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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 15, 2013 6:28:37 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 521 | The long days of May continued to pass by him much like they had since the beginning of the month. His confusing or bad dreams weren't going away. He was still seeing things just out of the corner of his eye. What it was that he was seeing, he wasn't quite sure. It always seemed to disappear when he actually tried to look, but it happened enough for it not to be passed off as a coincidence. That and there was something else. Daydreams? Memories? It was hard to say for sure as none of it happened quite frequently enough to really understand it. When he actually tried to think of it, he found himself unable. His mind just kept drawing blanks.
Though the boy kept telling himself that things were getting better, he knew for a fact that he was just starting to get used to it much like he would an incessantly bad cold. It would pass in time, he was sure. He just had to keep pushing forward in his everyday routines. It would be fine.
Aside from the fact that he was sleeping a bit less, there was nothing really detrimental about whatever was going on in his head. He managed to carry on his everyday without any change to his patterns. Things were a little weird, yes, but it wasn't as if he couldn't keep ignoring it as it was. He didn't speak of it to anyone, not that he really had anyone he felt that comfortable talking to about it anyway. The busier he could keep himself, the better as always. He sewed and repaired instruments, knitting in any free time he had. He even took up crocheting a bit more frequently while sitting around in his room.
And that's where he found himself that particular Saturday. Normally, Kyu-Sik didn't really care for his days off. He'd always find something to do in place of one job or another, even if that just meant offering to put more hours in at his parents' shop. However, this time the day off came with a wave of relief. While he watched the rest of his family head out for the day to take care of various errands, the boy bunkered down at his desk with his needles, hooks, and yarn. He was in the process of crocheting a green sheep. People on Etsy had the weirdest requests sometimes, but who was he to judge. If someone wanted a zombie-colored sheep, then that's exactly what he was going to make them.
He was in the middle of fixing its tail when he heard the doorbell ring. It wasn't really common for someone to be ringing their home doorbell on a saturday afternoon, so he hesitated to check who was there at first. However, upon the knock that followed, Kyu-Sik decided to get up. He didn't hurry as he made his way down the narrow hallway, and he half-expected the person to be gone by the time he made it there unless it was important.
A slight frown was on his face when he finally opened the door. "Hello?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 15, 2013 6:49:35 GMT -8
Less than a week after giving Mi-Ho a ride home and Donovan found himself in Koreatown once more, although this time without Mi-Ho's navigation to find the way. Everything looked different in the daylight, the surroundings just as unfamiliar upon the second visit as the first. But going in lazy circles around the neighbourhood wasn't too discouraging, no obligations for the rest of the day to press any sense of urgency. Though after so many wrong turns, Donovan would have sooner lost sight of his mission, except it really wasn't on his behalf that he came so far out of the way. It wouldn't be until Monday evening that he saw Mi-Ho again, after all.
After parking his bike by the curb, not too worried about locking it up and little intention to stay long, little expectation for her to invite him in or want to chat, Donovan approached the house that he vaguely recalled and hoped was Mi-Ho's or at least somebody who knew her and could point him in the right direction. Many of the surrounding houses were similar, but he remembered the shop below to set it apart from the rest.
Maybe nobody was home, as his ring and followup knock went unanswered for several moments, although a few lights on said otherwise. He had guessed before that she wasn't the type to carelessly leave them on, but perhaps he'd been wrong.
"Ah," Donovan greeted the other man's frown with an easy but unsure smile. "Does Mi-Ho... a girl, about this tall," Donovan held up his hand just below his own brow, then adjusted it a bit higher in estimation. "She talks quietly, dresses like a ghost. Live here?"
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 15, 2013 7:01:57 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 257 | If getting a visitor to the house on a Saturday afternoon wasn't already unusual, the visitor in question was even more odd to him. It was the same man he had seen dropping off his sister just a few nights before. He had heard their brief exchange that night and noticed them out the window. Having asked about him the morning after, Kyu-Sik knew who he was. It was fine for the most part, friends from work weren't weird to have. However, he couldn't help but find it strange that Donovan would be making a house call on the weekend. His frown wasn't going away any time soon.
