[C h a p t e r 2 2]

The bar was still quite empty when Krystal arrived early that evening. She went to the girls’ locker room, placing her handbag in her locker as she came across several other bargirls she was familiar with. One of the girls, victoria, had made it clear to everyone that Krystal was her mortal enemy and she sat with a displeased glare at Krystal as she walked by. Suddenly, the two girls who followed her everywhere came to block Krystal’s path, the same look of dislike on their faces as Victoria. Krystal let out a tired sigh, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“What is it this time?” she asked in an uncaring voice. She was so used to Victoria and her crew hassling her that she had stopped caring altogether.

Victoria stood up from her chair, walking slowly over to stand behind Krystal. Her outrageously high heels clacked softly on the concrete floor, her hips swaying slightly as she walked. With another exasperated sigh, Krystal turned around to meet her.

“What were you talking about with the Boss last night?” she asked, hands on her hips.

Krystal stared back at Victoria with an annoyed look. “Is that really any of your business?”

Victoria let out a small disbelieving laugh. She glanced away for a second before turning back to glare at Krystal, taking a small step towards her. “Of course it’s my business. Everyone here knows that unless you have ‘my’ permission, no one is allowed to get close to the boss.” She then glanced up and down at Krystal’s body, smirking. “I heard he cleared your mother’s debts. What did you promise him in return? That you’ll sleep with him?” Victoria let out a cruel laugh and the other two girls cackled along. “The Krystal Jung, who has made it clear to everyone one that she would never become a e, has finally broken her vow? You’ve put up quite a pretence, saying that it was because of your values that you’d never succumb to selling your body. But in the end, you were really only holding out for a high price.” The smirk on her face was soon replaced by a threatening glare. “The Boss is mine, Krystal Jung. You’d better find some other way to repay him.”

Throughout Victoria’s monologue, Krystal had stood there quietly, a bored look on her face as she tapped her foot idly. When she realised that Victoria had finally finished talking, she uncrossed her arms from her chest. “Is that all? Then call off your two bimbos so I can finally go to work. This is such a waste of all our time.”

Krystal turned around and attempted to push her way through Victoria’s two friends, only to be pushed back into Victoria herself. Victoria then shoved her back off her and the two bimbos firmly took an arm of Krystal’s each.

“It seems like you’re not taking this warning seriously, Krystal. Perhaps I should remind you why you shouldn’t try to act so high and mighty.”

Victoria lunged at Krystal, pulling her back by the hair as she brought her palm down to connect with Krystal’s face several times. As she raised her hand for the third time, Krystal had decided that she’d already let Victoria hit her one too many times and raised her foot to bring the narrow spike of her heel crashing into the middle of Victoria’s foot. Victoria let out a howl of pain, immediately releasing her grip on Krystal’s hair. The two girls who were holding Krystal captive slackened their grip on her for a second as they peered at their leader worried, enough time for Krystal to pull herself free and deliver a painful slap to each of them. As Krystal was about to make a break for it, she felt Victoria pull her back by the hair and she let out a small gasp of pain while Victoria hurled her to the floor. She then fell on top of Krystal, where the two began wrestling with one another, every now and then managing to slap the other. The other two girls watched, trying to get close to help their leader but were too afraid to go close for fear of also getting hit by the wildly flying arms.

“What is the meaning of this?” yelled an angry voice from the entrance to the girls’ locker room.

Both girls immediately stopped their wrestling and all four of them turned to glance at the door. Victoria’s face immediately paled and she quickly stood up, adjusting her clothes in an attempt to appear somewhat more refined. Krystal just glared at the person, collapsing back to lie on the ground before she tiredly rose to her feet and leant against a wall.

“Boss! We, er, didn’t expect to see you here so early!” chirped Victoria as she smiled brightly, wincing slightly from the bruise in the corner of . She was about to walk towards Luhan but he ignored her, walking directly over to Krystal.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly, peering at Krystal with concern as he made to help support her.

