Third Person POV

“Hyungs, you have to look at this!” Seungri said in Korean to his bandmates. “Remember when me and Taeyang hyung had to fly four days before you to help with auditioning dancers? Well we found them!” He ran into the recreation room at YG Entertainment in Chicago, iPad in hand.

The elders of BIGBANG looked at the maknae. The leader, G-Dragon, had been working on writing new lyrics, trying to figure out the English translation. Taeyang was next to his bandmate, singing the lyrics and then critiquing them. TOP, the eldest member, was at his own computer, trying to figure out the English translation to his own solo, Doom Dada. Not knowing how else to translate (his English was not very good), he went to Google and typed in his lyrics to Google Translate. He started the music to his song, and rapped the results:

Children Tickling

Young Kids are in the corner

Or a change to thy Taste Sommelier

Tteukkeun til whooping French yetda throw together when you bow down and thank tteukkeun Hail

Hey Mister & Sister and Tata is a real top man walking

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the rapper in complete and utter confusion. “Wh-what was that?” Taeyang asked cautiously, turning slowly to face the rapper.

“English.” TOP said, pointing to his computer screen. What was wrong with them? He used a translator.

“No, hyung… it’s not…” G-Dragon slowly shook his head. “That was not correct at all.”

“How is Google not correct?” The eldest asked, gesturing to the screen.

No one knew how to answer. Instead, G-Dragon turned to Seungri. “So what were you saying, Seungri? Youngbae already told us that you found dancers.”

“But you haven’t seen them!” Seungri insisted. “They’re on YouTube.” He pulled a chair up to the leader and dancer, TOP and Daesung (who had been napping on the couch until the maknae barged in), rolling chairs up near them.

Seungri set the tablet down for all of them to see. The title of the video was “VINAT Dance Cover: GG I Got a Boy”. He pressed play.

Onscreen, a boy and a girl appeared. The boy was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a cut-off t-shirt with Michael Jackson’s portrait on the front, and high top sneakers. The girl, on the other hand, was dressed in short denim shorts, a formfitting white tank top, and a BAD BOY GOOD GIRL flat bill on her head. Her straight, light brown hair cascaded over her shoulders, while the guy’s hair was covered by the same flat bill hat.

Taeyang nodded as he watched the pair go into the chorus, body rolling to the choreography. “So they do K-Pop dance covers of songs?”

Seungri nodded excitedly. “Shawn hyung told me. That is how they knew our dances during the audition!” He pointed to the girl. “Look at her! See that body? Aish! She can move it better than a lot of girls that I’ve danced with.”

G-Dragon furrowed his eyebrows as he watched. “She could make the moves a little bit tighter. The boy looks a little bit uncomfortable performing a girl’s song, too.”

Taeyang looked at Seungri. “You just like her because when you danced with her she went right along with you.”

Seungri nodded. “Exactly,” He looked at the BIGBANG leader. “Hyung, she even actually touched me, which the girls I dance with don’t do. You know in Gotta Talk to You, where the girl is supposed to move her hand up my leg? I actually felt her hand. Really, hyung, it was like this.” He leaned over to show G-Dragon.

G-Dragon swatted his hand away. “Come on, maknae.” He scoffed. He turned back to the tablet. “Okay, they can dance to a Girl’s Generation song. But do they have our vibe?”

Taeyang was the one to nod this time. He grabbed the tablet. “They do. Let me see if they have one of our songs…” He scrolled through the YouTube channel. “Here.”

The dance pair onscreen were now in football-style jerseys, the girl pair it with leggings while the guy paired his with black skinny jeans. G-Dragon watched intently as Ringa Linga started playing.

“She’s just so y…” Seungri sighed under his breath as he watched the female dancer.

“They are good.” Daesung agreed. He was impressed by how precise the dance moves were.

“Are they tall?” TOP couldn’t help but ask, noticing the pair appearing taller onscreen.

Seungri nodded. “The girl is a little bit shorter than me. She is taller than Jiyong and Youngbae. The boy is very tall.”

“The girl would have to be paired with maknae, Daesung, or Top.” G-Dragon noted. Height compatibility was just as important as any bit of choreography.

Taeyang let out a chuckle, shaking his head. “Do you think she would make Top-hyung look good?”

