Taeyeon got home late because of heavy traffic and as soon as she got home, the first thing she did was reach for a bag of chips and hiked up the stairs to her room. Upon reaching her room, she threw the bag of chips on the bed as well as herself. She ate while lying down and anxiously thinking to herself.

“What if they don’t notify me? What if I don’t make it? What if I make it but then they realize that I’m not cut out for the job? What am I gonna do next? What’s my next job gonna be?!” Taeyeon thought out loud while chomping on potato crisps. “I’m overeating again. Damn!” Taeyeon threw the bag of chips to the other side of the bed and curled up into a small ball like a cat.

“Why does my life have to be so stressful? I haven’t fought with anyone before…well except for the cussing but that was the first. I haven’t stolen anything. I haven’t done anything wrong in my life?!” Taeyeon thought of her short lived career as a writer and a reporter. That was all she ever wanted in her life and it slipped away from her hands.

“If good things happen to good people, I must be a really bad person. I try and try my very best to be nice but why does still happen to me?” Taeyeon began to feel down and hopeless. So depressed that she reached for the bag of chips and sat up and continued eating through the bag.

“I sound like crazy. I keep saying things out loud like someone’s gonna even listen to me or hear me. Why should I feel so down? It’s not like anything’s happened already. What’s passed has passed. This is a new chance! A new chapter!” Taeyeon said out loud like she was just reporting. Feeling a little bit more inspired, Taeyeon sat up and ate through the bag with gusto. She reached for the remote control and turned the TV on.

And another great surprise greeted her.

There, on TV, was her ex-co host Kim Junsu with a brand new reporter sitting where she used to sit. And not just that, the news item they were reporting on broke her heart even more.

“And on the Entertainment side, automobile heir Park Jung Soo is planning to enter the entertainment industry as well as release his own line of clothes and perfume.” Taeyeon felt weak on the spot. Her happy face was slowly dissolving into a pokerface and morhping into a sad face. Feeling down, she lay on the bed with the open bag of chips and cointinued eating in huge amounts this time. A tear was threatening to fall down her cheek. She couldn’t bear the sight of Leeteuk.
Can you please just die right now? Seriously! I can’t get anything done with your face all over the press. Taeyeon stood up and turned the TV off, getting out of bed and going down to the kitchen to fix herself a cup or two of coffee. After the coffee was made, she grabbed a cup and poured some into it while singing her own version of “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. She twisted the lyrics ain order to make herself feel good and half-yelled it, often going out of tune.

Prancing queen, old and mean only 23
Prancing queen, sing the hymn with the violin…OH YEAH!!!
I can’t dance! But I can write
Been doing it all my life
OHHHHHH~see that girl, watch that scene
Dig in the prancing queeeeeeennnn~

While caught up in the moment, the coffee flowed past the brim and began to touch Taeyeon’s hand. Feeling an extremely hot sensation on her hand, Taeyeon threw the coffee maker and grasped her hand, screaming non-stop while frantically looking for a towel to wipe her hand with.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! SHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIITTTTTTTT!!!” she yelped. Taeyeon wrapped the towel around the burnt hand and held it close to her chest. Her eyes were in tears and she bit her lip harder and harder til it bled. “! ! !” she leaned against the wall and wiped her hand dry. After a few minutes, the pain subsided and Taeyeon was in a world of relief. She leaned on the wall and slide down to sit on the floor. Her cup was still on the counter top, filled with hot, caffeine laden coffee.

I am never singing while filling a container up again. Ever. Taeyeon stood up and held the cup by the handle, carefully bending forward to sip the excess coffee to lessen the amount. It was still too hot, burning her tongue and making her jerk backwards. Now it was her tongue that was hurting.

If you wanna pretty, everyone a pretty…

With an injured hand, Taeyeon stood up and lazily walked towards the table where her cellphone was. She picked it up and answered the call.

“Hello?”

“Taeyeon, it’s Onew. I want you to check your email now! The results have come in!” Onew excitedly told her. Taeyeon felt a combination of excitement and lack of enthusiasm which was quite hard for her to comprehend. Nonetheless, she moved from her spot and went up to her room where her pretty pink laptop was. She plopped on the bed, with the bag of chips still beside her.

“Dammit! I forgot my coffee mug. Thanks a lot Onew!” Taeyeon wasn’t really annoyed or frustrated with Onew. She just took her heartbreak over Leeteuk and her clumsiness with the coffee maker out on him.