Krystal brushed his hand away. “I’m fine.” She then pushed herself off the wall, still trying to catch her breath from the exertion. “I need to get back to work.” Krystal then walked past him, her held high and her back completely straight, hiding the pain she felt from all her bruises. As she was about to reach the door, Luhan’s two bodyguards suddenly blocked her path.

“I don’t think you’re in any shape to work tonight, Krystal.” He then turned to glare at Victoria. “And I don’t think you should ever come back here again, Victoria.”

Victoria stared back at Luhan, aghast. “Are you firing me, Boss? But- but you told me that night that you’ll always employ me here no matter what!”

“But that does not include assaulting my other workers, before my eyes or behind my back. Tonight will be your last night and you will receive due compensation. However, when I arrive back tomorrow to check on things, I’d better not see your face.” He then turned to Krystal, walking over to grab her by the arm. “As for you, you are to accompany me.”

Krystal didn’t have the strength to fight him anymore and so allowed him to drag her along. Once they had left the room, Krystal could hear a small scream travel down the hallway as Luhan took her out by the back entrance. His white BMW  Roadster sat parked in the alleyway behind and Luhan opened the door for Krystal, steering her into the passenger seat. Krystal resisted slightly as he tried to push her in, peering up at him suspiciously. He stared back at her with a serious look, conveying with his eyes that she should follow his orders. Reluctantly, Krystal entered the car and he closed the door behind, telling his bodyguards that it was not necessary that they follow.

Luhan then hopped in behind the steering wheel, starting the engine and together they drove for several hours. Krystal remained silent in her seat next to Luhan, watching as the scenery around her gradually changed from tall buildings to the houses of suburbia before becoming the wilderness of the mountain jungle. Before long they were finally over the mountain range and the great wide ocean lay before them, bathed in an orange glow by the setting sun. Luhan soon brought the Roadster to a stop at the top of a cliff, turning off the engine with a silent click. The roof of the car slowly slid back, allowing the salty air to fill their lungs.

Krystal stared at the sight before her, captivated by the majesty of the scene. It was some time before she decided to speak.

“Why did you clear my mother’s debts and give her more money?”

She turned to stare at him but Luhan continued to watch the setting sun. “Would you believe me if I said I just wanted to help?”

Krystal let out a disbelieving laugh as she turned away. “Yeah, right.”

Luhan couldn’t help but chuckle slightly at that retort. He then went to grab her hand. “Come on; there’s something I want to show you.”

He stepped out the car and Krystal watched him walk towards the edge of the cliff suspiciously, before slowly stepping out of the car. Luhan suddenly hopped off the edge of the cliff and panic rushed through her mind as she ran over. “Luhan! What the hell are you doing?” she shouted.

The sound of laughter travelled back up over the edge of the cliff as Luhan’s head poked back up. Krystal stared at him in surprise. “There’s a small ledge here.” He then patted at the edge of the cliff. “Come sit here; I’ll help you down.”

Glaring at Luhan, she did as she was told and Luhan gripped her by the waist, lifting her down onto the ledge with her. Their bodies slid against one another for a minute and Krystal found herself trapped within Luhan’s gaze before she noticed the small grin he was wearing on his face. Frowning, she shoved his arms off her, giving him a large whack on the head.

“What the hell did you do that for? I thought you really did jump over the edge of the cliff!” snapped Krystal, crossing her arms over her chest as she turned away angrily.

Luhan chuckled once more. “Were you worried about me?” he asked quietly, mischief dancing in his eyes.

Krystal peered at him out the corner of her eyes, feeling her cheeks heat up as she then averted her gaze. “Who wouldn’t be in that situation? No one wants to see a person die before their eyes.”

Luhan’s eyes clouded for a moment before they returned to their usual mischievous twinkle. He reached out to hold Krystal’s hand. “Come on; we haven’t reached what I want to show you yet.”

Luhan led Krystal along the ledge and they slowly climbed their way down, Luhan always lending a hand whenever the path became difficult. Finally, they arrived at the mouth of a small niche in the side of the cliff, sheltered by a large limestone overhang. He walked into the niche, settling himself down onto the sand that had accumulated there. Krystal followed him in, sitting down beside him. They both stared out over the ocean, the large glowing orb now a third below the horizon.

