Figure Skating Coach.
Asexual.
Single.
09/09/1993.
28.
Rooster (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Sungyong Han on May 3, 2015 0:02:29 GMT -8
((Admin Note: The site's location has changed since this thread!!))
Sungyong had exchanged several texts with Hwangjung over the course of the day, practically begging him to come along to the slam poetry event that Samnang had told him about at work. Sungyong had been going more than a little bit stir crazy since December with barely going out anywhere other than work. Hwangjung didn't really like it when Sungyong came to his work, and while the bar where Hwangjung worked was nice as bars went, it wasn't really Sungyong's sort of scene anyhow. He really missed all the free music events at the colleges, but events at coffee shops and the like were pretty good as far as cheap and easy to slip in and out of went.
By the time he got home, after his shift at the skating rink, he only had enough time for a quick shower, change of clothes, and to stuff something in his mouth to tide him over so that coffee shop pastries didn't look like a good dinner. Yunjin and Taijia were playing a board game at the dining room table when he came in, but Taijia took a moment to jump up and give him a hug, with an excited, "Uncle Sheng!" Yunjin looked up and chuckled, telling him, "Hwangjung is getting ready, and he might keep grumbling at you, but he's excited."
Sungyong gave his best friend a hug and said, "Have a fun night in with Tai. I'll see you when we get back."
He rushed through getting ready, tossing on a lightweight dark blue cardigan over a white shirt and comfortable but tight jeans. This seemed like something he would want to look casually nice for. Hwangjung was amusingly enough wearing a pretty similar outfit, though in slightly different colors, when he emerged. Hwangjung pointed to a sandwich fixed the way he liked them on the counter and said, "I figured you'd want something to eat, but to not be late, so I got it ready for you."
Sungyong smiled and grabbed the sandwich, shouldering his bag and following Hwangjung to the door. He called out a quick goodbye to the two who were staying in, and started the trip over to the Peet's. Hwangjung asked, "So tell me again what motivated this excursion tonight? It's my night off."
Sungyong poked him in the arm, "Yeah, that's why we should get out and do something fun. We haven't in ages. I'll drag Jin-ge to something soon too, but this seemed more up your alley. But as for why tonight, one of my coworkers, Samnang, has a friend who's going to be performing tonight, and Samnang is pretty cool, so I figured it would be worth you meeting him and both of us meeting his friend. Worst case scenario, we're bored and leave in between sets."
It wasn't that hard for them to get to the Peet's in Bella Terra, and Sungyong realized that they had even managed to be a little bit early. He shrugged and said, "Let's go on in and grab drinks and a table or something."
Hwangjung followed him in and as they went up to the front to order something, Sungyong glanced around, hoping to spot Samnang so that he could go say hi, and probably hang out with him since that was at least half of the motivation for coming in the first place.
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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 May 3, 2015 14:16:06 GMT -8
"So wait, you did what?" Z asked Samnang for the fifth time since receiving the younger man's text. "I invited a coworker. He seems cool, but until now we haven't worked together much." Samnang said, not looking up from a game he was playing on his phone. "He said he was going to bring along a friend of his, I think his roommate." "Okay, so just because our group can't make it, you made a backup group?" Z joked, messing around with his short hair to try to figure out what he wanted to do with it. He left it in an intentionally messy state, going into his room to finish getting dressed. Samnang was probably the only person he was comfortable changing around, and therefore, Samnang was the only friend of their to have ever seen Z in just a tank top and pants. "I did not!" Samnang said, whining but smiling to Z, actually looking up to him. Z returned the playful smile. "Okay I mean... I was going to use one of my own poems but maybe... If I want to impress new probable friends..." "Z no, your poems are great, use one of your own. I insist." Samnang said, frowning to his best friend. He moved some still-damp bangs away from his face. He worked a long shift that day and by the time he got home, Kali had been in the shower. His sister, knowing he was in a hurry, characteristically decided to take her sweet time, and he had only just gotten to Z's place after about fifteen text messages from Z telling him to just pull his sister out or shower with her because he didn't want to drive. His clothes showed his rush, regretfully, and instead of one of the random (though toned-down) costumes he liked to wear, whether to embarrass Z or encourage him, he'd never let the other man know, and instead he was just in skinny jeans, a simple dark green shirt, and a short sleeve vest that was from his older brother and loose fitting at best. Z settled on a light blue t shirt and a dulled yellow jacket, zipping it up halfway and pulling the sleeves up so just his fingers were showing. "Okay, let's go." He said with a small sigh to Samnang. The trip to the coffee shop was pretty quiet for the two of them, but Z was spending his time going through his phone and trying to decide which poem was "qualified" enough. When they got into the coffee shop, Z's head was still buried in his phone when he noticed Samnang wave to someone, and he finally looked up and put his phone in his pocket, giving the two men in line a shy smile. "Did you guys get a table yet?" Samnang asked Sungyong with a smile.
