06

Chapter Six

MY entire body felt sore when I dragged myself out of the house. I still blamed Soojin for it; the stupid experiment cost me a lot more than I expected. Granted, the visit to the bar had been a boost in morale, my physical condition could be summed up to that of a rotten pea in a pod. 

After I emerged from the subway, I went straight to a snack bar and ordered myself a cup of coffee and a turkey sandwich. 

I downed the coffee as soon as my order was delivered to my table and called for the check, picking up the sandwich wrapped in a paper satchel. 

As I walked towards the studio, I sank my teeth into the breaded goodness, relishing the strong taste of the fish. While it was pretty useless in the context of completely fixing me, it did provide a sense of content. Better than nothing at all.

My wise-phone dinged, notifying me of a rather snarky message by Soojin, urging me to make good use of my pretty paws and hurry up. I was planning on giving her a piece of my mind for the wonderful tip, so I figured I could spare another; she asked for it.

*

"Hey, Lee Soojin!" I called out, as I sashayed into the hair and makeup room.

Soojin whipped her head behind, her hair still in rollers. She looked quite the sight, which was sheer irony on my part, considering that I was in the odd combination of a bikini top and dress pants. I looked just as much of a clown as she did, albeit, a prettier one. 

"Ye-e-es?" She said, dragging her voice with that annoying, nasal tone that I so despised. 

"Thanks for the brilliant tip, fucker. Not only did I get zero results, I was fagged out for the rest of the day."

"No swearing!" Chaeri said, catching me off-guard as she whacked my head with the back of a hairbrush. 

"Chae, your kid is literally not here. Plus, the staff are used to Jiya's uncouth mouth," Soojin reasoned.

"Yeah, but this is a workplace, not Pied Piper. Etiquette dictates that the use of, ahem, flowery language must be moderated."

"Etiquette also states that friends ought to avoid sharing harmful advice," I glowered. 

"Um, no, it doesn't," Chaeri corrected, but there was a note of query in her voice. 

Clearly, both of us had left her out of the loop. I could predict a "nobody tells me anything", coming up hot and fresh in about two hours' time.

Soojin dismissed Chaeri's questioning look as she addressed me: "Give it some time. Yes, it also left me a soggy crouton for a while. But it did work. Didn't I tell you it took me a week to find Mina after I consumed one?"

"What did you consume-" 

Soojin shot a knowing glance around the room before she silently assessed the situation to Chaeri. There were other people in the room—our managers and the two hair stylists. Chaeri understood and dropped the topic. 

"You should get changed, Jiya," Chaeri said but neither Soojin nor I failed to catch the hidden ''ll -talk-about-this-later'. 

"Yeah, you should. The sooner the better, actually, because I caught a whiff of conceit from the photographer. I think it will do you some good, considering the fact that you haven't had a proper feed for a while now."

"I doubt I'd be able to taste anything," I sighed, looking at my hands. "But thanks for the heads-up, Jin." 

"Chae, how much time did it take for you to find your prey?" Soojin suddenly asked. 

Caught off-guard, Chaeri muttered: "A fortnight, I suppose?"

"And how long did it take you to hunt him down?"

"Three days," she said with quiet pride. 

"See?" Soojin turned to me, as if she were making a point. "It's sniffing out the prey that takes up most of the time. The only thing I'm particularly worried about is that you will take as long as you please in the hunting department. Like I said-"

"I like to play with my food, yes, I know; I have it jotted down in memory," I said, rolling my eyes. 

"But it is true, Jiya," Chaeri said, soothingly. "Remember that time with Lisa?"

"Ah yes, and that other time with Wooyoung?" 

"Oh, did you forget that one encounter with Jung-"

"That's enough, thank you. I got it, I need to finish up as soon as I can because then the only thing that's between me and the status of a perfect Gumiho is the ninth tail, right?" 

Soojin shook her head. "That's not the only thing. You do remember which year it is, right?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Are you subtly saying that I might take that long to catch a bloody prey?" 

Not knowing what to do, Soojin gave me the jazz hands, smiling foolishly.

Chaeri checked her watch. "Look at all the time we're wasting, chit-chatting! Off you go into the changing room, Jiya. And I better see you here in less than five minutes."

