“Actually, I’m fine. You guys go ahead.”

“Ah, actually, I’ll have to pass on the dinner tonight. Sorry.”

“Ah, that’s okay.”

“Okay, now we all have to admit that there is something definitely wrong with Julsu,” Raein maintained after relaying yet another account of Julsu skipping a meal.

“I don’t want to jump to conclusions without asking her,” Sarang started. “But I have been pretty worried about her lately as well.”

“So should we say something to her? You know, like have an intervention.”

“We should wait until she does it again,” Kahee suggested.

“We don’t know when that will be, and I don’t want to keep delaying it...”

“Then we can try to ‘test’ her.” Kahee’s companions mulled over the idea for a bit before responding with their approvial.

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s do it tonight!” Sarang agreed, getting up enthusiastically.

“Yeah, you’re a good one, maknae!” Raein gushed, patting Kahee on the back.

“I know, I know,” Kahee agreed, proud of her plan as well.

-----

“Mm, what is that smell?” Raein asked loudly, peeking into the kitchen. She met Kahee’s eyes, and Kahee gave her a thumbs up.

“I’m cooking dinner again tonight!” Kahee was sure to also answer in a loud voice.

“Ooh, you are? That’s great! I’m sooo hungry!”

“You better be hungry! I’m almost done cooking. Hey, could you invite Sarang-unni and Julsu-unni to come sit down at the table now?”

“Yeah! Definitely!” Raein replied, shooting the maknae a wink. Their plan was now in motion. “Oh, Sarang-unni~ Oh, Julsu~ Dinner time~”

“Oh it’s dinner time? Finally! I am starving!” Sarang exclaimed, as she made her way to the kitchen.

“Great! Sarang-unni is here, Raein-unni is here... Oh, Julsu~” Kahee called out sweetly. However, she received no answer. “Julsu~” Kahee tried again, but still she received no reply. “YA, JULSU!”

“Oh, sorry guys!” Julsu’s voice was barely audible as she was replying from her bedroom. “You guys go ahead and start eating. You don’t have to wait for me!”

Kahee, Raein and Sarang looked at each other. They knew now; it was time.

Once they reached the door to Julsu’s bedroom, they played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors. Amidst their gloating, Raein and Sarang gave Kahee reassuring pats on the back before the maknae proceeded to knock on Julsu’s door.

“Unni~ Are you busy? Can we come in?” Kahee asked hesitantly.

“Yeah, sure. The door’s open!” Julsu replied cheerfully from inside. Kahee opened the door and she and Sarang headed straight for Julsu’s bed, while Raein settled herself on Julsu’s computer chair. Julsu was rummaging through her closet.

“What’s up guys?” Julsu asked as she held a yellow shirt up against herself in front of the mirror.

“We were just reminiscing about the diet,” Raein started slowly. “You helped me a lot. You were really into it, huh?”

“Yeah, it was sort of fun, actually,” Julsu replied absentmindedly, grabbing a pink shirt this time. She made a face in the mirror before also tossing that one aside. Finally, she grabbed a blue shirt and held it up in front of the mirror; she smiled as she made her decision.

“How 'fun' was it exactly?” Sarang asked suspiciously.

“Julsu, you’re not anorexic, right?!” Kahee blurted out. Raein and Sarang shot her disapproving looks as they had decided to ease the topic to Julsu nice and slow.

“What are you talking about?” Julsu asked now paying attention. She had a confused look on her face.

“Well, you’ve lost a lot of weight,” Raein started.

“Uh, yeah, we were on a diet...” Julsu replied.

“Whenever we invite you to eat with us, you always turn us down!” Kahee complained.

“When did I turn you guys down?”

“Really?” Kahee exclaimed incredulously. Sarang nudged her in a calming manner.

“Well, there was that time we wanted to celebrate wrapping up the MV filming,” Sarang began the list.

“And that time Kahee was cooking dinner,” Raein chipped in.

“And today while I was cooking dinner!” Kahee nodded.

“And when I offered to buy us ice-cream, and cookies and milk!” Raein added.

“Julsu, I know I was really strict about the diet, but I didn’t mean to starve yourself!” Sarang’s eyes were watery now.

“Wow, I didn’t realize there were so many...” Julsu started pensively.

“Julsu, why aren’t you eating anymore?” Kahee asked sadly.

“But I am eating!” Julsu insisted.

“That’s what they all say...”

