UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Aug 29, 2024 2:06:38 GMT -8
Yeowoo smiled and nodded, telling her, "Garlic and onions and ginger, those are all fine."
It felt like a special moment to be brought into a family activity like this, but Yeowoo was comfortable helping in the kitchen, and he was glad that it didn't seem like Xander resented the idea, even if he might not have been inclined to volunteer of his own accord.
He leaned into Xander's arm a little bit as they walked towards the kitchen, and he told Xander's mom, "I'm comfortable with whatever you need help with. I do a fair amount of cooking at home. My mom and oldest sister taught me from when I was pretty young because being able to cook for myself makes the food allergies and sensitivities easier to live with. Hopefully me texting her will also remind my mom to actually make dinner for herself, sometimes she's caught up in her studio and will forget until I tell her dinner is ready."
He teased Xander gently, "I'm going to have to teach you to make Korean food at some point."
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Employee at Chinese Bakery.
Bisexual.
Single.
07/15/2004.
20.
Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Xander Pace on Aug 29, 2024 19:01:11 GMT -8
Heather grinned and told Xander to cut up an onion and prep some garlic. She thought over what she could have Yeowoo do. "Hmm, let's see. How do you feel about handling chicken?" She paused, "Actually, no, can you help Xander with chopping vegetables? I can take care of the chicken." She opened one of the cabinets, "oh but first, here is all our sauces, feel free to pull down what will work for you and what you think will be good to put into the fried rice."
Xander picked up an onion and the garlic and brought it to the table along with a cutting board and knife. "I wouldn't mind learning how to make some Korean food." He responded to Yeowoo's teasing. He'd been to Korean restaurants before and liked the food, but when it came to making it himself, he felt like he didn't really know where to begin.
It was as he started cutting the onion that his younger siblings and dad arrived home. He waved a hand at them, but Heather got around to speaking first. "Hi, honey. We have a guest over for dinner, Xander's friend, Yeowoo."
Tim was telling Emma and Elijah to put their stuff away, and then went into the kitchen proper. "I see that. Nice to meet you, Yeowoo. I'm Tim, or Mr. Pace, whichever you feel most comfortable using." He directed his attention to his wife, "Did you need any further help with dinner prep?"
"Yeowoo convinced Xander to help, so I'm think I'm fine, but thank you. Feel free to relax, I know you've been busy at work lately." Heather replied.
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UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Aug 29, 2024 23:54:38 GMT -8
Yeowoo looked over the sauces quickly and pulled out the soy sauce, sesame oil, and black vinegar he recognized as safe and said, "These work. Do you use chili paste or something for spice or do you keep it mild?"
He took the garlic since Xander had already grabbed the onion, mincing it quickly and efficiently and presenting it to Xander's mom when he was done. While he was doing so, he told Xander, "Well we'll have to pick a few simple dishes for you to learn, maybe over at my place where I have all the Korean sauces and spices."
Yeowoo smiled tentatively at Xander's dad and said politely, "Nice to meet you Mr. Pace."
He caught a glimpse of Xander's younger siblings and noted to himself that they were cute kids. He figured he would meet them properly over dinner. He glanced at Xander at the phrasing that he had convinced Xander to help, wondering if he'd accidentally dragged his friend along with him.
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Employee at Chinese Bakery.
Bisexual.
Single.
07/15/2004.
20.
Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Xander Pace on Aug 31, 2024 15:29:35 GMT -8
Heather thought a moment, "Umm... I think we have a Thai chili oil in the fridge. It's very spicy though." She said, letting out a laugh, "I'm telling on myself, but I'm a little weak to spice, but I'm getting better. But any more than a teaspoon of that chili oil and I can't eat the food."
"There's..." Xander began, seeming to be focusing on saying the word correctly, "gochujang in the fridge too. It's pretty old, though." He had bought it a while back when he saw a recipe that called for it, one of the times he got curious and tried to make a Korean dish. It failed spectacularly. At this point, his parents insisted it was still good, but it had been in the fridge for so long he couldn't bring himself to use it again.
"We adopted three kids who's nationalities have a strong history of spicy foods, yet you still can't handle it." Tim teased his wife lightly. "What are we having?"
"Shut up," Heather said, though there was no malice in her voice. "We're having fried rice." She answered.
