Standing next to the BEAST members, Ji Hee was discussing the concert details to the back-up dancers, but her voice was entirely muffled as Yoseob’s attention was entirely lured away. He scanned the group of dancers eagerly, hoping to see Daphne before Dongwoon did, tip-toeing to extend his view, but her face was nowhere to be found in the crowd.

“What are you doing, hyung?” Dongwoon whispered, who was next to Yoseob and at the end of the line formed by the BEAST members.

Yoseob scrunched his face in disappointment as he lowered his heels to the floor. He faced Dongwoon, annoyed at the close proximity between his face and Dongwoon’s. “Just stretching.”

Though Yoseob and Dongwoon began talking again as if the subject of Daphne had never been brought up that day, Yoseob maintained some distance between the two. He was not one to hold grudges, especially over something trivial like this, but Yoseob could sense the underlying tension between them now in their conversations. It wasn’t the same anymore; it seemed like the two of them were carefully watching what they said to avoid any sort of conflict.

Dongwoon retreated his head suspiciously. Using his tall figure to his advantage, he began peering at the crowd, wondering what Yoseob was trying to see. His eyes widened as he felt his heart quickly leap. Standing behind a few people that towered over her was Daphne, the person that Dongwoon had been yearning to meet again for so long. Their eyes met for a brief second. A euphoric feeling surged through his body, but it left as quickly as it had entered, her doe-like eyes immediately breaking contact from his.

“Oh, crap,” Daphne mumbled to herself, her cheeks beginning to burn. “I hope I didn’t give myself away.” She shifted her gaze nervously, moving her head towards Ji Hee’s direction, attempting to listen to the last snippets of her words.

“...at one point of the concert, a select few will paired up with the BEAST members for a special dance performance...”

Daphne’s face contorted into a horrified frown. What kind of dance performance would be conducted that they had to be in pairs with BEAST? Deluded, Daphne shook her head vigorously, convincing herself that she, out of all the other qualified candidates, would not be one of those ‘select few’ chosen to do that dance number.

“Well, that’s it!” Ji Hee concluded with a broad smile. “BEAST will be coming again tomorrow for practice to discuss the dance routines, so it’s mandatory for you to come.”

Everyone clapped as Ji Hee left the limelight, turning her back towards the group as she chatted amongst the BEAST members. Daphne took this as an opportunity to flee inconspicuously, but she was met with an obstacle: all of the dancers’ bags and belongings had been lined up against the back wall of the practice room. Her face fell as she saw BEAST standing directly in front of those bags, realizing that there was no way to avoid the members.

“Maybe I’ll just leave my bag here,” Daphne plotted inside her head, her anxiety skyrocketing. “Yeah, I think that’ll work. I’ll just slip through the door and--”

“Daphne!”

“Crap,” Daphne sighed heavily, seeing Ji Hee waving her hands, motioning to Daphne to join her.

“Daphne, come here!” Ji Hee urged, her patience growing thin. “I know you can her and see me, so stop acting.”

Muttering bitterly to herself with her shoulders hunched in defeat, Daphne trudged to Ji Hee, her cheeks tinged with pink from being exposed.

“Hi,” Daphne threw on a smile to Doojoon, Junhyung, and Hyunseung, whom Ji Hee had been conversing with. She turned her head to Ji Hee who was standing by her side, an irritated look on Daphne's face. “What do you want me here for? I have important matters at home.” She nervously eyed the other BEAST members, feeling a little bit at ease as she saw Yoseob, Dongwoon, and Kikwang speaking amongst each other on the other side of the room as they waved goodbye to the back-up dancers leaving.

Doojoon let out a hearty laugh, his eyes crinkling with amusement, hoping that he managed to cover up his sudden uneasiness. So this was the Daphne that Dongwoon and Yoseob were pining over; Doojoon had not had the opportunity to properly observe her that night in the club. Yoseob had never admitted it to the members, but Doojoon knew that Yoseob certainly felt attracted to her from the way he spoke about her.

