Chapter 24 

❝I wish to be human.❞

[Dinner Time; Park Estate; Dining Room]

Krystal

"It's apparently supposed to snow while we're there in New York!" Lydia clapped her hands, bouncing up and down in her seat. "And just in time for Christmas!"

"Ohhh daebakkk!" Jay exclaimed using a bit of his Korean dialect, joining Lydia in her cheers.

"Very day-back!!" Lydia giggled. I rolled my eyes at the attempt while dad and Luhan chuckled a bit. 

"It would be nice to have a date around Central Park after it snows... Wouldn't it, Krystal dear?" Luhan looked at me with an arched brow, waiting for my answer. Before, when he asked me questions like this, I would try and dodge the topic or think of some witty retort. Now that Luhan was my "boyfriend", it wouldn't hurt to at least play the part of his "girlfriend" once with him. 

"Yeah!" I grabbed his hand in mine. "Then we can go ice skating! Build snowmen! Share some hot cocoa!" I imitated the squeal of excitement that Lydia showed earlier. "Ohhh sooo exciting!" 

Luhan was surprised for a second, then returned a small smile that made my heart flutter. He squeezed my hand and turned to the adults. "Isn't she adorable?" He turned back to me using his other hand to pinch my cheeks. "Yes you areee." 

"Stop that... babe..." I swatted his hand away from my cheeks that we're turning a light shade of pink. Not just because he was pinching it harder than necessary, but also because of what he'd just decribed me as.

He called me adorable.

I mean, it wasn't the first time he complimented my character. It was the first time, that I actually acknowledged his words and sort of took it to heart. Ever since this afternoon when I pitched the "boyfriend" plan to him, he had been playing the part pretty well. Actually, he always played the part when we were around Appa and Lydia, but now he was going 10x more overboard than usual. He was acting as if... as if he really was my boyfriend. The weird thing is?? 

I was secretly beginning to enjoy it. 

For the rest of the dinner, my hand was held firmly in Luhan's hand. The way he his thumb over my skin. The way he gently squeezed it when he knew I was starting to drift asleep. Every time he did those things, my heart would skip a beat. When I managed to look at Luhan to try and give him a somewhat "scolding" look, he would just be sitting there so mature and y and god... 

When did he suddenly turn into my ideal husband? 

"In the spirit of Christmas coming along, I was thinking we could watch a Christmas related movie!" Lydia offered right after dinner. "Would anyone like to join??" 

Appa raised his hand along with Jay. I looked at Luhan; he was usually up for these kinds of things, so why not tonight?? Luhan looked at me at that moment with a sly grin on his face. What was Genie Boy planning now?? 

"Actually, Krystal was telling me how she still has some packing to do. I think I'll go help her out." Luhan took my hand in his, leading me up the stairs. I turned back quickly and waved a little goodbye before I turned back around, letting out a groan. 

"When did packing suitcases become a boyfriend-like duty??" I asked as I pulled my hand away from his, opening the door to my bedroom. I heard little steps that pitter pattered against the floor as I saw Mickey coming towards me. I picked him up, snuggling him under my arm.

"Ever since I became your 'boyfriend'", Luhan stated, putting up little bunny ears around the last word. He tried to reach his hand out to pet Mickey on the head, but the dog gave a low growl. Mickey still wasn't fond of Luhan; I envied the dog so much for being completely immune to the genie charms and looks I had fallen for. Life would be SO much easier without Luhan...

Yet, I don't regret him being here either. 

"And as my 'boyfriend' that has offered to help me pack..." I nudged my foot against my Louis Vuitton trunks. "I suggest you start going through the neutrals and work your way right." Mickey jumped out of my arms and into the little bed set up for her in the closet. 

"Wait, aren't you supposed to pick out your own outfits?" He pointed as he watched me sit down on the chaise I had in the closet.

I shook my head, "That's why I bring my whole 'winter' closet with me" I ran my hand through my hair to give it a little volume. "So I don't have to choose my outfit till I'm actually in need of it."

