It had been an amazing day and that's what made the ending even worse, in Luhan's opinion.

It had been their 10 month anniversary and they had gone on a date; him and Xiumin. Luhan had planned everything out perfectly, made secret arrangements and asked for favours from shady people (D.O.) in order to have the best day ever. The managers had given them a day off and even said that none of them would be visiting the house that day. Luhan had felt such freedom as the managers had left in the morning, reminding them to be on their best behaviour. Luhan had told Xiumin to get ready in his best clothes. 

Laughing, Xiumin had tried to figure out what was going on but in the end had agreed, Luhan's obvious entusiasm exciting the calm boy. Xiumin had dressed up (and looked beautiful) and they left 10 minutes later, promising to be back in 5 hours. The members, according to Luhan's detailed and careful plan, got everything set up. The furniture was moved to the side so that there was a large space in the middle.

Kris, Tao and Sehun, with their eye for art and fashion set up the decorations. Suho and Lay went to personally get the cake they had ordered (a chocolate cake!) two days ago. It was to have the EXO logo as well as a 'Happy 10 months!' and a little card that said 'Xiumin and Luhan' in cursive font. Kai and Baekhyun had borrowed a karaoke machine from SHINee (who had been extremely confused but willing) and were currently fixing it up in the center of the living room. D.O., and his two assistant- Chanyeol and Chen- were cooking dinner. They had, per Luhan's request- made Kimchi Spaghetti, Ramyun and cooked hanwoo beef. The drinks that D.O. had hidden in the fridge for 2 days now- coke, sprite and fanta- were brought out and poured into giant pitchers. 

Everything was set up, exactly like Luhan had explained a week ago. The members had agreed to help with mixed reactions, some being lazy about it (Baekhyun, Sehun and Tao), some indifferent (Kris and D.O.), some overenthusiastic (Chanyeol, Chen and Suho), and others, well, others forgot all about it until the day (Lay and Kai). Although some would never admit it, they were all very happy for the couple and excited to see Xiumin's reaction to the brilliant set up. 

Whilst this was being set up, Luhan had taken Xiumin to different places in Seoul; places which meant something special to them. The first coffee shop they went to together (where they drank their favourite coffees), the most frequented soccer field (where they played a game despite their fancy clothes which if a speck of dirt came on, the stylist noona would kill them), the only stall which Luhan knew of in Korea which sold steamed buns (they ate steamed buns and Luhan called Xiumin baozi) and lastly, visited the dancing studio where they had first kissed (and they kissed, lightly and heavily, passionate and teasing, long and short). Afterwards, when Luhan confessed for the millionth time his love, Xiumin gave the most amazing smile that Luhan had ever seen and had kissed the boy, slow and passionate before insisting that he loved Luhan more. 

When they went back to the dorm, they were both in high spirits. Their happiness was increased when the members jumped out and yelled 'Surprise'. Xiumin had instantly began to laugh as Luhan pretended to be surprised by the arrangment. After admitting that he had known from the start (Chanyeol wasn't exactly discreet), Xiumin had thanked the members sincerely.

They had then proceeded to play karaoke. Baekhyun and Chanyeol had enthusiastically sang (and, unfortunately, danced) 'Gee' and 'I Got a Boy' by Girls Generation. D.O. had sung a slow ballad and Chen had sung a chinese song with Lay accompanying him. The three maknaes, Tao, Kai and Sehun had done a rap song with a special featuring of Kris. Suho had sang with true passion and had been ridiculed by his dongsaengs. Xiumin and Luhan had sweetly ended it with 'You are my sunshine' and Luhan had cheesily called Xiumin his sunshine afterwards. Xiumin had playfully smacked him then but later on, as they waited for the others to bring the cake out, he had given Luhan a sweet and heartfelt kiss. 

The cake. It had been amazing. The members had sang a parody of the happy birthday song, changing the 'birthday' to 'anniversary'. They had addressed it to the 'old hyungs' which Luhan had openly vowed to beat them up afterwards for. Xiumin's musical laugh had instantly transformed Luhan's scowl into a smile. They had then eaten the cake, playfully swiping at each other with chocolate smeared hands. After the cake, D.O. had announced the arrival of the food. Xiumin had asked why they had dessert first but Luhan had silenced him with a kiss, telling him that dessert should always be eaten first. 

