Krystal was rolling on her sleep, sweating and panting. It was 2 am and Amber was sound asleep. The younger girl furrowed her brow and gripped tightly the bed’s covers.

“Soojungie….”

She heard her sister called her. That’s it, it’s a nightmare.

“Jung Soojung! I’m talking to you!” Her older sister commanded. She was transported in her dreams to her house, it was nighttime. She stood in the living room’s doorway and saw her sister Jessica painting her nails and blowing gently on them, then, Jessica noticed Krystal and motioned her to come sit next to her.

“Jessica?” Krystal called her sister while walking towards the couch she was sitting on.

“The one and only” The older girl replied.

“You’re dead” Krystal replied, coldly.

“Wow, rude much?” Jessica sarcastically said while grabbing her little sister’s right hand as she started to paint the latter’s nails, that touch… it felt so real.

“What are you doing here?” The younger sister asked.

“I was waiting for you to finish your homework, duh” Jessica replied. “I know what you did, Soojung” She added while blowing on her sister’s nails.

“What do you mean?” Krystal asked, she contemplated the way her sister was doing her nails.

“You’ve killed four men… and one girl” The older sister said, she gently pushed Krystal’s hand away and crossed her legs.

“What girl?” Krystal asked, clueless.

“Me” Jessica pointed to herself while letting out a loud laugh.

“It wasn’t me, Jess” Krystal assured.

“Tell that to yourself” The older woman said, she got up from the couch and walked to the window, looking at the bright moon. “You were weak”

“You told me to wait in the kitchen-“

“Don’t you get it Soojung??? I wanted you to prove yourself, to be brave for once in your life. You let me down” Jessica said frenetically turning to face her sister, she walked towards her and placed her hands on the latter’s lap as she kneeled down in front of Krystal.

“And for what? After all you did kill that man” The older sister said with a smile and a satisfied look on her face.

“How does it feel Soojungie? How does it feel to take a life with your bare hands?” The dark-haired girl asked, looking straight into Krystal’s eyes.

“I don’t know” She shortly replied.

“Of course you do. You like it, don’t you? You sick motherer” Her sister .

“Jess, please don-“

“You love it! You love the way they scream, the way they plead you to stop, the way their knees go weak as they fall to the floor, the smell of the blood” Jessica said as she approached closer to Krystal. “You live for the adrenaline rush they provide you” She added as she was just inches away from her little sister’s face.

Krystal was getting intimidated, this couldn’t be her sister, Jessica was kind and loving, why would she be screaming to her like this? The younger sister started panicking, reaching the couch’s pillows for support as she started moving away from her demonic sister. Krystal started panting and could feel how the cold sweat was running down her forehead to her eyes, making her tear up a little.

“Are you gonna cry? You always were a crybaby” Jessica said, she crawled her way on top of Krystal and with a satanic smile she started choking the latter.

“Jess….” Krystal managed to say, “No….”

Jessica kept on choking her sister, Krystal blinked in the verge of passing out and suddenly her sister was shifting to herself, it was her the whole time. The way she yelled, the things she said, it was Krystal talking to herself all along. She then jerked her body up and grabbed the hands of the other her, prohibiting her to choke her. The other Krystal jumped back on her and started throwing punches and God, they hurt like if they are real.

“NO! STOP” Krystal shouted and her voiced echoed in the whole bedroom, making Amber jump.

“What??? What’s wrong?” Amber said, rushing to the bed and climbing next to Krystal

“DON’T TOUCH ME” Krystal shouted and threw punches to Amber’s chest and the latter hugged her while she tried to calm her down.

“Shhh, Krys… It’s me, It’s Amber” Amber whispered to the younger girl trying to not worsen the situation.

Krystal slowly opened her eyes and saw Amber’s figure next to her, her arms wrapped wound her waist. “Oh my God” Krystal sighed.

“It was just a nightmare, Soojung” The tomboy said while caressing Krystal’s back.

“I- It felt too real” The shorter girl said while wrapping her arms around her knees.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Amber asked while breaking the hug with Krystal, giving her space to regulate her breathing.

“No, I’m fine” She simply replied.

“Okay, fine” The short-haired girl said and accommodated herself in a more comfortable way. “Can I do anything for you?” She asked looking at Krystal with her glorious puppy eyes.

“You can sleep with me, I won’t stab you” Krystal said, she kept on looking straight out of the window, trying to distract herself from the horrid nightmare she just experienced.

“Do you want me to hold you too?” Amber joked but was surprised when the younger girl turned to face her with a broken look in her eyes.

“Yes” Krystal replied in the softest and tiniest voice ever, making Amber blush in the process, good thing the room was dark enough for the redness on Amber’s face to pass unnoticed. When Amber didn’t move, Krystal pushed her out of the bed and said “You know what? Never mind”

“No, no. I’m doing it” Amber said climbing on the bed again and positioning herself next to Krystal. “Here, get in” She said laying down and opening her arms for the girl. Krystal didn’t say a word and crawled her way next to Amber, then the tomboy wrapped her arms around her waist.

“When I was younger I used to have a lot of nightmares about this clown that-“ Amber tried to comfort the girl but she cut her off.

“Oh God, don’t. I don’t want to hear you” Krystal said in an annoyed tone.

“I thought a little story time could help” The short-haired girl said and Krystal giggled at her behavior, sometimes she can be really sweet.

They stayed holding each other for a while when Krystal called Amber again and the latter hummed.

“Why are you being nice to me?” Krystal asked Amber while she rested her head on the latter’s chest.

“What do you mean?” Amber asked in confusion, taking one arm up and putting it behind her head to have better support.

“I’m a killer” The younger girl said and lifted her head to match Amber’s eye level. “Why are you still helping me?” A tint of genuine curiosity could be heard in Krystal’s voice. Amber couldn’t help but to think about her motives, she wants to know who the girl is and then confront her, she felt guilty because the shorter girl was trying her best to open to her, while on the other hand, Amber was using that to her own favor.

“I guess… I’m just genuinely kind to other people” Amber said, avoiding Krystal’s gaze.

“That’s bull” The ice looking girl said, she rested her head back on Amber’s chest. “Just a while ago you said you saw a different person in me” She added. Krystal knew what was going on, she may not be a psychopath but she was smart enough to know that Amber was planning on backstabbing her and she didn’t need further proof than what Amber did when they tried to make out.

🍂

“I’m sorry, Krystal, I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable” The older girl said, looking straight at Krystal who was ignoring her.

“Well, you did” She replied and disappeared in the bathroom.

Krystal looked at her reflection on the mirror, she traced the scars on her body with her fingers and cursed the doctors that caused them. “She was more interested in my scars than she was about ing me” Krystal said to herself while dropping the towel to the floor and started to put on her clothes. She was left wondering why Amber didn’t want to touch her further, was she that disgusted? Was she being careful? But there was no need to treat Krystal like if she was made of glass.

There was only one answer left, she’s going to double cross me, Krystal thought. There was no way in this damned world that if Amber was attracted to Krystal she would’ve stopped like that just to ask one stupid question. The younger girl studied the human condition and it all pointed to Amber’s betrayal. “If she likes me there’s no way she could’ve just stopped touching… hormones are hormones and even I can’t control them” She whispered while looking for her brush and walked out of the bathroom.

🍂

“Are you afraid of developing feelings towards me?” Krystal asked upon the long silence.

“I’m confused, Krystal” Amber replied. Seeing the effort Krystal is making to break her walls and talk about real stuff with her really got Amber, she wasn’t sure of what to do or how to do it without both parts ending up hurting. If Amber was to put her guard down for Krystal, that would mean she’s potentially exposed to the other’s games, and if Krystal lets Amber in, that would mean she can hurt her with her truth motives. It was as simple as that, but they weren’t aware of one destructive variable: they both are developing feelings for each other.

Krystal said a million times that she can’t feel a thing, making Amber even more confused with her actions. The fact that she initiated this conversation means that she’s interested in knowing if Amber has feelings for her, and maybe, just maybe, Krystal was willing to answer some questions as well.

“Why is that?” Krystal asked.

“Because it is true that I see someone else in you… but I don’t know if that’s reality or if it’s just some kind of twisted game you’re pulling” Amber confessed, her eyes landed on Krystal’s head.

“I don’t play games” The younger girl said and moved her head up once again to make eye contact with Amber. The small amount of light coming from the bathroom hit Krystal’s eyes, making them sparkle. The tomboyish girl tried to read the other’s eyes but she was far beyond knowing her true intentions, without breaking the eye contact, Krystal placed her hand on Amber’s left cheek.

“Am I a bad person? Am” Krystal asked her while still making intense eye contact, Amber was mesmerized for a few seconds.

“I don’t know” The older girl replied, taking the younger girl’s hand off of her cheek.