“What’d I do?” he asked innocently.

“I heard your voice and all of a sudden my day went bad!” Taeyeon went back down to get her coffee mug and once it was in her hand, she carefully made her way back up to her room with her phone on her ear.

“Well? Have you checked the results yet?” Onew said ignoring her childish rant.

“Not yet. Can’t you hear me going up the stairs?” Taeyeon entered her room and carefully placed the coffee mug on the side table before comfortably throwing herself on the bed and munching on the chips again while checking her email.

“Are you sure the results have come out?” Taeyeon scrolled through her thousands of emails sent by distant friends, some concerned relatives, and her endless Facebook notifications and online subscriptions. Since she received a good 65 emails today, it took her some time before she could actually find what she was looking for. “I haven’t-”

Then, it hit her.

From: IPC Talent Management
To: Kim Taeyeon.

Congratulations! You are one of the 35 selected hopefuls to undergo training in our company in order to prepare you for superstardom. We hope to see more of you and we hope to see your full potential shine beyond our grounds.

Please come in your most presentable self on Thursday for your Artist Briefing.

Thank you and we look forward to working with you.

Taeyeon was shocked out of her wits and read the email over and over again, even putting the laptop close to her face to make sure she was reading the real thing.

Dammit, it’s real! Taeyeon thought.

“What? Have you received it? Did you receive anything?” Onew asked again.

“I ING MADE IT!!!!” Taeyeon burst out with joy. “I ING MADE IT, LEE JIN KI! I MADE IT! I PASSED THE AUDITION! I’M GONNA BE A STAR! I’M GONNA BE FAMOUS! I’M GONNA KICK LEETEUK’S LYING, CHEATING, WOMANIZING !” Onew grinned to himself at the mention of Leeteuk’s name. He knew it. He knew it all along. No matter how much Taeyeon denied it, it was still Leeteuk she loved.

“I’M GONNA BE SO FAMOUS THAT ALL THE BOYS WILL LOVE ME AND ASK ME TO MARRY THEM AND LEETEUK WILL BE REJECTED BY THAT EUN HYE CHICK AND HE WILL BE FOREVER ALONE AND HE WILL COME BEGGING FOR ME TO COME BACK TO HIM BUT I WILL BE FA-”

“Okay, okay.” Onew calmed her down. “Do you really want to be a star or are you doing this just for Leeteuk?” Taeyeon calmed down and blinked twice.

“I want to be a star. I want to have a job. I want my life back.” Taeyeon said desperately.

“Good. Please drop by my office tomorrow morning.”

“Tomorrow morning? But this email says Thursday.”

“I say tomorrow morning. You have an appointment with a group of people tomorrow morning so I strongly suggest that you come.”

“What’s it about?”

“You’ll see when you get here tomorrow.”

“Fine. Because of you, I now feel pressured to sew something new to wear!” Taeyeon complained.

“You don’t have to look glamorous tomorrow. You can just come in a shirt and jeans.”

“Alright.”

“Good then. Tomorrow morning at 8. See you!” Onew hung up on her. Taeyeon detatched the phone from her ear and looked at it. It was pretty, pink, and bright and shiny with a small lollipop hanging from the end. Taeyeon smiled at it. She lifted her head and looked around her room which made her smile. She then realized how much she loved pink and figured what she would do once she had the money.

When I start earning money again, I’m gonna jazz this place up! Pinkify it to the max!
Taeyeon spent the entire evening alone, watching TV, drinking coffee and eating bag after bag of chips. She was surprised at how she was still so empty despite of the junk foods that she had already eaten. This only made her want to eat more.

I hate being depressed. It’s one of those days when you just sit on your bed and eat and before you know it, you’re fat and you didn’t even feel a thing!

Taeyeon finished her second bag of chips and 4th cup of coffee as well as her 3rd TV-movie. She looked at her alarm clock and saw that it wasl already 12 mn. She rolled her eyes and turned the TV off, forcing herself to sleep though the caffeine was really keeping her up. No matter how hard she tried to shut her eyes and bury herself in the sheets, the comfort of the blankets and the softness of the bed were no match for the heavy caffeine in her body. Taeyeon couldn’t bear lying down and tossing and turning.

Sooner or later I’m gonna have to get up and do something to keep me busy. Thought the young starlet. She pulled the sheets off and walked around her room and went downstairs for a glass of cold water. Taking the pitcher out of the fridge, Taeyeon sat down in the dining room and drank endless glasses of water, making her feel full. She later felt the urge to go the bathroom and this happened several times as she had finished an entire pitcher.

