After Music Bank in Mexico, the boys were finally able to return home.

They said their goodbyes to eachother and departed, promising to keep in touch.

They needed to do something about their company, tired of all the mistreatment, so they had agreed to meet in a couple weeks and discuss their next steps.

But for now, they were free.

Dae sat at the dinning room table, staring out the window, watching the front drive nervously, bouncing his leg and biting his lip.

He glanced down at his watch, then back up at the window.

"Dae, would you calm down." his mother teased as she passed through the room. 

He blushed, looking down at the floor. "Sorry." he smiled. "Guess im just excited...and nervous at the same time."

His mother smiled at him thoughtfully. "Everything will be fine. I'm glad she's coming back."

"Me too." he said, unable to supress the large grin that spread across his face.

"How are things going?" she asked.

Dae nodded. "Good...you know...taking it one step at a time. There was a lot of confusion and hurt that happened...so I want to work through that before we do anything else."

His mother nodded as he glanced down at his watch again. 

"I take it you wont be home for dinner tonight?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No. I'm not sure what we are doing or when I'll be home. We have a lot of talking to do."

"Talking...mmhmm...i bet that's not all." she teased, giving him a wink.

"Omma!" he blushed, dropping his gaze to the floor.

She smiled and pat his shoulder. "You're a big boy Daehyun, i'm not worried about you, and Ellie is a good girl. There's no one I'd rather see you with. Just have fun."

Dae laughed softly, his face bright red.

Just then, Dae's phone began to vibrate on the table.

In a taxi, be there in 15 min. Read the text.

He took a deep breath.

"That her?" his mother asked. 

"Mm." he replied with a smile as he finished reading her text.

He'd offered to pick her up from the airport, but she insisted she was going to take a taxi home, so he'd agreed to wait at the house for her.

He'd been counting down the days till her return home.

Her mother had cancelled the sale on the house as soon as Ellie announced her return, and Dae was greatful no one had put an offer on it before that. 

He couldn't imagine not having her next door...nor having anyone else staying in that house. There were so many memories there....

The next 15 minutes felt like eternity.

Dae had gotten up, paced the room a million times, gone to the bathroom to fix his hair again, and returned to the kitchen, glancing out the window every 2 minutes.

Finally, he saw the taxi pull up to the curb between their houses.

His face lit up and he nearly knocked over his chair standing up.

"I'll be back later Omma." he called out as he left.

She smiled as she watched him run out the door.

Dae stopped at the top of the driveway, watching as the driver pulled her bags out of the taxi and set them on the sidewalk.

Ellie paid him and he got back in, before she turned to see Dae watching her from his driveway.

Her face lit up and his heart nearly stopped.

He couldn't help but laugh.

The way things had been going the last few months, today felt like it was never going to come. He'd been worried something else would get in the way, and she'd have a hard time getting home.

But she was here, finally. 

And now they could be together.

He bolted across the yard to the sidewalk, nearly toppling her over as he wrapped his arms around her.

He felt her bury her face in his neck, squeezing him tightly in return, both of them laughing.

He didn't want to let go of her ever again. He never wanted to let her out of his sight.

They stayed that way for several moments, clinging tightly to each other.

When they finally pulled apart, both of them were crying, cheeks tear stained as they laughed.

"God i missed you Ellie....I couldn't sleep last night..."

"I know me too." she said. "I kept worrying, thinking of all these horrible scenarios, like my flight getting delayed or losing my passport."

"I love you so much."

"I love you too."

He leaned forward, kissing her forehead gently, then wrapping her in his arms again.

He wanted so badly to make out with her, but he had told himself before she came home that he wanted to take things slow, start over, do it right. There was no rush. 

"I don't want to let go." he laughed. 

She wrapped her arms around him, pressing her head against his chest, and closing her eyes.

"I love the smell of your cologne...and your aftershave." she said. "Have i ever told you that?"

"No...but it's nice to know. I see you still use the same shampoo." he said catching a whiff of her hair.

"Mmm." she said.

"I like it."

He sighed, not wanting to let go of her.

"I don't want to let you go...i'm afraid you'll disappear....but i guess we can't exactly stand stuck to each other on the sidewalk all day either." he chuckled.

She pulled back and looked up at him smiling. 

