176 - Upki Girl

< A Unique Harvest > Aliya's call was urgent. Did she get hurt while working on choreography? Without any time to rub my cheek after being hit by Seowon, I quickly rushed to the dance studio. Contrary to her tense voice on the phone, Aliya was sitting comfortably in her chair, leisurely taking off her shoes. "What is it, why did you call?" "Oh, I just wanted you to wash Aliya's feet with some warm hot water." "Uh? Wash your feet?" "The choreography uses a lot of footwork, so my feet got tired quickly, you know." "Couldn't you just get a massage at the shop?" "Where's the time for that? Come on, hurry." "How am I supposed to wash feet here?" "Just bring some water in a basin." Hmmm. Hmmm... What is up with this guy? He’s asked for calf or foot massages many times before. But asking to have his feet washed? That’s on another level entirely. Like the difference between moving a table and being spoon-fed a meal. Moreover... The others were acting a bit oddly too; they weren't behaving the way they usually would. Seowon was the only one in the recording studio for vocal practice, and the other four were all in the dance studio. If Aliya made such a request, the usual responses would be: Eunbit: "Riya dear, I'll wash them for you." Yona: "Are you trying to bother the manager again?" Hong: "Soon, she'll be asking someone to brush her teeth for her too." But they were all pretending not to hear anything, each enjoying their break time. Hold on, hold on. Something's strange, considering Seowon’s reaction earlier too. Could it be because of that? The feeling that a backlash is slowly brewing due to the overnight drinking escapade with Jei. I lied, saying that I stayed at a sauna after parting ways with Jei around 2 am, but Yona and Riya seemed suspicious. I had thought there wouldn’t be any issues since I went with their permission, but Seowon slapped me, and now Riya's throwing a tantrum. "Washing feet... Hmm... Feet..." "You don't want to?" "No, no, I'll get the water. Wait." I went to fetch water using the small basin from the bathroom. Instead of hot water, I filled it with ice-cold water. Then I asked Jangwoo, who was in the office, to film a video, setting the cold water in front of Riya, pretending it was warm. Engrossed in a foreign choreography video playing on his smartphone, Riya remained completely unsuspecting. He extended one foot still clad in socks near my chin. I resisted the urge to wrestling chop the Vetements-branded sock band, knowing I had to endure for a more gratifying moment to come. I grasped his calf wrapped in leggings with my left hand and removed the sock. The warmth from the sweaty, heated foot washed over my hand. While there was no odor, the damp heat was unpleasant enough to spike my discomfort level significantly. I had to quash the urge to press my elbow hard onto the big toe painted with pink pedicure. But the displeasure must have shown on my face. Aliya looked at me slyly and wiggled his toes, disdainfully questioning. Like a queen testing her servant. "Why? Does Aliya's foot smell?" "Uh? No, no." "Then why do you look like you've swallowed a bug?" "The foot is a bit damp..." "That's too much. Aliya is practicing hard for the team until her feet sweat, and you make such remarks, Rankang." I replied with a half-hearted "Yeah, I'm sorry," and plunged his foot into the near-zero-degree basin water, ice absent, but nonetheless freezing. Whispering to myself, "Let the wicked be cast into hell..." — Splash. "Eek!" Riya leapt out of the chair like a cat hit by water, pulling his foot back hastily. "My foot! My foot!" Splashes from the basin sprinkled onto Yona and Eunbit nearby, inflicting a splash damage of sorts. "Hey, that's cold!" "Eek!" Falling backward like a tortoise flipped upside down, Riya urgently called out to Eunbit with a pale face. "B-bitebit Unnie, Aliya's foot has no feeling! Sibling caught cold, sibling!" "Sibling?" Eunbit hesitated. "Oh, a frostbite? What do we do, what do we do! Lie down, I'll defrost it with my breath!" "Please protect Aliya's beautiful foot from being cut off!" "Alright! Haa~ Haaaa~" Eunbit blew warm air onto Riya's foot, cradling it like a lollipop. "Uuu..." Like a star player facing injury before the World Cup, Riya looked almost tearful, venting his indignation at me. "Rankang! Aliya asked for hot water, not ice water! Wait, this wasn't on purpose, was it? Did you just terrorize Aliya?" "What? You asked for hot water? Sorry, I didn’t hear that." "Aliya specifically said warm hot water! I distinctly mentioned it! Ask Hognong and Yona if you don’t believe me!" "Yeah, sorry. Maybe I missed it." "Haa~ Haaaaaaa~. How is it? Feeling any better?" "Ooh, Bitebit Unnie, you're a lifesaver... I'm starting to feel it again. And Rankang, this was a blatant act of terror. I'll hold you accountable one way or another! Hate it immensely, hate it fiercely!" "I said I'm sorry. I really didn't hear." "Aliya mentioned it numerous times. If sorry was enough, why would there be police?" "Khhht..." Riya's cute frustration at falling into his own trap made me laugh, and Jangwoo, filming from behind, couldn't suppress his chuckles either. Riya’s glare shifted away from me toward Jangwoo. "What? Are you filming this, Jangwoo? Were