Slowly, Daphne opened her eyes to the sight of a brightly lit room, the sunlight beaming down at her through the thin fabric of the curtains. She felt a sharp pain on the side of her head, throbbing agonizingly as it pulsated through her thoughts, making it hard for her to piece everything together.

“What am I doing on the couch?” Daphne pondered curiously to herself, sitting up and noticing aspirin pills and a cup of water on the coffee table. Thankful for Scarlett, she swallowed the pills hastily, hoping that it would relieve her groggy state.

She downed the rest of the water and began rubbing her temples, hoping to soothe her pain so she could recall anything that had taken place last night. The sounds of clinking was definitely noticeable in her head as she tried to retrace her thoughts. There were a few images of shot glasses being filled up with soju but other than that, her mind was completely blank.

“...” Daphne mumbled, bringing her palms to her face, sighing loudly. She pulled the blankets off of her body and realized that she was wearing the same clothes she had on the night before. With a sigh of relief, she plopped herself back on the couch, running her fingers through her tangled hair. “At least I didn’t do anything dumb like take my clothes off...”

“Hey, what are you doing there?” Scarlett’s voice echoed loudly throughout the living room as she stepped out of her bedroom and onto the couch next to Daphne.

Daphne looked up from her position and saw Scarlett clad in her pajamas, yawning comfortably as her blonde mane stuck up in odd corners.

“What? I thought you already knew...” Daphne began as she thought back to the pair of pills and cup of water that she had taken shortly before. “Isn’t that why...?”

“Knew about what?” Scarlett asked as she observed Daphne with a perplexed expression. “Why didn’t you change your clothes?”

Daphne shrugged, still confused. “Did you put a glass of water and aspirin on the table for me last night?”

“No. I went to sleep before you even got back. Had I known you’d be in this disheveled state, I would have stayed up.” Scarlett laughed lightly, ruffling Daphne’s already mangled hair. “Seriously though, you look like a mess.” She laughed once more as she noticed the dried drool on Daphne’s chin.

Casting Scarlett a short glare, Daphne scratched her head inquisitively, wondering about the mysterious cup of water. Maybe she put it there while she was drunk? But surely that would be an impossible feat since Daphne knew too well that whenever she was intoxicated, there was a large disconnect between her body and her mind.

“Why were you sleeping on the couch though?” Scarlett asked, breaking Daphne’s train of thought.

“I honestly can’t remember,” Daphne said dryly, wrinkling her nose as she tried once more to dig through her brain for any kind of image that would aid her memory. “I just know that I got really drunk.”

“Oh, gosh.” Scarlett smiled, shaking her head knowingly. “You do realize what happens when you drink, right?”

“I know! They just kept egging me on...”

“And you did it?” asked Scarlett, surprised. “Why would you give into peer pressure like that?” Clicking her tongue disapprovingly, she frowned with disappointment. “That’s unlike you.”

“They wouldn’t stop bothering me about it,” Daphne muttered, avoiding Scarlett’s gaze due to her shame, her eyes never leaving her lap. “I’m sure I didn’t do anything rash though. My clothes are still on, so that’s good, right?”

Scarlett gave Daphne a doubtful look, but as she noticed the resentment in Daphne’s tone, Scarlett weakly smiled, patting her best friend on the back reassuringly.  “I’m sure you didn’t either.” Her soft voice suddenly shifted to a harsh one, anger noticeable in her eyes. “Wait a minute...who were you with? Why the hell did they force you to drink?”

Sensing Scarlett’s obvious animosity, Daphne felt herself growing smaller, too afraid to answer. Picking her words with extreme caution, she answered, “I’m sure they meant well...It was just for fun.”

“Daphne, you better tell me before I--”

“Okay, okay!” Daphne surrendered, raising her hands up to place them on Scarlett’s shoulders to calm her down. “I was with Yoseob and Dongwoon.”

“That bastard!” exclaimed Scarlett, narrowing her eyes accusingly. “I knew he was a bad apple! Why didn’t Yoseob stop you?”

“Scarlett, he’s not a ‘bad apple.’” Daphne rolled her eyes at Scarlett’s melodramatic accusations. “He likes to have fun, that’s all.” She sighed heavily

“And by fun, do you mean getting you drunk enough where you pass out and--”

“Scarlett!”

“Okay, but seriously though, why didn’t Yoseob stop you? I always thought he’d be looking out for you and everything.”

“I don’t know...” Daphne’s voice trailed off as she thought about the previous night, trying to recall if Yoseob really hadn’t stopped her from drinking. Despite the first shot that they took, Yoseob never interjected her drinks, not even bothering to look in her direction when Dongwoon and Daehyun had jeered at her.