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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 May 4, 2015 18:38:07 GMT -8
Hwangjung was slightly startled when the two other men came up to them, one of them greeting Sungyong, because he'd been pretty sure that Sungyong had done the thing where he was so worried about them being late that they got there incredibly early. It was a fairly recurring thing. He smiled pleasantly when Sungyong turned from their place in line and beamed at the taller of the two men. Sungyong said, "Samnang! Hi! No, we were ordering something first, and I was hoping to spot you before we went in search of a table."
Hwangjung nodded, feeling momentarily awkward at Sungyong's side, but Sungyong looked over at him, and with a gesture added, "This is one of my best friends and roommates, Hwangjung. He let me drag him along today."
Hwangjung smiled at the other two, a little bit more comfortable and happy to have been dragged along already. He said, "Nice to meet you Samnang, and..." He trailed off, not knowing the shorter man's name. He smiled slightly awkwardly, biting his lip for just a second because he didn't know quite what to say. The shorter of the two was cute too, and he hoped that he hadn't just made a horrible impression or something.
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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 May 5, 2015 18:05:34 GMT -8
"Jiuk." Z said, giving a slightly awkward and extending his hand. He gave Samnang a curious look, he honestly didn't know many other Koreans. In fact he recalled as a child he thought he and his mom were "the last of their kind" or something like that (it had been after he watched too many movies with that as a theme, though, so he chalked it up to that now). Still, his school had more Chinese kids than Koreans, and for reasons he wouldn't understand until only recently, they never liked him hanging around because he wasn't full Korean. He wondered how these two were. They didn't seem stuck up, they didn't have that air about them. "I'm glad you two could come." He half-lied. He was comfortable with his friends around, it calmed his nerves of being on stage and his stutter was less prominent. Now there two fairly attractive strangers who were going to determine how good of a poet he was based off how he performed tonight, and that him a bit nervous. But he knew Samnang meant well, maybe even too well, so he'd try to be good. Samnang looked behind them, making sure no one got in line behind the other two before lining up behind them. "We can find a table after we get our drinks and stuff." He suggested to the other two. He smiled to HwangJung, "I'm glad you could make it. I hope you enjoy tonight."
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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 May 5, 2015 21:55:31 GMT -8
Hwangjung smiled full on, though his teeth hadn't quite yet left his lower lip, and his eyes closed partway following the movement of his smile. He replied, "Then it's nice to meet you Jiuk." He tilted his head a bit to the side, maintaining the smile as he took Jiuk's hand to shake it slightly, squeezing very lightly before letting go. He added, "I'm sure that this will be fun. I like listening to people make art with words because it's not one of the creative fields that I'm that good at. One of these days I'm really going to have to find a lyricist to work with." He rubbed at the back of his neck, slightly awkward for a moment, and glanced over at Sungyong.
Sungyong moved forward as the last people in front of them finished placing their orders, and he put his hand on Hwangjung's elbow to give him a little push forwards. Before stepping up to the desk, Sungyong said to Samnang, "That sounds like about what I was thinking, especially since I was hoping we'd find you before trying to find a table."
