A/N: *peeks from behind door...looks safe*   Annyeong! *waves* I'm back! Did you guys miss me?

 

Lol, but on a more serious note, I really am sorry for making you guys wait so long and being MIA. I appreciate all the love and support you guys have given to me and to the stories I write ^^ *bows deeply*

 

These past few months have been crazy for me, esp with my last semester at grad school so I apologize for not updating my stories at all. I really wanted to post stuff during f(x)'s RPPP comeback/promotion period and for both Amber and Krystal's bdays to celebrate...but I just couldn't find the time T__T    Actually, right now, I don't really have the time to either b/c it's around 2:30am and I have to wake up at 5:30am to catch a flight. But b/c I felt bad for leaving you guys like this and yet you guys still read and post comments on my stories, I wanted to post a few stories to show my appreciation. It is nearing Christmas after all. ^^

 

Unfortunately, I will be out of the Country after today and won't be returning until mid-Jan so the other updates will have to wait until then. I won't be able to update b/c I won't have my laptop with me - only my phone. The good news is, however, I will officially be back to posting on a regular basis starting mid-January-ish so hopefully you guys will look forward to that ^^

 

For now, read on and enjoy~

 

(p.s. to those that spammed my pm box and was a bit stalker-ish...um...I appreciate your love for my stories as well, but perhaps tone it down a notch? a comment here and there or a couple post to my wall is good enough ^^)

 

 

 

Chapter 24

 

 

Amber’s POV

 

“Hyuna’s here.” Hyoyeon tilted her sunglasses down a bit to meet my eyes.

 

My first reaction was to groan in frustration.

 

Nothing good ever happens when this girl is around, especially things concerning Krystal. Not only is the younger girl always irritated by Hyuna's presence but she also gets extremely moody with me, for reasons I do not know. Now with her currently not on speaking terms with me, I really don't want to make her ignore me more than she already is.

 

“Where?” I asked through clenched teeth, my lips unmoving.

 

Hyoyeon bowed her head to make it look like she was apologizing to me. “She got away earlier when our guys went after her. Since she was tailing you guys, I'm guessing she's still around here somewhere so be careful.” Hyoyeon then straightened back up. “I'll give you the juicy details later. For now, just stay safe. Don't wander too far off from backup.”

 

I briefly eyed Krystal and Yoona before looking back at the girl in front of me, “Alright, I'll see you back at the hotel.”

 

Hyoyeon pushed her sunglasses up and nodded, “You got it.”

 

With that, the disguised girl turned around and walked away, disappearing into the crowd.

 

Sighing to myself, I quietly made my way back over to Yoona and Krystal, scanning our surroundings along the way.

 

Today just keeps getting worse and worse.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Yoona quietly asked me as I approached the two, having noticed my brief conversation with what looked like a tourist from afar.

 

“Yeah, I'm fine,” I replied and shifted my gaze over to Krystal who looked away as soon as our eyes met.

 

“Did you get your pictures?” I asked.

 

Krystal nodded but kept her eyes on some kids running around in circles, chasing and laughing with each other.

 

“Okay, well, let's get back to the others then,” I said and without another word, the three of us starting walking around the large stone monument.

 

Krystal was busy fiddling with the pictures on her phone so she didn't speak while Yoona was too busy eyeing and sneaking peaks at me from the other side of Krystal to strike up a conversation. It was almost comical the way she looked, with her squinting eyes and furrowed brows. It's as if she was trying to read my mind.

 

I knew she sensed something must've happened and wanted to know but I was too engrossed in trying to piece together the unanswered questions in my head about Hyuna and fighting with my brain about Krystal to explain to the curious girl.

 

My mind was too occupied with Hyuna, Hyuna and Krystal, Krystal, and Moody and Bipolar Krystal to think about anything else. Those four parts alone has already pushed me into overdrive.

 

As I was lost in my own thoughts, my eyes aimlessly fell to a guy storming his way in our direction, or more specifically, towards Krystal. He was speaking angrily into the phone that was held up against his left ear and appears to be oblivious to his surroundings.

 

As he got closer to us and didn't seem to be slowing down, I instinctively reached out and grabbed Krystal by the arm.

 

The younger girl who was still engrossed in her phone looked up at me as soon as she felt my hand on her arm but before she could say anything, with one swift tug, I pulled her towards me.

 

The force of the tug caused Krystal's body to collide against mine and the girl to let out a small yelp in surprise.

 

Yoona, who had seen the guy as well, was one second slower than me so her hand ended up grasping thin air.

