Peace. Quiet. Silence. 

People never appreciate these three things that rain can give you, Krystal always thought. The chance to be inside and stay with your thoughts for a while, to unwind, to relax, and to ease the soul. 

She couldn't remember the last time she'd drawn like this; where she'd sit for hours with nothing but her desk lamp on, her pencil an extension of her arm that moved across the page with its own mind and movements; as if she became another being entirely as various lines and patterns spread out onto the page to eventually create something beautiful; with nothing but the gentle sound of the heavy rainfall outside and the silence of her own mind to accompany her. 

Krystal also couldn't remember the last time her mind had offered her solitude like this, where her mind wouldn't play tricks on her and work against every step she tried to take, where her reality wasn't warped by this darkness that had possessed her mind for so long. If this was progress, Krystal enjoyed the silence and peace of it the most.

What she didn't appreciate, was the incessant sound of the door buzzer going.

"Is nobody gonna' get that?!" Krystal called out.

No response. Amber was probably at work, Sulli with whatever guy she felt like being with this week. 

Which guy it was this time, I have no idea.

Groaning, Krystal rose from her chair, gently putting down her pencil before quickly making her way to the answer phone.

"Hello?"

"It's me, can you buzz me up?"

Krystal nearly dropped the phone at the sound of Taemin's voice. Yet she went ahead and pressed the button to let him in anyways. Immediately, she slammed the phone back in its place, cursing herself for letting him in without a moment's hesitiation. Clearly she wasn't as indifferent towards him as she thought. 

Closing her eyes, Krystal leaned back against the wall and let her mind trail back to a few nights ago when she'd last seen Taemin, all the confusion and angst of that night returning too.

~

The entire journey home, Krystal couldn't stop smiling to herself. Even though work was so often a drag, what with Key and Amber's incessant bickering and the second-hand embarrassment at seeing Onew pine after Luna, today was great. Most likely, because Kai had showed up during her shift and managed to entertain the entire shop with an improv dance routine. 

Not only did he manage to wow everyone with his mood, he also managed to impress an apprehensive-looking Siwon, and their new investor, Taemin's father, during a visit to the shop. Where Krystal would usually have wanted to hide away at the sight of her ex's father, she was too focused on laughing at Kai's ridiculous anecdotes and his eventual dance display that got every person in the shop clapping along with the music and cheering him on.

She was glad that she'd been able to get out of that day a few weeks ago with Kai; after that day, menacing around at Seoul fashion week, it had slowly become easier to get out of bed every day. Classes didn't drag on so much, work was an opportunity to mess around and enjoy focusing on something other than her studies, even attending the odd stand-up comedy and poetry night with Amber and Luna actually brought a smile to her face. 

It was slow changes however, that was for certain. But it was a start. 

She still felt warm and slightly giddy about how amazing that day at work had been, and she found herself truly happy she'd decided to get out of bed that day. 

Only as she walked up to her apartment, she was greeted with the sight of Taemin, sat on a bench by the entance, a bouquet of flowers in his hands. Krystal couldn't help but roll her eyes immediately.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded as she stormed up to him. He was looking begrudingly handsome and smart in his long winter jacket.

Taemin looked at her with slight disappointment in his eyes - a look that never failed to make her stomach drop still, "I was waiting for you. I said that I wanted to see you again."

"Obviously," she scoffed, "Why are you waiting for me? What do you want?"

Standing up, looking resolute in his stance and in his eyes, he said, "I wanted to take you for dinner. Somewhere nice."

"As opposed to some back-alley drug den?" she asked mockingly, "Why should I go with you?"

"Well, for a start, I'll be paying," he said with a slight smirk on his face, "Even you wouldn't be so cold to turn down free food, no?"

Krystal eyed him with suspicion, a coy smile threatening to form on her lips, "Keep talking."

"And like I told you at Lotte World. I want to make up for everything. Start fresh."

Seeing him here like this, so tall and handsome, more mature than he had been when they'd first gotten together, his eyes sincere and pleading, it evoked a strange feeling in Krystal -  a mix of a melancholic nostalgia and a desire to go with him. The feeling made her both nervous and uncomfortable, yet she couldn't resist it, for some reason. She wished she didn't feel anything right now.

"Fine. But I need to get changed." she said.

"You look beautiful already, don't worry," Taemin said, before holding the flowers out to her, "I remembered your favourites - unless those changed too?"

Krystal eyed the boquet. Pink Peonies. Her favourite had certainly not changed. She hated the slight smile that creeped its way onto her face because of this. 

"I'll go put these in water. You can wait out here." she smiled, quickly walking inside before Taemin could argue with her. 

Did she really want to be doing this? Was Taemin really trying to make things right again, the way he said he wanted to? Would any good come from it? Krystal's mind was swamped with all of these questions as she quickly potted the flowers in her apartment. She was grateful none of the girls were home to pester her with endless questions about the flowers, since she wasn't even sure what to make of everything herself.

One thing was for certain at least; Krystal was feeling good at the moment. Would going with Taemin hinder that? Would it set her back and make her feel worse about herself, and worse about her past again? 

It's not like they were getting back together or anyhing, so what harm could come from it? Maybe he deserved to have a chance to at least make up for what he did, right? Going to dinner with him wouldn't be so bad, would it?

Only one way to find out.

~

The events from that night played over in her mind; how Taemin had gotten them into an exclusive, five-star restaurant, how he'd asked about her life now with a genuine interest, about her tutoring sessions for her graduate programme with Victoria, even asking how Amber was coping during their final year at unviersity. Krystal had been grateful that Taemin hadn't used it as an opportunity to bring up the past - what she wasn't grateful for, however, was the kiss he'd planted on her cheek after h