UW Student/Baker at Chinese Bakery.
homosexual.
single.
06/15/2001.
22.
Snake (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Julin Woo on Aug 2, 2021 17:54:30 GMT -8
Julin couldn't believe the temperatures were like this. He'd been living here since he was about 10 and this summer had already broken 100-year old records. But now it was in the 80s every day for the last week and he was reaching the end of his rope. His phone said it was supposedly 89F today. Which was Too Hot on many levels. He knew if he went home, he'd just stare at a wall, perhaps watch TikToks, until he was thoroughly sure his brain had melted and no amount of water was helping. He'd opened his windows in the apartment before leaving that morning, but now all the hot air had also got in, and probably no less than about 10 bugs. He got off the bus a couple stops early, and made his way into the library. He breathed a sigh of relief as the air conditioner hit his face. Even at just a couple steps in, he could tell he wasn't the only one to have this idea, the library was full of people. He wandered around until he found an empty table, it was in the children's section, but the table was one of the average sized ones, and it was sort of tucked away from the most popular books, so it was relatively quiet. He pulled out his homework and opened the textbook to the chapter they were told to read. ((Tags: Baian Tan )) |
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Assistant Librarian.
Gay. Polyam..
Married to Minglong.
08/09/1996.
25.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Baian Tan on Aug 2, 2021 19:43:45 GMT -8
Baian was deeply relieved for the air conditioning in the library during the hot spell, especially since the hottest days were looking to line up with his work week. It had been especially busy with the heat though, many people coming to the library to escape it. Even so, especially with the pool being open and next door, the children's section was less busy than it could have been.
Partway through the day, Baian was surprised to see an erstwhile regular to the teen section who he hadn't seen in months, either at the library or at the temple where they'd sometimes crossed paths. Julin Woo, name memorable to him from the regular's card because Julin shared an exact name with his Korean grandmother, which had struck him the first time he'd checked out a book to the young man.
As he walked by the table, he glanced down at what Julin was doing, university homework it looked like. He smiled at him, and said, "It's good to see you back Julin, let me know if I can help you get anything for your work. The library's hectic today, but you've managed to find the quiet corner."
He hoped that it wouldn't be strange that he knew a patron by name, especially not one he'd helped and sort of nudged books towards in the teen section a good number of times. And he had his own name displayed on his name badge, so it wasn't like the young man couldn't reference who he was.
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UW Student/Baker at Chinese Bakery.
homosexual.
single.
06/15/2001.
22.
Snake (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Julin Woo on Aug 3, 2021 18:25:01 GMT -8
Julin looked up when he heard his name, "Oh hello again..." He started. He recognized the man as someone he'd seen at the library and also at the temple, but the name was escaping him until he noticed the other's name tag. "Baian." He finished. "Um, yeah, thanks, I'm glad I found this table. I... Uh... It's good to see you again. How has it been at temple?" He asked, feeling vaguely awkward but also wanting to let Baian know he recognized him. He was a little startled to hear his name, though, as he was fairly sure they'd never actually exchanged names before. "How did you know my name?" And how did you say it so well? He asked, only thinking the second half of his question. Baian was clearly of Asian descent, and he vaguely recalled the friends he'd made in China had little trouble with his name, so it could just be a coincidence.
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Assistant Librarian.
Gay. Polyam..
Married to Minglong.
08/09/1996.
25.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Baian Tan on Aug 4, 2021 21:11:46 GMT -8
Baian smiled, glad that Julin did indeed recognize him. He said softly, "Temple's been good. Busy this summer, especially with the heat, because the community center attached at least has AC, and the older part of the building does a decent job of staying cool."
Baian smiled and said, "I've checked things out for you before, and it's on your card, but it stuck in my memory because you share a name with my, um, one of my relatives."
He stumbled over the thought, not wanting to say that it was his grandmother, worried that it might upset the younger man.
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UW Student/Baker at Chinese Bakery.
homosexual.
single.
06/15/2001.
22.
