Still A_Stray: Living With Stray Kids (ot8 fanfic)

Chapter 1

Monday~

Freezing cold, but I know we'll burn forever

Binnie: Have you landed yet?

Me: Just now. I'm making my way to bag claim.

I closed the thread on my phone, slipping it into my back pocket as I walked through the terminal. The flashing signs had been the first thing to greet me when I stepped off the plane into Seoul, South Korea; now, the truth was presented to me inescapably in those bright billboards directing me to baggage claim—as of this moment, I was back in the country where I was born, thousands of miles away from America and my girlfriend.

The thought reminded me to text said girlfriend, so I quickly shot her a message telling her I had safely arrived. Claire pinged back almost immediately: call me as soon as you're settled in, okay?

I felt a smile tug my lips upward. The next second, I was at baggage claim, and I soon spotted a familiar face.

My heart leapt, and I practically sprinted through the terminal, throwing myself into the arms of Seo Changbin—my younger brother.

He let out a muffled grunt of pain, but hugged me back anyways. "Yeji, you're crushing my spleen."

"I don't even know where that is," I answered happily, refusing to let him go. "I missed you."

He chuckled. "Me too."

I hadn't seen Changbin in person for over four years. In that time, he'd gone from being my short, emo younger brother to a short, emo famous k-pop idol.

I looked him over. "I knew you said you'd be blending in, but I didn't realize how much. All I can see are your eyes." True enough, Bin was wearing a heavy scarf, baseball hat and face mask, obscuring most of his features.

"I know—it sucks. But I have to do it every time I go into a public place like this." he added ruefully, "I almost came to blows with JYP before he agreed to let me come without a bodyguard."

I hummed thoughtfully. "Living the life of an idol isn't all sunshine and rainbows, I guess."

Changbin snorted. "It's actually hell."

"You were made for it, though," I said. "And now I can leech off your fame. Have you seen your net worth, Bin? You're my new retirement plan."

"As if you had one to begin with," Changbin muttered. "You don't even have a job."

"At least I went to college," I pointed out.

He groaned. "Are you going to be flexing the fact you went to a university the entire time you're here?"

"Yup."

"Hyunjinnie's going to love you, then." He shot me a glare. "You can talk about majors and minors and how smart you both are together instead of with the rest of us."

"Hyunjin goes to a university?" I asked, surprised, and he nodded. I had heard a bit about the seven members Changbin had been spending his life with while I was gone, but I'd never seen them other than on the news. He'd told me a bit about their personalities, but I doubted I'd be able to recognize them.

We chatted as I got my bags and left the airport, getting into a dark SUV for the ride back to Changbin's dorm—the kind where a guy stepped out and opened the door for you and the windows were tinted. The seats were all leather and so clean I felt like my overnight-flight airport body was dirtying them up.

Bin had already briefed me on what it would be like to live with the members, but he repeated it during the drive.

"You'll be in the guest room in our dorm—it's a few doors down from mine and Hyunjin's, so you can come to me if you need anything. Jisung and Channie-hyung are on the other side of the dorm, with the kitchen and the living room between them. You can roam around the city as you wish, as long as you're subtle about leaving the dorm—sorry, Yeji, but you're kind of a scandal waiting to happen, so be discreet.