daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

" 'Barely' is not a word I like to hear when concerning an ongoing project." Dae-Hyun spoke as he walked further into the office, sliding back one of the chairs so he could sit down on it. He wanted to be on time enough to make some potential last edits to the presentation before going to the city council with it. "I think those two are suitable. Though we can wait with the poll until after we finish the presentation." He let out a short chuckle gesturing towards the other's laptop. "Okay. Show me what you got, or better yet, show me what's missing." @elianxbrowne

At the sound of Dae-Hyun's voice knocking on the door, Eli looked up from the monitor he had been staring at for most of the day. A smile tugged on the corner of his lips. "We're on track, barely," though that was merely the world of architecture. Construction almost never stayed on track and when it did, Eli was constantly holding his breath for the other shoe to drop. "As for the name," he thinned his lips, "I was toying with either Greyshore Landing or The Hollowmark," he pitched to Dae-Hyun, "What do you think?" His brow arched, genuinely wanting the opinion of the other man. "Should we run a poll somewhere?" @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"Tell me honestly, do you think that looks crooked?" Dae-Hyun halted the woman as she walked on by, having been obsessed with a sculpture put outside of the building, of which the blueprints he had overseen from the moment he started working at Creative Haus. And yet, something seemed off about it. Was it leaning too much to the right? Was it something in the stone? He couldn't put his finger to it. But then he noticed the woman had been walking along with her daughters and he had so rudely interrupted quality family time. "Oh, I'm sorry. Where are you ladies off to this fine day?" @corinnebeaumont

[daehyunxkwon]

"Good point." Dae snickered, though not obvious enough to make it look like he was laughing at Lorenzo but rather with him. It was good to see him in a better mood however, hoping that his current uplifted state was something that would last longer than a moment that waved as it passed him by. "Well, I won't say no to the offer, how about a meal and a coffee? Since you insist." He winked at the other, then gestured ahead of them to offer they started walking. "So, how've you been? You look good, relaxed even. Been to a spa you're keeping to yourself?" @lorenzocelestino

"We do, but, I try to keep mine from being a first impression." he nodded, letting the smile on his face grow. He had been feeling a lot better the last few weeks; something in his gut told him that break down had made him feel a lot better, even if just for now. He'd determine that later. A nod of his head that he'd have done the same was all that he could manage at first, swallowing he looked back at Dae-Hyun. "I would've. But something tells me I wouldn't have been as graceful. And even if not as a thank you, like you said everyone deserves a free meal or coffee every once in awhile." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"Knock, knock." Dae-Hyun announced himself, tablet in his hand clutched between his arm and side as he entered Eli's office. He'd given him charge of a project long ago and figured a surprise visit would show him how things went, of how he was faring. "What's the latest on the Driftwood complex? Found a befitting name of it yet?" He inquired, setting his tablet down on Eli's desk. "Are we on track? I know the city council wants an official presentation by the end of the month." @elianxbrowne

[daehyunxkwon]

"Lorenzo, hello." Dae-Hyun greeted the other, having just left the communal gardens where he tended to some of the shrubs. He hadn't expected to run into him outside of their support group, though he didn't mind in the least. "Nah, don't mention it. We all have one at some point." And it was something he meant, not just something he said to make the other feel better. "I'll never turn down free lunch or coffee, but there's no need to thank me. You'd have done the same." @lorenzocelestino

𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘳 @daehyunxkwon

"Oh, hey." Lorenzo muttered, barely loud enough for anyone to actually hear him. He never knew how to feel, seeing people from his support group 'out in the wild', and while there was always a bit of a pang in his chest at the sight of them, he was trying to work through it. "I don't think I ever properly thanked you for helping me through that meltdown I had the last time I saw you." Admittedly, that had been the last time Lorenzo had attended support group; but he was trying really hard not to focus on that right now. "Could I buy you lunch? Or coffee?" he questioned. "As a way to properly say thank you?"

[daehyunxkwon]

"Who is to say. I prefer the man I was in Chicago, but other people might disagree." He spoke honestly, though it was more the hurt and the absence of what he used to have that made him long for those days. "You got time. that's the beauty of it." Dae smiled, taking their order and handing her the cup. "Lets see if this will make you enjoy it more. Bottoms up." @daisyxmiller

END.

