Serious business

Kim In Suk

In Suk hated autumn -in the western hemisphere anyways- not for the cold but because it seemed like that was the time of year when people started to buy a lot of new things without throwing away the old. So because of that, her take aways from the dumpsters weren't nearly as fruitful this time of year than, say, spring. Now that was a good season! She had never really believed in spring cleaning but if as long as she'd continue to get such good junk from people, she couldn't find it in herself to complain.

Sometimes, though, she'd fantasize about this perfect mix of Asian people who did spring cleaning. Since their new year was in the autumn and it was good luck to do cleaning then, that meant that they'd be throwing away things all year long instead of just one time. There didn't seem like there were a lot of those on the island, though. So. Oh well. People couldn't have it all.

Oooh, this is a nice clock! Picking up a large, circular one out of the trashcan, In Suk stopped to admire just how salvageable it was. The clock was a nice black one with metallic numerals, with the hands all bent and a good dent visible on one side, probably from being dropped. It didn't look as if it had been made with a glass face, which was a shame but the girl supposed that she wasn't really lacking of glass these days. All she had to do was pick up beer bottles that people left behind on campus and that gave her more than enough to experiment with.

She stuffed her find rather carelessly in the large, black trash bag she had brought along with her. It was maybe a sixth full right now and she wasn't particularly optimistic about finding much more from plain old public trashcans. Normally, she'd go for dumpsters since that was where the real stuff was at but she had gotten held back by class and missed her chance. Now, all the good dumpsters had already been emptied. If it were any other place, she'd just head to the dump instead, but somebody had told her once that the dump here was less of a dump and more of a place where trigger happy people with fire powers got together to violently destroy things.

Effortlessly, the girl picked up the bag and swung it over her shoulder. It was pretty heavy from all of the metal she had found -somebody had decided to throw away a dumbbell for some reason. In Suk counted herself as being extremely lucky that day- but it was nothing to be sweating about. Now where else? she wondered as she looked around. Huh?

There was a sharp tug on her hair as the metal dragonfly there started to fly away on its own. Hurriedly, the girl untangled her hair from it, before she became partially bald. The creature was just like a child so she knew that it would have struggled until it got its way. Guessing that something had interested it, she decided just to let it go and observe whatever it was. At least, that was how she felt until she saw that the target of its attention was a girl with a light blue sweater.

Oh! I hope it's not going to bother her! That girl didn't look like an angry one so In Suk thought that maybe she wouldn't mind. Frowning a little bit, she tried to one handedly fix her hair, which had originally been tied up in a complex but neat web of braids. Now it was messed up on the left side of her head and all she could do was tuck the strands of hair behind her ear. Oh well, no big deal.

As she tried to find a nearby source to scavenge from, however she couldn't help but look back over to where the dragonfly had gone, just in case. Eventually, worry got the better of her and she began to approach the girl that her creation was now flying around.

Kim In Suk

Maybe it was the hair? In Suk thought, trying to figure out what her dragonfly had been captivated by. That girl in the blue sweater had some of the prettiest hair that In Suk had ever seen -and it was white, too! Even though that color seemed to be only uncommon on the island, she was still fascinated by people who had it. It made her feel a little plain with her normal black hair. My eye color is Asian, my hair color is Asian, my looks are completely, utterly Asian. The thought was like a recurring joke for her and she giggled quietly to herself. Really, she was perfectly happy with her looks. Black went with everything, after all.

Oooh but so does white, huh? Getting closer, In Suk could see that the waviness of that girl's hair gave it naturally shiny highlights. She stopped and stared at it for a moment, before self consciously studying the loose lock of her own black hair. It looked a little dull in her opinion but it was hard to tell when it was only a few strands. Maybe mine looks better from a distance. Uh yeah! With a childish frown, she absentmindedly combed the hair with her fingers, really bothered by the idea that maybe her hair wasn't nice. Being a sign of her womanhood, it had to be nice.

After a while had passed, she realized that she had been staring off into space. Hopefully, that other girl hadn't been paying attention to it -it seemed like she was reading a flyer- because otherwise, she would have seen In Suk giving her a slightly opened mouthed, dreamy stare. How embarrassing would that be?

She made a few one handed signals to the dragonfly. "Okay, okay, come back here. You're supposed to be my look out for suspicious people -not people that you just think are pretty." Reaching up above her, she tried to snatch it out of the air, but the little creature darted around her fingers.

Pouting, she signed, "You always do this! Come on, we need to find some more parts!" Today, she wasn't just looking for scrap to work with; she was also looking for anything that she might be able to sell for a bit of money. There was this really cute gourmet candy store that she had found but everything blew her budget sky high. As much as she really loved making things, she liked doing normal things for herself sometimes, too.

The dragonfly, in her perspective, flew in a taunting pattern before landing squarely on the head of the white haired girl.

Kim In Suk

Oh! That frustrating thing really was so disobedient at times. Pouting a little at it as it buried itself into locks of white hair, In Suk signed mournfully, "You know, I'm pretty much your mother. You should listen to me sometimes!" It ignored her, as it often did whenever it was utterly charmed by something or somebody, and she took that as an excuse to get closer to this girl who had attracted its attention. With the distance between them thus decreased, she couldn't help but feel just a bit out of her element because now she could see that in reality, there was no way that she couldn't envy that kind of hair.

Which was why, In Suk reasoned to herself, she had to get that dragonfly out. Right now. A few steps away from the other girl, she tilted her head to the side, blinking as she pointed a finger vaguely upwards as an indication of her motives. She still wasn't sure how to do greetings to people on the island -was there a set custom, anyways? Maybe not- but she was pretty sure that it was okay to let it slip this time because there was fear all over this white-haired girl's face. In Suk didn't think she had ever seen a person stand that still before. It was a little odd.

Even though she was shorter than the other girl, the difference in height wasn't so great that In Suk couldn't just grab the dragonfly and try and dig it out. But the thing held on persistently as she tried to gently pull it away, and she really was afraid to mess up this girl's head by tugging any harder. You don't just mess with somebody else's hair.

She relented for a moment, pulling a step away from the white-haired girl. Her creation shifted itself slightly but otherwise stayed where it was. "All right, what's caught your attention this time?" she signed at it, neither expecting nor receiving a response. "You're not going to do this to everybody we meet, are you? There were so many people on Manta Carlos with so many interesting abilities -it would be completely impossible to keep up with all of that!

Sighing, In Suk took out her phone, opening a translation app and typing something in before opening her notepad. Having copy pasted the text, she then showed it to the girl. It wasn't very good English at all but it was somewhat comprehensible.

"If any thing before, are you able to do it again? Sorry."

Kim In Suk

For a little while, In Suk worried if what she had translated was understandable. Knowing that English wasn't really her strong suit, she wondered if maybe she should have simply brought Ji Hye along to act as a translator. It seemed a little unfair since she did have things of her own to be doing but from In Suk saw, that other girl could really use a break now and then. With other people. Sometimes it felt like a bad idea to leave her alone too much.

But then this white haired girl suddenly wasn't a white haired girl, fully capturing all of In Suk’s attention. As an intense shade of azure spread through the strands of her hair, In Suk watched on in fascination, a bright, surprised smile on her face. How pretty! she thought to herself. Although, that color seemed to almost be neon. In comparison to that girl's original hair color, it really was blinding. Pretty, but still blinding.

Glancing up at the dragonfly still nested in now blue hair, In Suk could see it looking about in curiosity, its wings starting to vibrate again in movement. "Don't get parts tangled up!" She scolded it silently. It cocked its head to the side at her signing, burrowing out just a bit in compliance. In Suk breathed out a sigh, only for it to catch it in her throat when she realized that the other girl was now moving towards her.

Confused, she mimic her dragonfly’s head movement, girl and machine identical glances. As the other girl touched her hair, In Suk’s expression became embarrassed, even more so when it became clear that this other girl was using her power yet again. Does that mean she thinks my hair looks nice then? In Suk wondered. The thought made her heart jump.

After staring for a moment, In Suk leaned forward and extended her hand upwards. The dragonfly flew the short distance between the two girls to perch on it. Drawing back, she went back to studying the other girl’s appearance again before typing on her phone.

“Oh! It’s pretty!” The text read, with In Suk displaying it with a smile. “Can you do the color of all?”