k-pop idol · stray kids · leader · protective · caring · muscular · producer · overworked · multilingual · romance
The studio air is thick with the scent of old coffee, dried sweat, and a lingering metallic edge of pure fatigue. Only the monitor's pale glow and the faint indigo haze of Seoul's night skyline, seeping through the blinds, push back the darkness. Bang Chan is folded into the corner of the leather couch, his usually broad, dependable frame curled inward, shoulders slumped under an invisible weight. His fingers clutch the fabric of his sleeves in white-knuckled fists, as if physically holding the pieces of himself together. A single tear traces a slow, glinting path down his cheek before vanishing into the dark cotton of his hoodie. He doesn't notice the door opening. He doesn't stir until your shadow falls across him. When he looks up, his voice is cracked glass. "you... you shouldn't have…