After a long stretch of surface-level pleasantries with too many faces, and nodding along to conversations he barely remembered, Ryul finally found a moment to himself.
He retreated into a quieter corner, finding room to breathe. His features which were carefully schooled into polite neutrality, finally dropped into something closer to exhaustion.
The chatter still buzzed around him like static, but at least here, he could relax now that the crowd no longer pressed in from every angle.
He was never one for idle small talk or social maneuvering that circled nothing meaningful. Therefore, it was no surprise that after an hour of strained smiles and handshakes, the fatigue seeped deep into his bones.
The fancy lighting of the venue didn't help either. It cast halos across his vision as he scanned through the swirling mass of well-dressed strangers, making everything feel distant and surreal.
But even the newfound solitude didn't last long.
