[ Krystal ]

Krystal met Sulli when she was four, after she moved into the house next door. The taller girl had a a sweet smile and a contagious laugh, not too high and not too fake. Krystal liked that.

Sulli had mentioned her older brother, briefly, but the two had been too busy playing on the slides and monkey bars at the park to hover over the topic. It wasn't until they were swinging on the swings that Minho found them, calling for his sister impatiently.

"Where have you been?! You know we're not supposed to hang out with strangers," Minho scolded, eyeing Krystal warily. She was completely captivated by the lengthy and frog-eyed boy.

"This is my brother, Minho. He's seven, but he thinks he's twelve or something," Sulli sighed, rolling her eyes. Krystal nodded as Minho scrutinized her, looking painfully suspicious. "She's okay, Minho! You look like a freak when your big eyes stare like that."

"Shut up," Minho griped.

"I'm telling on you!" Sulli threatened. The two continued to yell empty threats at each other as Minho dragged his little sister home. Sulli paused halfway down the street to turn to Krystal, who was still on the swing. "Bye, Krystal!" She turned to Minho. "Krystal's cool. She's from America."

Krystal waved, and Sulli continued walking. Krystal saw Minho glance back at her, still distrust in his eyes. They held gazes, and she raised her chin defiantly. He turned away, and she felt a sense of accomplishment.

Going over to Sulli's house was the worst. Krystal liked Sulli, but she didn't like the fact that she could feel Minho's eyes on them the whole time. He never failed to kick her out at six in the evening exactly, telling her to go and eat dinner or something.

Finally, Krystal snapped.

"Why don't you just sit here, Minho?" Krystal offered, patting the seat next to her calmly. The older boy narrowed his eyes, but he sat down anyway. "Do you want to be the knight or the prince?"

"What?" Minho and Sulli chorused.

Krystal slapped her forehead. "Sulli is the princess, and she's going to be queen soon. I'm the little princess. Do you want to be the knight or the prince?"

To her surprise, Minho's eyes lit up as he picked up a remote, holding it like a sword.

"I'll be the knight, so I can protect my sister," he announced proudly. Krystal sighed in exasperation but agreed. At least he wouldn't be glaring at her. It ended up that the three continued to play pretend until it was dark out. Minho looked surprised when his mother called him in and said that it was already nine.

"I better get going!" Krystal yelped, dusting off her skirt in a rush. She was astonished when Minho tapped her arm.

"Um . . . are you going to come back tomorrow? So we can continue?" he asked under his breath. Sulli nodded eagerly from behind her brother.

"Uh, of course," Krystal answered. "See you, Sulli! And . . . good job fighting off the dragon, Minho." She dashed off after that.

The next day, Krystal asked Minho if he wanted to be the prince or knight again. She always made sure he knew that he had a choice to be royalty, but he always gave the same answer about protecting his sister. One day, the three had somehow let their game of pretend continue at the park, where they were climbing a tree.

"Ladies first!" Minho announced, helping Sulli up to the branch. Krystal wrinkled her nose in distaste as he let her climb up herself. She struggled to grab onto the second branch, since it was a far reach. Her foot slipped, and she let out a short 'whoa!' Then she was screaming as she fell towards the ground, squeezing her eyes shut. Instead of making contact with the ground, however, she hit something warmer that responded with an 'oomph.' Krystal opened her eyes slowly and gasped.

"Wh-What are you doing under me?" Krystal demanded, scrambling off. "You were over there!" She pointed to Sulli, who had gotten up to the next branch and was asking if Krystal was okay.

"I couldn't let you hit the dirt," Minho grumbled, standing up slowly. He checked for any pain before shrugging and standing under the tree again. "Get down, Sulli. It's not safe."

The next day, Krystal asked Minho what he wanted to be again.

"I'll be the knight, so I can protect you two," Minho replied, turning away so that he could hide his face.

They were known at their schools for being inseperable, all the way from kindergarten to elementary. Krystal grew closer to the Choi siblings, and Minho became fond of the younger girl. They still had their little squabbles, but it was familiar and comforting. Krystal hadn't yet told them about her powers, but that was because her sister, Jessica, had told her not to. Krystal loved her sister, so she obeyed; they had been living on their own basically, since their parents were almost never home. Although, she felt guilty when she was with the other two.

