Just My Size - Chapter 9
Lee Jinki (Onew)

Onew

Best. Day. Ever.

I hit the send button, and my message was delivered to Minho and Jonghyun.

Once Ji-Eun was inside the gate, I knew she was safe. As I wandered back towards my own dwelling, I relived the events of the day, chuckling and humming as I remembered.

Feeling her in my arms - finally, after all these years - was breathtaking. Despite her stonewall appearance, she was soft and oh-so huggable. She needs to smile more - and I plan on making her. I knew that I’d do anything to make her face light up time and again.

I was almost home by the time Minho replied.

Minho
Damn well better have been!

Typical. I rolled my eyes.

Minho
We went through a lot of trouble, and you almost screwed it up by getting a job and not telling us!

I winced. He had a point there.

Onew
Sorry about that. I guess I just didn’t know how to tell you guys.

Minho
Well, whatever. It all worked out in the end. Have a good night, Hyung!

Onew
Good night Minho, take care!

I locked my phone and entered my building.

Unlike Ji-Eun, I live in an apartment. It’s not horrible, but I could feel my face turning red with embarrassment at the thought of bringing her here. Her house looked immaculate, while this building was showing its age. In the tiny lobby alone one could pick out chipping paint, moulding that needed to be replaced, and squeaky floorboards.

I climbed the stairs to the second floor quietly, and continued my silence as I unlocked my door and crept to my room. It was about 10:55, and I knew my parents would be asleep.

Once my bedroom door was shut, I flopped gently onto my twin-sized bed. I sighed, then felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I checked it, hoping it was Ji-Eun, but it was Jonghyun.

Jonghyun
Glad to hear it! :) Have a good night!

Onew
Thanks. Good night!

And that was it. I sighed again. Then I got an idea. I started typing frantically.

Onew
What should I wear tomorrow? I have a daaaate~

Seconds after I sent it, I got a reply.

Key
SAY WHAT?! :D

I chuckled lightly, and briefly relayed the highlights of the day to another of my good friends, Kim “Key” Kibum.

Key
You lucky rabbit! Anyways, here’s what I think!

Leave it to Key to know exactly what to wear for any occasion. I’m still impressed that he knows all our wardrobes so well; he didn’t even have to ask for pictures of what I had available.

I folded the clothes neatly on my desk chair, then sat on the edge of my bed.

Onew
Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou

Key
Ppppssshhht, any time.

I could easily picture Key making a sassy hand motion as I read his reply.

Key
Now get some beauty sleep, Lover Boy. You’ve been needing it lately!

I chuckled under my breath and rolled my eyes once again.

Onew
I’ll try. Good night!

Key
Good luck, Hyung!

I clicked my phone into locked mode, and placed it gently on my tiny night stand. My alarm clock read 11:16. I groaned as I slumped back onto my bed.

Tossing and turning, sleep didn’t come easily, and when it did, I had one crazy dream after another.

I ended up waking up a bit when I heard my parents getting ready for the day - my dad on the way to his butcher shop, and my mom heading to her little restaurant. I glanced over at the clock when I heard the door close and lock - it was only 8:30am. I groaned and rolled over.

Sighing, I mumbled to myself, “This day is going to be sooo long...”

At about 9:30, I finally gave up on sleep. I hadn’t so much as dozed in that hour, so I got up and dragged my tired body to the shower.

Since I had absolutely nothing to do till I was supposed to head over to Ji-Eun’s, I took my time. It actually felt nice to not rush my shower for once. I kept turning the hot water up little by little as I hummed to myself.

Eventually, my addled mind started getting the best of me, and my imagination took over my conscious thoughts. I couldn’t help but imagine Ji-Eun in there with me, running her gentle hands from my shoulders down my chest, and over my stomach. Then she headed a bit further south and-

No. I couldn’t let myself think these things. I needed to be a gentleman towards her, even in my thoughts. Though Lord knows this wasn’t the first time my thoughts lingered that way about her...

To stop my naughty mind, I quickly turned off the hot water and dunked my face under the icy shower stream. It froze me to the bone, but it did the trick as well. After I made sure I was rinsed off, I grabbed my towel and stepped into the bathroom proper.

