Chapter Text
It was a good thing these hallways were so familiar, otherwise Minho was sure he would’ve walked right into a wall by now.
As it stood, he kept his gaze fixed stubbornly between Felix’s slim shoulderblades, their footsteps echoing strangely as they made their way toward the practice room. The room where JYP was leading them, to grant them a second chance. The room where their fellow trainees, bandmates, friends—brothers were waiting.
God, he couldn’t even…he thought he’d lost this opportunity for good a month ago when he was eliminated from the show. And it hurt even to this day, a deep, yawning ache like a cold fist squeezing down around his heart because he’d let them all down. He’d had one job, one single expectation: to stay. To remain part of Stray Kids, part of their family, to fight alongside these eight other young, hopeful boys who wanted only to bring their music and passion to the world—and he’d failed.
He’d failed his parents and dance instructors and coaches and mentors and all the people who’d worked so hard and given so much in order to get him here. He’d failed Woojin, and Chan, and all his other bandmates who had spent the past several months building him up, filling in his cracks with laughter and jokes and rehearsals that stretched late into the night until they were all ready to collapse. He’d failed Stray Kids, their group and their concept and everything they stood for, and in doing so most of all he’d failed…
Minho took a breath, straightening his shoulders as they approached the door to the practice room. No. He couldn’t get hung up on the past now, not when his future was right in front of him, waiting just on the other side of that thin partition. His future that wasn’t just a group of nine bumbling yet dedicated trainees, not anymore. Now it was so much more than that. It was round cheeks and a bright smile and a laugh that made his heart do funny things in his chest. It was warm fingers wrapped tightly around his own, solid and grounding as any foundation. It was an attraction, a deep thrumming hope that Minho certainly hadn’t been looking for when he first agreed to join the show, but that he’d somehow ended up finding anyway.
God, he couldn’t wait to see Jisung again. Would he be angry, annoyed and disappointed that Minho hadn’t had what it took to remain with the group? Or would he instead be joyful and relieved, welcoming him back with a tight hug and that shining smile of his that made Minho feel like he could do anything in the world?
He didn’t really know when he’d developed a crush on the younger man. It honestly felt like it had always been this way, from the first moment he saw Jisung and had two thoughts in quick succession: Why is he glaring at me? followed by Fuck, he’s gorgeous. And it had only gotten worse as they spent more time together over the next few months, training and rehearsing but also going out to eat and sing karaoke and visit amusement parks. Because Minho learned that Jisung was not only a little sharp and a lot overconfident; he was also kind, compassionate, wicked fucking smart and, in late night whispered conversations within the safety of their dorm, anxious and fearful and so goddamned dedicated to making sure they all succeeded in the end. Together.
And then Minho went and fucked it all up. If not for JYP’s generosity he would still be out there somewhere, drifting from company to company as a nameless backup dancer, meek and helpless as the world passed him by. And now…now he had a chance to prove himself, not just to Chan and the others, but to Jisung. To show him that Minho hadn’t abandoned him, that he was here for the long haul. That they were meant to debut together, to reach forward and grab Stray Kids’s future by the lapels and hold on, together. And perhaps, somewhere along the way, to also explore this tiny flicker of a warm, golden thing that had developed between them over the past few months, that neither of them had acknowledged but Minho could always feel in soft touches and lingering, meaningful looks.
Yes. This second chance JYP was giving him…it was about so much more than just Stray Kids.
Up ahead an assistant pulled open the door to the practice room, giving them a bow and a polite smile as they passed. Minho took a deep breath, trying to calm the anxiety fluttering in his stomach. It was going to be okay. As long as he had his friends—as long as he had Jisung, everything was going to be okay.
He followed Felix into the room—and paused.
Six familiar faces stared back at him with varying degrees of shock. Chan, Woojin, Jeongin, Seungmin, Hyunjin, and Changbin, all gaping at him and Felix like they’d just shown up in the middle of their own funeral. And it was so good to see them all again, of course—but also.
Also, Jisung was missing.
Minho blinked. Ran his gaze once more down the line of scrawny teenagers, like maybe he’d just missed him the first time, like maybe Jisung was hiding behind one of the others. But he wasn’t. The space next to Hyunjin yawned like a chasm, empty and cold as if the room itself wanted to make it known what was wrong, and Minho just stood there for a moment, feeling like the rug had been pulled out from beneath him.
Because Jisung, the one person whom he’d shown up to see, whose memory had kept him afloat these last four terrible weeks and whose smile was the whole fucking reason why Minho was even here, was gone. And where the hell was he? What happened? Was he okay?
