Maknae Princess || Stray Kids

61. SLEEPLESS NIGHT

Bad Sleeping Habits Return

Nabi stared up at the ceiling of the hotel room before groaning softly and pulling the blanket over her head. She turned onto her side and closed her eyes but a minute passed and frustration got the better of her. She threw the blanket aside and sat up in bed. Seungmin was sound asleep in the bed next to her while she was fighting for her life just to get five minutes of sleep. It was useless.

Nabi sighed before putting on her slippers and running a hand through her messy bedhead. It was somewhere after 4 am in the morning. She decided to go find someone who was definitely awake at this insane hour to keep her company. She quietly walked across the room making sure not to wake Seungmin up as she slipped out of the room and knocked on the door to the left.

There was a pause of silence before the door quietly opened. Chan looked back at his youngest only slightly surprised. He guessed her bad sleeping routine had returned because of the tour and the different time difference. He hated it because she'd finally gotten a good sleep pattern only for it to get ruined again. Not even Felix's insomnia tea was working right now.

"I knew you'd be up," Nabi smiled.

Chan laughed softly. "Hm, come inside. I'll keep you company. Just be quiet, Han-ah's asleep," he said and stepped aside for her.

Nabi walked inside and spotted Han sleeping just as soundly as Seungmin. He looked even more like a squirrel asleep than he did awake. Innocent and with puffed-out cheeks. It was cute and Nabi smiled at him before going over to sit on the floor. Chan went back to the small table and chair with his laptop on it.

"Are you still thinking about the trending topic?" Chan asked, not sure if he should've brought the subject up or not.

Nabi didn't seem bothered though. She shook her head, "No, I'm staying off social media for a while until it calms down. I think if I don't Changbin oppa will take my phone away."

"Sounds like Bin-ah," Chan chuckled softly.

"My brother face-timed me," Nabi said. "He's more anxious about this whole thing than I am. He thinks it's partly his fault because he was so eager with the V-live but we both knew this was going to happen. Sooner or later. It doesn't matter if it was made public from the start or kept a secret until he and the rest of Bangtan go to the military. The result will still be the same," Nabi sighed a hint of helplessness in her voice. "To them, I'm just a nepo baby. Someone whose only talent is having Jeon Jungkook as my older brother."

Chan felt terrible at hearing those words come out of his maknae's mouth. He always tried so hard to protect his members, especially the younger ones but some things were inevitable and completely out of his hands. All he could do was support and comfort them.

Besides, he knew how mentally strong Nabi was. She grew up with Suga and Jisoo as impactful influences in her life. So, of course, she could handle whatever hateful and toxic thing was thrown at her. Naturally, it still affected Nabi but not nearly as much as it would if she didn't have the mentality she had. If she was half as soft as Felix then Chan knew he'd be in big trouble. Thankfully, Changbin and Minho helped a lot when it came to her mindset. Changbin most of all and outside of the group, Suga and Jisoo still had a strong effect on Nabi.

"Don't think like that, Nabi-yah. You're the furthest thing from a nepo baby. You're a part of Stray Kids because of your own efforts and hard work," Chan told her. "I might've persuaded you in the beginning, but it was all on you to have reached this point."

Nabi nodded, showing her leader a smile. "I know." She moved closer and leaned her back against the side of the chair Chan was sitting on. "Suga oppa took the phone from JK and we talked for a bit. I feel better," Nabi said, but she looked at Chan and wondered if he doubted her words. His expression didn't give him away, he was just listening well like he always did whenever his members had an issue or a problem. "Really, much better," Nabi insisted and Chan believed her.

"That's good," he muttered, giving her shoulder a small squeeze. 

He then focused back on his laptop. This wasn't the first time Nabi said she felt better after talking to Suga. Just like she did every time Changbin gave her a pep talk. Chan really wanted to know what the two ever said to Jeon Nabi for her to genuinely be okay afterward, not worrying or caring about the hate surrounding her. He decided it was probably not for him to know. As long as their maknae princess was fine, that was the most important thing.

"Are you working?" Nabi asked.

"Not really, I'm just playing around with some of the tracks," Chan said.

"Oh," Nabi mumbled, tilting her head as she watched her leader mix and switch the different beats and rhythms to see where they were best suited. She recognized the titles of the songs having recorded for a few but none of them were near getting released yet. "Oppa, I like this one a lot," she pointed out. "Hannie's rap and Lee Know's falsetto were really good in it.

"This one?"You think so?" Chan asked and Nabi nodded. "We haven't decided on anything yet. Maybe we'll do a re-recording when we have the time."

Nabi spent the next ten minutes attentively watching her leader with interest before a yawn escaped and her eyes started to feel heavy. Chan watched out of the corner of his eye, trying his best not to laugh and just smile when her head bopped a bit. 

Because of how little time he spent with the members sometimes, this felt nice being apart and aware of his youngest member's problems. He was always held up in his studio late at night and in the early mornings, so Nabi usually sought out the other members for company or comfort with her insomnia. This was the first time Chan was on the receiving end of it and it made him feel reliable like the older brother he was trying so hard to be for all of his members.

Nabi's head jerked forward as she fell asleep. She woke up for a split second, enough to glance around before scooting closer to Chan and resting her head against his knee. She even wrapped her arms around his leg and went to sleep. He didn't acknowledge it and only carried on playing around with different timings on his laptop. It was rare for Nabi to fall asleep and now that she had he wasn't going to disturb her, no matter how uncomfortable the position was or how dead his leg was going from the lack of movement.

More than an hour passed before Han stirred awake in the bed opposite them. He rubbed sleepily at his eyes before throwing the blanket off and stumbling his way to the bathroom. He didn't notice his leader or maknae until he came back out five minutes later slightly more awake than before.

"Oh, hyung... " Han said, looking surprised.

Chan glanced up from his laptop before putting a finger to his lips to signal quiet. "Nabi-yah couldn't sleep so she came here. She passed out about an hour ago, I didn't dare move her," he whispered.

"It must be uncomfortable," Han commented, stopping in front of them.

Chan laughed a little. "My circulation was cut off a long time ago. I can't feel my lower half."

Han grinned in amusement. "Hyung, you don't have to be so careful around Nabi-yah. Once she falls asleep she's a heavy sleeper, trust me."

"Really?" Chan asked, surprised.

"Hm," Han nodded and crouched down beside Nabi. "See? You can pick her up and nothing," he said and demonstrated by pulling their youngest away from the oldest. Han let Nabi's cheek rest against his shoulder as he easily put her in his arms before standing up. Nabi didn't move at all, she peacefully carried on sleeping and Chan's expression was between being surprised and being impressed that Han knew that.

"Wow, amazing," he muttered.

"You can get feeling back now hyung, I'll put her in my bed to carry on sleeping," Han said and settled Nabi onto the bed before giving her an extra pillow to cuddle in her arms. He then covered her with a blanket. "Everyone, this is how you put a wild koala to sleep," Han narrated to no one in particular. "Yah, when she and I.N-ah are asleep they're like angels," Han laughed as he took his phone out and snapped a picture of SKZ's sleeping koala bear.

"Are you saying they're demons when they're awake?" Chan chuckled, standing up but wobbling slightly as pins and needles replaced the numbness in his leg. "Oh, yah, ouch... painful, very painful," he complained and fell down on the chair again.

Han looked over at him and laughed loudly this time.

For Stray Kids, Chan could really and literally sacrifice anything whether it was his sleep or even a leg.