After finishing the cake, we sat down at the table again, facing the cameras. To be honest, it didn’t feel like I had eaten anything. That one slice had been shared among six people…especially Yoo-gwang, who had eaten it with his hands. That animal.
“Sian, did you enjoy it?” Yoo-gwang asked, licking the frosting off his fingers. I almost wanted to reach over and break them.
“Yes. It was effin’ good.”
“Oh.”
At my words, Yoo-gwang flustered. Huh? Why?
“You know, Sian, it’s weird to hear a word like that coming out of someone as pretty as you. It doesn’t suit you,” Yoo-gwang laughed. And now, I was tempted to give him a good whack. But just then, the producer spoke up. Mr. Jin-seok Seo. A happy-looking man. The kind you just want to punch in the face.
“Okay, guys. If I could have your attention, please.”
We all looked at him, except for Yoo-gwang who continued to stare at me. Or should I say stare down at me? This man was incredibly tall. About 190 cm? A giant, but incredibly skinny. I feel like if I just gave him a push, he’d fall right over.
“Hey, Yoo-gwang, over here,” Ji-jin said, giving Yoo-gwang a whack on the back of his head. Yoo-gwang glared at Ji-jin in response. But since the latter was much older, Yoo-gwang couldn’t do anything.
“I’ll get you later,” he spat out before taking a seat. Everyone smirked. Seemed like everyone enjoyed watching Yoo-gwang getting hit. Anyways, the producer continued.
“The first game will probably be the name tag game.”
“Hmmm.”
Ji-jin’s face became serious at those words. And so did the others. Finally, Ji-jin spoke.
“What if we lose? They’re really fast.”
“Yeah, but we have Guk-jong,” Yoo-gwang pointed out, gesturing towards Guk-jong. In response, Guk-jong shook his head.
“I doubt I’ll be much help against Luyoung Ji. He’s on a whole different level. And a pro-wrestler to boot. I can’t compete with that.”
Guk-jong looked rather defeated already. Not that I could blame him. Luyoung Ji was a pro-wrestler. Even with all that muscle, Guk-jong probably felt the difference in skill level.
“I believe in Sian,” Yoo-gwang suddenly said to me. Everyone turned to stare.
“If Sian teams up with Guk-jong, then you guys might win.”
At that, everyone nodded, but I shook my head. Because, the way I saw it, I could win even by myself.
“Hey, Sian. Have you heard?” Yoo-gwang said to me.
“About what?” I asked.
“Jang-chun is a huge fan of yours.”
“Yes, I know.”
Of course, I know. And it sucks. A lot. Knowing that a guy likes me. That he probably does stuff to himself while thinking of me. Ugh…gross…
“You should use your looks to get rid of Jang-chun first.”
Very funny, Yoo-gwang.
“That’s a good idea. If we get rid of him, we’ll have a better chance of winning.”
Wow, Ji-jin, you’re hilarious.
“But can we trust you two to be alone? You won’t fall in love and ditch us for him, will you?” Yoo-gwang continued. He seriously looked like he had a death wish.
“He’s not my type,” I said, somehow stopping myself from hitting the man. Just try and make me fall in love with the guy. I’ll blast the entire film set if that happens.
“Aw, come on~ You like him too, don’t you?”
“Yeah, not going to happen,” I said, giving Yoo-gwang a look. Yoo-gwang froze.
“Oh, haha…okay. No love then.”
I guess the only way to make these guys listen to me is to use some of my murderous wrath. Anyways, the producer spoke up again.
“Now, shall we go meet the Chinese team?”
“Okay.”
We left to meet with the other team.
***
University library.
“So it’s a college library now.”
There’s nothing these producers can’t get their hands on. Last time, it was a whole department store.
“But where’s the Chinese team?” I asked, looking around. They were nowhere to be seen.
“Oh, they’ll be here soon,” Mr. Seo said. And so, we began to chat amongst ourselves again to pass the time. We sure do talk a lot.
“Hey, Sian, what do you think about me?” Yoo-gwang teased.
I smirked.
“Pass.”
“Huh? Why? Don’t women like men who are tall?”
“Not me.”
Seriously, move on. I don’t like men. Why? Because I’m a man as well.
“Then do you like short guys?”
“Nope.”
“Then…”
“I just don’t like men.”
“Oh.”
Yoo-gwang looked a bit confused at my answer.
“Then are you…”
“Am I what?”
What the hell is this man thinking?
“Are you…on the same team as…Ji-chun Hong…?”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. I’m sorry,” Yoo-gwang backtracked immediately.
But even with the apology, I felt a bit irritated. Yeah, on the inside, I’m not a lesbian, but…on the outside, that’s what it looked like. This sucks. I’m a man, goddammit…
“Don’t go talking nonsense.”
“Oh, okay.”
Yoo-gwang zipped his lips.
Just then, we heard the elevator doors open in the distance as the Chinese team members walked out. They all looked so intense. And very tall. They were all at least 180 cm. There was only one woman on the team. Her name was Sullin Seo. And she was incredibly beautiful. Even more beautiful than the photos I’ve seen on the internet. She was just the right height with a lean, toned body. Exactly my type. Soon, they were standing in front of us as we exchanged greetings.
