Chapter Text
from: Lee Minho ([email protected])
to: Bang Chan ([email protected]), Seo Changbin ([email protected]), Hyunjin ([email protected]), Han Jisung ([email protected]), Felix ([email protected]), Kim Seungmin ([email protected]), I.N. ([email protected])
subject: Team dinner Xmas edition
date: Saturday, December 20, 2025, 12:02
Hai hai,
All of you are coming to dinner tomorrow.
This is not optional.
7pm. Do not be late.
lov u all <3
Chan was in the middle of fastening his belt when Changbin hugged him from behind.
“What?” he asked, more out of habit than anything.
“Nothing. Just gonna miss you,” Changbin smushed his face against the divot of Chan's neck.
Chan snickered. “I am only flying tomorrow.”
“Every second I’ll spend away from you feels like an entire year, jagi-ah.”
Chan could not contain the laughter at Changbin's tone and intensity. He was so extra. Ugh, Chan loved him so much.
“You are so dramatic!”
Changbin tightened his arms and Chan stopped fighting with his belt buckle, electing to look at the window in front of him instead. The view led them to the Han River in the middle of the winter time, flat and grey and very still. He could see some frozen parts, though the forecast said it was going to get colder after Christmas.
Chan had learned to like this view. In his dorm there was no nice scenery, no Han river. The windows led to more buildings, not a lot of sky. Here it was different. It felt like watching the entire city from up above. He had not expected to like watching the river so much, coming from somewhere with an actual ocean, but he had.
"Come on," he said. "We are going to be late."
"Minho-hyung said seven."
"Minho-hyung said seven but he means six fifty and you know that,” Chan made a voice when he called Minho by the unnecessary honorific.
Changbin made no move to let go. On the contrary, Chan felt Changbin's arms hold him tighter somehow. He breathed in and out against Chan’s skin, making his neck tingle and his skin shiver. At first, it looked like he was just basking in Chan's presence, but then Chan felt the thrumming of his heart through their pressed bodies. It beat fast, as if he was nervous. Changbin had something in his mind he wasn't going to say, Chan realized quickly, like second nature. He knew Changbin. He knew how he felt, how he yearned, how he regulated himself through touch. He learned how Changbin worked from the months they’ve been living together. Maybe from before, too.
“I'm going to be fine,” Chan said, then, after a deep breath. “Australia is not that far.”
“Thirteen hours.”
“That is not that far. Time-wise it’s just two hours.”
“It's very far.”
Chan turned in his arms, which required some maneuvering, and looked at him. Changbin's face was trying to look normal and not quite getting there, jaw set a fraction too tight, eyes focused on Chan's collar instead of his face.
“Hey," Chan called.
Changbin looked up.
“I will be back before you even notice I am gone, “Chan said, running a finger through the side of his face. “And I will call you every day and you will complain that I call too much. Scratch that, you’ll get tired of me.”
Chan said it with a smile on his face. He wasn't deregulated to hell and back, picking a fight with Changbin for no reason because his brain was screaming at him to push him away before you get hurt. No, not anymore. He was fucking around, having fun with it, which was way better. And by Changbin's delighted gaze, it was working.
“I will never get tired of you,” Changbin leaned against the touch. He was almost pouting by the assumption alone, it was adorable.
Chan smiled. “You literally moaned last week that I called during your nap.”
“That was different, I had just fallen asleep.”
Chan laughed before he meant to. Changbin pressed his forehead against Chan's and for a moment they just stood there, forgetting about the dinner they were definitely going to be late for if they kept up with this.
When Changbin kissed him, Chan had to gather every bit of strength he had to lean away.
“We need to go.”
Changbin moaned again, but he took a step back. “Okay. I'll change.”
He went, and Chan took the opportunity to run to his closet and go pick up the gifts he had prepared for the guys.
Chan had thought, planning the gifts, that he should spend money. He had a lot of it now, for the first time in his adult life, real money that didn't make him anxious to look at, and his first instinct had been to use it. Something expensive for each of them, something that would make a point.
