“You’re right, hyung! That place was delicious, despite how ugly it looks.” Hongbin erupted laughter back in the van. The boys had just eaten dinner and were on their way to their final location.

            “Whoa~! Look at all those campers!” Exclaim Ken as he looked out the window.

            “We’re going camping aren’t we?! See, I told you I saw sleeping bags behind!” Hyuk said to Hongbin.

            “Are we really going camping hyung?” Ravi asks. N nods.

            “Yep. Excited boys?” Everyone shouted to confirm that they are, indeed very excited.

            Leo parked the van and the boys came flooding out. Everyone grabbed their bags and the food that Leo bought for them. N led the way to their camp site. The boys basically skipped all the way there; happiness was evident from their grinning face.

            “Here we are. There are two tents in total. Put down your bags, let’s light up the fire first.”

            After the fire was lit, they each picked a tent.

            “There’s a bathroom for the campers right that way. Why don’t we go and clean up?” N suggested. The boys nodded, smiling as they go and shower for the night.

            After everyone was done, each of the boys sat around the fire. The atmosphere quieted down. There was someone playing acoustic guitar somewhere behind them. It somehow sets the atmosphere around them.

            “Thanks hyung, for bringing us here. School has been… tough.” Ken spoke up first. N and Leo looked at him, it is his last year, of course it's to be tough. The younger ones look at the ground, Ken has always been bright, and hearing him talking like that was too rare for them. It must really be difficult for him.

            “Are you hanging in there okay?” N asks him. Ken gave him a bitter smile as an answer.

            “The finals were… hard. What if I failed?”

            “You won’t fail. You’ll be okay.” Hyuk said confidently. Ken smiled at him, Hyuk smiled back.

            “Wonshik and Hongbin hyung will both graduate next year. I’ll be alone in my senior year… Would we really still be friends by then?” Hyuk voiced his concern for the first time. N patted his back.

            “Of course we will! We’re best friends, remember? We’ll stay that way too, for a very very long time.” Hyuk smiled at N’s answer.

            “Yeah, you don’t have to be afraid to lose us. We’ll always be there for you.” Added Hongbin with a smile.

            “It’s just that, after Hakyeon and Taekwoon hyung graduated, we barely get to see them anymore. It just scared me. I don’t have any other friends…” Hyuk went on.

            “Do you think I have other friends?” Leo spoke up. They all looked at him.

            “You guys are all I have too. Remember that. There are no other people who could stand me like you guys.” He said with a soft chuckle.

            “We do like you hyung. Not just ‘stand’ you.” Ravi told him sincerely. Leo smiled at that.

            “Look, we’re sorry we didn’t spend time with you guys a lot. But after you graduate, there are things you have to take care of. I’ll put more effort this year, okay?” N gave Hyuk’s shoulder a little squeeze. Hyuk’s family are a bit on the stricter side. Meaning his studies are very important. It’s true that they are his only friends, seeing that he has to study a lot.

            “Is it scary? Graduating?” asks Ken. N and Leo looked at each other.

            “It was. For me at least.” N answered first. “The dance studio… I didn’t really think it’d work.  On top of that, there was that dance school I was going to. Everything was new to me. I’m a grown up now, I can’t always depend on my parents anymore. That’s why I worked in that dance studio.”

            “And it is true that I might know I wanted to do art. But I didn’t know if it would work out. Art is not something you can get a living with easily. I didn’t even know that I’ll get a scholarship. There wasn’t any plan at all. And that’s the scary part, you just don’t know what’s going to happen.” Leo told his experience next.

            “But, I can promise you that it’ll work out in the end. Look at the two of us. And if there’s anything you want help with, you can always ask us.” N added, trying to make Ken think positive.

            “You can just go with the flow too. I’m sure you’ll find something you like somehow.” Leo said. Ken just nods. “We’ll see then, right?”

            “That’s the spirit hyung!” Hongbin suddenly shouts, making everyone jump and then erupting laughter next.

            “Thanks guys.” Ken was finally smiling. Well, at least he can depend on his friends.

