...And if there is a spirit lingering here, are you in pain?
[ And right about then, there's a blood-curdling scream. Big brown eyes go even more wide, Jaehyeon's grip on his microcassette recorder clenching, startled.
That's... not how this is supposed to go. But wait, the scream didn't come from where he stands, by the weathered foundation of a long-ago burned-out structure. No, it came from up the hill, there, deep in the woods. ]
Uhhh...
[ He's still another moment, and then he comes to a decision. He grasps the dangling straps of his backpack, yanking down on them so the shoulder straps tighten, securing the pack to his body. He clips the cassette recorder on one of them, to his left, near his face--he's done this before, he knows what to do. ]
Okay! So it's now, uh-- [ quick glance at his watch-- ] nine-eighteen pm, and I am abandoning my EVP experiment at the alleged site of the alleged cursed chapel to go investigate... whatever the hell screamed up the hill just now. I hope somebody isn't hurt.
[ Brief pause. ]
Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. I love you.
[ And off he goes, climbing the hill. It's quiet, and there's enough moonlight for him to see where he's going as he follows a rough path through the grass and moss, until it breaches the trees. It's a bit more dark in here but he can see another clearing ahead.
He gets there and finds himself looking up at a very tall fence. ]
...What the hell?
[ He'll get closer, he thinks, continuing his approach. He'll dig out his Handicam and get some footage of this, this is wild.
...He's tired, why is he tired? It's a steep hill, sure, but he's more than fit enough for this, he shouldn't be gasping, shouldn't be exhausted
--shouldn't be hitting his knees in the cool, slightly damp earth. ]
I, uh... geez.
Okay there's this fence up the hill. A huge one. I wanted to get closer to get some video but I... I can't seem to walk any further, it's weird...
[ He pushes himself back to his feet, instinct making him turn, start picking his way slowly back down the incline. Somewhere up ahead, there's a sound; he stops short, wide gaze bouncing from tree to tree. ]
Hello? Is somebody there?
fourth of july.
[ Maybe he just seems familiar, as everyone around town does in one way or another, like they've always been here and so have you. Or maybe you've been out to the gas station--the smaller one, past one of the residential neighborhoods, not the big one closer to the town center. The one with two pumps outside a homey little convenience store, the one run by that really nice couple who put out home made sandwiches and rice rolls, who will dispatch their kid to unlock the store if it's after hours but you really need some emergency toilet paper or something.
That's him, yeah, Jaehyeon. Always chipper whether he's behind the counter, or hurrying to it from the kitchen where his mom had him busy assembling sandwiches, or just when your paths cross around town. He's a sweet kid, always polite.
But even the sweetest kid can only take so much of Linda's particular brand of... erm. Sunshine.
She's pontificating away, like she do, this time about side dishes, and Jaehyeon, unfortunately stuck near her as he tries to grab a hot dog, stares at her back with an expression that shifts from polite disinterest to a sigh and a side-eye to the sort of lineface that clearly says can you believe this shit before he cracks entirely. He scrunches up his face and begins silently echoing the words coming out of her mouth, no sound coming out though it's clear his lips are forming the words.
Linda, thankfully, does not catch him at this, but someone else waiting for food does, and when he realizes he's been seen Jaehyeon freezes for a second. Then he breaks into a bright grin, shrugging, rolling his eyes and cocking his head at Linda. You understand, right? Right.
Later, he has been roped into helping distribute sparklers. (Only because he promised to actually hand them out and not just bundle them all together and light them in one go. Mom didn't think that was funny, last year.)
If he asks if you have a sparkler, and you say no, he will produce one from his backpack with a flourish. ]
Ta-da! Now you do. Here--
[ He tries to light them with his own sparkler, and sometimes it takes, but sometimes he has to fish in his jeans pocket for a lighter. ]
I've got enough that you could probably have a second one, if you wanted.
message boards.
hey, hi, so like, if you took the vending machine from outside our convenience store can we please have it back? soon? my mom's gonna have a cow when she notices it's missing.
oh right this is jaehyeon, from lee's market, at the gas station.
