A/N: Sorry guys for not updating so soon!  I've just been super busy lately, and I will still continue to be for the next couple of days.  But, I will try my best to update as soon as I get the next chapter down (:  Thank you for those who are being so patient with me!  Now here's another chapter coming your way :D

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Aerin’s POV

“My mom and dad had divorced after my first year of middle school.  My mom wanted to avoid my dad after the split, so just before I started grade 8 here in Korea, Mom brought me to Hong Kong.”  Yoseob was explaining his life story to me; his eyes seemed lost, gazing at the nothingness on the table.  “That’s where she met Daehyun.”  His tone and face twisted into a disgusted look.  “He’s a business man, and because his business was mainly located in Korea, Mom decided to come back.”

I listened attentively and then asked, “Didn’t your mom want to avoid your dad?  With him being in Korea and stuff?”

“Yeah, but she was all up for coming back here if it meant that Daehyun would be happy.”  With an exasperated sigh, he continued.  “She always thinks of him before she thinks of herself.  Even if she didn’t like his ideas, she would always go along with them if they satisfied Daehyun.  She’s changed.”

He waited before going on again.  I could see the hurtful look and disappointment in his eyes.  That ‘change’ couldn’t have been a good thing.

“My mom hardly asks about me anymore.  After Daehyun came in the picture, the bond between my mom and I had weakened.  All that ever comes out of now are ‘Daehyun said this’ and ‘Daehyun said that’.  It really gets on my nerves.”  Yoseob shook his head, as if trying to shake the horrible reality away.  “Daehyun doesn’t even want me to do the talent show, and my mom was all for it.”

Now I finally realized why Yoseob never talks about his family to me, or to any of the BEAST members.  He felt as if he wasn’t even part of the family anymore.  With his mom always siding with the man he hates, he no longer experienced the warmth that a normal family could provide him with.  I almost wanted to cry looking at the broken expression that lied in Yoseob’s eyes.

Yoona’s POV

Several days passed by since I last saw Taecyeon.  After Kikwang had quit BEAST and agreed to drop out of the talent show, my horrible ex-boyfriend had stopped bothering me.  It felt nice not to be chased after, and I finally felt some sense of security when I’m with Kikwang.

Kikwang and I were having lunch outside in the school yard on the grass.  I opened my lunchbox, and the steaming aroma of freshly-cooked kimchi brushed my face.

“Look what I made today!”  I said with a bright grin on my face.  “I know how much you love kimchi, so I made you some of that today.”

No reply came from him, so I shifted my gaze from my lunch to the Kikwang who was sitting beside me in silence.  His face was expressionless – not happy nor sad.  His body seemed stiff while he did not take his eyes from the few cars which were passing by our school.

“What’s wrong?”  I asked.

Kikwang seemed surprised by my voice, like he was lost in a thought of his own.  He jerked and immediately turned towards me with a reassuring smile.  “Nothing.  What did you say?”

“I made you some kimchi.”  My hand held out the square lunchbox.

“Yum!  You know how much I love your kimchi!”  He grinned at me again before taking the lunchbox from me and started eating.  His replying tone sounded a bit more enthusiastic than it needed to be.  Was he trying to hide something in his voice?

Though for the past few days, Kikwang and I had been spending every day together, it felt like his attention was always on something else and his mind was thinking about something.  I didn’t even see him talk to BEAST anymore – not to mention hang out with them.  Suddenly, a wave of guilt washed over me.  Did I make the wrong decision to make Kikwang choose between his girlfriend and his friends?  I knew how much he wanted to perform in the talent show, but because of me – selfish little me – he quit BEAST and the talent show.

“Kikwang,” my voice was just a whisper.  “Do you want to be in the talent show?”  I was asking a question I already knew the answer to, but I wanted to hear him say it.

He was quiet for a while.  “No not really.”  He forced a smile on me.  “It’s too much work, and I’m a lazy person.”  He tried to cover up his real feelings with a joking tone, but it didn’t work.

“Stop kidding yourself.  You really want to be in the talent show, don’t you?”  I raised my voice, but not quite at yelling yet.  My eyes met his, and I stared him down, hard.  Hoping he wouldn’t lie to me again.  “And you really want to be up there and perform with your best friends.”  The last phrase didn’t even come out as a question.

Silence again.  “It doesn’t matter anymore.  I chose you, because you’re more important to me.”  His voice matched my whisper earlier, showing me another smile and intertwined his hand in mine.

My heart squeezed at his response.  He could have chosen his friends – ones that had been with him through thick and thin since the beginning of time.  But no, instead he picked me – a selfish girl that he’s only known for a little bit over a year but felt the need to protect.  I just had to make this right, or else I could never face him or live with myself again.