Love Contradiction

17. Stayville

The town hall meeting was trending on social media. There were numerous posts and TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube edits of different moments. The one that went the most viral was when a Stay told each member how much she loved and supported them and wished them to be happy, no matter who they loved. She mentioned that she and most Stay would protect them and their love at all costs and would never leave them. This prompted a standing ovation, and Stay erupting into song, and made the members cry. 

Felix went viral for crying and then smiling to take a picture. 

Many articles were written about the Town Hall, as well. One read:

"The overwhelming majority of Stay (the group's fandom's name) and other K-pop fans supported the Town Hall and idols dating freely. Once more, making Stray Kids a pioneer in changing industry perceptions."

While there were a few anti-gay comments, Stray Kids and JYPE felt the reception was so good, their confidence in the Two Kids Ship Show increased. They changed the title to "Exchange Island" and made it part of the SKZ Code series. They opted to mimic a reality dating show called Transit Love where people exchange dates to get to know each other. 

In the first episode of the show, Seungmin got paired up with Felix, and Hyunjin with Lee Know. Hyunjin said he didn't like how straightforward Lee Know was, and he needed someone calmer. Seungmin told Felix he was hoping to get paired with someone else. 

Stayville completely fell for the first episode of the show and were excited for the future episodes, which went similarly. In every episode, there was an element of ambiguity, where fans couldn't quite decide who the real couples were.  

There were polls on Bubble and 'the app that will forever be known as Twitter', for fans to guess who the two real couples were. The participation was overwhelming, and the support far outweighed the naysayers.  

Bubble enrollment increased, since the members would post about each other, trying to give clues as to where their hearts were, and fans wanted to show their support any way they could. 

The first of August came along, and they were preparing for their Stay birthday party. Knowing their fans supported them, they allowed themselves to feel excited and weren't nervous at all. 

"We get to reveal ourselves to Stay today. Are you okay, Hyunjin?"He asked, noticing his boyfriend in deep thought. 

"Seungmin, I have never been happier. No matter what, after today, I will have the opportunity to openly love you as my boyfriend, and nothing could be better than that." He kissed him on the forehead and hugged him tightly, making the younger smile and hug him back. 

Felix and Changbin, on the other hand, were two nervous wrecks. As a newer couple, they were still navigating who they were together, so they were concerned with how this could affect their relationship. Their members did their best to comfort and reassure them that no matter what, Stray Kids would always be Stray Kids,  and the only thing that mattered was their love for each other, as a couple, the love of each member, and the love of true Stay.  

The anniversary broadcast opened with a montage of the SKZ Code: Exchange Island moments, and the first of four duets, which would help fans narrow down their choices of the real couples. First up were Chan and Jeongin, with a song called "Black Hole", then every fifteen minutes, a duet would sing their new unreleased song. 

The second duet would be Changlix with a new song titled "Can't Live Without", followed by Minsung singing a song titled "Want so Bad" and lastly, Hyunjin and Seungmin, interpreting a song titled "Beautiful" which everyone thought was for Felix and Hyunjin, but Hyunjin had actually written it for Seungmin, which is why he couldn't bring himself to release it with Felix. 

Between songs, the men sang Happy Birthday to Stay with a cake and candles, sang and danced a few songs never before performed live, and played several "couple games" with preselected pairs each round.

One of the games they played involved balloons stuck to the wall, with notes that contained questions or dares written on them. With darts, pairs would burst the balloons and answer the questions or perform the dares written on the notes. 

Another game had the members write romantic or flirty messages on notes and pairs had to guess who wrote the note based on their diction. The team with the most correct choices won. 

A third game was the ever-popular Pocky Stick game, where pairs were supposed to bite into one end of a pocky stick at the same time, with the goal of biting most of it. The team that ended up with the shortest amount of stick would win.

The final game after the last duet would be the one that was set to reveal the true couples to Stay. In the eyes of the audience watching at home - and the staff in the studio, who also didn't know the identities of the real couples- they would randomly decide to play musical chairs. 

In reality, the game was carefully planned so that the last four players were the two couples who were romantically involved in real life. 

When the fourth round ended, a siren sounded startling all the members, making them hold on to each other and the lights to turn off. 

Everything went silent, then a spotlight shone on Changbin, who looked nervous and was visibly blushing. He looked at the camera and began speaking. 

"Stay, you know I love you, right? I have always done everything thinking of your happiness, and have received so much love from you. You have repeatedly told me to be happy, and I hope that today and in the coming days, you cheer me on because I am truly happy. 

"I have fallen in love, Stay. I am in love with someone who is my streetlight. This person is attentive, kind, and truly looks out for me. I would like to publicly confess in hopes that he accepts my feelings. 

"Yongbokah..." At that moment a second spotlight illuminated Stray Kids' sunshine, who had tears in his eyes. As he walked towards Changbin, the spotlight followed him until both spotlights met, and both men were face to face. Changbin dried Felix's tears and held his hands in his.

"Yongbokah, you said once that you can't live without me, however, I am the one unable to spend any time away from you. I have been in love with you from the moment we met. You have been my sunshine ever since. Will you please be my boyfriend?"

The song "Because I Love You" began playing in the background.

Felix could not contain his tears. He was both moved and happy that they could love each other openly. Usually never at a loss for words, he found himself speechless, but he managed to speak the words that expressed how he felt.

"Yes. I love you, Seo Changbin. I really can't live without you." He broke down crying and hugged him, repeating "Thank you" over and over again. Changbin kissed him on the forehead, held his hand, and led him away from the spotlight.