Plan A:      

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"I have about an hour until my next class," I said as we exited room 120, "You wanna grab some lunch?"

"Actually," Hye Mi flashed me a menacing grin, "I think we should head over to my house and get started on that make over."

"Today?  But I don't want to be late to class," I apprehensively bit my bottom lip, "Can we just do it tomorrow?"

"I only live, like, five minutes from here," she began her persuasion, "And how long could it possibly take to change your clothes? And do your hair.  And style your makeup."

I stared at for a moment, wary to comply.  But in the end, she won me over as she usually does.  "Whatever," I shrugged, "Let's just hurry up and get this done with."

 

 

 

She dragged me into her bedroom and immediately began sifting through her drawers.  I cringed, watching her skim through the various items of clothing as she tossed them over her shoulder and onto the floor behind her, examining each with a scrutinzing eye.

I considered my typical choice in wardrobe to have a certain girlish charm, but I had really only dressed so femininely (you know, dresses, bejeweled necklaces, the whole shabang) on special occassions.  Honestly, I didn't find skirts particularly flattering to my legs.  If I felt that I looked decent in skirts and not like a stubby-legged cow, of course I'd wear skirts more often.  Not to mention my grace.  I could barely remain steady on my own two feet, and Hye Mi expects me to wear heels?

Well, I suppose today is a special occassion, I had reassured myself, Today is the day that Kim Jongdae will fall in love with me.

 

"Just look at this!" Hye Mi cheered with a giddy shriek.  She handed me a bundle of clothes, "I just know you'll look amazing!"

I surveyed the outfit: it was pretty, I admit, but I doubt it would look so pretty once it was on me.  Holding the white skirt to my waist, I scrunched my nose in disapproval.

"Are you sure?" I attempted to ease my way into an excuse as to not wear the outift, "I don't even think we're the same size. I mean you're just so thin and-"

"Jae Min," she shut me up, "It's not like you've never borrowed my jeans before, and they actually look better on you.  And you promised you'd try my plan.  Now just shut up and go change."

She shooed me into the bathroom.  Sitting the bunch of clothing on the counter, I locked the door behind myself.  My reflection in the mirror above the sink seemed to be staring back at me as if to say, Do you honestly think this will work?

"Just try," I spoke softly to myself, inspiritting nod, "Just one day."

I slipped out of my jeans and into the skirt; surprsingly, it fit.  I equipped the rest of the outfit, including the assortment of golden bracelets and three charmed necklaces. I tucked the soft, pink hem of the shirt into the skirt, and examined myself in the mirror, checking from various angles.

"Not too bad," I smiled, though my legs still felt exposed underneathe the skirt.

"Are you done?" Hye Mi called from outside of the bathroom, "Let me see! Let me see!"

I pulled open the door slowly.

"You look perfect!  Better than me!" she clasped her hands, and with a wink, she added, "Let's just hope Jongdae thinks so, too~"

"Alright," I cheekily grinned, but I could feel my cheeks reddening, "Now can we please get some lunch?"

But Hye Mi insisted on styling my hair into some sort of braided up do and giving me the "ulzzang look", as she called it, with some make up.  After she arranged the fringe of my bangs for a good three minutes,  we were finally ready to leave.  I knelt beside the door and began slding my feet into my tennishoes.

"Oh, no..." she chuckled.  From the shoe closet, she pulled two white, heeled shoes (more  specifically, "pumps").  "You're wearing these," she cocked her head to one side.

"I suppose I can try," I pursed my lips as I took the shoes from her hand.  Cautiously, I inserted my feet.  Using the wall as a source of balance, I climbed to a standing position.  I stood tall, the shoes somehow alligning my back into flawless posture, and for a moment, it didn't seem as though it would be so difficult.  But then I stepped forward.  I wavered side to side, my knees buckling, before shrieking and clinging to the wall once again.

"These things are going to kill me!" I paniced, with widened eyes.

"Nonsense," Hye Mi gripped my shoulders, "It just takes a little practice.  Try again."

 

"Oh my god!" she howled with laughter, "What are you doing?"