At one point, Krystal was walking home with Minho and Sulli when she noticed that her sister's bike wasn't out front. She panicked and sprinted into the house, searching for any sign that her sister was home. There wasn't.

"Krystal, it's okay," Sulli soothed her best friend as tears ran down the other's cheeks.

"You don't understand! She's the only one I really have! She might've been . . . she could've been . . ." Krystal couldn't finish. Taken by the government. Jessica had always warned her about them. Krystal fell to her knees, shaking her head. What if something worse than the government had gotten to Jessica?

The police never found Jessica, and they smoothly let the case go. They made it seem like Jessica had disappeared, but Krystal knew better. She just didn't know enough. For a year, she was a zombie, and she was constantly anxious. What if the government took her one day? She avoided Sulli and Minho at school, all the way until third grade. Minho cornered her, eyebrows drawn together and arms crossed.

"Quit ignoring us!" he shouted. The kids around them looked at them oddly. Sulli ran up to the two and tried to pull her brother away, looking sad. "No! Let me go! She keeps walking around like she doesn't know what she's doing but she does. We know you're sad that your sister is gone, but we are, too! We . . . Sulli has been worried about you!"

Minho kept the angry expression until Krystal burst out in tears, overwhelmed. His eyes doubled in size, as if they could get any bigger, and he quickly wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey, hey, I'm sorry. Stop crying! I'm sorry!" he apologized in a panic. Sulli hugged Krystal as well, whispering words of encouragement to her friend. "I . . . I know how it feels. If I had lost Sulli, I would be just as sad. But you have us! So . . . stop crying, okay? I hate weak girls." Krystal responded by punching Minho as hard as she could, but she ended up forgiving him.

Things were back to normal.

Until she was twelve.

It was snowing, and Sulli had called to tell Krystal to stay at home.

"That's actually fine. I'm sick right now," Krystal sniffled before she sneezed loudly.

"What?!" Krystal listened to shuffling on the other end until Minho's voice came clearly through the phone. "You're sick? At home? By yourself?"

"No, Jessica came back. She's completely fine and she's been gone these past years until she decided to help me with my cold," Krystal answered sarcastically. "And my parents totally cancelled their trip in America halfway just to come back for me." She sneezed. "Yeah. Right."

"Save me the attitude, Krys. We're coming over," Minho said. Krystal frrowned and glanced out the window. It was snowing heavily, and it would be difficult enough simply walking a house over.

"You shouldn't. It's freezing out there, and you'll get stuck halfway in the snow, I bet," Krystal started, but Minho had already hung up before she could finish her statement. Worried, Krystal wrapped a blanket around herself, tossing her tissues in the waste basket before racing down the stairs. When she threw open the front door, Minho and Sulli were already waiting outside, smiling. "What - how did you - I -" Krystal glanced behind them. The snow was perfectly melted where they walked, the white layer parting in a clean path from her house to theirs.

"I did most of the work," Minho muttered, and Sulli shoved him.

"Hey, I did a pretty good job at making sure the snow moved in the right directi-" Minho clapped a hand over Sulli's mouth and grinned sheepishly at Krystal.

"We did some shoveling. It was really easy," he explained.

"How did you do it so fast? And . . . Wait. Where's the shovel?"

"Um. We threw it back home."

"What if the snow goes over the path again?" Krystal questioned.

"Uh. We'll just stay here until the snow goes away."

"What if it doesn't for a really long time? What if your parents get scared?"

"Er. Shut up." Minho ushered Krystal to the couch, as if this was his own home. "I'll make you some soup. Sulli? Can you come help?" Minho disappeared into the kitchen. Sulli tucked Krystal in slowly, and the sick girl really wanted to just use her telekinesis to speed up the process. Sulli patted Krystal's head affectionately before she followed her brother. Soon, Krystal heard some low, angry whispering.

Curious, she started to sit up, but her head throbbed and her nose started running, so she plopped back down. Weakly, Krystal raised her hand, the mirror across the room slowly lifting and facing toward the kitchen. The door was slightly open, and if she shifted it in the right angle, she could see Sulli and Minho bickering. Again. Krystal squinted.

Something was weird. Her other hand flicked out, and the door pushed open a bit more. The ones arguing in the kitchen didn't seem to notice. Sulli was washing some vegetables under running water, glaring at Minho as she said something about trust and discreetness. Minho was standing beside the stove, a pot burning with what was most likely soup, and he was saying something back about how close they were to something. Finally, Sulli growled. the running water somehow made it all the way across the kitchen and hit Minho in the face.

