A Series of Unexpected Events: Stray Kids

Chapter 3: Let the Show Begin

Just like Nim told you to, you find your way toward the already forming crowd outside in front of the stadium. And as you come within range and you hear the excited squeals that emanate from all the girls, you find yourself agreeing wholeheartedly that it's safest for the boys if you just enter the venue like everyone else.

You'd rather not risk causing an uproar and, honestly, you don't mind getting this taste of the true concert experience. Especially because it means being able to interact with so many other Stays. Although, you don't know how you can possibly keep track of everything you know now that you have to keep a secret.

God, how do they do this all the time?

Felix said you would get use to it, but you don't think you ever will. This has been their life for years now. This has only been your reality for, what, a day?

So you continue your way onward until you hit the edge of the crowd, taking up a spot a little ways away so you don't bother anyone with getting too close. But at least you'll be able to catch up quickly when the lines start moving.

Unable to help it, you glance around at the growing horde of people waiting with you. At the diversity of Stray Kids' fans. Their joy. Their dedication. The time and effort they've put into their outfits or the signs they carry with them.

"Baby Bread" seems to be a common message amongst the wealth of posters. Right along with a "Daddy Toast" variation.

Kim Seungmin, we have In N' Out...

AbRacha please, we need our chocolate bar fix...

Butt-hunting tally...

Changbin, do you have a concealed carry permit for those guns?...

Which can't you live without Hyunjin? 1) Flour 2) Felix...

When's the wedding Minsung?...

Chuckling, you snap a quick picture of each of them to send to the boys. Then you snap a selfie, holding up a finger heart with the crowd in the background too. You want at least a few pictures to look back on. And at least one with you in it to prove you were actually here.

But what truly gets your attention are the recreations.

Countless Stays went out of their way to personally make the outfits from various MV's or standout performances. You recognize many of the boys' outfits from God's Menu. Then there's Lee Know's Tiger Inside performance. I.N's Maknae On Top. All the variations from Maxident. Hyunjin's Play With Fire and Motley Crew AOTM solos.

You get all but a second of warning before a loud commotion manifests up front and quickly spreads, passing you and continuing through the throngs of Stays. And when you glance toward where it started, you notice the doors to the arena are finally open.

Your heart speeds up at the sight. The anticipation floods through your veins with all the force of a tsunami and the smile that finds its way to your lips is one that can't be helped. You may have just been with the kids not twenty minutes ago and you may have already seen part of the performance that's to come but this is what you were telling the boys. This...this is the concert experience.

Following everyone else, you join the forming line as people come together to make their way through ticketing. But with the line being so long, you know it's gonna take a while before you make it inside to find your seat, so you pull up the group chat on your phone--for the first time--and send off the pictures you took. Not including the one of yourself, after a quick mental debate.

It doesn't take long for their responses to start pouring in.

Dorks. They're a whole bunch of dorks.

Chuckling to yourself, you pocket your phone as you finally make it to the front of the ticketing line. With a quick scan of the ticket on your lanyard and a glance at your driver's license, the venue staff ushers you inside. And boy, does it feel completely different than before.

You waste no time in making your way through the groups of people standing around here and there and you pick your way into the main part of the stadium.

This is going to be the first time you've ever had a front row seat to a concert. The first time you've been to a Stray Kids concert, barring earlier this afternoon. And the first time you've been this excited and happy in a very long time.

It doesn't take you long to find your section, and your mouth nearly drops open at the sight. The main stage? Almost front and center. And practically a stone's throw from your chair. You could nearly touch it over the barricade if you leaned far enough.

And to think Chan gave you this ticket for free.

You shake your head and sit, trying to take it all in. Trying to remember as much as possible because you doubt anything this amazing will ever happen in your lifetime again.

Slowly but surely, more and more Stays file in, finding their own seats. And soon enough your section is teeming with a cool group of guys, what looks like a few dads with their daughters, a surprising handful of older women, and an overwhelming army of squealing girls.

"What do you think the boys are doing right now?" you hear a girl ask as she talks with her two other friends.

Getting changed or sitting in hair and makeup, you think to yourself.

On second thought...this is going to be more fun than you expected. Who knew being in the loop meant getting to enjoy these conversations in a whole new light.

"Who knows?" one friend responds. "But what I wanna know is if we're gonna get a peek at those abs today. Charmer will forever be my favorite song, simply for that reason alone."

You and a lot of other Stays, you mentally respond.

But you can't deny that you're looking forward to it too. You respect the boys immensely, but you aren't blind either. They're ripped, what do they want from you?

Another fifteen or so minutes passes as the stadium floods with fans, and the chattering amongst them becomes more and more intense. The start of the show is so close you can almost taste it. And everyone else can feel it too.

"Did any of the boys send messages on Bubble today?"

Your attention floats back to the girls conversation two rows behind you.

"No," the other girl responds. When she pauses, you guess she's scrolling her phone to check. "I wonder why they've been so quiet."

Probably because of me, you respond again.

Part of you feels guilty for it, while the other half soars at the notion you had them to yourself all morning.

Once upon a time, you had been just like those girls. And Bubble was that lifeline to SKZ that let you take a peek into their lives. Their messages made your day.

It hadn't even occurred to you that the Bubble chats had gone radio silent. But it's not surprising, because now you have something better.

"Welcome to the splash zone," you hear someone say behind you.

You turn to see who said that and a beautiful brunette girl in her own Stray Kids styled outfit sidles up.

With another quick glance to her ticket, she steps up next to you. "Looks like we're neighbors."

"Hyunjin stan?"

She giggles. "How did you know?"

"Y'all are the only ones that use the 'splash zone' phrase." You extend a hand out to her. "I'm y/n."

She shakes your hand firmly and sits down in her seat. "Tallulah."

"Tallulah. Very pretty." Then you remember something. "Wait, doesn't your name mean 'princess'?"

"Yes!" She practically jumps out of her seat, unable to help it, but seems to settle with just shaking her hands in excitement. "How did you know?"

You look away, a bit embarrassed. "I write stories so I do a lot of research on names and their meanings when I create characters. One of the downsides of my company," you joke.

"I wouldn't call that a downside. I think it's actually pretty cool."

When you look at her, she's smiling brightly and you can't help but smile back. She's just got this genuine brightness about her that you couldn't escape even if you tried. Sort of reminds you of Felix.

"Well," you say, turning toward her to better make conversation, "I only asked because if Hyunjin is the prince of K-pop...well, it's almost like it was meant to be."

You watch as Tallulah dramatically pretends to collapse against the back of her chair, her hand brought up to rest on her forehead. "God, I love you already," she mutters. "I never even thought of that."

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts. And it doesn't help that you're drop-dead gorgeous. How could anyone resist you?" You gesture to her, head to toe. "I mean look at you."

"Oh stop." She gives a dismissive wave but you see the blush that creeps in, staining her cheeks red. "But I guess it takes one to know one." When she winks at you, it's your turn to blush. "So," she drawls. "What about you? Who's your bias?"

"I'm OT8."

"Damn girl...how do you survive? One of them is enough to kill me, let alone all eight."

You chuckle. That seems to be the question of the day.

"I truly don't know," you admit. "But somehow, I'm still here."

Just then, Question starts echoing throughout the arena and you and Tallulah share a look of unbridled excitement.

The seconds are ticking down and the moment the song ends, the show officially starts. That much you do know from all those concert clips on TikTok.

So the two of you join in on singing Question along with the rest of the crowd, almost as if in hopes of summoning the boys faster.

Tallulah shakes her lightstick to the beat as she sings along, just like everyone else and the collective sound of the compass spinning is near deafening.

You're a bit jealous, if you're completely honest, and more than a bit embarrassed that after all these years of being a Stray Kids stan you still don't have one of your own. But any time you tried they were always sold out or you were too tight on cash to afford it.

Over the past year, since your finances got better, you spent so much time saving and planning for the concert itself that buying a lightstick slipped your mind.

Maybe they'll still have some at the merch booth after the show?

All too soon Question piddles to an end with it's telltale trumpets and the arena erupts in a startling uproar in response.

Here it comes...

Then the infamous circle of screens descend as Maniac starts.

You and Tallulah scream together, your voices blending in with the rest of the crowd.

When the screens finally start to rise again, you get your first good look at the boys.

And what looks like a new set of outfits.

All of them are tricked out in those all too familiar blazers, but instead of the usual white you've become accustomed to, they're dripping in red. All the while, silver chains with black sequins and gems dotting their chest and sleeves glisten in the light.

Good god...

A teensy tiny part of you regrets asking the universe for Chan in any color other than black because hot damn...

But he's not the only one.

Each of them sport the usual Stray Kids style with various versions of straps and cut off sleeves that set them apart from each other. So no two of them look the same.

Chan has his usual sleevless crop top variation, flaunting those chiseled abs. Hyunjin looks like he was given a mini set of coattails. I.N is absolutely killing it in a strappy, open back number. Felix showing off a lot of skin with a long sleeve crop top with open sides. And Han? You have to look away for a second when your breath hitches.

