5th Grade Teacher.
Gay.
Single.
07/04/1996.
28.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
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Post by Wooram Mok on Oct 9, 2024 15:35:20 GMT -8
Wooram eyed the spot that Raein had pointed out. Sitting would be nice, and as they'd been walking up the parade route to look for a spot, they'd seen people with folding chairs, and Wooram had wondered why that hadn't occurred to him. Maybe because most of the Prides that he'd seen pictures of were big ones that were so crowded that sitting didn't seem feasible.
He told Raein, "Yeah, lets go and order something since it looks like they're open, and then grab a seat. I'm surprised that there aren't more of them already taken. Don't know if we're early or if people just didn't want to buy something so weren't getting the tables."
He considered the menu. There was an unsweetened ice tea that was a plain black tea, and he could see honey on their cart of things to add to drinks. It seemed like it might be the safest thing to get at a bakery like this, and he'd already finished his first drink. He waited for Raein to be ready for them to order.
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Middle School ESL/Korean I Teacher.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/29/1998.
26.
Tiger (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
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Post by Raven Raein Kong on Oct 9, 2024 17:36:54 GMT -8
"Lucky us, I suppose." Raein said, a playful smile on his face. He finished up his boba tea and held onto the empty cup as he looked up at the menu. When it was time for them to order, he ordered a strawberry lemonade and a small snack, a little roll cake that looked especially delicious. He kept an eye on the table out front, ready to rush out and grab it if he saw someone so much as look at it too long. "Once we pay, one of us should go out and nab the table before someone else has the same idea." He muttered to Wooram quietly.
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5th Grade Teacher.
Gay.
Single.
07/04/1996.
28.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Wooram Mok on Oct 13, 2024 15:43:55 GMT -8
Wooram nodded and got his card out, "Then I can pay for this one, and you can go nab the table right now, and then come back to grab our stuff once it comes out and I've made it to the table."
He was standing slightly closer to the register anyhow, and they went back and forth paying for things when they were out together usually, so he didn't see how this would be particularly different. He was excited to see what the parade was like, even if it would be far smaller than a lot of the ones that he'd seen only through recordings. He was enjoying the atmosphere and that all the businesses seemed to have decorations up for Pride.
Once he'd paid, he headed to join Raein at the table, since their drinks weren't out yet.
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Middle School ESL/Korean I Teacher.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/29/1998.
26.
Tiger (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Raven Raein Kong on Oct 13, 2024 20:48:24 GMT -8
"Okay," Raein replied, a bit reluctant to leave Wooram's side even though he had been the one to suggest one of them go nab the table. He got his legs to move and went to claim the table. He stared at his phone in between looking inside to watch Wooram. His heart did a little leap of happiness as Wooram came out of the cafe and sat down. Maybe he was too happy today. He definitely didn't need the extra caffeine, but keeping hydrated was important, so he'd take what he could. "Snohomish is a really cute little town..." He mused to Wooram, still looking around a bit from his spot.
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5th Grade Teacher.
Gay.
Single.
07/04/1996.
28.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Wooram Mok on Oct 14, 2024 23:12:59 GMT -8
Wooram kind of found himself missing holding hands as they separated, but it felt a little strange to reach out and take Raein's hand across the table once they were sitting together. Wooram was pleased with the spot that they found. As long as a bunch of people didn't stand in front of them, they'd have a good view, and it was a weird narrow spot on the sidewalk at an intersection where as long as it didn't get suddenly crowded, he didn't feel like people would choose to stand. Even so, it wouldn't be that hard to stand and watch the parade for a bit but sit if he needed to. Next year, he was definitely going to bring a folding chair like he'd seen some passers-by carrying.
He adjusted how he was sitting a little bit so that he could gently nudge his foot against Raein's. He didn't quite know what to say, but there was an energy between them that day, maybe just because it was Pride and they were there together, or maybe because they'd actually talked about it the night before.
He smiled at Raein's comment and said, "Yeah, it is. It reminds me of Friday Harbor and Bellingham a little bit, but with it's own flavor. I'm glad to see a Pride parade in a place like this."
He didn't quite know what to say next, and was then immediately and immensely distracted when one of his students came marching over towards them dragging a woman he recognized as the kid's mom. The kid seemed to be almost wiggling with excitement and he exclaimed, "See mom, I told you Mr. Mok would be here! Hi Mr. Mok!"
The kid turned to look at Raein and added, wide eyed, "Are you here with your boyfriend?"
Wooram had to take a deep breath, giving a friendly smile to the kid's mom and said. "Hi Jax, it's good to see you. And hi, Ms. Peters, I'm glad you brought him, I know that he was excited about it."
He couldn't remember Jax's mom's first name, but he did remember that she shared a last name with her kid, so it would have to be good enough. They'd not met much, but Jax was a good student in his class if a little over-excitable at times.
He braved Jax's harder question, "This is my roommate and good friend who might be one of your teachers next year. Mr. Kong works at the middle school."
Jax's eyes went even wider and he almost ducked behind his mom and said, voice smaller and shy now, "Hi Mr. Kong, I promise I'll be a good student."
Wooram looked over at Raein, hoping that Raein wasn't too desperately overwhelmed. Jax's mom said, smiling, "You don't need to be so formal, you really can just call me Erica, it's OK. But I am glad we saw you over here. He was getting all worked up about finding you. I wouldn't want to impose though. I'm very glad that he's had you as his teacher this year, and it's nice to meet you Mr. Kong." |
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Middle School ESL/Korean I Teacher.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/29/1998.
26.
Tiger (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Raven Raein Kong on Oct 16, 2024 14:38:56 GMT -8
Raein was about to comment in agreement about a Pride celebration being held in Snohomish, when they were ambushed by a kid and the kid's parent. He took a moment to recalibrate, he didn't need to hide, it was okay. Parents wouldn't be at the ready to form a mob at the slightest hint that he was queer.
Still, he was nervous as he straightened up in his chair and forced a smile to the kid, "Hi uh... Jax. I'll look forward to it." He then nodded to the mother, Erica. "It's nice to meet you as well." He replied formally.
His heart was still beating too fast and he hadn't quite recovered from the surprise of running into one of Wooram's students that when he heard a familiar voice say, "Mr. K?" He actually jumped.
His own students had found them. He was trying not to spiral into a panic at being seen. He knew the two, one of them was in his Korean 1 and was an eighth grader, and the other was in his advisory and was a sixth grader. They were siblings, and they often commented on the tiny bit of pride paraphernalia Raein kept in his classroom, still not brave enough to bring more. He hadn't taken down the giant pride flag hanging from the ceiling near the back wall, though, claiming it was too much hassle to bother getting down.
"Freddie, Calixte, hi." He said, trying to sound normal about it. A little more naturally, he added, "you two excited for the parade?"
"Yeah!" Replied Freddie.
Calixte pointed at Wooram. "Who's that? Your boyfriend?"
"Or husband?" Freddie helpfully chimed in. "Also hi Mr. Mok." They added with a mischievous smile.
Raein froze for a moment, unsure of what to say to the questioning, so he borrowed Wooram's answer. "Uh... This is my roommate and good friend, sounds like Freddie might have had him last year?" He explained, getting a nod from the kid.
"Even though he wasn't married last year, you could've gotten married over the summer." Freddie said simply, shrugging. "So I had to check."
"No you didn't." Raein said under his breath. Freddie was a great student, but also always looking for ways to cause chaos. "Well, it's great to see you two, I hope you have fun today."
"You too Mr. Kong." Calixte replied, pulling his sibling away. He looked between Wooram and Raein for a second before adding, "your boyfriend too," eliciting a laugh from Freddie.
As the siblings went out if sight, Raein put his head in his hands. "I'm not... used to this. Being... seen... being queer by students and families, and it's okay." He ran his hands through his hair, holding his hair back as he looked out at the street. "I'm sorry I didn't correct them, I panicked a bit." He left out the part where he really didn't want to correct them. Wooram hadn't said they weren't dating, but he hadn't confirmed it either, and of course they couldn't be dating without talking about it, but Raein still had wanted to hear it, apparently.
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5th Grade Teacher.
Gay.
Single.
07/04/1996.
28.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Wooram Mok on Oct 19, 2024 20:25:06 GMT -8
Wooram had managed to get out, "Hi Freddie," before not managing to get many other words in edgewise other than, "I did not get married in the year since I've had you in class."
He waved at the siblings heading away, trying to resist the urge to laugh, but Raein seemed stressed.
Wooram reached out across the table, taking Raein's hands gently, and accidentally brushing against Raien's hair in the process. Raein's hair always sort of made him want to touch, but now was not the time for that.
He said softly, "Hey, it's OK. I get it being stressful, especially after you explaining yesterday. You handled that just fine, though I suspect that between our student run ins, there are going to be students who think that we're dating after today."
He added hesitantly, "I'm not worried that you didn't correct them, I don't mind what they think. But I want to make sure that you're OK that you didn't correct them, and that I didn't really for that matter."
He didn't add that he hadn't really wanted to correct them, but it seemed way too soon after their discussion of sexuality the night before to actually do any asking out, at least from Wooram's end. Raein was going through a lot of rapid changes on this front.
It didn't stop Wooram from kind of wanting to do it. But it didn't seem fair to Raein.
He realized that he was still holding Raein's hands, staring into his face to try to figure out what he was thinking, and if either of their students looked back at them, that's what they'd see and continue to draw assumptions from.
He couldn't be the one to pull back, he didn't want Raein to view it as a rejection.
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Middle School ESL/Korean I Teacher.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/29/1998.
26.
Tiger (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Raven Raein Kong on Oct 20, 2024 12:05:47 GMT -8
Raein chuckled a little, unable to help himself. "I guess so..." He thought a moment, realizing that he didn't actually care. He liked Wooram, he couldn't deny it anymore, but they had only just admitted their sexualities to each other and insecurities around it to him the night before. He felt like it'd be weird to confess now.
Finally, he replied, staring pointedly at their intertwined hands, "I'm not... I'm fine... That we didn't correct them." He was hesitant in his reply, but honest. He took his hand away somewhat reluctantly to grab his beverage, unsure what to say exactly. He was a bit relieved when he heard some commotion coming from the start of the parade route. "Oh, I think the parade is starting." He said to Wooram, glad to not have to think of what else to say, or worse, accidentally confess to him.
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5th Grade Teacher.
Gay.
Single.
07/04/1996.
28.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Wooram Mok on Oct 21, 2024 15:46:38 GMT -8
Wooram could feel himself blush a little bit. He was pretty sure that this was going a direction, one that he was pretty happy with, but he knew that it was a bad idea to rush things. He'd known that he liked Raein at least some for a while, but there had been enough uncertainty for him about what was going on with Raein before hand that he'd not really examined those feelings too much. They lived together though, had a good thing going on, and Wooram valued Raein's friendship. He didn't want to disrupt things too much or two suddenly.
He was relieved that the parade was starting. He scooted his chair around the table to by Raein's so that he could actually watch the parade comfortably instead of having to crane his neck around, and he reached out and deliberately took Raein's hand, the one not busy with the drink in his again. He figured that he could allow himself that much since Raein did seem to like it too.
He said softly, "I'm glad to be watching the parade with you."
He resisted the urge to drop his head onto Raein's shoulder while they watched, that might be a little bit too much casual intimacy, plus he'd spent enough effort on his makeup that he was pretty sure that neither he nor Raein would really appreciate smudging it onto Raein's shoulder.
It was fascinating and exciting to see the different groups that were in the parade. He was especially thrilled to see a few of the local school districts, significantly more rural and small town than their own, actively participating with big contingents. He was also pleased to see the girl scouts and a nursery school billing themselves as being accepting of all families. Lots of local small businesses were there, as was Community Tranisit, some costuming groups, and various religious groups, and some roller derby teams. It was an interesting mix of things, and all of it felt very celebratory.
Wooram kept giving Raein small glances, trying to read how his roommate was responding to the whole thing. A few times things got tossed their way from the parade, and Wooram managed to catch a strand of rainbow beads that he draped around his neck, but mostly they were far enough back that he was just watching the freebies that were being handed out. That would be an advantage in future years of bringing a folding chair to sit right up next to the parade route.
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Middle School ESL/Korean I Teacher.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/29/1998.
26.
Tiger (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Raven Raein Kong on Oct 22, 2024 10:15:49 GMT -8
Raein was a little perplexed at what Wooram was doing when he moved his chair, but looked down and away to hide his blush when his roommate sat down right next to him and took his hand again. He muttered a soft, "me too," unsure if Wooram had even heard it with the commotion of the parade.
