Entry 9

Krystal entered their classroom, looking sad. She saw Chanyeol running towards her and attempted to smile happily.

Chanyeol stopped in front of Krystal at the entrance door. "Krystal! Krystal! You've been absent for a week, are you okay now?" he asked concernedly.

Krystal nodded. "Mm-hmm. I'm fine now Yeollie." she answered.

"Move Jung!" one of the boys that hit Krystal on her face last time pushed her out of the entrance door. Krystal winced painfully.
"Owwww" she muttered.
"What's wrong Krystal?" Chanyeol put a careful arm around her shoulders and patted her back. Krystal winced again and removed his hand from her back.
"It's nothing. Come on let's sit."

After 8 hours of class, the grade schoolers went outside the school to have fun at the playground. Krystal and Chanyeol were at their usual swings. Chanyeol was noisily talking about random things while Krystal looked glazed-eyed at him.

"I almost forgot Krystal! Please give this to Aunt Beautiful, Mom made this for her." Chanyeol gave her some home-baked cookies. 

Krystal looked uncertainly at the cookies. Reluctantly, she reached for the tupperware and put it inside her bag.

"Thank you. I'm sure.... Mom... will like this." she attempted another smile at him.

There was a loud honking from the driveway. The driver got out from the luxurious car and opened the door for his master. A tall man in little mustache, wearing a business suit stepped out. He searched the playground and when he saw Krystal, he walked towards her.

"Come on Krystal let's go." he ordered in his deep and scary voice. He gave a Chanyeol a sharp stare and looked at his curly and messy hair. 
"Good afternoon Sir!" Chanyeol bowed at Krystal's father.

Krystal hopped down from the swing and carried her backpack.

"Bye Yeollie" she waved at him and he waved back. Mr. Jung gave Chanyeol another long and sharp look before turning away, leaving Chanyeol alone in the swing.

---

"Krystal, did you even sleep?" Luna demanded. It was lunch time and they were at their usual seats in the cafeteria. Krystal's eyes drooped every now and then but she managed to retain her cold and expressionless composure. 
"Yes. I did." she replied.

Luna was still suspicious at her and pressed on.

"You've been looking tired lately, what are you busy at?"

Krystal did not reply.

"Come on Krystal, you can trust us." Luna gave her a sweet smile while she gave Amber an encouraging nod. Amber quickly nodded too and said
"Yeah Krystal, you can trust us."

Krystal rolled her eyes.

*That's the problem. I don't trust anyone.* 

Instead of answering, she just looked around the cafeteria. She spotted Chanyeol and Sulli at the farthest table, laughing happily at each other. She watched them exchange their lunch boxes and picked their favorite meat and vegetables.

"What are you looking at?" Amber asked. She looked at the direction where Krystal's eyes were and laughed. "Oh you're looking at the marks. Funny isn't?"
"What do you mean?" Krystal raised her eyebrows.
"They're supposed to be the most bullied, most hated students in school, but they looked unaffected by it. And that carrot head won't stop smiling and laughing, and even worse, he won't stop calling your name every now an then." Amber rolled her eyes dramatically. Then she split her face in a wide smile and raised her hand.
"Oh oh! Krystal! Krystal! Did you eat you breakfast? Did you eat well? Good morning Krystal!" Amber immitated Chanyeol's everyday greetings at Krystal in a horrible and uncanny way. Luna laughed out loud while Krystal remained emotionless. Amber looked at Krystal's expression and stopped her act.
"What's the matter, you don't like it?" she asked.

Krystal smiled coldly at her.

"Of course I like it." she said too sweetly.

Amber nodded and misinterpreted her sarcasm. "I know right. Those two were complete fools. They deserve each other."

Krystal frowned at Amber. She doesn't like people saying that.

"But carrot head's kind of cute." Luna tilted her head and stared at Chanyeol's features. "I just don't like his hair color and his big eyeglasses, but if you remove those too plus his mark, he'll be one hottie at school."

Krystal's frown deepened even more. She doesn't like others complimenting Chanyeol too.

"Oh look at this Luna, Krystal!" Amber was reading something from her phone. "It's the top scoop at Yahoo news. Listen; "Lee Jae Mi, actor Lee Yoon Sook's wife, was admitted at Seoul's Women Mental Institution, Friday, 08:00 a.m. after she attacked a couple of old women at the Walter grocery store last Monday... Blah blah blah..." she stopped reading and looked at Luna and Krystal. "I can imagine that Lee Yoon Sook was in a big hot seat right now."
"Yuck, her wife's crazy? That explains why she was spotted once at the middle of the pedestrian lane last month. And Lee Yoon Sook insisted that she was just in a hangover." Luna shook her head. "His wife will surely affect his career. UGH. Carzy people." Luna sipped her drink.
"What's wrong with crazy people?" Krystal asked coldly.
"What's wrong is, they should just be isolated from normal people. If people insisted that they can be tamed by letting them interact with us, then they were wrong. The crazies were a laughing stock. Just like this!" 

