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+---- Thread: Tamheomhada (/showthread.php?tid=428)
Tamheomhada - Damien Coleman - 08-18-2024
== subplot for Coleman and Han ==
=== previous post by Eun Ju Han included from Artemis Holodecks thread ===
Han Eun Ju had been looking forward to doing this for some time with Damian. The holodeck she had reserved had finally come up and she was excited to go on a Korean date with him. They had eaten Korean food together, thrown a fantastic Korean party together with the help of Mara, and she had been teaching him simple words here and there when they were together which was pretty much every minute off duty as possible. Eun Ju had never fallen so hard and fast for someone, the whole thing scared her sometimes, thinking she had put her heart into someone who could easily have anyone he wanted at the drop of his cute smile… and yet.. he chose to spend his time with her.
Ju had confided in her friend from the Philly, the Glitter Queen, all about her fears for the new relationship and how fast it was moving. She was afraid of what that would mean but she also knew that once they were on mission it would be a lot harder for them to spend time together. Who knew when their shifts would align, and he was a commanding officer which meant he would be pulled in any direction at any hour. Eun Ju didn’t feel unsecure in their relationship she just worried that they might burn out moving so quickly. On the other hand, she couldn’t imagine it slowing down.
Eun Ju had dated a couple guys growing up though none to really remember too fondly. Just simple dates, group dates, things like that. She had enjoyed them but never felt a connection like she did with Damian. When she was with him it was like they had already been together for months instead of just a week. Now she was going to show him a bit of Seoul which had been where she had grown up in a small two bedroom home with her Halmoni and brothers. Halmoni had passed away some time ago and Ju was sad she would never meet Damian, the old woman would have put him through paces for sure. Have him doing things he never thought he would be doing for a small Korean lady.
Ju was dressed casually as always as was Damian. Holding hands they stepped into the blank holodeck and the door closed behind them plunging them into almost pitch black. “Computer, initiate Korean Festival Seoul,” Ju said into the room, she had gone through so many in her time since joining Starfleet because she had wanted to find the one that really reminded her of home. So she had memorized a few of her favorites and decided to share this day with Damian because it not only would give him a taste of modern day Seoul but it would also give him a taste of a traditional Korean festival. One day she wanted to take him to the Joseon era and do a little fun times there, maybe a little role play, who knew, but that was an adventure for another day once he had studied up on some Korean culture and etiquette.
It was a moment before the computer spoke confirming her request and then the whole world came into being. They were standing on an overlook which looked down over the heart of Seoul. Surrounded by old fashioned neighborhoods, high rises, large corporate buildings, and in between it all some of the slums. There was a bustling of vehicles, cars, and people. Streets filled with her native language. Immediately, her entire face lit up at being home, the breeze playing with her hair moving it slightly while they stood on the overlook.
“Welcome to Korea,” she smiled brightly looking up at Damian with a smile on her face. “There’s a festival today, or I can start with a small tour. Show you where my house was, my school, favorite hang out spots. Or we can eat. What would you like to do first?”
==Tag Damian==
=== Coleman ===
Walking through the corridors, hand in hand with Ju, Damian considered himself extremely lucky. There had been a moment the day before, when he had thought about the adage of pinching oneself to wake up from a dream. In Ju he’d found some semblance of peace amongst the incredibly tumultuous waters that the previous mission had wrought upon him, and many others. The timing of Ju coming aboard, and them also discovering their true feelings for one another, couldn’t have been better timed. If it was a dream, he definitely didn’t want to wake up. And if he did wake up, he’d make the dream a reality all over again.
“Computer, initiate Korean Festival Seoul.”
It took only a moment for the computer to acknowledge the request and begin the transformation of the room through the holographic matrix. Damian gently squeezed Ju’s hand as the world around them changed; a wide smile on his mouth reached up into his eyes as he took in the view from their vista atop an overlook. It was breathtaking, and all of it was a discovery for him as Damian had never been to Korea before, and certainly not Seoul. While he hadn’t spent his whole life on a starbase, and had certainly traveled for his boxing tournaments, those expeditions had never landed him on Korean soil.
The streets were busy, full of life and people. Conversations from passersby filled the air along with the scents of the city. It could have been overwhelming, though having Ju beside him, holding his hand, anchored him to the moment. Instead of letting it stunlock him, Damian made the conscious choice to take it all in and be present.
“Welcome to Korea…”
Ju’s voice pulled his gaze towards hers, and it seemed they both were wearing matching smiles. As she listed off the options, he wasn’t sure about which he should choose first. The festival would be exciting, and was definitely high up on the list of experiences that he wanted to indulge in. Though the offer of a small tour, of getting to know Ju better, was tantalizing. As much as they seemed to fit like puzzle pieces made for one another, there was still plenty that they were learning about each other. This was a chance for him to get to know her even better, and deepen their rather rapidly progressing connection.
“...Or we can eat. What would you like to do first?”
The offer of food had Damian chuckling. If there was one thing they had done a lot together since she’d come aboard, sharing meals was perhaps the most frequent of their activities. He didn’t mind at all, as Damian very much enjoyed spending that time with Ju, as well as exploring all sorts of culinary delights. However, at least for the moment, he wanted to focus on something they didn’t normally do together.
“Hmmm,” he playfully stalled.
“Well I want to check out the festival for sure. All of this is new to me, and seeing that would definitely be an experience that I want to share with you.”
Damian’s thumb gently caressed the top of Ju’s hand held in his.
“But, I gotta say, my curiosity is the strongest pull here. Take me on a tour and show me all your old haunts. That way I get to see more of this beautiful city, and I’ll get to know more about you along the way. By the time we finish that up, I’ll also look less like a tourist hopefully.”