Water wasn’t the only beverage there. There were others. Several others. Vodka. Brandy. Whiskey. Tequila. These were all Onew’s drinks. The drinks that he’d have when his friends would come over. The thought of her getting drunk again before a meeting was inviting but the previous hangover incident haunted her and since she wanted this job more than anything in the world and to hold on to it, she had to show exemplary behavior.

I am not drinking. No matter what happens, I am not grabbing a wine glass and pouring some vodka into it, sitting down…

Taeyeon was narrating the sequence of drinking wine in her head while slowly standing up to pour herself a glass of wine. She snapped out of her trance and saw herself with the glass and put it down.

No! You will not drink! You have an appointment tomorrow…but maybe a little wine won’t hurt. Taeyeon drank the vodka and as soon as the glass was empty, she grabbed the tequila bottle and poured herself a glass. She drank it straight up and started to feel a little bit tipsy.

This is the last bottle I’m drinking. No more…Her mistake was forgetting to put the bottle away, thus leading to more temptation. History repeats itself, as it is said. Taeyeon poured herself drink after drink until she was too drunk to stand from where she was. Out of drunkeness, she passed out and fell asleep on the table.
 

If you wanna pretty, everyone a pretty…

Taeyeon’s cellphone rang and rang, waking her up. She picked her phone up and answered it.

“Hello?” she said with a groggy voice.

“Good morning, Taeyeon! I hope you’re getting ready. Your meeting is in an hour!” as Taeyeon listened to Onew’s rambling, she got up and ran to the shower to freshen up after a night of endless drinking. She put her pink phone on loudspeaker and placed it on top of the toilet bowl with its cover down. While showering, she could hear Onew reminding her about what to bring and about the proper decorum.

“Why is the water running? Did you just wake up?” Taeyeon had to come up with some clever excuse for him not to know that she had just woken up.

“I’m just washing my face. I need to look fresh, don’t I?” Taeyeon replied. Onew didn’t seem to mind and just said,

“Don’t put on makeup. We want you to look as natural as possible.” he reminded.

“Is this some kind of an au-naturale photoshoot?”

“It’s not a photoshoot. You’ll see when you get here. So make it quick.” Taeyeon turned the knob and reached for her pink towels. One to wrap around her body and another to wrap around her hair. She carefully stepped out and grabbed her phone.

“Onew I gotta run! I have to drive now. I’ll call you later.”

“Wait-” Taeyeon hung up on Onew and ran to her dresser. She opened her cabinet and looked through her clothes. Everything was so glamorous and either for business or for partying. Seeing nothing, she grabbed her pink undergarments and put them on.

Simple. Simple. Think simple! Taeyeon looked through her other cabinet which was where the non-pink, ordinary clothes went. There she found mountains and piles of clothes which she rarely used or if she did, used at home. She found a hot pink top and black shorts.

These look ordinary. If this is what Onew meant by natural then I’m going for it. Taeyeon put these clothes on and with wet hair, she ran to her dresser and dried it with her pink hairdryer, looking in the mirror.

! I only have 30 minutes left! With half-dry hair, Taeyeon ran out of her room with her phone and her handbag and jumped into her car. The young star-to-be drove down the road like a racer.

“I told Taeyeon to come on or before time. What’s taking her so long?” Worried that the assistants he hired were getting bored, he decided to call Taeyeon up.

If you wanna pretty, everyone a pretty…

Taeyeon was driving down while scruffing her hair and eating a cup of yogurt. She put the yogurt down and with a spoon still in , she answered the phone.

“HFELLO?”

“Taeyeon, where are you?”

“Caught in traffic.” she was actually still on her way.

“Really? The road is pretty smooth from up here.” Onew said eyeing the highway from his building waiting to catch a glimpse of the pink Cadillac.

“I’m on my way, just wait for me and don’t do anything special yet.” Taeyeon hung up and drove while eating her yogurt.

She got to the InnerPowerCore Company parking lot and parked carelessly, almost slamming her car to the post. She stepped on the brakes and took a deep breath.

That was ing close. Okay. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Good. Taeyeon smiled calmly as she rubbed the steering wheel. Her entire body was shaking, traumatized with her almost hitting of the post. Since she wasn’t in heels, walking wouldn’t be a problem for her. Taeyeon stepped out in her pink keds with her bag and her phone in hand and ran to the door. It was the first time she had run that fast since she stopped wearing heels back in her journalist days.