"Places do shape us." And Daisy nodded her head in agreement to him. For better or for worse. "Do you think Kismet changed you for the better?" She questioned, more curiously. Honestly, Daisy didn't know what Kismet Harbor was going to bring for herself but she was already enjoying her time. It could all go downhill, though. If she approached Stevie, revealing the fact that they were half-sisters and it didn't go well. "I think it's too early for me to tell, but I have been enjoying it." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"They do say optimism is free. Lucky for me." He smirked, letting out a curt laugh as he agreed, scanning the dishes. "I'm sure no matter what, it'll taste great." And it did. It had been a lovely dinner with a lovely woman, who by the end of it, he accompanied home. Dae-Hyun found himself looking around her place, finding fragments of herself in every little thing in her home, making it more hers. "I like your set-up." The man spoke, looking through her book case. @nancyxthompsons

She laughed and nodded. "It definitely helps." It was an interesting term, but if Dae-Hyun used it, she wouldn't mind it. Rolling her eyes a bit, Nancy shook her head at him. "I don't know about that, but I like your optimism." She chuckled again. It was hard for her to see what the other did, but did appreciate hearing it. She'd always appreciate hearing it. "At least we have a few options now." Nancy told him before taking the menu and nodding. "I understand that. I remember when it was just a few options, and now we have a full menu." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"Sometimes family exists out of the people you choose." Dae-Hyun told her, knowing that close friends could at times rival those sibling relationships. Especially when your born family wasn't able to be there for you. "It did have something cinematic about it. I'll see if I can find a photo of it at home. I should have one or two laying about." He continued, smiling when she mentioned putting it on her bucket list. "I'll definitely give you some pointers for when you do go." Then, he looked off into the distance, slowing his walk as he gestured towards a flock of birds. "There. See? Patience does pay off." @felicityxnovak

END.

"Oh, that is nice." She hadn't realized the man had his younger brother in town. "I don't have any siblings," considering she was adopted herself. "But I have a lot of friends that I would like to think are a lot like my siblings." Though she figured she would never understand the true sibling bond. "That sounds like magic," her eyes lit up as he described the orchard. "I'd love to see that someday. It sounds like something that only exists in a movie." But, she knew that it didn't. "That may be the first place on my bucket list now." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"If there is one thing I have learned in therapy and group sessions, is that grief isn't linear. It isn't weighed by the size of an event. Whether it is the passing of a parent, being left by someone you wanted to share your life with or losing a job that was important to you; We all have different values in life that we would line those things up in a different order." He began to say, moving next to Lorenzo so that he could rest against the wall next to the sink, properly looking at the other now. "Just because I didn't get therapy for losing my mother, doesn't mean someone else shouldn't either. A break up can be something one can get over in a flash, or you need longer to process. The fact you're here to talk about it and help process it is a big step." he would never have thought that he would be an advocate for therapy, having reluctantly started with it himself after the death of his family, but he knew that if he hadn't.. Who knew where he might have ended up. "You're allowed to get angry, to raze and storm off. It's all part of the process and no one is judging." Dae-Hyun spoke, placing a friendly hand on the other's shoulder. "It is hard, so remind yourself to cut yourself some slack." @lorenzocelestino

[daehyunxkwon]

"It's what we can hope." Dae-Hyun mused, glancing back inside again where they seemed to still be having a break. He wondered if he would stay or if he would go. It didn't seem like he would be able to fully enjoy the show, at any rate. Maybe saving himself the heartache would be for the best. "You're welcome for the idea." He told her, looking back at her once again. "I always liked the blue one, though I never was able to connect a flavour to it." @solanaxortiz

[daehyunxkwon]

"If there is one thing I have learned in therapy and group sessions, is that grief isn't linear. It isn't weighed by the size of an event. Whether it is the passing of a parent, being left by someone you wanted to share your life with or losing a job that was important to you; We all have different values in life that we would line those things up in a different order." He began to say, moving next to Lorenzo so that he could rest against the wall next to the sink, properly looking at the other now. "Just because I didn't get therapy for losing my mother, doesn't mean someone else shouldn't either. A break up can be something one can get over in a flash, or you need longer to process. The fact you're here to talk about it and help process it is a big step." he would never have thought that he would be an advocate for therapy, having reluctantly started with it himself after the death of his family, but he knew that if he hadn't.. Who knew where he might have ended up. "You're allowed to get angry, to raze and storm off. It's all part of the process and no one is judging." Dae-Hyun spoke, placing a friendly hand on the other's shoulder. "It is hard, so remind yourself to cut yourself some slack." @lorenzocelestino