Amber rolled her eyes upwards while she lolled her tounge out. She made twirling moves at her hair and slurred words playfully.

"I'm... dumbbbbb..."

Luna gave another shrill of laughter. She was laughing so hard that she has to use the table for support.

"hahaha! stop... that.. Amber! Hahaha!"

Krystal meanwhile was gripping her fork too hard. Amber continued her act. Her eyes were still unfocused then she nodded her head rapidly.

"I n-ni-ni-need t-to b-be in a strait jackeeeet because I'm an -holeeee".
"STOP THAT!" Krystal stood from her seat and shouted at Amber and Luna. Amber quickly stopped and frowned at Krystal.
"G-geez Krystal, it was just for fun." she mumbled.
"Well, it isn't funny." she hissed through her gritted teeth.
"Really, what's your problem Krystal?" Amber asked.
"You!" Krystal grabbed her bag and stormed out of the cafeteria. Students looked from the cafeteria door to Amber who looked away awkwardly.
"Krystal's so bothersome." Amber complained.
"Tell me about it." Luna rolled her eyes. "If she was not only the most famous girl here, I'm so done with her. I can't take her attitude."
"Me neither."

"What was wrong with her?" Sulli asked. They were still staring at the door where Krystal walked out.
"I don't know..." Chanyeol answered worriedly.

Sulli glanced at him and said, "Well, let's go now. You still have your P.E right?"
"What? Oh yeah. Ughhhhh volleyball again." Chanyeol groaned.

Sulli patted his back. "It's okay Chanyeol. Just a few more months and the torture's over."
"Yeah, and a few more months playing under Ms. Muscle's eyes." They stood up from their seats and walked together. They met Victoria and her friend on their way to the gym. Victoria and her friends stopped in front of them and Chanyeol and Sulli stopped too.

"Hi Victoria!" Chanyeol waved at her happily while Sulli gave her a friendly smile.

Victoria smiled at them too. "Hello." she replied, looking away from them.
"Oh no Victoria! Why did you talk to them? Kris might see you and you will be marked too!" one of Victoria's friends said.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "Well he's not here right? See you later, Chanyeol and... uhhh..." she looked inquiringly at Sulli.
"Sulli." Sulli answered.
"yes Sulli. Bye." she gave them a brief wave and walked away too. Sulli looked back at Victoria.
"Hmm.. she was different than what I thought she was." she said.
"Like what?" 
"Like caring this stupid marking system and everything. She actually talked to us, can you believe that?" she asked him

Chanyeol nodded. "Yes,  I did. I'll just go and change my clothes." he walked inside the boy's changing room. Minutes later, he and Sulli parted ways. Chanyeol entered the gym and sat at the bleachers where their class were. Soon, their P.E instructor came in.

"Okay listen up!" she raised her hands to stop her students from talking any further. "Our schedule of activities are tight now, since it's almost semester break and after that will be our Intramurals. Therefore, I decided to give your assigned projects in advance. The project is simple: think of a unique way where you can report 10 different outdoor and indoor sports. Now, I don't want reports with the boring power point presentations or handout materials. I want something new and interesting. Got that?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Now I'll put you into pairs. I'll pick the pairs so it will be fair for everyone. Hyun Joong with Suzy please. Fei... you're with Jong Hyun... Park Chan Yeol.. with Krystal Jung..."

*Yesssss!!!!* Chanyeol inwardly rejoiced when he was gracefully paired with Krystal. Their instructor kept on pairing her students until she came with the last students. The bell rang, and they were dismissed.

"You have two weeks to pass your projects okay?" Ms. Go called from the departing students. Then Chanyeol ran towards Krystal.

"Krystal! Hey Krystal!" he bumped on different people on the doorway before he reached her.
"What?" she asked grumpily.
"Let's talk about our project partner!" he offered happily.
"Do you know what's better?" 
"What?"
"DO. IT. YOURSELF." then she turned her back at him and walked away.
"B-b-but... Krystal wait!" he caught up with her. "But it's our project. So you need to coordinate too, right?"
"Just tell Ms. Go that I did participate or something, she wouldn't know." 
"That's cheating." Chanyeol reasoned.
"Then tell her that I got sick so I wasn't able to help you."
"That's lying." he frowned.

