01 Nam Woohyun; My Stupid Monkey
All These YearsYoseob & Eunji - Love Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw8JxMt-9ro&feature=youtube_gdata_player
MARCH 2000
"UMMA, WHERE'S MY OTHER SOCK? I ONLY HAVE ONE SOCK! HOW CAN I SHOW UP IN HIGH SCHOOL WITH ONLY ONE SOCK? DO YOU WANT ME TO BE THE SCHOOL'S LAUGHING STOCK? IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT, UMMA?"
Jung Eunji had quite the voice. Especially when she yelled—which was very often—people would do anything to shut her up.
"DID YOU LOOK IN THE CUPBOARD?" her mom's equally-as-loud voice answered back.
Eunji went through the cupboard once more, but there was still only one sock. "IT'S REALLY NOT HERE. WHY DIDN'T YOU CHECK EVERYTHING BEFOREHAND? AISH!" she called out in frustration, even gripping her hair for the full effect.
Woohyun entered the house through the front door of the Jung household that was always left slightly ajar. In a place like Yeoju twelve years ago, burglaries were not a worry.
"I could hear you from my house, you loudspeaker. What's wrong with you today?" Woohyun asked, dropping his bag onto the floor beside the door.
Eunji pointed to her bare right foot. "I only have one sock! My life's a disaster!"
Woohyun rolled his eyes but let out a low chuckle. "Wait here," he said. Before Eunji had time to respond, Woohyun had disappeared.
"Aish, what's he going to do now?" Eunji mumbled as she waited for Woohyun.
Five minutes passed and Woohyun still hadn't reappeared. Eunji frowned. "What's taking that stupid monkey so long? I'm going to be late if he doesn't hurry up!"
Just then, the front door flung open and Woohyun stumbled into the house, holding a pair of white socks. He extended his arm towards Eunji, gesturing for her to take the socks. Eunji did so hesitantly, and took time to stare at the pair of socks instead of putting them on instantly.
Woohyun grew annoyed. "Yah! Are you waiting for me to put them on for you? If you don't hurry up, we're going to be late for our first day of high school!"
Eunji still didn't move. Instead, she asked, "Whose socks are these?"
"They're mine, but they're washed. Just put them on."
Eunji held the socks as far away from her as possible when she heard this. "I'm not wearing your smelly socks! You smell like a monkey! Your feet smell like monkey feet! I'm not wearing socks that smell like monkey feet!"
Woohyun sighed. Typical Eunji. "It's not like you've never worn any of my stuff before. Remember when we were eight and you came to my house and slept over. You wet the bed and the next day you had to wear my-"
"Araso, araso! There's no need to go there," Eunji cut him off, "I'll wear your smelly monkey socks."
Woohyun grinned satisfactorily as he watched Eunji put on his socks and then her school shoes.
After that, they were off to school.
Yeoju High School was only a fifteen-minute walk away from their houses.
Eunji and Woohyun were walking side-by-side, chatting casually about what they did over the weekends when Eunji suddenly changed the topic. "Nam Woohyun, when did you get so tall?" she asked out of the blue, staring up at him.
This question definitely caught Woohyun off guard. "Tall... Me...? Aniya, I'm considered short for a guy," he replied.
"But you used to be shorter than me! Then one summer, you went to Seoul with your father and when you came back, you surpassed me!"
"Aish, loudspeaker, you talk too much, let's just walk," Woohyun said and proceeded to quicken his pace.
Eunji had no problem catching up and walking at the same pace as him. "Was it something you ate in Seoul? Does Seoul have magic food? Do you think I would grow taller if I ate some of the magic Seoul food?"
"There's no such thing as magic food that helps you grow taller, babo," Woohyun informed her, "Besides, you're still growing, you don't need to do anything extra for growth."
Eunji pouted and Woohyun swore it was the cutest thing he had ever seen. "I read somewhere that girls stop growing when they turn 16. I'm going to be 16 in a few months. Andwae, I need some of that magic Seoul food!"
Woohyun smacked Eunji's forehead—something he always did to shut her up. "Yah, calm down, will you? I'm sure there's still time to grow even after you turn 16. Besides, what's wrong with your height now?"
Eunji raised an eyebrow. When Woohyun didn't respond, she continued, "I'm a munchkin," she stated bluntly.
Woohyun couldn't help but burst into laughter. He even stopped walking to spend a couple of seconds laughing in the middle of the street.
Eunji grew annoyed at him and decided to storm off but Woohyun quickly regained his composure and caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a halt. Eunji stopped in her heels and spun around to face Woohyun, a menacing scowl on her small face.
Woohyun took the opportunity to mess up Eunji's hair. "You babo," he said, "I think you're perfect just the way you are."
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