“It seems to me that you don’t want us around,” Junhyung joked.

“Oh, no, no!” Daphne immediately defended herself, beads of sweat trickling down her face as she urgently tried to search for the right words to say. “It’s not that.”

“You guys remember Daphne, right?” Ji Hee moved the subject along, placing an arm around Daphne’s shoulder. “From the club?”

The three members nodded in unison, trying their best to appear kind, but they were all thinking the same thing, hoping that Yoseob and Dongwoon would not join the conversation.

“She’s one of the best dancers we have here,” Ji Hee continued as she saw no one had said anything, ruffling Daphne’s already messy hair.

“Stop it,” Daphne managed to laugh from Ji Hee’s clutches. “You know that’s not true.”

“It is! Why do you think I favor you so much?” Ji Hee teased once more, turning her attention to the boys. “Who do you guys think will fit with her?”

Daphne was immediately confused. Fit...with her? What did Ji Hee mean by that? Her eyes thoroughly examined Ji Hee’s face, hoping for some kind of answer but Ji Hee was ignoring Daphne’s stare as her attention was intently on the boys.

“Oh?” Hyunseung spoke up, his face showing comprehension. “She’ll be joining us for the pairing performance?”

“Of course!” Ji Hee exclaimed enthusiastically. “Like I said, she’s one of our best dancers.”

Daphne’s entire thinking process was put to a halt, her mind entirely bewildered. Ji Hee wanted her to be paired with one of the BEAST members? All she could let out was a nervous chuckle, her lips straining to find some kind of excuse to leave.

“I really have to go now,” Daphne said as she forced herself out of Ji Hee's arms. “Nice meeting you guys again.” She bowed politely to the Doojoon, Junhyung, and Hyunseung, her face flustered. Turning to Ji Hee, she waved goodbye, “Bye, Ji Hee. See you tomorrow.”

With haste, she walked away from the circle before any of them had a chance to say a word, rushing towards the other side of the room to retrieve her bag. Unfortunately in her rush, she had forgotten about the three other boys looming in front of it.

“Daphne noona!” Dongwoon’s deep voice rang through Daphne’s ears, stopping her in her tracks.

She felt his presence behind her as she bent over to pick up her backpack, wincing. As she slung her backpack on her shoulders, she turned to face them, knowing that she had to eventually.

“Hi,” smiled Daphne, facing Dongwoon, Kikwang, and Yoseob.

“I don’t think we were ever introduced,” Kikwang returned the smile, holding out his hand for a handshake. “I was...er, caught up that day in the club.” He sent a small glare to Yoseob next to him, but Yoseob gave Kikwang no acknowledgment as his attention was entirely on Daphne. Kikwang saw this and internally rolled his eyes. “I’m Lee Kikwang.”

“Park Daphne,” she grasped Kikwang’s hand and shook it briefly. “I’d really love to chat, but I really have to go.”


“Oh, come on!” Dongwoon’s cheery voice boomed. “You can stay and talk for a little, can’t you?”

“Dongwoon-ah, if she needs to go somewhere, then let her go,” Yoseob proposed after being silent for quite some time.

Daphne turned her head to look at Yoseob, their eyes meeting for the first time that day. There was something different about him. His tone was serious and he stood rigidly, his body language showing no relaxation. She couldn’t look away from him. The way he was staring at her was so unlike him. His soft, friendly eyes were no longer there. They were...distant. Was he angry at her?

“Thanks, Yoseob,” Daphne said, bowing once more to the three other members. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” She tore her gaze away from his eyes, quickly turning her back towards them and leaving the room.

Yoseob’s eyes never left Daphne, continuing to stare fixedly at the door that had closed once she stepped out of the room. In the beginning, he had been so keen to find Daphne, wanting to converse with her, exchanging playful laughs and jokes, but once she had appeared, he felt himself stiffen. Seeing her there with Dongwoon in the picture as well brought back the resentful feelings inside him. The image of Dongwoon’s tainted arms around her body burned into his brain and he felt a sudden rage inside of him. His emotions entirely engulfed him, forcing its way to his actions. He felt bad for treating her with such coldness, but his envy took control.

