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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 7, 2013 2:26:44 GMT -8
There was no hurry to get home. And if Donovan put it off long enough, his roommate would probably be well asleep and there'd be no confrontation about the shards of broken fiesta ware hidden at the bottom of the garbage. For now.
After a quick sniff to the week-old ham sandwich that he'd forgotten in the small break-room refrigerator, and the subsequent flinch of repulsion and regret, Donovan tossed the offending sandwich into the trash. It had gone on to a better, less delicious life (he briefly considered a heaven for expired food, wondered if it overlapped with a heaven for maggots), leaving Donovan digging back into the fridge for anything else salvageable that he may have left behind.
But eventually conceding defeat and not daring to touch anything belonging to Louisa lest he lose his fingers (or blamed it on that quiet girl he saw lurking around, but she probably needed her fingers as well- not that he could assume, he hardly knew her or why she was there), he instead opted to check for any coffee left congealed the bottom of the pot. Pouring the remainder of the now cold sludge into his mug and sloshing it around with some amusement, Donovan curled up in the questionably-stained but acceptably plush armchair.
He yawned while staring around the suspiciously cleaner-than-usual break room, considering the bike ride home and trying not too hard to work up the motivation. Or maybe he could find an unoccupied bench in the park, although the homeless were usually rather possessive of them. And taking from the homeless what little they had wasn't kind. It would be easy enough to fall asleep where he sat, eyelids already fluttering closed, but he didn't need another run-in with the aggressively cheerful morning broadcast duo that would be invading within the next couple hours.
Quickly gulping down the bitter coffee, the taste lingering unpleasantly, Donovan poked around at his iphone to continue stubbornly wasting time.
Mi-Ho | TAG
May 16th | DATE
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Post by MI-HO MOON on Oct 8, 2013 2:40:49 GMT -8
She said leave me alone, but just don't leave me here, alright?
May 16th, 3:00 AM
tag | Donovan
words | 433 | When one got technical about it, she had always had some sort of job to the side. She had some part time work back at the studio when she was at dance school in San Francisco, she did a number of odd jobs throughout high school, and she was still helping out at her parents' store. It was just part of life. So, for her, getting used to a new job could be easy.
It was only her second day working at the radio station and she felt comfortable enough adjusting to the new setting. It was easy work. She took care of answering phones, sorting mail and papers, checking emails, making coffee… She felt most like a secretary. It was a small broadcast studio and that late in the evening it was usually just the hosts, herself, and the technical support that checked in and out throughout the evening. It wasn't a hard job, or one that required her to be a social presence. The late evening and nighttime schedule would take some more getting used to, but that wasn't something that she minded. It wasn't as if she was doing much else with her time.
Mi-Ho had decided to head over to the mountains in the morning for some time alone, but she was sure that if she just went to bed as soon as she got home then she'd be fine to wake up and go. Unfortunately, she was still getting things sorted and managed to miss her last ride home by all of two minutes. Instead of being able to leave, she found herself debating her options as she walked back into the station. It was either walk, take a nap until the next bus came, or try and find a ride home.
She was looking at her own phone, tempted to call her brother for a lift, when she walked into the break room herself. It came as almost a surprise to see someone else already there. "Oh, hi," she said, tucking some of what hair she had behind her ear. "I didn't think anyone would still be around." Not that it was a bad thing that someone else was around. She knew the man to be one of the very co-hosts she was assigned to assist. While Louisa seemed to have no problem asking for coffee and things, she hadn't really heard much from the man yet. In fact, she did realize that they hadn't been properly introduced either. She couldn't help but wonder if she could try and get a ride home. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 8, 2013 3:12:51 GMT -8
The girl's announcement of her presence (via commenting on his) was met with a slow blink. Green eyes flicked slowly up to the girl, then back down the the display time on his phone to make sure he hadn't somehow fell asleep without realizing and the morning crew was arriving. Luckily not.
