note to self

Wong Ha Jung

There were a few strands of black still in his hair, almost invisible streaks that were only noticeable because he knew to look for them. With a soft sigh and a smile that was perhaps too absentminded for the situation, Wong Ha Jung raked his fingers through his hair in an attempt to coax them back to pink. His hands were dripping with water and the motions they made were all part of a placebo. In a little time and a muted pulse of aura, the color changed on its own. He washed his face again over the sink, this time with cold water, messily splashing everywhere. When he looked in the mirror again, the black parts had vanished. With a hum, Wong Ha Jung slicked his bangs back and scraped at his face with paper towels before leaving the bathroom.

He waved sheepishly at the nurse outside, in silent apology for having barged in, and she simply grinned it off. Wong Ha Jung didn't normally make a point of invading the infirmary but the staff bathroom had been taken and he could say for certain that he really didn't want to have to use the regular ones unless he had to. There wasn't anything wrong with them but he liked to have the privacy when dealing with the issue of Black Winter. The bonus, of course, was that it was the infirmary, too. He was fairly certain that he hadn't done anything to cause that state to become active but it was better safe than sorry.

There was some activity in this part of the Academy today and he scrutinized the students trickling past in search of serious injury or stress. For the most part however, they all seemed to be reporting minor issues, much to his relief. Yet, before he could leave, his eyes fell on an occupied bed located to the side. huddled on it was a pale-faced student with his or her head wrapped up in gauze. Wong Ha Jung thought it was a boy since mistakes rarely occurred the other way around but couldn't be sure.

The student looked downright miserable and the thought that immediately came into Wong Ha Jung's mind was to get over there and do something about it. Just for a little while, he thought to himself cheerfully. Vermilion Summer was a useful power to have but sometimes there really was too much of a good thing. It was best utilized in bursts. Childhood is too short for kids to be feeling bad. It was admittedly old fashioned for him to be putting the age of majority at twenty but adulthood already was so long in comparison. Surely it could give up two years.

He made his way over, slipping back into an upbeat state of mind as worries about Black Winter slid away. His hair, if he had checked then, was uniformly the color of sakura blossoms.

Wong Ha Jung

As he came closer to the student, Wong Ha Jung thought that it was really a good thing that he had decided to put his contacts in that day. Even with them in, it was hard to tell what the kid's gender was, what with the soft, feminine features and wide doe-like eyes. Probably gets quite a few admirers. In the air around the bed, there was a peculiarly sweet scent in the air that left him puzzled. Despite everything, he was still going by the assumption that student was a boy. Solidifying that idea was the boyish giggle that suddenly came from the student's lips. It was a nice sort of sound, something like you would hear on a playground. By the look that passed over the kid's face in that moment, it seem like Vermillion Summer had gotten to him a little.

What kind of boy wears perfume? Wong Ha Jung wondered. Immediately afterwards, he followed up with Then again, what kind of man has pink hair? He supposed that it was really hypocritical of him to be thinking anything like that. Ah, it's nice to see that we have such interesting people around here. The corners of his mouth tugged up higher by a hair.

He waved at the short dark-haired doctor who was working on a different student, hoping it got across a general message of Hello! Don't mind me, I'm just here to check on somebody and I promise not to make any trouble, all right? The other man just looked at him before getting back to what he was doing. Treating students was more important anyways, so the lack of response didn't bother him. It did make him feel sheepish, though.

"Good morning," Wong Ha Jung said to the boy -boy, yes? no? yes. There was a chair by the wall, so he pulled it over to the side of the bed. He made sure to sit spot where the student see him clearly without having to turn his head too much. Judging by the blood, it looked like he had taken a hit from something. Somebody? He hoped that the worry was false but if it wasn't, then he had dropped by at just the right time.

"I don't think we've met. I'm Wong Ha Jung, staff, teacher. Something along those lines. Sometimes it's a little vague." Momentarily, he was thrown by whether he should hold out his hand or do an awkward kind of bow while sitting down. He settled for just tipping his head. "How are you feeling today? Is there anything I can do?" He tried to keep his voice softer and not so overly bright. He didn't want to be a bother.

