Being a mind reader means that Krystal knows more than anybody else. It means that she has the access to everyone's deepest, darkest secrets, most treasured memories, and most embarrassing moments of their lives. It's usually unintentional. It just happens, because whenever Krystal tells someone the truth - she can hear thoughts - the first reaction these people have is to think of their deepest secret and how they really don't want Krystal to find out about it. It's ironic, really. 

That's how, in a span of a few days, she learns about most secrets the Moon Pack hides without actually asking. She doesn't mention it; she never mentions it. She doesn't mention the fact that she knows about Kai's family dying in a fire caused by hunters. She doesn't mention Dal's father dying in front of the girl's eyes, or Minho's death, for that matter. She doesn't talk to Suho about the depression he went through when he was bit by a rogue alpha - back when he was just a kid, when he didn't know Kai or anybody else, and his parents were scared of him. She doesn't tell Kris she saw his memory - the one in which his father dies - and she also doesn't show how angry she is when she learns about Luhan's middle school 'friends' bullying him.

She learns a lot about them in a very short time. About Tao's fear of ghosts, Suho's warmth, Kyungsoo's love for making food and sharing it with his friends, Xiumin's endless affection towards Min, Chanyeol's dumb jokes he never voices, and Baekhyun's puppy love for Amber.

The one person she still can't quite figure out is Sulli. 

Even now, as she's looking at the girl, her mind is filled with conversations around her. It's like she doesn't think, but listen. She's just always listening. She's attentive and careful, and Krystal feels like even her thoughts are reserved. She wonders if she's doing something wrong or if Sulli has some kind of a barrier around her, but no; it must be because of some other reasons. 

Sulli looks at her and Krystal feels busted. She's been staring at the girl for the past few minutes, very intently, too. She gets ready for some kind of a scolding voiced in the girl's head, but what she gets is Sulli thinking about Krystal looking at her. Not in words, but in images. She's looking at Krystal and Krystal can see that when she reads Sulli's mind; there's no opinion, no words, no association tied to that image. Completely nothing. Daehyun yells. Both Sulli and Krystal look at him to see what's going on; Luhan is on top of him and they're wrestling while you're crying out in laughter with Kai and Chen. 

Krystal glances at Sulli and can see the girl smiling, but there's no words in her head. 

*

You ring the doorbell to Siwon's house and wait for him to open. He does, a bit later than usual, and lets you in. 

"I'm out of fir tree ash," you announce as you walk past him. You stop short when you see Krystal standing in the corridor, looking awkward and holding two thick books in her arms. You frown at her. "Hey?" 

"Oh, my God," Krystal replies, shutting her eyes. "No, I'm not Siwon's new girlfriend," she hisses, obviously having just read your mind. You feel yourself flushing. Siwon makes a show out of standing next to Krystal and waving his hands around at you in a frenzy that shows how ashamed he is of you and your dirty thoughts. 

"Well, you never know!" you announce, cheeks still burning. "You did go out with that Yoona girl and she was barely three years older than me or something!" 

"Five," Siwon corrects. "And can you imagine how awkward dating must be when one party can read minds?" he lets out a grunt. 

"Yeah, must be so awkward for you," Krystal deadpans, sending him a pointed look. 

"You're not gonna make me feel guilty for what I just said," Siwon tells her, glaring at her like he's her father and she's just been mean. "Now get out of my house." 

" much?" you ask him. Krystal doesn't seem phased. She walks past you, but before she can exit the house, you take a peek at the books she's carrying and stop her from walking out. "What are you looking for?" 

Krystal looks up at you. When she's this close, you can see the similarities between her and Jessica. They're both so pretty, ugh. 

"Thanks," Krystal says, smiling at you. "And nothing." 

You squint at her. You know that look; she's hiding something. And she came to Siwon, not to you, even though she knew you probably had the right books, too. Krystal's face becomes a bit pale, a grimace shows up on it when she realizes she's been busted. You feel yourself grinning.

"You can read people's minds, but you're pretty easy to read, too," you tell her. 

"Okay kids," Siwon announces all of a sudden, pushing you both out of the corridor and towards the door. "Go have a moment outside. Bye." 

He pushes you out and you stagger a little on the porch. You flip him off right before he closes the door, but he rolls his eyes and shurs the door with a thud. You're not really phased by his behavior - Siwon is weird on a good day, ing bizzare when he has something on his mind - and you turn towards Krystal, quirking a brow. 

"Wanna talk?" you ask. She just breaths out a huff of air. 

"I was just curious about Sulli," Krystal says. You point at your Jeep, so that you can start walking.

"Everyone is," you reply with a smile. "Why about her in particular?" 

"Because I can't quite read her mind," Krystal admits. You tilt your head to the side, curious at that. "I mean, she does think, but she rarely thinks in words. She thinks in images and stuff; sometimes I feel like her thoughts are so deeply subconscious that I can't reach them. Sometimes she looks at me and she's blank. I thought it could have something to do with her being a medium, so I wanted to read about it somewhere. That's why..." she lifts her books up a little to present them to you. 

You get into your Jeep. You turn on the engine. 

"Sulli has lived with spirits, ghosts and monsters her entire life," you say. "Should I drive you home?" 

"Sure," Krystal nods. "And I thought she has that bracelet that stops her from seeing and hearing things?" 

"She does, but it was me who made it. Like, one and a half year ago? It hasn't been long," you say, pulling out of Siwon's driveway. "She's lived hearing monsters her entire life. Maybe she thinks differently. You could ask Amber. Or Sehun. They'd probably know." Krystal nods. "You could've just asked me, you know." 

"I wasn't sure you'd appreciate me sniffling around," Krystal mutters. 

"Hey, I get that you're curious," you reply. "I'd do the same. It's a good thing that you're trying to learn more about us, and about your powers, as well. Because for all we know, you might one day meet the Bella Swan to your Edward Cullen." 

"Okay, I have no idea what you're talking about right now," Krystal laughs. 

"Edward could read minds," you explain. You lean towards her and whisper, "But not Bella's." 

Krystal just makes a face at you and laughs even more. "You know, for someone who absolutely hates Twilight, you all have such vast knowledge about it I'm starting to doubt you all." You react to that with a warm giggle. "I've never met anyone like that. Although you probably could make yourself a charm to stop me from seeing the inside of your head." 

"Probably." 

*

Krystal is staring at Sulli again. Honestly, it's quite comforting; when she focuses on the girl, the only thing she can hear is her own thoughts. No one else's. She sees images and can sense some feelings through them, but there's no endless train of thought that leaves her feeling tired. And that's not something that happens a lot when she's with other people. 

She wonders if that's how Sulli felt the first time she put on that bracelet of hers. Now that Krystal thinks about it, their powers are a bit similar. They both hear stuff, only Sulli has lived her entire like hearing it all the time. Krystal can just go somewhere, away from people, and that's when her head only contains her own thoughts, and not other people's.

She wonders if that's why Sulli's head is so...empty. Krystal's head is kind of empty when she's looking at Sulli, so maybe Sulli's head is empty like that too. Because there's no usual ruckus inside it. Because neither of them ever learnt to have their head for themselves; there was always someone inside it. Someone taking up their own space, their minds. 

Sulli looks at her. Krystal sees herself in Sulli's head. Then she sees Sulli move a little; the girl is holding a pack of gummy bears. She stretches her arm out towards Krystal and she hears her think, Want some?

Krystal is surprised. 

"Sure," she says, standing up. 

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