Krystal was sitting on the passenger’s side of Tiffany’s car and was currently glaring at the driver. “You couldn’t have made an extra effort to cover yourself up? You might as well just go out .”

Tiffany glanced at her dress as she drove to their destination and retorted, “The length of my dress is fine.”

“It’s fine if you’re a . Are you a ?”

Tiffany scoffed. “This is how I normally dress when I go out and besides, one of us has to at least look good.”

Unlike Tiffany who was wearing a short red dress, Krystal was clad in jeans and a simple shirt that exposed her belly button a bit.

“I look good regardless of what I wear. I would look good even if I’m wearing a garbage bag. I don’t need to show every bit of my skin for others to know that I’m hot.”

They’ve arrived at the bar that Tiffany frequents in but their bickering continued as they went inside.

“Could you, for one second, not think that you’re better than everyone else?”

Krystal arched a brow and kept mum. But just when Tiffany thought the girl has finally conceded, Krystal spoke again. “One second done! I think that was about three seconds. God, that was so hard to do.”

“You are not better than everyone else. You might be smarter than most people but that doesn’t mean you’re better than them. You’re not even a good person to begin with.”

Krystal was giving half of her attention to what Tiffany was rambling on about and half of it to the guys inside the bar that were blatantly checking out the older girl. She sneakily s an arm around Tiffany’s waist and whispered to Tiffany’s ear, “At least I’m good in bed. You have to give me that.”

“Stop being obnoxious first and maybe I would.”

Tiffany sat on one of the bar stools and ordered two drinks for the both of them. She soon felt this chill run down her spine and when she checked it was Krystal who was glaring at her. “What do you want now? Why can’t you just sit on the vacant stool beside me like a normal person would?”

“Your dress is riding up. Are you aware of that?”

Tiffany just rolled her eyes and gulped down the drink that the bartender gave her. Krystal eventually sat down with her back against the bar, frowning at everyone who was walking by.

The younger girl got bored doing that so she turned around and ordered a drink for herself since she didn’t like what Tiffany got her. By the time she finished her fourth shot of tequila, she was feeling a bit tipsy and antsy.

She looked to her side and saw a guy talking to Tiffany so she stood up, stood between Tiffany and the guy and shoved him. “You don’t have to buy her a drink. She can buy herself a drink. I can buy her a drink so just worry about your own drink and back off my girl, you big buffoon.”

Tiffany pulled the girl back and dragged her away from the guy who looked high `on steroids. “What the hell is wrong with you? He could’ve stepped on you if he wanted to.”

“I want to go home,” Krystal mumbled.

“And I’m not yours. I’m not your possession so don’t you dare say that ever again.”

“Jesus, you sound like you’ve never been in a relationship before, like once upon a time you didn’t tell Yoona-unnie that she’s yours.”

“I would’ve busted my own lips open if I ever say something like that.”

“See, that’s your problem. You’re just not romantic. You even brought me here as your Christmas present…to drink!”

“Your idea of being romantic is getting both of us in trouble?”

“Forget it. I’m going home. Go walk around in your tight and oh-so-short dress. I wouldn’t give a flying because as you said, you’re not mine and I have zero rights to be protective of you especially when a guy is trying to hit on you. Don’t think I missed his disgusting hand slowly making its way down your back, Tiffany.”

Krystal made her way out of the bar and walked around the corner of the street to wait for a cab.

“Hey!” she heard Tiffany’s yell but didn’t bother turning around. She was just wishing for a cab to pass by. “You can’t be like this! I don’t even know what our relationship is. You hate me sometimes and I feel the same way. I get so pissed at everything you do one minute and then the next, you do something that makes me blush like a high school girl who just got asked out by her crush to the prom. You’re my nightmare that has come to life.”

“God, that is so romantic that it has swept me off my feet. I’m your nightmare that came to life. That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever—“

“Stop being such a smartass. I hate it. I hate it when you get too sarcastic, too. I wouldn’t mind you calling me ‘yours’ but I need you to stop insulting me every chance you get.”