Krystal stopped walking and closed her eyes, fighting the urge to shout. She was in a very bad mood since lunch already. "Why do you need to be so kind??" she hissed. "Lying and cheating doesn't hurt if you do it once in a while."
"But that argument was the reason why people kept on lying and cheating. They will say that did it just once, then it became twice, then thrice, until they turned to be an absolute liar and cheater. Do you want that to happen to you too? Do you want to -"
"FINE! I'LL HELP THEN!" she shouted, unable to hold herself back.

Chanyeol's face split into another wide smile. "Okay! We can discuss it tomorrow during our free time." he offered
"No. Everyone will see us together. I don't want to get marked."
"Then.. let's do it onmy place. You can still remember our house right? Hmm.. Saturday morning, how about that?"
"Whatever."
"Then we can also watch movies, and jam, and eat -"
"Whoa whoa whoa! I'll go to your house to do our project, not to hang out with you." she snapped.
"Okay." Chanyeol chided happily.

Krystal walked towards her locker, Chanyeol on her heels.

"Why are you still following me? Go away! Shoo!!" she said irritably. "What else do you want?"

Chanyeol tilted his head adorably. "You?" smiling sweetly.

Krystal widened her eyes and blushed, but she was able to place her poker face again. "Stop messing with me." she said angrily.
"I'm not. I'm telling the truth. I --" Chanyeol's voice faltered. Krystal looked around. Kris was walking with Xiumin at their right side. Then they looked at their left, Tao was walking too. Kris, Xiumin and Tao met their ways. The three of them stared at each other hardly, weighing each other's strenghts. Tao curled his fists while Kris remained composed. Xiumin was in between the two, looking from Kris to Tao apprehensively.

Then suddenly, Kris and Tao hugged each other.

Krystal bulged her eyes in disbelief. *What the heck was that?! Last time they were punching each other then now they're hugging?* she thought.

"I'm sorry if I punched you bro." Tao grunted.
"Yeah, I'm sorry if I ed with your girlfriend too." Kris said. He removed his embrace on his friend and looked at him sincerely. "I'll never do that again."

Tao shrugged. "She's not my girlfriend anymore. That girl was a . You're right, she doesn't deserve me."
"And I still don't deserve to be your friend?" Kris raised his eyebrow.
"No. Friends come first before ." Tao winked.

Xiumin sighed in relief and clapped his hands loudly. "Well finally you talked again!" he said happily.

Krystal shook her head. "I can't believe it. Boys are so unpredictable." she said.
"It's sweet isn't Krystal?" Chanyeol asked. "When friends trusted each other more than anything."

*Here we go again with the trust thing* Krystal chose not to reply.

Riiiingggg!!!

The bell rang again, and students scattered as they went to their next classes. Krystal swiftly walked away, sparing a confused glance at Tao and Kris. She caught Kris eyes and he walked towards her.

"Jung." Kris said.
"What?"
"Thank you."
"What?" Krystal repeated. "What are you thanking me for? I just revealed to your friend that you and his girlfriend cheated, and yet you're still thanking me?"
"Because." Tao joined in. "If you did not say it to me, then I'll keep on trusting the wrong person, and my friendship with Kris will not be strengtened."
"You two talk like girls. You disgust me." Krystal shook her head and walked away. Kris smiled and looked at her back. He was beginning to like her more.
"She'll melt sooner or later if you don't remove that gluey stare of yours Benben." Xiumin said, grinning wickedly. Kris's smile vanished and he poked Xiumin's head.
"Babo. Let's go. Who wants weed?"

***

At Saturday morning, Chanyeol's doorbell rang. Mrs. Park opened the door and smiled widely at Krystal.

"Krystal!" she hugged Krystal tightly who was taken aback by the sudden hug. "Do you still remember me?"
"Yes, Mrs. Park.."
"Ah, enough with the Mrs. Park, call me auntie too, okay?"

Krystal nodded.
"Ok, ok, come on in. Yeol is upstairs. I'll just call him,." Mrs. Park stepped aside and let Krystal inside their small but neat house. She walked upstairs and called, "Yeol! Krystal's here!"

In a flash of lightning, Chanyeol came running downstairs.

"Good morning Krystal!!!" he greeted loudly and energetically. Krystal did not greeted back but nodded in return. It would be rude if she ignored him in front of his mother.
"Did you eat your breakfast Krystal?" Mrs. Park asked.
"Yes Mrs. P- I mean, auntie."
"Oh, well you can eat again, come on, join us in." she pushed Krystal towards the stool and let her sit.
"No really auntie, I'm full. I -"
"Do you like seafood? I cooked shrimps and crabs, I hope you don't mind." Mrs. Park smiled at her kindly.

Krystal opened . Mrs. Park was already scooping some rice and putting it on her plate.

