Chapter 55 - The Filming of Jumping Man, Flying Man (Part 1)

‘I’m going to claw those fucking eyes out,’ I said to myself. I couldn’t just say it to her directly. Lil Sniper. The battle hadn’t even started, but I made sure she felt the murderous energy coming off of me.

“Now before we start, is there something you’d like to say to the other person?” Jongmin asked.

Sniper nodded and began to walk towards me. She leaned into my ear and whispered, “I’m going to make you pay, you bitch.”

Then with a smile, she backed off. Her face looked extremely relaxed. It’s like she forgot who had ripped her hair out in the first place.

“Oh, you whispered it to her. What did you say?” Jongmin asked, but Sniper merely just shrugged.

Now it was my turn. I slowly approached Sniper and placed a hand on her shoulder. I gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder and leaned in as if to give her a hug. Sniper looked really confused but she failed to notice me swiftly jab a pressure point.

Pinch.

Now she won’t be able to speak. Hee hee.

I backed away from Sniper and she continued to stare at me confusedly. She didn’t even know what I did, but that was a given because I had done it so quickly.

“Oh, you don’t have anything to say to Sniper?” Jongmin asked and I shook my head.

“Alright then. We’ll start the battle. Sniper, you first!”

One cue, the music started and Sniper stepped towards me with a murderous look on her face. She gave me a push on the shoulder and opened her mouth….and nothing came out. No sound was coming from her mouth. Sniper’s eyes widened when she realized what was going on and immediately began to gesture to her throat frantically. Everyone stared at her in confusion, wondering what the hell she was doing. I also feigned innocence, tilting my head from side to side. That only frustrated Sniper more and her actions became more agitated. She finally jumped off the stage and after realizing that perhaps something had gone wrong, the staff members and producer all ran towards her.

“Just give it a sec,” I muttered quietly to myself.

The damage I did to her wasn’t permanent. It really depends on how much force you use, but I had barely used any. I did enough for it to last maybe two minutes? I timed it so that she’d get her voice back around the same time the song was to end. But of course, Sniper herself had no idea. Her movements became more violent and she even began to cry. She must be frustrated since she couldn’t speak. The producer and staff members kept asking her what’s wrong and tried to calm her down, which only made it worse for her. But just before she could lose it, her voice finally came back. The pressure point had been released.

“I said I can’t talk!”

Because of her strange ailment, the battle was called off again and the filming ended. Again, I was declared the winner. And everyone had yet to hear me rap.

***

At the dorms.

The second filming of Un-Position Rapper ended. When I came back, all the members of Fifteen were gathered in the living room. It’s only been a day since we’ve seen each other, but they ran towards me like it had been years.

“Sian, how did it go?”

As usual, Jia was the first to plop herself next to me. Jia Lee. Even just one day away had been too long for me. Every time I see her, I am reminded that I am most certainly a man.

“It wasn’t anything special,” I said, stuffing my mouth full of chips.

It really hadn’t been. I hadn’t even done anything, remember?

“Really? I can’t wait to see it!”

“You might find it strange.”

I didn’t expect anything else. They might even find it downright bizarre. Of course, it all depended on how well Mu-music’s editing team did. I hope they don’t include the clip of me and Sniper fighting, but whatever. I’ll just leave it to the experts.

Just then, the doorbell rang. We heard a man’s voice calling from the other side.

“Hey, guys~”

It was the manager. Hainan skipped over the door to open it.

“Hi! What are you doing here?” she asked.

Yeah, why was he here? At this time? He definitely had a purpose. Probably not a good one, judging by the look on his face.

“I’m here to talk to Sian,” Manager Lee said, taking a seat on the floor. He’s lost so much weight and it didn’t suit him, but I guess it can’t be helped. Ever since we debuted, his schedule had been non-stop. We were tired, and he was tired right along with us. I even sit next to him in the van because I’m always afraid he might fall asleep at the wheel. If he does, I can hit him to wake him up.

“What is it?” I asked.

I wasn’t the only one curious. We all looked at the manager, waiting.

“You guys know Jumping Man, Flying Man, right?”

“Of course,” we all replied. The Jumping Man, Flying Man was a television show. It’s a variety show where celebrities have to complete quests and run around, doing different activities. Jt’s really popular and usually ranks either first or second in rankings when it airs during the weekend.

“They’re filming a special this week and a spot opened up. So, they called us. They wanted to book one of the members.”

“Really?”

Everyone began to look hopeful. They all definitely wanted to go. Like I mentioned, it was a popular show and it looked like it’d be fun. Anybody who is anybody knew about the show and wanted to be on it.

“So who’s going on the show?” Ji-hyun asked.

Wealthy, college student Ji-hyun with a complicated history with boys. She was like King Uija of Baekje. That is, she’s not promiscuous, but rather seems to enjoy aggressively stepping on every guy in front of her.

