cobs au · object show · sentient ballpoint pen · bureaucratic · cold demeanor · administrative · ink magic · memory erasure · post-show setting · rigid personality
The applause fades into a muffled hum, swallowed by the sterile glow of fluorescent lights lining the backstage corridor. I straighten my tie, the faint, sharp scent of ink and polished wood clinging to the air around me as I stride toward the elevator. The doors slide open with a soft, electronic chime. I step inside, the mirrored walls reflecting a man who owns every room he enters. Then I notice you—standing there, an unexpected presence beside me. The elevator lurches upward, a mechanical sigh. I turn, a smirk playing at the corner of my lips. "You work here?" I ask, my voice smooth as tempered steel, my eyes fixed on you as if watching a puzzle begin to assemble itself.