pyolyuja

[pyolyuja]

fit for a king ft. @starlightfades

there'd be 16 rooms ... no, 24 rooms. he'd also sculpt a terrace around the lower level and perhaps a courtyard with a fountain. he'd be remiss if he forgot the dormer windows and mansard roofing. all that currently lay before him for the time being was an expanse of sand, though. soon enough, it'd be a strikingly adequate sandcastle all made by yunseong's hands. it was a skill he'd gleaned growing up on the beaches of yangyang city, along with surfing. as he got to work scooping a few buckets of damp sand into measured piles in front of him, his sculpting tool began etching out the rough beginnings of the structure. he was having to displace quite a bit of dry sand to get to what he needed, and as he risked a glance behind him, he realized where he was moving it all too. he saw minyoung's beach towel barely visible beneath piles of glistening sand. "oh, uh ... my bad," is yunseong's dumbfounded response.

[pyolyuja]

sands of time ft. ?????

he remembered how it had felt when the vast expanse of sea had first stretched into view from the window of the charter bus. the beach may have been different, but he couldn't stamp down the countless childhood memories that replayed on the sands in front of him as he carried his duffel bag off the bus. he'd simply worn board shorts and a sleeveless hoodie on the ride over so he could seamlessly shift into beach mode without much fuss.

casting a glance at the person queued up ahead of him, he bears an excited expression. "can you believe this ? we get to be here alllll weekend. we basically own this beach until monday morning rolls around," he chatters, lazily stretching his arms behind him to relieve soreness from sitting for so long.

[pyolyuja]

sibling rivalry ft. @novocaiines

"hey !! get back here !!" was the enraged exclamation yunseong heard from behind him, the vocalization of one sunset security officer or another. the sound was fading fast though and mall customers were becoming streaks of color as he flew by them on his skateboard. in his opinion, the authority figures around here needed to book a spa appointment and relax a little bit. it wasn't as though the customers minded him whipping out a trick or two. besides, this was easily the fastest way through the mall, and he was definitely skilled enough at the sport to avoid any incidents. hell, he was more dangerous on his feet.

content that he was no longer being pursued, yunseong slowed down and propelled his board up into his hand with his right foot. he headed onto a nearby escalator, taking it up to the second level where the fountain lay in wait. he took a running glide onto his board, dipping it to elevate and grind the side of the fountain to coincide with a particular fountain arch. he grinned as he heard some scattered applause, skidding to a stop and performing a seamless casper slide, before flipping the board back over and landing on it as he was before. there was more clapping, and yunseong couldn't help but revel in the praise.

as goyun skate — his sister's place of employment — entered his line of sight, he couldn't help but formulate an idea. yunjin being in daegu was like a little slice of home when he couldn't be there in person, and her presence always emboldened yunseong to do things he may not have otherwise had the guts to do. he once again took off on his skateboard, albeit a bit slower this time, rolling right through the open door to the store. "i'm here to challenge youuu to a little competition in front of the fountain. i'll have you know i just performed an amazing casper slide so the chances you'll upstage me are next to zero," he defiantly announces to his sister, his voice manipulated like some sort of 1990s professional wrestler.

[pyolyuja]

yunseong's eyes follow danyi's direction over to the candycake's sign, nodding involuntarily as she lay out the plan for him. "got it," he replies succinctly, the perfectly executed events already playing out in his mind. would he have ever happily agreed to trick people before meeting the woman standing so casually to his right ? the woman so unaware of how affecting her appeal truly was ? probably not, but he'd already tricked himself just the same, convinced that this was just another form of entertainment the general public got their kicks from.

when she'd caught his arm, tossing out a dinner invitation, it nearly took him to his knees. there was this little gaze she'd sometimes award him; pointed, pouting lips parted slightly with the faintest hint of softness dancing just beyond her eyelashes. it turned his innards to a waterspout, looking to destroy a once calm ocean. he relaxes under her touch, hitting her with an acquiescing smile. "that sounds good," he agrees, almost colliding with an innocent shopper due to his inability to look away from her.

he finally succeeds in forcing his gaze to avert, offering a clumsy apology to the person he'd almost run into, before sprinting over to his designated hiding spot. he begrudgingly had to keep reminding himself things were just casual between them. that the only time she was really attracted to him was when he'd just ridden a decent swell at the local wave park or when he smelled of surfboard wax. he looked down at his xpixel uniform, appearing as uncool as anyone could, rolling his eyes at his decision not to change his clothes before he came to see danyi.

