LINK: 애교 (aegyo)
Currently listening to: LALALALA – Stray Kids
잡생각, 고민, 오키도키
Random thoughts, worries, okidoki안 해, 뻘짓, 도피도피
I don’t do it, I do stupid things, I runaway and run away여긴 벌집, 벌투성이
This is a beehive, full of bees피할 수 없음 쏘이고 보자
Can’t avoid it. Let’s get stung.
Get ready for ultra cringe.
“오빠, 나 예뻐?” said in a pitch a few octaves higher than usual.
Translation: “Oppa, am I pretty?”
Oppa is a Korean word used by females to address older men, typically those who are not relatives, it literally means older brother but it is also used with male friends, acquaintances, or boyfriends. Men who are much older are referred to as 아저씨 (ajusshi – mister/uncle).
That line never worked for me. Like, not once. But my former roommate, Yummy? It worked every damn time.
I’m not petite. I’m 5’6”, have a naturally RBF or give off the Gen Z stare, and there’s something about me that makes people assume I’m intimidating? IDK. Yummy, on the other hand, was a whole vibe. 5’2”, half-Japanese, half-Korean, and looked like she stepped out of an anime. She had that adorable baby voice, doe-eyed, whatever clothes she put on looked phenomenal on her, and that worked for her cause she was tiny at 90 pounds. Guys lined up for her, practically tripped over themselves to carry her bag, buy her food, or anything she wanted. Often times, I would come home from work and there would be a simp waiting for her outside.
Me? Not so much. My guy friends said that I looked more like Yummy’s bodyguard. I remember one of my male friends said that I was “sturdy” cause I was taller than most Asian girls and not frail looking. As if I was a bookshelf or table? And it’s no wonder that I have a complex, right? FFS.
There was one night at the club that still makes me laugh. I was there with my guy friends, dancing the night away. Later in the evening, another squad of our mutual friends showed up, completely lit. One of them, Jeff, started eyeing me across the room. He staggered over, stopped right in front of me and blurted out,
“모델이세요?”
(Are you a model?)
I stared at him, tapped a finger against my cheek and said,
“Jeff, 오빠… 저 로지예요.”
(Jeff, oppa… it’s me. Rojie.)
He had this Pikachu face, eyes wide open and confused.
“Fuck. Sorry, Rojie. I’m so fucked up. I didn’t know it was you. Jesus, I must’ve drank way too much.”
I just rolled my eyes and turned back to my friends like nothing happened. I wasn’t even offended. If anything, I found it to be hilarious. So hilarious in fact that for the next couple of years it became a running joke. My male friends would reenact the scene with me over and over again, embarrassing Jeff. We never let him forget it.
I might not have 애교 (aegyo – cute coquettish manner) but I bet I can make you laugh.
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