a drop in a bucket

lee daehyun ; sixteen. a boy who dreams far and wide but doesn't know where he's going quite yet...

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& little lost puppy ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcminsung‌:

     his eyes widen slightly at the other’s words, somewhat surprised and entirely caught off guard. what were the chances of him running into his roommate while wandering outside? was this even possible? clearly, the kid isn’t joking, unless this was some really elaborate prank or something, but he doesn’t think it is. the campus isn’t really that confusing though, so he’s a little bit amused though he does keep the smile on his lips to try to not make the other more nervous. 

     “wait, 202? are you, by chance, lee daehyun?” minsung asks, amusement appearing in his expression and he raises an eyebrow. he only knew of his roommate by name and not by face, considering they had received their assignments a few weeks ago and it took a while for everyone to start trickling in. “i’m ahn minsung,” he laughs, holding out a hand and shaking his head slightly at the sheer coincidence. “also kanto dorms, room 202.”

he doesn’t really understand why the other’s eyes widen after he says his dorm room, but he waits, not wanting to interrupt the other should he be having some kind of epiphany. he’s just relieved that no expression of anger crosses the other’s face, the same smile remaining there and daehyun relaxes more, exhaling shyly. at the sound of his name falling from the older male’s lips, his own eyes widen dramatically and his mouth falls open slightly. 

“o-oh! yes, i’m lee daehyun,” he says and he takes the other’s hand shyly to shake it, his expression looking simultaneously embarrassed and relieved. the sheer incredulity of the situation makes him giggle a little bit, now distracted from his panic. “it’s nice to meet you, minsung ssi,” he says politely and his cheeks go very pink. “um, i’m so sorry for having a complete breakdown on you before we even got to the room... please take care of me this semester.”

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& the whys and hows ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcareum‌:

⋆   She noticed the uncertainty in Daehyun’s voice. Her head tilted as her mannerism became more attentive and concerned. She watched him in silence while he mulled over whatever it was he was thinking about. She decided to give him a smile of reassurance to encourage him to say what’s on his mind.

Areum nodded her head as a gesture for him to continue his sentence. Around him, she made sure to be gentle and observant since he seemed like he could use a bit of a confidence boost. Once the question was asked, she hummed in reply.

“Well… for one, it started off when I was a kid. Saw someone I cherished who was a ranger and ever since I wanted to be just like them.” She recounted her memory. Areum put a little more thought into the answer and continued, “ I guess it’s just what my heart wants.”

his expression is unusually serious and focused as he pays attention to areum, his eyes a little sad. it’s a wistful and almost envious kind of feeling he has -- he wishes he was as secure and confident as she was. he wishes that he had that kind of knowledge about himself, but instead, he’s just a lost little child who has been floundering for as long as he can remember. 

“when you were a kid...” he muses softly and his expression falls, his own childhood bereft of any kind of memories like that. “i chose security because my dad is a police officer, but...” he hesitates. “i don’t think... i want to be like him.” his voice is very low and almost inaudible. 

it’s one of his greatest fears, in all honesty. the fact that although he has sought his dad’s approval all his life, that he doesn’t actually want to be like him -- have his thoughts and ideals been misplaced this whole time? how does areum know that her path is the right one? 

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& cookies and coffee ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcjiwon‌:

the rush ends and jiwon was finally able to relax again. her cheeks hurt a bit from how much she had been smiling–not that it was different from every day as she has always been someone who smiles a lot, but there’s something different when its for work instead of just being herself. before she could go slump against the wall or find something to clean to kill time, her coworker gets her attention. the sound of nuna making her head whip around. 

“awww our daehyunnie is sleepy?” she coos, her tone going soft and adoring as she moves over and wraps her arms around the younger boy. his height a bit more than her but his age much younger and it draws out her maternal instincts. she’s always been the younger sibling so having daehyun around was fun for her. “do you want to take a break? nuna can handle it~” 

arms wrap warmly around him at his little whine and he can't help his giggle. jiwon makes him feel so safe and there's something that reminds him of his mom in her. he can't really help himself and the aegyo that naturally comes out around her because she indulges him in being cute. his full lips turn down into a cute pout and he's deliberately being whiny now with jiwon's attention. 

