One
Idol Survival Camp
A group of five boys were performing a street dance, gaining attentions from the passersby around Myeongdong. An old man, who was wearing a casual outfit and a newsboy hat, laid his interest in them. The performance ended wih group pose. When it was finished, a lots of passers-by clapped and threw some coins for the entertainment.
The old man approached the boys and handed one of them a brochure. Puzzled by the situation he's in, the boy merely looked at the old man, stoned on his feet, while the old man walked away to the busy streets.
The other boys who were still managing their breaths after the dance, had caught the interactions of one of their members and the old man from the side of their eyes and quickly tried to catch a glimpse of the brochure.
After quickly scanning the paper, “Idol Survival Camp?” They all said at the same time with a confused expressions on their faces.
“Orders table number 3!”
Shouted someone from the back of the kitchen. The small snack shop was filled with customers. A young woman, who was wearing her uniform and an aprontied to her waist, immediately took the orders and delivered it to table number 3.
“Enjoy your meal,” she said to the customer with a small smile and quickly walked back to the kitchen to fetch the other orders. She whistled lightly while delivering orders to other tables back and forth.
An old man entered the shop and scanned the place for empty table and spotted one at the end of the shop.
“Hyeri, take the orders for table number 5. Hurry!”
Said the owner of the shop ,who was a plump lady in her 40s, wearing a peige dress that went below her knees.
“Okay,” she quickly replied and turned her heels to the other direction while taking out a note and pen she had in her pocket.
“Your orders, sir?” The girl ask politely with a smile.
“A plate of rice cakes and one roll of kimbap please,” the old man answered.
She slightly bowed to the old man and wrote the orders on her note while walking away to the kitchen to fetch the other orders.
After waiting for around five minutes, the girl came back to the old man’s table again to delivered his orders.
“Enjoy your orders,” she said with another small bow and went on to other tables to take their orders.
The old man quickly finished his food, placed some money and a brochure on the table. Then, without looking back, he walked straight out of the shop.
The girl that had been pacing around the shop back and forth since morning, spotted the old man walked out of the shop and came up to he fifth table to clean it up, when she spotted the money and also the brochure.
She kept the brochure in her pocket and gave the money to the owner after cleaning the table. She made a mental note for herself to read the brochure when she got home from work.
That evening, the weather was chilly in Seoul. It's perfect time to be inside a café while drinking a hot beverage.
The old man that has been touring around Seoul distributing the ‘Idol Survival Camp’ brochures, entered a café as his last stop for the day.
A female waitress skillfully and slickly served the customers behind the counter. The old man stood behind the line, waiting for his time to be serve.
“What would you like to order sir?”
“An espresso please.”
“Please wait for a moment.”
The young woman got out of the counter quickly to made his espresso and came back to place the hot drink in a tray for the old man to carry.
"That would be $2.90."
The old man gave the woman the exact amount of money, along with the brochure he had been handing out since this morning.
The woman looked confused for a second but then she noticed the long line behind the old man so she took it and smiled at the old man politely. The old man picked a small table near the entrance door of the café and enjoyed his drinks for a while before going out.
The weather was freezing in Seoul that day. It was December which means the coldness of the season was raging. Everyone looked so eager to find a warm place as the students of Seoul Art High School stepped out of the building.
An elderly man was looking at the students who were wearing yellow-brown uniforms. They just came out of the elite high school. He is expecting a female student, who's a target of the teachers.
Lee YuRa, a girl that excels in playing almost every musical instruments. She was unapproachable and was known as the ice queen.
Meanwhile, her sister, Lee SoRa is known to be a social butterfly. Their only similarity found between the siblings was both of them is a genius.
SoRa's also one of the talented students that the ISC teachers has chosen.
The school building looked so grand, compared to the other buildings around. He held the brochures in his hands tightly. He hoped everyone who had received those brochures would join, knowing how hard the ISC teachers had searched for a ‘new star’. And with the cold December breeze hit his cheek, he realized that this would be the last year of him as the principal of the school.
“Ahjusshi, DongMin ahjusshi!”
A girl had called out his name, woke him up from his train of thoughts. Dongmin looked up and amiled as he found one particular student he was looking for.
“YuRa," he said as he recognized the girl.
“Ahjusshi, why are you here?” YuRa asked him.
DongMin handed YuRa one of the ISC brochures and she beamed.
“I can finally enter the school?”
Her voice was filled with excitement.
He nodded to her with a smile.
Her bright face suddenly turned sour when she realized something.
“Is SoRa going to be there too?”.
“I’m sorry, YuRa.”
