Choi Jun He (sparks_flying) wrote in rrinitiative, @ 2012-11-02 22:43:00 |
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Entry tags: | jason, jason and jun-he, jun-he |
gloomy skies
Characters: Jun-he and Jason
Setting: Block B Farm, Afternoon
There was a distaste in Jun-he’s mouth as he left for the new block of the facility. Caroline’s death was not something that he felt overly troubled by but something about a member of their little society expiring still made everything seem weird. At least he didn't have to dwell over conversations that he never had with her. That might have been different if they had.
With a cigarette between his fingers, the Korean stood overlooking the patches of different crops growing spices and food. Ashing, he dug his free hand in the pocket of his blue jeans and took in the fresh air of the morning. It was much more calm in block b, where the population was much smaller compared to that of his home block. Even if the skies were dark and bellowing, Jun-he wanted to make the most of being outdoors he could incase those clouds started to pour.
After his conversation with Brady, Jason had gone wandering again. Really, what else was there to do? There was nothing he could really do about the death that had happened earlier, and he hadn’t known her, so, other than the general sadness about the loss of human life, he couldn’t really mourn her loss. He considered the gym, but decided against it. He had already sort of gotten in the habit of doing that sort of late at night, so he would leave that for tonight. Instead, he wandered, picking his way through some of the public rooms he hadn’t yet explored, eventually finding himself in the second wing.
He hadn’t been in this wing yet, so he stuffed his hands in his pocket, and set about to exploring. It was… different, seeming odd partially because the similarities between this section and the other section made the differences all the more obvious. Like the greenhouse where the other section had a gym. The area was remarkably quiet, mostly empty, making the presence of another man stand out. He took a moment to consider the man with the cigarette. He didn’t recognize him, but that wasn’t terribly surprising. He hadn’t exactly gone out of his way to meet everyone here. But, since the man was here… Well, might as well check him out. He’d rather be aware of any potential threats here.
Jason approached the other man, hands still in his pockets. “Came over here to get away from the chaos of the other block?” he asked. He didn’t actually know if the other man was from the other block – hell, he might have a room over here – but it was better than an awkward hello.
It had been a while since someone caught him off guard. Perhaps it was the rolling thunder that blended the sound of footsteps in grass with the ambiance of the outdoors entirely. Jun-he turned his body to the right, catching sight of something quite familiar. “Ah, I think I like it better here,” he admitted, “Much quieter since it seems to have less people now.”
His brow furrowed a bit, taking a quick scan of his features. “You are Korean?” he asked curiously, though a little bluntly, following with a scoff at his own words. “I mean not to offend with that question.” Of course he would recognize another Korean when he saw one, even if there was something blended between the eyes and face that told him it was probably best not to ask the question in his native tongue. Though it had become a little daunting what with the sight of that Korean girl he had seen the other day. Even though he was not the only Korean in the village, it was strange to seemingly be the only one who spoke it. Though if the girl did, she was definitely not a native of it - her accent was perfectly Americanized. Or maybe she was just that good at her linguistics. Who knew?
Jason could certainly see the appeal. If nothing else, because of the fact that this place didn’t really quite have the same association with everything that had been happening as the other block.
The other man’s question, however, caught him off-guard. “No,” he said instantly, before he had a chance to really think about it. “I’m American.” Of course, as soon as he did think about it, he knew that sounded stupid. Or at the very least, probably seemed pretty obvious, especially given his own Mid-Western accent. The other man, definitely Asian, and probably Korean given the question and the accent, had probably been asking about his ethnicity, not his nationality. “Or well… I’m half Korean. On my mother’s side.” Okay, so that hadn’t been smooth, but hopefully, the other man would at least realize that he hadn’t been offended by the question.
Jun-he nodded. At least he was half right. He offered a friendly smile, feeling strangely chipper today compared to the day before. There was something oddly ironic about it considering the circumstances, but at least he wasn’t knee deep in an argument within mere seconds of meeting the guy... unlike that crazy bitch in the activity room. That was a definite plus.
“Oh, I see,” he said a bit awkwardly, his friendly smile slowly following the awkward emotion. He looked down at his cigarette, the reminder of the activity room making his stomach turn on the thought that he had been caught with it in hand again. Not that he expected to be berated for smoking outdoors. It was still an unpleasant thought.