Tiffany waited for a response but all she got was a stoic expression. Despite the lack of expression, Krystal had thousands of things in her mind at that moment. She genuinely likes Tiffany but she couldn’t say she likes her all the time. She also couldn’t promise she’d have enough self-control to stop herself from ripping Tiffany in half when she starts to get annoying.

If she gets in a serious relationship with Tiffany, it’s like she signed herself up for a never ending torture and frequent headaches. Choosing otherwise would also mean seeing Tiffany get hit on by buffoons and not being able to do or say something about it.

“I was just really looking forward to a tangible Christmas present from you but you had to bring me to a bar for god-knows-why and now we have to deal with this now,” she muttered.

“For the record I just wanted to get you drunk.”

“Your brain couldn’t have thought that you could’ve done that even if we’re still at home?”

“There you are again with your smartass answers.”

Krystal sighed. “Fine. I’ll be your girlfriend.”

Tiffany chuckled, thinking that the younger girl was kidding but she stopped soon as the expression on Krystal’s face remained unchanged. “Why do you sound like I’m forcing you to be my girlfriend? I didn’t even ask you that question.”

“Unlike you, you , I can read between the lines.” She caught sight of the glare that Tiffany was shooting her. “I don’t know how to tell you that exact same thing nicely.”

“You didn’t even try.”

Krystal sighed in defeat. “Let’s just go home. I’m tired and the tequila’s kicking in.”

The older girl nodded and held Krystal’s hand, leading her to the parking lot where her car was parked. “I guess you’re too tired for your present then.”

“Does it involve me, you, a comfy bed and staying up all night?” Tiffany nodded cheekily. “Then I think I’ll pass.”

Tiffany stopped walking which made Krystal bump on her. The younger of the two rubbed her nose that collided with the back of Tiffany’s head.

“You don’t want that type of gift?” Tiffany asked as she turned around to face Krystal.

“I want something that I can touch.” Both of them looked down at the same time. Oddly enough, they were thinking of the same thing. “Something that’s not a body part of yours.”

“You’re giving me such a hard time. Just tell me a specific thing that you want.” Krystal smirked and walked ahead, leaving a confused Tiffany behind.

The next day, the younger Jung basically dragged her to the toy store. They stopped walking in front of a shelf and Tiffany forced her half-lidded eyes to fully open.

“You dragged me here because?” She stared at Krystal who looked like a kid in a toy store…scratch that. She is a kid in the toy store.

“You asked me last night what I wanted to receive as a gift and now here we are.” Krystal was grinning from ear to ear, eyes twinkling and fingers pointing to the action figures that were on display.

“An action figure?”

“GUNDAM!”

“Oh my god,” Tiffany muttered and attempted to cover her face. “Can you keep your voice down?”

“Fine, fine but I really want this one and this one right here.”

Tiffany didn’t pay attention and just stared at the child that she was with who was going around the shelf pointing her fingers at the items that she likes. “At least pick a pink one.”

“Do you want it bedazzled as well?” Tiffany deadpanned. “Alright, alright, no snarky answers. I don’t think they have it here though. There’s this,” she held up a box and showed it to Tiffany, “Epyon. It’s not pink but it still looks a bit girly. I like the colour too.”

“You’d rather have a gundam than sleep with me?”

“I could sleep with you all the time but I can’t get you to buy me a gundam whenever I want to.”

Tiffany thought about it and agreed. “It makes sense.” She opened her purse and gave her credit card to Krystal. “Don’t buy too much. I’m just going to the food court and eat. I’m not going to feel full by staring at these toys.”

“They’re collectibles.” She grabbed the card and picked up a basket. “I’m going to need you to leave me alone for two days or three because I need to assemble these precious things.”

“Weird, geeky, snarky asshat.”

