“So, you and Taemin…”

“What about it?” Jinri retreated her glass from and faced Krystal’s tiny smile.

“Are you together now?” The blonde girl indicated, feeling her smile getting wider and wider.

“I would have told you about something so major,” taller one signed.

Krystal raised her brows in surprise. “Wait, major? Are you- what? In love with him?”

Jinri’s cheeks flared up almost immediately. She gripped her friend’s free hand and tightened the hold on it. “Quiet or someone might misunderstand.”

“Wow,” Krystal looked stunned. “Just wow.”

“Wow what.”

“How come I never knew about it?”

Jinri rolled her eyes. “There’s nothing to know about.”

“Mhm.”

Again, a roll of eyes. “Really!”

“I thought you were all against relationships. When did that change?”

Jinri pursed her lips, receiving a tiny flick in her arm from Krystal. “It’s out of the bag now.”

“Look,” the tall girl placed her glass on the dessert’s table, “it just went like that. Bam! And I fell. Why him, no clue.”

“Eey,” Krystal’s smirk returned as she pinched her friend’s cheek. “That’s not how it happens. But you’ll make a great couple.”

“That’s the biggest deal- I don’t think he sees me like that.”

Krystal looked around but didn’t spot Taemin anywhere near them.

“Let’s get some fresh air,” she said before pulling Jinri outside the mansion.

*

“Thanks a lot,” Luhan patted Lay’s shoulder when their talk was over and done.

“My pleasure,” the dark haired man nodded. “So you know Krystal, huh?”

Luhan squinted his eyes in suspicion. “Yeah, what about it?”

“Nothing,” Lay waved his hand, “you just seemed close.”

“We are close.”

Lay went silent for a minute. “I’m rooting for you, mate,” and walked off, leaving a dumbfounded Luhan alone.

“What’s wrong with him?” blonde silently asked himself, before stomping out to find his childhood friend.

*

In the balcony, girls found a deserted spot to hangout for a while. Krystal sipped her glass of champagne.

“I’m sure Taemin is conscious of you,” Krystal tried to assure her friend; however it looked like it had no impact on Jinri.

“No, he’s not. But thanks.”

“Is there anything I could do to help?”

Jinri guiltily looked down. She couldn’t really ask for her friend to stay far away from Taemin, because Jinri was jealous as that.

“You got something on your hands also, so do not worry about me.”

“Maybe Lay could…”

Jinri shot a look. “You know I don’t trust him. I said its fine.”

“Anyhow… Kai looked surprised in your sudden change. You really think it’ll help?”

Krystal smirked- she could tell right away that the boy looked quite impressed with her behavior. “I’m more sure than ever. Actually, I pretty like my new looks. Though the act is something I have to work more onto.”

“Nah,” Jinri waved a hand. “You’re a natural actress. I kind of am starting to enjoy your attitude- sassy, I believe would be the right word.”

Both girls shared a small laugh.

“Hey, you remember my anonymous admirer?” Krystal suddenly asked. Jinri gulped the last of her drink.

“Mhm, what about it?”

“It’s strange, but I kind of miss him writing to me. Well, not that he wrote much, but still. He boosted my confidence a bit.”

Jinri carefully glanced at blonde girl’s glistening eyes. “He doesn’t write anymore?”

“Yeah. I expected for him to hang in there longer. However, I’m still interested in who he really was.”

“You shouldn’t think about it anymore, Krys. Maybe that creep got bored or something. You have other plans now, you don’t need those letters anymore.”

“Right…” Krystal held her head up, looking intently at the foggy dark sky. The moon was a lot clearer to see at this part of town.

“But I still have a few theories about who he might have been.”

Jinri rolled her eyes. “Just drop it. You’ll never find the person.”

“What makes you so sure?” Krystal smirked.

“My intuition. Dummy, how do you plan to find someone you never even knew?”

“Just leave it to me.”

*

Soon after the little chat, the girls split up. Jinri went to look for her date, Taemin. On the other hand, Krystal was just passing time till Lay would come back, so she was just talking with a group of people she didn’t even know.

Suddenly Krystal felt her curled locks being pushed behind her ear from her back, so she swiftly turned around, only to spot Kai’s smirking face leaning in towards her. Stopping a few inches apart from her face, the boy glanced at the frozen circle of people and shot them a fake smile. “You’ll have to excuse us.”

Kai straightened his back and held his hand towards Krystal. Without even saying anything, she just smirked and instead of gripping his palm, she s her hands on his extended arm, her eyes beaming with anticipation of his reaction. Just as she expected, Kai didn’t expect such straightforwardness and could only freeze for a moment. Still, he got his act up together in mere seconds and lead the girl to the mini-bar.

“Want something to drink?”

“I think I had enough,” she smiled wickedly at Kai. The boy had to gulp down.

“What’s wrong with you?”

Krystal’s smirk only got bigger. “Wrong? I thought you liked girls like this.”

“Is that what this is?” Kai grinned mystically. “You’re trying to seduce me?”

Even though the girl suspected such a response, she still wanted to hear something wittier. Somehow Kai was looking more like an open book to her than usual.