the bluetooth device rotated in his hand mindlessly a few times, his eyes glued to the kiosk in case his partner in crime signaled for him to play his role in the scheme. as someone approached listening elle, he beamed absentmindedly as danyi started working her magic, and yunseong's shoulders raised slightly as she seemed to signal him with her eyes.

he studies her lips carefully — certainly not for the first time that day — and he swears he can see her mouth form words like 'soulmate' and 'three cards'. yunseong glances down at the device, grinning mischievously as he operates it. as if by some divine fate, three different cards flutter gently towards the customer after they've sat down: the lovers upright, the world reversed and the wheel of fortune upright. he can't help but breathe a sigh of relief at the way things were progressing.

yunseong is easy to read when he's up close, with the stars that she doesn't call upon hung in his eyes. the exact opposite of her duplicity in his clean cut uniform, though it's clearly rubbing off on him, with the new ideas he brings to her lap. she knows he'll take her up on the demand, the timbre of his voice the same as when he's fresh off catching a good wave, eyes stuck on her. cute, she thinks, then frowns at the thought. not while the snack attendant's out of boardshorts and missing his surfboard. that's not cute!

she flaps her hands in the direction of the upgraded cards, throwing the thoughts to the back of her mind. there are far more things to do, people to fleece, than split hairs about maybe cute puppies and their eyes. "hide over there, you can handle the fancy tech shit," danyi says, pointing in the direction of candycake's new display. the cardboard signage's just big enough to hide yunseong and probably close enough for whatever signals need to be picked up. "i'll give you a sign... i don't know what it is yet, but you'll know when you see it," she instructs, shooing him away with that.

"and—" she catches his arm before he can go, a pause stilling her open lips, but only for a moment. mu danyi doesn't second guess herself. "—we'll grab dinner after," she adds, a small one shouldered shrug accompanying it. well, yunseong might have a shift to finish but hey, that's not her problem. the fortune teller shoots him a grin and starts rigging up the cards, laying them open in an arc across the small stand.

and maybe there really is something to opening up earlier, because it's not long before someone new arrives, pausing in front of the pricelist taped to the front of her kiosk. danyi raises her eyebrows at the girl, glancing down at the cards. "hey," she says, "want a tarot reading? it's twenty bucks, if you wanna find out about your future, love life, career..." something in her potential sucker's eyes light up at the mention of love, so danyi pokes at it a little harder, "it's great for finding your soulmate, y'know?"

hook, line, and sinker, danyi's new customer nodding and handing over the cash. psychic telepathy has her looking up for yunseong, her eyes meeting his and darting down to the girl in front of her, waiting for the other to pick up on her signal. "here, pick three cards..."

[pyolyuja]

do you think your father was too hard on you?

"at times i do, but i don't think it was ever intentional on his part, y'know ?? i think in his mind, it was wanting what was best for me, but in reality, it felt more like a lot of expectations i was never gonna be able to meet. i don't really hold it against him, though."

[pyolyuja]

do you have a crush on anyone right now?

"you're goddamn right i do."

[pyolyuja]

[pyolyuja]

who do you idolize the most?

"my mom, hands down. she's been through so much, but she never gives up or stops giving her best to people. always made my sister and i feel loved, but always gave us room to grow, too. she's a badass and i'll never stop looking up to her."

[pyolyuja]

when do you feel most like yourself?

"definitely when i'm on a surfboard... 'specially when danyi's on the surfboard, too. besides that, when i'm at home on jukdo beach of course, when i'm with my roommates and my friends, when i'm at the arcade. basically anywhere that isn't school."

[pyolyuja]

have you ever been heartbroken?

"i think there's only one time where i feel like i was actually heartbroken, and that was seeing the look on my mom's face when she found out my grandpa died."

[pyolyuja]

𝐇𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐘 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐑 !

reblog if you'd like to take part !!

