Josephine Swan never imagined that her stay in South Korea would lead her into K-Pop's glittering and challenging world. Each day, she encounters new hurdles and adventures that fate has in store for her and her four team members. Between gruelling...
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I cleared my throat strained several times and tried to ignore the burgeoning pain in my throat as I unlocked the flat door and entered.
"I'm home again," I tried to say as loudly as I could. My voice broke slightly and the words scraped along my throat. I heard the clatter of dishes in the kitchen and only seconds later Ahri and Jihe appeared in the hallway. I smiled as I could detect the curiosity in their dark eyes and shed my clothes.
"And...?" asked Ahri excitedly, smiling broadly. Jihe adjusted her glasses, ready to soak up the information like a sponge. Nervously, they began to fidget as I exchanged my high street shoes for my slippers. I took a glance at them and reached for my tartan handbag.
"It was all right...I guess." I muttered in conclusion and the mouths of my two roommates opened in protest. I slipped past them into my room and sat down on the bed with a big sigh. I brushed a few loose strands out of my face and grabbed my forehead with my hand. A knock sounded and I turned my gaze to the door. As expected, Ahri and Jihe were standing in the doorway. Their excitement had subsided by now; they looked at me worriedly.
"Was it bad?" asked Jihe cautiously, exchanging a tense look with Ahri. My lips twitched slightly and I shook my head just slightly. My mind wandered to the events of today.
"To begin with..." I murmured, glancing at them. Understanding, they nodded. Leisurely they entered my room and leaned against the desk. I smirked.
"In the beginning...there...I was so excited and tense. My whole body was shaking." I told them and they smiled.
"But over time...my body relaxed. It...moved in time with the music, as if...the music was a part of it. As if I were...in the middle of choreography for rhythmic gymnastics or in a run-through for horse dressage. It happened freely out of a feeling...it was strange...and yet somehow..." I began to tell and finally stopped. Before my eyes suddenly appeared the moment I spent in the recording studio. I had closed my eyes and just sang. Over and over again until my voice became hoarse.
"...It was almost liberating. It was...like I could put all my emotions into this one song and just shout them out.".
"That sounds amazing, Josie." I heard Jihe say, snapping me out of my thoughts. Blinking, I looked at her and smiled.
"It was," I confessed. My eyes widened at the same moment as I finished the sentence. Perplexed by my statement, I looked at my two roommates. They too looked momentarily surprised and gave each other meaningful looks. They had not expected this sentence about singing any more than I had.
"What did you sing?" asked Jihe curiously, changing the subject.
"Break Free by Ariana Grande and later that one Korean song by... Song Ji Eun," I opined.
"Do you mean... Don't Look At Me Like That?" chopped in Ahri and I nodded after thinking for a while. Ji-yong suggested the song. Although my Korean was making significant progress, I couldn't keep up with most of the songs. This one was a ballad and was different from the many other songs because of its soulful and slow singing.
"May we...listen to them?" asked Jihe cautiously, her lips drawn forward in supplication. Ahri, too, looked excitedly in my direction. My cheeks warmed and I looked down at the floor in embarrassment. Even in the recording studio, I avoided the question. Its answer frightened me too much.
"Come on, Josie! It's just the three of us listening to them. No big crowds, no talent scouts and no famous K-pop idols." Ahri tried to convince me and I laughed at her statement. With a defeated sigh, I finally reached into my handbag and pulled out a small flash drive before walking over to my laptop and turning it on.
Ahri and Jihe approached and stood next to me as the first notes of Ariana Grande's "Break Free" echoed through my speakers.
♛
YG Entertainment
Recording studio
Kwon Ji-yong, or G-Dragon, turned restlessly back and forth in his chair. His dark eyes were fixed thoughtfully on the computer in front of him, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He sighed softly and pressed record again.
The music of Ariana Grande's "Break Free" sounded and in the next moment, Josephine Swan's soft voice filled the room. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair. Josephine Swan was quite an impressive personality, both inside and out. Her natural white-blonde long hair and light grey eyes were the most striking features, rarely encountered in Asian countries. But it was not only her outward appearance that left a lasting impression but also her singing. He was more than surprised and impressed when her roommates presented the recorded video of her singing. Today and the recording only supported this further. At first, her voice was shaky, you could hear the obvious nervousness in her. As time went on, however, she relaxed more and more with Seungri's help and blanked out everything around her. Not only was the leader of BigBang impressed, but so was her youngest member Seungri. After three takes of the song, a soft warm soprano voice finally emerged, which could become a powerful instrument in all the right places.
"Who's singing that?" suddenly asked a voice behind him, snapping Ji-yong out of his thoughts. He turned his head towards the door. In stepped a Korean man with black hair and an expressionless face. He wore normal clothes and a cap on his head. Nothing would make him stand out as the founder of YG Entertainment and yet Yang Hyun-suk ran one of the three major production companies in the K-pop industry. His dark brown eyes, peering out from under his cap, were focused on the computer.
