In an online community, Baekhyun raised brows for looking "old" in a recent airport photo taken by a journalist. To the idol's defense, Eris uploaded his fan site photos taken on the same day.

EXO Baekhyun Criticized for Recent Visuals at the Airport: 'He's always been ugly'

On August 14, EXO members Suho, Chanyeol, D.O., Baekhyun, Sehun, and Xiumin were spotted leaving together for Qingdao, China to attend their offline fan sign event on the same day. Chen will also be joining the group, but he left Korea earlier than the rest.

Before their departure through the second passenger terminal of Incheon International Airport in Unseo-dong, Jung-gu, Incheon, the members welcomed the media and fans by posing for them for a short time.

ALSO READ: EXO Baekhyun to Establish Own Company — What Will Happen To His Group Activities?

Their images were uploaded in real-time; thus, most of these were candid and unfiltered.

With EXO's popularity, it surely didn't take a long time for them to become a hot topic for their airport looks and fashion that was rarely seen by fans especially EXO-ls (fandom) amid their temporary hiatus.

But among members, Baekhyun is particularly drawing attention for his looks.

While fans gave rave reviews to the other members, a few expressed their frustration after seeing the idol's photo where he looks "old."

In the picture taken by a journalist, some criticized Baekhyun as he was wearing a minimal amount of makeup, making his dark circles more apparent.

On top of that, he also has a noticeable puffy face and sagging cheeks.

In a popular web forum, the OP said:

"Baekhyun f***ing aged. It seems like it can't be helped with the army, even though he served in public service."

When the image was uploaded, some agreed.

• "He's always been ugly."
• "He looks like a mess."
• "The age is showing."
• "He's the member who really cakes on the makeup and we can say why."
• "Botox it up!"
• "You would think he committed a crime but the man is just moving to his own company after 12 years of sm sucking him dry and manipulating him."

EXO-Ls Defend EXO Baekhyun, Post Photos Taken on Same Day

Amid this criticism, Eris jumped to the idol's defense by posting more photos of Baekhyun from the same day.

In the photos, which were taken by fan sites and other media outlets, Baekhyun flaunted his striking visuals that might confuse you if he's really 31 years old or a fourth-gen idol who's in his early 20s.

Apparently, the journalist's photo was uploaded with malicious intent by K-netz, and it was claimed that it was taken while the male idol was blinking his eyes; hence, the droopy eyes.

EXO-Ls commented:

• "Gag em."
• "Baekhyun looks so good that even in the photo that SM presented to knetz to hate on him, he still looks better than most men."
• "Mind you he looked fine in pictures taken the same day."

One fan also explained that the puffy face might have been due to his health condition:

"Baekhyun has hypothyroidism and he often says how his face /cheek gonna look puffy when he wakes up. And we as fans also notice it. There is a time when he doing live and he looks puffy at the start of live and the puffiness disappeared when the live abt to end."

Baekhyun's fans speculate that the reason some people are hating on him was due to his recent announcement of creating his own company, as well as his initial plan to leave SM Entertainment.

What are your thoughts on this?

READ MORE: K-Media Highlights Reason EXO Baekhyun Is Being Labeled 'Traitor' VS Lay as 'Loyal Man

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Written by Eunice Dawson.