He had talked himself out of it in the end. The point he wanted to make wasn't about money. And what would expensive presents matter to them anyways? They had double the amount of money Chan had inherited through his own uncredited work.
So, he thought about things they would actually enjoy. Things that would matter.
He was proud of every single one. Chan hoped they would enjoy them just as much as Chan did when he thought about every single detail.
When Changbin got out of his own room, Chan already had everything in a foldable tote bag thingy Felix had gotten from Amazon, brought over while carrying some snacks he obviously overbought, and never took back. It fit everything Chan needed to carry, at least, so it would be used.
“What's that?” Changbin asked.
“Stuff.”
He hummed. “Ok.”
When they walked into Minho and Jisung's apartment, Minho was finishing cooking something that smelled beefy and delicious.
“Does no one ever ring the doorbell anymore?” Minho spat at Changbin, who was the one to open the door, but he had no bite.
“Making all door codes the same was your idea,” Changbin wasn't even fazed as he moved to set the dishes on the table.
“Because no one had enough brain cells to remember four different codes, not because it's free range!” Minho shot back, then he looked at Chan. “Hey, hyung.”
“Hey,” Chan smiled. If anything, that “this floor only has our apartments and we all live next door from each other” arrangement of theirs only really meant that Stray Kids had a way bigger dorm than in the JYP years. “Where's Jisung?”
“Shower,” Minho said, tossing a wok filled with braised veggies like no big deal. “Everyone's late, no surprise here.”
Chan snickered as he placed the bag slash cart in a corner and went to work helping Changbin set the dishes. The first one to arrive after them was Hyunjin, surprisingly. Then Jeongin not long after. Jisung finally came out of the shower when Changbin had just finished setting the table, then finally Seungmin and Felix were there, already commanding Minho to get dinner going as if he wasn't the late one. Chan had to contain the laughter at Minho breathing in and fighting really hard with himself not to eat the bait.
“Sit down, sir,” Minho said instead, placing the main tray with cooked meat at the center of the table while Felix burst out laughing. “I spent hours cooking for your asses, you better look appreciative.”
Hyunjin tried to hide a giggle as he took a seat. “Hyung, this looks great. I'm appreciating it so much.”
Minho stopped and looked at Hyunjin as if he wasn't sure he should laugh or feel offended.
Then everyone burst out into stupid giggles, which was on par with Stray Kids.
Truth be told (not that Chan needed to put effort into enjoying Minho's cooking), the dinner was great. Minho was a great cook. He made huge batches of galbi and samgyeopsal, plus a batch of jjajangmyeon and got a whole assortment of banchan out. Just the smell alone made Chan immediately feel like he was starving. Chan sat between Changbin and Jeongin as they took their seats, and waited for the right moment to interject as the conversations went around. He ate delicious food, with his boyfriend's hand on his thigh as Changbin chatted mindlessly with Hyunjin and Jisung about a horror movie they found the trailer of and were interested in watching.
When Felix brought the brownies over, Chan announced he had a thing to say and everyone stopped to look at him as if he had said it very seriously.
“What?” Chan gawked. “Do I have something in my teeth?”
Felix shook his head. “Please, keep going.”
Chan cleared his throat.
“So, um, I wanted to wish you all good luck,” he started. “In all the Gayo Daejeons. Well, you'll rock it anyway, because you're all great, but still.”
“Thanks, hyung,” Jeongin smiled. “You'll be watching it from Sydney, will you?”
“Of course,” he smiled. “And I know that Christmas works a bit differently here, but I got you gifts. Well, Christmas presents.”
Hyunjin perked up. Seungmin pretended he didn't.
“You're too sweet, hyung!” Jisung said, mimicking squishing Chan's cheeks from the other side of the table. Minho just smiled.
“So that's your stuff, then!” Changbin made air quotes as Chan stood to grab the bag.
“Well, duh,” Chan could only smile back. “So, who wants to go first?”
“Who do you love more?” Felix was quick on the trigger.
“That's not fair, it's going to be Changbin-hyung!” Seungmin whined.
“I'd argue he loves me more because he picked me first,” Jisung shot back.
