We had just gotten up to the studio at the auto shop, and Krystal had gotten changed when I could feel the light buzz from my phone. Quickly taking the small object out from my pocket as I get my brushes and paint ready with one hand, the other trying to unlock my phone despite my attention rather being on the objects in front of me.

Krystal stood by the same spot she was last time, probably waiting for me to say something. I could only steal a quick glance at her scarlet red hair, which instantly brightened up her features and made her pale skin seem healthier, almost as if a certain glow had radiated from her.

I shook the thought of soon as I returned my gaze to the phone, noticing a new message.

“So when am I supposed to come over today?”

I had almost forgotten about Kai for a moment, and especially thinking about the fact that we went to Sooyoung and Sunny’s hairdresser shop made me overlook the fact I had a project to finish soon enough.

If Krystal hadn’t mentioned it, I honestly think I would have forgotten it.

It was weird what we just did in a way; it sounded so girly to go and get your hair done together, something best friends would do, but neither Krystal or I would regard one another in that sense. However, although we didn’t speak too much it was kind of fun, just having someone new to be with.

“I think you got a message on your device,” Krystal said and I could only look at her, slightly taken aback by the way she seemed to point at my phone as if it was something out of the ordinary. I shrugged though, since it was a fairly old Samsung phone I’ve had for years, so she must have wondered why I still had such an outdated phone.

I wanted to ignore Kai, or make up a reason for why he couldn’t come because I wanted to spend more time with Krystal. However, although the reason was without sense and selfish, I figured that it would be best to not listen to what I want and rather to as planned.

Besides, they seem to be making some progress.

“Yeah, Kai’s bored so he wondered if he could come hang out here, if you don’t mind?” I asked as she sat down on the floor again, her red hair falling over her thin figure gracefully, my eyes too distracted by the color.

“If he has nothing else to interest him, then why not?” she replied to my question, and although she didn’t exactly sound excited I figured that she must have been a little inside. Her voice was kind of rushed, so she wouldn’t mind one bit I assumed before typing a quick reply.

“Be here in an hour, okay?”

I probably got a reply judging by the buzz, but I didn’t bother checking as I put my phone back down. My eyes scanned the colors in front of me, as I instructed Krystal to sit in the same position she did the last time. It was a bit complicated guiding her without showing her the painting, but I wanted to wait until I was fully done.

The honest truth, I already had an outline so I could technically work without her here. However, it would be easier in case something was to happen and I wouldn’t forget anything to add. Plus it would be easier to paint the colors if I could see the image right in front of me, and remember where the shadows were.

I smiled slightly towards her when she glanced over at me for a moment, wondering if she would return the gesture. Although she didn’t smile or laugh the entire day, it was something about her face that seemed more relaxed and happier than usual.

Her lips didn’t smile, but her eyes did in a way I couldn’t explain. It was a certain spark in the way she looked at me that awoke feelings inside of me, something that I hadn’t seen since her.

But I didn’t want to think about the lingering memories again, or those eyes that once made my knees go weak as I went back to concentrating on the painting, asking Krystal to turn her eyes away from mine and back to the ground.

That way I could concentrate again.

“May I ask you a question?” Krystal oddly enough started the conversation a couple of minutes after the room went silent, her eyes still glued to the floor as instructed, as I gently started painting above the sketch I just made. I gave her a hum in reply, basically telling her to just ask, as I patiently waited.

“How do you know when you like someone?”

That question threw me a bit off guard, wondering what made her think about something as complex as that.

“Who said I would know something about that? Do I look like Taylor Swift?” I asked, although it was a huge lie because I knew exactly how that feeling was. Maybe I knew something stronger than that, but it was all a part of the past. I was pretty sure I was over it.

Although the pang in my chest told me otherwise by the fresh memories of that day; when everything ended as abruptly as it started.

“I don’t know,” Krystal replied quietly. “I do not know about your affairs or if you’ve had experience in having affection for someone, but you are the only one I can ask right now.”

I could only listen as my hand created gentle on the canvas, the colors slowly appearing in front of me albeit I had only gotten a small part of the painting colored. My head tried to think of something deep and wise to answer her with, but I honestly had no idea what to say without reliving memories that I didn’t want to.

“Well maybe when you start thinking about that person occasionally,” I began, not as helping as I thought it would be. “And that person makes you feel out of your element, in a good way of course; someone who makes you want to forget about everything else.”

That was all I could say without replaying the memories of her smile, her laugh and her touch.

