<@Ciara> [Sunday, May 9, 2004.] <@Ciara> [Wataru's spent most of his time at the house party up on the roof with Katie and Maki. The Introvert Food Rotation Schedule seems to be working out pretty well. And now it's his turn to head down and retrieve refreshments for the roof crew.] <@Ciara> [Session Start!] * Wataru has had a beer and a half and a bunch of snacks, and this Maki character is pretty neat, and Katie is fun, and he feels pretty good. He can do this! Food time! And maybe chatting with people?? Exciting! * Wataru heads downstairs and looks to see what he can see. Who's around now? * Haruko is standing by the kitchen, a bottle of soju in her hand. She's still wearing her blue-green dress with serated tail. She glances up and see Wataru and finishes introducing two friends. "Yamada-san! Have we fixed you up with a cocktail yet, I fear I've been a neglegent hostess." * Wataru grins! "Your roommate Maki-san has been taking very good care of me and Katie on the roof. But it's true the alcoholic options up there are pretty limited. Is that soju?" * Haruko takes a look at the bottle and then gives a sly woman of the world grin, "Why so it is. Believe Jae-Yong or Hyun-Jin brought it, though I was away when they arrived." * Wataru glances around the room! Who would these people be? "Is it terribly rude of me to ask if there's extra?" He smiles. It's terribly rude of me that I've let you go without a drink this long. <@Ciara> [There are a fair amount of people here, though Wataru doesn't really recognize any of them. Kyon must be around somewhere, but apparently not in this room.] * Haruko maneuvers through the crowd with a bit of a flourish and retrieves Wataru a bottle. She's apparently at the unnecessary dance step stage of the evening, not the clumsy stage yet. Want it in a glass? "Whatever other people are doing, I guess?" * Haruko pours Wataru a shot from an open bottle, not hers, and brings it over. * Haruko stage whispers, "I will confess I slightly misremembered the potency when I took a bottle for myself, but I'm committed now!" * Wataru chuckles softly. "It is pretty potent stuff. Geonbae!" He raises his shot in a cheer. * Haruko clinks and echoes his pronunciation as best she can, though prioritizing enthusiasm over proficiency. * Haruko glances around herself to see if Jae-Yong or Hyun-Jin are about. * Wataru finds it her attempt sort of cute. He drinks a hearty sip! * Haruko matches him on that sip. <@Ciara> [Hyun-Jin is nearby, in fact, taking a sip of some drink of his own. His reddish brown bangs slide over his eyes a little bit as he finishes. Oh hmm. He looks kind of familiar.] * Haruko spots Hyun-Jin and smiles instinctively, then, after a moment of quiet contemplation, the right corner of the her smile raises itself a little more. "Would you like to meet one of my dancer friends? I don't want to bore you with my hobby." * Wataru glances over. Oh! It's Katie Drawing Guy! "Sure!" He says, before his brain has time to put on the brakes. * Haruko leads Wataru over. "Hyun-Jin-kun. This is Wataru Yamada. You may remember me mentioning that a friend that has taken pity on my Japanese small-mindedness and that will be taking me on a culinary tour of Shin- Okubo." * Wataru chuckles. "Hey," he says. <@Ciara> [Yes, this is, in fact, Katie Drawing Guy. And her pictures defintely did him justice. "Hey," he says back, with a small smile. "Nice to meet you."] Hyun-Jin-kun may describe himself as merely a humble ensemble member like myself, but he's also the understudy for Woong, the leader of the Mun-eo gang. "Oh cool! I'm really looking forward to you guys' show." He glances at Haruko for a split second before looking at Hyun-Jin again. "Is it you who brought this?" He raises his glass of soju. * Haruko beams, and has too many drinks to effectively downplay her happiness at the thought of a friend attending the show. <@Ciara> ["Guilty as charged." Hyun-Jin raises his own glass. "Haruko's been great at getting out the word about the show. Look forward to seeing you all there."] * Haruko raises hers as well, scrunches her forehead for a moment and after a moment's thought proclaims, "Geonbae!" * Haruko drink is admittedly a bottle, not a glass, but that won't stop her. "Geonbae," Wataru echoes, with rather better pronunciation. His shot is now empty! Sad. <@Ciara> ["Geonbae!" Hyun-Jin drains his shot. His smile widens into a grin as he looks over at Wataru. "So you know how to toast, and you're gonna be Haruko's culinary guide."] * Wataru blushes a bit, but smiles. "I'll try. I