一层一层剥掉你的衣服

We all straightened up and gave him our full attention. After seeing what we have done, he continued.

“There’s a total of four missions and each mission will have a winner. The winner will receive an amazing prize.”

“Is there an ultimate winner?” I asked, raising my hand.

Everyone nodded. They all wanted to know too.

“The ultimate winner...yes, we do have one. For each mission, you get a number of points, and the one with the most points at the end is deemed the winner.”

“What’s the prize?”

“You get to be the opening performance at the Mu-music Asian Music Festival.”

“Wow~”

We all gasped. The Mu-music Asian Music Festival. It’s a huge festival and anyone who knew anything about Korean entertainment knows it’s the biggest festival of the year. Just being able to perform there in general is considered a huge honor. Performing the opening song is incredibly insane.

“You also get an exclusive contract with the agency and prize money worth 3 billion won. If you already have a contract with another agency, then mu-music will do whatever it can to help you negotiate an agreement.”

“Wow~!”

We all exclaimed again. Mu-music sure was on a different level. And 3 billion won?! Jesus.

“Damn.”

Suddenly, my interest was piqued. 3 billion...how much sashimi and lobster can I buy with that? No, how much food in general?

“So, you guys should all do your best to get first place.”

“Yeah!”

We all answered with swag.

“Now we’re going to start the first mission. The first mission is a diss battle!”

At that, we all looked at each other and smiled nervously. The first mission is a diss battle. Can we even do that when we barely know each other? Then again, I’m sure everyone has heard at least something or a few things about the other participants. Even more so since the other contestants are pretty well-known amongst those who live the contemporary lifestyle. Then again, the one whose name has been in the media the most is me. Does that mean that they’ll mostly come after me?

“You guys all know about each other, right?” Snake asked.

We all nodded.

“Okay, we’re going to select the order very casually. If you want to go first, raise your hand,” Snake said.

Christine was the very first to raise her hand. Christine, the one who provoked me, Sniper, and snubbed Ga-yoon. If there was one good thing about her, it’s the fact that she was ballsy. Of course, whether or not she had the skills to back that up remained to be seen. Who would she pick to battle? We all watched her.

“Oh, Christine? Okay, okay. So, Christine, go ahead and choose. But before we really start, whoever she chooses has the option to reject if they wish,” Snake said. We all nodded.

“I pick Ga-yoon.”

At Christine’s answer, Ga-yoon smirked. Everyone clapped, no one looking the very least bit surprised.

“So Christine chose Ga-yoon. Why did you choose her, Christine?” Snake asked, amused.

“It’s just that…well…I just don’t like her. She acts like she’s a bigshot. She’s not even that pretty.”

Christine did sound really pissed and we all applauded her sincerity, including me. Ga-yoon, on the other hand, looked just as mad. It almost looked like she was asking Christine what she planned to do about it. The winner of another rap program. She looked like a Queen Bee and apparently she actually was. Anyways, she continued to glare, looking like she was ready to knock someone’s face off. Christine didn’t cower a bit and continued to glare back at Ga-yoon.

“Hahaha. Acts like a bigshot, huh? What do you think, Ga-yoon? Do you agree? Also, do you accept Christine’s challenge?” Snake asked Ga-yoon.

Ga-yoon’s smirk got wider.

“Of course. When a prey walks into a tiger’s cave on its own two feet, the tiger has no reason to kick it out.”

At that, we all oohed. Ga-yoon added, “What? You think I’m not pretty? I’m just acting like I’m a bigshot? I’m better than you. You bi...witch. Don’t you guys agree?”

It was clear that she was about to curse but stopped herself midway. Then she looked at us, asking us to decide. We all looked at them, tilting our heads from side to side. The truth is, while Ga-yoon’s body was amazing, her face was…hmmm...the way I saw it, the prettiest was me, but Christine was a close second. The girl could’ve been a girl group idol with that face. That, combined with her straightforward ways and ability to look fearless, was pretty enticing.

“You guys are clearly blind. Get some glasses or something,” Ga-yoon snapped.

We all smiled. Then Lil Sniper added, “You’re pretty ugly, Ga-yoon.”

Since it was Sniper, Ga-yoon couldn’t just talk back. Instead, she simply twisted her lips into an ugly frown and muttered curses under her breath. Anyways, this meant that Christine and Ga-yoon would face off. Then it was Lil Sniper vs Ji-hyun Kim, me vs Mine Boo, and the last pair was Gina Kim vs Minji Joo. The last one left was Ha-jeong Lee. Since there were nine of us, there was one left out. Ha-jeong Lee. 27 years old and the former member of a first generation girl group. After the group disbanded, she was down on her feet and entered the competition for a chance to debut again. Honestly, she wasn’t really my type. Her body was nice though.

“Hmm, now only Ha-jeong is left. Well then, Ha-jeong, you can just join a pair and make it a three-way. Where do you want to go?” Snake asked.

We all looked at Ha-jeong.

“Hmm...”

After a while, she finally decided on Gina and Minji.

“I’ll join Gina and Minji.”

“Okay, then it will be Gina Kim vs. Minji vs Ha-jeong. The pairs have been selected. We will start the battles next week. You guys get to pick your background music but you have to write the lyrics yourself. And with that, I’ll see you guys later!”

At that, we all shared our greetings before we left.

***

At the pizza restaurant near the dorms.

“So how did it go?” Jia asked.

I was out on a date with Jia. To think I was on a date with someone as pretty and adorable as her. And I’m allowed to be as affectionate as I want to be. The way Jia keeps clinging to me…is the best thing ever. We even sleep in the same bed sometimes. The only thing is that my body is a girl...so...that goddamn Grim Reaper...wait till I get my hands on him…

“It went okay.”

