Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance. And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.

Isaiah 61:7

After their lunch, the girls discovered they all were free for the rest of that afternoon, a rare miracle. Taking advantage of this gift, they decided to go to the park, relax, and catch up on life, especially with the nice weather, probably the last chance they’d have before they entered December in a few days. They sat under the shade of a large tree in a circle to be able to see and talk to each other properly.

“Ooh, he’s cute,” remarked Luna after a guy ran by their group, trying to catch a frisbee.

“You have a boyfriend,” Krystal reminded her friend, throwing a scathing look. Luna remained unfazed.

“Doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate eye candy, Krys,” she tittered. “It won’t hurt for you to try, either.” She scanned their surroundings and nodded at a guy playing with a dog in the middle of the grassy area. “What about him? On a scale of 1-10, how cute is he?”

Krystal turned around to scrutinize the boy Luna was talking about and cocked her head to the side, genuinely trying to assess him to her standards. “He’s alright, I suppose,” she began slowly.

Sulli craned her neck to catch a glimpse of him as well. “Alright? Krys, I think you need to get your eyes checked. He’s so cute. Definitely at least a 6,” she judged, giving Luna a head-five.

With a roll of her eyes, Krystal asked, “Then what’s Minho?” She was referring to Sulli’s boyfriend.

“Please, he’s at least an 11,” Sulli retorted without hesitation. Krystal couldn’t help but snort in amusement.

“I think I know why Krystal doesn’t seem to have her heart into this,” said Amber very suddenly. Everyone in their group turned to look at her with quizzical looks. The tomboy had a wicked grin on her face. “It’s because she already has a guy she likes.”

“I have a what now?” Krystal couldn’t believe her ears.

“You have a crush!” repeated Amber.

Krystal blinked but got over her shock quickly. “I’m pretty sure I’d know if I liked someone,” she deadpanned.

Luna, however, shook her head. “No, sometimes you don’t realize you like someone until months after you fell for them. Sometimes it’s denial holding you back, other times it’s denseness. In Onew’s case, it was denseness.”

“So, who’s the lucky guy?” Amber asked. “Is it Minhyuk?” she guessed.

“No, definitely not.”

But perhaps Krystal said it too quickly because her friends were exclaiming, “So it is!” or “I knew it!” and “Totally called it!” as well as more nonsense.

“Guys, I don’t like him,” she said forcefully.

“Sure,” Amber said sarcastically, like she didn’t believe her.

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