Stepping Away

Chapter 9

Chan POV

Two weeks.

Two weeks passed before Chan saw Felix again. Two weeks of waiting and waiting and the younger idol dodging around every meeting and practice. The four members of Volta had been working tirelessly to come up with different excuses and even Chan's own team had started to see through their lies. None of them outright mentioned it but Minho continued to give Chan withering looks. The dancer probably saw through to the truth, which was that Chan had messed up and now they were all paying for it. Chan hadn't been sure what to say, so he hadn't said anything.

Two weeks of uncomfortable practices and rehearsals until the very last moment. Felix couldn't escape the day of the performance and now it was here. December 18th had taken it's time, but it had arrived regardless.

Chan sits in the van that had just pulled up to the KBS Hall. They are waiting to get out and enter the building but the line of cars and idols is long. They wait until it is their turn. Changbin and Minho sit in the seats next to him, trying to get a glimpse of any of the idols that are going into the hall, big names and idols more famous than they are. Chan watches them from the other side of the car, not too bothered by the names or titles that his friends are mumbling about. It wasn't until a flash of electric yellow caught his eye that his interest piques.

Changbin and Minho make room for him at the window as the 5 bodies get out of a van a few spaces in front of them. Five sweatshirts with lightning bolts down the sides and across the back. Five.

"He finally showed up," Changbin comments, Minho somehow finds a way to stomp on his foot, "Ya! I'm not wrong!"

"Of course he showed up, he's a crucial part of the performance," Minho huffs and starts to shrug on his big winter coat as their own van starts to pull up to the entrance.

Chan continues to watch Volta make their way into the hall. They wave and give out different finger hearts to the crowd before finally disappearing through the performers entrance. Felix's sherbert orange hair was a sight to see after so long. It's covered by a beanie but the locks that stick out are vibrant and beautiful. Chan feels his heart do a weird twist in his chest when the rookie group disappears through the main doors. He supposes this is what it means to have a heartache.

"Let's go guys," Chan slides open the door but lets his friends get out first. The crowd is raucous as they all file into the parking lot. Chan counts up to six to make sure his eyes are on all his members and follows behind them as they make their way to the door and into the building.

Shouts and screams of various names become muffled as the doors shut and the KBS hall is on full alert. People rush around the hallways and into different rooms with a newfound haste. Music Bank shows were usually an all day event with a mild sense of panic each week, but the song festival is on a whole different level. Stylists flit back and forth from rooms full of sewing machines into the fitting rooms full of idols.

Stray Kids are handed red name tags and led to their green room quickly. On the way there Chan keeps an eye out for any flashes of yellow, but there is no sign of Volta by the time they reach their designated room. Their manager hurries them into the chairs that line the wall of vanities and stylists roll in a large clothing rack filled with their stage outfits.

Black, red, and pops of yellow are each fitted onto them. Chan puts on his black sweatshirt and joggers, tucking them into lace up boots and sitting back in the chair so that the makeup artists can begin poking at his face.

The show begins in a little over three hours. They have a run through rehearsal in between that time to make sure everyone knows where to be and when. About five minutes would be spent on any final adjustments or clarifications for each stage, which leaves Chan only five minutes to see Felix before the show begins. It wasn't a lot of time, but it would have to be enough.