"Are you going to finish that?" 

The random question woke Krystal from her daze and made her look at the person in front of her.

"What was that?"

Rain annoyingly repeats his question again. "I asked if you're gonna finish that." He said, pointing at the girl's unfinished meal. "Co'z if not, I'll have it then."

Krystal mindlessly pushes away her plate that still has a half eaten clubhouse sandwich and some cucumbers which she clearly picked out at the side, towards her boyfriend, as if to say that he can already have it. 

"You seem to be in deep thought. Anything bothering you?" 

It was never Rain's nature to ask, that's why Krystal was a bit surprised when a soft smiling Rain suddenly did.

"N-nothing. Just t-tired."

As if.

She still can't shake of her thoughts about Amber and that girl Ailee. She hates how the girl can make Amber smile and feel excited so much, specially how Amber began to ignore her when the girl arrived. The older girl even let her go with her boyfriend even though Amber was the one to ask her out to dinner first.

No. What Amber did was right anyway.

It was naturally right to accept the offer of her boyfriend anyways. And that's just what keeps her sane and on what she thinks is the right track, considering all this confusing feelings she has for her bestfriend and all, is the fact that she has a boyfriend that she believes she loves and loves her back as well.

Krystal tries to collect her thoughts and takes a deep breath. Why is she even thinking about Amber? 

I should just enjoy the night...

"Hey Krystal?" Again, Rain's voice dragged her back to reality. She just hopes that the guy won't get pissed because of how often she was caught drifting off to oblivion.

"Hm?"

"I just recieved a text from my boss..."

And here Krystal thought that Rain would be pissed at her for not paying attention, she should've known.

The girl offered her boyfriend a tender smile. "If you need to then go."

Rain immediately stood up and gently kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks babe." 

And those were the last words he left.

Krystal can't help but feel more sad and troubled, and what's worse is that the person she always runs to is more likely having fun with her friend.

She wants to be selfish this time but remembering those times where Amber put her first before some clearly important matter made her feel guilty, so she decides to not bother her any more. 

With that Krystal stood up and started to clean the dishes alone while she tries to pull her thoughts away of Amber, Ailee, and Rain.

----

"Yoboseo?"

The morning voice of the person from the other line took Krystal by surprise. That was definitely not Amber.

"Uh... Ne... Uh.. Nu–nuguseo?"

"Oh. This is Amber's friend, Ailee. This is Krystal right? Do you remember me?" The voice from the other line said enthusiastically.

The younger girl doesn't even need to be asked, co'z she still remembers her all too clearly. How could she forget? 

But it's not the question that suddenly bothered her, but the fact that Ailee was the one to answer Amber's phone at 7 in the morning.

Knowing Amber, she doesn't like other girls sleeping over at her apartment. Even she herself isn't allowed to sleep there co'z well, Amber says so. So why is Ailee there? Krystal can't help but to jump to conclusions... 

Are they like going out or something? 

The thought broke something inside her, which clearly confused her at the same time. 

"Hello Krystal? Still there?"

Krystal mentally slaps herself for spacing out.

"Uh, yeah. I j-just called to remind Amber that we'll be meeting each other later. Can you remind her for me?"

"Of course no problem Krystal. You can count on me!"  A very eager answer from Ailee was something Krystal didn't expect.

"T-thank you Ailee u-unnie. Bye then."

"Bye! Have a nice day!"

As the call was cut, the Krystal released a heavy sigh. Ailee is nice, sweet, and caring in her perspective, but she hates how she feels that the latter seems to snag Amber away. 

Maybe because up until Ailee showed up, she didn't compete with anyone or anything for Amber's attention. At least that's how she conceives it  to be, even if she knows that there is one simple word to describe what she feels. 

Jealousy.

But she can't be.  Why should she be jealous? She's not in any romantic relationship with Amber after all. Lastly, she's already in a relationship with Rain, and she loves him.

Yes. I have Rain. I'm with Rain.

---

"Krystal called."

The sentence made her stop on her tracks, a toothbrush still stuck on as horror struck her.

"You fiddled with my phone?!" 

"Yep. But no biggie. She just wanted to remind you of the 'date' you two have later."

And that just drove Amber mad. "YOU ANSWERED THE CALL?!"

Compared to her panic stricken friend, Ailee seems more calm and collected.