Wong Ha Jung

"Ah, I'm glad to hear that it's nothing serious then, William," he said, both in the sense of I'm glad that you're somewhat physically well as well as I'm glad that it was just a small accident. Since coming to the Academy, Wong Ha Jung hadn't heard too much about problems in the student body -he had only been around for a couple of weeks, after all- so he still wasn't sure how much of an issue bullying was or how that even worked in a school full of people with powers.

Briefly, he wondered if he push the issue just a little further. But doing so right then seemed like it would be quite distressing and William did have a honest face. Which is a really good example of how I'm not supposed to judge people, the man reminded himself. Well, he supposed that the answer was good enough for the time. Plus, William didn't looked especially distressed, just tired and shy.

In any case, Wong Ha Jung personally thought that the boy still looked a little off from the bump. But he wasn't a doctor and there was one right there, so took his word for it.

"I'm sorry that I can't do anything about the pain. Is there anything I can do for you, though?" he asked.

Wong Ha Jung

"Oh, yes!" William's face brightened and even though the exhaustion crept back in shortly afterwards, it was then that Wong Ha Jung knew that the boy would probably be just fine. "d.. Do you have a cell phone? I... If it's not too much trouble... I'd really like to text my.. My boyfriend."

Cellphone, cellphone... Did I remember to take it with me today? Wong Ha Jung dug around his pockets absently for a moment, genuinely not being able to remember. "Um, a moment, please?"

The only people that he ever called these days were his parents, and that was usually over the computer anyways. Wonderful thing, technology. Phones had always seemed so impersonal to him, and cellphones in particular had this annoying tendency of making people's voices sound terribly mechanical. Most of the people he had known in childhood kept in contact with him through email. In fact, the last person he had really made a habit of talking to over the phone was...

He paused for a moment as the thought was completed, his fingers closing over his cellphone. Ah... It only hurt to think of her a little that time, probably because it was a good day and there was a student present. Giving it a little bit of thought, he realized that most of what he felt then was built out of nostalgia and traces of lingering happiness.

"Ah, I found it!" Wong Ha Jung shook himself out of his thoughts hastily, the melancholy going up in smoke before it could spread itself. Yes, it was sad but he didn't need to feel sad about it all the time. The advice was easy to tell himself, not quite as easy to follow but for the most part, it worked. "Here, you can use this!" He smiled as he handed his cellphone over.

Wong Ha Jung

It's nice, Wong Ha Jung thought pleasantly as he watched William, that kids can form such strong bonds. Not that he doubted the possibility of that occurrence. That was simply one of the usual optimistic observations that frequently ran through his head. Maybe it was kind of simplistic but he felt that it was important to go over the little things from time to time. For Wong Ha Jung, it was easier to be happy when he kept reminding himself that he had plenty of reasons to be.

"I'm glad to be of use," the man said as he took back his phone after William had finished with it. Coming to the Academy had been an interesting experience but truthfully, he felt a little useless there. There wasn't too much to do yet, which should have been a good thing, but the lame duck period was starting to make him jittery. Even being able to help somebody just by lending them his phone...

I hear Admissions is interesting. Maybe he'd walk by there some time and see if anybody needed him for anything.

At the next comment that came out of the boy's mouth, Wong Ha Jung hummed in agreement. "Everybody should have someone to worry after them, just a little," he said thoughtfully after a moment. "And I'm sure that you have plenty of people who worry about you. I can't imagine that only one person does." It seemed like William was a little insecure about that so Wong Ha Jung hoped that some reassurance would help.

"Would you mind if I asked you what he's like?" the man said said, smiling sheepishly. "He sounds like a nice person. And I haven't been around for so long, so. I suppose I'm still getting a feel of what it's like at the school. Hearing about other people, it helps the process along, I've found."