Chapter 73: Chapter 73: I’m Really Filming ‘Army Body.’ (Part 2)
I can see the other soldiers. We drove the van in and found a parking spot.
“We’re here, Sian,” Hak-gyu said. I nodded not long after.
“I guess we are.”
Jia and Hainan were sleeping. I’m quite sure they were exhausted. They didn’t dare to sleep just so they wouldn’t miss my departure. They’re so adorable. I wanted to kiss both of them, but I held back out of respect.
“Just leave them asleep.”
“Okay,” Hak-gyu answered. I got out of the car. As soon as I did, I heard my name being called out from the distance. There was even a banner. They were my fans.
“Sian~ Fighting!”
“Sian, I love you!”
“Sian! You can do it!”
There were both men and women, but the women seemed especially beautiful today.
“Heh.”
My heart fluttered at the sight.
“What’s the time?”
7 AM. I still had an hour left before I had to go in.
“They came out early today.”
I made my way towards them. I should at least take a photo with them. What else could I do? I should at least take the time to take some photos, give some autographs, and do whatever else when I still have the time.
“Hi, guys!”
“Whoooo!”
The moment I waved, everyone cried out excitedly. I approached the group, shaking hands and even taking photos. I even gave out hugs, which made my day. Since most of them were girls, it made the whole day better.
“Sian! I’ll make sure to watch every episode!” a high-schooler shouted. I gave her a hug. She squealed in excitement.
“Sian! We’ll always support you!”
“Thank you so much~”
I met eyes with another female high schooler and gave her a wink. She gasped and nearly passed out from the shock.
“Oh, are you okay?”
“I’m fine!” the girl shouted, getting right back up with a big smile. After spending some more time with the fans, I finally turned around to leave. That’s when an older man called out my name.
“Hey, Sian!”
“Yes?”
I turned my head to look at him. He had a plastic bag in one hand. It looked like there was something large in it. My guess was probably chicken.
“Eat this and stay strong!”
“Thank you!” I said, giving him my best fighting stance. Then with a final wave, I walked away from my group of fans.
“Sian, what is it?”
“Chicken.”
It smelled amazing.
“You’re going to take that in?”
“Yeah. He told me to eat it.”
“Pffft.”
Suddenly, Hak-gyu laughed. Seriously, what’s with this guy? He’s been snickering a lot this morning and the sight of it made me want to punch him in the face.
“Well, I’m leaving. Be sure to tell Jia and Hainan thank you for me.”
With that, I hoisted my bag up further and held the chicken closer to me.
“Okay. I hope you have fun!”
“Thanks.”
“But, Sian.”
“Yeah?”
“There’s a strict hierarchy in the army. You have to be careful with your superiors, okay? Don’t talk back to them and always watch your attitude. If you do something wrong, be sure to say that you’re sorry.”
“Got it,” I answered…but Hak-gyu wasn’t finished.
“You have to obey whatever they tell you! People take the military issue seriously. If you do one thing wrong, it will haunt you for the rest of your life!”
“Okay, okay. Geez. I got it. Quit nagging.”
This is starting to sound like a broken record. Jinwoo said that as well. Don’t talk back. Obey your superiors. Keep your nose clean and don’t go looking around for trouble. And most importantly, don’t act all arrogant. Just act the same charming way you did in your mukbang and you’ll be fine. And finally, act cute if you can, then you’ll become more popular than before. Of course, I had no intention to do so. And that’s when Jinwoo begged me. Just once, he pleaded. But I refused. I’m not crazy.
“Okay. Have fun.”
With a final wave, Hak-gyu left.
“I can’t wait to eat my chicken,” I said to myself. Honestly, that was the only thing I cared about.
***
I entered the training center. On the other side field, I saw a soldier standing at attention. He was wearing a red hat and a pair of sunglasses. Was he the instructor?
“That looks pretty cool. I should wear sunglasses too.”
I rummaged through my bag to take out my sunglasses and put them on. Then, I stood in front of the instructor.
Suddenly, he spoke.
“What are you doing?”
“Huh?”
“I asked, what are you doing?”
“….”
I wanted to ask what his problem was, but I was told not to talk back, so I didn’t respond.
“Are you trying to mess with me?” the instructor demanded.
I had no idea how to respond. Truly, I didn’t. I racked my brain, trying to figure out what I did wrong, but I couldn’t.
“No, I’m not.”
“Then what’s with the sunglasses? Are you here to play around? Huh? Are you?”
His voice suddenly went up by three octaves. I took off my sunglasses before throwing them towards a tree in the distance. The sunglasses caught on a branch and hung there, dangling on its hinge. A look of surprise flashed over the instructor’s face before he composed himself to turn back to me.
“What’s that?” he asked, gesturing to the chicken I was holding. Sheesh, he was rude. He couldn’t be older than his twenties. He was just asking for a punch to the face.
“It’s chicken.”
“Pffft.”
The instructor suddenly snorted. Like he couldn’t believe I’d have the audacity to bring such a thing in. I tilted my head, feeling confused. Seriously, what was going on? Maybe I should have watched the show before coming here. If this was the past, I’d simply beat them up and show them who’s boss, but…I can’t do that here.
