* DONGIE'S COOKIES BAKERY

@Junhoe (I'm really sorry, I've been a little all over. My cat was run over and put down a five weeks ago and I got a new one 2½ weeks ago and the new one has been sick a lot, so I have been grieving and worrying in one and not really felt like roleplaying lots ;;)

Youngmin chuckled and shook his head. "No, I'm not certified. The school part of the veterinarian education is a little shorter than normal to allow longer internships. I will have to go back to school for a semester again in a year, but until then I am focusing on the internship," he explained, holding his mug in both hands. "Wow, that sounds so interesting! Do you know where you want to work yet? When are you done?"

@Youngmin Junhoe nodded impressed. "You're already done? You look younger than I do. And you're older thaan me. Wow. But Im going to school to be a doctor. I'm thinking of just becoming a primary medical practicion.. I'd rather be close to my patients." He said leaning on the booth now.

@Junhoe "No, not at all," Youngmin smiled brightly. He liked going to coffee shops and talking to people, but usually people were too busy with phones or laptops to actually talk to strangers. "My name's Youngmin," he replied, wrapping both hands around his warm drink. "I just finished the school part of my education, actually. I moved here to do the last part, which is an internship. What are you studying?" he asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.

@Youngmin "If we are giving introductions, do you mind if I take a sit?" Junhoe asked. With the answer from the other he sat down in the other booth. Again, Kyungsoo wasn't there to tell him to stand. "Well welcome to the City. I guess there aren't actually very may people here, but it's still a good place to live. My name is Junhoe," he smiled. "I'm working here and going to shcool still. Are you in college or high school?"

@Junhoe "Thank you!" Youngmin said happily. He was glad it wasn't the same barista as the one who had been there when he had knocked Taesun's drink out of his hands and made a mess. That would have been really embarrassing. He leaned against the counter and peeked at what the barista was making, curiously following his actions. The cinnamon bun looked so good and he couldn't wait to taste it. "You probably haven't, I just moved here last week," Youngmin replied with a bright smile. "Thank you."

@Youngmin Junhoe had been messing with his cellphone. He wondered how he could even afford a smart phone at a time like this. Thoughts of nothing filled his head. Suddenly, a new and bright voice interrupted his useless thoughts. He stood up and half smiled, his signature smile, at the new comer. "Hey there." He greeted with a wave. Yeah Kyungsoo told him he had to say 'welcome instead of hey, but Kyungsoo wasnt here. "A white moccha latte and a cinnamon bun?" Junhoe repeated. "coming right up," he turned around and quickly heated the bun and poured melted iceing on the top. Then quickly made the latte, but not loosing quality. He sat the coffee and snack on the table and smiled. "I don't think Ive seen you before."

@Junhoe His shift at the clinic had only been half a day today, which meant Youngmin had the afternoon off. He could have gone straight home and started packing up for his upcoming move, but he was craving something sweet. He decided to stop by the bakery-slash-coffeeshop where he had met Taesun to sate his need for sweet things. "Hi! Can I have a white moccha latte and a... uhm... cinnamon bun?" he asked, smiling at the barista.

@Taesun [ SH ] "It's okay, I can deal with difficult," Youngmin said with a smile. "I'll send you a text so you have my number, yeah? Thanks for everything, really. It was nice and thoughtful of you. I hope you get home safe and have a decent evening. Still... If you need to talk, I'm on my phone. And if not, that's fine. Thanks for all the help," he said, waving at the other with a smile.

@Youngmin "No worse than anyone else," Taesun assured him shaking his head as he waited at the doorstep. "Your heart was in the right place, I'm just... difficult," he said, offering a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Welcome to the town I guess. I hope the clinic treats you well, and you get the chance to adopt that puppy of yours. I'm sure if you talked to them and told them what you wanted to do they would hold on to the pup until you had a place that could keep him."

@Taesun [ SH ] "I didn't really pick the town, to be honest. Internships are a lot harder to get than you'd think. I was lucky to even get one, even if it's a small sleeper town," he said with a shrug. "It's sad, though. It seems like a nice city. Anyway, this is me," he said, waving up at an apartment block they had reached. "Thanks a lot for following me home. You didn't have to. I'm sorry I spilled your coffee and I'm sorry I am a nosy meddler."

