As time went by, Krystal would always wave hello whenever she came across Henry and he in return would give her a wide smile and say hi back. Occasionally, either of the two would inquire about how the other was doing but never anything beyond that. Krystal viewed them as friendly acquaintances that worked under the same company. After her encounter with Henry at New York, she went on with her everyday life as if nothing changed. She’d listen to “Perfection” from time to time and didn’t bother with anything else. Henry did the exact opposite.

After meeting Krystal, he looked up all of f(x)’s songs and fell in love with the group. He wondered why it took him so long to learn about his fellow label mates. Whenever he got the chance, he’d try his best to learn more about his new infatuation. Always, he watched Krystal from afar in hopes that one day he’d have the courage to say more than small talk.

Henry sighed to himself and let himself slouch more in the chair he was sitting in. He stared up at the lobby ceiling of the company building. He pulled out his phone and looked up the time. 12:07 PM.

“Hyung told me to be here by noon and yet he’s the one who’s late.”

Henry heard distant footsteps and looked down from the ceiling. He stood up and pointed to an imaginary watch on his left wrist.

“Hyung, you’re late! What took you so long?”

Zhou Mi lightly chuckled and shrugged his shoulders.

“Eh, these things happen. Besides, there’s a slight change in plans.”

Henry slightly tilted his head to the side in confusion.

“You never even told me what the original plans were.”

Zhou Mi lifted his right index finger to his lips and smirked.

“Calm down Henry-yah. You’ll figure it out soon enough. Surprises are more fun anyways.”

Henry groaned in frustration and followed Zhou Mi down a hallway and stared at the floor while walking. Henry had no idea why he met up with Zhou Mi to begin with but decided not to question his elder. He didn’t have anything planned today so he figured doing something with his favorite hyung was the best way to go.

“And we’re finally here.”

Henry looked up from the floor and saw that they were in front of a door to a practice room. He heard music playing on the other side of the door and wondered who was practicing in the room.

“Hyung, why are we here?”

Zhou Mi ignored Henry’s question and opened the door. Once both had walked through the doorway, Henry saw the reflections of Victoria and….Krystal. Henry’s skipped at beat from the sight of the girl that consumed his thoughts since the first day he saw her. Krystal was wearing a plain white t-shirt with grey sweatpants. Her hair was up in a ponytail and her face had sweat dripping from it but didn’t think she was any less beautiful than the several times he’d run into her.

Krystal’s moves were smooth and fluid. If given the chance, Henry would have watched her dance all day. He snapped out of his trance when he heard the music stop playing.

“Zhou Mi oppa! Henry! It’s about time you two came. I thought you guys were never going to come.” Victoria leaned to her side and crossed her arms while tapping her foot. Zhou Mi stepped forward and gave Victoria an apologetic smile.

“Heh, yeah sorry. I was running a little behind, but we’re here now, aren’t we?”

Victoria huffed before smiling back and playfully pushed Zhou Mi’s shoulder.

“Just don’t do it again. It’s rude to make two beautiful ladies wait.”

Zhou Mi snorted at Victoria’s comment and looked passed Victoria.

“What two beautiful ladies are you talking about? I only see one and she’s currently sitting on the floor.”

Victoria gasped while Krystal stood up from the floor and laughed.

“Thank you sunbae, but I think you should be careful what you say. Unnie can have a temper from time to time. Anyways, continue on with your ‘playful’ bickering while I pull myself out of the equation.” Krystal let the two be and walked towards Henry.

“Hi Henry sunbae! I-“

Henry lifted up his index finger and waved it in front of Krystal’s face.

“Ah, ah, ah. What did I say about calling me sunbae? It makes me feel old.” Henry nervously scratched his neck as Krystal laughed. Her laugh caused Henry to feel butterflies in his stomach and a spike in his nervousness.

“I’m sorry Henry. It slipped my mind.” Krystal gave Henry a small smile and started to play around with the loose hairs that came out of her ponytail. Henry pursed his lips and wondered how someone can go from looking fierce and determine to the epitome of adorable in a matter of minutes. He quickly cleared his slowly drying throat and spoke.

“It’s okay Krystal-ah. Just make sure you don’t do it again.”

Krystal averted her attention from her hair back to Henry and gave him an enthusiastic nod. She opened to start a conversation but Victoria’s voice cut her off.

“Soojung-ah! Zhou Mi and I uh… Need to go get something. We’ll be back in ten minutes.” Victoria grabbed Zhou Mi’s hand and the two backed away before nearly running out of the practice room. Krystal sat back down to the floor and let her stare linger towards the door.