“Did you get a chance to talk with Sniper?”

“Yes, I did,” I replied.

“Wow. Really? How did it go?”

“She’s not that great.”

“Pfft.”

Jia laughed at my response. But it’s true – I’ve decided that I’m not a fan. Though the one who came at me was Christine.

“Did you get a mission or anything like that?” Jia asked.

It would still be a while before the show came on TV which meant that Jia was already dying of curiosity.

“Yeah, we’re going to have a diss battle.”

“Really? With who?”

“I’m going against Mine Boo.”

“Oh!” Jia exclaimed.

“Do you know her?”

“Yeah. She’s big in the clubs. She’s known as a fashionista and she has a strong voice. Her rap skills are good as well.”

“Yeah?”

I had no idea. When I met her, she didn’t seem very memorable to me. To be honest, I sort of looked down on her. Then again, only those who had proven their skills would be on a show like Un-Position Rapper.

“You’ll have to practice a lot,” Jia said, adorably clenching her fists for emphasis.

“I should.”

Yeah. Since I can’t rap, I knew that I was going to have to work twice as hard.

“But this pizza is good though.”

I rolled up my slice and stuffed it into my mouth, barely chewing it before swallowing. There really was nothing better than a good slice of pizza.

***

Over the next week, we shot so many commercials. Our debut song hadn’t been released yet so we couldn’t promote on any shows, but the endorsement bookings alone were filling up our schedules. Of course, this made Jinwoo incredibly happy and kept us super busy as we also had to practice. But I was the busiest, as I also had to practice my rap.

C-Night was supposed to be my coach but she was so scared of me that she couldn’t even teach me properly. Anyways, just like that, it was the eve of the diss battle. Jinwoo called me in for a meeting.

“Do you like being on the show?” Jinwoo kept asking me.

One of these days, I was really going to shred his balls, but now was not the time, so I refrained myself. I really have gotten nicer since I came to this world.

“Would you like it?”

“Well, I mean…isn’t it fun?”

“Yeah, sure.”

I mean, it was. Since it was going to be a diss battle anyway.

“That’s good.”

“So what is it that you need to talk to me about?” I asked.

“I heard you’re up against Mine Boo.”

“So you know? It’s supposed to be confidential though.”

I specifically remember the producer telling us. We weren’t allowed to put up anything on SNS. We couldn’t tell anyone either. But Jinwoo already knew? Jinwoo had a closer relationship with the people at Mu-music than I thought. Not that it’s a big of a deal.

“Of course I know. Anyways, I heard Mine Boo is pretty skilled.”

“Yeah, Jia told me.”

“So why is she going against a no-good amateur like yourself?”

“Crazy ba…ha. Haha. Hahahhaa. What did you say?”

I almost called him a crazy bastard but I stopped myself. This guy really says things that go too far sometimes.

“I’m just kidding.”

“Don’t say stuff like that. Hurts my ears.”

I drew back my fist at him. Jinwoo snorted.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry about that.”

“I cleaned it out,” I said with a smile. Jinwoo grinned back.

“So what was it that you needed to talk to me about?” I asked again.

“It’s not that important. It’s just that I hear the first mission is going to be a diss battle. So just be careful.”

“You mean I can’t curse at them?”

“Yeah,” Jinwoo confirmed with a nod.

“It’s a diss battle and I can’t curse?”

“Exactly.”

“Then what am I supposed to do?”

We’re going to be dissing each other and I wasn’t allowed to insult any of them...then what am I supposed to do? It’s not like I can use my fists.

“Hmm…I think that if you just play the victim, you’ll get a lot of sympathy votes from the public.”

“So you just want me to take it?”

“Of course not. You need to rap as well. Just don’t curse at the other contestant. You need to keep up your image of a good girl. The public likes that more. You’ve heard of wannabe rappers, right? The ones that just spit out lines cursing at the other rappers when they have no skills themselves? They’re getting a lot of criticism online. So, don’t do it. Don’t make fun of the other contestants either.”

“Hmm...”

This is hard. I can’t curse. I can’t fight. I can’t insult anyone. Then, what am I supposed to do? Well, I figured Jinwoo was saying this with my best interest at heart.

“Okay. I won’t do anything.”

“But you have to win.”

‘Fucking bastard.’

Luckily, I only said that last line in my head.

***

The day came. The day of the diss battle.

“Hmm.”

I was in the waiting room, getting my makeup down when Mine Boo walked in.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

Mine Boo greeted with a wave. So I said hi back.

“Hi, Ms. Mine Boo.”

“Just call me Boo.”

“Oh..that’s...”

I wasn’t used to being so familiar with strangers.

“What? You don’t want to be my friend?”

Mine Boo demanded. I really didn’t feel like explaining so I just gave a simple answer.

“Yeah.”

“What?”

As expected, Mine Boo was not happy to hear that. She looked like I just stabbed her. Like a girl at a nightclub. Like Jia. But she wasn’t as pretty as Jia. Like, she wasn’t my type but she did look like a club girl. With the thick makeup and everything.

“I said yes,” I said.

Mine Boo became furious. And with that, she went off.

“You fucking bitch, don’t go off talking big. You ain’t all that. I’ll fucking crush you. You can’t even rap. You were just put on this show, like some wannabe. The fact that I’m facing you in this diss battle is the most insulting thing I’ve faced in my life. This fucking sucks.”

Mine Boo said all of that in one breath. She had incredible lungs, but I gave Mine Boo one last blow.

“Wow, the dogs are loud,” I said, before sticking earphones in.