Once Upon A Star: Chapter 5

In a blink, Shirley had been in Star Entertainment for a year. Training was going smoothly for her and she had become best friends with Hung Man.

"Okay, class. Thank you everyone!" Ginny said as the class ended.

"Shirley! Could you stay here for awhile?" Ginny called her as she packed her bag.

"Yes?" Shirley approached her, wondering what was going on.

"We have a meeting in five minutes. Go tidy yourself a bit." Ginny said and shoved her into the toilet.

After that, Ginny led Shirley to the 5th floor and to a door with a sign written "Meeting Room 7".

They went in and Shirley saw around 12 people in the room, gathered together and discussing.

"Sorry we're late. Shall we proceed?" Ginny said and showed Shirley to a seat.

"Do you know why you are here, Shirley?" Someone from the group asked.

"I really have no idea... am... am I in trouble?" Shirley trembled.

"You're not in trouble. You're not going to be training anymore. You're going to shine. You're going to debut." The voice turned out to be CEO Min Thing's.

Shirley was too shocked to say anything.

"...really? Thank... thank you." She could only stutter.

"Well, I'll introduce to you our team of specialists. The one there is Kira, she'll be helping you with the recordings. Did I mention that she's the one writing your songs? And next to her is choreographer, Jayme. You already know Ginny, she'll be going through with your overall performance and album cover design. We're missing someone, rite?"

"She had another meeting. She'll be arriving soon." Ginny said while checking her phone.

"Knock knock!" The door opened to reveal Hung Man. She bowed and apologized. "Mianhe, Min Thing-shi."

"No worries! Come join us." CEO Min Thing said and Hung Man went to an empty seat.

"Well, Shirley, Hung Man here is a part time composer. She's doing your songs along with Kira." Min Thing explained as Shirley felt so excited that her best friend is here.

"I forgot to tell you too. I'll be your manager, for the time being. It happens that Jungmo is involved in a project overseas. He'll be back in a few days time." CEO Min Thing was beaming.

"Well, Shirley, your schedule is going to start tomorrow." Kira said and passed Shirley her schedule.

"Meet me at Studio 3 tomorrow morning. Sleep early and make sure your voice is at it's best for tomorrow." Kira handed Shirley a few sheets of paper and the brief meeting ended.

When Shirley came out of the Meeting room. All she could think was is she still in a big crazy dream.

She started walking towards her dorm but still haven't digest the fact that she is debuting soon.

"Omo! Omo! Am I really...?" All her hard work had been paid of and she started to tear up in the middle of her walk.

She sniffed herself and still tears flowing out.

"Hey! Chukhahaeyo, dear!" Hung Man came and hug her.

"Thank you," and both of them shared a long hug.

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Shirley's debut was a success. Her album had been dominating the music charts. She received praises from the professionals, saying that she is the new generation of artist. She also had an official fan club within a week of her debut.

6 June 2011 was Star Entertainment's 10th Anniversary Function.

Shirley was getting ready in her room. She was wearing a silver cocktail dress. It was pretty and elegant.

"Omo! You're so gorgeous!" Chaerin and Ariel gasped at the doorway. Chaerin was in a soft yellow dress while Ariel was in a sea green one.

Shirley thanked them for the compliment.

"You gals really don't mind barging into other people's room, huh?" Hung Man came out in a purple dress, tying her hair.

"Whoa... Stunning..." The three girls sighed at her beauty.

"Come on, we're going to be late. Are you done with your makeup?" Hung Man asked Shirley.

Shirley put on a little lipstick and the four left the dorms.

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At the air-conditioned hall... ...

"So many people!!" Chaerin exclaimed. There were about maybe... a thousand people? CEOs from different companies, directors, tycoons, artists...

"There's Jungmo-sshi." Ariel pointed to a tall guy a few feet away from them.

"Good evening girls. I was talking to Shuyuan. Come, I'll introduce you to her." Jungmo said and led Shirley to meet Shuyuan as Chaerin and Ariel spotted Shinee members while Hung Man was not in sight anymore.