Sighing, Yoseob turned to face Kikwang and Dongwoon who were chatting amiably.

“Yah, you guys ready to go?” Doojoon said from across the room, his eyes gazing at Yoseob, Dongwoon, and Kikwang. They nodded and Doojoon turned his attention back to Ji Hee. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” He bowed and walked towards the door, the other members following suit.

The members filed into the elevator, talking amongst one another. Doojoon cleared his throat loudly to catch everyone’s attention and the chatter was immediately halted.

“Dongwoon-ah,” Doojoon called out to the maknae, his face stern.

Dongwoon cast a nervous look at Doojoon, hoping that he wasn’t going to be scolded. “Yes, hyung?”

“Ji Hee and I were talking about the whole pairing performance and everything,” Doojoon started, not sure how to tell the news. “We’re still debating over it though, so nothing’s final. I just wanted to warn you beforehand.”

“What is it, hyung?” Dongwoon asked curiously. All of the other members began peering at Doojoon as well, their entire attention on the leader.

“I don’t know why, but Ji Hee noona is really keen on pairing you with Daphne,” Doojoon said, sighing a bit.

A sharp pain entered Yoseob’s chest, his heart falling hopelessly to his stomach. He looked over at Dongwoon, who had a very satisfied smile on.

“This isn’t fair...” Yoseob thought to himself, his eyes filled with agony. “I knew her first.”

“That doesn’t make sense though,” Hyunseung contemplated, nudging Doojoon. “Daphne is pretty short, isn’t she? I’d say around 160 centimeters? The height difference is just too large.”

“That’s what I said to Ji Hee noona too,” Doojoon replied, “but she said she wants to try something new. I’m not sure what it is though. I’m sure we’ll talk about it soon.” He then sent Dongwoon a serious look, his eyes boring into Dongwoon’s. “There is a pretty big chance that you’re going to be paired with Daphne, Dongwoon. I’m warning you right now: no funny stuff. This is strictly business, arasso?”

Dongwoon nodded fervently, wishing that Doojoon would lure his eyes away from his. Doojoon’s eyes always instilled such a terrifying feeling in Dongwoon and today was no exception, but nonetheless, Dongwoon felt absolutely elated about the situation.

“I know you like her,” Doojoon continued. “That’s why I didn’t want you guys to be paired up, but Ji Hee noona has the last word since she knows the back-up dancers’ strengths and weaknesses.” The doors of the elevator opened and Doojoon walked out, motioning the members to follow him. “Come on, let’s go.”

Yoseob was the last one to walk out, his mind completely out of touch with his body as he thought about what Doojoon had said. The words rang through his ears continuously, as if a broken record player was permanently placed in his head. There’s a pretty big chance that you’re going to be paired with Daphne, Dongwoon.

The members shuffled into their van, making their way back to the dorms. Yoseob purposely sat himself at the window seat, isolating himself from s. He peered out of the window with glossed eyes; he couldn’t bear to look at anyone else, especially at Dongwoon’s smug grin that Yoseob wish he could wipe off. He could admit it now: he liked Daphne noona. The feelings were definitely there. They were always there, and he knew that, but the odds were against him. Dongwoon was to be paired up with Daphne, meaning they would be spending plenty of private time together. Yoseob sighed. He didn’t care what Doojoon said about relationships the other day, nor did he care that Dongwoon liked her as much as he did. Daphne was too precious, too valuable to let go. No matter what the circumstances, he was determined to win her over.

A/N: Hi, everyone! it's been way too long but I've finally found some time today to update! This chapter's slightly boring so I'll be updating again in the next couple of days. Hope you guys have a good weekend and thank you so much for reading!