A surprise dish had accompanied the ones that Luhan had asked for; chicken. Kai had gotten excited at that and Luhan had pretended not to notice D.O.'s slight blush before he had proceeded to exhange a smirk with Xiumin. After the delicious food, everyone had sat down lazily. They were just beginning to watch a movie (a rom com picked by Tao) when the door had been opened rather unexpectedly, the keys being inserted and opening the door much too quickly for any of the 12 boys to react. The manager's voice was heard as he had stepped into the living room. 

Everyone had quickly scrambled to their feet, poking the sleeping Lay to get up. The manager had looked at the setup. The cake was gone but amongst the crumbs there was still the card with 'Xiumin and Luhan' written in bold letters for everyone to see. The decorations included a sign which read 'Xiuhan' in bright and colourful letters. The manager had then glanced at Luhan and Xiumin and noticed the two boys' interwined hands. 

Which brought them to now. 

~
"What the heck is going on here?" the manager boomed in a loud voice. Suho stepped up. "It's just a party-" He was cut off. "Party for whom exactly?" the manager accused. Suho flinched but remained silent, stepping back silently. The silence that spread in the room was heavy and awkward. "Well?" the manager prompted rudely. Luhan cleared his throat, his eyes on the floor. "It's for us." Luhan admitted finally. The manager's eyes filckered between their interwined hands. "Who is us?" he finally asked although he seemed to already know. The silence resumed as Luhan struggled to reply, faltering under the manager's strict gaze. "I-it's me. Me and Minsoek. M-me and Xiumin." Luhan replied finally, his voice shaky. 

When no response came, Luhan curiously glanced up at the manager. He was surprised to see the manager's calm expression. "I see. And did you forget what our contract instated?" He said his tone cold and unaffected. No relationships. No homouality. Luhan nodded and saw from the corner of his eye, Xiumin mimic the nod. He felt his hands being squeezed by Xiumin, as a reassurance or a sign of the boy's nervousness, Luhan didn't know. "So, do you admit that you broke the contract?" the manager asked, his tone spiteful. "That's not fair. It wasn't like they meant to-" Kris's interjection was cut off, just like Suho's. "Be quiet Kris. Let your seniors speak." The manager said in a mocking tone. Kris's eyebrow furrowed slightly but his expression remained otherwise emotionless and his voice silent. "Do you admit to it?" the manager asked, turning back to Luhan and Xiumin. "Yes." Luhan heard Xiumin whisper from beside him. The fingers tightened. The manager chuckled, a scratchy and horrible sound. "Well then. Looks like we have a problem." He voiced out loud. 

The room filled with tension after the words and Luhan felt panic bloom in his chest. "What do you mean?" He heard Xiumin's slightly frazzled reply from next to him. The manager turned to them. "What I mean, is that you two are going to kicked outside of EXO once the higher ups find out about this." the manager said with a smirk. 

And the world fell apart. 

All around, the members began to shout and yell, stating how ridiculous the entire situation was, how it was all a misunderstanding. Luhan and Xiumin remained shocked, frozen in place. He wanted to speak up and say something, but he couldn't. He was unable to move or speak or open his mouth. He was broken from his spell when Xiumin stepped forward. Luhan found his eyes staring at the boy's pale complexion from the news and the widened eyes, filled with indecisiveness. "Luhan." Xiumin whispered, quietly so that only Luhan could hear. "What do we do?" Luhan swallowed. "I don't know." He replied shakily. Xiumin's eyes fluttered shut at the response before a weary resignation rested itself on the boy's narrow shoulders. Xiumin opened his eyes and they were filled with a sadness and helplessness that Luhan had never before seen. He stared at Luhan quietly, glancing at him as if he was memorizing Luhan's features. He then turned forward, an abrupt and sudden action that had Luhan glancing in the same direction. Xiumin let go of Luhan's hand. He unlaced his fingers from the boy's hand and Luhan immediately felt cold, lost without the warmth of Xiumin's hand. Xiumin's hands balled into tiny fists and the boy gave Luhan a last glance. "I'm sorry." The older boy whispered. 

