1 August 1996

"Annyeoooonghaseyooo? Jinki-yaaaa~" I bellowed into the receiver. Then I held the cup up to my ear, anticipating a response. 

"Annyeong!" he bellowed back, and I giggled. "This is cool, huh?"

"Yup!" I agreed, replacing the cup to my mouth. I had never heard of doing this before! Connecting two cups by a string and talking into them like telephones? Amazing! Jinki was just so smart. And handsome. And perfect. I was gonna marry him when I grow up. I reminded myself to tell umma later. 

"Chagiya~" I cooed into the cup. "What time are you coming home?"

"Ya," Jinki complained, opening the door that separated us into different rooms. "I told you, I'm not playing house!"

"But we're not!" I insisted. "Because you're not home yet. We're on the phone." I pointed to my cup as though that was evidence enough to support my claim, but he remained unconvinced. "Just play along, ok? Or I'll tell umma you're not playing with me," I threatened. 

He sighed, defeated. "Fine." He closed the door and I smiled triumphantly, holding the cup to my ear once more. A few seconds later, Jinki finally responded. 

"Ah, yeobo, I'm still at work. But I'll be home soon! What's for dinner?"

---

30 March 2006

So this is the guy that's supposed to tutor me? I frowned, giving him an obvious look-over. He had short brown hair that swept over his forehead, and glasses that magnified his eyes a bit. He wore the same school uniform as me, and had a book propped open in front of him. He smiled initially when he greeted me, but his face was now blank, waiting for my next move. 

"Long time no see, Sooyeon," he had said, taking it upon himself to break the silence. 

"I actually go by Jessica now," I replied smugly. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and decorated the action with a small laugh. "Wow," I began in English. "I haven't been called that in a really long time." Since around 10 years ago. 

That was 10 years ago already? 10 years since the last time I was in Korea, and the last time I was known as Sooyeon. Until now anyway, for both points. I had spent the rest of my childhood in the US, but for some reason, my family decided to move back to Korea during my senior year of high school. Senior year. What in the world were they thinking? I had to leave my friends, my school, my life... Krystal was luckier: she was younger, and still had time to establish herself, to rebuild her life here, to readjust. 

It was too late for me to do that now. But no matter. I would just have to work hard and survive this last year. Then I would get into a college back home in San Francisco. That is, if I can pass this stupid history class. Which brings us back to why I was sitting between hundreds of book-filled shelves across from this brown-haired boy. 

"It's been 10 years since the last time we saw each other, Sooyeon," he continued to muse, blatantly ignoring my previous statement -- which annoyed me, profoundly. "Jessica," I had corrected him again, but he continued. "What were we, like 7?"

"Yeah, sure," I replied. "So, history?"

He sighed. "Yup, history. Wow, you are much different from how I remember you."

I narrowed my eyes. "Meaning?"

"Nothing," he shook his head, again easily brushing my statement aside. "So I'm supposed to help you with history... I guess we should get started."

---

"How was tutoring, Sooyeon?" I almost didn't answer as I walked past my mom, heading straight for my room. "Jessica!" she had to call out again before I finally took notice.

"Hmm, what was that, umma?" I asked, impatient to just get to my room. Or rather, the room I was staying in while in Korea. 

"How was tutoring?" She smiled.

"The longest two hours of my life," I groaned. "It was so boring." 

"That's odd," she pondered out loud. "I was sure you'd have fun with Jinki as your tutor. You used to play together all the time when you were kids." She paused a bit and laughed. "You would always say to me, 'Umma, I wanna marry Jinki' or 'Umma, Jinki and I are gonna get married when we're older!'"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, umma, as you've been telling me. I'm going to my room now. To study."

Of course, I had no intention of studying, but I just had to get away. I laid in bed immediately, and closed my eyes. Not necessarily to sleep, but rather to calm down. If only I didn't fail that stupid test. I wouldn't need a tutor. I wouldn't have to deal with this. If only we stayed in San Francisco...

