(Taeyeon’s POV)

“Just give her a call… I told her.

“No!” she insisted.

“Fany! Stop being stubborn! Just call your cousin… She’s been calling and texting you non-stop for almost a week now. Are you just going to ignore her forever?”

“No… she’ll be going back to Japan once the project gets underway…”

“Exactly… you guys just got reunited and she won’t be here for much longer…”

She just ignored me.

“Unreal! I can’t believe you’re being so childish…”

“Me? Unreal? If anyone’s unreal, it’s you! How can you ask me to call her back when she attacked you and hurt you like that…? Have you already forgiven her?” Fany looked at me in completely puzzlement.

“She was just probably being overprotective… Remember how hostile Sica got whenever I got close to Krystal? It’s probably the same deal… She probably just needs to get to know me… I can’t say I’m not still hurt but you should give her the benefit of the doubt, or at the very least let her explain.”

“Forget it! I’m still angry at her. Insulting me is one thing but to insult you, naekkeodeul, that’s crossing the line!” She crossed her arms.

“Listen Hwang Miyoung! If you don’t call her, you’re just proving her right! She’s going to think that I’m the bad guy, forcing you to choose between your family and me, and I refuse to be that person! If you keep on being like this, I’m going to have to break up with you…”

“Are you threatening me?!” she asked with wide eyes.

I cupped her face with both my hands and looked her directly in the eye.

“Of course not! You know I love you more than anyone else, and if it’s not you, it’s no one. But I really can’t be the person who drives you away from your family. Do you understand?”

“But, it’s not your choice, it’s mine. You didn’t tell me not to call her back,” she protested.

“That’s not the point. You’re behaving this way because of me, and that’s all they’ll see. If you start to push them away now, they’ll just blame it on me for being a prima donna… a diva… a drama queen… poisoning you against your family…”

She took a moment to digest what I had said, and then she sighed.

She knew I was right. I would get all the blame if it comes down to it and then there won’t be anything she could do about it.

Yet, she just stayed silent.

“You know I’m right, don’t you?” I asked her.

“This ! Why do I have to put up with their idiosyncracies and not the other way round?”

“Because they’re your family and you know you love them despite everything…”

“Ugh! But why do I have to compromise? I’m only just a shareholder in their eyes anyway… They don’t love me…”

“Because you’re kind, and understanding, and wonderful, and amazing, and you’re the bigger person… and that’s why I love you, and I’m sure deep down, they love you too…”

“Things were so different when I was younger… when I was still naïve and innocent… and when they thought they could mold me into anything they wanted. But when they realized that I was different, I was the black sheep… they started treating my like an outsider...”

It’s difficult to hear Fany talk about her family this way. She usually only mentioned that they were doing fine and tried to spin things in a positive way, but not this time. It was just so heartbreaking that her family was making her doubt her self worth.

“Blood is thicker than water, Fany…”

“Seriously…?” she looked at me in disbelief.

“Okay, fine… But still… Please, Fany… do this for me. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy… Pwease, pwease, pwease!” I pouted, trying to break her resolve.

I could see the expression on her face starting to soften, so I started making some funny facial expressions at her.

She finally cracked and burst out laughing.

“Why do you have to be so adorable?! Ugh! Fine… I’ll call her back.”

She started to reach for her phone.

“I didn’t mean right this second…You can do that when we get home…” I told her.

“Hmmm? Oh, yeah… okay… that makes more sense. So where exactly are we going?”

“I can’t tell you… If I do, you’re going to whine about it but I really want to try it…”

“Try what?”

“You’ll just have to wait and see…”

“You could have at least let me drive instead of us commuting…”

“Oh, quit your whining, you spoiled brat, you!”

“I am NOT spoiled! I just think it’s more convenient.”

“Yeah… well… I do this everyday, okay? And besides, I don’t want to ruin the fun for you… This way I can really savor the expression on your face when we get there…”

“Okay, now you’re really starting to freak me out… Is it something to do with danger of any kind?” she asked nervously.

“Only if you don’t follow instructions and not pay attention to what you’re doing… Anything can be dangerous…”

“Uhm… is it something you know I’ll hate?”

I wasn’t really sure if I should answer that...

“Well… not that you hate but it’s really not your forte…”

“What could it be?! Come on… tell me!” She looked at me with her puppy dog eyes.

“No! Seriously, it’s not something bad… You might learn a thing or two…” I persisted.

“Argh! I hate surprises…!”

“No… You love surprises…”

“But not when I know something is coming but I don’t know what it is… It drives me crazy!”

“Just be patient… We’re almost there…”

---

(Krystal’s POV)

“Is Tiffany unni and Sooyoung unni still not talking to each other?” I asked Jessie.

The only thing we both knew about the incident the night of the dinner was that Sooyoung unni really upset Taeyeon unni, and when Tiffany unni found out what she did, she refused to talk to or see Sooyoung unni. It was only a matter of time though because their proposal for the Hana Yume project was due soon, which meant that they’d have to meet face-to-face sooner or later.

“Apparently not. I still have no idea what had happened. When I talk to Tiff, she was just livid. But when I asked Taengoo, she just sighed and said she’s over it… Whatever it was, Taengoo seemed like she was more ready to forgive Sooyoung,” she answered.

