Taste | Changbin

Chapter Eighty-One

The moment Lennon opened the makeup room door a few minutes later, the floor shook. Even backstage, she could hear the screams and chants from the fans. A small smile made its way to her face. It must be an incredible feeling knowing that the excitement is meant for you and your friends. 

Unlike the last venue she got lost in, this one had signs posted in the halls. Backstage to the left, restrooms to the right. The security office was directly beside the restrooms. Even though she hadn't seen security, or any backstage personnel, she felt a lot safer than she had at the past venue. 

Music blasted through speakers near the stage. The screams became much louder. The band must have started a bit early. Last she knew, they had ten minutes until they began their performance. She shrugged off the slight disappointment that laced her veins. 

The past few performances, she had wished all the guys good luck before they all appeared on stage. Han had mentioned that their nerves built up before concerts. She often tried to make them laugh beforehand and apparently it did a great job at getting them to ease up a bit. 

Instead of walking towards the left, she headed towards the right. There was no point in hurrying backstage if the guys were already on stage. She was going to use the bathroom after they got on stage, but it was too late. 

Quickening her pace, she hurried towards the closed wooden door. She had needed to use the bathroom for almost twenty minutes, but there was no way she could take a break. She wanted to finish their makeup and send them off first. 

She went into the stall and did her business. Coming out, she washed her hands, and headed out the door to go backstage. 

"Hey, are you Lennon?" 

She froze in her tracks and looked up. Two girls stood a few feet away. One was wearing a skin tight black long sleeve shirt with a purple skirt. The other was wearing a similar dark colored dress that stopped at mid-thigh. 

"You do Stray Kids' makeup, right?" The other asked. 

She slowly nodded, not sure how the two fans managed to get into the back of the venue. "Yeah, that's me." She glanced at the light stick in one of the girls' hands. "Is that the new light stick? I haven't seen it in person yet, it's really cool." 

After their comeback, the band decided to revamp their light stick. The white handle had been changed from white to black. The top of the stick had changed completely. Royal purple shards had appeared at the top of it. 

When you turned it on, it looked like purple flames. Different settings caused the lights to change different colors, but purple was their basic color. 'Stray Kids' had been etched into the dark handle with white. The K had been changed from red to purple. 

"Yeah, it's great." Their voice held no excitement. 

Lennon cleared her throat and shifted her weight to her other leg. "Can I do something for you? Are you looking for the restroom?" 

"We were looking for you." 

"Oh?" 

"Are you dating Changbin?" 

She could feel the color drain out of her face. The two girls shared a look between the two of them. They didn't say anything, but it's like they were talking with their eyes. 

"No," Lennon finally got out. "I'm just his makeup artist and we're friends. I'm friends with all of the band." 

"Stay away from him." 

Lennon's eyebrows furrowed. "Excuse me?"

The girl in the dress rolled her eyes, "don't play stupid. We know the two of you are together. Haven't you learned anything from your past? All you do is break people." 

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lennon struggled to keep her voice level. Anger had begun to bubble up inside of her. Who the fuck did these fans think they were?

"Your mom died in a tragic car accident years ago. Your dad drank himself to death and he probably did it to get away from you. If you knew what was good for Changbin, you'd stay the fuck away from him before something bad happens to him too. You might as well pack your shit and go back to wherever the fuck you came from." 

"You're a worthless piece of bad luck," the other added. "It's a tragedy that you haven't killed yourself yet. You'd be doing the fans and the band a favor." 

The anger dissolved at once. The only thing Lennon could think of was her mom's face. Her lovely beaming face always held a smile. The one thing that Lennon couldn't do was be like her mom. She always wished she could have, but she wasn't. She couldn't walk into a room and light it up like her mom could. 

She had been gone for so long that Lennon couldn't remember what her voice sounded like. The only reason she remembered what she looked like was because of the photograph that her father ripped. She clutched onto it every night trying to capture every handcrafted lure and soft pull of her mother's face. 

And her father, how dare they speak about her father. She kept blaming herself for his death and it's almost like they knew it. They knew exactly what words to use to cut her open. They shredded her heart with a single conversation. 

"Hey!" A loud voice barked from behind Lennon. "What the hell do you think you're doing back here?" Heavy footsteps thudded against the concrete floor. 

A security guard, dressed in all black, walked around to look at them. He glanced at the staff lanyard around Lennon's neck. He turned towards the other two girls and narrowed his eyes. "How did you get back here?" 

"We just had to use the bathroom, that's all." 

"This area isn't authorized for fans. Go back the way you came, let's go!" His sharp voice punctured the air with authority. "Don't ever come back here again, you hear me?" 

"Sorry sir, it won't happen again. It was nice talking to you Lennon, have a good night!" 

Lennon's feet stayed glued to the ground while she watched them walk away. On stage, Changbin's rapping filled the air. The background music for Streetlight blared while he rapped away. 

It was the perfect time for her tears to fall.