 

“Yah,” Krystal stared up at me with a frown but I ignored it as I kept my gaze on the guy now swiftly passing between Krystal and Yoona, still very much engaged in his conversation with the person on the other line.

 

“Yah,” Krystal repeated and I finally tore my gaze away from the retreating guy's back.

 

“What?”

 

Krystal looked down at my hand on her arm then back up at me with questioning eyes. “What’re you doing?” asked the girl.

 

I followed her gaze. “You weren't paying attention to where you were going. You almost ran into that guy so I pulled you to the side,” I explained.

 

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Krystal still eyeing me.

 

“I didn't want him to bump into you or for you to fall down...” I reasoned as naturally as I could.

 

“...Well, he's gone now so...can you let go of my arm?” Krystal finally said, tugging at her arm slightly to try to free it from my grasp.

 

A hint of pink slowly crept into my cheeks at the realization that I was still holding the girl closely next to me, but I didn't let go.

 

“Ah, uhm...” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly with my free hand.

 

Technically, it was safe to let the girl go.

 

Eyeing our surrounding, there was nothing out of the ordinary or dangerous for me to have to keep Krystal so close to me. However, my hand didn’t seem to want to let go.

 

Not only does it like holding onto Krystal's soft arm, my body seems to also like her being this close next to me. My heart's not only beating fast but I can feel this weird light tingly sensation course through my body as she stares at me from such close proximity. Even though it's more of a glare than a stare, I was secretly happy for her to pay this much attention to me. She even spoke more than five words to me just now.

 

Then out of nowhere, something suddenly dawned on me.

 

Because it was such a drastic thought, I tensed and froze in shock.

 

 

Do I...

 

 

 

...like Krystal...

 

 

 

...as more than just a friend? Someone I’m supposed to protect?

 

 

 

I blinked once, then twice as the thought slowly burned deep into my brain.

 

Thinking about it, that would explain a lot of things I've been feeling lately - the sweating, the blushing, the nervousness, the rapid beating of the heart, the adamant convincing that I have absolutely no feelings for Hyuna whatsoever to Krystal, the sad and depressed feeling from being ignored...everything. It all makes sense.

 

Every time Yoona would tease the two of us, I would always become too flustered with the older girl to care about anything else. My mind would become too occupied with thoughts of revenge to really listen to what Yoona was actually saying or implying. Did she perhaps see something between Krystal and I that I couldn't see?

 

“Well?” Krystal's voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

 

Due to my new found realization, I immediately released the girl's arm and took a step back in panic. “W-what?” I stuttered, shoving both my hands into my pants pocket.

 

Both Yoona and Krystal gave me a weird look but since I had let go of Krystal’s arm like she had asked me to, the younger girl fixed her clothes and proceeded to walk away.

 

Yoona, on the other hand, arched a brow at me. “You okay?” she asked.

 

Half of me wanted to nod and say yes but the other half wanted to say no. I ended up moving my head in a strange circular motion, stuck between nodding up and down versus side to side.

 

“…I don’t understand but okay…” Yoona reached out and gave the side of my arm a pat before following after Krystal.

 

I stared at Krystal’s retreating back and mentally berated myself.

 

There's no way...

 

How could I not have seen this coming? How could I not have noticed my own feelings changing for the younger girl?

 

More importantly, I’m an idiot for letting it happen. My goal was to protect Krystal until the end of the assignment, not go from protecting to liking. The President is going to have my head for this.

 

Aish. What am I going to do now? I ruffled my hair in frustration before quickly running after the duo to catch up.

 

 

--- --- ---

 

 

“Cheers!” Sooyoung held her cup out towards the center of the table. “May the rest of our stay in Paris be filled with yummy food and…more yummy food!”

 

No one except for Yoona lifted her cup up to toast the girl. “Cheers, Unnie.”

 

Sooyoung smiled at Yoona before frowning at the rest of us. “How impolite –” the frowning girl started but was interrupted when a waitress approached the table.

 

Seven of the thirteen girls sitting at the table immediately recognized who the waitress was while the rest looked up from their menus ready to order.

 

Hyoyeon smiled cheekily at us and winked before proceeding to take everyone’s order in her broken English with French accent. Luckily none of the girls spoke French well so they didn’t really pick up on her semi-failed attempt. Tiffany, Jessica, and Krystal just thought that Hyoyeon was cute trying to speak in English with her French accent even though it was mostly her horrendous English at play.

 

Dinner went by considerably well, much to my surprise. Krystal seemed to be in a much better mood after stuffing her belly with food and didn’t give me much of a cold shoulder anymore. I found her unique trait for food rather cute and kept a mental note to feed her something yummy the next time she gets mad at me.