"You should eat more, look at you, you're skinnier than the last time I saw you."

She looked at Mrs. Park's kind and happy face that resembled so much of her son's. She smiled feebly.

"Thank you." she bowed in gratitude.
"It's nothing. Come on, let's eat." Mrs. Park took her own seat and started eating. Chanyeol wolfed down his breakfast while he told stories about school. Krystal looked at her plate and ate too.
"Do you like it?" Mrs. Park asked nervously.

Krystal chewed slowly and gulped. Then she gave her a thumbs up. "It's delicious Mrs. Park. Much more delicious than our chef's cooking." she complimented.

Mrs. Park grinned widely. "Ah, good thing you liked it."

The three of them continued eating. After helping Mrs. Park with the dishes, Chanyeol and Krystal went upstairs towards Chanyeol's room.

The two of them entered the room and Krystal looked around.

*It's small, but comfortable* she thought. She peered at his bookshelves and snorted discreetly at his choice of books. Then she walked towards the desk and snorted more loudly. She took his movie collection from underneath and showed it in front of Chanyeol.

"Are you gay or what?" she asked, pointing at the movies Tangled and Twilight.
"I'm not." Chanyeol said defensively, grabbing the movies from her and placing it back under the desk, his face burning red. "I just love the story, that's all."
"Right." then her eyes rested on Chanyeol's hand-made calendar. She took it and studied it carefully. His calendar was created artistically, with her pictures as its designs. Her pictures was professionally taken, with the right angles, right lighting and right editing. She flipped on the pages and she can't help but be amazed at Chanyeol's photography skills.
"I.. hope you don't mind making a calendar of you." 

Krystal placed the calendar back on the desk.

"I don't mind. In fact, I don't care." she answered coldly.

Chanyeol nodded. "So! Let's start planning our project?"

***

"Sulli, do you believe in fate?" Chanyeol asked out of the blue.
"Why do you ask?"
"I think fate happened to people who believe." he said more to himself than to Sulli.

Sulli snapped her fingers in front of him.

"Talk to me Chanyeol, not to yourself." Sulli said, laughing,
"Yeah. Well,do you believe in it?"
"I don't know... I'm not sure.."
"I do!" he said happily. "Before I came here, I believed that I'll get closer to Krystal again, and fate gave me my chances. We became classmates, we became parters. Fate's really kind isn't?"
"You know, you watched too much girl dramas already Chanyeol. Come on, we'll be late for our next class."

Chanyeol stoop up energetically. "Let's find Krystal first." 
"What for?' Sulli asked exasperatedly.
"My mom made her some cookies, oh here's one for you." he rummaged his box and gave Sulli a pack of freshly-baked cookies. "My Mom's a natural baker, if you should know." he said proudly.

Sulli nodded in agreement. "Then I'm excited to eat this already."

"There's Krystal! Hey Krystal!" Chanyeol ran towards Krystal and her "friends". They stopped and looked warily at Chanyeol. Sulli hesitated before following him.
"Mom wants to give this to you Krystal." he offered his another box of cookies. "She made it herself."
"Eeeewww that's gross Krystal!" Luna said, lookind at Chanyeol's box of cookies.

Krystal looked warily at her surrounding. Amber and Luna were waiting for her reply; some of the students lingering on the corridor were also looking at them. She turned to him and gave Chanyeol another expressionless look.

"I hate cookies, just throw it away." she said.

Sulli scoffed. "Of course, the princess doesn't eat home-baked cookies." She rolled her eyes.  "Let's go Chanyeol, you're just your time in her." Sulli said, distaste on Krystal was clearly etched on her face. Krystal raised her eyebrow and smirked.

"Yes, just go and leave me alone."
"Ohvyes we will!" Sulli tugged Chanyeol's arm and the two of them walked away. Krystal frowned at the two of them.

After dismissal, Krystal was leaning outside her car on SM High's entrance door. Most of the students already left, but the person she was waiting was still not outside. After a few more minutes of waiting, Chanyeol went outside the school, rubbing his arms.

"Ahhh Sir Duck Face's punishment was harder than last time! Next time I'll make sure that I'm not late for class again!" he muttered loudly to himself. He stopped at the sight of Krystal and blinked.

"Why are you still here Krystal?" he asked.

Krystal looked around them. There were no one around except for the lady guard. She walked towards Chanyeol and stretched her arm.

"Give me my cookies." she said, looking away from him.

Chanyeol gave her a happy smile and immediately opened his bag. He gave the cookies on her outstretched hands and said,

"You'll love it Krystal, I promise!"

Krystal did not respond. She walked inside her car and started her engine.

"I know. I already tasted it before." she said to herself and drove.