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 25, 2015 16:08:38 GMT -8
Z felt himself blush, covering his face with his sleeves. "I hope I won't disappoint, then." He murmured. His attention was brought to the stage when someone, he could only assume the manager of the cafe, stepped up to the mic. "Tai-?" Samnang was about to question, but then the speakers made a sharp noise, getting the attention of everyone in the coffee shop. He winced and glared over at the person behind the microphone.
The woman behind the microphone gave the audience a sheepish face, offering them an apology. "Alright, so tonight we have a special event. A poetry slam, yay!" She said, clapping enthusiastically although she was holding a paper. "I am the manager, Sally, I just wanted to say thank you all for coming out tonight and I hope you can be greatly supportive of our poets tonight! And please enjoy some coffee beverages, they'll be half off until we close from now on!" With that, she stepped off the makeshift stage, letting the MC come on and introduce the first poet.
"So who's Tai?" Samnang whispered to Sungyong, still genuinely curious about it, and figuring by the time they were all set up for the poems to begin, he'd get at least a simple answer.
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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 Jun 4, 2015 1:58:04 GMT -8
Hwangjung looked over at Jiuk covering his face and narrowly avoided saying outloud, so cute! He was saved from his moment of awkwardly being at a loss for words by the event actually starting, and he tried to turn his focus to the MC. He kept glancing over at Jiuk though, and when there was a pause while the owner stepped down from the stage and the MC went up, he leaned over a bit closer and whispered, "No really, I'm sure you will be great, and it is awesome that you are getting up there and performing."
Sungyong whispered back, "Tai is my other best friend's, Yunjin's, nephew. They're the other people who live with us. Jin-ge's had custody of Tai since Tai was three and Jin-ge was nineteen, Tai's six now, and we were all in college at the time, so we kind of helped raise him. We still do because work schedules are hectic. So he's basically our nephew too. I've got the most flexible schedule though, so I generally end up being the one to pick him up from school."
He glanced up at the stage, seeing that they were nearly set up, but not quite done, and added, "It was a pain talking the scheduling manager into understanding that I could not be scheduled during elementary school pick up times most days 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 Jun 6, 2015 6:46:37 GMT -8
Z hid his face in his sleeve-covered hands, feeling like his cheeks were heating up without him wanting them to. He felt his heartbeat quicken, though he attributed it to the fact that he was going up on stage, not so much from the comment. This always happened to him before going on stage. Nervous even though he knew most people at poetry slams were more supportive than probably almost any other group of people.
Samnang was listening carefully to Sungyong, nodding to show he was paying attention, but at the same time he reached across the table and gave Z a quick little back rub of support. "You're turning into a ball of sweater." He teased his best friend lightly before moving to return his attention to Sungyong.
Z straightened up and swiped at Samnang's hand, just missing him and glaring at the younger boy's smirk.
Samnang nodded, "That sounds like a lot of work. I'm the youngest in my family, I never had to get used to little kids being around." He admitted with a small chuckle. He blinked a couple times, "Yeah, she didn't seem too thrilled when I told her my schedule would be changing every five months or so, either. Like she never went to college or something..." He mused, thinking of their manager.
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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 Jun 6, 2015 20:22:23 GMT -8
Hwangjung watched Jiuk's interaction with Samnang, amused by how similar it was to some of his own interactions with Sungyong and Yunjin. He thought about asking how long the two of them had known each other, but before he had the chance to say more, the announcer went up on the stage, going up to the microphone and checking to see if it was adjusted correctly. Hwangjung smiled at Jiuk and whispered one more, "Good luck."
Before the MC finished getting ready, Sungyong responded to Samnang, "Hwannie and I are both only children, and we were the youngest around Yunjin and Yunjia. We were eighteen when Yunjin got custody of Tai. It was definitely an experience in growing up fast. Trying to take care of a kid around undergrad and two jobs is an adventure that I can't really recommend, though Tai is super important to me, and I'm super glad that we are the ones taking care of him."
