My hand shook nervously as I held the pen to sign my name beneath the contract. Appa YG smirked at my nervousness but didn't say anything. I signed it eventually and we began discussing what I would be doing the next few months. Appa YG told me that he will assign a manager to me after today.
Starting today, I was to prepare for my part in the YG Family concert in August where I would be performing an original by me, Somebody to Love with Big Bang, and Go Away with 2NE1. But before that, I was to preform my original song on a musical festival Big Bang would host in the middle of July. This was also known as my debut.
"Jiyong will help you develop your new song but your homework this week is to come up with five set of lyrics by the end of Friday and turn them into me," Appa YG told me.
"Understood," I told Appa YG.
When I stood up and left after bidding him a goodbye, I still couldn't believe my ears. I was in YG! My debut was in less than a month! Not only that, I would be performing with Big Bang in front of thousands.
When I came to the rehearsal room, I couldn't hold in my excitement. The artists were in the middle of rehearsing so I left them to it but watched them eagerly. After finishing the song, the five members plus Se7en came over to me to ask for the news.
Jiyong smirked, knowing what had happened. "With that face, I know you're in."
I only smiled as a confirmation. The members bombarded me with hugs and compliments. Se7en shook hands with me and welcomed me into the family. The other artists also congratulated me but no one seemed as hype as the members who were talking about going to eat in celebration.
"Ey, you have rehearsal," CL reminded them when Taeyang kept talking about a great please for some KBBQ.
"Which reminds me," I announced. "I will be preforming Go Away with 2NE1 then my original song and then Big Bang will come onstage for my performance of Somebody to Love.
"Yeah, we know," Daesung answered smiling.
My jaw dropped. "So you all knew I would get in?"
Seungri patted my hair. "We all got it this morning so don't be so offended."
TOP pulled me down to a seat next to him. "You're gonna need to practice hard with us every night now."
Staring out at the media-familiar faces, I realized that this was my family now. That whatever I went through, they went through. A sense of pride swelled at my chest.
I spoke into my mic, "Annyeonseo, everyone. I'm Mindy-ssi and I'm the new YG sibling."
I practiced my part of Somebody to Love with Big Bang. Apparently, I'm singing most of the parts and they are just going to be there for the dancing and support. When I practiced Go Away with 2NE1, I would sing along with them and get an occasional solo. It was fine by me. Just being in the same room with both of them made my day already.
Since I only had two songs to practice at the moment, I retreated to the couch to began my homework. I figured to do a song about the typical topic: love. But as hard as I tried, nothing came out. Great. Just great. I had five sets of lyrics to write and I can't even write the first line of the first set. Jiyong occasionally glanced over at me to see how I was doing. I was pretty sure he saw my frustration but he was busy rehearsing so I couldn't ask him for help.
Eventually, the artists took a break for lunch and dispersed to the cafeteria. Jiyong stayed behind and took a seat next to me.
"Have you ever written poetry?" he asked me.
I spun the pen in my hand. "Yes, for assignments and expression," I answered.
He took the notebook and pen from my hands. "It's basically the same thing. You just have to find that something to write about."
"Ding! That's the problem," I sighed. Jiyong reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. I tried not to show the shivers running through my body.
"I get that too," he told me, tapping the pen on the notebook. "I wrote so many songs I ended up with no more ideas."
"And everything else is so overused," I answered.
"Honestly, writing lyrics I can't help you with. It's all on you but let your mind breathe for a while so ideas can grow," he advised standing up. "I'm going to lunch. Want to come join?" I was about to shake my head no. Jiyong stopped me, "Ugh, why do I even ask? You're part of the family. You have to go."
He pulled on my hand and led me to the cafeteria where I had lunch with the YG Family.
After lunch, I practiced my songs over and over again. No wonder YG artists were so successful. They practiced until their throats that they could achieve that perfection.
I went home at 9 to take a breath and try writing again. I came up with many ideas but I found no inspiration in any of them. At 10, it suddenly hit me; a wave of lyrics that poured into my head. I called Jiyong after I wrote them down.
"Jiyong oppa! I got it!" I told him.
I was returned with a sleepy, "Got what?"