“Then why do you always turn us down? You never did that before,” Raein accused.

“Just because!” Julsu snapped, suddenly defensive. “But I am eating. Don’t worry!”

“We have to worry!” Sarang replied.

“All right, then you have to eat dinner with us tonight. At least,” Kahee negotiated.

“Well,” Julsu hesitated. “I may not be able to tonight. Rain check?”

“Julsu!” the three other girls exploded in exasperation. They jumped up and brought Julsu down to sit on her bed so that they were now surrounding her. “Julsu, tell us what’s wrong!”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Julsu reassured them, trying to get up. Her friends would not allow it. “Really.”

Raein and Kahee looked at each other and silently exchanged glances, unmoved.

“Really!” Julsu repeated.

“Then why can’t you eat dinner with us tonight?” Sarang prodded stubbornly.

“I’m just not... hungry,” Julsu answered lamely. And so, her friends remained unconvinced.

“Julsu...” they started off sadly. “We can help you...”

Finally, Julsu couldn’t take it anymore. She knew that her friends would not leave her alone, and the truth was bound to come out eventually, so...

“Okay! Fine! I can’t eat with you guys because I have dinner plans tonight! I have actually gone out for dinner this whole time, but I didn’t want to say anything because I didn’t think it was that big of a deal! But I admit it: I am going out for dinner with Dongwoon. I have been going out for dinner with Dongwoon. I have been eating this whole time. Therefore, I am not anorexic, okay?!”

By the time she finished speaking, Julsu was completely out of breath. She breathed in and out to regulate her breathing, and by the time she calmed down she finally saw the mix of confused expressions and amused smiles on her friends’ faces. Suddenly Julsu felt embarrassed, and she bowed her head bashfully, hoping that her cheeks weren’t as red as she imagined them to be.

“Ahhh~” the maknae cooed knowingly after she, the leader, and the manager stayed quiet in comprehending silence.

“So how did this happen?”

“What? Since when?”

“Awww, how cute!”

“I should’ve known! The signs were everywhere!”

“Aw, maknae! Dongwoonie~”

“THAT DONGWOON. YOU SO SLY.”

“Wait, what about Hyunseung?”

Julsu’s eye twitched at the incessant bombardment of questions and comments. “I should have just let them think I was anorexic...”

-----

“Hey, what’s wrong? You look kinda...” Dongwoon asked with a raised eyebrow as Julsu sat down in the passenger’s seat, fuming and looking ready to strangle someone.

She glared at him as she buckled her seat-belt. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fine, fine,” Dongwoon said holding his hands up to signal that he would back off the topic. He threw her a goofy side grin. “You ready for tonight?”

“Yeah, yeah, let’s just go,” Julsu replied, waving a hand, as she trying to get as far away from the dorm and her dorm-mates as possible.

Dongwoon laughed, completely amused. “All right, we’re going.”

She bit her lip as she realized how she had been speaking. Softening her tone, she added a “Sorry.” Dongwoon merely looked at her and smiled sweetly to acknowledge her apology, and Julsu could not help but smile back.

As the car drove off, heads popped up from behind the bushes adjacent to where Dongwoon’s car was parked.

“So?” Sarang asked excitedly, clapping her hands.

“Yup, I got it on. Placed the GPS tracker on the bumper. They’ll never notice,” Raein replied diabolically.

“Where did you get that anyway, Unni?” Kahee asked, picking leaves off her clothes.

“You know, just lying around,” said Sarang. The two dongsaengs looked at her oddly. “I have hobbies, okay! Don’t judge me!”

“Well, anyway, how are we going to follow them? Let’s go, already!” Raein said, her excitement building up.

“Uh...” Sarang and Kahee glanced at each other, communicating with their eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Raein inquired.

“Actually, we have to get to a meeting,” Kahee said.

“Yeah, we’re meeting with some producers about Kahee’s rap feature in this digital single that Se7en’s working on,” Sarang added on.

“Oh, Se7en-oppa is back?” Raein asked, directing her question towards Kahee, whose expression went blank as her face paled. “Why do you look like that? Is it a bad thing? Why is it bad that Se7en’s back?”

Kahee shook her head. “It’s not bad... I’m just really excited. And really, really nervous.”

“You’ll do fine,” Sarang reassured, emphasizing the last word and placing her hand on Kahee’s shoulder. “All right, we better get going now...”

