Protector from Afar ✔️

Chapter 11 - Take my hand and turn me around

Take my hand and turn me around

Stray Kids' POV

Chan held his stomach, he could hardly breathe. His face felt hot and tears of laughter blurred his vision, but he didn't care. He had missed Changbin's jokes so much.

He had woken up early in the morning and wondered why he felt so good. He doubted reality. But the memories quickly returned. Over the next hour the others woke up and felt the same way.

They sat in the foyer and prepared everything for a spontaneous live. Minho and Jisung had a quiet conversation while Seungmin and Jeongin sat like statues in their chairs, waiting for it to start. Hyunjin sat on the floor, scribbling away in his sketchpad; As soon as someone peered over his shoulder, he turned away or put a hand over it. A peacock feather stuck out from between the pages.

Felix finally came out of his room and Chan was about to go live when he noticed Felix's pale complexion.

"Felix, you don't look well, what's wrong?" Chan asked, his index finger hovering over the record button.

Felix made a dismissive gesture. "All good, let's go live."

He sat down in the empty chair behind Hyunjin, who closed his sketchpad and struck a casual pose. Just a few minutes after the start, the number of viewers went from a few hundred to several thousand. For an hour they talked - albeit superficially - about the last few months, how they were doing today and plans for future projects. Many expressed concerns about the impending military service, starting with Minho.

"Everything will be okay, please don't worry. We will wait, we will always be there," Chan said.

"And play Uno," Felix interjected with a grin.

After the live broadcast ended, the group of eight sat in silence. It was a comfortable silence in which everyone agreed that it was okay. Stray Kids are back, baby. And Chan realized that it wasn't his doing.

"It's kind of weird that we're still here," Changbin said, his leg twitching nervously.

"What do you mean?" Hyunjin asked.

"I mean, what happened yesterday. We could have died. Don't get me wrong, I'm damn glad it turned out well, but... We could fly home."

Hyunjin gave him a sharp look. "Do you really want to?"

Changbin sat back and didn't answer. If he was honest with himself, he was happy about the long break. Not being chased by cameras, not having to pose under dizzying flashlights, not following some weird script - without these stressors, he actually felt refreshed on several levels. And then this training facility! For Changbin, a paradise.

Without a word he got up and went to the outside lounge. A deep furrow stretched a good two meters across the stone ground. He wrinkled his nose in disgust as he spotted dark stains. Although they had already talked about everything as a group and established that this so-called 'parasite' was responsible for their misery - everyone could confirm a noticeable improvement, as if a veil had been lifted. Still, Changbin had trouble making sense of it all.

Sighing, he sat down on the remains of a stone pillar and called his mother.

~°~°~

Felix had planned to spend the afternoon with Hyunjin in the capital. Hyunjin had told him in detail about his spontaneous trip with Seraphina: the picturesque old town with its many corners and side streets, where the Mongolian restaurant was also located; magnificent buildings in the Baroque style, which seamlessly transitioned into the modern era. They wanted to shop and take photos and make memories.