The first thing Nari thought when she saw his face was wow. What was with all the gorgeous boys around here?
But she kept silent and obediently sat down, Hyunjin following her lead. The boy in the chair eyed her for a moment and leaned back. "Let's get straight to the point. I'm sure you're wondering why you're here, who we are, and what happened last night."
Nari nodded to confirm what he suspected. He ran a hand through his curly locks and sighed.
"Well, first, I think introductions are in order," he said, a corner of his mouth lifting. "My name is Bang Chan."
Wetting her lips, Nari replied, "I'm Lee Nari. But you already knew that."
A grimace distorted Chan's features for a moment. "Yes, and I'm sorry for that."
She was confused. "Is it so bad to know who I am?"
"Not necessarily. It's bad for others to know who you are. Even though you have nothing to do with us."
Nari frowned, her brows dipping down. "I... I don't understand."
A heavy sigh fell from Chan's lips. "It's very dangerous to be associated with us. I think you learned that after last night."
Eyes wide, Nari shifted her gaze to Hyunjin. "That's why I was being followed? Because I know you?"
Hyunjin didn't answer, and instead let his eyes drop to the floor.
"Yes and no. You know us, but not in the way that man and his bosses thought," Chan elaborated.
What did that mean? Nari shook her head. "In which way is that? Who are you?"
The boy bent forward in his chair, keeping the contact with her. "I am the leader of Stray Kids."
. . . . . what??
No.
This wasn't real.
This wasn't happening.
Nari stiffened in her chair, squeezing the armrests until her knuckles turned white. "No," she whispered, her breathing turning shallow. "That can't be. That isn't possible."
"It's very possible, actually," Chan corrected, keeping his calm demeanor. Nari whipped her gaze up at him, fear etched in her features. She opened her mouth, lips trembling violently.
"You... you're a murderer. I can't believe this," she muttered. Chan's jaw tightened, his eyes flashing. Her head flicked towards Hyunjin. "You killed that man last night, didn't you?"
His face was devoid of emotion, his eyes blank. But Hyunjin nodded. "I had no choice."
Nari covered her mouth, fumbling to her feet. Slowly, Chan did the same, gesturing for her to stay put.
"Calm down Nari, we aren't going to hurt you."
"Get away from me," she hissed, stumbling towards the door. Hyunjin shot up and followed her, his long strides quickly closing the distance between them.
"Stay away!" she cried, hands out. Stepping out of the room to make a break for it, Nari bumped into someone else. His sharp, fox-like eyes were wide, and he glanced behind her in confusion.
"Jeongin, stop her!"
Nari shoved past him and sprinted down the hall to the stairs, panting for air. Before her foot touched the first step, a hand grabbed her wrist, yanking her back. She screamed.
"No!"
Fear and panic overwhelmed her, and images and memories of her uncle rose up, ugly and dark. "Let me go!" Nari wept, fighting away from the hand.
"Nari, stop! It's okay!"
He was a liar. He was going to hurt her. He didn't care about her.
Hyunjin gently pulled her away from the stairs. But Nari's panic made her see her uncle instead. She cringed away from him, sobbing.
"Please, p-please," she pleaded, her voice cracking. The grip tightened, and she cried out.
"It's for your own good," he explained. Nari gasped for air as she saw the belt coming, felt the air move as the blow approached. Her legs gave out and she fell, her vision blurring. She shut her eyes tightly, ready for the pain.
Instead, she felt the smallest kiss of a touch, just a whisper, caressing her face. A hand moved the wild hair out of her eyes, her mouth, smoothed away her tears. The unexpected sensation caused her mind to swirl even more wildly, and her vision began to darken. She began to choke on the air in her lungs, her chest heaving.
"Minho hyung, help!" Hyunjin yelled, bewildered at her response. In the corner of her vision, Nari could see a pair of feet hurrying over, hands shoving Hyunjin aside.
The hands reached for her and Nari let them, too weak to fight them off. Her head was propped up slightly.
"Nari, breathe. It's alright, just breathe," Minho urged, taking hold of her hand. Nari tried to draw in a breath, but her chest kept spasming and the tears kept coming.
She could hear snippets of a tense conversation going on above her. "... enough oxygen... calm her down... panic attack... "
Waves of intense fear and panic rolled over her, and she fought to stay conscious, squeezing Minho's hand as hard as she could.
But she was too far gone, the shock too much to take. Darkness swept over her vision, claiming her in its depths, and Nari willingly surrendered to it.
° ° °
A deafening boom woke her.
Nari jumped and sucked in a ragged breath, sweat making her hair stick to her temples. She moaned and rubbed her forehead, the harsh aftereffects of her attack still fading. Slowly, Nari sat up, being careful with her sore, bandaged leg. Her hand skimmed over the smooth sheets that covered her.
A bolt of panic raced down her spine as she remembered where she was. And who she was with. Nari straightened, preparing to lift her legs out of the bed, when the door to the room she was in opened.
She froze, eyes blinking and squinting at the figure in the door frame.
