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@xcorikhang
Corrine Khang
Cori • Cor
she/her • fluid • July 8, 1987
born and raised in Merrock, Maine. biological daughter of Dao Khang and Mai Le. adopted by Dang Moua and Dia Le. adoptive baby sister of Michael and Karissa. oldest half sister to Julia, Kayla, Emily, and Alexis. attended the University of Maine from 2005-2009. previously field reporter, currently morning news anchor at MDNews. cat mom to Duchess. currently single.
BIO • STATS • CONNECTIONS • TIMELINE
"Okay, I'll stay right here! I'm by the pony that seems to has a bunch of bows in her mane," she said into her phone hoping Cori was able to hear her. She didn't move, hoping that if she stayed that she'd be able to reunite with her friend.
"Pony with bows," Cori repeated, "got it! I'll be right there!" The older woman rushed in that direction, in hopes of reaching Natasha quickly. Finally locating, she hung up the call. "There you are! Hi!"
"That's the plan, Elise and I have so much to catch up on, and she's got enough room that it's not like we're living right on top of each other," which was a huge help. If her sister had a one bedroom apartment downtown, they might be having a totally different conversation, but as it stood, they managed to make it work. "Oh, so good!" she couldn't help but to be when Cori asked about her daughter, "she absolutely loves college, that little taste of freedom. She's looking forward to her summer, granted, but… what college kid isn't, you know?" Everyone wanted that break from hard work and dorm life. Even though Mae lived with her dad primarily -- for now, anyway, it had been easier when Essie herself was in college -- she knew she'd be seeing her not so little girl often through the summer. "We'll have a girls day when she's back in town, you can see for yourself," there were plenty of things that they could do in town that Essie hadn't gotten to do in a long time, to begin with. "I've been telling him for years he needed to think about it, I just didn't know thinking about it meant tapping me to come in. But you're right, it's a good thing! I missed being here full time, seeing everyone -- you included!"
"Oh I remember the days of having to move back in with Karissa in her apartment.." Cori chuckled at the memory of moving in with her own older sister following her split from her longtime boyfriend over a decade prior. Eventually, you got tired of being in one another's space, no matter how close you were to your siblings. "Space is good!" Cori nodded, in agreement. "Oh, just counting down the days for summer, I'm sure!" As Essie updated Cori on her daughter's life, it sounded like Mae was doing just as Cori expected. At the offer for a girl's day including Mae, Cori eagerly agreed with an excited nod. "I would love that!" She was sure that she and Essie would also find one on one time to catch up, just the adults. Even if Mae too was technically an adult now too. "You know, it had to come eventually. I think you're the perfect pick to take over when the time comes. And whether that's what keeps you here, I can tell you, we're all so happy to have you back!"
"Yeah. It'll be a bit funny to see if someone who actually believes me really use it as a curse word while talking to other people," Sam chuckled at the image of someone actually doing it. "But I feel it'll also only be funny the first few times before I get annoyed at it myself and will try correct it. Too bad."
"It's one of those jokes that might be better in theory.." she admitted, the more she thought of it. Though she personally would find it quite amusing, perhaps it was not something worth the trouble of becoming a reality. "You mean to tell me you're not signing all of your face paintings?" she teased with a giggle.
Taking a break from helping out at the firm's tent, Tasha made plans to hang out with some people. She hadn't been available to do so as of late so getting out during the spring fling was the perfect opportunity to make up for lost time. Feeling her phone vibrate, she picked up, "hey! I'm by pony rides... I might have walked right by you."
"Oh shoot! Okay, I'm heading back over your way! Stay there!" Cori almost yelled into the phone to ensure that Tasha could hear her over the crowd. She began to head in that direction, determined to find her friend before any next moves were made.