Thanks to the cold blast of water, the bathroom felt warm. Once I was dry enough, I scooped up my pajamas and went back into my room. The clock read 10:18, and I groaned again. Why couldn’t we have settled on an earlier time?

I ran a hand through my damp hair as I sat on the edge of my bed. Gazing around my room, no real ideas came to my mind. I lazily snatched my phone up and messaged Taemin, my youngest friend. He lived just a few blocks away; maybe he’d be up for hanging out before my date.

Onew
Hey, what are you up to?

I waited a minute, but got no response. Then I facepalmed - it’s Sunday morning, of course he’s not answering! He’s at church! Aish, where was my mind...?

Onew
Nevermind, I was being a pabo! Talk to you later!

That should be good.

I pulled up my conversation with Key from last night and typed to him.

Onew
You awake, Key?

I didn’t have to wait too long for his reply.

Key
Now I am. What do you want?

I grimaced. I hadn’t meant to wake him up - it was just more of an expression.

Onew
Sorry!
I was wondering if you were free to hang out until my date at 1!

Key
I need my beauty sleep, Hyung!

Onew
Right, sorry.

Key
You better be.

Onew
I am.

Key
Good. Then let me go back to sleep now.

I didn’t dare send anything else to him, lest I incur his wrath the next time I saw him. I nearly messaged Minho, but I remembered that he’d be at soccer practice still. So, I tried my luck one more time with Jonghyun.

Onew
Hey, what’s up?

Jonghyun
Just stuck writing a song.

Onew
Why don’t you take a break and come hang out with me at the park?

Jonghyun
Yours or mine?

Onew
Mine. Turns out Ji-Eun lives just a couple of blocks over, and I’ve got my homework date with her at 1.

Jonghyun
Wah, jinja? For real?!

Onew
Yep! ^^b

Jonghyun
OK, I’ll meet you there in like, 15 minutes.

Onew
Awesome, thanks! See you then!

Good, a plan of action. I stood up, tossed my towel on the bed, and got dressed.

Despite being the two oldest members of our group, Jonghyun and I played like little kids - and with the little kids that were there. At first their moms were skeptical about letting high schoolers near their children, but once they saw we were genuine and not going to hurt them, they welcomed us.

We actually had such a great time, the next time I looked at my watch, it was 12:56.

“Jonghyun, I gotta go!” I perked my head up and searched for my friend.

“OK, Hyung!” His voice came from the sandbox, but I couldn’t see him...

The kids were burying him in the sand. I doubled-over in laughter and ended up crawling to my backpack.

I thanked the kids and their moms for letting me play. One mother actually asked if she could hire me as a baby sitter! I laughed, but had to decline. I didn’t think I could handle my job at Hot Topic, my school work, my new relationship and a babysitting gig all at once.

I shouted another “goodbye” at Jonghyun, and ran out of the park towards Ji-Eun’s house.

I didn’t slow down till I rounded the corner of her block. When I found myself standing in front of her gate, I took a deep breath and adjusted my shirt and backpack. Then, I pressed the buzzer.

A couple of seconds later, I heard her. “Hello?”

I grinned widely as I pressed the microphone’s button. “Hello, Ji-Eun! I hope I’m not late!”

“No, you’re right on time!” I could hear her smile in her words, and was pleased with myself. We hadn’t even seen each other yet, and I already made her smile once today!

I heard a click!, and the gate unlocked. I opened it gently, stepped through, and closed it behind me. When I turned around, I saw Ji-Eun standing in the doorway beaming at me.

Wow, she looked cute today; a complete turnaround from yesturday. I think it’s really cool when someone can pull off multiple styles.

Holding her hand on the way to our homework spot (a.k.a her dining room) was thrilling, even though it only lasted a few seconds. I was seriously beginning to wonder how I’d be able to get through homework with her teasing me without even trying.

It was nice to meet her mom, and I definitely saw the resemblance between her and Ji-Eun’s sister, Ha-Eun. I do still wonder what the situation is with her dad, though - but I won’t press it. Ji-Eun seemed pretty uncomfortable when I asked about him, so I’ll just wait for her to tell me when she’s ready.

I was really nervous when I was helping Ji-Eun with Chemistry. I’m doing well in it myself, but with my sleep-deprived mind, I was afraid I was going to confuse her or tell her something incorrectly. But her smile and responses dashed those fears away.