She toyed with the hem of her shirt broodingly, her eyes fixated on the empty cup that she had gulped so hastily. “Yoseob-ah...are we not friends anymore?” Daphne thought to herself, her eyebrows furrowing. Her mind flashed back to the cold, distant eyes that Yoseob had once stared at her with, which only reaffirmed her suspicions. “Mianhae...for whatever I did.”

The dreadful apprehension of going to practice was once again lodged in the pits of Daphne’s stomach as she waved goodbye to Scarlett, closing the door behind her. The thought of Yoseob having any sort of displeasure against her occupied her mind the entire day, and now that she was going to see him in a matter of a few minutes only increased her uneasiness. She was never one to initiate confrontation, but she simply needed to know what she did wrong.

As she rounded about the second to last block to the Cube building, a violent gust of wind assaulted her, stopping Daphne in her tracks as she shivered, her teeth chattering. Her hands reached up against her bare neck and Daphne spat out a stream of profanities, realizing that she had forgotten her scarf.

“Need this?”

Before she had time to turn around, the figure securely adjusted a soft, woolen scarf around her neck, the goosebumps on her skin finally easing as her temperature slightly rose. The radiating smell of the scarf reached up to her nostrils as she inhaled and her anxiety only grew as she pieced together the smell and the figure.

“Thanks, Dongwoon-ah,” Daphne said as Dongwoon, his head covered with a beanie, moved from his position behind her to her side, “but I really don’t need it.”

Just as Daphne’s fingers hooked around the scarf to tear it off her neck, Dongwoon reached over and grabbed her wrist, lacing their fingers together as he brought their hands to their side.

“I don’t want you getting cold.” Donwoon smiled as they began to walk down the sidewalk. “Are you okay?”

“Hm?” Daphne replied indifferently. She would have conjured a more interested answer but her mind was pre-occupied with the fact that Dongwoon was firmly holding her hand. Although she tried to wriggle her fingers away from his, her attempts were futile as his strength simply overpowered hers.

“From yesterday,” Dongwoon elaborated, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. “I woke up to a rather unpleasant hangover this morning...”

“Oh, that.” Daphne chuckled nervously, her mind still intent on their clasping hands. “I think I’m okay.” She turned her head to Dongwoon with anticipation, hoping that he could somehow give her a proper answer to her query. “Hey...do you remember anything that happened last night?”

Dongwoon shook her head disappointingy, wrinkling his eyebrows. “No, I really can’t remember a thing other than taking shot after shot...How about you?”

“Not a thing,” Daphne huffed, disheartened.

“Ah, why are you worrying about that for?” Dongwoon gave his best at lightening up the mood, pinching Daphne’s cheek softly. “At least we made it back safely and now we get a good three hours to spend more time together.” His lips spread into a large grin, his happiness radiating, but it was not enough to raise Daphne’s downtrodden spirits.

“Yeah...” Daphne managed to let out as she forced a smile. Her wandering eyes eventually lingered on the sight of their intertwined hands once more, an uncomfortable feeling overcoming her senses.

Dongwoon made it painfully obvious that he was being entirely serious about this whole ‘relationship’ thing. He took his role of the ‘boyfriend’ almost too well, but Daphne still couldn’t bear to admit that she was dating Dongwoon, despite his constant reminders that they were in fact a couple. But how could she come to terms with something that she didn’t want? Daphne knew, of course, that she had no one to blame but herself. After Dongwoon had pulled away from their intimate kiss, she had said yes and agreed to this ‘relationship’ in the heat of the moment, but she had no idea how much weight a single monosyllabic word could hold.

A relationship was the last thing that she wanted and needed. There were too many things floating around in her life, and she deeply feared that if she added another problem to the pile, everything would simply crash and burn. She knew she had to tell Dongwoon that she didn’t want this, but the real question was how?

There was a noticeable bounce in his step, a spark in his eyes, a certain joy emulating from every part of his body and Dongwoon made sure that his exuberance was evident. Who was she to destroy that bright, glowing light in somebody’s life?

As the Cube building came into view, Daphne pried her hands away from Dongwoon’s, surprisingly succeeding. She tucked both hands into her pockets as she faced a surprised Dongwoon.

“I don’t want the others to see us like this,” Daphne made up, hoping that the faked nonchalance in her tone was believable.

“Oh, good idea, noona!” Dongwoon smiled as he skipped to the front of the building, opening the door and holding it still for Daphne to step in. “I think Doojoon hyung would kill me if he found out about us.” He shuddered in terror, closing the door behind him as Daphne walked in the building.

The pair walked directly into the elevator and pressed their designated floor. As soon as the metal doors closed, Dongwoon placed his arms around Daphne’s shoulders and brought her closely to his chest as he sighed loudly.

“You make me really happy, noona.”

“If only I could say the same...” Daphne thought.

