Authors: YR Choi
Tags: #music, #korean, #korea, #pop, #boyband, #kpop, #girl group
Kpop Club
Choi
Copyright 2013
Daegom Limited
Smashwords
Edition
Y.R. Choi has
asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act
1988 to be identified as the author of this work.
This book is a
work of fiction. Characters and names are the product of the
author’s imagination and any resemblance to actual persons, living
or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of
this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
permission in writing of the author.
Cover design by
Y.R. Choi, Daegom Limited.
First published
in 2013 by Daegom Limited.
ISBN
978-0-9575914-1-7
Find out more
about the book at
With all my
love to Mum, Dad, Tim and Bob the dog X
Connect with
Y.R. Choi online…
www.yrchoiauthor.com
Table of
Contents
Chapter 14 - The press
conference
Chapter 16 - Blood, sweat and
tears
OMG
Krystal paid the taxi driver, stepped out onto the
street and took a big gulp of warm evening air. She arched her neck
up and scanned the skyline before eventually fixing her gaze on a
30 storey skyscraper. This was the building that housed OMG
Entertainment, the company that could make her dreams come
true.
Krystal gulped
again and this time her stomach let out a deep growl, as if it was
preparing itself for a nasty fight. She placed the palm of her
right hand on her stomach, adjusted her dress and walked towards
the revolving doors at the base of the building.
Once inside,
she immediately noticed the bald head of a burly security guard. He
marched towards her with a scowl on his face.
“Can I help
you madam?”
“I’m looking
for OMG Entertainment, please,” she squeaked, her throat now
completely dry.
“You’ll need
the 3rd floor,” said the guard, pointing towards a set of
gold-rimmed elevator doors.
Krystal
thanked the guard and walked over to a waiting elevator. She jumped
in and punched the “3” button. The doors closed behind her with a
loud clunk.
She had hoped
for more time to compose herself but alas, there was none - this
was it - this was the moment of truth. The lift shot upwards and
within no time the doors opened to reveal a stone faced old lady
sat at a grand reception desk. On the wall behind her, written in
big golden letters, were the words, Oh Music Group (OMG)
Entertainment.
Krystal
gingerly stepped out of the elevator into the reception room.
“How can I
help you?” barked the receptionist.
“I’m looking
for Manager Oh - I have an audition with him today at three.”
“Take a seat
over there and I’ll let him know you’ve arrived,” said the
receptionist, pointing to a cracked leather sofa in the corner of
the room.
Krystal
shuffled over and sat down.
The room was
musty, dimly lit and filled with a handful of withering plants. The
walls of the room were lined with a number of tatty display
cabinets, full to the brim with various industry awards. Krystal
couldn’t help but think that the whole place could have been
decorated with a bit more taste. Still, this wasn’t the time to
think about interior design; she had worked so hard to get this
audition - now was the time to focus on singing.
Manager Oh’s
raspy voice interrupted her mid-thought. “Hello Krystal – thank you
for coming to see me.”
Krystal leapt
up out of her seat and performed a quick bow.
Having watched
Manager Oh on TV as part of the legendary 90s kpop group, Bear and
the Band, Krystal expected him to be well over 6 foot tall. She was
therefore, very surprised to find that he couldn’t have been taller
than 5 foot 5.
“This way -
let’s start off with a brief chat,” said Manager Oh.
Manager Oh led
Krystal down a corridor that glistened with light reflecting off
the platinum and gold records that plastered its walls. After what
seemed like a very long walk, they stopped abruptly and turned into
a small meeting room. Manager Oh sat down behind an old oak table
and fixed his beady eyes on Krystal.
Krystal stood
still, waiting for instructions. After an uncomfortable delay,
Manager Oh finally asked her to take a seat opposite him. The hairs
on the back of her neck stood to attention.
“Explain to me
why you want to be a singer.”
Hundreds of
thoughts went through her head but she made a conscious effort to
provide a concise answer - an answer that would paint the picture
Manager Oh wanted to see.
“I want to be
in this industry because I believe I have a talent and I want to
use it to make other people happy.”
Whilst this
was only part of the reason, it would do as an explanation for
Manager Oh.
“Good answer,”
said Manager Oh. “If I’m being honest with you, a lot of girls say
things like that to me but their real motivations often become
clearer with time.”
Krystal
nodded.
“To many
people Krystal, the kpop industry seems like a happy world full of
cute boy bands and girl groups singing bubble gum pop, hanging out
and having fun. But, as with many things in life, what goes on
behind the scenes isn’t quite as picturesque. Do you understand
what I’m saying?”
Krystal was a
little taken aback. She racked her brain to come up with a smart
answer.
“I understand
that people in this industry make a lot of sacrifices and that what
we see in their music videos isn’t the same as their day-to-day
lives. But, this is all I want and I’m ready to work very, very
hard for it,” said Krystal, her cheeks now rosy red.
