SIX HOURS; kim jongin

Hour Three

12:00

"So... what does oppa mean again?"

He shot her a grin. "You were born in April, right? I was born in January. So... I'm your oppa."

Leia raised an eyebrow mistrustfully, smiling despite herself. "I have a feeling it has a meaning you're not telling me about."

His eyes widened in a display of mock offence. "Of course not."

Leia shook her head, still smiling. "So... you're my oppa."

He couldn't hide his grin, and Leia knew there was definitely some - knowing him, flirty - connotation behind the word he wasn't telling her, when he winked and said "Damn right I am."

"Y'know as soon as we're out, I'm gonna google it." She said, warningly.

"Go ahead." He retorted. "Doesn't change the fact that you said it. I'm your oppa."

Leia shook her head. "You're such a wind-up."

"A wind-up?" He laughed. "Aw, no. You think I'm a wind-up? You should meet my friend Chanyeol. Just be thankful you weren't stuck in here with him. He'd make me look like the most sincere, sweetest guy ever."

Leia laughed. "Wow, he must be unbearable."

The guy laughed along with her, bobbing his head in a nod. "He never takes anything seriously. It drives Kyungsoo crazy, and Chanyeol knows that, so he always winds him up the most." He laughed again, then paused and sighed in a soft, nostalgic way. "I really miss that lanky prankster sometimes. And the small, stoic one too." His laughs trailed off, and he seemed to get lost in thoughts, his eyes falling to the ground, a soft sigh escaping from his slightly parted lips.

Leia sighed softly herself, and unconsciously, her lips pulled up into a smile as she watched him for a moment. He really wasn't so bad...

She tore her gaze away, and let her mind wander... she thought about the past half hour, and how it'd just flown by. After he'd said she was better off stuck in the elevator with him, Leia had buried herself in her knees, to hide her blushing cheeks... and her small smile. When enough time had passed and she got over the weird almost-butterflies feeling she'd gotten, she eventually lifted her head up, and asked "So... what are some other terms like noona?" He'd beamed at her question, his eyes lighting up as he shifted so he was sitting upright, and he said "Ok, so..."

He'd explained to her other Korean terms of affection, and respect, such as 'hyung'. And unlike in high school Spanish class... Leia was actually really interested, and listened attentively to what he was saying, asking him to repeat some things, going over each word with him, its pronunciation and meanings... Leia enjoyed it most of all though, because of how excited he seemed to be to be sharing this with her, and how enthusiastic. It was sort of endearing. Oh, to hell with sort of, it was actually pretty cute – the way his dark eyes glittered, and crinkled at the edges, the way his full lips were pulled up into a smile, the way he'd use his hands to gesture subconsciously at times. It wasn't like she was attracted to him or anything. I mean sure, she was aware even before they'd gotten stuck that he was good looking, and he had a nice voice, and yeah, he'd wound her up, but he'd also helped her out when she'd panicked, and he was actually nice to talk to, but – but she'd only known him for two hours! And heck, she didn't even know his name –

"I'm Kai, by the way."

His voice jolted Leia from her thoughts, and she blinked, looking over at him with wide eyes, and burning cheeks, and she didn't realise she'd been biting down on her lip until she applied a little pressure, and it hurt a little...