A.N: First of all HAPPY CHRISTMAS OMFG JINGLE BELLS, and secondly, YES I am posting a chapter on Christmas Day because I'm kiiiiinda bored- although I did receive a lot of kpop CDs, so that's awesome! Tell me what you guys got in the comments below :-) Once again, Merry Christmas!! ^__^

There was only one day until school started again after Jong-dae left for Japan. I didn't receive an email from him that night, nor the next day. I may or may not have spent my final 24 hours of freedom holed up in my bedroom, barely eating or sleeping, just wall-staring- at least until my mother came knocking on my door at dinner time on that Sunday evening. 

She opened the door slowly without asking if she could come in, and cautiously stepped inside my room, quietly shutting the door behind her. "Hey there," she said gently, "is something wrong, Krystal? You've been in here since yesterday!"

"I'm fine," I murmured.

"Well, I don't think you are," she said, crossing the room and sitting down on the bed next to me. "Do you wanna tell me all about it?"

"Not particularly, no."

She sighed angrily and jumped up from the bed. "Honestly, Krystal, I'm trying to help you, but if you aren't going to tell me what's wrong, then I guess I can't have pity on you."

I bit my lip. This was always what she did. She pretended to be nice, and sincere, and genuinely interested in whether or not I was okay, but the second I showed indifference, she started shouting. I'd come to realise over the years that she was never actually interested in how I was doing, she just didn't want to pay for any depression counselling I might need. And still I never talked back to her.

You've probably started wondering about my father by this point. Well, him and my mother married young, when they were both twenty-one (they had dated all throughout high-school) and decided to have Jessica less than a year later. I, on the other hand, was born during the divorce proceedings. I see my father sometimes, once, occasionally twice a year. But ever since he'd remarried, about a year ago, I hadn't seen him for a while. Hence, why my mother works two jobs, waitressing and operating a cash register at a nearby convenience store- and also, hence why we wouldn't be able to afford depression counselling, should me or my sister ever need it.

I let my mother storm out of the room, slamming the door behind her. I sat there in my bed for a few minutes before deciding that, despite how much it might hurt my pride, I should go down and eat a proper meal, for the baby's sake, if not for mine.

When I sat down at the table, the quiet conversation that Jessica and my mom had been having stopped abruptly. I grabbed a piece of pizza from the middle of the table and was about to put it in my mouth, when I suddenly remembered that time, not too long after Jong-dae and I had first met, when we stayed up until four in the morning watching cheesy horror movies and stuffing our faces full of pizza and popcorn, whilst laughing and making fun of the terrible special effects and the stupid characters.

Tears started forming in my eyes, and I tried to suppress them back down, but they were stubborn, making my eyes go redder and redder. But it was Jessica asking, "Are you okay?" that really opened the flood-gates.

My family stood there, awkwardly watching me sob with my face burried in my hands, unsure of what to do since I didn't cry much, until my mom said slowly, "...Krystal?"

"He's...he's g-g-gone!" I managed to force out the words in between my sobs.

"Who's gone?" Jessica asked, surprised by my sudden outburst.

"J-J-Jong-d-d-daeeeeeee!" I wailed hopelessly, "His parents made him go to J-Japan!"

"What? Why?" asked my mom, standing next to the chair with a hand on my back.

I paused. I obviously couldn't tell them the truth. "Because...because...ahhhhhhh!" I'm not good under pressure, okay?

My mom and sister stood around me, rubbing my back awkwardly and attempting to comfort me. It was clumsy, but at least it seemed sincere. And at that time, I was desperate for any sort of comfort that anyone could give me.

Jong-dae

The repairman said something quickly in Japanese to my aunt, and she gave him his fee, laughing fakely. I hate her. She's like Cinderella's evil step-mother, except in this case, evil aunt, and I'm Cinderello, I guess.

As soon as he had left, my aunt turned to me and said irritably, "There, are you happy now?! Go off and send an email to your beard, baka [idiot in Japanese]..."

"She's not my gay-beard or whatever, I love her!"

She closed the door to my tiny bedroom behind her and stalked off into the living room. I scowled after her and sat down by the now repaired computer- I thanked my lucky stars when I realised that the building had Wi-Fi. I brought up gmail and proceeded to start typing:

Hey Krys.

Sorry I haven't sent you anything until now, my aunt's computer was broken and it was just repaired. Thank god this place has Wi-Fi!

I'm already home-sick. I hate Japanese food. The only good thing I've found about the place so far is the easy access to anime.

I miss you already. Hopefully I'll get to see you soon. 

Love you.

-Jong-dae xoxo