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Chapter Text

Nerves and nausea go hand in hand for a lot of people; I’m no exception. The worst incident involved Nathan Whys at his birthday party in the 9th grade. After casually flirting for two months, we ended up getting paired together during spin the bottle. Who even plays that game anymore? Horny 9th graders, that’s who. Not that I was a horny 9th grader. I barely cared about guys and hadn’t had my first kiss yet. Attending the party was expected and somehow I ended up kneeling in a circle surrounding an empty soda bottle.

The girls in the circle glared when Nathan’s spin landed on me but he just grinned. His wide smile made my stomach flutter and not in a good way. As he inched toward me on his knees, my stomach lurched. Let’s just say, I’m lucky I made it to the bathroom in time. My friends said I should join the track team after that. But because I didn’t actually vomit in front of anyone, the incident was forgotten.

After a few years, I gained control of a certain emotion to suppress the urge to puke. Anger. A therapist would say that it isn’t good to replace other emotions with anger and I’d normally agree with them. But that works better when someone is on the verge of crying or something. If nerves didn’t make me vomit, I’d be fine with handling them. It’s better to get angry than to barf in front of people.

That anger came in handy when I was strolling down an alley as a shortcut to my apartment on a Wednesday night. Over one shoulder I had my purse and in my other hand, I held a shopping bag. It was my new interview outfit. Not the smartest choice to spring for fancy clothes when I was lacking current employment, but I wanted to look my best for my interview the next day. The salary was insane and it basically was what I had done for my dad’s company with more traveling.

Before you get on my case, there are certain alleys in downtown Los Angeles that aren’t actually that bad. Every city has their dark alleyways but this one I liked to walk down was more of a small street behind well-kept apartment buildings. Nothing bad happened in alleys like that one, so I felt perfectly safe. Of course, as soon as I heard the growl of male voices I stopped and swore under my breath.

“Soft hair and soft skin. You can’t say you didn’t want attention.”

Gross. But the voice was farther down the alley and the comment wasn’t directed at me.

“What’s a young thing like you doing alone here, anyway?” another man asked. “It’s dangerous in this area.”

Not exactly true. I wouldn’t live in dangerous places. Just because it wasn’t Beverly Hills didn’t mean the city was dangerous. It was scum like these guys who made nice places develop bad reputations. Carefully, I slid my bags to the ground and pulled out my lanyard. The cluster of keys acted as a suitable weapon and the small pepper spray on the end detached easily. This is where my nerves turned into anger.

I’m not a vigilante. Not once did I imagine being a superhero when I was a kid. But these men had someone cornered and no one else was there to stop them. I crept closer to the voices and peered around a dumpster. Two large men had their backs to me and their arms bracketed someone against the wall.

“Don’t touch me,” their victim snapped. My heart dropped when one man shifted enough to reveal a boy. I say boy because he didn’t look a day over eighteen. He had a delicate look to him. Basically, an easy target.

One man laughed and tugged on a lock on the boy’s red hair. I gritted my teeth before stepping out from behind the dumpster.

“The cops are on their way.” I lied effortlessly. The men spun toward me and I casually swung my lanyard around in a circle. The tallest man, covered in tattoos and reeking of beer, leered at me.

“Look. Another delicate thing walking alone. Didn’t your daddy ever teach you to be careful, little girl?”

I snorted and spun my lanyard faster. “Sure he did. But it was my kickboxing teacher who taught me how to kick ass. Do you wanna stick around for that? I bet the cops will show up right after I take you both down.”

The boy watched me, slack jawed, and I widened my eyes, hoping he’d get the hint and take off running. But he must have been in shock because he didn’t move.

The tattooed man chuckled and looked over at his slimmer friend. “You take the boy, I’ll take the girl.” Then he came at me.

The best part about the lanyard is that it’s a weapon that can be used at a distance. However, this guy saw I was holding the lanyard and tried to grab it from me. What he didn’t see was the pepper spray in my other hand.

When he grabbed the lanyard and tried to reel me in, I brought up my pepper spray and got him right in the face. He cried out and bent down, allowing me to knee his groin before he noticed me coming. The other man sprang at me but the lanyard did the trick and hit him across the face. I didn’t use the pepper spray but when he was momentarily stunned; I kicked him right in the stomach. With both men on the ground, I finally made it to the boy’s side.

“You okay?” I asked as I examined his face. He only stared at me, then nodded. The men stumbled to their feet and the slimmer guy glared at me as he grabbed his friend’s arm.

“Want another go?” I asked with a manic grin. “I admit, I took you down a little faster than I thought. If I keep you busy for a few more minutes, the cops should get here.”

“Bitch,” the tattooed guy spat. They stumbled away, not giving us anymore trouble. I watched them walk down the alley and when they were out of sight, I leaned back against the wall and sighed. Adrenaline left my body and my legs shook a little.

“Um… Are you alright?”

When I looked at him, I couldn’t help noticing how pretty he was. Of Asian descent, he wore clothes that looked expensive and I was pretty sure he had make-up on.

“Just winding down,” I admitted. “That was a little scary. Thought they would call my bluff.”

His eyes widened. “You didn’t call the police?”

My legs gave out, and I allowed myself to slide down the wall and sit on the dirty ground. “I didn’t have time. As soon as I saw you guys, I knew they were about to make a move.” My hands shook and I offered him a smile. “Would you mind getting my bags from behind the dumpster?”

The kid hurried to do as I asked and came back with my purse and shopping bag. “Should we call the police now?” I asked as I pulled my phone out. “I’m pretty sure I could help identify those guys in a lineup.”

“It’s fine,” the boy said seriously, though his eyes shifted around as if watching for the men to come back. “Can I use your phone? They tossed mine.”

I handed it over and hoped the kid wouldn’t steal it. Instead, he walked a few steps away and dialed a number.

“Hello. It’s I.N.” He turned away as a loud voice replied. “I’m alright.” He started speaking another language, obviously trying to make the person on the other end calm down. But the voice only got louder and I couldn’t help but laugh under my breath. It was exactly the tone I used when I freaked out about my younger brother. Though he hadn’t been in any serious trouble in years, I was quick to panic whenever he was in a jam.

The boy looked back at me and his eyes shone with barely suppressed laughter. Clearly he wasn’t worried about the voice yelling in his ear. He covered the microphone to ask, “What is your name?”

“Y/N,” I replied. “Do you need me to take you somewhere? I don’t have a car but we can get an Uber.”

“My ride will get here soon,” the boy said. “We just need to get back to the main road.” He brought the phone back to his ear and rattled off in what I assumed was Korean. After a second, he covered the microphone again. “Can you bring me to the main road?” I nodded, because of course I’d see this through. No way would I let the little guy wander around on his own.

When he was done, the boy helped me to my feet. “Thank you, Y/N. You didn’t have to save me.” I grabbed my purse and he took my shopping bag before we headed through a side alley to the main road.

“As if I’d just leave you,” I snorted. “My younger brother was in a similar situation once. I wasn’t there but his rescuer is now his husband, so I guess it worked out.” I halted at the edge of the sidewalk and the boy looked back at me. My cheeks burned and I hurried to say, “Not that I want to date you or anything. I’m just saying he was rescued and I’m grateful for that. So of course I’d rescue you.”

The boy beamed and his smile seemed to take over his whole face. “Don’t worry. I understand.” My cheeks were still heated and I glanced at the people on the sidewalk, making sure those thugs weren’t around anymore. The boy remained at the alley’s edge and I worried he was scared to be seen, in case the guys came back. He sent a quick text and handed me my phone.

“Your brother was attacked too?”

“A few years ago,” I confirmed as I scanned the crowds. “When my brother was figuring out his sexuality, a handful of guys followed him from a gay club.” The story still made me pissed off, even though everything ended up okay. Chandler hadn’t even been hurt. “Anyway, my brother is a little bigger than you but he isn’t a fighter. Thankfully, Doug had followed him to get his number. And Doug is a boxer. So, those guys never stood a chance.”

“Doug and Chandler,” the boy mumbled. “They don’t sound…”

“Gay?” I grinned back at him. “When a parent names their kid, they normally don’t choose names based on sexual preference.” The boy’s cheeks flushed scarlet and he lowered his head.

“Right. Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I reassured him. “Doug laughs at his name all the time and goes by Dougie.”

Chandler was actually considering a name change. He was named for our father and since we’d both been disowned, it made sense to distance ourselves as much as possible.

A sleek black car pulled to the curb and a man in a polo shirt and slacks jumped out. “Oh my God,” he groaned as soon as he saw the kid. “What am I going to do with you?” He was the most stressed guy I’d ever seen but it couldn’t just be from losing the kid. The man was pale, looked sleep deprived and somehow wore two different black sneakers. He rushed forward and grabbed the boy’s arm. “What are you even doing down here?”

“Shopping for your birthday gift,” the boy replied calmly.

“A gift would be not getting hurt,” the man muttered as he examined the boy. “A great gift would be not making me worry to death. For my birthday, I’d love it if you would start using the buddy system more often. Honestly I.N, I’m losing hair because of you.”

He wasn’t. The man looked like he could benefit from a month of sleep but his thick black hair gleamed in the fading light. His large glasses didn’t hide his lovely green eyes much and when he looked at me, I felt very frumpy.

“Is this Y/N?” The man stepped toward me and grabbed my hand. “Thank you very much for saving him. Not everyone would do something like that. I really owe you.”

“Don’t mention it,” I said.

“I’m only in town for two more days but you have my number in your phone. My name is Farris. Text me. If you want money, I can totally give it to you. You’ve saved my ass.”

Before I could object, Farris was already directing the kid into the back of the car. “Thank you,” I.N called out before Farris slammed the door.

“We’re going to be late,” he called to me as he ran to the driver’s side. “Sorry I have to rush. But seriously, reach out to me. I have your number too, so you can’t just ignore me.” He waved a hand in the air, jumped in the car and sped off.

After a moment’s shock, I grabbed my bags and turned back toward home. It was definitely a strange way to end my day, but it was a story I expected to laugh about when I told Chandler and Dougie. Maybe the next time I saw them I could reenact the incident. Little did I know that saving a boy in an alley would lead to not seeing my brother again for a very long time.

Chapter Text

“If you ever do anything like that again, I’ll kill you myself.” Chandler’s voice rang out from the phone I’d propped up on my dresser as I looked in my closet for the best shoes to go with my interview outfit.

“Maybe I just won’t tell you,” I sighed as I pulled out some ballet flats and frowned at them. Was a woman in her mid twenties too old for ballet flats?

“I know you think you’re amazing, Y/N. But a few months of training doesn’t make you the next Batman.”

I grinned over at the camera and held up the shoes. “Bruce Wayne definitely has a better wardrobe than me. Not to mention, the money for all those nifty gadgets.”

Chandler’s eyes scrunched up and my mood instantly shifted. I couldn’t handle him crying over nothing. Swiftly, I moved to grab the phone and I sat on my bed.

“Don’t freak out,” I whispered. “I swear that I thought everything through beforehand. Those guys didn’t look like they wanted a struggle. The kid was an easy target and with me in the mix, the fun was gone.”

My brother had the issue of looking delicate sometimes. Which wasn’t exactly what he was. Sure, he could cry easily and wasn’t a fighter, but he knew how to survive. He was strong in a different sort of way.

“I wasn’t actually trying to fight anyone,” I assured him.

“You’re not as good as you think you are, Y/N.”

A low chuckle came from his end and Dougie appeared over Chandler’s shoulder. “You’re pretty good, Y/N. But you need to train more with me before you go prowling the streets at night. Maybe I can be your Robin for a while.”

Robin couldn’t be a six foot five black man with dreadlocks and muscles for days. But Dougie would look nice in tights. Not as nice as Chandler, who had worn tights on multiple occasions. It wasn’t fair that my younger brother had better legs than me.

Side by side, they looked so different and yet perfect for each other. Dougie was a brick with a soft smile. Chandler was model thin with high cheekbones and resting bitch face. He did that as a shield though. People avoided him when he looked pissed all the time.

“I’d risk danger again just to see you in the Robin costume,” I laughed. Chandler smacked Dougie’s arm and scowled.

“Don’t encourage her!” Chandler turned serious eyes back to the camera. “Dougie will put on tights whenever you want. Are you going to visit soon?”

Northern and Southern California weren’t that far from each other but they were a world away when my finances weren’t in the best place.

“Hopefully,” I groaned as I ran a hand over my face. “But if I get this job, there will be a lot of traveling.” It didn’t specify how much travel would be involved but I needed to put the job first, if I got it. As much as I loved Chandler, he was in a more stable situation. He had a good job, a loving husband, and wasn’t living paycheck to paycheck.

Chandler’s expression softened and Dougie put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll get to visit more places,” Chandler said with a weak smile. “You always wanted to travel. Whenever you went places for work before, you never had fun.”

That was because I’d worked for our father. Even if I wanted to go out and have fun in a new city, I was always worried about what my dad would think. I spent so much time worrying and bending to his will that I didn’t have much of a life. It was fine with me. I made good money. But as soon as he started treating Chandler differently, I drew a line in the sand. The result was getting disowned and not even getting to use him as a reference. Not great when his company was my only work experience.

“Jobs aren’t about fun,” I insisted as I got up and balanced the phone on the dresser again. “I just need to get my life back on track, starting with my outfit.”

“I can definitely offer help there,” Chandler yelled.

“And I can pretend like I know what I’m talking about.” Dougie’s laugh was comforting and I grinned as I turned back to my closet.

The man I’d be interviewing with was from out of town, which suggested that travel would be a pretty big deal. And because he was from out of town, we were meeting in a hotel conference room. I was basically in public, so I wasn’t concerned about safety. Still, I let Chandler and Dougie know my exact location, in case it was a front for human trafficking. At the very worst, vague job descriptions meant your life was at risk. On the other end was an amazing opportunity. In the middle, it was likely a pyramid scheme.

Outside the hotel I tugged my blouse to make sure it didn’t hang wrong over my curves. While Chandler was thin and had amazing angles, I was the thicker sibling. Not in a bad way, I had great boobs and could fill out a dress nicely, but sometimes things didn’t fit quite right. Chandler had given me the go ahead on the outfit, even the ballet flats, but I wasn’t so confident anymore.

It was hard to get a job when the only work experience you had was your dad and he wasn’t speaking to you anymore. I at least had a portfolio of some of my work and clients who were happy to vouch for me. But my interactions with them had been limited, since I was Dad’s personal assistant.

When I approached the front desk, the receptionist looked me over and smiled warmly. Guess I didn’t look that bad.

“I’m here for a meeting,” I explained as my throat dried up. I cleared it and gave the woman a smile. “Mr. Thomas with F.I.T Enterprises?” As I said it out loud, I tried not to wince. It sounded like a pyramid scheme.

“Mr. Thomas is in conference room two.” The woman clicked away at her computer and then pointed down a hallway. “Third door on your left.”

I muttered a thanks and scurried down the hall. As I approached the door, I shook myself out and cleared my head. I was a professional. No one wanted an assistant without a backbone. Assistants might back down for their bosses, but they needed to be strong to deal with everything else. I gritted my teeth and knocked on the door.

“Come in,” a male voice called out. I plastered on a smile and walked into the room. Instantly, my smile vanished and my jaw dropped.

“You,” I sputtered.

The man at the table looked equally shocked but recovered quickly and jumped to his feet. “Y/N, right? Woah, what are the chances?”

The man, dressed in a suit and slightly more relaxed than the day before, was Farris. The guy who picked up I.N. Farris held out his hand and I took it automatically.

Was this a joke? The guy didn’t look like that big of a deal. Of course, the car had been nice and I.N’s clothes had suggested money. Was Farris actually a babysitter for a rich kid and needed help?

“A little confused?” Farris asked as he dropped my hand and pulled out a chair for me at the conference table.

“More than a little,” I admitted. “But it’s nice to see a familiar face.” Subtly, I looked around the room for a hidden camera or something.

“And it’s nice to put a familiar face to the resume and application.” Farris took a seat across the table and grinned broadly. “I have to admit, you working the same job for the past six years looked really appealing. And now that I know it’s you, the woman who saved I.N, I like you even more.”

If consistency was what Farris was after, that I could do. I gave my all when it came to work. Did it matter that my old boss wouldn’t give me glowing reviews?

“So,” I mumbled. “F.I.T Enterprises?” Farris smiled again. He was more rested than the day before, though there were still bags under his eyes.

“I fibbed a little. F.I.T stands for Farris Ian Thomas. It’s basically a management company of one. Which I hope to make two. We’re under a bigger company, but a little short staffed.” He flipped through some papers on the table. “My last assistant betrayed the trust of our clients and had to be let go abruptly. Since then, I’ve been floundering.” Farris adjusted his glasses and looked back up at me. “Your past experience suggests you won’t have the same problem.”

I nodded, hopefully not too eagerly. “With Mr. Waber I basically did the work of three people. Not that I’m complaining, I liked being busy. And part of my job was client confidentiality. Running a talent agency means coming into contact with certain people who like their privacy.” Farris and I shared a laugh.

This could actually be it. Farris already trusted me because of the day before. The job could be mine.

“Mr. Waber,” Farris said slowly as he looked down at his papers. “Your father?”

I winced but smiled again when he looked up. “In a way, yes.”

Farris set the papers down and leaned forward. “In a way?” My stomach twisted. Why had I been so confident? “You didn’t put Mr. Waber down as a reference, so forgive me for being curious.”

That was the biggest issue on my resume. It was why I hadn’t gotten many interviews, even with my consistent work the past six years. I clenched my hands in my lap and swallowed past the lump in my throat.
“My father… Mr. Waber and I parted on bad terms. Without going into detail, he hurt someone very close to me. When I sided with that person, Mr. Waber disowned and fired me. I guarantee it had nothing to do with my work performance. It was simply a personal matter.”

To my relief, Farris didn’t immediately kick me out. Instead, he nodded and sighed heavily. “Working with family is never a good idea. Neither is working with friends. It’s better for everyone to be strangers. Even if you become close to your coworkers, your life won’t explode if your job ends.”

Farris lifted his hands and his eyes grew wide behind his glasses. “Not that I’m saying your job would end in a bad way. Actually, I’d prefer consistency like you had with Mr. Waber. I need someone trustworthy that I can rely on. You wouldn’t even have to be that close with me. Friendship isn’t part of the job requirements.”

Seeing a grown man panic like that, when I’d been panicking myself, made me smother a laugh behind my hands. Farris relaxed at my reaction and smiled sheepishly.

“Sorry. I guess I’m nervous and desperate, so I’m not coming off as professional.”

“I’m having fun in an interview, Mr. Thomas. That doesn’t normally happen, especially after I just talked about my past employer.”

We settled into a comfortable silence for a moment and studied each other. He couldn’t be much older than me but exhaustion probably aged him. He might not be professional but he was entertaining. Not to mention, the pay was fantastic. For that, I could put up with a lot.

“Well,” Farris sighed. “Back to the job. It would be like what you did for Mr. Waber with more travel. I hate to say the job would become your life, but it pretty much will. There isn’t a point in lying to you. Not if I want you to stick around.”

He suddenly got up and collected his papers. When he walked around the table, I stood and held out my hand.

“Thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to hearing from you.”

Farris paused and then his mouth dropped open. “Oh. I totally thought I said this part already. This is what sleep deprivation does to a man.” Farris sighed and shook my hand. “Y/N, I want you on my team. Well, I want to hire you. It isn’t like there’s much of a team.”

“I… I got the job?” Instantly, my mind whirled at the thought of having so much money. It was more than my dad had paid me.

“Basically. I’ve gotta let the main company know. And there is one more step before I actually get you to sign paperwork.” He glanced at his watch and made a face. “I want to meet with you again later. In about four or five hours, actually. Can I send a car to pick you up?”

He was so busy that he needed to split the interview into two parts?

“Um, sure.”

Farris adjusted his glasses again and looked down at me. “This really is just a formality. Please don’t accept any other offers or go running for the hills because I come off a little insane.”

It was my turn to hold up my hands and ramble. “I didn’t mean to sound unsure. Sorry, I was just caught off guard. Normally, if there is a second interview, it usually isn’t on the same day. And I’m totally free today, so it isn’t like you’re interrupting anything important.”

“Great,” he said, almost sagging with relief. “Will you text me your address? I’ll have the car come and get you around five. Also...” He glanced at his watch again before opening the door and backing out into the hallway. “You may want to start packing. If you’re still on board after tonight, we’ll be flying to Dallas in two days.” My heart skipped a beat at the sudden shift in my situation.

“See you in a few hours,” Farris called over his shoulder as he rushed away.

All this was way too good to be true. I was definitely going to get human trafficked.

Chapter Text

I was surprised when another sleek black car showed up to get me later that evening. Mr. Thomas didn’t use Uber. It was a real car service that I’d seen some big names use before. Which made me a little nervous. While dealing with my dad’s clients, I’d seen car services used, but not for potential personal assistants.

“You’re not allowed to disappear,” Chandler said when I told him about the interview. “If you get kidnapped, I’ll totally freak out. I’ll send Dougie to find you.”

“As long as you dress up as Batman and Robin, I’m alright with that.”

“Uh huh.” Chandler tried to be happy about the possible job, but his heart wasn’t in it. “You’ll be leaving pretty fast. Maybe you could put it off for a few days and visit first?”

“Can’t.” It was better to be firm first with Chandler, then soothe him afterward. As the baby, he was used to getting what he wanted. And I had contributed to that problem. But I loved taking care of him and spoiling him. “I won’t put this job at risk. But maybe I can fly over when I get a second.” I didn’t tell him it looked like I wouldn’t get a break for a while. Farris seemed the type to have a meltdown if I up and left him without warning. He wanted reliable and consistent, so that was what he’d get.

As I sat in the back of the town car, I texted Chandler and made sure my location tracking was on. I was so focused that I didn’t look up until we reached a large building and headed for its underground parking lot. Then I glanced back out the window. Were we at some sort of arena? Service shut off in underground parking and I really hoped I wasn’t about to get kidnapped.

When the car door opened, two security guards helped me out and led me inside, flanking either side of me.

Alright, maybe Farris handled some pretty big names.

The man himself waited for me in the hall and grinned from ear to ear.

“Y/N. You came!”

As if I’d turn down such a great opportunity. But Farris was an ‘all his eggs in one basket’ kind of man. If I was his only option and I didn’t show up, he probably would’ve freaked out.
“Of course I came.” I looked down the barren hallway. “Are we at a concert arena?”

Farris smiled again and took my arm. “I didn’t tell you who I manage,” he admitted. “It was on purpose. But I don’t think you actually would’ve known who they were even if I told you. You didn’t act star-struck around I.N.”

I.N was famous? It explained the nice clothes and why Farris panicked when the kid went missing.

“I didn’t recognize him,” I admitted. “Is he a singer?” I wasn’t a music person. Well, I wasn’t a modern music person. The genres I listened to were oldies and classical. That was it.

Farris stopped at a door and knocked three times. “He sings,” Farris confirmed as someone yelled permission to enter. “And does other stuff.” He opened the door and ushered me into a greenroom.

“Y/N!” I.N appeared in front of me, a wide smile on his face. I returned his smile and looked over his shoulder. Seven other guys were in the room, each dressed in nice clothes. They oozed importance, and I suddenly hated that I didn’t know current music.

“If it isn’t the superhero,” one said as he approached. “You not only saved I.N yesterday, but probably Farris too. They’ve both been talking about you nonstop.”

“Y/N.” Farris stepped forward and waved a hand at the group. “This is Stray Kids. Y/N isn’t part of the music scene, so why don’t you guys introduce yourselves?”

“She doesn’t know us?” A guy in the back, with blue hair and a bulky build, laughed. “I like that.”

“Better than a sasaeng.” The nearest guy to me winked. “I’m Hyunjin.” Hyunjin was the tallest and was slim, but not in a fragile way. In fact, he reminded me of a swan. They were really pretty, but not to be messed with. His hair was dyed purple of all colors and he could have easily been a male model.

“Nice to meet you, Y/N.” The one who called me a superhero walked closer and extended his hand. When I took it, his skin was baby soft. “I’m Han.”

The bulky grabbed my hand a little too tightly, but I had the sense that he didn’t mean to. “Changbin,” he said warmly. I felt at ease. Could a muscle man be adorable?

When the fourth guy welcomed me, he gave me a side hug. I wasn’t much of a hugger, but it looked like Stray Kids might make me get over that. “Felix.” He introduced himself and I was surprised that he had an Australian accent. “Welcome to the family, Y/N. Hope you stay for a while.” For lack of a better word, Felix was cute. He had a spattering of freckles across his face and had a calm and warm energy that screamed, ‘I’ll be your best friend.’

I looked back at I.N. “I’m guessing your full name isn’t I.N?”

“Jeongin.”

Since he introduced himself as I.N, I’d stick with that to be safe.

“And I’m Seungmin!” Another member stopped in front of me, a mischievous smile on his face. “So, you’re not into K-pop?”

K-pop… Well that explained it. The men looked like they might all be Korean.

“I don’t listen to much current day music. I’m more into old school and classical.”

“Old school?” Han asked, almost stepping in front of Seungmin. “I like a whole bunch of genres. Well, Stray Kids is like a genre by itself. Hyung! Come say hi to Y/N.”

The two last members were quieter than the rest. I didn’t know which Han had been calling over, since they both approached at the same time.

“Hello. I’m Lee Know.”

Were all K-pop stars so beautiful? Lee Know looked like he should be in movies.

The last member stopped right behind Lee Know and eyed me. He was about my height with curly black hair. When he spared me a look, I felt like he could read my thoughts all over my face.

“Bang Chan. You can call me Chris.”

Another Australian. While I squirmed under his gaze, I didn’t get the feeling he hated me. More like he was assessing.

“Nice to meet you,” I said softly. “Nice to meet all of you.”

Even though the situation was strange and the atmosphere wasn’t perfect, I could tell that I was taking the job. And despite the awkward start, I knew I’d grow close to the boys. Even the intimidating ones didn’t seem rude, just standoffish. I’d never been close with coworkers before, mainly because I didn’t really have any. I just hoped that Farris hadn’t jinxed me into having an explosive ending to my employment.

After the introductions, I looked around the room and took note of the group and exactly where we were. A greenroom. Their clothes were costumes and a couple had microphones.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt you,” I hurried to say, even though Farris was the one who wanted me to come at that time. “You’re getting ready for a concert, right?” As if reminded of where they were, the members returned to their vanity set ups along the wall and went back to getting ready. All except Bang Chan.

“We’re the opener,” he explained. Maybe he was already done preparing. He looked put together. The tight black pants and loose collared blue shirt looked good on him. He wore makeup too, but not a lot. Just enough to look alive. Farris would have benefited from a little makeup himself.

“Stray Kids is a newer group,” Farris said as he stepped up beside me. “Their fans are dedicated, but this world tour is headlined by someone else.”

The floor almost dropped out from under me and I forced myself to stand up straight. “World tour?” I repeated. How much of the world was left? If it was the beginning of the tour, I wouldn’t be back anytime soon. Farris took my elbow and led me to one of the couches.

“Let me give you more detail now that you’re here. The guys have to finish getting ready, anyway.”

As Bang Chan returned to the members, I forced myself to focus on the exhausted face of my potential employer.

“It isn’t the entire world,” he explained with a tight smile. “Obviously. But we’re almost done with the U.S. stops. Next is Australia and in about a week, we’ll go to Europe.”

Not exactly how I thought my first trip overseas would go, but that sounded great to me.

“Just how long are they on tour?” I asked. Farris winced and pulled out his phone.

As he showed me the calendar, I forced myself to remain calm. Six more locations with at least two performances per location. There wasn’t a lot of travel time allotted, either. Just seeing the schedule made me tired. How did Stray Kids deal with it?

I looked over my shoulder. They all seemed happy and alert. Maybe they slept every chance they got and drank caffeine as often as water. Farris though… I turned back to him. The guy didn’t need to be onstage, so he ran himself ragged for the group. If it weren’t for him, the guys would probably look just as bad.

Farris chewed his lip and locked his phone. “What do you think? It’s a lot I know. Pretty daunting for a job you just interviewed for today.”

The paycheck was worth it. Even for a smaller group, they had the money to give me an awesome salary. The record label was footing the bill, not Farris, but if they were willing to pay me that much, then Stray Kids had a bright future.

“I’ve never worked closely with musicians,” I explained. “But I guess that’s normal, huh?”

“For certain groups, it is.” Farris swallowed and checked his watch. “The group we open for goes on tours and does concerts pretty frequently. This is the first huge tour for Stray Kids. The guys are hanging in there, though. Right guys?” Farris raised his voice and Stray Kids loudly agreed.

Farris turned back to me and his eyes lit up. “They really are troopers. That’s why I want them to have the best time possible. And the best staff.” Farris nodded in my direction and my cheeks warmed. “If you don’t want to run for the hills now, I’d like you to talk with the guys one on one after they perform. It looks like you’ll fit in already, but I want them to be comfortable with you too.”

Then Stray Kids really had the final say. But what other option did they have? If they didn’t hire me, they’d move to the next location and Farris would have to post another job listing and cross his fingers. What were the chances of finding someone else like me? Someone with experience handling big names and was willing to drop their life and go on tour with no notice?

I lifted my foot to show my flats. “I forgot my running shoes, so I guess I’ll stick around.” Farris blinked a couple of times before his face split into a grin.

“You’re funny. I like funny.” He patted my knee and jumped up. “Guys! Let’s head for the stage.” Stray Kids got up and prepared to go. Changbin stretched his arms, Hyunjin his legs, and the rest did vocal exercises. Farris turned back to me.

“Help yourself to food and drink.” He pointed at the table off to the side, which was laden with snacks. “I wouldn’t wander around though, since no one knows who you are and the other group’s security guards are pretty paranoid.” Stray Kids walked out of the greenroom and Farris walked backwards as he kept talking to me. “There’s a small tv in the corner that’ll show you the performance if you wanna watch. We’ll be back soon.”

Silence and snacks were all I was left with when the guys exited the room. But I was more than okay with that. Something told me that there wouldn’t be many moments of peace once I signed on. Farris was going with Stray Kids, so he was probably off stage in case they needed him. What would I be doing during the tour? Standing on the other side? Maybe there was paperwork or management stuff I’d do in the greenroom during performances.

Nerves got me out of my seat and I swallowed down the nausea, deciding to ignore the snacks for the time being. Instead, I went to the small tv in the corner and watched the guys introduce themselves.

For a small group, they were pretty well liked. The crowd cheered like Stray Kids was the headliner. Bang Chan was the one who spoke the most. I was tempted to look them up on my phone, but decided against it. If I signed on, I could do research later. Not that it mattered. I’d get to know each member individually. Still, I didn’t know standard things like their ages and specific talents.

When the group started performing, I quickly realized that they were all extremely talented. Not just at singing, but their dancing was on point, too. Synchronized in a way that made it clear just how much time they spent rehearsing. And the energy! Somewhere in the greenroom there had to be discarded cans of energy drinks because the group not only performed with gusto but spoke to the crowd and hyped them up between songs. Not once did they stop smiling and it honestly looked like a blast.

But even though I wasn’t in the music industry, I knew they had to be tired. After the concert, they would collapse until Farris woke them for whatever was next. On one of the couches were pillows and blankets, so the guys did take naps, too.

The music industry wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Clearly it was hard work, that was common knowledge, but the last assistant had done something to betray Stray Kids, which led to the open position I was interviewing for. The dark side of the industry was there, just below the surface. And because I was an empathic fool who liked money, I was diving in head first with no idea of what I’d be getting myself into.

Chapter Text

The group performed for about thirty minutes. Since I wasn’t going to cyber stalk them, I grabbed myself some snacks and parked in front of the TV. By the 4th song, I started swaying back and forth to the beat. Stray Kids had a pretty good set list. Not my usual vibe, but maybe Chandler knew them. He was definitely more aware of the music scene.

With a chip halfway to my mouth, I froze. Would I even be able to tell him? I hadn’t signed a contract yet, but there would be an NDA. It was standard practice. I shoved the chip in my mouth and focused on the performance. Maybe if I was really nice to Farris, he’d be okay with me telling Chandler. I told my brother everything.

When the group ended their set, I returned to the couch and waited. I tapped my fingers on my knees and wondered if I should do something. Should I get them water? Towels in case they were sweaty? Doing something would probably make me seem more useful; prove that I was helpful even before being officially hired. But I’d already proven I’d help regardless of my employment status. I’d saved I.N. There was no need to be nervous; the job was as good as mine. As the door swung open, I jumped to my feet, ready in case they needed me.

“I want to go again!” Felix yelled as he swung open the door. “That crowd really got my blood rushing.” His face was flushed and sweaty, but he was clearly hyped. I.N stepped in after him and gave Felix a playful shove.

“Blood would have been rushing from your head wound if I hadn’t kept you from falling,” Han said, walking in behind them. Felix winced and I thought back to the performance. If something went wrong, it wasn’t obvious.

“I got a little too excited,” Felix admitted before drinking half a water bottle in one go.

Hyunjin walked in, arm in arm, with Changbin. “I think we need more practice,” the swanlike man said. “We’re getting too comfortable.” It took a lot of energy not to gawk at him. The graceful swan looked like he’d taken a deep in a lake. Sweat was literally dripping off him. No one else looked as bad. My fingers flexed as I looked around for a towel, but Changbin reached for one nearby and threw it over Hyunjin’s head.

“Clean up, baby.”

“You’re leaving a trail of sweat,” Seungmin said as he walked in and put another towel over Hyunjin. “Farris puts these by the stage for a reason.”

Bang Chan and Lee Know walked in, all smiles.

“I could run a marathon right now,” Chan joked. “Who’s hitting the hotel gym with me?” Changbin lifted a hand, quickly followed by Lee Know. I couldn’t imagine working out after all of that cardio, but if they really were running on adrenaline, it was the perfect time to get exercise in.

As Stray Kids talked loudly about the concert, Farris entered and made a beeline for me. The man wore a dopey grin, but his rapid blinking hinted at his exhaustion. He was ready to pass out for the night. Managers didn’t have the benefit of concert adrenaline fueling them.

“Did you watch?” He flopped down onto the couch and I followed his lead.

“That was crazy. I don’t know how they could keep that energy up.”

Farris looked lovingly at the group. “This is their whole lives. Everything revolves around performing. Stray Kids has the drive needed to push themselves harder than anyone else. But they’ll sleep like the dead tonight and on the plane tomorrow.” He pulled his glasses off and ran a hand over his face. “How about you talk to each group member? Just for a couple of minutes each. Then, if you want, we can go over the contract.”

Unease prickled my scalp at the idea of signing a contract so fast. Sure, I needed money, but what if I was actually signing my life away? The group’s lives revolved around performing and Farris’ life revolved around Stray Kids. Was that something I was ready for?

Farris covered a yawn, and my worries focused on him instead. It was easier than asking myself ‘what if’ questions.

“Sure,” I agreed. “Maybe we should hurry things along so you all can get back to the hotel.”

“Sounds perfect.” Farris stood and yawned again before yelling, “Youngest to oldest! Everyone takes turns talking to Y/N.”

That meant I started off comfortably with I.N. “Are you nervous?” he asked as he sat next to me.

“Nervous? With you?”

“No.” I.N smiled and nodded toward the members. “Nervous around everyone. We’re…energetic.”

That was a nice way of putting it. The members seemed to have no volume control, especially when they were hyper after a concert.

“Are they always like this?” I couldn’t help asking, though I had a sneaking suspicion they might be.

I.N made a face. “Mostly. But we can be calm too.”

Everyone had their calmer moments. I hoped Stray Kids had plenty, but I felt like I might get used to the insanity. Working with them wouldn’t be boring, that was clear.

“Then I’m not nervous. I think I’m excited.”

When I.N smiled at me, it was contagious and I hurt my cheeks trying to smile just as wide.

“I don’t need to ask anything,” he admitted. “I already want you here.”

“Can I ask you a question?” I looked at all the members, then back at I.N. “You’re the youngest, right? So, how old are you?”

Apparently, that was the last question he thought I’d ask, because he frowned and took a second to process what I said.

“You didn’t look us up?”

“I didn’t want to learn everything online. Not when I’d be talking to you guys soon enough.”

That took him by surprise, and he blinked a couple of times before chuckling under his breath. “I like that. I’m the youngest at twenty-one.” Then he started pointing to each member and listed their ages.

The information hit me like a brick wall. They were all so young! The only ones close to my age were Bang Chan and Lee Know.

“Oh, and Farris. He’s thirty.” I.N turned back to me and his cheeks flushed. “I won’t ask how old you are.”

A point in his favor for knowing not to outright ask a woman her age. “Let’s stick with mid-twenties. Thanks for not asking.”

I.N nodded and smiled as he stood. “I’ll send Seungmin.”

“What did you think?” Seungmin asked, plopping down next to me. “You watched us, right?”

“Of course. And I’ve decided you’re all superhumans.”

Seungmin shrugged, trying to be nonchalant, but he was clearly pleased. “It’s a lot of work. But it’s worth it. Farris said you’re a hard worker?”

“I’d like to think I am.”

While working for my dad, I was his go to for pretty much everything. He didn’t exactly run me ragged, but I did a lot. Thinking he might be struggling without me was the one bright spot when I recalled the reason for my unemployment.

“Good. That’s all I wanted to ask. Oh, and you have a sense of humor, right? You won’t last long without one.”

Mostly, thanks to Chandler, I found a lot of stuff funny. Either I laughed or I put up with it. I glanced at the group of loud young men. What did they find funny? I prayed it wasn’t bathroom jokes and locker room talk.

“Oh, I love to laugh. Don’t worry about that.”

Seungmin gave me his nod of approval. As he stood, Felix was already taking his place, practically pushing him out of the way.

“Why do you want this job? From what Farris told us, you could get hired anywhere.”

Farris hadn’t told them everything. A point in his favor for keeping my privacy.

“Honestly? Money. I need a job and for reasons that I’ll keep to myself, it’s been a bit of a struggle to get interviews. But also, I like this sort of stuff.” I waved a hand at the room. “Maybe I thrive on chaos.”

Felix nodded, a thoughtful look on his face. “We are chaotic,” he admitted. “Sometimes we’re overwhelming. But we can be quiet too. Most of us are introverts.”

Introverts were extroverts when comfortable, but if they were introverts, I’d expect them to be at least a little more reserved around me. I’d saved I.N, but I was still basically a stranger.

“Don’t judge us right now,” Felix said, reading my thoughts. “Concert energy is different. But if we’re ever too much for you, let me or Farris know. I’ll sneak you away and Farris will get everyone to shut up.”

Holding back a laugh, I thanked him. “If I’m hired, I’ll make sure to let you know if I need help.”

Felix scoffed. “If you’re hired? Trust me. It’s not as up in the air as you think.”

When Han sat down, he was calmer already, his after concert energy wearing off. “If you’re good enough for I.N and Farris, you’re good enough for me.”

“Felix and Seungmin don’t matter?” I teased.

“Felix likes everyone,” Han said, shrugging one shoulder. “Seungmin seems to like you, but sometimes I don’t know with him.” That made me uneasy, and Han paused when I made a face. His expression softened. “I’m not saying Seungmin doesn’t like you. And I’m not saying we don’t want to hire you. I just don’t have anything to ask.”

“Well, if I’m hired and you have questions afterward, let me know?”

Han nodded, smiled, and left. He laid down on the other couch and closed his eyes, seeming to fall asleep almost immediately. If I had to guess which members were introverts, Han would be at the top of the list.

Hyunjin felt a little too close when he sat next to me. Or maybe he took up more space thanks to his long limbs. Still, I folded in on myself a little, not wanting to accidentally touch him. For his sake and for mine… he was still a little sweaty.

“You saved I.N.” When he smiled, it was like looking at the sun. The man was unreal. Looking at him directly stunned me momentarily.

“I did,” I managed to spit out.

“Thank you.” Hyunjin’s smile faded, but not because he was upset. A look of intense focus replaced the smile, and he leaned forward, as if wanting me to understand how serious he was. “He’s our maknae and our little brother. We love him very much.”

My cheeks burned and I looked down at my hands in my lap. “It was nothing. Really. I couldn’t just let him get hurt.”

“People would. They don’t put themselves in danger. So, thank you.” Hyunjin reached out slowly and placed a hand on top of mine. When I met his gaze, it was warm and soothing. “I want you to work with us. Stay?”

I could only nod. Obviously, I wanted the job. But what did he mean by ‘work with them’? I’d be their employee. Before I could ask, Changbin took Hyunjin’s place.

“What are you thinking about so hard?” Changbin sat beside me, already dressed in casual clothes for the gym.

“If this is all real.” His eyes narrowed and he nodded for me to continue. “From the moment I saved I.N, this has all seemed like a fever dream. Or maybe I tried to save him and got hit over the head. Now I’m in a coma.”

“You think you made all of this?” The corner of Changbin’s mouth twitched.

“I’m not that creative,” I admitted. “That’s why this has to be real. But then I think of all of you. How real you guys are. I’ve worked with famous people before and no one is exactly what they seem.”

The man’s gaze flattened. Had I messed things up already? If one member didn’t like me, was I out of the running?

“No one is what they seem,” he agreed. “Not even you, Y/N. But we know this as we move through life. Everyone has secrets. No one is completely honest. Does that matter?”

In this situation, probably. At least to some extent. I’d be signing away my immediate future for Stray Kids and Farris. Essentially, they’d become my whole world. Ideally, I’d be able to trust them. Or at least understand them.

“Maybe not,” I said softly.

Changbin stood and patted my shoulder. “If we get to know each other, we’ll have fewer secrets. Once we trust each other.”

Could they even trust me? Sure, I didn’t plan on spilling their secrets, but they didn’t know that. After the last assistant betrayed them, it would be understandable for them to not want to be close to me.

“Do you want to go to bed?”

“Excuse me?” I squeaked. Lee Know sat beside me and frowned.

“I said, do you want to go to bed? Are you tired?”

My heart had nearly burst from my chest, thinking he actually wanted to sleep with me. Not the best way to start a working relationship. I’d gotten a few inappropriate offers when working for my dad, so I figured it was normal for people in the entertainment business. Stray Kids didn’t seem like the types of guys to do that, though.

“I guess I’m tired,” I said, laughing awkwardly. “Even though all I did was sit back here.”

As if Lee Know wasn’t intimidating enough, Bang Chan sat on my other side.

“You’ll be running around before long. We’ll keep you busy, Y/N. Sure, you won’t be dancing on stage, but you’ll be so tired by the end of the night that bed is all you’ll be thinking about. Are you ready for that?”

“I think so.” It wasn’t like I’d never been tired before.

Bang Chan sat and stared at me for what felt like forever, but it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds. I felt him assessing me. Lee Know did the same from the other side. As the older members, they were more serious. Something that I admired, but it also made me feel like I was under a microscope. If they aimed it at the sun, I could get burned alive.

“Are you reckless?” Lee Know asked slowly, trying to find the right words. “This job, you wanted it fast.”

“Are you usually impulsive?” Chan clarified. “You saved I.N without a second thought. You met with Farris even though I know his post was vague. Then you willingly got into an unmarked car which was taking you to an unknown location.”

It was impossible to hold back my smile. Were they judging me or worried about me?

“I took precautions,” I assured them. “I didn’t think much when I saved I.N, if I’m being honest. But with everything else, I was careful. I told my brother as much information as possible. Shared my location and stuff, too. Human trafficking crossed my mind at one point.” Chan’s eyes widened and Lee Know chuckled. “I guess I am impulsive to an extent. But that doesn’t mean I don’t think things through, at least partially.”

That seemed to satisfy Chan. “Try not to be too impulsive. We can’t lose you just because you ran off to play superhero.”

It was strange to see the guys’ attitudes shift so quickly. Chan could joke around, but he was the oldest member. He probably was aware of how hard Farris worked. How hard they all worked. But he turned off his serious side when needed. Spending even more time with them would be enlightening. Famous people could put on an act easily enough. But they couldn’t act around me forever.

“I’ll think things through. Promise. This is a job, so it isn’t like everything can be perfect.”

Lee Know laughed, drawing my attention away from Bang Chan. “Perfect is not real,” Lee Know said, locking eyes with me. “The job isn’t perfect. You aren’t perfect. Stray Kids isn’t perfect.” His words were simple, but there was a lot behind his eyes. The kindness surprised me. He wasn’t as welcoming as the rest of the group, but he didn’t hate me. That was nice.

“We’ll get to know each other,” Chan said as he stood. “Nothing about this is perfect or will be, but Farris really needs the help and you seem as close to perfect as it can get for him. Maybe, once we all are better acquainted, you’ll be close to perfect for each of us.”

When he and Lee Know left me, I didn’t even have time to consider his words. Farris took his spot, paperwork in hand.

“I thought over something,” he blurted out. “Obviously, signing a contract is a little insane. It’s late, you’re under pressure, and you probably want to read it over.” He handed me one sheet of paper. “This is an NDA.” He placed another paper on top of that. “And consider this a shorter version of the contract.”

The paper outlined that I was on a sort of test run. A probationary period. They’d pay for my flight and hotel to the next location. Food too. If I liked the job and the contract, I’d sign the real thing after the next concert. If I didn’t like it, I’d get paid for my time and they’d send me home. Short, to the point, and something that set my mind at ease.

When Farris saw me smile, he relaxed, but his expression was still sheepish. “I realized I was being pushy. It’s just because I really need you, Y/N. But that’s not fair. This job is a lot. It isn’t something you just jump into. So, you should have some time to think things over.”

“Not a lot of time,” I pointed out. “We leave at ten tomorrow morning.”

“For the trial period. But you should really think about this before signing the long-term thing.”

“What do the guys think?” I looked over at Stray Kids. While I met with everyone, the group had put everything away. They chatted, waiting for Farris to finish with me.

“I know they like you,” the manager said. “I watched you with them. If they had a problem, they would’ve told me already. But the trial period is good for everyone. It’ll give us a chance to know the real Y/N.”

The real Y/N. Changbin was right, everyone had secrets. But my life was boring. If I wasn’t an open book, it was just because some parts weren’t important enough to read. A trial period was a good idea, though. I’d been ready to sign up. Even though I was a little hesitant, no way would I pass up a good opportunity. Not to mention, it was nice to feel needed.

It was like watching I.N get mugged. He’d needed me in that moment and if I didn’t act, who knew how it would have turned out? Maybe he would have been fine, but there was no way of knowing for sure.

Farris was begging for my help. He was acting more put together, but his visible exhaustion was the cry for help. The way he looked at me said I was the answer to his prayers.

Perfection was a pipe dream and I wasn’t a religious person, but I could play the part of the angel if he needed me to. Hopefully, I’d leave Farris and Stray Kids better than I found them.

Chapter Text

The next morning came all too soon. I’d stayed up pretty late packing and woke up early to sort things out with my apartment. Even if I took the job, it wasn’t a forever deal, and I liked my place just fine. My new salary could handle paying for an empty apartment.

“What if someone breaks in?” Chandler asked as I locked up behind me and grabbed my bags from beside the door.

“They’re welcome to all my 2nd hand finds,” I muttered as I tried to hold the phone to my ear and drag my stuff down to the parking lot. “I’ve got a camera. It’ll catch anyone going in. Don’t worry so much.”

Chandler harrumphed and I braced myself for his attempt at lecturing me again. “It just seems so out of left field, Y/N. You’re just gonna jump on a plane with a pop group you’ve never heard of and join them for a world tour? It’s not like you.”

Because I was the responsible one, as far as he was concerned. “It’ll be an adventure,” I insisted. “Besides, it isn’t some shady back alley job offer. It’s an established group under a great record label. If anything happens to me, you’ll know about it.”

Farris had given me permission to tell my brother. Not that it was a huge secret, but someone in my life needed to know what was going on. I didn’t have anyone else to tell. Chandler and Doug were impressed for half a second before they started questioning me. It came from a place of love, so I couldn’t be upset about it. But they knew me well enough to know I could take care of myself.

A car sat waiting for me at the curb.

“Ms. Waber?” the man asked as he popped the trunk. I checked the license plate, like a responsible adult.

“That’s me.” After handing my bags to him, I slid into the backseat.

“Y/N.” Chandler sighed and I tensed again. “You’re not thinking of this group as a replacement for me, are you? Because you don’t need to take care of me anymore?”

My baby brother was in a great place, all grown up and in the care of someone who loved him. It was nice to see and I wasn’t upset about it. But there might be some truth to his words.

“I like helping people,” I explained as the driver got in and we headed for the airport. “That’s why I’m a great assistant. This has nothing to do with finding a replacement little brother. I don’t see the guys that way.”

Not yet, but I.N was getting there. As the maknae, everyone else probably saw him that way, too.

“But I’ll admit that I want to take care of them. They’re young adults with insane lives. Then there’s poor Farris, running around like his head is cut off. This exact experience might all be new to me, but I know I can do some good.”

“Of course you can,” Chandler said with pride in his voice. “You’re Y/N. Stray Kids doesn’t know how lucky they are to have you.”

Something told me they did know, to some degree. But even Farris wasn’t aware of just how skilled I was. My dad hadn’t been easy to manage and the people around him could be hard to deal with. Even if my resume listed off my skills, it was different from seeing them firsthand.

At the airport, I texted Farris to make sure they were at the gate. I was running a little behind, but packing for a world tour with short notice was tough. How was I supposed to know exactly what I needed?

“You made it!” Farris rushed toward me as I reached the gate. “Everyone just boarded.”

Stray Kids flew in business class, which meant there were civilians around. But no one looked star struck and I didn’t see any cameras. Being a smaller group came with some benefits.

“Sorry. I meant to get here sooner, but I had to get my life in order.”

Farris adjusted his glasses and looked down at the bag in my hand. “Your life in order?”

“Even if I haven’t signed the full contract, I needed to pack like I did.” Had he expected me not to? I watched as a range of emotions passed over his face, and then he settled back into his nervous smile.

“Of course! That makes sense.” He clapped a hand on my shoulder. “How about we get on the plane? I made the group go ahead so they could nap a little.”

Just as he’d said, the group was already settled in when the two of us boarded. I.N was out cold with his head on Felix’s shoulder. Hyunjin was sketching with a tablet, while Changbin stole his blanket. The plane was a little chilly. Han and Lee Know had headphones on, already watching a movie together.

“Y/N!” Seungmin lifted a hand in greeting. “Morning. How about you sit with me?” Seungmin nudged Bang Chan as if he actually wanted him to move. The elder member didn’t budge.

“She’ll sit with Farris. Obviously, they need to talk.” Bang Chan’s scowl vanished when he met my eyes. “Morning, Y/N. Hope you slept well.”

They all looked pretty well rested. Maybe the naps were a preventative measure. Farris looked better than yesterday, too. A little less frazzled. He gave me the window seat and as soon as he sat down, he pulled out some papers.

“I hate to get to work right away,” he said, passing me some of the stack. “There are just some things you should be aware of. Rules, schedules and stuff. When you feel comfortable, we can move on to bigger things.”

It was the bigger things he needed help with. When Farris gnawed at his bottom lip, I noticed a speck of white on his cheek. Without thinking, I leaned over and wiped it with my thumb.

“Missed some toothpaste.”

As his eyes widened behind his glasses, I stiffened. Was that out of line? I wasn’t his mother.

“Th-Thanks.” He looked down at his papers and his cheeks took on a tinge of pink.

Cute.

No. Not cute.

Farris was essentially my boss. My job was only to take care of him and the group. Liking them all was acceptable, but I couldn’t let it get beyond that. Feelings led to heartbreak. But more importantly, they could lead to unemployment.

Even if Farris was adorable in an awkward and chaotic way, that didn’t mean anything. Couldn’t mean anything. I shook myself and focused on the papers. Maybe I was tired after all. Sleep deprivation could lead to weird thoughts.

The stack of papers contained the tour schedule. We’d be flying to Texas next, and that was the last U.S. concert. After that, we’d go to Australia. The schedule was tight, but there was usually a full day before or after the concert to have free time. The guys were scheduled to go to the beach in Australia. A different block of time was labeled as ‘Family’. Nothing was on the calendar in Texas, as far as extracurriculars. Maybe they’d just have a rest day before the next long flight.

The next few papers had information about the members. Nothing major or private. Just some key notes. ‘I.N isn’t allowed to be on his own’ sat at the top of the list. That was probably a new addition. I smiled to myself as I remembered how Farris looked the first time I saw him. No doubt, he wanted to avoid that panicked feeling again.

Hyunjin was on a stricter diet than anyone else, but apparently needed to be watched. He had a tendency to eat what he wasn’t supposed to. So, like a toddler who’d put anything in his mouth. That surprised me. Was I actually supposed to police what they ate? The guys were already in shape, some bordering on too thin…

A note mentioned Felix had a back injury, so I needed to watch out for signs of him hiding his pain. Chandler had a habit of hiding when he was hurt, too. I’d pay close attention to Felix, if that was typical for him.

Seungmin seemed well behaved, but there was a warning to not take his teasing or tricks seriously.

Another note gave me permission to tell Changbin and Han to quiet down. Apparently, they were the loudest in what seemed like a loud group.

The ones with the least amount of notes were Bang Chan and Lee Know. Those two seemed pretty laid back and responsible. Probably because they were the oldest.

Bang Chan and Seungmin sat across the aisle from us. Chan leaned his head back as he rested his eyes. Feeling my stare, he opened one eye and smiled before getting comfortable again. Seungmin leaned forward to see me and grinned from ear to ear.

“Reading the dossiers?” His stage whisper carried pretty easily. Bang Chan frowned, leaned an arm over, and pushed Seungmin back in his seat. “Hey! I was just talking to Y/N.”

“Y/N is working,” Chan said, without opening his eyes. “And you need to take a nap.”

“It’s a three-hour flight. What’s the point?” But Seungmin obeyed and settled back in his seat.

Farris chuckled, half focused on what he was typing on his laptop. “Those two can be a handful,” he explained in a hushed voice. “If you stay with us long enough, you’ll see what I mean.”

“Do they not get along?” Bang Chan was the responsible eldest. It didn’t seem like he’d fight with anyone.

“They’re friends,” Farris said with a one shoulder shrug. “Or more like brothers. Which means they can argue. The entire group can do that on any given day. They’re opposites. So one day they’ll fit together like matching puzzle pieces and the next day they’ll reject each other like opposite ends of a magnet.” Farris looked over at me and narrowed his eyes. “Did that make any sense?”

“Sure. Opposites can attract or clash.” It was probably a good day for the group, since no one was arguing. Even Chan scolding Seungmin didn’t seem to hold much emotion behind it. I glanced at the members. Were they sitting with whoever they gelled best with?

Felix probably wanted to keep an eye on I.N, but Changbin and Hyunjin didn’t seem like the type to hang out. A swanlike dancer and a beefed up rapper? If everyone needed to pair off, they were likely the neutrals. As I watched, Han held his hand out to Lee Know and the older man passed him a snack without looking away from their movie. They were on the same wavelength, so they probably gelled the best.

“Sometimes I speak without thinking,” Farris said as he looked back at his computer screen. “My mind runs a mile a minute, so words just sort of burst out, even if I’m not sure where my sentence will end.”

It probably didn’t help that his brain was overloaded. What would a calm Farris look like? A less stressed out man? If I stayed long enough, I’d find out. As the assistant, I was there to make his life easier and solve problems. But I liked to fix things too. I loved a project and Farris had delivered himself to me on a golden platter.

Chapter Text

Stray Kids drove in a van. I don’t know why I had expected another town car. It wasn’t like they would all be able to fit. But when we exited the airport and got to our rental car, Farris led us to a white van.

The groups threw their bags in the back as Farris got into the driver’s seat. Bang Chan was nice enough to take my bag and place it gently on top of the pile. “You’ll be riding shotgun,” he said with a small smile.

Seungmin passed us to climb into the van, saying over his shoulder, “Try to make sure that Farris doesn’t drive us off the road.”

I gawked at him as he disappeared into the van, then turned to Bang Chan.

“Farris did get some sleep, right?”

Bang Chan chuckled as he closed the back doors. “Just a little joke, Y/N. It would be a good idea to assume Seungmin is joking most of the time.”

“Get in the car you two,” Farris yelled out the window. “Unless you’re planning on getting a flight somewhere else.”

Bang Chan and I exchanged a look before I went to the passenger seat and he climbed in the back with the guys.

“The concert is tomorrow,” Farris said as he pulled out of the parking spot. “Gives us enough time to get stuff done while the guys rest.”

I nodded, even though I wasn’t exactly sure what stuff needed to get done. What did an assistant do on a tour? Obviously, Farris was always busy with something so there would be work to do, but I thought venues put everything together in advance. Then there was the problem of Farris maybe not trusting me with tasks he actually needed help with.

“You know, I already read the papers you gave me and looked over the contract again. Even if I’m on probation, I can still help out.” On the flight, Farris didn’t give me anything to do other than read. He’d been on his laptop the whole time, doing on something in a spreadsheet.

“Don’t worry, Y/N.” Farris laughed softly and looked over at me. “You’ll get plenty to do soon enough.”

Despite his obvious need for help, Farris didn’t seem like he was in a rush for me to make his life easier. How was I supposed to know what tour life was like if he didn’t let me experience it while we were in Texas? This was a sort of test, to see if I could handle being on tour with the group. If I didn’t do much, it wouldn’t be a good indicator to anyone that I should sign the official contract.

“Are you holding back so you don’t make me run?” I asked, turning to him with suspicion eyes. “Are you trying to make this seem easy so I’ll sign the contract and be stuck overseas before you start overwhelming me?”

Farris hit the brakes a little too hard at a red light and the guys complained in the back. Thanks to the red light, Farris was able to turn to face me. I’d expected him to look horrified or guilty, but he just smiled. “You’ve been with us for a few hours, Y/N. There isn’t much to do yet. Cool your jets.”

“You were working on something during the flight. I could’ve helped with that.”

The light turned green and Farris focused back on the road. “You’ll help me with everything. We just need time to sit down and talk. Trust me, Y/N. I would never lead you to believe that this work will be easy. Do I look like I have it easy?”

Even though some color had returned to his skin and he didn’t look half dead, Farris was definitely still tired. I relaxed in my seat and looked out the window.

“Alright. Doesn’t hurt to check. Just don’t forget that I’m here to help. Use me.”

“Oh, we’ll use you,” Seungmin called from the back. Before I could turn to scold him, Bang Chan swatted the back of his head.

“If Y/N leaves because of you, I’ll completely cut ballads for the next album.”

Seungmin’s jaw dropped and the rest of the group focused on the brewing situation. “You wouldn’t,” Seungmin insisted. “The fans wouldn’t like it. One slower song is a necessity.”

“Some might like it.” Han jumped into the conversation with a wicked gleam in his eye. “We’ve got a backlog of upbeat song written already. We could try it and see the response.”

“It would be like a dance album,” Hyunjin said with a small smile. “I like that.”

“Me too.” Lee Know gave Seungmin a wicked grin. “Maybe no lyric parts to the songs.”

Seungmin’s nostrils flared and he turned to face the front of the van. “Fine. Sorry, Y/N. I was just joking around.”

The original comment wasn’t my focus anymore. “It’s alright,” I said as my eyes shifted to Bang Chan and then Han. “I can handle a few jokes. But do you write the group’s songs?”

Everyone in the van fell quiet, and Chan’s lips twitched with a smile. “Everyone knows we write our own music,” he told me gently. “Changbin, Han and I are the main producers.”

“Still haven’t looked us up?” I.N asked. He nudged Felix in the side. “See. Told you. She didn’t even Google us during the performance last night.”

Instantly, I had eight pairs of eyes on me. Nine, if Farris giving me occasional glances, counted.

“You haven’t looked up anything?” Han asked. “But you had all night.”

“I was packing and getting ready to leave.”

Felix waved his phone in the air. “But a Google search doesn’t take long. You could be looking stuff up right now if you wanted to.”

With a sigh, I lifted my eyes to the van’s ceiling. “I don’t want to,” I confirmed.

“I want to get to know you,” I said as I turned to look at each member. “Online information may or may not be accurate. I don’t want to get bogged down by rumors or fan theories. All I need to know I can glean from you and everything else, Farris will tell me.” I turned to the driver. “Right, Farris?”

Though still as surprised as the members, he nodded enthusiastically. “Right. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

“It’s still strange,” Changbin said softly from behind me. “You really went into this blind.”

“I like to think of it as starting with a blank slate,” I explained. “Going in without assumptions.”

The van went quiet and I turned back around. It made sense to me, but a normal person would have done some research. Normally, I was a researching type of woman. But information about anyone in the public eye needed to be taken with a grain of salt.

“I like it,” Bang Chan said from behind me. “That’s a nice way to approach it, I think.”

“Agreed.” Lee Know’s voice was warm, but when I turned back around, his expression was unreadable. Having the two eldest members join forces made me a little nervous. With their eyes focused solely on me, it almost seemed like they could see right through me. My stomach flipped, and I hurried to turn around and gain control. There was no reason to turn my nerves into anger, so I needed to calm down. Throwing up in the lap of a Kpop star wasn’t on my itinerary.

The hotel was nice enough, but I was surprised again to see no fans waiting outside. Farris helped me with my bag and the guys trailed inside behind us. The lobby was large and nearly empty.

“Stay with the group,” Farris said, nodding his head toward a seating area. “I’ll get us all checked in.”

Even though I wanted to help, I didn’t argue. What was I supposed to do, anyway? Only one person needed to get the room keys and someone should stay with Stray Kids. I settled on a couch with Bang Chan and I.N on either side of me. The rest of the guys took the surrounding couches and chairs.

“It’s pretty quiet here,” I said as I looked around the lobby again. “Don’t you ever get mobbed by fans?”

Han leaned back in his seat and grinned over at me. “We’re not the Beatles. For the most part, our fans are pretty respectful.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Felix said as he scrolled on his phone. “Even if we don’t hide who we are, good fans know to give us space.”

“Though they will sometimes take photos and post them.” Seungmin looked up from his phone and smirked. “So try not to go out looking like a mess.”

I didn’t point out that Farris looked like a mess most of the time. But it wasn’t too horrible, so maybe the fans didn’t pay attention.

“What about the other group? Are their fans respectful?”

The guys all looked at me, then looked at each other. Then they burst out laughing. They laughed so loud it filled the lobby, and Farris turned to check on us. My cheeks burned and my stomach rolled. Had I said something stupid? I didn’t even know who the opening act was for, but it seemed like their fans might not be as tame.

Changbin gained control of himself first, which decreased the noise immensely. The man’s laugh was iconic. “Man,” he chuckled. “You really haven’t looked up anything, have you?” I shook my head. “Not even about the group we’re touring with?”

“It didn’t seem that important. I mean, I’m not gonna get close to them.”

The members sobered so quickly that it felt like someone flipped a switch. Even I.N shifted uncomfortably in his seat and looked down at his phone. The others acted similarly, avoiding my gaze and sitting quietly.

“Did I say something wrong? If I didn’t look up anything about you guys, why would I look up the other group?”

Bang Chan cleared his throat and I turned to him, thankful that someone was willing to explain things. “The headliner is another male group from our label. They’re a lot bigger than us, obviously, and their fans can be… feral.”

“But they like it that way,” Hyunjin said, as he leaned forward to focus on me. “It’s like a game to them. They’re staying at a bigger hotel and I promise you their fans were waiting outside.”

Was that how the music industry was? Did some people encourage their fans and others request their privacy? And what fans would actually follow those requests?

Bang Chan nudged me with his shoulder and held out his phone. “This is Havenly. I suggest that you don’t get close to them, but it’s alright to know who they are.” I took his phone, though I was more than capable of looking the group up myself. But maybe Stray Kids didn’t think I’d do it. Sure, it wasn’t my top priority, but I’d have done it… eventually.

Havenly consisted of seven men, and they were the opposite of Stray Kids. Not exactly the opposite, but they were all more conventionally attractive and matched each other in an uncanny way. They were all tall, with high cheekbones, killer smiles, and not enough body fat. If Hyunjin had a broader chin and slightly less feminine features, he might have been in that group.

“I don’t think I’d be able to tell them apart,” I joked as I handed the phone back to Bang Chan. In the photo, they all had dyed blond hair. Their features were almost exactly the same, like the company picked them for that reason.

Stray Kids had a more diverse look, which I assumed their fans liked. Who could even fully support Havenly if they looked like someone pressed copy/paste for each member? “I’ll keep out of their way. At least I can easily pick them out of the crowd. I’ll look out for any tall Ken doll types.”

Around me, the guys took that as a cue to relax. Han went back to his phone, Lee Know looking over his shoulder. Felix chatted with Hyunjin, Changbin and Seungmin chiming in. Chan told me about his dog back home and I.N talked a little about his family. It wouldn’t take long for me to get close to the group if I wanted to. I didn’t dislike any of them so far. But the way they’d all reacted the same when Havenly was brought up worried me. If I was supposed to watch out for Stray Kids and take care of the guys, I might have to do some research on the Ken dolls.

“Everyone ready?” Farris returned with keycards in hand. “We’re on the same floor, like always. Unless anyone has requests, we’ll bunk the same.” He held out one card. “Felix and I.N?”

The guys got up with their bags and took the cards.

“Hyunjin and Bang Chan? Then Han and Changbin.”

“Can I room with someone else?” Changbin asked as he got to his feet. “I wanna get up early to go to the gym and Han said he doesn’t want to.”

Farris nodded with a wide smile. “I’d prefer it, actually. Lee Know and Seungmin shouldn’t room together anymore.”

“What did we do?” Seungmin asked, though the spark in his eyes suggested he knew exactly why his assignment was changing.

“Lee Know can room with me,” Han said cheerfully. “Even if he goes to the gym, he knows how to keep from waking me up.”

“How about me and Changbin room?” Chan suggested. “I think I want to work out in the morning, too. Hyunjin? You alright with Seungmin?”

Hyunjin shrugged, visibly unbothered by all the switching.

“Fifth floor, guys. Head on up.” Farris turned and gave me my keycard. The members took one elevator, leaving me to use the other with Farris. As the doors closed, he eyed me. “What did you talk about over there?” he asked. “They all seemed to have fun.”

“We just talked about how their fans are respectful. Unlike the other touring group.”

Our elevator stopped, and Farris and I stepped out in time to see the guys entering their rooms. “It makes our job a little easier,” Farris said as he walked down the hall with me. “We don’t need bodyguards unless we plan to go out as a group. The fans know that Stray Kids doesn’t like being mobbed and they want to keep the group happy.”

Cute. When did the attitude about pop stars change? Back in the early 2000s, it was normal to get mobbed. The paparazzi were always causing problems. At least that wouldn’t be an issue with Stray Kids.

Farris stopped outside the 6th door. “We’re across from each other,” he said, nodding toward my door. “Why don’t you get settled and come on over? We can talk shop.”

That made me smile. I could finally show him what I was worth. “Give me a half hour,” I said as I unlocked my door. Even though I didn’t need to rush, I was eager to get started on real work. I hung up some clothes, not all of them, since we’d only be in town for a few days, then washed up before walking across the hall.

Farris answered on the first knock. “You’re quick.”

“So are you,” I pointed out as he led me inside. Farris had changed his clothes, run a brush through his hair and his breath smelled minty. Like mine, his hotel room had a small sitting area and as I walked toward it, I noted that he’d hung his clothing, too.

I took a seat at the table and pulled out my laptop. Farris did the same and moved his chair a little closer to mine so I could see his screen.

“Onto the boring stuff,” he said with a happy sigh. “Y/N, you have no idea how much you’re saving me. All of this work is a lot for one person, but with two people, I can breathe.”