“Do you think I’m sick? That I enjoy killing people?” Krystal asked again, but this time more desperate than the other.

“I think you should ask yourself that” Amber replied.

As much as Krystal wanted Amber to be wrong, she was right. She started asking her those questions because she used it as a coping mechanism, she didn’t want to find the answer within herself because she already knew how much of a night mare she can be to herself. She wanted Amber to tell her that she was, in fact, a good person, that she was just having trouble with figuring herself out and that she wasn’t sick at all. But of course, life doesn’t go that easy.

“Get some sleep, you’ll need it” Amber said and with that, they broke the hug and moved away from each other as they fell asleep.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 The girls woke up until 10 am, went to the lobby to eat breakfast and prepared for the day. Amber had a plan, she was going to call Luna, make her distract Krystal and finally get the chance to talk to her ‘body guard’, Victoria. The new year’s festival was held a week ago but they still had some decorations on the streets so she managed to convince Krystal for them to go see them as the latter was kept in the hospital for five years.

“Go get in the car, I won’t be long” Amber commanded as they stood on the lobby, Krystal nodded and walked away. Amber took that opportunity to call Luna and inform her about her plan.

“Luna” She said.

“Oh my, if it isn’t the most handsome girl on earth” Luna replied on the other line.

“Yeah, hi. How you doin’? Listen, I need a favor” Amber rushed the conversation.

“What is it?” Luna asked.

“I’m taking this girl to the Han River and I need you to distract her while I take care of some stuff” The short-haired girl said as she walked out of the lobby.

“Oh, someone is being naughty” Luna squealed.

“Shut up, it’s not what you think. Are you in or what?” She said.

“Yeah, sure. Text me your location when you get there” Luna agreed and Amber hung up as she made her way inside her black Camaro.

“What took you so long? It’s freezing” Krystal complained while rubbing her arms with her hands to produce heat.

“Sorry, I got a call” Amber said and started driving to the Donjak Bridge.

Amber parked her Camaro at a park in front of the Han river, she opened the door for Krystal and they started walking. Families were hanging out, friends riding in bikes and couples passed by while holding hands, the cold Seoul weather was merciless and Amber caught Krystal shivering on the corner of her eye.

“Here, take my jacket” The older girl said, handing Krystal a black leather jacket.

“Thanks” The younger girl said.

As they kept on walking, Amber was looking around for a familiar face and then she saw her, peeking from a tree. She received a text from Luna saying she was near the river so she texted her their location and waited for the play to start. Far away in the distance, Amber saw Luna approaching and waved at her while Krystal eyed Amber with a confused look.

“Who are you waving at?” Krystal asked to Amber, who was busy looking at the shorter girl arriving.

“Hey!! How are you? Luna” Amber asked the shorter girl and hugged her.

“I’m great, how’s this babe doing?” The short girl asked while pointing to Amber.

“I’m doing great. Hey, this is Krystal” The older girl said as she took Krystal by her arm and introduced her to the other girl.

“I’m Luna, nice to meet you. How does it feel to be next to the iest girl on earth?” Luna said while offering her hand to Krystal but she looked at Amber in the most annoyed way possible.

“I don’t like her” She sternly said, the smile on Luna’s face disappeared and she was left with a bitter expression.

“C’mon Krys, give her a chance, she’s cool” Amber said, smiling at Krystal and the latter raised a brow.

“Don’t ‘c’mon Krys’ me. She acts like you’re hot , I don’t like her” Krystal said while crossing her arms.

“Are you jealous?” Luna asked with a huge smirk.

“I would, if only I could feel ” The younger girl said, walking away from Amber and Luna, leaving them dumbfounded.

“She’s tougher than I thought” Luna whispered to Amber.

“You’ve seen nothing” Amber whispered back.

Amber was staring to feel impatient, she needed Krystal to be fully distracted in order for her to talk to Victoria, she started thinking of ways to make Luna and her click but she couldn’t find anything they can have in common, mostly because she doesn’t even know what the girl enjoys doing.

Bingo.

“Okay, this is what you’re gonna do. She had a sister named Jessica, go and talk about sisters with her, tell her I went for Ice Cream or some ” Amber said, patted Luna on the back and rushed to meet Victoria.

“Victoria, right?” Amber asked the older girl as she tried to regulate her breathing.

“Yes, miss. How may I help you?” The blond girl mannered.

“I would like to know more about Soojung”