On my way to stardom

7. Concept

Turns out the studio this Namjoon guy is working in is only a few doors down the hallway.

As we head into the studio, the person sitting in front of a sea of buttons stands up immediately and greets the producers. He's got dark brown hair, thick lips, and a rather dazzling watch on his left wrist. Ooh, I can sense money and wealth radiating off him.

'Shannon, meet Namjoon,' Bang P.D. says.

'Annyeonghaseyo, Namjoon Sunbaenim,' I say with a 90 degree bow. Ms Yoon, my korean language teacher, says that I'm gonna have to do this a lot in Korea, especially when I'm a rookie.

He shakes my hand with a smile and even bows back! ' Annyeonghaseyo, Shannon. Welcome to Bighit!'

The producers then proceed to talk about the new songs they're working on. Supreme boi and Slow Rabbit P.D.s actually look about the same age as Namjoon Sunbae, no wonder why they look more like friends than only coworkers.

I've just noticed that there are 3 guys recording on the other side of the giant glass window. I think Bang P.D. has signalled for them to stay inside or else they'll also come and greet us. Ah, the producers are wearing headphones so I can't hear what they're singing.

They all have the same serious look on their faces which is kinda intimidating for a newbie like me. But I understand they're just trying to produce the best quality music for their fans, so it's totally fair enough.

I wonder if I'll ever be as professional.

There's also another guy sitting in the corner of the room, seemingly spacing out.

Hang on a sec, that's the dinner thief!

Apart from the oversized black hoodie that I've already seen last week, he's also wearing a black beanie today.

'Orghhhhhh!!!' I haven't even realised I've said this out loud enough when literally everyone turns their head to look at me in confusion and a tad bit of judgement.

'Is everything alright, Shannon?' Namjoon Sunbaenim asks me.

'Yup, I'm fine, sorry, Sunbaenim.'

He smiles gently and presses a button to talk to the guys on the other side, 'well done guys, that's it for today.'

Oh no, the dinner thief is coming out any time soon. Even though it wasn't my fault, there's still a sense of awkwardness that I'm feeling. Suddenly, I just really don't wanna interact with these people.

'Bang P.D., may I go back to practice?' I ask.

Ugh, I can't believe I'm volunteering to go back to the hell of dancing just to avoid talking to strangers, well done me.

'Of course, we will have a more detailed meeting about your debut tomorrow, see you,' my boss replies.

After saying goodbye to everyone, I'm practically running back to the practice room.

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'Alright, so the concept of the debut will be a mix of badass and rebel....' one of the producers explains.

Not gonna lie, I'm really gonna have to translate the whole PowerPoint when I'm back home because I'm starting to lose them. One week or so of korean lessons is definitely not enough for me to be fluent, what a surprise.

'Just a moment,' Bang P.D. interupts the presentation and turns to me,' Shannon, are you getting everything?'

I can immediately feel my face heating up as I'm about to lie, but I decided that there's really no point in lying and wasting more of my sleeping time, so I say, ' partially, do you mind explaining more slowly or maybe in English?'

The producer clearly looks a bit annoyed, but can't really say no to me in front of his boss, so he switches between English and korean and I'm understanding it more now.

'We are aiming for debut in 5 months, producing an EP of about 6 songs, with 1 title track and 1 B-side track that are gonna be choreographed. We are aiming for a small scaled debut showcase and a series of debut trailers filming every week from now,' he continues.

Damn, 5 months has never sounded shorter than this moment. I have so much preparation to do while constantly being starved! I mean Mr Parks buys me all 3 of meals everyday, but I swear there's literally less than 200 calories in each meal that he gives me! I haven't been able to fall asleep without being hungry ever since the day I arrived in Korea and it probably has to stay this way for at least another 5 months! Will I even survive till debut?

No, Shannon, this is no time to whine. Mum is still in hospital and who knows how her condition is going to change in five months? And there's Savannah who is fully dependent on me and I will not let that drunk who we used to call Dad hurt her and mum again.

I can do this.

'Alright, it's time to reveal the title track of your debut!' Bang P.D. says, which snaps me back to attention.

It's called Ticket.

Namjoon Sunbae walks into the room now with a bow and says, 'sorry everyone, I'm late. Should I start explaining the song now?'

Bang P.D. smiles at him with a fatherly smile that he hasn't shown since the meeting started. I guess that's why everyone says BTS are his children.

Not that I know what a fatherly smile would look like.

' This song basically shows how Shannon is trying her best to get her own "ticket" to people's recognition as she's just a rookie. It is based on my own experience when BTS was just debuting. Since Bighit was such a small company at that time, we were struggling to get air time so our exposure to public was very limited. Luckily, we are now doing alright so I hope you'd try your best at presenting this song and get your own ticket to your success!' He finished the sentence with the sweetest smile I think I'm going to cry soon.

'Thank you, Namjoon Sunbaenim! I will do my best to not let you down!' I reply.

'That's great! Can you start recording after the meeting?' He asks.

I widen my eyes and try to search for Mr Park to confirm if the arrangement is fine. He nods and I say, 'absolutely, Sunbaenim!'