4 April 2006

I was surrounded by what seemed to be a Winter wonderland. Everything was white and accented with hints of lavender with speckles of crystals. The pews, the walls, the halls... and up ahead there was a grand archway where the priest stood behind the altar. Next to him was my husband-to-be. Husband-to-be?! I looked down to see my beautiful white gown.

Suddenly, orchestra music filled my ears -- it was the Wedding March -- and my feet instinctively started moving forward at a steady pace. I past by blurred faces as petals flittered past me. It was the Westernized wedding of my dreams! It had been since I was a girl! 

I slowly approached the groom, his back still turned away, waiting until the very last moment to see my face. To the opposite side of him was Krystal as my flower girl, throwing endless fistfuls of petals into the air so that they would continuously flow past my face... 

But something was odd. Krystal was 3 years old?! 

I reached the archway and looked at my groom in a panic. He finally turned around and... Jinki?! But he looked just like he did from the old pictures that umma kept showing me...

And suddenly we were face-to-face, and he was holding onto my chubby little hand as he placed a beautiful band onto my ring finger. And then I was doing the same to him, and out loud (and not to mention, against my will), I was saying "I do..."

Oh jeez, What was that all about?! My eyes shot open, and I sighed, quite disturbed by my dream. I had just taken a nap so I grabbed my phone to check the time, only to realize that it was time to head over to the library. Time for tutoring again. Whoop-dee-doo.

I stepped into our pre-designated study room, sweeping my bangs to the side of my face since I was left with nothing else to do. Jinki was prompt as ever, already sitting at our table. However, I wasn't sure where I would be able to sit down as he was surrounded by a small group of girls who, judgding by their uniform, also went to our school. 

His eyes perked up when he finally noticed me standing (awkwardly, I'm sure) at the doorway. 

"Oh, Sooyeon! Over here!" he waved me over. I frowned, but complied by making my way to the table. 

"Jessica," I corrected once I got nearer. 

"Sorry," he said with his usual smile, though he directed his apology at the group of girls. "It's time for me to tutor her now."

They each bid Jinki goodbye and left, talking amongst themselves. The looks directed at me were obvious, and I was still able to hear parts of their conversation. 

"He's tutoring her?"

"I wonder why."

"Right? What makes her so special?"

"I'd like some after school tutoring too, Mr. Lee."

"He's so handsome."

Seriously? I gave Jinki, who was busy organizing our workspace, another look over. He was still wearing his uniform, and he probably came straight to the library after school. His glasses perched on his nose slid down a little, and he subconsciously pushed it back into place. His hair was perfectly styled, and his posture was great as well. He seemed so impossibly perfect. Once our tutoring session started, he began to speak with such enthusiasm and he barely had to look at his notes or our book to give me detailed facts on each event: he knew the Joseon dynasty like the back of his hand, and he knew the events leading to the division of Korea frontwards and backwards. It was actually quite amazing... but from whatever angle, all I could conclude was that he was SUCH. A. NERD.

Those girls from earlier... ridiculous. 

13 April 2006

I was at the library again, headed for Jinki's and my study room. The same group of girls were standing near the doorway, probably watching Jinki. However, as I approached, they diverted their attention to me. Ridiculous. These girls were ridiculous.

"I am aware of the way you look at me and talk about me," I said, approaching the group. The group consensus was to stare me down, but one girl decided to respond.

"So you're the Sooyeon that Jinki is always with." 

"Jessica." I was irritated. 

"What exactly makes you so special?" the girl asked.

"'Special?'" I repeated.

"Jinki is extremely smart and he has so many responsibilities. He is too good to waste his time on someone else's school work when he should be focusing on his own. And he has been good about that so far... but now he's tutoring you, and he's never taken the time to tutor anyone before.

And so, why are you so special?" 

I was taken aback. I know our parents have always been really close, but he really didn't have to take the job especially if he had so many other responsibilities. He's not even getting paid! 

