I can’t believe that child was screaming during the majority of the flight. Well at least I am in Seoul now and all I have to do is get through customs, get my bags and somehow find James in the sea of people. That is going to be the hard part. Luckily he is a giant beanstalk so as long as I look up I should be able to see him.

I just can’t stop thinking about how different this next semester is going to be. While most kids at my school will be doing their internships locally. I will become a well rounded individual with some international experience to put under my belt. And hopefully that will give me enough edge to enter a company back at home.

Speaking of which, I should let my friends know I landed safely. As I walk towards baggage claim I turn my phone back on and frown when I don’t see the cellular bars on my screen. I murmured to myself, “Looks like I’m not in L.A. anymore.”

“You’re damn right.” I recognized that deep husky voice so fast and my head snapped up quickly. James was standing there with my luggage doing that condescending smile he liked to do a lot. I smiled back and ran up to him throwing my arms around him. “Okay you don’t have to be that affectionate to me.”

“Flight. So. Long. Little. Kid. Would. Not. Shut. Up.” I felt James’ hand on my head as he was patting it gently.

“You’re tired. Aren’t you?”

I nodded while pouting my lips. “Mhm~.”

James detached my arms from around his waist and patted my head a little harder than before. “Well you are in tough luck. It is 3 pm here and you asked me to help you stay up until the night. So you can get acclimated to the new time zone.” James started walking away and I followed behind with heavy foot steps.

“That was the Eun Mi that actually had sleep in her system. Tired Eun Mi trumps Well Rested Eun Mi.” We walked out of the elevator towards his car.

“Well I mean we could totally ignore getting you a working sim card for while you are here. If you really want to sleep that badly.” James said in his sarcastic tone.

I knew he was right though. “Working phone over sleep. Always.”

He chuckled as he finished putting my luggage into his trunk. “And since you took my advice and got the new Samsung phone it will be really quick.” I slunked into the passenger seat of his car and automatically pressed my head against the window.

“Never knew a window could be so comfortable.”

“It’s not.” James starts blasting music which jerks me into an upright position. If I wasn’t staying at his place for practically free I would be smacking him right now. “Morning sunshine.” I still glare over at him and he just chuckled as Big Bang’s “Bang Bang Bang” is blaring in his car.

“Fine you win.” As we are driving through Seoul the song changes to something I hadn’t heard of. “What’s this?”

“It is called 달빛소나타 공식 but the English title is Full Moon Shine by BigStar. It should be coming out by the end of the summer.”

“I am really digging this song.”

“Yeah, they are a pretty underrated group both abroad and domestic.”

“That . They’re really good. I hope more people catch on with this song when it comes out.” Oh right I never explained what James does for a living. He is a songwriter and producer. He primarily works for a specific company, but once in awhile he gets the chance to work with others too. I just kept looking out the window as we drove more into the middle of the city. After 20 minutes we arrived at parking garage and James successfully parked his car.

“We can get your new sim card and then we can grab some food and hopefully that will keep you up.”

“Or it will keep me in the bathroom.”

James just face palmed at my comment. “I am not surprise, but dude really?”

“Hey we’ve known each other for almost our entire lives. You’re like my older brother.” He nodded and wrapped his arm around my shoulder.

“Yeah. And you’re like my annoying younger sister.” He started to mess with my hair. “But for real it is a nice day out today. I love Summer. I’m going to hate when it’s the Fall again.”

I sighed in defeat since my hair probably already looked like a mess when I got off the plane. “Summer is my favorite season. I’m just sad that I might not be able to see any beaches when I’m here.”

“Well if I can squeeze in a day off maybe we can go to Busan close to the end of Summer.” We found a little local coffee shop and I was looking at the menu trying to figure out what I wanted. Even though Korean is spoken to me on a daily the writing still throws me off sometimes.

“Hello, how may I help you today?” said the male barista in Korean.

“Hmmm I would like a black ice americano.” James replied and I could feel eyes on me as I continued to stare at the blackboard.

“Ummmm green tea…..duseyo?” I cringe when I realized my mistake. “Sorry. 1 Green tea please.” I hit James lightly as he was enjoying my mess up.

The barista chuckled a little. “Paying separate or together?”

“Together.” I glared at James.

“I can pay for my own.”

“You got plenty of time to pay. This nice thing only lasts for 1 day so try and soak it up.” We walked over to a little table outside to wait for our drinks and I lean back a bit.

“The sun feels so good. It’s almost making me want to fall asleep.”

“Don’t sleep. Or else I’m going to tickle you.”

“Ughhhh” I rested my head on the table. “Why you gotta kill my vibe though.”

“Cause I know Well Rested Eun Mi would want me to do this.”

“Stupid Well Rested Eun Mi.”

There was a moment when we didn’t talk or look at each other. “How are things back home?”

