let me understand; i'm learning a human science

[vibrantdecay]

Muses: Cade Lu (vibrantdecay) and Im Siwan (lachesism)
Status: Closed
Date / Time: 11/01, after 10pm
Rating: G
Type: Thread
Summary: Language 101 - when acquiring a tutor, make sure they speak at least one common tongue.

Cade's watch struck ten. He had been early on purpose, arriving at the cafe half an hour before the appointed time. It's a mere jaunt and skip away from his apartment, but his car was still parked nearby. There had been an interlude - two hours in which he had nothing to do between leaving his office and keeping his appointment - and he was hungry.

Monday had been spent in complete seclusion. Halloween to most of the world, yet Cade had never celebrated a day of it, even upon learning of its existence. It was a ridiculous setup; the garish colours and costumes and the all-too-human fascination with things that went bump in the night. At any other time of the year, he would laugh at the misconceptions, give credit at things gotten right, be generally amused. His favourite movies are of the horror genre, and he could get just as into them as anyone.

Yet every Halloween, Cade sequestered himself in isolation. For the past three years, this meant a hidden warehouse he had bought over in Kowloon, and this year was no different. No one alive, as far as he knew, was aware of his reasons for disappearing each October 31st, and he said nothing of his staff jokingly referring to it as his 'dark day' behind his back.

But all that was an aside. Today, Tuesday, had absolutely nothing to do with his dark day, and his thirst needed to be slaked. Cade had driven off to a random neighbourhood away from the affluent reaches of the Peak, and sated himself upon the wrist of a young girl. He could smell the scent of printer ink and and the waxy scent of air-conditioning. An office girl - an intern, perhaps. He didn't ask. She never knew. His illusions were easy, practiced.

Thus he sat, thirty minutes to spare with a soft human glow to his skin, book in hand and a small cup of tea on the table, waiting for his new coach in Cantonese to arrive and claim the seat in front of him.

Comments

[lachesism]

Tuesdays weren’t meant to be that crowded. Maybe a full seat by the bar and three to five full tables on the floor and that was it. But it had been Halloween, a Western festivity that somehow made its way to Hong Kong. Siwan wasn’t complaining though. In a few hours, he made bank with just tips and all he did was reach top-shelf gin and shake up some mint julep. There were a lot of couples too and that meant Siwan was off the hook when it came to making small talk. Not that he hated it, but if another guy made another lewd joke at one of their waitresses, Siwan would be in jail for grave assault.

He clocked out 15 minutes earlier, already spotting Heng and his skinny tie. It was his ‘signature look’, but if the floor manager caught him not adhering to bar policies, he would probably be kicked out. Siwan decided to change his shirt on the way, calculating the time he would get there if he took the train versus a cab. He didn’t want to be late; it wasn’t a job interview but it wouldn’t make a good impression. He gambled with a cab, pushing his head out of a soft sweater. He probably smelled like alcohol and smoke after his shift and Siwan shook his hair out, mumbling a soft apology to the cab driver as he rubbed alcogel on his wrists and hands. Honestly, he would do his neck too, but he wasn’t sure if that was safe.

Siwan was late either way, arriving 10 minutes later. His face was full of apologies once again, squinting through the change of lighting from the dark cab to the pleasantly-lighted interior of the café. There was a group of students by the entrance and Siwan smiled to himself, wondering what it would feel like to be part of something like that, but he pushed the thoughts away once he spotted who he was looking for.

“Hello,” he greeted in Cantonese, hand resting on the back of the chair across the other. “Sorry I was late, I got held up at the intersection,” he switched back to Korean, unsure if his new friend would be more comfortable with that. “Im Siwan.” Extending his right hand, Siwan’s smile stretching wider.