you in on it, too?" "No, I really had no idea. I'm filming because Yunho asked me to," replied Jangwoo. "In any case, this was a premeditated attack, Rankang!" Ah, refreshing. Like the donkey who dissolves salt in the river, this kind of revenge feels as soft as cotton. I walked out coolly, leaving behind the fuming Riya, carrying the basin with me. "Whoa, you startled me." I turned around sensing someone following me, and it was Hong, trailing me to the bathroom. She had something to say, her expression made that clear, so I asked while pouring the water down the toilet. "Hong, what's up?" "Um... I'm really hungry, is it okay if I eat something...?" "Hmm? We just had lunch an hour ago, didn’t you eat?" "Yeah, I did, but still..." If she's hungry despite eating, it means she's stressed about something. She'd been working on the lyrics for her Ripple Girl rap battle since morning, and her frustrated expression suggested it wasn't going well. "Is the stress because you’re having difficulty writing the lyrics?" "Uh... well, that's part of it, yes." "Should I get you some chocolate or something?" "No, Kyo, Kyochon Chicken..." "Kyochon Chicken?" "Two... no, one chicken..." "One chicken?" Lately, Hong has been teetering between being voluptuous and a bit overweight, so she's voluntarily managing her weight. The other girls are also watching their diets in preparation for the Replay Girl debut. Just mentioning chicken seemed to make her salivate, her brows furrowed, and her nose crinkled with a tic. "But... isn’t it kind of wrong to eat alone when everyone else is dieting?" "I-I'll eat it here with the door locked." "You're that desperate to secretly eat in the bathroom?" "I'm sorry... but I'm so hungry I can't do anything... I'm getting so sleepy..." Even just looking at her, she seemed totally drained. Making such a request only an hour after lunch signals reaching her limit. However, since the other girls are more intensely managing than Hong, they’d get sensitive if they caught the scent of chicken... "Then go eat outside with Jangwoo. The office is too risky with the smell." "Yes." "I’ll tell them you went to the café to work on lyrics, so act like that's the case." "Thank you..." Eventually, Hong left for a nearby chicken shop with Jangwoo. I returned to the dance studio after seeing them off. But only Yona and Eunbit were there. "Huh? Where's Riya..." "Surprise!" "Whoa!" Ambushed. She'd been hiding behind the door and jumped on my back, wrapping her legs around my waist, both feet barefoot. Though startled, she didn’t choke me or anything, so it wasn't painful. But if I pretended to be unbothered, she might take it further. I acted as though I was in mild distress and headed toward Aliya's chair to shake her off discreetly. "Hey, get down, what’s with you, really..." At that moment, something clammy touched my face. "Mmph!" Ah, damn it! It was one of her freshly removed socks, still retaining its unpleasant warmth. It’d entered my mouth as I was speaking, its fabric touching my tongue. I shrieked internally! I grabbed Riya's wrist and forcefully removed the sock. "Ouch, it hurts, Aliya hurts!" "Blegh! Hey! It got in my mouth—whoa!" "Oh my, what now!" "Noo, don't!" As Eunbit and Yona let out screams, I stumbled while carrying Riya on my back. I slipped on some water on the floor, nearly falling backward but managed to twist my body so Riya wouldn’t hit the ground. — Thud! — Crack! "Ahh!" "Owwww!" Riya and I both cried out in pain simultaneously. It was clear now that my left wrist, that had been under the crook of her knee, was hurt badly. Pinned between the floor and our bodies, it twisted entirely, and the flash of pain was intense. But Riya was the real concern. Hearing her groans, I couldn’t focus on my own pain. "Aaaaaah!" Riya felt it too, her left ankle trapped with my left arm, wasn’t just sprained. She began to cry freely, laying on her side. Her tears spoke of not just the pain, but the regret of causing inconvenience to the team. Eunbit lay beside her, crying as well, and Yona dashed off to the other room, calling for Yeom. Seowon, too, came running out, startled. "What? What happened? Is the manager hurt? Huh? Why is Riya like that?" "Ugh... Yeom, we need to contact Riya’s hospital. Her left foot is injured." "Let me see, Riya." Before Yeom could even touch it, Riya screamed in anguish. "It hurts!" Eunbit screamed even louder as she cried. "Waaah! Don't touch her, don’t touch her! She said it hurts!" Yona stomped around, hands over her mouth. "What do we do, what do we do..." Seowon blamed me with frustration. "Isn't the manager hurt too? What were you doing to end up like this!" "Keep it down... my ears will go deaf first." "Your wrist is turning blue and shaking!" Yeom was headed out, making a call. "Hello. Yes, this is Hum Hum Hum. We need you to come quickly. Yes, Aliya injured her foot." "Waaah! Don’t be in pain, Riya! Don’t cry..." "Whining, what about the recording... sob, I’m sorry, unnies..." "You fool, is the broadcast what’s important right now?" "It's important, we have to be number one... sniff..." "Where did Yeonhong go now?" Off to eat Kyochon Chicken. Soon after, Riya and I were taken by ambulance to her designated hospital. In those few minutes of travel, my