One of the worst things about being an actress, aside from demanding schedules, was the lingering emotional drain that came after shooting an emotional scene. This week, for example, Krystal's character in the drama was suffering from heartbreak after being rejected by her love interest. Even though Krystal was only acting, the drama scenes left an impact on her heart that felt quite real.

As her manager was driving her home that night, Krystal was feeling more depressed now than the day she returned from the SMTown Tokyo concerts a little over a week ago. That had been a tough day for Krystal as she wrestled with the idea that she might be in love with Amber, that Amber might love her back, that they would face adversity as a couple if they got together, and that she might lose Amber forever if their relationship didn't work out. But worst of all was the thought that she might love Amber but Amber might not love her back. After all, Krystal had not definitively confirmed that Amber was actually in love with her. At this point, it was still just a hunch.

But as much as Krystal worried about her relationship with Amber and worried about their feelings for each other, one thing was still true: Amber was one of her closest friends and she missed being with Amber. The emotional drain from the drama had heightened the emotion even further tonight, and Krystal decided that she didn't want to go home and be by herself right now.

"Oppa," Krystal called out to her manager, who was driving. He turned his head slightly in her direction to indicate that he was listening while still keeping his eyes on the road.

"Hmm? What's up, Soo Jung?"

"Can you drop me off at Amber's place?"

"Amber's place? At this hour?" he asked, glancing at the time. "It's 11 o'clock. Who visits a friend at 11 o'clock?"

"Young people do it all the time, ahjussi," Krystal responded, jokingly calling her manager "uncle" to insult his age.

"Yeah, yeah," he said with a smile. "I can drop you off, but only if you get Amber's permission first. And you have to tell your parents that I'm not bringing you home tonight."

"Wow, oppa, you're so responsible."

"More like I'm covering my own . Your parents are going to eat me alive if anything happens to their precious daughter," he explained, but the seemingly impersonal response didn't fool Krystal. She and the other members knew that their f(x) managers cared deeply for them.

Obediently, Krystal first sent a text to Amber and waited for the reply. Amber sent it seconds later, inviting her to come over and to spend the night if she wanted.

"See, oppa? We young people like to stay up late." She showed him Amber's reply while they were stopped at a red light.

"OK," he nodded. "But tell your parents, too."

Krystal sent a text to her parents, but did not expect an immediate response. It was more likely that they were already sleeping and she would need to call them in order to wake them up and get their permission.

"Can you just head to Amber's place for now? I'll call my parents when we get there if they haven't replied yet. Pleeeease?" Krystal begged.

With such potent aegyo so late at night, her manager had no choice but to grant her wish. And to Krystal's delight, her mom responded just before they arrived at Amber's place and gave Krystal permission to sleep at Amber's.

"Well," her manager said, stopping the van so she could get out. "Have fun with Amber. I would tell you not to stay up too late, but I see you have no concept of 'late'. Do you want to stop by your parents' house in the morning before your schedule?"

"Mmm... I think I'll leave directly from Amber's apartment. It'll give me more time to sleep."

"OK," her manager agreed. I'll pick you up at 7." Krystal waved to her manager and walked towards the apartment building.

Not many people knew it, but Krystal actually had a key to Amber's apartment. As Amber didn't have any family in Korea, the English-speaking Jung family was a surrogate family of sorts, especially in Amber's early years of living in Korea. After f(x) moved out of their dorm into separate apartments, Amber had left a key with Krystal's family for emergencies. That key was now in Krystal's possession for her own personal use, not that anybody minded.

Krystal quietly let herself into the building and climbed the stairs up to Amber's floor. Amber was waiting for her when she got there. The older girl was standing just outside of her apartment with JackJack and GongJu, her two chihuahuas, under each arm. Once she saw Krystal, she smiled and put her dogs down. They charged full force at Krystal and jumped into her open arms. She pulled them to her tightly, letting them slobber all over her face.

"I haven't seen you guys in so long!" Krystal cooed in a baby voice, snuggling them tightly as she walked over to Amber. "I haven't seen you so long either," she said to Amber, still using the baby voice.

"That's a little creepy," Amber said with a grin. She gently placed her hand on Krystal's back and guided her into the apartment. "Come on in."

"Thanks," Krystal said, setting Amber's dogs down. 

"You hungry?" Amber asked. "Want something to drink?"

"Nah, I'm good. But I'll take some sleep, please."

"Yeah, sure. My bed is your bed," Amber replied, which was literally true as Krystal always slept in Amber's bed when she spent the night, while Amber slept on the spare air mattress. "I was wondering why you were stopping by so late. You just needed a place to crash?"

"Do you mind?" Krystal asked apologeticall