1
Illusion
Da Eun stared at the building upfront, the facade wasn't anything special and she would have walked right past it if it hadn't been for the address. The empty streets around it surprised her even more, as she'd thought fans would be camping outside, waiting for their biases to show. It made everything easier as she's heard how crazy some of the fans could be. Taking a deep breath she glanced back at her suitcase, "let's do this now." the heavy object became a problem quite instantly though, when she arrived at the staircase, which lead up to the entrance. Da Eun hadn't had time to swing by her new apartment, and had left for the SM building directly from the airport. A bad decision. But it was too late to think about that and the girl had no choice but to try and drag it up. A task harder said than done, considering the weight of the suitcase. Thirty-four kilograms weren't something you simply eased up fifteen- twenty steps without trouble.
It took her ten minutes to complete half the staircase and she was out of breath and panting like a madman, "I'll never be this stupid again." Da Eun looked up, a sigh slipping from her lips, "I need some rest." the suitcase weighed almost as much as she did and it was a miracle she'd even managed to get that far. Placing herself down on the semi-cold concrete she breathed out, the flight from New York had worn her out to a point where Da Eun wished for a few hours of sleep.
It took her ten minutes to complete half the staircase and she was out of breath and panting like a madman, "I'll never be this stupid again." Da Eun looked up, a sigh slipping from her lips, "I need some rest." the suitcase weighed almost as much as she did and it was a miracle she'd even managed to get that far. Placing herself down on the semi-cold concrete she breathed out, the flight from New York had worn her out to a point where Da Eun wished for a few hours of sleep.
"Excuse me. You can't sit there." her heart skipped a beat, frightened by the sudden voice, before she stood up and turned to face the other person, who was dressed in some sort of security guard uniform, "sorry. I was resting…" the girl stopped mid-sentence to cough, as her Korean was a bit rusty. She wasn't too used with it, not yet at least. "Fans are not permitted to go up here so I must ask you to step down." Da Eun shook her head and reached for the bag slung over her shoulder, "I'm the new hairstylist, not a fan." she showed him the piece of paper she'd received through the mail, one the girl had been instructed to bring with. "Can I see some identification." once again did she reach for the bag, but this time to get her wallet and her drivers license. "It says Ashley Lee here." Da Eun was not one to lose patience easily, but this was getting ridiculous, "Ashley is my English name and Da Eun is my Korean." the male glanced down at the paper and the ID once more, as if to make sure it was all in order, before handing them over to her, "alright."
The interior was much more welcoming and warm and she couldn't help but to smile a little. "Please let this be worth it." the smile faded a bit as she remembered everyone she'd left in the US, all her friends, family and boyfriend. But this opportunity was rare and to work with such a huge company could open a lot of doors for her in the future, something she'd also explained to her boyfriend before applying for the job. He hadn't been too excited though, about being apart for six months, possibly a year. But Da Eun had promised him it would be worth it. Plus, he would be all finished with college once she returned.
Pushing aside those matters she strode up to some sort of information desk, the woman sitting behind it glanced up from whatever she was doing to look at her, "can I help you?" Da Eun handed the paper and the ID card over, it was easier that way as she wouldn't have to speak and try to make herself understood in a language she was still struggling with. The girl been taught the language at home, by her mother and father. But it was also the only place where she'd used it before. "You're here to see Mr. Oh." Da Eun nodded, having no idea who that was, "Okay. Take the elevator up to the seventh floor, turn right and there you'll see the name written on a door. Knock and wait for someone to open." the girl nodded once more before getting the paper and ID back. Seemed simple enough. "Thank you." she bowed and then headed for the elevator on her left.
Faint music could be heard as she stood outside the man's office, waiting. It was an uptempo beat and she felt that smile grow on her lips again. Da Eun didn't know much about music, but listened to anything she thought was good. Her thoughts were interrupted as the door was shoved open, thus revealing a middle-aged man around her father's age. "Hello, I'm Oh Jinchul." he smiled, his teeth showing and the girl bowed yet again, "it's nice to meet you, I'm Lee Da Eun." the smile remained on his face even after he'd asked her to step into his office. "You brought your luggage with you." slightly embarrassed she looked down, "the plane was a bit late so I didn't have time to drop it off." a nervousness she hadn't felt before began to make itself known and the girl bit down on her lower lip. "I see. May I ask where you live?" she found no harm in the question explained that she'd rented a small apartment in Itaewon. "Good, I can count on you being here in a short notice then." the girl had already looked into it and estimated the subway ride to be about twenty minutes, which was more than okay. "Please take a seat."
Da Eun couldn't say she was surprised when the man pulled out a contract from underneath his stack of papers, "it's a safety measure and you'll have to sign this if you want to work for us." but one thing bothered the said girl though, and she didn't hesitate to point it out, "I'm still lacking when it comes to reading Korean so I would really appreciate if you could go through the rules and everything." said and done, the man explained how she had to keep quiet about everything revolving the artists and those who work within the building. Nothing could be revealed to the public, and it was important they could trust her with the information she was going to be given. "I will not tolerate any romantic relationship with any artist and you'll be fired immediately if something like that were to be discovered." she had a loving boyfriend back home so anything like that would definitely not happen, "I understand."
She signed and they talked for another fifteen minutes, about the salary, working hours and other necessary things Da Eun wanted to know, before he offered to show her around the building. "You can leave your suitcase here." doing as told she then followed with him to the elevator, which took them down to the entrance and the lobby. "If there's something you need or have any questions you can always talk to Mrs. Yoon in the information." she glanced over at the woman who'd helped her out just half an hour ago, "will do." they headed into the elevator again, the first floor as it's nothing more than a gym. The second and third floor are only for practicing dance, whilst the fourth floor is for singing. Half of floor five is also for singing whilst the other part is mainly a hangout place to relax. Floor six and seven is only offices." Da Eun tried her best to take in the new information. The girl would have to write it down though, in case she would forget. "We'll head up to the fifth floor now so I can introduce you to the group of people you'll be working with." excitement bubbled up. She'd waited all morning for this moment.
"You are going to be one of the hairstylist to our newest group, EXO. They are a twelve-membered group that debuted half a year ago as two sub-groups, EXO-M and EXO-K. The latter is the one you'll be working with as they're promoting in Korea." Da Eun nodded even though she had no idea who they were. Truth to be told, f(x) was the only artist she knew was under SM Entertainment, something the girl could thank her best friend for. "The other sub-group, are they not promoting in Korea?" she was a bit lost, the whole sub-group and promotion thing with comebacks and goodbye stages were all foreign to Da Eun. "No, EXO-M is promoting in mainland China. But they are stationed here when they don't have any promotions. Therefore will you have to be prepared that you might have to work with them as well." twelve members, EXO-K, EXO-M, Korea and China. All check.
The elevator doors slid open and immediately did a mix of soothing music and chatter fill her ears. The huge open space caught her attention first, which was decorated with places to sit, a TV and some flipper games. "Guys." her eyes wandered over to the group who were seated around a table, as they were the only males present. Da Eun stood rooted next to Mr. Oh whilst the boys, whom she presumed was EXO, looked up. "This is Lee Da Eun. She's the new hairstylist for EXO-K." the more-part of them smiled or greeted her, but there was a few who seemed totally uninterested. "Hello." the girl smiled before she was given a round of introductions. So many names would take a few days to remember, but Da Eun was nonetheless positive. The meeting was cut short though, as the group needed to practice for their upcoming comeback, which was taking place in a week. "You can take the rest of the day off to settle everything in your new apartment." how generous, "thank you." Da Eun took the elevator up since she had to retrieve her suitcase, one the girl weren't looking forward to drag down the stairs.
The interior was much more welcoming and warm and she couldn't help but to smile a little. "Please let this be worth it." the smile faded a bit as she remembered everyone she'd left in the US, all her friends, family and boyfriend. But this opportunity was rare and to work with such a huge company could open a lot of doors for her in the future, something she'd also explained to her boyfriend before applying for the job. He hadn't been too excited though, about being apart for six months, possibly a year. But Da Eun had promised him it would be worth it. Plus, he would be all finished with college once she returned.
Pushing aside those matters she strode up to some sort of information desk, the woman sitting behind it glanced up from whatever she was doing to look at her, "can I help you?" Da Eun handed the paper and the ID card over, it was easier that way as she wouldn't have to speak and try to make herself understood in a language she was still struggling with. The girl been taught the language at home, by her mother and father. But it was also the only place where she'd used it before. "You're here to see Mr. Oh." Da Eun nodded, having no idea who that was, "Okay. Take the elevator up to the seventh floor, turn right and there you'll see the name written on a door. Knock and wait for someone to open." the girl nodded once more before getting the paper and ID back. Seemed simple enough. "Thank you." she bowed and then headed for the elevator on her left.
