Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 52: Toy

The two most important people in Krystal's life, her sister Jessica and her girlfriend Amber, were seated with her at a private restaurant room in Seoul. It was the weekend following the first week of their '4 Walls' comeback stages and the three women were enjoying a casual dinner together, something they had never done together before. Even though Jessica and Amber were engaged in an amicable conversation with each other, the sight of their cheerful interaction was deeply unsettling to Krystal.

Jessica and Amber didn't have a bad relationship with each other, but the two women didn't have a particularly good relationship either. Krystal always sensed that Amber's personality didn't suit Jessica's tastes. And as for Amber, Krystal sensed that her girlfriend was just flat out terrified of the former Girls' Generation member. Fear and incompatibility didn't make for a good friendship, so Krystal never questioned why Jessica and Amber never made any effort to become better friends. But now that the two polar opposites were deep in conversation with each other, Krystal felt very uneasy about how natural the scene looked. And annoyingly, the two of them could not stop talking about her.

"I told Soojung to turn the steering wheel all the way to the left before she backed up, but she just hit the gas and BAM!! Right into the garbage can!" Amber was telling Jessica excitedly, retelling the embarrassing tale of last weekend's unsuccessful attempts of teaching Krystal how to parallel park.

For Jessica's part, the older woman snorted into her wine before slapping the table with uncontrollable laughter. Krystal had to admit that the sight of her sister and girlfriend getting along with very heartwarming, but she felt conflicted that her reputation was the price for this harmony.

"Um, can we please change the topic?" Krystal asked with mild irritation. "There are other things we can talk about besides, 'What embarrassing thing did Soojung do now?'"

"We could do that," Amber reasoned with a playful smile, "but where's the fun in that?"

Jessica nodded as she tried to elegantly wipe the wine spittle from her lips. "You don't have to stay if the conversation doesn't interest you," Jessica replied loftily. "Feel free to leave while Amber and I discuss other important business." The older girl turned to Amber with a sparkle in her eye. "Did you know that Soojung left the house with a pair of panties clinging to the back of her shirt last week?"

"Hey, hey," Krystal interrupted, waving her hand angrily between the chattering women. "Seriously, that's enough. Let's talk about something else."

With an affectionate smirk, Amber reached out and patted Krystal kindly on the head. Krystal narrowed her eyes playfully at her girlfriend, accepting the consoling pats before turning to look at Jessica. The younger Jung was surprised to find an indescribably melancholic expression in Jessica's eyes. It was not jealousy or disgust, but rather a wistfulness that Krystal couldn't fully identify.

"What's wrong?" Krystal wondered, casting her sister a worried glance. She nervously pushed Amber's hand away, concerned that their interactions had bothered Jessica, who hadn't witnessed them interacting romantically before.

The older Jung shook her head with a bit of a sheepish smile. "It's not that. I just felt a little nostalgic watching you with Amber," Jessica admitted.

Krystal paused and quirked an eyebrow in her sister's direction. "Nostalgic? Does seeing us together remind you of when YOU dated Amber?" Krystal had said this as a joke, but the matching pair of disgusted expressions that appeared on Jessica and Amber's faces were a bigger reward than she had expected.

"Ugh, gross," Amber complained, pretending to vomit at the thought of dating Jessica. She quickly turned to the older girl and apologized for the comment. "N-no offense."