As the sunlight streamed in through his window L groggily let out a groan and stretched his arms out. He scratched his head and sleepily rubbed his eyes. I don't want to go to Uni today... His cell phone flashed with a new text and he took a quick peek at it. It was from his mother to inform him to take the trash out and keep the house tidy. Ever since Krystal had entered their lives Mrs. Kim did not feel the need to leave her regular note of keeping the house clean, eating breakfast and not skipping meals. 

L rolled onto his side and his eyes caught the small note left by Krystal. He sat up straighter and scanned its contents. His mind drew a blank and felt as if his world had fallen apart with the ground having disappeared. He reread the note several times before jumping out of his bed and running across to Krystal's room, wishing she was only playing a joke and none of it was real.

At the same time, in the room beside L's, Kai yawned loudly and rolled to his side only to fall off the bed with a loud thud. " Ow, ." He cursed and rubbed his head with a pout. Why didn't Soojung come wake me like she does every day? He held his stomach for a moment before standing up and colliding into his study desk, resulting in twice the pain. He kicked it with his foot thoughtlessly and stubbed his toe.

The boy whimpered in pain and breathed deeply to stabilize his body. After he regained his balance his eyes fell upon Krystal's note. He snatched it, read it, and began to shake and almost dropped it onto the floor. His first instinct was to crumple the note and pretend it was a prank she was pulling but a tugging on his heart and L screaming outside his room cleared his suspicions.

He ran out into the hallway and collided into his astonished brother. " Did she leave-"

" A note too for me too? Yes," L cut in with a gulp, his hand resting on his forehead in worry. " Is she... really gone?" When L didn't reply, Kai shoved him out of the way and entered the now empty room that once belonged to Jung Krystal. He punched the wall in fury and L bowed his head. Kai couldn't believe it. More like, he did not want to believe it. L on the other hand felt the air knock out of him as he slid down onto the floor and blankly stared at the empty space.

" Maybe she had to leave for some emergency," Kai suggested but he knew there was no point in trying to come up with useless theories.

Krystal was gone.

" Or maybe her father came and-"

" She's gone, Jongin!" Kai flinched at his step-brother's tone and looked at him to find him breathing heavily. For the first time ever Kai was afraid of what L would do. " I-I can see that but she will come back-"

" No, she's not coming back." L replied abrasively and Kai was getting annoyed at his attempts to subdue the boy. L couldn't think of any reasons as to why she would leave but he didn't want to hear them. Gritting his teeth and calming his heart beat, he rarely ever got so riled up that he had no control over his senses and today was one of those exceptional days.  " But she can't just leave without saying goodbye, Myungsoo." Kai placed a hand on his back and L shook his head in disbelief.

" Yes, she can and she has." L stiffened and put on a tight lipped smile facing his distraught brother. His insides were knotted up and his heart was in his throat, burning terribly from the emptiness he felt. He gulped and narrowed his eyes dangerously, " She's not a part of our lives anymore if she left without saying goodbye. She doesn't care for us, Jongin. Let's get ready for Uni."

" But-"

" Kim Jongin! Please." L's strained voice had Kai complying to his request and both brothers retreated into their rooms to get ready for a long day at Seoul Uni even though neither wanted to go.

Seulgi and Wendy clutched their hands tightly and walked towards one of the food trucks for lunch. They had avoided meeting the Kim boys for half the day but now that there were a free fifty minutes for lunch, they were sure to come ask the girls about Krystal's whereabouts. And soon enough, Seulgi spotted Kai's familiar blonde head in the distance and she tightened her grip on Wendy's hand. " Zip it," she commanded and her friend anxiously looked around like a criminal on loose.

" He looks really sad," Wendy's comment made Seulgi poke her sides so the girl would shut up. And true it was because Kai's usual chic fashion and gelled hair looked shaken and tarnished. He approached them with a dreading look and Wendy's heart hurt to see the confident boy in such a broken manner. " Seulgi! Wendy! Have any of you seen Soojung?" He was breathless as if he'd run a mile.

Seulgi silently shook her head for an answer. " All right, but do you know where she could have gone?" Both of the girls remained quiet to his pleas which only aggravated him more. " Did she maybe... tell you that she was leaving?" At this, Wendy let out a small yelp and brought her fist into to muffle her sobs. Kai stared at her with pleading eyes but Seulgi stepped forward and defiantly shook her head again. " No, Kai, we don't know. We also have to go now."