"mm, i'm sleepy, nuna," he huffs softly and he gives her the best puppy-eyed look he can, just wanting to hug her tightly and he's very satisfied with this. "i kept tossing and turning all night, and now i'm sleepy!" he complains childishly, making sure his voice doesn't actually get into the range of annoying, just wanting to be babied by jiwon.

"no no, nuna, i don't need a break," he insists with a giggle, "i just need a long hug and everything will be okay!" he blinks at her with mock seriousness. "nuna's hugs are magical and healing."

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& family ties ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcjiseok‌:

     he’s quiet as daehyun stutters through his first few words, his expression patient and he’s starting to sense that the troubles that plague daehyun run far deeper than he’d originally thought. the boy seems so unsure on the surface, but unsure and innocent, the lostness of a child, and jiseok is starting to see that there’s more to his uncertainty than just innocent naivety. rather, there seems to be a turmoil of emotions in the young boy, and jiseok’s heart aches to see a child, really, so upset. 

     he silently pushes the tissue box over towards daehyun, just in case the boy has need of them. he notes that there has been a mention of a ‘he,’ but instinct tells him that now is not the time to leap upon that point. rather, he addresses the first words that daehyun had spoken. 

     “you said you’re trying to figure out how you feel,” he says quietly, his soft brown eyes focused intently on the freshman. “sad, confused, angry - let’s talk about them all, one by one. what is making you sad?”

the calmness in the associate professor’s voice is soothing, and daehyun finds his tense shoulders dropping slightly as he tries to focus on the here and now. there’s something so matter-the-fact about how jiseok phrases his question, and daehyun hesitates as he really considers the posed question. 

it’s a fair thing to consider. what, exactly, is making him sad? is it the fact that he doesn’t know what he’s doing at victoria college? is it that his dad is always too busy to spend much time at home? is it that he misses home and his family, that everything here is too new of an experience? no, he realizes slowly, he thinks that he’s sad because of why his dad never seems to pay attention to him. 

hesitantly, he glances up at the professor, who has been silent this whole time as daehyun had slowly worked his way through his jumbled thoughts. “it’s complicated,” he says in a small voice. “i... i came to victoria and picked security because my dad is a police officer. i just... i wanted him to be proud of me.” and he’s not, the unspoken ending is there and he immediately feels a pit of guilt open up in his stomach, his face twisting.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcsaerom‌:

trying to channel her personal pain into specifically-romantic angst turns out to be a fun challenge. she lifts memory after frustrating memory to the forefront of her mind, bringing simmering rage back to a boil. it’s a curious result: her voice sometimes shakes with emotion as she runs through lines again and again, but it never sounds quite right to her ears. to make matters worse, the rare moments she gets close to what she’s aiming for are ruined by the brief, but uncontrollable joy that bubbles up through all the negative emotion. she’s never quite known how to stifle her pride when it came to honing artistic talents.

pecha, as expected, grows restless in his pokéball as she goes on with practice. she’d wanted to bring him along as a gauge of sorts, thinking he’d be the perfect way to test herself without asking another person’s opinion on her voice. while she had the epiphany that he’d grow excited at any form of negativity he could sense from her before she made her trip, she still brought him along; even if she doesn’t need him to bring her out of a particularly dark mood by the end of this, he’ll always appreciate a free meal from her.

she waits until she’s tried portions of each song she’s picked out before reaching for the shaking pokéball in her jacket pocket. camo stops spinning to hover before her, waiting as she releases her shuppet while attempting the chorus of the first song again. but she’s interrupted before she can get through one line, thoughts of her deepest regrets flying from her mind as both pokémon dart past her—first pecha, apparently enthralled by another presence, then camo, who simply follows after him automatically. she whips her head around in confusion to find a boy watching her, looking somewhat lost.

