Taste | Changbin

Chapter Eighty-Five

"I thought I told you two to comfort Lennon!" Changbin glanced up the moment Chan swung his door open to reveal Han and Felix. 

"I can't, I got mad, and I yelled at her." Han walked into the room with slumped shoulders. He threw himself onto Chan's empty bed. Feeling guilty, he grabbed one of the tangled blue blankets and threw it over himself. 

"You did what?" Changbin roared. 

"Did you find anything out?" Chan asked. 

"No, we just know that something happened between her and the fans. The only other thing we found out is that she's quitting her job when we get back to Korea." 

"She's what?" Chan's head shot up. "Why? What the fuck is going on?" 

"I wish I knew," Felix mumbled. 

Changbin groaned and threw himself back into the bed. The pillow beneath him provided little support. Being flat with both sides uncomfortably warm, it only added to his discomfort. "I'm going to lose the love of my life," he complained. "We're going to get back, she's going to quit, and I'll never see her again." 

"If it makes you feel better, I think I lost her as my best friend. Tonight, we're both fuck-ups," Han added. 

"Nobody here is a fuck-up. It's nearly three in the morning. How about we all go to bed and we revisit this topic in the morning. Does anyone know if Lennon's okay?" Chan placed his hands on his hips. 

"I mean she was upset after Han yelled at her, but that was to be expected. She told me she wanted to be alone, so..." Felix trailed off. 

Chan's face stretched into a yawn. "Alright, that settles it. We'll figure out what happened in the morning. Felix and Han, go back to your hotel room. Changbin and I will be here if you need us. We'll handle this whole situation in the morning, got it?" 

Mumbled replies came from everyone. Han forced himself out of Chan's bed and nearly tripped over his feet in the process. Felix had to grab his arm to steady him while they walked out. Unsteady from lack of sleep, the two members leaned on each other to get across the hall. 

"I don't want to lose her, Chan." Changbin blurted out as their door shut. "I know the fans did something, but I don't know what. I know I was a dick to her, at first, I was awful, but I truly have fallen head over heels. I don't think I can survive without her. I've never felt like this about anyone before." 

"I know. We have to figure out what we're going to do and we need to do it soon. We only have tomorrow and then we go back home." Chan lifted his arms above his head and stretched. The bottom of his shirt lifted up to reveal defined abs. 

"Huh? What about California? I thought we were going to be performing there. I swore that's what our manager told us." 

"I was going to wait until the morning to tell everyone. There are wildfires in the area and they're slowly inching closer to the venue. Our management team has been working on getting everything set up for tomorrow. We have to refund all the California tickets. It's a risk that JYP doesn't want to take and neither do I." 

"That was supposed to give us three extra days here!" 

"I know, but we have to put the safety of our fans first. We'll come back when there are no threats. Nobody needs to be breathing in the fumes of heavy smoke. I know it sucks, but everyone's safety is important. Like I said before, try to get some sleep. We'll figure it out tomorrow." 

Chan switched off the overhead light and fumbled through the dark to his bed. Normally, he wouldn't be tired, but he had a rough past few days. The bags beneath his eyes had gotten darker. He needed sleep before he lost his mind. 

Changbin clutched the covers around him tighter. His mind spun with never ending questions. Was this going to be the end of him and Lennon? Could they change her mind before they landed back in South Korea? 

Without warning, he shot up from the bed, and threw the covers off. A laugh burst out of his chest. Half covered up, Chan froze while trying to pull a blanket over himself. "What are you doing?" 

"She signed a contract! She talked about it while she was doing my makeup one day. Because JYP had hired her on a whim, she had to sign a contract stating she'd be employed by him until Hana's pregnancy leave ended." 

"Holy fuck, you're right." 

"So she can't quit!" 

"Unless they terminate her contract before that time frame is up." 

"But they need her. Do you really think JYP would be able to immediately find another makeup artist? All we have to do is convince everyone that they can't terminate the contract early. We could even get Hana in on it! She could talk to JYP himself about the situation." 

"Okay, that seems a little far." 

"It's merely a suggestion, Chan! Everything is going to be okay. It's all going to be okay!" He let out another laugh and flopped back down onto the bed. "God, I feel like the luckiest man in the universe." 

"I don't say it often, but it is kind of genius."  

"I know!" 

He yanked the blankets back over himself tightly and rolled to the side. A smile appeared on his face. This gave everyone more time to convince Lennon that she didn't need to quit her job. If it came down to it, he could let her go, but he couldn't stand the idea of her disappearing, and him never seeing her again. He didn't want that for him or for his band mates. 

"We'll talk more about it in the morning, good night." 

"Good night, hyung."