Pairing: JongStal

Genre: Romance/Fluff

Author: popgirl345543

The snow continued to drift lazily as people hurriedly walked down the streets, shuffling to get out of the cold. 

Krystal sat in the little coffee shop, browsing the menu for her favorite item all the while sipping on a steaming cup of cappucino. She peeked across at Jessica and saw the pout on her face. 

"Unnie~~" whined Krystal, attempting her aegyo.

She saw Jessica wince visibly and chuckled to herself. "Isn't it cold here?" Jessica nodded, her eyes darting back to the menu. 

She must be really hungry. "Unnie~~ Let's go on vacation for Christmas this year." 

Jessica raised her eyebrows. Krystal had caught her attention.

"I say we go somewhere to get out of this cold. Like back to Cali since we are Ca-li-for-nia girls~~...or maybe....Brazil."

"How about Hawaii? We've never been there." Jessica casually suggested the idea as she glanced through the desserts

Krystal clapped her hands excitedly. "Ya ya! There! That place! With the grass skirts and hula dancers!" She was, to say the least, pleasantly surprised that Jessica had agreed. Jessica smirked , her sister was still a kid.

Krystal continued to babble on about the sandy beaches and clear waters and awesome sunshine there, not catching that Jessica had already turned back to the cheesecakes and muffins. 

Suddenly she heard a thump as Krystal sat down, hard. It grew painstakingly quiet, forcing Jessica to look up from her beloved course selection sheet. Krystal was biting her lip and staring intently at the menu.

"Hey what's wrong?"

"Nothing! No-nothing at all." Krystal fumbled over her words as she tried to compose herself. Her cheeks were red and it was as if she had lost her sharp tongue. Jessica turned around in her seat, searching the warm shop for whatever could have stopped Krystal in the midst of her excitement. She wanted to know how to as well. 

Her eyes fell upon a familiar boy and she smiled. My sister is so cute. 

"Jonghyun-ah!" Jessica waved at him from across the shop, her voice attracting the attention of all the people around her. Krystal ducked her head quickly, hissing, "Unnie!" They were wearing hats but at this rate, Jessica would blow their cover in minutes.

She groaned inwardly as she saw Jonghyun approach. Why now of all times? She went to get coffee to get away from the company, to get away from him. 

"Hey guys. Nice to see you here. Haven't seen you in ages Stal." 

Krystal almost choked on her coffee, it had been ages since they'd seen each other. Ever since Shinee went off to Japan for promotions, they were rarely back. They had returned for Christmas and nothing had changed. He was still as oblivious to her red cheeks and fumbling tongue as before, that's why she had to give herself some space. She had to accept the fact that she would forever be his little sister; he even had more interest in her Sica-unnie. 

"Hi." She replied bluntly, mentally smacking herself for trying to make conversation. 

"So...what are you all doing for the holidays?"

"We're going to Hawaii! You should come with," squealed Jessica to the horror of Krystal.

"Oh no-no-no. I just remembered that I can't go with you unnie, I have to prepare for f(x)'s new album," blurted Krystal, in an attempt to get herself out of Christmas on a tropical island with that dinosaur. 

"Oh! But you just said that you would be coming...do you perhaps have anything against Jjong here?" Jessica questioned teasingly as laughter lit up her eyes, she was playing matchmaker. 

Jonghyun's face turned a bit darker when he heard the statement. A bit hurt, he attempted to mask his sadness. "No its fine, I don't have to. I'll just spend my Christmas in the dorms or something since my parents are going out of town." 

Krystal saw the tint of morose melancholy on his handsome features and sighed. This is really going to kill me. 

