[ One moment Cha Hyunsu had stepped out of the crumbling apartment building that had become his home into a snowing expanse covered in dying monsters. Step after barefoot step across the freshly fallen snow had led him to a rain of bullets showered upon him by zealous members of the military that refused to let him live peacefully.
And then...
And then Hyunsu woke up when the floor underneath him lurched violently to the side.
He gasps out as he rolls to his side, and catches himself with one hand before he hits the railing of the small fishing vessel he's currently sprawled across the deck of. A spray of salt water hits him in the face as the boat speeds forward towards land, and that's all it takes for Hyunsu to push himself uncertainly into a sitting position.
He's in the same sweater he was in when he stepped out of the Green Home apartment complex, torn to shreds even before it became pockmarked with bullets, though as he looks down at himself he can see tears in the scrap of cloth that was once a top that were made by the projectiles. Predictably there are no holes in his body from the bullets themselves, though he still feels weak as he uses the rail to balance himself, and pull himself to his feat.
Upright it's easy to spot the old man who is steering the boat towards shore. ]
E-excuse me?
[ He starts of haltingly, though the man ignores him. Looking at his weathered face, Hyunsu makes a conscious effort to switch to English and tries again. ]
Hello?
[ Still no response, so Hyunsu turns his head to watch the dock in front of him come closer and closer into view as the boat begins to slow down on approach. It's still a long few minutes before the boat comes to a complete stop, and the old man at the wheel comes down to set down a gangplank onto the dock. That done he stares silently at the young man until Hyunsu finally gets uncomfortable enough to shuffle his way down the ramp and onto the dock, bowing his head to the old man as he passes.
Almost as soon as he touches down on the dock the man pulls the gangplank up, and slinks into the cabin of his boat, leaving Hyunsu stunned, confused, and seemingly alone to look around at the shipyard he was dropped into with no explanation.
The only thing he notices as he peers through the moonlit night is that everything here seems...
[ the last thing she remembers is baby vampire training with stefan, hunting and tracking in the woods, attuning to your enhanced senses to hunt down - ew – woodland creatures to keep yourself fed like some animalistic predator or something like that. if caroline forbes is anything, she is determined. let the image of her first murder as a vampire act as a driving force to make sure she doesn't do that to another innocent soul.
the rocking of the boat should have been relaxing but the sleep was still fitful and she still woke up with a gasp at the memory of being covered in blood, dripping down her face after she sunk her teeth into human flesh and fed until she could satisfy those new urges within her.
stumbling onto the deck of this... fishing boat??? the captain is useless and other passengers either won't talk to her or are equally confused. just a bunch of hearts beating so loudly, so temptingly that she has to tighten her grip on the guard rail to keep herself from doing some damage. it's only then that she realizes her brand new ring has disappeared from her finger and she gasps. what the hell is she supposed to do tomorrow?
there are other boats sailing into the harbor, full of people who seem to be just as panicked as she is. thank god for that. she folds her arms tightly over her beige moto jacket and hurries onto shore once they're docked, storming right up to the information booth. ]
Really? A brochure? That's all you're gonna give us? [ she complains loudly to the woman smiling behind the window. she stranger only points towards the town, as if that holds all the answers. ]
[ There's a perverse sort of comfort in not suffering alone, and it's one that Hyunsu has only recently begun to relearn. For awhile he was social isolated from every person around him, and it took a catastrophe for him to start forming human bonds again.
A catastrophe, and the ironic loss of his own humanity, but he'd still managed it. It's why even if he doesn't feel at ease right now, he feels a little less alone as more people start to arrive by ship, and seem as lost as he does while they're milling about.
As he overhears bits of conversation it doesn't take long for him to realize that no matter where people look like they might come from he seems to be able to understand what they're saying with perfect clarity. He also quickly realizes that no one else seems to really understand what is happening here either, which is why he shambles his ratty looking way slowly off of the pier, not paying much attention to the angry girl at the information booth as he shuffles slowly by, head up for once as he stares in awe at the scenery around him. ]
[ caroline slaps her hands over her face for a moment. ] Ugh!
[ what is she supposed to do now? all this only makes her all too aware of all those bodies milling about, all those people now at risk with her around. her cellphone is no longer in her pocket so she can't even cry to the girls or to stefan about her predicament. angrily, she snags a thin brochure from the rack and starts heading towards the town as directed, flipping between both sides to find very little information: harbor town ( duh), idyllic escape, restaurant recommendations, sightseeing hours ... ]
Eraworth, [ she sighs to the first person she brushes past, walking at the same pace as a tall, raggedy-looking guy who looks like he's seen better days. it makes the mild blood stains on her own top seem like nothing. ] That's what they call this place. Like we're all willingly here on vacation.
[ Certainly the blood that's coating Hyunsu right now well exceeds the blood that's coating Caroline. Most of it is at least his own blood though.
Most of it.
He doesn't actually expect anyone to start talking to him though, and he starts a little when she appears next to him to complain. He's so zoned out and in his own head about all of this that it's hard to take in everything that's happening at once.
So while he did technically hear everything she had to say (and surprisingly again understood it), he's still having trouble processing it immediately. ]
[ caroline slaps the brochure in her hand, pointing to the words at the top of the page ] They're calling it a premiere vacay spot... ? Like, yeah, I can't deny that I need a vacation but I'm pretty sure I'd like to consent to it first.
[ she very well could continue her ranting, far too in a tizzy to hold all that emotion inside, especially since she isn't sure what's going to happen once she's hungry again. but she finally remembers to actually look at the person she's talking to and her eyes almost bug out though, to her surprise, she doesn't cringe away in fear or disgust. ]
Are you okay? I mean, like. Duh, that's a stupid question. But.
[ You have to respect a girl who gets so intense about what's happening, that she kind of misses what's actually happening right in front of her. Though maybe happening isn't the best way to describe Hyunsu's extremely tattered looking existence right now.
He awkwardly looks down at himself, taking a moment to take in his own ragged appearance, before looking up at her. He certainly doesn't look injured at least, so that's... something? ]
I'm just confused. I don't really know what's happening either.
