When it comes to love, it’s one of those things that you see perfectly played out in movies, but only glimpsed upon in real life. For one couple, it was truly like any beautifully scripted movie you had ever laid eyes upon. Zian Kang had been a prosperous chef in Shanghai, working in various high-class restaurants throughout the span of his short life. He had a knack for cooking great Asian cuisine, something of which his father had undoubtedly gifted him. Though his father was no professional, Zian could tell how much love and precision he put into each dish that he made and his future career choice was a no-brainer. He would become a chef in the big city, and after his father passed away, that’s exactly what he did. Moving to Shanghai, he only had one thing on his mind – cooking for high-class society. Zian’s happiness came from the looks upon his patrons’ faces after their first bite of his cuisine, but soon, the idea of possibly finding a different type of happiness began sprouting after a certain pretty young lady began frequenting the restaurant. Meilin Tsang was the daughter of the restaurant owner, and would occasionally pop in during her free time. She was freshly done with university and was already a budding poet; her works had started selling exclusively in a small bookstore in the heart of Shanghai. She had taken a liking to Zian, but her introverted personality would never allow her to act on it. Meilin had been shy ever since she could remember – she would hide behind her father’s legs anytime she was introduced to strangers and would refuse to utter a single word of acknowledgement. Looking back, she felt kind of silly. People had probably thought she was some kind of spoiled little brat, but finding ways of dealing with her social anxiety had never come easy. It didn’t help that Zian had blatantly flirted with her, coming out from the kitchen just to personally serve her. Decorating her plates with bean paste hearts. All of that silly provocation had worked in his favor, though. He had asked her out on a date (with permission from her father) and Meilin reluctantly agreed. It was the start of a whirlwind relationship for the two of them. Two years felt like two weeks and they were desperately in love with one another. They married only weeks after Zian proposed, barely gathering enough time to forewarn guests of the happy occasion. It was a small ceremony, modest and sweet with no bells or frills. Shortly after the honeymoon, Meilin had announced to Zian that they were to be expecting. And that baby was going to be a boy – not Kai – we’ll get to him later. This baby would be Kai’s big brother. The couple was elated, and once he was born, they swore they would never have another child again. One was enough work and the expenses were starting to take their toll. Fast-forward about… two years later, baby fever hit Meilin like a bullet train and she wanted a girl. She wanted a girl that she could dress up in frilly things and do her hair whenever and however she pleased. Zian was against it, but Meilin was insatiable. They tried again and again without much luck. After about a year of continuous attempts, Meilin found out that she wasn't able to reproduce. This resulted in a small getaway to South Korea and tiny baby Kai had caught Meilin's eye. Though not the girl she had been hoping for, Kai was a gigantic ball of sunshine and she couldn't resist. Adoption papers were filed and a few months later, they went and picked him up. While Meilin was only a tid-bit disappointed that she never got her girl, Kai was the perfect baby. Cute as a button, quiet, and Meilin still found ways to dress him up cutely without making him look super girly. Zian was becoming acutely aware that it would be an issue to raise children within the city. It wasn’t the best place to be bringing up a family, and he was trying desperately to find a way to open his own restaurant. Meilin’s father made a suggestion that changed their lives. Move to the states and try over there. It was a good place to raise kids, build a family and build a business. Not too long after that, the family had relocated to Portland, Oregon - right smack dab in the suburbs. Kai entered the resident elementary school in the area and was immediately bullied because of his high intellect, feminine features and overall child-like demeanor. It wasn’t until he met his next-door neighbor Tristan that he began to feel like he actually belonged somewhere. The pair had been complete opposites – Tristan was proper and sophisticated, whereas Kai was messy and awkward. Somehow, it worked. Kai was slow to warm up at first, seeing Tristan as some uppity little homeschooled twerp who would probably have it much worse in public school than Kai ever did. However, they soon found that they had more in common with one another than originally thought. After a while, they became inseparable. Kai would initiate backyard camp outs, Tristan would try in vain to teach Kai how to play the piano and both of them shared one another’s deepest secrets. It was more than friendship; it was a brotherhood that nobody outside of it seemed to be able to penetrate. The two of them grew with one another and shared their dreams. Tristan often spoke of Juilliard and Kai had just known that he wanted to build things. Things of what nature, he had no idea but he idolized Tony Stark and decided that he would for sure build his own Iron Man suit one day. Once the two of them had finished high school, Juilliard became a reality. After Tristan left, Kai went into a bit of a tailspin. His parents had decided to expand their restaurant down the Southern California coastline, so they packed up and moved