When the show started, I left Chan's room and watched from the backstage monitor for a while. I was surprised that the venue had sold out considering that they had just released tickets a couple of days ago. Then again, if I'd just been at the Dallas show and was headed to the airport when they made the announcement, I would've bought a ticket and changed my flight, too.
Mana was watching from the stands with Dmitri, and I wondered if she was equally in awe of the guys' ability to sell out the venue on such short notice. They definitely had an undeniably loyal fan base.
They had just begun Comflex when I felt chilly. I shivered and went to the dressing room in search of one of Chan's hoodies. He had several for me to pick from...all black. I chose one at random and decided to wander around since I'd never really explored backstage.
I found the sets for Venom being readied. The crew waved at me as I walked by. I smiled as much as I could manage and waved back. The collars for Red Lights were hanging nearby.
As I walked, I realized that there weren't any guards back here. Usually, they were waiting by the doors in case a crazed fan decided to break in.
The dressing rooms were empty, too. I decided to head down the hall to where JYP's room was. Maybe I could find something in there that the boys could use for their blackmail to end fan service.
Unfortunately, the door was closed, but I could see the light shining out from underneath, so I knew somebody was in there. I could vaguely hear JYP talking on the other side, so I put my ear against the door to listen.
"Has anyone found anything yet? Any ideas?" JYP asked.
"Han and Lee Know's audio could be used like Chan and Ella's over Red Lights," someone suggested.
I quickly pieced together that they were making punishments for the guys. My chest tightened at how conniving they all were. They had made him so much money. Couldn't he just leave them alone?
"No, dumbass," JYP retorted, "We want people to think they're straight. We can't hand over an audio of them fucking for people to find out that they're together." I heard what sounded like a slap and someone yelp.
"Seungmin is definitely seeing that Mana chick," someone announced. I felt nervous hearing my friend's name brought up in whatever was going on in there.
"Obviously," JYP replied. "How serious is it?"
"Still trying to figure that out, sir," he answered.
"What about you?" JYP asked.
"Listen," he replied.
"...get bored of me and want someone more experimental," I heard my own voice echo throughout the room.
"In what way?" Chan had replied.
"Like sexually. I'm obviously not very
experienced, and, because of my past, there's a lot I may never be comfortable with. Like BDSM stuff..." My face turned red while I listened to my confession be announced to the room. Some of the men laughed which made me feel sick to my stomach.
"Good find, we can use this somehow," JYP answered. "Any ideas?" JYP asked.
The room was silent.
"Figure something out," he snapped.
"Ella?" I heard someone call out, and I found Chan heading towards me with a look of confusion as to why I was standing outside of JYP's room.
I stood from where I'd been crouched by the door and ran towards him. I grabbed his hand and pulled him into the bathroom with me. He looked worriedly at me as I turned on the sinks like he had a few days ago. I hoped it would be enough.
"JYP has audios of everyone," I informed him in a whisper.
"What? What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean the guards and JYP are in there right now looking for things to use against us. They have recordings of all of us. They even played one of me and you to the whole room..." My face went bright pink as I trailed off.
"What was it?"
"The conversation about..." I shifted uncomfortably. "...about BDSM stuff."
Chan's eyes went wide. "Ella..."
I interrupted him. "I know. It's embarrassing that they have all of that. JYP said he wanted to find a way to use the information against us."
"No, Ella," Chan whispered so quietly and held my face in his hands. "We had that conversation in Mana's guest room. How did they record it?"
My eyes widened, too. In my embarrassment, I hadn't even realized that.
"Did they follow us?" I asked.
"Doubtful."
"Are they recording through your phone?" I asked him.
Chan considered it for a moment but shook his head. "My phone was in the bunk during your panic attack."
Chan reached down and took my hand. The bracelet dangled from my wrist and clanked against the porcelain sink. He eyed it suspiciously. I realized at the same time that it was with us during each of those conversations.
"You don't think..." I began.
He undid the clasp and examined the metal Stray Kids plate. He noticed something flashing and clicked off the light to the bathroom to see it more clearly. On the center of the back of the plate, there was the faintest of red lights that we'd never noticed since it was always against my wrist (or his wrist).
"Oh my god," I mouthed. I didn't want it to hear me.
Chan turned on the light and pulled out his phone.
We can use this to our advantage. He typed out.
He put it back on my wrist.
Just act normal.
I felt so violated. All of my time with Chan had been recorded and listened to by the guards and JYP. We'd never had a single moment of privacy in the entire time I'd known him. I felt sick.
I took his phone and typed out:
They've heard everything.
All of us plotting. All of the times we've been together. Everything.
He took it back and gave me a hug.
"It'll be okay," he whispered. "At least now we know. And at least this means there isn't a video."
"Intermission is about to end," someone knocked on the door.
Chan kissed my cheek and turned off the sinks. We walked hand-in-hand out to join everyone. I tried to act normal, but I felt like I had a 50lb weight hanging from my wrist. I knew that after the show, we'd have to tell the others what we had found.
"I love you," I kissed him.
"Love you, too," he smiled softly. I turned and saw JYP watching us. Chan eyed him and then me, but I waved him away. He headed off towards the stage.
I stood by the monitor and watched as they started Maniac. Even though everything in me desperately ached to retreat to Chan's dressing room, I didn't want JYP to think I was afraid of him.
JYP came to stand beside me. His presence made me uneasy. My hands became sweaty, and my body was on alert.
"Look at him. He's so powerful on stage. He's the epitome of what an Idol should be," JYP described Chan. "Don't you think he deserves better than you?"
I sucked in a breath and turned to look at him. "Don't you think he deserves better than you?" I spat back.
I turned and walked to Chan's dressing room before he could reply. My heart was pounding anxiously.
I'd just stood up to JYP.
And I realized something else on my walk back to the dressing room... Maybe we wouldn't even need to try so hard as to curate audios to try to catch JYP. Recording people without their consent was illegal. I pulled out my phone and googled to find out if it was illegal in South Korea, too.
According to the results, JYP could face a decade in jail if we released that information. The way he'd been getting information to blackmail the guys was about to be used against him.
Red Lights began, and I was relieved to hear it was back to normal.
I waited eagerly for the show to end so I could tell Chan what I had figured out. JYP was going down.