I thought I was over it, and I want to believe I was, but those threatening memories made me rethink that thought. It had almost been two years since I last saw her, why would I start thinking about her now?

Krystal only made a sound of understanding, and I didn’t hear anything more about it as we both went into our own thoughts.

I could hear my phone ring silently in the background, probably Kai wanting to reach me, but I was too preoccupied with that short conversation in my head as I tried to concentrate on the painting in front of me.

Why did she have to bring that up of all things? I knew she must be thinking about Kai and what she felt for him; it had to be about that.

I had tried to put in a good word for him and made sure they “accidently” met each other in the halls, however, she didn’t mention him and I wondered why he hadn’t gotten her number yet. Of course the idiot talks about her and what this and this could mean, and how to win her over.

I didn’t want to admit that everything he did for Krystal was sort of my idea, and for some reason I didn’t like it.

I had already gotten a far way ahead, actually halfway through with the painting when the familiar footsteps of Kai were heard and he entered. The smell of food instantly went through the air, sickingly unhealthy goods of disastrous fast food that made my mouth nearly water.

“Give me the burger, right now,” I said without looking away from the painting, and I could hear him lightly chuckle before I heard a bag being placed on the table next to me. With a smile I finished the small part I was working on before turning around to be greeted by the sight of my favorite food.

What could I say? I was a for spicy cheeseburgers and fries.

“I wasn’t entirely sure of what you wanted, but at least I made sure it was vegetarian,” I heard Kai say and I looked up to see Krystal looking up at him as well. From the position she sat in, she almost looked kind of cute with wide eyes staring at him and the white bag in his hand.

“Thank you,” she said quietly, almost shyly, and the way she acted almost made me wish I didn’t see it at all because those reoccurring memories about someone returned again.

I found myself coughing awkwardly. “Aren’t you supposed to notice something?” I asked with my eyes now on Kai as he only gave me a slightly confused look, before his eyes then widened comically in realization as they darted from me to Krystal.

I had to laugh because he was always so slow when it came to things like that, as Krystal just looked confused before I said she could sit by the sofa and eat. We hadn’t been going on for long, but I was very hungry.

“Did you guys go to Sooyoung and Sunny?” he asked as all three of us sat on the sofa with the makeshift coffee table, entirely made out of old books we had lying around at home that we never read. I gave him a look of disbelief.

“Oh, I thought you knew? We just found some paint lying around and took it all over our hair,” I retorted sarcastically, only to earn a glare from the boy in front of me.

“Well I must say, that color really does suit you, Krystal,” Kai then turned to compliment her, his look changing towards something softer. The obvious crush he had on her almost made me gag. I wondered how Krystal couldn’t notice that he was head over heels for her, but that was only to remain a mystery for me as I watched them interact while eating.

“Well your sisters are good at what they do,” I said after a while and it only took a moment from Krystal to go from slightly surprised to neutral again, the plastic fork in her hand pausing midair before she continued to eat… whatever fancy thing she was eating.

My culinary skills were about only fast food, steak and chocolate chip pancakes.

“Are you related to Sooyoung and Sunny?” Krystal for once couldn’t mask her surprise, and I couldn’t blame her because it wasn’t uncommon for people to react like that.

Kai swallowed whatever he was eating as well, something entirely different from the huge buckets of fried chicken he usually ordered. I could only look weirdly at whatever that was before taking a sip from my milkshake.

“Yes, hard to believe, huh?” he began with a small chuckle. “It’s a long story, but we’re all adopted,” Kai said, a story he had retold so many times because none of the three of them looked alike at all. Sooyoung and Kai were quite tall, whereas Sunny was very short. At the same time, Sooyoung was just like me in terms that we couldn’t gain weight easily, while that was not the same situation for the two other siblings.

And so they went into their own world, both of them conversing about whatever suited them as I fell into the background again, my eyes only looking at the two and realizing that they would make the perfect couple.

I sat for the most part in silence, just barely listening to their conversation about some dance stuff and thinking about why I felt so down until the shrill of my phone echoed through the room again. Having nothing to add to the conversation, I excused myself to grab my phone still lying on the table and answering it as I head out to the hall.

“Hello?” I answered as no one on the other line said anything, and I didn’t bother check who it was as the number was unknown anyway. I had a feeling it was one of those pesky phone sellers, but when the other person answered it was as if someone had stabbed a knife in my chest.

“Ara… It’s me.”