Italics are flashbacks. Some are indented because they are a flashback within a flashback.

 

“I’m really worried about Krystal. She hasn’t eaten much lately.”   “I know,” Krystal heard her father sigh and peeked cautiously into the small space the door creates. He looks so much older, she noticed, and her heart sunk.   He massaged his temple as her mother spoke again, “You know, we are actually fine so far because of Jae Joong’s support. I’m so glad Jessica chose the right man.” Ryeo Won Jung sobbed and wiped her eyes. She took a deep breath and continued, “It’s Taecyeon and Sandra who need help the most. I know that you think by joining the family would prevent us from getting conned again, but you know, we could just-“ She stopped short in a tentative manner and swallowed hard, “We could probably just tell the kids to cancel the engagement, but have the business go on. I mean, Krystal probably really likes Myung Soo and-”   “I can’t do that! It’s in the contract,” Yun Ho interjected heatedly.   “Why are you selling your daughter away?!” Ryeo Won hissed and stepped back away from him. Krystal heard her mother’s sobs again and felt warmth underneath her eyes.   “I’m not selling her!” Yun Ho denied. “Don’t you think it would be good for Krystal to get married into a good family? I mean, sure, she was with Myung Soo, but puppy loves don’t last forever!” He scowled.   “Give your daughter some credit! Are you saying that because yours didn’t work out?” Ryeo Won cracked, only to regret it the moment Yun Ho’s wide, surprised eyes look up at her. “I-I’m so sorry…” She approached him and fists the fabric of his pyjamas. “I didn’t mean to bring it up.” She sniffed, “I’m just… I like the Oh too. Sandra is a very nice woman; we have so much in common. Se Hun looks like a well-mannered and obedient son. But I’d still put Krystal’s happiness above everyone else or even myself.” She buried her head into her husband’s chest, who welcomed her willingly despite her earlier remark. “I just… Oh God! What are we thinking? Why are we sending her off to get engaged so quickly?! Jess is leaving soon and we are already sending our last daughter away. My babies are leaving me.”   Yun Ho held his wife in a tight embrace and exhaled pensively. “Trust me, I know I’m doing the right thing. If this doesn’t work in the end, I’ll take responsibility, okay?”   Ryeo Won didn’t say anything, still unconvinced.   “Fine,” Yun Ho finally surrendered, although reluctantly. “I’ll talk to Taecyeon and Krystal. I’m sure Taecyeon thinks the same way too for his son. It’s not that I don’t like Myung Soo, but I hope Krystal will keep her options open. If in the end, the one she wants is still that kid, he better proves himself worthy to get our blessing.”

 

Her father’s words kept ringing in her ears and she couldn’t shake it off. Puppy loves don’t last forever. The words struck a chord in her heartstring and it made her question herself whether she really loves Myung Soo or it’s just a spur of the moment, the moment called puberty and high school. Krystal has been an ambitious person by nature and all this time, she has been focused on claiming what and who interest her and strived to make them hers. She is very clear of her feelings towards Myung Soo, but the question is, will it last all their life? She doesn’t believe in forever because every human being has a time limit on Earth, so she’d prefer to call it ‘life’.   When the idea of marriage was thrown at her, she realised of the fact that she never sees herself having a family with Myung Soo. Subconsciously, she has no real interest in who she is going to marry as an adult.   She thought over what has happened between her and Myung Soo. The first time she noticed him was outside school hours when he was at the supermarket with his grandma and her heart staggers at the sight of his caring and protective sides. The second time was on the Year 9 Camp where she witnessed his clumsy and playful sides. The third time was, unfortunately, when he was on his pursuit of Suzy Baek with his shy, but unwavering manner. It was amusing to see how he could tell everyone how much he adored and worshipped her, but he was turned into a puddle of goo when Suzy Baek walked past him or even in the same room as him. On the other side, Krystal recognised the dark cloud that was awakened in her heart all too well.   It was similar to the time when saw the best dancer of her new ballet school dancing, when Sung Yeol topped their year in Chemistry, and when she saw Ji Hoon sunbae run at the South Korean High Schools Olympics.   When Krystal wills it, she finds a way to get it.   Seeing the well-balanced give and take in her parents’ relationship, she began to wonder whether it is fair on Myung Soo to be treated this way by her. She was the one who pursued him, she was the one who made him fall in love with her, but she was also the one who broke up with him.

 

“You love Myung Soo too. Why won't you leave this madness for him?”   “I do, but I love my parents too.”

 

She has made the choice. She chose her parents over Myung Soo. She trusts her parents.   If Se Hun decides to break off the engagement in the end for Amber, that’s not in her control. However, she won’t return to Myung Soo in a heartbeat either because she is very much aware that it’s not fair for him. She needs to work out how far she is willing to go with Myung Soo before she does that.   In the end, she won’t lose much, right?   The consequences that she has to face won’t be that bad, right?   After all, her father did say puppy loves don’t last forever.

