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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:12:18 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 594 | This week was becoming increasingly unusual on more than one front. Kyu-Sik had nearly called in again on the 25th after waking up in not the best circumstances. Something was different. Something had changed. It was hard to find clarity in exactly what that something was, but there were some very clear signs to him that something weird was happening. He awoke around six that morning, took a shower, and then noticed the rune on his shoulder while brushing his teeth. He had paused for at least a good minute and stared until the clanking of his toothbrush into the sink let him know it had fallen from his mouth. Then he proceeded to blink and rub his eyes, hoping that this was one of those things that would just vanish like the weird runes he had gotten used to seeing brief glances of. And there it stayed.
To be honest, he was in a weird state of shock from it more than anything. It didn't feel wrong for it to be there so much as he had no idea when it happened or how he would explain it to anyone who would happen to see it, because he wasn't so sure how it suddenly came to be either. Though he had planned to wear a white shirt that day, he settled on a mid-blue instead just to avoid anything showing through. Then he tried to clear it from his mind while at work, only to find those runes he had been seeing in brief flashes were there to stay as well. Only when he was writing at least, which actually struck him as something that may have been useful to notice.
To say the least, Kyu-Sik was feeling a little overwhelmed by the sudden development. He was doing a good job at not showing it, just like always, but his boss still occasionally leaned over to ask him if he was alright. He worked a few extra hours that day despite everything, and somehow managed to his catch up missed work. He hadn't allowed himself the time to just sit and try to piece together what was happening.
Adding to the unusual matters, after all this the young man found himself out of his own home for dinner again. It had been an exhausting month and with so much to do normally the very last thing on his agenda would be to visit anyone. He had met a lot of interesting people throughout May, a few he didn't particularly mind knowing for the time being. One of those people was Donovan. He was an odd character who Kyu-Sik still wasn't entirely sure of after so many of their encounters seemed to be muddled with sour notes. However, even those sour notes didn't really deter him. He had shared a lot with him and there was something still soothing about the other man. If nothing else, he needed a soothing voice at the moment. So, after a few emails, Kyu-Sik agreed to meet at his apartment for dinner.
He hadn't been paying attention to the time and had to head straight to Donovan's apartment after finishing work. Which wasn't bad, he just imagined he probably looked tired. Not that he didn't immediately question how much he actually cared about looking tired. He was already knocking at the door when he started wondering again if yet another attempt at being social was a bad idea, but it was too late to change his mind at that point. Kyu-Sik waited for the door to be answered. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 9:20:13 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN Donovan never invited people over to his apartment, mostly because it was only his apartment by technicality of where he slept and his roommate's apartment in every other aspect from the name on the lease down to his long list of absurd and uncompromising rules that Donovan usually followed to keep peace. And Altan, who was conveniently on a trip to New York for the weekend, didn't like visitors to the point he even gave the pizza delivery man a hard time. Which was fine, because the number of people Donovan knew was few and his desire to have anyone over was nearly nonexistent, preferring his time alone to recover from the rest of the day. So he wasn't quite sure how he invited over the boy he'd only met the week before, except that he owed Kyu-Sik a meal after his inability to pay for sushi... the lunch that he owed