Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 11, 2018 0:34:01 GMT -8
Thomas grinned and switched back to Korean for a moment, pleased that he was able to surprise Kangwan with how much better he'd gotten even over the summer, "I just found out about three hours before my flight. Because I waited to take the test until I was done with the intensive that I took at UW over the summer. By UW's standard, I've technically taken all the classes through third year, even though I started, uh, less than a year and a half ago."
He was pretty proud of himself to be honest. He'd focused a lot on languages at CBCC, and with all the courses he'd taken, through the Running Start program and the extra stuff he'd managed to get into through UW's programs for high school students, he'd actually managed to just barely squeeze out an associates degree at CBCC. He added more quietly in English, "I'm actually not even entering as a freshman. I think that surprised me more than it should have, but I managed to earn my 2 year degree from CBCC before I left. It means that even if I have to take it slower because taking things in Korean is harder, I'm already way ahead. I'm signed up to do a full four years if I want to though, with the scholarship I got. They said that it could maybe even transfer into a masters if I finished early."
Thomas thought back to Pride and said, "It was kind of a last minute thing, marching in Pride. Jess was visiting his folks that weekend, so that he could march with a group that he's a part of for Seattle Pride, and he asked if I wanted to come along. I'd watched before, but it was nice being able to actually be surrounded by all that, even though I was mostly like carrying water bottles for people and making sure that the people in costumes weren't dying of heat."
He could hear the worry, but also the wanting, about going to Pride when Kangwan talked. He reached out and squeezed his boyfriend's hand gently. He said very softly, "Someday, we'll get the chance to go together, but I promise that if I go while I'm here, I'll be careful and go with a group of people I trust and wear something that makes me hard to recognize."
He spotted a sign that looked suspiciously like a hotpot place getting nearer, and he pointed to it, asking, "Is that it?"
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Idol - Vocalist/Songwriter / Seoul Cyber University Student (2025) Major: Applied Music.
Bisexual.
Dating Thomas Fan.
10/24/1999.
23.
Rabbit (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Kim Kangwan on Dec 11, 2018 15:17:25 GMT -8
"Wow, impressive." Kangwan said, and though he meant it, it came out monotone. He had had an easier time learning English than he expected, but he wished he could become nearly fluent in a language within a year. He was a little jealous, but he wasn't about to start dwelling on it. He let the subject of education drop, simply because he didn't have much to say in response.
"Still, that's cool." He said wistfully. "I'd be a waterboy if it meant getting to participate in the march." He took Thomas' hand in his and squeezed it lightly, "That's all I ask." He said softly.
He turned and looked at the restaurant he was pointing at, "Yep, that's it!"
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Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 12, 2018 1:05:08 GMT -8
Thomas noticed that Kangwan seemed a little bit antsy about his school stuff, and he figured he probably shouldn't babble on about it too much. It was kind of nice in a way, knowing that there was at least one person in his life who the focus probably shouldn't be about school with. It had been basically the only thing other than work he'd been focusing on all summer, and he wasn't quite out of that mental mode yet. Thinking of a thing that he could ask, he said, "Kangwan, do you know if people get jobs much while they're in college here? I'm OK for the time being, but I don't want to put the others back home in a situation where I'm having to rely on them to figure out paying for costs here, and I mean the basic stuff is under control, but like the idea of going out for something nice food wise, it would be nice not to have to worry about that. I figured I would look into tutoring or something, since I've done some of that though only through volunteer programs, but I don't know if that's even really a thing here."
As they got to the doors, he glanced at Kangwan and said, "How comfortable are you with going in and talking to people for getting seated and stuff? I don't know how big a deal it is for you to get recognized going here or things like that. You're probably going to be better than me at talking to the people, but it's good practice for me."
He fidgeted in place just a little, hoping that Kangwan would understand what he was trying to get at. He felt like that wasn't the clearest set of questions he'd ever asked. He really didn't know how much Kangwan was supposed to be under cover right then. It was a very new realm of experience for him.
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Idol - Vocalist/Songwriter / Seoul Cyber University Student (2025) Major: Applied Music.