“What work is there exactly? Is it all paperwork and scheduling?”

Farris nodded and pulled up his saved files. “Some of it. Everything is set up for the tour, but we need to double and triple check things for each hotel. Then we need to be in touch with the venue to make sure they have everything we need. Not that we need much, since we’re the opening act. Then there are meals, activities, fan meetings if they’re planned for that location and smaller additions. But also it’s watching the group.”

“So I will be babysitting,” I said with a soft laugh. Farris winced and reached out to place a hand on my arm.

“Sorry. I know it seems a little demeaning to have to watch them. They’re grown-ups, after all.”

Grown-ups needed help sometimes. Farris was proof of that. But the group also had to be cared for in order to perform their best.

“I’m sure they’ll behave themselves,” Farris said softly. “Although…” He glanced at me briefly. “You saw that Seungmin and Lee Know couldn’t room together? They can get into trouble. Nothing major. Playing the occasional prank or even sneaking out without saying anything.”

That was something I hadn’t expected. Lee Know seemed too mature to go along with whatever Seungmin was up to.

“I’ll keep a close eye on them,” I said, holding in a laugh. “Don’t worry. I’m supposed to be an assistant, Farris. That means I will assist you and the members however you need me to. And I don’t really think of it as babysitting. Trust me, I’m excited about doing this.”

When I beamed at him, Farris blinked rapidly and then turned back to his computer screen. His cheeks tinted pink and I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Maybe he wasn’t used to someone being so helpful. What had the last assistant been like?

“Thank you, Y/N.” Farris still had a hand on my arm, and he squeezed it gently before meeting my eyes. “Maybe you should refrain from being so helpful. If you make my life too easy, I might not be able to let you go.”

Chapter Text

 After meeting with Farris for about an hour, I was left to myself. Stray Kids kept to their rooms too, getting some needed relaxation time. I doubted they were napping, since they wouldn’t be able to sleep during the night, but Farris said it didn’t matter. None of them would leave the hotel.

“Feel free to order room service,” Farris said as I left his room. “You can do that at every hotel. The company will foot the bill. Just don’t live on caviar and wine.”

Even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t have ordered it. The hotel didn’t have anything like that. After calling down for a huge salad and soup, I took a quick shower before the food arrived. Then, I sat at the table with the food and my laptop, finally ready to do some research.

Not on Stray Kids because I really wanted to get to know them personally. Instead, I researched Havenly. From the way Stray Kids acted, the headliners were important, and not just because they were more famous.

Havenly really looked like someone copy and pasted the same guy then photoshopped some minor differences. They all went by their English names. Doyle, Ryan and Holland were pretty interchangeable since they all had different shades of blond hair. Zeke, Miles and Cameron were a little more in shape than the other guys. But it wasn’t obvious unless you looked closely. Cardan was the odd man out, and that wasn’t saying much. He was still lean, strong and looked like a Ken doll, but his hair was longer and leaned more toward light brown than dirty blond.

It was obvious why they’d be popular. They were all insanely good looking, posted pretty regularly, and interacted with fans online. Just like that, I fell down the rabbit hole for a few hours. I didn’t care about learning false information when it came to Havenly and Stray Kids had encouraged me to look into them.

The comment sections of Havenly’s posts served as proof of how rabid their fans were. Members encouraged it too, going in and liking certain posts, which would make the fans go even more feral.

After a few hours, I followed a comment thread from Instagram to Facebook and over to Reddit. It started with fans wishing they could date the members and ended with something called the Girlfriend Package.

Reddit wasn’t always a reliable source and what the commenters said sounded like One Direction fan fiction.

HavenlyAngel44: If you’re lucky enough, maybe you’ll be chosen.

7ly4ever: Chosen how? Come on, don’t be stupid. The Girlfriend Package is a myth.

HavenlyAngel44: You can choose to be a non-believer, but I’ve heard from reputable sources that it’s true.

Havenlysunofficialbodyguard: Is your source Post3rStrang3? Cause I heard she was making up lies about a bunch of groups.

7ly4ever: Exactly! I won’t believe anything without actual proof.

HavenlyAngel44: What kind of proof? The contract or a picture of the girl in question?

Numbe3r1HavanlyFan: Pictures can be faked. So can paperwork.

Havenlysunofficialbodyguard: And you can’t just point to a female hanging around Havenly and say she’s the girlfriend.

HavenlyAngel44: Fine! But if I vanish off the face of the planet, I was chosen to be the girlfriend for Havenly.

The thread stopped there, and I leaned back in my seat and drummed my fingers on the table. Basically, the Girlfriend Package was a rumor about groups having an assigned girlfriend. Like a girlfriend for the whole group to share.

Gross and definitely not true. Just because Havenly didn’t seem to date didn’t mean they had a live-in girlfriend.

“I’d believe they all were gay before believing that crap,” I muttered as I got up to put my plates outside my door. “Someone has been making up some fan fiction, for sure.”

When I swung open my door, I gave a quiet scream and jumped back. Hyunjin stood outside my door with his hand raised.

“I was just about to knock,” he said with a wide smile. “Did I scare you?”

My heart raced and I was lucky enough not to have dropped my plates. But what made me even more nervous was that Hyunjin was only in a pair of swimming trunks.

“What are you doing?” I hissed. I poked my head into the hallway. No one else was around. Even though the group didn’t have a paparazzi issue, that didn’t mean someone wouldn’t take a scandalous picture and post it online. I set my dishes outside and tugged Hyunjin into my room.

“What if someone saw you?” I turned to lecture him and Hyunjin just walked into my room and looked around, as if our rooms weren’t exactly the same.

“I got locked out,” he said with a soft sigh. “What was I supposed to do?”

“Locked out? Don’t you have a roommate?”

Hyunjin turned back to me and crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Seungmin went to bed early and it’s hard to wake him up. I think Farris passed out, too. At least, he didn’t answer when I knocked on his door. My room is next to yours, so it was logical to come to you next.”

If all of that was true, it was the smarter move. After all, I was hired to help the group. If Seungmin and Farris didn’t rescue him, Hyunjin might have tried the other two rooms before coming to me. In that amount of time, someone could have come to our floor and taken a picture.

“You just had to step outside of your room wearing that?” I waved a hand in his direction and his eyes lit up.

“Does this make you uncomfortable, Y/N?” He walked closer and dropped his arms. “I was going to the pool, but forgot a bag. Then, when I tried to get into the room, it turned out I forgot my key too.”

Of course, I’d noticed his lack of a shirt when he showed up at my door. But my worry had shifted to him being caught out in the hallway dressed like that. What I hadn’t considered was how it would look pulling a half naked Kpop star into my room late at night.

“Why would it make me uncomfortable?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re aware that I have a brother, right?”

Even with my nerves, I wasn’t a prude. I’d been around naked men before.

Of course, Hyunjin was quite the specimen. If every member was like him, it was surprising that their fans weren’t rabid. The man looked like an AI creation; he was so perfect. And with his slicked back hair drawing attention to his eyes, I felt my stomach flop. He was staring at me hard.

“What are you looking at?”

Hyunjin tilted his head to the side and slowly examined me. “Cute pajamas.”

My plaid sleep set was actually made for a man, so it was a little boxy. I felt grateful for that. Not that I was out of shape, but compared to Strays Kids, I was all flab.

“Let’s call Farris.” I said as I stepped past Hyunjin to get my phone from the table. “I bet if we call him enough, he’ll wake up. Poor guy needs rest, but I’m surprised that he didn’t hear you knocking.”

As I passed him, Hyunjin’s hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist, pulling me to a stop. I looked up at him and realized I was a little too close for comfort.

Hyunjin’s grip tightened, and I considered the best way to handle the situation.

“Hyunjin. Maybe you should let go of my arm.”

I told myself I was seeing things when his eyes dropped to my lips.

“Why?” His nose twitched. “Did you know that your body wash smells like coconuts?”

“Maybe I’ll buy some for you then.”

He smiled and dropped my arm. “I just noticed you have a little something…” Hyunjin tapped a finger against the side of his mouth.

My stomach rolled and my dinner hinted that it wanted to make a reappearance. I swiped my thumb across my mouth, coming away with a bit of leftover soup from dinner. Apparently, I shouldn’t eat and do research at the same time. Who knew reading up on insane fangirls could be so distracting?

“Thanks,” I muttered, swallowing repeatedly to get my nausea under control. At least embarrassment was taking a front seat to my nerves. Had I really thought he was flirting with me?

Someone knocked on my door and I praised every possible deity for the interruption as I hurried to open it. Bang Chan smiled at me, then his eyes shifted to just over my shoulder.

“Seems you have a visitor.”

“Hyunjin got locked out of his room,” I explained.

Bang Chan's smile flattened. “Did he?”

Hyunjin walked up behind me, and I shifted to the side to give him space. “I did. And you know Seungmin sleeps like the dead. I couldn’t wake him up.”

“Uh huh. What about Farris?” Chan’s brows lifted as he watched Hyunjin. Though Chan’s expression wasn’t threatening, it felt like watching a snake ready to strike. Did Chan reprimand the members often?

“I think he might have passed out,” Hyunjin said with a half shrug. “Y/N’s room was closest, and I was pretty sure she was awake.”

The two men watched each other carefully. Hyunjin’s posture was pretty relaxed, but his eyes never left Chan’s face, almost as if he was looking for a sign that he was actually in trouble. Chan’s jaw shifted, like he was grinding his teeth together. Though I couldn’t be sure if that was an indication of his anger, I had the urge to deescalate the situation.

“How’d you know he was here?” I asked. Thankfully, Bang Chan’s expression softened when he looked at me.

“I texted him and he didn’t respond. Hyunjin doesn’t go to bed this early. He’s used to a 3Racha sleeping schedule.”

Thanks to my lack of research, I had no idea what that meant. But it looked like 3Racha were night owls, if Hyunjin was normally awake late.

“So I checked his room and Farris’. You’re right, Hyunjin. Farris didn’t answer. Maybe having Y/N here meant he could actually relax.” Bang Chan reached into the room and grabbed Hyunjin’s arm. The tall man winced as Chan pulled him into the hallway.

“Thank you, Y/N. I’ll have Hyunjin stay in my room for now.”

Hyunjin actually dug his heels into the carpet. “But you guys only have two beds. Am I going to sleep on the floor?”

Each room had two queen-sized beds, including mine. While I didn’t want Hyunjin to sleep on the floor, it wasn’t a good idea for me to sleep next to him, either. Even if he hadn’t been flirting with me, I would be too nervous to handle having him around.

“I’ll sleep on the floor,” Bang Chan said. “Or Changbin will share a bed with you. You know he’ll jump at the chance. Honestly, Hyunjin. Can’t you leave Y/N alone to adjust to all of this? If you scare her off, what will we do?”

Hyunjin seemed to consider that question, then turned back to me. “Sorry. I really did just come over cause I got locked out. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

I leaned against the doorframe and smiled. “Don’t worry about it. Just try not to get locked out again. Or at least make sure you’re wearing clothes when you do.”

“Would it have mattered?” Hyunjin asked with a knowing smile. “Topless is some of our defaults.” He nodded a head toward Chan, including him in that fact.

This time, Chan looked embarrassed. He smacked Hyunjin on the shoulder and started pushing him down the hall.

“Don’t mind him,” Chan called over his shoulder. “Have a good night, Y/N.”

While I watched them go, I finally noticed Chan. Hyunjun was right. Bang Chan was shirtless, too. Given how embarrassed he was, he’d probably forgotten to throw on a shirt before coming to my room. Cute. Standing next to Hyunjin shirtless made me feel uncomfortable, but somehow, it wasn’t like that with Chan. Despite his six-pack. I chalked it up to the comforting aura of a leader. If Chan calmed my nerves that much, my chances of puking on the tour had greatly reduced.    

Chapter Text

The next morning, I woke up before my alarm, already excited about my first concert day. I pulled out my phone and flipped through the synced calendar I had with Farris. The schedule didn’t start too early, which was why Changbin had said he’d get a workout in.

At ten, Stray Kids was scheduled to do a run-through of their set. They practiced early to get out of the way for Havenly. The headliners had a longer practice slot, of course, not that I was complaining. It meant Stray Kids got to have a small break before the actual concert.

It was just past eight, so I jumped in the shower and pulled on some jeans and a plain black t-shirt. Farris hadn’t said anything about a dress code, but it was best not to stand out. Also, black clothes just screamed professional to me. As I wrestled my hair into a loose bun, someone knocked on my door. Not the best timing. I held my hair with one hand and went to greet my visitor.

“Sorry. Are you busy?” Farris’ eyes widened behind his glasses as he took in the large amount of curls I held clenched in my fist.

“It’s fine,” I muttered past the hair tie held between my teeth. “Come on in.”

Returning to sit on the edge of my bed, I started to get the hair tie over my curls. Farris sat at my table and played around with his phone. It wasn’t like he couldn’t talk to me while I did my hair, but I rushed through everything so I could give him my full attention.

“Something I can help you with, boss?”

Farris winced at the title and adjusted his glasses. “Just call me Farris, Y/N. We’re a team.”

“Okay, Farris,” I said with a smile. “What’s up?” Using his name didn’t make him any more comfortable. He pressed his lips together and his eyes bounced around the room.

“Did you do any research last night?” he asked, as his eyes managed to settle on mine.

“Just a little on Havenly. Not much.”

Farris narrowed his eyes as he examined me, like he was trying to determine if I was lying. But why would I lie about doing research? Just the night before, he’d trusted me. Something had changed. A trickle of unease went down my spine. Was there a picture or footage of me pulling Hyunjin into my room?

“I never told you why the old assistant got fired, right?”

A dread filled my gut and I swallowed compulsively to control the nerves that were mixing with my terror.

“All you said was that they broke the group’s trust and had to be let go.”

This was it. Somehow, I’d already done something wrong. Maybe it had been having a member in my room, or maybe it was something else. Either way, I’d be on the next plane back to California.

Farris nodded seriously, then looked back at his phone. For almost a full minute, he didn’t say anything, and I resisted the urge to squirm.

“Bang Chan told me that Hyunjin was in your room last night.”

My stomach rolled and saliva filled my mouth. Would puking in front of Farris matter if he was going to fire me anyway?

“Hyunjin got locked out.” I attempted a stuttered explanation. “He tried waking up both Seungmin and you before ending up at my door.”

When Farris looked up at me again, there was a hint of a smile on his lips. He wouldn’t smile while firing me, right?

“I’m normally a light sleeper,” he admitted. “Guess having you around helps me worry less and I managed a deeper sleep than usual.”

So, he couldn’t fire me. Not if he wanted to actually get a healthy amount of sleep on the tour.

“I only had Hyunjin come into my room because I was worried about him being seen. It wasn’t until after that I thought it might have been a bad move. Did someone take a picture or something? I swear that nothing happened.”

Farris blinked a couple of times before his smile widened. My stomach tightened. “I didn’t think anything happened. And I understand doing what you did. You’re not in trouble, Y/N.”

“Then why did you talk about the other assistant getting fired?” I couldn’t calm down completely, yet. He’d brought up the last assistant for a reason. I drew a deep breath and tried to settle my stomach.

“Guess I jumped around in the conversation,” Farris said with a light chuckle. “Sorry, Y/N. I hope you can get used to it. My thoughts go a mile a minute.” When I didn’t return his smile, Farris sobered.

“The incident with the last assistant was kept quiet. I’m sure there are some online forums talking about it, but the company worked to make it seem like it wasn’t a big issue.” Farris leaned back and ran a hand through his messy hair. “Our last assistant got into a relationship with a member of Havenly.”

My stomach dropped for a completely different reason.

“Oh.”

Not that I’d consider doing the same thing, but there hadn’t been a rule in the temporary contract about not dating or sleeping with the headliners. Maybe it was in the full contract.

“Oh, indeed.” Farris shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. “Before this happened, we used to stay in the same hotels as Havenly. Not at every stop, but most of them. We would stay in the less expensive rooms on a lower floor.” He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and held my gaze without blinking. “The contract isn’t strict in that area,” he admitted. “I didn’t care who she was sleeping with. The Havenly members were always flirting with her, so it seemed inevitable.”

The group of model-like idols had flirted with a simple assistant? It would probably look bad if they hooked up with random fans on the road, but how did they have the energy to fool around? Even the idea that Changbin and Chan wanted to work out shocked me.

“Fans caught our assistant taking the elevator back from Havenly’s floor. Their fans are a little rabid. Not that Havenly does anything to discourage that. They practically reward bad behavior.”

Which was still hard for me to grasp. Didn’t the group want any privacy?

“So, did the fans attack her out of jealousy?”

“They probably would have, if they guessed what she’d been up to. But what happened was worse, in my opinion. My assistant admitted that she panicked, afraid of what the fans would do to her. She lied and said she’d been dropping something off for Felix.”

That wasn’t an unbelievable deflect. The groups were in the same hotel, and it was normal for an assistant to run errands. It didn’t seem worse than an assistant possibly getting attacked by fans.

“It was four in the morning,” Farris said slowly, trying to hint at the issue. “And she said she was bringing something up to Felix.”

“Felix should have been on the lower floor,” I said, understanding slowly dawning on me. “So she was saying that he was up with a member of Havenly at four in the morning.”

Farris nodded and as he leaned back, his limbs loosened, like he’d been tense as he waited for me to figure it out.

“Rumors started flying immediately. My assistant was part of them. The fans either assumed she was dating the members of Havenly or that Felix was gay and sleeping with one of the members. Not that it would be the end of the world if he was a gay. Stray Kids is very accepting, even though JYP doesn’t want sexuality to be discussed. The lie itself didn’t get her fired; it put her on thin ice. But I found out later that she was online, trying to get the fans to focus on the lie she’d told. Under a fake name, she encouraged the ‘Felix story’ to save herself.”

Not only had the assistant lied, she’d continually thrown Felix under the bus. Sweet Felix, who was one of the members everyone seemed to dote on.

Even after my short time with the group, I was already protective of the members. Anger boiled up inside of me and I glared at the ceiling so Farris wouldn’t see just how pissed off I was. “I can’t believe she would do that. All because she was afraid of fans?”

“It makes sense, with Havenly’s fans,” Farris said. “But she came up with a lie that hurt Stray Kids, then perpetuated it. It meant that the group wasn’t her priority. I fired her. Felix made a statement, as did Havenly. Felix was completely honest. He hadn’t been visiting the group. Everyone believed him.”

Who wouldn’t believe that adorable face?

“But Havenly…” Farris’ tone made me look back at him. The man’s expression wasn’t 100% decipherable, but I froze, suddenly very worried. “They lied. They said that their own assistant wasn’t feeling well and called our assistant to bring some medicine. I wouldn’t say they were exactly believable, it isn’t as if they care what happens to Stray Kids. But at least most of the fans bought it.”

Even if they didn’t believe Havenly, the fans would have targeted Stray Kids’ assistant. Not that she didn’t deserve it for lying about Felix. I didn’t know what level of crazy Havenly’s fans were and I hoped never to find out.

“So you want me to stay away from Havenly? In case something like this happens again?”

Farris made a noncommittal sound. “Not really. I think I trust you. Besides, you’re not the type to throw anyone under the bus to save yourself.”

Especially not Felix, I wanted to add. But I kept that to myself.

“I mainly think you should stay away from them because they’re slimy. They know how popular they are and use it as a weapon. If they don’t flirt with you, then they’ll bully you. They aren’t above lying just for the drama of it all. If you’re lucky, they’ll just ignore you.”

“I’ll avoid them,” I agreed. “It isn’t like I want to be around them or have any reason to be. Don’t worry.”

“Can’t help it,” Farris said with a little self-deprecating smile. “It’s in my nature.”

Like helping people was in mine.

Farris got to his feet with the groan of an old man. “Glad we got that out of the way,” he said as he stretched from side to side. “I was kind of dreading it. Actually, I’d hoped you’d look it up and just come to me with questions.”

“What?” I squawked. He laughed and walked toward the door.

“It’s a serious conversation and I never know how to start those.” Farris stopped with his hand on the door handle and looked back at me. “Bang Chan said that would be a bad idea. Mainly because he really didn’t think you’d do any research on Stray Kids.”

“But he knew I was going to research Havenly,” I reminded Farris as I stood and joined him at the door.

“It’s possible you wouldn’t have stumbled onto that topic, with JYP trying to suppress it.”

He was right about that. I hadn’t found anything about the incident. But JYP couldn’t control every social media site, so how was that possible?

“Oh,” Farris paused, the door partially opened, and looked back at me again. “Sorry about Hyunjin.”

“No apology needed. Don’t punish him or anything. I mean, he didn’t do anything wrong.”

The man’s eyes widened. “No! I mean, I know he didn’t, so you don’t have to defend him, Y/N. And it isn’t like I don’t want you getting close to the group. I want you to like them.” He laughed and pulled the door open further. I backed away so he could walk out. “Have the guys in your room if you want them there. And if you don’t want them there, Bang Chan will keep them out. If you can’t get to me, always turn to Bang Chan.”

Even though I didn’t plan on giving Bang Chan more to do, it was nice to know that he really was the responsible leader of the group. I’d seen glimpses of it. Hyunjin had been reluctant, but listened to him the night before.

With Bang Chan acting as the leader, I could see a happy future hanging out with Stray Kids. Once I was done helping Farris, maybe I could have fun with the group. And as long as the guys kept their clothes on, no one else could possibly have a problem with it.

Chapter Text

When we piled into the van an hour later, it was like the night before and that morning’s conversation hadn’t happened. The guys were as cheerful as ever and Farris grinned from ear to ear. Bang Chan did seem glued to Hyunjin’s side, but neither looked particularly mad at the other.

“When we get there, we’ll each get a VIP badge,” Farris told me as we drove down the highway. “You’ll want to keep yours with you at all times.”

“Do we take them with us when we leave for the afternoon?”

“Yes. It’s how we’ll get back in. I already added your name to the list at the venue. If you decide to stay with us, I’ll do it for the rest of the tour stops.”

In my peripheral, I caught him sending me a concerned look, but I didn’t turn to face him. Even if he acted like everything was normal, Farris couldn’t help worrying that after the revelations that morning, I’d run for the hills. But I had no reason to run away. It wasn’t like I was going to get involved in a scandal. Doing a good job was all I cared about and Stray Kids would be my priority above all else.

“Are you going to let her watch us?” Han asked loudly from the backseat.

“Farris and Y/N probably have things to do,” Felix assumed.

“But Y/N hasn’t actually seen us. Right Y/N?”

I turned in my seat a little until I could meet his eager gaze. “I watched you from the greenroom the other night. But I’m guessing Felix is right and I’ve got work to get done.”

“Not much, actually,” Farris interjected. When I turned to shoot him a suspicious look, he laughed. “I’m not lying! All we have to do is organize things. Make sure everything is in place backstage. After that, you’re welcome to sit in the audience and watch them.”

Even though I’d seen Stray Kids perform on the screen backstage, I was excited at the prospect of watching them live. From what I’d seen, Stray Kids was a high energy and entertaining group. Part of that had to be from feeding off of the crowd’s energy, but I wanted to see what they were like during a relaxed rehearsal.

“It won’t be too exciting,” Bang Chan warned. “It’s a lot of starts and stops.”

“I don’t mind,” I said over my shoulder. “I’m just interested in watching you guys work.”

Changbin’s laughter filled the car, bordering on infectious. “No pressure, guys. It’s only Y/N’s first time watching us perform. I bet she hasn’t even watched a MV.”

No one spoke, as if Stray Kids might actually be nervous. I rolled my eyes. As if they should care that much about a new assistant.

“I haven’t seen anything online,” I confirmed, turning to face the van full of idols. “Not even a music video. But that doesn’t matter.”

“It’s because you want to learn about us yourself,” Seungmin said. “But MV’s are different. It isn’t like you’re going to learn incorrect info from a music video.”

I.N let out a little gasp, which made everyone turn to check on the youngest. But he was beaming from ear to ear. “We should have a watch party in one of our rooms!”

“A watch party?” Lee Know’s expression was nearly blank, but his lips turned slightly down. “I’ll miss it.”

“Come on hyung! It’ll be fun.”

But even I.N couldn’t get Lee Know to budge. Chan made eye contact with me and smiled as the members started to work at convincing Lee Know.

“He has a habit of looking at flaws in the dancing,” Chan explained. “Even I do that sometimes. We don’t normally watch our own material repeatedly.”

“Except for fan edits,” Felix chimed in, as if he had been part of our side conversation already. “Chan loves stalking the fans online.”

My eyes shot from Felix to Chan, the elder looking more embarrassed by the second. Havenly interacted a lot with their fans online, but did Stray Kids? Or was it actually Chan watching fans from a burner account?

“We all do that sometimes,” I.N confirmed. “It’s fun to see what they say about us.”

“So your fans really are respectful?” I asked, interest peaked. This group had things way better than Havenly.

Han snorted in disbelief as everyone gave up on Lee Know and joined in on our conversation. “Our fans are kinder, but they are… unique.”

“Horny,” Chan said, shrugging his shoulders. “Their edits are very creative.”

“You look for those,” Lee Know said, flicking Chan’s forehead. “They make funny edits too.”

Seungmin chuckled and winked at me. “If you ever decide to look us up online, you’ll see what we mean.”

It was actually tempting. But if the fans saw Stray Kids a certain way, their edits would influence my opinion.

“We’ll see. Maybe I will eventually. But you all don’t need to have a watch party with me. I’m sure you’ve watched your music videos enough. I’ll do it on my own.”

“Really? Maybe the two of us should have a watch party…”

A smack to Hyunjin’s head made him shut up, and Chan fixed me with a serious look.

“Will you watch them on your own? I find that hard to believe.”

The other members nodded in agreement, as if they already knew me well enough to guess. But I did intend to watch their music videos.

“Trust me. I looked up Havenly, just like you said. It won’t be hard to at least watch a handful of music videos.”

The car fell silent again, and Farris cleared his throat as we approached the arena.

“It was only Havenly,” he told the members. “She didn’t see anything important, but I told her about Serena this morning.”

The guys didn’t respond. It was as if the entire vibe in the van changed. Bang Chan and Felix looked tired, like remembering the incident weighed them down. Han didn’t look up from his phone, but he also didn’t type anything. Instead, he stared at the screen. Changbin and Lee Know’s expressions were so intimidating that I wanted to sink into my seat. I.N and Seungmin started talking softly with each other. Hyunjin watched me, as if wondering what I was thinking.

What happened with the last assistant hurt them. Bringing it up would naturally trigger some sort of reaction. But I would have been told, eventually. They had to know that. I just hoped they didn’t think I’d be like Serena and hurt them, too.

Not wanting to overstep and try to comfort the group directly, I focused on Farris as he pulled the van into the parking lot. “I have one important question. Are any of you planning to make me run errands at four in the morning?”

Even though I didn’t look at the members, I felt their eyes on me. Farris’ jaw dropped, but I kept my composure, as if it was a serious question.

Felix was the first to laugh, followed by Changbin. His laughter infected everyone else and soon the unaddressed tension left the car and they relaxed.

“I might need sweets,” Han chuckled. “And I only like certain types. You might have to go looking.”

“In case of an emergency, I might need you to get me a phone charger.” Felix waved his phone into the air, a wild smile on his face. “I can’t live without this thing.”

The guys all started throwing out suggestions, some more funny than others. Chan leaned forward to whisper, “Maybe you should run an errand for yourself. A taser and some earplugs might be good investments.”

Farris parked the car, then reached out to pat my knee. “Good job. And thanks.”

I shrugged and climbed out. I wasn’t the funniest person around, but making someone laugh could smother uneasy emotions. Laughter was the best medicine. Growing up, my friends tried to make me laugh whenever my nerves took control. It was better than me vomiting on them.

The arena may have been big, but I didn’t get a good look as we were rushed inside. A man in a security shirt took charge and, after giving us each a badge on a lanyard, led the way to a small room. It wasn’t as large as the California greenroom. The guys each had a chair with a table and mirror, and there was a couch in the corner. But besides a snack table against the wall, that was it.

Farris looked over the room and drummed his fingers on his thighs in a rhythm I couldn’t identify. “It’ll work,” he decided. “After the run through, we can decide if we need to bring anything else. Will you show us to the stage?”

The security guy led us out of the room and down the hall. When we were led onto a stage, I finally saw just how big the venue was. It wasn’t a football stadium, but it probably held at least ten thousand people.

The group walked the stage and I stared at all the empty seats, stomach churning. It wasn’t like I was performing, so I had no cause to be nervous. Why was I nervous for Stray Kids? Hadn’t they done this multiple times already? Around me, I heard them discussing the setup and the songs. They were completely unfazed by the size of the venue.

“Pretty big, huh?” Farris stepped up beside me and looked out at the seats.

“I can’t imagine having this many eyes on me,” I admitted.

“The guys act like it’s nothing,” he said softly. “But they’re nervous. It probably helps to know that not everyone in the audience is there to see them. The fans paid to see Havenly and, even if they like Stray Kids, the guys aren’t the reason for the concert. Takes some pressure off of them.” Farris turned to look at the group.

“They have everything under control. How about we go back to the greenroom and get situated?”

Getting situated meant setting things up. I didn’t know it, but the back of the van had a lot of stuff. Farris had the outfits in dress bags, which we carried inside, and he also had a container of snacks and drinks.

“When did you load all of this? I could’ve helped.”

The man laughed as he set a water bottle on each member’s table. “You don’t need to help me with everything, Y/N. Give it time and I’ll let you haul stuff around on your own. You can even set up the room all by yourself. How’s that?”

When he looked at me, his eyes sparkled with laughter and I gave up. If just having me around made Farris relax, that was alright for now. He didn’t act stressed out and looked more rested, though I could see his mind working through a million things at once. Eventually, he’d stop trying to lead me by the hand. But I’d play along for now. After that morning, he had to know that I wasn’t thinking of leaving. It would take something pretty drastic for that to happen.

Once we finished up, we went back toward the stage. This time, Farris took a side door out into the seats so we could watch. Stray Kids stood on the stage and as music played, they marked through the dance moves. Or they did until they spotted me.

As if they were waiting for me, the group’s energy picked up. Instead of marking, they went through their moves full out. Acting as if I was really the audience, they sang in my direction and smiled at me the whole time. Hyunjin winked, and Han stepped away from the dance to blow me a kiss. To my surprise, Changbin did some fancy footwork that didn’t match their song at all.

“Cute,” Farris chuckled. “They’re showing off for you.”

“Just practicing,” I muttered as I slid lower in my seat. Farris grinned down at me.

“Showing off,” he repeated. “They want to make a good impression. They want you to like them.”

Bang Chan stepped forward on his solo line and made eye contact with me. “I’m gonna let you know that I’m just gonna go and hold you, so I’m never letting go.” He sang with vocals so clear they sounded prerecorded.

As they finished the song, all the members looked in my direction, though not directly at me. After hearing the last line, I was grateful for that, since my cheeks were on fire.

“One-four-three, I love you.”

“I already like them,” I said under my breath.

Their eager smiles, the energy behind their movements… Stray Kids awed me with their abilities. But without that, the members themselves were something to behold.

From the tender expressions Felix and I.N gave me, to the joyous smiles of Changbin and Han. Even the sterner expressions, like Lee Know’s. My heart already went out to Stray Kids; my emotions were tied up in them. There was no turning back.  

Chapter Text

Two hours later, the group returned to their greenroom, drenched in sweat and looking more than a little worn out. I got there ahead of them to grab towels and water bottles, which the guys were grateful for.

They hadn’t been kidding about the start and stop of rehearsal. When I first sat in the audience, they’d gone full out for the fun of it. And because they wanted to impress me, according to Farris. But that energy didn’t last long. Apparently, they’d just finished the start and stop run-through of that song, so they could go full out.

The rest of the time, they worked with the stage and tech people to get spacing, lights, and sound levels correct for each song. When the technical stuff was done, they’d do a run-through of each song, but it wasn’t as high energy as the song they’d performed for me. Which was perfectly fine, especially considering they needed to be back on stage later that night.

“Thanks, Y/N.” Bang Chan said as he took the water bottle I handed to him. Even out of breath and drenched, he still looked good. Bang Chan wasn’t the group’s main dancer, but he could’ve fooled me. The man’s energy was also out of this world.

Stray Kids spread throughout the room, showing different states of exhaustion. I.N lay on the floor with his head in Felix’s lap. Neither was sleeping. Instead, they watched everyone else. Not that there was much to watch. Hyunjin had stripped his shirt off as soon as they entered the room, and he sat with Changbin in a corner. Seungmin was close by, playing a game on his phone.

Han and Lee Know were on a couch, laughing at whatever they were watching on Han’s phone. They looked too happy to interrupt, so I squashed my temptation to join them. I hoped they were being responsible online. Stray Kids didn’t interact with their fans the way Havenly did, but what if they were on alt accounts acting up?

It probably wasn’t my business. Lee Know was an older member, so I trusted he wouldn’t do anything too crazy. Besides, Farris didn’t seem to have a problem with it. He and Bang Chan stood by the snack table, talking amongst themselves. With nowhere else to go and no one looking open to socializing, I decided to join them.

“Anything I can help with over here?” I asked as I shoved my hands in my pockets and tried to look casual.

Bang Chan’s smile twisted into something mischievous. “Since we were talking about you, no. Nothing you can help with. Unless you want to give us more information about yourself.”

Farris gaped at Bang Chan, then smacked the guy’s arm. “Why did you tell her that? That’s incredibly rude.”

“Is it?” Bang Chan met my eyes as he held his water bottle to his lips. “I’d think it would be ruder to lie.” They were both right, but I’d rather have had the lie. My stomach tied in knots.

“What part of my life were you discussing?” I asked as calmly as I could. “It’s fine to look stuff up about me. I haven’t researched the group, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t research me.”

“We all have!” Han glanced up from his phone and gave me a wicked smile. “You thought we’d just trust you without looking at your background?” The other members turned their attention to me and laughed. I kept my cool and smiled, like I was in on the joke.