Luhan let out a chuckle. Surprisingly enough though, without complaints, he went straight to doing the work I had ordered. I sat and observed him closely, seeing if he was doing anything suspicious to the clothes he was packing; he might pull a Regina George " Hole" trend on them when I didn't want it. A few minutes passed by in complete silence, I had resulted into glancing over the magazine I now had in my hands, taking a few sneak peeks at his actions here and there. He was still doing the job I had told him to do.... Why was he becoming so obedient all of a sudden? 

Actually, wait... Come to think of it, he was almost, if not always, following whatever I said to him. Maybe it was because of the Master-Genie relationship between us, but why did I want it to feel like the reason was something more? Like, oh I don't know, he had a "thing" for me. And no, not just a ual thing, but also, perhaps... he cared about me? 

I suddenly had a random thought.

"Luhan," I bit my lip daring myself to let the question slip from my lips.

"Yes?" He asked, placing a bunch of sweater in my trunk. 

"Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" My insides started to churn like a nervous ball of fire. Luhan continued on his work, nodding his head casually, making the ball of fire inside of me grow bigger. Who was she? Was she prettier then me? Was she richer than me? Did he love her?

"You" he replied, giving me a subtle wink. The ball of fire in me died down a bit as I let out a sigh of relief. So I was his "first" girlfriend... cute. Then the sudden realization hit me...

He's NEVER had a girlfriend in all his years of existing?!

Luhan

"You're lying," Krystal laughed off, shaking her head and flipping the page of the InStyle magazine she was holding. "You MUST be lying." 

"I'm not lying actually" I stated matter-of-factly as I stopped my actions to look at her. "I mean, I've had flings and one night stands here and there... but, never really a girlfriend." 

"This does NOT make sense to me whatsoever..." Krystal put her hand on her forehead. "Like... I mean--why? You? How? It doesn't--" She bit her bottom lip in disbelief. 

"Don't think so hard or you'll hurt yourself" I laughed at the flustered Krystal. I continued my work as I explained my reasons. "A Genie has 2 main purposes other than granting wishes when coming to Earth." I used my fingers to count down the purposes. "1) Get in & out of Earth ASAP. The shorter the stay, the longer you can reach freedom aka the Land of EXO. 2) Do NOT fall in love with any human being. It just brings complications in feelings and actions. One of those being that a Genie may want to turn human." I pretended to slice my neck with my thumb. "And that's a HUGE no no." 

"So what, the only 'relationships' you've ever been in are one night stands or friends with benefits?" Krystal still looked a bit confused, now rubbing her temples. "It's just--your so--you know..."

"What? Boyfriend material?" I gave her a smirk, standing up from my squatting position to walk over to the empty spot on the couch beside her. I saw her move a bit to leave some space between us, but ignoring her attempt, I scooted closer. 

"Has it ever happened before?" She asked out of the blue which threw my charm off. I wasn't stupid, knowing she'd be asking about the human turning Genie situation. That topic was rarely touched and talked about among the remaining Genies... I decided to play dumb.

"Has what ever happened before?" 

"Has a genie ever fallen in love with a human and gave up the genie life for it?" Krystal sets her curious eyes on me, now pulling her legs up to her body. I couldn't help but notice how cute and y Krystal looked at the same time; her face showed off her cuteness while her body presented all the right curves.

Luhan, get yourself together, or else you'll be the second genie to turn human.

I nodded. "It's happened once before."

Krystal sighed as if she was enjoying a fairytale. "How romantic..." I saw the twinkle in her eyes dazzle off into space. "Do you ever visit this Genie? Or ??" 

"We do see him every once in a while, but he doesn't exactly remember us..." My mind recalled the last time I had seen Kris in human form on earth. He was wearing a business suit and walking down the street with a woman. He looked happy and in love, but then again, we couldn't help but think what a foolish move he had made. Who would want to face all those struggles and hardships without the solution of magic to help? Most certainly not me. 

"Why doesn't he remember you?" Krystal leaned in as if she was watching one of her reality/drama TV shows.

"You see Krystal... the thing about a genie turning into a human is that the genie will lose all powers and memories of being one. Meaning, he'll forget his own brothers and at the same time, forget why he turned into a genie in the first place. The genie's initial master is the only one left with the memories of said genie; so if the master wishes the genie to become human so that they could spend the rest of their lives together..."

