一层一层剥掉你的衣服

“Hang on. Team meeting,” Byung-hoon said all of a sudden.

The three of us gathered around.

“Watch this, guys.”

With a big smile, Byung-hoon picked up a small stone. He then placed it against the slingshot string and pulled it back. The heegak was looking this way and that way, but he didn’t see us standing right below him.

“I’ll get it in one shot.”

And with that, Byung-hoon released the slingshot.

Whoosh!

The stone flew at incredible speeds at the heegak, but it managed to jump out of the way just in time.

“What?!”

Byung-hoon looked up at that shot. I bet he didn’t expect the bird to be able to dodge it so quickly.

Caw! Caw!

The bird let out a cry as it looked down at us. It seemed to be smirking at us. I know that birds don’t smile, but to me, it looked like it was jeering as it looked down at us.

“Let me try.”

Sung-hwan picked up a pebble and loaded his own slingshot. He then pulled it back, his veins bursting in his muscles quite clearly under my vision. He then released the string as the stone flew.

Whoosh!

Unfortunately, it was a bad shot. It didn’t even get close to the bird. With another smirk, the heegak let out a cry.

Caw!

“Hey, at least it’s not running away,” Byung-hoon said. His smile was almost admirable as he looked up at the bird.

“But doesn’t it look like its laughing at us?” Sung-hwan said, looking at the heegak. Yeah, I think he’s right. The bird really does look like he’s making fun of us. Look at it with that smirk. I know it sounds crazy, but I swear it was jeering at us.

“It does, huh.”

Byung-hoon loaded his slingshot again and released it. Unfortunately, he failed again. This time, the heegak knocked the stone away with its wing. Byung-hoon’s jaw dropped.

“What the?”

He was shocked. Clearly, he’d never seen a bird like this before. He and Sung-hwan continued to try and shoot the bird down with their slingshots, but to no avail. The bird simply kept dodging the stones. Once when Sung-hwan shot at it, it even let out a yawn.

“Here, let me try.”

I stepped up.

“Are you sure, Sian? It might be difficult for you to use it,” Byung-hoon said, pulling at the rubber band. His strength was no joke.

“I’m sure.”

“I’ll help you.”

“That’s okay.”

With a casual smile, I loaded the slingshot. Byung-hoon and Sung-hwan stared at me, both smiling. Seems like just looking at me was something they both enjoyed. They know a pretty girl when they see one.

The moment I took the slingshot, the bird began to cry out.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

Is it trying to find me? Animals really do have killer sense. They know when danger is coming.

‘Hmph. Seems like you know what’s coming. Don’t worry, I’ll make it quick.’

I held up my slingshot and aimed with a smirk. The bird looked down at me and began to cry fiercely.

Caw! Caw! Caw! Caw!!!

It was kind of annoying. It almost sounded like it was trying to provoke. Like it was going ‘Want to fight?’

‘Bastard.’

I pulled back the string as Byung-hoon and Sung-hwan gasped. I had pulled the string back far...way too far. In the end…

Snap!

The band broke. With that, the bird immediately began to laugh.

Caw caw caw! Caw caw caw! Caw caw caaaw!!

“That little….”

I was so mad that I just threw the slingshot.

Whoosh!

The slingshot flew towards the bird at breakneck speeds while the bird immediately tried to jump onto a higher branch. Fortunately, my slingshot was faster and hit the bird on the back of its head.

Wham!

Caw!

With a final cry, the bird fell out of the tree.

“Wow! We got it!”

Byung-hoon ran foward, and then Sung-hwan and I followed.

***

“Where is it?” Byung-hoon asked, looking around. The bird definitely fell somewhere around here, but it was nowhere to be seen.

“Hmmmm.”

It was strange. Where did it go? With a blow like that, it would definitely be passed out, if not dead. Maybe it was stronger than it looked.

“But Sian, that was amazing,” Sung-hwan praised me with his two thumbs up.

“Thank you,” I said, bowing my head modestly. Byung-hoon joined in as well.

“I didn’t even think of throwing the slingshot. You have a good arm! You could be a pro athlete.”

“Thank you.”

Once again, I accepted the praise modestly. Just then, in the distance, we heard a rustle in the bushes. Byung-hoon then immediately ran towards the foliage.

“Everyone, quiet.”

Then, he began to give us orders.

“Sung-hwan, go to the right. Sian, to the left. Okay?”

“Yes, sir!”

“Okay.”

Sung-hwan and I did as we were told and made a triangle around the bush. We began to close in quietly. Just then, there was another rustle in the bushes and suddenly, a bird head popped out of the leaves. It immediately saw Sung-hwan and Byunghoon before jumping upward.

“Get it!”

Sung-hwan made a run and slide to catch it, but the bird simply jumped out of reach and landed on Sung-hwan’s head. Using that as leverage, it jumped upwards. Byung-hoon slid forward, holding both of his arms out. Unfortunately, the bird simply jumped off his head as well. I quickly aimed a rock and aimed it at the bird with my slingshot.

Whoosh!

Wham!

Bullseye.

Thud.

Within seconds, the bird was killed.

***

We got back to our camping side.

“Hey, guys! We got the bird!” Byung-hoon said, holding up the heegak. Everyone gasped.

“Wow! How did you get it?” Hye-jeong asked.

