summer 10 - open library prompts & closed hyunseok prompt.

[unwieldy]

a. LIBRARY - BEFORE LATER

[ When Haein isn't holed up in his room, he's usually posted in some corner of the library with his nose in a book. He'd first visited the library with the intent to keep his mind sharp now that he was missing his usual college classes, but it hadn't taken long to discover that there was a troubling scarcity of non-fiction books.

It means picking up fiction books and hoping for the best, but honestly he's just been disappointed over and over again. A few premises catch his attention, and then he gets a chapter or three in and it's like he can't care to continue reading.

A particularly upsetting book (upsetting in that it's boring him to death) gets the unfortunate and rude treatment of Haein chucking it over his shoulder with an annoyed sigh. Good luck to whatever poor soul may be in the trajectory of that airborne book because it's coming in hot and fast.

Hey, at least it's a paperback book. ]

b. LIBRARY - LATER

[ Everyone knows that one romantic scene in media where two people reach for something at the same time and then it's like boom, here's where it all starts, right?

Well, this is kind of like that, with two people reaching for the same book, fingers brushing up against each other.

And then this is usually the part where eyes meet and hearts flutter, some charming person on the other end with promises of cheesy romance somewhere down the line. Only, this is nothing like that. It's just Haein glaring. To be fair, he'd probably look nice if he didn't look like he was two seconds away from committing murder for this book. ]

c. COMMUNITY CENTRE - LATER LATER

[ Having spent enough time at the library, Haein is now leaving the community center. Maybe run into him on the way out. Maybe actually run into him on the way out, physically colliding and all, because he's not paying attention to where he's going. ]

d. CLOSED TO HYUNSEOK

[ It's been more than a week since Haein had spoken to Hyunseok, which had not been plenty of time to cool off and let his anger dissipate. Oh no, Haein's temper is never ending, but on a kind of bright side, he's not as mad as he was before.

So wherever Hyunseok is, whatever he's doing, he might feel a pair of eyes on him. Look, this isn't easy for Haein... but he kind of feels strange that they're here on this island together and not on speaking terms (because of Haein but who's keeping track?). So he's mustering up both the courage and the will to say something first.

Right now, though, he's just watching Hyunseok with his usual scowl (which is probably permanent at this point) from a safe distance, waiting for an opening. ]

Comments

A

[traceofeffort]

[Lisa's been trying to loosen up for a few days now; all things considered, it seems like it's been going okay? She'd taken Hanako's advice on a couple things to try reading, and so she's sitting in the library in a comfortable chair with a hardback book of her own, somewhere between immersed and overly relaxed. She hasn't quite hit the point where she's lounging in some totally strange position, but she's happy where she is.

At least, she was.

The sound of displaced air doesn't reach her fast enough, too absorbed in her own story of star-crossed lovers; instead of the warm embrace she'd been about to experience secondhand, she feels warmth of a different sort. The paperback brushes against her hair, skirts her face and almost catches on her heavy earring - the tug is sharp all the same - and bounces off her thigh with a heavy thump before bouncing off and into the floor, stopping against a bookshelf. She hisses aloud, enough to be heard in the quiet library, before she sets her book down on the armrest (face-down; can't lose her place!) and spins in the chair to see where it came from.]

Hey, what was that for?

[unwieldy]

[ Haein would have been happy to completely ignore that hiss and continue on his search for a book worth his time, but things don't necessarily work out that way. He looks up from where he'd been flipping through another fiction novel, neutral expression turning cold when he notices the stranger addressing him.

Silence follows up after her question with Haein not entirely sure what it is she's talking about, and then his gaze lands on the book he'd thrown laying not too far from her. Oh, that was probably it. It's not like he'd meant for the book to nearly take someone out, how is he responsible for this??

Except that he really is. ]

What was what for?

[ Not really playing dumb, just kind of being purposefully obtuse. Wait, isn't that the same thing? ]

[traceofeffort]

[Eep, not starting off well. So much for expecting an apology. Well, can't back down yet-]

The book! Did I do something? Or did I just happen to almost get hit in the head for no reason?

[Her eyes narrow a little toward the end; she's hoping not? That would be bad.]

[unwieldy]

[ Oh, okay, this one's easy. Haein can answer this. ]

Maybe you shouldn't have been sitting there.

