- June 18th (past midnight), Friday, New York City -
After returning from her first and most uncomfortable dinner with the group, Jia took a long shower in her hotel room and returned to her phone lighting up with many message notifications.
New orders from Bang Chan were sent.
The messages were short and clear. There wasn't a need for him to go into heavy detail and they weren't exactly chat buddies who text each other all the time. It was late at night, Jia was tired but she had to reply to Chan at least something. And since he was still awake...
Send.
Jia's heart pounded heavily. She was still fresh out of the shower, wrapped in a big hotel towel, gripping it on her chest as her hand shook while she waited for Chan's reply.
But it never came - he left her on "read", reading her messages only a minute after they arrived.
Jia set the alarm for the morning and left her phone on the nightstand. She put on her pajamas, and with a tight feeling in her chest, she lay in her bed and closed her eyes. She didn't want to cry but a stray tear slid down her cheek and fell onto the pillow.
...
- June 18th (around 2 AM), Friday, New York City -
There was a knock on the door just when Chan finished packing his suitcase, closing the zipper. He opened to a very familiar freckled face and let his friend into his hotel room.
"Hey, Felix, wassup?" Chan asked in Australian English, his accent strong, making the younger man smile.
"I'm sorry for coming in this late, Chan, but there's something I wanted to tell you," Felix talked in Korean, standing by Chan's luggage while the older sat on his bed, nodding. They both washed their faces, put on their sweat wear, and were getting ready for bed but something bothered Felix that he had to come and have a talk with Bang Chan.
Chan patted the bed, inviting Felix to sit but the boy shook his head, "I'll be quick. You see... I talked to the boys and we all agreed on this..."
"On what?" Chan asked, already knowing what the matter was.
"It's about Jia," Felix confessed but panicked right after, "Don't get me wrong, she's cute, quiet, and sweet, but she's not... she's not for this kind of lifestyle that we're living. She's not a part of our world so..." he paused, visibly nervous, "We talked and came to a conclusion that you should stop with this 'game' of yours. Send her home, no more lawsuit threats, cut all contact with her, and that way save yourself, the rest of Stray Kids, the staff, the whole company, and her the trouble of keeping it all a secret... and any other troubles that may come if you get caught by the public."
Felix finished his speech. For the whole time Felix talked, Chan looked straight into his eyes, paying attention to every word he said, following his body language and facial expressions. Bang Chan finally let his head fall but he pulled his gaze up to Felix again, this time wearing a smile on his face. He said just a single sentence in response to his friend's heartfelt concern.
"Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me, Felix, I really appreciate it."
...
It was exactly 4:30 AM when Jia's alarm went off. Her head strangely hurt so she barely woke up and slid out of the bed. She took a lukewarm (almost cold) shower to try and wake up but the water pouring on her body made her even sleepier. Making sure that all of her belongings were packed and after making the bed, Jia exited the room. In the elevator, Jia called for an Uber, talking carefully so that she doesn't mistake the hotel address as she was still quite sleepy.
At the reception desk, a tall blonde young woman gave Jia the envelope that was addressed to her, thanking her for staying at their hotel and wishing her a good day. The woman was dressed in her freshly ironed white long-sleeved shirt, her hair put tight in a bun while Jia barely brushed her dyed blonde hair, putting it up in a loose ponytail and wearing baggy clothes.
'How can someone be so happy this early?' Jia grunted and put a black ball cap on her head after exiting the hotel.
She waited a bit on the sidewalk, greeting the sunrise with a frown before a white car stopped in front of her.
"JFK airport, please," Jia told the driver and leaned into the back seat, letting out an exhausted sigh.
It was only the beginning of the Stray Kids' US tour and she was already feeling awful - this pace was not what she was used to.
...
"Um, hello there? Hi?" Jia raised her head at the sound of a woman's voice. A chubby lady in a floral dress was in front of her, smiling politely as her forehead shimmered in sweat, "Hi there, dearie. I'm sorry but it seems that you're sitting in my seat..." the woman shrugged apologetically, her smile not fading.
"Oh, I'm so sorry..." Jia grabbed the opened envelope and papers that were laying on her lap and moved to the window seat of the airplane, "I must be sleepy..." she chuckled, apologizing again.
"That's alright, dear, I understand... Had a rough night, huh? Hi, I'm Denise!" the woman talked, squeezing in between the seats.
"Yeah... kinda..." Jia mumbled, ignoring the introduction.
"Oh, I understand, I was once young too," the chubby lady laughed, elbowing Jia a little too hard. "Who are you visiting in Atlanta?" and she continued talking.
"Umm a friend," Jia kept answering, crumpling the papers in her hands.
"Oh, nice! Me too! What's your friend's name?"
'Is she seriously going to keep talking?!'
For an unknown reason, Felix's face flashed in Jia's mind, "Umm... Felicia," she wanted to catapult herself from the airplane and into the Earth's orbit for being so dumb.
"Oh, I knew a Felicia once," Denise rejoiced, "We used to attend pottery classes together. She was great. I remember her making lots of bowls... for her cats," the woman leaned, whispering to Jia's left ear, "Poor thing... She lived and died alone, taking care of dozens of cats," then she leaned again to whisper, "People say that the cats ate her dead body as they were hungry... "
A chill ran down Jia's spine and she shivered in disgust, "I'm sorry, I would like to get some sleep if you don't mind..."
