[ 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 Her energy, while not exactly infectious for someone as withdrawn as Hyunsu, still makes him feel a little less broken than he's felt in a long time.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: 2021-05-04 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?
no subject
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?
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
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.
no subject
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. ]