“Did you come here thinking that it was a playground?” the instructor snapped at me.
“No, Sir.”
“What did you say?”
“No, Sir!”
“Louder!”
“No, Sir!”
“Louder!”
“I said no!”
Unfortunately, I accidentally shouted it a bit louder than intended. The instructor immediately covered his ears and when he drew back, there was blood on his hand. The instructor nearly choked at the sight.
“Uh…hmm… I’m going to the infirmary. You stay here.”
“Yes, Sir.”
The instructor left.
“What was that?”
I shrugged. Well, that was a shitty way to start the day. That totally caught me off guard. I looked at the show staff. They seemed to be enjoying themselves, purely because they were all smiling.
Anyways, while the instructor was gone, another girl walked in. She looked very young and really pretty, and there was something very sweet-looking about her. Who was she? After trying to remember, I realized who it was. She was the youngest member of the new girl group Clover. Her name was Heejin Kang, but she was really skinny. Not only that, her skin was really white. Also, her head was tiny. I think it’s smaller than mine. Basically, she just had this overall cute and lovable look about her. She just looked like one of those people you just wanted to hide away and protect forever. Unfortunately, the thing that caught my attention was that she had pizza in one hand.
“Hi! You’re Sian, right?” Heejin chirped as soon as she saw me. This was the first time we’ve met, but it seems like she already knew who I was. Then again, I am pretty famous. I became even morr popular over the past few days. Whenever the news is slow, more articles pop up about me. Because of that, even old people know me. They ask about who I am and what I do. They even say that I grew up quite well.
Anyways.
“Yes, hello.”
Since I also knew who she was, I had no problem acting happy to see her.
Then I added, “If they see you with that pizza, they might get mad.”
“Hmm? Why?” Heejin asked.
“They get all mad, thinking that you’re just here to play around.”
And here I am, still holding onto the chicken I was given. Look, a fan gave it to me okay? I couldn’t just throw it away.
“Oh, then…what do I do?” Heejin asked, looking helpless. I took the pizza from her.
“It’s okay if one of us gets punished. I’ll take the blame.”
“But…still….then I’ll feel bad…” she said. Though I noticed, she didn’t try and stop me.
Suddenly, she said, “Thanks, Sian!”
“Yep.”
This little brat.
So, anyways, here I am standing around again, when I suddenly saw a female actress in her thirties enter the field. She was incredibly beautiful. Unfortunately for me, she was already married. Then again, it’d be weird if she was in her 30’s already and still wasn’t married. Her name was Hyunjoo Kim. From what I’ve heard, she’s incredibly charismatic.
“Hello!” Heejin and I greeted at the same time. Ms. Kim greeted us with a wave and a smile. It was then that I noticed she didn’t have anything with her. Why? Why didn’t she bring anything? Both Heejin and I brought an entire bag of stuff. Suddenly, she saw our bags and her mouth fell open in surprise.
“Oh my goodness. Why did you two bring so much stuff?”
“Um…”
I didn’t know what to say. Just then, another instructor showed up. Not the one from before though, a different one this time. He stood in front of us and spoke.
“Instructor Jung had to leave due to a ruptured eardrum, so I’ll be taking over. Please listen to me carefully.”
“Okay,” we all greeted lightly.
He furrowed his brow a little. He didn’t look to be older than his late 20s. He was really tan with a broad, fit body. His face looked like one of those gym rats that did nothing but just exercise. At least, that’s what he looked like to me. His muscles looked rock solid. In fact, he looked like a real soldier. He glanced over at us, then let out a sigh before he spoke up.
“Soon, you’ll be going through a physical and a simple interview. At that time, let me ask that you dispose of your chicken and pizza.”
“Okay.”
“Okay.”
“What?”
Both Hyunjoo and I had answered readily, but Heejin had let out an exclamation of surprise. She seemed shocked that she was being asked to get rid of her pizza. Honestly, I couldn’t blame her as I was about to do the same thing. Fortunately, I heard the tone in his voice and he clearly did not want to tell us twice. So, I had just said yes obediently. To put it simply, I notice these things while Heejin doesn’t. Anyways, at Heejin’s response, the instructor seemed taken aback, but with another tone, he answered.
“I will say this again. You’ll soon be having your physical and then a quick interview after that. At that time, you will be asked to hand over your belongings.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“But a fan gave that to me,” Heejin said, taking the box of pizza from my hand.
As expected, a dark look passed over the instructor’s face as he said, “And?”
“What…?”
Heejin hesitated, but then she continued.
“How can I throw something away when a fan gave it to me? I didn’t even get to eat it. And also, it’s rude to the fan who gave it to me…”
Judging by the slight waver in the instructor’s face, it seemed like Heejin’s words were getting to him slightly. But in the end, he kept his stance.
“Do you think you came here to play around? If you did, just leave!”
The instructor’s harsh words made Heejin jump back a little. Then she hung her head, looking like she was about to cry. And if that wasn’t bad enough, three people arrived late, making the instructor angrier than before.
