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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Severance Children's Hospital
Children's Oncology
Lim Myung-ok watched her newest addition with curiosity.
She had to admit that she had her reservations about the young Englishwoman at first. YG Entertainment and also Yang Hyun-suk had strict ideas about the selection process of future trainees. Only a few girls and boys managed to convince them of their talents and eventually get accepted. Most of her protégés came from South Korea, a few from other Asian countries or the USA.
She was surprised when Yang Hyun-suk told her about her newest apprentice and asked her to take care of her for the time being.
Josephine Swan.
There was much about this girl that was unusual, almost striking.
Not just the circumstances that brought her to YG Entertainment.
According to the information she was given, she was a 17-year-old girl from the UK. She owed her stay in South Korea to a semester abroad at an international school in Mapo-gu and was planning to complete her last year of school there before returning home afterwards. By a great coincidence, she caught the attention of one of her contracted artists and caught the attention of Yang Hyun-suk with her singing. Eventually, she was convinced to sign a two-year contract and officially became an apprentice under YG Entertainment.
Just as Lalisa Manobal became the first Thai trainee, Josephine Swan became the first British trainee.
Unexpected for the young manager, apart from her background, was her appearance, for, despite her nationality, Lim Myung-ok expected her to be Korean or a girl with Asian features.
Josephine Swan, on the other hand, revealed herself as a blonde-haired beauty with no hint of Asian features. Her hair shone under the falling rays of the sun and resembled the snow lying on the ground in winter. Her skin, as white as her hair, contrasted beautifully with her light grey eyes. In South Korea, she was a shimmering white rose surrounded by similar-looking hibiscus flowers. Lim Myung-ok owed it solely to her professionalism not to have stared at her with her mouth open at the time.
At the end of the meeting, it was not only her background and appearance that assailed the manager, but also her handling of the training habits.
Life, as a trainee, was hard and cost many in energy. Although Lim Myung-ok was young and comparatively inexperienced, she had to watch many talented trainees leave entertainment several times. Most of them could not cope with the continuous pressure and the increasing performance that was expected of them more and more. This was not only true for the Korean trainees, but also for the foreign girls and boys who were used to the system in their own country. In Korea, pressure to perform and a high work ethic were always omnipresent.
The young British girl had only been training for a fortnight. Her first assessment would not take place for another two weeks. If she passed, the demands on her would increase with each passing month and so would the pressure. Lim Myung-ok was openly interested in Josephine Swan's fate within the company and whether she could withstand the pressure to perform.
She was an exception in every way.
"Adorable...isn't she?" someone unfamiliar beside her suddenly asked, snapping her out of her thoughts around Josephine Swan. Her brown eyes caught the eyes of one of the working nurses who had slowly joined her. Lim Myung-ok was currently at Severance Children's Hospital, looking around at her latest addition until she finally found her in one of the rooms with several young children. As the assigned manager, one of her duties was to keep an eye on the trainees. The young girls and boys had strict contracts with clear guidelines and prohibitions that they had to abide by so as not to bring entertainment into disrepute. They would be risking their careers in the entertainment industry.
"Excuse me...?" she asked irritably, glancing at the older woman beside her. The latter smiled and her wrinkles appeared as she pointed her head at Josephine.
"The children adore her," the woman next to her said and the manager followed her gaze. Silently, the two women watched as the British woman twirled her hands wildly, making the children laugh. Some of the children had cupcakes in their hands while others had colourfully smeared hands and mouths. There was a wide gentle smile on Josephine's lips throughout, which brought a small smile to the manager's face.
"You can see that," she said softly.
She wouldn't have been surprised.
Besides Josephine, Hannah, Jinny and Su-a, three other younger girls occupied the accommodation and Lim Myung-ok kept a steadfast eye on the children. They were young and still needed guidance in certain parts of their lives, which she, as manager, was sometimes responsible for. Large parts, on the other hand, were taken over by the older girls themselves, who looked after the younger ones.
Josephine was among them.
Even Lim Myung-ok could see how the girls were slowly growing on her. She had overheard Josephine preparing their food and packing it for them every day. Mostly it was fruit and vegetables for them to eat between breaks so that they would have strength for the strenuous training.
It was no secret in the entertainment industry that trainees were continuously watching their weight. In certain companies more than in others. Many of them collapsed not only because of the pressure or exertion, many because of the lack of food.
An everyday occurrence in the K-pop industry, an impossible feat on the part of the young British woman vis-à-vis the girls.
Not a day went by that the three girls didn't talk about her.
"She brought them muffins. Homemade. Even we got some." the nurse beside her commented and Lim Myung-ok raised her eyebrows appreciatively. It surprised her that Josephine was able to bake on top of her training, school, studying and extra training. The nurse beside her smiled and together they continued to watch the white-haired girl from a safe distance.
"If she were to make it as a K-pop idol...there would be no one in this world who would not succumb to her charm and appeal." said the older woman next to the manager, whose previous experience would not make her agree less.