“Good morning!” greeted the security guard. Taeyeon smiled at the guard and dashed to the elevator. She pushed 5th floor button and surprisingly, the elevator went up fast! She was on the 5th floor and was running like the wind to Onew’s office.

“Where could she be?” he pranced around with the assistants watching him when Taeyeon burst into the room with her bag on her shoulder and her phone in her hand.

“I have arrived.” she panted with a smile. Onew saw her get up and looked at her confusedly. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed.

“When I said simple, I meant simple and decent.” Taeyeon’s arms dropped and so did her jaw. She almost dropped her bag and phone but she she pulled herself together and confronted Onew.

“Look, it’s not the outfit that’s important it’s the person. So give me what I came here for.” Taeyeon aggresively countered.

“Wow! This is the first time you used “outfit” and “not important” in a sentence together.” Taeyeon raised her eyebrow and walked towards him. She acted like she was just at home and threw her bag on his chair, sat on his table and showed his assistants her most relaxed self. The assistants looked at each other and at Onew with a look that said, ‘Is this the kind of talent that you handle?’. He scooted over to Taeyeon who was calmly seated on his table, swinging her legs back and forth.

“Don’t you know that the talent you handle is a reflection of yourself?” Onew whispered to her.

“I know. Well you’re a scatterbrain and your talent is a piece of . Quits!” Taeyeon crossed her legs and smiled at him. Onew shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

“Taeyeon, please. Get down from there!”

“I don’t want to!” she maintained. “They want to handle me, they better know me and they better know how to deal with me.”

“This is embarrassing!” Onew begged. Taeyeon looked at him and threw her bag at him.

“You’re embarrassing! You come here scheduling a meeting and you can’t even get anything started! Come on! Let’s meet up now!” Taeyeon threw her hands up in the air and cocked her head to the side. “Come at me, bro!” Onew furrowed his brows and ran a hand through his hair once more.

“First your outfit, then your behavior. What else could be more embarrassing?” Onew gave himself a facepalm. Taeyeon jumped down from the table and walked towards thet wo assistants who were just watching the awkward situation.

“What have you two got for me?” the two assistants looked at each other with confused faces.

“We’re your fashion consultants.” said the first one.
“We’re here to ensure you that you always look beautiful.”

“And to pick out hairstyles and outfits for you.” This baffled Taeyeon so much that she objected.

“Woah. What did you just say? Pick hairstyles and outfits for me?” Taeyeon furrowed her brows in disappointment. “Girls, I love you and all and I think that you are great fashion consultants but nobody, I repeat, nobody cramps Kim Taeyeon’s style. You understand me?” The fashion consultants looked intimidated, and were actually intimidated by the 5’2” journalist’s feist when it came to her style.

“And what is the Kim Taeyeon style, might we ask?” asked the first one. Taeyeon cocked her head to the side and gave them a mean girl smirk.

“Don’t the bag, the shirt, the shoes, and the nail polish tell you enough?” she showed them all her pinkness. “Pink. Don’t mess with the Pink.” Taeyeon said. The two assistants looked at each other once more.

“Pink?” the second one cringed at her preference.

“Yeah. Pink. You got a problem?” Onew felt nervous because of the heating up of the conversation.

“Well you are 23 years old, not 13. Maybe you could use a little upgrade in the wardrobe. Something less…I don’t know…Barbie-ish.” Taeyeon’s smug smile disappeared from her face.

“What did you just say?”

“Something less Barbie-ish.” This pissed Taeyeon off. It pushed her to her limits. Normally she was either formal or relaxed but she was ready to go all y on this girl. She stepped forward and unleashed her inner ghetto.

“Excuse you, Ms. Vanity Fair but I am no Barbie! I may be bathing in pink, I may be sweet as caramel apples sprinkled with chocolate and glazed with vanilla but I am no Barbie! I am 100% real. I have smooth skin that’s smothered with strawberry banana scented lotion and hair that’s not made out of broomsticks. I look like a doll but honey, I ain’t made of plastic!” Taeyeon said. The other assistant was in a state of shock as her fellow fashion consultant paled in fear. Taeyeon walked over to Onew and gave him a piece of her mind.

“Look Chicken Boy, if you’re gonna give me 2 airhead consultants who can’t tell the difference between a human made of flesh and bones and a plastic doll that smells of lead that was manufactured in China, I suggest you refer me to another company. A company that manages and styles their artists better.”

