Miss No Label

   C H A P T E R   T W E N T Y - F O U R   

POV:

       I immediately stood up from my seat and hurried to my car. I just heard a man's voice inviting Krystal for dinner. Cannot be, I thought. As if in extreme emergency, I stormed my engine to the quickest possible way to where Krystal said she was. I knew I needed to calm myself down, so I took deep breaths, but none was of any use. It could be pride or anxiety - or whatever it could be called, and I just could not get hold of myself. Jealousy, I thought yet I immediately denied it to myself. I never got jealous. It was not my thing.

       All I was certain of was my very need of protecting what I consider to be mine. Last time I checked, Krystal was mine. I was casual as to her having dinner with a man, but the way the unknown voice asked for dinner was just too suspicious - too tonic to be considered mere friendliness. I just know there's something to be worried of.

       At the very street before my stop, a heavy traffic ocured into place. Circumstances might as well have played tricks on me. I immediately turned my head for a possible alternative to get away with the aggravating hassle, yet I found none to my disappointment. I took a quick check on my phone that has been ringing since I left. Four calls and a message were from Krystal. I tapped the message open, revealing a reminder from her. I know you, Lay. It's not what you think it is, so please don't speed up too much. Be careful in driving. 

       At that point, I was calmed down for a certain degree. She did knew me well enough and she was right. It took that moment to make me realize that what was rightful for me to do was to place my entire trust to Krystal. Nothing more, nothing less. 

       Despite the sudden change of specs in my mood, however, I was still pissed with the agonizing pause the traffic brought. I hated waiting and even more, I hated the varied lights flickering before my eyes as the motion came into a long pause. I hated lags of time. It makes me overthink. I balled my fist and hit with a honk of my car, not having a care of what others might think of my impatience. 

       I had to admit. Yes, I knew I had to trust Krystal, but there is something triggering a sense of urgency in me. It's not the traffic nor the flickering of lights. It's not the need to wait nor the manly voice I heard at the end of the line. It was because of Yixing.

       Zhang Yixing felt the urgent and incomprehensible need to safeguard something - or rather, someone.

        I entered the restaurant with a smile, expecting the same curve in Krystal's lips. I searched for her around the more packed than usual crowd of customers. Shifting my gaze at the table by the right wall, I caught glimpse of her face. Her eyes curved into moonlike beams of gladness as she laughed and nodded. I averted my eyes to a tiny degree to the side and saw a man's back facing me. He was talking to Krystal, making her laugh like she was too enthusiastic to hear his every word. 

       I blew through the air and took one deep breath as my heels turned into a quick motion, heading towards their direction. As I was about a couple of meters away from them, Krystal finally caught attention of my presence. Her laughter slowly ceased into a pause, making me slow my tracks a bit. 

        She then smiled at me, showing the gleam in her eyes once again. She waved her hands, mouthing a distinct "Here." to me. 

       As soon as I reached the very spot, I took a flash of second to look at the certain man. Although he was seated, I can very well conclude that he was tall - enormously tall. His black hair complements his fair complexion. He looked mature - even the way he sat down looked mature.He had an aura of an authority.

       "Hey." I turned to Krystal as I took the seat next to her.

       "Did you receive my message?" She asked me firsthand. I nodded. "Oh, and by the way, Lay, this is Wu Fan or  Kris, as he preferred to be called now. He's a really good friend of mine. We used to live next to each others' houses. And guess what, he's Chinese by blood as well." Krystal spoke in casual utterances. "Just like you. And Kris, this is Lay. He's my..." Krystal paused and looked at me unknowingly. On that mark, I could not put any blame on her. We were unlabeled all those times, and at that mere instance, I wished to have had labeled us, to be honest.

       "His boyfriend." I said in Mandarin, hoping Krystal did not understand. She looked at me curiously, eyeing me to tell her what it meant. Kris, on the other hand, simply let out a nod. 

       "Nice to meet you." He uttered. "I'm glad our Soojung has found a fine man." The Mandarin speech continued, forming a pout on Krystal's face. I could not help but feel some sort of lapse when he called Krystal by her Korean name. Krystal once told me her mother alone called her by that. I began wondering how close their relationship could be.

       "And I'm glad Krystal had a fine man as a childhood friend." I said, making a finale for the Mandarin as not to leave Krystal out of the conversation. In fact, there is nothing much to converse with Kris Wu. "Krystal is a fine lady as well." I shifted to the Korean language as I wrapped an arm around Krystal's shoulders - claiming her as unavailable and mine. "I consider myself as more fortunate to have her."

       "Do you mean that?" She cheekily smiled as she asked, giggling in low-volumed tones.

        I nodded. "But you know what, I thought we're having dinner alone. Just the two of us." I whispered in her ear, earning a turn of Kris' head to the opposite side, avoiding our direction.

       "Sorry." Krystal whispered back. "I'll explain later. Please?"

       I nodded. "Just saying. Don't worry. No big deal." I said, which was a half-lie. Truth was I did not like his presence. I caught him glance at Krystal from time to time. The way he looked at her was something different from how a mere friend sets an eye. I know because I never looked at Sara as such. And I was certain because I look at Krystal at such way. 

        At the mere long pause of utterance, an awkward atmosphere enveloped us. I took initiative to take a snap and said, "Starving, aren't we? Why don't we order a fine dinner now?" 

       "Of course." Krystal replied. "My treat. I found a job today. And more than best, I'm dining with my stubborn rabbit..." She poked my right dimple. I normally disliked being called by the rabbit tag she enjoyed, but at that certain instance, I thought of it as a neat idea to impose and made clear that Krystal and I were exclusive. "And my boss who accepted me right away." She added.

       It took me a while to react. Kris Wu is her boss? I mentally scoffed, in struggling effort to maintain my composed decorum in front of him. 

author's note

I got even more intereste din writing since Kris was added into the story.

I enjoy imagining the possessive and jealous Lay. 

And Krystal is a precious beauty, so it's reasonable that two hotties would like her.

Don't you think so?

Anyway,

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