“Dongwoon-ah, please pay attention.”

“Sorry.”

Throughout their entire practice together, Dongwoon would go into small trances, his movements suddenly stopping as he eyed Daphne, ruining his focus and concentration on the dance moves that he and Daphne had crafted so meticulously on.

Not only was his attention span considerably smaller, but Dongwoon’s arms always found a way around Daphne’s body, which triggered her anger as she felt it rising with every passing second. The concert was a mere month away, but it was apparent that it had not dawned on Dongwoon yet that they had so little time to perfect their performance. Their choreography was pretty much finished, but it was nowhere near from presentable.

Daphne sighed as she glanced at the clock on the dismal wall. Practice was over and they had not progressed at all. Irritated, she swiftly walked to the back of the room and picked up her bag, slinging it over her back.

“I’m going to leave now,” Daphne stated bluntly. The amount of irritation that was bottled inside of her was reaching its limit, waiting to explode at any second. To avoid that, she knew she had to get out of Dongwoon’s proximity before she ruined their friendship.

“What?” Dongwoon ran to her side and held onto her wrist, almost begging her. “Already?”

“I have a lot of work to do,” she answered indifferently, not bothering to pull away from his grasp as she knew it would be futile. It was true though; her workload had definitely been piling up on her and she knew she had to get started on it. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Reluctantly, Dongwoon let go of his hold on her wrist, his face a streaked with disappointment, but just as Daphne turned her heel to leave, Dongwoon enclosed her in a hug, her back joining with his chest.

“Dongwoon-ah...” Daphne repressed another sigh, her head resting on the crook of his neck.

“You’re really comfortable, noona,” Dongwoon smiled as he placed his head on her shoulder, nuzzling into her neck.

Daphne laughed as she felt his breaths tickle her neck. As a reflex, she pushed his head away from hers and turned her body so she faced him, his arms still firmly wrapped around her waist. Their eyes met each other, locking together as Daphne stared intently into his half crinkled eyes. There was undoubtably a sparkle in his eyes that expressed his elation so well. Almost as if it was contagious, Daphne felt the corners of her lips curving upwards, returning his broad smile as they continued to gaze at one another, their eyes never leaving the other’s as if a magnetic force was between them.

“I like you so much,” he whispered, his smile never faltering.

“Dongwoon-ah...” Daphne began, unsure on how to respond to such a blatant statement.

A plethora of thoughts rushed through her head, making it hard for her to think straight. Was it the right time to tell him that she didn’t want this? Should she lie and just return the words that he wanted to hear? Should she stay silent? There were so many possibilities and she didn’t have enough time to filter through all of the consequences of each choice, leaving her confused as she tried to string proper words together.

“I...we...” Daphne uttered, blood rushing to her cheeks as she felt herself tense up. “I don’t think...”

“Shh,” Dongwoon mumbled as he closed the gap between them, his lips firmly situated on hers.

This kiss was different than their previous ones. Instead of being overly passionate, Dongwoon kept it simple as his lips pressed against hers but never moving. It was a brief kiss, but Daphne could feel her heart pulsating, echoing through her ear drums, her knees slightly weak. It was nothing more than a lengthened peck, but the intensity was easily sensed.

“Good night, noona,” Dongwoon said, pulling Daphne in for one last hug before letting her go.

Slightly dazed, Daphne blinked, clueless, as her mind attempted to catch up to her body, not entirely aware of her surroundings. A small smile crept on her lips as her fingers grazed her warm lips, but the moment she felt the romantic teenager in her starting to come out, she snapped back to reality, forcing her arms to retreat by her side. 

“I don’t want a relationship,” Daphne reminded herself, reaffirming her decision from before. “I’ll tell him another day, I guess...”

Her hand reached for the door, and just as her fingers curled around the brass knob, Dongwoon’s voice called out to her.

“Mianhae, noona,” Dongwoon said from across the room, “for not paying attention. I’ll do better tomorrow.”

All Daphne could do was smile, nodding while she turned the doorknob and left the room, her frustration for Dongwoon slowly but surely subsiding.

“I just want to go home and sleep...” she said to herself, not even bothering to filter through the stream of thoughts that swam uncontrollably through her head. However, she acknowledged that even that elementary feat was impossible as she bumped into a figure outside of the Cube building.

“Sorry!” Daphne exclaimed with fright as she ricocheted backwards from the collision. “I wasn’t looking. Oh, God, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay! It’s okay,” Yoseob laughed, raising his palms up to calm Daphne down. “I’m fine. Are you hurt?”


Daphne’s stomach gave an uncomfortable toss once she realized who she had bumped into. Her mind immediately raced to her conversation with Scarlett earlier that day, the awkwardness evident in the air as Daphne squirmed uneasily, not wanting to confront Yoseob about why he was angry at her.

