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The office Jisung found himself in smelled faintly of leather and stale coffee. Fluorescent lights buzzed overhead and the drone from the studio had faded long ago. Jisung sat on the small couch clutching a bottle of water and lost in his thoughts of why the Rhythm & Vibes MC wanted to see him specifically after today's show.
Did he mess up? Make a fool of himself out there? Embarrass Stray Kids and 3Racha?
The crowd was eating him up though. They laughed, they cheered, they chanted his name… so what did he do?
He wished that Chan and Changbin were here. It was supposed to be all three of them. 3Racha was invited here, not Han Jisung. Still, he had begged Chan and their manager to let him go. He wanted to represent Stray Kids on his own for the first time and make them proud.
Chan had been hesitant, knowing that his anxiety could get in the way and not embarrass them, but damage Jisung instead. Chan was a great leader and great leaders gave them opportunities to shine, and Jisung had pleaded with him that he could handle it.
So, here he was in this little cramped office after a day of filming a popular variety show with a handful of other artists in the industry. He was proud of the way he handled himself today and he had even networked with some of the other idols to give Stray Kids more opportunities to get their name out there. He thought he did well.
As his thoughts ran away from him and his knee bounced, he was finally joined by the MC. Kang Korian entered with not a frown, but a beaming smile that chased away the anxiety Jisung had been spiraling in for the last half hour.
Jisung jumped up and bowed low to him. “It was an honor to be invited to the show, Korain-nim. Thank you for inviting us.”
Korain was big in the industry. He had been an idol himself but now, his shows were making the top of the charts and music groups all over the country longed to be invited to one. It was a huge honor and part of the reason Jisung wanted to come. If Stray Kids missed out on this opportunity they would regret it forever.
The man didn't go to his desk. He crossed the room and gestured for him to sit and Jisung’s anxiety crept back in. Why?
“Nah, don't be like that. You boys have definitely earned your spot out there!”
Korain sat next to him. Not in Jisung personal space but still uncomfortably close and his knee began bouncing again until he stilled it. “Thank you, Korain-nim. Is…did I do anything wrong? I’m just wondering why I’m here.” No other idols had been invited to his office. No one else was asked to stay back.
“No, no, you didn't do anything too wrong but I wanted to talk to you,” he told him as his smile fell. “I’ve been in the entertainment industry for a long time and I make it a point to help other artists who I believe may struggle with the pressures of being an idol.”
“S-struggle?” He didn't think he was struggling. Had Korain seen something out there? Fuck. Did he mess up? His nervousness crept in like a thief in the night.
“You were stiff during the game segment.” Sliding a little closer, he put his hand on Jisung’s knee.
The way the man was looking at him made his chest tight and every proud moment he had out there on the stage was picked over and analyzed in a matter of seconds. He didn't remember being like that but this man was a professional. Maybe he was right? Korain’s voice was light but sharp as it bit into him and he pulled his knee away in reflex.
Korain didn't like that and stared at that spot on Jisung's leg where it had just been. “Makes people uncomfortable when you pull away like that.”
“I…I'm sorry,” Jisung stammered and sat up straighter. “I’m just… I don't think that I —” Closer. Korain moved closer and his heart rate jumped in response.
“I'm trying to help you, Han. You don't want to seem ungrateful, do you?”
That hand came back. “N-no!” What the hell was this? Korain’s entire mood had shifted from what it was on stage. On camera, he was a charming, veteran host loved for his jokes and infectious energy. Off camera he was colder. Calculating.
And tonight he wasn't hiding it. Jisung’s anxiety was seeing right through that facade.
“Do you want me to help you, Han?”
He couldn't meet his eyes when that hand crept higher. He knew what this was. It happened all of the time in the industry and it was only a matter of time before it happened to Stray Kids. Why did it have to be him though? No, that thought burned its way out of his head. He didn't want it to happen to anyone else so he would have to figure this out. “This isn't right. If you have any advice, I’ll take it. Otherwise, I would like to go home now. My manager is waiting for me.”
“You know, everyone here plays along,” Korain warned him in agitation. “Thats how it works. You laugh, you banter, you let a few things slide. That's the job.”
