Stray Kids Drabbles

A flicker of hope (2)

When Lee Know unlocked the door to your shared apartment and opened the door, he froze at the sound of arguing. Somewhere in the distance, your voice sounded. He shut the door quietly and paused to listen.

"All you do is nag! This isn't your life! Stop telling me what to do! Oh, really? Real mature. Fuck you too!"

He just came home from dance practice and was soaked with sweat. Before he did anything, he was planning to shower, but the plans changed when he heard your voice. Like a cat, he silently stuck to the shadows and crept closer to your shared bedroom. The door wasn't fully open, but there you were perched on the edge of the bed.

Your eyebrows were furrowed in anger. An arm was crossed over your chest while the other held the phone up against your ear. Your jaw clenched as you listened to the person on the other end. He stifled a small chuckle as you rolled your eyes.

He didn't want to bother you, but he wanted to catch your attention to let him know he was there. Using a few fingers, he pushed on the door and opened it a few inches. The sudden soft squeak caused you to glance over.

When your eyes met his, he stared at you curiously. He curled three fingers around his palm and pretended to hold a phone to his ear. Along with it, he raised an eyebrow to ponder the question of who you were talking to. You responded by holding up a finger to let him know you needed a moment.

On the other end of the phone, your older sister was bickering non-stop. Everything in your life seemed to be wrong. No matter what you did, you could never seem to please her. You should have known when you answered the phone, this time wouldn't be any different.

"I'm hanging up the phone now. No, I'm not going to continue talking to you. You know what? I really don't care." Without another word, you hung up the phone and threw the device behind you onto the bed.

"Who was that?" Lee Know asked.

"My older annoying sister. You know when you have siblings, you expect them to be annoying, but it's completely different when they just keep verbally attacking you. I can't do this right, I can't do that right, blah, blah, blah." You let out a sigh. "It's just never-ending."

Lee Know paused and blinked a few times. Being an only child, he never grew up with siblings. With his band, it felt like he only had a singular older brother. Sure he joked with Chan and the two of them bickered and screwed around, but he could never recall a time when he purposely tried to bring Chan's mood down in order to hurt his feelings.

Even with the younger guys, sure he picked on them and teased them, but he loved them too. He bought them gifts and spent time with them. He cooked them meals on bad days and sure he got on their nerves at times, but none of them had ever bad-mouthed him out of anger or spite.

"Is your older sister always like this?" He walked closer to you and sat down at the edge of the bed. He made sure to leave a few feet between the two of you.

"Yeah. Even when I succeed at something, I'm not praised. It's just nothing, but verbal disappointment or her going 'well when I was your age.' We keep fighting and it's getting really annoying. I try to get along with her, but it seems to be impossible these days."

"I know you're family, but you don't have to talk to her if it hurts your feelings. You shouldn't be getting your feelings hurt all the time if you're family."

You let out a sigh, "I know I should stop answering her phone calls, but I feel bad."

"It doesn't make you an awful person to have boundaries." He reached out and placed a hand on your thigh. "You won't get along with every family member sometimes. Sure, you might be born into a family, but that doesn't mean you have to continue talking to them if they hurt you."

"I know," you responded. A frown filled your face as your eyes hit the floor. "I just don't want to be considered an asshole."

"You don't wanna join the asshole club? Why not? I'm in it."

"Minho!" You playfully slapped his shoulder.

His eyes gleamed with mischief as he leaned over towards you. You moved away from him already aware he was planning something. Before you could get off the bed, he pulled you towards him and began to tickle you.

You squirmed and wiggled as his fingertips brushed up against your torso. Laughter fell from your lips. A grin appeared on his face before he moved his arms up to your armpits. Desperate to get away, you jerked to the side, but to no avail.

His fingers continued to terrorize you. You squirmed, but a forearm wrapped around you and pinned you to his lap. His fingers dug further into your side which only caused you to laugh harder.

"O-okay!" You sucked in a sharp breath. "Stop tickling me before I piss myself!"

He pulled away instantly. "See? That's called creating boundaries. Not too difficult, now is it?"

You shook your head and let out a sigh. Your body was warm from squirming around so much. Your shoulders slumped as you let your head rest along his shoulder. "Way to go, now I need to shower."

"That was my plan all along. Now you're sweaty and you're morally obligated to join me in the shower."

You groaned and rolled your eyes.

He grinned again. "Welcome to the assholes' club. We're really glad to have you join us."