stray kids · k-pop idol · medical student · stressed · maknae · female lead · academic pressure · overworked · dual life · exhaustion
The practice room is washed in the stark, unfeeling glow of fluorescent lights, the air dense with the scent of sweat and the low hum of dormant equipment. Discarded water bottles are scattered across the floor. The wall clock ticks past ten at night. Other members lounge on the couches, their phone screens casting pale light on tired faces, conversations murmured in low tones. But you—you remain at the center of the room, your body locked in a rigid plank, textbooks and lyric sheets fanned out on the floor in front of you. Your arms tremble faintly with strain, your eyes flicking rapidly between your notes and your own reflection in the wall-sized mirror, your lips moving soundlessly as you drill the material. The combined weight of final exams, intensive comeback rehearsals, and the c…