Between the deep V in the front showing off his chest--coincidentally with no undershirt--and his one sleevless arm? All that muscle on display is enough to make you combust on the spot.

Though you don't get much more time to think about it when they all hit that beginning pose and move into position.

You may have seen this one earlier at soundcheck but you weren't wrong about how much of a difference it makes to have the energy and environment and visual all wrapped into one.

And good lord do you cheer for them like your life depends on it as the boys dance and sing their way across the stage.

Nor do you or the rest of the crowd don't get much of a breather when Maniac ends--much too quickly--and spirals into Venom.

And you don't care what anyone says. That body roll alone probably caused the death of half the stadium. They've near perfected the move. The whole dance really.

It's no wonder they perform it on all big stages outside their concert performances.

You even see Lee Know sneak a few smacks in there. And you could swear you see a content smirk on his lips after he gets a good one in. Almost as if he's counting too.

Three tallies on the board, at least.

Your attention is quickly captured again though, that Stay's board quickly forgotten.

And all in the name of Red Lights...

And this time--surrounded by all of your delulu brethren--you don't let back.

You scream, Tallulah not much better off as you both destroy your throats for the sake of SKZ's holy grail of sexy songs.

Thank God for the darkness in the arena and the fact that the boys are much too far and far too busy to see you because you know your face is absolutely beet red as you watch them perform.

And you do have to agree with Ryan too. The leashes give it that final Fifty Shades of Grey push that makes the entire stadium go feral. You right along with them.

When that song too finally ends with Chan and Hyunjin's ending pose, you belt out one final scream with everyone else.

This show is truly shaping up to be one of the best experiences of your life. And you have no idea how you got so lucky to have gotten where you are.

Just then, the lights flare up on stage, illuminating the boys in their usual lineup.

"Hello hello," Chan says, greeting the crowd and waving at the fans in the front rows. You wave too and at one point, you could've sworn he smiled right at you before moving on. You have to blink away the surprise at his brazenness despite the thousands of fans around. "So how's the show so far? Is it good?"

The responding "yes" startles both you and him. Who knew the crowd could be so freaking loud.

Once the murmurs die down, you lean over to Tallulah. "There's your husband," you whisper. "And looking like a total snack, might I add."

"Shh, he might hear you," she scolds you. But then she smirks and leans over to whisper back. "I know. Look at the man, how can anyone resist that?"

She looks Hyunjin up and down, biting her lip and you have to stifle a laugh at the sight of how hard she's pining over him.

Truth be told, you probably would be too had your morning not gone how it did. But now you're much too embarrassed to give into that lovesick side of you knowing full and well that the boys will tease you about it endlessly later if they ever saw.

The rest of the introductions and opening 'ments go by fairly quickly.

So do the Muddy Water and Waiting for Us performances, where you had waved and sent half hearts to each of them like the rest of the crazed Stays around you. Which Felix and Han were sure to reciprocate during Muddy Water. Han even going so far as to give you a not so subtle wink.

That had you blushing instantly and Tallulah clinging to your arm, squealing beside you. Han's grin only grew at the sight as he wandered off to interact with more Stays.

The usual fight for who was better ensued and Felix nearly killed off the other half of the fan base when he flashed his abs.

Good lord does that man know how to make you all scream. And that smirk says he knows it too.

But truthfully, you can't pick a side, nor do you want to. So you scream for both performances. Which has I.N glaring at you when he notices you betraying his team.

You simply chuckle and shrug at him with no better explanation.

All too soon, it's onto the second half of the show.

So as the boys prepare themselves for Thunderous, you decide now is as good a time as any to visit the bathroom.

You really shouldn't have drank so much water earlier when you ate lunch with the boys, but you weren't even thinking about the concert at the time. And now you're paying the price. At least this is one they performed during the soundcheck, so you won't be missing that much.

When you stand, Tallulah grabs your wrist, her face quizzical.

You lean over to her, whispering in her ear over the buzzing of the crowd. "I'm gonna go to the bathroom. I'll be back in a few minutes."

"But you're gonna miss Thunderous!" she whispers loudly in your ear.

"It's okay, I've seen this one already." When you smile assuringly at her, she releases your wrist with a shrug and focuses on the stage again as the music starts.

It's only when you start walking away that you realize your mistake. The confession you inadvertently made when you told her you saw it already.

You had meant that you saw them perform Thunderous earlier today, but you're hoping she just thought you meant you've seen them perform it at a previous concert.

Inwardly, you cringe at the slip-up. Felix is wrong. 100%. You'll never get use to this. It's only been a few hours and you already can't keep up. But you try set aside that guilt for now. Worrying about it won't change anything now, and it's easy enough to explain away if need be. If it comes to that.

So you hurry off to the bathroom. And you're on your way back in less than five minutes, despite the long distance between the restrooms and the front row seating. Which seemed just long enough for the beginning of God's Menu to echo up toward you. Thankfully another one you already saw today.

When you finally make it back to your section and you scurry toward Tallulah and your seat, you notice that your seat...well, that it's no longer yours.

You watch as Tallulah nervously peers over her shoulder time and time again, almost as if looking for something. She scans the crowd behind her and it takes all but a second to notice you and she immediately waves you over, frantic.

You do as you're told, making yourself as little as possible as you crawl up and kneel in front of her. Trying not to block anyone's view.

"See," Tallulah snaps at the older woman that's taken over your seat as she gestures to you. "I told you my friend was coming back. That's her seat. Now go back to yours already."

Despite Tallulah's blindingly sunny disposition when you first met her, the girl is downright scary when she's angry. But that doesn't seem to deter the older woman who makes no move to leave.

"No thank you," is all the woman says.

"Lady, you better get your ass up before I make you."

"She shouldn't have gotten up," the woman declares. "She left so now it's mine. Now shut up so I can enjoy the show."

Tallulah visibly fumes. It's almost as if you can see the steam shoot from her ears.

When you feel her move to stand you set a hand on her leg, stopping her short from making good on her earlier threat. "It's okay Tallulah," you say whispering in her ear again. "Let's not allow this to ruin our night. Focus on the boys." With a soft squeeze, you give her what you hope is a reassuring smile and you crawl back to the edge of the aisle.

Your first idea was to simply take the woman's old seat as you vaguely remember seeing her earlier before the show started, but as you look where you last saw her, you don't see any open spots. In fact, as you glance around your section, you don't see a single empty seat.

For a second you wonder if you should just find your way to the seat of the ticket you actually bought but that's probably all the way in the back. And trying to find it in the dark with so many people that you'd have to inconvenience to get there?

You abandon that idea altogether.

Not seeing many other choices, you simply swivel back around from where you're still kneeling in the aisle next to your seat and you plant yourself there on the floor. Right where you are.

Besides, Chan gave you the ticket to that seat. Aside from it being a very generous thank you gift, you know he also wanted to see you throughout the concert. So you know he'd worry if you all of a sudden weren't where you should be. And you don't want to add that to his list of concerns while he has a show to run.

God's Menu quickly comes to an end and you cheer along with everyone else, trying to get yourself back into the concert spirit. This show is supposed to be an amazing experience and you're not about to about to let that Karen ruin it for you.

Although cheering up isn't that hard to do when Lonely St. starts up. Despite the song's message.

It's always been one of your favorites because it spoke to feelings in you you had buried away and tried to ignore. It said all the things you didn't know how to describe. And it showed you you're not alone.

The boys are quick to set themselves up around the perimeter of the stage with their mic stands and you smile as Seungmin plants himself in front of your section.

Something about being up on stage and performing just gives him an air of confidence and allure that Stays don't usually see from him. And you are absolutely here for it.

You watch him gaze around the crowd through the song as the rest of the boys each sing their lines. And he does his part waving at Stays, completing hearts, and responding to the various signs held up. Then his eyes scan over your side of the section. Then the front row. Then your seat. Then they fall to you.

His gaze is questioning--evident in the faintest lift of his brows--as he meets your eye, but he doesn't react more than that as the song continues and he carries on singing his parts and interacting with the fans.

All too soon, the song ends and you have to blink away tears at all of the emotions it's brought up in you. Listening to it alone in your room is one thing, but hearing it from the boys, live, where you can see and feel and hear the raw emotion...it's something else.

The boys each hand off their mic stands to the staff at the edges of the stage and you watch as they take a quick breather to wipe off the sweat and drink some water.

Ending speeches are next if you had to guess, but no matter what it is, you're ready. You're just happy you finally got to experience Lonely St. in person. It was the one you were probably looking forward to most so you're truly content.

Up on stage, you notice Seungmin make a beeline for Chan and he seems to quickly whisper something in his ear and then walk away. It takes all but a second before Chan's attention falls on you. And the woman in your seat.

You cringe.

Without wasting a second, Chan strides over to the edge of the stage by your section and leans over to talk to a staff member standing there.

A few words are exchanged. A small nod in your direction from Chan. And then the staff nods too and walks off. Chan does the same, making his way back to center stage and addressing the crowd now.