“Well that’s a
good start,” said Manager Oh. “Before we go any further, we must
examine one of the most important component parts of being a pop
star - your voice. Have you prepared anything to sing for me?”
“Yes, I’ve
prepared Nol Saranghae by 3G (Great Girls Group).”
“Is this
something you’ve rehearsed a lot?” asked Manager Oh.
“Yes sir, this
is something I’ve rehearsed especially for you and this
audition.”
“Well,
completely forget it then. I want to test your ability to sing
anything I give you. I’m sure you must know Arirang – the
traditional Korean folk song?”
This was a
strange song choice but luckily for Krystal, her mum used to sing
Arirang with her when she was a little girl.
“Of course,
Arirang is like the unofficial Korean national anthem,” said
Krystal confidently.
“Good, let’s
start with that shall we? I want to hear it a cappella,” said
Manager Oh, sliding down in his chair.
“Shall I start
now?” asked Krystal.
“Yes, I
haven’t got all day.”
Krystal shut
her eyes, cleared her throat and began to sing.
Arirang,
Arirang, Arariyo...
Arirang
gogaero neommeoganda.
She was
quivering but the words came out crisp and perfectly in-tune.
Nareul beorigo
gasineun nimeun
Simrido
motgaseo balbbyeongnanda.
Her voice
sounded so much like her mother’s that Krystal couldn’t help but
think of her as she sung. She had flashbacks of them together,
sitting on the living room floor, laughing and joking.
Manager Oh
remained silent after Krystal finished singing and he stared at her
for a good couple of minutes before eventually speaking.
“Well - I must
say vocally, that was impressive; as far as I’m concerned, you have
enough raw talent for me to work with.”
Krystal let
out a deep sigh of relief.
“Your voice
and image needs to be moulded, but this is exactly why I pay my
team thousands of dollars - they help me help people like you,” he
said, laughing to himself.
Krystal
gritted her teeth and forced a smile.
“I see you as
part of a girl group I’m forming at the moment. Here at OMG
Entertainment I have a certain formula I use when picking my girl
groups; if we do decide to go into business together you will learn
a lot more about this but for now I’ll sum it up in simple
terms.”
Manager Oh
paused as if he was about to share something profound.
“As a starting
point, every group must have at least one strong vocalist; this
person provides the vocal quality we need to get people to like our
songs. It’s not necessary for the remaining group members to be
great singers but it’s paramount that they are attractive – and the
more attractive the better. As a bare minimum, at least two members
of the group should be exceedingly attractive. Every group must
also have a cute member that appears to be pure and innocent; these
are rare traits and the public lap them up. So, a strong vocalist,
two exceedingly attractive girls and one cute girl – this is my
recipe for success. Where do you think you’d fit into a group like
that?”
Krystal was
caught off guard. She hadn’t really thought about this before – how
attractive was she? Was she cute? Was this a test? In many ways she
had a traditional Korean appearance with quite a flat face, a
square jawline and a button nose. She was relatively tall, around 5
foot 8, and boasted a nice healthy figure. She was told she had
nice brown eyes but was she exceedingly attractive? She just didn’t
know.
Sensing that
Manager Oh was running out of patience, Krystal opted for the
modest answer.
“I see myself
as the strong vocalist.”
Manager Oh
strummed his fingers on the table, a smug smile spreading across
his smug face.
“Very good,
Krystal, it’s refreshing to meet a girl with a healthy perspective
on things. You are indeed an excellent vocalist. As I’ve mentioned,
vocals are important and I see you as the star vocalist. With all
due respect, whilst you’re an attractive girl, there are a number
of things about your physical appearance that could be changed to,
how can I put this, “upgrade” your pop potential.”
“Oh,” said
Krystal, almost in disbelief.
“Have you ever
heard of V-lines?” asked Manager Oh.
“No, sir.”
“A V-line,
Krystal, refers to an imaginary V-shape on a person’s face that
starts at their cheeks and comes to a point at their chin. Here, I
can form one with my hands like this,” he said, placing the bases
of his palms together.
Manager Oh
leaned over the table and cupped Krystal’s jaw in his hands. The
fire in her cheeks doubled in intensity.
“You see
Krystal, when I place my hands on your face I struggle to make a
V-shape – I could perhaps make a very wide U. In business terms,
this is somewhat of a problem. We can fix this problem, though. I
know some of the best surgeons in Apgujeong that could sort that
out in no time. You’d be right and ready in under two weeks’ time,
with the jawline of a cosmetics model.”
Krystal
started to feel sick in the pit of her stomach.
“In addition,
one thing that would be good is if we could make you look slightly
more Western. You see your eyelids are completely flat – there are
no folds in the skin above your eyes. As you probably know, double
eyelids are really popular these days. In Korea we call them, noon
couples. We can give you noon couples very easily. Now, let’s talk
about your nose.”
What about her
nose? It was her mother’s button nose – not too big, not too small
– just right as far as she was concerned.