Minseok looked at his reflection in the mirror for the nth time, sighing as he glanced at the clock. He couldn't stall anymore. He had to go. Today was the day that Luhan would be announcing his wish to leave EXO. Before he did that, he wanted to say goodbye to everyone and had requested for everyone to meet him one last time before he left. 

Minseok hadn't wanted to go. Luhan and him had already said their goodbyes, having talked for hours 3 days ago, eventually falling asleep in the kitchen, their coffees untouched. There was no need for him to have to go meet up with Luhan. But he had to. If he didn't, Luhan would feel bad and guilty and Minseok didn't want that. 

Minseok took a deep breath. You can do this. Stay strong. Keep smiling. For Luhan. He smiled at the mirror before turning and walking down the stairs. He could hear Sehun's sobs from here. Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm. Minseok reached the living room and was met with the sight of Luhan hugging an inconsolable Sehun, who was sobbing uncontrollably while Joonmyun patted the maknae's back with a gentle smile on his face. Yixing and Jongdae were on either side of Luhan, almost like bodyguards, Minseok mused. Chanyeol and Baekhyun were standing near the suitcases, discussing something quietly. Jongin was next to Kyungsoo who was clutching the lunchbox that Minseok had watched him prepare for Luhan the night before. Next to them was a solemn Zitao whose gaze was fixed on the floor. 

Minseok watched this from behind the wall slightly, so they couldn't see him. He heard Joonmyun coax Sehun and eventually, the sobs died down. Minseok still couldn't bring himself to turn the corner and face Luhan. He heard Joonmyun speak up. "Now, it's only Minseok hyung who needs to say goodbye." Minseok shifted slightly but didn't move otherwise. "He should be here, Minseok hyung, that is! Even if he is upset, he should still say goodbye! Even Zitao managed to sort out his feelings!" He heard Sehun exclaim. 

"It's alright. We've already said goodbyes. There's no reason for him to have to come." Luhan said but his voice was filled with hurt and disappointment and regret and that caused Minseok to make up his mind. He turned the corner and made his appearance known. He focused on Luhan as the boy lifted his head and their eyes met. The boy's face curved into a beautiful smile and his eyes seemed to sparkle. Minseok painted a confident smile on his own face. 

"Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?" He teased, his voice forced to sound light and casual. Luhan laughed and Minseok knew it was fake. "Of course not." The boy said cheerfully. Minseok stood with the smile frozen on his face, not sure of how to proceed with his act. "Uh, well I'm here!" He tried and winced as soon as the words left his mouth. Luhan froze as well and his smile fell. He nodded, suddenly serious. "You are. You always are." The boy said. 

Minseok didn't know how to respond to that. "Well, stay strong. It's going to be hard to go against SM, I mean, they are one of the biggest-" He was interrupted by Luhan's soft call. "Baozi." Luhan held out his arms. Minseok bit his lip and quickly walked over, wrapping his arms around Luhan and holding on tightly. "Lu-ge." Minseok whispered into the boy's shoulder. Luhan let out a shuddering breath and Minseok wanted to cry. 

"Just ask. Once." Luhan whispered quietly into Minseok's ear, his breath tickling Minseok's ear. Minseok knew the boy was talking about leaving. He knew that Luhan would stay if Minseok asked him to. But he couldn't. No matter how much he wanted the boy to stay, he couldn't tell him that. That would be selfish. Luhan would be unhappy. 

The first thing you need to know about love is sacrifice; you must be able to sacrifice your happiness for the other person. That is true love. 

Minseok wanted to scream and cry and cling to Luhan. But he simply smiled and let go of Luhan's embrace, stepping back. "Take care of yourself." Minseok said. "You too." Luhan whispered back, his hand reaching out to cup Minseok's cheek. "Let's meet up one day." Minseok said, his voice getting a bit shakier again. Control your emotions, for 's sake, he thought to himself. Luhan took in a breath. "Don't forget me." The younger boy pleaded. Minseok shook his head. "Like I could." He replied truthfully. 

Luhan smiled slightly at that. "I love you." The boy whispered, for the last time. "I love you too." Minseok replied, for the last time. And then Luhan pulled him close, their lips brushing over each other's in a fluttering kiss that became a promise. A promise to meet again, to be together again. "This is not a goodbye." Luhan said. Minseok nodded. "I know." He reassured. "This is a 'see you later'." Luhan joked but his expression was serious. Minseok nodded again. 

Luhan stepped back then and they shook hands. "See you later, Kim Minseok." Luhan said determinedly. "See you later, Xi Luhan." Minseok responded. And then Luhan let go.

He said his last goodbyes (again) to the other members, thanking Kyungsoo repeatedly for the lunch box and then hurriedly consoling him when the boy broke down in tears, giving Yixing a sloppy kiss on the cheek and doing a best friends handshake that only the both of them understood. He hugged Jongin and Jongin promised to call his next dog 'Lulu' whilst crying. 

Chanyeol joked with Luhan and made the mood lighter, making everyone laugh. He then went on to hug and assure Luhan that he would contact the older boy no matter what. Baekhyun managed to keep his tears in for the most part and went through his goodbyes in his usual dramatic way, doing the titanic with Luhan. Jongdae, like a typical mother, made sure Luhan had everything and double-checked in case. He reminded Luhan about what to do and where to go despite Luhan knowing everything already. Joonmyun and Luhan embraced next and Joonmyun announced that Luhan would always be an EXO member. Luhan began to cry then and this caused Zitao, who had been quiet up till now, to burst into tears and they both hugged, their faces contorted into ugly expressions. Minseok sat on the couch next to Sehun (who had already said his goodbyes) and waited, trying to breathe normally. Stay calm. Don't cry. 

When the goodbyes were over and Luhan was heading out of the door, the boy turned back and caught Minseok's eye. He nodded and Minseok nodded back. Then the boy was gone, the door shutting behind them. None of the members could go drop him off at the office because they had training in an hour. "He's really gone." Sehun said hoarsely from next to Minseok. 

He's really gone.

Minseok stood up and with a tired sigh, walked slowly up the stairs. "Hyung? Do you need anything?" He heard Jongdae call out hesitantly. Minseok didn't stop. "I'll be fine." He called back, his voice weary and shaky. When he reached his room, he locked the door and went to his bed. He reached underneath it and brought out a box. The box was filled with the comments that Luhan had written down the day the day they had first kissed; the ones he had hung up in the training room. 

Minseok looked at a random paper. He couldn't read the words. Why can't I read them? It was only when a drop came on the paper that he realized he was crying. And his heartbroken sobs filled the air. 

~~~

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