"Walking!"

"You look like you have a stick up your or something," she brought her hand to , snickering at my awkward sort of crab walk.

"If I starighten my legs, I'll fall," I slumped my shoulders.

"Trust me," she bit back another round of laughter, "Falling would be a heck of a lot less embarrassing than that."

"This was a bad idea," I leaned over to remove the shoes with a defeated sigh.

"No!" she blurted, "I'll help you, okay?"

She guided me back to the car, my arm hooked  through hers for balance.  With the added 10 centimeters, I was finally as tall as Hye Mi was in flats. (I actually forbade her from wearing heels in my presence.  It only make my 155 centimeters of height seem even smaller)  But despite the pleasure of seeing over her head, the height was not worth the pain of my aching feet.  Although, my legs did look quite nice.

"Here's the plan," she started as she ignited the car's engine and pulled into the street, "You're going to strut into the cafeteria, looking as beautiful as ever, and Jongdae will fall in love with you."

"The hours of meticulous consideration really seemed to have paid off," I rolled my eyes.

"Plan A is flawless!" she beamed with jubilation and an unreal amount of optimism.

"Wait, what? Plan A?" I gawked, "You mean, there are more steps?"

"Sort of," she explained, "The others aare just back up plans.  You know, if Plan A by some chance fails, but it won't.  Because it's flawless!"

"What exactly are the other plans?" I inquired nervously.

"That is a good question."

".........," I waited for her to continue.

"Well?" I peeked my eyebrows.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there," she dismissed the subject.

"This is not going to end well," I grumbled, sinking into my seat.  I hid my blushing face behind my hands.  I could already feel the embarrassment to come...

 

 

We arrived to the school with roughly 15 minutes of lunch break remaining.  Though apprehensive, I followed Hye Mi into the cafeteria and readied myself to set Plan A into action.  I toddled alongside Hye Mi, still off balance in the heeled shoes.  Beside the door of the cafeteria building, we peered through the window.

"Let's just hope Jongdae eats here," she surveyed the room in search of him.

"He and his friends sit at the second table from the left wall everyday," I informed her.

She looked up at me with pursed lips.

"What?" I slumped my shoulders.

"Stalker."

"I'm not!  I just-"

"Whatever," grabbing my elbow, she pulled me inside, "Okay, game plan: get a trey of lunch.  Then walk around Jongdae's table, be sure to make brief eye contact and smile.  Then come and talk to me as if he's of no interest to you.  Oh, and remember to giggle alot: guys find that adorable."  She took my camera from around my neck, "I'll hold this for you; now, knock 'em dead!"

Straightening my back, I stepped forward only to pause myself.   "Are you sure this will work?" I winced, glancing back at Hye Mi, "Because I really-"

"You got this!" she enthused, slapping my rear as a sign of encouragement.  Swatting her hand away, I willed myself forward.  As I walked down the aisle between the rows of cafe tables, I could feel people's attention shifting to me.

"Is that Jae Min?" I heard a boy murmur.

"I barely recognized her!" another remarked.

My face reddened.  I knew this was stupid.  My lips twisted in apprehension.

"She looks good," someone chimed.

My face reddened deeper, but this time, I was flattered.  I found that I was usddenly gifted with an unprecedented sense of confidence.  I should have known not to doubt Hye Mi!  My optimism for her absurd plan lifted.  I continued on, standing tall and proud like a runway model.  I chanced a look at Jongdae's table, and as usual, neither he or his friends paid me any mind.

Giggle.  Guys find that adorable, I reminded myself.

I forced a girlish chuckle.  "Teehee~" I smiled widely.  Based on the peculiar reactions of the surrounding people, I appeared more delirious than cute.  Okay, no, not like that.

I stood in the lunch line, waiting to be served.  Rice. Kimchi. Soup.  The woman behind the counter dumped a serving of each onto my trey.

"Thank you," I slid them my payment and turned to find Hye Mi.

Across the cafeteria, she signalled me with two raised thumbs and a beaming grin.  As I walked toward her, I gathered every positive  thought and scrap of confidence within me, preparing myself to pass Jongdae's table.

