Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 5, 2018 23:59:19 GMT -8
[[This thread takes place in July-August 2018.]]
Hwangjung was heading out to work on a Tuesday afternoon when he saw the For Sale sign. It hadn't been there when he'd gotten home in the early hours of the morning. He was sure because it was on the strip of grass that he had cut across between where his car was parked and the front door. He stared at it, and on impulse, grabbed a brochure from the little box on the post that held up the sign. The house right next door was for sale.
He and Jiuk had been sort of passively house hunting for a while, but they were limited by the fact that they really wanted to find something that would meet their needs within a few blocks of Yunjin's house. Hwangjung was, after all, still one of the main adults in Taijia's life, and they didn't want to mess with that too much. Hwangjung also knew that he wasn't really ready to move too far from Yunjin or Sungyong.
During the quiet time after the bar had opened for the evening before any customers really started coming in, Hwangjung looked over the brochure and thought about their list that they'd come up with of what they wanted in a house:
- two bedrooms or a bedroom and an office at least - space to make a studio, so either an unfinished basement or a garage with the ability to be converted - enough living space that they wouldn't feel cramped - within a few blocks of Yunjin's house - under $450k
This had all of that. It literally shared a property line, and the price was good. Hwangjung had dragged Jiuk to talk to a mortgage person at their credit union a few weeks back, and they'd looked at getting pre-approved, but they weren't really actively house hunting yet. Finally, when he'd pulled the brochure back out for the fifth time, he just tucked it away and texted Jiuk, If you're free tonight, want to come to the bar? I've got a brochure from the house next door which apparently got put up for sale, and I think that we should look at it together.
Jiuk Robertson
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Secretary at LGBT Center/Lyricist.
Homosexual.
Dating Hwangjung Lee.
08/21/1993.
30.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
I heard that even in space you can hear the scratch of a “I-, I-, I-, I… love you.” - Phil Kaye
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Post by Jiuk Robertson on Dec 6, 2018 11:03:20 GMT -8
Jiuk was debating what he should do for the night. He felt like going out somewhere, but didn't know where. Hwangjung worked, and Samnang was in classes until at least 9pm. He could theoretically ask if Yunjin, Sungyong, or Theo wanted to do something, but he was still in the on-good-terms-but-not-quite-yet-friends stage with them. He could always go hang out at Starbucks; the one Samnang worked at knew him well enough he'd sometimes even get free drinks. Although he didn't really feel like it, he had reluctantly settled on the latter idea when he got a text message from Hwangjung asking him to come to the bar. He raised an eyebrow in curiosity at his message. The house next door was for sale? That must have happened pretty recently, as he didn't see any sign when he came from work the day before. Yeah, I'll be there soon. ^^ He texted back. Wearing only a dark v-neck and light skinny jeans, he debated changing into more "appropriate" bar clothes, but just settled on actually wearing earrings for once, going for the round, rainbow colored earrings he had gotten recently from a store in Cap Hill the last he and Samnang went to Seattle.
By the time he had gotten to the bar, it was almost dark outside. He sat on the opposite end of the bar as a couple other people, letting Hwangjung help them before he got his boyfriend's attention. He debated if he wanted anything to drink, and if so, what, distracting his mind from wandering into thinking about buying a potential house.
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Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 6, 2018 11:51:42 GMT -8
Hwangjung was impressed that Jiuk managed to time his arrival almost on the heels of the first small wave of customers of the night, but he gave his boyfriend a little wave as he walked by to put in an order for the other customers. Once he had their drinks out to them, he made his way to the other end of the bar, tugging the repeatedly folded and unfolded brochure that he'd grabbed out of his pocket and plopping it down in front of Jiuk. He said, trying to contain his excitement and only partially succeeding, "Hi Jiuk, look what was outside of the house next door when I was headed to work!"
After a moment's pause, he added, "How was your day? Can I get you anything?"
He was anxious for Jiuk to look over the brochure, and he hoped that Jiuk would think it looked as good as Hwangjung thought it did.
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Secretary at LGBT Center/Lyricist.
Homosexual.
Dating Hwangjung Lee.
08/21/1993.
30.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
I heard that even in space you can hear the scratch of a “I-, I-, I-, I… love you.” - Phil Kaye
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Post by Jiuk Robertson on Dec 6, 2018 15:07:10 GMT -8
Jiuk was playing on his phone as he waited for Hwangjung to finish serving the other customers, although none of his social media seemed to have updated since he last checked before he left. He was relieved Hwangjung messaged him - if nothing was happening online, going to Starbucks would have been extremely boring.
Jiuk smiled as Hwangjung came over to him and plopped the flyer on the counter in front of him. He glanced at it, but paid more attention to Hwangjung. "My day was good..." He began, seeming to hesitate a moment before shrugging and saying, "The internet went out or something, so we got an extended lunch, otherwise nothing exciting happened... Not really." He gave Hwangjung a smile, "Can I get a Mai Tai?" He asked, tilting his head cutely. He brought his attention back to the paper, nodding as he read as if agreeing with what the paper was saying. "This looks good." He mused aloud, not looking away from the paper.