“Look, I’ll just get you a different stylist-”

“I am my own stylist!” Taeyeon said. “Nobody cramps Kim Taeyeon’s style!” she walked away from him and left the room, leaving him and the two assistants in shock.

“She’s got attitude” said the first assistant.

“Pretty feisty for a girl of 5’2” “ Onew said.

“She’s so short! Where’d she get all that feist?”

Something made her that way…Onew thought. And he knew just what.

Taeyeon stormed out of Onew’s office with her bag and her phone. She was walking down the hall when she bumped into BoA, one of the most talented artists in their company. When they bumped into each other, Taeyeon dropped her bag and all the contents. BoA was kind enough to help her pick things up and put them back into place.

“I’m so sorry. It was my fault.” BoA, the superstar and the moneymaker of the company, apologized.

“That’s quite alright. I was just-” Taeyeon didn’t really realize at first who she bumped into but when she looked up and saw the amazing BoA staring right at her.

“You must be BoA?” she said with a twinkle in her eye. BoA stood up and helped her up.

“Yeah. You’re new here. I’ve not seen you before.” BoA extended her hand for a handshake. Taeyeon shakily grabbed it.

“I’m a huge fan of yours. I love your music and your style and I can’t believe that I’m actually here shaking your hand!”

“That’s nice. What’s your name?”

“Kim Taeyeon.”

“Kim Taeyeon?” BoA’s brows furrowed and a confused look came on her face.

I think she’s familiar with my name. She’s just trying to recall where she heard it.

“I think I know you. I mean, I don’t know if it’s you cause you’re not wearing any make up and you could be just, you know, sharing a name with her but you’re the reporter, right? The one who-” That was enough. She didn’t want to be reminded of her on-screen breakdown. She raised her hand and smiled.

“Yes. That was me. I am no longer a reporter. Just here, trying to become famous again.”

“Wow. What’ll you be training as?”

“I’ll be training as a singer, dancer, actor, and everything else in between.”

“Oh? Seriously!!? That’s a lot of work! Careful not to wear yourself out!”

“I can handle pressure. Don’t worry.” Taeyeon noticed the outfit BoA was wearing. She looked like she just came from a video shoot. “I like your clothes and your makeup, by the way!” she complimented.

“Oh these? They were done by my stylist, Park Min Ji.” Taeyeon tried to touch her sparkly costume and was brought to tears in amazement.

“My stylists, the ones Onew presented to me, are whacks!” BoA chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Well they ain’t the only stylists here. Let me fix you up with a stylist.”

“You know some good ones?”

“Not just any other stylist.” BoA smiled. “We’ll share a stylist!” Taeyeon’s face dropped to the floor.

“You can’t be serious? Kwon BoA’s stylist will be my stylist?!”

“Yeah. That stylist is my sister.” Taeyeon’s eyes opened wide.

“Are you for real?”

“Yeah. You better believe it!” BoA chuckled at Taeyeon’s skepticism.

“When can I meet her?”

“Well if you come with me, you can meet her right now.” Taeyeon was in a strance. In a state of disbelief. Was BoA’s stylist going to be her own personal fashion consultant? Her own style fairygodmother? The two ladies walked to BoA’s dressing room and in there was her sister/stylist fixing the makeup table.

“Jennifer!” she called her sister. Jennifer Kwon Yu Jin turned around and saw her sister with a younger, smaller girl beside her. Jennifer looked at Taeyeon and gave her a sweet smile.

“Is this the new girl Kangin’s been talking about?”

“Yeah.”

“Kim Taeyeon?” Jennifer’s face turned into a serious, doubtful one. Taeyeon knew why BoA’s sister’s expression suddenly changed.

“Yes. The reporter.” Taeyeon hopelessly sighed, accepting judgement.

“Oh. Well then, let’s get started. What can I do for you?”

“Uhm, you see,” the straightforward Kim Taeyeon stepped forward ot speak for herself. “My stylists, though they haven’t styled me yet are really bad judging by the ideas that they gave me and they wanted to cramp my style. They told me to lose the pink!” Jennifer heard her complaint and thought of something to remedy this.

“To be honest with you pink is definitely a horrid color, especially when seen on a 23 year old professional like you but since what I’m about is the star’s satisfaction, I’m willing to make you pinker than hippo sweat.” Jennifer said.