“Is it just me or are the people we know constantly getting into drama?” I commented.

“What are you talking about? Have you forgotten that we’re the biggest drama there is…”

“Yeah, but not anymore… We’re low key now…”

“Are you saying we’re boring now?” she chuckled.

“Why do you always twist everything I say…?” I gave her an annoyed look.

“Why else? Because teasing you is my life’s joy now…”

“Honestly, Jessie… I don’t even know why I put up with you…” I joked.

“Because you love me…” she answered in a sing-song manner. “And because you secretly enjoy it…”

Dammit! I DID secretly enjoy it but she’s not supposed to know that…

“Psh! I AM bored… Maybe I should ask my friends out…” I told her.

“You have friends?! Then why are you always hanging out with me?” she smirked.

“Oh no, you did NOT just say that!”

“You don’t have to spend all your time with me, you know? Why don’t you go out with your friends?” she laughed.

“I see those jokers in school everyday… And we do hangout occasionally after… I’d rather just spend the rest of my time with you… Why? Am I suffocating you? Should I back off?”

I never even really thought about the fact that aside from when I was at school, I spent all my time with Jessie… But it wasn’t fair, really… We live under the same roof…

“No… It’s not that at all… I just didn’t want you to think that you need to spend all your time with me. I won’t be offended if you wanted to go out with your friends.”

“Well… I still haven’t gotten sick of you yet… so I think we’re good. What about you? Are you thinking of going out with your friends without me?”

“You know I don’t really have that many friends I bother hanging out with, Kryssie… I prefer sticking to the people I know well…”

Just then Jessie’s phone started ringing.

“Unknown number… I’ll just let it go to voicemail.”

But then it rang again.

“Same number… Should I pick up?” she asked me

I shrugged. “Why not…”

Jessie answered the call.

“Hello…? Oh, hi… Yoona-shi… How are you?” she greeted.

Ohmigosh, it’s Yoona unni… Why is she calling?

Jessie continued on.

“I’m fine. Just home with Kryssie… How’d you get my number?

Oh, I see… Tiffany, huh? Right… So, what can I do you for?

Uh huh…

Oh… uhm… let me check with her…”

“She wants to know if you’re interested in watching a musical tonight? Apparently she has tickets…” Jessie asked me while covering the phone with her hand. “Might be a little awkward don’t you think?”

Oh… That’s unexpected! She’s asking me?

I gestured for Jessie to hand me her phone.

She gave me a confused look.

I grabbed the phone from her hand.

“Oh, Yoona unni… it’s Krystal. How are you?” I said into the phone.

“Oh, Kryssie! I’m well, and you?”

“Great, unni. Did you say something about a musical?”

“Yeah, I have tickets to go see Bonnie and Clyde. You interested?

“Ohmigod, unni! How’d you know I enjoyed musicals?”

“I didn’t… I was just hoping you would…” she laughed. Her laughter was boisterous and exuberant.

If it was anyone else, I might have hated her for being so forward about her infatuation with Jessie but Yoona unni was seriously likeable. She was probably the most innocent person I’ve ever met. She was just so carefree.

“Well, good guess… Should I convince Jessie to come along?”

“If she would like to come along, that would be great, but if she didn’t, I won’t force her to…”

I looked at Jessie and gave her a nod of the head to tell her that she was coming with us.

She started shaking her head vigorously and waving her hands to show her refusal.

I pinched her arm and mouthed “you’re definitely coming!” to her.

Then she clasped her hands together and pretended to beg.

“Kryssie? You still there?”

“Yeah, unni… I’m still here…”

“So, what’s the verdict?”

“She’ll come…”

“Wonderful. Meet me at the theatre at 7?”

“See you then, unni. Thanks.”

“See you then…”

I ended the call and handed the phone back to Jessie.

“Why’d you agree to that?!” she yelled at me.

“You don’t have to yell! Why? What’s the problem? I wanted to see that musical…”

“Yeah but you didn’t have to drag me along…”

“Be nice, Jessie… She has a crush on you; she doesn’t want to kill you…”

“It would be less troublesome if she wanted to kill me… At least I can fend that off…”

“But she’s so nice… I like her…”

Jessie’s eyes widened.

“You do, do you…?” she asked as she narrowed her eyes again in suspicion.

“You know what I mean… There’s nothing to hate about her…”

“True… I know what you mean… I wanted to dislike her too but I couldn’t…”

“We’ll just have to make this a , Jessie…” I laughed.

“Sorry… I’m a one woman kind of person…”

“And is that woman, me?” I asked rhetorically.

“I haven’t decided yet…”

My happiness was cut short.

“You ! Just so you know… I’ve already decided that you’re the only one for me…” I told her.

She must have not been expecting that because her expression turned to one of surprise.

“Kryssie, I…” she started but I didn’t bother letting her finish.

I pushed her up against the nearest wall and pressed my lips against hers. For a moment, she didn’t react but quicky enough, she started moving her lips against mine.

“It’s okay if you don’t feel the same…” I told her when we finally pulled apart.

“Babo… How can I love anyone else…?” she said as she pulled me by my shirt into her arms.