estoria | this is an afterschool story ( closed )

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this is an afterschool story ( closed )

Who: Elle

foodcritic, Heung Soo

changeably
When: IC 11/19, late afternoon
Where: Around the shopping and residential districts.
What: Making friendlies with people she hasn't seen in a few weeks!
Rating/Warning: rated c for cute.

( for heung soo/unathletic; )

[ceres academy is a bit of a ways from the shopping district, especially for an eight year old. and especially for an eight year old who should probably be going straight back to ludger's apartment afterwards. but knowing he'd probably be at work at that time, and also knowing she's hungry for a bit of a snack?

well, maybe it wasn't always the best thing that elle had learned how to ride the trains pretty well back in elympios. besides, if she just went there really quick and came back, nobody would know, right? right? everything is pretty safe when it's not being weird, and she may or may not have taken a few detours out of her own desire to not have to rely on ludger and milla so much. the problem with this is the fact that she can't actually remember where the food stall is that has something she likes.

instead, she finds herself in front of a stall with some pretty unfamiliar food. well, unfamiliar to her at least, and she can't help but scrunch her nose at the very red looking food. food, right? it should be.]

Ick. That looks really spicy... [how do people eat things like that? too spicy! it doesn't smell that spicy, though. it smells kind of sweet, like peppers... but it looks spicy. she should probably stay away, huh? help. please take the small child with no spice tolerance away from the giant vat of tteokbokki...]

( for cynbel/changeably; )

[elle manages to make it back to the residential district undetected and without issue... somehow. maybe it's best not to question these things, or even talk about them for fear of giving ludger, milla, or anyone else she knows from back home a small heart attack. either way, she's quick to head into the apartment she shares with ludger, throw her things down where they go...

and immediately run back out to head to the playground while there's still some light left. going to school all the time is hard! she's still not really used to it since her situation was so different back home, even if that's what the normal kids all did. so losing out of valuable playtime when there's not really anything else for her to do (it's not about saving worlds or helping ludger with jobs to pay off massive amounts of debt at this exact moment), seems silly. why waste it? she's not planning on it, so elle heads to the swings.

...but when she gets there, she spots a small, but familiar face hanging around. right, she was the one who showed him where this place was. now... what was his name again? it was pretty unique, so it doesn't take her long to remember—]

Cynbel! [she calls out, waving an arm at him with a grin. she's in a pretty good mood right now, so her sass levels are a little bit lower than their last encounter. well, for now at least. it's amazing how much can change with the passage of a few weeks and a lot more caring and familiar faces trying to distract her from her problems. they're all but absent right now; if anything, she's excited to have a playmate for a bit.]

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Yeah... something like that sounds good.

[warm, maybe sweet. his suggestion mostly sounds right up her alley. well... except for one thing.

the fact that she has absolutely no idea what hotteok actually is. she folds her arms over her chest, tilting her head and looking at heung soo, confusion clearly present on her face.]

What's "hoe-tuck," though? [it sounds like something you use on a farm. never mind the fact that she's pronouncing it kind of wrong since she's trying to imitate the sounds he uses.]

[ Okay, there's something oddly adorable about her mispronouncing it like that.. not that he blames her, since she isn't Korean in the slightest. He's more patient than what he seems like, so at least he doesn't mind explaining. ]

It's.. dough on the outside, but then there's something sweet in it. Like honey or brown sugar. [ At least that should be familiar to her, he's sure. Otherwise she'll just have to try and see, not like it could hurt. ] And since you eat them while they're hot, they're good for warming you up.

[ You know, without moving up on the Korean Spicy Scale of Spicy. You don't want to go there, Elle. ]

Oh...

[she's taking a second to consider this—not that it takes very long at all. elle's eyes light up. she may not know how to say it, but she'll definitely be able to eat something like that.] That sounds good!

[ a small nod. ]

Then let's get some. [ And yes, he's paying.. since he's not even sure if she came out here with money to begin with, so whatever, he'll be the proper oppa here if he has to be.

Which means that he's standing up again now so they can get moving, although after noticing just how many people are out here in the shopping district today, Heung Soo glances down at her. ]

You can follow me without getting lost, right? [ Being responsible does not involve losing small children in big crowds and abandoning them again, he knows... ]

[wow, even if he's kind of scary, that's a pretty good oppa...

not that she knows what an oppa is, she's going to have to learn all of these things. either way, once he's standing and asks that question, elle will just casually fold her arms over her chest and give heung soo a bit on an incredulous look.]

I'm a kid, but I'm not dumb, you know. I got here by myself too! This is nothing compared to other places I've been. [she's a tiny adventurer who has seen many alternate universes. going through this one area with a single other person is a cakewalk.]

[ Wow, this actual small child is more independant than his usual small child.

Go figure, really.

He at least doesn't want to discredit her entirely, even if he's still doubting that claim a little bit.. sure, there might be a lot of people around who look like they belong in some sort of videogame, but surely the same can't count for the little kid, right? Even if she knows about golems or whatever, she probably still isn't too used to direct danger.

So instead he gives a small "if you say so" kind of nod before he starts walking. ]

Come on then.