ah. pecha’s always preferred new flavors to her familiar turmoil, no matter how strong her emotions resurge. and why else would a kid make his way down a deserted beach except to mope over their own issues? saerom stifles her instinctive scowl with a smile, rising to her feet to join her pokémon. “hello,” she greets softly. “looks like we had the same idea to stew in sadness, am i right?” with a wave, she beckons both camo and pecha to her side. her shuppet’s reluctance to obey only raises her expectations. if she plays her cards right, her beloved ghost could truly feast on this boy’s emotions… eventually. she’s always preferred a long game. “if you don’t want anyone to know, don’t worry. i can keep a secret!” a practiced gasp, and snap of her fingers. “oh, where are my manners? i’m saerom. competition major. what’s your name?”

his eyes widen upon being caught, a shuppet racing at him and he startles, shying away from the ghost pokemon, biting his lip and he wishes he had one of his pokemon out just as a defense against the ghost pokemon. it’s not that he doesn’t like ghost pokemon, but they intimidate him a little, especially the ones that float around with wicked grins on their faces. 

this shuppet is undeniably one of those, and he winces as he peeks up at the ghost pokemon, dearly wishing for the comfort of cinder. it would be nice if he had his growlithe out -- ghost pokemon are immune to normal, but certainly not to fire, and he thinks nervously that maybe he should get a dark-type pokemon to help him... ward off.... ghost pokemon. not that he’s scared or anything. of course not. another unfamiliar pokemon comes whirling towards him and his eyes widen even further, very puzzled at the unusual sight. he doesn’t think he’s ever seen it before, but something about it sends a shiver down his spine and he tears his eyes away from it. 

“h-hello,” he stutters out as the girl who had been singing approaches him and he’s suddenly intimidated. she’s extraordinarily pretty and daehyun has never done well around girls, shy and uncertain as he is. although she’s shorter than him, there’s something about the way she carries herself that makes daehyun feel very small. “i don’t know about stewing in sadness, but...” he smiles a tiny bit, a shy little thing, “i mean, i guess you’re right. your singing distracted me... it sounded nice.” he admits and he exhales softly, foot nudging a rock as he glances down at the ground. 

she sounds so confident even when she realizes that she hadn’t introduced herself, and daehyun wishes he could carry that kind of confidence even in mistakes. instead, he shrinks in on himself in an effort not to draw attention when he messes up, and that probably doesn’t help anything at all. “i’m daehyun. it’s my first semester and i’m in security... i don’t know, though. if i like it,” he confesses and he doesn’t know why he says it. hastily, he tries to direct the attention back to her. “why were you singing out here? i mean... you said... uh. you said you were sad...?”

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& by any other name ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcjiho‌:

he had just been minding his own business when a random piplup had literally wandered right up to him and held its arms out to be picked up. what? he had blinked down at the water pokémon, squinting at it as he tried to discern if it had confused him for someone else or something.

which was impossible. he was the only one in this school who had this face. 

and then it had started looking like it was going to cry when he tried to walk away, so jiho really had no choice but to pick it up. damn him and his weak heart. he sighs, having crouched down to pick up the little penguin pokémon, holding it in his arms. “who’s your owner, buddy?” he asks, fully not expecting a response that he could work with. “great, let’s go find them.” he reaches up to gently stroke the piplup’s face, above it’s beak with a soft sigh. 

he spends a few moments wandering around, trying to see if anyone was looking for a piplup. when it’s been a while, he stops to get the piplup a poképuff and then sighs to himself. “what’s your name?” he asks, despite knowing that the pokémon wouldn’t answer him. hearing a voice behind him though, he turns, squinting in the kid’s direction. “hey kid, is this your – tide?” jiho asks almost incredulously. “is that its name?”

running up to the unfamiliar stranger, anxiety painted all over his face and tears very nearly welling up in his eyes, he hopes to all the higher powers above that this is tide and not some random person’s piplup. if it’s not his tide, then he’s really not sure what to do. he’s already asked countless people with piplups if he can look at them, and not a single one of them has been tide. it’s been thirty minutes and daehyun is growing increasingly frantic. 