"Relax kid, it's just me," Minho said, rolling his eyes. He shoved his hands on his pockets and raised an eyebrow. "You ready to calm down and talk to us?"
Nari hesitated. When she had run from Chan's office, they hadn't responded with violence to keep her there. Hyunjin and Minho had tried to help during her panic attack. They had put her in a soft bed, taking care to close the curtains and pull the blankets up. They seemed to be kind, but... Stray Kids.
Drawing in a breath, Nari nodded. "Yeah, you can take me to them." Minho's eyes creased as he smiled.
"Attagirl," he praised her, letting a careful hand hover near the small of her back as she walked through the door.
They walked downstairs this time, to a larger living room similarly furnished like the other one Nari had seen. Chan was waiting on one of the couches, fiddling with his fingers. Pacing across the middle of the floor was Hyunjin, a nervous look on his face. When he saw Nari, he made like he was going to help her to the couch, but backed up several steps and let Minho do it instead.
After she was seated, Minho plopped down next to her, pulling out a phone and typing away. Chan gave him a look.
"How is she, Minho?" he asked pointedly. Reluctantly, Minho turned the device off and crossed his arms.
"She's fine now, but she needs to stay hydrated and eat something. It was a panic attack, obviously, so she just needs to relax. Which may be hard around here," he said, glancing at her.
Chan nodded, his brow creased. Then he looked at Nari. "I'm sorry we caused that. I knew you would freak out, but I didn't think you would have an attack," he apologized. Nari shook her head.
"The attack wasn't your fault. I was having - flashbacks when they were t-touching me," Nari explained, cursing herself for stuttering. With a frown, Hyunjin sat forward.
"So when I was pulling you back, you thought I was your uncle?" he asked softly. Nari nodded.
"Don't worry about it," she replied. He sat back but still seemed troubled.
Rubbing his hands together, Chan said, "So here's the deal. You know who we are now; someone attacked you last night even when they weren't absolutely sure that you did. That's going to keep on happening, over and over again. We can't protect you anymore either. Attachment to you will make it seem like you're very important to our group as a gang, and others will try and take advantage of that. You're a liability to us, a weakness."
Nari squirmed in her seat, uncomfortable. Where was this going? The boy continued.
"There is a way you could be safe though, and escape your uncle too," he said, letting the statement sit for a moment. Minho snapped his gaze toward Chan, eyes sharp. Hyunjin looked very concerned.
Nari let out a breath. "Okay, so what is it?"
His gaze even and serious, Chan replied, "You can join Stray Kids."
Hyunjin's response was immediate.
His face went white as a ghost, and he surged up from the couch, chest heaving. "No. No, Chan. We can't do that to her. That would destroy her."
"B-besides, don't you need to make sure everyone else is okay with this?" Nari asked with wide eyes.
"I already did," he replied calmly, crossing his arms. Hyunjin faced him, completely distraught.
"You didn't ask me!" he yelled, veins rising in his neck.
"Fine, yes, I talked to the others separately because I knew that you would flip out!" Chan retorted, his chill demeanor slipping.
"That's not how this works, Chan," Hyunjin shot back, his voice shaking with anger.
Chan attempted to calm him down, but Hyunjin completely brushed him off, and they began to argue.
Nari just sat there on the couch, her mind reeling. Disbelieving. Unable to comprehend or accept what Chan had just said.
Join Stray Kids.
Minho was unfazed, probably because he had known this was coming. He sat forward, placing his fingers together in thought. "I think it's a good idea."
The two fighting boys froze, and Nari stared with wide eyes. Minho glanced over his shoulder, annoyed. "What?"
Hyunjin jabbed a finger in his direction, forehead creasing as he ranted. "It's not a good idea! She can't handle it, she could never do what we have to on a daily basis! She wouldn't last a - "
"How do you know?"
Taken aback, Hyunjin looked at the speaker and frowned, his anger fizzling out. "What?"
Nari swallowed hard. "How do you know I can't handle it? How do you know I wouldn't be good at what you all do?"
The boy searched desperately for a reply, wanting nothing more than to steer her completely away from this life.
"Because you're too pure," he finally said. "You're too good, too kind. This path would strip you of all those qualities, change you. You don't know the things I've had to do. I've killed. Most of us have. That's the job description of being in a mafia."
She stood, stopping in front of him, and placed a hand on his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "But that's just it. You've done all those things - and you're still a good person. It may have changed you, but it didn't make you bad in any way. You saved me, your family healed me, and now your leader is offering me a chance to live freely. Away from my uncle. Yes, I would be part of a gang, but it isn't one that's after any evil purposes, it's trying to help others. That's something I not only would want to be a part of, but would be proud to be part of it."
Nari turned, seeking Chan's eyes, knowing that he would see her answer in her own. She took her hand off of Hyunjin and turned from him, fully facing the leader of Stray Kids as she uttered the words that would turn her entire world upside down.
"I accept your offer."
Dun dun duuuunnnn