“But why Japan?” I asked. After all, we had barely scratched the surface for Korean shows, and he was already sending us abroad? Not to mention that we didn’t speak a lick of Japanese.
“Oh, to be honest, the Japanese broadcasting station NHB only wanted Hainan, because she’s so pretty.”
At Jinwoo’s words, I nodded. I mean, it’s true. Hainan is really pretty. The beautiful young woman from Vietnam. Pretty enough to take Korea by storm.
“Then why do I have to go?” I asked. If Hainan was the only one they asked for, then why are they sending me too? Come on. I have things to do – sashimi to eat. This place is going to close pretty soon. Every second is precious.
“They wanted another person, so I chose you.”
“Oh. So I’m the extra gift with purchase.”
Hainan coughed a laugh into her hand, but Jinwoo simply nodded.
“Well, I guess you can look at that way. But actually, the real reason I’m sending you as an extra…I mean, the real reason I selected you is because I wanted you to look after Hainan. Japanese shows can be a little risqué, so I’m a little worried.”
“Oh.”
Okay, now I get it. Japan is a rather progressive country, so their shows are a bit more…open-minded than the ones in Korea. Hainan just started to become popular in Korea, and we couldn’t have anything that could put that at risk.
“So what do you think?”
“Then I should definitely go. Hainan, you’re okay with it, right?”
“Yep!” Hainan said, wrapping her arms around mine. She did look sincerely glad. I gave Hainan a pat on her head.
“Take this opportunity to eat as much as you want. It’s a mukbang, so there will be lots of food.”
“How much can I eat?”
“Enough for a whole village and over.”
“Yes, Sir!” I said, giving a firm nod.
“So, when are we leaving?”
“Tomorrow.”
“Ugh, fuck.”
“What…?” Jinwoo said, sounding rather offended at my cursing.
I quickly backtracked.
“Sorry. It just…came out. It was an accident.”
“I understand. I figured you’d be slightly put off by that. Though, I never expected you to spit it out like that. Especially at me.”
“Sorry.” I apologized again. Jinwoo can hold a grudge too…he was going to hold this one for a while.
“So do we get a translator?”
“Of course,” Jinwoo answered.
“What about our manager? Is Hak-gyu going?”
“He probably will.”
“Okay,” I answered.
A Japanese show. What will it be like? On one hand, I was rather irritated, but on the other hand, I was admittedly intrigued.
But then suddenly, I realized how late it was. I checked the time…30 minutes left before closing.
“You’re done now, right?”
“Yes,” Jinwoo said, nodding.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
“Just don’t hit anyone.”
“When did I ever? But okay.”
I checked the time again. 28 more minutes.
“Hainan, hurry up and eat.”
“Okay!”
And so, I spent the rest of those twenty-eight minutes inhaling the sashimi.
***
We left the very next day for Japan.
“We’re really going.”
“Yeah.”
“It’s rather soon, isn’t it?” I said, making a face.
“You know how Mr. Park is. We just need to try to be more understanding.”
“Fine.”
It’s not that I don’t understand. It’s just I don’t know why he had to wait until last night to tell us.
“Let’s go guys,” Hak-gyu said. Somehow, we had arrived at the airport without me noticing.
“Hey, Hak-gyu,” I called out to him.
“Yeah?”
“Who’s the translator? Are they here?”
“Yeah, they are.”
“Where?”
“Here.”
“Huh?”
They’re here? In the van? What is this guy talking about? Suddenly, Hak-gyu began to gesture to himself.
“Me. I’m the translator.”
“Really?”
Hak-gyu is our translator? Wow, Jinwoo doesn’t know when to quit. Is he at least giving Hak-gyu a raise? But still, I rather liked the idea of having Hak-gyu as our translator.
“You speak Japanese?” I asked.
“I used to live there before I came here,” Hak-gyu answered.
“How long?”
“Hmm…about 5 years?”
“That is a long time.”
“Yep,” Hak-gyu said. Suddenly, his eyes looked rather shiny as a nostalgic look came over his face.
“Let’s go.”
I got out of the van, followed by Hainan. The cameras immediately went off. It hurt my eyes.
“What do you think about my outfit today?”
I put on my sunglasses and immediately began to strut into the airport. The camera flashes increased tenfold, and so did the cheers from the fans. But anyways, since it was early morning, there weren’t too many of them. So, I approached each one, giving waves and shaking handshakes and even giving out a few autographs.
“I feel like your outfit always looks the same.”
“Really?”
“A white t-shirt with jeans and T-shirt. And sunglasses.”
“Oh. Huh, I guess.”
Now that I think about it, there was an even an article written about my airport outfits. What was the title? Something like ‘Hey, Sian, please wear something else,’ but I don’t care. This is the style I’m the most comfortable with. Anyways, we got through security and made it onto our plane in time for our departure.
***
“This is nice~”
Nothing better than watching the clouds pass by through the airport window.
“Hey, Sian, what do you want to eat?”
“Whatever’s the most expensive.”
“Okay. How about the King’s Platter?”
“Great,” I said.
Then I added, “But won’t one be too small?”
