You Who Came From The Exoplanet

Beautiful Goodbye (Xiuchen)

It's 6am on Tuesday, and the street is peacefully empty. Cars are standing empty along the curve, dust caresses the window panes. While driving on the streets, the leaves of late Spring greet me a calm morning. Empty streets also mean that I can get faster to Minseok hyung, who is going to be enlisted in less than 4 hours. 

Yesterday we discussed that everyone had to be at Minseokie hyung's apartment at 8:00 am sharp. I haven't told Minseok hyung that I'd come early today, but I've already informed other member individually about this. The truth is I am not ready to say goodbye to him. The more hours I can spend with him in his last day with us, the more precious it is. 

I finally arrive at hyung's new apartment. I push the home bell, hoping that he's already awoken. I was right, as in less than one minute later, Minseok opens the door. The first thing that catches my attention is his shaved head, which reminds me a lot of Kyungsoo's hair back in 2017. Both of them look cute in this hairstyle though. However, I wouldn't dare to imagine what I would look like in that egg-shelled head. 

"Jongdae, you're so early. Where are the others?" Minseok exclaims. "Don't tell me that you came here early just to surprise me." 

"Well, I am afraid so. Sorry for not being a little brother that you have expected hyung." I chuckle. "Can you let me in now?"

" Fine! Come in come in," Minseok sneers, but his eyes sparkle with excitement, as he leads me to the living room. "I'm making breakfast, do you want a piece of toast?" 

"Ohh, make me one piece hyung. Have you finished packing?," I look at him flipping the egg.
"Yeah I finished yesterday," Minseok sighs. "Time is passing so fast. I'm not ready to leave," my baby-faced hyung cries like a kid.

"It's ok. It's only for a while you know, and you will comeback to take care of us. You told us that too." Thinking about Minseok leaving in less than 3 hours upsets me. The group, our daily life would be so different without him, even his absence is temporary. "How does it feel like hyung?" I'm curious about the feeling when you are about to be gone for a while, leaving behind the spotlight that you've been used to. Additionally, in less than a year, I will be Minseok's current position too, along with Baekhyun and Chanyeol. 

"Well, I don't know." Minseok gazes up at the window, as if looking at something far away. "It's a mixed feeling. You know that military enlistment is required, and you will feel responsible for yourself and for your country. At the same time, I'm worrying about our fans, and you guys as well, so I want to stay." 

"I know that you always worry about us hyung." 

Minseok looks back at the frying pan, then pours some more olive oil to make an omelette for me. After the former members left EXO, not only did responsibilities put a strain on Junmyeon's shoulders, but also on Minseok's. As only me, Lay, and hyung remained in EXO-M, he was worried that the departure would affect us tremendously, as well as affect other members in EXO-K.  Therefore, he had been EXO-M's leader, helping the members from both groups overcome the stresses and redeem the past mistakes.

"Don't worry hyung. We are all grown up. You should take care of yourself too hyung. Don't get hurt." My voice breaks a little, and Minseok seems to notice that. 

"It's also about after I leave, if you do something wrong, it is also my fault because I cannot be there for you, to guide you guys and to protect you guys. If something bad happens to you guys, which make you guys feel down, I would blame myself for not being there to comfort you." Minseok avoids looking at me, so he concentrates on checking the top surface of the egg, waiting for the liquid part to harden. 

"I worry about Eris too." Minseok continues. "Once I come back, I will always stay with EXO, because of you guys and my dear Eris. That's certain. I just hope that they won't stress out too much about me. I don't want to let them down." 

"Don't stress out too much hyung. It's only temporary." Even in this situation, I cannot stop whining. "This will be a responsibility for me to learn how to take care of other members properly. Once you are gone, we will always remind our fans about you, and update you whenever we visit you."  

"I trust you guys. Don't do something stupid, understand?" Minseok's voice hardens. "If you do something stupid, I will give you guys a lesson once you come back. You know my punch is as painful as Kyungsoo's is." Minseok jokes, but I can still sense the seriousness in his tone. His intention is sincere, since what is happening in the entertainment industry has been chaotic. 

My train of thoughts is interrupted when the doorbell rings. Another knocking sound comes along with a long shout: "Minseok hyung ahhh." That husky, loud voice. That's Baekhyun. Minseok hyung puts the fried egg and a piece of toast on a plate, then puts it in front of me. He goes outside to open the door. The members finally have arrived, but I know that it will be a long time until Minseok and I can have another conversation like this.