Sungyong placed his order quickly, "An, um, medium chai, please." Then he squeezed Hangjung's elbow again lightly before dropping his hand, and Hwangjung added, "And a medium hot chocolate please."
After Sungyong paid, since he was the one who had dragged Hwangjung out of the house that made it his turn, they went over to the area where the drinks would come out to wait for their drinks and the other two men. As soon as they weren't right by the other two, Hwangjung muttered in very quiet Korean to Sungyong, "Your friend's friend is really cute."
Sungyong chuckled slightly and returned quietly, "I'd have warned you if I'd known, maybe it would have made dragging you along easier."
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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 May 6, 2015 12:46:04 GMT -8
Z smiled, feeling it was more awkward than it probably actually was. He thought about his next words but didn't quite get them out before it was time for them to order. SungYong and Hwangjung had gone first, and Z realized he hadn't really thought about what he wanted yet. He stared at the menu, trying to ignore the fact his cheeks felt a bit hot, as they tended to when he met new, attractive people. Samnang was grinning an all-too teasing grin for Z's liking, and he elbowed the taller boy in the ribs before approaching the register. "Can I have a small white mocha with an extra shot?" He asked the cashier. Normally he'd just get a large, but his nerves were always unpredictable on his stomach on the days of poetry slams. Samnang ordered a large mocha, letting Z pay before lightly guiding him to where the other two were waiting for their drinks. Z looked to Hwangjung, his head swaying with a bit of extra flair to get hair out of his eyes. "So then do you write music?" He asked, his eyes wide. He was always envious of Samnang because the younger man seemed to have a knack for easily learning things like writing music.
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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 May 8, 2015 1:51:24 GMT -8
Hwangjung nodded earnestly to Jiuk's question and replied, "Yeah, mostly some pop song and some sort of pop-rock things, but people started buying them from me a few years back, so I figure I'm doing something right, even if I still have to work a day--well, night--job." He paused for a moment and added as clarification, "Um, I'm a bartender." He stopped talking not sure what else to say, then decided to go with, "So when did you start doing slam poetry?"
Sungyong twisted around a little bit, stretching and wincing a little bit at the tension in his bad leg, and since Hwangjung seemed to actually be trying to hold a conversation with Jiuk, he turned to Samnang and said, "It is somehow strange standing on this side of the counter in a coffee shop. Though I'm glad at this point I will be able to sit down soon. I feel like I've been on my feet practically constantly since the start of my shift this morning at seven in the morning. I mean, I guess I got to sit down for getting my skates off and on, but that was about it. How did the rest of your day go?"
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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 May 8, 2015 16:44:08 GMT -8
"Oh wow, really?" Z asked Hwangjung, looking as amazed as he felt. Not even Samnang had managed to sell any of the music he preferred to call "nothing special." He mused at the thought of actually selling one of his works, and it seemed like a foreign concept to him, even though people sold poetry all the time. He'd probably use poetry to write a story, like one of his favorite authors, Ellen Hopkins. That'd be an interesting book. He drifted back to the now, realizing he was asked a question. "My um... junior year of high school. Some new friends introduced me to it and gave me the confidence to write my own, but I'd been interested in poetry since I was young." He explained, suddenly finding himself feeling awkward again for some reason. Maybe it was because of the type of poem. All his other friends knew all his poems, they knew his past, but these would be two new people he'd literally just met finding out his darkest secrets today.
Samnang chuckled at Sungyong's comment. "No kidding. But I'm often on this side too. I live for coffee." He smiled, giving a small shrug to answer the other man's question as his eyes drifted to check on Z, who seemed to be doing alright, even lacking his stutter. He decided to stay near the smaller as if to keep Z's confidence up. "Nothing too exciting. Worked forever, finally got home, fought my sister for the bathroom to clean up, and now I'm here." He said with a small laugh.
