I Wish the Real World Would Stop Hassling Me (OPEN)

[Deleted]

TaekHoon jolted awake as his mother's hand hit the back of his head.
"이러나 (Get up)!" She scolded him sharply.
TaekHoon rubbed the back of his head and frowned at her. Clearly mentioning he really only got about five hours of sleep wasn't enough to earn a pity party. He also reminded his mother, for probably the seventh or eighth time since she woke him up two hours ago, that the medication also made him drowsy.
"Yes but you're supposed to be greeting customers and helping them pay their checks, not sleeping on the job!" She scolded.
TaekHoon felt a bitter taste in his mouth. If only requesting the day off was easier, but having your mother be your boss was clearly the worst job decision he could ever make. Need someone to be understanding of poor English skills? Not his mother, who called him over to answer every English-speaker's phone call or order. Need a manager that can understand a mental illness as serious as schizophrenia? His mother was like a different person at home. He sighed, eventually giving a small bow of apology. "What did you want, mother?" He asked finally, his voice monotone.
"I'm going next door to the market to pick up some things, take care of the restaurant."
Wait. What?! "엄마 안돼요 못해요 진짜 (Mom no I can't really)..." He tried to insist, but she was already on her way out. His shoulders slumped as he let out a defeated sigh. Well, there goes the shop. Maybe it'd burn to the ground before she got back.
No, he didn't want that. His mother was truly happy working here, for some reason. A group of people came in, and he continued his monotonous tone as he called out "오서으세요 (Welcome). How many?" He led them to a table, taking their drink orders and grabbing them before returning to the podium, sketching random things as he waited for the minutes to pass by, keeping an eye on the new group of people for when they were ready to order.

ATTIRE

outfit CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS brick by boring brick - paramore NOTES notes here WORD COUNT 342

[Novalee Henley Marie Townsend]

Henley had lost count how many times her boss had told her to stick to script and never give into the urge for improv. She never listened anyway so the number was probably a hell of a lot higher than she even knew. And why he always said it like that always confused her anyway. They were in he business of spying on people essentially. They were private investigators, improvising was practically in the job description! Besides all that, how was she supposed to do her job if she didn't find an excuse to get up close? She couldn't. Well, technically, she could. She wasn't exactly a private investigator yet. She was just handier with a camera than the trio she worked for. So they sent her out to take some pictures and get more than she bargained for when she was trying for that money shot.

When shed gone into the office that morning, Henley had thought she would be filling her day with the usual receptionist work of papers to file, messages to take and that sort of thing. And then she'd gotten there and was tossed a file folder and told to dig out her camera and iPod because she was going to be gone for a long time. Sitting in her SUV for endless hours wasn't how Henley did things. She hated sitting in a car when a coffee shop or a restaurant was right there. Of course, if she needed to, she would sit in her car until she got what she was after but when she didn't have to? Well, she didn't see a point in it. With her equipment in hand, the blonde prayed there was some sort of place she could sit that wasn't obvious and wasn't her ride when she got to the address in question.

She packed up her SUV, sliding behind the wheel and drove off for her destination. She didn't know the streets of New York as well as she should have but that was what a GPS system was for. So at a red light, she keyed in the address her boss had given her and set about following the mechanical voice through the city until it told her the address she was looking for was up and to her left. She looked to her right and across the street and down a building was a restaurant. Henley grinned at her luck and thanked whoever had been listening for the good fortune. She parked her ride at the restaurant, gathered what she would need and headed into the building. For all intents and purposes, she looked like a girl going into, what was it, some sort of Asian inspired restaurant, she realised as she looked up at the sign, getting ready to eat and study. Maybe she even looked like a photography student, which she definitely was not. She could take a picture well enough but she also let the camera do it's thing while she did hers.

Henley smiled at the host once she was inside and had a quick look around what she could see of the place. It was cute and from what she could discern, it was probably family owned and run, which meant excellent food. "Hey there. Can I get a table by that window there for one?" She asked, point to the window that had the best view of her assignment. It was probably an add request but Henley wasn't there for personal reasons, she was there to work. And if that meant she could eat while she was on duty, well that just meant she could write off the meal and all the drinks she had.