“Err, you could’ve compared me with something less…oily.” Taeyeon said with disgust. “But still, if it’s pinker than pink, then thank you! You are hired!”

“Great! Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get started!” BoA led her sister and Taeyeon to the dressing area. Taeyeon sat down on the swivel chair and faced the mirror. Jennifer ran a hand through Taeyeon’s tangled hair and found it hard to graze through it.

“Do you even comb or brush your hair?” she asked cringing.

“I do. But I woke up an hour before my appointment so I wasn’t able to. But I do brush my hair! I brush it more than 4 times a day, for your information!” Taeyeon sounded offended but Jennifer brushed it off.

“We better fix your hair first.”

“Oh so you’re gonna style me now!”

“Yes.” Jennifer nodded. “I am a professional stylist. I studied in Paris and in London and became a full practitioner at 25.”

“How old are you exactly?” Taeyeon twirled her finger in the air.

“30.”

“5 years?! Not bad, sister!” Taeyeon hollered.

“I know. Alright. So first, let’s take you to the hairwash section. BoA, if you don’t mind.” BoA smiled and made her way to the exit but before that, she tapped Taeyeon’s shoulder and whispered something to her.

“You’ll do great here! I see potential in you! Meet me at the cafeteria after your makeover! Good luck, dear!” BoA gave her a pat on the shoulder and left. Taeyeon was on cloud nine after being asked out by her idol to lunch. It was like having your crush ask you out on a date.

The stylist turned Taeyeon’s swivel chair facing the mirror. Taeyeon looked into the mirror and saw herself. Without makeup and all her fancy clothes, she was surprised to see how plain she looked.

So this is what I look like when I wake up. Good thing I never check the mirror after waking up.

After some slight brushing, Jennifer took Taeyeon to the washing section where she washed her hair. Taeyeon felt so relaxed as the cold water and shampoo flowed down her hair, calming her angry and tense nerves. Once the washing was done, a towe; was wrapped around her hair in order to absorb the water.

“Alright, we’re about to begin.” said Jennifer. She dried Taeyeon’s hair with the towel and brushed it once more. “Your hair is jet black and very straight. What treatments have you undergone?” Since Taeyeon was just a self-styled reporter, one who did her own makeup, did her own hair, and bought and chose her own clothes; she shrugged and lightly shook her head saying,

“I have not.” Taeyeon said honestly.

“Really? But you were a TV-personality,” Taeyeon frowned upon hearing the linking verb ‘were’. “Didn’t you have some kind of stylist?”

“No.” Taeyeon answered bluntly annoyed. “I did most of my own stuff then. And I still do!”

“Well, then it’s high time that you get a taste of the star treatment!” Jennifer grabbed the blower and began to work her magic. “From head to toe!”

[song: “Love Alone” by Miss A]

Before they could start with anything, Jennifer had Taeyeon take her shirt and short as well as her shoes off and put on a robe. Jennifer then worked on Taeyeon’s hair, brushing it until it was soft and wavy. Taeyeon looked into the mirror and saw how soft and silky her hair was, completely different from what it looked like prior to the treatment.

“I think I should do this to my hair often” Taeyeon marveled at the texture. “I didn’t know my hair could look and feel like this!”

“What hairstyle would you like, Taeyeon?” Taeyeon thought long and hard. It was hard to decide on what hairstyle she wanted but she knew she was a longtime fan of soft curls.

“I would like to have soft curls at the ends of my hair as well as a chesnut brown color.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah. That would be all.” This process is too long to narrate. Jennifer did her best to beautifully curl the ends of Taeyeon’s hair and put some cellophane for the dye. After a few hours, Taeyeon’s hair was finally a beautiful waterfall of chesnut brown and curls. Jennifer removed the mirror in order to surprise Taeyeon had no idea what she looked like. All she knew was that her hair felt (and looked) different.

“What’s happening?” Taeyeon asked nervously. Jennifer smiled and shrugged, removed the apron that was on Taeyeon and took her hand. The stylist led her to the opposite room which was connected to where they were by a door.

“I’m just taking you to the makeup section.” she said.

“Makeup section? You actually have a makeup section?” Taeyeon’s eyes twinkled. She had a fascination with cosmetics and had a lot of cute ones at home on her dresser but a makeup room was something she hadn’t heard of before and it tickled her fancy.