Somehow I was able to muster up some sort of response to keep Jinki's fangirls satisfied for now. Then I entered the study room; I was a bit late, as usual. Then I sat down in front of Jinki wordlessly, as usual. Then he greeted me with his bright smile, as usual. And I actually greeted him back, without realizing it. Not as usual, apparently, since I noticed a bewildered expression flicker onto Jinki's face. Oops. 

"Today we'll be reviewing the presidents of South Korea," Jinki announced. "Have you memorized them?"

"No," I said a little meaner than I had intended.

"That's fine, I made you some flash cards with the presidents' names and term of office on one side, and some important facts about them on the other." He handed them to me, and I tossed them onto the table without a second thought. I was still a little flustered by my earlier out-of-character greeting.

"Okay, I guess you can look over those later," he said patiently. "Let's look over..."

"Why did you make me those?" 

"What?" he asked, pushing up his glasses. "To help you, of course."

"Don't do unnecessary things anymore. You're just supposed to tutor me, that's it."

Jinki was quiet for a moment, but then he said something that completely caught me off guard. "Sooyeon, do you not like me?"

I opened my mouth, but hesitated to speak, which allowed him to speak again first. 

"Because I wish you wouldn't dislike me. We were really great friends as kids. I have really great memories of us as kids."

"I don't dislike you..." I trailed off, unsure of how I would even continue the statement. This was usually the time where Jinki would interrupt me or ignore what I had just said so he could continue speaking, but this time he just stared at me and waited for me to continue. He unnerved me in a different way that I was used to. And so, I was forced to continue.

"I don't dislike you. I just dislike being here," I revealed, surprising myself with my honesty. He raised an eyebrow to let me know he was listening. "My life was great in America. Everything was going well, and I had my life there. And it's just so frustrating to have had to leave all that to move back here. And umma is trying her best to make me feel better about the move, but her way of making me feel more comfortable is by sticking me with you." I caught what I said immediately; I didn't mean for it to sound mean. "But I don't dislike you or being with you, and I'm actually grateful that you're taking the time to tutor me."

"Sooyeon--"

"And I do prefer 'Jessica' now," I interrupted. 

"I see," he said quietly. I fidgeted, waiting for him to say something else. "Well, I'm just glad that you don't hate me," he said, his voice back to normal. "All right, so let's get back to work!"

I smiled a little as I picked up the flash cards he made me. I read the first one out loud. "Yi Seungman..." 

18 April 2006

There was a different vibe that day. Jinki had left me alone in the study room for quite a while already. He had given me a short practice quiz, but I finished it quickly. I was tapping the table with my pencil when Jinki finally reemerged. 

"Took you long enough," I began, not yet looking up as Jinki placed something on the desk in front of me. "Where did you... go?"

It was a cake. A birthday cake, to be more precise. I shot Jinki a peculiar look.

"It's your birthday isn't it?" he asked, worried about my reaction. "It was either today or tomorrow, I'm sure of it..."

"You remembered?" I asked, astonished. "But it's been so long. Why would you even..."

He laughed, pointing at his head. "I like history, remember? Remembering dates and events is kind of my thing."

"Right, right," I agreed, only half-paying attention as I was still admiring the cake. The words read "Happy Birthday, Jessica" in a script font (in English, even!), and it was decorated with lavender petals. 

"Lavender is my favorite color."

"That, I actually remembered," Jinki admitted sheepishly. "Well... happy birthday, Jessica."

"Thank you," I replied quietly, sincerely. That had to have been my favorite day while living in Korea so far.

25 April 2006

I received a text from Jinki last week to cancel our Thursday appointment. I received another text from him today, asking if I preferred that we meet up later than our scheduled time or if I just wanted to skip again and just meet up for the next lesson. I opted for today at a later time. I had to admit, I was starting to grow fond of our lessons, so I was disappointed to find myself with so much free time last week. 

As it turns out, I was actually first to arrive to the study room. Not only did Jinki have to push our lesson back later, but he was also late. Weird.

He didn't show up for another fifteen minutes, but when he finally arrived, I was even more surprised to see that he was dressed up. 

