October 24, 2013 | Seoul, Korea

AMBER’S POV

A crumpled piece of paper lays in Krystal’s hand. She look up at me, confused, “This is the present?”

I laugh lightly, “Not really. Open it later when we get home.” We… It still sounds so surreal.

Krystal smiles and places the paper in her purse, “Thanks in advanced.”

As the whole family stands up and gets ready to leave the restaurant, I sigh, my heart full of happiness. This night had gone better than we could have ever hoped for. I give Mr. and Mrs. Jung a light hug. Although Mrs. Jung’s expression is still slightly cold, my experience with her daughters tell me that her true feelings are hidden in her heart. At least now I know where the two ice princesses got their cold stares from.

“You did great, baby,” Krystal says, my hand as I drive us back.

“Thanks. It was kind of scary at first, but I got used to all the questions after a while.”

“Sorry about that, by the way. I should have warned you ahead of time. Hopefully they didn’t pressure you too much about your past… I know it’s kind of a sore subject.”

I laugh, “You know, you and your sister are like your mom.”

She punches my arm, “Yah! Are you saying I ask too many questions?”

I grimace exaggeratedly and say, “No, I mean, all three of you are super tough on the outside, but actually very warm.”

Giving me a cute smile and flipping her hair jokingly, she says, “I know.”

“Hey, since tonight went so well… don’t you think that we should… maybe tell your parents about us?”

I see Krystal stiffen a little, “Sorry, Am. But can you give me some more time? I’m not sure if I’m ready… or if you are. My parents treat my friends much differently than they treat my partners…”

“Hey,” I joke, “How many boyfriends have you had that you know that?”

Krystal gives a shy smile, “None, actually. I’m not sure if I ever told you, but you’re my first real relationship. I was actually referring to Kai. He was my friend since we were trainees, and my parents knew him. They seemed to really like him, then when the whole dating news came out, they asked to see him even though I told them the news wasn’t real. The meeting was so serious and my parents really overreacted. I know that’s probably just because they love me and don’t want to see me get hurt, but I just don’t want to have to be put, or put you, into that situation just yet. Let’s make sure that we have a strong thing going, then go from there. Is that okay with you?”

“I understand, Krys. Just know that I’m ready when you are.”

As we reach the front door of Krystal’s apartment, she suddenly opens the door quickly and bolts inside, leaving me limping slowly into the door. “Hey, Krys! What’s the rush?”

“I want to read the note!” She calls back, cutely impatient, “I’ve been waiting ever since I got it!”

KRYSTAL’S POV

Reaching into my purse, I pull out the messily folded piece of paper and try to decipher the contents. A crudely drawn world map in Amber’s hand is marked with location markers and dashed lines. A blue marker is placed somewhere around Korea and connects to a red marker around Taiwan. “Amber!” I call to her, confused, “Is this what you meant to give me?”

Amber makes her way slowly into the house, “It’s a map, right?”

I a little, “I mean… I guess. You didn’t do a very good job though.”

She laughs, “Why don’t you wait until you get the actual present before you say anything.”

She hands me an envelope. I tear it open quickly and pull out the card inside. Reading aloud, I say, “Happy birthday, Princess. Confused, huh? Sorry the map I drew wasn’t really all that good, but maybe you can guess your birthday present now.”

“Guess what it is,” she says excitedly.

Excitedly, I guess, “A vacation to see you in Taiwan?”

Her eyes sparkle, “Kind of…” She places another piece of paper in my hands. It’s her schedule. I read through trying to find a time marked “Vacation” or “Krystal Time” or even something remotely close, but it’s all just work.

“Amber,” I sigh, slightly frustrated, “Just tell me.”

“Fine, party pooper,” Amber jokes, “Do you see an event on my schedule that’s in Korea?”

My eyes light up as I find the event she is talking about — KPOP Christmas Concert in Seoul. “Wait! You’re coming to the concert? I’m performing there!” I realize that if she is, that would be the first time she sees me perform live and excitement shoots through my body.

I see a smirk form on her face, “I’m not just coming to the concert, Krys — I’m going to be performing too.”

Stunned I let it sink into my mind. Not only will she be in Korea with me during Christmas, we will be performing in the same event. “How did you get in?”

“Hey, I lived in Korea for almost a year, okay? I got connections,” Amber jokes, wiggling her eyebrows.

My heart leaps and I can’t help myself. I rush towards her and pull her into a tight hug, “Does this count as a birthday present or a Christmas present?”

Chuckling, she pulls me in even closer, “I’ll try to get you an even better Christmas gift.”

“Shhh,” I shush her, “You are enough.”

AMBER’S POV

Krystal’s face glows with excitement, and I reveal the final surprise, “There’s something else.”

“There’s more?” She shakes her head, “You’re really setting a high standard for birthday presents, you know?”

Dropping my head, I jokingly sigh, “Why do I do this to myself?”

She cutely pushes her cheek into my upper arm, “What is it?”

“We have the chance to record, release, and perform a duet with each other.” Krystal is deadly quiet for a moment. “Uh, Princess? Are you okay?”