to Irvine. Once settled, Kai enrolled at UCI and majored in mechanical engineering because of his love for creating things. However, his first year was a disaster. Due to the stress brought on by the complete peace out of his best friend and the move, he fell into the wrong crowd and started dipping into the world of hard drugs. Kai became strongly dependent on Xanax to get through every day and it went unnoticed by his parents until he borderline overdosed and passed out while serving customers at the family restaurant in Irvine. One stomach pump and three days in the hospital later, and Kai quit cold turkey. He avoided the friends who caused him to become addicted and put all of his attention focus into his general education classes instead. Once he did that, he met Milo in one of his Calculus classes and life was never really the same. A fellow engineering major, they bonded… sort of instantly. Milo was always pretty grumpy and Kai, being an effervescent ball of sunshine made it his mission to force his way into Milo’s life. Growing up with a perfect best friend who had mastered an art triggered something within Kai pretty early on. He had an insatiable desire to find the one thing he was good at above everything else, so he spent his most of his free time finding new hobbies. Every week he’s trying something new – from bagpiping to pole dancing classes, candle making, organic gardening, ultimate Frisbee – Kai has tried everything and still makes an effort to find interesting things to add to his growing list. • adopted from busan, south korea to a chinese couple who own a fancy chain of restaurants down the california coast • known for his intense, grumpy looks but surprisingly sunshine personality • has zero interest in cooking despite both of his parents being excellent chefs • hesitant around people he's never met mostly because he's awkward and has a difficult time making friends • sleeps with a stuffed rabbit plush that tristan won for him out of a claw machine forever ago • Takes trips to china with his parents quite frequently for chinese holidays and things of that nature • continually struggled with his sexuality throughout high school and college, but is pretty certain where he stands now • Founder and president of uci’s only all male a cappella group “Acafellas”. His parents told him that he had a decent singing voice so he figured he should probably do something about it before the opportunity flew out the door • Lives in an itty-bitty apartment on his own right up above his family’s restaurant. It smells like fried rice and dim sum 95% of the time and kai secretly loves it • speaks fluent mandarin and korean, but sometimes ends up mooshing the two together so nobody actually knows what he's talking about • lover of video games, manga, & anime • practically lives in the 3d printing lab at the school, creating parts for home made drones and airplanes which malfunction a third of the time • Out of all of the hobbies that kai has ever taken up, the three that he’s actually really stuck with are photography, guitar and competitive paintball ISTPs love to explore with their hands and their eyes, touching and examining the world around them with cool rationalism and spirited curiosity. People with this personality type are natural Makers, moving from project to project, building the useful and the superfluous for the fun of it, and learning from their environment as they go. Often mechanics and engineers, ISTPs find no greater joy than in getting their hands dirty pulling things apart and putting them back together, just a little bit better than they were before. The Gemini man is a wordsmith and a master of communication. It’s not all idle chatter, or conversations about the weather with this man. He is an intellectual, always seeking more information and knowledge. Bright, quick-witted, and mercurial, the Gemini man is many things but he is never boring. Symbolized by the Twins, a Gemini is both Master Jekyll and Mister Hyde, a mix of suave gentleman and salt-of-the-earth. The Gemini man can see both sides of any issue, and possesses an extremely balanced opinion on topics ranging from the mundane to the controversial. You will often hear a Gemini man wax lyrical about the benefits of, say, yoga, and then stop to catch his breath and continue, “On the other hand…” He isn’t being flaky. It’s just that marvelous ability of his to weigh up all the pros and cons of any situation coming into play. This other side of the coin approach also means that the Gemini man often finds it hard to make up his mind. His mood can change on a simple whim. However, this also means he is extremely flexible and is happy to go with the flow. The Gemini man is a jack of all trades, his intelligent mind bounding from project to project, and darting from one hobby to the next in a short space of time. He will have many interests, for example; gardening, reading, rocket science, telepathy, ancient history. Everything fascinates him and he is ever curious. He loves problem solving and approaches challenges like a game, applying his cool logic to reason himself out of hairy situations. A social sign, the Gemini man is most comfortable in social situations, holding forth on a variety of topics, ideas, and opinions. Gemini men love interesting company and are fascinated by the different and the exotic. Charming and congenial, the Gemini man is popular and effusive with his friends. Many celebrity Twins are authors or songwriters, for example, Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney. Other famous Geminis include Donald Trump, John F. Kennedy, and Johnny Depp. |
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