“Well that was weird. I wonder what sunbae and unnie need to go get.”

Henry shrugged his shoulders and sat down with Krystal to continue to stare at the door as well.

Down the hallway, snickers could be heard. Victoria and Zhou Mi walked down towards the main lobby of the building with their arms linked.

“Was ‘something’ really the only thing you could come up with? God Victoria you’re so obvious!”

Victoria’s snickers turned into a hard laughter.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I was never good at lying. Besides, does it really matter? They’re alone now and that’s all that counts.”

Zhou Mi bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows.

“Yeah but Henry can be a bit awkward when it comes to girls. He was never really great when it came to sweeping a girl off her feet.”

Victoria continued to laugh and tugged on Zhou Mi’s arm in order to make him stop walking.

“Don’t worry so much. Soojung hates being bored. She’ll make the conversation happen no matter how awkward the situation is.”

Zhou Mi silently nodded and two started walking again towards the lobby.

“So Henry, what’s your favorite type of ice cream? Mine is chocolate.”

“Mochi.”

Krystal stared at Henry with confusion and scratched her head.

“But you said that as your favorite food to eat.”

Henry lightly laughed and switched from sitting to lying on his back, gazing at the ceiling.

“What can I say? I have a thing for mochi.”

Krystal scoffed and stared down Henry’s laying figure.

“A thing? More like an obsession if you ask me.”

Henry shifted his gaze from the ceiling to Krystal.

“Thing, obsession, it makes no difference to me. If I had the choice, I’d have mochi all the time.”

Krystal lowered herself and laid flat on her stomach with her head perched on her hand.

In a teasing tone she said, “Well, well. It sounds like you’d be a prince of said mochi.” Krystal giggled at her silly and carefree antics. Henry took delight Krystal childish comments and turned to face her.

“But what’s a kingdom without its princess? I can’t rule as a prince all by myself.”

Krystal bit her lip in an attempt to keep herself from squealing. She had too much pride to let herself give into her inner girly, innocent self that she locked away years ago.

“I mean, I guess I could fulfill that role since you asked so nicely.” Krystal turned away from Henry and laid on her back to stretch it. Henry stayed in place speechless. He knew that they were simply joking but the idea of Krystal being his princess was something he wished to have. He knew from the moment he met her that she would have a personality to match her looks but the personality he imagined Krystal to have paled in comparison to what he was experiencing firsthand. After spending an hour with the girl, Henry could feel his infatuation grow. It was a feeling he welcomed with open arms. He only hoped that he could get more moments like this with the princess he sought to claim as his. 

Krystal got up from the floor and started gathering her things. She looked back to Henry and gave him a smile.

“Well Prince Mochi, I do enjoy your company but I beseech for your permission to leave for I have duties to attend to. A kingdom can’t function properly if its rulers are goofing off for too long.” Krystal laughed at her ridiculous comments and slowly backed away towards the door. Henry slightly panicked. He finally had the opportunity to spend time with the girl he watched from afar for months. He couldn’t let her slip away so easily.

“But tell me Princess, how am I supposed to hear from you again?”

Krystal chuckled and walked back towards Henry. She kneeled down and opened up her hand in front of his face.

“Give me your phone.”

Henry obeyed without question and handed Krystal his cell phone. She grabbed it and quickly dialed her own number before handing it back.

“There. Feel free to talk whenever you want. Bye Henry!” Krystal darted towards the door and gave Henry one quick wave before leaving him alone in the practice room.

Henry looked down at his phone and immediately saved Krystal’s number as “Princess”.  He sighed contently and sent one quick text message before losing himself to the happiness that was ready to explode from inside of him. He thought that nothing would ever top the day he met Krystal until the events of this day proved otherwise.

Krystal was walking back to her dorm when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She pulled the phone out and saw a text message from an unknown number she assumed was Henry’s.

“Make sure to stay safe on your way home. The kingdom would be very sad if anything ever happened to their princess.”

Krystal decided to not reply and continued on her way home with a smile on her face and a warm sensation in her chest.  For once in a long time, she felt content.

A/N: Hey! I told myself that I'd update once a week but I'm too impatient for that. Aren't you guys lucky? But seriously, I wasn't expecting anyone to even notice my mediocre writing and odd story. Thanks you guys! I know everyone is here for Kaistal and it's going to happen I assure you. I just hope you can wait long enough. I'm a er for build ups and making everything have meaning. Be patient with me ^^

-ForbiddenSimplicity