“Good.” I sat up and looked at him across the table. “As usual. Your mom says hi by the way. You know you should really call her more often.”

“I know I know. But just wait. When we start working you will forget to call home too.”

“I don’t think I’m going to be as busy as you.”

“You’re right. You’re going to be even busier. Since I’m your boss and all.”

I squinted at him. “Did I ever mention how sometimes you can be evil?”

“Almost everyday of our life when we were growing up.”

“Well you are. But thank you again for setting up this internship for me. I can’t believe this semester I will be working at SM Entertainment.” Well there’s the big reveal.

James shrugged and smiled a little bit. “No worries. I am glad that they gave me the choice to pick my own intern. I think it will be better to work with someone you know rather than someone who is trying to use you. So many people here are power hungry. If you’re at a higher position than them they will act nice, but the moment they get higher than you they try to squish you.”

“That sounds horrible. Well you’ve known me forever. I won’t try and pull that crap.” I can’t believe the nerve of some people in this world. Is no one genuinely nice anymore. Is everyone just putting on a nice face in order to get ahead in life. That sounds like a modern day horror story.

The barista from earlier comes out with our drinks in to go cups. “Thank you for visiting our shop.”

James and him exchange bows. “Of course man. You know I love it here. Tell Jun hyung that I’ll have to stop by again when he’s around.” The barista nodded and waved goodbye before going back inside.

“I take it this is a usual spot for you? Good thing I know where to get your coffee now.” I laughed at my own joke and I could see that James not having it.

“Ha ha. This place is too far away from SM to get my coffee. Jun hyung was one of my first friends here in Seoul. I always try to stop by on my way home or whenever I have extra time.” James started walking away from the coffee shop and I followed beside him. “So if I ever go to the office before you can get it then.”

I nodded my head and looked around. “Where are we going to get my new sim card? It doesn’t look like there are a lot of mobile stores.”

James scoffed and pointed to what looked like a boutique. “That’s where we are going to get it.”

I rolled my eyes at him. “There is no way they sell phones there.”

“How much do you want to bet?”

“I will bet dinner tonight.” I extended my pinky to him.

“Cool.” James locked his pinky with mine. As we got closer to the store I noticed a sign that said 삼성 which in English is Samsung. My heart sinks and the realization that I am going to be paying for dinner sets in.

When we enter the worker there bows to us. “Good Afternoon. What can I help you with?”

James just took my phone from my hand. “We need a new SIM card. The one in here is for America.”

“How long will your wife be here?”

“Oh no no she is not my wife. This is my little sister.” I knew better than deny it since we are not the same age it would be weird to say we are friends.

“Oh~ I understand. How long will your little sister be here for?”

“She will be here for 6 months.”

“We will set up a payment plan for the 6 months she is here for. Please follow me.” James nodded and followed her. I took this time to look around the store. It looked completely different from any tech store I saw back in the states. I could hear James’ voice in the background behind the kpop music that was playing. Recently Sistar came out with a song and I bet it will get stuck in my head for the rest of the summer.

“Eun Mi-shi!” I turned around and say James waving me over. “Come sign the contract for your new data plan.” I go over and sit down next to him.

“You want English?”

I waved my head. “I know Korean. It is okay.” I glanced over the contract and it seemed like your standard contract. I sign it and hand the paper back the worker. She smiles and hands me, my phone.

“Everything is all set and here is your American SIM card for when you go back.” She put the SIM card in a container in a cute little bag. I take the bag and bow slightly to her. “If there are any problems just come here and we will fix anything. We will even be able to replace your phone if the problem is out of our hand.”

“Thank you so much.” James and I got up and departed from the store. “Yay I have a working phone! Time to let my mom know I didn’t die.”

“Just make sure to do it through kakao. International texting is not included in the plan.”

“Okay, and mom doesn’t have kakao so I’ll just use Facebook Messenger.” As I my phone I see the new logo in Hangul appear. “Oh do I have a new number now?”

“Oh right.” James handed me a small piece of paper. “This is your new number.”

Once the phone is fully I take a picture of the piece of paper. “This way if I lose it I will still know what my number is.” I grinned at him knowing that he hates when people easily succumb to technology.

“You are such a millennial. And I know you are half being serious about that too.” We walked back to the car and got into the car. “Okay so the plan for the rest of the day is going back to my place to drop off your stuff. A lot of the big boxes that you sent over arrived yesterday so you do have your main computer now. And we are just dropping them off because after that we are going straight to SM so we can get your badge and I can show you around.” James start driving out of the parking garage. “Also once we are at SM I am your boss so we can’t seem to be too close. And for the most part I will be arriving to the studio earlier than you so I will show you how to get there using the subway system. A lot of the buildings look the same so you can get lost very easily.”

