Maru exhaled behind the curtain. His breath felt sticky, almost as if there was still something stuck in his lungs.

'Phew, this is hard.’

He felt stuffy. Maru thought back to the advice he heard all along. Don’t get overexcited. He got on stage thinking that and didn’t forget that advice even as he got off. Maybe it was because of that, but every one of his actions felt tiring. It felt like his arms and legs were chained up with steel bindings. He barely managed to stop himself from trying to get closer with the audience. Maru breathed slowly, trying to calm himself.

“Good job.”

“How was I? Did I make any mistakes?”

“Not at all. You were amazing.”

Iseul gave him a thumbs up. Maru stood up straight as he looked back at the stage. Yoonjung and Joonghyuk were making their way out, their characters were a married couple. Joonghyuk was the weak husband and Yoonjung was his powerful, dominant wife. The rest of the play was coming along smoothly.

“I’m next. Hah...”

Dojin shook his shoulder lightly. His character was one that teased everyone else with a smile on his face.

“Just do as you normally do.”

“That’s what I’m...