Our World | SeongJoong

9

Seonghwa looked at the phone with a disinterested stare. "No."

Why?

"I don't feel like it."

You want me to have another panic attack?

"No."

Then?

"What do I get in return?" he asked, dead serious.

Hongjoong snapped his head to look at the boy so quickly he almost gave himself whiplash. He'd never seen anyone, ever, have that much audacity.

Most people do things like this out of the kindness of their heart.

"Tell me what I get in return first."

You're impossible. I'll just tell my mom that I'm feeling unwell and won't be able to attend. It's not like I'm the one performing. Figure out the meaning of my song lyrics on your own, and don't call me again for the remainder of this project. Bye.

As soon as he was sure the older boy was done reading, Hongjoong packed up his things and shoved in his chair, fuming with rage before storming off.

"What a piece of work," he grumbled under his breath, deciding to head to Yunho's once again.

I want to smoke.

"Aurora, are you trying to make us die early? The last time I tried to do just that, die early, Gray got introduced to the system," he whined, although he'd secretly been craving one too. What could he say? In the most unserious way possible, Seonghwa made him want to pass away.

Joong, come on. I've had a lot to deal with the past couple months.

"What if this is what gets us started on the nic addiction again? Then what? Going cold turkey back then was hard, and I don't wanna do that again."

Hongjoong shuddered. Going cold turkey after consistently smoking for two years had essentially been torture—he'd had constant headaches and tremors, and felt jumpy all the time. As if that wasn't enough, he always felt restless, unable to sleep, fingers itching to hold a cigarette between his fingers, and his anxiety had worsened an incredible amount. That month where he tried and successfully quit smoking was one of the hardest months he'd ever endured.

He's right, you know, chimed Jade. We should try getting you to completely quit, too.

"See?" he whispered as he crossed the road to Yunho's dorm building. "Jade agrees. And we almost never agree." Hongjoong rummaged around in the front pocket of his bag, where he kept his lollipops. Because the act of smoking was so similar to eating a lollipop, he kept a bag of them on him in case he ever got the urge to smoke, like when his project partner was being a complete and utter asshole. As he was pulling out the little ziplock bag, felt his hand bump into a box and, without having to look, immediately knew what it was.

"Why would you buy a pack of cigarettes and put it right there?" He grabbed the box and walked towards the nearest trash can, about to throw it away when he felt his consciousness get ripped away from him.

Aurora, come on!

"I'm sorry, Joong. Let me smoke this one, then I'll let you front and I'll never smoke again."

.....fine.

Aurora could the entire system collectively groan as she took out the lighter from her pocket.

What the—when did you put that in there?

"When you were getting ready this morning. Now shush and let me enjoy this for the last time."