Present

Well, I’m here, no backing out now! “Welcome to JYP! I’m Kwon Ji Hyun, a backup dancer!” a friendly voice chirped. I turned to see an athletic girl with a sweet face waving at me. She leaned in confidentially. “Boss Park should be the one making the introductions but something major happened in a group called 2PM. I’ll tell you more about them later!” I had barely greeted her and introduced myself when she hooked my arm through hers and dragged me into the building. She spoke non-stop about her experiences with the JYP groups, especially the group 2PM. She was ultra-spazzy whenever she spoke about them, especially one guy named Nichkhun.  I just didn’t get the big deal, a bunch of girl-looking guys dancing around in groups? Give me 2NE1 any day.

She led me to my workplace, a modern-style room filled with computers, music mixers, a stereo and finally, a grand piano. The piano was in the middle of the room, gleaming and white. Unknowingly, I had made my way over there and as I ran my fingers over the keys, a hint of a smile appeared on my face. Maybe this job would be fun after all…just then, a resonant clearing of a throat interrupted my thoughts. I looked up, instantly annoyed. He was looking skeptically at me, an eyebrow raised. It was a young man, but from the way Ji Hyun greeted him, I gathered that he was indirectly one of my employers. I stood up immediately, and following Ji Hyun’s lead, greeted him. “Junsu Oppa!” Before I could introduce myself though, he pointed to the piano and ordered me to play a tune. Ji Hyun knowingly waved a goodbye and made herself scarce. I had no choice but to obey. As I played a simple scale Junsu started to sing, first warming up then adding his own melody to it. His voice was melodious and strong, without a doubt, he was definitely a main vocalist. After a short jamming session, he nodded approvingly and introduced himself, that he was from 2PM. Remembering what Ji Hyun had mentioned about the group and what they were facing, I asked him cautiously about it. He refused to talk about it, instead he asked to jam more. Without a word, I complied. After about an hour, he seemed much more relaxed and comfortable. Compassion surged through me as I realized how stressed and tired he seemed. These major issues must havae a heavy toll on the members. Based on Junsu, 2PM doesn’t sound as bad as I thought. When he stood up to leave, he smiled and said softly, “It’s not that I don’t want to tell you what happened in 2PM, I just really needed to relax in a place that I didn’t have to think about it. Thanks. “ The door opened suddenly, and I looked up to find a familiar face, Mr Park Jin Young, also known as my big boss. He appeared shocked to see Junsu, but made no comment as Junsu left the room silently. Mr Park smiled cheerfully and asked “Well, how was your first day?” I smiled as I replied, “It was rather slack to be honest, and really fun. By the way, do I have any colleagues?” Mr Park nodded his head and signaled to someone outside the room. She sauntered in confidently, casually waving to our boss along the way. She took my hand, squeezed it and said, “Hello! I am Chan Yeong from the music department. We’ll be working in this room together!”