She stood on tiptoe and placed a kiss on his cheek, then stepped back, slipping her hand into his, locking their fingers together.

"I won't disappear, I promise. I'm here for good." she said looking him straight in the eye.

He smiled, his feelings wanting to burst from his chest.

"Let's get your stuff inside."

"Mm." she nodded squeezing his hand.

They gathered her bags and made their way up her driveway where she pulled out a key and unlocked the door.

Once inside, she stopped and looked at him. "Daehyun..."

"Yeah, i thought i'd spruce things up a little bit." he beamed. 

Inside, he had uncovered all the furniture, dusted, vacuumed, everything. 

"You didn't need to do that." she said.

"I know, but i wanted to. Besides, i figured if i got this out of the way, that would give us more time to be together."

They smiled at eachother before heading up the stairs to her room.

Once inside, she found he'd bought her a new comforter, which was nice since her things wouldn't be arriving for awhile.

Also, on her desk was a bouquet of flowers.

"They're beautiful Dae." she said walking over to admire them.

Once again he wrapped his arms around her, holding her as tight as he could without cutting off her air.

"I'm sorry, I can't stop hugging you..."

"It's ok, i don't want you to." she smiled.

"You must be pretty tired.." he commented as he let go of her. "That jet lag is a killer."

She chuckled softly. "Not really. I think all this being hyped up about being back home with you has kept me from being sleepy."

"You sure? I was gonna say if you want to catch a nap i'll hang out downstairs or something till you wake up."

She shook her head. "No, I want to be with you. I've been so looking forward to being home...sleep can wait."

He nodded. "Ok."

They both sat down at the foot of her bed, saying nothing for a moment.

She smiled. "Well, what do you want to do?" she asked breaking the silence.

Dae remained silent for a moment before turning to her. "Well...i'm so happy to have you back home....and as much as i want to celebrate and just move forward, i think it's important that we talk and discuss things, just to clear the air and make sure we're on the same page...if that makes sense?"

She nodded. "I agree. Let me just change really quick and i'll meet you downstairs.

Dae nodded and left as Ellie went to change her clothes and wash up.

When she finished, she went downstairs, joining Daehyun on the couch in the living room.

They sat at opposite ends, and turned inward so they could talk face to face.

"Ok, so...im not really sure where to start....I guess...Did you have any questions?" Dae asked, slightly nervous.

She bit her lip, thinking for a moment.

"I just...I don't want there to be anything between us...If you have things you don't understand, or hurts from everything that's happened, i want to discuss them, get it out in the open...even if you just want to dump all your feelings...I guess i just...want to erase any doubt or uncertainty from your mind...if that makes sense."

She nodded. "It does....Do you have any questions?" she asked looking at him.

He fidgeted a moment before answering. "I...I guess i'm curious...what happened, from your point of view, that day of the concert?"

She explained to him from start to finish and Dae listened intently the whole time. When she talked about the conversation that occured with the CEO that day, he couldn't keep himself from crying. It still angered and upset him to this day when he thought about the things the CEO had said to her.

When she finished talking, there were tears on her cheeks as well.

Dae reached over and took her hands in his. "I know i've already told you this, but i had no part in that. I had no idea he'd met with you until you told me later."

She nodded and smiled. "I know that. I believe you."

"I'm so sorry it happened though. I can't even imagine what you must've been feeling." he said, getting choked up again.

She shook her head. "Please don't be upset. It wasn't your fault...i don't blame you."

"Are you mad at me at all?" he asked.

She didn't even hesitate. "No." she shook her head. "You explained yourself more than once and you made it clear to me where you stand and what your feelings are. I have no reason to be mad at you Daehyun."

He tried to smile through his tears and nodded.

"What about you?" she asked. "Are you mad at me at all?"

He responded immediately. "No. I don't blame you for anything and i understand your reasons for leaving. I'm just glad I was able to find you."

"Me too." she smiled.

He returned her smile, then took a deep breath. "Well...i feel like i need to confess to you." he said. "When all of this was going on, after finding out what had happened, and then finding out you'd moved away and not knowing where you were....I...I was having a really hard time dealing with things for awhile. I started drinking..like a lot."

He stared down at the floor, embarassed and ashamed for the way he'd behaved then.

"I was so scared i'd lost you....and everything felt so hopeless..."