“Sian got it,” Byung-hoon said, gesturing towards me. Hye-jeong’s face immediately fell. It seemed like the idea of me doing something good made her upset.

“Oh my god. Was it really you, sweetheart? How did you do it?” Ji-chun asked as he came towards me. I immediately tensed up. Well...maybe it’s because he’s gay, but I felt a little uncomfortable.

“I just…caught it.”

“Just caught it? How?” Ji-chun asked with a curious pout.

“She used a slingshot. She’s really good at it as well. I’d adopt her if I could,” Byung-hoon said with a proud smile.

“Oh my god, you know how to use a slingshot? You’re amazing!” Ji-chun said. He gave a girly punch in the shoulder. Is he acting this way because he’s gay? The moment he came close to me, I backed away.

He saw that and said, “Sweetie, I’m gay. Super-gay. The best gay there is. I’m not interested in girls, I only like guys. That’s why there’s no need to feel uncomfortable around me.”

‘I’m a guy, too,’ I said to myself. Anyways, after this, Ji-chun started to act like my best friend, and I felt really comfortable. I’ll say this again – I’m a guy. Also, I’m not interested in other guys. I like girls.

“Let’s build our shelter and eat our dinner. Junho, Sung-hwan, and I will do the building. Ji-chun, why don’t you take Sian and Hye-jeong to look for some fruit to go with our meal.”

“Okay,” Ji-chun said in a cute manner. Byung-hoon cleared his throat in an uncomfortable manner.

“They’ll be okay, right?”

“Ugh, sweetheart. I’m gay! Lighten up,” Ji-chun said, but he was a guy. His height looked to be about 178 cm. He was bald, but it looked rather good on him. In some ways, he was actually pretty hot. It’s just that his way of speaking and mannerisms were so flamboyant.

Anyways, we split into two teams. Hye-jeong and I followed Ji-chun into the trees.

“Oh, you’re here!” I said with the VJ behind us. You know, the VJ I decided to take with me when I go alligator hunting. His arms were really something else. They weren’t comparable to Sung-hwan’s, but definitely bigger than Junho’s. Was it from carrying around the camera all the time?

“Hello, Sian,” he said with a big smile. Judging by the blush spreading across his face, I can only imagine how flustered he was that I was speaking to him.

“If the camera is too heavy, just tell me. I’ll carry it for you.”

“Thanks.”

Then, he suddenly held out the camera to me. I glared at me. He immediately put it back onto his shoulder.

“I said tell me.”

“Oh, okay. Haha…sorry.”

“No need for that,” I said with a smile.

“Hey, honey,” Ji-chun said, turning to look at me.

“Yes?”

“How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

“Oh, then you’re the same age as Hye-jeong?”

“Yes.”

“Oh my god! Is that why you two are so pretty? Because you’re friends?” Ji-chun linked his arms with the both of us. What’s so amazing about being pretty?

“We’re not friends,” Hye-jeong replied.

“Huh? You’re not?”

“Nope.”

This time, it was me who answered. Hye-jeong made a face at me. Ji-chun whipped his head back and forth between the two of us.

“Oh my god, you guys. Are you guys jealous over me?”

Okay, so he’s a little dense. Anyways, he continued to speak.

“You guys, I’m gay. Like, super gay. I don’t like girls. At. All. So, don’t you go and get a crush on me. You can be my friend though. Totally.”

Seriously, who was this guy? I’ve never met anyone like him.

Suddenly, something fell and landed at my feet. We all looked at it.

“Huh?”

It looked like a round looking fruit.

“It’s a coconut,” Hye-jeong said.

“A coconut?”

“Yeah. It’s a tropical fruit,” Hye-jeong said, picking it up. She took the coconut and began to shake it. We could hear something sloshing around inside.

“It’s ripe.”

“How do you know?” I asked.

“If you hear something sloshing around when you shake it, it’s ripe.”

“Oh.”

Huh. So Hye-jeong is not as stupid as she looks. This is why you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

“Hye-jeong is right. You’e so smart,” Ji-chun said. Oh yeah. Ji-chun is a chef, and he owns three famous restaurants in Gangnam. He immediately went into an explanation about the coconut.

“Coconuts are high in potassium and low in sodium. The pulp is high in fiber and low in carbs. That’s why a lot of countries serve food made of coconut. When you look inside, there’s a white jelly-like substance. If you scrape that off and eat it, it’s sweet but savory at the same time. Unfortunately, it’s high in fat, so people who are on a diet shouldn’t eat it.”

“Oh.”

For the first time that day, I found myself looking up to Ji-chun. He really knew his stuff. Seeing the impressed look on my face, Ji-chun gave me a nudge in the shoulder. Suddenly, Hye-jeong took the coconut and threw it onto the ground.

Whack!

But it didn’t break.

“Why isn’t it breaking?”

Ji-chun picked it up and threw it onto the ground again.

Whack!

This was going to be hard. The coconut was not giving in anytime soon.

“Oh my god. I’ve never seen a coconut this strong,” Ji-chun said, giving the coconut an exasperated look.

“Let me try.”

I took the coconut from Ji-chun and examined it. Should I try to rip it open with my hands? But then everyone will look at me weird. Some people already think I’m a creature from another planet.

‘Oh, well, too bad.’

So, I also threw it onto the ground.

Whack!

Crack.

The coconut opened. I had failed to control my strength.