Dongwoon stood there staring at the device within his hands, contemplating how to get the question across to her. Should I just plain out ask her? He asked himself while he twiddled his thumbs along the screen. The text box remained empty for the past hour though he tried many different responses only to delete them soon after and start a new one. Or should I hint it towards her? Or maybe she should ask me? Gah. The young idol’s mind was racked as he thought of ways to ask about the girl to BEAST’S comeback which was the next day. He wanted her to go but for some reason, he just couldn’t express the question as comfortably as he would’ve been able to to Ye-jin. Don’t think of her Dongwoon. Don’t do it, man. He told himself. It’d be hard to resist, but he’d knew it wasn’t doing him any good if he just crawled back to her. I knew you’d miss me, she’d say. He done it many times in the past, but he wouldn’t do it again now.

And being the incredibly indecisive person he was, Dongwoon decided to just take a chance and pressed the speed dial for her number. It rung, and rung, and rung for a final time as he nervously continued twiddling his fingers around the backstage pass.

“Hello?” The female voice called out, her voice warming Dongwoon’s inner sides. He felt comforted whenever he heard the cheery voice. The boy must’ve zoned out as the girl repeated the greeting once again.

“Ah, So-hyun-ah. What’s up?” He asked cheerfully, still contemplating on a way to ask the girl out.

The girl tiredly replied after a shortened pause, “Just tired. Why’d you call?”

On the other end of the line, Dongwoon bit down his bottom lip, before deciding to take a chance and to just go with the flow. “Well, u-uh. I-I was wonderi--” The boy stuttered.

“Spit it out, Dongwoon. I don’t have all day.”

Taken aback, Dongwoon had no choice but to rush his following words. “Well, I have a backstage pass for our comeback special tomorrow and I was just wondering if you wanted to com--”

“Now you’re speaking too quickly. Calm down.”

Her words felt crushed and a bit more hostile than usual but he merely pushed it aside and focused on asking her out.

“Sorry, I’m just nervous but, ah, do you want to go to our comeback tomorrow? Beast’s comeback?”

“What?”

“Do you want to come our comeback tomorrow?”

“What?”

He was puzzled.

“Can you hear me?” Dongwoon asked questioningly. He was speaking the loudest he could possibly get. He didn’t want to wake up the other members either for they would relentlessly since he was bringing a girl to one of their performances. Awkward thing was, they all knew her. And to make matters worse, they were all practically good friends with her. Whenever he saw one of his other hyungs bond with the girl, he couldn’t help but feel discouraged as he didn’t treat her the same way as the other members did. He bullied her while they treated her with gentility.

“I’m just messing with you oppa. Yeah I’ll go with you.” So-hyun said in a more cheerful voice, though he could tell it was forced and wasn’t natural. It irked him heavily whenever she spoke in this tone but he decided to shrug it off once again and instead be happy. He completely winged it and it worked.

“Really?” He asked in a genuine excited tone. Dongwoon could hear a soft chuckle from the other end of the phone line, causing him to groan outwardly. “Yah, do you not wanna go?”

“I do, Dongwoon-ah.”

“Good, why are you up this late anyway? I didn’t expect for you to pick up.”

“Just thinking. I couldn’t sleep.”

The blonde-haired male turned around to make sure his hyungs were still sleeping before replying back to the girl. “Do you want to talk?”

“Are you sure? It’s really late, and you have your comeback tomorrow stupid! Go to sleep!”

It was true, he probably should’ve been in bed at this time. But oh well, he rather would’ve spent his time talking to the girl than rehearsing for yet another dance practice tomorrow morning.

“No it’s fine, I want to talk to you!”

“Dongwoon, get your in bed. I’m not just gonna go to a show where you fall asleep on the stage. Though that would be funny.”

“If anything, you should be in bed. You sound tired. But no, you’re up talking to me.”

The boy remained persistent while the girl remained stubborn.

“Whatever.”

