After a month of silence from A Team, I gave up. Surely they would’ve contacted me by now. So-Yung keeps telling me that it’s normal that it takes so long, seeing as they have to look at and discuss thousands of auditions. But I’m not convinced. A month is too long. Well, time to get on with my life, I guess. Mother suggests that I look at other kinds of work I can do with my musical training. I’m thinking the same thing, because I could never give up music for a job.

One Thursday afternoon, while I’m browsing through some jobs on teaching, Geum-Suk flies into my room. I jump and throw my pencil at her instinctively. It hits her right on the nose and she yelps.

“Gigi, what the hell?” She rubs the offended appendage and glares at me, her eyes tearing up. I shrug and bend over the edge of my bed to grab my pencil. The point is missing. Geum-Suk grumbles and punches my arm before plopping face-down onto my bed. Right on me. I wheeze out a groan.

“Geum-Suk, you fatty! Get off of me!”

“No, apologize first.” I roll my eyes at her sassy tone.

“I’m not going to apologize, you scared me and I reacted. Instant karma.” It’s quiet for some time and then I feel her weight moving off of my back.

“Non-apology accepted.”

I give her a pointed stare and turn back to my computer.

“What are you doing here anyway? I’m busy.” These jobs won’t apply themselves, you know. I feel her move and glance at her. She sticks out her tongue and waves an envelope around.

“Guess you won’t need this then?” I grab at the envelope but she swings it out of reach and tuts at me.

“I want an earnest apology. My nose still hurts!” I squint at her and she stares back.

“I think you’re forgetting something important, little sister.”

“Oh yeah? What?”

“The fact that I’m the big sister,” I smirk as I pounce on her. We wrestle a bit before I manage to pin her down. I laugh triumphantly and snatch the envelope from her fingers. I release her and Geum-Suk glares at me but keeps silent, impatience on her face. I turn back to the envelope and rip it open. The letter has the A Team logo on it. I look up at Geum-Suk.

“Did you know?”

Geum-Suk smiles. “I hoped.”

“Dear Ham Ji-Ae, we are pleased to invite you in for a second audition! Gummie, I got a second audition!” I scream and jump up and down like a schoolgirl that got asked out by her crush. Geum-Suk laughs and hugs me.

“I knew you would. Now, we have a lot of preparation to do,” She muses, as she steals the letter from my hands.

“When is the audition? In a week. So that gives us six days to- ,” She counts on her fingers, “prepare your little speech, practice another song or two, find an outfit, … Gosh, that’s a lot. Better get to it!”

I laugh. Leave it to Gummie to organize everything in a short time. Only fifteen and already a real entrepreneur. She’s gonna take over the world.

“Now what did you say about outfits?”

~*~

Six days later…

Audition day. My sisters are coming with this time and while I’m happy for the support, I’m also terribly nervous that I have to tell them I did bad.

We enter the A Team Entertainment building ten minutes early. So-Yung grabs my arm and pulls me into the bathroom.

“Let’s touch up your make-up. And maybe brush your teeth again.”

I nod in agreement. I brush my teeth and reapply some lip gloss. My sisters check me over. Geum-Suk pulls my top straight and then we head over to where other people are waiting. I think there must be around fifteen people, all male. A couple of them look up and I bow a bit before taking a seat in one of the chairs. I hear Geum-Suk giggle and look up to her waving at one guy. He blushes and waves back.

“She’s fifteen! No flirting with a minor!” I yell over the crowd. The ones who heard shuffle awkwardly away from us. Geum-Suk stomps her foot angrily.

“Ya, Ji-Ae!”

I smirk at her and So-Yung chuckles. Geum-Suk huffs and crosses her arms over her chest, pouting. They sit down and we talk about stupid stuff while time ticks by. More than an hour passes before I hear my name called.

“Break a leg”, So-Yung whispers with an encouraging smile.

Geum-Suk grins and crosses her arms confidently over her chest. “She’s going to knock them off their feet, just like last time.”

A nervous smile tugs at my lips. “I hope so.”

I wipe my clammy hands on my pants and step inside the audition room. There are three people waiting for me. Two men and a woman. I bow and greet them each with a two-handed handshake.

“Take a seat,” the woman smiles kindly. “Can you introduce yourself in every language you can speak?”