" Sorry," Wendy offered as Seulgi hauled her away with an iron grip. Once they were out of earshot Seulgi hugged her friend to join in on the crying fest. " We promised we would keep in touch with email so let's not act as if she'd dead?" Seulgi offered and Wendy let out a weak chuckle, pushing her friend playfully.

-----

L rest his head in his hands and caressed the blanket on Krystal's bed. Her scent- Twilight Woods- still lingered in the air and he closed his eyes to soak up her long gone presence. A small knock on the door broke his attention and his eyes flew open to see Kai smiling at him. " Did you recheck the file reports? You know how Mr. Bae gets when they aren't written to perfection." 

The seriousness of his tone did not match up to his grin but L shrugged at him. " I know, don't worry. I also have a backup flash drive in power point form if anything goes wry so you better give me a pat on the back for my hard work," He rose his brows and Kai smirked and let out a scoff. " Jackass," he grinned and L good-naturedly laughed it away knowing that was as good of a compliment he was going to get from Kai.

Suddenly, Kai's eyes widened upon realizing where he was and he crossed his arms giving L a skeptic look. " Why does mom still keep cleaning this room when it's been three years since we've had any guests stay in here?" It was still hard to believe that it had been full three years since Jung Krystal's unannounced departure from the Kim house. It was difficult to pass her 'room' and not expect to hear her singing or laughing over the phone. It was tough to feel her there when in reality she wasn't anywhere near the Kim house, Seoul, or Korea itself.

L pouted and bounced on the bed in a light manner, " The place should be clean! What if we have an unexpected guest?"

Kai nodded absentmindedly at L's words and before he knew it, he casually let Krystal's name slip from his mouth. " Oh yeah? Like who? Another Jung Krystal?" Kai placed his hand on his mouth right after and bit his tongue to scold his mind. L's gaze changed from emptiness to hurt and he blinked away the emotion rising. " Weren't you suppose to close that hard deal today? Is the client still being an to you?" L hoped that the change of conversation would help him but Kai gave him a long stare before joining in, caught onto the fact that L did not want to talk about the girl.

" Dude, Suho Hyung's asking if he can come over with Wendy for a while. Do you think-"

" Call them over on one condition: They have to bring lunch since I'm starving." L's reply made Kai snicker in pleasure and he pat his brother's back. " And this is exactly why you're my brother!" He beamed and L shook his head with a roll of his eyes and slapped Kai's head. " Step-brother's, you retard!"

" Yah!" The latter growled and L laughed on the side. " Boys!" Mrs. Kim hollered from downstairs and the two brothers gave each other a toothy grin before stampeding down the stairs and drowning their mother in kisses. " I must have done something exceptionally good to deserve so much love!" She chided and Mr. Kim flicked L's forehead and pinched Kai. " Ow," they yelped in unison and their father narrowed his eyes suspiciously. " Or they must want something from us. Isn't that always how it goes?"

Mrs. Kim was taken back and looked at her boys who rubbed the back of their necks. " Um, mom," Kai began and turned to L for help. " We were wondering if it was all right with you if we could get some extra cash?" She folded her arms at their request. " And why do you need more money?" 

" Jongin and I are redecorating our living room and are sick of the bland eggshell color. Please mom," Kai placed a kiss on her cheek and she bit her lip, contemplating while L gave his father a toothy grin. " Dad, we promise to invite you over once we've got the foosball and air hockey tables set!" And just like that Mr. Kim's eyes lit up and he was sold, reaching over the kitchen counter to grab his wallet without hesitation.

" I get to pick the color," Mrs. Kim threatened and both the boys nodded happily and gave her a big hug to show their gratitude as she smiled. 

Bright flashes and deafening amount of noise lingered in the air of the broadcast station where the press conference was to be held. A parade of make-up artists, coordinators, stylists, and managers skittered from one place to another with their respective parties. Amongst the chaos was a tall, lean, beautiful woman by the name of Jung Krystal. She barked into her headset and pointed an accusing finger at a trembling rookie stylist. " The red patent leather heels weren't ordered last Friday and we need them tomorrow. What is your solution to this new and useless problem?"

The rookie stylist bowed several times while apologizing but Krystal bit the inside of her cheek, waiting for her to speak. When she got no answer, she sighed, " Put Sunny's team on the line and have the shoes here by midnight." Her orders never went unheard and the proof was when the rookie stylist rushed off into the crowd of people. Krystal pinched the bridge of her nose in sheer