At Chaerin's side...

"Omo! Chaerin look whose here too?!" Ariel hit Chaerin's arm with hers.

Chaeri's eyes went wide when Minho's eyes meets hers and he gave a neck bow to her.

"Ooo.." Ariel made a 'ooo' sound to tease Chaerin.

"Aish! Come on, let's go find Hung Man," Chaerin pulled her away while looking eyeing Minho from the side.

At Shirley's side...

"Shirley, let me introduce to you, Shuyuan."

"Hello. Nice to meet you. I'm Shirley." Shirley made her introduction.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Shuyuan. I'm an emcee. I've seen your performance from yesterday. And I must say, you are an amazing singer! I hope I have a chance to work with you." Shuyuan's praise made Shirley blushed.

The three had a long conversation. After awhile, Shirley excused herself and went to get a drink.

"Good evening everyone..." It was Min Thing on stage. She gave a short speech about the company's history, it's latest projects, expanding to other countries, it's future...

"...you enjoy yourselves tonight. Thank you." With that, the speech ended.

"Everyone, get a partner! On the dance floor now~" Someone called out as the music started.

"Hi, do you mind dancing with me," Someone called Chaerin when she was sitting with Ariel. When she turn around to see it was Minho. She blush but agreed and stood up.

"Er...hi, wanna dance?" Taemin tapped Ariel's shoulder lightly but gave her goosebumps.

"Oh, sure," And she made her way.

Shirley stood there, looking at the people, going to the dance floor with their partners. Min Thing was with her boyfriend. Shuyuan was dancing with Nickhun from 2PM. Kira was with Yonghwa from CNBLUE. Ginny was dancing with Key, one of Shinee's members. Chaerin was with Ariel. Hung Man was sitting at a corner, talking to someone. Shirley found Hyunjoong in the crowd, dancing with Iries, the actress he was filming with since a few months ago.

Out of nowhere, someone tapped Shirley's shoulder.

"Would you like to have a dance with me?" He was dressed in a dark blue suit.

Shirley nodded and let the guy lead.

"I'm Jonghyun." The guy introduced himself.

"I'm Shirley. Nice to meet you Jonghyun." They chatted a little.

After a twirl, the dancers changed partners. Chaerin was now with Minho, Ginny was with Nckhun, Ariel was with Taemin, Iries was with Jungmo. Unexpectedly, Hung Man was also in the dance floor.

A mysterious hand gently led Shirley and she followed. As they continued with the flow of the music, Shirley looked up... to see Hyunjoong looking into her eyes.

"Hello... We meet again." Hyunjoong smiled warmly, making Shirley blushed.

"Hmm?" Shirley couldn't utter a word.

He chuckled, "Last time at the studio..."

"O... o..." Shirley wondered... he remembered?... and forgot to dance. She accidentally stepped on Hyunjoong.

"I'm so sorry! I'm sorry... Are you okay?" Shirley got nervous.

"Never mind. I'm okay. Shall we continue?" Hyunjoong still had that smile on him.

Shirley nodded and they danced till the music ended.

As Shirley was drinking her glass of orange juice, Hyunjoong was beside her.

"You wanna get out of here?" Hyunjoong suddenly asked.

"Eh? Out of here?" Shirley asked.

"Yes. I kinda miss the food outside the company.... Would you like to join me?... I mean it's okay if you want to stay here..."

"Okay. I'll go with you." Shirley accepted his invitation.

They left the hall to change into casual clothes and then they met at the front of the company.

They decided to walk there since there will be lots of traffic at the night market. There were so many stalls on both sides of the long road. There were food, toys, clothes, shoes, lighting decorations, fortune tellers, candies...

"Let's try that one!" Hyunjoong pointed to a stall selling bibimbap.

"Okay!" The two rant towards the stall, holding each other's hand. They were not afraid of people recognizing as they were wearing beanie or scarf to disguise themselves. Besides, it's the night market, people are concentrating on what's on sale.

