03.
UNCHANGEABLE (KRYBER)amber took her phone out to reread the message from taeyeon two hours ago, making sure she got the correct room number before buzzing the door.
she presses an ear against the wood and listens. she hears muffled female voices inside and could make out yuri's voice who's laughing out loud.
yup. this is the correct room.
she presses the buzzer button and holds it for three seconds.
the people inside the room scream in excitement. she wonders why.
finally, the door opens ajar and amber notices the dim light inside. a woman with long blonde hair juts her head out.
"captain? what are you doing here?"
"byulyi? wow. you're here too!" says amber, surprised.
byulyi cranes her neck around as if looking for someone else. she turns back to amber. "are you the one they sent?"
"sent? who?"
byulyi eyes the suit and tie attire amber is wearing. "the stripper?"
amber gets horrified. "what!"
before she could finish her sentence, byulyi pulls amber inside the room and closes the door right away. with her eyes still adjusting to the dimly lit room, amber could get a glimpse of several females in the area, all looking at her.
"sorry, girls. false alarm." byulyi drapes an arm over her shoulders. "but guess who's here?"
"captain!" they say in unison.
amber then realises it's the former sau troop c inside. they all hug and greet her.
"oh, my god, amber!" yuri, who's wearing a white casual shirt and a crown on her head, came over to hug her too. "i thought you won't be able to make it? and what's with the suit?"
"i have a meeting with a lawyer today about a contract for one of my investments," says amber, tucking her hands in her pockets. "but he cancelled the last minute so i swung by here instead. i'm not really into bachelorette parties but since taeyeon said most of the troop will be present, i thought why not go here?"
"i'm so glad you came..." yuri smiles drunkenly, putting an arm around amber's shoulders. "come. some of my guests will be thrilled to see you."
"are you drunk?" amber asks as yuri leads her to the other people in the room. "and why won't you turn on the lights?"
"not yet drunk... and they said a surprise is coming over, so they wanted it dark..." yuri approaches a figure. "hey, ailee. amber's here."
"hey!" ailee hugs her excitedly. "wow. i was sad when yuri said you weren't coming. glad you made it!"
amber pulls away from the hug. "yeah. haha. didn't know you were coming either."
"well, she forced me and threatened me." ailee glances at the bride-to-be. "she said you weren't coming and she can't afford another friend bailing out."
"i will be really mad," says yuri drunkenly. "my wedding is next week and i'm too stressed. i need to relax. i need a moment to get away from wedding planning shenanigans and this party is the key. but what's the use of having a bachelorette party if my friends won't come, huh?"
amber and ailee chuckle.
"she is drunk," says ailee.
"i know." amber lifts her head upon noticing another figure approaching. her eyes widen. "jiwon? you're here too?"
"whaddup, amber." jiwon hugs her. "of course i'll be here. i'd want to document how wasted yuri will get tonight. it'll be a perfect show on her wedding day, right?"
yuri scoffs. "yeah. that's what a loyal friend does, jiwon."
amber's smile grows bigger the more she realises how this bachelorette party serves as a mini-reunion with the people she considers important in her life. it's not every day someone can fill a room with people who could touch their life and amber's just happy her schedule got cancelled today.
a beam of bright yellow light from the corner of the hotel room catches amber's attention. a figure came out from what she assumes to be a bathroom due to the sound of the toilet flush inside.
amber thinks she's having another déjà vu as this person is sporting the same image of the woman who keeps recurring in her mind lately.
but amber knows it isn't déjà vu because the woman looks back at her with the same surprised expression, wearing that very familiar face amber still memorised.
yuri pats her shoulder and speaks in her very drunken tone, "oh. forgot to mention. krystal's here too."
---
it's been almost two years now since she'd last seen the woman; two years since that painful talk they had.
she never thought they would see each other again. she thought it was the last time she will lay her eyes upon this beautiful human being.
a lot has happened since then. a lot has changed.
and amber couldn't understand how this woman can still make her heart skip a beat.
she still can't fathom how this woman can still look perfect in that skirt, sneakers, and semi-formal blouse combo. amber feels like a kid who's developing her first crush all over again.
pathetic, yes. but despite the continuous changes happening around her and the globe, this woman seems to be the only constant thing in her life--the untouchable part in her heart.
amber asks herself if it could be the same for the other woman. she wants the answer to be a 'yes' but reality hits her again when she sees the wedding band on krystal's finger.
