The commotion of clunking and thumping coming from the kitchen was definitely not pleasant for the ears, to say the least. Five of the members from BEAST were dispersed throughout the cramped kitchen of their dormitories, attempting to conjure up a decent dinner, but there was one member who decided to sit sulkily against the corner of their living room, completely aloof to his surroundings.

“Why isn’t Yoseob helping?” Junhyung asked Doojoon sourly as he mixed the strange, bubbling concoction heating on the stovetop.

“Just leave him alone,” Doojoon answered simply, sending a worried glance towards Yoseob’s direction. “Didn’t you notice how distracted he was during practice? You know that’s not like him.”

“It seems like he hasn’t gotten much sleep either,” Hyunseung added, keeping his head down, his entire concentration on the bowl of rice that he was rinsing. “I could hear him tossing and turning in his bed for the past three nights now.”

In the middle of the living room laid a black iPhone amongst the trash and clothes that carelessly littered the floor. Yoseob’s entire attention had been on that particular phone for almost an hour, his gaze completely unwavering. At times, he watched Dongwoon pick the phone up, press a few buttons, scroll through the screen, and then place it down again upon the hardwood floor with an annoyed expression plastered on his face.

Nothing could have captured his attention more than that little phone did, not even when Junhyung bellowed that dinner was going to be served as he carried a large pot of stew in the living room. It was only when Kikwang had kicked the phone out of sight in order to make room for the newspapers that he was going to lay down that Yoseob was forced to fall out of his reverie.

“Yah, Yoseob,” Junhyung began, sitting down on the floor with a pair of chopsticks in his hand, “are you going to eat or what?”

“Mm,” Yoseob answered back, his eyebrows scrunching up as his eyes fervently scanned the living room floor, hoping to see that black phone somewhere.

“Come on, Yoseob,” Doojoon said sternly with a sigh, walking towards Yoseob only to pull him up with such force that Yoseob was obliged to stand up. “You are not skipping dinner.”

“Hyung!” Dongwoon, who had an armful of plastic tupperware, marched up to Kikwang who had joined Junhyung on the floor. “Where did you put my phone?!”

“Aish, I don’t know!” Kikwang answered, trying to sneak some stew into his bowl, but Junhyung  immediately swatted Kikwang’s hand away, resulting in a pout. “Junhyung hyung won’t let me eat until all of us are sitting down together! Hurry up!”

Dongwoon rolled his eyes irritably, placed the tupperware around the newspapers with haste, and began the search for his phone; luckily it took him no time to find the device underneath a bundle of dirty bedsheets near the door to their bedroom.

Eventually, all of the members took their seats on the floor, forming a circle around the stew that Junhyung had made as well as some other side dishes that Doojoon and Kikwang had carelessly microwaved.

“Eat,” Doojoon demanded as he handed Yoseob a bowl of rice and a pair of chopsticks. As soon as the bowl was placed in Yoseob’s hands, Doojoon began plopping random food in Yoseob’s bowl. “If you don’t eat everything, I’m going to kill you.”

Yoseob merely nodded obediently, quietly stuffing the food into his mouth as he continued to stare at the phone that was now across from him, lying next to Dongwoon’s feet. Throughout dinner, Dongwoon strangely toyed with the phone constantly, a nervous expression always on his face. He would pick it up and play with it for a few minutes and then place it down again, repeating the process at least five times.

“Yah,” Junhyung spoke up, elbowing Dongwoon in the arm gently as his head nodded towards the phone, “why do you keep playing with that thing? Just eat.”

“Yeah, you’ve hardly eaten your dinner because of that phone,” Hyunseung said, sending Dongwoon a curious look. “Is there something wrong with it?”

“Oh, sorry,” Dongwoon replied quickly, his hands fumbling with the phone as he attempted to place it down on the floor with difficulty.

Everyone except Yoseob, whose eyes were still focused on the phone, exchanged puzzled glances at each other, sensing that something was clearly wrong.

“Dongwoon,” Doojoon sternly said, his eyes glossing with concern, “what’s the matter?”

Dongwoon was silent. He kept his eyes low to the ground, avoiding everyone’s puzzled gaze. Quiet mumblings ran out of his mouth, heightening the confusion that was shared within all of the members. Just as Doojoon was about to lose his patience, Dongwoon spoke up, his voice timid.

“You guys are going to make fun of me.”

“No, we won’t,” Junhyung said, vexation found in his voice. “Just tell us already.”

The other members nodded vigorously, dying to hear what Dongwoon had to say. Another silence engulfed the room shortly afterwards as Dongwoon began to play with the hem of his shirt, trying to piece the right words together in his head.

“How...” murmured Dongwoon, his head kept low, “do you...ask a girl out?”

“What?” Kikwang asked instantly, leaning his head closer to Dongwoon. “What did you say? Stop mumbling, will you?!”

“How do you ask a girl out?” Dongwoon asked robotically, his voice loud and clear, tainted with humiliation.

Yoseob’s ears suddenly perked up at Dongwoon’s question, his eyes tearing away from the phone and up at Dongwoon, whose face was unseen, his eyes still focused on the hem of his shirt.