“tide?” he asks with this tiny note of hope in his voice, and the stranger turns to face him, already speaking and the incredulous question has daehyun shrinking back in surprise, his eyes widening. this male is taller than him (everyone is, really) and daehyun’s already frazzled nerves are going wild at the sudden question. the piplup flaps its flippers in excitement, clearly recognizing its owner. 

“y-yes...” he replies, his eyes wide and a flush rises to his face, now embarrassed for whatever reason. he doesn’t even know what’s wrong with the nickname tide, but the tone that the other male had taken leaves daehyun feeling abruptly like he’s done something very wrong.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& little lost puppy ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcminsung‌:

     “… are you new?” he asks, almost hesitantly. he’s not sure if it’s the right question to ask considering the fact that this kid is obviously a new student. he has luggage with him, and looks lost. what else did he need to make it more obvious that he was a new kid, aside from maybe a bright blinking neon sign hovering above his head yelling i’m lost to everyone else in the vicinity? so yes, minsung had asked an obvious question but he was also trying to fend off any potential tears. 

     he doesn’t know what to do around children, human children at least, but he’s dealt with enough baby pokemon that he thinks he should be able to deal with this without fully dying or something. so he pastes on a kind smile, one that he’s pretty sure hyunjin had called his ‘default expression’ at some point, and nods. “i can show you the way to the dorms,” he says, wanting to do his good deed of the day. and this was an easy one too. “do you know which room you’re in?

at the question of whether he’s new or not, the only thing he can do is bob his head frantically in agreement. at this point, he’s so desperate for the help this boy might provide that he doesn’t even have the energy to be mildly affronted over the very obvious question, nor does he dare, for fear that the older (this boy must be older, right?) boy will choose to leave him instead of helping him. “i can’t f-find anything...” he hiccups and he rubs away tears again, biting down on his lip hard to try to stifle the sobs that want to escape him.

the boy, who’s so much taller than him, has a kind smile on his face and that helps settle daehyun’s pounding heart just a little bit. he swallows, trying to focus on the other’s face and there’s something so sweet about the stranger’s smile that he can’t help but smile back, shaky and watery though it is. “th-that... that would... i would be th-thankful,” he manages and his death grip on the handle of his suitcase loosens slightly. “i, uh... i’m... 202... for the... the kanto dorms, i think...?” he manages.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& family ties ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcjiseok‌:

     “daehyun,” he says warmly as he pours a cup of tea for the young student once he’s taken a seat, his expression open and understanding. it’s not that he’s licensed to counsel, or to help people who are struggling, but sometimes, he thinks that students just need an adult figure to talk to. even if the adult isn’t very much help, as he thinks is the case for him. 

     sliding the cup of tea across to daehyun, he tilts his head slightly, his smile disappearing slowly and he watches the student quietly, not saying anything, but simply listening. unwanted or unneeded words can sometimes prevent the held-back words from escaping, and jiseok is determined not to undermine daehyun’s attempts to talk with his own unnecessary interjections. 

     he slides a plate with a few cookies on it across to the young boy, his eyes fixed steadily on daehyun’s, the look in his eyes encouraging the first-semester student to continue.

the silence puts pressure on him, but it’s a pressure that’s not entirely unwelcome. given the choice, daehyun thinks that he might have let himself get distracted by everything else around him, and certainly would have seized upon any opportunity to detract from the conversation that he had originally intended to have. in that sense, the silence that jiseok enforces by not replying with words creates more of an open space for daehyun to speak again. 

“i keep trying to figure out how i feel,” he mumbles at last, his fingers curling around the cup that had been slid to him. the warmth of the cup is comforting, travelling from his chilled fingers to his shaking limbs and the flagging strength of his heart. “i’m... sad, and confused, and angry, and just... i don’t know, ssaem, i don’t know why i came here when nothing i do can make him pay attention!” 

the words burst out of him unexpectedly, tears rising to his eyes at the forceful words, and he inhales shakily, uncertain, trembling.

