“I guess this is it then.” Kris utters quietly, just loud enough for the eleven members standing before him at the doorway say their final farewells.

A month has past since the news of Kris leaving EXO has blown up the k-pop world. In the past 30 days, netizens have been frenzy as news of their leaders departure spread all over various news sites, and SM Entertainment has stopped promotions for their newest single “Overdose” as many fans boycotted and protested for Kris to change his decision. The Chinese members too have flown in from their China promotions to their dorm to bid their leader goodbye.

They all stand in a line before him, unknowingly in the exact order they find themselves posing in for at every event and photo shoot.

“I guess I’ll start with you,” he says to the tall male on his far left, pacing to him slowly. “Now that you’ll be the groups only main rapper, you better make rap and dance two times better than me, okay?”

“Rap, I can do,” Chanyeol replies, “But as for your dancing… two times zero equals zero, right?”

Kris softly punches Chanyeol’s shoulder as the both chuckle to themselves. The corners of their mouths are lifted highly, but their eyes share the same sadness.

“Sehun,” the two boys share a small brief smile. Their relationship out of the twelve boys was probably the least close. There was always a vibe of animosity between the bratty maknae and the serious elder, and the members even picked up on this too. They didn’t care to follow each other when they both created Instagram accounts too.

“I still remember when you were 14. You’ve grown into a fine man, Sehun.” Sehun nods at smiles at Kris. He doesn’t know what to say without seeming too awkward, so he just smiles and nods in response; the two weren’t the closest after all. “Remember to listen to Suho from now on. And whenever you are promoting as 11, make sure to listen to your new leader too.” Sehun responds  with faster nods, and Kris just pats him on the shoulder before stepping aside to the next person.

“Kyungsoo-ah, still as short as I remember!” the elder jokes.

“Shush you!” Kyungsoo pouts, doe eyes gazing to the floor.

“I’m only kidding, Soo. I think I’ll miss your cooking the most. Make sure to keep all the other members full and healthy, okay?”

“Yes, Hyung.”

“Good.” He shuffles onto the next person while he continues, “I’ll be coming back soon for your kimchi spaghetti!” The the share a smile, the shorter males lips press against his teeth into that signature heart shape smile as he accepts Kris’ proposition to return. At the back of their minds, they both know it'll be hard to make time for each other in the future.

“Yixing,” he says, switching into Mandarin. “You’ve seen it first hand with me, so I have high expectations of you. I won’t be here anymore to lead you all, so it’s your responsibility now, okay?”

“Of course, Wifan.” Lay bows.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned about leading this group, you have to trust your instincts. If Tao messes up, make sure to scold him. If you think Sehun should be in the middle for the dance break, speak up okay? Remember it’s all for the greater good of the group. I’m leaving everything in your responsible hands, and I’m sure you can lead the members better than I did.”

Lay nods, his features falling before Kris’ eyes as he fails to compose himself, trying to keep tears from falling. “Okay,” His voice breaks. “Thanks, Hyung.”

He paces to the next person in line, and the two boys just share a comfortable silence as they look into each other’s eyes, quietly but mutually recalling all the good and bad times they had.

“Thanks for everything, Luhan. It’s all I can say right now. Thanks for listening, thanks for being a Hyung when times got rough. You really helped me.”

“You know I’ll always be here, right? I’m one call away.”

“I know.” He smiles an assuring one. Patting the older male on the shoulder, he moves onto the next member in line.

“Jongin, Jongin.” He says jokingly as he steps towards the blonde dancer, switching back to his Korean words. “Calm down on the chicken, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah!” Jongin retorts playfully.

Jongin earns a chuckle from Kris before continuing, “No, but really, thank you for all those times you stayed back and helped me with the choreography. I’ll miss our 4am practice sessions.”

“Same with your rap lessons, Hyung.” The tanned male replies.

He steps in front of the next man, and with their soft stares exchange mutual feelings of understanding. “You are a great leader, Suho. I’m sorry I have to go, but Lay can be the new father around here now.”

“It won’t be the same