“Aye aye sir~.” I look towards him and I can see that he is annoyed I said that. “I know you are just looking out for me. But remember I am here for work experience this is a job for me. And I understand the whole hierarchy system. I am going to be looked at as someone even lower than the janitor. Even though it seems really ty I still get it. I won’t do anything that will jeopardize your position at the company. I won’t go out of my way to befriend idols or even the trainees. I understand my place at SM.”

James glances over at me before turning into the garage at the apartment complex. “I promised your mom to keep you safe while you are over here. Like I told the employee you are basically my little sister. I know how harsh some of these people can get. If anything gets to be too much just let me know and I’ll understand if you need to take a breather. This is not going to be like LA. It is a completely different world over here. Common courtesy isn’t even a real thing.” He gets out of the car and I follow him as he grabs my bag from the trunk. “And remember you are only here for 6 months. Anything that happens over here is only temporary. This is not permanently your life.”

I nod my head and follow him up to the apartment. “Thank you for taking care of me. I will try my best to be the best intern you’ve ever had.”

James gives me a smile as we leave the elevator. “Just be the best Eun Mi you can be. And I will be happy.” We get to the door and he puts in the pin number: 2139.

I smile a little bit and when we get I say, “I guess the pin will be easy to remember. Since it is my birthday with a 9 at the end.”

“Yeah it sort of just happened that way.” We both take off our shoes and I finally get to see the place for the first time. It reminded me of a college suite dorm situation. A common room with a small kitchen with bedrooms on either side. Nothing special but for the next few months this place is going to be my home. I follow James to what I assume is my room and the moment the door is open I am welcomed to boxes.

“This is going to take forever.”

“Yep, but forever is not now.” James turns around. “Come on time to show you where you will be spending most of your time here.”

 

The subway system wasn’t as difficult as I thought it would be. It seems like a mixture of the NYC and DC system from when I went on vacation. As we approached the building you could definitely tell it was the SM building with all the posters that were outside. Also the closer you get the clearer the crowd of girls become with their various signs.

“So for employees our entrance is around the side. But since you don’t have a badge yet for the turnstiles we will have to go through the front.” James puts his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry I will protect you from the fangirls.” I nod my head and I follow close beside him.

We were almost into the building when someone yelled “BD oppa! BD oppa!” James halted and turned around smiling and waving to the fan. “Oppa who are you going to be writing for next?”

“That is a surprise.”

“Who is she?!”

I cringe a little and I just bow 90 degrees. “Hello my name is Eun Mi. I am a new intern here. Please look out for me.”

“Just stay in your own lane. Don’t go after oppa, okay?”

“Yes I understand.” James and I both give slight bows before going inside. “Seems like you are mister popular too. BD? Is that your nickname?”

“Yeah. Even though I don’t go on stage that’s like my stage name. I like to have BD be me here and James be me at home.”

“So I should call you BD-nim here?”

“You can call me whatever you want.” James walked up to the security guard. “Hello I am escorting our new intern to HR to get her entrance badge.”

The security guard was on the older side but he looked like he wasn’t a pushover. “Okay well write down your name and her name. Then she just needs to put on a visitors badge until she gets her employee badge.” James took the clipboard and began filling it out. “What is your name dear?”

“My name is Park Eun Mi.” The security guard handed me a little badge that read VISITOR and had my name written out in Hangul. James handed the clipboard back to the security and bowed to him. “Thank you so much.” I bowed to him and we were on our way. The rest of the visit was a blur. We went to the HR office where I filled out a few forms and got my picture taken for my entrance badge. That badge got me into the building, cafeteria and the different facilities there. Different facilities were open during different times depending if you were staff, trainee, idol, or executive. James explained that the reason for the different time slots is because in the past some staff members have gone into like the weight station just because they knew an idol was going to be in there. I understood too well that people like to blur the lines between fan and idol. I was actually happy about the time slot that way I don’t feel like I have to be overly cautious of what I was doing.

As we approach the end of the tour a guy in small dreads approaches us. “Ayo what up my brother.”

“Oh hyung. I didn’t know you were getting back today.”

“I hopped on the first flight I could get back. I’ve just been itching to get in the studio. Oh? Who is this?”

“Oh sorry my bad. Hyung this is Eun Mi she is my intern for the next few months. Eun Mi this is Jinju Hyung also known as Hitchhiker.” I bowed 90 degrees to him.

“It is very nice to meet you seonbae-nim.”

“Likewise.” Jinju turned his attention to James. “I am going to get cleaned up in the showers and then I want to run a few things by you.”

“Okay. Do you want anything for the recording session?”

