Monsta X: The Clan Pt. 2

20: Earnest

"I've never been this earnest before in my life"

Jooheon:

I'll be honest, I wasn't very elated to know that my job was to stare at the pipes. While Kihyun was pouring the buckets of flowers down the pipes and Changkyun was playing the game, I was here, on the cold warehouse floor staring at the neon pipeline intensely.

Of course, I wouldn't refuse a job. If I was assigned this task then I would complete it with the utmost caution to my utmost ability. Even if it was just staring at the flashing pipeline until I saw spots before my eyes.

In all honesty, I understood the reason behind assigning me this task. While Wonho didn't openly express it, one could tell that he was cautious of me. He was wary whenever he was around me. 

The only way he could keep me in check in such a crucial moment was to assign me this task in which I would have little impact.

And that was fine by me. I understood his intentions better than anyone else here, maybe better than himself. I knew that despite being the highest-ranked here, despite exuding the most absolute sense of clarity and calm, it masked the deep emotional storm within me. A turmoil inside me that was arguably greater than the one within Hyungwon or even Minhyuk.

I would only get in the way.

Accepting this, I sat on the floor and watched as the purple liquid began to stream down the clear pipe. The smell hit me hard and I almost lost consciousness. The flower was so intoxicating that I didn't understand how Kihyun could handle those flowers with such ease, even with the thick mask that he wore.

The liquid disappeared inside the machine in rapid speed and the machine seemed to come to life. A low hum resonated throughout the room and the screen flickered on.

The screen looked exactly like the teddy bear game that Wonho had gifted Changkyun so long ago. You could see both of their faces light up with recognition. 

"As soon as you press start," Wonho said, pointing to a blinking button at the corner of the screen. "The machine will immediately begin. At that point, there's no pausing, no stopping, no mistakes."  

Changkyun swallowed hard and, with a deep breath, pressed start.

For some reason, everyone in the warehouse flinched, including me, as if something might happen after the start button was pressed.

Instead, the game simply started as normal. A brown bear appeared on the screen, standing straight on the purple, pixalized ground. The background was a simple white and gray checkered pattern, and there wasn't else on the screen except for green and purple blocks, which I'm assuming the teddy bear had to jump over.

A timer appeared with a beep on the upper right-hand corner, set for one minute. Below that, the life count appeared; a dismal one heart. One chance. 

At that moment, a disturbing robot-like voice began counting down. 

"3."

I turned my attention back towards the pipe and began watching it carefully.

"2."

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Wonho step backward, giving Changkyun some space.

"1."

A "Level 1" sign flashed across the screen and disappeared, as Changkyun jerked his joystick forwards, moving the character along. 

Hopping over blocks in the screen he ignored trying to get the coins laid across the game and solely on getting the character across the level in time. There were occasional monsters laid across the level that he also had to watch out for. Three hits from the monsters and his character would die.