It had been almost a week since Daphne and Yoseob last saw each other. Yoseob checked the practice room every night for Daphne before he went back to his dormitory, and every night he was only met with disappointment. He didn’t know why she intrigued him so much. He felt like there was so much more to her than what she had told him and he wanted to know what that was. Yoseob was absolutely dumbfounded; why did she have such an effect on him? Why was Daphne constantly invading his thoughts? To him, she was just any regular girl--nothing less, nothing more--but why was he so hung up about not seeing her for a week?  

Daphne had been managing her workload quite well, so she found no reason to stay so late after practice. She was the happiest she had ever been for a while. Daphne was finally able to do something that she wholeheartedly enjoyed and loved as well as handle everything that was thrown at her; she felt like her life was finally beginning to come together, the pieces slowly falling into place. The only problem was that her doubts of becoming a doctor only grew stronger with time. The more she danced, the more she wanted to pursue that talent. Becoming a doctor appeared to be something that was entirely not anything that she wanted at all, but she forced herself through the classes in order to spark happiness within her family.

She woke up that day, feeling as refreshed as ever. The practice the night before was going along wonderfully; she was doing quite well with keeping up with the other back-up dancers, and Daphne felt so attached to everyone as if they were family. She had never been in such a tight knit of friends before and it entirely warmed her heart.

“Good morning!” Daphne said to Scarlett with enthusiasm, reaching into the fridge to retrieve the milk.

“You’re very chipper today,” Scarlett remarked with a smirk as she sipped her coffee. “Did you get laid or something?”

Daphne took a seat next to Scarlett behind the kitchen counter, rolling her eyes. “Why does everything have to be ually related? I can’t be happy for no reason?”

“Nope,” Scarlett answered flatly. She sipped her coffee once more, paused, and finally spoke up with a kind grin. “I’m proud of you though--being able to handle your work and all. I honestly didn’t believe you could do it but you proved me wrong.”

Daphne smiled broadly at her best friend and hugged her from the side, bringing their heads together. “Aw, thank you, best friend. I love you.”

“Don’t get too cocky now,” Scarlett remarked with a laugh, pulling away from Daphne as she swept her tidy blonde bangs away from her face. “It’s only been one week and you never know what else is coming at you in the future.”

“I’ll be fine, Scarlett. How many times do I have to tell you to just trust me on this?”

“A lot, you...babo.”

“Wow, did you just call me a ‘babo’? Scarlett Alicia Prewett, the whitest girl I’ve ever met...insulting me in Korean.”

“Yeah, well...” Scarlett trailed off, her eyes slowly meeting with Daphne, who was biting her lips to refrain from laughing. Eventually, the pair burst into a fit of giggles, smiling goofily at each other.

Daphne’s happiness was indescribable; she didn’t know what could’ve broken her spirits.
 

“Daphne, you’re doing it wrong again,” Ji Hee said, trying to sound as nice as possible. “You’re an entire beat off. You’re supposed to turn on the count of four, not three.”

“Sorry,” Daphne managed to huff out for the umpteenth time, lifting her already wet tank top to her face, wiping the dripping sweat off of her forehead.

Daphne was entirely perplexed why she was continuously making mistakes. She was attempting to correct her blunders, but she found herself doing the same error over and over again, frustrating her immensely. Daphne had such a good week; why was this happening to her then? She wasn’t distressed nor pre-occupied. It just didn’t make sense. She shook her head with displeasure, avoiding Ji Hee’s gaze so Daphne wouldn’t embarrass herself any further.

“Okay, guys, take five,” Ji Hee announced, grabbing a hold of Daphne’s arm gently. “Hey, is there anything wrong?”

“I don’t know,” Daphne answered with pure honesty, looking defeated. She downed her water forcefully, as if water would cure her mishaps. “I’m trying. I really am.”

“I know, girlie. Just take it easy, okay? Don’t beat yourself up over it. Everyone has an off day once in a while.”

“Thanks, Ji Hee unnie,” Daphne managed to smile, still feeling extremely upset over her incompetence. Nonetheless, she was grateful to have Ji Hee there for her.

“Yah,” Ji Hee feigned being offended, dramatically shaking a first at Daphne. “Don’t call me 'unnie.' I don’t wanna feel old!”

The rest of practice went on rather mundanely for Daphne. She wasn’t improving and she let her dissatisfaction hinder her abilities. Ji Hee noticed this but decided to stay mute about the issue, knowing that Daphne didn’t need any reminder of her poor execution.

“Good job, guys,” Ji Hee said at the end of practice, walking towards the room to grab her belongings. “You too, Daphne,”

“Stop being nice, Ji Hee,” Daphne laughed slightly, still embarrassed at her performance. “I promise I’ll do better tomorrow.”

“Don’t sweat it. Are you gonna hitch a ride with me?”


“No, I think I’m gonna stay here and practice some more.”

“What?! Girl, get some rest!”

“Don’t worry!” Daphne reassured Ji Hee, squeezing her shoulder. “I won’t kill myself, I promise.”

Ji Hee hesitated but sighed. She knew that resisting Daphne’s requests would be futile so she let it go. “Okay, but just this once, all right? I don’t want you to overwork yourself. You still have school to worry about too.”

“Thanks, Ji Hee,” Daphne smiled warmly, hugging Ji Hee tightly. “I promise.”

Everyone else began filing out of the room, saying their goodbyes. Daphne sat herself down against the wall like she did the week before, wiping her excess sweat out of her vision. She took her phone out, her eyes widening at the numbers of missed calls she had received.

“What the...?” Daphne said, astonished. There were twenty missed calls from her father and another fifteen from Scarlett. “What is going on?”


Her phone suddenly rang as the word “Dad” was etched on the screen. Daphne picked up immediately, her stomach in knots from anticipation.

“Dad?”

“Daphne, where have you been?! Scarlett and I have been calling you nonstop for almost two hours now,” her father said, his voice full of worry.


“Sorry, Dad, I was studying at the library and the librarians are really strict with phone policies,” Daphne fibbed, hoping her father wouldn’t see through her. She had yet to tell her parents about her audition because she knew they would be against it from the start. However, that thought was forcefully pushed to the back of her head as her father began talking with a trembling voice.

“Daphne, I don’t know how to tell you this...”


“Dad? Dad, what’s wrong?”


“Daphne, your mother...she has cancer.”

A/N: Hello! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. :) Ah, sorry about this filler chapter but they have to be done! x; I don't know when I'll be able to update after this chapter, but hopefull I'll be able to find the time to update some time this week before the new year? Keke, hope everyone is well and again thank you guys so much!