Lorenzo knew he didn't have to apologize, but, he felt a little guilty for not only storming out like he had but also making the other listen to his outburst. He wasn't one that typically let himself get to this point, so, this was something he had not only not been expecting but also something that embarrassed him. Though something about the way the other admitted he'd been in the same position made Lorenzo nod slowly, muttering a soft "thanks" when he turned off the water Lorenzo had carelessly left running. "It just - there are people with so much worse situations than what I've been dealing with." he stated, eyes shifting to look at the other more spot on instead of through the mirror they'd been sharing glances through. "It makes me feel a little silly for blowing up like that." another pause, an inhale as he shook his head. "I guess I'm still trying to just get past it all you know. I just didn't think it would be this hard." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"If it helps, I didn't make it up. But pretty much if you add smile and eyes together. Guess it makes sense." As long as he didn't have to write it down for Nancy, otherwise he'd never win that argument. Still wasn't sure if he was winning it right now. He had to resist an eyeroll, much like she had given him, when she mentioned she felt like she looked to be in her sixties. "If that would have been true, which is not, you'd be the most beautiful sixty year old. Honest to God." He told her, even going as far as to draw a small cross across his chest before aiming his hand at the skies. He wasn't a religious man, especially after what he had been through. But if he could add a little dramatisation to a situation, he would. "That's a thing then. Something we can pull a few more dates out of. Free of charge." Not that he would have any issue coming up with a date idea, but it surely did help. He only pulled himself away when the waiter finally showed up with their menu's, throwing a smile her way before he looked down to read. "Sometimes I wish these places had simplified menus so it'd be easier to choose." @nancyxthompsons

She laughed a little and scrunched up her nose a bit. "The word is just an interesting one." She didn't know if she liked it, but she did like him teasing her about it so she wouldn't ask him to stop. Nancy couldn't help but roll her eyes again as he kissed her hand. "Now that is a lie." She told him before smiling. "I wouldn't say that. To you, yes, to me? I feel like I look like I'm in my sixties." She laughed a bit as she usually did when she was critical on herself. As he ran his fingers along her arm, her heart was certainly picking up and she was glad to be in this moment with him. "You and me both." It had been a good ten years almost since she had done that, but she continued doing the hobby over the years. "That would be great. And of course. I'd love to." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

Dae-Hyun merely smiled, though he disagreed. Chicago Dae-Hyun was who thrived, high on life, happier than he'd ever been. Especially now in hindsight, but that wasn't Daisy's fault, she couldn't have known. "That's one way to look at it." Though, still there were mixed emotions, as he'd rather have been the husband and father he was years ago, but life had a different path to him, so he was just going to walk it. "I guess a place does change a person, for better or worse. It's what you make of it that matters." @daisyxmiller

"Sounds like Chicago Dae-Hyun was missing out a little," she said as she tilted her head to the side a little bit. "Different is not always bad, though," she bumped her shoulder into him lightly. "Maybe you're just growing into the person you're supposed to be," she continued, "I think we have different versions of ourselves as we get older and especially as we find ourselves in new places." Daisy paused a moment, "I don't think I'm the same person I was in Portland or even Bend." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"You're adorable.. No, I think I'll stick with smizing. Especially when it gets you to react like this all the time." Dae-Hyun let out a chuckle, giving her a shake of the head before he took hold of her hand, lifting it up. "You look not a day over thirty-five." He told her as he simultaneously brought the palm of her hand to press a chaste kiss against it, already knowing it might result him in an eyeroll, but that was a payment he would gladly receive. "Time can be a cruel bedpartner, but it's been kind on you." He gave his final compliment on the matter, lowering her hand once more, allowing his fingertips to trace from her hand to as far as he could reach on her arm and slowly back again, stopping at each freckle her lower arm might have. "Sowing halloween costumes, that's been something I haven't done for so long." He let out a smile, allowing himself to travel down memory lane for a short moment before pulling himself back to the present- to her. "I'd gladly introduce you to both, if you'd like. If you take me with you to one of your crafts classes." @nancyxthompsons