[pyolyuja]

when rome falls, Yves Olade

[pyolyuja]

when she justifiably hurled a name at him, he goofily clutched at a metaphorical dagger in his heart, pulling it out with an exaggerated gesture. "oh danyi ... you know i love it when you wound me with your words," his voice wears a playfully thick layer of honey, and his eyebrows wriggle at her emphatically. he knew he embarrassed himself around her regularly, but he couldn't find it in him to care or even slightly let up on his willingness to be her stepping stone in any situation. he'd become her little pushover through and through, icy words like a warm breeze against his cheek; he saw only light in her.

his stance can't help but shift into a prideful one, as danyi tests out the mechanism in the cards. her pleased reaction was well worth 100 lectures from his boss later for being late coming back from his break. as long as she could have a successful session with her client and they were properly deceived, he'd consider the day a win. many may have questioned his devotion to helping with such activities, but those people had never tasted the stinging kiss of mu danyi. he was reminded of just how clueless those people were as she drew him closer to her heavenly form.

when the suggestion — or more precisely, demand — leapt from her visage that he remain at the kiosk to help her, for a miniscule beat, the fact that he was already late to return to work was stored at the base of his tongue. those words never had a chance of making his past his teeth, though. he softens under her gaze as always, voice deeper than normal from the worry plucking at his vocal chords; "of course i will ... i was already planning to." his grin is as comfortable as ever, showing no intention of abandoning her on this endeavor. "where do you want me ?" he asks, coffee colored hues trained on her with rapt attention.

danyi's fiddling with the idea of closing early, barely half past three—it's unusual in itself for her to be even be open this early. it's yunseong's fault, really, that she's here at all; but can you blame her for hitching a ride and getting free labour all in one go? and fine, it probably was a good idea to open up at too-early-o'clock because the listening elle has been having a good day in the sun, gullible group of tourists she'd charged a premium on and a couple of students looking for easy ways out of an upcoming math test. she understands the kids; danyi's selling them confidence sandwiched between the stars, the easiest way out of holding down an actual job too. why work when you could lie?

and speaking of not working... yunseong comes into view, tail practically wagging when he shows off the, let's say, upgrades to her tarot cards. she raises an eyebrow, a laugh over her lips. "you're excited," danyi teases, snatching the cards from his hands and holding them up. they look exactly like any old deck, their potential abundant for the next lucky customer her kiosk'll receive. adds a "fuckin' nerd," just for effect; nothing he'd just said makes any sense to her, to be honest, but she's not in the business of understanding tech. just using it for dishonest purposes!

"so..." danyi button mashes the little remote and watches the upgraded deck of cards flip all over the table. "holy shit," a laugh, and the psychic leans over the stand, her smile full of promise and mischief as she pulls her unknowing scapegoat closer. "they look haunted, that's so creepy," she says, amused approval in the tint of her voice. looks the other over in his xpixel uniform, an absolutely horrible outfit that's just lame enough for him to go unnoticed. "you should stay and help," danyi decides for him, "it'll be worth your time!" ( six hours later: no it won't! )

[pyolyuja]

yunseong begins to sense jieun's discomfort with being found out, as her eyes resemble that of a deer in headlights; wanting to find some sort of escape hatch but being too frozen in place to find it. he's relieved as her stance softens, even if only slightly. "yup, whatever you want," he affirms her inquiry, nodding casually.

he'd never considered that confronting her with her writings may not be the best course of action. she was seeming more like the type to shy away from the spotlight, so perhaps these accolades were unwelcome ?

yunseong was admittedly pretty neutral on the subject of attention; he could either be the life of the party or the guy asleep in the corner. it allowed him to empathize with jieun, even if it potentially came a few seconds too late. still, he was set on repaying her kindness somehow.

his head tilts and he chuckles softly. "'just because of that'," he mimics her, his expression one of great amusement. "you say it like it's some small feat ! i don't think you get how nice what you do actually is," he continues, emphatically placing the paper down on the desk. "the way you observe the things around you ... how you give really good advice in a way that doesn't make the person you're writing about feel inept. you make people feel seen and cared about," there was a small hint of sentimentality to his tone, even if he often wasn't good with such things. "it's well worth a few free trips through the arcade, if that's your style of course."

he then realizes where he's standing; in a room full of celebrated authors both living and dead — he was forced to wonder whether jieun unfairly compared herself to the works that lined the book centre shelves, only if because he felt he'd do the same in her shoes. yunseong was never really open about it but he often inwardly pitted himself against others, and nearly every time, he was on the losing end even in his own mind.

"although i do get it if you wanted it to be anonymous, and i'm starting to realize i'm kinda ruining the bit here," he laughs awkwardly, a palm flattening against the back of his neck. "so if you'd rather forget i ever came in here, i completely understand."

