The Boys & I

Chapter 6: The Academy Program

I thanked the CEO. I went out in his office with a big smile. As I arrived at the floor lobby, I accidentally bumped a tall and handsome guy. He caught me through his arms as I fell on the floor. I apologized to him. He said it was okay and asked if I was alright. I nodded. We entered the elevator as it went down. He came out towards the left side of the building and I towards the right side, approaching the exit.

I arrived at the hotel, ate late lunch, snack and dinner meals. Then I had slept after I took a shower bath.

Next day, it was the first session of the program. I arrived early at the academy. A lot of students were practicing. I looked for room number and found the room. There were a total of 10 students per room. I was the 10th person who entered the room.

The program was very challenging because I had to sing in front of the class while I was listening to the instructor, take written and practical examinations, and participate in the academy’s activities. Two of the academy’s events were the annual Broadway musical and the competition called Celebrity Duets: KPop Edition wherein contestants will have a chance to collaborate with their favorite Korean stars.

A Hollywood’s favorite musical, Wicked, was chosen to be this year’s Broadway musical. The title was familiar because we used the song For Good as our high school graduation song. I auditioned for the role of Glinda. After the audition had ended, the list of qualified musical performers was posted. I was jumping for joy when I got the role of Glinda. I spent days of memorizing Glinda’s dialogues and rehearsing from the songs to the actual theater performance. The audience, including the company’s board of directors and the president of the academy, Lee Solim, gave us a round of applause after the musical had ended. I saw my dad’s best friend and the company’s current CEO, Kim Young min for support as he showed that he’s proud of his best friend’s daughter.

I also auditioned for the competition called Celebrity Duets: KPop Version. I was one of the 10 finalists. Each finalist picked a paper from the lottery box containing names of Korean stars. I picked the blue one, opened it, and read the name and contact number through my eyes. The finalists except me were screaming. The reason was I didn’t know the KPop star that I collaborate with in the competition. I went in the academy’s library and searched online. I typed this name on the Google search box: J-u-n-g-Y-o-n-g-h-w-a. The star that I’m going to collaborate was a vocalist of a band called CNBlue. I called him when I came back in the hotel room. I personally met him in the recording studio of his band’s label company and talked about the competition. We chose the song from the movie Music & Lyrics entitled Way Back into Love. We rehearsed the song three times a week. During the competition proper, we almost perfectly performed it with passion. After the performance, Yonghwa said, “You did a great job.” Before the announcement of winners, the host called the finalists, together with the KPop stars whom they had collaborated with. Yonghwa was beside me when the results announced, I won first place. Mr. Kim Young min congratulated me through phone.

The program had ended with memories. I felt like I’m a different person now who can perform in front of a crowd of thousands. I came back to Mr. Kim’s office as he told me to do. He embraced me and said, “I am very proud of you.” I thanked him for his support that he gave in the entire program. Then he asked me, “So are you ready to be a star in Korea?”