The building was huge.
My mouth opened involuntarily as I stared at the large edifice in front of me.
I suddenly felt small.
I looked down at myself, wishing that I had prepared my look more before I had called a car to come pick me up. I nervously wiped my hands on my oversized t-shirt, questioning my entire existence.
Should I have woken up earlier? Probably.
But was I tired after binge watching k-dramas on Netflix? Yes.
I took a deep breath, calming myself, and walked towards the entrance. Pushing open the door, I was immediately met by what I assume was security.
"Oh, hello?" I said without thinking as the man proceeded to pass the device over my entire body like I was hiding a knife or something.
Sir I am wearing volleyball shorts and a t-shirt. Where would I use to hide?
He walked a little bit off, satisfied that I wasn't a murderer.
I muttered under my breath, walking towards the receptionist. She looked at me with an amused expression.
She smiled kindly at me. "Are you Oh Ye-seo?"
I nodded, giving her a small smile in return. She pointed to her right.
"Over there are the elevators. Take one to the 12th floor. Bang pd-nim will meet you there." She paused for a moment.
Looking at me, she leaned partially over the desk, a hand pressed against her cheek to cover her mouth. Naturally, I leaned towards her.
"Honestly, I hope they like you," she whispered. "That girl group has been waiting so long to debut. Maybe you'll be the final addition."
Huh?
I forced a smile. There's no way. Wouldn't I need training? And that's assuming I make it.
The woman winks at me, gesturing again to the elevators, a few strands of her brown hair falling out of her bun. I slowly began walking there, pausing periodically to look back at her, who now had her hands forming two thumbs up. I got inside the elevator and watched as the doors replaced my view of the lobby.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm down my racing heart.
What if I mess up?
What if they hate me?
Crap, what if I embarrass myself so bad I ruin my chances of trying for an entertainment company ever again?
"Aish," I whispered, leaning my head against the wall.
Gotta love my self pep talks.
It wasn't long before the elevator dinged, announcing that I was on the right floor. I cautiously stepped one foot out, looking around for this 'Bang pd-nim' I was supposed to meet.
I jumped when someone appeared in front of me, nervously smiling and stepping fully out of the elevator to address them.
I bowed. "It's nice to meet you, Bang pd-nim."
My heart actually stopped when I heard the man in front of me start belly laughing.
Crap, did I do something wrong? Did I just embarrass myself? I'm not familiar with Korean customs—
The man stopped laughing as I looked up tentatively. He smiled kindly. "Sorry, but I believe you have the wrong person."
Please don't tell me he's an idol. Please don't tell me he's an idol. Please don't tell me—
"I'm Park Do-young, Bang pd-nim's secretary."
I felt my face heat up, trying to hide behind my curtain of hair.
Suddenly my sneakers became very interesting.
He put a hand on my shoulder. "Don't worry about it, I found it funny." He let out a laugh. "Anyways, I'm here to take you to a practice room. Bang pd and some others are already inside."
"Thank you," I said quietly, my confidence gone.
Confidence? Who is she?
I don't know her.
As he led me down a hallway, I studied him curiously.
He was an older man, a few wrinkles here and there along his face. He had obvious laugh lines as well, meaning he must be a generally happy guy. His hair was black speckled with gray, and he was dressed a spotless gray suit. He radiated professionalism in everything he did, even his walk.
I forced myself to look away. He probably thinks I'm weird, I just stared at him for like 10 minutes.
Do-young stopped at a door. "Bang pd is waiting inside."
I stared at the door in front of me before meeting his eyes. He looked at me with a smile. "You'll do great, don't stress about it."
"Too late," I muttered.
He laughed, then gestured towards the door. "They're waiting for you," he said.
I turned to him and bowed. "Thank you,
Do-young-nim."
He nodded and turned to leave. I moved to look at the door once again, taking a deep breath.
This is real.
This is actually happening.
I reached for the handle and pulled.
My face turned absolutely red when I realized that I'm an idiot, and this was in fact a push door.
I pushed open the door and walked into the room. My eyes immediately landed on four individuals seated behind a table on the far side of the room.
An older man sat in the middle, dressed in a nice dark grey suit. He had black hair that contrasted against his paler skin color. A set of round glasses sat on his nose. He smiled kindly at me as I walked to the center of the room. On his left sat Jin-sang-nim, who immediately gave me a big smirk when I caught his eye. I nervously smiled back at him.
Naturally, my gaze drifted to the two on the other side. Unlike the first two, they were young, looking not much older than me.
