The Prince of K-Pop || Bang Chan FF

Chapter Eleven

          The end of the show was so magical Naty genuinely felt depressed when it ended. Fred had come to meet her in the box and she barely managed a hello. Naty knew she was a Stay after listening to their last album but the show cemented Stray Kids in her heart. She knew that no matter what happened with Bang Chan she would be a fan of SKZ. There was no way she could not be with their talent and authenticity.

          She supposed that was one of the reasons Stays enjoyed Stray Kids so much. They were unique and genuine in many ways that other 4th generation groups didn't seem to be—at least to her. Tara and Ashley's desire to keep the group scandal-free was much more understandable after seeing a live performance.

          But each second after the show left Naty feeling worse and worse. She felt the adrenaline and serotonin leaving her body at a quick scale and she knew she needed to take care of that quickly. Once back in the hotel room, Naty decided food and a long shower was necessary to get her out of the funk she was feeling. It was the classic post show blues that everyone felt. All she needed was to take care of herself and it would fade the next day.

          Naty smiled to herself at the thought that there was ANOTHER show waiting for her. She was so excited!

          The shower went by quickly and so did her post shower ritual. She knew her food would arrive soon and she didn't want to keep the hotel staff waiting. Naty dressed in her comfy clothes and left the bathroom only to let out a genuine scream.

          "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Minho shouted.

          "Calm down, calm down," Jisung demanded as if he were speaking to a wild animal.

          "What are you doing in here?" Naty looked around for Chan but found him nowhere. She took in a deep breath then looked to the two men feeling torn between being polite and being angry.

          "Good evening. It's nice to meet you too," Minho huffed.

          Han chuckled but seemed to be more understanding of Naty's affliction, "We're sorry for coming uninvited but we came up with an idea. We figured Tara and Ashley would be more likely to let Chan see you if they thought we were all friends."

          Naty found herself in such an activated state it was difficult for Korean words to come to mind but she was able to string together, "I don't want to upset them anymore than they already are. I appreciate the thought but I feel like that will only make them more upset. I don't have much hope of spending time with Chan while here but I hope if things go well...they let us spend time together later on."

          The two men were quiet as they looked to Naty and she quiet as she looked to them. Minho was the first to break the silence with his abrupt question, "So you both are dating."

          "No!" Naty felt her face burn at the question. They looked stunned at her response and she immediately began to explain, "No, I mean, not that I wouldn't— Not that he isn't— Not that I don't want—I! It's just...I would like to be asked out formally on a date before being declared as dating."

          "You don't think flying you across the country to see our show is considered a date?" Minho didn't hold any punches.

          While Jisung scolded him, Naty paused to think of the reality of that statement. It did seem obvious but what Chan said earlier about them being friends made her question everything. Naty chewed on her bottom lip before answering, "I guess...I don't want to get too excited and hurt myself. I'm just confused. He is a very nice person."

          "Uh...not this nice," Jisung chuckled.

          "But he called us 'just friends' this morning," Naty quickly spoke.