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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 Jun 7, 2015 14:00:49 GMT -8
A few poets were before him, so Z took the table's silence as a time to go over his newest poem in his mind to make sure he knew how he'd want to say it, when to make certain inflections, etc. He was around the fifth person to go, so he was also keeping a mental tally on how many poets went before him, his cup not leaving his lips. As the poets continued stepping up to the stage and reciting good poems, he got more and more nervous. He had always felt like most of the people who went up on stage were people who had been practicing poetry for a long time, even years after he started poetry, he felt like he was still the new kid, like now. Even though reason told him it probably wasn't true. Still, the thought always snaked it's way into his brain, and he could practically feel the stutter threatening to come back. He bit his lip as the MC made eye contact with him, and he knew he was about to be called up. He took a deep breath as his name was called, standing up and turning to face the group at the table. "I hope you guys enjoy..." He got out, even managing a smile. Maybe he wasn't as nervous and it was just excitement for once. He walked up to the stage, catching a thumbs up from Samnang and letting out a slight laugh. "Hello. As the... MC said, my name is Z. Um.. I recently wrote the poem I'm going to use tonight, so I hope you enjoy the new material." He gave the audience a smile and adjusted the microphone a bit more, getting into character. "One Kiss. / And sudden pain. / This isn't right / They're dragging to us to an alley. / I know who you are... / I went to your tenth birthday party. / Everyone in our class had been invited, / Because you were the new kid and your mom / Wanted you to make friends. / There was a cross hanging in every room. / We said a prayer before eating the cake. / Eight words. / Why do you care if you're not gay? / At least then, raping me for saying it / Might have made sense. / If you hated yourselves / Then why did you strike my boyfriend / Instead of yourself? / Why did you leave us to die / Instead of believe what some believe / And use God to kill that part of you? / I posted one poem to Youtube. / Someone who must have known me told me / 'I should write a poem on something else.' / But I can't. / I can't because the pain / Of my boyfriend dying / In front of my eyes, / Is not something to easily ignore. / The pain is what brought me to poetry. / That pain is what makes me. / I only got one kiss from him that day. / And still, after years of watching / Those boys who destroyed everything / Get into college, get a job, maybe start families... / All I can think about / Is how many more kisses / I was promised to get that day." He took a breath, trying to steady his emotions. Even though poetry was like its own type of therapy for him, it still brought back memories from that day. He always wondered if when he did his poems, if anyone remembered him from the news. It had been a while now, it happened less often, but looking at the crowd, he saw that some of them were looking at him a bit differently than before his poem, like it was recognition. He practically whispered a "thank you," giving everyone a bow before hiding his face his face in his sleeved hands and sitting at the table.
Samnang bit his lip. With no talent for poems himself, he was always amazed at Z's ability to write. This poem would probably go in his long, and highly biased list, of his favorites from Z. He nudged Z's arm as the smaller boy sat back down, smiling to him softly as he noticed Z was waiting for the opinion from the other two in the group.
OOC: Long post is long.
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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 Jun 10, 2015 1:10:15 GMT -8
Listening to Z's poem, Hwangjung knew that the emotions, shock, sympathy, worry, amazement at the courage to tell something so personal in front of others, must be obvious on his face. He could feel a few tears creeping out of the corners of his eyes, and he was torn between mortification and knowing that at least most artists saw drawing out emotions from their audiences as a good thing. Something, perhaps some small sound, made him glance at Sungyong next to him though, and when he saw his best friend shaking, he though for just a moment, oh shit. While for Hwangjung, Z's poem was heart wrenching and impressive, he knew that Sungyong had to be having a much more personal reaction, not to the same experiences, but a few things that were too close for comfort.
Sungyong had not been expecting the topic of the poem. If he'd been prepared, maybe he'd have been alright, but it took him by surprise, and while Z's poem spoke of different experiences, worse ones, it pulled up painful, hard memories, and Sungyong wasn't really registering where he was for the moment. He was remembering in bits and pieces, the call from the hospital the day that Yunjia had died, when he'd had to walk to the hospital in the rain to get Tai, who'd been in the back seat and was completely find but terrified, and having to be the person to see Yunjia because she had to have her identity confirmed. That had been freshman year of college, and he'd been trying, rather desperately, to be normal, and a few days later, going to the one boyfriend he'd ever had, not counting the weird attempt to date Yunjin in high school, which they both agreed didn't count because it had been confusing, and when he'd wanted to just have someone to cry on who wasn't just as in the middle of the entire mess as his two best friends, having the other young man try to distract him. He pushed the memory away, shaking his head, and trying not to shake too hard, but he also was suddenly concerned that he was going to throw up. He glanced around the table, seeing Hwangjung's concerned look, and Z's worry at the reception of his poem. He mumbled, "It was, really, I..." and then stood and slipped off in the direction of the restrooms, not managing to say more, worrying all the while that that had been rude.