[ Please don't make him explain why he looks like this right now... ]
[ she pauses to really look him over as they slowly make their way towards what looks like the main town. because she still has to second-guess herself, she adds quietly, ] Aren't you? Should I find help for you?
[ she's glad she's fed, really, though there is something about the blood she can smell that doesn't seem all too appealing for a vampire, even a vampire who has recently been turned, her appetite nearly insatiable if she's not careful.
but she doesn't ask him why – otherwise she would have to explain the stains on her own clothes. ] Maybe we can figure out what's up at ...wherever everyone else is headed! [ it's the town hall, caroline. ]
[ Though Hyunsu hasn't stopped to consider how his very blood might have changed, it's true that it has at this point. People don't gain the ability to regenerate almost any injury at breakneck speeds without some very heavy changes to their biology, and that likely makes him a less than appealing snack for even a hungry vampire.
He does look down at himself now though, taking in the state he's in properly now. It definitely looks bad, but... ]
Ah, I'm not actually bleeding though...
[ And it's true. If she were to examine him she wouldn't find a single fresh cut on him. He clears his throat and looks towards the direction he was heading. ]
[ her eyes narrow for a moment. well. she doesn't smell any fresh blood so she can't call him out for anything. maybe he heals as quickly as she does? he isn't a vampire, though. she can at least tell that much from a brief assessment. as blunt as caroline can be, she at least has more tact than to ask someone what they are. that certainly wouldn't go over well with her, after all.
she doesn't answer him immediately, turning her attention to the chattering of the other visitors milling about. it isn't easy, her focus all over the place, ricocheting from one conversation to the other. tutting in frustration, she shakes her head. ]
Ah! The town hall. We should find answers there, apparently.
[ and without a thought, she takes him by the sleeve ( gently! ) and begins steering them both closer to the entrance. ]
[ It's a hard question for Hyunsu to answer too. "Monster" is a pretty broad category that covers all kinds of strange creatures thought to not exist by most people, but it's the only word he can really use for himself at this point. What people rapidly started transforming into in his world varied too much for anyone to do anything more than place them all under a broad umbrella with a word that already existed.
He appreciates not having to have this conversation now, however, because while she can tell that he's not human, he can't really tell the same about her. There's nothing special about his sense of smell or vision that would tip him off to that, and he's too caught up in the strangeness of the moment to observe things that might seem off about her.
Besides, her energetic personality is making it hard to concentrate on much else other than her actions.
Hyunsu blinks rapidly at the grab to his sleeve (one of the only parts left of his shirt at this point), and follows without any resistance. ]
I've been listening to other people talking nearby, [ she informs him proudly. good detective skills, vampire caroline! everything else is a trial, but focusing her hypersensitive hearing on conversations taking place yards and yards away is a walk in the park.
by the time they actually get to the steps of some small, sorta neoclassical building, caroline pauses. – it looks similar enough to the government buildings back home, but different enough for her to deduce that they probably aren't in america. the entire experience so far has been jarring but it's only as she sets one foot on the first step to the entrance that it truly sinks in that this isn't a bizarre dream she might be having.
she pinches her side just in case.
but it's all real, from the confused visitors, to the eerie, dreamy portside town, to the confused and bedraggled boy she has decided to latch onto.
[ That she was at any distance doesn't even occur to Hyunsu, because plenty of people here seem to be mingling in small groups at this moment. Hell, if you can count two as "a small group" both of them are currently doing exactly that. So anything that might ding the "not a human" bell goes right over Hyunsu's head in this moment.
He's also a little caught up trying to take in the sights himself. He's never been outside of Korea before, and he can definitely tell he's not still there. Beyond that it feels so strange to see civilization looking intact and if not thriving then at the very least easily surviving.
Hyunsu gazes in what is just shy of awe at the people passing by them as they go about their daily business, and only snaps his attention back to Caroline at the question. ]
[ just as he seems to miss caroline's subtle displays of powers, caroline misses the way he marvels at everything around him a little more than the average (?) person loading into this town hall for their orientation. it would make sense, of course. caroline has seen enough movies about that kind of thing, living through the apocalypse, and hyunsu seems to fit the bill looks-wise since he does not look like he came from a happy place.
she manages to smile kindly and chirp back using the same name format he has used to be polite, ] Forbes, Caroline!
[ suddenly she points to some chairs in the back of the small auditorium. ] Let's go grab those seats just in case.
[ As unhappy as she first seemed to be with the situation, her seems to have managed to get upbeat pretty quickly. Hyunsu only really displays one of three emotions these days, and none of them are particularly happy, so it's a little hard for him to relate to that.
Still, people like Caroline are a bit more pleasant to talk to than people like him, and he's aware of that fact. He'll be better off sticking with her and letting her ask questions while he stands to the side gormlessly.
Also, as much of a loner as he is, he doesn't actually like being alone. Especially in confusing situations like this one. So he nods as he follows her point. ]
[ in the company of someone else, she feels immensely better though not entirely at ease. though how could she possibly feel at ease under these unusual circumstances? she had only just been getting used to being a damned vampire and now she has to deal with all of this? and without any possible rudder to help her steer through these treacherous waters?
she presses her hands against her lap and forces herself to focus on this so-called orientation. it sounds like it's all spoken in english, at least to her, but judging from the way others sounded on the way in, everyone else seems to process it too.
they're here to. vacation? from their lives? does that sound right?
[ Hyunsu hadn't exactly been getting used to his new life being assaulted regularly by monsters, but he had come to expect that was going to be his reality for the foreseeable future. It had been kind of dangerous to fantasize too much about what life would be like not in constant danger, because it could fast spiral him back into the depression he normally wallowed in.
So being here where it seems largely safe and peaceful is... weird. He's not feeling the same frustration about having to deal with this as Caroline is though, because there is a genuine relief for him in being here, but it is strange.
