On the day Luhan decided on his departure, he was worried about one person’s reaction and one person only.

            Beijing would be the last time, and all of the members knew it. When the concert ended, a couple members silently gave him pats on the shoulder, while others were more encouraging about his decision and gave him words of kindness and optimism.

            “I’ll be praying for you,” Yixing had said to him. “Your health is more important than anything else.”

            Luhan nodded with a sad smile, then looked around. There was one person missing from the scene, the person that he wanted to see the most.

            “Has anyone seen Sehun?” Luhan asked.

            The members exchanged glances, but none of them knew where their little maknae had run off to. But even though Luhan had been the person who asked, he felt like he knew exactly where that bubble tea-loving boy was.

            Out in the back parking lot, sitting in the company van, was Oh Sehun himself. He’d already changed out of his concert outfit, had his hair covered in one of his signature snapbacks, and seemed to be in deep thought.

            “Hey,” Luhan said as he opened the door to the van. “I was looking for you.”

            Sehun coldly looked the other way. “Well you found me,” he mumbled.

            “I wanted to thank you,” Luhan said. “For holding my hand out there. It really means a lot to me that you support my—

            “—I didn’t do it because I support you leaving,” Sehun interrupted. “I did it for the fans. You know they’re always closely watching for our moments.”

            Luhan’s face fell, his smile gradually falling apart. “Oh,” he replied. “Well then I guess that’s also good. HunHan is still really popular, I hear.”

            “Yeah. Too bad it’s going to end soon.”

            “Sehun,” Luhan finally said, frustrated. “I know you’ve been mad at me since I told the members. But can you please understand that I’m doing it because it’s the best for my health?”

            “And can’t you see that I don’t give a ?”

            Sehun was acting like a brat and he knew it. Even so, Sehun couldn’t help but be selfish at the moment. Luhan was leaving. He was leaving the industry, the company, the team, the freaking country.

            He was also leaving him. And that’s what was hurting him the most.

            Luhan looked hurt, no doubt about it. Seeing his face so pained hurt Sehun more than anything, but of course he was trying to hide it to the best of his ability.

            “You haven’t cried at all,” Luhan finally replied. “You cried for Kris. But you haven’t cried for me.”

            Sehun shrugged, now trying to swallow down the huge lump that was building in his throat. He wouldn’t let himself cry for Luhan, he just wouldn’t.

            Luhan knew that there was no use getting through to Sehun now. With tears b his eyes and his body growing weak from giving it his all in his last performance with Exo, Luhan now put a gentle hand on Sehun’s shoulder.

            “Take care, Sehun-ah.”

            Luhan took one last look at him before turning away, the whole scene seemingly playing out in slow-motion.

            Sehun couldn’t quite believe that Luhan would actually leave, so when he turned around he’d half expected to see him still standing there, with that big beautiful smile on his face and everything else that he loved about him. He’d even half expected to wake up and find out that it was all a dream, that Luhan was perfectly healthy and wasn’t leaving after all.

            That night was the last time that anyone would be seeing Luhan for a while. In the end, a good amount of members had said their goodbyes to him, superficial or not.

            But one boy remained silent, distant. He hadn’t said a word to Luhan that night; he hadn’t even hugged him one last time, not thinking about how he would regret it in the future.

            It was clear that Sehun changed after Luhan left. His smiles became more forced, his eyes dull and lacking light, and he suddenly had the impulse to drink. His nights became sleepless and unpleasant, which was dangerous considering sleep was one of the most important things to get when you’re a top-notch idol.

            But nope, Sehun now hardly slept at all. He would much rather drink. And drink.

            “Sehun-ah, where do you think you’re heading off to?” Suho barked as Sehun was now, once again, grabbing his jacket from the coat hanger to run off to a bar at two in the morning.

            “Hang out with friends,” he dully replied.

            Suho crossed his arms. “No, you’re not. We have dance practice tomorrow and you need to be in your best shape.”

            Sehun didn’t reply, instead silently putting on his shoes.

            “Look,” Suho said, tired. “It’s been months, almost a year. When is this phase of yours going to stop?”

            “I’m fine.”

            Suho and practically everyone else already knew what was the cause of Sehun’s drastic and unwanted change. No one just had the guts to say it, much less mention the taboo name. But now, Suho took the bait.

            “You could’ve at least persuaded him to stay.”

            Him.

            No words needed to be said. The two of them already knew.

            Even so, Sehun faked it. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”

            “Luhan,” Suho went on, “wanted to hear your words more than anyone else’s. He worried about you the most regarding his decision and if you told him to stay, he would’ve done it in a heartbeat.”

            “No,” Sehun said quickly. “He wouldn’t.”

            “Luhan’s health might’ve reached a complete low. Even now from what I’ve heard he’s not even at his full potential. But he could’ve taken an alternate route, he didn’t have to leave. He—

            “—can you shut up about it?” Sehun asked angrily. “You’ve already mentioned his name twice. Do you ing want me to remember everything again?”

            “Because you need to,” Suho argued. “You need to remember what you had with him because that’s what’s going to save you. You’ve been trying to run away from it for almost a year now and look where it’s gotten you: it’s turned you into an alcoholic, into the maknae who can hardly keep up with the group’s dances. When was the last time you actually rehearsed for a solo stage, huh?”

            “I don’t have time for this I’m leaving.”

            “I just want to know one thing,” Suho said, stopping Sehun in his tracks. “Did you…did you ever cry? For Luhan?”

            The members knew how easy of a crier Sehun was, especially when it came to his hyungs, so it shocked everyone when Sehun hadn’t shed a single tear during Luhan’s debacle.

            “No,” Sehun said coldly. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t admit it.” Then he left for another drink, another night at another bar, another attempt at forgetting the person who was hurting him most.

            That night at the bar however, he was thinking of Luhan more than usual. Sehun drank cup after cup, wishing that the pain would go away. But it didn’t.

           It was true that Sehun hadn’t cried at all regarding Luhan’s situation, but it wasn’t because he hadn’t cared. If anything, he’d been too numb to the entire thing to even shed a single tear.

            “Sehun-ah.”

            It was a voice, a voice that sounded all too familiar to his ears. Sehun smirked to himself and took another sip of his drink. His mind had deteriorated to a point where he was now hallucinating.

            “Sehun-ah,” the voice said again.

            And the second time around, Sehun now knew that he wasn’t just hallucinating anymore.

            Eyebrows furrowed in confusion and hidden hopes, he turned around.

            Standing there in the flesh was none other than Luhan himself. He looked a lot healthier now, with some life inflated back into his eyes and a healthy glow emerging from his face, which was a stark contrast to Sehun’s dark eyes and pale, gaunt exterior.

            “Hello, Sehun-ah. It’s been a long time,” Luhan said.

            Instead of giving him a friendly smile and a warm embrace, Sehun glared at him. “What the hell are you doing here?” he growled.

            Luhan looked down at the ground, disappointed. “I guess you’re not happy to see me.”

            “No. I’m not. Plus, you still haven’t answered my question,” Sehun coldly replied.

            “It’s been a year,” Luhan continued, ignoring Sehun’s response. “And you’re still holding it against me?”

            “You know us Aries,” Sehun said absentmindedly. “We like war.”

            “We might,” Luhan said. “But I don’t like it when it’s with you. Sehun-ah, we used to not be able to go twenty minutes without making up, and now it’s been a year. Please, talk to me.”

            Sehun still remained stubborn, and silent.

            Luhan was getting awfully frustrated, but made an effort to maintain his composure. “If you really want to know…I came back for you.”

            Sehun rolled his eyes. “Bull.”

            “I’m telling the truth,” Luhan pressed. “The members have been getting really worried about you. You were never one to drink but now you go out every single night? And you look like you’re going to pass out any second and—

            “—it was Suho wasn’t it?” Sehun asked. “He was the one that told you all that, right? Well you don’t have to waste your time because I’m fine.”

            “I’m not wasting my time, I really want to fix things between us,” Luhan said earnestly.

            “I’ve had enough.” Sehun angrily slammed a hundred dollar bill onto the counter and stormed out of the bar.

            The night air was chilly and cold. Sehun walked brisk steps as he tried to distance himself from Luhan as much as possible. But, the deer has always been the faster one.

            “If you didn’t want me to leave then you should’ve just said so!” Luhan cried as he blocked Sehun’s path.

            “How could I?” Sehun asked. “You wanted to leave. I couldn’t have just told you to stay for my own selfish benefit.”

            “Maybe not. But I still…” Luhan paused and bit his lip, hesitant.

            “Still what?” Sehun asked.

            “…still wish that you’d said something,” Luhan replied. “Absolutely anything. Anything at all, and I would’ve reconsidered. Just for you.”

            The words the two have been bottling up inside now lay out like an open textbook. Words were spoken, the cards were out. It was now evident to the both of them that what they had and what they had felt still remained.

            Sehun broke out into a smile, and in that moment his entire face seemed to light up. Luhan smiled back at him, because seeing his other half smile will always make him smile in an instant.

            What happened next was quite interesting. For about a month now, Seoul had only seen overcast, clouded night skies. The moon would be nowhere to be found, shadowed.

            But now, as the two looked up at the night sky, the clouds parted away to showcase the full bright moon shining above.

            They didn’t know what the future was going to bring, but they did know that they will always have each other to lean onto. Across continents, across oceans and seas large and wide, despite the obstacles and everything in between, Hun will always have his Han. And that’s a promise.

A/N: :')