Donovan regarded her again with a casually lopsided smile, vaguely recognizing her as the girl who he only registered as existing in some capacity at the station earlier that day. Although perhaps she'd been around longer, he couldn't be certain. But he hadn't given her too much thought to come to any reasonable assumption as to why she was there- earlier nor now. Other than she probably knew Louisa somehow, or at least they'd spoken. Maybe.
Revisiting his earlier side thought to her attachment to having fingers, Donovan took a bit too long to remember that he hadn't given any sort of verbal acknowledgment to her- well, she hadn't asked any questions. And maybe he shouldn't be staring at her hands trying to count her fingers and instead give her a proper response.
"Yes."
That wasn't too eloquent, but Donovan pushed up his glasses and didn't make further attempt to make it more so.
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Post by MI-HO MOON on Oct 8, 2013 3:33:08 GMT -8
She said leave me alone, but just don't leave me here, alright?
May 16th, 3:00 AM
tag | Donovan
words | 260 | Her presence was noticed, but watching his slow movements was like watching an overly relaxed sloth's on the nature channel. Not that she had ever watched much of any nature channel, but that's exactly what she pictured when her dark eyes met his calm green before losing the contact again a moment later. She patiently waited for a verbal reply.
When he finally spoke, it wasn't the wordiest response. However, Mi-Ho was actually satisfied with that. Unless she was having a real conversation, she had never really been one to spend many words herself. Getting adjusted to a new work environment required a few more conversations than usual, as did the whole getting used to life without some sort of school, but either way she could easily deal with the small response that Donovan had given her. Perhaps it was because he was tired, perhaps he just didn't like to say much after talking on the air so much, who knew. She wasn't bothered and she wasn't going to question it.
The young woman stepped over to one of the other chairs and took a seat, quietly looking him over for a moment. She didn't feel it was impolite to do so when he seemed to be staring at her. Or her hands for some reason. She wasn't quite sure.
"I missed my ride home," she spoke again, getting straight to the point of why she was speaking to him now without scooting around the topic with pointless small talk. "Are you leaving soon, or do you usually stay later?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 8, 2013 8:04:01 GMT -8
Nodding along to the summation of her situation and the clearly implied request, Donovan briefly wondered if she missed the bus or if somebody had left without her. But not seeing what difference it would make to ask, not liking to be too nosy, Donovan instead clicked off the screen of his phone and slipped it into his jacket pocket.
It wasn't that his sympathies were easily engaged, having been in her position numerous occasions before to regard it as no big deal, but Donovan really had no reason to dismiss the girl or suggest she call for an overpriced taxi.
"If that's asking if I'll take you, and not a dismissal because you want to sleep here," Donovan began, almost warning her of the morning crew but not wanting to get too off track. "Then soon," he offered, without asking how far her home was, because more out of the way the better. Not even revealing that his ride was nothing more than a bicycle that wasn't built for two.
"Your name isn't Daisy, is it?"
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Post by MI-HO MOON on Oct 9, 2013 6:00:22 GMT -8
She said leave me alone, but just don't leave me here, alright?
May 16th, 3:00 AM
tag | Donovan
words | 251 | That exchange was pleasantly simple. Mi-Ho nearly gave him a smile before nodding. Then, she let her eyes briefly wander their surroundings. "The former, honestly. I'd rather not sleep here." Again, straight to the subject without worrying about hiding the fact. She took his reply to mean that she could get a ride from him. As she was grateful for this, she wouldn't complain about any time he took sitting in the break room. In fact, she would take a moment to relax herself until he was ready to leave.
At this point she was still assuming that he had a car, so she had absolutely no context for his joke. She only sat there a little bit confused as to why he thought her name was Daisy. It could've been the name of one of the other station employees, so she took that as her moment to introduce herself properly to clear the chance of mistaken identity.
