02.
UNCHANGEABLE (KRYBER)six months later...
---
amber stares intently at the invitation card handed to her. there's a big "yuri and jessica nuptial" in front of it. she smiles, eyeing the couple across the table.
"wow. you're finally tying the knot?"
"it's about time," says yuri, turning aside to look at her fiancée. "i don't see any reason now why i shouldn't marry this beautiful person here."
"sweet-talker," says jessica, playfully nudging yuri. "i was close to thinking you don't have plans of proposing."
"oh, c'mon. you knew i always wanted to marry you. i just couldn't get on with the plan because i was too busy with sau."
jessica rolls her eyes. "took you a long time to act on it. if you hadn't proposed anytime sooner, i'd break up with you."
amber smiles at the couple, somewhat envying them for making it through all the hardships. she witnessed how yuri was so eager to see her girlfriend every vacation and she felt jessica's patience waiting for her girlfriend to come home to her.
although there's a bit of jealousy inside of her, she's happy these two are finally walking down the aisle.
"that's rude." yuri puts a hand to his chest, feigning hurt.
"i was just kidding!" jessica holds yuri's hand. "look i know it took you a bit of time because you and amber are busy. the endorsements you got after your dismissal from sau are just enormous. if you hadn't proposed sooner i would have proposed to you first instead. i was just waiting to make sure you have fully adjusted to your new life before i pop the question. but i didn't want to wait long either as i know many people would want to steal my girl now that she's a celebrity."
"we're not on that level," says yuri. "the fees we're getting from those endorsements will help us get a living once fame dies out. we know this status isn't something permanent. we're taking the opportunities while they are here right in front of our faces. right, am?"
amber nods. "that's why we've hired advisors to manage our finances and investments. wouldn't want to go broke once we're old. we want to take our mind off things and focus on more important matters, like your wedding."
yuri looks at jessica. "you need to tell amber about that."
"ahh. that. you're right." jessica clears and turns to amber. "umm. we, uh, we invited her too."
"her?" amber contemplates for a moment. "suzy?"
"no. the 'k' in your life."
"oh." amber reclines back on her chair when it finally clicks in her head. "with her family, i suppose?"
jessica nods. "along with her mom and jiwon. i hope you're fine with that."
the last words jessica said didn't register as amber's already trapped in the thought she will see 'her' again.
how long has it been? two years. their last talk broke them both. will it be the same this time? or has 'she' moved on now?
because, although trying, amber's sure she's stuck in the same place til now.
jessica's hand waves in front of her face. "amber?"
amber blinks. "ah. yeah. well, it's your wedding. you can invite anyone you like. they are your friends too."
"are you sure?" yuri asks. "we're worried it may ruin your mood. we want you to enjoy the event too."
"don't worry about me. i'll be fine." amber flashes the sincerest smile she could. "it's your day. do whatever you like. i'll be there to support you both."
jessica reaches out for amber's hand on the table. "thank you. that means a lot to me, to us."
"well, since you mentioned suzy, you can bring her as your plus one," says yuri. "i believe it would thrill everyone to see you with a date."
amber laughs silently. "nah."
"i still feel upset you and ailee turned out to be more like best friends rather than lovers." yuri sighs. "you two look good together. don't you two want to cross the line?"
"we're fine the way we are now," says amber, tapping her fingers on the table. "yes, i think we both liked each other for some time but it never went past that. besides, she recently got a boyfriend. let's not ruin their relationship." there was a pause as some thoughts linger until she voices it out absently. "maybe some things are just... just not meant to be..."
jessica and yuri remain silent, looking at amber eagerly.
realising what she said, amber clears . she gestures to the menu instead. "shall we order food?"
"aren't we going to wait for suzy first?" jessica asks.
amber checks her phone quickly. "she got held up at work a bit but will be here in a few minutes."
"you should have picked her up. jessica and i can wait here," says yuri.
"i offered, but she doesn't want me to get involved much in the celebrity stuff."
"wow. protective. are you two like together now?" jessica asks.
"i dunno. we haven't talked about it yet," says amber. "it's been just a couple of days and i'm curious to see where this goes."
"you don't like her that much?" yuri asks.
"eh... can't say yet. i mean, she's pretty, but it's too early to take things seriously."
"take your time, am," says yuri, reaching out for amber's hand on the table and rubbing a thumb over it. "we know this is the first time you've taken a chance in dating again after so many years. take it slow, please? i don't want you rushing into things and risk getting hurt again, especially with suzy who's got a reputation of being a playgirl."
amber smiles. "thank you for the concern. i promise i'll take it slow."
"speaking of, she's already here, am." yuri eyes the entrance to the restaurant.
amber looks over her shoulders, catching a sight of a goddess in a red sleeveless dress walking towards their table, her heeled shoes tapping on the marble floor.
tok... tok... tok... tok... tok...
amber flinches as a sudden uncanny feeling takes over. this scene is much more familiar than it should be--like a déjà vu.
tok... tok... tok... tok... tok...
everyone in the room is ogling at the woman who just came in, but amber's mind got trapped in a scene from her past, recalling a feeling coming out of nowhere.
suddenly, she found herself in the school auditorium again, sitting on the chair, waiting for the program to start.
then voices appear out of nowhere, whispering in her ears, reminding her of the familiarity. but despite the noise from the kids who are attending the orientation too, one voice stands out.
'i... i'm... krystal...'
amber looks away, blinking.
'i... i'm... krystal...'