after nearly killing them both in his own car. He was even more surprised that Kyu-Sik agreed, sure that he'd be sick of seeing him by now by the quick accumulation of time spent together in a relatively short period. Every incident had felt punctuated by one unfortunate misstep after another until he was backed into a corner, causing Donovan to divulge far more to the other boy than he'd ever intended. Not to Kyu-Sik, not to anyone. A thought that caused him to tense up at the memory of his confessions, berating himself for what he offered far too easily and making a fool of himself, and then relax again with the knowledge that nothing bad actually came of any of it. Yet lingered in the back of his mind. But it felt okay, almost freeing to have the worst of his past known, and his vulnerability met not with sympathy nor revulsion, but a firm push not to make excuses for himself nor others. Maybe that's why he felt drawn to the quiet Korean- the other had a sense of stability he lacked in his own life, and yet he felt just as lost. While Kyu-Sik had a strange tolerance for him despite everything, Donovan knew better than to press his luck or make any assumptions about where anything might be going. His friendships with others rarely led anywhere long-lasting or deep, usually with him disappearing from sight the moment somebody noticed him too closely. He expected this to dissolve almost as quickly as it began, but he'd enjoy it while it lasted. He was busy in the kitchen when Kyu-Sik arrived, and answered the door wearing a light blue apron and casually clutching a chopping knife in his left hand. He stared a moment as if he'd forgotten he was expecting anyone at all, then offered an easy smile in greeting. "Get inside before the lady across the hall spots you," he warned, stepping back to allow Kyu-Sik entrance. "Or she'll tell you all about Jesus. Unless you're into that sort of thing. But her cooking isn't as good as mine." If Donovan allowed himself any sort of pride, it was in his cooking. And for once, they were in a situation that favoured his talents, hoping tonight would prove that he was actually capable of not making an awkward mess of himself. The apartment was a lot nicer than anyone who knew Donovan would expect him to live in, clearly far out of his budget and decorated in tastes far too impeccable to be his own. It was clean, other than the few history books he had sprawled across the sofa. Although less frumpy than usual, he'd almost look out of place in the chic modern interior, except Donovan was far more comfortable and relaxed than any other context he met Kyu-Sik in. He liked being at home. WORDS:634 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:It's a mystery
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:21:23 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 318 | The smell of food that poured out once the door opened was instantly comforting, making him again decide that visiting people wasn't so bad if he was being well fed at least. Even if the sight of Donovan with a knife in his hand wasn't exactly what he was expecting. “No, too tired for that," he sighed at the comment, not hesitating to come in right after he was warned. He liked to think that maybe Donovan was joking, but he knew all too well just how many people out there were willing to go on and on about Jesus and whatnot if you let them. He had never been much for religion, as he hadn't really come from a very religious family. His parents were non-practicing Buddhists at best.
He took off his shoes at the door out of habit. Even if the same rules weren't enforced in Donovan’s apartment, it didn't feel right to potentially track anything into somewhere that was so surprisingly… clean. Okay, well, Donovan always smelled like baking and clean laundry. He was sure that he showered regularly and maintained proper hygiene. It wasn't that he was dirty, so much as Donovan struck him as frumpy. The chicly decorated apartment didn't really seem to suit whatever taste he had. Or rather the lack of taste he had. "This is really nice." Kyu-Sik tilted his head to the side, taking in the layout of the space around them. This had to have been the taste of the roommate, as it was certainly out of the budget of a man who couldn't afford sushi.
