To say that Daphne’s room was a mess was a gross understatement. Crumpled scraps of papers scattered throughout the once-clean carpet, mixed with the dirty clothes that was thrown haphazardly on the covered floor. Half-opened books littered around Daphne’s the large mound of unfolded bedsheets.

Spread horizontally across the bed was Daphne, her head hanging off of the mattress, hair carelessly flowing down to the dirty floor. With a book in her hands and her arms raised up high above her chest, she scanned the small lines, trying her best to decipher the meaning behind the complicated phrasing of her Biology textbook.

The door slightly creaked open, but with the clutter on the floor, the door could only produce a small crack between the frame. An eye was visible in the crack, exploring the contents of the room.

“Daphne!”

Shocked from the unexpected call, Daphne turned her head immediately to the origin of the voice, but as she diverted her attention, her hands lost the grip of her book, causing the massive object to drop on her chest.

“Ow...”

“Daphne, you idiot!” Scarlett’s voice was clearly heard through the slightly ajar door, irritated. “Open this door, will you?”

Sluggishly, Daphne sat up from her position and walked towards the door, kicking the group of objects that was blocking the entrance. “What is it?”

Once inside, Scarlett gave the room another scan, agape at the dirty mess. “What the hell have you been doing...”

“What?” Daphne shrugged as she sat back down on her bed.

With an incredulous look, Scarlett sighed loudly, attempting to maneuver herself to Daphne’s bed, but the chaos on the floor wrapped around her feet, making it difficult to even walk.

“Daphne, you can’t even see the goddamn carpet,” Scarlett scolded as she finally made her way onto the mattress.

Shrugging, Daphne yawned and laid down on just as cluttered bed, nonchalant. “Doesn’t bother me.”

Scarlett’s forehead creased with confusion, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. Daphne was rarely messy and disorganized so to see her room in such a chaotic state perplexed Scarlett, but being the best friend that she was, Scarlett definitely knew that something was wrong and she was going to get to the bottom of it.

“Hey, wake up,” Scarlett demanded, slapping Daphne’s cheeks as Daphne awoke with a fright, her eyes slightly half closed. “I want to talk.”

“But I’m tired,” Daphne pouted as she sat up from her bed, her hair sticking up in odd places that looked like it hadn’t been brushed in a few days.

Rolling her eyes, Scarlett took a hold of Daphne’s shoulders and fixed her posture so she was sitting up straight, their eyes locking in place. “What’s wrong?”

Immediately, Daphne turned her head to avoid Scarlett’s gaze, shaking her head. “Nothing!”

“Don’t give me that! I’m your best friend, for god’s sake, so don’t think that you can get away with lying. Now tell me.”

Daphne took a quick glance at Scarlett and noticed that Scarlett was giving her the death glare, which usually meant that this was entirely serious. Defeated, Daphne turned back around to face Scarlett, her eyes weary. 


“Where do I start?”

By the time Daphne had finished retelling Scarlett everything that had happened over the span of a few days, her voice had become rather raspy and parched. She looked around for a glass of water, but unsurprisingly, she could not identify her mug anywhere in the pigsty.

“Geez...so he’s really mad at you, isn’t he?”

“I think so.” Daphne exhaled sharply, her shoulders hunched over tiredly. “We’ve been avoiding each other during practice, so that doesn’t really help much.” Daphne frowned as she recalled Yoseob’s cold demeanor during practice the other night, deepening her sadness. “Dongwoon, of course, is oblivious to the fact that I haven’t been myself lately, but I guess I don’t blame him since we’ve been practicing pretty vigorously.”

Scarlett patted Daphne on the back reassuringly, pulling her in for a warm hug. “I should’ve known when you decided to coop yourself up into this nasty room. I just thought you wanted to study.” Laughing, Scarlett shook her head, viewing the room once more. “I didn’t know you could be so dirty.”

“I just didn’t feel like cleaning,” Daphne said flatly, her mind still occupied with her broken friendship with Yoseob. “The only thing I wanted to do was sleep.”

