Before the Visit…

“Two iced Americano, please.” Jongsuk said.

After that, he settled himself on one of the seats nearest to the window. The café was brightly lit, painted with brown and cream colored walls. He inhaled the sweet aroma of coffee while the soft music calmed him as he waited for his order to be served.

Not long after, another woman entered the café in her wheelchair. Then, she approached his table. Jongsuk quickly stood up and removed the chair in front of him to make space for her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Jessica said with a smile.

 Jongsuk shook his head, signaling that it was okay. When he first met Jessica on her visit to Krystal’s house, he was awestruck. Krystal was a beauty but Jessica, she’s practically a goddess! Not even the fact that Jessica was a handicapped faded away his interest toward her. Ever since then, he tried his best to pursue Jessica without Krystal’s knowledge. Finally, his effort paid off when Jessica accepted his confessions a few months ago.

“How was your visit to Manhattan?” he asked.

Her smile fell as she let out a heavy sigh. “Krystal was no longer studying in the same university” she answered. Her gaze shifted to the window as questions flooded her mind.

Jongsuk stayed still and watched her movements. Just like her sister, Jessica was a woman who avoided speaking unnecessarily. However, today, she just seemed so different, so disturbed.

Soon, their order arrived. Jongsuk placed an ice Americano in front of her and sipped on his. “Uhh…” she cleared and paused for a moment – debating whether or not she should spill the beans. Then, she fondled with the straw and said, “She’s in jail, caught red handed for breaking into a jewelry shop.”

 “I’m so disappointed in her, Jongsuk!” she continued in a louder voice. Misty glitters were visible in her eyes. Jongsuk was surprised too but he took her soft hand, slowly caressing them to calm her down. Thankfully, the café was barely occupied, if not, they’ll probably earn a few weird glances from other customers. “How could she? After lying about her rank in school, now she’s out there to get involved in criminal activities?”

Disappointment, disappointment. Even after proving that she’s worthy of a scholarship, Krystal was still a disappointment to her.

“But she was a top student” Jongsuk replied casually. Lying about her rank in school? That’s impossible! As far as he knew, Krystal was a genius - although not the smartest. If not, she would not be granted the offer to be his mentor. Well, actually, her real mentee was unknown since Jongsuk absent mindedly claimed himself as hers in the high school’s library the other day. He was supposed to be there for a library blind date but was attracted to Krystal who was sitting alone. At that time, he knew he will regret it if he miss the opportunity to talk to her. However, that was the good old days. Now, he’s more interested in her sister.

“I need you to help me with something” she said. “Please knock some sense into her. Monitor my sister and help her to get back at the right track”

A huge grin plastered on his face as his heart gave off a warm and fuzzy feeling. He really adored how much Jessica cared for her sister. “How should I help?” he asked.

“I heard she’ll get out of jail around next two months, maybe you can meet her there. Try to get close to her so that she can open up to you more. But please, please, do not tell her that you know what happened. I’m afraid she’ll be ashamed.”

He nodded.

“Then, if ever, you found her stealing, or worse - getting involved in drug; just report her to the police” she continued.

To this, Jongsuk shook his head in disagreement and said, “What? No, no, no. I think we should advise her first.” Of course, Jongsuk was not impressed with Krystal’s activity in Manhattan. However, if it’s true that she had been stealing all this while, there must be a way to bring her back without involving the police. When a person you love make a mistake, the correct thing to do is to help her get through it, not expose her wrongdoings to the public. Otherwise, Krystal might run further away from them. If that’s the case, how will they be able to retrieve her back?

“Do you think a criminal like her would listen? The jail is there for a reason. It’s a punishment which are supposed to make criminal realize their mistake. If your method is correct, then they should just sent criminals to the counselor, totally ignoring the tedious process of building prisons”

Jongsuk startled at her reply. That was rather mean but there was truth to her statement. After all, he was an only child. The way siblings protect each other may be different from the way friends protect each other. Jessica’s intention was too only help her own sister, so, she must know better then.

“I don’t know if I should say this” she answered.

