s i x .

Krystal swipes her finger across the spatula before placing the sweet pink substance on her tongue. Her eyes shut as she basks in the pleasant taste. She has always loved cupcakes — the smooth texture of the frosting and the moist cake. There’s something incredibly satisfying about making them as well. Although Krystal isn’t the best baker, and she doesn’t consider herself as such, she still enjoys doing it. “Wow,” Mrs. Kim gasps. “These look simply scrump-dili-umpcious!” she exclaims, giggling and clapping her hands afterwards. Who says that, Krystal quips bitterly, although she doesn’t dare to voice such a thought.

“Thank you,” she says, “Jongin is having friends over so I thought it was only appropriate.”

Mrs. Kim blinks daintily. “He’s having friends over?” she implores, receiving a short nod from the maid. “He didn’t even tell me.” she sighs. Mrs. Kim pouts childishly as she slides into a bar stool on the opposite side of the counter. Krystal looks up, a slick smile crawling onto her face. Service with a smile.

“He didn’t tell me either,” she confesses. “His friends happened to call to confirm the date.” Mrs. Kim nods at this, still seeming a bit perturbed. Krystal continues with the conversation, though, “I thought it was a bit strange, too. I mean, he just went out yesterday. When I lived with my parents, I almost never left the house.” she rambles, but stops upon realizing what she’s saying. Mrs. Kim looks up and watches as Krystal laughs it off. I’ve said too much.

Her shoulders shake as she chuckles. “You’re such a sweet girl, though, I would think that you’d be very popular.”

Krystal purses her lips at this. “You would think,” she drawls, “But, I’m a bit blunt, you know. I don’t know how to be particularly kind. A lot of people hate me.” A soft sigh escapes her lips as she places the finished cupcakes on a serving platter. Mrs. Kim shrugs simply, unphased.

“It’s the same for me,” she says sourly. “Everyone hates me.”

Her own feelings aside, this seems a bit strange to Krystal. Sure, Mrs. Kim can talk, but she’s definitely not a bad person. She’s sweet beyond compare, and compassionate, and caring. Grumbling, Krystal sets the cupcakes on the counter as she mumbles things about how messed up the human race is. Mrs. Kim pays no heed to this, however, as she comes to realize the presence of her son. “Jongin, honey,” She smiles. “I didn’t know you were having guests. Is Baekhyun coming over? I love that boy.”

Jongin’s nose wrinkles as he pushes past his mother to look at the cupcakes Krystal prepared. “I didn’t realize I was having a tea party,” he sneers. Krystal blinks, but grins to hide her falter in composure.

“If you don’t want them,” she sighs, “I’ll take them off your hands.”

She moves to grab the platter but Jongin slaps her hand away as he grips onto the cupcakes. “No,” he spits. “They’re mine!” Krystal shrugs and walks off, wiping her hands on the food stained apron that adorns her waist. Jongin casts a wary glance her way before turning to his mother. “You’re leaving, right?” he demands. Mrs. Kim seems somewhat baffled as she searches for her thoughts.

“W-Why?”

Jongin rolls his eyes. “I’m having my friends over, don’t be a buzz kill, Mom.”

Mrs. Kim frowns before nodding and gathering her things. She casts a hurt glance back at her son before exiting the house, head hung. Jongin slides into an armchair, amused by how easily influenced his mother is. She’s such a pushover — but most socialites are like that. Krystal reappears, tugging tersely at the flannel shirt that covers her slim figure. She glances briefly at Jongin before striding towards the door. He scrambles out of his seat and points a single finger at her. “Where do you think you’re going!?”

“Out?”

“Y-You can’t!” he stutters, trying to appear collected. Krystal scoffs and raises a single eyebrow. Her unsaid question hangs in the open air, taunting Jongin, Who’s gonna stop me? “My friends said they wanted to see you.” Jongin announces. Krystal’s eyes roll out of habit and her hands immediately find her hips.

A soft smile plays on her thin lips. “That’s nice,” she comments. “But I’m not really interested.” That said, she moves to open the door, but stops upon seeing a light-haired male standing in the doorway. She blinks a few times, her gaze switching from him to Jongin and back. “It’s what’s-his-face. Look, Jongin, you have a friend.” she sneers, smirking as she moves to go past him. The tall boy stops her by grabbing onto her wrist, and he succeeds in stopping her. “Let go.”

“Stay,” he requests, “please.”

Krystal nods once and slides into a nearby seat, looking down to the ground. How can someone who’s obviously younger than her boss her around? She nearly growls in frustration, but stops herself before she can do so. “Hey, Sehun,” Jongin — or rather, Kai — says. Sehun nods in response as he lopes into the living room, his eyes flicker from the pink cupcakes to Krystal, and he smirks. Something doesn’t sit right with Krystal when it comes to this boy — she had thought that he was friends with Kai, but his actions yesterday told her otherwise. He very well might have malicious intents and is only friends with Kai for that reason, Krystal supposes. “She made those cupcakes; I can’t imagine that they taste good.”

She growls in annoyance, but says nothing as Sehun picks one up and twists it around in his hand. It’s rather pretty, actually. The pink frosting swirls around the top of the cake in an almost mesmerizing manner. Lifting it to his lips, he takes a small bite out of it, paying no heed to the watchful eyes of Krystal and Kai. “It’s good,” Sehun says simply to Kai before turning to Krystal. “Nice job.”