He walked over and sat his satchel down by the couch of the room, as that seemed the best place to put it for the time being. "Sorry if I'm a little early. I figured it was easiest to come right from work. Is there anything I can help with?” |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 9:25:13 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN Kyu-Sik's presence struck an immediate twinge of does not belong as he stepped inside, and Donovan felt his guard raise slightly. Even though he'd willingly invited the invasion. Anybody else, and he might have started making up panicked excuses to cancel and insist he leave, but he was sure that would be the mistake he couldn't recover from. The apartment was his retreat, and allowing anyone inside was unsettling, especially with the disapproval of his roommate hanging over. But what Altan didn't know couldn't offend him, and he trusted Kyu-Sik not to disrupt anything enough to leave evidence of his visit that would raise any suspicions. At least it'd be nice to share dinner with somebody that wouldn't spend most of the evening loudly complaining, and Donovan let his discomfort slowly fade out of his thoughts as if it never existed at all. "Ah… Altan redecorates every few months or so," Donovan passed off the credit of anything that could be considered nice, only did his part in keeping up the cleanliness. His own room was a stark contrast to the stylish decorating of the rest of the apartment, not that he had any intention of letting Kyu-Sik see it. Returning to the kitchen, the open layout of the apartment allowing him to keep an eye on Kyu-Sik, he continued chopping the remaining tomatoes and cucumbers for the salad. After observing Kyu-Sik's picnic choices that led to the boy getting sick, Donovan had decided he could use some vegetables that hadn't been fried. "It's no problem, as long as you don't mind waiting a bit longer," Donovan dismissed the apology, noting how tired Kyu-Sik looked but deciding not to comment on it. Chances were he was perfectly aware of being tired, probably didn't need additional commentary on the fact. "Sorry, just push those books out of the way if you want to sit," he offered, "There's nothing I need help with." The rosemary chicken was doing fine baking on its own. He could have picked something fancier, far more complicated, but he hardly wanted to look like he was trying too hard to be impressive and was operating on a limited budget anyway. Simple was better. WORDS:366 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:Dundundun
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:29:30 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 292 | The young man was not at all disappointed that there was nothing he could do. He may have liked being helpful when he could be, sure, but he was tired and ready to just sit down for a bit. He gave Donovan a quiet nod and started picking the books off of the couch. He stacked most of them together in a neat pile and placed them on the nearby coffee table. He left one behind for himself to browse through while he waited, because why not. He enjoyed reading and it had been while since he scanned through a history book. The particular one in his hand was a work on the French Revolution. It was bloody period of history, but it was also interesting enough to read about.
He sat down and started skimming through the pages. “So your roommate's name is Altan? He's the one in the Philharmonic, right?” Kyu-Sik remembered Donovan mentioning him briefly in their conversation over sushi. It had only been a day since then, so he hadn't thought to ask anything more about him. If the apartment was any indication of what sort of person the roommate was, he must have been at least slightly neurotic. It was too clean and well-decorated. He liked to keep his own room clean and somewhat sparse, but he hadn't redecorated it in… since he moved into it. It had been about seven years since he truly decorated, enjoying the function of his room more than he really tried to personalize it more than he had back then.
“He has some interesting tastes in books.” There was a whole chapter dedicated to the guillotine with some very graphic drawings of beheadings. Well, that was the French Revolution. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 9:32:39 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN So he admitted to being highly uneducated, never having stepped into a school, but he didn't like the automatic assumption that the books had to belong to somebody else. But what other impression of him did Kyu-Sik really have to go off of? "Yes, Altan is a timpanist. But the books are mine," Donovan huffed slightly as he peeked into the oven, deciding to give the chicken a few more minutes. He actually enjoyed reading, although the range of subjects changed sporadically as he came across something new he'd been wholly ignorant of. The previous week had been him flipping through books of geology, fascinated by the apparent age of the earth… far older than the few thousand years his parents had taught. Interested in seeing some of the vast canyons, Donovan doubted he'd ever make it out that way. He'd have to be satisfied with pictures. "Well, the library's," he clarified with a shrug and a few stirs of the saffron rice before taking it off the heat and serving it on the side of the plates. He did have every intention of returning the books even though the librarian was usually kind enough to waive his late fees. His grasp on world history was a bit shaky, but he did like to think he was somewhat improving it. There was always just too much detail, too many intricacies to ever be fully satisfied with his understanding of a subject. Everyone else had years of learning these things in public school, and Donovan failed to realize the lack of depth they were actually studied in, how much people actually forgot as soon as they left school if they ever actually remembered it at all. Never having guests over left Donovan with little idea on how he was supposed to keep Kyu-Sik entertained while waiting for the meal to be served, and so he filled a cup of filtered water from the refrigerator and brought it over with an awkwardly gestured offer. "That's a good chapter," he commented with a glance down at the illustrations. "At first I thought it would be a good way to go, swift. But the blades got dull so quickly and then it'd take a few chops. I wonder if people fought over who got to go first, when it was still sharp." WORDS:388 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:How to flirt 101
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:35:22 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 316 | A timpanist, right. Donovan had said that he was a percussionist. He had never really cared much for most percussionists, finding the ones in high school to have bloated egos. They seemed to be either too into forming rock bands or just into making an obnoxiously loud marching band drum line. However, that was just high school and at least a few were still good at what they did. He was sure the people that went into it as a profession were more mature than that.