"So how is everyone doing so far? Good?" He looks around the stadium, listening to the answers that are shouted back at him and he chuckles. "I'm glad to hear we've been doing okay so far."

More than okay Chan, you mentally respond. But you let it lie.

"We have two more songs left, I think. Am I counting right Felix?"

"Yes," Felix confirms. "Two left. Sadly." He peers at Chan pleadingly then, his lips turning down in an adorable frown. "I don't want to go home yet."

Chan can't help but chuckle and reach out a hand to wrap around Felix's shoulders, no doubt feeling the need to console him even though it isn't true sadness. "I know Lix. I don't think Stays want to go either."

It wasn't even a question and the whole crowd shouts a big, fat "no" at him.

He just laughs and squeezes Felix's shoulders tighter. "See? But we both know all good things have to end. But we still have one last show tomorrow before the tour is finished. It's not over yet, yeah?"

There's a tap on your shoulder then and you nearly jump out of your skin at the contact.

When you look to see who it is, you see a staff member standing behind you, an extra chair in hand.

Is this what Chan was talking to that staff member about? He had them bring you one?

Your heart swells at the thought. So much so that you feel like you could cry. Although that may just be the leftover Lonely St. feelings talking. Nonetheless, you scoot forward, allowing the staff space.

It takes no more than a few seconds to set up and they give you a quick bow as they finish. You return it with a softly uttered thank you. And you heave yourself up onto the seat as they leave.

Truth be told, your legs had gone numb a while ago, your bottom leg turning cold from the contact with the cold floor. So it feels amazing to finally take that pressure off your aching limbs now that you have an actual seat.

"So," you hear Seungmin wrapping up, "enjoy the last bit of the show. Thank you for having us L.A!"

Just like that, the last two songs fly by and you feel yourself fall into a content but saddened trance at the realization that everything is quickly coming to an end.

Grow Up seems to have a way of making you step outside your body for a second and reminisce on your life. As you're sure it does for a lot of other people.

So you take out your phone to record a few videos in the hopes that you can remember this moment. Remember what you feel like right now so you can revisit it.

Through the screen, you watch all of the kids bound around the stage, living their best lives interacting with the crowd. They all mess around with each other, annoying each other per the usual and feeding the fanservice monster while they're at it.

But it isn't until Changbin pops up in front of your section that you snap out of your reflective dream state. Even more so when he kneels down, beckoning you closer and seeming to reach for your phone.

Without question, you hand it over to him since it's still recording, allowing him to do whatever the hell he wants with it. Truly. That man can have it.

And you watch as he goes around recording various things, almost like he's making one of his vlogs.

He records himself singing with the crowd. You included in the shot. He records the boys as they dance past him. He records Seungmin waving his heart out on the far side. Lee Know even stops to squeeze himself into the frame at one point, pulling Han along with him and they both wave to the camera.

When they skip off, Changbin focuses the frame on himself again and flexes his free arm, giving the camera and all the stays behind him a beautiful view of his enormous bicep.

You swear you hear two girls in your section nearly go into a panic attack at the sight. Not that you can blame them. Especially as Felix and Hyunjin wander past and seize the golden opportunity to squeeze at the muscles Changbin put on display.

Although he bats them away fairly quickly, probably getting shy at the attention when you see the blush creeping into his cheeks.

And just like that, he's leaning back over the barricade and handing you back your phone. Which you take, dumbfounded.

For a second, all you can do is stand there in shock, clutching your phone. But all you know for certain is that the every single girl in a ten foot radius of you is weeping at your luck. Even Tallulah is leaning forward to catch your eye, her loud squeals of joy immensely hard to miss.

You end the still running video and pocket your phone as quickly as possible, trying your hardest not to give into the insane amount of attention you feel focused on you right now. Call it paranoid, but you have no doubt whatsoever that your phone is now number two on Stay's steal list from this moment forward.

At least until you release the video. If you ever do.

If only they knew just what else lies within the data on your phone. Things much more valuable than that video. And it makes you all the more terrified to let it out of your sight now.

Before you know it, the boys are lined up hand in hand at the edge of the stage as Grow Up fades away and the last of the confetti falls.

They take their bow, sending off some last-minute waves and hearts as they make their way to the stairs leading backstage.

And in the blink of an eye, they're gone.

As the lights brighten around the stadium, you stand to stretch your aching limbs and you feel a hand grab your shoulder. When you look over at who it is, you see Tallulah.

"Girl! I was wondering where you went. How in the hell did you get an extra seat?"

You just shrug, not about to share your guess at who it was that had it sent to you. "I'm not sure," you tell her. "One of the staff just came up with it and gave it to me."

As if she knows she's no longer welcome, the old Karen who had taken your old seat moves to stand and Tallulah doesn't hesitate to glare at her, not even moving to allow her ample space to leave. When she's finally gone, Tallulah turns back to you, smiling again.

"Maybe one of the boys saw!" She grasps your hands tightly, looking beyond giddy. "Seungmin was looking at our section during Grow Up and I saw him say something to Chan a little later. They could've been talking about you!"

She's perceptive, you can give her that much. Too much for comfort at the current moment so you shrug.

"Or the staff was just being nice." You can't help but laugh when she glares at you, completely straight-faced at your lack of imagination. "I'm just saying. I don't need any more help spiraling into delusions, okay? I'm trying to hold onto my sanity."

"Sanity is no fun. Here in Stayville, there is no such thing." Tallulah is about to say something else but her phone pings and she glances down. "Ah, my ride is here, I should probably get going. Do you...want to walk down to the parking lot together?"

"I...think I'm going to stay here for a little bit longer," you hedge. It's not like you can say you're waiting for Stray Kids themselves to get their shit together backstage so they can drive you home. So you say: "I want a little more time to take it in. It was my first Stray Kids concert after all."

Tallulah gasps. "I got to be here when they popped your concert cherry? I feel blessed."

"Even more so than when Hyunjin looked your way during Muddy Water?"

She cracks up laughing at that and she wipes the tears from her eyes when she finally gets a hold of herself. "Ya know what? However much it pains me to say it, yes. More than when Jinnie graced me with his attention."

When her phone pings again, she doesn't even bother to look at it. "Y/n, before I go, could we...exchange numbers?" She smiles nervously and she looks all the more adorable for it. "I don't have very many Stay friends...and I had an amazing time with you today. I was hoping--"

"We could be friends?" you finish for her.

"Yes! Please." She sighs in relief. "I was trying so hard not to sound like a creep."

You dismiss the thought with a hand. "Nah, not even close. Especially when it's coming from you."

Your smirk only grows when she blushes again, her ears turning red. "You're as bad as Chan," she grouses.

In all actuality, he's probably been rubbing off on you. An unfortunate byproduct of being around him for so long. "Yeah...I think I've watched one too many of his pickup line livestreams," you joke with a chuckle. "But I can put my number in your phone if you want?"

"Protecting your phone now that it's top of Stay's hit list I see. Smart." Unlocking her own, she hands her phone over to you, chuckling at her own joke. "How did that even happen? Changbin touched your phone dude. Recorded with it...if I were you, I think I'd frame the damn thing."

"A genius idea," you respond wholeheartedly. After a moment, you hand it back. "All done. Now, I don't want to hold you up, so take care okay?" You wrap your arms around her in a tight hug that she instantly returns. "Text me sometime okay? We can talk more later when you're not pressed for time."

She squeezes you long and hard before letting go and stepping back. "Will do y/n. And thank you!"

After you watch her walk off, you're just about to sit back down in your chair to wait for a little while longer when one of the staff members walks up to you.

"Ma'am," the man says, "we're closing down the venue. If you could, please make your way outside to the parking lots so we can start to clean up."

"Oh! I'm sorry. I don't want to be any trouble." You panic for a second but then you remember your pass. The one Nim gave you. After a quick glance around and finding no one else in your vicinity, you open up your bag and show him your staff/backstage badge. "I'm just waiting for...some of the staff members."

The burly guy stares at your pass and then at you for a long moment before you see his eyes light in recognition. "You're that girl! The one they brought in during soundcheck!" he exclaims. When you blush he nods his head, his guess confirmed. "I knew I recognized you. the whole crew has been talking about you. I heard you saved the whole show by rescuing Chan's flash drive."

Your blush only deepens. "I'd hardly classify it as that heroic. I was just returning the thing he dropped. So... where do you want me so that I'm not in the way?" Then you have an idea. "Or...can I help you guys clean up? Sweep some confetti while I wait?"

At least this way, you can be productive while the boys are winding down backstage. They deserve some time to relax and decompress so you don't want to bother them or impose on their routine. They earned the break.

Not to mention, doing a bit of work cleaning up the stadium will make you feel like you earned that front row seat Chan gave you.

The staff guy blinks a few times but smiles at you, more than appreciative. "That would be amazing." He takes a second to relay through his earpiece that his section is clear and then waves you after him. "The brooms are over here. We like to keep our supplies central so it's as close to equal distance from all sections as possible."

Sure enough, within a minute you guys wander up to a cart laden with various cleaning supplies. And a hell of a lot of brooms.

