Josephine Swan never thought she would be drawn into the world of K-Pop during her stay in South Korea. Every day she faces challenges that fate has in store for her and her four members.
"𝙇𝙚𝙩'𝙨 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚 𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙤𝙧𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙣𝙤𝙬...
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"How were the conditions?" Jihe asked curiously and I sighed softly. I ran my hand through my long hair.
"As you would expect...the entertainment will pay for all costs regarding my education as long as I keep my part of the contract as stipulated and don't cancel it before the two years are up. Otherwise, I will have to pay for the costs," I explained.
"I still can't believe that Yang Hyun-suk knew about your family background," Ahri said and Jihe nodded in agreement. The surprise at this news had been immense when I told my two roommates. Even now, the shock still ran deep. Although in my case, relief was also evident by now. Every scenario that played out in my head before we met involved withdrawing the offer over and over again as soon as they found out about my family. The possibility that the CEO had already been informed of this or that he was keeping the offer, I couldn't even begin to imagine at the time.
"Anyway...he didn't withdraw the offer," I replied dissentingly.
"Are you going to tell the other trainees? I mean...you're going to have to get along in close quarters. Training, sleeping, eating, living." Ahri asked curiously.
"...And maybe one day you will debut with these girls." she continued and Jihe gave me a long look. Her words from our conversation were still in my mind and I intended to act on her words. I just shook my head.
"The training starts in two days and from my research over the last few days, I can only say conditionally what to expect. Some articles say that the hard training forces many to drop out. Not including the monthly assessments. So the chances of me debuting are slim," I explained to Ahri. Although I had to admit that there had been a lot of overlap with the impossible lately, debuting in a K-pop group seemed rather excessive at the moment.
"In other words...you're not going to tell them for now?" chipped in Ahri and I glanced briefly at Jihe before finally nodding.
"Not unless it's necessary. I don't want to risk anything, which is why I also asked Yang Hyun-suk for his silence on the matter. He was of my opinion not to raise this issue until the situation would require it. We are the only ones within entertainment who know about this," I said. Ahri and Jihe both nodded.
"All right. And...what are the rest of the terms?" asked Jihe cautiously and I bowed my head slightly.
"The entertainment is planning to look into my current school and explain my situation as a new trainee. I don't have to leave them, but...they are asking me to drop the subjects I chose. They would take up too much training time. I have to go to the entertainment practice rooms immediately after school, no exceptions," I quoted from our meeting together.
"Does this also affect your volunteering at the hospital?" asked Jihe with a worried look on his face and I stared at the bare wall of my bedroom.
"It took some convincing...but...I have permission to continue the project as long as it will not hinder my training and performance. According to the CEO, all trainees are entitled to a day off every fortnight, which we can spend in our way. Most of them will probably spend it training, but I would have the opportunity to visit the girls in the hospital." I said after a while of silence.
"They won't be too happy about this," Ahri said and I nodded.
"I will talk to them and also to their parents. I want them to see that this project is still very close to my heart and I have no intention of giving it up." I said seriously and looked at the two girls. They were both sitting on my bed next to each other, my opened half-filled suitcases already at their feet.
"So...your new place to stay?" asked Jihe cautiously, looking at my suitcases.
"Somewhere in the Hapjeong-dong district. Near the entertainment and practice rooms. I'll be staying with six other girls and training with three of them. According to Yang Hyun-suk, they are my age and used to be among the eleven girls originally scheduled for the debut group. The other three girls who live there are considerably younger than us and train separately," I explained quietly.
"The manager assigned to us will be coming to pick me up around 10 am to introduce me to the other girls and move my stuff," I continued, looking at the girls silently. Their dark brown eyes glittered sadly. None of them had expected me to leave too soon. With a loud sigh, I sat down on my desk chair before holding my hands in front of my face and placing my elbows on my thighs. I traced my forehead with my fingers and just shook my head.
"I must be completely crazy," I just muttered to myself.
"Sometimes the path doesn't reveal itself until you start walking it." Jihe quietly quoted Paul Coelho and I smiled slightly before looking up.
"I still can't believe how things have turned out. It seems more...a dream than reality. My goal for this stay was to spend a school year in a foreign country, to gain experience, learn about cultures, and maybe be able to speak a new language. And now..."
"...you have the opportunity to pursue another dream, Josie! It may not have been a planned idea from the beginning, but it offers you a different perspective, an alternative. An alternative to shape your future differently." said Jihe.
"And we would like you to embrace it too...and not let your ideas about your family background or social status determine your main thoughts. You have already decided not to disclose these to the others," added Ahri further.
"We know you are afraid, Josie. But the fear that others might see you through different eyes once they find out who you are is completely unfounded in this situation. You owe your sense of rhythm, music, dance and stamina to your hard training in gymnastics. And although you have only recently discovered singing, we can see from your recordings how much you have enjoyed it. Just how you felt in these unfamiliar circumstances. How it's slowly but surely starting to mean something to you.".
I looked at the two girls with wide eyes. Jihe took a deep breath.
"What we're saying is that you already have the necessary talents to be a K-pop idol within you and many outsiders have noticed it too...without knowing that there's a title in front of your name. A title, a family, nor a name does not replace talent.".