"Well, you look nice," I complimented as he did look really nice. Instead of our usual uniform, he wore a suit with a tie and everything. There was something else that looked different about him though... It wasn't his glasses because he still had them on. I concluded that it was probably his hair, which was not perfectly styled for once. His hair was a bit messier, dishevelled. But it looked good on him. In fact, his whole attire looked good on him. "

"Thanks," he replied, looking bashful for a moment. 

"Great," I said, looking down at what I was wearing. "Now I feel underdressed." 

"You look fine," Jinki said right away. "You always look fine."

"Thanks." Now it was my turn to feel bashful. "What was the occasion, anyway?"

"I had an interview for a scholarship. I was finishing up my preparations last week. That's why I had to cancel."

"Oh, nice! How did the interview go?"

"Flawless, of course," Jinki replied smugly, and I rolled my eyes and laughed.

"If you were busy, we could have just cancelled today, too."

"No, I'm glad you agreed to still meet today," he insisted. "I wanted to see you." He paused, and I held my breath. "I felt bad missing last week's lesson, and I've made a commitment to help you. Besides, your next test is coming up next week, isn't it?"

I exhaled and frowned, feeling a pang of disappointment. 

"Don't give me that look," he laughed. "You'll do fine. We've been going over the material a lot. So, let's get started?"

---

"So, let's call it a day?"

We ended our lesson after just an hour, since it was already getting late. However, panic struck me as I looked through my purse.

"Shoot, I forgot my bus pass at home," I muttered, still digging through the contents.

"I'll walk you home," Jinki offered. We were already walking toward the bus stop, but we each had to go different directions to get home. 

"That's really unnecessary..."

"No, it's fine. I'd feel guilty if I just let you walk home by yourself." 

"Well, okay. Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks," I agreed. I was actually grateful for the company. I always felt uneasy walking at night by myself. 

As we started walking, I decided to ask him: "So, why are all these girls so in love with you?"

"What are you talking about?" Jinki replied, laughing.

"Come on, you know what I'm talking about."

"Well, if you haven't noticed yet, I'm kind of amazing," Jinki joked. 

"I've noticed," I accidentally thought out loud. 

"Yeah? So you're in love with me, too?" he asked, though it sounded more like a statement. That's when I noticed how I slipped up. Shoot. 

"No," I started, trying to play it off. "I meant..."

"No, I get it. You've been in love with me since we were 5, after all," he continued to tease, not giving me any time to justify myself. I glared at him as he smirked at me. 

However, when I looked forward in the direction we were walking, I immediately clung onto Jinki's arm. "Chagiya~" I cooed.

"Ya," he said nervously. "I was kidding, you know. I didn't mean for you to..."

"No, chagiya," I said again, gesturing with my head at a figure coming our way from the opposite direction. 

But he was still confused. "What? Why?"

"Just play along!" I whispered harshly. In a softer tone I added, "Please?"

His expression remained unconvinced, but he reluctantly agreed. 

"Jessica!" called the figure in front of us as we approached each other. 

"Taecyeon, hi!" I said, my arm still looped with Jinki's. I gestured toward him and leaned my head for an added effect. "This is Jinki."

"Yeah, we've met before, I think," Taecyeon said, turning to Jinki and smiling.

"We have?" Jinki responded with what seemed like feigned puzzlement. I smirked. Good one, Jinki. 

"Hm," Taecyeon continued to smile, though obviously offended. "Well, I guess it's easier for me to remember the guy that keeps beating me for first on exams. But it must be so easy for you to forget everyone else who falls behind you." 

"A bit," Jinki replied coolly.

"So you two, huh?" Taecyeon inquired, ignoring that last reply. I looked up Jinki, who was still staring coolly at Taecyeon, gaze never wavering. There was a piece of hair sticking out over his eyes, and I reached over to brush it away. Jinki glanced at me, looking surprised that I did such a thing, but he smiled once we made eye contact. 

"Yeah," I answered Taecyeon, still not breaking away from Jinki's eyes. "Jinki and me."

