Father's Bonding

[By Bi Blitz]

Alexander had barely even noted that he spoke of his late wife at that moment due in large part to how passing of a comment it even was. It wasn't anything that hit him emotionally thankfully and instead was just a small part of the larger story that just so happened to involve her just a bit. Of course even now when he wasn't wearing the ring he still had it on him, tucked away in the corner of his wallet, probably leaving a very noticeable indent in the leather not that he or anyone else would notice. Alex was just far too sentimental to not have his wedding ring on him at the bare minimum and in fact he wasn't wearing it only because it pained him every time he looked at it. It only served as a reminder to what he lost and the tragedy that befell his family. Thankfully though that wasn't even close to what was on his mind at the moment and instead was more focused on Jin and the time he was spending with the fellow Father. Alexander would only chuckle a little bit when Jin acknowledged how difficult it was which caused him to smile a bit and nod "Understatement of the century, when something went wrong it always ended up falling to me to fix the problem and it just caused so much unneeded stress" he sighed a bit as Alex was remembering just a few of the things he dealt with in his time as a manager "One time I had some uppity woman throw her drink on me when I refused to let her make a return on a half eaten rotisserie chicken..." that was a positively dreadful experience "Thankfully I was able to at least ban her from ever shopping there again...even if the other manager had no spine and said I shouldn't have banned a customer..." a small smile appeared on his face "Hearing him chide me for banning her plus the whole experience though is actually what drove me to open my garage so I suppose there is a happy ending to it" he chuckled a bit with a smile on his face.

He had been considering it for awhile but that whole experience ended up being just the push he needed to finally get the ball rolling on starting his own business. Alex would then blink as the chef finished his small show for the two men and plated their food, placing each of their orders before then and Alexander nodded his head in thanks to the chef, picking up a fork for himself and looked at Jin "How is your job perchance? I can imagine that your job probably has much less worry when it comes to dealing with an angry clients" honestly he wasn't sure how Jin's job was when it came to clients and if the man even dealt with them in the first place.



(OOC: )

show spoilerhide spoiler

vampireglub

 

[vampireglub]

As Alexander briefly mentioned a wife, Jin's eyes unconsciously moved to Alex's left ring finger despite the fact that they had both explained that they were single fathers. It came as little surprise when he found that Alex wasn't wearing a wedding band. Jin personally knew not to ask because although some had happy stories to tell about their separation, others had some not-so-happy stories to tell. The raven-haired man wasn't shy about calling his previous partner his 'ex-wife', but he often didn't like talking with others about his separation as it was something difficult for Jin. He and his wife had had a large argument about how they both wanted a family but were both workaholics. When the time came that his wife was pregnant with Aiko, Jin did everything to take care of his wife, but in the end, she was always left wanting something more. After Aiko was born, his ex-wife continued to hold a grudge: he always worked too much and when he wasn't working, he was always focusing too much on the baby. It was likely due to those reasons that his ex-wife sought out the attention of her boss. When Jin had ultimately found out his wife had been cheating on him, he had tried to remain calm and collect, but he couldn't but feel both angry and embarrassed. He was angry that his wife would do something like this to him and their daughter, especially as she had never sought out a solution with him first. Overall though, he felt embarrassed that he wasn't able to be a good enough husband to his wife to the point in which she sought the affection of someone else even though they had a daughter together. After that, Jin's confidence in himself and his relationships definitely took a turn for the worse, which is likely the biggest reason why he never decided to get back into the dating scene. He was afraid to love again and he was afraid of being the reason he lost love again. All in all, his separation hadn't been a happy ending and it still left an emptiness in him.