It had always bothered him bit more than he knew it should have. His sister had always been the closest person he had in life. Even in their moments of separation, he still found it difficult to connect to anyone else in quite the same way. If this coincidentally made him a bit possessive, well… Kyu-Sik told himself that it was just something he couldn't help. Mi-Ho was his sister and even now he had difficulty trusting anyone else who got close to her, especially other men. As she had called him out on it enough times, it wasn't like he was blind to his nature. That just didn't stop him.
"Yes. I'm her brother Kyu-Sik," he answered Donovan with a slow nod as he introduced himself. He didn't really think Mi-Ho dressed like a ghost, but that would be something he'd ponder more about later. "And you are?"
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electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 15, 2013 7:20:44 GMT -8
"Donovan. We work together," he introduced without any offer of a hand while glancing past Kyu-Sik's shoulder to see if Mi-Ho was perhaps home, unaware of how showing up uninvited could come off to a possessive older brother. Very tall brother, which wasn't intimidating but contradicted his admittedly limited impression that Asians were generally shorter. But then Mi-Ho was nearly his height, long-limbed in a way that made her seem more ghost-like when combined with her flowy skirts. Not that he was very tall himself, with very little care to compensate for it. His shoulders remained modestly slumped, hands shoved in his jacket pockets.
Frowning in thought, Donovan hoped it wasn't too obvious that he'd been staring at the other man's features and studying them for similarities with his sister. Their eyes were different in shape, but there was something innate, cold and still but flickering, behind them that made it quite believable they were related. Something that put Donovan at ease in their presence despite an ignored faint ringing of warning. "I wasn't sure if she'd be home," he admitted, but then supposed she didn't really have to be.
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 15, 2013 7:40:16 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 256 | Not quite one who particularly cared about handshakes outside of necessary formality, Kyu-Sik didn't mind that a hand wasn't offered. He moved right past that without even thinking about it. "Right, from the radio station then," he nodded in understanding, showing that he did recognize him from the name. In actuality, he had known the name in the first place.
This was Donovan Shepherd, co-host of the radio station broadcast his sister was now working for. Kyu-Sik's taste in music was normally along the lines of post-rock, folk, and jazz, so he wasn't a fanatic when it came to bluegrass. Before his sister started working for Sunshine After Dark, he wouldn't have bothered listening. However, he didn't hate the genre, and he had listened to one of the broadcasts the first night Mi-Ho had worked there just out of curiosity.
The man's appearance was not very impressive when up close, but Kyu-Sik found the main reason for that to be the poor clothing choices. He had nothing against thrift store shopping, but not everyone pulled off thrift shopping well. Donovan's saving graces were his floppy curls and green eyes. That and his relaxed stature did match the soothing voice that had admittedly caused Kyu-Sik to fall asleep when he had listened to the broadcast.
The relaxing disposition wasn't enough to put the black-haired male at ease just yet, though. Still suspicious of the man's motives, Kyu-Sik didn't hesitate to shake his head. "She's not here, she went out awhile ago. Did you need her for something?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 15, 2013 8:21:40 GMT -8
Feeling silently scrutinized, Donovan remained unbothered. "Right, she's very good at... making coffee," Donovan's eyebrows drew together a bit as he trailed off and couldn't quite reverse what he'd already said, sure that didn't sound like a compliment though it wasn't intended to be demeaning. Mi-Ho had quickly become his favourite person working there just by virtue of her knowing how to be quiet, and that probably sounded as equally demeaning, but at least went unsaid. "And organizing all the paperwork I just used to throw away." Things were going noticeably more efficiently in the short time that Mi-Ho started working there, but then he wasn't sure why he was telling her brother so. Maybe he hoped she wasn't as much of a let-down to her family as he was to his.
