Blood Sweat & Tears: A BTS Story ✅

Chapter 1: The Interview

I really need this job, I really need this job, I really need this job.

I try to remind myself of this as I ride in the taxi to Big Hit Entertainment. The information I received said that the company was in need of a new assistant and after completely fucking up at my last job I'm willing to be some big-shot producer's coffee girl if it will pay the bills.

Before I was fired, I used to get up every morning excited to go to work, eager for the day ahead knowing that I was going to a job that I loved. Unfortunately, I wasn't that great at my job. Before, I worked at a preschool teaching English to the most adorable group of children, and while I loved it, my employer was less than impressed.

"Ms. Sinclair, your performance with the children is outstanding, you truly have a way with them. Unfortunately, your English teaching skills are lacking. Your class of preschoolers is falling behind their classmates, and we cannot allow their education to take this plummet. Success Academy is one of the most prestigious preschools in the country and we cannot continue to employ you as an English focused educator and we do not have any general education positions available."

The words hit me like a bus, the principal must have noticed because her eyes softened for a moment before hardening back to the ice they were before.

"While we cannot continue to employ you at this school, I do not want you to fret about your working visa. I have a couple of friends who are hiring and I want to recommend to you."

This softened the blow, but only fractionally.

The first job was for a court stenographer which I wasn't fit for because my Korean is passable at best, but certainly not good enough to make records of important information. A manager at a high-class restaurant was the second job, and while managing isn't an issue for me, cooking is, and I couldn't pass the cooking test. Takeout has been my only source of survival for many years, and learning how to cook has felt like a lot of effort just for survival when there were other avenues to pursue.

The last is here, at Big Hit Entertainment. An opening to an assistant, title unknown. I just hope that I don't somehow screw it up because I'm out of options. If I'm unable to land this job then I won't be able to pay rent, which will force me to go home, which will force me to... I don't want to think about that.

When the taxi pulls up to the building, I show the security guard my invitation for an interview and they wave us on through the gate. All the security and gates remind me of the Universal lot back home in LA, always teeming with gatekeepers to and security checks to try and filter through those who work there and those who are just trying to see their favorite stars, their favorite idols.

The building seems endless, the stories stacked taller than anything I can comprehend. When I enter the lobby and hear the sound of dress shoes and heels making that click-clack across the floor, I thank whatever possessed me to put on a pair of pumps before I ran to catch my taxi. My skinny jeans and oversized blazer don't look out of place, but I do notice that a lot of the women are in tight pencil skirts and I hope that isn't something that will affect my chances of getting this job.

I show an impeccably dressed woman at the front desk my interview invitation and she hands me a visitors pass, "Head on up to the 31st floor and make sure you show the receptionist there your badge as well," she gives me a kind smile, "and good luck."

Pressing 31 on the elevator door feels so strange, I don't think I've ever been to a floor this high in a building. But the company must need lots of space for all of its specialties. Maybe one floor is a dance studio, another a recording studio, and other various floors belong to different subdivisions of the company. With barely more than a time and place for information regarding this interview, I didn't have a name or position that I could use to study up for this interview. I have no information that I could use to help with context clues and because of this, I was only able to study the company in general and hope that asking questions in this interview will make me seem curious and not daft.