“Why…?” Amber thought as he witnessed Krystal living up to her nickname, Ice Princess.

              Krystal walked off toward Kai, not looking back at Amber even once. Kai grinned sinisterly as Amber stood, frozen, his jaws slightly dropped. Sulli, too, was taken aback.

              Sulli had been by Krystal’s side since childhood. They’d always side, protect, and lean on each other. They were basically sisters. Although she’d been “assigned” as Krystal’s “servant,” Krystal had never thought of her as one. They were always close, but Sulli noticed something about Krystal in the past week. She noticed Krystal’s absent mind. She also noticed her beloved friend crushing on someone. That someone being Amber.

              “Why didn't you tell me?” Sulli one day asked, after witnessing Krystal avoid Amber’s gaze.

              “What are you talking about?” Krystal replied, her face flushed.

              Sulli slouched and put a hand on her hip, unamused. “Don't play stupid, Krystal. How long have we known each other now? I'm not stupid. You can tell me anything. You know that, right?”

              Krystal smiled sheepishly, realizing how little she'd been conversing with her dear friend. She also realized how much she’d missed their deep conversations. And most importantly, she realized that she could trust Sulli with anything and everything. She reached for Sulli’s hands and gently pulled her to a bench, sat down, faced her, and then set her hands on her lap. “Sulli-yah,” she said, giving her friend’s hands a little squeeze. “Gomawo~”

              Sulli raised an eyebrow, slightly confused.

              Krystal then exhaled, relaxing herself a bit. She started telling Sulli about the time she met Amber and how they'd flirted. And then the times where he’d unconsciously compliment her, which filled her stomach with butterflies. And then the time where she took care of him, which warmed her heart. Then she suddenly stopped.

              “What?” Sulli asked, curious and focused.

              Krystal stuttered and hesitated. She opened , but no words came out. She squeezed her eyes closed and her dry lips, breaking a sweat.

              “…this isn't gonna be good, huh?” Sulli rhetorically asked.

              Krystal sighed. “Sulli,” she said. Sulli found the tone of her friend’s voice sincere and serious. She gave Krystal a little nod and smile, signaling for her to go on. “Amber…” she looked around, checking to see if anyone was nearby. “I…I love him, okay? It's not just a crush. I think…I think I love him. Keep that in mind when I say this, okay?” Sulli nodded again and softly rubbed her thumb against Krystal's forehand. “Amber is… he's a… he's actually a wo-woman…”

              After that last pause, Sulli no longer replied. She stopped all of her actions, stunned. She stared into nothingness.

              “Sulli, please say something,” Krystal said, breaking the silence.

              Her eyes shot at Krystal’s eyes, staring deep into them. Krystal reared back a little, after seeing Sulli so serious and entranced. Then Sulli started breaking out in laughter.

              “You-you’re kidding, right?” Sulli said, holding her stomach, restraining her laughter. “There's no way!”

              “Sulli!” Krystal replied, clearly hurt at her closest friend’s response. Her earlier realization of how she could trust Sulli with anything and everything, seemed to be slowly fading away into an empty void. “…please give me a real response, Sulli. Please. I'm not joking and neither should you; I wouldn't have told you otherwise. I'm trying to tell you that I love him… her.. I don't care. I love him.”

              Sulli stopped laughing and straightened her back. She suddenly thought of Krystal’s past…

              Krystal had never been happy. Well, she had either faked it or was only semi happy around Sulli, but she was never truly happy. Until she met Amber. Sulli remembered back to the day they'd cross a bridge. It wasn't a special bridge. They'd cross it everyday, but on that specific day, that bridge was special for Krystal.

              Krystal had always kept her eyes forward and quickly moved on, rarely talking to others. She retained her Ice Princess nickname well. But on that day, she finally stopped. Sulli noticed her looking over at a young man. That was the first time Sulli witnessed her friend smile an authentic smile.

              Sulli exhaled and gently reached for her best friend’s hands and set them on her lap, returning her best friend’s actions. She cleared . “If she… he.. makes you happy, then I support you, Soojung. Your feelings matter more than some stupid society standards (‘that I unfortunately follow.. but I can adjust for you, Soojung,’ Sulli thought).” She smiled.

              Krystal let a tear run down her cheek. She slipped out of Sulli’s grasp and pulled her in for a hug instead. Then she started sobbing. “Sulli-yah~!”

              Her shoulders relaxed. She had never felt so happy. Another obstacle was now cleared and she was free to move on. She'd confirmed her love for Amber and gained support from her closest friend and advice as to what to do next with Amber. Although she took that advice to confess to Amber, Sulli’s mind was in pieces now. Why was she ignoring Amber and going to Kai instead?

              Krystal sat down beside Kai and started whispering and laughing with him, right in front of Amber.. Kai glared at Amber the entire time.

              Finally, Amber began to move. But as he turned around, a strong hand grabbed his arm. He looked back.

              …it was Kai.

              Before Amber could speak, he pulled closer to Amber’s ear and whispered, “She. Is. Mine.”

              Amber pushed Kai away, furrowed his eyebrows, clenched his fists, and gritted his teeth. Then he looked over to Krystal, who was looking straight at him. His eyes jumped from Kai to Krystal and vice versa a couple