“Don’t tell me he wants to ask her out...” Yoseob thought, straightening up to eye Dongwoon carefully. He cursed silently in his head, regret washing over him. “I should’ve stolen that phone to get Daphne noona’s number earlier...aish.”

Chuckles slowly emitted from the members’ mouths, their lips curling up into mischievous grins that were dying to give Dongwoon hell.

“It’s not funny!” Dongwoon cried out, lifting his head up to face the members, turning towards Junhyung. “Hyung, how do you do it? You’ve had plenty of girlfriends before, haven’t you?”


Junhyung’s smile became broader as his chuckles soon evolved into obnoxious laughter, clearly amused. “You’re so worked up because you don’t know how to ask a girl out? Aish, jinjja, I can’t believe this kid...”

“Who do you want to ask out?” Hyunseung asked after his fit of snickers, a smile still clear on his face.

“This one noona...” Dongwoon mumbled, but he had underestimated s’ ears, for they immediately burst into a fit of laughter again, entertained by Dongwoon’s agony.

“Oh, I know...” Doojoon said after the laughter had died out. “It’s the new back-up dancer that Ji Hee noona introduced to us! I saw you dancing with her at the club that one night, trying to look like you knew a thing or two about girls...Dongwoon-ah, what’s wrong with you?!”

“I was only doing what Junhyung hyung taught me about dancing at the clubs! I didn’t think I would like her this much...”

“Yah, Dongwoon-ah,” Yoseob chimed in unexpectedly, ending the hearty laughter that echoed in the room and eliciting shocked expressions from everyone, but he disregarded them, his anger too much to ignore, “do you even know Daphne noona to like her?”

The members were entirely speechless. One could clearly see the gears slowly turning inside their heads as they put the puzzle pieces together as realization washed over them and was obviously written in their faces.

“Daphne noona...” Kikwang spoke up, his eyes wide, “that’s the noona you met the other time, huh, Yoseob?”

Yoseob stared at the floor, calming himself. He didn’t understand the anger that was boiling up inside of him. Why did Daphne make him feel this way? Why did she evoke such strong emotions that he couldn’t control? Eventually, all Yoseob could do as nod, lifting his head up only to be met by Dongwoon’s expressionless gaze. An underlying tension hovered in the room as Yoseob and Dongwoon continued to stare at each other, both not saying a word.

“Dongwoon-ah,” Junhyung said, trying to relieve the room of the awkward silence, “I know you’re not as innocent as you make yourself seem, so why don’t you figure out yourself? I didn’t teach you to be so flirtatious. That was all you.”

“I really like her though...” Dongwoon confessed, tearing his eyes away from Yoseob and turning his direction towards Junhyung. “I don’t want to screw this up!”

“We’re not supposed to be dating,” Doojoon pointed out, getting up with his bowl of rice in his hand, his voice serious, “so let’s just drop it. Daphne is pretty, I admit, but you can’t be thinking about relationships right now.” Doojoon then sent a glance at Yoseob, whose eyes were entirely fixed on Doojoon, listening to his every word. “We’re idols; dating others would tarnish all of our hard work. You know what you were setting yourself up for when you signed that contract.”

Doojoon knew he was being awfully strict, but Yoseob and Dongwoon needed to hear it. As the leader, he needed to end this situation before things would get out of hand. Dongwoon stared intently at the hardwood floor, his cheeks burning, feeling almost ashamed for bringing the subject up. He could feel Doojoon’s piercing eyes burn a hole through his skin, but he refused to look up. If he did, the guilt would have only multiplied. Though he didn’t want to acknowledge it, Doojoon was completely right.

With his head hung low, Dongwoon nodded in reluctant acceptance. He couldn’t bear to face the members, Yoseob especially. The moment Daphne had introduced herself, Dongwoon knew that she was the noona Yoseob had expressed such an interest in before, but he couldn’t help but become so allured by her beauty and her confident charisma. The way she danced, the way her delicate fingers lingered over his skin, the way her lips curled up into that irresistible smile...it drove him insane.

“Come on, let’s clean up,” Doojoon said, dismissing the topic entirely.

Gradually, everyone stood up, not speaking a word as they cleaned their unfinished dinner on the floor. Yoseob snuck a quick glance at Dongwoon, but he continued to keep his head low, avoiding everyone’s stares. Sighing, Yoseob dumped his uneaten rice into the trash, placed the empty bowl in the sink bitterly, and walked to the bedroom alone, closing the door behind him.

He desperately needed time to clear his head and relieve himself of all the emotions that had erupted inside him earlier. Yoseob laid there, staring gloomily at the ceiling. His feelings for Daphne had been growing stronger with each and every day, but Dongwoon was now suddenly added in the situation. Of course he couldn’t stay mad at Dongwoon; they were group mates and friends after all, but Yoseob couldn’t stop himself from feeling so betrayed. Turning to his side, Yoseob forced his eyelids shut, hoping for some sleep, ignoring the hushed voices outside of the bedroom door.

A/N: As you can see, I'm particulary fond of Dooseob and try to incorporate that as much as possible, keke. Now that Dongwoon is incorporated into the story, I hope the story will be more interesting. ^^.  Hope you guys liked this update! I'm not sure when I'll be able to update again but hopefully it'll be soon. Thank you guys for reading<3.