Krystal dropped his arm from her hold and crossed her hands on her chest. “Get off your high horse, Kai. Not everything is about you.” Lying was a part of her act, Krystal reprimanded herself. She changed precisely because of this boy.

Kai opened his mouth to say anything, but something else caught his eyes. There’s a boy he remembers clearly from Krystal’s apartment standing there, looking lost. Kai smirked and dragged Krystal to him.

Luhan was quick to see the pair nearing him. With soft scowl he spoke up.

“Krystal, I was looking for you.”

“Obviously,” Kai interrupted, smirking, his hand tightening on the girl’s palm. She was awfully quiet right that moment. “You looked like a lost puppy.”

“Krystal, would you come with me?” Luhan didn’t even spare a glance at the other man.

And it surely irritated Kai. “Don’t you dare to ignore me,” he growled.

Krystal’s eyes darted to Kai’s red face. Luhan finally averted his gaze from the girl.

“I wasn’t talking to you in the first place,” Luhan spit out and grinned when Kai was growing angrier and angrier. To put more fuel into fire, Luhan even grabbed Krystal’s other hand and pulled her towards himself. The girl winced at the pain that shot when both boys tightened their hold on her arms.

 “You’re both s,” Krystal murmured under her breath and stepped on Kai’s foot first, then on Luhan’s, so that they finally would drop their ongoing glare contest.

Luhan immediately released his hold, apologizing for his unusual behavior. Kai still kept his hand on the girl’s, but loosened the grip nevertheless. The only thing left for her to do was to sway his arm away. Krystal turner around and stomped away. Shooting final glares, Luhan walked after her.

“I was trying to get him off of you.”

Krystal rolled her eyes. “But in the end I was left with two immature guys to deal with. Nice going, Lu.”

He intently stared into Krystal’s eyes. She surprisingly found herself staring back at his honey colored orbs. She almost forgot how pretty his eyes can glisten.

“Are you tired? Do you want to go home now?” he broke her train of thoughts.

“Yeah, sure, just got to find someone first.”

“If it’s not that guy, then fine. Meet me in five minutes outside, I’ll get my car.”

Kai’s gaze still lingered on Krystal even from afar.

*

Krystal spotted Jinri talking with some unseen guy in the crowd. She pushed past all people and called for her friend.

As it turned out, Jinri was getting pretty tipsy, probably because of the guy that was courting her. Krystal managed to dismiss the guy off when she made it obvious Jinri was going out with her.

“Hey, I was having a great time there,” Jinri sulked when Luhan opened his car’s door for her. Krystal hissed at the state her friend has gotten into, and finally dropped the question.

“Did something happen after we split up?”

Jinri rubbed her eyes, spraying her mascara all over her lids. “Nothing. But that’s the whole point.”

Luhan was already seated in the driver’s seat; he gave a questioning look at the girl.

Krystal was still standing outside the car, keeping the passenger’s door open. “I’m listening, go on.”

Jinri’s eyes swelled up. “I saw Taemin talking with a really refined lady earlier. If he was done with his business here, why didn’t he look for me? After all, he took me as a date, no one else. Seriously… what more can I do?”

Krystal let out a deep breath. “Lu, look after her one more minute. I’ll bring some water and we’ll be going.”

The boy complied with her request. “Be quick, she might vomit any time.”

Tired, the blonde girl made her way inside the mansion a second time today, only this time not so noticeably. She found water bottles fast, but that wasn’t her true intention that moment. She was looking for Taemin. And she found him talking with some young women, just like Jinri said.

Krystal was getting pretty drunk herself, as she blurted out behind the man without thinking, “I thought better of you.”

Taemin raised an eyebrow at such statement. The other woman he was talking to awkwardly coughed and dismissed herself.

“Are you drunk, Krystal?”

“You knew that Jinri liked you, but you still dared to flirt with other girls here, right in front of her. How low of you.”

“Wait what?” Taemin’s eyes widened. “She likes me?”

Krystal froze for a moment. Has she really just blurted this thing out? No, he surely must have known as of now.

“Did I say that? What I meant was that she was your date, your guest to the party, and you left her alone,” Krystal stood firmly.

“I thought you two were together,” the tall boy stated as a matter of fact.

“We were, for some time,” she agreed quietly, before gritting her teeth at him, “but most of the time I was with my date, like how normal people are supposed to do!”

Taemin skeptically locked his gaze on her glassy eyes. She was starting to swirl from side to side. “You know you’re not making any sense. I should give you a ride home. Where’s Jinri now, then?”

“No need for your late suggestion,” Krystal cut him off, “she’s in Luhan’s car. He’s a true gentleman.”

Taemin couldn’t help but smile at drunken Krystal’s expressions. He thought she was acting too cute, getting angry at him on her best friend’s behalf after a mere misunderstanding.

“At least let me bring Jinri home. Is that okay?”

Krystal pouted and nodded. “What the hell. Maybe she’ll get everything off her mind then.”

Just as he promised, Taemin safely brought Jinri back to her place. But with her unexpected request, he stayed over for the night.