from the top | rp discussion

A space to eat or study, open 24 hours per day.

Facts: Han Min-kyung hates cafeteria food, and she, like most of her classmates, functions primarily on caffeine. Thus, it should come as no surprise that she often skips whatever-the-fuck-Sodexo-tried-to-pass-as-Asian-food in the caf in favor of one of the to-go salads and a very large, very strong, and very sweet coffee.

Besides — Min-kyung is a multi-tasker, and she usually studies as she eats (that's a lie, she usually scrolls through Instagram and stops to watch all the puppy videos), and the booths in the café were wayyy more comfortable than the chairs at the study tables in the library. The perfect study spot for a student who had little time to do anything but study — which is why she currently found herself there, trying to work on that essay due tomorrow (key word: trying).

The cafe was undoubtedly one of Raegan's favorite spots on campus. Not only did the cafe overlook the entire Rockwell campus and the horizon, but it was cute and oh so aesthetically pleasing, and the food was just so picturesque, it was like Instagram in real life. Plus, it was the last place where he would be, and thus a great place to sit and do work.

So that's where she was. Fairly close to the window so she could people watch if she got bored, an apple in her hand as she flipped through the textbook sitting in front of her on the table. The cafe wasn't too busy, and she recognized most of its current occupants. A group of Satio sophomores huddled over a table talking in frantic whispers, a couple Fulsom guys who were clearly trying to not fall asleep-and failing miserably. There were a few first years around, easily identifiable by their scared walk and frantic glances everywhere. Poor souls, Raegan thought to herself with a smile, remembering what it had been like to be the new meat on the block.

Whatever. They'd figure out how things worked eventually. Raegan shrugged to herself, and looked back down at her book, half hoping Meg or one of her other friends would text her and give her a reason to procrastinate.

@Kathryn:

Rockwell campus was not too large, it was not overly complicated either. That was something Elliot rather liked about it, it was easy to navigate, the layout and hierarchy hardly different from the many other private institutions he had attended. The cafe though managed to snag his attention, coffee and food. No wonder most of America was a little on the chubby side, their food was delightful. And the cafe promised food with service, unlike the cafeteria which was almost ridiculous in its lines and variety of service.

Waltzing into the little building, Elliot quickly surveyed the groups. Freshman? Sophomores. Sleeping fools? and.....

Oh?

Pretty girl?

He wasted no time in turning his direction towards that corner of the cafe, sliding into the seat across from her with a grin. "I hope you aren't waiting for a boyfriend, because it would be rather awkward to have to explain why you're spending time with a devilishly handsome rogue like myself." Leaning back into his chair, an easy going grin fixed itself on his features. "Elliot by the way." And was she swooning at his english accent?

He hoped she would. She looked like she'd be a fun night.

As footsteps approached her table, Raegan glanced up, expecting to see one of her friends, or maybe a fellow Gabriel student to ask for help, or even a Fulsom jock to try and ask her out. What she did not expect was a lanky kid who she hadn't seen before-so, first year- sauntering towards her like he was the king of England.

Which may have been an appropriate categorization, considering the accent that cascaded out of his mouth with the unoriginal, albeit smooth pick up line. "I hope you aren't waiting for your boyfriend" As if. Raegan shook away the grimace that crossed her mind when she heard that word, and looked across this new boy...Elliot...with an apologetic smile. "Um, excuse me?" She asked with a laugh. "You don't seem like the rouge type." She said, giving him a quick once-over.

He was cute, that she could give him. Confident and cocky, absolutely. "You look more like the type to sip tea and talk about the superiority of the English." She said teasingly, sitting up slightly so she wasn't hunched over her book, and could look st him directly.

Elliot was not a mind-reader, which was a very good thing or else he would have been supremely upset at the thoughts that were going through Reagan's mind. Instead he put a hand to his chest, as though wounded by her words in a physical sense. "I'll have you know I am the extremely rogue type, not at all the type to praise superiority of the Motherland." Of course, he could see where she was mislead, as he was the type of guy to waltz about in nice slacks rather than the common concept of jeans. Jeans though, they were great. Especially on women. Really emphasized their asses.

"I do admit that I enjoy tea, but there are other beverages that I enjoy far more than a cup of tea." There were definitely a lot of things that he enjoyed more than just tea. Although he would admit that a good cup of tea definitely had its merits. "I prefer coffee to tea, if we are talking a morning beverage." Although anything was better than cold tea. What a God-awful invention. Cold tea. Horrendous.

