“Get up.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Get up.”

Exhaling sharply, Daphne slowly pulled the covers off as she sat up, her disheveled hair sticking up in random places as she narrowed her eyes at Scarlett who was standing next to Daphne’s bed with her arms folded sternly across her chest.

“What?” Daphne said with a hint of aggravation glazing her tone. Noticing Scarlett’s pursed lips and piercing blue eyes, Daphne knew something was up.

“I can’t deal with this anymore!” Scarlett bellowed as she forced Daphne out of the bed, pulling on her with vigor.

“What?” Daphne repeated as she yawned lazily while scratching the back of her head.

“This!” Scarlett proclaimed, pointing at Daphne, her fingers grazing Daphne’s body. “Look at you! Your hair looks like a wild bush, your clothes are stained, and my God you reek.” She sighed heavily, shaking her head with disapproval before going on berating Daphne. “I’m surprised your room isn’t as messy as your appearance, but then again, I am the one cleaning it, so that explains every--”

“Scarlett,” Daphne said with her eyebrow raised indifferently, the lack of emotion clearly set in her eyes, “what’s your point?”

With agape, Scarlett managed to huff exasperatedly, obviously flustered at Daphne’s brashness. “Well, being the good friend that I am, I decided that you need to stop moping around and go--”

“Nah,” Daphne interrupted Scarlett once more as she plopped herself back onto the bed, ready to fall asleep again.

However, Scarlett was adamant, reluctantly brushing Daphne’s vehement behavior away as she yanked Daphne’s arms once more, lifting Daphne away from the warm bed. Daphne shot Scarlett a dirty glare, but Scarlett rolled her eyes, not giving in.

“We should go out.” Scarlett coated her words with extreme sweetness, hoping that Daphne would find the suggestion somewhat endearing if Scarlett was nice about it.

Daphne let Scarlett’s words sink in for a moment before firmly deciding. Her weary eyes traveled to Scarlett’s, and she noticed the concern that was etched in her best friend’s pupils. Although Scarlett was smiling, Daphne knew that a frown was tugging at the corners of , but being Scarlett, she refused to let it show for Daphne’s sake and for that, she was grateful.

Now with the weight of being indebted to Scarlett, Daphne had every obligation to agree. She let a sigh escape her lips and nodded, seeing that she had the day off today. “Fine.”

“Thank God,” Scarlett said, relieved that Daphne complied. “I know you’re still hung up on this entire situation, but honestly, Daphne, you have to get up and simply brush the dust off of your shoulders.” She placed a reassuring hand on Daphne’s shoulders, squeezing gently. “You can’t coop yourself in this room and mindlessly go to school and practice everyday. It isn’t healthy.”

Daphne wrinkled her nose in contemplation and attempted to smile, placing her hand on top of Scarlett’s. “It’s just...I find it so hard to find energy nowadays. Everyday, I feel like a massless blob, going through the actions but not entirely registering what is happening.” Daphne sighed once more, her eyebrows furrowing in distress. “I can’t believe I’m letting this affect me so much.”

“It’s not your fault. I would be devastated too, trust me, but hey, guess what? You’re not alone,” Scarlett said, brushing away the stray hairs that covered Daphne’s face. “I’ll be here.”

Daphne’s eyes lit up with Scarlett’s encouraging speech, her eyes b with appreciative tears. She hugged her best friend tightly as she shook her head, hoping to rid herself of the negative thoughts that polluted her mind for the past couple of days.

Scarlett was not wrong at all when she claimed that Daphne had become a mindless zombie. As stated earlier, Daphne was merely going through her everyday actions, forcing herself to get up for school and practice, but nothing more. Practice was beginning to become more and more hectic as BEAST’s concert was looming closer, which allotted no time at all for small talk. For that reason, Daphne had still not exchanged words with Jihee yet, and the guilt was beginning to take over Daphne. Jihee was being a compassionate friend and all Daphne did was push her away.

Since Daphne and Dongwoon were forced to interact with each other during their private practices, the atmosphere between them was slightly awkward. Although Daphne made it clear that she wanted a platonic friendship, Dongwoon would occasionally hint at a potential romance as he would sneak a few affectionate touches, but other than that, Daphne and Dongwoon’s relationship was slightly mended. Dongwoon had still not fully recovered from her rejection, but she was glad that he had mustered enough maturity to continue their friendship.