@Youngmin "Nothing special other than the bakery," Taesun said. "You really picked a nowhere town to do an internship in. There isn't much going on here, we have a mall, restaurants, a school, all those things but for the most part it's pretty slow." He explained, sighing softly. "It used to be busier, but people moved away, the economy changed, things happened and now it's like things kind of just froze here."

@Taesun [ SH ] "Oh, that would be really nice, thank you," he said with a smile. He wondered what was running through Taesun's mind but decided against asking, since he seemed like the other had finally calmed down just a little. "So, are there anything in the city that I absolutely need to see or go to or something? I didn't have time to research a lot before moving here, and I've been so busy at the clinic that I pretty much just drop dead when I get home because I'm so tired. This is actually the first day I have off, which is why I went downtown."

@Youngmin "Mm, I'll talk to Sungmin, he apparently has a list of cheap apartments in the area," Taesun offered, turning down the street and looked around with mild curiosity. He wasn't honestly interested in looking for a new place, if it wasn't for the kids he would have lived on the streets, or just rented a trashy hotel room. But he needed a stable and safe place for the kids and that was the only reason he was actually going to rent an apartment. It was probably a good thing he had the kids, he didn't want to know what kind of mess he would be without knowing he had to be there for them. He highly doubted he would still be sober right now if it wasn't for Sunjae and Rose.

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin pocketed the can and nodded with a little smile. "Thanks for possibly saving my ," he said, pointing down a street to let Taesun know they were going that way now. "I really hope I can find another place to live so I can adopt Blackie. It was kind of last minute that I got the internship, so I didn't have a lot of time to find a place to live. Hopefully it will only be temporary."

@Youngmin "Don't worry about it, they're only a couple of bucks." Taesun shook his head, not really needing compensated for a can of pepper spray. It wasn't like he was ever actually planning to use it anyway. He was better with a knife, at least he used to be. It had been a while since those particular skills had been tested, he didn't really relish the idea of getting into a fight, but then again it might make him feel a little better to get his kicked like that.

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin sent Taesung a soft smile. "That's okay, I understand that. I'm just glad you think I'm aesthetically cute," he said with a smile, accepting the little can and turning it in his hands, popping off the cap to check how it looked under it. "Thank you. How much was it? I'll pay you for it," he said, putting the cap back on it so he wouldn't accidentally get some in his eyes or something.

@Youngmin Taesun reached out into his pocket and pulled out a small can of pepper spray and handed it to him. "You can buy it at any gas station, or super market around here," he said, he didn't really need it, he just kept it on him out of habit. He had a knife, and he also had a gun but that he left at home unless he knew he was going into one of the least desirable parts of town. "It's not really an insult to anything, I'm just not at a point in my life when I'm really looking to flirt with anyone."

@Taesun [ SH ] "I feel like that was an insult to my personality," Youngmin laughed softly. "Also, I don't know where to buy pepper spray. And, I mean, I could carry a kitchen knife around, but do you really think that's a good idea with my hand-to-eye coordination?" he asked with an amused smile. "Where can you buy pepper spray?"

@Youngmin "Aesthetically, yes," Taesun answered, his tone as blank and neutral as his expression. "Carry a knife or pepper spray with you just in case," he recommended, glancing around the quiet streets. He didn't miss this part of his life by any means. He was glad to be off the streets, to have a stable job, stable income. It was more than he ever thought he could have. He had two wonderful kids too, but he still blamed himself for not being able to keep the relationship, for not being able to be happy when he should be.

@Taesun [ SH ] "Aww, you think I'm cute!" Youngmin said with bright smile, bringing the cigarette to his mouth again. "I mean, all areas have something to hide. The upper class areas hide just as much as the shabby parts of town. Actually, perhaps even more, cause upper class people seem to be all about facades and making things look good on the outside. So you know... But I will keep that in mind and stay away after dark," he said with a little nod.

@Youngmin "Is that what you think?" Taesun asked, vaguely amused as he looked around the streets. "This area is neighboring the gang territory. Crime rates aren't too high, but it's not always safe to be walking around at night, especially alone. There's enough people around here with knives and guns, and they're all looking for a reason to get into trouble." He explained, glancing over at Youngmin. "A cute little thing like you will attract all the wrong kinds of attention"

@Taesun [ SH ] The corners of Youngmin's lips turned down a little at that. "Okay," he said softly. "It's this way. It's a nice part of town, isn't it? I mean, it's not like upper class or anything, but it's decent. And upper class areas are often times very... polished. It gets exhausting after a while," he said, not sure if Taesun wanted him to shut up about his life or in general.

