2010 . 11 . 28 – 9:27AM (GMT+9; Time in S. Korea)

The hospital door swung open slowly but suddenly; bringing everyone’s attention in the room to the person coming inside.  People blinked out of astonishment—half of them with their mouths dropped, not really believing who was in front of their eyes.  The girl lying in her hospital bed could feel her lungs squeeze.

“I came as soon as I could.”

Amber walked more into the hospital room slowly as she took off her jacket and her hat.  She made eye contact with Krystal, causing the latter’s breath to hitch.  She’s different, Krystal automatically thought.  Amber lost weight in her face; Krystal couldn’t tell if it was her baby fat that disintegrated or she just really did lose weight in her face.  Just like when she saw her in LA, she seemed more confident than before—it was as if the tomboy was becoming more confident by the day.  Amber stood up straight, her chest out, chin up with modesty still on her face.  Amber was a humble person.  Krystal knew that better than anyone.  Krystal could see her that her jawline was more chiseled; she had been eating correctly (at least she hoped) and she looked way healthier than her and the rest of f(x) perceived to be.  Compared to her and the rest of the girls, Amber was the prime example of what it was like to not be an idol anymore—stress free.

“How are you feeling?” Amber asked.

Krystal could feel her heart race.  This was one of the attributes that killed her the most; Amber’s intense glare with genuine care; Amber focusing on her and only her when it mattered—and even when it didn’t matter.

“How did you find out?” Sulli asked before Krystal could process the mere fact that Amber was still in front of her.

“Luna called me right after it happened,” Amber responded.  Krystal made brief contact with Luna; even if it was 2 seconds, Luna understood why Krystal looked at her.  It was a thank you.

The room was filled with a slightly awkward silence.  It wasn’t the same joyful reunion for Amber and the rest of the girls.  It was a sad one; a sad one brought up under extenuating circumstances.  Circumstances that didn’t need to be.  Luna got up from her seat and gestured to Amber, telling the tomboy to sit in her seat.  Krystal felt her lungs squeeze again—the girl was in for it big time.  Luna was really pushing it.  She could feel herself get a little excited as Amber took Luna’s seat—which also happened to be directly next to her left.

Amber gently put Krystal’s hands into hers, causing the girl’s heart to race all over again.  “Those were the longest fourteen hours of my life,” Amber whispered in English.  Krystal caught her lover’s eyes could see Amber trying not to cry.  She could feel a knot form in .  Before Krystal could answer, however, Amber cleared loudly.  “I’m glad you’re okay,” the tomboy stated in Korean and with a normal tone of voice.  She blinked multiple times realizing she forgot that they weren’t alone in the room; something very common between them; something she seemed to always forget.

“Thanks,” answered Krystal with a weak smile.

Krystal’s hospital room was once again interrupted by the door swinging open.  The girls averted their attention to one of their managers entering.  “Hey girls,” he called out with a small smile.

They all said hello back.  Their manager welcomed Amber back for a brief moment before asking Krystal how she was recovering.  He informed them that Krystal was mandated to take a few days off—something she had already assumed after going “Night, night” on stage the other day.

“Also, um,” their manager added.  Victoria entered the room shortly after her manager was beginning to bring up a new point.  “There’s something we need to tell you.”

The girls’ faces were covered by curiosity.  Their manager looked to Victoria and the leader hesitated.  She quickly sighed and crossed her arms.  “Il-Suk got fired,” their leader stated.

“What?” Sulli blurted, surprise evident in her tone.

Amber and Krystal’s mouths dropped.  Amber slowly turned her head to get a look at Krystal, to which the latter made mutual eye contact.  Krystal was just as surprised as Amber was.  The tomboy turned back around to face Victoria, only squeezing Krystal’s hand a little tighter; her way of telling her that she was still there and not going anywhere.

Victoria shifted to her left, beginning to feel severely uncomfortable.  “This has been going on for about a week now,” she said lowly.  She took a quick breath and closed her eyes.  “I reported him for ual harassment.”

“What did he do?” Amber spat.  She could feel her blood boil; she knew he was bad business from the get-go—not just for her and Krystal but also for everyone in general.  Amber felt her hand being squeezed by Krystal, signaling the older girl to calm down.  “Are you okay?” Amber asked a little settled.

Victoria gave a sympathetic look to her and the rest of the girls, followed by a small smile.  “I’m fine.  Really.”  She crossed her arms.  “He would just be inappropriate.”  She shook her head as she took a seat on the edge of Krystal’s bed.  “He often made me feel uncomfortable.  I get that we don’t have a big but,” Victoria paused, her face cringing a little in disgust.  “He’s our manager—or was our manager, I should say now.”  She turned to look at a few of her other managers in the room.  “You guys are either brothers or fathers to us—that’s just weird,” Victoria concluded with a small laugh.

“He didn’t do anything to you, did he?” Amber questioned seriously.

Victoria shook her head.  “Trust me.  I made sure to not end up being alone with him.”

Amber got up.  “Did he do anything to the rest of you?”

Luna and Sulli shook their heads.  Luna gave out a small smile.  “Hey, ease up—he’s not with us, anymore okay?”  She gently caressed Amber’s arm seeing the worry and anger written all over the girl’s body.  “You didn’t miss anything while you were gone.  I promise.”

Amber sat back down, the palms of her hands now indulging into her eye sockets.  “I didn’t even realize how stressed I had been from being away from the stress.”  She gave out a tired laugh.  “Weird, huh?”

“We missed you,” Sulli stated.  She was serious and Amber had the feeling that the younger girl was about to cry.

“A lot,” Krystal added.

Amber turned her head to look at the girl on the bed.  She knew that Krystal wasn’t just talking about all of them missing her but Krystal specifically missing her.  Because it was true.  Krystal did miss Amber—a lot.  It was to the point that she couldn’t even bare it, anymore.

Amber looked down and turned back to the others.  She smiled.  “Well you won’t have to miss me too much.”  She glanced at her lead manager, who was giving off a bright smile, followed by a nod in the head.

“My flight to go back to LA is tonight but,” Amber paused.  “I’ll be coming back after 2 weeks.”

She turned back to Krystal and let her eyes soften.

“For good.”