“Hello, everyone! I am pleased to meet and welcome you all to the SM Entertainment internship program! You have all worked very hard to be here and the SM family is happy to welcome you not only as staff, but as partners, friends, and, for a select few of you at the end of the program, family, too!” Kwon Boa announced, her angelic smile stunning you and the other interns as you collectively gawked at the original and only queen of the SM family. She giggled sweetly and bowed politely before regaining her composure. “Thank you all for the support, but this day and this company is not about me. It’s about you and all the other wonderful staff who make this company work!” she insisted, pointing at all of you, causing a roar of claps and congratulations amongst yourselves. “Does anyone have any questions before I begin?” Everyone shook their heads, still in awe at the goddess before them. “Ok, great! I have some questions then. Don’t be shy, speak up,” she began. “So, what is SM Entertainment, hmm?” she proposed, looking around the room at your shy and now puzzled faces. A hand shakily raised into the air. She nodded in her direction.

            “Well, SM Entertainment is the best company in the South Korean music industry, founded by Cal State Northridge graduate, Lee Soo Man,” she began.

            “Yes, yes, this is correct and very good job,” Boa interjected, politely. “But you sound more like an encyclopedia if you don’t mind me saying so. Let’s try again. You’ve got to really feels it. So, what is SM Entertainment?” Everyone looked at each other, afraid. “Don’t be shy. If someone doesn’t say anything, then I’ll just have to pick someone. I’ll wait~” No one said a word. You raised your hand bravely, not wanting to disappoint the queen herself. She beamed at you.

            “Well,” you began, your mind instantly flashing back to minutes before as you meltedin Mark’s warm embrace, heard his heart in his words, and wanted time to stop for only the two of you. “SM Entertainment is a family that runs on the hearts and souls of its artists, their hard work translated, spread, and merchandized by their loving and understanding staff. It’s more than a business, it’s a partnership where one side takes care of the other with branches of personal support in every way,” you guessed, nearly trembling. She smirked.

            “And how did you learn that already?” she probed, nodding, her fingers to her chin.

            “I spent some time getting to know the artists, our family, already,” you admitted, much to the other interns’ amazement.

            “Ah, I see you already met part if not all of your team. Very proactive of you. I’m proud of you,” she praised. “And who is your partner or team?”

            “Well, I think I am working exclusively with Mark Lee as his personal assistant, though I was told I am to interact with and somewhat manage the rest of all of his groupmates. I am supposed to coordinate with their personal assistants, too, I think?” you stated nervously.

            “Don’t be so insecure. You’re doing fine,” she assured you as she gently placed her hand on your shoulder. “That’s correct. All of you are personal assistants for one or more of our talented artists here and you must coordinate with their management and support teams to really show us what you got and shine,” Boa explained to the crowd. “If you would open your folders, you will see who you will be working with and some general things to know about them and their schedules. Does anyone have any questions at this point?” she asked amongst the rustling of papers, excited squeals, and dreadful moans at the realization of how much work this would be. “Yes, I realize this is a lot of work, but you all do have some experience in business and people management which is why you’re here. We want you to put that to good use and become part of our busy family. The benefits of doing so are endless,” she advocated.

            “Like what? Will we all get to the go to company parties and stuff? I hear you guys have the best Halloween parties in all of Korea!” the boy across from you babbled.

            “Yes, yes, I do so love our Halloween parties. There are parties, vacations, incentives. Everything that you could ever want at a company is right here with us. If you work hard, you won’t only build great relations with our artists, but you’ll feel like you belong, which is what we want you to do,” she elucidated. “Any more questions?” Aside from more pages flipping, the room was otherwise silent. “Good! There really isn’t much to explain since you have had some experience in this field, but I would like to bring in another guest to let you know just how excited we are to have you here,” Boa announced.

            “Hi, guys~” Wendy’s velvet voice drifted in the air as she strutted gracefully into the room. The room erupted in cheers. You looked up at Boa who smiled a soft smile as she gathered her things. “Thank you so much, Queen Boa,” Wendy thanked her earnestly, bowing several times to her sunbae. “You guys are so~ lucky to have even gotten to talk to the almighty Boa. She’s royalty,” she fangirled as Boa bowed politely, fighting off a blush as she waved at Wendy and the group of you.