“Wow, we’ve been at this for a long time!” Ji-Eun remarked as she closed her Chemistry book when we were done.

“You wanna go for a walk?” I blurted out as I bent down to put my books in my backpack; I wanted to hide my blushing face.

“Uh, sure!” She replied, and I smiled before straightening up in my chair. “It’d be a shame to waste this beautiful day in here.”

“Ah yes, indeed,” I agreed as I looked out the window next to us. “Areumdawo,” I softly sung, then looked very pointed at Ji-Eun. I hoped she got the hint.

So, we set out arm-in-arm. I opened the gate for her - like the gentleman I was trying my best to be - and she thanked me politely.

“So, where to?” Ji-Eun asked brightly after I shut the gate behind us.

“The park?” I offered.

“Sounds good to me!” She beamed at me, then set off, kind of dragging me for a couple of steps.

“You’re excited, huh?” I poked her shoulder with my free hand as we rounded the corner near her house.

She made the most adorable giggle. “Yeah, I guess so!”

I took a second to admire her before replying, “Me, too.”

We walked (almost jogged, really, at the pace Ji-Eun was leading me) the rest of the way in silence, but it didn’t feel awkward; I was grateful for that. As soon as we entered the park, I felt Ji-Eun’s arm slip out of mine as she ran right for the swings. I laughed as I followed her.

Instead of hopping in the one next to her, I stood behind her and grasped the chains near her head. “Want me to push you?”

“Oh, OK!” I could hear the smile in her voice as I started pushing.

Or rather, tried to. Pushing someone in a swing with your hands that high up is difficult. I laughed at myself, then slid my hands down the chains. I was gripping them so close to her thighs, but I restrained myself from actually touching her.

“Pull me back!” She commanded as she bounced a little in her seat. I grinned and did so. Just before I let her go, I had to avert my eyes - her bum was right in my face, and I was determined to be polite.

I stepped back as she swung forward. I tell you, she is just full of cute noises - the “whee” sound she made as she pumped her legs made my heart beat faster. Once she was at full speed, she leaned way back on the forward motion, and brought her head back up on the backswing. Her dizzy giggle damn near killed me.

“Aren’t you going to swing?” She asked.

“I suppose I can,” I replied, but to be honest, I was having fun watching her. This is the Ji-Eun I fell for. I wanted to show everyone at school that her reputation for being a “stone wall” or having a “scary” personality was false.

At any rate, I hopped into the swing next to her, and pumped my legs furiously to catch up with her. Soon, we were swinging at the same height, but not the same rhythm. “Wanna see if we can match each other?” She shouted over the wind whistling in our ears.

“OK, let’s try!” I was up for the challenge!

Ji-Eun did her back-bend thing again - it slowed her down a bit, but not enough. I tried it as well, but my hat fell off, and I came back up quickly. Laughing heartily, I gave up that approach. We tried a few more things, but kept missing each other.

“Why don’t we just start over?” I yelled.

“OK,” she answered, and planted her feet in the sand below us. I followed suit.

Once we were completely stopped, I looked over at her. “Ready?” She questioned.

I paused for a second, then replied, “Not yet.” I extended my hand to her, and she took it, blushing profusely. I felt my face heat up as well, and we started swinging.

Even with holding hands, swinging in tandem is not easy. After only a couple of pumps, she got ahead of me. We chuckled as our swings wobbled back and forth.

“This... isn’t working so well, eh?” Ji-Eun laughed.

“Nah, I guess not,” I answered as we both stopped our swings.

“So, now what?” She asked innocently, her eyes wide with expectation.

“Well,” I looked around quickly for something we could do together. “How about the merry-go-round?” It was one of those manual ones that you push and hop up on when it’s going fast enough.

“OK!” Ji-Eun hopped up and lead me over to it. When we reached it, I held it still with my free hand, and helped her onto it. She plopped herself right in the middle, and I got ready to push.

Deciding to make a show of it, I threw off my button-up shirt. I stole a glance at Ji-Eun, and was pleased to find a mischievous grin on her face. Egged on by her reaction, I started stretching my shoulders. I rolled them backwards a few times, then forwards. For the next set, I put my elbows into it and made sure to flex a bit. Whether she meant to or not, Ji-Eun let out a soft, “Oooohhhh.” I bit my lower lip as I grinned, then grabbed one wrist and pulled my arm above my head.

