Lunchtime was over and soon enough, it was time for the archery match.
There were ten girl group teams, and they had three qualifying rounds again. We won both the first round and the semi-finals, which brought us to the final round. And lo and behold, we met up with Ladies’ Generation again. Those members were determined to win, whereas we were just talented.
“Let’s try to win this time too,” I said as I stretched. Hainan and Yoo-jin both nodded firmly and cheered. My score was 10 out of 10 while Yoo-jin was 9 out of 10. To my surprise, Hainan had also received 10 out of 10. I’ve never seen anyone shoot so well. It seems like the fact about her being an archer in middle school was true. Yoo-jin’s skills shocked me as well. The other members are really athletic. Anyways, we stood facing the members of Ladies’ Generation. We had ten rounds. The team to get the most points within those ten rounds would be the winner.
“Oh, it’s you two again,” Soyoo said, looking at the two teams.
“It seems,” he added, “that this tournament is being taken over Ladies’ Generation and Lovely Girlz.”
“We’re the ones who won all the matches,” I said, raising my hand. The members of Ladies’ Generation all looked at me in shock. Well, except Hye-jeong. She just gave me a knowing smile.
“Ah, right. You guys did win all the medals. I guess Ladies’ Generation will have to step it up. Since they won last year, it must be embarrassing for them this year.”
At that rude statement, the fans of Ladies’ Generation all booed.
“He’s definitely doing this on purpose.”
At least, that’s what I decided. There’s no way someone as smart as him would truly act so rude and disrespectful for no reason. I’m sure he was just putting on this act to put on a show. But then, all of a sudden, I was curious about his age. So I raised my hand again.
“Um, Mr. Jeon?”
“Yes, Sian?” Soyoo said with a bright smile. Maybe it’s because we won the track & field race, but he was suddenly very friendly to us again. That two-faced bastard.
“If it’s okay, may I know how old you are?”
“No, it’s not okay.”
“….”
“Hahaha. I’m just kidding. I’m 33-years old.”
“Oh, you’re younger than I am…”
“Internationally.”
“Fuck. You.”
Luckily, I muttered that under my breath. If I had said that out loud, it would’ve meant a world of trouble.
“I’m sorry what?” Soyoo said, leaning in.
“Nothing.”
“No, you definitely said something.”
Honestly, at this point, he was asking for it. So, I turned off the mic on my hip and also the mic on Soyoo’s hip. Then, I leaned into his hair.
“I said fuck you, you bastard. Shut up.”
After that, I stepped back.
“That’s it,” I said. Then I added, “Is there anything else? Would you like me to say it again?”
“No, that’s okay,” Soyoo said. He quickly turned away from me to turn on his mic and I headed back to my spot.
“Hmph,” Soyoo said as he looked at me. I guess he didn’t like the fact that a younger girl dared to curse at him. It’s his fault.
“Now, we will start the archery match with the first contestant. Please, approach the line.”
The first one was me. We thought that it’d be best to secure an early lead. On the Ladies’ Generation side, it was Hye-jeong.
“Good luck, Sian!” Hye-jeong said.
“You too,” I replied.
We both got into position. I would go first. I took my arrow, pulled it back, and aimed.
“Angle. Check. Wind. Check. Power. Check.”
With a smile, I let go of a bow.
Whoosh!
The arrow flew at the speed of light and hit the middle of the target. Unfortunately, there was a camera hidden in the bullseye. You could immediately hear the lens break.
Crack.
And now, the lens was gone. The producer and staff immediately started to panic. That was an expensive camera! But just then, my score flashed on the scoreboard. A perfect 10.
“Excuse me. We have to change the camera,” the staff said. She ran over to the target and took out the lens, replacing it with a camera. Now, it was Hye-jeong’s turn. She pulled, took aim, then let go.
Whoosh!
Thud.
A 10! The audience roared.
“Hey, that’s pretty good,” I said, looking at Hye-jeong. To think she got a 10 as well. Then again, why else would she have been picked to represent Ladies’ Generation? Anyways, now we were tied. I took another arrow and pulled back the string. After another careful aim, I let go.
Crack.
The camera lens broke again. I could instantly hear the main producer cursing.
“Ugh! Are you serious?”
“Sorry.”
I felt bad but hey, I want to win. I had no intention of hitting anything other than the bullseye. And there it was again – my score. Another 10.
“Excuse us again,” the producer said, sounding very pissed. The staff person ran over to change the lens. As she did, I overhead the producer mumbling under his breath.
“Surely, she won’t hit it a third time.”
Right, surely. We’ll see about that.
Anyways, Hye-jeong soon shot her arrow and got 9 points…and it was my turn again. I had one more arrow left. And once again, I aimed directly at the lens and…glanced at the producer for a split second. He looked pissed…and rather nervous. That made him look pitiful, so at the last minute, I decided to bypass the lens just slightly. Then, I let my arrow go.
Whoosh!
Thud!
