一层一层剥掉你的衣服

“What is it?” I sat next to Hainan on the sofa. She linked arms with me and pointed at the screen.

“Sian, you won’t believe it! Chun-ah was arrested for rape!”

“Oh, really?”

Wow. I didn’t expect the reporters to be this fast.

“The victim is apparently a celebrity. Miss ‘L,\'” Jia said loudly and everyone began to murmur curses at Chun-ah.

“But wait, Sian.”

Jihyun came up to me and sat next to me on the sofa.

“What?”

“Didn’t you go to meet Chun-ah?”

“Yeah,” I replied as I nodded. Suddenly, everyone was looking at me. I could see the blazing curiosity in their eyes before the questions started.

“You went on a date?”

“A real date?”

“What time did you go?”

“Why?”

“Why did you go out with that piece of trash?”

With that question from Jumi, I gestured to Jihyun. Jumi whipped around to glare at her.

“Jihyun, are you crazy? How could you send Sian on a date with him?”

“I didn’t force Sian to do it! Why am I the bad guy?” Jihyun demanded.

Suddenly, Jumi grabbed Jihyun by the hair.

“You bitch!”

“What the fuck! Let go of me!!!”

Jihyun grabbed hold of Jumi’s hair, and soon they were rolling on the ground, with the rest of us surrounding them. Soon, our living room was a fighting ring. A part of me felt bad that I was the cause of this fight, but the other part was touched by Jumi. I had no idea that she cared about me so much. She really was a good friend.

After I managed to calm the two down, the fight ended and the living room was quiet again. I sat them all down and explained what had happened (though I didn’t tell them that I attacked Chun-ah). Considering that it was only a matter of time before the reporters found out that I was the victim, I figured that it was only right that I should be honest with the other members.

When I was finished, the members all hugged me and told me comforting words. I was really touched. Is this what it’s like to have real girlfriends? It felt differently than when men are together.

The bell rang and YH Entertainment’s founder and producer, Jinwoo Park, walked in.

The moment he came in, he looked at me.

“Sian!”

In Jinwoo’s office –

“That piece of shit!!!”

Jinwoo pounded his fist into his hands.

“But how did you find out that the victim was me?”

“I have my ways, but never mind that. Are you okay?”

Jinwoo checked me for injuries and when he saw the wounds, he went off again. It later turned out that Jinwoo had a personal beef with Heaven and Earth’s agency, JUD Entertainment. Jinwoo used to be friends with the head of JUD Entertainment until he was betrayed or something and the two had a falling out. Anyways, Jinwoo hated that company, and the moment he heard that a member from one of its boy groups assaulted me, he lost it.

“Don’t you worry about this. I’ll take care of everything. I’m going to make sure they pay!”

“Thank you,” I said.

I was truly grateful. To think that Jinwoo had this side to him.

“But will this be bad for the audition program? I might not be the bad guy, but as a victim, I am involved and I’m worried about what else might happen because of this.”

“You don’t have to worry about that, either. It’s called editing. And we’re going to do everything we can to make you look good. I’ll also handle the reporters,” Jinwoo spoke in such a confident and sincere manner. This was definitely not the same Jinwoo I dealt with in the past. Jinwoo Park took care of his own.

“But you know, for someone who went through all that, you seem pretty calm.”

“There’s no need to go insane over it,” I replied with a shrug of the shoulders.

“Well, you’re certainly handling it better than I expected,” Jinwoo spoke as he looked at me in admiration.

A few days had passed since the night of the incident. The internet exploded with searches about me and Chun-ah. We were constantly in the top 2 searches on every search site in the country.

At first, the hate was mostly directed at me. People called me a snake and a liar, asking why a trainee would go to a bar like that in the first place, blah blah blah. But once the audio I had recorded was released, it was a complete 180. Chun-ah’s other victims began to come forward and suddenly, everyone thought Chun-ah was the biggest scum on Earth.

But Chun-ah’s team still tried to point the blame at me, which made Jinwoo more furious afterwards. And Jinwoo Park was not to be messed with when he was angry. He made it very clear that he would use this to bury JUD Entertainment.

In the end, this incident made the public very interested in ‘Sian the Pig’ and, thus, the interest in YH Entertainment’s idol audition program skyrocketed.

Fitness Room –

“Yeah?”

I put down my weights and stared as Junjin approached me. We’re not filming today so why is he here?

“Hello, Sian.”

He was smiling brightly as he greeted me with a bow.