He barely registered JYP talking in the background, saying something about performing their finale twice in different-sized groups. Across the way, Hyunjin noticed him staring and blinked for a moment before glancing to his side. His eyes widened, something like pain flickering across his face before he quickly looked away, and Minho couldn’t help the dread that skittered cold down his spine.
Something had happened. Something was wrong.
Then JYP was leaving, the door swinging cheerfully shut behind him. And even as the other members converged on them, smiling and laughing with excitement, Minho turned, nearly clipping Seungmin’s shoulder as he marched up to Chan. “Where is he?”
And—okay, so his tone probably could’ve used some work, especially after being gone for a month. But still, did Chan really have to be looking at him like that, wide-eyed and almost spooked, as if Minho had just pulled a gun on him and demanded he hand over his life savings?
“I, um.” He didn’t think he’d ever seen Chan look so uncertain, hunted, almost panicked, like it was taking everything he had not to run right out of the room. “I-I don’t know—”
“He left.”
Minho blinked, turned to where Woojin stood a couple feet away. Their leader’s eyes were soft with residual relief, but there was something else there too: a sharp undercurrent of disappointment glinting like a blade as Woojin continued, “About a week ago he just packed his bags and skipped town, only left us a letter saying he’s done. And we haven’t been able to reach him since.”
Which—what? Vaguely Minho was aware he was probably gaping like an idiot but he couldn’t help it because. Because Jisung had left? Han Jisung, arguably the most talented out of all of them, who’d worked his ass off for years to get to this point, who more than anyone else talked about how his only goal was to debut with Stray Kids. And now he’d just…given up?
It made no sense. It wasn’t Jisung, and surely something had happened. Surely there was a reason—
In front of him Woojin shook his head. “I guess the pressure just got to him or something,” he said. “He didn’t look too good the day he left, you know? So maybe he just changed his mind. And he’s allowed to, if that’s what he felt was right.”
He said it soft, matter-of-fact. Like a truth of the world, and Minho swallowed. Because Woojin was right: they all had choices, didn’t matter how much it felt like they didn’t some days. And…And maybe Jisung really had changed his mind. It happened, right? Even though he was the last person Minho would ever have expected to throw in the towel. Even though the prospect of continuing on without him made Minho feel like one of his limbs had just been torn off.
“Anyway.” Woojin grinned and reached out to pat his shoulder, steady and firm as always. “We’re so glad you’re back, Lino. And we’re gonna kill that final performance, don’t you worry, since we’ve all been practicing our asses off on ‘Seven Seconds’ since you left.”
Seven Seconds. He meant the song 3RACHA had brought with them into the show, that talked about themes of perseverance and survival, so well-suited for this journey they were all on. It was the song they’d all been rehearsing since the first episode, the song he himself had spent countless hours tweaking and perfecting the choreography for and, if they were lucky, it would be the song that would introduce Stray Kids to the world. With or without Jisung.
Woojin sent him one last smile before turning to join Hyunjin and Changbin as they chatted happily with Felix. Jeongin and Seungmin hovered close by, practically vibrating with excitement, while Chan was…doing something across the room, maybe looking something up on his phone, shoulders a little hunched. Weird.
But it was what it was. Minho had been given a second chance, and he was going to take it. And…And so what if Jisung wasn’t here? He’d made his choice in the end, just like Minho had. And now he had more important things to focus on, like how the choreography for “Seven Seconds” had changed since his departure, and how he could adapt it appropriately for six performers rather than eight. God, he had a lot of work to do; they all did. Whether he liked it or not, Han Jisung—and whatever mysterious whim had made him turn away from a future as an idol—was no longer something Minho had the capacity to care about. And maybe that was okay. Jisung would never have chosen to leave if he didn’t actually want to, after all. Wherever he was, whatever he was doing, Minho was sure he was happy.
In the meantime, though…he turned with a grin and opened his arms, then nearly bowled right over when Jeongin and Seungmin rushed into his embrace. And as Minho held his friends close, entire body shaking with the enormity of his future before him, he couldn’t help but smile.
He had no idea where they went from here. Maybe their finale would flop and JYP would send them all back to the drawing board as a result. Maybe they would debut but then fade into nothing, or maybe they would somehow manage a miracle and become a worldwide success. It didn’t matter in the end. He was here, he was back with the people he cared about the most, and that was what was most important.
Yes. Minho pressed his lips to Jeongin’s hair and squeezed Seungmin’s hand and let himself fall into the joy and hope of being part of something again. It was going to be okay.
Jisungie, he thought, as the rest of the group came together around him. Wherever you are…watch me. Watch what we’re about to become.
Stray Kids everywhere, all around the world. He believed it, and that was enough.