So-hyun was truly worried for the boy’s sleepiness, but she figured since he wouldn’t give in anytime soon, she might as well keep him here for company. She sat propped up against the bed with the doors open to make sure her mother wouldn’t lash out once again. She had left her mother with a cold towel on her forehead, and hoped for the best that the woman wouldn’t have that huge of a hangover the next day. After leaving her mother to rest, she couldn’t help herself but think about her life once again and the events that happened ever since she moved to Korea. The timid girl tried her best to not remember the horrible memories but sometimes, all just breaks down and nothing could be helped. She was thankful for Dongwoon’s perfect timing, as if she kept on thinking about the negativities once again, who knows what could’ve happened.

And so they talked for a few hours til the sun began to rise. Though they both still remained static within their tones and not one of the pair felt tired, they thought that it would be best if they both got sleep as for now, they would both have a huge wave of fatigue coming towards for them the next day.

“Goodnight, oppa.” So-hyun greeted him off, smiling within the darkness of her room with soft, pale pitches of light illuminating from the lower stairs mixing with the slight orange tint from the windows.

“Goodnight, So-hyun.” He replied, grinning from his end as he sat outside on the patio porch, staring towards the rising sun that began to brighten up the world.

~

Sorry about last night. I just don’t know what got into me. Just stressed out about work. Remember to make lunch for Jun and Min. -Love Mother ~

So-hyun read the note several times before at first frowning at the letter, then crumpling it up into a wad of paper. Pathetic. She thought to herself as she threw the wad into the trash can, incinerating the words in a less fiery way. It wasn’t just stress, but stupidity as well. So-hyun remained angry at her mother’s horrible decisions from the past day, but deep inside she knew that she was being stubborn on her behalf. If she placed herself in her mother’s footstep, who knew what could’ve happened. From the knowledge of her past experiences, she would’ve done much worse and perhaps she wouldn’t even be here for this day if it wasn’t for her little sense of sanity.

“What was that you threw in there?” A voice asked her, causing the girl to panickedly back up against the counter defensively. So-hyun’s grandmother stood at the base of the stairs, eyeing the girl tiredly as the girl stared back with panic impaled into her eyes.

“Just a note from Mom.” So-hyun said with a hint of normality within her tone. But for the elderly, she knew that this wasn’t just the case and saw straight through the girl’s shadow.

“You sure threw it away in an angry manner.”

“Oh, really? I didn’t sense that at all.”

“I heard what happened last night, So-hyun.”

The girl remained silent. She soon then realized that it was much more than a quiet argument, but rather a heated one. Plus the shatterings of the antiques which took her several hours to clean up were also loud.

“It’s fine.” Grandmother said after the girl continued staring in despair at the older woman, “You’re Grandfather and I got into many fights like that too.”

“When he’d come home drunk and then you’d two argue?” She asked.

“No, not like that.” She said gently, “More like we would get frustrated with each other. Then one of us gives up and just breaks out completely.”

“Oh..”

Grandmother nodded grimly before continuing with a grimace placed upon her face. “Do realize child, that your mother is really stressed out right no--”

“I kno--”

“Listen.”

The girl stammered quietly before quieting down once again.

“She really cares about this family. And working two shifts isn’t all easy. That isn’t even the worse matter right there. Her dad died, So-hyun. The human who raised her from birth to now. The human who always cared for her. The human who was always there for her. He’s gone now. You think she’s just going to magically get over him just like that?”

So-hyun remained silent.

“She doesn’t need your nagging right now. She needs your damn support. So why don’t you give her some?”

The words of the wise woman were true. Her mother was indeed in need of support. Heavy support in fact. But that wasn’t what So-hyun gave her. Instead of being a more rational person to be with, she gave her a huge burden to deal with. So-hyun recalled the tears her mother cried as she murmured her dad’s name. She recalled the heavy pangs of depression that her mother must’ve been going through. And that was entirely the worst part.

“Uh..” So-hyun managed to stutter.