Chan loved being fussed over like this, though he would never admit that to them, in fear they'd stop mock-fighting for his affection at any given opportunity. So he just watched them bickering until someone called for him to get on with it and just give them the gifts once and for all. Well, not someone, Minho.
Instead of choosing a first, he decided to go by age.
“Minho-yah,” Chan raised his voice, picking the wrap gift and handing it to him. “Here's your pressie.”
“My what?” Minho deadpanned, and Felix's laugh was some decibels short of a scream.
Chan waited for him to open the package, reading every microexpression of his while he did it.
“I already have boxing gloves,” was Minho's first words, which only made Chan snicker.
“I know. I got you new ones.”
He bought a set of proper boxing gloves and hand wraps, good quality ones, that lasted. Minho had been training on wraps that were visibly falling apart for months (Chan suspected he never changed them once ever since he got back in contact with them) and spending nothing on replacements because he didn't think about his own equipment the way he thought about everyone else's. Chan had been watching him tape them back together at the gym, focused and repetitive as if he genuinely did not register that there was another option.
“Mine are fine.”
“They are falling apart, jagi,” Jisung said, leaning over his shoulder.
Minho was practical. Economical. Borderline on stingy when it came to his own stuff. He never actually said why, but Chan could guess it was for the same (or probably a very similar) reason why he himself still hesitated to spend any amount of money on anything related to himself. Minho's parents were both teachers. Chan himself was never poor, he couldn't claim that, but he was aware that losing his contract or dad having a dip in students could easily ruin them for a while.
“Oh,” he said, looking at the new leather, taking in the details. “Thank you.”
Chan nodded, and took an extra second to move on.
“Hyunjin,” he finally called, trying not to peek at Changbin's surprised expression.
“Me!”
For Hyunjin he made a painting. Graffiti style, way different from Hyunjin's own work. Hyunjin’s art was expressive but in a more visceral way. Thick brushstrokes, rough around the edges, mostly oils or pastels depicting moving bodies and nature. Not Chan’s. He did make a nature piece, just not quite like the rich and detailed botanical paintings Hyunjin was great at making, but trying to channel what Chan thought of him. Serene. Emotional. A starry sky with intense colors, pink, yellow and purple in a nice gradient, a moon and its reflection over a lake, trees in the foreground.
He could feel the heat on his face when Hyunjin finally unwrapped the canvas and gasped at the painting.
“Holy shit, hyung!” he said, fingers hovering over Chan's signature at the bottom left corner.
Maybe it wasn’t the most original thing in the world, but he hadn’t done any graffiti in years. And Chan made it, with his own hands. It took two weeks and being so sneaky he almost worked himself into having anxiety issues again, hiding the canvas and sprays in a closet Changbin had no reason to open, going to the rooftop every night with a giant plastic cover to fiddle with it without making a complete mess. It looked right after enough finagling.
“I love it,” was his verdict, and Chan couldn't feel prouder.
For Jisung he found a YouTube channel of a creator who specialized in making custom LEGO automatons, moving figures with gears you could wind, and he bought a T-Rex skeleton that was able to move its arms and head. It was the thing that took the longest, because the video Chan saw was not a T-Rex, but a velociraptor. However, the T-Rex was Jisung’s favorite (even though Jisung always said that was the basic choice), so he had to commission the maker to adapt the model. When the prototype video finally came through he had shown it to no one and was quietly delighted for an entire week when the build kit finally arrived. Jisung would spend at the very least a full day working on it and just the idea of that made Chan happy.
And, well, as soon as he realized what the box he was holding was, Jisung full-on shrieked and jumped to wrap Chan in a hug. That was really nice.
As a special treat for the gamer boy, Felix got a Kai'Sa figure, his main on League ever since they got back in contact. The specific figure had the skin Felix also used the most and had mentioned wanting in three separate conversations over the past six months without ever actually making a move to get it. Contrary to Minho Felix was a big spender, he was just very disorganized in how he went around it. Poor Seungmin, who was always complaining about Felix's crazy bulk orders of ingredients and drinks.
Similarly to Jisung, Felix also screamed in joy. Instead of hugging Chan, though, he jumped around the room in circles, as if he needed to burn the energy that came with the euphoria off so he could actually handle the thing.
