Kpop Club

by YR Choi

  “Really?”

  “Yup! I really like Mark from Juva-nile – he is an absolute hotty! It would be awesome if you could work with him and then we could all hang out!” said Rebecca, snorting with laughter.

  Krystal giggled.

  “You sound like a pig, Becs! Mark’s not bad but I’m more of an Andrew from the Andre Project kinda gal!”

  “Ha-ha, good well at least we know we won’t have to fight over them then. Also, KYM Entertainment produced the Gala Girls, the Seoul Sistas and a new group that’s coming out next month called NY-2-Shanghai.”

  “Amazing! I’m really excited. What do you think my chances are of getting past the auditions?” said Krystal, adopting a serious tone.

  “Well, Manager Oh liked your voice so I’d have to say you’ve roughly a 100% chance! You’re a real talent Krystal - you’re going to smash the auditions.”

  Just then, Krystal heard the beeping sound of her dad keying in the passcode to their front door.

  “Hello darling! I’m home!” said her dad.

  “Coming Dad, I’m just on the phone,” said Krystal. “Becs, thanks so much for finding this. My dad just got home so I’m going to eat dinner with him now and I’ll talk to you more about this tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, of course. No problem at all. Enjoy dinner!”

  “Thank you!”

  Krystal ran out to the kitchen and gave her dad a massive hug. As she did, the computerised sound of Beethoven’s Fur Elise emanated from the rice cooker, signalling that the rice was now ready.

  “Dad, dinner is ready, let’s eat!”

  “Ok, darling.”

  Krystal dished up dinner as her Dad started to tell her about his day; and just like that, life was back on track.

  6

  The KYM audition

  Krystal learnt everything she could about KYM and arrived at the main gate of Yonsei University feeling very well prepared. After double-checking the map on her iPhone, she walked into the campus and made her way over to the auditorium. A very official-looking lady greeted Krystal at the door.

  “Are you here for the audition?” said the lady, her voice a little bit louder than it needed to be.

  “Yes, my name is Krystal Kim.”

  The lady ran her finger down a big wooden clipboard.

  “Let me just check that your name is on my list -”

  Krystal bit her lip as a bead of sweat dripped down her forehead.

  “Oh yes, here it is. Please put this on,” said the lady, handing her a badge to pin to her top. “This has your name and a number on it - we use this information to track your application so please make sure it’s visible at all times.”

  “Yes ma’am, will do.”

  “Please have a seat over there in the first 5 rows - we’ll be starting in around 30 minutes,” said the lady, pointing towards some red velvet seats.

  Krystal thanked the lady and took a seat in the front row.

  The auditorium was certainly a lot bigger than the one at school. Krystal wondered whether it would make her voice sound strange.

  Auditioners started to pile into the room and before long the first five rows were packed and people started having to sit further back. There were all sorts of acts coming to audition – boy groups, girl groups, mixed groups and solo artists. Krystal’s heart began to beat faster. The room suddenly felt quite cold.

  Out of the corner of her eye Krystal noticed a young, well-dressed man with green tortoiseshell glasses, walking onto the stage. He grabbed a microphone and pulled it towards him.

  “Thank you everyone for coming today. Please can I have some quiet.”

  The room fell silent.

  “My name is Ben. I want to explain to you how this afternoon will work. In a minute, Mr. Kim Young Moon, or as many of you will know him, K-Y-M, will join us and will listen to you all sing.”

  A couple of boys let out a few enthusiastic cheers. Ben waited until they finished before continuing.

  “We’ll start with groups; then we’ll move onto solo male artists and finally we’ll finish with solo female artists. Before I ask KYM to come out, do any of you have any questions?” said Ben, lowering the microphone and looking around the room.

  A geeky-looking girl raised her hand.

  “Will there be any backing music to accompany our songs?”

  “You can sing whatever you want, but there will be no backing music; everything today will be a capella with the exception of bands that have brought their own instruments.” said Ben.

  Another person chipped in with a question.

