Krystal stared at Kyungsoo blankly. He mouth hung open to reply but no words would come out. " I knew it. I never should've asked in the first place," Kyungsoo sighed heavily. 

"I didn't say anything though," Krystal protested. 

"Not saying anything is an answer to me," he said as the car came to a stop in front of the apartment block. "Go on ahead. I have to park the car."

"Oh...alright. Thanks for the ride," she smiled hesitantly. Krystal stepped out of the car and headed back home. When she opened the door, Jessica was laying on the couch watching TV. Jessica looked at Krystal with heavy eyes but sat up straight away when she realised she was back.

"You're finally home!" Jessica exclaimed excitedly. "Where were you the whole day? You never replied to my texts."

"Sorry, today was a bit busy for me," Krystal sighed as she plopped on the floor in front of the couch. "Why are you still up? You normally sleep at like, nine."

"I was waiting for you. You made the front page on Naver again, just so you know."

"What did it say?"

"Oh, just the fact that you're apparently rich since you came out of a FREAKING PORSCHE," she suddenly screamed. "But that's not the point. I read the comments, and a lot of people are beginning to think that Chanyeol is dating you for the money. I don't know why they think that, since Chanyeol's pretty well off from what I've heard."

"Should I be concerned?"

"Well if you don't want people to think your relationship is a scam, then you should be."

"But it is."

"That's not the point, Krystal! Don't you like this guy at all?" Before Krystal could answer, Jessica continued her lecture. "Look, if you want this to work, then you have to give Chanyeol a bit of confirmation!" She wiggled her eyebrows at Krystal and nudged her on the arm. "You've gained a lot of followers on Instagram since you two came out as a couple, right? Just post a photo of you two with a caption saying the rumours aren't true."

"It's easier said than done," Krystal muttered. 

"No," Jessica frowned. "There's someone else, isn't there? He's the one with the nice car, right?" Krystal didn't reply but the guilty look on her face said it all. "Well, all I can say is, neither of them are going to back down so put them out of their misery and make a decision. Anyway, I'm going to sleep now so I'll see you tomorrow." Jessica gave Krystal a big hug and went to her room. Krystal spent the next hour or so deep in thought, until she finally fell asleep in the living room.

The next morning, she Krystal was awaken by the vibrations coming from her pocket. She pulled out her phone and waited for her eyes to focus on the screen. It was a message from Chanyeol. "Krystal..." she slowly read out. "Can you buy me...breakfast? Manager-nim is away and the nurses won't feed me...unhappy face." She grunted but stood up to go get ready.

Cautiously, Krystal entered the convenience store. Ever since the paparazzi confrontation yesterday at the hospital, she realised that she needed to be careful with both her appearance and actions. With so many people beginning to recognise her, it's hard to travel around the neighbourhood in her tracksuit with no makeup. "Ah, Ms Jung! I haven't seen you or your sister in a week. You're usually in here every two days; is everything alright?" the middle-aged man who worked as the cashier asked politely. 

Krystal replied with a smile, "Everything's fine, Mr Kim. It's just been very hectic for the both of us and since neither of us is home very often anymore, we don't need as many groceries."

"Well, whenever you're free, my family would love to have you two over for dinner again. You know, Jongdae keeps asking about you these days. Just yesterday, he asked me, 'Dad, has Krystal been dropping by the store recently?'. I keep telling him to drop by your place because he sounded so concerned but he never does," Mr Kim explained and sighed.

"We'll definitely let you know when we're free, Mr Kim, but right now-" 

"Right now she's just a little preoccupied with some work," a voice from the aisle interrupted.

"Ah, Kyungsoo! I didn't see you walk in. Have you settled in already?" Mr Kim said happily.

"Yes, the place is very nice. Thank you very much for helping me move in. Oh, by the way, do you happen to have anymore Choco Pies? I couldn't find any in the aisles."

"Unfortunately we ran out of stock yesterday. The next batch will be delivered tomorrow morning, if you're willing to wait."

"So there's no more boxes at the moment?" Krystal asked, devastated. She was planning to buy a box for Chanyeol, along with an assortment of flavoured milk. Mr Kim shook his head and shrugged. Krystal was about to look for a substitute in the aisles when Kyungsoo suddenly put his hand on her shoulder.

"Why did you suddenly come here?" he whispered sternly in her ear.

"What do you mean? I need to buy a few things-"

"The whole month I've lived in this apartment I've never seen you here so why, of all days...?"

"Like I said, I've been busy," Krystal shook Kyungsoo's hand off. "Anyway, I'm in a bit of a rush so I'll talk to you some other time." She proceeded into the snack-aisle without saying goodbye to Kyungsoo.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Asan Medical Centre- 11:00am

Krystal's legs felt as if they were about to give way. She had missed the bus twice and ended up being an hour later than she had originally planned to arrive. Like yesterday, Mr Byun waited at the entrance of the hospital building, but this time, without the group of photographers. 

"I'm...so...sorry. I was...meant...to come...earlier..." Krystal panted as she struggled for her breath. Mr Byun, for the first time, smiled gently.

"He's been waiting for a while, now. Oh, and also, if you wouldn't mind, could you take this up with you as well? I'm sure Mr Park has been dying to eat this ever since he was first hospitalised," Mr Byun said as he handed Krystal a plastic bag with some street food packed inside. She gladly took the bag and headed to Chanyeol's room.

Despite the sliding door making a very loud noise, Chanyeol continued to stare out the large window at the cityscape of Seoul. He looked very solemn and almost lifeless. "Chanyeol?" Krystal called softly as she closed the door behind her. "I got you your food." Chanyeol slowly turned to her and barely made a smile, which was very unlike him. "What's wrong, Chanyeol?"

He took a deep breath and choked up the words, "I love you, Krystal Jung."