一层一层剥掉你的衣服

Chapter 146: Chapter 146: So Now it’s the Savanna…(Part 1)

Now that my period was over, I felt so much better.

“Wow, that was painful.”

PMS is really no joke. I never truly understood why girls found it so difficult, but now that I’ve experienced it, I finally get it. To think that I would actually go through something like this. Fucking hell. Well, I’ll have to be more careful in the future.

“Hey, someone’s calling,” Yoo-jin said, handing me my phone.

“Who is it?”

“The caller ID said Lobsterhead.”

“Oh, really?”

I looked at the caller ID. It really did say ‘Lobsterhead.’ Yeonmin Yoo, the producer from 24-Hour Jungle. Skinny with a tiny head. But hmm…why is he calling me?

I answered.

“Hello?”

– Sian, hi! It’s me. Yeonmin from 24-Hour Jungle. Do you remember me?

“Of course. I’m not a goldfish.”

It hasn’t even been a month since we wrapped up filming. My memory’s not that bad.

– Oh, right. Um, I was wondering if you have time today to meet up for a bit?

“No,” I replied. I didn’t want to give him a chance to drag me onto another episode of that show. The long plane ride. The annoying tasks. I’m not going. No way.

– Oh…um…

“I’ll go then.”

– Oh! Wait!

“What?”

– Then, can I tell you over the phone?

“No.”

– (....)

For a moment, the man remained silent.

“I’ll go then.”

– I’ll buy you lunch.

“What kind?” I found myself asking.

Hey. Free food is free food. And I extremely like free food.

– You like pizza, right...?

“I like lobster.”

– (....)

And again, no answer. After a while, he finally spoke up.

– Pizza and chicken...?

“Okay, then. I’ll see you at the pizza restaurant.”

– Okay! Thank you!

Well, at least he was happy.

Finally, I hung up.

“Who was it?” Yoo-jin asked in an inquisitive manner.

“Oh, it was lobster head.”

“Lobster…oh! That producer from 24-Hour Jungle? The one who got his ass handed to him?”

Yeah. The one who dared to go up against me and lost. Badly.

“Yeah, but don’t say it like that. You’re an idol now,” I chastised. What kind of idol goes around using language like that?

“You talk like that too, you know.”

“Really?”

Well, if Yoo-jin says so…

“Yeah. Anywyas, are you going on the show again?”

“I guess I’ll have to hear what he has to say. But now that I think about it, why would he call me and not Mr. Park?”

Actually, now that I think about it, it was really strange that he would call me. That made me even more curious.

“Well, you’re lucky if you do. I want to go on it too.”

“Then, let’s go together.”

“Really?!”

“Sure. I’ll tell them that I won’t go if you don’t.”

“But then, what if they tell you to just not come on then?” Yoo-jin said with a smirk.

“Then that’s good for me,” I said. I mean, it’s not like I want to be on the show. If they told me that they didn’t want me, I’d consider it a blessing.

Anyways, I soon got ready and left for Hongdae. Hongdae is the place to go if you want to do anything.

***

I arrived at 18th Avenue Pizza. As soon as I walked in, I saw Lobsterhead waving at me from a table near the window.

“Sian! Over here!”

“Hi~”

I practically skipped over. 18th Avenue Pizza. It’s expensive (like, extremely so), but it was just that good. Not that I intend to eat a lot. I’ll be nice. He’s only a rookie producer after all. He probably won’t have that much money. Also, I’m not that cruel.

“Sian, I saved you a seat.”

“Thanks.”

I sat across from the producer and got a good look at him. He’s gotten skinnier since the last time I saw him. He was already a stick when I first met him. Now he practically looked quite malnourished.

“You got really skinny.”

“Yes. I guess overworking does that to you,” Lobsterhead said with a rueful smile. He didn’t look so good, but he didn’t look upset about it. I guess it’s because he enjoys his work.

“Then shall we order?” I said, picking up the menu. The pictures looked amazing. They were all calling out to me, asking me to order them.

“Let’s get this one,” I said, pointing at the Spicy Lobster Cheese pizza.

“You sure like lobster,” Lobsterhead said with a smile. We placed our order before turning back to look at each other.

“So, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?”

“I want to book you for a show,” Lobsterhead said hesitantly.

“Oh, really? But then, why call me? You should call Ji…Mr. Park if you want to talk about that stuff.”

Seriously, why would he ask me?

“I did speak with him. Mr. Park agreed to it immediately, but he told me to also ask you.”

“Oh, really?”

I smiled. Well, well, well. I guess Jinwoo was still scared of me after finding out that I’m an alien. Not that I am. I’m just from a different time period. Well, anyways.

“Then, I don’t want to,” I answered.

Once again, Lobsterhead had no words.

“There’s a lot of pretty female celebrities who are athletic too, you know.”

It’s true. They’re not hard to find these days.

“But there’s no one like you.”

“Right.”

I mean, yeah. True.

“And there’s another reason why I’d like it to be you.”

“And why is that?”

