The Prince of K-Pop || Bang Chan FF

Chapter Sixteen

          It was a knock at the door that awoke Naty.

          She took a moment to listen to the gentle rapping before registering that she should open it. Naty took tired steps to the door and opened it without checking through the peep hole. She was both surprised and not surprised to see Ashley waiting there.

         "Can I come in?"

          Naty considered denying the request but decided to step back and allow the woman to enter. It was clear that the atmosphere was much different from the night before. There was no hostility or accusations or anger. Naty followed the woman to the couch and sat at the opposite end of her. She had nothing to say.

          "I want to apologize to you, Naty."

          Okay, Naty had something to say.

          "That was—"

          "Ashley, with all due respect, your apologies don't really mean much after the fact. I would rather you save your breath," Naty was too tired to care if that sounded mean.

          "You're right," the woman seemed to deflate against the sofa cushions, "I guess...I just want to explain Tara's and mine behavior a bit more. I don't want you getting the wrong impression of us."

          "I'm aware that my anything mean nothing at this point," Naty looked in the other direction.

         "That's fair of you to assume...but you're wrong."

          Naty opened her mouth to ask how she could be wrong but decided better against it. She simply took in a deep breath then looked to the woman beside her, "You would like to explain?"

          "Chris and Tara have a special relationship."

          "Oh my God. Did they used to date?" Naty felt the ground fall beneath her.

          Ashley let out a heavy chuckle, "Absolutely not. They have more of a sibling relationship. At one point, Tara was a trainee at JYP."

          "Really?"

          "Yeah, she started with Chris but ended up falling in love with the technical side of being an Idol," Ashley moved to get comfortable.

          "Why are you telling me this?" Naty felt confused.

         "Because Tara is my partner and I know she has been completely inappropriate."

          For the first, Naty could see the actual toll of the events weighing down on her.

          "Tara is the kind of person that doesn't do anything unless she knows she will be the best. And she is the best. That's why we're partners. She does have some weaknesses. I'm better at communicating but she's much better at the information," Ashley looked down, "I just...there's a lot going on behind the scenes that even the Kids don't know. I just feel ashamed for our behavior last night."

          "None of that excuses Tara using my history against me," Naty felt the feeling of bile crawling up the back of her throat.

          "You're absolutely right about that. That was out of line. She behaved totally inappropriately and Chris has said he will never forgive her," Ashley's words came out in a jumbled mess, "That's the weird thing about their relationship. They have no professionalism. They just look at each other like annoying siblings and usually it works but it gets so messy when they try to protect each other. And now she's trying to protect him."

          "Protect him?" Naty tried her best to digest the info dump, "From me?"

          "Yes...and no," Ashley turned her body, "A few years ago, Chris went through a really bad break up. It was horrific. The girl changed after debuting and became so emotionally abusive. Cheated on him, took advantage of him, gaslighting. He broke up with her pretty early into the abuse but she made him pay for it. She really eroded his mental health. It was so bad we had to get in the middle and threaten her team. It was ROUGH."

          Naty found herself overcome with emotion at the thought of Chan being hurt by his first love. She wished she had heard the information from him but hearing it from Ashley put the pieces in place. This was why Tara was so vehemently against her.

          "You're the first person he's liked since that. There's a lot going on but at the heart of it, Tara wants to protect him," the woman frowned.

          "It's not an excuse," was all Naty could say.

          "You're right but I don't want to excuse her behavior."

          Naty frowned as she looked into Ashley's eyes, "What do you want?"

          "I...I don't know. I want you to know that I like you. Even if you hate me and my partner. I like what you said about them being the first Stray Kids. I like you. I think you and Chris could be really good together one day a—"

          "One day?" Naty felt her heart drop.

          "Naty...the way you both are? Have been this weekend? This is a micro example of dating an Idol that is active. The pressure Tara put on you is nothing compared to fans and reporters. Do you really think you can handle all this stress?"

          "I think you are the stress," Naty couldn't stop herself from crying, "If you both hadn't been so awful then it would have been a lot easier. We could have had dinner in a hotel room instead of at In-N-Out. We could have anything!"

          The woman was silent for a moment before letting out a soft sign, "Naty, this is nothing compared to dating an Idol. Believe it or not, we held back. The media won't."

          "The media doesn't have to know," Naty cried.

           "They always know and people like us have to lie, cheat, and threaten to keep it under wraps. Imagine if Stays knew? Imagine if the world knew? I'm even quaking now that Chris' ex knows! Being the significant other of an Idol is not easy, Naty."

          "I can handle it," Naty was tough in her resolve.

          "I don't think he can."

          The resolve crumbled.

          "Chris lost it, like actually lost it, in a way I have never seen because of your showdown with Tara. There will be many Taras, sloppier and meaner too. I don't think he could handle what they'd say to you," Ashley suddenly produced a vape, "And I'm just talking about people IN the K-Pop industry. Chris can't explode on everyone that says something about you. He just can't."

          "So what?" Naty heard Pearl's words through her mind, "What should we do?"

          "Just take a break for now and come back together when things are slower," Ashley released a smoke cloud, "Or when you both have a bit thicker skin. I don't know."

          "My friend Pearl calls this kind of thing First Class Love. Have to work hard to earn it before enjoying the amenities," Naty mumbled.

          "Sounds like a smart person," Ashley smiled weakly, "I've got your breakfast on the way and booked you another spa day. After that, Fred will take you to the airport so you can go home."

          "I won't even get to say bye?" Naty cried.

          "He'll have full access of his phone when the show is over tonight. He'll call you then so don't go to sleep," Ashely sighed as she stood up from the couch.

           Naty curled up into the corner as she watched the woman leave the room.

           She had never felt so hopeless.