Fool-Proof Plans
For most of J.K’s childhood, Mari had been the close friend of his older brother Joon, the eldest of the three brothers. J.K came last, only just becoming legal to drink the past September. She was the same age as Joon, roughly three years older than J.K and only one year older than the middle brother, Tae. She had been at every birthday party, every family dinner, and every weekend to simply hang with the brothers. Mari was the kind of person that you found hard to dislike. She was soft spoken, had the kindest smile, and always stood her ground for what she believed in. Her cheeks were naturally rosy and she had this short chocolate hair that framed her face perfectly. Who wouldn’t be charmed by her? But sadly for J.K., the same girl who practically watched him grow up saw him as nothing more than a boy who was still growing. He thought he would be used to it by now because she had always treated him this way. Even at 21, he was still being treated as a child. Strangers always thought he was younger from first glance because of his his boyish charm, his soft brown hair, and those brown, doe-like eyes of his. He didn’t mind it, but he couldn’t stop the frustration he felt every time that treatment came from Mari. Mari always gushed over his youthfulness, used the words “cute” and “adorable” to describe him constantly, and she was the definition of maternal when it came to him. He could bump his arm and the never ending coddling would begin.
“Just show her that you aren’t a little boy anymore.” Tae spoke as he tapped away on the game controls, legs folded on the bed that occupied J.K.’s room.
“You make it sound so easy but you don’t understand. She just finds me ‘so adorable?’” J.K. groaned, mimicking Mari’s voice towards the end.
A triumphant yell rang out of Tae as he beat J.K. in yet another round of Mario Kart.
“Then, I guess you just have to step up your game.” The middle child said with a shrug, glancing over to the sulking boy.
“Yeah, and how am I supposed to do that?” J.K. questioned, looking back at Tae for some sort of helpful answer.
Tae paused for a second, biting at his bottom lip in thought before smiling. “I’ll help you! Together, we’ll come up with a fool-proof plan to get her to notice you!”
J.K. was skeptical, only imagining the destined-to-fail plan Tae had conjured up, but he was desperate to break that barrier.
“What about Joon? He’ll be completely against this.”
“We just won’t tell him.”
“Well,” J.K sighed, “what’s your first plan then?”
Plan #1- Dress Older, Status: Active
“Do I really have to wear this get up?” J.K. asked as he examined himself in the mirror.
“Trust me, this will make you look more manly!” Tae said with a grin, eyes looking over J.K’s new look with pride.
“I wanted to look older, but not 40 years older,” J.K. groaned, rolling his eyes. Tae had succeeded in making him look older alright as well as ridiculous. Poor J.K. was dressed in a brown corduroy suit with a matching hat, and suspenders. Now a suit probably didn’t sound bad, did it? Except it looked like a suit someone’s grandfather would wear. Tae even thought it would be a good idea to wear a ridiculous faux mustache. J.K. was beginning to regret ever letting Tae help him out.
“Now, go out there and make your move!” Tae said enthusiastically while pushing J.K. out the door into the living room where Mari happened to be with Joon. The minute he stepped out, a muffled laughter could be heard, the dimples on Joon’s face trying their hardest not to surface. As Mari’s eyes glanced up to look at the boy who had come to join them, a hand clamped over her mouth. It was hard for her to hold back the chuckle that was begging to escape.
“W-What’s all this for J.K.?” She asked with a smile, trying her hardest not to laugh at the boy’s get up.
“Thought I’d start dressing my age.”
“And since when did you become 65?” Joon interjected with a teasing look. J.K. looked away with an embarrassed hue on his cheeks.
“Shut up,“ J.K. said quickly before going back into the room where Tae, his co-planner laughed up a storm.
Status: Failed
Plan #2- Fan Letters, Status:Active
“Now, we both know that first plan was kind of a failure,” Tae said, nervously chuckling while rubbing the back of his neck.
“Kind of?” J.K. said with a roll of his eyes.
“But this one should definitely work.”
J.K. sat in the living room where Mari was that day, the television playing though no one was watching it.
“Did you sleep well J.K.?” She asked with a smile, her elbow resting against the arm of the couch.
“Yeah, I did.”