The books were not the timpanist's, so Kyu-Sik had nothing else to get a read on whoever Donovan's roommate was. This just spoke more about the other man. Though he wasn't that phased by the gruesome description of the executions, he couldn't help but think back on their conversation just a few days ago in the car. “Is this swift death thing going to be a reoccurring topic?” It was an accusation for the both of them more than it was directed at just his host. Despite how unimpressed Kyu-Sik sounded, he managed a smile on his face as he took the cup of water. He offered his thanks for it, not quite realizing how thirsty he had been until he took a drink. The day had been full of so much coffee that it was easy to forget how refreshing just a cup of water could be.
He continued to flip through the pages with his other hand, still skimming through the chapter. It had been a long time since he had studied any world history. “I guess whether or not they fought over who went first depends on the people. You'd have those who accepted everything and wanted to get it over with, but you'd also probably have the people who avoided it for as long as they could to try and find a way out.” |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 9:37:28 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN If Kyu-Sik ever met Altan, which Donovan was determined to never allow happening, any misconception of the man being mature would be immediately corrected. He was passionately talented at his best, had impossibly high standards, and didn't take quite enough of his anger out on the beating of his drums. Even absent, the other man's lingering presence almost completely drowned out the fact Donovan even lived there, the territory clearly marked. Anything slightly out of place could immediately be identified as Donovan's doing- the seat to the piano keyboard slightly askew, a forgotten mug of tea from a few hours before next to the armchair that was positioned closer to the bookshelf than with a decent view of the television. Small things that were probably not too noticeable, and yet would have quickly been corrected if Altan hadn't been away. "Probably only theoretically and coincidentally," he responded with a slight pout but no actual defensiveness, watching Kyu-Sik drink with a bit more attention than intended. Quickly turning away, no excuse to stay so close and food to attend to, Donovan returned to the kitchen without a glance back. The salad was a colourful assortment with olives and an abundance of feta, and he moved the serving bowl to the small dining table. "And where in line would you have stood?" he asked curiously, wondering just which of those kind of people Kyu-Sik saw himself as. WORDS:235 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:40:11 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 273 | “Probably.” Donovan had a good way of bringing the dark humor out of him. He supposed that was fine. Kyu-Sik had continued turning pages until the question was asked, pausing as he was lifting a page's corner. It was a simple question and it was not uncalled for, but it wasn't really an easy one to answer when he thought about it. He let go of the page and leaned back for a moment. “I think I would have just accepted my fate, actually,” he answered honestly. “The French Revolution seems like a case with very little reason to me, so I can't imagine hoping for more than what was meant to happen. But I suppose that's easy to say when I'm not actually there.”
And thank goodness for that. If it really was how books depicted it to be, it was certainly a grisly time. Drastic times called for desperate measures? The young man took another sip of the water before searching for a coaster to place his cup on. He was pretty certain Donovan wouldn't have minded if he didn't use one, but the furniture was too well kept for him to not even try. He managed to find one easily enough anyway.
