CHAPTER THIRTEEN - - 

- - pressure

"Krystal," Minho spoke warily as I brushed the dirt off of his shirt, "I don't really know how to wear one of these." He was referring to the somewhat skinny jeans SHINee had given him. I shook my head with a slight smile. Since we'd met, he'd always been in looser, more comfortable clothes, not fashion items. This outfit was probably Key's doing and I'd have to thank him later.

"You look good in them though," I commented and was able to control my blush for once. Well, it was easy as I'd already blushed earlier, when I'd gone to SHINee's dorm to pick him up.

The boys had taken him under their wing and Minho was even wearing Jonghyun's precious cologne and I had to admit, it smelt better on Minho. Or, maybe I was just biased?

"Really?" Minho replied to my previous comment as he glanced downward, "Really?" he repeated and I nodded to reassure him. "That's weird. I didn't think I did when I left the house..."

"You were feeling self-conscious?" I asked in surprise. Now that I looked at him... he seemed nervous. What was this? Where was the courageous, fearless Minho I was used to?

"I... It's weird to meet your sister..."

"But, you've already met her?"

"I mean, like this, in this situation."

I frowned, "How so?"

Minho sighed, "I'm not going to get off easy, am I?"

I shook my head, "Nope. We're early." And Jessica was known for being a little late at times. But I didn't mind. We'd agreed to meet nearby the park and since the sun was just setting, a very peaceful aura surrounded us. If you listened closely enough, you could even hear the sound of nature in the park behind us.

Minho ran a hand through his styled hair and I was sure someone from SHINee would've shouted at him for messing up their hard work, "I feel like I'm about to take a test."

A test of all things? How was meeting my sister again-

"I feel like I have to make sure that she approves of me."

Oh, well, that made much more sense.

"Why though?" I queried, testing the waters, "Why do you want to approve of you?"

He sighed, "You really are curious again today, aren't you?" he half teased me with a playful glare, "I feel that if your sister doesn't like me then... you won't."

I wanted to honestly hit him over the head.

Was he dense?

"You're an idiot," I said simply while punching his shoulder, "A real idiot." I shook my head and looked up to the sky, watching the sun fade into the sky, "There's almost nothing you can do that'll make me not like you." I said it so softly that it was nearly a whisper. But he heard.

"What if I killed someone?"

"I'm pretty sure you'd have a good enough reason for it," I answered without hesitation.

The next thing I know, I'm being pulled into his chest.

I squeaked in surprise, but soon relaxed into his embrace. I really liked being here - I felt safe.

"Thank you," he hushed against my ear, running a hand through my loose locks.

"I'm sure you'll pass," I said soothingly, "I'll make sure you do."

I could feel him smiling against my forehead as he pressed a kiss to the skin there. Now, that caused my cheeks to flush.

"Hey! You guys know that you're in public right?"

I knew that voice.

I pushed myself from Minho's grip and looked behind me. I smiled upon seeing the owner of the voice.

My sister stood a few feet away, gorgeous as usual, with an equally gorgeous man beside her.

I laughed as I made my way towards her, dragging Minho with me. He followed hesitantly.

"I thought you didn't like public displays of affection," Jessica teased me as soon as I was within hugging distance. I stuck my tongue out at her as we released each other and she reciprocated. We then both broke out in smiles at our similarity.

My attention then shifted to the handsome man beside her. He had a very kind face with sincere eyes and an honest smile. His skin was fair and his hair was dyed a soft brown. I immediately liked him.

"Meet Lee Donghae," Jessica introduced as soon as she noticed my glance, "And Donghae, meet my sister, Jung Soojung."

"But please, call me Krystal," I told him as we shook hands.

"It's nice to meet you Krystal," he said politely with a tender smile.

"It's nice to meet you too Donghae," I replied as I turned to Minho, "And this is Choi Minho."

The two men shook hands too, repeating, 'it's nice to meet you' as they did and then Minho looked towards Jessica. The nervous glint in his eyes shone brighter.

"It's great to see you again Minho," she said cheerfully, "How's your shoulder doing?"

"My shoulder is fine thanks to you," he said stiffly and I rolled my eyes, "The stitches have nearly completely dissolved and the scab is going."

Jessica was pleased by this, "I'm glad. I did get highest in my class for stitching so you shouldn't have expected anything less. Also, thank you for making Krystal call to arrange this."

His eyes widened, "No, no need to thank me. I'm sure she would've called sooner or later."

And I thought that I was modest.

"I think that's why you make a good pair, you help keep my sister organized."

"Hey!" I retorted with faked hurt, "I'm organized!"

"When it comes to work yes, but not when it comes to your social life."

I opened my mouth to reply, but I couldn't as I realized that she was right. I sighed as I hung my head in defeat. This moment allowed to me to notice the smile on Minho's face though. It must've been from the 'good pair' comment my sister had made, because that made me happy too.

"Well, enough standing around," Donghae announced, "I'm getting hungry."

Jessica chuckled and shook her head at him, "I swear you have a stomach for a brain," she while poking his cheek affectionately, "But I do agree. Shall we get going?"

I nodded and reached for Minho's hand.

"Let's go."

- - - - -

"So Donghae, what do you do for a living?" I asked the man as we were halfway through our meal. Jessica had chosen to reserve a table for us at a quaint Italian restaurant just outside of the city centre. It was a good choice as the food was wonderful and the service was great.

He dabbed his mouth with a serviette, "I'm a photographer."

A photographer? I was impressed and somehow, not surprised. It seemed to fit his image well.

"That's actually how we met," Jessica piped in as she sent a smile his way, "He came to take photographs of the hospital and the staff for an advert and well, we hit off when he came to photograph me."