Jaehyeon Lee | Original
...And if there is a spirit lingering here, are you in pain?
[ And right about then, there's a blood-curdling scream. Big brown eyes go even more wide, Jaehyeon's grip on his microcassette recorder clenching, startled.
That's... not how this is supposed to go. But wait, the scream didn't come from where he stands, by the weathered foundation of a long-ago burned-out structure. No, it came from up the hill, there, deep in the woods. ]
Uhhh...
[ He's still another moment, and then he comes to a decision. He grasps the dangling straps of his backpack, yanking down on them so the shoulder straps tighten, securing the pack to his body. He clips the cassette recorder on one of them, to his left, near his face--he's done this before, he knows what to do. ]
Okay! So it's now, uh-- [ quick glance at his watch-- ] nine-eighteen pm, and I am abandoning my EVP experiment at the alleged site of the alleged cursed chapel to go investigate... whatever the hell screamed up the hill just now. I hope somebody isn't hurt.
[ Brief pause. ]
Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad. I love you.
[ And off he goes, climbing the hill. It's quiet, and there's enough moonlight for him to see where he's going as he follows a rough path through the grass and moss, until it breaches the trees. It's a bit more dark in here but he can see another clearing ahead.
He gets there and finds himself looking up at a very tall fence. ]
...What the hell?
[ He'll get closer, he thinks, continuing his approach. He'll dig out his Handicam and get some footage of this, this is wild.
...He's tired, why is he tired? It's a steep hill, sure, but he's more than fit enough for this, he shouldn't be gasping, shouldn't be exhausted
--shouldn't be hitting his knees in the cool, slightly damp earth. ]
I, uh... geez.
Okay there's this fence up the hill. A huge one. I wanted to get closer to get some video but I... I can't seem to walk any further, it's weird...
[ He pushes himself back to his feet, instinct making him turn, start picking his way slowly back down the incline. Somewhere up ahead, there's a sound; he stops short, wide gaze bouncing from tree to tree. ]
Hello? Is somebody there?
fourth of july.
[ Maybe he just seems familiar, as everyone around town does in one way or another, like they've always been here and so have you. Or maybe you've been out to the gas station--the smaller one, past one of the residential neighborhoods, not the big one closer to the town center. The one with two pumps outside a homey little convenience store, the one run by that really nice couple who put out home made sandwiches and rice rolls, who will dispatch their kid to unlock the store if it's after hours but you really need some emergency toilet paper or something.
That's him, yeah, Jaehyeon. Always chipper whether he's behind the counter, or hurrying to it from the kitchen where his mom had him busy assembling sandwiches, or just when your paths cross around town. He's a sweet kid, always polite.
But even the sweetest kid can only take so much of Linda's particular brand of... erm. Sunshine.
She's pontificating away, like she do, this time about side dishes, and Jaehyeon, unfortunately stuck near her as he tries to grab a hot dog, stares at her back with an expression that shifts from polite disinterest to a sigh and a side-eye to the sort of lineface that clearly says can you believe this shit before he cracks entirely. He scrunches up his face and begins silently echoing the words coming out of her mouth, no sound coming out though it's clear his lips are forming the words.
Linda, thankfully, does not catch him at this, but someone else waiting for food does, and when he realizes he's been seen Jaehyeon freezes for a second. Then he breaks into a bright grin, shrugging, rolling his eyes and cocking his head at Linda. You understand, right? Right.
Later, he has been roped into helping distribute sparklers. (Only because he promised to actually hand them out and not just bundle them all together and light them in one go. Mom didn't think that was funny, last year.)
If he asks if you have a sparkler, and you say no, he will produce one from his backpack with a flourish. ]
Ta-da! Now you do. Here--
[ He tries to light them with his own sparkler, and sometimes it takes, but sometimes he has to fish in his jeans pocket for a lighter. ]
I've got enough that you could probably have a second one, if you wanted.
message boards.
hey, hi, so like, if you took the vending machine from outside our convenience store can we please have it back? soon? my mom's gonna have a cow when she notices it's missing.
oh right this is jaehyeon, from lee's market, at the gas station.