Stray Kids Drabbles

Swan dive

After attempting to find Changbin to give him lunch, you find an empty dance practice room, and you lose yourself in the melody. 

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

You were supposed to be meeting your boyfriend for lunch at the JYP office. The homemade meal you brought weighed heavily in your hands. You made your way through security and headed to the recording studio he was supposed to be in.

Exhaustion clung to you and you couldn't seem to shake it. Your sleep came in bits and pieces. A few hours here and a few hours there. When you woke up, it never made a difference. The beige bags beneath your eyes showed no signs of going away anytime soon.

Your problems mixed together again. Dealing with them alone was starting to get old, but you didn't want to be a bother. You didn't break down in front of people. You kept yourself held together with a fake smile on your face. Always pouring yourself out to anyone who needs you, but never taking the time to replenish your own glass.

Changbin had been working his ass off. When you compared your problems against his, yours seemed so small and insignificant. How could you bring them to him when he struggled so much with his career? Making music, being a role model, finding time for himself, there was no room for your burdens. You had learned to live with it.

In the beginning, he tried his best to get you to open up. He wanted to listen to your problems. He wanted to be there for you in the same way you were there for him, but you refused to open up. Like a clam, you slammed yourself shut and closed yourself off to everyone.

It took him a bit to realize that he couldn't force you to open up to him. He'd wait a thousand years for you. He didn't mind waiting as long as he got to spend the meantime with you.

Today, he planned on attempting to try again. He asked if you wanted to have lunch with him. His usual lunch time had shifted from a half-hour to an hour. He was going to order something for the two of you from DoorDash, but you insisted you could make him something homemade.

You continued walking to his studio when you glanced out of the corner of your eye. One of the dance studios had the door shut. You paused for a moment and slowly inched your way to the small panel of glass. The room was completely empty.

It had been so long since you danced. You used to enjoy it all the time when you were younger. Dancing made you feel like you were flying. Unfortunately, life happened and dance slipped away. It drifted through your fingers and you let it.

Visits to your dance studio became less and less until they stopped all together. Your heart constricted at the bittersweet memories. Your limbs were weightless in the air. All your worries drifted away. Too lost in the music and movement, you didn't have time to think.

Your eyes glanced down at the lunch in your hands. Your palms were warmed from the sides. You had plenty of time to sneak into the room and dance to a song or two. You took a step forward and then stopped. What were you doing? You were wasting your boyfriend's lunchtime.

With a frown, you stepped away. You took a few steps down the hall, but an invisible string tugged you back. You paused and glanced back at the door. Double checking your surroundings to make sure you were alone, you went back and slipped yourself into the room.

Your reflection greeted you in the dance mirrors. It wasn't the first time you had been in one of JYP's dance practice rooms, but it was the first time you had been in one alone. Your eyes met your reflection in the mirror.

How many times have people's hopes and dreams fluttered to life here? How many times have they been crushed? You heard the trainee stories from Changbin. You couldn't imagine having such a daunting pressure sitting on your shoulders for the sake of your dreams.