Kris.

The longer she stared at the contact number, the faster her heart race. Her lips trembled as she battled herself to press dial. Should she, or should she not? The cold windy night sent shiver to her spine. However, she was not shaking due to the weather, but rather, it was due to fear. She fidgeted with the phone for a few moments. Alas, she made a decision to finally face this man.

“Wow, it was only his fourth day staying in our house and he already caused that much disaster? I thought you said he’ll be beneficial. Smells like trouble to me.”

At first, she expected an enraged man, threatening to put her through hell in every version he could, but, the reaction was a contrast. With the awful tragedy occurring that late afternoon, Krystal knew she had to inform her housemate, Kris, sooner or later. It’ll be better to confess than waiting for him to found out on his own. 

“That boy is sure rich, isn’t he?” he continued. His voice was calm but his intention suggested something else. After all, Kris was dying to attack the man when he saw all the luxury he possessed. The branded watch, hi-tech Samsung phone and the flashy footwear he wore on a fun date with Krystal. How great will it look on him? Too bad, Krystal just had to spoil his fun by asking him to delay the attack.

 “He has nothing left...” she said with a soft voice. After all, what else is there left for Jongsuk? His wallet was gone on the first day. His camera was stolen by her as an appetizer for Kris, and she was the accomplice of his robbery all along. So much of a good friend.

“Let’s fully utilize him then.” Krystal could almost see the smirk on his face as she gritted her teeth. “Organs have high value. We could probably earn a bungalow with that kind of market!” he laughed and it only disgusted her. What a filthy and greedy man.

“You’re crazy” she hung up and took off the sim card.

Krystal threw it into the sea and watch it sunk – disappeared forever from her sight. How she wished she can say the same to his relationship with Kris. She regretted it all. Stalking him, knocking at his door and request for a shelter. Heck, it excited her more since he didn’t demand any cash! However, of course there’s nothing free in this world. There’s always a catch to it -which she quickly had agreed to.

After that, she walked back to Jongsuk who was sitting on the sand of the lonely beach. He was admiring the sparkling water while hugging his legs. Since they were homeless, Krystal planned to spend the night there at the moment. “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked her.

Krystal remained silent and sat next to him. Tears brimmed in her eyes as she tried hard not to blink. Suddenly, he pulled her into a tight embrace and that was when she decided she couldn’t hold it in any longer. Tears flowed endlessly down her pale face. Regrets and anger were taking over Krystal. She was no longer in control of her emotion.

After that, Krystal looked up to see Jongsuk. “Feeling better?” he asked. She ignored his question and slowly leaned in towards him. To her surprise, he closed his eyes and inched closer. Their lips met but Jongsuk quickly broke off the kiss. Furrowed eyebrows and his eyes that avoided hers. Krystal didn’t need words but she was quick to read his expression – he was absolutely confused.

Jongsuk turned away from her, his arms no longer circling her in a protective hug. “We should sleep. It’ll be like a friendship goal to watch the sunrise together.” he chuckled nervously. Then, he lay next to her, with both of his hand put together before his head like a pillow - his back facing hers.

Krystal watch him drifted off to sleep with a heavy heart. Suddenly, memories crept like a poisonous toxic engulfing her mind.

“Whoa, this girl is sure something, Jongsuk!” His classmate, Kim Woobin said as soon as he entered his class. Jongsuk was surprised at the sight before him. His table was full of colorful squares post-it notes! In the middle however was a rectangular pink one which read, 34 Reasons I Like You.

‘Your sweet smile.’ He laughed at the first post placed on the corner of his table. Cheesy much? Sounds like his typical admirer. Proceeding to the second post, his smile grew bigger as he read the comment, ‘How you always come up with the weirdest dare possible.’ This person must be close to him then, since he was not that brave to pull a stranger into his favorite game of Truth or Dare.

‘Your tall and skinny body that can be easily blown off by the wind.’ The moment he read his fifteenth note, he immediately knew who wrote this.