  “Is there a limit on how long we can sing for?”

  “There are no hard and fast rules but in the interest of time, you probably won’t be given much more than 5 minutes. Right, thank you – I think we’re actually going to have to start now. Please remember to remain quiet while your fellow auditioners are singing.”

  Ben ran backstage and the room filled with the noise of people whispering to each other. Moments later the auditorium erupted with screams of delight and clapping as KYM walked onto the stage and picked up a microphone.

  “Good afternoon everybody - welcome to Kpop Camp! Thank you very much for coming. I trust that Ben has explained how today will work?”

  The audience nodded and the same boys that cheered earlier yelled out, “yes!”

  “Good, good. Now, I’m looking for some original talent today – show me something new, some swag, something different that will help KYM Entertainment stand out. Also remember to have fun with it – if you’re not enjoying yourself then there’s very little chance we will either. This isn’t your one and only chance to audition so don’t put too much pressure on yourself. Finally, good luck to you all!” said KYM, putting down the microphone to much applause, before taking a seat behind a big desk that faced the centre of the stage.

  “Please can I have group number 1 come up onto the stage,” said Ben.

  Two lanky boys and a plump girl stood up and walked onto the stage.

  “Hello,” said the girl. “My name is Mindy, I’m the leader of the group, this is John and Mika - together we are, Digital Voice.”

  “Great, what will you be singing for us today?” said KYM.

  “We’re going to sing one of your songs, sir - My Heart’s Recorder.”

  “Brilliant. Well, please - in your own time, take it away.”

  Krystal couldn’t wait to hear them sing. Unfortunately, it was quite the anti-climax as she thought they were awful and from the look on KYM’s face, he agreed with her.

  A variety of different groups followed - some better than others. Krystal was impressed by a few of the acts but concluded that some of the people must have been auditioning for a laugh or because they had lost a bet. Either way – it was quite entertaining to watch.

  As soon as they got onto the male solo artists, Krystal’s stomach started to turn. Time seemed to speed up and she almost couldn’t believe it when her name and number was called out. She grabbed the armrests on her chair tightly and ground her teeth.

  “Krystal Kim, number 205.”

  Krystal remained seated, stunned like a rabbit in headlights. It wasn’t until the third time of asking that she ran up onto the stage. This was not the great start she’d hoped for.

  “So you’re Krystal, is that correct?” asked KYM, obviously irritated by the delay.

  “Yes sir, Krystal Kim. I’ve just finished high school and I want nothing more than to be a singer.”

  “I see... What’re you singing for us today?”

  “I’m going to sing I’d rather go blind by Etta James,” said Krystal.

  “Excellent song choice,” said KYM.

  And with that, Krystal closed her eyes and began to sing, thinking of all the times her dad listened to the song when he was down. By the end of the song, KYM was visibly moved.

  “Thank you Krystal, next please.” said KYM, seeming almost reluctant to listen to anyone else.

  Krystal went back to her seat buz
zing with energy; it was the best feeling ever. She wanted to scream with joy but managed to keep quiet for the remainder of the auditions.

  After another hour, Ben took to the stage.

  “Thank you everyone for auditioning today and for sitting patiently through all the other auditions. We’d now ask that you go home while we make our decisions on who to call back. If you haven’t heard from us by phone or email in the next 5 days then you can assume that you’ve not been successful. Please note that that Kpop Camp happens once a year, in different locations across Korea, so if you are not successful this year, you can always apply again next year. Thank you all again and good luck!” said Ben, before walking off the stage.

  Everyone got up and began to leave. Krystal had hoped to talk to KYM in person but concluded that he must have already left. Still, she wasn’t going to let that get her down. Given how well things had gone, she decided to treat herself to an ice cream sandwich.

  Having devoured the ice cream sandwich, she carefully placed the wrapper in a bin and made her way down the long tree-lined stretch of road that led to the main gate. On any other day, Krystal would have taken a bus home, but she was in such a good mood that she decided to walk. She hadn’t been walking for 10 minutes before her phone began to ring.

