Chapter 27

Author’s POV

It’s the first day back to class and nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Their last class of the day just ended and half of Amber’s group is heading off to the library while the other half is heading back to the dorms.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Seohyun looked at Yoona hopefully.

Yoona, who had to stay with Krystal, shook her head. “No, I’m kind of tired so I’ll just go back to the dorm with Amber and Krystal.”

“Oh, okay.” Seohyun sounded slightly disappointed but masked it with a smile. “I’ll see you later tonight then.”

Yoona managed to send Seohyun off with a smile before her face totally fell. She sniffed quietly to herself as she watched Seohyun, Luna, Victoria and Sulli head towards the library. If only Krystal wasn’t sleepy and was the studious type.

“Are you sure you don’t want to go with her?” Amber held back a laugh as she looked at Yoona. The older girl looked like a sad puppy locked up in the pound with no family to feed or play with. It was quite sad but funny at the same time.

Even Krystal noticed.

“Unnie...are you okay?”

Yoona sniffed one last time and nodded with dejected shoulders. “I’m fine. Come on, let’s go back.”

“Okay, but can I use the restroom first? It’s kind of urgent,” Krystal smiled apologetically.

The other two girls nodded and went back inside the building so Krystal could use the restroom.

Yoona went in with Krystal to keep her safe while Amber stood guard outside by the door. She was leaning against the wall going through her phone’s playlist when a pair of white shoes stopped in front of her.

Amber looked up and immediately clenched her jaws. “What do you want?” she asked harshly.

“Well, hello to you too.” Hyuna smiled, unfazed by the tone and look.

“What do you want?” Amber repeated, narrowing her eyes at the girl.

“What, I can’t say hi to a friend?”

“We’re not friends.”

“Ouch. May I ask why not? I mean, I treat you as a friend.”

Just then, Yoona came out of the restroom. She immediately frowned when she saw Hyuna.

“What are you doing here?” the doe-eyed girl growled unhappily at the brunette.

Hyuna smirked. “Well, you two seem to be having a bad day. Wake up on the wrong side of the bed today?”

“For your information, we were having a great day until you showed up,” Yoona retorted and crossed her arms. “That should tell you something.”

“I see.” Hyuna nodded still with a smile. “I was just trying to be friendly but I guess not.”

“You guessed right. Now leave.” Yoona bit out, wanting to wipe that stupid smile off the girl’s face.

“I will as soon as I— oh there she is!” Hyuna’s smile grew wider when she saw who she was looking for.

Krystal walked out of the restroom and furrowed her brows when Hyuna approached her. Amber immediately stepped between the two.

“Leave, Hyuna,” Amber hissed under her breath.

“What’s going on?” Krystal asked, taking a step back and looking between Amber and Hyuna.

“Oh, nothing.” Hyuna had an evil glint in her eyes. “I was just telling Amber how great it was to see her in Paris. It was fun.”

“What? You were in Paris?” Krystal asked.

Amber knew what Hyuna was doing and almost growled at the girl but held it in. Instead, she spun on her heels, grabbed Krystal by the arm and pulled her in the opposite direction. Yoona glared at Hyuna before following after Amber and Krystal.

“Okay! See you guys in class tomorrow! Don’t forget to bring an umbrella, I hear it’s going to rain!” Hyuna shouted down the hallway, a smirk playing on her lips as she turned and left the building.