It was the only thing he could say.
“It’s okay, but I’m sure SoRa won't be joining, she preferred to study overseas.” Her expression turned cold and she seemed distant.
“She’ll be the one to decide," the old man answered lastly.
“I’ll be going then.”
She then bowed to him and walked away to her car.
DongMin looked at YuRa, who's growing up so fast. He has known her for a long time. He knew that YuRa's talented and worthed to be in his school.
“Byun BaekHyun..” He trailed off as he read the next name in his list. Vendors and restaurants filled the road. He glanced to his watch, the hour hand showed it's 12 in daytime. A melodious voice of a male came from the inside of a restaurant. The moment he heard his voice, he knew he had found his target.
DongMin entered the ox bone restaurant and ordered an ox bone soup. He sat at a table and opened his ears wide so that he could listen to BaekHyun’s singing for another 7 minutes. The owner of the restaurant came back with a tray filled with his orders.
“He sings really well, don’t you think?” The lady said when she realized Dongmin’s focusing on BaekHyun’s performance. She placed his food on the table and continued to talk.
“Ah, yes he does," he answered as he continued to listen.
“He sang since he was very little. He have worked here for a very long time.”
The lady said proudly as if BaekHyun was his own precious son. When she realized DongMin didn't reply, the lady continued.
"Lots of entertainment scouters have come here and offered him contracts, but he refused.” She remembered that there have been a few business men came here and gave BaekHyun their name cards.
“Ah really, why? Isn’t it a good opportunity?”
He’s of course curious as to why BaekHyun would refused such kind of offers.
“I honestly don’t know, but his mother is very sick, which probably makes him think that he won’t earn money that fast if he chose that path.”
The lady grabbed the drink he ordered from the tray and placed it on his table.
“Ah, I understand.”
Without the two people noticing, BaekHyun approached the owner of the restaurant.
“Ahjumma, I finished cleaning that table, do you want me to do anything else?” BaekHyun was holding a cloth and he glanced at the elder for a second.
“Oh, BaekHyun you should rest for a while. The shop is dead since it's past lunch hour. I’ll get you your food, sit here for a while.” The old lady walked away and disappeared to the kitchen.
Baekhyun was sitting in front of DongMin and was eye-ing him.
“Who are you? I know you’ve been looking at me when I sang just now.” Baekhyun found this guy suspicious.
He must be one of those damn scouts, he thought.
When DongMin didn’t answer him, he continued.
“Be honest, you’re those guys with the bull contracts right.”
“What do you mean?” DongMin asked and pretended to be oblivious. He wasn’t the very least surprised at the answer.
“Just give me the contract.” BaekHyun crossed his arm and sighed.
“For you to burn it, throw it or shred it?” DongMin kept eating calmly.
“That’s none of your business, old man." BaekHyun was annoyed at this guy.
DongMin grabbed a napkin and wipe his mouth.
“You should be polite with - "
Before he could finished his sentence, BaekHyun cut him off.
“I don’t care about those seniority bulls-“
Now it was his time to be cut off.
“Don’t cut me off when I’m talking, kiddo.” His voice was stern but he still looked calm.
“Don’t teach me manners, old guy," BaekHyun retorted.
“Just give me the damn contract and get out of here.”
DongMin could only sighed at this young man’s attitude. Right at that moment, the old lady came back from the kitchen and brought a tray of BaekHyun's food.
“Hurry up and eat before it gets cold.”
Baekhyun immediately changed his expression from the cold annoying bastard to the lovely obedient young man in front of the old lady.
“I’ll eat it well, thank you.” He smiled brightfully.
After the lady walked back to the kitchen, BaekHyun was once again a rude bastard.
“So, are you actually going to give me the contract or not?” BaekHyun asked but DongMin just continued to eat his soup.
“You do realize that you’re not going to get me sign your contract if you act like this. You know that I have lots of offers from other different agencies, so - “
“If you want a contract without bull, get it with hard work. I don’t just give contracts to any bastard that asked for it.”
The old man stood up and handed BaekHyun the brochure.
"Come to this school and prove me your talent is not wasted.”
DongMin left a few amount of money at the table and walked away, leaving BaekHyun dumbfounded with a brochure in his hand.
“Teacher!” A woman in her 30s called out to DongMin.
“Ms. Lee.” DongMin acknowledge her.
“Have you finished distributing the brochures? You should’ve let us do it, I wanna see them too,” said Ms. Lee.
“You’ll meet them one way or another. I want to distribute it myself because this will be my last year teaching and still be able to see young souls fighting for their dreams in this school.”
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