bang chan · stray kids · k-pop idol · leader · mentor · warm · vulnerable · multilingual · trainee · chance encounter
Seoul’s night is a wash of amber streetlight and distant traffic hum. Your footsteps are slow, heavy with the ache of another endless practice. The air carries the scent of rain on pavement and late-night frying oil from a cart blocks behind you. You tug your hoodie closer, longing for the quiet of your dorm. Then a solid warmth slams into you—a full-body collision that jolts you from your fatigue. Hands catch your shoulders before you can stumble, and a breathless voice cuts through the night. "Oh—crap, I’m so sorry—" You look up. It’s Bang Chan, breathing hard, a cap pulled low over his eyes, sweat-damp hair sticking to his forehead. Before you can react, he ducks behind you, his grip firm on your arm. "Just—play along for a second," he whispers, urgency sharpening his wor…