"What are you doing, oppa?" I asked suddenly curious.
"I'm taking a break," he replied with a still sleepy voice. I could not explain how sexy Jiyong's sleepy voice was.
"Oh, well...I got lyrics! Here. Listen to them:
Memories have gone.
Autumn has passed.
I have withered along with the leaves.
And my heart is scarred from longing.
And I am stuck in a cold, blue winter."
Jiyong replied, "I am so proud of you, Mindy. Those are amazing lyrics. Gosh, it's so good; I'm getting chills!" I blushed. It was one thing to be complimented by the music genius of YG but to be praised was another. "Keep it up, Mindy. I want to hear the rest when you finish, araso?" he told me.
"Yes, sir!" I exclaimed, excited to keep writing.
"Okay," he replied. "Let me get back to my break."
"Have a nice sleep, oppa," I said and then hung up. I looked back at my notebook and clicked my pen to start writing again.
I woke up early to jog and met up with Big Bang for breakfast. We then made our way to the YG building to work out. This time, I brought an extra set of clothes so I wouldn't have to walk around the building sweaty and stinky. Instead of going to rehearsal, I met with Appa YG to meet my manager.
When I stepped into the room, a young lady sat with Appa YG, already talking. I walked up to them and politely said hello.
"Annyeongseo. I'm Mindy." The young lady smiled and shook my hand. "I'm Lee Sae Kyung, but you can just call me Unni," she said.
We both sat down. Appa YG said, "This will be your manager for the rest of your musical career, Mindy. Get to know her well."
"Of course!" I exclaimed. I already felt a good vibe coming from Sae Kyung.
"We were just talking about your living quarters and your stay in Korea," Sae Kyung said. "We've contacted the Lee's already. All you have to do is talk to your mother."
I nervously fingered the lace of my dress. "Well, I can talk to her over the phone but..."
"What is it?" Appa YG asked. I looked up at him. As intimidating as he could be, a cloud of worry covered his eyes.
"I'm not sure if I can see my mother or father ever again. If I start this, then I'll be saying goodbye to America. And it's different for the other artists who have families in the country." I smoothed out my dress to hide my clammy palms. "And it's all so abrupt..."
Sae Kyung sent me a sympathetic smile. "We can fly them over for a few days. But we have to get your housing and your plane ticket cancelled and refunded."
"Does that mean I'm never going back to America?" I asked, stunned.
"Oh God, no," Sae Kyung answered, equally alarmed. "We...hmm." She turned to Appa YG. "We should have thought this through more. She has a life over there too."
Appa YG sighed. "The question is...if Mindy is ready to give all of that away for this life."
That thought sent a pang to my heart and fear crept into my veins. Really! Was I even ready?! Sae Kyung laid a hand on my arm, comforting. "Geez, that's a loaded question. Take it easy on her," she told Appa YG.
"How about..." I started. They stared at me, waiting for me to go on. I was afraid my suggestion might make Appa YG uncertain of where I stood in YG but I continued. "What if I tried this life until the end of August...? If I think I'm fit for it, then...I continue." "
You can't just come and leave as you wish," Appa YG told me. "You're debuting as a YG artist."
"As a temporary artist? As a project?" Sae Kyung objected. "There are such things."
Appa YG sighed heavily. "I would really want for you to stay as long as possible, Mindy-sshi."
"And that might happen," Sae Kyung told him. She turned to me. "The president and I have a lot to talk about before reporting to you, Mindy-sshi. Why don't I call you to fill you in afterwards?" I nervously exchanged numbers with her and left the room, weaker than entering the room.
I walked to the rehearsal room with tears filling my eyes with every step. When I reached the hallway of the rehearsal room, I found the Big Bang members walking towards me. Instantly, they saw that something was wrong.
Seungri reached me first. "Is there something wrong, Mindy?" I bit my lip to keep the tears from spilling out of my eyes.
"We were just on our way to check on you," Daesung said.
It was crazy how much the members cared about me, which made it even worse. Feelings were mixed inside of me. It was so scary; this abrupt change in my life. All of this happened in a week. I couldn't help but feel so frustrated and lost.
TOP asked me, "Really, Mindy. What's going on?"
