Krystal’s POV

She sat on the balcony with her legs folded and chin resting above her knees. She blankly watched the city lights cutting through the darkness of that night. Uncomfortably, I sat inside the house, looking at her through the glass door that separated us. Both our tears had stopped earlier, but like the surroundings, our hearts were filled with emptiness and no light. The silence hurt a little.

Even though we hadn’t said anything but “I’m sorry” earlier, I knew, we both knew, in our hearts that from that moment on, we would start forgiving and hopefully forgetting what had happened in the past. That should be a good thing for us, for all the pain to be buried. However, bliss would come alongside pain to the grave, and that hurt even more when everything we shared before the big fight dawned on me. The hugs, the kisses, and the sweet words we once spoke—gone and disremembered. We would go back to being just sisters, like that time when we were kids.

“Krystal,” Jessica softly whispered as she lightly tapped on my shoulder.

Her cold hand sent a jolt down my spine and made me shift to the side facing her. As soon as I fluttered my eyes open, they were met by a hesitant gaze. Her petite silhouette also stood out in the dusk.

“Move to the bedroom. You’ll get cold if you sleep here.” She quietly commanded.

I must have passed out in the midst of my thoughts due to exhaustion. “Oh, I didn’t realize I was falling asleep.” I noiselessly responded.

A small, reluctant smile flashed on her face before she turned around and strode to the bedroom. My sight trailed her back until she disappeared in the dark. I slept in a little more than ten minutes before my feet found their strength to finally stand erect. On my way to reach the door, I kept contemplating how awkward it would be to be in such close proximity with her.

When the door cracked open, my heart started to piercingly thump in my chest. She was just there, sleeping safe and sound. The moonlight cut through the darkness and made its way to illuminate half of her angelic face. My god, she was so beautiful. I forced my eyes shut in a jiffy to get rid of these thoughts. It wouldn’t bring me anything better than pain in the long run, and I was sure of it.

I walked to occupy half of the bed, and even though she was practically unconscious, it was nerve-racking for me. We haven’t slept in the same bed for so long. Today had been eventful, so it made tonight seem unreal. Nevertheless, for the first time in months, I would sleep with peace of mind and a lighter chest. “Tomorrow, a new life begins,” I reminded myself before I drifted off to sleep.

The next day was a nice Sunday, and I was woken up by the harsh ray of sun peering through the window. I stretched my arm to rub my semi-blinded eyes, and I unintentionally groaned in irritation. I felt the bed quiver, and Jessica cutely chuckled in unison. My face whipped to her, and, “I’m sorry. It’s just cute when you do that,” she teased, breaking eye contact as she shifted to a sitting position.

A million-dollar smile almost divided my face in two. I couldn’t help but feel a little flushed. I wanted to say something, but bashfulness washed all over me. We awkwardly chuckled when our eyes met. “Do you wanna do anything today?” I gathered all my courage to ask.

“You mean like outside?” She gracefully placed her feet on the ground and stood up.

“Yes,” I mustered as I pushed myself out of the bed too. “I’m thinking about visiting mom and dad. The cemetery, I mean.”

For some reason, it seemed as if anxiety kicked in her guts. Her previously sneaky demeanor was altered by a hint of despair. flopped open and then pursed repeatedly as if holding herself back from saying something she shouldn’t.

“As much as I want to, I don’t think it’s a good idea. I’m not yet ready to face them, you know, considering everything that has happened. How can I possibly stand there knowing I’m madly in love with you?” She ducked, obviously embarrassed by what she had just revealed.

Hearing her last words made me unsure whether to be happy or not. But when she continued, I knew it was the latter. “It just doesn’t make sense, Krystal. We’re related by blood. I can’t go pretending everything is fine. If you still want to go, though, then I will drive you up there. But as for me, I’d keep my distance until I’m totally moved on.” She was aware of how downright cutting her words were.

ONE YEAR LATER

I could barely imagine it had been more than a year since she almost left me. It had been that long since the plan to visit this cemetery was set on the table. We agreed to start over and just be the sisters we really were.

“I found her,” Jessica whispered with a small smile drawn on her innocent face. Without further ado, she went on her knees to pay respect to our parents’ tombstones. “Come here,” she persuasively mumbled while shooting me an inviting countenance.