 

~~~

Amber pushed the bedroom door open and Krystal looked up, their eyes meeting.

“What’re you doing here?” Krystal asked with a frown.

Amber wasn’t sure if Krystal meant to sound as harsh as she did or if it was just the quietness in the room that made her voice louder, but either way, she was hurt by the tone of her voice.

“It’s my room too,” Amber answered calmly, trying to appear unaffected as she walked over to grab a random textbook lying on her desk. She then turned and walked back towards the door, stopping briefly as she remembered her original intention of coming to the room. “By the way, dinner’s ready.”

Krystal didn’t reply and Amber let out a deep sigh as she walked back into the living room, plopping herself lifelessly on the couch. She stared at the textbook in her hand for a second before flinging it to the side carelessly. She closed her eyes and massaged her forehead as the events from earlier replayed in her head.


“Krystal! Krystal wait! Where are you going?!” Amber ran after the younger girl and caught her by the arm. “We need to talk.”

“I have nothing to say to you!” Krystal shook Amber’s grip off.

Amber stumbled back a step, surprised by the force. “Why are you being like this?”

“What do you expect me to be like after what you did?!”

“What I did? I didn’t do anything!”

“You lied to me!”

“I didn’t lie to you!”

“You told me Hyuna didn’t go to Paris!” Krystal shouted as she turned and started walking again.

“She didn’t!” Amber defended and quickly followed.

“She said she saw you!”

“She’s lying!”

“And why would she do that?!” Krystal stopped in front of their dorm entrance.

“To break us up! To make you mad at me! To ruin our friendship! I don’t know!” Amber was breathing heavily from all the shouting. She was tired of arguing and trying to explain herself. “Listen, if anybody should be mad around here, it should be me. You have been hot and cold to me ever since we met. You talk to me one second and completely ignore me the next. I don’t even know what I’m doing wrong most of the time. This game of yours... it’s tiring... can’t you just—”

“You think this is a game?”

Amber immediately regretted her choice of words when Krystal turned to look at her. She swallowed, suddenly becoming extremely dry. She thought Krystal was going to hit her but the younger girl shook her head in disappointment instead and walked away into the building.


The soft scratching of wood against tile drew Amber from her thoughts. She turned her head slightly and saw Krystal taking a seat at the kitchen counter. She was silently grateful that the younger girl wasn’t going to starve herself because of her.

Amber turned back to face the front and picked up the textbook she had carelessly tossed away earlier: Calculus – Early Transcendentals. Well, if there was one thing she liked about math, it was the fact that all the problems can be solved one way or another. It’s a clear step by step process that will eventually have an answer. Compared to math, Krystal is the complete opposite. Why couldn’t Krystal be as easy to understand as math? No matter how hard she tries to figure Krystal out, she just couldn’t. When she thinks she’s close, some new variable or variables pop up and its back to square one again.

“Are you not eating?”

Amber blinked a few times and turned her head. “Me?” She pointed at herself, surprised that Krystal spoke to her first and seemed to be considerate.

“Do you see anyone else in the room?”

“...No...” Amber mumbled to herself with a slight pout. She then smiled a little at the younger girl. “I’ll eat later.”

“Eat now.” Krystal pulled out the chair next to her then turned back to her plate without another word.

Even though it was a command, Amber was more than willing to obey, silently happy that the younger girl is okay with them eating together. Perhaps Krystal was no longer mad at her. Maybe this is the right time to talk to Krystal about Hyuna.

“So—” Amber didn’t even get to finish saying the word when Krystal cut her off.

“Eat.”

That was the last word Krystal spoke that night even though she didn’t seem to be mad anymore. Amber wanted to explain some things but Krystal wouldn’t listen so she had no other choice but to quietly mope around in the living room after dinner.

 

~~~

“Still mad?” Yoona asked quietly as she and Amber waited in the living room for Krystal to finish getting ready.

Amber shook her head.

“Not talking to you?”

A nod.

Yoona gave Amber a consoling pat on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, couples always fight. It’ll be over before you know it.”

“What the—” Amber was about to smack the girl when Krystal walked out with her bag in hand.

“I’m ready, let’s go.”

“Yes! Let’s!” Yoona immediately hopped up from the couch and skipped over towards the front door to put on her shoes.

Amber glared at the girl from behind as she trailed after her. Yoona only grinned when she caught the deadly eyes piercing a hole through her.

The three girls eventually left their dorm and headed downstairs to the lobby. As they exited the elevator, they ran into the others also heading to their classes.

“Jessie always makes fun of my laugh, that’s why I’m self-conscious when I laugh now...” Tiffany pouted at the blonde who merely shrugged nonchalantly behind her thick sunglasses.

Taeyeon gave the taller girl a soft pat on the back. “She can make fun of the way you laugh all she wants but I think it’s the cutest sound I’ve ever heard.”

“But... there’s no sound...”

“Shut up, Sooyoung.” Taeyeon shot the taller girl a glare when she heard her muttering off to the side.

Sooyoung stuck out her tongue for a brief second before returning to her bag of chips.

“Aw, that’s so sweet of you, Taeyeon.” Tiffany, who had not heard Sooyoung’s remark, broke out into one of her killer eye-smiles that made Taeyeon weak at the knees.

“I-It’s nothing.” Taeyeon rubbed the back of her neck shyly and looked away.

“Oh god, I think my breakfast is coming up,” Sooyoung gagged and hit her chest in exaggeration.

“Hi Unnies, what’s going on?” Yoona chirped as she snatched a couple of chips from Sooyoung’s bag. “Did I miss anything?”

“Nothing much, just Taeyeon flirting, Sooyoung being a pig, and Seohyun planning to take over the world. You know, the usual,” Yuri replied and earned several protests in response to which she coolly shrugged off with a question towards Amber. “Hey, what’re you looking at over there, Amber?”