For Seungmin he was able to win the bidding war for a vintage Lotte Giants jersey on eBay and had his nameplate put on the back. Finding a supplier who had the right letter films for the time was annoying, but Chan had some help from some very helpful people in a vintage baseball collecting subreddit and was able to do it in time.
“Woo,” was Seungmin's reaction as he handled the navy jersey, and the fact that it took all words from his usual quick mouth. “Is it legit?”
“Yeah,” Chan smiled back. “It's 1992.”
“The first Korean Series win,” he gawked. “Wow, hyung. Thank you.”
For Jeongin he bought a pair of Jordans. Jeongin was a bit of a weird cookie when they were younger, he was still finding his footing when it came to what he wanted to do outside of music and the stuff he liked. Chan saw the younger version of himself in him back in the day. Far from home and family, having to figure it out. Nowadays, as an adult, he was actually a pretty cool person. Jeongin was lowkey, polished, and he was really into fashion, more than people would usually give him credit for. Yeah, Hyunjin was the face of Versace for a long time, and Felix was the Louis Vuitton boy (even walking runways), but Jeongin was the one Chan could picture becoming a stylist one day. He loved fashion, in a way that was so unassuming at first — until Chan realized that Jeongin could always be seen in deep conversation with their stylists at any moment a stylist would be there.
Chan wasn't the best at fashion, but he was able to recognize his style and he was great at doing research with the acquired data. And when Jeongin flashed him a corner to corner smile, dimples and all, Chan knew he had hit the jackpot.
By the time he had finished with everyone else, Changbin was staring at him without looking angry, but slightly annoyed. And maybe a bit jealous. But in a good way. Chan could only smile.
“I did not forget you, baby,” Chan said, softly as he reached out to Changbin's hand, and at the sweet sound of six guys groaning in annoyance.
“You are both disgusting,” Jisung complained.
“Shut up, now it's my turn!” Changbin screamed back.
Chan was laughing again. He loved all of that.
And, well, Changbin's gift was not in the bag, but inside his pocket. It had been kept for weeks in a black box inside his drawer, hidden away as if Changbin would ever snoop around to find it.
That might have been his most expensive purchase (next to the League figure, because how on Earth can a 1/6 figurine cost over 500 dollars?), because he bought a Chrome Hearts bracelet. The same one Changbin gave him when they became official. The same one JYP took and he kept on his wrist every single day after he miraculously got it back — and was wearing right now. Same compass pendant, same engraving. CB. Christopher Bahng. Changbin. It would be their version of a ring, whatever that meant for their relationship.
He could feel the energy in the room shifting when Chan was able to finally take the box out of its hidden spot and show it to Changbin. He understood what that looked like. Chan half-meant it to look like that. He just didn't get on one knee yet.
Lately, Chan had been thinking more about that than ever, even though it was completely insane to consider. Not now. But maybe. One day.
How crazy was that?
“Merry Christmas, jagi-ah,” Chan said instead of everything, all the love pouring out of his heart whenever he looked at that gorgeous man, on the inside and out, and opened it towards Changbin. “I love you.”
Hyunjin made a noise. It was not mock-disgust this time, more like a shriek.
“Oh, wow,” Changbin said.
Chan took it from the box and held out a hand, so that Chan could put it on him. Chan did. Changbin looked at his own wrist for a moment, in silence, contemplating the new piece. Then he looked up at Chan, and leaned in for a kiss. Tender and soft, loving as always.
“Okay,” Seungmin said, at a volume clearly designed to break the moment. “Are we eating brownies or are we watching these two have a whole romantic subplot at the dinner table?”
“Romantic subplot,” Felix said immediately.
“Romantic subplot,” Hyunjin agreed.
Chan threw a napkin at both of them. Whoever it hit probably deserved it.
“Well,” Minho summoned a wine bottle. “Cheers!”
He didn't drink, but maybe that was a good thing, because now he could see all of them getting increasingly tipsy, dishes accumulating, conversation getting looser.