Still within the 10-point mark. I missed the arrow by a mere 0.1mm, and the producer let out a long breath of relief. Anyways, I got three 10 out of 10s and Hye-jeong got a 10 and two 9’s.
“Hye-jeong, you’re pretty good.”
“Hmph.”
Hye-jeong whipped her head away from me.
Soon, it was time for the second shooters. For our team, that was Hainan and for Ladies Generation, it was Jessican. In case Jessican intended to pull her usual tricks, I watched her like a hawk, but luckily, the girl didn’t try anything again.
“She sure is something.”
I continued to watch Jessican. The two began and Hainan shot the first arrow.
Whoosh.
The arrow flew in a crisp arch, cutting through the air.
Thud.
10 points! Score!
But all of a sudden…
Crack.
She had hit the lens.
***
Hainan also got three perfect scores. With her score and mine combined, we had 60 points. Ladies’ Generation had a total of 56 points. They were down by 4. If Yoo-jin doesn’t mess up, we would win.
Now for the last shooters. Lovely Girlz Yoo-jin vs. Ladies’ Generation Mina. The two shot their arrows and Mina got 9, 8, and 8, whereas Yoo-jin got 9, 8, and 4. Because of Yoo-jin’s blunder, it was a tie.
So each team had one chance left.
“Hainan, you shoot it,” I said. Hainan looked nervous.
“No, I don’t want to…
“You can do it, Hainan!” I said. Finally, Hainan nodded, but the nervous look remained on her face.
As soon as Hainan stepped up, the staff people began to install the new camera. But by the time the staff returned to their original spot, Hainan was walking over to me.
“Sian, I can’t do it. I’m too nervous. Look. My hands are shaking.”
Hmm.
Well, if she’s that nervous, I shouldn’t force her. So, I held out my hand.
“I’ll do it.”
“Okay!”
So in the end, I took Hainan’s place. As soon as they saw, they immediately ran over to the camera, took it out of the target, and then ran back to their original spots.
“What the hell?” I said, but then I shrugged and started to stretch my shoulders. For Ladies’ Generation, it was Jessican. Guess I should’ve known I’d see her somewhere other than the bathroom.
“Sup, Sir Rank?” I said.
Jessican simply glared at me.
“Hey, you going to try and paralyze me again?”
“Shut up.”
And with that, she walked away from me with a toss of her head. Well, that was boring. I was starting to enjoy making her mad, but now she was just ignoring me…
“Now we’re carrying out the last and final round. The score is currently tied. This is truly turning into an extraordinary match.”
Well, Soyoo seemed to be enjoying himself. He went on.
“Now, we will start with Jessican.”
Jessican stepped up to the line and aimed her arrow. She let it go without hesitation.
Whoosh!
Thud.
9 points. Now it was my turn. Of course, I aimed for the bullseye and let my arrow fly.
Whoosh!
Thud.
10 points! And with that, Lovely Girlz won the archery match and the entire Idol Games.
***
Dinnertime.
Jinwoo was in such a good mood that he took us to a sashimi restaurant.
“Hey, guys! Sit, sit!”
He sat us down and proceeded to order a bunch of sashimi.
“Excuse me! Bring us the flatfish, the catfish, the squid…aw, what the hell! Just bring us everything!”
Surprisingly, the waitress nodded understandingly. Was Jinwoo a regular here?
“What’s up with you?” I asked with a smile. He sure seemed grateful.
“You guys won! You won the entire Idol Games! This is huge for YH Entertainment!” Jinwoo said, doing a happy dance.
Sheesh, was it that big of a deal? Then again, I don’t think any idol from YH Entertainment had won at the Idol Games before. Not only that, but we beat the idols from Han Entertainment, which is the biggest agency in the industry. No wonder Jinwoo was excited.
“Well, then, I’ll make sure to enjoy the food. Don’t stop me.”
That counts as a fair warning, right?
“Of course! Of course! Eat as much as you want! I don’t mind!”
Oh, he was going to regret those words, and he wasn’t even drunk! Was he trying to feel bad later? Well, he said to eat as much as I wanted so I intended to do that. Soon, the sashimi platters came out and I immediately dug in.
And just as I started to eat, Jinwoo spoke to me.
“Hey, Sian.”
“Yes?”
“I have to tell you something. ”
“….”
It would be wise not to touch me while I’m eating, Jinwoo…for your sake…
“What is it?” I asked. I admit I felt a little nervous, but…well, let’s hear him out.
“Oh, Hainan too,” Jinwoo said. At the mention of her name, Hainan looked up as well.
“What is it, Mr. Park?” Hainan said with a sweet smile.
Jinwoo gave her a warm smile back. Then he looked at us and said, “You guys were booked for a Japanese variety show.”
At that, my face immediately fell, while Hainan, on the other hand, looked rather interested.
With gritted teeth, I said, “So now, you’re sending us abroad?”
“It’s a mukbang.”
“Oh, well then.”