“I’ll be on my way now,” Daphne muttered, hoping for a quick escape, but Yoseob was much faster than her. His hand was already on her shoulder before she could move out of his view.

“What’s the hurry?” asked Yoseob, smiling kindly. It was odd--he didn’t seem to be mad at her, but maybe he was covering it up?

“I’m really tired.”

“Oh...well, okay then...” Yoseob said, covering his displeasure. “I’ll--”

“Do you remember what happened last night?” Daphne interrupted. The question of yesterday’s events still lingered in the corner of her mind and she felt like now was the perfect time to ask. Surely Yoseob could recall what had happened.

“Um...” Yoseob tried to think back, caught off guard. He suppressed a frown as the conversation he had with Dongwoon replayed in his head. Daphne noona and me...we’re dating. His fists unexpectedly tightened and he felt his anger slowly rising. “No, I don’t.” He decided that he was going to act dumb, not wanting to relive the painful truth again.

Daphne’s lips thinned, making a straight line that depicted her dissatisfaction. “Nothing?” No one out of three people couldn’t conjure anything up from last night? She found that hard to believe and her suspicions were only reaffirmed when she noticed Yoseob’s strange body language, his nose twitching with uneasiness. He was lying to her.

“Please,” Daphne began, feeling the frustration in her starting to boil, “don’t lie to me.”

“I don’t remember,” Yoseob repeated, sterner now.

“What the hell’s your problem?” Daphne lashed out, all of her irritation from the entire day finally coming out. She had only asked for a simple request, but he was denying it to her. Not only that, but he was angry at her for something she had nothing wrong. “I just want to know!”

Yoseob, startled from her outburst, was speechless, his mouth opening and closing but no words left his throat. 
Noticing this, Daphne continued, her emotions overtaking her mind. “I didn’t even do anything to you. Why have you been so goddamn cold to me?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“Yesterday!” Daphne’s voice was becoming increasingly louder, her anger skyrocketing as she recalled Scarlett’s observation from their previous talk. “You didn’t even bother helping me when I obviously didn’t want to continue drinking.” She sighed. “I know you know what happened and you won’t even tell me.”

Yoseob was starting to get angry as well. How could she yell at him like this after all he had done for her? “Listen, sometimes, I like to keep to myself. It’s my business and--”

“But don’t I have a right to know?” Daphne fumed. “Jesus, it involves me too! I can’t believe you. I bet you just left Dongwoon and me there in the bar while you came back to your dorm safe and sound. Is that the case? Is that why you won’t tell me? Too ashamed?”

“No,” Yoseob gritted his teeth, his knuckles growing white. “You have no--”

“Then tell me!”

“Why should I tell you?!” Yoseob bellowed back. “You haven’t been exactly faithful either!”

“What are you--”

“I know,” he said, his face grim. “I know about you and Dongwoon.”

Daphne’s eyes widened, the gears in her head halting. “What...who...how?”

“Last night. You two drunkenly told me.”

“It’s not what--”

“Just save it, noona,” Yoseob put his hand up to stop her from talking, not wanting to hear any more. “Do you know how hard it was for me and Junhyung hyung to carry the both of you back home, safe and sound? Do you know how much trouble you put me through when I came back to the dorm only to endure a lecture from my manager?”

“I...”

“I’ve done so much for you, but you don’t even notice it. And all for what? For nothing,” Yoseob bitterly said. This one-sided relationship had gone on too far. He was sick and tired of giving so much, only to be backstabbed by his band member that was frolicking around with the girl he liked, and the worst part was that all of his efforts wasn’t even acknowledged.

He was done. All of the extra worries, the extra stress, all of the things that he sacrificed for her was now coming to an end. He couldn’t do this anymore, now realizing that he was just a ragged doll to be used whenever she needed him.

“I’m leaving now,” he stated, turning his back from her. After walking a few steps, he turned his head around again to face her, his face serious. “By the way, good to know that you’re functioning just fine. You’re welcome for the aspirin.” With that, he turned around and continued down the sidewalk.

“That...that was you?” Daphne uttered, tears b her eyelids as her question remained unanswered, the back of Yoseob getting smaller and smaller as he inched farther away from her.

The weight of her heart sank to her stomach, guilt coursing through every part of her body. He was there all along.

A/N: Sorry for the wait! I've been pretty busy lately since school is starting again and I'm really sick right now. ;~;. Anyway, I hope this chapter wasn't too confusing? If it was, then I'll try to explain it better, haha. Basically, Daphne thinks Yoseob is mad at her for something since she thinks Yoseob didn't try stopping her from drinking. However, we know that Yoseob isn't mad at her at all, which is why they fight at the end. Heh...anyway, thank you guys for reading! Hopefully I'll be able to update soon. :)