Everyone gathered around before the main producer started to speak.
“Now, as always, we will start with luggage inspection. If you have anything you know you won’t need, put it in the center.”
But no one did. The producer smiled.
“Alright, you want to do this the hard way, eh? Fine. The staff will search your bags.”
The male staff approached each of us. I got Lobster Head himself.
“May I have your bag, please?”
“Sure,” I said, tossing him my bag. Lobster Head opened it and looked inside. His eyes widened in shock.
“There’s nothing in here.”
“Yes, there is.”
“W-where…?” Lobster Head asked. I pointed at the front pocket. The man unzipped it and looked inside, finding my sunscreen and razor.
“Is this all?”
“Yep.”
“….”
“What? You told me to only bring the essentials.”
“We did, but…you’re the first one to actually bring so little.”
Lobster Head gave me a weird look.
“Oh my fucking god.”
“What?”
“Oh, sorry,” I apologized. My PMS was at it again. Actually, it seemed to be making me just irritable in general. There’s also the fact that I haven’t been able to satisfy myself properly since I came to this world. Maybe that was the case. Men in general have a bigger sexual appetite than women. When a woman has heightened sexual appetite, it’s said to be the same level as that of an average man. Anyways, I’m a full grown man with desires as any man…but my body is that of a woman…without the usual tools…and women keep clinging onto me. But…it’s not like I can just become a lesbian and enjoy myself because how can I enjoy myself with a woman when I don’t have…you know…
Anyways, that’s my life now. I feel like I’m being punished. And the PMS was just making it worse.
“It’s fine. Not like it’s the first time you’re cursing at me.”
“I’ve only done it once, you know.”
“Oh, right. Well, anyways, I guess we’re done then. You brought so little though. I kind of want to pack your bag for you.”
“Right.”
“Wait here for a bit.”
With that, Lobster Head walked over to Miyeon. Poor girl. She brought her yoga mat. Why? Did she actually expect to do yoga in the savanna? Sigh. She also brought her yoga clothes. Her entire bag was filled with yoga stuff. Of course, none of it was allowed.
“Then, what am I supposed to do here?”
“Well…if we end up doing yoga, we’ll give it back to you.”
“I do yoga every night. If I don’t, I can’t sleep,” Miyeon said, her face hardening. It clearly said, “You better give it to me at night or else.”
“Just get bitten by the mosquitos then,” I said.
“But…I wanted to show my yoga skills.”
“I’m sure you’ll have your chance,” I said.
“Alright,” she said.
Soon, the inspection was over.
“Now for the instructors,” the main producer said.
“Do you see that watchtower over there?” he said, pointing at one in the distance. We all turned to look.
“As long as you don’t go past the watchtower, you’ll be safe. Beyond that is very dangerous. Understand?”
“What happens if we go beyond that point?” I asked, raising my hand. Hey, there’s always one in the class that asks, isn’t there? And they’re always the ones that go as well.
“Then you become predator food,” the producer said with a smile. He’s probably thinking, ‘There’s no way anyone of them will plan to go beyond that point.’
Well, I do.
“So this area is safe, right?” Byung-hoon asked. He was taking his job as our leader very seriously.
“Yes, it is. There is a fence all around us. The big, dangerous animals can’t get in. This area is also very popular with tourists, plus there are safety personnel everywhere, so you’ll be safe.”
Still, it was a little worrying. Those big, dangerous animals always have one that try to get over. Anyways, the producer kept going.
“Now ready for your first mission?”
“Yes!” we all answered.
“The first mission is to build your shelter. This area may be safe, but there are other wild animals in the area. Especially warthogs. You don’t want to come across one.”
“I thought you said this area was safe,” Byung-hoon snapped. It was because in his opinion, a warthog was plenty dangerous. Well, they are though.
“The safety personnel will take care of them, so you don’t have to worry too much.”
“But…warthogs are dangerous…”
“The warthogs in these areas don’t just attack people senselessly,” the producer said, trying to sound assuring.
Byung-hoon still remained skeptical.
“Well, if it attacks, we can catch it,” the other team leader spoke. Areum Lee. A delicate name for a strong man. Yep, a man. Anyways, he kept talking.
“I thought you’ve caught warthogs before? Or is the idea of catching one without your entourage that’s scaring you?” he said.
Byung-hoon was clearly mad, though he didn’t show it. Well, not much anyway.
“Are you trying to provoke me?”
“Makes it more fun,” Areum said.
After a while, Byung-hoon gave a cold smile.