Grandmother pursed her lips and stared at the girl.

“Arasso.” The elder woman said.

“What?” So-hyun asked confusedly.

But before they could further on the conversation, the elderly had already ventured towards the kitchen, itching towards another direction so she wouldn’t have to be faced with the stubborn girl.

~

“You didn’t have to dress up so formally.” Dongwoon said as his arms linked onto hers while they walked into the familiar Music Bank stage. That earned him a light slap on his other arms as she pouted at the fashioned idol.

“It’s your first performance I’d ever seen idiot. Of course I have to look good!” So-hyun said defiantly as she ran her hands through his newly spiked up blonde hair. She knew he hated this.

“Aish!”

“Love you!”

“No.” He dejectedly said as he fixed back the gelled hair into the fashionable mohawk style he always had. Rolling her eyes, So-hyun quickly linked her arms back into his as she soon saw other people--who she assumed as idols--walk in. It felt embarrassing that everyone else was famous but then there was just her.

Dongwoon had a keen sixth sense for knowing her feelings. Comfortingly, the idol quickly looped his arms back in response and gripped her hands tightly as they begun to walk towards the audience seats. “Don’t worry.” He whispered to her.

“Too late.” She nervously said while laughing at the same time.

“You’ll get used to it.”

“What do you mean? This is a one time thing pabo.”

A gasp could be heard from the boy.

“No, you’re coming to all of our performances.” He declared with a smile plastered onto his face.

The girl muttered incoherent words to herself, earning herself a disapproving look from Dongwoon as they embarked into the huge crowds of idols and managers. Even though she tried to wear a more formal appearance to fit in with every other audience member, she couldn’t help but feel self-conscious. Dongwoon continued to assure her that she looked fine, but the girl couldn’t help but still think that she was the odd one out.

Pushing through the huge doors, the pairing ventured themselves down through a long hallway until they arrived at the auditorium that looked the exact replica as it had on televisions. Except for the fact that it was all dark, but it wouldn’t be that way in a few hours when the show would start.

“Finally, it was so loud in the foyer.” Dongwoon admittedly said after they reached the stage where the several rows of seat remained empty. She enjoyed small things like this. Well, maybe not small things. But she enjoyed how Dongwoon poured out his feelings so easily to her. Though it was shady of the idol to just tell the girl all the gossip, she couldn’t help but chatter back to him like older women.

“Yeah, it was. But you have to go now?” So-hyun asked as he helped the girl settle down within the front row. The boy nervously pulled his hands to his back and nodded grimly.

Seeing that the boy was trembling heavily, So-hyun could reel in that he was in fact still a human. Of course he would be nervous. Though he done it many times before, it’s still a comeback, and it’s still nerve-wracking.

“You’ll be fine oppa.” She said confidently towards the male who grinned back at her in gratitude. Sighing a final heave, the blonde-haired boy finally gave the girl a final wave and turned around to head towards the dressing rooms to get dressed for their comeback stage later. But as soon as he took a mere step away from her, So-hyun couldn’t help but quickly jog towards the boy only to pull him back and give him a slight peck on his cheek.

What the hell did I just do.

The boy in return, had a shocked trance onto his face before slowly transforming back into his cool self. “What was that?” He asked her as she sat back down as if nothing had just happened.

“Just a good luck thing.”

“Whatever.”

~

It was boring waiting for the show to start. So-hyun spent most of her time either twiddling with her curled hair which she did just for this special occasion, or skimming through the camera’s galleries. She once again, put up a great effort to recall her passion for photography, but she felt it naturally coming back for her. Kicking her converses into the air, she began snapping shots in the dark while various groups rehearsed on the stage with stage crews working all over the place. Though she got several glares at times, no one bothered her and that was perfect isolation for her. Soon enough, people of all ages started booming in through the doors, excitedly looking for seats that would accompany them and their groups perfectly. She remained static as she slided through the camera storage’s but a voice she never wished to hear had called out to her and she couldn’t help but usher a slight croak in return.