mean, my parents have a restaurant back home, but I'm not like an expert." * Haruko takes a swig herself and then takes an appraising look at her companions. "Dear friends, will you allow me the honor of refilling your glasses?" Her tone is earnest, it's hard to tell if she's playing it up or just takes her drinking very seriously. She sets down her own bottle on a windowsill in preparation. <@Ciara> [Hyun-Jin holds out his glass. "Thank you," he says, with as much solmnity as he can manage. Given that he's had a few shots already, it's not a huge amount. Then he turns back to Wataru. "Yeah? That's pretty cool. So did my aunt and uncle."] Are you serious! * Wataru grins. That's rad. * Wataru says to Haruko, "And yes please and thank you!" * Haruko claims both glasses. She then works her way to the drink table, taking the long way, slowly walking aound the crowd rather than navigating through it as she was comfortable doing just a moment ago. <@Ciara> ["Yeah, serious. My cousins and I used to get underfoot all the time, 'til they chased us out of the kitchen. Or threatened to make us work."] * Wataru chuckles, delighted. "Man, that's me and my sister all right. That's so cool! Where's the restaurant, if I can ask?" * Haruko mentally reviews which cup is which and sets them both down on the counter for a moment. She tidies up some of the Shin-Okubo Story handbills she had printed on colorful paper and then resumes her journey to the drink table, eavesdropping all the while. <@Ciara> [Hyun-Jin gives a slightly rueful smile. "Busan, actually. So it's been a while since I've visited."] Oh wow, I've never been to Busan. I'm from Seattle. America. * Haruko lays down the cups again and carefully measures out two shots of soju, humming cheerfully to herself until she stops suddenly and saying quietly to herself, "Wait, I need to make sure I'm not -ing again." She takes the two cups and begins the journey back, a bit more purposefully. <@Ciara> ["Well, I've never been to America, so we can call it even." He grins.] * Wataru picks up his glass. "Call it even." * Haruko takes a moment to study Wataru as she grabs her own bottle. Perhaps she's waiting for him to lead the cheer this time. * Haruko realizes "Call it even" was the cheer when Hyun-Jin raises his own glass. She belatedly joins in. <@Ciara> [Hyun-Jin laughs. "I like you, Yamada. You try any of the kimbap? Dunno who brought it, but it's really good."] * Wataru laughs! "Yeah, uh, thank you? That was me." He pinks a little! Oooh, thank you, I shall have to try some. <@Ciara> ["Ha, yeah, really? Well, now that I know where you grew up it makes sense." Hyun-Jin's face is a bit flushed. "Reminded me of my aunt's."] But before I try it, would you two like the tour of the place? If you don't mind being away from the crowd. --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin looks over at Wataru. "I'm game if you are." --- [Jihatsu] "Sure," Wataru says, still smiling from the compliment! --- [Grysar] Haruko straightens her spine and smiles at her two guests. "Let's start with the courtyard. All credit to the pre-existing roommates for the plans, I intend to do my part, but I'm no gardener. She executes a quick spin and then heads off in that direction, leading through the crowd to a small outdoor space in the midst of the house. Lights are hung from the second story windows that overlook it. The plant mix is nothing that startling, a few young bonsai trees but primarily lower maintenance greenery. "I like to sit out here sometimes, when I'm stuck on a problem and I'm not in a position to just take a drive." --- [Jihatsu] "The lights are so cute!!" Wataru can't help but exclaim. --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin looks up. "Nice. They look handmade." --- [Grysar] Haruko has a little more color in her already pink cheeks. "Oh, thank you. Some were. Most of the roommates had a few, so we pooled them all with some that my family shrine no longer needed. Chidori is a great craftwoman and she patched some of them up, while Maki and I rigged the wiring." She waves a hand. "Little things can add a lot of warmth." --- [Jihatsu] "Yeah, absolutely." Wataru glances at Haruko and Hyun-jin. --- [Ciara] "That's cool that you brought it all together." He looks over at Wataru. "Jae-Yong - he's in the ensemble too; I'll introduce you in a little bit 'cause he's around here somewhere - he's pretty good with making stuff." --- [Grysar] Haruko looks over with interest. "I've heard that. I'll have to have him show me some pictures sometimes. What does he work with?" --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin fidgets slightly. "Oh, this and that. Small scrap metal sculptures, some wire sculpt work. A few paper things." --- [Grysar] Haruko nods and does not press. "I mostly work with mechanical stuff and electronics, but I do some clothing work here and there." She gestures at her dress, "Nothing too fancy, but it's fun." She then steps back a little, giving the two men a little room. --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin grins. "You all are good with your hands. I'm better with my feet." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru makes noises about how scrap metal sculptures are cool, but then frowns in confusion about the feet comment. "Feet?" --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin gives Wataru a slightly lopsided, just a bit cocky grin. "Here, I'll show you." He moves a few steps over to where there's a bit more open space, puts his hands by his sides, looks down, and counts backwards from three in Korean. Then he lifts his head up, raises his arms, and proceeds to execute a series of steps that wouldn't look at all out of place in a K-Pop video. --- [Grysar] Haruko watches and then claps, delighted. "He's not wrong." She sets down her bottle and steps forward herself then apparently thinks better of it. "We'll probably have some more dancing later, not just for experts like Hyun-Jin, once the crowd thins out a little." She glances over to Wataru. --- [Jihatsu] Wataru watches Hyun-jin dance and blushes, throat dry. There's a fleeting moment of unconcealed affliction before he manages to lock it down - Hyun-jin probably didn't notice, having his head turned at the time, but the same might not be said for Haruko... "Th-that's... Wow, that was really good." Wataru is very, definitely, whelmed. --- [Grysar] Haruko was mostly watching the performance, mostly. She does keep a sly little smile though, even after the immediate thrill of observing the dance has passed. Today's experiment can be marked successful, though she notes that with the evidence at hand she's still very much at risk of Emma-ing. "If you are feeling generous later, Hyun-Jin senpai, perhaps you could teach us a few moves. I wasn't really trained in K-pop and I do feel like some of my more masculine ensemble dances are still missing something that you certainly possess." --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin grins over at Wataru after he finishes. "Hey, thanks. Real glad you liked it." Then he looks at Haruko. "Yeah sure, I could try showing some stuff later. You could ask Jae, too; he's better at teaching stuff." --- [Grysar] Haruko nods in response. "Mhmm." She makes a mental note to talk to Jae later, her interest was genuine if also multipurpose. She then stays quiet for a little bit. --- [Jihatsu] Wataru sips his soju. He's fully regained his composure now, but a part of him is telling him he should probably extricate himself from this compromising situation, and -- "Oh, crap, Katie and Maki were waiting for me to bring them food!" --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin has a brief look of disappointment. "You don't want to finish out the tour? We could bring food to your friends at the end." --- [Grysar] Haruko gives a toothy grin and takes out her phone. She dashes out a quick text. "I'll inform them that I've kidnapped you for my wicked extrovert rites. They'll understand and blame me. There's enough food up there that they can survive until the tour is over." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru smiles, a little wobbly. "All right, sure. D-don't need to text them, I'm sure they'll understand." --- [Grysar] Haruko looks mildly disappointed, "Then how are they to learn of my diabolical deeds?" But she makes a couple pecks on her phone and then slips it away, walking over to retrieve her bottle of soju. "Let me show you our craft room next." She leads back into the house, taking a slightly circuitous route to ease crowd navigation. She paces herself to stay within a couple meters, but also to give the two boys a little space to talk. --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin seems a little bit flushed from his dancing demonstration, or maybe the alcohol, or maybe both. He laughs at Haruko's comments and grins at Wataru. "We'll make sure to bring them good stuff, yeah?" As they follow Haruko towards the crafts room, Hyun-Jin asks, "So, do you go to Tokyo Tech too?" --- [Jihatsu] Wataru shakes his head, smiling. "Waseda. You?" --- [Ciara] "Oh wow, super smart. I'm at Tokai. I've kind of got a friendly rivalry thing going with some of the Tokyo Tech guys. So it's fun playing a less friendly rival on stage." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru brushes off the super-smart thing, even if it does make him feel sort of good. Then he chuckles. "Yeah? You already knew a lot of people in the musical?" --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin shakes his head. "Just a couple, but enough to find out about it and get Jae-Yong and a few other guys l know to try out." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru nods. "That's cool. Have you done a lot of musicals before?" --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin shrugs a tiny bit. "A couple. I'm a better dancer than singer or actor. S'why I'm an understudy and in the ensemble." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru takes a sip of his soju, and nods. "I'm hopeless at all three, so it'll be fun to watch you guys, anyway." --- [Ciara] "I'm looking forward to performing." Hyun-Jin smiles. "Hope you enjoy it when you come see us." --- [Grysar] Haruko lets out a breath as she leads the two men into a new room. "I'm so terrible at singing that my acting skills never really got judged." The crafting room has a cloth covered dress form, small sewing machine, a cabinet. One of the lower shelves is home to multiple bright blue and red tropical wool triangular cutouts. The largest are long enough for a full length cloak for a short person or a long jacket for a tall person. There is also a kamidana on an upper shelf and including a drawing of Isao that Wataru would likely recognize s done by Katie's hand as well as a few items from the family shrine. "Right now, just have works in early in the progress." Haruko pats the triangular cut-outs. "Getting the seems right on a turn cloak was a bit more of a challenge than I expected. I considered hanging a picture of the tidal wave simulator we have over at the garage now, but that seemed a little weird, even for me." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru gravitates to the picture of Isao, and goosebumps prickle across his skin... --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin politely does not comment on Haruko's singing skill or lack thereof. He does take a look around the room at the various projects, and says to Haruko, "A tidal wave simulator? Like for structural engineering?" [Meanwhile, Wataru, you take a good look at the picture. It is very much Isao Komine, previous Queen of Cups, just as he was in Ayano's memories. If Katie drew this for Haruko, then either Haruko gave her quite a detailed description, or Katie, too, has seen Isao in her memories.] [Also Isao is a really good looking guy, ridiculous hair nonwithstanding. Just sayin'.] --- [Jihatsu] Wataru marvels at the likeness.... He's a bit taken by it! --- [Grysar] Haruko's eyes widen slightly as Hyun-Jin repeats her words back to her with a question added, "Oh, no no. I misspoke." She glances somewhat accusingly at her soju bottle. "Should have said tidal simulator. I'm most interested in generating electrical power from the tides, although the structural engineering part of being able to ride out more extreme waves is an important part of the challenge." --- [Ciara] "Ah, okay. Cool. That makes sense." Hyun-Jin then notices Wataru looking at the drawing, and asks Haruko, "Who's that a picture of?" --- [Grysar] Haruko straightens her posture a little. "Short version is an adoptive ancestral spirit that had lived in Hiroshima some time ago. One who once answered a prayer in a time of need." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru cocks a brow at this. "It's cool," he says. "Did Katie draw this?" --- [Grysar] Haruko raises her bottle as she gestures towards the drawing. "Yes, she was kind enough to make a gift of it. One of two pieces by her I have on display." She then takes another small drink. --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin moves over to take a closer look at the drawing. "I like it. His eyes are kind, but... he's like, seen some shit, too. Your friend's really talented to get that kind of expression down." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru can't help but smile. He wonders if all Arcana have that - the look that they've seen some shit. He wonders if he looks like that right now. He wonders why his soju is all gone. --- [Grysar] Haruko is fairly sure where her soju has been going, and it shows in her cheeks as well. That said, she still has a third left in her bottle. Speaking of that bottle, she keeps it in hand while draping one arm around Hyun-Jin and with the other hand reaches out more gingerly for Wataru's shoulder. This is probably not a big surprise for the Korean dancer as he has seen her huggy-tipsy before. --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin does not seem to be surprised at all by this. He grins over at Wataru and then puts an arm around Haruko, though primarily for support. "So you want to continue the tour or do you need to go sit for a little while?" --- [Jihatsu] Wataru feels a very unreasonable pang of something approaching jealousy. Maybe a sign that this interaction has gone on too long... "Maybe we should all get some food?" --- [Grysar] Haruko lowers her outstretched hand. "If you're getting hungry, we can head back. Katie's new piece weill be on display in my room for some time to come." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru feels that taking Hyun-jin into Haruko's bedroom is probably a fairly bad idea. "Yeah, I'm pretty hungry," he says, looking into his glass. --- [Ciara] Hyun-Jin waits until Haruko feels more steady on her feet before withdrawing his arm. "Yeah, sure, more food sounds good." --- [Grysar] Haruko stabilizes easily enough and leads the two back to the main room. As she returns to the crowd, she begins to shift back to general purpose hostess mode, scanning for new arrivals or those that have been here a while that she's neglected. --- [Jihatsu] Wataru maneuvers them to the food table, aiming to discreetly make sure Haruko gets a glass of water, and something more filling than just sembei or chips... --- [Ciara] [There are quite a few things that are more filling than sembei or chips: among the assortment are some yakitori and kushiyaki, inarizushi, some savory breads, a bit of the kimbap, a wide assortment of fancy pastries and even some cakes. There's also water and cold tea and sodas.] [Meanwhile, a voice calls out, "Oh hey, there you are!" Another guy walks over to Hyun-Jin. They're about the same height and have similar builds. The new guy has short black hair and a dark blue short sleeved shirt and jeans. Given how he was apparently looking for Hyun-Jin, this is probably Jae-Yong.] --- [Grysar] Haruko glances over at Wataru, slightly confused as she notices herself being led. When the new person arrives she waves eagerly, "Hiiiiii, Jae- yong-kun! Glad you could come. You should meet my friend Wataru." She then notices that she's been maneuvered over by the water and grabs one, turning away from the two young Korean men as they exchange their greeting. She proceeds to set down her soju bottle and imbibe the water in one extended and not particularly elegant drink. She wipes off her mouth with the back of one wrist and gives Wataru a grateful glance before turning to again face her other guests. --- [Jihatsu] Wataru responds to that unexpected glance with a warm smile! Yeah, FRIENDSHIP OR SOMETHING! And then he turns and there is a _second_ hot dancer. WHY. --- [Ciara] [OH NO.] [ANOTHER ONE.] And Hyun-Jin is leading him over and saying, "Hey, Jae-Yong, this is Yamada. He brought the kimbap." "Oh yeah, really?" Jae-Yong gives Wataru a friendly smile. "That stuff was great. Wasn't expecting something like it." --- [Grysar] Haruko stays silent for the moment, not wishing to interrupt discussion of dishes. Although she has a look in her eyes like she's plotting something. --- [Jihatsu] Wataru nibbles his lip a bit, smiling up at Jae-yong. (Why is he so _tall_.) "Thanks. I learned the recipe from my mom." -- was that the dorkiest possible thing he could have said? It was, wasn't it! Argh! He either needs a lot more soju or a lot less. Somehow. --- [Grysar] Haruko grins, "Moms have some of the best recipes. I'd learn more of my mother's, if I had the skills." --- [Ciara] Jae-Yong laughs. "My mom's actually kind of hopeless at cooking. My dad does most of it." --- [Jihatsu] Wataru smiles. "My dad does a lot of cooking, but he's Japanese. My mom's Korean. Well, half, but she does mostly Korean food." --- [Grysar] Haruko mms thoughtfully at this and helps herself to a small plate of kimbap. "This is quite tasty Wataru-san, thank you. Perhaps I should raise my expectations of men in that department." She then glances over at a wall clock and scans the crowd. Judging by her expression, she is apparently displeased by what she sees. She takes another swig of soju and focuses again on her guests, looking content once more.