“Huh?” Amber looked up from her phone. “Oh, just the weather. Checking to see if it’ll rain later today.”

Yoona immediately frowned when she heard that.

“Rain?” Yuri asked. “But it hasn’t rained for the past three weeks and according to the weather forecast, it’s not going to rain for another week.”

“Yeah, it’s supposed to be hot and sunny all week,” Sunny chirped then grinned, “like me.”

“I know. That’s what I’m seeing too...” Amber sighed and placed her phone back into her pocket. She just couldn’t shake the feeling of what Hyuna had said yesterday. Why did the girl say it might rain today and to bring an umbrella? The weather has been pretty consistent for the past month and judging by the clear skies, the chance of it just raining out of the blue was highly unlikely.

Amber was still deep in her own thoughts when Yoona nudged her. She looked up to see that everyone had gone out the door except for the two of them and Krystal.

“You okay?” Yoona asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”

“You seem distracted.”

“It’s nothing,” Amber shook her head and adjusted her bag. “Let’s go, shall we?” She then started heading for the door.

Yoona and Krystal hesitantly followed after the tomboy, both worried for different reasons. Yoona knew what Amber was thinking about and didn’t like the feeling brewing in the back of her mind while Krystal thought she was the reason for Amber’s lack of focus. It made her feel guilty for ignoring the girl even though she wasn’t mad anymore. Honestly, after Amber’s little outburst yesterday, it really got her thinking about the two of them. Amber seemed genuinely sincere and perhaps her mood swings were a bit over the top around the tomboy. Maybe it’s her turn to apologize for once.

Taking a deep breath, Krystal confidently walked up next to Amber who was busy studying the clouds in the sky, trying to see any signs of possible rain.

“Hey.”

Amber turned her head and raised a questioning brow.

Krystal swallowed her pride and forced out the words that were seemingly stuck in . “I’m sorry. About yesterday.”

The sudden, out of nowhere, apology caught Amber off guard and she almost tripped over a nonexistent crack on the sidewalk. “W-what?” Amber quickly steadied herself as she stared at the girl.

Krystal bit back a smile when she saw the cute surprised face looking at her. “I said, I’m sorry about yesterday. I shouldn’t have blown up at you like that. It was childish of me.”

“Uh...” Amber didn’t know what to say.

Krystal finally let out a soft chuckle. “Bugs are gonna fly into your mouth if you don’t close it soon.”

Amber blinked and quickly closed . She then blushed in embarrassment.

Krystal turned to look at the buildings ahead. “I can trust you, right?”

“W-what?” Amber was again caught off guard.

“I can trust you...right?” Krystal repeated. She had a soft gaze in her eyes.

Amber clenched her jaws and swallowed hesitantly. She wanted to say yes but knew that would be a lie. Even though her feelings are genuine at the moment, her very presence next to the girl did not start out as such.

“Amber?”

“Huh?” Amber snapped out of her thoughts.

Krystal had turned back to look at the girl, staring at her straight in the eyes. “Can I trust you?”

It was a simple question but the intense stare from Krystal made Amber feel vulnerable and small. Her emotions were scattered so far apart it was becoming hard for her to think and act rationally. The only reason she is here in the first place is to protect Krystal, nothing more, nothing less. But now with feelings added into the equation, the distinct line drawn between the two has become muddied. Trust and honesty almost always go hand in hand but Amber can never and should never reveal her true identity or intent. Unfortunately, as soon as the assignment comes to an end, they would part ways. That was how things worked. But for now...

Amber forced out a small smile and nodded. “Yes. You can trust me.”

Krystal failed to detect the tentative look in Amber’s eyes and gave a satisfied smile. “Good. And you can trust me too.”

There was a moment of silence as the two stared at each other quietly, both wanting something more but ultimately held back by fear.

“Hey, you guys can trust me too. I’m very trustworthy,” Yoona suddenly interrupted and just like that, the moment was gone.

Amber and Krystal both turned to look at Yoona who smiled innocently, seemingly clueless of her interruption. The two stared at the older girl impassively for a few seconds before turning and walking away.

“Oh?” Yoona watched the two leave in surprise. “Hey wait, where are you guys going?!” She quickly ran after the two. “What? You guys don’t believe me?” She tried to squeeze in between Amber and Krystal but couldn’t. “It’s true!” Yoona tried again to get in between the two. “You can ask Hyunnie! She’ll tell you! You guys know Hyunnie never lies! ...Hey, wait!”

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End of Chapter 27.