After the episode containing Jisoo dancing for Jimin was aired, they were approached by a TV station to participate in their annual awards show, the two of them to dance to Jimin's ‘lie’ together, live on stage. Jimin had been enthusiastic at the news, eager to have the opportunity to spend more time with Jisoo. Jisoo was a little more hesitant, fearful that she wouldn’t be able to learn the dance to a high enough standard and would embarrass both herself and Jimin.

When she voiced her concerns to Jimin, he took her hands into his and gave her a bright smile. “I think you're a lot better than you give yourself credit for. I'd love it if we could do this stage together, but I’ll understand if you don’t want to. I won't be disappointed if you say no, especially since I can still watch my wife dance, even if it’s not on a big stage.”

Jisoo’s breath caught in , wondering how he could be so kind and understanding. She bit her lips as she weighed up the possibilities before letting out a long breath. “Let’s do it.” She said, a determined look appearing on her face as she turned to face Jimin. “Let’s do it.” She repeated before Jimin pulled her into a tight hug. “Are you sure, nuna?” he asked, never loosening his grip around the older woman. She nodded, already feeling her nerves building at the thought of having to dance in front of so many people. “Yeah, I’m sure. I mean, I've got the best teacher in Korea, right?” she joked.

Jimin pulled back and flashed her a smile that would have made her weak at the knees had she been standing. “I promise I’ll give you all the help you’ll need. Trust me nuna.” She nodded, “I trust you.”

Jimin’s Interview

Q: How did you feel when Jisoo agreed to do the performance with you?

Jimin beamed at the question. “I can’t believe she actually agreed! When we were asked to do the performance I was so excited but I didn’t want to show it because I knew she felt hesitant about it. I didn’t want her to feel any pressure to do it if she really didn’t want to.” He chuckled. “But I’m so glad she agreed. I think being on stage with her will be so exciting.”

Jisoo’s Interview

Q: Why did you agree to participate in the performance with Jimin?

Jisoo let out a quiet sigh. “I’ve never done anything like that before. I guess there was a part of me that wanted to challenge myself. To step out of my comfort zone and try something new. Also, even though he tried his best to hide it, I knew that Jimin was really excited by the idea. He's done so much for me since we started all of this and I wanted a way to repay him so I figured that this would be a good start.” She nervously played with her necklace. “I’m just so worried that I’m not going to do a good job. I’m going to have to practice really hard.” She said, a determined but worried expression on her face.

For the following weeks, Jimin adapted the dance so that it could be performed with two people. He tried to keep as many of the steps as similar to the original as possible, so that Jisoo would have less to learn. They met up to practice as often as they could and Jisoo spent all of her free time practicing the choreography over and over again, determined to do a good job. She had blisters on her feet from practicing so much and she could often be heard humming the tune, mentally running through the dance in-between shoots for her newest drama.

On the day before the performance, Jisoo was once again practicing the movements at home, her tired manager being forced to watch her again to look for any mistakes. Halfway through the song Jisoo stumbled, almost losing her balance. Her manager jumped up and grabbed her arm, “Hey, are you okay?” She asked as she held her upright. Jisoo shook her head, her eyes unfocused. “Yeah, I’m okay.” She said, her voice weak. “I just got a little dizzy.” She said trying to shake off the dizzy spell. Her manager frowned at her. “You’re pushing yourself too hard.” She reprimanded as she forced Jisoo to sit down. “Sit. I’ll grab you a drink.” She said as she made her way into the kitchen.

Jisoo groaned quietly as she pushed the heels of her hands against her eyes before moving to massage her temples. “I feel like crap.” She muttered to herself before shaking her head again, as if she could shake off the horrible feeling. Her manager appeared a few minutes later with a cup of warm tea. “Drink.” She commanded. “Then you need to sleep. You have a schedule before you need to go to the award show.” Jisoo nodded, too exhausted to argue.

Jimin text Jisoo the next morning, waking her from her sleep. She groggily reached out for her phone, smiling at the cute message despite the ache that had spread throughout her entire body. She forced herself to sit up, wincing at the pain that shot through her head. She sat for a moment, taking deep breaths, hoping to alleviate her splitting headache.

Her manager knocked on her door before letting herself into the room. She looked at Jisoo who was cradling her head in her hands and frowned. “I’m going to call off your schedules today.” She decided as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. Jisoo’s head snapped up in a panic. “No, you can’t!” she said as she swung her legs out of bed, determined to show that she was okay. “I’ll be fine. All I need is the largest cup of coffee we can find and a shower.” Her manager gave her a disbelieving look while Jisoo held her gaze, determined not to let Jimin down.

