At the airport, upon entering through the VIP area, something did not feel right.  She thought the original plan was to go to Incheon and relax but now she’s being dashed off to Busan.

“Something tells me that you are all working together with them……..” Krystal softly murmured.

“Yes and no.  They wanted us to go for personal reasons.  But they do not know why we were taking you out – we didn’t tell them about your birthday,” Victoria explained.

“And we won’t tell them as long as you say so,” Luna promised.

“All of them are going?” Krystal asked.

They all nodded.

“Don’t worry too much.  They know that they were also in the wrong so you don’t need to prove yourself to anyone,” Amber assured her.

Krystal releases her stiff shoulders trying to relax a bit.

In the waiting area, the boys were reading something from their phones.  As soon as the girls approached the lobby, Kris stood up and greeted them.  Krystal quickly bowed and return to hiding behind Victoria and Amber.

“Long time no see Krystal, glad you could join us on this trip,” Kris greeted her specifically.

“Thanks for including me,” she murmured.

“Time to board,” he announced.

All the boys get on first and sat in their usual spot while the girls went all the way to the back so they would be out of the way.

“No Minho or Onew?” Krystal asked.

Luna shook her head.

“So, what would you like to do first on your special day?” Victoria asked quietly.

“Relax on the beach and enjoy some delicious seafood,” Krystal answered happily.

They all smiled.

Suddenly out of nowhere, Kris slid in next to Luna.

“So, today we are going to spend it at the resort but tomorrow, we’ll head out to the island and we’ll return to Seoul on Tuesday,” Kris informed them.

“Island?” Krystal repeated.

“We’ve been instructed to seek shelter for the time being,” he answered tightly.

Luna frowned.

“Someone got away?” Krystal asked with much curiosity.

Kris nodded.

“Are these people considered dangerous?” Luna asked.

“To us – possibly.  But first we need to find out who is behind this, until then, we just need to be careful, Kris stated.

“I see.  So this trip to the island, - which one are we staying at?” Krystal asked.

“Suho’s safe house,” Kris answered.

“You each have a safe house?” Victoria asked.

“Yes. “

“Well at least we’ll get a private beach,” Amber added happily to uplift the mood.

Upon arriving at the airport, they exited the plane and stepped into the hotel shuttle.

“Beach, here we come,” Sulli jumped for joy.

“You girls going to the beach?” Xiumin asked.

“Yes.  We’re going to spend the day on the beach, so don’t mind us,” Victoria told them.

“Not at all.  Some of us could use the sun too,” Xiumin agreed.

“All of us will be sharing one king size suite but we’ll figure out who will sleep with who later,” Kris announced.

Everyone just nodded.

At the hotel, after checking in, the girls headed out to the beach to fulfill Krystal’s birthday plans.  They played and pushed each other into the ocean while the boys watch from the shade.

“Do you blame her?” Kris asked.

“No.  We were at fault and I don’t know why we clash when we’re supposed to be the good guys,” Kai answered cautiously.

“But everyone had their own reason.  From now on, please try to keep me in mind – so think before you act again,” Suho warned them gently.

“We’re sorry.” They all apologized in unison.

“What should we do for dinner?” Suho asked.

Everyone turned to look at Kris.

“Me again?” He asked.

“The only one that they will talk to so you go ask them,” Kai pointed out.

“I’ll go but I’m not making any promises that they’ll join us,” he told them before walking toward the girls.

“Girls – what would you like to have for dinner?” He asked them.

All the girls turned toward Luna.

“If its okay, us girls will like to dine alone tonight,” Luna answered carefully.

Kris frowned.

“Please don’t be mad at Luna.  It’s my birthday and I wanted to do something very low-key with the girls,” Krystal stepped in before any mishap began.

“Very well.  I wish you a happy birthday.  But don’t stay out too late,” he told them before walking away toward the boys.

“What did they say?” Suho asked.

“They have some personal plans this evening that does not include us so we’ll have to decide on dinner,” Kris answered smoothly.

“Personal plan?” Suho repeated.

