Amber stood in front of her floor length mirror, turning from side to side as she checked how the tight, black jeans made her long legs look. She tucked her white t-shirt into the top of her pants, undid it, then did it again. 

She smiled ruefully at herself and pulled on a fitted leather jacket, metal studs running up the outsides of the arms catching the light like the many piercings decorating her ears. She hadn’t had as many the last time Krystal saw her and wondered if she’d mention them during the lunch meeting. 

She’d finally gotten the memo from her assistant Erin a few days ago that the CEO of Jung Resorts wanted to meet with her at Thanks Nature Cafe. It was a little out of the way, but apparently had a nice atmosphere. 

Krystal could have relegated the task to someone else, but she was coming herself. 

Is it because she knows she’s meeting with me? Amber asked herself. Has she thought about me as much as I’ve thought about her? 

She knew Henry would have some strong words if he could hear her thoughts. He always thought her heart was too soft, even when it came to him. His wife, Su Bin, agreed. 

~

“I’m outside the cafe.”

“You don’t have to narrate everything,” Tiffany laughed into the phone. She was in the middle of recording a new single for her comeback in LA, but had taken a break because she knew how nervous Amber was going to be. A few years ago, they’d discovered that Tiffany also knew both Jessica and Krystal. Amber had to force herself not to ask Tiffany whether Krystal was dating anyone or if she ever talked about her. She never wanted to be that pathetic. 

“Shut up, I’m not. Anyway, I broke up with Amy. We didn’t really fit.”

“Coulda told you that. She’s a little homemaker who actually wants to be some rich person’s wife who actually tells a housekeeper what to do all day. I smelled it from a mile away.”

“You only met her once!”

“Once was enough,” Tiffany scoffed. She always felt you should be up front if you wanted to be a trophy wife. At least no one would go in with false expectations that way.  She always found it hilarious that Krystal thought Amber was a man for so long; like she set herself up with false expectations. 

Amber rolled her eyes. Tiffany was a good friend, but damn annoying. She seemed to be surrounded by that type. 

“Anyway, shut up,” she told her again. “It looks like she’s already inside.”

“Don’t trip on your way to the table or I’ll feel your embarrassment all the way here.”

“Great, I wasn’t even thinking about that,” Amber whined, glancing down to make sure her shoes were tied, then remembered she was wearing boots that zipped at the sides. “I won’t. What should I say?”

“‘Hi’ is good, unless you plan on being a complete weirdo.”

“Yeah. Hi,” Amber practiced.

Tiffany chuckled. “Awww. Good luck, okay. Don’t be too nervous. Remember, this is just a work meeting. You can discuss anything personal after if you want. She’s not the same person as you were dating a few years ago, neither are you. It might not even be something you still feel; something you built up in your head to be more than it really is. Keep that in mind.”

Amber heard a door close and voices calling for Tiffany in the background. 

“Listen. I have to go. We won’t have the studio for much longer.”

“Okay." Amber sighed. "Thanks for listening to my nervous rambling. Love you, and congrats on your new song.”

“Thank you. Love you too. Bye.”

Amber slipped her phone into her pocket, checked her hair in the glass of the cafe entrance, in deep breath, then released it on a hacking cough when she realized Krystal was looking at her. 

“Oh no!” She struggled to pull herself together as Krystal stood and made her way toward the door, her eyes wide in disbelief. 

Amber quickly her lips and shoved her hands in her pockets, going for cool and detached as the bell jingled on Krystal’s exit. 

“Embo…?” Krystal asked in a high, slightly breathless voice.

“Amber,” she corrected her, proud her voice didn’t break. “That’s how I pronounce it in my professional capacity anyway.”

Krystal’s mouth worked soundlessly for a moment. “Professional?”

She blinked at Amber, then toward the cafe her assistant Ji Hyo had arranged for the meeting to discuss the jingle and commercial for her new resort promotion. 

“You…you’re the songwriter from Antennae Music?” 

Amber smiled and nodded, her chest puffed slightly in pride. 

Krystal seemed to lose all of her composure and launched herself at Amber right there in the street, throwing her arms around her neck and burying her face in her shoulder. 

“You did it! Oh my god!” 

She pulled away, her nose red and a slight sheen of tears in her beautiful eyes. “I didn’t doubt you for a minute. You made your dreams come true. I’ve been keeping up with you a little bit,” she admitted, pinching in what Amber had grown to learn was her slightly embarrassed yet amused at herself look. “But not too much. I didn’t want to feel like a stalker.”

Amber laughed, glad that whatever ice she’d worried would be between them was already broken. “Same.”

Krystal stared at her a moment, then chuckled and shook her head as if brushing away a thought. “Um, how about we go inside and get this meeting started? It’s one of my bigger projects and a lot is riding on this. My assistant researched your portfolio before finalizing the meeting and says you’re one of the best we can get without breaking our budget.”

“I am,” Amber told her with a cocky flick of her brow. 

Krystal bit her lip to stop her grin as they settled at the table Krystal had chosen for them. 

They both pulled out the folders they’d put together for the project and got to work discussing the sound they’d be looking for. Their heads leaned together over the small table like when they studied together in the book store all those years ago. Sometimes Krystal’s long, slightly curled hair would brush the back of Amber’s hand. One would stare at the other as they spoke or focused on an idea, hoping they were observing the other unaware to see what was new and what remained the same.

They had coffee, tea, a light lunch, and some small desserts. 

“I think we’ve covered just about everything,” Krystal said, pulling the earbud from her ear and handing it back to Amber after listening to the third jingle option. “I’m really liking that one but I think we should add some elements of the fist one.”

“You can come by Attenae tomorrow if you have time and we can work on rearranging it, or you could send the creative director.”

Krystal shook her head, flipping her hair over her shoulder and exposing her elegant neck, the heavy blazer she wore over a light button up and tan trousers only highlighting how delicate she appeared. “No, I’ll come. I have some time after lunch tomorrow and this is the only project we’re focusing on right now. The creative director is focusing on some other aspects while I take this on. I wanted the chance to get out of the office for a bit; be more hands on with the company I helped build.”

Amber grinned at her. “Looks like you also achieved your dream.”

She’d expected the flare of light in Krystal’s eyes like she’d seen earlier when it was revealed Amber would be her songwriter. Instead, they dimmed and she glanced away.

“Sometimes I wonder.” 

Before Amber could ask her to clarify, Krystal put on a smile. “Tomorrow then? Around 4?”

Amber decided to let the question go and smiled back. “Tomorrow.”