“Just my usual. Water and cheetos.” He laughed and pat James shoulder as he passed us. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Once he was far enough away James turns to me and hands me some money. “Okay so the kind of Cheetos he likes is the big puffy ones. And I want a coke and pepero. I’m going to set up the studio and I’ll see you later.” He starts walking away and quickly turns around. “Oh right the studio I will be in is studio 3B. Once you come in just go to the elevator and go down to the basement that is where all the recording studios are and you’ll be able to find us there. See ya.” After that he sprinted off. I just stand there for a second and say to myself, “And so it begins.”

 

I start walking down the street and soon enough I stumble upon a convenient store. I go in and automatically go to where I think the food is. Good thing I decided to watch a lot of Korean shows because my guesses were correct. I quickly go up to the cashier and he rings me put. I stand there waiting for him to put in a bag and then realized they don't do shopping bags. I thank God at that moment that I brought a big bag and it was mostly empty. I handed over the money and put the goods in my bag. I start walking back to SM and as I walk back I see the side entrance for employees. I walk through the door and use my badge to swipe and get through the turnstiles. I walk only a few feet before I see the elevators. I click the down arrow and begin waiting for the elevator. I start thinking about how crazy it is that I am here. How I've been listening to albums and songs by artists in this very company and now I'm here as an insider. But I must remember I am here as a worker not a fan. I must be mindful not to get myself into any trouble. The elevator arrives and I click on the B button for basement. I make a mental note to ask James why the recording studio is in the basement. As the elevator opens I try to remember what studio he said it would be. As I look around I see a door that read “2B”. I thought to myself that it sounds right. There is no light on outside which means they must have not started recording. I opened the door confidently and to my surprise James was not on the other side. I was face to face with the one and only Chanyeol of EXO.

My mouth fell open and I couldn’t think of what to say. He looked at me confused. “Can I help you?”

I finally snapped out of it and said timidly, “Sorry I must have the wrong room. I was looking for BD. I was running and errand for him.”

Chanyeol smiled and ruffled his hair. “Oh sorry about that. I had booked the room and he didn’t know. He is 2 rooms over in studio 4B.”

The only thing I could think of to do was bow. “Thank you and again sorry for interrupting you.” Before he could reply I closed the door and quickly walked to studio 4B and walked over to the couch and started taking out the stuff without even saying hi to James.

“Are you okay Eun Mi?”

I looked up and James is looking at me a little concern and confused. “I am okay. I just almost walked into the wrong room.”

“Did you not look at your phone?”

“Oh ummm no.” I put the stuff on the table and then grab my phone and see a kakao message saying the room was changed. “I guess I was so focused on getting back that I didn’t look at my phone.”

“Well I guess you saw who is using the room.”

“Yeah I would've been embarrassed if I went into the wrong room. I mean that was Chanyeol. One of the members of EXO. One of the biggest groups in kpop ever!”

James chuckled at me. “I thought you wanted to be professional here.”

“I do. If I was a delusional fan I would of walked in there and would of tried to stir up conversation. I just saw you simply were not in there and continued on my way. Even though I want to be professional I am still a fan. Can you blame me?”

James walked over and patted my head. “You are adorable when you get into your fangirl mode.” He chuckles a little. “Just make sure to have your phone on vibration at least next time.”

“Will do.”

Jinju walked in with his hair still a little bit wet. “Who is ready to make some music?”

“Ready whenever you are.” James smiled and they get themselves situated at the mixing table.

 

After several hours of working it seemed like these two were not going to give up. I’ve never seen James like this. He looks so focused and in the zone. Since James didn’t have much for me to do I was able to take out my laptop and work on some homework and assignments for school. As I was in the middle of typing a sentence a pop up appeared on my screen and it was a message from James. I thought to myself why is he writing to me we are in the same room. His message was, “Hey we are really in the zone right now but we are starting to get hungry. I put an order for pick up. My card is in my wallet in my jacket pocket. Leave in 5 minutes to go and pick it up. Don’t worry I ordered some for you too. And here is the address.”

I simply replied, “No problem boss man.” I quickly finished up the last few sentences for my paper and powered down my laptop. Next to me on the couch is his jacket and like he said his card was in the pocket. He had so many cards in there and at first I didn’t know which card to use. But then I saw the card that he used for the coffee shop and grabbed that one. I picked up my phone and it read 22:30. It was already 10:30 at night! I wonder how much later we will be here for. After a few stretches I head out to go and get the food. As I was about to walk by 2B I debated on if I should see if Chanyeol was still there.

I shook my head and decided to just walk straight to the elevator. So what if Chanyeol was still here what was going to happen? Nothing, that’s what. I reached the elevator and hit the up button. I rocked back and forth waiting for the elevator and decided to look at my phone to see what my friends were up to back in the states. Seems like they were still sleeping or were questioning themselves as to why they had to be up so early. I chuckled and wrote a tweet, “Day 1 and already I’m running around getting food for James. Hope it won’t get worse than this.” After hitting send I put my phone back in my pocket and the elevator arrived. I got in and hit the button for the 1st floor. Right before the doors close I see a hand pushing the door to stop it from opening. The doors automatically started opening and there was a guy standing there.

