(Theme 51: Food)

       Fooooooooooood. Yum. Set a year or two before f(x)'s debut, when the members are still trainees.

       Bon appétit!

       It's "bonding time" for the members, their manager claims, and Krystal doesn't mind it all that much -- it's alright, she considers, spare for the fact that the other three members are evidently absent.

       Apparently, two of them have just finished packing, and the other's only just recently boarded her flight to Korea a few hours ago.

       "Her name's Victoria, I think," Amber explains. They're walking side-by-side, zipping past mannequins and stands through their stroll. Krystal thinks she catches a glimpse of an ad depicting that one boy band -- what was the name again? BDSK? DBKS? TVZW? -- halfway through the stroll, but there are roughly twenty more posters of some other famous idol or group holding a bottle of lotion or a brand of soju in the limelight. And while there's s till a long way to go, she can't help but wonder what it'll be like seeing her own face on the big screen someday.

       "She was in Seoul during her training for a few years before this," Amber continues, and Krystal's suddenly pulled back to reality again, "but she made a quick trip back to China to visit her family before getting everything finalized." Krystal nods in silent affirmation. Leaving your family behind for another country altogether -- she passes a glance at Amber, knowing all too well that she'd been one of the few to make it into the industry from the U.S. alone, and not too far from where Krystal herself had been born. Her parents had made the decision to move along with Krystal after she'd signed the contract, anyway, so she wouldn't know. After all, she's only fourteen.

       A small part of her feels a suprisingly sizeable amount of relief upon meeting Amber. Apart from Ailee and Tiffany and Jessica, there aren't that many other trainees or entertainers here with English as one of their native languages. And none all that close to her age, she reminds herself. Amber's not much of an exception, really, but it's only a two-to-three year gap and they'll both be in the same group pretty soon. So whatever.

       Krystal's nodding mindlessly at whatever it is Amber's saying by now, but the older girl hasn't seemed to notice as of yet. "...And you probably remember what he said before, right? Since Sulli and Luna -- I mean, Jinri and Sun-young are getting ready to move t --"

       A sudden angry growl rips in between them, cutting Amber off mid-sentence.

       Krystal coughs, hoping to somehow erase the faint pink of embarrassment just barely dusting her cheeks as she does so. "Um," she murmurs, and lines up her gaze with her purple flats -- "Sorry to interrupt, but..."

       Amber chuckles, and her eyes seem to follow accordingly. "Hungry, are you?"

       Krystal nods, biting her lip. "Could we maybe get something to eat?"

       "Sure. Got anything particular in mind?"

       Krystal's mouth quirks a bit at that, because she can't help but think Amber soudns a bit like a waiter. Waitress, she mentally corrects herself, and shakes the thought as soon as another grumble begins to emanate deep within the recesses of her stomach. Ugh.

       "Mm...maybe some dduk bok gi or something."

       Amber's eyes flit under her too-long bangs for a split second. Krystal thinks she catches a spark somewhere under the dark layers of hair, and sure enough, Amber's grinning with a little more jump in her steps down the sidewalk than normal. "Oh, geez. You mean the sweet and spicy rice cake? With the fish cake and stuff?"

       "You...don't mind spicy food?" Krystal her head.

       Amber's bangs flop up and down in a delayed sort of sync with her nods.

       Huh. Krystal hasn't known Amber for very long, but she's no stranger to the all-too-familiar foreigner reaction to typical Korean food -- her mind clicks back to the countless days back in junior high in the states, when she'd packed kimchi and the sort for lunch throughout the first few months of seventh grade. After numerous complaints from her friends about the stench of peppers and other piquant assortments resting at the bottom of her lunchbox...well. Long story short, she'd grown numb to the taste of Friday leftovers by the next few months.

       "Yeah, why not?" Krystal shrugs. It'll be a renewing experience, she thinks.

       Amber's eyes crinkle along with the curve of her lips.

       "It's on me."