"Well, why can't they just call it that? Not this... shmizing?" Was that what he said? Now she couldn't recall, but it made her laugh. Rolling her eyes, Nancy shook her head. "If only that was the truth." She wished she was younger than she was. Hell, she wished her kids were younger than they were. She wished she could just pause them in a moment for a while and that would be good. Though, she would still want to have met Dae-Hyun and have this budding relationship with him. "You asked." She chuckled a little bit before shrugging. "It's not so bad. Keeps me busy." Which was something she liked. Though, she did put a lot on the backburner if she had other things going on. "I sew a lot. I used to make my kids Halloween costumes and things growing up so I do that. A lot of things I just make and give away." Nancy told him before she listened to what he did. "There's nothing wrong with being mindful." It was something she felt she could do more of. "I'd like to try yoga. And maybe bird watching." @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"It's when you smile with your eyes. Exactly what you tend to do." He explained, all too willing to point out it's how laughing lines came to be, how it made her eyes all the more attractive. "Oh, is that what happens after every lunar year? I thought you aged backwards." Another compliment, though Dae-Hyun was hardly running out. This time, it was his turn to let out a modest laugh, tapping his fingertips on her wrist. In a novel it would be said that he had felt her pulse increase, and maybe he could have, were it not for the fact he wasn't able to trust the finer motor skills of his own hand sometimes. He didn't answer when she mentioned her being boring, not believing it for one second. He let her list the things she did, narrowing his eyes slightly when her final mention did mention her dog. "That goes without saying, Nance." Dae-Hyun mused, moving his hand further up her lower arm before slowly traveling back down again, tracing the lines of the palm of her hand. "That does sound like a busy schedule." Book club would be something he could do. Yet bowling and crafting things would eventually be too straining. "What do you craft? Decoration or things you use?" The question was then turned to him, and he pondered for a moment. "I go to yoga, at home I meditate. Then there's also the community garden. I do some mean trimming, it's a sight to behold and you could say I'm quite the twitcher." His answer sounded, before he realised the last one would sound pretty odd without context and if she had no idea what he meant by that. "As in, I do my fair share of bird watching. What you could say is that I do plenty of things that require being mindful, now that I put all of it together." @nancyxthompsons

She laughed a little more. "Smizing? And what does that mean?" She asked curiously. She was sure she hadn't heard that one before, not even from her kids. Waving him off, she just smiled over at Dae-Hyun. "It's just another day. I just happen to be older." She shrugged before her face fell to a soft smile and her heart skipped a beat. "You are smooth, you know that?" She told him and just continued to smile over at him. "Well, now you're just asking for me to be boring." She shrugged and sat up a little. "I read and go to book club, I go bowling, and I do that crafting club thing. And, you know, I walk Bowie." Nancy couldn't recall anything else she did, though there was definitely a lot she did without realizing. "What about you? What do you do for fun?" @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"Yes, you do." Dae-Hyun smiled, even more so when she proved his point. "How do the kids these days call it? Smizing?" Of course she'd say that, finding himself to shake his head. "Only you would say your own birthday isn't a special occasion." The words were spoken with much infatuation, though there was a certain sadness behind them. It did feel like she saw herself in less of a bright light as everyone else did, and it made him wonder who had dimmed her light so much. "You are occasion enough to pull out the china every day, Nancy." His voice rang, his free hand moving to the glass of water which he brought to his lips. "Perfect." Dae-Hyun echoed, it needing no other description. "So. What does Nancy like to do for fun that doesn't include her work or her children?" And she better not bring up walking her dog either. He already had a look prepared for that one. "What gets you excited?" @nancyxthompsons

She smiled at him and laughed a little bit. "I do not narrow my eyes when I smile." Nancy playfully argued, but she really wasn't sure if that was the case. She had never seen herself when she smiled so she couldn't argue it too much. Laughing again, she shook her head at him. "The china is saved for special occasions so it won't be coming out." She promised him. Though, if it was his birthday, she definitely would've brought it out. "Me too. That sounds like a perfect night." She agreed with him and squeezed his hand for a moment. Like him, she didn't want to assume anything. Whatever happened, happened. @daehyunxkwon

[daehyunxkwon]

"A smile will suffice, the adorable one where your eyes narrow slightly." He mused, closing his fingers around her small hand. The admiration he had for her was large. With how she raised her children, started up a business, became a mother figure to the entire town from what he saw and heard. Her shutting him out at the belief he'd been playing games did nothing to deter him, when all had been said and explained, they carried on. There was nothing wrong with her standing up for herself, for her own morals. "Lets do that then. Though don't go feeling like you have to bring out the good china." He chuckled, drawing circles with his fingertips on the inside of her wrist. "I'd be happy just to sit and talk all night, with that great tea you had last time." He didn't want to assume what might happen behind closed doors, he was truthful if they ended up just talking, he'd be happy enough. @nancyxthompsons

As he held his hand out for her, she took it and smiled as she looked at him. “And how do I show you that I’m lucky to have yours?” She asked him curiously. Nancy truly felt she had some making up to do when she wrongfully believed he was seeing someone else. Letting past actions of her ex and fear get to her, she took time away from them and she regretted it every day. She just wished she could fix it. “I’m open for anything.” She shrugged. “We could go back to my place.” @daehyunxkwon