Jisung kept drifting back toward Minho's chair until he was practically leaning on him at one point, when the dinner shifted into a gameplay session in the living room. Hyunjin and Felix kept finishing each other's sentences while playing Tekken against Seungmin and Changbin without even realizing that they were doing it. Seungmin had put the jersey on to try it and never took it off. And Jeongin was watching Chan every time Chan would turn in his direction, not saying anything, with a satisfied smile on.
There was something brewing underneath all of it that Chan could feel but not quite name. It didn't really feel like sadness or mourning. The awareness of time, maybe. The knowledge that in less than a day he would be somewhere else and they would continue with their routines without him, which was fine now. It was devastating before, but now that Chan was back, he was allowed to come and go. And he would miss them, but he would be back. And then they would go on with him.
By the time tipsy turned into drunk Undercooked rounds, Chan decided to step out and start cleaning the table and leave them to it. He put the leftovers on the fridge, taking care to cover the bowls and trays with cling film. He started taking the plates off. Chan was already rinsing the dishes and loading them on the dishwasher when Jeongin appeared with another load of dishes.
“You don't have to help,” Chan said. “I got it.”
“I know,” Jeongin started cleaning the dishes without looking at him.
They worked quietly for a moment.
“I feel like I haven't been around you enough,” Chan wasn't able to sit in silence for a long time. He hadn't planned to say it, the words just came out. “Since I moved back. I feel like I've been so focused on the group officially that I've let some of the other stuff slide. I'm sorry.”
Jeongin considered it for a second.
“Hyung,” he said. “You texted me when my brand schedules run late to ask if I've eaten last week.”
“That's my job. But we haven't talked much.”
Chan wasn't sure why he was worrying about that now.
“You were asleep and yet you cared about me, hyung,” Jeongin smiled.
“I was half asleep.”
“The point," Jeongin cut through his reasoning, “is that having you around is enough. I love having you back. I know whenever I need you, you'll always be here for me.”
“I will,” Chan answered.
“Yah, why the fuck are you cleaning up?” Minho busted Chan's activities. “Get your asses back here!”
It was almost midnight when Changbin called it quits. He was the first to do so, to the point that even Chan was surprised. He could stay with them for at the very least two extra hours just watching Felix and Changbin annihilate each other in many different variations of fighting games. But when Changbin got up and announced it was time for him to go, Chan got up and started saying his goodbyes too.
“Already?” Jeongin whined.
“Brother, they have some g- ow!” Felix started, and was quickly interrupted by Hyunjin elbowing him. “Good night, hyungs!”
The walk to the apartment couldn't even be called that. Minho and Jisung's apartment was quite literally in front of theirs. They didn't even have time to pretend to make it a romantic walk holding hands, it was five steps and bam, door.
Even though it was quick, Chan was not naive. He understood exactly why Changbin rushed to leave - heck, that was why he followed.
“Come here,” Changbin said, as soon as they stepped into the apartment, and it was confirmation of all the thoughts running through Chan's mind of where that night could go.
Chan did.
Over the months they had lived together, Chan became intimately familiar with Changbin. Even that was obvious (of course living and having a relationship with someone would lead to familiarity) it was still a bit crazy how easily Chan now could just tell everything Changbin wanted by what his body communicated. He had considered himself undeserving of that type of exploration for the longest time. At first, as a teenager with very confusing feelings in a dorm full of boys and a very controlling environment, Chan had thought that being gay was so dangerous he shouldn't even allow himself the possibility. Later, after he did allow himself to explore with Bambam and was quickly dismissed and left heartbroken for the first time, Chan had been proven right. After he left JYP, sex became not the intimacy or exploration, but about the release of the anger he couldn't keep in anymore, followed by regret. By feeling disgusting.
Now, with Changbin, Chan had realized its full potential. Sex now wasn't an urge, or something dirty that he regretted as soon as he came, but a pure expression of his love for Changbin. And shit, whenever it happened, it was like they reconnected all over again to the first time Chan felt his fingertips tingle whenever Changbin was close.
God, he was so in love it actually hurt sometimes. Not because of the fear of losing him (truth be told, for some crazy reason Chan just knew it wouldn't happen) but because that love was so big and imposing that it didn't fit in his chest in its entirety.