“Ni chi fan le ma,” Jang-chun said as he approached me.
“Yeah. Fu le ma,” I said with a smile.
Jang-chun stuck his hand out for a handshake and I took it. I looked up at his face. He seriously had a very feminine face. I guess I’ll never understand why women like men who look like this.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” Jang-chun said in Korean. Everyone looked shocked. No one knew that Jang-chun could speak Korean.
“I’ve been practicing. Good, huh?” he said, still staring at me.
“Yeah,” I answered, but this bastard still hadn’t let go of my hand. So I simply pulled my hand out. He looked a little embarrassed by that. Soon, the Chinese producer approached Mr. Seo and it was time to begin. When the Chinese producer spoke, Mr. Seo would translate.
“We’ll start the first game now. Everyone has their name tags, right?”
We all checked each other to make sure. One on the back and one the waist.
“Once you lose both name tags, you’re out. You can’t take off both at the same time. Once you take off one, you need to wait five minutes before you can go for the other. But while your name tag can’t be ripped off, you can’t rip off the name tag of your opponent either. Understand?”
“Yes,” we all answered.
“But aren’t we at a disadvantage?” our leader Ji-jin asked, raising his hand. Even with a single glance, we were clearly the underdogs. All of the members of the Chinese team were really tall. And they have Luyoung, who was a pro-wrestler. How are we even going to take off one of his nametags? Not that I couldn’t. Anyways, the producer answered.
“That’s why we have hidden weapons throughout the library. If you find a square box, there will be weapons inside. You can use them against the opposing team.”
“Oh!”
“Now we’ll start in ten minutes! Everyone spread out!” Mr. Seo said. Once the Chinese producer relayed his instructions, we all separated.
***
“Sian, you sure you’re not going to run?” Yoo-gwang asked. That was because I was still standing in the lobby, having not moved a single inch.
“Yeah. Don’t want to.”
“No way! You’ll be out if you don’t run. Let’s go.”
“Hmm.”
I thought about it. I wanted to just stay here and wait for them to come and find me…but that would be no fun. So, I decided to do as Yoo-gwang said.
“Okay.”
I ran towards the stairs. Yoo-gwang then began to follow me.
“Why are you following me?”
“I’ll protect you.”
“I don’t need you.”
“….”
Yoo-gwang froze at my response, but then he started to follow me again.
“No matter how good you are at fighting, it’s better if you’re with someone.”
‘Ugh. This man.’
Luckily, I’d kept that part to myself. There was a VJ filming me so I couldn’t just say how I felt. Especially curse words.
“As you wish.”
With that, I began to look for the boxes. Why? Because I’m bored. And to make the show more interesting, of course. Just then, Yoo-gwang found a box.
“I found one!”
“Huh?”
How did he find one so quickly? I guess there’s something to say for experience.
“What is it?”
“Wait.”
With that, Yoo-gwang opened the box. There was a card inside.
“What does it say?” I asked.
“Here,” Yoo-gwang said, holding out the card for me. It read:
[One-Time Summon for Reinforcements – You may call upon any team member at any time.]
“Not bad.”
Really. Not bad at all. If we were to meet someone from the opposing team, we could call someone and make it 2:1. But Yoo-gwang handed the card to me.
“You can have it.”
“I don’t need it,” I politely declined. But for some reason, Yoo-gwang stuffed the card into my pocket.
“If you need me, just say my name!”
“….”
God, he’s annoying. Just then, we heard the announcement.
[We’ll now start the game in five…four…three…two…one. The game will now start! You may begin.]
The start of the game was announced and I smiled. Now the fun could really begin.
***
“Sian, where are you going?”
“The bathroom.”
“Oh.”
Yoo-gwang froze in front of the bathroom. Why does he keep insisting on following me? Does he like me? No, I don’t think so. He was looking around and suddenly, he froze. He then began to run soon after.
“What the…”
I turned to look at what he saw that scared him so much. It was Luyoung Ji from the Chinese team. He was running towards us. He was huge and very fast, but what kind of name was Ji? Like, oh, gee, how boring? Anyways, the boring…I mean, Luyoung stopped in front of me.
“Hi.”
He waved at me with a smile. He seemed very happy to see me. From what I’ve heard, it wasn’t just Jang-chun who liked me either. It’s just that Luyoung here was more subtle.
“Hello,” I said, feeling rather happy myself. Then, I pulled out the card that Yoo-gwang had given me. The card that would allow me to summon any team member. I used the card and soon, Yoo-gwang was dragged over to us.
“Sian! Why would you do that?” Yoo-gwang demanded. Wow, really? Then again, his whole career was built on being kind of a shameless jerk. In other words, I knew he didn’t mean it.
“You told me to use it if I needed someone.”
“But why him? He’ll get us both!”
“No. He’ll just get you.”
“What?” Yoo-gwang asked, but I was already running. I could hear Yoo-gwang shouting in the distance along with the sound of a name tag being ripped off.
