“Rock, Paper, Scissor…Shoot!!” The five girls battled their fingers together as they all managed to somehow throw out paper at the same time. Sulli complained that they were being childish, but Victoria laughed in her face and called her a baby.

“We’re at the hotel,” their manager called over their loud playing in the rows of seats behind him.

They’d landed in Bangkok for the next leg of their promotions and had been traveling quite a bit previously while also training, so despite the high energy the girls displayed in the van, they were exhausted.

“You want to room with me?” Krystal asked, tugging on Amber’s hand.

She glanced around and saw that Victoria, Sulli, and Luna had already walked off, unaware that Krystal had arranged with them beforehand that she wanted to room with Amber.

“Yeah, sure. I’d like that.”

“Make sure you stretch before you go to bed,” one of the members of their team called.

They all called their affirmations and collected their room keys.

Amber felt a hand land on her shoulder and felt a bitter catch in when she realized the person holding on to her was one of the men who’d been there when she’d been forced to sign that stupid contract.

He gave her a warning look before heading off with the rest of the crew.

“Eww, creepo,” Krystal said with a shudder. “What was that about?”

“I don’t know,” Amber lied.

Krystal slipped her hand through Amber’s arm. “I wish some of these people got seriously evaluated before they were hired. The look he gave you was kinda sick. Be careful. There are a lot of people who will abuse their power.”

“I know,” Amber groaned without any real heat. She liked Krystal taking care of her and worrying about her. “Stop lecturing me like a kid.”

Krystal roughed Amber’s dark hair into an unruly mess, then stuck her tongue out at her. “I’ll lecture you all I want.” She slung her arm around Amber’s neck, even though the older girl was taller, it wasn’t awkward. “Are you going to listen to me or do I need to put you in a headlock?”

Amber head-butted her gently. “You’re a bully,” she laughed. “Who raised you like this? Aren’t you supposed to respect and obey your elders?”

 “Not if they’ve got llama faces. Then you’re allowed to treat them however you want.”

They reached the room that matched their key card, sliding it in the lock to enter.

“Oh…” they looked at the single bed occupying the room. It was large, but it was still only one bed and they’d agreed some time ago not to sleep in the same bed together again.

“I thought all of these rooms would have two beds,” Krystal murmured, glancing around as if another would appear out of thin air.

“Well…this one doesn’t.” Amber dropped her duffle bag on the floor and flopped down on the bed. “You can sleep on the floor. Ah!” She sat up sharply when Krystal smacked her on the stomach. “What was that for?”

“We’ll play for it.”

“Ugh!!”

Amber rotated and folded her legs on the bed, Krystal climbing up in front of her. “What’s the game?”

“No game,” Krystal shrugged with a mischievous grin as she flopped back on the bed. “We can just both sleep here. Come on, we’re both tired, our bodies hurt, and this is the only comfortable surface in this room.”

“I could ask if they have somewhere else available or if someone can switch,” she mumbled almost to herself.

Krystal heard her though, looking hurt. She knew Amber said she didn’t care about her being a lesbian and that she was even proud of her for having the strength to confess, but her actions didn’t seem to jive with her words.

She turned slightly, leaning up on one elbow. She placed a hand on Amber’s knee and rubbed gently with her thumb.

“Why do you want to leave?” She asked, biting her lip seductively. “We could play around a bit. Girls do it all the time.”

Amber blinked at her, then surged to her feet nearly startling Krystal off the bed. “What are you doing?!”

“I was just playing around,” Krystal snarked, rolling her eyes. She sprang to the floor and went to her duffle, poking through it to find her toothbrush and toothpaste so Amber couldn’t see the tears threatening in her eyes. “I don’t like you anymore, so could you just get over yourself.”

“It’s not-"

“You keep saying that but you sure treat me like a leper half the time.”

“Listen, you’re only fifteen while I’m practically considered an adult here in Korea. We could both get in a lot of trouble, but especially me if people even think something is going on. So if I act a little jumpy-“

“No one is in here, Amber. No one but you and me.” She was gripping her toothpaste so hard, the top was threatening to pop off.

“People know we’re rooming together…”

“We used to cuddle and hug all the time when I was only fourteen and you were sixteen. How can you say things are so different now if it’s not because I confessed to you?”

“It just is…” Amber stated weakly.

“I miss you,” Krystal said sadly. “You’re my best friend.”

“I miss you too,” Amber told her sincerely, her heart aching. This girl had always been there for her even when she didn’t know that she needed her, she’d been there.

“So please stop pushing me away and making me beg for any tiny bit of the affection we used to have. I want to hold you like I used to without weird thoughts getting in the way.”

Amber clenched and unclenched her fists, then nodded woodenly.

Krystal let out a little sound of relief and jumped at Amber, throwing her arms around her neck. “And if it matters that much to you, we’ll only be affectionate when it’s more private. Okay?”

Amber smiled, grateful Krystal was taking her concerns into consideration. “Okay.”

“Now I’m going to go brush my teeth to set a good example for you. Your breath smells like Manager Oppa’s shoes.”

Amber half-heartedly tried to swat her as she laughed and darted away. “People already think what they think anyway,” Amber consoled herself. “As long as they never see…As long as there’s no proof…”