Chapter 2: Transient And Lasting Friendship(s)

Sulli was still trying to understand why she had agreed to go shopping with Luna when two things were clear. One: Sulli only knew the basic information about Luna and that was her name. And two: Sulli had no money for shopping. Either way, the doll like brunette was in Luna's car and going with her to wherever she felt like shopping.

She turned the corner and parked in an almost vacant parking lot. Sulli sighed as the blonde turned off the engine and threw her keys into her purse. The two exited the car, the doors closed and locked. Sulli walked by Luna's side as they exited the lot. Sulli looked around—she recognized the area. Luna had taken them to the mini-mall, a bunch of stores connected to one another. It was where she usually got her gag t-shirts when she had money. Sulli followed her into a store she hadn't seen before; it must've been new.

"I told you," Sulli began as Luna scanned a rack of '40% Off!'clothes, "I have no money right now."

"I'll pay for you," She replied with a small yawn following. Sulli blinked a few times, her mind trying to register the words that had just come out of the girl's mouth.

"The catch?" Luna shrugged.

"None."

"You mean this isn't a scheme to get you to spend large amounts of money on me so you can own me in a sense?" Luna chuckled a bit before giving the girl the infamous Choi stare.

"Not unless you want it to be that way." Sulli shook her head and stretched her arms. She wasn't exactly used to people buying things for her; she was independent and didn't need anyone's money. Even so, she wasn't sure if this generosity coming from Luna would last long.

She looked around the store, admiring the clothes. She especially liked the dresses. Sulli scanned through the racks of dresses, finding a few that she liked. She tossed them over her arm and proceeded to the dressing rooms.

In the end, Sulli got four new dresses, a few t-shirts, a new pair of jeans, two new pairs of Converse, and three new pairs of flats. Sulli knew Luna and Minho had money to their names, just like she did. Even so, she was on estranged terms with her parents because of…many factors.

The two sat outside a cafe, sipping lattes. Luna stared at the girl before her. It was then that she remembered Krystal telling her once that Sulli was beautiful. As Luna's eyes scanned her, she wondered why everyone said she was beautiful; she looked like any other girl. Maybe it was the t-shirt and jeans or maybe it was the fact that the girl looked absolutely miserable. If she was, Luna was determined to find out why.

"Hey," She began, "you'd look prettier if you stopped glaring at everyone." Sulli's gaze flickered from Luna to an older woman wheeling around a crying newborn back to the latte grasped between her hands. Sulli took a long drink of the latte before smacking her lips and shrugging. "I mean it."

"I'm sure you do, Choi—"

"Luna. Choi is too formal." Luna probably didn't realize it but she and Minho were more alike than they thought they were, starting with the first name basis.

"Okay," Sulli said, unsure if herself. The shopping trip was fun and was pretty successful in making her forget about everything. But then the trip came to a slow with her and Luna just lounging in the cafe and everything she wanted to forget was taking over her thoughts once again. Couldn't she have a day of peace instead of thinking about them? It would've done her a lot of good.

Luna was about to speak when her phone buzzed. She reached for it, Sulli watching her as she answered the call.

"Hello?" Sulli took a sip of her latte, her dark eyes never leaving the blonde. She watched as Luna's eyes flickered everywhere as she listened to the person speak. "Sorry, Krystal, but I'm out."

Her. Again. Her name, her appearance, was appearing in Sulli's life more than she would've liked. Krystal and she weren't friends; they hadn't been in years. It was always about Krystal—who was going to sit next to her on the school bus, who was going with her to prom, who was going to marry her—and Sulli was simply ruining the picture. She shook her head, the final swallows of her latte sliding down .

"Yeah...I haven't seen 'Ssul' since the day you told me to investigate..." Luna's gaze fixed on Sulli and while Sulli shook her head, Luna just stared. "Sorry...okay, fine." She hung up, a sigh escaping her lips.

"What was that about?" Sulli asked. Luna finished her latte and the two then left the cafe, shopping bags in their hands.

"Krystal wanted to know if I saw you over the last couple of days." Sulli rolled her eyes. Luna glanced at the girl as they entered the parking lot. "What's going on?"

Sulli hesitated, her teeth scraping her lip, before muttering, "A lot." The two entered her car, bags in the bag. Luna started the car up and began to drive off.

"It's a nice day. We've got time."

In the car ride from the mini-mall to the park, Sulli had confided in Luna. She wasn't sure what she trusted about Luna but she felt like she could tell her all of her secrets and not have them blabbed or judged. The blonde simply listened and when it was over she was still silent so her mind could soak it in.