“Find anything interesting?” I asked, knowing that the answer was no. My life was boring, thanks to working hard for my dad, so they wouldn’t find any skeletons in my closet.

Han jumped up from the couch and joined us, too much energy racing through his body for someone who’d just worked hard onstage for two hours.

“Your brother and his boyfriend are cute,” Han said when he stopped beside me. “But their information is easier to find than yours.”

“He’s younger than me and addicted to being online. Makes sense.”

“And you work too hard to be addicted to anything.” Han smirked and swiped through his phone. “I guess you could say that you’re addicted to work.”

Farris laughed at that assumption, being the first to actually know my work history. “It sounds like one of those fake flaws you mention in an interview,” Farris said in a teasing tone. My cheeks heated, but only a little. This was all in good fun. Playing around and joking with me meant that I was becoming part of the group.

“Your life was pretty boring,” Han continued as he looked at his screen. “All you did was work for your dad. Why’d you stop?”

Farris grabbed Han’s phone from his hands and shoved it in his pocket, despite the protests.

“Enough screen time,” Farris decided. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together. “We have a few hours to kill before we come back here. What do you think we should do?”

“Sleep,” I.N and Felix said from their spot on the floor.

Han crossed his arms and pouted. “If I’m not allowed on my phone, then I vote for sleeping too.”

“Boring,” Hyunjin said with an exaggerated eye roll. “You really want to waste the day in bed?”

“You really want to waste your energy before the concert?” Han shot back. They traded glares so dark it almost made me worry, but no one else seemed to care.

“Why don’t we do something relaxing?” Bang Chan suggested. “There’s a really popular art museum nearby…”

A round of boos made Bang Chan shut up and sip his water. I wouldn’t have minded a museum, but with only a few hours until the concert, there wouldn’t be enough time to appreciate the exhibits.

“Maybe we could plan a fun day before we fly to the next venue,” I said. “Unless you all pass out and go into recovery mode after two concerts.”

Farris clapped a hand on my shoulder and pulled me closer to his side. “That’s a better idea. Leave it to Y/N to find a solution.” I blushed again, but when I subtly tried to shift away, he dropped his other hand on my shoulder, keeping me in place. “We can even split into groups. It sounds like the majority doesn’t want to go to a museum.”

“I wanna go,” Hyunjin admitted. He stood and moved closer to me and Farris, suddenly looking a little reserved. “There just isn’t enough time to fit it in today. I don’t want to rush.”

Dance was an art form, especially the way Hyunjin danced. It made sense that he’d appreciate the artwork. I wasn’t creative or artistic, but I would have fun admiring the beauty.

“I could take the museum group,” I said. “I want to see the exhibits, too. But does anyone else want to go?” From the enthusiastic no’s from before, I doubted it. But it just proved how little I knew of the group.

“I’m in,” Bang Chan said. “It’ll be relaxing.”

“I’ll go,” Han volunteered.

“Me too,” Lee Know said directly after Han. I had a feeling the two of them were joined at the hip. While I hadn’t known them long, they seemed to mesh well.

Han stepped forward and grabbed my arm, effectively pulling me from Farris’ grasp. “Well, I’ll go if Farris will let me have my phone. I want to post pictures of me in the museum.” Han laced his fingers with mine and squeezed my hand. “Don’t you think I should have my phone for that, Y/N?”

Even though his motives weren’t the best, at least Han was honest. And looking at the rest of Stray Kids, Han was probably the better option. I.N and Felix both looked like they just wanted to relax. Seungmin was the same, though I bet he wanted to play video games. Changbin had been the loudest to say no before, but I couldn’t begin to guess his reasoning. I thought if he was close with Hyunjin, he’d want to go.

“I don’t see anything wrong with posting about it,” I said with a meaningful look at Farris. “After we leave, for security reasons.”

Farris grinned and winked at me, like I’d done some amazing trick to get the group to agree on a plan. But maybe splitting up wasn’t something they did that often.

“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Farris said happily. “For today, we’ll head back to the hotel and rest. In case you all forgot, there is a concert tonight. Let’s rest up so you can make the fans wonder why you’re not the headliners.”

Stray Kids cheered and I joined in. Even though I hadn’t seen Havenly perform and I might have been a little biased, Stray Kids was astounding. It was only a matter of time before they blew Havenly out of the water.

Even though Stray Kids hadn’t seemed drained in the greenroom, they zoned out on the ride back. Farris looked just as tired as we piled into the elevator and returned to our floor.

“Do you need me to do anything?” I asked as we watched the members enter their rooms.

“Not now,” he said before yawning and stretching his arms over his head. The black shirt he wore was a little too small and lifted as he stretched. I looked away, trying not to make it obvious I’d noticed in the first place.

“I’ll have you make some calls during the concert,” he said as he scratched his head with both hands. “Everything needs to be ready in Australia and I’d appreciate it if you’d check for me.” Farris dropped his hands and chewed on his bottom lip. “If you’d check for us,” he corrected as he held my gaze. “You are coming, right?”

Even though he was yawning and acting tired, Farris looked a lot better compared to how he was when I first saw him. He was just recovering from all the sleep he’d missed out on. With me around, he’d be back to normal in no time. Whatever normal was for him.

“You don’t have to keep checking,” I said. I bumped him with my shoulder, catching him off guard enough that I had to grab his arm to keep him from falling over.

For a moment, he let me hold his weight. “My hero,” he chuckled. Then he stood up and brushed his shirt off a couple of times, as if he’d really fallen on the floor. “And I just want to make sure. Can’t blame a guy for being cautious.”

“More like paranoid,” I muttered. “But I can sign the contract now if it’ll make you feel better.” I hadn’t combed through every detail, but I was pretty sure nothing would keep me from signing. Against my better judgment, I was getting attached to Stray Kids and the frazzled man in front of me.

Farris backed away from me and lifted his hands. “Nope. I’m not gonna pressure you to do that. In fact, I forbid you from signing it until after the second concert.”

“You’re not pressuring me, Farris.”

But the man hurried to open his door and escaped into his room, calling over his shoulder, “No signing, Y/N!”

When his door closed, I sighed and returned to my room. Left with only a few choices, I took a nap. It wasn’t like I could talk to my brother during every free moment and if I got online, I might be tempted to research. Not Stray Kids, but Havenly. I’d stumbled upon some interesting fan forums. But I planned on staying away from the headliner group, so there wasn’t much of a point in satisfying my curiosities.

Back at the concert venue, the guys had their game faces on. Farris and I sat on the couch, laptops out. He was typing away, unknowingly giving me time to stare at Stray Kids and observe their behaviors. The members did their own hair and makeup as they went through the vocal exercises Lee Know called out. Then they stretched as a team, led by Changbin.

It was strange to see how the members interacted with each other. When Lee Know told them to do something, the group was dead serious. Like Lee Know was really in charge and no one wanted to mess with him. Changbin tried to make everything fun though, and stretching was louder and the group laughed more. But it wasn’t like an unnatural shift for them. Stray Kids just knew when to lock in and when to have fun. And they fell into sync without discussion, like they were of one mind. No wonder they were such a tight group.

“This is the to-do list,” Farris said as he forwarded me a document. The so-called list made me wince. Not because there was a lot to do, it was just a disorganized mess. I couldn’t wait to take everything over and make it easier to manage. “We have two stops in Australia. If you call the venues first, you should get a hold of someone. It’s around noon over there. Then check the hotels. I still have an additional room booked, since I hoped to find an assistant. So just make sure we have the appropriate number on the books.”

All easy enough tasks and I was sure they wouldn’t take that long. “What will you be doing?” I asked when Farris jumped to his feet.

“Standing off stage to help the group,” he said, confirming my suspicions. “They won’t need me, but I like to be close.” It was hard not to think he was cute when Farris played the role of the adorably rumpled mother hen.

“Alright,” I said before glancing at my screen. “I’ll get on this right away.”

Stray Kids finished warming up and Bang Chan called for everyone to head out. Farris walked backward as he still spoke to me. “It won’t take the whole time,” he said. “Probably. But hang out here. Don’t go anywhere.”

I had my backstage pass, but I knew what he was saying. Farris didn’t want me to run into members of Havenly. After I nodded my confirmation, Farris hurried after the group. Lee Know led them like a mother duck, and Farris and Bang Chan walked behind them to make sure no one strayed.

For a second, I hated Havenly. I wanted to walk down the hall with Stray Kids and watch over them. I wanted to stand off stage and offer help if they needed it.

“It’ll happen,” I muttered to myself as I went back to the to-do-list. “It isn’t like I’ll have to hide the entire tour.” Eventually, I’d be needed outside of the greenroom. Eventually, Farris would realize that I wasn’t a woman who could be bullied, even by Havenly.

Making the calls took no time at all. Even though Farris seemed like a hectic mess, the reservations and plans for overseas were set up correctly. As I looked over the to-do list and the calendar for something else I could help with, there was a knock on the greenroom door. Before I called out or stood to answer it, a man swung open the door and stepped inside.

As soon as he saw me, his lip curled in disgust. “Great. Farris hired another woman. When will he ever learn?”

Chapter Text

Professionalism forced me to be polite, though instinct cried for me to match the man’s energy with his rude comment. Instead, I slowly closed my laptop and set it down beside me.

“Can I help you?” I kept my tone even and managed a small smile. A customer service smile. An ‘it’s obvious that I don’t want to deal with you’ smile. The man either couldn’t tell the real meaning of the smile or didn’t care. He stepped farther into the room.

I stood and stepped toward him, as if he planned to do something to the group’s room and I needed to keep it from happening. Not that there was anything much to do or ruin. Besides, the group was already on stage. How could he sabotage a performance from the greenroom when Stray Kids was already performing? Not once did I consider that I might be the real target, despite what he’d said.

“I suspected Farris had a new assistant.” The man looked me up and down. “He seemed less frazzled than usual.”

The stranger wasn’t a member of Havenly. I didn’t know the group well, but I knew they were all ridiculously good-looking. The stranger was only a little taller than me and, while he wasn’t unattractive, he didn’t look like a male model. Instead, he was the type of ordinary that would make it hard to pick him out of a crowd. Average build, unremarkable brown hair in an unimpressive cut that looked like it’d been done at a cheap salon. Unlike the unhealthy paleness of Farris, the stranger had a tan. It looked artificial, though.

“Are you with the venue?” I asked, though I was pretty sure who he was associated with. The man’s nose wrinkled, like I offended him, but I kept my bland smile in place.

“I’m Havenly’s assistant,” the man sniffed. “One of them.”

Of course, they had more than one. Stray Kids had two, and they weren’t the headliners. But this guy clearly thought he was the lead assistant, taking the first step to check out the fresh meat.

“Do you have a name, Havenly’s assistant?”

The man’s eyes widened enough for me to tell they were hazel, though I was still across the room from him. “Patrick,” he snapped, apparently bothered by the tiny bit of sass I dared to show him. “And you are?”

“Y/N.” I approached and held my hand out to him. “Nice to meet you, Patrick. I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”

When he shook my hand, he gripped it tightly enough for me to be annoyed. I lifted my brows and squeezed back just as hard. He didn’t like that. Patrick wrenched his hand away and wiped it on his trousers.

“We shouldn’t see each other,” he corrected me. “I came to tell you to stay away from Havenly.”

Maybe Patrick was just like me and Farris. An overprotective assistant who wanted what was best for his group. If that was the case, we didn’t have to be at odds with each other.

“I didn’t plan on seeking out Havenly,” I assured him. “And you’re the one who came looking for me.”

“To tell you to keep away! I don’t know why Farris hired another woman but if he plans to use you to distract Havenly, tell him it won’t work.” Patrick looked me up and down again and sneered. “You’re not their type.”

The Ken dolls didn’t think I was their type? Was I supposed to be offended?

I crossed my arms and let go of my polite facade. When I dropped the act, Patrick took a step away. If I didn’t force myself to be professional, my natural state was resting bitch face. This time, I settled for a light glare, which put Patrick on edge.

“I don’t know what you think is going on here, Patrick. And I don’t particularly care. Farris didn’t set out looking for a female assistant, so he isn’t planning anything. If he is, which I doubt since he’s only now getting his head on straight, I wouldn’t participate. Because even if I was interested in a fling, none of the Havenly members are my type either.”

Patrick snorted but looked a little less sure of himself. “Of course they are. Everyone loves Havenly.”

“Not me. In fact, I couldn’t care less. I didn’t even know they existed until yesterday and now that I do, I still don’t care. My plan is to stay out of the way and do my job. So you have nothing to worry about, Pat.”

The man’s nostrils flared. “It’s Patrick,” he growled between clenched teeth. The speaker in the corner, which I’d turned down to make my phone calls, blasted the group’s farewells to the audience. Patrick’s eyes flickered to the speaker and then back to me. I waved my hand toward the door.

“Run along, Patrick. And don’t worry. You did some good. Now I know that it isn’t just Havenly I want to stay away from. Thanks for dropping. I hope you never do it again.”

With a final glare, Patrick stomped out of the room. I wasn’t sure if he needed to get back to Havenly or if he wanted to avoid Stray Kids, but either way, I was glad he left.

Given the short amount of time I’d known Farris, I couldn’t swear that I knew every part of his personality. But I was pretty sure he wouldn’t try to use me to distract Havenly. The interesting part of my encounter with Patrick was that he thought Havenly had been distracted by the last assistant. Why had she been a distraction and how had it affected Havenly enough that the group’s assistant was ready to attack?

By the time the boys came back, I was on the couch and completely at ease.

“Did you hear us?” I.N asked when he burst through the door, eyes immediately trained on me.

Felix walked in beside him and nudged I.N in the side. “How could she not hear us?” Seungmin pushed past both of them to approach me.

“You heard us,” Seungmin said knowingly. “But did you hear us? Like, paying attention.”

The other members filed in behind them, and most went to their tables for towels and water. They were eyeballing the youngest members though, since they stood in front of the couch, clearly interrogating me.

“I was working most of the time,” I reminded Seungmin. “But it wasn’t like I completely ignored you guys. And I watched the sound check.”

Farris stepped around the three and sat beside me on the couch. “How’d it go?” Accepting temporary defeat, I.N, Seungmin, and Felix joined the rest of Stray Kids at their tables.

“Everything is ready for the Australian leg,” I said when I turned to Farris. “There was literally nothing to change. Did you just give me busy work, Farris?”

His eyes widened behind his glasses. “No! Honestly, I’m never sure of my own work. I need someone who’ll check things over.” He leaned back on the couch and covered a yawn with the back of his hand. “Even when I think I’ve done everything right, I’m not confident there isn’t some flaw I overlooked. It’s easy to do when I’m tired.”

Unlike the group, Farris was drained after the concert. Stray Kids was running on a performance high. The guys loudly talked about the crowd and what they could do better the next day. When Felix pulled off his shirt, ready to change out of their show outfits, I jumped up.

“I should step into the hallway.”

Hyunjin glanced my way and hurried to pull his shirt over his head. “Y/N is a little sensitive,” he said when he stood bare chested before me. “We should warn her before we strip.”

“I’m not sensitive,” I muttered as I turned my eyes to the floor. “But maybe I shouldn’t see what you are or aren’t wearing under those tight pants.” I might not be a regular part of the music scene or performing, but I knew they couldn’t have boxers or even briefs on under those pants. Farris grabbed my hand and tugged me to the couch.

“They change quickly. It would be a waste of time to have you stand outside. Just turn around.”

I did as instructed and faced the wall. Stepping into the hallway would be pointless if they changed quickly. Of course, it was hard not to suspect that Farris wanted to keep me away from Havenly’s crew. The members were on stage, from what I could hear over the speakers, but their assistants might be lurking around.

Next to me, Farris adjusted on the couch and shoved his glasses to the top of his head. He didn’t look that bad, but he was clearly ready to sleep. The group might want to do something, like workout or eat, but Farris was done.

“Did you want me to drive back to the hotel?” I asked. “So you can rest your eyes?” He rolled his head to look at me and softly smiled.

“I can wait until the hotel. What’s the point if it’s so close?”

“Just because you can wait doesn’t mean you have to.” I narrowed my eyes at the glasses on his head. When he shoved them up, they’d somehow gotten a huge smudge. I slowly reached for him and when he didn’t pull away, I plucked the glasses from his head.

“You’ve got me now,” I said as I held the glasses to the light, then started to clean them on my shirt. “I’m fully capable of driving the van. And I’m not tired at all.”

Farris needed to squint to see me, but I doubted he could read my expression. “I have you? No, I won’t think that until after you sign the contract. And that won’t happen until after tomorrow’s show.”

“Done!” Felix yelled out. When I turned around, everyone had their normal clothes on. All of them looked amused that I’d even cared not to look, but even if they’d only been changing their shirts, there was nothing wrong with giving them privacy.

I held the glasses to the light one more time and, satisfied that they were as clean as they could get, I leaned over and gently placed them on Farris’ nose. “You have me,” I insisted as I adjusted the arms behind his ears. The tips of his ears looked almost red and when I pulled back, there was a blush along his cheeks. “Now, repeat after me. Y/N, I want you to drive us to the hotel.”

He gave an exaggerated sigh, then smiled. “Y/N, I want you to drive us to the hotel. Please.” Farris patted my leg. “Don’t let me be rude, Y/N.”

“I doubt that’s possible.”

“It’s totally possible,” Changbin said when he joined us on the couch, sitting on my other side. “I don’t think Farris will be purposefully rude to you, though. You’re the exception, Y/N.” He took my hand and gently played with my fingers. “You’ll be the exception for all of us. But even if we’re not rude to you, don’t be afraid to be rude to us. Especially if we deserve it.” His grip tightened on my hand and he jumped up from the couch, pulling me along behind him. It was such a surprise that the momentum kept me moving forward, but Bang Chan was suddenly n my other side, holding me upright.

“Should we get going?” he asked.

“Uh huh.” My skin felt feverish under his tight grasp and I tried to think back to when he’d suddenly felt comfortable with me. But then Felix was grabbing my arm and tugging me to his side.

“Can we get food on the way back?” he asked with a wide smile. “I’m starving.”

The rest of the group agreed, so we locked up the room and headed back toward the van. In the distance, the crowd cheered for Havenly and I looked over my shoulder. A group of people stood in the hall, some security and staff. But others were assistants, or so I assumed, because Patrick stood with them. He watched our group walk down the hall with a deep scowl on his face. Both Bang Chan and Felix walked on either side of me, at the back of the group, but Chan was the one to notice my gaze.

“Was there an incident while we were performing?” he asked when he saw who I was looking at.

“Nope,” I said, trying to sound casual as I focused ahead of us. “Just getting the lay of the land. What do you guys want to grab on the way back?” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Meeting Patrick wasn’t a big enough deal to be labeled an incident. If the other assistant had sparked a bit of curiosity within me, it didn’t matter much. I’d be with Stray Kids and Farris for the foreseeable future. All my questions would be answered in time. I wouldn’t push. I wouldn’t pry. Nothing good could come from that.   

Chapter Text

“And you’re having fun?”

I rolled my eyes and switched my phone to the other ear. “It’s work, Chandler. It isn’t supposed to be fun.” My younger brother sighed, as if he was the one who was exhausted.

“But it should be enjoyable at least,” he muttered. “Or are you hating it?”

“I like it. The guys are fun and everyone treats me well.” It wasn’t like I’d tell him any different, even if Stray Kids and Farris were horrible. I hadn’t signed the full contract, but it wouldn’t look good if I leaked personal opinions about my employers.

“Well, that’s good. I’d hate to send Doug after them.” We laughed a little, and I rubbed more lotion on my arms as I moved from the bathroom to the bedroom. I’d given in and hung out with some of the group for about an hour before returning to isolation. Mainly, it was just watching music videos. Spending time with Stray Kids wasn’t boring. I had a lot of fun with them, even if they could be unpredictable. But it still felt like work. I felt like I had to watch what they were eating and make sure they weren’t posting insane stuff on social media.

“I should get some sleep,” I admitted when I glanced at the time. It was almost midnight. Stray Kids being the opener was a blessing. They ended early and had more free time than Havenly. The thought of the other group made me inwardly cringe. Would they be a problem?

“Sure thing,” Chandler said with a deep yawn. “But don’t be a stranger. Have you decided if you’re joining the tour permanently?”

“I have. Farris doesn’t want me to sign the contract yet, though. He doesn’t want to tie me down unless I’m absolutely sure I want in.”

Chandler gave a hum of approval. “I like him. After seeing your work ethic, anyone else would sign you ASAP. They’d be afraid of losing you.”

It was nice that Farris was worried about me. Musicians weren’t people I’d interacted with much, and I still wasn’t sure what a full tour would be like. Farris was considerate and wanted to give me an out.

“It’s sort of annoying,” I admitted as I lay back on my bed. “I’m an adult and I can make my own choices. It’s like he doesn’t believe me when I say that I want to stay.” A tap came from my door and I glanced at the time again. “Someone’s here. I’ve gotta go.”

“Night, Y/N. Love you.”

“Love you too.” As I walked to the door, I quickly assessed my appearance. I’d finished a shower before calling my brother, so I was braless and in sweats and an oversized shirt. My curls were already shoved under my bonnet too. Not a professional look, but it was literally the middle of the night.

When I looked through the peephole, I blinked a couple of times to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. Then I swung open the door and glanced up and down the hallway. “Bang Chan?” I asked when I focused on the man in front of me. “What are you doing up?” He was one of the members that didn’t join in on the music video hangout. I’d assumed he’d gone to bed.

“It’s early for me,” he said, shrugging like it was no big deal. “Mind if I come in for a minute?” There was no reason to refuse, so I stepped aside and shut the door when he walked in. Bang Chan wore sweats and a tour shirt. When his hair was wet, it was curly apparently and when he passed me, a light scent of vanilla did as well.

Bang Chan went straight to my desk and took a seat. His straightforward attitude and smooth expression made me hurry to sit on the edge of the bed and face him. “Is everything alright?” I asked, my stomach knotting up. If there was anything serious, Bang Chan would have gone to Farris. At least, that’s what I expected. He didn’t have many reasons to come directly to me; not yet. “Did you need me to run an errand?”

His lips twitched a little into a smile. “Don’t panic, Y/N. This isn’t an emergency. I just needed to talk to you alone.” And with seven other members and a manager constantly around, when else could Bang Chan see me alone? The reasonable explanation made my nerves settle.

“Don’t freak me out like that,” I insisted. “Are midnight visits normal for you?”

“If I’m visiting, it’s usually late. I’m a night owl. It’s when I work best.”

It wasn’t hard to envision him in a dark room, writing songs by the light of the moon. But that was an overly romantic image. I could imagine someone who looked like Bang Chan writing in that environment. But not Bang Chan himself. The man was too intense for that scene. He’d probably lock himself in a closet with one lamp and tune out the rest of the world.

Chan leaned forward and clasped his hands together. “I wanted to talk to you about Farris.”

“Why do you need to talk about him?” My voice shook and I tried to keep my composure. Farris was sort of my boss, so I didn’t want to talk badly about him. And if Bang Chan wanted to keep secrets from Farris, I didn’t think I’d want to do that either. Stray Kids was my responsibility, but only because they were Farris’. I assisted him by assisting the group.

“He hasn’t let you sign the contract,” Bang Chan said softly. “And I wanted to make sure you weren’t offended.” Chan pressed his lips together and met my eyes. For someone with a stern vibe, his eyes were very telling. They were honest and right then, nothing but kind.

“I’m not offended,” I said. “Well, maybe a little. I’m sure that I want to sign on with you guys, so I don’t get why he’s hesitant to let me.” Farris didn’t trust me and he didn’t have much of a reason to. How could he trust someone he’d known for only a few days? But even knowing that, he’d been quick to hire me.

Bang Chan leaned back in the chair and cracked his knuckles. “This has nothing to do with you. Farris is just worried about the group. Assistants and managers are in unique positions, being around people with a touch of fame. After Serena’s betrayal, Farris thinks through every decision carefully.”

Not too carefully. He’d offered me the job pretty much immediately.

“We like you,” Chan went on, a real smile lifting his lips. “I mean, you saved I.N. You’ve been nothing but helpful and kind to everyone the past few days, too. But tours are stressful. Stress can make people behave differently.”

“Farris thinks I’ll get overworked and bitter enough to betray the group?” Chan shrugged and I groaned. “How will a couple more days convince him that I won’t do that? You can’t predict what people do under stress.”

It wasn’t like I could promise Farris that I’d be professional. How many people had broken promises in the past, including the last assistant?

“There isn’t a way to predict that,” Chan agreed with a nod. “And even if we believed you, thinking we know you, everyone has a secret side to them. There’s no telling how you are on your own or when you’re challenged without us around.” The man swallowed hard, then pulled his phone from his sweats. “Except there is a way to get an idea of how you’ll behave.” After tapping his phone a few times, my own voice filled the room.

“Run along, Patrick. And don’t worry. You did some good. Now I know that it isn’t just Havenly I want to stay away from.”

I jumped to my feet, and Chan shut off the recording. “You left your phone recording? That is a gross violation of my privacy. What if I’d changed clothes or something?” My mind raced through my interaction with Havenly’s assistant. Had I said anything damning? Bang Chan would have told Farris if I had. They would have fired me right after the concert.

Chan stood and turned the phone toward me. All it showed was a black screen. “I just left it running in my bag by the couch,” he explained. “And I know that it wasn’t an appropriate move. But I’d do anything for my group.” When he stepped toward me, I took a step back, still trying to figure out what I’d done earlier. Noticing my growing unease, Chan stopped and shoved his phone back into his pocket.

“I listened to this while everyone watched music videos,” he explained. “Part of me knew that a Havenly assistant would approach you. I even thought it would be Patrick. He has an attack first mind set.” Bang Chan paused, waiting for me to respond, but I was still at a loss for words. “You were protective of us. Protective of Farris. Not only that, I was able to see how you handled a challenge. Farris may not be sure of you, but I am.”

When Chan stepped toward me again, I didn’t move. My heart thudded in my ears as I met his eyes. “Are you going to tell Farris?” I asked. Would it be good or bad if he did? I didn’t want to lose my job when I didn’t do anything wrong.

“No.” Chan sighed and he was close enough that I felt his breath on my cheek. “This will just serve as my proof of your character. This lets me confidently be on your side so I can convince Farris to trust you.”

I lowered my gaze and closed my eyes. “Because he doesn’t really,” I muttered. “Not yet.”

“It’ll take time,” Chan agreed. “But if I trust you, that means quite a lot.”

“Because you’re the unofficial leader and overprotective of the group?” I looked back at him with an awkward laugh.

“That’s one reason,” he admitted. “But my trust is hard to earn because of the betrayals I’ve experienced in the past. Multiple people I’ve worked with have betrayed me and almost cost me my career. I won’t let anyone hurt my kids.”

Chapter Text

How anyone could purposely betray Bang Chan didn’t make sense to me. Sure, he was older than the other members and had probably been through a lot, but who would want to hurt him?

Bang Chan nodded his head back to our seats, and I sat back on the bed. When he sat across from me, he sighed and rubbed his temples.

“Are you alright?”

After forcing a smile that didn’t meet his eyes, Chan waved me off. “It’s nothing. I probably pushed myself too hard on not enough sleep.”

“Sort of important to sleep, Bang Chan.” I let out an awkward chuckle.

“It’s a problem of mine. I worry about the kids and our situation a lot.” His smile widened. “I’m not the unofficial leader. I’m the actual leader.”

I nodded, trying to take note of that. If they’d mentioned it before, I hadn’t realized how important it was. How much was the guy responsible for?

“So you take care of them,” I confirmed. “And you write the music.”

“And produce the beats. Plus, I’m sort of the main contact the group has with JYP, outside of Farris handling daily tasks.”

It sounded like Chan needed his own assistant. But maybe he didn’t trust others with the stuff he dealt with.

“When you said people betrayed you…” I cut myself off, stomach churning. He’d brought it up, but was it alright to push?

“Let’s just say I was around JYP a long time.” Chan’s gaze went to the far wall and his expression grew somber. “You don’t know much about Kpop, but we go into training for a while before we can debut. I was in training for seven years. During that time, I made friends who moved on without me. I made friends who didn’t debut and left me to go back to their regular lives. And I made friends who became… enemies.”

I kept quiet, though I made note of the way he hesitated before his last word. Chan was nice enough, in my little experience with him, to not have enemies. If those people did exist, they probably disliked Chan more than he disliked them.

Bang Chan focused on me again and his lips twitched into an almost smile. “If you looked us up, you’d know most of this information.”

No matter how many times they suggested that I do my research, I knew they didn’t actually want me to. They appreciated that I wanted to get to know them. When you were in the public eye, it probably was safe to assume everyone knew way too much about you.

“After years of training, I was finally given the chance to debut. The company let me pick out the members of Stray Kids and we were put through a lot of shit and tests before debuting. We operated on so little sleep, I’m amazed we survived. Half the members were still in high school while it was all going on. I tried to take care of them while also working on songs and stuff. It was a lot.”

“And people betrayed you?” I couldn’t help asking.

Chan nodded once, sighing heavily. “Staff, managers and other trainees and idols. I don’t want to get into specifics and I don’t like to gossip, but through it all, I became wary. If you ask Farris, you’ll learn just how long it took for me to warm up to him. He had his own experience where he proved himself to me. The last assistant hadn’t, so her betrayal wasn’t shocking.”

It still had to hurt. Stray Kids didn’t have many staff members, so they needed to actually like and trust the ones they had. Havenly appeared to have a lot of staff, but they couldn’t trust all of them, right? I suddenly had the urge to look up more about the other group to see what gossip was out there.

“Farris wouldn’t betray you,” I said seriously. “I feel that in my gut. Besides, he’s way too tired to plot anything.”

That got a laugh from Bang Chan, and the tension in the room eased.

“I dunno. With you around, Farris is getting more sleep. If he was well rested, I think Farris could take over the world.”

“Become a super villain?” I said with pretend shock. “No way. He’d forget his own evil plans.”

Chan’s eyes sparkled. “To be fair, most of Stray Kids would forget evil plans. Hyunjin would forget where he planted a bomb, Felix might leak the plans, and Han would lose interest and start on a different plan instead.”

“Nothing wrong with multi-tasking.”

The way Chan laughed made my heart feel light. The guy had a lot going on, more than I’d thought. Farris was obviously overwhelmed and anyone could see how hard he worked. Bang Chan went about it more subtly. Sure, he could look tired, but so could the rest of the group. Without being told, there was no way I could guess what was going on behind closed doors.

Without thinking, I reached out to pat his knee. “Hey. If you decide to take over the world, let me help? I might not be good at threats or brute force, but I’ll remind you where the bombs are planted.”

Chan chuckled, but nodded. “Thanks. I appreciate the help.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s what I’m here for. And if I ever betray you, feel free to strap a bomb to my chest and launch me into space.”

“I doubt that will ever happen.” Chan met my eyes and his smile softened. “But I’m happy to know I can count on your assistance with world domination.”  

Chapter Text

Farris needed his sleep, which was why I didn’t go to his room first thing in the morning. At the respectable time of nine, I knocked on Farris’ door. The members were likely awake and spending time together, working out and getting breakfast. Our normal routine would probably be just that, with me and Farris meeting in the morning to discuss the day. Not that there was much to discuss. It would be the same as the day before.

When Farris opened the door, he looked well rested and chipper. His smile faded when he saw me, though. “Morning, Y/N,” he said cautiously. “Do you want to go get breakfast together?”

“I’d like to talk with you first. Inside.” I tried to sound calm, but whatever came through in my tone made Farris wince and step back into his room. I followed him inside and closed the door behind me.

“We can order room service,” Farris said as he walked into the room. “If you don’t want to go down, that is. I definitely need some coffee.”

I followed him silently and when he sat at the small desk and turned to me, I prepared myself to argue. It probably wasn’t the best to start the morning arguing with my boss, but he’d kept important information from me. As the group’s assistant, I needed to know how to help them. I couldn’t do that if people kept secrets.

“Bang Chan told me he visited you last night,” Farris said before I could speak. The man placed his glasses on the desk and rubbed both hands over his face. “It’s pretty amazing that he trusted you so quickly. Guess you’re special, Y/N.” Farris dropped his hands and smiled, squinting to get a clear view of me. “Of course, I knew you were special. I just thought it would take the members longer to see it.”

“Don’t try to butter me up, Mr. Thomas. It won’t save you.”

His brow furrowed and he shoved his glasses back onto his nose. “Save me?” he asked curiously. “Are you a threat?”

“No. But I am annoyed. You do realize that you kept something from me, right?”

Farris shrugged and I bristled. “There are a lot of things I’ve kept from you,” he explained. “Some of it is not important.”

“Not important?” I wanted to yell at the man. Instead, I paced the small room. “I am here to help you and help the group, Mr. Thomas. To do that, I need to know what I need to help them with. Obviously, I wasn’t going to do research on the group. You all knew that. So it would be your responsibility to decide what information I needed to know.”

“And why would you need to know about Bang Chan’s background?” Farris asked. “How would it help you help us?”

I stopped pacing and strode closer to the desk. Farris didn’t flinch, but he stared up at me with wide eyes. It was probably the most annoyed or angry he’d ever seen me. I wouldn’t make it a habit to show that side again, but he needed to know how serious I was.

“Chan said that some other trainees and staff at JYP disliked him,” I said through clenched teeth. “That he’d made enemies. I didn’t ask for the names of people who hurt him, but I have a feeling one of them is involved with Havenly, if not in the group themselves.”

Farris blinked at me repeatedly. “How did you come to that conclusion? Just because we told you to avoid them?”

“Havenly puts Stray Kids on edge. I knew about the Serena thing, which gave me a reason for the animosity. But knowing that Bang Chan was a trainee for so long made me think he had other run-ins with their group members. If Havenly actually dislikes Chan and Stray Kids, they’d try to screw things up for them. The Serena thing, for instance. She isn’t here anymore, so I don’t have to worry about her, but it was probably Havenly’s plan to mess with Stray Kids.”

