Our Peculiar Ways - Stray Kids

16 Years

What makes you think I'm Peculiar? What, just because I can turn invisible?

"Bye STAY!!" They all cheered, waving crazily before the livestream switched off.

25th March, 2024. Six years of Stray Kids.

"I actually can't believe it's been six years!" Hyunjin smiled, reminiscing on the incredible six years they'd had as a kpop band.

"Yeah! It's insane!" Felix grinned back. Despite their smiles and laughs, none of them were bothered to stand up or move about after the livestream, they just stayed sat in their seats and talked.

At least most of them talked.

"Check out this edit I saw!" Jeongin waved his phone frantically in their faces, almost all of them peering over to look at the video and their jaws practically dropping in awe.

"That's amazing!" Seungmin spoke, always surprised by the editing skills of their fans. They truly never failed to impress him.

"Today was really fun!" Changbin exclaimed, taking a quick sip from his black and translucent water bottle.

"It really was!" Chan agreed, wrapping an arm around Felix's shoulders casually. It was normal for them. Chan showed lots of affection to all the members but Felix in particular, whilst Felix on the other hand gave affection to all 6 other members except for Chan.

"Yeah!" Jisung beamed, letting out a sigh of peace.

Someone wasn't at peace, however. Someone's eye was twitching and his shit was getting lost as he sat there wondering about many things, especially one:

Why were they all being so fucking perky?

"So are we just gonna ignore the obvious?" Minho broke the chaos of them all talking, he knew their voices were joyful but he also knew they were holding a hidden emotion.

"What?" Chan turned to look at Minho. The second oldest of the team right on the end of the long table, opposite Chan (who was sat on the left end of the table) and beside Jisung (as per usual).

"You know exactly what. It's called the obvious for a reason." Minho's voice was cold, almost pained. His sarcastic comments were a normal thing, the members knew that. His almost melancholy feeling seeping out through his words? Not so much.

"Minho, we really don't know what you mean?" Hyunjin spoke with a caring tone, an honest one at that. He read the odd sorrow or even anger that held in Minho's tone, something was up. Hyunjin had a feeling on what it was, that's for sure. Yet he just wouldn't admit it, nor acknowledge the ice cold feeling sitting inside of him throughout that day.

Minho's eyes slipped into a roll, a small one. One he let out often, part of his sarcastic demeanor. Eye rolls were quite clearly, a common occurrence.

"Don't just roll your eyes, explain! If something's bothering you..." Seungmin added, dragging off at the end of his words. He didn't quite know whether to be angry, or empathetic.

"Are you kidding?" Minho snapped his head around to look at Seungmin, "Are you kidding?"

"Why are you so angry?" Felix asked, genuine confusion and worry clear in his words but as well, there was some annoyance.

"I'm not angr-"

"You literally are." Jeongin cut him off, his voice raised (something that wasn't frequent from the youngest) "It's our six year anniversary! Enjoy it!"

"That's the problem!" Minho raised his voice even louder than the twenty-three year old, seeming angry on the outside but he was honestly nothing but disappointed. Disappointed in Jeongin for lying, he knew damn well Jeongin remembered what day it was. 

"What is? That it's our six year anniversary?" Chan questioned, standing up in frustration and staring right at Minho. Dead in the eyes. Brown eyes.

"NO!" Minho mimicked Chan by standing up too, slamming his hands on the table before his appearance changed into one more Peculiar. "IT'S BEEN SIXTEEN YEARS SINCE WE BECAME US!"

The dark atmosphere that had built in the room quickly diminished. The eyes full of anger on Chan's face softened, turning into the one's of a kitten for a moment before going back to brown. Everyone in the room knew what he meant, they had known the entire time. They just feared to acknowledge it.

"But it isn't, is it?" Jeongin asked, slowly transforming into his own Peculiar form. He brushed of the formal version until it turned to casual, it really was that simple. He asked the question, despite remembering the day very vividly and knowing exactly what Minho meant the whole time. They just all avoided anything peculiar or magical or whatever, for eight years. They even just avoided the topic of conversation. Ever since 2016.

"It is. Yes, it was a day that ruined our lives but without it? Stray Kids wouldn't even exist. There wouldn't be a six year anniversary to celebrate at all." Minho explained as he calmed down, his gaze softening.

"I must've completely forgot, it was 2008 after all!" Felix chuckled, something in his tone digging out his lies.

"He's lying." Seungmin snitched, using his ability to tell whenever someone was lying to his advantage (not a Peculiar one though, just a Seungmin one).

"Oh I know." Minho spoke, knowingly. "You were all acting weird and I could tell you were avoiding the topic." Minho finally sat back down again.

"We weren't acting weird?" Jisung replied, slowing and weirdly.

"We're the fucking Peculiars, when are we acting normal?" Hyunjin laughed, running his fingertips through his white and red hair.

"He's got a point!" Changbin chuckled.

Chan, however, was completely silent, scrolling on his phone as he looked at the news-stories. "Apparently everyone else thinks that too." Chan muttered lifting his phone to show them the most common headline:

PECULIARS ARE STILL OUT THERE? AND MORE DANGEROUS THAN EVER?

Just because you hide doesn't mean it goes away, right? You can avoid a situation, avoid who you are, for as long as you want. Sooner or later, it'll come chasing after you again. Especially when you're Peculiar.