On my way to stardom

2. Ambition

'Kpop idol? Me?' I ask, in complete shock.

Except for when my friends are forcing me to listen to a new song, I have never listened to Kpop. It's a really big thing among youngsters in Hong Kong, and a lot of my friends are fans of different groups as well. But as I've said before, I don't have the luxury and time to follow idols around because I have to work. I don't understand what they're singing anyways, I don't speak Korean, I just speak Chinese and English.

I can hear Joe laughing on the side, which I return by staring him daggers. He immediately walks to the other end of the bar.

'But don't I need to learn Korean first? And I can't dance or sing or perform...'

'I've just heard you sing, and I think there's nothing some singing lessons cannot fix,' he says. 'As for Korean and dancing, why don't we meet tomorrow again to talk about the details?'

'Sorry I have one more question,' I say. I am definitely not wasting my time to work if this conversation is getting nowhere. 'How much do I earn by being a Kpop star?'

He laughs, 'I've never heard of people asking me about money. Normally if there's a contract presented to them, they sign it straight away.'

Yeah, but are they desperately in need of money?

He continues, 'it depends, but we have BTS in our company and I'd say they're doing alright.'

Who on earth is BTS?

He seems to have sensed my confusion, 'BTS is one of our boy bands.' He takes out his phone to show me a folder of news cutouts. They've been invited to the billboard music awards and the Grammys, they have a few collaborations with apparently famous singers in the USA. Oh, there we go, they've sold out numerous stadiums all around the world and even have boosted the Korean tourism by more than 3 billion dollars!

'Will I earn as much as them?' Gosh, I sound hella desperate, but I know I'm already mentally drooling from seeing the dollar sign.

'That's really ambitious of you, young lady,' he chuckles. 'I really don't know. I have to be honest with you, my company is very small, I started BTS off without knowing they will become such a big band. And till this day, I still can't believe how much they're achieving, but their hard work has really paid off.'

My manager, Chris comes over suddenly, 'Shannon, you've got a phone call.'

Mr Bang says, ' you've got my contacts. I'm leaving Hong Kong on Friday, you have three days to decide. I look forward to seeing you again.'

After thanking him for his offer, I hurry to the staff room to pick up the call.

'Shannon! Mum is...' my little sister starts sobbing, and the mention of mum makes me extremely uneasy.

'What's going on, Sav? Calm down,' I try to soothe her as much as possible. 'Where are you now?'

'We're at the hospital, mum has passed out,' she says with her crying voice.

' Where is he?' I ask, I can hear my throat straining.

'He's not home. I got home and only saw mum lying on the floor so I called the ambulance,' she says.

' Well done,' I'm trying to ease the whole situation. 'I'll be with you shortly.'

Luckily, Chris is very understanding, so he lets me go early to deal with my family business. Ugh, that's how I spent a quarter of the tips Mr Bang has given me.

I am looking around the hospital like a lunatic now, but my sister is nowhere to be found. I go to the concierge and ask, 'excuse me, where is Ms Wong Ka Po? She got admitted about half an hour ago.'

The nurse on duty tells me she is still in the emergency operation room and I use my fastest pace to head over there. I still haven't had any dinner yet and I can already feel the bile rushing out from my throat really soon.

When I got to the third floor of the west wing of the S block of the ginormous freaking hospital, I can see my little sister curled up into a ball, crying to her knees.

'Hey, hey, I'm here now, it's gonna be ok,' I wrap my arms around her as I try to comfort her. She must be traumatised.

To be honest, I really don't know what to do. Mum has always been taking care of us, if anything happens to her...

No! Slap that thought out of your head, Shannon! Mum is gonna be fine!

The light of the operation room has turned off, and the doctor slowly walks out.

'Doctor, is our mother ok?' I ask.

He takes off his mask to show us an emotionless face, 'Are you Ms Wong Ka Po's family?'

'We are her daughters,' I reply.

'Please come to my office to have a chat about your mother's condition. Are you 18 years old or above?' He asks.

'Yes, I'm nineteen,' in a month.

While Sav is taken to mum's ward, I'm walking towards the surgeon's office. Something tells me this chat is not one that I will enjoy.

The air conditioning in his office is freezing cold, I can feel goosebumps forming on both my arms. Both my palms are now sweating, but the sweat is cold.

The doctor has changed back to his normal uniform, I can see the deep wrinkles parallel to both his eyes, he doesn't even look that old.

'Your mother's operation was not very successful, I'm afraid,' he says, doesn't give me any sort of mental preparation.

'What do you mean?' I ask. My whole body is shivering now.

'One of her ribs is broken, but we've fixed that, but during the operation she has an emergency stroke,' doc says.

His revelation is like getting hit by lightning. Hot tears are streaming down my cheeks but I don't have the urge to wipe them off. My body has gone numb and I'm now sitting on the chair like an invertebrate.

' What...what is her actual condition now?' I ask.

'She may be paralysed.'

That one sentence is my breaking point.

I start crying and my breathing is super irregular. I can barely see the doctor's face, but I bet he's still sitting there staring at me emotionlessly. Why would this happen to mum? She's the kindest person on Earth, taking care of us while working multiple part-time jobs. She doesn't leave her alcoholic and abusive husband, even though he's put her through so much pain, both physically and mentally.

'What...what treatment does she need?' I ask, my voice is barely audible to myself.

'In terms of medication, there's nothing we can give her. But I advised that she stays at the hospital for a few weeks for more observation, and then go to a care home for these paralysed patients. If her condition becomes better, physiotherapy can help her regain the ability to do normal daily activities such as walking,' the doctor's monotone is starting to piss me off.

Fuck, how are we supposed to pay for all these? We don't have medical insurance, the little money the government gives and my salary will not be enough either.

Ugh, I need money.

Like a shit tonne of money.

I leave the doctor's office and make my way to mum's ward. It's already midnight, and Savannah's already asleep on the couch.

I take out the business card that I just got from Mr Bang, staring at it for a solid five minutes.

That's my last shot at earning enough money for mum. I have to do it.

No, I will do it. I will become a Kpop star and hopefully be successful.

No, let's start again. I will become a Kpop star, and I will be the best one out there.