I arrived at the restaurant where I had agreed to meet Jinwoo. It was Ji-chun Hong’s restaurant.
“Did you run here?” Jinwoo asked.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Some weird lady kept following me.”
“A weird lady?”
“Yeah. She kept talking about some powers of the universe or whatever.”
“She’s a scammer. You should’ve just ignored her.”
“Oh?”
A scammer, huh? I thought there was something off about her.
“Let’s go in.”
Jinwoo went in first and I followed soon after. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted happily by Ji-chun.
“Oh my god, Mr. Park! You’re here!”
That voice. It was so nice to hear it after a while. Finally, Ji-chun looked at me.
“Oh my god, you’re here too!”
He gave me a big hug. I gave him a slight push. I don’t like getting physical with men.
“Aw, babe. You don’t like me anymore?”
“No. It’s just…”
“You’re not still suspicious of me, are you? I’m gay. The king of gays. I’m probably the safest guy to be around.”
“Yeah, yeah.”
It’s because I’m a guy, okay?
“Ji-chun, I have some things to discuss with Sian. Is there somewhere the two of us can sit?”
“Of course. Pick any table you like. How about the ones by the windows on the second floor?”
“That sounds good.”
“Follow me, then.”
Ji-chun led us to the second floor. A new part-timer followed behind us. She was a girl and was incredibly cute.
“Is this good?”
“Very nice,” Jinwoo said, giving Ji-chun a thumbs up. I sat down on the seat across from Jinwoo.
“Here’s the menu. Hyun-ji, come down after getting their orders.”
“Yes, Sir.”
With a wink, Ji-chun walked back downstairs. The part-timer stood near us, ready to take our order. She was so pretty. How was that possible? Her face was tiny but her eyes were huge. She had a cute ski-dive nose and luscious lips. She could be a celebrity with that face.
“Sian, what do you want to eat?”
“Everything.”
“Huh? Oh, okay.”
For a second, Jinwoo was shocked but that hastily disappeared. After all, by this time, he should know what I’m like.
“Here. Miss, could you take this?” Jinwoo said, handing the part-timer the menu. The part-timer looked at him with a confused expression.
“Your order…”
“Just give us everything here.”
“W-what…?”
The cute part-timer became more confused.
“We’d like to order everything on the menu,” I explained politely. At that, the part-timer gave a nod of understanding and went back downstairs.
“Seems like everyone knows about your eating habits now.”
“Do they?” I said with a smile.
“Alright, on to the main topic. We have some things to discuss.”
“Right. Go ahead.”
“It’s about the Chinese show, Run and Run.”
“Yeah.”
“They want you. That okay?”
“Yeah,” I replied with a nod.
“Good. I figured you’d say yes, so I already signed the contract.”
“Good.”
I don’t even get mad anymore. If he tells me to do it, I’ll just do it. I guess I can take this opportunity to visit China.
“So who’s going with me?”
“The cast members of Jumping Man, Flying Man…aside from Miyeon.”
“So that’s Guk-jong, Sipko, Jijin, Yoo-gwang, and Jun-man, right?”
“Yep. I think they’ll split you into two teams of six.”
“Sounds like fun.”
“Yep.”
“When am I leaving?”
I swear if he says it’s tomorrow…
“Tomorrow.”
I clenched my fist.
“What?”
I unclenched my fist.
“I could’ve sworn I just saw you clench your fist at me. Were you going to hit me?”
“Of course not,” I said, casually clenching and unclenching my fist.
“Anyways, yeah. You’re leaving tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
And soon enough, the food came out. Right on cue.
“Looks good.”
The food did look amazing…I could not take my eyes off of it.
“Excuse me, miss. Would you like to join us?” I asked the cute part-timer.
“No. That’s okay,” the part-timer declined with a sweet smile. In response, I cut a piece of the steak and held it out for her to eat. The part-timer took it and chewed, a shy expression on her face. My heart fluttered at the sight.
“Do you want more?”
“Oh, no…hehe…it’s okay.”
And so, I picked up a plump shrimp and gave that to her as well. The girl chewed that just as happily. She looked so cute when she was eating. Just watching her eat made me full. No…wait, that’s a lie.
***
The next day.
Surprisingly, the plans changed. Initially, the plan was for me and the Korean cast members to go to China. But what happened was that the Run and Run members decided to come to Korea instead. It was a last-minute decision, which threw everything off, but I didn’t mind. This meant that I wouldn’t have to fly to China.
“So is Jang-chun coming to Korea as well?” Jia asked, looking nervous. Jang-chun. A cast member of Run and Run, as well as the hottest star in China right now. Not only is he good-looking, but he’s apparently a good guy too, which is why he’s so popular. Of course, you can never know what a person is really like. A lot of celebrities in Korea are like that – good on the outside, but awful on the inside. A lot of them are very promiscuous. Jang-chun could easily end up being like that.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I want to meet him,” Jia began to whine.
“You want to?”
“Yeah. He’s so handsome.”
“Ha. Yeah, right.”
Honestly, he was too feminine for my taste. Why do people think that’s good looking? I’ll never understand it.
“You know, I’ve always thought this but, Sian, your standards are way too high. I haven’t heard you call anyone handsome once. That’s why you don’t have a boyfriend.”
“I don’t care.”
Seriously, I don’t. Why would I want to date a guy?
“Do you not like guys?” Jia asked, sounding serious. Was she that awed by the idea of me rejecting every guy that came my way?
“No, I don’t.”
“But you like girls?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
If I had to choose, I’d choose girls.
