Date: April 30th 2011

Location: YG Dance Studio

Time: 2:00 PM

It was my third year as a YG trainee. I auditioned as a dancer when I was a wide-eyed junior in high school and now, I was already in charge of mentoring younger trainees. Although it cut into my own precious training time, being given such responsibilities meant that my skills were being recognized. I gladly took the job without any complaints and worked extremely hard to fulfil my duties as a mentor. Yet, on some days, I just wish I didn’t have to teach.

Today was particularly stressful for both the kids and me. There was a showcase coming up at the end of the week, and they were not even close to being prepared for it.

“Five, six, seven, eight!” I shouted over the loud music and clapped to the beat.

In two rows, the girls danced, struggling to follow the beat.

“Stop, stop, stop,” I shook my head and turned the music off. “You need to keep up! Lead the music, don’t let it lead you.”

“Unnie,” one of them whined. “Can we take a break?”

“Uh uh,” I shook my head again. “Not until you guys get it right. Did your 2NE1 sunbaes rest all the time when they were trainees? Did your Big Bang sunbaes whine when they’re tried? No, they didn’t and look at them now -”

I was rudely interrupted by someone opening the studio door. It was Dan, the main choreographer at YG. He is responsible for creating most of the dances YG artists performed. Everyone in the room, including myself, immediately greeted him formally.

“Are you lecturing the girls again?” Dan chuckled as he approached me. “Take the rest of the day off, kids. Your unnie and I have something to take care of.”

They immediately cheered at the notion of getting some rest, and ran to the back of the room to pack up their things. One of them, Minah, even waved at me cheekily, knowing that I was extremely annoyed at this whole situation.

“Sunbae,” I protested and crossed my arms. “Why are you giving them half a day off? If they don’t perform well on Friday, it’s going to be my fault.”

He ignored me and watched as the rest of the trainees filed out of the room. He turned to me and said, “I have something important to tell you.”

“Did I do something wrong?” I inquired, my frown deepening. I hope I wasn’t about to get for not teaching these girls well enough.

“No,” he chuckled and announced, “we have an opening in the dance team and we are considering you for the spot.”

“What?” I asked, unable to believe what I just heard. “A-are you sure? But no one has left the dance team.”

“We are expanding, so –“

“Oh my God, so you guys are actually considering me? I’m going to be dancing with the main team? I’m part of the main team?!” I cut him off when I finally registered what he is saying and started babbling with excitement. I can’t believe this is happening. “But you guys never pick newbies to join. I’ve only been here for three years.”

Dan smiled and said, “Yah, stop interrupting, I’m not done. We’re expanding, so we need fresh meat in the team. We are considering you and Seohee, as you two have the most potential, but only one of you will actually get in.”

So there’s Seohee. My hopes deflated at the mention of her name. If she iss the other alternative, then my chances are close to none. She had been with YG for over five years, and was the most versatile and ambitious dancer in our age group. She was adept at most dance styles and could pick up a new choreography in thirty minutes. She should have joined the main team a long time ago, but I heard there were some sort of conflict.

“Have you told her yet?” I asked.

He shook his head. “She’s not coming in until later today.”

“Oh,” I nodded, visibly dejected. “She’ll be really happy when she finds out.”

Dan noticed my sudden change in mood and laughed, “I know what you’re thinking, but don’t give up yet, kid. There’s a reason why we’re letting the two of you compete for the spot. Both of you are extremely talented, but there’s something lacking in each of you and we need to make sure you’re ready. Big Bang and 2NE1 are both starting their comeback soon, and we have to be perfect, you get me?”

I nodded.

“Zoe, you are an emotional dancer, and a talented choreographer. But you really need to work on your stage presence and confidence. I’m going to let you replace Kay as GD’s dance partner for one of the songs and we’ll evaluate how well you do after the first stage performance. We’re going to assign Seohee as Seungri’s partner.

Wait, THE G-Dragon? I could feel excitement bubbling inside me once more. Working with G-Dragon was something every YG trainee dreamed about. No matter what kind of entertainment career they were set out to do, there was always something that they could learn from him. He is absolutely amazing at everything he does, and that includes creating and producing music, rapping, singing and dancing. He is a natural-born performer with great onstage persona and killer style. Whatever he wears look good on him and whatever he does exudes charisma and swag.

Nevertheless, the giddiness that I felt was accompanied by a mounting pressure that I couldn’t ignore. It would be difficult, I thought to myself. I would have to work extremely hard to make sure I look worthy next to him.

“See what you’re doing there?” Dan shook his head and wagged his finger at me. “You need to stop doubting your own skills and just step up to the challenge. I would really like you to be on the team and even personally recommended you to YG. Don’t let me down, okay?”

Feeling moved by Dan’s encouragement, I took a deep breath and said. “I won’t let you down, sunbae. I’ll work my hardest and absorb everything from this experience, whether I get in the team or not.” I smiled and added, “nothing will deter me from achieving my dream.”

“That’s the attitude!” Dan said, ruffling my hair. “Okay, let’s get started. I’ll quickly teach you their choreography, so you can be ready to rehearse it with everyone else tomorrow."

I groaned inwardly. Of course I wasn’t allotted a fair amount of time to practice. When is everything NOT a challenge?