Once again, the days passed quickly and soon enough, it was that time again.
No. I didn’t mean that time of the month. I meant that it was time for me to film 24-Hour Jungle again. Well technically, I don’t leave until tomorrow morning.
“Hey, I don’t want you guys to pack for me again,” I said to the girls. I still remember all of the useless stuff they packed for me last time.
“You’re not going to take anything?” Jia asked, looking worried. Well, she had every right to be as I really was going to go away with nothing. Well, except for my razor and sunscreen.
“Yep. It’s not like it’s going to do anything for me there.”
“But still…”
“It’ll be fine.”
I mean, they’ll have everything there anyway. Stuff to eat, as well as other necessities for sure. Yeah, it won’t be the same stuff as here, but it’ll be a nice change. Maybe I’ll even get to try tiger meat.
“I wanted to go too,” Yoo-jin whined next to me. She did look really disappointed. To be honest, I was as well. It would’ve been nice to go and eat tiger meat together. But what could I do? Miyeon Yang had already been casted…which reminds me. I looked up a photo of Miyeon and wow, she’s definitely striking. Beautiful silhouette with no fat anywhere whatsoever. The only thing I’d have to say is that her chest is a bit on the small side. Not as flat as Jia’s, but still slightly less than average. Still. Very nice.
“Next time,” I said.
“Okay!” everyone replied. Just then, the doorbell rang. Who could that be at this time? Hainan went over to open the door.
“Who is it?” she asked.
“It’s me!”
It was Jinwoo. What was he doing here? Hainan opened the door.
“Hi, Mr. Park!” she said.
“Hello~~”
What was a forty-something year old man doing, saying hello like a teenage schoolgirl? He’s getting weirder and weirder by the second. Jinwoo walked into the living room and everyone said hello.
“Hi, Mr. Park!”
“Hey, guys!” Jinwoo said waving. I just wanted to slap his mouth.
“It’s late. What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Oh, I wanted to speak to you,” Jinwoo said, taking a seat in the living room. Normally, this would be private, but I guess he was still afraid to be alone with me. Coward.
“What is it?” I asked. Everyone gathered around. Hainan poked her head in between the gap in my arms as I sat there, stroking her hair.
“Oh, it’s nothing. Just wanted to tell you to have fun.”
“I will.”
“And, um…there is one other thing…”
“What is it?”
“Don’t go bragging about how strong you are. Do you know what people are saying about you?”
“Yeah.” I nodded. Nowadays, I was the MA girl. The martial artists. The Shero that could save hostages from a group of terrorists. I have a lot of names.
“Alright. Have you guys eat…never mind. I was just passing through. I’ll go now.”
“We haven’t eaten yet,” I said before Jinwoo could get up. Everyone nodded, watching Jinwoo expectantly. With puppy dog eyes, mind you. It was very clear they were asking him to buy them dinner. At first, Jinwoo tried to avoid our eyes, but in the end, he took out his wallet. He took out 100,000 won and placed it on the coffee table.
“Will this be enough…”
“Yep,” I answered, counting out the money. It was exactly 100,000 won. We’ll be able to get at least four pizzas with this. Since there’s eight of us, that means we’ll all get half a pie.
“I’ll be going then. Have fun on your trip, Sian.”
“Thanks.”
“And remember – don’t show all of your strength. Don’t go chasing after tigers, okay?”
“Yes, Sir.”
How did he know?
“Haha, Mr. Park. Sian can’t catch a tiger.” Ji-hyun giggled.
Jinwoo gave her a forced smile in response.
“Anyways, I really have to go. Good night, ladies,” Jinwoo said, leaving with a wave. We began to chat amongst ourselves again. After two hours, everyone went to go to sleep, except me and Jia.
“If you want to fall asleep on the plane, you can’t sleep now,” Jia said, sitting on the couch with me.
That’s true. That plane ride is going to be long, so it’ll be better if I spend it sleeping.
“But I’m really sleepy though.”
Hey, I’m human after all.
“No. Don’t sleep,” Jia said firmly.
“You just want to keep talking,” I said. Jia didn’t have any activities scheduled tomorrow. That was probably why she wanted to talk with me more.
“That too.”
“….”
“Let’s go for a walk.”
“Now? It’s late.”
“What about it? Let’s go. Please?” Jia said, clinging to my arm.
In the end, I gave in. I really was hopeless when it came to their cutesy whining.
Once we were outside, we decided to go downtown. There were a lot of people outside, enjoying the evening. Just then, two guys came over in front of us.
“Hey, ladies~ How about a drink?” one of them asked. They were both standing right in front us, blocking our path. I stared at them. They looked familiar. It was Minwoo Kim. The visual member of Shy Boy that was going to film 24-hour Jungle with me.
“What are you doing here? We’re filming tomorrow,” I asked. And that’s when Minwoo fully turned to look at me as his eyes became wide with recognition.
“Oh! Sian Lee!”
“Let’s not get too familiar right now.”
“Oh, right, um…hi.”
