Today was the day I would start filming 24-Hour Jungle. I didn’t even sleep at all. As to why, it would be so that I’d be able to fall asleep on the plane. Jia and Yoo-jin stayed up with me as well.
“This one.”
I picked up a pair of sunglasses and put them on.
“You look so cool!” Jia said, looking at me with admiring eyes. I preferred that much more than hearing ‘You’re beautiful.’ ‘Cool’ suits me more. That’s probably why I have so many female fans. All of my fan letters are from girls, especially from teenage girls.
“This is sunscreen?”
“Yeah, you spray it on,” Jia answered.
“Really?”
There’s spray-on sunscreen now?
“And this is eye-cream, BB cream, CC cream, vitamin supplements, face masks…”
“Stop,” I cut her off. At this point, it would take her another five minutes to name all of the cosmetics in my bag.
“Don’t you think there’s too much makeup?”
“You’re a girl group member. You need this stuff.”
“I don’t really need makeup though.”
“That’s true, but you need to make sure to always look your best,” Jia countered. She was quite firm as well.
“Sian, do you need this?” Yoo-jin said, holding out a bra. It was pretty big.
“What size is that?”
“D.”
“I’m a C.”
“Details, details. Just take it. It’s amazing.”
“Okay.”
I took the bra.
“Do you need padding, too?” Yoo-jin asked me.
“I’m not going off to show my chest,” I pointed out. And that concluded my packing. Oh, my watch.
“I need a watch…”
“Here,” Yoo-jin said, holding out hers.
“Is it waterproof,” I asked. I wanted to know because I was sure there were going to be times when I needed to be underwater.”
“What kind of watch nowadays aren’t waterproof? Go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
Now I was really finished. Oh, my razor. I need to shave.
“Where’s my razor?”
“Here,” Yoo-jin said again, this time handing me a razor. As she did, she added, “I told you to get laser hair removal.”
“We’ll see.”
I’m really going to have to consider it. It was getting annoying to have to shave every day.
“Hey, Sian, do you want to get a Brazilian with me next time?”
“….”
I didn’t know how to answer that question.
“Shall we go?”
The other members were sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake them up. We all said our goodbyes during dinner anyway.
“We’ll go to the airport with you, Sian.”
“Okay.”
I checked my phone. Hak-gyu should be here by now with the van…
And speak of the devil. He called me.
“Hey, Hak-gyu.”
It felt very natural to be on first-name basis with him. After all, I am technically the same age as him. There’s no reason to feel bothered.
“Should I go now?”
“Okay.”
“Let’s go, guys.”
I left the dorm with Jia and Yoo-jin in tow. The van was waiting for us outside. Oh, it was a different van this time. The Lovely Girlz members all chipped in to buy a new one.
Hak-gyu stepped out of the van.
“Oh, are you two coming as well?”
“Yes,” Jia and Yoo-jin answered at the same time. Now that I think about it, Jia came with me to the training center as well. She really is a sweetheart.
“Let’s go.”
I opened the van and climbed in. That’s when I saw Jinwoo sitting in the backseat.
“Uh…”
“Here, Sian,” Jinwoo said, patting the seat next to him. I took the seat.
“What are you doing here?”
“What do you mean? I won’t see you for a week. It’s only right that I see you off.”
“That’s very kind of you.”
“Yep,” Jinwoo said with a big smile.
“Is there something I should know?” I asked just in case there was. Then again, was there anything that I needed to be careful about? Like, the animals? Well, I’m glad to say that I’m immune to venoms and toxins so there’s nothing to worry about there. Oh, wait. That would be a no. I have a different body now. Am I still immune now? Considering that I still trained my skills, surely that must mean I’ve kept my immunity as well. Oh well. I guess I’ll find that out later.
“Yeah, right. Just don’t go wrestling with alligators.”
“Oh.”
How did he know that that was what I was planning to do?
“Why not?”
“What do you mean by why not? Do you want to get bitten and killed?” Jinwoo asked me, looking horrified.
“Who? Me?”
“Then, is it the alligator who will get bitten?”
“Maybe.”
I mean, why not? But Jinwoo continued to look at me as if I had lost my mind.
“You should go to the hospital.”
“….”
Anyways, we continued to chat as we headed towards the airport.
We finally arrived, but there were so many people. And a lot of reporters.
“Sian, let’s look at your outfit.”
Before I could get out of the van, Jinwoo looked at me from head to toe. A pair of jeans and a white T-shirt. And white sneakers. Oh, sunglasses as well.
“It’s rather plain.”
“So is your face.”
“You really do say whatever you want.”
“Sorry.”
“Here. Wear this.”
Jinwoo took off his own gold necklace and gave it to me.
“It looks expensive.”
“It costs around ten grand.”
“….”
“So don’t lose it.”
“Don’t worry.”
Like anyone would try to steal something from me. They’d die if they tried. There’s no way I’ll lose it.
“Actually, never mind. Give it back to me before you leave.”
“Okay.”
After putting on Jinwoo’s necklace, I got out of the van. At that moment, someone shouted my name and everyone turned to look at me. All of a sudden, they all started to run. It was like I was looking at a swarm of zombies.