A glance over his shoulder to the kitchen area let him take note of how all of the dishes actually matched, too. Not a sight he was used to, but what was more important was the food being prepared in them. He was being patient, of course, but it looked as delicious as it smelled. “What about you?” Kyu-Sik asked while eyeing the salad. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 9:44:07 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN At least Kyu-Sik didn't seem put off by the discussion, which probably wasn't the correct direction to go with his attempts at small talk and providing a relaxed evening. Donovan wasn't the violent type but his curiosities certainly tended to wander him into territories others quickly got uncomfortable with, too slow to realize when things crossed the line into inappropriate, hard to measure just where that line was from one person to the next. "I don't think I ever would have been mistaken as somebody privileged enough to have their necks targeted for chopping. I probably would have starved in the streets well before any of it began," he decided cheerfully while pulling the chicken out of the oven, glad he certainly wasn't starving now. The smell stirred his own hunger, reminding Donovan that he hadn't eaten much yet that day after having slept well past lunch time. Checking that the chicken was cooked all the way through and not spotting any tinge of pink inside, he served the meat atop the rice, making sure to put the bigger piece on Kyu-Sik's plate. It'd be hypocritical of him to consider the other boy too skinny as Edith insisted he needed a few sandwiches of his own, but Kyu-Sik was the guest. "But it's not fair to evade hypothetical questions, is it?" he pondered while setting the table, placing silverware next to the readied dishes. "Going out first could be a bit boring, though. Why miss all of the show? Let the anticipation build a bit. Nah, I'd let the more eager go ahead and maybe take mine somewhere in the middle." That seemed a fair compromise, and Donovan liked some sense of balance in his reasoning. WORDS:286 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:44:37 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 241 | Looking over his host once more, he couldn't argue with the theory that he would've starved in the streets first, not that he would've argued anything either way. Had that not happened to plenty of people back then, there probably wouldn't have been a revolution at all. If Kyu-Sik thought about it in that sense, he probably wouldn't have been in the higher class either. His family had always been scrapping by in the middle class and the middle class hardly existed back then from what he had learned in high school.
But it was all hypothetical. Donovan's final response struck him as an appropriately passive decision to make, but it was logical. He nodded and finally closed the book when the chicken came out of the oven. If it tasted anything like it smelled, then he knew for sure that Donovan was as good at cooking as he said he was. It was a welcomed surprise after being food poisoned at a picnic, and after discovering that the other man lacked several other skills.
“Fair enough,” Kyu-Sik replied, setting the library book down on the table and picking up his cup again. He stood from his seat and took a few steps over to the table to take a closer peek at the food that was prepared. “So, you do a lot of cooking?” He was changing the topic, but everything looked delicious enough to make him curious. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 9:47:56 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN "A lot," Donovan repeated in agreement, finishing setting out the food and filling his own glass of water. "It's the only reason Altan keeps me around," because he had to contribute something to make up for his inability to fully pay his portion of the rent. He nodded his head toward the table in indication that Kyu-Sik should take a seat, removing the apron and draping it over the back of his chair. The navy sweater underneath was chosen as one of his nicer, the too-long sleeves pushed up around his elbows to expose far more of his pale arms than he usually was comfortable out in public. "I don't really like to eat at restaurants," he admitted his preference with a small shrug, remembering he had managed to do so twice that month already and hoping to avoid doing so for any foreseeable future. Not that the company was bad, not that the food was bad. He couldn't justify the cost when it was just as easy for him to make his own meals for cheaper, didn't like having to bother a waiter even though that was an expected part of the service. And being crowded in with so many other diners was unappealing, reminding him too closely of strained family dinners that always dwindled his appetite and lasted far too long with no polite way to dismiss himself until everyone was finished and he was expected to help with all the clean up. Taking a seat across from Kyu-Sik, Donovan played with the edge of the paper napkin. Was he supposed to describe the meal, or was it self-explanatory? As far as he could guess the ingredients were all identifiable enough, and if Kyu-Sik had any allergies then he would have expressed them before. Right? He didn't want to be responsible for accidentally killing the boy. Instead, he served a rather large heap of the salad onto his guest's plate, with a look that said you better eat it all.WORDS:332 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:50:39 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 393 | “Well, it looks really good,” he offered. "It's cheaper than eating out too often, so that's understandable.” A good meal was a good enough reason to keep an odd roommate around, he decided. He sat down at the table, being sure that his own posture was acceptable at a guests house as he watched Donovan take off the apron. He had gotten use to seeing him in inappropriate sweaters over the past days, and did notice that this must have been one of his nicer ones. He took little note on how much arm Donovan was showing, because it was Los Angeles. He had seen plenty of arms, whether pale, sunburned, tanned, or hairy. It wasn't something he paid attention to.