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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 May 9, 2015 21:40:25 GMT -8
Hwangjung blushed a little bit, barely noticeable, and nodded, hand going to the back of his neck, "Yeah, it's not many things yet, but hopefully eventually." Feeling a little bit uncomfortably like he was bragging somehow, he tried to bring the conversation back onto Jiuk, "Who are some of your favorite poets then? I like reading poetry too, though I've been kind of immersed in music my entire life, so I'm always up for recommendations." He glanced over at Sungyong, trying to figure out why his usually more socially smooth friend wasn't helping him here, and Sungyong gave him a subtle wink. Hwangjung resisted the urge to sigh, wondering if maybe he shouldn't have told Sungyong that he thought Jiuk was cute, but realizing also that it would have been kind of pointless because Sungyong was good at noticing these things.
Sungyong nodded as Samnang spoke, replying, "I am not sure what I was thinking with my schedule today honestly, with a back to back double shift at Starbucks followed by a full set of skating lessons. Actually no, I know what I was thinking, I just am not sure it was an actually good idea." He smiled again, glancing over at the other two and winking at Hwangjung, knowing that Hwangjung probably wasn't fully appreciating Sungyong's attempt to let him socialize, and maybe flirt a bit. He looked at Samnang, wondering if his coworker was doing the same thing as he was, but not sure if he should ask. Before he could decide, their drinks came to the counter in short succession. Sungyong scooped his drink up and asked to all of the others, though mainly directed towards Samnang, "So where would be good to sit?"
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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 May 10, 2015 12:27:36 GMT -8
"Good luck then!" Z told Hwangjung encouragingly. He thought carefully about the next question, not even answering it until he noticed their drinks were beginning to show up on the bar. "Quite honestly, I really only pay attention to slam poets on Youtube these days. I used to be really involved in reading books in poems, but I can't recall any of the authors I used to read, except for the common ones like Shel Silverstein or Dr. Seuss. But for slam poetry, there are a lot of poets from Button Poetry I've really gotten attached to. Alex Dang, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Phil Kaye.... Probably nobodies to most anyone, quite honestly." He explained. It was true, at some point in college, he just seemed to hit a wall with reading, probably because as an English major he had to do so much of it. He wanted to try reading more, but work didn't really provide him the luxury of down time and typically he was swept away to hang out with friends once he got off. He figured he should try to get back into reading, maybe he'd visit the library sometime this week or something.
"Yikes, that's harsh." Samnang agreed, gritting his teeth. His eyes followed SungYong's, and he gave the other man a knowing grin. A long time ago, he had promised Z he'd never try to set him up with anyone. But that was only a year after Xavier had died, and Samnang could actually feel bad about it because it was too soon, it was like trying to pick a scab off a fresh wound. But now, Z would make comments he didn't used to hear, about cute guys, about having crushes. Samnang figured the worse thing that could come from today would be them making more friends to add to the group. The best thing being Z would be able to get a new boyfriend. Samnang's heart twinged a bit at the knowledge that his best friend getting a boyfriend would mean a little less time for him, but it was a sacrifice he'd make to see his best friend truly happy again. He took his drink from the counter and looked around. I think I see a table over near where it looks like they're planning to have the stage." Samnang noted, pointing over to a smaller table, though it still had four seats for them.
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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 May 11, 2015 22:28:23 GMT -8
Hwangjung nodded as Jiuk told him names of slam poets he liked and said, trying to convey his genuine interest in what Jiuk was talking about, "I'll try to make a mental note of that, but I may have to ask you again later so that I can look them up." He smiled again, with a slight head tilt. Before he had a chance to say more, the drinks came out, and he grabbed his off the counter as well. When Samnang pointed out a table, he nodded along and looked to Sungyong to make the next call.
Sungyong looked at the table that Samnang had pointed out and nodded, saying, "That should hold all of us fine, and it looks like we won't be in danger of tripping anyone or anything." He started heading towards the little table so that they would grab it before anyone else had a chance to take the table or one of the seats sitting near it.
As he also started heading towards the table, Hwangjung asked Jiuk, "So about how much time do we have until we get to see you perform? Sungyong has a tendency to be absurdly early to everything, so I never really feel like I know when stuff he drags me to will start."
