A/N: Hope you like this chapter~~~

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“5 minutes before the prerecording.  We need Seobhwa onstage in 5 minutes.”

Dujun couldn’t help but smile at what the CEO had named the duo.  He nudged Dongwoon, who had fallen asleep besides him.  “Yah!  Wake up!  They’re going to go to perform soon.”

When the maknae did not respond, Dujun sighed and decided to take the necessary measures.  “Dongwoon,” he whispered into his ear, “I have pepper crab.  And you don’t get any unless you wake up.”

Immediately, Dongwoon shot up in his seat, energized.  “Really?”

“Nope.  Maybe some other time,” the leader replied bluntly, smirking as Dongwoon stuck his tongue out at him.

Really, he felt bad about waking the maknae up.  The members of Beast had been working extra hard on their newest album, set to be released right after Seobhwa finished promotions.

However, he was mostly worried about Yoseob.  Today was the first day of the boy’s new schedule, filled with practices, performances, and events crammed into practically every hour.  Dujun hoped Yoseob wouldn’t overwork himself.  His dongsaeng hadn’t returned to the dorm in days, staying at the Cube building to work on the collaboration with Jaehwa during the day and to practice for Beast’s newest project late into the night.

Dujun was also concerned about Jaehwa’s health.  He hadn’t seen the girl lately, but he knew she was working just as hard as Yoseob.  She had completed promotions for her debut song and then had dived into the new duet with Yoseob.  Hyuna had called him constantly to provide updates on their dongsaeng’s wellbeing, and so far, things had not been looking very bright.

The Beast leader sighed and leaned back in his seat as he watched the special effects crew work on the lighting for the duo’s stage.  A light snore caught his attention, and he turned his head to the side.  The maknae had fallen asleep again.  Dujun shook his head in mild amusement, a ghost of a smile on his lips.  I’ll let him rest.

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“Jaehwa-ssi, please stop moving,” one of the stylists pleaded as she attempted to keep the idol’s bangs in place.

“Mianhae,” Jaehwa replied, blinking in a desperate attempt to stay awake.  She had not had much sleep during the past two nights, the anxiety over today’s performance keeping her tossing and turning until dawn.

She was exhausted from the never-ending schedule she had.  But it was the worry that was sapping away at her energy.  The mental stress was almost too much for her.  Jaehwa just wanted to collapse on something soft, forget everything was happening, and sleep peacefully.  But this is what I have to deal with as an idol.  It’s what I wanted, she told herself.

“Unnie–”

“Jaehwa, I told you to stop moving!” the irritated stylist exclaimed in exasperation.  “I won’t be able to finish your hair in time for the performance if you keep this up!”

Jaehwa’s eyes glistened at the scolding.  “Mianhae,” she whispered, a hurt expression on her face.

“It’s okay,” her unnie grumbled as she finished with the hairspray.

“Son Jaehwa!  You’re on!” someone called from the door.

Jaehwa bowed quickly to the staff, and then hurried out of the room. 

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In the waiting room next door, a similar situation had occurred at about the same time.  Yoseob kept shifting nervously in his seat as the makeup artist attempted to cover up the dark bags underneath his tired eyes.

“Yoseob-ssi, why didn’t you get any sleep last night?” she tsk-ed while searching for the foundation on the counter nearby.

“I just couldn’t sleep,” the idol replied, unconsciously running a hand through his hair.

“Yah!” another stylist cried out, rushing over with a comb in her hand, “I just finished your hair!”

“Mianhae, noona,” Yoseob apologized, becoming motionless as she reapplied the hairspray.

As he sat still, Yoseob felt a wave of drowsiness running over him.  Slowly, his eyelids drooped, and his head lulled to the side.  The stylist quickly flicked him in annoyance, and the idol shot up, surprised.  “Mianhae,” he mumbled again, pinching his arm to stay awake.

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For the duo’s debut stage, CEO Hong personally went to watch the performance, curious to see if his selection would work out.  He was confident that it was a perfect match, that Jaehwa and Yoseob suited each other very well.

But when he entered backstage, he found the childhood friends sitting across the room from each other, both looking exhausted and stressed.  The CEO silently watched as the pair was called to the stage to begin the prerecording.  Within minutes, they began the duet.

Hearing them sing, one would never have known the two were not close (anymore).  Jaehwa’s mezzo-soprano harmonizing with Yoseob’s tenor voice was like a match made in heaven.  CEO Hong nodded approvingly, but frowned when he saw the lack of eye contact between the duo.  He signaled to them, gesturing over to where he was standing.

Nervously, Jaehwa looked up at the CEO, preparing for the worst.  Yoseob just stared at the ground, anxiously waiting.  CEO Hong began with a simple, “That was very good.”

Jaehwa smiled, relieved that it wasn’t anything negative, while Yoseob’s eyes brightened.  “But,” the CEO continued, “There isn’t enough emotion between the two of you.  You aren’t even looking at each other.  I made this project group to enchant audiences with your voices.  But that won’t happen unless both of you show some emotion as well.  Do you understand?”

Like two children being scolded by an adult, Jaehwa and Yoseob nodded solemnly.  When the CEO walked away, the two stood side-by-side, unsure of what to say.  Jaehwa was the first to break the silence.  “Oppa?” she said hesitantly.

Yoseob looked up in surprise at the title.  He stared at her, waiting for her to go on.  Jaehwa sighed, unable to meet his eyes.  “For sajangnim’s sake, let’s forget everything that has happened during the performance.  Okay?”

Yoseob couldn’t stop the smile from appearing on his face.  He replied with a simple, “Whatever you are comfortable with,” and followed her back onstage.