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@jihopng:

( ... ) [sms ➵ woowoo]: i hope you're moving your ass [sms ➵ woowoo]: i want to get drunk, wooseok. like. so drunk i don't know who i am where i am nor which year it is.

[sms ➵ jihomie] you're not ugly! [sms ➵ jihomie] girls are weird, man. her loss. you're a catch!

wooseok hopes the message is encouraging; in truth, he's terrible at these kinds of situations, and has never found himself to be a good advisor-type. his words are truthful, though; the last word he would use to describe his roommate is ugly, and he genuinely doesn't understand why jiho tends to have such bad luck in this sense!

being awkward on a date, sure, but her not even showing up? now that he can't explain. and some people find that awkwardness to be endearing—hell, that's how wooseok ended up in any of his own romantic-esque endeavors in life. but poor jiho doesn't even seem to be getting that chance.

his phone lights up again, pulling his attention back to the situation at hand. the words make him jump to his feet, a pang in his chest calling himself a shitty friend.

[sms ➵ jihomie] i'm moving my ass now! [sms ➵ jihomie] i feel like i should dissuade you from drinking when upset though [sms ➵ jihomie] maybe we go get an ungodly amount of junk food instead

wooseok is fairly certain that this won't be convincing enough, but he does feel inclined to try as he is rapidly trying to remove his pajama pants to change into something he can go outside in.

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(231111) HAN – LALALALA (락) FANCAM

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@key2earth:

( ... ) boo, that's boring. ziying flicks a broken matdongsan crumb at wooseok's head. swish, miss. it's the rum and coke in her that goes hello and drags it out in her thoughts, trying to see if he'll turn and get hit in the face with the peanut snack. matdongsan two goes sailing over his head, the awful shot landing in some grandma's drink. she bets it's the bassist's grandma, they've got the same nose. hey! hey! turn around if you can hear me, weenie!

... so she did notice him. wooseok dials in to radio ziying just in time for the drawn out greeting. despite his inner thoughts—don't respond to 'weenie.' do not listen to her. do not give in.—of course, he turns to look at her as requested.

he supposes it would be impressive if she didn't notice him here. he sure knows how to blend into a crowd, but this couldn't exactly be referred to as such. wooseok isn't sure, however, if her jeering is an invitation or a warning.

she'd probably be more overt if actually threatening. 'fuck off, weirdo.' yeah, that's ziying.

wooseok would be lying if he pretended that he knew her well enough to predict her, but in that sense, she's easy to read. the telepathy helps, of course, but he's able to tell that ziying, despite everything, shockingly does not actually hate him.

now, does she like his company? that remains to be told—at best, she currently humors him in a neutral but chaotic way. wooseok doesn't mind this.

the finale is still finishing up, and with the loud grunge-y tune, there's no way they could talk even if he did make his way over to her. instead, he opts to give her a small grin of affirmation: message received loud and clear.

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@satindupe:

( ... ) "so true, we are here now. i hope you realize that you're not getting rid of me so easily this time. i have ways of finding people, you know," she states amusedly while a placing a pair of fingers in front of her eyes, then casts them in his direction as if it were some type of warning, grin giving away her silliness. when the conversation shifts to her taeri's eyes widen, mind going through all the events that brought her up to this point. "you got a couple hours? no i'm kidding, but uh, to make a long story short ... turns out my dad wasn't actually my dad but raised me anyway, which i always thought because obviously," a finger circles around her face, "where is he here, right? but my actual dad found me in high school after i got suspended for kicking this girls ass because she was talking shit about emily," her younger sister, "and he was like 'american education is shit i work in korea come be with me you'll be better here' and like, i couldn't go to school anyway so i went and yeah. dude's apparently stupid loaded here and tries to act like he's more korean than me when he's not and it's weird? but it's whateverrrrr, i've been here for like ..." there's a pause a she uses her fingers to count mentally, "six... seven years now? so it's wild that we're only seeing each other now. have you always been in seoul?"

calling him 'a man!' in the same breath as referring to his 'cheekies' makes him laugh, but it's so perfectly, quintessentially madison that he can't even complain. "that's... refreshing!" wooseok chuckles, genuinely relieved to hear that maybe he wasn't eternally cursed with the baby face to end all baby faces. even if he felt like his cheeks got pinched more than the average joe.

