The applause was still ringing in Min-Hee's ears when her knees gave out.
One moment she was standing under the hot studio lights, the notebook clutched against her chest like a shield. The next, the floor rushed up to meet her, and someone screamed her name—maybe Seo-Yoon, maybe the host, maybe her own voice echoing in her skull.
Strong hands caught her before she hit the ground. Not human hands. She knew that much because they felt like warmth without weight, like someone had wrapped her in sunlight.
"I've got you." Do-Hyun's voice hummed through her bones, steadying her even as the world tilted sideways. "Stay with me, Min-Hee. Just a little longer."
She tried to answer, but her tongue felt heavy. The edges of her vision were going dark, closing in like curtains at the end of a perf
