Chapter 31
“You guys are up already?” I asked as I sat up.
It was 7 AM. The VJs wouldn’t show up until 9 AM. The filming starts in the afternoon. So why are they in such a hurry?
“Since we’re doing the mission today, our makeup has to be perfect.”
Jia replied.
“The stylists do the makeup for you.”
“Still.”
Jia said as she turned to the mirror to check her makeup again. She did once tell me she was also really into makeup. Maybe she prefers her own handiwork.
“Hey, Sian, should I do yours, too?”
“Nah. I’ll just do it myself.”
I got up and headed to the bathroom. Doing my makeup shouldn’t be that hard. My face was already pretty anyway.
I stood in the bathroom and faced the mirror. Now that all the fat was gone, I had a sharp jawline and narrow chin. I could cut someone with this jawline. Huge, doe eyes. Good proportions. I couldn’t find a flaw with my body either. A voluptuous body with C-cup breasts. Not bad at all.
“Talk about a makeover.”
Suddenly, my eyes widened in realization at what I was doing.
“This…this is not what I want...”
I….I’m a man…yes, that’s right…I’m a guy!
Suddenly, I was pissed.
Soon, it was 9 AM. The VJs began filing in, right on schedule. To be honest, they were starting to get on my nerves. I know it’s their job to follow us around and film us, but it’s annoying to have people around you all the time.
Well, anyways, we were already all done and made up, so we were sitting around and watching TV. As soon as the VJs walked in, it was like a switch turned on and our image fa?ade came on.
“Hey, Ji-hyun,” I said.
Just a second ago, the girl was watching the TV with her legs spread out in front of her, but now her position was more posed and lady-like. She was also resting her feet on her toes and slanting her legs to the side, making herself look slimmer.
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t you uncomfortable?”
“A little.”
Ji-hyun admitted with a nod.
“Then just sit the way you normally do.”
“I can’t. People won’t like it.”
“You don’t know that. They might find you more relatable.”
“Very few would.”
That’s Ji-hyun for you – always thinking about how others see her. Then again, even I don’t particular like it when a girl sits all sloppy. So I guess I shouldn’t blame her.
Soon, we were all fitted with our mics and the manager came in, telling us it was time to leave. We all filed out to leave for the studio. On our way, I saw Jun-jin who was limping on one side.
“Are you okay?”
I asked, feeling unapologetic.
“Do I look okay?”
“Nope.”
“Then why are you asking?
Well, somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed.
“Are you mad?”
“Why would I be mad?”
“So you are mad. Come on. Are you saying your arrogance didn’t deserve it?”
“....”
At that, the guy had no reply. So I continued.
“Next time, you need a beating, let me know. I’ll be more than happy to hit you again.”
I said. Jun-jin turned his head the other way.
The van pulled up to the studio. Soon, it’d be time for rehearsals. But there was still some left before that.
“I’m going to go eat something.”
I headed towards the cafeteria. Suddenly, Jia began to follow me.
“Are you eating, too?” I asked her.
“Yep,” Jia replied, grabbing my arm.
“But you ate breakfast.”
“I’m so nervous! I need to eat more.”
“Oh, I see.”
Most people can’t eat when they’re nervous, but Jia is the opposite. She really is one of a kind.
We arrived at the cafeteria and each bought the dishes that we wanted. I got tuna and mayonnaise rice bowl. Jia got roe bibimbap. We loaded our trays with side dishes before finding a table.
“You know, Sian, you look a lot prettier today.”
“That’s because you did my makeup.”
That’s right. I ended up getting my makeup done by Jia today. And it turned out to be a good choice. My doe eyes got bigger and more pronounced. My nose became slimmer. My face improved significantly. I was beautiful, probably more so than Yoo-young or Ji-hyun. Even Jia probably couldn’t compare. Of course, Hainan was one of the few who could still top me. That girl is a true beauty.
“Hehe, I’m good, aren’t I?”
“Yeah, you are.”
I said with a nod. I definitely wouldn’t mind getting my makeup again done by this girl in the future.
“Oh, you know our costumes? Do you think it should be more revealing?” Jia asked.
“Why?”
“It’s a pretty intense dance. It might look better if our clothes are sexier.”
“How much sexier”
“How about a low-cut tank top?”
“Whoa!”
I exclaimed.
“What? What’s wrong with that?”
Jia giggled.
“You’ll be okay, because you’re pretty flat, but Yoo-jin and I have curves.”
“Hmph.”
Jia slightly harrumphed at my words. But what could I do? I couldn’t do anything about the way our bodies were shaped.
“Sorry, Jia. But if our clothes are too revealing, we could turn the female viewers against us. Women re a woman’s worst enemy. The more cleavage we show, the more female haters we potentially get. It’s already bad enough that we’re so pretty.”
It’s true. Women hate other women who are prettier than them. They usually only compliment and like those that they perceive to be beneath them. Of course, I can’t speak for all of them, but it’s generally true. That’s why a guy has to be careful when a girl tells him she’ll set him on a blind date. A woman never introduces someone prettier than her to a guy friend. I mean, guys aren’t that different. But basically, I hear girls don’t like other girls who come out being all sexy and revealing.
“How about something loose? We can get some ripped jeans.”
“Oh, should we do that?”
“Yeah, ripped jeans aren’t too revealing,” I pointed out. I mean, I’m a guy, but I’d like to think I know a thing or two.