She might be hearing things in English, but he's hearing them in Korean. Korea isn't a very big country, and while there are people outside of it that do learn the language, it's not one that he would expect an entire room of non-Koreans to know. As that thought sinks in his brow furrows a little in thought. He's still listening to the explanation about a break, but his eyes wander as he takes in the other people who look as bewildered and in some cases as ragged as he does. ]
Mm...
[ The most ominous part of all. Eerie enough that Hyunsu isn't sure how to feel about it. ]
They said they hope we enjoy it here, because they can't get us back to where we come from for now.
[ there have been plenty of instances in which caroline has felt like her life was not in her control. sure, some of it has to do with being a type-a sort of girl, but part of it is definitely to do with the supernatural forces that have been crowding around her hometown.
she's been a vampire's plaything and a pawn in someone's scheme – even if that scheme meant taking her own life as some strange act of revenge. or perhaps to save her.
being alone in this new world without her friends or even her mom ...
tears well up in her blue eyes but she takes a deep breath and stares down at her lap, at her hands as she opens her fists so she can stare at her palms, red crescents dug into the flesh from her manicured nails. ]
It sounds like no one else signed up for this vacation getaway either, huh.
[ Hyunsu's eyes travel around the room, taking in the assortment of reactions from the people gathered. It's hard to say what people are saying just from a quick reaction to some frankly very bizarre news, but it none of them seem like they were expecting what is now happening, it's true.
Finally he looks back at Caroline, brows furrowing with worry as his fingers tap nervously against his bent knees. He doesn't know how to comfort her, or if she'd even want him to try, but it doesn't feel good watching the first person who tried to help him getting so visibly upset.
It's hard in a way, because her feelings seem so far removed from his own about this. It's definitely alarming and concerning, but whatever weird nonsense might be going on here, it has to be better than what he just came from. If nothing else, at least he doesn't feel like his life is in immediate danger.
That doesn't mean it's the case for everyone else. He doesn't know what was happening in the rest of the world, with communication as cut off as it was, but apparently things weren't as dire as they had been in South Korea. ]
Sorry, ( she blubbers, shaking her head. ) I'm, like - not very good at keeping it together sometimes and I'm just freaked out.
Maybe it'll be nice? They don't seem like .... evil.
( famous last words, she thinks, but she also doesn't want to draw any more attention to herself with her little outbursts, even if she is surely not the only one who is upset about this turn of events. why bother pretending to be sweet and personable when everything is so far out of your control?
maybe it won't be bad. maybe she can spend some time here, get away from everything, from other vampires, from katherine, who seems to have her on a leash these days since she always needs someone to do her bidding. maybe she can actually rest and relax after the last few months of craziness. )
[ It's sad how bad Hyunsu has gotten at comforting people these days, but he does nod slightly at both Caroline's confession, and her optimism that maybe the people here aren't so bad. They don't seem bad to Hyunsu either. The weird part is just how they got into this mess in the first place.
Hyunsu glances up at the friendly and open faces of the people who are greeting them into their little town. It's definitely a nice change from the fear and open suspicion he's become used to seeing on people's faces these days. ]
It seems nice here?
[ Is the best he can volunteer in way of soothing some of Caroline's anxiety.
It's not much though. He's sorry. He's so bad at this. ]
( she turns to him and smiles uncertainly, an attempt to be vibrant but failing miserably. stefan said her emotions would be unstable while her body acclimated to this new version of herself, but she can't handle the rush of tears that threaten to fall because she's just so darn overwhelmed.
sharply, she looks away from him. right. rest and relaxation. a vacation. enjoying herself.
no school.
she'll find a way to get back in touch with the others at some point but for now ... caroline tilts her head back as if willing those tears back into her body, fluttering her long lashes and clearing her throat. even if the presentation isn't quite over yet, she stands up anyway. )
[ It says a lot about Hyunsu that he feels more out of his depth when it comes to comforting the girl who is about to cry sitting next to him, than he does with being spirited away to a mystery island somewhere (probably) in Europe. He really doesn't know what to do about Caroline's panic though, and for a moment looks down at his hands, wondering if he can pretend it's not happening.
That doesn't seem right though, and for whatever reason she grabbed onto him out of all of the people she could have milling around the docks.
So with some slightly reluctance he looks back up at her, still sitting. ]
Do you want me to come with you?
[ Not that he's going to be able to do much more than that. ]
( if they weren't in the middle of this presentation and town hall session, caroline might make a big deal out of not wanting to bother him, not when she's already tugged him to and fro in the short period of time they have known each other.
she's already at the end of the row, looking over her shoulder with a furrowed brow, trying to hold it together while she's standing and potentially attracting someone's attention to the commotion. )
[ He made the offer, but Hyunsu still looks a little surprised when she actually says yes to that. He might just be too used to people wanting to swallow feelings when people are watching, like he was always expected to do when he was in school.
Surprised or not, he does still nod as he gets to his own feet. ]
Okay. Let's go.
[ It sounds like they learned everything they needed to from this gathering anyway. ]
[ it has not been that long since she has decided hyunsu was her friend. sure, there aren't too many people close in age to them ( perhaps in the next shipment of "vacationers" ) but all in all it's kind of nice to not have to really hide the unsavory aspects of who she is. even if she still does her best to put on a brave face and throw out a pretty hair toss here and there.
it perhaps isn't too weird for someone like her to be wandering this island, not when she has experienced different forms of magic in the short time she has been here – from the sightseeing boats without sailors to the somehow endless supply of, well, blood bags in her fridge.
a life by the seaside is not something she ever saw for herself since mystic falls is all she has ever known, her biggest dreams centered around becoming the local beauty queen like the other forbes women before her.
she can't deny that she does like the quaint single apartments in each little condo the town has begun to fill with visitors, the combination of nautical and minimalist scandinavian style. the morning starts with caroline throwing a dark green fisherman sweater over a pair of jeans and bounding down the hallway to bother hyunsu because she doesn't want to get breakfast by herself. ]
Morning! You awake? [ she calls out, rapping on his door. ]
[ There's something funny about the fact that Caroline has adjusted to her new surroundings faster than Hyunsu himself has. For one, Caroline actually came from a world where she still had friends, family and a world that wasn't in complete ruins.
