[four] chapter 3

Since Jae was not the best of hosts, Jenny and I decided to take a walk around ourselves. Mary, the maid, showed us to our rooms first. There was a guest suite downstairs, but according to Mary, that was for Jae's "buddies."

"Sometimes he has friends over," she said to us."It's off limits for us."

"Oh," I said. "Where do you stay?"

"Upstairs," Mary said, leading the way up the stairs. When we got up to the second floor, the loft was brightly lit by the skylights. She pointed to the left. "That's where I stay." Then she pointed in front of us. "This where you will live."

I smiled. She was so nice! Jenny and I walked into the suite and were floored.

There were two beds, and a large dresser and walk in closet. There was also a huge bathroom, all with the same cozy theme from downstairs. The room also had doors that led to the balcony outside, which contained a set of outdoor sofas and a cute coffee table, overlooking the gorgeous countryside view.

"Wow," I said.

"I vote we don't find somewhere else to stay," Jenny said, laughing.

"Me too."

------------

The four of us sat in the living room. Jae held a piece of paper in his hand. Nobody spoke.

I looked at Jenny, who looked at me. I looked at Mary, who looked at Jae. I looked at Jae, who was too busy studying the piece of paper to even notice the world around him.

Suddenly, Jenny's phone rang shrilly and broke the silence.

"I'll be right back," she said, taking her phone out and pressing it to her ear. She stepped out. "Hello?" I heard to say faintly.

"OK," Jae began. "Rule number one."

"Shouldn't we wait for Jenny to get back?" I said.

He looked at me, his brown eyes meeting mine. "You're the tenant. She's just your agent. Am I incorrect?"

I glared at him. "But--"

"You're here to make it in the entertainment industry, aren't you?" he said. "If you keep relying on your agent, you're not going to get anywhere. Rule number one. You are not to enter my suite, and I am not to enter yours."

I nodded. "Fine," I said.

"Rule number two--" he began, but I snatched the paper out of his hands. "Hey!"

"Let me see this thing," I said.

A small smile formed on my face. "A bit possessive about the car, aren't you?" I said.

Now it was Jae's turn to glare. "Don't even think about it."

"It's okay," I said. "I prefer BMWs anyway."

He raised his eyebrows. "You do?"

I nodded. "The 650 has way better mileage than the R8; are you kidding me? I mean, yeah maybe the R8 has better horsepower but it's not like you would be able to fly over traffic."

Jae crossed his arms. "Do you like cars?" he asked.

"Who doesn't?" I said.

"I have to admit," he said, "you're the first girl I've met that actually knows what an R8 actually is."

I smirked. "Don't be so surprised," I said, handing back the rule sheet.

"Wait," he said, taking out a pen. "You have to sign it."

"What?" I said.

"To show you agree," Jae said. "Jenny'll sign it too. So will I."

I frowned. "And how many Korean dramas have you watched? Seriously?"

"You watch them?" he asked.

"We're not having this conversation," I said, grabbing the pen and signing the bottom of the sheet. I stood up and began to head upstairs. Before I rounded the corner though, I stuck my head out and called out to Mary and Jae, "And just so you know, I don't actually have any friends, so you're not going to have to worry about number 7."

-----

Jenny brought me to the recording studio and official administrative offices of the entertainment label the next day. The building was gigantic, and the lobby was quite impressive, with sparkling floors and everything.

"We'll just meet to talk to them," Jenny said. "They'll show us around and introduce us to some people. They want to hear you first hand before they start compiling some covers for you to do."

"Covers?" I asked.

"Yes, songs that artists already recorded," Jenny said as we went into the elevator. "The company gets rights from the artists and their labels so that you can release a mini album of covers before your big release."

I nodded. We stepped out of the elevator and met the nice woman at the reception desk, who nodded at Jenny before picking up the phone.

Minutes later, a man and woman appeared at the waiting area to greet us.

"George!" Jenny exclaimed. "So nice to see you again. You did not need to hang up on me like that yesterday, you know."

"I was in a meeting," George responded. He was a tall fellow, likely in his thirties, and looked fairly nice. He smiled at me and said, "Nice to meet you at last, Layla."

"Nice to meet you too," I said, bowing a little.

"This is Beth," he introduced. "She'll be working with you as the connection between you and the producers and writers during the recording process."

"Great," Jenny said.

"I have a meeting I'm off to now," George said. "But Beth will show you around."

"Come with me," Beth said, gesturing toward the hallway. "I'll show you the recording studio and introduce you to a couple of people before we have you do a little singing for us, if that's alright with you."

"Sure," I said. I wasn't sure what was going on but I followed Beth into the hallway. We took a turn as she opened a door into the recording studio and I gasped.

The studio was dimly lit with soft lights overhead, but it was still bright enough to see the large panel of buttons and gadgets and a large computer screen. Switches and buttons lined a panel behind the chair and to my left, I saw a large couch beneath a wall with a modern wooden design. On the far wall was a striped brown and black contemporary design as well. Several people were in the room and I noticed that Jae, of all people, was standing in there chatting with one of the other fellows.

Then it hit me. Jae was also under the same label...

Beth introduced me to everyone. I didn't remember anybody's name but then Jenny struck up a conversation with them about the progress of my career.

"Jae, could you show her into the recording room so we can have her sing a few lines?" Beth asked.

He nodded politely and led the way. I followed behind but was not sure what to say. We walked in silence.

"Right through here," he said, opening the door that led into the small room adjacent to the paneled room. I could see the rest of them through the window. Jenny grinned at me.

"Oh," I said. "Er, thanks."

I stepped inside but wasn't sure what to do.

Jae sighed loudly and closed the door behind him. He reached forward and hit a button in front of me and said, "You have to hit this button so that they can hear you." He grabbed the headphones and shoved them at me. "Put these on so you can hear them."

I put on the headphones and I heard Beth say, "Hey Layla, give me a thumbs up if you can hear me."

I gave her a thumbs up and she said, "Great. We'll have you sing something you want to sing first. Jae can give you a list of songs we have background music to so you can test them out and see how it feels for your second song."

"Erm, okay," I said. Jae shook his head and pressed the button.

"Now talk," Jae said. I glanced at him; he was definitely standing too close.

"Oh, uh, okay," I said. "Thanks Beth."

"Whenever you're ready," Beth said.

I glanced to my left. Jae stepped backwards and stood against the wall but didn't leave.

"Do I just go?" I said.

"Flick the switch," Jae said. "Next to the button."

"Oh," I said, flipping the switch. "Er..."

"Just sing into the mic," Jae said. "Don't hesitate."

I nodded as I thought of a song to sing, and then it came to me.

"Do you know what it's like to feel so in the dark

To dream about a life where you're the shining star

Even though it seems

Like it's too far away

I have to believe in myself

It's the only way

This is real, this is me

I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be now

Gonna let the light shine on me

Now I found who I am

There's no way to hold it in

No more hiding who I want to be

This is me."

Beth nodded. "Great, you sound great, Layla," she said. I flipped the switch off. "Do you know any Korean songs?" She waved at Jae.

Jae grabbed a list of songs off a nearby table and handed it to me.

"Er," I said. "I don't know Korean."

Jae sighed. "Do you know any Korean songs?"

"Um..." I said, but I couldn't think of any. "I can sing Chinese songs."

Jae paused. "Can you read Chinese?"

"For the most part," I said, frowning as I thought frantically about the last time I actually read Chinese characters.

"Great," Jae said. "You've heard of Mideoyo right?"

"That's a song, right?" I said.

Jae rolled his eyes. He handed me a sheet with lyrics on it. "Tell Beth you want Mideoyo."

I pushed the button and said, "Mideoyo."

"Great!" Beth said. "You'll hear music through the headphones."

"In Chinese," I said.

"Oh," Beth said. "Sure can do." I flicked the switch on.

"我相信 相信別人說那一見鍾情的話

雖然對你說我從來都不相信

只怕你認為我是輕率的人

一直隱藏在心底

其實我從第一次遇見你那一瞬間起

整天就活在想念你的世界裡

從早上睜開眼到晚上入睡

只思念你一個人

I believe in you 眺望著你的這視線裡

深在我胸口那份充滿著愛你的心全部交給你

不願我的心那麼輕易的被你發現你是否明白

還會害怕你忽然間離我而去卻不再回來

我的你..."

I paused and flipped the switch off. I saw Beth talking to Jenny and the other guys but I couldn't hear anything. Then she turned around.

"Layla, could you give the headphones to Jae really quick?" she said.

"Er," I said. "OK." I took off the headphones and handed them to Jae.

"What?" he said.

"It's for you," I said.

He put them on. After a few minutes he took them off and put them back on the hook. "We're going back in."

