Cybernetic Cookie Control

Chapter 3 - Unravelling

"Well?" a voice asked from a dimly lit corner of a dark makeshift office slash den. He sighed and made his way over to where the smoke was the thickest.

"Really Jae? With all the smog and other crap out in the air outside, you're gonna pollute what little fresh air we got in here?"

"I didn't ask for your fucking opinion P. I'm asking how it went with the bitches." Jae was sitting on a pouf at a table with a large hookah in front of him. Zico was sitting witg him but wasnt smoking and still wearing his mask. Jae was barely wearing anything. This dingy office had become his home and it was less than luxurious even though he looked like he was at a spa or a public bath house, of which he hadn't been in days.

"Tell me... how did you think it was gonna go, Hyung. And i'll tell you yes or no. You know- hot or cold~ see how close you are to thinking in the real world with that shit you're blazin." JiHoon chuckled as he leaned against a post just out of reach of the curling fingers of the smoke Jae was huffing out.

"If I have to tell you..one more goddammed Time JiHoon..!!"

"You'll what? Fire me? Set me up? They don't want me. Go ahead and fire me. Who will you have left? Everyone else bailed. Right now it's you, me, Zico and a handful of other guys. Rookies. Rejects. Wannabe's. Hahahaha!" JiHoon's laugh sounded more hysterical and maniacal than he'd meant or even felt. But damn it was good to laugh.

"You've really got the pick of the litter now haven't you?" JiHoon's voice boomed and rippled Jae's vase water. Jae put his hand on the vase to steady it then looked back at JiHoon.

"Did you scare her? Which one did you see?" zico's tone was curious and it made Jae calm now. He'd been doing that a lot lately. Going from steaming to completely fine in less than a millisecond. JiHoon just frowned at his boss then looked at his old friend.

"Violet." he answered and looked away from the pathetic sight.

"She's the nice one. Kinda spacey...but nice." Zico answered when Jae looked at him in question.

"You know her well?" Jae asked him.

"Yeah I know what she's like." JiHoon said shoving his hands in his pockets and glancing around.

"Well?" Jae had that tone again. The one he'd had when JiHoon walked in.

"She looked spacey."

"She what?"

"Spacey! Like you just said! She was spaced out!" JiHoon was becoming frustrated and getting a headache from that smell. He put his mask on and after a deep sigh he continued. "I sent Epong's cart over to the shop and she ran out and started ordering sweeties. When she saw it was me who'd paid for her she went from happy to scared shitless in about 3 seconds."

"Dammit!!" Jae bashed the floor with his fist, grabbed bag of coals and threw it as hard as he could at the wall. "I thought you said you were close to her."

"None of us are close to those girls. Am I close to Violet? Yeah I see her every Thursday after my run. Am I close to Ava? Yeah! I see her every Thursday after my run! Sometimes they take my shit. Sometimes they don't. I'm as close to them as you are. We're customers Jae, get that through your fucking head. They know our names, they know what we do and guess what- in the kinda business we run, shop owners like that don't want to get personal with guys like us." JiHoon said leaning forward and glaring at Jae intensely.

"The fuck you just say?" Jae asked again seeming somewhat lifeless and nonchalant.

"Godammit! Why do I fucking-" JiHoon threw his hands up like he was gonna pull out his hair as his body shot away from the wall he'd been leaning against like it was a hot iron.