Constant and Changing (kryber)

Chapter 58: No More

Krystal swallowed as she faced her mother who was bristling with indignation. With the daunting task of discussing her opinion of same sex relationships with someone who was clearly opposed to them, fear and anxiety coursed through the young girl's veins. Mama Jung's question remained unanswered as Krystal swallowed and tried to regain some semblance of composure.

"Well? What do you think about Sooyeon being a lesbian?"

Truthfully, Krystal was extremely confused by the news that Jessica was a lesbian. It made no sense since Krystal knew that her sister currently had a boyfriend. And on top of that, Krystal couldn't believe that Jessica hadn't confided in her first, especially since Jessica was already aware that she was in a relationship with Amber.

But regardless of the reason why her mother thought Jessica was a lesbian, Krystal now had a chance to tell her mother that she supported same sex relationships without admitting that she was in such a relationship herself. All Krystal needed to do was gather her courage and speak from the heart.

"I... well I think it's great," Krystal replied meekly.

"'Great'," Mama Jung replied slowly. Her voice was calm, but Krystal could feel a tangible anger boiling within her mother. "You mean you think it's great that your sister would choose to be with a woman and bring shame to our family rather than be in a stable relationship with a man?"

Immediately Krystal wanted point out several things wrong with what her mother just said. Sexuality was not a choice, so her sister wasn'tchoosing to be with a woman. And it shouldn't be considered shameful for two women to be together. And being in a relationship with a man shouldn't automatically be considered stable; straight relationships could be unstable too.

But Krystal held her tongue because her mother appeared frighteningly angry and Krystal was too scared to say anything argumentative.

"I... I th-think..." Krystal stuttered nervously. "...I think I need to talk to Jessica-unnie," she finished cowardly. "I want to talk to unnie first before I make any judgments about her sexual orientation."

The older woman narrowed her eyes at Krystal before shaking head in disgust. "Go ahead. Talk to your sister. I don't want to think about this any more tonight anyway."

Without another word or another thought about her youngest daughter, Mama Jung turned and walked away without saying good night.

Krystal let out a sigh and slowly leaned against the wall as her mother retreated into her bedroom for the night. Her legs felt like jelly now that the adrenaline was no longer rushing throughout her body. The encounter from moments ago was surreal. Had her mother really just confronted her about Jessica being a lesbian? How in the world did things turn out this way?

The feeling hadn't completely returned to her legs yet, but Krystal pushed herself off of the wall anyway and stumbled toward the front door. She quickly hurried to her car and climbed inside for privacy before dialing Jessica's number on her cell phone. As it rang, she nervously imagined a tearful Jessica crying on her own after the harsh phone call with their mother that Krystal had overheard. Krystal's sympathy towards her sister grew with each ring of her phone until Jessica finally picked up.

"Hey, Soojung-ah. Why are you calling so late?" Jessica asked casually over the phone. To Krystal's relief, there was no trace of the tears that she had been expecting.

"Are you OK?" Krystal asked quickly.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be? Are YOU OK?" Jessica questioned the younger girl kindly, easily sensing the underlying stress and tension in Krystal's question.

"I heard your conversation with mom just now," Krystal admitted.

"O-oh, you did? I--" the older sister stuttered into the phone, but Krystal quickly cut her off.