“We’ll clean this up soon.”

“We?”

“I’ll help you,” Scarlett said with a smile.

Daphne could feel her heart filling up with warmth. She was so grateful to have Scarlett as a friend. “But you hate cleaning.”

“Woman, do you want me to take back my offer?” Scarlett laughed as she finally pulled away from Daphne’s embrace. She took a glance at the clock and showed Daphne, pointing. “It’s almost time for practice.”

Groaning, Daphne grabbed her nearest pillow and planted her face against it, dreading the thought of another day of awkwardness and guilt. “Don’t make me go...”

Scarlett chuckled. “You are such a kid.” Standing up from the bed, Scarlett took Daphne’s arms and began pulling her off. “I know you don’t want to go, but you have to. I did warn you about this, you know.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Daphne huffed bitterly, narrowing her eyes at Scarlett. “I don’t understand how you can be so compassionate one second and the next, you’re this heartless bi--”

“Oh, okay,” Scarlett interrupted, a smirk on her face as she strode to the door, her hand on the doorknob, “I guess I won’t be helping you clean your room then.” Without another word, Scarlett swiftly exited the room, leaving a clueless Daphne behind.

Daphne blinked a few times before she could fully comprehend what had happened. Once the gears in her head finally began turning, she hastily moved around the litter on her floor and tried to follow Scarlett, screaming after her. “I was just kidding!”

Although Scarlett was giving her a hard time and forcing her to go to dance practice, Daphne proudly wore a smile on her face, something that she hadn’t done in a while. Things were hard at the moment, but she knew that it would all pass eventually.

When Daphne entered the practice room, she was surprised to see that she was alone. Suspiciously, she dug for her phone within her pockets and pulled it out, noticing that it was only 4:50PM. Practice usually started at 5PM. She took a second glance again just to make sure she wasn’t mistaken. Just as she did so, her phone beeped shrilly, notifying her that she had received a text message.

From: Jihee

Hey, guys, practice will start an hour and a half later today due to scheduling conflicts. However, that doesn’t mean practice will end early so make sure to be stock up on energy drinks to be fully awake. ;)

See you guys at 6:30!

Scrunching her eyebrows in frustration, Daphne groaned. Daphne re-read the message again just in case she had misinterpreted it, but to her dismay, she was an hour and a half early.

“Why did she tell me so late?” Daphne mumbled angrily as she continued to stare at her cell phone screen. Upon doing so, her eyes glanced over at the time Jihee sent it, the numbers 1:00PM showing up clearly in the corner. Her face immediately fell, realizing that Jihee had actually sent the text four hours earlier, but she had only received it now--something that her phone did frequently.

“Stupid piece of crap!” yelled Daphne, her hand raised up high, preparing to throw the glitchy cell phone into the wall, but she stopped herself, lowering her arm slowly as her rationality came back to her senses.  “What the hell do I do now...”

Once she had circled around the room a few times, contemplating, Daphne decided that an hour and a half nap sounded too good to pass. She took off her jacket and scarf, scrunching them together so they would form an acceptable cushion for her head.

Clearly the jacket and scarf were not enough to make an adequate pillow, but she dismissed her uncomfortable position and closed her eyes, hoping for some needed rest.

As Daphne laid in the corner of the room, the door opened only to reveal Yoseob, who casually walked inside, oblivious to the sleeping figure. He approached the large boom box that Jihee had left in the room and turned it on, the blaring music reverberating loudly throughout the room. The other members of BEAST had their own personal schedules to attend to, which led Yoseob with a bit of free time to smooth out a few rough edges of his dancing.

With a surprising jolt, Daphne woke up, irritated that someone would interrupt her nap. She lifted her head to see the back of the figure stretching in front of the mirrors. Irritated, she began to yell, her voice slightly hoarse, “Yah, I’m sleeping. Go away!” Tired, Daphne retreated back to her original position, closing her eyes, despite the noise, hoping that the person would turn off the music soon.