"it would have been nice, i think. like, if we knew and could bond over it. but no, the methodology my family took was like... 'get his ass closer to us know so we can keep an eye on him.' did you know anomaly stuff can skip generations? i sure didn't!" there's something about speaking casually in english at length that feels comforting; though, he imagines, it's more the memories associated with such a good friend. of course he'd associate friendly english with her; she's quite possibly the last friend he had that shared the native fluency.

wooseok leans forward, listening intently to her retelling. "jeez. at least for me, i feel like i came here and things became somewhat normal. that sounds like a hell of a journey through high school." a pause. "... but at least you had your sister's back." in truth, he feels lucky that he moved when he was young; transitioning to a whole new culture and country was overwhelming, but he imagined it'd only get worse in your later teens.

"i can't believe we haven't like, fully met again until now. i was living in busan near my family when i moved here, but i've been in seoul for almost four years—since i enrolled at sua, at least." wooseok thinks for a moment. "sua isn't that big. but i do tend to keep my head down."

"but—you said you think you saw me before? i'm oblivious as fuck but i can't believe i'd be that oblivious. but i don't think i have an evil campus doppelganger..."

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for @key2earth | christmas plans (following this ask meme)

since starting university, wooseok's christmas celebration was usually just like any other day; video games, homework, long-winded and begrudging call with his mother, more video games, more homework. his mother always asks 'why don't you ever come to visit, seokkie?' and he always has to make up some lame excuse about how 'schoolwork is just really really hard; i'll try to make it next year.'

in truth, he would rather do just about anything other than visit his parents, but they don't need to know that.

for these reasons, he tends to keep to himself around the holidays—both because he's an introverted type of guy, but also because he has some weird, unconscious fear that somehow his parents will find out if he's not truthful about his holiday plans.

so why, on this year, did wooseok find himself taking a train to gyeongju to see a concert on christmas eve?

xie ziying, that's why.

she had offhandedly mentioned one of her favorite bands was from gyeongju—only a quick train away!—and when wooseok saw that they were doing a special christmas eve show, how was he supposed to pass up the tickets? and when ziying agreed to go with him, how was he supposed to stay at home?

your honor, he simply had no choice!

in truth, they're one of wooseok's favorite bands, too, so doing the math there... it was a gift for himself as much as it was for her. (maybe if he kept telling himself that, it would feel more true.)

of course, the concert was amazing; it was a one-of-a-kind experience. he and ziying had met at a concert like this—small venue, tight space, so few concertgoers that it was almost a private show—and it only felt more meaningful now that they were more than vague acquaintances.

how much more? wooseok didn't like to think about it; it made his head hurt.

leaving the venue, laughing, it feels like nothing could go wrong on this night. that is, until he checks his phone: email after email, delays, inclement weather, cancellations. the snow around seoul picked up, which leads to...

"ah, fuck... z, i think we're stuck here. they cancelled the night trains back."

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jihopng:

[sms ➵ woowoo]: (╥_╥) [sms ➵ woowoo]: tell me you're free…… [sms ➵ woowoo]: i need uuuu wooseok [sms ➵ woowoo]: (sharing location) [sms ➵ woowoo]: save me…

for the first fifteen minutes of wooseok's dorm alone time, he really, truly tried to spend it wisely. he cracked open a textbook, put on some studying music, and got to work. it doesn't take long, however, for productive wooseok to leave the chat--and next thing he knows, he's playing his favorite mmo while snacking.

oh, well. he tried. homework is overrated anyway.

he's a healer in this dungeon, keeping his tank alive as normal. everything is going well. his phone vibrating grabs his attention, though, making his eyes leave his computer screen. the tank chooses that exact moment to forget to take a gazillion damage, dying, which very quickly leads to the death of wooseok's dps players, and then, his own character.

the tank sends some angry words. everyone bickers in the chat. he's removed from the group. dammit. curse his easily distracted nature. he looks back at his phone, briefly angry; whoever messaged him better have a damn good reason..!

anger very quickly gives way to pity upon reading the message.

[sms ➵ jihomie] i'm as free as i always am [sms ➵ jihomie] what's up? i thought you had a date or something

when wooseok thinks for another moment, he realizes that that's probably the issue. whether the date just went bad or didn't happen, he's surely rubbing salt in the wound by mentioning it. he quickly types more.

[sms ➵ jihomie] dating is overrated anyway.

good job, idiot.

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🥚 what's the best gift you've ever received?

🥚 - spiked eggnog.

"when i was a kid, i begged my parents every year for a guitar for my birthday. i wanted to be a rock star more than anything in the world. they saw the guitar as an unpolished waste of time. so i got a violin instead, because they saw that as a more 'intelligent' musical interest.

don't get me wrong, i enjoyed the violin, too. but then my aunt got me a guitar for the following christmas, and i fell in love with it. that's really where my love of music flourished, so that's probably the best gift i've ever gotten."

