Stay - Stray Kids Han Jisung FF (RESQ SAGA PART 3)

4.

"Wu Alix?" Woojin exclaimed shocked. "Is it really you?"

"Hello, Woojin. How have you been?" I said awkwardly and bowed slightly. 

Instead of answering, he immediately approached me and wrapped me in a hug. At first, it was really uncomfortable but it held such warmth and familiarity that I quickly melted into the hug and held him tightly.

"I have missed you so freaking much..." I told him as we still hugged.

"I'm sorry, Alix. I'm so sorry..."

"Can someone please explain what's going on?" Minho suddenly said.

Woojin and I then pulled away from the hug but he still held my hand as if though I were going to run away if he released it.

"We were friends back when I was in SM Entertainment," Woojin explained. "I haven't seen her since."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to leave?" I asked him. "Why did you change your phone?"

"Honestly, I didn't know how to tell you. We were so close that I knew there was no way you would take the news well, so I decided to just tell you once it was all already done, but right when I joined JYP they made me change my phone number and I lost all of my contacts," he explained. "Believe me, I have been trying to contact you ever since."

"Well, that was unexpected," Soojin said suddenly making me chuckle. "Who would have known you two would actually know each other!"

No matter how much I actually wanted to catch up with him knowing the actual reason why he hadn't contacted me, they still had to rehearse so I decided to just speak to him afterwards and sat on the side with the girls to watch them.

I had never heard the song before, so when they played the instrumental through the speakers I was completely shocked. It was completely different from the previous songs they had released and I loved it. It was upbeat but still full of meaning and everyone's skills were shown.

Even though you could say I was Woojin's friend, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Jisung as he performed. Well, that was until Chan raised his t-shirt, obviously.

When he did that, the girls beside me began squealing and chatting among them, making almost a semi-circle where I was left out, which made me sigh. Still, I paid no mind to it and turned back towards the boys, where I caught Jisung looking at me with a concerned face, so I sent him a small smile and he did the same, continuing with the performance.

When they finished, the girls and I applauded them, although I must say their applause was far more euphoric than mine.

"Chan! Chan!" Mika began chanting, making me chuckle.

"I know he is your boyfriend and all but you could at least pretend you were excited for all of us," Woojin told her.

"Aren't you going to chant for me?" Hyunjiin said as he approached Soojin.

"Show your abs and I'll think about it," she said flirtatiously and pecked his lips. 

As the couples chatted with each other, Leah approached Changbin and talked to him, so I was once again left alone sitting down at the side.

"What did you think about it, Alix?" Felix asked me as he sat down beside me.

"It was amazing. I really loved the song and the dance," I told them honestly. "It's very different from your other stuff but it is still incredible. I sense a first win right here."

"Let's hope you are right!" Seungmin said. "I'm glad you liked it."

"Where are you from, by the way?" Jeongin asked me. "Your accent is a bit funny."

"I don't see how it's funny. She sounds just fine to me," Felix said confused.

"That's because your accent is funny too," Minho told him making us all laugh.

"My parents are Chinese but I was born and raised in the United Kingdom," I explained. "Although I have been here for a long time,  I didn't really have any Korean friends until Woojin appeared, so I haven't had many chances for improving my Korean."

"She has improved a lot since I last saw her!" Woojin pointed out. "I remember we couldn't even communicate properly at the time."

"Yes, we had to communicate through other trainees sometimes using English or Chinese," I told him with a chuckle.

"Oh, by the way, how are things between you and Dong Sicheng? Are you two still a thing or...?" Woojin asked me curiously.

Dong Sicheng, also known as NCT and WayV's Winwin, and I were a couple back when Woojin was training with us. We had to break up, though, when he had to leave to China to debut with WayV, it being one of the things that triggered my departure from the company.

"We had to break it up..." I told him. "We both knew that we wouldn't be able to see each other after he had to leave to China and much less keeping it secret."

"Were you talking about NCT's Winwin?" Soojin said sitting down with us and I nodded. "Were you two together for long?"

"About four years," I answered.

"They were inseparable. Ever since he joined the company I don't think they spent a day without each other," Woojin told them before turning towards me. "I'm sorry to hear such news. I'm sure it was hard for both of you. "

"Don't worry about it," I assured him. "With a career like ours, it was just meant to happen. At least we still keep in touch."

"Well, I hope our company turns out to be just as good, if not better, than his'," Jisung told me with a smile and grabbed my hand.