Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 29: Rum Pum Pum Pum

There was a kind of weirdness in the air as Krystal and her f(x) members flew from Korea to Taiwan for the upcoming SMTOWN concert. Victoria was headed to Taiwan from China, leaving only Krystal, Amber, and Luna departing from Seoul. 

Krystal had not pressured Amber or even mentioned their extended break since their ramen date a few days ago. Likewise Amber had not brought up the topic either. They were treating each other normally as far as Krystal could tell. They were talking normally, joking normally, and basically interacting with each other in the same way that they did before they had started dating.

If anyone was acting weirdly on the trip from Korea to Taiwan, it was actually Luna. Luna was not aware of the botched reunion that had occurred a few days ago, but she sensed that the couple was not back together yet and tried to set them up wherever possible.

On the van ride to the airport, Luna placed her purse in an empty seat and refused to move it, forcing Krystal to sit in the back with Amber. While waiting in line at the airport, Luna kept trying to get them to interact with each other even though they were interacting already. On the flight, which Luna managed to manipulate so that Amber and Krystal were seated together, she passed them snacks and told them pointedly to share with each other.

"She's trying waaaaaay too hard," Krystal observed as she opened a package of Pepero sticks. She took one and offered it to Amber, placing it directly into the older girl's mouth. "She's making things more awkward than they need to do be."

"Do you feel awkward?" Amber asked, biting down on the Pepero stick.

Krystal shook her head truthfully. "If we exclude Luna-unnie's interference, I don't feel awkward at all. Do you feel awkward?"

Amber shook her head as well. "Ignoring Luna, it's a no for me, too." Their conversation lapsed into a natural silence as they consumed the mountain of snacks that Luna had left for them.

The trio headed to the hotel and checked in for the night. Krystal was rooming with her mother, who had decided to come along to watch the concert and take care of personal business. Luna and Victoria would be sharing a room since they were checking out the day after the concert, while Amber had a room to herself since she was staying in Taiwan longer to hold a fansign.

Krystal had spent more time with Amber today than she had spent with her since the ramen date, and Krystal was surprised at how normal things felt between them. Dinner with Amber, Luna, and their manger-oppas was fine. Hanging out after dinner with Amber and various SHINee, EXO, and Red Velvet members was fine as well.

But as the evening wore on and bed time approached, Krystal suddenly realized that "normal" and "fine" were not the words she wanted to use when she thought about interacting with Amber. When they were dating, Krystal had used words like "wonderful" and "amazing". Spending nights relaxing with Amber had been wonderful. Making out with Amber had been amazing. But today, tomorrow, and perhaps an unknown number of days to come, would those all just be "normal"? The idea made Krystal feel sick.

Victoria arrived at the hotel on the same day as her f(x) members, although much later in the evening. She reached her room just before bed time and Krystal hurried over to greet her as soon as she heard that Victoria was there.

"Unnie!" Krystal cried happily, launching herself into Victoria's open arms. The leader-unnie wrapped the maknae tightly in a warm hug. They hadn't seen in each other weeks due to Victoria's busy schedule in China and they were glad to see each other now. Krystal took a seat next to Luna on the bed as Victoria continued to unpack.

"How are you, Ddudung-ah?" Victoria asked, using aegyo.

Krystal smiled. "I'm fine. I missed you a lot, unnie."