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✉️🌿🍒

✉️ - an honest letter.

jinsol,

i have to say, i'm honored to have you as a friend. i mean it! i feel like you always know what to say; whether it's to make me laugh and get out of my own head, or to just be a shoulder to lean on, you've got the delicate balance (heehee) down, and always know which is more appropriate. somehow it's always perfect.

maybe you're good at it. maybe it's just luck.

i specifically remember that one lecture we had together, where i had mentioned my nullivi was running out and i was nervous about the class going well. you spent the whole time replaying funny memes in your head. i really think you kept me from losing it that day, though it was a bit distracting—it was distracting in a good way.

all of this being said, as silly as it is, i'm so glad to have met you. i want to be that person for you, too. i hope you'll let me.

sincerely, wooseok.

🌿🍒 - last text sent.

< to: jinsol. > sms: yo sms: you were talking about some anime last time we hung out but tbh i already forgot what it was called sms: it sounded cool though!! sms: what was the name of it? maybe we could watch together c:

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and before taeri even realizes it she's making herself home at his table, disregarding if there was another he was reserving the opposite seat from him ⏤ that was no longer important anyway. "oh my god what the hell ⏤ like i knew you moved to korea but i didn't think that you'd be like ⏤" as she motions wildly to him there's an almost piercing sshhh! shot their way at her raised volume, to which she rolls her eyes and continues whispering animatedly, "you'd be here out of all places! and you still look so adorable, aww! how have you been! what are you doing here? wait⏤ you're a fucking anomaly too?" and the emotions roll through her face like a movie screen while she speaks: astonishment, elation, a faint moment of pondering before awe once more.

'alex?'

it's a name wooseok hasn't heard in ages—over ten years, in fact—but somehow, it still makes him raise his head, searching for the source. no one here would call him that; he'd stopped going by that name quickly after moving to busan, and yet, there it is, hanging in the air.

his eyes have trouble adjusting for a moment; he had been staring at lines of code for hours, making everything outside of his screen bleed together. wooseok doesn't have to look hard, though, not when the culprit drops herself across from him, causing him to blink hard, staring at her, dumbfounded.

"... holy shit, madison?" 'childhood best friend', 'the one friend of his that his mom approved of', 'person he never thought he'd see again but sometimes appeared in his dreams' madison? he blinks a few more times, rubbing his eyes, almost thinking that this can't possibly be real, and he's just really, truly, fully losing it this time.

but she's still there, contagiously smiling at him, where he can't help but feel himself joining in. her words—specifically calling him 'adorable'—bring a heat to his face, and he quickly brings up his hands to cover his cheeks. "aha, yeah, i never really got rid of my baby face. i'm sure i hardly look different."

the same couldn't be said for her. she looks... so different, changed by over a decade. wooseok supposes that it's easy for him to miss change in himself; he sees himself every day, after all, so she might be having the same thoughts as him. for once in his life, he wishes he wasn't wearing the stupid nullivi patch, so he could know for sure.

"goddamn, we have a lot of catching up to do, huh? i can't believe you're here. i mean, my family moved so suddenly, i feel like i didn't even get to really say goodbye. they found out i was a freaky anomaly kid and basically had to leave almost immediately. little did i know it wasn't even actually goodbye." another pause. there are so many things he wants to say, but he's not sure how.

"ah... never mind about me, what about you? how did you end up here?"

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she looks at him, leaning closer so they were looking at each other at eye level. "listen, i don't know what you're up to but don't keep it up. you should eat something in the next hour and drink water as soon as possible. like, right now if you actually can. trust me, when you drink water you'll realize how dehydrated you are and your eyes will feel like they are burning soon enough." she stands straight and grabs a small post-it note from her bag, scribbling something before passing it to him. "here's a reminder. post it on your screen so you don't forget."

"i'm—" wooseok interrupts himself momentarily, indignant, before his brows furrow and he tries again. "i'm not gonna end up in the hospital, that's ridiculous." his voice is high-pitched, not befitting the attempted stubbornness of his words.

... he does feel quite hungry, he realizes. and his head hurts. that's probably the dehydration. damn—she's right. how embarrassing, being a grown adult who just forgets to take care of himself. he'll blame the adhd, thank you very much.

wooseok realizes now that he replied audibly to something she didn't say aloud—wow, doubly embarrassing—and he just hopes she doesn't notice. his overall flustered response to this person just feeds back into itself; he's coming off like an asshole just because he's embarrassed and flustered and ugh.