"It is cute though, you wanting to know my drink of preference in the morning. Does this mean that when we sleep together you'll be making me coffee in the morning? I am a sucker for breakfast in bed." Elliot was being cocky and confident, implying that her mind was at the same place in the gutter that his was. He didn't doubt it. She seemed like the kind of girl who could be capable of gutter-esque thoughts. "Although I would like to know your name before we retire to the boudoir together." He flashed a grin at her this time. A toothy grin to show off his pearly whites, he was quite proud of his handsome smile.

He thought it was handsome anyway.

Hell.

Every part of him was brilliantly handsome.

Raegan couldn't help but roll her eyes. Did he think he was the only dramatic person she'd ever laid eyes on? Boy, she could tell you stories. Rouge or not. Plus, whoever referred to England as the "motherland" clearly had their own sense of self-superiority. But he was trying to be charming and flirt, and with nothing better to do, Raegan decided she'd play along. He was at least decently attractive and witty.

As for his commentary on tea, well, she had to agree with him. Coffee worked much quicker and better than tea, even though Raegan liked to have a cup every night before bed. What, like no one else at Rockwell had a hot plate and kettle in their dorm room? Please.

Wait, morning drink... morning after... breakfast in bed... was he serious? Raegan couldn't help the look of amusement that spread across her face as he spoke, and when he stopped and looked at her expectantly, she paused. He reminded her of a...no, no he didn't. He was a British dude, at least two years younger than her, and he had just asked her to sleep with him, in probably the poshest way possible. She put a hand to her mouth to try and hide the laugh that was threatening to come out, to no avail. So she laughed, leaning her head back and putting a hand to her mouth to try and minimize the noise her laugh had.

"I'm sorry," she giggled, trying to compose herself as people started glancing over and looked back at him. "But you're like...12. And if your best way to ask someone to sleep with you is that, you have another thing coming, my friend. I'm not that easy."

She was laughing? Well surely that was a good thing. Elliot had always been a firm believer that the best technique for seducing a girl was to make her laugh. If you could make a girl laugh then that was surely a good sign. Although her next words had him thrown for a loop, front feet of his chair slamming down onto the cafe floor as his brows rose in astonishment. Woah. Woah. What? Pretty as she was- made even prettier by that laugh - he could not let this affront to his family honor go unanswered and undefended.

"Darling, I know this is America and your learning curves are horrendously low compared to that of the rest of the civilized world, but I surely thought at an established institution such as this you might have the knowledge of such a thing as Transfer Student." He was absolutely aghast. She believed him to be a freshman? Surely Rockwell wasn't so small a school that everyone knew everyone and if you did not know an individual they were automatically penned with the term 'freshman'.

A pout pulled at those refined lips of his as he continued on his educational directive; education on what? well him of course. "I am a senior. And about six years over the twelve year old age limit, although, I suppose my youthful glow could be the cause of your mistake. I have been told that my buoyant personality makes me appear to be years younger," Elliot pressed his elbows onto the table, leaning forward as though about to tell her a secret, eyes alight with amusement.

There was no real offense here, but he was all well and dandy to play at it.

"I didn't say you were easy. But I do know how this is going to end, Dearest. You. Me. Tangled in sheets. The journey to that point will be splendid, but that is how it will inevitably end. Now though," Casually he reached over, plucking a menu from its wired stand on the table and scanning over it. "I do believe you should buy us lunch for your callous insult as to my age and standing. Such a comment. Twelve! You certainly do embody the American stereotype. Gorgeous, but no manners," Clucking his tongue at her in a light scolding manner his gaze returned to the menu.

It wasn't like she was deliberately trying to offend him, but the way his chair slammed down and his lecture to her about the civilized world, she just rolled her eyes. So he was a transfer, from England, he thought he was special, she'd insulted him, blah blah blah. She just tried to listen politely, one hand over her mouth as she attempted and failed to hide the bursts of laughter in her throat.

"Has anyone ever told you your face turns red when you're offended?" She asked, half chuckling. "It's quite funny". Which it was. He was leaning towards her now, and she wasn't sure if she was imagining the heat radiating off him, but she could definitely get a whiff of his cologne from this distance. Not overwhelming either. Hm. Interesting.

Wait, he was really a senior? She would not have guessed that at all. He legit looked like a freshman. Maybe he'd age well then. That boyish cocky confidence certainly made him seem like an ignorant first year. She thought the British were more subtle than he was being about seducing her, but she couldn't deny the attention was nice.

"Oh, really?" She asked, her eyebrows shooting upwards. "Tangled in the sheets? Rose petals and jazz music included?" She teased with a smile "maybe some sappy poetry to boot?" He was goal oriented in his end goal, she had to give him that. Even after being insulted, or however he'd taken her comment.

