Sorry for not updating for a while :x but enjoy anyway!

[Song: Because Of You - After School]

“The outfits for Thursday and Friday’s promotions are here. I labeled each person’s, but you need to take some last minute measurements. I put the clothes for the photo shoot this weekend over there,” instructed Heejin to the temporary assistant for the next few days. She was going to Japan for the next 2 days to film Hyuna’s MV and then some of her college friends were in Korea for a week and her and Hyunshik were taking them to the beach for the weekend.

Things between Heejin and Hyuna were awkward to say the least. Although they were friendly towards one another, they avoided the topic of Doojoon as much as possible. Hyuna was glad to see Heejin not get whatever she wanted for once.

On the other side, Heejin acted as if nothing had happened with Doojoon. At first, whenever he tried to bring up the topic of Hyuna and explain, Heejin would quickly change the subject or need to leave for something. Eventually Doojoon gave up.

While things on the social aspect weren’t going too well, things were going amazingly with Hyunshik. He was the perfect boyfriend. He knew exactly what to do in all situations and he was so understanding of everything: her work, her situation with Doojoon (of course she didn’t tell him everything, especially not the lingering feelings), and her friends. All her friends from America loved him. They thought he was such a gentleman and treated her so well.

They all rented a beach house for 2 days, 1 night and got there early Saturday.

Little did Heejin know Cube Entertainment had arranged all their artists to go to a photo shoot for the United Cube concert at the very same beach.

Beast was so excited to be at the beach. The last time they had come to one for fun was when they were filming their debut documentary and it wasn’t the best experience. All the boys immediately ran onto the beach and into the water while 4minute and G.NA watched.

They were throwing each other into the ocean when Doojoon spotted a familiar looking back walking in the opposite direction, wearing a translucent white tunic over her red two-piece.

Heejin and Hyunshik were taking a break from all her party crazy friends and taking a stroll on the beach. This is what she liked about being with Hyunski. It was simple and romantic. He held her hand as they walked and she felt so safe and secure. It was truly paradise, exactly what she needed.

“Heejin-ah!”

Both of them looked behind them to see Hyunseung followed by the rest of Beast running toward them.

“Why are they here…?” Heejin wondered aloud.

“You should say hi and invite them to tonight.” While Hyunshik was surprised they were here, he knew most of them from JYPE.

“What are you all doing here? I thought you had a photo shoot.” Heejin asked once they got closer.

“Our photo shoot is here, at the beach! We’re getting a vacation before everything gets crazy, You guys are here for the weekend too?” asked a smiling Gikwang.

Doojoon looked at Heejin and Hyunshik’s intertwined hands as Heejin responded, “Yeah, you all should come out tonight. We’re staying right over there,” she pointed at a 5-bedroom beach house nearby, “We’re having a huge beach party tonight with lots of barbequing, music, and bonfires. You guys are all more than welcome to come.”

“It’s okay, you’re with your friends. We don’t want to intrude,” responded Doojoon even though he really wanted to go to keep an eye on Heejin.

“It’s fine, Doojoon. We’re all friends anyway and we have more than enough food and drinks for everyone. You can bring those girls too,” Hyunshik nodded towards 4minute and G.NA standing where Beast was originally.

“Really?” Yoseob’s eyes lit up as he held up his hand for Hyunshik to slap, “You’re the best hyung!”

Everyone got really excited. It’d been too long since they had free time. Eventually everyone had to go to the photo shoot but agreed to come back later. The 2 groups were staying right next door to each other anyway.

Heejin and Hyunshik went back to start preparations for tonight but eventually Heejin’s friends took over her spot saying she was terrible at cooking and she ended up going on a walk with her best friend, Andy. They’d been friends the entire time she was in America and he always looked out for her. Luckily, there’s never been any sort of romantic connection between them and they both knew there never would be.

The two of them sat under a nearby tree as she caught him up on what’s been going on in Korea.

Heejin sighed deeply and laid on the sand, speaking in English, “I’m probably just making things more complicated than they really are. Maybe it’s all in my imagination.”

“You wish. Face it, Heejin, you have 2 guys wanting you. Who are you going to choose?”

“Choose? There’s nothing to choose. I’m with Hyunshik.”

Andy rolled his eyes. “Did you sleep with him yet?”

“Kind of personal, don’t you think?” She was used to his vulgarity by now though.

“I’m going to take that as a no, which means this Doojoon guy is still the last person you had with, which means you’re still not completely over him.”

Heejin sat back up. “You’re reading way too much into this. isn’t everything.”

“It’s not, but it’s something. Why haven’t you slept with anyone else yet then? You’ve had plenty of opportunities with plenty of guys.”

“First of all, ouch, thanks for making me seem like a big with that ‘plenty of guys’ comment. Second, I don’t sleep around because I’m not a which is more than I can say about you.”

Even though Andy treated Heejin really well, he was known as a player back in New York City. He had a different girl every week, even worse than Heejin.

Andy put his arm around Heejin. He knew she was trying to change the topic. “I know you better than almost anyone. I can read your mind without you saying a word. Don’t lie to your best friend. I never lied to you before.”

She gave in.  Even if she could partially lie to herself, she couldn’t fool him. “Fine, you’re right. Part of me isn’t over him. Maybe I never will be, but that doesn’t mean I want to get back together with him. The situation’s a lot more complicated now. Korean pop culture is a lot different and more intense and judgmental than American. If we were together, I’d have to walk on eggshells to make sure no one found out. I can’t tell anyone, I can’t go anywhere public with him, I’d probably barely see him outside of work. Why would I want to be in a relationship like that?”

“Because you’re in love!”

“And since when did you start believing in love?”

“Just because I haven’t found it doesn’t mean I don’t believe in it. I just want you to be happy and from all the stories you’ve told me about Doojoon and the two of you back then, you were truly happy with him.”

“I can be happy with Hyunshik. He’s a good man.” Maybe she was saying this convince herself more than Andy.

“He is. I’m sure you can learnto be happy with him.”

“I amhappy with him. I don’t need to learn. Doojoon and I broke up because he chose this path and it’s a path that’s not easy. I gave up that life for a reason and I don’t want to go back into the scandals. If Doojoon and I get back together, I can see the insecurity, the fights, and the pain already.”

“Wasn’t it worth it the first time though? I’m not saying choose Doojoon. If I was in your position, I’d probably choose Hyunshik, but Doojoon’s from your past and you’re always going to have memories with him.”

“But that’s all they are: memories. We’re different people now with different lives.”

Andy sighed. “I get it. There are pros and cons for either choice. The question is, though, do you want a safe and secure relationship filled with mediocrity or one that might not be long-lived but filled with extraordinary moments?”

Heejin didn’t have an answer, but luckily she didn’t need to because dinner was about to begin soon and people were calling for them.