WHERE: Button Making, Spring Fling, downtown WHO: Sam and @xcorikhang
"I wonder if it's a good idea to answer that this word is a curse word to the next person that ask me what it means." Sam was mostly talking to himself even though he wasn't really keeping his voice low. "It's not. It's just my name," he added with a chuckle, more or less for the sake of the person next to him, which just happened to be Cori. "I'm not risking getting kicked out of here before I can finish this."
"Part of me feels like the joke wouldn't land with some, but part of me would also be amused to watch someone get freaked out for shits and giggles," Cori smiled.
"I am!" she confirmed with a nod of her head, "I'm staying with Elise for the time being, doing a little lowkey, slow but steady house hunting to find something for me and Mae whenever she comes home from college, but I'm here!" And it did feel nice to say that. A little… different, she could admit, given that her time in Merrock had always been spent with her partner -- now ex-partner -- and she was doing things on her own, but that felt kind of good, too, she had to admit. "Uncle John, actually," she gestured to the funeral home behind them, "he's starting to think about retirement. Not ready yet, but thinking about it, and talked me into taking over when he's ready, so I wanted to move home and really immerse myself in the business a bit more."
"There's no rush in finding a place. Take advantage of time with you sister! And how is Mae, by the way? I haven't seen her in what feels like an eternity! I hope college is treating her well!" Something about her friends having college aged children made Cori feel ancient, but simultaneously she was proud of the young adults that they were all raising. Cori nodded as Essie explained the circumstances of returning to Merrock, seemingly for good. Her grin gave away her excitement at the development. "Oh wow! Retirement! Not sure I'd see the day. Though, that's incredible! It's about time, right? We knew that would be the case... eventually. Plus, I can be just a little selfishly happy that you're home home, yeah?"
where: Spring Fling when: May 2026 who: Cori & @tashamlawrence
Having some time off the clock to actually enjoy the event, rather than simply report on it, Cori found herself wandering the food tents in search of her friend. Not immediately finding her, she pulled her phone out to make a phone call. "I'm here, but I don't see you. Where are you?"
It only took Corrine lifting her sunglasses up onto the top of her head for Essie to let out a delighted laugh of recognition, realizing who was in front of her. "Cori, hi!" Easily one of the best parts of moving back to Merrock was just this: getting to run into people she missed running into just walking down the sidewalk, and now that she lived there full time, she hoped that it never stopped happening. "I just got back the other day, actually! I'm staying with Elise and helping out uncle John with the funeral business and putting my roots back down."
"Oh, so you're back for good?" she grinned at the thought, reaching out for a hug. Cori loved getting to reconnect with old friends, childhood friends, whenever they were back in town for visits. But being back permanently, even better in Cori's book. "Ugh! There is so much to catch up on! We will have to get together soon. What's brought you back, if you don't mind?"
WHO: essie & open!
WHERE: downtown merrock.
WHEN: may, 2026.
It was funny how you never really forgot some things about the place that you grew up. Even though Esther had only left town for eight years -- and had visited frequently -- she had been worried that coming back would feel foreign, that things would be new, she'd feel lost or out of place. Not so. Instead, it had felt a bit like getting back on the bike, puzzle pieces falling into the exact places that they belonged. She had settled into part-time work at her sister's business, worked hard alongside her uncle when he needed her help, and filling her free days with remembering every inch of her hometown. That particular afternoon, that concept meant standing just outside of the funeral home that she had dropped lunch off at and watching one of the flower boxes and a rather vibrant butterfly on a zinnia, trying to figure out what sounded good -- a light lunch along the coast at Fresh? A drink at Evolution? She hadn't even realized someone was speaking until they stepped more into view, startling a little as she let out a laugh. "Oh my God, sorry, I was completely zoned out. Did you say something?"
"I didn't know you were back in town! Hi!" Cori grinned over at Essie with a soft giggle, pulling her sunglasses up over to the top of her head as she did so. She herself had just left the station and was on her way to pick up a much-needed meal.
