CHAPTER 25

       KRYSTAL couldn’t stand it anymore. The time she witnessed how Taeyeon’s expression changed into the worry one was more than enough to confirm everything. It was more than enough to provide the answer she needed and she hesitated during this time. The love ~ Taeyon’s love toward Tiffany, was absolutely never changed.

       Trembling and struggling hard to fight back the tears that started to tickle her eyelids, she just managed to fish around her handbag, pretending to look for something. In time as Taeyeon turned away as if she realized that she had her couple with her now, Krystal had already hauled up her cell-phone that actually was mute.

       Krystal pretended to not notice that Taeyeon had already looked at her and she just quickly managed to speak on the phone, which was in fact, she just talked to herself and on her own world.

      “Yes, Mom… Okay… Okay, doesn’t matter. I’ll see you now.”

       Taeyeon frowned as Krystal pretended to hang the phone up again. Didn’t care that she had already looked like an idiot one, Krystal struggled to flash smile to Taeyeon and still persisted to continue her acting.

       “Sorry, Tae… My mom,” Krystal paused momentarily to manage her breath. “She needs me… I… I think… I’m not able to watch along with you. I gotta go now. Bye.”

       Before Taeyeon had any chance to respond yet, Krystal had already turned away and dashed, leaving her. Leaving dumbfounded Taeyeon that hadn’t recovered from the scene yet. When Taeyeon was able to composure herself again, the broken hearted girl had already vanished from her sight.

       Just that. And with that. Krystal left. No eye contact. No touch. No kiss. The angelic bright expression just turned into the gloomiest one.

       And as her soberness was back to her, for the first time Taeyeon realized that she had already hurt the girl that gave all her heart only for her.

       Krystal cried all the night.

       For the first time she realized she never felt so devastated like this time. Never. It was because she was tough. No matter how many times people try to hit her, she always could find some way to jump higher than previous time. It was her. But never came into her mind, someday she would easily shed some tears because she felt her heart so ache.

       And for the first time as well Krystal felt so much feeling toward Tiffany. She felt envy, jealous, and slightly… outrage? She didn’t know. She had no idea, either. Why she had to be mad at Tiffany. They even didn’t know each other. The girl even never came into their life. Yes. The girl indeed never came into their life. But her specter seemed never get out from Taeyeon’s mind. And heart. So, who’s the one she supposed to put blame on? Taeyeon? Was it her fault? No. Krystal shook her head. Taeyeon herself even had no intention to keep remembering her. Taeyeon herself was also the victim. Taeyeon wasn’t didn’t bear any pain. Taeyeon herself struggle to fix her broken heart after Tiffany left her. Taeyeon herself never had any intention to hurt Krystal heart. Taeyeon always managed to treat her as best as she could. Taeyeon was a great lover. So… so who… all those things happened were whose fault?

       Finally, at the dawn, when there’re no more tears to spill out, in the middle of her tiredness, Krystal decided one decision. A decision that she knew would hurt her a lot. A decision that will prove that a pure love needs to sacrifice. A decision that would make her bear the pain on her own and see the other couple find each other, as the way they were.

       Slowly, she grabbed her cell-phone that had been switched off since she left the cinema and turned it on again. In a blink, the flooding texts just coming and she didn’t need to guess who sent her the text. Besides, she also had already known, it wouldn’t change anything.

       The text from the one she loved spread from sorry until love statement. From worry until scary. But once again, Krystal shook her head as she had already known how it would end up. Once again, she pour her single tears for the night before sending the text she already written.

       The text was brief but content.

       I want to break up.

     The girl cried all the night wasn’t Krystal only.

      At six in the morning, at Sunday, which was in ordinary day absolutely not a right time to make any mess with sleepyhead girl called Jessica, Taeyeon had already came and stood in front of her house.

       At first, Jessica was about to release her anger as she was really getting annoyed for anyone dared to wake her up this early morning. But as she caught Taeyeon was looked like slightly beyond drunken bastard, she knew something really bad was happened.

       She didn’t say anything, just immediately reached her cousin into her hug and patted her for some moment before finally released her to look at her face again.

       Taeyeon couldn’t manage to say anything. All the things she could do were only crying.

       “She… She wanted to break up with me, Sica,” finally Taeyeon could let out some remark.

       Jessica’s eyes widen in surprise. Didn’t figure out yet that was triggered by the last scene at the movie, Jessica just thought Krystal’s decision was so reckless. And unconsciously she mumbled,”H-how could she ask it to you… I… I think she’d already forgiven you for the birthday…”

       As Jessica finished saying it, it was Taeyeon’s turn to get taken aback. Birthday? What was Jessica talking about?

      “Birthday?? What birthday? What did I do about her birthday??” Taeyeon threw her a baffle look and at the moment Jessica just cursed herself mentally as she already able to decipher what was happening. It was totally not about Krystal’s birthday. But it was already late to take her words back!

       As Taeyeon stared at her deeply, demanding for the explanation, Jessica realized there’s no point to spin out some time anymore. She heaved a huge sigh and gestured Taeyeon to sit.

       Holding and squeezing Taeyeon’s hand, she started to explain.

       “Don’t blame yourself after all the things I told you,” Jessica started out with the thing she took into consideration. “It wasn’t Krystal birthday,” she paused momentarily. “You got wrong. Krystal’s birthday was 24^th. And 1^st was a date of…”

       Taeyeon eyes were just getting bigger as she felt hammer on her chest… as the soberness seemed hit her head heavily. As the knowledge suddenly came into her dull mind.

       “1^st… is… Tiffany,” Taeyeon mumbled. “1^st August… And I… mixed it up…”

       Taeyeon’s expression was really bitter and dark at that time. And Jessica exactly knew how Taeyeon felt at that time. Taeyeon wouldn’t be able to forgive herself for doing so stupid mistake like that.

       “And…,” Jessica went on again, thinking that as they already involved into the conversation, it’s no way for her to not reveal about Taeyeon’s dreaming as well.

       “You kept mentioning Tiffany’s name on your dream, Tae… You even said kind thing like love… or so…”

       KRYSTAL stood at the porch for some moment, looked like slightly hesitate about what she was doing. But at the next second, when a guy just suddenly popped in front of her, she knew she couldn’t just step back again. The guy seemed surprise at first but at the next second he could just manage to smile and welcome her.

       “Krystal?” he greeted warmly.

       “Oppa. It’s long time not hear anything about you,” Krystal greeted and smiled back.

       “There’s nothing more about me to share,” he giggled. “I’m just still the same. Handsome, as the last time you saw me when we’re still at high-school. Right?” he joked cockily, earning a smile from the girl in front of her.

       “And you, so much prettier now. And I’m sure you’d often received that compliment so it wouldn’t surprise you, right?” he asked again and gestured Krystal to sit onto the porch.

       “You’re indeed never changed. Apart from now you’re not single anymore.”

       “Yeah,” the guy nodded and slowly changed her expression into more serious one.

       “Krystal, I’m sure you come here not to just to greet and have some drink with me, right?” the guy asked understandingly as he noticed Krystal face hide so many pain.

       Slowly Krystal tilted her head to face him and nodded feebly.

       “Does it have any connection with…,” the guy trailed off. “Last scene at the cinema?”

       Krystal nodded again.

       “You’re with Kim Taeyeon, yes?”

       Krystal nodded for a moment but as she remembered she had already decided to end it, she hastily shook her head.

       “Once, yes. Not now.”

       It made the guy expression, that no other than Dong Hae, reflecting big surprise.

       “B-but… you’re still with her few previous days… and… you… you love her, right?”

       Krystal nodded again.

       “Taeyeon didn’t love you?” he asked.

       “She loved me.”

       “Then?? What’s it?”

       “There’re some things in this world we couldn’t just force. Sometimes, love isn’t enough, Oppa.”

      “What do you mean?”

      “I left her because I realize she love Tiffany a lot. And I wasn’t even a piece of her nail to be compared of.”

       “You can’t underestimate yourself…”

       Krystal smiled.

       “No, I’m not. It isn’t about underestimate or so. It’s about when you really love someone you have to have some courage to let her go and find the one and only one that’s able to get the place inside her heart. And the girl ~ the lucky girl, unfortunately not me. It’s Tiffany.”

       Dong Hae shook his head pathetically.

       “Now I know why I really envy to her,” he said and smiled. “She received so much love from so many wonderful people.”

       “First, Tiffany. And now, you. She must be the luckiest girl in this world.”

       “I’d like to say so,” Krystal nodded her head and stared out. As she spacing out somewhere at the sky, a smile beamed on her beautiful face. sincere smile.

       “But I think I also lucky, Oppa,” she said.

       “Huh?” Dong Hae frowned as he didn’t get it.