---

Jessica got woken up by her ringing phone and she would’ve been glad to see her sister’s name on the screen if it weren’t for her lack of sleep. The younger Jung was apologizing for something and she didn’t know what the apology was for. She poured coffee in a mug and added a creamer before sitting in front of the monitors. She first checked up on the tribe Taeyeon wasn’t on and they were all still sleeping.

She shifted her attention to Taeyeon’s tribe and noticed the girl talking to one of the members of her tribe while drinking coconut water.

“This would’ve been so much fun if we were just on a vacation and we have something to eat. Something decent,” she heard the girl sitting beside Taeyeon said.

“So far we’ve eaten coconut and those small crabs and fish but that was two days ago and I’m normally very picky when it comes to food but I just can’t afford being picky right now. I don’t eat then I don’t have the energy to do the challenges. On the other hand, we’d be spending New Year’s eve here. Do you think they’ll give us food?”

Jessica continued to listen in on their conversation.

“Taeyeon-ssi looks like a kid with that buff around her body.”

She shifted her swivel chair and nodded at Sunye who was leaning against the wall with a cup of coffee on her hands. “She looks like a kid regardless of what she wears.”

She saw Taeyeon sniffing and hugging herself.

“It was really cold last night,” Taeyeon said.

Jessica sighed and took a sip of her coffee. “You shouldn’t have offered your only shirt to your tribe member then,” she mumbled and Sunye caught it.

Sunye giggled at the statement. “It was really nice of her to lend it to Bora-ssi though despite feeling cold as well.”

“It was raining non-stop last night and she could’ve gotten sick as well. How could they win immunity if half of them catch a cold?”

Sunye shrugged and true enough, later that day Taeyeon started sneezing and coughing up a storm and their tribe decided it was best to let her sit out the immunity challenge since Bora was already feeling a lot better.

---

“I don’t understand why we couldn’t just stay at home and celebrate there and why we had to go here—oof! Be bumped by smelly strangers and do a countdown with them. I mean, can’t you count by yourself?”

Yoona shook her head and laughed at her girlfriend’s sister while Tiffany rolled her eyes. She really doesn’t understand how Krystal could be so mean to people she doesn’t even know.

“It’s more fun doing it here where there are lots of people to celebrate it with.”

“We’re going to freeze our off here.” Krystal pulled her coat closer to her body to keep herself warm. “Where’s Yuri-unnie? I can feel my throat going dry.”

“I’m here, I’m here. Here you go,” Yuri handed them their drinks and took a sip on her own. “There are mostly couples here. Looks like I’m going to be kissing Yoong when the clock strikes twelve.”

Yoona laughed mirthlessly. That only made her miss Jessica more. She was holding her phone on one hand, ready to press the speed dial button for Jessica. She planned on calling her at midnight. It was better than kissing her best friend.

“That’s a good idea and a sight to see,” Krystal exclaimed. “I promise I won’t tell my sister you guys kissed.”

“We’re not gonna do that, Krys.”

Tiffany nodded. “Yuri’s not even into girls which is ironic because her name’s Yuri.”

Krystal smirked. “Tell me once you’ve decided to go out of that closet, Yuri-unnie.”

Tiffany chuckled. “Yuri being into girls would be so weird. Her only girl crush is Taeyeon-unnie. Apart from her Yuri just sees other girls as friends. No more, no less.”

“She likes her? That’s interesting.”

Yuri kept quiet, staring some place else and pretending that she wasn’t listening so she didn’t see Krystal staring at her suspiciously with an amused smirk. She directed her gaze at Yoona who was finishing her drinking and still clutching tightly to her phone. She thought of an idea and nudged Tiffany to tell her about it.

“Hey, do you want to play a prank on Yoona-unnie? So the plan is I call Jessica-unnie so Yoona-unnie won’t be able to reach her and we both laugh at Yoona-unnie’s face because it’s funny.”

“You’re crazy.”

“Shut up. I’m cold.”