The sneery voice had arrived, and a nagging feeling told So-hyun that it wasn’t only her. “Well, look who’s here.”

“Ye-jin.” So-hyun quietly whispered to herself.

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you?”

The timid girl gave a huge effort to ignore the girl, but even when not facing her, that was hard to do. “What are you doing here?” She asked quietly while continuing to scroll through the pictures, trying her best to not break in.

“Obviously to watch the show idiot. You really aren’t all that bright as everyone thinks you are. Aren’t you?” Ye-jin said coldly as she took a seat behind the smaller girl with her friends.

Gritting her teeth, So-hyun ignored her remark and continued scrolling through the pictures. That was though, until the camera device was taken out of her hands and out of her reach.

“Whoa, give it back!” She angrily demanded as she turned around to face the three girls, the tallest one having it within her hands in tight grasps. She held it above her head and into the air where So-hyun knew it would be impossible to reach. The girl was a practical giant with her defying heights that frightened her. They all laughed at the odd girl as if she was acting pathetic.

“What are you gonna if we don’t?” Ye-jin asked menacingly as they continued to burst out into laughter, gaining attention from regular show-watchers who just eyed them warily. But as soon as the incident had rolled up, it was also quick to finish. Upon feeling a warm presence behind her as she struggled for the camera, her protection was here but it was far too late. The timing was horrible, and her scar was discovered.

“What’s this picture of a cut--”

“Why don’t you give it back to her?” Dongwoon said protectively, his height crushing the tallest girl’s height. Now this was a practical giant, but she loved him. The taller girl’s height suddenly looked as if she shrank as she gave it to him hesitantly. Ye-jin though, continued to have a glare put on her face as she watched the idol give back the broken girl’s most prized possession. So-hyun backed away from the seats and instead stood behind Dongwoon who didn’t seem to mind at all.

Fuming angry air, Ye-jin angrily marched herself towards the other area of the seats, making sure that she would bump into Dongwoon viciously as her clique members followed her. He swore he could’ve heard curses under his ex’s breaths, but he didn’t mind it. In fact, he didn’t care. At all. Whatsoever. He was much more worried about the fragile girl’s beings as he knew she hadn’t seen the bullies in a while. Instead of a performance, he would’ve not minded just hanging out with her for the whole day. As long as he got to be by her side to protect her from the harshness of the world. But of course, that’s not how life worked. And here he was right now, protecting her once again from the cold society who bases their lives on a fairytale. A rather sad thing, really. Death saw it all coming. From the first creations of the world to now. He knew it would all roll down to a dystopia, but he would’ve never thought that it would be so soon.

“Are you okay?” Dongwoon asked worriedly towards the girl who continued to linger within his shadows, burying her face onto the back of his back.

She inhaled his scent once again, the familiar Body Musk scent which he finally revealed the name to surrounding her areas. It felt nice to feel his warmth against her, but she knew it wouldn’t last for that long for the show was about to start. “Yeah, you can go now.”

“Are you hurt? Did they do anything to you? Is your camera broken?”

“No, oppa. I’ll be fine, just go.” She said, shooing the boy away with a light push. He managed to catch himself from the forced push, stumbling upon the stairs narrowing downwards while sending her a puppy dog face. She remained unfazed, and continued to wave him off. She garnered all this unneeded attention and she didn’t enjoy it at all. Then again, when had attention been a pro for So-hyun?

“Call me oppa again?” He yelled loudly as he walked up the stairs towards the stage where BEAST was currently rehearsing. She could feel the deviled eyes from fangirls surrounding her as she blushed lightly. Doojoon and Kikwang were also snickering behind Dongwoon’s back as they struggled to keep up with the dance’s routine. Idiots. She thought to herself as they pulled off difficult dance moves that she could never do.

“I hate you.” She muttered underneath her breath though she really didn’t. If anything, it was the complete opposite. She loved him.