"Oh, man," Sangwoo muttered, carefully wiping sweat off his brow. Thankfully, the little makeup he'd put on, although not heavy, was pretty sweat-resistant. He looked at his watch.
It was a gift from his father for his twentieth birthday, before he'd turned into something Sangwoo had come to despise. He still had a little time. Looking at the building in front of him, the boy marveled at its sheer size.
He noticed a woman standing to one side. Her eyes seemed to be searching for someone. He guessed this was the woman he'd talked to on the phone, Heejung.
He made his way to her.
"Uh, Miss?" he asked.
"Choi Sangwoo?" she looked at him.
"Yes, and you are Heejung, correct?"
"Yes. Let's say the code together once so we can confirm our identities."
He nodded. "Alright."
"On the count of three. One, two, three: 0408!"
She indicated that he follow her as she turned and headed inside the building.
"Wow," he muttered as he looked around in amazement. "It's so big."
"I know, right?" Heejung smiled, pride evident in her tone. She led him down a hallway, and they soon came upon a row of doors that were labeled 'practice room', with serial numbers next to them. She opened one. The space inside was well lit, having a mirror to Sangwoo's left and a couple of chairs in the front. "I'll just call the executives and the CEO. I hope you've chosen a song to perform and another one to sing. The song you choose to sing can be from another language. You can stretch while you wait."
He'd almost forgotten that he had to sing as well. That was another main thing companies like this measured. But he couldn't let the receptionist know, so he nodded. "I hope they like me."
"I'm pretty sure they will. They saw the clip, after all," she smiled.
"Oh, did they now?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.
She nodded. "Good luck."
"Oh, no. What do I sing? What do I sing?" Sangwoo wondered out loud once he was alone. "What do I do? I forgot to pick a song." he put a fist under his chin as he thought about it. A song came to mind. "Oh, wait. It's so obvious now."
He warmed up his vocal cords for five minutes. Luckily for him, that Jacobs Vocal Academy video was ingrained in his brain because he'd done the same exercises so many times. It had been extremely useful right before busking anywhere.
Stretching his muscles, he moved his shoulders, turning his neck right, then left. He popped his knuckles.
The door opened to reveal three people, two of whom Sangwoo immediately recognized. In the middle was the CEO, Bang Sihyuk. At the left was Son Sungdeuk, BTS's famed choreographer. The person second from the right was unknown to him.
"Hello! It is an honor to meet you, sir," he told Bang Sihyuk, bowing ninety degrees.
Said man's eyes crinkled as he smiled and nodded. "It's nice to finally see you up close. I can already tell you're pretty talented. Shall we start?" he asked.
Sangwoo nodded, straightening and taking his portable speaker out and playing District 9. He danced Bang Chan's part of the choreography, just going with the flow. He knew that if he focused too much on making sure the choreography was done exactly the way it was originally, he'd mess up.
"Okay, stop. I think we've seen enough," said Sungdeuk. The boy nodded, running over to pause the music. He took a minute to breathe and compose himself.
"What song have you prepared for us?" asked the unknown man.
"It's a song called My Mind. It's in English, and the artist's name is YEBBA," he said slowly, wiping sweat off his forehead with his shirt. "Disgusting."
"I'm sorry, what was that?" asked the unknown man.
"Oh, I just sweat too much. Don't worry, though," Sangwoo said. "I'll be fine."
"We're ready when you are," the CEO said. Sangwoo nodded and launched into the performance.
(This is the song I'm referring to)
"My mind, my mind, you'll always be mine~" he finished and bowed. "That's it. Hope you liked it."
The room was so silent that you could have heard a pin dropping.
Was I too breathy? Too rough? I knew it was too risky. Damn it, he thought as he looked at the quartet in front of him.
Why was no one saying anything?
And then came the applause. One, two, three, then four; all of them joined in commending him. Their smiles were beyond just professional.
These were genuine smiles indicating wonderment and pleasure.
"Well done, Sangwoo-ssi," said the unknown man. "And I just realized that I haven't introduced myself to you. My name is Park Jiwon. I'm currently the CEO of Nexon. You've probably heard of the company. We give people money to put their games out there."
"Wait-are you responsible for MapleStory, sir?" he asked, stars in his eyes.
The older man smiled at the boy in front of him. "Not me, per se, but yes, this is the company which is responsible for the incredibly successful franchise. Are you a fan, by any chance?"
