A Thank You Drink or Two [Wong]

Critical · Jul 5, 2015

Jacob took advantage of the time it took for Wong to get out an answer to chow down on some of the wings himself. As much as he wanted to keep things neat and tidy, there was almost not way to eat food in front of someone without looking a little weird. It was just inherent to eating. Though wings were almost impossible to eat without getting a little messy, especially if they had sauce on them like the ones he ordered. God, it had been so long since he had eaten out and gotten drinks with a friend.

At least Jacob was good about cleaning himself up with napkins and not leaving his face a mess with sauce. Then he also made sure to finish everything in his mouth before even beginning to talk.

"That's cool. I can sympathize with takin' things slow. Plus, in a place like this, it's really easy to get distracted with this or that around here."

He easily picked up on Wong's anxiety after he called his situation complicated. Wong was horrible at hiding his nervous tendencies. Jacob wanted to comment on them, or act on them, but he was sure that doing so would only exacerbate things for Wong. If he was going to do anything, he had to be careful.

"Um, if that's what you want, Wong. I ain't gonna object.

But... Is that really what you want? Is there something you wanna, y'know, talk about? Man-to-man?"

It seemed Jacob might be returning the favor Wong had done for him.

Emy · Jul 5, 2015

Wong Ha Jung

Surprised, he blinked at the other man. Barely a second passed before he started speaking, completely earnest if not a little baffled because it had been a long time since somebody had asked him something like that. "Jacob, there's a lot of things that I want," Wong Ha Jung said, feeling quite odd. "But if I become too invested in them, that's just inviting trouble."

He looked down into his drink, intently stirring the ice cubes with his straw. "Things don't tend to go well for me anyways. It's, ah," he grimaced a little, muttering, "some kind of a hereditary trait, I've heard." As if that excused his pessimism. "Never thought too much of it when I was younger but looking at my particular generation, I don't think that any one of us is actually happy. Some of us are actually here on the island, too."

"Actually, considering everything," he said after a thought. "I think I'm probably the luckiest out of us. Things have been a winding down a bit since my powers no longer function. I'm just. Trying not to care too much about it. It's better just to let things happen. Forget about planning. I guess?"

It sounded a bit hollow to him but that was fine. He could make it work. Somehow. It was strange, because this was more or less the same mentality as he used to have. Different angle, though. The more Wong Ha Jung thought about it, though, the more ashamed he felt. First, that he was so, so inconsistent. Second, that he had been so stupid. And third -he didn't need a reason for it, he supposed. He just felt bad in general and this time, he didn't think it was depression. Sometimes the feeling just happened. Naturally. Like it was supposed to.

He sighed. "It's really not as bad as it seems, though. I'm just not like you. I can't go out and, I-I don't know. Stand up to my problems? All I can do is dodge them, or find a way out if things get bad. It's all right, I guess. It's not that great but it's not that bad either. It's just something in the middle and there isn't anything wrong with that."

Critical · Jul 7, 2015

Jacob was also a little surprised. He was surprised by the honesty and promptness of Wong's reply. Given previous interactions with Wong, he had assumed that there would be some stalling or avoiding of the question. Not that Wong played the politician and avoided everything. Just that Wong had the tendency to shy away from tougher subjects.

Listening closely to everything Wong said, Jacob tried to feel out Wong's emotions and thoughts. There was no way to miss Wong's pessimistic attitude, but Jacob was finding it difficult to fully grasp what Wong was trying to tell him. To Jacob, it sounded like he was talking around the problem, instead of talking about the problem itself. There was certainly no shame in telling Jacob how he felt. But Jacob needed an origin.

He could sympathize, however, with Wong's comparison to Jacob. It was a rare occurrence, but sometimes Jacob felt the envy or ire of other men because of what he had or what he could do. Usually it aimed at Jacob's graceful aging or his ability to attract younger women, and not his confident attitude. He had to take a long sip from his beer to distract himself from what he felt was Wong's gaze.

"I understand. Not everyone can face their issues head-on, and a lot of people don't. It's nothing to be too ashamed of. Plus, you seem to already acknowledge their existence, so that's a big step. But I want to help, man, and... I need to know what the problem IS. You still haven't told me, just, what's up.

AND"

Jacob could sense himself putting Wong in a more uncomfortable position. His voice raised slightly and he put his hand up to Wong, smiling jokingly.

And no diving under the table away from it this time, okay? We're in a public place."

Emy · Jul 16, 2015

Wong Ha Jung

He winced. "That, that might be the issue right there actually. Things are confusing, Jacob." And to be honest, the more he spoke of it, the stupider he felt about everything. Whatever strength he had mustered up earlier to actually vocalize his thoughts was dwindling rapidly. "It's not that big of a deal. I'll just ignore things and get on with my life, I suppose." That was called coping, right?

"Things can't go badly all the time, anyways." And this was one of those things that Wong Ha Jung felt might become more true if he said it more frequently. Maybe more to himself the next dozen times. No point in dragging others into it when it wasn't right yet.

"I know I'm not giving you much to work with here," he said with a sigh. "It may be a bit childish but this is just a normal down for me. It'll pass. Some time. Talking with other people helps, though, it really does." Although so did reading. Maybe he could find a good pile of books and just die in them. Or maybe he should stop reading over psych evaluations late at night. Both. Yes. No. Status quo was good, too, except when it wasn't, which was often.

Thinking for a moment, Wong Ha Jung remarked wistfully, "It would be nice to talk to people again."

Critical · Jul 18, 2015

Wong's anxiety and unwillingness to reveal much about what was bothering him was only becoming more and more obvious with every word he spoke. As much as Jacob wanted to give Wong the help he thought he needed, there was only so much Jacob could do with the little Wong was willing to give. Pushing Wong for more was out of the question at that point, and Jacob knew it. Going too far, even with good intentions, usually only made people like Wong clam up tighter than before. All Jacob could really do was sigh and let Wong be himself.

"I ain't gonna pry if you don't want me to, man. Just know that I'm available if you ever need me."

Though it was pretty obvious that Wong was trying to put a positive spin on something even he knew was bad, Jacob rolled with it, for Wong's sake.

"Yeah, that's a way to think about it. I mean, if things only got worse, you'd be dead, like, in a week. You're probably just on a slow rise and you don't even know it."

The encouragement sounded better in Jacob's head.

"Hey. Hey... Wong. You are talkin' to people. You're talkin' to ME. I'm people last time I checked. Even if I'm the only one, one is better than nothing, right?"

Emy · Jul 28, 2015

Wong Ha Jung

Unconsciously, Wong Ha Jung relaxed as Jacob decided not to push the issue any further. It was probably for the best. Any more obvious pressing would have most likely popped the last of his calm. Because, in truth, just what was there to say?

I like somebody a lot, I suppose, he admitted silently. But it's been so long and at some point, avoidance out of general gloom became hiding out of shame. And now, I think I might just want to start over new, even if I feel like that would be betraying something. Maybe that is giving up but sometimes it's best to be realistic and give up the things that you can't have. Unfortunate but true, and not necessarily a bad thing.

He smiled faintly but his voice was full of calm certainty. "I think I'll agree with you on that," Wong Ha Jung said. He mustered up a bit of cheer, "I'm usually down whenever I'm left to myself for too long. So it's good to have moments like this sometimes. One person is more than enough, really. There shouldn't be an only in that sentence."

Critical · Jul 29, 2015

The little smile Wong threw his way was a genuine mood-lifter for Jacob. He knew full well that Wong was a strange kind of guy, prone to depression and anxiety, but Wong was not a bad guy nor a person that 'needed to be left alone'. People in Wong's position probably benefited most from interaction with a close, trusted friend. Jacob was more than happy, and willing, to be that person.

Their little heart-to-heart drifted to a close as Jacob felt that he had made a real connection with Wong. He quickly steered the conversation away from whatever personal problems either one of them may have had, and towards subjects that were more fun and sociable.

Even if Jacob was the one doing all the talking, he kept it up because he wanted to keep Wong's mood up and still have a good time out. Drinks were had and more food was ordered, and slowly the outing started to feel something like a hangout with a friend. If Jacob was going to be the one confidant in Wong's life for the time being, he was going to be the best he could be.

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A Thank You Drink or Two [Wong]

Critical

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Emy

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Critical

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Emy

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Critical

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Emy

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Critical

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