The Final Rose - JenLisa

Chapter Seven: Boombayah

My legs started to move before my brain could catch up. I left my teammates and strode purposefully in Kai's direction.

"Are you sufficiently entertained?" I accused before I even reached him. "Is this a game show or do you actually want to fall in love?" I flailed my arms in the direction of the Green Team. "One of these women could be your future wife, but you've just eliminated her for not climbing over a wall fast enough."

Kai's eyes widened. He hadn't expected the outburst, but to be fair, neither had I. "I'm serious about this process," he vowed.

"Prove it," I challenged.

Kai exhaled. I had him against the ropes, and the cameras were still rolling. "Let me talk to the producers, and I'll see what I can do."

I folded my arms across my chest as my anger faded to embarrassment. I hadn't intended to be so aggressive, but it wasn't like I could take it back. "Oh, ok. Good."

Kai and one of the producers walked a few feet away, far enough to be out of earshot from the rest of us. I watched their guarded interaction with mounting anticipation. Both periodically looked back in my direction, which only heightened my discomfort.

I could feel other eyes on me-from the camera crew and the other contestants. I could only imagine what they were thinking, and naturally my thoughts defaulted to the worst. It made me want to hide, but there was no place for me to go.

After a long, awkward silence, Kai returned to our group looking properly humbled. He wrung his hands in front of himself before speaking. "Today's elimination contest wasn't a fair way to go about this process," he began, "and for that I need to apologize. I want to assure each and every one of you that I'm taking this seriously--I am looking for my future wife. Instead of sending the Green Team home, they'll be joining me tonight for dinner instead of the Blue Team." He held up a single finger. "The producers are allowing one rose to save one woman. The others will unfortunately have to go home."

Kai looked in my direction next, as if seeking my approval. I nodded once. The circumstances weren't ideal, but it would have to do.

It was silent in the white passenger vans on our return trip to the mansion. I had anticipated the cold shoulder from the Blue Team since I'd basically forfeited their time with Kai, but I hoped I'd earned the respect of the rest of the house. Only time would tell how my outburst would rate me with the other women.

Back at the mansion, everyone scattered around the house, some back to the bedrooms, and some straight to the bar. Jisoo and I sat at the kitchen island and watched Rosé assemble dinner. Kimchi Jjigae and bulgogi simmered on the stovetop.

I rested my elbows on the countertop. "Did I ruin everything?" I worried aloud.

Rosé had her back to us in order to focus on the various sauce and pots. "Worse case scenario, Kai knows you're passionate and fiery."

I winced at her word choice. Before this experience, I never would have used those words to describe myself. I had always been satisfied to exist in the background.

It brought to mind the one time I'd stuck my neck out when I was much younger. My mother and I had just moved from Bangkok back to the Goseong's Thai militant immigrants reservation on which she'd grown up. I was about ten, an awkward age for anyone, but I was adjusting to a new language, a new school, a new culture, and even a new country.

A group of kids from my class were picking on another boy before school. He had a pink backpack, which turned out to be a hand-me-down from his older sister. But the bullies didn't care. They didn't care that his parents couldn't afford a new backpack every school year for their kids. All they saw was a boy with a pink backpack, and they couldn't let that go without punishment.