“That’s good. A good night’s rest is what young boys need.”
J.K. sighed, glancing off to the side as she spoke, that hatred filling him up again at her words.. Suddenly, Tae came running in, a box filled to the brim with letters containing fancy lettering. Perfume scents could be smelled throughout the room and Tae looked slightly exhausted.
“J.K.! You got some fan letters from a lot of pretty girls!” He cooed out, dropping the box in front of J.K..
“I may have opened some out of jealousy and they all gush about your manliness.” J.K.’s cheeks flushed lightly, stealing a quick glance at Mari to see that the letters had grabbed her attention.
“O-of course they would. I’m manly after all.”
“Oh, that’s what you needed my stationary for?” Joon asked curiously as he strolled into the living room.
“Your project was re creating fan letters or something?” Tae’s eyes widened as he began to speak.
“I-I have no idea what you’re talking about. These are letters actual fans wrote for our dear J.K..” J.K covered his face, knowing that their plan was ruined.
Status: Failed
Plan #3:A New Plot?, Status: Active
“We should just give up,” J.K sighed, throwing himself into his bed.
“We can’t! We’ve just begun J.K.,” Tae said, sitting beside his beaten brother. “I have more ideas if you’re interested.”
J.K. turned towards Tae and shook his head.
“No, it’s fine,” J.K. said as he placed his arm across his eyes, sighing loudly. “She’s always going to see me as a little boy and there isn’t much I can do.
“But we can still try-”
J.K. cut Tae off, softly throwing the nearest pillow at him.
“No! I love you but the last two plans were a total bust.”
Status: Shut Down…
Plan#4-???, Status:???:
J.K. had been sulking since the last failure and his brothers didn’t know how to help him. Tae went to Joon and together they decided what he needed was the one thing that was making him sulk and it was just a phone call away.
“J.K?” His ears perked at the feminine voice that called out his name.
“Mari?” He called back shyly, pulling himself off from the bed and dragging himself out to the living room. She stood there, cheeks rosy from the cold weather, her fingers delicately working off the wool scarf from around her neck.
“The boys said you wanted to see me?” She said with a sweet smile. He could already tell what the boys were up to and he was against it, but he couldn’t just make her go all the way back home.
“I just wanted to hang out.”
“What do you want to do?”
She had made herself at home on the couch and all he wanted to do was wrap her up in his arms. Instead, he shyly sat beside her, flicking on the television.
“We can watch a movie if you’d like.” Though they were enjoying the other’s company, a subtle tension filled the air and it was time to break the silence.
“So...what was up this week?” Mari asked softly, looking over to J.K. “You were acting strange.” J.K. blushed furiously, making sure to avoid eye contact.
“N-nothing much…” He trailed off and she shook head, a small smile playing on your lips.
“I know something is up, stop being a baby and tell me.” He snapped his head towards her with a serious expression.
“I’m not a baby, Mari” The sudden snap from the him caught her off guard, eyes widening. “And I’m sick of you treating me like a little kid. I’m not a child anymore and I want to prove that to you.” With his sudden words, he grabbed her wrist firmly, pulling her closer. “Tae had been trying to help me make you realize that I’m not the little boy you treat me like. I like you Mari and it’s hard for me to express my feelings when you’re constantly treating me like I’m 12!” His voice had risen a bit. The struggle evident on his face. He tried reading her face for any sign of emotion.
“You like me?” Were the only words she could mutter as he sat there, staring with a hard look that quickly melted into a look of fear. J.K. hadn’t meant to just spill out his feelings there. All he wanted to do was run but he already had come this far.
“Yeah,” he paused, timidly glancing away. “Is that alright?” He couldn’t believe he had the ability to just express his feelings to her and yet he had did just that. Though he didn’t know exactly what she was thinking, her pink lips curled into a smile which he took as a good sign.
“Of course that’s okay.”
“Thank goodness,” J.K. started, a sigh of relief coming out. “I thought for a moment that I ruined everything. She just chucked and shook her head.
“You didn’t ruin anything.” She reassured J.K. “So,” Mari started, a smile forming. “I think a first date is long overdue.”
Status: Complete