There was a kind of weirdness in the air as Krystal and her f(x) members flew from Korea to Taiwan for the upcoming SMTOWN concert. Victoria was headed to Taiwan from China, leaving only Krystal, Amber, and Luna departing from Seoul. 

Krystal had not pressured Amber or even mentioned their extended break since their ramen date a few days ago. Likewise Amber had not brought up the topic either. They were treating each other normally as far as Krystal could tell. They were talking normally, joking normally, and basically interacting with each other in the same way that they did before they had started dating.

If anyone was acting weirdly on the trip from Korea to Taiwan, it was actually Luna. Luna was not aware of the botched reunion that had occurred a few days ago, but she sensed that the couple was not back together yet and tried to set them up wherever possible.

On the van ride to the airport, Luna placed her purse in an empty seat and refused to move it, forcing Krystal to sit in the back with Amber. While waiting in line at the airport, Luna kept trying to get them to interact with each other even though they were interacting already. On the flight, which Luna managed to manipulate so that Amber and Krystal were seated together, she passed them snacks and told them pointedly to share with each other.

"She's trying waaaaaay too hard," Krystal observed as she opened a package of Pepero sticks. She took one and offered it to Amber, placing it directly into the older girl's mouth. "She's making things more awkward than they need to do be."

"Do you feel awkward?" Amber asked, biting down on the Pepero stick.

Krystal shook her head truthfully. "If we exclude Luna-unnie's interference, I don't feel awkward at all. Do you feel awkward?"

Amber shook her head as well. "Ignoring Luna, it's a no for me, too." Their conversation lapsed into a natural silence as they consumed the mountain of snacks that Luna had left for them.

The trio headed to the hotel and checked in for the night. Krystal was rooming with her mother, who had decided to come along to watch the concert and take care of personal business. Luna and Victoria would be sharing a room since they were checking out the day after the concert, while Amber had a room to herself since she was staying in Taiwan longer to hold a fansign.

Krystal had spent more time with Amber today than she had spent with her since the ramen date, and Krystal was surprised at how normal things felt between them. Dinner with Amber, Luna, and their manger-oppas was fine. Hanging out after dinner with Amber and various SHINee, EXO, and Red Velvet members was fine as well.

But as the evening wore on and bed time approached, Krystal suddenly realized that "normal" and "fine" were not the words she wanted to use when she thought about interacting with Amber. When they were dating, Krystal had used words like "wonderful" and "amazing". Spending nights relaxing with Amber had been wonderful. Making out with Amber had been amazing. But today, tomorrow, and perhaps an unknown number of days to come, would those all just be "normal"? The idea made Krystal feel sick.

Victoria arrived at the hotel on the same day as her f(x) members, although much later in the evening. She reached her room just before bed time and Krystal hurried over to greet her as soon as she heard that Victoria was there.

"Unnie!" Krystal cried happily, launching herself into Victoria's open arms. The leader-unnie wrapped the maknae tightly in a warm hug. They hadn't seen in each other weeks due to Victoria's busy schedule in China and they were glad to see each other now. Krystal took a seat next to Luna on the bed as Victoria continued to unpack.

"How are you, Ddudung-ah?" Victoria asked, using aegyo.

Krystal smiled. "I'm fine. I missed you a lot, unnie."

"I missed you too," Victoria replied. She looked at Luna and Krystal on the bed and then looked to the door. "Where's Amber?"

"I dunno. We were hanging out with Irene-unnie and Seulgi and she kind of disappeared." Krystal looked at Luna, who indicated that she wasn't aware of Amber's current whereabouts either. "Do you want me to call Amber?"

Victoria shook her head. "Nah, I'm sure I'll see her later." She started hanging up her clothes and asked Krystal nonchalantly, "How are you and Amber doing?"

"Uh..." Krystal cast a sideways look toward Luna. "Actually, we're still kind of taking a break from dating..."

The elder unnie dropped the pair of jeans she was holding in surprise. "What?! Didn't that break start like 3 months ago?"

"More like 4," Krystal said sheepishly, "but... yeah..."

"Are you OK? Did you guys break up?" Victoria asked worriedly. She dropped the rest of her clothes on the bed and quickly went to sit beside the younger girl. "What happened?"

"Well, nothing really happened... although I guess that's the problem now," Krystal added, not really clarifying the situation.

"Did Amber do something to you? Do you want me to go kick her ?" Victoria asked with utmost sincerity. Krystal laughed and turned to Luna, expecting her to be laughing as well, but Luna wore an expression that mirrored Victoria's expression perfectly. 
"Seriously, did Amber-unnie do something wrong? I'll kick her , too if needed," Luna offered sincerely.

Krystal scrunched up her face in disbelief, but at the same time she was grateful that Victoria and Luna were on her side even though there weren't really any sides to take at this point. "It's good to know that you guys would go as far as to kick Amber's for me, but you guys don't need to do it. Amber really didn't do anything wrong."

"Are you guys OK, though?" Victoria asked. "Is it weird for you to be around each other?"

"No, it's not weird at all. Which is kind of weird in and of itself," Krystal said, eliciting an understanding nod from Victoria and Luna.

"OK, I won't get involved in your relationship," Victoria decided somewhat reluctantly. "But you have to promise to tell me if Amber does anything to hurt you, OK?"

"Why? So that you can kick her ?"

Victoria nodded with a smile. "I didn't learn kickboxing in New Zealand for nothing."

"But why do you guys look out for me and not for Amber?" Krystal wondered, looking at Victoria and Luna. "Would you guys offer to kick my for Amber?"

Victoria paused to think, and then decided, "No, I wouldn't."

"Why not?" Krystal asked.

"Because Amber can take care of herself."

"Are you saying I'm not strong enough to take care of myself?"

Victoria quickly shook her head. "No no, you're plenty strong, Soojung-ah. You're definitely strong enough to protect yourself and to make your own decisions. But Amber is like a friend to me, whereas you're like my baby. And a mother will always do whatever it takes to protect her baby."

Krystal smiled shyly, touched by Victoria's words. Victoria pulled her into a hug and Luna joined them, filling Krystal with strength from their love.

The SMTOWN Taiwan concert was held the following night. f(x) had been performing as a 4 member group in Sulli's absence and the quarter performed their familiar setlist with ease. During the time where Krystal was not performing she tried to gauge Amber's behavior and found Amber to still be acting normally around her. There were no traces of sadness or awkwardness or loneliness when they were with each other, even when they were alone.

Honestly, if Krystal didn't know any better, it was like they had never dated in the first place. The realization didn't sit well with Krystal, who walked around with a noticeable hole in her heart where Amber's love for her should have been. Even though Amber still claimed to love her, Krystal could no longer sense that love emanating from Amber at all during this trip. Following the concert that night, Krystal went to bed honestly wondering if she had imagined those few wonderful weeks that she had been able to call Amber her girlfriend.

In the morning, Victoria and Luna left for the airport and headed back to China and Korea respectively. Amber and Krystal saw them off at the lobby. Once they were gone, Amber and Krystal headed back to their rooms.

"What are you doing today?" Amber asked as they rode the elevator back up to their room.

"Not much," Krystal said, thinking if she had anyt