Jiyong should have known that coming back to work after such a fiasco wasn't going to be an easy task. He rejected the additional paid time off from his boss (who sounded like he was really hoping that Jiyong wouldn't accept the offer anyway) and decided to head back to work after an uneventful week, to Daesung's objection. Apparently, news of his return got around quickly. As he made his way to the office, employees that used to ignore him suddenly stopped to offer good mornings; a few even invited him out for lunch or to hit up a club later in the week. Jiyong worked up a smile, trying hard to keep himself from rolling his eyes, and politely declined a few invitations before Daesung came and gave him an excuse to ignore everyone. 

"How are you feeling?" was the first thing out of Daesung's mouth and Jiyong groaned.

"I really wished people would stop asking me that." Jiyong ran his hand through his hair in exasperation. "I only bloodied my nose from falling on my face. It's not like I was hospitalized for anything. And what the hell is with the reaction? A few days ago, those guys wouldn't have given me the time of day, but now they want to try and act chummy with me? No thanks." 

Daesung decided not to comment and let his partner vent out his frustrations until they got to their office. The moment they stepped through their office doors, Jiyong let out another groan. 

"What the hell is this?" he cried as he took note of the pile of gifts on his desk. Gift bags, presents, flowers, and even a few 'Get Well!' cards were scattered all over his work area. Daesung awkwardly moved a gigantic wreath away from the doorway so that they could get to their desks only to find that someone had scattered balloons all around the room, making an already cramped space even smaller. With clenched fists, Jiyong angrily kicked the balloons out of his path and shoved the piles of gifts away from his monitor

"Is something else the matter?" Daesung voiced hesitantly, unsure if he should even be asking that question to Jiyong.

"No," Jiyong grumbled as he took a seat in front of his computer. 

He desperately wanted to tell Daesung that everything was definitely not okay, that he bit off far more than he could chew when he became Youngbae's self declared dancing partner (and that Youngbae had his heart in the palm of his hands, even if he doesn't know it yet). Jiyong wanted so badly to do this for both Youngbae and Jin Han and he truly thought that he would be able to do it . He knew that dance wise, he wasn't bad. Maybe a little rusty and not quite as flexible or fit as he once was, but if someone gave him a routine and he worked some practice time into his schedule, he knew he could do it. 

That night at Jin Han's place, they decided that Jiyong would learn the choreo with Jin Han first instead of jumping in with Youngbae right away. Through the help of recorded practices and Jin Han's sharp observation and easy to follow directions, Jiyong was able to get the gist of the choreography down in two days. On his own time, Jiyong would watch the most recently recorded practice over and over again, running the motions through his mind as he ate breakfast or in between breaks at work and then practicing alone in his apartment when Seungri wasn't there. If he was ever confused about anything, he met up with Jin Han in the evenings after work and they'd work out the difficult sections together (mainly by Jiyong performing and then Jin Han stopping him every once in awhile to correct his posture, his movement, his timing, etc.) while Sarang barked at him from behind a baby gate. He had tried to make amends with the feisty little pup and Jiyong held onto hope that she would eventually come around, but it all came to an end when she peed on his backpack and chewed up the phone he left on the kitchen counter, leaving noticeable marks on the upper right hand corner of his screen. After that incident, Jin Han banished Sarang to the bedroom or behind the baby gate in the kitchen whenever Jiyong came around and Jiyong had come to accept the fact that Sarang simply hated him.

Tuesday evening, the day before his first day back on the job, Jiyong finally had his first joint practice with Youngbae at Jin Han's house. 

It was a disaster. 

Jiyong knew that it was going to be difficult, but he didn't expect it to be that difficult. 

He was either too fast or too slow, too close to Youngbae or too far from him. He even managed to step on Youngbae's foot three times and Youngbae nearly elbowed him in the face when he was off beat during the chorus of the song. It didn't make any sense to him. Jiyong has been practicing, he knew that Youngbae already had the choreo down, but when they were together, it just...fell apart.

There was something about them as a team that just wasn't working and Jiyong couldn't help but feel disheartened at that. 

Another week of secret practices became a slew of failures. On the second Thursday of the month, Jiyong finished his eight hours, went home to quickly eat and change, and then met up with Youngbae and Jin Han again in the basement of Jin Han's apartment. 

Another night of hard work that didn't amount to anything. 

"I think we should call it a night," Jin Han declared as the clock neared eleven PM. Jiyong and Youngbae hastily agreed before collapsing onto the floor almost in unison. Ironically, it was the only time that they were both in sync. Jin Han threw him and towel and Jiyong dabbed at the perspiration on his face and neck while Youngbae gulped down a bottle of water. Frustration was clearly evident on Jiyong's face as he tried to control his labored breathing and though Youngbae couldn't see it, he could tell that Jiyong was upset. 

"It's okay, Jiyong," Youngbae said soothingly as he sat up and placed a hand on Jiyong's knee. "Don't beat yourself up over it. We'll get better."

"What am I doing wrong?" the younger man whispered, brows furrowing in contemplation. Jiyong just couldn't shake the feeling that something was preventing him and Youngbae from syncing with each other. He could feel Youngbae's energy trying to reach out to him when they danced and he knew his own energy was doing the same. They just weren't connecting.

Youngbae gulped audibly and hung his head a bit. 

"Jiyong...it's me."

"What?" Jiyong exclaimed, sitting upright. 

"Because I can't see...it's hard to know if we're in sync or not. I have to rely on the music, the sounds, I-."

"Youngbae, I already know all of that," Jiyong replied gently. He could hardly believe that Youngbae wasn't outright blaming him for all of this.  "I knew it would be different from the moment I said I would take Jin Han's place. I knew I would need to work extra hard to keep up with you. Why in the world would this be your fault? I knew what I signed up for." 

Jiyong placed a reassuring hand on Youngbae's bare shoulder. 

"I'm just sorry that I couldn't live up to my promise." He had felt almost cocky in his confidence that he would do well when he declared he could be Youngbae's replacement dance partner. Jiyong had since realized that he was wrong. "No amount of skill can beat eight years of being together and hard work," he added as he looked over at Jin Han, who was lost in thought. Not for the first time, Jiyong felt the pull of jealousy on his heart as he realized that Jin Han and Youngbae had known each other for nearly a decade, whereas he has only known Youngbae for a few weeks, barely even a month...

Perhaps...

Jin Han suddenly shared a look with him before snapping his fingers to announce his moment of enlightenment. 

"Youngbae, it's not just you or Jiyong; it's the both of you," Jin Han declared. Youngbae's confused face prompted the older man to continue. "Jiyong has the right idea. Oh, man, I can't believe it was this simple." Jon Han practically bounced his way over to Youngbae, the equivalent of running while his leg was in a cast. "You and I have had eight years to get to know each other, it's easier for us to work in unison.  You and Jiyong just need to spend more time together, learn more about each other, get used to one another." 

Jiyong could see Youngbae nodding along to Jin Han's words, like everything was falling into place when he explained it that way. Luckily, he blind man couldn't see the ever increasing excitement in Jin Han's eyes as he stared directly at Jiyong's flushed face. He remembers how he confessed to Jin Han that, yes, he liked Youngbae, but he didn't know how to get close to him.

"I'm just some nice guy that works with his hyung to him," Jiyong had said. They got off on the wrong foot because of his stupidity, became acquaintances through Seunghyun and the workplace, shared the experience of an accident together, and now he was helping him out by taking Jin Han's place so that Youngbae can still compete in the competition. Besides a few conversations, one shared meal, and a couple of dance practices, they really didn't spend much time together; their relationship was still largely undefined. Sort-of friends? Colleagues? Some casual acquaintance? Teammates?

Now, he could practically hear Jin Han's voice in his head screaming that his time has finally come. This is your chance! Your opportunity for this to be more than a one-sided crush! Take it!

Jiyong cleared his throat. "Tomorrow night, after I get off work," he started hesitantly. "Wanna just...hang out at my place?" 

It sounded lame even to his ears, but they had to start somewhere. 

"Jiyong's place, tomorrow night after he's done from work," Jin Han parroted to Youngbae. "Perfect way to start getting to know each other better and to strengthen your teamwork. Is it a date, Youngbae?" 

Jiyong had half a mind to punch Jin Han for that, but Youngbae was already laughing at the older man's joke. 

"Yeah," Youngbae replied with a smile. "It's a date." 

Hurray! Finally, an update! A short one, but an update nonetheless!