Later that night, I got a phone call from Christine.
– Sian!
“Yeah,” I replied shortly. Christine’s voice, on the other hand, was very energetic. Clearly something good had happened. Oh yeah, she got casted on a program with me.
– Is it true that you’re going to be on Idol Dream Team?
“Yeah. You’re on there as well, right?”
– Of course! So I’ll see you tomorrow then?
“Yeah.”
The way she’s so excited to see me…there was something so attractive about it…
‘Breathe, Sian. Get a hold of yourself.’
I took a deep breath to calm myself. All of a sudden, a worrying thought came over me. I’m not turning into a lesbian, am I…? That…can never happen. I’ll be representing Lovely Girlz!
– I’m going to stick to you like glue tomorrow!
“Um…o-okay.”
Aw, great. This was not good.
So, I changed my answer.
“Actually, no. Don’t do that.”
– Why not?
“Just don’t.”
Please don’t. I am a guy, after all…
– Nuh-uh.
“….”
Anyways, we talked a bit longer and then hung up. Christine was adamant and stubborn about being with me tomorrow. She also made sure to tell me not to stare at other girls.
“Ugh…”
This is concerning. That is, the fact that I may be attracted to her again is what’s concerning.
After a while, I managed to go to sleep.
***
It was a nice day. Since I had to be on set in the morning, I had to leave the dorm fast and early.
“I’m ready.”
“Already?” Jia asked, horrified. Well, not that I could blame her since all I did was wet my face. But really, do I need anything more?
“Let me do your makeup.”
“There’s no time.”
“I just need sixty seconds.”
“Huh?”
Is it possible to finish someone’s makeup in sixty seconds? Well, apparently, for Jia it was. She really did manage to fix me up in one minute. That’s impressive.
“Thanks.”
“Have fun, Sian. I wish I could go cheer you on, but we have the commercial.”
Jia looked incredibly sad. She probably felt sorry that I was going to film a program all by myself. She’s so sweet. No wonder I liked her.
“It’s fine. I hope it goes well. I’ll be there with you in spirit.”
“Okay. Be careful, okay? And make sure to win!”
With that, Jia gave me a big hug and my heart skipped a beat. Jesus, I’m going to go crazy with this girl.
Soon enough, I was heading out the door. Hak-gyu was already waiting at the van for me.
“Get in.”
“Okay.”
I climbed into the van, then started speaking to Hak-gyu.
“Slept well?”
“Uh…yeah…sure,” he said.
“Must be tiring to have to start the day so early.”
“I mean, it can’t be helped. I am the manager after all.”
“But it’s not like you get paid extra.”
“Yeah.” Hak-gyu’s face fell at that.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll get a raise soon. It’s not like Jinwoo’s a bad boss.”
“Actually, he did mention something about giving me a raise next month. I wonder by how much.”
“I hope it’s a lot.”
I meant it, too. Because of me, Hak-gyu has to put up with a lot. Look at all the stuff that happened in Japan. Not to mention, all the stuff he does for the other members. Oh, but we did get two other managers. That made things a bit better for Hak-gyu, but not by much. Mostly because I’m so busy. That’s right. Hak-gyu is officially assigned to me now.
“Hey, Sian.”
“Yeah?”
“Um…you know how we’re on a first name basis now?” Hak-gyu said slowly.
“Yeah. You told me I could call you by your first name.”
He did. I remember. Besides, technically, Hak-gyu and I are the same age. I had no intention of calling him ‘Sir’ or any other formal titles, thank you very much.
“Uh yeah, but it’s just…the other managers have been talking and….”
“What about it?” I asked. Just asking.
“I can’t tell you because I’m afraid you’ll go after them…”
What am I, a thug? Guess I better work on my reputation…
“Fine. So, treat you with more respect then?”
“Yeah. Like, when it’s just the two of us, you can act as you normally do, but when there’s other managers around, maybe…”
“Okay, but I’m not calling you Mr. Lee or Sir or anything like that.”
Yeah. No way. I’d rather cut my tongue off.
“Then…”
“I’ll just call you what I used you. Manager Lee. Okay?”
“Okay!”
So he’s back to Manager again. I mean, physically, I am twenty-one. Being all friendly with Hak-gyu would probably seem strange to some people.
“Hey, Hak-gyu. I mean, Manager Lee.”
“It’s okay if it’s just the two of us.”
“Nuh-uh. I have to get back into the habit. So, Manager Lee.”
“Yeah?”
“Who else is going to be there?” I asked. Aside from Christine, I really didn’t care, which is why I hadn’t bothered to ask before now.
“For the female idols, I know it’s you, Christine, and Hamsung Lee.”
“Hamsung Lee?”
Her name sounded familiar.
“Yeah. You don’t know her? She’s an adult film actress.”
“Oh!”
I bet every other guy would react the same way.
“But if she’s an actress, then she’s not an idol.”
“That’s just the name of the program. You don’t have to be an idol to be on it.”
“Oh, okay. But why would an adult actress be on a show like this one…”
“It’s been a while since she’s actually done any of that stuff. These days, she’s doing a lot of variety shows. She’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah?”
Well, if Hak-gyu says so, then it must be true. But she’s an adult film actress…well, they don’t exactly have the best reputation, do they?
“What about the guys?”
“For the guys, there’s one that’s a cast member of the show along with two guests.”
“So who are they?”
“The cast member is Dongmin Lee and the other two are from Han Entertainment. Hyunsoo Kim and Jun-gyu Park.”