“Aww, do you want a hug, you big baby?”

Krystal turned away and hugged herself tighter.

“You really are a big baby,” Tiffany whispered on her ear as she hugged the younger Jung from the back. Krystal removed her arms from Tiffany’s embrace and put it on top of Tiffany’s. “We’re all freezing our butts off here because of you.”

 “I just didn’t want us ending up on the bed again on midnight ‘til god knows what time.”

“Oh please, I’d be spending my time with video games or playing with my gundam action figures.” Tiffany playfully bit her clothed shoulder making the younger girl blush. “Hey, don’t you dare drool on my jacket.”

Tiffany giggled and placed a wet kiss on the younger girl’s cheek.

“Hey, stop it! That’s gross.”

But Tiffany did it again on the other cheek.

“Stop it or I’ll leave.”

The older of the two put both hands up and stepped away from her. Krystal pulled her by the waist and hugged her. “You are so weird. When you’re not acting like a menopausal old lady, you act like a five year old kid. So annoying.”

Tiffany held Krystal’s head and stared at her. “Menopausal old lady? That’s you.”

The two of them continued bickering but with the way they were holding each other, Tiffany cupping Krystal’s check and Krystal’s hands on Tiffany’s waist, it seemed more like they were going to make out right then and there.

“Look at those two being all lovey-dovey on New Year’s Eve. I hate them,” Yuri said.

“Why? You’ve spent every New Year’s Eve with no boyfriend,” she paused when she remembered Krsytal’s remark, “You’ve never been grumpy during New Year’s Eve because you spent it with me and Taeyeon-unnie every year but unnie’s away so…”

“That’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever said this year.”

“Getting back with Youngbae is the most stupid thing you’ve ever done this year so I guess we’re meant to be best friends. We do and say ridiculous stuff. The huge difference though is that I have a hot girlfriend and you have a stupid boyfriend who is also your beard…probably.”

Yuri coolly shrugged and pointed at the LCD screen showing a timer. “Countdown’s starting.”

“Saved by the countdown,” Yoona mumbled and shook her head. Yuri always whined about her sharing everything and being transparent but here she was hiding her ual preference. If it weren’t for Krystal, she wouldn’t have had thought that her best friend’s crush on her sister might be more than just a ‘girl crush.’

She doesn’t blame it all on Yuri though. It was also her fault for being so oblivious. The people around her cheered while the love-hate couple were kissing and her best friend was playing with her phone. She tried calling Jessica but she had a hard time doing so. Her service provider was probably receiving an overwhelming amount of people calling and sending messages to their loved ones. She dialled again but eventually gave up and focused on the fireworks display.

When she got home, she finally got a hold of Jessica but they didn’t talk that much. It still made her glad that she got to talk to her girlfriend but she swore she’d spend the next New Year’s Eve with Jessica.

---

From eighteen castaways, they were now down to nine and they’ve been staying there for twenty-five days. Everyone lost weight and the guys who had no moustache on their first day are now covered in facial hair. Taeyeon who was already skinny to begin with became extra thinner. Her jawline was even more prominent now and her snow-white skin went a bit tanned.

At this point, everyone was in the same tribe and had to compete for immunity individually. The staff were busy watching from the monitors as the bidding for food and other simple indulgence continued. One of them spent every cent of the money given to them and placed a bid on a bowl of jjamppong and a cold glass of soda.

Taeyeon placed a bid on a couple of items but eventually lost. The host took off the food dome and revealed a huge hamburger with fries on the side. Taeyeon immediately placed everything she had and the host asked her to claim her meal.

The staff laughed at how the petite girl chomped down on the fries and sighed after she swallowed it.

“Best meal I’ve ever had,” she said with food in .

Jessica shook her head and stood up from where she was sitting to check on the tapes from yesterday. She also checked her phone for any unread messages or missed calls. There was one missed call from Yoona so she went outside where the reception was better and dialled her girlfriend’s number.