Hyunsu left behind nothing when he woke up on that fishing vessel on their first day in this new world. His family had died in a horrible accident, his friends had abandoned him long before that, and honestly most of them were likely dead themselves, or one of the man-killing monsters that so many citizens of Korea (if not the entirely world) had transformed into recently. He had absolutely nothing to miss.
But he's still struggled with the new setting. Caroline is bright and vivacious, and at this point in his life Hyunsu is pretty much the exact opposite of that. Her insistence on tossing herself into his life here has really helped him get through his days though, and he is genuinely grateful for her.
Which is why he groggily accepts things like her loudly knocking on his door when he's not ready to wake up himself.
Hyunsu doesn't even bother to change out of the clothing that he was sleeping on as he blearily blinks his eyes open, and forces himself to sit up on his mattress. His brain is sleep-addled, but his English is passable enough that the fact that her words were literally in another language, instead of the automatic translation into Korean he's used to hearing, doesn't register on him at first.
The vague, non-verbal sound he makes as he forces himself out of bed doesn't help clarify the fact that something is odd here. In fact, it's not until he manages to drag himself to his door, and open it up for her that things might become clear something is off here.
He's always spoken to her in Korean, knowing that something allows her to understand him despite not knowing a word of the language herself. It's why he doesn't think twice about tiredly asking her a question in his native language. ]
[ while it had been her paranoia that had initially pushed her to show up at his door every day, terrified at the thought of being entirely alone, she has come to enjoy his steady presence as she dragged him from one thing to another. plus, she can feel ... somewhat comfortable actually feeding around him though for the most part, she takes her vampy meals alone.
unfortunately for them today, all she has to her name is some years of rudimentary french as is required by middle school and high school education in most american schools. she had marveled at the ease in which everyone was able to talk to each other. she's only seen a small percentage of what her best friend bonnie can accomplish as a witch ( especially a bennett witch ), but remains unsurprised that a strong spell had accomplished such a thing.
as soon as hyunsu answers her at the door, her face and shoulders fall and she tilts her head to one side, confused. well, that's weird. ]
[ The solidarity is something that Hyunsu does deeply appreciate. While he can still eat normal food and survive just fine passing as a normal human being, he still understands the apprehension that comes with knowing you're not. People were ready to leave him to die because they were afraid of him, so he's made it a point to not react to Caroline's strange dietary needs, even if there is still something a little disquieting about seeing someone drink blood.
Most of the time she's just a friendly, normal girl though. Her energy, while not exactly infectious for someone as withdrawn as Hyunsu, still makes him feel a little less broken than he's felt in a long time. To have someone bright and cheerful who actually wants to be around you genuinely helps after being isolated for so long.
So it's a real shame that after bringing them together something has gone wrong that's about to drive an unwanted wedge between them again.
Hyunsu stares at her as it hits that he has to translate in his head what she said. He starts to parrot her back slowly in English. ]
What did you-- Ah...
[ His brow furrows, and he switches back to Korean. ]
[ ( she will wonder later if it is possible to request blood not be delivered in bags but in juice boxes. it might make the process a little easier. look, she's seen some episodes of true blood. they have their own vampire brand so they don't have to keep hunting humans! )
her pale eyes widen when hyunsu's english sounds slow and uncertain, certainly not the way she has been hearing him for the past however many weeks. she might not speak the language but she can at least understand what he is trying to test here. ]
No, [ caroline replies firmly, shaking her head almost exaggeratedly. ]
Crap.
[ she gestures to the window before throwing her hands up in a big shrug. miming or using theatrics probably isn't necessary but she's doing her best not to launch into her standard mile a minute rambling. ] Do you think – uh, it's everywhere?
[ There's something ironic about her responding to his Korean question accurately, but he doesn't comment on it. In part because he's not sure he really has the practical knowledge to be able to do so. His English scores were never bad (until near the end of school), but he didn't have a lot of chances to use it practically, so trying to pull the language out of thin air isn't going to be easy.
He can already tell that he's going to have some difficulty here when he struggles a little after her "no". ]
"Crap"?
[ It's just a frustrated exclamation, but that's the problem when people use slang in a language you're not fluent in, everything could be important, and you can't be certain.
He looks around as she gestures about, and tries to consider what it is she's asking him. ]
Do you...
[ Present instead of past. Tenses aren't easy, but she said "do you" too, so it's probably right, right? ]
Talk to people?
[ Or was he the first person she happened to run into today? She's certainly the first he's spoken to. ]
[ in complete earnest: ] "Crap?" Shit? You know shit, right? They say it a lot in songs.
[ caroline, this is not helpful. like, at all. she presses the heel of her palm against her forehead, appearing to think very hard about how they are going to go about the rest of their day. ]
You're the first person I think about talking to every day, [ caroline finds herself saying, partially because they seem to be at the younger end of the spectrum amongst the wave of arrivals to town, partially because she kind of likes him. ]
Go outside? [ she points over his shoulder, at the window in his own room. ] You and me? [ pointing to him, then herself. ]
[ He nods, looking strangely earnest for a boy agreeing that yes, he does indeed know shit! But there's a little relief in being able to pick up at least some of what she's saying, even if it's not easy to pick out singular words in a full sentence.
He's getting a few though, enough to kind of piece together bits of what is being said here. His nodding slows as he focuses on what she's saying, though she's not making it hard on him for long. Short sentences are a lot easier to follow, even if they're not exactly grammatically correct. The gesturing isn't even necessary, because he understood every word of those two questions.
With a finally nod, he steps towards the door. ]
Okay.