“Wait!” Raein exclaimed. “Then am I supposed to follow them by myself?”

“No, I texted Kikwang-oppa and he said that whichever of the BEAST oppas are free will come pick you up so you can follow Julsu-unni and Dongwoonie-oppa!”

“Okay...” Raein conceded. She paused. “Wait, so now everyone knows about them?”

“Uh, yeah I guess so!” Kahee replied sheepishly.“Oh, look! Here comes their car now!” Sarang pointed out before she and Kahee scurried back to the dorm to get ready. Raein sighed before turning around to wave at whoever was driving. The car pulled up, and Raein found Hyunseung was in the driver’s seat. She opened the back door to find the rest of her companions for this escapade: Yoseob, Gayoon and Doojoon.

“Hi, Raeinnie~” Yoseob cooed as Raein greeted Hyunseung and Gayoon in the driver’s and passenger’s seat, respectively. She returned Yoseob’s salutation, and then accidentally met Doojoon’s eyes. It was only for a split second, but they both felt a small jolt; Raein figured it was just a side-effect of their still awkward post-break-up aura. Yoseob looked quizzically over her shoulder as she climbed into the car, and he was very confused when no one followed her inside.

“Where’s Kahee?”

Raein groaned. “She abandoned me.” She looked around once she settled herself in her seat and met everyone’s bewildered gazes. “Oh... not really abandon... She has a meeting with Se7en-sunbaenim.” This was met with a chorus of understanding and congratulatory “ahh’s.”

Sarang’s equipment proved to be both useful and accurate, and CUBE Entertainment’s resident stalkers successfully followed their targets with ease. They ended up at the movie theatre, and with Hyunseung taking the lead, they quickly put on their disguises and headed inside.

“I want popcorn,” Yoseob whispered conveniently after they all had taken their seats; they made sure to stay a couple of rows behind and somewhat diagonal to where Dongwoon and Julsu were seated.

“Fine, fine, go get some, but be quick!” Gayoon, who was sitting next to him, said in a chastising tone. In a loud whisper she added, “Or else you’ll miss the previews!”

Yoseob nodded with a grin and set off to grab the group some snacks.

“Can you see them? I can’t see them,” Hyunseung complained, craning his neck as far as he could to try to get a good view. “I can’t see what they’re doing!”

“Stop that, they’ll see you!” Raein hissed from one side.

“Be quiet, they’ll hear you!” Doojoon reprimanded from the other. Their eyes found each other and they quickly sat back in their seats, being sure to keep the swan prince, Hyunseung as a barrier between them. Doojoon was, obviously, flushing from their second moment of unexpected eye-contact. Hyunseung was too distracted to notice, but Gayoon was well-aware.

“You okay?” she asked with grin, playfully nudging his side.

“Shut up,” Doojoon muttered, refusing to look at Gayoon and focusing instead on the movie screen.

“I’m back~” Yoseob sang, returning to Gayoon’s side and distributing the drinks and snacks to his friends. As per usual, Raein asked pretty please for a strawberry shortcake.

“Hyunseung, could you pass this over? Yah~ Hyunseung!” Doojoon asked once Gayoon passed him the ice-cream bar. However, Hyunseung took no notice as he continued to stretch his neck above the heads of strangers blocking his view. Yet, he was sure compromise his perch to pop a few pieces of popcorn into his mouth every now and then. Doojoon finally giving up when Hyunseung slapped Doojoon’s hand away as he nudged him in attempts to grab his attention.

After taking a moment to catch his nerves, Doojoon leaned forward to land in Raein’s line of vision.

“Psst!” he called out. “Raein-ah!”

Raein looked around in confusion before settling on Doojoon. “Hmm?”

Doojoon wordlessly and politely held out the strawberry shortcake.

“Oh, thank you...”

The movie commenced and soon, Raein, Doojoon, Gayoon and Yoseob forgot about their current mission and genuinely became engrossed in the movie. Hyunseung remained intently focused on their task. However...

“Hey, what are you doing?” Doojoon chastised.

Hyunseung shrugged. “I didn’t do anything.”

Doojoon slowed his speech for emphasis. “You threw popcorn at Dongwoon.”

Hyunseung ignored him and threw a piece of popcorn into his mouth before tossing another at Dongwoon. Doojoon watched in horror as the popcorn landed in Dongwoon’s hair. Dongwoon brushed it away and looked behind him, searching for the culprit. Doojoon and Hyunseung instinctively ducked, bringing their companions down with them despite their complaints of “why?” and “what are you doing?”

