Rose’s eyes fluttered open as bright sunbeams poured through her window. She stirred in her sleepy state, yawning as two hands came up to rub the sleep from her tired eyes. The pulsing vibration of her cell phone ringing had woken her, and she blindly felt for her phone on the nightstand. She found it and answered the call, bringing it up to her ear. She softly said, “Hello?”.

“Chaeyoung-ah. What’s going on? Where are you? We were supposed to meet for coffee. I waited for two hours and you never showed up, so I went home. I have a doctor’s appointment in half an hour. I tried calling you several times. What happened?”. The voice on the other end of the call belonged to her boyfriend of two months, Chase.

“Oh, dang, I am so sorry! I forgot my phone was on vibrate. Can we meet another time?” Came Chaeyoung’s reply.

“Sure, I guess. Whatever.” he sounded irritated.

“Well, fine. I’ll see you. Bye.” Chaeyoung’s voice was equally as sour.

Rose threw the phone next to her on the bed and lazily stood up. She showered and got dressed slowly. She left for the coffee shop anyway, needing a quiet place to write lyrics. Rose was an up and coming singer-songwriter from Australia. She had been writing music since she was 10 and was extremely talented. She mainly wrote songs in Korean, which turned out to be unsuccessful in an English-speaking country. She had moved to Korea, hoping to further her music career and really break into the industry.

She approached the subway station and paid her fare, allowing her entrance into the subway terminal. When she stepped into the car, she plugged in her headphones and rode in silence until the car came to her stop in Myeongdong.

As she stepped out of the station, she walked through the fog that loomed over the city. She wondered if the coffee shop would be empty, seeing as it was a Sunday AND foggy. She found the coffee shop she had promised to meet her boyfriend in and walked it.

The door to the coffee shop slowly opened as the bell, attached to the handle, sounded softly. Rose thought people must have stayed home, as both the coffee shop and the streets were not busy like they usually were. Rose quietly stepped up to the front counter to place her order as she received a text from Chase. The door leading to the kitchen creaked open as the barista made her way to the cash register.

“Hello. What can I get started for you today?”

Rose looked up from her phone and stood still, shocked. It was as if something the air out of her lungs, and she struggled to speak.

“Lalisa?”, she asked, her voice sounding nervous.

She was starstruck.

“Oh, you must be a fan,” Lalisa replied.

Chaeyoung nodded her head. “I have been your fan since you debuted. May I have your autograph?” She managed to stutter out. Lalisa grabbed a pen from the container next to the register and printed out a black receipt. She asked for a name, which Rose happily gave, and scribbled a few words. She gave her signature at the bottom and handed it over to Rose.

“What can I get started for you today?” Lalisa seemed unphased by her encounter with a fan. Being as popular as she was during her career, Lalisa had gotten used to fans approaching her. Most days, at least one person she saw recognized her. Half of them came just to about her diagnoses. They would say things like, “So your bipolar, does that mean you’ll freak out and rip my head off?”, among other insulting jokes.

“Oh, yeah.” Rose shook herself out of her starstruck trance. “Caramel macchiato, please.” Her voice was always soft and sweet.

When her order was ready, she grabbed the drink and made her way to a table in the back. As she sipped on her coffee, she tried to get some writing done but was heavily distracted by the former star behind the counter.

Eventually, Chaeyoung had decided it was time to go back home. She packed up her stuff and hesitantly walked toward the door. She had a thought and stopped in her tracks. She contemplated whether or not to ask Lalisa for advice on her music, as a conversation starter. “She probably gets that all the time.” She shook the thought away. “Besides, she is working.”

She continued on her way, leaving the coffee shop promptly.

When she arrived home, it had already gotten dark and she decided to turn on the tv while she ate dinner. All she could think about was her encounter with Lisa. She brushed her teeth as retired in for the night.

The next morning, Rose decided she had to see her again. “I want to see her but I don’t want to creep her out.” she contemplated. Finally, she reached a decision and made her way to the coffee shop once again.

The following week, she visited the shop regularly. Even though she was shy, she tried not to show it as she attempted small talk with Lalisa. She asked her about her day, complimented her style, and asked for advice on breaking into the music industry.

“I aspire to be famous myself. I write and sing fairly well. I already have some fans, but it seems like I am stuck in one place and can’t further my career. Do you have any advice for becoming more popular?” She asked.

“Sell your soul to an entertainment company,” Lalisa replied, half joking. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”

Chaeyoung nodded. She had questions but didn’t want to bring up Lalisa’s fall from fame. Instead, she gave a “Thank you.” and went on her merry way.

“Maybe I should audition for a company. It can’t be that bad, right?” she pondered.

The following night, she spent time searching for entertainment companies and how to audition. She aspired to be like Lalisa, so she was going to take her advice.