It has been two weeks since he arrived in Seoul. In those two weeks, there has not been any news of K1 Industries runaway heir or anything to suggest that something was amiss within the company. Even Seungri, the widely known best friend of Kwon Jiyong, had yet to be contacted about his friend's disappearance or questioned about his sudden request for time off.

It wasn't until yesterday that Seungri's manager had called, and even then he only said that Seungri should have notified him of his leave earlier, and that since he was in Korea, he should compile a report about consumer activities within Seoul.

“Figures,” Jiyong murmured as he spun around in his newly bought office chair. “My father doesn't even care enough to notice my absence.”

“He cares,” Seungri reassured, although there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “Maybe he's trying to keep quiet about it to protect the company. You know, to prevent panic.”

Jiyong scoffed at the suggestion. He swiveled his chair so that he face his young friend and eyed Seungri suspiciously.

“Have you been drawing money from my account overseas?” he asked pointedly, noticing the expensive designer suit his roommate sported. That, coupled with the fact that their once empty apartment had suddenly become furnished made him curious as to where his friend had acquired so much money all of a sudden. He had trusted Seungri with his account information simply because he trusted Seungri's business sense. Now, he was a little unsure if that was the right thing to do. “You know I wanted a clean start without my father's damn money. What if he traces everything and finds out that I'm in Korea? He'll drag my home faster than I can complain about it.”

He knew he sounded like a spoiled brat, but it was the truth. He didn't want to go home. Not yet, anyways.

Now it was Seungri's turn to scoff.

“Just because I worked under you doesn't mean that I was that far below you in rank. I earn a decent salary,” Seungri said. When Jiyong continued to stare at him questioningly, he rolled his eyes at his hyung's disbelief. “I honestly did not take any money out from your account!”

Jiyong could tell Seungri was hiding something from him. He instantly becomes defensive and unnerved when he has something to hide.

“Did something happen?” Jiyong asked, not liking how Seungri had his back towards him.

Knowing that he was a terrible liar, the younger began speaking.

“With you gone, they needed someone to step up and take your place.” Avoiding eye contact, Seungri finished tying his tie and awkwardly faced Jiyong. “I'm the one who took your place.”

Oh.

“I see...,” Jiyong slowly replied.

It made sense, of course. Even though he teases Seungri a lot, he really had a mind for business, and in truth he was only one rank below him in the company. He was happy that his friend received a promotion, but he was also disappointed.

His father had been quick to cast him away and find someone to take his place. It was like his existence was slowly being erased.

“You're father has been saying you've taken to working from home lately. I'm only there to manage your duties from the office in your place.”

Again, Jiyong could do nothing but nod at the rush of new information.

“I'm happy for you,” he said truthfully, though admittedly he was a little jealous. His pride had also taken a blow because Seungri was his dongsaeng; Jiyong should be taking care of him, not the other way around.

“Duty calls,” Seungri declared as he straightened his tie and proceeded to walk out of the door, leaving Jiyong alone in the apartment. A quick glance at the clock startled him a bit because he suddenly realized that he had to report to work as well.

Two weeks gave Jiyong ample time to discover his true place within his new workplace. He and Daesung were the official errand boys of the company. They were at the beck and call of every company senior they came across and their daily work consisted of a mix between filing paper work and cleaning toilets.

Today's duties including the dreaded toilet cleaning.

Aren't there any custodians for this? He wondered for the upteenth time as he plugged his nose with one hand and carefully looked away from the nastiness that was toilet bowl in front of him. Ugh.

It had to be one of the most disgusting things he has ever done. In a way, it was almost funny. He could almost see the newspaper headlines back in China: Heir to successful business corporation runs away to become toilet cleaner in homeland.

Seungri would probably laugh at him while saying, “Is this what you had in mind when you decided to run away?”

It was so ridiculous, he figured even the ever polite Youngbae would laugh at his misfortune.

“Hyung,” Daesung's nasally voice said from behind him. He looked at Daesung, wearing a long, white apron, and thick rubber gloves that went up to his elbows. “You're smiling.”

“No I'm not,” Jiyong answered as he went back to his scrubbing duties.