Oh crap. He's still not looking, I paniced, but did not allow it to break my poise, Get his attention...uh..sashay!

I strutted onward, my  hips swaying ever so slightly.  Unfortunately, I hadn't taken into account my ability, or lack there of, to walk in high heels, and as soon as I stepped beside his table, I lost all sense of balance (and my pride).  My ankle twisted beneathe me and I collapsed to the ground.  Stupid gravity.  I shrieked; my trey tossed into the air, and my last view before impact was of Hye Mi cringing.

Well atleast Jongdae noticed me for once...

My food plummeted to the earth seconds after I did, staining my borrowed clothes with hot soup and my styled hair with rice.  The food splashed in all directions, showering not only myself, but Jongdae with my lunch as well....  The burn of my reddening cheeks only worsened upon realizing that I had fallen directly onto his lap.

My head had crashed onto his knees; his hand cupped beneathe the back of my neck.  This was an image I had often daydreamed of, but not like this...He stared down at me, his eyes wide and obviously suppressing laughter.  My soup dripped from the tip of his nose onto my forehead.  The sight of him from this angle would have been beautiful, had I not been mortified.

"Can I help you?" he snickered.

That was the first full sentence he'd ever spoken to me.  I should have been ecstatic!  That should have been a day of elation!  It should have been the highlight of my existance, but it only made me wish to coil into a ball and die.

"Teehee?" I managed a weak simper.  I jumped to my feet, my mind having recovered from the initial shock.  "Oh God," I paniced, "I'm so sorry!  Let me help, uh-"

I leaned over his table, craning my arm to reach the stack of napkins at its center.  As I drew back my arm to dab his hair dry, I only happened to knock over his trey, coating him with additional rice and soup over his lap.

"Gah!" he yelped, jumping back.

"Oh my God!" I blurted, "Oh, I'm so so sorry!"

I bent down to dry his drenched shirt and jeans with the paper towels.

"Hey!" he stumbled back, "Watch your hands!"

My eyes doubled in size.   "Sorry!  I-I didn't notice," I stammered.  Patting his clothes dry is more awkward than helpful when it's a person's crotch that is soaked...

"I'm going to leave now," I hid my face behind my hand.

At this point, the whole cafeteria had uproared with howling laughter.  Especially Jongdae's friends.  This is it. This will be my last day on Earth. I will die of embarrassment, and no one will attend my funeral!

"Oh my God," Hye Mi gawked as I hurried past her.  She chased after me outside. It wasn't that bad" she lied trhough gritted teeth, "I mean, you made physical contact with him...that's a start..."

"I'm going to go throw myself into traffic now," I groaned.

"Jae Min, I know you're embarrassed but-"

"Embarrassed?" I scoffed, "This is the worst moment in my entire life.  There's no recovering from this!"

"I bet tomorrow Jongdae won't even remember," she rassured me.  I narrowed my eyes.

"Okay, yeah," her shoulders slumped, "This definately decreases the effectiveness of Operation JaeDae."

"JaeDae?"

"Your ship name," she rolled her eyes as if it were obvious, "But we won't give up!  I'm going down with this ship!"

"Yeah," I hissed, "Down like the Titanic."

"Jack and Rose loved each other!"

"Whatever," I held out my hand, "Just give me my camera.  I need to clear my mind."

She placed the camera in my palm, and to my surprise, it had been activated.

"Did you look through my phtots?" I accused her, looking at the digital screen.

"No," she mumbled, "I took a few..."

Entering the photo gallery of the camera, my face reddened once again.  I had expected to find a goofy selca she'd taken, but instead, Hye Mi had documented my humiliation.  The first image depicted me, like a model, strutting across the room.  Surprisingly, I looked good.  That is of course, until you scrolled to the following pictures.  Me tripping.  Me falling.  Me dumping food on my crush.

"Hye Mi!" I indignantly whailed, "Why?"

"What?" she shrugged, "I think I'm going to make a commemorative scrapbook of Operation JaeDae.  Can you email me those shots?"