Xander finished up the onion and brought it to the counter, receiving a thank you from his mom. He washed his hands and went to the fridge, leaning on the door and giving Yeowoo a smile, "The gochujang is in the back of the fridge, the chili oil should be on the second row of the door." He told him, pointing down as he mentioned the chili oil. Really, he wanted to disappear into his room with Yeowoo, but he was okay with helping prepare dinner if it meant getting to spend more time with Yeowoo anyway.
"How was school, Xander?" Tim asked, sitting at the far end of the table.
"Oh, I totally forgot to ask." Heather said, rolling her eyes and making a silly face. She seemed to have a mischievous look in her eye as she glanced over to Xander, and he practically heard her say, I was so distracted with you cuddling with your friend-who-is-definitely-not-your-crush I forgot to ask about your day.
Xander narrowed his eyes at her even though she wasn't looking at him, and leaned against the wall. "Fine. We got our schedules for next year. I'm not gonna take physics after all, I think I'm gonna take Korean I instead." He told them honestly.
"Oh, that's fine. It's great you've decided to do that." Tim replied.
Heather nodded, seeming to finish prepping everything else and was just waiting on what spice Yeowoo wanted to use, and looked at her son properly. "Hasn't Jongho been nagging you to do so since you two were freshman? What... Or should I ask who? Finally got you interested in trying it."
Xander felt his face heat up a bit, "I just... It fit in my schedule, okay." He said, busying himself with grabbing utensils to set the table.
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UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Aug 31, 2024 17:01:07 GMT -8
Yeowoo checked the gochujang first since he knew the flavor profile better, but he wasn't surprised when there was corn in it. He sighed and checked the Thai chili oil. That was safe, and honestly sounded delicious. He told Xander's mom, "The gochujang isn't safe for me, it has corn in it, but the Thai chili oil is, and I bet it would be good in the fried rice. I'll let you decide how much should go in though. If I want mine spicier, I can always add some to my own when it's done."
He smiled and glanced at Xander, adding, "I like spicy food, Xander can confirm from seeing my lunches. So you aren't going to be able to accidentally make it too spicy for me."
Yeowoo grinned when Xander said he was probably going to take Korean I. He said, "I'm glad that even though we're going to be in fewer classes together because of that change, it's for Korean, I promise I'll help you study. Plus Mr. Lin is a great teacher."
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Employee at Chinese Bakery.
Bisexual.
Single.
07/15/2004.
20.
Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Xander Pace on Sept 1, 2024 10:55:16 GMT -8
"You also like food that stares back at you as you eat it." Xander teased Yeowoo lightly, talking about the myeolchi bokkeum that Yeowoo had brought to school more than once. "And yeah, it sucks that we won't be in as many classes together, but we'll still have plenty of time to hang out outside of class."
Heather thanked Yeowoo for grabbing the chili oil, and very carefully measured less than a teaspoon's worth to mix into sauce mix that would go into the fried rice. Now that she had all the ingredients, she set about cooking it. It didn't take long, and she put it into a large serving bowl to put in the middle of the table. "Xander, can you get Emma and Elijah, tell them it's time for dinner." She looked to Yeowoo, "And you may pick anywhere to sit, Xander usually sits at the end of the table," she pointed to the end opposite where Tim was sitting.
Xander went to get his siblings, telling them it was dinner time and then heading back to the kitchen. It seemed like his mom wouldn't ask questions while Yeowoo was here, which was almost worse because once he got home from dropping off Yeowoo, he wouldn't have an easy escape route to avoid conversation. Emma and Elijah joined the table soon after Xander sat down, both eying Yeowoo curiously.
"Ooh, fried rice!" Emma said excitedly, taking a few spoonfuls when the bowl got to her, and then adding a few spoonfuls of chili oil into her dish, turning it bright red.
"Yeah, it looks good," Elijah began, still eying Yeowoo. "You didn't adopt another kid, did you... mom?"
Heather chuckled, "No, no. This is Xander's friend, Yeowoo."
Elijah seemed to relax a bit, "Oh good."
Xander snorted, rolling his eyes. "What? You don't want younger siblings?"
Elijah shook his head, "I never said that. Just... I don't want to share a room with you again."
"Okay, we're agreed on that." Xander replied. Until Alyssa had moved out, he and Elijah shared a room, and while it wasn't terrible, they had very different living habits and so when their oldest sibling moved out, he leaped at the chance to get her room.
