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It has been a week since I visited the company building.
Today finally, I received a call from the team leader saying that the trainee contract adjustment has been completed, and my Mom and I went to the company building to sign the documents.

The Director, who had guided us to the reception room, left the room saying that she would bring the documents.
A short while later, the Director returned with a man who seemed to be a high-ranking figure.

The man greeted us.

“Hello, Dohee’s mother. I am Kim Widong, the CEO of Top East Entertainment.”

“Ah! Hello.”

Wow, the CEO.

“Hello, CEO!”

I immediately stood up and bowed at a 90-degree angle.

“So, you must be Dohee? It’s nice to meet you. As Director Lee mentioned, you are really pretty.”

“Thank you!”

“Okay, okay. Please sit down comfortably.”

The CEO, while sitting down on the chair, spoke.

“Wow. I’ve heard Dohee is pretty, but seeing you in person really surprised me.”

“Hehe, thank you!”

It seems the CEO has a good impression of me.

“Dohee seems to be a beauty, probably because she takes after her mother.”

“Haha, Dohee does resemble me a lot.”

That’s good.

“Well then, now since we’ve exchanged greetings, shall we talk about the contract?”
“Actually, as the CEO, I don’t get involved in the trainee contracts at all. The staff handle everything very well themselves.”
“But Director Lee and Team Leader Kim suggested terms that didn’t make sense.”
“So, since the terms are quite exceptional, I came to oversee and judge for myself.”

The CEO then looked at me.

“Miss Dohee…”

“…”

“Miss Dohee…”

Yes, me…?

The CEO continued to stare at me for another 30 seconds before pulling out the contract from the folder and said,

“It looks like there’s no way to avoid signing the contract.”

Phew… That was really nerve-wracking.
Is what you call the CEO’s negotiation skill?

After soothing my pounding heart, I reviewed the contract with my Mom.
Sure enough, there were no unfavorable clauses against me, just as Director Lee had proposed.

Mom looked at me and asked,

“Dohee, do you think you can handle this?”

“Yeah, you know, if I say I’ll do it, I’ll do it. Mom, don’t you trust me, the cool girl, Lee Dohee?”

“Haha, of course, Mom believes in you. So, Mom will sign now?”

“Okay!”

Mom signed the contract.
And as of today, I am now the company’s trainee.

The CEO, smiling broadly, shook my hand and said,

“Dohee, please take good care of yourself starting today. If you have any discomfort or issues, just let me know anytime.”

“Yes, CEO! I will do my best!”

.
.
.

Two days after the contract signing date

After finishing school, which started today, I went to my first day of work at the agency.
When I arrived in front of the office, I called Team Leader Kim Jinwoo from the New Talent Development Team, who had cast me.

“Team Leader, I’m here~”

– Ah, Dohee, today is your first day at work, right? I’ll open the door for you right away~ –

A short while later, the company door opened.
When the door opened, it wasn’t Team Leader Kim Jinwoo who came out, but a woman with a scary appearance.
I had a feeling that this intimidating person would be taking care of me in the future.

“Come on in.”

“Yes.”

“Since you’re a trainee, can I speak casually to you?”

“Yes.”

“Your name is Dohee, right?”

“Yes.”

“Did you come here directly after finishing school?”

“Yes.”

I kept answering “yes” due to my scary impression of her.

“Alright. Did your mother drop you off?”

“No, my house is close by so I came by bus myself. My Mom will come and pick me up when I am going home.”

“You came alone? That’s impressive. Let’s go upstairs first, and Teacher-nim will explain the life of a trainee.”

“Yes.”

Following the intimidating woman, I went up to the 3rd floor.

The place we arrived at was the department labeled “New Talent Development Team.”

“Well, first of all, Teacher-nim here is Jeong Sohyun, I am the team leader of the A&R Team. Just call me Team Leader Jeong Sohyun.”

“Yes, may I ask one question?”

Team Leader Jeong Sohyun looked so intimidating that I hesitated to ask anything.

“What is it?”

“What is the A&R Team?”

“Ah, the A&R Team, short for Artist and Repertoire Team, which oversees everything from discovering to producing artists. All the trainers who will be training Dohee in the future are from this department.”

“Aha.”

“Any other questions?”

“Nope!”

“Alright then, now let me explain the rules.”

Team Leader Jeong Sohyun said as she handed me a key card.

“From now on, you can open all the company doors with this key card. Don’t lose it.”

“Yes.”

She then took a folder from the bookshelf and gave it to me.

“This is your attendance and daily logbook. Always leave it here. When you arrive for work, sign in here, and also before you leave, write down what you learned each day. Understand?”

“Yes.”

In addition, after explaining the basics, Team Leader Jeong Sohyun took me to the basement floor for the choreography practice room.
Upon entering the dance practice room, I saw a dance instructor who seemed to be a choreographer teaching a female student

“Teacher Moon!”

“Oh, yes, Team Leader. Is this the new friend who’s starting today?”

“Yes, Dohee, say hello to Teacher Moon Yerim, who will be your dance trainer.”

“Hello, Teacher-nim. I’m Lee Dohee.”

“Oh my, you’re so cute. But remember, Teacher-nim doesn’t give any special treatment just because you’re cute. So you have to work hard, okay?”

“Yes! I will work hard!”

“Good, good. Oh, Wooa, come over and greet Dohee. She’s your little junior, and you’ll be learning together.”

The girl dancing came over and cheerfully greeted me.
As expected of an idol trainee, she had a cute appearance and was very bubbly.

“Hi! I’m Jiwooa! Please take care of me! How old are you?”

“Hello, Sunbae-nim¹! I am 11 years old.”

“I’m 13, so feel free to call me Wooa Unni instead of Sunbae-nim!”

“Okay, Wooa Unni. Please take care of me.”

After finishing my greeting with Wooa, Team Leader Jeong Sohyun said,

“Wooa, go upstairs now for your vocal lesson.”

“Yes, Team Leader!”

After Wooa left, the dance instructor began the lesson.

“Dohee, you said you have no interest in dancing, right? Is this your first time?”

“Yes, it’s really my first time.”

“Then let’s start with the basics.”

“Yes.”

“Isolation is a basic dance movement where you move one part of your body at a time. Let’s start by moving only your neck like Teacher-nim.”

“Yes!”

“You’re doing well. This time, let’s move your shoulders~”
“Chest~”
“Hips~”

Oh… Why am I so good at this?
Maybe I have some talent for dancing?

“You said it was your first time, but you’re doing great! Now let’s apply this and try a simple dance. Repeat the movements we just did while bending and straightening your knees. Watch me and try to follow along.”

“Yes!”

I danced enthusiastically, following along with Teacher-nim.

Is this what they call groove?
Here comes the dance prodigy, Lee Dohee making her debut.

.
.
.

“Um… Dohee, let’s try this one more time, shall we?”

Huh…?
I guess I got a little too into it and exaggerated the moves.
I should dance better this time.

“Yes!”

Dance prodigy Lee Dohee, round two.

.
.
.

“Hmm… It seems like Dohee might be a bit of a dance novice.”

Ah.
Dance prodigy Lee Dohee meets a tragic end.
Introducing dance catastrophe Lee Dohee…

“It’s okay, Dohee. It’s understandable since you’ve never danced before.”

“Yes…”

“Really it’s fine, you’ve improved a lot compared to the beginning. It’s your first day, so you’ll get better quickly.”

“Aha! Yes!!”

Team Leader Jeong Sohyun, who had been quietly observing the lesson from the sofa, stood up and said,

“Dohee, let’s go for your vocal lesson now.”

“Yes~”

Yes, maybe my talent lies in vocals.

Following Team Leader Jeong Sohyun, I entered the vocal room on the second floor, where the Sunbae trainee, Wooa, whom I was introduced to earlier, was taking a singing lesson from a male teacher.

“Teacher Kwon, this is Dohee, whom I mentioned yesterday.”

“Oh, Wooa, go ahead and finish practicing in the other room next to us. We’ll finish the rest after Dohee’s lesson.”

“Okay~”

Wooa Unni was immediately sent away again this time as well.

I feel a bit sorry, thinking it might be because of me.

“Hello, Dohee. Teacher-nim’s name is Kwon Hyuk. Let’s do our best.”

“Yes! Hello, Teacher-nim. I will do my best to learn well!”

“Okay, I heard that Dohee won the grand prize in the piano competition 11 times, is that right?”

“Yes!”

“Wow… That’s impressive. So, can I have high expectations from you?”

“Of course!”

After consistent piano practice, I not only developed an accurate sense of tempo but also perfect pitch.
So why can’t I sing?

“Alright, it’s good to see your confidence. Then, why don’t you try singing a popular song that you know?”

“Um… To be honest, I’m not very familiar with pop songs since I’ve been so focused on the piano.”

“Eh? So, you’ve never sung a pop song?”

“Well not exactly, but I don’t remember any songs…”

“Hmm… In that case, Teacher-nim will sing a part of a female idol song, and you try to follow along, okay?”

“Yes!”

“Flow with freedom Out of control~”²

The vocal teacher played the piano and sang.

The teacher’s singing was perfect, as expected from a vocal trainer.
However, with my brain like a computer, I had already inputted all the exact pitches and rhythm.
Singing along will not be difficult.

“Alright, Dohee, your turn now.”

“Yes! Flow with freedom Out of control~”

“Hmm…”

Ah.

“Okay, let’s try the next verse?”

Phew.

“Yes!”

“Whatever you say to me, I’m different.~”³

Alright, this time I copied it accurately.

“Whatever you say to me, I’m different.~”

“Hmm…”

Ah.

“I can definitely feel that Dohee has done music before.”

Oh!

“But even though your pitch and rhythm are perfect, your tone is strange.”

Ah.

“Yes…”

“But you did well enough. It’s the first day, after all, right? You’ll be able to fix your tone quickly.”

“Yes!”

Well, it wouldn’t make sense to be perfect from day one.
Learning anything, whether it be playing the piano or studying, was the worst at the beginning too.
Anyways, time is all that matters.
As long as I do better in the future that’s all that matters.

It would be no fun if it was too perfect.

1. [1] – 선배님 (sunbaenim) is a Korean word that refers to a far more experienced person within the same school, company, or group. – basically means senior
2. [2] – Lyrics are from Dance On by Alice – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZiSpHXzsog
3. [3] – Lyrics are from Bad Girl by WooAh – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu2fjlQdulI