“Fine,” he said. “We’ll see who’s laughing in the end. Just watch. You’ll wish you hadn’t come.”
“And we’ll show you and everyone watching that this survival show is nothing but a picnic,” Areum countered.
And that statement alone made the main producer angry. But as the producer, he couldn’t get involved in the fight.
“Alright. Well…let’s get started,” the producer said, sounding a little dark.
Byung-hoon and the rest of us went over to the left while Areum and his team went over to the right. The staff split into two to help both teams.
“Doesn’t Areum look like a pig himself?” Miyeon said, glaring at the man. I guess she didn’t like the other team either.
“He looks like a dog,” I said.
“Ha. What does that look like?”
“Like that,” I said, pointing at Minwoo. Minwoo stared at me.
“What?”
“Nothing,” I said with a smile. Miyeon laughed as well.
Just then, Junho walked over to me.
“Hi, Sian. How have you been?” he said, giving me a bright smile. He seemed genuinely happy to see me.
“I’ve been good. You?”
“Me too. And can I just say, you were amazing when you caught those terrorists.”
“What?”
What was he saying? Then again, he was one of the few who had an inkling of what I could truly do, considering I rescued his ass during that flood the last time I was on the show. Ever since then, he seemed to get the idea that perhaps I wasn’t fully human. And so, I couldn’t totally blame him at this moment.
“Weren’t you scared?”
“It wasn’t me,” I said quickly. If too many people learned about me, it would only cause trouble for me later. There’s already two people who know too much: Jinwoo and Nayoung. Oh yeah, and Gapchan Lee from Han Entertainment. As well as a few eyewitnesses here and there. Hmm…Christine probably suspects me as well. Crap, there was more than I thought.
“Aw, come on. I know everything. The backside of her looked just like you.”
“….”
Has he been checking out my ass?
“You’re the only girl who is brave enough to go in and fight like that. You did something quite admirable, Sian.”
“….”
“But are you really an alien?” Junho whispered to me.
I shook my head.
“You ever seen an alien this pretty?”
“Aliens can change form.”
“Aliens aren’t Power Rangers. Don’t be stupid. You should stop watching so many movies.”
“So you’re not an alien?” Junho said, looking rather relieved.
“I said I’m not. Are you f…are you deaf?”
Whew, that was closed.
“You seem annoyed…”
“Sorry,” I apologized quickly. Just then, we heard Byung-hoon cry out.
“Look over there!”
We all looked at the direction he was pointing and it didn’t take long for us to see what he was pointing at. There was a huge rat. Everyone gasped in shock.
“Whoa!”
“Wow.”
I was surprised as well. I’ve never seen a rat that big before. It was as big as my thigh.
“Giant mouse,” the local guide said to us. He didn’t seem scared at all as the interpreter translated for us.
“He says it’s not totally dangerous.”
Not totally dangerous doesn’t mean completely safe now, does it? Anyways, the interpreter continued.
“The locals around here like to catch it and eat it. You can do that too, if you want.”
Everyone shook their heads. The rat didn’t look too appetizing. It was just so big. And its big, sharp teeth put the thought of eating it out of everyone’s mind.
“Let’s just let it go,” Junho said.
“No way,” Byung-hoon said. He clearly had hunting plans in his mind.
“Let’s try hunting it,” he said.
“What?”
“Why?”
“Oh my god.”
“Looks good.”
The last one was me. I was the only one to agree with Byung-hoon. The rat was staring at us, but it didn’t look like it was running away anytime soon. Did it plan to fight us? Then again, the local guide said that they weren’t that dangerous.
“You occasionally get an aggressive one. It looks like he’s one of them,” the interpreter just translated. Everyone stared at him.
“Then what do we do now?” Byung-hoon asked, looking worried.
“He says everyone should run,” the interpreter said, translating what the local guide said to him. Everyone began to panic.
“Fuck!”
“We’re doomed!”
“Aw, shit!”
The last one was surprisingly Miyeon. I was shocked. She looked so delicate on the outside. Just then, the interpreter spoke up.
“He says he’s joking. Wait, what?”
Now the interpreter was staring at the guide incredulously, and the guide apologized with a sheepish smile. Are you serious?
The guide said something again and the interpreter translated.
“He won’t attack, so go ahead and try to catch it.”
The interpreter had a relieved smile on his face. But just then, the rat came towards us. We all stared at each other, wondering what was going on. Then, we all looked at the interpreter, who then looked at the guide. The guide simply shrugged, having no idea what was happening himself. Just then, someone cried out.
“Run!”