            “Wendy, you’re so sweet! Thank you, thank you. Listen well to her. I have to take my leave since business never stops. I have to fly off to Japan to promote my new album,” she stated reluctantly, bowing and waving to you all before exiting the room as gracefully as she had waltzed in.

            “I love that woman,” Wendy sighed as she watched her idol disappear down the hall.

            “And we love you, Wendy,” you chimed amongst the loud chatter, looking up at her as she stood at the head of the table, not far from you. She didn’t even acknowledge your existence. You felt a shudder down your spine, but dismissed it, thinking you were only being paranoid. Maybe she didn’t hear you and even if she did, she didn’t have to acknowledge you; she was so popular and certainly too busy to entertain everyone’s comments and fantasies.

            “Again, hi, guys~ It’s nice to meet all of you and welcome to the SM family! I’m sure the queen has gone over just about everything you need to know like who we are, what we stand for, stuff like that. I’m just here to make you all a little more comfortable with the work you will be doing. Does anyone have any questions about what it’s like to just be under this roof with all of these people that I’m sure you guys know all about? Ask me anything~” she encouraged.

            “Well, what is it like?” a girl diagonal from you inquired. “Like, what was it like your first day here?”

            “Well, I’m not going to lie. I was terrified. SM Entertainment is the place of legends, right? Although I came in as a trainee, much different from what you guys are, I still felt like there was so much to learn, so much to see, so much to do and too little time to do it all. It was one of the scariest, but most rewarding days of my life,” she reminisced.

            “And how did you get through all the bad times?” someone in the back asked, leaning forward. “I have to help manage the Lee Taemin,” he groaned.

            “Oh, if you don’t like him, I’ll gladly trade with you,” Wendy jested. “But, to answer your question, I just remembered what I had to do and that this was my dream. I wasn’t going to let a few bad days where I messed up on choreo or forgot a line here or there get in the way of me showing my real potential.”

            “This might be stupid to ask, but are you close to anyone here? This is family right?” the girl next to you queried.

            “Yes, of course, I’m close with people! I’m close with all my sisters from Red Velvet, but I’m also really close to a few other people. Though I wish I could get close to Taemin,” she paused, winking at the person in the back, “I have found myself really close to the NCT boys,” she added, her voice cooling at the mention of NCT with an icy glare in your direction to match. Did you just imagine that or was Wendy trying to tell you something sinister hidden behind that friendly mask of hers? There was no way. She didn’t even know you. You cursed yourself for being paranoid again.

            “So what advice would you give us then? No offense, but you’re not a rookie to the company, but nor are you royalty just yet, though you’re a queen in my book. So how do we, us nerdy interns with a passion for people management but no experience on a scale like this, stand out but not cause any trouble at the same time?” you asked shakily, pen ready to jot down notes. The other interns did the same. Her smile was bitterly menacing, torturous almost as you began to think she truly didn’t like you.

            “Well, you just learn how to stay in your lane. You shouldn’t worry about comparing yourself to anyone because let’s face it, there are just going to be some people you can’t compare to. That’s how you stay out of trouble,” she began, staring down at you, watching as your pen came to a halt. You looked up at her and then around the room at the others who were still writing. Her twisted, mocking smile was still there, sending you a silent warning. “And standing out isn’t that hard, everyone, if you just believe that you know what you’re doing. I know all of you are here for ultimately the same thing, but you need belief and skill more than luck,” she paused, nearly hissing at you, “to make it in this company, with each other, and our artists. That is, if you want to stay. And you all want to stay and become bona fide SM Entertainment family, right?” Pens dropped and everyone nodded, reveling in her inspirational words, the same words that jabbed at your heart and scrambled your brain. Maybe you weren’t being paranoid. But how could she feel this way about you already? Who was she after and what did she want from you?