Tag || @taekhoon
Words || 616
Clothes || Bad Ass Blonde
Music || Bartender --Lady Antebellum
Notes || <3

[Deleted]

TaekHoon looked up from meaningless drawing, blinking a few times at the woman in front of him. He wondered how much time had passed, hoping it wasn't too long. His eyes wandered over to the table where he had placed the group. Oh good, they're still there. He thought to himself. He blinked a couple times and shook his head, motioning with a hand to the table by the window she had pointed at. "Yes. Please, have a seat." He felt like he had stumbled over his words, even though he probably hadn't. He grabbed a menu as well as his little notepad where he had been doodling, figuring he'd take the group's order after getting her settled.
"Can I get you a drink?" He asked the girl. He swallowed hard as he got a good look at her. She was dressed rather sexily, and she had a camera with her. A part of him wondered if maybe she was a student, or a professional photographer. But then why was she dressed so... His mind drew a blank, his head tilting to the side subconsciously. He told himself to pay attention. After all, if he lost a customer, his mother would somehow know about it and then there'd probably be hell to pay. Speaking of which, he wondered if his mother was buying out the entire market.

ATTIRE

[/color] outfit CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS brick by boring brick - paramore NOTES notes here WORD COUNT 227 [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Novalee Henley Marie Townsend]

If Henley didn’t have this job, she didn’t know what in the name of hell she would be doing. She hated that she had a higher IQ than most people on the planet. She wanted to be normal, which was why she chose a career path that had nothing to do with intelligence. At least, not in the way that mattered. She could spy and get paid for it and not have to use her ridiculous smarts to do the job though occasionally, when she had other places to be it came in handy. She knew without a doubt though that she would not become some silly mathematician or anything of the like. Maybe a doctor but she wasn’t fond of blood, though she could deal with it, and you had to go to medical school to become a headcase doctor. That was a few extra years in school that didn’t appeal either. It was a tough spot to be in but the South African girl felt like she’d made her choice well.

Henley hadn’t really thought much about that she’d put on that morning. If she was in the office, she didn’t get much social interaction and the guy’s she worked for let her wear whatever she wanted. If she had wanted to show up in the sluttiest clothes she owned, they would gawk and stare and make every excuse to visit the main office, her office but they wouldn’t tell her to go put clothes on. A couple of the might have been married with kids her age but they always said if they stopped looking, they were dead. And thankfully, Henley usually rolled her eyes at them and reminded them not so subtly that she was the same age as their children, give or take a couple years and that they can stuff it. In all honesty, she was probably lucky she even had to the job but then again, she already acted like they did and that was what probably kept her there; she could give back to them what they tried to throw her way ten fold.

But it also meant that she noticed when guy’s looked at her, checked her out. Usually it just made her smirk and get on with her business though with them she wanted to and did yell back at their comments. And her clothing choices meant no one quite knew what to make of her and Henley liked that. It was a good skill to have in her arsenal. She stood out but she also blended in when she wanted to and it was usually because she stood out so much that she blended in so well. Most people checked out the dolled up girl but they dismissed her just as quickly; though there were obviously a few exceptions to that rule. “Yes, thank you. I’ll have a Coke, no ice please and can I get a straw as well?” She asked, smiling at the boy who was helping her out.

Tag || @taekhoon
Words || 528
Clothes || Bad Ass Blonde
Music || Bartender --Lady Antebellum
Notes || <3

[Deleted]

Wow, that was a lot of English at once. Taekhoon thought, staring at the woman blankly for a couple seconds. He shook his head, can't fail. He reminded himself, hoping his mother wouldn't take much longer. "Um.. yes. That'll be right out." He told her, giving her a smile, albeit awkwardly. He then went over to the other table, getting their orders before grabbing the coke, staring at the can before debating how he should present it. Usually they just gave the cup of ice and the can, but that seemed almost rude in this case. He sighed, grabbing a clean cup and pouring the soda into it before searching high and low for a straw.

For a second, he hoped that wasn't what his mom had gone to get. Finally, he found some in the kitchen, letting out an exasperated sigh before bringing the drink to the table. "Here you go. Sorry for the wait." He apologized, trying to sound sincere when he still would've preferred to be anywhere else today. Like his bed. Yes, his bed sounded great. In fact he was pretty sure it was calling him.