The one closer to the older man immediately caught my eye and gave me a flirty grin, his eyes becoming little crescents. He had ash blonde hair and he was wearing a black zip-up hoodie over a black t-shirt. His earrings moved slightly as he gave me a wink, one chain longer than the other.
I can't breathe, a hot boy just winked at me—
I forced myself to look away and focus instead on the last person in the room. He was leaning forward, his arms on the table as he gave me a large heart-shaped smile, his eyes widened. His hair was brown and slightly wavy, and it took all of my willpower not to walk over there and touch it. He wore a white, green, and blue striped sweater, a chain resting around his neck.
What do they feed boys in Korea? This isn't fair.
My attention was taken away from him when the older man spoke.
"So you're the Oh Ye-seo I've heard so much about." He sat a bit straighter. "I'm Bang Si-hyuk, the CEO of Big Hit."
My eyes widened as I immediately bowed. Today is just not my day, is it?
I heard a chuckle. "There's no need to bow," Bang Si-hyuk said as I saw Jin-Sang gesture to stand. I did what I was told and stood up straight.
"Sorry, I'm new to this," I explained. "I'm running on sleep deprivation and anxiety."
Bang pd-nim let out a big laugh, as well as the two cute boys beside him. The brunette had to grab the blond's hoodie to stop him from falling out his chair, with only made his laugh louder. Jin-sang just sat, smirking silently at those beside him.
"Jin-sang told me you were blunt, but I didn't expect you to be so sarcastic as well." Bang pd said as he calmed down. "He also told me of your amazing dancing skills, and how quickly you are able to learn and put together choreography."
The blond's expression turned curious, eyeing me up and down before turning the the brunette beside him. Instead of looking curious, his expression had turned serious.
Honestly, he looked freaking scary.
I turned my attention back to Bang pd-mom as he spoke to me again. "So, I guess there's no putting it off." He shuffled around a few papers on the table, passing different ones to each of the men beside him.
He looked back up at me. "What have you prepared for us today?"
I lightly cleared my throat and began to speak. "Well, I figured that I would dance to Mic Drop by Bts."
I saw the two boys' eyebrows raise and shrugged. "I mean if it isn't broke don't fix it.."
Jin-sang quickly leaned over and explained to the two confused boys that that was the song that got me scouted. Bang Si-hyuk nodded along. I guess he already knew.
He motioned to someone in the corner of the room that I hadn't seen, gesturing for them to play the track.
I turned around, putting my back in their sight as I faced the wall of mirrors. In it, I could clearly see all of them observing me as they waited for the song to start.
I closed my eyes. I got this. Don't freak out.
Breathe in, out.
In, out.
In, out.
The beat began.
I let my body take over, going through the choreography energetically to match the beat of the song. I sank into character, performing not only with my movement but also with my facial expressions. I smirked with satisfaction seeing surprised expression from my little panel of judges. Quickly, the song ended, and I feigned dropping a mic, my dancing performance done.
Jin-sang leaned over his paper, making notes here and there. Bang pd-nim did the same as he looked from me to the paper. My eyes flickered over to the two boys, widening slightly when I saw the brunette turning his paper to the other side and continuing to write. The blonde just sat smiling at me, his chin resting in his hands, his paper perfectly blank except for one or two lines of notes.
Between the try-hard and the flirty one, I'm so screwed.
They looked up a bit later, focusing on me once again. Bang pd spoke up, "So when did you start learning this dance?"
I bit my lip, thinking. "About an hour before I was scouted, I think?"
I saw Jin-sang's eyes grow big. "You mean to tell me you only learned this song 1 hour before you performed?"
"W-Well yes?" I admitted, looking around the room. "I've always been good at breaking down choreography."
The boy with the wavy brown hair nodded, a smile replacing his previous scary face. I smiled slowly back at him.
"So we've seen your dancing going skills. How about your singing?" My head snapped back to Bang pd-nim, who had asked the question.
I peeked towards Jin-sang, thanking God above that he had warned me and I had actually listened. "I actually prepared a song to sing, just in case."
Bang Si-hyuk smiled. "Well, tell us then."
I cleared my throat, suddenly nervous. "I'm going to sing Euphoria," I announced quietly.
It took no time for Bang pd to gesture to one of the workers to set up the music like before. I shook my arm slightly as the opening notes began, trying to shake out my nerves.
Please let me remember the words.
I started to sing.