            “Well, we’ve been too busy talking about only us. What about Hakyeon and Taekwoon hyung? You guys are really out of high school now. How is everything?” Ravi help change the topic.

            “I’m doing quite okay, actually. The dance studio where I’m working right now decided to raise my pay. The school I’m going to is not too far away, everything is smooth sailing so far.” N told them. “How about you Taekwoon?”

            “Like I said, I got the scholarship. That’s good news. It’s in Paris.” Leo told them.

            “Paris?? Wow hyung you’re going to Paris?” Ravi exclaim loudly. Leo shrugs, raising eyebrows.

            “What is it?” N asks.

            “I’m not sure if I want to go.” Leo told them honestly. If anyone can help him, it will be his friends.

            “What?? Why?” asks Ken. “That’s a great deal you’ve got there. Why do you want to let it go? What can possibly be more important?”

            “It’s just that… well…” Leo wasn’t sure how he should tell his friends about it.

            “It’s Krystal, isn’t it?” Once again N was the one to read his mind. Leo nods. There was a pause.

            “Does she even know?” asks Ravi. Leo shook his head with a sigh.

            “You really do like her, huh?” asks Hongbin, already knowing the answer.

            “I don’t know why you still ask even though you all already know.” Said Leo but not really looking at any of them.

            “Follow your heart.” N suddenly said. They all looked at him.

            “What?” Leo said.

            “Follow your heart.” N repeated with a knowing smile. “You can learn art here with Krystal. Or you can go to Paris with that expensive and very rare scholarship and study it without Krystal. Which one do you think you can bear with more?”

            That was when Leo knew the answer. All the boys smiled knowingly. “Thanks man.” He said to N. N just nods.

            Their conversations turn into a lighter one after that. They talked about a lot of things. Their memories, about school, pretty much everything. It was pretty late when their conversation finally died down. It really has been a while. For them all to be able to talk like this. Krystal was right, he really did miss them. Sometimes, he thinks that he has been taking them for granted, especially N. But after all the conversation tonight, he realized how important his friends are. How they all have been in his life for a long time now and how they always care for him. He always cared for them too, even if he didn't want to admit it. They were, after all, his best friends.

***

            As expected, Krystal arrived in London just before midnight. She had called Leo on her way to her hotel but it seems like he spent a long night with the boys so they didn’t talk long. Krystal had only slept for two hours in the 11 hours and 30 minutes flight, but somehow she still wasn’t sleepy when she reached the hotel. So, in result of that, she went out of the hotel to take a short walk. The night was cold, but she didn’t mind. It was nice to get some fresh air. She found a bench not too far away and decided to sit down. Even though there were plenty of cars passing by, there were less people on the sidewalk.

            Krystal plugged in one earphone into her left ear and played some music, enjoying the night scenery in the busy city. After a few while, she suddenly hears people joking and playing. She turns her head right and saw a group of guys, two of them were on their skateboards.

            “Yah, don’t push me!” A red haired guy that was on the skateboard shouted at the guy who was running to catch up with him.

            “You said you were good at this!” The other guy retorted, panting.

            “Yeah, but no pushing!” The red haired guy shouted back.

            “Guys c’mon, no shouting.” A tall guy with glasses who was walking at the far back tried to advise them, but was ignored.

            “Chanyeol hyung, race you to the hotel!” The other guy who was on the other skateboard said with a challenging face.

            “Okay, you’re so on Sehun!” The two skateboard whizz past Krystal who was now standing up, about to go back to the hotel herself.

            “Whoa!” she gasps, dropping her phone because she was too surprised. She bent down to take her phone but another hand reached it first. Krystal looked up and saw the guy with the glasses staring right back at her. She let out another surprised gasp and tumbled backward.

            [Bold ones are in English]

            “Oh, are you okay?” The guy, who was pushing the red haired guy, offered his hand to Krystal. Krystal ignored the hand and stood up herself, making the guy pull back his hand awkwardly.

            “Sorry about that. Are you okay?” The guy repeated his question, still talking in English. Krystal just gave a small nod, looking instead at the taller guy with glasses who was still holding her phone. The taller guy quickly handed back her phone, thinking she was glaring at him. Taking back her phone hastily, she gave them a small bow and left without saying anything.