  “Hello?” said Krystal.

  “Hi Krystal this is KYM. I had to call you as soon as I could. I love your voice! I want you to come and meet me as soon as possible. What’re you doing tomorrow?”

  Krystal didn’t even think to say thank you – she could hardly speak. The best she could come up with was, “I’m free tomorrow.”

  “Excellent. Here’s what we’re going to do. Come to the KYM offices in Apgujeong tomorrow at 1pm, the details are on the website, www.kymentertainment.com. I want to know everything about you and your ambitions as an artist. We can have a proper chat and see how things stand. Is that okay?” said KYM, sounding even more excited than Krystal.

  “Great, thank you! I’ll see you tomorrow,” said Krystal, jumping up and down with joy.

  KYM hung up and Krystal immediately called Rebecca to fill her in on all the details.

  7

  The KYM meeting

  The skies opened up on the day of her big meeting and Krystal could hear the steady drumming of rain outside. Having spent a couple of hours grooming herself in the morning, she decided it was time to get dressed. But what should she wear? She opened her wardrobe and stared at her clothes; nothing really jumped out at her.

  After 30 minutes of mixing and matching, she decided to play it safe and go smart casual. She put on a pair of black jeans, a relatively smart pair of shoes and a blazer. In Krystal’s opinion the outfit was smart enough to suggest that she’d made an effort but not so smart as to make it seem like she was uptight.

  She didn’t have to leave for an hour, so she pottered over to the kitchen, made herself a quick snack and went to sit down in front of the TV. Their TV was ancient; it had a square-shaped screen with a number of dead pixels – just enough to be annoying. If she ever made any money, a widescreen TV was at the top of her shopping list.

  An episode of Running Man was airing and Krystal tried to figure out what was going on. The guys were split into teams and zooming around Seoul in the back of taxis looking for something. It was all very confusing but it helped to kill time and if anything, Yu Jae-Suk’s facial expressions always made her laugh. When the episode finished, Krystal did some final checks in the mirror; picked up her favourite red umbrella and headed down the mountain, which was now extremely slippery with the rain.

  Catching a taxi in Seoul was always a nightmare when it rained; not only were empty taxis few and far between, when they did show up, there was always the threat of an ajumma queue-jumping ahead of you. Fortunately, Krystal didn’t have to wait too long on this occasion and after 30 minutes, two near misses and one missed red light, she arrived outside of KYM Entertainment. Second time lucky, she thought, as she ran inside the building and made her way to the reception desk.

  “You must be Krystal? Welcome to KYM! Please follow me,” said the receptionist, before leading Krystal down a corridor and performing two sharp knocks on an office door.

  “Come in,” said a deep voice from inside the room.

  The receptionist opened the door to reveal KYM sat in a brown leather chair behind an antique desk. He stood up as soon as he saw Krystal.

  “Krystal - thank you so much for coming. Please have a seat,” said KYM, pointing to a set of olive green sofas in the middle of the room.

  They both sat down.

  “Please let me know if there’s anything else I can help with,” said the receptionist as she closed the door and left the room.

  “Thank you,” said KYM. “And thank you, Krystal, for coming. Did you find us okay?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Great. I’m going to be candid with you - I’m so happy that you auditioned yesterday – your voice is exquisite and I have to sign you! What’s your deal? Are you still in school?”

  “Thank you very much,” said Krystal blushing like anything. “I’ve just finished school and am waiting for my exam results.”

  “I see, I see - I take it you obviously want to be a singer?”

  “More than anything in the world.”

  “Do you see yourself as a solo artist? Part of a group? What kind of music do you want to do?”

  KYM leaned forward as if he couldn’t wait to hear Krystal’s answer.

  “I love all kinds of music. At the moment I don’t have a strong preference about being a solo artist or anything like that, but I know one day I’d like to do my own music, compose it and everything.”

  KYM nodded his head, reflecting on what Krystal had said.