ATTIRE

[/color] outfit CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS brick by boring brick - paramore NOTES notes here WORD COUNT 194 [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Novalee Henley Marie Townsend]

If there was anything else in life Henley wanted more than to become a proper PI, she didn't know what it was. With her IQ, she probably could have done anything in the world. But at the end of the day, none of that could hold her attention like investigating could. She got bored of maths, sciences had always made her fall asleep. It all came to her too easily and that made it dull. She wanted adventure, she wanted excitement and she wanted something that grabbed her attention and kept it. Most people thought her career choice was a creepy one, after all she spent most of her time working, sitting around, taking pictures of people without their knowledge and praying she caught them doing something they really shouldn’t have. But it was more than that. She had already in a apart of finding children who ran away from home, after of course, there had been a check to see the children were better off at home.

It might have been what some would call a dirty job but someone had to do it and at least she found an office that didn’t take the sleazier jobs. They were pretty good with doing their research before they fully committed to any job. And it just so happened that Henley herself was the one in charge of doing all that because it fell under “office work” and technically she was just the receptionist. But every once in a while the guy’s she worked for allowed her to stretch her legs, learn a thing or two and just get out of the office and get paid for an hour in a restaurant.

At first, Henley thought it was her South African accent that had the waiter staring at her like she’d grown a second head but then he seemed fine and went about his job. Henley brushed it off, thinking it was probably that she spoke quickly and had an accent that had him pausing. While he was gone, Henley set up her equipment, acting as though she were a photographer there for lunch and a some quiet to do some editing. It worked for her story, should she need one and it gave her the reasons she would need to have her camera with it’s fancy new telephoto lens to her eye. If she got that money shot she was looking for before she even looked at the menu, well, it was her boss’s time so she would stick around and have a few pot stickers. Sadly, she hadn’t gotten that shot when her waiter returned with her drink. She smiled up at him when the glass was set next to her. “Thanks. I haven’t checked the menu yet. What’s your favourite?” She asked, ever curious.

Tag || @taekhoon
Words || 488
Clothes || Bad Ass Blonde
Music || Bartender --Lady Antebellum
Notes || <3

[Deleted]

Taekhoon bit his lip as he glanced to the menu, then towards the door. He was ready to practically beg his mother to come back. He realized then he had been asked a question. His favorite? He had to choose one? "I really like them all..." He muttered, his voice fading off as he just didn't really feel like talking much, or explaining to some random pretty girl how he liked all the dishes because it reminded him of happy times in his home country of going out to eat with his step-dad and mom. "I guess the meat is popular among fore-um.. non-Koreans." He said, quickly correcting himself as he reminded himself he was the foreigner here. Living so close to Koreatown made it easy for him to forget that, sometimes.

ATTIRE

[/color] outfit CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS brick by boring brick - paramore NOTES sorry for such a short post. T_T Need to get back in touch with him.
OTL WORD COUNT 150ish [/center][/size][/blockquote][/blockquote]

[Novalee Henley Marie Townsend]

Henley learned a long time before she'd ever left South Africa that if she wanted something, she had to chase after it. It wasn't going to fall into her lap and the only way she would get it was to fight for it with everything she had. Her brother had been relentless in his pursuit for justice, rarely sleeping until he got his law degree. Her sisters were much the same, one still working towards a speciality in the medical field and the other happily designing the cutest handbags the world's elite coveted and Henley found on her doorstep with a sweet note from her sister. Henley wasn't the only one in the family that didn't follow, exactly what her parents planned for her, wanting a high climbing desk job but she was the only one that ended up on the other side of the planet, chasing a job that wouldn't see her living a six figure life. But Henley had never cared about any of that. All she had wanted from her life was to be happy and do something that intrigued her.

Henley couldn't help herself, she laughed, shaking her head. "It's okay, Sugar. You can say foreigners. I'm not exactly American." She pointed out. Though she thought her accent was still thick, she understood that often that wasn't really the case. She was good at what she wanted to do. Though she stood out, she also blended in surprisingly well. And people talked when they thought the pretty blonde in the corner was an air-head tourist; which definitely worked in her favour more often than she dared to count. It was how she'd managed to get what she'd needed on more than one stake out. If she ever decided she wanted to turn to a life of crime, she'd make an excellent conman. It was a pity she liked justice just a little too much and money didn't mean nearly as much as it probably should have to the pretty blonde. She had money, she grew up with money, money meant little for her. "It doesn't matter. Why don't you surprise me with whatever you'd want to eat right now if could? I'm not picky."