“Could it be that you actually like doing this?” Daesung asked incredulously as he put a mask around his face and approached the toilet stall neighboring the one Jiyong was in. His partner pushed the door open with his feet and immediately grimaced at the sight before him.

Jiyong avoided that stall for a reason.

“Don't even joke around,” he muttered, feeling sorry for Daesung.

Damn.

He had since come to learn that even the mere thought of Youngbae had him smiling like an idiot.

Jiyong learned that Youngbae and Seunghyun were practically inseparable for reasons unknown to anyone. From what he could gather, Seunghyun was Youngbae's protector since forever and nobody questioned it, lest they wanted to face the wrath of an angry Seunghyun.

Ever since his first (and last) encounter with Youngbae, Jiyong hadn't spoken to him since. He also refrained from going back to that abandoned parking lot place because he was afraid that he was becoming awfully similar to a stalker. Although, he had noticed that the blind man has been walking home with Seunghyun for the past week, and he had just happened to overhear someone saying that the hyung was starting to suspect something of his dongsaeng, though he didn't know what it was.

It made him feel special somehow that he was the only one that knew Youngbae's secret. He has not (and will not) tell anyone, but thinking about that night and remembering the way Youngbae's body moved with such fluidity filled him with an overwhelming sense of awe. Jiyong starts to wonder if Youngbae had since returned to that place.

Stop. He thought to himself. At this rate, you will really become a stalker.

He was just so god damn curious about the sightless man.

But that still doesn't explain why even his name can stir up so much emotion within you.

“Hyung.”

“What!?” Jiyong snapped, sick and tired of Daesung's whining.

“You were smiling again. I really think this place is starting to get to you.”

A paper towel roll to the face managed to shut Daesung up for good.

After that, only the sound of scrubbing could be heard, along with the occasional whimper from Daesung.

Seunghyun may be childish, but Youngbae brought out the hyung in him.

Like now, as they were enjoying a lunch outdoors, he couldn't help but stare at Youngbae. He had been rubbing his left shoulder subconsciously every ten minutes for the past half hour. He knew something was wrong, because Youngbae should have noticed his staring a long time ago.

“You okay, Youngbae?” he asked casually, speaking up for the first time since they sat down to eat.

It took awhile for Youngbae to respond.

“Oh. I'm fine, hyung,” he replied slowly, as if he had just pulled himself from a deep thought. Then, the regular Youngbae appeared as if he woke up from some day dream and he was quick to tune in to his surroundings. “You're not eating, hyung. Are you okay?”

Seunghyun knew Youngbae must have noticed the lack of scraping sounds of his utensils against the metal tray.

“Yeah. I'm just waiting for you to finish.” he responded coolly, trying not to betray his calm demeanor. He didn't want Youngbae catching on to his intentions. “Youngbae, you know you can tell me anything, right?”

Even through his sun glasses, Seunghyun could tell that Youngbae was giving him a questioning glance.

He took out his phone and sent a quick text message, knowing that Youngbae would notice the action.

“I'm going to be working late again tonight. Sorry, it's unexpected. I just wanted to make sure that if you have a problem with it, talk to me, okay?”

With the usual Youngbae smile, his dongsaeng reassured him that everything would be fine. Seunghyun nodded, not daring to speak in case he reveals his true intentions.

He would not be working late today.

Whatever Youngbae is doing, it's time for Seunghyun to figure out what it is. Whatever secret he is hiding, tonight will be the night his questions will be answered.

When he got a text from Daesung saying that they had an easy task for the afternoon, Jiyong was just glad that they didn't have to clean toilets again.

He didn't expect to be sitting in a chair next to an almost trembling Daesung across from the one man in the company who hated his guts.

Choi Seunghyung glared at him with a coldness as if he was the murderer that killed his mother, or something.

“Daesung told me we were needed to sort out a filing cabinet full of last year's earnings reports. I don't see a filing cabinet or any papers here,” Jiyong said outright.

“That's not what I called you here for, obviously,” Seunghyun answered with an almost mocking tone.

Under the table, Jiyong clenched and unclenched his fist.

“Ahahaha....I must have heard wrongly then. What is it that you want us to do, hyung?” Daesung asked with an awkward laugh, trying to diffuse the already building tension.

This time, Seunghyun looked at Daesung, and spoke in a much nicer tone.

