That night I could not sleep. Her words still echoed in my mind.

I lay on my bed, on top of the covers in my t-shirt and shorts. I could feel the cool summer breeze as it blew gently through the open window and into my room. I shared an apartment with five of my friends from university, our rooms were small and we could not afford luxuries such as air conditioning. I wasn’t complaining though, it was more than enough space for me since I had no visitors and Beijing was far hotter in the summer.

Faintly, I could hear my flatmates’ snores from the room next to mine as I stared idly at the dark ceiling. My body was tired but my mind was alert, buzzing with thoughts of the mystery woman.

‘How did she know?’ I muttered to myself over and over again.

I had considered many explanations as to how she might have recognised me but none of them seemed adequate. By the end of another few hours of consideration, I was sure I had never met her before, and if had, there was no way of her knowing that I had any form of supernatural power…

‘You’re one of them. What power do you possess?’

One of them.

My heart skipped a beat at the thought of there being other people like me in the world, that I may not be as alone as I had initially thought.

Quickly, I reached over to my jacket which was hanging on the wall, and dipped my hand into the pocket for the business card she had given me. Holding it up against the faint glow which seeped through my curtains, I watched as the moonlight reflected off the iconic silver writing.

SM Entertainment

The name was not unfamiliar to me. Anyone who had the slightest of interest in popular music would know that SM Entertainment was the company which produced legendary stars such as H.O.T, Shinhwa and DBSK. It was considered a miracle to be even considered by them.

The idea that I was one lucky few who had now been ‘scouted’ by SM was somewhat ironic, if not laughable. A few years ago, becoming a singer had been my dream. I had set my life on achieving the path of stardom and had even auditioned for other entertainment companies such as JYP, but I was unsuccessful. The rejection hurt me more than I could imagine. I did not understand why I was not chosen. I could both sing and dance well, was willing to give up everything I had and devote my life for it all and had spent hours and hours practising for that audition. Was that not enough for them?

Rejection made me see the reality of it all. That few were selected and even fewer were successful after years and years of hard work. It wasn’t just about talent, determination but luck also played a vital role. And thus my dreams were short-lived. Time passed and I gradually realised that I would be better off doing something more attainable, instead of chasing impossible fantasies and riding on false hope.

And now I had been chosen, just like that. No singing, no dancing, nothing. Just by walking on the street, someone had noticed me.  I now had in my hands a key into the world of entertainment.

But why?

I had heard about people being “scouted” before on the streets because they were extraordinarily attractive. But somehow, this felt different. She knew me. She knew what I had tried so hard to hide.

A few days passed and I attended college as usual. Nothing had changed, apart from the fact that I kept the business card constantly in my pocket. Occasionally, I would take it out and read it over once more, as if there might be a secret message behind it which I had not figured out. But of course, there was nothing else there.

I didn’t show my friends. Perhaps if she had approached me differently I would have told them but I kept it a secret.

Weekend came and my friends called me to join them in a game of soccer in the park but I turned it down, making up an excuse of going to see the doctors.

Surprisingly, my destination was easy to find. It was not too far by bus and within half an hour I arrived at the entrance of the renowned building of SM Entertainment.

I guess curiosity won in the end.