"Oh," I said. I glanced at the window again before following Jae back into the other room.

"You're great, Layla," Beth said as we walked through the door.

"Thanks," I said.

"But there's room for improvement," one of the other guys said. "Your voice needs more power."

"Oh," I said. "Okay."

"We have to talk a bit more about how that's going to work but before we do that, take a listen to this concept Jake had," Beth said as she pointed to the guy on the computer who was madly clicking and typing away.

"What concept?" I asked.

"Just listen," Jenny said. "I think you'll like it."

Jae stood in the corner and crossed his arms as he watched this unfold.

Then Jake hit a button and audio flowed through the speakers. It was the song I had just been singing, and he had edited my voice slightly to make it louder. But then came the chorus, and suddenly I was confused, because there was also a male's voice doing harmonies behind mine.

"What do you think?" Beth said. "Jake thought you two would sound pretty good."

"Me and...who?" I asked.

"Yunho," she said. "He's a band mate of Jae's."

"Oh," I said.

"Listen to this one," Jake said, hitting another button.

It was interesting this time around because the harmonies were slightly rearranged, and a different voice was combined with mine.

"That one was Jae's," Jake said.

"We'll get the details sorted out later," Beth said with a smile. "Follow me." She headed towards the door and Jenny and I followed suit. "You too, Jae."

Jae sighed loudly before he followed us as well. We went into a meeting room and sat down in comfy black chairs.

"George and I have not talked to anyone yet about the housing arrangement," Beth said.

"Good," Jae muttered.

"But I think it is a good opportunity for you to utilize his studio," Beth said. "Get some good practice in, work on your voice a bit."

"I suppose I'll have to find a voice coach for her," Jenny said, whipping out her notebook.

"Well..." Beth said, looking at Jae.

"No," he said.

"Jae, you aren't even doing anything," she said.

"It's called a break for a reason," Jae said. "Besides, I'm still writing and working on some other things. You told me to, remember?"

"I understand," Beth said. "You'll be compensated for your time."

Jae narrowed his eyes.

Beth raised her eyebrows at him.

I felt extremely awkward sitting there watching the two of them... but then, Jae finally answered.

"Fine," he said grudgingly.

Beth grinned. "Great! Then we have that settled. He's a great coach for this; it's a good opportunity for him as well as for you, and you'll learn a lot from him. He's one of the best we have."

"I know," Jae said.

I shook my head. Could his ego be any bigger?

[four] chapter 2

"I'm not sure about this anymore..." I began as we drove along the highway. A million dollars was a lot, but I was in another country, for crying out loud!

"Relax, Layla!" Jenny said. "It'll be fine." She was a sweet lady, she really was. Only a few years older than me, she had more experience under her belt in the entertainment industry than I could ever have known from her appearance, but she was totally willing to put up with me, and that was by far the hardest thing to do anyway...

"No, it wont," I said. "I don't know anything about recording studios--"

"You don't have to," Jenny said. "That's why I'm here."

"That doesn't change the fact that I really don't know what I'm doing..."

"Relax. Seriously. We'll just rest today and meet some nice writers and producers tomorrow, alright?"

"Eh."

"That's more like it!" Jenny exclaimed. I had no idea where all that energy came from, but I was beyond tired. Jet lag, anyone? "We're here! Check the address."

I repeated the address for her.

"Hmm, this looks right."

"But...but..."

"Amazing, huh?"

A gorgeous house stood in front of me, boasting a modern yet conservative design and large paneled windows, as well as a grand entrance amongst the green grass plains and carefully crafted bushes and trees.

"Let's see if the landlord is home," Jenny said. "Great thing about this is we get to borrow the landlord's old car so we can save on taxi fare."

"Great," I mumbled, getting out of the car after Jenny paid the driver.

We rang the doorbell and a maid answered the door.

"Hi!" she said, then frowned. "Um..."

"We're subletting," Jenny said, smiling.

The maid blinked. "But...you're...ladies."

"Um, yes we are. Is Ms. Kim home?"

The maid shook her head and said, "Oh, no..."

I thought we were at the right house, but I didn't get a chance to glance at the address in the paper in my hand.

"Who is it?" a male voice said from inside. When he came into view, I furrowed my eyebrows. A man? He seemed to look familiar but I could not place him.

"Can I help you?" he said.