It rang a couple of times before Yoona picked up. “Hey, how are you?”

She didn’t get a chance to answer and had to drop the call when she saw the other producers motioning for her to come back in.

“What’s wrong?” she asked as she entered the room.

“Something’s wrong with Taeyeon-ssi.”

She looked at the monitor and true enough, Taeyeon was coughing and looked like she couldn’t breathe.

“,” Jessica cursed out loudly. “What did she eat?”

Sunye was the first one to answer even though she’s a bit shaken up. “Minho-ssi gets to share the food that he placed a bid on. It was chicken with sauce on it.”

Jessica turned to Jaewon and told him to immediately call the hospital nearby and for them to stand by just in case. She also ordered the medics to go to the island as quickly as possible. “What was the sauce made of? Did it have nuts?”

Sunye nodded and Jessica searched for the long range transceiver that they use to talk to the camera men. “Where’s the goddamn walkie talkie?” she asked in an agitated tone. The staff grew frantic as they saw the contestants, the host and even the crew crowd to where Taeyeon was.

Jessica remembered bringing hers upstairs in her room last night. She ran upstairs and retrieved it. She pressed a button and spoke. “Sungjae-ssi? Sungjae-ssi, are you there?”

“Yes, Jessica-ssi?”

Jessica walked out of her room and out of the house. She saw the medics gearing up and getting on the speed boat. “Where are you?”

“I was, uh…pooping…”

Jessica didn’t hear his answer clearly since she was also talking to the medics and asking them if she could come. The team didn’t think twice in letting her do so.

“Sungjae-ssi, I need you to go to where the castaways are right now. Do you still have the epipen I gave you?”

“Yes, ma’am. Someone needs it?”

“Yes and I want you to run like you’ve never run before. Do you understand? I don’t care if you get blisters after that. I just want you to run as fast as you can. It’s urgent.”

“Understood, Jessica-ssi.”

“What are you still doing talking to me? Go run!”

When Jessica and the medics got there, Taeyeon has already been injected with the epipen and was lying down on the bench. Jessica let the medics do their job but once Taeyeon was on the stretcher, she walked with them towards the boat.

“Taeyeon, talk to me. Can you breathe?” Taeyeon didn’t answer but she was conscious. Conscious enough to reach for Jessica’s hand. “Is she going to be okay?” she asked one of the medics.

“She’s lucky that cameraman was carrying an epipen with him but we still have to bring her to the hospital to make sure.”

Just then Sungjae, the cameraman and the person who administered the epipen, caught up to them and explained that Jessica was the one who gave it to her before they even went to the island.

“Good thinking, Jessica-ssi. You just saved Taeyeon-ssi’s life,” one of the medics holding the stretcher commented but Jessica ignored it. Instead, she wiped the sweat that was dripping on Taeyeon’s forehead.

While they were on their way to the hospital, the producers passed the information to the host that they would have to wait for the doctor’s advice on whether Taeyeon would stay in the competition or if she was going to be removed.

---

Three hours have passed ever since Taeyeon has been admitted to the hospital. She was fine but they still had to do a couple of tests to make sure she’s absolutely fine. She was sleeping on the hospital bed while Jessica and Sungjae were sitting on the couch.

“You knew Taeyeon-ssi has a nut allergy? How come the other producers weren’t aware of that?” Sungjae questioned.

“I’m dating her sister,” she answered, not caring what the guy would think about her ual preference, without revealing about their past relationship.

“Oh…so that’s why you decline every guy who’s asked you out. Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I didn’t want anyone to know because people might think she’s being given an unfair advantage because I’m going out with her sister.”

“Nah, I don’t think people would think that. She should’ve told us about her allergy though.”

“She’s not the type to tell people things about her and that includes her allergies.”

“But she told yo—“

“Her sister told me.” That was a lie. Yoona didn’t have to tell her that. She found out when she they were still dating through an incident that added ten years to her real age.