"My name is Mi-Ho Moon. I started work here on monday?" She stated in the form of a question, wondering if perhaps he actually hadn't been told about her at all. Though she had been sitting there all night for the second day in a row. If he hadn't thought to ask about her, then she would've thought her position was obvious. There was the slim possibility her presence had gone overlooked, but that would've explained the lack of communications and requests so far. "I'm the new assistant for you and Miss Louisa." |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 9, 2013 8:53:10 GMT -8
"Good choice," he agreed, although would have given either answer the same level of acceptance. "Though the chairs are comfortable enough, if you ever do."
Lazily getting out of said chair, one limb at a time, he resisted the urge to flop back down in it once he was standing. Donovan quickly rinsed out the mug, none too thoroughly, and then buttoned up his jacket in preparation to head out.
"Donovan. I wasn't aware that I need an assistant," he admitted, though not defensively and uncertain what tasks that would even entail. He supposed it was her job to figure out, not his.
Heading toward the exit and expecting Mi-Ho to follow, he considered the implications of having another person hanging around. One of the appeals of the job was that despite having an audience (that he wasn't certain actually existed) and occasional call-ins to take from bored insomniacs, the small station itself wasn't too crowded and the social demands were low.
While Mi-Ho seemed unassuming enough, she was apparently not too timid to ask somebody she didn't even know for a favour. Luckily he appreciated the first, and didn't mind the other.
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Post by MI-HO MOON on Oct 10, 2013 8:01:20 GMT -8
She said leave me alone, but just don't leave me here, alright?
May 16th, 3:00 AM
tag | Donovan
words | 253 | It was nice to know that the chairs were comfortable. Mi-Ho entertained herself with the imaginings of the man curling himself into one to sleep for the night. He didn't seem too tall for something like that. In fact, she wondered if that was exactly what he had been planning to do before she came into the break room herself. Though he was drinking coffee. That was probably a sign he was just getting ready for the drive home, right?
"Apparently your boss thinks you need one." The boss who was, of course, her boss now, too. Why else had she been hired? "I've mainly been sorting your mail and incoming calls while you're busy talking on the broadcast." The mail was to be expected, but she did have to say she was rather surprised to see how many calls the station got from their minimal midnight audience. So far it was mainly those who clearly needed to sleep and those mysteriously drunk on a tuesday. Thankfully, Mi-Ho had been very good at just hanging up on the more incoherent and acting confused in Korean if she didn't want them to call back again.
She waited until he was walking toward the door to finally stand up herself. She straightened her skirt and followed behind him without hesitation. It would be nice to get some sleep. "I live in Koreatown, by the way. It's only about fifteen minutes away." By car. In favorable late-night traffic. She still had no idea about the bicycle. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 11, 2013 8:43:54 GMT -8
"That's not too far," Donovan hummed, casually holding the door open for Mi-Ho as he pulled out his keys. "But you'll need to give me directions."
He hadn't ever been to Koreatown, though knew enough that it'd be more than the 15 minute estimate, especially with the extra weight. Donovan didn't think that there was any truth to all Asians look alike, certainly not on an individual basis, but he wasn't quite exposed enough to know much difference between the various ethnicities. Her name hadn't been enough to go off of, but even knowing where she lived... would it be too much to assume? She could still be just as likely Chinese or Japanese, he wasn't sure how segregated immigrant communities were (though her English seemed natural enough that she probably was born in the US.)
But Donovan filed it away under things that didn't really matter, things that people only revealed if it was important to them. Living in LA for a few years, he'd grown more accustomed to the diversity compared to the lack of back home in Iowa and realizing that things such as race had very little to do with the content of a person. It never really occurred to him how bigoted his upbringing was until reality pushed it in his face, but he was glad to be proven wrong. So far, Mi-Ho seemed easy enough to be around, but then so were most people when asking for help. He'd reserve opinion until later, rarely trusting first impressions.
Strolling through the small, emptied parking lot tucked behind the building, Donovan passed by the lone car remaining. Not really regarding Mi-Ho's expectations or that he might have misled her, he knelt down next to his bicycle and unlocked the chain.
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Post by MI-HO MOON on Oct 13, 2013 5:50:44 GMT -8
She said leave me alone, but just don't leave me here, alright?
