Everyone has a person. It just so happens that Bae is Ji's. When he is upset & needs someone to talk to, or when he wants a companion to hang out with, or he has a problem he needs advice on, or he needs someone just to care, the one he always turns to is Youngbae. It had always been that way. Ever since they were just kids. There was no one that Jiyong trusted or respected more. They had been best friends for basically forever. So why, after all this time, did he have to fall in love with him? How did this happen? Why now, of all times? 

     He'd been trying to get Bae to date for years, constantly telling his shy best friend that he needed a girl. He'd even written him a song about it, for Heavens' sake. But when Bae found her, Ji found himself becoming jealous. Jealous of the time Bae spent with her. Jealous of the bright smiles she received from him. Jealous of their connection. And he almost wished he'd never played a part in their meeting each other in the first place. At first, he just assumed that the stab of jealousy he felt when he saw them together was because he was lonely himself, but he soon discovered that even when he was dating someone as well, the feelings of jealousy were still there. He then decided that it must be because Bae was busy & he missed hanging out with his best friend, but even when they were together, a vague sense of longing remained. He simply couldn't understand it. 

     One night he dreamt of the two of them together. The dream was so vivid that he could still taste Bae's lips on his own when he awakened & he felt a wrenching sort of disappointment to find that Bae was not in his arms as he had been in the dream. Jiyong was in a funk all day after that dream. But the low mood didn't end when the day was over. He felt like he had lost something, but he didn't really know what. He kept dismissing it, but he was never quite able to completely shake the dream from his mind. 

     Now, Jiyong is usually a very emotionally intelligent person. He is sensitive & emotional & he knows this. But his feelings for Bae were a blind spot for him. Perhaps because he didn't really want to think about them or examine them in any depth. It just seemed too weird.  

     Then one day while working together at the studio, Jiyong noticed that Youngbae wasn't quite himself: he was even quieter than usual, if it weren't for the occasional sigh, you might not even know he was there, & he lacked his usual energy. Ji knew something must he be wrong for Bae to be acting like this. He had seen this sort of behavior before when Bae & his girlfriend were not getting along well & he suspected that that might be the problem this time as well. He couldn't stand to see Bae like this & he knew he would probably need to talk about it, but he likely wouldn't want to do so at work, so Ji invited him to his apartment for dinner. It seemed the perfect thing to do as Jiyong's sister, Dami, was gone on a trip for work, so he knew they wouldn't be disturbed. 

     That evening, he brought a rather gloomy Bae home with him & ordered delivery for dinner (because no one would want to eat what Jiyong himself could cook unless it involved chocolate & maybe not even then) while Youngbae flopped down on the couch & the tv, affectively letting Ji know that he didn't want to talk right now, so he simply sat with Bae watching tv until their dinner arrived. He'd ordered pizza, hoping that would make Bae smile & it did. Sort of. It was a sad & a bit wobbly, but it was a smile nonetheless, & it conveyed Bae's appreciation for his efforts. 

     Finally, after they had consumed an entire large pizza together, Bae seemed to relax a bit & heaved a big, tired sigh. "Bae-ya, what's wrong?" Ji asked. "I think I really screwed up this time, Ji," Bae replied sadly, spilling out the entire story about the fight that he & his girlfriend had had. "I can't seem to do anything right," Bae said with tears in his eyes. "Sometimes I think my mere existence is a problem," he said, looking down with a rather dejected expression on his face. "Don't be ridiculous, Bae," Ji said with a little more force than he'd intended. Bae looked up at him with questioning eyes. Ji didn't really know what to say, it just made him angry when Bae said things like that, but he didn't want to argue with him now because he knew that wouldn't help anything. "You're the best person I know," Ji said, softening his tone & pulling Youngbae into a hug. "Thank you, Ji. You're always there for me," Youngbae said quietly. An exhausted sigh escaped his lips & Ji felt Bae's body relax against his own. He hugged his best friend tighter & soon he heard a little snore. He looked down to see that Youngbae had fallen asleep in his arms. He felt his chest tighten with emotion as his eyes swept over every square inch of Youngbae's beautiful face. "Beautiful?" he mentally questioned himself. Yet as he gazed down at that face, so peaceful in sleep, he couldn't think of a better way to describe it. 

     He'd always thought of his best friend as a rather handsome man, certainly much better looking that most people seemed to give him credit for, but this... this was different somehow: this sudden acknowledgment of Youngbae's beauty. This... dare he say "attraction?" to his best friend. The thought was affecting him strangely & making it hard to breathe. "What is wrong with me? Why am I feeling like this?!?" he thought to himself. 

     There was a certain familiarity to all of this, like déjà vu, but he just couldn't place it. Suddenly, he remembered the dream & all the pieces of the puzzle just fell into place in his mind. His eyes widened as the realization hit him like a ton of bricks, "Oh my God. The dream... I... I'm in love with my best friend!" he blurted out a little too loudly & then clamped his hand tightly over his mouth as he felt Youngbae stir against his chest. "Hmmmmm?" Bae mumbled against his shirt & then sat up, blinking sleepily at him. Ji looked back at him with fear & utter dread in his heart. What if Youngbae had heard him?!? His mouth was suddenly very dry. He swallowed with difficulty & tried to steady his voice, "N-nothing, Youngbae. Go back to sleep." Bae nodded, his eyes already drifting shut as he lay back on the couch & curled up.

    Jiyong heaved a sigh of relief. He was off the hook. For the time being, anyway. Now what was he going to do about these feelings?