Ellie sat next to Dae, gently swiveling in her chair, moving from side to side as he worked on the computer in front of him.

"There, I think that's done." he said before turning to smile at her. "Almost finished, then we can be off. Sorry it's taken so long."

Ellie shook her head. "I don't mind. I enjoy watching you." 

He leaned in, kissing her forehead before standing up and taking a mic off the table.

Ellie clicked play on the computer and Dae's song came from the speakers, soft and slow.

She turned in her chair to face him, hands folded in her lap, a smile on her lips.

Dae had spent a lot of time practicing lately. Whether it was dancing, singing scales, working on old stuff or new stuff, he always had something to work on. 

She knew how much he'd been missing it...singing, being on stage, performing...she was glad he could at least do this...for now. 

He'd been going to his former voice teacher's studio a couple times a week to practice. He had full access to the studio and he knew no one would bother him here. 

He'd invited Ellie to come along with him today and she'd happily agreed.

She loved hearing him sing.

Of course she'd worn a hat and face mask and arrived seperately so that just in case anyone had been watching. It would look suspicious if the two of them arrived together.

Dae started singing along to the music coming from the speakers.

She found his voice soothing, and beautiful. And he was always so into it when he sang. He wasn't just singing, he was completely immersed in it, body and soul.

He had one hand on the mic and the other moved through the air in front of him as his sang, occasionally coming to rest against his chest.

He sang with his eyes closed, his nose scrunching whenever he sang a high note.

There was so much emotion in his voice and his whole performance overall.

He opened his eyes for a moment and her eyes connected with his, and he smiled before closing them again.

When he'd finished, she clapped loudly and he smiled bashfully.

"Wah, that was beautiful Dae!" she said jumping up from her chair.

He set his mic down and stopped the program on the computer before turning to her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her head. "I'm glad you liked it." he smiled.

"I've always loved your voice, even as kids." she confessed. "I love watching you."

She placed her hands on his waist and stood on her toes, bringing her lips to his for a moment.

He smiled as she dropped back onto her heels. "Ready?" he asked.

"Mm." she nodded. "Can we stop to pick up some flowers first? I wanted to take some over with us."

"Sure, we can do that." he smiled before linking his arm with hers.

"Omma!" Dae called out as they entered his house.

Both he and Ellie took off their shoes in the entry way before closing the door behind them.

"I'm gonna go put these in a vase." Ellie said to Dae before heading off toward the kitchen.

Dae nodded and tugged his coat off, hanging it on the hook by the door before following after her.

Dae's mother heard the boy call out and headed in their direction.

She stopped to smile at their shoes, setting side by side in the entry way. Always in the same spot. She smiled to herself noting the position of the shoes. Nothing's changed except for the size of the shoes. 

She chuckled to herself as she entered the kitchen to find Daehyun and Ellie putting flowers into a vase.

"Omma!" Ellie said with a smile, moving to give her a hug.

"Aigoo! Look at you, you live right next door but i feel like i haven't seen you in ages."

Ellie chuckled as they hugged. "I know, i'm sorry. Lots of overtime at work."

"And this one keeps you all to himself the rest of the time." his mother teased, nodding in Dae's direction.

Dae smiled, looking over at Ellie. 

"I tell you, you get prettier everytime i see you Ellie." Dae's mother gushed. "Isn't she pretty Dae?" 

"Beautiful." he said with a wink.

Ellie felt her face turn red, but she held Dae's eyes as he smiled at her.

"Ellie brought you some flowers mom." he said setting the vase on the counter.

"Oh, they're beautiful." she said eyeing them. "Dinner is almost ready, why don't you two wash up and set the table."

They washed their hands and went about setting the little dining room table for the three of them, and ate together chatting like they always had.

Daehyun's mother smiled, happy to have the two of them at her table again.

She could remember when they were little, sitting in the same chairs, their legs too short to reach the ground so they dangled from the chair, giggling as they ate peanut butter and jelly sandwhiches...and here they were, all grown up, still giggling, still smiling at each other as they ate.

"Any news from the other members?" his mom asked as they ate.

Ellie saw Dae's smile falter. 

"No." he shook his head.

His mother shook her head. "I can't understand it. How long does it take to respond? TS sure is taking their sweet time about dealing with this. I'm sorry Daehyun, i know how hard this must be on you."

Ellie could see how much the topic bothered him, so she changed the subject. 