            “Do you think she was mad, hyung?” The guy with glasses asks.

            “I don’t know Jongin. Looks like it, huh?” The older one replied. Just then, the ones who were on the skateboard came back.

            “What’s taking you guys so long? We were waiting for you at the lobby.” The red haired guy, Chanyeol asks.

            “Yeah, what were you up to Baekhyun hyung?” The younger one, Sehun also asks.

“We were helping the girl you two just whizz past earlier. You didn’t even stop by to apologize!” Baekhyun then told them the little incident earlier.

            “You mean the girl that is also walking towards our hotel? Well, she did look kind of angry…” said Sehun.

            “Did she really didn’t say anything at all?” asks Chanyeol. The two guys nod.

            “Well, to be fair I did apologize.” Said Baekhyun.

            “But we were still at fault though.” Said Kai.

            “You know what, we can just apologize again when we see her. It seems like we’re staying at the same hotel. Let’s just go back now, okay?” Chanyeol suggested. The boys agreed and they then walked back to the hotel together.

            Krystal on the hand was very embarrassed at what just happened. She can’t believe she could be clumsy enough to drop her phone with something as simple as people passing by her with a skateboard. And she even stumbled backward after a guy helped her with her phone? She was even too shy and embarrassed to even accept their help. She heard voices behind her and turns around to see very familiar faces. Not wanting to embarrass herself even more, she quickly went in the elevator before any of them can enter with her. She sigh a big relief when she arrived at her room. She hopes she’ll never be able to see them again. Feeling tired somehow, she washed up and went to bed.

            The next morning Krystal was woken up by her mother’s voice.

            “Honey! Why are you not out of bed yet? This will affect your skin badly my dear. Come on now, up, up!” Krystal groaned and tried to go back to sleep but her mum took her blanket away from her.

            “Ahhhh, omma~!” She began to whine. Her mum chuckled and pulled her up from the bed.

            “Get up now Soojung ah. Let’s eat breakfast together and go shopping. I look through your suitcase and saw that you didn’t even buy anything new!” Krystal rubbed her eyes and merely nodded. Her mum clapped her hands loudly, making her jump. “I’ll be waiting for you at the lobby okay? Wear that dress I hung up for you. I won’t settle for your jeans this time. Got it?”

            “Mmmhmmm..” Krystal once again nodded her head. Dragging herself to her shower, she got ready pretty quickly. She saw the one piece dress and wore it. Her make-up was simple but at least it complements the knee length dress. She received a text message from her mum just when she was about to leave her room. She texted her mum back and hurried downstairs.

            “Soojung, over here!” Krystal walked towards her mum with her eyes looking down. Her mum’s loud voice was attracting too many attentions.

            “Yah, head up. Look confident.” Her mum said as they excited the hotel together. Krystal ignored her advice and kept looking down anyway.

            In the car, her mum kept on talking and asking typical question to keep the conversation going. But Krystal wasn’t even trying; her answers were short and curt. Her mum gave up in the end and made some business calls. Krystal plugged in her earphones and stared outside the window.

            When will mum talk about the divorce thing?

            Will she say the same thing as daddy?

            Are we really going to be okay?

            “Darling? We’re here.” Krystal took out her earphones and got out of the car. Her mum led the way to the restaurant.

            “Soojung, smile okay? That's one of the people that want to meet you.”  Her mum warned her before approaching the table that was already occupied by a man. Krystal refrain herself from rolling her eyes. Of course them eating ‘together’ will always involve with other people.

            They bowed before taking their seat. Krystal wondered why, is the man Korean too? He looks like one.

            “It’s nice to see you meet you again Mr. Kim. This is my daughter that I have been talking about. Soojung meet Mr. Kim.” So he is Korean. Krystal wondered why she has to meet with this man but bowed anyway.

            “I’m Krystal. Nice to meet you." Krystal said.

            “Yes, yes. It’s nice to finally meet you too, Krystal-shi.” Mr. Kim said with a smile.