Hwangjung knew that he needed to go after his best friend, but Sungyong would already be mortified, and worried about hurting the feelings of a potential new friend. He turned towards Z more fully, and tentatively, lightly, put a hand on his arm and said, "Your poem was amazing, and I don't think that I know many people who would have the courage to put something that personal out there like that." He tried to make the sincerity in the compliment clear, adding, "Sungyong, he wasn't running because he thought that you were horrible or shouldn't have told that, or something, but I had better go find him. He should be OK in a bit. Um, you were amazing." He glanced over at Samnang and asked pleadingly, "Please don't disappear while I go collect him, I think he'd end up feeling even worse, and well, we'll be back pretty soon?"
He stood, waiting a moment to try to hear any response before trailing after his best friend to try to make sure that he was alright.
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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 Jun 12, 2015 16:34:13 GMT -8
Z and Samnang looked silently as the scene unfolded with Sungyong and Hwangjung. Z peeked his eyes from behind his mask of his hands and sleeves and looked after the two. "I-That's never happened before..." Z mused. Samnang moved quickly to sit in the seat next to Z, , pulling the smaller man close to cuddle him. "I don't know what happened to them, but some poems can bring back memories. Some people, like you, use it as a type of therapy, while others, like Sungyong apparently, it brings up too many emotions. Don't worry. We didn't know. And that was a rather moving poem there, Z." He said, petting Z's hair. "We can only hope we'll get some semblance of an explanation when they get back." He assured Z. Z hummed a response, chewing on his sweater sleeve as he looked worriedly at the door to the bathroom.
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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 Jun 17, 2015 0:03:57 GMT -8
By the time Hwangjung made it to the little hallway that the bathrooms were set in, Sungyong was coming back out, clearly shaking a bit, and wiping water away from his mouth. He didn't notice Hwangjung right away, leaning against the wall out of view of the main part of the room and clearly trying to even out his breathing. Hwangjung leaned on the wall against him, not quite touching yet and said softly, "Hey, you going to be OK?"
Sungyong took a few more deep breaths before nodding and scooting a little bit closer to Hwangjung leaning his head on his friend's shoulder lightly. He said softly, "I feel kind of awful about the entire thing now. It just, freshman year, that week." He stared down at his feet hoping that Hwangjung would understand and muttered, "I feel like I was kind of horribly rude just now, and it really was a good poem, I just was not ready for it."
Hwangjung reached up and patted Sungyong's hair lightly. He replied, "I'm pretty sure that it will be OK. And you can say that you're sorry for running off, but his poem was moving enough to trigger some memories of your own. I'm pretty sure that someone who writes poems like that will understand."
Sungyong grimaced a bit but nodded. He took some more deep breaths and then said, "OK, I can do this. C-can you just go out first?"
Hwangjung nodded and reached over to squeeze his friend's hand lightly. He led the way back over to the table carefully, staying close to the walls so that they wouldn't be in an area that too many people were staring at. He was a bit relieved that while they'd been standing there in the hall, a short intermission had started. Z looked upset though, which he felt bad for and knew wasn't going to make Sungyong feel any happier with the situation. When they got back to the table, Hwangjung smiled at the other two and said softly, "Sorry we were gone so long."
Sungyong nodded from still slightly behind him, clearly still a little bit shaken, and allowed Hwangjung to gently push him at his chair. He added very softly, "I'm sorry I, um, ran off. Z your poem was really good, I just, well, it set off some memories that I mostly try not to think about too much, and I guess I wasn't, well, prepared. I'm sorry that I wasn't able to be a very good audience member."