"Omma, I see you've been working in the garden again, growing anything new this year?"

As his mother went on about her plans for the garden, Ellie glanced over at Dae who stared down at his plate, and ate silently.

He was greatful for the distraction, but his mother's comment had got him thinking again. He'd been wondering the same thing. Why were things taking so long? Why couldn't TS get their act together. 

Too many nights he was kept awake, worrying and wondering about the future. 

It would have been unbearable if it weren't for Ellie.

After dinner they cleared the table and did the dishes, then Dae took Ellie's hand and led her to his room where he went to his closet looking for his favorite hoodie.

Ellie moved about Dae's room, looking at the different photos he had displayed...almost all of them were of him performing either with friends or the other BAP members.

There were pictures of the two of them together throughout the years as well.

He had a shelf full of awards from different singing competitions, and a couple fan drawn gifts hanging on the wall.

Dae came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist and resting his chin on her shoulder. "Hey you, whatcha doin?"

She smiled, placing her hands atop his. "Just looking at your photos."

He kissed her cheek then let go, moving to sit down on his mattress.

She followed sitting down next to him.

He looked around his room, eyeing the same photos she'd just been studying.

"Funny, it's only been a couple months, but it feels like it's been so long since i've been on stage,...at times it almost feels like it was all just a dream."

"It's not Dae, you'll be back out there soon." she said.

"I hope so." 

She noticed the slight change in his tone.

And once again, there was that look in his eyes.

Most people wouldn't have noticed it..but her...she'd known him so long, it was easy to see.

He was sad.

"Dae?" she said softly as his eyes lingered on a picture of him with his groupmates.

"Mm?" he said finally looking away from the photo.

"Are you...ok?"

"I'm fine." he lied.

She reached over and took his hand, lacing her fingers with his.

"I know how hard this is..." she started, "i mean, i can't know personally, but, what i mean is...i know that this is hard for you, not being able to perform, and being away from the guys and everything. You don't need to put on a happy face for me. Don't try to hide it if it bothers you."

He turned to look at her, his eyes meeting hers as the fake smile left his lips.

"I don't want you to think i'm unhappy here with you..."

"I know that's not the case Daehyun....but i also know you miss it...i've seen the sadness in your eyes lately."

It touched him, not only that she'd noticed, but that she was concerned about how he must be feeling, and that she wanted to cheer him up.

It had been difficult, but he'd tried not to let it show.

He should've known better though. No one knew him better than Ellie.

It had been easy at first, he'd expected things to get rolling quickly.

But TS was dragging their feet, he wasn't even sure why he'd been surprised.

Their court date kept getting postponed and the more it did, the further away his dream of returning to the stage with his groupmates seemed to get.

"I'm here, don't forget that. Anytime you need to vent or just want to talk about it, i'm here. Don't try to keep it all in and handle it all on your own."

He placed a hand on her cheek and leaned in, bringing his mouth to hers.

He kissed her multiple times before slipping his tongue between her lips.

Her hand came up to rest on top of his, holding it against her cheek as they kissed.

She was happy to have him here, but she knew what the end of the lawsuit would mean for them.

He would go away and she would still be here.

But, at the same time, Dae was a singer. He loved it. 

She didn't want him to lose that part of his life.

They would find a way to make things work, she knew they would, but at the same time, she didn't enjoy the thought of him leaving again.

"How did I get so lucky to have someone like you?" he said softly when the kiss finally ended.

"I ask myself the same thing all the time." she said smiling at him.

He returned her smile, caressing her cheek with his thumb as he did.

Dessert was ready, and Dae's mother called out to them to come eat.

When they didn't show up after a couple minutes she went to find them.

As she reached Dae's room she listened for a moment, but upon hearing nothing she knocked lightly on the door.

After no response she slowly opened the door and entered the room.

She stepped inside, and the sight there caused her heart to melt.

Dae was fast asleep, snuggled up with the hood of his sweater pulled over his head, which was resting against the headboard of his bed and Ellie was asleep in Dae's arms with her head resting on Dae's chest, hand clutching his sweater.

She tiptoed over and grabbed the blanket at the foot of the bed, covering them with it before tiptoeing back to the door.

As she began to close the door, Dae stirred slightly, and kissed the top of Ellie's head before whispering 'I love you'.

By the time the door shut, he'd already fallen back to sleep.

She frowned as she thought to herself, how much it was going to hurt for the both of them when Dae went back to singing full time.