Whispers Of False Promises » bangchan [indefinite hiatus]

episode 23: drenched in his color

[RECAP: Kaira and Chan bonded throughout the previous few episodes; Chan giving her the nickname 'Stara'; Kaira's debut in two months; her meeting Stray Kids in the last episode for SKZ CODE; Felix ending the last episode with 'If I were you, I'd be ready for anything'.] 

I watched them shoot the episode, and in all honesty, their persona onscreen wasn't so different from what I had encountered offscreen. The shenanigans that went down during the episode were hilarious; I had a hard time controlling my laughter behind the cameras, and every time the director announced a 'CUT!', I would crack up. 

"And that's a wrap!" the director proclaimed, and everyone in the room clapped. I joined in the applause, even though I had contributed not a single thing in the entire process. 

The boys came running toward me, led by Chan, and I remembered that I was carrying ice cream for everyone, "Hey, guys, I have ice cream!" 

"I call dibs on chocolate!" Felix dashed toward me, and Jeongin followed suit, "Hey, I want chocolate!" 

Everyone raided the little bag of ice cream like young kids, and I finally understood why they were Stray 'Kids'. Chan let them take their favorites first, and toward the end, when only two flavors were left, he told me, "Take your pick." 

"What do you like? Vanilla or butterscotch?" I asked him. 

"You choose first, Stara," he prodded, and I picked up the butterscotch cup. He jollily picked up the vanilla cup and unpackaged it, taking a bite and groaning at the chilling sensation. I chuckled at him, having a bite of my ice cream as well. 

"Let's walk a bit?" he suggested, "The weather is pleasant today." 

"As you say." 

We exited the closed set and ventured into the garden right outside it, spreading its arms around the entire set. We took bites of our ice creams in silence, admiring the next-to-perfect weather. It was not too cloudy, but the sky was not clear either. Light breeze played in bouts of gentle tickles, refreshing us after we came from the closed compartment. I looked at Chan as the breeze ruffled his hair, making him look like a Disney prince on a bright day. 

He caught me looking at him, and with a slight smirk, he asked, "What are you looking at?" 

I averted my gaze, "Nothing." 

He giggled, "Come on, I saw you! Come clear, miss." 

"I told you, I wasn't looking at you," I played along. 

"I never said you were looking at me." I

I gasped, turning at him, and he let out the heartiest laugh, almost doubling over. I rolled my eyes in playful embarrassment, drawling, "Yeah, yeah, okay!" 

"Totally got you, hehe!" Chan pointed at me, still laughing. I laughed along, eyeing his joyful self as he looked like the most endearing being alive to me. 

The laughing fit finally ended, and the two of us discarded our empty ice cream cups into the nearby dustbin. I dusted my hands off the water droplets stuck to my hand due to the condensation of the cold cup, and it was beginning to get cold. The wind had turned colder, and the temperature was dropping steadily. 

"Damn, it got cold too quickly," I remarked, and he hummed in agreement. 

"You know, I could have used the of excuse of the weather to take you out on a date, but oh, well." 

My heart almost stopped beating. 

"What?" I shrieked.

"I'm sorry, was that too sudden?" Chan questioned, genuinely apologetic. 

I did not know what to say; baffled, I opened and closed my mouth, and he giggled, "Seems like it was. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shock you." 

"I..." 

"Say, if the weather was better, would you have gone out on a date with me?" 

Let me not forget that it was Bang Chan asking me out on a date; the literal love of my life, the reason for me to go on, and every hallucination of my insanity. Something struck me then -- was this why Felix said I should be ready for anything? Was this the anything? 

If it was, I could not have been more grateful to the universe. 

"Hm?" Chan prodded further. 

"I... yes," I was pretty sure that my face was beginning to redden because he was fondly gazing at me. I looked straight at him, and locking eyes, I could see myself falling deeper into his gaze with each and every passing moment, and he brought a hand up to brush a lock of my hair off my face. By now, I could feel the heat in my system that radiated from my face, and I was sure that if he attempted anything further, I would collapse due to being overwhelmed. 

"Let's walk further?" he suggested, and I let out a very breathy, "Yes." 

I could see a small, sly smile on his face as we continued, and I kept gazing at him as we walked for a few seconds, unable to believe that I existed at this moment with him. 

"It's getting colder," he spoke, and I looked down at my hands, finally feeling the chilliness in the weather and the freezing coldness of my hands. I agreed vaguely, rubbing my hands together to create some heat. 

"Are your hands cold?" 

"Mhm." 

"Here," he stopped, making me halt as well, and he took my right hand in his, rubbing it with both of his and creating friction to generate heat. I simply stared up at his endearing face while he warmed up my hand, and once he was done, he held my hand, intertwined his fingers with mine, and began walking forth, pulling me along. 

He grinned at me, "We'll warm up your left hand shortly, Stara." 

I was speechless and red and overwhelmed and giddy, drenched in his color, and I never wanted that moment to end. 

Never. 

(a/n: HELLO IM BACK!! and this was actually like so fun to write djnsokncokwokbojwbd- 

how was this? thank you so much for 6k!!! <33 

thanks for reading! i love you!)