Daehyun flipped the piece of paper in his hand with a frown. It was only a few hours until the concert would start but there were so many things left to do.

“Has the sound equipment been checked?” he asked the assistant who did his best to keep up with Daehyun's pace.

“Yes. Everything works impeccably,” the assistant answered.

It was the 20^th anniversary of the HAK academy and the students were holding a concert to celebrate this occasion. Daehyun worked there as a vocal teacher ever since finishing his military duties in his late twenties. He still remembers the day his former teacher made him the offer to work for him and Daehyun didn't hesitated even for a split second.

Now he has become a teacher and a mentor, just like the person he had been so thankful for when he was young. Every day he spent with students who had the dream to become a singer just like he had been once and he was by their side with advise whenever they needed it.

Daehyun sent the assistant away with the order to check the catering for the performing students and went to his office, he needed some time alone. He took out his mobile phone and checked his mentions on twitter. A lot of people promised to attend the concert and congratulated them for this milestone in the history of the existence of the academy and Daehyun was proud to be a part of it.

Some of these names were familiar to him, they had been his fans one day and maybe in some ways, they still are. His 'babyz' had grown up with him and most of them were married now and took care of their own babies but they still showed him a lot of care.

He had started his career as a professional singer in this building and now he was passing his experiences on to the younger generation. Especially the new students often asked him many questions and he was always happy to share his stories from the past, it had been many years since B.A.P had decided to part their ways but despite all the difficulties, Daehyun thought back to this time fondly.

There was a knock on his door and Daehyun gave the permission to enter. The door opened and Jihye, a fellow vocal teacher came in, her face showing the usual welcoming smile.

“Are you busy, Daehyun? There is someone who wants to see you,” she said with a sweet voice.

Daehyun sighed. Honestly, he didn't want to see anybody right now. The past few weeks had been extremely stressful with very little time to relax and he had planned to use this short moment of quietness to gather some energy. But he didn't want to rude, he was one of the people who represented this academy after all and he would do anything to show a good image.

“Let them in,” Daehyun replied and her lips stretched into an excited smile that made her eyes sparkle. She then opened the door further to let in the person who had asked to see him and Daehyun's jaw dropped when his eyes fell onto the man approaching his desk.

Daehyun shot up but he didn't move, he and the other man merely stood two meters apart and looked at each other. It was Youngjae. Memories came back to Daehyun, he hadn't seen the other in so many years but Youngjae had not changed at all. His black hair was styled to the side and he was wearing a white shirt and black dress pants, in short – he looked good as always (and maybe Daehyun's heart started beating a little bit faster).

“Hey,” Youngjae finally broke the silence.

“Youngjae!” Daehyun exclaimed in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

After they had parted their ways years ago, Youngjae had opened his own business and despite many promises of staying in touch, both of them had always been too busy so gradually they had heard from each other lesser until the contact had stopped completely.

“I happened to find out about the anniversary and I couldn't possibly miss this,” he said, smiling.

At last, Daehyun could manage to get his feet moving and he approached the other to embrace him. It had been so long, he felt his eyes watering. They stood there for a moment, simply enjoying their reunion.

“Do you have some time for an old friend?” Youngjae asked.

They went to a coffee shop around the corner and ordered. The first thing Daehyun noticed was that Youngjae ordered a cappuccino. In the past, the other had never been very fond of any kind of coffee so it came as a surprise. Daehyun ordered himself a chocolate milkshake and they sat down.

Talking about the old times felt good. Being a part of B.A.P was the best time of his life and even though they had been going through a lot of hardships, they had made Daehyun into what he was and he was proud of it. When they were younger, they dreamed about performing together until they grew too old for the stage. Reality turned out to be different, though. Daehyun had always known that it wouldn't last forever but that it would end so soon was something he had never expected. By the time Himchan and Yongguk had to serve their military duty, they had come to the conclusion that there was no point staying in this industry and they parted ways.

Since then, each of them had followed their own ways. Himchan had become an actor and was at the height of his popularity. The beautiful man was a very desirable actor and not a single week would pass without his face being shown in TV, may it be in films or advertisements.

Yongguk had engaged himself fully into charity, spending more time overseas than in Korea. But it suited him. Every now and then he would share pictures that showed him and the kids he took care of, each of them wearing a matching wide smile. Daehyun hadn't seen him in years either. The one who Daehyun still met regularly was Himchan, who would make sure to stop by every time he had schedules in Busan, which was every few months.

Jongup had chosen a similar path to Daehyun, he had become a dancing coach in one of the most popular dancing schools in Seoul. The HAK academy had expanded a lot and also opened a school in Seoul, where mostly these students trained that had the most potential to actually debut so whenever Daehyun had the chance to be in Seoul, they had met up. It wasn't often because Daehyun was busy in Busan but Jongup had not changed a lot either. Of course he had become an adult but he was still thankful for all opportunities and simply content with his life.