  “That’s cool. I’d be interested to see what you know about composing. Before I go on my monologue, can I offer you anything to drink? Tea? Coffee? Iced plum tea?”

  “Oh, yes please. I’d love some plum tea.”

  “Sure thing,” said KYM, walking over to a mini fridge and pouring some iced tea into two paper cups.

  Krystal couldn’t help but notice how muscular KYM was in his slim fit white shirt. He wasn’t the most handsome man in the world but he was definitely attractive.

  “Right, Krystal, I don’t know how much you know about me and the groups we’re in charge of at KYM Entertainment but -”

  “I’m a big fan of yours,” said Krystal, interrupting KYM. “I know you’re responsible for the Andre Project, X:EAT, Juva-Nile and Eagle 18, to name a few.”

  Krystal instantly felt embarrassed for interrupting him. KYM chuckled.

  “Very good, you’ve obviously done your homework. Well I won’t bore you with that then. I’ll move on. You must know what Hallyu is right? The Korean Wave?”

  “It’s not boring at all but yes sir, I know what Hallyu is.”

  “Then you’ll know that kpop is starting to get popular all over the world.”

  “Oh definitely, it’s just brilliant,” said Krystal.

  “Yeah, in many ways it is but it’s not all good news. Many of these new groups are all style and no substance. They are highly manufactured and don’t set a very good example for young people.”

  Krystal put on her serious face and nodded in agreement. KYM continued.

  “I have a plan to put a bit of heart and quality back into kpop. I’m forming an international super group called Kpop Club. I’ve spent the last year searching for international talent and have found amazing girls from Algeria, America, Peru, France, Australia, UAE, India, Thailand, and the Philippines. I’m hoping that you’ll be the final piece in the jigsaw, the Korean piece if you will! The fact that you are Korean but can speak and sing in fluent English is perfect. An added bonus is that you already look like a pop star.”

  Krystal went red as a beetroot.

  “You see, Krystal, kpop has a certain vibe that people like. Even if they can’t understand Korean, people like the way the music feels. Kpop Club so
ngs will have that kpop vibe but will be sung in lots of different languages; doing this will help the international audience connect with kpop even more.”

  Krystal’s eyes lit up.

  “At first, all the songs will be sung in English and Korean but eventually we’ll incorporate some verses in French, Spanish, Thai, Arabic, Hindi and Tagalog,” said KYM, buzzing with energy. “What are your first impressions?”

  Krystal took a big gulp.

  “I honestly think it’s an amazing idea. It’ll help to spread kpop and will teach us a lot about different cultures.”

  “Exactly. We live in a globalised world and while it sounds corny, one of my main goals is that Kpop Club will in its own way, help to connect people from different countries and cultures.”

  “I think that sounds lovely,” said Krystal.

  “I’m really stoked that you like the idea! Now, in practical terms we’ll have to discuss a contract. As you may or may not know, most kpop artists sign contracts for between 5-10 years. These contracts require you to make a lot of sacrifices. For example, you’ll have to spend a certain amount of time in the recording studio, going to promotions, doing interviews – it’s really quite hectic and being a pop star isn’t as easy as it looks on television. Are you aware of the sacrifices you’d have to make?”

  “Most definitely - this is all I want and I’m more than willing to make sacrifices.”

  “Great,” said KYM, smiling. “Do you have any questions at this stage?”

  Krystal paused for a minute. The vibe she got from KYM was so good that she almost didn’t want to ruin it by asking anything. However, she wanted to do things right this time.

  “One thing I’d like to tell you, sir, is that I was potentially going to sign a contract with OMG Entertainment. One of the main reasons I didn’t sign the contract was that Manager Oh wanted me to have a lot of plastic surgery.”

  “I see. OMG Entertainment has a reputation in the industry for producing artists that look and sound a certain way and I’ve heard of similar stories. Don’t worry - I wouldn’t ask you to make any physical changes at all – you look great as you are but more importantly you have an exquisite voice that will complement the rest of the group perfectly.”