He delivered the entire little speech staring at his hands shaking a bit on the table, and Hwangjung put an arm around his friend's shoulders and squeezed lightly, glancing over at the other two in hopes that he'd been right about the explanation making enough sense for them. He could tell that Sungyong half just wanted to leave he was so embarrassed, but Hwangjung didn't want to leave on a bad note with the rare person that Sungyong seemed to actively be interested in befriending. He managed not to hold his breath while waiting to see how they would respond, but it was a bit of an effort.
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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 Jun 19, 2015 16:56:10 GMT -8
Z gave Sungyong a relieved but apologetic smile. "No, it's alright. It... It surprised me a bit but I know sometimes I make my poems a bit... raw." He grasped for the right words. "I've made little Sammy cry too." He said, nudging Samnang as he teased the other boy lightly.
Samnang blushed slightly. "Who you callin' little, you're tiny compared to me." He grumbled, hiding his face.
Z bit back a smile and turned back to Sungyong and Hwangjung. "Really, it's not a big deal. I'm sure everyone has something, no matter how small or big, they don't want to be reminded of. Some people use poetry to go head on into their trauma and face it, and others don't like poetry for that exact reason, while others still tend to avoid certain topics. My poetry kind of covers quite a few sensitive topics, bullying, rape, death..." His eyes glazed over a bit as he stared seemingly past the two other men, as if not really seeing them, "... so I'm not upset if it makes someone else upset. I just feel kind of bad. Like, I should've warned you guys of the topics..." He explained, playing with the end of his sweater sleeve when he finished and not looking at any of 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 Jun 22, 2015 1:40:39 GMT -8
Hwangjung felt Sungyong relax a little bit beside him, and he felt relieved in turn. Sungyong chuckled a little bit, though it sounded a bit dry and difficult to get out, and replied, "Well consider me forewarned for the future then. A bit of warning," he paused trying to think of a diplomatic way of phrasing his next comment, "a bit of warning probably wouldn't have hurt, but it's not like you were the only poet here, and you don't know me or my history well enough to have any idea that I might have appreciated some sort of warning. No harm done other than some unpleasant memories, and I'll be OK."
Hwangjung was relieved to see a genuine smile on Sungyong's face directed at Z. It probably helped matters that Sungyong didn't like seeing other people distressed, so he was trying his best to be reassuring for their new friend. Hwangjung had to restrain the urge to chuckle over the height grumbling between Z and Samnang though because he and Sungyong were taller than both of them, but Sungyong clearly saw it as a way to lighten the mood a touch, adding, "And plus, I'm willing to bet that on the crying front, Hwannie manages to be ahead, and he's the tallest, so there clearly isn't a correlation with little and crying."
Hwangjung rolled his eyes and poked his friend in the side, "Yes, I cried, and you know that that happens way more easily than I'd like." He was smiling as he said it though, turning the smile hopefully towards Samnang and Z. His eyes paused on Z messing with his sweater, and he couldn't help but think that the slightly too long sleeves that Z kept messing with just added to the other man's cuteness.
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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 Jun 23, 2015 15:14:41 GMT -8
Z looked to the two other men with a smile. Next time was good. Next time meant despite this, they'd want to come again. "Then next time..." He paused. "Actually I really do tend to just talk about the same event over and over." He realized, biting his lower lip. "Though there was one time I performed a poem for Sam-" He began, but at Samnang's obviously-hopeful subtle grimace, he stopped his sentence. Of course, Z thought to himself. It's our first time all gathering and I try to give that of all things away. Z mentally smacked himself. "Uh.. I-I um.. Up until recently I just borrowed poems I really liked. With full credit to the original poets, of course. I usually just recited my favorite poem..." He murmered. Samnang patted Z on the shoulder. He wasn't worried what the other two would say about his biological gender, in fact a part of him felt like Hwangjung and Sungyong were the types to embrace it if anything, but he just simply wasn't ready to say anything yet. Maybe after meeting them a few more times, sure, but not yet.
