Chapter 85 One Chip Is All It Takes
June went back to his room to freshen up. His stomach grumbled as he lathered his body with soap.
June was so damn hungry since they practiced until 11:00 PM without having any dinner. Jaeyong and Hoon were already knocked out on their beds while Jisung went to the cafeteria to eat before showering.
June felt too sticky, so he decided to take a shower first before eating.
He was in the middle of his shower when a pop-up showed up.
[New missions are in! After the bonus mission, you have now unlocked the feature: two missions. Instead of three given missions, only two at a time will be generated. Missions will regenerate once those two missions are accomplished. This allows better regeneration time.]
"Damn," June muttered, looking at Fu's new user interface. "You're looking better."
[Since the host has upgraded his skills, Fu is also being upgraded. Anyway, here are your two missions:
1. Create an SNS account.
2. Evoke an emotional response. Make someone cry from the trainees!]
[Good luck!]
June stopped mid-lather to look at his new missions. He frowned. What the hell was this second one all about? Make someone cry from the trainees?
Won't that put him into trouble?
"Oww!" he suddenly exclaimed when some of the soap bubbles got into his eyes. He quickly turned on the shower and rinsed his eye out.
He sighed and got out of the shower, looking at himself in the mirror. He cursed silently when he saw his eyes had turned red because of the soap.
Great!
It's because Fu always has great timing. Why the hell would he give him his new missions in the shower? And two ridiculous missions, at that.
As a 28-year-old man in his past life, he didn't know much about SNS accounts. He didn't even know how to take a good picture of himself, so he was sure he wouldn't be able to do that all alone.
The second mission is just...plain ridiculous.
June got out of the shower with wet hair, red eyes, and a scowl on his face. Meanwhile, Jisung entered the room with a smile plastered on his face, satisfied by the meal he had just eaten.
"Oh, brother," he whispered. "The meals are probably gone by now. I don't think there's food left for you to eat."
"What?" June exclaimed, causing Jaeyong to groan.
Jisung scratched the back of his head. "I know," he said. "Apparently, the other trainees were crazy hungry after their practices and went crazy on the dinner selection."
"What did you eat then?" June asked.
"The remaining buffet," Jisung sheepishly chuckled. "But there might be some snacks left. You can check it out if you want."
"Fine," June grumbled. He needed to get something in his digestive system. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to sleep with his stomach grumbling.
He went to the cafeteria and saw that almost all the lights were closed. The cafeteria ladies were already out of sight, and the only light source shone upon the 'snack' section.
Azure calls it a 'snack' section, but it's truly just a bunch of fruit and some tasteless crackers. They wanted the trainees to stay fit throughout their stay at the dorms, so they didn't serve them any junk food. Sometimes, there would be a sweet granola bar among the snacks, so June wanted to eat that, at least.
However, as he got closer to the basket of snacks, he could only feel disappointed. The snacks left were hardtacks and a fire chip? What the hell is a fire chip?
He looked around the cafeteria and saw that there wasn't any food left, so he let out a sigh and picked those two snacks.
June opened the packet of hardtacks and popped one inside his mouth. He immediately grimaced as the cracker sucked all the moisture in his mouth.
They were shitty, so June decided to eat the fire chip instead. He observed the big piece of chip inside the clear box and frowned.
Who the hell sells individual chips? Has the world changed so much when he died that manufacturers already make something like this?
However, June's curiosity got the best of him as he popped the whole chip in his mouth.
At first, it was fine...like a normal barbecue-flavored corn chip. It was a little bit spicy, but not anything June couldn't handle with his Chinese tongue.
However, as time progressed, he suddenly felt an aching burn on his tongue.
June's eyes widened in surprise when he realized that this chip was individually packaged for a reason.
It's fucking spicy!
He grabbed a water bottle from the vending machine and went to the stairs to calm himself down. June was already panting, tears brimming in his eyes, and sweat starting to form on his temples.
June breathed in deeply as he took another swig of water. However, it felt like fire going down his throat. He coughed, sniffed, and panted out loud, and he was sure he looked like a crazy dog at that point.
As he continued to struggle, someone suddenly came into his view, causing him to freeze.
"June?" Zeth said, looking at June's teary eyes and red face. "Are you okay?"
"I—I'm fine," June tried to say without struggling, but it was practically impossible with his burning tongue.
He was surprised when Zeth chuckled sadly and sat next to him.
Now, why wasn't he going away?
"I see. We must be on the same boat, huh?"
June wiped the tears from his eyes, causing Zeth to pat his back. "It's alright, brother. We all have our days sometimes."
June scratched the back of his head. "I'm not crying," he explained, sniffing as some mucus ran down his nose.
"Sure," Zeth smiled, obviously not believing him. "You don't have to explain yourself. I know that feeling, too. I feel it all too well, honestly."
June raised his eyebrows. "Are you...alright?" he asked, finally calming down from the aftermath of the chip.
That damn chip made him lose twenty years of his life!
Zeth smiled and fiddled with his fingers. "You know, no one has ever asked me that question before..."
June froze.
Oh geez.
Is this going to be another therapy session?
June just wanted to eat some damn dinner!
"Everybody just seems to assume that I'm alright, you know?" Zeth said. "Just because I'm the first-ranked trainee...Just because I'm talented...Just because I have supportive parents."
Alright, alright. Now, he was just bragging.
"I never thought I'd be saying these thoughts to anybody else, but seeing you intensely cry made me feel more at ease," he softly said.
It was the damn chip.
"I wasn't—"
*Sniff*
June's statement was cut off.
"I feel like I could share this with you, brother," Zeth said, looking at June with tears streaming down his eyes.
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