            “My son would be here in a minute. I apologize for his lateness. Oh, there he is now.” The guy who just arrived hurriedly went and sat in front of Krystal, bowing in apology. “Jongin, this is Mrs. Jung and her daughter Krystal.” The moment Krystal’s and Kai’s eyes met, the two stared at each other.

            “Jongin? Greet them properly.” His father almost growled beside him. Kai quickly bowed again. “Anyeonghaseyo. My name is Kai. Sorry for being late.”

            “It’s quite alright. We just arrived anyway.” Mrs. Jung said with a smile. Kai smiled back but his eyes wandered back to Krystal who was now looking down.

            What a small world indeed, how can I possibly meet him here of all places? Krystal was blushing with embarrassment.

She’s shy. How cute, thought Kai.

            Breakfast came and was served. The adults talked more than the younger ones. Kai joined in once in a while, while Krystal just talks when she was talked to. They finished breakfast and stood up to leave.

            “We’ll meet again tonight at the after party. You would be coming right?” Krystal’s mum asks. Mr. Kim smiled.

            “Of course. We will meet you there then.” Mr. Kim answered. Krystal just bowed before leaving. Kai doing the same.

            In the car, Krystal couldn’t help but be curious. Why would her mum bring her to meet with the man, he was clearly just a business man. Why would she need Krystal?

            “How did you think of that Kai guy, Soojung?” Krystal raised her eyebrow and gave her a mum a look.

            “Excuse me?”

            “What, didn’t you like him? It seem like you know each other. Have you seen each other before? In Seoul, perhaps?” Getting the idea, Krystal scoffs.

            “You’re not doing what I think you’re doing right?” Krystal’s tone turned cold. Even the driver gave them a look from the review mirror, sensing something is wrong. Her mum shrugs. Krystal heaves a big sigh. No, this is not happening. She is not this cruel. Her mother is not like this.

            “It’s not like you’re dating anyone seriously nowadays. You have nothing to do. Why not just get married?”

            “MUM!” Krystal finally shouts, unable to accept what she just heard. “You’re kidding me right? After blowing that divorce crap in front of my face, now you’re just going to ignore that and asks me to get married?!” Krystal thought that her mum was at least going to console her about it; Maybe making up some lame excuse for her, something, anything but this.

            “Soojung calm down. The divorce thing, it was expected. Why are we even going through something that’s already been done? Let’s just move on-”

            “Stop the car.” Krystal’s tone was low and demanding. She glared at the driver when the car didn’t stop. “I said stop the damn car! Stop it before I jump off it!” Krystal held on the handle to prove that she wasn’t kidding. The driver panicked and the car stopped immediately.

            “Did you actually believe her? Gosh!” Mrs. Jung got out of the car to chase Krystal.

            “Soojung! Jung Soo Jung!”

            “Don’t you ever call me that again.” Krystal stopped and turns around. “Just like dad, you just turned into a stranger. And just like dad I know you’re going to give up quickly. You still have unnie with you, and dad has oppa. You two can leave me the heck alone now.” Krystal gave her mum one last cold glare before turning around and leaving again.

            “Sooju-” Krystal heard her mum stop calling for her as her phone rang. “Hello? Yes, this is her speaking…” Krystal scoffs as she wiped a tear that has escaped her eyes.

            They don’t care.

            You don’t care.

            Why do you care?

            Krystal was now crying as she walks away. The farther away, the better. Still wiping her tears, she didn’t know that she had reached her hotel. It was nearer than she expected. She went straight into her room. Not realizing that eyes were following her.

            “Hyung, isn’t that the girl we saw last night? Wait… Is she crying??” Sehun said out loud.

            “Yeah, that’s her. And yes, I think she is crying. I wonder what happened.” Said Chanyeol.

            “Why are you guys so interested in her so suddenly? Come on, Jongin is meeting us outside.” Said Baekhyun. Whatever reason it is, he’s sure that it’s none of their business. The two shrugs and followed Baekhyun out.

            “What took you guys so long?” Kai said from his car. The boys entered.

            “I have something interesting to tell you guys.” He told his friends, already driving away.

            “If it’s about your father again then I don’t want to hear it.” Said Chanyeol quickly. Kai gave him a look.