“Ah!” Jun-he exclaimed softly, “I am Jun-he.” He outstretched his free hand a bit like he had learned over the years. An offer of courtesy when meeting someone in America. Back in his home, those sort of things were usually reserved for businessmen and he was never overly fond of touching someone when they first met. Somehow his short time in the facility had lightened his opinions of it. Actual prison was much too different than it was here and the disposition against physical contact remained before entering the program. Though it would have been nice if the guy were actually a native Korean. He really missed interacting more naturally. Everything was a learning process now.
There was something… almost awkward about Jun-he’s movements as he offered his hand. While he might not know much about Korean culture – next to nothing, actually – he could guess that maybe it was something like Chinese or Japanese cultures and there was the whole… bowing thing. He didn’t really get it, but it would explain things. Still, he didn’t want to make the other man feel out of place, so he shook his hand with a grin. “I’m Jason.”
Withdrawing his hand after the shake, Jun-he’s friendly smile returned, though smaller. He looked down at the hand, reminded of the last time he had talked to Kyle. A small unease returned. Somehow, he thought he had put that behind him.
“Did you come to get away from the chaos?” he asked, stealing a small once over of Jason’s entire features as he returned the earlier question.
Jason grinned at the question. “Not really. I hadn’t been over here yet, so I thought I would check it out. It was either this or the gym and I think the punching bag is already getting tired of me. I figured I’d give it a break for a few hours.” He glanced around. “I don’t really know what I was expecting but it’s not bad over here. If nothing else, the view’s a little better. No stocks or anything.”
The gym was one place Jun-he had yet to be. Strangely he opted for working out in the privacy of his room, something of a parallel between there and his prison cell. Some old habits just died hard. “Ah, it is calm here, I think,” he said, feeling a little drop of rain hit his nose. He rubbed it with his free hand, scrunching his face as he did so.
There wasn’t any doubt in Jun-he’s mind that Jason was the type to frequent the gym. He definitely had the build and as he thought about it, he had unknowingly began to scan the man from head to toe before glancing up to the dark sky above. “But I don’t think it will be as calm here soon,” he added, “Unless you enjoy a little rain - or a lot?” Truthfully, Jun-he rather liked the rain, even if it made his hair all kinds of no.
Jason noticed the way Jun-he glanced him over but wasn’t really surprised. He figured the guy was just doing what most people in prison did, and was sizing him up, trying to determine just how big of a threat he was. He didn’t think too much of it as he followed his gaze up to the clouds. Huh. “You know, I think the weather has been kind of perfect ever since I got here. It’s sort of interesting that it picked today to get rainy.” But he realized that he hadn’t answered Jun-he’s question, so he continued. “I actually kind of like the rain. Not too much, because before, that always meant more work for me.” Because people were stupid and had an amazing tendency to get themselves in trouble in heavy rains. “But otherwise, I’ve always liked the rain.”
Jun-he cocked an eyebrow a bit at Jason’s statement. “More work?” he questioned, finding it a little bit of a weird correlation between the two. Though weird, definitely interesting. He .puffed his cigarette as the light droplets fell in shorter intervals and as he did, ran the other hand through the long side of his hair. There was something about rain that no matter where he was, he was always reminded of Busan. It was almost exhilarating and a small anxiousness lightinged through his body as the thunder cracked.
Jason laughed slightly. Yeah, he could guess that probably wouldn’t make much sense to someone without an explanation. “Yeah. I was a firefighter. You’d think rain would mean less work, but we got called out to act as first responders for all sorts of accidents when it was raining. So yeah, we were always busy when it was raining.” It was feel of the light rain was nice, a little different from what he had gotten used to down in Florida, lacking that sort of warm promise of humidity. That was one thing he wasn’t going to miss.
That, Jun-he understood. Though holding a reputable job, he definitely didn’t. He nodded, feeling tiny goose bumps form on his forearms from the chill of the air. Before thinking about anything else, he rubbed his bare left arm slightly, fighting back the bumps. There was a small part of him that wanted to ask the inevitable question. Even if he thought it bordered on rude, that bit of him just slipped by. “So how did a firefighter....” he trailed off, hoping it eluded in the right direction. Not that he really would have judged any answer, except in some cases, but he was curious nonetheless.
The coolness of the rain didn’t bother Jason. If anything, it was sort of comforting, reminding him of Ohio and home more than the rain in Florida. But still, appreciation for the weather didn’t couldn’t keep him from making an unhappy face at Jun-he’s partial question. He could guess what the rest of the question was: So how did a firefighter end up here? or something along those lines. It was… The answer to that question was not something he liked to talk about. At all. He didn’t even like to admit to what had gotten him in here, much less the circumstances behind it.