I did as I was instructed and knelt beside her, letting a couple of inches hinder our shoulders from touching. I could hardly remember how her porcelain skin felt. I simply stayed in place and watched how she shut her eyes while placing her palms together. Her pinkish lips were moving too diminutively for me to comprehend. The only thing discernible to me was the rationale of being at the cemetery. Coming here was ripping my heart out as it only meant one thing—she had successfully moved on.

She must have felt me staring, so she shot me another glimpse. She didn’t say anything, but her eyes emitted signals on how she wanted me to pray as well.

My palms touched as I shut my eyes, but honestly, my mind couldn’t come up with something to say. Maybe Jessica was right about how wrong it was to face them while having these feelings. It was probably the mix of guilt and disgust at the fact that I fell in love with my blood sister making it so hard. Worse was the way I felt about her never really changed.

It was a fine Monday morning when I felt sunlight landing on my face. I sluggishly rubbed my eyes open before I forcefully stood erect. “I keep forgetting to close these damn curtains,” I hissed at myself. Since I was up already, I might as well eat breakfast. Truthfully, it was the thought of seeing Jessica before she leaves for work that made me a little enthusiastic. I twirled around for a quick onceover in the mirror and noticed how black hair kind of suited me. Blonde would be missed.

I walked out of my room and noticed no noise from Jessica, as she usually created. “Isn’t it too early to leave?” I wondered as my sight found its way to the clock in the living room. It read 07:35. Jessica often leaves around 08:00, and she normally starts getting ready at 07:00. She was a bit of a slowpoke, so she always allotted an hour to get ready.

I decided to let it slide and sauntered towards the kitchen instead. Upon searching for something to eat, I noticed there wasn't a used cup in the sink, her favorite cup I usually wake up to. “She didn’t have her coffee either? That’s weird.” I knew I should leave it, but the pit of my stomach was telling me otherwise. I wandered back into my room to pick up my phone. As soon as I dialed her number, her ringtone went off, buzzing from the other side of the wall. I quickly dashed, and when I unlatched the door, I saw her right there. Sleeping tightly.

“Jessi,” I softly articulated, trying to wake her up.

“Ugh,” she groaned as she rolled to the other side. Light was peeking through the blinds, gently illuminating the side of her face. Her eyes, nose, and lips were perfect. The exposed part of her dark brown hair turned to gold.

She stretched an arm out to rub her still-closed eyes. “She’s so cute.” I whispered to myself, not being able to stop admiring her gorgeous everything. I cleared my throat and tried again. “Come on, Jess. You’re going to run really late.”

“I’m up,” she irritably whimpered, shutting me up. “You know, late or not, I never run.” She concluded before finally pushing herself up and smiling mischievously.

The corner of her lips rose as she strolled past me, unwarily leaving her natural sweet scent for me to sniff while I was standing by the door frame. “You’re really something,” I teased before my heels turned to follow her lead. “Hop in the shower. I’ll make your coffee.” I offered to help, in which she didn’t protest.

I sat sipping mine while she frantically got in and out of her room, getting dressed. I felt a little relieved that we’re still living under one roof, yet a little bit sad that it wasn’t the same residence anymore. Since we agreed to just be sisters, we moved into this larger two-bedroom apartment. It had been almost a year, yet how we used to spend every night in the same bed still haunted me. Sadly, that was buried in her memory.

It was exactly 08:00 when she finished doing her makeup. “By the way, I can’t pick you up after class today. It’s Taeyeon’s birthday, and everyone from work is coming.” She hurriedly gulped her coffee, not minding how hot it was.

The name Kim Taeyeon has constantly been surfacing in the last couple of months. “Alright.” I nodded goodbye as her physique vanished from my sight.

I had eight more hours to spare before attending my afternoon to evening classes. A lot of time to practice for the semester’s finals. I was going to play Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. It was a few people’s favorite, and if done flawlessly, would surely get me an A at the College of Music.

“,” I silently cussed when my peripheral vision caught the girls from my class as I was about to return home. Not that I didn’t like them. I was just avoiding them for some reasons, including my fear of having people close enough to get to know me—to get to know my past, and all the things I had been through.

“What’s up?” I faked a smile as soon as we almost bumped into each other.

“We’re headed to Yeri’s. It’s her cousin’s party. Are you free?” Irene energetically squealed.

Seulgi partial