“The thing is, we’re filming a special episode of Jungle. We invite five survival experts and have them compete against Byung-hoon and his team.”

“Yeah, so?” I asked. What does that have to do with me?

“That’s why we need you. It’s important that we win. Otherwise, we’ll become a total laughingstock and lose ratings.”

Just then, the pizza came out. I lifted my fork.

“Let’s eat first. We’ll talk later.”

“Okay.”

We ate our pizza…and it wasn’t enough.

“Can we get another one?”

“Of course. I have the company card. We can eat as much as we want.”

“The company card?”

“Yes. They gave it to me especially to help convince you.”

“Won’t you regret it?”

“Why would I? It’s not mine,” Lobsterhead said with a smile.

“Well then.”

We ordered another, then I dug in. This place really did have the best pizza.

“So you’ll do it, right?” Lobsterhead asked as he began to eat another slice.

“Can you wait a minute?” I said, stabbing a slice of pickle with my fork. I stared at the producer. I could tell that he really wanted me to go. Being a newbie in an industry is not easy, and if I don’t go, things could get even more difficult for him. Maybe I should just go. A little fresh air could do me good.

“Lobs…oh, Mr. Yoon.”

“Yes. Go ahead.”

“I’ll do it.”

“Thank you so much!”

Suddenly, the man stood up and gave me a full 90 degree bow. Well, sheesh.

“But on one condition.”

“What is it?” Lobsterhead said, looking determined.

“I want you to book Yoo-jin as well.”

“Oh…um…”

Suddenly, Lobsterhead seemed hesitant. Was adding one more to the cast really that difficult?

“What?”

“It’s just that…I’m really sorry, but…we already booked the other female guest...so…”

“Who?”

“Her name is Miyeon Yang…”

“The popular yoga instructor?” I said, my face lighting up. Miyeon Yang. She’s incredibly beautiful. Not just her face, even her body was incredible. I saw her on TV once in her tight yoga clothes and…wow…

“Yes, her. We’ve already booked her and confirmed it and everyting…So bringing Yoo-jin on will be hard. But I’ll do my best to have you guys booked for a future episode.”

“You want me to go on again?” I asked, making a face.

“I mean…if you do…haha,” Lobsterhead corrected with an awkward smile.

“Alright, fine. I’ll go this time,” I answered. For Miyeon.

“Thank you. Thank you so much! I owe you big time.”

“So, who else is going?”

“Well, there’s five from the other team, and five on our side. That’s Byung-hoon, Junho, you, and Miyeon. Oh, and Minwoo Kim.”

“Minwoo Kim?”

Minwoo Kim. The visual from the group Shy Boy. He’s very athletic and strong, but he’s rather arrogant and he looks like a creep. He has that sort of face that you just want to punch.

“Yep. We got our own Dream Team. I think we stand a good chance against the other team now,” Lobsterhead said with a firm nod.

“Is the episode really that important?”

“Yes. Those people do this survival stuff for real. They even go hunting for dangerous animals.”

“Oh wow.”

“I heard they once even caught a hyena.”

“Really?”

Who cares? I once caught an alligator.

“They’re very impressive, but so are we. It should be fun.”

“Right. So where are we going?”

“The savanna.”

The savanna. Sounds like fun.

“Are there lions there?”

“Of course. There’s lions and hyenas. Cheetahs. Even elephants. A lot of dangerous animals. Then again, we’ll be in a safe area, so you don’t have to worry about that.”

“Right.”

I decided then and there to catch a lion, but I actually ended up not being able to. I didn’t see a single one. It’s like they knew I was coming.

“Well, anyways, thank you so much.”

“It’s nothing. You even bought me pizza, after all.”

He’s lucky to have booked Miyeon Yang already.

“But Sian, can I ask you something?”

“No.”

“....”

“What is it? Go ahead.”

“You know that terrorist attack that happened a few days ago?”

“Yeah.”

“You know that vigilante…it’s you, right?”

“What?” I asked, looking innocent. What made him so sure?

“It’s not you? She looked just like you.”

“That’s nonsense.”

“I couldn’t see her face, but your body is very recognizable. I’m very good at paying attention to detail.”

“You need to practice more.”

Shit, he’s good.

“No, I don’t…is it really not you?”

“It’s not.”

“Hm…okay. I’m sure there’s a reason you don’t want people to know.”

“....”

What the heck?

“Anyways, thanks again for agreeing to do this. I feel like a burden has been lifted off my shoulders.”

“Great. So should we go eat chicken now?”

“What?” Lobster head looked down at the pizza. Or at least, the empty platter where the pizza previously was.

“Whoa, when did you eat it all?”

“Just now.”

“And mine…”

“I thought you were finished,” I said. Yep. I ate the man’s pizza as well. He kept talking and not eating, so I thought he was done.

“I didn’t even eat one slice.”

“Then let’s order another one.”

“Oh, no, that’s okay. Let’s go get chicken.”

“Then get up.”

I stood up and quickly walked out of the restaurant. I really wanted that chicken.

“Hurry up!”

“Oh! Right…”