The guy gave me a bright smile as he greeted me. I saw him give me a quick up-and-down, his smile getting creepier with every passing second. What is with these male idols? I know they’re not all like this, but I’ve met way too many that are at this point. Is all the money they’re making giving them a huge ego?
“What are you doing?” Minwoo asked. Something about his smile told me this was going to be more than a friendly chat.
“I’m just hanging out with Jia,” I said. Jia remained next to me, clinging to my arm.
“Oh, I see. Would you like to join us?”
“No,” I rejected with a sweet smile. I could already smell the strong alcohol on him.
“Aw, why not? We’re not that bad, you know,” Minwoo said, looking genuinely confused by the rejection. I will admit that the guy currently standing next to Minwoo was good looking. Tall as well. Any average girl would easily fall for him, but not me. To me, he was just any regular old guy who happened to be tall. Just look at those eyes. I can tell a rotten apple when I see one.
“Well, I don’t feel like it. Now move.”
“Hey, don’t be a bitch,” Minwoo said.
“Or how about you, Jia?” the guy said, reaching out and grabbing Jia by the arm. I immediately flung a kick at the guy’s face.
Pow!
“Ah!”
Thud.
The guy fell to the floor in pain. By now, my body was moving on its own. Maybe I was more stressed than I thought. It hasn’t been that long since my period ended. I guess I was still feeling the effects of PMS.
“Hey! What are you doing?” Minwoo berated.
I gave him a shove in the chest.
“I said move, didn’t I? Asshole.”
“Wow. Psycho much?” Minwoo snorted.
Psycho, huh? I’m sure he wasn’t the only one in our circle who thought so. With my personality and all that.
“I am. What do you say? Want to go up against a full-on psycho?”
“Crazy. I’ll let this go since you’re a girl. What a weirdo.”
Minwoo turned to his friend to help him up before they both ran off.
“Sian, are you okay?”
“No.”
I continued to glare. Maybe I should feed that guy to the tigers.
Anyways, needless to say, my first meeting with Minwoo did not go so well. If he tries anything while we’re filming, I’ll really let him have it. Without anyone knowing of course. Heh.
***
The next morning, I woke up bright and early to leave…not that there was much to do anyway. I washed my face, got the few items I needed, and that was it.
“I’m leaving.”
“Bye, Sian.”
The other members had gotten early to see me off, though no one was coming with me. We knew that there would be a lot of people at the airport. Apparently, my fandom had grown exponentially since the last time. I’d be surprised if the airport could even hold them all. Oh yeah, and Minwoo would be there too. He has a lot of fans as well, that bastard.
Hak-gyu was already waiting for me with the door of the van open.
“Get in, Sian.”
“Thanks.”
I got in, then turned to look at Hak-gyu. He was going to come with me on the trip. It couldn’t be helped since I needed a manager. To me, it doesn’t matter, but Jinwoo made the final call. He wanted someone there to make sure that there was minimal damage.
“I’m really sorry about this, Hak-gyu.”
“I’m glad that you are.”
“Yep.”
“You’re going to the savanna, right? Won’t it be dangerous?” Hak-gyu asked, looking slightly worried.
“Animals aren’t that dangerous,” I said with a shrug. To me, nothing is dangerous. Oh, except one thing – the naked body of a woman. Seeing that tested my control like you wouldn’t believe. I go into battle with myself every time that happens. It’s not like I can even enjoy it anyways. Though sometimes, I allow myself to fantasize a bit whenever Christine is around. But in the end, I always hold back. I’m the face of Lovely Girlz. I can’t risk the group just for the sake of temporary enjoyment. Besides, how can I enjoy anything when I don’t have the…you know.
“No, I mean, won’t it be dangerous for the animals now that you’re going?”
“Oh, is that what you meant?”
Why didn’t he say it like that in the first place?
“Don’t go fighting with lions or anything like that,” Hak-gyu said with a teasing smile. He sounded like he was kidding.
“And what if I do?”
“Huh?”
“I plan to, you know. I want to try lion meat.”
“….”
For a while, Hak-gyu remained speechless. Then, he spoke up.
“You’re kidding, right?”
“Nope. I’m seriously going to have lion meat.”
“For a second, I almost believed you,” Hak-gyu said again with a smile, but I knew he still didn’t believe me. So, I asked him, “Want to catch one with me?”
“Yeah, sure,” Hak-gyu said carelessly. An evil smile crossed my face soon after. Good. I needed an assistant.
“Yo, Manager Lee.”
“Yeah?”
“What’s the survival game?”
“Oh…they didn’t give us the specifics, but I’m sure it will be the same as before. Hunting, making a shelter, stuff like that. I don’t think there’s anything you need to worry about,” Hak-gyu said.
But I remembered the look in Lobsterhead’s eyes. He wanted me to be there for a reason.
“If I catch a lion, that would be an automatic win for us, don’t you think?”
I mean, you can’t beat that.
“Wait, so you really plan on catching a lion?” Hak-gyu asked.
“Yeah. That’s what I said, isn’t it?” I said.
“O-okay…have fun…” Hak-gyu said.
“Hey, you said you’d help, remember?”
“….”