The two sat on a park bench underneath a tree. It overlooked the park's pond, filled with ducks. Luna blinked a few times, Sulli shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had told her about her secret, and reluctantly growing, love for Krystal's husband. She told her about how bitterly their friendship ended and how Krystal invited her to be one of her bridesmaids even though they hadn't spoken in years. She told Luna that Krystal was the center of attention, that she felt stupid for befriending the girl in the first place.

Luna shook her head, sharp eyes fixated on Sulli.

"And that's it? You didn't fight for him?" She opened to respond but all that came out was a weak sigh. She considered it for weeks after they announced their relationship but could never do it; back then, Krystal was her friend. "No wonder he's someone else's now."

Sulli mentally cursed before snapping, "Don't remind me."

"Fight for him," Luna stated. Sulli gave her a look that read skepticism. Fight for someone who was happily married and not in love with her? Yeah, she was going to do that and make a damn fool out of herself. Luna shook her head.

"He doesn't love me. What's the point?" Luna shrugged, a soft breeze blowing their hair in front of their faces.

"To at least know that it could've been possible." The brunette rolled her eyes, her disbelief covering her face. She leaned forward, her elbows resting on her thighs as she cradled her face in her hands. "It's always better to know the what if instead of never knowing."

She had a point. And Sulli hated that she did. Fighting wasn't what she wanted to do. She wanted to destroy her feelings for Taemin, not make them stronger. Besides, ruining relationships wasn't her style unless it was absolutely necessary. Even so, she was happy without him. She was fine with her loneliness.

"I'll help you." Now that threw Sulli off.

Luna was going to help her get Taemin? Sulli sat up, eyes narrowed, a deep frown on her lips. Luna crossed her legs and smirked.

"You're going to help me?" The blonde nodded. "Why?"

Luna sighed, her eyes examining her nails for the hundredth time that day. She shrugged before saying, "Two simple reasons really. One—Krystal broke Minho's heart and I want revenge." Sulli laughed a bit, much to Luna's chagrin.

"You're getting revenge on the girl who broke your brother's heart." Luna blushed and glared at the girl.

"I'm protective of him and Krystal knew that. I told her to take care of him, not ruin him. So I want to teach her a valuable lesson," She replied with pink cheeks. Sulli could understand that; siblings that looked out for each other. She was an only child but she still understood the relationship between a brother and sister.

"And the second reason?"

"They don't really look good together. I'd rather she go for Key than Taemin. It's weird." Sulli agreed with that. Krystal and Taemin always looked weird to her. "You look better with him even if you two weren't together."

Sulli smiled a bit before saying, "Thanks." Silence stretched between the two but it wasn't awkward. More like the two were thinking about the words just exchanged. It was then that Sulli asked, "What now?"

"I've got a plan," Luna answered. She stood, Sulli following suit, and walked out of the park to her car. "We need to make a quick stop to your place."

Luna opened Sulli's closet, her fingers rummaging through the clothes she had. The brunette sat on her bed with a cup of juice in her hands, legs crossed, hair up in a sloppy bun. Luna sighed at the clothes in her large closet; there were more t-shirts and jeans than Luna had in her own closet.

"Found any treasure in there?" Sulli sarcastically asked. Luna sighed, dusting off her hands.

"If you call gag t-shirts and jeans treasure." Luna sat next to Sulli and looked her over. She had forced the girl to shower and wear her robe. Sulli didn't know why but she didn't bother to ask. She took a long drink of her juice before placing the empty cup on her nightstand. Luna believed that she had some beauty somewhere. All she had to do was bring it out. "It's a good thing we went shopping today."

"And why's that?" Luna stood and grabbed Sulli's wrist. She dragged Sulli over to her closet and pointed at it.

"You need to dress better. I did manage to find some dresses you shoved in a little bin." Sulli blushed, her fingers playing with the strings on her robe. She slapped her hands against her thighs before sighing dramatically.

"So what? What does me dressing better—"

"And doing your hair, and wearing some freaking lip balm because your lips are really chapped," Luna interjected. "And some lotion would actually do your face some good." Sulli glared at the taller blonde before groaning.

"Well what does all of that stuff have to do with Krystal and Taemin?"

Luna smirked, crossed her arms over her chest, chuckled a bit before saying in a clear bold voice, "You're going to make him fall in love with you."

As Sulli walked the streets of downtown Seoul, she was still wrapping her brain around what Luna had planned. Make Taemin fall out of love with Krystal and in love with her? That was about as possible as monkeys flying out of her . She sighed and shook her head. It was too good to be true, but she smiled. After Luna lectured her about her clothes, she felt different. Maybe more in tune with her feminine nature. Either way, she liked what she was wearing.

