Final Puzzle Piece || SKZ 9th Member

Bonding With Changbin

[This is a compilation chapter. The scenes below either happened before the survival show or during the survival show]

Still in his school attribute, Changbin was already in the dance practice room when Kala just finished changing her uniform to a more comfortable training outfit. He was alone there, sitting against the big mirror while scrolling through his phone. There was no sign of the other members yet.

Kala hesitated to come in and be alone with Changbin, just the two of them in that small room. Not gonna lie, she still felt intimidated by the older boy. They never really talked before, like having a decent conversation one-on-one. She didn't know why she was so nervous every time she wanted to start a casual chat with him and always ended up holding back. Maybe because he was Seo Changbin, one of the popular trainees in JYPE.

Before Kala officially met Changbin for the first time, she already knew a bit about him from the other trainees, mostly from Chaeryeong. She also saw him quite a few times in the company, but they never made eye contact and interacted. The guy looked so cool that Kala thought they would never be in the same circle anyway.

You know that vibe of famous students in your school who seemed untouchable and out of reach, you'd feel so small whenever they were around. That was how Kala felt about Changbin.

After contemplating with herself in front of the dance practice room whether she should wait for Jisung or maybe Felix to show up or just fuck this anxiety and enter the room, Kala eventually chose her fight to bring her steps in.

Changbin looked up from his phone as soon as he noticed someone had come in. "Oh, you're here."

Just at that regular comment, Kala's hands shook slightly. She balled her fists to hide it and placed them behind her back. "Y-yeah."

"Did you go straight from school?" he asked, watching her awkwardly sit on the floor across from him.

Kala nodded stiffly, moving like a robot and making eye contact for a swift second, then darting her eyes anywhere but Changbin.

Her body language made Changbin's brows knit. He'd seen Hyunjin doing that before. Was she afraid of him like Hyunjin afraid of her?

Maybe she just needs time to get used, Changbin reckoned, so he stopped bothering Kala and let her be in her comfortable silence.

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The prediction was wrong. Changbin just expected Kala to adapt like maybe for three days or something, not the entire two weeks after their first introduction. The younger girl always appeared to be scared whenever she wanted to talk to him. It wasn't like he did anything worth criminal.

That was why tonight Changbin decided enough was enough. He couldn't stand being in an awkward saga like Hyunjin and Kala did. So after they finished practicing for the day, he approached Kala who was putting her guitar bag on her back.

"Kala-ya," Changbin called, getting not only Kala's attention but also Jisung near her. He was sometimes jealous of the younger boy because he effortlessly made Kala ease up to him whilst it took a while for him.

"Y-yeah?" There she was again, stammering.

"Let's have dinner together. It's on me." Changbin tried his best to give the impression he meant no harm as he wasn't.

"H-huh?" The look of surprise drew her face.

"Ooh hyung~ Can I come too?" Jisung chimed in, smiling right in front of Changbin's face.

"No." Changbin pushed Jisung's head out of the way, making him pout. "What do you say, Kala?"

Kala opened and closed her mouth like a fish several times until she finally answered, "S-sure, why... why not?"

You have no idea how delighted Changbin was to hear that from Kala. He smiled so bright. "Great! C'mon."

That night, at the convenience store where the members usually went, they talked it all out; what was bothering them all this time, why they had to be stuck in this circumstance of Kala being so reluctant to get close to Changbin.

Changbin eventually told Kala that he was merely like the other trainees, nothing to be intimidated about just because he was popular, and she should begin to see him as she saw Chan and Minho, the oldest members of Stray Kids but still could be a friend for the younger members.

And in the span of one night, Kala managed to change her vision of Seo Changbin, from the unapproachable, popular trainee to her coolest hyungnim.

"Why do you want to call me 'hyungnim', tho?" Changbin questioned because it wasn't what normally younger girls call older men.

"Gangster members call their boss 'hyungnim'," Kala explained in an eager tone. She had been wanting to call him that nickname since forever. "I always think you look like a boss gangster; tough and cool."

Changbin smirked approvingly, loving the nickname background. "I like that."

─── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───

The next day, when Changbin found out that his school and Kala's school were so close to each other last night, he had already made plans from the dorm to pick up Kala after school so they could walk together to the JYPE. That was how he was now at her school's front gate, waiting for her to show up.

Changbin didn't wait too long to hear Kala shout his name and wave at him. She ran to him with her guitar bag in her hand.

"Hyungnim, I don't know you'll be here." Kala's whole face brightened, she was happy finally things were so much better between them now, and most importantly, she got to call him 'hyungnim' at last.

"I just thought it's a good idea to pick you up since our schools are so close," Changbin said, ruffling her hair playfully. It was his new hobby now. "Let's go to the company together."

Along the way, they talked about many things to pay for all those times they had lost to build up a relationship. They even had Seo Changbin's rap class on the way to the company walk. Somehow it became a daily routine that if they skipped this habit, their day wasn't completed.