16. Playing with fire

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Walking into the company today, I feel this heavy sense of dread bubbling up inside me.

What if I end up with the red card?
Would Chan really go through with punishing me?
What's my move when I see that dreaded red card?
How do I even get out of this mess?
Should I go beg for his forgiveness?

Nah, that goes against everything I believe in.

Maybe I can rally other artists and trainees to stand with me.

We could spark some real change!

I head to the trainee lounge to grab my dance gear and singing notes.

The lounge is split into two parts: a chill area with games, comfy seats, a massive TV, and a table stocked with board games and JYP magazines, plastered with posters of our idols and their lyrics. The other part is the locker room, rows of blue lockers with benches in between.

As I pass by, I catch whispers and gossip, but my headphones drown out their noise.

Opening my locker, I breathe a sigh of relief - no red card in sight.

But as I glance around, I notice other trainees eyeing my locker suspiciously. "What's up?"

Some glare, others hurry back to their own lockers.

I gather my stuff, and as I pick up my jotter, something falls out.

A red card with the SKZ logo stares back at me, mocking me.

"What's that?" Queenie, the resident mean girl, points it out. I don't catch her words, but I know she's announcing my 'win.'

Before I can grab it, a guy snatches it up, showing it off to everyone.

Panic sets in. Oh no.

"She got the red card!" he announces to the lounge.

"I knew Chan won't forgive her so easily " a trainee sitting on a bench says

"She's done for" another said

"You thought you were off the hook huh?" The boy surprisingly speaks in English. He walks closer to me , cornering me into my locker. "We're gonna deal with you. "

He laughs with a few others "you actually thought you were free"

And now I'm cornered, struggling to understand what they're even saying.
They could be planning my murder now and I won't know.

***

They drag me to Chan's feet in the Stray Kids lounge - the company rewarded them with their own space since their Billboard success.

They insulted me in Korean as they roughed me up, I didn't offend them I'm clueless why they're Chan's puppets today.

Chan's busy studying some sticky notes pasted on a glass board just beside the glass wall overlooking the city. He's dressed in his usual black attire, Nike's and accessories on point.

Jeongin and Lee Know watch, finding this whole thing hilarious.

Lee know waves as the two guys that dragged me in here walk out.

Jeongin, the orange hoodie guy with a smirk that gets on my nerves, and Lee Know, the cool dude in a leather jacket.

"What's so funny?" I snap, wincing from my shoulder.

Lee Know just raises a brow, while Jeongin chuckles, saying to Lee Know, "She's really trying to look tough."

I snatch my bag, then turn to Chan, the supposed alpha.

𝐁𝐨𝐲𝐬 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬   - 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒇𝒇 (𝑨𝑴𝑩𝑾)Where stories live. Discover now