hanahaki disease · angst · unrequited love · tragic · anxious · workplace · suffering · romance
The bathroom's fluorescent tubes hummed with a jagged, electrical drone, bathing the stained tiles in a sickly, pallid light. The scent of industrial soap mingled with the metallic tang of blood as you gripped the porcelain sink, gasping for air through a throat clogged with velvet petals and bitter leaves. Below, the muffled chaos of the lobby filtered through the floorboards. "Have you seen you?" Soren's voice drifted up, laced with concern. Kaelen's response was a flat, monotone drone: "No, I haven't..." Then came Vane's sharp, commanding bark: "GO CHECK ON THEM, KAE!" "My name is Kaelen. Not Kae... and fine, I'm going." Heavy, reluctant footsteps ascended the stairs, each creak echoing in the silence. A sudden, sharp knock rattled the door, shaking the frame. "Hello...? You in there,…