Chapter I.

It was the first week of September, and the hot summer sun had begun to take pity on the human beings, reducing its intensity till the heat turned slightly mild. That didn't help stop the beads of sweat from rolling down a certain dark haired dancer's face as he stared at his reflection in the mirrored wall of the practice room.

He knew he had to achieve perfection in the choreography, and now that they were down to nine members, managing the roles and spots of the former three proved to be even more difficult than he had thought it would be.

He knew they were worried about him. They would always advise him -- or rather, urge him -- to take it easy and not pressurise himself too much. The concern was evident on their faces. But he knew, deep down, that what they were really worried about was not just his health.

He remembered that one day, almost a year ago, when the younger ones had approached him with sorrowful and pleading eyes. 'Hyung, are you going to leave us, too?' He couldn't express how much that one question had hurt him. Two departures from their closely bonded group was all it had taken for the others to doubt him, to be afraid that he wouldn't stay by their side for too long.

It had been his duty, however, to reassure them. When he had said that he wouldn't leave, there was not an ounce of falsity or dishonesty in his promise to them.

The third Chinese member leaving just added insult to their injury. He couldn't help the sinking feeling in his stomach as he thought about the fact that he was the last foreigner left among the rest of the eight Koreans.

Straightening up in the middle of the dance practice room, Zhang Yixing caught his breath, stretching his arms together above his head. He let his hands drop freely to his sides as he heard the sound of the door opening, turning around to look at the person. He came face-to-face with the oldest member of EXO, and gave him a weary smile as he reached over for the bottle of water lying to one side of the room.

"Still practising?" Kim Minseok asked, his gaze wandering over the sweating, tired form of the younger, before finally resting on his face. With a sigh, Minseok realised that no matter how many times the others spoke to him about it, never once did Yixing stop practising. He was always too hard on himself, and as he thought about it more, the dancer hardly took breaks even if it was lunch or dinner time.

Before Yixing could get back to his practice again, Minseok hurriedly grabbed him by the arm, pulling the former towards the couch in a corner of the room, and forced him to sit down, before planting himself next to his dongsaeng.

"What's wrong, Minseok-hyung?" The dimpled dancer asked, confused by the other guy's sudden actions. No matter how temptingly comfortable the couch was, he wanted to stand up and practise more, but the older man had one arm around his shoulders, while his other hand firmly held Yixing's arm.

Minseok sighed again as he turned to look at the other, his eyes holding a stern gaze that softened instantly as he saw the exhaustion on the black haired man's face. "Yixing-ah, I'm aware of what must be going through your mind, but..." he trailed off, musing on how he could put his thoughts into words. "We just want you to take care of yourself."

"I'm fine, hyung-"

"No. You're not," the oldest interjected, placing a hand on Yixing's shoulder as he locked his gaze with the other's. "You are anything but fine. Look at yourself!" He exclaimed, gesturing vaguely towards his fellow EXO-M member. "You will just end up tiring yourself to death if you keep at it, and tell me, do you want that?" Minseok surprised himself; he had ended up almost shouting at the younger guy as he gave him a harsh glare.

Yixing, on the other hand, could only stare back wide-eyed at his hyung. He was shocked at the sudden outburst, and with a start, he could see exactly what his behaviour was making the others go through. He lowered his gaze from Minseok, looking down at his hands that were resting on his lap. He could almost feel that familiar feeling, of having let the others down, but before he could follow that train of thought, the other guy had wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Listen, Yixing, I may not talk a lot, but I really do care about you. We all do," Minseok whispered, his mouth close to the younger's ear as he spoke. After hearing nothing but silence, he continued. "I am still like an older brother to you, so please, if you have anything you want to say, you can talk to me anytime."

Releasing him from the hug, Minseok looked intently at the other guy as he held him by the shoulders. "I know how devastated you must be after everything that has happened. But you have to know how proud I am of you, for you handled all of this with such grace and professionalism that's rare for someone of your age."

Yixing could feel the slight oncoming of tears, but he furiously blinked them back as he forced a small smile, directing it towards Minseok. "Thank you hyung. You saying this means a lot to me, honestly," he said, his voice coming out softer than ever. The older guy's words were so comforting, that before Yixing could stop himself, he had blurted out everything that had been bothering him for the past few days.

"I just... I know we should always be thankful to our fans, but I just hate it when someone assumes that I'm going to be the next one to leave! I love EXO, I love you all. You guys are like a second family to me, eight wonderful and caring brothers. I just wish I could somehow reassure every single person out there that no, I will not leave this group."

Minseok's grip on the other's shoulders had tightened slightly when he had begun to speak, but now, he just gave them a light shake, looking at his younger brother with a kind smile. "They will understand, Yixing. Just give them some time, it hasn't even been a month since Tao announced his departure. Don't worry, it will be all right. Wounds heal with time, even if they have left some scars behind."

With those words, Minseok left the room after giving Yixing another one of his soothing smiles, leaving the latter staring after him. Strangely, the former's words had helped him relax a bit, and he sat back on the couch, closing his eyes as he lost himself in his own thoughts. A small smile creeped up on his face as he knew now that he was not alone, they were all in this together.

Author's Note:

I have no idea if I can write angst. Help.

I hope you liked it!~