Part I

You know what says Christmas to me? LEE JINKI! Let me tell you why.

Last year, a friend and I decided to go skiing during our Christmas vacation. Now, I have to tell you, this was a mistake right from the beginning. Firstly, I don’t know how to ski. The closest I had ever come was once when I slid down my driveway without falling. Secondly, I am the reason Murphy’s Law was created. I’m sure of it. I’m clumsy and if something can go wrong for me, it will. And Third and finally, I was poor. I mean, almost poverty level poor. I couldn’t afford a skiing trip but my friend, which I met at work, was just as rich as I was poor. Well, her family was anyway. She was paying for everything. EVERYTHING. She bought us both skiing outfits, skis included. She also bought us lodge outfits which she said would get the most use if we were lucky. I wasn’t sure what that meant other than we were going to ski one day and spend the rest of our time in the lodge drinking and flirting with hot ski instructors. It would have happened just that way too if it weren’t for my bad luck problem.
The day we arrived, there was some sort of skiing competition and the trails were closed. We put on our lodge outfits and headed for the very crowded lodge. Besides the competition, there was some singing group from Korea staying there and the lodge was filled with a lot more young girls than hot ski instructors. I wasn’t interested in either the skiers or the group so I headed for the bar and ordered a peppermint hot chocolate.
My lodge outfit must have been working because as I sat there, I was hit on by three men and one woman. I spied a quiet couch all by itself and out of the way by the fire so I took my mug and, as inconspicuous as I could be, I made it my home for the rest of the evening. It was a little hot in that corner, which is probably why no one else had sat there, but I didn’t mind.
The resort we had come to was some ritzy place that a lot of celebrities were known to come to so it was sort of glamorous but it was tastefully done. It wasn’t cold like most of those places are. It was actually pretty cozy for it’s size and the amount of people that were milling around. I liked watching everyone else. My friend had found her hot guy of the night and was engaged in another corner with him. I was glad because I was quite enjoying being alone with my hot chocolate. We had gotten here in the afternoon so the competition had been winding down and now most of those people were gone. There were still a few little groups of teenage girls wandering around and squealing every now and then but they were also mostly dwindling away.
As I was people watching, I felt someone sit on the other side of the couch. I turned and saw, sitting cross-legged in a giant knitted purple sweater and two different colored socks, a very cute Asian man who was nursing his own hot chocolate. He took a drink, looked up shyly at me and said, “Hello.”
I noticed that he had gotten whipped cream on the tip of his nose and being the uncultured person I am, I burst out laughing. Apparently I insulted him because he frowned and looked away.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “It’s just that you got some whipped cream on your nose and I’m very rude. Please forgive me.”
He laughed and wiped the cream from the end of his nose. “It’s okay. I understand.”
We both sat there in awkwardness after that so I turned back around to continue watching everyone else trying to hook up.
“My name is Key,” I heard from behind me.
I turned to face him and said, “Hello, I’m Elizabeth.”
“Are you here for Christmas?” he asked.
“No. Just for a few days. What about you?”
“Oh no. We are having a rest before starting our shows.” He took another drink, turning the cup to avoid the whipped cream.
“Shows?” I asked.
“Do you know K-pop?”
“Not really. Sorry.” I was a little embarrassed.
“Have you heard of Shinee?” he asked.
“It sounds familiar. My friend listens to some K-pop and I think she has some Shinee songs on her phone.”
“I would like to invite you to give it a try sometime. I think we are pretty good.” He smiled a most mischievous smile. “Actually, I would like to invite you to come and see us if you would like to. I have a few guest passes in my room if you’d like to go and get one later.”
I tried to figure out if this was a pickup line. I decided he was being sincere so I said, “Sure. I’d love to.”
We spent another few hours beside the fire talking and laughing and playing some checkers. He gave out a few autographs and took pictures with some of the squealy girls. I noticed some other Korean men hanging close to where we were and realized that it was no coincidence. Those were body guards. Maybe this Shinee group was a bigger deal than I thought. Maybe I should get an autograph too!
Two very good looking young Korean men came and talked to Key. He introduced them as Onew and Jonghyun. They only seemed to speak basic English whereas Key was very fluent so he spoke to them in Korean and I had no idea what was being said. I just sat there and smiled. As they walked away, the one he called Onew turned back and winked. Very nice, I thought. Coming and going. I smiled to myself for my secret pervertedness and when I looked at Key, he was giving me a knowing grin.
“Uh huh,” he said.
“What?”
“I saw that.” He laughed.
I didn’t say anything. I just jumped his last king and declared my victory.
He tickle attacked me.
All in all I had a very pleasant night. I walked with him to get my guest pass and then he sweetly escorted me to my room. I went to sleep with a smile on my face.
Part II coming soon...

Notes