Shrugging off your jacket and tying it around your waist and then tying back your hair, you lay claim to a broom before turning to him. "Where do you want me?"

He nods his head to the far corner. "That section has been cleared of seating so you can start there while I stack chairs to clear the rest of the space."

You give him a mock two finger salute and wander off to where he directed you. Even going to far as to collect some confetti on your way, cause why not? Saves time later.

By the time you get to the cleared out section, you've already gathered a decent pile of confetti. And there's more than enough scattered around here to practically quadruple the pile. So you go to work, combing the ground to compile all the fallen pieces.

It isn't hard work in the slightest, though after a while you do feel your arms start to ache with the repetitive movement. But you find yourself enjoying it, especially since it allows you enough headspace to puzzle through a few things.

First and foremost being: what the hell has your life turned into?

Mentally, you recap your day as you work, going over what happened. And not one bit of it went at all how you thought it would go. But the crazy thing is...you couldn't be happier it didn't.

Subconsciously, you find yourself humming away to the Stray Kids songs you heard today as you sweep. Shamelessly, you even allow yourself to dance around with the broom when you hit a particular part of each song that you can't seem to resist.

Soon enough, you've cleared the entire corner of the confetti that rained down earlier and you allow yourself to give into the last few moves of Awkward Silence that you been humming.

And no sooner do you finish your one man show are you scared half to death by a cacophony of claps. You whip toward the sound only to find all of the boys standing ten or so feet away, applauding your performance.

You feel your face instantly go bright red, your ears burning in embarrassment. And all you can do is clutch the broom as if you could hide behind it and disappear from view.

Your hear shoes squeak across the floor though you don't lift your head to check who it is that approaches.

"Please just lie and tell me you guys saw none of that."

"No can do," Chan says, quickly denying your request. "I never want to forget that."

"She's been doing that the whole time," the guy staff member you had talked to before notes as he walks up too. "Seems she can't help it."

"Not surprised," Han replies from where he too wanders up next to Chan.

When you give him a shove, he picks up a handful of confetti and throws it at you.

You respond with nothing more than the raise of a brow as you stare him down. And he's quick to respond with a sheepish chuckle as he plucks the broom out of your hand.

You smile instantly and give him an affectionate tap tap on the cheek. "Good boy."

The staff guy busts out laughing as he watches Han go to work cleaning up his mess. "She's got them trained too?"

"Hell yeah she does. Better than I do even," Chan admits. "I don't know how she does it."

"Don't know why we're surprised, but anyway," the guy continues, looking at you. "I can't thank you enough for your help. You probably cut our clean up time in half so trust that the whole crew will appreciate being able to go home earlier because of you."

You just shrug. "I'm glad I could help. It's the least I could do."

He just shakes his head. "You were an attendee. What you're supposed to do is just enjoy the show. Not do our job for us." A pause. "You know what?" He glances at Chan. "You mind if I give her some merch?"

"Oh yeah!" When both men stare at you at your outburst, you flush. "I've been meaning to visit the booth. I never got the chance to before the show and I forgot afterward. Do you guys happen to have any lightsticks left I can buy?"

You ignore Han's uttered, "You don't have our lightstick?" when you hear Chan's, "You ain't paying for shit."

"I think I might be able to dig up a lightstick," the guy says with a smirk. When you all finally make it to the packed up booth, he busies himself with rummaging through the boxes while the three of you wait.

"And no," you respond to Han, "I don't have the lightstick. It was always sold out or I could never afford it when it wasn't. Just this last year I started making some good money, so I saved up to treat myself to this trip and to your concert." You smile at both him and Chan. "It was worth every penny. No matter if I had met you all or not."

Han practically throws himself onto you, hugging you tightly. "You're gonna give us all a toothache if you keep being this sweet y/n. But thank you...for supporting us."

You hug him back just as tightly and teeter your joint bodies back and forth to lighten the mood. "Aww anytime Hannie. I care about you boys, so of course I'd support you."

The staff member guy walks back up to the three of you and you detach yourself from Han, though he leaves an arm wrapped around your waist. "Here," the guy says, handing you a big tote that looks packed with stuff. "As a thank you. It's the least you deserve. Lightstick included."

You look at the bag in his hands but you can't bring yourself to take it. No matter how much you want to. "That's too much sir, I can't--"

"You can and you will," Chan tells you as he takes the bag himself.

You only look to the guy pleadingly. "Please at least let me pay for the lightstick. I can't in good conscience take any of it otherwise. The guilt will eat me alive."

The guy's face softens and he waves you over to the register where you quickly slide your card, ignoring Chan's eyes boring into your back.

He should know you were going to fight him on this anyway. You can't stand feeling like you've taken advantage of people.

As the register prints your receipt, a small part of your guilt settles and you force it to be enough. These guys just won't take no for an answer so compromise it is.

With a quick goodbye, the man waves you off and you, Chan, and Han join the rest of the boys where they stand from when they all first came in. All the while Han continues to walk with his arm around you so you settle your own arm comfortably around his shoulders. And you force your mind to ignore the feel of his muscles under your hand along with the feel of his calloused fingers gripping your side. Possessively almost.

"We ready?" Changbin asks, bringing your attention back. "I'm starving. I need food ASAP."

"Yeah we're ready," Chan confirms. "And I second that sentiment."

The boys waste no time in hurrying through the exit with Chan's approval. And the lot of you are just making it out the back doors of the arena when their pair of SUVs roll up.

"I think she should ride in our car," Felix suggests. "3Racha got her earlier. Now it's our turn."

That quickly starts up the rest of their group's agreement. So much so that Chan doesn't bother arguing against it and only shakes his head.

Lee Know takes your hand, pulling you out of Han's grasp and drags you with him, yelling over his shoulder. "Say your goodbyes. She's ours now."

You simply chuckle and allow yourself to be taken knowing you can't fight them. Nor do you want to. So you climb into their van, settling in next to Seungmin.

No sooner do all of you buckle does the driver pull away, the car bumping along on the uneven road.

The cab is quiet for a moment as you all watch the streetlights pass by, the darkened city giving off a different vibe than it had earlier in the day.

Without thinking, you let your head fall to Seungmin's shoulder, your exhaustion from the day starting to creep in. You feel him move to look at you and when you think he's going to say something about it, he simply rests a hand on your knee.

You layer your hands on top of his in response and close your eyes for a few moments to allow your body a second to relax. Seungmin just seems to have a calming quality about him because you feel the tension and anxiety slowly fade from your weary limbs and mind.

"Your feet killing you yet?" you hear Lee know ask.

You give a soft nod, not lifting your head or opening your eyes. "They're more comfortable than normal heels, but they have their limits. And let me tell you, that limit has been long surpassed."

"You should've worn regular shoes."

You only shrug. "And ruin this outfit? Hard pass."

Felix and I.N chuckle at that and you smile along with them, more than content. In all definitions of the word.

"So," Felix says. "Was the concert everything you hoped it was going to be?"

Your small smile turns into an enormous grin and you peel your eyes open to see him, I.N, and Lee Know looking at you and Seungmin in the back. "It was more than I could've ever wished for. I don't think I'll ever forget it."

"Speaking of things we won't forget," Seungmin interjects. "Why were you on the floor? What happened?"

While you're sure the rest of the boys probably don't understand his question, you know exactly what he's referring to. "A few songs before you spotted me, this old Karen stole my seat when I left for five minutes to go to the bathroom," you tell him. "I would've just taken her seat if I could find it but somehow there weren't any open spots. I don't know how."

"People smuggling others in, that's how," Felix mutters. "We've been having a big issue with fans that found a loophole in the system and bringing more people in than the tickets they bought. I'm betting all my coin on her having brought in someone else, giving her seat to them, and then pilfering yours."

"Figured that's what it was. I didn't see any empty seats around either," Seungmin adds. "Which is why I told Chan."

So Chan was the reason you were given an extra seat. Well him and Seungmin.

You squeeze his hand softly in thank you and you feel him wordlessly return it with equal pressure.

The rest of the boys continue talking amongst themselves about this and that as the ride goes along and you let them, not wanting to intervene in their conversation any more than you already have.

When the driver of the van finally pulls up to the hotel, everyone is grumbling about food again and your stomach is right there along with them. So you all make quick work of unbuckling and crawling out the door. And you hear the boys in the other car do the same a few feet away.

You move to join them, more than ready to get inside and decompress, but a hand on your wrist stops you. When you glance back, your gaze meets Lee Know's but he doesn't say anything as he sqauts in front of you and motions to his back. "Hop on. I'll give you a lift."

"Aww Lee Know, you don't have to. I'm sure your own feet are already aching from all that dancing. I can manage."

But Lee Know doesn't budge. "It's this or bridal style. Your choice."

You groan but you give into his request, and jump onto his back, allowing him to carry you. You don't have the energy to fight him right now.

When the two of you finally make it out of the lobby and to the elevators, the hallway is utterly empty. It seems the rest of the boys have made their way upstairs already. So you press the up button to call the elevator once Lee Know makes it close enough.

