10 MONTHS (ENHYPEN FF)

14~viral

"The public were so impressed when they discovered your age and that you were the composer of your own debut song." he spoke smiling.

Saeri pointed the remote to the screen and it switched to another article.

17 year old music genius, Park Soojin, earns the attention of other artists who express their keen desires for a potential future collab.

Again loosing my mind, I skimmed down the article and read the handful of listed artists.

G-idle, Jeon Soyeon
Pentagon, Kim Wooseok
Block B, Zico
EXO, Chanyeol
Winner, Mino
Stray Kids, Han Jisung

Reading the names I felt my mouth drop to the floor.

Holy. fucking. shit.

Unable to formulate a response outloud, Saeri spoke for me.

"As you can see, these are some of the best music producers in the K-pop industry." she began, pointing at the names.

"With this mass of a response just within a day of your debut, we're looking at a potential super star Soojin-ssi."

The woman eyed me intently as I noticed that she herself was equally as pumped as me and the other staff.

"But that's not all," spoke the lady staff, "Take a look at the list of Western artists who've taken interest in you."

Again, Saeri changed the slide, revealing a series of twitter posts.

Gawking at the screen, my mind went wild at the sight of the famous celebrities.

"This is fake right. There's no way-" I spoke with my hand over my mouth.

The three staff laughed at my reaction as they shook their heads.

"Nope. 100% real. You've gone viral Soojin." Saeri spoke.

Letting the new information sink in, I felt myself sink into my chair.

V-viral?
VIRAL?!

Aware of my state of shock, Saeri chuckled before speaking up again.

"As promised before, your debut indeed boosted our company's sales well above 12%, therefore we will be preparing for your next comeback immediately."

Widened my eyes are her words, I quickly spoke up.

"Wha-do I not get a short rest? Even for a day?" I asked concerned.

I could barely handle the past month preparing almost every hour of every day. The whole time I've been anticipating my post-debut just so I could take one nap.

The woman clicked her tongue.

"That's not how it works sweetie. With you in the public eye, you're gonna have to start working more than you have ever before."

Chewing my gums, I winced at the thought. Again the thought of the inevitable pressure and fear of letting people down tore at my mind.

"This isn't the idol playground anymore Soojin. This is the global music industry we're talking about." spoke the male staff.

The other two women nodded.

"Everything you do from now on will be closely monitored. If not, there could be some serious scandals on our hands." Saeri added.

I nodded processing every word as I began to feel my heart race.

They're right.

This isn't as simple as debuting as a Korean idol anymore.

Entering the international entertainment industry is pretty daunting.

Noticing my visible discomfort, Saeri suddenly reached from under her desk and pulled out a sheet of paper. She also picked out a pen from her desk and passed it to me.

"You obviously need some time to process everything so here, let's quickly sign this document and I'll let you be on your way." the CEO spoke sliding the paper over the desk.

Huh? Another document?
But I'm already signed to YG.

Reading my puzzled expression, she spoke up again. 

"This is just a set of higher levelled protocols we need you to agree to considering your sudden rise in fame." she began, "It mainly states the permission for us to have complete control over all your economic, financial and social activities."

She woman lifted her head and looked me in the eye.

"This includes a vow to never involve yourself in any romantic relationships."

The sincerity of her words caused me to swallow a lump in my throat. 

"Don't worry, once your career gains stability, these restrictions will loosen." added the man.

I nodded hesitantly.

"But keep in mind, if you breach any of the things listed, the company will not hesitate to terminate your contract."

Nodding again at the man, I soon picked up the pen and held it at the paper. My hand trembled as I held the inked point at the dotted line.

Good bye freedom.

And just like that, I signed my life away into the hands of the greediest money monsters in the industry.