“That… That is a sort of long story.” Well, not really. Not long, at least, just something he didn’t want to talk about. Even after almost three years, there were still too many mixed feelings attached to it. “But it all basically boils down to a couple counts of aggravated battery and involuntary manslaughter.” That was about as far as Jason wanted to get into it at the moment.
Jun-he shrugged gently. He didn’t really expect much of a long story and if had been him, he would have been even more vague. He definitely respected privacy on the matter. Actually, he respected lots of privacy. That wasn’t really what he focused on though. Instead, he found something interesting in the guy. He wasn’t quite sure what it was, but he definitely wasn’t finding himself apathetic about the company.
“I understand,” he said, “and how long have you been here?”
Jason had to think about that for a second. “Four days,” he answered. Sometimes, it felt like longer, mostly because of how the freedom of this place made him restless at times. But rather than focusing on that, he instead focused on Jun-he, watching him closely as he asked, “What about you?” He purposefully left the question open. If Jun-he wanted to say why he was here, then he was certainly interested, but if not… Well, he figured the question of how long the other man had been here couldn’t be too invasive.
What goes around, comes around. Jun-he laughed softly, his eyes thinning as his cheeks rose. “Ahh, maybe it is a long story too. Some manslaughter, like you,” he answered, “but here, I think three days?” He finished his cigarette, pulling out the now empty pack from his back pocket and squished it against the inside before closing it and putting it back in the pocket. At least he wasn’t littering.
He bit his bottom lip gently, wanting to get far away from the conversation of what either of them had done. Though that wasnt entirely his fault for bringing it up. Something about the place just meant there were a sort of standardized set of questions when meeting someone. Even if those questions irked him every time he came up, he couldn’t help but fall into the same trap. He pushed all that aside though, choosing to grin now instead of dwell. Even as the rain began to fall, Jun-he was decidedly staying with a chipper attitude.
His expression turning a little childish - a charming sort of youth shining, he tilted his head and sized up Jason’s arms. “You must spend a lot of time in that gym,” he stated, feeling invigorated as the rain hit his skin where the black tank top did not cover. Maybe it was time he tried the place out. His room was much too small to get any real work out in.
He was pretty sure it said something about how prison changed your perceptions when his thoughts pretty much boiled down to Well, at least it’s not homicide. Besides, Jason had manslaughter in his charges as well. It made it sort of hard to judge someone too harshly for that. Still, he couldn’t change the fact that it did make him slightly more on guard around the man.
Jason could honestly say that he had not expected that change of subject, nor the change in his expression. It made him wonder just how old Jun-he was; given his current expression, Jason couldn’t help but guess he was pretty young. He could be wrong about that of course, but… He didn’t really know. Still, he shrugged, squinting slightly against the rain but otherwise ignoring it. “I guess. Not a whole lot else to do here. Have to do something to keep from getting bored, right?”
Jun-he gave a little cheeky look. “Next time you go, send me a shout,” he said, “I guess I could use another friend maybe.” That rain was really starting to feel nice. “I feel like you might not be so bad, huh?” Somehow, his english was starting to fail him. It might have had something to do with how distracting that rain was becoming. Not that he was minding one bit. “If you don’t mind to have the company.”
He took a deep breath, wiping the accumulating water from his cheeks. His charming sort of side was usually marked by an enormous bout of energy and even though he had ignored his morning coffee, there was plenty of energy to go around within him. He smiled again through the rain. There was also something effeminate emitting off him now. A more subtle characteristic of things he was too stubborn to face.
Even if it wasn’t for the accent, Jason would be inclined to think Jun-he hadn’t been born and raised in America like he had simply because of the odd way he spoke, of the slightly different way he phrased things. It made him curious. His best guess was that they were still in the country and as far as he had seen, everyone here had been imprisoned in America. Even Reggie, even though he was, like Jun-he, clearly not American by birth. It made him wonder if Jun-he had moved over here, or if it had been… something more like his own circumstances, an arrest while on vacation.
But still, he smiled slightly at the offer. As he had told Brady, he had been getting restless lately. Maybe having some company in the gym would help. Well, he figured, if nothing else, it couldn’t hurt. “That would be cool. Some company would be nice. Keep things from getting boring, at least,” he said with a grin. There was something interesting about Jun-he. Granted, given what Jun-he had said earlier about why he was here, he wasn’t going to let his guard down, but… Still, he was slightly fascinated.
tagBoring was an understatement. Jun-he had only found entertainment when teaching Korean to Mazie. Teaching. The sound alone came off as dry and boring. It was a wonder how that worked for his amusement. Maybe it was just her company. Ah but then there was the thought about Mazie he had been avoiding since last seeing her... and that conversation with Kyle.