"Thank you. For saving my feet," you clarify. "The heels aren't exactly in my good graces as of right now."

"Think of it as my own thank you for cleaning up our mess," he says as he steps onto the elevator as he continues to hold you. Once again you push the button, this time for the fourth floor. You remember that much from this morning.

"You guys need to chill with your thank yous. I don't want them." At the mention of the confetti though, you suddenly remember something and you drop your head to Lee Know's shoulder with a fake cry. "Noooo...I forgot. I wanted to bring home some of the confetti, but you guys are so damn distracting that it slipped my mind."

"Well don't sound so happy about."

"Your beauty has its downsides," is all you say in response. "I can't think straight around any of you."

When Lee Know steps off the elevator and into the hall, that too is completely empty. They really did leave you guys.

"Am I that heavy you can't walk faster?" you gripe as Lee Know faithfully carries you. Easily too. You don't feel a single stumble or shake in him. "They left us in the dust!"

"Girl, you're lighter than Han. It isn't a matter of weight."

"Then?"

"I just wanted to talk to you."

Uh-oh. So he was walking slow on purpose to get you alone? "What about? Did I do something wrong?"

"Quite he opposite actually. It's about Chan." He pauses for a moment and all you hear is the sound of his boots hitting the carpeted floor. "Earlier, in the hallway at the venue--"

"Oh God...you guys heard all that, didn't you?" You feel your embarrassment flare up at the thought. Although less for you and more for Chan.

"No, I ushered everyone away before we could. But...I know Chan. I saw his face when you two came back in. I know you struck a chord with him out there."

"I-I didn't mean to," you stutter. "I just wanted to thank him and--"

"Stop it y/n. Be quiet for a second and listen. You're not in trouble." He squeezes one of his hands holding your leg reassuringly. As if to let you know everything is fine. Then he sighs. "He doesn't open up like that with us. He...I don't think he's opened up like that in general for a long time, and he certainly refuses to cry in someone else's presence if he can help it."

You wait quietly as Lee Know seems to gather his thoughts again and you worry about where he's going with this.

"Chan hides his feelings well and I don't think anyone else really notices except me, but I make it my job to try and help him when I can. So I've learned to pay attention to the little things. Look, I don't know what was said between you guys out there, but just by reading Chan's face and demeanor when you came back in, he was more at ease and more at peace than I've seen him in a long long time."

Giving your leg another squeeze, he makes one last turn down another hallway. "I guess what I'm saying is thank you, for being there for him. Whatever you did helped him more than you could ever know."

You shake your head. "Please don't thank me for that either. I care about you boys immensely and I want to be there for you guys in any way I can. Good or bad. No thanks required."

"All of us, huh? Even me?"

You smack him playfully on the shoulder as he walks. "Of course. You included." When he doesn't say anything else--no witty jokes or usual teasing--your chest tightens. "Why Minho? What's this about?"

Lee Know just continues walking quietly and you pull at his shoulders, forcing him to slow down. When that doesn't seem to do anything, you wiggle out of his grasp, forcing him to put you down too.

Stopping him in his tracks with a hand on his chest, you circle around to face him but his expression is unreadable. Though that doesn't stop you from searching his eyes anyway. Looking for something. Anything.

"Minho?"

He looks like he wants to say something but all he seems to allow himself to do is to look back at you.

But the longer he stays silent, the more that feeling in your chest constricts, tightening around your heart. So much so that you feel tears prick at your eyes from helplessness. "Please talk to me Minho," you plead, fighting to keep your voice even and ultimately failing. "I'm getting worried about you..."

Lee Know only sighs and steps forward, wrapping his arms around your waist and burying his face in your neck.

Much like with Chan, you instantly wrap your arms around him too, one hand going to his shoulders and the other resting on the back of his head.

"Just...give me a minute," he whispers into your neck.

The two of you stay there like that, your heart pounding. You wait for him to say something more, but he doesn't, and your hold on him tightens, your protective instincts taking over.

"Minho..." You whisper his name softly as you start to run your fingers through his hair ever so slightly, hoping the feeling is soothing. "I don't know what's going on or what you're feeling right now but I'm here for you okay? And I mean that. It doesn't matter what it is. I won't judge, I just want to help."

You feel him take in a shaky breath and you don't know whether that's a good sign or a bad one but you continue your gentle caressing. "I want to know what's wrong...but I know it's not easy to open up. I won't make you but please, when you're ready, come talk to me. I don't care what time it is.

"Or tell me what you're worried about that's stopping you from saying something so I can reassure you. I want you to feel safe and comfortable enough to be vulnerable with me. I can even tell you something vulnerable about me first if you don't want to feel alone in it. Whatever you need, Minho."

Slowly, you feel Lee Know lean back and your eyes go straight to his face. Though there isn't that much of a difference in his expression, you see the sadness in his eyes now.

Unable to help it, your hands find their way to his face.

You rest a hand on each cheek, brushing your thumb over his soft skin. And whereas so many times you've seen him lean away from the boy's touch, here, he seems to lean into yours. And you watch as he closes his eyes for a long second.

"I want to help you," you tell him. "If you'll let me. And I'll be waiting until you're ready, okay?" With a nod, he slowly opens his eyes and you try to smile though it probably comes out more sad than anything. "Now how about you go take a shower? Wake yourself up a bit. Wash off all your troubles from today, okay?"

He nods again and while you're concerned that he's not his usual argumentative self, you take his agreement as a good sign. At least it's something. "What room?"

"446."

Ignoring how quiet his voice is, you take his hand and lead him the rest of the way.

When you finally make it to their door, you knock and I.N answers almost immediately. "We were about to send out a search party to find you guys. How slow do you walk?"

"Very." You playfully push past I.N and into the room, trying to keep his attention on you. "I like to take my time okay Innie? Builds patience."

"And hunger," he grouses. He closes the door behind the two of you and plops down on one of the beds inside. "You ate when we did. How are you not starving?"

"Oh I am. But I take comfort in knowing I have a meal or two sitting in the mini fridge in my room."

"You should go get one," Seungmin suggests. "Chan, Felix, and Hyunjin went to go pick up our food order because we couldn't get it delivered. They'll be back in a few minutes. It's not far."

"Sounds good, thank you Seungmin." When you stand up again to go, he frowns. "What is it?"

Crossing his arms, he purses his lips in an adorable pout. "You call everyone else by their nickname or something cute but not me."

With a smirk, you saunter up to where he's sitting on the couch, bracing your hand on the armrest next to him. "Tell me what you want darling. You want me to call you Minnie?"

He just stares at you in shock and your smirk widens when you see the blush rise in his cheeks. So you pat his shoulder. "You stew on that. I'll be back."

And you walk out the door to make a quick trip back to your room. Though it isn't far.

If someone told you yesterday that were staying on the same floor as the whole of Stray Kids, you never would've believed them. And yet here you are. Who knows, maybe you really would've run into one of them eventually if today hadn't of gone how it did.

You hear a door open and close then, followed by quick footsteps and you glance over to see Lee Know catch up to you.

You raise a brow at him. "I thought you went to shower?"

"I need it as it a reset when all is said and done." When you move to say something, he stops you with a hand. "You're not forcing me. I want to talk. I need to." He rubs at his neck nervously. "Thinking on it won't do me any good because it won't change anything. It'll just make me overthink and then I'll agonize over it all night. And me cranky will be hell for everyone."

You process what he's telling you with a nod. "We are more alike than you think my friend. Overthinking is practically my superpower." You hear the faintest of chuckles from him so you relax a bit at that small show of emotion. "But let me reiterate that there's no rush, okay?"

"I know...but it's hurting you. And me."

"Hurting me? Wh--"

"I saw your face earlier. I heard..." he trails off and shakes his head. "I know it affected you and I'm sorry."

And just like that, that tight feeling in your chest returns.

"No Minho. You're not here for an apology. You don't owe me one and I don't want one." When he opens his mouth, looking like he's going to argue, you cut him off. "It's not your job to coddle me or make sure I'm okay if it means doing something you don't want to or aren't ready for. So please, don't ever do that for my sake okay? You take care of yourself first and the rest will work itself out."

The silence between the two of you turns contemplative as Lee Know seems to take what you said to heart. But when you make it to your room and swipe the keycard, you continue talking, unable to help it.

"I'm a deeply emotional person," you tell him as you let him into the room first. "I feel in extremes so my emotions are really potent. Which means my highs can be pretty high and my lows can be pretty low. Couple that with being pretty intuitive and it makes for a person that soaks up what the people around them are feeling, without even trying. And it's especially true when they care deeply about those people. That's why I knew you were battling something on the inside. I just didn't know what."

Sitting down on the couch, you undo your boots, more than ready to finally take off the damn heels. When you finally throw them off and slide on a pair of slippers, you can't help your sigh of relief. Then you look to Lee Know who's still standing next to the door of your room, leaning up against the wall.

That won't do at all.

You pat the cushion beside you. And while you see Lee Know hesitate, he eventually shuffles over and settles down next to you.