Although part of Kyu-Sik wanted to protest that he could serve his own salad, he held his tongue and calmly watched as Donovan piled the food unto his plate. There was a reoccurring theme with it all when he looked down at everything. It wasn't an unusual meal, but he could tell that he was being given large portions, especially of them vegetables. Kyu-Sik was perceptive enough to catch on to what was being done. It was not uncommon for others to consider him too thin. He was a tall boy with little weight or shape. It wasn't that he didn't eat much, though he was guilty of skipping lunch more than he knew he should have. That was just how he was built, especially after his later growth spurts.
However, the look that was being given to him now was one he remembered only from his grandmother. It wasn't threatening, but there was an unspoken demand in it that he easily picked up on. Saying nothing of it, he lifted the forked and nodded. "Thank you,” he said, taking that as his cue that he could go ahead and start eating. As he savored his first bite into the salad, which was indeed delicious, he couldn't help but imagine Donovan as a grandparent. Though the gay man who ran away from home at sixteen was certainly not even a parent. "If it's alright to ask, do you have any brothers or sisters?” It was dangerous to venture onto the topic of family again, but at least he was being careful not to bring up his parents. That was fine, right? |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 9:52:46 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN Practiced enough in coaxing his picky vegetable-hating younger sisters to eat them anyway, Donovan was glad that Kyu-Sik complied without any arguing or bemoaning the amount of greenery. Not that he anticipated complaint from a boy that happily eaten the odd assortment of picnic food that had led to him being violently ill. He was somewhat curious what it would take for Kyu-Sik to actually say no to food, figured his parents must have been just as insistent of finishing everything on the plate just as his own had been. Already in his thoughts, the question of family therefore didn't catch him too off guard, although he wasn't quite sure why Kyu-Sik wanted to know. Kyu-Sik was just as unlikely of meeting any of them as Donovan was to return home. But then he saw no harm in answering, his siblings a much easier topic than his parents. "It's fine. I have an older brother, Benjamin," he began after finishing a bite of rice. "We didn't get along too well. Then there's Eden, she's six years younger than me. And Faith and Grace are twins." Taking a sip of water, the pause was almost enough to indicate that he was finished. "Next were Hope and Isaac," he continued on, spearing a couple cucumbers on his fork. "And Jeremiah and Kaleb," he listed before taking a break to chew, wondering how some of his younger siblings were growing up. What sorts of personalities were they developing, or unable to develop due to their circumstances? Was he the only one that had been so unhappy, been so ungrateful? But Donovan preferred not knowing, didn't want to assume any responsibility for what he left behind and couldn't change. "Lydia and Matthias weren't all that old when I left, and Noah had just been born when I got sent off to..." Donovan trailed off, wrinkled his nose. "I guess there must be more by now." To replace him. WORDS:324 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 9:54:37 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 266 | The answer seemed to come out without any sign trouble or stress. Four siblings made sense. People with a more religious background tended to have larger families from what little he assumed about them. Kyu-Sik took another bite of the salad and nodded. And then Donovan kept going. And going.
Kyu-Sik's chewing slowed to a halt before a quiet swallow. He lowered his fork and counted the names in his head after he was certain Donovan was finished just to make sure he was getting this straight. Eleven? Yes, that was eleven siblings in all. He also noted that their names followed the letter of the alphabet. It got him wondering why there weren't thirteen, before he promptly decided that eleven was already way too many. How could any one person give birth to so many children? How did anyone live in a household with so many siblings?
