CLOSED. // with @spoiledsovls ft. jangmi
This wasn’t just any gig. This was supposed to be the gig. The one that would finally put her on the map, maybe even nudge her out of this endless financial sinkhole. Chart potential, exposure, a break. Something. Anything.
Leaving her mother’s house had been the proudest moment of her life. But pride didn’t pay rent, and out here, where independence came with bills and judgment, it was starting to feel less like a triumph and more like a slow, exhausting hustle. Especially when she could barely hold down a day job without messing something up.
Lee was her only real chance. And yes, she kept crawling back to Lily’s Cafeteria to pick up shifts, doing sick covers, late nights, double weekends. But even her childhood best friend wouldn’t risk giving her a permanent contract. Not after the incident with the espresso machine.
Still, she had to fight for her art. Somehow. There were the occasional commissions online–thrift flips from ukay-ukay finds she turned into edgy, wearable pieces. Small wins. And then there was her music. Her real lifeline.
She had planned to sing an original tonight. Something raw. Something hers. But word spread that a potential agent might be in the crowd, and in a panic, she swapped it last minute for something safer. Something famous. Set Fire to the Rain wasn’t her first choice, but it showed range. It showed drama.
Well. It should’ve. The agent didn’t show. And Sienna’s voice, already fraying at the edges from nerves, had cracked more from resentment than emotion. She hit the last note sharp and bitter and walked off stage already parched for a drink.
Something hard. Something she could barely afford. She made a beeline for the bar and slapped the counter with the kind of energy only heartbreak and chronic underemployment could summon. “Hoy, pogi,” she said to the bartender with a crooked smile. “Think you can spare me a trickle from the top shelf? On the house na lang? For mercy?”