Bisexual.
Dating Thomas Fan.
10/24/1999.
23.
Rabbit (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Kangwan on Dec 12, 2018 22:25:21 GMT -8
Kangwan shrugged, "It's not unheard of, especially if they speak English they'll tutor. I mean, as expected, most people focus on just their education, but you could make some good money as an English, or heck, even Chinese tutor." He explained. "I would suggest either going to an English Cafe or like, posting a flyer or something to help get you started with that. English Cafes especially are usually really lenient about school schedules.
Kangwan looked confused for a moment before responding hesitantly, "I don't really mind being recognized in restaurants, a lot of times the only thing the manager will really do is ask me to sign something so he can put it up on the wall. But also, if you want the practice, I won't stop you, and like in cafe, can just intervene if you need the help."
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Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 12, 2018 22:54:24 GMT -8
Thomas looked thoughtful and said, "I guess I'll look into some of the English cafes then. I'll ask around once more of the international students and international student mentors and advisors are in. I got in pretty much the first day I could so that I could settle in. I don't think that my roommate is even supposed to be here until the end of the week. Though some of the other people in the suite might be getting in sooner than that."
He didn't add that part of the reason he'd gotten in so early was that he was impatient to see Kangwan again, but he hoped that his boyfriend would be able to guess that much.
He sighed in relief when Kangwan said that being seen in restaurants wasn't too big a deal, and he said, "That's good to know about with the restaurants. I think that I'll still try practicing maybe, but I won't feel too bad if you have to rescue me."
He led the way into the hot pot restaurant then, and was relieved when the set up looked familiar, even if he had to take a little time to read the menu that was posted on the wall. He was also glad that it didn't seem too busy, probably because the school session didn't start for a while yet, so a lot of students weren't around yet. He smiled at the person at the desk and carefully asked for a table for two, adding with an awkward hand wave, that if there was one at the back, that would be nice. He glanced back at Kangwan to see if he'd done alright, and then followed the person from the front desk back to a little booth in the back.
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Idol - Vocalist/Songwriter / Seoul Cyber University Student (2025) Major: Applied Music.
Bisexual.
Dating Thomas Fan.
10/24/1999.
23.
Rabbit (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Kangwan on Dec 14, 2018 16:44:47 GMT -8
"Wow, you came early." Kangwan observed, but didn't really think much of it. He was happy to get to see Thomas again, and he was sure Thomas felt the same about him.
He nodded, a smile on his face even though it wasn't visible through his mask this time. He followed after Thomas into the restaurant. He gave Thomas a thumbs up, busy taking his mask off as they headed towards the back. He sat down as he finished shoving the mask into his pocket, asking the waiter for water for both of them. "Nice job." He said to Thomas.
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Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 17, 2018 3:48:54 GMT -8
Thomas grinned in relief at Kangwan's confirmation that he'd done a good job with getting the spot. He had thought of adding part of it part way through, and that had meant thinking on his feet in a language that he could communicate in, but still sometimes took a bit to catch up with his own brain in. Things like that made all the extra time he'd put in on Korean over the summer, and the past year and a half, seem worth it already.
Now that they were in the booth, a little bit more away from prying eyes, Thomas said a little sheepishly, "I wanted to see you sooner. There were other benefits too, but that's the biggest reason."
He looked at the menu and asked Kangwan, "Do we just want to order the house broth and a little of a lot of different things to put in? Do you have favorites? There's not much that I don't want as long as we have some green vegetables in there."
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Idol - Vocalist/Songwriter / Seoul Cyber University Student (2025) Major: Applied Music.
Bisexual.
Dating Thomas Fan.
10/24/1999.
23.
Rabbit (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Kangwan on Dec 17, 2018 17:02:04 GMT -8
Kangwan smiled, feeling almost bad he made Thomas embarrassed, "I'm honestly glad you came earlier than you really had to. I wanted to see you too, and be able to have some time to see you before your semester started."
