Eyes watched the foreign woman. She tucked a brown lock of hair behind her right ear as she kept her head down. Some felt bad for giving her a hard time, yet if they decided to, as Eunbi almost had, they’d too become social outcast. Jae was nice enough, but saying she didn’t fit in was far from an understatement.      

            Jae continued walking, the slight whispers engulfing her. She cleared as her mind and heart raced. She had always prided herself in not giving a what anyone said about her. Not to misunderstand, Jae was a kind and compassionate person, however she found it pointless to dwell too long on the negative thoughts of others. Life was hard enough with her own thoughts to have to listen to others. Yet, as she heard her name being thrown around over a dozen times in just the few seconds she’d stepped inside the building, it began to get harder to ignore.

            Jae did her best to keep her eyes glued to the ground. Not due to inferiority or fear, but because she knew if she made any sort of eye contact, she’d fight. A slow released breath through her nostrils just managed to control her temper. It’d been a month and the others still ignored her and rolled their eyes at her and a week since Eunbi stopped talking to her as well. She sat at her desk, only managing to turn on her computer when Eunbi appeared. “Boss wants to see you,” she stated with a hint of pity and regret.

            It didn’t take long for Jae to reach the head architects door. felt sore as she knew this was not good. “Come in,” he spoke somberly. Jae took a cautious step forward. “No,” he boomed as she closed the door behind her. Her heart quickened, nearly making her sick. This DEFINITELY was not good. “Have a seat.”

            She did as he instructed, her defiant stare meeting his glare, despite of how anxious she was. “What seems to be the problem, sir?”  He continued to stare at her without a response, his fingertips pressed together like some cheesy supervillain. “Sir,” Jae repeated.

            “Toma,” he addressed. “For the construction documents, how many meters did you place between the two walls in the main living space?”

            Jae didn’t take very long to answer; she’d been blessed with an almost photographic memory. “Ten and a half, sir.”

            His eyes darkened at such a nonchalant manner in responding. However, the open door had a reason. He was to make an example of her. “And why the hell would you do that?”

            The pretty woman’s own gaze gloomed. She released one last controlled breath as her hands tightened on the chair. “Because you told me to do so, sir.”

            “I did not!” The insult in his voice made her want to laugh. “I would never make such an idiotic mistake,” his voice rose. “Are you mentally deficient?” He tapped at his temple. “Can you not think straight or do you just like being completely useless? This error is going to cost our company a fortune. How do you plan to fix that?”

            Jae’s breathing had slowly become rapid. Jae could handle many insults, being called stupid was not one of them. The day of the documentation annotation still clear in her mind. Her eyes had narrowed at such a small number. She’d asked him if he was sure, even trying to show him the papers with such a small space gap. “I don’t, sir.” She stood up, knowing full well this was meant to embarrass her. “You will, sir. I tried to inform you of your mistake.” He opened his mouth ready to call her out on a lie. “You were wearing a bright blue shirt with a coffee stain on the right pocket. It was 9:46 in the morning with a slight chance of rain. You ordered ten and a half meters and when I tried to tell you it was off—” She raised her hands in quotations marks. “I was rebuffed with an eye roll and ‘I know what I’m doing, now do your job’.” The light in his eyes began to flicker as the memory processed in his mind. The error of his words reaching him like a strike of lightning. “And before you deny it, sir, both the interior decorator and electrician stood by your side. I’m sure we can call them and confirm such measurements.” He remained silent, the crowd of workers undoubtedly behind her. “We can place the call over speaker if you’d like.”

            He shook his head, his heart at his throat. “That won’t be necessary. You are excused.”

            Jae scoffed and shook her head. “Please, call me in if you have trouble remembering any other details sir,” she responded politely, yet her words oozing with cynicism. The gazes and whispers only increased throughout the day, making it difficult to forget the event. The day passed in a blur and before she knew it, Jae was home.

            Her body lay on her bed, the room spinning from the sheer exhaustion and fury. She glared at the ceiling, refusing to cry from being called useless and stupid. She tossed her work badge across the room. After experiencing a few weeks of hell she felt ready to punch her fist through a wall. Jae clenched her hands, knuckles turning white. The absolute willpower she'd expressed the last days was astonishing. As a fairly confrontational person, she had to bite her tongue as her competence was continually questioned. No one called her useless. Not anymore. “I can prove them wrong,” she whispered. She groaned aloud as she sat up, her eyes instantly coming in contact with the card pasted on her mirror. A smile began to form on her lips. The ultimate proof of just how multi-talented she was, she thought. “Why the hell not,” she mumbled as she reached for her cell phone and card. What did she have to lose? It was all becoming a nightmare, like it had always become. “Hello, this is Jae Toma.” 

