Chomp! Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
The sound of chewing rang throughout the auditorium. Where I’m from, people are constantly worried about when their next meal is going to be. But here, they have so much food that they even hold contests with it. How can two worlds be so different from one another?
“Ummf!”
Just then, one of the contestants threw up. Upon seeing that, the women on both sides of her started to throw up as well.
“Gross.”
How could they just throw up something they ate? You’re supposed to swallow it. I looked over at Gayeon. She was doing just fine. She didn’t seem to be struggling at all. But now that I think about it, why was she so skinny? Looking around, I saw that a lot of the bigger people had the most trouble finishing. It was the skinny people that seemed to be faring better. If they’re that skinny even after all that food, that most likely means that they have incredibly fast metabolisms. All the people who won so far were rather skinny. Well, except Jinwoo Lee. He was undoubtedly fat.
“Oh wow.”
Gayeon has eaten over 30 hotdogs, and it’s only been five minutes. She really was fast. Last year’s champion Black Widow ate 37, but this girl already ate 30. The reporters were going frantic, taking photos.
Gayeon separated the bread from the sausage, eating the bread first. But unlike Jinwoo, she wasn’t that gross while eating. Not that she was lady-like at all either, but you could watch her without grossing out. Anyways, she soon started to speed up.
“She’s really good.”
Soon, she passed 40, and then 45. After that, she began to slow down and started eating the hotdogs in smaller bites. Finally, she reached 50 and then stopped. The audience began to clap, the foreigners could not help but do so as well. It was almost like they were welcoming a new hero. Gayeon simply flashed a modest smile. The host then walked over to her.
“Wow, Gayeon! Congratulations!”
“Uurrp!”
The moment the host held out his mic, Gayeon threw up all over the microphone and the hand holding it. For a moment, a look of disgust flashed over the host’s face, but he quickly replaced it with an understanding smile.
“Could I have a new mic please?”
The master of composure.
After receiving a new microphone, the host held it out again. And again, Gayeon threw up.
“Blech~!”
“Ergh!”
Once again, Gayeon threw up all over the mic and got more vomit on the host’s hand. The host stepped back in horror, but a complacent smile was right back on his face. But now, he was more hesitant as he held out his mic.
“Are you feeling okay now…?”
“Yes. I’m fine no…blech!”
The host immediately drew back his mic, but there was no vomit this time. It was just Gayeon’s stomach settling down. Now that she felt better, she flashed another smile and the host dared to approach her again.
“Feeling okay now?”
“Yep,” Gayeon replied with a firm nod.
“That’s good. So let me ask again. Today, you ate 50 hotdogs. You beat your previous record by 45 hotdogs. How do you feel about that? Are you satisfied with your performance today?”
“Nope,” Gayeon answered with a nod. People gasped, looking impressed.
“You just surpassed Black Widow’s record by quite a lot. Are you saying that it’s still not enough?”
“Yes. The truth is, while I was practicing, I was able to eat up to 55,” Gayeon answered with a shrug.
“Wow~”
The audience gasped again.
“Really?! Wow. That’s amazing. I don’t think it will be long before you hold the championship belt with your own two hands!”
“Of course,” Gayeon said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
“Then, is there anything you’d like to say to the current champion Black Widow?” the host asked. All the cameras turned towards Gayeon, who opened her mouth to speak.
“Hey, Black Widow. Your time is almost over. Make sure you’re ready to leave.”
“Ooooh~”
The audience gasped again and everyone began to clap, acknowledging the possibility of a new champion.
“Oh, and one more thing,” Gayeon added suddenly. The host held out his mic again.
“Is this for your boyfriend?” he asked with a jeering smile.
Gayeon shook her head. Then all of a sudden, she looked right at me.
“I want to say something to Sian.”
“Oh!” everyone exclaimed. Now the cameras were on me.
“What about me?”
I tilted my head to the side. I’ve never even spoken to Gayeon. What could she possibly have to say to me? Anyways, since she was staring at me, I stared right back at her. Though I did sneak a smile and a wink at the camera.
The host spoke once more.
“Yes, Sian is one of the most popular members of Lovely Girlz. I also hear she’s incredibly good at fighting. Not only that, but apparently, she has an incredible stomach as well and is known for eating large amounts of food. But you guys all know that, right?”
“Yes!” everyone answered at once.
True. At this point, it was most likely that everyone knew about me. It wasn’t just fans who knew about me, but regular people as well. Not to mention the number of times I’ve ranked number one on the search portal sites.
“Well then. What is it that you would like to say to Sian, Gayeon?” the host said, looking very excited as he held the mic out to Gayeon.
With a smile, she looked at me and spoke.
“Hey, Sian. I hear that you eat the most out of all the celebrities out there. And that you really enjoy eating as well. That’s probably why you joined this competition. But you know? You’re a fish out of water here and there’s no way you’ll be able to beat me. Don’t beat yourself up over that, okay? I’m just that good. You were just unfortunate to be born in the wrong time. So good luck! Just have fun. It’s not like you could win even if you tried.”