I sit on the high stool in front of them. “Annyeonghaseyo, jeoneun Ham Ji-Aeigo jeoneun 22 sal-ibnida. Hello, my name is Ham Ji-Ae and I'm 22 years old. Bonjour, je m’appelle Ham Ji-Ae et j’ai 22 ans.”

The man on the right nods and writes something down on his notebook. He has glasses and pretty wild hair. I like his style. His name is Cheon Young Ki. The man on the right has more business-like styling: clean-shaven, side part and a polo shirt. He seems more strict, I’m a little scared of him. Even his name sounds like his style, Ma Yung-Ho. The woman is gorgeous and doesn’t look that much older than me with long wavy hair, pearls and perfect make-up. A gorgeous woman needs an appropriate name and Hwang Min-Hoo fits like glove. Mr. Ma asks the next question.

“Why do you want to be a trainee?” I look down and think about an answer. An honest one seems best here. I look up at Mr. Ma.

“Because I realize this is what I want to do and I’d love to tell my children and grandchildren of the adventures I had being a trainee/idol. I’d be proud of myself for accomplishing something so hard and enjoyable. I love to sing, I love to dance and I’d love to do that for as long as possible.” He nods and Ms. Hwang catches my attention.

“Here’s an easier question. What’s your favorite food, animal and music genre?” I smile, thinking off the BBQ me and my sisters are going to eat after this.

“I love food, I’m not really picky. I do love bananas, any type of BBQ and sweet food. My favorite animals are dogs, red pandas and eagles, especially the Steller Sea Eagle. As for music genres, I love reggaeton, ballads, folk and rock. And all songs with a happy kind of melody.” More nodding and writing. This feels like déja-vu but I guess it’s normal, I mean, how else can you react in this situation?

“What are your hobbies?” Mr. Cheon asks me. I tap my lips and start counting on my fingers.

“Besides singing, dancing and rapping, I like photography, fashion, going to the arcade, writing to my pen pal, hanging out with friends and my sisters, … I actually do a lot of things.” I smile, a bit embarrassed. Mr. Cheon smiles like he finds my embarrassment endearing, or just plain funny and immediately launches into the next question.

“What music/groups do you like?”

“I’m more of a song fan than artist fan, you know what I mean? But I do love Blackpink, Day6, Lizzo and Charlie Puth. I like a lot of American songs, because my pen pal is American and she always introduces me to new artists. As for Korean Music, I like way too many songs from different groups to list, but Blackpink makes me really want to dance and Day6 was my first K-pop concert, so they hold a little space in my heart.” Mr. Cheon writes something down and Mr. Ma ticks his pen against his notebook. His stare feels really heavy on my face.

“Do you play any instruments?” I stare at his nose as a blush crawls up my cheeks.

“I’m studying the guitar, but I’m definitely not good yet.” Mr. Ma shows no reaction and Mrs. Hwang smirks at him. I wonder why she does that. Maybe they’re together. She turns to me and smiles.

“If you debut, what concept would you like to have for your debut?”

I blush again and try to suppress a nervous giggle, “Honestly, I haven’t given it much thought, because I like a lot of concepts. If I need to make a top something, Military, Bad Girl and Supernatural would be in it.” She grins at me.

“I like Supernatural too.” I grin back and Mr. Ma asks another question.

“What are your favorite subjects at school?” This one is again a multi-answer for me, what’s with me that I can’t just give one subject?

“I was good at math and science, but I loved the arts program the most. Music and fine arts. Although, while I’m thinking about it, I liked PE and social studies too.”

“Do you think you’re more introverted or extroverted?” Mr. Cheon asks, a curious look on his face.

“I’m a very open person. I love meeting people and can talk pretty much about anything. I’m definitely an extroverted person. I think most people would say that too about me. But then, when I’m, like, forced into meeting someone or doing something new, then I can be shy because I’m uncomfortable. I do warm up quickly.” He nods, like he more than just understands what I’m saying. Ms. Hwang speak up again.

“If you had the chance to be friends with any famous person, who would you be friends with?”

“I think it would be… Taehyung or V from BTS, because I like the way he thinks and we have quite a bit in common.”

“Can you elaborate?”