"I care about you Minho, so yes, my body soaked up that pain you were feeling. That doesn't hurt me. Not really. What does though, is knowing that you were feeling that pain and I couldn't help." You take one of his hands, holding it in between both of yours. "I'm the kind of person that likes to fix things and help people. When I can't do that, I do admit it's a bit hard for me to handle. But that's my monster to tame. Not yours to feed because you feel guilty that my stupid body is mimicking the feelings and emotions around me. You understand?"

"I do, but I still want to talk about it," he says as he crosses his arms and leans his head back to rest on the back of the couch. "I appreciate you being so understanding and supportive. I don't know how you do it but you just put people at ease around you. Especially when you talk like that." You guess he's referring to everything you spouted earlier in your concerned panic. "The only reason I was holding back is because I didn't want to burden you with the mess that's inside me. In my head, I don't have the right to feel the way I do."

"You're never a burden Lee Know. And you always have a right to feel the way you do. Your feelings are valid no matter what." When he just shakes his head, not accepting your words, you take his hand. "What are you feeling then?"

He squeezes your fingers in his own as silence fills the room for a moment. Then: "We only just met you, y/n and...yet, you make every single one of us come alive in a way we haven't in years. Somehow, we got use to the loneliness the job brings. That it demands of us. We have each other, but, I don't know...when you came into our lives this morning, you brought with you something that we didn't have before. Something we didn't know we were missing.

"You have this bright...aura...around you that even Felix doesn't have. And the kindness and love you show to everyone? I really don't know how you do it." He shakes his head again and pulls himself upright, putting your hand back in your own lap. "I was jealous of Chan earlier when you managed to pull out of him in one afternoon what I've tried to for years. And I was jealous because I...I wanted to feel that too.

"Not many people know this but I struggle with depression...and while I've gotten really good at putting on that mask and pretending, I think I've forgotten what it's like not to wear it. I find myself unable to take it off and be myself. If I even remember who that is anymore."

It's almost like you can hear your heart shatter at his words and it takes everything in you to keep from reaching out again, knowing he needs his space. And you don't dare risk interrupting him lest he stop talking altogether.

"But since you've been around, I don't know...I feel that shadow of who I use to be come alive again. And that's not to say I'm not myself around the guys or that I pretend around them all the time. It's just that Chan already deals with so much, I'm not about to add to his plate. And being second oldest, I didn't feel like it would be right to burden anyone else with that sadness when it rears its ugly head."

After a second, Lee Know drops his own head into his hands with a sigh. "I feel guilty for burdening you with it. And before you say it, I know you said I'm not a burden. But y/n. Again, we just met you. It's not your job to be this thing for us that you never signed up to be. I feel guilty because it feels like we're taking advantage of you. We flirt with you and you help us, but what are you really getting in return? You go down either of those roads, it just seems like we want to use you. And I can't in good conscience do that to you. So I've been at war with myself."

Of all the things you had expected to be the reason for his inner turmoil, you weren't expecting this.

"That's a lot to unpack," you admit with a soft chuckle. "But starting with the easiest thing to respond to, I know you guys are just messing around and joking when you flirt. It's--"

"We're not." When you blink at him, dumbfounded, he repeats it. "I can speak pretty confidently for everyone when I say none of us are joking. Not really." You feel your face burn as you process what he's saying and you watch as Lee Know's ears turn bright red too. "We all like you in our own way y/n. And while I feel bad for telling you that without the rest of the kids' permission, you deserve to know. Especially because while we do joke and flirt around with each other, it's different with you. So you can see why I said it complicates things. I don't want us to take advantage of you in any way."

Taking a deep breath and bottling up the butterflies fluttering around your stomach, you meet Lee Know's gaze. "We're gonna have to shelf that part of the conversation for later because that's just...way too much to process right now. And it doesn't change what I was going to say earlier, no matter what side of the spectrum you guys fall on in terms of...liking me or not. Though I'll never understand why on god's green earth you guys would."

It's become insanely hard to refocus on the thread of conversation you were following along earlier with that little tidbit of information floating around in your brain, but you force yourself to remember that Minho is worried and hurting and he came to you for help. And that thought seems to be enough to push it aside for now.

"Minho, you said that you don't want to take advantage of me, but you're not. I know it's probably been a long time since you've had a normal relationship, but interacting with each other, joking around, flirting for real, helping each other on their good days and in their times of need? That's what forming bonds and relationships are all about. So what am I getting in return? I'm getting your friendship and a relationship out of it too. Just like any normal person would. You being an idol has no bearing on the bonds you have with others. Why does it all of a sudden make you think that it's any less now?"

"I can't beat around the bush anymore, I'm just going to go out and say it," he says with a grumble. "Someone is gonna try and sleep with you y/n. I know at some point your charm and our loneliness will mix and it will be unavoidable. Eventually we won't be able to help it. Especially if you're allowed to be around us for a while. Which it's looking like you are, if Nim's freedom is any indication.

"We've been denied that part of ourselves for so long and you being added into our little group has awakened some...things. If we're pursuing you on that level, how can you trust anything else we do or give or take isn't just so we can get you in bed?"

"I can't," you admit, trying to tamp down the heat you feel roll through you at his blatant confession. "At least with normal guys. But I know you. I know Stray Kids. And the fact that you're even having this meltdown right now is proof. You wouldn't be feeling this way and agonizing over it if you didn't care and want more than to just get me into bed. And good god I can't believe those words actually came out of my mouth."

You shake your head to clear the utter disbelief.

"But I still go back to the fact that that's what life is about! That's how meeting people and having relationships works. We're all trying to learn about ourselves and figure out what we want and what we like. Believe me when I say I'm right there with you guys because I don't know either. But how can you know what works and what doesn't until you try?"

Reaching out to take his hand again, you smile at Lee Know, bright and unrestrained. "As much as you're worried this is all one-sided, it's not. This is a two-way street Minho. And as long as all of us just communicate and talk to each other about everything, we literally can't go wrong. I believe that wholeheartedly."

As he seems to ponder that, you remember something he mentioned a little while ago.

"You said earlier that I never signed up for this? I hate to break it to you Minho, but becoming a Stay was literally me signing up for every bit of that. Getting into the car earlier this morning was me signing up for it. And continuing to be around you guys is me still signing up for this. I'm staying of my own volition, remember that." You search his eyes again as his thumb caresses your knuckles absentmindedly. "Does any of that help?"

Lee Know seems to think about it for a second before he nods. "It does. I may need a little time to mentally implement and fully process, but yes. I think it does."

"Good." You pat his leg and stand. "And you and me both because my brain is exploding more than it already is from everything you let slip. So try your best to bury those worries and return to your normal perky self, okay? Let's get back to your room before Innie threatens us with another search party again."

You rummage through your mini fridge, deciding on having a salad because of how late it is. At least it won't be too heavy of a meal. Once you stand again, a strong pair of arms wraps around you. With a smile, you pat Lee Know's arm.

"Thank you y/n."

"Anytime love."

He drops his arms from around you with a groan. "You're gonna kill us with these pet names y/n."

"Good. A taste of your own medicine from what I was subjected to at the concert. And believe it or not, I use those pet names all the time with my friends so y'all better get use to it. Now, onward."

When the two of you finally make it out of your room and back into the hallway, Chan, Hyunjin and Felix are just on their way back.

Hyunjin only raises a brow at you to which you respond by lifting your salad. "Went to get some food I bought. And my loyal bodyguard decided to tag along," you say with a nod to Lee Know.

Felix swipes the key card to the room then and you all file inside. And you hear Changbin and Han shuffle in after the lot of you too, from wherever they were previously.

It's almost like you can hear everyone's stomach grumble with the urgency of their movements. And within moments, everyone is fanned out over the room, digging in with a moan of relief. Frankly, you share the sentiment.

"So," you drawl as they each lose themselves in their food. "Is there anything fancy you guys do after a concert? Or do you all just chow down and then do your own thing?"

"Our own thing, more or less," Chan notes between bites. "But I was thinking we could switch it up because you're here." He looks around at the boys. "Play a few games maybe?"

Quick agreements flow around the room.

"What are the stakes?" Changbin asks, smirking.

Before Chan can say anything, as you look around the room at the boys all packed so tightly together, you get an idea.

"How many rooms do you guys have?"

"Two," I.N responds after a bite of his own. "Why?"

You glance at the two queen beds in the room you're all currently habitating. That means they're doubled up, sleeping in twos.

"How about," you say as you take a few bites of your own food, "winner gets the extra bed in my room? I think a comfortable night's sleep by yourself is worth playing for."

"Hell yeah it is!" Han and Felix high five then, a plan seeming to already form in their heads. "We're in."

"Then you can't win," Seungmin says as he looks at you.

"That's okay," you hear Chan say. He sets his now empty dish down and looks around at them again. "How about we play a game just for her first? A round of guess who?"

Lee Know chuckles maniacally and you stare at him, concerned. "What's that?"

"You've seen us play it before," he responds, grinning at you. "You have to guess who you're touching. Blindfolded and silent."

Your cheeks go instantly aflame.