May 16th, 3:00 AM
tag | Donovan
words | 292 | The tall girl followed him out the door, nodding politely as he held the door open for her. Then, it was on to the parking lot. It wasn't surprising to see that there weren't many vehicles left in it. In fact, there was only one left. That was the one she decided to wait beside for a moment, only to silently watch him walk past it and on to a bicycle. She didn't move or make a face. She just stared without a word, holding back the inner groan as her assumptions withered like daisies in the last breath's of fall. Had he acted any differently, she would've thought it was a joke. However, she would make the most of what it was then. She sighed gently and then took the few light steps over to where he was waiting.
"You must live close by, as well," Mi-Ho decided, still not showing or voicing any complaints about their mode of transportation. She was unimpressed and incredibly unamused, but it would have to do. She was the one imposing upon him for a ride. While she would've preferred to ride in a car, she decided that at least the weather was nice and she didn't have to do any of the work getting home herself. It was not a bicycle built for two. Suddenly his comment about her name being Daisy made much more sense.
She played with her flowy skirt for a moment. She was half-worried that it would get caught in the wheel by wherever he was going to place her on the two-wheel contraption, so she found it best to tie one side in a loose knot to keep it out of the way. "Do you always bike to work?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 13, 2013 6:32:35 GMT -8
Glad for her lack of protest, knowing perfectly well it wasn't what she was expecting and probably not the most ideal, Donovan quietly hummed the lines to Daisy as he packed up the chain in his book bag and slung it over his shoulder. He'd never had anyone else on his bicycle before, except as a kid when his little sisters took turns on the handlebars. He doubted it was too much more effort, Mi-Ho looked light enough despite her height. There probably wasn't too much risk of them toppling over, and he felt no need to express his lack of experience to her either. If they were going to fall, they could worry about it then.
"Not too far," Donovan agreed with no further clarification of what part of the city he lived in. Nudging the kickstand with his foot and wheeling the bicycle closer to Mi-Ho, Donovan climbed on and held it balanced with one foot to the pavement and the other on the pedal. The dirty green bike had probably seen a few miles too many, but the brakes were recently repaired and the tires properly filled. At least it was reliable. "I used to take the bus, but it got too expensive." And he always managed to miss it both on the way there and back, only opting for taking the bus when the weather was less pleasant.
He waited patiently for her to climb onto the back, allowing her to figure out whichever way made her most comfortable. The bars extending from the hubs on the back tires were wide enough if she chose to stand, and she seemed to figure out that her skirt would get caught that he didn't bother warning her. "You'll probably need to grab my shoulders," was all he suggested.
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Post by MI-HO MOON on Oct 14, 2013 6:11:48 GMT -8
She said leave me alone, but just don't leave me here, alright?
May 16th, 3:00 AM
tag | Donovan
words | 254 | Figuring out how to get on to the bike was a little bit difficult at first. She looked away from the man and stared at the rest of his bicycle. She was given no instruction as to how to get on or where to place herself, so she imagined that was up to her. She debated the options in her head, before settling on the bicycle's spokes. Years of dance made her thankfully light on her feet with fairly good balance. Actually getting on to the bicycle was the easy part. She just gently took hold of his shoulders and hopped on, making sure that her skirt was staying tied and out of the way.
After she was on, that's when she realized that this was going to be a longer ride than she had hoped for. It wasn't too bad, she would just have to make sure to hang on to the man's shoulders for the ride. Beggars could not be choosers. Next time she would just have to be more careful about catching her ride home.
"Sometimes you can get discount transit cards," she suggested. "I used to have one for school." Their employer was highly unlikely to offer anything like that, as Louisa and Donovan were already lucky that the station hired an assistant for them. However, he could've looked elsewhere for it depending on whatever other living situation he had going on. She wasn't going to ask him about it just yet. "Unless you prefer to ride your bicycle anyway." |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 14, 2013 7:39:26 GMT -8
Donovan tried not to cringe at the suggestion of the discount, knew it was meant to be helpful and well-intentioned, but held the familiar ring of why can't you get yourself together that seemed to follow him. He wasn't a fan of helpful advice no matter how benign or simple. It always started off with the little things, little nudges in the right direction. Not wanting to already ignore Mi-Ho on principle, he hoped that it wasn't an indicator of any future habits and the only rearranging she'd do would be of the station and not the details of his life. But to his relief she seemed to dismiss the suggestion just as quickly, no real conviction behind it, and he was willing not to hold it as a strike against her.