I knew better than to test the patience of the otherwise sweet mother of my godson, so I followed her exact instructions.

*

As I adjusted the straps of my bikini, I wondered why Soojin could smell my preferred taste better than I could. In fact, it should be the other way around, seeing that I have a stronger affiliation with it than her.

I dismissed it as a foul, almost rancid odour barged its way into my nostrils. 

I turned to Soojin. "Do you smell that?" 

Soojin looked confused. "Smell what?"

"Something smells like foul eggs. Who hasn't had a bloody bath here?" I said, wrinkling my nose. 

Soojin could only shrug in response, since she had absolutely no clue what I was on about.

I searched around me in hopes of finding at least one ape-relative to catch on to the disgusting scent, but it yielded no result. 

Either someone had terrible body odour, or they had come into close contact with a Dragon Empress. Filthy, fishy creatures they were.

I looked around me for potential victims but couldn't detect the origin of the smell. Foolish me, I forgot that it was one of its many unfortunate side-effects. Perhaps one of the crew members had one of those creatures as a guardian spirit; possibly to ward off pesky predators - such as myself.

I groaned, realizing that I would have to put up with it for the rest of the shoot. I settled for a high-nosed expression—one that Soojin would dub as a "snooty" look.

Which was a good one, since we were going for a more ravishing concept in this shoot, as we were promoting the very bikinis we were wearing. Condescending looks were considered sexy by this generation of consumers.

Unless you were a female, of course. Then that was usually considered rude; it was quite refreshing that humans had still not let go of their rich, age-old tradition of double standards.

Soojin, on the other hand, was a complete contrast to me, once again (that could be why we were the most requested pair of models).

She wore a charming smile, while keeping it crooked, thus coming to speed with me in terms of sexiness. Her right eyebrow quirked at an attractive angle. Little details like that made all the difference.

Because of her seemingly more inviting look, I expected to hear a "smile, Ms. Moon" from our photographer. I was given a hearty surprise.

He let us do our own thing throughout the shoot, while clicking away. The director seemed to catch on to that too, as he only advised us to look at the camera when he wanted us to, or to pose with the props (a beach ball and a hat, to name a few). We hadn't entered the pool, yet.

Just as we were about to proceed with the solo shots (while we were still dry), my leg conveniently slipped on a wet towel lying on the ground.

An inhumane scream—very unlike the faux high-pitched ones I cried to catch the attention of lion-hearts—left my lungs, as I fell right into the pool.

I instantly regretted it, since the chlorine-smelling liquid entered my mouth, making it difficult to breathe.

I thrashed about, desperately attempting to get above the watery surface. I could picture my pathetic self, playing the damsel in distress, far better than this lousy excuse of reality. Before the embarrassment could consume me faster than the water, a faraway splash reached my ears, and before I knew it, I was being dragged upwards by an unfamiliar hand.

The humid air of the summer day fanned my cheeks, and I shook my head, ridding my ears and nose of the unpleasant sensation I felt moments ago.

"Ye-ouch! Watch where you're shaking off all that water, Ms. Moon! That's a nice way to repay me for saving your life."

Before I could utter a suitable response to the very aggravating comment, I spied a useful little sign on one of the blue tiles of the pool.

"Oh, do you mean the five-feet deep pool? That sure took a lot of courage, didn't it?" I snorted, turning to the source of the voice.

Before me panted a willowy man, the loose-limbed kind. His abnormally long arms were raised; one combed through his damp hair while the other wiped his face dry.

Of course it was a man; they were usually the easiest prey to catch, even when I didn't make an attempt to seduce them.

"C'mon Jiya! You could at least be nice to the photographer for being concerned about you!" Soojin said, exasperated.

She held out a hand, which I gladly accepted.

"Oh well, we can now skip to the pool pictures right away, thanks to me," I joked, climbing out of the pool.

The director didn't find it funny. Neither did Soojin, who looked beyond peeved.

"God, if I could just push her back into the pool, I would."

The director sighed. "Oh well, she does have a point. The two of you could take a five-minute break till the crew preps for the pool shoot," he told us.

After waving away one of the crew members hurrying over, Soojin picked up a towel and began to dry me.

"Couldn't you stay put in one place? So much for focusing on the shoot."

"I slipped!"

"God, you're so clumsy."