However, Yoseob was an entirely different story. There were plenty of ample opportunities for the Yoseob and Daphne to converse, but neither of the two took the initiative to start anew. Daphne strongly decided that she was not going to risk her pride any longer, especially after she was humiliated when he had rejected her sincere apology. Although she was unyielding in her silence towards Yoseob, she wanted nothing more than to hear him say anything to her. She missed his contagious, glowing smile that always lifted her spirits. She yearned to hear his laugh that would cheer her up even in the most gloomy of days. She wanted nothing more than for him to constantly badger her about something, but Daphne knew that her wishes were almost too far-fetched.

Despite all of the chaos that was surrounding her life, Daphne managed to crack a genuine smile as she looked up at Scarlett. “So where are we going today?”

Contrary to her beliefs, however, Yoseob was having as much of a hard time as Daphne. There was never a moment that she was not contaminating his thoughts, which consistently intruded his performances in just about everything. He was not one to dwell on things, but every time his eyes laid on Daphne during practice, he couldn’t help but notice just how frail and downtrodden she looked. Healthy was the farthest adjective that could be used to describe her, and Yoseob had a gut feeling that it was his fault, which only added to the amount of guilt that he possessed, but no matter how difficult it was to look at Daphne, he couldn’t take back what he said. If he did, then all of his efforts would be wasted and he would be playing the role of the unappreciated friend once more.

“Yah...why do you guys look so goddamn sad?” Doojoon’s voice rang through the members’ ears as they all sat around the living room.

Yoseob was sprawled across the floor on his back, and he lifted his head up to see Doojoon standing up in the middle of the room as he addressed his group.

“We’re tired!” Kikwang whined as he buried his face in a nearby pillow, letting out a squeal as Doojoon prodded him with his foot.

“Yeah,” Junhyung chimed in while he rested his head on his arms, closing his eyes tightly, trying to drown out Doojoon’s pestering voice. “Can’t we sleep?”

Doojoon released a frustrated groan and proceeded to kick Junhyung in the shins. “Come on, we have the day off and we’re just going to stay here? When do we ever get a day off?”

“When do we ever get to relax?” Hyunseung countered as he sat rigidly against the wall, reading a book. “I’m fine with staying in the dorm.”

“Me too!” Kikwang added, raising his arm up stupidly.

Doojoon furrowed his eyebrows in anguish as he looked towards Yoseob, hoping that he would not be content with such an uneventful day. “What about you, Yoseob?”

“I don’t care,” Yoseob nonchalantly shrugged. He glanced around the room and found it odd that Dongwoon, who was playing with his fingers in the corner, sulking, was mute. It was unlike Dongwoon to remain quiet during their conversations, which only added to Yoseob’s curiosity. Was something wrong? However, his thoughts were soon interrupted as Doojoon let out another loud sigh.

“We are going out whether you guys like it or not!” Doojoon bellowed as he noticed the others’ silence, picking Kikwang up from the floor and placing the shorter male on his feet.

“But where?!” Junhyung mumbled bitterly as he stood up before Doojoon could touch him. “I don’t understand why we can’t be lazy and sloth around...”

“Because that’s boring,” Doojoon hastily explained, rolling his eyes as he shut Hyunseung’s book, throwing the object somewhere across the living room, eliciting a scowl from Hyunseung.

“Where are we going?” Yoseob queried, following suit and standing up as well. He didn’t mind that they were going out, but if Doojoon was going to take them to the club again, he would definitely prevent that from happening.

“I...don’t know, actually,” Doojoon admitted, placing his finger on his chin contemplatively. “What’s there to do?”

“See!” Kikwang exclaimed, sitting down immediately on the floor. “There is nothing to do so we should stay indoors.”

“No,” Doojoon sternly said, lifting Kikwang up once more. “I’m thinking. Can’t you guys help me? Geez.”

“Movies?” Hyunseung suggested, evoking a glare from Kikwang.

