Chapter 25

“Sam?” a voice rang out from above her.

Samantha sat and waited for her flight to be announced until she heard Doojoon approaching her. Her cheeks were stained with tears so she had to straighten up before facing Beast’s leader. “Hi,” she greeted him softly.

“Have you been crying?” he asked, his tone concerned as he sat beside her on a bench.

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Samantha chuckled.

“Yep,” he nodded. “Are you okay?”

Samantha nodded. “I will be,” she said trying to convince him and herself that everything will be.

“I take that you’ll be heading to Thailand today?” he asked.

Her brows furrowed. “How did you know?” she asked. “You guys are leaving today?”

He chuckled then shrugged, “Just a hunch. But I guess you didn’t know,” he started to say. “We have an earlier schedule than everyone else so we have to go early.”

“Right,” the information dawned on her but she had forgotten about Beast performing during the finale.

“Look on the bright side,” he said. “You won’t be alone. You’ll have me and the boys.”

“I’m surprised you still remember,” she smiled.

He scoffed and then smirked, “Beast’s Yoon Leader never forgets,” he replied arrogantly.

Samantha playfully punched him. “Ow!” he grunted and glared at her. “Geez, for a girl, you sure punch hard.”

“I had to learn from Jeremy,” she said matter-of-factly but then frowned upon mentioning him. “I’m sure I told you he’s a fighter, right?”

“How do you feel about seeing him again?” Doojoon asked curiously, his tone concerned.

She sighed. “I don’t know,” she shrugged shaking her head. “I should be excited because I chose him, right?”

“You don’t sound so excited,” he pointed out. “Did something happen to make you feel this way?”

Samantha blinked back tears as she sat still. With a deep breath, she finally said, “I hurt a lot of people because of him.”

Doojoon sat still, his expression stoic. On impulse, he took her hand in his and squeezed it. “Whether the person is good or bad, someone is bound to get hurt. You can’t make everyone happy. You’re gonna be fine,” he said. “Don’t cry,” he comforted her. “You know it pains me to see you cry.”

Samantha sniffled and nodded. “I’ll try not to,” she gave him a teary smile.

“Hey, there you are!” Dongwoon called out to Doojoon. His eyes widened upon spotting his best friend, who immediately wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “What are you doing here? I thought you weren’t leaving yet.”

“Something came up,” she shrugged. “I’ll be tagging along with you guys.”

“Don’t be surprised if we can’t hang out,” Dongwoon said, “Because, you know… We have a busy schedule and stuff…” he said scratching the back of his neck.

“I understand,” she said looking down. “I can provide assistance and just relax with you guys another time.”

“Sounds good,” Dongwoon nodded. “We should get going.”

Her phone went off: Ailee calling. Sighing, Samantha shut off her phone as the plane prepared to jet off. “You okay?” Dongwoon asked. She was seated between him and Kikwang.

“I’m fine,” she answered abruptly, hoping he would change the subject.

“Are you sure about that?” he tilted his head to the side, facing her.

“Yes,” she finally said. “Can you stop interrogating me?”

“I know what happened, you know,” he pointed out. “Ailee called and told me what happened. You don’t have to lie anymore, Sam.”

Her eyes welled up as she tried to ignore him. “Well now you know,” she replied defensively. “You can stop bringing it up now. I made my decision.”

“You can still change this, you know,” he sighed.

“I know what I’m doing,” she insisted. “So please, just stop.”

Kikwang, who had on his headphones, sensed something was up and turned to them removing his headphones, “What’s wrong?” He asked curiously.

Samantha burst into tears then immediately tried to contain herself. “Nothing,” she answered. “I’m fine. Everything’s fine,” she said as if trying to convince herself that everything is going to be okay.

“No, it isn’t,” Dongwoon immediately replied. “I’m not letting you go through with this whether you like it or not. You’re making a huge mistake and I’m not gonna sit back and watch.”

“What are you talking about, Dongwoon?” Kikwang asked in confusion then his eyes went wide. “Wait, are you finally confessing to Sam?” Samantha became speechless as she eyed her best friend.

“What?! What are you talking about?!” Dongwoon exclaimed.

“Guys, Dongwoon finally admitted to Sam he likes her!” Kikwang announced prompting the rest of Beast to turn their attention to Samantha and Dongwoon.

“Well, it’s about time,” Junhyung smirked.

“Dongwoon, you like Sam?” Hyunseung chimed in. “Since when?!”

Yoseob, in turn, started giggling. “Dongwoon likes Sam,” he chuckled to Doojoon.

“Alright, enough!” Doojoon finally said irritably. “We’re all adults. Is it wrong for Dongwoon to like Sam? No. So we should just be happy for them.” He gave Dongwoon an assuring look.

Samantha face palmed herself. “It’s not what you think!” she exclaimed. “So you all should just go back to minding your own business. Thank you!”

Once they arrived at the airport, Samantha walked ahead of them ignoring everyone else. She was still angry at her best friend for not listening to her. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t bring herself to speak to the both of them because they clearly do not get it. Dongwoon was so insistent on monitoring her whereabouts. There was no freedom, she thought. It was like she was the celebrity and he was her manager.

“Where are you going?” he asked sternly.

“None of your business,” she hissed at him.

“Whoa, she is pissed off,” Kikwang said pursing his lips at the younger member.

“Gee, thanks,” Dongwoon scoffed then followed Samantha.

But soon, he had found himself ambushed by his fans and Samantha disappeared into the crowd. He grunted angrily. She was always a pain when she was stubborn, he thought angrily. Faking a smile, he paused to take pictures and sign autographs with his fans along with the rest of the members.

She was waiting for them outside as their van pulled up. “Good thing, you didn’t wander too far,” he pointed out.

Samantha glared in return. “I’m not speaking to you,” she said. “As a matter of fact, don’t talk to me.”

Dongwoon scoffed again turning to the other members. “Is she serious?”

“No , I’m being serious,” she finally said. “The time starts now.”

“So you’re not gonna talk to me?” he asked skeptically.

Samantha crossed her arms turning away from him as the van took off. “I think she really is serious,” Kikwang muttered to the guys.

Doojoon sat between Dongwoon and Samantha in the van, turned to the angry girl. “Sorry about what happened on the plane,” he said softly to her.

Samantha relaxed a bit then turned to the leader. “It’s fine,” she replied abruptly. “I think Dongwoon liking me sounds a lot better than my actual purpose here, isn’t it?”

“It’ll get them off your back,” he said glancing at the other members.

She sighed. “I’m starting to think Dongwoon’s right. I might be making a mistake.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged. “A lot has happened within this period. I just want to see how I feel about him after I see him again.”

“Well, it seems like you have the chance but not everyone is okay with it,” he said referring to Dongwoon, who was looking out the window with his earphones on.

“He’s never okay with anything I do,” she muttered. “It’s like I can’t do things without letting him know.” She grumbled. “I’m going to see him whether any of you are okay with it or not. I will do it.”

Doojoon sighed. “I sure hope you know what you’re doing, Sam.”

“Great, you starting to sound just like him,” she scoffed.

“I’m only looking out for the both of you,” he said. "I don't like when Dongwoon is feeling down."

“It would be nice if I at least have someone to agree with me for once…”

“Whatever you do, I support your decision either way,” he said giving her an assuring smile.

She returned his smile, “Thank you.” She finally said turning to focus on the scenery as the van moved.

A/N: Another boring update with a Beast focused chapter. This chapter was kind of choppy for me so I'm sorry if it didn't please you guys. I've hit the wall at the moment but I will try to make it up in the next update. Enjoy!