Home.

That’s a strange word and a concept Sehun has never understood. He’s spent most of his life living out of suitcases and hopping from hotel to hotel so what is home really. It’s something that Sehun has questioned for majority of his life. It was fun at first, traveling from country to country with the entire world admiring you but Sehun eventually learned with every award came a new burden. It’s ironic how this dream has brought him around the world but it’s really just one huge cage.

That’s why she left.

Seulgi always knew what to do. She always followed her heart so despite the fact that she spent her entire childhood fighting for a spot on the stage, she had no regrets letting it all go when her contract ended. With a bittersweet smile, she walked out of the closest place Sehun has ever come to calling home, packed her bags, bought a one way ticket and boarded that plane to the Golden Coast. They say love conquers all but nobody ever wants to admit that love is not enough. Love wasn’t enough to keep her by his side. Love wasn’t enough for Sehun to drop everything and buy that last minute ticket to follow her. Love simply wasn’t enough for them.

Soon after settling down in a condo by the beach, she rescued a puppy and named him Pringles. Of course. Without him, she overcame her fear of swimming and now surfs the highest, wildest waves without a glint of hesitation. Seulgi tells him of the amazing new taco place that just opened down the street from her condo and her nice neighbor Bernard who always helps her take out the trash. She talks about the sand in her toes and the salt on her skin. She sends him photos of the ocean that is always blue and sometimes, she mentions about the possibility of them. She’s found home all by herself in a place that Sehun isn’t and as more and more time passes by, he’s not sure if he’s meant to be a part of her world anymore.

Two years seemed like forever when he walked into boot camp and it did feel like forever. His flashy stage outfits were replaced with bland shades of earth and his perfect skyline view of Seoul was now the backside of some young boy who has no idea how harsh the world can truly be. The military isn’t so bad he thinks. At least he can feel a little human again.

Everyone talks about going home; home to their families; home to their girlfriends and wives. Sehun thinks of home and he thinks of practice rooms, never ending rehearsals, cameras, hotels and it makes him laugh. This isn’t how home should be. He’s never really known what home is supposed to be like but if he were to make a guess, it should be somewhere with warmth, somewhere with love. It should be a place where he doesn’t have to look over his shoulder or think twice about everything he says before speaking. Home should be a place where he can be just Sehun, not EXO’s Sehun.

He ditches the discharge ceremony and catches a cab without his manager knowing. With only his duffle bag that’s filled with a week’s worth of clothes, Sehun arrives at the airport and buys the first ticket out to LA. It’s not until he’s already boarded the flight that he finally notifies his manager.

“Sehun, get off that plane. There’s things we have to do.”

Sehun leans back in his economy seat and looks out the window of the plane. “I can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t get off? Are they giv—.”

“—No, Hyung. I can’t do this anymore. Bye.”

He turns off his phone and for the first time in a very long time, his heart skips.

When he walks out of the gates, she’s there waiting with her arms crossed and a playful smile on her face. He assumed the company would call her so he was half expecting her alrea