"Oh, no problem, dearie, sure!" Denise was quiet for only a minute before a passenger on the third seat arrived. Denise claimed her new "victim", continuing to ask questions and talking about the dead Felicia again.
Jia pulled her ball cap over her eyes, buckled her seatbelt, and put her Bluetooth headphones on. She mostly had Stray Kids' songs on her phone so she started off with "Mirror" to relax and slowly drift into sleep (and to block Denise's voice with Changbin's rap). The melody and their voices were the perfect sedatives to make her fall asleep even before the song ended.
...
- June 18th (morning), Friday, Atlanta -
Jia texted Chan right after closing the door of the room.
The room that he booked for her was as small as the one in the hotel in NYC but she was thankful as long as it had a bathroom to wash in and a bed to sleep on. Leaving her luggage and turning off the airplane mode on her phone, Jia went to take a shower and came back to her phone constantly receiving text notifications but, picking up her phone, she saw that the messages weren't from Chan.
Unlocking the phone and tapping on one of many messages, Jia was pulled into a shared chatroom with all the Stray Kids members in it. She had to scroll up to the point where she was added to the chat to read the messages they wrote.
Jia giggled at their messages until she scrolled to see what Chan wrote. He wrote Jia all new "orders" he had for her, including the other members in them.
Under Chan's message was a hotel address, with a Google maps link.
Under Han's protest were other members, writing what they wanted - designer clothes and different accessories. All those messages arrived while she was showering.
Jia went to her purse and pulled out a bunch of crumpled papers - an envelope and the paper with her hotel info. And just as Chan said, in the envelope was a plastic black card, that was so light in her hand but, in reality, this premium luxury credit card was so heavy. She saw it first when she opened the envelope at the airport but closed it right after, afraid that someone might see it. Then, again, when she boarded the plane and sat in the seat, Jia panicked when she was interrupted by chatty Denise, crumpling all the papers and shoving them into her bag for the rest of the flight.
Going back to her phone and the chatroom, Jia again carefully read what each SKZ member wanted, some of them even sending pictures of the items. Balenciaga, Dior, Prada, Gucci, Celine, Nike, and many more designers were mentioned in the chatroom and Jia's head slowly started hurting from so much information.
'They want all of that by tonight?! They're mad crazy! As if they don't already own too many clothes...'
Jia finally reached the last message but another member was writing. Seeing the request he sent, Jia's face sneaked out a smile.
Messages stopped coming and if Jia wanted to complete all of the boys' orders, she needed to leave her room immediately. After barely sleeping for four hours and a little over a two-hour flight, all she wanted was to rest for the day but that plan failed.
'I guess I just have to get used to it...'
Jia dressed in some of her most casual clothes but also decided to put on a brand-name outfit - burgundy joggers with a wide white t-shirt and sneakers of the same brand.
'If they can do it, so can I.' Jia thought while fixing her hair in a messy bun and smiling at her reflection in the mirror. She put a light makeup - a bit of foundation and mascara - a grabbed her purse.
Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she took it out - it was a "private" message from Bang Chan.
Jia had enough courage to add emojis to her messages (hoping to ease the situation between them) but Chan didn't use them for his. His short message was the end of their conversation.
...
Walking out of the hotel, Jia saw a black car parked at the entrance. A man, dressed like any other taxi driver, got out of the car and opened the back door for her.
"Miss Jia?" the man asked and she nodded, "Hello, I'm Mark and I'll be your driver today, as per Mr. Bang's order."
"Thank you so much, Mark," Jia smiled and the blond middle-aged American man closed the door after she sat. Next to her on the back seat was a cardboard tray with iced Americano coffee and a paper bag. "Excuse me, Mark," Jia leaned to the front as the car drove off from the hotel, "There seems to be food back here," she lifted the tray.
"Oh, yes, I picked that up for you. Again, per Mr. Bang's order." Mark replied and continued driving in silence, some quiet lounge music coming from the speakers.
Jia was moved by Chan's thoughtfulness (a driver and food! Wow!) so she opened the bag and took out a big sandwich. Biting into it almost brought her to tears - it was heavenly delicious! And the coffee... just the thing she needed to finally wake up!
The driver took her to the mall and Jia climbed to the top floor where all the designer stores were. She opened her phone and the gallery where she saved the chat screenshots. Going from store to store, she collected the wanted items, making sure not to mistake the sizes; checking the reference pictures that the boys sent. She was shocked at the prices and was extremely nervous every time she handed the luxury card to the cashier at every store she visited. They were all taken aback, eyeing the card and Jia, but didn't comment anything. Luckily, all transactions were clear and Jia could finally breathe easily once she exited the last mall with bags in her hands.
