SEVENTEEN | SICKFICS - HURTFICS

Dk | Excalibur Part II

The following day, DK stood in front of the mirror in the rehearsal space, adjusting his costume. The gold and red of the King Arthur costume made him look majestic, and he tried to smile at his reflection, but the exhaustion was starting to show in his face. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, the bags under them darker than usual. He pressed his fingers against his temples, feeling the headache creeping in again.

"Just a little longer," he muttered to himself, taking a deep breath. "You're doing this for them. You're doing this for Seventeen. You're doing this for King Arthur."

His hand trembled slightly as he reached for his water bottle. He had been running on barely enough sleep lately, his body aching from the constant physical demands of the play and Seventeen's rehearsals. But he ignored it. He had to keep pushing.

The first time he collapsed, it happened in the middle of a group rehearsal for Seventeen. They had just finished running through their newest choreography for an upcoming performance when DK suddenly felt dizzy. The room spun, his vision blurred, and before he knew it, he was sinking to his knees, his body giving out beneath him.

"DK!" Hoshi rushed to his side, concern flooding his voice. "What's wrong?"

"I-I'm fine," DK muttered, blinking rapidly to clear his vision. He pushed himself to stand, but his legs wobbled underneath him. "Just a little dizzy. I'm alright."

"You don't look alright," Seungkwan said, his voice firm. "What's going on with you? You've been looking drained for the past few days. You're not getting enough rest, are you?"

DK gave a shaky laugh, trying to brush it off. "No, no. I'm just tired. I've been working on my musical stuff a lot lately. I just need a quick break, that's all."

The others exchanged worried glances. Joshua was the first to step forward, gently placing a hand on DK's shoulder. "You need to slow down. You can't keep going like this, DK. You're doing so much, and it's starting to show."

DK shook his head, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "I'm fine, really. I'm fine," he repeated, trying to convince them, and maybe himself too. "I just need a little rest. I'll be good to go."

But the doubt in his teammates' eyes didn't escape him. They could all tell something was off. Even though DK always acted like the cheerful sunshine of the group, his light was starting to flicker.

Later that night, after the group rehearsals, DK returned to the dorm, the weight of the day's exhaustion sinking heavily on him. He climbed into his bed, but sleep didn't come easily. His body ached, his head throbbed, and his thoughts wouldn't stop racing. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was failing, that he wasn't giving enough, that he wasn't perfect.

"I have to do this," he whispered to himself in the dark. "I can't mess this up."

But as his eyes fluttered shut, deep down, he couldn't help but wonder: Who was he doing this for? Was he trying to prove something to his friends, to Seventeen, to the world? Or was he doing it to keep up the image of the happy, always-optimistic DK, even when everything inside him was telling him to slow down? To rest. To ask for help.

The smile he wore so effortlessly in front of everyone wasn't as genuine as it used to be. The cracks were starting to show, but DK wasn't sure how long he could keep pretending that everything was okay.

As the days continued to pass, DK's exhaustion deepened, but he pushed through it with a smile. It was second nature for him at this point-to always be the one to cheer on his fellow cast members, to encourage them, and to lighten the atmosphere with his ever-present energy. In the musical rehearsals, he was the one who led warm-ups, cracked jokes between takes, and kept everyone's spirits high, even when he was barely holding it together.