~

What happened next shocked all of them. They watched with open mouths as Xiumin stepped forward and openly bribed the manager, asking how much money it would take for him to keep his mouth shut. The manager originally laughed at first and all Luhan could think was stop, don't. You're going to get him even more upset. What are you doing?

He hadn't anticipated the manager agreeing only on a high sum of money. He hadn't anticipated the manager giving a condition that Luhan and Xiumin would never be together; that they would break it off. He hadn't anticipated the manager threatening to expose them if he ever caught them together in a romantic way.

But what he hadn't anticipated the most was Xiumin agreeing on the high sum. What he hadn't anticipated was Xiumin walking to his room and reappearing with his wallet, bringing forth the required money. He hadn't anticipated Xiumin agreeing that they would never be seen together romantically. He hadn't anticipated the casual tone with which Xiumin turned their love into a fling in the manager's eyes.

He hadn't anticipated it at all. 

~

When the manager left, giving one last threat of exposing them, saying that he would spy on them if necessary, happy with a heavy pocket, a silence came into the room. Never in all their years together had there been a silence quite like this one in the room with the EXO members. Everyone stared, in shock, in disbelief, in confusion, in sadness, in pity, in a mixture of emotions; at the couple. Xiumin's head was hung low as the shorter boy looked at the floor. "How could you?" Luhan finally whispered, his voice choked. Xiumin winced and gulped. "There was no other way." Xiumin sighed. "What do you mean no other way?" Luhan asked, Xiumin's weariness fueling Luhan's anger.

"What else could I do? I fixed the situation. We won't be forced out of EXO now." Xiumin said, his head lifting up as he stared at Luhan with an unidentifiable emotion swimming in his eyes. "What about us? What about our relationship?" Luhan asked angrily, stepping closer to Xiumin. Xiumin's next words, however, forced Luhan to step back three steps. "We don't have a relationship, not really. We don't have a label or anything. What do you call this anyway?" Xiumin replied, his eyes focused on the floor. Luhan felt his stomach drop. "You don't mean that." He whispered, all the anger gone as quickly as it came. Xiumin nodded. "I dont. But that doesn't make it any less true." Xiumin said, his gaze lifting from the floor to Luhan's eyes. 

The members watched silently as the two boys stared at each other. "We can still work this out." Luhan whispered hopefully. Xiumin shook his head. "Not yet. Not now. The manager will be watching us like a hawk from now on. He won't let us have a moment of peace. Although he's left now, he'll be back tomorrow. He'll spend days and nights here at the dorm. He'll watch us, waiting to pounce on us." Xiumin said, his voice forlorn. Luhan shook his head. "I can't let you go. Not now. Not when we've just begun." Luhan insisted. 

Xiumin smiled, a bittersweet smile on his face. "One day maybe. But not now." Xiumin said, his tone final and firm. "I'm not leaving EXO. I can't. My family, they need the money." Xiumin admitted, as if justifying his actions. Luhan scoffed. "And what about me? I need you." Luhan said, his tone sharp but his expression sad and hurt. "I'm sorry." Xiumin replied, soft and sad. The shorter boy turned around and walked to the stairs. Luhan glanced at the retreating back and felt anger and disappointment at how easily Xiumin was giving up. "So, you're going to leave me? I thought you loved me!" He yelled suddenly, an outburst that was filled with hurt and frustration and sadness. Xiumin froze in place, his fists clenched. "You don't understand. When you're older, you might." Xiumin said softly, his body still turned as he hurriedly walked up the stairs and walked into a room, the door shutting with a firm click. The door to the older boy's heart closing with a firm click. Shutting Luhan out with a firm click. 

"We're the same age. What does one month do?" Luhan asked bitterly to no one. Suho stepped up. "Hyung." The boy said with a panicked expression. "Joonmyun-ah. Do me a favour and shut up." Luhan said, a sour expression on his face. Suho's face filled with hurt as he reluctantly nodded, steppin back. "There's no point in getting angry at Joonmyun." Lay said softly as he stepped up behind Luhan. "It's not him you're angry at anyway." Lay added. 

Luhan turned to Suho and regretted his outburst once seeing the hurt on the leader's face. "I'm sorry Joonmyun-ah." He said softly. Suho shook his head. "It's okay, hyung. That doesn't matter right now." He said. "Hyung, you know he didn't mean that. Later on-" Sehun voiced out but was cut off. "No. He was being serious. Xiumin doesn't act on impulses. He does everything with a rational mind." Luhan said, his tone acerbic. Baekhyun shook his head. "Hyung. Minseok hyung wasn't rational with you. With you, he let his heart take control." Baekhyun insisited. 