He doubted anybody like Kyu-Sik had much of an interest in listening to the station, because his own roommate had insisted only drunks and people without teeth would. And Kyu-Sik seemed to have all his, just like Mi-Ho had all of her fingers (or at least did the last time he checked.) Not that he would have judged if a couple were missing.
"Need her?" Donovan questioned with a slow shake of his head, taking a moment to remember just why he was standing outside of her door in the first place. "No, she just left her phone at the station last night," he pulled out the iphone and dusted off its screen. "I was going to call her and then realized that wouldn't work." Donovan held up the phone to emphasize his last point, in case it wasn't self-evident.
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 15, 2013 8:33:36 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 278 | Making coffee, huh? Kyu-Sik's skepticism about the man was now likely showing on his face, but it probably came off as confusion more than anything. He had no idea why the other was dropping the details of their work life, but it was just making him sound even more conspicuous. "You just threw away your paperwork?" It was no wonder the station hired an assistant after hearing that. To be fair, Mi-Ho was often a secret stickler for organization. Kyu-Sik usually thought of himself as perfectly in order, but she still seemed to reorganize everything at the shop and house whenever anyone turned their back on her. Before she went of to college, there were many days he had even walked into his own room to find his knitting needles in an oddly neat row on his desk.
Not waiting for an actual response about the paperwork, he just brushed the topic to the side. He looked down at his sister's phone and sighed. Well, if nothing else, at least Donovan had an actual excuse to be stopping by then. That brought him some relief. However, he wasn't quite done with the other man just yet. There were still a few more things he wanted to know if he could keep him there for just a bit longer. He glanced back into the house to check the clock on a wall.
"I don't think she'll be gone much longer if you'd like to wait for her. I was just about to make some coffee myself if you want some." This was actually true. He was tired and the mention of the drink brought the idea to his mind. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 15, 2013 8:43:03 GMT -8
Donovan shrugged as the topic was dismissed before it even began, no need to defend his way of not dealing with work he didn't have any interest in doing. He always felt that if it were important enough, somebody else could take care of it. And apparently the station had decided that his methods of keeping things organized by throwing it all away wasn't working, with Mi-Ho's presence as proof. Still, it was better having her around than anyone hassling him or Louisa. He didn't like it when anyone hassled Louisa and they all suffered for it.
While he wasn't holding the phone out directly, Donovan had expected Kyu-Sik to at least make a motion to reach for it, ending the exchange and allowing Donovan to carry out his day. Maybe he could just slip it into the man's pocket, but that might come off as a bit too forward. But Kyu-Sik's offer interrupted thoughts of pushing it through the mail slot, meeting him with a slightly puzzled blink.
Was he being offered inside? Why? Coffee was never unwelcome, especially if Kyu-Sik made it as well as his sister, but Donovan was immediately struck by there having to be some ulterior motive because people rarely wanted more of his company when there was the option of less, and Kyu-Sik didn't seem any more likely than his sister to be unnecessarily friendly. Neither had he expressed any need nor desire to speak with Mi-Ho, although he wouldn't mind doing so and it wouldn't be all too polite to say he rather avoid her.
But there was no point putting too much energy into finding a way out of it when he had no excuse to leave, other than wanting to go watch some ducks by the pond. Which was more of a spur of the moment idea than anything involving careful prior planning.
"If that's not too much of a trouble," he hesitantly accepted. "I wasn't intending to push my company."
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 15, 2013 8:53:11 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 323 | Kyu-Sik shook his head once more and took a step back, holding the door open for the other man. "No, it's fine. Come in," he motioned to be followed. He only paused briefly as he glanced down at Donovan's feet. "Shoes off at the door, though." Then it was off to the kitchen without further hesitation. He didn't wait long for Donovan to take off his shoes, but he figured that the man would follow him. It wasn't like the kitchen was hard to find from the doorway.
The insides of the house were pretty predictable for the family. The same light gray found on the walls of the instrument repair shop also covered the walls of the home. It wasn't incredibly spacious and some of the rooms were a bit narrow for what they were, but it was an old building. That much was to be expected from the older architecture. If nothing else, the space wasn't cluttered with decoration or furniture. It was clean and comfortable enough.