"Here, have this," Hyunjoong bought a Korean market dishes. He took it in his hands and showed in front of her mouth.

For a moment she just stared at him and then she took the bite.

She felt a little awkward but he was doing fine.

"Thank you. It's so tasty!" Shirley exclaimed as Hyunjoong fed her another small piece.

They slowly walked through the night market, buying a little Korean cuisines on the way. As they approached a shop selling accessories, Hyunjoong bought a necklace for Shirley. It has a star on it, sparkling and dazzling.

"Oh, whom is that for?" She asked. She was admiring the beautiful necklace in his hand.

"For you,"

"Eh? Me?" She laughed.

"Here," He gave it to her.

She took it and slowly realizing what he was doing and said, "Tha-thanks..."

He smiled and held her hands to walk.

"Kim Hyunjoong oppa?" A few teenage girls asked.

"Huh? People say I really look like him too. But I'm not him..."

"I told you, it couldn't be him..." The girls talked to each other.

"Honey! Come here and see if you like this dress." The girls' mother called and they left the couple.

"That was close." Hyunjoong said as they were a few stalls away now.

Suddenly, Shirley's phone rang and she answered it.

"Shirley, where are you? Well, never mind about that... At least you're safe. I called to inform you that you have a show tomorrow... be ready at 7.00 am... Sleep early, okay?" It was Jungmo.

"Okay. Yes, sir... Goodnight!" Shirley said and ended the call.

"Who was it?" Hyunjoong asked.

"Jungmo-sshi, my manager. He said I have a show tomorrow." Shirley said.

Hyunjoong looked at his watch, it was already 11.00 pm.

"Turns out I also have a show tomorrow. I guess we need to get back huh?" He said, pouting a little.

"I guess." The two agreed and they walked back to the company.

At the car park... ...

"Goodnight, Shirley." Hyunjoong said as they separated their ways to their dorms.

"Goodnight, Hyunjoong." Shirley whispered.

In her room, Shirley slept in her bed with a smile on her face.

She was dreaming about Hyunjoong...

Hyunjoong was dreaming about her too...

Once Upon A Star 4

"Woah...what a tiring day...," Shirley was sulking to herself

"Hey, Shirley! Me and Ariel have something else to do. So we are leaving you,ok?"

"Okay, okay! Bye..." Shirley waved at them at the corner of their practice room after coming out of it.

"Now....let's go have some rest! My room...here I come," She sling her bag over her and walk.

Shirley passed by an open studio.

She merely took a glance and she stopped there staring.

It's Kim Hyung Joong!

"Omo! Is that....I've got to see this..." she was hyped up.

"I'm sorry, Jane....I'm sorry...I love you..and you will always be in my," Kim Hyung Joong took his fist and place it on his heart,"heart," and he started crying.

For a mere second Shirley thought he really was crying!

"CUT!"

And he started smiling back.

"Wahh...that's so sweet!!" Shirley made a low jump and admire his acting skill.

Then the crew started packing and they started walking toward her.

Oh-oh! Did they saw me?! Shirley thought. Her stomach feels like she had butterfly.

Then she saw the door she was standing at.

'Exit'

Exit Door!

Then they must go through here.

She saw all of them left one by one.

Kim Hyung Joong was still talking to someone....his T-shirt printed, 'Director'

Ok, he is talking to the director.

They both were walking towards where she was standing.

When Kim Hyung Joong came closer and closer...Shirley froze.

She just stood there staring at his angelic face.

When the director left also.

He turn and looked at her.

"Anyeong haseyo," he bowed a little.

OH! "An...anyeongHaseyo!" she bowed to him.

He smiled and went away.

Still eyes wide, she couldn't believe what just happened.

She walked back to her dorm day dreaming.

"Where's my key?" "Oh, here you are," she open her dorm room and it was dark.

"Where is Hung Man?"

She went in and on the lights.

"Hello??"

No one reply.

She went to the door of Hung Man's room and she saw a sign written 'Do Not Disturb'

"O.o when was this on her door?"

