The members were getting ready for a new comeback, a new song and a new choreography.

The concept was initiated by Hongbin who spent most of his time playing Overwatch during his day offs and trying to move on from his broken heart.

"Are you okay, Kong-ah?" Jaehwan asked the younger while Hongbin finally took a break from the game. 

"About what?" Hongbin asked back.

"You know... about the other Hakyeon-hyung..."

"I'm fine," Hongbin wanted to say confidently. "Maybe..."

"Kong..."

"You know hyung, even now, even thought it's been almost a year since he left... I still dream about him. I keep thinking about him and can't even stop thinking about him. Whenever I see our Hakyeon-hyung, I can't help but think about the other Hakyeon-hyung instead."

"Is that why you've been avoiding Hakyeon-hyung?" Jaehwan asked.

"It's a part of the reason. Everything from his appearance and his voice is exactly the same. They're literally the same person yet they aren't... I can't help but think about him," Hongbin revealed his feelings truthfully as Jaehwan sat next to him.

"You know he's gone to a good place though right? After all that we've done together, he's moved onto a better place.'

"I know. That's why we even named our concert last year as 'Elyisum' right? As a memory of them and hoping that he and the Dark Taekwoon can move on to paradise."

"Mhmm," Jaehwan nodded. "I don't want to tell you to forget about him because I know that he's become a very precious part of your memories but please, please go back to that happy Kong that I once remember okay? You're always hiding in your room or going out with other people just so that you won't have to see our Hakyeon-hyung. You've been looking into webdrama offers too just to get away. Others are thinking you're finally trying something new but we know you're just trying to escape. I know it and so does Hakyeon-hyung," Jaehwan told the younger.

"Hyung does?"

"Yeah. It's very obvious too. He's known you the longest out of all of us and he knows how you can be when you decide to shut yourself in. He didn't want to nag you either since he knows how his presence alone can affect you. The two of you have been really awkward with each other and everyone can tell. It's just that we didn't want to mention anything... but I feel like we can't ignore it anymore. Why don't you face Hakyeon-hyung and talk it out together?" the older advised.

"... I'l try," Hongbin said in hesitation.

It was easier said than done. It's not that Hongbin never tried to talk to Hakyeon again or have their relationship go back to the way it used to be but he couldn't help but feel awkward every time he had to face the older member. It wasn't just because the leader and the Dark Hakyeon looked exactly alike but the older was also his first love. He confessed, he knew he would be rejected but still, what was done is done. 

He let out a sigh as he stood blankly in front of the dance studio back in their company.

Hongbin peeked throught the glassed doors to see Hakyeon practicing some dance routines. Ever since the older returned from Dreamscape, he's been practicing day and night without rest for the past year. Even though he was only trapped inside of the other world for a short duration, Hakyeon felt like he was trapped there for way too long and had to do everything he could to practice his dances again. As usual, the way Hakyeon moves while he dances was mesmerizing. Hongbin stood there frozen and enchanted by the older's body movements from one side of the floor to the other. 

He swallowed hard as he watched. No, no, Taekwoon-hyung is going to kill me... stop thinking about it Lee Hongbin.

"I'm going to kill you if you keep staring at Hakyeonie," Taekwoon suddenly appeared right beside him.

"Woah! H-hyung! Where'd you come from?" Hongbin jolt in surprise.

Did he just read my mind or something? the younger thought.

"I was next door doing some recording. What about you?" the vocalist asked.

"I was um..." 

"Staring at Hakyeon?" 

"N-no, I- um..." Hongbin sighed as he was at a loss for words.

"Pfft," Taekwoon couldn't hold back his laughter seeing how flustered the younger became. "It's okay. You can stare. You're not the only one that can't stop staring at Hakyeon whenever he dances anyways."

"I'm not?"

"Well~ there's me, you and literally everyone who passes by this room. You're probably the third person I caught staring today. Some of our trainees were gathered outside of here earlier just to stare. Hakyeon isn't even aware of it since he's completely in the zone right now."

"I see... how long has he been practicing there?" 

"Since this morning if I can remember. He left the dorms quite early because he said he had to meet his dance instructor for a new routine."

"A new routine?'

"For our new concert."

"For Daydream?" 

"Yeah. He's had the concept of his solo performance for awhile now, so he's trying to perfect it."

"Sounds like Hakyeon-hyung. Always a perfectionist when it comes to dance. He even changed our title song choreography because he felt like something was missing. Only he would dare to change a well-known choreographer's dance routine on his own. Others would just go with whatever is given to them but hyung is totally the opposite," Hongbin chuckled.

"Yeah. He won't stop until it's perfect."

"But you're the same too aren't you Taekwoon-hyung?" Hongbin asked as the two went inside the recording studio next door to continue with their conversation.

"I guess so," Taekwoon replied, fully self-aware that he too, was a perfectionist.

"How many coffee did you drink since this morning?" Hongbin noticed the convenient-store bought coffee cans all over the vocalist's workspace.

"Just a few," Taekwoon averted his gaze while trying to hurry and hide the evidence away from sight.