“You  don’t have to tell me if you-“

“My mother, was having an affair with one of the school’s higher authority. She seduced a man named… Lee Dongwook?” she continued. Her eyes looked up as she pondered whether or not she got the correct name. “Mother just used the dirty way to get our Krystal on top… just like how she used to do with me”

Once again, Jongsuk was surprised at her confession. Lee Dongwook? As in, Lee Dongwook, his father? No, no, she could mistook his father for another man. It could be another guy from Yedam High School or, it could be another Lee Dongwook who he had no blood relation with.

Suddenly, he remembered a fight occurring between her mom and dad a few years back. It was horrible. Loud thuds, glass breaking and shouting were heard from his room. Their fight became more frequent to the point where Jongsuk was almost deaf to it. After that, his mother would enter his room and lay next to him, as she cried herself to sleep.

 “Jung So Min?” he asked.

“What?”

“Is that your mother’s name, Jung So Min?” he repeated.

Jessica nodded and her confirmation cleared his confusion. That Lee Dongwook who was having an affair with Jung So Min, was his father after all. The same bastard who left his mother and dared to beg her to take him back after his ‘girlfriend’ abandoned him. If only he knew that Krystal was the main problem all along, he’d stay away from her.

“I hope you understand. It’s just that when I convinced Krystal to stop mom, she refused. She said, it will only cause commotion in the family. When I confronted mom about it, my dad just pushed me down the stairs and that was how I end up in this wheelchair” she said.

Jessica claimed that she was doing this for injustice; she wanted her sister to realize how wrong she was.

Deep down, she didn’t want to admit that it was due to pure jealousy - jealous that she was once the center of attention, she was once, the family’s treasure. During high school, she wore the title top five students proudly on her sleeve. However, when she found out that her mother was the reason why she earned the title, she confronted her. Did her mother have that little faith in her? Why can’t she let Jessica prove that she can stand on her own without her family’s help?  

Since then, her mother started to pay more attention toward her younger sister of five years. Nobody in her family paid attention to Jessica anymore and she knew that Krystal was to be blame. If only Krystal decided to go against her mother as well, Jessica could have been more lenient to her. However, seeing how Krystal decided to continuously commit more ‘sins’, she decided to make her learn the hard way.

After the Visit…

Jongsuk drove back from Krystal’s funeral with Jessica beside him. The ride was quiet as both lads were occupied with their own thoughts.

In the car, Jongsuk couldn’t help but to reminisce the day spent with Krystal in Manhattan. The laughter and memories they shared make him momentarily forget about his original intention of coming in this foreign city. True, Jessica had personally asked him to monitor her sister and report Krystal to the police if she committed any crime, but, for Jongsuk he wanted to search her fault and see her in jail as soon as possible.

He knew that Krystal was involved in his robbing case the night before he accidentally put their house own fire. Heck, he was hundred percent sure that the credit card Krystal had was a stolen card - just like her motorcycle. However, he did not have any evidence to prove that she was guilty. His heart beat involuntarily when he met her in the police station – almost betraying the love he had for her sister.

As the day passed by, he softened up to her. The ill feeling in his heart vanished. He finally realized that the fight between his parents were not entirely because of Krystal or Mrs. Jung, it was simply because his parents lack trust and faith in each other. Think about it, even if Mrs. Jung seduced his father, will her plan succeed if his father was loyal to his mother? Or, will his father fell out love with his wife that easily if Mrs. Lee spared more time with him instead of prioritizing her work?

Jongsuk tried his best to focus on the road ahead of him while Jessica stared blankly at the scenery behind the car’s window. They were not involved in Krystal’s death, then why did the guilty feeling kept on stacking up? Perhaps because they felt bad for having a bad perception of her? Perhaps that was it.

Krystal may be the city’s villain but never once did she second guess her feelings toward the person she loved. Neither her parents, her sister nor her best friend.

Sometimes, the closer you get to a person, the more flaws within them that you will eventually discover. At first, your bond with them will be the most inseparable relationship you will ever experience – until you found out that their flaw might somehow destroy you in one point of your life, just like an evanescent haven.

A/N: Boy, I'm nervous to post this chapter. This story turned out to be more twisted than my original plot line. I hope it makes sense and thank you to all of you who have supported my story thus far. who_me and bigbangvip4life thank you for the upvote!