 

Since it was late, everyone decided to call it a night and we all headed back to the hotel. Because of the happy atmosphere the others provided, I managed to start several small conversations with Krystal along the way. The latter didn’t ignore me like earlier in the day and actually replied, though her voice was much softer than usual.

 

“So I told Luna that Bap was –”

 

“You’re weird, you know that?” Krystal suddenly cut me off in the middle of my storytelling.

 

I turned to look at the girl in surprise. The comment came out of nowhere.

 

“What?”

 

Did she just say I’m weird?

 

“You’re weird,” Krystal repeated without turning her head, her eyes focused on the buildings ahead.

 

I wasn't sure how to respond. “Err...I am?”

 

“Mhmm,” Krystal hummed softly.

 

I pursed my lips and eyed the girl quietly, not sure where she was going with this seemingly random topic. I wasn't even sure if she was complimenting me, insulting me, or teasing me...or all three.

 

“Have you ever been in a relationship before?” Krystal asked.

 

“Eh?” I was once again surprised by the strange question and after a moment’s hesitation finally answered.

 

“Um...yes...I have.” I rubbed the back of my neck in confusion and slightly turned my head around to look at Yoona who was walking alongside Seohyun behind us.

 

 Knowing Yoona could hear what we were saying and was most likely listening, I caught the older girl’s eyes and silently questioned her. Unfortunately, all Yoona could do was shake her head and shrug, indicating that she has no idea why Krystal was suddenly asking these questions.

 

“Mmm,” Krystal hummed again, her expression basked in concentration. “...but it’s strange...if you’ve been in a relationship before, how come you’re so dense? And confusing?” the younger girl spoke to herself quietly.

 

Since we were passing through a much quieter area of the city, I actually caught what the girl said. Unfortunately, it only made me even more confused and perplexed.

 

“Um...” I scratched the side of my head and was still in the process of gathering my thoughts and forming a solid question when Krystal suddenly turned her head and looked at me, causing my mind to go blank in surprise at the unexpected eye contact.

 

“Why are you so hard to understand?” the girl asked.

 

“H-huh?” I tilted my head a little, not sure if I was hearing her right. I was now beyond confused. The questions just randomly pop up and there seems to be no pattern to them. “A-am I?”

 

Krystal nodded, her gaze still on me which made me nervous. “You are. I have the hardest time trying to understand you. You’re so confusing it gives me a headache.”

 

“...I...am?” I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t even sure what was really happening at the moment.

 

“Yes,” Krystal answered before turning back to face the front. “I mean, you act all extra caring and nice towards me, taking care of me when I’m sick, making me breakfast, giving me an expensive looking necklace, following me wherever I go – which is a bit stalker-ish in my opinion but I’ll let that one slide for now – always seemingly worried about me, holding my hand and making me feel as if I’m special even though you act like this with everyone else and always seem so secretive. And just when I thought that maybe you might...” Krystal trailed off and stopped talking.

 

I had opted to quietly wait for the girl to continue whenever she was ready but my curiosity got the best of me.  “...and just when you thought that maybe I might...what?” I asked.

 

After what seemed like forever, Krystal finally sighed and shook her head. “Nevermind. Forget it.”

 

“What? Why? What were you going to say?” I persisted. It seemed like it was something important.

 

Krystal shook her head again. “Nothing. I was just thinking out loud. Pretend you didn’t hear anything.”

 

“What? How can I if I already heard it? Come on, tell me. I don’t like to be left hanging,” I pleaded, unconsciously reaching out and grabbing Krystal’s hand, shaking it lightly.

 

I didn’t really realize what I was doing until Krystal looked over at me briefly before looking away shyly.

 

Almost immediately after, I blushed and quickly let go of her hand, as if it had burned me.

 

It felt as if I was a little kid again crushing on someone for the first time.

 

It’s not like I’ve never held someone’s hand before and my past relationships had countless hand-holding moments so it didn’t make sense for me to act like this.

 

I know I just realized earlier today that I might like Krystal as more than just someone I’m supposed to protect, but still, I shouldn’t be behaving like this. I’m already way past puberty and first crushes.

 

Yoona’s muffled snickering behind us didn’t help either. If Seohyun wasn’t next to her, I would’ve kicked the girl already.

 

By the time the burning sensation in my cheeks had died down, we had arrived back at the hotel.

 

After bidding each other goodnight, everyone returned to their respective rooms to rest.

 

Krystal and Seohyun, who had gone to take a shower first, were both fast asleep on their beds not long after lying down.