Hyunseung giggled when the coast was clear and they all sat back up.

“What just happened?” Yoseob complained. “Now I don’t know why everyone else was laughing!”

Yoseob, Gayoon and Raein easily redirected their attention to the movie. As for Doojoon and Hyunseung...

“Isn’t this fun?” Hyunseung asked his neighbor as he threw yet another piece of popcorn. Doojoon shook his head before using his hand to shield Hyunseung from his peripheral so he could focus on the movie.

-----

“So, where to next?” Hyunseung asked out loud to no one in particular. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together before shifting the car into drive. He waited for Dongwoon’s car and then another car to pass before following after. With Sarang’s trusty gadgets still attached to Dongwoon’s car, Hyunseung and company found themselves parked outside of a fancy-looking restaurant.

“Nice one, Dongwoon!” Yoseob complimented as he crouched out of the van. The five hoodlums snuck over to the side of the building, and peeked into the window to follow where Dongwoon and Julsu would be seated.

“Darn, this place is really nice. You probably need to have a reservation, especially for a group this big,” Gayoon commented worriedly.

“Yeah, and look at all those people in line...” Raein added on.

“How are we going to get inside?” Gayoon directed at Raein; the girls ended up taking the lead in planning while the three boys continued to watch their targets from the window.

“We’ll need a distraction to get all of those people out of the way...”

Yoseob’s ears perked up when he heard this, and a couple seconds of quick brainstorming later, he snapped his fingers to show he had found a solution. “I’ve got it!”

“What’s your plan?” Doojoon asked.

“Alright, everyone,” Yoseob began dramatically. “I’m going to sacrifice myself. While everyone’s distracted, you all sneak in and grab a table!”

“Wait, how are you going to distract them?”

"'Sacrifice' yourself?"

“Wouldn’t that attract their attention, too?”

“Yoseob, wait!”

But it was too late. Despite the cries of his friends, Yoseob confidently walked over to the end of the line and called out in a high-pitched voice, “Hey! Isn’t that BEAST’s Yoseob? Kyaaaaaa~”

The crowd reacted instantly.

“What was that?”

“Yoseob?”

"He's my favorite!"

“Oppa~~ Where are you?”

Yoseob snickered. He walked over to a clearing and removed his hat-and-mask disguise.

“Yes!” he announced. “I am BEAST’s Yang Yoseob! Hello, everyone!”

“That pabo... He’s definitely going to get us caught!” Doojoon muttered as the four remaining members alternated rolling their eyes at and giving judging looks to the self-proclaimed sacrificial lamb. They still went on with the plan, though, making sure to take advantage of this ultimately reckless distraction.

-----

"Thanks," Dongwoon directed at Julsu, grabbing her untouched glass of water since he had already finished his. His food was a little spicy, and he could not wait for their waitress to pass by.

"You're welcome."

"You don't miss your water?" Dongwoon asked, before taking another gulp.

"Nope~ I have this," Julsu replied, lifting up her glass of Pepsi.

"Right," Dongwoon grinned as he replaced the glass on the table. "So you having fun?"

“Yeah, I am,” Julsu replied, taking a sip of her soda. She took her straw and swirled it around in her cup, mixing the drink and the ice.

“Cool, I just wanted to make sure,” Dongwoon said before slurping up a forkful of pasta.

“Are you having fun?” Julsu reciprocated the question, still swirling the ice around in her cup.

“Yeah! Of course I am! I'm with you!” Dongwoon replied excitedly. He paused for a moment. “But there was a moment during the movie...”

“What happened?”

“I just... I don't know. It felt like someone kept throwing popcorn at my head.”

“Oooh~” Julsu cooed playfully. “Someone’s out to get you. Anti-fan?”

“That’s not funny!” Dongwoon pouted. Julsu merely laughed in response.

Dongwoon adjusted his hat to make sure it didn’t reveal too much of his face when he decided to look around the restaurant. He observed that a couple people, some of the younger guests, had quickly left the vicinity; this was how Dongwoon and Julsu first noticed the initial commotion.

“I wonder what’s going on,” Julsu commented before stuffing her own forkful of pasta into .

“Someone seems to be making a scene outside,” Dongwoon shrugged in response.