Touching...

Your hands all over them?

He's right. You have seen the videos and you know that that game is going to just about put an end to you. A cherry on top of the already unbelievable sundae of today.

"Your stakes," Chan continues but he looks more at the guys around him than he does you. "I say we put together a pot of our own merch, not from today." Then he meets your eye. "And if you can guess all of us right, it's all yours."

Despite how much your mind and body panics at the thought of needing to essentially feel them all up, you stare back at Chan, wanting nothing more than to wipe that smug look off his face.

"Fine. Deal." When you glance around at everyone else, they're not much better as they all watch you menacingly and you struggle to tamp down the panic and heat that starts to simmer in you. But you put on a brave face, not allowing them to see. "Y'all are going down."

"We'll see about that," Changbin says with a snicker and you glare back at him.

"We can all go get--"

"Don't bother," you say interrupting Chan's suggestion. "Doesn't matter what it is, it's worth it. When I succeed, you all can take your sweet time collecting my winnings later."

"You sound mighty sure of yourself," Seungmin observes.

"That's because I am darling." When you see him swallow and blink at you, a blush rising up his neck, you smirk. "So are we doing this or what?"

Excitement ripples around the room at your challenge and you have to admit, you're excited too. Aside from the fact that you'll literally get to touch them to your heart's content, you're looking forward to proving yourself. Proving you know them as well as you think.

You stand and walk to the bathroom to wash your hands and when you come back, Felix has his skzoo blindfold in his hands.

"Put it on," Chan instructs from where he's splayed himself out confidently in his armchair. "We'll mix ourselves up and sit on the edge of the bed. No one talks 'till you're done."

You take the blindfold from Felix and place yourself a few feet away from the bed, giving them room. Then you slide the blindfold over your head, putting it on. On second thought, you cover your ears too. "Just you can't say I'm cheating," you say to no one in particular.

Less than a minute of silence and nothingness passes and then someone is grasping your wrist, pulling your hand off your ear. You drop your other hand, letting yourself be pulled forward.

Here we go...

"Okay, first we have..." You grab the hand holding onto you and you place it on your own. Gauging the size. Then you follow it up the arm, feeling everything as you go.

Muscular, but not enough to be Changbin or Chan. When you get to a wide set of shoulders and a big chest, you know exactly who it is. But you keep feeling around, just wanting to be sure.

You slide your hands down his midsection and over his legs and it further confirms your guess. "Yeah this is Han."

Feeling around blindly, you sidestep and reach out, moving on to the next person. Your hand connects with a face and you chuckle but decide to start there.

Carefully, you place a hand on either side of their cheeks and allow your fingers to mark the outline of everything.

Small nose. Soft hair. Multiple ear piercings.

You have a guess but you want to confirm it so you kneel down and slide your hands down the sides of his neck and onto his abdomen. You feel him silently chuckle as you feel him up and you can't help your own laugh at the whole situation. Then your fingers feel the outlines of abs and you know.

Finding one of his hands, you place it on yours, judging the size again. And you nod. "Hello Felix."

When you sidestep to move on, you hands find shoulders this time and when you slide your hands down his arms, you shake your head, laughing. "I'm sorry Changbin, but there's no mistaking these guns for anyone else's." You give the hard muscle there a few generous squeezes. "Definitely Binnie."

So you're quick to move on.

Starting from the top again, you caress your fingers over their face. And when your fingers find a sharp jawline, you smile. Another easy one. "Jawline sharp enough to cut? It's I.N."

He too laughs silently and you shove him softly as you kneel in front of your next victim. And there's no mistaking who it is without even needing to touch them. But you do anyway, cause why not? This is probably the only time you'll get free reign to touch them like this.

So you run your hands over the body laid out in front of you. Big arms. Broad shoulders. You slide your hands down to their midsection too, and just like you thought. Toned abs.

"Setting aside the fact that heat is just radiating off of you in waves...Chan, there's no mistaking this is you."

So far, you've been absolutely confident in each of your guesses, but as you move on, this one is a bit harder.

Sharp nose, you note as you feel your way along. But not much else really jumps out at you. So you continue your search down and eventually--despite their jolts and jumps--your hands find their way to their legs.

Enjoying the squirming you feel coming from them, you feel around their thighs, giving a generous squeeze every so often. But now you're sure.

"Minho, you really gotta learn to sit still." With one last pat to their leg, you move on.

You barely get thirty seconds into searching the face of the boy in front of you when your fingers grace over a full pair of lips.

"Hyunjin," you say with a smile, swiping your thumb softly over his lips one last time. "I'd know those lips anywhere." You chuckle when you hear a gasp coming from somewhere down the line and you just shake your head. "Which leaves Seungmin."

You take one last step and you feel your way around the toned body in front of you. To which you nod again. "Yup, Seungmin."

You don't even get enough time to pull off the blindfold fully before the room erupts in shouts.

"How the hell did you do that?" you hear Changbin say.

"Unbelievable," you hear someone else mutter.

When you finally open your eyes and your vision adjusts to the light, they're sitting there in the exact order you listed them in. Han, Felix, Changbin, I.N, Chan, Lee Know, Hyunjin, and Seungmin.

You downright cackle at the incredulous looks on their faces. And the fact that more than half of them either have their legs crossed or seem to coincidentally have their hands clasped in front of their hips.

And not one of them isn't beet red. Although you're sure your face matches theirs.

You feel your body running on overdrive, the heat surely radiating off of you too. More than that, your mind races at the thought of what you just did. All you just touched. So you step away and drop yourself into an open armchair, needing space as much as they do.

Unable to help it though, you glance down at them with a smirk. "Y'all doing okay over there?"

Almost instantly, their blushes deepen, creeping down their necks too.

"You try having someone feel you up and not react," Lee Know remarks glaring at you. "See how you like it."

"Probably as much as you did, I'm guessing."

He only crosses his legs tighter and you snicker.

"You're evil, you know that?"

"I know," you respond with a wink. "But you can't blame me. You guys suggested the game. I just played along. It's not my fault y'all are sensitive."

"Come here and I'll show you sensitive," Changbin snaps as he stomps toward you.

You only curl yourself into a ball laughing but not at all concerned for your safety. And when you feel nothing, you lift your head to see he sat back down though he still visibly fumes. Not truly angry, just seemingly embarrassed by your teasing.

"How did you know it was me?" Lee Know asks after a long moment.

"Yeah," Hyunjin seconds. "Me too."

"Your legs," you admit. "You have quads for days Minho. You should see the thirst edits of you in Venom. Actually," you pause. "I take that back. If you want to keep your sanity, I wouldn't suggest it."

"Noted," he says though his smirk makes it seem like he doesn't intend to take your advice.

"And Hyunjin," you continue turning to him. "I don't know how to explain it. Your lips are just unmistakably you. I wish mine were as full as yours." You run a finger over your own, shaking your head.

Leave it to the prince of K-pop to be downright perfect.

"I need to go take a quick shower," you hear Chan mumble. And you barely get a second to spot him before he's up and out the door of the room.

"I second that," Hyunjin mutters and he himself hurries into the adjoining bathroom of the room you're all in, closing the door.

"Agreed," Changbin mutters too. And you watch him grab a handful of clothes from one of the open suitcases nearby before walking out the door of the room as well.

"Well, I certainly know how to clear a room." With a laugh, you dig into your bag and pull out your keycard. "At this rate, one of you can use the shower in my room if you all want to leave so badly."

Lee Know and Felix both dive for the card in your hand but Felix makes it to you first and he sticks his tongue out at Lee Know. Who knew someone could outdo the resident cat of the group?

Lee Know only glares at him as he sits back down on the bed. "481," he says and when Felix looks back at him in surprise, he smiles menacingly. "Yes, I've already been to her room."

Not bothering to respond, Felix is out the door with his own set of clothes and on his way to your room.

That's when your brain decides to be a menace and you shove away the image that your mind conjures up of him using your bathroom. And how, from now on, his presence is going to be everywhere you look in there. Trying to figure out what he used. What he did. How he looked...

Though your mind desperately wants to fill in all those details, you frantically shove it away knowing that you can't give into that here. And definitely not in the boys' presence.

How your brain has been able to keep it fairly PG until now, you don't know, but you feel your gut twist familiarly as those R-rated thoughts fight to win you over.

You desperately shake them away, needing anything but that issue to deal with right now.

And Han seems to notice your despair because you hear him chuckle. "You good y/n?"

"Oh yeah." You clear your throat, focusing on him with a less than reassuring smile. "I'm peachy."

"Like we believe that," Lee Know snips. "Get your mind out of the gutter y/n. Have some decorum."

"Decorum? At least with me, I can still sit here with all of you and no one would be the wiser."

"We're sitting with you just fine," Han points out, sitting back completely relaxed as if to prove his point.

Raising a brow, you stand up out of your chair, prowling toward him. "Wanna test that theory?"

"No no no no no!" Han is up and on his feet within seconds, cowering in the far corner of the room. "I don't."

Stifling your smirk, you sit back down in your chair, not bothering to follow him. "That's what I thought."