Krystal smiles haughtily as she sticks her tongue out at Kai, who hisses at his best friend. “Dude, don’t encourage her!” Kai growls. Krystal stands up as the doorbell rings, and upon opening the door, she’s greeted by Kai’s lot of friends, whose arms are laden with food and games. “What are you doing? Take that stuff from them!” Kai orders, eyes hard as he looks at Krystal. She bites her tongue to keep herself from spouting an excess of derogatory language. Rebellious spirit courses through her veins, but she surppresses it as she smiles endearingly and grabs the things from the boys.

“You’re so lucky, Kai,” Baekhyun sighs, “Your maid is pretty.”

Chanyeol, mouth already filled with chips, shouts his agreement, “Yeah! My maid is middle aged, overweight, and she has bunions.” The boys all shudder at the thought and then proceed to smile at Krystal. Attention feels foreign and uncomfortable to her, so she shifts awkwardly and looks away. Kai takes notice of this and rolls his eyes before facing his friends with a confident smirk.

“Yeah, well, she’s mine.”

A chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahs’ arise from the boys, who suddenly become clingy in an attempt to anger Kai. One of the boys pulls Krystal down next to him and upon making eye contact with her, he wiggles his eyebrows jokingly. “Hey, girl, hey,” he exclaims. Krystal rolls her eyes as she pushes him to the side and stands up. The unusually flustered girl excuses herself and quickly escapes into the kitchen, where she stays for upwards of ten minutes.

An unusual quiet sets over the house, causing Krystal to become curious. Had the boys up and left? She quickly finds that that isn’t so as she re-enters the living room, which is still filled with rowdy young men. They all turn to face Krystal, though, as she comes in. “Kryssie!” a baby faced boy squeals as he drags her into the circle they’ve set up. “You’re going to play truth or dare with us!” he exclaims. Krystal shakes her head from side to side, suddenly on the defensive.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea...”

Suho waves his hand absently. “Don’t worry about it!” he laughs. Krystal doesn’t seem convinced as she shifts awkwardly. “It’s all fun and games, after all.” It’s always “just fun and games,” but it always ends up in disaster. Anxious, Krystal attempts to make a dash for it, but is stopped by the calm gaze of Sehun. The young male manages to be collected no matter what; he doesn’t seem to be shaken by much of anything.

“I dare you to play Seven Minutes In Heaven,” Baekhyun snickers, eyes locked on Krystal. “With Minseok-hyung.”

A thick-cheeked boy with deep brown eyes looks up from the bowl of chips, evidently befuddled. “You guys always pick on me,” he whines, “and I’m the oldest!” Even the stoic Krystal feels the smallest pinch of pity for the rather pathetic boy. His dongsaengs seem to be ruthless when it comes to picking on him. Everyone giggles childishly, ushering for Krystal and Xiumin to stand up and proceed towards the stairwell closet.

A hand rises.

“Black Knight,” Kim Jongin announces. “I’m stepping in for Minseok hyung.”

Several boys groan their disapproval, however, no one objects as Kai grabs Krystal’s hand and drags her into the pitch black closet — a closet Krystal is very familiar with. It’s the utility closet; all the cleaning supplies are stored here. As she’s dragged inside, her head is slammed up against a stray mop, and her feet mow through countless bottles of Windex. “Why—”

Nothing can be seen through the suffocating darkness of the surrounding area, however, Kai’s smirk seems to be the exception — it practically radiates. “You act like you don’t want this,” he drawls, his ego at an all time high. They say that one should never feed another’s ego, but at this point, Krystal can’t help it. Building people up just to break them down is her thing. It’s her forte, of sorts.

“Oh, yes,” she gasps, “you’ve got me all figured out, Jongin.”

Once again, the aura of his smirk seems to fill the miniscule room. He takes a step closer. And another. And one more, until he’s right before her. His warm breath brushes past her face, bringing a rush of color to her cheeks. “I thought so,” he whispers huskily, bringing a hand up to hold her arm. The entirety of her being wants to throw him off a cliff. Her heart and soul screams to tear him to pieces. But the smallest voice in the back of her head wants him. “What do you want?” he teases, running the tips of his fingers along her shoulders.

Krystal bites her lip. “Everything,” she whimpers, clutching onto him and abandoning her pride for a mere second. The ploy proves effective, as he seems suddenly taken aback and flustered. The muscles in his arm tense up and his movements lose fluidity for several seconds. But he regains himself. However, Krystal herself isn’t finished just yet. Leaning in, her lips brushing against his ear lobe, she whispers—

“I want you.”

a u t h o r ' s  n o t e ;

→ so, it's been a while. guys, i'm so sorry. really. i cannot catch a break, to be honest. everyone is demanding my attention right now, and i just can't seem to find time to sit down and write. this chapter happened to be half-way done, so i was able to finish it pretty quick. it's considerably steamy, i believe. what'll happen next— krystal is such a tease, right? and kai is so possessive. and what about sehun...freaky kid. well, i'll try to update more often. i hope your summer is going well and whatnot. seeya

→ peyton