“Why do you want to be an idol?"

          “I want to become famous and for people everywhere to know my name, that I exist in this world. I want to be able to dance for a living. And I want to live in the trainee dormitories.”

          “Why?”

          I wasn’t sure which one he wanted me to explain more so I just expanded on all of them, “Because I want to prove myself and have people remember me even after I die. About the dormitories, I just want to move out of my house for personal reasons.”

          Lee Soo Man squinted his eyes at me and looked at the papers in front of him. He seemed to come to some sort of vague realisation after a few moments and nodded to himself. He looked up at me again.

          “People will not remember you for long if you debut as a dancer. Your dancing skills aren't up to par for that. Your routine was very good but I can tell you’re not a natural at it,” he told me bluntly. “And I have no intention of taking you in just so you can get away from your step-mother. I don’t run a charity here.”

          I was immensely disappointed after hearing his first statement; his second made me angry. I protest, “I’m not trying-”

          “I’m not interested,” he cuts me off before I can even finish my retort. “But I have a different proposal for you.”

          I’m now really confused as he had already said that he wouldn’t want to take me on as a dancer and I hadn’t expressed any interest or talent in anything else. And where the hell did my step-mother come into this?

          “While I think you wouldn’t go very far as a dancer, you could have a bright future as a singer. Your voice is still untrained and your technique needs lots of polishing but your natural voice is hauntingly melodious. You just need to be less conscious and immerse yourself into the meaning behind the song more. If you work at it, you could be really good as a singer. So I will offer you a 2-year contract, but as a trainee focusing on singing, not dancing. What do you say?”

          I gape at him, my mouth hanging open unattractively. No wonder he doesn’t participate in the company affairs anymore. If he makes decisions like this, it’s a wonder the company is still standing! I look at the other judges for some help in dealing with the delusional old man, but they’re all nodding, as if agreeing with him. What have they been smoking? Or is this because he’s the boss and they’re scared of him?

          “I can see you don’t believe me regarding your voice. No matter, I’ll let you hear it for  yourself,” he says, “Play the second song she sang.” They have been recording the audition, of course, as I’d known they would. They play the part of me singing and I close my eyes, wincing as I hit the wrong note at the beginning of the song. But as the recording continues, even I notice the difference in the singing. It’s more confident, strong, and full of emotions. A tear drops from my eyes as I listen to myself singing. I almost can’t believe that’s me singing.

          “Do you understand now?” he asks me as the song ends.

          “I think I underestimated my singing ability but I’m still not sure that my singing is good enough for me to pursue it seriously as a career…” I pause, unsure of how to convey my feelings on the matter to Lee Soo Man.

          “I get it. You don’t have any faith in your voice. But I do. I believe you have what it takes, and I’ve rarely been wrong before. So it’s up to you whether you decide to trust my opinion and see how far you can go as a singer or to give up on SM and try for other companies as a dancer. You have three days to think about it.”

          He seems to be done speaking with me and stands up to leave. I quickly bow as everyone scrambles to stand and hurry after him. I am still standing in the same place, deep in thought. The manager guy who had escorted me to the audition room comes over and hands me his card, “Contact me when you’ve made your decision.”

          “I want to confirm something. What happens if I accept and then they realise I at singing? Will I be kicked out of the dormitories before the two years of the contract end?”

          “No, when you sign the contract, you’re committing to be trained for at least two years. You can’t leave before that. If they decide you’re not a singer, they will have you try something else, like acting or modeling. Or they might just put you in dancing again. But you should understand that signing the contract doesn’t guarantee your debut as an idol. That depends on how hard you work and how quickly you improve your skills and whether or not they’re looking for someone with your skill set at the time.”

          I nod to show that I’ve understood. He hands me my memory stick and once again escorts me back to the lobby. It takes us about 7 minutes to get there. I was too nervous to notice earlier, but how big is this building exactly? Once we reach the lobby, he reminds me again that I should contact him with my decision within three days. If they don’t hear from me within that time-frame, they will assume that I’m not interested in the offer.

          “There’s no need,” I tell him, “I accept.”

Author's Note:

Hello again! So she enters the lion's den! What do you think?

Please do comment to let me know I'm (hopefully) not talking myself here, lol...