"Of course. I can't just let that phone of yours ring for hours right? Besides, you have a date!"

Now the younger of the two swears in her mind that if it weren't for Ailee being a good friend and add the fact that she's older, then she would definitely have cussed her out. 

"Still! You shouldn't have answered it! And it's not a date okay." Amber now whines. "Geez. This'll make her suspicious."

The last sentence that Amber muttered under her breath, was somehow heard by Ailee and made the her raise an eyebrow. "About what?"

Amber can't help but sigh due to Ailee's lack of sense. "In case you forgot, I'm gay remember? She might've thought that you're my girlfriend or we're dating or something since it's still very early in the morning and you're the one who answered the call. More or less she now thinks that you've spent the night here."

"Why be worried about it? She's not your girlfriend, she's just your bestfriend. So what if she thinks you and I are dating?"

And that's when Amber felt like she was struck by arrows with every word that Ailee said, and she feels like the latter purposely said that to make her realize what she's really just in Krystal's life. 

A best friend.

Amber can grasp Ailee's intentions. The latter just doesn't want her to hurt herself even more. That's just how she shows her care. The llama just can't help but feel regret and self pity with what she heard. 

Ailee immediately notices this and panics. "Y-yah. I didn't say that to be m-mean! I-I'm sorry."

"I know unnie." In contrast to what she feels, Amber lets out a faint chuckle. "You're right."

Amber stayed silent for quite a while after that, and with her bright smile, she looks at Ailee while pointing to the bathroom. "I'll just finish washing up."

The sudden cut off of the topic worried Ailee, but seeing Amber smile, she just brushed the feeling off.

----

It's 30 minutes past 6 in the evening and Amber has not yet to be seen by Krystal. They were supposed to meet by 6 but still, the llama was nowhere to be seen.

Krystal sighs as she remembers her conversation earlier on the phone with Ailee. 

Is Amber late because of Ailee?

While the younger was thinking of possible occurrences as to why her bestfriend is late, she suddenly felt two hands cover her eyes.

"Why are you late?"

An irritated voice came out of Krystal's mouth which made Amber break into a cold sweat.

"Was it because of Ailee?"

Now rather than irritated, it became a bit soft and sad, making the older girl confused.

Amber immediately uncovers the younger's eyes and faces her. "No. Why would she be involved? It's just rush hour so..."

"Well, she was the one to answer my phone call to you earlier. That was like 7 in the morning. Did she slept over your house?"

The sudden attack of questions is making Amber flustered, but she tried her best to not show it to Krystal. "Again the answer is no. You know I don't let any girl sleep over my apartment, unless she's my girlfriend or something. Ailee was there co'z she invited me for a jog, so that we could catch up with each other."

Getting the feeling that Krystal wouldn't stop with the questions anytime soon, she just quickly changes the topic. 

"So, what brings us to the mall tonight?"

"Nothing. I just want to hang out. Shop. You know, just pass time and do stuff."

But that's not it. Once and for all, tonight, Krystal wants to sort her feelings out, she wants to know why is she feeling these 'weird' things towards Amber. Also she wants to know if Amber sees her as someone special, someone more than a bestfriend. 

At first, she doubted that Amber would like her that way, but after that night when Amber slept over at her apartment, and when Rain  pointed it out to her, that's where she started to view things differently. Amber always treats her differently from her other friends, she always sacrifices her work or her precious personal time just to be there for her.

Krystal still doesn't know what she will do if Amber ends up saying 'yes' if she seriously asks her tonight if the latter really does like her, but she wants answers to sort out her thoughts and feelings. And also she wants to know what really is going on between Amber and Ailee.

"Okay then." Amber says with glee as she pats the younger's head which made the latter click her tongue, ducking her head while swatting away Amber's hand in the process of trying to send away the weird feelings.

The latter just shrugs at the gesture. "Wanna go and eat something first then?" Amber asks.

Krystal gladly agrees and both went on their way to find a place to eat.

---

Whilst waiting for their order at a meat restaurant Krystal suggested, the latter starts again with her unending curiosity  about Ailee. 

"Do you like her?"

Hearing the unimaginable question, Amber quickly shifts her attention away from her phone to Krystal. "Wait, wha—"

"I meant Ailee. Do you like her?"

The expression the younger is sporting right now is something Amber isn't familiar with. These past few days, she just can't read the her anymore. But nevertheless, she goes for her answer. 