Krystal gasped and dropped the mirror from mid-air, catching it before she set it on the table. She craned her neck to see Minho growl as he pushed the pot from the stove. He placed his hand right where the heat  should have been burning, his expression not changing at all. Then he flicked a flame, a real burst of fire, towards his sister. Sulli scooped up a handful of water and extinguished the embers between the ball of liquid in her palm. Heart racing, Krystal raced toward the kitchen and kicked the door all the way open.

"Stop!" she rasped, clutching the wall with much effort. Minho and Sulli froze before they stared at her slowly. "You guys . . . you're . . . you're one of-"

"I told you," Minho interrupted, clenching his fists. He glared at Sulli, eyes sparking red for an instant. "I told you we shouldn't have trusted her." Krystal closed , her words cut off. You're one of us.

"Minho . . . Krystal wouldn't . . . she's not scared. You're not scared of us, right?" Sulli begged Krystal. Krystal opened , but she couldn't say anything as tears pricked her eyes. Sulli could trust her but . . . he couldn't trust her?

"I told you. We should have never become friends with her," Minho hissed to Sulli. The latter gritted her teeth.

"Krystal is our best friend! You just told me the other day that she was like a sister to you, too!" Sulli shouted. Minho's eyes darted over to Krystal when that slipped, but his expression hardened.

"It would've been better if we just never talked to her. That doesn't matter anymore. We were told not to talk to-"

Krystal let a plate fly from the cabinet, smashing against the wall. The room was dead silent then. Krystal wiped the tears from her face calmly, although her chest was heaving and she wanted to punch something really hard.

"I'm not mad that you guys didn't tell me, since I didn't," Krystal said quietly.

"You're-" Minho began.

"But," Krystal snapped, "I'm hurt. Because you never wanted me to know, even though I would have wanted you to. And I thought we were true friends, but that doesn't matter to you, does it?" Krystal let all the drawers whip open, glasses crashing as they slid out and fell to the floor. Sulli and Minho flinched, looking shocked and guilty. Krystal looked at Sulli. "I'm sorry." Her gaze slid to Minho. "But not you. I hate you."

She ran, struggling through the snow. She wasn't sure if they were following her, but she doubted it in her mind. Krystal managed to make it partway down the block before she collapsed, shivering, freezing, and still crying. She covered her face and willed herself to stop. She had no one now. No parents, no Jessica, no Sulli or Minho . . . she was alone. Krystal closed her eyes and sunk into the snow.

I want to sleep,she thought tiredly, even as warmth wrapped itself around her. She didn't question the fact that the snow seemed to disappear beneath her, and the ice was replaced by a burning heat. Krystal flinched slightly. I want to sleep.

"You can't sleep!" Had she said that out loud? "You better wake up or I'm going to be so mad, Krystal!" Was that Minho?

"Krystal, please, we're sorry." Was that Sulli? There was a shout. "Minho, I see the police! We have to run! Carry her, hurry!"

"No! That doesn't matter; if I move, I can't focus. She'll freeze if I don't do this first."

There was the sound of someone hitting the ground - Sulli, maybe - and a soft sigh.

"Th-they'll let us stay together, right? They won't split us apart . . . that's all that matters." The tenseness in the air became gentler, relaxed.

"Yeah," Minho replied, and Krystal felt his hand brush over her forehead. That was how they ended up in the Special facilities, and no matter how many times Krystal apologized, Minho never let her feel bad about it. Because that was where they had met the others, and that was where they didn't have to hide themselves from each other.

Of course, Krystal had to hide one thing: she was in love with Minho. It happened a while before Luna came, maybe even earlier.

Sulli knew, as embarrassing as it was that her best friend liked her brother. But Minho was too dense, and too brotherly to Krystal. And she felt like giving up sometimes, but she couldn't. Not even now.

[ Minho ]

Present time

"Stop running, Krystal!" Minho called after Krystal, picking up the pace when he realized that she was running. She got all the way to the fountain in the middle of the walkway when she slowed down, much to Minho's relief. His relief slowly became irritation when he realized why. Minhyuk. He had gotten so close to Krystal lately, for some unknown reason. Apparently they had run into each other when Krystal went out to get food one time.