[ Nailed it. ]

[traceofeffort]

H-hey! That's not the right answer! If you're gonna throw something, at least don't throw it where people are sitting!

[She starts to keep going, but thinks better of it; that he shouldn't have thrown it at all might not be an argument she's going to win.]

[unwieldy]

[ In the game of arguing or... hell, even just speaking to Haein there are no winners. Only losers. ]

How was I supposed to know you were sitting there?

[ Answer that, science. ]

[traceofeffort]

Do you usually throw things without looking to see if there's someone there?

[Where's Sayo when Lisa needs her? She'd be much better at this... How is she on the back foot when she's the injured party?]

[unwieldy]

[ Long suffering sigh like he's the one wronged here. ]

Are you dying? Bleeding? Did you lose an eye?

b;

[facings]

[ while Kieren certainly prefers painting over reading, one does need some variety, and so here he is, in the library trying to find something interesting to read. he's a far less picky reader than Haein, and for the most part whenever they're in the library at the same time, Kieren's entirely content to nod his hello and maybe say a few words before picking up a book and then leaving.

this time, though, he's certain he's in the library alone, so engrossed in reading the titles of the books he is, trying to pick something that doesn't sound like another straight people romance (and look, he's got nothing against either straight people or romance, but unfortunately most of the books tend to follow the exact same plot and he's tired), that when he reaches for a book he doesn't notice Haein's there too.

reaching for that very same book.

he answers that glare with an apologetic grimace. ]

Sorry, [ he says, ] I didn't notice you. Um, at all. You can take the book if you want.

[unwieldy]

[ There are like two people Haein's met on this island that he's decided are okay individuals and one of them is Kieren. They leave each other alone for the most part, and that's basically the ideal. So his glare is more out of habit than anything else, and when he realizes it's Kieren reaching for the same book, his expression evens out. ]

It's okay.

[ He plucks the book off the shelf and glances down at it. Well, good news for Kieren. It's another straight people romance novel so it's not worth fighting for. But also, it's very much not something Haein would enjoy reading either, so his face twists into one of displeasure after examining the premise. ]

Ah, I don't want it.

[ Holds the book out. Wow, it's like he's capable of sharing. It's the unfortunate kind of sharing where neither party wants the thing, but Haein doesn't know that. ]

A

[readystopwatch]

[If there’s one place on this island Ianto is likely to be found it’s the library. He has a small stack of two or three books tucked under his arm so far as he bruises around the shelves, occasionally pulling another one off of a shelf to examine and replace or add to his pile. He’s only just rounded a corner to the next aisle when a book comes flying towards his face. Luckily crime scene investigation at Torchwood always involved a lot of haphazard tossing of delicate scientific equipment back and forth so he’s able to catch it with only a bit of a stumble. Glancing around he spots the culprit and quirks an eyebrow at him.]

Not a fan of the plot?

[unwieldy]

[ Oh, that catch would have been impressive if Haein had been paying attention. Right now, though, his eyes are continuously scanning the shelves until the question breaks him out of it. He turns his head to face the stranger, expression quickly turning guarded.

He regards Ianto with a bit of suspicion for a moment or two before speaking. ]

It's one of the stupider things I've read in a while.

[ Something about teenagers going on a camping trip and encountering zombie mermaids. Look, he thought there'd at least be a lot of gore and death, but then it had turned into some weird love triangle with a zombie mermaid?? ]

[readystopwatch]

[He flips the book over to glance at the title, clearly amused. To be honest he’s rather tempted to read it, it looks like it might be so bad it’s good.]

Much as I hate to admit it I’ve seen more than a few of these plot devices come true in reality.

[unwieldy]

[ That's certainly got his attention. Haein's met all kinds here and it hadn't taken him too long to get used to it, but real zombie mermaid events?? ]

You have? [ Tries to look mildly curious when in fact he is very curious. ] I don't have anything like that where I'm from.

[readystopwatch]

[He may or may not be romantically involved with a vampire. Actually now hat he thinks about it supernatural teenage romance novels probably hit a bit too close to home for his taste.]

I used to work for an orginization that hunted down aliens. It tends to make you a bit jaded towards the unusual I’ll admit. Ianto Jones by the way, nice to meet you.

[unwieldy]

[ Write a book, Ianto. There's space for it right here in the library. ]

Haein... [ He's still trying to process the hunting down aliens part, so no formalities in return. Though in normal circumstances, he'd still withhold on those. ] Are these real aliens? Or are you one of those conspiracy theorists chasing after UFOs?

[ Can't be too sure at a place like this. ]

[readystopwatch]

[Don’t tempt him.]

Real aliens. There’s a rift in time and space that runs through the center of Cardiff. We deal with it. [Or used to. It’s been awhile since he was a part of Torchwood, although it always makes for good conversation even now.] We always liked the conspiracy theorists, though. They make it easier to hide a top secret organization.

[unwieldy]

[ It's... hard to believe. But no reason not to when there's such a colorful mix of people from different worlds in this place. ]

Top secret? [ Thinks about it for a moment. ] I guess there's no reason to keep it a secret here.

D.

[dumbstruck]

[ This has been going on for way too long, not because Hyunseok is actively avoiding Haein, but because at this very moment Hyunseok hasn't even realized he's been watched for the past several minutes. He's not even doing anything exciting! Right now Hyunseok is in the lounge digging through the various games that are housed there.

Most of them require more than one player though, and considering Hyunseok is currently alone... this is making everything just a little bit depressing. ]

[unwieldy]

[ A little bit depressing? Try a lot depressing.

But Haein's not here to make fun of Hyunseok... this time. He's here because his traitorous mind is still uneasy from their last encounter. That's all there is to it. Nothing else other than that, and the more Haein stands there and watches Hyunseok the more he thinks he's going to bail, so better to just get this over with. ]

What are you looking for?

[ Tries to keep both his expression and his tone as neutral as possible as he approaches, which is a real, plain to see struggle. ]

[dumbstruck]

[ It's safe to say that Hyunseok was not expecting anyone to be standing so close by judging by the way he tenses up and drops the board game he's currently holding when Haein asks him that.

Pieces go spilling everywhere, and Hyunseok just watches them scatter about the floor, blinking rapidly as he tries to calm down from the surprise. It takes a moment, but he finally looks up at Haein and (for now) ignores the mess on the floor. ]

Haein?

[ Not exactly who he expected to see voluntarily talking to him after the last conversation they had. He should probably turn and flee himself right now, but a week is a long time to be by yourself, and Hyunseok cracks easily under the pressure of loneliness. ]

What?

[ And that is in response to Haein's actual question, which he did not catch at all. ]

[unwieldy]

[ This quickly and very literally became a mess!! Haein watches the game pieces go flying across the floor, then back at Hyunseok with an accusatory look on his face. Really?? Right at this moment when Haein is trying to be a whole adult by not petulantly ignoring Hyunseok for the rest of his life?

He sighs, trying to keep it together for both their sakes. ]

I asked what you were looking for, but...

[ Trails off as he gestures to the scattered pieces everywhere. ]

I guess this answers that.

[dumbstruck]

[ It's hard when you want to be a mature adult by not hating someone for the rest of their life for a small slight, but they're also a moron who keeps doing things to make you hate them a little.

Or a lot.

Hyunseok winces, and drops to the floor in order to grab at the pieces that stayed close to him. ]

Uhm no-- I mean, I wasn't really... I was just looking for something to pass the time, I guess.

[unwieldy]

[ It was a ginormous slight and the most annoying thing ever, thank you very much.

But okay, it's a bit awkward standing there watching as Hyunseok starts picking up game pieces so after a moment or two, Haein crouches down and starts collecting some of the pieces around him as well.

He's not helping. He's just. Trying to fill up this uncomfortable silence by doing something. Yeah. ]

[dumbstruck]

[ That's not really expected. Even before Haein started hating him he wasn't ever particularly helpful, and whenever he was angry at Hyunseok he would actively attempt to make his life more difficult.

Hyunseok glances over at him, stopping what he's doing for a moment as he takes in what's happening here. After a moment he remembers his manners at least. ]

Thanks.

[ And ducking his head back down to pick up more pieces. ]

You're not mad anymore?

[ A quick glance up at Haein again. Because he wouldn't approach Hyunseok if he was still mad, right? ]