I started to pace again as my theories piled on top of each other. “If Havenly wants to come at Stray Kids through their staff members, then of course I need to stay away from the group. But I also needed to know Chan’s past so I could keep him and the kids away from Havenly too.”

Farris wrinkled his nose a couple of times, which jostled his glasses. Finally, he frowned and stared intently at me. “Why does he need to stay away from them?”

Frustrated, I took a moment to pull myself together and sat on the bed. Once I was certain that I wouldn’t scream at him, I leaned forward and focused on Farris. “Because of their history, Mr. Thomas. Bad blood. Havenly are the headliners, but that doesn’t mean anything. If the members want to attack Stray Kids, then to protect them, I need to keep the groups separated.”

It was all theories, of course. Neither Farris nor Chan had suggested Havenly really had it out for them. I was just connecting the dots into what I thought the picture was. If I was wrong, life would be a bit less stressful. If I was right, the rest of the tour would be rough. I squeezed my eyes shut, but I was dizzy with the possibilities.

Maybe Havenly really planned the Serena incident from the start. They’d seen her as the group’s weakness and exploited it. If they had planned it all, then they might want to use me too. Patrick might have had a point. I could distract Havenly, if they wasted time trying to use me to bring Stray Kids’ downfall. Farris, not trusting me with important information, might have led me right into Havenly’s trap.

I heard Farris get up and walk toward me. The bed dipped as he sat at my side and a hand rested on my back.

“Havenly doesn’t care about us,” Farris said gently. “No specifically. There is no reason to go out of your way to keep them apart. No reason other than Havenly being snobs and bullies.”

That I’d already learned. Not first hand or from many stories, but I could see they were a group that put stock in their fame and held themselves in high regard. Stray Kids was below them.

“Then why do you want me to stay away from them?” I asked. I opened my eyes but didn’t turn to look at him. “Are you just worried that they’ll bully me?”

Slowly, Farris rubbed my back and I relaxed.

“A little,” he admitted. “It’s a combination of things. I worry they’ll try to get under your skin. I worry that you’ll fall for one of the members. Then I worry that they’ll see how valuable you are and try to steal you from us.” His hand stilled. “We’re a job to you, Y/N. There isn’t a reason for you to stick around. If you get hurt, you could leave us. If you happened to like Havenly more, you could leave us. It’s hard to move forward, knowing all of that.”

I sat up and turned to face him. Behind his smudged lenses, Farris blinked rapidly, almost like he was trying not to cry. I doubted that was really the case, but he was being emotional. It took a lot to be real with someone you’d just barely met.

“So it isn’t just about not trusting me?” I asked carefully.

“I mean, can you ever really trust a person?” Farris laughed awkwardly and looked away. “Bang Chan trusts you, so that’s enough for me. What I kept from you wasn’t a secret, especially if you’d looked into Stray Kids at all, but if it’s enough to make you want to leave…”

“Leave?” I snapped. Farris jolted, surprised, and his gaze flew back to my face. “You honestly think that this would make me leave? Mr. Thomas, we don’t know each other well, but you know me better than that.” He blinked again and the smudge on his glasses caught the light. I tsked, plucked the glasses from his face and cleaned them on my shirt.

“This isn’t just a job,” I said as I looked down at my task. “Even if it were, I was at my last job for a while. I didn’t let my personal feelings affect me until my boss happened to turn into a homophobe.” After holding the glasses to the light, I bent to clean the few stubborn smudges. “From the moment I met I.N, I wanted to take care of him. Frankly, I wanted to take care of all of you. In case you weren’t paying attention, I was pissed because I was trying to protect Stray Kids and you weren’t giving me the help I needed. So this was never really just a job.”

I turned and carefully placed the glasses over Farris’ wide eyes. “I may not know you all on a personal level,” I said as I made sure the glasses were on straight. “We aren’t close, since it’s only been a handful of days. But I already care about you. That’s enough to make me stay. Small secrets and bullying Kpop Ken dolls aren’t enough to make me abandon you.”

What would it take? Even I wasn’t too sure. Working for my father hadn’t been a walk in the park. At times, I was annoyed, exhausted, and upset. I could handle a lot and my breaking point had been when my father hurt someone I cared about. I cared about Stray Kids and Farris. It wasn’t like they could do much to change that.

Farris examined me carefully for a few moments before clearing his throat. “You want to take care of us?”

A smile spread across my face. “It’s my nature,” I explained. “I couldn’t stop myself from protecting I.N. And when I saw you, no offense, but you looked like a mess.” Our laughter broke through the tension that had built in the room and put us both at ease.

“We might need someone to take care of us,” Farris admitted. “I’m man enough to admit it. And if that nature of yours keeps you from leaving us, I won’t argue. However, it might start an argument if you call me Mr. Thomas again.” His eyes sparkled with humor and I was tempted to do something childish, like tap his nose or tease him.

“We were already arguing,” I pointed out instead. “Which is why I called you Mr. Thomas. It’s what I’ll use when we’re having a professional disagreement.”

Farris’ cheeks turned pink. “You mean, like when a mother calls her children by their full names?”

Being compared to a mother wasn’t too far off, but I didn’t like that comparison coming from Farris. I wanted to take care of him, not mother him.

“I will never call you Farris Ian Thomas,” I said stiffly. “That’s taking it a step too far. You can call me Ms. Waber when you’re mad at me.”

When his smile returned to full wattage, filling his face and brightening his eyes, I knew that we were alright. He wouldn’t hold my outburst against me.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be mad at you,” Farris joked. “But go ahead and call me whatever you want, Y/N. Call me Mr. Thomas, yell and swear at me or call me names. As long as you’re on my side, I’ll accept whatever treatment you think I deserve.”

As we held each other’s gaze, my heart thudded too hard in my chest. It was a lost cause. I was definitely going to have a crush on my boss. But just maybe, he’d come to like me too. A girl could only hope.

Chapter Text

After the last concert in Texas, everyone pretty much passed out. As I’d suspected, the group ran on an adrenaline high that fluctuated depending on their shows. With a break in the schedule, their bodies wanted nothing more than to relax.

Not that I complained. The next morning, I was pretty tired myself. Not from any additional tasks, just the whirlwind of emotions from the day before. After tossing and turning, I slept like a log until my phone rang.

Muttering to myself, I rolled to the side table and hurried to shut off the annoying ringtone. “Hello?”

“Still sleeping?” At Farris’ voice, I immediately blinked awake and my chest tightened.

“We have a day off. I thought it’d be alright…”

“Calm down,” he laughed. “You’re not in trouble.”

Sitting up, I pressed my back against the headboard, trying to calm my racing heart. Memories of my father’s anger whenever I slept in filled my head. But my father wasn’t my employer anymore, and Farris was nothing like him.

“I was just calling to let you know what’s happening today. You’re still planning on going to the art museum, right?”

The art museum. I sighed and pulled my knees to my chest. “If the guys are up for it, then yes. But they looked so burnt out last night that I didn’t bring it up.” Even Felix and Seungmin had barely talked on the ride back to the hotel.

“Everyone is awake by now. They crash hard after the last concert and sleep in, but that’s all they need. A couple of them already went to the gym.”

If I had to take a guess, that would be Bang Chan and Changbin. It wasn’t my place to say anything about pushing themselves too hard. The group knew what they were capable of and I was sure that if they needed to rest, they’d do it. Especially when they had a full day off.

“I also wanted to make sure you were up in time,” Farris said, his tone a little softer. There was a hint of a smile in his voice, and I tightened my grip on the phone.

“In time for what?” Before the full sentence was out of my mouth, someone knocked on my door. “Farris,” I groaned as I slid from bed.

“They wanted to bring you breakfast. You should thank me for making them wait this long. Have a good time at the museum!” He hung up before I could argue, and I looked down at myself. Pajamas, braless and I still had my bonnet on.

“Y/N,” Han yelled from the hallway. “Open up!”

“We don’t care if you slept naked. Just let us in.” I rolled my eyes at Hyunjin’s attempt at a joke, but I answered the door without changing a thing. Bang Chan nodded a greeting as he walked past me with a tray in his hands. Han came in behind him, his smile at full wattage.

“You look like an influencer before a ‘get ready with me’,” he said. “I expected you to look less put together.” The bonnet helped prevent bed head, and I wasn’t a drooler. I was just my normal morning self.

“Thanks, I guess.” I moved so he could pass, Lee Know on his heels. Hyunjin paused right beside me.

“I don’t think you could ever look bad, Y/N.”

When he was close, I had the urge to take a step away, which didn’t make me seem like an authority figure at all. Stray Kids was the talent, but Farris called the shots. And I worked for Farris, so I should be treated at least a bit like him.

“Personal space, Hyunjin.” Bang Chan interrupted the moment from where he’d laid out the food on the small table. “Y/N hasn’t even eaten yet. Of course, if you get too close, she might be tempted to puke. Maybe it’s a good thing she hasn’t eaten.”

Hyunjin’s jaw dropped and I laughed before slapping a hand over my mouth.

“What are you insinuating?” Hyunjin stomped over to Bang Chan while Han watched with an amused smile. “I showered this morning. Why would I make her puke?”

I assumed they all showered after the show and probably in the morning too. The way Hyunjin sweat, it was unlikely he’d live without showering regularly.

“Maybe it’s your face?” Han suggested. He placed a finger on his chin and nodded as he eyeballed Hyunjin. “To the right person, your face could bring about nausea.”

In a split second, Hyunjin turned to Han and grabbed the younger man by the front of his shirt. “Say that to my face,” he growled half-heartedly. Bang Chan sighed and went back to setting out breakfast. Lee Know just watched with a small smile.

“I can’t.” Han groaned and placed a hand over his mouth. Then made gagging noises.

“While this is entertaining, what are you all doing in my room?” The guys looked over at me, all smiles, even though Hyunjin still held Han’s shirt.

“We brought you breakfast,” Chan said. “And we wanted to get to the museum before noon, so you needed to get up.”

The word ‘need’ was debatable. If I had coffee, I could have rolled out of bed at eleven and still made it to the museum on time. But I walked to the table and looked over the collection of food. Toast, bacon, multiple muffins, a few hard-boiled eggs, and a bowl of oatmeal. Thankfully, there was also a steaming cup of coffee.

“How much do you think I eat?” I glanced at Bang Chan, who just shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged.

“I’ll finish what you don’t eat,” Lee Know volunteered. “I never eat enough breakfast.”

Hyunjin finally released the front of Han’s shirt and patted the guy’s hair. “That’s because you go for aesthetically pleasing food that you don’t enjoy.”

“I enjoy my food,” Lee Know said, crossing his arms and narrowing his eyes at Hyunjin. “I just want it to look good in my zoomed-in posts for STAY.”

After crashing hard and sleeping in, the guys really bounced back. On some level, I’d hoped they’d be tired. It would be the best way to keep them well-behaved at the museum. But as I sat down for my breakfast, I expected the trip to the art museum wouldn’t be as calm as I’d wanted.

Even though Stray Kids wasn’t a gawk-worthy type of famous, the guys all wore hats at the museum. I never understood why famous people thought wearing a hat would disguise them, but just the stylish way they dressed would draw attention regardless of status. The museum staff eyed the guys as we entered the building, but I chalked that up to them being insanely good-looking.

“How long do we want to spend here?” I asked as I unfolded the map. It was a pretty large building, and even though we had the whole day, I doubted they’d want to spend it all looking at art. Of course, the way Hyunjin looked around instead of paying attention to anyone else hinted that he might.

“A few hours?” Han suggested. “I think I’d like to take pictures in front of as many pieces as possible.” Hyunjin returned to the moment and scowled.

“Is that all you care about? This isn’t just a photo op.”

Han slid closer to Lee Know, held his phone out, and took a selfie with him. “Every moment is a chance for a photo op. If I don’t take pictures, I don’t have stuff to share with our fans. Some of us can’t sit down and sketch a masterpiece.”

“A few hours should be enough,” Chan said as he looked over my shoulder. “I don’t think Han will last longer than that.”

Folding up the map, I nodded toward the first room. “We’ll plan on a few hours and see how we feel afterward.” Bang Chan fell into step beside me, Hyunjin followed behind us. Han and Lee Know trailed behind the group, talking amongst themselves.

Though I wouldn’t consider myself an art lover, I enjoyed looking at the exhibits. The oil paintings were my favorite. Hyunjin was apparently a walking art encyclopedia, spouted off facts that weren’t displayed beside each piece.

The group got stuck on one painting in particular. Bang Chan and Hyunjin stood back silently, appreciating the art. Lee Know, who had been quiet the whole time and more focused on Han than the art, even paused to take in the detail. Han, who was still a little hyper, asked me to take a picture of him and Lee Know in front of the painting.

“This beauty is indescribable,” he whispered. “These peaceful scenes make me want to lie out under the sun and fall asleep on the soft grass.”

Lee Know huffed out a laugh. “As long as there aren’t any bugs around.” He stepped out of the way as Han swatted at him. The two drifted off, Lee Know laughing as Han whined. Hyunjin watched with interest, following them to the next painting, which was more abstract.

Letting Hyunjin take the reins, I followed Chan from painting to painting. He acknowledged I was there with a tip of his head and made sure he didn’t block the paintings, but he stayed quiet. For someone who wasn’t an art expert, he took his time at each painting and examined them with a keen eye. When we reached the end of the room, we continued to an experimental exhibit of art made from recycled material.

“Are you having fun?” Bang Chan asked, pulling a notebook from his back pocket to scribble down some thoughts.

We’d stopped in front of a pile of trash that was shaped to look like a bird in a nest. What inspiration he got from that, I had no idea.

“I am, even though I don’t know anything about art. It’s nice to see what people come up with.”

Bang Chan nodded as we moved to the next display; a collection of wedding rings, old and dirty. They weren’t shaped into anything, just unceremoniously piled on top of each other. My heart throbbed and I leaned down to read the name ‘Tarnished Joys’.

“I like to imagine what the artist was thinking when they came up with their ideas,” Chan whispered as we moved around the room to look at each display. “Inspiration can be taken from anything, but if there is a message along with it, the artist tries to get it across. Still, no matter how obvious they make the message, others will glean what they want from a piece. There’s no way to ensure the thoughts that are inspired by viewing their work will match the thoughts the artist had when making it.”

The next display was a single rope tied between poles. Painted a rainbow of clashing colors, the rope was fraying at the center, threatening to break if given enough time.

“That’s sort of a sad way of looking at things,” I said as we paused to look over the piece named ‘Together’. Chan finally turned to look at me, his dark eyes somber.

“Yes and no. It’s beautiful that so many thoughts can originate from one piece. But I also understand the frustration when someone doesn’t get the meaning behind our songs. I suppose it depends on the artist, to accept the lack of control or give up on creating entirely.”

I wasn’t the type of person to dissect songs, but I was tempted to do that as soon as we returned to the hotel. Stray Kids was multi-layered, so I was sure that the lyrics held a deeper meaning between the words; that the beat sat heavy in different emotions.

“Like two fighting angels,” a young woman said from a display beside us. She was looking at something that resembled a pile of dung, so I couldn’t help glancing her way.

“More like devils,” her friend muttered. “Why do good-looking people have to be angels? They were behaving like spoiled children.” The other woman sighed and looked over her shoulder.

“I’d still rather look at them all day instead of the artwork.”

Bang Chan and I shared a look before leaving the room. The other members weren’t in the previous room, and they hadn’t joined us at the recycled exhibit. We walked down the halls and peeked into rooms, hoping to find the supposedly fighting angels.

“Just give it back!”

Han’s voice was too loud for a museum. We picked up the pace and found them down the hall by the bathrooms. Hyunjin laughed as he held a phone over his head, and Han’s face was bright red. He panted too, like we’d just missed him sprint after Hyunjin.

“I just want to help you with your photos,” Hyunjin said, jerking the phone away when Han jumped for it.

“Can you two stop?” Lee Know sounded tired from where he leaned against the wall. Hyunjin looked a little concerned, making sure he wasn’t within arm’s length of Lee Know, but he kept teasing Han.

“Hyunjin.”

The pair froze when Chan spoke. I kept back as he walked over to Hyunjin, snatched the phone and handed it to Han. Then, Bang Chan turned his cold gaze to Hyunjin.

“Do you need to make a scene?”

“We didn’t,” Hyunjin protested. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the wall, as if his leader’s anger was little more than an annoyance.

“Two women were talking about you,” I said. “They weren’t close by either. How long have you been fighting?”

Neither Han nor Hyunjin answered. Lee Know sighed and pushed away from the wall.

“It’s been a few minutes. And it wasn’t fighting up until now.”

Though it looked like fighting to me, I decided to believe him. After all, Lee Know was one of the older members. He also seemed to care a lot about Han, so I doubted he’d have let the teasing go on for too long.

Chan ran a hand over his face. “We’re splitting you up. I’ll go with Hyunjin. Y/N, will you go with Han and Lee Know?”

There was no reason to argue. Bang Chan knew what he was doing. Besides, I didn’t think I’d need to do much with Lee Know being around. It seemed like Hyunjin and Han just needed to be separated for a while.

Chan and Hyunjin walked down the hallway, already switching back to discussing art as if nothing had happened. Han watched them go, his eyes bright with some unknown emotion. As soon as they were out of sight, Han’s smile returned, and he turned his gaze to me and Lee Know.

“Ready to have fun?”

“Calm fun,” I corrected as I walked past him. “Museum level fun. Quietly admire the artwork fun.”

Han walked beside me, Lee Know on his other side, and wrapped an arm around our shoulders. “There’s more than artwork to admire here.”

It was going to be a long day. 

Chapter Text

“Do you prefer butts?”

After five rooms with Han yapping and Lee Know silently walking behind us, I was beyond done. Han had his quiet moments, but he could be as insane as the rest of the group. Not that his question was completely off topic.

The sculpture rooms were beautiful and I could have enjoyed them if Han hadn’t made his immature comments about the human bodies displayed. Even Lee Know joined in occasionally, though I thought he was one of the more mature members. We stopped beside a very detailed sculpture of lovers in an embrace. Han stepped too close to me and for the hundredth time, placed an arm around my shoulders.

“The artist paid special attention to their toes. Do you think they had a fetish?”

My patience snapped. “Enough,” I said as I stepped away from him. “Seriously, Han. Why don’t you act your age?”

Lee Know’s expression didn’t change but when he looked at me, I felt the urge to step away. For a second, Han’s smile dimmed, but he plastered it back into place.

“That would be boring. Do you want to tour the museum with someone boring?”

Rolling my eyes, I led the way into the next room, leaving him and Lee Know to follow. “It wouldn’t be boring. The whole point is to look over the art and you’re just tossing around jokes left and right, hoping one will land.”

The next room was a silhouette exhibit, something that would only be in Texas for a month. There were drawings, but also 3D displays that fit the theme.

“Just wanted to make you smile, Y/N. Can you blame me?”

“He’s good at making people smile,” Lee Know said, eyeing me as if I were suddenly the enemy.

We stopped in front of a drawing. The black figure was frozen between movements of a dance, limbs elongated and graceful, even without the details outside of the shadow. Finally, Han shut up. I didn’t answer his question and basked in the silence, risking a look his way. The man had sobered, but I didn’t think it had to do with anything I said. The exhibit wasn’t all silhouettes of people, but Han finally paid attention to the art around him. That, and Lee Know.

Lee Know paid special attention to the humans displayed in the art, as I expected a dancer would. Han examined the art too, but glanced at Lee Know occasionally. It seemed like he appreciated Lee Know’s appreciation of the art.

When we left the room, we all stayed silent. I itched to ask Lee Know what he got out of the art. Did he choreograph a dance in his mind? Think of his own technique and the lines he drew with his movements? When Han wasn’t being all over the place, he too looked like he got a lot out of the art. He wrote lyrics, so it made sense. It was just strange to see that side of him.

“You’re very serious, Y/N.”

We stopped at a drinking fountain and I watched Han, who also had a serious expression. He noticed my wrinkled brow, and the corners of his lips lifted.

“I mean, most of the time. It’s why I want to make you smile. For someone so young, you’re pretty uptight.”

“Young?” I asked as I pulled my phone from my pocket. “I’m older than everyone in the group.” Bang Chan hadn’t texted, but it was getting late. Surely, he was done with Hyunjin.

“That doesn’t mean anything, Y/N. You’re serious, you take on a lot of responsibility and you worry about everyone too much.”

I blinked at my phone screen, even though it had gone dark. Han placed a hand on the phone and pushed it down until I held it by my side.

“It isn’t my goal to make your job harder,” he explained. “Even though it seems like I don’t give a damn, I do. But the only thing I can think of to help you is keeping you amused. Even a small smile is a win for me.”

“He’s the mood maker,” Lee Know said, stepping closer to us. “Han makes everyone smile. It helps us when we’re all too serious.”

Han took my arms and lifted them to his shoulders, then wrapped his arms around my waist. My breath caught. This was highly unprofessional. Not to mention, anyone could take our picture and post it online. Still, I didn’t move away and found myself silently staring at him.

“You’re serious, sad, and tense. If there is anything I can do to help with that, all you have to do is ask.” When he squeezed me tighter, he made me laugh.

“Can you behave?” I asked. “That would help with my tension. Or would that be asking the impossible?”

“Near impossible,” Lee Know muttered.

Pushing aside my professionalism for a second, I looped my arms around Han’s neck.

“I’ll behave,” he promised. “But only to make sure I don’t get in the way of your work.”

“Are we interrupting?”

Bang Chan’s voice made me drop my arms and try to step back, but Han’s grip tightened.

“Obviously,” he said, as he glanced over at Bang Chan and Hyunjin.

“You didn’t,” Lee Know said, turning to the other members. “Han is being Han.”

Hyunjin chuckled, but Chan’s expression made me want to curl up into a ball. Han didn’t seem affected, but he let me go when I wiggled in his arms. Chan’s expression was blank, apart from his disappointed eyes. He glanced from me to Han and sighed.

“I think we’re done here. Let’s get back to the hotel. We have a long road ahead of us.”

Later, as I stared at the pen in my hand, I considered Chan’s words. Traveling with Stray Kids would go on for a while, but it wasn’t that long road I worried about.

“Is there something wrong?” Farris sat on his bed, watching as I looked over the contract. “Did you want to make alterations?”

I’d read the contract multiple times since he gave it to me and I was fine with all of it. The contract protected me just as much as the group. My hesitation had nothing to do with the contract.

“Everything is fine.” I signed and Farris let out a sigh of relief. When we got back from the museum, I’d expected someone to complain to Farris. Bang Chan wasn’t happy about the display me and Han put on. Even though Lee Know insisted Han wasn’t flirting, Chan was on edge. That was enough reason to want me fired. Chan said he trusted me, but to what extent? Though I expected to be reprimanded, two hours later when Farris asked me to come to his room, he wasn’t upset. Instead of firing me, he wanted me to sign the contract.

“How many times do I need to remind you that I want to be here?” I signed the last line and turned to my boss. He adjusted his glasses and looked down at his lap.

“I guess you don’t need to anymore. Since you just signed.” He smiled over at me and held out his hand. When I passed him the contract, he held it so tight I was afraid it would rip. Did he regret letting me sign it? Farris had no reason to distrust me. I’d proven myself multiple times, and unless the guys from the museum complained, there wasn’t anything negative to say.

Farris looked back at me, his smile soft and honest. “Thanks for being willing to take care of us. I think this will be a positive experience for us all. Hopefully, you have some fun too.”

Behind the smile, worry still lingered in his eyes. I’d do anything to make it disappear. Fun wasn’t entirely off the menu, but taking care of Farris was the first dish listed. The tour would be a positive experience, as long as I remembered that my emotions and desires were farther down on the list. The job would always have to come first.

Chapter Text

Getting Stray Kids to the airport and on the plane to Australia wasn’t the hardest part. After all, I’d joined them on the flight to Texas. What I hadn’t considered was how long the flight was. We departed around seven in the morning and wouldn’t get in until after seven the next day. The group was smart about it, though. They were armed with sleeping pills, headphones, and eye masks. For the first time, I didn’t feel prepared.

On the first leg of the flight, most passengers were awake. I chatted with Farris and nervously watched Bang Chan and Han, who sat together for some odd reason. They didn’t talk and whenever I caught Han’s eye, he gave me a playful grin. If Bang Chan noticed, he’d whisper something to Han to make the other guy turn away from me. From his seat beside Hyunjin, Lee Know also kept looking at Han. There was way too much tension, and I wasn’t even completely sure what was wrong.

Farris and I worked on our own laptops, but there wasn’t actually much to do, so I ended up watching a movie. When night fell, everyone slept. Everyone except for me. I tried. Something kept me awake, no matter what I did. After repeated attempts to fall asleep, I put on a movie. The entire plane was silent. Even Farris was asleep beside me.

Or so I thought.

My phone buzzed, which made me practically leap from my skin. Farris peeked out from under his blanket, smiled, and held up his phone. He’d texted me.

Farris: Too quiet to talk. How are you holding up?

Y/N: I think I’m too excited to sleep.

That made Farris sit up and examine me before typing furiously on his phone.

Farris: Excited or nervous? You really should get some sleep. Can I help you? Are you nervous about Australia or the whole tour?

I was nervous about a lot of things, but it wasn’t like I could talk to my boss about them.

Y/N: It’s all good nerves. Don’t worry. And maybe I’ll just happily drift off in a few hours.

That was a lie. My body hummed with energy. When we got to Australia, Stray Kids had the day off to recover. Hopefully that meant I got to rest too, because I’d be running on fumes at that point.

Farris: I can stay up and keep you company. I haven’t taken a sleeping pill yet. Do you want one?

Y/N: Maybe. But you can just go to sleep. You need more rest than I do.

When he smiled at me, my heart thudded in my chest. He’d taken his glasses off and wore a sleepy expression. Because he’d been lying down, his hair was a rumpled mess. To put it plainly, he was adorable. But in a hot way.

Farris: I’m well rested because of you. Don’t worry about me.

Y/N: It’s my job to worry.

Farris: Partially. And I appreciate that. But I worry too. And right now I’m worried about you.

He might not fully trust me, but Farris was a kind man. Not a lot of people worried about me, since I was pretty put together. But within a few days, multiple people, new people in my life, had started to show a sort of loving concern.

Farris leaned down to get his bag and emerged with some pills. He leaned over and placed them in my hand. Then he continued to lean in until his mouth stopped right beside my ear. My heart skipped a beat at the exact same time.

“Get some sleep, Y/N. Don’t make me worry about you all night.”

After sitting back and watching me swallow the pills, he nodded and settled in to go back to sleep. Unfortunately, I was filled with even more nervous energy thanks to him. I could still feel his warm breath on my ear. What was it about the man that drove me crazy? Farris was a mess and it wasn’t like he was openly flirting with me. But his caring demeanor drove me up a wall.

The sleeping pills succeeded, in spite of my nerves, and I slept like the dead, lost in a dreamworld of Farris and I flirting over spreadsheets.

No one told me sleeping pills came with consequences. The group had to all but carry me through the airport and strap me into the rental car.

“What did you give her?” Bang Chan asked in a harsh whisper.

“Just a sleeping pill.” Poor Farris sounded distraught. I wanted to do something, but my head felt foggy.

“Aren’t your pills super strong?” Changbin asked from the backseat. “You should have taken one of mine instead.”

“I didn’t know she needed one until it was too late. Next time, I’ll have her try one of yours. Thanks, Changbin.”

Even though I was technically awake and heard what everyone was saying, it took the drive to the hotel for me to be more than just conscious.

Felix helped me out of the car, and we slowly walked into the hotel. Everyone else was fully rested, so the slow pace was just for me.

“I’m useless,” I muttered as I leaned heavily against him.

“That’s the biggest lie I’ve ever heard,” Felix said, giving my arm a gentle squeeze. “But maybe you shouldn’t take drugs from strange men.”

I forced myself to lean away from him and give him what I hoped was a reprimanding look. “Farris isn’t a strange man.”

Felix just shrugged. “Agree to disagree. He’s a man and he can sometimes be strange.” To me, that described all of Stray Kids, but I didn’t point it out. I was too tired to argue.

The group stood around us, and I resisted the urge to look at Bang Chan. Was he mad that Felix was helping me? He hadn’t seemed happy when I was close to Han at the museum either, though there hadn’t actually been anything going on. Later, I needed to talk to him; make him understand that I wasn’t a threat to the group. The only potential relationship I had at the moment was Farris, which was a stretch to say the least, so the members were safe.

“Got the room assignments,” Farris said as he rejoined us. “Felix, hand over Y/N.”

As he listed off the other rooms and wrapped an arm around me, I blinked back into reality. Bang Chan and Han were rooming together. They’d sat on the plane together too. Was Chan keeping an eye on him? As the other members took the elevators, I was eventually alone with Farris, Changbin, and Felix.

“Was that a good idea?” I asked as we got into the next elevator.

“What?” Farris pushed the button for our floor and held me closer. I was starting to feel better, but I didn’t say anything. How many times would Farris feel comfortable enough to hold me? Might as well enjoy it while I could.

“Bang Chan and Han rooming together. They’ve been tense ever since the museum.” I left out what I thought the reason might be.

Even if Stray Kids normally got along and made up quickly, being crammed into a room together couldn’t help the process.

“It won’t matter,” Changbin said from the corner of the elevator. “Even if they don’t room together, arguments usually tone down given a day or two.”

Felix made a noise of agreement. “And if they really can’t work it out, we can just switch around the room assignments.”

I felt Farris sigh against me. “It’s best to give them a chance to mend fences. If those two are really at odds, they might want their own space to talk.”

If what was going on wasn’t real fighting, then I was likely in for a horrible surprise further down the road.

Farris helped me to my room and, after making sure I wasn’t going to pass out and hit my head on any hard surfaces, left me alone. I quickly went through the motions of showering and changing into pajamas before crawling into bed. My phone buzzed before I could drift off.

Unknown: Don’t worry. I won’t let Bang Chan keep me away.

Groaning, I saved Han’s number and tossed the phone on the bedside table. Whether that was a threat or a promise, I didn’t know. And I didn’t particularly care. As long as they didn’t end up killing each other while sharing a room, they could do whatever they liked. Unfortunately, thanks to the text message, I was cursed with dreams of Han and Bang Chan fighting instead of a pleasant dream about Farris. I’d never missed spreadsheets more. 

Chapter Text

When I woke up, it was dark outside. After I checked the time, I sighed. I’d missed dinner. They’d really let me sleep too long. I’d basically passed out when I got to my room, so I jumped up to take a much needed shower. After scrubbing myself raw and trying to get my hair under control, I checked my phone. Farris had texted me his room number and asked to let him know when I woke up.

When Farris opened his door, he looked relieved. “Y/N! You’re alive.”

“Sorry,” I said, lowering my gaze to the floor. “I didn’t mean to sleep so long.”

“It’s fine. I shouldn’t have given you such intense sleeping pills. Come on in.” Farris led me into his room and we sat down at his small desk. There were papers around him and his laptop was open. Clearly, he’d been busy without me.

“Sorry,” I couldn’t help saying again. Farris laughed and reached out to organize the mess.

“It wasn’t a big deal, Y/N. This only looks like I was busy because I didn’t contain my mess.” He straightened out the papers and set them beside the laptop, which did help make things less chaotic. “There isn’t much to do tonight. Tomorrow we’ll leave a little earlier than usual so we can check out the venue.”

“How are the guys doing?”

“They’re fine. Forced themselves to stay awake so they’d sleep well tonight.”

That was a great plan and one I wished I’d been able to implement. Not that I was wide awake, but it would be hard to get to sleep in a few hours. Farris and I talked over the schedule for the next few days. The last day in Australia was a free day and they’d all agreed to go to the beach.

“You don’t have to,” Farris said as he tapped a text on his phone. “Watching them all at the beach shouldn’t be too hard.”

It sounded a hell of a lot harder than watching them in the hotel. There would be people around. Possibly even people who’d attended the concert.

“I like the beach. It’ll be fun to go with everyone.”

Farris’ face brightened with his smile. “Great! Then I think we’re done for the night.”

“Where is everyone else?” I asked as I stood to leave.

“A few are at the gym. If you want to, I’d suggest stopping by to say hello. The guys were concerned about you.”

Not only had I left Farris to work alone, I’d made Stray Kids stress out. It was barely a day after signing the official contract and I was already slacking. Someone knocked on the door as we walked toward it and we found I.N in the hall.

“Y/N!” His eyes widened and then he grinned. “Glad to see you’re alright. We missed you.”

“It’s only been like eight hours.”

“I thought you were dead,” I.N said seriously. “Never take drugs from Farris again.”

The manager sighed and leaned against the doorframe. “I didn’t know my sleeping pills would do that. Cut me some slack.” I.N made an annoyed face and I looked at his outfit. Shorts and a tank top paired with sneakers.

“Are you going to the gym?”

He turned back to me with an eager nod. “Changbin and Felix promised to help me work out.” I.N patted his stomach and frowned. “I want some muscle too.”

“Not too much,” Farris warned. “What would the fans think?” I.N was on the skinnier side, which only made him look younger. But how could the fans be against him getting in shape?

“Wanna come down with me?” he asked. “I bet they want to see you, too.”

There wasn’t anything else for me to do, so I allowed I.N to lead me down the hall. The hotel was smaller than the last one, which would be helpful if I ever needed to find the members. There also weren’t many guests around.

“What has everyone been doing today?” I asked as we reached the first floor.

“Anything but sleeping,” I.N said with a little laugh. “I talked with my family for most of the morning until they needed to go to sleep.”

Family. I really needed to text Chandler and let him know I made it safely.

“Do you have a big family?” I asked carefully, not wanting to pry. I.N shrugged and stopped outside the gym door.