[vcsaerom-deactivated20191207]

in which the misunderstanding begins to write itself.

this section of shoreline is always blessedly quiet when saerom chooses to spend her time here. the only sound to be heard is the calming tide, the crash of waves faint enough in the distance they become a welcome sort of white noise. the serenity of it all makes it easy for her mind to clear, to slowly fill with nothing but how to get to the goal she’s set for herself this afternoon. ahead of her, camo floats towards their usual spot, swaying this way and that in time with the flowing waves.

saerom is already humming when she reaches the large rock where she typically sits. her minior spins faster than before, seeming to vibrate with excitement from where it hovers just above her head. “easy, camo,” slips naturally from her lips, but she doesn’t try to hide a fond smile. she can always trust her starter to keep her mood light.

raising her arms as she takes a seat on the flat surface, she silences herself in favor of focusing on arranging her things. the fistful of printouts she’d gripped tight in one hand are smoothed out over the back of her guitar, set down in her lap; once she’s certain she won’t have to pick any one up to read it clearly, she lays them out in a line before her. as a final step, and her standard precaution, she moves her guitar to rest on top of the rock, holding down the papers by an edge, or a corner.

a deep breath: in, out. a chin lifted towards the sky, a faint smile at camo playfully orbiting her head, her hair rustling with the resulting whoosh of air around her. an absent thought of whether she could sound sincere with any of the breakup songs she’s chosen as her eyes flutter shut. another inhale—and then she starts to sing.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

sometimes, the day calls for a walk along the often secluded shores. daehyun has a lot going on in his mind, after all, muddled and confused with what he should be and what he wants to be. if there even is anything he should be. wistfully, he wonders what he might have become if his father had paid attention to him instead of being so focused on his career. silently, he muses whether he had chosen to go into security just to get his father’s attention. 

he still remembers the feeling of a warm hand on his head and the praising words. you’re going to be like me? i’m proud, he remembers, and a surge of bitterness races through him. no, he thinks, i don’t want to be like you. i don’t want to be someone who doesn’t even know my own son. or more accurately, whose son doesn’t know him. but when he thinks about it more, he still has no idea what he does want to be.

dully, he kicks at the sand as he walks down the shoreline, his expression sullen and sad. he’d only wanted his father’s attention, in the end. and instead of actually getting it, he’d found himself alone in an entirely new situation where he’s still very much lost. oh, minsung is lovely, the best roommate daehyun could have asked for as a brand new student, and jiseok ssaem is incredibly encouraging, but he has no friends. there’s still no one that he feels safe around. 

the strains of soft music drift past him and his head jerks up quietly. there’s something very captivating about it, and he follows it back, curious and distracted from his own thoughts. he stands there in surprise as he watches the back of a stranger, her voice holding his attention and he breathes out, “pretty...” under his breath unconsciously.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& cookies and coffee ;

a starter for @vcjiwon !

it had been a bit busy during the lunch hour, and daehyun suppresses a soft little yawn once the rush is over. combee coffee in tajiri town is fairly consistent, and while it’s not quite as busy as the location in celebi centre, he likes the surges of customers coupled with break times much better. 

“nunaaaaa.” he whines, turning to his fellow barista, pouting at her cutely. “i’m sleeeeepy.” he huffs softly, tidying up the espresso bar where it’d become a bit messy from their lunch rush. he loves working with jiwon at combee coffee and he loves his job, but honestly, he’s so sleepy today he can hardly bear it. a sleepy daehyun equates a pouty daehyun who rather wants cuddles. unfortunately, that’s not an option at the moment. of course, an important question to be considered in that moment is why, exactly, is he so sleepy?

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& by any other name ;

a starter for @vcjiho !

daehyun whines to himself, hardly daring believe that the instant he wandered out into the water festival, chaos had struck him. he’d planned to spend the day with tide, since the piplup is the only one of his pokemon who actually enjoys water, but tide, troublemaker that he is, had scampered off almost immediately after they’d stepped out into the open. he supposes the little penguin had been enticed by all the water around, but still. couldn’t he have stayed or waited... 

