rumi goes on some survivalist competition show and people are mega confused bc its not even a celebrity competition show, it’s a normal one that is notable for just how brutal it can get for its competitors. they get almost nothing to start off with, and are expected to do everything on their own, with a camera feed on them almost all the time. the goal is just to outlast your competitors. you can tap out at any time, and if production feels it’s necessary (which it sometimes does) it will essentially forcibly med evac you.
everyone is questioning how this nepo baby pop princess is gonna be able to make it past the first day, with several people tuned in just hoping to see her crash out early on
but rumis been raised with a lot of survival knowledge. she knows how to start a fire, hunt, fish (with and without a pole), preserve food, make a cooking spit, etc
by the end of day 1, shes the only one with shelter. and its a good shelter too, one that people got to watch her build in real time. its sturdy, and warm, and somehow, inexplicably, made of WOOD. she actually built a little hut.
shes got enough preserved food to get her through several months ready by the time any other people have built proper shelter
millions of people watch as the queen of kpop gets through this competition effortlessly. no one can quite fully believe what theyre watching but they cant look away, and they have no choice but to start to believe
almost a month in, all but one other person is left. the weather has been a nightmare for the other contestants. people who were doubting rumi at the start are now her honest to god fans.
the last one other than rumi is cold and pale, shivering and struggling to make a proper fire. his food is dwindling. he’s not looking too hot, and people are pretty sure that if he doesnt just give up outright in the next day or so, hes gonna be med evaced
rumi looks just fine, health wise.
but shes clearly sullen. her health has stayed steady this whole time, but her mood has been nosediving over the course of the last few weeks
“its weird,” she says to the camera at one point, while chewing on a piece of jerky she made herself, “if i was doing this a decade ago, i would probably have been in good spirits right about now. i didnt have many people in my life who i could consider close to me. this isolation would’ve meant nothing to me.
“but since then, ive met mira and zoey. two people who i couldnt imagine my life without. whose souls feel so tethered to my own.” her voice grows rough. “these past few weeks have been agony without them. i havent even been able to hear their voices. look at their faces. my only solace is that my dreams are full of the two of them, and my mind has cataloged every detail about them to the most minute of them all, so their voices are closer to echoes in my brain than imitations, and their faces appear to me as vividly as if they were in front of me.”
she stares at the jerky in her hand. “i cant wait to go home to them. i wont quit, even though it kills me being away from them any longer.” she turns her attention back to the camera, and points at it, knowing her girls are watching her in that very moment. there are tears in her eyes. “just you wait, mira and zoey, im gonna win this whole thing, and when i do, we’ll never be apart ever again!” her lip wobbles, and the tears begin to spill. “i love you girls so much!”
(back home, mira and zoey clutch each other, sobbing as they watch her, “WE LOVE YOU TOO!”)
luckily, it only takes another day for rumi to win the show. her picture is shown next to those of the former winners at the end of the last episode, and the contrast between their end of show appearances (tired, malnourished, pale) and hers (well rested, full, flushed) is almost terrifying.
her speech to her girls goes viral online, as do the images and videos of her being picked up from the airport by mira and zoey in big, sobbing hugs
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