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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"Your classes start tomorrow morning. Because you are a foreign trainee, you will have Korean lessons every day. It will not only include the language, but also manners and labels. Korean trainees, on the other hand, learn foreign languages such as English, Chinese and Japanese. Of course, these opportunities are open to you too." Lim Myung-ok remarked, smiling at me from the side.
"Let me know if you show any interest. It's never wrong to want to learn a new language. Even...if you don't make it as a K-pop idol and don't renew your contract, they still increase the chances of your further educational opportunities." she said and I nodded in understanding. I pushed my two suitcases behind me as I followed my new manager.
"Your Korean classes are every day and start in the morning hours around 5.30 am, except on weekends. Accordingly, these don't take place until around 11 noon.".
"Afterwards, you have time to get ready for school. Around 4 pm you will be expected for your lessons in our entertainment practice rooms. Depending on the schedule, you will have singing, rapping and dancing lessons. Of course, our training programme also includes acting and modelling, but these classes only take place once a week. Mostly on the weekends." she explained further.
"Classes usually end at 10 pm, but it is up to our trainees how they want to spend the rest of the day. Most of them stay longer in the training rooms for personal practice.". Still silent, I followed her through the building. Although the exterior was bland and grey, the corridors had been painted in beautiful cream colours and were brightly lit. The floor beneath my feet was covered with laminate. No one met us as we passed through the corridors and up the steps.
"Your accommodation is on the penultimate floor. Of course, there are other trainees of our entertainment in this building, along with their respective managers. Three of the six girls you will be living and training with have been trainees for many years. They are your age and have experience. They will help you settle in," my manager said, walking down the long hallway until she finally stopped at one of the doors. She took out a key and opened the flat door with a simple movement of her hand.
What emerged was a bright, large flat.
A large window with a small balcony provided enough light to illuminate the entire flat. I almost bumped into a long black leather couch that was placed right next to me. It offered a good view of the large television on the other side of the room, which stood on a high low board. A glass table reflected the incoming light and cast rainbows on the white walls.
"Annyeonghaseyo.".
I was startled for a moment and stopped behind my manager.
Three Korean girls stood in front of me and bowed politely to us. Lim Myung-ok registered it with a satisfied smile on her lips before her gaze drifted in my direction. I quickly stepped out from behind her and bowed to the three girls as well.
"Annyeonghaseyo. Mannaseo bangapseumnida." I greeted them formally and Lim Myung-ok nodded appreciatively. Curiously, I watched the girls, not missing the six brown eyes that were also scrutinising me intently. Their attention remained on my hair and eyes for some time.
"This is Park Jin-hee, Hannah Jang and Moon Su-a." she introduced the girls to me in turn. I smiled kindly at each of them and relaxed slightly when they each returned the smile.
"All right. You have the rest of the day to get to know each other." our manager clapped her hands together and turned in my direction. Her brown eyes ran over the stack of papers she handed me at the beginning.
"The girls will help you find your way around. If there are still many questions...my accommodation is on the top floor. Also, my phone number is on the frontmost page of the first sheet." she explained calmly and I nodded. With a final smile at us, Lim Myung-ok began to retreat.
"Annyeonghi kyeseyo," she said.
"Annyeonghi kaseyo," we replied together before our manager finally closed the door behind her. I looked after her.
"Is your hair real?" again I was startled and my head turned in the girls' direction. The other two were also startled and turned their heads. My eyes followed them and met a young girl with long light brown curly hair and innocent brown eyes. She seemed to be the youngest of the three, for her cheeks still showed minimal signs of baby fat.
"Yes...yes...it's real," I replied, still dumbfounded, and an embarrassed smile appeared on my lips as I ran a hand through my long white-blonde hair. It fell over my shoulders and chest, almost to my hips.
"It's not dyed?" another of the girls asked in surprise, her eyes wide as she examined my hair intently. Her hair was dyed blonde. I just shook my head, snapping the girl out of her concentration.
"I'm Park Jin-hee, by the way. But you can call me Jinny," she said shortly, giving me a small smile.
"I'm Moon Su-a." the innocent-looking girl next to Jinny said.
"And I'm Jang Hannah." said the last of the bunch. She had a broader face with dark curly hair that reached far over her shoulder. I smiled.
"It's very nice to meet you all. My name is Josephine Swan. But you can call me Josie," I finally introduced myself and bowed again.
