“Ouch! Ohmygod... Grandma please it hurts... L-let g-go. Aww! ” Amber gently holds her reddened ear after grandma Jung painfully twisted it.

“Aigoo!” grandma raised her hand ready to slap the other girl’s head anytime and Amber immediately put her two hands above her head ready to anticipate the pain that will come. “Yah, don’t tell me you will not tell Soojungie about this.” Grandma lowers her hand and delicately places it on Amber’s shoulder. Amber felt relieved and gently nodded. Grandma Jung sighed as she rubs Amber’s back “Amber dear, it has been years. You know what, the pain that you’re feeling awhile ago when I twisted your ear is will be many times painful when someday you will see Soojung walking down the aisle with that guy Minhyuk. You didn’t want to see that right?”

Amber looks at grandma and just nodded. “Alright. Remember what I said okay? Come on, let’s eat.” As grandma Jung went down at the tree house, Amber looks at the last picture she posted awhile ago. She sighed and shakes her head. Memories from the past keep on repeating inside her head. Krystal is always present. It’s like her life revolves around Krystal or should I say her world is Krystal. Well whatever you may call it deep down inside Amber; she knew what her feelings towards her best friend Krystal.

Amber opts to stay for a night at the tree house instead of sleeping at her own cozy bed at their ancestral house. Her own grandma wouldn’t let her because she didn’t want her granddaughter to wake up in the morning with insect bites all over her body. But she knew for the fact that she will not going to win against her stubborn grandchild.

“Granny, just for tonight please.” Amber clasps her hands together begging her grandma to let her sleep at the tree house. But went she saw no reaction from her grandma she uses her deadly aegyo to persuade her “Pwease grandma, pwetty pwease?”

“Arraseo. Just for tonight okay?”

“Yes yes grandma! I love you so much!” She planted many kisses on her grandma’s face. Feeling slightly disgusted her grandma gently removes Amber’s face and the latter giggled. “Yah move your face away from me!”

“Aww I know you love my kisses grandma.” Grandma Liu smiled and gives Amber a mosquito lamp.

“Here use this so that insects won’t bite you.” Amber smiled and get’s her things and proceed towards the tree house. “Aigoo, my Amber is really growing up.” Grandma Liu said as Amber starts walking away.

When she finished putting up the inflatable bed, pillows and the blankets, Amber once again looks at the pictures on the wall. “So many things had changed.” Amber chuckled. “You’re not a hippo anymore Krystal, you’re... a y hippo.” Amber laughs at her own joke, but later on her mile suddenly fade. She let out a yawn and lies down the bed. She closes her eyes and said “Goodnight, Krystal” before going to dreamland.

“Mommy I don’t wanna go there.” Five year old Amber whined. Amber never liked any social gathering when she was young. It’s not that she’s anti-social but she just finds it very boring because mostly the elders will do the talking and she can’t relate to every topic they will say. Politics, show business, gossips, etc.. Amber hated all of those. But in the end, her mom will take her there no matter what. She will look at her dad hoping that he will take her side but still there is no effect. She sighs in defeat. “I just wish that Min-min is there.” Amber murmured as she looks at the window at the backseat of their car.

As soon as they arrived at the hall, Amber searched for her friend Min. Luckily she spotted Min’s mother and she immediately run towards her. “Mrs. Lee!” Amber is slightly tugging Mrs. Lee’s dress in order to gain her attention.

 “Oh Amber, what is it?” Mrs. Lee asked.

“Uhm. I just wanna know if you brought Min-min here too.” Amber said in a cute voice.

“I’m sorry Amber, Min is not here. She is having a fever.”

Amber slumps her shoulders and sigh. “Okay. Just tell Min-min to get well soon.”

“Don’t worry Amber, I’ll say that to her.”

Disappointed, Amber went back to her parents. “Putting up pranks is no good when Min-min is not here.” She murmured. Amber and Min are always doing little pranks together when they are stuck in a social gathering like this. The two are not running out of ideas on how will they trick someone. Of course they are very careful; they haven’t been caught ever since.

