Fame Isn't Worth It | k.th

Chapter 1

This chapter is gonna be a bit of world building just so we can get the backstory on Soorim's life.

Soorim POV

"Sierra Kang!" My best friend burst into my room like a bull in a china shop.

I was getting ready to throw a pillow at her but she cut me off, "Not today sister. You've got a very important event that you're setting up today. You asked me to be your alarm clock so here I am."

I groaned because she was right.

"Lena~" I whined cutely.

She wrapped me in a big hug, simultaneously hoisting me out of bed as she did.

"This job lets you pay your rent, don't be late. Come on Sierra thousands of fans are counting on your skills," Lena encouraged.

"Fine," I grumbled, pulling myself out of bed.

To clear up what we were talking about, I was a freelance stage manager and designer. And my recent project was K-Con is Los Angeles.

It was kind of a slap in the face but it paid well so whatever.

Let's roll out the life synopsis shall we?

I was born in the states as Sierra Soorim Kang, to two Korean immigrants. I grew up here up until I turned eleven. And then just before I started middle school my parents decided that we should move back to Korea. Lucky for me, we spoke Korean at home all the tine, so I was already fluent when I started school over there. So I became Kang Soorim. That's when I met my former best friend. It was the first day of middle school, and I being the immigrant in an unfamiliar country was very anti-interaction with anyone for fear of total embarrassment. But through all of that, there was one girl going through a similar struggle. Her English name was Zara, but in Korea she was known as Kim Sora. Though she had been raised in England prior to coming here and I the states, our commonality was enough for us to become the best of friends. So the two of us grew up in Korea suffering through middle and high school together. We even auditioned for an entertainment company together. And we got in together. So on top of juggling being fourteen years olds, we had to spend our time after school and on weekends training. But lucky for us we had already had experience. I had been dancing and singing my whole life. I took up ballet at the age of four and then studied modern dance. I also took up singing, piano, and guitar when I moved to Korea. I loved performing. Sora was the same. She hadn't studied dance but she had been singing for about as long as I had. So I was actually balancing being a trainee, a student, and the other hobbies I had taken up and were dedicated to continuing. So there was never really any me time. But it didn't matter. I had my best friend the whole way. And so one fateful day, as two eighteen year olds with big dreams, we made our debut as a duo group called ZS for Zara and Sierra. We were successful. But it isn't always as it seems. It was made painfully obvious early on that Sora was the more desired one by everyone despite having less experience in the field than I did. She was gorgeous. And that seemed to overshadow everything about me. She was the main vocal, main dancer, and main rapper, as well as the the face of the group and the center. I was the lead on everything. I didn't mind at first but it started to get irritating when our company started treating me like a leftover. And even worse when our beloved fans did. Hate comments were never ending. They said I was weighing her down. That I was nothing compared to her and that I shouldn't have debuted. I was eighteen, you couldn't expect me to handle that well. But I pressed on for two years, forcing a smile for my best friend and I's dream. Until one day, even my best friend turned on me. She started joining in on the hate, calling me out on everything. We got into heated arguments because of it. And one day I had finally had enough. The day she told me that I was nothing compared to her, I quit. ZS was over. Of course the tabloids were all over it calling me dramatic and whatnot. I didn't care though. With the money I earned I could do the one thing I always wanted to. Escape. I bid farewell to my parents and moved back to the states leaving my life in Korea behind. I wanted to start over and since ZS wasn't that popular, I managed to reinvent myself. I went to college and met Lena and studied stage management and design and then started as a freelancer.

Lena pinched my arms, "Stop spacing out you weirdo. Go get ready."

I quickly changed into my work attire which was just all black casual with a bright name tag.

"Bring home the bacon!" Lena exclaimed.

I got in my car and drove off to the venue.

The minute I arrived I was bombarded by staff of all kinds. They badgered me with questions about where certain things went, the schedule, and a few other things.

"Miss Kang, I know you're being pelted with questions but I've got one more. One of the artists is already here saying that he came to make sure everything was set up according to plan. But he speaks almost zero English," a voice said.

I handed out an information packet to everyone and set out on my first task of greeting the mystery man.

As I got inside the venue, something caught my eye that made me absolutely horrified.

A massive banner displaying the face of my former best friend was hanging. From what I knew, Sora had debuted again under the name Kim Sora. But I didn't realize she was going to be attending this.

"Excuse me?" A deep voice asked in Korean.

I turned to find myself staring at a very attractive guy.

"I'm Kim Taehyung. I came to make sure that this event was set up perfectly."

Nothing could've prepared me from the rollercoaster that occurred because of our meeting, and somehow, I was glad nothing could.