“They want Sian.”

“Again?” I asked, irritated.

Ugh, great. Another show. Why did they keep asking for me? I was getting tired of this. Not exhausted. More like, just irritated. Some people might say I should take advantage of the spotlight when I can, but this was getting out of hand.

“Yeah, there’s nothing I can do, Sian. Mr. Park told me about it, so...”

“Where is he?” I demanded, sounding more harsh than I intended.

“In his office...”

Manager Lee answered quietly. I immediately stood up and walked out of the dorms.

***

I arrived at the office, but I didn’t see him anywhere. Where had he run off to?

“Hey, Jin…oh wait. Excuse me, Sir? Hello? Is anyone here?”

At that moment, I saw a young staff member was passing by. I stopped her and asked where he was.

“Oh, he was in there a moment ago. Is he gone?”

“Yeah, I don’t see him.”

“Maybe he left...?”

“His bag is still here.”

“Oh, maybe he’s in the bathroom then.”

“Right, thank you.”

I gave a quick bow and hurried off to the bathroom. I walked right in and came face to face with two men standing at the urinal. The moment they saw me, they gave shouts of surprise, but I couldn’t care less. I was busy checking the stalls.

“Open…open…open…closed.”

The fourth stall wouldn’t open. So I knocked.

“Mr. Park?”

No answer.

“Mr. Park, are you in there?” I tried again.

Just then, a small voice replied.

“Um…y-yeah...”

He sounded rather embarrassed.

“Are you pooping?”

“Um, yes...so...could you leave?...”

“Okay, but hurry up. I have something to say to your a..to you.”

“Oh, okay...”

I hurried out and waited outside the bathroom. Ugh, he stank.

A few minutes later, Jinwoo came out. He was flushed with embarassment.

“Jesus, Sian, how could you just walk into the men’s restroom like that?” he demanded.

I simply shrugged. Hey, I’m a guy too. At least, mentally, I am. Therefore, I saw no issue with it.

“I believe you have something you’d like to tell me?”

“Um, uh...?”

Jinwoo began to fidget.

“Jumping Man, Hopping Man? I heard that you put me on that show too,” I pressed.

“It’s Jumping Man, Flying Man...”

“Whatever.”

“They want you on the show. What was I supposed to do?”

“You know you have other members, right.”

“They wanted you specifically. They want you to do the name tag portion.”

“Ugh...”

I wanted to curse, but I held back. I couldn’t curse – not in front of Jinwoo. Then again, I really didn’t have to.

“I know it’s tiring, but just do it, okay?”

“But, Sir.”

“Yeah? And stop with your attitude. I’m the founder of YH Entertainment. I’m your boss.”

“Yeah, yeah. But, Sir.”

“Yeah?”

“You really need to consider the other members. What if they get jealous? I’m worried about what that could do to the group.”

It’s true though. Whether or not I’m tired is a different story...it’s annoying, but I could handle it. The other members’ jealousy, on the other hand…. jealousy. The one thing that could tear a group apart.

“Yeah, I’m thinking about that too. That’s why I’m looking into more opportunities for the whole group. But for Un-Position Rapper and Jumping Man, Flying Man, they only wanted you. So there was no way around it.”

“Fine. If it can’t be helped, it can’t be helped. But Jin…I mean, Sir.”

“Yeah?”

“Can’t you at least give me a heads up? I keep getting blindsided here.”

Somehow, I managed to hold my string of curse words back.

“Oh, okay. I am very sorry about that.”

“If you’re really sorry, give me your card so I can go out to eat with the girls.”

“What are you? My treasurer?” Jinwoo demanded.

“I have to do what I can to appease them. They all wanted to be on Jumping Man too,” I said firmly.

I mean, seriously, with everything he’s pulled so far, he owes me.

“Yeah, well…I guess a team dinner wouldn’t hurt. But…are you guys aware of…of how much you’re spending…when you use my card?”

“Wow, you’re so stingy. I didn’t see you as that type. It’s not like we eat that much all the time. Have you not seen the girls? They’re way underweight. And what about me? At this rate, we’re going to starve to death.”

I showed him my skinny arm, feeling no remorse whatsoever. To be honest, it doesn’t matter how much I eat now – my metabolism is so high that I don’t get fat anymore. This really is a true transformation.

“And we know you made a lot of money from my match with Eun-soon, so don’t try to get out of this.”

That’s right. I knew everything. Jinwoo placed his bet on me and made enough to get himself a whole lot of money. He placed it on me in case there was a chance of me winning and it literally paid off. That’s the great thing about taking a chance when everyone else is doubtful. How do I knew he won? I heard him when he thought no one was listening.

“How…how did you...?”

“Give me your card. Now.”

I held out my hand and in the end, Jinwoo had no choice but to comply. You could say I was mooching off of him, but I promise, that’s not the case.