*   *   *

            For once her being different was embraced instead of shunned. Her appointment was scheduled for what felt only hours later. Everyone seemed to love how unlike the others. Sure they had had Americans audition before, but they were dissimilar physically and characteristically. Upon noting that she spoke Korean, a set of nods appeared across the judging table. They looked over her paper work impressed by her heritage and education. She was special as she heard most of them whispering.

            It all seemed to pass in a haze. She didn't feel nervous, because in all actuality she wasn't dependent on their response. She had a life and not a single part of it would be altered by what they thought of her. She had a job in South Korea (despite it’s hostility), a home back in the States, and a passion for dancing. “You are dancing for you, not for anyone else,” she whispered as she stood before a table of three judges. And when the music came on, she lost herself in the beat. She allowed the rhythm to flow through her like always and poured her entire heart in her choreography.

            The only thing keeping her in the present were the occasional sighs of surprise and claps from the judges. Her body gracefully glided across the floor as she added ballet, popped when she added hip-hop, flipped when she added acrobatics, and swayed when she added a modern touch. She lay on the ground when the music ceased, her chest rising and falling steadily, her forehead slightly sweaty. She swiftly stood up and bowed. “Thank you,” she announced in her best Korean. She was unsure of what they thought of her dancing style. Whether it was too hectic, too amateur, too American. Honestly, she didn't care. Her adrenaline was racing and the smile on her face made her feel like she had just performed an amazing feat. She sighed a breath of relief as she picked up her gym bag. It had been much too long since she had danced.

            Surprisingly, it didn't take very long for her to hear back. They wanted to represent her and train her. As the free spirit that she was she accepted without a second thought. She loved South Korea, the food, the sights. Sure culturally she needed to get a little more used to it, but that would only take time. Her internship would be ending in a week, clearing her schedule seamlessly. As she laid in bed that night, like only a few days prior, she thought she should be scared. She was sure she should be panicking by this point. She had indeed told herself this was nothing at all. Just a chance, but her mind told her this was so much more.

            Dancing was her one true escape. The one thing she could do effortlessly and be herself. Yet here she was about to turn something that she utterly loved and make it into a means of living. And what about architecture? She studied for years, it's all she ever thought about. How could she so easily change her life? But she wasn't scared. Not a part of her thought that there was anything menacing about her decision. It almost felt like this was just how it was always meant to be. Like all the events that led her to the very moment where her hand lay on the contract, pen in hand, had been for this. Only this. Her hand had only slightly hesitated before dragging the pen across with her signature. She was a part of the company and there was no going back.

            In the end, this had to be a better alternative to what she had been experiencing at the architecture firm and perhaps what awaited back home. Being surrounded by a batch of foreign women almost felt comforting. There was no discrimination, how could there be when they were all away from home. Not to mention, Jae had become the go to person for translations. With four languages under her belt, the girls trusted her and found her entirely charismatic. With the exception of one. Though, Jae could not feel necessarily insulted as Chatmanae didn’t like anyone.

            “Jae, why are you not living with us in the dorms,” Yuki spoke up, out of breath. The six young woman had just finished running three miles in the early morning. Training was immediate. They had to be in tip top shape for upcoming events. Although the women were only expected to be background characters in performances and entertainment, SM was not known to have subpar artist, only the best.

            Jae scratched the back of her head. “I was conned.” The other four woman watched her. She decided to speak English as this had to be the most common language in all the mixed ethnicities. “I—uhm—was tricked, fooled. My contract was meant to be for three months, but was secretly changed to 12 months without my knowledge.” She sighed, reflecting on her luck. “The amount of money to break the contract is outrageous and well the company doesn’t want me to go to court. President Lee Man Soo has instructed me to live out the rest of my contract, however, I must come to all training proceedings and will move to the dorms as soon as the lease is up.”

            The girls nodded in shock. “Aren’t you afraid to live alone,” whispered a shy Anna.

            Jae pursed her lips together. “Not really. Besides I’m sure I’m going to be staying over plenty of nights.” When she said those words, Jae didn’t know just how true they were. She took training seriously. She stayed up late in the dance studio to go over the choreographer’s lessons. The rest of the women weren’t quitters, they just weren’t fresh off of all-nighters and soul crushing critiques as Jae was. Jae learned faster and better than any of the others, but she shared her knowledge and skill. Unanimously, she became their secret leader.