Snake (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Julin Woo on Aug 5, 2021 17:04:47 GMT -8
"That's good." Julin replied. He gestured to his textbook, "I have a lot of homework now that I'm getting more into my major-focused classes, so that on top of work has had me too busy to really attend anything at the temple."
"Ah, right. You have." He said. He looked at Baian as he seemed to struggle how to say a relative shared his name. "I'm guessing it was female relative?" He said lightly. "Though... Julin, to my knowledge, is only really a Korean name, I didn't know you were part Korean?" He asked curiously.
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Assistant Librarian.
Gay. Polyam..
Married to Minglong.
08/09/1996.
25.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Baian Tan on Aug 5, 2021 17:22:32 GMT -8
Baian sighed, relieved that Julin had guessed correctly and only seemed amused. He nodded and said, "My maternal grandmother. She was ethnically Korean, but was born in Jilin Province in China, and lived in Heilongjian Province for most of her life before she and my grandfather moved with their kids to the states when my mom and uncle were in their teens. So I'm ethnically a quarter Korean, quarter Mongolian, and half Manchu. I only speak a smattering of it though."
He hoped that he'd given enough information for that to make sense, and not so much for it to be too much.
He glanced at the textbooks curiously and asked, "Are you attending UW these days?"
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UW Student/Baker at Chinese Bakery.
homosexual.
single.
06/15/2001.
22.
Snake (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Julin Woo on Aug 8, 2021 8:21:25 GMT -8
Julin noted his grandmother must have lived in North Korea, possibly before it was actually called North Korea. He decided to shelve that note away fro later, perhaps when he got to know Baian more, if that ever happened. "Wow, that's cool." He said, actually interested but having to stop himself from asking more about it.
He looked down at his textbook and nodded. "Yeah. I'm studying to become a social worker."
The curiosity was killing him too much, and he sighed and played with his pen. "Sorry if this is... weird to ask... but does that mean your grandmother was from North Korea? Or I guess what is now North Korea..." He waved a hand and added quickly, "You don't have to answer if it's weird or something, I'm just curious."
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Assistant Librarian.
Gay. Polyam..
Married to Minglong.
08/09/1996.
25.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Baian Tan on Aug 20, 2021 12:05:04 GMT -8
Baian grinned and said, "That's an important program to be studying. I've gotten the chance to work with some of the social workers that we coordinate with for the teen and children's sections a little bit, and they do really good work. Maybe you'll be one of them in a few years."
When Julin asked his question about North Korea, Baian got curious, but Julin seemed nervous, and Baian figured it was something to approach cautiously. He said, "She was born in China herself, Jilin Province, the one right across the border from the Korean peninsula, but her parents, who died before I was born, were from what is now North Korea, but they moved into China when they were very young themselves, so well before the Korean War, in the 1920s I believe, maybe the 1930s."
He left his tone open, hoping it would encourage Julin to say more. Baian was in a lull in his own duties, and he could see most of the children's section, including the help desk, well from here, so he'd be able to see if someone was seeking his assistance.
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UW Student/Baker at Chinese Bakery.
homosexual.
single.
06/15/2001.
22.
Snake (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Julin Woo on Aug 20, 2021 18:26:40 GMT -8
Julin nodded. "Maybe. I hope to help refugees, or specifically children of refugees." Like I was, he left unspoken. He looked back to Baian as he answered his question about his grandmother. He nodded, "Um, I have family from North Korea, so I was curious." He explained. It wasn't technically a lie, it just wasn't the whole truth. He did wonder if he had any family on South Korea, distant cousins or something like that. He also wondered if he did, what their lives were like. Did they listen to KPop? Did they learn English? Did they even know about the part of their family that was in North Korea? He shook his head, "Anyway, it's cool that you know that much history for your family." He looked away, a lump forming in his throat as he thought about why he didn't know his family's history. He never got the chance to ask his parents before they died, and he had no idea how to access his family records without going to North Korea, which was never going to happen.
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