Sluggishly, Daphne forced to place her left foot in front of the other. Once she did that, she repeated the same process for the other foot, her eyes entirely focused on the slow movement of her feet as they trudged along the sidewalk. To say that she was absolutely dreading the inevitable practice that was happening in thirty minutes was a gross understatement. The dark bags under Daphne’s large eyes indicated the lack of sleep she had as she was too busy wallowing in her own self-pity in bed last night.

“Why me?” she mumbled through the dark, woolen scarf that she wrapped securely around her neck and mouth, protecting herself from the beginnings of a harsh winter wind. “I thought going to Korea was going to be fun...”

Korea was unlike everything than she had expected. Adventures, exploring, culture--that was what Daphne thought she was getting herself into when she had signed up for this, but what she received instead was confusion, stress, heartache, and pain. Balancing the schoolwork wasn’t a problem anymore; it was her damn wild emotions that always put her in such a flurry.

“Oh, poo,” Daphne sighed, as she looked up and found herself facing the looming entrance of the Cube building. “I thought I was walking extremely slow!”

Reluctantly, she pushed the large doors open and made her way towards the practice room, taking the stairs to further postpone her arrival. However, the walk up the stairs only seemed to take a few minutes as she stood outside practice room door, staring dully at the sleek, metal doorknob.

“To open...” Daphne thought tiredly to herself, her fingertips reaching the doorknob but eventually recoiling in fear, “or not to open...”

Her indecisiveness was put to an end, however, as a hand grasped the doorknob, opening the door for her. She gasped in surprise and followed the hand to its owner.

“Oh, hello, Doojoon-ssi,” Daphne bowed immediately to conceal her pink cheeks.

“I thought you needed a bit of help,” Doojoon explained with an amused smile. “Tired?”

“Uh huh,” she nodded eagerly, relieved that she did not have to conjure an excuse herself. Noticing that Doojoon was still holding the door open for her, she thought it was only common courtesy to walk in the practice room.

“Finally!” Ji Hee exclaimed as Daphne made her way to the middle of the room where everyone sat, huddled together. “You’re the last one to arrive. Come in, come in.” Ji Hee grabbed a hold of Daphne’s arms, pulling her into the group.

“Why are you rushing?” Daphne asked, checking her phone to peer at the time. “I’m still two minutes early!”

“We have a lot to discuss,” Ji Hee explained, but her attention was diverted as she acknowledged Doojoon’s presence in the room. “Doojoon, you’re really early. What’s the occasion?”

“Oh, nothing,” Doojoon replied nonchalantly, stretching his limbs comfortably near the door of the practice room. “The other members went to eat, but I wasn’t hungry.”

Ji Hee simply nodded and turned back to face her group of back-up dancers who circled around her. Seeing that she had everyone’s attention, she began. “Okay, so as you all know, BEAST’s concert is in roughly two months, which honestly, isn’t a lot of time for us to rehearse such a long event.”

Upon hearing the words ‘BEAST’ and ‘concert’, Daphne felt her stomach lurch uncomfortably, but she continued on listening as she knew Ji Hee had relevant information to share.

“Because of this, I’m afraid practices are going to be more frequent and longer,” Ji Hee continued on and Daphne felt her heart sink even lower, if it was possible. “This is going to eat a lot of your time, I know, but we all knew what we were getting ourselves into when we decided to make such a commitment. We all need each other: that’s a given, so please, don’t let me or any of your fellow dancers down.”

Daphne closed her eyes briefly, hoping for some sense of comfort. Longer practices every single day? How was she going to juggle all of the chaos in her life if she didn’t have time?

“Doojoon has given me a rough draft of the set list for the concert, so I think we’re going to be doing that first today. BEAST usually doesn’t use back-up dancers in their performances, but we’ll be needed for some of their other songs.” Ji Hee paused, racking her head for anything else to say. “We also need to review 4Minute’s and Gina unnie’s choreography since they’ll be performing at the concert as well.” She then nodded to Daphne and some of the girls around her. “I know you guys are new, but you guys have to be extremely focused for the rest of the practices from now on since most of us already know the dances from 4Minute and Gina unnie.”