Jieun assumes, very incorrectly, that she’s lowkey.

She's never been one to be the center of attention; she thinks that if she were in a drama, she wouldn't even be the leading side character. She'd have maybe 5 lines the entirety of the drama, half of which would be throwaway lines to push the mains' lovelines.

Point being, she's never felt like she was any type of special. Save for that middle school phase, but that's everyone. She's a wallflower, and she's happy! A little fly on the wall, watching people live their lives.

It starts with filling in the blanks in her head, wondering how someone came to be in the same cafe at the same time at her. Noticing little details about them like how they dressed and carried themselves, or the things they had. Coming up with a story's easier when she's got those pieces to puzzle together.

The employees of Sunset Galleria are easy to want to write about; an interesting background's like a requirement, almost, for employment at their mall. The words, sentences, passages come easy, and she puts pen to paper (Samsung Notes, her beloved.) so often when overhearing conversations in their employees' lounge on her breaks. No one bats an eye at the girl in the corner, tapping away furiously on her phone.

The first time Jieun'd left her writing for someone to find, it's because she wanted to offer advice without seeming like a busybody. The protagonist ended up not picking the guy, instead venturing into the great unknown to go after her own ambitions.

Soon after, that employee'd quit because they'd gone overseas for their exchange program.

It's part of why she keeps at it to this day. The idea her words are being read, are impacting people in ways she couldn't dream of as the person, Choi Jieun.

Unfortunately, today seems to be the day that comes to an end.

Im Yunseong's insanely easy to write about- who doesn't like the guy who gives you free upsizes on your drinks? They're friendly enough, and she confuses real, actual feelings for an extra 174ml of cider. Easy mistake to make, really. She leaves the folded piece of paper on the counter of his snack bar the same day he sneaks her a corn dog for free.

She's regretting it now, selling her feelings for a corn dog.

Her eyes grow wider and wider with each word from Yunseong's mouth, alarm bells going off in her head. Barely two hours into her shift, but her hands inch towards the knot of the apron, with half a mind to just pull it off and make a run for it, never to return.

With the offer, though, her hands come to a halt, alarm bells silencing. "Whatever I want..." She echoes. "Absolutely anything? Just because of that?" She squints, as if to confirm his offer. The denial, originally on the tip of her tongue dying a swift, silent death at the idea of going into the arcade on someone else's coin.

[pyolyuja]

floating ft. open !

night had fallen long ago and yunseong's shift at xpixel's snack bar had ended hours previously. he couldn't pass up a visit to his favorite sanctuary before he headed home: the midlight hotel's indoor pool. the adjustable roof was parted allowing the glow of moon and stars into room, a sight that was enhanced when yunseong switched off the overhead lights. the room was completely vacant save for himself, probably given the late hours he'd chosen to occupy the place. he unzipped his hoodie and hung it off the lifeguard chair, before diving into the temperate blue.

bubbles tickled his face as he exhaled expertly, the mingling of moon rays and subaquatic pool lights illuminating his form as it glided to the surface. yunseong took an easy breath before immediately settling into swimming laps. the cool, low impact nature of the pool did wonders for his sore shoulders after a long shift. as he was making his way back to the far side of the pool, a figure splashed hard into the depths right in his path. he nearly inhaled out of surprised, but he quickly surfaced before making the dangerous mistake. taking a few deep breaths, he frowned at the other when they popped up from the water's surface. "you scared the shit out of me," he complained, leaning back with a relieved sigh.

[pyolyuja]

°    —    ❝ 𝙸𝙼 𝚈𝚄𝙽𝚂𝙴𝙾𝙽𝙶 '𝚂 𝙱𝚄𝙲𝙺𝙴𝚃 𝙻𝙸𝚂𝚃... ™ *

[ text id below the cut ]

#5 — enter an esports tournament at least once ! winning optional ... #4 — teach somebody to skate or surf. #3 — beat eileen & chaeri in a race upstairs to our apartment. cheaters ... #2 — something cheesy like dying for someone i love. #1 — surf an 80 footer and survive.

[pyolyuja]

have you ever had any major injuries?

"one time when i was surfing — i think i was in my second year of it ? — i dunno what happened. i guess i was more worried about showing off than paying attention to my surroundings, and i collided with another surfer. dislocated my shoulder and gave the other person a concussion, unfortunately. better believe i started paying fucking attention."