Everyone ‘ooh-ed’ and aah-ed at her words. Though I did hear a few ‘boo’s’ in there as well. Those would be my fans.
“Pfft.”
I snorted. Soon Team 2 was up. I was number 5, which placed me right in the middle. The moment I took my spot, the cameras went crazy. It was probably amazing that a girl group member even came out to compete in something like this in the first place. The foreign reporters, on the other hand, didn’t really seem to care. Their cameras were looking at a completely different direction as they chatted with one another. The audience, of course, was only interested in how pretty I looked at the moment. They didn’t care about how much I could eat. Then again, considering only a few people knew what I was capable of, I wasn’t surprised in the very least.
“Now! Before we begin! She’s a girl group member! Known for her voracious appetite! Let’s have a quick interview with Sian Lee!”
The host whipped out the microphone towards me, knocking me right in the mouth.
Thwack.
“Ow.”
‘You motherfucker.’
Luckily, I kept the curses to myself.
“Oh, sorry. Are you alright? I was just so excited…” the host said, looking apologetic. I gave him a bright smile, telling him I was fine.
“I’m okay. Totally understand. I can just talk to this, right?”
“Yes, go ahead,” the host said, holding out the mic again. Albeit a bit more carefully this time.
I leaned into it to speak.
“Ah. Ah. Yes. Hello, everyone! I’m the beautiful, sexy, lovely Sian from Lovely Girlz! It’s nice to meet you all here today!”
“Whooo!!”
Wow, everyone sounded really excited. The theatre almost shook with the sound. More people joined in on the cheering and I gave a wink. I could see a few swoon at that.
“Wow. Just listen to the crowd. You really are popular!” the host shouted excitedly. Still, the foreign reporters clearly couldn’t care less. They were only interested in Jinwoo and Gayeon. The host held out his mic again.
“But there’s something I wanted to ask, and I’m sure other people want to know as well. May I ask you something?”
“Yes, of course,” I said.
The host asked, “Is it okay for a girl group member to compete in something like this? It won’t ruin your image, will it?”
“I don’t think it matters. My fans know how much I eat and they still love me anyway.”
“Whooooo!!”
The audience cheered at my words.
“Go, Sian!”
“Sian! We love you!”
“I hope you choke!”
I found the guy who had shouted that last part. I’ll get you for that later, you bastard.
“You’re right about that. Even amongst celebrities, you’re famous for the amount of food that you eat, but that’s only compared to average folks. I’m not sure how you’ll hold up against professional food eaters. The people here are on a different level. Almost like monsters. Oh, was that rude? My apologies.”
The host smiled and the competitors all smiled back good-naturedly.
The host spoke up again.
“Have you been practicing?”
“Of course.”
“How many were you able to eat?” the host asked curiously, and it wasn’t just him. Looking around, I saw other curious faces looking at me.
“120?”
“Pfft.”
The host coughed a laugh at my answer, and so did everyone else. Yeah, I guess it didn’t sound funny. Go ahead and laugh.
“You’re very funny, Sian.”
“But I’m serious.”
“Wow, a good actress too. You should consider acting in the future.”
“Sure.”
As a matter of fact, it probably won’t be long before I’m starring in one. I remember hearing that an offer came in for a drama about an unemployed fighter. But wait a second, is this guy making fun of me?
“Are the other members here to support you?” the host asked.
“Unfortunately, no. They had another schedule to attend to.”
“Aw, too bad. I’m sure the audience members would’ve loved to see that,” the host said. He did seem sincerely disappointed. Then, he continued.
“So is no one here to support you?”
“I have my fans.”
My fans cheered at that.
“And I have my manager and Nayoung is here as well.”
The camera turned to face Nayoung, who immediately smiled and waved. The audience ooh-ed at the sight. This is probably the first time a daughter of a conglomerate had come to see something like this.
“I see. So, you have the most supporters out of everyone here. Well then! Good luck to you! I’m sure you can eat least 10, right?”
“Yes.”
And that concluded the interview and everyone prepared to dig in. I looked over at the hotdogs piled next to me. They did not look appetizing at all. It was plain ol’ bread and sausage. They couldn’t at least add some relish? Or give me a coke at least. Who drinks water with their hot dogs? Oh well, it can’t be helped.
“Get ready!” the host shouted. Everyone cheered, and I could hear Nayoung shouting in the audience.
“Go, Sian!”
I looked over at Nayoung and gave her a big smile. Who knew this would happen when I saved her in Japan? You really can’t expect these things. Soon, the host lifted the air pistol and began the countdown. All the contestants in Team 2 prepared themselves.
“One! Two! Bang!”
The sound rang throughout the auditorium and we all began to eat. Including me.