“tide...!” he calls out with a pout, his eyebrows furrowing together in worry as he searches the area for his lost piplup. the problem is that there’s too much blue around in honor of the water festival, and his piplup is certainly not the only one. he searches desperately, calling out tide’s name all the time, and as time passes, he grows more and more frantic, tears of fright starting to well up in his eyes. 

“tide -- tide! where are you?!” he calls, his whole face a mask of fright. he spots a piplup in a stranger’s arms, but he isn’t sure if it’s his. “tide??” he calls as he hurries up to the male, hoping desperately.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& the whys and hows ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcareum‌:

⋆   Lessons are important, Areum knew that, at least, but that doesn’t mean it makes classes any easier for the sleep deprived trainer. She did her best not to fall asleep while the professor explained the assignment the class was supposed to work on for the session. Knowing what she wants was not a difficult question to answer; she was hellbent on becoming a pokemon ranger. She admired rangers for what they do, being brave and going out of their way to help others with the assistance of pokemon using a capture device to create a temporary bond. Everything about the job sparkled Areum’s interest. 

Her head perked up upon hearing her name, turning her attention towards her younger friend with a smile. She nodded in reply, gladly accepting Daehyun’s request to partner up. She patted the seat next to her, pushing all unnecessary items to the side. Her body turned towards him to give him her undivided attention. 

“Sure thing! It would be a pleasure to hear what you have in mind. I’m sure by this point everyone knows what I wanna be…” she laughed, reminding the both of them just how much she exclaims about her desire to become a pokemon ranger on a daily basis. 

his lips curve up weakly as she agrees and prompts him quite eagerly, feeling a little intimidated in the face of her enthusiasm. it’s a little scary because she’s so sure of everything and he has no idea what’s going on. none at all. “actually...” he starts hesitantly, but he cuts himself off rather quickly. he’s beginning to regret asking her to partner with him, because now he feels even more inadequate than usual. 

inhaling deeply, he shakes his head, trying to convince himself to speak again. “uh, nuna...” he starts again, hesitant and a little afraid. “i... i d... i was wondering,” he changes his words halfway through saying them, not wanting to come right out and say it. “how did you know so strongly what you want to be?” 

he frowns a little bit. “ i mean... you’re always talking about how you want to be a ranger,” he explains hastily, not wanting her to delve too deeply into the stumbling of his words, hoping more words can distract her focus to this new direction. “but how did you know...?”

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& little lost puppy ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcminsung‌:

     it’s his second semester at victoria college now and he’s really enjoyed himself since coming. he is a little bit bummed over the fact that his roommate assignment had changed, having really hoped he would be with hyunjin again. not that there was anything wrong with getting a new roommate, but he had gotten used to the other’s habits and thought it would be hard to readjust to someone new. though, no one had shown up yet and minsung was starting to wonder if his new roommate was going to ever show up. 

     he’s walking towards the cafeteria, having been debating on getting some snacks for later tonight, when he sees … a child? he chews on his bottom lip for a moment, before he approaches quietly, not wanting to spook him. “uh … hi. are you lost?”

he’s not really sure what to do at this point, completely and utterly lost, and way too nervous to even consider approaching someone for help, considering the fact that he has luggage he’s trying to balance somehow. a soft voice from behind him startles him, whipping his head around to stare at the newcomer like a skittish fawn. 

“h-hi, i... i...” he starts, his wide brown eyes wet with unshed tears, internally scolding himself for crying like a baby over something so small. “y-yes, i... i’m lost,” he admits in a very small voice. “i don’t know wh-where to go...” he hiccups softly, trying very hard not to cry this time out of relief that someone is talking to him. his luggage betrays him as a freshman, and he rubs at his eyes hastily with his free hand. “c-can you... tell me h-how to get to the dorms, please?”

