Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Isaiah 40:28

When she heard her name, Krystal swiveled around, and her eyes lit up at the sight of a person who was much like her older brother and who used to live in the same neighborhood when they were children.

“Jongsuk oppa!” she cried, jumping up to hug him. “What are you doing here?”

“To meet my girlfriend,” he replied simply as they sat down, and Krystal felt her jaw drop.

“Date? You have a girlfriend?” she shrilled delightedly.

Covering his ears, Jongsuk winced from her excited, high pitched voice. “Jeez, all of Korea probably heard that, Soojung,” he joked, using Krystal’s real name. Only he used it regularly. Even Jessica didn’t always use it.

Krystal slapped his arm in retaliation and pouted. “You’re so mean. It’s not my fault I’m so excited you finally have a girlfriend.”

“What do you mean finally? I’ve had plenty before,” retorted Jongsuk, causing her to snort aloud.

“Oh yeah? Name one,” she challenged, and when he opened his mouth to answer, she added, “And crushes do not count.”

Jongsuk scoffed. “Soojung, you may have known me through my awkward teenage years, but you did not know me in my college years. I was really popular with the ladies.”

Despite rolling her eyes good naturedly, Krystal could not help but smile at their playful banter. Even though they haven’t been able to meet up for a while because of her college classes and his work, whenever they did, they fell right back to their casual and comfortable friendship full of teasing.

“How about you?” he suddenly asked her.

She furrowed her eyebrows slightly in confusion. “What about me?”

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

Krystal momentarily froze in fear, but upon remembering that she hadn’t told Jongsuk about Kai whatsoever, she was able to relax and respond, “No.” She wasn’t lying either. She was now a single lady.

Jongsuk looked skeptical, however. “Really? A pretty girl like you doesn’t have a boyfriend?”

Hearing his indirect compliment, Krystal broke into a wide grin. “Yeah, and do you know why?”

He raised an eyebrow, silently asking why.

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