𝙱𝚊𝚗𝚐 𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝙾𝚗𝚎𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚜

𝙲𝚘𝚙𝚢

TW:  alluded anxiety

 It doesn't matter which side of the issue you're on- please respect both groups and don't start needless drama. 

We don't need another fandom war

"Chan, what's wrong?"

The leader doesn't seem to hear him. Jeongin sighs, placing a hand on the eldest's arm.

"Hyung."

Chan slowly tears his eyes away from the screen, turning to face the maknae. The weight in Jeongin's heart grows heavier at the sight of the leader's face- blotchy, eyes red and puffy, tear stains from the meltdowns Chan had hidden from them earlier. 

The maknae understands. 

They've worked so hard on this album, and they were all excited to explore this new genre, an entire realm of new possibilities open to them, Chan especially. 

The leader was the one to arrange the collaborations,  mix the beats, involved in everything from the location of the shoots to the writing of the lyrics. 

He had been like a little kid, his eyes sparkling whenever he got the chance to talk to them about the album- which was more often than not.

In turn, it had hurt all of them when it had blown up in their faces- Chan the most. 

Jeongin knows that Chan didn't mean for him to see this, that he probably thought the maknae was asleep, and as such, he wouldn't hear his quiet sobs through the paper thin walls of their dorm.  For once, he is thankful that the company didn't bother to rent them out a larger apartment, one with more room and more than one bathroom to fight over in the mornings. 

Chan shakes his head, quickly wiping his eyes, sniffling.

"I- it's nothing, Innie. I just-"

Jeongin frowns. 

"No, hyung. It's something. What is it?"

He already knows. He just needs Chan to say it out loud, to actually admit that something is wrong, that the actions of their supposed "fans" hurt more than he let show when the articles and hashtags had first started trending.

The leader shakes his head again, pressing a hand to his mouth, tears trickling down his face.

Jeongin looks past Chan to his laptop, to the article that is still pulled up. 

"Stray Kids Accused of Copying BTS in Recent Album Mashup- Sparks Heated Debate"

His mouth tightens involuntarily. 

Chan wraps his arms around himself, clearly trying to regulate his breathing, yet failing. 

Jeongin can't help but feel helpless.

There is nothing he can do to ease this burden of Chan's, nothing he can say that will make anything better. Yes, they have had plagiarism rumours in the past- it's all par for the course, but nothing quite on this grand of a scale.

No matter what he tells the leader, no matter the amount of his assurances, Chan will blame himself, go back and review the mashup, the song, hell, he'll probably feverishly reexamine every single one of the tracks if he is allowed to.