It was a sweet story and I could imagine him taking photos of my sister with a blush staining his cheeks.

"You were so nervous when you asked for my number," my sister , "It was really cute."

Donghae chuckled, "How could I not be? You're beautiful. I didn't think I stood a chance, not with all those other handsome doctors at the hospital. I thought that you were dating one of them."

I wanted to pinch my sister's cheeks when she blushed. It was just so cute.

"I think I'm going to name you the 'public words of affection' couple," I teased just before taking a bite of my pizza.

"And you Minho? What do you do? Are you also busy studying?"

It was Donghae that asked him and I began to feel a little uneasy. Minho had been quiet tonight, quieter than his usual and I was worried. I knew he was worried about impressing my sister, but he didn't have to be this worried.

"Me?" he repeated and cleared his throat, "I'm not studying. I actually come from the countryside. My father owns a farm that I help him on."

Donghae's eyes sparkled with interest, "That's really lucky. I once went out to the countryside to take some photos. It was really beautiful there and I'm jealous that you get to see that every day."

"So then what are you doing here Minho?" it was Jessica that asked this time, "Visiting family? I didn't get to ask you last time."

Well, this is where it got a little awkward.

Usually Minho answered without hesitation that he was here to look for someone, that he'd simply up and left one day on that feeling alone. But that was the courageous, almost carefree Minho. Unfortunately, that Minho seemed to be absent without leave. I bit my lip.

"I'm here..." he paused and I could see his inner debate, "I'm here to look for someone."

That answer relieved me.

I was glad that he didn't change under pressure.

"Really? A friend? A family member?" Jessica began to ask.

He shook his head, "No. No one like that. I had a feeling that I had to come and find someone and well... the feeling didn't go away so eventually I upped and left. Well, my parents told me to be back for Christmas."

I was proud of him.

Donghae carried a slight frown, "And well? Did you find this person?"

Before anyone could answer, Jessica did-

"Is it Krystal?"

I was amazed at her intuition sometimes.

Minho nodded, "It is."

Well, that was new to me too. Last time, Minho had just told me that he thought that it was me. Light-heartedness began to fill me. I was definitely going to ask him about it later.

A strange expression passed over Jessica before a grateful smile curved her lips. It was soon replaced by a grin though.

"Donghae," she whined, "Isn't it so romantic? Just like a drama..." she said dreamily while resting her head on his shoulder.

I smiled and sent her a silent thank you.

And I could feel Minho relax beside me as he gripped one of my hands in his.

See, I told him that he had nothing to worry about.

- - - - -

It was a real beautiful night out.

Sure, there was a chill in the air, but it didn't disturb the beauty. It was one of those rare nights where you could see the stars, despite Seoul's light pollution. Or maybe it was because we were in a quieter part of the city, but I was happy nevertheless. Especially because tonight had gone so well.

"You sure managed to find a strange one," Jessica told me as she hooked her arm with mine, "But he's a good kind of strange." She should be glad that the boys were walking behind us, just out of earshot.

"He's not strange," I defended, "Just different."

She smiled, "Who's he staying with?"

"SHINee. They act like they've been friends for years."

"I'm glad," Jessica said simply.

"I know you mean more by that," I told her, "What was with that smile you had earlier? When Minho said that it was me he'd been looking for?"

"You saw?"

I nodded.

"You've changed," she was the second person to tell me this, "But in a good way. You've become less... uptight. I know you have a complex about being selfish... but there's a difference between selfishness and happiness. This time, I'm glad you've differentiated between the two."

I didn't know how to reply to that.

"How's it going with Sulli?" Jessica asked in order to change topics.

I sighed, "Well... it's ok. We haven't spoken much to be quite honest. Things are a little awkward... We both kind of come home and then just..." I paused, trying to find an appropriate word. But there wasn't one. Our friendship had faded, in a big way.

"I see... Is it because of Minho?"

I nodded again. Jessica knew about Sulli's tendency to like the men I liked and that I'd usually give up and let her take them.

"Krystal... Just... don't change too much ok?" My eyes widened slightly. This was what Key had said too.

But just, what did they mean by it?

"So, how long have you and Krystal been going out?" Donghae asked Minho as the two of them walked side-by-side, carefully watching the sisters ahead of them.

"What do you mean?" the country boy asked with a small frown.

"Ah, I mean... how long has it been since you've asked her to be your girlfriend?"

Minho paled slightly and his frown deepened.

"I haven't actually," he replied wistfully.

Donghae furrowed his brow, "What do you mean that you haven't? Are you not that into her? Is she not good enough to be your girlfriend?" There was a protective growl in the photographer's voice - one that made Minho feel threatened.

He quickly shook his head, "No, it's nothing like that. Things have just happened so quickly and I..." he paused, "I assumed that she'd know."

The photographer's expression relaxed and he shook his head, "I'll let you in on a secret. Girls never know. Really, they don't. You have to tell them things, everything. They work very much on reassurance. A girl won't know that you're interested in her until you tell her. Before that, even if you bring her flowers every day, talk to her nonstop and tell all your friends about her, she won't believe that you like her."

Minho took Donghae's words in carefully.

"So you have to tell her ok? And I'm pretty sure she'll say yes."

This brought a smile to the athletic boy's lips.

"Thank you Donghae."

The photographer grinned, "No problem, but just know something..."

"Yes?"

. . .

"I have a black belt in Taekwondo."

Tada! The double date :) I hope it was ok :3 And yes, it was Donghae! Everyone guessed him so I had to put him in. He's fun to write, so it's ok. I don't know if he really has a black belt in real life, but we'll just pretend yeah? 

AND! GUESS WHAT.

One of my wonderful readers, th_silenttear, made a trailer for this story and it is beautiful <3 Please, please go watch it!