Krystal’s POV (In the canteen of Serin Girls’ High)

“Pweaseeeeeeeeeee… Keep me company. I am too shy to meet him alone,” I begged Sulli.

“Oh… What happen to icy confident Krystal?” Sulli rolled her eyes. “Besides I don’t want to be the third wheel in your first blind date.”

“Don’t worry about that. I make him bring along a male friend for you.”

“But I am not interested. You know I already have someone else in mind.”

“Who?” I was curious.

“You,” Sulli replied seductively, moving her face closer to mine.

I was caught off guard. As I felt my blood rushing up my face, Sulli suddenly screamed “APRIL FOOLS DAY!”

“YAH! Gabohro!” I flicked Sulli’s forehead.

“HAhahahah! Jjung looked so funny when she’s scared.”

“Scared? Of what?” I laughed. Sulli’s laughter was so contagious that I could not help but joined in.

“Scared of me being a lesbian and start to hit on you.”

“Whatever.”

“I may be touchy to people I am close to, but when it comes to the matters of the heart, I am as straight as the pole. So Jjung, you are perfectly safe around me,” Sulli explained in a mock serious tone.

I wasn’t sure about the safe part, but I was definitely disappointed. It was just a passing phase… I recalled the counselor’s explanation. According to her, I was at the stage of exploring my uality. Coupled with the fact that I had spent a significant period of time in an all-girls environment, I might be searching for an alternative. At the counselor’s prompting, I recounted how I befriended Sulli.

Flashback...

“I am in love with you. And I will do anything for you,” Tae Joon confessed to me outside my school gate. I remembered the date clearly. It was 1st of April.

“Nice one. But it does not work on me. You should have tried this prank on them instead,” I pointed at the group of fangirls studying in the same school as me.

“Yes please. We are more than willing to be a victim of this prank of yours, Tae Joon Oppaaaaaa!” the fangirls chorused in a revoltingly cutesy voice as they rushed towards where we were standing. Normally I felt ashamed of sharing the same uniform as them, however, at that moment I was grateful for the distraction they had caused so that I could escape from Tae Joon.

Just when I thought I had gotten away with everything, I was greeted by a crowd protesting against something when I attended school the next day. On closer scrutiny, I saw my name on the banners they were waving.

“We are against Tae Joon x Krystal! We are against Tae Joon x Krystal!” Tae Joon’s fangirls chanted in unison. If only they had displayed the same fervor in more pressing issues like the plight of the poor and under-privileged in our society. Treating the entire demonstration as a joke, I walked nonchalantly towards the school building.

“There she is!” One of the fangirls spotted me. The chanting came to a sudden halt. Numerous pairs of menacing glares directed at me.

“Charge!” Speaking of strength in numbers, the horde of fangirls certainly looked intimidating. Revving up my internal engine, I made a mad dash towards my classroom. As I pushed open the door, someone pounced on me. Before I could react, I heard a loud splash of water and the thud of the falling bucket. I remained mostly dry because she shielded me from the nasty prank.

“Hey, who asked you to be a busybody? Didn’t you see the warning about being one in the text message? ” Seol Han Na, the president of Tae Joon’s fan club, grabbed the collar of my saviour’s blouse.

“F*** off!” Thanks to her height advantage, she could easily pushed Han Na away. Taking my hand into hers, we ran together into a classroom that was under renovation. The workers must have gone for a break since it was empty. We hid behind a cupboard, her right arm holding me protectively while her left hand covered my mouth. Although she was wet, I could still feel warmth emanating from her body. If the workers had not returned, we could have remained in that position for eternity. Instead of returning to our classroom, we decided to skip school that day. Fearing for my safety, she escorted me back to my dorm.

Inside my dorm, I lent her some of my clothes to change into.

“Thanks for saving me,” I helped to dry her hair with my towel. “But how do you know Han Na is going to pull a prank on me? And what is the text message all about? I did not receive any.”

“Of course you don’t, since you are their target,” Sulli showed me her handphone. The text message read:
Do not enter classroom 101 tomorrow until further notice, unless you want a bucket of water falling on you. IMPORTANT: Do not tell Krystal Jung about it, or you would be an outcast for the rest of your school life – Seol Han Na.

“But why would she do that? We have nothing against each other.”

“She turned jelly after Kang Tae Joon choose you over her.” Sulli explained.

“Since when did Tae Joon choose me? If it was about the confession yesterday, it was obviously a joke. It was April Fool’s Day.”

“Perhaps. However if he confesses on the national news, I can’t be sure anymore,” Sulli shrugged. Seeing my blank look, she whipped out her tablet and showed me the news. To cut the story short, Tae Joon had rejected Mr Holton’s offer to train him in Canada. Mr Holton was a renowned high jump coach. He himself had won several gold medals at the Olympics. Tae Joon stated that he could not bear to leave his love, Krystal Jung Soo Jung, therefore he decided to remain in Korea.

“Guess you are one lucky girl,” Sulli teased me.

“Yah. If I am lucky, I would not end up in this pathetic state. Of all things he chose to mention my full name. I am going to hate him for the rest of my life!” I whined. “By the way, why did you save me?”

“I hate bullies.” Sulli shifted uncomfortably.

“Why?” I asked out of both concern and curiosity.

“Why not? Am I supposed to love them? Anyway lets forget about them. Thanks to you I am now an outcast of the school. In return you have to stick with me as my best friend.”

“Do I have a choice? We are in the same boat. Let’s just share this boat and sail together.”

On hearing that, Sulli smiled widely, and her eyes radiated the same intensity of joy. I could feel a rush of blood up my head as my heart beat faster. Not exactly healthy considering my anemic condition, but I would gladly die just for her eye smile.

After hearing my story, my counselor suggested that I needed to widen my circle of friends, especially male friends. I took her advice and ended up knowing Eun Gyeol online.

“Earth to Soo Jung. Earth to Soo Jung,” Sulli waved her hand in front my face. Her action had successfully help me to… you know… return to Earth.

“Why do you suddenly space out?”

“Nothing really,” I was too embarrassed to tell the truth, so I quickly switched topic. “So you claim to be straight, don’t you? Prove it to me. Join me in this double date.”

“You got me there. Fine, anything for my best friend.”