G-Dragon shrugged. “She could. It would be a chance to take.”

Seungri’s shoulders slumped. “But she and I have chemistry. You should have seen it, hyung. It was like she just knew what to do when I danced with her. I’ve never felt chemistry like this before… on the dance floor.”

Taeyang nodded in agreement. “They did look really good together, Ji. I was surprised. You needed to be there to see it.”

G-Dragon stretched back. “We start rehearsals in two days. Maybe we can do a trial to see who this girl would be paired best with.”

---

Natalia’s POV

“Natalia, Vincent, I’m glad you’re early. We have a lot to go over.” Shawn announced as he walked into the waiting room. Today was the day we got to sign our contracts to dance for YG Entertainment. Neither of us were sure how to dress, so Vincent had opted for a denim button up shirt and khakis, while I had gone with a simple blue long-sleeved formfitting dress and flats.

My brother and I stood from our spots and followed the choreographer into his office. He took his place behind the desk, and gestured to the couch on the other side. “Take a seat.”

We both sat down, and Shawn grabbed two folders. He quickly rummaged through each one, then handed one to each of us. “Don’t get too overwhelmed looking at those. We’ll go over everything.” He reached into a drawer and pulled out two additional packets and a few pens.

After getting situated, Shawn cleared his throat and smiled at us. “First of all, congratulations on becoming members of YG’s US Dance Crew. I’m really excited to have you guys on my crew. I think you’ll be a great contribution to not only YG, but to BIGBANG during the concert.”

“Believe me, sir, the pleasure is all ours. This is such a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Vincent replied excitedly.

“Well, I also want you two to know that this job isn’t just showing up and dancing. This isn’t easy. Let’s start with the basics.” He cleared his throat again and took a drink of water. “If you open your folders, you’ll see the first page is a page of requirements that come with being a dancer. You are mandated to be here, clocked in, a minimum of eight hours per day, six days a week. Now, that doesn’t mean that every hour you will be practicing in the dance studio. During this time, you’ll also be mandated to train a minimum of 2 hours with YG’s personal trainer, Hwang. Additionally, there will be costume fittings, hair and makeup practice, and if we see fit, modeling opportunities.

"Another added job with being dancers for BIGBANG is the possibility of being assistants for them if the situation may arise. This could be anything from getting them coffee when they’re rehearsing or in the recording studio, to accompanying them on music video sets to haul supplies and equipment. Whatever they want or need, you will be there to assist them.”

All I could do was nod. Despite the long hours, this was a dream come true. Dancing AND spending time with BIGBANG?

“As you can probably already guess, this job is full-time. It isn’t for anyone that just wants to have a little bit of fun. This is a job. It can transition into a career if you are serious enough. The next page in your folder is a base salary pay. I know there’s a lot of numbers on there, so I’ll break it down for you. YG takes pride in caring for their performers. During our time preparing here in Chicago, YG Entertainment will cover the expenses of an apartment, transportation, and meals while on the clock. Expenses such as groceries, clothing not related to performances, or recreational transportation will not be included. That will be up to you, which leads me to my next point. The starting salary for you both, after expenses are taken out, comes down to about twelve dollars an hour. YG will also provide plane ticket costs when we have to travel. You will get a bonus every concert or live performance you perform in. You will also keep seventy percent of the earnings made in modeling sessions.”

I bit my lip as I read the numbers. Twelve dollars an hour really didn’t seem like a lot, but I guess it would be okay since YG was providing us with a home.

“I’ll have you guys go ahead and flip to the next page. This page explains the exercise and diet regimen we expect all of our dancers to maintain. As YG dancers, we expect you to be in top physical and mental health. The diet and exercise program is not a suggestion; it comes with the job. It’s implemented not only to ensure you’re in the best shape for YG, but to ensure you maintain your health.”

“Wait, I’m confused,” Vincent interrupted, looking at the list of foods. “So we’re expected to pay for our groceries, but this list has a bunch of fruits and vegetables that I’ve never even heard of…. These can’t be cheap.”