[ If only one of them is unable to understand the people of their new strange island home, he really hopes it's Caroline. He can live with barely knowing what's going on, but he does not want to have to be the one to do the bulk of conversing from this point on. ]
[ you can tell that she is serious about it when she starts pulling her blond curls into a haphazard bun out of frustration as if less hair in her face will provide her with some additional clarity. she is quick to lead the way, trusting that hyunsu will follow in suit, her own booted steps heavy and full of purpose. at the very least, they're not totally lost together, though a part of caroline wishes she had some kind of telepathic powers instead. that would be too easy. or too complicated if she took that set of powers home with her.
when they're finally outside, she fumbles slightly, surprised to encounter the island chaos the second the door opens. ]
God, it's like that one Bible story, [ caroline mumbles to herself as she ( again ) makes her way towards the town hall, hoping for some answers. no, she can't remember which story, though she's sure it has something to do with a tower. ]
[ She's in luck, because Hyunsu does loyal trot after her. He has no idea what's happening, and while locking himself inside of his room would be easier than dealing with all of this, he likes Caroline enough to not want to leave her to struggle on her own. The problem is he's not entirely sure how much he can help when he can't understand a good chunk of what she's saying right now.
As they leave the apartment complex it quickly becomes apparent they're not the only two in that particular boat. Hyunsu flips between scanning the frantic confusion playing out around them to looking at Caroline as she continues to stride forward with purpose.
For now he'll keep trying to do his best to communicate with her, though now she's making it even harder by bringing in biblical stories to a boy that is not Christian, and was not raised with the religion.
He does at least pick up a few words. ]
"God"?
[ And makes the wrong assumption the exclamation is part of her Bible mention. ]
Tower of... Babble. ( she shakes her head. her sunday school teacher as a kid would have scolded her. ) Wait. Babel, sorry.
No, the opposite. ( caroline, talking to yourself isn't going to help this situation any more. especially when poor hyunsu, though with a better understanding of your language than you have of us, might have trouble keeping up with her mile-a-minute anxious chatter. )
Hey! ( she tries to stop a british woman brushing past in the street and the two of them have a frantic exchange over the sudden change in ... environment. eventually, when the woman rushes off to help her new partner, she turns to hyunsu with a disappointed look in her eyes, shoulders slumped. )
[ Talking to a boy who isn't Christian isn't going to make it any better. She could have not corrected herself, and Hyunsu would be none the wiser. As it is, he looks confused at her rambling, unable to understand a good deal of what she's saying.
He does look increasingly concerned as she carries on though, feeling a little worried that he can't fully comprehend Caroline's level of panic with this one.
At least it seems she has some people she can communicate with here, though Hyunsu himself steps back slightly, quickly giving up on the conversation the two are having. If it was slower he might be able to follow it some, but both of them seem to be too energized to slow down to a speed he can follow.
When it finally ends he lets out a small sigh of relief, even though his conversation with Caroline is not about to get any easier. ]
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sforzinda
no subject
Date: 2021-02-19 06:53 am (UTC)And then...
And then Hyunsu woke up when the floor underneath him lurched violently to the side.
He gasps out as he rolls to his side, and catches himself with one hand before he hits the railing of the small fishing vessel he's currently sprawled across the deck of. A spray of salt water hits him in the face as the boat speeds forward towards land, and that's all it takes for Hyunsu to push himself uncertainly into a sitting position.
He's in the same sweater he was in when he stepped out of the Green Home apartment complex, torn to shreds even before it became pockmarked with bullets, though as he looks down at himself he can see tears in the scrap of cloth that was once a top that were made by the projectiles. Predictably there are no holes in his body from the bullets themselves, though he still feels weak as he uses the rail to balance himself, and pull himself to his feat.
Upright it's easy to spot the old man who is steering the boat towards shore. ]
E-excuse me?
[ He starts of haltingly, though the man ignores him. Looking at his weathered face, Hyunsu makes a conscious effort to switch to English and tries again. ]
Hello?
[ Still no response, so Hyunsu turns his head to watch the dock in front of him come closer and closer into view as the boat begins to slow down on approach. It's still a long few minutes before the boat comes to a complete stop, and the old man at the wheel comes down to set down a gangplank onto the dock. That done he stares silently at the young man until Hyunsu finally gets uncomfortable enough to shuffle his way down the ramp and onto the dock, bowing his head to the old man as he passes.
Almost as soon as he touches down on the dock the man pulls the gangplank up, and slinks into the cabin of his boat, leaving Hyunsu stunned, confused, and seemingly alone to look around at the shipyard he was dropped into with no explanation.
The only thing he notices as he peers through the moonlit night is that everything here seems...
Peaceful. ]
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Date: 2021-02-19 08:22 pm (UTC)the rocking of the boat should have been relaxing but the sleep was still fitful and she still woke up with a gasp at the memory of being covered in blood, dripping down her face after she sunk her teeth into human flesh and fed until she could satisfy those new urges within her.
stumbling onto the deck of this... fishing boat??? the captain is useless and other passengers either won't talk to her or are equally confused. just a bunch of hearts beating so loudly, so temptingly that she has to tighten her grip on the guard rail to keep herself from doing some damage. it's only then that she realizes her brand new ring has disappeared from her finger and she gasps. what the hell is she supposed to do tomorrow?
there are other boats sailing into the harbor, full of people who seem to be just as panicked as she is. thank god for that. she folds her arms tightly over her beige moto jacket and hurries onto shore once they're docked, storming right up to the information booth. ]
Really? A brochure? That's all you're gonna give us? [ she complains loudly to the woman smiling behind the window. she stranger only points towards the town, as if that holds all the answers. ]
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Date: 2021-02-20 05:04 am (UTC)A catastrophe, and the ironic loss of his own humanity, but he'd still managed it. It's why even if he doesn't feel at ease right now, he feels a little less alone as more people start to arrive by ship, and seem as lost as he does while they're milling about.