“Yes. It’s a room made for cosmetics.” Taeyeon’s eyes gleamed in wonder as she was led to the said room. Jennifer opened the door and turned the lights on. A great wonder greeted Taeyeon and it made her want to wander around the room even more. She walked to the lipstick cabinet where 200 different shades of lipsticks were contained. She went over to the cheek tint and blush on compartment and there were what seemed like a thousand shades of cheek tint and blush on.
“Oh. My. God.” Taeyeon’s eyes were getting all watery. “I can’t believe it! An entire room dedicated to makeup! This could only happen in my dreams. An entire room for makeup?”

“Yes. So? Shall we get started?” Taeyeon nodded enthusiastically. “Have seat then!” Taeyeon sat on the beautiful pink chair (which she loved by the way!) and closed her eyes. She relaxed and let Jennifer do all the work.

“Your face is very fresh. You can go with very little makeup on and still look pretty. Since you love pink, let’s stick to some pretty pink shades.” Jennifer took the foundation first. She squirted an ample amount ont eh back of her hand and applied this on Taeyeon’s fresh looking face. After the foundation came the powder. The powder gave Taeyeon’s face a beautiful matte finish, one that could stand alone even without lipstick or the other cosmetics. In order for Taeyeon’s eyes to stand out, Jennifer applied some Crystal Gleam eyeshadow and Velvet Dreams Liquid Eyeliner. The eyeliner and eyeshadow looked so natural on Taeyeon yet they brought out her beautiful eyes. To finish her eyes off, Jennifer applied some Flick and Curl Mascara. Along with some Precious Pink cheek tint palette and a little bit of brushing up, Taeyeon was looking prettier than ever.

“Oh if you could only see yourself right now!” Jennifer squealed in delight. Taeyeon must look really pretty now!

“I can’t wait to put a dress on! I’m sure my makeup would look good with a dress!” Taeyeon said excitedly. Jennifer smirked and took her to the Dress Department, an area she knew Taeyeon would love.

“Well then if you can’t wait to get dressed, take my hand and follow me to the room that most girls would kill to live in. It’s the same room where BoA gets her clothes.” Jennifer said.

“Lead me there.” Taeyeon’s eyes opened wide in amazement and excitedness. Jennifer took her hand and walked with her to the Dress Department.

“I want you to close your eyes. But not to tightly because you might get all watery-eyed.” Taeyeon did as told. Jennifer opened the door to the Dress Department. The room was dark and she had her hand on the switch. She was so sure that Taeyeon was going to love this room.

“Open your eyes now!” Taeyeon beautifully opened her eyes, fluttering her mascara-laden eyelashes. She was even more delighted this time. The room was beautifully pink, even the lights were pink! The wardrobes had intricate designs on them and the vases were beautifully crafted. The carpets were also pink and the lights were a light shade of baby pink. But what Taeyeon couldn’t wait for was the clothes.

“Show me the clothes…please.” Taeyeon was in a hypnotized state. She couldn’t get her gaze off of the wardrobe as she was waiting for it to be opneed by Jennifer. Jennifer grabbed the knobs and slowly opened the cabinet.

“Oh. My. Motherf-”Taeyeon had to contain herself. There in the wardrobe were thousands of clothes that, according to Jennifer, were custom-made for the new artist. Taeyeon’s jaw dropped to the floor and she was sure that her heart stopped beating. Sparkly dresses, metallic pants, crystal studded blouses and so much more. Taeyeon wanted to faint.

“Go ahead and pick your outfit!”

“Where does this wardrobe lead? To Fashion Narnia?”

“Why don’t you try entering the closet.” Taeyeon took a step and discovered that it was a walk-in closet with even MORE clothes inside. Jennifer was glad that Taeyeon was pleased with the clothes. “It’s the closest we can get to Narnia. And try not to get your face into the clothes. you wouldn’t want to ruin your-”

“MOTHERER!” Taeyeon squealed. Jennifer got a bit worried and checked out what Taeyeon was spazzing about. Turns out she found a dress that matched her taste.

“Can I have this, Yu Jin?” she begged. “Please.” She fished out a short pink dress that was a variation of Marilyn Monroe’s “Diamonds Are A Girls’ Best Friend” gown. It looked pretty much like the symbol’s dress except for the fact that it was above the knee and the ribbon was in ront and it was above the knee.

“Not without these!” Jennifer reached in for a pink heart shaped box which revealed a pair of pink pumps with ribbons at the top part. Taeyeon took it from the box and slipped it on her feet. She was amazed at how perfectly they fit her, like they were meant for her.