Yoseob immediately stopped what he was doing and turned around, confused as to where the voice had come from. His eyes scanned the room and he was taken aback to see that there really was someone trying to sleep.

“Why would someone come here to sleep?” Yoseob thought to himself, observing the body curiously. He turned off the music and stepped towards Daphne, squatting down and peering over.

Daphne sensed his presence and she felt her irritation rising. Why wasn’t the person leaving her alone? Starting to feel a bit restless, Daphne got up and turned around to face the person, getting ready to tell them off.

“Can you go awa--”

However, Daphne’s throat had suddenly become dry as the last syllable refused to come out, her eyes large as she stared into Yoseob’s, who looked just as bewildered.

“I...” Daphne started, her thoughts incoherent. “Sorry,” she finished, turning away and beginning to get up from the cold, hardwood floor.

Yoseob reached his arm out and grasped Daphne’s wrist gently, his face indifferent. “It’s okay. I’ll leave.”

There was a long pause that followed after as they stared at each other in silence. Daphne didn’t know how to respond, a flurry of questions invading her head. Was he still angry? She searched for any kind of hidden answer in his eyes, but she found none; his eyes held no spark or light. It was almost as if they were emotionless, and his face was even harder to read, entirely stoic. A thin line replaced his contagious smile and the kind crinkles in his skin were nonexistent.

Yoseob cleared his throat awkwardly, finally releasing his grip on Daphne, immediately turning away and getting up from the floor. He could still feel the familiar butterflies thrashing in his stomach from gazing at her too long.

“No,” he thought to himself. “I can’t give in.”

Although the guilt was almost tearing himself apart inside for not being there for Daphne, Yoseob needed to firmly plant his foot down on his decision. He was always running back to her in every situation: when she forgot about their dinner, when she got lost, when he caught her kissing Dongwoon. It wasn’t like him to be so petty, but his dignity was the only thing he could hold on to. He had already lost to Dongwoon, so there was no reason for him to continue his futile pursuit.

“You can go back to sleep,” he said, his back turned towards her as he walked away.

“Wait,” Daphne uttered, her voice pleading. “Just...wait.”

“What is it?” Yoseob turned around, his detached demeanor still present.

Daphne hesitated, but knowing that she was in the wrong, she mustered up enough courage to speak up. “I’m sorry...for everything. Mianhae, Yoseob-ah.” Her voice just screamed desperation, throwing away every ounce of pride that she had. She wanted nothing more than to talk to him again, to hear his laugh again, to smile with him again.

Yoseob blinked a few times before it dawned on him that Daphne was in fact apologizing. A part of him wanted to smile and jump, rejoicing in the fact that they could mend their friendship again, but another part pushed that feeling away and told him to stand his ground. He was taken advantage of, and apologizing simply wasn’t enough sometimes. Even if he did accept her apology, she would still run back to Dongwoon despite it all. He was going to be forever deemed as the unappreciated friend.

Sighing, Yoseob looked away to avoid her face, his voice almost shaking. “I...” He was hesitant to say the words, but he knew it had to be done to prevent him from getting hurt any further. “I can’t accept this.”

Hastily, Yoseob strode away, grabbing the doorknob and closing it softly. As soon as he shut the door behind him, he peered through the window, watching the disappointment streak across Daphne’s weary face.

“I’m sorry, noona,” Yoseob breathed, his eyes showing a hint of regret, “but I can’t let myself be so vulnerable anymore.” Reluctantly, he walked away before he could change his mind, his footsteps slow and soft.

Daphne was speechless. She didn’t realize that Yoseob could be so...cold. Yes, she did mistreat him but she acknowledged that and she was apologizing for it now. Was that not enough? What more could she show him how deeply sorry she was? She had lost countless hours of sleep over their argument; she spat out a few words she didn’t mean, but she had no idea that it would escalate to this degree.

Holding back tears, Daphne merely laid back down and forced her eyes shut, hoping that some sense of sleep would overcome her sorrows.

“Yah, yah.”

