Just My Size – Ch. 2
Han Ji-Eun

“L-Lee J-Jinki-sshi?” Brilliant Ji-Eun, just brilliant.

“Ann-Annyeonghaseo, H-Han J-Ji-Eun-sshi,” He bowed deeply to me, and lightly bonked is head on the counter. I gasped and stepped closer.

“Are you OK?” I peered at him as he raised his upper body. He smiled a little crooked smile as he rubbed his forehead. That smile made my heart melt.

“Y-Yes, I'm fine, th-thank you,” he just nodded his head this time.

Suddenly, I started to wonder why he was so nervous. Then it dawned on me.

“Today is your first day of working here, right? Choi Minho-sshi and Kim Jonghyun-sshi told me, Mi-Sun, and Hea-Jung.” I couldn't believe that I actually got through that without stuttering myself; this was the most I'd ever talked to him.

“Ah, yes! That's correct!” He smiled brightly as he gestured for me to hand over my items.

As he rang up my purchases, I decided to be bold and ask, “Why did you apply here? I didn't know you liked this kind of fashion!”

He paused for a second and looked down at the register's screen. “Ah, hold on a second, please.” He then ran off to find his manager.

For the first time I noticed what he was wearing – plain black, slightly ripped skinny jeans and a t-shirt with some metal band's logo on it. His wallet was in his back pocket, and a chain extended from it to hook on one of his front belt loops. I glimpsed his boots quickly – they were black leather and a little over ankle-high. The pants showed off his legs and rather nicely, and the way his t-shirt hung on him showed off the shape of his shoulders well.

When he returned to the counter, he proclaimed, “I can give you a discount on the headband since it's a little frayed on the edges. I'm so sorry about that!” He bowed deeply again, but made sure to not hit his head this time.

I took a look at the headband and saw what he meant. “It's OK though – it adds a bit of toughness to it, you know?” I smiled and hoped my face wasn't too red.

“Yes, very true! Tough, yet cute!” He nodded fervently as he entered in the discount. Once they were all entered in the register, he folded my sweater with great care and placed it carefully in a plastic bag. Next, he placed the headband on top of the sweater, then the earrings within the semi-circle of the headband. Once that was completed, he glanced at the screen. “Your total is 50,923 Won*.”

It took me a second to realize that I needed to do something. I was... well, kind of enraptured while I was watching him delicately handle my items. I'd never seen anyone handle their own purchases like that before, let alone this teenage boy who had just started his first job.

“Ah, yes...” I mumbled stupidly as I fished in my purse for my wallet. Once again, I hoped he couldn't see how red my face was.

“That's the purse you bring to school, right? Did you get it from here?” His sudden questions made me pause this time.

“Ah, yes, to both questions! It was the first thing I ever bought from here... Ah! Here it is!” I hastily pulled my wallet out of my bag, and old receipts flew everywhere. “Aigoo...” I grimaced as I set my wallet on the counter and started to pick up the fluttering papers.

When I straightened back up to set the receipts on the counter, Jinki was gone. Then I heard a THUMP. He then reappeared from under the counter, holding some more receipts in one hand and the back of his head in the other. “Jinki-sshi!” I gasped. “Are you OK?” I felt like I was repeating myself, but at least I was talking him! That's a step in the right direction... right?

“Yes, thank you. Aigoo, I'm so clumsy...” He rubbed the back of his head as he handed me my papers in a neat pile. I accepted them graciously, and placed them gently at the bottom of my purse.

Our eyes met and we smiled for a brief second. He let out a nervous giggle, and so did I. We just couldn't help it! I'd never seen him quite like this before. Sure, I'd seen him stumble on air before, and he laughed with his friends all the time, and he was just this big goofball... But this was different. Maybe he was still nervous for his first day of work?

I wouldn't let myself think anything different.

I mean, c'mon! This is Lee Jinki! One of the top students in our class, and certainly one of the most popular. He and his friends were the most popular kids at school as far as I knew. All five of them were extremely good-looking, and they all excelled in whatever they were passionate about. Jinki was not only a straight-A student, but had the most angelic singing voice as well. Jonghyun also had an amazing voice, and when the two harmonized, it was paradise for the ears. He was also a really awesome bass player. Kim “Key” Kibum was kind of a jack-of-all-trades as he was a great singer, rapper, dancer, actor and fashion designer. Minho was the school's soccer star, plus he had branched out into high jumping this year, and he also had a knack for rapping. He didn't sing too much, but the couple of times I had heard him, his voice was surprisingly sweet. The last member of their group, Taemin, was known for his feminine looks and was fawned over by the female teachers of the school (much to his chagrin). His dancing skills, though, were fierce and tight. It was also rumored that Jinki was giving him singing lessons.