“I thought you didn’t want to leave,” Kikwang accused, narrowing his eyes at Hyunseung. “You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Nah, that’s too mundane,” Doojoon said, ignoring Kikwang’s outburst. His eyes suddenly lit up as he came up with something, his lips curving up into a wide smile. “Let’s go to Lotte World!”


Junhyung groaned, blatantly displaying his dissatisfaction. “So childish...”

“That sounds like fun,” Yoseob said, smiling. He hadn’t been to Lotte World in a while, and he wanted nothing more than a few hours of adventure inside an amusement park to ease his troubles. “We should go!”

Hyunseung shrugged indifferently, eventually nodding his head. “Yeah, I suppose that’ll work. It wouldn’t hurt to go.”

Junhyung and Kikwang both exhaled sharply, their eyes rolling in unison. Kikwang was persistent, however, as he stomped towards Dongwoon, poking at his slumped figure.

“Yah, Dongwoon, what do you think?” Kikwang inquired, hoping that Dongwoon would be able to even out the decision.

“Hm?” Dongwoon looked up from his position, completely oblivious to the argument that was taking place before him. “What do you want, hyung?”

“Do you want to go to Lotte World?”

Dongwoon blinked a few times, emotionless. “Sure, I guess.”

“Right, so that’s four against two. You guys lose, so let’s go ask Jiyong hyung to drive us,” Doojoon smugly declared as he strode across the room to put his shoes on. “Get ready in about fifteen minutes and don’t forget to bring some surgical masks or something to hide our identities.”

Sluggishly, the rest of the members began to stalk across the dorm, finding appropriate articles of clothing. Dongwoon, however, was still sitting against one of the corners of the room, his motivation completely lacking.

“Hey, get up,” Yoseob approached Dongwoon cautiously, looking down at the crestfallen maknae.

“Okay,” Dongwoon managed to let out robotically, obediently standing up.

“What’s the matter?” Yoseob asked gently, placing a friendly grip on Dongwoon’s shoulder.

Dongwoon sighed and shook his head, smiling for the first time that day. His tone of voice entirely changed. “I think I’m thinking too much, hyung, but I’m okay, really!” It was clearly a lie, but Dongwoon didn’t want Yoseob knowing that he was so devastated about Daphne. Although he tried to make things less awkward and tense between them, it certainly hurt him a lot to know that Daphne did not reciprocate the same feelings that he felt for her.

“Are you sure?” Yoseob pressed on, seeing through Dongwoon’s act. “Did something happen...between you and Daphne noona?”

“What?” Dongwoon blurted out in astonishment, his composure beginning to erode. “Wh-what do you mean by that?”

“I know about you guys. You told me when you were drunk the night we went to to Daehyun hyung’s bar.”

Dongwoon stumbled upon his words, stuttering with every syllable that he managed to let out of his mouth. Not knowing what to say, Dongwoon looked at Yoseob incredulously, not knowing why he was so aloof about the whole thing. Wasn’t Yoseob the one always pining over Daphne?

“I’m not mad, you know,” Yoseob said once he observed Dongwoon’s reaction, although his statement was a bit embellished. “I’m just wondering.”

“Well...” Dongwoon trailed off, unsure whether it was safe to spill his thoughts. He had been keeping all of his emotions cooped up inside of him, and knowing Yoseob, he was being entirely sincere, so Dongwoon complied. “Daphne doesn’t want to be in a relationship, so she kinda...broke it off between us. I’m still upset about it, I guess.”

“Dongwoon-ah, you know better than to get so hung up on a girl,” Yoseob comforted, hiding the fact that he was being a complete hypocrite, but Dongwoon didn’t need to know about that nor about the sudden elated feeling that was bouncing inside the bottom of his stomach. “Girls come and go. You should worry about yourself.”

Dongwoon nodded, his mood lifting as he smiled. “Thanks, hyung.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Yoseob said, smiling broadly, feeling happier than usual. “Now come on. Let’s get ready before Doojoon hyung throws a fit.”

“When you said, ‘Let’s go out,’ I was not expecting a fricking amusement park, Scarlett!”

“What’s wrong with Lotte World?” Scarlett rolled her eyes, dragging Daphne by the wrist towards the front entrance. “I heard this place is huge, so just think about all the fun rides they offer!”

