The phone was ringing.  Noelle blinked her eyes in confusion.  It took a moment to remember where she was. 

“Hello?”

“Ah.. well .. No-Lin, its David.”  David Coty was Weasel’s manager and the main coordinator for the tour.  No-Lin was short for Noelle Linden, a nickname the tour group had given her.   

“Oh .. hey David.  What’s up.”

“Well.  There was abit of an incident last night.  It looks like we’ll be in Seoul for another week.  If there’s anything you need just let me know, but in the mean-time just relax and enjoy yourself.  Think of it as a vacation.”

“What happened??”

“Well.  The boys got into some trouble last night.  The local authorities have requested that we stay and sort things out.”

Noelle groaned.

“What about the Tokyo concert?”

“Postponed.  Already in the works.”

“David, gah!” Noelle pushed her fingers roughly threw her hair as she paced across the room’s tiny stretch of open carpet. “ I’m going to go stir crazy being stuck in here for a week.  I don’t speak a word of Korean. What the heck am I supposed to do.“

“Well.  If you want to get some work done I might be able to hook up a studio session for you.  I know a few people in the city.”

Noelle’s heart skipped a beat.

“That would be amazing David, thank you.”

After hanging up, she bit her lip as the idea settled in.  Heading back to the laptop, Noelle Googled “common Korean conversation phrases” and said a prayer that whoever David set her up to work with spoke English.

The next morning was warm and sunny.  Noelle felt comfortable and relaxed in her cut-offs and worn Nocona boots as she waited in the hotel’s lobby.  Her laptop was tucked into a large bag hoisted across her shoulder.  The basic layouts of 5 new songs she wanted to work on were safely stored on the hard drive as well as a flash stuffed in her pocket.  She patted it absent-mindedly.

“Miss Linden?”

Noelle turned to face the voice.  The guy approaching her looked about her age.  He wore an oversized hoodie, baggie jeans and huge sneakers. She smiled and extended her hand.

“Ahn-nyeong hah-seh-yo.  I’m Noelle.”

The young man hesitated, suddenly looking shocked.  After a short pause he replied, “Ahn-nyeong hah-seh-yo.  I’m Kush.  I work with Teddy over at YG.  I’m gonna take you over there.”

“Oh! You speak English so well,” Noelle gushed thankfully before blushing in embarrassment as she suddenly felt inadequate and terrified of appearing rude.

Kush grinned sheepishly and slowly took her hand while dipping his head.  After a single shake, he dropped it and said “Yeah quite a few of us do.  Don’t worry about that.”

The building they pulled into was like a work of art.  All steel and glass, the unexpected shape was beautiful and intimidating at the same time.  As they got out of the car and approached the entrance, Noelle spotted a young Korean girl parking her bike next to the entrance.  They headed towards the door at the same time.  As the group converged the girl placed her finger on the fingerprint scanner mounted on the outside wall next to the entrance.  Smiling shyly, she turned to Kush and Noelle.  Her eyes darted to Kush.  Her head dipped quickly as she gave him a greeting in Korean. 

Noelle was fascinated.  The girl was adorable.  She looked like a heroine out of a fantasy anime.  Her hair was full and cut in a short bouncy bob.  She moved like a tomboy, but her figure was cute and feminine.

Noelle smiled and said, “Hello.”

The girl’s face exploded into a toothy grin.  “Hello,” she replied.

Kush quickly said something to the girl that Noelle couldn’t understand.  He then turned to her.  “This is Minzy.  She’s part of the girl group Twenty-one.”

Noelle hadn’t heard of Twenty-one but she made a mental note to Google it as soon as she got back to her hotel room.  Minzy said something else as she looked up shyly through her thick dark bangs.

“She says you have pretty eyes and that you look like Snow White,” Kush chuckled.

Noelle laughed, “You look like Kairi.” She replied.

The elevator took them upwards.  As the doors opened, Minzy quickly waved and hurried off down the hall.  Noelle followed her in the opposite direction, then into a sleek and efficient looking production studio room.  Inside, two young men huddled over a computer monitor talking animatedly while a third, face hidden inside a pulled down hoodie, seemed to nap in the far corner.  The two at the computer turned and fell silent as they spied the newcomers. 

Noelle awkwardly shifted her weight placing her body slightly behind Kush.  She stuffed her hand into the pocket of her cut-off jean shorts and wrapped it firmly around the flash drive.  The presence of the familiar object reminded her of why she was here, making her feel more secure and confident.

“Yo, Teddy this is Noelle Linden,” Kush turned to the side and swept his arms towards her as if to formally present her to a crowd.  The one she assumed to be Teddy swiveled the chair around to face her.  His face was expressionless for a few seconds as he seemed to consider something.  After a moment, he rose and extended his hand.

“Hey.  Nice to meet you.”  Jerking his thumb behind him he added, “this is G Dragon and that guy in the corner is Top.”

Noelle blinked.  G-Dragon? Top? Where those really their names?

Teddy suddenly grinned.  “They are members of the group Big Bang.  Those are their stage names.”

“Ah I see.” Noelle smiled back and shook G-Dragon's hand.

“So I hear you want to record some vocals?” Teddy rubbed his hands together greedily.

“Yeah,” Noelle fished the flash drive out of her pocket. “Here are the rough instrumental cuts.”

For the next few minutes they laid out a game plan.  G-Dragon watched quietly from the side but seemed to listen intently.  The guy Teddy called Top continued his nap. 

When they were finally ready to start recording, Teddy and Kush stepped away to set up the equipment.   Noelle sat down and examined each of them for a moment. They were all wearing hoodies she suddenly realized.  Was that some kind of Korean fashion statement?  She glanced over at the sleeper.  She couldn’t make out much except for a figure buried under baggy cotton clothing, but his hands were fine with long slender fingers covered in bulky silver rings.  She thought the effect of the silver with the darker olive Asian skin tone was a handsome contrast.  She glanced at her own hands.  Silver would make her Irish coloring just look blotchy and uneven she rued. 

“All ready,” Teddy called.

Noelle stepped into the booth and settled the headphones over her ears.  As the first notes began, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.  The world melted away like rain on watercolors.  She lifted her face to the microphone and, as if singing to a lover, soulfully confessed a sea of melancholy emotions.

The morning sky is dropping rain

like tears all over this new dress

I’ve worn just for you.

The bus is full of travellers

Staring into their own worlds;

But as for me, I see only you

Sitting in the spot you keep each day

As I keep mine; folding my hands

And stealing glances

In silence I tell you my dreams.

In silence you tell me your hopes.

Strangers, each day we play this game

like the dances of those who came before,

Timid and tender; full of sweet possibility ….

When she was done, Noelle opened her eyes and saw one thing.  The sleeper was awake and looking at her with an intensely puzzled expression.  He was the single most beautiful thing Noelle had ever seen.