All this went through my head as I silently handed Jinki my Hot Topic Rewards card (they had lovingly called them “Friends With Benefits” cards) along with my check card. He scanned the Rewards card, then swiped my check card through the reader. He smiled sweetly at me as he waited for the transaction to go through. I returned the smile, not knowing what to say.

It dawned on me that he hadn't stuttered in a while. Maybe seeing a familiar face from school was calming him down? Yeah, that had to be it.

After that realization, I decided to be bold again. Really bold, especially for me.

“Do you get a break tonight? I'll be meeting the others at Quick Burger in about...” I glanced at my phone's clock. “In about 30 minutes. I-I bet your friends would like to see you and ask about your job!” I hastily added the last part so that he didn't think I was trying to ask him out. That would be extremely foolish of me – it was common knowledge that Jinki didn't date; the rumored reason was that he was too focused on his studies, which I completely understood.

“I'm actually not sure if I get a break tonight, since it's my first shift,” he replied as his eyes wandered to the backroom where he found his boss before. He absentmindedly ripped the receipt from the printer when it was done printing, and set it, along with a pen, on the counter in front of me. “Please sign here!”

As I was signing, he called out, “Sunbae-nim! Do I get a break tonight?”

The reply came, “Yah! Already asking for a break and you've only been here two hours!”

Jinki looked back at me and grimaced as he took the signed receipt. He handed me back my cards and hit a couple of buttons on the keyboard. Then another shout from the backroom came, “You get 15 minutes whenever you want.”

“Ah, kamsahamnida Sunbae-nim!” He bowed in the direction of the backroom, and I had no idea if his boss could even see. I, however, could see the smile on his face, and I couldn't help but smile too.

Jinki quickly grabbed my receipt from the printer and set this receipt in front of me as well. “Here,” he circled a price, “is how much you saved today. Here,” he circled another set of numbers, “is how many Points you earned from your purchase today. It looks like you're close to a reward!” He then turned the receipt around and scribbled something.

“A-And this,” oh boy, his stutter had returned! Silly Jinki! “This is my n-number. Pl-Please c-call me when you are on your way t-to Quick B-Burger, and I will t-take my br-break then.” He handed me the receipt very formally, with both hands. What could I do but receive it from him formally as well?

“K-Kamsahamnida, Lee Jinki-sshi!” I bowed my head not only in respect, but to hide my very tomato-like face. “I will call you in about 30 minutes, then!” I lifted my head and our eyes met again.

Even though I tried to ignore it – no need in getting my hopes up when the guy doesn't date, right? - I couldn't help but relish the spark I felt. My brain was saying that this was all in my imagination, but my heart was whispering that I couldn't be the only one feeling this.

“You are quite welcome, Han Ji-Eun-sshi.” He pronounced each syllable carefully, taking care to not stutter. Hearing him say my name like that was invigorating. “I will talk to you soon!”

“But not soon enough,” was my thought, but I did not say that out loud. As I walked out of the store with my new fashion items and my slightly-more-organized purse, I waved back at Jinki. He grinned at me and returned the wave.

Once I was out of site of the store, I whipped out my phone and started typing a text to my best friends.

[You will NOT believe what just happened to me! Lee Jin]

I hit backspace a few times and decided to keep it a secret for now. Here's what I sent:

[You will NOT believe what just happened to me! I have a surprise for when we meet up at Quick Burger!]

I hit send, and sat down on a near-by bench. Almost immediately my phone was blowing up with rushed replies from them both.

[OMG, wht happen?]

[Tell us NAO!]

[Did u meet a hot guy?]

[Was it leemdiabgoianm] (I have no idea what that was supposed to be, and I'm not sure I wanted to know.)

I replied with:

[Nope, not telling you now! ;P You must wait!]

And speaking of waiting, I still had about 25 minutes. I sighed and looked around. There was a video game shop nearby that I liked to visit, so I stood up and headed over to it.

I took more time than I normally would have in there, and talked to the shop owner for a bit about retro games. When our conversation was over, I waved good bye and glanced at my phone again.

There were still five more minutes. Sighing again, I decided to just wander slowly in the direction of Quick Burger and do a bit of window shopping on the way.

I found myself glancing at my phone after each store. The seconds clicked by slowly. I passed a candle shop, a shoe store, a gag shop, a child clothing store...

FINALLY! It was time! I dug out the receipt with his number from my bag and shakily typed the numbers into my phone.

I hit “Call,” and...

* = $46.85 USD (at the time of writing this)

And if you're wondering, this is what I based Jinki's description on. I know I didn't describe his hair, but I pictured it to look more like this instead of the fluffy style from Rock of Ages. ^^