            “It’s not about him. It’s about Krystal.”

            “Krystal? Who’s Krystal? Ooooh, did you get yourself a girlfriend or something?” asks Sehun with a sly smile. Kai rolled his eyes.

            “No, you dummy. Krystal is the girl we saw last night. Remember what I said about my father wanting to introduce me to someone? Apparently it was Krystal and her mum. What a small world, huh?” The three boys looked at each other.

            “Woah, woah. What’s with all that looking and glancing?”

            “Actually, we just saw this Krystal of yours just now.” Said Baekhyun.

            “And she was crying.” Sehun told him. Kai’s eyes widen.

            “Crying? Why?” They shrugged.

            “How should we know? Anyway, are you gonna meet her again? Come to think of it, she’s actually pretty.” Said Chanyeol.

            “Well, her mum did mention about that party tonight.” Said Kai.

            “Oh, that fashion show party huh? Well this is gonna be interesting.” Said Baekhyun.

***

            As soon as Krystal entered her room, she sat on the bed and called the only person that she can think of right now.

            “Hello? Leo?” Just by hearing his voice made Krystal cry even louder.

            “Krystal? Hello? What’s wrong princess?” It was about 1am in Seoul so he sounded a bit sleepy. He didn’t press on any longer though. He just sat straighter on his bed, waiting for Krystal to speak. After a while, he can hear Krystal taking a drink and calming down.

            “I’m still here. You can talk if you want to.” Leo said before Krystal can ask. She sniffs and dried her eyes. And then she told Leo everything, letting everything out, even the incident with her father. She was crying again after she was finished.

            “Oh, Krystal…” He said softly. “Do you want to come back? You don’t have to go to the damn party. Just pack your bags and get on the plane. I’ll come pick you up.” Leo didn’t exactly know how to handle the whole situation.

            “I’ll see what flight I can get. I’ll text you when I know, okay?”

            “Okay. Don’t skip your meal because of this. I don’t want you to get sick on the plane. I’ll meet you soon, okay princess?”

            “Okay…” Krystal hung up. She felt better after the call. Before this, there wasn’t anyone that she can call like that. So abruptly and so sudden. She thought that she might just burden the person. But with Leo… She felt different about it somehow. It’s like she can depend on him. And she liked that.

            She checked the flight schedule and told Leo that she’ll be landing at around 11:30pm because the earliest flight she can find is at noon. Its two hours from now. So Krystal decided to have a light meal before leaving. She didn’t even have to pack her bag because she didn’t even unpack it. An hour before noon, Krystal drag her bag to the taxi that she has called beforehand. She, again, didn’t realize that Kai was just going back to the hotel with his friends when he saw her leaving.

            “Dude, are you sure you didn’t do anything to upset her? Why is she suddenly leaving in a hurry like that?” asks Sehun. Kai gave him a look.

            “What could I have possibly have said? She barely talked at breakfast.” The boys shrug.

            “I guess you won’t be seeing her at the party tonight after all.” Chanyeol said.

***

            Leo arrived at the airport right on time.

            “Krystal!” Krystal saw him and hugged him on the spot. She buried her head on his chest while he put his arms around her and hugged her tighter.  When they finally let go, Leo looked into her eyes.

            “Are you okay?” he asks, not knowing what else to say.

            “I am now.” Krystal answered with a small smile. Leo took her suitcase and led her to his car.

            “Do you wanna go to the beach?” Leo asks Krystal but she shook her head.

            “Can we just go back to your place? I think we’ve been spending too much time at my place.” Krystal’s voice was still a bit hoarse from all the crying. She must not have slept at all on the plane. Leo smiled and took her hand, squeezing it softly. “Of course, princess.”

A/n: And... there's Exo. There are a lot of people shipping Kaistal so that's why I used him here, hehe. And the answer's no, if you think that I'm going to turn this fic into a dramatic love triangle. I'm not a fan of love triangles actually, haha. Fyi, I don't follow Exo much so sorry if there are any obvious mistake about them. Comment if you have anything else to say. Thank you for all the new subscribers! Thank you again for stopping by (: