1 An Idol Trainee

It was started in a full crowded stadium. A tall stage stood where every eye watched into. A beautiful lady in a body fit blue sparkling dress took a mic in her left hand. The light show showcased her beautiful smile and bright eyes. Behind her, 4 female dancers in tuxedo danced following her choreography.

A huge monitor behind the stage showed the colorful backdrop. A huge word 'Idol Queen Kon' floated on the monitor.

"Kon!!!"

Some audiences screamed the singer name while other audiences sang the song together. Almost all audiences brought a blue lightstick to support their favorite singer.

While the audience was still in ecstasy and enjoyed the show, the singer kept singing using her clear and beautiful voice.

"Listen to my heart, Looking for your dream."

"Now we stand amid contrary wind."

"I believe you now."

"You can work it out."

"Dreams come true."

The singer raised the mic high above her head. The laser show showered the audience.

A few blasts of fire appeared from the stage before the stage darkened.

"Encore!!!"

All her fans were looking for another performance. The scream continued for 5 minutes.

"Encore!!!"

"Na... Na... Na..." The monitor started to show a beautiful face. It was Kon.

There was a song opening started to be played.

"Kon!!!"

"I love you, Kon!!!"

"Kon!!!"

The audience cheered the return of their beloved singer. The beautiful singer had changed her dress with a white princess style. She returned to the stage with a huge smile, this time with a few physically fit male background dancers.

"Thank you for my Kon-Ers. I love you all. This song, I present to the best Kon-Ers in the world!!!" She started to sing.

While Kon bathed in the cheer of her fans, someone behind the stage started to remove her makeup.

She removed her hairpins from her head. She felt her long hair finally breathed the cold night air again. She took the toner and cleaned her face. Soon, a fair skin appeared in the mirror. She wiped all the makeup from her small and pointed nose, her thin lips, and her sharp feminine chin. Finally, she took the time to remove the fake eyelash from her bright eyes. She removed the glamorous mask that she had worn.

"My body is all painful." A dancer in a tuxedo with red hair removed her high stiletto. "Kimha, do you return using company shuttle?"

"Yes. I need to save money this month, Som. I want to buy new practice shoes." A short haired girl answered.

"Finally, it is over." The other female dancers with a cute mix of the Asian and the Western face in tuxedo said. "Nayon Unnie, where do you want to have dinner?" She asked the girl who was cleaning her make-up.

"I think I will buy from the minimarket where I worked, Hehyo." The girl named Nayon answered.

"Good Job for you girls today!" A middle-aged man came into the changing room.

"Yes, Manager-Nim." The four quickly answered.

"I will see you again tomorrow in the class."

"Yes, Manager-Nim. Thank you for today." All spoke the same.

The man left the group. He needed to negotiate something.

The four dancers were all not singers or idol girl group. They were only trainees in a small entertainment company. This background dancer performance was a great opportunity for these young girls. It was the only chance to showcase their talent to the public. The sad part was no one would remember Somsom, Hehyo, Kimha, and Nayon tomorrow. Everyone would look into Kon, the Idol Queen.

Nayon looked into her face in the mirror. She would turn 20 years old this year. This was a bit old for an idol. Nowadays girls as old as 16 years old had debuted on the stage and most idols retired after 30 years old. At that time, a successful idol would become an actress or a solo singer.

Out of the 4, she was the oldest and the leader of this temporary team. All her generation trainees already gave up being an idol. It was only her who still competed with the younger generations.

Somsom was only 16 years old, Heyhyo was 17 years old, and Kimha was 18 years old. They were in the right age to debut.

Nayon looked in the mirror again. [Nayon, you will debut this year. You have to.] She cheered herself.

Nayon was an orphan raised by her grandmother in the village. Her parents died during a landslide. The strange thing, she was the only one found alive by the rescue team after 48 hours under the debris. It was a miracle reported in the national television.

Nayon had no memory of that event. She was a baby back then and only remembered helped her grandmother made some kimchi during her youth.

Her young life was like a common girl in the village. She studied hard in school and got A for her graduation mark.

Nayon was a big fan of a famous idol boy group. She dreamed to become an idol and stood on the stage with them.

When she grew slightly older, she really wanted to stand on the stage. This time, it was for herself.

After some persuasion, her grandmother finally allowed her to participate in an audition in the capital. She failed that big company audition. Nayon tried 5 times before she managed to become a trainee in a small agency.

"Nayon, let's go! Kon is in the backstage." Nayon was lost in her mind when Somsom called her.

"Ah! Yes. I need to pack my tuxedo." She tidied the costume before she returned them to a wardrobe coordinator. She took her bag and went with the rest of the crews. Kon came to the backstage. The idol queen took the time to thank the supporting staff.

Nayon and her friends managed to get a chance to have their picture together. This was the extra benefit of working with a celebrity. However, not everyone was like Kon. Some were amiable while the others didn't want to interact with the supporting staffs.

Nayon and her friends took an old company shuttle to her company dorm. As a person who came from a village, she needed to rent in the city. Luckily, the company had a small dorm, where she could rent with a slightly lower price. Somsom and Heyho also stayed in the dorm while Kimha lived with her parents nearby.

The girls separated in the building door. Kimha went back to her home.

"I need to rest." Somsom quickly threw herself into the bed. Nayon could see the young girl from the open door.

Their dorm had 2 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, 1 small living room, and 1 kitchen. The biggest bedroom was used by Somsom and Heyho, while Nayon took the smaller one for herself. The dorm was located on the second floor of a 3-floor building. It was a very simple and common apartment that no one could imagine a future celebrity stayed in here.

"You have to properly treat your skin if you want to debut." Nayon said. She came into the youngest and grabbed her hand. Nayon pulled her out of her bed. "You have to do your night treatment."

"Unnie! I am so tired."

"No. Excuse!" Nayon as the oldest had to take care of her younger dorm mates. They were her friends with the same dream.

"Nayon Unnie, are you going to work in minimarket? This is already 22.00." Heyho had just come from the only bathroom in the dorm. She still dried her wet hair with a pink towel.

"I have a part-time schedule this night. I exchanged my evening shift with my friend." Nayon had to take this part-time job to pay for her rent. Her grandmother had helped her to pay for her living expenses. However, Nayon still needed to get some money for renting company dorm and paying her tuition fees.

"I need to go now. See you tomorrow! Do not forget to wash your face, Somsom!" Nayon said to Heyho and Somsom.

"Yes... Unnie." Somsom forced herself to the bathroom.

Nayon closed the door. She sighed herself. Her body felt tired. Yet, she had to go.

10 minutes later, she arrived at the minimarket where she worked part-time.

"Good Night, Nayon Unnie!" A young lady with a ponytail called her.

"Good Night, Tahe. How is today shift?" Tahe was the friend that she asked to trade the shift.

Similar to her, Tahe also took a part-time job in the minimarket. Her main dream was to become a famous webtoon artist.

"It is the usual busy day." Tahe said. She usually preferred a night shift so she could draw her webtoon.

"Thank you for today. I will treat you later." Nayon went into the back room to change her dress into the minimarket uniform. She also needed to properly clean her makeup.

"No worries, Unnie." Tahe said. She started to calculate her cashier box. As a cashier, she would need to save her shift earning in a box inside the store's safety box.

Nayon went outside the back room. "Is there no one else in the store?"

"Jack is looking for a late-night snack. He would return soon." Tahe said.

"Ok." Nayon brought her own cashier box. "What did you draw? I heard you made a new webtoon" Nayon loved to see Tahe's drawing. She always got the latest chapter earlier than Tahe's followers.

"This is a Cinderella Story." Tahe showed her sketch. "I still need to color this."

"Is this the end of this chapter?" Nayon asked. She had finished the last panel.

"Yes. What do you think Unnie?"

"This seems like a children's book. I don't believe in Cinderella and the Fairy Godmother. Hahaha." Nayon smiled.

She loved to watch Cinderella cartoon when she was young. However, she didn't believe in the story. There were many good trainees that she had worked with. All worked hard, but almost nobody managed to become a famous idol.

"You are not fun, Unnie. This Cinderella represents our dream. If we work hard and be good to everyone, a miracle would happen to make our dreams come true."

"Then, I should do a good thing. I wish you success with this Cinderella." Nayon finally set her cashier box.

"I need to change my clothes first, Unnie." Tahe went into the back room.

Nayon took her phone. She had saved her dancing practice video on it. She tried to check where she missed the dance choreography.

She used the time to imagine her dance in her mind. This Visualization was the method for her to practice even when she felt tired. Sometimes she moved her body to practice in the limited space of the minimarket cashier.

"Night! Oh, it is you, Nayon Unnie!" A young man entered the minimarket. He was Jack the other part-timer in the minimarket. He was similar with Nayon had taken the night shift for today.

"Night, Jack!"

"How about your performance with Kon, Unnie? How is the true Kon? I am a big fan of her. Did you get her autograph?" Jack asked with many questions.

"The performance is great. You should see in Utube someone would upload it. She is really the idol queen." Nayon gave her phone to Jack. "I only managed to take a picture together. She is very amiable to us the supporting staffs."

"Kon is very beautiful in this picture. She is the idol queen." Jack continued to sing his idol's song.

"..."

"Yeah... Dreams come true."

Jack made a raising mic pose.

"Hahaha. You should try to become an idol, Jack!"

"I can't do that. I will be crazy if I need to train like Unnie. When will Unnie need to train tomorrow?"

"I think 09.00. I have a singing class."

"See? We only completed this shift at 06.00." Jack said. "When do you sleep, Unnie? Sleeping is my hobby. This made me a healthy man. Hahaha."

Nayon couldn't refute. She only averagely slept 4 hours per day. The rest she would take time here and there. Her nap was when she waited for the next class or when she was traveling on the bus.

"I eat healthy foods and drink enough vitamin." Nayon changed the subject.

"That is not enough Unnie. Besides, I need to finish my study at University. I want to become a teacher." Jack said.

"I believe you will be a good teacher." Nayon took her phone back and played a training song.

"And I believe I could brag that I have worked together with a national idol. Hahaha." Jack cheered Nayon.

"Hey! You have returned, Jack!" Tahe went outside the back room. She had changed into the casual young female dress. The capital was where you could find the trendiest fashion.

"Here is your late-night snack!" Jack gave a box to Tahe.

"What is that?" Nayon asked.

"There is a famous Twigim stall opened near here. I asked Jack to buy some. Do you want to try it, Unnie?"

"No. I need to control my weight. I almost missed the monthly evaluation target." Nayon bitterly smiled.

"I will go first, Unnie. See you tomorrow, Jack!" Tahe went outside the minimarket.

"If Unnie wanted to sleep, I could wait for the cashier for you." Jack said.

"Thank you, Jack. I will ask for your help if I really need one. I want to purchase this Gimbap and this Vitamin drink!" She took a can of energy drink and a ready-made food. Nayon heated the food in the microwave. She already knew the price and paid accordingly.

"That would be 6.500 Yon." Jack acted as the cashier. "Hahahaha. You should eat something healthier, Unnie."

"This is already healthy." Nayon said. She started to enjoy her dinner.

They continued to wait for the customers. There were few customers during the night shift. Most would be people who came late and wanted to purchase some little things before they went home.

This allowed Nayon some free time to practice again.

She had to dance better. She had to sing better. She had to perform better. She had to become an idol.

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"Cinderella was a sweet-tempered, good, and hardworking lady."

"However, she lived in poor condition."

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