“Okay then. And instead of a tank top, let’s wear something like a fitted jacket.”
“Okay.”
And soon we went back to our food.
It was now time for rehearsal. We all filed onto the set before choosing our order. Our team was fourth.
Yoo-young and Jumi approached me. Two of the original members of Lovely Girlz. Truly the best in vocals.
“Hey, Sian, how’ve you been?”
Yoo-young asked me.
“Good. How about you?”
“I’m good, too. But is it true you’re going to dance?”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
I said, smiling. Yoo-young Lee. She really is pretty. Her skin is really good, too. A very attractive girl. I can see how she got first place. Looks and talent. Really, it was a no-brainer.
“So are you not going to sing? You’re amazing when you sing.”
“I should, huh?”
That’s true. I would have to sing at some point. But right now, I prefer to do something more active. I don’t really like to sing that much.
And just like that, it was suddenly our turn. My team and I walked onto the stage.
“It’s just the rehearsal, so let’s not go all out, okay?”
Both Jia and Yoo-jin agreed with my suggestion. After we got into our position onstage, we started to dance. I didn’t do any of the flips or the special stuff we had planned. That would ruin the impact of it later on. Luckily, while everyone did applaud us after we rehearsed, no one looked truly amazed or impressed by our performance.
Afterwards, it was Yoo-young, Jumi, and Ji-hyun, and those three began to sing. They were good, as always. Yoo-young’s voice was enough to give me goosebumps. Her talent was really shining through today. And it wasn’t just her. Jumi and Ji-hyun were amazing as sub-vocals. I suddenly began to wonder if I would make it this time.
Once we finished rehearsals, we all went to wait in the waiting room. The stylists all came to do our hair and makeup.
“Sian, have you heard?”
My stylist said to me. Her name was Minjin Lee. She was pretty chubby. She and I bonded a lot over the course of the program.
“Hear what?” I asked, tilting my head.
“The dance trainer, Mi-hyang Kim, is today’s judge.”
“What?”
I looked at Minjin in disbelief. Wasn’t Mi-hyang simply supposed to give her notes to Jinwoo? She said her thoughts weren’t going to affect the overall score. But now she’s going to be a judge?
“Really?”
“My friend’s friend was Ms. Kim’s stylist today. She overheard her on the phone. She’s going to be the judge.”
“Hmmm.”
I frowned. Our last meeting with her didn’t end that well. She definitely doesn’t like us...I couldn’t help but be reminded of C-Night.
“She can be really cold. I’m worried someone will cry again.”
Minjin said, sincerely worried. She must’ve seen a lot of that firsthand.
“I’m sure she can’t be worse than C-Night.”
C-Night. She was just trash. At least, Mi-hyang was a professional.
It was soon time to film. We all returned to set.
On the left, there were seven. On the right, there were eight. The lights hit the stage, leaving the rest of the set in darkness.
“Whooooo...”
Jia let out a long breath
“What’s that for?”
“I’m nervous.”
“There’s no need to nervous.”
I gave her an assuring squeeze in the shoulders. I wanted to give her a hug. I considered her giving her a pat on the butt, but decided against it.
“It’ll be okay, right?”
“Of course. We just have to do our best.”
“Right.”
Jia clenched her hands and pumped them in the air.
Suddenly, the spotlight hit the judge’s table, showing Jinwoo and Mi-hyang in position. Jinwoo smiled brightly while Mi-hyang remained composed.
“Hi, guys~”
Jinwoo said with a wave. What’s he so excited for? Did he eat something funny?
“Good afternoon!”
We all greeted him. The sight of all these young girls greeting him must have made Jinwoo happy, because his grin became even bigger. Mi-hyang’s face remained the same. Soon, the two began to talk. I upped my hearing just a bit so I’d be able to hear. At that moment, Jia sneezed so loudly that I almost lost my eardrum. But anyways…
“Mi-hyang, loosen up. C-Night was on last week and we got so much criticism because of the way she acted.”
“I heard. So you want me to smile?”
“No, but just…do you have to look so serious?”
“Fine, fine.”
Mi-hyang attempted a small smile. But it was very obvious that it was fake. It didn’t really suit her. She’d look better without it.
“Let’s look at your notes.”
Jinwoo looked down at the papers in front of Mi-hyang. After about five seconds, his eyes widened.
“Why is Sian’s team scored so low?”
“Their dance was a mess.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. You’ll see what I mean later when they perform.”
Jinwoo nodded at Mi-hyang’s words.
“I mean, you’re not the type to give someone a low just because so if you say they were bad, they must be.”
The amount of trust Jinwoo had in Mi-hyang was kind of amazing.
“Okay. Let’s begin.”
At Jinwoo’s words, the spotlight landed on all the trainees. Beautiful. Adorable. Sexy trainees. And each team gave off a different vibe. Yoo-young and her team were all wearing white dresses, looking like mysterious nymph creatures. Rhinzi’s team members were all wearing cheerleader outfits, looking sexy yet adorable at the same time. Hainan’s team just looked endearingly cute. Jimin’s team was just oozing with swag. And lastly, my team. We were wearing jeans ripped at the knee with fitted jackets – stylish, but not too stylish. Sexy, but not too sexy. But our visuals definitely stood out. The visuals of a knockout. With mine and Jia’s looks and Yoo-jin’s cup size, you could say we were quite a sight.