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Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 7, 2018 0:17:41 GMT -8
Hwangjung mixed the drink at the station near where Jiuk was sitting, and he watched Jiuk look over the brochure. He brought the Mai Tai back and set it down neatly, murmuring, "Your drink."
He looked down at the brochure as well and said, "So what do you think? The asking price is good, and it's got all those checkboxes that we'd been talking about filling. The garage is the right size to make an awesome studio, and it's a nice looking space from what I can see. Plus it's in the exact right place."
He took a quick glance at Jiuk's face, glad that he looked positive so far, and said, "Do you want to pull up the full listing on your phone? See if there's anything that we're missing from this and if there's an open house or something? Maybe we can get a chance to see it before the weekend."
He paused for a second and then added, "I can put the getting us preapproved thing in motion if you want. I'm really glad we went and did the starting leg work for that already."
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Secretary at LGBT Center/Lyricist.
Homosexual.
Dating Hwangjung Lee.
08/21/1993.
30.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
I heard that even in space you can hear the scratch of a “I-, I-, I-, I… love you.” - Phil Kaye
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Post by Jiuk Robertson on Dec 7, 2018 11:55:18 GMT -8
"Thank you." Jiuk muttered, bring the drink closer to him but not yet taking a sip. "It does seem really great..." He agreed, going to his phone and turning on the screen. He looked up the house via the website provided on the brochure and searched until he found pictures of it. He scanned through them before putting the phone on the table and turning it to face Hwangjung. "It looks like everything we wanted is there. I actually really like the look of it inside." He hesitated for a moment before giving Hwangjung a wide grin. "Go ahead, if we can get the house before very many buyers show interest, we'll have a better chance of getting a good price on it." He finally took a sip of his drink. "Oo, yummy." He mused somewhat under his breath. "Ahhhh I'm excited!" He squeaked.
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Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 7, 2018 20:35:21 GMT -8
Hwangjung grinned at Jiuk's reaction and took a quick glance at the phone. The website said they were doing by appointment showings during the week. He pointed to the little corner on the screen and told Jiuk, "I've got to go help some people who just came in, but you should pick a morning sometime this week that we can go see it and set up an appointment with that. I'm free literally all the mornings. Next time I duck into the back, I'll message the person that we saw at the credit union to go ahead and start the pre-approval process for us."
Hwangjung had to stay away from the corner where Jiuk had set up for longer than was his absolute preference because new people kept coming in. He did manage to get the message off to the person who was dealing with their pre-approval at the credit union when he had to go into the back to get more glasses quickly. Eventually, there was a lull and he wandered back over to his boyfriend. He said, "Do we have an appointment? I got the message off to the person to start the pre-approval."
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Secretary at LGBT Center/Lyricist.
Homosexual.
Dating Hwangjung Lee.
08/21/1993.
30.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
I heard that even in space you can hear the scratch of a “I-, I-, I-, I… love you.” - Phil Kaye
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Post by Jiuk Robertson on Dec 8, 2018 13:55:40 GMT -8
Jiuk nodded and took his phone back, picking that Thursday at 10am for their appointment time. He could just take the day off from work; he had plenty of sick time anyway. He looked over the photos as he waited for Hwangjung to return, but as more people came into the bar, he just absent-mindedly sipped his drink and checked for any updates to social media. He glanced up as he heard his boyfriend's voice, giving him a nod. "mmhmm, Thursday at 10am. I'm hungry. Any good food back there?"
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Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 8, 2018 14:52:26 GMT -8
Hwangjung grinned and replied, "Thursday at 10 am, sounds perfect. Hopefully the pictures aren't lying about how good of a place it is, and hopefully no one else has the same idea as we do right now."
He glanced back at the chalk board where the day's menu had been written up. He'd not had many food orders yet that day, and his boss changed what he was deciding to cook on an almost daily basis. He said, "Haven't had my own dinner yet, so I can't say for sure, but the boss said that his favorites for tonight were the mushroom pesto pasta with roasted garlic, the goat cheese and pear flatbread pizza, and the mixed root vegetable fries with five spice. Oh, and he picked up the salmon at the Market this morning, so it's very very fresh."
Hwangjung glanced around, noticing that more people were filtering in. It was fairly busy for a weekday evening, which was good for business but not so much for having long conversations with his boyfriend.
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Secretary at LGBT Center/Lyricist.
Homosexual.
Dating Hwangjung Lee.
08/21/1993.
30.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
I heard that even in space you can hear the scratch of a “I-, I-, I-, I… love you.” - Phil Kaye
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Post by Jiuk Robertson on Dec 8, 2018 16:22:37 GMT -8
Jiuk let out a soft laugh, nodding, "I hope we're one of the only buyers. And I also hope it's not too much of a fixer-upper. A little bit of work is fine, we'll just recruit Sam to do it." He joked. "Those fries sound good!" He added as a last thought.
As Thursday morning came around, Jiuk had woken up to call in "sick" to work and then fell back asleep. When the alarm went off, he glared at it with weary eyes. He relaxed for only a momeny before remembering why he had called out today in the first place, and then his eyes shot open. His stomach twisted in half-nervous, half-excited knots as he went to the closet to pick out clothes. "Hwangjung... what should I wear?" He called to his boyfriend.
