Chapter 38 - First Rank

“Now before we watch the mukbangs, we should have a look at the rankings.”

Jinwoo gestured towards the screen and we all turned to look.

“Here are the Week 5 rankings!”

On cue, the list of rankings showed up.

10th. Sena

9th. Jimin Kim

8th. Yoojin Jeon

7th. Rhinzi

6th. Jumi Yeom

5th. Hainan

4th. Jia Lee

3rd. Ji-hyun Yoo

2nd. Yoo-young Lee

1st. Sian Lee

“Wow.”

I’ll admit, it was weird seeing my name up there where it was. Everyone clapped to congratulated me, Jinwoo included.

“Yep, Sian got first place this week. It’s quite a turn of events. To think that she used to be in last place,” Jinwoo said, giving me a smile. He then continued, “Sian, how does it feel to be voted first?”

“Hm, it feels strange. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s real or not.”

I spoke with my on-camera voice, sweet and humble. But on the inside, I was celebrating. This was definitely real. The only thing I’m confused about is why I’m in a woman’s body.

“Yeah. Seems like cleaning up your messes was worth it for me.”

“I always appreciate it,” I said sincerely. He did help me get out of some tight spots after all. And you never know how many more incidents will happen in the future. I’ll need Jinwoo’s help by then as well…might as well be friendly with the guy.

“Good. Now let’s look at my rankings.”

Once again, Jinwoo gestured at us to look at the screen.

10th. Ara

9th. Yoojin Jeong

8th. Jimin Kim

7th. Hainan

6th. Rhinzi

5th. Jumi Yeom

4th. Yoo-young Lee

3rd. Jia Lee

2nd. Ji-hyun Yoo

1st. Sian Lee

“Wow.”

I was first again. And again, everyone clapped and congratulated me. From last place to first. And in only a few weeks on top of that. That was surprising.

“I gave Sian first again this week. I’m starting to realize there’s a lot of things I don’t know about Sian. She keeps surprising me more and more with her charms. The old you and the current you are so different, talent and personality-wise.”

Jinwoo’s words irritated me a bit. Of course, I was different. I’m not the original Sian. I’m confident, smart, nice (sort of), calm (mostly), mentally strong, willful, and an overall badass.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Jinwoo said with a smile. At least I keep everything interesting by giving him a variety of surprises. Just that Chun-ah incident alone was probably enough shock to last him a lifetime.

“Let’s look at the combined scores.”

The results from the online votes combined with Jinwoo’s rank showed up on the screen.

10th. Sena

9th. Yoo-jin Jeong

8th. Jimin Kim

7th. Rhinzi

6th. Jumi Yeom

5th. Hainan

4th. Jia Lee

3rd. Ji-hyun Yoo

2nd. Yoo-young Lee

1st. Sian Lee

Obviously, I was first. I wonder if it will stay that way. My fans were growing by the minute. And I feel like at this point, it was very clear who would end up in Lovely Girlz. Aside from Yoo-jin and Jimin, who kept going back and forth between 8th and 9th place, I’d say the rest of the rankings were pretty much sealed.

Finally, the list of names appeared with the added number of stars.

Yoo-young Lee ★★★★★★★★?

Ji-hyun Yoo ★★★★★★★★?

Jia Lee ★★★★★★?

Jumi Yeom ★★★★★★?

Hainan ★★★★★?

Sian Lee ★★★★★?

Rhinzi ★★★★★?

Yoo-jin Jeong ★★★★★?

Jimin Kim ★★★★?

Ara ★★★?

Sena ★★★?

Areum Yeo ★★?

Eunmi Lee ★★?

Liang Liang ★★?

Minji Lee ★★?

If the members of Lovely Girlz were to be picked right now, it would be the ones listed between Yoo-young and Yoo-jin.

Of course, there were still more auditions left, so nothing was guaranteed. But I also knew that it was unlikely that I’d lose my place within the Top 8 at this point.