Eventually he calmed himself down enough to look up properly and enjoy the parade. It was amazing to see multiple school districts and even the buses show support for Pride. For all that he paid attention to Seattle Pride, he'd never actually gone and experienced it in person. He set his almost empty drink down on the table to pick up some rainbow beads that fell near him, laughing a bit as he noticed Wooram had also gotten some. He held them up to show Wooram before putting the beads around his neck, "Now we match." He said, his voice still somewhat quiet. He was going to remember this experience forever, he was sure of it. It felt very empowering, like as long as he stayed in this moment, he could be brave enough to be out, for real, not just barely like he had been, or like his teacher back in high school had to be.
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5th Grade Teacher.
Gay.
Single.
07/04/1996.
28.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Wooram Mok on Oct 23, 2024 12:30:30 GMT -8
Wooram smiled up at Raein when he put the necklace on and squeezed his hand lightly again. He said softly, "I like that," glad for the thought of them matching.
The parade wasn't very long, but it was impactful for Wooram. Just seeing these communities coming together, in a place that wasn't a big city or even a college or research town, meant that things were getting better, moving in the right direction on some level.
Once the last parts of the parade had passed them, Wooram asked, "Do you want to head back to the little fair and do some actual shopping now? I definitely saw some things I want for me or my classroom."
He was reluctant to let go over Raein's hand, enjoying the contact that they'd been having all that day.
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Middle School ESL/Korean I Teacher.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/29/1998.
26.
Tiger (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Raven Raein Kong on Oct 23, 2024 14:54:04 GMT -8
Raein was still soaking in the parade after it ended, and at Wooram's question he nodded. "I think I need some things to add to my classroom. I..." He paused, a well of emotions flowing up, "I told myself that when I became a teacher, I'd show my kids that being queer wasn't something to be ashamed of, but I let my nerves get the better of me, and I haven't done that at all. I think I'm ready to show it properly." He squeezed Wooram's hand momentarily, giving him a smile.
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5th Grade Teacher.
Gay.
Single.
07/04/1996.
28.
Rat (WA)
Authored by Etienne.
Offline.
|
Post by Wooram Mok on Oct 30, 2024 20:32:18 GMT -8
Wooram squeezed Raein's hand back and said, "I'm proud of you for that, and I'm glad that coming to Pride has helped you be ready to do that. I'm glad I asked you to come, also so that we actually talked about it."
He was excited to poke around the booths, finding a few shirts that he liked, and some pins that he wanted to add to his work lanyard.
He ran into a few other students who just waved and said, "Hi Mr. Mok," before heading on their own way. There weren't comments on him holding hands with Raein at first, though there were a few smiles. He figured that he would probably end up needing to talk about it with Raein, probably soon, but he was enjoying the hand holding, and Raein had been actively involved in it, so he didn't feel like he was overstepping.
He was excited when he stopped at the SEA booth, they had "Proud Union Educator" pins, and he'd seen a few coworkers with similar pins and hadn't come across any himself. He took one when offered, and turned to Raein and asked, "Want one?"
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Middle School ESL/Korean I Teacher.
Homosexual.
Single.
06/29/1998.
26.
Tiger (WA)
Authored by Redeim.
Offline.
|
Post by Raven Raein Kong on Nov 3, 2024 11:41:38 GMT -8
Raein smiled at Wooram's praise. "Thank you for inviting me." He replied. As they wandered through the stalls, Raein also ran into a few more students, but none that wanted to chat a ton.
He held back his surprise at seeing the educator's union had a booth. He was really starting to understand that over here, even small towns like Snohomish were safe. Maybe a little less so than, say, Seattle, but significantly moreso than where he had grown up. He was still admiring the booth when Wooram offered him a pin. "Oh, yeah. Thank you." He said, taking it gently from Wooram and looking it over. It was simple but nice, and he was looking forward to adding it to his work lanyard.
As they continued on, he found a couple more things he wanted to get, some for work, some just for himself, and even a cute postcard set that might encourage him to send a letter to his parents or grandparents. "I love it here..." He breathed, mostly talking about the celebration, but also talking about Snohomish. "We should come visit sometime when there's not an event going on. We don't live too far away. I love this atmosphere a lot, and I'm curious what it's like during a uh... normal day."
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