Yoseob’s POV

Even though days passed by, the memory of our Christmas Day gathering was still freshly imprinted into the back of my mind.  We were all happily opening presents.  Though after Aerin received a phone call, she immediately flew out the door, leaving the rest of us wondering what happened.  We tried to go after her, but she ran so fast that we lost her after we got out the door.  After, the 6 of us took turns phoning her house, but no one picked up.  We called her cell phone many times, but it was always the answer machine that answered.

“She won’t tell us what’s wrong, even though we repeatedly asked her.”  Junhyung stated the obvious, as if we didn’t already know.

“What can we do?  We can’t let her stay this way.”  Dongwoon stabbed his chocolate sundae hopelessly.

“Aerin, why are you like this?”  Kikwang quietly asked himself as he rested his head on his crossed arms on the table by the window.

Besides Aerin’s condition, a question surfaced when I thought about Kikwang.  Does he like Aerin back?  If he does, Aerin just might be able to regain her strength again from whatever she’s suffering through.  I wanted so much to ask him, but then that would expose Aerin’s secret that I promised to keep.  I silently shook away the thought.

“How about we go over to Aerin’s house again to try to get her to come out?”  Hyunseung suggested, forgetting our countless attempts at that.  But we had nothing to lose, and it was worth one last try.

We made our way to Aerin’s house and rang her door bell.  As we expected, Aerin’s mother answered the door lifelessly.  This made me notice something.  Aerin’s mother did not seem as cheerful as she used to.

“Eomeoni.”  The 6 of us greeted Aerin’s mother politely by doing a 90 degrees bow.

Doojoon stepped out of our perfectly-straight line.  “Please, let us speak with Aerin.  We really want to help her with whatever she is going through right now.”

Aerin’s mother hesitated for a while, and turned around to look up the stairs.

She sighed, and to our surprise, she opened the door and let us in.  “I think you guys might be able to help Aerin.”

We quickly thanked Aerin’s mother, and hurried up the stairs to Aerin’s room.

“Aerin-ah!”  We called out to her while knocking on her door like maniacs.  “It’s us!  BEAST!  Open the door, please!”

No reply.

“Aerin-ah!  Open the door!  We’re here to help you.  Please tell us what’s wrong!”  We called out again simultaneously.

Aerin’s POV

I was sitting in a corner closest to the window in my bedroom.  Through the thin walls, I overheard the BEAST boys calling at the door.  Mom finally let them in.  Why?  They can’t help us.  They can’t help me.  I didn’t want to drag them into this.  They were blinded by the determination that they kept knocking on my door and called to me from behind the locked door.

They left me no choice.

“Leave!”  I walked over to my door and yelled out.  “I don’t want to see you guys!”

“Aerin-ah, please open the door!”  Hyunseung’s voice called out to me.

“Aerin noona!  Tell us what’s wrong!”  The maknae’s tone sounded really worried, but I couldn’t let them in.

“Yah!  If you don’t open the door, I’m going to bust it down!”  I knew Junhyung was bluffing.  He had always been a guy that looks tough on the outside but has a soft heart.

“Aerin-ah, please tell us what’s wrong.  I can’t stand seeing you this way.”  I recognized the familiar sound.  It was Kikwang.  Upon hearing the worried tone in his voice, my black slid down against the hard surface of the wooden door.  Tears streamed down my face.  Mianhae.

The BEAST boys did not stop trying to persuade me to open the door.  For a while they called out to me simultaneously, then after, they took turns.  Please, I wanted to beg them to leave.  Hopelessly, I slipped under the covers on my bed and wrapped my arms around my knees.  Gradually, their voices started fading away.

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Unknowingly, I had fallen asleep under my covers.  I checked the clock: 6:01PM.  It seemed quiet outside my room, so I daringly opened the door.  The boys were gone.  Guess they finally gave up.  Just what I wanted.  Locking myself in my room caused me to feel suffocated, so I decided to clean myself up a bit and go for a walk.

Even though it was only 6 o’clock, the streets were mostly empty.  ‘Why was that?’  I asked myself, but quickly found my answer when I saw a sign on a closed restaurant window.

Mianhapnida!  We’re closed today due to New Year’s Eve.  Have a wonderful New Year’s Eve everyone!  See you all next year!

I had totally forgotten that today was the last day of the year.  Everyone must be either having a family dinner or counting in downtown.  Thinking about people having a family dinner, reminded me of my family.

“Yeoboseyo?”  I flipped open my phone.

 “Aerin-ah!”  A familiar but anxious voice was on the other line.

“Eomma?”

“Please come home right now!  Something happened to your appa!”

“What is it?!”

“The plane that was scheduled to take your appa home today had trouble landing due to the heavy snowfall that ended not too long ago.  The plane crashed into a nearby rural area, and it was announced that no survivors were discovered.”

The phone slowly slipped out of my hand and smashed on to the floor.

I had drifted into a numbed-mind state.  Without even realizing, I had stepped out onto the road.

HONK HONK!

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A/N: Hello to all my readers out there! ;D  Right now I've only got Chapter 15 down, so please be patient with me while I'm planning out the other chapters.  I started this fanfic only a few days ago, and I already have 11 subbers.  I'm really thankful to all those who read my fanfic!  I'll be working on the other chapters now.  Let's see what happens to Aerin. O: