“Bend your hips. Good. Lift your butt. More. That’s it. Push it out.”
At Miyeon’s words, Byung-hoon stuck his butt out as far as he could. Then, all of a sudden, he let out a fart.
Pfffft~
And of course, my face was right behind him, which meant I got the full blast.
“Ugh! Really?”
I would’ve stabbed him in the asshole if he weren’t my senior. The spear was right next to me. One stab would’ve done it. Was that too harsh? Whatever. It’s not like I did it anyway.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to,” Byung-hoon said, wiggling his butt. I really wanted to stab it, but I restrained. The camera was watching us.
“Here, Sian. Let’s look at yours.”
Miyeon approached me, then I got into position. This felt weird. And embarrassing. It felt very…exposing.
“Sian, stick your butt out more.”
“Okay…”
I pushed my butt back. Just then, Miyeon gasped.
“How is your butt so pretty?”
At that, all the men turned to stare at my butt. I quickly drew it back in. Perverts. All of them.
“Bring your butt back out, Sian.”
“Okay,” I said obediently. Cue another gasp from Miyeon.
“Your butt is so pretty. You’d win first prize with it for sure!”
“….”
The day I go will be the day I end the world myself, but Miyeon wasn’t finished.
“Wow…look at how tight it is.”
Then, she began to squeeze my butt cheek. Hey now…
“Um…your hand…”
“Aw, come on. We’re both girls.”
“….”
I don’t mind touching other girls’ butts, but having a woman touch mine felt weird. Was that hypocritical? Okay, fine, I am.
“Sian, do you really not want to do yoga?”
“I really don’t,” I said, folding my butt back in.
“Sian, butt,” Miyeon said.
“Okay.”
And once again, I pushed it back. After this, Miyeon did a few more poses and took every excuse to touch my body. Maybe she is a lesbian.
***
We were finally done with yoga.
I left our shelter to get some fresh air. There was a nice hill not too far away, so I went over to lay down.
“This is nice.”
The night was peaceful and quiet. Not only that, the temperature was just perfect to lull me to sleep. I stared at the sky. There were so many stars. It’s like they were all competing, trying to out-twinkle each other.
“You’re the prettiest,” I said to a particular star. Just then, the star twinkled.
“Wow.” I smiled as I continued to stare at the sky. It really was so pretty. You would never see a sky like this in Korea. Just then, I heard footsteps coming towards me. It sounded like a woman’s. Who could that be at this hour? Just then, the person called out my name.
“Sian.”
It was Miyeon’s voice.
“Over here,” I said quietly. Miyeon came towards me.
“Okay…”
Rustle rustle.
Soon, I saw her face.
“Here, Miyeon.”
Giggling, Miyeon headed over to me and laid down next to me.
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” I asked.
“I can’t sleep,” she answered. “How about you?”
“Me too.”
“We really are compatible.”
“….”
All this from the both of us not being able to sleep? This woman is weird.
“Hey, Sian.”
“Yes?”
“I really am a fan of yours.”
“I figured.”
There really is no doubt about that.
“I’ve watched every show you’ve been on.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. And read all the articles as well.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I was so worried when I heard about that earthquake in Japan.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know. ”
This woman was sounding more and more affectionate by the second.
“Don’t scare me like that again.”
“Okay.”
How was I supposed to know that would happen? It’s not like I planned for the earthquake.
“And, Sian?”
“Yes?”
What now? Was she going to confess her love to me or something?
“The truth is…”
“Yes?”
This felt weird.
“Well…”
“Yes?”
Really weird.
“I…”
“Uh-huh?”
Why am I sweating?
“I like you.”
“Okay. Wait, what?”
No way…but then again, maybe she just meant as a friend. I decided to withhold judgment.
“Oh…well, it’s normal for friends to like each other.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“….”
“I really like you. I love you. With all my heart.”
“….”
Well, now I know for sure that she’s a lesbian.
***
We remained silent. How do I respond to that? I did not expect this to happen at all. Least of all, here. And from a woman. If I were a guy, I would’ve accepted her love confession in a heartbeat…but I’m a girl. Sad to say, I couldn’t accept her confession. As a member of a girl group, I couldn’t just go around, dating a woman. What if I got caught? My career would be over. Plus, it would backfire on the group as well. Not to mention the trouble it would cause for the company. That’s why I couldn’t be a lesbian. So, I decided to reject her.
“I’m sorry, Miyeon.”
“Hmph,” Miyeon pouted, but then, she smiled.
“Well, can’t say I’m surprised. I’m the weird one here. I understand.”
“Thanks.”
“But won’t you reconsider?”
“Um…”
This woman does not give up. Though I do admire that in a woman.