However, there was one distinct difference in the interior design of his parents' shop and their residence above it. Though the furniture did not clutter the home, it was an incredible eyesore in that his parents had a taste for tacky colors. Very tacky. Kyu-Sik especially didn't approve of the lime green couch housed in the living room, but that wasn't really all that important in the end. He lived there, sure, but he didn't actually own any of it. Whatever his parents wanted to put in their home was their business. They liked to pretend they were being edgy.
When he reached the kitchen, he pulled out the coffee grounds and started setting up the red coffee pot that sat on the kitchen's wooden counter tops. It typically brewed pretty quickly, but he took his time with it. "We don't usually have any cream, but I think we have some milk and sugar." |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 16, 2013 4:05:55 GMT -8
Having not been in a family home for quite some time, a hollow place in Donovan's stomach clenched as he blocked out memories and instead focused on his surroundings. The place was clean, but evidence of the people living there kept it from being too sterile. Family portraits on the wall, books on the shelves, and Donovan left his shoes by the door with the others. His scuffed up sneakers with mismatching laces looked out of place, and Donovan had only the tiniest twinge of regret that both of his ugly argyle socks were currently sporting holes in the toes.
Distracted glancing around as he unhurriedly followed to the kitchen, he nearly ran into the wall while trying to properly understand the sight of the bright green couch, knowing right away that it was nothing that his roommate would ever allow into their impeccably decorated apartment. Donovan found it oddly charming, took it to mean that Mi-Ho's parents couldn't be nearly as uptight. Kyu-Sik, on the other hand, he wasn't too sure about yet.
"Black is fine." Taking a seat in the kitchen, assuming he was welcome to do so instead of expected to hover around, Donovan immediately corrected his putting of elbows on the table and instead folded his hands in his lap. "So do you ask everyone in for coffee?" he inquired innocently enough, glancing out the kitchen window.
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 16, 2013 11:36:31 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 282 | Black was good. It's how he preferred his coffee as well, and that made things easier. Not that digging out the sugar would have been particularly hard. It was bound to be somewhere visible in a cabinet given his mother's habit of putting sugar on her toast. What he reached for instead were two mugs for himself and the other. As he pulled the cups down, he hesitated to answer the question Donovan presented him. "I'm not usually here enough to do so," he replied about a half a minute later. He wasn't there often enough during the day anyway.
That was his indirect response in place of just saying a simple 'no'. He certainly did not invite everyone in for coffee, if hardly ever. Even if he wasn't often busy in one place or another, he was still very unlikely to do so in most situations. While his parents were the types to do so, Kyu-Sik had just never been the kind of person to value his time with others as much as he perhaps should have. However, even now he didn't see this as a problem. He had better things to do most days. While he had crochet he wanted to finish for his day off, he had more than enough time to complete what he wanted to without fretting about his time management.
The coffee pot would need a few more minutes, but it was already halfway finished brewing by the time he finally looked back at the man who had placed himself at the table. He decided to turn the question back on his guest. "Do you always make trips to other people's houses when they've forgotten something?" |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 17, 2013 1:18:34 GMT -8
From first impressions alone, Donovan would have been more likely to guess that Kyu-Sik spent most of his time hermiting away in his bedroom than out anywhere else, hmming quietly when Kyu-Sik's statement disproved so. Perhaps he was a student or worked a lot, at his age either was possible, and out partying with friends less so. If the obnoxiously green couch was anything to go by on the nature of his parents in contrast to the siblings' more reserved personalities, maybe that alone was enough to keep Kyu-Sik away. Donovan could only speculate, bemused and watching the other man with his chin resting in his palm, elbow finding its way to the tabletop despite his earlier efforts to appear more proper.
"So I was lucky to catch you," Donovan decided for them both, because while he wasn't sure where any of this was going, he always found reason to be entertained. "Otherwise I would have left the phone on the porch, and a feral cat might have carried it off to some back alley." Not likely, sure, but a possibility amongst many, and Donovan preferred not to discount anything. It's what kept him from being too shocked when anything strange actually did happen.
