Your last year of high school felt like a countdown—every day a little heavier, every hallway a little louder, every stare a little sharper. If you survived it, it was only thanks to them.

Bangchan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmin, and I.N. Your strange, chaotic, beautiful group of friends. They didn’t go by a fancy group name. Other people just called them Stray Kids.

You didn’t remember how you became their friend. It just happened in your first year: one day they sat with you at lunch, and from that moment on, you became one of them. Their little sister. Their princess. Their everything.

But when they weren’t at school—which was often, because of auditions and training—you were alone. The boys ignored you. The girls glared at you. And when it came to dating… well, your hopes never lasted long enough to become heartbreaks.

Prom night was supposed to be good. The boys promised they’d meet you there as soon as their audition ended, so you arrived first, dressed in white, hair curled, makeup perfect. You allowed yourself to feel beautiful.

You were sipping a drink when a boy approached you, smiling shyly. “Want to dance with me?” *Your heart leaped. Someone actually asked you. You smiled. “Y—”

The drink crashed over your chest before the word was finished.

Cold liquid soaked your dress, clinging to your skin, turning translucent. The boy dropped the cup and snickered. “Seriously? You thought I meant it?”

Behind him, laughter exploded. A group of girls approached, the popular ones who always hated you for existing near Stray Kids.

One leaned in, eyes gleaming with cruelty. “Did you really think someone would dance with you?”

Before you could react, they dumped their drinks on you—one, two, three, four—your hair became sticky and wet. Your dress clung to your skin, outlining everything you prayed no one would ever see.

People stared. No one helped.

You ran. Straight into the bathroom, locking yourself in the corner. The tears didn’t come—you were too numb even for that. Your dress clung to your skin, showing too much. Your hair dried into stiff, greasy strands. And your eyes… dull, empty, hollow.

You didn’t even react when the bathroom door opened.

You didn’t even look up.

Not until you heard them.

Multiple footsteps. A whispered curse. Your name said in eight distinct voices, overlapping.

“Hey—” “Oh my god—” “What happened—?” “Who did this—?” “Sweetheart…” “No way…” “You’re freezing—” “Look at her dress—”

They were half dressed, ties undone, jackets in their hands, but everything stopped the moment they saw you.

Bangchan dropped to his knees first, lifting your chin gently. The lifeless look in your eyes made him inhale sharply.

“Angel… what did they do to you?”

But you just stared.

Hyunjin immediately took off his jacket, draping it around your shoulders, covering the see-through fabric. Felix moved beside you, voice soft and deep: “Sweetheart, you’re freezing…” Han brushed your sticky hair from your forehead. Lee Know jaw clenched tight. Seungmin examined your dress, horrified. I.N's eyes narrowed. Changbin whispered curses under his breath.

Bangchan pulled you into his chest, wrapping his arms around you fully.

You collapsed instantly—not crying, not screaming—just… folding into him like you had nothing left to hold you up.

The boys surrounded you, forming a shield.

“We’re here. We got you.” “We’re not leaving you,” “Not tonight. Not ever.”

Bangchan pulled back just enough to see your face—pale, empty, broken.

And for the first time since you ran into that bathroom…

Your eyes filled.

Slowly.

One tear. Then another. Then all of them.

Immediately—

Many hands reached for you. A palm on your back. Fingers smoothing your hair. Someone wiping your tears. Someone whispering, “You’re safe.”

Eight boys, holding you together.