Tao sits cross-legged, at the end of Kris’ bed, tossing Ace up in the air and catching it with both hands.

“Yah, Zitao, what are you doing to my son?” Kris rebuked, as he looked up from zipping his suitcase.

Tao snickers in glee, throwing Kris’ stuffed alpaca into the air again.

“Hyung, I’m bored. You’ve been packing your luggage for hours. You know we’re only going to China for 4 nights right? Why does it seem like you are packing all your belongings?”

Kris turned away to attach a combination lock to his suitcase, mumbling, “You know I always want to look good right? Just taking along some of my favourite accessories and stuff.”

“SOME!? Hyung, you won’t even be able to wear them all! We’re going to be in the prepared stage costumes the whole time!” Tao argued, standing up with Ace tucked under his arm.

Kris pretended not to listen, as he rummaged through a bedside drawer to see if he forgot anything. He didn’t have much to take with him. Most of his clothing and footwear were sponsored and shared between the members- he was not taking any of those. Many were gifts from his fans- a lot, actually- he could not take everything either.

Tao sighed, “Whatever, Hyung. I’m hungry, I’m going over to K to find Kyungsoo.” He put Ace down on Kris’ bed and heads out the door.

Kris looked wistfully at the stuffed alpaca sitting on his bed. He would not have the space to pack his “son”. He went out the bedroom, passing the living room where Luhan and Minseok were engrossed in watching a football match on TV. “He wasn’t looking at the damn ball, what a loser!” Minseok yelled angrily, as Luhan put his face in his palms.

Kris reached the door of the dorm’s walk-in wardrobe, one with a handwritten sign on A4 paper that read, “BYUN BAEKHYUN KEEP OUT. Stop stealing our clothes. Love, EXO M.” He pushed open the door and entered, stumbling as he tripped over a pile of Luhan’s unwashed clothing on the floor. He was going to have to set more house rules around here. Cursing under his breath, Kris fumbled around for the light switch. The light flickered on as Kris walked towards his closet, trying to recall the mental packing list he made several days ago.

“I think I’ve got everything”, Kris thought out loud, as he spun around to look around the room. The wall of polaroids caught his eye and Kris grimaced.

It was an “EXO timeline” that the maknaes Sehun and Tao had made, with the new set of Fujifilm Instax camera and film Sehun had received for his birthday in 2012. Every important milestone the boys had achieved so far, was photographed and commemorated on a corkboard by the duo. The masterpiece had originally been placed in K’s dorm living room but mischievous Tao had “won” it in an arm-wrestling match with Jongin several months ago. “It gives me strength every morning when I get dressed!” Tao had chimed back then.

Kris could not bear to look at the EXO timeline for another minute. He flicked the light switch off and left the wardrobe room. Luhan and Minseok were still watching the match, this time Luhan was punching a cushion in rage as Minseok slouched backwards disappointed. Kris paused for a moment as he thought to himself. Would he miss the members? Would he miss dorm life?

There were occasions in the past 6 years when he had detested dorm life. Times when he needed the bathroom but someone was using it for hours. Often, he would get impatient and push open the bathroom door, only to find Tao asleep in the bathtub with the water running. Not forgetting the time Luhan set off the fire alarm at 4am in the morning when he left ramen cooking on the stove while he played computer games. Luhan later blamed it on Kris because he had finished the last cup ramen, leaving Luhan with the option of having to cook packet ramen. The pair gave each other the cold shoulder for the rest of the day. Then there were the times, Chanyeol and Baekhyun would come over to M’s dorm to muck around, only because they had been told off by Kyungsoo for making too much noise in K’s dorm. Jongdae would join in and the completed Beagle Line would create a ruckus, making it nearly impossible to have a peaceful nap.

But there was also the time, during the group’s annual break, when Kris had returned from his short trip to Guangzhou, back to an empty dorm because China Line were due to return the next day and both Minseok and Jongdae had also gone home to their parents’. Before he even had time to let loneliness hit him, Sehun came bursting into M’s dorm, greeting Kris with a bear hug, yelling “Hyung! Hyung! You’re back! Boy am I glad to see you! You don’t know how boring it has been around here. Joonmyeon is making me read books on self-improvement during the break just because I’m spending it in the dorm. that, lets’ go to the movies!” Man, he loved that brat. You could not hate Oh Sehun, you just could not. They spend the rest of that day at the cinema, drinking bubble tea and shooting hoops at the basketball court. “Hyung you are the coolest, but you already know that!” Sehun would often say everytime Kris showed him some basketball moves.

Then there was also the time Kris had been in the studio all day, having a photo shoot for a magazine article on fashion styling. It was his birthday, yet he was at work, and worse still, none of the members had wished him a Happy birthday when he left the dorm that morning. Not a single text message or call either. At the end of the shoot, he trudged home grudgingly, dropping by a convenience store to grab a sandwich for his “birthday dinner”. When he had opened the front door of M’s dorm that evening, there was an outburst of Baekhyun-style shrieking as several party poppers set off- Kris had been so surprised he could not react. “Duizhang where were you! Manager hyung said you left the studio long ago, you took this long to reach home!? What’s the use of such long legs? The pizzas and chicken are getting cold!” Chanyeol yelled as Tao koala-hugged Kris and several camera shutters went off. Joonmyeon had also appeared from the kitchen with a lighted birthday cake baked by Kyungsoo and Jongin; and only after another of his cheesy Suho speeches, all 11 members celebrated Kris’ birthday. “Birthday speech! Birthday speech!” the Beagle Line chanted, later that night. “Should I dance?” Kris said excitedly, as he shot up. “No, Hyung, please sit back down” Sehun scolded, pushing him backwards as the rest laughed hysterically. He received many presents that night too, the most memorable was from Yixing, who customized a pair of Ray-Bans for him, which bore his initials at the sides. “This would look good on me too!” Baekhyun had said jokingly as he tried it on.

Would he miss the members? Would he miss dorm life? Kris didn’t know the answer to those questions.  It was too late for that now, he had made up his mind. He was leaving.