Jisung didn't answer for a second as his chest tightened. He just stared at the water bottle in his hand, watching his thumb rotate the cap over and over. “This i-isn’t banter. You don’t…you don’t have to do this. I want my manager.” He felt proud of himself for trying to stand up to him but he knew this was a delicate situation, and Korain let him know it.
“You think making a scene will help your image?” He leaned into him now, hand traveling to his arm and feeling the tight muscles beneath. The way he tensed made him smirk. “I’ve seen kids like you come and go. Wide eyes, self righteous… You blow the whistle and suddenly you're difficult to work with. No one calls you back.”
That was a threat. It was thinly veiled but it was there. If he didn't let Korain get his way then he would blacklist Stray Kids and with his influence over the industry, it would have catastrophic consequences for their group. He alone would destroy everything Stray Kids had worked for. Chan trusted him to take on this gig and failing him now left a sour taste in his mouth.
So, he had a choice here. Allow it and try to deal with whatever this man wanted from him, or get up and leave and destroy eight lives in mere seconds.
Once that crack in his soul opened up when those hands traveled to his chest and then he felt Korain’s hot breath on his neck, it paralyzed him.
But then, his phone rang. The shrill tone that always annoyed his members cut through the terror and he jumped up from the couch and scrambled to answer it. Anything to get that man off of him.
“H-hello?” He tripped over the simple word and eyed Korain who glared at him in disdain.
“Han. We need to go.” It was his manager and a flood of relief overcame him so suddenly that his knees wobbled. “We have a schedule to stick to.”
Jisung knew that Korain had heard the voice through the phone because the silence otherwise was deafening. He pleaded with him, eyes begging for him to let him go and bare no ill will. He trembled and he knew that Korain had scared him into silence. And when the man sighed and waved him off, he bolted.
Jisung came home to an empty dorm. Everyone was still at the company but after a quick meeting with management on how the show went, he went straight home. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He stayed truthful at the meeting and hid his emotions, he was usually good at that. The show did go well, it was just after that had broken something in him.
He was sexually harassed. Threatened. Nearly assaulted. And, he couldn't tell anyone. He was pretty sure that Kang Korain was done with him. There was no other reason to ever bump into him again and the phone call he got wasn't something that could be ignored. He was lucky.
So why was it still bothering him? He holed up in his room and pretended to be asleep when Stray Kids came back. His room was quiet except for the quiet hum of the fan circulating the stale air. Early moonlight slipped through the blinds in faint, broken lines across his bedspread and he couldn't help but get stuck in that office.
It had almost happened. What could have happened, he didn't know. He curled into a tighter ball in the corner of his bed, knees to his chest and hoodie pulled tight over his head as he tried to get those thoughts out of his mind. Instead, the tears came quietly and pulled it all right back out.
There was no gasping or sobbing. At least not yet. He had thrown up a wall against those feelings and refused to let himself cross it. Things slipped around it, but not over it yet. There was just a steady stream of tears, the slow wetness of his cheeks, and the knot in his throat that wouldn't fully go away since he had left that place.
It wouldn't leave him alone.
Chan was dying to know how the show went with Jisung. He had been waiting for the phone call all day but it never came. When their manager told him that he had headed home after their meeting, his spirits fell but no alarm bells rang. It was a long day and he was probably tired.
He got home with Seungmin and Felix in tow. The others had a few more things to wrap up and would be home a little later. It was a welcome reprieve after a busy day to not have a whole pack of Stray Kids ripping through the dorm.
The younger two peeled off to shower and play video games but Chan headed straight to Jisung's room. He wanted to know how his day went and if he did okay with his anxiety.
The bedroom light was off. That was the first thing he noticed when he padded down the hall to find his dongsaeng. It wasn't too late, he shouldn't be asleep yet. There was no soft light from his tv or lamp either. Maybe he was asleep.
The silence through the door felt heavy. Unnatural. Something sparked a flame of anxiety into his chest because Jisung never went to bed early. He was a night owl and after such an exciting day he should have met them at the door and spilled his guts about how cool it was to meet so many other idols and Kang Korain himself.
“Jisungie?” he called softly outside of the door. Nothing. Gently opening it, he stuck his head inside and found a lump in the corner of the bed. Not lying straight like a normal sleeping person would be, but curled into a tiny ball and shaking with what he could only guess to be sobs.
He stepped closer, slow, careful, like he was approaching a wounded animal. “Are…are you okay?”