"Hold on." She said as he scanned the menu. "So you're trying to get me into bed, but I'm supposed to pay for food? I'm not sure what kind of dating rituals you have in England, but this is definitely the way to not get someone." She remarked, but her smile had still not left her face. So what if she was flirting back a little? A little fun never hurt anyone.

"Actually yes, mum tells me all the time that anger is an unattractive shade on me, but I'd really rather not think of the similarities between you and mum." Really, he would rather not think of his mother at all when he was flirting and wooing a girl. But there weren't many similarities between his mom and the brunette in front of him. For one thing, this girl was all long legs and challenging eyes and his mother was....well all curves and bright smiles. Not so much the skinny modelesque type. His eyes scanned over the menu, pausing as he tried to debate about what he wanted to order.

Hmmm what to order indeed? there were so many good choices. But her words had his head snapping up, a wrinkle to his nose, "Jazz? That is....no. No Jazz. Whoever you've been with has been playing jazz music in an attempt to seduce you? And that is what has worked for you? Jazz?" Elliot was obviously flabbergasted by this. Who in their right mind? What? No. Obviously not. Clearly not. "I don't do poetry, but I could recite some Shakespeare for you if you really wanted something along those lines?" Rose petals too? Dang American girls were high maintenance.

Her next words had him grinning though, "Well, well, well, and you accuse me of moving too quickly? Yet here you are already practically begging me to ask out out on a date? And I didn't even get your name yet."

Raegan couldn't help but find amusement in the expression that flashed across his face when he compared her to his mother. Well, at least if he said he didn't want to compare her and his mother, at least he thought about her, which Raegan took as a good sign.

But oh my goodness. This kid really was thick. "That was sarcasm." She said in a fake exasperated voice. Flowers were pretty, and Raegan always appreciated pretty things, but that stereotype of soft music, rose petals and over the top romantic bullshit would never be her thing. More like good food, someone who could make her laugh and sneak out into city rooftops and then be a whole lot of fun in bed. "I'm not that basic. Only one guy has tried that on me, and he was sooo boring." Granted he had been a rebound, a god awful one too. She rolled her eyes without offering up anymore details.

"But seriously, you really need to step up your game if you think something that stereotypical would work." She teased, flashing him one of her more flirtatious grins.

Oh my gosh. He is not paying for my food. This is not a date Raegan thought to herself, and resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. "First of all, I never begged for anything. That was all you, bud" she pointed out. "And technically, it would still count as a date if I paid for your food, so no free lunch for you." She said, waving a finger at him as if she was rebuking him for doing something naughty. "Second, do you really need to know my name when we'll be-how did you say?- 'Tangled in the sheets'. I doubt my name will be of much use." She said with a shrug. She had intended to give him her name, but now that he was so interested in extracting it from her, she might as well hold on to that card or a little longer, and see just how good he was at this game.

aubree wrote: "Facts: Han Min-kyung hates cafeteria food, and she, like most of her classmates, functions primarily on caffeine. Thus, it should come as no surprise that she often skips whatever-the-fuck-Sodexo-t..."

Ji-hyuk had been kicked out of his dorm room.

Okay, maybe kicked out was an exaggeration. After all, said kicker outer was fucking Han Min-seok, king of passivity. That somehow made it worse, that Ji-hyuk could not claim that he'd been properly kicked out because what had actually happened was that he'd gotten so annoyed with Min-seok for smiling and repeating, I mean, if you really want over and over in that same, weirdly polite voice that he'd left on his own accord.

He just hoped that for once, the cafe wouldn't be completely packed... and just his luck, of course it was. Which meant that a) Ji-hyuk could go back to his dorm and try to get Min-seok to fucking chill for once, b) he could go to the library and look like a fucking nerd, or c) was there — yes, someone he knew. His eyes locked with Min-kyung's and he gave a little grin.

He'd dumped her... what, three months ago? A little less than that? That was plenty of time for her to have gotten over him, right?

Here’s the thing: Han Min-kyung did not mope. She did not sulk. This was in part due to the fact that it was impossible for her to stay truly angry at any given person for more than 24 hours, and partially because she didn’t want to inconvenience everyone around her by having a bad attitude. So after being dumped by one Yoon Ji-hyuk, no, she was decidedly not a wreck. She was okay. She’d managed for years without a boyfriend. It wasn’t a big deal. Of course, when it happened, she cried into her ice cream, she watched You’ve Got Mail five times in one week, she begged Min-seok not to murder anyone… but now? She wasn’t angry at him — maybe feeling a little betrayed, but… it wasn’t anything personal. Not at all. Ha. It wasn’t like she’d given him everything only for him to dump her with no explanation, except that he did, and —

What had she done wrong?

