The Recruit

Chapter 1 – Emily’s Song

He’s effortlessly cool, messed up wavy hair and a face card that's equal parts lethal and cherubic.

He's not the most talkative person, very quiet for a dude whose presence stops everyone’s tracks when he enters a room. But when he speaks in that cool, deep voice of his, everyone’s head is on a swivel trying to catch the words coming out of his mouth. He also uses a softer tone, so it's tough to hear him sometimes. Not that I've ever spoken to him, no. I like using my height to my advantage sometimes. I eavesdrop on his conversations with other students. I'm nosy like that. I may be an extrovert, but when it comes to people that I find intimidating, I'm definitely an approach-only-when-necessary type of person. So I'm stuck looking at him from across the room. 

When you meet in the hallways or even in the quad and your eyes meet, rest assured he won't be the first to look away. He just continues on his merry way with a sure destination in mind. Everyone’s drawn to him, but he lives in an exclusive world, one where it takes a lot to be accepted, so exclusive that I’ve more often only ever seen him alone. Membership of one. 

That’s not to say he’s a snob. No, in fact, it’s one of his charms. He’s well liked even though he’s more often solitary. There's something about his features that draw people in, girls and boys alike.  

He’s slim in build, lanky with a small face and effeminate features. Pointy chin, and full pouty lips. Let’s just say that I’ve been observing him since he transferred to our school. I’m fascinated, if not a little obsessed. Anyway, I’m watching him from my table where my friends are noisily eating their lunch. Bickering and grandstanding about who knows what. I’m half aware, and half distracted; half listening, half observing the boy across the cafeteria.

My friends and I don’t necessarily rule the school, but I can humbly say we’re near the top of the hierarchy. Some days, we’re here, some days we’re away depending on the company’s schedule. We’re idols in training. Other kids that belong to other companies go here as well. Our school is very relaxed with the rules. That’s probably because it’s an institution that’s more geared towards the Arts than academics. 

HSJY School of Arts was established by the four major companies representing the Kpop industry. It was specifically created to educate, train, and hone talents. It’s a big industry, albeit saturated. There are only four groups that have been preselected by the companies. Guaranteed contracts, albums, performances and merch. We’re one of those groups. The rest of the students here are kids who dream of being selected by other companies, independent or otherwise. It's basically an idol farm, for lack of a better word. But it's not a school that everyone could easily get in, you need to have an innate talent already, and money to enrol. It's not cheap and it's not like they offer scholarships. That is, unless you caught the eyes of the major companies, and placed you here themselves, you'll have to eke out tons of money to get your kid enrolled. 

We go through rigorous training and extensive media exposure. This is not the type of school where you go for four years then graduate with a diploma. No, the only way you're graduating from this school is if you're lucky enough to be picked by any recording companies, or signed to become an actor with a guaranteed multi-year contract. Unless you age out of the program, which was set at 22, there really is only one way to get out of here and earn the money back you spent in this school. 

That's not to say we don't take our academics seriously. No, we do abide by the rules, making sure we ace all our classes. We follow a curriculum to a T and make sure we're not missing other activities outside of school as well. And there are so many. Sometimes, we could be flying somewhere and have homework due the next day. It’s tough sometimes, hence the lack of set duration for the course. Our parents are also strict, they want to make sure our regular education needs are met.

We do have more freedom than other kids out there, though. Because the world is our classroom and we learn by experiencing life. We room together, go to school together, practice together and study together. Brothers at arms, best friends and roommates. 

Juhoon does not belong anywhere yet. He's a free agent, the last time I heard. I'm not entirely sure where his interests lie. All I know is that our worlds barely intersect. He’s an academic, athletic, and artistic. I’m average, can’t shoot the ball to save my life, and while I can say I’m also artistic, his alley differs from mine. He’s the writer type and the painter type. I’m the guy who walks around tapping my fingers on my thighs, constantly hearing beats playing in my head. What he’s doing in a school for idols remains a mystery for me.

“Hey,” one of my friends throws a crumpled-up tissue at me. “Bro, are you listening?” He sighs, looking at the direction of my stare.

 “Your obsession with that dude is getting annoying.”

 I turn my head to James. “What are you talking about?”

 He rolls his eyes. “You’re so obvious, it’s not even funny. I’m surprised he hasn’t caught you yet.”

 “Whatever.” My lunch is getting cold, so I pick up my chopsticks and start shovelling rice and meat in my mouth.

 “Anyway, you’re going to want to listen to Ahn Geon-ho because he’s talking about your crush.” 

I choke on my food. Everyone laughs. 

Bastards.  I take a sip of water and give him a pointed look.

Geon-ho, who was very busy inspecting his food the last time I checked, waits for everyone to quiet down before speaking. He's the most popular amongst us and fits the idol-type. Bright eyes, baby face features, a smiling face. He’s got a killer voice, so when he sings, the fans scream the loudest for him. He also knows how to work the crowd and an absolute legend at it already. 

 He is the only person who is friendly enough to have ever spoken to Juhoon. I mean, he speaks to everyone, honestly he's never met a stranger in his entire life. He's the weirdest type of introvert, the antithesis of anti-social. He just prefers staying at home rather than spending his downtime being out and about. I don't know. It's hard to explain. 

“Do you know that Juhoon can play a number of instruments?” He says, sniffing his food before cramming it in his mouth.

I furrow my brows. This is news to me. I’ve never seen him in any of the music rooms in school and I’ve used all of them at every random hour of the day.

“For real?”

He sets his chopsticks down. “Guitar, piano, violin, flute, drums.” Keonho counts off using his fingers. “He was also in a choir at his old school - harmony section.”

“That makes sense, I guess. He’s in an idol school after all.”

