#han.flashforward

@hjremi

There was nothing more that Matteo wanted than to put Remi in a dungeon. Not permanently. Just for a few hours, maybe a few days. Just long enough for him to realize that running your mouth to a random stranger, much less cursing at them once you realized they were a monarch, was not a smart move.

Unfortunately, though Remi was finally in his clutches... Jongsu was also right there, which meant he couldn't shove him into the water, forcing him into his jurisdiction, or even strap him into a dolphin. For whatever reason, Jongsu liked the sea urchin. So, Matteo would play nice today. For the most part.

Because this was a somewhat formal event (as much as a beach bonfire to honor his reign could be), he was not dressed in his fullest regalia. No, the only thing that marked him as a monarch (aside from the obvious crown) and force to be reckoned with was the giant trident in his hands.

Wedding venues were difficult to negotiate, especially when they were essentially announcing the future queen of the merfolk. Some people saw it as a political move, but those individuals were also confused by how this could benefit the kingdom. Really, it was a lot less complicated. He was in love. They happened to be a dryad. It was what it was.

Despite being a creature of the water, Matteo wanted to be respectful of Osuke. There were rumors that he was doing this to appease the dryad royal family, but Matteo was unconcerned about such things today. They just wanted Osuke to be happy and that meant having their tree present for at least one of their ceremonies. Matteo enjoyed a good party, so having two weddings was not the worst thing ever. It was, however, exhausting to plan outside of running a kingdom.

Year: 20XX

Location: Seoul

Looking out at the pedestrians below, Sungho's gaze is fixed on them.  "Ants, they all look like ants," he thinks as he steps away with an unamazed sigh. He's approaching 50 now but could pass for early 30s. An advantage, more so in today's world. Retirement was on the horizon, but he was still on the grind to stay busy. The idea of a family was long gone, he had made due with his steady partner.

Sunhgo put his career first, which, though some may not agree with it, was his choice. Being VP of compliance and regulations carried a lot of weight and power. Other businesses had to adhere or face fines and penalties. Sungho was cutthroat, drawing much ire but also upholding an industry standard. Now he had almost encyclopedic knowledge of law, business, and human resources; he was a living book able to consult on these matters. Though he preferred to audit since it dealt less with legal matters or being accused of having a conflict of interest.

"Sir, the meeting will start soon,"

"i hope they're prepared this time," he replied, checking over the folder. There was more he could say, but he didn't. More so now that he was doing away with that roundabout speech. Sungho was softer with his partner, they were part of his personal world, not the one of business. He clicked the pen in his hand, a habit he formed long ago. The rumor was that it was for show, being made of gold, and it really didn't work.

______________________

The meeting lasted for 4 hours, a chore to get through. The company representatives wanted to block a merger from going through, but through legal means, there was little chance of them stopping it. Sungho was annoyed at the previous meeting since they had no plan to consider the worst, business was about feelings. At the very least, the company could admit that it would gain leverage from the merger to increase its own intellectual property. He advised that they have some members on the board with equal power so that even with layoffs, they wouldn't be totally shut out. There was a follow up meeting later that week to finalize their proposal, which gave off time to comb through it for any loopholes.

The documents were in a closed folder on his desk. Sungho was burnt out already, having tried to work on it, passing the time playing with the gold pen. He toyed with the idea of retiring early, but then what he do? He could be a university lecturer with more than enough experience, but he's been down that road. Consulting? He was an introvert at heart. He looked at his schedule, seeing a round of less intense meetings. He honestly wanted to go home, but work must be done. The knock at the door made him prop up and appear like he was busy before his assistant appeared.

"Sir, you have a call on line 3," they informed him.

His eyes narrowed for a moment, seeing the subtle nervous energy of his assistant, "Thank you," he replied as he picked up the phone as they left. What was this about? He didn't speak first, putting the pressure on.

@hjlock

Cherry looked between Lock and the child. She blinked twice, her mind trying to comprehend exactly what was going on. When she had been told this was an emergency, she had expected a lot of things. This was not one of them.

"Lock, did you have a kid? Did they just latch on to you? Were they left on your doorstep?" She was not one to judge in this case, considering how her family got Sammy. Before they could answer, she had a horrifying realization. "Did you kidnap a kid?" she yelped at them.

@hjremi

Despite the differences in courtship customs around the world, meeting the family was always important. Jongsu didn't have parents to speak of, but he did have children. And grandchildren. And great-grand-children. And they all wanted to meet Remi to give their approval.

"Don't worry, I'm the best swordsman, so no one will challenge you to a duel," he said. "Though, Walter does like to arm wrestle. Don't accept," he said quickly. "He's the one that looks like a five year old." At least, that was people told him. He saw nothing odd about the appearance of the 23-year old. He was, after all, a nymph child. If he wanted to take his time, he could.

"I'm his favorite great-grandparent, so he's a bit protective." Maybe this dinner party was not the best way for Remi to meet more of his relatives. But, they weren't in town for long. Who knew when they'd get the chance again. "And Youngho is here, so you two will finally get a chance to meet."

He thought for a moment. Maybe he should have shown Remi the family tree first. Oh well. He was sure Remi would be fine. "Let's go in," he said, pushing open the door to his home.

At four months pregnant, Cherry was already over it. She was grateful she wouldn't have to to this for years (apparently, that was sometimes a possibility among sirens). However, things had certainly changed for her. She was hungry and grumpy. There was a lot more meat required in her current diet (thankfully, the sirens told her that rare meat, while not good for human babies was perfectly acceptable for most halflings). People were also strangely inclined to listen to her recently.

It was funny twist of fate that so many people found her attractive now that she was clearly carrying life inside her. Not that she noticed most of the time. She was still a bit dense and frankly more concerned with her kid using her uterus as a kickboxing ring. "Why can't sirens be like seahorses?" She would be more than happy to take a backseat to all this. Let Talon do the heavy lifting. "I can't believe I got banned from the Ship for month over a little altercation," she said. Admittedly, she had nearly bit someone, but hormones were weird and they had started it.