With an aggravated groan, I spun on my heel  (nearly collapsing again) and stormed off.  At the moment, I didn't really care that I'd miss my graphic design class.  I've had no absences yet anyways, and I was far too embarrassed to show my face in public.  Ever.

I continued my walk around the campus until I had reached the park behind the main building.  I slumped on a stone bench along the sidewalk, burying my face in my hands.  I stripped my feet of those damned heels, and I lobbed them into the distance.  They crashed beside a tree, set in the grass as if someone had just stepped out of them.  They looked a bit lonely, but something about the sight presented me with a sense of freedom.  Using my camera, I snapped a photo:  Empty shoes beside a lone standing tree, yards of green grass rolling infront of them, seemingly endless.

I turned off the camera.

"So much for JaeDae," I sighed, "I completely !"

"So stupid!" I berated myself, slapping my forehead with closed fists.  "It is not that hard to walk in high heels!  Way to screw things up. AH!"  I let free an exasperated scream, startling some students I hadn't noticed strolling by.

And I'm insane, too.  Great.

I suppose I couldn't hide all day, so I gathered what little remaining dignity I had and returned to class ater cleaning my hair of today's lunch, though a large stain did still begrime my once striking outfit.  But it is Hye Mi's dirty laundry, anyway.

 

 

The day passed torcherously slowly, but eventually I was dismissed from my final class.  I joined Hye Mi in the parking lot and slid into the passenger seat of her car, scowling passive-aggressively.

"Are you still upset about lunch?" she sighed.

"No, I'm not upset," I feigned security; then snapped, "I'm furious! That humiliated me, Hye Mi."

"I'm sorry, sweetie" she sympathised, "I can't help but feel this is my fault." 

"Isn't it?"

"Yes it is," she suddenly perked up, "And I'll make it up to you.  I'll fix it!"

"I think Plan A was enough," I gestured toward the stained clothing.

"No, no," she grinned, "Just you wait and see."  She glanced to my feet, "Are you barefoot?"

"Oh," I wiggled my toes, "Yeah."

"Where are my shoes?"

"In the park."

"Why?"

"I left them there."

"Dude!  Those weren't cheap," she grumbled.

Soon she had pulled to the curb in front of my house.  I couldn't wait to just have dinner and conclude the absolutely wonderous first day of the new semester.  Bidding Hye Mi farewell, I turned and walked up the brick path to my front door.   I entered bllithely.  After a gruelling, mortifying day of school, I was glad to return to the comfort of my home.

I freed myself of the soup stained clothing and instead lounged in my pajamas, whhich consisted of a T-shirt twice my size and underwear.  From the living room, the beep of the mircowave called to me.  I slid across the tiled kitchen floor in my socks to retrieve the fresh serving of ramyeon I had prepared for myself, and taking the heated bowl in my hands, I skipped down the hall and nto my bedroom.  I placed the bowl to cool beside my laptop on the desk.  Eagerly, I powered on the computer.  I scrolled over the various files and selected the one entitled Perfection, and I uploaded the three photos of Jongdae I had taken that day using the USB drive of my digital camera.  With those added to the folder, there was now a total of 97 images.  I sighed wistfully.

"Stalker," the familiar voice chuckled over my shoulder.

I nearly collapsed to the floor, startled.  "God damn ot, Hye Mi!" I squaked, "What are you doing here?"

"I let myself in," she took a seat on my bed, "Anyways, I have exciting news!  Oh, and I'd like my clothes back."

"I'll wash them for you first," I offered.

"Okay, thanks," she smiled, "Now, as I was saying, I've already devised Plan B."

"Please no-"

"No, this time it's perfect. Think about it. What do guys find ier than bad girls?"

"Bad girls?" I repeated for clarification.

"It's flawless!"

"You're insane."

But eventually, Hye Mi and her insanity were able to persuade me...

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Author's note:

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So, here it is, the much anticipated second chapter (^-^)  Again, I apologize for not updating often, but as I said, this story isn't my top priority.  Currently, I'm taking exams at my school and working on a first story.  Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter~  I took me quite some time to write,  but I think it turned out cute.   

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