oh my God…” she muttered, over and over again, as she let her head fall into her hands. She sat like that for a while, until her father eventually put his hand upon her shoulder and she had to shrug it off viciously.

“Don’t touch me,” she hissed at him. Krystal lifted her head and looked at him with fire in her eyes. “You made me believe it was because of Amber!”

“Well, I have to admit that I’m definitely not fond of the kid and that I would have loved to see you marry Kai instead. But it would be foolish to make you stop dating her because you’re obviously very fond of each other. Plus, you're stubborn, like me, so I wouldn't be able to stop you anyway.”

Krystal slapped him hard on his shoulder, causing her old man to wince in pain.

“You deserved it,” she barked at him. “Don’t ever fool me like that again, you hear me?”

Her father simply waved it off.

“Don’t worry about it, you beat me anyway. There’s no one to beat now, but the biggest challenge will still come: you have to stay on top and in this position. Don’t let yourself be worked away by that animal of an Evans.”

Krystal ran with her hand through her hair and took a few large sips of her coffee. It burned and tongue, but the pain was a blissful feeling after that she just figured out that she had been a chess piece in her father’s game even now, even when she thought that she had outfoxed him.

“Don’t worry about it, Evans still has to prove his worth to me. I’m planning to fire all of those -ers,” she said. Her father rose his eyebrows.

“Prove his worth? He tried to get you fired yesterday, haven’t you heard?”

Krystal frowned.

“What? No, I have not heard. What happened?”

“Guess that’s why the meeting was secretive, but I expected at least Mitchell to enlighten you,” he muttered. “Either way, the Board wanted to have you out. They came together secretively, lead by Evans, and tried to vote you out. Everyone voted yes, except for Mitchell. He saved you, basically. Good job on recruiting him, he’s loyal.”

“Only that I didn’t. I had recruited Evans,” she muttered. Her father rose his eyebrows and chuckled.

“Your first mistake. It could have been fatal, you know?”

“This whole idiotic idea of yours could have been fatal if Victoria, Jackie and Amy had really broken the contract, instead of just playing it all. You could have lost Jung Internationals by wanting to teach me a lesson, only you didn’t. This industry is full of risks and if you don’t take some once in a while, you gain nothing,” she simply said. “And right now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to fire some people.”

He chuckled and nodded. Both of them, father and daughter, stood up from the couch. Her father took one last cookie, holding it between his thumb and index finger.

“I expect that you take good care of my company and I know you want to do this alone, but don’t be afraid to come to me once in a while when you don’t know what to do anymore,” he told her.

Krystal rolled her eyes and awkwardly patted her father on the shoulder.

“Don’t get all sentimental on me now, dad,” she muttered. “I’ll be fine.”

“I know you will,” he answered sighing. “Hmm, better off I go then, I’m probably holding you back. Just make sure you stop around at your elderly home once a while, will you? And… invite Amber over. I suppose it’s really thick between you two, so I feel obliged to try another time to like her.”

Krystal looked up and smiled weakly.

“Of course, I will,” she said. “Next week Saturday? We can cook if you want.”

“Darling, we have a five-star cook, you don’t have to-”

“But we want to,” she interrupted him. “Let’s be normal for once, okay? Come over at my place and we will cook you and mom something. Then we can talk.”

Her father hesitated for a moment, but eventually nodded.

“We’ll stay in touch.”

“We will,” she assured him. Her father smiled. He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly before turning around and walking out of her office. He yelled another ‘Go get ‘em, tiger!’ from the hallway right before he walked around the corner, making both Krystal and Eloisa laugh softly.

“He’s really something, isn’t he?” Eloisa asked her, coming into the room to clear the cookies and coffee cups.

“Tell me something,” she sighed, as she shook her head. “You don’t know the half of it.”

The Board wasn’t happy that the first meeting Krystal ever organized as a CEO was about firing almost all of them. Even though they all complained loudly, she would not budge and hand them over the newly constructed documents. They all signed it with a grim expression – except for Evans. Krystal would have expected him to throw a tantrum, like a little kid, but he was so angry that she wouldn’t be surprised if he actually smashed one of the coffee mugs against the wall. He didn’t – sadly enough, it would’ve been an actual show – but he was furious, telling her that she betrayed him, that they had a deal, that the Vice-President position was his and that she wasn’t able to fire him without actually doing anything against the rules of the company.

Krystal had let him scream at her without even flinching. When he was done, she stood up. Evans sat down again, imposed by her static appearance.

“You are right. We did make a deal,” she admitted, causing another round of mutters go through the group. She waited until it died down. “But, if I remember correctly, the document says that if I become the CEO, you will prevent anyone from trying to vote me out of this position. I do not remember agreeing to you leading the action against me, calling in a secretive Board meeting to vote.”

When her gaze fell upon Evans, he had turned sickly white.