Slowly fluttering her eyes, Daphne sluggishly sat up, wondering who would have the gall to be kicking her in the shin like that.

As Daphne’s vision began to sharpen, she noticed a tall figure looming over her, their head peering down to stare at Daphne. While rubbing her eyes despairingly, she mumbled, “What?”

“What are you doing here sleeping on the floor?” the voice said, clearer this time. Daphne recognized at once that it was Jihee. “Practice is in five minutes!”

“I was just resting because I’m tired,” Daphne said blatantly, finally standing up from her position. “You ruined a perfectly good nap, thank you very much.”

“Why would you want to sleep here of all places?”

Not wanting to explain her situation any further, Daphne merely shrugged. Although she had just received her long-awaited sleep, her energy was still low. It was as if the nap took more of her energy away than replace it. As she gained her composure and brushed any dust off her stomach, she scanned the room anxiously, seeing an abundant amount of people. Her eyes suddenly grazed over Yoseob, his back facing her and she felt her stomach lurch uncomfortably, an unsettling feeling lodged inside. Daphne sighed heavily and proceeded to gather her things, placing them neatly in the back of the room where it should had been.

“Hey, what’s the matter?” Jihee asked her as Daphne set her backpack down against the wall bitterly.

“Hm?” Daphne muttered, not having the faintest clue on how to respond. She trusted Jihee, but having to repeat about her problems over again was only going to deepen her wound.

“You seem a bit...off,” Jihee pointed out, frowning slightly. “Is there anything wrong? Your mom? School?”

“I’m just tired,” replied Daphne. “I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

“Are you su--”

“Jihee, I said I’m fine,” Daphne dismissed sternly. "Leave me alone, will you?"

Taken aback from the unexpected animosity, Jihee gave Daphne a slightly annoyed expression, exhaling sharply. “I was only trying to help.” With one last glance, Jihee turned her heel and proceeded to the center of the room, calling the other back-up dancers together to begin.

Daphne knew that by the way things were falling into place that it was going to be a long and tough practice, and she was entirely right. Endless thoughts and worries filled her mind to the brim, which left her too preoccupied to execute the dance moves correctly. Because of their previous exchange, Jihee gave her harsher criticisms than she normally would, but Daphne merely shrugged them off, too apathetic to fully absorb her comments. Yoseob would occasionally cast her sympathetic glances, but Daphne waved them off, knowing that his stares held no meaning to them at all, especially after he had made it clear that he was going to burn the bridge between them.

The moment Jihee had turned the stereo off and dismissed everybody who was not participating in the joint performance, Daphne took off as quickly as possible, not wanting to speak to anyone and rushing to get to the room that she and Dongwoon typically practiced in.

The grand piano that was always placed in the corner of the room suddenly looked so endearing to her, a majestic feel around it. Taking small strides, Daphne approached the sleek instrument and sat down on the stool, placing her fingers over the keys.

Although she had not played piano in a while, she was able to trace back a song she once memorized, tracing it back to her fingers that delicately graced the keys. The long, melodic phrases rang throughout the room, composing a sorrow tune that reflected her damp feelings.

“This song’s so gloomy.”

Abruptly, Daphne halted her playing and turned around to see who had entered the room. Dongwoon approached the piano, a pleasant grin on his face as he peered down at Daphne.

Forcing a smile, Daphne merely shrugged. “It was the first song that came to mind.”

Dongwoon nodded. “How come you left so quickly? I didn’t even notice you were gone until later.”

“I was just eager to practice our performance,” Daphne fibbed. She slapped herself mentally as she realized that her answer had an implication that she actually wanted to spend time with him. With everything going on in her life at the moment, Dongwoon was just about the last person that she wanted to talk to.

Dongwoon smiled broadly, grabbing her shoulders firmly, massaging them gently. “Well, let’s get started then!”

With the help of Dongwoon’s firm grasp, Daphne promptly stood up from her seat, walking towards the center of the room with Dongwoon’s arm still on her shoulders.

She subtly shrugged them off and looked at him. “Should we start at the beginning then?”

