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Prologue

“The Beginning or The End”

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Tao didn’t even realize that something was different in the way Kris hugged him goodbye. He knew Kris was going to stay behind a few more days in China. He didn’t know it would be much longer. He didn’t know that that moment would be their last together as EXO-M. In hindsight he realized he should have known something was happening. Just from the way the leader took the maknae’s hand, looked in his eyes or the way his hug seemed to last longer than usual. However, at the time, Tao was so excited after their wonderful trip back home in China that all these signs had gone unnoticed by him. How could he have known to be suspicious? Why would he have even considered a world where EXO was 11 instead of 12? Now that he did know what would happen, Tao wished he had realized something was going on. He wished somehow he could’ve been more aware. If he had perhaps maybe he could have done something to persuade his leader to stay or at least have softened the blow. Instead, Tao had been taken completely by surprise. The news caused so much confusion, anger, sadness and pain that it had torn a big hole in him. He had so many thoughts running through his head. So many things he wanted to say. But the loudest and most prominent one was this.

“You didn’t tell me.”