“B-but, I-I-I-” he stammered, not able to come up with an excuse. “How do you know?”

“But you did it anyway. So did the rest of you. You all voted against me, except for Mitchell here. That’s why Mitchell does not have to leave,” she went on, ignoring his question. “Don’t take it personally, gentlemen. Each of you is a formidable business man and I am sure you will find another job in no time, just not at Jung Internationals. It’s important for me to have people around me whom I can trust, and you lot just simply aren’t it. Especially you, Evans. I swear to God, even if you hadn’t voted against me, I would have fired you. You’re simply a pain in the .

And as I have enough evidence right now to fire you officially, I will. After this meeting, you have to clear out your offices immediately. Your last pay-check will arrive at the end of this month. I wish you all the best. It has been a pleasure to work with you.”

With angry murmurs, the men signed the contracts and flung it back at her head before walking out, muttering that she was a crazy . As if she cared.

Eventually, only Krystal and Mitchell were left. Silence settled between them. She turned around to him. He watched her with his milky blue eyes, a soft smile on his face.

“You stopped them from voting me out,” she said. It was more a stating than a question, but Mitchell got the hint.

“I told you that you had my support, my dear,” he replied. “And when I promise something, I keep to it.”

Krystal smiled and sat down. She ran with her fingers through her hair, untangled a knot and bound it back in a ponytail. Unconsciously, she rubbed over the place of her tattoo, knowing that Amber’s name was there.

“Can I really not recruit you for the VP spot? I’d love to have you as my second,” she said. Mitchell laughed.

“You’d have to choose another one in a few years’ time. I’m worth the most as a member in the Board, so I can have your back. It’s better if you choose someone of your own age, someone with a lot of stamina and who has your back.”

Krystal sighed and leaned with her chin on her hands.

“It’s going to be hard to revive the Board with new people whom I trust. I don’t like that many people here. And I used to think a lot of the Board were trustable, but I was proved wrong,” she muttered. Mitchell bowed down to her, signing that she should get closer too. Krystal did as she was told.

“You know, to create the best Board, you don’t choose people whom you trust. You choose people whom you can shape. Shape them like your father shaped you, and no one will dare or even want to offend you. Try youngsters. Hell, put an intern there, or someone who just got off college. You can be surprised to see what kind of modern ideas those kids can come up with.”

Krystal stared to grin.

“You’re incredible, do you know that?”

Mitchell bowed back and shrugged.

“It’s the same advice I gave your father thirty years ago. His reign has lasted so long because he chose the right people. It worked back then and it will work now, I promise.”

“Thank you. And even though I will make a complete stranger my Vice-President soon, just know that you will always have priority,” she said. Mitchell smiled lovingly and took her hand.

“I know, my child, I know.”

It took Krystal a few weeks to create the new Board. In the meantime, Jung Internationals felt like nothing had changed, besides that she had to do some extra work that normally the Board would do. Now that everything had settled down again, the company operated better than ever.

The new members of the board included Mitchell’s personal assistant, Tiffany Hwang, the girl who had come to her after her speech to congratulate her and Amber on their relationship, as well as her sister Jessica, who had agreed upon taking in one of the spots until Krystal had found someone better to replace her. Her sister hadn’t been exactly thrilled to get back into the company again, but had eventually said yes due to the pleading of her sister. She had also chosen two youngers, Johnny Seo and Brian Kang, both just out of college. Brian was one of Jessica’s recommendation, since he had been her junior when she had been a trainee. Why he had given up his music career to join Jung Internationals had been a mystery, but he was an excellent candidate.

As Vice President she chose one of the young people who had started at the company at the same she had, a bloke called Jackson Wang. They had climbed up together, but as Krystal rose faster and further, he got stuck a little lower, despite still trying his very best to do good. She knew him well and knew that he would be of good help. Krystal would’ve preferred to have Mitchell as her VP but he declined her even after she asked another time. Still, she was content with her new team.

It took a few months before Jung Internationals was completely back on track. It took a while to make her new team work efficiently with each other and gain the lost profit back during the campaign time, but it had been all worth it. In fact, Krystal enjoyed the CEO life more than anything. She loved the good responses she got and how Jung Internationals seemed to make more money every passing month.

Krystal couldn’t get any happier it seemed. Only recently, Amber had permanently moved into her place. It had been an enormous undertaking, since as well as the animals as the music instruments had to be moved. The few rooms that Krystal was using as storage were cleared so Amber could work there and there would be some more space for her to stuff her stuff. Making place in her drawer wasn’t too difficult, since most of Amber’s clothes were already at her place.

Her girlfriend sold her own apartment within two weeks and it felt like they were living a dream. The only thing was missing now was something that Krystal didn’t allow herself to think of at night, but her internet browser history told her something else. The only thing she had been googling for the past few months were rings and wedding dresses.

If only, if only… Krystal decided not to push it, but that didn’t mean she hoped for it to happen soon.