“You're serious?” He questioned, though he knew that at this point Donovan had no reason to lie to him. He would've brushed over it entirely or likely told him they were all dead if he didn't want to talk about it. It was just so many that Kyu-Sik found it difficult to imagine what that must have been like. He was lucky enough to have gotten his own room back at his parents' home, so he imagined Donovan must have had very little privacy back then. Not that he was going to directly ask something like that just yet. He was still trying to stay on the safer end of the conversation. “No A or C?” |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 10:02:39 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN Being raised in such a household and never considering things were any different outside of it, isolated from what was considered normal by the rest of society, it had never felt particularly strange to have so many siblings. A hassle, perhaps. He liked most of them individually, even though some of his memories had since blurred together that it was somewhat difficult to distinguish between each of them. Their favourite foods and birthdays and games they liked to play buried far too deep in places he refused to revisit. Though exhausting he hadn't minded doing his part in raising them while his mother spent most of her time pregnant, much better handling children than he was with anyone his own age. Now it was difficult to imagine giving up the luxury of privacy and quiet, even if he didn't quite know what to do with himself sometimes. "I wish I were joking," he frowned, although he couldn't quite find any resentment for his brothers and sisters. They hadn't asked to be born any more than he had, even if that only added to the amount of work forced upon him. Even if every new birth had felt more like a burden than the blessing his parents claimed, a celebration of life and family. Donovan was sure he never wanted children, now, not that he could even imagine how he'd end up with one. Nobody else knew about his family, he avoided the subject with the few that had bothered to ask. Mainly to prevent anyone from discovering the truth of his running away, even if he was old enough not to worry about being found now. But he knew well enough that public opinion held such large families under scrutiny, for their extremist religious practices and questions of morality. Donovan didn't want to be held accountable for his parents' choices, didn't want to be viewed as weird on the basis of coming from such a background even if he had removed himself from it. It was a relief that Kyu-Sik only seemed a bit surprised instead of completely put off. "Miscarriages," he answered simply, though impressed the other boy had been paying close enough attention to notice the discrepancy. It was always an unpleasant thing to explain to his younger siblings when they figured out the pattern. WORDS:387 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 10:02:56 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 337 | The look he gave Donovan wasn't quite sympathy, though he appreciated his growing understanding of the other man. Eleven siblings, and it would have been thirteen without the miscarriages. He wasn't quite sure if he was supposed to feel some sort of secondary remorse for those miscarriages when there were still so many children in the family. Kyu-Sik looked down and started cutting his chicken when he caught himself staring blankly in the mental images of what that would even be like.
“It's hard to imagine having that many siblings. It's always just been Mi-Ho and I, since I'm pretty sure our parents were done after we were born. They weren't even around all that much when we were growing up.” He took a bite of the delicious chicken and gave himself some time to review what he had just said. Thinking back, his own childhood had been… quiet. That was the only word for it. He had Mi-Ho and she had him. Their parents did love them and they were there, so it wasn't really fair to let anyone assume the opposite. However, they were both bouncing around with work, leaving the two children to fend for themselves when they were old enough to be trusted without a sitter. Which was probably too young to others.
Their childhood went without much incident, since the twins were always well-behaved and neither had a problem taking on the household chores. They even went to school at an earlier age and their parents had refused to let them get held back in kindergarden because of their lack of social skills at that age. It was just hard to say what that sort of early responsibility and lack of outside socialization had done for their personalities.
