Pelts of rain splattered against her skin. Krystal couldn’t think straight, not at the moment. She was barely catching her breath, much less consider the situation. What response could you expect when a life is in danger? Not just any life, her life. God might as well tell Krystal her family was massacred overnight. She prayed to all and any higher beings above to keep her safe for tonight, even if it meant Krystal was to take her last breath at this moment in exchange.

  Foreboding clouds blanketed the air. Krystal paused for a moment before dismissing the thought that it might be a harbinger. For what? Krystal wasn’t sure, but she was certain the airport looked ominous to say the least. The terminals were emptied aside from a few travelers, the counter was less than friendly too. Now this should freak any celebrity out, especially one from a top entertainment company. But Krystal took into consideration that her arrival was hush-hush. She personally disliked hordes of fangirls crowding her path, pushing too closely in her face. They have too much time on their hands, Krystal wondered how they could manage when their hands are full with cameras far too large for their palms and far too costly for the average wallet.

  Not everyone is born a commoner, Krystal concluded ultimately. Being an introverted celebrity can be harder than one imagined to be, her thoughts went on, as if chiding whoever whom is reading into her mind.

  The wheels of her luggage screeched against the terminal’s tiles. With how frequently she leaves and returns to the country, navigating her way back should be second nature to her by now. She swiped across her phone screen by habit, expecting calls and texts carrying messages of concern. Clack, clack, clack, her heels sounded against the tiles. Clack, clack, clack, the monotony perpetuates. The birds sang, the lights turned green and the broadcaster still rattled on.

  Clack, clack, “Welcome to South Korea. For directions, please head to the information counter...” Clack, clack. Messages bared itself as Krystal’s fingers danced across small icons. “We wish for your safe-“

  The remaining of the sentences faded into oblivion. The birds choked on their notes and the lights were neither green nor red. They looked strangely dull. Like the shade of grey one would expect at funerals. Except this was not a funeral, Krystal feverously hoped it wouldn’t be. Neither was it expected. No, Krystal had never, once in her entire 10 years of knowing her, expected this.

  If she were to draw comparison, it would be witnessing your favorite plushy set on fire, watching the soft cotton shrivel up into dark ashes. But Krystal was too shell-shocked to draw any comparisons right now. Krystal knew, even if her favorite plushy wasn’t so much about team spirit and didn’t stay around for the last 2 years, she didn’t deserve this. Krystal also knew that she herself was too painfully concerned about her to give a single damn when she stepped into the backseat of a cab. She had brashly hailed a cab, stuffed her luggage into the trunk and now bore the consequences of her actions.

  Krystal should have been enjoying her 90s songs in the front seat of her designated ride but no, adrenaline got the best of her and now she had to witness the contorted expression on her cab driver’s face. Just as how adrenaline got the best of her 2 years back when she plucked up the courage to plant her lips on those of a certain other girl. She was trembling all over and had tears in her eyes then, a state Krystal was presently falling into, almost. Krystal let out a bitter chuckle, this was vaguely reminiscent of the sweeter days.

  The clothes she donned were drenched with tears from the sky.  She was heaving and puffing out air like she had just finished a marathon. She might as well have, with the distance and speed she made from where the cab dropped her off. Krystal wasn’t the only one who was racing, her heart was, too.

  She had, honestly, dropped every rational fiber in her body when she heard Sulli was admitted into the ER for an injured wrist. An injured wrist, Jesus Christ. Who injure their wrists nowadays? What more with a 3 inch cut? Just imagining the stress the other girl went through gave Krystal a massive heartache and a conscience nibbled on by guilt. She shouldn’t have been the one complaining about the downsides of being a celebrity.

  She kept in mind to cut down on her grumbles.

  It took Krystal long enough to realize she was literally having a meltdown. She was literally a walking melting ice cream with puddles of water pathing her trail. This led her to realize, , she didn’t have any details. And what was she intending to do, visiting Sulli all of a sudden when they haven’t the least checked whether each other was breathing for the past 2 years. Well, maybe this didn’t apply for Krystal. She may look like a tough nut to crack