Suddenly, I began bawling. From the accusation against me to the nights long practicing to the terrifying change in my life, the tears built up. The members were horrified, not knowing what to do. Jiyong took the initiative and wrapped his arm around me. Soon enough, the members joined him. Taeyang took his sleeve to wipe away my tears. I tried to explain why I was being that way but my sobs overpowered my words.
After I had calmed down, they pulled away and stared at me lovingly.
"Whatever is going on..."Taeyang said, "we are here for you."
"It's just that...I don't know what to do. I have my old life and my new life which is being in YG."
Jiyong grabbed my shoulders and looked me straight in the eyes. "Whatever your decision is, we will stick by your side. Promise?" he said. He looked to his members and they all replied, "Promise."
"So don't be scared, Mindy," Jiyong told me.
"Oh God," I said wiping my eyes. "That was embarrassing."
"Oh my goodness, Mindy," TOP exclaimed. "There's so much going on with you right now and you're concerned about being embarrassed?"
I smiled, feeling better that I had five amazing men by my side. I skipped down the hallway.
"Right now," I called to them, "I choose this life. And I choose Big Bang." They hurried after me. "Because I'm that typical VIP."
After rehearsing for a while, Sae Kyung called me so I excused myself. She explained to me how the contract was changed so that it would last until the end of August and if I wanted to continue with my business, I could extend it. She also told me Appa YG bought plane tickets for my parents to come over and have chat with me, Sae Kyung, and Appa YG.
"They should be coming by Saturday, the earliest," she said.
"This is all so great to hear, Unni," I told her. I felt a great deal of stress fly off my shoulders. "Is there anything else?"
"Of course, there is." She laughed. "But don't worry. It's not terribly overwhelming. You're just going to have a photo shoot on Thursday at 10 in the morning to 1 in the afternoon. You also have a private interview on Friday evening at 8 for the background information when you debut."
"Don't I have to come up with a concept and everything?" I asked. "And...an album?"
"Relax. You'll talk with Big Bang to come up the concept and you're going to feed off of Big Bang for a while on their music," she replied.
"Well if you put it that way!" I exclaimed, offended.
"Which is not a bad thing," she covered up. "You'll learn a lot from them. They've been in the industry for 5 years."
"You say it like I don't know..." I laughed.
"I'll be going now. I'll talk to you later," she answered.
After that, I took a break from rehearsing to write lyrics with TOP and Jiyong, the lyric geniuses of Big Bang. By 4, we had a total three set of new lyrics. The first set was called: A Blue Sorrow (which sounds more poetic in Korean). The second one was called: Thorns. And the last one was called: Egotistical.
We then rehearsed in a different room for the music festival coming up. After a while, we ended up fooling around instead of rehearsing.
"Kang Daesung oppa~Please take this magical wand and save Jiyong oppa from DinoTabi," I called in a fake desperate voice as I held out a drumstick to Daesung.
In the corner, Jiyong crouched in a fetal position while TOP enveloped him in a tight, wholesome hug.
"No one can stop my evil wrath!" TOP screamed, jumping off of Jiyong and landing on Seungri who was doing pushups with Taeyang. Jiyong laid on the floor, still.
"What have you done?!" I shrieked as I ran to Jiyong who began twitching.
TOP jumped from Seungri to me and wrapped his strong arms around me, expecting me to be able to hold his strength. We ended up sprawled next to Jiyong who was laying on his back giggling.
"Daesungie has come!" Daesung exclaimed as he tapped the stick on each of our hearts, as if it saved us from TOP's evil touch.
Taeyang eventually stopped his pushups and got to his senses. "I think we need to get out of here," he suggested.
We all stood up and dusted off our clothes. Jiyong even fixed his hair in a mirror.
"Where do you want to go?" Seungri asked.
"Wait wait wait wait wait wait," I said. "Aren't we going to get in trouble with Appa YG for not rehearsing?"
"We're all adults here," Daesung said. "We can make our own decisions."
"Well, not all of us..." Seungri replied looking over to TOP who was sucking on a lollipop. TOP narrowed his eyes and smacked Seungri in the head. "Ah! That hurt, hyung!" he yelled.
"Respect your elders, bastard," TOP scolded.
Jiyong reached for his jacket. "Please, let us leave," he exclaimed. "I have the perfect place," Taeyang said. "Let's go!"
With that, we grabbed our jackets and things to go on an adventure, hoping Appa YG wouldn't catch us ditching our job.
We hopped into a taxi and drove all the way to an night time amusement park with our faces hidden in case the driver wanted to take sneaky pictures of us. We paid our tickets and stepped into the bright amusement with lights, lanterns, and booths with rip off games.
"Aren't we going to be seen?" I asked nervously, thinking about the vicious VIPs from the mall.
"It's dark. Even if we were seen, we could escape easily," TOP said, staring up at the rides excited.
Seungri wrapped his arm around my shoulders and led me along with the group.
Daesung peered, anxiously at the rides. "Youngbae hyung, out of all places why do you choose the amusement park?"
"It's fun," he replied. "What? are you scared?"
Daesung smiled. "Noooooooo."
We got in line for the largest roller coaster and boarded it, excited. Personally, I wasn't a fan of rides. I only tolerated it because I was used to it. I was seated next to Daesung and Seungri on the ride.
"Don't worry, Mindy. I'll be here," Seungri reassured valiantly.
"If you're scared, you can hold my hand," Daesung offered.
I rolled my eyes and we began ascending. When we reached the drop, the two beside me began screaming bloody murder as we raced down the tracks. So much for protecting me. After the ride was over, the two leaned against the wall, acting as of they weren't the ones shrieking for their mothers.
"You know..." Jiyong said to Seungri and Daesung. "You could at least control what you scream on the ride."
"What are you talking about?" Seungri asked nonchalantly.
"We weren't screaming." Daesung stared at the ground, suspiciously.
"Oh please. We could have heard 'I think I wet my pants' from Gangnam," Taeyang exclaimed.
"Ay! I never said anything like that," Daesung protested.
"But Seungri sure did," TOP answered glaring mischievously at him.
Seungri only lowered his head in shame.
"Aww, it's okay oppas. It gets better from here," I told the two.
"We should go on that one next," Jiyong suggested pointing to a ride that turned you upside down and then around and around. Daesung and Seungri gulped and grasped each other's hands.
Eventually, the two got used to the drops and the screaming and the wetting of pants and we went on all of the rides. As we passed some game booths, an item caught my eye.
"No way..." I exclaimed. I ran to a pillow with all of the Big Bang members' faces printed on it. "That's crazy!"
"Did we ever release pillows with our faces on it?" Taeyang asked Jiyong. "Not that I remember," Jiyong asked shaking his head and smiling.
I turned to the members and sent them a puppy face. "I would love to fall asleep to all of you close to me..."
They looked at each other and shrugged; why not? Basically the game was to get all three ping long balls into the red glass cup with a small mouth. Seungri tried first and only ended up getting a small prize of a sticker set. Daesung pulled a stunt that only got me another small prize. Taeyang was so close to getting the prize but ended up getting a medium prize of a crown plushie. Jiyong ended up getting another sticker set. On TOP's turn, he surprisingly landed two of the three balls into the red cup. On the last one, he turned to me.
"This is it," he told me.
Jiyong began massaging TOP's shoulders. "Come on hyung!"
"You can do it oppa!" I exclaimed. "Fighting!"
"Kiss the ball," TOP commanded. I brushed my lips on the ping long ball. TOP also brushed his lips on the ball and aimed. With a flick of his wrist, he threw the ball and it smashed the red cup. The members were in an uproar.
"Did you see that?!" Taeyang exclaimed. Jiyong was speechless and jumping along with Daesung, Seungri, and me.
"I'm sorry but you're gonna have to pay for it," the booth person told TOP, shocked.
"But I still get the pillow, right?" he asked. The booth person nervously handed TOP the pillow as he handed the guy money.
TOP gave the pillow to me and I returned it with a bear hug. By the time we reached the YG building, we had at least three stickers on our faces, balloon hats, and sticky cotton candy lips. We rode the elevator up to the rehearsal room to find Appa YG sitting on a chair with his legs crossed as if he expected us. We quickly fell silent.
"Well, what do we have here?"