“Jung Krystal” he shouted when he reached her fairly empty class. A loud thud was heard as her books scattered on the floor.

“Is it necessary to be so loud?” she answered him in annoyance – squatting down to pick up her books. Later, Jongsuk approached her and gave her a big bear hug. At that moment, she froze on her spot. Her eyes blinked rapidly and she could feel her heart fluttered at his sudden gesture. That was not the first time he hugged her, but, it never failed to send her on seventh heaven.

“Thank you for your birthday present.” he beamed. “That’s the most sincere gift I’ve ever received from a friend”

Friend - a label she hated so much. Unfortunately, that was where she belonged and forever she will stay. She cried harder at the remembrance but her sobs were not heard by the sleeping Jongsuk. In fact, he was too far in dreamland to comfort her. Not that she wanted to him to ease her worry anyway - especially since he was the cause of her despair.

Krystal stood up and slowly walked ahead. The water was cold but she was too numbed by her internal pain. Her cloth was now soaking wet as she entered deeper, drowning herself like her sinking heart.

Just like an Evanescent Haven, her short term happiness with Jongsuk gradually faded as she got more attached to him.

Jung Krystal

D.O.B: 08.24.94

D.O.D: 04.24.15

The crowds were weeping but it was nothing compared to Mrs. Jung hysterical crying. Everyone was dressed in black, as they mourned for the tragic death of 21 years old youngest member of the Jung family. It was a case of suicide in which the female drown herself to death. Reasons? Nobody had a clue. Maybe there were but they preferred to remain quiet.

The next morning at the beach, Jongsuk was surprised to be woken up abruptly with a group of police surrounding him. A few others were scattered all over the place. He was then brought to the police station to answer a series of question regarding Krystal Jung’s demise. Apparently, the motorcycle she had used all this time was a stolen motorcycle. This caused Jongsuk a hard time to explain that he had nothing to do with the crime. After proving his innocence, he was finally able to return back to Korea.

“Our daughter!” Mrs. Jung wailed on her knees. Her eyes were red while her face was terribly swollen. Meanwhile, Mr. Jung was caressing her back in an attempt to comfort her. He too, was crying, although not as bad as his wife.

Jongsuk was present at his former best friend’s funeral with his father. He hated to be here. It reminded him so much of his mother’s funeral. Above all, he hated the way his father stared at Krystal’s mother – like a cunning wolf.

After the funeral, Jongsuk approached Jessica who was staring blankly at her sister’s grave, alone. “Babe.” he greeted her and she turned back at him. A smile spread across her face as she noticed the owner of the endearing voice. Who else could it be if not her loving boyfriend? Or shall she call it, her pet?

“It’s too bad.” she said. Her attention shifted back to a photo of Krystal on her high school graduation day. Her charming smile and glittering eyes - features that almost resemble Jessica. “All I wanted was to frame her but she disappeared at her own will.” she said.

Truth was, Jongsuk’s wallet was not stolen at all. He just chose not to bring it along to guarantee success in their plan. He had been waiting all day long outside the police station, for the face he longed for. According to her sister, she was supposed to be out of jail today but it sure took her long enough.

The butterflies in his stomach were undeniable when he met her charming brown eyes that day. However, it was soon washed away when he was reminded of his resentment towards her. A cunning woman who’ll do anything for her grade – even if it included destroying a happy family. What a .

Upon discovering the truth, just like an Evanescent Haven, his memories with her turned into toxic when he discovered her true self.

“I’m doing this for my mother but for you, I don’t know why you’ll go this far. Especially since she’s your little sister.” he responded with a hint of regret in his voice.

She just smiled, you know, that smile that meant ‘You don’t know me at all, and you never will.’

A/N: First thing first, thank you to Ad_Paradise for the tips and upvote! I'm trying to correct my mistake but I'm still not sure whether I did it the right way. To the others, thank you too for the comment, upvote and subscribe. I will provide an epilogue soon!