" how about you throw that away, and let me help you feel alive again"
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sighing as she looked at the contents of her dorm's fridge. it was pathetic to say the least. a bottle of coke zero, a few packets of chilli she randomly kept from fastfood deliveries and a single bottle of her favourite salad dressing which was probably long expired.
closing the fridge doors with slumped shoulders and a small frown, luna picked up her keys and grabbed her wallet, preparing to leave her dorm. it was night time, and she was starving. even starving would be considered an understatement for what she was feeling at the moment.
closing the door quietly so she doesn't wake her roommates up, she started her short journey to the nearby convenience store within her large campus.
humming the lyrics of the songs in her playlist, she halted in her tracks when she noticed a dark figure at a small corner of the rooftop.
squinting her eyes to make out the blurred figure amongst the darkness of the night, she felt something click in her head when she noticed a familar face.
taking careful strides towards the figure, she stood a distance away as she called out the name which resides in her head. "sunghoon?" her voice came out as a whisper, still uncertain if the male was the person she envisioned.
she watched as the male slowly turned his head, a visible lit ciggarette inbetween his index and middle finger, a silver lighter grasped loosely in his other hand.
" you are?" he looks at the girl weirdly, he didnt recognised her. her features didn't ring a bell.
" so you are sunghoon. im your classmate, luna. though i am unsure if i have ever caught your attention. " she introduced, still maintaining the distance between them.
the male's eyebrows raised slighly as he recognised her name from the back of his head.
" you're the girl who sits at front of class every math lesson? such a teacher's pet." he laughed dryly, taking another long puff of the lighted stick.
" i didn't know you smoke" she says, leaning slightly on the railing as she stared at the dark scenery of the night, eyes focused on the bright specks between the clouds.
" sometimes all you need is some nicotine." he trails off , flicking the finished ciggarette on the ground as he reached into his jacket's pocket. he takes out a box of ciggarettes, slowly pulling one out and he flicked open the cover of his lighter.
before he could light the new stick, luna turned to face him. " you know, its bad for you, sunghoon. " she says softly, staring at the taller male's features as she watched him sigh.
" what do you know?" he says, lighting the ciggarette as he placed it inbetween his lips, lightly inhaling the first puff of tobacco. the smoke danced inside his mouth as it was then forcefully pushed down his trachea, reaching its destination residing in his lungs.
" you're right, i really don't know anything about you. you're just someone i see everyday in class." a classmate. " she starts , looking back at the sky.
" how about you come with me to the convenience store nearby? i was just on my way to buy supper. " she asks with slight uncertainty. this was the first time they ever interacted. sunghoon was always seated at the back, quiet and reserved. his presence was almost invisible.
" why would i?" he replies, taking another long puff. he exhales as the smoke forms a cloud infront of him, disappearing into the vast scenery.
" lets get ice cream?" she asks, this time with a small smile tugging on her lips. he intrigued her. from his voice, to his actions and words. moreover, to her, he looked like he needed someone to talk to. something about his eyes, seemed as if he was constantly lost in his thoughts.
" no thanks" he replies nonchalantly, making luna sigh as she straightened up her posture. "alright, ill get going now. it was nice talking to you , sunghoon" she gave him one last small smile before turning on the heels of her feet and walking the opposite direction.
glancing at her for a short moment, sunghoon sighs before taking another long puff of his half finished ciggarette, inhaling the released smoke.
upon reaching the convenience store which was just a few minutes' walk from the spot where sunghoon stood, she opened the freezer as she took her favourite popsicle, melona.
before she closed the freezer completely, an image flashed momentarily in her head. she stops as she slides open the glass door again, grabbing another popsicle.
paying , she walks out as she took a deep breath, breathing in the night's breeze and calming atmosphere. she walks back to the rooftop slowly, stopping once she was just a few steps away from the male who was still standing, ciggarette still resting between his lips.
" why are you here again" he says without sparing her a glance.
" here" she placed the cold dessert between his freehand as she leaned against the wall beside him, sitting down in a criss-crossed position.
sunghoon looked down at the sudden cold sensation lingering on his right hand as he sighed again, throwing yet another finished ciggarette bud onto the gravel before turning to face the seated girl, who was already munching on her popsicle.
hesitantly, he sits down beside her. "thanks, i guess" he says as he opened the packaging, placing the sweet confection into his mouth, humming as the sweetness carressed his tongue.
" say, why do you smoke so much?" luna asks, now focused on the male who was now crouching beside her. she took this time to properly study his features. he was without a doubt, rather attractive.
" thats just how i cope with life" he says with a shrug.
luna gave him a sad smile , " you know, there are many better ways to cope. both mentally and physically better. " she says with a tinge of sadness in her voice. she understood him so much. she was struggling to cope with her own problems too, and little did anyone know, she, herself was also fighting to resist seeking solace in a lighted drug.
" like what? nothing else feels better than taking a long puff after a long day" he replied with unwavering resolve.
"do you have someone you can share your problems with? she sighs after hearing his stubborn retort.
" no one cares" he turns to face her, finally having proper eyecontact since their first exchange of words. she could see a tinge of forcefully masked sadness in the male's eyes.
" im here now" she gave him a calm yet sympathetic smile, catching him slightly off guard with her steadfast tone which asserted a sense of confidence as well as reassurance.
something he had long been longing for.
" don't you think it's about time to throw that away?" she says, index finger pointing at the box of ciggarettes he held firmly in his hand.
" i will help you feel alive again, i promise."
" no one deserves to feel neglected."
smiling, she stands up as she gave the male a final glance.
" you know where to find me. class 23, the same as yours. "