“It's Youngbae,” he said. “I think he's hiding something from me.”

Jiyong's froze.

Seunghyun continued talking.

“He tells me that nothing is wrong, but he's tired more often. He doesn't pay attention as well as he used to, and he just seems a little...off,” Seunghyun explained. “I can't be with him all the time, but I have a feeling that he doesn't go home right away when I ask him to. If you guys could just follow-.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Jiyong interrupted, putting a hand up in the air. “I know you're protective of him and all, but you want us to spy on Youngbae? We may be the maknaes of this company, but we definitely aren't paid to do that.” As an afterthought, he added, “Besides, this is completely unnecessary.”

Seunghyun narrowed his eyes.

“I'm looking out for him-.”

“You're invading his privacy,” Jiyong countered. He crossed his arms and scoffed. “No wonder he doesn't want to tell you anything...”

By then, Seunghyun was standing up and leaning against the table, eyes glaring down at Jiyong with an intensity that truthfully sent a chill of fear through both Jiyong and Daesung.

“Are you trying to imply something?” Seunghyung asked through gritted teeth.

Ignoring Daesung's plea and shrugging off his partner's hold on his arm, Jiyong pushed back his chair and faced Seunghyung.

“You're a nosy bastard that has no respect for a person's privacy. You belittle Youngbae and constantly underestimate his abilities, which is insulting, and you're a grudge-bearing .”

“Says the ignorant bastard who hasn't even apologized to Youngbae yet for his wrong doings. Don't act like you actually care about Youngbae.”

Jiyong smirked. “Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you.”

With that, Jiyong stormed out of the room with Daesung calling out his name, highly aware that he would probably be without a job tomorrow, and frankly, not caring.

His stress levels were up and over his head. Everything, from the encounter with Seunghyun, to Youngbae's secret, to his lousy job and his dad's indifference, was weighing him down, and he was about ready to explode. He needed to burn off some steam; he needed a smoke.

So, he turned to the first set of emergency staircases he could find and started walking upwards. He didn't think, he just took it one step at a time and let his body go through the mechanical motions of climbing stairs. He went up and up and up, and after a few flights of stairs, the physical exhaustion coupled with the mental exhaustion began to take a toll on him, and he cursed his good conscious for not allowing himself to just stop, pull out a lighter, and have a smoke right on the damn staircase.

Before he knew it, Jiyong had found himself approaching a door with a giant red EXIT sign on it, and he made his way through without a second thought. He was immediately greeted with a blast of cool air that suddenly made him regret not bringing his jacket along with him. Even on the highest floor of the building, the faint smell of late night food from the market stalls along the street greeted his nose and he ignored the rumbling of his stomach. With practiced precision, he took out a lighter, lit up his cigarette, and brought the cancer stick to his lips, and then taking a long drag out of it.

As soon as the smoke filled his mouth and tickled the back of his throat, the nicotine sending dopamine to his pleasure receptors, he began to relax.

Leaning against the railing that prevented him from falling to his death, he slowly let out the smoke through his nostrils and closed his eyes, to enjoy the feeling.

“Crazy bastard,” Jiyong muttered under his breath, directing his dark thoughts back to Seunghyun.

Daesung, you're on your own he thought solemnly, almost regretting leaving his partner with Seunghyun. Almost. At least he doesn't hate your guts...

“Who are you talking about?”

The unexpected voice startled him so much that the cigarette slipped from his grasp and over the railing. It started falling end over over until he wasn't able to see it anymore.

Jiyong turned around to glance at a curious Youngbae who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Without the comfort of a smoke in his hand, he will have to make do with Youngbae's presence.

It's been way to long for Blinded, people, and I'm sorry. After mostly fiixing my laptop, I thought up of a new story, and then I kept getting ideas for my story Dysfunctional, and poor Blinded got put on the back burner for a long while. I lost sight of the plot line for a bit, but it all came back, so I hope you will continue to enjoy the story. I'll honestly try to update all of my stories evenly, but when inspiration comes, one story might end up getting ahead and what not. 

If you're into a slightly darker story, head towards my other story, Dysfunctional, or if you're into vampires, go on ahead to Until the End, and tell me what you think. 

Until next time, thanks for reading ^^