Ironically, no one but Minseok received the instruction to lose weight.

“You can do it, Hyung!” Jongdae constantly cheered him on.  

All the other eleven members soon discovered what the oldest one had to do to be able to debut. Since they could do nothing to ease his intense predisposition, they decided to support him all throughout his situation.

“Thanks, Jongdae!” Minseok forced a smile on his face. He put an arm around the younger boy's shoulders and stated, “Now, let’s head back to practice."

As much as Minseok tried to put up a strong and indifferent facade, no one could deny the fact that his diet was severely difficult.

_ _ _

“Minseok, did you eat breakfast?” the choreographer of the group asked Minseok a few days after he had started lessening his food intake.

Minseok panted heavily in the back corner of the room. Before debut, training obviously had an added intensity, but with the new dances that had to be learned and adding with his low energy, he could barely keep up with the other Exo members.

His worn out body could barely support his weight, and so he tightly gripped a hand railing. Sweat continuously trailed down his face, but he could not muster enough energy to wipe them off.

His entire body was shutting down before everyone’s eyes.

With much effort, Minseok shook his head in denial as an answer to the question. The choreographer sighed deeply. Exercising without energy would ultimately lead to unnecessary injuries and lack of effort.

Kyungsoo, being the health conscious man that he was, immediately ran to his bag and reached for a certain item.

The other members sympathetically stared at their oldest brother. Minseok needed support, but they learned that he was not easily swayed. He did not take sympathy lightly. As a consequence, their helpful actions were limited, and they could barely do anything but to cheer him on by the sidelines.

“Take this banana,”  Kyungsoo ran back and coaxed the more exhausted member. “It will give you energy, and it will also help you stay focused.”

Minseok eyes widened as he stared at the fruit. Should he take it?

He thought deeply. Eating the single piece of food would relieve him of his endless, disturbing and unaccustomed hunger, but it would also ruin all his past efforts to lose weight.

Everyone watched the scene in suspense.Would he accopt it or ignore the offer? 

His health was on the line, but so was his pride.

The tense atmosphere heightened as Minseok sighed in defeat.

He shamelessly wanted to grab the fruit, peel it, and devour it all at once without guilt. But as he saw his chubby reflection through the training room’s huge and unavoidable mirrors, he felt uncommonly disgusted in himself.

That was when he decided not to give in.

Minseok desperately needed confidence. But before he could earn that, he needed a praise-worthy appearance. Minseok had to lose weight. There was no alternative choice.

“I don’t need food,” he silently encouraged himself. “I can survive the way I am now.”

The other members gave each other subtle looks of worry and disturbance. They did not at all enjoy observing the erratic behavior of their hyung.

Everyone complied with his decision, but not a single person welcomed it.

_ _ _

“Minseok hyung, you have to eat more,” Tao stated with a slight Chinese accent. The older boy stared down at his plate. It was lunch time, but anyone would consider the amount of food which he took to be immensely meager.

Only a few leaves of lettuce with no dressing lay on his plate. There was no meat, no bread, no rice and definitely no sweets. At least ten bottles of water also surrounded Minseok, and he was already through with half of them.

The other members stared at him with widened eyes and slightly agaped mouths.

 “You have no protein or carbohydrates,” Jongin pointed out, “that’s definitely not healthy.”

“Hyung,” Sehun started to ask while looking at all the finished and discarded bottles of water, “are you going on a water diet? If so, then that’s not right at all!”

Minseok smiled lightly at his friends; he truly appreciated their concern. He opened another water bottle and stated, “I don’t think I’m going to prolong this type of diet, Sehunnie, but my stomach does fill up more from the calorie-free drink.”

Minseok gulped down 500 milliliters worth of water within a minute. He turned back to his friends and smiled lightly.

“It is also the most effective in helping me forget my hunger.”

_ _ _

The Exo members started to live together in the same dorm a few months before their debut. After the long and endless practice day, everyone stumbled through the door. Many of them could barely take another step. Minseok was in the most miserable state.

The members started to scatter all throughout the limited area. Some went straight to their shared rooms while the others immediately collapsed on the couch.

Kris shook his head in disapproval. While entering the tiny kitchen, he suggested to them, “Get up and change, guys. It’s not healthy to act like that.”

Kris exited the kitchen while holding an instant ramen cup filled with steaming water. “Would you like to share some with me, Minseok?” he casually asked the member who continued to stand absentmindedly near the entrance of the dorm.

Minseok snapped out of his trance as his head immediately turned to Kris’ direction. Instantly, his eyes befell on the newly opened cup. The tempting smell reached his area, and he stared longingly at the common yet delectable looking noodles. The steam that escaped out of the lid made a small cloud before Kris' eager eyes. Minseok’s empty stomach growled blatantly, and he his lips in immense desire. He could barely control his senses.

“Uh-um, I-I,” Minseok stuttered. His entire fatigue and voracious body screamed for him to accept the offer, but his conscience bit back ferociously. He knew for certain that if he took the empty calorie–filled snack, his entire diet would fail. He would instantly give in to all his other cravings.

Just imagine that it’s already in your mouth; you’re chewing it slowly, Minseok thought to himself desperately. Just pretend that you’re already eating it. Your stomach will respond well.

But it did not.

“I-I’ll just go to bed,” Minseok finally answered. If he waited another second in front of the ramen, he would become delirious. Without thinking twice, Minseok dashed up the stairs leading to his room and slammed the door behind him.

“I wouldn’t give in. I shouldn’t give in.” He panted without control. Minseok hysterically looked around his room. His eyes finally met the full length mirror in the corner. He rushed to it.

“How do I look now?” he muttered to himself without caring if his roommate heard. No one was there in the room anyways, Luhan was probably sprawled in the couch downstairds.

“Is there any improvement? Is my weight loss obvious enough?”

Minseok stared at the body which he dangerously worked to improve on. His cheeks, stomach, arms and his legs were his greatest concern.

Unsatisfied silence followed his inspection.

Minseok deeply sighed in defeat as he gradually fell to the ground. His lifeless body would no longer support the weight that he still needed to lose. 

Minseok was trying so, so hard, but something must have been wrong. Although the fat had decreased noticeably, it was not enough. He was still huge.

Minseok's hope started to fade away. For now, he would not grab on to it. He was too tired. 

During the past months, Minseok had already tried numerous, severe diets.

The Water Diet, the Air Diet, the Zen Diet, and countless more were already experimented on.

However, none of them had satisfactory results, and not a single one of them lasted more than a week.

Minseok had to continue his diet. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Some types of dangerous diets:

Water Diet - It's a form of starvation. While doing this, many drink only water with a rare exception of watery foods like grapes or watermelon. However, this diet is dangerous because your metabolism will slow down permanently. Aout 70% of weight-loss is muscle and not fat. It would take years to regain whatever muscle you have lost from this diet. 

Air Diet - Instead of focusing on what you eat or what proportions will be considered too much, you focus on breathing. This diet focuses on the psychological state of a person, but I personally find it to be a very desperate joke. I mentioned the Air Diet in this chapter merely because it stood out to me. Really, how can one last three days with only air?

Zen Diet - Only eat food in its natural state. Therefore, one should consume mostly fruits and vegetables while limiting raw meat. This diet is defective because you will not receive protein and beneficial fats. The body will not be able to stabilize blood sugar and decrease inflammation.

Do not copy these.