“OK, OK, get on with it already!” Ji-Eun protested, but she laughed through her words as well. She tapped the nearest bar. “Spin me!”

“You asked for it!” I chuckled as I grasped the bar and started walking counter-clockwise. I didn’t stay walking for long, though - it turned into jogging, and the jogging turned into galloping quite quickly. Ji-Eun was laughing as she held onto two bars, one grasped in each hand. Once I felt I could get the merry-go-round going no faster, I hopped on and slid into the middle with her. I planted my hands on the same two bars she was holding onto.

“Hi,” I casually said as I glanced at her.

“Hi!” She replied and as she giggled. Then she moved her hands so that our fingers were touching. I grinned widely at the motion and feeling.

We just stayed that way till the merry-go-round came to a halt. Ji-Eun then let out a sigh and let go of the bars. I did the same as she moved to get off the ride.

When she stepped down onto the ground, I saw her tilt to one side. With more speed than I knew I was capable of, I dove towards her and caught her before she landed in the dirt. I was on my stomach on the merry-go-round with my hand outstretched. She has braced herself on my forearms.

“Woah, thanks!” She peered over her shoulder at me and nodded her head.

“Aw, our Jinki, ever the hero,” Jonghyun’s voice came from behind us, and Ji-Eun jumped in surprise. I turned my head back as far as I could to see my friend standing on the other side of the merry-go-round. He had sand stuck to him all over, and he was holding my hat.

I felt the pressure come off my arms as Ji-Eun straightened up. “Oh, hi, Jonghyun-sshi,” she bowed awkwardly at him. He returned the gesture and walked over to our side of the ride.

“Here you go hyung,” he smiled as he handed me my hat, and I plopped it back on my head. I smiled my thanks.

“Have you been buried in the sandbox this whole time?” I asked as I chuckled. Jonghyun ruffled his hair and small grains came tumbling down.

“I kinda… took a nap.” He grinned sheepishly. “My face was uncovered, and it was warm, and I didn’t sleep last night and-”

“I get it,” I stopped him. “I thought you would have gone home, that’s all.” Ji-Eun looked at us questioningly. “Ah, Jonghyun and I came here to kill time before I met you at your place,” I summed up.

“Ah, OK,” she nodded, understanding.

We stood there for a long time chatting, just the three of us. As the conversation wore on, I saw Ji-Eun get more comfortable with Jonghyun. This made me happy; maybe if she could let her shyness melt away around everyone, things would turn around for her.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed. “It’s already after 5 and we still have our English homework to get through!”

“Aigoo, we should get going,” I agreed. “See you tomorrow, Jonghyun!” We “brohugged,” he and Ji-Eun shook hands, and we went our separate ways; Ji-Eun and I back to her house, and Jonghyun back to his place.

“So, Jinki,” Ji-Eun started once we were out of the park, “you said you were having problems with English?”

“Just speaking it,” I replied. “I can write it fine, but when I’m talking in English, I just… forget which order the words are supposed to go in, how certain words are pronounced. Things like that.” I shrugged as I looked at the sidewalk at my feet.

“English is a difficult language to learn,” she noted, and I bobbed my head in agreement.

“I try to just memorize what’s in the textbook, but there’s more to it than that.” I shook my head.

“Very true,” she replied, then switched things up on me; she started talking in English. “So, to get you used to the language, we will talk in English for the rest of the day!”

I stopped in my tracks and blinked a hard a couple of times. I started to mutter something in Korean, but she cut me off. “No! No Korean! English only!” She turned around and grinned widely at me, but her expression had a tinge of evilness to it. “Total immersion is the key to learning a language!”

I had no idea what she just said. I narrowed my eyes at and started, “How can you-?”

“Speak English so well?” She finished for me, and I nodded. “I have family in California!”

Wow, sorry this took so long! Life’s been crazy. @@;

Do you guys like these Jinki POV chapters? They’re different to write. XD

Please let me know what you think! Feedback is good and encourages me to write more! ^___^

Take care! :D

EDIT: Fixed the spacing. XD