“Wait…then…are you…a…lesbian?!” Jia gasped, covering her chest with both hands. Not that she has much to cover anyway.
“I’m not a lesbian…”
Seriously, I’m not. But…but….ugh. I don’t know. If I like girls, does that mean I’m a lesbian? This is so confusing.
“Then why don’t you like guys?”
“I just don’t like them.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow.”
“I know.”
Trust me. I’m still shocked by the fact that I was reborn as a girl. Pissed as well.
“Anyways, if you meet Jang-chun, can you get me an autograph?”
“Um…”
“Please?”
“Okay.”
One autograph won’t do any harm. If they were to meet, that would be bad, but an autograph was no big deal.
***
Another day passed. Time sure passed quickly. Since I had to be on set early in the morning, I quickly washed up and left the dorms.
“Sian, hurry!” Hak-gyu said, waving at me. I ran over to him. I was so fast that Hak-gyu was shocked.
“Why so shocked?”
“Oh….nothing…it’s just…now…you…what’s wrong with me?” Hak-gyu asked, shaking his head. Well, I couldn’t blame him for being shocked. Anyways, I got into the van.
“Hey, Sian.”
“Yes?”
“You know Jang-chun, right?”
“Of course.”
He’s the one I’m filming with, isn’t he?
“His manager called me.”
“You? Why?”
“He asked for your number.”
“What?”
That was weird.
“So did you give it to him?”
“Of course not.”
“Good.”
“I knew you wouldn’t want me to,” Hak-gyu said with a smile.
“But why did he want my number?”
I had a feeling I knew the answer, but I asked just in case.
“Probably because Jang-chun is interested in you. He’s said it before on the Chinese show as well. That you’re his ideal type.”
“Oh? Really?”
Ugh, gross. There’s no time in liking a person, but how should I put this? I didn’t like the idea of a guy liking me. That means he’s probably masturbated while thinking of me. Ew.
“Yeah. It seems like he really likes you. He’ll probably try something with you, so don’t hit him too hard.”
“I won’t.”
I wouldn’t want to start a war with China.
“But what does he do again?” I asked, slightly curious.
“Oh, he’s an actor. A movie actor.”
“A movie actor?”
“Yeah. You know how China has a lot of martial arts films? That’s how he became famous. Apparently, he’s good at martial arts.”
“Oh? You don’t say.”
“Yeah. He says that’s why he likes girls who can fight. That’s you.”
“I have boobs too, you know.”
Not just that, but my face is pretty as well. In short, I’m everyone’s ideal type. But Hak-gyu flushed at my words.
“Uh, r-right…”
“If he asks for my number again, don’t give it to him. Okay?”
“Okay. But seriously, don’t beat him up, okay? Because of your comments about Dokdo and comfort women, the pro-Japanese groups are losing it. You have a lot of antis in Japan.”
“Like I care.”
Seriously, I don’t. If they hate me that much, they can come and fight me. I can pummel them all in my sleep.
“Right…well…just be careful. Don’t make trouble for Mr. Park.”
“Okay. But since when are you on Jinwoo’s side?”
Really. Since when?
“He gave me a raise.”
“Oh.”
Well, if that’s the case, I couldn’t blame him. Anyways, after a while, we arrived at the set.
***
“Hello,” I said, walking into a café. The members of Jumping Man, Flying Man were sitting inside. It wasn’t time to film yet, so we were all meeting beforehand.
“Sian, over here,” Ji-jin said, gesturing to the seat next to me, but Yoo-gwang was already in that seat.
“Oh, Yoo-gwang, move.”
“Huh? Hey, I was here even before you came,” Yoo-gwang protested. Ji-jin began to push him.
“Sian! Sit here!”
“Uh…”
I hesitated. Yoo-gwang and Ji-jin soon got into a mini-wrestling match and in the end, Ji-jin won.
“You. Go sit over there at the end.”
“Ugh. If only I were older than you…” Yoo-gwang muttered angrily, moving to the indicated seat. I took the seat next to Ji-jin. On the other side of me, Sipko blushed.
“Hi. Gecko, right?”
“My name is Sipko.”
“Oh, sorry. Sipko.”
What kind of name is Sipko? Weird name.
“Sian, have you eaten yet?” Guk-jong asked from his seat on the other end. Just look at his muscular stature.
“No, not yet,” I lied. The truth is, I had but it didn’t feel like I had eaten yet. If I’m hungry, then that means I need to eat, right?
“Oh, no. Let’s order something then. Hey, Mr. Producer!” Guk-jong called out. At that, the producer turned around to look at us, though he didn’t seem very happy about it. Ji-jin began to scold Guk-jong.
“Hey, don’t talk to him like that. You need to be gentler.”
“But Sian says she’s hungry.”
“What does that have to do with this?”
“Ugh, this guy. You want to get hit with that cake?” Guk-jong teased, getting out of his seat. Ji-jin immediately backed down.
“Now you’re using cake to attack people.”
Everyone laughed at that.
“Oh, Sian. You haven’t eaten. I’ll get you some cake. We’ll start after you eat.”
The producer ended up buying me some cake and placed it in front of me. The other cast members all lifted their forks and began to dig in. Wait, wasn’t the cake given to me? I was tempted to poke everyone with my fork, but I refrained myself. But then, all of a sudden, Yoo-gwang began to scoop up the cake with his hands! And when there was so little left as well!
“Hey, use your fork!” Ji-jin said, slapping Yoo-gwang on the back of his head.
Squish squish.
I then began to eat with my hands as well.