 

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  “That’s why. Let’s make a pact.”   Several seconds pass.   “Se Hun.”   Se Hun just stared blankly at his carpet floor. It succeeded in making Krystal uneasy. She finally told him everything she felt about their current situation and that she would like him to think carefully about this, their relationship. She had thrown the ball to him, now it’s up to him to decide what to do with it. She had never revealed herself this much to anyone she had just known in less than a week, so she hoped Se Hun wouldn’t treat this lightly.   It’s not going to be easy or will be worth it in the end because she doesn’t know, but she’d like to keep her options open. She will fix her relationship with Myung Soo, if that’s her outcome, but she wanted to make sure that Se Hun is on the same page as her.   Se Hun groaned. It was a negative response, but Krystal released a breath she didn’t realise she was holding in the first place. At least, that was something.   “I shouldn’t be thinking about this. I should be worrying about that Chemistry assignment and that English essay I have to write for Thursday’s lesson.” He fell back onto his bed and rubbed his face. Sighing, his eyes wandered to the books on his desk behind Krystal.   Krystal tightened her crossed arms in front of her chest; the action soothed her somehow. She looked on in understanding at Se Hun. “I agree with you, but it’s not like our parents planned to go bankrupt.”   “Although what you said made sense, I do love Amber,” he said, “I’ve pictured us having a family a million times, I’ve seen myself proposing to her five years down the track, I’ve also,” he averts his eyes everywhere except Krystal’s way, “thought about doing things that friends don’t do… Maybe you’re right. We’re just in high school. We don’t know what adults and marriage are like. Even though I have five years to get ready before I take my relationship with Amber to the next step, I agree that I have to think about it carefully.” This time, Se Hun finally lifted his gaze to Krystal, who remained seated on his chair. “I don’t want to hurt her.”   Krystal’s heart staggered at Se Hun’s thought. She wondered whether Myung Soo feels the same way about her as Se Hun does about Amber. Now that she had realised her conflicted feelings, she hoped she made the right decision.   “Our parents hardly know each other and they’re just getting fond of one another. Although our mums clicked right away, our dads are still business-minded. This union of two families is like putting themselves on the line for their contract. They’re trying to do what’s best for us. That’s how I see it. If I don’t have a future, what’s make people think I’d have a future with Myung Soo? That’s my point. This is my side of thinking.”   “After all, I also chose my parents over her,” he sighed ruefully.

 

“Se Hun.”   “Yes, Mum?” Se Hun saved the document on his laptop and swung his chair around towards his bed to look at his mother.   His mother had her arms crossed and a thoughtful look on her face. He dreaded this talk, whatever it was his mother wanted to have. This was like the time when his mother wanted to give him a lecture after he and Jong In set off the fire alarm at middle school for a prank, or that time when he and Jong In ‘hid’ books that belonged to this boy they despised back in primary school because he bullied them but the school accused them of ‘stealing’.   His mother is very strict. Those eyes of her could penetrate your soul when she is mad or in strict mode. He knows that she loves both him and his brother, but her overprotective nature gets on their nerves sometimes.             “Is everything okay, Mum?” Se Hun prompted.   “I’m just going to be straightforward about this okay. What do you think about this arranged marriage with the Jung?”   Se Hun sighed and contemplated over it for a moment. “I’ve always seen marriage as something that’d happen years ahead, but when our arranged marriage was proposed to me, the first thing that I thought of was that I’m not ready! I mean, it’s one thing thinking about my future with the girl I love, but it’s another to have the idea of marriage thrown at my face.” Or maybe it’s just because it’s not Amber, he added mentally. His eyes looked on expectantly at his mother.   She looked at him with a cold gaze, “Do you really like Amber?”   It was no surprise that Se Hun was taken aback by the question. Feeling a blush creeping onto his cheeks, he timidly questioned back, “Why do you ask?”   She hissed and tsk-ed, “Just answer the question.”   Rubbing his neck in an attempt to hide his blush, he murmured loud enough for her, without looking at her, “Yeah, I do.”   “What do you like about her?” The next question was shot out immediately.   Se Hun looked back up in confusion at her, but answered honestly. Maybe she was going to let him off from the engagement. He fidgeted at the possibility and swallowed hard. He had to choose his answer wisely.   Then again, how do you even put this into words, he wondered.   She is pretty. Especially her smile. It makes her his heart swell with something akin to happiness. Her eyes are pretty too. He could look at them for hours and not get bored—eh, how cheesy. But the moment he saw that smile of hers when they became partners during PE, he knew he was taken. Like, oh God, how could someone smile like that?! His world instantly changed; every minute, every second, he was pulled towards her like a metal to a magnet. He began to follow her everywhere and Jong In, who had no choice but to follow him follow her, said that he always looked at Amber like an idiot with his jaw unhinge and eyes frozen in time. To which he always replied, “She has this charm that draw people to her and it’s just a coincidence that I got my eyes on her.” It wasn’t his fault, okay. How could someone smell so nice? She smells like vanilla and chamomile. And her hair is soft too. He likes playing with her hair, even though it’s short. Her voice is harmonious to the ear and it always makes him feel blissful; he could wake up and sleep to that every day, every night. In conclusion, he just likes hanging around her. And then—   “Se Hun?” His mother arches an eyebrow expectantly.   He swallowed again and averted his eyes from her again. He could probably get a better mark writing an essay on why he likes Amber than on Wolf Creek, but speaking of it is both embarrassing—especially to your mother—and hard to make you not sound like an idiot.   “I don’t know.” He shrugged. “She is pretty, she is fun to hang out with, she is smart... We both like sports, so it’s easy to find something to do together. We also help each other in subjects we are weak in.” He paused, thinking of other characteristics of hers that he could boast to his mother. He let out a non-committal hum and shrugged again.             “Krystal is pretty too. I heard she is the fastest runner at your school and she even beat Ji Hoon’s record. She also topped Chemistry in your year, right? What about her that can’t compete with Amber?”   Se Hun’s jaw dropped, shocked at the realisation that his mother wasn’t going to call off the engagement, but instead was trying to get him to see Krystal in that way.   “Besides, you hardly know her. Shouldn’t you get to know her first before you decide whether you like her or not?”   “That’s what I’m doing right now, Mum!” he snapped at her without thinking. “I know she is pretty and Ji Hoon used to like her, but that doesn’t mean everyone has to like her!”   “Look, Ambe