MARS UNIVERSITY | 𝐏𝐉𝐌 ✓

ᴺᴼᴼᴮ

"Why are you so stressed all the time?" Jimin asked randomly. "What I meant was, why are you so hard on yourself. You're always given the responsibility for literally everything."

"It's not easy when your parents are dead." I bit my bottom lip as I stared at the sand below me. "I can't just leave everything and everyone behind, because of my emotions. That doesn't happen here. There's never a discussion about happiness and sadnesses, that's what makes us seem so uptight all the time."

"Well that's a shitty way of living." Jimin poked his tongue against his cheek while sighing. "I mean,for fucks sake, you couldn't experience love even if you wanted to. That's how fucked up Mars society is. If you want to raise good people, you treat them well growing up. You have to give them the opportunity to explore themselves and their personalities. How the hell are you gonna be in a relationship, if you're not even allowed to show any emotion?"

"Do you even know how to cry?" Jimin blurted out after a couple seconds of complete silence.

"Yes, I know how to cry." I rolled my eyes at his comment. "I just don't do it in front of people."

"I mean, I saw the way you talk to the kid." Jimin pointed at Cyprien. "Whenever he gets hurt, I see pain in his eyes. It's like he wants to cry, but he's trained not to. Society tells him to be this tough, strong, emotionless man. It's brainwashing you."

"How do I know what you're saying is good for us. It could be the way you humans deal with things back on Earth, but Mars is different. We're just far more strategic, if you know what I mean. We don't do all these wars and fighting like Earthlings do."

"You think that people on Earth are constantly at war?" Jimin raised his brows in amusement. "We send memes to people from different continents, then wait to receive one back. And that's the main reason everyone wants us to go extinct."

"Thanks for your advice human, but I don't think Martians will change anytime soon." I gave Jimin a faint smile, before walking ahead of him.

"Well at least let me change you." He softly spoke as his hand grabbed mine. "Trust me, I know what I'm doing this time." He looked down at our hands, and sighed. "Layla, I want you to kiss me."

My eyes widened and I quickly jerked my arm from his grip. "W-What did you just say?" I narrowed my eyes, and took a couple steps away from him. "You want me, to kiss you?"

Jimin slowly nodded.

"And why in the Mars-hell would I do that?" I folded my arms against my chest.

"Because, I want you to experience every single emotion out there. Sadness, pain, fear, surprise, anger, happiness, disgust, envy—" Jimin took a bigger step forward after each word. "—anxiety, guilt, embarrassment, shame, disappointment, amusement, grief, anticipation, lust, and love."

I didn't say a single word, and instead just stood speechless. "That's a lot of emotions." I suddenly whispered, breaking the silence.

"I want you to feel them all." Jimin looked directly into my eyes as he was speaking. "Not only just the inside feelings, but also from the outside. You have to show your emotions and act on them."

"Let's make a list then." I shrugged my shoulders.

"Okay." Jimin pressed his lips together. "So, if you show any of those emotions, they'll be crossed off, and we'll keep doing that until you get all of them."

"Fine." I glanced back at the sand and thought to myself for a couple seconds. I really do feel like a coward sometimes. It's time to really change that.