Miss No Label

   C H A P T E R    S E V E N T E E N   

POV:

        There's no turning back, I told myself. I locked my eyes at the knob as it clicked and turned. I had no more time to compose myself and decide on how to approach Lay, so I simply waited - waited for the face to face encounter that might break or unbreak me.

        The door opened too swiftly that I could not help but flinch. Having no other second to spare for thinking, a pair of arms welcomed me into an embrace. It was Lay, of course. I could still recognize his perfume smell and certainly the feel of his touch on my skin. "You're back." He whispered in my ear, sending a warm air around me. I knew, however, that I could not let him off easily though. 

       I broke away from the embrace and shifted my gaze on the floor. "I just thought I n-needed some e-explanation." I stammered.

       He immediately pulled me in and led me inside. Just as I was about to take a seat, the bathroom door opened and to my utter surprise and frustration, a fair lady with long brownish hair appeared, wearing a blue oversized shirt I recognized to be Lay's. For a while, I remained motionless and uncertain of how to react. I immediately recognized the lady to be Feng Sara. I had to admit, she was beautiful. 

       It was evident that she herself was shocked to see me. She immediately stopped her tracks as hung open. "Anyeong." She uttered in a somehow crooked Korean accent.

        Without a reply to her greeting, I shifted my gaze to Lay who obviously knew he was in trouble. 

       I tried putting together bits and pieces of the events and formed a reasonable speculation. They're engaged. I was not here last night, so Lay must have her company instead. She's wearing Lay's shirt, so could it be that they... I sighed deeply as I decided not to continue with my thoughts. It was too much for me to bear. 

       "I just came to..." I paused and looked at Lay who was obviously speechless. I was about to arrive at the decision to permanently leave and just pack my bags and go, but Sara interrupted me as she cut me off.

       "Annyeong." She said again, with a wave of her hand this time. "I'm Feng Sara. You must be..."

       "Krystal." Lay uttered in attempt to call for my attention as he grabbed my wrist. "We need to talk."

       "We can do that after I pack my bags." I told him with a stern glare, making my voice soft enough for Sara not to hear.

        Lay shook his head and tightened his grip on my wrist. "Pack? No, you can't. Y-you... Krystal, please. We have to talk."

        "I think I just have to leave." I uttered as I shook my arm to get rid of his hold. "And congratulations. Best wishes. I got to go." The words fell like ice in summer. It melted into my heart like tears.

        "Can you please let me explain?" Lay raised his voice as I neared the door. I involuntarily stopped my tracks and shivered in what seemed to be hopelessness in the verge of resignation.

        "Calm down." Sara uttered in her once again crooked yet understandable utterance of the Korean language. "Since I'm here and I cause alll these trouble, let me fix this." She went near me and held me by my shoulders. I felt uncomfortable as she did, but something inside me told me I should try to oblige. "Can we talk this over, Krystal?"

        I let out a nod.

        She turned to Lay and spoke Mandarin, something I obviously did not understand. But at the very moment she spoke, Lay calmed down and went near me to give me a quick kiss on the forehead. How can he do that at a situation such as this? I mentally said as I glared at him. I had to admit however that it softened me up a bit. He then turned to Sara and gave her a frail smile. "Xie xie." He uttered, earning a nod from her. 

        To my surprise, Lay went out of the door and disappeared. Did he just leave me alone with Sara? I was left confused. 

       As soon as Lay was out of sight, Sara took my hand and gave it a shake. "I guess we haven't formally met, yet. I'm Sara. Nice to meet you, Krystal." She smiled warmly. I was, however, still confused and remained speechless. "Oh, and don't worry. I just told him to leave so that I can settle things with you. You know, girl talk." Somehow, I appreciated her bubbly and warm personality.

        "Okay. I'm not very fluent in your language so bear with me, okay?" She told me as we sat down, face to face.

        I could only nod in reply.

       "The thing that happened last night, when I said we're engaged, it was a misunderstanding." She began. "I mean, I did said that but it's not what you think it is."

       "What do you mean?" I asked.

       "Yixing and I are the best of friends." She continued. "We almost grew up together. He's the kind of friend who is always willing to back me up. You see, I have always been the clumsy one who brings trouble. I will tell you something private, but I hope you keep this secret. I mean, I love my job. I love who I am, and I'm trying to keep up." She hung her head low and averted her gaze away from me. "Can you promise me that?"

       "Yes." I replied as I saw a sense of sincerity in her although I barely knew her.

       "Thanks." She smiled. "Okay, so here's the thing. A few months back, I got myself into a seriously big trouble after getting too drunk. I got pregnant, Krystal." 

       My heart took faster beats as  heard her. Is Lay the father? I wanted to ask her, but my mind was in too much chaos to utter a word.

       "I did not want to let go of my career. You see, I'm just starting to feel the way of the limelight. I wanted to keep a good impression, so we decided to neutralize the whole scenario. Being a really good friend, Yixing covered up for my mistake and yeah, that's where the whole thing started. It could have been worse if news about me said that I was pregnant without a father supporting my baby, you know. I could not find any ways to thank Yixing for standing by me."

        I was still confused. "So, he's not the father of your baby?" I finally asked.

       "No." She shoook her head. "The father was my boyfriend, ex-boyfriend to be specific, who ditched me after he knew. To be frank with you, Yixing did not believe in love. Well, that was before he knew you. He agreed to get engaged with me, thinking he won't fall in love anyway. Isn't that absurd?" She chuckled. "But when I saw how he cared about you and how afraid he was to lose you, I knew he was in love."

        Sara's words calmed me like some tranquil music, yet my mind was still full of questions. Why didn't Lay told me then? What more does he keep from me? Why doesn't he like labels? Why does he want to be Lay rather than Yixing? Why does he seem to aloof to talk about his family? I tried getting the answers to these questions from Sara, but to my dismay, she did not give away.

       "I believe he has a reason why he chose to keep these from you." She replied. "Trust him, Krystal. Zhang Yixing is a man who knows his deeds. Seeing you together, I know you'd be both happy. I hope his limitations won't hinder you to be with him. If there is one thing I want, it would be to see him genuinely happy. That happiness could only be caused by you. I know he's arrogant and stubborn and cold and insistent and a sleepyhead, an extreme sleepyhead, oh and not to count, forgetful, but I hope you love him still." She took hold of my hand and smiled at me with genuine sincerity. "I know him well, and I can see how much he loves you."

       "How about you?" I asked, pertaining to the cover up Lay does for her.

       "Me?" 

       I nodded.

       "I can take care of myself." She replied with eyes full of optimism. "If there is one thing I learned, it would be this. A mistake could not be corrected by a lie. It would only make it worse. I have to face my conequences, Krystal."

       "Thank you. Xie xie, Sara." I uttered.

       "No problem." She snapped. "Now, why don't you poke that little dimple of Yixing and bug him for answers to you questions?"

         Oh, and if there is one thing I learned it would be the value of disclosure - of talking things over rather than running away from it. I can now understand the whole scenario, but I had to make the mere instance as a mark of change and a correction of mistakes. I have made a decision. Lay might not like it, and so do I, but it would be for the best.

author's note

Okay. I'm not satisfied with the way I wrote this chapter :|

Anyway, what do you think Krystal's decision is?

Find out soon.