gswyijoons

[gswyijoons]

gswmyunghwa​:

[...]

what did they say about food after a hard days work ( her labor qualifying as neither hard nor a full day’s worth )? it was sweeter! and though picky with her meals, the tray of basics was  mouthwatering in the moment. scanning the cafeteria for other volunteers or even students, a familiar face stood out. of course yijoon would be here. why hadn’t it occurred to her before? the fact that he was a teacher being one of the few things she knew about the man, it had merely slipped her mind. so for once, rather than weaseling her way into another’s conversation, she made a beeline straight towards him. tray placed on the table, she slid into the empty seat across from him without asking. this was a public place after all. 

“do you get to eat this stuff every day? i never thought i’d like cafeteria food but this is really good. or is today’s menu special because the power is out and they are trying to appease everyone?”  like they were old friends, the conversation started in the middle with no greeting or basic pleasantries. 

if you would have told yijoon a few years ago that he would be a teacher, he would believe you – reluctantly. or moreso in denial. see, yijoon’s easily convinced. can potentially be guilted into anything and a lot surrounding his teaching career was laced with some degree of guilt. but that’s not usual. guilt tends to find it’s way into his system one way or another. he has yet to master the ways of compartmentalising the way a beaver would. you know, to keep the dam close.

which is what yijoon needs. close the dam. or something. as he’s poking at a piece of kimchi, he’s trying to remember what it is exactly that beavers do. but the air is cold, his hands are cold and he’s wondering if it’s really worth keeping the schools open. but he supposes that ever since the power went, so this most technology. it’s not like teaching online is an option on gwasuwon the way it is in seoul. those teachers preparing kids for the suneung.

yijoon is helping them with that, but those teachers get crazy money. money he couldn’t even dream of because yijoon’s dreams tender to center themselves around jobs that don’t really draw in all the cash. money do solve a lot of problems. money would solve his problems, though it also means that he would have to open the box and sort out which problem to deal with first. which, is also easier said than done. he finally picks up that piece of kimchi when something crosses his vision and lands in front of him.

has he not been tried enough recently? (though, a voice in his head tells him he hasn’t, actually.)

myunghwa.

not the last person he wants to talk to, but he just doesn’t get it. either she’s obsessed with him or she’s obsessed with hanging out with people there is no prospering relationship with. but yijoon gets a pause in, he clears his throat, takes a look at his food and then her.

”teachers are supposed to bring their own lunch,” not a lie. ”but i didn’t get a chance to make something for obvious reasons, so i just bought something,” he explains. he can at least have the courtesy of doing that while the gears in his head turn and turn.

”what are you doing here?” was he supposed to know?

[gswyijoons]

good morning.

this isn’t the first time, his mother’s voice echoes in his thoughts as he rubs the sleep out of his face. his parents are not necessarily preppers, doomsday believers but they have repeatedly told yijoon that if you live on the island, you will become prepared to handle a few things. one of those things include living with no electricity – now yijoon has done it before. once, maybe twice. but so far they are on day two of no electricity and no particular signs or sirens are blaring about its possible return. at least it’s sunday. no school.

no school, no teaching, no reason for yijoon to act like he’s not freezing his ass off in the middle of a classroom. fuck, it’s cold. it’s really fucking cold. he shoulders tremble. they're being cheap on the fireplace, for sure. like his dad’s not chopping the wood himself. cheapskate.

”how tired can you be? you slept til 8am,” his mother’s voice echoes the kitchen instead as she lits the gas stove to heat up more water. eight am is what sticks out the most in her complaint about his sleeping habits. who would have thought eight am would be early, on a sunday? it’s not like they’re going to church – no, if you ask his parents there are better things to do than pray. if yijoon was a little more religious he would be praying for heating back, but the left that train a few years – (read: a decade) ago.

”work’s exhausting,” he mutters under his breath as his hands drop from his face to cup around the tea. unsweetened, a little bitter. perfect for the ten am hour that’s surrounding them. since he woke up, his dad has been missing. not missing, literally, he’s somewhere and if yijoon took a proper look around their property he is sure he would find him but right now? yijoon’s not turning his head around. that is, until a particular sound draws his attention. away from his bitter green tea and out towards the road that stops outside their house.

and while yijoon’s squinting to see just who it is, his mother exclaims in glee and claps her hands together. ”it’s juhwan, he’s so kind,” she says and yijoon’s head is turning, twisting gears around to try and remember just who juhwan is before it hits him.

juhwan, politician (or something), gwasuwon native, chronic smiler and whatnot. here, on the outskirts of the city. for what exactly? yijoon has an idea. so of course, the sleeps falls of his body and he’s suddenly more alert, just enough to become curious of what juhwan’s really doing out here. doesn’t he have more important people to visit anyways? so he trails after his mother, quick enough to witness her cheerful greeting but he stands by the front door.

once it’s his turn…

”it’s been a while,” yijoon says with a polite smile. he’ll be civil. at least for now. probably for more than now.

