skz

You never thought it would come to this.

They said you could, everyone did! Everyone believed in you, and for once, you believed in yourself.

So why were you here..?

"{{user}} ! How nice to see you...you must be excited, hm? A little nervous?"

You nod, fingers tangling with the fabric of your hoodie and each other.

"Yes, PD-nim."

JYP. You were never called into his office. Never. The only exception was when Chan wanted to add you to the group, but even then, it wasn't in this office, it was in a meeting room.

He smiles, and the chair creaks under his weight when he leans back, fingers drumming against the mahogany.

"You've been with us a while...6 years...and you're finally debuting. How nice." Another creak as the chair swivels. "How are you feeling?"

You swallow.

"Good, PD-nim. I'm...excited, but–"

"A bit too excited, it seems." A thin smile. You freeze. The air seems still, almost like time itself had stopped for him.

"You've gotten bolder, {{user}}. Challenging the mentors, the staff...challenging me."

You open your mouth to refuse, to explain, but a single finger silences you.

"You keep stepping out of line, {{user}}. You keep pushing. This isn't the kind of attitude we promote here. You know this, don't you? 6 years is a long time to be a trainee, after all."

All you can manage is a stiff nod.

"I- Im sorry, PD-nim, I never meant to disrespect anyone–"

"Im sure you didn't mean to, but you did. One too many times. You haven't debuted and you already have plenty of rumors. Bullying, dating scandals...we can't let this go, can we?"

You stare at the wood grain. Bullying? Dating? You've never–

"I- I've never done either, PD-nim, I promise–" The thump of paper cuts you off.

"There's proof, {{user}}. Texts, from your supposed victims. And there are pictures. So many pictures. Look through it yourself."

You feel sick. A shaky hand reaches out to flip through the pages, each one settling a heavier weight on your chest.

"T-these– these aren't true. I know these people, they– they used to bully me–"

"It looks the opposite, {{user}}."

"The– the pictures were taken without consent! I'm literally bruised–"

"And naked. And drunk. And in a very compromising position– even if you were the victim, {{user}}, there is no proof supporting you. You do understand, yes?"

Your eyes burn. It feels hot, and your hands are shaking, and–

"But its not true," you whimper, voice small. "I promise, its not true, I‐ I don't drink, I've never bullied anyone and– and I didn't even know they took that photo, I never–"

"{{user}}. Don't try to fight it now. Don't make this difficult." Another stack of paper, much thinner, this time.

"This is your contract termination. Read through it if you want, but my hands are tied. All you have to do is sign right there." A thud from his finger's tapping on the sheet.

You're silent as you slide the paper towards yourself, reading through it with blurry eyes.

"Oh, and {{user}}?"

You look up, trying not to spill over.

"Effective immediately. It's a shame. Please make sure you leave before morning. Don't trouble the others more than you already have."

You never thought it would come to this.

They said you could, everyone did! Everyone believed in you, and for once, you believed in yourself.

So why were you here..?

"{{user}} ! How nice to see you...you must be excited, hm? A little nervous?"

You nod, fingers tangling with the fabric of your hoodie and each other.

"Yes, PD-nim."

JYP. You were never called into his office. Never. The only exception was when Chan wanted to add you to the group, but even then, it wasn't in this office, it was in a meeting room.

He smiles, and the chair creaks under his weight when he leans back, fingers drumming against the mahogany.

"You've been with us a while...6 years...and you're finally debuting. How nice." Another creak as the chair swivels. "How are you feeling?"

You swallow.

"Good, PD-nim. I'm...excited, but–"

"A bit too excited, it seems." A thin smile. You freeze. The air seems still, almost like time itself had stopped for him.

"You've gotten bolder, {{user}}. Challenging the mentors, the staff...challenging me."

You open your mouth to refuse, to explain, but a single finger silences you.

"You keep stepping out of line, {{user}}. You keep pushing. This isn't the kind of attitude we promote here. You know this, don't you? 6 years is a long time to be a trainee, after all."

All you can manage is a stiff nod.

"I- Im sorry, PD-nim, I never meant to disrespect anyone–"

"Im sure you didn't mean to, but you did. One too many times. You haven't debuted and you already have plenty of rumors. Bullying, dating scandals...we can't let this go, can we?"

You stare at the wood grain. Bullying? Dating? You've never–

"I- I've never done either, PD-nim, I promise–" The thump of paper cuts you off.

"There's proof, {{user}}. Texts, from your supposed victims. And there are pictures. So many pictures. Look through it yourself."

You feel sick. A shaky hand reaches out to flip through the pages, each one settling a heavier weight on your chest.

"T-these– these aren't true. I know these people, they– they used to bully me–"

"It looks the opposite, {{user}}."

"The– the pictures were taken without consent! I'm literally bruised–"

"And naked. And drunk. And in a very compromising position– even if you were the victim, {{user}}, there is no proof supporting you. You do understand, yes?"

Your eyes burn. It feels hot, and your hands are shaking, and–

"But its not true," you whimper, voice small. "I promise, its not true, I‐ I don't drink, I've never bullied anyone and– and I didn't even know they took that photo, I never–"

"{{user}}. Don't try to fight it now. Don't make this difficult." Another stack of paper, much thinner, this time.

"This is your contract termination. Read through it if you want, but my hands are tied. All you have to do is sign right there." A thud from his finger's tapping on the sheet.

You're silent as you slide the paper towards yourself, reading through it with blurry eyes.

"Oh, and {{user}}?"

You look up, trying not to spill over.

"Effective immediately. It's a shame. Please make sure you leave before morning. Don't trouble the others more than you already have."

---

9 years.

9 years since your life was swept out from under your feet.

Everything had been a blur since then. It was just a cycle of wake up, eat if you can manage it, get ready, go to work, come home, eat, sleep, repeat.

You couldn't touch music. You never dared to sing, dance. You didn't even have social media. It was too much. Too much to deal with without a multitude of panic attacks. JYP had erased you from their existence and made sure you erased their from your life. You made sure no one knew about your failures.

You were angry. You were so angry, and so sad. You didn't think you could live with yourself. You tried to die. So many times. None of them worked.

Your parents tried to help. Your poor parents. All you did was yell, or sleep, or...hide. You don't hate them for kicking you out. They had other kids that weren't failures.

Work was the only place you could pretend to be a normal person. The tasks kept you distracted. Made you useful. You were a good employee, you think. It wasn't like the job was hard, and you scored a good company despite...a late graduation. You normally just organised meetings and interviews and such. Easy. Simple. Enough to turn your brain off.

"{{user}}?"

You look up. Your manager smiles.

"Sorry, there's an interview, and we need a translator. Some K-pop group. Could you..?"

No. No, stay calm. This was a media company, of course kpop would come up at some point– its been booming lately. Just stay calm.

You manage a small smile, nodding and getting up.

"Yeah. I can. Lead the way, Sam."

When you walk through the door, you don't expect to see 8 sickeningly familiar faces. They glance at you, some of them doing a double take, some of their expressions hardening.

Chan stands up then, looking like hes forced a smile on his face.

"We'll introduce ourselves. We're Stray Kids. And you are...?"