       “Yes. Even from the beginning I supposed to know I would never win her heart. But I just got some chance in some short period to make her mine. I stole her from Tiffany,” Krystal whispered the last words playfully. “Call me lucky, then,” she smiled.

       Dong Hae shook her head and patted Krystal head gently.

       “You always make me proud, hunbae,” he said. “So, the question?”

       “The question?” Krystal repeated.

       “Yeah. It’s impossible you come here without any question to me,” Dong Hae chuckled.

       “Oh, Oppa. You never fail to make me adore you as well,” Krystal replied complacently. She paused momentarily before finally seriously threw him the question.

       “Tell me what’s actually happened to Tiffany. What you and her hide from Taeyeon during this time.”

       DING DONG.

        Taeyeon just threw one beer bottle away into the trash at the corner of the room annoyingly and it just missed. Instead, it hit the wall and shattered. But she didn’t give a damn. Her face was as messy as with her mind now. Reluctantly she rose from the sofa and walked stumblingly to reach the door.

       “What the heck…,” she mumbled as she didn’t have any mood at all to receive any guest under such the circumstance.

       “Just go away. I don’t want to meet anybody!” Taeyeon shouted out.

      There’s short silence before the voice piped up.

       “And I’d just wait outside until you get your mood back then.”

       Taeyeon’s eyes just widened as she recognized the voice. Quickly she jumped over scattering beer bottle on the floor and managed herself to open the door. And indeed, standing in front of her was the one she really missed a lot.

       Taeyeon couldn’t help again but pulling her tightly into her hug and just embraced her for some moment as if didn’t want to let her go again. But as Taeyeon realized what she had done to the girl, she just dropped herself, now kneeling in front of her.

       “Tae…,” Krystal was shock with sudden action and tried to pull her up again but Taeyeon just persisted.

       “Even if my knees are getting broken for kneeling forever, it would never eliminate my guilty feeling and my stupid mistake toward you, Krys. Krys… I’m sorry. I’m really sorry… Please, give me another chance… I’ll proof you that…”

      Krystal squatted and cupped her cheeks gently. She stared at Taeyeon sadly.

       “That’s not the point, Tae. I always have forgiveness for you. Lover didn’t record the mistake. You know that.”

       “Then… what… what do you want from me? Does it mean we… we don’t break up, right?”

       Krystal shook her head gingerly.

       “I’m not the one for you, Tae.”

      “What are you talking about???” Taeyeon just quickly rose and overwhelmed by anger, she just managed to grab one of her picture with Tiffany from the drawer, while the other hand was ready to flash the match.

       “Look. From now on I’d burn everything relating with her. I want you to know that…”

       Before Taeyeon had any chance to flash the match, Krystal had already rushed toward her and yanked it away. She couldn’t help but hug her tightly and kissed her lips to just hush her.

       “You don’t need to do it, Tae,” Krystal whispered in the pause of kissing. Then she kissed her again passionately.

       “Listen to me,” she whispered again. “We both know we might love each other. But we weren’t designed to be together,” she stated sincerely, struggling hard to conceal her sadness.

       “I’m leaving you because I love you so much, Tae. You have to absorb this knowledge.”

      “I can’t and I won’t,” Taeyeon persisted.

       “No. You can and you have to,” Krystal was also showing her stubbornness.

       “Look,” Taeyeon groaned in frustrating mode. “Why you’re so adamant to ask me to chase for someone that even lie for me and didn’t care about me?? Do you want me to bear another pain again? Is it what you want?? Why don’t you let me choose you… the one who had already bear so many pain because of me… You sacrificed a lot for me, Krys… You…”

       Krystal shook her head and caressed her cheeks.

       “Tae if you think I had sacrificed a lot for you, I think you have to find another term beyond sacrifice to describe how much Tiffany loves you. She’s the most wonderful girl with wonderful unbeaten love toward you I ever knew, Tae. And you must be lucky to have her.”

       “I… don’t get it…,” Taeyeon replied confusingly.

       “Make it simple, then,” Krystal smiled playfully. “You will do anything to make it up to me?”

      This time Taeyeon just nodded without any hesitation.

      Before she had any chance to figure out anything, Krystal had already hauled up some ticket and proffered it to her.

       It was a ticket for midnight flight with destination to LA.

       She managed to kiss her lover once again as if she had already known she might never have the chance anymore.

       “Love, please take this. Go get her or else, I will never forgive you."

to be continued...