Daphne huffed bitterly as Scarlett shoved a ticket into her hands. Usually when one of them was having an off day, the other would take them shopping or some other estrogen-heavy related activity, which was why this came off as unexpected to Daphne.

“Oh, come on! Don’t act like you’re not excited about this.” Scarlett prodded Daphne in the arm, pouting as she did so.

“Okay, okay,” Daphne smiled, her sour mood subsiding as she finally let the child in her take over. “This does sound promising.”

“See, you have to admit that I come up with damn good ideas. Now let’s go!”

Scarlett eagerly took Daphne’s hand and skipped merrily through the crowd entering the amusement park. The girls’ expressions promptly brightened as they were presented with such a beautiful sight. The lights that adorned the park gave the atmosphere a friendly glow, illuminating the attractions.

Filling up with adrenaline and glee, Daphne and Scarlett smiled broadly to each other as they hooked arms, their minds racing as to which ride they should ride first.

“Ice skating!”

Scarlett and Daphne laughed as they both realized that they had suggested ice skating in unison, their enthusiasm flowing. They rushed to the ice skating rink in front of them and hastily received their skates, placing them on snugly on their feet. Once done, Scarlett walked upon the icy floor, but she raised her eyebrow curiously to see Daphne gripping the rail tightly.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’ve always wanted to ice skate, but...” Daphne muttered, trying her best to stay completely still. “I don’t know how to do it.”

Scarlett chuckled and attempted to pry Daphne’s hands off of the rail, pulling her forward. “Relax. Just pretend you’re roller blading.”

“I don’t know how to roller blade!”

“Why the hell did you want to ice skate then?!”

“It looks fun!” Daphne proclaimed exasperatedly as she swatted Scarlett’s hands away, clutching onto the rail.

“Look, I promise you: I won’t let you fall, okay? Now trust me and just hold my hand. It’ll be fun!” Scarlett said sweetly, grasping Scarlett’s hand gently. “Come on, let go of that goddamn rail.”

Reluctantly, Daphne released her grip, her body immediately moving forward against her will, which only heightened her fear. Seeing that Daphne was beginning to freak out again, Scarlett took the opportunity to grab Daphne’s free hands and skated down the rink gracefully, pulling Daphne along with her.

“Oh, my God, slow down, Scarlett!” Daphne squealed, her heart racing uncomfortably.

“I’m not even going that fast!” Scarlett said, shaking her head with an amused grin. “I won’t let you fall, I--Daphne!”

As Scarlett was speaking, she suddenly felt Daphne’s hand forcibly slip out of hers. After turning around to see what had happened, Scarlett saw Daphne’s body completely entangled with another person on the floor. Shocked, Scarlett promptly rushed to Daphne’s side, grabbing her up.

Daphne mustered her energy to stand up, her entire body aching as she turned to Scarlett, hoping she would know how to ease the pain.

“Oh, God, I’m so sorry!” the person apologized profusely, still sprawled across the ice.

“It’s okay,” Daphne breathed out, entirely flustered as she brushed the ice away from her clothes, her back turned towards the figure. “Oh, uh...you dropped your...mask?” Daphne bent down to pick up the surgical mask that was on her skates, pondering why someone would wear that to an amusement park.

She turned around to face the person only to be caught entirely off-guard. Her eyes widened at the realization of the situation, agape. “Yoseob?”

A flood of questions washed over her, wondering why he was here in the first place. It seemed like he was just as flustered as she was, his face almost entirely red.

“Yoseob?” Daphne repeated once more after he had refused to answer her, getting up swiftly.

“Oh, sorry, noona,” he muttered, snatching the surgical mask out of her grasp and firmly placing it over his mouth to avoid being recognized.

“Yoseob! Are you okay?” Doojoon said as he and the rest of the members approached Yoseob, Daphne, and Scarlett. “I told you not to skate too fast! Now you crashed into this poor girl...” Doojoon glanced over to Yoseob’s victim to apologize, but his words were caught in his throat as he finally realized who Yoseob had ran into. “Oh, hey, Daphne...funny seeing you here. I hope Yoseob didn’t hurt you too much.”