“Hi, Junjin. We’re not filming today, are we?”

“We need to film your parts for the trailer.”

“Trailer?”

“Yeah. The Week 2 Episode goes out tomorrow.”

“Right.”

Of course. Tomorrow is Friday. The Week 2 episode that we filmed on Monday will be aired.

“When you were a pig...Oh, sorry.”

“It’s fine. You can say it.” ‘Jerk.’

I was smiling on the outside, but seething on the inside.

“Since you were on the chubbier side in the beginning, it was hard for you to attract the public. Now that you’re a lot skinnier, the head of the company wants to show that.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah. Mr. Park made the request especially.”

“I see,” I answered with a nod. It made sense. There would be a lot of people watching tomorrow’s episode. And a lot of the focus will be on me. They’re going to take pity on me and try to comfort me and who knows? That might lead to more votes. The people like the underdog. But if I’m still fat? Then all the sympathy will disappear. It’s especially important that I get the male viewers to want to help me, but if I’m still at 81.2kg....would any of the male viewers want to do that? Of course, everyone’s preferences are different and there might be guys who like me in that way. But even if such men do exist, there’d be very few of them.

But now my weight is at 67.2kg. When we filmed the episode on Monday, I was 81.2kg. Today is Thursday and I’m at 67.2kg. It’s hard to believe but I lost 14kg in four days. My body is starting to take a shape and I have angles on my face. My chest is still full, which only makes me look sexier. If this is the face that shows up in the trailer? People will definitely support me, saying that I’m sexy and that I worked hard to look this way.

“You know...you did lose a lot of weight. How much do you weigh now?”

“67.2kg.”

“Whoa? In this short amount of time?”

“You’re looking at me, aren’t you?”

“That’s just it. I’m looking right at you and I can’t believe it. How...30 kg in...wow...”

Jun-jin stared at me and shook his head in disbelief. True, it would be hard for an average person to lose 30 kg in the same amount of time as I did. But I’m not your average human being. I had more will and discipline than anybody. In a few more days, I bet I’d be the sexiest woman in the country.

“Quit talking and start filming.”

I lifted my weights. Jun-jin’s eyes nearly fell out in astonishment when he saw how much they weighed.

That evening.

All the members gathered in the living room. We were there for one reason. Our rivals had been selected.

“I knew it. I’m with Yoo-young,” Jihyun said as she read her text message. She didn’t look too happy. It made sense, considering that Yoo-young was one of the best when it came to vocals. They’re pretty close in terms of looks too, which made Jihyun all the more uncomfortable.

“Mine is Sian!” Jumi said as she sat next to me. Maybe it’s because we’re good friends, but Jumi didn’t seem to be all bothered by this.

“Are you going to sing?” I asked Jumi.

Jumi nodded.

“Yep. You’re going to sing too, right?”

“No,” I replied as I shook my head. I have absolutely no intention of singing. I don’t like it and it’s not like I’m good at it. If I were to sing at that moment, I’d definitely fail.

“You’re not going to sing? Then what are you going to do? Go on another diet?” Jumi asked as she poked me in the side.

“No.”

“Then what?”

“I’m going to do some swordsmanship.”

“Swordsmanship?!” Jumi repeated, clearly shocked. Then again, it is pretty unusual. Jumi has never even seen me hold any type of weapon before.

“Yep.”

“Do you know how to fight with a sword?”

“I learned a bit when I was young.”

“When you were young? Huh...But you’re good at singing so why...and it’s not like you learned it recently, either...I don’t know about this,” Jumi said, sincerely concerned for me. She went on.

“I really think your best talent is singing. You really do look amazing when you sing. Don’t you think the public should see that?”

“Don’t worry. People will definitely be impressed with my skills,” I said as I ruffled Jumi’s hair. I really appreciated her worrying about me. I’m starting to see just how amazing a woman’s loyalty to her friends can be. It really makes one feel truly loved.

“Okay, fine. Since you’re so confident, I guess I can’t stop you. I just hope that both of us get good scores at the next round,” Jumi said as she linked arms with me. Then looking right at me, she added.

“You know, you got a lot prettier. Your eyes are huge.”

“Really?”

I was surprised. As you lose weight, your eyes get bigger. My face was getting smaller. If I continue to lose more weight, I’d be able to show everyone how small my face is.

A small head with big eyes. Aren’t those considered the traits of a true beauty? Am I becoming beautiful? I guess I’ll know when I lose more weight.