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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"All right...this area is where we usually put our street shoes. But we also let a lot of our stuff, especially our training shoes air out on our balconies quite often..." Ji-soo began to explain, pointing to the dark wooden cupboards to the sides of the entrance area, where a wide variety of shoes were lined up carefully and neatly. There were also shoes on the dark tiled floor near the door, placed to one side.
A double door with a blurred view separated the vestibule from the rest of the flat, while the tiled floor merged into a lighter parquet floor that stretched across the entire living level and the respective rooms.
"To your left is one of the two bathrooms, which you are welcome to use. It's mostly used by Rosé and me, though, because our rooms are close by." the black-haired Asian explained, gesturing to the three rooms to our sides. A small colourful pedestal lay in front of the closed bathroom door.
Right next to it was Rosé's room.
Her door was partially hidden from my eyes, so I could only make out a white blank wall and a small part of her bed.
Ji-soo's room next door also remained mostly undecorated.
Her bed took up a large part of her small room, while on either side were two wooden dressers and a white vanity mirror. From my vantage point, I could glimpse a wardrobe next to the entrance door, which probably took up much of the wall behind it.
Even without having seen the rest of the bedrooms, I knew that despite their small size, they still contrasted markedly with the rooms of the other trainees. Not many entertainments could provide such a flat for their groups. Similar to my last dormitory, many trainees shared the rooms and sleeping spaces, and not always under good conditions.
Only dimly could I remember the research that was done on the dormitories at the time. Among them, sometimes more than ten people had to share a bathroom or bedroom. Much depended on the financial situation of the company and the success of the group.
In my slippers, I slowly followed the other girls into the larger living area and the remaining rooms beyond.
An oversized colourful burger-like seat bag, which could easily reach my waist, fell into my field of vision as soon as we entered the living room. Directly behind it, well concealed, was a white two-seater covered with all kinds of colourful cuddly and soft toys, the multitude of which made up a large amount of the seating area. A dark grey carpet covered the floor of the narrow couch but was not enough for the black four-seater leather sofa next to it. Both faced a greyish-tiled wall that shone under the incoming light of the midday sun.
The only contrast to the white blank walls of the remaining flat.
A wide black flat screen hung above a white lowboard directly opposite the four-seater, while cabinets and shelves of different colours stood to either side. Only a few books, DVDs or small items housed the various levels so far.
Another black door, located near the window front, provided another entrance, presumably to one of the balconies already mentioned in Ji-soo and Rosé's rooms.
"And...here...is the kitchen," said Lisa beside me, opening one of the double doors to our right.
The kitchen also surprised me with its size.
Instead of a small kitchenette in the corner, the corner kitchen took up large parts of the walls and was equipped with many wall cupboards and drawers for storage. The most striking thing was an elongated wooden table, which created enough space for all the members. Slowly I followed the Thai woman, who went into the back of the kitchen towards a narrow door.
A small utility room.
In addition to the heating and building services, there were also two washing machines there. I nodded and Lisa closed the door again with a small smile before we stepped back into the living room.
"This is my room," said Jennie quietly, pointing to the room on the right side of the hallway, behind the kitchen. Her pink bedding shone along with her cuddly toys under the white furniture. Her windows were uncovered, so I could make out some clothes rails on the balcony and an unfolded tumble dryer. I could make out her dance clothes from yesterday drying in the air.
Choi's bedroom, which was opposite Jennie's room, was also plain and simple. Its furnishings were similar to those of the other girls, with a manageable bed, wardrobe and various chests of drawers.
Lisa's and my future room was at the back, as was a small storage room with access to our bathroom.
With a broad smile, Lisa opened the door to our now-shared bedroom and let me enter.
It was the largest of the five bedrooms.
Two beds, close together, stood against the wall and window front, carefully darkened with white blinds. Only one narrow door was kept clear, allowing an unobstructed passage to the balcony. A small dark brown bedside table separated the two beds, while a white elongated runner between them muffled the cold of the parquet floor.
A white wardrobe took up the opposite wall, leaving enough room to move for two chests of drawers and a dressing table, which occupied the last free wall of the room.
"I know it's not much, but..." began Lisa, before I quickly interrupted her.
"It's perfect," I said honestly, smiling at her in thanks. A big grin appeared on Lisa's lips and she lowered her head, a slight blush on her cheeks.
"Anyway...you can divide your clothes between the wardrobe and the dressers. If you still need more space, you can use the clothes rails on the balcony or the ones in the storage room." the Thai woman said after a while and opened one of the sides of the wardrobe that had already been cleared for my things. She then opened some drawers of the two dressers.
"Thank you," I replied as Lisa slowly retreated from the room and into the hallway. A little later, I heard the familiar rolling of my suitcases being pulled through the door by Ji-soo and Rosè. I smiled.
"You shouldn't have. After all, they are my things. My things, therefore my responsibility." I said, taking the suitcases from them.
"It's not a problem, Josie. It's not..." Rosè smiled at me, as did Ji-soo. The other three girls, standing silently in the hallway and near the door, also smiled.
