“Right girls, today is a big day for Kpop Club – your first press conference at the Shilla Hotel. All the major news agencies will be there,” said KYM, slowly putting down his cup of coffee. “Rendezvous has got your outfits ready so if you could finish your breakfasts and go and get changed ASAP, that’d be great. I’ll meet you there.”
Rendezvous and her team worked their magic and it wasn’t long before the girls were in the Starship, making their way over to the Shilla Hotel. For the first time ever, there was complete silence in the van.
After a good half hour of snaking in and out of traffic, the Starship turned up a steep hill, drove under a grand traditional Korean gate and stopped outside the main entrance. A footman opened the van door and the girls jumped out. Hotel staff and passing guests stopped to stare at the girls; they looked like a group but no one could recognise them, at least not yet.
KYM greeted the girls, led them through the lobby into the banquet hall and onto the main stage. KYM and Ben sat down behind a giant table and, after a bit of toing and froing, the girls took seats either side of them.
“Here we are girls. As I said to you before, you shouldn’t have to say much today – I’ll answer most of the questions. Going through this experience once will make future press conferences a lot easier, so try and take in as much as you can. Relax for now - we should be starting in 5 or so,” said KYM, rubbing his hands together.
People began drifting into the hall and taking seats in front of the stage. There were all sorts: journalists, cameramen, audio men, hotel staff and a number of casually dressed punters. Krystal looked out into the crowd and was delighted to find that her dad had managed to make it. Mr Hong and Yeung-1 were also in the room, standing in the corner.
Once all the seats were filled, Ben stood up to address the room.
“Thank you everyone for coming. As you know, KYM Entertainment has called this press conference to announce the launch of a new band, Kpop Club. We’ll have around an hour of questions, mainly directed at KYM himself please, and at the end there will be a photo shoot opportunity. Please raise your hands and I’ll try and ensure that we answer as many questions as possible.”
A hand shot up immediately.
“Kim Hyejin from the Korean Echo. Hello Mr Kim. Kpop Club looks like a very international group – where are the members from?”
KYM smiled, took a sip of his water and picked up a microphone.
“Kpop Club is a truly international group; nine out of the ten members are from countries other than Korea. We have Hannah from Australia, Nadia from Algeria, Celine from France, April from the US, Maya from the UAE, Priya from India, Pooky from Thailand, Jennifer from the Philippines, Rosa from Peru and finally, Krystal from Korea.”
Ben gave another journalist permission to speak.
“Lee Nam Il from the Seoul Star. Do the girls speak Korean? What language will they be singing in?”
KYM cleared his throat.
“Krystal is fluent in Korean and the rest of the girls have been studying Korean intensively for the last six months – their Korean is more conversational, right now. All the girls speak English and their first single will be in English. However, they will also be bringing out songs in Korean and will eventually have songs in many languages including: Spanish, French, Thai, Tagalog, Arabic and Hindi.”
Another man raised his hand.
“Choi Young Soo from the Busan Post. Your label has a reputation of bringing out innovative groups, what’s the story behind Kpop Club?”
“Kpop music has a certain feel – a vibe. That vibe is starting to gain popularity abroad, but people often can’t completely appreciate it because of the language barrier. Kpop Club songs will have that same kpop vibe, but will be sung in different languages so that they’re more accessible to people in other countries. The name Kpop Club reflects the fact that people from all over the world are coming together to produce and enjoy kpop,” said KYM, looking very pleased with himself.
“Lee Moon Sae from the Hanguk Sun. With all due respect, big bands often have a lot of dead weight. Can all the members sing?”
KYM chuckled; he was clearly enjoying the press conference.
“I agree with you, a lot of big bands carry dead weight. This is not the case with Kpop Club – all the girls are extremely talented multiplayers.”
The girls were very happy with KYM’s comments and were actually enjoying themselves. The press conference continued for another 20 minutes with KYM answering a number of generic questions about the band and their contracts. Krystal was very impressed by KYM; he answered tricky questions effortlessly and had the journalists eating out of the palm of his hand.
Once the press conference was over, Ben directed the girls off the stage to a photo shoot area. The girls stood in front of a KYM Entertainment branded screen and posed for the cameras. After about 20 minutes, KYM called time on the photographers and took the girls back to the coffee shop at the KYM offices.
“How did you find that, girls?” asked KYM.
“Great!” chimed the girls, still on a bit of a natural high.
“I’m really pleased with how that went. The press seemed really interested in you. I just wanted to say well done on your progress so far. You’ve done a lot in a week: working with our styling team, Sebastien in the gym, training with Yeung-1 and now a huge press conference. I’m very proud of you.” said KYM.
The girls looked delighted.
“As I keep saying, these things get easier with time but you’re already doing very well. Your Plastic Eyes single sounds great and I think it’ll be a big hit. We’re releasing it in 3 months, so we’ll have to do a lot of hard work now to make sure your stage performance is killer! You must be exhausted after all that - I’m going to give you the weekend off - come in on the Monday and we’ll pick up where we left off. Thank you girls!” said KYM.
“Thank you, oppa!” said the girls, clapping.
KYM left and the girls stood up to and started to make their way out of the coffee shop. Just as Krystal was almost out the door, a hand grabbed her from the side. It was Andrew. Krystal jumped back in shock.
“Hey, how did your press conference go?” said Andrew, trying not to laugh.
“It went really well, thanks.”
“I was just wondering what you’re doing this weekend? I thought… I thought we could maybe grab lunch?”
“Yeah sure, that’d be cool, I guess,” said Krystal, trying to hide her excitement.