“Suho, what day is it today?” Kris asked him.

Suho thought about it for a moment and then it dawned on him.

“Crap!!  I completely forgot it, it’s Krystal’s birthday,” he muttered.

Everyone froze.

Later that evening after finishing up dinner, the girls walked back to the hotel.  It was strange to find the suite in pitch black mode.

“Are they sleeping already?” Sulli asked.

“It’s only 8pm.  I doubt it,” Amber whispers.

Within seconds, the lights switched on and they appeared out from behind the previously closed doors and both Suho and Kris came out from the kitchen carrying the beautiful lit candle toward them.

“Happy Birthday Krystal!” All the boys shouted happily.

“Thank you,” she managed to squeak out.

“Make a wish,” Suho insisted.

Krystal silently made a wish and blew out the candles.  Everyone clapped and Suho handed the cake over to her to cut and share.

“It looks so good. I’m ready to dig in,” Sulli sang joyfully.

“Picture first,” Victoria suggested.

Kris took the picture with Krystal holding her cake.  Looking at the picture, he could tell there was some uncomfortable expression but who could blame her.

Later, in the kitchen both Luna and Krystal were cleaning up the dishes, Suho enters the kitchen while the rest have retired to their rooms.

“Luna, do you mind if I talk to Krystal alone for moment?” Suho asked.

“Of course not, I’ll see you in the room,” Luna told her while leaving them alone.

Krystal puts away the last plate, dried her hands and turned to face Suho but remained quiet.

“I’m sorry.  And I know that it may not mean much to you now but I’m really sorry.  I should have not offered you a break since I wanted you by my side.  Yet, I didn’t want to put you in a difficult position when clearly you can see that he was not going to give up easily on you.  I thought if I let you go, I would understand that with me, you can still do what you wanted to do but still remained by my side.  Instead you left my side and remained invisible if it wasn’t for the girls’ interference,” Suho thoughtfully apologized and explained his reason at the same time.

“I thought that day you wanted us to separate – that really hurt me.  And then it brought me back to our first meeting,” Krystal began to open up.

“What about our first meeting?” Suho asked.

“I thought, this guy can’t be serious about me but as time went one, I started to fall for you.  And then there were times that I thought your friends were not satisfied with me but they liked Luna – I never really understood that,” she answered quietly.

“There is a reason for that.  But it’s not my secret to share since it involves all the boys,” Suho explained.

Krystal frowned.

“But it’s not that they don’t like you, they’re more cautious since you are affiliated with Minho and his company is one our competitors.  So it’s only reasonable that they observe carefully before they react,” Suho tried to explain.

“Minho is a good friend of mine.  I know he can be a jerk at times but he’s very protective of his peers too,” Krystal defended her friend.

“That I can relate to but you have to understand where they are coming from too.  Once you get to know them, you’ll see why they are like that.  All I ask is for you to look at it from their perspective too,” Suho tried to find a common ground for the two.

But Krystal just shrugs.

“Very well.  I won’t force you to understand them but at least think of Luna before you make any remarks,” Suho’s last request before walking away.

Entering the bedroom, the girls were waiting for her and they were all smiling like DOPEY from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

“What is so….” Krystal started to say.

“Surprise!” They all shouted in unison.

They handed over a box that was beautifully wrapped.  Opening it, she sees an expensive perfume brand.

“Oh my god.  Thank you so much.  I love this brand and it was just too expensive for me alone to buy it,” Krystal jumped for joy.

“You are very welcome,” Victoria accepted for the group.

“But I hate to ruin the mood.  We do need to get up early tomorrow so we need to sleep early,” Luna said sadly.

“Early?” Victoria repeated.

“At dawn,” Luna mumbled.

Victoria just nodded instead of pushing for more.

At dawn, meaning at 4:00am, Kris came into the room trying to wake them up one by one.  Of course everyone was groggy with an exception to Luna.  In the sitting room, the boys were already awake and dressed to go.

“We’re late, so grab your duffle bag and you girls can just get dressed at Suho’s place,” Xiumin instructed