Kangwan glanced over the menu as Thomas made his suggestion, and gave him a nod. "Yeah, that sounds like a good plan. The house broth typically goes well with chicken, I believe. But we do get a lot of vegetables... Like cabbage, bean sprouts, danmuji, kimchi, uhh... I forget what that one is in English..." He looked up at Thomas and let out a short laugh. "So there's plenty of greens - which... you can have all of."
(*danmuji=daikon radish. It's a food common enough at Korean restaurants that I feel like Thomas would probably know it.
(And it also took a good ten seconds to remember it's called daikon).)
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Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 17, 2018 22:03:34 GMT -8
Thomas nodded along as Kangwan explained it and said, "Yeah, that sounds good. In English we borrowed the Japanese name for it, so daikon. I think of it by its Chinese name half the time though, which basically just means white radish, so I've definitely just called it white radish in English and confused people."
He gave Kangwan a quick over-exaggerated frown and said jokingly scolding, "You should eat at least some of the veggies. They're good for you, especially when you've been exercising more than you had been for a while. The protein's good too from the chicken, but I'm going to expect to share at least a little of the veggies with you."
He gave a grin, hoping that Kangwan would know that he was mostly teasing and asked, "Is there a vegetable that we could add that you actually like? Because for real, it's good for you to eat some greens at least."
He was glad that he could let his knees brush against Kangwan's under the table. He still wasn't quite sure about how demonstrative to be in public, despite Kangwan's reassurances, and he was a especially uncertain because he knew that there was a chance of there being cameras pointed their way, and he wasn't used to the idea entirely yet.
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Idol - Vocalist/Songwriter / Seoul Cyber University Student (2025) Major: Applied Music.
Bisexual.
Dating Thomas Fan.
10/24/1999.
23.
Rabbit (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Kangwan on Dec 19, 2018 17:46:54 GMT -8
"Yes, that." Kangwan said with a sheepish laugh. "Since we mostly speak Korean, I've already started to forget some English. It's horrible." He griped.
He scrunched up his nose and shook his head. "No. I'll have some danmuji. That's vegetables. And some kimchi." He added the last part as the side dishes were placed in front of them.
He noticed their knees touching, and really wished he could do more, but being at a table almost limited their skinship ability more than being in a public restaurant. He gave Thomas a smile, hoping the other boy understood it rather than thinking it was nothing.
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Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 19, 2018 23:43:41 GMT -8
Thomas grinned at him and replied, "Yup, that's vegetables, and I'm good with that being what you have. I just want to make sure that you don't not eat any veggies."
He laughed a little bit and said, "Well, I guess that means we'll have to mostly speak in English while I'm here because I can't have you forgetting all the stuff when we worked so hard to get you good grades in all your subjects, including English. I mean, I'll probably at some point be like, help me practice Korean, but I'm going to be speaking Korean with a lot of people, and clearly you aren't speaking English with a lot of people. Plus, it makes it a little bit more private some of the time, not that a lot of people around us don't speak English probably, especially near a college campus."
He carefully made the order since the waitress was there, and he was relieved when she repeated back what he'd said and seemed to have understood him easily. He started picking at various side dishes, gravitating towards the fish and the vegetables. He asked Kangwan, "Are there things that you don't like that we got in the side dishes, or anything that's going to surprise me and I should be warned about?"
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Idol - Vocalist/Songwriter / Seoul Cyber University Student (2025) Major: Applied Music.
Bisexual.
Dating Thomas Fan.
10/24/1999.
23.
Rabbit (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Kangwan on Dec 22, 2018 13:14:55 GMT -8
Kangwan smiled as Thomas made the order, clapping softly as the waitress left. "I also don't eat vegetables." He said honestly with a sly grin. "But since you insist on me eating vegetables..." He said, plopping a piece of kimchi in his mouth and then gesturing as if to say "happy now?"
"I'm fine with speaking English with you. Although if you want to speak a lot of Korean, I'd recommend working hard to make friends with natives rather than other exchange students. I hear stories about exchange students that spend too much speaking their native language that they don't learn their target language." He grinned, "but I'm sure you knew that already."