Still nothing.
“Jisung —”
“H-hyung…”
The sound came out small and choked and wrapped in a plea for help. It twisted something in his stomach and he knew that something wasn't right. Far from it. He closed the distance between them and climbed into the bed only for Jisung to explode from the sheets he was wrapped in and glue himself to his chest.
“Oh, Jisungie, you're okay.” Desperate sobs wracked from Jisung's chest as he curled into him and Chan was at a loss for what to do. He wrapped his arms around him and held him close. “Talk to me. Please.”
Jisung wasn't going to say anything. Do anything. But the moment he heard his hyungs voice he broke. He needed Chan. He wanted Chan and for him to make it all better. That wall he had built inside him had crumbled and everything leaked out along with his tears that just wouldn't stop falling.
He buried his face into Chan’s neck and his hands clutched at his hoodie like he was drowning. And when Chan held him back like he could keep the world away from him for a while he contemplated on if he should tell him. Hands carded through his hair and the relief and safety he felt against his hyung was the drug he needed.
“Can you tell me what happened, jagi?” Chan asked him softly. He wasn't demanding. He only wanted to know how to make this all better.
For some reason, Jisung couldn't get it out. It got stuck in the back of his throat and the damn thing wouldn't come out. It really wasn't a big deal though. Why the hell was he even acting this way. Nothing really happened. The guy didn't touch him…much. Just a little harassment. “Nothing. Nothing happened, hyung.”
“Jisung.” It came out a little stern but it was shrouded in concern. “You’re shaking. Tell me what's going on. Did something happen at the show today?”
“N-no,” Jisung forced out. He still wouldn't let go of Chan or move out of his arms. He needed the contact. “I did good. I think. I don't know.”
“You don't know? Did manager-nim say something about it?”
Jisung sniffled but the cries were quieting. “He said he was proud of me. But I don't know. Maybe my anxiety made me weird on stage?” Korain had said it but he wasn't sure if it was true or not.
“Jagi,” Chan laughed. “If our manager said you did good, then you did good. He’s a hard ass that doesn't hand out compliments to just anyone.” Still, Chan knew that something was there. Jisung wouldn't be a sobbing mess otherwise. “What made you say that?”
Jisung shrugged. Maybe Korain was lying. Of course he was lying, that manipulative piece of shit.
“So nothing happened during the show?”
Not during the show. “No.”
“Okay then what —”
“After.”
Chan stilled. “Jisung. What’s going on? Sit up for me.” When he went to shift Jisung out of his arms the boy clung on tighter and let out a small whine. “Okay, okay. Just talk to me. Please.”
His eyes burned but he didn't blink. He was afraid if he did he would fall apart again. “He said that he wanted to help me. That he's seen kids like me struggling.”
“Who? Who told you that? Are you struggling?”
“I-I’m not struggling, hyung,” he told him. “If I was, I would tell you guys and then you would help me.”
“Jisung, you have to tell me what's going on.” Chan was getting scared. For Jisung to fall apart like this and dance around the subject was killing him. Was his anxiety taking over?
“I don’t…Korain said he would pretty much destroy us if I didn't. That he was powerful and would make sure no one else wanted to work with us again. I didn't want it, hyung. I didn't. But Stray Kids…I couldn't. I couldn't hurt us but then manager-nim called and nothing happened and I left. Nothing happened, hyung. Nothing happened. Nothing —”
Anger replaced his fear. Fury. Now, his body shook with rage and his body got heated and hot as his muscles coiled, ready to hit something. “He fucking touched you?!”
Jisung yanked himself away from Chan and shook his head in a panic. “He didn't! Chan, he didn't!" Chan was shaking in anger. His jaw was clenched and then Chan was on his feet and fighting with himself on what to do or where to go. Jisung didn't want him blowing this out of proportion. “Chan, he didn't."
Both boys were startled out of their minds when the bedroom door slammed open and Changbin's signature laugh cut through the tense air.
“Why do you both look like someone kicked your puppy?” Jisung looked freaked out and Chan…Chan looked angry.
“Korain touched Jisung.”
Jisung paled. Now Changbin was dragged into this. He should have kept his mouth shut. “I told you he didn't!"