“This week’s rankings are pretty similar to the one from last time. It’s safe to say that your fandoms are now solidifying. But anything could happen, and your rankings can change overnight. So for those of you at the top, don’t get comfortable. And for those of you at the bottom, don’t be discouraged, okay?”

“Yes, sir!” We all replied loudly. Of course, I believed that there wouldn’t be any more considerable changes within the ranking. It was the lower ranking ones that would have to worry. If any of them do something that make heads wave, there could be slight changes there.

“Now we’re going to watch some clips from the mukbangs. And remember – we’re all going to decide who did the best while making these.”

Soon, the show started.

***

Everyone eats in a variety of ways. Yoo-young ate as much as she could, eating whatever she could get her hands on and trying to make commentary on everything that she ate while not holding back on her reactions. Ji-hyun, on the other hand, didn’t eat that much. She just ate whatever she wanted here and there and made minimal effort to react or provide commentary. Nonetheless, both of them were undeniably stunning, which surely helped in attracting the male viewers. But in my opinion, the best was Yoo-jin. The way she leaned forward and strategically had her boobs resting on the table…it was a sight to behold.

‘Shouldn’t we blur that out?’

I thought. Of course, it could just be me being a prude. Anyways...

As for the others, there wasn’t really anything special about any of them. Jia ate with enthusiasm and adorable gusto, making everyone just want to pat her and protect her. Hainan took dainty little bites with a smile on her face, looking absolutely beautiful as she did so. She looked more like an actress than an idol.

And then it was my scenes...everyone’s jaw dropped. I did eat quite a lot. Most of the time, I didn’t even bother to chew. You could hardly tell I was breathing. And there was my appetite. No doubt, everyone was wondering where the hell all that food went. And finally, the best part – the last scene where I said, “I’m still hungry.” Everyone burst out into surprised laughter at that.

***

After we watched all the clips, we started voting. We were each allowed to vote for one person and we weren’t allowed to vote for ourselves.

“Hmmm...”

I thought about who I should pick. To be honest, I would’ve written my own name if I could have...

“There wasn’t anyone else who impressed me that much.”

As far as I could see, there hadn’t been anyone else who had enjoyed themselves as much as I had.

“Ugh. Whatever.”

I just wrote down Jia’s name.

When we all finished, Jinwoo began counting the votes.

“One vote for Jia.”

“Oh!”

Jia gasped at that. Jinwoo gave Jia an indulgent smile before reading the next one.

“Another one for Jia.”

“Ohmygod!”

Jia looked at me and began to shake her fists in excitement. She was undoubtedly happy. I mean, even I thought Jia did great during her mukbang. She’s lovable and adorable to look at. I don’t know about the women, but the male viewers liked her, for sure.

“For now, Jia’s first. Now.”

Jinwoo unfolded another slip and read the name on it. It was mine.

“One vote for Sian.”

And

“Another vote for Sian.”

And

“Another for Sian.”

And

“One more for Sian.”

“One for Sian.”

And one by one, I accumulated 13 votes in total. Aside from two of them, the rest had voted for me.

“Good for you, Sian,” Jinwoo said, giving me a hand. He had probably already dubbed me the ‘food fairy’ by now.

“How does it feel, Sian?”

“I mean…all I did was enjoy my food...I’m very grateful that everyone enjoyed my mukbang and voted for me. From now on, I’ll eat even more for you guys and make you proud,” I said with full determination.

“That’s good. But not too much, okay, Sian? You don’t want to gain all that weight again,” Jinwoo said, giving me a wide grin. I smiled back. I hate to tell him, but there was no way I was getting fat again. My body has completely changed. Now that my metabolism rate and stamina were off the charts, there was no chance of me gaining that weight back. No matter what day, what time, whatever weather it was, it didn’t matter. I could eat all I wanted and nothing would change.

“Okay, now that Sian has been picked, I’m going to give you another star.”

At Jinwoo’s words, everyone looked at me enviously.

“Thank you.”

