“Off to see your girlfriend again?” 

Amber rolled her eyes to the ceiling when Henry came up behind her, inspecting her outfit. 

“You two see each other a lot. When will I get to meet her?” 

“Never, I hope,” she said between gritted teeth. 

“Why?” He whined. “I’m your best friend.” 

“No,” she corrected. “You’re the most annoying person that I happen to know who just won’t leave me alone.” 

“Aw, come on. We even-“ 

She whirled around and pinched his lips together, glancing at her door. “Never mention that again or I’ll kick you out!” 

He waved his hands and mumbled in surrender. When’s he let him go, he smirked. “Rough. I like it.” 

She let out a long-suffering sigh, knowing she wouldn’t be able to kick him out if she wasn’t sure he’d have somewhere safe to go. 

“Henry,” she said in a soft tone, cause him to shift to attention, his half grin falling away. She reached out and took his hand making him swallow hard with sudden emotion. He tried to pull away, but she held on, looking up into his eyes. 

He let out a breath and pulled her into a hug. “Sorry.” 

“I’ll be back in a few hours-“ 

“Embo?” 

Amber jumped away from Henry and glanced at her girlfriend nervously. “I thought we were meeting at the bottom of the hill?” 

Krystal pouted and walked over to her, taking her arm. “I got bored.” She glanced over at Henry. “This is the guy staying with you.” 

“Yeah.” 

“Hi, nice to meet you. I’m Krystal.” 

He nodded at her. “Henry.” He looked her up and down then raised his brows at Amber. “Good job.” 

She glared and punched him in the arm. “Bye.” 

They hugged and kissed her mom on the way out. Krystal held her hand as they made their way back down the hill. 

“I don’t like the way he looked at me,” Krystal said. 

“Henry?” 

“Yeah. Are you going to let just anyone look at me like that?” 

Amber laughed and shook her head. “Henry plays too much. He pretends to be someone he’s not too much. He’s annoying, but he knows that we’re together. He would never make a move on you and protect you from anything if he had to.  That’s how he is with people I care about.” 

Krystal frowned doubtfully, but she didn’t want to seem like she were being critical of Embo’s friends. She’d only met SunYoung so far and that was very briefly. Embo seemed he’d always been too busy to gain friends. While Krystal felt she herself had too many that she didn’t even want. 

She smiled and leaned on Embo’s arm. “Whatever, I don’t want to spend the whole day talking about him.” She kissed Embo on the cheek, couldn’t help it, and kissed him again. 

“All you want to do is get your lips on me when we’re together,” Embo laughed, wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her close. 

Krystal looked up at him through her eyelashes. She loved being pressed close to his side. 

Spotting a nook in the wall lining the slope, she gave Embo a push, causing them to fall into the slot about the size of a broom closet. 

Embo laughed, looking at her in confusion until their lips met. 

Krystal rocked back on her heels and looked up at Amber with a secretive grin. “Why do you always look at me like that?” She asked. 

“No reason,” he said, holding her by the waist and leaning their foreheads together. He smiled a little. “I just…I don’t know. I guess I keep being surprised by how much you want me and aren’t afraid to show it, that’s all.” 

Krystal’s gaze softened at the honesty. “It surprises me sometimes too.” 

____________________________________________________________________________________

“Where do you keep disappearing to?” Jessica asked in exasperation when Krystal walked through the door past midnight. “I’ve been waiting for you.” 

“Umm…you never told me you were coming over…” She noted a look on her sister’s face, hidden behind the annoyance. 

“I guess I’m just used to you always being here at a certain time. You didn’t used to have anything to do on the weekend.” She sighed. “I guess you finally have your own life.” 

She put a magazine aside that she’d been flipping through and leaned back against the couch. Krystal sat beside her, taking her sister’s hand. 

“I hate seeing you like this,” she said, laying her head on Jessica’s shoulder. “Every time it seems…”

“Worse?” 

Krystal nodded and her sister laid her head on top of hers. 

“I try to be satisfied with how things are, to resign myself, but-“

“There are still things you want to do?” 

Jessica in a breath, a tear dripping down her cheek. “I was planning to finally do something about it this year, now that my son is a little older,” she clenched Krystal’s hand, “but I’m pregnant again.”

Krystal wrapped an arm around her, hugging her close. She knew that due to Jessica’s small frame, her pregnancy had been dangerous last time and she’d have to be extra careful now. 

“Well, I have some news that might cheer you up. Remember your school friend, Yuri?”

Jessica’s breath caught in and time seemed to stop hearing the name again.

“You were so sad when she left, but I heard she’s back in town.”

____________________________________________________________________________________

“You’ve been doing a great job here, don’t be nervous,” Mr. Kim, the owner of Antennae music said as he called Amber into his office. “Take a seat.” He gestured to a seat across from him as he sat at his own desk. 

Amber sat down, worried that she’d done something wrong with someone’s schedule. 

“You’ve been working with us for a few months, and we wanted to reward you for everything you’ve done and the hectic schedules you’ve managed to organize.” 

“Oh?” She placed her hands on her knees. 

He grinned and pulled an envelope from his desk drawer, placing it in front of Amber. 

Glancing at him curiously, she opened it. “Jeju?” She asked, reading over the package inside the envelope. 
“Yes, a fully paid trip with hotel and spa and restaurant events. Some of the musicians got together and helped pay for it and think of the present. I know our company isn’t very wealthy, so we can’t pay you as much as others. I’m hoping you enjoy the prize. It’s hard to find an assistant who can speak three languages willing to work at a small company like ours. You’ve been a big help.” 

Amber held the present gratefully in her hands and smiled at Mr. Kim. “It’s not usual to find a company willing to hire someone without a degree for such a position, and trust me, it pays a lot more than any of the jobs I’ve been at previously. It’s been such a big help the past few months and it’s been so much fun. Thank you for this.” 

She couldn’t stop smiling all the way home, though she was a little conflicted whether she wanted to go on the trip with her mom or with Krystal. Her mom hadn’t been able to travel very much since she got sick, but she might not be comfortable and not have fun. Krystal was her girlfriend whom she didn’t get to see as much as she liked and often didn’t get to do many romantic things for since she never had the money or time for it. Plus, Krystal had been to amazing places like Italy and France and had probably been to Jeju too many times to count. 

“What are you smiling about?”

Amber screamed and jumped a foot in the air. Henry had been skulking around in the dark as usual. “Nothing.” 

“Come on,” he whined. 

She waved the package in the air. “My company rewarded me for my hard work. A trip to Jeju island.” 

“Gonna take your girlfriend?” 

She squirmed happily. “Maybe. I don’t know. Mom…” 

He petted her head. “Your mom will understand. You’ve given your all to taking care of you. She would love it if you took your girlfriend on this trip. It’s what she’s always wanted for you.” 

He took Amber’s hand and had her sit beside him on the porch. “Your mom and I would talk about it sometimes. She would sigh and talk about how she’s taken your life from you by being sick all the time. All of your care and money go into making sure she can get medicine and you both can have a roof over your heads when it should be her and your father’s responsibility. Don’t take her instead of Krystal. She’ll feel even more guilty than she already does.” 

“But-“ 

“She knows you don’t mind doing everything for her,” he rubbed her back, “but more than anything, she wants you to be a little more selfish. Don’t worry. I’ll take care of your mom. You know that. And that tiny little SunYoung girl will come and cook for us both. Everything will be alright.” 

Amber’s shoulders slumped in relief. “Thank you, Henry.” 

He pinched her cheek. “No problem.”