As he overhears bits of conversation it doesn't take long for him to realize that no matter where people look like they might come from he seems to be able to understand what they're saying with perfect clarity. He also quickly realizes that no one else seems to really understand what is happening here either, which is why he shambles his ratty looking way slowly off of the pier, not paying much attention to the angry girl at the information booth as he shuffles slowly by, head up for once as he stares in awe at the scenery around him. ]
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Date: 2021-02-20 11:40 pm (UTC)[ what is she supposed to do now? all this only makes her all too aware of all those bodies milling about, all those people now at risk with her around. her cellphone is no longer in her pocket so she can't even cry to the girls or to stefan about her predicament. angrily, she snags a thin brochure from the rack and starts heading towards the town as directed, flipping between both sides to find very little information: harbor town ( duh), idyllic escape, restaurant recommendations, sightseeing hours ... ]
Eraworth, [ she sighs to the first person she brushes past, walking at the same pace as a tall, raggedy-looking guy who looks like he's seen better days. it makes the mild blood stains on her own top seem like nothing. ] That's what they call this place. Like we're all willingly here on vacation.
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Date: 2021-03-01 03:28 am (UTC)Most of it.
He doesn't actually expect anyone to start talking to him though, and he starts a little when she appears next to him to complain. He's so zoned out and in his own head about all of this that it's hard to take in everything that's happening at once.
So while he did technically hear everything she had to say (and surprisingly again understood it), he's still having trouble processing it immediately. ]
... what?
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Date: 2021-03-05 06:31 am (UTC)[ she very well could continue her ranting, far too in a tizzy to hold all that emotion inside, especially since she isn't sure what's going to happen once she's hungry again. but she finally remembers to actually look at the person she's talking to and her eyes almost bug out though, to her surprise, she doesn't cringe away in fear or disgust. ]
Are you okay? I mean, like. Duh, that's a stupid question. But.
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Date: 2021-03-18 02:43 am (UTC)He awkwardly looks down at himself, taking a moment to take in his own ragged appearance, before looking up at her. He certainly doesn't look injured at least, so that's... something? ]
I'm just confused. I don't really know what's happening either.
[ Please don't make him explain why he looks like this right now... ]
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Date: 2021-03-20 06:47 am (UTC)[ she pauses to really look him over as they slowly make their way towards what looks like the main town. because she still has to second-guess herself, she adds quietly, ] Aren't you? Should I find help for you?
[ she's glad she's fed, really, though there is something about the blood she can smell that doesn't seem all too appealing for a vampire, even a vampire who has recently been turned, her appetite nearly insatiable if she's not careful.
but she doesn't ask him why – otherwise she would have to explain the stains on her own clothes. ] Maybe we can figure out what's up at ...wherever everyone else is headed! [ it's the town hall, caroline. ]
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Date: 2021-04-01 02:48 am (UTC)He does look down at himself now though, taking in the state he's in properly now. It definitely looks bad, but... ]
Ah, I'm not actually bleeding though...
[ And it's true. If she were to examine him she wouldn't find a single fresh cut on him. He clears his throat and looks towards the direction he was heading. ]
I do want to know why we're here though.
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Date: 2021-04-06 05:54 am (UTC)she doesn't answer him immediately, turning her attention to the chattering of the other visitors milling about. it isn't easy, her focus all over the place, ricocheting from one conversation to the other. tutting in frustration, she shakes her head. ]
Ah! The town hall. We should find answers there, apparently.
[ and without a thought, she takes him by the sleeve ( gently! ) and begins steering them both closer to the entrance. ]
Let's go!
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Date: 2021-05-01 11:05 pm (UTC)He appreciates not having to have this conversation now, however, because while she can tell that he's not human, he can't really tell the same about her. There's nothing special about his sense of smell or vision that would tip him off to that, and he's too caught up in the strangeness of the moment to observe things that might seem off about her.
Besides, her energetic personality is making it hard to concentrate on much else other than her actions.
Hyunsu blinks rapidly at the grab to his sleeve (one of the only parts left of his shirt at this point), and follows without any resistance. ]
You know where it is?
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Date: 2021-05-07 05:03 am (UTC)by the time they actually get to the steps of some small, sorta neoclassical building, caroline pauses. – it looks similar enough to the government buildings back home, but different enough for her to deduce that they probably aren't in america. the entire experience so far has been jarring but it's only as she sets one foot on the first step to the entrance that it truly sinks in that this isn't a bizarre dream she might be having.
she pinches her side just in case.
but it's all real, from the confused visitors, to the eerie, dreamy portside town, to the confused and bedraggled boy she has decided to latch onto.
wait. ]
Oh – shoot. What's your name?
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Date: 2021-05-25 01:19 am (UTC)He's also a little caught up trying to take in the sights himself. He's never been outside of Korea before, and he can definitely tell he's not still there. Beyond that it feels so strange to see civilization looking intact and if not thriving then at the very least easily surviving.
Hyunsu gazes in what is just shy of awe at the people passing by them as they go about their daily business, and only snaps his attention back to Caroline at the question. ]
Huh? Uh... Cha Hyunsu.
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Date: 2021-06-02 04:07 am (UTC)she manages to smile kindly and chirp back using the same name format he has used to be polite, ] Forbes, Caroline!
[ suddenly she points to some chairs in the back of the small auditorium. ] Let's go grab those seats just in case.
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Date: 2021-06-26 02:41 am (UTC)Still, people like Caroline are a bit more pleasant to talk to than people like him, and he's aware of that fact. He'll be better off sticking with her and letting her ask questions while he stands to the side gormlessly.
Also, as much of a loner as he is, he doesn't actually like being alone. Especially in confusing situations like this one. So he nods as he follows her point. ]
Okay.
[ And starts to make his way back there.
Caronline has found herself a big talker here. ]
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Date: 2021-09-02 01:18 am (UTC)[ in the company of someone else, she feels immensely better though not entirely at ease. though how could she possibly feel at ease under these unusual circumstances? she had only just been getting used to being a damned vampire and now she has to deal with all of this? and without any possible rudder to help her steer through these treacherous waters?
she presses her hands against her lap and forces herself to focus on this so-called orientation. it sounds like it's all spoken in english, at least to her, but judging from the way others sounded on the way in, everyone else seems to process it too.
they're here to. vacation? from their lives? does that sound right?
she glances over at hyunsu. ]
Did you hear that last bit?