If Donovan was any indication, obviously having a lot of siblings did something to a person’s personality, too. “If you're one of the oldest, you must have been busy. Is that why you like to cook?” --and shove vegetables at people. |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 10:06:23 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN In his short time knowing the siblings, Donovan had vaguely noted that neither talked about the other all that much. But he assumed it was mostly due to them not openly sharing a lot of personal details, and he hardly knew either well enough to expect otherwise. Hearing even a small snippet about their childhood was minor compared to all that he revealed to Kyu-Sik, but it was more than he knew previously. It gave him a way to slowly coax out more. "Maybe I would have preferred that. Only having each other, you must be very close," Donovan smiled lightly, not finding any use envying Kyu-Sik's childhood or his good relationship with his family. "You and Mi-Ho are very lucky." In the years that it was just him and his older brother, the boys had found very little in common. Maybe the extra siblings were a good buffer between them. Not that it made much of a difference in the end, his brother the one to report his indiscretions to their father. He wondered if Mi-Ho and Kyu-Sik's closeness allowed for protecting each other's secrets, how much they shared just between the two of them. Nothing had ever remained secret long in his household, leaving him with nobody to confide in. "Busy, but it was strictly scheduled so never too hectic. Everyone had their own sets of chores to be responsible for," he explained, didn't think that part of his upbringing was too unusual. "I guess cooking is just one of the few things I learned, and Altan appreciates it." And Donovan was an incredibly picky eater, liked to have control over what he consumed. Not that he wanted to admit such. WORDS:283 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:
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Post by KYU-SIK MOON on Dec 31, 2013 10:07:55 GMT -8
Today won’t come again. At some point, the time has already...
May 25th
tag | Donovan
words | 252 | “We were close,” he confirmed, not able to internalize the past tense of that. Kyu-Sik actually wanted to smile, but unfortunately he gave up when he knew it was coming off as possibly more sullen than he had wanted it to be. Rather than look up at Donovan, he pushed around some of the veggies before putting a few more in his mouth. He chewed and swallowed again before he finally thought of a way he could put it. “I don't know if lucky is the word, really. Things have been weird for awhile.”
It was still weird to think about it. They had been so close when they were younger, only for things to be almost even awkward now. They were good at not showing it to the people who didn't realize how close they had been. It wasn't as if they didn’t talk at all, especially now that Mi-Ho was living at home again. It just wasn't like how it used to be. She was still upset with him and he knew it. He just had no way to fix it, feeling it more suitable not to bother her.
Kyu-Sik wasn’t sure what was between Donovan and his siblings, but he was guessing that he wasn't overly attached to any one of them, especially not his older brother. What did that leave a runaway with in the end? It wasn't a boyfriend that had been jailed, that was for sure. “Do you and Altan get along well?” |
electric has gangnam style and back to neverland
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Post by DONOVAN SHEPHERD on Dec 31, 2013 10:11:07 GMT -8
HOLD YOUR BREATH AND COUNT TO TEN The use of past tense was immediately noticeable, but Donovan chose to keep that observation to himself instead of dwelling too much on word choice, taking the silence that followed to have a few more bites of chicken. He barely knew Kyu-Sik and worked with Mi-Ho, but had never even seen the two of them interact to have any sort of idea of their relationship dynamics. Trying to insert himself in any possible problems between them would be uncomfortable and not really his place. He definitely didn't want to pick sides. Just as he resolved not to push the issue, Kyu-Sik had continued and Donovan frowned at his own stubborn curiosity, trying to figure out if this was something that the other might actually want to talk about. With him. It was odd, because Kyu-Sik didn't seem like the type wanting to share any of his worries, although they were obviously there. So either he misunderstood and Kyu-Sik was more open than he came off, or he trusted Donovan for some reason. Donovan didn't think he was properly sympathetic a few days ago when Kyu-Sik had expressed his disappointment in not getting into the school he wanted, but he supposed he wasn't looking for an actual shoulder to cry on. "Not by your choice, then?" Though not sure what weird entailed, he had an idea of what it felt like to be cut off from somebody that you previously thought was the one person you could rely on. He preferred to spare himself from getting too close to anyone now, the feelings of betrayal still too fresh in his memory. "We get along, somehow. But I wouldn't say well, no." It was difficult to explain Altan without making it sound like he was insulting the other man. "He doesn't get along with anyone." WORDS:303 TAGS:Kyu-Sik NOTES:
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