Mom, school, practice, and barely any leverage in between? It sounded like a car wreck just waiting to happen, but Daphne tried her best to hold her head high, pushing the thoughts of her impending doom out of her mind. She closed her eyes and relaxed her stiff shoulders, inhaling and exhaling deeply to remedy her nerves, but as soon as Ji Hee said “Let’s warm up”, her optimistic thoughts were immediately clouded by anxiety and uneasiness. This was not going to be an easy two months.


Relief. That was the only thing that was running through her mind and coursing throughout her body as Daphne laid sprawled on the hardwood floor, exhausted. Practice seemed to go on for an eternity while the breaks in between felt like it only lasted a few seconds. The rest of the BEAST members had arrived shortly after the back-up dancers had finished warming up. Once everyone had felt ready enough to tackle some choreography, they practiced endlessly, learning and relearning dance moves that took every ounce of energy that Daphne had inside of her.

Daphne stayed true to Ji Hee’s request of being entirely focused, but she became aware of her mind wandering off accidentally as her eyes would settle on two bodies that never failed to leave her head. There had been no opportunity for any of them to converse with each other despite the occasional acknowledging smile that Daphne exchanged with Yoseob and Dongwoon. Fortunately for her, the BEAST members had been placed in the front, leading the choreography, which meant Daphne’s worries about confrontation were put to ease during practice.

“Don’t leave yet,” Ji Hee’s voice boomed from across the room. Daphne’s hands immediately let go of her bag as it landed with a soft thud on the floor. “You have to stay a bit longer since you’re part of the pairing performance, remember?”

“...right,” Daphne forced a smile as she looked longingly at the other dancers who began departing out of the room.

“We’re deliberating about it now,” Ji Hee indicated, waving her hands to signal Daphne to come over, “so join us.”

The BEAST members, Ji Hee, and four other girls were sitting in the middle of the dance room, forming a circle. Daphne traipsed to the middle of the room and began to feel extremely nervous, butterflies in her stomach. Eventually, Ji Hee dragged her, seating Daphne down between her and  Yoseob to her dismay.

“So we’re not sure what you guys wanted to do yet, but I have some ideas in mind...” Ji Hee began with her projecting voice, grasping everyone’s attention.

“Hey,” Yoseob nudged her softly in the arm, his mouth dangerously close to her ear.

“Hm?” Daphne turned her head to face him, and it took all of her will to stay calm and collected. If he moved his head any closer, their noses would have been touching.

“Sorry I didn’t talk to you yesterday,” he apologized, keeping still. “I was tired and I know you were too.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied. She peered at his eyes and felt her stomach doing somersaults. The cold eyes that she witnessed yesterday were thankfully replaced by the ones that she was more used to: kind, sweet, and slightly crinkled at the corners that resulted from his infectious smile. Unexpectedly, she felt the corners of her lips lifting upwards as a shy laugh escaped .

Yoseob noticed this and his grin broadened, feeling at ease now that he knew Daphne was not put off by his attitude. “We haven’t talked in a while. I think--”

“Yah, Yoseob,” Doojoon called out, his voice full of authority. He took off his shoe and threw it on top of Yoseob’s lap. Reluctantly, Yoseob turned his head away from Daphne’s and put his attention on Doojoon, feeling the leader’s effectively penetrating glare. Doojoon continued to scold, “Shut up.”

Scrunching up his nose in disgust, Yoseob could only nod, knowing better than to argue with Doojoon. He pushed Doojoon’s shoe to the side, his nostrils flaring from the stench that emitted from it. Daphne suppressed a laugh and gave Yoseob an apologetic smile.

“As I was saying,” Ji Hee continued, preferring to ignore the interruption, “I think the pairs that Doojoon and I have picked is pretty much settled.”

“Ah,” Doojoon spoke up, holding his finger up to speak, “there is one pair though and I--”

“I don’t care,” Ji Hee retorted, refusing to give in to Doojoon’s request. “If we’re talking about the same pair, then I’m not even going to listen. They fit together and that’s that.” Doojoon opened his mouth to speak again but he abruptly closed it after seeing Ji Hee’s own intense glare. He felt himself grow smaller, his head hanging low as he could feel Ji Hee’s eyes penetrating into his skull. Now he knew how s must feel when he did the same to them.