Jin then listened as Alex continued talking about his time as a grocery manager. The troubles he had had were nothing like Jin had never experienced. For that, Jin was thankful as he doubted that he could handle such situations very well. Alex then explained that the situation in which he banned someone from the grocery store was actually the driving point that pushed him to open his auto garage. Jin returned the smile to Alex, honestly glad that he had decided to open the garage. "I would say that it resulted in a happy ending," he responded, happy that he had been placed into the kind and capable hands of Alex after having been rear-ended. The two then received their food orders, both of them thanking the chef with a gentleman's nod before they began eating, continuing some mild conversation. "Well," Jin explained, "I can confidently say that I've never had to deal with anyone that upset, however, I can imagine it is because of the strict contracts we right. In the case that something isn't designed to someone's tastes, it often comes down to checking our meeting minutes and our contracts to make sure every detail was followed accordingly. My company and I also make frequent check-ins with our clients to ensure we are providing what the client wants at every step of the way as mistakes in my industry can cost anywhere between a few thousand to a few million," he concluded.

((OOC: Sorry for the wait! ))

show spoilerhide spoiler

By Bi Blitz

 

[By Bi Blitz]

Alexander didn't usually speak about his late wife in any capacity and frankly this was the first time he'd spoken about her in awhile, even just in passing. Nobody he knew brought it up as they knew it was a touchy subject for him that he didn't like discussing unless he did it on his own terms. However he didn't have time to realize what he had said as he continued on with his little story and smiled a bit before chuckling at the others comment and nodding "Glad you agree! We wouldn't have met if I hadn't" to Alexander meeting Jin, a fellow father and seemingly future friend was just further proof he made the right choice. He would then inquire about the others job and listened to him explain how he hadn't had to deal with any upset clients. It made sense, especially as Jin explained about the strict contracts and constant meetings they had to ensure everything was exactly how the client wanted. It really showed just how different the two men lived their lives, Alexander was a small business owner who, while not struggling has had to make some rough financial decisions. Especially considering that he refused to do any upselling to those who come into the shop for extra money, it wasn't how he operated. Meanwhile Jin was quite literally building entire communities and housing for thousands of people, hell he was even aiming for a green community which Alex loved the thought of. Of course then Jin clued him in that a single mistake in his industry could cost.... "A few thousand...to a few million!?" Alex blanched a bit after swallowing a piece of food, a good thing too because he would have choked on it otherwise and shook his head "I don't think I've ever even seen that much money during my busiest season!" yeah he's seen a good several thousand dollars but probably nothing that Jin's group deals with "I could never deal with that kind of stress, knowing that so much money could be on the line over one little mistake" he said with a small chuckle "I don't know how you do it JIn" he stated with a smile, sipping the sake before taking another bite of his food.



(OOC: )

show spoilerhide spoiler

vampireglub

 

[vampireglub]

While Jin was explaining his career in between bites of his food, he took a brief moment to clarify when he noticed Alex had paled. "W-well, I work on large projects such as the development of communities and of business buildings," he reminded the other. Jin, by no means, was struggling financially, even with being a single parent. He often made a healthy 80 to 100k, depending on the quantity and quality of client demands over the course of a year. He often had money left over after paying his mortgage, for his insurance, for Aiko's daycare, and for other common expenses such as groceries and gas. The extra money he had at the end of each month often went to Aiko's college fund or into savings. Every once and a while, he would use some of his extra or saved funds to treat himself and Aiko, sometimes spending some of it on going out to eat or going on a small getaway.

"I can admit it took a while for me to be comfortable with the idea of that much money being involved," he explained. Even though he had grown up in a fairly wealthy household with his two parents having been doctors, he personally had never really been a part of such crazy, large transactions. In the beginning, he had simply worked on a small scale, having never imagined he would end up in such a large company working on the large-scale projects he was, let alone an entire eco-friendly community.

((OOC: ))

show spoilerhide spoiler

By Bi Blitz

 

[By Bi Blitz]

Alexander would be taking nice size bites of his food, finding that the Hibachi restaurant truly had some of the best Japanese cuisine. Of course Alex would quickly not his head as Jin reminded Alex that he worked on large scale projects from communities and business buildings and such "Right, right...that amount of money just...threw me off was all" to say that Alex had no experience handling such large sums of money was an understatement "And here I thought a few hundred dollars for a mess up on a car was a lot, no pressure right?" he joked a bit with a small laugh before listening to the other explain how it took him a while to become comfortable with that much money. That made laugh a little bit more as he was eating the last bit of his dinner with a wide grin on his face "You're a better man than I, knowing me I'd probably just curl up under a rock and hide" Alexander joked around a little bit more, elbowing Jin a bit in amusement before taking a final drink of his sake. This was shaping up to be a very fun outing for the two fathers, at least in Alex's opinion.



