Transparent

(14) ; Good-bye

— TRIGGER WARNING —
Mentions of death.

Krystal remembers that day all to well.

October the 14th, Monday.

Her phone annoyingly wouldn't stop ringing that evening. She had just got off work, having gone through a script reading with her upcoming movie casts and members, finally arriving at her home in the Mark Hills apartment at Cheongdam-dong just in time for her late lunch.

Jessica wasn't home. She was out working so Krystal was left all alone in the vicinity of their apartment. As she sat down on her kitchen counter with her lips on the ceramic cup, she finally picked up her phone from her handbag after the buzzing didn't cease.

It was Amber. She was calling on mobile.

That's odd.

Amber's in the US now. She has no business calling her by her mobile number instead of FaceTime.

The phone was still buzzing in her hands, with Krystal trying to decipher what was going on. Literally hundreds of messages was coming into her phone right now, and her eyebrows were knitted close together.

She gulped.

Something didn't felt right.

"H-hello?" Shakily, she finally answered.

"Krystal. Whatever you do. Don't read the news," Amber warns, her voice sounding like a wreck. It was hoarse.

"Amber, did you just cried?" Krystal's eyes were watery now. She doesn't know what's going on, but she knows that it's not good. It's not good if Amber shed tears for it.

"Krystal, please-"

She abruptly ends the call, putting the device faced down and away from her.

And just like that, she knew.

She knew where to go.

Turning off her phone she stuffs it into bee purse and breaks into a sprint back to the elevator and down to the basement to the car. As she starts the ignition she puts in the address of a dear close friend she knew so well.

Seongnam-si wasn't that far off from Cheongdam-dong. It was 10, 15 minutes max of a drive.

Without delaying any further she steps on the gas and spread through the Seoul traffic, her hands clutching onto the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles turned white.

"Please ... God ... Please ... Let it not be her,"

Subconsciously, she whispered the mantra to herself.

"Please ... don't take another person away from me ... please,"

Her tears finally fell, wetting her cheeks. She finally arrives at the front of Sulli's house and that's when she spots her worse fear confirmed, right before her eyes. Her mouth opens agape, no words coming out, her tears kept on pouring, and her heart felt very, very ill.

She saw the police tapes. She saw the ambulance ... and the coroner's van.

"No ..." she clutched her chest, her heart thumping ever so wildly.

"No ... this can't be real ... Jinri ..."

Jinri was gone.

///

Krystal's steps were weak as she walked back towards her apartment. It was dark now outside, - she had spent the whole evening parked in front of Sulli's house. She cried. Shrieked. Bawled her eyes out. Krystal didn't cared for what she looked like because her brain has stopped working ever since she found out just now.

Coughing, she steps into her apartment and drags her feet to the living room. She spots three figures there but can't even be bothered to entertain them. She needed some time alone to mourn. She really does.

Krystal immediately went to her room and slammed the door shut. That was very unusual of her, but she was beyond hurt right now, no words could even begin to explain how sad she felt. Finally letting herself succumb to fatigue, she drops onto the ground, hugging her knees and just ... cried.

She cried so hard that her face felt like it was on fire.

Her heart was broken.

She lost a friend today. She's never going to get her back. She's never going to see her again.

So many "what ifs?"

What if she regularly texted her?

What if she regularly called her to ask how she was doing?

What if she regularly went over to her house?

Would things have turned out different?

She hears the door open. Krystal doesn't want to deal with him right now. She just can't.

"Please leave," her voice wavered.

The door shuts back.

His feet shuffles, walking closer to her.

"Please leave! I don't want to hurt you!" She harshly whispered at him, looking away.

Taehyung settles himself down next to her, tears in his eyes as well.

"Use me," he spoke so gently to her, wrapping an arm around her shaking shoulders.

"Use me ... Krystal. Use me to make you feel better. Hurt me if you must,"

Once again, she breaks into a loud cry, this time, with him by her side.

— AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Of course, everything is well-too fitting. The 14th chapter, the month of October ... all the coincidences ... leading up to her.

Yes, I dedicate this chapter to her. Our shinning star, Choi Jinri. I can't bear to write so long about her. And I thought about it, - a very long time whether or not it was appropriate to write a chapter about her death. I want to clear out that I'm not using her death as an "aesthetic" or "just for my fanfic". I had said earlier that this fiction is going to try and portray Krystal's life as real as possible, and Sulli's death happens to be a part of it.

Sulli was an important person in Krystal's life. She is in mine too. But I wished I had cherished her more.

I love you my Angel. As your anniversary closes by, I am reminded of your kindness everyday. Fly high, angel. You're safe now.

word count: 792 words
date: 6/10/2020