What was it that she did for things to end so suddenly, full stop? It’s just weird because Min-seok is his roommate, one of her friends had tried to reason, but Min-kyung wasn’t buying it because that sure hadn’t stopped them in the first place. (Sorry, Min-seok.) But what had she done? Was she just naturally a boring person? Did he want someone more experienced? What was it?

So when their eyes met, and he smiled — wow that smile had really not gotten any uglier, and neither had his beautiful face, so much for wishful thinking — and started over, her heart went, uhhh. But she was determined to prove that she was fine, and she could handle this maturely, thank you, so she swallowed down the anxiety she felt building inside her. “Hi,” she said, a little too high to be completely natural but not nearly as bad as the squeak she’d been bracing herself for. “Oh — did you need somewhere to sit?” She reached to move her things off the other side of the table. Did he? Was she being presumptuous? Did she have to talk to him? This was — fine. Fine!

Kathryn wrote: "Raegan couldn't help but find amusement in the expression that flashed across his face when he compared her to his mother. Well, at least if he said he didn't want to compare her and his mother, at..."

It is true that Elliot is not as well versed in the language of 'sarcasm' as most. He preferred to be more of a straight shooter when it came to what he wanted, craved, and desired from the world. So sue him if that was a crime, but Jazz was the worst thing to ever come out of America. Rather than dwell on that little fact though Elliot spread out his arms in a shrug, "I think my game is working just fine, after all here you are inviting me to share a meal with you and you've not yet left the table. Even when you believed me to be a naive freshman, you entertained my charm," which either made her desperate, or meant that his game had no problems at all.

"And all girls enjoy the flowers and being spoiled before, during, and after sex. It's natural. Girls like to be spoiled," Elliot paused and tilted his head then before adding on another thought, "Boys too. I think it's human nature to enjoy being spoiled," Elliot did enjoy being spoiled. He didn't mind when a girl brought him flowers - yes it had happened before and he had felt quite touched by it. He certainly didn't mind taking a girl dancing all night, after all the kind of girl that he could spend a night at a formal gala with and enjoy the night? Well that's his kind of girl.

Elliot's smirk found itself turning into a full laugh, loud enough a couple heads turned their way. "I am a gentleman, madam, if I eat with a woman I will pay." That grin twisted back into a sly smirk, as though he was the cat that just ate the canary, "And you're right. I probably don't need your name, you'll be too busy calling out my name and begging for more of me anyway," Oh yes, he was quite certain that he would be able to get Raegan to beg for him. "I think I'm going to have the california club, what do you think you'll be having?"

Raegan resisted the urge to roll her eyes and instead crossed her arms in front of her and leaned them on the table. This British boy was turning out to be more entertaining than she had pegged him as. Which meant she was either bored and trying to procrastinate doing actual work, trying to prove a point, or he was actually entertaining and had some charm about him. And Reagan wasn’t sure which one of those three was the truth, or even if she cared enough to determine that for herself.

As for being spoiled, Reagan had to nod in agreement with him there. Being spoiled was fun, especially when it was in unique and touching ways. Flowers and small gifts were always nice, but specialized things, meaningful things that held memories, trinkets from places visited together, or small inside jokes….Raegan shook her head before she could get too far down memory lane. Instead, she reached for the menu and scanned her eyes over it, not really reading it. “Probably just the spinach and strawberry salad with a juice.” She said, sliding the menu back into the stand holder after a moment. A personal favorite, and why miss with a winning combination?

So he was the kind of guy who could get girls to beg for more. That was promising. That meant he could at least get girls to enjoy sex, which was more than half the battle with guys anyway. Before she could comment on it though, her phone buzzed, and she saw an alert pop up. “Huh.” She said, picking up her phone and looking at it. “Have you heard about the party Kenny is throwing?” She asked, her eyes darting over to Elliot. “He’s thrown some epic keggers in the past.” She commented as she set her phone back down.

Elliot liked to consider himself as a people person, so it didn't take much effort on his behalf to notice that million mile look that crossed over the pretty girl's eyes. A salad girl though, that was interesting, perhaps it had something to do with her emphasis here at the academy. She seemed the type that would be careful about what she put into her body. Hopefully not the 'my body is my temple' type of people though, that would be quite dreadful. Would certainly put a damper on the vibes between them, that was for sure.

"What is a Kenny?"

He could only assume it was a person. Someone of repute around the school, but as for the outside world- especially the British one Elliot was confounded. "Although the real question is, are you going to this party that he's throwing, because if so, I will definitely be there. If not....I will most likely still be in attendance." After all, this girl wasn't the only beautiful lass here at Rockwell and Elliot fully intended to become acquainted with the best of the population. Not just the first pretty dame to sit with him in a cafe. Especially a pretty dame who was intent on staying anonymous.