---

"You're not gonna ask?" I directed at Jinki once we resumed walking away from our encounter with Taecyeon. 

"Nah, it's none of my business," he replied.

"I see."

"And I already knew he's been after you for a while."

"I thought you didn't know who he was," I stated, grinning. 

"Well, I do have to get to know who my competition is." For a second I couldn't tell whether he was talking about grades or about... 

"I, uh," he chuckled, looking sheepish. "I didn't actually know his name until I found out he was interested in you." 

I looked at him peculiarly. Since I was still linked onto his arm, I felt him tense up, looking embarrassed. "Er, it's still not my business, but when I found out that he was interested in you, I had to make sure that he was good for you; that his intentions were good."

I gave his arm a reassuring squeeze. "Thank you."

He slowed his pace and looked at me briefly, before resuming his stride and redirecting his attention to the front of us. "You know, when we were kids you were always saying that you'd marry me." 

"Shut up," I laughed, punching his arm lightly. 

"I'm just saying," he continued, smiling. "You set your standards so high up with me as a husband. I would be very disappointed if you ended up with someone at a lower par."

"Oh, right, because you're so perfect," I joked.

"I am," he played along. "Something along those lines. Don't worry, though. I'll be here to make sure you end up with someone as good, if not better than me. It's my job to look after you." Jinki broke his arm free from mine so he could place it around my shoulder, giving me a light squeeze.

"And who exactly hired you for that job?"

"I did," he replied matter-of-factly. "Well, here's your stop. Good night, Jessica."

I frowned. "You know what?" I started. "It's weird hearing you call me Jessica. Could you go back to calling me Sooyeon?"

He smiled. "Sure," he replied. "Sooyeon-ah." 

I smiled back. "Jinki, you should come inside to say hi to umma."

"Well..."

"She'd really like it if you came to see her," I insisted.

"Well, I guess I could for a little bit..."

I grinned triumphantly and opened the door, which immediately roused a greeting from whoever was inside. 

"Sooyeon, you're home!" Umma stuck her head out of the hallway to see me at the door, but her eyes lit up when she saw that Jinki was with me. 

"Ah, Jinki! What a nice surprise! I haven't seen you yet since we've been back! How is your mom? I should call her soon. Oh, what a nice, young gentleman, bringing my Sooyeon home safely," she gushed.

"It's no problem, auntie, really," Jinki insisted as she engulfed him in a hug. 

"And you're dressed so nicely, my handsome son-in-law~"

"Mom!" I interjected in English.

"I try my best," Jinki laughed, wrapping an arm around me. 

"Jinki!" I exclaimed, as my cheeks grew hot. Was he provoking me on purpose? Why was he being such an instigator right now?

"Just play along," he replied quietly and coupled with a smirk. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought that he threw in a wink in there as well. It seemed like there was something about Jinki that just drew me to him -- which has apparently been drawing me to him since we were children. But I was grateful for whatever that thing was. Actually, I was just grateful for Jinki because with him here with me, I felt like surviving this year in Korea didn't seem so bad after all. I still wanted with all my heart to return to San Francisco, and I knew I would keep working towards that goal. However, that was still in the future. As for now, I knew I should focus on the present. In fact, I actually looked forward to establishing my new life in Korea, especially knowing that Jinki would be there to help me in the process. 

"Would you like to stay for dinner?" umma offered.

"Well..." Jinki shot me a questioning look, as though asking for my permission. 

"Stay for dinner," I grinned. "Chagiya."

He laughed. "Sure, then I guess I'll stay. So, what's for dinner?"

---

A/N: LOL, I didn't mean for Jinki to be so mean to Taec! But it had to be done because I don't ship Taecsica. Onsica or Jaysica all the way! (I almost used Jjong instead of Taec though, and I shipped that for a liddo bit, hehe.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed my Onew-shot x) It was a little odd writing in Jessica's perspective for some reason. Mmm, well anyway, wish me luck! I hope I can make it to the next round! Ahhhhh~~