Raein was browsing Craiglist again to see if any new roommate want ads popped up. His friend had mentioned that would the best way to find something affordable. But so far, none of them were near enough or he'd send the ad to his friend to check over for sketchiness because, in his friend's words, he was untrustworthy at judging that sort of thing. He saw an ad specifically for Cedar Beach, and his breath hitched. He read through the ad. It seemed legit. He huffed, making a mocking face as he muttered, "you don't know how to spot good ads from bad ones... Aish I can do it myself!" He half yelled at his friend, who would definitely not hear him all the way in Olympia. He moved some hair out of his eyes and carefully sent an email, wondering how people typically started emails from things like Craigslist Ads. He debated for a second looking up "Craigslist response etiquette" before deciding that was stupid and just winging it.


'To: 23445687867432c5768@craigslist.com
From: raein29@gmail.com
Subject: Seeking Roommate for Ocean Breeze Apartments 2bd/2ba Cedar Beach WA

Hello. I'm also looking for a roommate in the Cedar Beach area, and I'm willing to split 50/50 for a two bedroom at Ocean Breeze.

A bit about me:
- also Korean American
- also early-mid 20s
- middle school teacher
- like reading, hikes, exploring, cooking

I hope to hear back from you soon!'

It was only after he hit send he realized he forgot to put his name anywhere in the email. "Oops." He muttered to himself. He moved further up on the bed so he could charge his phone, scrolling Facebook while waiting for a reply, wondering if he'd even get one. He had sent an email to another person advertising a room, but it was going on a week since he'd heard from them, so he'd given up hope. It'd be cool to room with another teacher, though.

((OOC: Aish is Korean for like, "damn" or "ugh."))

Raein was pleasantly surprised when he got a reply back pretty quickly, reading over it and then gong to maps to see how far he was from the boba tea shop this Wooram had mentioned. He went back to the email,

'Yeah, I'm free today. GPS says that boba shop is super close to where I'm staying, so maybe we can meet up in,' he paused and look at his clothes, making a face. He was still in his pajamas that he'd been wearing since yesterday night, 'about an hour?' That would give him time to get in a quick shower and choose clothes that weren't... a tank top and pajama pants.

It was only after he hit send, again, that he noticed, again he forgot to put his name in the email, running his hands through his hair. He was already in the shower when his mind seemed to process the signature that was attached to Wooram's email. It reminded him of his favorite teacher from high school. He wondered if Wooram was queer or just supportive. He convinced himself it was probably the latter, but even then, that was good. Maybe one day he'd actually get the nerve to come out to someone. Sure, it'd be weird if it was his roommate he'd only known for a short amount of time, but it was still someone.

He got out of the shower and dried off, looking at the email and ad again. It didn't say anything about LGBTQ+ on the ad, so he probably was just supportive. Raein always got his hopes up too quickly, and then was always too scared to actually say anything. Despite being far away from the town now, he couldn't help but wonder what could happen to him if people knew, and it still scared him. Perhaps living with someone he knew was accepting would help to ease that. Perhaps.

He realized he'd been lost in thought too long, and now only had about 20 minutes left to get ready. He let out a short screech as he realized the time and went to brush his hair, then pulled out a nice, new v-neck shirt and new jeans his friends had bought him just before he moved into the motel. He hadn't had the chance to wear either item yet, so he double checked for tags he missed taking off before putting them on. He brushed his teeth quickly and double checked he had the room key and his wallet and phone before heading out.

Raein was just out the door when he finally noticed there was a new email notification. He opened it and brought a hand to his face, wondering if he was blushing or if the sun just hit his face. "Oh no he's so cute." He muttered to himself. He started walking, shaking his arms as if that would shake away his insecurities and flustered feelings. "What the hell is a selca?" He wondered as an after thought. He got more curious the longer he thought over the email. "Is it some... city slang I don't know?" He wondered to himself, lost in thought but luckily auto-using GPS to get him to his destination.

The boba tea shop was slightly crowded, but not to an overwhelming amount. He looked around for the cute boy in the picture from outside as he headed in, finally spotting him at one of the tables. He took a few deep breaths before practically squeaking, "hi," he cleared his throat, and his voice almost went back to normal, "um, are you Wooram? I'm the one from the Craiglist ad. My name is Raven. Or Raein, whichever." He babbled, realizing this could be his chance to get more use from his Korean name.

"Um... Yeah, likewise. Um, nice to meet you as well." Jeez, was this what he got for knowing the same people since preschool? A severe lack of social skills? Raein cleared his throat again and nodded, "I uh... Yeah, I'd like to get a drink..." He paused, looking at the menu, then glanced back to Wooram. "Do you have any um... suggestions?" He'd only had boba tea once before, and his friend had ordered for him, so he couldn't remember what he got. Whatever it was, it had been good, though. He was still warming up to tapioca pearls, but they weren't bad.

"Oh... I see." Raein listened to Wooram's suggestions and thought it over. He knew what his friend had ordered wasn't purple, so at least he could eliminate one things off the menu. Perhaps his friend had ordered him normal milk tea, as he couldn't recall the drink having a particularly fruity flavor to it. By the time he got up to the front of the line he hadn't fully committed to one drink, and had to pause as he was ordering before finally deciding on a strawberry milk tea with... whatever strawberry popping bubbles were.

He waited near the pick up counter until his drink was done, and he tried it curiously before deciding it was good, if not a bit sweet, but he didn't care because he wanted to talk with Wooram more. He was even cuter in person, though, and it was making him flustered. That, and forgetting how to actually meet someone considering the last time he did so was probably his group of friends now living in Olympia. 'Get yourself together, it's not like high school was really that long ago!' He scolded himself mentally, pulling out the chair across from Wooram and sitting down in a hopefully casual way.

Raein sipped on his drink while Wooram talked, happy the other man was willing to start up conversation. "Um..." He began, finally taking his lips off his straw and to speak. "Yeah, I'm new. I um... Grew up in an extremely small town about ten miles south of the Canadian border in Eastern Washington, then moved to Olympia to live with some friends while I did my student teaching, then got a job here. I moved up about two or three weeks ago." He explained. He found it kind of odd that Wooram mentioned he needed to be in a place where he could walk or take the bus to work, but at least knew well enough not to ask about it yet. "Uh, I've never been to Korea, but my grandparents spoke Korean with me, so I'm fairly comfortable with speaking it." He added.

Raein's eyes widened as he heard Wooram speak what he was fairly sure was Korean, but he felt like he didn't understand any of it. He'd only ever heard his family speak Korean, and if not them, then traditional singers from his grandparent's cassette tapes and CDs. "Uhh... yeah let's stick with English." He replied quickly, looking away and fidgeting a bit.

"If it weren't for my grandparents, I'd probably know very little Korean. My mom is from Korea, but since we were in such a small town, she didn't force me or my brother to learn." He fidgeted a little more, playing with the lid of his cup. "But when I started becoming bilingual, I think she was actually really happy. So I kept at it."

He thought over the last question before shrugging, "I admittedly haven't thought much of it, for looking for a roommate... Uh, I guess someone who's clean? And not too loud." He thought over what annoyed him when he lived with his friends. "I guess someone who doesn't like, leave their dishes in the sink for like a week, or..." His face hardened a bit, "I'd really rather not cook. My family runs a restaurant, and when I was in Olympia I cooked and cleaned in exchange for not paying rent since it was during my student teaching. I'm sick of cooking. I mean I'll cook sometimes, or for myself, but I'd really like to not be the sole cook."