Chapter Nine #6
Timira and Hanee, along with Mr Choi and Stephanie, have reached Jeju before the rest of the SecondSkin team.
Stephanie, armed with a brief for Rodrigo, has driven off to the hotel where the Seoul Stealers FC team was put up for a short rehab/ conditioning camp ahead of their upcoming AFC Champions League clash against Al-Nassr FC to catch up with him and bring him up to speed with the shoot plan.
Mr Choi has sauntered off to meet with the set designer.
A section of the hotel garden is being transformed into a mini football pitch.
Timira and Hanee have a few meetings set up with local media personnel.
It has taken them very little time to wrap those up, and they are now parked off the road, the vast sea stretching out before them.
Pretty cafes and restaurants specializing in abalone soup and grilled mackerel dot the area.
Timira has read up on Jeju and its history before their trip.
What has surprised her most and impressed her no end is the role of women in Jeju’s society and economy.
She recalls Alice telling her about the mermaids of Jeju, haenyo— deep-sea diving women who are responsible for most of the fresh seafood catch on this island.
Hanee smiles indulgently. This is the first time since that awful evening at the football game she has seen her slightly cuckoo but strong and kind Seonbae smile with ease.
Shivering slightly in the frosty autumnal breeze that Jeju is (in)famous for, Timira fishes her hemp smokes out of her weekend bag.
‘It’s not illegal to smoke here, is it?’ she quickly asks before lighting up.
‘You’re safe here, Seonbae. They’re all busy looking into each other’s eyes. Nobody is bothered about us,’ Hanee giggles.
‘What a predicament for these lovey-dovey couples—take in the beautiful scenery or take in one another’s, er, geography!’
They both burst out in laughter—Timira making smoke swirls and Hanee absent-mindedly twirling the candypop that Timira never fails to stuff into her mouth every time she smokes in her presence.
‘Hanee, have you heard from the pantry party? Have they arrived yet?’
‘Not a peep from them, my phone hasn’t rung even once! In any case, they aren’t expected for another … what time is it … ah, they won’t be here for another couple of hours at the very least. And with the number of stops they’ll make to snap photos for the ’gram, heaven only knows how much longer!’
Like little schoolgirls sharing a secret, they giggle some more.
They sit in silence, watching the sun lazily, perhaps reluctantly, go to bed, listening to the rollicking waves crash into the rocky coastline. This is the first time in weeks that Timira has felt peaceful.
This is what I came for. Yes! This. Not some third-class, tacky drama plot that I’ve been getting dragged into. I’m better than that. Ah, it would’ve been so nice had Alice been around.
She has still not spoken with her or Bhaskar since the call on the SecondSkin balcony.
Let me video-call her!
Alice answers towards the fag end of the call, just as Timira is about to disconnect.
‘Hiiiii, is everything okay?’ Timira asks restlessly.
Alice’s voice is barely audible even though she’s holding the phone close to her mouth. She mumbles incoherently.
‘Why are you whispering, Alice? And where is your face?’ Timira can only see a magnified set of plump, pink lips with a perfectly shaped cupid’s bow.
‘I’m on set, I’ll call you back when I’m taking a break,’ Alice hisses in a whisper.
‘Whose pimples are you hiding today? Show, show!’
‘I’m hanging up …’
‘Wait!’
‘What? I’m busy!’
Alice is now gritting her teeth and spitting her words out.
‘I just want to show you something—’ Timira starts to announce.
But her words get cut off by a rustle. Alice’s camera moves hastily, blurring the video, before finally settling at a low angle from where she can see Alice’s pert posterior.
A giant middle finger creeps up on the screen and waves itself in Timira’s face.
Alice seems to be speaking now, but not with her, though.
‘Yeah, no, that’s no worry at all. I’ll just go grab a coffee and be back in half? Want anything?’
A familiar-sounding male voice replies, ‘Nahin, yaar. But thanks! DP is around, mil le usey !’
DP? Who DP? Why will Alice say hi to this DP when I’m here?
‘Alice! Alice! I know you can hear me!’
The familiar voice is back. ‘Do you hear that, Alice? Somebody seems to be calling your name out.’
‘Hello, hello! Yes, it’s me. Here! On the phone! I can hear you.’
Alice groans and tries to cup the phone mic but she’s been beaten to it. Before she knows it, the phone is out of her hand and the man she’s been speaking with is waving at the screen.
‘Hi! This is Ranveer. And who might you be? Alice’s girlfriend? Is that why she was trying to hide you? Alice, you naughty girl!’ he winks.
Ranveer Singh! Ooooh, DP as in Deepika Padukone!
‘Honey, stop daydreaming! Here, come see. It’s a Bollywood superstar,’ she mutters under her breath and nudges a half-asleep Hanee awake, while he looks expectantly at Alice and she can only mumble incoherently.