“Great, can I give you my number?”
“Sure,” she said passing him her phone. Andrew typed in the number and gave himself a missed call.
“How about we meet tomorrow at Seoul National University station exit 3 at midday? I’ll buy you something tasty for lunch.”
“Um, sure. That’s a bit of a strange place to meet though, isn’t it?”
“Kind of, but I want to show you something,” said Andrew, grinning.
“Okay, tomorrow at Seoul National University it is,” said Krystal, cracking a smile.
“Great! Well, I better get back to rehearsals. See you tomorrow,” said Andre, before jogging off down the hall.
Krystal could hardly contain her excitement and quickly texted Rebecca.
Hey! Sorry I’ve been so M.I.A. recently – can you do a coffee today? x
As usual, the reply came back almost instantly.
Sure! I’m sat in the Coffee Bean in Shinchon right now – can you make it over now? x
Krystal pinged over a quick reply.
Yup! On my way Becs! x
Krystal said goodbye to the others and made her way to Shinchon. As she approached the coffee shop she felt a sudden rush of excitement – she hadn’t seen Rebecca since starting at KYM and suddenly realised how much she’d missed her.
Rebecca was fixated on her laptop screen when Krystal arrived; so much so that Krystal had to give her a little pat on the shoulder to get her attention.
“Oh! You’re here! Sorry darling, I’m in a world of my own at the moment,’ said Rebecca.
“Come here,” said Krystal, leaning down and giving Rebecca a big hug.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet, Becs,” said Krystal, as she took a seat in a wing-backed chair opposite Rebecca.
“That’s okay – I know you’ve got a lot of things on right now.”
“Still, I should’ve made more of an effort – I have been thinking of you though,” said Krystal.
“I know you have,” said Rebecca. “Now that I have you here though, I’m not letting you go until I’ve got the full update!”
Krystal grinned widely, finally she could share it all with Rebecca.
“Well! I have some great news – I’m going on a date with Andrew tomorrow!”
“Oh, are you now?!” said Rebecca, performing a little clap. “You lucky girl! How did that happen?”
“Well, we’ve seen each other around the KYM building and he basically just came up and asked me!”
“Amazing! So where’s he taking you?”
“Well, it’s quite random, but he wants me to meet him at Seoul National University tomorrow – apparently it’s a surprise.”
“Very mysterious!”
“Yes, indeed! Anyways, we’re always talking about me these days, how are you?” said Krystal.
“Your life is much more interesting than mine, darling! We’ll get on to me later but first, I want to know how all the training has been going? What are the other girls like?”
“Well, okay I’ll update you first but then I definitely want to hear about you,” said Krystal with a warm smile. “The training has been fun so far – hard work but fun. We’ve basically had an introduction to everything – the recording studio, the gym, the canteen, etc. We’ve also met the styling team and recorded our first track!”
“Oh, wow! What’s the song like?”
“It’s really catchy – I really like it! I think you will too.”
“And the other girls?”
“They’re all lovely. KYM has been really good and made sure that we’ve had a chance to get to know each other – I’ve met them all alone for coffee and things and they seem like a really nice bunch.”
“Well, that’s a relief. Just don’t go getting too close to any of these girls – I don’t want to lose my status as BFF!” joked Rebecca.
“That would never happen, Becs!”
Rebecca grinned.
“Seriously though – no one could be a better friend than you, Becs. You’ve been here for me the whole time and I wouldn’t have even known about the KYM audition if it wasn’t for you.”
“Ah shucks! Don’t worry about it – what are friends for?”
“I do worry about it! I feel like all I do is take from you these days.”
“Nonsense, Krystal! You’ve done plenty for me and always have my back.”
“I definitely have your back, Becs, and your front! I’ve got you covered!”
Rebecca giggled.
“Now, can you please tell me about you? What’s new?”
“Well, okay then – there is one interesting development.”
“Yes… go on!”
“Well, I’ve been talking to my parents recently about what I should do now that we’re done with school. You know I’m not the academic type?”
“You’re very brainy, Becs, but I know you don’t like studying and would rather do something more hands on, yes.”
“Well, you know how I love coffee right?”
“Do you?” said Krystal, jokingly.
“I can tell you’re going to be hard work today! Well, my parents have offered to help me open up a little coffee shop somewhere in the city!”
“Really?! That sounds awesome!”
“Yup! I’m totally stoked!” said Rebecca brimming with joy. “I’ve been looking at potential places online today – there’s lots of cool ones out there!”
“This is amazing news, Becs. You would do an amazing coffee shop!”
“Thank you! So yeah, that’s me at the moment – no potential kpop star boyfriend just yet, I’m afraid.”
“Hey, you’ve just given me an idea – I don’t want to get ahead of myself but do you like any of the other guys in the Andre Project?”
“Well, they’re all very good looking aren’t they? I don’t know that much about them as group to be honest, though.”
“That’s on my list now – I’m going to try and hook you up, Becs!”
Rebecca burst out laughing.
“Me and a kpop star? Why on earth would they want to date a nobody like me?”
“First of all, you’re not a nobody - you’re Rebecca! Second of all, you’re a total hotty yourself and any guy would be lucky to even think about dating you!”
“That’s very kind of you,” said Rebecca, chuckling. “Okay then, I’ll let you try and work your match-making magic!”
“Leave it with me,” said Krystal. “Now, I need to get a coffee and when I come back I want to hear more about your ideas for your coffee shop.”
“Sure thing.”
“Can I get you another drink?”
“I’ll have whatever you’re having, hun.”
“Cool beans!”