Tag || @taekhoon
Words || 368
Clothes || Bad Ass Blonde
Music || Bartender --Lady Antebellum
Notes || <3

[Deleted]

"O-oh... Okay..." Taekhoon replied dimly. He blinked a couple times before turning and going back behind the pay counter. What he wanted to eat right now? All he really wanted was his bed. He twirled the pen between his fingers a few times before glancing back at the woman. Damn, she was pretty. He got lost in his thoughts of nothing of importance when he was hit over the head again.
"다시 공상해 (Daydreaming again)?!" His mother scolded him.
"뭐야 (What the)..." Taekhoon grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. "어디 갔어요 엄마 어 (Where'd you go mom, huh)?! Did you go back to Korea to buy supplies?" His smart mouthing earned him another smack to the back of the head.
"야이마 (This kid). I was no gone long." She told him, then a sharp snort from her son turned on the "dramatic Korean mother" act. "내가 당신에게 정말 좋은 봤는데이 어떻게 상환거야? 내가 뭔가를 얻기 위해 필요로 할 때 당신은 가게를 누른 상태도 수없는 이유는 무엇입니까? 혼자 고통을 한국에서 당신을 떠나 수도 있지만, 내 아들은 그래서 나는 나와 함께 걸린 내가 당신을 돌봐 위해 최선을 노력하고있어,하지만 당신은 정말 그냥 다음 날을 저주하려는 경우 내가했던 오 곳에 위치 잘못? (I've been so good to you and this how I'm repaid? You can't even hold down the store when I need to get something? I could have left you in Korea to suffer alone but no, your my son so I took you with me and I'm trying my best to take care of you, but if you really just want to curse me then where oh where did I go wrong?)" She whined.
Taekhoon glanced awkwardly around at the group and the woman. "엄마. 그만해주세요. 미안해요 (Mom. Please stop. I'm sorry.)" He grumbled, giving his mother a hug and bringing her to the back. Once she calmed down from her dramatics, Taekhoon got her attention, "Actually mom, that girl that's by the window, she wants to try something but I don't know what to suggest to her. Maybe 비빔밥 (Fried rice)?" He asked, trying to get her opinion since he really wasn't craving anything other than his bed.
His mother considered it for a bit before responding. "No, no. That's what every foreigner gets. Maybe let her try something very good. Let her have 갈비찜 (steamed short rib). Less popular, still delicious." his mother suggested.
He nodded. "Okay," He said definitively, finally writing the order and giving it to the chefs.

ATTIRE outfit NOTES notes here WORD COUNT 347 CREDIT SAM !? of Confronting the Faceless. Don't remove the credit or I will find you. LYRICS brick by boring brick - paramore

[Novalee Henley Marie Townsend]

Henley had never been a picky person when it came to what she ate. She usually shoved whatever was put on the plate in front of her in her mouth, whether she liked it or not. If she didn’t like it, she wouldn’t eat it again unless it was forced upon her. And Henley made sure those situations were few and far between. Of course, she wasn’t really there for a meal, that was just an added bonus so she could stay in the restaurant. Usually Henley preferred coffee shops, people didn’t ask questions in coffee shops but she made due with whatever she had around her because she hated sitting in her car the entire time. Even when it was supposed to be absolutely necessary, she didn’t stick around for long, usually finding some other way to get what she needed and then disappearing once again like she’d never been there at all.

Henley heard the argument going on behind her but it wasn’t any of her business and she didn’t speak Korean so she didn’t understand it anyway. She had more important things to worry about than whatever was happening behind her. She took her time setting up her things, wanting to make sure it was all in proper order whilst glancing up at the window she knew her target to be behind. Her employers did their research before they sent her even though they knew she was more than capable to handle herself. She was almost like a pet to them but she didn’t mind. She was getting experience and a paycheck so she wasn’t about to turn them down when they sent her away with all the information she would need and not needing to find anything for herself.

The young South African beauty wasn’t in any hurry to get going, even after she took the shot, she didn’t need to immediately return to the office. If she was still in the middle of her meal, she would finish it up first, then she would pack up her things and head back. As it was she was waiting for her food to arrive when she noticed the curtain hiding what was beyond the window move and Henley readied her camera to snap the shots. They might not turn out to be the best but they would certainly help her employer’s cause. It appeared that things were just getting started up in that room, she would be able to get plenty of shots thanks to that cheating man’s need for the sun lighting the room; fool.

Tag || @taekhoon
Words || 459
Clothes || Bad Ass Blonde
Music || Bartender --Lady Antebellum
Notes || <3