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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"Worth it " by Fifth Harmony was still playing in the background while I stared at the recording with bated breath. I felt sweat running down my forehead and fumbled for my towel without taking my eyes off the screen. The dance-pop and R&B song, written from a woman's point of view, contained strong lines and expressions, so the choreography had to follow suit. Strong femininity combined with feminism.
It took three hours, but in the end, we were satisfied with the result. A dance choreography that adapted to the fast, powerful elements of the song and allowed for the necessary breaks for us in the quieter phases.
I put the towel around my neck and walked towards my bag, camera in hand, before leaving the room with one last look at the empty dance hall. The training building had enough space for all the trainees and already debuted idol groups or artists. Quite a few rooms were empty, be it the dance halls or classrooms for singing or rapping. Many were equipped with computers, high-quality recording equipment or music systems, except for a few dance rooms.
Mine was among them.
Still, with the video camera in my hand, I searched the rooms for a computer to download the dance video. After a long search, I finally found one of the smaller recording rooms, mainly used for singing lessons, and entered. I switched on the light and put my bag on the edge before, with a few moves, getting the computer to start up. Waiting, I leaned back in the swivel chair and relaxed, closing my tired eyes.
A tentative tap on glass made me open my eyes and my head shot towards the door.
"Miahnhamnida." I heard the girl say with a smile and bow to me. She had long dark hair that fell over her chest and an oval narrow pretty face. In her hand, she held a guitar case.
"I didn't want to disturb you, but..." she said with a hesitant smile and her dark eyes ran over her guitar case. I smiled at her just as kindly and pointed to the computer.
"The room is yours. I just need ten minutes to download the video." I said and the girl nodded before stepping into the room and closing the door behind her. With the suitcase in her hand, she walked across the room and placed the rest of her things next to mine.
"You...you're Josephine Swan, aren't you?" she suddenly asked hesitantly, prancing uncomfortably in place. I nodded with a smile and immediately rose from the chair. But before I could start to bow, she was already holding out her right hand to me, smiling broadly. Surprised, I shook it.
"My name is Park Chae-young, but you can call me Rosè. I'm originally from New Zealand," she explained and I nodded in understanding.
"It's nice to meet you, Rosè," I replied in English, feeling almost foreign as the words slipped over my lips. Meanwhile, I was having less and less trouble understanding my teachers both in and out of school through my daily Korean lessons, so I was able to suppress my mother tongue more and more each week.
"Unfamiliar...isn't it?" she asked me and I nodded shyly. A wide smile formed on her lips before she sat down on a chair near me.
"Don't worry...I moved from Australia to South Korea in 2012. Because of my family, I never had much trouble speaking or understanding Korean, but I did have trouble writing or using the language." she said softly and I sat down across from her.
"I thought you were from New Zealand," I said frowning and folding my arms on the back of the chair. She nodded and swivelled back and forth in her chair.
"Yes, but we moved to Melbourne in 2004," she explained, looking at me with a tilted head.
"Is it true...? I mean..." she started suddenly and her cheeks took on a delicate shade of red before she lowered her head. Confused, I looked at her and straightened up in my chair.
"What's true?" I asked cautiously and Rosè raised her head, still slightly flushed.
"That...about you and G-Dragon. That he asked you personally for an audition." She almost breathed and I looked at her with wide eyes.
I had expected rumours as soon as I set foot in the training centre. Unusual things had a habit of spreading like wildfire. During the first two weeks in entertainment and the eyes of the trainees followed me through the corridors. Either because of the audition or my looks and background. Even after almost two months, the interest only waned to a certain extent. I could understand their curiosity. Most trainees each went through rigorous selection processes organised by the entertainments. To be given an audition, by one of South Korea's most popular artists at that, was a rarity.
And brought me unwanted attention, which peaked on the day of the monthly review.
I took a long look at the video before turning back to Rosè.
"I was at Luxury Su Noraebang with two friends at the time and he...he heard me sing and a few days after that he invited me to an audition," I recounted slowly, pressing my lips together. My grey eyes wandered around the room and eventually got stuck on Rosè again.
"Honestly...I never thought that a simple fun evening could turn into a possible career that I have never considered in my life. Most trainees in this place wouldn't hesitate and train for years for their debut to achieve their dream as a singer or rapper. But that karaoke night was...was...the first and real-time for me to truly sing." I continued and her brown eyes widened as her mouth opened momentarily.
"You've never sung before? Not even once?" she pecked away and I shook my head. Rosè leaned back in her chair, still looking at me speechless. Now it was my turn to lower my head and blush.