Han Entertainment. Ugh, just hearing that name made all of my hair stand up.
“Singers?”
“Yeah. Dongmin is the leader of Lion Boys. Hyunsoo and Jun-gyu are a ballad duo. You know, the Playboys.”
“Oh.”
Now, I remember them. The Lion Boys aren’t that popular, but they get by. The Playboys, on the other hand, are incredibly popular. Not only are they talented, but they’re both good-looking, very tall, and have killer visuals, so they have a lot of female fans.
“But, the thing is…” Hak-gyu spoke up, looking worried.
“Yeah, what is it?”
“I’ve heard some things about Hyunsoo and Jun-gyu.”
“Yeah? Like what?”
“This is just stuff I’ve heard from the other managers, but they’re…not that nice.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know. Slam, bam, thank you ma’am.”
“Oh.”
Well, well, well.
“And they really don’t keep boundaries, so I’m worried.”
“You worried they’ll try something with me?”
“No. I’m worried that they will and you’ll kill them for it.”
“….”
“Please. Don’t do anything. They’re from Han Entertainment. Nothing good will come out of messing with them…and it will cause more trouble for Mr. Park as well.”
“Well, as long as they don’t do anything to me, I have no reason to do anything to them.”
Really. I don’t just walk up to people and ask for trouble. I’m a nice(ish) person, you know.
“I’m saying this because they probably will try something with you. A lot of guys like you, so there’s no way they wouldn’t try something with you. I bet you’re already on their radar.”
“Guess I’ll have to do something about that.”
“Sian, please…”
“Okay, okay. I won’t do anything drastic. I’ll just set my boundaries loud and clear. Okay?”
“Okay. As long as they don’t physically get hurt.”
“Fine.”
It’s fine. I know how to hurt someone without causing any bruising. No one would believe they’re hurt.
After a while, Hak-gyu and I finally arrived on the film set.
***
The first thing I noticed was the size. In the distance, I saw a huge obstacle course being set up. And further on, I saw a pool with large tube rafts floating in it.
“Looks like they’re setting up a game.”
After all, that’s what a variety show is, right? From what I can tell, it probably involves us going up on those rafts and having some sort of match or something.
Just then, the show producer came up to me.
“Hello. Sian, right?”
“Oh, hi,” I said with a bow. As I did, I took a good look at him. He was of average height and looked like a teddy bear. Maybe it was the glasses. Anyways, he looks like a nice guy. His name was Minjoon Yoo.
“You’re here early,” he said with a bright smile.
“Oh, weren’t we supposed to be here at 7?”
“No. 8.”
“Oh.”
I stared at Hak-gyu. I guess he got the time wrong because he immediately apologized.
“Did you eat breakfast?”
“Well, I did, but…only a little bit.”
It’s true. Hak-gyu got me some kimbap to eat in the van, but no way was that enough. The only person who has ever managed to fill up my stomach was the youngest daughter of Saman Group, Nayoung Kim.
“Oh, really? We have bentos over there, so help yourself while you wait. Once the MCs are here, we’ll start filming.”
“Okay. But who are they…?” I asked, pointing to some people off in the distance. They were stretching and doing warm-ups. There were three men and three women, and I got to say, they were ripped. Even the women.
“Those are the athletes that will be competing with the idols today. They look amazing, right? You idols may have your work cut out for you today. Oh, but…”
“Yes?”
“Hmmm…since you’re here, it might be okay.”
“Oh.”
Right. Since I had a reputation of being athletic.
“I look forward to watching you in person. Oh, but no hitting,” the producer said with a smile.
I smiled back.
“Haha. Of course.”
I’ll have to be really careful today. My reputation is worse than I thought.
Just then, all the athletes looked right at me, so I looked right back. It was too far away to see what expressions they had on their faces. At least, for normal people, that is. For me, I could do it. And from what I saw, they were smirking at me. Almost as if they were sure they could beat me.
“Are they making fun of me?”
I smirked back at them. I guess I can’t blame them since they haven’t seen my skills firsthand either. A lot of people who still doubt my skills react the same way. Anyways, I was soon distracted by the arrival of Christine.
“Sian!”
The moment she saw me, she ran into my arms. I readily opened my arms to greet her. But man, this girl was squeezing me tight.
“Um…”
For a second, my heart started to pound, but I quickly tamped that down.
“How’ve you been?” Christine said, looking up at me. Wow, she was pretty. She had a bit of a tan, but her features were stunning. The more I look at her, the more attractive she is. To think a lesbian could be this pretty.
“I’ve been good. You?”
“Good! I was so excited to see you,” Christine said, taking my hand. Okay, I can allow this much. At that moment, Mr. Yoo was staring at us, but then left with a big smile on his face. Girls hold hands all the time, but Christine was real close to crossing the line so I drew back.
“Hey.”
“Hmph.”
“Watch it.”
Christine pouted. To be honest, I was sad too. If only I were physically a guy…ugh, let’s not think about that.
“Fine. But you have to stay with me all day. Okay?”
“Okay,” I answered. Like I would mind that.
After a while, the two members of Playboys showed up – Hyunsoo and Jun-gyu. I noticed all of the female staff members couldn’t stop staring. Of course, I didn’t really care and neither did Christine as she was too busy staring at me. Unfortunately, those two immediately began to walk towards us. Like two predators stalking its prey.
Soon enough, the two were right in front of us.
“Hi. Sian and Christine, right?”