“After I give out the groups, you guys will be going to different practice rooms and brainstorming ideas there on what to do,” Ji Hee explained after lifting her eyes off of Doojoon, her voice friendly again. “We’re letting you guys choreograph and organize this number because it should be fun. Of course, Doojoon and I will look over the routines in case some of you try to be silly and do something entirely dumb.”

A few people snickered, looking at each other accusingly. Ji Hee paused slightly and began reading off the list.

“Hey, do you want to get dinner after this?” Yoseob distracted Daphne for the second time, her attention immediately on him. He didn’t know where this confidence had come from, but after seeing Dongwoon eye her longingly, Yoseob knew he had to do something.

She stared at his eyes again, feeling a comforting warmth bubbling happily inside her stomach. “Um,” she uttered, unable to piece her haphazard thoughts together. Quickly, she darted her eyes to his messy black hair that was sticking up in odd places. Finally, she felt like she could think again. “Sure.”

Yoseob grinned happily, swiftly taking out his phone and shoving it into her hands. “If we’re going to meet up later, we should exchange numbers, right?

“Daphne, are you listening?” Ji Hee sighed as she got off from the floor. Daphne blinked cluelessly up at Ji Hee, wondering why everyone else was doing the same. “We’re leaving to the practice rooms now.”

“Oh. I didn’t get my partner yet,” Daphne acknowledged, standing up as well, quickly punching in her phone number into Yoseob’s phone and hastily handing it back to him as she hurried to Ji Hee’s side.

Ji Hee rolled her eyes but quickly flashed Daphne a mischievous smile. “Your partner’s Dongwoon. Now go run along to his side.”

“What?!”

Horrified, Daphne let hang open, her apprehension growing stronger. “But...you know, he’s really tall. Shouldn’t he be paired with you or something?” Out of all the people, she had to be paired with the person who could cause her cardiac arrest with just the sound of his voice?

“You told me a long time ago that you could play piano, right?” Ji Hee said. “Well, he can too. Since you both have musical backgrounds, I thought it was suitable for you guys to pair up.” She then leaned over near Daphne’s ear, chuckling a little. “Plus, I saw the chemistry you guys had during the club. You can thank me later.” With a teasing wink, Ji Hee left Daphne’s side without a second thought and walked out of the room with Doojoon, her partner for the routine.

“Hi, Daphne noona,” a familiar, deep voice said from behind Daphne, interrupting her thoughts of murdering Ji Hee.

She turned around and nervously smiled the tall figure in front of her, his blonde hair fashionably styled into a faux hawk today. “Hi, Dongwoon. Guess we’re partners?”

“I guess so,” Dongwoon feigned the coolness in his voice. Inside, he was completely elated and he wasn’t sure if he could contain it. “Doojoon hyung told me to go to the music room with the piano in it, so let’s go.” He grabbed a hold of her small wrist firmly, pulling her along towards the exit.

“O-okay,” stuttered Daphne, following Dongwoon. “Bye, Yoseob.” As she passed Yoseob, she gave him a small wave. Yoseob immediately covered his disappointed expression with a smile, waving back at her with enthusiasm.

“Remember about dinner,” Yoseob mouthed to her. His smile immediately vanished, however, as he saw Dongwoon’s hand clutching her wrist. He turned away from the sight of them before his emotions got out of hand and focused back on his partner, the image of Dongwoon and Daphne burning into his mind.

“Do you have any ideas?” Dongwoon asked as he laid with his back on the floor, gazing at the ceiling.

“Nope,” Daphne answered plainly, her body laying parallel to Dongwoon’s. Their shoulders were touching and it sent an electrifying sensation down her spine. How could a gesture that small do so much to her? If she had been standing, she was sure that her knees would have given way at his contact.

“School and Mom, school and Mom,” Daphne recited in her head as she attempted to push thoughts of Dongwoon out of her head, but this was too much. How could she not think about him when he was laying right next to her? She refused to face him, for she was sure that if their eyes locked together, her stomach would not be able to handle the amount of butterflies that he gave her. “School and Mom.”

“What would you like to do?” Dongwoon turned his body so he was now laying on his side, his elbow propped up as his hand held his head in place.