Embarrassed of him maybe? or perhaps of herself and didn't want him to be able to inquire about her? Although if she had attended years in the past he could stop by the library and do a little head-scanning through the year books.

Raegan raised her eyebrows in a questioning, confused look across the table at Elliot. “Asher Kenny. His parents work in…oh, who am I kidding, you wouldn’t know.” He was British, he wouldn’t know the names of high ranking officials in the Pentagon. She waved a hand, brushing the comment away. “Point is, he throws the best parties, with the best alcohol, he’s got someone on the outside or something like that, and he makes his parties …interesting” There wasn’t really a word to describe what they were. Chaotic? Dramatic? Insane? The best time you’ll ever have? “…Except they’re usually pretty secret, so you have to get on his twitter or personal phone list.” Why she was rambling off all this information to some pretty boy she just met, she had no clue.

Was she going. Puh-Lease. She actually rolled her eyes at that. “Yes, I’m going.” Anyone who was anyone would be going. Despite the couple times she’d had a direct run-in with him due to being on the end of one of his stories, Reagan found Asher to be fun, or at least fun to be around, and as long as he had shots, she’d be at any party he threw.

“This one ti…” Reagan started to say, but then stopped short as she felt the blood drain out of her face as her stomach swooped and settled in her lap. Fuck. flying fucking shit. No. She was not doing this now. Why the fuck was he in here? He never came in the cafe. Her mind raced, trying to come up with some way to react that wasn’t too obvious. “You know what,” She said, blinking and giving Elliot an apologetic smile. “I just remembered I promised a friend I’d meet her for a modeling shoot during her break. She’s going to kill me for being late.” She said, grabbing her things and shoving them into her bag. “Maybe I’ll see you at Asher’s party then?” She asked, not waiting for an answer as she stood up. “It was nice to meet you Elliot!” She said, adjusting her bag strap on her shoulder before turning and walking in the complete opposite direction of where he had come in.

A secret party here at Rockwell where everyone gossiped because they had nothing better to do with their lives than relay the dirt on other people? Elliot doubted he'd have that hard a time of finding out the details of this party. Although he was a bit thrown for a loop by the hasty exit of his pretty companion- until he'd twisted in his seat and spotted a hulking figure just leaving the doorway of the cafe. Dark and brooding looking. A fulsom man he would assume from the way this man walked with the airs of swagger and a puffed out chest of bravado. Someone that was key to the past of Elliot's mysterious brunette.

Curiouser and Curiouser.

aubree wrote: "Here’s the thing: Han Min-kyung did not mope. She did not sulk. This was in part due to the fact that it was impossible for her to stay truly angry at any given person for more than 24 hours, and p..."

"Hey." Ji-hyuk gave another smile, this time coupled with an eyebrow raise, hoping it conveyed thanks and not flirtatiousness — although to be honest, he wasn't sure if it were possible for him to ever not be flirtatious.

He set his bag down on the floor, pulling out his laptop and notebook onto the table, with the full intent of actually getting some studying done, only to look up and catch Min-kyung staring. Not simply glancing over. Not spacing out. Staring. Fuck. Right. He'd forgotten. How had he forgotten? Because Min-kyung wasn't just any ex. She was Ji-hyuk's ex who also happened to be Min-seok's twin sister. Fuck.

"It's really hot in here," Ji-hyuk blurted out, leaning back to stretch, hoping to somehow shake off the awkwardness even he could feel. "I'm gonna go get a drink — y'want anything?"

Honestly, either Ji-hyuk just naturally was incapable of not making everything attractive, or he was making no effort. This was something Min-kyung knew: even when they'd seen each other when they were younger, when their parents took part in some hoity-toity dinner parties and events in their social circles and decided to bring their children to parade around, the Yoons had something about them that made it hard to look away.

Funny enough, at the same dinner party that Ji-hyuk had a girlfriend at, Min-kyung had managed to collide with a server carrying red wine. Yeah... eye catching in a different way. Good times.

Little, it seemed, had changed since then — there was something about Ji-hyuk that made him feel unattainable, untouchable, even when they had been dating. Min-kyung doubted it would go away. Because this? This felt weird, and she was pretty sure that even Ji-hyuk, dense as he may be, felt it too. But, apparently, he was willing to try. So Min-kyung would, too.

"Uh—" She glanced over at her paper cup, still half-full with now-lukewarm coffee (her second of the evening). "A water would be great, thanks."