---
"come here, krystal!" yuri calls. "amber's here!"
krystal, who is still in shock, blinks and forces a slight smile. she ventures forward to their direction and amber swear her heart could have jumped out of her rib cage.
"hey..." says krystal.
"hey," says amber.
"'hey'? c'mon. hug each other!" yuri demands. "stop being awkward!"
amber awkwardly stares at yuri. she turns to krystal. "don't mind her. she's dr--"
krystal suddenly leans forward to envelop her in a quick hug.
"--unk..." amber couldn't think straight anymore as krystal's scent already filled her senses.
"it's nice to see you, amber." krystal pulls away. "you... you look amazing..."
amber presses her lips together, nodding. "same... you..."
she wasn't able to continue as the door suddenly buzzes and the other women in the room squeal in excitement. byulyi opens the door and turns back to them.
"they're here!" she signals for yuri. the girls drag the bride-to-be to sit on the chair at the centre.
byulyi opens the door wider and two masked figures in suit and tie comes in.
amber laughs, realising why byulyi thought she is the stripper.
byulyi closes the door and locks it. "let the party begin!"
the women scream when a piece of y music plays in the background. the two guests strip their suits, revealing a outfit underneath while ily dancing towards yuri who's a screaming and laughing mess now.
the shorter dancer takes the mask off and throws it away. the girls scream again.
"what the ! it's taeyeon!" amber covers in shock.
that catches the attention of the taller dancer who walks towards amber ily. jiwon and krystal steps back when the said dancer loops her arms around amber's neck.
"well, hello there, captain. you look dashing tonight."
amber's eyes grows wider. "tiffany!?"
tiffany laughs. "yes!" she pushes amber's chin up to close . "why you look so shocked? jessica doesn't want us to hire actual strippers so taeyeon and i thought we'll just play the roles. ain't bad, right?"
"yeah. yuri is having the time of her life." amber nods at the still-squealing yuri with taeyeon dancing on her lap. she turns back to tiffany. "and you, you look really hot."
"well, you look hot yourself, cap." tiffany smirks. she loosens amber's tie. "why are you in this hot suit? you're here to perform too?"
"haha. no. i was--"
"captain!" it was taeyeon who approach this time. "wow! you're here!" she hugs amber tight and tiffany skips back to yuri to entertain her.
"yeah. i didn't know you and tiffany are working as strippers now, huh?"
"only for yuri." taeyeon winks. "why don't you join us? you seem to be in the attire too."
taeyeon is already pulling but amber shakes her head. "no. i can't..."
taeyeon turns to the other women. "sau squad troop c, have you seen your captain dance before?"
they all shout, "not yet!"
amber's worst fears came true when the horde of women helps to drag her in.
---
amber is sitting on a stool, nursing a can of soda, when she a hand grasps her left arm. it was krystal who held onto her for support to sit on the tall stool beside her.
"hey..." says amber, watching the other woman settle down.
"hey. that was quite a show," says krystal who's holding a bottle of an alcopop. "i didn't think you'd ride along with them."
"there was nothing i can do. they were already stripping me off my coat, and they were too hard to resist. i hope i didn't make a fool of myself out there."
krystal shakes her head. "you were great. never knew you have the moves."
"same. i never knew about it until today." amber stares at jiwon who's singing along with ailee, yuri, and the other ex-sau girls.
"you missed them, don't you?" krystal asks. "your troop?"
amber nods. "yeah. it's just funny how we came to realise the bond we have only after our dismissal. we weren't hanging out like this before. it's fun to see their other side."
krystal hums and takes one gulp from the bottle. amber noticed how the other woman's hand is glued to her lap to stop her skirt from riding up. amber reaches out for her coat and gives it to krystal.
"hmm?" krystal looks at her, asking. amber nods towards the location she intends the coat to be placed on and krystal gets it. "oh."
amber holds the bottle of alcopop for krystal while the latter puts the coat on her lap.
"thanks," says krystal, taking the bottle from amber.