"i... ahem. sorry. ignore that, let me start over." wooseok reaches up to accept the note from the other. "it's really not necessary. but uh, thanks. i was just focused on my assignment—but i'm okay. it's not as big of a deal as you think—may think, i mean."

he gives another pause. she seems stubborn. "... but i could stand to take a break regardless, probably."

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i'm sorry for delays on ask memes and stuff and dms (on notkitsune as well), traveling for the holidays has been more draining than i expected!! i am flying home tomorrow and hope to get some stuff going on thursday. thanks for patience!!

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🎁 / ✉️ ( dealers choice! )

🎁 - christmas gifts.

wooseok stares at the screen of his phone, resting on an open, yet unfinished text message. he isn't sure why he hesitates; something about this whole situation makes him feel weird, makes his heart flutter in his chest in a stupid, stupid way.

he knows he has a tendency for anxiety and overthinking, but this is getting a little extreme. what do you mean i'm afraid to hang out with my friends?

but it's more than that with ziying. it's different, it's conflicting, it's... weird! he doesn't want her to think that he's trying to overstep their friendly, casual bounds, and he isn't, but maybe this is...

stupid! stupid, stupid, stupid!

he taps a little more on his phone, trying to finish the draft.

< to: ziying. > sms: z, i got you something for christmas. but it requires a little travel. nothing crazy, just a couple hours via train. you in?

it seems friendly enough. it is friendly. what else would it be? they're just concert tickets... and, well, train tickets to get to gyeongju...

he may have specifically picked the tickets because it was a band that doesn't leave their hometown much that ziying had mentioned she wanted to see, but he wanted to see them too, dammit! this is just as much a gift for himself as it is for her.

wooseok takes a deep breath, and hits send. what's the worst that could happen?

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[ sumi ] 🎁🥚 be honest: do you actually like me as a person?

🎁 - christmas gifts.

wooseok is not good at gift-giving. he never has been. it doesn't matter how close he is to the person; he never feels like he's able to concisely pick a token of his appreciation that is the perfect amount of useful, funny, cute, sentimental, et cetera. he hates this time of year. not really, but just a little—giving gifts is stressful, receiving gifts is stressful, snow is stressful, ugh! so instead, he decides on an easier option. a card, slid under her door. inside the envelope: sumi, happy holidays! consider this a coupon for your gift. select one of the following: - a meal (my treat!) - one piece of hot telepath gossip with minimal complaining from me - just tell me what to buy you (within reason!!!) stay warm! wooseok

🥚 - spiked eggnog.

"do i—of course i actually like you! what kind of a question is that? if i didn't like you, i'd just... not answer your texts or something... hide... i dunno... but it doesn't matter because i do! i think we're really similar people sometimes. but also we're soooo different. but that's not necessarily a bad thing?? like, you scare me a lil sometimes, but most people scare me a little... but yeah! don't ask silly questions if you don't want silly answers!"

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🌿 /  🍒

🌿🍒 - last text.

< to: selena. > sms: i know you're gonna call ✨bullshit✨ but i can't come tonight sms: i have a really big exam tomorrow and i just have to sit down and study sms: you can check my schedule. i speak the truth sms: i'm not just saying it because i don't want to come i swear sms: ... and theoretically if i don't want to come it isn't because of you it's because of everyone else ❤️

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✉️🥀

✉️ - a true letter.

rafael, i don't know you very well, but what i do know is that you're one of the most interesting people i've ever met. i thought that i was a weirdo who made a big move from america, but you've made like twenty big moves. insane behavior. i would lose my mind. on a more serious note, i think you're very cool from afar. i don't mean that like "but up close, a loser!" but more like... i don't know up close, i'm scared! don't take that the wrong way. the few times we've talked i've appreciated—at the very least, it's nice to have someone to make sure i don't lose my ability to speak english. here's to getting closer! maybe? if you want. wooseok.

🌿🥀 - 3 am drunk text.

< to: rafael. > sms: i need a big strong person to carry me to my dorm sms: wait, this is the wrong number. fuck. shit. ignore this i'm so sorry sms: unless. sms: you can still carry me to my dorm

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🥚 what's your guilty pleasure song that you'd belt in a noraebang alone?

🥚 - spiked eggnog.

"noraebang? why would i go to a noraebang alone? that sounds so sad. i'm not that sad and lonely! if i'm going to sing alone, i'm going to do it in the comfort of my dorm! ridiculous. they charge like, an arm and a leg for ONE mid snack. ridiculous!!! what was the question again? my guilty pleasure song? catch me singing any and all jojo's bizarre adventure soundtrack hits in mediocre japanese at the top of my lungs."