“An older brother and a young brother. It’s one reason I like our group so much. It’s just as entertaining as a bunch of siblings.” That was what I’d found the most jarring. Coming from a household where it was just me and Chandler didn’t prepare me for being around a larger group all the time. But it was fun, nonetheless.

I.N opened the door and we stepped inside. The gym was smaller and only our guys were inside. Changbin lifted weights in the corner and Felix stopped his treadmill when he saw us.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” he laughed as he hurried over. Sweat trickled down his face and he lifted his shirt to wipe himself clean.

“I was down for the count,” I agreed. “Don’t worry. I’ll never take sleeping pills from Farris again. I’ve learned my lesson.” Felix nodded and patted my shoulder.

“Good move. Sometimes I wonder how he deals with everything, but it might have to do with the drugs he takes. If they’re all that strong, it makes sense.” Felix beamed over at I.N. “You ready to put on some muscle?” I.N lifted his arms and flexed, showing the little definition he had.

“In just a month, I’ll be able to kick your butt.”

Felix didn’t laugh, but his eyes sparkled. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from reacting. Across the gym, Changbin giggled and from the corner came a full on ‘ha ha.’

“I’d love to see you try to take on Felix,” Han said from the other treadmill I’d missed. “But we definitely have to post it online. The fans will go nuts.” I.N glared and let Felix lead him away. Han shut off his treadmill and ran a hand through his hair before giving me a lazy smile.

“We were worried,” he admitted as he got closer. “Good to see you up and around.”

“I’m fine. I just slept too much.” Han’s grin widened, and he leaned closer to me.

“If you have trouble falling asleep tonight, feel free to call me over. We can binge-watch some shows.”

Not breaking eye contact, I took a large step back. “I just wanted to pop in and show everyone I was alive. Could you make sure the other members know?” Han frowned as I backed up another step, but he nodded.

“Great. I’ve got things to do. See ya.” I had literally nothing to do, but I fled the room.

Even with Bang Chan not around, I didn’t want to get too close to the members. I didn’t want him to doubt my professionalism. If an assistant possibly getting involved with the members was something that upset him, why hadn’t Chan asked Farris to put it in the contract? Though I didn’t plan on dating any of them, having a set rule in place probably would have given him some peace of mind.

Then I could have focused on my slightly more acceptable crush on Farris. As my boss, it wasn’t appropriate to be romantically involved, but there weren’t any rules against it. Of course, I didn’t know if he had feelings for me.

There were too many ‘what ifs’ in getting involved with coworkers. Besides the possibility of making things awkward, I might hurt the group. That was the last thing I wanted to do. And if that happened, my contract would definitely be canceled. The idea made my stomach roll.

Crushes were fine. It was impossible not to be physically attracted to the men around me, but that didn’t mean I needed to act on my desires. Flirting would be a game with no winner. It would be fun to play, but terrifying to reach the end.

While we toured the arena the next day, I kept away from Han. If he noticed, he didn’t react. He stayed with the rest of the group and chatted with Lee Know. I stayed close to Chan instead, trying to give off the vibe that I was the perfect assistant to Stray Kids. Bang Chan had a habit of walking at the back of the group, which worked well for me. Farris stayed at the front and helped everyone follow the security guard.

“Were you able to sleep last night?” Chan whispered, as the guard paused to point out a few safety features by the stage.

“Eventually.” I’d gone to sleep around two, but with the tour of the arena not starting until nine, it wasn’t like I was that sleep deprived. “I should’ve thought about preparing for the overseas trip. But this is my first time, so…”

Chan turned to me with a smile. “Your first time overseas? Sucks that you’re working.”

The group shuffled forward again.

“It doesn’t always feel like working,” I admitted. “It’s actually really fun to be with you guys.” Chan chuckled and I nudged him with my elbow. “I’m not lying to get brownie points. Besides, without you guys, who knows if I’d have even gone abroad?”

“Well then, I’m happy we got to help you cross that off your list.”

When the backstage tour was over, the group went on stage for a soundcheck. Farris led me along behind the stage for a more in-depth tour of our domain. “This time, you can watch offstage. I’ll be on that side and you can stay over here.” He pointed across the stage, where I could see the darkness of the tech area.

“You’re going to let me out of the greenroom?” I gasped dramatically.

“I’d like to keep you in there,” he admitted sheepishly. “But you wouldn’t be doing your job. I didn’t want you too close to the action before you signed the contract, so now you’re good to get more involved.”

“Scared I’d run off?” I teased as we made our way to his side of the stage, moving carefully in the dark.

“Maybe. But I suppose I was being overprotective.”

That made me trip over my feet and Farris, surprisingly, caught me before I fell to the floor. He helped straighten me up and I stared at him. I didn’t think Farris had an overprotective vibe, at least not with me. Had seeing me out of it the day before altered his opinion of me?

“I’m capable of taking care of myself,” I reminded him.

“Without a doubt. But I just wanted to keep you away from any possibly bad situations.” He turned his back to me and said over his shoulder, “Bang Chan told me you had an encounter with Patrick.”

I’d have to have a word with the unofficial leader. At the very least, he could have given me a heads-up.

“What did he say?” Had Bang Chan shared the recording?

“Just that Patrick showed up in the greenroom and tried to scare you off. Apparently, he failed miserably.” Farris stopped on the other side of the stage and we watched the guys mark through one of their dances. “It was inevitable, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. But I was surprised that I had no clue about it. Clearly, it didn’t affect you.” Farris glanced at me and I nodded in agreement.

“I only met Patrick, though. That’s enough to not hide me away?”

Farris shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Patrick is probably the worst person on the Havenly team. He’s pretty rude. The group members and even their manager try to have some decorum, so if you’ve successfully handled Patrick, I don’t think anyone else could push you away. Not if you wanted to be here.” Farris stopped rocking and turned toward me with a question in his eyes.

“I want to be here,” I assured him with a bright smile. “And Patrick was nothing but a mosquito in my ear. Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone chase me away.”

“Good.” Farris turned back to the stage, but the shadows that played across his face changed his expression. He still smiled, but it almost looked like his eyes were hard. Like his smile could easily twist into something cruel. “If anyone becomes more than a mosquito, let me know. I’ll take care of it.”

The adorably goofy man I knew returned a moment later as he cheered for Stray Kids’ successful completion of a song. Had I imagined the menacing aura around him? Only time would tell. But it was safe to assume that Farris might not be exactly how he seemed. I needed to remember that about Stray Kids as well.

We got along and everything, but essentially, we were still strangers. It was better to stay on guard, even if Farris’ menacing look hadn’t been directed at me. I’d make sure it never was.

That night, I waited off-stage with towels and water. I could see Farris on the other side and he sometimes waved at me, his hands full with the exact stuff I carried. It was finally like we were a team. Sure, I helped him with paperwork and behind-the-scenes stuff, but I’d never been in the thick of things.

It was also different to see Stray Kids perform in person, but from a different angle. Sometimes, when their backs were to the audience, I’d see something normally hidden. The slight limp from I.N, who had worked out too hard the day before. A yawn that Han only partially covered. The red of Hyunjin’s eyes from sweat dripping into them. The group worked hard and I was proud to be in a position to help them.

I felt a presence and when I looked back, I saw Patrick standing by the stage door. The man’s disdain was written plainly on his face, but he made no move toward me. It wasn’t like we could have a conversation over the pounding music. Just because it might irritate him, I lifted my hand and waved my fingers in greeting. As I predicted, his scowl deepened.

Before he could do or try to communicate anything, Patrick stiffened. He glanced over his shoulder and talked to someone in the hall behind him. The figure was partially hidden in shadow, but the stage lights showed a tall man with a stern expression. He glanced my way before saying something to Patrick. The assistant, suddenly smiling and eager to please, followed the man into the hallway.

The lights hadn’t been enough for me to tell exactly who’d fetched him. I doubted it was a member of Havenly. Why would they personally look for one of their assistants? That left the group’s manager, a man I’d yet to meet.

Before he adopted the attitude of happy assistant, Patrick had seemed almost apprehensive about the man’s sudden appearance. Havenly’s manager made their assistant nervous, and Patrick was on their side. Even though I knew I could take care of myself, I didn’t want to meet that man on my own. My newfound freedom was wonderful, but I’d make sure to keep Farris or a Stray Kids member at my side, just in case the manager decided to screw decorum in order to get rid of me.

Chapter Text

“And you really don’t mind?” Farris’ voice filled my hotel room, emitting from my phone, which I’d set aside so I could get dressed.

“I’m your assistant,” I reminded the man as I tugged my jeans back on. It was late, almost midnight, but it wasn’t like I planned on going to sleep yet.

“We were joking about you running errands and now we’ve got you running errands.” Farris groaned and I winced, almost feeling his pain.

“It’s like an unspoken job requirement as an assistant, Farris. Don’t worry. Can you have everyone send me a list of what they need?”

Apparently, traveling overseas, not getting enough sleep and then performing a grueling concert took its toll on Stray Kids. For all their positivity, everyone felt like shit after the show except for me. Even Farris was sick, having gotten food poisoning from some small restaurant he’d stopped at while rushing back to the hotel before the concert.

Being knocked out because of the sleeping pill had saved me from what everyone else was experiencing. I.N was in pain, but that was mostly from his workout. Changbin and Felix had gotten colds. Hyunjin sprained his ankle and Han had a migraine. Only three members remained somewhat healthy, but thanks to room sharing, it was only a matter of time before the cold got passed around. When Stray Kids was down for the count, they got hit hard.

As I left the hotel, a round of text messages started to spring up on my phone. I finally had all the members’ numbers.

I wrote everything down in the notes app and then pulled up directions for the closest stores. It was the first random task given to me since I’d started the job. After working in front of a screen and waiting to help at concerts, I was ready to run easy errands. I’d get them coffee too, if they asked. Running errands wasn’t demeaning.

But I knew why they were hesitant to send me off on my own. Serena’s fake story paired with the fact that Havenly was somewhere nearby put them on edge. Still, it wasn’t like I was going too far. I gathered a bunch of stuff in the store and got into a long line at the cashier’s. A few girls were in front of me, on their phones, and I ignored them until I heard the name Cardan. Wasn’t that a Havenly member?

“You think he’ll notice us?” one of the girls asked her friend. “If we write the words big enough?”

“He’ll have to look out the hotel window first,” the friend responded. “But we’ll stand outside and hope for the best.” The girls had a giant poster board and a pack of markers. When one turned to grab some snacks, I saw their Havenly shirts. Fans. There was only one reason for them to be around. That meant Havenly was in the area.

“Damn,” I whispered under my breath. The girls heard me, and when they turned around, I gave them a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Just thought I forgot my wallet.” They ignored me and I pulled out my phone to look up hotels nearby. Stray Kids made sure not to share a hotel with Havenly in order to avoid their crazy fans, but maybe we’d accidentally ended up on the same street. Not that it was the end of the world. Stray Kids’ fans were respectful. It was just better to distance ourselves. Farris wouldn’t like being so close.

A new text popped up as soon as I pulled out my phone.

Bang Chan: Are you still out getting supplies?

As far as I knew, Bang Chan had been spared from illness and pain. While he was rooming with Han, Chan was likely playing nursemaid. Even if they’d been arguing before, Chan cared too much about his members to let that last long.

Y/N: Just in line now.

Bang Chan: Would you mind grabbing some tea and honey?

Maybe I was wrong and he hadn’t been spared.

Y/N: Are you sick?

Bang Chan: Just vocally tired. Don’t worry. I like to catch a problem before it becomes a bigger issue.

I stepped out of line, leaving the Havenly fans behind, and grabbed the additional stuff. On the way back to the hotel, I didn’t spot any more fans. Maybe we weren’t all that close to Havenly. Still, I’d bring it up with Chan. I wanted to tell Farris, but the guy didn’t need added stress while he was cradling a toilet bowl.

Each member thanked me as I dropped off the goods, and Farris went right back to bed when I handed him some nausea medicine. That stuff never worked for me, but I’d hope for the best. The last room was Bang Chan and Han’s. I tapped my knuckles against the door and Chan was there in an instant.

“Come in,” he whispered, before leaving me in the doorway. I’d been mainly dropping items off at the rooms, not going in. But no one was contagious in Chan’s room, so I stepped inside. The room was dark; the air conditioner running high. Han lay on one of the beds. He was out cold with an eye mask and headphones on. Bang Chan sat at the small table with a laptop and notebook in front of him, headphones over his ears, too. Clearly, he was on a roll with something. I didn’t want to disturb him, but he had invited me in, so I sat on his bed and waited.

After a minute, he pulled off the headphones and turned to me. “Sorry about that. I needed to get that part down before I lost it.”

“A new song?”

He nodded and held out his notebook. “Han wrote the lyrics, but I’m making adjustments based on my beat.” After a second of hesitation, I took the notebook and glanced at what I assumed was the chorus.

Untold stories, webs of lies. So many secrets in your eyes. I try to read them, find the truth. What can I glean to feel at ease and show that our love is bulletproof?

Even without the beat, I felt the emotion in the song. I hoped it would be a ballad and not a dance number. Would the fans even pay attention to the words if the music was too upbeat? When I looked at Chan, I found him staring intently at me.

“What do you think?”

Why did he care what I thought? I wasn’t a music lover and couldn’t even be called a fan. I passed him the notebook and smiled.

“It’s good. Heartbreaking even.”

Bang Chan let out a sigh of relief and leaned back in his chair. “Good. Sometimes I’m not sure if we convey the message. Not that everyone will feel connected to the stories we’re trying to tell, but I want the average listener to at least feel something.” He set the notebook down and glanced at Han, who was dead to the world.

“Han writes the most heartfelt songs. None of us have much dating experience, but it’s like Han is just able to know the emotions. We don’t write songs about love all that often, but when we do…” Chan smirked, and his eyes almost glowed when he looked at me. “Han makes people cry.”

That I could definitely believe. I looked over at the sleeping lyricist.

“With you around, I might be able to pick your brain. If you’ll let me, Y/N.”

I turned back to him and Chan was focused on his notebook again. “I haven’t experienced a lot of heartbreak,” I admitted. “Haven’t dated all that much.” Chan’s head jerked up and he gaped at me like I was lying.

“You’re kidding. But… That’s impossible.” He waved a hand at me and I rolled my eyes. It wasn’t like I was dressed up. Of course, it was an improvement over the pajamas and bonnet I normally wore late at night.

“I’m guessing we both haven’t dated for the same reason. You’re a Kpop star and I’m a workaholic. Neither of us would have really had time.”

Even if the other members found time to have secret relationships, Chan would struggle with that. As the group leader, he had even less time than everyone else.

Chan chuckled and glanced at the bed again. “Alright. You do have a point. I guess I’ll just continue using Han.”

Clearly, Han didn’t care about being used, if it could be called that. 3Racha worked hard for the good of Stray Kids, pulling emotions out of thin air or from their pasts. Even if they didn’t date, Stray Kids experienced heartbreak in different forms. Serena’s betrayal might have hurt them enough to inspire a song. If there was one thing I wanted to avoid, it would be causing Stray Kids so much pain they had to write about it. I’d never be able to live with myself if that happened.

Chapter Text

Being off stage when I knew the guys were struggling was the worst. I wasn’t sure if the fans noticed, but Stray Kids didn’t have as much energy as the night before. Felix’s movements weren’t as full out, and even Hyunjin’s grace felt reserved. Lee Know, though not sick or injured, toned down his dancing too so he could match the members that were struggling. Chan kept a watchful eye on everyone, and Seungmin interacted with the fans a lot more, acting as a distraction. Watching them, I thought it might be a good idea to cancel the beach day. The group needed a break, but playing in the waves wouldn’t be as good as resting.

Across the stage, I saw Farris in the darkness. His expression wasn’t clear, but he drummed his fingers on his thighs as he watched Stray Kids perform. It looked like he was just as concerned now that his awareness was back after getting over food poisoning. Maybe he’d agree with me about skipping the beach.

“So, this is the new girl?”

The voice behind me was loud enough to hear over the music, but there shouldn’t have been other people backstage. I turned to point them toward the greenrooms, only to see multiple men behind me. Three insanely tall and good-looking men who seemed familiar. Behind them stood Patrick, who looked more annoyed than I felt.

“You can’t be back here,” I whispered to the nearest man. From the lazy smile he gave me, my whisper hadn’t been serious enough. Bile rose in my throat, and I slowly focused on my annoyance instead of my nerves. Throwing up on someone backstage would be more than a little embarrassing.

“We can be anywhere we want. Your little group is only here because it’s our concert.”

I’d only seen a handful of Havenly’s pictures, so I wasn’t sure exactly which members had come to annoy me. That was the only reason they’d be backstage. That, or they wanted to annoy Farris. I glanced over my shoulder, but his eyes were on Stray Kids.

“Let’s go back to our greenroom,” Patrick all but pleaded, tugging on one of the member’s sleeves. They were ready for their concert, dressed in white outfits that reminded me of Elvis’ jumpsuits. The member pulled his sleeve away from Patrick and scoffed.

“Calm down. We just wanted to look at the new assistant.” The man turned back to me, and I tried to put a name to the face. This guy was more buff than the other two, but he could have been one of three members that I recalled having a similar build.

The second guy, who hadn’t spoken yet, I was pretty sure was Cameron. He wasn’t a Ken doll exactly, with slightly more unique features. The member right in front of me was definitely the Ken dollyist among them.

When I looked over my shoulder again, I thought I made eye contact with Chan, but I couldn’t be sure.

“We’re over here, Babe.” The major Ken placed a hand on my cheek and literally turned me to face him. I swatted him away and took a step back. “Easy there,” he chuckled. “We only wanted to introduce ourselves.”

“Go ahead,” I snapped. “But keep your hands to yourself.”

For a moment, I thought the major Ken would do something foolish. Maybe he’d yell and draw attention to us, but that would hurt his image. He could retaliate physically, but someone backstage might see. Still, his hand twitched forward, like he wouldn’t care who saw him. The company could just cover up the incident.

“Doyle.” The member I decided was Cameron, stepped forward until he was beside us. “We really should get back. Manager will miss us.”

The anger in Doyle’s eyes flickered to something akin to concern. But it was gone in a second. “Right,” he drawled. “We should get ready for the real concert.” He turned away, but paused to glance at the stage. “The kids don’t look so hot. Maybe you’re not meeting their needs, Y/N.” My cheeks flushed, but he walked away before I could respond. Cameron didn’t speak again, but gave a nod before following Doyle. The third member walked right up to me and bent to whisper in my ear.

“I bet you’re doing a great job. If you want to play with the big boys, we won’t turn you away. I’d love you to help with our… needs.” My skin crawled as he winked and left. Patrick curled his lip, like I was the one to blame for Havenly showing up, but he left too. Their manager was enough of a threat to get them back to their greenroom. Only in my dreams could I be like that.

Not that I needed to be that firm with Stray Kids. I turned around to watch them finish their performance. Farris finally glanced at me and waved. His bright smile suggested that he hadn’t seen Havenly.

Fine by me. I returned his smile. Nothing had happened beyond bad first impressions. If it were serious, I’d bring it up. Until then, it was best not to worry anyone. Especially when the state of Stray Kids was already enough to worry about.

When we all returned to the greenroom, the group settled down to rest before getting ready to leave. Farris and I rushed around with water and towels. Even though the members were joking and smiling, it was only thanks to adrenaline. I.N’s sore muscles would be worse in the morning. Hyunjin limped even more than before the concert, and everyone else looked drained.

“You’ll need to wrap that ankle,” Bang Chan told Hyunjin as the dancer lay on the couch with his foot elevated.

Hyunjin scowled. “It isn’t that bad.”

“Not that bad?” Lee Know asked from where he sat with Han. “You messed up the choreography twice, Hyunjin. You don’t do that unless something is seriously wrong.”

Hyunjin’s eyes danced between me and Farris, seeking help, but Farris didn’t seem sympathetic.

“Were you distracted or was it your injury?” Farris asked. “I’m pretty sure your ankle gave out on one of the turns.”

I couldn’t help it. I joined Hyunjin on the couch, pulling his legs to the side to sit down before placing them on my lap.

“Why are you attacking Hyunjin? Everyone had something affecting their performance today.” It wasn’t my place to join the fight. I definitely didn’t have the right to reprimand Farris, who was basically my boss.

“Hyunjin pushed himself too hard,” I said firmly. “You all did. That doesn’t mean you can choose one member and blame them for a mistake. Did anyone else mess up?” No one responded. I turned to Farris and his cheeks tinted pink.

“I didn’t see anyone else,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and looking away.

“So Hyunjin is in trouble because his mistake was obvious?” I snorted and wrapped a hand around Hyunjin’s good ankle. “I might not have seen the mistakes on stage tonight, but I know they were made. Nearly everyone is either tired, sick or injured. Hyunjin might be the only one with an injury that made him mess up, but don’t forget that I went around collecting medicine and supplies for over half of you last night.”

Chan didn’t respond. Lee Know went back to focusing on Han who volunteered that he’d messed up. No one jumped down his throat about it. The other members stayed silent, but Seungmin smiled at me. I gently patted Hyunjin’s leg and turned to look at him. “Does your ankle hurt a lot?”

“It isn’t bad.” His expression was a mixture of emotions, mainly confusion. Maybe he didn’t expect me to come to his defense.

“Maybe we should skip the beach tomorrow.”

As soon as I said that, Stray Kids found their voice. A chorus of protests filled the room.

“You need to rest,” I pointed out.

“We can rest on the beach,” Han insisted, squinting like his migraine was making a comeback. “It’s our last chance before we’re landlocked. Don’t take that away from us.” He pushed out his bottom lip in a pout, which did nothing to sway me.

“Sunshine invigorates the mind and body,” Felix said, with Changbin quick to agree. “Laying in a hotel room might be considered rest for the body, but it might have adverse effects on the mind.”

It sounded like an argument Bang Chan would make, but the leader had taken a back seat after voicing his original protest. Chan looked down at his feet, as if he was ashamed enough to allow foregoing the beach to be his punishment.

“You won’t win this one,” Seungmin said. His smile broadened. “We need the air. Trust me, you don’t want to see what we’re like when we’re cooped up too long.”

“We won’t play around the whole time,” I.N promised. “And we’ll listen to whatever you say. Both you and Farris.” The manager was just as quiet as Chan. I didn’t think I’d been harsh in my defense of Hyunjin, but maybe it had been too out of the blue. Did they normally gang up on him if he messed up? Or was it that he so rarely messed up that it was immediate cause for concern?

I sighed and leaned back against the couch. “If you promise to listen. When we say take a break, it’s time for a break. When we call it a day, we go back to the hotel.”

Even though they all promised, I knew it wouldn’t go the way I planned. Sometimes the members were just overgrown kids. As soon as they saw the sand and the ocean, they’d forget their promises. And could I really blame them? Even though I hadn’t been with Stray Kids that long, I knew how hard they worked. Breaks weren’t common. Even in Texas, the only exciting break was the museum, and half of the group didn’t even go.

In the end, I wasn’t in charge. Stray Kids and Farris listened to me, but they didn’t have to. It was just because they liked me. And it was because I liked them that I gave in so easily. It was why I was protective; why I wanted to take care of them. They wouldn’t listen to me at the beach, and because I liked them, it wouldn’t matter in the least.   

Chapter Text

When someone knocked on my door around midnight, I expected it to be Bang Chan. Farris had already stopped by earlier to apologize for his behavior.

“I tend to be stricter with members within their subunits,” he explained as we sat in my hotel room. “Hyunjin is a dancer first and foremost so I expect him to focus on it. If he’d messed up lyrics or something, it wouldn’t have been a big issue.” Farris would have handled the situation differently. But that didn’t make it right.

“Hyunjin was hurt,” I reminded Farris. “Perfection isn’t possible when someone is sick or injured. You should’ve expected him to mess up.” My stomach was tied into knots as I avoided his gaze. “I might be stepping out of line, but shouldn’t all the members be treated equally? The way you and Bang Chan treated Hyunjin just felt… unfair.” It was a lame argument. In certain situations, I wouldn’t treat Hyunjin and Bang Chan the same as Felix and Han.

“He didn’t mess up because he was injured,” Farris said before sighing. “At least I don’t think so. He was distracted for the last part of the concert. Maybe Chan will be able to get the truth out of him.”

Bang Chan was the leader. Farris was the manager. I’d already overstepped, even though I was in the right. That was enough tension for the day. After mending fences, Farris left me for the night.

When I answered another knock on my door, I thought Bang Chan had come to apologize or explain himself. I hadn’t expected Han to be leaning in my doorway.

“Han? It looked like your migraine was coming back. Do you need me to go buy you something?”

“It isn’t as bad as it looks,” he said as I stepped aside to let him into my room. “I’m going to be fine for tomorrow’s day of fun.”

Han was dressed for bed and looked tired. His eyes were a little red and I wanted to rush out to get him eye drops. He probably already had some and he’d feel better if he slept, so I restrained myself.

“You should get some sleep,” I suggested as I sat beside him. “What are you doing here?” Did he and Bang Chan fight? Maybe Han got kicked out of their room. No. It was more likely that he left on his own. Chan still thought of Han as one of his kids; he wouldn’t kick him out.

Han straightened in his chair and flashed me his normal grin. “Thanks for standing up for Hyunjin.”

I leaned on the table and relaxed. He hadn’t come for any negative reasons. “It’s fine. I didn’t like watching him get blamed for something out of his control.”

Han’s smile dropped and he nodded. “I mean, Hyunjin could have sat in a chair if he was hurting too bad. He pushed through. Of course, he could have been distracted too.”

Distracted by the migraine? Or had something gone wrong in the crowd?

“I saw Havenly standing with you.”

My stomach dropped.

“Oh.”

With eight group members and Farris constantly around me, keeping a secret was impossible. I knew Farris hadn’t seen me with Havenly, but I hadn’t expected anyone from Stray Kids to notice. They were performing at the time. If they were watching me, then they wouldn’t have been paying attention to what was going on during their numbers.

“You really shouldn’t be looking off stage,” I said, dropping my tone to get serious with him. I didn’t want to lecture Han. Farris and Bang Chan had spared him in the greenroom, so there wasn’t a reason for me to get on his case about it.

“I don’t normally look off stage. At least, not during a dance.” Han cracked his knuckles and leaned toward me. “Havenly members are sort of hard to miss. Besides, I like knowing you’re watching from backstage. Seeing you there gives me energy.”

There was no way I’d touch that confession.

“Men as tall as Havenly are hard to ignore,” I muttered.

“I’m just as tall,” Han hurried to say, and I laughed.

“Cute that you think so. The only one close to their size is Hyunjin.” Not that it mattered to me that the group was on the shorter side. “I’m just saying they stand out. I didn’t say if it was in a good or bad way.”

Han’s cheeks flushed and he looked down. “Right. Sorry. You’re right, they do draw focus. So when I looked for you and saw them, I got distracted.” Han reached forward and placed a hand on mine. “Did they do anything?”

“Like what?” I laughed. “We were backstage.” There had been that moment when I thought Doyle might lash out, but I’d keep that to myself. Han showing concern was one thing, but if Chan found out about it…

“It isn’t impossible. Havenly could get away with murder backstage if the company acted fast enough.”

A serious Han was unsettling. Seriousness was for Chan, Lee Know and Farris. Han lifted the mood, sometimes in an unwelcomed way, but he wasn’t a downer.

“They just wanted to get a look at me,” I admitted. I flipped my hand over and held his. “Patrick was there too, trying to get them back to the greenroom.”

Only three Havenly members came looking for me. Did the rest not know or did they not care? Of course, all seven of them backstage would have been hard to ignore. Their manager would have noticed they were gone.

“They’re unpredictable,” Han said softly. “Well, predictably unpredictable. We knew they would do something, but we never guessed what it would be.” Han carefully slid his chair closer to mine and lifted a hand to my cheek. The same cheek Doyle had touched. I’d washed my face while preparing for bed, but something about Han touching the spot helped to erase the last traces of Doyle.

“Did they threaten you? Bully you?” Han gently caressed my cheek and met my eyes. “Did they try to seduce you?”

My stomach tightened and I tried to swallow past the nausea. “You mean like you’re trying to do?” A wicked grin played on Han’s lips.

“Me? Seducing you?” Han drew back and laughed. “I’m playing around. Don’t you find it fun?”

“Seducing, playing. Who cares?” I shrugged and looked down at the table, my stomach settling down with him further away. “I think they were just toying with me, though some of what they said could’ve brushed against suggestive.”

If they’d been unobjectively lewd, I wouldn’t have put up with it. At least, I thought I wouldn’t. It wouldn’t be good to make a scene backstage, but I might have told Farris. As much as I didn’t want to stress him out, I didn’t want Havenly hanging around me or my guys. One wrong move and I’d decide to fuck professionalism. The company might not cover that up, but it could be worth it.

“Just tell us if they do anything inappropriate,” Han said as he got to his feet. “You know we’ll find a way to take care of it.” Their last assistant hadn’t minded Havenly’s attention. What would Stray Kids have done if she did? The only thing they could do was talk to the group’s manager. If the company favored Havenly, going to them with a complaint wouldn’t do much.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I said as we walked to the door. Though if anything happened, I’d avoid telling the members. No need to stress them out when they needed to focus on their concerts.

Han opened the door and stopped to turn toward me. “I mean it, Y/N. Just cause we’re idols doesn’t mean we can’t help.”

“That’s sort of exactly what it means, Han. I wouldn’t dream of getting you in trouble with your company just because of Havenly.”

Rolling his eyes, Han stepped into the hallway. “We wouldn’t be obvious about it. Well, some of us wouldn’t. Why file complaints when we just make life harder for them personally.” Han got a gleam in his eye that I’d seen from a few members. That was… concerning.

As I tried to imagine what Stray Kids could do to Havenly, Han bent and pressed his lips to my cheek. I froze as my stomach flipped, then burned.

“Don’t do that,” I hissed as I shoved him away. He laughed under his breath. “Playing around gets people hurt, you know?”

Han shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Who is getting hurt? You looked a little too serious then, so I wanted to lighten the mood. Worked, didn’t it?”

My mind had moved away from Havenly but now I was worried about something else. “It could hurt the group. Don’t act dumb. Chan was annoyed that you were all touchy last time.”

The hallway was empty, so at least I knew a member hadn’t spotted the kiss. But that didn’t mean they would never find out.

“Bang Chan is just being the leader,” Han said. His face turned into one of mock horror. “Lee Know is the one you need to worry about.”

That made no sense in my mind. At the museum, Lee Know hadn’t been annoyed that Han was crowding me. But maybe a kiss on the cheek would be a different story.

My heart thudded in my chest. Having both Bang Chan and Lee Know mad at me might truly get me fired. “Well, don’t do that again. Remember, I’m the expendable one here.”

Han’s expression softened. “Oh, Y/N. I’m just joking with you. No one is going to fire you just because I kissed your cheek. I just saw Doyle touching your face earlier and got annoyed by it. Now you won’t think of his hand on your cheek. You’ll think of my kiss. I’d rather have you been annoyed with me than scared of them.”

“Who said I was—”

“Night,” Han said, turning around before I could argue my case. “Don’t worry. I’ll play a little nicer from now on.”

I watched until he was back in his room before I closed my door. No matter what Han said, I could get fired with a simple kiss on the cheek. I could get fired for pretty much anything. Keeping secrets would only make it worse; it’d look like I was actually sneaking around behind their backs. Even if Han was joking around, it would be better to tell the truth. I just hoped my honesty wouldn’t make Chan or Farris fire me.

Chapter Text

As soon as we got to the beach the next day, half of Stray Kids took off running for the water.

“Help carry stuff,” Farris yelled at I.N, Seungmin, Han and Felix’s retreating backs. Only Felix slightly hesitated, but he followed everyone into the water anyway.

“We can handle it,” Changbin said as he loaded a bunch of the supplies into his arms and strode onto the sand. He could handle quite a bit, but the rest of us… Farris didn’t work out, Hyunjin was out of commission, Bang Chan helped him walk.

“Come on, Y/N,” Lee Know said as he grabbed supplies.

“We can handle the rest.” Farris pretended to roll up his sleeves, which only drew attention to his pale arms.

“Did you remember to put on sunscreen?” I asked as I grabbed one of the umbrellas and a bag of towels. Farris had been pretty insistent about Stray Kids putting on enough sunscreen. So insistent that they’d applied it again when we were looking for a parking spot. It wouldn’t do for them to show up sunburned at the next venue.

“I put it on at the hotel,” Farris said as he grabbed a couple of folded chairs and led the way to the beach. Bang Chan had picked a spot, dropped Hyunjin to the sand, and approached the water, calling out to the guys to be careful.

While the majority of Stray Kids played, we set up camp. A few chairs, two large umbrellas and a mess of towels. The last item to be pulled from the van was the cooler, which Bang Chan fetched. I sat with Farris, Lee Know and Hyunjin, watching Chan try to drag the cooler across the sand.

“When do you think he’ll figure out to pick it up?” Lee Know chuckled as Chan used both hands to pull the cooler. It only got harder as a pile of sand formed in front of it the more he pulled.

“Smart people aren’t the best at finding obvious solutions,” Farris said. No one offered Bang Chan any advice, but it didn’t matter. Halfway to our spot, Chan picked up the cooler and quickly made his way to us.

“Figured it out?” Lee Know asked with fake concern. Chan swatted at him, and Lee Know laughed before turning to walk to the edge of the water.

Opening the cooler, Chan helped himself to a bottle of water. The cooler was filled to the top with drinks and snacks, hopefully enough for all of the members. We could have found food near the beach, but there was no guarantee that it would be healthy. With the cooler, we were able to pack more protein than carbs. Perfect for the young men who needed to be fueled and in shape. I couldn’t help but eye the amount. It wouldn’t be enough.

Chan gulped down his water and wiped his mouth with the back of his arm. “Now it’s time for saltwater.” He jumped up and grabbed Hyunjin.

“Shouldn’t he rest?” I asked, but Hyunjin waved me off.

