一层一层剥掉你的衣服

Instead of picking the winner, the judges picked the loser. And sadly, it was Gina. A lot of her lines had ended abruptly and she stuttered a lot, so it was no surprise. If she had a stronger mindset, she may have been able to deal with it better, so that really sucks. Personally, I thought Gina had been the best out of all three of them. Anyways, that concluded another rap battle. Now, it was between me and Mine Boo.

“Go, Sian…”

Christine said quietly as I got up from my seat. I tilted my head at her.

‘Why is she suddenly acting like this?’

Well, whatever. That’s not important right now. I stepped onto the stage, Mine Boo right behind me. We stood next to each other.

“Get ready to pee your pants, you brat,” Mine Boo whispered to me.

I just smiled at me. We’ll see who ends up peeing in the end.

“This is your first time seeing each other, right?” Jongmin asked us. The legendary ‘Father of Rap.’ But ugh, I wanted to burn that beard off.

“Yes, it is,” Mine Boo replied first. I nodded.

“This is your first meeting and you have to diss each other. Are you okay with that?”

This time, it was Hippo who asked. She’s pretty famous herself. But what kind of a name is Hippo? A hippo. So is she saying she’s a hippo or…

“I don’t feel bad at all. Actually, I’m kind of irritated that I’m stuck with an amateur like Sian,” Mine Boo said. Everyone gasped in shock. That had been pretty rude. The tension began to rise again.

“What do you think, Sian?” Hippo asked me.

“Hmm…let’s see. Well, to be honest, I don’t feel bad at all, either.”

At my words, everyone gasped again. I continued, “It’s just that…I’m worried that Mine Boo might really pee her pants. She might want to consider wearing a diaper…”

I was dead serious about that. I really am worried for her. If she were to pee on set, that would be so embarrassing for her. What if it gets so traumatic for Mine Boo that she can’t rap anymore? Of course, I wasn’t planning on scaring her that bad…

But of course, everyone else thought I was just talking smack, and they all gave nervous laughs. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mine Boo glaring. Once again, she was not happy with me.

“That’s good to hear. It’s great that you both are quite confident. We’ll see who actually means it once we start. So, if you two could face each other, please!” Jongmin called out.

Mine Boo and I faced each other. That girl was wearing way too much makeup and dressed up like a cheap skank. Although, if she asked for a hug, I would give her one.

The music started, and Mine Boo was up first. She began to rap. But as she started, I unknowingly began to glare at her. It must have gotten to her because she suddenly looked rather scared.

“Um…”

Mine Boo began to fidget, clearly having forgotten the lyrics.

“Take you time, Mine Boo,” I said with a sweet smile. But my eyes grew colder. I wasn’t even trying and the fury was just coming out of me. Mine Boo’s pupils became wide and began to tremble, and my smile became wider. Being able to sense the coldness, Mine Boo began to step back. Her eyes looked at me like I was Satan himself. If I were to use just a bit more force, she’d be peeing all over the stage, but I decided not to. I had no intention of traumatizing her. I’m not that cruel (most of the time).

To everyone else, Mine Boo’s sudden behavior was rather confusing. I just continued to smile.

‘I should pull back now.’

As I continued to smile, I pulled back some of my force…or at least, I meant to. Instead, I ended up putting in more. The effect was immediate. Mine Boo fell to her feet and began to visibly tremble, muttering that she couldn’t do this.

“Huh?”

This was not what I wanted. I hadn’t even gotten to diss her yet…

The staff and the judges all ran up to the stage, immediately ending the battle.

***

“Hmm.”

Mine Boo left the set with a few staff members, leaving the rest of us tense and silent. Her footsteps were loud as they hurried off. The staff had laid her to rest in the waiting room, but they admitted that they weren’t sure what might happen. They were even saying she may need to go to the hospital.

‘There’s no need for that.’

She must have had a panic attack, but she would return to normal soon. Of course, there might be some lasting effects afterwards. Though I don’t think I had been that forceful…her mental stability was more fragile than I thought.

“Hey Sian, what happened?” Christine asked me as I sat down. I looked at her and noticed the way she was staring at me. It wasn’t in a friendly way. More like…a partner? I mean, it wasn’t bad so I didn’t say anything. But if a guy had looked at me that way, I would’ve poked his eyes out.

“I don’t know. I didn’t do anything,” I said innocently.

Even if I said that it was me, she wouldn’t have believed me anyway. Not just her either, nobody would’ve believed me. It’s not something they understand anyway.

“Really? Then why was she like that?”

Christine asked, tilting her head from side to side. Other people were also looking confused, wondering what had happened to make Mine Boo act like that.

‘Hm, I do feel a little bad.’

In using more force than intended, I had inadvertently pushed Mine Boo too far. I felt sorry, but not really sorry. She’s the one who tried to diss me, so she deserved what she got.

“She’ll be fine. Don’t worry too much,” I said, giving Christine a pat on the head.

And once again, Christine blushed. She really is strange. So I decided to just ask her myself. At this point, I was dying of curiosity.

“Hey, Christine.”

“Yeah?”

“Are you a lesbo?”

***

“A lesbo? What’s a lesbo?” Christine asked, tilting her head. I couldn’t tell if she really didn’t know or if she was pretending.

“A girl who likes a girl,” I replied.

“I like guys.”

“Oh, so you’re not a lesbo.”