“Sorry about that.” He didn’t seem like anyone I had seen before. He gets into the elevator and goes to press the button for the ground level but sees that I had already pressed it. “Looks like we are going to the same place.”

“Looks like it.” I heard that Koreans are bad at small talk so I didn’t know what I should do. For him to initiate it, he must be a foreigner. Maybe he is another intern like me or a manager.

“You must be BD’s new intern.” He smiled and extended his hand. “My name is Johnny. I think hyung mentioned that you are the same age as me. It’s nice to meet you.”

So he knows English. “My name is Eun Mi.”

“Do you have an American name?”

“Ummm. It’s Mimi. That’s my English name.”

“Okay Mimi.” The door opened and we both got out at the same time. We also started heading towards to the door too. “Are you done for the day?”

“Oh no. I am getting food for James, I mean BD seonbae and Jinju seonbae-nim.”

“Oh really where?”

“Ummm” I look down at my phone. “BCD?”

“Oh I’m picking up dinner there too. Let’s just go together. I know where it is.” Johnny is my savior.

“Okay thanks.” We walked together in silence for a little bit.”

“Oh long have you been in Korea?”

“Just got in a few hours ago.”

“Oh really?” He shook his head a little bit. “You must be exhausted.”

I nod my head. “You have no idea. But I told BD to keep me awake so my internal clock can get use to the time change.”

“That’s very smart. And ummm I noticed earlier you called BD hyung by his American name. If it is more comfortable for you, you can use it.”

I hoped he didn’t notice it, but he seems like a nice guys. I guess he won’t tell anyone. “Okay, thanks.”

“No problem. And if you ever need to talk to someone you can come to me. I know we just met, but I understand how it is to be the new person here.”

“How long have you been at SM?”

“I’ve been there for almost 8 years so far.” My mouth dropped. 8 years?! He looks like he is in high school how could he have been there for 8 years unless if he is.

“Are you a trainee?”

Johnny smiled and nodded. “Yep. I’m suppose to debut next year. Or at least I hope so.” Oh no I am dealing with someone who is higher on the SM food chain than me, but he is younger than me, but he is also a foreigner. Johnny glanced over and smiled. “Don’t worry about my status at the company. We aren’t at the company right now. And I mean we are both American and there aren’t any honorifics over there. If you want to drop that it is okay.”

I nodded. “Yeah it might make it easier for me. It is already hard cause I have to treat my best friend differently.”

“Best friend? James hyung is your friend?”

I nodded my head. “I’ve known him for practically my entire life. He is like my big brother. But I promised him that at work he is purely my boss.”

“Has he been treating you differently yet?”

“Not really. I mean it is only day 1. Yet back when we were kids if he asked me to get him something I would just say ‘you have legs don’t you?’”

Johnny laughed a little bit at this. “That really does sound like how siblings act around each other.”

I nodded my head. “I don’t have any siblings so like I said he was basically my big brother. I just hope he doesn’t bring work home and think that he can treat me the same there.”

“I think he won’t be like that. And if he does just give him a piece of your mind.” Johnny looked up. “Oh we are here.” We both went in and there was a hostess there.

“Table for two?”

“No thank you. We are both picking up.”

“Names?”

“Seo Youngho.”

“Park Eun Mi.” The hostess steps back and returns with two big bags.

“Youngho-ah your total is 30,000 won. And Eun Mi-ah your total is 25,000 won.” I politely handed over James’ credit card. Johnny handed over the card he was holding. I wondered if that was really his card or if it was someone else’s. Once we signed we took the cards and bowed as we took the bags and headed out.

“How much did James get? This bag is so heavy.” Johnny leaned over and grabbed the bag.

“Now it’s not heavy.” He chuckled a little. “It’s not heavy for me. Also I get to work out my muscles.”

I looked up and down at Johnny and scoffed a little. “Are you just trying to show off?”

“Oh~ You caught me. Do you think the fans would like that?”

“Haha probably. I would probably say the same thing.”

“You are one of those fans then.”

“What kind of a fan?”

“It takes a lot to get a reaction from you. Like you know squealing and stuff.”

“I don’t know I guess I’m just not your typical fan. I don’t look up to idols as someone to date.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well think about it. A lot of fans look to idols as this person who they would want to date. Like ‘oh if only oppa noticed me’ or ‘oppa won’t you marry me?’ Stuff like that. I know that if an idol has lets say 20,000 fans. That person won’t be able to date all 20,000 fans. It is just impossible and out of all the 20,000 people who call them their fan how many of them are ACTUALLY going to be able to date them. Also for dating you would be competing against people who are not fans as well. So if an idol gets a girlfriend or boyfriend why should I be mad?”