Jun-he nodded. “Mmh, I think it has been a long time since I really used a gym like that,” he explained, “Even in Korea it was different. Not the gym but I guess like... the situation.” He wasn’t quite sure how to explain himself with that one. Not in english anyway. Or maybe it wasn’t whether or not his English was good enough for what he was trying to say, but rather just trying not to get into it entirely. How did you tell someone you fought other gangsters for gangsters? With Wu it was easier to talk about those things. He knew all too well about what it was like but not knowing what someone might judge you for was different. His trial was exceptionally tricky. That sense of keeping everything to oneself carried on, a wall barely being breached by failing to overcome the charges of his crime.
He made a nervous laugh, “Anyway, as long as you don’t mind my company.” Like it made a difference.
Jason eyed Jun-he curiously. “Is there a reason I should mind?” he asked. Because yes, Jun-he had admitted to manslaughter – granted, Jason did realize that it was possible that wasn’t the whole truth – but then again, so had he. And Jun-he had sounded nervous when he had made the comment about his company. So, yes, Jason was now wondering what exactly Jun-he was thinking, what reasons his own mind was coming up with as to why Jason should mind his company.
The question made him a tad more anxious. He wasn’t ever really anxious in social settings, not before coming to America anyway. Jun-he responded first with an awkward half smile. Maybe it was that whole self proclamation that he was unsure of his own sexuality that labeled him someone to stay away from. That was at least his cultural default. Things were much less open where he was from.
“I don’t know,” he said, shaking his head a bit. His stomach felt like it was upside down just then. “Just been a weird time here.” That was about all he could come up with for an answer.
Jason wasn’t sure he believed Jun-he just then. He seemed more uncomfortable than simply the events of the past few days here warranted. Or… Well, that wasn’t quite right, because the past few days more than warranted being uncomfortable, but he was fairly sure not about what they had been talking about. But… He really couldn’t figure out what was making him so obviously uncomfortable. He didn’t think it was Jun-he’s crimes, because he hadn’t seemed too uncomfortable when he had told him about it. “Okay…” Jason said slowly. “I guess that’s fair. But no, I can’t say I’d mind your company.”
Social settings were just hard in America. Or maybe it was that something else making it hard. Whatever it was, Jun-he wanted out. “Ah good,” he said, “Well send me a message later when you go. I think now I’ll get out of the rain.” He offered a smile to try and ensure he was not just trying to get away from the awkwardness.
Well, that was officially one of the stranger encounters Jason had had since he had gotten here. Really, he didn’t know what to make of the whole thing, but apparently, asking why he shouldn’t be okay with Jun-he’s company had been something he shouldn’t have done. There had definitely been the start of the other man’s odd behavior. But he didn’t want to call him on it though, because he was fairly sure that would just make things worse. So instead, he smiled slightly. “Sure. Probably a good idea. I’m pretty sure most people would have something to say about us not having the sense to get out of the rain. So I’ll message you later?”
Jun-he nodded, stuffing his hands in his pockets. He could feel the dampness in his jeans and figured it was best to just stick himself in his hole of a room for a while. Maybe a good shower would help wash away his sudden animosity for himself.
“Yeah, I would like that,” he replied truthfully, smiling more sincerely now.
Well, Jason supposed he hadn’t done too badly. At least this time, Jun-he’s smile didn’t seem quite so strained. And while he might still not be sure how he felt about the man – one conversation wasn’t enough for that – he figured trying to make friends with the guy was definitely the best thing to do. Grinning, he nodded, “Okay. I’ll message you then.” Glancing up at the skies, he added, “I think I’ll be heading in too. Before the weather gets worse. But I’ll see you around, okay?”
A little more relaxed, Jun-he nodded again. There was something in the air of the storm that just had him someplace between frazzled and contemplative. He gave a little up turn of his head, marking his departure.
Jason watched Jun-he for a second as he left. He really didn’t get the man. He shrugged to himself though and turned back towards his own room. He’d see if Jun-he wanted to join him at the gym later like he had said. If he agreed, well, maybe he’d get more of a chance to figure him out. If not… Well, he had tried.