Listening to the percolation and wondering how much longer Mi-Ho would be, he partially hoped it might be later rather than sooner. "Not usually, but I'd rather stay on Mi-Ho's good side than toss her phone into the trash with the paperwork." If it was anything less like a jacket or a pen, he wouldn't have bothered. She came off innocently enough, but Donovan had a feeling that she was somebody more than capable of quietly plotting revenge when the right buttons were pushed, and he didn't want to end up with a horse head in his bed. Or his head in a horse's bed. He hoped she was at least more creative than that.
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 17, 2013 5:54:35 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 323 | Donovan actually was lucky to catch him, if lucky was quite the word. Had it been any other day, he wouldn't have seen or talked to the man at all. However, the rest of Donovan's logic was baffling. What kind of person went to the trouble or returning a phone just to leave it on a porch? "If you left it on the porch it would've probably gotten stolen by a person, not a cat." He couldn't imagine a cat actually having anything to do with an iPhone. If anything, one might've just knocked it off the porch into the alley and then ran away. However, it was more likely that someone walking by the building would grab it. You didn't just leave things like that lying around in Los Angeles.
The question that Kyu-Sik really wanted to ask Donovan was what was the difference between leaving it on the porch and throwing it in the trash then. Though before it could be asked, he found himself sidetracked by the comment of staying on his sister's good side. Without any doubt, Kyu-Sik nodded right away. "That's wise. Stay on her good side." It wasn't stated as anything too terrible, but there was nothing but seriousness in his quiet warning. His sister had never been physically violent, but he had watched her verbally berate plenty of people that got on her bad side. It amused him more than he would've liked to admit, always siding with her when needed, but he imagined the man should know to stay out of that line of fire.
A ding from the coffee pot let him know that the coffee was finished brewing. He looked back to the pot to check on it, then lifted it from its base. Both mugs were filled carefully before being brought over to the table. "Here. Hopefully it's not too bitter." It probably was, but he preferred to brew a strong coffee. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 18, 2013 6:10:24 GMT -8
"Clearly you've never heard of a cat burglar," Donovan nodded wisely as if he didn't make an awful pun, expression deadpan despite his complete lack of seriousness. He was never sure why anyone would bother correcting his pointless commentary, but it amused him all the same. But his concern flickered briefly to the bike he left outside in front of the house. It'd be rather inconvenient if he got stuck in Koreatown without it, although it wasn't a particularly great bike worth stealing and he clearly had luck on his side that afternoon.
Nodding in thanks, Donovan took a sip of the still steaming coffee, unflinching at the scalding liquid and the undeniable bitterness. "She'd probably find a way to..." but Donovan never finished his speculation about Mi-Ho's hidden abilities, eyes catching the text on the side of the mug as he moved to set it back on the table. "A mug story," he mouthed silently, eyebrows raised in fascination. What was the story of the mug, then? Curiously, he turned the mug by the handle to inspect the other side for such a story, but found nothing. Maybe it was on the bottom, and Donovan lifted it just enough to peek under, but only manufacturing information rewarded the effort and he nearly sloshed the hot coffee onto himself. "Right, and how would you recommend that?" he finally asked, figuring her brother probably had the best advice.
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 18, 2013 9:12:50 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 355 | Kyu-Sik was someone who could occasionally appreciate a subtle cheesy joke, but the keyword there was occasionally. Rather than respond with any sort of smile or laughter, the pun was met with little more than the slight raise of an eyebrow. He took his seat at the table across from the other man, but he was at a loss as for what to say about a cat burglar. When in doubt the best route was to just not respond at all, right?
It was obvious Donovan wasn't looking for much of an answer for the comment anyway. The man's attention seemed to be solely on the mug for a moment. To be fair, the eclectic mixture of mugs was a bit fascinating to a lot of people. It was a collection with little pattern to it outside of stuff being found at various flea markets. While his own mug carried the portrait of none other than King Sejong, the mug he handed Donovan was the one that said 'a mug story' in a playful font. It was weird, sure, but it was better than the one that said 'why did you left'. Misprints were affordable?
