Even with seventeen years' worth of memories in Krystal, only a precious few stand out in her mind. The memories that define her life. The memories that define her. The memories that Krystal knows, if to be removed from her, would leave her an empty, hollow shell. Unknowing. Unfeeling. Never having truly lived at all.  

And the memory that is most vivid in her mind, the one that she can replay in her mind moment-by-moment, is the day of April 23, 2006. 

Her friends know this day as the day when Krystal entered SM Entertainment for the first time, to begin her training. 

And that's part of why she remembers that day, that's true. 

But for her, that day holds so much more than that. 

April 23, 2006.

The day she met Choi Minho. 

 

Krystal is eleven years old, sitting on a plain, bunker bed, alone for the first time. Krystal is scared, but she won't admit that: not to her sister, not to her parents, not to her friends, not even to herself. Even at her age, she is known as the Krystal that every girl her age wants to be. Beautiful. Tall. Unyielding. Strong. 

And Krystal is not about to ruin that image they have of her. What better way to be known, she thinks to herself? 

Krystal burrows herself into her blanket. 

Suddenly, she hears a knocking on her door. Reluctantly, she stands up to open it. 

A tall boy is standing at her door. It's obvious he's older than her, but still, he's grinning in a friendly sort of way at Krystal, not the way most older boys treat her. 

(Back in the US, the older boys smile patronizingly at her as if they're so much better than her.)

But when this boy smiles at her, she feels like she's his greatest friend in the world. 

"Krystal, right?" The boy asks. 

Krystal nods. Typically, Krystal would have crossed her arms, glared coldly at the stranger, and asked him what he wanted. 

But now, all Krystal can do is simply stand, arms hanging at her sides. 

Maybe it's because his smile is so hypnotizing.

Or because his eyes are piercing into hers in that intense sort of way. 

Or because he's just so handsome. 

"-lazy noonas sending me on errands to give this to you," the boy explains, as Krystal snaps out of her trance. Even if he's trying to look exasperated, it's obvious that he doesn't really mind doing favors for people.

"I'm Choi Minho, by the way." The boy sticks out his hand. 

"Krystal Jung," She practically whispers. 

Then she takes his hand and shakes it.

His hands are warm, she realizes. She almost never wants to let go. 

Almost.

But she is still Krystal Jung. Still that perfect, strong girl that all her peers look up to. And she can't let anyone ruin that for her.

Not even handsome Choi Minho with his beautiful smile and his piercing eyes. 

So Krystal quickly yanks her hand free and gives him the coldest stare she could possibly give.

"It was nice meeting you, Choi Minho," Krystal says, in a tone that clearly suggests that it was NOT nice meeting him. 

Even when all she wanted to do was NOT let go of his hand. Even when meeting him had been the greatest thing that had happened to her all day. 

Krystal slams the door shut. 

For a while, Krystal hears nothing but silence. She's surprised when she doesn't hear groaning, or muttering, or an annoyed stomp. None of the reactions she expected after treating Choi Minho that way. 

And then, a thick wad of paper slides under the door. 

At the top right, written in big, careful handwriting, are the words: 

 

Here's your training schedule that I was going to give you, Krystal. Good luck training here at SME! :) Fighting! 

 

 

That was the first defining memory. One, because she entered SM Entertainment for the first time. The second reason (and, in Krystal's mind, the more important reason) was because she met Choi Minho. For the first time, she met someone who didn't look up to her. Or look down on her. He just met her with an open mind and a friendly smile. And that, that alone was enough to melt the young ice princess's heart.

But and that moment, at that age, had she truly loved him yet? 

Krystal wasn't sure.

But what she did know was that Choi Minho changed her.

Before meeting Minho, she had never known how much difference a smile could make. How much warmth it could send coursing through your body. 

And so from that day on, she smiled more.

Before meeting Minho, she had never known that it was possible for you to give kindness to a person, even after that person had treated you coldly. 

And so from that day on, she became kinder, and more joyful about life. 

Maybe people wouldn't understand how a single encounter could have affected Krystal so much. How it could have changed the way she looked at things. People would say that things like that just weren't ordinary. 

And that was true, what happened to Krystal was not ordinary.

Because Choi Minho himself, he wasn't ordinary. 

Krystal knew in her heart that Choi Minho was someone special. That one day he would be famous and he would touch the world with his special gaze and his special eyes and his special way of making people feel special. 

 

 

 

 

A/N: 

 

Annyeonghaseyo, you! 

DFJASLFJASLFJAL OMIGASH 12 subscribers in a day? Yay! I <3 You All. :D 

Yes, I am aware that I mentioned this was a ONESHOT. But hey, I was done with a good chunk of it and I simply COULDN'T NOT post it. 

However, this is still NOT going to be a full blown story. :D Still, I'm grateful this is chopped up into chapters because you guys have no idea how many times i edited this thing. xD 

And thanks for the comemnts, guys! :D Say hi to my replies. :))) 

@soshiyuri: gomawo my aweshum dongsaeng!:D GOMAWO FOR PROMOTING, UNNIE <3  s YOU!!!!! 

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you , what are your thoughts about this chap? Good, bad, normal, whatever, write it down on that cute little box at the bottom of this chapter. :D 

This will in no way affect the ending or whatever. xD Just a random survey for fun. :D