(OOC: )

show spoilerhide spoiler

vampireglub

 

[vampireglub]

Between bites of food and sips of sake, Jin and Alex continued talking about their work. "Yeah, it isn't every day that people work with that amount of money," he empathized. When he first started his career, the sheer amount of money involved in such projects really intimidated him. In the beginning, the intimidation factor often caused him to put in excessive amounts of effort to be able to create something he felt worthy of the amount of money people were willing to spend. After spending some time in the industry though, he became used to the large transactions and used to the quality of work that clientele expected for what they were paying. "I'm not a better man, by any means, I'm just working in a different environment," he explained with a soft pink hue on his cheeks in response to the other's compliment. "Honestly, I can design houses, offices, and buildings, but I have little to no clue what to do when it comes to cars," he admitted. "And that is why you are worth your weight in gold," he complimented the other in turn. Everyone had their own unique abilities and talents to offer, and Jin respected that, especially as Alex's knowledge of cars and management is what got his beloved car up and running again after the accident.

((OOC: ))

show spoilerhide spoiler

By Bi Blitz

 

[By Bi Blitz]

Alexander chuckled a little bit at Alex's comment and nodded his in agreement with a grin on his face. Just the mere thought of having that much money being his responsibility sent a shiver down his spine. Of course when Alexander praised Jin about being the better man he grinned at the others humble attitude but also taking note of the pink hue on his cheeks which caused his grin to widen "Oh come on, no need to be humble. Anyone can learn to fix a car but what you do is amazing" however the others own praise towards Alex caused him to blink a bit when he stated that Alex was worth his weight in gold which caused him to take on a bit of color on his own cheeks as well. Alexander would let out a nervous chuckle and reached up, rubbing the back of his neck with a small smile on his face "Aw you're too nice, there's nothing I do that's very special" he stated with a silly grin on his face. Despite his own deflection it was obvious that Alex really appreciated the compliment, such things were pretty much nonexistent for him as nobody he knew ever complimented him about anything. The closest he ever got was from his kids when they played dress up and Alex was their model, then they'd usually call him beautiful or cool but that was a different thing entirely. Alexander would then push his now empty plate away as he took his last bite and let out a content sigh after the warmth finally left his face "This place is the best" he stated with a smile before taking a final drink of his sake, refilling his drink while Jin still ate. Alexander would then take a moment to study Jin, even in casual ware the other man seemed to have such a professional air about him which was somewhat funny to think. He would then quickly change his gaze back to his sake so that he wouldn't be staring, it was rude after all.



(OOC: Almost a full month, ******** me im sorry!)

show spoilerhide spoiler

vampireglub

 

[vampireglub]

Jin appreciated all that Alex had done for him: he had squeezed him into the schedule and had been incredibly hospitable the whole time he had waited. Alex's men had also been very efficient, having fixed his car into working order again in just a single workday. Jin was honestly very impressed with Alex's shop and he could tell it was well run and well-loved. Alex seemed to take great care of both his customers and workers. Just from having seen how Alex ran the shop and how he spoke, Jin could tell he was a great father.

Jin then finished the last bite on his plate and took the last sip of his sake before leaning back in his chair slightly and giving a content sigh. "It honestly is, thank you for telling me about it," he said, looking over to the other who seemed to be looking him over. His cheeks flushed slightly as the other quickly turned their gaze away so as not to have been staring. Jin simply cleared his throat before suggesting a change of scenery and heading to the bar for some more drinks and pool.

((OOC: It literally took me a month! XD Sorry for the wait, life has been crazy! I've had a family member die, one hospitalized, two diagnosed with different forms/levels of cancer, and so on. It has been literally crazy.))

show spoilerhide spoiler

By Bi Blitz