“I’m fine,” Daphne replied, wincing as she rubbed her arm in an attempt to ease the pain. She looked past Doojoon’s shoulders to see the rest of the BEAST members behind him, all clad in surgical masks and hoods that hid their faces from fans. “Hi, guys.”

Awkwardly, everyone exchanged their greetings, acknowledging each other’s presence as they examined Daphne’s and Yoseob’s potential injuries, but thankfully it was safe to assume that both would be okay, sustaining minor scrapes.

“Well, I guess we’ll be off now,” Daphne declared as Scarlett placed a band-aid on Daphne’s knee, holding onto Scarlett’s arm tightly to avoid falling once more. “It was nice seeing you guys.”

“Why do you always want to leave us?” Kikwang smiled, stopping Daphne and Scarlett from turning around to look back at them. “Come on, now that we’re all here, we might as well hang out together, right? You can bring your friend, too!” Noticing Daphne’s hesitant look, Kikwang continued before she could retort, “Practice barely gives us time to bond, and this is a perfect chance!”

Nudging Kikwang in the ribs, Dongwoon muttered, “What are you doing?” Traces of Daphne were slowly disappearing from his mind as his group ventured off to Lotte World, but now that she was physically here with them, he couldn’t help but feel so tense. If she were to join them, the stiff atmosphere would make it difficult to enjoy himself.

“Her friend is pretty,” Kikwang whispered back, a sly smile gracing his face, evoking an eye roll from Dongwoon. “What, she is!”

“Hyung, do you only think about girls?”

“Kikwang has a point,” Hyunseung voiced, not minding the extra company. “It’ll be fun.”

Daphne frowned, wrinkling her nose in contemplation, unsure. It would be entirely rude to decline, but there was still rigid tension between Yoseob and her, making the situation complicated. “Oh, I don’t know. Um...” Daphne glanced quickly at Scarlett for some inspiration. 


“What?” Scarlett questioned, prodding Daphne in the arm. “Why are they looking at us like that?”

“They want to hang out,” Daphne briefly explained, sighing bitterly. “You’re taking Korean classes, aren’t you? Shouldn’t you be comprehending some things that we’re saying?”

“Why the hell are you hesitating?!” Scarlett scolded, ignoring Daphne’s comment. “They’re cute and famous. Take advantage of that, you idiot.”

“Scarlett, you’re forgetting about that one certain person who--”

“Hey, are you guys talking about us?” Junhyung joked, chuckling. “How long does it take to say ‘yes’?”

“We’re just working out some--”

“Yes!” Scarlett interrupted Daphne happily, knowing full well that despite the language barrier, the boys would surely understand the word ‘yes’.

“Okay then!” Doojoon smiled, clapping his hands together. Now that that’s settled, let’s get going then, shall we? Unless you want to keep ice skating around this boring rink.”

Grumbling softly to herself, Daphne merely nodded as she followed BEAST out of the skating rink, still clutching onto Scarlett for support. “This is all your fault.”

“Cheer up!” Scarlett laughed, pinching Daphne’s cheek gently. “They seem nice.”

“How would you know? You won’t even understand what they’re saying.”

Refusing to argue with Daphne any further, Scarlett remained quiet, ogling at the eye candy that she was about to have the pleasure of meeting. As the group exited the rink, dropped their ice skates off, and went out onto the pavement once more, Daphne locked arms with Scarlett firmly, not wanting Scarlett to leave her side so she wouldn’t have to face any of the members alone.

“Oh, right,” Daphne began, grabbing the boys’ attention. “This is my friend, Scarlett. She doesn’t know that much Korean, so...I guess I’ll be translating whatever you have to say to her.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kikwang immediately rushed up to Scarlett, shaking her hand enthusiastically in his broken English. “I am Lee Kikwang.”

Giggling, Scarlett willingly took Kikwang’s hand, holding onto it for a lengthened amount of time before reluctantly letting go. Daphne sighed, rolling her eyes as Scarlett let out another flirtatious giggle as Kikwang attempted to communicate to her using his exaggerated hand movements.