“Sian!”
“Sian!”
“Sian, you’re amazing!”
There were female Japanese fans as well. The cameras went off. Luckily, my sunglasses shielded me from the flashes and I walked inside. Soon enough, the bodyguards surrounded me and barricaded the crowd, allowing me to havw a smooth and safe passage in.
“Take off your sunglasses!” someone shouted. I took them off. I smiled and greeted my fans. They absolutely lost it. Some even passed out. Anyone watching this would think they were dying, but was I really this popular? It was a bit surprising.
“Sian, you’re so cool!” Jia shouted from behind me. Jia, Jinwoo, and Yoo-jin were currently following right behind me. Some people were also shouting out Jia’s and Yoo-jin’s names, but most of them were calling out for me. Considering that the fans had come out to the airport to see me, it made sense. Looking around, I could see that I really did have a lot of female fans. I hardly saw any men.
“I think you need to hold a quick fanmeeting,” Jinwoo muttered behind me. Even he looked surprised. I guess he didn’t expect me to be this popular either. I mean, it’s not like I knew. As I walked further into the airport, I could see the staff members of 24-hour Jungle gathered together. There was the filming crew along with main host Byung-hoon and assistant host Jun-ho. I approached them.
“Hello,” I said with a deep bow. Byung-hoon and Junho greeted me with large grins on their faces. I’ve never seen such jolly expressions. Was this their first time having a female guest?
“Sian, right? Please. Sit,” Byung-hoon said, getting up from his own chair. I sat down without a second thought. Now that I see it, the show producer was more excited. He kept going on about how I suited the show.
“Ahem.”
I covered my mouth with my fist to cover my laugh. There were still a lot of cameras taking my picture. Not to mention all of the admiring eyes watching me. And the show staff members as well. Both male and female staff members were staring at me intently, but the girls had weird expressions. They looked like lesbians…and that’s when it happened. There was a commotion in the distance and everyone got up to look. So did I, but I drew up some of my powers to make it easier. And I could see immediately what it was. A celebrity. One that I knew very well. It was Hye-jeong. Her popularity just transcends. I don’t get how she was able to be forgiven so quickly. Her popularity is maybe twice as big as mine. I know it sounds unfathomable, but it could be more than that to be honest. I had to give it to her. Soon, Hye-jeong arrived and greeted everybody. She came to the center and stood right next to me. With the two of us next to each oher, the visuals were off the charts. I’m sure we made quite a picture. The producer already looked like he was drooling.
“You sure are popular, Sian,” Hye-jeong whispered in my ear. It was rather nice to hear her voice after so long.
“You too,” I said, sneaking a glance at Hye-jeong’s chest. She had some volume, but I had more. Sure enough, Hye-jeong snuck a glance at mine and her smile faltered a bit. Score one for me. We took our seats again and began to chat with the two hosts. We didn’t say much. Just small talk. Byung-hoon seemed especially interested in me.
“How could you go bungee jumping without a safety harness?”
“I had to save Jia.”
“Wow.”
Byung-hoon gave me two thumbs up before he added.
“Do you think you could teach me next time?”
“Teach what?”
“Bungee jumping without a harness.”
“….”
Was he insane?
All of a sudden, the fans parted like the Red Sea and a man appeared. This man was incredibly famous. A household name. There was no one who didn’t know who he was. It was Ji-chun Hong. The most famous gay man in all of Korea.
“Yo! Chief Lee!”
The moment he saw us, he gave Byung-hoon a big hug. It seemed to catch Byung-hoon off guard.
“Oh hello, Mr. Hong.”
“It’s good to see you! How are you?”
“G-good…”
This time, Ji-chun turned to look at Junho. With a flirty look in his eyes, he hugged Junho as well. There was no mistaking the fluster in Junho’s eyes.
“Oh my, did your muscles get bigger?”
“Oh, hehe….I’ve been working out….”
“Is it okay if I fall for you?”
“Oh, you don’t have to….”
“Too late. Pffft.”
Ji-chun gave Junho a flirty nudge in the shoulder. Then he looked at us…and immediately turned away.
“….”
Guess he really was gay, considering he didn’t seem to be interested in the girls. But all of a sudden, Ji-chun turned to look at me one more…with narrow eyes that seemed to be shooting daggers.
“Um…?”
What did I do?
Ji-chun came right up to me and peered at my face. He tilted his head to the side.
“Hmm…why do you smell like a guy?”
“….”
Sometimes, one’s gut feeling can be amazing.
Soon, UCIVA martial arts champion Sung-hwan Lee appeared. He was incredibly muscular. The moment he came in, everyone became tense. Especially Junho who was of similar build. But from what I saw, he couldn’t compare to Sung-hwan. Of course, that’s a given. Sung-hwan was a trained athlete, after all. If the two were to compete, Sung-hwan would definitely win. But unlike his formidable looks, his personality was rather cautious.
“Good morning.”
At his shy greeting, everyone smiled and greeted him warmly. Especially Byung-hoon. He was suddenly speaking to Sung-hwan like an old friend.
“Sung-hwan! Nice to see you!”
“Yes, sir!”
And with that, all six team members of 24-Hour Jungle were finally together.
