Hyukjae looked at the calendar before sighing to himself. It's been 14 days since he regained his life back (sort-of) and he's made some progress in a sense that Donghae knows he exists but it still made him anxious that he hasn't established a relationship with the other. Why was it so hard to get Donghae to fall in love with him again when it was so clear that he was still in love...with him...

"Aaaahhhh!!" Hyukjae muffled his screams of frustration with a pillow as he thrashed around trying to get rid of the headache that comes whenever he thinks about his predicament. Taking the pillow off his face, Hyukjae stared up at the ceiling as he thought more about Donghae. It doesn't matter whether he's Eunhyuk or Hyukjae now, since there's no way he'd get anywhere with Donghae if he keeps himself locked up inside Yesung's apartment. 

Hyukjae grabbed his phone and looked at the time. 7:38 PM. 'That's not too late, right?' He pondered whether or not he should make that phone call to Kyuhyun and tell him that he does want to take the job offer afterall. Lightly chewing on his bottom lip, Hyukjae swallowed his nervousness down and searched for Kyuhyun's name in his contact. It took him another 30 seconds to tap on his name and when the clock turned 7:40, he pressed the call button and felt his anxiety slowly rise with each ring that he heard. 

"Hello."

"H-Hi! Kyu-Kyuhyun-ssi?..."

"Yes, speaking. What can I do for you, Eunhyuk-ssi."

Hyukjae took a deep breathe and tried his best to not chicken out of the conversation. 

"Y-Yes...Um, well, actually...I was calling be-because I wanted to know if that position you offered me before was still available?"

"Oh? Did you have a change of mind?"

"Yeah...actually." Hyukjae wasn't sure if he was making the right decision. All he knows is that he needs to get closer to Donghae somehow. "I actually changed my mind and wanted to stay here in Seoul a little longer and it would help a lot if I could um...w-work with you."

"That sounds great! Of course it's still open!" Hyukjae smiled hearing Kyuhyun so excited. "I can't wait for you to meet Hankyung hyung. He'd be so happy to see you!"

Hyukjae sweatdropped and forgot that Hankyung, his brother-in-law, works at his studio which also means that he'd have to watch himself extra carefully around him. 

"O-Oh, yeah...sounds gr-great!..."

"Okay. Well, come by the studio tomorrow and I could introduce you to him. We only have two weeks left before the competition so I hope you're used to long hours of practice."

"I am." Hyukjae assured and smiled as he remembered that he was the one that actually broke Kyuhyun in when he was mentoring the latter and they were doing rehearsals 10 hours a day. "You don't have to worry about anything."

Hyukjae hung up the phone with a newfound determination and excitement for a new day. He made sure to set up his alarm to wake up early tomorrow then quickly laid down to get some rest. The thought of seeing Hankyung again both frightened and excited him. It feels like it's been ages since he last saw the other. Thinking about Hankyung also made him think about Heechul and how much he misses his brother. He started to wonder...would Heechul freak out or be happy if he knew the truth? He's been a self-proclaimed atheist ever since he started to form his own opinions and him coming back to life well, it kind of dampens his beliefs. 

"Would Heechul hyung believe me if I told him the truth?" Hyukjae wondered aloud to himself trying to imagine the different reactions Heechul could possibly have to him revealing himself. He snickered when he imagined him fainting at the news then felt a chill run down his spine in the next scenario when he imagined Heechul just pouncing on him and pulling his hair...like when he was in middle school and told Heechul the truth regarding his red hair and how it looked...not red. 

Hyukjae shivered at the memory and brought the blanket close to his body to keep himself warm. "I forgot how scary Hyung can be."

~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~+~

Donghae woke up the following day feeling groggy and completely hating himself. Other than the fact that he had a raging hangover, finding Hyukjae's broken picture frame by his side had completely ruined the start of his day. He took the broken picture frame and carefully slipped Hyukjae's photo out of it before cleaning the shards off the floor and throwing the frame away. Donghae carefully placed his lover's photo inside a random book he grabbed off the shelf and took a cold shower. Mentally chanting to himself to buy a new frame for Hyukjae over and over again so he doesn't forget. 

Donghae took a quick shower and dried himself in the bathroom. Wrapping a towel around his waist, he walked out to grab a change of clothes when his phone started ringing. Heechul's name popped up which caused him to sigh as to what the other could possibly want from him so early in the morning. 

"Yes, Heechul hyung?" Donghae answered as a greeting.

"Hey, Hae. Good morning." 

It wasn't a good morning at all but Donghae would rather not have to talk about it with Heechul so he greeted him back half-heartedly. 

"Why are you calling so early, hyung?"

"Oh, right. Hankyung just told me something interesting about their new hire today and I thought you should know about it."

Donghae sighed and put the phone on speaker as he walked inside the closet and placed it on top of the small drawer he has inside and started sorting through his dress shirts to find one he could wear today. Heechul would tell him the news whether he was listening to him or not. 

"I haven't seen him myself but the name was very familiar to me since it sounded so unique and well, I've only heard that name one other time." Heechul paused as Donghae finally chose one to wear. "I was with you when I met him. You know...Eunhyuk."

Donghae paused midbutton at the name. Feeling his heart beat a little faster, he cleared his throat and pretended that the name had no effect on him whatsoever. 

"Yeah. What about it, hyung? I was there when Kyuhyun offered him to audition."

"Wait. You knew? Donghae, are you okay with this?"

"Yes, Hyung. Why wouldn't I be?" Donghae finished dressing himself up and grabbed the his rolex watch and phone before walking back inside the bathroom to finish fixing his hair. "Kyuhyun sent me his audition tape and I thought he danced really well. If they think so too then I got no problem with it."

"Are you sure?" Heechul sounded unsure. "Donghae, I could talk to-"

"Heechul hyung, it's fine. Eunhyuk deserves the chance and he shouldn't lose it because of me." Donghae took the phone off speaker and placed it on his ear as he turned his back against his reflection. "Besides, I've stayed away from Hyuk's dance studio all this time. I'm not gonna be a problem."

"That's not what I meant, Hae."

Donghae smiled even though Heechul can't see him. "I know, Hyung. I promise, you don't have to worry about me."

"Okay." Heechul relented. Donghae grabbed his suit jacket and was just finishing putting his shoes on when he heard Heechul say, "You sounds like you're doing better."

Donghae stopped mid-way inserting his foot in his left shoe at Heechul's words. "What do you mean?"

"You just-...you sound more like the old you."

He heaved a heavy sigh at what Heechul was implying and finished putting on both shoes before responding. "I'm fine, Hyung. I gotta go to work."

"Okay. Be careful."

"Bye, Hyung."

Donghae heard a vague "Bye" back but his hand was already on the end call before he heard the whole thing. Walking out of his house, the first place he went to was the small photography shop where he bought his first camera. He used to come here all the time and develop his pictures with the nice elderly man whenever he and Hyukjae came back from vacation. Donghae wasn't sure if he'd see him again considering he hasn't walked in here once the last four years. 

The shop was pretty much just as Donghae remembered it except for the small upgrades of better shelves and what looks to be fresh painted walls. There was a young lady behind the counter that Donghae's never seen before but he suppose that was to be expected since the old man was probably already too old to work on his own by now. 

"Hello." She greeted happily, eyes lighting up as though Donghae walking in the store just made her day. "How can I help you?"

"H--Hi,