"You should really cut down the caffeine. The doctor even told you to stop drinking coffee so much because you keep getting stomachaches from it."

"I know... but I like it..."

"Who doesn't know you're a coffee-addict but you really need to be careful with your health. I'm sure Hakyeonh-hyung is really worried about you for it," Hongbin reminded him.

"Yeah... he scolded me too many times to count," the older sighed.

"And yet, you're still doing it. Tsk tsk~" Hongbin shook his head. "So what are you working on?"

"The song for my solo performance. What about you? How's your solo song practice going?"

"I..."

"You've been slacking huh?" Taekwoon caught him. "You're singing a sad song for this concert right? Lie Lie Lie?" 

"Uh.. yeah."

"Are you still upset about Hakyeon?"

"No! It's not like that!" Hongbin wanted to reassure the older. "It's just... I feel a bit empty inside, when I think about the other Hakyeon. I thought that singing Ain't No Sunshine was enough last year to help me but it wasn't the case. I just kept thinking about it more and more... So Wonshik told me to just sing something really sad and negative, get all my feelings out once and for all so that I might feel better later on."

"Sounds so negative."

"Says the one who likes writing deep and dark lyrics for a hobby," Hongbin teased the older a bit.

"Kong-ah."

"Hmm?"

"I know I'm in no position to say this and you might even resent me a bit but if you ever want to talk to someone, I'll always be here for you too," Taekwoon gave the younger a warm and caring smile.

Taekwoon really changed after everything that's happened between him and Hakyeon. He's grown to be more expressive, more gentle and caring. Even in the past, even if he cared for someone, he would have a difficult time expressing his feelings which caused him to have such a difficult time inside of Dreamscape. But now, he's learned to talk about his feelings more openly and his relationships with the other members have gotten a lot better as well. Even after all the ups and downs, after all the fights that they've gone through together, Taekwoon have changed for the better.

"I will hyung. Thank you," Hongbin replied back with his happy dimple smile. He suddenly felt relieved of the pressure and stress that he's been holding back for the past several months just by being able to talk with s.

~

Knock. Knock.

"Come in," Hakyeon turned back to see who it was. 

"Hyung," Hongbin finally gathered his courage to intrude on the older during his practice. 

"Kong-ah!" Hakyeon was delighted to see that Hongbin came to see him. "What's up?"

"Um... can we talk?" 

Hakyeon tilt his head a second in confusion with the younger's rather serious tone but smile happily to know that Hongbin wasn't going to avoid him anymore. "Of course!"

The older walked up to the stereo and turned it off. He brightened the lighting of the room as well as to help lighten the atmosphere. Hakyeon couldn't help but stare at the younger for a minute and think of how long it's been since he's seen Hongbin face-to-face like this.

"What do you want to talk about?" Hakyeon asked curiously.

"About..." Hongbin bit his lips a bit. "Sorry for avoiding you lately... and stuff."

"Kong-ah..." 

"I was just having a hard time moving on... I thought I did! I tried! But whenever I see you... I-"

"I remind you of him?"

Hongbin nodded truthfully. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I know how you feel. I know perfectly what you must have been feeling each time you see me. Even during our comebacks and promotions, you tried so hard to act normal in front of me but it was hard wasn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"It's okay. I understand."

Of course, Hakyeon will always understand how Hongbin feels. The two have been friends for the longest within the group and they understood each other better than anyone else would. 

"Do you really miss him?" Hakyeon asked the younger.

"Yeah. A lot," Hongbin admitted with tears slowly forming around his eyes. "Why is it so hard to move on?"

"You don't have to," the older patted him on the back. "He's important to you and always will be. There's no reason to move on from such a precious memory that you've created because of him right?"

"But... it hurts a lot. Each time I think about him."

"I know. I know how much it hurts. But you don't need to move on and that pain will eventually become something very valuable to you. You don't need to move on or forget about the past. You can cherish your memories with him forever. Those memories are important and they make you who you are today. You might not have noticed, but you've matured a lot recently. You used to rely so much on me and ask me for everything before you make a decision. It was almost to the point that even I thought I couldn't leave you or any of the members alone. But now, it's different. You know what to do in order to move forward, you're independent yet you're also reliable at the same time. Whenever I'm having a hard time during practice, both you and Hyogi would take initiative to lead the practices. Do you know how much that helps me and how happy that makes me to see that the two youngest members have finally grown up?"

"You really sound like my mom, hyung," Hongbin couldn't help but chuckle a bit. But he was happy that the older felt that way and that he was able to be helpful to the group.

"I can't help it. I really do feel like a mom in this group sometimes. Especially at first when we debuted, everyone was so inexperienced and I was the oldest. I was given more responsibilities than I could handle... I was under a lot of pressure but even though you were all aware, you guys didn't know what to do to help me. But it's different now, even without me saying it, you guys are able to sense when to step in and take action. That's just a part of growing up and we still have a lot to experience to truly become mature," Hakyeon told the younger.

Hongbin smiled.

