#rkchuseok

[rktiffxny]

160915 — 08:24:16 pm kst incoming viber call …

                                                                      (  ………..  )                                                              

                        “ugh, why does she always use this app now. i don’t know how to—”

accept? block? ➥ call accepted!

“hello? hello.” nothing is heard on the other line and she threatens to hang up when— 

“what? you were the one who answered. how are you going to hang up?” 

“you didn’t say anything!” “emily was trying to take the phone from me so ryan took her.” 

“oh— but wait, i wanna see her!” 

“hey, i’m the one who called.” 

“that’s not fair when emily can’t dial the phone herself. how cruel of you. tsk tsk, to your own daughter!” 

cassie switches the call to video and tiffany can see her rolling her eyes in vivid color despite it being the middle of the night in california. “you’re so funny, steph.” 

“why did you call so late?” 

“it’s not late for you.” 

“i mean late for you.” it’s in that moment that tiffany sees the exhaustion on her sister’s face. more than that, she notes the frustration and she knows cassie better than to think it’s merely work related. “what’s wrong?” 

“nothing’s wrong.” 

“you know, it’s normally me that lies like that.” 

she only receives a weak smile and tiffany suddenly can’t find herself enjoying the night as much as she wants to. looking over at bobby talking with his aunt over the plates and plates of food ( she expects nothing less from his aunt, to be honest, and it’s been a while since either of them ate so well— the last time she remembers a table set up with so much food was what she prepared for his birthday ), she can’t smile as easily herself while her sister seems so out of sorts. 

“just tell me, cassie. since when don’t you speak your mind?” 

but tiffany has no way of knowing that cassie can’t. she can’t tell tiffany everything she knows because tiffany’s faith and trust in leo would weaken. even when tiffany became closer to cassie over leo the older she became, there’s no denying the glistening image of leo from her childhood— how leo was the one who stepped in to take care of her like her father when theirs was hardly home. how could she tell tiffany that leo was spiraling downwards? that the sibling that stayed the strongest was finally crashing? 

the most concerning thought that cassie has when she looks at her baby sister is how does she tell her with assurance that tiffany won’t crash again herself? because leo and tiffany are too alike— because leo is drinking and shattering his moral code left and right just as tiffany had. worse, cassie isn’t sure why leo is doing this now. 

an odd twist of fate, a fucked up notion of balance in their family as everyone begins to settle happily in place. 

“leo’s not coming home for chuseok.” 

brows furrowing, tiffany is already confused enough and cassie knows that one small fact is enough to upset the younger once she thinks about it. “is he swamped with work?” even if the answer is yes, tiffany can’t help thinking about how cheolwoo is in busan visiting his family because ‘we get holidays if we want to take them’ so why would leo not want to go to california for even the weekend? 

“no.” 

“when did he tell you?” 

“now. i texted him a few hours ago asking about his flight and he just replied. emily’s teething right now so she hasn’t been sleeping well. that’s why we’re all awake here, even dad. he’s staying here until next wednesday.” 

“and leo’s not going to come at all?” 

“no.” 

the truth is, even with that much information, tiffany is baffled and shocked. but she pretends that she’s okay when bobby looks over and waves, wondering why she’s taking so long— it’s not like her to accept any call for too long when they should be eating still, even if it is her family; courtesy, is all— just like how cassie pretends it’ll be fine. 

“i’m just grumpy because emily won’t sleep.” 

a year later and they’re back to the pleasantries of pretending: “okay.” 

[xrkmeiqi]

❝ a royal feast ;

she sits at the table, head in her hands, body hunched over, elbows on the table. it's a stance of defeat, but even when her body speaks for he, she refuses to give in. how could anyone just leave food sitting there when it could be eaten? food is best served hot, unlike revenge.

which her stomach will take on her once she finds a way to stick the rest of that duck into her mouth.

she lifts her head, eyes alight with the fire of determination as she reaches out, defying all logic and getting her grubby fingers on the deliciously crispy skin of the duck yixing's prepared, treating her like a princess as always, and her more than willing to indulge in the fantasy of knight and princess, as they've been doing since they were young. she has half a mind to ask him why he continues to do so when it's obvious it does a little more harm than good in terms of her ego, but she always figures---why ruin a good thing?