Chan, once again unsure of what to do with all that love, did what Changbin's body told him to do. He kissed Changbin senseless. He grabbed Changbin by the legs and carried him to bed. He made sure to dispose of all the obstacles in the way (namely, Changbin's clothes) and made sure to cover every bit of exposed skin of his in kisses and the bits that would not see the light of day in hickeys, while being serenaded with a symphony of moans and whimpers and the most delicious calls of “Chan-hyung”, “hyungie”, “jagi-ah” or expletives. When he stopped, it was just to grab a condom and a bottle of lube from the bedside drawer at his side of the bed.
They had sex a lot. Not like, everyday or anything like that, they were not rabbits, but with some semblance of frequency. It was all great, the exploration, the intimacy. But he felt this night was different, and Chan could safely guess Changbin also felt the same. It was not routine. Not getting handsy in bed before going to sleep. That was goodbye sex. Well, not goodbye, but see you soon sex.
Goodbye sex was… a very confusing mix of feelings. It was good, great even. There was this desperation of having his hands on the others’ body as soon as humanly possible, of exploring each other almost as if their bodies held the secret to find the Holy Grail, that heat came with a very obvious drawback: that would be the last night in a hot second that Chan would have the chance to slam his body against Changbin’s and moan at the nape of his ear calling Changbin “his”. It would be the very last night where they would be able to fall asleep tangled together.
That was natural, and normal, and completely standard for any long-distance relationship. Chan knew that. And as soon as he was back, they would be back at being their usual co-dependent (in the good way), glued-to-the-hip selves. So that truly was not a problem. He should not make it one. Going home for Christmas was his choice.
At some point Chan stopped thinking about the flight and started thinking about nothing at all except this, which Changbin had always been able to do to him.
Afterward they lay in the dark with the heating ticking in the walls and Changbin's arm across his chest.
“I'm going to call so much,” Chan whispered.
“I know,” Changbin answered, and Chan could very easily catch the glint in his eyes as he smiled in the dark room, only illuminated by the moon.
“And you're not going to complain."
“Absolutely not.”
“I love you.”
Changbin turned his head and looked at him in the dark. “I love you too, pabo.”
Chan closed his eyes. He fell asleep with the lullaby of Changbin’s calm breathing.
He woke up to the smell of pancakes, went to take a shower, and went back to Changbin carrying a breakfast tray into the room as soon as Chan left the bathroom.
“Good morning, my love,” he smiled as he placed the tray in front of Chan. The pancakes he smelt were there, along with some nicely cooked bacon and eggs, along with a steaming cup of tea.
Chan leaned forward to kiss him. “Thank you, honey.”
They shared little bites of food and some aimless chatter in bed, just basking in each others’ presence. Changbin placed the empty tray in his desk so they could have more free space, and then Chan should probably have anticipated that having their hands free would lead them to each other again. Or, better, to Changbin’s mouth on his body, treating him to his insane blowjobs.
“I just showered-” he started to whine, but then the whine turned into a pitiful moan when Changbin licked the head just right. “Oh, shit, do not stop that.”
They only got any visitors at some point in the afternoon, after Chan had to shower again to clean the mess Changbin made out of him and they were probably dressed and better behaved. He’d have to be in the airport at 6PM, so it made sense the guys would want to join them for lunch.
What Chan did not expect was that they would all arrive carrying presents.
“What?” Minho snickered at his shocked face. “Think you’re the only one who thought of pressies?”
Chan did, but he welcomed that, thank you very much.
The guys’ presents were just as thoughtful as his but not that costly, which he was grateful for.
Minho bought him a new ergonomic mouse. Hyunjin got him a book about Korean graphic design. Jisung gave him two portable and very resistant 5TB external hard drives, which Chan had debated buying himself for the longest time and supposed he had figured it out at some point from his Google searches or something. Felix got him a framed picture of their joint shellfish dinner in Australia, Chan’s family and Stray Kids together, and an empty one “for the one you’ll take on Christmas”. Seungmin gave him a set of two metal rings that he said were supposed to be used as some sort of anxiety relief. He didn’t truly get it, but the thought was nice.