“These are so beautiful!” she exclaimed, almost in tears.

“Don’t cry now! You still have another surprise waiting for you?”

“Surprise? What surprise?”

“Put that gown and those shoes on. Hurry now!” Taeyeon rushed to the dressing room and carefully slipped the gown from underneath going all the way to the top.

“LITTLE HELP PLEASE!” Taeyeon called. Jennifer rushed to the dressing room and helped Taeyeon with her zipper. Once the dress was on, all Taeyeon had to do was slip into her pretty pumps and she was good to go.

“Ow!” Taeyeon nearly toppled but Jennifer grasped her arm before she could even fall on the rack of corsets and stockings.

“Careful there! Are you not used to walking in heels?” Taeyeon felt kind of insulted when asked this question but since she couldn’t afford to get frustrated with Jennifer, she brightly smiled and said.

“I’m very used to walking in heels. As a matter of fact, I own more than 100 pairs at home and I used them everyday, back when I was working. So yes, I do know how to walk in heels. It’s just that these feel so new to me that wearing them makes me shake in nervousness.” Taeyeon smiled once more at Jennifer, adding, “They’re really special, you know.”

“Alright then. Let’s brush you up one more time and let’s take you to your surprise!” Jennifer retouched Taeyeon’s makeup, sprayed some expensive perfume on her and glammed her up even more with some accessories. Diamond chandelier earrings, a diamond necklace, and diamond studded bracelets and anklets. Jennifer’s cellphone alarm went off. She picked it from her pocket and turned it off.

“Time for us to go now!” she told Taeyeon. Taeyeon nervously and excitedly awaited her surprise. Jennifer led her to the studio and this gave Taeyeon an idea of what was going on.

“Oh My God! You don’t say!” Taeyeon’s jaw dropped when she saw the other stars, BoA included, having their pictures taken.

“Exactly! Since the company was so impressed with your audition, we decided to make you the first trainee to receive a photoshoot. Not only that, you will be the first trainee that we will launch. Take it as a gift from the company. “ Taeyeon’s eyes widened in wonder. Now she felt like a star. Now she knew what it was like to be a star.

“Thank you! Thank you so much!” Taeyeon squealed and embraced Jennifer in joy. Jennifer hugged her back and led her to the photoshoot studio. The photographer who was tasked to take her pictures saw them and greeted her.

“You must be Kim Taeyeon! I’m Choi Yoon Jib. I’m one of the official photographers. Your audition was really impressive so we decided to award you with your very first photoshoot as preparation for your debut not just in the music industry but in the entertainment industry.”
Taeyeon shook his hand and bowed.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity.” she said humbly.

“You may walk to your set now.” Taeyeon walked to her set which was all pink. The set was very old-fashioned but cute. The walls were pink, the chandelier was golden and flooded the set with light and on Taeyeon’s side was a case. On top of the case was a pink diamond. Taeyeon felt dizzy and high like she was on cloud nine again.

“Now I want you to hold the diamond and pose in a fancy, girly way. However you want it.” Yoon Jib instructed her. Taeyeon held the diamond with one hand and lifted her foot in a fancy, girly fashion. That was among the several other girly poses that Taeyeon made and Yoon Jib took.

Everything ended at 10 pm. Having her hair dyed took 4 hours, that and the rest of the other preparations. It was tiring yet fun. Taeyeon thanked the crew and walked back to BoA’s dressing room where she left her things. When she opened the door, she saw BoA in ordinary clothes, makeup free and ready to go.

“BoA!” Taeyeon called. BoA turned to her and smiled. She looked very haggard and tired because of fatigue and long hours of training and working.

“Oh! Hey Taeyeon. You ain’t going home yet?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Anyways, I’m leaving and I would just like to say thank you for, you know, everything. Your hospitality, your sister, everything! I thought the entertainment business would be hard and I thought eveyrone was cold and all but you showed me that it wasn’t. Now I’m even more enthusiastic for my first day of training.”

“The entertainment industry isn’t a bed of roses.”

“Yeah I know that.”

“So you better watch your back.” BoA warned. Taeyeon thought about what she said and nodded. “A lot of people admire you and at the same time don’t like you. Always be careful. And remember, I’m always here.” This brought a smile to Taeyeon’s face. She nodded and thanked BoA once more before leaving the building.

Taeyeon drove home and thought of what BoA had said.

A lot of people admire you and at the same time don’t like you

Watch your back…