“I think we should start at the hip hop number,” Dongwoon suggested. “We went over the ballet part a lot yesterday.”

Nodding in agreement, Daphne arranged herself in the right position, glancing over at Dongwoon in order to check if he was ready. Seeing that he was where he was supposed to be, she began to count off.

“Okay, one and two and--Dongwoon!”

Just as Daphne was about to start the routine, Dongwoon had gotten out of his form in order to kiss Daphne firmly on the lips, frustrating her. Daphne could feel her anger bubbling over her limit. All of the day’s drama and anguished exploded inside her as she turned to glare at Dongwoon, her face entirely red.

“Dongwoon!” shouted Daphne once more, her nostrils almost flaring.

Dongwoon smirked playfully, hitting Daphne lightly in the arm. “Oh, come on, noona, don’t act like you didn’t enjoy that.” Acknowledging Daphne’s fuming silence, Dongwoon frowned, his light mood vanishing. “Sorry, noona. I just wanted to play around since we are dating and--”

“We are not dating, Dongwoon-ah!” Daphne shouted, her face entirely red. “I’m not your girlfriend. You’re not my boyfriend. End of story.”

“But...” Dongwoon began, puzzled. He had no comprehension why Daphne was so angry when he didn’t even do anything remotely offending. “You...you let me kiss you.”

“It was in the heat of the moment,” Daphne said, sighing as she ran her fingers through her hair endlessly, her eyes averting Dongwoon’s crestfallen gaze. “I’m sorry if I led you on but I tried telling you so many times that I’m just not ready for a relationship.”

The silent atmosphere engulfed the entire room, high levels of animosity and frustration clearly evident in the air. Daphne snuck a glance at Dongwoon, noticing that he was keeping his head low. Upon seeing this, Daphne felt a pang of sympathy, realizing that she came off as harsh.

She approached him cautiously, her hand gently grazing his bare arm comfortingly. “I’m sorry, Dongwoon-ah.”

Dongwoon lifted his head up momentarily to meet his eyes with hers. He placed his hand over hers and promptly tore her grip off of him, his eyebrows furrowing. “Please...leave me alone.”

Taken aback, she staggered backwards as Dongwoon turned his entire body away from hers, his back shutting her out completely. A wave of emotions hit Daphne, sending her sanity over the edge as she hastily picked up her bags and left the room with a loud slam of the door, running as swiftly as she could.

Tears began to form the corners of her eyes, threatening to flow out, and although she took all of her strength to contain them, they streamed down her cheeks endlessly, tainting her face. Not even bothering to wait for the elevator, Daphne ran down the stairs and out of the building, wanting to be away from all of this misery and in her comforting bed.

After dashing vigorously through several blocks, Daphne tore through the door, entering her living room dramatically. The lack of energy consumed Daphne and she felt her legs giving way as she collapsed on the floor, apathetic. From the kitchen, Scarlett turned her attention towards Daphne, noticing the red complexion of her best friend and the wet trails that ran down her cheeks.

“Daphne?” Scarlett called out as she slowly approached Daphne. “Daphne, what’s wrong?”

Daphne’s throat closed up, her larynx completely forgetting how to function as the words she desperately wanted to speak were lodged in . As Scarlett embraced Daphne with a warm hug, Daphne opened to speak once more but instead of words, sobs came out instead.

Before she knew it, Daphne began weeping uncontrollably in Scarlett’s arms as realization had hit her. Everyone was mad at her--Jihee, Yoseob, Dongwoon. The images of their angry faces burned into Daphne’s head and as she buried her head into Scarlett’s shoulder, she comprehended that besides Scarlett, Daphne was now completely alone and abandoned. And the tears began to flow with more vigor.

A/N: So this update came faster than I thought it would be so yay. School is a drain, and my first wave of midterms is next week so D; ! However, I think I'll be able to update after the exams? We'll see, keke, but yeah, the next update will probably be a week and a half from now, sorry! ): Hope you guys are all doing well! :)