"So are you heading out for some ice cream anytime soon? I could take you right now," Minhyuk was offering when Minho came closer. Minho clenched his jaw and stormed up to them before Krystal could reply. She sighed and looked dow at her feet, crossing her arms.

"I don't know. If Minho would stop being such an overprotective jerk, maybe," she said. It sounded like she directed it to Minho more thank Minhyuk, but it didn't matter to him. He didn't want her talking to Minhyuk anyway.

"That would be a no," Minho said flatly, staring the other male down until he walked away. Krystal stomped her foot childishly. A penny flew up from the fountain water as her foot made contact with the floor and hit Minho right between the eyes. He wiped the droplets of water off his face and picked up the coin calmly, tossing it back in the fountain. "You just wasted someone's wish."

"You just wasted me some ice cream," Krystal shot back, biting her lip in annoyance. Minho sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Is that the only reason you would've accepted his offer? Wait - were you going to say yes?" Minho spat.

"What does it matter to you? It's not your problem if I get asked out on a date!" Krystal huffed. Minho was at a loss for words.

"I . . . a date - you - how can you . . . assume - yes it is!" Minho burst out, face turning red. From what? Embarrassment, anger, frustration? He couldn't even tell. Krystal stepped back, squinting as her eyes darted all over him, as if she were searching for something.

"How? How is it your problem if I get asked out on a date?" she accused. Minho couldn't answer that, his mouth hanging open but no sound coming out. "You know what, nevermind." Krystal tried to escape again, but Minho caught her by the wrist.

"What's your problem, Krystal?" he sighed.

"My problem? You're the one who's making me avoid Luna because you're avoiding her. Luna isn't dangerous; you saw how scared she was when she nearly hurt Lizzy. Lizzy. I mean, come on, even I would want to hurt Lizzy because of the way she hangs all over Onew, and I'm pretty sure Luna and Onew have something going on." Krystal shook her hand out of Minho's grip. "I have a problem with you acting like you own me, like you're my brother and not Sulli's or something. I'm not four, I'm not ten, I'm not twelve . . . Minho, I'm almost twenty years old."

Minho twitched slightly. Then he let out a long breath, his head hanging.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, stepping forward and wrapping his arms around Krystal. He felt a pang in his chest when Krystal stiffened. They had always been close like this, like siblings, but she had been so distant with him lately. He knew something was up; he knew that Sulli must've known something, too, but he just didn't know what. He was relieved when Krystal finally hugged him back, relaxing on the outside, but his heart picking up pace inside.

He wasn't exactly sure why it did that whenever Krystal was there, but it felt nice.

"You're going to stop being so . . . I don't know, controlling, right?" Krystal asked warily, voice muffled into his shoulder. Minho pursed his lips.

"Of course I'll let you hang out with Luna, because I like her, too. Like you do, as a friend," he corrected himself quickly. He felt like reassuring that fact for some reason. "But . . . I'm always going to be your knight, you know." Krystal laughed, pressing her face into his shoulder to hide her expression.

"You're so lame and cheesy," her voice sounded, light and cheery. Minho smiled softly.

I'll always be your knight. So I can protect you.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Taemin's music video

And don't hate me, but I can't stand the hair??

I still love the boy, but long hair with a middle split??? Is it just me????

It's okay. He's still perfect.

So in case some of you want to avoid Minstal chapters

(p.s. that makes me sad *hint hint*)

I will mark them with these little *stars*, a.k.a. *asterisks*

Now you guys know about Minho's, Sulli's, and Krystal's past (notice I used Minhyuk because of the DRAMA they were in together, no hate because he's adorable)

Next time, we'll get to hear about the main characters

A~nd school is evil. I couldn't update last week because I was trying to get my hectic schedule together

/sighs I stare into space dramatically/

Anyhow, let me tell you something

My friend apparently likes this guy at school who reminds her of Suho

Huh?

Like, I really want to see this guy. He apparently has a nice smile?

I want to see this Suho look-alike.

Who has captivated my best friend in the first week of school

I will cut him

Ha-ha, just kidding

Fluffy chapter ending is fluffy, I guess.

Thanks for reading! I love seeing all your comments~

(By the way, a lot of you were freaking out because I was bleeding while I wrote the last chapter, but trust me, all your comments are worth it LOL)