Defeated, Daphne slowly trekked onwards with the rest of the group, letting go of Scarlett’s arm when she realized Scarlett was going to be pre-occupied with Kikwang’s antics. As Daphne walked, straggling towards the back by herself, her eyes couldn’t stray away from Yoseob’s back as he walked in front of her. She noticed that he kept a safe distance between them, maintaining his cold demeanor as he hadn’t said more than four words to her since their collision. Exhaling deeply, Daphne forced her eyes to turn away, dismissing the heavy feeling that laid in her heart as she walked by herself, Scarlett and Kikwang walking together in front of her while everybody else was in the front.

“I am not going to let this stupid thing get in the way of my fun day off,” Daphne thought stubbornly to herself as she hugged herself, protecting her body from the cold wind. Despite her ambitions of having a ‘fun’ day off, it seemed like this day was straying far away from the definition of ‘fun’.

“Let’s go there!” Doojoon asserted, pointing up at the large hot air balloons that majestically floated in the air above them.

“Why?” Junhyung grumbled next to him, shoving his hands in his pockets, disgruntled. “That’s so boring. If we’re gonna come here, then we should at least ride the exciting ones. Not a stupid--”

“Okay, we’re going on the balloons,” Doojoon interjected with a smirk, leading the group towards the hot air balloons that awaited their company. “I call a balloon with Hyunseung! At least he doesn’t complain like the rest of you.” With that, Doojoon pulled Hyunseung into the first hot air balloon after walking up on a huge platform, waving goodbye to the members below them.

“Kikwang, come with me,” Junhyung nudged Kikwang in the arm, pointing at the pink hot air balloon. “You’re the only one that--”

“Actually, hyung, I’m gonna go with Daphne noona’s friend,” Kikwang said, striding into the hot air balloon without a second thought, Scarlett closely trailing behind him.

“Scarlett! Where are you going?!” Daphne called out as Scarlett entered the contraption, attempting to run inside with her. “You’re supposed to be with me!”

“Sorry! Kikwang already dragged me in...” Scarlett answered with a smitten expression on her face, her smile stretching from ear to ear. “I’ll see you when the ride is over!”

Abandoned, Daphne looked at her options, knowing full well that there were two people whom she did not wish to be stuck with in the hot air balloon. Sighing, she concluded that Junhyung was the only person left, making her way towards him, but Junhyung, however, had other things on mind.

“Yah, Dongwoon, come in here with me,” Junhyung said just as Daphne walked towards him, grabbing Dongwoon’s arm forcefully and dragging him to the entrance of the hot air balloon. “Can’t believe Kikwang ditched me...”

Dongwoon complied obediently, disappearing into the ride with Junhyung, leaving Daphne alone with Yoseob, whose back was still turned to hers. Daphne stood there for a while, contemplating whether or not she should go up to the balloon herself or opt to walk across the park instead, meeting the rest of them at the other end. Shrugging, she decided with the former, shuffling up to the platform without any expectations from Yoseob. She figured she needed the quiet time alone to fully dump her excess thoughts and worries out. However, as she arrived in the basket, Daphne felt the weight of another person entering as well.

“What are you doing here?” Daphne queried, turning her head to see Yoseob’s back towards her once again, his body hunched over the edge of the basket as they started moving.

Yoseob remained silent as Daphne’s patience wore thin, her irritation growing with every passing second. Groaning, she positioned herself the furthest she could from Yoseob, their backs facing each other now, preparing herself for the longest and most awkward ten minutes of her life.

“Why would you want to go on this ride by yourself?”

Surprised to hear Yoseob talk, Daphne twisted her head around, but she was only met with his back, seeing that he didn’t even bother to look at her as he spoke. Disappointed, Daphne refused to reply, concluding that it was adequate for Yoseob to have a taste of his own medicine. She turned her head back around to watch the breathtaking view of the amusement park, the bright lights illuminating the dark night beautifully, which warmed her heart.

Just as Daphne’s bitter mood was about to alleviate, Yoseob spoke once more. “I’m not as cold-hearted as you think I am. I wouldn’t let you be here alone.”

“Sometimes I like being alone,” Daphne retorted, her tone full of venom as her anger increased. “I never asked you to take care of me.”

“Well, sorry then.”

Another period of silence came, which Daphne was grateful for. She was beginning to fume as she relished past conversations with Yoseob, still pondering on why he wouldn’t accept her apology, no matter how sincere she was. She couldn’t stress enough how deeply sorry she was for lashing out on him, but why couldn’t he understand? He claimed that he wasn’t cold-hearted, but why did his attitude towards her prove otherwise?