Sighing and shaking his head, he took a small sip of his own coffee. The bitterness was welcomed, but it was a bit too hot for him. He sat it back on the table to let it cool for a moment as he picked apart the question Donovan asked him. He could answer it in one of two ways. He could be honest and say how to get on his sister's good side, or he could mislead the man to his own doom. However, he came to the option somewhere in the middle of the other two instead.
"You don't try," he replied. That was actually the most honest answer. "If she likes you, you'll be fine. If she doesn't like you, then she makes it clear. Don't bother her." For once in their lives, he was having trouble understanding Mi-Ho's recent disinterest in just about everything. Though that much had always been true. She didn't like to be bothered. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 18, 2013 20:43:55 GMT -8
The raised eyebrow in acknowledgment was all the satisfaction that Donovan needed, really, always enjoying pushing things a little bit too far in the company of those that were above it. Make increasingly inane comments until the other realized how futile it was to correct him. As harmless as it seemed, it was a deliberately aggressive move on Donovan's part, and it did have the desired effect of getting Kyu-Sik to drop it, even if it didn't likely endear him to the man.
"Once upon a time, there was a mug," he mused quietly, taking a longer drink of the coffee this time, deciding he'd only stay until it was empty. There were surprisingly many directions a mug story could go, a rom com or an action thriller, and Donovan kept the rest of the composing of the masterpiece to himself. Maybe he'd get around writing it out for Kyu-Sik, knowing he was more likely to crumble and toss the story than appreciate the fine work and detail that would go into it.
Despite his solicitation of advice about Mi-Ho, Donovan didn't usually care much about staying on somebody's good side, although he rarely ventured too far to put himself into their range of fire either. He considered the answer anyway, used it to analyze the minimal interactions they'd shared so far at the station, wondering what constituted as bothering to Mi-Ho. Showing up at her house on a Saturday to annoy her brother? Perhaps. "I should probably get going, then," he decided.
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 19, 2013 20:24:53 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 258 | Donovan's interest in the unusual mug's printing made perfect sense. However, Kyu-Sik hadn't expected him to actually start trying to tell a mug story. The confusion didn't leave his face, but it was combined with a sort of fascination about what could've been going on in the man's head. It had to have been a joke, or perhaps this man was a bit more mixed up than he initially assumed from the calm exterior. Perhaps it was a mix of both elements. The Korean decided to just let it slide and change the topic before there could be more.
"Finish your coffee," he insisted. It was a gentle command, but a command nonetheless. One should never waste good coffee, but also he did not brew the coffee for just himself to drink. Kyu-Sik wasn't going to stop him from leaving if he really wanted to go, but if words could keep the other man there then no one was leaving until the coffee was finished.
Plus, he had a few things he wanted to know still. He hadn't wanted to just directly ask anything, but he also wanted to be direct enough so that he could avoid hearing more of the mug story. "You and my sister have been getting along at work fine, right? You must be trying if you want to stay on her good side, I imagine. So, is everything going well there?" Kyu-Sik lifted his mug again and blew softly on the top before finally taking another small sip. Much more tolerable than before. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 19, 2013 21:38:22 GMT -8
The command was met with a soft chuckle into the mug, and he'd comply only because he had yet to figure out the brother's intentions in inviting him inside in the first place. He suspected that telling him to finish his coffee was less about actually finishing the coffee, which admittedly would be a shame to waste, but because Kyu-Sik still wanted more out of him- more than cat puns and stories about mugs. His fault for not being more direct about it earlier, really. Though he was beginning to think that it had to do with Mi-Ho, which really should have been obvious from the beginning, the conversation turning back to her once more.