"We're on a fostering freeze until we have a room available again, and I'm not going to kick Xander out. Don't worry boys, there won't be any new siblings, temporary or permanent, anytime soon. Eat your food." Heather told them simply. She then focused her attention on Yeowoo, "how'd I do? Is it good?"
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UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Sept 1, 2024 15:27:32 GMT -8
Yeowoo stuck his tongue out at Xander at his friend's description of his food. He smiled then and said, "Yeah, we've still got lunch together, and after school stuff, and like Chinese and Math. Are you taking Media Studies? It seems like it would be an elective that would fit into your schedule, since it fit in mine, and I know that we have English at the same time."
While Xander was going to get his younger siblings, Yeowoo picked a spot next to where Xander's mom had indicated that Xander usually sat. When he served himself, he added about twice as much of the chili oil as Emma had, enjoying the smell of it.
He chuckled at Elijah's question, gently nudged Xander's foot with a little glare at the younger siblings comment, and said with a smile, "Really don't worry, I think that my mom and sisters and nephew and nieces would disapprove of me being acquired by another family. I'm just visiting, I was helping your brother with something."
Once he tasted the food, he said, "It's really good Mrs. Pace, thank you! I'm glad we could help you with it."
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Employee at Chinese Bakery.
Bisexual.
Single.
07/15/2004.
20.
Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Xander Pace on Sept 1, 2024 19:16:18 GMT -8
Xander thought over the rest of his studies for the next school year. He didn't have it memorized yet, but he vaguely recalled seeing Media Studies. "Yeah, I think so." He replied simply. He added a humble amount of chili oil to his dish, though not remotely as much as his sister or Yeowoo. He liked spice, but hadn't grown up with it.
Heather seemed happy at the praised, albeit baffled by the amount of spice Yeowoo put into his dish.
He stuck his tongue out for just a quick second as Yeowoo nudged him, nudging him back just slightly harder. As something touched his other foot, he looked under the table and noticed one of the cats had finally decided to come out from hiding. A moment of dread came over Xander as he realized he didn't know if Yeowoo was allergic to cats. "Uh... Yeowoo, I know you're allergic to dogs, are you allergic to cats? Cause we have a couple." He asked hesitantly. "And one decided to be brave and come out with a guest here for once." If Yeowoo said he was allergic, it wouldn't be too hard to get the cat and put her in a room that wasn't his, though she wouldn't be thrilled about it.
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UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Sept 2, 2024 22:30:20 GMT -8
Yeowoo shook his head, "Well, I'm not like allergic allergic to them. I shouldn't own one, and if I spend time in the same house as one for days, I'll get itchy eyes and the sniffles, but I am perfectly fine to be around cats."
He peeked under the table and smiled at the cat he saw there, "It's so cute!"
He asked Xander, "Do you think that it will let me pet it?"
Yeowoo genuinely liked cats, and wished that it wouldn't be a bad idea for him to have one. He had been extremely jealous when his eldest sister had gotten his nieces and nephew a cat years ago, but it had also confirmed that he shouldn't actually live with one.
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Employee at Chinese Bakery.
Bisexual.
Single.
07/15/2004.
20.
Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Xander Pace on Sept 3, 2024 10:13:02 GMT -8
Xander visibly relaxed, looking down at the cat still rubbing against his leg. "I mean, maybe. She's usually pretty shy about new people, but I guess you have good vibes or something." He said, giving her a little encouraging pet. She was the family's smallest cat, though she was about four now, since she came to the family fairly soon after he had. She was a muted tortoiseshell, and had attached to Xander over the rest of the family, much to Alyssa's annoyance. "Her name is Cleo, short for Queen Cleopatra, because I was that kind of nerd in seventh grade." He said, a short laugh escaping a bit at the memory. Despite the turmoil going on in his mind at the time, Cleo was a comforting presence before he felt he could trust his new family.
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UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Sept 4, 2024 20:05:25 GMT -8
Yeowoo smiled at Xander's explanation and extended his hand down towards the cat, saying softly, "Hello Cleo."
After Xander's warning, he was pleased and surprised when she came up and rubbed her face against his hand. He carefully pet her head, keeping his touch gentle and said quietly, "Oh, she's really soft."
He smiled up at Xander and asked, "I guess she likes me?"