"There was a wet towel on the floor, where it had no business!"

"Keep your eyes wide open, then," she snorted.

"I was focusing on the shoot!"

As we continued to bicker, a familiar aroma wafted in my direction, catching the attention of my long nose.

Something in me stirred, causing me to rise from my seat. Soojin opened her mouth to query, but I held up a hand, silencing her.

My eyes zoomed around the vicinity, looking for its source. Was it one of the spot-boys? Or was it the director himself? I hungrily searched and unknowingly began to walk in the direction the scent seemed to lead me—like a pied piper playing an unforgettable melody.

"Jiya?" Soojin finally managed to speak, but it barely reached me.

Bells were clanging away in the back of my head, perhaps to suggest that there was danger ahead. However, my shivering feet had a mind of their own, drawing me closer and closer to it.

"Ms. Moon?" I heard the bemused voice of the photographer.

I blinked. Slowly, I raised my head like a coy snake, waiting to strike its prey.

An invisible suction pipe squeezed out all the air in me.

The inky locks that stole my sleep outlined cheeks that were June roses, with little droplets resting on them, like dew on a wintry morning. One of them slid down a pointed chin (with the faintest hint of facial hair) in a perfect arc, above which were plump cushions for lips, resembling pink glass because of their wet state.

My eyes tore away from them as they trailed up the red nose (freshly scrubbed by the towel) and rested on the eyes, the windows to the soul.

Though quiet, temporary curiosity dwelled in them for the time being, they shone with the light of a thousand moons.

They twinkled and the lips parted, revealing a voice I found ever-so sweet: "See something you like, Ms. Moon?"

In an inexplicable moment of triumph, I smiled. Yes, this was him—the one I had been searching for so long.

My perfect prey.

"Yes," I breathed.

Of course, he was taken aback by my unabashed self — they all always were; it was what made it so easy.

Alas, I didn't have time to converse longer since I was yanked back by a frantic Soojin, who dragged me to the showers.

Which was wise of her, since out popped my tails and ears, just as she shut the door behind us.

"You fool! What were you thinking, going off in a trance like that? It's most unlike you," she berated.

"It's him, Jin," I said, while swiping my thumb over my bottom lip, letting it linger at a corner.

Soojin's eyes grew wide. "Are you serious? The photographer? The guy who jumped overboard to save you?"

I grinned, nodding.

"This is going to be fun."

Soojin's expression didn't quite line up with mine. It bordered between worry and alarm.

*

The rest of the shoot was a breeze, despite the short interval my accident had caused. The photographer was less quiet than before, throwing eager responses to our improvisations - especially mine.

I maintained as little eye-contact with the camera lens as possible, thus giving him more opportunities to call for my attention.

Slowly and steadily does the trick.

It was when the director yelled "pack up!" that I emerged from the pool, walking as if the shoot had never ended and I was still on camera. My hips swayed impressively for their lack of girth as I walked on my dainty toes.

Behind me was Soojin, shaking her head. 

I sauntered over to the photographer's side, who was  packing up his camera, assisted by a spot-boy.

I tapped on his shoulder, ready with my hearty gratitude for saving (well, not really) my life.

"Oh, hello, Ms. Moon," he said as he turned around. "How may I help you?"

"Well, I wished to give my thanks for what you did back then. My immediate response wasn't very warm, and I felt guilty about that."

"Oh," said he, grinning. "Smitten, are we?"

I gave a tinkling laugh. His succulent savour nearly made me drool—the self-adulation was strong in this one.

"I didn't catch your name," I simpered.

An alluring smirk formed on those tantalizing lips as he shifted from his current position and searched for something in his bag. He fished out a notepad and pen, scribbling something on it, while hiding it away from my sight.

When he handed it to me, he said: "Open it once you reach home."

I pretended to blush to inflate his already obese ego, leaving him a satisfied man.

*

Once I was in the company of Soojin in the changing room, I opened the slip of paper and fought the urge to snort.

Soojin glanced over my shoulder, her head halfway in the process of wearing her t-shirt. She guffawed.

"That's real smooth of him. And you're sure you didn't see it coming?"

I shook my head, shaking with laughter.

Written above a series of digits was a name that was engraved in my mind, the second I read it.

Kim Seokjin.

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