Even though the holodeck was filled with fictional characters, who didn't really care about Damian gawking, he’d already been transported to somewhere that felt real. Being with Ju helped that transition from holodeck to reality, as the wind wisped her hair, and he had to hold himself back from tucking the stray strands back into place.
As they started walking together through the busy streets, Damian couldn’t help but feel some awe. The mixture of architecture was stunning, but also didn’t reveal just how dense of a population that the city held. Swarms of people always seemed to be around, and Coleman had to turn off the security side of himself to keep from feeling a like he needed a team for overwatch; which was easy enough, as his subconscious knew and realized they were in a simulation.
“I love the buildings here. Plus it is wildly busy. When I was younger, the only times that I saw this many people was when the starbase would be host to a bunch of starships returning. People would stream out from the docking areas into all the other spaces. It is going to take some getting used to for me.”
It was something Damian rather sheepishly admitted. If it was a mission, he’d find a focus to get him through. However, he was here with Ju to explore, and that left him more afloat than he was accustomed. He maintained his gentle grasp of Ju’s hand, his thumb still absentmindedly running across her smooth skin; and he walked just slightly closer to her, maintaining her pace instead of his own.
RE: Tamheomhada - Eun Ju Han - 08-28-2024
One day, Eun Ju hoped that she could take Damian to Korea for real. This was the Korea of her high school career, this was the Korea that she remembered most fondly. Mostly because her Halmoni was still alive and there were places that would populate here that were no longer in existence in modern Korea. Right now though, she was excited to show Damian her world, her culture, and the haunts where she spent a lot of her time growing up as well as running around with friends and her brothers.
Korea was well populated though the birth rates had dipped desperately low some time ago, they had recovered through governmental assistance and a slight change in Korean work culture. Koreans did everything hard; work, ate, drank, slept, anything they did was 100% or nothing at all. Ju remembered going to school and afterschool for almost twelve hours a day. When she got to the Academy so many student struggled underneath the burden of heavy class schedules and long hours but Ju had been built for such a thing.
Damian had picked a tour of the city and her favorite places so that was what they would do today. Ju wanted, when they could go to real Korea, she wanted to actually cook real ramen for him. The kind on the stove, with additives, that made it the best. They could eat it over a pan lid and small bowls with kimchi and other sides she made. Ju hoped that one leave they could actually go and give Korea a good few days so she could show him different things in reality and they could go on dates. It was a pipe dream, perhaps, but it was one she was holding onto none the less.
As they walked through the bustling city center she pointed to a massive tall building which had a modern bent to it’s design. “That’s one of the biggest entertainment companies buildings. Much of the Kpop groups that are huge, come from that company.” It wouldn’t really be important or mean much to him but it was something to note. Even now several men were piling out of a large black van with heavily tinted windows and heading inside, she wasn’t sure who they were supposed to be but it didn’t matter the Holodeck was running the software the way it wanted.
Ju turned them left and they began to head out of the city proper and into a more suburban area. It was populated with little food shops, stalls, cafes, parlors, and more. The scent of Korean food wafted through out the streets and many old and young women calling to the pair to peddle their food sales. Coffee was a rather large presence in Korea much like alcohol but it wasn’t exactly the time for alcohol just yet, the tent bars wouldn’t open for a few hours yet. The two kept walking past the shops and stores until they turned another left and found themselves soundly in a residential district. Here clothing lines were strung across yards and roof tops. Mold grew here and there on the walls, duct tape on windows, trash against the buildings on the street having blown there by the wind and mixed with leaves and other standard debris. It wasn’t the slums, but it was a poorer neighborhood. Kids were playing in the streets and a dog barked from someone’s yard.
“I think next time we go on a long leave we need to go to Korea ourselves, for real. Nothing is like real life. This is so close but it’s not perfect. I want to show you the temple, and the old throne room, I want to show you my actual home and things like that,” Ju admitted. They walked for a few more blocks until a large white stucco style wall came up on their right. A large gated entrance sat in the center of the long wall, which was open. Students came and went out of the gate and into the school yard with their uniforms on. Navy blue skirts and pants paired with white button down shirts. Their names emblazoned on a golden toned plate pinned to their shirts.
“This was my high school.” She admitted stopped in front of the school. The school was a massive three story building that had once been white but was now closer to cream. Brick accents around the entrances were also dingy but the campus as a whole was devoid of clutter and debris. To the left you could see large sporting fields with students running around on them and hear the distant chirps of a PE whistle being blown. To the right you could see other buildings which were connected to the main building via bridges and breezeways.
“Let me show you the secret hide out!” she took his hand and lead him with the rest of the people through the school yard and into the school. There was a shoe changing station at the front but they bypassed that since it wasn’t really Korea and headed up the three flights of stairs but didn’t stop til they got to the roof.
“Come on.” She said tugging on his arm playfully they headed across the roof and up four more steps to a higher roof top. Across the roof in the back corner was a small maintenance access point. It looked locked but when she pulled on the handle it opened just fine because the screws had long since been pulled out of the metal and so they just pretended to fit now. Inside, there was a single light bulb hanging from the ceiling which she pulled illuminating their surroundings. It was a little dusty but one could probably see how people used it frequently. A stack of books were piled to one side. A collection of sleeping bags, blankets, pillows, and cushions created a cool comfortable spot to chill. Someone had even run an extension cord up here for phones or computers.
“We used to come up here to skip class, eat snacks, and hide from our teachers.” She grinned looking over at Damian with a proud smile on her face.