The plane took off at 7. It left Incheon for New York. A boring 13-hour flight. On a screen the size of your hand, I saw Joaquin Phoenix’s eyebrow flinch. ‘Her’ is not a typical love story about a person conversing with, understanding, loving, separating from, and missing an A.I.. What an obscure love. Infinite trust and love for a being that may or may not exist. Is something like that possible? While crouched in the small economy seat, I fell asleep while listing words like love, separation, dating, understanding, conversation, misunderstanding, and trust.
When my head was about to split, the plane landed in New York. I met Jessica and Krystal at the front of a security device at the JFK International Airport. The girls were bubbly like a newly opened carbonated drink, making me forget the fact that I was curled up on a plane for 13 hours. The security worker wondered if Jessica and Krystal were twins, and they both cheerfully laughed. The freest, feel-good, refreshing laugh that sounded like ice hitting the inside of a glass cup. While looking at these lively yet serious girls that both were somewhere between a lady and a young girl, I recalled Joaquin Phoenix’s eyebrow. The fluttering of your heart and curiosity about a being that you can’t touch. It must have been because of something like that.
After crossing through the cold air of Central Park, morning finally came. Jessica’s voice was much more high-pitched than yesterday. She walked up to us with her sparkling eyelashes, slender ankles that looked like they could break, and fairy tale-like body, and greeted reality. We decided to press the first shutter on Prince Street in SoHo. Wearing a flower print one-piece and skin-colored shorts suit respectively, Jessica and Krystal stood in front of a traffic sign. Along with their dynamic facial expressions, from sullen expressions to refreshing smiles showing all their teeth, their slender arms and legs were also constantly moving. They were perfect subjects for the camera that seemed to exist to be shot. How many young girls’ hearts would beat to the point of bursting, and how many young boys’ hearts would flutter because of these small ladies’ small movements?
1st Look: How does it feel living as an idol?
Krystal: I’m not sure. Like how anything has two sides, it is fun living with two appearances, but it’s also difficult. It hasn't really sunk in as to what my occupation is, so I’m not sure what it means for me to be living as an idol. Just, on stage, I’m Krystal, but off stage, I’m Jung Soojung. Of course, it can’t be differentiated perfectly like that. In front of the camera right now, I’m Krystal, but at the same time, I’m Jung Soojung with my older sister.
1st Look: You debuted as a young girl and have become a lady. Visually, you still seem like a young girl, but what kind of woman are you? You show some unexpected tenacity.
Jessica: A woman! That’s right. I’ve become a woman now. But I’m still sucking in and accepting it. I’m going to develop a bit more, and the confidence as to what kind of person I am will become stronger. It’s difficult for me to organize and answer ‘What kind of woman are you?’ right now. But I always want to be an honest, confident lady. Being honest is something that needs courage and conviction. And so, of course, I would need to be confident.
1st Look: To be honest, I was surprised when you said it would be okay to have pizza for lunch. I didn’t think you ate pizza.
Jessica: I really like eating. I have to eat what I want. Of course, while I do think of each meal importantly, I don’t eat following a time table. Of course, I consistently exercise and work hard as well.
1st Look: I honestly was surprised because you were so pretty. How can you maintain this kind of body and skin while eating pizza?
Jessica: There could be people who are naturally born that way, but for me, it’s almost all effort. I need to drink a lot of water, and consistently exercise. Living happily and thinking positively are also required. While special diets and exercises are good, mental freedom and positive thinking help a lot.
1st Look: Meanwhile, Krystal’s sullen expressions have some kind of innocence, as well as a elegance and charisma. You said you don’t like acting pretty, but you made cute facial expressions well.
Krystal: I don’t try to look pretty or cute. I don’t really like purposefully creating a certain image. It’s more comfortable for me to express my emotions straightforwardly without any filters. That might be why you can see charisma in my sullen expressions. Innocent and graceful images are probably just coming from my honest emotions. I’m like my sister, not being fake and showing how I feel as is. I like that too, to be honest.
1st Look: If that’s the case, honestly. The way you don’t blink in front of numerous cameras, do you take after your parents? Or was that acquired?
Krystal: Um. Neither. It was just okay for me. I just didn’t blink because my eyes didn’t hurt and I didn’t feel uncomfortable.
The shoot carried on. From SoHo to Brooklyn. Jessica, wearing a cute mini dress, and Krystal, wearing a chic, satin suit, hugged each other and whispered. While having their side-swept, braided hair and lip color checked, they turned their eyes to one another a number of times.
1st Look: How does it feel sharing, not just your private life, but your public life with your family?
Jessica: It’s all enjoyable. This kind of opportunity doesn’t come to everyone does it? I’m lucky being able to be on a program with my younger sister, showing our true selves, and I also think of it as a blessing. We can see sides of one another that we couldn’t before, as well as how different we are when we’re together, and how similar we are when we’re apart from each other. Also, Krystal is a reliable little sister that I can depend on in many ways. I can share all parts of my life with her, and it’s really comforting and a relief that we can generally understand each other without saying anything.
Krystal: When I’m with my sister, being able to show myself as is is fun and relaxing. I never thought to myself, ‘I’m sharing my public life with my sister as well’, but I do think leaving behind various photos and videos of us working together would become good memories later on. But, if I also make a mistake or do something wrong, it impacts my sister, so I don’t think I can just think of it easily.
1st Look: What kind of influence does Jessica have on Krystal?
Krystal: She’s really adamant. I think she’s always sure about things. I guess she’s gentle yet has tenacity. Her firmness is something that I want to learn the most. I’m always learning and also being influenced. I often think that I’m a little sister who isn’t much help to my sister. My sister is my life’s biggest indicator. She’s always guided me a lot since school, my trainee days, and even after I debuted. I think we’re here together right now thanks to my sister.
1st Look: What kind of younger sister is Krystal to Jessica?
Jessica: She’s a very reliable sister. Soojung has a mature side as well as a childlike innocence. When I’m having a hard time, feeling lonely or sad, I could lean on her and be comforted. There are a lot of times where I take care of Soojung, and there are also a lot of times where the opposite is happening. I want to be like an older sister that’s like a friend, but Soojung becomes my guardian every now and then. It’s difficult and upsetting just thinking about a reality without Soojung. I don’t even want to think about it seriously.
There isn’t anything they’re particularly grateful for, even during situations that aren’t really laborious. Just, even in regular moments in life, they always ask one another’s opinions and embrace them. Even when they’re eating lunch, drinking water, walking, and in between the shoot. Jessica’s words to Krystal, and Krystal’s replies heard between the shutter sound. The rhythm of their conversations that were dry yet clean, and like commas and exclamations, were simple, like, ‘Did you eat?’ But you could tell how much affection and attention was in it. So, friendship, familial love, loyalty, love, and a rich, infinite amount of emotions that you can’t put into words surrounds them. Even if they don’t say ‘I love you’, they know, like how you suddenly realize that you’re breathing.
After concluding the shoot, we discovered Jessica and Krystal returning to their car. The backs of their heads, looking at the port, their lips moving while eating ice cream, the tenseness in the middle of their forehead, touching their phone while leaning their entire body weight on one leg. Even their similar way of talking and facial expressions that come about in every moment. Despite not having habits, we could see how completely similar they were. It’s not in their same facial expressions, and it can’t be seen in their legs or fingers. You can just feel it in the air the two are in. Also, they are world’s most beautiful, lovable sisters that you’ve ever seen. They are also just like twins and long for one another even when they’re together. Krystal mumbled, with her small lips, ‘I’m not jealous of anyone. My sister’s seriously the best.’
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