"i don't recall you fancy drinking alcohol before."
"still don't. i just want to relax for a bit. and this has like only five per cent alcohol." krystal gestures at the can of soda. "you? not drinking tonight?"
"can't. driving." amber takes another sip from the can.
krystal hums again. there was silence for a moment. "so... how are you?"
'here, still thinking about you,' amber wants to answer, but she keeps shut. there is so much vagueness in that three-word-question that everyone ignores and avoids by equivocating.
"just fine," says amber instead. "still trying to get used to my new life. you? how's your family?"
she regrets asking that, but she needs to push the conversation away from her, afraid that having this little talk would result in her building up new hope. as much as she doesn't want to hear about krystal's happy married life, she had to ask.
"good," says krystal indifferently. "i switched to a different hospital now. there were lots of politics happening in the hq hospital after aef got dissolved."
amber hums. "and your husband?"
krystal stares at amber for seconds, maybe sensing if that was a serious question. "the changes don't affect him. he's a surgeon. he's affiliated with several hospitals."
"ahh. and katrien?" finally, a perfect topic to dive into.
krystal relaxes and smiles. "she's fine. she's being a headache now as she's already seven, you know. mom's always cranky because of that kid."
"are you still living in your house in jeoswa?"
"yes, we do. but we're planning to sell the house to jihoon's sister since he's mostly away while me and katie usually stays with my mom," says krystal and amber feels a pinch in her chest at the woman's casual mention of her husband's name. "also, mom's getting emo lately and i don't want her living alone."
amber looks ahead, nodding. this conversation makes her heart shrink. the more casual the conversation goes, the more she's asking herself if the talk they had two years ago is still real.
krystal asked her to not forget her.
krystal told her how much she missed her.
krystal said she still feels the same towards her.
are those still true until now?
"she wants to see you," krystal's voice make amber turn to her. "katie. she always wants to see you."
amber smiles. "and here i was thinking she's already forgotten me long ago."
krystal shakes her head. "she didn't. in fact, she keeps talking about you every day. it's like you've imprinted yourself in her mind. she had already associated you with the feeling of security and safety. even her dad is already jealous over it."
amber taps the can on her knee. "does he know?"
"about you?" krystal asks and amber nods. "yes. i told him all about us when he asked me to marry him. but katie, she doesn't."
amber feels something with the 'us' in krystal's words. but she shriggs the feeling off. "she's only a kid. she wouldn't understand it yet."
"but she's so fond of you. i don't know what you did to her. she's even excited to attend the wedding next week knowing you're attending too."
amber smirks. "i guess i understand now why your husband is jealous. don't you find it weird that your daughter has sort of developed an attachment towards your ex?"
krystal laughs, that all-too-familiar laugh amber missed. "i don't. i understand why she likes you that much. i even have this weird notion that my kid has developed a crush on you."
a silly idea pops into amber's mind. "talking about weirdness, what if... what if katie grows up and falls in love with me, and then we became a couple?"
krystal had a horrified look on her face. she slaps amber's arm. "yah! don't get any ideas! you're like twenty-eight years apart!"
"do matters to you?"
"no. but she is my daughter. my daughter!" krystal points at herself. "that's totally weird, amber!"
amber laughs. "i'm sure katie will grow up to be a beautiful woman like you tho."
another slap. "amber!"
"awe... i missed seeing you two like that..." yuri's slurred voice echoes through the speakers as she speaks into the microphone. "you two could have been married too, you know..."
amber and krystal were left speechless as they watch taeyeon and jiwon try taking the microphone away from the very-much-drunk yuri.
"and i'm sure... i'm sure you'll be able to make it work out..." yuri continues, evading the hands in front of her. "this could have been your party too if you two weren't dumb enough to let each other go!"
"okay! okay! okay! that's enough drinking for you, yuri," says jiwon who finally snatch the microphone away. taeyeon leads the drunken bride-to-be to sit on the couch.
"i'm not giving up on the two of you!" yuri yells as she lies on her back. "so don't you dare give up on each other!"
both amber and krystal sit there in awkward silence, not sure of what to react.
despite the commotion, tiffany approaches them and points at krystal.
"so, all this time, you were amber's ex?"
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