Suddenly Krystal runs off into her room. I follow her as quickly as I possibly can just to see her scream excitedly into her pillow. Laughing, I sit down next to her on the bed. “Amber, is this really happening? Like, for real?” Her voice comes out muffled from the pillow.

I nod, “Only if you want to. I guess our ‘friendship’ does have benefits, right?”

Pulling the pillow away from her face, she teases, “So what are we then? Friends with benefits?”

I pull her to me and look her straight in the eye, “Partners. Girlfriends. Lovers.”

I see her flush slightly, “We haven’t even… done it yet.”

Brushing her comment off quickly I say, “I’ll confirm the duet with my CEO then, and we’ll see how things get scheduled in the future. Hopefully we’ll be able to see each other more frequently.”

She nods and I hand her a page torn from my notebook. “What’s this, Am?”

“Your final present.”

Looking down at the pencil marks on the faded blue lines, she whispers, “It’s beautiful.”

“I wrote it myself. I want this to be the chorus for the duet. Sorry for the messy Hangul.”

Krystal’s finger traces the graphite as she reads the lyrics.

“Goodbye Summer”

The friend label

Is a label that I have to hate

The feelings I’ve hidden still remain

As a painful, secret memory

The photos that can’t define

Our relationship is a heartbreaking story

I’m sorry, summer, now goodbye.

“When did you write this?” Krystal asks, snuggling into my chest.

“On September 22, a day before we made up from our argument. I found out that that day was the last day of summer, and I was inspired to write this song, “Goodbye Summer”. I thought about us and our relationship a lot during that time. The lyrics talk about how I felt about how the media reacted after we were photographed on our first date. I also thought that maybe our first date could really also be our last and I wanted so bad for you to know that I loved you, but I thought I might not ever get the chance to ever say it in person. I thought that if I wrote lyrics, then maybe one day I could make a song and that you would somehow hear it.”

“I can’t believe these beautiful lyrics came from such a low point in our relationship,” Krystal says softly. “I would love if we used this as the chorus. It’s so beautifully raw and honest. It’s so… us.”

KRYSTAL’S POV

After both of us wash up, I ask Amber to sing her lyrics to music. As she strums the guitar, her eyes close and her eyelashes flutter against her lower lid. Strumming the guitar gently, she sings in a soft, throaty voice. After she finishes, I say, “Amber, let’s finish the lyrics together. We have six more days together. Let’s make the most of it.”

Amber nods, “When lyrics pop into your mind, just write it down. We can compile them together and get a professional to help us edit and refine.”

As both of us suddenly switch into work mode, I notice Amber’s exhaustion set in. “Hey Am, let’s not think about it for the rest of today. We’re both tired. Let’s watch TV in bed.”

“Hey, isn’t your new drama out?” Amber asks as she slides in under the covers.

“The Heirs? It’s been out for a few weeks now. Do you really want to watch that? I hate watching myself…”

Amber smiles coyly, “I want to support my girlfriend’s show! Come on, I haven’t seen it yet. Let’s just watch tonight’s episode.”

“Fine,” I give in and turn the TV on, leaning my head on Amber’s shoulders.

Episode six is on tonight. I watch Amber as she watches the show, absorbed into the drama even though she probably has no idea what’s going on. I cover my face, embarrassed when my part comes on. Amber laughs, “Of course you’re playing the spoiled, rich girl.”

I bury my face into her sleeve, “Stupid…”

As my character says in perfect English, “Gosh, I hate him so much but he’s so hot,” Amber yells at the television.

“Yah! You’re mine! Don’t say other guys are hot right in front of me.”

Laughing, I turn her head to face me, “First of all, it’s called acting. Second of all, we hadn’t even met then. Third of all, I’m right here, in bed, next to you.”

She smiles at me cutely, making her irresistible llama face, “I’m hotter than him, right?”

Chuckling, I scratch the bottom of her chin gently, “Of course, llama face. You’re hotter.”

Satisfied, Amber returns to watching the show. Suddenly she turns to me and says, “Students. Graduation. Summer. Goodbye.”

Jumping out of the bed, she grabs the paper with her lyrics on it and jots something down. I get up and snatch the paper away and read, “A story of heartbreak between two students who have to separate after graduation. Yah, Amber. I thought this was about us? Now it’s about two students?”

Winking at me, Amber says slyly, “How could two girls sing a duet about love in Korea? Of course we have to make it about someone else. Only we, as the creators, know that it’s about us. I guess that’s just the irony of it all, right?”

The feelings I’ve hidden still remain

As a painful, secret memory

The photos that can’t define

Our relationship is a heartbreaking story

“I guess what we have will never be defined, huh?” I sigh sadly.

Winking at me again, Amber says, “Never say never, Jung Soojung. Never say never…”

———

Author’s Note: Hope you enjoyed this short update, everyone!

Listen to “Goodbye Summer” (Korean version sung by Amber, Krystal, Luna and D.O.) or “I Just Wanna” (English version sung by Amber and Eric Nam), if you’d like.

I’ll see you in the next chapter! I’m ready for a little bit of drama… Are you?

-RYTK