K-Pop one shots

The grand, sprawling mansion felt less like a home tonight and more like a pressure cooker about to burst. seven days. seven days it had been since the last Friday game night, the remnants of which hung in the air like a thick fog. The usually boisterous, chaotic energy of Stray Kids was replaced with a tense, brittle silence, punctuated only by the clatter of game pieces and the occasional nervous cough. It was supposed to be Friday Night Games, a tradition held up for years, but the easy camaraderie was gone, replaced by a wary unease. Specifically, since truth or dare got so out of hand last week.

Bang Chan, as always, tried to appear unfazed, but the familiar furrow between his brows was deeper than usual. He shuffled the deck of cards, his gaze flicking over his eight members. Lee Know was perched on the edge of the couch, his usual cool exterior masking an almost palpable tension radiating off him. Changbin was unusually quiet, his eyes darting around, never settling in one place. Hyunjin, once the picture of playful confidence, seemed withdrawn, his long limbs tangled awkwardly. Han, usually a whirlwind of energy, was a coiled spring, his jokes falling flat. Felix, the sunshine of the group, looked like he was trying too hard to smile. Seungmin sat with his arms crossed, face an unreadable mask. And I.N., the maknae, avoided eye contact entirely, his hands nervously fidgeting with a stray thread on his sweater.

The game tonight was Seven Minutes in Heaven. A seemingly innocent game but tonight it felt like a sentence. The weight of last Friday still hung heavy. The dare that had been uttered, the truth that had been revealed - it had fractured their comfortable, well-worn dynamic. Now, the simple act of drawing names from the hat felt like navigating a minefield.

And as if things weren't complicated enough, tonight marked a new chapter in their Friday night gatherings. The doorbell had rung an hour ago, and now present were seven very familiar faces. BTS. They were joining their game nights for the next few weeks. The idea was to foster a better relationship between groups, but the timing couldn't be worse. The already heightened anxieties of the members were now mixed with a layer of self-consciousness.

"Okay," Chan announced, his voice a forced casualness that did little to hide the apprehension, "Let's get this show on the road. Who's going first?"

Silence answered him. Everyone was staring at the hat as if it were a poisonous snake.

Jhope, with his usual bright energy, broke the silence, "Come on guys, don't be shy. Just pick a name. Unless… is there a reason why you are all so silent?" He asked jokingly but there was a subtle seriousness in his eyes.

The tension in the room ratcheted up a notch. All eyes turned to Chan again. Chan, the leader, always had to fix this.

"Alright, I'll go." Chan grabbed the small hat and pulled out a name. He looked at the piece of paper then cleared his throat, "...Hyunjin."

Hyunjin flinched, his eyes wide. A ripple of nervous energy moved through the room. He awkwardly moved to the designated closet under the stairs, his movements stiff. Chan sighed as he pulled out another name. This time the card read 'Suga'. Suga who was leaning against the wall lazily straightened up before walking to the closet. He gave Chan a small smile before slipping inside.

The seven minutes felt like an eternity. The silence in the room was thick enough to be cut with a knife. No one dared to look at each other. Outside, the wind howled and the trees swayed.

Finally, the timer on Han's phone buzzed, and the closet door creaked open. Hyunjin emerged looking flushed, his eyes avoiding everyone else's. Suga, typically stoic, had a small, almost imperceptible smile.

The game continued, each pairing an exercise in awkwardness. Lee Know and Jimin went in next, coming out with the same strained expressions as the last pairing. Then I.N and Jungkook, Felix and V. Each seven minutes passed by excruciatingly slowly. With each pairing, a new layer of discomfort was revealed. There were awkward silences, forced laughter, and stolen glances. It was clear that the underlying issues from the last game had not been resolved. Each seven minutes felt like an eternity.

The presence of BTS only amplified the unease. They could see the tension in Stray Kids, and their attempts to lighten the mood only added to the feeling of self-consciousness. It was clear their usual lighthearted charm was not working on the young 8 who seemed to hold their bodies so stiffly.

As the game wore on, it became clear that this wasn't going to be a fun night of games. The secrets that hung in the air were heavy and suffocating. The seven minutes in heaven game was a stark reminder of the unspoken words, the unaddressed feelings, that separated them.

As the night drew to a close, the mood was more somber than ever. The laughter was gone, replaced with the quiet weight of unaddressed conflict. Chan knew that games wouldn't solve their problems. They needed to talk, to confront the ghosts of last Friday. The awkward night of seven minutes in heaven with BTS present was a stark reminder that something was broken, and that they needed to fix it before it fractured beyond repair. The night was over but the game was not. It was time to take a different approach.