"..." she brings a hand to massage her temples.
'i... i'm... krystal...'
amber shakes her head, not wanting to drown in that memory again. she extends her arm, grasping for something, for anything that would bring her back to the present world.
then she feels a hand.
"hey. you all right? is your head aching again?" suzy asks.
amber could finally breathe. she closes her eyes and composes herself.
"uh... yeah... i'm fine..." she stands up and holds suzy around her waist. "guys, i know you already heard about each other, but since this is your first meeting, this is suzy. suzy, this is jessica and yuri."
suzy shakes their hands. "it's my pleasure to finally meet you two."
"pleasure's all ours!" says jessica.
"yeah. we're very much thrilled to meet you," says yuri. "you and amber have been the trending talk of the showbiz news these past few days."
suzy rolls her eyes. "can't do anything about paparazzi. we'll just let them think what they want, right?"
amber smiles. "right."
"did i keep you waiting?" suzy sits down. "i hope amber didn't bore you with her boringness."
jessica and yuri shake their heads, both smiling.
"i'm not boring." amber pouts.
"oh. you surely aren't." suzy cups amber's face and wiggles her head. she leaves a red mark on amber's cheek with a kiss.
satisfied, she turns to to jessica and yuri. "shall we order food?"
---
"the construction already started months ago," explains amber, waving her fork in the air. "we're expecting everything to end within a year."
"wow. i didn't know you were hardcore about this," says suzy. "when you said you wanted to start a hotel, i thought it was just an idea."
"it's not just me." amber motions to her friends from across the table. "yuri and i have been thinking about this for years. there are lots of sceneries in yeosan people takes for granted for years because of evens. people there are poor and the progress of their town is very slow because of lack of investments and establishments. yuri and i think that building a hotel there will attract travellers which will cause new employment openings for the residents. hopefully, it'll ripple to seeing their livelihoods improve too."
suzy nods. "so... where do i fit in this?"
"i'm glad you asked." amber smiles, a sly one. "so, we're kind of hoping you could be the face of yeosan hotel..."
"ahh... endorsement..." a smile slips off suzy's face. "i should have guessed it right away. but why not do it you both, amber and yuri? you two are popular as much as i am."
"well, the thing is, we're kind of tired seeing our faces on endorsements," explains yuri, making suzy laugh. "kidding aside, we seriously think we need someone with a calibre like yours to handle this. and we all know how influential you are."
"also, we're trying to take this as low-key as much as we can," says amber. "we don't want politicians or the military getting involved with this investment of ours."
"that's an actress like you, who's not involved in aef or sau before, nor linked to any politicians, is the best face for this business venture," explains jessica. "only if you'll agree."
"i'd be glad to help," says suzy. "however, your attempt to make it anonymous may end up futile because people know amber and i have been hanging out lately."
"we don't think we'll be able to hide our names completely," says yuri. "but we don't want to brag it to the world either."
"you've got this all well planned, don't you?" suzy asks amber.
"well, yuri and i were used in planning strategies before," says amber.
suzy raise her palms. "okay. okay. i'm up for it."
jessica and yuri almost jump in excitement.
"you don't know how much this means to us, to me." amber holds suzy's hand.
"but it will not be free, baby." suzy leans in. "you need to have a word with my manager first and you will pay me a fortune for it."
amber downs the wine in her glass. "how do you want me to pay you?"
"i would have to think about the price yet." suzy points on the kiss mark on amber's cheek and scoots closer into the latter's ear. "but i would want the down payment tonight."
---
the movement on the other side of the bed wakes amber up. too tired to mind, she closes her eyes again.
". i'm sore, amber." suzy chuckles. "what did you do to me?"
amber rubs her eyes. "you asked for a down payment, right?"
"right. i just didn't expect you're gonna do me hard."
amber turns around and sees suzy trying to wear a shirt in the dark. "where are you going?"
"water. thirsty."
"why wear my shirt if you're just going to the kitchen?"
"two things: it's cold, and i don't want to walk in your kitchen ."
amber props herself up on her elbow. "you look y ."
"oh, amber. would you like me to get you a glass?"
"mmm-mmm. please."
amber's eyes follows the figure as suzy walks around the dark room with the moon from the window serving as the only source of light.
however, seeing a silhouette of a woman with a messy-bed hair triggers something inside her. for a moment, she thought the silhouette belongs to someone else.
someone from her past.
the silhouette finally reveals its face, reminding amber it's another person.
"be back right away." suzy kisses amber's cheek.
not sure what's gotten into her, amber holds the woman around the waist and pulls her down to lie on top of her.
suzy yelps.
amber brushes their lips together like she's hungry for it. suzy reciprocates.
as soon as the imaginary image of another woman vanishes from her mind, amber slowly pulls away.
suzy leans over to bite amber's lower lip. "it seems you still have the energy for another round, huh?"
amber smirks, running her palms down the sensitive legs of her partner. "is it bad if can't seem to get enough of you?" she kisses the woman again, softer this time.
"mmm. but i'm afraid if i let you touch me again, i won't be able to walk properly tomorrow."
amber laughs. "you're exaggerating."
"i'm not." suzy pulls away and pushes herself up. "and i'm seriously thirsty now. be back."
amber watch suzy walk out of the room as yet another déjà vu strikes again. she remembers someone from years ago, a woman wearing nothing but amber's shirt, walking around the room after they made love.
she brushes her fingers through her hair and sighs.
". this isn't good."
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