 

“Hey, I know tonight’s my turn to keep watch and all, but do you mind taking over the task for an hour or two? I need to go talk to Hyoyeon and get an update,” I whispered to Yoona in the other room after taking a nice relaxing shower.

 

Yoona, who took a shower before me and had just climbed onto her bed, picked up the dictionary she has been reading from the nightstand and waved it at me. “Take as long as you need. This bad boy will keep me occupied till forever.”

 

I laughed, “Awesome. Krystal’s asleep but call me if there’s an emergency, okay?”

 

“I know, I know. Don’t worry. They’re both asleep anyway. The worst that could happen is both of them start snoring or something. Now go and get updated so you can come back and update me. I’m dying to know too.”

 

“Alright,” I chuckled and turned around to leave. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

 

 

--- --- ---

 

 

“Knock. Knock.”

 

Without turning around, Hyoyeon gestured for me to come in with a swift wave of her hand.

 

I closed the door behind me and made my way over.

 

“Have a seat.” Hyoyeon pulled a stool from underneath the desk next to her without taking her eyes off the laptop screen in front of her.

 

“Is it serious?” I asked taking a seat and eyeing the file on the screen. A serious Hyoyeon is never a good thing.

 

A few minutes of silence went by save for the light tapping of the keyboard on the laptop.

 

I knew whatever Hyoyeon was doing was important so I refrained from saying anything, choosing to silently wait until the girl finished her task before asking about Hyuna.

 

“I think...” Hyoyeon briefly stopped typing to crack her fingers before resuming, the small frown never leaving her face since I entered the room.

 

“You think...?” I questioned.

 

After a few more clicks here and there, Hyoyeon finally stopped typing altogether and turned to look at me. “I think they’re toying with us, Amber.”

 

 

--- --- ---

 

 

Author’s POV

 

 

Gurgle gurgle gurgle.

 

 

“...”

 

 

Gurgle gurgle gurgle gurgle.

 

 

“Ugh...”

 

 

Gurrrgggllleeee gggurgggle gurrrgleee.

 

 

“Argh...the pain...” Yoona slid down until she was lying sideways on the bed, clutching her stomach in pain. “Not now, please...”

 

As if to taunt her pleading, Yoona’s stomach twisted itself into even more knots and upped the pain, causing the doe-eyed girl to squirm into a fetal position.

 

 

Gurrrgggllleeee gggurgggle gurrrgleee.

 

 

“Argghh...I shouldn’t have...eaten...all...those...ice cream...” Yoona agonizingly breathed out as she silently prayed for the pain to subside. Usually, she would just rush to the bathroom to unload the excessive waste inside her body, but this time she couldn’t because Amber had entrusted both Krystal and Seohyun in her care. Even though they were sleeping and she would just be in the bathroom, there was still that small possibility something could happen while she wasn’t in the room. After all, they were always taught to stick to worst case scenarios and there was no telling how long her stomach pain would keep her inside the bathroom.

 

“I wonder...if Taeyeon unnie...is experiencing...the same pain as me...or worse...” Yoona clutched the ends of her shirt even tighter as an excruciating pain coursed through her stomach, almost causing an accident to happen right on the bed. Thankfully it subsided just in time.

 

Yoona silently cursed Taeyeon for challenging her to an ice cream slurping competition. The two had started off each quietly enjoying their own small bowl of ice cream after dinner when one thing led to another. Before Yoona knew, she had several bowls of ice cream in front of her and Taeyeon excitedly shouting 1-2-3-GO! beside her.

 

Although the two girls were both very tough contenders when it came to ice cream, Taeyeon eventually won out Yoona when the doe-eyed girl could not get over her brain freeze in time.

 

Taeyeon continued on through several more bowls before the brain freeze caught up with her and rendered her immobile in her seat.

 

 

Gurrrgggllleeee gggurgggle gurrrgleee.

 

 

“Aiisshhh...where are you, Amber...” Yoona squirmed on the bed and tried to reach for her phone on the nightstand that suddenly seemed very far away.

 

 

Gurrrgggllleeee gggurgggle gurrrgleee.

 

 

“Aish. Screw this.”

 

 

 

 

 

-----

End of Chapter 24.

Okay, I know I said there would be a big moment in my a/n of the last chap but I changed it up a bit so now it's prolonged...  ^^;

Anyway, as an apology for my long absence, I have posted the next chap as well. Hope you guys enjoy the double update~ 

I'm a bit rusty with my stories and writing after being away for so long T__T mianhe if all my updates, not just for this story, is a bit off...