I Like Your Face ~ Colby Brock

Chapter 2

That following day at school, since finding the courage to tell Colby that I'm utterly infatuated with him, I decided that I'll go tell my crush who's on the dance team, that I like him. His name is Eric Yoon. He is a Korean-American, originally from Seattle, Washington, but moved here because of his dad's job. Eric looks like this:

(Pictured above: Jay Park of ENHYPEN)
"Hey, Eric. Could I talk to you for just a second?" I asked.
"Yeah, of course. How's it going, Rae?" Eric asked. All my close friends call me Rae.
"Ah, nothing. I just wanted to say that I have a huge crush on you." I said.
"Really, 'cause I do too. I've liked you for a while now. I might be a grade above you, but that has nothing to do with that. I'd love to go out with you." Eric said.
"Wait, for real?" I asked.
"Well, yeah. You're super sweet. You always say hi to me in the hallway. You'd make an awesome girlfriend." Eric said.
"Ahh, okay. So, would you like to go out with me?" I asked.
"Duh. Could I get your number?" Eric asked.
"Yeah." I said.
Eric hands me his phone and I type my number into his phone. I save my name as: My GF<3. I allow Eric to type his number into my phone and he saves his name as: My BF<3. We also have matching profile pictures. We pose with a Korean finger heart.

With that, Eric and I are officially dating. We're just a couple middle-schoolers experiencing their first relationship. One of the first things I asked Eric was if he knew how to speak any Korean. He explained to me that he only speaks Korean at home, and he mostly speaks English everywhere else. He told me that his Korean isn't the best, but he can try his best to teach me Korean. I would love to learn Korean. It seems like one of the easiest of the East Asia languages. Out of Mandarin & Cantonese Chinese, Japanese, and Korean, Korean seems like the easiest one. After school gets out, Eric invites me over to his apartment. I come over to his apartment and I get to meet his parents and his older brother and younger sister. His older brother's name is Kino Jeong, and his little sister's name is Jacqueline Jeong. That name, Kino, sounds very familiar, and I'm trying to think of where I've heard it from. Anyway, Eric's older brother is 2 years older, making him 16. Jacqueline is 1 year younger than Eric, making her 13. Eric is the middle child, at 14, I see. Eric's father's name is Yoon Jeonghan. Eric's mother's name is Yoon Min Jeong. Eric's father is a handsome man in his 30's. Eric's mother is a very beautiful woman. Her skin is flawless, free of any blemish.

After meeting Eric's parents and siblings, Eric takes me to his room. His room is covered in anime posters. He has shelves with manga and manhwa. I spot one of the posters that has a K-pop group on it. Curious about it, I ask Eric about it.
"What is that?" I asked.
"That's a K-pop group called EXO. I can show you one of their music videos." Eric said.
"Oh, I'd love to see it." I said.
"Okay, this is called CALL ME BABY." Eric said.
"Oh, all in caps?" I asked.
"Yup. Oh, let me turn on captions for you. I can understand the song without captions, but you probably need them." Eric said.
"Yeah, I can't understand Korean." I said.
"Thought so." Eric said, laughing.
"Wait, this came out 3 years ago?" I asked.
"Yeah." Eric said.
"Wait a minute," I said, pausing the video, "Who is that?"
"That's Kim Jongin, known by his stage name Kai." Eric said.
"Who is that guy?" I asked.
"That one is Byun Baekhyun." Eric said.
"Wow, that dance looks fun." I said.
"I know how do it." Eric said.
"You should show me after this." I said.
"I'll show you a more recent music video after this." Eric said.
"Oh, okay." I said.
The next music video that Eric shows me is Ko Ko Bop. This music video has a lot more bright colors than the previous music videos. Whoa, Baekhyun has red highlights and a mullet. I like Chanyeol's fluffy lilac hair. Okay, I vibe with this music video. Except, why does Kai have dreads in his hair. That's a little concerning.
"Why does Kai have dreads? Isn't that hairstyle only for black people, or African Americans?" I asked.
"Yeah, in K-pop there's this issue called 'cultural appropriation,' where they'll put idols in outfits and give them hairstyles that don't pertain to their own culture. Where they try to represent a culture that is not their own. In other words; it's another form of racism, and it's present in K-pop, unfortunately." Eric explained.
"Oh, wow. That's bad." I said.

After watching about 10 music videos by EXO, Eric decides to show me his dance skills. He starts with my request to do the choreography of CALL ME BABY. I watch in awe as Eric dances right in front of me. I've always appreciated good dancers, and that's why I had the biggest crush on Eric for the longest time. Not only was he super attractive, but he dances well. Then, as I'm about to leave his apartment, Eric pulls me by the wrist, pulling me into his lap.
"Wait a minute, babe." Eric said, then he kisses me passionately.
"That was my first kiss." I said, blushing and in shock.
"Good." Eric said, laughing.
"Okay, I'm gonna go now." I said.
"Alright, see you tomorrow at school, babe." Eric said.
I swiftly leave Eric's apartment, having been accosted by Eric. I ask my dad to come pick me up and I go home. I decide to take my mind off my first kiss and do some homework. I do some of my English and math homework. While I'm not the best at math, but I try my best.