"Oh, uh, flyers, for some RPG campaign we're running down at Page Turners. And by "we" I mean not me," she held up the the top paper for Cori to see, "even though the others think 'JD Does Dread" would be a good hook. You still have some community event board in here?"
Cori leaned over the counter a bit to quickly read through the flyer, giggling as Jasmine made it clear that this was not her doing. "There is one behind you near the front entrance," she pointed in the direction of the board where the flyer could be hung.
"Which makes sense, you wouldn't want to pull out a onesie to go on hair," he teased, a grin on his face. It made much more sense to have a whole closet dedicated to outfits that she wanted to wear when she wanted to look presentable for the camera. "I feel like a lot of those items that people collected and figured would be worth a ton of money… well…" he trailed off with a laugh, "my mother fell trap to the Princess Diana Beanie Baby, she still has it, but she's long given up on her being worth any money. I think it's best to do what you do, use those Barbies for good, make happy memories."
"How I would love to be that comfortable that early in the morning.." she shook her head, adding, "they would have so much worse to deal with from me if I didn't enjoy fashion." It was the truth. Had she not enjoyed fashion, Cori was sure that she would be far more miserable in figuring out on-air looks and far more reliant on other anchors for inspiration. "I was going to say, I wold think it's the equivalent of Beanie Babies. The 90s were.. something."
"Thank you." Navy smiled, shaking her head as her cheeks flushed. She hoped to one day be able to take someone's compliment without it being something that caused her to turn red in the face, but she at least took them now, something she didn't do when she was younger. "But I am only a good host because the friends that I have make it easy." she winked. She was about to speak again when the other asked for a cork screw and glasses and Navy turned. "The corkscrew I have is one of those fancy electric ones." she admitted, handing her friend the corkscrew and grabbing her favorite glasses - tall skinny ones with long stems - from the cabinet. "And here you go." she smiled, waiting for her friend to happily pour her a glass before she took it, taking a sip. "I have to say, your taste in wine is something I'll never get over." she admitted. "This is incredible. Truly."
Cori chuckled at Navy's wink. It went both ways. Really, having easy going friends made life that much more enjoyable. "Perfect!" She took the electric corkscrew, popping the wine open, as Navy grabbed them glasses. Once the wine was poured, Cori excitedly took a sip. "Don't get me wrong, I love the cheap stuff too. I don't discriminate. But, a good wine is a good wine. This is my gift back for the invite today. I'm glad you like it!" Cori took the bottle in one hand, her glass in the other. "Ready to go sit on the couch?" Navy's house, Navy dictated what they did.
"Been there," he agreed with a low laugh, "and then you end up on Reddit, somehow, or some bizarre Wikipedia article that you knew better than to click on, but you did it anyway." Next thing you knew, the sun was up and you had to go about your day. Although given Cori's hours, he knew that she was up before the sun even thought about peeking out from behind the clouds. "It seems like the event's going to be a success. I'm trying to figure out what to offer up from my place, see if I can maybe sell something that people can order to show some sort of… town-wide solidarity or something," or at least pride of ownership in their homes, in their town, in the place that they called a community. He had some time to figure it out, though. "No, true… and I guess on the plus side, it's Merrock, you're not going to have people showing up outside with pitchforks and torches calling for your head for wanting the best for your home, you know?" There might be some higher ups side eyeing her or accusing her of being biased if she said the wrong thing, but he also knew that she was a consummate professional, and would do her best not to do that. "That's the good part. Regardless of how anyone feels about this whole thing, there's going to be a lot of good coming out of it. Even if," he knocked on the counter top with his knuckles, knocking on wood, "the worst happens, it still shows we're willing to do something, y'know?" And that was half the battle. At least making it known that they weren't a force to be reckoned with. "Yep," he nodded his head, "works for me."