Jeongin had only a paper envelope in hands. Chan's name was written on the front in Jeongin's handwriting, which was neater than someone would expect from how he held a pen.
Chan took the envelope. It was light. Seemed like a letter. Well, it was a letter envelope, addressed to him, so obviously it was a fucking letter. Stupid.
“Just read it when you're in Sydney,” Jeongin said.
He nodded. “Thanks, anyway.”
Jeongin shrugged.
Changbin had a triumphant smile when Chan realized he basically pulled the same stunt Chan did the night before.
“I don’t have your present now,” he said.
“You gave me a studio. I think you’re fine.”
“Absolutely not. Your present is in Australia, silly.”
“Oh,” Chan quirked his head. “A treasure hunt?”
“Well, more like a ask your parents.”
“Ok, ok,” Chan laughed as he turned to the others. “Thank you, all of you. I am like, insanely grateful.”
“We’ll miss you, hyung,” Jeongin said.
“I will too.”
“Enjoy your family, hyung,” Jisung kept going.
“You’re my family too,” Chan then said, and he meant it. “You know that, right?”
There were seven teary smiled staring right back at him, and no one seemed to be able to answer. Minho was the one who did.
“We’ve known it ever since you chose us, hyung.”
“Oh, my god, group hug!” Felix said, wrapping Chan in his arms first. Hyunjin groaned, but he went second, and then Chan was completely surrounded by Stray Kids.
He loved every second of it. And he did not need to worry about how much he was going to miss them, because he would be back. He was going to Sydney and he would be here again in three weeks time. And he was going to have a blast there, and it would wreck his routine, but he would adapt to it again.
Because he would be back. Sydney was home, but they were home, too. And thinking about that didn’t hurt anymore. Chan didn’t feel like he was betraying his family. Or that he was disappointing anyone.
He had two homes now.
After lunch (way more low-key than yesterday, fried chicken and gimbap from a restaurant nearby), it was time to go. He had packed already. So he went.
Changbin drove him to the airport before the city was properly awake. They said goodbye at the drop-off zone because anything longer would have been its own kind of problem. Changbin held onto him for a moment, one hand at the back of his neck, and Chan stood very still and let himself have it.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Chan said.
“See you in three weeks,” Changbin agreed. His thumb moved once at Chan's nape. “Go.”
Chan went.
Contrary to all of the last few times Chan boarded an airplane, this time he didn’t need anxiety medication or sleeping pills. He didn't feel like throwing up in the bathroom. He didn't even struggle with going to sleep. And he was alone!
He woke up as the plane was landing in Sydney, feeling rested, calm and so at ease. He missed mom. He missed Berry. He missed Amanda and Rekha. He missed Hannah and Lucas, those brats. They were supposed to meet at home, not at the airport, to avoid unwanted attention. That was not Chan's doing, it was Mina's, their manager. She worried (and Chan couldn't say she didn't have a point) that Chan's notoriety, or more like infamy, along with the fact that he was alone could be a risk, and he figured that was reasonable. He had a name of the driver he should meet and not much else. But he was home, or at the very least he would be, in a matter of half an hour or so.
soondoondori's babysitter @ikuklknow ∙ 15m
I think I saw Bang Chan at incheon airport! does that mean he's out of the gayo daejeons?
sarah @smilessara ∙ 15m
Pretty sure he's not committing to performing 100% yet - which i think is fair
And i think he's in sydney to spend time with his family
soondoondori's babysitter @ikuklknow ∙ 15m
I think I saw Bang Chan at incheon airport! does that mean he's out of the gayo daejeons?
pat saw SKZ @pattiejisungie ∙ 15m
And how the hell would you know that?
sarah @smilessara ∙ 15m
Pretty sure he's not committing to performing 100% yet - which i think is fair
And i think he's in sydney to spend time with his family
sarah @smilessara ∙ 15m
Because I work SYD and I just saw him coming out of his flight lol
pat saw SKZ @pattiejisungie ∙ 15m
And how the hell would you know that?