 "Yeah, man. His parents wanted him to choose like a medical degree or something, but he decided he wanted to do something fun for a change.” He pauses, taking a sip of his strawberry milk. “He’s like super talented and super smart. The golden child our parents wish they have.”

 “The fuck?” Sean pipes in. “That skinny, pale dude?”

I frown at Sean. “What the hell does that have anything to do with his musical talent?” I say, annoyance is obvious in my tone. 

“Yo, man. Chill!” Sean puts both his hands up in surrender, all smiles and dimples showing. “I’m just saying that he doesn’t seem like the type. Dude’s nose is always stuck in a book.” He shakes his head, glancing in Juhoon’s direction. “Also, if you don't like James accusing you of having a boy crush, then stop being so defensive! I'm just saying, look at him. The girls around him are staring and giggling but he’s just oblivious.” Come to think of it, I've always seen him carrying a book or reading in the courtyard. 

We all turn to look at Juhoon and sure enough, he has a book in front of him, right hand holding a pair of chopsticks, mid-bite. In the meantime, the girls and boys alike sitting in the vicinity of his table are vying for his attention to no avail. It’s uncanny and Sean's right, he's so oblivious to it. It’s like he’s completely shut off the world entirely.

Sometimes, I don’t even think it’s attraction. It's more of a fascination. He just looks like a freaking anime character. If not for the androgynous features,  then it’s his alabaster skin that draw your eyes. 

To my embarrassment, he looks up. Straight into our direction. My face reddens. 

Then just as quickly, he looks away and starts cleaning up his lunch tray. He moves in measured movements, very intentional. Slow and steady as if he has all the time in the world. He stands up, twists his torso left and right then slings his bag across his shoulder. He walks out of the cafeteria without looking up. 

“Anyway, I was saying that Juhoon might be the person we’re missing.” 

I look back to James.

“He might work as our fifth,” he continues mid-chew. “Juhoon is a former model, so he has experience in the entertainment industry already. Bonus, he’s musically inclined.” 

He stares back at me. “The only drawback is your thing with him,” he says, using air quotes.

I gnaw on my lip. James is right, though choosing to ignore his drawback comment. The company has been searching high and low for a fifth. Unfortunately, none of the trainees they suggested worked out. Trainees with years of experience and not one of them was fitting with us. Sometimes, it’s not about how talented or skilled a person is, it’s about chemistry.

 “Oh damn,” Sean murmurs, scrolling on his phone. “Hey, look at this,” He shows us his phone where a clip of Juhoon was playing the piano.

He was tagged in a video, like an older music based on the soft filter that was used. A very young Juhoon, no older than 8 was playing an old song. Standing by him was a man who looks familiar, an actor or something. I just can’t remember his name.

“Keep scrolling.” Sean instructs. And as we do, the screen shows videos of Juhoon in his younger days playing different instruments, violin, flute…snare drums. He really is trained. The last one looks recent. He was playing a song from La La Land. He kept starting and stopping, watching a video on YouTube or something of someone showing him how to play the song. 

The caption simply reads: "How long do you think it will take me to learn these keys?"

In just a few minutes, he was able to master the song without looking at the video. He uploaded it raw, starts and stops and all. No filter. Just him playing the piano with his hair covering his eyes. It had a few thousand likes. I’ve never actually stalked his socials, so I’m not sure what kind of following he has. Based on the likes of this single clip, he’s got to have a relatively big following.

I couldn’t resist. I scrolled back up to check his profile. He has 15k followers, he follows about 50 users, which includes everyone in our group. I didn't even know he was following me. His account has selfies, pictures of random things, sunset, empty bowls of ramen, a soccer ball with writings on it, and the shelves brimming with books in his room. Several of his pictures also feature a turtle. Clips of it crawling, munching on lettuce leaves, a picture of it sitting on top of a stack of books and a selfie with the turtle on a pillow beside him.  Its name is apparently, Choco. 

There are also pictures of an older couple who looks a lot like him which, I can only guess are his parents. There are travel pictures: Paris, somewhere else in Europe, white sandy beaches. He seems well travelled, which makes sense considering his parents are well off enough to send him here. And, if what Keonho said was true that he modelled in his spare time, he’s probably got money of his own.

Then, there’s a reel of him playing the guitar. The melody sounds familiar; it’s just not coming to me this instant. Then he starts singing.

Damn.

I press the volume up so the others can hear. They draw closer, converging around Sean’s phone. His voice is cool with a deep timbre that somehow matches the vibe of the song. To hear him sing an expletive word included in the lyrics is something else. His forehead furrows in the cutest way possible. It seems to be a thing he does often. The clip ends, a minute and change long, tops. But it’s enough for everyone to stop what they’re doing, waiting for someone to break the silence. 

We all eye each other. 

“I have one question,” James finally breaks it. “Can he dance?” We all turn to Keonho, waiting for his response.

“I don’t know,” he says, drawing each syllable in his unhurried tone that annoys me sometimes. It’s his thing. If you ask him any questions that require a decision, he doesn’t know the answer, the most indecisive person I’ve ever met, truly. "But I saw that he signed up for the Freestyle Class this afternoon, so we can see what he's made of."

James leans back, enthusiastic for the first time since this morning. “Okay, can you introduce us?” He says as he starts to gather up his trash for disposal. “Also, Martin, are you going to send managerim some of Juhoon’s posts?” Our manager doesn’t really make any decisions as to casting, but he can at least forward them to the casting director.

I hand Sean his phone back, pulling mine from my pocket. Searching for Juhoon’s name on IG and clicking follow. It seems weird not to, considering I’m about to download a few of his videos.

I pick a couple of his reels and type a short message to our manager.  

             Hey.

He’s a prospect from our class.

Can you forward these to the CD?

Then I hit send.

He replies with a thumbs up.