perfectmatch | week two

Yi Sang and Shoko are taken to the Pompompurin Cafe. It's cute. It's colorful. It's full of love.

Highlights

The curry is phenomenal.
They will be gifted a Pompompurin plush at the end of the date.
The maids will take a picture with Yi Sang.

[ It's so bright in here... are these two going to be okay.

In any case, Shoko's browsing the menu. And like. Of course there wouldn't be any booze on the menu here, but it still takes her a long while to consider what to order given the overwhelming sweetness of most everything on here... ]

Hoh? They have savory dishes, too. I thought it would be all pudding, heh. What are you in the mood for, Yi Sang?

[There's a saccharine scent in the air that previews the potency of the cafe's recipes. It doesn't whet his appetite much. Yi Sang sets the menu down after perusing it.]

Savory is fine. The curry will suffice.

[ This is going to be such an interesting date. Shoko turns to the maid waiting to take their order, and puts in for two curries and two oolong teas, just to keep things simple. After confirming their order and walking off, Shoko leans forward and props her head up on her hand. ]

Have you ever been on a date before, Yi Sang?

[ just. Right out the bat. ]

[Ah, tea. She made a fine choice.

Yi Sang is considerably more distant in comparison with his back pressed against his seat and his arms folded in front of him. Having said that, his answer comes freely without hesitation.]

Until the game, I had neither the reason nor time to engage in affairs like this one.

[ She huffs at that, amused. Knowing. ]

Yeah, I get that. Me too. I mean, I guess I did go on dates as a teenager, but...

[ Anyway. ]

What were you up to until this game, anyway? I've heard people mention you were on some kind of journey. Is that true?

[One's lenses shift as one experiences life, no?]

Rather than a journey, it would be more apt to say that I was on a walk.

[ . . . or a sprint. He wonders if Shoko might know the feeling.]

I was a researcher. A difference in opinion at the site led to my departure, and I allowed my feet to carry me until they stopped here.

[ He left his site and just... walked here...? Well. She's heard stranger, unfortunately. But more importantly— ]

So it's like that... Researcher, though? What were you studying?

I fear the matter of that is better off left classified.

[Just as he denied Poppy the details before, it's less reticence and more caution on his part. He doesn't wish to endanger anyone here on this very public platform.]

Oh? Well, that's fine, then.

[ In fact, Shoko would very much be the same way, if not for the fact that the world her work involves had very recently been blown wide open for the whole world to see. ]

It must have been a huge disagreement, though, if you left like that.

Regardless of the magnitude, the result remains the same.

[He left. How big or small that disagreement was bears no significance.]

. . . What of you, Miss Shoko? Have you always been a practitioner of the healing arts?

I suppose it does.

[ It's probably for the best that they don't dwell on that topic. One of the staff comes back with their teas, setting them down and letting them know their curry is coming soon, too. Shoko nods with thanks and takes her cup in her hands, letting it warm her fingers as she answers Yi Sang. ]

It's what I always knew I would do, yes. Ever since I discovered my technique. I guess I haven't mentioned it to you, but the medicine I practice isn't... strictly modern science. I have an innate ability that lets me heal others, too.

[It's a welcome respite, and one that comes with an equally pleasant drink. Yi Sang nurses the tea while Shoko speaks, then sets the cup down once she's finished.]

Is such a technique common among your people?

[ Man, maybe she should fwoo hyoi her way out of this explanation, too, but...

She shakes her head. ]

Nope. Having the thing that lets me use a technique in the first place is rare. It's even more rare, to be able to use it to heal one's self. And then even more rare to be able to use it to heal others.

[ Hopefully that makes enough sense. ]

[By that, he takes it to mean that Shoko is a woman possessed of an extraordinary gift.]

Then yours is a rare talent. One you've nurtured in order to aid those who are ailing . . .

[A passion that gives rather than take, beautiful in its selflessness.]

[ Yes, Shoko's definitely only ever used her knowledge and abilities objectively for good, and never for some ethically questionable acts...

She shifts in her seat, leaning back and folding her arms. ]

Mm, that's always the hope. When it comes to sorcery, it's not strictly required to become a medically-trained doctor to be a healer, but... I thought I would be able to do more with my abilities if I did. It's not guaranteed to always work, anyway, so I do have to rely on conventional medicine, too.

[ And sometimes that doesn't work, either. Sometimes her patients are beyond saving. ]

[It's fine . . . ]

I have operated on others by necessity afore, though I lack the same training. Your trade is one of considerable import: It is no small feat to save a life.

[Shoko seems driven by a certain passion for the craft, too, which is perhaps why they're here in this cafe at all.]

[ She stares at him for a long moment... ]

...

Are you complimenting me, Yi Sang?

[He glances aside, putting the stare out of his immediate periphery.]

Indeed, for yours is a noble vocation.

[ She does, too, so now they can both just stare into the middle distance together. ]

...Thanks. It's... not easy, what I do. I can say that much. It doesn't always feel noble.

[ This is a Pompompurin Cafe. . . . ]

[They sit there together, staring at a pile of Pompompurin plushes seated atop a row of chairs against the wall.]

Is the world you hail from in turmoil?

[ Just, simply: ]

Yeah. [ And a beat, before she adds, ] Well... it pretty much got turned upside-down recently. A lot of things happened. I'd say the worst of it's over, at least, so we're in recovery mode these days.

A fortunate turn of events. [He straightens, facing her again.] Yet time flows differently to some than it does for others.

[ what could he possibly mean by this... she looks away again. ]

Is that what you think...?

[He takes a sip of tea and sets it down.]

At a certain point, time ceased to move for me.

yi sang and shoko

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject