Kai thinks Krystal does not notice the way he traces her every move with his vibrant brown eyes or the way his words fumble and tie like a difficult knot to undo when they talk about projects and school works. When he is sure she isn't looking (a silly and pathetic notion really), he will take a peek from his bangs and gaze at her in the most adoring way she has (n)ever seen. His face lights up when she smiles (at him, at someone, at no one in particular) and the corner of his lips tug up too for some reason.

Kai has a boyish face; he is almost pass the baby-face of his childhood but not close of manhood. He is not as handsome as #1 smiling, boy-next-door Baekhyun or as adorable, angel-faced Chanyeol (both of whom are two class above them), but he is somewhere in between and he looks nicer than most boys anyway, Krystal thinks. Kai looks good and Krystal acknowledges it.

Krystal is beautiful with her sharp and too-mature face which oftens when she laughs. She is pretty like her sister Jessica, who is considered around corners of every classroom a legend and a goddess for her unearthly beauty, but too cold-hearted and too quiet.

While Kai is cute, shy and awkward, Krystal thinks he is strange. Because Kai can talk straight and coherent and tease and smile and laugh, butsling with joy that reaches his eyes with that pretty boy (who looks like him) and with other people casually that it makes her uncomfortable. If he likes her (she knows that face, that look but pretends she doesn't) then why can he not smile for her the way she smiles for them?

Kai likes her and she has known for a while. Sometimes, Krystal searches for his face in the cafeteria crowd and she finds him and his dark shaggy hair and too timid grin. She will stare at him and look away when he feels her eyes on him (he hopes she was looking at him). He is not the only one who has mastered the art of evasion; she too has had her time to learn it.

Occasionally, Krystal gets to see Kai's natural self. She will frown at her Geometry notes full of X Y Zs and Pis and circles and she will get frustrated and groan. He will take a hesitant look at her and sigh tiredly, tapping her seatmate, Sehun (their seats are arranged according to their first names), and Kai will scoot over the boy's chair and mumble something under his breath.

"What?" She will hiss and he will clear his throat and reply,

"Do you want help on your math?"

Krystal's anger will flare down and she will say, "Yes please".

They will spend their lunch break together, hunched down with food lay forgotten over too hard calculations of getting the diameter of a circle ("Why the hell would I want to get a circle's diameter?!") and she will half-heartedly listen. Sometimes their fingers touch and Kai reverts back to his awkward, flimsy, spilling-juices-over-notebooks self. He will take a deep breath and teach her more after he has cleaned the mess he had made.

Krystal prefers the Kai that is smart on math ("Why are boys better than girls when it comes to math?") rather than the flinch-y one she first met.

Somehow, a year later, she falls for him too.

Nothing changes except for the 5 long hours of class before the awaited lunch where Kai teaches Krystal algorithm and statistics and more pyramids. He is still shy and less spoken and she is still Krystal, pretty and sharp.

But Krystal grows lovelier and prettier by the day. She is not some goddess' sister anymore. She has become one herself and men are noting it.

She knows Kai notices it too but says nothing while she turns one boy after another in rejection during their lunch together. She hopes he gets the idea.

One day, pretty boy Kai-look-alike surprises her when he sits down next to her while waiting for Kai. He grins, which makes him look prettier (than most girls) and introduces himself, "I'm Taemin."

"I know. Your Kai's friend," she says, not even taking her eyes away from the cafeteria door, anticipating Kai's arrival.

"And your Krystal, Kai's girlfriend."

This grabs her attention and she turns her head to face Kai's maybe-twin brother and frowns.

"I'm not his girlfriend," Krystal replies and ignores the fluttering of her stomach, wondering what is she to Kai? They have not established themselves as friends and they barely talk outside tutoring so she settles for, "I'm his tutorage," before turning her head back to the door, just in time for Kai to emerge, her stomach bubbles and she smiles in excitement at the sight of him.

The next day, Krystal arrives late for lunch and finds a certain pretty boy back at their table, sitting next to Kai and talking in hush tones. She stands curiously and squints at them before going over. Instantly, they look up to see her disapproving stare. Krystal locks with Kai's eyes and she quickly looks away, surprised by the worried look he gave her.

Taemin sits with them now.

Krystal gets used to Taemin's cockiness eventually over the next two months and finds him charming even when he talks about his passion ("Dancing, that's where K and I met"). He tries to flirt his way through her unsuccessfully. Kai is more talkative around Taemin and Krystal is jealous and it's absurd. But he smiles at her and laughs at him so it makes everything better.

Kai likes Krystal and she likes him too but things are never  easy.

"You like him don't you?"

It is Thursday and raining. Kai is running late again.

"Yeah." Krystal doesn't fully comprehend his question until he sighs dejectedly.

She looks at him but doesn't say anything.

Taemin just smiles bitterly and knowingly, as if he has known for a long time, and says, "I know."

When Kai arrives minutes later, the table is quiet.

Krystal is out of it for the next few weeks. It is winter and there are too many projects that need to be submit and deadlines to be done before break starts. She isn't worried about cramming. She has always been a good student when it comes to passing school works early.

What does take Krystal's time mostly is the recent information she had learn. Taemin knows that she likes Kai? How? When? She has always been subtle and careful when it came to Kai; it is not possible Taemin knew. And oh my god, he has been pursuing her for months now even when he knew? She is confused and her heart is in turmoil and she just wants to lie down and curl into a ball because she doesn't know what to do. This... whatever this tangle with Kai and Taemin; she does not like it and wishes for it to stop.

It is last day of school. Tomorrow is the start of a three-week holiday. Krystal is on her way to their table when Taemin pulls her aside and asks her, "Do you want to be my girlfriend? You don't have to decide now." When he finishes, he gives her one small smile before he leaves.

He doesn't eat with them today.

Winter break flies away quickly. It has been far too long for Krystal.

Krystal is impatient and tired of waiting for Kai to make a move. He is too shy, too slow, too unsure and too patient. He is ticking her off.

They only have two more years to graduate and a year to woo her is too much and a year to date her is too little and soon, two years will fly by and then they will be gone too.

Kai likes Krystal and she likes him too. But she is tired of waiting for her knight in shining armor to realize that he is a too much of a coward (for taking chances and getting hurt). She does not have a forever for him. Not even a start. Time flies so quickly and life is too short. If he does not make a move, then she will.

So Krystal moves on.