“I’m sorry, Miyeon. I like…well, okay, I don’t like guys. But I don’t like girls, either. Well, I do, but…ugh. Anyways, I’m sorry.”
“Fine. But we can still be friends, right?”
“Of course.”
Absolutely.
“Best friends.”
“Yep.”
“Thanks!”
Suddenly, Miyeon jumped into my arms and I could immediately feel my body reacting. Ugh, if only I could…sigh…score one for self-control.
***
The next morning, the sun rose bright and early.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
The rooster was loud. I would’ve loved to run over and choke, but I didn’t. The rooster had every right to do what it wants. It’s in their nature to cry when the sun comes up. I’m sure they had unpleasant things that they had to face.
Anyways, I got up and saw that Byung-hoon was already stretching his body. How diligent. That’s why he’s so successful. But in actuality, the appearance fees for 24-Hour Jungle is really high. And he gets life insurance. Pretty sweet deal. Of course, when I get paid, I have to divide it with the rest of my members, but I don’t mind. I’d go on a hundred shows for my girls. Just not long-term though. Anyways.
“Gather around, everyone~” Lobster Head called out. We all got up and gathered around, rubbing our eyes.
“Good morning,” I said, yawning.
“Good morning to you too. You look tired, Sian.”
“Yeah.”
I couldn’t sleep at all last night because I had to wait for myself to calm down after Miyeon’s confession.
“Why did you want us out here so early?” Byung-hoon asked, stretching his arms. He even let out a front kick, though his leg was short. Not that it matters anyway. Look at all the money he makes.
“You have a mission to do this morning with the native animals.”
“Oh, so we’re finally competing with the other team.”
“Yep. It all starts now. As a producer, I’m not supposed to take sides, but I do sincerely hope that you win here, Chief,” Lobster Head said with a smile.
“Of course we will,” Byung-hoon said, looking determined. We all nodded. They may be the experts, but that was no reason to give up. This team had me. Okay, that may sound arrogant, but still.
“Then, I’ll tell you your first mission,” Lobster Head said. With a final glance at each of us, he spoke up.
“The first mission is…hunting!”
Clap clap clap clap.
We all applauded, but no one was surprised. We’re in the jungle, after all. What else can we do?
“The savanna is home to a lot of animals. You have to catch one and cook it and bring it to us. We’ll eat it and judge the best one.”
“So you’re making us cook for you?”
“Ye…ah, no. The winning team will get someone else prepared by us. Ramyun, salt, sugar, sikhye, coke, the works.”
“Wow!”
Everyone cheered at the thought of sikhye and coke. It’s really hot here. Something as cold and refreshing as sikhye and coke….wow…just thinking about it made me thirsty.
“So you have to win.”
“We will!” Byung-hoon said confidently. We all nodded afterwards.
“With that, let’s get started. A safety personnel will go with you, so if you come face to face with something dangerous, be sure to stay away from it.”
“We’re not allowed to catch them?”
“Well…they’re dangerous. Besides, there’s a lot of other animals you can catch. Oh, and don’t go beyond the watch tower. That’s where the dangerous animals are.”
“Okay,” we all answered. Except me. Because I had every plan to go beyond that watch tower.
Anyways, it was now time to hunt. Byung-hoon began to divide us into teams.
“Hmm.”
“Junho and I will be partners,” I said. After all, Junho did say to take him if I ever decided to go lion-hunting.
“Okay, then. Sian and Junho will be on one team. Minwoo, Miyeon, and I will be another.”
“Okay,” we all said. Time to hunt.
***
“Hmm…”
I was thinking.
“Sian, what are you thinking about?” Junho asked.
“How do we lose them…”
I looked back at the safety guide and camera crew. If we wanted to go beyond the watch tower, we had to ditch them first.
“Oh, so you’re really going?” Junho whispered. I nodded. A worried look fell over Junho’s face. I guess the idea of going beyond the point scared him. You’d think a man as big as him wouldn’t be scared of anything, but the bigger the muscle, the more meat for the lion.
“Scared?”
“No,” Junho said, though his eyes said the opposite.
“Yes, you are. Then, you can back out.”
“No. I’m going with you.”
“If you wish.”
I continued to head towards the watch tower. At first, no one said anything and continued to follow me. But as we got closer and closer to the watch tower, the staff began to grow suspicious. A few moments later, we arrived at the watch tower and we reached the barricade. It was immense. No wonder the animals couldn’t get through.
“Sian, why are we here?” Lobster Head asked, looking worried. Wait, when did he start following us?
“Oh, I was just curious,” I said with a smile.
“That’s all, right? You can’t go over it.”
“I know,” I lied as I continued to search for a weak point.
