Wolf Prince and Liar Princess [BANG CHAN FF] ✔️

5. The test

- June 15th (afternoon), Tuesday, New York City -

Closing the door of her room, Jia pushed in the large suitcase and left it by the wardrobe, falling straight onto the bed; it was late afternoon and jet lag was adding more to her exhaustion. Jia stared at the ceiling, trying to stay awake as she thought about why Bang Chan "ordered" her to wait at the airport and witness the way "fans" greeted them... both times. Was it to show her a piece of their world and one of many struggles they have to deal with? Or was there another reason? Maybe he wanted to make sure she got on the flight and didn't run away? As these questions roamed around her mind, Jia instinctively closed her eyes and immediately fell asleep.

...

- June 15th (night), Tuesday, New York City -

A loud and continuous banging on the door woke Jia up - realizing the sound, she jumped off the bed, startled. Opening the door, Jia saw a masculine man wearing a tight black t-shirt and a black mask over his mouth. She greeted the man but he silently stepped to the side, revealing Bang Chan who stood behind him. He too was wearing a mask, and Jia noticed that the rest of his face was clean, without makeup, looking almost too innocent and pure.

"Wait for me here," Chan spoke to the guard and the man nodded, positioning himself by the door. Then he turned to Jia and smiled behind the mask. "Hi," he greeted her, but his eyes weren't smiling.

Jia bowed and greeted him in return. Bang Chan stepped into the room and Jia closed the door behind her.

"This is a nice small room. Cozy... I like it," he turned to Jia again, after looking around the room with hands in the pockets of his black shorts. Black is his color, Jia thought as she noticed that he wore an oversized hoodie and a beanie in the said color. Again, the whole image of him was almost too innocent if there wasn't sadistic behavior behind that facade.

"Are you ready?" Chan asked, taking off his face mask.

Jia nodded, still standing while Chan made himself comfortable, sitting on the bed where she slept only a minute ago.

"Listen, I'm jet-lagged just like you are so let's make this quick, I have a busy day tomorrow..." he started, leaning back on his hands, "So, do you want to do this in English or Korean?"

"Either way is fine..." Jia answered in English and Chan smiled, bringing his hands in front of him.

"Okay, then Korean," his chuckle was cute but Jia was too nervous to notice, "Let's start easy - Who are members of Stray Kids and when is the group's debut date?"

The test started and Jia tensed. She gulped and answered his question in one breath. As she listed the members (in a correct joining order), Chan let down one finger after each name, closing his fists and nodding in approval as she stated all 8 of their full and stage names.

"Can I ask you a question?" she breathed, rubbing her sweaty palms together.

"I know what you want to ask... It's a long story..." he looked straight into her eyes, his previous smile nowhere to be seen, "We're an eight-member group now so just go with that and don't think about the past too much, alright?"

"Yes," she answered shortly, wondering if she angered him.

"Okay, now facts about the members," he started again, asking different questions about each member. Jia was ready for that - she spent a good amount of time in research, knowing even their MBTI types. She told him that and saw impression on Chan's face.

"Good," he said in English, "Now the songs," but continued in Korean.

He started from the pre-debut album and she listed the songs in order diligently. Chan nodded in approval. The "Clé" trilogy was next and she tensed up more, remembering her airplane nightmare, hoping that she'll pass and not blank out on "Levanter". Luckily, Jia completed the tracklist in order and Chan continued nodding, smiling wider as she even mentioned their English version "Step out of Clé" and the "Mixtape: Gone Days".