It was some time before Krystal decided to speak. “Why are we watching the sun set together?”

A smile curved Luhan’s lips. “I used to come here with my mother when she was still alive. It was actually her who told me about this place.” He stared out over the ocean, a wistful look in his eyes. “When she was still a teenager, her parents – my grandparents – owned a holiday house nearby and they would constantly travel here every weekend for a break from the hectic city life. She used to love walking up to this cliff to watch the sun rise and set. One day, she came across an injured man scrabbling over the edge of the cliff. Fearing that he was trying to commit suicide, she ran over to him only to notice that he was only climbing down the cliff. Curious, she followed him quietly.

The man then collapsed in this niche, dizzy from the blood that was oozing from a wound in the arm. My mother saw him fall and she ran in, just in time to save his head from connecting with the rocks. My mother then did up his wound and tried to nurse him back to health. But when she had to return home at the end of the weekend, she felt that she could not leave him behind yet there was no other alternative. So, on the last sunset of her weekend, she came to leave him a bunch of supplies and a note telling him not to go anywhere before she came back next weekend. He obviously listened because when she came back, he was sound asleep against the wall, a pile of empty wrappers and bottles next to him. I suppose you can guess what happened from there,” he ended his tale with a grin.

Krystal turned to study him. She really didn’t understand him. At times he seemed like a complete jerk, sometimes he seemed like a dangerous man and at others a complete gentleman. She wondered how one man could have so many sides to him.

“Why are you telling me your parents’ love story?” she asked, glancing back over at the sun which had quickly sunk to barely peek over the horizon.

Luhan turned to look at Krystal, smiling. “Perhaps I am hoping that we could follow in their footsteps.”

A small sarcastic smile curved Krystal’s lips. “Go find a nurse somewhere else.” She paused, before saying, “You still haven’t explained to me why you cleared my mother’s debt and gave her more money.”

A sigh escaped his lips as he turned just in time to witness the last of the sun disappearing over the horizon. “You really won’t believe that I just want to help you?” He saw Krystal shake her head slightly out the corner of his eye.

“You obviously want something in return. No one in this world ever does anything without wanting something in return. Name your price. But let me tell you; my body is now out of the question.”

Luhan chewed the inside of his cheek, pondering carefully over his next words. “What if that was the exact price?”

Krystal stood up, her fists curling into tight balls. “I said that is now out of the question.”

Luhan also stood up, turning Krystal to face him in the slowly fading light. “Not according to the agreement I made with your mother. From the moment she took my money, you now belong to me.”

The colour in her face drained completely, but Luhan did not see that in the gloom. Instead, he noticed the hint of panic in her eyes and her body tensing.

“You can’t do this. You can’t buy someone; it’s inhumane.” Krystal shook Luhan’s hands off her, taking a step back. “I won’t agree to this. You can’t force me to accept those terms.”

Krystal continued to back away from Luhan, moving slowly closer to the edge. Luhan noticed this and took a step closer towards her. “Krystal… stop walking. You’re going-”

Her left foot suddenly stepped onto empty air and she began to lose her balance, her arms flailing wildly in the air as she tried to propel herself forwards. Luhan lunged towards her, catching her arm and he managed to pull her back into the niche as he fell backwards. Krystal landed on top of him, her head knocking into his chest. As she slowly recovered from the shock of having nearly fallen over the edge, she slowly pushed herself back up.

“Thanks,” she mumbled grudgingly, unable to bring herself to look at his face.

Luhan’s arms fell limply to his side as Krystal got up off him and she realised that something was not right. She turned to look up at his face now and saw that his eyes were closed.

“Luhan? Luhan! Wake up!” she said in a steadily panicking voice as she patted his face. His head then rolled to the side, revealing a small smear of blood on the cream coloured rock.

“Luhan!”

tbc.

What better way to end this chapter than with a mild cliffie? ^^

Victoria is just a cameo in this story. So, you'll only be seeing her in this chapter, unless I decide to revive her role ,

Next Chapter: Henry's morning and what happened after Luhan hit his head.