Renewing and Beginning
Stray Kids x reader
Requested by anonymous: can I request a skz ninth member fic where when they renewed their contracts this year, JYP doesn’t allow her to renew it and instead switches her to ITZY? and like her the the boys are like super upset about it and are like we have to get her back
“I’m done,” Felix announces as he walks through the front door, kicking his shoes off. “It took a while, though.”
“Your contract renewal?” Chan looks up from his laptop, fingers pausing their typing.
“Yeah,” Felix says, stretching out his legs. “It took forever, but we finally hashed something out.”
“I still have to do mine,” you absently say from the kitchen, taking a water bottle from the fridge. You sink next to Felix on the couch. “Actually, I think I’m the only one left.”
“Aren’t you renegotiating tomorrow?” Chan asks distractedly as he fiddles with his laptop.
“Yeah, I am. I just have to resign, though,” you say. You grab the remote and turn on a movie, scowling at the screen. “I hate this movie.”
“Then turn something else on.” Felix tries to reach for the remote, but you smack his hand away.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” you grumble at him. You cross your arms over your chest, resigning yourself to your fate of self-inflicted torture.
Felix seems relaxed and at-ease, which comforts you. Contracts always unnerve you, but his nonchalance is soothing.
But your context renewal doesn’t go as well as you had hoped. There was no issue for the other members, but you… You weren’t allowed to sign back on with Stray Kids. Instead, you would be assigned to a girl group.
“Ah…” You stare at the contract, pen in hand. “And why won’t I be allowed with my previous group?”
Your manager winces. “It’s odd to have a woman in a boy group. They’re hoping to fix the issue.”
“What issue?” You raise an eyebrow. “We’re successful and well-known.”
“Yes but… the scandals, you see,” your manager awkwardly says. “We’ve been told that-“
“The only scandals come from low-budget news outlets that no one even listens to,” you sharply say, capping the pen. “I will not sign this.”
“It’s either this, or the end of your career,” your manager grimly says, making your heart sink.
“But the boys are shipped all the time,” you hesitantly say. “Why is it different with me?”
Your manager sighs. “Do you really have to ask? It’s different, and that’s the way it is.”
You fiddle with the pen for a minute before weakly asking, “Which group am I joining?”
ITZY is your new group, as it turns out. They had been informed of your transfer, but banned from mentioning it (or warning you, as you considered it). You have two days before you’re due in their dorms.
You’ll have to learn new songs, new choreography… Not to mention settling in with a new group.
You trudge back into the dorms that you’re familiar with, head hung low. The boys are a rowdy mess in the kitchen as they try to prepare dinner.
“The water is hot!” Jeongin snaps at Seungmin, placing his hands on his hips. “That’s when you put the pasta in!”
Seungmin rolls his eyes, gripping the uncooked noddles in one hand. “Obviously! But you’ve evaporated all the water!”
You snort under your breath, momentarily distracted from your thoughts. Their nonsense never fails to amuse you.
“Oh, you’re back.” Hyunjin notices your presence and rushes to you. “How did it go?”
“Um, I-“ You cough to clear your throat. “I signed the contract.”
“That’s great.” Chan smiles softly before it fades to concern. “But you don’t look happy… What happened?”
“I’ve been switched to ITZY,” you rasp out. You watch Changbin sit as he processes the news. “I am no longer- no longer part of this group.”
A silence falls over the room. Even Jeongin and Seungmin stop their bickering.
You blink back tears, forcing a grin. “But it’ll be good. More time with the girls, right?”
“You signed?” Felix asks, forehead creased. “You just left us?”
“I didn’t want to!” you exclaim, clenching your hands. The last thing you want is them thinking you happily left. “I would never betray you like that!”
Minho stabs a kitchen knife into a cutting board, expression murderous. “It was JYP, wasn’t it?”
“Minho-“ you start, only to cut yourself off at how scary he looks.
“I’ll end him,” Minho threatens, grasping the knife fiercely.
“No, that’ll just make it worse,” Jisung gently says, horrifying you. You know it’s bad when Jisung is the voice of reason.
“We’ll figure it out,” Felix assures you. “We’re not losing you. We’ll quit out of solidarity.”
“Except we all just renewed our contracts,” Hyunjin points out, sighing heavily.
Chan rubs at his face, forehead crinkled. “I can’t- We can’t lose you. We’re keeping you, no matter what it takes.”
Which is how you find yourself back in that meeting room, with JYP himself. You’re intimidated and nervous. So much is on the line.
Jisung and Minho have both been instructed to remain completely silent. No one wants the situation to get even worse.
“So we want her to stay with us,” Chan evenly says, making direct eye contact with JYP. “We work well together, and there have been no major scandals.”
“People gossip,” Minho adds. “There’s no avoiding it in this industry.”
JYP raises an eyebrow, lacing his fingers together as he leans across the desk. “Be that as it may-“
“Think of the backlash from the public,” you interject. “How would they react to this?”
JYP pinches the bridge of his nose with a heavy sigh. “I guess you’re right…”
So you sign a new contract, being able to stay with your group. To celebrate, you have a sleepover in the living room with Seungmin doing JYP impersonations all night long.
“Hey,” Jeongin whispers sometime in the middle of the night. Darkness is everywhere, even in his words. “Do you think JYP watches through the security cameras?”
There’s silence for a moment before Felix quietly replies, “Probably not… he’s really busy.”
“He has assistants and stuff,” Jeongin points out. “So he has spare time…”
“Shut up and go to sleep,” Hyunjin scolds.
That night, you can’t sleep. You stare at the blinking light of the security camera, shivering. And you tell yourself it’s a coincidence when a book on how to cook pasta arrives with no name or note.
Sorry if it’s short, I’m in a bit of writer’s block at the moment.
Taglist:
@velvetmoonlght @jinnie-ret @hansmic @imeverycliche @iwuberic @strawberryscentedd @lezleeferguson-120 @mbioooo0000