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& family ties ;

[vcdaehyun-blog]

vcjiseok‌:

     although there aren’t that many classes during the summer, he still takes the time to get to know all of his new students at the beginning of each semester. there’s one boy in particular this semester that he feels particularly drawn to, to take care of and shepherd. he’s a tiny little thing, extraordinarily young and even a little small for his age, it seems.

      he’s not really sure what it is about lee daehyun, but the young boy has an air about him that makes him seem even younger than he is. perhaps it’s the lost expression perpetually on his face, or the weight of insecurity that shadows his eyes, but whatever it is, it makes him want to protect the young boy.

     a soft, shy knock comes on his door and he smiles ruefully, calling out a warm, “come in!” there’s tea and cookies prepared, and he thinks that this part of the job might be one of his favorites ever, getting to know the students in his faculty and learning about them as people.

he pushes open the door shyly at the warm greeting, peeking into the office with a tiny little noise escaping his lips. jiseok’s familiar face brings such a warm feeling to his heart, a spot of comfort in the roiling uncertain waters of his life. “ssaem,” he greets softly as he steps into the office, closing the door behind him. he can see the teapot, full, next to jiseok, and the plate of cookies that’s waiting for him, and he wonders what in the world makes this professor so patient as to be willing to listen to the worries of young students. 

hesitantly, he takes his seat in front of the other’s desk, his eyes fixed on the table quietly. there’s a shame that stirs deep within him, his expression uncertain as he lifts round brown eyes to meet jiseok’s for the first time that day. “it’s not getting any easier,” he starts hesitantly and he bites down on his lip. his thoughts are full of conflict, and his heart even more so. what does he feel? even he doesn’t know.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& the whys and hows ;

a starter for @vcareum !

fidgeting nervously, daehyun listens to the instructions and he exhales, uncertain if he’s relieved or more nervous that they’ve been ordered to discuss their motivations and thoughts. on one hand, it means that he doesn’t need to talk about the material that he doesn’t fully understand, or try to motivate himself on a topic he’s not sure about. on the other hand, it means that he needs to discuss his non-existent motivations. why is he at victoria college? his application had been full of rubbish and pretty words, a tale spun to please the evaluators... not something he had actually meant. 

a sigh leaves his lips and he seeks out a familiar face, hesitantly scooting his chair a tiny bit closer. “nuna? areum nuna?” he asks softly, turning wide brown eyes filled with pleading. “would you partner with me for this?” he’d rather admit his failings and shortcomings to someone he knows a little bit, than to someone he doesn’t know at all. 

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& family ties ;

a starter for @vcjiseok !

daehyun has found his first few weeks at the campus of victoria college confusing and scary. it's no surprise, seeing as he's just sixteen, barely old enough to be attending the school, and the youngest child in his family. he's been babied all his life and to suddenly find himself largely independent despite all the help available to him, is intimidating.

in his opinion, one of his greatest strokes of luck after coming to victoria college was meeting professor kim. he isn't that much older than most of the students, and so he'd insisted that he be called "jiseok ssaem," rather than "professor" like many of the other teachers. for daehyun, though, lost and uncertain as he is, afternoons in jiseok ssaem's office have been a saving grace.

knocking on the door politely, he waits until the young professor calls for him to come in. tea and cookies is their usual routine, and in daehyun's mind, he's starting to equate the older male with something far more familiar than just a professor. he isn’t sure if this is unusual, or if the older male even feels the same way, but all he knows is that he misses his family a lot, and jiseok ssaem feels a lot like home.

[vcdaehyun-blog]

& little lost puppy ;

a starter for @vcminsung​ !

he bites on his lower lip as he whips his head around, trying to find his way around. he has no idea where he is, lost amidst a brand new campus, and internally he wonders what in the world he was thinking when he decided to come in the fall semester, not the spring like everyone else. a soft little whine leaves pouty lips, and his wide brown eyes are glassy with tears as he glances around again. desperate, he prays for someone, something to show up and help him. 

his first day in a brand new school and he’s already lost. great. just how he wanted this to start. his gaze falls to the floor, lip trembling as he fights back the frustrated, frightened tears that are welling up in his eyes.