Vizio was in the middle of listening to music and practicing her facial expression in the mirror. She had missed her appointment with the President of NH Media the day before due to her vocal trainer putting her through extra lessons. The President knew that was the reason and didn’t really mind since they could meet the next day – which is why Vizio is standing in the lobby, looking in the mirror, making faces at herself.

            “Vizio Chen!” a lady’s voice calls out from across the room. Vizio can’t hear her due to her loud music playing through her earbuds which are inserted into her ears. “Vizio Chen!”

            The lady sighs and is about to get up when another girl taps on the shoulder of Vizio to get her attention. “Excuse me~!”

            Vizio turns around to face the girl, pulling her earbuds out of her ears and smiling slightly. “A-Annyeong haseyo!” Vizio says, bowing to the girl in front of her. Vizio didn’t know a lot of Korean, but she was learning. She knew the basics and could carry a bit of a conversation: Introducing herself, asking where the restroom is, and if she could get a discount. Just the basics. She usually carries a Chinese to Korean translation book around with her, but today, she forgot it. The one day she may possibly need it with her every second.

            “Annyeong haseyo!” the girl bows back, “That lady called your name.”

            Vizio just stares at the girl and repeats one line she learned when first studying Korean, “My Korean is bad. Can you speak more slowly?” She said the last line, but didn’t necessarily mean it. Of course if the girl spoke slower, Vizio wouldn’t understand it anyways.

            “What language do you speak?” the girl asked Vizio in Korean, tilting her head slightly and watching the slightly nervous Vizio. Vizio understood a bit of that sentence: ‘Eottoeon eon-‘ which meant something along the line of ‘language’, ‘dangsin-eun’ which meant ‘you’ and ‘-leul gusa-‘ which meant something around ‘speak’. Vizio put the sentence together in her head as quickly as she can and smiled, feeling proud of herself. What language do I speak? I think that is what she asked!

            Vizio learned how to say her languages names in Korean just in case she ever got in the situation. She wishes at the moment how she wouldn’t practiced more – or at least brought her book. “Mandarin and Cantonese.”

            “Mandarin?” the girl smiles and starts speaking Mandarin. “I don’t speak much, but I am learning Mandarin. I can help you if you like.”

            Vizio’s eyes widen and a smile forms on her face. She couldn’t believe her luck!

            “Yes, please! What did you need?”

            The girl pauses for a minute, making sure she understands Vizio’s Mandarin. She speaks slowly, “The lady at the desk called you over.”

            Vizio looks at the lady then back at the girl and speaks in  her Korean, “Kamsahamnida (Thank you)! I’m Vizio. It is nice to meet you.”

            “Vizio? Unique! I like it! I’m Seung Me. It’s nice to meet you, too!” the girl, Seung Me, smiling to the smiling Vizio. “I better go. I have a meeting tomorrow. I need to prepare! Bye!”

            Seung Me bows to the anxious Vizio and Vizio bows back, and then skips to the desk to greet the lady.

            “Annyeong haseyo! Vizio imnida! I’m here!” Vizio smiles. Little did Vizio know, she was supposed to say “Na yeogi-isseo” for ‘I’m here’ and she actually said “Na yeomi-isseo” which means ‘Hang on to me’. The lady chuckles and looked at her computer screen.

            “The President wants to see you. Follow the hall and his door is on the left. Have a good day and good luck!” the lady smiles at Vizio, keeping her eyes on the computer screen. Vizio stares at the lady. All she understood was the ‘good luck’ part. She just blinks at the lady and the lady looks at her.

            Vizio swings her arms at her sides and she looks down, speaking to the woman, “My Korean is bad.”

            “Oh! I forgot! You are the Chinese girl, right?” The lady asks, surprisingly in Mandarin. “I know several languages. The President mentioned you. He said you would be a challenge with the language barrier. If you ever need help, come and ask me. Now, follow the hall and the door on the left with the gold plate on the door with ‘President’ on it is where you need to go. Goodbye and good luck!”

            Vizio nods, understanding the lady. She walks the hall in search of the door. Several workers at the company watch the girl who is trying to ‘swag walk’ as some call it. The lady watches Vizio go down the hall and chuckles to herself. Very unique indeed, the lady says in her mind.

            She reaches the door and notices another lady standing about 50 feet away from her just staring at her. Vizio looks behind herself and then at the lady. She points at herself and mouths, “Mworago (What)?”

            The lady looks away and Vizio shrugs it off. She knocks on the door, bouncing on her heels with excitement. She had a good feeling about this meeting with the President. Before she knows it, she is in the office, talking to the President of NH Media.

            She zoned out halfway through the conversation. The President was doing it again, stalling. He was talking about his family. Vizio had been staring so long that her eyes started to cross.

            “You will debut next year. There is a meeting here tomorrow at 11 a.m. I expect you to be on time. It will be in the main office,” the President says in his broken Cantonese. Vizio comes back to reality and blinks. Was he for real?

            “Are you serious?” she says loudly, standing up.

            “Of course I am. I don’t joke.”

            “Yay!” she claps her hands together once, happily. She bows and says in Korean, “Kamsahamnida!”

            “Don’t forget, tomorrow at 11 A.M.!” he says as she walks out the door.

            She nods, peeking her head around the door at him and flashes him a ‘peace sign’. She shuts the door and runs down the hall to see the lady at the front desk.

            “Yo! Lady! I am going to debut next year! I did it!” Vizio says, reaching the lady’s desk and smiling wide. “Also, do you know where I can find the nearest coffee shop?”

            “No, but I know a great little café down the street.”

            With that, Vizio and the lady at the desk start discussing places for Vizio to check out and view. Vizio is ecstatic that she is going to debut as a singer. She is already an actress, but being a singer just makes things so much better. Vizio the singer. I like it! Vizio says in her mind, grinning.