When she wandered back to be at Xander's feet, he returned to his food, hoping that his absolute distraction by the cat hadn't seemed rude to the rest of the table. He was curious about Xander's adoptive family though, overall they seemed incredibly welcoming.
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Employee at Chinese Bakery.
Bisexual.
Single.
07/15/2004.
20.
Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Xander Pace on Sept 5, 2024 8:22:23 GMT -8
Xander was surprised Cleo warmed up to Yeowoo so quickly, giving Yeowoo an affirming nod at his question of whether the cat liked him. He was actually relieved to see it. He learned around foster home number two that he could trust a cat's instincts. If a cat felt comfortable approaching someone, they were a safe person. It wasn't like he suspected Yeowoo of secretly being awful, but this was a nice confirmation.
"Oh, it's rare Cleo visits strangers!" Heather said, "you must be her type." She added, praising the cat and teasing Xander at the same time, making it obvious she was doing so by looking pointedly at Xander at her second comment.
Xander felt his face heat up and he focused on his food. He was not going to hear the end of it after he dropped off Yeowoo. He didn't even sense Heather or Tim were mad, just intensely curious, which was even more embarrassing. He cleared his throat and looked to Yeowoo, "Anyway, did you want me to drop you off after you're done eating, or did you want to hang out a bit longer?" With his parents paying attention, he wouldn't say out loud he wanted Yeowoo to stay longer so they could spend more time together, but went with what he could say instead. "I wouldn't mind go over Korean some more if you're cool with it."
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UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Sept 7, 2024 17:52:27 GMT -8
Yeowoo hesitated, he wanted to spend more time with Xander and hang out, but he also didn't want to overstay his welcome, and he did have a few assignments he needed to finish up. He generally stayed very on top of his school work, but that didn't mean that there weren't assignments that came up during the week, and they were of course for the classes he didn't share with Xander.
He said, "Yeah, I should probably head home after. I've got a few assignments to finish."
He wasn't very firm about how he said it, kind of hoping to leave things open for Xander to convince him to stay longer. But he'd also noticed that Xander's mom was giving Xander some pointed looks about something, and he figured that it might be simpler for everyone if he headed home.
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Employee at Chinese Bakery.
Bisexual.
Single.
07/15/2004.
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Sheep (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
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Post by Xander Pace on Sept 7, 2024 20:51:07 GMT -8
Xander frowned, but seeing his mom's look, groaned, "Okay, if you insist on doing homework, I guess I could take you home." He gave Yeowoo a look that begged, are you sure you can't stay?
"Do you have any homework, Xander?" Heather asked, as if the idea had just occurred to her.
"No," Xander lied, but then realized there was a slim chance Heather would let him do homework rather than chat with her, and changed his tone, "Oh wait, I do." He said, laughing it off. He finished his food and checked where Yeowoo was at. "Not rushing you by any means, but if you really must go home, I can take you once you're done eating."
"Hey, but it's your turn to clean up dinner, Xander!" Emma protested, pouting at him cutely, "don't make me have to do it two nights in a row."
"Don't worry kiddo, just put it in the sink, I'll take care of it when I get back." Xander promised his sister.
This had been a spontaneous visit, and maybe next time he invited Yeowoo over it would be more planned and he'd be able to stay longer. He'd probably try to make sure his mom wasn't around, too, so she'd stop giving him knowing looks every time he so much as glanced at Yeowoo. "I'm not going to make you stay and help me clean up, so don't feel bad about that or like you need to be more helpful. You already helped with cooking." He said quietly to Yeowoo.
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UW Student (Class of 2028).
Gay.
Dating Xander.
09/01/2006.
18.
Dog (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Yeowoo Eum on Sept 9, 2024 13:46:33 GMT -8
Yeowoo didn't rush over his food, enjoying getting to gently bump his leg against Xander's under the table, and the fact that Xander's family was so welcoming, had made a point to make it safe for him to eat.
He hesitated and said, "Are you sure you don't want me to help clean up? It would make it go faster I'm sure."
He added, "But I'm done with my food. Thank you again Mrs. Pace, it was really delicious."
He added softly, "And it was really nice to meet all of you, Mrs. Pace, Mr. Pace, Emma, Elijah."
He looked at Xander, hopeful that he was handling this well, and waited for his indication that it was time to head to the car, or to help with dishes.
[[OOC: you can pupped Yeowoo to get to the car/help with dishes then go to the car if you want to.]]
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