[ At least he's tall, so unlike her he can look out over the crowds to see if he can spot a stall with some. Although he's definitely glancing back at her to make sure she's still able to keep up, sssh. ]

[wow, rude. excuse you, heung soo. how many people have you seen brutally slaughtered in front of you? how much mass genocide via completely destroying dimensions have you been tangentially part of?and how many times have you crossed a dimension by yourself? yeah, that's what i thought!!

elle may be a little bit on the huffy side, because she does kind of feel like he's not taking her very seriously. even if she gets that grownups don't always believe kids, it's still rude to her to shrug it off that way. but she's not in much of a position to argue right now despite that, so she huffs a little, pouting... but still following his lead.]

My legs aren't super long like yours, but I'm not gonna get lost. Even if we got separated, you're pretty hard to miss.

[ Okay, but has Elle faced the true horrors of high school. Nothing is worse than that...

Also, why is everyone always so ungrateful about his motherhenning.. at least outwardly, anyway. He puts in so much effort and look what he gets back. It's a good thing that Heung Soo would truly and fully feel too bad about abandoning a little kid, even by accident. ]

Since I'm like a Golem? [ Dryly.... ]

[heung soo pls, an eight year old seeing bloody murderdeath and genocide is way worse get over yourself! just because your stupid bastard boyfriend manages to make high school problems colossal doesn't mean it's really The Worst. okay!!!

still, she's not totally unappreciative of the motherhenning. she's used to it more than she can really put into words. everyone does this to her, even when they respect her boundaries. she gets it: she's a kid. but that doesn't make it any less annoying. but hey, if heung soo is gonna bring the golem thing up again her response will come with a knowing smile.

at least she doesn't stay too huffy for long, right?] Yep! If you were any taller, you'd probably be a tree, or a skyscraper or something like that.

[ There we go, at least that seems to make her less huffy. He totally has parental skills, okay.. even if in this case they're more just Give In To Huffy Children To Make Them Less Huffy.

It's one he's honed through interactions with his dumb five year old bastard boyfriend. ]

Glad to see you can keep the comparisons coming.

[ HE DOESN'T ACTUALLY SOUND GLAD. More just.. slightly.. sarcastic but not fully rude since there's some slight indulging in it.. but only slight. It's hard being a motherhen and no one understands. How does he always end up caring for the little kids, seriously. ]

I'm just calling it like I see it. You can handle the truth, right?

[she really does have so much sass for an eight year old. but she doesn't mean any harm by it—he's just really tall and scary looking, okay! they're defining traits that make him stand out in the crowd.

it's not a bad thing, but she's like 4'3", she needs these things.]

[ He's had worse comparisons, so don't worry. There's no way a little kid calling him a golem is going to hurt then - it's more on level with the teasing he's used to than with the real insulting. Especially since even though she's being a little sassy, she does sound somewhat genuine about it.

So he'll bear it. Whatever. Putting up with little kids somehow turned into his speciality. In.. a way, anyway. ]

Yeah.

[ He sounds pretty genuine about that too. ]

But if I'm a golem, then what are you? [ Since she's so tiny... Especially next to him of all people. ]

Me? Hm...

[this is something she has to think about. if this guy is a golem, then what is she?]

A rappig? No... Maybe a bunniekins? No, not that either... [she mutters that quietylu to herself, under her breath while she considers her options for "what is really cute and small?" and then like a light bulb over her head, she's got this one.]

I'm Elle!

[ .. are those her world's versions of pigs and rabbits.. it does sound like it, huh. Makes sense why a little girl like her would consider those first - especially a rabbit, considering her hairstyle and all. If those ponytails were pointing up, he'd see it.. ]

You get to stay yourself?

[ Not like he really cares about the unfair factor in all of this, but it's something good to focus on as they walk, if not just to keep her occupied. ]

Aigoo.. isn't that cheating.

It can't be helped. There's nothing out there that's quite like me!

[she is a unique and special snowflake with a very particular purpose in life, okay. deal with it, heung soo! some people are just gifted that way.]

[ Some people are just anime that way, more like. Or jrpg, in Elle's case.. ]

Don't go around saying that about yourself while comparing other people to monsters. [ It doesn't sound like true scolding though. Heung Soo makes it pretty clear when something annoys him, and this doesn't seem to be on that sort of scale at all, judging by his tone. ]

.. you're a bunniekins. I've decided.

[ Okay, maybe he's even slightly teasing her now, but.. in his own sort of way. Which means that it all still sounds sort of flat. ]

[well, she can at least tell the difference between being legitimately scolded and whatever this is. heung soo really isn't all that scary and intimidating to her because he kind of acts like gaius in some ways.

even though gaius can be way more intimidating being a powerful king and all, but he's usually pretty serious and even-keel, has a somewhat strange sense of humor when it shows itself, and is nice despite how scary he can be.

but hey, that's not even important when elle has a reason to sass him.]

Do you even know what a bunniekins is?

[ He's not going to let her walk all over him twice in a row, okay!!

Probably not. Maybe. He's going to try, anyway, since he'll just look pathetic if he can't even out-sass a little kid even though he's a kdrama.. ]

They have long ears and hop around. [ If they're anything like rabbits, anyway.. he's bluffing so hard over here. ] And they're pretty cute.

[ The only reason he can say that so easily is since it's for the purpose of sassing her, honestly.. it's sort of amusing and oddly endearing in a way he'll never admit. ]

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this is an afterschool story ( closed )

it's okay, i'll be your korean food sunbae

sunbae... please be gentle with me

i'm always gentle with you!!!

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