Ellie could tell he was embarassed admitting this to her, so she reached over and took his hand. "It's ok Dae, it's just me. Don't be embarassed."

He looked down at her hand holding his and smiled. 

He cleared his throat and continued. "It was pretty bad, I stopped going out, stopped doing things with the others....I didn't do anything but stay in my room and drink. I'd drink until i threw up. I lost a lot of weight....but Himchannie hyung....he helped set me straight again. Made me realized how stupid i was being..."

He trailed off, seemingly lost in thought.

Ellie cocked her head to the side and leaned down, looking up into his face.

He laughed, whatever was distracting him forgotten. "Sorry...I guess I still feel stupid about it. Anyways, I just wanted you to know.  But i've stopped drinking. I don't see it being a problem again but i wanted you to know just the same."

She nodded. "Thank you."

He stared down at their hands interlocked, and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.

"Ellie...i know we already slept together, but, i'd like to start fresh...do things right. Though i don't regret it by any means...i mean i still think about it from time to time and it makes me blush." he admitted looking at the floor embarassed.

Ellie smiled, amused at his shyness.

"But I want to date you, do things in a normal fashion...after everything that's happened...i don't want to jump right into a physical relationship...if that's okay with you."

She was touched at the thought. "Of course." she agreed. "And I think about that day a lot too." she admitted. "And I don't regret it either."

He smiled.

"Oh!" Ellie said suddenly.

Dae watched as she got up and ran up the stairs, disappearing into her room.

"What are you doing Ells?" he asked.

"Looking for...something..i saved it for you..." she shouted from her room.

After another minute or two of ruffling through her things, she found what she was looking for and rejoined Daehyun back on the couch.

"I'm...not sure how you'll feel about this but...here." she said, ing a paper in his direction.

He took it and examined it for a moment. 

It seemed to be a photograph of some sort but he couldn't figure it out. 

Ellie moved closer, nestling against him, resting her head against his chest, just beneath his chin as he examined the photo.

"It's a picture of our baby...it was taken before I lost him."

His breath caught in his throat.

Ellie pointed to a spot in the photo. 

"That's his heart." she said softly. "And this is his head...his little arms and legs..." she continued pointing out different areas.

Dae felt tears welling up in his eyes.

"I felt so guilty...I was so heartbroken." she said softly. "The doctor said it happens...there was nothing wrong with me...he couldn't tell why it happened, it just did."

Dae closed his eyes, pressing his lips to the side of her head as a few tears slid down his cheeks. "He's beautiful. And i'm so sorry i wasn't there for you Ellie."

She wiped a tear from her cheek. "It's ok. I should have called you. I wanted to tell you but i just...I don't know."

"It's ok." he said kissing her head again. "I understand. And thank you for this." he said referring to the ultrasound picture. "It breaks my heart...I was ready...when i found out that you might be pregnant, i was scared at first, but it went away quickly, and i was excited. The thought of having a baby with you just melted my heart, it made me so happy...you must've been so scared..." he trailed off.

"It's ok. We can't do anything about the past now. We're together now and I just want to move forward, together."

He set the picture down on the coffee table and turned to face her.

He smiled, tucking her hair behind her ear. 

"Have i told you how beautiful you are?" 

"Stop." she smiled.

He chuckled. "I mean it."

She reached down, finding his hand , and laced her fingers together with his. 

"Well...now what?" she asked.

He smiled. "Well...I was thinking..." he said as he got up off the couch. 

He kneeled on the floor in front of her, taking her hands in his as he smiled up into her face. "Ellie, would you please go out with me? Be my girlfriend."

She laughed softly, pushing his head with the palm of her hand. "Pabo."

He got back up, smiling and embraced her. "Really though, will you go out with me...officially?"

"Yes Daehyun." she said. 

"Good."

She looked into his eyes, happy to see the light return, his smile genuine, hearing the joy in his voice. 

Her Daehyun was back. 

She threw her arms around him, both of them falling backwards onto the couch as she buried her face in his neck again.

 "I'm so happy. I was so afraid i'd lost you." she said lifting herself up just enough to see his face.

He smiled, wiping the tears from her cheeks. "You'll never lose me, ever again. I promise you. Okay?"

She nodded happily.

"Okay."

"Welcome home Ellie."