I’m seriously worried about that. I haven’t even had breakfast, and I was super hungry.
“Sian.”
“What?”
“There will be a lot of food for us in Japan. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves, okay?”
“Fine.”
I decided to listen to Hainan. She may be young, but she’s pretty wise and mature for her age.
Soon, the King’s Platter came out, and my eyes immediately widened at the stunning visuals.
“Who knew airplane food could look this good?”
The platter truly did look amazing. I immediately got my utensils and began to eat.
“Sian, slow down,” Hainan said, handing me a cup of water.
“Okay.”
But I continued to inhale my food. Wow, that was good.
After finishing my food, I began to peruse the guidebooks. Right away, I began to look at the list of restaurants.
“We’re going to Tokyo so…restaurants…here, here, here, and here. Oh, this looks good too. What’s this? Well, let’s just add it. Oh, here, too. Hainan, do you want to try this place?”
“Looks good.”
“Then we’ll go. Are these pork cutlets?”
“Yeah. Japan is famous for them,” Hainan said. She then pointed at an image of a sushi restaurant.
“Let’s go here, too,” she said.
“Sure,” I said with a big smile. There’s a lot to eat and I didn’t want to miss a single thing. Though one person was looking at us rather disapprovingly.
“You guys on vacation?”
Oh, Hak-gyu.
“We might as well enjoy ourselves while we’re there.”
“Huh…true,” Hak-gyu said.
“You brought a lot of yen, right?”
“Don’t worry. I made sure to bring plenty.”
Hak-gyu knows how much I eat, so I trusted that he had prepared well.
“Hey, Hak-gyu.”
“Yeah?”
“What kind of show is it?” I asked. All I know is that it’s a mukbang. What kind?
“You go around to all the famous restaurants and taste their specialty dishes. You don’t have to worry too much about it. Just go around saying ‘sugoi, sugoi’ and stuff like that.”
“So we can eat a lot?”
“As much as you want.”
“Okay.”
I’m going to make it so they never call me back again.
We continued to chit chat for the next few hours, and before we knew it, we arrived in Japan.
***
Tokyo.
As soon as arrived, we had a meeting with the show producer, so we headed for the meeting place.
“So we’re going to start filming right away, right?” I asked.
“Yeah. Everything has been confirmed with Jinwoo. You just have to go around, eating and enjoying everything, so it won’t be difficult. Just eat as you always do and slip in some comments or two. I’ll translate as you go alone.”
“Wow.”
Who knew Hak-gyu could be so reliable?
“But Hainan is the real star here. You can do it, right, Hainan?” I said, giving the girl a pat on her head.
Hainan nodded.
“I’m excited. I know I can do a good job!”
“It’s just eating, after all.”
“Yep.”
“Just don’t be sloppy.”
“Yep.”
“But you’re pretty no matter what you do. So just eat like you normally do.”
“Okay!”
“Oh, but try not to eat too slowly. You tend to do that.”
“Okay, Sian.”
“Yep.”
We soon arrived at the meeting place. It was a café. We walked in and were immediately greeted by the Japanese producer, who recognized us instantly. We approached him with our greetings. He seemed to be in his mid-thirties, and he was rather tall and skinny. As for first impressions, it was overall a rather good one. He seemed like a good guy. But then again, you can never tell what a person is like right away. Sometimes, it’s the innocent looking ones you have to watch out the most for.
“Hajimemashite,” the producer said to us with a bow.
“Oh, yes. Hajimemashite,” Hak-gyu said with a bow of his own.
Those were the only words I could understand from the entire conversation. The rest, I had no hope of keeping up. Anyways, we all sat down, facing one another, and Hak-gyu went into discussion with the Japanese producer.
***
“Oh, Hai. Hai…Ano…Hai…Hai hai…Okay, thank you.”
That was all Hak-gyu said before he turned to translate for us.
“Before we eat lunch. Ah wait, before that, the show is called ‘Sugoi Sushi.’ It means, like, amazing sushi. And before we eat lunch, we’re going to meet with the cast of the show. It’ll be best if you meet with them before the cameras started.”
At that, Hainan and I nodded. Hak-gyu continued.
“We’ll meet with the cast for a bit, then we’ll start around 2pm. Like I said before, the show is easy. You just go around to different restaurants and tell us what you think. I’ll be translating the whole time, so there’s no need to be nervous.”
“Okay,” Hainan and I answered.
Hak-gyu turned back to the producer and began to speak again. Then, he turned back to us to translate some more.
“Oh, but Hainan is the main star.”
“Okay,” I said. I did come here as her bodyguard. “Ask him how long filming is going to take.”
“Hang on.”
Hak-gyu turned back to the producer and translated my question. He nodded at something the producer said and turned back to us.
“About two hours. That’s okay, right? Though there’s a chance it could go to three.”
“Alright,” I said. Either way, we’re going to end before dinner, right? That’s fine then, since we have things to do at that time.
The producer said something else and Hak-gyu translated.
“We’re going to go meet the rest of the cast. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, let’s go,” I answered. With a nod, Hak-gyu translated our answer for the producer. We all got up and left the café.