‘I’m such a big fan, Mr Singh. All my friends think I resemble your wife … look, I’ve even got dimples like her!’
The Bollywood star smiles amusedly as Alice rolls her eyes long enough for Timira to notice.
‘Sure, yes, y’all could be twins!’ he laughs. ‘What is that life-size doll in your background, though? Wow, it’s moving!’
Timira gasps and turns around sharply to see Hanee still sucking on candy and bobbing her head to the faint strains of Twice’s ‘Heart Shaker’ playing on the car stereo. Muffling a shriek, she tries to salvage the situation.
‘Oh, hehe, that is my colleague. We’re, um, waiting on the rest of the crew to arrive. Um, um, Alice! Alice and I are best friends. Um, um …’
The usually chatty Timira fumbles for words and Singh feels almost sorry for putting her on the spot.
‘Hey! I was only teasing. Everybody knows I love to joke. Oye, Alice, next time your “girlfriend” calls, you don’t have to hide, okay?’ Turning towards the camera, he adds, ‘It was great meeting you …’
‘Tim. It’s Tim!’ Timira grins excitedly.
‘Cute name, Tim! Whenever you’re in town, don’t be a stranger, yeah? Come say hi to me and your twin!’
Timira’s cheeks are now Roma-tomato-red, and she can only manage an impish grin along with a wave goodbye that is more tremble, less wave.
Having finally been granted custody of her phone, Alice dashes out, yelling into it under her breath.
‘What is wrong with you?’
‘Aaaaaa, Alice! I just met Ranveer Singh. Haaye, did I do all right? I hope I didn’t seem too eager. You know how I’m unaffected by celebs, right? Just wanted to flatter him since he’s your patron, hehehe.’
‘Are you done being a giddy fangirl? I wish I could’ve taped your reaction. My God, you should’ve seen yourself. So star-struck!’ Alice laughs, fishing her car keys out of her pocket.
‘ Chal jhoothi !’ Timira giggles.
‘What’s up? What were you calling so frantically for? I’m surprised you even called. Your boss must be keeping you busy. Or is it Rod? Don’t say both!’ Alice asks sarcastically as she opens the door to her car and ducks her head inside.
Timira knows she deserves it. She hasn’t been calling home or speaking with Bhaskar–Alice much.
‘Yeah, okay. I deserved that. I’m sorry. But, Ally, I wish I could tell you how chaotic it’s been!’
‘So says Miss Chaos herself.’ Alice misses Timira and is not attempting to hide the fact that she is upset.
Timira is about to keep up the banter when she notices the sadness in Alice’s eyes. Her heart sinks and she feels like she might cry.
‘Ally, I’m sorry. You are right. I have only been thinking about myself.’ Timira pouts, her lips quivering.
‘ Hajima ! Timmy, no! Don’t you dare cry! C’mon, I’m just ribbing. I know you love me and miss me. I’m just being needy ’cause I miss my bestuuuuu!’
Timira’s big eyes are red and hot with tears which she blinks back as Alice blows her kisses and makes finger hearts at her.
Sniffling, Timira mouths I love you while making a cheek-heart.
Relieved, Alice now asks, ‘Now tell me, what’s up? What made you think of me on this fine-ass evening in … hold up, that doesn’t look like the sky in Seoul. Where are you, Timmy?’
‘How could you tell? I’m in Jeju!’ Timira is amazed at Alice’s sharp eyes.
‘With whom? The hot boss you mentioned last time we spoke?’ Alice winks.
‘Hot boss has an even hotter fiancée. Okay?’ Timira rolls her eyes. What was I going to tell you anyway? I feel so silly.
‘Wait, what?’
Alice and she had been chatting on and off, but the frequency of Timira’s texts had waned, of late. And, she never replied to any question about Haneul that Alice posed to her.
‘Screw it, Aloo. I’m here for work, the weather is gorgeous …’
‘Really?’ Timira is trying to appear nonchalant, but Alice can tell she is hurt.
‘Yes, meri amma . I really am here for work. I’m here for a shoot, and we were out on a recce and geunyang just thought of you, missed you …’
‘GEUNYANG?! Did you just say geunyang? Look at you, Tim! Starting to sound like a local! I’m so proud!’
Timira smiles sheepishly and points at Hanee in the background, who is now studiously poring over a sheaf of papers, her otherwise smooth forehead now creased into a million lines, her fashionably straight brows burrowed together. ‘That’s who I’ve been practising with, sensei !’
‘Oh, is that the cute assistant you mentioned? How cute is she! Can I adopt her?’
‘And then starve her to death? Like you’ve done to the hundred fish and plants you’ve adopted?’
‘Must you rub salt …’
Before she can finish the idiom, her video has vanished and been replaced by an unknown number starting with +82 flashing on the phone screen. The phone threatens to lurch out of her grasp, but she manages to grab on to it and press the answer button.