KRTverse Sickfics/Fluffshots (OCs)

Ryuko: Alone Again

Word Count: 2855
Finished: August 8, 2024
TW: mentions of panic attack, seizure, hospitals
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Ryuko wanted to vomit and cry every time that dreaded guitar intro filled the room. At this point all he affiliated with that song were his endless hours stuck in that sweaty practice room, his dozens of pulled muscles, the burning deep in his lungs from excessive panting, and the ache in his joints pleading him to drop dead to the floor and never get up. None of which were leaving anytime soon.

Have you got color in your cheeks?

Ryuko rose to his feet for the millionth time, his knees bent inwards and his arms limp to make himself seem like a puppet moving on invisible strings. He extended his arm out and curled his fingers in seductively, just as the choreography required. But as he looked up at the dancer in the mirror, all he saw was a lazily slumped figure, whose arm was trembling from exhaustion, face caked with sweat. He bit his lip in frustration, but alas he had to continue the routine.

Do you ever get that fear that you can't shift the type that sticks around like summat in your teeth?

The spinning and bending back over left Ryuko feeling lightheaded, more so than usual. Perhaps he should stop and rest for a bit, let his body recuperate. No, this performance was too important. He had to get this down to even the slightest twitch of a hair. Nothing could afford to go wrong. Or else he'd be tormented online relentlessly, without anyone else there to save him. KRT as a group was on hiatus. Hirabayashi Ryuko was for now a solo act. Nothing. Could go wrong.

It was the dead of winter at the start of 2021. Namgyu had already been on hiatus from all idol activities since November, following a severe asthma flare up, likely brought on by exhaustion. To make matters worse, Alex tested positive for Covid on just the second day of the year. Soon after fell Sukchan and then Minjun to the virus that had been ravaging the world for the past year. Khuong and Ryuko thankfully remained negative and asymptomatic, but they were soon forced to temporarily move out of the group's now quarantined dorm. That's when KRT's group activities were halted for the rest of the month and a part of the next.

While Khuong stayed with a friend in Incheon and took the time to unwind and catch a breather, the maknae had a different story. He'd been recently selected by Studio Choom to make an appearance in their ongoing series "Artist of the Month" for the month of February. And now with his recently freed up schedule, it became clear that he was expected to deliver a performance nothing short of groundbreaking. With that in mind, the dancer grew determined to perfect this routine down to the last move — so that's all he did.

Crawling back to you.

Ryuko was supposed to get back on the floor and crawl towards the mirror, which would become a camera when filming began. But instead of gracefully descending to the ground, he plummeted and crumpled pathetically onto the linoleum. His legs had given out the instant he let them rest even a little bit. If he weren't so determined to finish the routine in one go, he'd had punched himself and yanked his hair out. But alas, he tried to persist.

Ever thought of calling when you've had a few?

The ache in his bones had morphed into a surging, pulsating pain rippling throughout his body like the ocean thrashing in a violent storm. With every move he forced, with every time he denied his own body's pleas, he shook more and more vigorously.

'Cuz I always do.

As Ryuko stood back up, a switch in his head momentarily shut off, turning the rest of his body into tv static. Scoffing in frustration, the dancer just kept pushing through, his limbs moving on autopilot. He was getting the moves down, but no emotion was flowing through them. The music wasn't captivating him like it used to. He was accomplishing the bare minimum. The bare. Fucking. Minimum.