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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 Jul 1, 2015 0:11:08 GMT -8
Hwangjung was a bit relieved for the next round of poets to start going up because it gave them a natural lull in conversation. Sungyong relaxed in stages next to him, and fortunately for his ability to socialize afterwards, none of the other poets went into territory that messed with his head. Partway through the set, he nudged Hwangjung to scoot his chair so that there would be more even seating and Hwangjung would be sitting closer to Z again. Hwangjung poked his friend in the side to show that he realized that Sungyong was meddling, but he didn't really object, and he glanced over at Z tentatively, wondering what he should say afterwards.
He fiddled with his phone briefly, glancing over the list that he'd gotten from Z. He knew that there was a good chance that they'd all meet up again because Sungyong worked with Samnang and they seemed to be getting on pretty well, but he didn't want to lose the chance at a friend, maybe someone he'd eventually want to ask out from what he'd seen so far, though that seemed like ground to tread pretty carefully in. He flipped open a new note on his phone and typed in quickly, "I don't know if you or Samnang is old enough, but most evenings, I bartend at Redz, and I totally get to offer friends a free drink every now and then. I'd love--" he paused and deleted a few words, "I'd like to get the chance to see you again, and it's a reliable place I can be found, since Sungyong and my schedules don't always mesh, so I don't want to rely fully on him for coordinating things." He hesitated for a moment and then added, "I can give you my phone number if you want?" Blushing something fierce, he put his phone on the table and scooted it over to Z as one poet was coming down from the stage and the next was about to head up, since that seemed like the most polite time to pass a note.
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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 Jul 4, 2015 7:15:59 GMT -8
Z was paying more attention to the poet than the people at his table, and when he glanced to the others, he was surprised to see Samnang looking down near him and practically grinning from ear to ear, at least mentally. In reality, it was a small smirk, barely noticeable by anyone who didn't really know Samnang well. Z followed the younger boy's gaze down and almost seemed a bit startled to see Hwangjung's phone in front of him. He poked the screen to keep it on, reading the little note the older man had given him. He poked the screen again, bringing up the keyboard. He typed slowly, I'm old enough, but Samnang's only 19. I'd like to see you again, too, so I'll just give you my number now. He poked each letter with one finger from each hand sticking out from his sweater, adding in his phone number. He had also originally typed "love to see you again," unbeknowest that HwangJung had done the same thing. He then slid the phone back to HwangJung after the next poet finished, feeling his cheeks were a bit warmer than he'd have preferred.
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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 Jul 4, 2015 17:55:39 GMT -8
Hwangjung couldn't help but grin as he read the response that Z had typed. He flipped to the contacts section of his phone, and opened up a new contact entry. As the next poet left the stage, he tapped Z's shoulder slightly and passed him the phone, whispering, "I can text you so you have my number too."
Sungyong finally noticed the little phone exchange and raised and eyebrow in his best friend's direction. Hwangjung clearly wasn't paying him any attention, so he scooted a little bit around the table to see if he could either get a better view or attract Samnang's attention and see if he knew what the exchange had been about. Samnang did seem to be smiling a bit, so he was definitely curious. Sungyong nudged Samnang very lightly with his elbow and looked at what the other two were doing pointedly before raising an eyebrow, trying to convey, "What's going on" without actually saying it.
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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 Jul 7, 2015 16:11:05 GMT -8
Z turned to face Hwangjung, giving him a small smile. "Sure." He agreed simply. He felt a bit awkward. Was this flirting? He couldn't even tell anymore. He finished his drink, making a face as it was now cold, and glanced back to the stage. Luckily, the MC was saying they were winding down for the night since the shop had to close in about an hour, but there'd be a short break before the poetry slam was actually over. Z swallowed, shifting so he was back to facing the table.
Samnang was about to speak, letting Sungyong know what was happening between their friends, when the attention was brought back to people at tables rather than on a stage. He pulled out his phone, quickly typing. Hwangjung asked Z to exchange phone numbers. Sounds like they're planning to meet up again, maybe at the bar Hwangjung works at. Couldn't tell for Hwangjung, but Z totally wrote he'd 'love to see him again' before erasing it and typing 'like' instead. btw I'm a total snoop for my best friend, if you didn't notice. lol He smiled as he showed Sungyong his own phone, his smile dropping as he feigned innocent as Z glared at him.
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