♔ lounge

@♔ leilani dairoenkul〘lani〙ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ A big frown formed on the soloist's forehead as he heard his former boss apologize. While it was true that he felt dejected by her absence last night, it was impossible for Ace to stay mad at her. He knew Lani’s tendency to overwork, even after all of those dance sessions that she handled. It happened quite a lot where he found her busily working on some paperworks after the closing hours. He himself often had to drag her away from her office room just so she would go home and get some rest.

So why did he feel angry?

Well, maybe because he had been looking forward to seeing her again. Now they are in different companies, Ace no longer has the privilege to see Lani everyday any time anymore. He needed to actually have a reason to drop by to SDZ building as in the papers, he was no longer one of them, despite that everyone was telling him to just drop by anytime he wanted.It would be just unprofessional for him.

Then came the next question. Why was she running late? In all his years of knowing Leilani Dairoenkul, if there’s one thing he could say about her aside from her passion for dancing, it was her punctuality of showing up for work. Never, even in his wildest dream, that he would ever hear her said that she was running late.

What happened? What holds her back?

Ace lifted his head up to look at her, while deliberately avoiding to stare at her tight outfit that so deliciously dangerous accentuated her gorgeous figure. It was not the time for that. “You don’t have to apologize. Like I said, you don’t have to make up for anything with me. You got that knack of forgetting time when you were busy wor–”

His words cut short as he was looking back down only to stop when he noticed a little bruise near her cleavage. The low v cut shirt was showing enough skin and at that moment it clicked in his brain of what could possibly hold her back last night. She was doing another kind of ‘work’. And that mark was the proof of the indecent act she committed.

Disappointment surged through his whole being. Then again, who is he to complain about things she did or about who she had night time fun with? He was nobody. Now not even her trusted right hand man anymore. It was the bitter truth that he had to accept. Someone like him is replaceable. Why did he think he was special enough in her life that she would give him a different treatment?

Maybe it was only him who took things the wrong way. Whilst he harbored some romantic feelings for Lani, the female dancer might never feel anything for him aside from just a normal co-worker, despite all the sweet things she said. Maybe it was just in her nature, being kind to everyone around her, him included. And that, perhaps what made him getting greedier for wanting more of her attention.

Standing up from his crouched position after fixing the bandages on her bruised feet, Ace had to swallow the bitter truth he accidentally discovered. She was not his, never was. So he shouldn’t feel jealous of whoever warmed her bed last night. But it still hurts. He offered her a smile, one that he reserved for the public, the perfectly trained smile, void of any emotions in it.

“I see you were busy last night. You don’t have to say anything, Leilani-ssaem.” He gritted his teeth as he called her so formally like that “It was my fault for just asking for your time when you already had some…plans. And if it’s okay for me to give you a suggestion, you should take it easy today, at least until your feet feel better. Also you might want to check yourself in the bathroom, unless you were showing off that mark on your uh… upper torso on purpose.” Ace’s voice sounded so bitter, even to his own ears. “I better get going. Gale is waiting for me. Take good care of yourself, ssaem. Farewell.” He bowed to her. It shouldn’t bother him actually, but why did it feels so painful like this?

@✵ cheon han〘ᴀᴄᴇ〙ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ this would be fine. it certainly would come to pass, is what lani thought. there was no way that the dancer could fully get intact with the pain that pricked at her skin like a thousand needles, not when she had so much more to do. so much more to focus on— better things, and let alone, better people that deserved more of her time. although time itself had been nothing more but a fairly fickle concept. troublesome at most.

all that lani had wished for at the moment was a time machine, because by then she wouldn’t have felt as bad as she did at the moment if she could reverse what choices she had made. guilt swallowing her whole throughout the day regardless of what faux smiles she perfected through a large expanse of her dance career. faking any justifications for her actions, however, had only become the hardest chore of them all.

because no matter what she did, it would not erase the fact that once again she had let herself become so disoriented by a man she should have let go of. her ex. a pathetic pattern that never seemed to pry its claws off of lani throughout her questionably troublesome love life (if one could even call it that anymore), wounding her soul inside and out as she wore her heart helplessly on her sleeve.

she remembers waking up in the morning, mindlessly allowing time to waste away as she stared at her reflection in the mirror of the woman she had become. since when had she become a marionette to such a twisted game of fate that had her walking all over people she loved, for people that might have never genuinely loved her? lani had no absolute clue, but through shuddered breath, as she caked over the foully existent love marks on her body with makeup, she urged herself to face the day with what strength she had to pull herself together.

because if she wasn’t going to push through and properly apologise to ace for upsetting him. then what? what problems she had with herself weren’t his to fix— even if.. sometimes he just made it seem like he had the answers to everything. the mere sight of his face before her now putting the woman at a standstill as a smile curl on her lips that regrettably never seem to reach her honeyed cocoa orbs now a dusty, regretful shade of weary brown. “ace.. yeah, i was running late so i- i’m sorry. for last night, please let me make it up to you? i don’t usually do this. this isn’t like me, and you know that.”

@♔ leilani dairoenkul〘lani〙ᶜʰᵒʳᵉᵒᵍʳᵃᵖʰᵉʳ "Ace! Long time no see!"

He smiled at the greetings from a choreographer he passed as he made his way through the lounge of SDZ building. The place where he used to call home, well, it still is. After all, the familiarity just didn't disappear right away even after he swerved his career path from a choreographer to become a soloist. The choreographers were still so warm to him, and maybe that’s why, this place will always be his home too.

Venturing his way deeper towards the lounge, Han’s eyes caught a glimpse of someone he didn’t expect to see down here, since most of the time, the only way you could see her was during the dance session or up in her own office. Leilani. That name brought mixed feelings inside him right now.

There is no denying that she will always be someone with a huge impact in his life, both on a personal and professional level. Lani will always be someone that Ace looked up to, someone he admired for her work and tenacity, someone who he knew would always have his back, even after they were no longer walking on the same path. But these days, he began to question the last one.

It was as if she’s drifting apart, further away from him. Was it because of his decision to leave SDZ to pursue another career? But she said she was fine with it and will always support him no matter what. Then if that was not the case… she knew that he harbored a romantic feeling towards her and she put some distance because she was uncomfortable with it? Whatever that is, he couldn’t help but to feel sad about it, especially after she forgot their plan to have dinner together last night.

But seeing her right now, all those bad feelings disappeared only to be replaced by sheer worry as he could see that she was in some kind of discomfort. Han was already making his way towards her when he realized what he’s doing, seeing that there was no way out as he was sure by this time and this close distance, Lani would already realize his presence.

Crouching down and without uttering a single word, he took out some bandaids, which he always kept inside his bag since Han himself was prone to get small cuts on a daily basis. “Excuse me” was the only thing he said before he put the bandaids over her bruises then his eyes landed on the stilettos that she wore earlier, noticing that it wasn’t the one she usually wear and from the look of it, it looked like it’s not on the right size either. “Did you borrow those heels? It’s not even your size, is it?”

@✵ cheon han〘ᴀᴄᴇ〙ˢᵒˡᵒⁱˢᵗ (the click of heels accompany her each and every step until she’s forced to come to a halt, hand pressed against a wall for support whilst slowly peeling her heels off and hissing with the sense of relief from ultimately freeing herself from the menacing stilettos. but lightly does her nose scrunch at the mere sight of bruises from the back of her feet enabling her to wobble over slowly and sink back onto a nearby seat just to rest after a couple of dance classes back to back) okay lans, this should do for a bit.