Taeyeon woke up and slowly sat up from the bed. The two also got up from their seat and went near her.

“Are you feeling better, Taeyeon-ssi?” Sungjae asked and Taeyeon nodded.

“Thank you,” she mumbled.

“You should thank Jessica-ssi. She’s the one who gave me the epipen.”

The mentioned girl cursed silently. She was really hoping Taeyeon wouldn’t find out.

“Thank you.”

She looked at Taeyeon but when she met the latter’s gaze, she had to look away. “It’s fine. It was a precautionary measure that I took. I’m sure others who knew such information about you would’ve done the same thing.”

The doctor came in, cutting the conversation short, and informed them that under different circumstances they would be asking the patient to stay at the hospital for the remainder of the day but since Taeyeon’s intake of the nut sauce wasn’t a lot, they’re going to let her be discharged from the hospital sooner. Plus, Taeyeon didn’t want to stay here longer than what is necessary.

“I’ll go and sign the papers.”

“Jessica-ssi, let me do it.” Sungjae walked towards her and whispered. “It would be too awkward if you leave me alone with Taeyeon-ssi. I’m a big fan but I won’t be able to take the awkwardness.”

Jessica sighed but nodded nonetheless. “You sure you don’t want to stay here longer?”

“I’m sure.”

“Alright.” Taeyeon wanted to start a conversation but she didn’t know how so she just kept mum and watched as Jessica typed something on her phone. She’s decided that she was going to talk to the girl some other time and waited for the other guy to come back.

---

Another week has passed and four more people have been voted off the island and became a part of the jury that would eventually vote which one deserves to win.

Every staff who were betting on Taeyeon to win are confident that she really has it in the bag. The girl has even made an alliance with three other strong contenders. That’s why everyone felt bad when she got injured while competing in the immunity challenge. Thinking that it was just a small injury, she refused to be admitted to the hospital once again but that only resulted in getting her toe injury infected and it only got worse.

She was eventually brought to the hospital to treat her injured toe and was advised not to “use” it which meant that she won’t be able to compete and join the castaways from doing whatever it is that they need to do to survive in the island. Taeyeon became the eighth member of the jury.

The members of the jury stayed in the villa next to where the producers and other staff were currently residing.  Jessica was on her way there to check up on Taeyeon who just got back from the nearby hospital. She had the go signal from the senior producers that she could inform the younger Kim about what happened to her sister and Yoona wanted to know if she was alright.

Jessica greeted the other celebrities lounging inside the villa and asked where Taeyeon was. Bora pointed outside and she muttered a thank you before going out. She saw her sitting on a bench, staring intently at the horizon and watching the sunset.

“Hey, do you mind if I take a seat?” Taeyeon shook her head and she sat down, making sure there was an ample gap between the two of them.

“Yoona’s really worried about you.”

“My toe just got injured. It’s not like I totally lost a toe.” Taeyeon smiled, remembering how her younger sister would react every time she gets so much as a scrape on her finger. She realized she reacted the same way with Yoona.

“Are you sure it’s fine now though? Shouldn’t you be resting?”

“I’m fine. I’m just sitting here. It gets boring upstairs.”

“Where’s the social butterfly side of you that you showed everyone these past few weeks? It would help alleviate the boredom if you talk to the people you’re currently living with. By the way, the staff feels bad that you got taken out because of an injury.”

“Better than being blindsided and being voted off, in my opinion.”

“I agree.”

Taeyeon glanced at Jessica and noticed that the latter was already looking at her.

“I don’t get it. So why’d you really join Survivor?”

There goes blunt Sica.

____

i just had to add the gundam bit because my brother's birthday is coming soon and he really likes gundam so i had to incorporate it here to free my conscience (not planning on giving him a present). it was supposed to be a rated krysfany but yeah, changed my mind hahah and i'm really sorry for not updating quickly these days. I've been busy with stuff