Getting into the car in the late afternoon, Jia's next stop was McDonald's. As if he knew that Jia was on her way to get them fast food, I.N sent a message in the group chat, ordering a strawberry milkshake. Seeing his message, other boys joined in, ordering McFlurries, shakes, cookies, and different coffee. They messaged their orders, all except for Chan. So, Jia decided to get him one of her favorite McFlurry - OREO. Listing her order to the cashier, she again got a wide-eye look which continued during the payment with the black card and until she exited the restaurant.
'I guess they don't see this card every day...'
Jia pushed the door, her hands full of food and drinks, and Mark noticed her struggle. The driver helped her with the bags once again and drove her to the location of SKZ's hotel, starting a small conversation with Jia about her life and what she does for the boys. He wasn't pushy or interested in her relationship with the group which Jia really appreciated.
On her way to the hotel, Jia asked the driver to stop by a convenience store. There, she bought a bag full of candy (many of which were chocolates), this time using her own card to pay. No, her intentions weren't to kiss up to the boys. Seeing their playful nature (through the chat and a bit in the dressing room), they reminded her of a bunch of kids that Chan the dad tried his best to control. So, all this sugar is to match their energy.
'But maybe they'll have a sugar rush and then what?'
Jia thought about this only after exiting the store with a full bag. She shrugged, hoping that Chan will forgive her if the boys go rampant.
...
"Your IDs, please," the tall masculine guard at the hotel elevator requested identification from Jia and Mark.
They both let the bags down and pulled out their cards. The guard nodded and pushed the elevator button, riding to the group's floor with the two of them.
They walked down the quiet hallway until the guard stopped and knocked on a door. The one who opened was Bang Chan, the voices of Han and Changbin mixing inside the room, bickering and shouting at each other. Chan saw Jia and Mark behind the guard and, noticing the bags in their hands, turned his head towards the other two in the room.
"Delivery's here!" Chan shouted, stopping the playful fight. The other two boys came running towards the door, their eyes wide.
...
Mark the driver and the security guard left Jia with the bags (which the famous 3RACHA helped her with, carrying it all into Chan's room). Chan called the others and soon his room was full of excited group members. They all scooted close to each other on the floor, leaving Jia in the middle of the pile of bags.
'They're really a bunch of excited kids...' Jia smiled, looking at the group. At the moment, they resembled a bunch of puppies, waiting for their treats.
"Santa girl Jia! Let's go!" Han shouted (in English) first and she giggled.
Firstly, she handed them their food and drinks. Chan was confused when she gave him the McFlurry he never ordered.
"My favorite flavor. I thought you'd like it," she smiled and he nodded silently, putting the cup on the floor in front of him. He looked up at Jia but she was already speaking to the members.
"Now for the clothes..." Jia rubbed her palms together.
Hyunjin, who she noticed changed his hair color and was now a sexy long-haired blond, happily clapped, his mouth full of burger and fries. She pulled the bags one by one, calling out names like a real Santa Claus.
Nike shoes for Lee Know and Changbin, Balenciaga jacket for I.N, Prada sweater for Felix, Yves Saint Laurent shirts for Seungmin and Felix, Celine shirts for Hyunjin, Lee Know, Han, and Chan, Chanel jewelry and so many Vetements clothes for all of them. Some other designers that were on the list were Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, and (of course) Mahagrid, and it took Jia a while to hand it all to them (she even made a checklist on her phone to make sure that she didn't miss anything).
"Princess Jia really is the best," Jeongin smiled at her, loving his gifts. Others agreed with his statement.
"How do I look?" Hyunjin stood up after putting on his new LV jacket. He looked at Jia, the question directed to her.
She nodded with a smile, "It really suits you. You look great, Hyunjin."
"Thanks, love," he winked at her and sat back down.
Jia didn't notice, but Chan followed her every word and smile that she gave Hyunjin. His jaw instantly clenched, and he gripped the bag with his black Nike hoodie a bit too hard. No one noticed his actions, they were too immersed in their gifts and the McFlurry in front of his crossed legs still sat intact.
"Well, now that we're done with your orders..." Jia kept smiling, hiding a bag behind her back. All eight of them were silent, anticipating her next word, "I have something for you that I bought on my own," she said and pulled the bag to the front, spilling all sorts of candy on the floor.
Big ovations and shouts echoed in the room, with Han and Changbin being the loudest; I.N not far behind. But, Jia was pleased to see all of them happy and excited.
"American candy! Hell yeah!" Han jumped from behind Lee Know and dove his long fingers into the big pile. Others soon joined, each grabbing their favorite... all except for Chan. He sat still, glaring at Jia.
She felt his stare and turned to him, her smile wiped off her face right away.
'Nope, he won't forgive me for giving candy to the boys...' Jia gulped.
"Oh, I have an idea!" Han rose from the crouched crowd and everyone looked up at him, "Why don't we save this candy for tonight?" he paused, making sure that everyone listened, "Let's have a movie night!"
____________________________________
To be continued...
A/N: Chat style is taken from a fake Facebook messenger app. The thought of SKZ having Facebook made me uncomfy, I searched for other apps but this one had the best interface so I'm sticking to it.
P.S. They all communicate in chat in Korean ;) (unless otherwise stated)
This chapter is long, too much story, but I don't want it to be rushed too much...
Today's chapter Chan:
You know it's trouble when Chan clenches his jaw ...