League of Fame | Jungkook Dystopian Novel

45

In the end, I decide on being an actress. Even though the path doesn't seem completely right, I have to choose something. Seoul's television business is on the rise again. Not so much as the pre-war era, but it's developing along with the possibility of working cell phones. Once televisions are a part of everyone's homes, mobile devices will be distributed for streaming purposes. It seems Seoul is on the edge of its second technological revolution.

Mr. Fame's employees train me from day to night. I spend most of my time in a studio in the League of Fame building. The trainers, who have worked with a multitude of actors and actresses in their lifetimes, are harsh on me. But they are passionate about what they do—and it's refreshing.

"Have you been working on crying on command?" one of the teachers asks me, Mrs. Seo.

"A little," I say.

"Try it for me now," she says.

She steps back, giving me space to admire myself from all four mirrors of the clean and modern studio. It's brighter than a classroom here. The light wooden floor is lacquered and polished, and the light fixtures hang at every angle to eliminate all possible shadows. There's no hiding here. My teachers can tell every time I make a mistake. There's only a single window to remind me of the comfort that I'll go home eventually, back to the mansion where my family has settled in—living in comfort, like I've always imagined for them.

I close my eyes, channeling the part of me that loved going to plays at the theater in the evenings. I open my eyes, feeling the emotions I keep buried come out.

Even though the training has been difficult, I have genuinely been enjoying my lessons. Mr. Fame really hired the best of the best. They know what they're doing, how to form a competent actor out of nothing. And in terms of my acting skills at the beginning, I was definitely close to nothing.

A single tear wells in the corner of my eyes, when I think about what it would've been like to lose Zion forever. Even though he's good as new, living in my mansion, even making friends with the other idols, it wasn't too long ago where his life was hanging in the balance. I always go back to it when I need some negative emotion to work with.

Right when the tear is about to fall, the door to the studio busts open. A bodyguard waits in the doorway, and my eyes travel to the pistol at his side.

"What is it?" Mrs. Seo asks, perturbed that her session was interrupted.

"Cosma is needed in Mr. Fame's office," he says, emotionless while hidden with his dark glasses.

"Come back right after, Cosma," Mrs. Seo relents. Mr. Fame doesn't seem like a person used to being rebelled against, but Mrs. Seo may just be the first employee in line.

I shake my head, partly annoyed that my tear was wasted. No matter, I follow the bodyguard outside. Jungkook is waiting there.

I've been seeing him less and less, after he's gotten more involved with the idols and recording his own music, getting ready for performances scheduled in the coming months. But it's always a relief to be in his presence. He's the only one who understands the big part of me—the one lost in the competition. Like me, he knew what fearing death was like for every moment of five weeks. He knew what hopelessness was, when we didn't have a way out and every corner that we turned seemed to lead us closer to failure.

"Cosma," he says, smiling.

I smile back. "Jungkook."

As we head to the elevator, he falls into step with me. "How is your acting going?" he asks.

"I'm supposed to record the pilot for a drama next month," I say. "It's set to air in the winter. So I've been busy. How are you?"

He tilts his head, reflecting on the time we've been apart. "I've recorded a song with the other guys. We all think it'll be a big hit. And besides that, I've been working on my own solo stuff. The music engineers here really know what they're doing. And so do the vocal coaches and dance instructors. It really feels like I'm learning from the best."