Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 52: Toy

"Bleh. No offense but I wouldn't date you either," Jessica confirmed with utter disgust on her face.

Krystal took a sip of wine with a cheerful smile, feeling much better about having been embarrassed by both parties all night. "What a wonderful dinner! Let's do this more often!"

"Yah, don't make me tell Amber about the embarrassing thing that happened at school when you were in second grade," Jessica threatened, quickly shutting up her sister obediently.

"You have her well trained, unnie-nim," Amber observed.

"Why thank you," Jessica replied smugly.

Krystal suddenly felt that she hated dinners with Jessica and Amber.

"Anyway," Jessica said, getting back to the original topic, "I felt nostalgic because seeing you in a real relationship makes me think of when you were a kid. I know you're an adult now, but it's sad in some ways to think that I've finished watching you grow up."

"Unnie, I'm not going anywhere," Krystal said softly, not fully understanding why her sister seemed to think otherwise. "I still have a lot of growing up to do and you'll get to witness all of it."

"For now, but not for long," Jessica said, forcing herself to be cheerful. She turned to Amber with a kind smile. "By the way, what are your plans for taking care of our princess in the future?"

"The princess has requested to live in a castle. I'm working to procure a castle now, but the compulsory dragon has been hard to find," Amber answered playfully.

Krystal snickered at Amber's obvious joke, but Jessica answered Amber's plans seriously.

"So you two are planning to move in with each other then?"

"Huh?" Amber asked, somewhat taken off guard by the seriousness of Jessica's question. "You're really asking?"

"Yes," Jessica confirmed with a firm, but kind smile. "You're dating my little sister and I would have asked the same thing to anyone who was dating her. 'Are you serious about my Soojungie?' 'Do you have what it takes to make her happy?'"

Krystal nervously reached around the table and tugged on Jessica's sleeve to stop her from interrogating Amber any further. "U-unnie... We haven't really talked abou--"

"I AM serious about her," Amber answered without hesitation. "I want to marry Soojung one day if your family will let me. I wanna buy a home with her and start a family with her. And I'll spend the rest of my life making sure that she's happy."

The younger girl stared at Amber in surprise. An uneasy kind of feeling grew in her stomach even though Jessica nodded upon hearing Amber's response, satisfied by the strength in her words. Krystal and Amber had discussed their future before, but their plans had always been vague and idealistic. They had voiced a desire to marry each other one day, but they had never discussed when. They had talked about their dream home, but had never made plans for turning their dreams into reality. Hearing Amber speak with such conviction about their future was reassuring in some ways, but terrifying in many others. Krystal realized now that her plans for their future were mere daydreams when compared to Amber's plans for their future.

"OK, that was too serious," Amber said sheepishly, feeling a bit embarrassed by her own response. "Pretend I didn't say that. Krystal and I are still just dating and having fun. We're not ready for anything more yet," she told Jessica.

"No no, don't take it back. I feel better knowing that you guys aren't just fooling around," Jessica insisted. "I'm honestly really happy that you guys are so serious about each other." She raised her wine glass towards Amber and Krystal. "A toast to the happy couple!"