Taste | Changbin

Chapter Twenty-Two

"So how have the guys been treating you?" Hana asked. 

"Pretty well, shockingly. They've all been nice, besides one of them. I'm pretty sure he hates me and maybe he has a good reason to. I don't know, I haven't figured him out yet." 

"Let me guess, it's Changbin, isn't it?" 

Lennon's mouth dropped open in shock. "How did you know?" 

"Because he can be a dick. He was when we met, at first. He was all huffy and grouchy and gross. Eventually, he got over it, but it took a bit. I know the two of us were really close before I left. He's texted me now and then, but I haven't been the best at responding. Giving birth takes a lot out of a woman." 

"To be fair, I accidentally spilled coffee on him the first time we met. Then I accidentally bumped into him in the hallway and he dropped his phone. The screen cracked and he was pissed about that. We just can't seem to get along, no matter how much I apologize." 

A laugh escaped Hana's lips. She quickly shoved a hand over her mouth. After giggling for a few seconds, she pulled her hand away. "Oh, Lennon, it's not you. Changbin shares a dorm room with Han and he's a miniature tornado. Trust me, it's not you. This is all him, just give it time." 

"Time seems like it's going by incredibly slowly. He told me that it'd be a better idea if we didn't talk to each other. At this point, I think it's for the best." 

"He's a tough nut to crack. Don't tell him I told you, but he's a big softy deep down."

"I have a hard time believing that." 

"Well, you better believe it." Hana took her cell phone out of her back pocket. "Here, let me find a video to show you." 

It took her a moment, but sure enough, she found a video of Changbin. She giggled behind the camera and filmed him from behind. You could see the two of them in a huge mirror. His thumbs and pointer fingers of each hand were pressed together forming a heart. A high pitched voice came out of him. Lennon watched the video in shock as he spoke aegyo. 

"How did you get this?" She asked once it ended. 

"We were screwing around after I did his makeup. I don't think he realizes I still have it. Nobody else has seen it, so I use it as blackmail. If you want to give me your number, I can send it to you." 

"Would you, please?" 

"Absolutely! I don't think I'm ever going to get the chance to use it now that I've become a mother." 

"Oh? I thought you were going to come back to the studio after maternity leave?" 

Hana let out a sigh. "Honestly, I don't know. Don't get me wrong, I love the band and I liked working for JYP. The paycheck is good, but I just don't see myself doing it long term. Now that I'm a mom, I want to focus on my daughter. With the band, they travel a lot. I don't want to miss out on my daughter's important moments." 

"That's understandable. Don't stress about it too much. You still have a lot of time to figure it out. If you decide to come back, let me know. You've been working with the guys longer than me. I'd be happy to give you your job back if you wanted it." 

"Chan was right when he said you were really sweet." 

"Well, I don't know about that. You want to know who's really sweet? Felix. On the first day, he brought me an iced Americano. I wasn't expecting it, but I was almost moved to tears." 

"Oh, he does little things like that a lot. The band wasn't kidding when they called him the sunshine of Stray Kids. He's good with gifts and acts of service. He was the sweetest when I was pregnant. Sometimes I experienced Braxton-Hicks contractions. During the rough ones, he'd let me squeeze his hand. I swear, I ended up almost breaking it." 

"That was really nice of him." 

"There were a few times that he ended up calling his mom and asking for advice. He even bought me a pregnancy pillow. I'll never forget it because that was life changing. You think everything is fine until you have a stomach that's the size and shape of a watermelon. It made sleeping bearable. Don't be fooled by his sailor's cursing, he's amazing." 

Lennon's phone pinged with a text message. She typed in her password and glanced at it. Chan had sent her a simple response. 

"I'm sorry about your anxiety. Han just told us you struggle with it. Next time, we'll be sure to ask before we go somewhere with large groups of people. Thanks for letting me know. We'll see you bright and early on Monday :)" 

She let out the breath she was holding. Thankfully, nobody had found out about her and Changbin's fight. She didn't want to cause tension between the band members. That was the last thing she needed. 

"I supposed I should get back to the hospital. Seoul is about a half hour away and I didn't mean to take up too much of your time. I should let you go back to whatever you were doing." 

"You gave birth in Seoul?" 

"Yeah, I gave birth there and I live there." 

Lennon's fingers gripped her cup tighter. She had ordered an iced green tea. Condensation had dripped down the side after the ice began to melt. "Do you mind if I ride back with you? I was with some friends down at the arcade. They were my ride here and they wanted to stick around longer, but I was having some issues with my anxiety." 

"Of course, I can take you back! I'd love to talk to you longer. Han has been texting me about you nonstop. Honestly, I was a little jealous that they got to know you and I didn't." 

"They like me that much, huh?" Lennon raised an eyebrow. "I've been nice to them and everything, but I didn't think much of it. I've just been myself, but I'm honored that they think so highly of me." 

"Oh, Lennon, you have no idea. Stray Kids is one of the biggest bands in South Korea currently. You'd be surprised how many fans try to get a job working for JYP. Multiple people have been hired and then fired because they're found to be recording idols or taking their photos without their consent and posting it online. You came from America, right?" 

"Yeah." 

"Were there ever celebrities that had obsessive stalker fans?" 

Lennon frowned, "unfortunately." 

"That's what it's like here, but I think we have it worse. These obsessive stalker fans are called sasaengs and they'll do anything to infiltrate the lives of k-pop idols. They'll stalk, they'll follow, they'll get jobs at places where k-pop idols have their information at. Places like airlines or cell phone companies, places where it's easy to get a job." 

"Obviously, it's harder to get a job with JYP," she continued. "They hire for a variety of things and you don't know exactly who you'll be working with until you're hired. JYP has a pretty lengthy background check process that you have to go through to get hired. Unfortunately, some sasaengs get through the cracks. People don't realize who they are until it's too late." 

"That's got to be rough for idols." 

"It's not just idols, it affects everyone. The idols, their choreographers, stylists, makeup artists, management, body guards, and so on. Everyone can be affected by it. At one point, the band had to deal with a pretty insane sasaeng. It took the boys months of therapy before they got over it. We all fell victim to crippling paranoia because she was that good at it. She had a whole network of other sasaengs that she used."  

"That's crazy. I can't imagine doing something like that to people. They're people, you know? Idol or not, they're all still humans. They deserve to have their privacy respected." 

"You'd think, right? It's super crazy. Are you ready to go?" 

"Yeah, whenever you are." 

"Up, up, and away we go then; Momma wants to see her little baby."