“I won’t stay out there long. Bang Chan will make sure of that.” The leader would make sure the members were safe. I should have expected as much. Both men shed their shirts and sandals, and then Chan helped Hyunjin to the water.

“Hyunjin’s ankle is looking better,” Farris said as he reclined in one of the chairs. “If he hadn’t pushed himself at last night’s show, the sprain would be fine by now.” When I didn’t respond, Farris coughed. “Not that I’m planning to lecture him again. I mean, he’ll be fine by the next concert.”

It was true. Hyunjin was walking a little better than the night before. When he was in the water, he let go of Chan and played around like he wasn’t hurt at all. Other people on the beach didn’t pay much attention to the screaming and laughing men. Those who did just admired their looks and walked on.

Leaving Stray Kids to their fun, I grabbed one of the beach bags. “Come here, Farris.” He listened without objection and joined me on the towels.

“What’s up?”

“Shirt and glasses off,” I instructed, pulling sunscreen from the bag. His cheeks reddened, and he looked at the group in the water. “None of them is going to save you.”

“I already put it on,” he muttered. But he did as I asked, stripping off his shirt. Farris was on the thinner side, probably because he didn’t take care of himself. There was more definition in his arms than his chest, and he had slightly defined abs.

Clearing my throat, I squirted sunscreen into my hand. “Turn around.”

Farris sighed and showed me his back. I reached out and hesitated an inch away from his skin. As his assistant, it shouldn’t be weird to assist him in putting on sunscreen, right? He didn’t protest when I pressed my hand against his back. In fact, there was almost no reaction. All he did was sit up straighter. As I applied the sunscreen, I kept my nerves in check and tried not to remind myself of the crush I had on the man.

“Arms up.” He lifted his arms, and I watched his shoulder blades shift. “You really need to eat more, Farris.”

“Saying I’m too skinny?” Farris asked with a hint of a laugh. “Don’t forget, I had food poisoning two days ago and jet lag.” Both could contribute to his poor state, but we also knew that wasn’t all.

“If you want enough energy to keep up with Stray Kids, you should eat more.” I inwardly groaned. I was definitely mothering the man I liked. “Turn around.”

When Farris turned to face me, his eyes met mine.

“Close your eyes,” I said, more harshly than I meant to. But I couldn’t look him in the eyes as I rubbed my hands all over his body. He’d be able to tell that I had feelings for him, which couldn’t happen. As my boss, he’d shut me down.

“You should eat dinner with me.”

When Farris said that, I froze with my hands on his cheeks. A date? Oh my god, did he know I liked him? Maybe I’d been too obvious, but none of the members said anything. Han would have mentioned it the night before if anyone suspected anything.

“If you want to make sure I’m eating right,” Farris continued. “It’s too easy to graze while I’m working. If I sit down for a proper meal, I’ll eat more.”

Not a date. My heart plummeted. I dropped my hands and placed the sunscreen at his feet. “You can get the rest, right?”

Farris opened his eyes, and his brow wrinkled with confusion.

“Of course he can,” Han said from behind me. I jolted and spun around to find him standing at the edge of the towels, dripping wet. His smile was tense, and he looked over my shoulder at Farris. “Making Y/N take care of you?”

“I don’t make her do anything.” Farris pushed his glasses onto his nose and tsked. “If you’re in a bad mood, take a nap. You should get more rest anyway, Han.”

Han’s eyes became unfocused, and he stumbled forward.

“Careful!” I jumped up and reached out to steady him. In a split second, his fatigued expression was replaced with a grin. I’d fallen into his trap. Han bent and grabbed me around the waist to hoist me onto his shoulder.

“Han,” I yelled as he walked toward the water. “Put me down right now before you hurt yourself.” I wiggled and then yelped when he gently slapped my butt.

“I’m more likely to get hurt if you wiggle around like that, Y/N. Or do you want us to fall over?” I went limp like a rag doll and he laughed. Since I was over his shoulder, I could see his back clearly. The man was more buff than I thought.

From the water, I heard Stray Kids chanting my name. They’d planned this. But I would have thought Chan or Changbin would try to carry me. Even if Han was strong, he wasn’t on their level.

“At least put me down so I can take off my cover up.” I hadn’t planned on going in the water, but I’d worn a bathing suit for tanning. My cover up looked more like a dress, and I’d done that so I could comfortably walk into a store, should the group need anything.

“Bring her in,” Seungmin screamed. We stood on the edge of the water, the sand dark beneath Han’s feet.

“If I put you down, you’ll run,” Han said matter-of-factly. “Your cover up can get wet.” Someone grabbed my ankle and tugged me from Han’s hold. He resisted for a moment, but let me slide down and stand on my own two feet.

“If she doesn’t want it getting wet, we need to listen to her.” Lee Know turned me to face him, and I tried to hide my surprise at him coming to my defense. That was considerate of him. Maybe he sympathized with me, since it didn’t look like he wanted to go into the water either.

Like a switch was flipped, Lee Know’s normally controlled expression shifted into a mischievous one. He grabbed the hem of my cover up and pulled. I had no choice but to lift my arms as he undressed me and tossed my cover up onto the dry sand.

“Come get that, Farris,” Lee Know yelled. His eyes locked with mine. “There’s no escaping, Y/N.”

That was an indisputable fact. The rest of Stray Kids waited in the waves. Lee Know stood at my back, blocking my escape as Han grabbed me again. I just laughed and half-heartedly struggled. The chanting started up again as Han walked me into the water. There was nothing I could do but surrender.   

Chapter Text

The best result of going to the beach was that it tired everyone out. Most of Stray Kids stayed up the rest of the night in preparation to go to the airport and fly to Germany. Not used to traveling outside of America, I underestimated how long that flight would be. Even when I’d prepared the schedule, it didn’t hit me. A 22-hour flight with one stop along the way.

I.N shared his sleeping pills, which my body accepted better than the ones Farris gave me on the last flight. The manager was out like a light as soon as we took off, and I followed suit not too long after. Our stop was only for an hour, and then back on the plane we went.

“That sucked,” I muttered when we finally landed in Germany. “Why do people even travel?” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and Farris gave a hollow laugh.

“It’s worth it for the destination. Though maybe not for us, since we’re not here to have fun.” He wasn’t tired exactly, which was nice to see. But he flinched at every sound and snapped when Stray Kids was too loud. Definitely in a mood.

“Everyone go to sleep as soon as we check in,” Bang Chan said, taking over since Farris was irritable and I hadn’t traveled internationally as much. I was more than happy to relinquish power, but because I wasn’t in charge, I observed more. Which meant I saw the pouty looks Han sent Chan’s way when he wasn’t looking. What happened?

Our time at the beach ended positively. Everyone was lighthearted and giddy. Even getting on the first flight hadn’t been bad. But somewhere along the journey, did Han get in trouble with Chan again? I decided to ignore it as we got a ride to our hotel. What could I do? There was no benefit to my playing therapist.

Chan took charge at the hotel, but when he assigned rooms, he was with Changbin and Han was with Lee Know. It couldn’t be a real falling out if he let those two room together.

Farris and I took the second elevator, letting Stray Kids go up before us.

“Do you know if Han is in trouble with Chan?” I whispered while we rode up to the sixth floor. Farris’ mood was only slightly better around me, but my quiet tone was clearly appreciated.

“Who knows?” Farris laughed and leaned back against the wall. “They weren’t too happy with me, either.”

My jaw dropped. “What? When?”

Farris covered a yawn, and the elevator opened onto our floor. “The night after the beach,” he mumbled. “They’re as temperamental as cats. Leave them be and they’ll sort it out. They always do.”

As a newcomer, I didn’t know the ins and outs of the relationships within Stray Kids, so there wasn’t much I could do. Besides, it seemed like things couldn’t be too bad if Han was rooming with Lee Know. And no one could stay mad at that cute face.

Once I was ready for bed, I called Chandler.

“You’re alive,” he almost screamed when I picked up. I winced and held the phone away from my ear. “Where have you been?”

“Australia. The time difference is major, not to mention my job duties take up most of my day.”

“And how is that going?”

I lay down in bed and picked at a spot on my shirt. “It’s fine.”

“Fine?”

“It’s good,” I corrected. “I love it, actually. Just all the travel is getting to me.”

Chandler hummed his sympathy. “Want to hear something that might cheer you up?”

After dealing with exhaustion and sudden bad moods, I could use a bit of good news. “Hit me.”

“Dad’s company is in trouble.”

My vision tunneled at the mention of our dad. Not our dad. Mr. Waber. I flashed back to our last encounter.

“I won’t leave you a penny,” he hissed as he watched me pack up my desk. Not that I had much to pack. With my job mainly involving trailing after my boss, the desk wasn’t used much. “You and your brother deserve each other.”

“You mean we deserve to have a loving and happy family? I couldn’t agree more.” I pulled my purse over my shoulder so hard that the leather strap creaked. Mr. Waber stood in all his glory. Custom blue suit, neatly buzzed black hair, and a professionally trimmed beard. His eyes burned with fury, and his look of disdain almost made my knees wobble.

“Chandler chose his family,” Mr. Waber said, folding his arms over his chest.

The office was empty, which gave him the freedom to act as he wanted. It was well known that he was a hardass. A man who was just about business and helping his clients. But no one knew how he treated me behind closed doors. To most, I was the assistant who got along with everyone. The one whom the clients interacted with regularly and whom they thanked almost daily. I’d been lucky to get a thanks from Mr. Waber once every three months.

“He chose an ungodly relationship over us. Over all of this.” Mr. Waber spread his arms out to indicate the office.

“He chose love,” I muttered as I walked past him. “Which is exactly what I’m doing. I hope your money can give you that, Mr. Waber. Because me and Chandler sure as hell won’t.”

The company was in trouble? My lips twitched to the side. What happened? Did he realize it was harder to assist clients than he thought? Or maybe he hired someone incompetent.

“How in trouble are we talking?” I asked as I turned to my side, and my heart fluttered with anticipation.

“Big trouble.” There was an obvious smile in Chandler’s voice. “Some major clients left him.”

Karma was a bitch.

Satisfaction warmed my core. If only I were there to witness Mr. Waber’s downfall. I’d have to do some research online and on social media to get more information. If I couldn’t be there in person, I’d bask in the downfall of the horrid man I used to call father, watching from afar.

“Thanks, Chandler. You really cheered me up. That’s the best news I’ve heard in weeks.” Even better than news of my employment. When the mighty fell, they fell hard, and the rest of the world grabbed popcorn to watch it happen.

Chapter Text

The next day, there was a role reversal. The Stray Kids members seemed to be in a funk, everyone sticking to their rooms. Not the end of the world, since it was a day off, but I still worried about them.

When afternoon hit and the members still kept to themselves, I stopped by Farris’ room.

“I was thinking of buying everyone some treats,” I explained when I entered his room. Farris, who’d quickly recovered from his bad mood, beamed at me.

“Well, I think that’s a great idea. I’ll tag along and stretch my legs.” He shoved his wallet into his pocket, sent a text to the group not to leave the hotel, and off we went.

The only sightseeing I would do in Germany would be while walking the streets or driving to the venue. I tried to look at everything as we went, but for some reason Farris felt like being a chatterbox.

“You worry about the group a lot,” he said as we walked to the nearest store. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy that you do. It means you care. But you know, everyone gets into a bad mood sometimes. And for the most part, the members are introverts.”

“Isn’t everyone a little introverted deep down?” I asked as we reached the store. Farris held the door for me and we talked quietly while browsing.

“Some members are true introverts,” he said as we looked at unique canned drinks. “Han, for example. When he wants alone time, it’s important to give it to him. And Lee Know hangs around for support. Hyunjin likes alone time to be creative and usually one member wants to stay in his vicinity. Normally, Changbin or I.N.”

The pairings lined up with what I'd observed so far. It didn’t feel like I knew each member on a personal level, so I didn’t understand exactly why the pairings happened.

“Let me guess,” I said, picking up a bag of candy. “Bang Chan is alone because he works a lot.” When Farris confirmed it with a nod, I felt good for at least knowing that much. “What about Felix and Seungmin?”

“They play games to relax. Sometimes I.N will join them. If everyone is in the mood for downtime, it’s best to let them be. There’s nothing to actually worry about.” Farris patted me on the shoulder as he grabbed a couple caffeinated drinks.

Browsing for a couple minutes, I picked up a couple more treats before saying, “It’s my job to worry. Can’t stop that. But I guess I can ease up a little on the mothering.”

“We could use some mothering,” a male voice said from behind me . I stiffened and turned, expecting Farris to be there. Instead, he was against the wall in what looked like an intense but hushed conversation with some slightly familiar men. The ones who’d cornered me, I could identify.

Miles crossed his arms and smiled at me. “What? You don’t want to foster us Havenly guys? We could use more of a woman’s touch.” He winked and my nose wrinkled with disgust. At his side stood Cardan and one man that I thought was Doyle. They all looked so much alike that it was difficult to tell them apart sometimes. Not that I’d spent enough time around them in the first place.

“Surprised your staff let you go shopping,” I said, putting down some of my items to have my hands free. The Havenly members wouldn’t do anything to me, but it felt safer not to be weighed down. “Patrick seemed like the overprotective mothering type.”

Cardan pressed his lips together in an effort not to smile. Miles glanced at the staff members who had Farris cornered. When I made eye contact with my boss, the man looked apologetic. If he was being talked to about work, it wasn’t as if he could just excuse himself. It looked like he wanted to, though. I took a step in his direction, only to be cut off by Doyle.

“Let the staff talk,” he suggested. “It’s all boring, anyway.”

“I’m staff,” I said, pointing to myself. “And if Farris needs me for something, I should be close by.”

When I made to move forward again, Doyle stayed planted in front of me.

“You’re an assistant,” he said with a slow smile. “Assistants don’t need to be everywhere all the time. Patrick isn’t here either.” The man was noticeably absent. If he were around, he’d have kept this from happening. That, or he’d have convinced the men to leave. The manager that Havenly seemed to be more obedient with couldn’t be present either. I had no idea who that was or what they looked like, but from my backstage encounter it was clear the manager was in total control. This encounter would never have occurred if the staff that came with Havenly had any real authority.

“I guess your group is different from ours," I said with a little shrug. "As an assistant, I like being on hand. Being everywhere all the time is a goal of mine.”

“Really?” Miles asked, taking a step closer. With shelves at my back, I was almost boxed in. Cardan was the only one not uncomfortably close to me, but I knew he could step forward any second. “You must be a really hard worker.”

“Womanly trait,” Doyle guessed, eyeing me up and down. “Our team lacks that womanly touch. You’re just so much better at multitasking than guys.”

“Not to disparage our gender,” Cardan said. But I noticed he hadn’t stepped forward. In fact, it almost looked like he’d moved to the side. “Men like your boss and our staff are great. It would be nice to have someone like you on our team, though.”

Deciding the opening was left purposefully, I slipped through it, opting to brush against Cardan instead of pushy Doyle.

“I think your team is big enough to get things done,” I said as the three turned to face me. Miles made a move as if to grab at me, but suddenly Farris was there.

“Poaching my assistant?” he asked. My spine stiffened and glanced over at him. A fake smile was plastered on his face, his eyes cold and tone even colder. “That’s not very nice. I’m sure your staff would agree.”

As the three Havenly staff members joined their group, the corner of the store felt claustrophobic. Other customers looked our way occasionally, but no one had pulled out a phone to record us yet.

“I’m unpoachable,” I said, laughing a little as I took Farris’ arm. “Thanks for the compliments, guys. This mothering assistant needs to get these treats back to the kids.” I steered Farris, turning him toward the registers so we could make a fast exit. The Havenly members stayed in place with their staff, though I felt their eyes on my back. After we paid and as we hurried out the door, Doyle’s voice carried across the store.

“See you tomorrow, Y/N.”

Out on the street, we kept a brisk pace back to the hotel.

“Are they in the same hotel as us or just nearby?”

“Nearby," Farris said. "It wasn’t originally planned that way. I’ll have to check with their manager to see what’s up.”

Farris’ voice was still tense, his strides eating up the pavement, fueled by anger rather than fear. I wasn’t sure exactly what I felt. Maybe I was scared of Havenly. Mostly, they annoyed me. Our encounters weren’t often enough for me to nail down my emotions. But they were certainly rude.

“I’d think a group that famous wouldn’t go out like that,” I admitted when we were in the safety of the hotel elevator.

“Some countries are considered safer,” Farris said, sighing as he leaned back against the wall. “A staff member likely did a check on local social media to see if it would be dangerous to have them go around town. It’s better if it’s only a few members at a time. Stray Kids goes out like that when they have the chance.”

That sounded like a thing of the past. We were with the group at all times. Maybe the incident with Serena made Stray Kids a little more cautious.

Farris laughed a little as the elevator opened up onto their floor. “Don’t go chasing after Havenly now that you’ve gotten a good look at some of the members.” He led the way back to their rooms, hollow laughter drifting back to me. After everything Farris did to try to get me to stick around, he sounded actually nervous that I might switch to Havenly. How many times did I have to prove myself?

“You think I’d abandon Stray Kids for some pretty boys?” I asked as we stopped in front of Farris’ room.

“No? Maybe? I don’t know your preferences.” Farris fished his wallet from his pocket, pulling out his keycard before glancing my way. “I mean, the way you agreed to go on the tour suggests you don’t have a partner waiting back home. And Havenly are a good-looking bunch.”

Farris didn’t want to be left alone again, trying to manage Stray Kids while somehow keeping his head above water. That was obvious. But I frowned at the guarded look in his eyes. It was too much to hope he might also be jealous but…

“I don’t have a partner,” I confirmed. “No time.” Was it my imagination or did he look relieved? “Besides, none of the Havenly men are my type.”

“Really?” Farris cleared his throat and opened his door. “Sorry. That isn’t appropriate to ask. I just knew they’d try something with you. Made me nervous.” With a little self-deprecating laugh, he stepped into his room. “But let me know if they bug you, alright? Their staff may not get along much with me, but I doubt their manager wants another scandal while touring. I might be able to get him to see reason.”

I nodded and held up my bag of purchases. “I’ve got my hands full with the kids. Trust me, I won’t even be around for them to bug. No need to get their dreaded manager involved.”

“That would be best,” he said with a smile. “Anyway, I’ve got a few things to do. Let me know if you need anything or if our members bug you.”

“Oh, I will. Though I’ll be bugging them by dropping off treats. But I intend to make myself scarce immediately afterward. Let me know if you need anything.”

After Farris closed the door, I stared at it for a moment. The conversation had been odd, but weren’t most conversations that weren’t focused on work a little peculiar? It didn’t mean Farris might have feelings for me. Shaking myself, I tried to get the suspicions off of my back. Assuming wouldn’t lead anywhere good. Turning, I went to deliver my purchases to the members. Life would be simpler if I focused on what I should. Work.

Chapter Text

“How could you forget your shoes?” Farris was obviously trying not to scold Han, but forgetting part of a costume was sort of a big deal when the group had to match.

“I took them out of the bag to clean them…” Poor Han looked sheepishly at Lee Know for help, but none of the older members were showing sympathy. Felix stepped up beside him and wrapped an arm around Han’s shoulders.

“It’s an honest mistake,” Felix said, locking eyes with Farris. “He probably didn’t want to make you or Y/N clean up after him. Right?” Han nodded and glanced my way, seeking my help. Which I’d give, of course. When had I been put on defense?

“It’s fine,” I said, stepping into Farris’ line of sight, cutting off his exasperated look. “I’ll just head back to the hotel and grab them. Shouldn’t be long.” I turned to Han and held out my hand. “Keycard?”

With a grateful look, Han rushed to his bag. Farris stepped closer to me, his voice lowered. “Thanks. I would go, but soundcheck is in five minutes…”

“I’ll be back before it’s even over,” I assured him as Han returned with his keycard. As I walked out of the greenroom, I tensed and looked over my shoulder. Both Bang Chan and Lee Know were watching me, expressions unreadable. I rushed back to the hotel, trying not to dwell on it. They hadn’t been mad at me; at least I didn’t think so. Their expressions were controlled, but if anything, they might be concerned.

“It’s not like I’m incompetent,” I said to myself as I opened Han’s door. “Getting around a foreign country isn’t that hard when I have my phone.”

That had been a concern, going on tour overseas. But that concern dried up almost immediately. As long as I had service, I was fine. After grabbing Han’s shoes, I got a ride back to the venue with no problem. Walking toward the greenroom, I smiled to myself. Stray Kids was still doing soundcheck.

“You’re their dog too? Playing fetch?”

I’d been so glad that I’d gotten back in time that I hadn’t considered another reason Lee Know and Bang Chan might be worried. Leaving me on my own in the venue meant I was an easy target.

Miles and Holland stood outside the greenroom door, leaning on the wall like they were waiting for me. Had they seen me leave earlier? Or did they notice I wasn’t backstage or in the greenroom? Either way, I didn’t really like that they were looking for me at all.

“Mothering,” I corrected Miles. “Mothers grab things their kids forget.”

Holland’s brows lifted and he looked at Miles. “You were right. She is their mom. I like that… Want it, actually.” When he looked back at me, I reconsidered stepping past them and into the greenroom. Holland had the same mindset as Miles and gave off the same gross feeling. Getting closer wouldn’t be smart.

“You’ve got Patrick. Even better than a mother, in my opinion. Where is he anyway?” I looked down the hall toward the bigger greenroom. Some of Havenly’s security milled around, but I didn’t see their other staff members. Was everyone inside the greenroom? If they were, hadn’t they noticed the group was short two members?

Both men pushed away from the wall, and I almost stepped backward. If I couldn’t threaten them physically, it was better to show no fear. I planted my feet, not moving an inch.

“Maybe we shouldn’t ask you to mother us,” Miles said, his eyes traveling the length of my body. “I think I just like the idea of you taking care of us.”

“You’d do it much better than Patrick.” Holland chuckled. “And you could be much more… hands on.”

My grip on Han’s shoes tightened. Hitting one of them on the thigh wouldn’t do damage. They’d still be able to perform. But maybe a small attack would make them feel like I wasn’t fun to mess with. Or… it could have the opposite effect and they’d find me amusing.

Before I could decide what to do, the door to their greenroom opened.

“I’ll find them,” Patrick said as he stepped into the hall. Neither Miles nor Holland paid any attention to their assistant’s voice, or so much as glanced in Patrick’s direction when it was clear the man saw them. What got them moving was another voice from the greenroom.

“If they miss warm-ups, everyone is gonna pay for it.”

One sentence. The man’s voice was deep. Liquidized steel, laced with strength and a threat. The man didn’t know Holland and Miles were within earshot, but the voice had a similar effect on everyone. I held my breath. Miles and Holland’s eyes widened. Patrick nearly tripped over his feet. He didn’t have to fetch the members; without saying bye to me, the two creeps turned and rushed to their greenroom.

Patrick shot me an accusatory look, and I just shrugged. It wasn’t my fault he couldn’t keep his members in line. I hadn’t asked to be harassed. All three men entered their greenroom and I returned to ours, trying to ignore the uneasy feeling in my gut.

The authoritative voice had to belong to their manager. The only staff member Havenly took seriously. From the man’s voice, I could understand why people rushed to obey him. Just his voice left me a little shaken, so much so that when Stray Kids returned, they could tell something was off.

“Got the shoes,” I said, handing them to Han.

“Thank you!” He grabbed me in a hug and I let him; it felt like it could wash away the lingering negative feelings. Felix joined the hug too, as thanks, but he probably sensed something was wrong with me. Farris rushed around with the members to finish prepping, Han and Felix getting back to their stations. But as I sat down on the couch, I could feel eyes on me. Risking a glance, I found three pairs of eyes this time.

Chan’s concern was obvious. Lee Know’s not so much, but his eyes followed my every movement. Changbin was more subtle, looking at me from the corner of his eye. Though the three acted differently, I knew they all suspected something. The question was, who would be the first to ask me what happened. I’d need to get my story straight for whoever took the first step after the concert. 

Chapter Text

As a strong and independent woman, I wasn’t the type to crave protection from men. But I was uncomfortable enough with Havenly to allow it.

“Stay here,” Farris said as the guys got ready to return to the stage. “See if you can find out if Havenly got a hotel close to us in the next location.”

Flimsy as an excuse, but still a good idea. Farris had been whispering with Bang Chan before approaching me, so it was clearly something they’d planned together. Standing in the wings during their performance didn’t put me at risk. I’d be within sight of everyone. Of course, Farris couldn’t watch me and Stray Kids at the same time. And we were guests on Havenly’s tour. Most people would side with Havenly if anything happened.

“Sure,” I agreed from my seat on the couch. “Maybe a hotel will admit to a block of rooms being reserved.” A reputable hotel would be smarter than that, but there was no harm in trying.

Tension in Farris’ shoulders visibly relaxed. “Good. Thanks. Then we’ll head out. Come on, guys!”

He’d expected me to push back. I always wanted to help him and I felt more useful standing in the wings, but I’d been given a task to focus on. That was enough reason for me to just go along with what he said. Stray Kids left the greenroom, Bang Chan trailing behind. When we were the last ones in the room, he stopped and turned toward me.

“I’m locking the door. Only open it for us.”

“What?” I asked with a smirk. “No secret knock?”

Chan chuckled and shook his head. “You’ll know it’s us.”

When he was gone, I got to work. There were only a couple hotels in the next location that would have been acceptable for a famous group to stay at. Poking around didn’t give exact answers, but within ten minutes I at least knew that Havenly wasn’t staying at our hotel. It was easier to confirm, since we were already guests and tied to the group. Not that I’d expected them to be in our hotel, but I felt at ease knowing I wouldn’t run into them randomly in the hall.

Stray Kids had only just started performing as I wrapped up my research, so after checking the time difference, I called Chandler.

“Aren’t you working?” he asked as soon as he answered.

“I’m working backstage. You can hear the music.” I lifted the phone away from my ear and toward the speaker set up in the corner.

“Hell yes, I can! That group of yours is pretty amazing.”

“They aren’t mine,” I argued, putting him on speakerphone as I typed up an email. “But I think they’re pretty talented. Have you been listening to their music?”

Chandler scoffed. “Not just that. I’ve done internet stalking and fallen down the rabbit hole. Gotta know who my sister is hanging around.”

“Don’t tell me anything. I’ve been avoiding online gossip and unconfirmed information. I want to get to know them on my own.”

“Of course you do,” Chandler said with a laugh. “You’re too much of a people person, you know that?” I didn’t argue. Being a people person was a skill I’d learned while working for Mr. Waber. “Well, I’ll just say that your employers seem like good guys. It’s nice to know you’re not traveling with a bunch of assholes.”

My fingers paused on the keys. Technically, I was traveling with a handful of assholes. Havenly didn’t exactly travel with us, but we were in the same locations. There wasn’t a reason for Chandler to know about them being a problem. I could do my own research on Havenly and it was better not to worry my little brother.

“Stray Kids are good guys for sure,” I agreed. “But it’s like watching you when you’ve had too much caffeine.”

“Except multiplying it,” Chandler said cheerfully. “Makes you miss how easy I was, huh?”

“Duh. But I miss you regardless.”

“Aw! Are you homesick, Y/N?”

“No. I just miss you.” There wasn’t much of a home to miss. I had an apartment that I’d never spent much time in before becoming unemployed. It was a place to sleep, but it wasn’t a home. The house I’d grown up in wasn’t much of a home either, except for Chandler’s bright presence. Home was where your heart was and mine was with my brother.

“When your tour is over, you need to come stay with us! You’ll have enough money. Or we could fly out to one of your venues!”

“I like the sound of both options,” I said warmly. “But I wish I’d gotten a chance to see you before I left. Feels like it’s been forever.”

An unanswered question lingered in the back of my mind. Did Stray Kids need an assistant when they weren’t on tour? From the sound of things, Farris was their manager 100% of the time. My contract technically ended with the tour, but what if they asked me to stay permanently?

“Did you get a chance to look into Dad’s company?”

My mood instantly soured. “You mean Mr. Waber? Not yet. Did it go up in flames?”

“Not quite. But it isn’t good.” As Chandler went into detail about rumors floating around, I looked up more concrete gossip. Big names had actually ended their contracts. There was a photo taken from afar, and it looked like Mr. Waber was arguing with someone on the set of a TV show. A newer client I hadn’t gotten to know.

Part of me felt pleased. Things should fall apart without me. It couldn’t have happened to a more deserving man. But I felt bad for the people Mr. Waber was in charge of. His temper was horrible, but he’d hidden it. Without me as a buffer and a punching bag, he only had a few employees and smaller clients to bully now.

“It won’t fall apart altogether,” I admitted to Chandler as the last Stray Kids song played over the speaker. “He’ll lose big names, but smaller clients won’t have the guts to leave.”

“He’ll lose money and I’m totally here for that! A small win is still a win, Y/N.”

I shut my laptop. “You’re right. Gotta celebrate the small victories. And hey, it doesn’t even matter to us. It isn’t like we’re getting any money.”

“Right,” Chandler said as I got to my feet and stretched. “And just think, maybe the only money he’ll be left with will be enough for the nursing home he’ll eventually die in.”

I rolled my eyes. “Keep dreaming. I don’t care where he ends up as long as we don’t have to take care of him.” Outside the greenroom door, I could hear the group coming. Their normal volume levels were already high. After the concert, they took it up a notch. “Gotta go, Chandler.”

“Okay. Call me whenever you get the chance. Love you.”

“Love you, too.” After hanging up, I opened the door for the group. Stray Kids spilled inside, the usual after performance energy filling the room. Their excitement was contagious, and I chatted with Felix and Hyunjin as they went into detail about the vibes of the crowd during a dance break. But even though everyone was in good spirits, I had a lingering worry in the back of my mind.

Someone would be confronting me at the hotel. But it wouldn’t really matter if they questioned me. Havenly was the headliner and I was a lowly assistant. Even if Stray Kids wanted to help me, I wouldn’t put them in that position. Deny and lie. That was my plan for my inevitable interrogation. 

Chapter Text

The knock on my door came an hour after we returned to the hotel. In that time, I’d been able to shower and get ready for whoever decided to come. The group normally washed up right after the concert, unless they had enough energy to go to the gym first. I held my breath as I opened the door.

“Can we come in?” Chan stood there, hair still wet from a shower, his expression serious. Beside him, to my surprise, was Changbin.

“Sure.” I stepped aside so they could enter. As they passed, the mingled scents of their body wash shook me from my daze. My money had been on Bang Chan, of course. Lee Know had been attentive and more talkative lately too. But Changbin had never gotten involved with anything outside of my day-to-day job duties.

They sat at my little table and I sat on my bed, facing them. It was silent for a while, but I didn’t want to go first. If they had questions, they’d need to take the initiative.

“Have you been alright?” Changbin asked when Chan didn’t make the first move. “You seemed off in the greenroom.” 

“I’m totally fine.” Short. To the point. And technically I was fine.

Chan sighed, aware that the right question hadn’t been asked. “Y/N. Did you have an encounter with Havenly tonight?”

“We bumped into each other in the hallway. Not literally, of course.” I laughed it off, but neither joined in. “Why are you guys so worried? I said I’m fine.”

“You’re not completely,” Chan said, narrowing his eyes as he tried to discern if I was hiding something important. “Havenly… they aren’t the nicest group. Farris said you’d run into them yesterday too. That they suggested you work for them.”

Farris. I sighed and rubbed the back of my neck. Of course, Farris would talk it over with Bang Chan. It shouldn’t have been a big deal if presented the right way.

“It was just a random job offer.”

“They cornered you in the store,” Chan snapped. “That’s unacceptable.”

From Farris’ point of view, it probably looked like a bad situation. Sure, I wasn’t thrilled about it, but I hadn’t been in danger. Running into Havenly at the venue was more dangerous. There were less eyes, and those eyes belonged to people on Havenly’s payroll.

“Look. I understand that you’re worried. Worried I’ll switch sides or worried they’ll do something to me. But I swear I can take care of myself. And Stray Kids is my number one priority. There’s no reason for me to quit and work for Havenly. The job offer wasn’t even that serious. If it were, someone else on their team would’ve brought it up.” The thought of Havenly’s team brought their mysterious manager to my mind. I frowned at the thought of him offering me a job. I’d say no, but I didn’t even want it to come to that.

Changbin shifted in his chair and Chan relaxed in his, the roles transferring without verbal confirmation needed. When he looked at me, really looked at me, I froze. He’d been quiet, but he’d been watching. Taking everything in.

“You’re not scared, you’re nervous. And you should be. We’re not worried you’ll leave us willingly, but there are ways they could make you want to leave. Havenly doesn’t respect anyone, not even each other. Probably they’d only listen to JYP or their manager.” I flinched reflexively, making Changbin frown and glance at Chan.

“The manager didn’t make contact, did he?” Chan asked, his body tense once again. Everyone was on edge when it came to that man and I hadn’t even seen him. It didn’t calm my nerves at all, and I swallowed hard.

“Nope. Haven’t seen or talked to him.” When Chan and Changbin both wordlessly stared at me I admitted, “I just heard him from their greenroom. The way Miles and Holland ran to obey him was an odd sight to see.” 

Changbin’s face scrunched up with disgust. “It was those two who approached you tonight? No need to go into detail then. I’m sure we know what they talked about.”

“Let us know if they’re inappropriate,” Chan insisted. “We’re the smaller group, but we might be able to fix the situation. Like you noticed, they will listen to their manager.”

“But would the manager listen to us?” I glanced between the two of them. “You both seem uneasy about the man. Farris didn’t even want to talk to him about yesterday’s Havenly encounter. Is the man worse than the group he manages?” 

That was hard to believe. At least he couldn’t be worse in the same areas. Havenly didn’t seem actually dangerous. They were scumbags and full of themselves. If we were alone long enough, I felt they might try to make a move. The manager had to be something else entirely.

“You can look him up if you want to,” Chan said, nodding to my laptop on the bedside table. “Of course, you won’t find everything out. But his credentials are impressive. He’s worked with a lot of people. Idols, movie stars, even a politician or two. The connections alone make going against him a stupid decision.”