"I prefer my bicycle, otherwise I would have already found an alternative," Donovan's huff in response was hidden as he pushed his sole off the pavement to get them enough momentum. They wobbled slightly as he adjusted to her added weight, but after pedaling a few times they were stable and on their way in the vague direction of Koreatown. Instead of asking for directions, he figured she'd chime in when relevant, otherwise ready to make the path up as he went along as he did most anywhere he went.
The night streets finally quiet as most people retreated to their homes, it was usually Donovan's preferred time for unwinding, but the steady grips on his shoulders made it too difficult to pretend he was alone.
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Post by MI-HO MOON on Oct 15, 2013 5:30:51 GMT -8
She said leave me alone, but just don't leave me here, alright?
May 16th, 3:00 AM
tag | Donovan
words | 318 | Having no visual of Donovan's face, and not particularly caring about sparing anyone's feeling even then, his cringe went totally unnoticed. She didn't feel that she had said anything wrong either. Offering advice was one thing, but for her the matter was just stating an obvious solution to a problem he mentioned having. She was a thrifty girl who liked to save money where she could. Sure, she could splurge on ridiculous things like ice cream every now and then, but that was only because she knew how to save every nickel and dime in her regular expenses. What little money that could be saved during sales and whatnot did add up.
"I understand," she confirmed, letting the topic end with that. She didn't need him to explain further, because the idea was easy enough to understand. If one liked to ride their bicycle, then one liked to ride their bicycle. When they passed a few blocks, Mi-Ho finally pointed him in a direction. "To the left there."
The rest of their journey was easy and seemed to pass rather quietly. However, it wasn't the least bit awkward. Something about their lack of conversation on the ride made her like the man better than if he had talked her ear off. If anything, she decided that, though perhaps a bit disheveled, this wasn't the sort of person she would dislike working for. And asking him for a ride home again wouldn't have been the worst thing she could do.
She breathed a quiet sigh of gratefulness when her home came in to view. Her parents' store had long since closed for the day and the only light that remained on was the one in her brother's room. It was a very familiar picture. "This is it." Mi-Ho it out pointed and then waited for him to stop so that she could hop off. "Thank you for the lift." |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 15, 2013 6:14:35 GMT -8
He didn't often have company that just let him be, and had a feeling that Mi-Ho could appreciate it as well. That maybe he'd have somebody to turn to when he just needed to be without any commentary. By the time they arrived, it was easy enough to forget that he felt the slightest twinge of annoyance toward her at all. Between her instructions, the shared silence she allowed him was pleasant. Donovan was a bit disappointed when he stopped in front of her home in the poorly lit street, because he really had no more excuse not to head home himself. But with the coffee slowly draining from his system and a moment to pause, perhaps he was a bit more tired than he realized.
Clearly she didn't live alone, because she didn't seem the type careless enough to leave a bedroom light on. "Any time," he offered as Mi-Ho hopped off, not just empty politeness but a hope she'd miss her bus again soon.
Waiting just long enough to make sure that she could get inside without any trouble, Donovan took off in the other direction.
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REITGERTE
Staff Mod  
WANT TO MAKE A CONTRACT?
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Post by REITGERTE on Oct 17, 2013 9:40:00 GMT -8
| | | Finished Thread
You have been rewarded with ONE RESIDUE as this thread is now complete. It has been placed in the archives under the 'finished' sub-board. You are more than welcome to PM fate if this thread is not finished or if you are unhappy/unsatisfied with the amount of residue that has been rewarded. Keep up the great work and keep posting with other members.
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