He glanced over the side dishes, trying to remember what he'd get more often here as opposed to the States. "Um... Nothing should surprise you that I can think of. I would like a little bit of the odaeng," he pointed to the fish cakes, "but you can have the rest of it otherwise. Everything else is veggies, so that's also all yours."
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Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 23, 2018 2:11:58 GMT -8
Thomas picked his way around the side dishes, trying a little bit of each, and finding that he liked most of them. His favorite was probably the little fried whole fish and one of the mixed vegetable things with a lot of garlic in it. He could tell that he'd not eaten nearly enough in the past day though because he'd been traveling and things just hadn't seemed quite right when he was eating airplane food. He was glad that Kangwan had taken him to something that was familiar enough to be comforting.
He laughed as Kangwan made a fuss over eating the kimchi, and he said, "If you like that one, then I'll just take a bite to see what it tastes like, and you can have the rest. I wouldn't want to deprive you of one of the few vegetables that you seem willing to eat when I have all these other excellent options."
He thought about the language thing for a while, and then he said, "I mean, I might practice Korean on you sometimes, but it's also going to be nice to speak English with someone, and I think that I want to avoid doing that at school for exactly that reason. I'm glad that they didn't put me with another English speaking roommate. From the little roommate matching thing that we got, it sounds like my roommate's Korean is very basic level, so I'll probably end up speaking Chinese with him at least some because I suspect I'll be helping with the Korean side of things. Other than that though, it's not like I'm going to be taking my classes with a lot of the other exchange students necessarily. Especially because a lot of my classes are going to be at least second year level classes, so I think that I'll be OK as far as keeping up Korean stuff."
He thought for a second and said, "If it ever comes up that I'm meeting up with your Korean-Korean members of your group, then I suspect I'll speak Korean with them, so I'm glad that I'm feeling a lot more comfortable with that than when you surprised me with them over Skype the first time."
He grinned at Kangwan, trying to make sure that it was clear that he wasn't annoyed about it or anything. Qiwang and the Korean-American member of Kangwan's group had kind of rescued him from feeling like he had no clue what he was trying to say that time, but he was pretty sure that he'd do better now.
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Idol - Vocalist/Songwriter / Seoul Cyber University Student (2025) Major: Applied Music.
Bisexual.
Dating Thomas Fan.
10/24/1999.
23.
Rabbit (Korea)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Kim Kangwan on Dec 25, 2018 16:30:37 GMT -8
Kangwan let out a small huff, but didn't protest against the vegetables any more than that. Their hotpot and ingredients were soon brought out, interrupting Kangwan from continuing on in his replies. His chopsticks hovered by his lips as he muttered, "It would be nice to keep my English, anyway. So I guess I can let it go." He put the chopsticks down and stuck his tongue out at Thomas playfully.
"Hey now, you said you had been studying and I was excited to show you off, what can I say?" He argued, obviously still playful. "Maybe next time I'll take Kiwoong and Joshua with me and leave you alone with them."
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Tutor, Translator, Driver, and Assistant Manager at Dreams Ent.
Gay.
Dating Kangwan.
02/04/1999.
23.
Tiger (Korea)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Thomas Fan Qiwang on Dec 26, 2018 4:03:28 GMT -8
Thomas smiled a little bit at Kangwan eating some more of the vegetables, and he busied himself with the hot pot once it came out. He wasn't sure if it was especially delicious or he was just especially hungry, but everything seemed really good. He told Kangwan, "This was a good choice of place. I will have to remember where this is."
He thought about Kangwan's teasing suggestion. He wasn't nearly as worried about being put on the spot to speak Korean anymore. But he was still a little bit nervous about Kangwan's bandmates opinions of him because they had the potential to make things hard for Kangwan because of him. He said slightly tentative, "I'm fine with the Taehoon part of that, but unless Shihyun has decided that he seems to like me more than he did over Skype the few times, maybe don't leave me alone with just him? Did I do something that made him mad? The others all seem to like me at least OK when you've had me talk to them."
He hoped that he wasn't opening a difficult topic by asking, but he also figured he probably needed to know.
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