"Then that would mean the genie would have no idea of who his lover was since the relationship took place BEFORE the transformation." I could tell Krystal was slowly putting the pieces together. "Meaning..." 

"That it's useless to transform into a human if you have no recollection of your lover from before" I finished the puzzle of confusion for her. "If anything, the two may not even end up together like the genie originally planned." 

Instead of hearing any more words from Krystal, I saw her staring off deep into space. Did I confuse her even more? Or was she just digging deeper into the conversation more then she should? 

"I think I know the reason why you don't have a girlfriend" She broke the small silence, adjusting her body towards me. "It's not that you despise being human ... I think it's because you're afraid to fall in love. To fall in love with somebody that will give you their all, when you can't offer them the whole world in return because in order to do that... You'll have to forget the moments originally cherished from before." Krystal looked down, nervously playing around with her fingers. "I think it's okay to go through that process, you know?" 

I felt my heart drop. Did she really just say that? I mean, yeah I knew she had some intelligence but I didn't know she could analyze such situations. Plus, she had hit the reason right on the spot. Pshht, I wasn't going to acknowledge that for my own sake. I still had an image to keep up; I did NOT want to be known as the genie cracked by a human. 

"Actually, I don't know and don't want to know because I personally wouldn't like to go through it" I sassily retorted. 

Krystal gave me "I know you wouldn't" look with her eyes. "Oh well what a shocker..." She rolled her eyes, standing up from her chaise and stretching her arms and back. "What if I decided to turn YOU into a human, hmmm? That should be my last wish, huh??" 

My eyes widened. That was most definitely NOT the wish I wanted to hear. It was at the VERY bottom of my backup plan list and I was NOT going to put it in motion now. She wouldn't do it... no, no, no, no, no... not after she knew how much I despised the human race.

"You wouldn't..." I began to say as Krystal walked over to me, placing herself between my legs. She placed her hands around the collar of my shirt, smiling down at me. 

"Why wouldn't I? I mean... You are my 'boyfriend' after all and oh I don't know... what if one day we fall deeply in love and you want to stay with me forever and ever and--" 

I put my own hands on top of hers, sliding them off my shoulders yet still holding onto them. "What makes you say that we'll fall in love?" I stood up, using my taller height as an advantage to look intimidating. "Didn't you say earlier that you wanted me to be your fake boyfriend just so you could make Jackson jealous?" 

Instead of pulling away from the close contact between us, she leaned in a little bit more. "Well, yeah, but what if somewhere in the midst of all our lies... One of us starts putting out true feelings for the other..." Krystal laid her chin on my chest while still looking up at me. I prayed that she couldn't feel or hear my heart racing at an abnormally fast pace. "It always happens in the movies." 

I could see in her eyes that her actions were just to fool me around, so I decided to return the favor... I took one hand out from hers and ran it through her hair letting it linger behind the nape of her neck. "I think the relationship you're referring to is one that they call 'friends with benefits'." 

Krystal took out her other hand from mine, wagging her finger at me. "Nuh-uh-uh I think you're forgetting another type of relationship that the movies imply to." 

"And what's that?" She gave me a smirk, leaning in closer towards me. Was she going to kiss me as an answer? Was Krystal approving of my little hint? My body responded by leaning in forward as well, but instead of a go at my lips, she passed them up going to my ear. 

"Blackmail, my dear Luhan", she whispered in such a seductive tone that I felt like I should be hearing ier words than that. "Because in this relationship we have right now... if you don't act the right way a "fake" boyfriend is supposed to act, then I have every right to wish you to turn into human." 

I clenched my jaw, feeling a small pang of anxiousness form down below. God damn it, why did this rich have to be clever?? Couldn't she be like any other airhead that I could easily ? Did she have ANY idea how much I wanted her right now? 

Before I could even try to satisfy myself by stealing a kiss from those luscious lips, a certain ringtone broke the between us. Krystal pushed me away, and without a second word or look, left me alone in the closet. As soon as she closed the door behind her, I let out a small groan, kicking the trunk I had been previously working on... that rich b*tch.

For once, I meant that in the LEAST ual way possible.