✔ 𝐒𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐖𝐁𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐘 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐂𝐇

Chapter 4

A heavy sigh escaped Kang Taehyun as he went through the choreography of his last performance for the seventh time today. His forehead was dripping with sweat from four hours of dancing and now that he was finished, Taehyun could finally take a sip of water. He felt like he had been on a trip through the desert for several hours in search of a water source. The 21-year-old Korean had been a passionate singer since the age of 16 and joined Qiqi Entertainment at such a young age. A label dedicated to training talented people and making them big. At the age of 16, Taehyun became a trainee under this music company and after only two years, he made his debut.

Today, Kang Taehyun was not only a fairly well-known singer who even produced his own music, but was also loved by the public for his attractive appearance and strong personality.

Taehyun was handsome.

His large eyes gave you the feeling that you could see yourself reflected in them and were probably his most striking feature apart from his pronounced stature. A petite body with plenty of muscle power, which he needed to dance on stage. And although many fans said that Taehyun lacked facial expressions or even seemed emotionless, he scored points with his surprisingly sweet and caring nature.

At least that was what the public got to see of him.

Before he could put the bottle down again, the door to the rehearsal room opened.

Standing in the doorway was Huening Kai, Taehyun's buddy and manager. You could tell from the shape of his eyes that the young man was not a native Korean. There was no denying his lineage to his Korean mother, but Kai bore a strong resemblance to his father, whose origins were disputed far more often than those of Kai himself. After all, Kai was simply born in Hawaii and therefore a rather uninteresting topic for someone like Taehyun. Nevertheless, it was often talked about at Qiqi Entertainment.

The newcomer brushed his knee-length coat off his lanky, broad shoulders and caught it skillfully with a twist. Then he looked over at Taehyun. "The interview is in an hour," he said with a cheerful smile. He pushed the sunglasses that sat on Kai's light blonde hair up his narrow nose. "Shall we grab a snack before we go? You look like you really need it."

"You give me the impression that you're saying I look like shit," Taehyun stated, although he unintentionally imitated his buddy's smile. With a blow, he tried to get the strands out of his field of vision, but they stuck to Taehyun's forehead.

So he helped with a wave of his hand.

"But you're right. Snacks and a shower would be really good right now. Give me ten minutes and you'll have me all to yourself," Taehyun promised and turned around to head for the showers.

You could imagine the entertainment building as a large school facility. There was a cafeteria for the employees, fitness studios, sound studios and huge computer rooms, as well as dormitories. Top performance at work was a top priority in Korea and there was no working week of less than sixty hours.