"Thanks hyung. Thanks for talking with me," he said.

"I should thank you instead," Hakyeon patted his head.

"You know. I don't regret it after all. I don't regret ever having to have met you or have you as my first love," Hongbin said with a rather bright and optimistic expression. "You were my role model, my first love and my family. You're also a part of those precious memories that make me who I am today, hyung. No matter what happens in the future, no matter what you choose to do, where you choose to be, I'll always follow you and support you."

"Kong-ah~" the leader felt really touched by the younger's heartfelt words. "Even if the decision I make is wrong?"

"Yup. Even if you're wrong."

"Even if I decide to be some evil mastermind and destroy the world or take over it with my ruling powers of darkness?" Hakyeon joked.

"Sure!"

The two laughed for awhile as they sat on the floors of the dance studio. They talked about the past, how they first met, their first impressions and much more. Indeed, they really have known each other for the longest and they had so much to talk about. Despite the teasing attitude Hongbin can have in front of Hakyeon at times, he still thinks of Hakyeon as a very dear friend. All of s have become a part of his family and he would never trade it for anything else. He's happy to have met them and he's happy that even after all this time, years after years, life after life, that the six of them have gotten together once more. 

~

Taekwoon peeked inside of Hakyeon's dance room for the hundredth time today. Though he was also busy with composing and practicing his new songs for his own solo performance, he couldn't help but be curious about his love one's preparations. And no matter how many times he's seen Hakyeon practice and dance, he still feels like he's falling in love all over again.

Stop grinning to yourself Jung Taekwoon, he said to himself as he saw his own reflection show up on the glass doors of the studio. His obviously happy smile was rather hard even for himself to bear. 

"Taekwoonie?" Hakyeon finally caught the vocalist and pointed then mouthed to him, "what are you doing out there?"

Taekwoon gestured back, "can I come in?"

Hakyeon smiled and nodded. 

"Are you busy?" the vocalist asked.

"No. I'm okay. What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I was just passing by."

"You sure pass by a lot, Jung Taekwoon," Hakyeon laughed. He noticed his same aged friend and lover going back and forth outside of the dance studio the entire day. He just didn't want to say anything.

"I guess," Taekwoon was completely flustered.

The music in the background continued to play and the song was rather bittersweet.

"Fate?" he asked the leader.

'Yeah," Hakyeon replied.

"You really decided to use this song for your solo performance?"

"Mhmm. The instrumental is perfect for our comeback concept of an Eastern oriental vibe. At first, I thought about just having only the music as my performance but the more I heard the lyrics, the more I wanted to implement it in my dance."

There's so much I want to say, but you probably already know it~

"The lyrics kind of sounds like us don't you think?" Hakyeon asked.

"But it's sad..." Taekwoon noticed. "Especially when it goes a love we couldn't have this life and a fate we couldn't have this life..."

Taekwoon felt a bit of his heart sink in as he continued to listen to the song over and over again.

"Mhmm. But it's because of that sorrow that we're finally able to be together don't you think?" Hakyeon asked back. "It's beautiful. It feels real. All love and everything that we've gone through together to get to where we are today is because we were able to overcome so many obstacles together. Our meeting since the beginning of time is like fate itself. Even now, I can't believe that we've known each other for that long. Ever since our previous lives."

"Yeah. It's strange isn't it? When I think about it, I still can't believe that everything that we've been through, heard of, and seen is actually real. Dreamscape really happened and we're finally together," Taekwoon grabbed onto Hakyeon's smaller hands in his and caressed it gently. 

"Taekwoon-ah..." Hakyeon smiled and treasured the other's hands as well. It was so precious the moments they share together.

"Hakyeon-ah. Let's never let go ever again. Let's tell each other everything that we want to say or how we feel. Let's never hide things from each other and continue to love each other okay? I really love you, so much that sometimes I feel like I'm still dreaming just being able to hold you in my arms," Taekwoon leaned in and held the older tightly against his chest. "When we meet again in the future, even in another life, let's never let go of each other."

"Mhmm!" Hakyeon held the other just as tightly and warmly. "I love you, Jung Taekwoon."

Fate is strange.

It's unexplainable and unpredictable.

Sometimes it's a good thing and sometimes it's a bad one.

But every fate has a meaning and the meaning to their meeting is one that they will never forget. 

A/N: A bonus chapter that I have actually planned for a long time since DoWonKyung/Shangri-La came out. But I never got the chance to revisit the draft of this chapter and eventually I lost sight of it. I enjoy revisiting my past series and adding in a bonus chapter or two from time to time. 

The funny thing about Dreamscape and the entire NEO/LeoN Conception trilogy I wrote revolves around 'fate' and how much it means for NEO to meet each other because they were fated to be with one another. On the other hand, my current NBin fanfic talks about revolting against 'fate' and how to fight against it. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this mini bonus chapter and though it does center around Hongbin more so that NEO, it helps to set a bit of closure for Hongbin who didn't have the best ending in this series. But at least there's still 'unWRITTEN' for NBin right?