She wore a white baby doll dress, cinched at her bust, flowed out with grace and stopped before her knees. She also wore a red mini cardigan, one button fastened, and red ballet flats with bows on the top. She carried a white tote on her shoulder, filled with schoolbooks and her own personal items. She tied a ribbon in her hair and let the brown curles fall out on their own. Yes: Sulli felt much prettier.

She arrived at the cafe Luna told her to go to that morning. She looked around, searching for her, but came up empty-handed. Just when she was about to leave, her eyes caught sight of dark brown hair. And the dark brown was moving.

Krystal. Sulli ducked behind a wall, her suspicions confirmed. Luna had sent her there to speak with Krystal. She cursed under her breath and pulled out her phone to dialup the devil herself. The rings filled her ear until she decided to pick up.

"Hello?" Luna breathed into the phone.

"Luna!" Sulli exclaimed. "What the hell is this?"

Luna chuckled before saying, "You're at the cafe? You see Krystal?"

"Yeah, I see her. I don't want to talk to her," Sulli snapped.

"Well you have to. A minor step in this process—become friends, again, with the wife of the target. She's your connection to him." She had to admit: it was ingenious. Her and Krystal would become friends again, hang out more, Taemin would hang out with them. Even so, Sulli already knew where she stood and felt about Krystal. "Or you can leave and totally forget about him for the rest of your life and grow up to be a miserable old woman whose best friends are a bunch of cats."

Sulli groaned before mumbling a simple, "Fine."

"Good. Call me afterwards." And then she hung up. The brunette cursed several times before in a deep breath, straightening her back to look more confident like she did in elementary school, and walked over to the table where Krystal sat.

"Krystal," She greeted as she sat before the other brunette. Krystal smiled quickly, her eyes searching all over Sulli. She looked at Krystal; she wore an off-shoulder zebra print romper, gold gladiator sandals with her toes painted black, her dark hair curled with a golden barrette pinning her left hair to the side.

"Ssul." Sulli laid her tote near Krystal's oversized purse and sighed. She didn't want to talk to her. If it was wrong to hold a grudge against people, Sulli didn't care. She betrayed her, hurt her in the worst ways possible. The memories of those days replayed in her head but she shook her head.

"You look...nice," Krystal said with a small sigh following. She laid her hands flat on the table, the rings on her finger gleaming against the sunlight. Sulli's hands tightened into fists on her lap.

"Thanks." Sulli wasn't sure if Krystal knew that Luna had set up this little meeting but she probably did. She just wondered what she told her and how much.

"Luna called you here?" Sulli nodded.

"What did she tell you?"

Krystal smiled uneasily and said, "She said we're being stupid for arguing and that we should make up. We're best friends." Sulli wanted to laugh. Luna was definitely a psychotic genius. But she smiled herself.

"She's kind of right." Krystal grinned, her fingers playing with a curl.

"Kind of? Try totally right." Sulli gave a fake laugh, her true intention to shake her head. Since when did Krystal become so superficial, so transparent?

"Yeah," Sulli replied. She sighed. "Look, I'm willing to...to..." She didn't want to say it, but she also didn't want to grow old alone. She gulped, feeling liked it was stuffed with bricks, and forced the words off her tongue into the world.

"I'm willing to repair this friendship if you are." Sulli's eyes watched her intently. Her pink lips parted and she smiled. Hesitation, happiness, forgiveness passed through her brown orbs. She her lips—they were no longer chapped for she invested in some lip balm—before smiling.

"I am," Krystal finally responded. The two smiled like idiots before the dark haired woman stood and walked over to Sulli's side. She wrapped her arms around the tall girl, Sulli hesitantly following suit. As she hugged Krystal, a perpetual thought overwhelmed her subconscious.

This was a transient friendship. It would be nothing more than that.

Author's Note: That's the second Chapter. I had so much fun writing it and it will take the place for the Chapter that should come next week, but I know that I couldn't upload it the following week. I try to update every week/weekend but it's possible that I'm a few days late though. I have school till 5 o'clock everyday and since I need to learn for school too, there isn't much time left, but I try :) And I'm sorry for any grammar and spelling fails, I'm tired ~~

Btw. I love Luna's character, I just like this devil-like-motivating-good-friends.

Ps.: Does anyone know someone that makes Trailers? Please tell me :)

Preview:

"Before we get to that," Luna began, "I have to know if there's anyone that seems interesting at your college." Sulli didn't really pay attention to the students, let alone the guys, but there was one guy who seemed interested in her. He was kind of cute too but something about him turned her off. She wasn't sure what but it did.

Sulli shook her head before saying, "No one really." Luna sighed.

"Then you're probably not going to like what I have in mind."