Break The Distance

7

It's almost time. You've been soulmates with Han Jisung for over a year- and you're finally going to see him in person. You'll miss working with ITZY, but you're still in the same company so you're sure you'll see them again. Heck, you have most of their phone numbers because they wanted to stay in touch after it was announced that you would be transferred as one of Stray Kids's bodyguards. The plan proposed by JY Park himself is for you to wait backstage at one of Stray Kids' events and surprise Han.

He said it would be a great surprise after they met with fans- and even planned for Han to be brought to you without the other members for your reunion. Who knew JYP was such a romantic? Or maybe he just wants secret footage for the campaign to get more rights for soulmates. You don't really care, because you get to see your soulmate however it ends up happening.

You're normal security for the beginning of the event, some kind of fan meet, you haven't checked the technical name because you have the relevant details like headcount and an event schedule. You don't care much for the crowd aspect today. You spotted several people moving suspiciously, but due to the casual standing and sitting areas, you haven't been able to consistently keep an eye on all of them.

You signal to someone to briefly switch you out, and you step into the back area- jogging upstairs for a better view. Over the radio, you give descriptions to keep an eye out for, but it's a smaller event so less security and less overall concern for an issue due to the size.

You're excused to head to the meet-up point by a coworker and you sigh, the rest of the team can handle any issues- they did it fine before you joined. You should let go of the uneasy feeling. Technically, you're supposed to use this time to change out of uniform to meet Han- JYP gave you over an hour before the end of the event for some reason- but you just monitor the event through the cameras as you wait.

You finally turn your attention from the crowd to your soulmate, who seems fidgety and uneasy on the stage. There's no time for you to even wonder if he's having an anxiety attack when he darts off the stage, face pale. The other members of his group cover and apologize to fans, but you switch to see where Han is running.

Several things happen at once- the crowd shifts, Han falls to his knees in one of the back hallways, and you run to him without thinking. You curse yourself mentally, slowing to a stop before clearing your throat to announce your presence.

"Mr. Han, do you need assistance to a resting area? It's not safe staying on the floor in the hallway."

He looks up at you, eyes brimming with tears as he weakly nods, not questioning the new security. You politely offer an arm to pull him up- and note that he's shaking like a leaf and his eyes are glazing over. You hear chatter over the radio- a group manhandled their way through security and is headed your way. You resist vocalizing the new stream of curses you're thinking of.

"Sir, it's not safe here. We need to get you to a more secure area. An entrance has been compromised." You step in the direction he needs to go, giving him space.

Han takes a shaky step and you can practically feel the anxiety radiating off him. He's hyperventilating and grasping his chest as fear sets in over the anxiety he already was feeling. You mentally berate yourself for your wording earlier which probably made his anxiety worse.

"Deep breath. Look at me if you can't do it yourself, watch how I'm breathing and match it, okay? We need to get moving so please forgive me for what I have to do next," you say slowly, locking eyes with Han before you hear shouting both in the hallway and on the radio.

You're definitely going to get in trouble for this, but you sweep Han up bridal style and start moving away from the noise. Han is just frozen, obediently watching your breathing pattern as you run through the maze of the venue to what was supposed to be your meeting place for surprising him. You set him down on the couch inside, offering a lukewarm water bottle, which he numbly takes.