For a moment, there was only silence. And then, Ji-chun spoke up.
“Sian, are we supposed to eat this off the ground?”
“….”
Well, that was rude. I was so pissed, I almost told him that maybe he should. They can go crack some coconuts open if they think they can do better.
“Sorry.”
“Well, no need to be sorry I guess. Unfortunately, we’ll have to throw this one away.”
Ji-chun picked up the coconut shell and saw that one side still had juices running out. He stuck his tongue out to lick it, and immediately began trembling. At first, I thought he might have peed himself, but that wasn’t it. It turned out it was because it was so good.
“It’s so good.”
“Really?”
I stuck my tongue out and had a taste of it. It was sweet, really sweet. But really good!
“Here. Try some.”
I held the coconut out for Hye-jeong to try, but she refused.
“You eat it.”
‘Ugh. Are you kidding me?’ I thought to myself. I seriously wanted to pull her hair out…
“But where did the coconut come from?” Ji-chun asked as he continued licking the coconut. He looked up and…
“There it is!”
Sure enough, there were several coconuts hanging off the branches.
“They’re so high up,” Hye-jeong whined.
“You’re right. Hmmm…” Ji-chun looked around, looking for a way to take the coconut down. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find anything so he grabbed the trunk and shook it.
“Down!”
Shake shake…
The coconuts did move a bit, but they didn’t fall. Nonetheless, Ji-chun continued to try, gritting his teeth and straining his muscles to get it down. It was actually sexy…in a rough middle-aged man sort of way.
“Wow…this is hard.”
Ji-chun gave up rather quickly. Really? He didn’t even shake it that long. Tsk tsk.
“Move.”
I pushed Ji-chun to the side, and gave the trunk a hard kick.
Whack.
The tree shook violently. As a result, the coconuts dropped like hot cakes. Ji-chun and Hye-jeong could not help but gasp. From that, Ji-chun, once again, opened his big mouth.
“Do you just eat things off the ground without a spoon like an animal?”
“Yep. Sorry.”
Wow, this guy. Then again, there was something they didn’t know. When I kicked the trunk, it created a crack in the trunk. The crack was beginning to creep up the trunk as we were walking away. While we were getting close to the campsite, the trunk split in half as the tree fell to the jungle floor.
Crash!
“What was that?”
***
Soon enough, it was dinnertime.
Coconut and birds. After splitting the coconuts open, we all sipped the juices inside the coconuts before placing the bird meat inside the shells. Then, we placed them onto the fire.
“Gulp.”
All around were sounds of people swallowing back their saliva, trying not to drool. Including me.
“Ugh. I’m going crazy…”
Wow, that smell was incredible. It was enough to make one’s eyes roll to the back of their head in extreme pleasure.
“I had no idea you guys had such great focus,” Byung-hoon said to us with a smile. That made everyone snap out of their gazes.
“Here everyone, gather around. Let’s have a discussion while we wait for the bird to cook,” Junho said.
We all sat in a circle. Six people. A good number to make some small talk.
“The shelter looks good,” I said while looking at it. To be honest, it really was well-built and sturdy. It was big enough to hold all six of us, and was also strong enough to last even after we left. They even took the large leaves to make a solid roof. It was attractive and practical. These guys were good. Now that I think about it, didn’t Byung-hoon learn architecture from somewhere?
“I mean, it’s not the first time I’ve built a shelter,” Byung-hoon said with a modest shrug. Junho then smiled.
“You guys did a great job. I might fall in love with you guys if you’re not careful,” Ji-chun said.
Byung-hoon, Junho, and Sung-hwan all immediately looked away with awkward smiles.
“Anyways, how long is it going to take for the bird to cook?” Hye-jeong asked. She did not take her eyes off the coconut for a second. Was she that hungry? Then again, we haven’t eaten anything since we arrived…unless you count the coconut juice. These guys are cruel. I can’t believe they won’t even give us anything. I’m almost gonna pass out.
“I think…around twenty minutes,” Byung-hoon said, poking the coconut shells with a stick.
“There’s a lot of heegaks in the area. Let’s catch some more tomorrow,” I said. Byung-hoon agreed immediately.
“Let’s go together, Sian. You’re really good with the slingshot. With a little lesson from me, you’ll be the best shot.”
‘You can’t even compare to me,’ I thought to myself. Sure, Byung-hoon’s good, but I’m clearly better. Fortunately, I managed to thank him with a straight face.
“Thanks.”
“No need for that. We’ll wipe out the area of heegaks tomorrow!”
“Okay!”
We continued to chit chat as time passed. Finally, we opened the coconut shells. A scent of cooked meat and fat immediately filled the air, making us drool again.
“Wow…”
With some gloves, Byung-hoon began to pull out the cooked pieces of bird and pass them around to us.
“Wow…”
“Whoa…”
“Amazing…”
Everyone gasped in delight as Byung-hoon pulled out the rear end of the bird. And then the torso, wings, and breast. Everyone cheered at the sight.
“Platter! Platter!” Byung-hoon called out. Junho immediately brought one out. Byung-hoon then slid the bird onto it.
“Alright, everyone grab a piece,” he said.
We all reached out to get a piece of the bird.
“Here, Sian, you get a drumstick,” Byung-hoon said, handing me a drumstick. I accepted it gratefully. Hye-jeong could not help but pout with envy.
“What about me?”
“Of course you get one too,” Byung-hoon said, handing Hye-jeong the other drumstick. Hye-jeong brightened up immediately. Was she that happy? Now that I look at it, I wasn’t sure if one bird would be enough.
“We’ll have to catch at least ten tomorrow,” I said, finishing off my drumstick in one bite. It was gone in a flash.
“Ten…wouldn’t that be too much?” Byung-hoon asked, looking doubtful.
“Get fifteen,” Hye-jeong said. Well, what do you know?
Anyways, we continued to talk as we chowed down on the rest of the heegak.
***
It was late. Everyone had fallen asleep. Well, everyone except me. I was looking up at the stars and all of a sudden, I was thinking about my past.
“You could see the stars then as well.”
I was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of nostalgia. My vision began to get wet and blurry…
“Ugh, fuck…”
I’m not a crier. Unfortunately, at that moment, I couldn’t stop. Am I getting old? Or was it the female hormones? Well, it’s not like anyone else will know…
“Let’s get up.”
I stood up. Then, I went to go find the muscular VJ, but I couldn’t find him anywhere. Was he sleeping somewhere?
“Fine. I’ll go by myself.”
It’s for the best. If people were to see me go alligator hunting, they’d definitely say I’m some sort of freak. Then again, don’t regular people go alligator hunting too? Anyways, I searched around and finally found the headquarters where the staff was residing. I could see them in the distance, cooking instant noodles. I thought about going over there, but then thought against it. It’s not like they were going to let me have some just because I asked. I’ll just enjoy the alligator meat with the other cast members in the morning.
I headed for the river where the alligator lived.
I was walking through the jungle when I spotted another heegak. He crossed my path with no care in the world. For a second, I considered killing it, but then let it go. They’re so naïve. It makes me want to catch them just to prove a point.
“Hey, you’re in my way. Move.”
At my words, the heegak simply tilted his head, but eventually moved on.
“Stupid bird.”
After thirty minutes or so, I finally arrived at the river. Well, it was thirty because it was me. For anyone else, it would’ve taken at least a couple of hours. Anyways, I began to search for any sign of alligators.
“I see one there…and there…oh, there’s one there as well.”
Their eyes were above the water. That’s why it was easy to find them.
“What should I catch them with?”
I took out the slingshot from my back pocket.
“Should I use this?”
I thought about it for a second. Alligators are pretty tough and do take hits well. Then again, it’d be fun to hit an alligator.
“Hmm…Hang on. What’s up with that one?”
I could see one of the alligators staring intently at me. As if I was a delicious snack.
“That bastard.”
I almost went into the water, but then stopped. The moment I approached the bank, at least twenty more pairs of eyes appeared. The moment I go in, I’m dead. But…what am I going to do about that rude alligator?
I loaded my slingshot with a rock. Then, I let it go.
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Bullseye! I got it right in the eye, making it bleed. The alligator jumped out of sight.
“Ha.”
With a smirk, I got closer to the riverbank. I then glared back at the alligators.
“If you think you got it, come at me.”
None of them moved. Is it because they know who they’re messing with? I’ve even taken a tiger down with just a pinky toe. Someone like me would never lose against a mere alligator.
“I said, come at me.”
Again, none of them moved.
“You little shits.”
I put my hands in the water, intending to at least wash my face while I was there. Then all of a sudden! An alligator jumped right out of the water! It opened its mouth wide and closed it around my arm! In one swoop!
I guess this was what Gap-chan had been talking about when he said I’d get bitten by an alligator. But then what?
“Sorry. I’m pretty strong.”
Yeah. The poor alligator may have gotten my arm but instead of chopping it off, its own teeth began to break.
Crack.
I’ve seen tigers lose their teeth, but never an alligator. The alligator was also in disbelief, clearly never having lost its teeth before, immediately trying to sink back into the water. I grabbed it by its nose and yanked it back up.
“Aha!”
Grrr….!
The alligator tried to pull away with all its might. Fortunately, I won in the end and managed to pull it out of the water.
“Fuck, this hurts.”
I mean yeah, my body is tough to break, but alligator teeth still hurt. Look, you can even see its teeth imprints.
The alligator opened its toothless mouth and tried to scare me. I walked towards it and with a swift move, I slammed my hand down on its snout. I then immediately began stomping on its entire body.
How long did I attack the alligator? After a while, the alligator fell limp…like a wet rag. It’s already been a while since it stopped fighting. I looked back at the river and this time, I didn’t see any alligators. But….
“Oh no. The skin is ruined.”
Since I had failed to control my strength, there were scratch marks on the alligator’s body. Now I won’t be able to sell it. Oh well. It’s not like I had any real plans to anyway. But wait a minute, what if someone thinks this is animal abuse? That’s not fair. The alligator attacked me first. I was just defending myself. It’s not like I wanted it to die. Then again, I knew people were still going to gossip.
“I’ll say I found it somewhere.”
I took the alligator and began to drag it back to the campsite.