"We don't speak all that often," Donovan replied honestly and with no twinge of regret nor wistful longing, because most of their brief moments together so far involved shared silence. While Donovan could make conversation out of anything, he did prefer to avoid smalltalk, and it was clear she didn't have any fondness for it either. Not that he thought that Mi-Ho had nothing interesting to say, it was obvious a lot more was going on inside that she was willing to express. And he suspected it wasn't shyness holding her back, but he had no intentions of trying to drag it out either.
"There's really no trying," he shrugged, because he couldn't claim he'd put in any efforts to make their interactions go a certain way, had only come to the conclusion he'd rather Mi-Ho not outright hate him through conversation with Kyu-Sik and the confirmation that being on her bad side was as bad an idea as he suspected. Normally he wouldn't waste energy caring if somebody expressed dislike of him, but their work group was small and he did like to think of the station as somewhere relatively safe from conflict. His apartment certainly wasn't. "But we're fine, as far as I can tell." He'd be just as fine with her being apathetic toward him as anything else, no need for any sort of friendship with the girl.
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Oct 21, 2013 5:25:22 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 19th
tag | Donovan
words | 267 | No more talk of mugs, nor did Donovan show any more signs of leaving. Kyu-Sik couldn't complain, even if the reply that he was given to his question wasn't anything that he had really hoped for. When he thought about it more, he figured that it should have been expected though. He and his sister were always very comfortable talking with each other. At least they had been prior to her leaving for school. However, she had never been the type that really liked talking to other people when she didn't have to. Small talk was out of the question in most cases, so if she wasn't prodded for something at the station she probably wasn't going to say much to him. In that sense, Kyu-Sik could be assured that Mi-Ho was giving this man no special attention.
However… he glanced from his coffee back to Donovan, wondering what that said about the man as well. He was calm and rather odd. He didn't get the same read as he did from his sister, but perhaps they weren't that different when it came to small talk. Hence the necessity to be direct. The slight frown returned to Kyu-Sik's face as he took another drink of his coffee.
"Good, keep not trying then," he suggested, setting King Sejong back down on the table. "She just got back from San Francisco, and I think it'd bother me too if she was harassed at a new job as soon as she got home." Subtle? Well, it was calmly stated, but he wasn't really trying to be subtle with that warning. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland |
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Oct 21, 2013 7:12:29 GMT -8
"Harassed?" Donovan had a much more difficult time at holding his laughter at that, knuckles pressed over his mouth to prevent himself from sputtering up any of the coffee in response. Because what did San Francisco have anything to do with it? Was he supposed to wait for a period of time to pass before it was okay to harass Mi-Ho? Two weeks? Four? Is that really what Kyu-Sik invited him in and brewed a whole pot of coffee to say? He wasn't so offended by the implication as he was a bit baffled, glad he wasn't actually trying to actively pursue a friendship with the girl, if this was any indication how things would go. He hadn't even been expecting a big show of thanks for his effort, but how did delivering a phone suddenly turn into a warning? Even the king on the mug seemed to glare disapprovingly at him.
"Right," he finished the last few gulps of coffee, before dropping the phone onto the middle of the table between them to mark an end to his business there. It amused him that he and Mi-Ho had the same model of phone, which wasn't so rare itself as half the population did, but they both had neglected to get any sort of cover for it, no charms nor special engravings. It'd be a bit too easy to get them mixed up. And clearly that wasn't the only thing they had in common, overbearing brothers making the list. "So does she often get involved with men you dislike, or am I just particularly threatening?" he questioned with no attempt to hide his amusement, taking the mug to the sink to rinse it out. It'd be just as easy to admit that he was gay and put a swift end to the suspicions, but he had no reason to care enough to dissuade Kyu-Sik of his worries and was also not all that comfortable with casually sharing his sexuality anyway. Maybe Kyu-Sik had legitimate reasons to be worried on behalf of his sister, but Donovan suspected Mi-Ho was perfectly capable of taking care of herself.
Realizing that he'd been allowing the water to run too long and too hot, Donovan shut it off and hesitantly set mug story with the rest of the dishes, uncertain if they were clean or waiting to be cleaned.
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