“But I like girls more.”

“….”

So was she a lesbian? She wasn’t making much sense. So I repeated, “A girl who likes a…hang on.”

I took off my mic and took off Christine’s as well. I really am smart. So anyways, I said, “You know how when a girl loves a girl? Like, as a girlfriend.”

“Yeah. I am sort of like that,” Christine said.

My jaw dropped.

“Really?”

“Yep.”

How was she so honest about it?

“What’s the point in hiding it? It’s not like anyone can fix it for me.”

“It’s not that…”

Yeah, this was Christine. But Koreans were still not very friendly towards gays and lesbians, so it would be better for her to keep it down low. There is one openly gay celebrity named Jeechun Hong who is still pretty popular, but that’s because he himself is so squeaky clean otherwise. It’s not like anyone can just have the public’s favor like he does. Our country was still pretty backwards.

“Just don’t be so obvious.”

“I’m okay with it.”

I felt a little uncomfortable at that.

“Still, you need to be careful. Don’t be so arrogant. That’s how you ended up losing to Gayoon and crying,” I said, my voice unnecessarily harsh.

Christine recoiled.

“You didn’t have to go that far.”

She slightly sounded like she was going to cry. Just an hour ago, she had been full of spunk and confidence, but now, she was a completely different person. Did she really have feelings for me? If she did…I mean, I’m okay with it. She’s pretty. And I’m a guy. But…physically, I’m a girl, meaning I could be accused of being a lesbian. I’m a member of Lovely Girlz. I didn’t want to cause any trouble for them. A celebrity’s image is everything. Homosexuality. The best thing to do here is to just try and keep it a secret.

“Even if that’s true, I’m saying it for you.”

“Is it really?” Christine asked, looking hopeful.

“Uh…um…”

I stammered. Suddenly, I felt rather nervous.

Just then, one of the female staff members ran over to us and help us put our mics back on. So I couldn’t talk about that stuff anymore.

“Sian, please stop taking your mic off. It makes it hard for us,” the staff member pleaded.

I nodded.

“I’m sorry...”

I wanted to try and act cute but I really couldn’t. Well, anyways, the atmosphere soon returned to normal and the producer spoke up.

“Hey guys, thank you for being patient. We’ll start filming again soon.”

“What’s going to happen to Mine Boo?” I asked. I was slightly worried. I mean, it was my fault (sort of).

“She’s fine. She’s just going to stay in the waiting room for now.”

“What about the match?”

“She says that she doesn’t want to battle with you.”

“Oh, okay.”

Just as I thought. People are sensitive to psychological attacks. Mine Boo wasn’t going to be able to start something with me again. I kind of feel bad.

“Alright, we’re rolling!” the producer said.

Jongmin took the mic.

“Okay, guys, thanks for being patient. Since Mine Boo forfeit, we’ll declare Sian the winner.”

Everyone nodded at that. But Lil Sniper looked far from happy. Lil Sniper – the one who had gotten into and lost a hair-pulling match with me. Whenever our eyes met, she would glare at me.

“Keep your hair on.”

I whispered with a smirk.

“The last battle is Lil Sniper and Ji-hyun. Come on out, guys!” Jongmin exclaimed.

Lil Sniper and Ji-hyun walked onto the stage.

At 30 years old, Lil Sniper was bitchy and arrogant, but she was also recognized as someone skilled. On the other hand was Ji-hyun, who was the youngest but still overflowing with confidence. She’d occasionally snap at the others, but she’s mostly pretty easygoing.

The two started and it was very obvious who the winner was. Sniper delivered a strong and intense performance, which seemed to have hit Ji-hyun right from the beginning. Confident and easy-going Ji-hyun was swiftly brought down to her knees. Sniper really was impressive.

The battle was over, but Sniper had one more thing to ask of the judges.

“I’d like to say something.”

We all straightened up at that, so did the judges.

“What is it?” Jongmin asked.

Sniper answered, “I know the battle is over but I’d like to request another one.”

“Ooooh~”

Everyone reacted at her request. The judges all looked at each other, their smiles impressed.

“Alright then, Sniper. Who do you want to do it with?” Jongmin asked with an amused smile.

“Sian,” Sniper immediately answered, pointing at me.

Everyone turned to stare at me.

“Is there a reason you want to have a battle with Sian?”

This time it was Hippo. She was also smiling, obviously intrigued by this turn of events.

“I want to go against that bi…um, her. We don’t really know her that way. Her battle with Mine Boo ended too quickly. So, I want to try it myself. See if she really is good enough to be put on this show.”

Sniper was clearly still bitter about me receiving special treatment. A special parachute the executives had given me. Fine, I wasn’t going to hide it. But sheesh, it’s not like I asked for it. This wasn’t my fault.

“Okay. Let’s see what Sian thinks. Sian?”

“Yes?” I replied.

“Will you accept Sniper’s challenge?”

“Yes.”

“So you accept?”

“Yep.”

“Okay. It’s going to be freestyle. Are you two okay with that?”

“Yes,” I answered first.

“Of course,” Sniper answered right after.

I stood up. Christine gave my hand a squeeze and I gave her a pat on the head. Christine blushed again. Oh, Christine. She definitely was a lesbian. I walked onto the stage and faced Sniper. Lil Sniper. She was still glaring at me. I casually raised my middle finger up before slowly lowering it back down.