Without knowing, Daphne spoke, her emotions taking over her brain. “Why won’t you accept my apology?”

Upon hearing this, Yoseob finally turned around, giving Daphne the satisfaction of seeing his face. He wearily glanced at her, their eyes meeting. Behind the fiery glare that she gave him, he knew that she was hurting. He knew that all she wanted was to be friends again, but he couldn’t set himself for disaster anymore. He wouldn’t.

“I really am sorry,” continued Daphne, her voice gaining volume. “I don’t know what I have to do for you to stop ignoring me.”  Noticing the desperation in her tone, Daphne scowled, ashamed of allowing a boy take over her life. It wasn’t worth it, so she changed her attitude. “Actually, do whatever you want, Yoseob. I don’t care anymore. If you don’t want to be my friend anymore then do it correctly. Don’t tell me that you care when you--”

“I like you.”

Daphne promptly halted her words, blinking a few times in order to fully register what Yoseob had said to her. Did she hear correctly?

“Wh-what?” Daphne stuttered, completely caught off guard.

“I like you,” Yoseob repeated blatantly, his face expressionless as he stared at Daphne. He didn’t know why he chose now as the time to confess, but he knew that he had to answer her about why he couldn’t forgive her--why it was better off this way, no matter how much the both of them hurt because of it.

The silence that followed afterward irritated Yoseob, prompting him to continue. “I’ve always liked you. You know, more as a friend, and I actually thought I had a chance.” Yoseob let out a sullen chuckle, keeping his eyes on Daphne, despite her attempts of looking away. “Then I found out about you and Dongwoon and naturally, I became jealous, but I couldn’t stop being your friend. You always looked so tired and it made me want to take care of you.”

Daphne quietly scoffed, slightly offended. She was a grown woman, not a clumsy damsel in distress. However, she decided to be civilized about the situation despite of her escalating aggravation. “Why did you stop then? Why did you stop being my friend?”

“Because,” Yoseob began, taking a deep breath before continuing, “I knew that I could never look at you as a friend. There will always be something inside of me that will want to become something more than that. I can’t let myself go through all of that pain for nothing.”

“That’s selfish.”

“And you’re not?” Yoseob’s indifference subsided and he was beginning to become heated, her remark striking a chord. “Even after all I’ve done for you, I got nothing in return.”

“I said I was sorry! I don’t know what else you want me to do.” Daphne fumed, raising her arms up in defeat. “I didn’t have the faintest clue that you liked me that way. Throw me a bone, will you?”

“Just answer me this then,” Yoseob said, thinking back to that night where Daphne had been drunk. “Did you ever think of me that way? Has it ever crossed your mind?”

Hesitant to answer, Daphne peered down at the amusement park, disappointed that the beautiful view and the peaceful ride had to be interrupted by their petty argument. She knew that the answer was yes. Of course she had always felt an attraction towards Yoseob, but if she did admit it, what good would it do? She didn’t want a relationship--there was no time allotted for her to commit to another person. Doing this would not change a thing in their broken friendship.

Letting out a long breath, Daphne turned back to face Yoseob, stern, hoping to cover the quiver in her voice. “No.”

A/N: Hello, guys! Hopefully this update didn't take too long? It's rather lengthy so I hope it'll make it up for my infrequent updates lately, haha. Unfortunately, the next update won't be coming up for a while, I feel like. My friend is driving to LA to see me this weekend and then we'll be heading off to the Korean Music Festival! Yay, hehe. Then the next weekend after I'll be visiting some friends in San Diego and I'm sure that'll take up a chockful of time. ): There's also homework/essays in between during the weekdays so I don't think I'll be able to update at all in the next two weeks, but you never know! Maybe there'll be a surprise update when I finish work early, haha.

OH, and if anyone was confused about the whole Scarlett/BEAST interaction, just know that when Scarlett is speaking, she's talking in English. When Daphne is speaking to BEAST and when BEAST are talking to each other, it's Korean. It should be straight forward but I just wanted to address it if there were any misunderstandings. :)

Have a great day, everyone!