Just My Size – Ch. 4
Han Ji-Eun

“Mi-Sun,” I muttered to my friend on my right.

“Yeah?” She leaned in close so she could hear me.

“Pinch me.”

And pinch she did. It hurt so much I thought she might have drawn blood. But it did the trick to snap me out of my shock.

“Yah!” I held my arm where she'd pinched, but quickly regained my composure. I took a breath and looked at Jinki.

“A-Are you serious?” He nodded once. I then looked around at the others assembled. “This isn't some kind of cruel prank, is it?”

“Now, why would we do that?” Mi-Sun gave me an exasperated look.

“Ji-Eun,” Hea-Jung addressed me calmly. “You know that ever since Mi-Sun and I started getting into the dating scene, we've loathed having to leave you behind, right?” I nodded. They had expressed their sadness and worry over me on more than one occasion. I simply nodded.

I noticed the boys out of the corner of my eye. Minho and Jonghyun seemed to be having some sort of conversation with Jinki, but they were only using their eyes and small hand movements. Jinki's movements and expressions were all full of indignation; Jonghyun, who was closer to Jinki, still looked scared out of his mind; Minho looked like he was trying to convince Jinki of something. Again, I had to stop myself from laughing.

But I couldn't. I ended up bursting out laughing. Not only from their silent conversation, but from nerves. Everyone's head whipped around to stare at me.

“Ah, I'm so sorry,” I managed while wiping away a tear. “That was my turn to laugh at your faces,” I said pointedly to Jonghyun and Minho.

Minho grimaced, Jonghyun rolled his eyes while smirking, and Jinki... Jinki seemed to snap out of his rage finally. The look he gave me was full of so many emotions that I couldn't tell them apart.

I took a huge breath, and made my boldest move of the day. “But, to answer your question Jinki-sshi, I would love to... you know.” I stared down at my lap and felt my cheeks grow as hot as burning coals.

“Ah, ah? What was that, Ji-Eun-sshi?” Minho taunted me by leaning towards me with his hand cupped around his ear. Mi-Sun playfully slapped his cheek, then waggled her finger at him. He grimaced, then sat back.

My eyes wandered to Jinki's face, and was surprised by what I saw on his cheeks – a blush as bright as mine.

“So, we... ah,” he just looked too darn cute when he was flustered. He then turned to his friends. “What does that make her and I?” He gestured to me with an open hand, palm up.

“I believe,” Mi-Sun spoke up. She took my hand in hers, then continued, “that makes you two, officially,” she then placed my hand on top of Jinki's open palm, “dating.”

I nearly retracted my hand the instant our skin touched; the pure energy he radiated was so powerful, it was like a white-hot fire tingling up my arm, straight to my heart. But Mi-Sun sandwiched our hands between hers, and held them fast.

I met Jinki's eyes, and found them wide-open. We stared for a moment, not sure what to do or say. Then Jinki's eyes softened, and he gazed at me with such tenderness that I felt like I was going to cry.

I actually did when he squeezed my hand. I smiled broadly as a couple of tears leaked out.

Mi-Sun unsandwiched our hands, and Jinki covered my hand with his other hand as well. “But we hardly know each other,” he glanced down at our hands, then back up at me.

“Well, that's part of the fun!” Mi-Sun's eye smile was on full blast. “You can explore each other's personalities, quirks, and interests!”

“Oh, trust me, Onew's got quirks,” Minho muttered, but we all caught it. Mi-Sun stood up and whapped him on the top of his head. “Yah!”

“Be nice!” Mi-Sun really doesn't take crap from anyone, not even her incredibly attractive boyfriend who was almost a foot taller than her. “This is a momentous occasion!”

“Ah, sorry,” Minho glanced between Jinki and I, then picked at his fries.

I heard a muffled chiming noise, and wondered whose phone was ringing. Jinki then gave my hand one more gentle squeeze, then relinquished it so he could dig his phone out of his pocket.

“Aigoo, my break is over,” he pouted at his phone screen, as if that would make it turn back time. “I have to go.” He stood up, pushed in his chair, then offered me his hand. I took it gingerly, and he helped me up.

Once I was standing, he held both my hands in his. “A perfect fit,” he smiled at me. He was right – there was nothing uncomfortable about this. Well, aside from how the stares of the other four we making me feel.

Jinki intuitively picked up on this, and gently lead me away from the table. Once we were out of earshot of the others, he whispered to me, “I'll call you when I get out at eight o'clock, OK?”

Not trusting my voice, I nodded quickly and beamed at him.

“I...” he started, then faltered. “I... look forward to getting to know you and all your quirks.” He bit his lip lightly and grinned at me.

I'm fairly certain I let out a squeak of delight, for Jinki started chuckling in his deep tones. “Will you be here or home by then?”

Forming sentences, let alone words, was not something I was capable of at the moment, so I shrugged. More brilliance from me, yay.

“Well, we'll see when I call you, then, OK?” His grin was infectious; I felt the corners of my mouth pull back as I nodded once again. “Talk to you later, then, Ji-Eun!” He then turned around and ran off towards Hot Topic.

All I could do was stand there with my mouth agape, even after he was gone from sight. “He called me Ji-Eun,” just kept playing like a broken record in my head.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder, and turned to see Hea-Jung next to me. “Hey, are you OK?” She, too, had a grin on her face. I rolled my jaw back up, and nodded. “C'mon back to the table, OK?” She winked, took my hand, and lead me back.

Once Mi-Sun saw me, she raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Please have a seat – I think you're gonna need it.” She gestured to where I'd been sitting before, and I slowly returned to it. “Jonghyun and Minho just told us some very interesting information.”

“Are sure you it's OK-” Jonghyun started.

“I was serious when I said that,” Minho interrupted. “I really do think that Onew was angry only because he didn't know Ji-Eun-sshi's feelings.” He gestured toward me.

“I just think that maybe he should be the one to tell her-” Jonghyun countered.

“Jinki-sshi has had his eye on you for a loooooong time!” Mi-Sun blurted out.

Oh, my! ;D

Next chapter is from Onew's point of view! Please look forward to it! ^__^ As always, let me know if you have any questions, comments, feedback, or suggestions!