The youngest of them, Junhong, had settled down in Canada, where he had already gained a lot of friends when they had been still an idol group. Even back then, Junhong had used every free moment to visit his relatives living there and after travelling back and forth, he had eventually settled down and attended a decent University.

It had been almost ten years since B.A.P had disbanded and time had passed by so quickly for Daehyun. He was both, surprised and delighted that he and Youngjae still clicked like before. Both of them had become more quiet, in their late teens and early twenties their conversations often turned into loud and excited exchanged of words but now they were adults.

Youngjae's laughter was still the same though. Bubbly and charming, the kind of smile that tugged on the corners of Daehyun's lips without him realizing until he mirrored said smile. Daehyun had missed Youngjae a lot. And Daehyun also realized that the presence of the other made his heart beat a tiny bit faster.

 

They arrived at the academy just in time. Everyone was already searching for Daehyun. The outdoor stage just behind the large building allowed a few hundred guests and by the sound of it, the majority of the seats were taken tonight. Daehyun excused himself to take care of his students whilst Youngjae was being escorted to the venue by a worker of the academy.

Daehyun remembered as if it was yesterday when he was the one waiting for his turn to step on the stage. His insides had churned from nervousness and his hands had been shaking but it had been totally worth it. The feeling to stand on stage and being cheered on by so many people was a something that filled his every cell and he had not experienced anything that could even come close to that wonderful feeling.

That feeling had come at a high price though, at least for Daehyun and his five band members. None of them regretted the choice they made, to become a part of the idol industry. They had done the best they could and their career had looked very bright at some points. But the pressure as their constant companion and the poor health conditions had made them open their eyes.

B.A.P had debuted from a small company and working hard was even more important if they wanted to get their names known in the country. If there was anything that Daehyun would chance about his past then he would wish for them to have debuted under a large company.

Daehyun gave his students a last motivation speech and tried to reassure all their worries and took a look into the mirror. He had expected dark eye circles and a deep frown to be engraved on his features, the last weeks had been stressful after all. But his reflection was surprisingly bright, despite looking a little tired.

He would announce the acts on stage and would interact like a MC so even though he was not on stage as a singer, he was still a little nervous. When he deemed himself to look good, he let Jihye accompany him to the stage where they would welcome their guests together.

They were welcomed with a thunderous applause. Just like he had already expected, it was difficult to find a seat that had remained empty. As his eyes wandered over the crowd, he spotted familiar faces, a lot of them. Many of his old babyz were there, and even though they were adults now, they still looked very excited to see him. He didn't see them as his fans anymore but as long time friends who were in his life for a long time.

His eyes fell on Youngjae, who sat in the front row, his smile cheerful and mischievous and Daehyun almost dropped his microphone when he realized who sat next to him. On his right sat Jongup and next to him Junhong and to his left was an empty seat but then there was Himchan and to his left Yongguk.

All of them looked stunning and healthy and Daehyun couldn't help the wide smile that spread on his face. He had already wondered why so many babyz were there today but it seemed that this meeting had been planned. He lifted the microphone but only a chuckle escaped his lips at first.

“Hello everyone,” he said at last.”This is... very unexpected.”

The crowd cheered loudly, a lot of people had seemingly noticed the presence of the others, especially since Himchan was very known in the public.

“I came onto this stage to welcome everybody and introduce you to those young people who have worked very hard in order to be able to present you a great performance tonight. I want to request your anticipation because I'm sure that you will see many of these faces again in the future.

As many of you know, I was a singer as well when I was young. Together with 5 other boys who shared the same dream of becoming successful with the music we loved, I was very blessed to fulfil this dream for many years. I haven't seen most of them in years but today they are here and I can't believe it.”

He paused for a moment and then chuckled again. A fulfilling happiness washed over him, a feeling that he hadn't felt in a very long time. It wasn't because he was standing on a stage but because of his band members that had come to see him today. Suddenly he felt his eyes getting teary, it had been so long since they had been together like this.

“Today I was remembered of wonderful memories in my youth and I hope that today will be a day our students will make memories that they can think of fondly for a very long time. Thank you!” Daehyun finished his speech and gave the microphone to Jihye. He couldn't continue like that and she understood and squeezed his arm reassuringly.

Applause followed Daehyun as he walked down the stairs and was welcomed by the others. He embraced each of them and took the free seat between Himchan and Youngjae, who gave him the sweetest smile from the side.

 

The mini concert was a success and the crowd accepted the singers with their whole heart. After every song, there was a loud round of applause before Jiyhe introduced the next act. Thankfully, she took over the announcements by herself to let Daehyun simply enjoy the concert in the middle of his former band members.

