Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 19: Snapshot

In late October, Krystal expected the final week of filming for her "My Lovely Girl" drama to be a disaster. With three episodes to film in the space of a week, Krystal was prepared to be terribly overworked. But due to her low expectations, Krystal was pleasantly surprised at how the week turned out.

On Friday, the start of the filming week, Krystal was greeted by the sight of a food truck at noon. Back in September, Jessica had promised to send Krystal a food truck to support her little sister's first leading role in a drama, and Krystal was touched that Jessica had kept her promise. Krystal was stuck on set overnight that Friday for filming, but her sister's support kept her in high spirits throughout the night.

But the food truck surprises didn't end there. A few days later on Monday, SM surprised her with a snack and coffee truck.

"Is this for real?" Krystal wondered, looking at the coffee truck that was serving cups of "Crystal Coffee" to the staff members.

"Does SM routinely send food trucks with their idol's name misspelled?" her co-star L asked jokingly as they stood in line at the truck.

"SM doesn't really ever send food trucks," Krystal replied.

"Oh?" L gave her a curious look. "Why'd you get one then?"

Krystal didn't have a good answer, which worried her. Girls' Generation's Sooyoung had just finished filming her drama last week and Sooyoung hadn't received an SM food truck. Krystal wondered if perhaps SM was trying to improve its relationship with her by sending her this coffee and snack shop.

"SM's intent might be more innocent than you think," L said, correctly interpreting Krystal's silence. He picked up a cup of coffee and gave it to her. "You can't return their gift anyway, so you might as well enjoy it."

"Thanks," Krystal said, accepting the cup. The hot beverage was delicious. She was uneasy about the true intent of the gesture from SM, but she enjoyed it all the same.

However, the best surprise came on Wednesday evening, the final night of filming. After finishing one of her last scenes for the drama, Krystal headed back to her trailer to wait for her next scene. It was a cold night and Krystal walked with her head down to shield her face from the wind.

"Can I have your autograph?" a low voice asked as she passed by.

"Hmmm?" Krystal asked, looking up, expecting to see a fan. To her surprise, she found Amber standing before her with a wide smile on her face. "Amber!!"

"Surprised to see me?" Amber asked. Krystal launched herself at Amber, wrapping the older girl in a bear hug. "I'll take that as a 'yes,'" Amber decided with a laugh.

"Stupid, what are you doing here? Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Krystal asked.

Amber rolled her eyes playfully. "The longer I know you, the more I think that you'll never understand what a surprise is."

Krystal punched Amber in the shoulder with an embarrassed smile. One of their f(x) managers stood nearby and laughed at their playful exchange.

"Oppa!" Krystal said, only noticing their manager after hearing him laugh. "What are you doing here so late?"

"Amber-ssi needed a ride, so she dragged me out here at this hour. Can you believe her?" he asked jokingly.

"Come on, oppa," Amber pouted. "This was important."

"Well I'm really glad both of you came to visit me," Krystal said. "You guys are awesome."

"You haven't seen the best part!" Amber said, taking a large square of paper from their manager and unfolding it. Krystal watched curiously, but then gasped in surprise as Amber revealed her handcrafted support banner.

[You've worked hard, Jung Soojung. Princess-nim keke.]

"Awwwww, that's so sweet..." Krystal said in a hushed voice, covering her mouth with her hand in surprise at the heartwarming gesture.

"You like it?" Amber asked nervously. She was smiling, but Krystal could see a hint of apprehension mixed into Amber's beaming and proud smile.

"I love it," Krystal answered sincerely. "You're so amazing, Amber. I--" she paused, unable to articulate her gratitude. Amber was so good at surprising her with kindness whenever she was most in need of the support. How could she possibly explain that kind of feeling in words? So instead of voicing her gratitude, Krystal let her eyes speak for her. Amber nodded back with a smile, receiving the message perfectly.

"How about a picture?" their manager asked, reaching out to take Amber's phone.

With Amber holding onto the sign, Krystal slipped behind her and wrapped her arms around Amber's waist and smiled for the camera.

"Isn't that a little too close?" Amber quietly whispered as Krystal lovingly rested her chin on her shoulder.

"Not more than usual," Krystal whispered back with a coy smile. "The banner will block out most of this anyway," Krystal reasoned, tightening her hug around Amber's waist. She let her breath tickle Amber's ear, making the older girl jump. Krystal smiled cruelly at her while their oblivious manager played with the camera settings on Amber's phone.

Amber glanced at their distracted manager and then turned sideways and shot Krystal a playful dirty look. Krystal returned the favor while biting her lower lip, knowing that Amber loved when she performed this action. Amber's eyes burned with desire and Krystal was certain that her own eyes did as well. Despite being under the cover of darkness with only their manager near by, Amber and Krystal were crossing into dangerous territory while out in the open.

"Just smile and look at the camera," Kystal murmured, chicly looking away.

Amber scoffed lightly as she did the same. "You make it look like it's so easy to resist temptation," she whispered under her breath as their manager oppa finally looked up and pointed the camera at them.

"What'd you say?" Krystal asked.

"Nothing, I just said 'As you wish, Princess-nim,'" Amber replied. While surpressing the desire to laugh at their secret conversation, the two young lovers leaned on each other and smiled warmly for the camera.