"No. We're just childhood friends okay?"

"But these past few days you're always with her, and she really is a very kind and nice person that everyone could fall for you know?"

Any person bombarded with these kind of questions will definitely find it irritating, but not Amber. If anything, seeing Krystal like this makes it seem like she's jealous, which Amber thinks is very cute by the way. 

"Jealous girlfriend."

And that's how Amber discovers how to immediately regret a statement as soon as it left , co'z when Krystal heard it, her eyes immediately pierced  Amber's, making the latter panic. 

Oh how Krystal really scares her sometimes.

"Ah-I mean you're not my girlfriend! It's just that you sound like one?"

But even with what she thinks is a save from her previous statement, Krystal still didn't look amused, but she doesn't look annoyed or angry as well, which had Amber confused. In her imagination, the younger should be frowning and trying to hit her by now, saying things like 'Yah! What do you even mean?' and stuff like that.

What had the older even more perplexed is when Krystal started to chuckle. 

"You're right." Krystal said, dropping her stare at Amber. "I'm not you're girlfriend, and I have a boyfriend."

It will be a big lie to say that Krystal wasn't affected by Amber's remarks. In fact, instead of being irritated like what Amber had predicted, she feels rather down, defeated even. Not in a million chances did she ever thought of Amber saying that to her, even though what she said is true, the younger still can't help but feel heavyhearted. 

Which is why right now, Amber is having a hard time cheering Krystal up. Even after their food was served, even after they finished their meal, Krystal didn't spoke a word. And now, even while they're just mindlessly strolling around the mall, Krystal still won't say a thing. 

The older never would've thought that a day like this would come. A day where she couldn't even make Krystal just chuckle. And she hates herself for it. She's now the cause of the younger's sulking and she can't even turn her frown around like how she usually can.

"I'll be going to the restroom."  Krystal finds her words at last but still  having that unreadable, plain, expression. "You can just wait here."

Without even giving Amber the time to speak, the younger was already gone out of her sight. 

The older girl sighs deeply. "Did I sound disgusted? Wasn't she able to sense that I was just joking? Aish! What have I done?!" 

She just facepalms at what she believes is her own stupidity, thinking that she shouldn't have said those words in the first place.

Just then, as she was contemplating on what she should do to make the younger smile again, a certain couple walking hand in hand on the far side of the mall caught her attention. She squints her eyes to get a better visual of them as she finds the guy a bit familiar.

"Is that..." 

And as closer the couple gets to her spot, the hunch of her also slowly proves to be true.

Amber is mad with what she is witnessing right now. The holding hands, hugs, close whispers, and discreet kisses. 

She just can't stand there and bat an eye on what she saw. Amber rushes to the said couple and with all his strength, pushes the guy by his shoulders which resulted to the latter almost falling.

"YAH! WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM YOU—" The guy shouted but was immediately speechless when he saw who pushed him. "If it isn't my girlfriend's dyke bestfriend."

The comment ticked her off and she snaps. "How dare you call her your girlfriend?!" 

Amber was about to shove him hard again but Rain was faster and he beat her to it, making her fall hard on the floor.

"Hey what's going on here babe?" The girl that Rain is with asked with concern.

Amber slowly gets up and fleered at the statement the girl just made. "Babe?" She scoffs. "Well let me fill you in on the details miss. This 'babe' of yours is a two timer."

Certainly the other girl should get doubtful and should start to question Rain, but what she expected didn't happen. Instead, Rain grins at her. "Oh, don't worry so much Amber. She knows, and she's fine with it. Wanna know why?" Slowly he leans in to whisper. "Co'z she knows that I'm just toying with your precious Krystal."

It insulted her at how he just thinks of the person she treasures the most as some kind of plaything, making her unable to control her outrage anymore. Amber pushes Rain hard on the chest again, resulting to him losing his balance, with this, she goes for a punch but fails as Rain was quick to grab her arm and shove her to the ground once more.

Rain crouches down to level with Amber and grabs the her by the collar. "Don't worry dyke. I'm just using her to get a nice job, since it's her father that owns the company I'm working at. She's in much better hands with me than with you. Besides, she's straight."

Satisfied at the short haired girl's state, Rain now stands and was about to leave, but then suddenly Amber picks herself up and successfully punches Rain hard on his face, causing the latter's lips to bleed.