"Very much so," Sangwoo said. "This might be out of line, but could you possibly arrange for me to meet the creators?"
"Asking favors already?" he teased the boy.
Sangwoo laughed sheepishly. "Not at all, sir. This is completely up to you."
"I'll see if I can do something," Mr. Park said. "Keep up the good work, Sangwoo-ssi."
"Will do, sir. Hope I never disappoint you."
"I sure hope not," Mr. Park said, patting his back.
Sangwoo smiled and bowed.
"Well, I guess I'll be on my way, Mr. Bang," he said, looking at said man. The two men shook hands and he left. The CEO turned his attention to Sangwoo, who'd begun to nibble on his lip nervously.
"So, Sangwoo-ssi," he began, "we can work a little on your dancing. And we may need to tweak your singing style a tad. As you know, the industry and the fans prefer a smoother singing voice, especially when you're a prospective idol. I very much like your tone, however, so we'll see how we can incorporate both the raspiness that's already there and the level of fluidity that's required. Well done."
"So I passed?" Sangwoo asked hopefully.
"If all the compliments didn't make it obvious already, the answer is 'yes'. Be on your way now," he said. Turning to the receptionist, he told her to notify the boy of the date of the third round of auditions along with the venue once it was finalized. "And make sure he gets notified on time. I don't want us to lose what I think can be an incredibly valuable asset."
The boy beamed.
"Sangwoo-ssi, it was a pleasure to hear you today. I hope you will continue to perform at this level in the next round as well. Have a good rest of your night."
"Thank you for the opportunity, sir. I really do appreciate you giving me a chance," said Sangwoo, inviting the CEO to shake hands. The other man gladly accepted it.
"Best of luck for the next round."
"Thank you, sir."
Turning back around to face the boy, the CEO said, "Oh, and call me Bang P.D."
"Yes, sir-I mean, yes, P.D-nim."
"Relax. I don't bite," Bang P.D laughed as he left the room.
"That was good form, Sangwoo-ssi," said the choreographer, who'd been silent up until that point.
"Thank you, sir," the boy nodded and bowed. "That means a lot coming from a choreographer as respectable and as renowned as you. I appreciate you taking time out to watch me today. That was kind of you."
"Don't thank me for doing my job." Sungdeuk's response was crisp and curt.
"But I-"
"What did I say just now? Are you hard of hearing, Sangwoo-ssi? Do not thank me for fulfilling my duties," he said. "I hope you dance with even better form in the next audition. And stop slouching." He then proceeded to stride out of the room, leaving the boy open-mouthed.
Clearly, someone doesn't take compliments well, Sangwoo thought, watching him go. He sighed, turning away to put his speaker back in his bag and slung it over his shoulder. Once he was out of the room, Heejung made her way to his side.
"Okay, so once again, everything will be communicated to you through email. Thank you for coming, Sangwoo-ssi," she said.
"Thank you for the opportunity, Heejung-ssi. I apologize if my behavior earlier offended you."
"No, you're quite alright," she said. "Shall we?"
The boy hummed, following behind her as she left. She waited for him to get out and then shut the door and locked it.
"Good night, Sangwoo-ssi," she said.
"Good night," he said and bowed.
On his way home, he rejoiced in the fact that he was one step closer to freedom. He slipped inside the house, trying not to make a sound.
He scanned his father's face for any signs of movement. He was still dead to the world. The man looked so peaceful like this. No one would be able to predict that the same man was a monster once awake.
People used to say that he looked a lot like his father.
He didn't like those people; they knew nothing of what hid behind the kindly features.
"I can't do this anymore, Dad. I hope you rot in hell."
*****
A/N: Sangwoo auditioned for the second time and passed. What now?
I gave Son Sungdeuk a made-up personality. I'm not assuming he's actually the way I've portrayed him.
Also, this entire book is a mix up of facts and fiction. I gave Sangwoo parts of my personality. Do not assume this is the faceclaim's personality. It is MINE and MINE alone. I have amplified my own traits and tried to reflect them in Sangwoo. I am in no way assuming the actual person's sexuality or what his personality is like, for I do not know his personality in real life. I have never met the man. He is nothing but a faceclaim in this story. Any political or social views are completely my own.
Here's the vocal warmup video I was referring to. They have 10, 20, 30 and 1 hour warmups:
This is a District 9 Bang Chan fancam: