Kris files his leave in May. It's not a surprise, but it still hits hard. Xiumin is sure that everyone cried, even the more tough members, who stuck it out in the bathroom to fill the tub with crocodile tears. 

They're still in their Overdose promotions, and now the choreographers are trying to fix all four dances for the song, because the group is one member short. Kris was never a good dancer, but everything is different when one person is gone. 

M has a performance in China, and Xiumin is sitting next to Luhan on the plane right now. The latter has his earbuds in, bobbing his head up and down to music in a language that Xiumin doesn't understand, but still sings in for songs.

Huh, Xiumin thinks, my accent is a lot better than Chen's.

He glances over at the still bobbing Luhan, who opens his eyes and looks at Xiumin. He takes one earbud out, brushing away some of his honey brown hair. Xiumin has always preferred Luhan with black hair. And bangs.

He clears his mind, because why should he be thinking about his favorite color for Luhan's hair, and sees said member holding an earbud out for him. He gladly accepts and pops it in his left ear. The two of them start bobbing together with the beat. 

In the middle, Xiumin recognizes a phrase. Yao yi zhi yi zhi zai yi qi, the voice is singing. 
Xiumin's mind travels back to Kris.

We will always be together.

"We are one" was such a bull catchphrase.

The stylist noonas are prepping the five members up, and Xiumin's hair isn't being cooperative. After a couple rounds with gel, it stays, and his stylist is satisfied. He meets Luhan backstage, and scans everyone's outfits. They're all matching, black suits with diamonds on the cuffs. It's simple and plain. A lot better than the MAMA era, when EXO were still rookies, and failing on multiple variety shows. He didn't speak much anyway, so it wasn't as important. 

"Ready?" Luhan asks.

Xiumin gives an affirmative nod. 

"Yeah, I just need to remember that I gotta move to this spot after-"

Luhan places a hand to Xiumin's lips and signals to the stage. It's time to perform.

Xiumin is most certainly not ready.

He goes through all the steps on stage, and sings his required parts, and a couple choruses later, the performance has come to an end. Xiumin is sure he messed up on something, some crucial little detail, but he shrugs it off. The power of editing fixes everything.

In the van, Xiumin takes his usual spot beside Luhan, but there's an empty seat where Kris used to sit that is quickly filled by Tao. Out of all of the members, Tao seems to be having the hardest time coping. But he needs to learn that Kris is never coming back, that Kris doesn't even exist anymore. Wu YiFan is all that's left. Kris is gone.

Luhan leans his head on Xiumin's shoulder, and Xiumin allows it. It's a normal occurrence, but this time, it feels sweeter, and Xiumin can feel a tug in his heart.  It's different from everything else, but he doesn't know why.

It's the little, subtle gestures that mean the most. And even if Kris is gone, Xiumin still has Luhan to make sure that he doesn't fall down.