"You're kidding me, right?" I said in disbelief. At this point in time, there was a serious chance that my eyeballs were going to pop.

"What do you think? Do I look imposing?"

I stared at her clothed s, which heaved as she talked. "Yes..." I answered dryly.

"I still think that the jacket's not tight enough..." she mumbled as she pulled the sides of her coat.

I covered my eyes in horror. "Stop tugging at your coat, Lisa, otherwise I'm going get you for ual harassment!"

"Let's go the whole fog!"

I tried not to roll my eyes. "It's hog, Lisa." Seriously, has spending so much time in Korea weakened your grasp of the English language?

I should probably explain a little here. Meet Lalisa Manoban. Koreaboo, drama addict, dance fanatic. Who happens to be my best friend.

Lisa was so besotted with all things Korean that she decided she had to get a nick name. It didn't matter that she was Thai and had blonde hair. In fact, it was all for the better – she didn't have to wear wigs while doing some cosplay.

Presently she stood in front of me, wearing a dark green military-style jacket over a skimpy white waistcoat. She looked just like one of those characters in that drama she has been hooked on for the past week.

"Here's yours!" she said as a set of clothes magically appeared in front of me.

My eyeballs bulged again. What is this? "I never said I was going to join you!"

"Wear it."

"I refuse."

"Then I'll make you."

I snorted in reply. As if!

Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed in the costume which Lisa had gotten me. What choice did I have, I was living in her apartment? And the laws of nature dictated that you're at the mercy of your landlord (especially when you're staying for free).

I stood in front of the mirror, turning this way and that to look at the black  long-sleeved-dress I was wearing, with red- very red lipstick. At least I wasn't showing off some body part which I had no intention to share with the world.

"You look exactly like a high-class business woman."

"And what's our relationship?"

"Well... We're basically rivals..." Her voice trailed off.

I quirked an eyebrow. "I trash you every time huh?"

Lisa merely folded her arms and huffed. I sniggered. Talk about art imitating life.

I shan't say too much about what happened thereafter, except that we were practically mobbed at the cosplay convention. I spent the entire afternoon posing for pictures with a frozen smile on my face. The only thing missing was me waving while saying "world peace!"

"Urgh, my poor feet." I collapsed into the large cushy sofa at the corner of a cute cafe.

Lisa rolled her eyes while her friend, Rosé, merely smiled.

Lisa met Rosé at one of her dance events, and the latter became one of her closest friends in Korea. I won't say I know Rosé very well, since I've only been in Seoul for a grand total of 10 days, but she's polite, bubbly, and somewhat shy. I like her.

Though more than that, I like the funny reaction I get from Lisa whenever I tease Rosie.

"What would you like to have, Jennie-ssi?"

"Aww Rosé, please just call me Jennie Unnie!" I wrapped one arm around her shoulder. "I'll have whatever you are having." Couple that with a mischievous grin and...

"Jennie!" Lisa's face was even redder than the supposed victim.

Geez, Lisa.

"I'm just being friendly. Right, Rosie?"

Rosé just nodded her head bashfully before scurrying off to make the orders.

Lisa shot me another look of admonishment, but she quickly regained her merry mood.

"So, have you managed to contact your cousin yet?"

I groaned. The reason why I'm in Korea? To get my dear cousin Jiyong aka. GD, to move back to New Zealand in time to attend his mother's wedding – or to put it more accurately, his mother's wedding to his new stepdad.

Of course, I'm fully aware that that's only part of the reason why my mom decided that I should spend my summer vacation in Korea.

One lazy Sunday afternoon, my mom decided to "sit me down". And I knew it. The current hot topic: Jennie's social life (or the lack thereof).

"Oh Honey…"

Oh dear. It's never anything good when she uses the H-word.

"I need you to go to Korea to get your cousin back in time for the wedding…"

"At the same time, it'll be nice if you can get in touch with your roots..."

"Make more friends..."

Alright. So, I don't really have many friends. I blame it on my parents though. As my dad's a global business man of sorts we've been moving from place to place all my life. We've never stopped long enough for me to get to know people better, and eventually I didn't even want to try. Lisa's my best friend only because she literally stormed her way into my heart, like she was laying siege to a castle. That is, of course, another story for another time.

"Who knows, you might finally meet that person of your dreams."

At this point I noted my mom didn't even confine said person to the opposite . I guess she was really getting desperate. Same mom, same…

I haven't been in a single relationship before, even though I was already in university. No giddy spells, no chest aches, no little butterflies treating my stomach as a garden. Nope, nothing, nada. My mom claims that I'm too "detached", but I really don't think it's a big deal? I'm perfectly happy with the way life is right now.

Back to my conversation with Lisa.

"I finally managed to get hold of him yesterday."

"Really?" Lisa appeared surprised. Well, I can't blame her. My dear cousin has been avoiding me like the plague and refusing to take my calls. Even when I tried to throw him off the scent by using Lisa's phone – he hung up on me.

"Well, you know, you can run but you can't hide from Jennie Kim…" I winked at Lisa as I related the following tale to her.

Basically, I had made my way to YG Entertainment. I heard that my cousin was a big deal there as an assistant producer or something.