"Er...should I knock? I'm hungry,"

She saw the sign again and thought maybe not.

She went to the kitchen and saw food on the table.

And a letter.

I'm sorry, I have no time to talk to give you a good service as your roommate, I'm busy but I bought you food. So, bye.

HM

Wow, that so sweet of her Shirley thought and slip the letter in her pocket.

She stuff the food in her mouth in hunger.

"Korean food is delicious!"

After having her full dinner she went back to sleep.

Once Upon A Star: Chapter 3

"Hey, sleepy head... wake up, sweet dreaming girl..." Shirley heard a sweet voice in her dreams.

"Please let me sleep a little more..." She mumbled.

"Wake up!" A thunderous voice echoed in her ears. A hand grabbed her blanket and pulled Shirley off her bed.

"Ouch! Why do you have to do that?" Shirley said while rubbing her head. She thought it was her younger brother. Then, she suddenly remembered where she was.

She looked up.

"Training starts in an hour! Get ready now. I'll meet you in Training Room 15 at the 10th floor." Ginny, the trainer was there for a second and she disappeared to the other room for the next wake up call.

"Ahhh.." Shirley stretched her body and found out that Hung Man was not in the room. She went out to the common room to search for her.

"What are you doing?" Shirley saw Hung Man sitting at a table, eating cereal.

"Hmm? Me? ...I'm looking for you. Why didn't you wake me up?" Shirley asked.

"I forgot... And your pajamas is embarrassing." Hung Man said coldly and went back to eating her cereal.

"Aish..." Shirley looked at her own pajamas. It had Spongebob Squarepants all over it. Slapping her forehead, she went back to her room and closed the door.

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After getting ready, Shirley took the map she was given and left the dorm. There was half an hour till the class starts.

She went to another building where the training rooms were. She followed the map but she still couldn't find the room.

"It's at the 10th floor rite? Why isn't room 15 here!!!"

There was still 10 minutes left! She studied the map intensely...

"O dear... I've been reading it upside down!!!" She turned the map to the right way and rushed to the training room 15.

She took a big breath, trying to calm herself down from the running.

She sneaked into the training room, hoping that Ginny wouldn't caught her.

She put her bag at the corner with the others and blended into the group of trainees.

"Miss Shirley! You are 3 minutes late." Ginny spotted her and told her to come to the front.

There were whispers from the trainees as Shirley motioned to the front of the room.

"Well, class. Let me introduce you our new addition to the family. Introduce yourself please." Ginny said.

"Annyeonghaseyo (Hello) I'm Shirley and I'm 20 years old." Shirley made a brief introduction.

"Okay, Shirley, today we'll be doing one of miss A's dance choreography. Have you ever heard Goodbye Baby?" Ginny's tone was strict yet gentle in a way.

Shirley said she only heard it once or twice, not really remembering the song.

"We're going to start slow. Now... one two three... one two three four five... turn..." Ginny recited and moved with every count. Soon, the class, including Shirley followed Ginny, besides trying to remember the steps to every count.

Ginny repeated the dance a few times, followed by the trainees. There were a lot of counting around the room and a few trainees were out of breath and couldn't keep up.

After two hours, Ginny let everyone rest for 10 minutes. Everyone was breathing hard, expanding their lung capacity. The trainees were all sweaty too.

"Chaerin, put on the radio please." Ginny said and Chaerin went to on the radio. Everyone went to their positions to stand by.

The music started and everyone tried to dance following the beat. Ginny was still at the front so that the trainees can follow. It was a lot faster than without the music and only Hung Man was doing nicely keeping up with the song. Shirley was hanging on just by a thread, being one beat slower while the others were already out of beat.

"10 minutes!" Ginny said and everyone dispersed to take a break.

After that, Ginny told the trainees to do the choreography again. This time, she didn't dance but stood at the corner, observing the class. She wanted to see how the trainees were doing.

"...Hung Man doing well.. just need a little more power in her dance moves..."