"this is so good~" she croons, half to shower him with compliments he deserves and half to remind herself so that her stomach will expand and she can fit some more in there. then she remembers there's dessert, and a whine enters the nooks and crannies of her words, coating them with the high-pitched lilt. "what do i do~? i still want to keep eating..."

she purses her lips to hide a pout because she's a god damn adult now, but refuses to let go of the skin in her hands.

"i'm going to do it, you know," she says to offset his look of disbelief because they've done this enough times to know that no matter how much she tries, her eyes are always much larger than her stomach. he spoils her, and she loves it.

how could she not?

how could she not love having a best friend who dotes on her, who is always there for her, who understands her every weird quirk and is able to tell what she needs without her even speaking a word? and on an evenings like tonight, where family is supposed to be above all else, she truly realizes how lucky she is, how lucky she's been since she was frightened seeing a strangers face right outside her bedroom window. how, even without her family there to celebrate the mid-autumn festival with her, she can't ask for anything more.

and with a genuine smile, she beams at him, soft as the moon above them, wide as the full moon. "lay ge~ i need a break. let's go outside and look at the moon!"

[haseulrk]

Jeonju

Paying for the cab ride, Taeyeon stepped out, adjusting the strap of her backpack over her shoulder. It had been a long trip, almost three hours by bus and taxi combined to make it from Seoul all the way back to her hometown of Jeonju.  She actually couldn't remember the last time she had been home, it had been so long.  She hadn't been home for any previous Chuseoks, or Christmas, or her birthday.  Her parents would probably tell her that it was a waste to spend six hours round trip to just come home for the day, but for her, it was worth it. 

She hadn't told anyone that she was going to be coming, but she knew they'd all be there, her father closing down the eyeglass shop to spend it with the family for the holiday.  As she walked up the driveway, she could see Jiwoong's car in the driveway, perhaps her older brother would give be heading back to Seoul that evening and she could catch a ride back with him instead of the bus. 

She walked up the stairs to the front door, taking her key from her pocket, smiling to herself when it still, as expected, unlocked the entrance and she stepped inside, already smelling the aroma of her father's cooking up of some of the more traditional dishes for the holiday.  Her face lit up when she saw the shocked look on her mother's face as she went to see who had just let themselves into the house, setting her bag down and wrapping her arms around her as she could tell mom was tearing up from happiness in having her home for a change. 

Her father was next to come see what the commotion was about, coming out of the kitchen to lift her up in a big hug, while Jiwoong laughed, waving from the couch in the living room.  That only left the last member of the family to come check out the noise, her little sister, though now eighteen herself, Hayeon.  She gave her little sister (who was now also taller than her) a big hug and could keep the smile off of her face. 

It was good to be home.

[rktiffxny]

160916 — 11:47:03 pm kst incoming video call …

                                                                       (  ………..  )                                                              

                                                 “are you sure he’s going to call back”                                                        “of course he is, it’s me tha— “

accept? block? ➥ call accepted!

“i told you that leo would call me back.” she swears she can see chanyeol’s eyes rolling from across the room and she rolls her own without any confirmation necessary. it’s a running joke between them ( that occasionally may or may not be a joke ) to vy for leo’s attention and see who comes out on top. small things like a returned video call is a victory nonetheless and tiffany’s no stranger to gloating when it comes to chanyeol. 

“oppa—” 

“oh, it must be serious. she’s calling me oppa.” 

“hey! take me seriously!” 

“that’s the tiffany i know.” 

she doesn’t have to look at chanyeol to know he’s probably snickering and grinning in an obnoxious way— obnoxious to her anyway, and proof of a kindred spirit in leo’s eyes. it was why bas was so easily accepted into her family. cassie wasn’t that fond of him at first but her father thought he was great. a deeply rooted, supposedly ‘secret’ desire for sons that peers through a little too easily whenever leo and bas spent time with her father. maybe it was the cause of tiffany’s jealousy annoyance when they were still teenagers. if you ask her, she’ll just say that bas is naturally irritating. 