“Sure, I’ve watched some compilations of him being himself and I find that I behave that way too. He dances at the most random moments, he likes making faces, he’s a goofy person and I like that about him. He’s also very creative in the sense of ideas and solutions and he likes photography. He’s a great actor and he can sleep sitting up. Now, I know I’m not as a creative mind as he is, but I’ve been told I’m unpredictable in my responses sometimes, in a good way. And I’m also a goofy person, I love to make people laugh by doing silly things like making faces and dancing funny. So yeah, I think we are alike in a way or two.” Ms. Hwang smiles, satisfied, and writes something down on het notebook. Mr. Ma writes something and asks the next question while he’s still writing.

“Aside from singing/dancing, what skill would you like to learn as a trainee?”

“I’d love to learn to play the piano and how to write songs. And maybe have some professional help with guitar too. I also would like to learn how to live more healthy. I feel like my life-style could use some help.” He nods and Mr. Cheon fires off another one.

“What was your dream job as a kid?”

“I think I’ve wanted to be an idol until I was fourteen. That year was pretty hard for me because I was injured in a car crash and then the dream kind of evaporated for a while. But after my graduation, I saw so many successful idols and I wanted to be one too again.”

“Can you tell more about the crash? How were you injured? Are there lasting effects?”

“I don’t really remember much of the crash itself, but it was winter and we were driving home from a family gathering. There was an icy spot in one of the turns and we went off the road. The paramedics told me that we ended up 30 meters down the mountain. No one was critically hurt, I had a concussion and a nasty cut on my hip. Is that a problem though? That I have a scar on my hip?”

Ms. Hwang looks a bit sympathetic for my cause and shakes her head. “Your scar is not a problem. It should be almost always hidden.” Mr. Cheon nods, like he agrees with what Ms. Hwang says.

“Last question, what does music mean to you?”

“It’s probably a recurring answer, but music means the world to me. It helped me through my recovery. I also think it’s the most beautiful form of communication. Every songs carries a message that can be interpreted in different ways. And I honestly have cried hearing some of them. I don’t think I could live without music.” The three of them lean back and Mr. Ma clicks his pen a few times.

“Okay, that was it for the questions. Could you do a song for us real quick?”

“Of course. I prepared an English and a Korean song, do you have a preference?”

“The English would be better for us to hear how your accent while singing is.”

I nod and give the flash drive with my chosen song to the sound technician. He starts it up and I get in my begin position. Someone moved the stool so that I have enough room to dance. The song starts and I immediately move along with its sultry beat. The lyrics are meant to be y, but I feel more like a girl with a love for someone who she shouldn’t love. I step left, dive right, jump back and slide forward. Body roll. Powerful arm movements. Long notes.

I half expected the jury to cut in somewhere with a ‘that’s all we needed to see, thank you’ but it never came. The last word leaves my lips and I freeze in my ending position. After a couple of seconds, I rise up and look at the judges. Their faces don’t reveal much. The sound technician hands me my flash drive back and I quickly bow with a thank you. The guy nods and returns to his post. The judges stand and I go to shake their hands. The woman smiles a little and the man on the left nods almost reassuringly.

“What was your song choice for Korean?” The man on the right asks me.

“Oh, uh, Red Velvet’s Red Flavor with their choreography.”

He nods and slides his glasses back up his nose.

“Well, that was all we needed from your audition, you’ll be hearing from us.”

“Okay, it was nice to meet you and have a good day.”

I bow goodbye, and leave the room. As I open the door, my sisters crash into me, making me stumble. I hear faint sniggering before the door falls closed. I laugh and hug the two psychos back.

“How did it go? You were in there for a long time.” So-Yung mumbles as she releases me. I shrug.

“They asked a lot of questions.” Geum-Suk rolls her eyes playfully.

“Of course they did. You’re the most interesting person I’ve ever met. Not.” I slap her arm.

“Same goes for you, Gummie.” She grumbles about her ‘stupid nickname’ as we stroll outside.

“Well, you can tell us all about it while we get some BBQ,” So-Yung smiles excitedly.

Songlist:

• Kingdom Come by Demi Lovato for English vocals and rap with own choreography

• Red Flavor by Red Velvet for Korean vocals and rap with their choreography