“The list isn’t all-inclusive,” Shawn answered. “As long as you keep to the diet, you should be okay. Now, let’s continue with the rehearsal schedule. The other members of BIGBANG flew in from Korea yesterday. We are letting them rest and focus on critiquing their music the next couple of days. Which means, in three days we will be starting rehearsal. I expect you to be dressed, stretched, and ready by six in the morning on Monday. I expect you two to also be moved in to your new apartment by Monday so that way you don’t have to drive as far as you have been. Moving expenses will be covered, and we have some people that could help. After this, I’ll take you down to Human Resources so you can get your keys to your new place, directions, and set up moving times and assistance.”

After hearing all of what Shawn said, I felt sick to my stomach. It seemed that YG was going to be a tough company to work for. How could they expect us to drive over an hour back home, pack our stuff at home, load up a moving van, and drive to this new apartment we had never even seen? Not only that, but six in the morning until who knows when six days a week? The diet we needed to abide by were the least of our problems.

“Okay, I think we have everything covered. Do you guys have any questions for me?” Shawn folded his hands on top of his desk.

“Yeah,” Vincent cleared his throat. “Who’s going to help us move? There’s a lot we have to do in a short amount of time. I mean, I get it, this is crunch time, but I’m a little worried we aren’t going to be done in time. I mean, we don’t even have furniture for this new place. We don’t even know what the place looks like.”

Shawn nodded. “I can see where this is stressful. But don’t worry. We aren’t hanging you guys out to dry. First of all, don’t worry about furniture. Your apartment comes fully furnished. You’re staying in the same complex that YG has all of the employees staying at. It’s a nice complex. You guys have a nice two-bedroom apartment. It isn’t as big as, say BIGBANG’s apartment, but that’s to be expected. YG just wanted to make sure that we were all in the same area.”

“So we’re all in the same complex?” I couldn’t help but ask. I felt color creep onto my face. “Does that mean that BIGBANG live in the same complex?”

Shawn chuckled and nodded. “They’re in one of the penthouses on the top floor.” He set two contracts across from us, as well as two pens. “Now that I’ve gone over a summary of what to expect and what we expect of you, these are your contracts. They are yearly contracts, and will be renewed each year if things are going well. Sign on the line, and then you can head down to Human Resources to get everything going. After moving, I suggest you two rest up this weekend. It’s going to get busy fast.”

My brother and I both took a pen and looked at the contracts. I placed my pen on the paper, ready to sign my name. Before I signed, I looked at my brother. He looked back at me.

Were we ready to sign our souls over to YG?

“Alright.” Vincent muttered under his breath as he looked down at the contract. I watched him begin to sign his name, and then I signed my own.

Shawn smiled at us when we set down our pens. “Excellent. We’ll send copies of the contracts to your apartment. Human Resources is on the second floor. They should know you’re coming.” He stood, so we stood. Shawn smiled at us and held out his hand. “I’m so happy to have you guys on my team. It’s going to be a great tour. I can feel it.”

We shook his hand. “Thank you so much, Shawn. This is a great opportunity and we’ll try our hardest to make you and BIGBANG proud.” Vincent said.

Vincent and I made our way out of the office and headed to the elevator. I sighed. “We should be happy right now, right? Like, I know we’re supposed to be happy and we should be jumping up and down and going crazy. But… I don’t know,” I looked up at my twin as he hit the down elevator button. “Did we make the right choice?”

Vinny let out a breath and ran his hand through his wavy hair. “I think we did. It’s just a lot to take in, you know? All of the sudden we have to move to a place we didn’t even pick out. We won’t be able to sleep as much, and we won’t even be able to eat what we want. On top of that, we just barely got Mom and Pops on board with this. Now who knows what they’re going to think about us having to move to Chicago.”

The elevator opened, and we stepped in and turned around. “I know, maybe-“

I froze. My heart felt like it had stopped, and I couldn’t even open my mouth.

About one hundred feet away from us, walking out of a recording studio, were no other than Kwon Jiyong, Don Youngbae, Kang Daesung, Lee Seunghyun, and Choi Seunghyun.

We were just yards away from BIGBANG.

“Oh dear God.” Vinny exclaimed, eyes wide as we both gawked at our favorite band.

Before either of us could move, the elevator doors closed.

Vinny started nodding frantically. He turned to me. “Yeah. We made the right decision. Oh yeah. We really made the right decision.”