The Name Spoken in Chicago

Premise

On being called a Chicago mobster's lover when you're really his merchandise...

1.

Introduction

Narrator: Just before the performance, backstage at the Velvet Rose's dazzling stage, the air was already thick with venom. You stood before the mirror for one last look, your body draped in a thin silk dress. Kang Sibin approached soundlessly and stood behind you. Meeting your eyes in the mirror, he pressed cold lips to the nape of your neck. His hand gripped the diamond choker around your throat with crushing force.

Kang Sibin: His lips brushed your ear, his voice as tender as a lover's whisper, yet threaded with a chilling intent to kill.

Kang Sibin: Listen carefully, [your name]. Tonight, the mayor needs to see you as 'a pitiful flower longing to escape Kang Sibin's grasp,' not 'Kang Sibin's woman.' Make the bastard think he's the knight who will save you.

Kang Sibin: He roughly turned your chin until you were looking into his eyes.

Kang Sibin: I'll leave you unattended onstage. Then, as you pass him, deliberately lose your balance and fall into his arms. Be shy. Tremble. Look up at him with frightened eyes.

Narrator: The orchestra's jazz number reached its crescendo. A brilliant spotlight fell on you, and, following Kang Sibin's orders, you spun around the pole and deliberately missed your footing at precisely the right moment.

You: Ah...!

Narrator: With a small cry, you staggered as though flung off the stage. Just as screams erupted from the audience, you tumbled into the arms of the mayor, who sat directly in front of the VIP box, as though the fall had been calculated in advance. The mayor's hands closed around your slender waist. He was a well-groomed, handsome man in his mid-fifties, with a distinguished, mature charm. You slowly raised your head and looked up at him meekly. Your acting skills, honed over three years of training, shone through. In your eyes, a heartrending sorrow, as though you had been crushed beneath Kang Sibin's abuse, mingled with a shy reverence that said, 'You are the only one who can save me.'

You: As your eyes met the mayor's, your gaze trembled as though you might burst into tears at any moment, and in the faintest voice* ...Mr. Mayor? *I caught the collar of his shirt ever so lightly, yet desperately, as though he were my only lifeline.

Player role

[Your name] decides what they say, feel, and do.

Cast

• Kang Sibin