When the last notes were played, all singers came back onto the stage and bowed to the audience, thanking them for being there and cheering for them. When the noise ebbed away, one of the students took the microphone.

“I'm a student in this academy for two years and with the next semester starting in a few weeks, I'll be moving to Seoul to follow my dream and become a great singer. In all these months of working hard, I had many worries. All teachers in this academy are doing their best to support us as much as they can and we all have learned a lot.

I didn't only learn the technical skills but thanks to my vocal coach Jung Daehyun, who was once a singer himself, I gained a lot of strength. When I felt no confidence, he made it possible for me to gain it. When I had problems with a song, he gave me extra lessons until I was content.

As a present, we invited his old band members to say thank him for all the support. B.A.P has once been a popular group, not only in Korea but all over the world. Their music has always left an impact and that they are not performing anymore is a huge loss.

They haven't performed in many years but maybe today, one more time, they can make our hearts happy.”

The audience cheered so loudly that Daehyun flinched but the men next to him, got up from their seats, it seemed like they knew that they would be asked to perform again. Suddenly, Daehyun was very nervous. He got up when Himchan tugged on his sleeve and almost stumbled over his own feet. What song would they sing? And would he even remember the lyrics?

When they were on the stage, it almost felt like in their past. Somebody squeezed a microphone into his hand and his fingers curled around the cold metal intuitively. He didn't really care anymore if he made a mistake or if he would hit all the notes. All that mattered right now was that they were with him.

“It has been almost ten years since B.A.P was standing on a stage together like this,” Yongguk said and with his words, the audience got quiet, listen attentively to him. “Since then, we have made many experienced but our time as B.A.P will forever be the most precious time to us. Even though we do not perform anymore, in people's hearts we are still present and for that, I'm very grateful.”

Yongguk paused to allow the audience to applause again.

“When we have been invited to this show today, we didn't hesitate to say yes and make it possible to be here today. We are very grateful for the ongoing support even though we're following different paths in our lives now. B.A.P will forever be with their babyz so let's sing our old song 'With You' now.

The sun had already begun to set so the sky was orange and turned to a warm pink and purple. When the music started, the audience took out lighters and waved in the rhythm of the melody. Their voices had matured and changed a little but the harmony that was deep anchored inside of them was still as present as it had been many years ago. The performance was far away from perfect, it hadn't been rehearsed after all but Daehyun had never felt happier.

When the song was over, they all took each others hands and bowed, just like they had always done at the end of their concerts. The end of their performance was also the end of the show today and they went to a restaurant to celebrate their coming together.

All of them had many stories to tell and they celebrated until the middle of the night. Himchan would head back to Seoul right in the morning because he had schedules to attend and Jongup would leave later in the evening but the other three would at least stay another day. They made another promise to stay in touch regularly and Daehyun was sure that this time, they would keep it.

The headache was bearable when Daehyun woke up even though they had drunk quite a lot. After a quick breakfast and a refreshing shower, he went to the academy where the others apart from Himchan were already waiting for him. It was Sunday but since it was a rare occasion to have so many professional ex-idols at the academy, the students had so many questions to ask.

He was first asked to go to his boss' office though, where he was greeted with a smile.

“Good morning,” Daehyun said.

“Good morning. Here I have something for you,” his boss and former teacher said and held out an envelope for Daehyun to take.

With a questioning look, Daehyun accepted the envelope and opened it, reading the letter inside. It was a new contract for the position as the head of the academy in Seoul. Daehyun stared with an open mouth and looked at the other, making sure that this was not a joke.

“I would be honoured if you take this position. There is no one who I trust as much as you,” his boss said.

There was no doubt that Daehyun would do it. He loved Busan but he also loved Seoul and when he signed the contract, he promised that he would give the students the best support he could.

Daehyun welcomed the other former B.A.P members with a huge grin and when he told them the good news, they celebrated again. The new semester would start in two weeks so Daehyun had no time to search for an apartment but Youngjae offered him to stay at his house for the time being.

The day went by in a blur, maybe Daehyun drank too much to really comprehend what was happening. He only remembered leaning on Junhong's and later on Youngjae's shoulder when it had become too exhausting to keep his head up by himself.

Daehyun would make another huge step in his life that brought a lot of changes. But this time, he didn't feel like he lost something. This time, he had gained back the love and support of those five men who he had shared the most precious time of his life with.

Only time could tell how his life would go from now on but for now, Daehyun was happy that he would get the chance to be a good teacher for his students in Seoul and maybe, he wouldn't hurry searching for his own apartment because living with Youngjae didn't seem like a bad idea at all.