“You really are different.” Johnny smiled. “I hope when I debut that you will be my fan. At least then I know I’ll have at least a friend in the bunch.”

“Thanks Johnny. But I hope more fans become like that. My friends from the states at least understand it like me. It’s more so the fans here that need that reality check.”

“But as an idol you can’t say anything because if they don’t like how you treat them then they turn their backs against you. And in this business you are nothing without your fans.”

“Which because people should be your fan for the music you do. Not for your relationship status.”

“Unfortunately not everyone thinks like that. So we have to pander to their needs.” As he finished that sentence we arrived at the employee entrance. I opened the door for Johnny and followed behind him. “Can you grab my wallet? It’s ummm.” I looked around and I saw the bulged in his back pocket.

“Don’t worry I got it.” I grabbed the wallet tried not to think that I basically just touched his .

“You can just touch it on the scanner.” I touch it on the scanner and the turnstile opens and Johnny walks through I scanned mine and follow behind. It was an awkward silence to the elevator and I hit the button and rocked back and forth. “Thanks for getting my wallet.”

“No problem.” When the door opens we go in. “Wanna trade my bag for your wallet?”

“Sounds like a good deal.” Johnny looked at the receipt on the bags. “Here is yours.”

He handed mine as I handed him his wallet. “Pleasure doing business with you.” I smile as I adjust my hand to holding the bag.

 

As the doors open Johnny turns his head towards me. “Until we meet again.” We both walk down the hallway and I see him go into studio 2B. He was getting food for Chanyeol!? I just converse with someone who is close with Chanyeol. I mean I should’ve assumed that since he is a trainee, but seriously? I continue to walk to the room and as I open the door Jinju comes over to me and hugs me and spins me around.

“Food glorious food!” I screamed a little.

“Hyung don't make her drop the food glorious food.” Jinju quickly stopped and put me down.

“Sorry about that. Didn't realize I was hungry until I could smell the food from the elevator.”

“It's okay. I'm glad that you're excited for the food.” I put the bag on the table and started taking out the food.

“Eun Mi, when we are done with eating you can head home. I know it's been a long day for you. And we have a lot of work to do tomorrow so I want you rested.”

“Thank you. Ummm can you write down my address. You sort of just took me to my apartment so I don't really know where I'm going.”

“No problem I'll send it to you on kakao.” James smiled and started to unwrap the containers. “Now let's eat.” We all got our chopsticks and started eating. Jinju was almost inhaling his food. It was quite amusing to watch. James nudge me to stop staring and I went back to eat.

“So,” Jinju wiped his mouth, “How long have you guys known each other?” I looked up shocked and I didn't know what to say.

“We've known each other for a while. Before I came to Korea.”

“Oh~ So you guys are like OG friends huh?” It seemed a little weird that a grown man in his mid 30s using slang words.

“Yeah I guess you can say so.”

“Does anyone else know.”

“No.”

“Yes.” Both James and Jinju looked at me.

“Yes? Who knows?”

“Just one other person. Johnny, he helped me get to BCD. I slipped out your real name and he just put two and two together.”

“Okay well Johnny understands the rules so I know he won't say anything. You almost gave me a heart attack.”

My eyes blinked in slight confusion. “What rules? I know usually it is taboo to work with your friend, but I didn't know there was a rule.”

Jinju put his chopsticks down. “The rule is you can't hire your friend just because they are your friend. If anyone is known to have connections prior to working here they can be terminated.”

My eyes grew wide, “What?! But James knows that I'm going to school for this. He knows how well I'm doing in school.”

“I know and you know and he knows but no one is going to care about that. They will just see that you used your friend for a job. I'm only saying this so you can be on your toes in the future. And if anyone ask how you found out about the internship just say you heard about it at school.”

I nod my head in understanding. “I understand seonbae. Thank you for your advice. I really appreciate it.”

“You got to protect those who are loyal to you.” He looked over to James. “And I don't know if he told you, but him and I also go a way back. He is one of the most loyal people I know. And if he trusts you to be part of this business then that must mean you are pretty loyal too.” He leaned his hand across the table. “I hope we can work well together during your time here.”

I reached over and shook his hand with both of my hands. “I will not let you down.”

“Good. Now I think I have enough food to start again. How about you go home and sleep for a while.”

I stood up and bow. “Will do. Thank you so much for accepting me here.”

“As long as you are respectful and stay loyal I will always have your back.”

I packed up my bag and give one last bow to James and Jinju. “Have a good night.”

“Goodnight.” As I leave the room I start hearing slight thumping down the hall. It's coming from Chanyeol’s room. I guess he is working really late tonight. I check my phone and it reads 23:00. It's 11 pm at night. I hope everyone gets enough sleep tonight. I walk by the room without looking in. I reach the elevator and before I can push the button I hear someone calling my name.

“Mimi!” I turn my head and I see Johnny and he is running down the hallway. “Can I ask you for a favor?” I stand there for a moment. Part of me is so tired I just want to get out of here. The other part of me knows that in this building he is higher up than me so I should do what he says.

“Sure what is it?” He doesn't say anything. Just takes me hand and drags me down the hallway. Already I don't like where this is going. He opens the door to studio 2B where everyone in the room stares at us and Chanyeol quickly turns off the track he is working on.

“Hyung you wanted another opinion on the song. And the new intern was walking by so I thought she could take a listen.”

I pull my hand away from his and quickly bow. “Hello my name is Eun Mi.”

The guy sitting next to Chanyeol said, “Who are interning for?”

“I am ummm interning for BD seonbae-nim.”

“Do you have any experience with mixing?”

“Uh a little. I was the person in charge of mixing for my university's student album project.”

The guy looks at me up and down and I don't know where to look so I keep my eyes down on the floor. If only I wasn't so nice to Johnny I would be on my way home. “Let's see how you do.” The man turned his attention to the computer and brought the cursor back to the beginning of the song and he hit the play button. The song begins and it is soft in the beginning. The beat is subtle, but you can definitely bob your head to it. After the first verse the transition to the chorus seems chopped up. The man stops the track and looks back at me. “Can you tell what is wrong with the song?”

I think for a moment so I don't sound like a complete idiot. “Is it alright if I speak slightly out of term?”

“By all means give us your honest opinion.”

I took a deep breathe in to calm myself down. “The transition from the verse to the chorus doesn't seem coherent. SM is used to having different styles of music in one song, but this sounds like 2 parts were stuck together with glue.” I heard Johnny snicker a little and I glanced up and see Chanyeol looking away from me. Oh no I really did it this time. I'm going to get kicked out on day 1.

“If this was your song how would you fix it?” What I'm still alive?

“Well, the simple solution or temporary solution would be to build up on the beat from the verse and then have a bass drop into the chorus party.”

“And what about a permanent solution?”

“I would have to tinker with it decided that. But just based off of listening to it once I would almost soften up on the beat towards the end and then come in hard when the chorus begins. It will give the effect of a drop without doing a drop.”

The older guy sat there for a few moments thinking it over and nodded. “I like how you think.” He turned around looking at the lines of track in front of him.

“I think you are able to go now.” Johnny whispered into my ear.

I nod and give a final bow. “It was a pleasure meeting you.” As we turn around I hear the older man speak.

“It truly was. Hopefully you enjoy your time here at SM. I'll let BD know how lucky he is to have an intern like you.” I grinned from ear to ear and do another bow before heading out.

“I can't believe that just happened. I can't believe I'm not fired yet.”

“I can't believe you chewed up Chanyeol hyung’s song.”

I stopped dead in my tracks. “That was Chanyeol’s song?!” I just insulted his song. Oh man if his fans find out I am dead meat. He will probably use it against me someday. Just when I thought my luck turned around I get hit with that. No wonder he wasn't looking at me. “I'm dead. I'm so dead.”

“Don't worry about it. You just got complemented by LPAD hyung. He's the one that makes most of the title tracks for us. His word means more than Chanyeol hyung to be honest.”

“Are you sure?” Johnny put his hand on my shoulder.

“I know so.” The elevator came and we both got in. “Hyung told me to go home so I can get some rest before evaluations tomorrow.”

“Evaluation?”

“Yeah each month the trainees have evaluation to see how much you have progressed. And with them potentially debuting some of us next year it is getting fierce.”

“Well I’ll be cheering you on from wherever I am.” I smiled at him and made my hand into a fist. “Fighting!” He smiled back at me as the doors opened to the ground floor.

“Thanks for the encouragement. I will try my best tomorrow.”

 

We walked out together and I look around the corner and see a small group of fans waiting outside the other entrance.

“Do they ever go home?”

“Not all the time. Just wait until it gets cold. You'll see the crazies who make little fires for warmth.” I chuckled and start walking around the hoard of girls. Hopefully they won't see me. Or more so hopefully they won't see me with Johnny. If you are at SM for as long as he is, he must have some fans here. I see that Johnny went a different way which is good so that he doesn't get chased by girls. As I pass them one girl turns around and see me and comes up to me.

“Excuse me do you know if Seo Youngho is going to be leaving soon?”

I had to think of something to say. “Sorry I haven't seen him. So I don't know that answer.”

The girl started looking mad. “What do you mean you don't know? You work here don't you?”

Why is she getting mad at me? “I'm just an intern. I started today.”

“So that means you don't get any information?” Seriously why is she mad?

“I'm only told what I need to know.”

“Pfffft you are useless. I'll have to report you.”