hand swelled up like Doraemon's paw, and Riya's foot ballooned worryingly. The doctor speculated that with such swelling, there might be at least a fracture, if not a full break. Could there be anything more idiotic in the world? Getting injured in a silly, playful scuffle... I should have realized things were going too smoothly. "I'm sorry, Munho, I'm really sorry, I promise I won't stuff socks in your mouth ever again, sniff..." "No, it's my fault. I'm the reason the floor was wet. It's not your fault." The diagnosis revealed that my injury was the worst. I needed surgery to insert three pins in my fractured wrist, while Riya was fortunate enough to only have a fracture in her little toe, requiring four weeks in a cast without surgery. Naturally, this meant she was out for the rest of the Replay Girls’ season. The remaining footage had to be completed by the other four members, but they assured me she'd recuperate in time for the next album if she followed through with her rehabilitation. It was the best we could hope for given the bumbling mess we found ourselves in. While preparing for surgery, I waited in a VIP single room with the girls. Eunbit and Riya seemed to have shed all the tears they could, while Seowon and Yona quietly wept like mothers sending their son off to army training for the first time. Seowon, her nose reddened, asked a lingering question that hadn't been answered. "But where did Hong go? And Jangwoo oppa, too?" It had been about 40 minutes since I ordered Hong to the chicken shop. Just as I grabbed my phone to contact Jangwoo, a text message buzzed, indicating the company card had been used. The shop Hong and Jangwoo went to... huh? This bill is higher than expected. Even if they both ate, the price seemed strange— and picky, light-eating Jangwoo eating chicken shortly after lunch seemed unlikely... Could it be? Me: [Did you eat with her?] Jangwoo: [No. Hong went wild. I couldn't stop her...] Two original chickens. One set of wings. One set of fries. 1.2-liter cola. A menu demolished by Hong alone, her dormant gluttony reawakening back to her Lukaku days. While Riya and I were hospitalized, war erupted at the dorm between Hong, trying to eat, and the other three members trying to stop her. They took turns keeping watch to catch her raiding the fridge or dashing to the convenience store at night. In this chaos, conflicts between Seowon and Hong reached a peak, and Yonah and Eunbit were emotionally drained. Despite all this, Hong's weight, which was 62.6 kg before the Kyochon visit, ballooned by 10 kg within a week. The overload of greasy instant food triggered skin troubles too. It all started with the butterfly effect from that night I spent with Jei. "I'm sorry, Lukoko, Aliya's really sorry... I promise, I won't do it again." "Well, what's done is done... we can't change it." "Then, can I come sit next to Lukoko? I’d love to hear a story today..." "No. Stay there." "Okay. I'll listen to Lukoko." I moved to a double room from a single room. Riya's request to stay admitted—citing she was too scared to stay alone—led to this. "Title: The Bluebird. Author: A. Freehill." "The author of 'Spring's Land,’ right?" "Yeah. It's a fresh new release. Let’s start." "Okay." "I want to say it all. Keeping it hidden makes it worse. My heart doesn't feel right. The bigger it gets, the heavier it feels. I get scared that only the pain will remain. That I might not be able to see myself anymore, like a bluebird in a cage..." "I love it... a bit minor-key, but perfectly matches Aliya's melancholic mood." Story of my life. The bluebird in a cage... It feels like it could be about me. "I used to have so much to say... but now, whenever I see you, hmm, hmm! I seem smaller. What kind of person... ugh... hmm!" "Lukoko, are you crying...?" "...I miss Jei..." "They said she's off filming a drama in Busan. Should we listen to Plan L's songs instead?" "I miss the 'Gums Queen'..." "Should Aliya wear them for you...?" "Shut up. Before I banish you to the single room." "Sorry... I'll be quiet..." At least there's one silver lining: I've finally managed to completely subdue and tame Aliya, who was once called the ultimate relic and the reincarnation of a crafty old raccoon. The biggest factor was her guilt over breaking my wrist, and the resulting inability to properly take care of the kids. The team's and company's losses without her also weighed heavily, thus she completely lost her zest. In an idol group, losing one member isn't just 5-1=4. Fees for gigs, endorsements, and shows contracted for five might get reduced, rescheduled, or cancelled. Choreography and singing parts need rearranging. More than anything, it tarnishes the complete image shown to fans, making the team's loss more significant than one person's worth. No matter how singular Riya might be, she had to humble herself this time. "Riya." "Huh?" "I’d like a foot bath. Warm water." "Huh? Oh, oh! Aliya will wash them for you. Just sit, don’t get up." "No need, why ask someone with a cast. Never mind..." "No, I can do it. I'll just set the basin on the bed and sit right here while I do it." "I said don't, so just leave it." "Oh, I'm sorry... If you say not to, I won't do it..." Something like that? < A Unique Harvest > End