@gswjuhwan

[gswyijoons]

meet yijoon!

im yijoon – a guy. a silly little chemistry teacher. a gwasuwon local. did i mention he’s just a guy. he’s twenty-seven years, an only child and on occasion, a prickly little guy. he’s still a work in progress but he’s already very dear to me so i hope you will enjoy either reading about his adventures or interacting with him. me myself, i am josie (she/her) and i’m going to drop a bunch of information about him and if you are down for plot then please hit like and i will be in your dms. if this is long, i’m sorry i haven’t done tumblr rp in (counts on fingers) Never. 

profile / connections / etc

general background

cw: sickness, cancer

born 95’ in gwasuwon. he’s local. his parents are born and raised. his parents live a bit further out towards the country side more than they do central. his father is a mechanic and the type to refuse help from anyone else because he wants to figure it out himself. there’s numerous times in which yijoon has (reluctantly) held up a flashlight while his dad tries to figure out something outside of his skillset. his mother owns a convenience store in the centre, a part of a franchise and it does well. why wouldn’t it? yijoon’s just happy she got out of her housewife days. 

as a child, he became sick with a type leukemia at the age of four. the visited a local clinic which told his family there is better help to be had out on the mainland so his parents packed up their savings, left their business in trusted hands and took him to his aunt who lives in seoul. there began his treatment when he was just six years old. 

a lot of his memories as a child are clouded by the frequency of which he was at the hospital and he’s quite frankly, suppressed a lot of these memories because it was overall an unpleasant time. there’s just a fog over these years, he was not there mentally and he’s left with a scar after a wonky removal of his port. but he was deemed in remission when he was nine years old and when he was fourteen he was considered healthy again. but these experiences have rendered him pretty scared of being at a hospital even if he was never mistreated.

both in between treatments he was able to return to school but he was often tired to properly play with his friends. his energy would pick up on occasion but it was not properly restored until he was finally done with his treatment and he was able to properly play with his friends (which is what he wanted 🥺)

there’s (so far) not a lot of things that make his growing up stand out – he was studious, curious, a little shy and just over all just a child. as he completed his education, he chose to proceed and study double degree in chemistry and education. this was per advice of his parents to have a back up – his original idea was to do just chemistry but they suggested teaching. he wasn’t certain he would be a good teacher, but he went with it anyways. better two plans than one.

come his university graduation, he was looking into furthering his education and dive deeper into chemistry but he got roped into teaching. the back up plan. his parents argued he shouldn’t leave the island, he should stay around and yijoon’s easily convinced but the conversation that dinner night was one he still remembers. he hates how they used his back up plan against him, leaving him with so few arguments on why he should not teach. but he caved, carrying guilt in his shoulders as he said he would look into it. his uncle works at the schools administration department, he could put a good word in. or something (he did).

somewhere along the line he did end getting engaged to the girlfriend he had from university !! she was also a local from gwasuwon (so they knew each other in high school) but she decided to stay in pohang for her career. yijoon would argue the split was pretty amicable, uneventful even. 

random tidbits

halfway through his degree, he took a break to complete his military service before he returned to his studies – meaning he graduated when he was twenty four !! he's been a teacher since

he absolutely hates tomatoes, it’s just how it is. he’ll eat them out of courtesy though. and try to not make a face.

he wears the same watch every day, it was a graduation gift from his dad !! 

yes he smokes. if you ask him, it’s just in social situations but alas… he has his own pack on hand if stress picks up. ironically, he only started smoking more when he became a teacher

he tries his hardest to Not stay too late at work but somehow, he ends up coming home late… this is the reason he hasn’t adopted a pet yet 

he’s a cat spotter (real). if he had an active sns account it would be just about the cats he spots when out and about.

surprisingly handy but his dad is a firm believer in, you can fix it yourself so it’s not weird that he followed those footsteps 

plots & connections 

co-workers !! this one’s pretty given but if there’s any other people who work at tv valley pls hmu… 

classmates ! this could either be from when they both studied in pohang or it could have been from when they were kids in thyme valley (and earlier schools). it would be fun to have some friends that go back quite a bit. whether they’re awkward today or not can be completely up to us! 

i want him to havea at least a few friends. So possibly a plot surrounding them helping each other out, maybe yijoon helped them out with grocery shopping when they were down with the flu or something…. 

maybe a… oh no we’ve bumped into each other so many times… let’s just… talk. idk. 

[gswyijoons]

head in hands