stray kids oneshots

debut | stray kids

just a short little 1300+ word drabble i did for a stray kids debut project on tumblr!! thought i'd cross post it here just for the heck of it :)

also stray kids are releasing their album in a f ew hours i am NOT ready (you see what i did there ahahaha)

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Ten minutes.

Ten minutes wasn't long - it normally flew by for the boys, considering how much of their time they spent practicing - but now it felt like nothing less than an eternity.

Only yesterday, ten minutes felt too short. Ten minutes was roughly the amount of time they had to run through two songs with a discussion on how well they'd done at the end of each. Ten minutes was the amount of break time they would receive after a particularly long practice, and it would seem as though it was more similar to ten seconds as opposed to six hundred.

Now, ten minutes signified the amount of time they had left before they were to go on stage and face the people that had been supporting them all along. It signified the amount of time they had left before they were to perform what they've been practicing for the past three months. It signified the amount of time they had left before they were to do what they've been waiting all their lives to do - debut.

Before now, debut had seemed like only a fantasy. Of course, they had known it was coming - it was all they were doing recently, perfecting their skills for this moment. But it was only now that the reality of the situation really sunk in.

Debut. The word derived from the French word 'dèbuter', meaning to lead-off or begin. The 'begin' part of it all was understandable, since they were beginning their official careers as idols, but what did 'lead-off' mean? What could they possibly be leading off of?

This was what Hyunjin had been thinking about for the past week. It was a stupid thing to muse about, really, but whenever he had some time to himself (which wasn't particularly often, but often enough for him to notice) he eventually came back to it.

"What does debut mean?" He had asked Chan one day, after they had officially called it a night.

"Debut? The general definition is to start something new, but in our case it means to make one's first public appearance." He said this without even sparing Hyunjin a glance, keeping his eyes trained on his computer as he watched the video they'd filmed of their choreography, checking for any noticeable mistakes. And he claimed to have called it a night.

"I know that, but the origin of the word is supposedly derived from the French word 'dèbuter', which means to lead off." Hyunjin drummed in his fingers against the arm of the chair he was sitting in, hoping to appear nonchalant. "I just don't understand the 'lead-off' part of this."

Chan finally looked up at Hyunjin. Pausing the video, he tilted his head, seemingly thoroughly going over what he'd said. "Huh. That is a bit odd, isn't it? Perhaps it doesn't quite apply to our circumstance."

Hyunjin grimaced. He should've expected such vague of an answer from their leader. "I don't know. Something about it feels oddly fitting, but I can't quite place my finger on as to why it could possibly feel that way to begin with."

Chan hummed. Setting his laptop aside, he clasped his hands together. "Well, the reason it doesn't quite fit might be because of the transition of era, right? We associate debut with something completely new, something completely different from all our predebut experiences. At the same time, it doesn't seem right to label our debut as a lead-off because a lead-off usually hints at something bold to begin with, when we're aiming to become more bold as we progress. But really... we're leading off this whole thing with a bang. We're setting up the tone for the rest of it all."

(Hyunjin hadn't expected such a deep, impromptu speech, but he really should've expected it at this point).

With the way Chan had explained it, it had weirdly made sense. Hyunjin had agreed, then thanked Chan before heading off to bed.

Now, as he sat in their waiting room, he was unsure of the whole thing. Again.

Could this really be considered a lead-off? Sure, their songs were hype and had a definite beat, but would it be enough? The Stray Kids concept was (arguably) something along the lines of breaking stereotypes and setting a new line in the kpop industry. Before, Hyunjin had felt proud just saying that. Now that he was actually doing something that was to live up to the expectation, Hyunjin was just about nervous enough to throw up.

If doing a lead-off meant starting off something with a bang, was this really enough?

"Stop looking so nervous."

Hyunjin started at the sudden voice. Turning to his right, Hyunjin was face-to-face with Woojin, who was eyeing him weirdly. "What - I'm not that nervous."

"Shut up. You look like you're sick, what with the pale makeup and the fact that you're already sweating." Minho, never one for pleasantries, yelled this from across the room, gaining the attention of everyone else if they hadn't been paying attention before.

Hyunjin groaned. The last thing he needed right now was for his members to worry about him at - what, five minutes before they were to go on stage? Even if he was in the middle in order of age, Hyunjin found himself getting babied way more often than he'd like.

"It's okay, we're all nervous," Jisung reassured, patting Hyunjin's leg from his position on the floor.

"I'm not that nervous," Hyunjin muttered under his breath again. If anyone heard, they made no move to show they did.

"We're on stage with you! We have your back," was what Jeongin said. Seungmin, who was sitting next to him, nodded serenely.

"It's really okay. I know you guys care and all, but I'm not that nervous -"

"Aw, you're so nervous it's adorable." Changbin - who was sitting on his left with Felix, who was nodding a bit more eagerly than Hyunjin thought was normal - took the chance at Hyunjin's dumbfoundedness to pinch his cheek. "We're all up there with you, buddy. You can turn to us."

(See what he means by getting babied? Way too often).

Hyunjin pushed Changbin's hand away, averting their gazes while a number of them cooed about how cute he was (his cheeks were very clearly heating up but Hyunjin wasn't going to admit that any time soon). In his attempt to avoid eye contact with the rest of the members, Hyunjin found himself staring at Chan, who smiled warmly before Hyunjin could look away.

Now, Hyunjin was pretty sure Chan wasn't a psychic, but the older boy said, "Hyunjin. We're going to do fine. We've been spending enough time practicing that we all know that we're ready for this. We're doing this right. We're leading-off just as we've been planning for."

Hyunjin once again found himself speechless. The way Chan said it... he had been so sure and confident, Hyunjin started wondering why he had been doubting it all in the first place.

"Oooh! Leading-off! I like that," came Felix's voice from somewhere on the floor; Hyunjin could only assume that Changbin had pushed him off the couch they were sitting on. That explained the dull 'thump' he'd heard earlier. "It's perfect. A summary of what we're about to do on that stage."

The others chorused their agreement, and Hyunjin found himself nodding along. It is perfect, isn't it?

In the midst of their awe at the phrase, they were interrupted by the door opening and their manager peeking their head in. "Alright boys. It's showtime."

Was ten minutes that fast? And just minutes ago Hyunjin had thought it was an eternity.

Chan grinned, beckoning everyone to get up from their semi-relaxed positions. Hyunjin's heartbeat was so loud and insistent that he didn't know if the ear piece he was wearing would be of any use, but he liked this feeling. Something about it told him that he'd just feel that adrenaline rush as soon as the music started, and they'd set it off with a bang.

"Let's go lead-off with our debut, everyone!"

Maybe lead-off is the perfect term after all, Hyunjin thought, taking a deep breath, and then followed his members to their debut.