My voice echoed a bit throughout the room, starting off slightly wobbly but becoming clearer as I gained confidence. I tried to mentally prepare myself for the climax of the song that was getting closer and closer.
As the music slowed, so does my singing, becoming softer and breathier to accentuate the lyrics. I felt myself smile as I reached the high note with ease.
"Close the door now, when I'm with you I'm in a utopia," I finished, slightly out of breath.
I looked up when I heard a chair being pushed back. The blond had an excited look on his face, halfway standing from his seat, his hands on the table.
"Who's your bias?" He excitedly asked.
Who's my what now?
The brunette slapped him on the back of the head and he sat down. My attention switched to the boy who wasn't acting like a golden retriever.
"Do you like Bts?" The brown-haired boy asked.
My eyes flickered around the room at everyone's suddenly interested face.
Oh well.
Time to disappoint some people.
My confused expression faded into a faint smirk. "I don't think I should be the person you ask about that," I said. "My brother's the ARMY, not me."
"So....you don't like Bts?" The blond questioned.
"No, I never said that. I like Bts it's just that I've never really had the time to get into k-pop." I snorted. "Ironic isn't it?"
The brown-haired boy let out a loud laugh, and the blonde beside him grinned.
Bang pd laughed a bit as well. Slowly, he reached for the paper in front of him, examining it. The others handed him theirs as well.
He set the papers down and sighed. "I believe I've made my decision."
I held my breath.
"I'll call someone now to get your things."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
He gave a satisfied smirk. "Well if you're going to become an idol, you have to move into the dorms."
My eyes widened as I put a hand on my head, the two boys exchanging looks that I couldn't understand.
"This....is so fast," I muttered.
I heard Jin-sang let out a small laugh. "Told you," he said lowly.
And?
"I see no time to waste. You already possess several talents that an idol needs—a good voice, dancing abilities, and stage presence," Bang Si-hyuk explained. "A few months of training and I'll say you'll be ready to debut."
He continued. "As for your fellow members, they've been waiting for a good amount of time so they'll probably be ecstatic to know about you." He looked down at his watch. "In fact, I think you should go ahead and head to the dorms. You should get to know your group mates as soon as possible."
I shook my head lightly before meeting his eyes. "Umm ok? Where are the dorms?"
He smiled. "Just go downstairs. I'll get a car ready to pick you up."
"Thank you, so much." I bowed before remembering what he had said before. Quickly I stood back up straight, a nervous smile on my face. He let out a chuckle at my awkward behavior.
I pointed at the door with my thumb. "Do you want me to go ahead or—"
Jin-sang laughed loudly as Bang pd nodded, an amused expression on his face. I shuffled towards the door, saying a small goodbye before exiting the practice room.
I slapped myself on the forehead as I walked. I'm an idiot. Could I have been more embarrassing?
Today just started and I'm already suffering.
I would like to reload my checkpoint now.
Walked steadily down the hallway I came from to get back to the elevator. I cursed lowly when I saw the doors begin to close, speeding up my walking slightly. I refused to run. I did not want to look like a high school freshman trying to get to class.
I felt the sudden urge to use my favorite finger when the people inside didn't even try to hold the door. I scowled as it shut in my face.
I let out a large sigh as I turned toward the door to the stairs, impatient and unwilling to wait for the elevator to arrive on this floor. I started down the steps, huffing under my breath.
"So stupid. Just had to look like an idiot in front of two hot boys," I muttered.
I made it a few landings down before I jumped at a loud noise above me. I paused when it happened a second time, straining to listen.
It sounded like....footsteps.
Running.
"Oh, heck no," I said, descending the steps faster. "Not today, satan."
I could hear the footsteps getting louder and closer as I sped down the stairs. I made it to the next landing before turning around quickly to see who was behind me.
I've never had better timing.
I turned at just the right moment to see the person trip over their own feet, blond hair flying as they halfway tumbled down the rest of the flight of stairs, landing on their back near my feet.
The blond boy laid on his back, dazed. I covered my mouth, trying to stop myself from laughing. Catching my gaze his confused expression immediately turned into a flirty one.
He sat up slightly, looking me up and down before breaking out a wide grin.
"Sorry, but-" he paused, running his fingers through his hair.
Slowly, I watched as his grin turned into a smirk.
"-I think I just fell for you."
____________________________________
So....did you guess correctly?
Sorry the schedule's been kinda off, school has been hectic lately and updates may still end up a bit late for a little bit.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter. We're getting closer to some big drama 👀.
Happy reading!