"...Chaerin... still needs a little more practice..."

"...Ariel... slacking... need to pressure her a bit..."

"...Min Thing... doing fine... wait... Min Thing? Director, may I know why are you doing here?" Ginny was surprised to see the CEO dancing with the trainees.

"I want to exercise a bit. Besides, I like your classes." Min Thing said while dancing intensely.

"Okay... " Ginny went to the other corner to see the other trainees.

"...Shirley... this girl has got pure talent... needs just a few months to debut as an artist..."

Ginny smiled while looking at Shirley. She remembered Taemin who is now an artist, he was a dancing machine and when he was training under her, Ginny was always impressed for every choreography he did.

Three hours passed by as Ginny helped the trainees in their dance moves.

After lunch break, Ginny gave a lecture about how every dance move was created and how to present them without tiring the body. She covered every detail. She also talked about the beat and tempo of the song, the lyrics and how to convey the emotion of the song into the dance.

"Thank you class. I'll see you tomorrow." Ginny bowed and the trainees bowed back, thanking her. Everyone left the training room, tired out.

Shirley walked slowly as her limbs were aching. She never had this kind of training and it was unbelievably tough.

Unknowingly, she was lost in the building and took 45 minutes just to get back to the dorms when the other trainees took only 10 minutes.

"Uhh..." Shirley lay on the floor immediately after reaching her room. She had seen Hung Man in the common room, eating her dinner and watching TV.

"I need to take a warm bath..." Shirley dragged herself to the bathroom and took a long, warm, relaxing bath.

She wore her clothes and lay on the bed, not wanting to wake up. Yet, her stomach was growling.

"Knock Knock!" Shirley heard a voice from outside. Lazily, she went to open the door.

There were two girls.

"Hey, you want to go out for dinner?" She recognize the girls from the first day she was in Korea.

"Sorry. We forgot to introduce ourselves properly." The two girls said in unison.

"I'm Chaerin and she's Ariel. So... you wanna to join us for dinner?" Chaerin smiled warmly.

"Please say yes?" Ariel continued.

"Hmm... Okay. Just wait for me awhile." Shirley took her key and purse.

On the way out, Chaerin asked Hung Man but she rejected the offer. Chaerin had a car and the three hopped into it.

"What do you like to eat?" Ariel asked while Chaerin started the engine.

"Anything." Shirley replied with a smile.

"Well, steamboat then!" Chaerin cheered and stepped on the accelerator.

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The three girls ate heartily and talked.

"May I know why Hung Man is so quiet?" Shirley asked as she was curious why Hung Man barely talked.

"To tell you the truth, she's a really cold person." Ariel took a sip of green tea and continued, "But she's really a nice girl. Just that she doesn't warm up with people so easily like our Chaerin here."

"She's been quieter when her roommate left a few months ago. Hui.J and X.Wei were her roommates but they left the company to complete their studies overseas. They'll only be back in Korea after a few years." Chaerin explained.

Shirley got to know more about Hung Man. She also decided to be friendlier to her so that they can become buddies. She also got to know about Chaerin and Ariel. They were a duo and trying their best so that they can be in the comedy industry. Because they wanted to be versatile in the entertainment industry, they ended up joining dancing, singing and literature classes.

"You know, Ginny really likes you." Chaerin said while reaching for a lettuce leaf.

"You mean the trainer? I don't think so. I was late for her class." Shirley sighed and took a piece of fish ball.

"I saw her smiling when you were dancing!" Ariel suddenly shouted.

"Calm down!" Chaerin hit her arm. The three laughed as people were looking at them with weird faces.

They ate for more than 2 hours and went back to the dorms.

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It was all quiet and dark in the common room as everyone was outside exploring the night market nearby or already asleep.

"Goodnight!" Chaerin whispered.

"Remember to set your alarm!" Ariel added and they went to their room.

Shirley made an "okay" sign and quietly went into her room.

Tucked in her bed, Shirley cheered to herself, "Hwaiting!"