A benefit of looking a tad bit like a foreigner is that you can pretend that you don't understand what was being said (although in my case, I did have no idea what was said). I went up to the guards and mumbled that I needed to use the washroom and scooted off before they could stop me. Other times I told them that I lost my dog, my cat, my grandmother, or all of the above inside the studio and came to collect them. I know I know, it wasn't very nice on my part, but it was rather amusing to see the look of utter confusion on their faces.

After meandering around the labyrinth of the studio for ages, I finally came to a room. It didn't matter that there were loads of other people there; at last I had found the person I had travelled all the way to Korea for.

"Kwon Jiyong”

My dear cousin spun around. Oh, come on, even if you didn't want to see me, you didn't have to scream and sprint off like you just ran into a headless ghost! I quickly grabbed him by the arm.

"I. Need. To. Talk. To. You!"

Oh yes, we had so much to talk about. I mentally noted that I should ask about his hair. The way it was cut asymmetrically was cool, but what's with the fiery red colour?

"Look, Jiyong..GD Oppa... Auntie really, really wants you to be present at the wedding..." Not to mention that my own mother will make sashimi out of me if I fail my mission.

But before I could launch into my thesis on why he should come back with me, Jiyong let out a dramatic sigh. "That's not it, Jen…"

I raised one eyebrow. What is he playing at now?

"Well, uh... I owe my landlord rent..."

I frowned. "How much?"

He stuck out five digits.

"Five hundred thousand won?" Okay, that shouldn't be too much of a problem. But she shook her head and gestured again with her hand.

" Five hundred fifty thousand won?" Another shake of the head plus a "duh" look.

"Five million won."

"Five million won?" Was she living in a palace or something?

My dear cousin simply shrugged his petite shoulders. "Rent's high here."

I leaned against the wall and massaged my nose bridge. What on earth did I do to deserve this?

"Were you my jilted lover in one of my past lives seeking revenge?" I could totally see it. I had probably slept with him and then dumped him. And stole his bed sheets while I was at it.

He put on an innocent look. "I can't help it..."

The wedding's in two months’ time! How was I supposed to find that much money in the meantime? I guess I could get it from either my or Jiyong's parents, but I wouldn't want to get him into trouble. Because he's my dear cousin.

Oh god. That means I would need to get a job.

While I was talking to Jiyong Oppa there was this guy who kept looking at me. He was rather short and stout, with a moustache that reminded me of the titular character in Super Mario. Anyway, Mario who had been staring at me earlier took the opportunity to pull my cousin aside and whispered to him in Korean. I was kind of annoyed at the way he stole glances at me throughout the conversation, his moustache quivering with excitement. It was quite creepy. At last, Jiyong spoke to me in English.

"That's the Director of YG. He has a proposal for you."

"He's offering you a job, as a personal assistant for one of his idols."

I looked at my cousin suspiciously. "But I don't even speak Korean."

"Well, he's not concerned with that. Said he's hiring you because there's an idol that he wants to break into the US market."

Jiyong fell silent, but the YG dude prodded him in the arm, and he continued reluctantly. "He's willing to pay you three million won a month."

Hmm. That means I should have more or less enough in about two months.

I glanced at Jiyong, who was wearing a smirk on his face. He obviously thought that I wouldn't accept the offer.

Well, most people would have found my decision unbelievable, but disregarding the threat of bodily harm from my mom, I too wanted my cousin to be present at the wedding. He and my aunt have been estranged for far too long.

"What are the terms?" I asked. And I tried my best not to chuckle when I saw the crestfallen look on Jiyong's face.

"Are you serious? Director of YG. YG!!!! Offered you a job?" Lisa was so agitated she had risen halfway from her seat. Rosé, who had by this time returned with steaming cups of beverages, pulled her gently by the arm to sit down.

"You know that guy?"

"Of course! He's the owner of the biggest talent agency in Korea, or might I mention whole freaking ASIA!"

"Okay..." I wondered how Lisa knew such things.

"So, have you signed the agreement?"

"Obvs..."

Lisa had a look of absolute shock on her face.

"Hey, I did consider the terms before I signed the contract."

My duty, essentially, is to assist the manager. That means running errands and accompanying the artiste to his or her performances or appearances. Nothing too drastic, really.

"I'm not an idiot, you know." I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the sofa.

Lisa's expression turned into a smirk. "Someone's still sulking, I see."

I folded my arms. "I'm not."

I sat in that position for three seconds before unfolding my arms irritably. "I mean, it's an accident! I already apologized!"

"Stupid Jewel girl..." I grumbled in a lower voice.

Unfortunately, Lisa heard me. "Jewel girl?"

"Yeah, yeah. You know those Dramas you like to watch? She totally looks like those roles who are surrounded by this cold, untouchable aura. In fact, I think she shoots icicles from her eyes!"

Lisa burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" I reached for my drink, feeling quite annoyed. I'm the victim here you know!

Trust Rosé to be nice enough to explain things to me.

"Oh. Jisoo-ssi is one of the biggest idols in Korea now. She's known as the 'Ice Princess' actually."

Right on cue, a bus stopped right in front of the cafe. The purple-haired girl in the advertisement held a cup of coffee languidly as she peered out of the poster, her black orbs threatening to burn a hole in my head.

Crap. I think my matcha latte just went down the wrong tube.