Chapter Text
It’s the first time in ten years that you are living on your own and you’re doing it thousands of miles away from home. No mother, no boyfriend, no safety net within walking distance. Just you, in a new country, with a new job and a basic understanding of the local language.
It’s terrifying.
It’s exhilarating.
It all started exactly 6 months ago, when you first applied for a position that, at best, was a long shot. It was the first position open for English speakers that didn’t ask you to be American, didn’t demand fluent Korean and played to your marketing and branding strengths. It also didn’t hurt that it was in JYP, home to some of your favorite musical acts, some of which you’d be working closely with. You applied for it more out of boredom in your current job than an actual wish to upend your life, and vaguely thought there was no chance they’d even consider you for the position.
Two weeks later, your boyfriend of 5 years decided there was no longer enough “spark” in your relationship.
“I’m sorry,” he starts, looking at you so earnestly you almost believe he means it. “I’m just not in love with you anymore. We used to have fun! I know you’re bored too; I see the way you look at things.”
It’s a tough process. One that involves bureaucracy and assets and figuring out what to do with the unfinished house you were building together. All the while you’re still working at your boring job, and not have to move back in with your mother at the tender age of 28 years old.
But, if you are going to be honest with yourself, he’s right. You have been feeling bored, and like going through the motions. Your relationship hadn’t been the same for a while and you had been questioning everything about it.
When you receive an email asking you to join an online interview, at first you think it might be a mistake. But everything looks exactly as it had in the application process and you – well, you have nothing to lose, do you?
It takes three rounds of interviews and two separate cognitive and English tests before they offer you a position, but when they do, it’s a dream. You triple check the salary and bonus package, that includes your moving and visa costs. All in exchange for staying at the company for a minimum of 5 years.
You can definitely give them 5 years.
So, you pack up most of your life in four large bags and hugs your weeping mother goodbye, promising to chat with her nightly. You don’t bother telling your ex until the day before, and even then, it’s just so you can pick up a few last-minute items that were still in the apartment you previously shared.
“South Korea? What the hell are you going to do in South Korea? Can you even speak Korean? I mean, I know you were taking classes, but let’s be honest, you were never very good at it.”
You ignore the jab at your – honestly, slow – pace at learning Korean and keep the explanation to a minimum. You were offered a good job and you don’t feel like staying in your country any longer. No sense in declining a great offer, and you’d be doing something exciting.
“What are you doing there?”
“Uhm, official title is Creative Coordinator for International Markets. I’ll be working with a team to create concepts for new releases and such. Basically, a mix of creative direction and branding?”
His response is non-committal and you’re thankful for it. No need to drag out a conversation with someone you just broke up with, anyway. You finish grabbing your stuff and gives your ex a hug that’s too short to be truly comfortable before leaving.
72 hours of traveling later, you’re finally in Seoul. Well, Seoul International Airport. The driver the company very kindly sent to pick you up was a 40-something year-old who spoke slightly broken English and was endlessly patient with your beginner-level Korean and overwhelming number of luggage pieces.
“This is your first time in Korea?” he asks slowly in Korean and you nod vigorously, happy you understood him well enough to reply.
“Yes!”
You look around the cityscape as the car moves closer to the city center, mesmerized by the buildings and ads and everything unfamiliar around you.
“Fighting,” the driver says, breaking the silence once more and you nod and smile to agree.
The rest of the trip is comfortably silent as you continue to admire the passing landscapes until the car stops in front of your new (company-owned) home. “Welcome to Seoul, Miss,” the driver finishes as he places your luggage by the sidewalk before going back into his car and driving away.
Well, now all you had to do was figure out how the hell you’d take all your bags to the apartment by yourself.
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Moving takes you two days and then you spend two more in a hazy, jetlagged stupor, once the initial adrenaline leaves your body. You shop for basics and look lost enough during the payment that an older woman takes pity on you and shows you the difference between all the coins.
You say enough “thank yous” during the weekend that the Korean comes out almost naturally now, and Sunday night, when you finally crash after spending the previous evening awake to try and fix you sleeping schedule, you vaguely think you should set two alarms, just in case, so you aren’t late on your first day.
You miss your alarms.
In fact, you also miss two phone calls, including one from your new boss, and a message from your mother, and end up waking up 40 minutes late for work.
As any good new employee, you had carefully chosen your outfit and planned your schedule so you could wake up, shower, get dressed and eat something before making the – carefully mapped and printed out – trip to the office. Instead, you found yourself scrambling to put on the black slacks and pinstriped shirt, slightly wrinkling your outfit in the process. Your entire trip was a bundle of nerves, and you nearly left the subway at the wrong station twice.
When you finally make your way to the reception, with your hair in a roughly put together ponytail and your eyes still looking groggy from sleep, you can feel your cheeks burning in embarrassment. You’re exactly ten minutes past the time you were supposed to arrive and looking the messiest you’ve ever been since you started working office jobs.
“Uh, I’m sorry. You’re supposed to be expecting me?” you speak in clear English, not trusting your Korean to be able to explain how terribly sorry you are. “I’m the new hire? Here’s my ID,” you extend your passport to the beautifully put together lady, who looks at you with a mix of doubt and pity.
“One moment, please. Mr. Kang will be down shortly with your entrance card,” she speaks politely, giving you back your passport along with a folder. “This is your welcome package. Mr. Kang and Mr. Moon will both give you more details upstairs.”
You smile thankfully and move away from the pristine mirrored desk towards a small sitting area. It takes Mr. Kang another 5 minutes to show up, a friendly enough smile on his face despite his newest hire being late.
You bow to your new boss, already spewing your apologies and explaining you had overslept due to jet lag. He chuckles, shaking his head.
“Don’t worry, Miss. We understand this must be a difficult transition for you. Just make sure you are on time from tomorrow onwards, yes?” He adds, the tone slightly chiding.
He seems to be a man in his forties, short, but still taller than you, and wearing a well-cut and pressed suit. His appearance is much more put together than yours and the contrast makes your cheek warm up once again. You silently plan to make your alarms more obnoxious and add a third alarm this evening.
In fact, now that you look around, most people are well-dressed. Not in the same business attire, but even those dressed casually still have well-cut clothes, that makes them all look just slightly more put together. You add ‘look up Korean tailors’ to your mental to-do list and follow Mr. Kang to the elevator and then through the crisscrossing hallways of your new floor.
“Here we are. This will be your new office; you’re sharing it with Miss Han and Mr. Moon,” he starts, stopping in front of a spacious office with three large desks and a glass wall that allowed a panoramic view of Gangdong-Gu. Inside, you see the faces of your new coworkers. Another middle-aged man, although Mr. Moon seemed a few years younger than Mr. Kang and more approachable, and a girl that looked younger than you by several years. “Miss Han is also new, like you, and will be assisting you throughout your period here. She’ll also serve as your translator, should you need it, so please get acquainted.”
With that final remark, Mr. Kang made his way out of the office and back through the hallways. You smile nervously, but before you can open your mouth, Mr. Moon and Miss Han are already up and bowing slightly.
“Miss, it will be a pleasure working with you. Please don’t hesitate to ask me for anything,” Miss Han says assuredly. She’s as eager as you were during your first job, and you silently wonder if this is her first time working at a big office.
“Agreed,” Mr. Moon says, sitting back down on his desk. “Your welcoming packet has all of the information as well as your access pass. That one is a temporary one, as your permanent keycard is still being created. Has Mr. Kang mentioned the work you will be doing during the first month?”
No, he hadn’t. You know you’ll be working closely with artists and possibly a creative team, but he had given you no further details. You shake your head slowly and Mr. Moon once again smiles encouragingly.
“Yes, I figured. Your first assignment will be to work with the creative team on the concept for a new release,” he stops himself and checks some notes on his computer. “It seems you’ll be working with Stray Kids. You won’t get to meet them this month, though, as they are on tour, but you’ll be in charge of all of the work for their upcoming release.”
He rattles off a few details, including that part of the work had already been done by your predecessor, but that you are free to make changes within reason. You’re only half-listening, though, as part of your brain seems to have stopped working the minute the kind Mr. Moon mentioned Stray Kids.
You are working with Stray Kids.
The same Stray Kids you had been listening to non-stop.
The same Stray Kids you were also slightly obsessed with. In a healthy, adult way. But still, slightly obsessed.
You make a new mental note ‘google how to appear natural before your idols’.