Amber quietly consume her food while thinking of a fully prank plan. She excuses herself to the bathroom but really she will go outside the garden to find any insect that she will use for her prank. She quietly roams around and later she found a big bug. “Gotcha!” Amber uses her hands to capture the bug. She is careful that she will not squish it alive.

 She went to the back door and hides behind the big box near the storage room door. When she found her target, she slowly crawls under a big table and she carefully places the big bug on the waiter’s pants. Amber can’t help but to laugh.

“Hey, do you hear that?” The waiter asked. Amber immediately covers and silently praying that the two waiters will not notice her under the table.

“What? I didn’t hear anything.” The other waiter said. “Come on we need to serve this orders.” When she saw that the two waiters are gone, she felt really relieved. She thought that she will be dead. She immediately went out of the kitchen area and runs off towards the dinner hall.

“Hmm what will I choose this one or this one?” A chubby five years old little girl in a pink dress is contemplating on what kind of sushi she will put on her plate. “Ugh. I’ll take them both because they are both yummy.” The little girl smiled sweetly and hums because she cannot wait to eat all of the food that is placed on her plate. “Opps!” the little girl accidentally drops the sushi on the floor that slipped through the tongs that she was holding. “Five seconds Krystal!” The girl immediately bends down to pick up the food.

“Out of the way!!!” Amber said as she saw a girl in front of her. She maneuvers quickly so that she can’t bump the girl but Amber slipped when she steps on the sushi causing also the chubby little girl to fall onto the floor also.

After Amber regains her strength again she sits herself on the floor and she suddenly felt a cold shiver running down on her spine as she saw the chubby little girl that is covered with food all over her dress is glaring at her.  “YAH! WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING!” she shouted

“Excuse me, I already told you to get out of the way.” Amber pokes her tongue and she stood up.

“LOOK WHAT YOU’VE DONE TO MY FOOD!” The little girl shouted back holding a fork on her left hand.

“Okay I’m sorry...hippo.” Amber silently said

“What did you just called me?” The chubby girl also stood up and put her hands on her waist.

“Hippo, you know hippopotamus?” Amber snorted and pokes her tongue again.

“YAH. How dare you... you.. you uhh” the little girl is struggling to find a word that will also tease the other girl. She suddenly advert her eyes on slices of ham on the table with toothpicks on top of them. She smirks and said “... you TOOTHPICK!” The chubby girl laughs “Yeah, toothpick suits you.”

Amber looks at herself. She knew that she is really a thin kid. She really felt annoyed she wanted to tease more of the girl but they suddenly heard a commotion at the kitchen. “AHHH! THERE’S A BUG ON MY SHOULDER!!!” a waiter said running outside the dining hall. Oblivious to his surroundings, he bumps on another waiter causing the food tray to fly to the air.

“AHHH!” Amber shouted as the food tray fell above her head. “Eww!!” She said as she felt the chocolate sauce dripping on her face.

The chubby little laughs very hard as she saw the toothpick kid now covered with chocolate sauce all over.

“What so funny hippo?!” Amber irritatingly said.  

 “You... you look like a human Pepero biscuit stick. Hahaha. Oh god this is so funny toothpick.” The hippo girl said laughing while holding her tummy.

It seems that the laughter is contagious, Amber found herself laughing also. That night marks the day that Amber and Krystal first met.

“Grandma, you don’t have to...”

“Nah just take it. I know how you love kimbap and tteukbokki.” Grandma Jung insisted and just nodded and took it. “Remember our 50^th anniversary okay? I want you to be my special photographer.”

“How could I forget it, of course grandma I will be there.”

“Have a safe trip on your way back to Seoul, okay? Grandma Liu said.

“Yes granny. I will.” Amber hops inside the car and slides the window down. “I’ll be going grandma, granny. Goodbye!” The two old ladies waved back.

Going back to Seoul is like coming back to reality for Amber. There is work and of course facing the fact that Krystal and Minhyuk are together. 

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Sorry I know its a crappy chapter. Huhu. :(