"Oh, look it's Krystal,"

"Hi, Krystal."

"Waah, she's really pretty,"

She hears the students say while she walks along the corridor. Krystal smiles and greets them in return making the students go in glee. She likes this. People recognizing her, people praising her for her works, people appreciating her. Living without the thought of being compared to anyone else, without the fear of being not good enough, without someone to bother her. Without Suzy to bother her. This feels nice.

Krystal walks with a smile on her face and her music sheets clutched close to her chest. As expected, asking Suzy to keep their relationship a secret is a really good decision for her. This way, she can avoid Suzy without anyone accusing her of being mean. She can live her life in peace, without a Suzy to bother her, even if it's just in school. She's more than thankful already.

It's like hitting two birds with one stone, Krystal gets Suzy out of her sight and she gets Myungsoo to dislike her. She knows Myungsoo will keep her secret for her, he told her he would. It isn't because she's worried Myungsoo might fall for Suzy at one point. No, it isn't that. It's just that, she knows how gentle and how nice her boyfriend is. She wants to protect him from the likes of Suzy; cunning, selfish, and determined to steal everything that she owns.

Just then, someone saw her passing by and hastily called her. “Krystal?”

The girl turned around to see the adviser of the Music Club that she’s in peeking through the door of her office. “Yes, seonsengnim?”

“Can I see you for a moment?”

It wasn’t like Krystal was expecting anything from the adviser. She doesn’t remember having any appointment or any matter to discuss with her, but she obliges nonetheless. Suddenly, Krystal found herself sitting on one of the teacher’s chair facing her.

“Are you heading off to somewhere important?” she asks while fuddling on to the paper works that were scattered across her table. She smiled at the girl.

Krystal shook her head gently and smiled back. “No, mam. I was actually about to head to practice,”

“This early?” she looks at her watch. “Practice starts at twelve though,”

“I was thinking of practicing alone first before we start,” she answers. The woman smiled at her approvingly, slightly nodding her head.

“I’m thankful for your great dedication to our club Krystal,” Krystal smiled, pleased with herself. “Just as I thought, accepting you was a great decision.”

“Thank you very much seonsengnim,” Krystal says, face lit up in a smile. Someone gave her recognition. Someone gave her the praise that she had longed to hear. For once, she feels like she’s good enough.

“Don’t you have any prior appointments though? Anyone important who might be waiting for you?” the teacher asks, a hint of tease in her voice. Krystal suddenly thinks of Myungsoo and looks at the time. It’s still really early; he’s probably sitting in class doing everything possible—except actually listening to the lecture. An automatic smile erupts from her pretty face.

“No mam, he’s still in class.”

The teacher smiled and chuckled gently. “I knew it. I knew there was a prince behind that smile. A pretty face like that would be a waste without someone to make you happy,” Krystal chose to just smile at the woman’s words. Yes, she would be a waste without Myungsoo. A paper without writing, a blank sheet thrown at the sides.

"Anyway, I'm pretty sure you are wondering why I called you so suddenly." she finds the answer on the girl's silence and the way her eyes cloud in thick curiosity. "Well, the thing is, our club is doing its annual recital this November."

"Ah, yes. I heard my sunbaes talking about it during practice,"

"I know, that being because this recital is of great importance for the club. Our sponsors are watching. As you may have figured out, our club has a lot of needs. All the instruments comes from the school, we have our own theater for our performances and recitals, a sound proof practice room, not to mention the maintenance of the instruments and all the other trivial yet still essential things we do for us to maintain the standards of our club." her adviser leans back. "And what do we use to have them? Money. Where does money come from?" Krystal doesn't need to think hard to know the answer.

"Sponsors,"

The woman smiles. "Exactly."

Krystal shivers at the thought that even in the most basic area of human knowledge, money holds power. She has been raised in a home where it is taught that money carries everything; to know that school emphasizes this scares her. It doesn't shock her, but still she feels horrible.

"Up until lately, the sponsors have been generous to us. But nowadays, it seems like they are starting to look for something fresh, something new, something like they have never heard before. To put it simply, they're getting bored." she intertwines her fingers in tangles and rests her chin on them. "It is a simple give and take. We need money, they give us money. They need good music, we give them music they like."

"What do we do to get them to like us again?" Krystal asks. It all sounds so simple how people use other people for their own gain. The cycle repeats.

"We give them music. Music is the only thing we got, and so we give them the best lf what we have."

"I still don't understand why you're telling me all these seonsengnim," yes she understands social hierarchy. Yes she knows how money can affect everything. Krystal doesn't know why she needs to hear all these.

"We're giving them you, Krystal." Krystal freezes in her seat. "We're giving them your music,"

"W-What?" "I told