Luhan smiled bittersweetly. "Maybe that's why he ended it." 

~

It was later in Lay's room that Luhan lay in the bed. D.O. had gone to Xiumin's room for the night so that Luhan could be with Lay. Luhan stared at the ceiling, running through the events of the day and the sudden cruel plot twist. It had been so quick, so sudden and unexpected. He lay there for around 3 hours. These hours were important, in that, these were the hours in which a hatred bloomed in Luhan's heart. Hatred towards the manager, hatred towards the contract, eventually leading to hatred for SM Entertainment. He began to hate the rules that confined him, blaming them for the sudden and unexpected destruction of his relationship with Xiumin and Luhan. 

What would he do? How were they supposed to be with each other now? Luhan didn't know how to answer these questions and truthfully, he didn't really want to think about those questions right now. He was interrupted from his thoughts when Lay entered the room. "Luhan." the boy said, his voice sad. Luhan sat up and his eyes widened. In the younger boy's hands was a wrapped up present. "What is that?" Luhan asked softly, although he immediately knew. He knew who it was from. Lay held them out. "These are from Minseok hyung." He said uncertainly. Luhan's eyes widened and he took the presents, holding them as if they were fragile things. As he studied the red wrapping paper of the present, Lay cleared his throat. Luhan looked up. Lay took a piece of paper out from his pocket. "He wanted you to read this first." the boy explained. Luhan glanced at the paper. He got up from the bed and walked to Lay. He swallowed before letting his hand take the paper, his movements almost mechanical. He read the words as his heart beat erratically in his heart, the words themselves written in clear and careful Korean writing. "What does it say?" Lay asked, not knowing how to read Hangul.

'This was my present for you for today. Kind of ironic now that we- you know. But you might as well have it.'

He translated it dully out loud. He then picked up the present and carefully, slowly, unwrapped the present. Lay watched patiently, his eyes curiously staring at the present. When it was unwrapped, a simple jewellrey was revealed. With his heart beating in his throat, Luhan opened the box. Inside was a necklace, a locket of sorts. 

Luhan carefully ran his hand through the smooth and shiny gold surface of the necklace before taking it out. He carefully and hesitantly opened the locket to see the inside. There were two sides. One one side, it say 'Always' in Korean and on the other 'Together' in Mandarin. 

Lay just managed to catch Luhan as the boy collasped, heartbroken sobs being let out as the young deer-like boy clasped the locket tightly as if it was his lifeline. Lay whispered soft and soothing things into his best friend's ear as the boy repeated: 'Is this the end? Please, it can't be. No. Is this the end?'

~

In the room next door, Xiumin was systematically sorting out his clothes when the sobs from next door were heard. D.O. who had been silently watching Xiumin move around, rose as the older boy sat down heavily on the bed. The clothes were forgotten on the floor as Xiumin's hands began to shake. D.O. crossed the floor of the room and hugged the boy comfortingly. A lone tear fell from Xiumin's eyes; one tear for his one love. D.O. had never before seen Xiumin cry and was shocked. "Hyung, it's okay. It's okay, hyung. Don't worry." D.O. said in a frantic attempt to calm the boy down. Xiumin ignored him as he fell from the bed, sinking to his knees on to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Luhan-ah. I'm so sorry." The older boy whispered, his voice shaky and contrite. D.O. didn't know what he could do but hug the older boy until the shaking subsided and his voice became scratchy from apologizing over and over again.

~~~

Okay, angst time. 

A lot of people (hahaha, more like one/two; stop acting like you have subscribers) seemed to be confused as to whether I would actually have Luhan leaving EXO a part of this fic. As I intend to make it their story, yes, Luhan will be included, he has to be. 
This chapter was therefore essential to the plot. 

Yesterday you got an extremely short update but today you get a really long one. Although it is sad. 

Second last, i think, growl era chapter. Also, for everyone getting upset, there's still the MID era before the Overdose era, remember?

Thank you for subscribing and commenting, if you did. It really means a lot. 

Bye!