            “Well, that’s about all I can say on the matter. I have rehearsal in a few. It was great meeting all of you. I can give autographs on the way out. I’m no Boa, but I’ll be glad to give one to anyone who wants one.” The room cheered as everyone scrambled for their backpacks and opened their notebooks before forming a single file line. Since you were closest to her and the door, you decided to sit in your seat until the rest of the people had left since they were packed in line more tightly than anchovies. You fiddled with your pen, your chin nestled in your free hand as you heard her gleefully ask each intern’s name, the scribble of her signature, and the proud and excited squeals that would follow. You had to be paranoid. She was so kind, so outgoing. There was no way she could hate you already. You cursed yourself for feeling so insecure, something you knew you would have to overcome if you wanted to survive in the company. It amazed you how easily Mark had welcomed you, made you feel like you belonged, everything that Boa promised should happen during your time at the company. Johnny, too, had been so helpful, so attentive though you had only brushed into him a few times. However, as you sat here next to another grand celebrity that didn’t even seem like she was giving you the time of day, you couldn’t completely dissuade yourself that you weren’t just another irrelevant nobody given the opportunity of a lifetime in a company full of somebodies. You knew that not everyone in the company was born a somebody, but you knew you, a personal assistant intern, would have to stand out to fit into a place like this.

            “Don’t tell me you don’t want an autograph~ Am I really that scary?” she pouted, poking you in your shoulder once the last intern had left. “What’s wrong?” she inquired, sitting on the edge of the table where you were.

            “I just can’t believe I’m in the same room as you, Wendy. I’m just so honored to be here,” you half lied.

            “You’re feeling a little down, huh? Like you can’t do it or there’s just so much to do?” she inferred. You looked up at her, finding warmth in her caring demeanor. You nodded meekly. “It’s alright, we’ve all been through it,” she admitted, patting you on the shoulder.

            “So, how did you guys do it?” you asked abruptly.

            “How did we? We still are,” she corrected. You nodded. Of course. “Well, in this kind of business whether you are the artist or the staff, you have to protect what you stand for, who you are,  and what’s yours, whether that be your talent, your brains or even your friends, and that’s exactly what I do,” she explained, grabbing for your pen and notebook. “This kind of business is a high risk game and you have to do what you have to do. We all do. Boa does it. I do it. I protect what’s mine,” she whispered, scribbling in your notebook and closing it lightly.

            “So, that’s all I have to do?” you asked obliviously.

            “Well, that’s a start and it’s always better to be ahead of the game, to know what’s going on before it happens, right? I believe in you, but you have to just believe in yourself and stay in your lane,” she shrugged, smirking.

            “You’re right. Thank you so much, Wendy!” you replied earnestly, feeling reenergized and ready to take this company by storm.

            “No, problem. Just let me know if you need anything~ I’ll see you around,” she chimed sweetly, bowing and exiting the room.

You had to be paranoid, only imagining things.

With that, you stood, reaching for your notebook and opening it.

You weren’t paranoid.

 

           

 

 

            “Ah, I’m so glad you could make it. I could almost swear Mark was going to keep you away from me,” Johnny greeted you as you rushed towards him, backpack half open, name badge crooked on your now sagging shirt. “What happened back there?” he asked, raising an eyebrow when you finally reached him, the panting mess that you were. “He didn’t?” he insinuated.

            “No, no, it’s nothing like that. It’s just that the staff meeting went a little over and I had no way of letting you know if I was going to be late so I rushed over here before the lead could even finish saying goodbye,” you fibbed, bent over, huffing. You decided not to tell him about your encounter with Wendy, completely unsure of what it even meant. You didn’t want to ruin a much needed and anticipated date with him.

            “You didn’t to have to do all of that for me. It’s your first day on the job so I wouldn’t even be surprised if you got a little lost in this huge fortress of a company,” he consoled you, rubbing your back softly. You tensed slightly at the touch as this was not helping you catch your breath or ease your heart.

            “Ah, about that. Mark showed me around everywhere today. I think I should know where everything is!” you pointed out proudly, standing up straight and putting your hands on your hips.

            “Oh, he did, did he?” You nodded. “Well, I’m sure he hasn’t shown you my favorite spot in the company, the place that I like to go to relax,” he surmised. You cocked your head to the side. “Good, we can go after ramen. Let’s get out of here,” he suggested, grabbing your wrist and leading you out into the brisk winter air.