He reminded me of an Asian manga character, with large eyes and anime haircut. He looked so familiar, but I had no time to think of where I could have seen him. I had never been here, after all, so it was unlikely we had ever even met.

"You're...Ms. Kim?" Jenny asked, stifling a smile. "We're..."

"Your sublet renters," the maid said. "Essentially."

The man blinked. "But, you don't look like a Johnny."

Jenny laughed. "I'm Jenny."

He sighed, exasperatedly. The man reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, dialing madly. He said to the maid, "Let them in. I'm calling George."

"Wait, what's going on?" I asked as we were ushered inside. The gate opened to reveal a luxurious foyer, decked with actual plants and lamps lining the sides of the walls, brilliantly lit by the bright lights from above. I saw a large pool to my right briefly before we were ushered into the Great Room to our left.

"I think George made a mistake," Jenny said. "He told us we would sublet a room out of Ms. Kim's home... but Ms. Kim is actually Mr. Kim."

"How could that be?" I said.

"Well in the language, we don't distinguish male and female honorables," Jenny said.

"I don't know what that means," I said. "But I don't see the issue."

Jenny gasped. "You can't have unmarried women living with an unmarried man!"

I rolled my eyes. "Jenny, do you watch TV?"

I glanced around. The place was absolutely gorgeous. From the ceiling, there hung a beautiful brown metal chandelier, and the large matching sofa sat before a contemporary-style glass coffee table, beside an unopened fireplace. The walls were brilliantly lit, displaying paintings of nature and architecture. The cozy feeling in the room was remarkable.

"Not American TV. My gosh, is that what they teach you?" Jenny said.

"No, it's just not a big deal. We're responsible..."

The man then entered the Great Room where he handed the phone to Jenny. "He's not listening," he said.

Jenny sighed and took the phone. "Hi, George," she said sternly.

She stepped out for a few minutes. The man stood close to the exit to the foyer and looked back at me.

"You can't tell anyone."

I gave him a look. "What?" I said.

"You can't tell anyone where I live."

I laughed. "Why would anyone care where you lived?'

He gaped at me speechlessly. "Who are you to say that to me?" he finally said.

"You're just a guy," I said.

"I'm Jae!" he exclaimed. "Jaejoong!"

I squinted at him. "Okay. I'm Layla."

He sighed loudly. "Have you never seen this before?" He gestured at his face.

"Vaguely familiar?" I said.

Jae sighed. "I'm from DBSK! Hugest band in Korea and Japan! The 'angelic' voice!"

I blinked at him.

Oh.

Then it dawned.

The best-looking one from the Korean band everyone was obsessed about. The one with supposedly the best vocals.

"Oh," I said.

"No one can find out where I live, you got it?"

"Why not?" I said, smiling.

He glared. "Chaos! My house would be stalked!"

"Do you really think girls are just going to launch themselves at you like that?"

"Yes."

I burst into laughter. "Jae, you are funny."

He gaped at me again.

"Okay, now what?" I said, crossing my arms.

"Here, you don't call elders by their names," he said. "Unless you're in a relationship with them. I'm obviously older than you, so you call me oppa."

"Well. Where I come from, I call people by their names, except teachers, parents, and people of authority."

"But--"

"Fine. Jae oppa. Whatever. Happy?"

Jae blinked at me again. I didn't understand him. Suddenly, Jenny burst back into the room and said, "Mr. Kim, George hung up on me!"

Jenny sighed. "He said he's sorry but this was all he could accommodate right now."

"It's okay, Jenny," I said.

"Mr. Kim..." Jenny began.

"Call me Jae," he said.

I frowned. Jenny wasn't that much older than me.

"Jae, we are really sorry..."

He sighed. "Well, George leaves me with no choice..."

We looked at him expectantly.

"You're leaving," he said. "Bye!" He began to show us to the door.

"What? Wait--" Jenny said, but to no avail.

"Sorry guys."

"Jae. Oppa," I said, in an afterthought. They both paused and looked at me, while Jenny tried to hide the small smile forming on her face. "We don't have anywhere else to go."

Jae looked at me. "Not my problem."

He continued to usher us toward the door.

"I'll tell everyone where you live," I said suddenly. Jae froze and looked back at me with an expression I could not place. I suddenly remembered everything I knew about DBSK, like their fan base name. "I know Cassies. They'll be here before you know it."

Jenny's eyes widened but she didn't say anything.

"You--you can't," Jae sputtered.

