Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 10: Spit It Out

Krystal woke up the morning after the impromptu sleepover to find that Amber was not in bed with her once again. Some how she had managed to sneak out of bed without waking Krystal.

"She really is like a ninja," Krystal thought groggily, rubbing her tired eyes. She got up and checked herself in Amber's mirror, disappointed but unsurprised to find that her eyes were a little puffy from crying last night. With heavy steps, Krystal left Amber's bedroom and entered the living room/kitchen area. A cheerful Amber greeted her while in the middle of breakfast preparations.

"Morning! Since it didn't seem like you slept well," Amber said, referring to having to wake a tearful Krystal from a bad dream last night, "I thought I'd try to make your morning better with a nice breakfast."

Krystal smiled as she watched Amber whisk a bowl of eggs. "Thanks, Am. And sorry for last night. Shooting this drama is totally screwing with my emotions," she lied. The reality was that she had dreamed of a bad outcome for the not-yet-existent romantic relationship between herself and Amber.

"Well speaking of drama shooting, are you going to be OK for work today? Your eyes are kind of puffy..."

"I'll be fine," Krystal said confidently. "My character's supposed to have a cold from being depressed, so this works out quite well."

"I hope your drama gets cheerful quickly," Amber said, starting to pour the egg mixture into a pan. "You could use the extra dose of cheerfulness. Anyway hurry up and shower or you'll be late."

Krystal was out the door after a pleasant but uneventful breakfast. She had decided last night that she would stop running and that she would reveal her feelings to Amber, but the bad dream was causing her to hesitate again.

"I'll tell her right after the Shanghai concert," Krystal told herself, counting the days until the concert. Today was Wednesday and the concert wasn't until Saturday, so she had about four days to think of how she was going to tell Amber that she was in love with her.

"I just need to make it through the rest of the week," she told herself firmly as her manager-oppa picked her up, but it was easier said than done. As SHINee's Minho had predicted, the shooting schedule was starting to slip and her schedule became more demanding to accommodate the writing staff's deficiencies. By the time Saturday rolled around, Krystal felt like a zombie, a shell of her former existence. Even her schedules during the Red Light promotions didn't seem as tiring in comparison.

Her flight touched down in Shanghai the morning of the concert and she was immediately whisked away for rehearsal without a moment to relax. When the zombie-like Krystal arrived at f(x)'s dressing room, Victoria, Amber, and Luna greeted her cheerful in Chinese.

"Hi..." she greeted them tiredly in Korean, warmly accepting their hugs.

"We're in China," Luna proudly said in Chinese. "You should speak Chinese when you're in China."

Krystal glared playfully at Luna, but it was hard to hold back the smile. The comment was somewhat of an inside joke between them.

Victoria wrapped up their youngest member in a warm embrace. "Welcome to China, my baby. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too, unnie," Krystal replied, relaxing in her Vic-omma's arms.

Without warning, Krystal was lifted into the air and out of Victoria's hug. The members laughed as they watched Amber lift her in both arms and carry her to the nearby couch.

"You need rest," Amber said firmly, setting Krystal onto the cushions. "You look like you're gonna pass out."

"Hello to you, too," Krystal replied with a weak smile, but Amber still looked stern. "Come on Am, I'll be fine. And I'm really happy to be with everyone again. That's a major energy boost right there."