𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒍𝒃𝒐𝒓𝒐 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 : 𝒎𝒆𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒆

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Being addicted is defined as being physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance, and unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects. Though it held largely negative connotations, Mingyu didn't mind the idea of being addicted as much as the next person.

He can argue all day that while addiction could be perceived as bad, his addiction is actually a coping mechanism for the shit he has to deal with on a daily basis. His addiction isn't harming anyone around him, unless they walk into his smoke cloud.

Marlboro cigarettes became a big part of Mingyu's life, and at seventeen years old he can rightfully say that his body is 60% nicotine and 40% black coffee. His late night stays at Denny's boosted that caffeine addiction lately.

He could always blame Minghao for the Denny's addiction though, the younger himself had an obsession with a specific waiter. But Mingyu crowns himself a true slut for their pancakes and sausage links so he can't actually complain about spending four days a week there until midnight.

He can't blame anyone other than himself for picking up his smoking habit however, it was easily his own doing. Picture a young Mingyu Kim, barely fifteen, stressed out on his young teen angst and needing an outlet that didn't involve punching a wall. Now picture that same Mingyu getting offered a half smoked cigarette by one of the older skater boys who went to his school.

The truth is that Mingyu could have said no and the older guy wouldn't have cared, but Mingyu accepted and liked the out come.

Nicotine calmed him down, like it does every smoker out there. It's the entire reason he goes through a pack a day and has a charge list at the EZ Mart near his house.

So thus, we arrive to seventeen years old Mingyu, currently half way through a pack that red and white box while leaning against his schools brick walls.

It's lunch time, and while he should be in the cafeteria with Minghao and Seokmin listening to them talk about precalculus and chemistry he instead chooses to be alone with earbuds plugged into his ears to blast at an alarming volume.

He thought it was funny how easily he fell into that mysterious but self destructive popular boy stereotype. You know that one guy who's handsome and known by everyone, but has anger issues and wears Vans even if he doesn't skate? He probably also wears a Thrasher tee-shirt and rejects every girl who asks him out by saying “I'm no good for you”.

Yeah, that douche.

Somehow that's Mingyu, at least in the eyes of his peers.

You see, Mingyu was handsome. He was known by almost everyone in the school, girls confessed to him every other day even though he couldn't see himself in a relationship, he owned a pair of black Vans that he only wore when skating, and he did have minor anger issues. A perfect cliche.

So he has the The Guy™ attitude, he skips class, and he smokes. So how he is really any different compared to the thousands of bad boy teens out there? Nothing really. Mingyu is average, he's a statistic of his generation — a generation of clones with different face shapes.

It wasn't just Mingyu however that felt like the biggest stereotype at his school. Each student had a purpose, each one the same as another in a different school in a different state.

Gossip King and Queen? Seungkwan and  Jessi. The slightly dumb football Captain? Johnny. The closest gay linebacker? Lucas. That one super popular girl that everyone secretly hates? Nancy.
Mingyu could go on and on just listing each category.

It's not that he has a problem with anyone he's listed or anyone at his school honestly, but it's hard to enjoy people's company when all they are are carbon copies of someone else somewhere in the world. Everyone felt unoriginal. 

Maybe he's just too picky, hell even Minghao and Seokmin fell into that stereotype of sweet foreign exchange student and the token happy funny guy respectively.

Sighing, Mingyu let's his head fall to bump against the wall. Eyes closed as he tilts his face up to the darkened cloud covered sky.

Lunch is almost up and he doesn't particularly want to go to his physics class today.

Mingyu had average grades somehow despite his skipping class, and he'd not actually gotten into trouble for being absent so much. He'd wholeheartedly thank Dino a million times for hacking into the school's system every other week to reset their absences. How they'd never been caught was beyond Mingyu.

He didn't hate school, but he didn't enjoy it either. He was barely even neutral about it. On one side it was boring and wasted his time where he could be getting a job or busting his ass on his board, while on the other side he would struggle to get a job without a diploma.

Jobs meant money, money meant cigarettes.
So he couldn't drop out, even if he'd actively thought about it in the past.

He grunted as he finally pushed himself away from that brick wall, finally deciding to just go home rather than sit through four more hours of bull shit.

Mingyu starts on his journey home, beginning to pull his phone from his pocket when he notices movement from the corner of his eye.

Now, just because Mingyu isn't the most rule strict person doesn't mean he doesn't fear punishment completely, and in that moment a teacher just found him. He jerks his head up and towards the figure he saw, he almost wishes he hadn't.

A good ways away from him are two figures engaging in very unholy activities. He recognizes one of them easily and cringes.

Sex wasn't something that made him uncomfortable, he hadn't been a virgin for years now and although he didn't date he'd sleep with a few people here and there with no big deal. However it's who one of them was that made him cringe.

If Mingyu Kim is the token bad boy then Wonwoo Jeon is the token damaged-goods kid.

There was a lot of history surrounding that guy, a lot of heartbreaks and breakdowns.

Wonwoo was a lot like Mingyu in a sense that everyone knew him, but a twist was that almost everyone had fucked him at some point. Maybe that was a bit harsh, but Wonwoo was well known for the amount of relationships he'd been in and him accepting one night stands from most of the people who asked if he wasn't currently seeing someone.

He'd gotten labeled many things over the years, hitting highschool had been a big explosion in names to be called as the student bodies dictionaries expanded to more words than just boobs and penis jokes.

He was one of the people Mingyu didn't understand, and he was one of the people Mingyu couldn't automatically set a stereotype to.

Wonwoo was just kind of there.

They'd never talked before, Wonwoo didn't talk to many people to begin with. However even if Mingyu couldn't label him or develop an actual opinion, he can say that seeing the senior busy on his knees behind their school is not the best introduction.

The most awkward part? Right as Mingyu is turning away, they make eye contact.

He's not sure if the overall circumstance or the dead look in Wonwoo's eyes but Mingyu is rightfully uncomfortable and decides it's best to speed walk away.

Mingyu is down to a quarter pack of cigarettes by the time he gets back home that day, and it's only a ten minute walk.