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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 May 17, 2015 12:26:58 GMT -8
Z smiled to HwangJung, giving him a nod as they all began walking toward the table. He sipped on his coffee, glancing to the taller man as he was asked another question. He pulled out his phone, glancing at it quickly for the time before pushing it back into his pocket. "Um, I think they said it started in about ten minutes." He paused to set his drink down on the table and get situated. "I'm not the first one to go, though, so I'm not sure how long until I go up. I think I'm fifth or something like that..." He gave a small smile, about to comment when Samnang said basically the same thing: "So does Z." Z nudged the other boy and gave a more sheepish grin to Hwangjung. "I just don't like being late, so I tend to end up being extremely early instead."
Samnang sat down, attempting to not bring attention to himself as he scooted his chair to the point where Z had to move closer to Hwangjung. He gave a cunning smile to Sungyong through a hand over his mouth, hoping the look he noticed on Sungyong earlier was what he thought.
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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 May 17, 2015 22:19:08 GMT -8
Hwangjung nodded to Jiuk's sheepish comment and said, "It not a bad thing. I'd probably be late to things a lot more if Sungyong didn't have this habit. Our other roommate probably would be too." He was slightly startled with how close Jiuk seemed to sit to him, though the table was small, and he smiled at the other man a little bit, leaning just a little bit towards him in his seat. He added, "Well, I'm definitely looking forward to hearing your poem, but I'm hoping that the entire show will be fun, so about ten more minutes doesn't sound bad. It gives us a little bit more chance to talk."
He took a few more sips of his drink and fished out his phone, fiddling with it for a second, before pulling up a note on it and sort of holding it towards Jiuk, "Could you note down the slam poets you mentioned earlier, so I can look them up later?" He smiled a little bit awkwardly, head tilting to the side again, deciding that it was still a little bit too soon to ask for Jiuk's number, since the other man seemed a little bit awkward as well.
Sungyong noticed Samnang's small maneuver to get Jiuk to sit closer to Hwangjung and smirked at him a little bit. He decided to do his own part by sprawling a little bit into his friend's space, making sure that Hwangjung didn't try to scoot the other way out of politeness, not that his friend seemed to need much help in the actually wanting to sit close to Jiuk front. He asked Samnang, "So, any idea when we'll be on shift together again? It's nice to have people a little closer to me in age than some of the high schoolers to converse with. I know that college schedule can be a pain on having a regular shift set though."
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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 May 22, 2015 18:46:00 GMT -8
"Oh,sure." Z replied, carefully taking the phone from Hwangjung and typing down the name of any slam poet that came to mind, keeping them under the category of Button Poetry. He smiled, handing back the phone after he finished and ignoring the small flip of his stomach at the reminder that he was soon going to give his inner most secrets to people that were going to hopefully be his friends. He just gave Hwangjung an awkward smile, "I'm sure the other poets will be great!"
Samnang shrugged, sliding his phone out of his pocket amd pulling up the picture he took of the schedule. "It looks like it will be... on Tuesday?" He guessed, his eyes scanning over the zoomed in picture.
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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 May 25, 2015 1:01:56 GMT -8
Hwangjung looked over the list of poets and smiled, typing in recommendations from jiuk on the top line and tapping the save button on his phone. He back up at the other man with another smile and said, "I'll be sure to tell you which ones I especially like once I've listened to some of them. Thanks."
He noticed that Jiuk seemed rather nervous and said, "I'll look forward to all of the poets then," he winked and added slightly teasingly, "But you especially since we've already met." He tried not to blush at himself, knowing that his cheeks were probably tinged slightly pink and thinking that saying that had probably been a better idea in his head. He'd always wondered why the one of his group of three with the smoothest social skills in general was the one with no desire to flirt with anyone.
Sungyong nodded and replied, "Cool. Tuesday is my light day. The single Starbucks shift is the only thing on my schedule, though that might change to having a one hour skating session as well very soon. I'm just starting getting a private student who's going to be doing kind of big competitions this year, and I don't know how that schedule will work out. But right now, I've got nothing that afternoon other than picking Tai up from school, which is a rare occurrence."
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