When Minseok and Luhan finally have some times to speak to each other, it’s already late into the night.

EXO and the other crew for The Lost Planet have just done with the farewell party for Luhan —disguised as company’s dinner that night. Tomorrow, all of them will go back to Korea.

All of them—except Luhan, of course.

Because Luhan finally came to his decision to quit from EXO, and will file a lawsuit against their company. To finally fight for his right.

For the other EXO members, there’s no need to exchange any word to have the same mind and let Luhan and Minseok completely alone in their room that night—since they know the two are the closest to each other.

The other must be thinking that Minseok and Luhan will talk about a  lot of things, when the reality is it feels like they suddenly back to the first time they know each other. They just stay silent—don’t know what to say, don’t know what to do.

But then the silent is broken. “Lu.”

“Hm?”

“It’s finally come to this point.”

Silent again. “I know.”

They’re just sitting side by side—looking to the beuatiful night scenery of Beijing’s outside their hotel’s window that night. Letting the beauty of it ease their confused heart.

“Will you comeback?”

Luhan feels someone just grabs his heart and squeezes it hard till the point he feels numb because of that.

“No,” he says. “Beijing is my home. This is where I belong.”

Minseok hopes he doesn’t know the reason behind that answer. But the thing is he knows. He knows it since the past few months.

“Why?” he asks it anyway.

Luhan doesn’t answer it, but his silent feels like “You know why, Minseok-ah.”

On 2012, the first time they stood in front of the big crowds on their first showcase, they stood as 12 people. On 2014, the first time they stood in front of a big crowds on their first concert, they stood as 11 people. And few months after that, they will stand as 10 people.

And Minseok can’t imagine to stay that way after this.

“It will be hard for me on the future after the media know about my lawsuit later. It’s SM Entertainment, afterall. They’ll totally block my activity to Korea for few years ahead. And maybe, when they finally don’t give a about it again, I already quit from entertainment industry.”

The conversation’s starting to kill both of them slowly. They feel like they don’t want to make a longer explanation about it, but they want to talk. They want to hear each other voice for the last time.

Beside, both of Luhan and Minseok know a lot of reason beside that one. And there’s a crucial one from all of it. The one that they avoid the most.

Night’s getting darker and it’s 2 AM in the morning already, they still sit side by side—letting the silent covers their surrounding. Feeling each other presence for the last time.

It’s Minseok again who breaks the silence, “Lu—“

Luhan knows it too well what Minseok will say. “Don’t say it—“

“I love you, Luhan.”

Eight letters, three words, one meaning. Cruel, cruel, cruel.

Maybe Minseok is a quiet person, but Luhan knows that he’s also stubborn at some points.

“I don’t want to hear it, Minseok-ah.”

And Luhan regrets it a lot that Minseok’s stubbornly in love at him.

“It’s wrong—”

And he also feels the same way as Minseok.

“It’s wrong for us to love each other this way.”

Both of them regrets it a lot that the real reason finally came to surface. Faster than they thought it would be.

To be honest, they don’t need each other to say about it to actually acknowledge it. They know it all too well. But maybe they need that to open their eyes more than before. To make their mind—their heart—to accept the reality in front of them.

That it’s a sin for them to be together. That it’s totally wrong to dream a relationship for them.

“Do you remember the thing that I used to say before, Lu?” Minseok ask quietly. “That I believe on Chinese’s legend about red string of fate?”

Minseok doesn’t need to see to know that Luhan heard him and nodding his head for an answer.

“They say the gods tie an invisible red cord around the ankles of those that are destined to meet one another in a certain situation or help each other in a certain way. The two people connected by the red thread are destined lovers, regardless of place, time, or circumstances. This magical cord may stretch or tangle, but never break.”

Minseok reaches for Luhan’s hand and grabs it. It feels cold.

“And I’m still believe that my string leads me to you, Lu.”

And Minseok doesn’t need to have eyes to see the tears on Luhan’s beautiful eyes.

He chuckles—hoping it will ease the guilty inside their heart. “Maybe I’m still too young to say that already. But I’m mature enough to know what my heart wants. And my heart wants your heart to complete me, Lu,” Minseok gives Luhan’s hand a little squezee. “You know it, don’t you?”

Luhan doesn’t know what should he say. Should he simply says yes—

—or should he reminds Minseok the reality once again?

Eventually he chooses to remains silent, just letting his tears flowing to no ends.

“Now, I just need you to promise me something—“

Then again, Luhan knows it too well what Minseok will say. “Minseok-ah, I—“

“Comeback to me someday.”

Luhan also knows that he can’t pretend to push Minseok away when all he wants is to pull him close and even closer.

“It doesn’t need to be fast, so you can take your time. I’ll figure out all the things that make us ‘can’t be together’ and prove it wrong. And I’ll wait till you comeback,” Minseok feels Luhan’s hand squezee him back. “What do you think, Lu?”

Luhan doesn’t want to keep pretending to be anyone else and he clearly doesn’t need any more minute to answer it. “I’ll be back.”

It’s done.

They finally sealed their promise to each other.

Smile is starting to form on their faces, eventhough deep on their mind they know the future won’t be smooth for them. They clearly have society who against them. They have their families who don’t know any single thing about them. They have the other 10 brothers who they need to explain, that Luhan and Minseok are not just a brother to each other—they never were, they never is, they never will be.  

And they still don’t know if they still can be together later. Will they be able to fill each other’s memories. Will they able to be the one who heal each other’s old wound from the past.

But one thing that they know is they have their promise to hold, and maybe when they meet each other again on the future they can start it all over again.