"Lord have mercy on whoever gets stuck in your room tonight," Seungmin mutters with a sigh.

~~~

As small while later, after all the boys came back from their coincidentally cold showers, and the card game you're all currently playing finally ends, you smirk at Seungmin.

"May god have mercy on your soul," you tell him, grinning from ear to ear.

"I can't believe he won," I.N mutters as he throws down the leftover cards in his hand.

Everyone else seems to agree with him, grumbling their grievances and saying that Seungmin cheated his way to victory.

"Well," you say as you stand to stretch. "While it's been an incredibly fun and exciting day...if I don't go shower and curl up in bed soon, I'm gonna fall asleep right here right now."

"We don't mind," Changbin says, seeming back to his usual giddy self after that shower.

"But I do. You guys need your privacy. And I," you say as your gather your belongings and take the keycard Felix hands back to you. "I need a good night's rest otherwise you're gonna have to deal with me cranky and no one wants that." Lee Know raises a brow at you and you shake your head. "I promise you, it's not a pretty sight."

Ambling off to the door, you open it and motion to Seungmin. "You coming puppy?"

You watch him try to fight his own smile as he hops up and runs toward you. And you watch as Chan stands too, walking over to you as Seungmin bounds out the door in a happy little run.

"Careful with that one," he warns as he leans on the door next to you. "There's a reason PuppyM and Leebit are the harbingers of chaos."

You chuckle. "Noted."

"Seeing as how he's already gone though, tell Seungmin I'll come to wake him up tomorrow morning. We have an early show." You nod and when you move to go, Chan stops you with a hand on your arm. "I...also wanted to invite you to the show tomorrow. I know you've pratically seen it twice already but it's the last one of the tour and I feel bad for--"

"I swear if you start apologizing for that woman, I'm gonna walk away right now." When that makes him press his lips closed, effectively shutting him up, you pat his hand on your arm. "I accept your invitation. I'd love to go and see how it all ends. D-2 is always superior anyway. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay? Goodnight guys!" you call over Chan's shoulder.

A cacophony of shouted goodbyes echo back at you. So you leave, walking down the hall to catch up to Seungmin who you find collapsed against your door.

Trying to hide your smile, you scan the card, letting him in. "Sorry," you amend. "Your owner held me up."

When the door closes behind you, you quickly go to work taking off your jacket and bag. And you watch as Seungmin wanders around looking at the room that's near identical to theirs, though a lot cleaner. Not much to see that he hasn't already. And not many of your things laid out for him to take stock of. You just haven't gotten to it yet.

"I didn't have much time to unpack yet," you tell him. And he turns back to you, watching you continue your process as you move onto taking off all your jewelry. "So do you want to shower first or do you want me to?"

After thinking about it for a second he drops himself onto the couch, settling down. "You can. Go soak in all that Felix glory. We both know you want to."

Dropping your last earring into your jewelry bag, you glare at him. "I'd punch you if I knew you didn't have a concert tomorrow."

That only widens his grin. "Good to know I'm exempt from punishment."

"Just until tomorrow. Until then, emotional punishment is just as effective Seungmin." You watch his face fall when he realizes what you did, but you don't acknowledge it. You only smile.

Instead you move to your suitcase a pull out a change of clothes. Then you motion to the beds. "The one on the right is mine. Please refrain from going on it until you showered. I like to be clean when I use it."

"Clean...?"

"I wore these clothes outside. Mentally, for me, they're dirty. And the bed is the one place I like to keep from getting infected with cooties."

He snorts. "Cooties."

You roll your eyes. Of course that's all he got from that sentence. So you walk into the bathroom and close the door behind you, leaving him to his own devices.

The first thing that hits you is the smell.

Not a bad one, not in the least. It's not potent either but it's definitely there. Like vanilla and sandalwood mixed in with the scent of laundry detergent.

So this is what Felix smells like?

Trying not to be creepy, you take one last inhale and start disrobing before stepping into the shower.

No sooner do you start the water do those thoughts you shoved away earlier come flooding back, no doubt brought on by where you are.

While you didn't let yourself explicitly think it earlier...there's no denying that Chan, Changbin and Hyunjin all left to...take care of some things. Felix you're not quite sure about, but then again, he was sitting there with his hands clasped over his hips earlier too. And you felt the heat that rose in him as your fingers wandered over his body. Why else would he fight Lee Know over your keycard?

Then you remember what Lee Know said. Someone is going to try and sleep with you.

Did he actually mean that? Does that really mean they're being honest with you when they flirt? Does it mean their reactions to you earlier were genuine?

You feel that heat rush in again and it has nothing to do with the hot water and steam starting to collect in the bathroom.

They were all allowed to find their high when they left. So why shouldn't you be allowed a little self care too?

With that thought in mind, you dial down the temperature on the faucet, knowing full and well you'll be much too hot for where it's at in a few minutes.

And you don't waste any time in dropping a hand down between your legs.

While the boy's arousal was more than evident in how they sat and tried desperately to hide their erections, being a woman worked in your favor for once.

You had been so distracted and out of your mind with thoughts of them when you played their little game that, had you been a guy, you would've had a boner almost immediately.

Thankfully, you aren't a guy so your arousal wasn't that obvious. At least not then. But now? You slide two fingers into yourself, your fingers instantly dripping wet. And not from the water.

Is this what Chan, Changbin, and Hyunjin were doing in the shower?

You can't help but imagine each of them with a hand wrapped around themselves, their heads thrown back in pleasure.

Had they been thinking of you when they jerked themselves off? Had they been wondering what it would've been like had your touches gone beyond the superficial? Beyond the clothes that had been keeping you from getting any real feeling of their skin.

You continue to pump your own fingers in and out, not bothering to waste time with taking it slow or being gentle. Soon enough, you're adding a third, needing the extra pressure and you bite your lip to stifle a moan.

Reaching up your free hand, your fingers find their way to your breast, pinching the hardened nipple there for that added rush of pleasure.

In your mind, you picture them each standing in the shower, desperately working their cocks to get themselves closer to that sweet release. You picture them moaning as they go, unable to hide the pleasure of their movements as their hands pump their shafts. You picture the veins popping in their arms. The flexing of their muscles. And you imagine how they buck their hips as they get close, fucking into their hands and desperately wishing it was something else. You picture their release...

That thought alone is enough to push you over the edge and you bite back a moan as you come, clenching around the fingers you continue to pump in and out as you ride out your high.

Eventually you slow down and remove your fingers altogether, all the while ignoring the small feeling of disappointment at the emptiness now. And how you too were wishing it was something other than your own hands pleasuring you.

It takes you a few moments to get your bearings when you open your eyes again, but there's no denying that you no longer feel so pent-up from the day's earlier shenanigans.

No wonder the boys all walked back in looking at peace. You yourself feel relaxed after giving into that lustful monster.

But you also feel insanely tired too, the post-sex haze weighing you down with a deep desire to sleep. So you finish your shower as efficiently as possible, making quick work of washing your hair and clearing all the sweat and dirt from your body.

Soon enough, you're toweling off and sliding on a pair of lacy underwear along with the oversized t-shirt and pair of shorts you brought with you.

Then you unfold a towel from the fresh stack housekeeping left for you and you throw one over the side of the shower for Seungmin.

Seungmin...

You instantly sober at the thought of him. And what you just did with him right on the other side of the door.

Whatever feelings of exhaustion you felt, they're long gone now. You had been so caught up in thoughts of them and finally sating that tension that only grew throughout the evening that you forgot he was there.
Not that there's much you can do about it now. So you shove aside the embarrassment as you open the door to the bathroom and walk back into the main room.

"It's all yours," you tell Seungmin as you pass him on your way to your bed, trying to be normal. Kicking off your slippers, you collapse onto the sheets, savoring the comfort of the cushion after so many hours on your feet. "I also put out a towel for you. It's on the shower door."

When you glance over at him where he's still sitting on the couch, you see him watching you, a faint blush painting his cheeks that wasn't there before. Then you see him shake his head, clearing it. "Thank you y/n. Are you feeling better now?"

Now it's your turn to blush but you hide it as you bury your face in the sheets, hoping he means just finally being clean and not him guessing at what you were doing. Aside from showering.

"Much better," you confirm. "Now go do the same. You deserve it after how hard you worked on the performance today."

Giving you a genuine smile, he carries with him a set of clothes you didn't know he had and he disappears into the bathroom.

As you lay curled up on top of the bed, you let your mind rummage through everything that had happened today as you listen to the shower start up again. Not that you get very far in recounting the long list of things that occurred. And your thoughts quickly turn fuzzy, your eyes drooping with bone-deep exhaustion.

You try your best to stay awake as the minutes tick past. You fight to keep your eyes open hoping to get some one-on-one time with Seungmin, but as you lay there it seems that sleep wins out.

Just as you're drifting off, you feel someone pull the comforter over you, and you swear you hear them whisper a soft, "Sweet dreams y/n", pressing a gentle kiss to your hand as the sweet darkness of sleep consumes you altogether.