"No, you should come, I can try to postpone the album work and I'll ask some other people to come as well. It'll be fun."

~~~~~~~~~

The warm sun spilled onto the white sand as Krystal basked in its rays. There was a light breeze that softly caressed her cheeks and the smell of the sea overtook her senses. It was like Hawaii was an eternal summer paradise. 

Suddenly she was attacked with water and her hair was dripping wet. Looking up she saw Jonghyun prancing around like a T-Rex, flaunting his flawless abs. Why did I have to be so good at inviting people? We brought along the whole family! She spotted Minho and Taemin running on the sand, playing with a soccer ball- well more like Minho playing and Taemin...being Taemin.

She saw Seohyun-unnie applying three layers of sunscreen, chatting lightly with Amber. Victoria-umma was grilling crabs with Tao, who seemed to be quite scared of the claws despite his tough looks. By the shade, Krystal saw Sica-unnie and Donghae laughing about something. All was well and everyone seemed content. Well, except for her. 

Krystal sighed as she looked at the way Jonghyun continued with his antics, carrying around a bucket full of seashells. They'll probably be given to Key to be wrapped, Jonghyun can't wrap presents for his life. Krystal watched as he dashed hastily from person to person, his loud voice filled with joy. She stared at his back. The view never changes. 

Krystal Jung had been gazing at his back for years. He was always a step a head, at least. They never walked side by side, on even ground. He was a better vocalist, he could dance better. The korean public fancied him more, variety shows invited him more. They were never ever seen together, her always rapidly running to catch up to him. There was no hope, no room, no time for her soft feelings. 

She stretched and got up from the blanket where she had been sunbathing. Krystal needed a walk.

She wandered back to the resort where her luggage was, hoping to grab her sweater before possibly going to the spa for a nice massage. But she didn't bring a map, nor did she exactly remember the way back and before long, she was lost in the twist and turns of the expansive vacation area.

Krystal pouted. This is great. She saw a pool and decided to go dip her feet in the water. As she dangled her legs over the edge, she was suddenly shoved into the cold water. Shrieking, she kicked out. After struggling for a bit and reaching out blindly, she found herself being dragged upwards. Jonghyun. She heard him guffaw, bursting with laughter as he basically rolled about helplessly on the ground, his eyes welling up with tears. "That's not funny! You know I can't swim that well!" 

"I'm sorry Stal, it was just too easy," gasped Jonghyun between laughs. "Why are you here and not at the beach with everyone?"

Great. Am I supposed to tell him that I wanted to get away from him? "I was just heading back to the resort but I lost my way, so here I am."

"Really? I was going there as well, to grab some more sunscreen for Seohyun. I'll walk you." 

His caring nature was not helping her cause as Krystal merely nodded, she was unsure if her heart could continue this way, being "the friend." They walked side by side, and the awkwardness was quite overbearing, even though Jonghyun tried his best to keep a conversation going. But there is only so much a guy can talk about when hes talking to himself. 

"Oppa, can I tell you something?" Krystal's heart palpitated rapidly, and she feared it might stop. But it was bothering her too much, her straightforward nature wasn't used to hiding things for this long.

"Sure. I'm all ears."

"I like you. I've liked you for years." Jonghyun stopped, his mouth slightly agape. "Well there's the hotel, I'm going to take a nap. See you later." Krystal walked off confidently, hoping that she exuded the same confidence as she did on stage. The Krystal Jung on stage was bold, but this Krystal, the one who had just confessed, was embarassed and shocked and utterly distraught about the disaster she might have just caused. 

~~~~~~~~~

Jonghyun stood in the same position as he watched Krystal strut away. Her head was high. He had always admired her unfaltering confidence, the way she charismatically stood under the spotlight despite her young age. 

He remembered during their trainee days when they would practice dance together, long after lessons had ended. They had hoped to debut at the same time, not together but during the same year so they could see each other on stage, so they could cheer for each other. He had believed that their friendship would be everlasting, even if their own respective schedules filled up and they had little time for each other.

And to an extent, he was right. The first two years after debut, Jonghyun and Krystal still maintained a close friendship. Luckily for them, there were no scandals that appeared between the two. However, that drastically changed when Shinee began promoting in Japan, starting with "Replay." He rarely came back to Korea, and when he did, he always went to visit his parents.

SMtown tours were chances to see each other, but they were so far and few in between that the growing chasm that had developed continued to fill up with awkward silences and quiet greetings. Eventually they gave up.

Or maybe it was he who had given up. Because now, as he thought about it, Krystal had always been the one to approach him first, to say hi or to invite him to lunch. And he would always be the one declining her, saying that he was too busy or too tired. 

He missed their friendship. He missed her. 

Jonghyun trudged back to the hotel, deep in thought. When he reached the door, he saw Krystal talking to the receptionist. He didn't know what to do. Should I say something? Or should I just leave things for a while? But Jonghyun wasn't the type to dawdle.

Patiently, he waited by the door and as he saw her walk towards the elevator, he quickly followed. 

Jamming his hand between the elevator door and the wall, he stepped in beside her. It was quiet. 

"I like you too." He stared at the wall as he said those words, unable to look at her expression. He heard a slight gasp. Turning his head, he met her shocked gaze. "I don't know when things went awry between us. But I miss you Stal. I've been missing you."

"Even though you've met so many new people? Even though you're so far ahead of me in every aspect- though I've become an insignificant grain in that sea of sand?" Krystal was on the verge of tears, the memories of their lost friendship flooding her mind. 

"I have met many new people. I've befriended some of the most beautiful women in Korea. But they're all like stones." 

"Stones?"

"You're the diamond."

He held out his hand expectantly as the elevator door  opened. "Will you be mine?"

Krystal smiled, joyous tears trickling down her cheek. "Yes." She interlaced her fingers with his, and they stepped out together, towards a new beginning. She would no longer have to reminisce about the old days, because their friendship was starting anew.

She wouldn't need to remember, Krystal would be living it. 

A/n: popgirl345543- Hi hope you enjoy this! It's my first time writing for this pairing so I hope it didn't come out too awkward :) haha if you're posting this please don't forget to credit the shop ^^ feedback is appreciated :)