“Now before we begin the match, we will have a quick interview with our contestants,” the commentator said.
As he approached us with his microphone, I couldn’t help but think that he sort of looked like a penguin. Or a Chihuahua. But in actuality, he’s actually really capable. Yeah, right now, he’s an MC for the Idol Games, but his true profession is an announcer. And not just any announcer. He’s worked for all four top broadcasting stations. He’s known as the country’s ugliest MC, but he’s evidently very good at his job. Oh, his name was Soyoo Jeon.
“In Lane 3, we have Sian Lee,” he said, approaching me.
“Hello, Sian. It truly is an honor to meet you,” Soyoo said, sticking out his large hands. I shook it. His hands were so big, they were almost beast-like. But why is he gripping me so hard?
“Thank you, I’m honored as well. Oh, you can let go now.”
“Oh, right,” Soyoo said, looking rather disappointed. He held up his mic again.
“You’re a hot topic these days, Sian. I hear you took the gold during the swimming portion earlier. Is that true?”
“Yes,” I said with a firm nod. The audience members roared in the stands. The men, especially, were incredibly loud. It turns out that all the Lovely Girlz fans were supporting me. I myself have a lot of female fans, while the rest of the members have a lot of male fans. And those male fans were now cheering for me, but the sound of it made me deflate a little. I’m a guy as well, and I much prefer the female fans. Anyways, Soyoo continued.
“That truly is amazing, Sian. First swimming, now track. Are you confident you will take the gold home for this match as well?”
“Yes!” I said loudly. And again, the crowd went insane. The sound rang throughout the entire stadium, but it only irked me more. I wanted to hear my female fans cheering, but they couldn’t compete with the men.
“Good for you. But it might not be easy. Jungyoon from Ladies’ Generation was the winner last year and she’s competing this year as well. So is Mina who took silver. And we can’t forget Jessican who won bronze. So, let me ask again. Are you confident that you’re going to win?”
“I’ll clean the field,” I said confidently. Cue cheers.
“I see. Well, good luck to you. Can I get one more handshake?” Soyoo said, sticking his hand out again. I immediately shook it. He stared at me, then suddenly winked with his left eye. I almost elbowed his eye for doing that. Anyways, Soyoo returned to the commentator’s stand even though he had only interviewed me. The other female idols voiced their protests, but Soyoo simply smiled and took the mic.
“Now we will begin the track & field portion. Contestants, get into position!”
At that, we got into position.
“One! Two!”
Bzzzz!
The foghorn blasted and we began running. I don’t know if it was because they didn’t have any fat to hold them back, but these girls were fast. Unfortunately, I was faster. I didn’t run too fast though. I didn’t want more people asking me if I was an alien or something. So, I took my time, making it so that I just surpassed the second place runner by a few steps. The Lovely Girlz fans went wild as I crossed the finish line.
“Yaaaaaaaah!”
It seems like a lot of the male idols were cheering for me as well. Then again, considering that a lot of them had been watching me at the pool as well, it wasn’t that surprising. Even I have to admit that I looked incredibly sexy in a bathing suit. I have pretty generous curves after all, but back to the match. As expected, I was first in my group, which qualified me for the semi-finals.
Now it was Team 2. Jia was in that group and she stood in Lane 2. She looked really slender standing up there, but not too skinny. Just slender enough to be sexy. Even the loose sports uniform looked good on her. I made a mental note to hug her after the match.
Soon the commentator began to introduce all the contestants. When he said Jia’s name, all the Lovely Girlz fans let out a loud cheer. But one voice stood out in particular, and that was mine. I was roaring like crazy.
“Ji! Ah! Lee! Ji! Ah! Lee!”
The ground visibly shook at my voice and for a moment, the stadium went silent. Finally, Soyoo spoke up.
“Oh, haha. Sian sure has a powerful voice.”
“Thanks,” I said with a modest bow. The fans went back to their cheer, but even then, I didn’t expect Jia to do well at all. The way I saw it, she was just so delicate. But what do you know. Jia was off like a bullet! I could barely keep my eyes on her as she flashed through that finish line, taking first place.
“Whoa.”
Now Team 3. That was Jumi. And Ladies’ Generation Jessican. And to my surprise, Jumi qualified for the semi-finals as well. Though she did come in second to Jessican. Still, second place was nothing to sneeze at.
“What’s this?” I asked. First swimming, now track. Since when were the members this athletic? Just this morning, they were whining about how difficult this was at me. This was the biggest plot twist I’ve faced this month. Still. There were Rhinzi and Yoo-jin. I thought for sure they would be eliminated. Rhinzi is a good dancer, but I doubted she was a good runner. As for Yoo-jin, her chest was just too big for her to run comfortable. There was no way those two would win. Anyways, Team 4 started. And Rhinzi took second place to Jungyoon, which meant she qualified for the semifinals as well. Once again, my expectations had been shattered.
“What the…”
What was happening? They were all good! But there was still Yoo-jin left. Yeah, there was no way Yoo-jin would qualified. Just look at that chest. They were already bouncing. She would definitely be eliminated!
Team 5 started to run. And Yoo-jin came in first.
“Wow.”
***
All five members had made it to the semi-finals. This was the first time all contestants from the same group had made it.
“You guys did great! I’m so proud!” Yoo-young cooed, giving all of us a motherly pat on the butt. Mine too, and I saw no reason to stop her. If it had been a guy, I would’ve snapped his wrist. But for Yoo-young’s hand, I was simply grateful. Ji-hyun followed Yoo-young’s example as well. Except when she came to me, she jokingly grabbed it and gave a squeeze. What I would give to do the same back to her. Ugh, no, stop…I shouldn’t be thinking these thoughts right now.
Soon, the twelve who were competing in the semi-finals were separated into two groups.
Jia, Yoo-jin, and I were put into Team 1 and Jumi and Rhinzi were put into Team 2. And all three members of Ladies’ Generation were in Team 2.
The semifinals began, and Yoo-jin, Jia, and I took the top 3 spots. In Team 2, Jungyoon, Mina, and Jessican won, disqualifying Jumi and Rhinzi from the running. So in the end, it was three members from Lovely Girlz against the three members of Ladies’ Generation. Everyone exclaimed at this turn of events, especially Soyoo. He’s been the MC at the Idol Games for the past three years, and even he claimed that this was the first time he had seen something like this happen.
Before the finals, we were given a short break.
Jia, Yoo-jin, and I huddled together.
“Do you think we can win?” Jia said, sounding worried. Though I could detect the slightest hint of hope in her voice.
“Of course we can,” I answered. Yoo-jin nodded. I still couldn’t believe she had made it to the finals too. This was far beyond my expectations. Mind blown.
“But your chest…never mind.”
I mean, the girl has come this far, hasn’t she? It doesn’t matter what I say now. Besides, Yoo-jin was the most popular right now. Even the fans who came here to support me were turning their attention towards her. It was probably because of her chest. Not that I could blame them, but I wasn’t even sure if it would be allowed to air. They might cut it out during the editing process. I was sure of it. Well, anyways, enough about Yoo-jin’s chest.
“Sian, we have to win,” Jia suddenly piped up. She clearly had her sights set on those meal vouchers.
“We will. Don’t worry.”
The thought of those meal vouchers was making me hyped up.
“Sian, give me the bindings,” Yoo-jin suddenly shouted. She was already fast enough without them. Imagine how much faster she’d be with them! She might even be faster than me.
“The bindings? Um…do you want mine?”
Unfortunately, we didn’t bring anymore.
“What about you?”
“I’ll be fine.”
It’s true. I really didn’t need them.
“Okay, then. I’ll take them.”
“Now?”
“Come with me to the bathroom.”
So I followed Yoo-jin to the bathroom. Anyways, we both took off our shirts in the bathroom and the rest is too explicit to say, so I’ll let your imagination do the talking.
***
“Now! The track & field portion will commence!” Soyoo shouted. The audience cheered throughout the stadium. On one side was Ladies’ Generation. On the other, Lovely Girlz. Everyone watched with rapt attention. Soon, we all entered and they began to introduce us one by one.
Jungyoon in Lane 2. Sian in Lane 2. Jessican in Lane 3. Jia in Lane 4. Mina in Lane 5. And Yoo-jin in Lane 6.
With that, we were all in our assigned lanes.
“Lane 2.”
I was between Jungyoon and Jessican. Was I scared? Definitely not. I made a showing of turning to both of them and greeting them with a big smile on my face.
“Hi, Jungyoon.”
“Hey, Sian. It’s good to see you made it to the finals. I feel bad though since I’m going to beat you.”
“Right,” I said with a nod. Then, I turned to Jessican.”
“Hey, Sir Rank.”
“I told you not to call me that.”
“Sorry, Sir Rank.”
“Bitch.”
Seems like Sir Rank still hated my guts. Would she try to paralyze me again? Just now, I saw her glance down at my legs. I think I knew what her next plan was.