“how was your chuseok, oppa?” 

a loaded question, because she knows he didn’t go home this time. she knows that he’s still not talking to cassie and the worst part of it all is that their father is sad the family wasn’t together to celebrate. her workaholic father that has not only begun to delve more into his hobbies than work, who’s finally learned how to relax again and live life, took time off to spend time with everyone but leo couldn’t bother to take a flight home when he could easily take time off. he’s done so time and time again. 

“those of us in the company who celebrate it went out to dinner. you?” “i worked,” bas talks over her and she reaches for a pillow on her couch to toss at him. “while miss too good for us superstar over here,” ruffling her hair for emphasis, she does her best to try and shove him off the couch’s armrest when he looms over her with one hand, her phone barely steady until she gives up, scoffing and complaining under her breath of how rude he is. “had a nice dinner.” 

leo’s brows raise and she resists the urge to ask which employees under the company went to the dinner he went to. “with who?” he’s the one who asks instead and she smiles vaguely before glancing bas over and being suddenly reminded of what she intended to tell him when he first called. 

“oh right— oppa,” he chuckles and tiffany knows he’s thinking of repeating himself from earlier. “can you please tell bas he has to wear pants around me?” 

the shock settles quickly on his face and lingers, giving way to an expression of genuine amusement as he laughs. “you must really want bas to wear pants.” 

“he runs around like a toddler! it’s cute when it’s like a two year old who refuses to wear their clothes. at least that makes sense. he just won’t wear pants!” case in point: bas has been pantless this entire time and tiffany is exasperated at the thought of him continuing to sit on her couch in just boxers. 

but it’s hearing “are those mine?” “that makes it a little more disturbing than usual and the distaste is clear on her face when she looks at bas as he says “maybe.” 

 but disgust is normal between them ( jokingly, of course, maybe ) and it only takes seconds for her to get over it, asking “if you’re wearing leo’s underwear, aren’t those too big for you?” because she’d rather ask that than why he took them in the first place. 

“are you calling me fat or him scrawny?” 

“can it be both . . . ? porque no los dos.” 

“i can’t believe you just meme’d me.” 

“i can’t believe bas is wearing your underwear.” and she bites her tongue at her first thought directly following— neither leo or chanyeol really know about the nature of her relationship with bobby and she has no plans of letting them know in that exact moment. 

“i can’t believe he is either.” 

“don’t leave your luggage around, hyung.” 

the rest of the night passes by uneventfully ( especially since bas still refuses to put his pants on so tiffany refuses to stay close to him long enough for the call to last more than fifteen minutes; it’s still morning in new york anyway and well into the work day for leo ) and she can’t deny that although she’s still inwardly upset, it’s nice to be around family. 

because bas is part of her family as annoying as he is and she tosses a blanket over his head when it gets late. “good night, idiot.” i’m glad you’re here. 

[rkpcy]

The Effects of All Work and No Play: A Study into the Mind of Sebastian Park

seongpyeon are a staple for chuseok, a must-have even in his household thousands of miles away from his mother’s birthplace. it's a taste that reminds him of sitting on the floor of the apartment, plates of food on the ground as he watches home videos with his siblings and his mother; a quaint evening where even the most pressing of their worries were put on the backburner in exchange for a light-hearted walk through memory lane.

except seongpyeon tastes a little different  when he’s standing around on location for one of the studio’s clients, upgraded from receptionist to media slave assistant for the evening. they still taste like the red bean paste and gelatinous rice of chuseoks past, but with a dash of regret and a sprinkle of fuck-man-they’ve-been-redoing-this-take-for-half-an-hour-now.

it really puts things into perspective.

for three years now, he's been on his own, pursuing dreams he can only achieve himself, sending money back home when he can, but, ultimately, living selfishly in hopes of trying to help change the world, to have his voice be heard, a hero for the downtrodden, a voice they never asked for but the one he believes they need.

or maybe he's just fucking tired.

finally, they're wrapping up and he's wrapping seongpyeon to steal take home for later, packing a few extra pieces for tiffany because, hey, she made the trip to see him, so why not? he's prepared to slip away in silence as he usually does, a nameless face, the coffee boy, the schedule maker, the one who deals with the talent when the talent forgets they wouldn't be anywhere without a team. but he hears his name called, his real name, not "hey, you" or the sound of a finger snapping, but his real name. is this what he's been craving? recognition.