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Date: 2021-09-11 02:41 am (UTC)So being here where it seems largely safe and peaceful is... weird. He's not feeling the same frustration about having to deal with this as Caroline is though, because there is a genuine relief for him in being here, but it is strange.
She might be hearing things in English, but he's hearing them in Korean. Korea isn't a very big country, and while there are people outside of it that do learn the language, it's not one that he would expect an entire room of non-Koreans to know. As that thought sinks in his brow furrows a little in thought. He's still listening to the explanation about a break, but his eyes wander as he takes in the other people who look as bewildered and in some cases as ragged as he does. ]
Mm...
[ The most ominous part of all. Eerie enough that Hyunsu isn't sure how to feel about it. ]
They said they hope we enjoy it here, because they can't get us back to where we come from for now.
[ Can't or won't though... ]
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Date: 2021-12-14 05:05 am (UTC)she's been a vampire's plaything and a pawn in someone's scheme – even if that scheme meant taking her own life as some strange act of revenge. or perhaps to save her.
being alone in this new world without her friends or even her mom ...
tears well up in her blue eyes but she takes a deep breath and stares down at her lap, at her hands as she opens her fists so she can stare at her palms, red crescents dug into the flesh from her manicured nails. ]
It sounds like no one else signed up for this vacation getaway either, huh.
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Date: 2021-12-19 02:59 am (UTC)Finally he looks back at Caroline, brows furrowing with worry as his fingers tap nervously against his bent knees. He doesn't know how to comfort her, or if she'd even want him to try, but it doesn't feel good watching the first person who tried to help him getting so visibly upset.
It's hard in a way, because her feelings seem so far removed from his own about this. It's definitely alarming and concerning, but whatever weird nonsense might be going on here, it has to be better than what he just came from. If nothing else, at least he doesn't feel like his life is in immediate danger.
That doesn't mean it's the case for everyone else. He doesn't know what was happening in the rest of the world, with communication as cut off as it was, but apparently things weren't as dire as they had been in South Korea. ]
I don't think so, no...
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Date: 2022-01-03 05:53 am (UTC)Maybe it'll be nice? They don't seem like .... evil.
( famous last words, she thinks, but she also doesn't want to draw any more attention to herself with her little outbursts, even if she is surely not the only one who is upset about this turn of events. why bother pretending to be sweet and personable when everything is so far out of your control?
maybe it won't be bad. maybe she can spend some time here, get away from everything, from other vampires, from katherine, who seems to have her on a leash these days since she always needs someone to do her bidding. maybe she can actually rest and relax after the last few months of craziness. )
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Date: 2022-01-16 05:11 pm (UTC)Hyunsu glances up at the friendly and open faces of the people who are greeting them into their little town. It's definitely a nice change from the fear and open suspicion he's become used to seeing on people's faces these days. ]
It seems nice here?
[ Is the best he can volunteer in way of soothing some of Caroline's anxiety.
It's not much though. He's sorry. He's so bad at this. ]
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Date: 2022-01-23 06:42 am (UTC)( she turns to him and smiles uncertainly, an attempt to be vibrant but failing miserably. stefan said her emotions would be unstable while her body acclimated to this new version of herself, but she can't handle the rush of tears that threaten to fall because she's just so darn overwhelmed.
sharply, she looks away from him. right. rest and relaxation. a vacation. enjoying herself.
no school.
she'll find a way to get back in touch with the others at some point but for now ... caroline tilts her head back as if willing those tears back into her body, fluttering her long lashes and clearing her throat. even if the presentation isn't quite over yet, she stands up anyway. )
I need some air.
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Date: 2022-01-25 12:11 am (UTC)That doesn't seem right though, and for whatever reason she grabbed onto him out of all of the people she could have milling around the docks.
So with some slightly reluctance he looks back up at her, still sitting. ]
Do you want me to come with you?
[ Not that he's going to be able to do much more than that. ]
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Date: 2022-01-31 05:13 am (UTC)( if they weren't in the middle of this presentation and town hall session, caroline might make a big deal out of not wanting to bother him, not when she's already tugged him to and fro in the short period of time they have known each other.
she's already at the end of the row, looking over her shoulder with a furrowed brow, trying to hold it together while she's standing and potentially attracting someone's attention to the commotion. )
Yeah. That'd probably be good.
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Date: 2022-02-02 02:06 am (UTC)Surprised or not, he does still nod as he gets to his own feet. ]
Okay. Let's go.
[ It sounds like they learned everything they needed to from this gathering anyway. ]
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Date: 2021-04-10 08:20 pm (UTC)it perhaps isn't too weird for someone like her to be wandering this island, not when she has experienced different forms of magic in the short time she has been here – from the sightseeing boats without sailors to the somehow endless supply of, well, blood bags in her fridge.
a life by the seaside is not something she ever saw for herself since mystic falls is all she has ever known, her biggest dreams centered around becoming the local beauty queen like the other forbes women before her.
she can't deny that she does like the quaint single apartments in each little condo the town has begun to fill with visitors, the combination of nautical and minimalist scandinavian style. the morning starts with caroline throwing a dark green fisherman sweater over a pair of jeans and bounding down the hallway to bother hyunsu because she doesn't want to get breakfast by herself. ]
Morning! You awake? [ she calls out, rapping on his door. ]
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Date: 2021-04-14 03:27 am (UTC)Hyunsu left behind nothing when he woke up on that fishing vessel on their first day in this new world. His family had died in a horrible accident, his friends had abandoned him long before that, and honestly most of them were likely dead themselves, or one of the man-killing monsters that so many citizens of Korea (if not the entirely world) had transformed into recently. He had absolutely nothing to miss.
But he's still struggled with the new setting. Caroline is bright and vivacious, and at this point in his life Hyunsu is pretty much the exact opposite of that. Her insistence on tossing herself into his life here has really helped him get through his days though, and he is genuinely grateful for her.
Which is why he groggily accepts things like her loudly knocking on his door when he's not ready to wake up himself.