The restaurant was packed and buzzing with different conversations, so it wasn’t too difficult to overhear bits and pieces of what everyone had to say. However, the two froze when they heard a certain name being thrown around: “BEAST’s Yang Yoseob.”

Julsu adjusted her sunglasses and brought her straw to . After a couple sips of her Pepsi, she placed it back down on the table. “Did you hear what that girl just said?”

Dongwoon nodded, dumbfoundedly. He cleared his throat nervously. “They’re saying... apparently Yoseob-hyung is outside?”

It was Julsu’s turn to nod. “But why would Yoseob-oppa be outside?”

She took another look around the restaurant.

Her eyes narrowed when she noticed some familiarity.

-----

“Annyeonghaseyo! How many people in your party?”

“There’s four of us,” Doojoon replied.

“I’m sorry, but we don’t have any tables for four ready right now,” replied the hostess apologetically.

“How long will it be?” Hyunseung asked.

“It’ll take anywhere from half-an-hour to an hour.”

“I see...”

“Oh!” the hostess exclaimed after skimming through the seating chart in front of her. “But we do have a few tables-for-two that are free, if you don’t mind that.”

“That’s fine!” Gayoon and Raein exclaimed in unison.

“Can you show us to the first one?” Raein asked, quickly latching herself onto her female companion before she was forced to sit with Hyunseung, or even worse, Doojoon.

“Sure, right this way!” the hostess directed. She asked one of her co-workers to show the girls to their table, and asked another one to do the same for the two boys.

“Sooo... what should we order?” Gayoon asked Raein once the waiter handed them menus.

“I kind of want lasagna!” Raein exclaimed, watering as she looked at the corresponding pictures.

“Hey, look! Look!” Gayoon was suddenly patting Raein’s arm excitedly. She pointed towards the middle of the room, where Dongwoon and Julsu were seated. The two were leaning closer to each other from across the table, and Julsu had her hand on his arm while she laughed enthusiastically at something Dongwoon had said.

“Ooh, getting a little intimate, there~” Raein commented, and the two girls laughed lightheartedly before placing their orders. Meanwhile...

"Dongwoon's not even that funny," Hyunseung scoffed.

"Hm?" Doojoon looked up from his menu.

“Hey,” Hyunseung said to his waiter. “I’ll give you 10,000 won to spill water onto that guy over there.”

“Ya!” Doojoon warned, appalled at his friend’s request.

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding,” Hyunseung reassured the leader before secretly slipping the bills back into his wallet.

“Oh... okay,” the waiter commented awkwardly. “So, what would you gentlemen like to order?”

“Just bring us a couple of waters for now,” Doojoon replied. “We’re still deciding.”

“Right away, sir!” the waiter asked before fetching their drinks.

“Hyunseung, what are you thinking?” Doojoon whispered coarsely once the waiter had left.

“I don’t know,” he replied nonchalantly. “It would have been funny.”

Doojoon eyed him, unconvinced. “‘It would have been funny?’”

“I don’t know,” Hyunseung repeated, a little annoyed now. Hyunseung's attention was obviously directed elsewhere, where he was constantly focused on the whole time. Doojoon followed his stare to Dongwoon’s and Julsu’s table, where the two were enraptured in their conversation, animatedly discussing something that was apparently quite hilarious. Doojoon looked back at Hyunseung, who was frowning slightly.

“Hyunseung.”

“Hm.”

“You’ve been weird all day. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. So tell me: what are you doing, really?”

“I don’t know."

“Do you like Julsu?”

Hyunseung was quiet for a moment, but as expected: “I don’t know.”

From his expression -- from the way he looked at her, never wavering and never straying -- Doojoon already knew what Hyunseung's real answer was.

He averted his eyes past Dongwoon’s and Julsu’s table, and spotted his counterparts seated across the room. They were both hiding behind a menu, peering over just enough so only their eyes could be seen. They watched in amusement at the interaction between BEAST’s maknae and MAKIKO’s main vocalist. Hyunseung was less amused.

Yes, Doojoon could already tell what Hyunseung's real answer was because he knew the expression all-too-well. Because the way that Hyunseung looked at her was probably the same way Doojoon looked at her, too: never wavering, never straying.

And a hint of yearning that could never be satiated... Not anymore, anyway.

Because she had him now.

A/N: Back for another update~ and I must say, happy BEAST comeback :D :D :D Seriously -- did I just hear a Doo-rap?! Definitely made my day, oh ho ho~