Krystal didn't know what to expect of her first reunion with Amber. She had returned from Europe a few days ago and their lunch date this afternoon, planned around Amber's busy schedule, would be their first in-person contact since their break. Krystal's stomach was knotted with anxiety and anticipation as she drove to the cafe.

The one thing that she did expect was that they weren't getting back together today. They had agreed to continue their break until mid-March to give Amber time to promote her album without distraction, and Krystal thought that was fair. But even if they couldn't date during this time, she hoped that they would at least be able to hang out occasionally, like today.

"I wonder if I'll seem any different to her," Krystal thought to herself. She wondered if her experiences in Europe had matured her at all. Truthfully, she didn't feel any more mature. She spent most of the vacation being incredibly jealous of the friends that Amber hung out with while she was away.

The only change that Krystal could feel was that she realized that she had thrown the word "love" around too loosely with Amber while they were dating. It was true that she had loved Amber as friends for a long time now, but that wasn't the kind of love that Amber was thinking about whenever they had said "I love you" as girlfriends. It was only very recently that Krystal could say with complete certainty that what she felt for Amber was deeper than friendship love.

"Maybe I should tell her about my dream," Krystal thought with a smirk. She was in high spirits and practically skipped from her car to the cafe door. She stepped inside and skimmed the tables with an eager smile, wondering if she had arrived first. She immediately saw Amber's blond head of hair facing away from her and her heart skipped a beat, but then she noticed that Amber was not alone. Sitting across from her was Luna, and the two had their heads bent in heated conversation, oblivious to Krystal's arrival. She found it odd that Luna was there when Amber had said that this was a date, but it was odder still to see Luna and Amber arguing with each other.

As Krystal approached the table, Luna's eyes met hers and she stood to welcome the maknae. The darkened expression that Luna had worn while talking to Amber melted into an affectionate smile, which Krystal instantly returned. She had not seen Luna since returning to Korea either, and she happily greeted the older girl.

"Soojungie!" Luna said, wrapping Krystal into a warm hug. "I'm glad you're home."

"I'm glad I'm home too," Krystal agreed, returning the hug. "I didn't know you'd be here, otherwise I'd have brought your souvenir," Krystal said apologetically to Luna. "I'll give it to you next time."

Luna shot Amber an angry look that wasn't well hidden from Krystal's view. But then she turned back to Krystal with a bright smile, piquing Krystal's curiosity about their conversation prior to her arrival. "It's OK, Soojung-ah, I'll look forward to it. I have a schedule to get to now, so we'll catch up another time."

Luna moved to leave the table, but Amber caught her arm and pulled her back into her seat.

"No you don't," Amber said firmly. "Sit down and let's order lunch."

"But I'm busy," Luna said pointedly, pulling out of Amber's hold as dignifiedly as she could manage. She smiled warmly again at Krystal. "I'll call you when I'm free later this week, OK?"

"But you're free now," Amber said just as pointedly. Luna and Amber eyed each other with annoyance and Krystal could stay out of it no longer.

"OK, what's going on?" Krystal asked, looking back and forth between her two members with concern.

"Nothing's wrong," Amber said, pulling out the chair next to hers and motioning for Krystal to sit down. "It's good to see you, Soojungie. Let's order."

"Unnie?" Krystal asked, turning to look at Luna. She ignored Amber's suggestion and peered into Luna's unhappy face with concern. "What happened?"

Luna tried to smile at her, but the smile faltered and she sighed. "Amber-unnie invited me to lunch with you today. She was trying to convince me that you knew I would be here, but obviously you didn't know."

Krystal quirked an eyebrow at Amber, who looked back at her sheepishly. It seemed like Luna was somehow caught as a third wheel in their date, although Krystal couldn't fathom why Amber had done that to Luna. 

"It's OK, unnie," Krystal told Luna, sitting Luna back into her chair and taking the seat next to her. The pulled-out chair next to Amber remained unused. "It's not like this was a date. You're not intruding or anything."

"Really?" Luna asked, looking doubtfully at Krystal. Amber nodded her head exaggeratedly, trying to diffuse the situation, but Krystal stuck a hand in Amber's face to stop her clownish behavior.

"Really," Krystal confirmed. "And I really wanted to see you anyway, so this works out well. Let's order and I'll tell you about Europe!"

Lunch between the three f(x) members felt nice to Krystal. It had been a while since they had been together as a trio, and she missed the jokes and laughter between them. But Krystal could tell that Luna felt awkward to be there, and Krystal could not blame her. Krystal also felt a little awkward. Something about Amber's behavior was odd, although she couldn't put her finger on it. 

After lunch, the members parted ways with Krystal and Luna making dinner plans for the weekend. Krystal turned to an awkward looking Amber and said an equally awkward goodbye to her under Luna's uncomfortable gaze and then headed to her car. Krystal felt unsatisfied about the way she and Amber had reunited, and it wasn't at all due to Luna's presence.

When Krystal arrived home, she felt annoyed with Amber for various reasons. She was annoyed that Amber had spent the lunch being distant and aloof, that Amber had indicated that this would be a date when it wasn't, that Amber had inadvertently hurt Luna's feelings with her unclear invitation. But most of all, she was annoyed that Amber didn't seem to miss her as much as she missed Amber.

Krystal couldn't leave things with Amber like this. She picked up her phone and texted the older girl.

Krystal -> Amber: I'm mad. I'm coming over, stupid.

The reply was instantaneous.

Amber -> Krystal: I know, sorry. Come on over.

Krystal -> Amber: Are you alone?

Amber -> Krystal: Yes.

Krystal eyed the text dubiously.

Krystal -> Amber: Like ALONE alone?

Amber -> Krystal: Just you, me, Gongju and Jackjack. I can tell the dogs to leave if you want more privacy. :]

Krystal started the car and headed over to Amber's apartment, slightly less annoyed due to Amber's last text. But as soon as Krystal entered the apartment and saw Amber's face, she felt annoyed again.

"What the hell happened earlier?" Krystal asked, getting straight to the point. "I thought lunch was just going to be you and me."

"I know, and it was supposed to be. Luna was... a late addition."

"But why did you invite her if it was supposed to be a date?" Krystal asked, furrowing her brows. "And did you apologize for putting her in that situation?"

"Yeah, I did. I called her right after we left." Amber scratched the back of her sheepishly. "It was stupid of me to invite her the way I did. But I thought it'd be awkward if it was just the two of us, so I asked Luna to come along."

"You should have explained it to her beforehand. She knows what's going on between us, she would have understood."

"Seriously, it was a last second decision," Amber claimed defensively. "It's not like I woke up this morning thinking, 'How can I make Luna feel super uncomfortable today?' I just got really anxious about seeing you, so I invited her along and then..." She imitated an explosion sound and threw in an appropriate hand gesture for good measure.

"I can understand that," Krystal said with a sigh. As much as she had anticipated her reunion with Amber, she had been very nervous this morning as well. She turned toward the apologetic looking girl and offered her a small smile. "It's good to see you, Am."

"It's good to see you too, Soojung-ah."

They smiled at each other for a few moments, letting their lonely gazes speak for themselves. Amber's face was just as Krystal and remembered. Her eyes were kind, her smile was warm, and her expre