Faint music could be heard as she stood outside the man's office, waiting. It was an uptempo beat and she felt that smile grow on her lips again. Da Eun didn't know much about music, but listened to anything she thought was good. Her thoughts were interrupted as the door was shoved open, thus revealing a middle-aged man around her father's age. "Hello, I'm Oh Jinchul." he smiled, his teeth showing and the girl bowed yet again, "it's nice to meet you, I'm Lee Da Eun." the smile remained on his face even after he'd asked her to step into his office. "You brought your luggage with you." slightly embarrassed she looked down, "the plane was a bit late so I didn't have time to drop it off." a nervousness she hadn't felt before began to make itself known and the girl bit down on her lower lip. "I see. May I ask where you live?" she found no harm in the question explained that she'd rented a small apartment in Itaewon. "Good, I can count on you being here in a short notice then." the girl had already looked into it and estimated the subway ride to be about twenty minutes, which was more than okay. "Please take a seat."
Da Eun couldn't say she was surprised when the man pulled out a contract from underneath his stack of papers, "it's a safety measure and you'll have to sign this if you want to work for us." but one thing bothered the said girl though, and she didn't hesitate to point it out, "I'm still lacking when it comes to reading Korean so I would really appreciate if you could go through the rules and everything." said and done, the man explained how she had to keep quiet about everything revolving the artists and those who work within the building. Nothing could be revealed to the public, and it was important they could trust her with the information she was going to be given. "I will not tolerate any romantic relationship with any artist and you'll be fired immediately if something like that were to be discovered." she had a loving boyfriend back home so anything like that would definitely not happen, "I understand."
She signed and they talked for another fifteen minutes, about the salary, working hours and other necessary things Da Eun wanted to know, before he offered to show her around the building. "You can leave your suitcase here." doing as told she then followed with him to the elevator, which took them down to the entrance and the lobby. "If there's something you need or have any questions you can always talk to Mrs. Yoon in the information." she glanced over at the woman who'd helped her out just half an hour ago, "will do." they headed into the elevator again, the first floor as it's nothing more than a gym. The second and third floor are only for practicing dance, whilst the fourth floor is for singing. Half of floor five is also for singing whilst the other part is mainly a hangout place to relax. Floor six and seven is only offices." Da Eun tried her best to take in the new information. The girl would have to write it down though, in case she would forget. "We'll head up to the fifth floor now so I can introduce you to the group of people you'll be working with." excitement bubbled up. She'd waited all morning for this moment.
"You are going to be one of the hairstylist to our newest group, EXO. They are a twelve-membered group that debuted half a year ago as two sub-groups, EXO-M and EXO-K. The latter is the one you'll be working with as they're promoting in Korea." Da Eun nodded even though she had no idea who they were. Truth to be told, f(x) was the only artist she knew was under SM Entertainment, something the girl could thank her best friend for. "The other sub-group, are they not promoting in Korea?" she was a bit lost, the whole sub-group and promotion thing with comebacks and goodbye stages were all foreign to Da Eun. "No, EXO-M is promoting in mainland China. But they are stationed here when they don't have any promotions. Therefore will you have to be prepared that you might have to work with them as well." twelve members, EXO-K, EXO-M, Korea and China. All check.
The elevator doors slid open and immediately did a mix of soothing music and chatter fill her ears. The huge open space caught her attention first, which was decorated with places to sit, a TV and some flipper games. "Guys." her eyes wandered over to the group who were seated around a table, as they were the only males present. Da Eun stood rooted next to Mr. Oh whilst the boys, whom she presumed was EXO, looked up. "This is Lee Da Eun. She's the new hairstylist for EXO-K." the more-part of them smiled or greeted her, but there was a few who seemed totally uninterested. "Hello." the girl smiled before she was given a round of introductions. So many names would take a few days to remember, but Da Eun was nonetheless positive. The meeting was cut short though, as the group needed to practice for their upcoming comeback, which was taking place in a week. "You can take the rest of the day off to settle everything in your new apartment." how generous, "thank you." Da Eun took the elevator up since she had to retrieve her suitcase, one the girl weren't looking forward to drag down the stairs.
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