After a silent battle of wills her manager let out a sigh. “I’ll go to that little coffee shop around the corner for you whilst you shower, but if you get even a little worse…” she let the threat hang in the air, knowing that Jisoo knew what she meant. “You’re the best.” Jisoo said as she hugged her manager tightly. “I’m going to shower.” She said as she smiled brightly before heading into the bathroom. She closed the door before sagging against it. “Come on Jisoo, get it together. You can’t let Jimin down.” She stood up straight and the shower, convincing herself that she would be fine, and that nothing would stop her from performing with Jimin that evening.

Jisoo and Jimin stood backstage at the award ceremony. They had been given their five minute warning, both of them moving to a place where they could see the stage. Jimin was almost bouncing with excitement while Jisoo was nervously wringing her hands together. Jimin noticed and took one of her hands into his. “Hey, you okay?” he asked, concern lacing his voice. Jisoo forced a smile onto her face. “Yeah, just nervous.” She said weakly. Jimin squeezed her hand. “Don’t worry. You’ve practiced so hard, I know you’ve got every move memorised to perfection, you're going to be fine.” He promised with a warm, reassuring smile.

Jisoo smiled, this time a little less forced than before. “Thanks, Jimin.” She replied, unable to hide the warmth from her voice. His encouragement made her feel like she could fly.

I can do this. It’s a five minute performance. I just need to hold out for five minutes.

She took deep breaths, willing her racing heart to slow down to a more normal pace as the MC called their names. Jimin squeezed her hand before leading her up onto the darkened stage to take their starting positions. “You’ve got this.” He whispered as he released her hand, both of them starting the performance on separate sides of the stage. Jisoo closed her eyes, taking a final few deep breaths before the lights came on and the first notes of music started.

Her body moved instinctively, having practiced the dance day in and day out for weeks. The lights were hotter than she expected and she could feel a layer of sweat coat her already overheated skin. She met Jimin in the middle of the stage, their gazes locked as their hands brushed each other’s before spinning away in opposite directions. Her vision swam but she managed to keep her balance as she grit her teeth.

Just a little longer…

As the song started to come to a close, she was once again in the middle of the stage, her eyes locked with Jimin's. He took her hand and she spun into his arms, one wrapped around her waist, the other cradling her face whilst her hands rested on his chest. She could feel the steady beating of his heart under her hands as the lights dimmed as her body sagged against his.

The crowds cheers fell on deaf ears as Jimin grabbed onto Jisoo’s limp frame. “Nuna? Nuna!?” he cried, looking desperately from side to side for help. Two members of the stage team ran onto the darkened stage, lifting her limp body and carried her off stage, the audience thankfully distracted by the MC who was standing on another stage to the side of theirs.

Jimin was in a panic as the staff members took Jisoo backstage. He couldn’t hear the voices of the people around him asking him what had happened. He couldn’t see the concern on people’s faces. All he could see was Jisoo. Her skin pale and soaked with sweat, far more than just dancing could have been responsible for. Jisoo was finally placed down on a couch and Jimin was immediately at her side.

“Jisoo nuna.” He said as he grabbed her hand, his panicked gaze landing on her face. Her manager was beside them in an instant. “I knew this was going to happen. Why do you never listen?” she cursed as she wiped away the sweat from Jisoo’s face. “What’s wrong with her?” Jimin asked, his gaze never leaving Jisoo’s pale face. Her manager sighed, “She's been overworking herself too much. I threatened to cancel her schedules today but she convinced me not too.” She said as she shook her head. “This idiot. She never says anything when she's sick and then she ends up like this.” Her voice was angry, but it was obvious that she felt guilty for letting Jisoo work herself into such a state. “I know what she's like. She's been practicing non-stop since she found out about this performance. She was so determined to do well then she still had all of her other schedules as well. She thinks she's invincible.”

Jimin squeezed Jisoo’s hand a little tighter as a paramedic arrived. He was forced to the side to let the paramedics examine Jisoo. He lost track of his surroundings, all of his senses were focused in on Jisoo as she was lifted onto a stretcher, her manager following her out to the ambulance. He stood helplessly, his hands balled into fists as he watched the paramedics take her away. “Nuna…”