›› 2nd round

[regressive]

Who ■ Joonghyuk & others
What ■ Catch-all
When ■ Second month
Where ■ All over
Content Warnings ■ YJH as usual

Feel free to hit me up on plurk @ biyoo / discord @ biyoos if you'd like a thread with Mr. Punisher!!

Comments

[regressive]

Close. [ A beat. ] Very close.

[ Actually, he's living here but the tsun in him is preventing Joonghyuk from admitting that. ]

Don't tell me you're going to pick Seoul because of my answer. You should choose what's best for you.

[dapples]

Ooh! Interesting!

[ He just laughs. ]

But anything could be best for me. I actually like the idea of travelling far away from England.

[regressive]

[ He looks away, flustered and clearly debating if he should say something or not. In the end, he murmurs something that Brambles might find surprising: ]

Then Seoul will be the best for you, I think.

[dapples]

Seems that way. I feel like it would be good for my "Seoul" ...

[ DID HE REALLY JUST-- (HE DID) ]

[regressive]

If these potatoes were baked, I would shove one into your mouth.

[ He'd do that with a lot of feeling. ]

[dapples]

Hehehe! Oh no.

[ Are these bad boys ready to be cooked? It seems so. ]

On that note, let's get these cooked before you follow through on that.

[regressive]

It's up to you if I follow through on that.

[ All it is going to take is one more pun...

Instead of waiting for Brambles to take up this punny challenge, Joonghyuk puts the potatoes into the owen that comes with the cooking station. ]

If you come visit, you can live with—me.

[ He almost spilled the beans about Mia here. ]

[dapples]

[ Brambles performs a double-take BECAUSE ....... WHAT? ]

Wait, huh? L-Live with you?

[regressive]

Yeah. My flat isn't too big, but it's expensive to rent a place in Seoul.

[ That's the only reason he's offering, duh!!! ]

[dapples]

[ He's .... honestly so touched. ]

That's a really generous offer. But please understand that I wouldn't want to invade your space too much ... the university is likely to accommodate students.

[regressive]

You're going to do what you prefer, but just remember that my offer stands.

[ Maybe he was too forward? Joonghyuk feels a bit embarrassed, even if it doesn't show on his face. ]

[dapples]

[ He lightly touches Joonghyuk's arm. ]

Thank you ...

[regressive]

It's fine.

[ Why is he feeling so warm... is it some other bug in this game? It's hard to tell. ]

I can show you around, too.

[ It feels silly to offer that because he considers that an obvious fact, but he doesn't know what else to say, still feeling flustered. ]

[dapples]

Really? I'd love that!

[ Time for him to reminisce for a moment: ]

I've always had the most fun in places when someone local would show us around. My dad knew a lot of people when I was growing up travelling with him, and I always had so much fun getting shown around places and playing with their children. Those days are long gone ... but getting to experience similar as an adult makes me really happy.

[regressive]

Playing with children? [ Joonghyuk tilts his head in surprise. The fact that Brambles said that those days are long gone makes him wonder if there's any point in asking the question on his mind. ] Do you like kids?

[ There's absolutely no reason for him to ask. ]

[dapples]

[ He nods! ] Yeah! I do. We have a cosy corner for children that we run in the bookshop. We allow readers and guests to come in and read stories to them. I never grew up with any siblings, but I have no problem with kids.

[regressive]

[ That answer leaves him sighing with relief. ]

I was just curious. [ There's absolutely no other reason!! ] These potatoes are taking forever...

[ Nice deflection. ]

If there's a Korean dish you like, I could make it for you.

[ Even nicer deflection^{[citation needed]}. ]

[dapples]

They have to take forever! They're baked potatoes. They're best when they're all fluffy inside.

[ Even in a game, he believes this is important! He brightens at Joonghyuk's suggestion. ]

Oh, please! I've never tried any Korean food before! You should surprise me with something nice and vegetarian!

[regressive]

Are you okay with spicy foods?

[ Kimchi isn't all that spicy to him, but... he's talking to a man who's eating jacket potatoes with baked beans. It's better to ask. ]

[dapples]

Oh, absolutely not.

[ This is a man whose favourite food is UNSEASONED POTATO AND BEANS ]

[regressive]

It will be tough living in Korea, then.

[ RIP Brambles. ]

[dapples]

Awww…! [ he laughs ] I mean, I am English. We don’t even like our Indian curry to have too much spice.

[regressive]

You're missing out. [ Yaoi man likes his food spicy. ] But I can make you something that's not spicy, then. Maybe rice cake noodles with mild sauce and vegetables...

[ Not putting as many condiment as usual is going to be a challenge. ]

[dapples]

Well, even if I'm not very good with spice, I want to try as much as I can. Just ... make sure you have a glass of water on hand nearby.

[ Speaking of which. ]

Oh! Since the potatoes are nearly baked, shall we get the beans on the go?

[regressive]

Ah, right.

[ He got a bit distracted here, but to make up for it, Joonghyuk drains the canned beans really fast before putting them on the saucepan on small heat for a few minutes. He keeps stirring while continuing his conversation with Brambles. ]

I'm not sure if one glass of water will do, potato boy.