Krystal and Amber waited nervously at SM's public relations office. A few minutes ago they had been practicing with Luna for next week's Japanese concert tour, but a sudden call now had the two of them waiting in an empty conference room without explanation.

The public relations office was responsible for putting out official statements on behalf of SM Entertainment and its idols. Krystal had dealt directly with the office several times in the past. Whether it was a personal statement that needed to be released, such as when she fainted at the SMTOWN concert in Shanghai, or a group statement needed to be released, like when f(x) came out with their "4 Walls" album, everything was handled by the public relations office.

The fact that this office dealt with making official statements was the reason why Krystal and Amber were so nervous now. Most official statements were approved over the phone or via email, typically just as a formality. Truly serious situations called for an in-person meeting, such as when Sulli quit the group unexpectedly. Amber, Luna, and Krystal were all summoned to the office at that time, with Victoria present via phone from China. But since it was only Amber and Krystal who had been called to the office this time, Krystal had a sinking feeling about the topic of the meeting.

The door to the conference room opened and a middle-aged member of the PR team came in. Krystal and Amber knew him only as Mr. Kwon. He was a man of few words and he took his job seriously from what Krystal could remember about him.

Without much of a greeting, Mr. Kwon sat down at the table with Krystal and Amber and set down a computer tablet and a pad of paper. Krystal held her breath and waited.

"I apologize for calling both of you here so suddenly, but a situation came up that we need to deal with sooner rather than later," Mr. Kwon said. He picked up his tablet and used it for a few moments before sliding it across the table to Krystal and Amber. "We'd like to get more information about this picture before we figure out what to do about it."

Krystal's blood froze as she looked at the picture in question. A hundred different emotions blazed through her brain, but panic was most prevalent. She quickly turned to Amber and felt the same silent panic emanating from her girlfriend. When Amber finally looked up at her, that mutual sense of panic was magnified

"We're screwed, we're screwed, we're screwed," Krystal screamed in her mind, but she forced her next words to be calm.

"...where did you get this?" Krystal asked Mr. Kwon.

"Dispatch, who else? They've got people on every street corner at all hours of the night, so of course they would catch something like this," Mr. Kwon responded with a shrug. He eyed Krystal and Amber's fearful reactions and calmly walked over to the nearby mini-fridge and took out two bottles of water. "I know you two haven't dealt with a situation like this before, but it's common for Dispatch to catch these kinds of pictures when people least expect it. You shouldn't let it get to you."

Krystal stared up at Mr. Kwon incredulously, surprised at his nonchalance. The panic loosened her tongue and she spoke a bit more bluntly than she should have spoken to a senior. "I shouldn't let this 'get to me?' I shouldn't let the fact that Dispatch has a picture of me and Amber kissing in the middle of the street 'get to me?!'"

Amber said nothing but continued to stare quietly at the crystal clear, black and white photo of themselves kissing beneath an umbrella on a rainy day some time last spring. Krystal couldn't remember the exact day that this kiss occurred, but she remembered that moment, that encounter, that impulsive feeling of love that had driven her to kiss Amber on the streets in the dead of night under the rain. She had remembered checking for people and confirming to herself that the street was empty. There wasn't a car headlight for miles. Krystal remembered feeling the invincibility of love and not once had she stopped to worry that someone might see them, nor had she ever worried after that day that someone did see them. She and Amber had spent such a perfect and memorable night together because of that kiss, and now suddenly the fond memory was marred by the existence of this picture.

"Yes," Mr. Kwon responded calmly, placing the water bottles in front of Krystal and Amber. "I'm telling you not to let it get to you because we can fix it. Dispatch and other news outlets send us hundreds of pictures each year, practically blackmailing us in order to protect our idols' reputations, and we manage to fix things one way or another."

"And how often would you say that this office manages to fix situations like this? Because from what I can recall, Jonghyun-oppa's situation was not fixed," Krystal pointed out a bit coldly, referring to the dating scandal that had torn Kim Jonghyun's life to shreds a few years ago. Krystal and SHINee's Johghyun were close, almost like real siblings, and she hated watching what that dating scandal had done to him. Even now he was still was still scared of causing scandals or falling in love and dating anyone.

"Jonghyun-ssi is still promoting with SHINee and is still as popular as ever. He wasn't exiled from the industry, and the scandal is largely forgotten. So yes, I would call that a success," Mr. Kwon replied. He smiled a bit arrogantly, but not unkindly at Krystal and Amber. "You might be thinking that I'm the bad guy here, but I'm actually trying to help you two. So let's start by talking about what actually happened," he said, pointing at the picture.

"Why now?" Amber said quietly, at last breaking her silence. "This picture was taken almost a year ago. Why is Dispatch only bothering us with it now?"

"Because we buried it," Mr. Kwon responded calmly, unfazed by the identical looks of surprise from Krystal and Amber. "Dispatch sent this picture to us last..." he checked his notes, "last June. But we were able to make some deals with them to stop them from publishing it."

"What? Why didn't you tell us about it?" Krystal demanded.

Mr. Kwon, shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "What was the point in telling you two? We weren't going to let Dispatch go public with it back then and they didn't. They didn't have a single other incriminating photo, so there was no point in warning you to be careful. Telling you about this would have just caused needless worry."

"And now?" Amber pressed, not at all comforted by Mr. Kwon's calmness. "Do you plan to let this picture go public now?"

"Not unless you two want to be exiled from the industry," he responded dryly. He picked up his pen and looked at the concerned couple in front of him. "Now tell me about this photo. I can't help you without knowing more."

As Krystal and Amber divulged the details of their relationship, Krystal couldn't decide if she liked Mr. Kwon or not. He didn't seem to be judging them while he gathering the facts, hardly showing any surprise to learn that they had dating since late 2014, nor showing any concern that Krystal and Amber frequently visited each others homes, or that various friends, family, and staff knew about their relationship. But at the same time Krystal didn't like how impersonal he was, or how blunt he was.

"Do you two plan to continue this relationship?" he asked, looking over his notes from the conversation.

"Why? Do we need your permission?" Amber re