“Wake up, noona...”

A soft whisper tenderly brushed against her ear, sending a tingling sensation down her spine. Daphne opened her eyes slowly, lifting her head off of Yoseob’s shoulder. She rubbed her eyes roughly, feeling the dried pathway of tears on her cheeks.

“Ow...” Daphne quietly groaned, her neck aching. She clutched the back of her neck and attempted to massage it, turning her head to look at Yoseob. “Did we...fall asleep here?”

“I suppose so,” Yoseob shrugged, pulling his arm away from Daphne’s shoulder to stretch his sore arms.

Daphne pulled her phone from her backpack and sighed at the time. “. It’s six in the morning.” After scanning her phone with apprehension, there were at least ten missed calls from Scarlett unsurprisingly. “She’s going to kill me...”

“Guess we should go home then, noona?” Yoseob interrupted Daphne’s thoughts, getting up from the cold, wooden floor. He held his hand out. “Need help?”

Daphne took his warm hand and she got up with ease. The closeness between the pair was noticeable once again, compelling Daphne’s cheeks to blush like the first time they had met.

Yoseob chuckled nervously, releasing his grip on Daphne and scratched his head, contemplating. He thought, “Why do I keep getting flustered when we get near each other now? This didn’t happen when I first met her.”

“Thank you,” said Daphne, breaking up the awkward tension, “for everything. I feel a lot better now because of you.” She smiled genuinely as she gave Yoseob a grateful hug. “I don’t know how to repay you.”

“Oh, d-d-don’t worry about it, noona!” Yoseob said with a shaky voice, having a warm feeling in his stomach from Daphne’s embrace. He slowly let her go and tried to calm the butterflies that were swirling in his stomach. “Friends should always be there for you, right?”

“I’m happy I met you, Yoseob.”

His mouth turned upwards into a large smile, his eyes crinkling with happiness as his heart filled with warmth, the butterflies in his stomach moving much faster than before. “Me too, noona.”
 

The apartment door creaked loudly much to Daphne’s dismay. She crept in the dark apartment as quietly as she could, shutting the door behind her.

“Where were you?” Scarlett said with a terse face, sitting up in a stiff manner on the couch. “I was--”

“I’m sorry,” Daphne immediately apologized with weary eyes, placing herself next to Scarlett on the couch, “but if you’re going to scold me again, I’m not in the mood for it.”


“Oh, honey, that was the last thing I was going to do,” Scarlett said sympathetically, grabbing Daphne in for a comforting hug. “Are you okay? I was so worried for you. I’m just glad you’re safe.”

“It hurts, Scarlett,” Daphne confessed, feeling a tear running down her cheeks once more. She felt the wound in heart open again as the words her dad told her reverbrated through her head. “It hurts so much.”

“I know, baby, I know,” Scarlett patted Daphne’s back comfortingly, letting go of her. Scarlett handed Daphne a tissue and held her hand to soothe her emotions. “I’m going to be here every step of the way. I know it that you can’t be there for your mom, but you have to have hope.  You can still give her strength all the way from Korea, okay?”

“Thank you,” Daphne smiled, grateful to have Scarlett as a best friend. She brushed Scarlett’s wavy blonde hair that was hiding Scarlett’s ocean blue eyes, laughing. “How long did you stay up to have your hair all crazy like this?”

“A long time,” Scarlett returned the smile, glad that she had managed to cheer up Daphne in some form. “You are so rebellious. What were you doing?”

“I fell asleep...” Daphne began, avoiding Scarlett’s intent gaze.

“Oh no, no, no. I know that look. There’s more to this! Spill, woman!”

“It was nothing! Honest. After my dad told me the news, I sat in the practice just bawling my eyes out and Yoseob finds me looking like a hot mess and tries to comfort me! I guess I must’ve fallen asleep after all the crying that I did.”

“You fell asleep next to him, huh? With your head on his shoulders and everything,” Scarlett teased, poking Daphne’s pink cheeks. Due to Daphne’s silence, Scarlett took that as a “yes” squealed with glee.

Scarlett cupped Daphne’s face aggressively, pushing Daphne’s lips together, making her appear like a fish. “You are so sly, you. Who is this guy again? Was he the one that made you stay last time too?”

Daphne nodded, her cheeks as crimson as ever. She tore her face away from Scarlett’s hands as Scarlett laughed triumphantly, happy for her best friend.

“Do you like him?” Scarlett asked, shaking with excitement.

“No,” Daphne replied bluntly, giving Scarlett a “don’t even try to ask me again” expression.

Scarlett sighed in defeat, getting up from the couch and traipsing into her room with disappointment. “You’re boring.”

Daphne chuckled softly with her head low, her fingers grazing her other hand that Yoseob had previously held before she went to sleep. His touch left an electrifying feeling on her skin, her heart gaining speed as she thought of his embrace.

“Why does he make me feel this way?” she whispered, trying to tear the image of Yoseob away from her head. She began to laugh at herself as she pictured Yoseob smiling, his aura full of innocence. “How could I have feelings for such a...kid? I need to get a boyfriend real soon if I think a pestering boy is beginning to look attractive.”

A/N: Short chapter, sorry! Hopefully I'll be able to make it up. ^^. School is starting for me tomorrow again so this means fewer updates but I'll try my best! Thank you to everyone who's been reading! (: