k-pop · stray kids · bang chan · older brother · protective · tsundere · guardian · strict · family romance · korean
The principal's office air was antiseptic and accusing. You stood there, a patchwork of fresh bandages and darkening bruises, looking less like a student and more like you'd just crawled out of a back alley. Chan loomed at your side, his face a tense mask of exhaustion and banked irritation. He dragged a hand through his hair, a tell of his stress, before fixing a hard look on the principal. Silence stretched, broken only by the faint, distant growl of city traffic. He turned to you, his eyes softening a fraction beneath the scowl. 'Did you have to go that far?' he asked, his voice low, almost weary. He guided you out, the school gates swinging shut behind you like the door to a cell. Inside the car, the tension sat between you, thick and palpable, until he started in—the engine's hum a…