"chanyeol, right?"

he nods, discreetly (or indiscreetly, he can't fucking tell) bulging his pockets so it isn't obvious he's stuffed two pounds of chuseok snacks into the front pocket of his hoodie. "sir?"

"you can come in tomorrow, too right? girl's more of a disaster than we thought. i'm talking autotune and micro editing like a bitch."

well, that wasn't what he was hoping for.

"yeah, sure."

who needs holidays anyway, right? and who knows, maybe they'll actually let him showcase his knowledge and know-how, and the others will understand if he shows up a bit late for the next two days.  "i'll be there."

[rklandon]

░▐ ★_under the same sky 、

《 ★ featuring rkmeiqi 》 seoul is nothing like beijing or changsha. yixing remembers nothing of his birthplace but he knows the customs, the cuisine, traditions his grandmother passed onto him even in the household of another: meiqi’s family home. food lines the table, end to end, corner to corner, not a single spot unaccounted for and yixing’s relieved when meiqi has the resolve to try and eat it all. she can’t but he appreciates the smile on her face when she sees it all and how cute she is when she realizes she can’t go on. it’s a feast fit for a princess, for his princess. the only princess in his life and she doesn’t even know how special that makes him to her. 

“do you miss the castle, princess?” 

she doesn’t truly answer but yixing doesn’t mind it. what he cares about most is right in front of him. the princess’s happiness is key to his own and his grandmother is a mere phone call away. it’s not perfect but it’s enough for him to feel content. the duck doesn’t taste exactly the way his grandmother makes it, the mooncakes are store bought (a shame because his grandmother makes the best ones but no one could ever replicate that or find the time like she somehow does), but the crab is all his doing. it has been for years, a tradition yixing insisted on mastering on his own from a young age and, now, he’s perfected it. 

his grandmother isn’t there but he finds comfort in the small things like that, in food, in old traditions merging with new, in a lavish apartment in apgujeong filled with the scent of their beijing home, in a person. the princess is who makes her apartment feel like the castle they grew up in together and the thought that they’re all under the same sky reminds him of one thing: love.

[rksaememories]

move.

( ✦ 14th september, 2016 )

hand in hand, mijoo willingly follows her older sister through the crowded parking lot of busan station. she looks up at juyeon with admiration in her eyes, yet it hasn’t clicked with her that juyeon is going away again, and it’s for real this time round. juyeon pulls a suitcase behind her, bag on her back-- her lips are pressed together to hold back words of regret and apology to her parents whom have brought her here on chuseok, a day of family. thankfully, juyeon hadn’t entirely screwed everything up, the son’s were going to grandma son’s house for the rest of the holiday, with or without her. juyeon knew she’d be one less mouth to feed-- and besides, seoul was quiet during the chuseok period-- it’d be a good time to explore and get herself acquainted with her new surroundings again. “unnie~” mijoo says, tugging on the sleeve of the sweater she wore. juyeon looks down at mijoo, smiling. “what is it, bug?” juyeon asks, glancing down at her while trying to keep focused on the path ahead, avoiding wild cars and groups of families. “can i pull your suitcase for you?” she asks, reaching back to tap the blue case juyeon tugged behind her. juyeon looks back over her shoulder and laughs. “it’s a bit heavy, but-- you can try!” she stops, holding the case for mijoo to take and the little girl lets her hand go, pulling the suitcase along behind her. she begins to run up ahead of juyeon, now on a path. “mijoo! be careful.” juyeon’s mother calls out, a couple of steps behind her daughters. “watch out for the people!”

juyeon walks back along with her parents, in between them, her mom’s arm around her waist. “if you’re going to be in seoul, then do your best to visit seokjin.” her mother says, looking up at juyeon through her thin rimmed glasses. juyeon looks at her, nodding. she was looking forward to seeing seokjin, it had certainly been a while. she hadn’t left much of an explanation as to where she’d gone when her time in seoul had ran up. she was due to go to summer camp with him but opted out last minute, hopping on the ktx with busan as the final destination. juyeon was a little apologetic and she was hoping to meet with seokjin as soon as time permitted; but today wouldn’t be that day-- juyeon needed time to herself to collect her thoughts, and that’d begin once she got on the train. she’d watched train to busan recently, and even if she was going in the opposite direction into seoul-- the idea of being caught on a train midst apocalypse had her skin crawling. juyeon laughs, prepared to nap or game the journey to her home. she’d never really thought of seoul as being home-- it always seemed so far from the strawberry farm.

