ᴅᴜʟᴄᴇᴛ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛ #01
SCENARIO PROMPT #2
At the end of every storm comes a rainbow, but your happy ending seems to be just too out of reach. The past few weeks have been increasingly tough on you – the assessors are more critical than ever and it seems that you are just not up to par. Will you let the demons in your head get to you, or will you fight them off and come back stronger than ever? Do you have a rock to keep you grounded, or will you continue to lose yourself in the seemingly endless fight to please the higher-ups? Hold on tight, soldier, the battle’s just begun.
016. 08. 15 “Smiling girl.” @dulcetcoll
“And action!” The haze surrounding her vision cleared just slightly at the command to action hitting her ears. Instantly she smiled, work persona masking her pain as she stood up straight and delivered her lines. Every little movement she made, small or large....it hurt. But she smiled so brightly, her eyes glistening with warmth as she turned, posed and did a short movement of her hips.Behind her mask she was just a fold up chair-- collapsed. A sharp noise constricted on her sense of hearing, and it took her a moment to realize her manager was talking to her. “.. and don’t forget the choreography needs to be done by Friday....Hit the Stage...” Right. Dancing, the thing she loved to do most in the world, her one solice in the realm of chaos. When her body was let go into the rhythm of music, taken over by bass, cymbal and harmonized tones it truly was euphoric. Dance was what she lived for. It hurt like nothing else for it to be taken away from her. But she kept her smile. Even as her pale trembled to keep it she kept her bulbs all bright. As soon as the door closed to her dressing room and she was alone she sat in her chair, and slowly let the light go out. With every passing second her smile faded down, lips corners falling southward. Watery eyes gazed into her own reflection as she released the cough she had held back, weak fingers trembling. She changed her bandages quietly, despite the pain she could let nobody see. She did not smile again. “ You’ll be okay...right noona?” Shownu asked her as she finished her last preps for the night’s stage. He leaned in the doorway, pure concern written over her face. He was important to her, like a reminder of her brother in the flesh at work every day. Without him to worry about,she would find it harder to go on. But when Bora knew she had someone’s pride and career to protect, she could push on. “I’m fine.” She lied with her easy going smile. “You go on ahead, it’s time for me to get on the stage. Fighting.” She pushed him away, knowing she needed to be alone so that she could cry. It was her fault, all her fault for getting injured. Her suffering was HER doing, HERS. She couldn’t stop work, make every staff member suffer, and become a diva and obnoxious person in others eyes. She couldn’t take breaks, she had to keep going. Plus, this was DANCE. Dance was what she lived and breathed, it was what she signed up to do. With deep breaths ushering out she tried to compose herself right when she got a set of text messages.
남자 친구: bora yah I’m sorry. 남자 친구: but I can’t see you anymore. 남자 친구: I don’t deserve someone as special as you. 남자 친구:: sorry. Let’s not meet again.
it broke her right then to read something like that, but it was time to go on stage. she deleted the messages quickly before she handed off her phone to her manager. this was the life of an idol, you had to be careful. she should’ve been more careful. The scent in her nose was chemical from whatever cleaned the stage that day, the immediate darkness guiding her to her dance partner. The audience was filled with familiar and unfamiliar faces, and the red lights of many cameras seemed to glare at her as she placed herself on the ground. the music started after a few moments, the lights dimly lit, but her mind was elsewhere as she struggled to execute her own choreography-- her own art. Everything it took in her not to break down and cry right in the center of that stage, stripped all the strength from her muscles. And later, as she watched the performance on her phone she could see her flaws, her mistakes. She could see her pain. A frustrated scream left her and it was a noise that came from her gut as she clenched at her head between her hands. Was she so useless? How did she not even get one simple thing right? Her family would be ashamed..... “ hey noona , you did great on tonight’s stage!!” She looked up with a blank look as someone she knew congratulated her. It was such an empty compliment that it through her for a moment. Words emptied out of her skull, but she couldn’t seem to find her tongue to speak it as the sore pain in her back flared sharply. A good stage? Did I do that..? no i didn’t. I’ve failed everyone. I didn’t smile. I didn’t even remember how. I forgot to smile.
