Mental - HyunSeungI.N.

Chapter Ten

"No problem."

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Jeongin was lowkey panicking.

He was having another impulse.

Jeongin was just walking down the hallway to the cafeteria, on his way to have a good time talking with his friends and eating lunch.

His brain decided that that would not be a good idea.

Jeongin tried to will it down as he walked into the cafeteria, immediately getting into the line to get food behind a bunch of other patients. Jeongin's eyes glanced around the room, panic evident.

Jeongin's eyes landed on a jar of spoons at the end of the counter. The spoons were an easy target to steal.

Jeongin absent-mindedly got himself a sandwich and pushed his tray until he was right next to the spoons. Jeongin stared at the spoons as if it was his worst enemy.

Jeongin's hand seemed to have a mind of his own as he watched it reach over to the spoons. He could just play it off as if he was getting one to eat with.

But who the fuck eats a sandwich with a spoon?

Jeongin squeezed his eyes shut. There had to be some way he could stop himself. 

That's when Jeongin remembered something.

Minho's advice.

Jeongin opened his eyes, Minho's words echoing in his head."...when controlling my impulses to steal things, I used this one little trick. If I ever felt the need to steal, I just hold my breath, close my eyes, and count to ten..." 

Jeongin took a deep breath and closed his eyes once again. He could do this. Jeongin then counted from one to ten in his head, before slowly opened his eyes.

"...Then I try to clear my head and remind myself that I need to get better and I can't give in."

Jeongin took another deep breath and tried to make his mind blank, the only thing left was the thoughts of forced reassurance and motivation. You can get better. You will get better. You just have to take it one step at a time.

If you keep telling yourself something, you'll start believing it.

Jeongin felt the impulse to steal feel a lot less strong.

He felt way more in control of himself.

Jeongin picked up his tray, a small smile on his face. He actually had control over his impulses for once.

Still smiley, Jeongin walked over to the table he usually sat at. Hyunjin and Seungmin were already there, messing around.

When Jeongin brought Hyunjin over to sit with him and Seungmin, Seungmin and Hyunjin got along almost immediately. The three were practically inseperable now, and even though they all had their own struggles, being together made them feel something they haven't felt in a while.

It made them feel normal.

Seungmin and Hyunjin were currently ripping apart a piece of bread and stacking the pieces, trying to see how small they could make the pieces before the stack completely falls over.

Jeongin set down his tray, the stack of bread immediately falling over. Seungmin gasped. "Jeongin, why would you do that? You ruined the tower!"

Jeongin scoffed. "Why are you even doing that? It's food!"

Seungmin blinked. "It's art! And it was Hyunjin hyung's idea in the first place."

Hyunjin rested his chin on his boney hand, a look of betrayal on his face. "Don't blame me. You agreed."

Jeongin rolled his eyes. "I swear to god. Anyways, I was able to stop one of my impulses just now."

Hyunjin looked back at Jeongin. "Really? That's amazing, Jeongin!"

Seungmin nodded in agreement. "Yeah. I feel proud."

The three of them are very open about their mental health with each other, and support each other a lot. Getting through your problems with other people really helps.

You don't have to be alone.

And you aren't.

Jeongin nodded and took a bite of his sandwich. "Yeah. I met someone at group therapy that has kleptomania just like me and he gave me some advice. It really helped."

Hyunjin hummed in agreement. "That's good."

Seungmin turned his head to look at Hyunjin. "Yeah. And I know Hyunjin hyung has been improving too, right?"

Hyunjin nodded, an embarrassed red tint dusted his cheeks. "Yeah, I uh... I ate half of a sandwich while you were still in the line to get food. It isn't much, but it's uh... something."

Jeongin couldn't help but smile at his friend's accomplishment. "Nice!"

Seungmin chuckled. "And then we destroyed the other half, at least the bread I mean, to make that tower."

Jeongin raised an eyebrow. "Still confused as to why you did that."

Seungmin playfully acted offended. "It was beautiful interpretive art! And it wasn't my idea, it was-"

Hyunjin interrupted. "You went along with it. Therefore, you can't blame me and I'm not 100% at fault."

Seungmin gasped. "Since you started it, I would say that it is."

Hyunjin and Seungmin continued to playfully banter, Jeongin looking at them with a certain fondness.

Just being with them made Jeongin feel safe and happy.

They made him feel normal.

A/N What's up, I'm writing this when I'm supposed to be sleeping because I have school tomorrow once again. I really hope this doesn't become habit because it's really unhealthy and I'm literally always exhausted, but I want to write just for you guys on schedule so I don't feel like a disappointment lol.

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