Amber had this triumphant smile on her face, but not until she hears a familiar person shout.

"What the hell are you doing Amber?!"

Krystal's voice echoed through her ears. It actually startled her because she totally forgot she was with her because of her anger towards Rain.

She saw how Krystal's eyes were almost about to pop out of their sockets from shock and watched as the younger girl rushed to them. She's worried, concerned, not for Amber, but for Rain. Krystal quickly goes to her boyfriend's side and checks up on him. 

"Are you okay?" Krystal asks Rain. The guy just wipes the blood from his lip and nods. This time, Krystal turns to her bestfriend. "What happened here Amber?!" She asks with full authority.

But instead of Amber answering, Rain's voice was heard. "This dyke of a 'bestfriend' of yours just punched me in the face without any reason."

Krystal, who only witnessed Amber punching Rain, turns to her bestfriend, hoping for an answer.

Telling the truth is the very thing that Amber should do, but her tongue is tied and the words just won't come out of . Not that she fears Rain or wants him to continue playing with her bestfriend's feelings either.

Maybe because what she's scared of is that Krystal might blindly take Rain's side. Whenever they both argue about him, she always does, and she fears that today won't be any different. Co'z technically, he is still her boyfriend. 

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Rain continued on darting her. "Or maybe you're starting to think of what kind of lie could justify to what you just did to me?"

Rain's remarks fueled Amber's anger even more which made her lose every kind of right thinking in her body. "To hell with you jerk!" 

Amber was about to pounce on Rain again but Krystal gets a hold of her and stops her while the girl that Rain is with restrains him as well.

"WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL AMBER?!"

"THAT BASTARD IS CHEATING ON YOU KRYSTAL!"

With Amber's sudden outburst, Krystal froze. The latter looks at her boyfriend, speechless due to bewilderment. Then, she realizes that this whole time, a certain girl was on Rain's side.

"Rain, who is she?" Krystal asks, eyes hinting with nervousness. 

"What?! You really believe her?!" Rain sneers. "My god Krystal!"

Before even responding to her girlfriend's question, Rain faces the other girl with an apologetic face. 

"I'm sorry for all of this misunderstanding Taehee ssi."

"It's fine Rain ssi. Although I say it can be a little insulting to be branded as a third party." She pulls off a calm and collected stature and turns to Krystal. "Hi Krystal ssi. I'm Taehee, one of your boyfriend's clients. We were actually on our way to a cafe nearby to discuss some business matters."

The situation threw Krystal's mind in confusion.

"THEY'RE LYING KRYSTAL!"

Not knowing who to believe...

"You're the liar dyke!"

Who tells the truth...

"After all that he's done, do you really still trust him?!"

"You just secretly have feelings for my girl don't you?!"

"And what if I say yes? Yes I do have feelings for Krystal. I like her more than just a best friend."

With the sudden confession, Amber gained Krystal's attention. The older girl just sincerely looked at her. 

Krystal really doesn't know how to respond or what to even do at this point. She has a lot on her plate and she doesn't know how to handle it anymore.

"See?! She's doing this to tear us apart Krystal!" Rain suddenly butted in amidst her contemplation.

"YOU FREAKIN' BASTARD—"

"ENOUGH!" Krystal now explodes at them. She knows she needs to do something, but she's not sure if what she's about to do is the right thing.

"You should go Amber." Krystal says sternly as she looked at the older girl with yet again an unreadable expression.

"What?" Amber's jaw drops and eyebrows meet in disbelief. "Do you really think I'd do that?!"

"Just go Am." Krystal tries to keep firm.

"I won't go until you tell me why."

The younger girl sighs. She doesn't want it to end like this, but she needs to say something. "I don't want to lose my boyfriend over some misunderstanding like this."

"You really love him so much do you?" The question Amber made was rather pronounced as a statement. In her perspective, it was stupid of her to even think that she could win against Rain. She can never.

Silence was the only thing that Krystal could afford in answer to her question, and for Amber, it's as good enough as saying 'yes'.

Amber broke, and the younger girl can see it behind the small smile that the older offered. 

She broke Amber.

"Okay then. I'll be out of your sight, Princess."

With that, Amber left as guilt slowly swallows Krystal.

-------------------------------------

To be continued...

Had to cut this here. Next chap coming up. ;)