"If you ever see me on air with extra severe bags under my eyes, you know exactly what I was up doing until I accidentally pulled an all-nighter," she admitted with a chuckle. "That's not too bad of an idea," Cori shrugged a shoulder, nodding as she took Cage's idea into consideration on how it would be received as part of town efforts toward keeping the resort out. "As much as I'm doing my best to keep it neutral, public facing, at least.." she rolled her eyes before continuing, "I would rather people be upset over something important like this than the dumb crap some people can get upset at news anchors for. Like my outfits." Cori couldn't help but let out a a ugh through her teeth. It wasn't entirely unheard of. She didn't really want to know what all was stored in the station's viewer complaint stash. As the pair's conversation continued, the woman processed Cage's transaction and printed out the ticket corresponding to his order. "Hopefully it doesn't come to that. We have numbers and some important people on our side." Our side being the side of Merrock residents, especially those born and raised like them both. "Here's your ticket," she handed the slip of paper over to Cage. "You know the drill."
"Yeah, I should have it somewhere...." Xio trailed off, searching their coat pockets. Then their pants pockets. "Shit. I think I was wearing my other coat earlier. Uh...I remember the ticket number itself, if that helps?"
"No worries. I should be able to pull up your account with the phone number or email that you registered," Cori explained.
“Sounds good to me,” Joella’s lips lifted into a smile. As long as she got the job done, she wouldn’t complain. She wasn’t sure if that would go the same for her mother, but at least she had the receipts to hold her to it. “Well, aren’t ya a sweetheart,” she teased. She knew the place was busy, and moved at a fast pace. “I’m sure you never get too slow of a day, right?” She asked, with a slight grin and a raise of her brow.
As they chatted, Cori processed the different transactions for Joella's mom before anything. Once her drop off was processed, Cori took Mrs. Suh's items back and handed Jo the corresponding ticket for pick up. "Here you go! Your mom's stuff should be ready tomorrow afternoon. Save this,. And she should have just gotten a confirmation email or text too," she explained as she handed over the printed ticket. "Now let's get started on yours.." Cori sorted through Jo's items, those that needed dry cleaning in specific. She asked for the younger woman's phone number to pull up her account in order to get that processed. "If I'm not on-air in the mornings, I'm here. So, it's just busy all around for me."
Taryn smiled seeing the joy in Cori's face as she spoke about the new menu. "I can't tell you all of my special treats, but I can tell you that there are some new teas, coffee mixes, and puff pastries that I'm putting out. Lots of flower infusions." She was always excited when she was able to change up the menu a bit and see how it was received.
"Absolutely understand. I'm sure it's pretty stressful too because people see you as having the inside information." she nodded. "It's such a hard situation. I have really great business at the Cobblestone and everyone loves how I've kept things going since I took it over a few years ago, but having some new cafes, especially franchises coming in has gotten me concerned." Taryn shared, biting her lip softly. She was doing well with everything now, but she did worry how the change would effect her business. She nodded and leaned a hip on the counter as Cori said she would go back and get her stuff for her. It seemed as fast as she left, she was right back in front of her. "Perfect as always. I'm never disappointed." she smiled as she looked at her clothes.
"Flower infusions have me intrigued.. Here you go!" Cori returned, first with the dry cleaning items, handing them order to Taryn. She then began stacking every part of the order that was folded and wrapped up in plastic on the counter top. As she did so, she double checked that each was accounted for with a corresponding ticket. As she did so, she maintained the conversation with Taryn with ease. "We're very big on maintaining our small town lifestyle and the charm that comes with it," she nodded. "Some things, small things, for convenience.. sure. We don't mind adapting. When folks here started driving for Uber and Lyft, life changer. But something as disruptive as a resort?" She kept it at a general perspective, not diving into her own feelings, but it was a common sentiment among those she was close to. With every laundred load now stacked neatly on the counter, Cori gestured to each. "This is everything. And these are your bags," she handed those to Taryn, also neatly folded up. She then returned to the computer, pulling Taryn's account back up. "Are we charging the account on file, today?"