@Youngmin "You know what I really want?" Taesun asked, turning to look at Youngmin with a mix of frustration and annoyance. "Is for you to stop talking about. Drop it, leave it alone, and move on." He snapped, keeping his hands in his pockets because he knew if he took them out he would end up lashing out and he really didn't want an assault charge on his record. It was bad enough he was dealing with being fresh out of rehab, he didn't need to go back to jail. "I just want to get you home. I would leave you here if I didn't know this part of town so well."

@Taesun [ SH ] Youngmin nodded and sighed softly. "If you ever... want to talk.. I mean, I get why you feel like everyone is telling you what to do and stuff, so I just mean that if you ever want to talk about everything, what's going on, why it's difficult, why everyone to tell you how to live, I promise I will shut up and listen and not say anything until you tell me I can say something. And if that something is related to puppies and not what you were talking about, I can do that too. Just... if you need an ear, instead of someone telling you what to do, I can be that," he offered softly, knowing he was dancing on the edge of a knife and that Taesun could turn around and leave in a fuming fury any second now.

@Youngmin "I just really don't want to talk about it," Taesun said sternly, shoving his hand into his pocket and turning the direction Youngmin gestured. He walked in silence for a while, letting his frustration and anger swirl through him as his fists clenched and unclenched. He was just so sick and tired of people acting like his problems were so easy to fix. Everyone was so quick to tell him how stupid he was being, but no one bothered to actually understand his point of view. No one seemed to care enough to actually understand, or they just didn't have time. Taesun knew he was alone with this, and there would be no Kyungsoo around to save him this time. He hated been lying when he told Sungmin he was going to get worse before he got better. He was going to have to hit rock bottom hard enough to shatter to find the strength to pick up the pieces again and put himself back together.

@Taesun [ SH ] "You don't have to be sunshine and rainbows, Taesun. If people tell you that, they are just worried about you," he said softly, letting the cigarette rest in his hand by his side. "I live in that direction," he said, waving slightly to the right. "If you need to be angry and shout at someone, I don't mind. I mean, I /am/ being kind of a nosy right now."

@Youngmin "You know, I'm getting really ing sick of people like you." Taesun said bluntly, dropping his cigarette and crushing it out in frustration. "Do me a favor, and stop trying to tell me how to deal with my damn life. I get that enough from Kyungsoo, I don't need it from you. Forgive me if I'm not ing sunshine and rainbows like the whole damn world expects me to be. It's pretty easy to stand over there and judge me, and you can waste all the breath you want telling me what I should be changing and how stupid I am. By all means, stand in line with the rest of them. It would be easier to just disappoint all of you at the same time. God, I want the hell out of this town." He spat, shaking his head and glaring at the empty road. He wanted to leave, he had no desire to keep standing here and talking, but his conscience wouldn't let him just leave the kid alone. "Just tell me where the hell you live."

@Taesun [ SH ] "No, I don't know you. I would say you were pretty stupid if you see what direction you are headed in, dislike it, and then do nothing to attempt to change it though, but I am not an expert and I do not want to judge you," he said softly, taking another drag of the cigarette. "Just... you are more than your genes, you know? Your dad was a lousy drunkard father, and while you may think it's in your genes to follow in his footsteps, you actually have a lot of agency and a lot of power to make that decision. Not saying it will be easy, just that it's definitely possible."

@Youngmin "All of the above," Taesun explained with a small shrug. "The teachers expected me to fail, I expected me to fail, my father beat it into me that I would fail, so I just gave up on the whole school thing. It wasn't worth it, and I was getting nothing out of it. I was living on the street for a while." He sighed and shook his head. "I don't really want to debate that with you. I know what kind of man I'm turning in to. I'm not blind, anymore than I'm stupid. You don't know me."

@Taesun [ SH ] "Thanks," Youngmin said, pulling one from the pack and putting it between his lips before lighting it and inhaling deeply. "Did you drop out because of your father, the teachers, or something else?" he asked, pulling the cigarette away in exhaling the smoke. "You are not a worthless drunk, Taesun. You are much more than that. You love your kids so much you are willing to stay in a relationship that's not working just to be near them. That says a lot about what kind of father you are, and it definitely does not say worthless."