❛ 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞. 𝗌𝗄𝗓 𝖺𝖽𝖽𝖾𝖽 𝗆𝖾𝗆𝖻𝖾𝗋

❛ :: 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗌𝗁𝖺𝗍𝗍𝖾𝗋𝖾𝖽 𝗅𝖺𝗉𝗍𝗈𝗉

CHARLIE BAE IS A lot of things, but he's certainly not deaf. In fact, he had exceptional hearing. His doctor said so herself. So, it wasn't a challenge for him to hear the bickering which came from outside of the dressing room, ruining his pre show relaxation vibes.

"How is it my fault that you're the one that broke it?"

"You didn't stop me from touching it! You know i'm banned from touching expensive things to avoid these situations from happening!"

"You're a grown man!"

"Not maturity wise!"

Charlie carefully placed his book down against one of the sofa cushions and seized himself up, striding across the room and yanking the door open to reveal Kim Seungmin and Yang Jeongin, the younger of the pair looking like a deer caught in headlights.

"It's not what it sounds lik—"

"I don't care what you broke. I care that I'm trying to calm my pre show nerves with a good book and a little bit of rare peace and quiet, and you are ruining it for me! Go argue somewhere else!" Charlie scolded.

"Jeongin dropped Chan's computer."

Now Charlie was intrigued. Rule number one in the Stray Kids family — never touch Chan's laptop. That thing is Bang Chan's most prized possession, Charlie had once seen him caress it when he thought no one was around. It was both scarring and extremely comical. Charlie couldn't believe his eyes, at first he thought he was hallucinating until he saw it happen again.

"How many activities are on your bucket list and can we do them before Chan finds out what you did and grounds you for the next forty years?"

Jeongin groaned loudly, sliding down the wall with his head in his hands. Chan usually has a lot of patience, but Jeongin knew he was in for it this time. He had been silly to touch the laptop.

"Did you check to see if the laptop was broken?"

The two boys remained quiet, giving Charlie all the answers he needed. Pressing one hand into his hip and the other against his nose, pinching the bridge, he sassily huffed. "You didn't even check whether it was broken before you began freaking out? That's the first thing you do!"

"I panicked and ran!"

"I hope you fall over next time," Charlie grumbled, sliding past the pair to go check on the laptop only to stop in his tracks when he realized he didn't know where it was.

Seungmin threw his thumb over his shoulder in the direction behind them. Charlie swiftly turned on his heel and followed after the pair, down a few hallways until they stopped in front of the empty green room.

Both void of people and the laptop.

Charlie placed his hands on his hips. "Well, it's out of my hands. I'll see you when you get let out of your bedroom lockdown sentence in forty years."

Just as he was about to leave, Jeongin desperately grasped the material of his shirt crinkling it in the process. Lord, his stylist was going to be livid. She had just finished ironing that.

"You've got to get me out of the country!"

Charlie pulled a face. "Bit melodramatic."

"He's got so many files on that computer. If I am the reason those files get lost, i'm done for! Even if he doesn't kill me, the guilt will eat me alive." Jeongin let go of Charlie's shirt to aggressively run his hands through his hair.

To be honest, even if Charlie wanted to help him, he had no idea how.

"Well—" the eldest began, glancing towards the door with uncertainty. "We haven't heard screaming yet, or any crying... so you might be okay."

As if on cue, Chan entered the room. Red faced and his chest heaving up and down as if he was about to have an anxiety attack. Charlie refrained from making any sounds of disgust as Jeongin grabbed his hands.

"My laptop screen in smashed!"

Jeongin crumbled to the ground, Seungmin made a run for it out of the door claiming he needed to go wash Changbin's pecks, and Charlie just stood there conflicted on how to approach the situation.

"Do any of you know what happened?"

It was quiet for a moment, Charlie peered down at a guilty Jeongin, who after a minute started to stand up ready to confess. But before he could, Charlie shoved him back down by the head causing the youngest to fall back with a squeal.

"It was me, I dropped it. I found it here alone and I was going to fetch it to you and I ended up tripping and dropped it. I'm sorry, I'll pay to get the screen fixed."

Chan's gaze flitted from Charlie to a shrugging Jeongin, who was still being held on the ground, this time Charlie had his foot on his chest to stop him from getting up or saying anything. Anytime the Maknae would try to interrupt, Charlie's foot would press down harder with increasing pressure.

"Why didn't you come straight to me?" Chan asked, sounding a little disappointed.

Charlie shrugged. "Got scared."

"You? Got scared of me?"

Charlie nodded, lying through his teeth. "You're a scary boy, Bang Chan."

Jeongin tried to sit up. "Hyung no it was—ow ow! Okay shutting up."

"Jeongin, why don't you go catch up with the other members? I need to speak with Hyung alone."

Jeongin glanced between his elders unsure, but Charlie gave him a nod to assure him that he would be fine. So, he did as told and headed off to find Seungmin.

Once he was out of earshot, Chan spoke up. "You didn't break my laptop. Had it been you, you would have brought it to me immediately, you're not afraid of me."

Charlie remained stone faced. "I broke your laptop."

"No you didn't. You're covering for Jeongin."

Charlie should've known it would be harder to lie to Bang Chan, he could always see through the cover up stories.

"Fine, but doesn't matter who broke it. I'll be the one paying for the repairs."

"I can't let you do that—"

"But i'm going to anyway."

"Hyung!" Chan stomped his foot, but Charlie remained unbothered, his lips shifting up into a small smile.

"Christopher. Aren't you too old to be throwing tantrums? 50 isn't fair away."

"You're literally older than me."

"Let's have a good show, old man."

Charlie left a dumbstruck Bang Chan with a pat on the back, stalking off to hair and makeup. When the Maknae set his eyes on him, he practically threw himself at Charlie.

"Thank you! Thank you! I'll pay—"

"You'll be doing my share of chores for the next two months."

Charlie walked away, leaving no room for argument as he sat in the chair ready to get his makeup done for the upcoming show, one leg thrown over the other as he pulled out his phone.

Jeongin groaned. "I guess that's fair."

Oh, it was very fair—Charlie was more than happy to spend money if it meant he didn't have to lift a finger back at the dorm for two whole months.

He was living the life.

.｡. .｡. .｡. .｡.

i think id cry if bang chan was mad at me — luckily for charlie and jeongin, he has a lot of patience.

if you have any requests feel free to let me know and i'll see what i can do.

thank you so much for reading, this wasn't proofread but i hope you enjoyed anyway 🖤

— blue x