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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Attention!
This chapter contains mentions regarding hospitals and sick children, as well as thoughts about death.
"...Snow White lay a long time in the coffin, looking as if she were only asleep, for she was still as white as snow, as red as blood, and as black-haired as ebony." I read out in a smoky voice and ventured a glance over the storybook. The corners of my mouth twitched as I noticed the girls' big round eyes. Their hands were under their chins as they looked at me and the book in my hands almost motionless as if an important part of the story could slip away from them at any moment. Both their mothers were sitting at the table reading some magazines, but their thoughts seemed far away.
The suspicion of acute lymphoblastic leukaemia had meanwhile been confirmed for Su Bin, while her roommate Sun-Hi, on the other hand, had already undergone four weeks of treatment in this regard. A bone marrow puncture had already been performed to determine whether remission had occurred and the leukaemia cells had been pushed back. The redemptive results should arrive in the next few days.
"Unnie...you have to read on!" I flinched at Su Bin's childlike voice and my mind went back to the story. I was more than grateful that I could distract the two girls with the storybook so that their mothers could be alone with their thoughts for the moment.
I shook my head and turned back to the end of Snow White.
"It happened that a king's son got lost in the forest. He saw the coffin on the mountain and the beautiful Snow White in it." I read on quietly and the girls sat up. With a glance at them, I continued the story.
"Then he said to the dwarves "Leave me the coffin, I will give you what you want for it". But the dwarves answered, "We will not give it for all the gold in the world." Then he said, "Give it to me, for I can no longer live without seeing Snow White; I will honour and esteem her as my dearest." As he spoke, the good dwarfs took pity on him and gave him the coffin." I read on and I heard the girls sigh softly towards the end, probably at the thought of the dreamlike prince.
Smiling, I read on.
"In the process, it happened that they tripped over a bush, and from the shock, the poisonous apple piece drove out of Snow White's neck. Then she opened her eyes, lifted the lid from the coffin and straightened up. "Where am I?" she cried. The king's son said with joy, "You are with me," and told what had happened. "I love you more than anything in the world! Come with me to my father's castle." And since she too fell in love with him, she went with him. Their wedding was celebrated with great pomp and glory. And they lived happily ever after."
I closed the book before their eyes, snapping the girls out of their traces as I did so. With blinking eyes, they looked back and forth between the book and me. Wrinkles formed on Sun-Hi's forehead.
"He didn't kiss her, Unnie," she said in her innocent voice, but I heard the disappointed undertone come out and my lips twitched.
"I thought...he would kiss her, like in the movie." she pouted softly.
"Did you see the movie too, Unnie?" interrupted Su Bin and I nodded.
"Of course," I replied and a big smile appeared on the girls' lips.
"Can you sing to us?" asked Su Bin softly and the smile on my lips disappeared slightly as slight nervousness spread through me. Only peripherally did I catch Sun-Hi swaying up and down on the bed excitedly.
"You deserve to be here and do your best! You belong in this entertainment and most of all you belong in this world. The world of music!"
"You wouldn't be part of the entertainment, you wouldn't be part of our group and you wouldn't be starting your third month if some part of you didn't think it belonged here!"
Three days had already passed since our conversation, but her clear words to me still circled my thoughts every day. And with each new memory, they seemed to echo even more strongly in my head, so that it became more and more difficult to ignore them as time went on.
I shook my head and ran my fingers wearily over my eyes before turning back to the two girls in front of me. Their combined vigour made the bed sway, causing more than a few nurses and orderlies to swivel their heads curiously in our direction.
"I don't know...I..." I began to stammer, blushing under their stares.
Singing in public among strangers was still a big undertaking for me. Even the monthly evaluations were an ordeal for any trainee. It turned out to be more nerve-wracking than in the presence of the singing teachers or the other group members who witnessed my voice every day and already knew it in many variations. Over time, I learned to relax in their respective counterparts.
"Please...Josie-ah," asked Su Bin politely, her lips puckering.
I sighed defeatedly before risking a glance through our surroundings. Their mothers were still sitting at the table and their concentration was either on magazines or their phones. My grey eyes darted to the door, which was wide open, revealing the nursing staff who had begun their preparations for their passage. My body gradually relaxed as it became aware of the lack of attention from the bystanders.
I took a deep breath.
The melody of the song played before my mind and my voice echoed through the room.
Someday my prince will come
Someday we'll meet again
And away to his castle, we'll go
To be happy forever I know
My attention was solely on the two girls who looked at me with big brown eyes as soon as the first notes left my lips. I avoided looking towards the outsiders for fear that as soon as I saw them my voice would fail. It didn't come close to the clear soft soprano of Adriana Caselotti, but I surprisingly managed to hold some of the high notes for which the song became famous.
Some day when spring is here
We'll find our love anew
And the birds will sing
And wedding bells will ring
Some day when my dreams come true
The silence that followed made my body tense again and I glanced cautiously at the girls. They had not moved, just as they had when I read to them, but instead, they were still looking at me with their big innocent eyes. Sun-Hi's mouth was slightly open.
I blushed under their gaze and caught a glimpse of their mothers instead, who was looking at me just as amazed as their two daughters.