they pass through the gates into the station, and juyeon’s mother is now clinging to her daughters arm, her father up ahead pulling along juyeon’s suitcase from a suddenly tired mijoo. they’re reluctant to let their eighteen year old go once more, for it was merely months ago that she had returned to their home with red eyes and a broken heart; more so broken dreams. juyeon takes her suitcase from her father, breaking away from her mother as she wanders across the station a little to see where and when her train leaves. she’s bittersweet about going away again, but she made the promise of coming home this time next year if her dream was still stagnant. juyeon had dreams, hope for herself-- to be in a company, even better; her and seokjin in the same company, working towards their dreams. she couldn’t do it without her cousin, he was a key reason as to why she was coming back-- someone to hang out with; someone who understood the dream and the motives that drove her day to day life. sure, seokjin wasn’t a dancer but he understood music and the sacrifices one must give in order to seek that life.

together as a family, the sons walk down towards the platform, the ktx train waits as people board, masses due to it being chuseok. juyeon takes in a deep breath, it’s beginning to hit her. departing in fifteen minutes. no sooner does the announcement come over the speakers “you take care of yourself, juyeonnie.” her mother says, embracing her. her head barely sits on juyeon’s shoulder, but she wraps her arms around her mother anyways, nodding. “i promise i will mom, i’ll call you when i get into seoul.” she’s going to miss her mothers enthusiasm, helping her pack to move away the first time round and the reluctance to let go and embrace her daughters second try. “you best bet. please get in contact with seokjinnie, don’t be out late!” her mom pulls back and waves “and you’re sure this is what you want, right?” her father asks, patting the top of her head. juyeon takes in a deep breath, nodding. it must be hard for a father to say goodbye to his daughter for the second time. juyeon pulls both of her parents in for another hug, a group one; knowing this would be the last one for a while. mijoo hugs juyeon’s leg, and she pats the younger’s head looking down at her with a smile.

“thank you for believing in me always, mom and dad.” juyeon says, stepping back before she drops into a sudden ninety degree bow and holds it for a moment. “i won’t disappoint you. fighting!” she waves goodbye to them one last time, blowing a kiss towards mijoo and also her mom whom is carrying her baby brother. tugging the suitcase along behind her, she steps onto the train, smiling at the hostess whom directs her down towards the correct cart. she takes a window seat, throwing her backpack down to mark her seat before wheeling her suitcase off down the isle where it’d sit amongst other suitcases and heavy luggage. her hands tuck inside her jean pockets as she wanders back to her seat, eyes focusing on the ground. she falls into her seat and sighs, pulling her headphones out, tucking them over her ears. chuseok or not, this is not the start of a new journey, only one i abandoned and need to follow again. 

[zicork-blog]

fifth chuseok

autumn festival Is what he called it, it was also known as chuseok. this holiday he wasn’t going to be spending with his family but instead of his girlfriend, zico needed to sort himself out before he’d see serine. it’s before he got to his house that he decided to walk around the streets of seoul, seeing that it was so lively. this was the first time he went out of his apartment and into the streets, searching around for something. maybe some inspiration, to compose a writing piece or enjoy this holiday. 

there’s nothing brand new about chuseok to him, even when he was back home in america—he would celebrate it whenever his parents were around. just as long as they weren’t on business trips. it’s times like these that he wish he was younger, when he got to see his cousins on the day of chuseok instead of celebrating it without his family.

he wasn’t going to be wearing traditional korean clothing, it’s not that he didn’t mind it but he didn’t have it on him on his hand. he wasn’t even going to wear it when his girlfriend was around. still though, being in south korea itself and celebrating chuseok here for the past five years felt different than that of america. it’s not that he wasn’t used to it, but it was somewhat unfamiliar to him. almost like it was foreign but nevertheless, it’s a holiday he couldn’t wait to celebrate with serine.

festivals are my kind of thing i guess.