“Why is he working for JYP then? Shouldn’t he have his own company?”

Chan exchanged a look with Changbin before saying, “We think he owed JYP a favor. Even if that isn’t the case, managing Havenly is probably one of the easiest jobs he’s had in awhile, so I’m sure he doesn’t care that much. With a snap of his fingers, he can bring the group to heel. But it’s the same in a lot of different situations. That’s what makes anyone hesitant when approaching him.”

The guy sounded like a millionaire politician or crime boss, if he had that much power. If he wanted something, it would happen. Asking for favors from him probably led to a horrible price down the line.

“How come I’ve never heard of the guy? What’s his name?”

Chan looked at my laptop, knowing I’d be doing research later. “Wang Ji-ho. English name is Marcus Wang. He’s a behind the scenes sort of guy. A puppeteer in every industry he enters. You’ll find some articles mentioning him, but he’s never the focus.”

“Don’t actually seek him out,” Changbin said, leaning forward to grab my attention. “Even if you think it’s better to go around Farris so he doesn’t have debts to pay in the future.”

I let out a soft laugh. “Why would I talk to the man myself? He sounds scary.” Not that I hadn’t dealt with scary people before. My own father wasn’t the nicest person. He didn’t have the connections that Wang Ji-ho did, but he wasn’t exactly a harmless kitten.

“Y/N. I know that if something bad happened, you’d protect Farris and the group. You’d get Patrick to take you to Wang Ji-ho and take care of the issue yourself without even telling us.” Changbin’s mouth twitched into a little smile. “Don’t try to deny it.”

At the moment, I truly believed I would never want to lay eyes on the man. But at my core, I knew Changbin was right. Just the thought of Farris’ face when he’d talked about the manager made the protective side of me begin to boil.

Chan reached out and took my hand, prompting me to meet his eyes. “We know you can protect yourself and that you always want to protect us. It’s comforting to know, really. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come to us for help. It doesn’t mean that putting yourself in harm’s way is the solution.”

“Talk to us,” Changbin said, reaching out to take my other hand. “Ask us. We’ll try to help in whatever way we can. Just don’t leave us out of the loop and put yourself at risk.”

I squeezed their hands and smiled. “Alright. I’ll include you. Farris too. It’s better to work as a team anyway.”

To an extent, I meant what I said. Stray Kids had faith in me. They cared about me. It happened quickly, but I felt the same about them and Farris. I wanted to be part of the team and I planned on being more open about problems that arose. But there was a limit. Even if I didn’t acknowledge it at that very moment, there were situations that I’d need to handle myself. If it meant facing off with an evil puppet master, so be it.  

Chapter Text

After all the talk about Havenly and their manager, I’d expected something to happen during the next concert. Farris suggested I stick to the greenroom again, but easily gave up when I objected. It wasn’t like staying in the greenroom would keep me safe.

Standing offstage, I was on high alert, expecting someone to bother me. All that tension was for nothing. None of Havenly’s members or their staff appeared. I didn’t even see Patrick in the hallways. The night was completely uneventful and I decided it had to be because of Wang Ji-ho.

If Havenly’s manager didn’t want them causing any grief, they’d listen to him. I doubted he was doing it for my benefit. At least, I hoped he wasn’t. If a man like that thought that I owed him…

The next day was our free day before we’d leave for the next location. With nothing planned, I figured everyone wanted to rest, so I stayed in my room until I got a text.

Farris: We’re thinking of renting out a spa for the afternoon. You interested?

Y/N: Is it a unisex spa?

Farris: No. But that means you’d get to relax on your own.

My shoulders still ached from the tension caused during the talk with Changbin and Bang Chan. It would be nice to soak or get a professional massage.

Y/N: I couldn’t leave you with the whole group while I just relaxed.

Farris: I’ll be going with them anyway. You’re either on your own here or there.

Y/N: Good point. Alright then. I’ll go.

Never before had I felt more relaxed than when I was at the spa. Sure, I could hear the guys being loud in their area, but I was all on my own in the women’s section. The staff provided me with everything I needed and pampered me like I was actually a VIP. It was absolutely perfect. That alone should have hinted that a storm was brewing.

When we flew to the next location, everyone was still chill from their spa day. Unfortunately, we had to go straight to soundcheck after dropping the bags off at the hotel. Because I wasn’t exactly needed during soundcheck, I stayed in the greenroom to set things up for the concert and get some paperwork done. Just when I was pulling up some extracurriculars we might do on the group’s day off, the greenroom door opened.

“What do you need?” I asked without looking up. It couldn’t be a Stray Kids member; I could hear them practicing on stage. Which left me with Patrick showing up to irritate me again or one of the Havenly guys coming to have a suggestive conversation. Not giving them attention seemed like my best bet.

“Are you always so serious? I find it hard to believe considering who you’re working for.”

My fingers paused on the keyboard of my laptop. Silently, I prayed it was just a Havenly member I hadn’t met yet or someone from their staff. But the man’s voice sounded familiar, even though he wasn’t yelling.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that,” I said as I slowly looked at the man who’d entered. As usual, I hadn’t done my research immediately after being told about Havenly’s manager. That meant I had no idea what the man looked like and for a moment, I was thrown off.

Wang Ji-ho looked like a retired Kpop idol who’d maintained his looks. Possibly in his forties, his features were sharp, lips full, and skin flawless. Though he practically radiated authority, he wore a simple blue sweater and dark slacks. Even his smile was friendly as he shut the door to the greenroom. Despite his outward appearance screaming to be drawn to him, the sound of the door closing made my stomach drop.

“What I mean is that the group you’re working for isn’t exactly…” Ji-ho paused, looking up as if searching for the right word. “They aren’t very professional. Not the type of clients you’d normally work with.” The man smiled at me, his dark eyes warm and inviting. I glanced at the door again, but I could still hear Stray Kids practicing. No one was coming to interrupt the encounter I’d longed to avoid.

Closing the laptop, I forced myself to relax as I met his eyes. “Have we met? I don’t think we have. Wouldn’t it be rude to assume someone’s background? It’s also rude to try insulting my employers.”

Ji-ho chuckled as he walked around the greenroom. Though his smile stayed in place, his eyes were critical of everything he saw. It didn’t compare to whatever Havenly had. When he looked at me, the critical assessment was gone. Like he’d already assessed me and approved of me—

“I’m not assuming your background, Y/N. May I call you Y/N?” He didn’t allow me to answer. “I looked into you and read your resume. It’s a short resume, to be fair, but your experience is commendable. Your father was a fool to let you get away.”

My stomach rolled and I swallowed hard. “I’m sure Mr. Waber knows what he’s doing,” I said, my voice trailing off as if leaving the thought unfinished. Would the man show just how much he knew about me? From what I’d been told, Ji-ho probably had the connections to learn a lot if he wanted to. What I found absurd was that he wanted to look into me at all.

“Oh, Mr. Waber has no clue what he’s doing. Pretty sure he’s regretting his homophobia now that he’s hemorrhaging money.”

It took effort not to react to his words. He’d done his research. Was it really just because Havenly wanted me to work with them? Though they’d been pushy, I didn’t really take the suggestion of a job seriously. It was obvious the members just wanted to sleep with me. That fact, plus the clear hatred from Patrick, was enough to not even give the offer a second thought.

“What can I help you with, Mr. Wang?” Stray Kids was finishing up over the speaker. Ji-ho didn’t seem in a rush to leave, but I didn’t want him around my group. Farris might panic at the sight of the man and I didn’t know what the members would do. We didn’t hold the power here. One wrong move and who knew what would happen?

Ji-ho smirked and stepped closer. “I merely wanted to see the woman who has my group tied up in knots and Patrick foaming at the mouth. Truthfully, you are lovely. I understand why they want you. But after looking at your experience, I must confess that I want you as well.”

“Havenly has enough staff, don’t they? I wouldn’t offer much support.”

He shrugged and turned toward the door. “Partially true. Your only experience with the Kpop world is with Stray Kids and well… they aren’t exactly top tier.”

My nausea vanished as I latched on to righteous anger. Not that I voiced my thoughts, it wouldn’t be a good idea considering who Ji-ho was, but I glared at him. Of course, he turned to look at me just at that moment. His eyes widened for a second at my expression, then he laughed. It wasn’t even an evil chuckle, just a full-on honest laugh that, again, would make people like him. The man was dangerous for sure.

“Don’t be mad, Y/N. Though it’s admirable and also an attractive quality to be dedicated to a group as small as Stray Kids, you must think of yourself as well.” He stopped with his hand on the doorknob. “We have more money and more influence. You’d be busier, which I’m sure you’re used to. Hell, you likely crave that sort of work after being at your father’s company for so long. What you’re doing now doesn’t utilize your skills. With Stray Kids, you’re nothing but a babysitter. You keep the kids in line and keep Farris from falling apart. Or am I wrong?”

The music on stage had stopped, so I knew Stray Kids would show up any second. The man needed to leave.

“This job won’t even last,” Ji-ho said, opening the greenroom door. “And even if it did, you’d get bored pretty quickly. Think it over, Y/N. The job you have now is a downgrade from working for your father. With Havenly, you’ll have surpassed anything your father could ever hope to achieve. You’re a smart woman. Weigh the pros and cons. Let me know what logical conclusion you come to and find me with your decision.”

After he stepped out of the room, I sighed and slumped on the couch. My state of blissful relaxation was over. Most of what Wang Ji-ho said was true, but that didn’t matter. Working with Stray Kids might be considered babysitting, but working with Havenly would be hell. No was my obvious answer. I just needed to find a way for Ji-ho and Havenly to accept it without causing Stray Kids any damage.     

Chapter Text

“The end is coming.”

Stomach churning, I looked up from my laptop. Farris sat opposite me in his hotel room, clicking away at his keys.

“It’s not even that close…”

When he looked up, I dropped my eyes. Ever since our last concert in Germany, I’d been on edge, which was nonsensical. Just turning down working for Havenly shouldn’t cause the end of the world. Besides, with the tour coming to an end, it was strange for them even to suggest it.

“When I can count the tour stops on one hand, it’s close to the end,” Farris said. I could feel his eyes on me, but I didn’t look up. Pretending to be in business mode had saved me from questions after my secret meeting with Wang Ji-ho. On the flight from Germany to Paris, I acted too tired to talk, which was partially true. I’d stayed up late talking to Chandler about our dad’s company.

“It’s falling apart pretty quickly,” Chandler admitted. “Quicker than I thought possible. But there aren’t any major scandals adding to the problems. Looks like he’s just really bad at managing things without you.”

“That’s ridiculous. Anyone is replaceable. Sure, I worked hard, but he could survive by hiring multiple assistants to replace me.”

Chandler’s laugh eased my worries. Life sometimes felt like a tornado was approaching and I had no shelter in sight. But knowing my little brother was happy, even if he was far away from me, helped calm me down.

“Remember your brief stint in fast food? Just from that, Dad should’ve known he’d need multiple people to fill your job.”

“Ugh. Don’t remind me.” Technically, working for our dad hadn’t been my first job. It was just the one that counted and looked professional. In high school, I worked at a taco place for six months. It was stressful and mind-numbing at the same time, not to mention degrading thanks to rude customers.

“The smell alone made Dad increase your allowance, so you’d quit,” Chandler said with a sigh. “He would never do that for me. And those poor people hired three employees to replace you!”

Being a hard worker was just in my blood, no matter the job. But I was behind the scenes. Even my updated LinkedIn didn’t reflect just how much I gave to a job. That was why it made me uneasy when Ji-ho said he’d looked into me. There shouldn’t have been a way for him to know how hard I actually worked. In fact, it made more sense to assume I was a nepo baby and worked for my dad because I couldn’t find another job.

“The schedule is pretty open,” I said to Farris, finally meeting his eyes. “Do the guys have something else planned, or are we just resting?”

“Havenly is filming something here before we fly to London. And since Havenly will be out of the way, Stray Kids can go out and play.”

“Play?” I repeated, my brows lifting. “You mean as a group, right?”

Farris shook his head, his expression bright. “Nope. I mean, they are free to do whatever they want. You are too. Paris is a safer location. There’s free time in London too. The tail-end of a tour is normally spaced out a little.”

Saying ‘a little’ felt like an understatement compared to our previous stops. Stray Kids would stay in Paris for an entire week. There were two concerts scheduled back to back, but four free days followed. In London, we’d have two days off, one concert, and then three days before returning to Korea.

The part I didn’t want to think about was the two whole weeks off we had in Korea. I didn’t know what I’d do with my time. That might be when Farris decided to cut me loose. There wouldn’t be much to do after that. Stray Kids and Havenly would perform three shows in Japan before returning to Korea for two encore performances. They’d started the tour there months ago, before I’d even known they’d existed. 

“Guess I can catch up on some rest,” I said, looking down at my screen. It would be better to stay indoors. Havenly would be busy, but who knew what staff members would be lurking?

“Y/N. I forbid you from locking yourself away.” Farris closed his laptop, leaning back in his chair to scowl at me. “It’s Paris. You’ve never been here before, right? Do some sightseeing.”

“I dunno…”

“The members won’t let you stay in the hotel,” he said with a knowing smile. “Even if it’s just shopping, get out there. Your paycheck is big enough for you to save and splurge.”

Splurge? I had everything I needed either back home or in my suitcases. “I guess I could buy some souvenirs for my brother and his partner…” My paycheck was generous, but I didn’t know if I’d have a job after the tour ended. It was better to be safe with my money.

“There you go! Buy some stuff. Maybe even another suitcase to fit it all in.”

“That’s a bit much,” I protested. “I’ll stick to some small things and ship them home.”

Farris frowned and adjusted his glasses. “I guess you could, but I always feel better putting things in my carryon. And then I can hand over the gifts personally.”

Personally? My stomach tied into knots. Then he expected me to go home. Obviously, I thought so too, or I wouldn’t still be paying rent on my apartment. But saying I’d be able to hand my gifts directly to Chandler was like Farris confirming I’d be leaving.

“Great idea,” I said, swallowing down my disappointment. “Maybe I should stick to smaller things then.”

“Just don’t go crazy,” Farris teased. “It’s easy to spend a lot in Paris. We should go out to some of the restaurants too! The City of Love has extravagant sights but also decadent tastes. Can’t miss that.”

The knots in my stomach transformed into butterflies when Farris and I stared at each other. His smile was a little hesitant and he cleared his throat before speaking. “I mean, if you’d like to join me. I’ve been here a handful of times, so I’m sure I can find something that’ll blow your mind.”

My cheeks burned but I nodded. “Of course. I bet I’ll have a better time going with you.” Part of me wanted to ask if it was a date, but I couldn’t voice the question. Trying to define anything might ruin my chances. The City of Love, two people going out for food… alone. Anything could happen.   

Chapter Text

With the flight to Paris being less than 2 hours long, even Stray Kids didn’t want to sleep. I’d fully expected at least Han to nap, but everyone was wide awake and talkative. Seeing there was no real work for me to do, Farris asked me to exchange seats with Bang Chan so they could talk. My nerves kicked into high gear, but I listened to him and watched as they bent their heads together and whispered.

“It won’t be a secret for long.”

I turned to my new seat partner and Felix smiled at me.

“What they’re whispering about,” he clarified. “As long as it isn’t something bad, Chan will probably tell us. Or Farris will accidentally let it slip.” Han turned around in his seat, nodding enthusiastically.

“It’s a fact that our group can’t really keep secrets,” Han said, ignoring the looks Seungmin was throwing his way in an attempt to quiet him down. We were in business class, which meant more room, but also we were around working professionals. Stray Kids, Farris and I were all seated in the same area, but that didn’t mean there weren’t other people around.

“Shouldn’t a group be good at keeping secrets?” I asked with a frown. “I mean, not only are you in the public eye, but you have to keep your upcoming albums a secret.”

“We do… kinda.” Felix shrugged and leaned back in his seat. “We like to hint at things. Sometimes our fans don’t even catch the spoilers.”

The mature one of our little section, Lee Know only slightly twisted in his seat to join the conversation. “We keep important things secret.” He gave me a knowing look and I nodded. If something might lead to a scandal, it would be a secret successfully kept.

“Some things aren’t as important,” Han said. “Like, why would we hide that Lee Know talks in his sleep and Bang Chan doesn’t sleep at all?” Yanking on Han’s shirt, Lee Know pulled him back to his seat. Felix wasn’t tired, but leaned his head on my shoulder as he played on his phone. That left me to look at the whispering duo.

Chan didn’t sleep well… What Han said were two completely different facts that could be kept secret for different reasons. Lee Know talking in his sleep could be cute. Bang Chan not getting sleep was concerning. Not that he showed he was tired. Not in public, at least. And not on the plane when he looked back and met my eyes with a smile. Farris looked over too, grinned, and went back to their conversation.

If both were smiling, there wasn’t anything for me to worry about. Farris wasn’t good at hiding his feelings, so I probably wasn’t in trouble for anything. They wouldn’t be smiling if they were talking about Ji-ho or me leaving at the end of the tour. I settled for thinking they were talking about Paris. It was a captivating topic to discuss or think about, and I could hardly wait to reach the city.

Unfortunately, the Paris concerts took precedent. I knew that. We’d all known that they would, but it was certainly a wild ride. Off the plane, the hotel drop off and then straight to the venue for a run through. By the time we were done, it was night, and everyone was ready for bed after not sleeping on the plane. Luckily for me, the concerts passed without incident over the next two days. Stray Kids did well, Havenly didn’t bother me, and I didn’t think of Ji-ho or my possible unemployment once.

That all changed after the second concert. Back in my hotel room, with nothing to focus on for the next four days, my thoughts started to wander back to my worries.

Maybe it would be best to talk to Farris. From the way the man acted, I didn’t think he wanted me to leave. I was helping him and training someone else to do my job would take time. I already understood Stray Kids on some level and what they needed. Unless JYP cared enough to hire someone they knew just to help Farris with a smaller group, my job might continue on.

A knock on my door saved me from jumping on another worrying train of thought, which would have led either to my father or to Ji-ho.

“We’re hanging out in Changbin and Hyunjin’s room,” Felix said as he grabbed my hand. Then he looked at my pajamas. “You don’t have to change, but if you wanted to…”

“Give me a second.” I stepped back inside to tug my bra back on. Even though I found myself not caring about going around in my pajamas, a bra was required. Stray Kids and I might get along, but I wasn’t that comfortable with them. Or more like I couldn’t be. I was a professional.

Felix led me by the hand, as if I’d run away, and walked right through the door that had been propped open with a slipper.

“That isn’t very safe,” I pointed out, even as he closed the door behind us.

“I could see the door from your room,” he argued. “Besides, who would risk coming in when all of us are here?”

“Y/N!” The loud cry from the guys made me jump a little, but I couldn’t help smiling.

Changbin, Bang Chan and I.N were on one bed with Changbin sprawled on top of both. The youngest looked ready to jump away the moment Changbin got off of him. Han and Lee Know were on another bed, with a spot clearly belonging to Felix. No one moved to fill it, which was enough evidence for me. Hyunjin sat at the foot of Changbin’s bed. Seungmin sat the farthest away in an actual chair, phone in hand. He yelled my name along with everyone else but was focused on a game.

“Movie night?” I asked as Felix reclaimed his spot. “You guys have enough energy for that?”

“The concerts are over,” Chan pointed out with a grunt as Changbin shifted on top of him. “We always have energy right after. Besides, tomorrow is a free day, so we can sleep in.”

“Tomorrow,” Changbin sang out. “And tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow!” Four free days of nothing was the best thing to happen to the group, apparently. And with their smiles genuine, I was inclined to agree. Almost nothing made me happier than seeing them happy.

“Well then, where should I sit?”

I.N started to shove Changbin. “Here, Y/N! You can sit on this bed. I’ll sit with Seungmin.” When Changbin reluctantly let him up and I.N escaped to a chair, he flashed me a relieved smile. I moved toward the bed, and Changbin and Chan moved over to give me room. They wouldn’t sit on me to keep me with them. One, it wouldn’t exactly be appropriate. Two, I came willingly and had no desire to escape.

“We’ll start with music videos,” Hyunjin said, turning around to face me. “Just to educate you some more, Y/N. Then an actual movie.”

“A short movie,” Lee Know corrected. “We have free days, but we don’t need to stay up all night.”

Han started to sing a song and Felix joined in. “Up all night, yeah, yeah, all the time!”

“Guess we know what to start with,” Chan said as he grabbed the remote from his lap. He winked at me. “You like vampires?”

My cheeks flushed. “I mean… I went through a Twilight phase.” Half the room laughed at me, and I settled against the headboard as Chan pulled up Youtube.

“If we don’t keep you up all night,” Chan said, pausing as the members started to sing again. After it quieted down, he continued. “If we don’t keep you up all night…” Again the members interrupted, this time singing louder. Chan looked exasperated, but his smile stayed in place. When the room was quiet again, he knew better than to repeat himself. “We could go shopping tomorrow,” he said. “I think half of us are planning on it.”

“Sure,” I said with a happy sigh. “A little shopping spree could be fun.”

The last time I’d gone out with half the group was to the art museum, which felt like a lifetime ago. Back when I was unsure about how Stray Kids felt about me. Mainly, about how Chan felt about me. Things had changed for the better, though my insecurities had just jumped to other subjects.

But with Stray Kids loudly singing along with their music videos, forgetting the words to their own songs and jumping up to dance at random parts, insecurities didn’t matter all that much. It was better to live in the moment and leave my worries for another day.    

Chapter Text

“You do realize you’re not billionaires, right?” I said, wincing as Felix swiped his credit card and handed me a bag.

“Not yet,” he agreed. “But we make a good amount. Especially because we write our own music.”

That didn’t exactly make me feel better. The other members stood outside the store, finishing their bubble tea, but Felix had stepped inside to buy a purse I’d been looking at earlier.

The first part of the day was mostly window-shopping. Stray Kids not being world famous was a definite perk. Cute guys in nice clothes hardly got a second glance. The group did get interesting looks, simply for being good-looking and the majority speaking Korean, but we didn’t have mobs of fans trailing after us from store to store. Farris had been right, which I should have known. Why else would he feel comfortable letting us out by ourselves while he caught up on some much-needed rest? 

“I want to see,” I.N said when we joined the group outside. I handed over my bag immediately. The price made me physically ill, but I could trust the members to take care of expensive things. When we’d first entered Fleuron just to look around, I made a point not to look at the prices. It was refreshing to watch a bunch of men be interested in bags and wallets, so that kept me entertained. Then, something had caught my eye.

The color wasn’t one I’d usually buy. The shade of red felt like a slap in the face at first. But I left the guys looking at wallets and drifted over to the collection. The bag was called a Mini Trinity and it came in all colors of the rainbow. When my fingertips touched the red purse, it was like Felix magically appeared at my side.

“That’s a lovely statement piece. Really good construction too.” When he lifted it up, I saw the price inside and physically recoiled.

“Is it $500 construction?” 

He only laughed and looked at the rest of the bags. “Were you just considering one?”

“Um, no. I was admiring. They’re really pretty. That red is a bit much though. Especially when I wear all black and try to carry as much as possible for you guys. Backpacks and totes make more sense.” As I turned away, Chan stepped onto my other side.

“You don’t wear color that much,” he agreed. “Did you wear color before working with us?”

I only shook my head. Even when I could afford the finer things in life, I leaned more towards the simple and practical. And I certainly was never in the financial realm where I’d consider dropping over $500 on a bag.

“Never impulse buy,” Han said as he took my arm and led me away. “If you still want something later, then go for it.”

Those words weren’t taken to heart. I didn’t plan on returning, no matter what. We’d grabbed lunch, checked out a few more stores, then ended up back in front of Fleuron.

“It’s good quality,” I.N said, handing the bag to me. “And it will look really pretty on your arm.”

Cheeks burning, I muttered my thanks and we headed back the way we came. I’d spent more money than I thought possible, but it was on stuff for Chandler and Dougie. A few trinkets for myself, but nothing major. My fingers ran along the side of my new purse, immense pleasure and guilt alternating in my thoughts.

“I need to go back to that store to grab a jacket,” Han said, turning down another street without waiting. Lee Know and Seungmin trailed after him. Rolling their eyes and acting jokingly exasperated, Changbin, I.N and Felix followed. Before I could join, Chan grabbed my arm.

“Want to check out a bookstore cafe?” he asked, Hyunjin smiling eagerly at his side. “I didn’t want to go earlier with all the kids.”

Understandable, given how energetic they could be. I looked at the group walking away from us and Hyunjin laughed.

“They’ll be alright. Come on.”

Farris had said the group was alright on their own in Paris, but I felt uneasy. Still, six members together should be able to take care of themselves. No matter how overprotective I felt, they were grown men.

“Alright,” I agreed, letting Chan and Hyunjin lead me in the opposite direction. The day was drawing to an end and after so much walking, I was ready to go back to my hotel room and soak in a bath. When we stepped inside Apapacho Café, my exhaustion disappeared.

Hyunjin abandoned us to go look at some art books while Bang Chan and I wandered to some touristy books about Paris. Inside was quiet, even though there were multiple people browsing books and enjoying the cafe. A suitable hush hung in the air; the unspoken rule of libraries and bookstores.

“Do you read a lot?” I asked Chan as I flipped through pictures of Paris.

“Not as much as I’d like to. It’s sort of busy. But I like bookstores. Quiets everything in here.” He tapped his temple and I nodded in agreement. Peaceful places soothed the mind. It was like visiting the museum weeks before. I didn’t know much about art, but the environment lent itself to minimal thoughts in general; as long as I didn’t remember the drama of that trip.

Sneaking a look at Chan, I couldn’t believe how far we’d come. At the end of the museum trip, I’d been sure he hated me. Now we weren’t only friendly, we were comfortable together. After growing so much, the thought of it being for nothing in the end… My hand gripped my purse as I tried to keep my peaceful mindset. The future wasn’t something I needed to worry about 24/7.

“No one is going to steal it,” Chan said with a little laugh, misinterpreting my clutching the new bag so tightly. “Well, there are pickpockets, but we’re not in crowded areas. You’re fine.”

“It’s my only expensive bag. Excuse me for being a little cautious.” Better for him to assume he was right than to correct him and have to explain my irrational thought process.

“Your first expensive bag,” Chan corrected. Before he turned away, I got a look at his cheeky smile. “With your salary, don’t be afraid to treat yourself every once in a while. You deserve it.”

No matter how much I made, I wouldn’t be blowing it all on pretty bags. The one gifted to me was hardly the most expensive bag on the market, but I couldn’t see myself ever looking at the collection again.

After paying for a book and some trinkets to send home, Hyunjin and Chan led the way back to the hotel. The rest of the members were already on their way, which made me breathe out a sigh of relief. In Apapacho Café, the worry had been pushed to the back of my mind, but it returned as soon as we stepped out onto the sidewalk.

“We should all eat dinner together,” Chan said as we strolled along. “Farris is probably still catching up on rest, but we could order room service and have another viewing party.”

“That sounds like a good plan to me. As long as I can bathe first. I’ve got city germs all over me.”

Both men laughed, though it was true. I expected everyone would wash up before we gathered in someone’s room later. Honestly, the suggestion felt like a gift. Exactly what I needed. Eight rowdy idols should be enough to distract me from my impending date with Farris. Hopefully.

Chapter Text

When Farris sent a text the next morning to dress comfortably, I thought it was a good sign. I’d read too much into the situation, and we were just going to hang out and have some time to ourselves without Stray Kids. It was a relief, but as soon as he showed up at my hotel door, my relief turned to disappointment.

“Ready to go?” Farris asked with a wide smile. He wore jeans with a casual polo shirt, and for some reason I thought he was the cutest I’d ever seen him.

“Ready. What’s first on your list?” I grabbed my normal purse and stepped into the hall, trying not to feel down about it not being a date. Farris shouldn’t like me. I was essentially his employee. Reading into things had been my mistake.

It turned out that dressing comfortably was a good idea. The rest of the tourists on the Seine cruise dressed the same. Standing in line to board, I eyed the Eiffel Tower. It was huge but looked sort of plain in the daylight. 

“Disappointed?” Farris leaned close and whispered in my ear, making me jump backward. As I jumped, I tripped over my feet and nearly collided with the people behind us in line. Thanks to working with Stray Kids and probably being well rested, Farris’ reflexes saved me the embarrassment. In the blink of an eye, his arm snaked around my waist and pulled me toward him. One horrible situation switched to another, and I braced myself to crash into Farris’ chest. But he was quick again, using his other hand to steady me using my shoulder.

“You alright?”

My cheeks burned and my stomach rolled. Even though I hadn’t fallen into his arms, we were still incredibly close.

“I’m fine,” I said, laughing as I took a step away. He let me go, ever the gentleman, but watched me closely.

“I didn’t mean to startle you. I saw you looking at the tower and wanted you to know I’m saving it for later.” He nodded toward the boat and we showed our tickets before stepping on. There were quite a few people lined up for the river tour, but the boat was large enough to accommodate everyone. Farris led the way to the top level, and we claimed spots on a bench near a handful of couples and a family.

“Are you planning to go up the tower tonight?” I asked, wondering how packed it would be. Also, our tour started at 11 in the morning. What were we going to do between the cruise and the tower?

“It’ll give you a good view of the lights in the city,” Farris explained, sliding closer to me as the family with kids raced by. “The river tour would have looked good at night too, but seeing the city from above is stunning. At least, in my experience.”

My attention snagged on a couple sitting near us. They giggled like teenagers and looked like they couldn’t be more than 23 or 24. The woman had a nice-sized rock on her finger, though. Young love never really sat right with me, especially if it led to an early marriage. Shouldn’t they have time to explore who they were before they settled down?

“You said you’d come here before.” I turned to Farris, who had been watching the family instead of the couple. More proof that he wasn’t thinking about romance. “Was it with…” I didn’t want to straight up ask if he’d been with a woman. Paris was the city of love. It made sense he’d want to share it with someone important to him.

“The first time I came was with my family. Back when I actually had time for them.” He laughed, though it wasn’t a humorous one. “The second time was on a college trip. And the third was the last time I was on tour.” Farris turned away from the family and smiled at me. “It’s nice to explore with just one other person. And someone who hasn’t been before! The look on your face will make me feel like I’m seeing the city again for the first time.”

My mood brightened at his boyish smile and the tour only got better from there. It calmed me down knowing he hadn’t visited with a romantic partner. And his excitement was contagious. Though I tried to be cool during the tour, every new sight had me dropping my jaw and snapping pictures with my phone. Farris insisted on getting pictures of me in front of every landmark.

By the time we reached Notre Dame, my cheeks already hurt from smiling so much. “I feel like I’m in a movie. Seriously, all of these sights are just things I’ve seen in movies. Notre Dame, for example. I mean, it’s almost like I’m going to see Quasimodo. Which is dumb, because that is a cartoon and all, but do you know what I mean?” I gushed unapologetically and finally turned to Farris, who’d been quiet during my ramble. As soon as I saw him, I froze.

Reading into things wasn’t something I did often. While working for my dad, I didn’t have much time for a love life, and I’d been too busy to notice if anyone might be interested in me. Unless they flat-out said it, I assumed I wasn’t a woman who’d be noticed in that way. That was why I felt foolish reading into things with Farris. Was it just because I liked him? Or was it that I finally had time to learn to acknowledge my feelings and I was the type to over-analyze? Either way, I wasn’t sure if I was imagining Farris’ expression or not.

For the first part of the tour, Farris watched me and marveled at my excitement. Just as he’d said, he enjoyed watching me experience it all for the first time. He’d laugh along with me, feed me facts, and match my fluctuating energy levels. But when I turned to look at him, Farris wasn’t grinning like me. The man’s smile was… soft. Subdued but honest. The bright eyes he’d had earlier as I pointed and shouted like a child were gone. Instead, his gaze was warm and captivating. Almost like he didn’t want to look away from me and I couldn’t look away from him, getting drawn into his inviting eyes.

“Can you take a picture for us?”

In an instant, the moment broke. I blinked back to reality and mentally shook myself before turning to the young couple. The woman held up her phone. “We’re on our honeymoon and I thought we should have pictures together. Proof that we left the hotel.”

“Jenny,” her husband gasped, looking mortified as his face turned beet red. Jenny almost cackled as she nudged him in the side.

“It’s fine! I’m sure she gets it. Right? You’re not offended?”

When Jenny and her husband looked at me, I forced a smile. “Of course I’m not offended! Go ahead and pick your spot.”

The young couple apparently were really into photos. I assumed it was for their Instagram or something. After doing at least four different poses in the same spot, Jenny called it a wrap and I handed over her phone.

“Thanks,” her husband said with a smile. “Before we move past Notre Dame, we can get a picture for you and your boyfriend too. I noticed you weren’t taking pictures together either.”

“Good idea, David!” Jenny loudly kissed the man’s cheek. “We can help each other out for the rest of the cruise and take each other’s couple pictures!”

My cheeks burned as I tried to think of a delicate way to explain that Farris was actually my boss. But I didn’t get the chance.

“That’s a great idea. Thanks for thinking of us.” Farris stood and grabbed my arm, gently directing me on where to stand. “We can do the trade-off for the rest of the landmarks. Just let us know when you’re ready.” He handed over his phone and got into position beside me. As if it were an everyday occurrence, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders and tugged me closer to him.

I must have smiled. I must have put an arm around his waist. But really, I was like a puppet on a string, doing what Farris told me to do. Which was lucky, because I felt like I was dreaming. And I had to keep telling myself, through each and every picture we took on the cruise, that I needed to not read into things. But I couldn’t help it.

Farris hadn’t corrected the mistake. Throughout the rest of the tour, he let Jenny and David think we were an item. I could have cleared things up, but he could have during the initial misunderstanding. Instead, it felt like he’d stopped me from correcting them. As much as I hated it, I held onto a little bit of hope. Maybe Farris liked me too.