What is she doing? “Report me? For what?”

“For not pleasing us the fans.”

“All because I'm not high enough on the food chain to know where your idol is? I don't even work with idols. I haven't met a single idol today. If you want me to get high enough to get information I would suggest not reporting me. Cause if you do you won't hear a single thing from me. Do you understand that?”

The girl looked at me in shock. As if no one had ever talked to her like that ever. “If you hear anything you will let me know.”

“Of course.” She takes my phone out of my hand and rapidly starts typing.

“I put my number in your phone. If anything happens at any time you can let me know.”

“Alright.” I took my phone back. “Have a good night.” I walk away and when I am far enough away from them I slightly start panicking. How could I do that? How could I go up against a sasaeng like that? She could've tried to have me fired. What's next?

As I turn the corner to the subway I see a familiar face. Johnny was standing there waiting for someone. I wonder who he's waiting for. I get closer to him and our eyes lock. He walks over to me looking nervous. “How are you? I saw one of my fans going after you. I'm so sorry.” Was he waiting for me then? “I tried to warn you that you should go another way but you already got trapped in their web.” So that's why he went the other way.

“It's okay no big deal.” Yes it was a big deal. “Did you wait here for me?” Please say no.

“Well yeah I wanted to make sure you were okay.” Well this is great. Day 1 and already I have someone trying to take care of me. This is not what I expected.

“Well I am okay. Thanks for being concern for me. And I don’t know if you heard what we talked about,”

“I didn’t hear but I can only assume what she asked you.” Johnny grabbed my phone and started looking through it.

“Why does everyone feel like they can just take my stuff?”

Johnny handed my phone back to me. “Sorry just wanted to see if she gave you her number.”

“You could’ve asked me. Just ask me next time.”

“The question or to take your phone?”

“Both.”

“Well are you going to tell her? About what I do?”

I shook my head. “I told her I would just so she would get off my back. And so she wouldn’t report me.”

“She reports people on the daily. I think she has reported James hyung 4 times? Everyone knows not to listen to her.” Johnny smiled and patted my head. “Well I am glad that you are okay. I live in a different direction from you so I we will have to part ways when the subway comes.”

“That’s okay. James gave my directions on how to get back to the apartment.”

“Can I have your phone?”

I handed him my phone. “Thank you for asking this time.”

He started typing away and I knew what he was doing. “I added my number and even added myself onto your kakao. If ever feel unsafe about walking home don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“Do you do this for all of the interns?” I chuckled and take my phone. “And seriously thank you for caring about me. But don’t get distracted. You need to focus on your training.” I pointed my finger at him. “I don’t want you to get side tracked.”

Johnny smiled and then held my finger and put my hand down. “First, I don’t do this for all the interns. James hyung is really cool and since you’re close with him I feel I can be close with you too. And second, okay mom I will focus on work and I’ll make you proud.” He patted my head and we walked down the stairs.

“What’s up with everyone patting my head too. Am I a dog?”

“Do you not like it?”

“I don’t really have a feeling towards it, but it is just not that common in the states.”

“Well you just looked soft like a puppy. Expect more of the older guys to pat your head.”

“Thanks for the heads up.” As soon as we get through the turnstiles a subway approaches.

“Oh that’s my train. I’ll see you tomorrow!” As he ran away he waved his hand. I waved back even though he wasn’t looking back so I was really just waving to the air. I check the schedule and wait for my train to arrive. The subway is definitely a lot more crowded here than back at home. I just focus on myself and remember not to make eye contact. As I reached my stop I get off and start using the gps to get me the rest of the way back. Along the way I checked social media and my friends decide to wake up. They started asking how I was doing and if I was eating enough. I informed them how tired I was and that I couldn’t wait to get into my bed. If day 1 is like this I can’t believe what’s going to happen during the next 6 months. Once I get back to the apartment and sluggishly make my way to my bedroom where I am greeted with boxes.

“, I forgot about these.” Luckily I have a box labeled “Bedding” and I open that to take out my pillow and blankets and throw them onto the bed. “This will do for now.” As I lay in bed I decide to text James to let him know I got home safely. “Heyy it’s just me. Just letting you know I didn’t die on my first trip back to the house. Look at how grown up I am becoming. I don’t know when you want me in so just wake up when you do.” I hit sent and I place my phone on the night stand next to my bed. Before I could even close my eyes the screen on my phone lights up. “Wow that was fast.” I looked at my phone and it was a message from Johnny.

“Hey I’m just making sure you got home safely.”

I smiled and replied back, “Yes I got home safely. I’m about to get into bed. You should too so you’re not too tired for tomorrow.” I hit send and turn my phone over so that if anyone else replies it won’t burn my eyes. Hopefully tomorrow will not be as chaotic as today. I don’t know if I can handle all of this excitement for the next 6 months.