"Then let us stay," I said. "At least until we find somewhere else to go."

Jae looked at me and I stared right back. I was not going to lose this one.

"Meet me here at 8," he said. "I have rules."

I grinned. As he walked past us and up the stairs, I called after him, "Thanks, Jae oppa!"

<-- chapter 1 || back to [four]

[four] chapter 1

In life, people have dreams. Some dream big... some dream small.

I dream big.

But... the reality of it is that most people don't ever fulfill their dream.

Which is why I was sitting in my stool at the local grocery store waiting for the next customer to come to my cash register to pay for their groceries.

The only problem was that ever since the huge supermarket next door opened, nobody ever came into the Happy Mart grocery store anymore.

"Layla?" the manager, Bob, said to me.

"Yes?" I said.

"You can head home now," he said. "It's past 4."

I glanced at the clock. He was right.

It wasn't long before I got home, since everything in the neighborhood was within walking distance. But when I got home, a strange black luxury sedan was sitting outside my garage... and that definitely wasn't ours. We only had our old brown 4-door that we've had ever since i could remember...

"Mom?" I said when I got into the house. She was sitting in the living room with my father... and a woman I had never met before.

I bowed my head with respect as she stood up. "Hi," I said.

"You must be Layla," she said kindly. "How nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, but...what...what's going on?" I asked.

"Listen, sweetie," Mom said. "We can explain..."

But half an hour later, when I realized what it was all about... I made my decision.

"No," I said. "No way."

"Honey, you don't understand," Dad said. "I mean, you've always loved singing..."

"But not PROFESSIONALLY," I said indignantly. "I sing in the shower, for crying out loud!"

"But honey--"

"Oh, stop," I said. "You're just saying this because you want to sell me to some stranger and ship me to Korea for a year. I can't believe you would--"

"We're not selling you off!" my mom cried. "It's a good investment opportunity."

I looked at her. Was she kidding? Getting a million dollars right off the bat and shipping me to a foreign country wasn't considered selling me off? Really?

"Layla..." Dad began. But I wasn't buying it.

"I'm not doing it. Thank you for your time, Jenny," I said to the lady, who had been sitting there watching us. "But I'm not doing it."

I was just about to walk out of the room when Jenny stood up. "It's nonbinding," she said. "You can quit, any time you want. But once you quit, all the money the company gets from your products starting that day is no longer yours. If you keep up the whole year, you can take your percentage home with you, on top of the million you get right away."

"There has to be a catch," I said, turning around.

"There is a catch," Jenny said.

"I knew it."

"The catch is that you have to come with me to Korea to record this album," she said.

"But you guys haven't even heard me sing," I said.

"Actually... I sent them the recording you did for another audition," Dad said sheepishly.

"That was in my room!" I said. "Underneath all my books! In my CLOSET!" I couldn't believe it. The whole world was trying to go against me.

"But you're a great singer, honey," Mom said. "Jenny wouldn't be here right now, picking you of all people, if you weren't."

"How would we pay for everything? The flight? Living there?" I said. "I mean, we haven't even thought it through--"

"Yes, we have," Jenny said. She pulled out a folder. "The company pays for the flight and for living expenses. You'll be staying at a house in a subletted room."

"Wait, a sublet?" I said. "Who's the landlord then?"

"Well, she lives in the house as well," Jenny said. "But she lives on the other side and it's not going to be a problem at all."

"But--"

"Let me ask you a question," Dad said to me.

"What?"

"How many customers came into Happy Mart today?" he asked.

I blinked. Huh? "Dad... what does that have to do with anything?"

"How many?"

"....None."

"So how long do you think it's going to be before Bob can't afford to hire you?" Dad said.

I looked at him. "But Dad--"

"You know how much this is going to help us, sweetie," Mom said. "Just... think it through. Okay?"

"Think it through," I repeated. I stared at the three of them. My parents had officially lost it. And Jenny? Well, I wasn't sure what she was getting out of it but if I had any say in this, I would say NO WAY am I going to the other side of the world to record an album.

But... of course, the whole world was already plotting against me, and my parents were no exception.

Because no, it wasn't up to me.

I didn't have a say.

Because if I did, I wouldn't be in a taxi with Jenny on the way to the house I'd be staying in two weeks later in Korea, where I didn't know the slightest amount of Korean that might actually be of any help to me.

Maybe dreaming big was becoming a reality.

--

back to [four] || chapter 2 -->