Feeling the sudden attention on her, Daphne’s face felt warm, the soft color of pink slowly making its way to her cheeks. “I..don’t know...”

She closed her eyes in frustration. Daphne was usually more strong-willed than this. Why was she letting a couple of boys control her emotions so much? Dongwoon was attractive--extremely attractive--but they had barely gotten to know each other during the brief times that they met. How could she develop feelings for someone she knew so little about? There was always Yoseob to think about as well, but Dongwoon was different than Yoseob. The attractions that she felt between the two were entirely contrasting. Dongwoon made her heart beat violently inside her chest with nervousness. Yoseob, however...she was entirely comfortable with Yoseob and he had the tendency to inspire butterflies in her stomach, but they were pleasant butterflies. It was comfortable and she always felt this relaxing warmth whenever she looked at him. Thoughts of Yoseob were immediately pushed to the back of her head though as Dongwoon spoke once more.

“Well...what are you good at?” Taking a gentle hold of her bare arm, Dongwoon shook her teasingly. He wanted Daphne to look at him. They had not made eye contact for the entire night and he wanted nothing more than to gaze deeply into her large eyes, admiring every feature that he loved about her. Now that they were left alone, he felt even more comfortable, his confidence radiating.

“Screw Doojoon hyung,” Dongwoon thought rebelliously, holding his breath as he saw Daphne turn to look at him. “She’s just...too amazing to pass up. I hope I’m doing this right.”

Daphne felt her heart jump once more as his hand firmly held onto her arm, the hairs on skin immediately sticking up from his touch. The intensity of his stare forced her to face him, knowing that she couldn’t avoid it for the rest of the night. As soon as their eyes met, she felt her heart swelling up again, beating rapidly.

“Well?” Dongwoon smiled, his hand still firmly placed on her arm. 


“Ji Hee said that you could play piano? I can too.” She nodded over towards the grand piano that stood elegantly in the corner of the room.

“A duet then? But I’m not sure how we can incorporate dancing into that...”

“Me neither.”

Dongwoon’s hand released from her arm, and Daphne could finally feel herself breathe again. However, her relief was cut short and the thumping of her heart intensified as Dongwoon tenderly touched Daphne’s cheeks, brushing his thumb softly against her smooth skin.

“You have a stray eyelash...” he breathed, his head inching closer to hers.

“Oh, hell,” thought Daphne. His hot breath tickled her nose as he spoke. Abandoning every single ounce of her free will, she closed her eyes, waiting patiently for his lips to meet hers, but that moment was put to a halt as a loud grumble echoed through the room.

Retracting his hand from Daphne’s pink face, he laughed heartily, pointing at her stomach. “Is that you?”

Daphne felt like she could die right there. The embarrassment was too much for her to handle as she brought her tank top to her face, covering it. “I’m hungry.” She cursed silently at her stomach for ruining such a moment.

“Come on,” Dongwoon stood up, bringing Daphne with him as well. He smoothed out the wrinkles in his t-shirt and patted Daphne on the head. “Let’s go eat.”

“We still haven’t decided on what to do though!”

“Ah, we’ll worry about that later,” he brushed off nonchalantly, walking towards the door of the room. He opened the door and looked back at Daphne who was still standing in the middle of the room. “Let’s go, noona!”

Daphne fell out of her daze and followed Dongwoon out of the room, grabbing her bag along the way. There was a strong feeling in her stomach that what they were doing was wrong, but the feeling quickly eroded away as she felt Dongwoon next to her. It was unlike her to be doing something like this: disobeying rules and being irresponsible, but Dongwoon made it feel...right, as if it was okay. Her cautious tendencies were thrown away, bringing out a reckless attitude.

The pair began walking down the hallway, laughing and joking about the violent sounds of her stomach. As they entered the elevator, Daphne felt conflicted with herself: was she forgetting something?

Her stomach growled once more, eliciting laughs from Dongwoon, erasing any previous worry that she had. She shrugged the uneasy feeling off, deciding that her mind was simply playing tricks on her.

A/N: Hehe, yep, I've updated pretty quickly today! Hope you guys don't mind. :) Anyway, next update probably won't be until Friday. Thank you guys for reading!