“What the fuck?!” Changbin closed the door behind him and instantly mirrored Chan. A low, hot thrum started in his chest and spread to his hands. They curled into fists. How dare someone put their hands on Jisung. “What the hell happened?”
“J-just stop!” Jisung stammered. He grabbed at his hair and panicked. This was all wrong. It was fucked up and wrong and blown out of proportion. His breath came quicker and then it got hard to even do that. His vision wavered and then hands were on him. He flinched and they left, only to come back softer this time.
“Sungie, you're okay.”
Chan. Chan was here again and he let himself fall into his arms and cry. He couldn't stop crying. For some reason he looked calmer. Sad. Maybe he realized that Jisung needed that more than anger. Changbin though, he was pissed.
“What fucking happened,” Changbin growled.
Biting his lip, he looked between his two hyungs and tried to make it not sound like a big deal. It wasn't a big deal. Right? Nothing happened. Chan tried to pull away from him to see him better but damn it, he curled his fingers right back into this shirt and he stayed.
“I…he didn't touch me…much.”
Changbin's teeth clenched until his jaw ached. He tasted iron. His palms went slick and he flexed them to see if they would obey and yeah, they would. Slamming them into that show host seemed like a damn good idea right now.
“J-just my leg. And my chest. He did press against me and then he leaned into my neck — but that was all! He didn't touch me!”
“He fucking did!” Changbin yelled. “That is touching. That was something you didn't want. That is sexual harassment bordering on assault, Han Jisung.” Looking at Chan, he practically vibrated with anger. His hyung was barely keeping it together as well. “Where the fuck is he. Chan, we need to go deal with this. I'll beat the shit out of him —”
“No!” Jisung yelled and pushed Chan away. “He would ruin us! You know how influential he is. He said that he's seen kids like us come and go. That if we say anything we suddenly become hard to work with and no one calls us back. We would be blacklisted. So no. We can't do anything.”
“Fuck that,” Chan growled and whipped out his phone. He was already typing away and leaving the room by the time Jisung registered it.
“Hyung!” he yelled after him.
Changbin blocked Jisung from leaving but softened towards him. “Sungie, stay here. Let us handle it.”
A million and one scenarios ran through Jisung’s head as 3 Racha headed to the company first thing the next morning. An important meeting had been called and neither Chan nor Changbin would say much about it besides that it had to do with what happened yesterday.
All night, Chan assured him that things would be okay. He refused to leave him alone and slept next to him all night and Jisung appreciated the hell out of that. He woke up from a nightmare and Chan was there to hold him through the aftermath.
Now, they walked the halls of JYPE to the conference room and Jisung felt his heart trying to beat straight out of his chest. He had made this so bad. He had ruined Stray Kids, and neither Chan nor Changbin seemed to care about that. They said that he was more important.
He was there and his breath hitched when he saw him. Korain was there and he stared daggers of hate and disappointment at him from across the room. He barely registered the moments leading up to the meeting or even the start of it. It was only when he had to explain his side of things that the world came back into focus.
Chan had encouraged him to be truthful, and he was. His manager even backed him up by saying that he looked on edge but attributed it to post show nerves that he knew he sometimes got. He apologized for that. The other board members stayed on his side too. Apparently, this wasn't the first run in with Korain that they had.
Korain spoke next and of course denied it all. He said that they only talked about producing and music. That he was at his desk while Jisung was across from it. That pissed Chan off.
Chan seethed from his chair. It took everything he had not to fly over the table and hit this guy and on Jisung's other side, Changbin seemed to be in the same boat. “You told Jisung that you knew people. That you could hurt our chances in this industry because of your influence. You sit there and deny every word out of my kid's mouth while all you have to do is sign that piece of paper JYPE put in front of you to keep you away from us.”
The bastard was still smiling smugly at Chan but he wasn't done with him. “I know people too, Korain. Jisung said that you've seen idols come and go. That tells me that he isn't the first one you've touched and I'm willing to bet that you've taken it farther. I've been in this industry for a while too. Made a lot of friends from all over. If you do anything, anything, at all to hold us back, I'm going to find as many people as I can who you have hurt and make sure your ass goes behind bars to where you never see the light of day again.”
“Bang Chan,” his manager warns.
“No,” he snapped. “If I hear so much as a peep from anyone else that you are still doing this to people, the result is the same. Stay the hell away from my kids.”