Now I had seven stars. That put me in second place along with Jumi and Jia. Could this day get any better?

“Now I’m going to announce the mission for Week 6 and your new roommates. For Week 6, you guys will all hold an outdoor mini-concert. You guys will be performing and interacting with the public. But in order to do that, you’ll have to attract a lot of people, right? You guys will be in charge of getting audience members and promoting yourselves. The venues will be in Myeong-dong or Hongdae, and your roommates will be your teammates. Okay?”

“Yes, sir!” We all answered in unison.

“I think this will be a good experience for you. You will hear the specific details from your manager. Now, I will call out your roommates.”

Jinwoo took a sip of water and then began to read the list.

“Ji-hyun, Sian, Jia, Jimin, Jumi, Liang Liang, and Yoo-jin will be on one team. Yoo-young, Rhinzi, Minji, Hainan, Areum, Sena, Ara, and Eunmi are on the other. Good job today, you guys. I’ll see you later.”

Jinwoo got up from his seat and left with a wave. That concluded this week’s audition.

***

Studio Lobby.

“Yay! I’m with Sian again!” Jia said, clinging to my arm. I guess she liked being my roommate. But how many times has it been now. Was it fate? Or just simply coincidence? Well, Jinwoo would know. The next time I see him, I’ll have to ask.

“That’s right. But, ugh, I’m starving,” I said, rubbing my stomach. Ever since I opened up my appetite, I’ve been hungry nonstop. I’m going to have to make a lot of money to feed myself.

“How about spicy rice cakes?” Jia said, taking a seat next to me. She already looked excited at the idea.

“Hmm, okay,” I replied.

All of a sudden, I saw Jun-jin slowly walk out of the bathroom. I continued to watch him as he approached us, a sudden urge to mess with him overcoming me again.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I drank a lot of water today, so I keep having to go to the bathroom,” Jun-jin said, looking oddly cheerful today.

“Did you wash your hands afterwards?”

“Of course.”

Jun-jin held out his hands in front of me, turning them to show me how clean they were.

“So where are you two going?” Jun-jin said, holding up his camera.

“We’re going to eat spicy rice cakes. Want to come?”

“No,” Jun-jin said, shaking his head. But it wasn’t like he had a choice. He had to come. Who was going to film us if he didn’t?

“Do you want to make a bet?”

“Nope.”

He repeated with another shake of his head.

“It will be fun,” I said.

“Fun for you,” Jun-jin countered.

“Too bad.”

And with that, the three of us left the studio and headed out to eat.

***

I was eating with Jun-jin and Jia when a professional looking man approached us.

“Excuse me...”

“Yes?”

I figured he must be a fan of mine since he was talking to me.

“Do you want a photo?”

“Oh, it’s not that. It’s just that I wanted to have a chat with you,” he replied, handing me a business card. It read Minwoo Jung, President of Euro Entertainment. Euro Entertainment? Never heard of it.

“You want to talk with me?”

“Yes. I’d like to make a proposal to you if you have some time. I really only need a few minutes.”

“Hmm.”

I looked at Jia and Jun-jin. Jia looked a little worried, while Jun-jin eyed the man suspiciously. A proposal. It was a bit bothersome, but I was curious as to know what sort of proposal it would be.

“Okay then. I have a lot of time so I’ll at least hear you out. Where should we go?”

“How about a café near here?”

“No. Let’s sit over there.”

I suggested. What? I was still hungry.

“Oh...”

The man visibly hesitated.

“Jia, Jun-jin. You guys are done eating right? You guys can go ahead.”

Since they were done eating, they didn’t need to stay.

“Alright, Sian. But are you sure you’ll be okay on your own?”

“Of course.”

“Oh, right.”

Jun-jin obeyed immediately. No doubt he saw that video of me fighting.

Soon, it was just me and the man sitting at a table in the corner. Jun-jin and Jia left after finishing their meal. Once we were settled, the man began.

“Well, Ms. Lee….”

“You are going to buy me food, right?”