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Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 8, 2018 17:02:39 GMT -8
Hwangjung rubbed at his face blearily and looked up at Jiuk uncomprehending for a moment. He'd gotten home about four hours earlier because closing at the bar had taken longer than he would have hoped the night before, but it was Thursday, and Thursday meant visiting The House. That was worth getting up for, and maybe taking a nap later, especially since he had that night off.
He took another few moments to process what Jiuk was asking, and then said, "Professional, no holes, well maybe minimal fashion holes, button holes are definitely OK, those are supposed to be there. We want to look like real people who are interested in buying a house to live in. I am going to take a quick shower so that I will be awaker."
He stumbled through a five minute shower and dried and styled his hair quickly. He was significantly more coherent when he came out of the bathroom, and he nabbed a pair of nice, tight fitting black jeans, a purple turtleneck, and a vest with an open front to toss over it. He asked, much more clearly, "Do you still need help figuring out the clothes situation or should I go make breakfast and caffeine happen?"
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Secretary at LGBT Center/Lyricist.
Homosexual.
Dating Hwangjung Lee.
08/21/1993.
30.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
I heard that even in space you can hear the scratch of a “I-, I-, I-, I… love you.” - Phil Kaye
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Post by Jiuk Robertson on Dec 9, 2018 11:46:40 GMT -8
"Look like real people," Jiuk repeated with an amused snort, giving Hwangjung a nod in acknowledgement at his comment about going into the shower. He didn't turn away from the closet much the entire time Hwangjung was in the bathroom, except for the occasional turn around to compare two items of clothing in better lighting than the closet provided. He had just decided on an outfit when Hwangjung asked him about it, pulling down a solid dark red short-sleeve button down and then grabbing some new black skinny jeans. He showed them to Hwangjung with a questioning look for a moment before nodding. "Breakfast and caffeine sound great."
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Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 10, 2018 2:18:31 GMT -8
Hwangjung looked at the outfit that Jiuk was showing him and nodded, saying, "Looks good."
He turned and headed for the stairs and added, "Meet you in the kitchen. If we're lucky, someone left food warming for when we got here."
He went about starting a pot of tea since there wasn't any left in the big pot that Sungyong had made that morning. As he was passing, he turned on the little coffee maker that didn't get used all that often so that its water could heat up in case Jiuk decided that he wanted coffee. The tea being out had been happening more and more often recently, since Tai had started actually drinking tea in the morning. The rice cooker was still on its warming setting and about half full, but whatever had been in the warming dish had all been eaten earlier that morning. Hwangjung set himself to scrambling some eggs with some of the chopped up veggies that were still in the fridge. He suspected that Tai had done something similar not too long after Hwangjung had gotten home because the kid was generally up at an absurd hour of the morning.
He finished up making the eggs with vegetables and put them half and half over rice in bowls, adding sauce to his own and pouring himself a cup of tea. He expected that Jiuk would be up to join him any moment, but he settled at the little dining table in the kitchen and started eating.
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Secretary at LGBT Center/Lyricist.
Homosexual.
Dating Hwangjung Lee.
08/21/1993.
30.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
I heard that even in space you can hear the scratch of a “I-, I-, I-, I… love you.” - Phil Kaye
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Post by Jiuk Robertson on Dec 10, 2018 15:55:30 GMT -8
Jiuk smiled and quickly got dressed, washing up, adn then going to the kitchen. He saw the coffee pot had been turned on, which made him debate for a moment if he wanted to make some, but he was feeling too lazy at the moment to do so, so turned it off and instead grabbed some tea. He then grabbed some rice and eggs and joined Hwangjung at the table. It had been an adjustment, having rice and eggs for breakfast rather than cereal or toast, but he had to admit it was nice to have an actually filling meal that required little work on his part.
He smiled to his boyfriend, "Thanks for turning on the coffee pot." He began, a small chuckle escaping, "But I'm far too lazy to make myself some right now. And also nervous..." He mused, seeming to space out a little as the fork dangled from his lips as he stared at the food.
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Songwriter/Producer, Bartender.
Bisexual.
Dating Jiuk.
10/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Hwangjung Lee on Dec 10, 2018 23:58:05 GMT -8
Hwangjung finished eating before Jiuk, getting up and starting to tidy, but pausing for a second to brush a quick kiss to the top of Jiuk's head as he walked by. He said, "We're just going to take a look at the place. If we like it, we can think about the nervous parts after the visit. If it turns out it was too good to be true, well, at least we'll know. I'm willing to put some work into a place though if it's got the bones of what we need, so I'm hopeful."
He tidied quietly for a bit, giving Jiuk a chance to finish his meal, and making sure to turn off the coffee maker since it wasn't going to get used. He put the teapot on it's warming plate, and closed the rice cooker on its warming setting since there was still about a serving of rice left, and Sungyong would be home for a while in the middle of the day.
Once he was done tidying, he turned back to Jiuk and checked his phone for the time. He asked, "No rush, but do you want to head over? We are within the conscientiously early time range now, and it's nice out."
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