Love On Ice?

Hellevator.

(The font/italicizing/bolding does not matter in this chapter, it will all be in English.)

I woke up to the sun in my eyes and Han fully dressed standing by his window. He wasn't the same happy squirrel from last night. He looked stressed, disappointed, and conflicted. I sat up and without turning his head, he folded his arms and said, "You need to leave." Confused, I stood but got dressed and didn't question anything. As I walked down the stairs, the others in the living room wouldn't look at me...besides Chan. He walked over as I reached the bottom step. I wouldn't look at him though. Did I really mean nothing to them and everything last night was just a joke?

"Hey...listen. I told Han he had to make you leave. Trust me, it's nothing you did wrong, we're just all in big trouble with JYP. The saying idols belong to their fans is unfortunately more of a reality than I'd like. But nothing I said to you was wrong, Colton. I want you to know that. We do like you and you do intrigue us. It's just that....well...you'll find out for yourself later...Take care of yourself for us. Please." He says and I just move past him and head out. How could I trust him now, after the scene I saw this morning? They all looked like they wanted nothing to do with me.

I took a cab home and was immediately scolded by my sister as soon as I came in. "How could you be so careless and not pay attention, I know you're in love with them and all but doing this hurts both you and them! Or do you not care as long as you get to live out your dreams?!" I paused my walking, a deadpan look on my face. I just lost what I didn't want to, not even a day after gaining it. I turned back to her. "I don't know what you're talking about, but please leave me alone. I don't even care about the competition anymore. I just wanna lay in my room and watch the world burn." I say quietly and her angry face drops. "Colton...what happened to you?" She asks calmly. "Being told to get out by the only people you look up to hurts. Don't worry I won't make that mistake again. Because I quit." I say, turning and going back up to my room. My sister was in shock as she held her hands to her. I really had no idea what even happened, nor did I care.

I eventually found out what she meant though. I was scrolling Twitter absentmindedly and numb. Koreaboo had posted an article about Hyunjin, Felix, and Changbin all dragging me away by the hands. I didn't bother reading the article because I knew what happened better than they did anyway, but I did read the comments. And that was my mistake. People were mad at me and koreaboo.

"Why does he get to live the Y/N dreams?"

"He's not even that pretty, he's really scarred."

"It can't be true that they like boys, there's no way :("

"What untalented piece of garbage did the boys get themselves into trouble with now?"

"He looks like he's drunk. Did he take advantage of our boys?"

"Who's down to manhunt him with me?"

That last comment got so many replies agreeing with it. Maybe it was better if I quit. Maybe then I wouldn't be targeted by saesangs....I threw my phone away from me and rolled over in my bed. Cece didn't bother me for the rest of the day but i did hear her making a call to the SKFSC (South Korea Figure Skating Championship). I heard her stick something under my door and i begrudgingly went to go read it. 

They want you to do one last show and hand off your medal.

For some reason, those words haunted me. Did I really want to give this up, or was it just because I was scared to put Stray Kids in an ever more vulnerable position? I sighed and sat on my bed, conflicted. Well, I knew one other thing I was good at, though I didn't like doing it often. I got up, dyed and styled my hair, and put on a suit. I took one look in the mirror before heading out and left through my window. I stuck a cigarette in my mouth and lit it as I started walking, putting my trench coat on my shoulders.

I walked down the street to a car rental place and rented a nice car for the day. You see, there was a secret side of me I kept hidden from normal people. Of course, Cece knew about it, but in her words, vowed to stay out of it. It wasn't a lifestyle most people could handle, I just happened to be an expert in it. And I wasn't necessarily poor, as I had played myself to be. I try to live modestly....until I can't. Because the more money you have, the more fake people you attract. Once I rented the car, I got walked out to it. 

"Is this good enough sir?" The attendant asked. I nodded once and took the keys, driving to a nearby casino. I had the valet park my car and I headed in. Gambling is something I always won at, but not for no reason of course. 

"Ah, welcome back Mr. Price. I assure you everything is how you left it, and our revenue has been upward since you added the membership fee for the pool." A manager comes over to me and says. "Ah...thank you Jae-Chan." I fixed my cuffs. "Are you wanting to deal in tonight?" He asked and I nodded. He led me to the higher stakes table and I sit as someone brings me a drink. I played for a bit, of course, winning. 

Once I stood up to stretch I noticed someone familiar a bit away. Well well well... I may have been in their territory before, but now they were in mine. I walked over, hands in my pockets. "Well if it isn't Leader Channie." I say and he pauses, looking at me. "I didn't peg you for the gambling type." I say, leaning on the machine and sticking a sucker in my mouth.

"You didn't peg me at all." He says flatly, trying to make a joke and I just grinned. "No, I didn't." I agree. "So what are you....er who are you exactly? The way you're looking at me doesn't give me competitive figure skater vibes..." He says. "You are correct. That is not all I am. But I stay this way to protect people." I tilted my head. "Then what are you?" He asked.

"That's an easy question to answer Channie. Let's just say I'm the guy who can make that article disappear with a few choice words. Or make the people who wrote it disappear." I say quietly and he widened his eyes a bit. "You're a mafia leader?" He asked as quietly. I found his question amusing and so I just gripped his chin and muttered one word. "Correct."