Once again guys, drugs are REALLY bad and they're a terrible way to confront your problems, so please PLEASE stay away from them.

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Hazy.

It was the first thought to cross Junhyung’s mind when his eyes cracked open to see gyrating smears of neon dancing in vivid, nauseating color. He felt weightless, as if he hovered a breath above the ratty mattress beneath him supported by nothing but an encompassing blue tingling buzz. Pink crept in at the edges of the room, swirling into the blue, dyeing it purple and making the colors throb. A tendril of the purple brushed against Junhyung’s arm and he felt himself drop to the mattress, his breath rushing out of him like he’d been hit by a high-speed train.

Why did he-? Oh. Junhyung grimaced. The memory blurred, but he could recall the small square that Dongwoon had given him with its obnoxious Crayola-yellow smiley face. He’d held it under his tongue as Dongwoon jabbered in the background, giving constant assurances that the drug was “a high quality product, guaranteed to be an awesome trip hyung.” Twenty minutes later Junhyung swallowed on Dongwoon’s command, frowning at the slight bitterness.

“Don’t worry hyung,” the maknae had reassured. “It’s stronger than weed, but it won’t you up as bad as some of the harder stuff. It just plays with your brain is all.”

“I don’t feel anything.”

“That’s normal hyung. Acid takes a while to kick in.”

Junhyung couldn’t remember much after that. Dongwoon had talked more but Junhyung blocked out his voice. He must have fallen asleep. It was the only reasonable explanation for the colors exploding in his vision now. Weird, atmospheric music drifted through the room like an afterthought; wind chimes seemed to be the primary instrument. The room pulsed with the off-kilter beat and Junhyung was sure he’d hate the song if he wasn’t high.

Yellow joined the pink at the edges of the room, occasionally darting down to caress his skin. Junhyung stretched his legs, enjoying the pleasant buzz in his system and the splashes of blue his movement shot out. They attacked the purple and drove back the pink, letting the blue tingles return. The room reeked with a sweet skunkish odor, coloring everything but the neon with a sickly grey tinge. Something black dashed from the door to the creaking armchair; Junhyung saw the movement out of the corner of his eye, briefly wondering if the soot sprites in Miyazaki films were an actual thing. He giggled at the thought, until a cold dousing of paranoia flooded his system and he froze, all his senses intent on the creaking armchair in the corner that had just begun to spin.

“You’re awake?”

Junhyung frowned. The chair was talking. Then the chair was moving. It began to morph, standing upright. The shadows twisted into a man outlined in angry red spikes.

“I was starting to wonder how long it would take for the trip to kick in. You’ve been asleep for almost three hours.” The chair-man scratched his head. “I must’ve had you hold it under your tongue too long. How do you feel?”

Junhyung frowned harder. The chair-man sounded a lot like Dongwoon. It wasn’t very chair-like.

“Chairs don’t talk.”

The chair-man snorted. “No hyung. I told you acid would work.”

No hyung? The chair-man was insulting him now? That wasn’t cool. But wait. What did the chair-man mean, acid would work? Was something broke-? Huh? A face flashed in Junhyung’s memory, all soft curves and full lips. A girl?

“Hana?”

The chair-man swore. “You weren’t supposed to remember her tonight hyung. That’s what you said.” Junhyung heard a groan. “That’s why you’re on acid and not weed. .”

Junhyung ignored the chair-man, choosing instead to focus on the face in his mind.  Why would he want to forget someone so breathtaking? Why would he want to forget Hana? Junhyung remembered Hana. She was everything he wanted. Beautiful in a simple way, with a biting wit and a penchant for wordplay, a rational mind, and the ability to consider difficult questions. Junhyung actually wanted to ask Hana out. He’d been thinking about it for a while, but hadn’t quite gotten up the nerve. But then his roommate Gikwang-. Oh. Ooooh.

Junhyung felt like he’d been punched in the gut, the pleasant blue tingles holding him up fleeing in the presence of an overwhelming sickly green fog. That’s why he was on acid. Hana’s face began to hollow out—the shadows on her cheeks elongating and swallowing her features, making her decay. It had started so simply. The room spun black.

Gikwang’s voice, close-by and clear, “Jun. Guess what?”

He sounded so excited Junhyung couldn’t help but ask.

“I get to introduce you to my girlfriend today!”

Girlfriend? That spiked Junhyung’s interest. Since when was Gikwang so lucky? He was a good guy. He deserved to be loved. But Hana was coming over. Did Gikwang know? Would his girlfriend mind?

Hesitation. “It’s fine if Hana’s here Jun.” Unease.

Junhyung wished he’d noticed the hesitation. Junhyung wished he could pause. But he brushed it off. Today was not the day for worries. Today was the day Junhyung was brave. Today was the Junhyung asked Hana out. Finally. He told Gikwang.

Aprehension. “Really? You’re not joking Jun?” Guilt.

How had he not missed the guilt? Gikwang’s face flashed red. How had Junhyung not noticed? Ding dong. The door. Hana? It was Hana. Why couldn’t he have left the door closed? Junhyung groaned, red pulsing in his vision, flashing brightly.

“Oppa!”

Hana ran to Gikwang. Hana ran to Gikwang. The room spun black. Gikwang’s face burned red. Junhyung’s skin buzzed blue.

“Holy . HYUNG!”

A chair? No. A man? Dongwoon? It sounded like Dongwoon. Junhyung felt the black recede a little, the blue under his skin seeping out from under his nails and into the room.

“Breathe hyung. Breathe okay?” The Dongwoon-chair-man heaved a sigh. “Damn, this was a bad idea. I should’ve listened to Yoseob. Of course you’re going to have a bad trip. Your brain is completely ed up. Does Gikwang even know? I mean, the guy is nice but how did he miss this? You’re a mess hyung.” A huff. “All for a ing girl hyung. I hope it’s worth it to you. I can’t see the appeal.”

Junhyung didn’t hear the words. Instead he focused on the colors spewing from Dongwoon-chair-man’s mouth: sparkling pink, followed closely by a greenish yellow, sandwiched in purple and surrounded on all sides by the calm blue tingling buzz. The Dongwoon-chair-man picked up a small black rectangle that spat bright white with fury. He tapped the black box and held it to his head.

“Yoseob? Hey, Yoseob. Junhyung’s here. Yeah? Yeah, he’s high. Yeah. That’s actually why I’m calling. I might need some help. What? No! No! Of course Gikwang can’t come with you. Why would you even ask that? Oh? You’re coming over. Okay. Yeah, I’ll watch him. Okay. Bye.”

Junhyung laughed and the room throbbed yellow.

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I hope you enjoyed!

Please comment! I love to hear what you think :)

jay