Jisung could hardly breathe. The meeting had gone well enough, he thought. Stray Kids weren't going on any more shows run by that bastard and papers had been signed to keep this quiet. It really was a he said, she said situation from the lack of evidence, but JYPE was hell bent on protecting their idols. It wasn't the best case scenario but at least it was something. And, Chan’s threats helped.
He calmed down in the bathroom. Everyone else was still in the conference room finishing up but Jisung slipped away to catch his breath. It was all over with now. It wasn't nothing. He was sexually harassed and nearly assaulted. Okay, maybe borderline assaulted from what Changbin had said. Still, it happened, and it was over.
Splashing water on his face helped. His hands were still shaking. It was like his body hadn't got the message yet that it was all over. He let the cold water run over his hands and his wrists, grounding him. The bathroom felt too bright. Too quiet and it was doing nothing for his nerves. Management gave them all the day off and he knew that he would be spending it curled up on the couch with the others.
They knew now too. Chan and Changbin hadn't been exactly quiet as they discussed how to rip the guy apart. And, they had kept the others from tumbling into his room to find out if he really was okay. That would have been too overwhelming.
Jisung sighed and looked at his reflection in the mirror. His eyes were rimmed in red. He may have let a few tears slip when all the attention was on him. A steady hand from Chan on his knee beneath the table was the only thing that kept him from straight up bawling. He wished Korain had gotten more than a warning. There was still something telling him that he hadn't seen that last of that man.
So, the second he heard the bathroom door creak open, he felt it in his gut that he was right.
There was a shift in the air. A pause. The way the footsteps didn't head for the urinals or stalls, just stopped right behind him. He didn't turn around. Not right away. He stared into the mirror, jaw tight and heart thudding in his ears. Korain, taller, broader, moved to lean against the sink to his right, effectively blocking the path to the door.
“You really thought you could walk away just like that?”
“You aren't supposed to be here,” Jisung said quietly. He knew his voice was shaking and that he sounded pathetic. Hell, he felt pathetic. He was terrified and frozen in fear. This man was dangerous, and now more than ever.
Korain was there before he could even think of moving. He was suddenly shoved against the wall. He could feel his heat, smell his expensive cologne. There was a smile on his face, not friendly but there was something in it that made his skin crawl. And, he had his hand pressed against his mouth to where he couldn't call for help.
“You said that I touched you?” he purred. “Like this?”
His other wandering hand slipped beneath his shirt and teased its way up his side. Jisung cried as thoughts slammed into one another. Move. Run. Fight. None of them moved his limbs. He was pinned, body crushed into the disgusting wall of the bathroom.
“Or this?”
It moved to his ass. Groping. Touching. He begged against the hand over his face, voice muffled and incoherent. His terror said enough though, and Korain ignored it.
“I have other friends, Han. I may not kick Stray Kids to the curb, but they will —”
The door to the bathroom opened and Jisung nearly passed out in relief. Changbin, a member from the board, and their manager stood there in momentary shock until Changbin ripped across the open space and yanked Korain off of him so viciously that he probably got whiplash.
Changbin slammed his fist into his face with a savage crack while his manager came for him instead. Jisung slipped down to the floor in terror while his manager tried to console him. Changbin, it took the board member and another who had heard the commotion from the hall to pull him off of Korain.
Fists were flying, Changbin was hurling threats and Korain was further incriminating himself with the things he was screaming back. Jisung wanted to throw up. So much was going on and as the bathroom got more crowded, a familiar face slipped in and pulled him out of his manager's arms.
Chan herded him out of there around the commotion and got him back to the conference room. Jisung held onto him tight and his hyung just let him cry. He didn't know how long he stayed like that but eventually, people started floating in and out and Changbin fell into a seat next to them.
He had busted knuckles but a smile of satisfaction on his face because of it. It took a while for all of them to calm down but by the end of the day, things couldn't have gone better.
Management and board members saw how Korain had him pinned to the wall, hand across his mouth to keep him from screaming and the other touching him. There was no hiding from that. JYPE went after him for harassment and assault and then he got actual jail time. Not much, but it was enough to keep him from doing this to anyone else for a while and now that he had slandered his own name, no one would want to work with him again. He had destroyed himself.