Hyunsu doesn't even bother to change out of the clothing that he was sleeping on as he blearily blinks his eyes open, and forces himself to sit up on his mattress. His brain is sleep-addled, but his English is passable enough that the fact that her words were literally in another language, instead of the automatic translation into Korean he's used to hearing, doesn't register on him at first.
The vague, non-verbal sound he makes as he forces himself out of bed doesn't help clarify the fact that something is odd here. In fact, it's not until he manages to drag himself to his door, and open it up for her that things might become clear something is off here.
He's always spoken to her in Korean, knowing that something allows her to understand him despite not knowing a word of the language herself. It's why he doesn't think twice about tiredly asking her a question in his native language. ]
What time is it?
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Date: 2021-04-16 03:05 am (UTC)unfortunately for them today, all she has to her name is some years of rudimentary french as is required by middle school and high school education in most american schools. she had marveled at the ease in which everyone was able to talk to each other. she's only seen a small percentage of what her best friend bonnie can accomplish as a witch ( especially a bennett witch ), but remains unsurprised that a strong spell had accomplished such a thing.
as soon as hyunsu answers her at the door, her face and shoulders fall and she tilts her head to one side, confused. well, that's weird. ]
What did you say?
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Date: 2021-05-04 03:19 am (UTC)Most of the time she's just a friendly, normal girl though. Her energy, while not exactly infectious for someone as withdrawn as Hyunsu, still makes him feel a little less broken than he's felt in a long time. To have someone bright and cheerful who actually wants to be around you genuinely helps after being isolated for so long.
So it's a real shame that after bringing them together something has gone wrong that's about to drive an unwanted wedge between them again.
Hyunsu stares at her as it hits that he has to translate in his head what she said. He starts to parrot her back slowly in English. ]
What did you-- Ah...
[ His brow furrows, and he switches back to Korean. ]
Do you not understand me?
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Date: 2021-05-07 05:35 am (UTC)her pale eyes widen when hyunsu's english sounds slow and uncertain, certainly not the way she has been hearing him for the past however many weeks. she might not speak the language but she can at least understand what he is trying to test here. ]
No, [ caroline replies firmly, shaking her head almost exaggeratedly. ]
Crap.
[ she gestures to the window before throwing her hands up in a big shrug. miming or using theatrics probably isn't necessary but she's doing her best not to launch into her standard mile a minute rambling. ] Do you think – uh, it's everywhere?
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Date: 2021-05-26 02:11 am (UTC)He can already tell that he's going to have some difficulty here when he struggles a little after her "no". ]
"Crap"?
[ It's just a frustrated exclamation, but that's the problem when people use slang in a language you're not fluent in, everything could be important, and you can't be certain.
He looks around as she gestures about, and tries to consider what it is she's asking him. ]
Do you...
[ Present instead of past. Tenses aren't easy, but she said "do you" too, so it's probably right, right? ]
Talk to people?
[ Or was he the first person she happened to run into today? She's certainly the first he's spoken to. ]
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Date: 2021-06-10 11:07 pm (UTC)[ caroline, this is not helpful. like, at all. she presses the heel of her palm against her forehead, appearing to think very hard about how they are going to go about the rest of their day. ]
You're the first person I think about talking to every day, [ caroline finds herself saying, partially because they seem to be at the younger end of the spectrum amongst the wave of arrivals to town, partially because she kind of likes him. ]
Go outside? [ she points over his shoulder, at the window in his own room. ] You and me? [ pointing to him, then herself. ]
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Date: 2021-06-27 09:51 pm (UTC)He's getting a few though, enough to kind of piece together bits of what is being said here. His nodding slows as he focuses on what she's saying, though she's not making it hard on him for long. Short sentences are a lot easier to follow, even if they're not exactly grammatically correct. The gesturing isn't even necessary, because he understood every word of those two questions.
With a finally nod, he steps towards the door. ]
Okay.
[ If only one of them is unable to understand the people of their new strange island home, he really hopes it's Caroline. He can live with barely knowing what's going on, but he does not want to have to be the one to do the bulk of conversing from this point on. ]
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Date: 2021-09-04 07:43 pm (UTC)when they're finally outside, she fumbles slightly, surprised to encounter the island chaos the second the door opens. ]
God, it's like that one Bible story, [ caroline mumbles to herself as she ( again ) makes her way towards the town hall, hoping for some answers. no, she can't remember which story, though she's sure it has something to do with a tower. ]
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Date: 2021-09-11 06:05 pm (UTC)As they leave the apartment complex it quickly becomes apparent they're not the only two in that particular boat. Hyunsu flips between scanning the frantic confusion playing out around them to looking at Caroline as she continues to stride forward with purpose.
For now he'll keep trying to do his best to communicate with her, though now she's making it even harder by bringing in biblical stories to a boy that is not Christian, and was not raised with the religion.
He does at least pick up a few words. ]
"God"?
[ And makes the wrong assumption the exclamation is part of her Bible mention. ]
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Date: 2022-01-18 04:13 am (UTC)No, the opposite. ( caroline, talking to yourself isn't going to help this situation any more. especially when poor hyunsu, though with a better understanding of your language than you have of us, might have trouble keeping up with her mile-a-minute anxious chatter. )
Hey! ( she tries to stop a british woman brushing past in the street and the two of them have a frantic exchange over the sudden change in ... environment. eventually, when the woman rushes off to help her new partner, she turns to hyunsu with a disappointed look in her eyes, shoulders slumped. )
Nothing.
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Date: 2022-01-23 01:16 am (UTC)He does look increasingly concerned as she carries on though, feeling a little worried that he can't fully comprehend Caroline's level of panic with this one.
At least it seems she has some people she can communicate with here, though Hyunsu himself steps back slightly, quickly giving up on the conversation the two are having. If it was slower he might be able to follow it some, but both of them seem to be too energized to slow down to a speed he can follow.
When it finally ends he lets out a small sigh of relief, even though his conversation with Caroline is not about to get any easier. ]
You don't know?
[ Why this is all happening. ]