"Good morning, I'm Lana Goen and I have an appointment with Director Park at 8."
"Please take a seat, he'll be with you shortly."
I looked around the lavish waiting room. The walls were decorated with tasteful paintings, the furnitures looked posh, even the carpet felt expensive. Everything about this place screamed money.
"Ms Goen, you may go in."
Ok Lana this is it.
I walked in to Director Park's office with a smile on my face. The man who greeted me was around 50 years old, medium build, slightly greying hair that was styled to perfection, with piercing eyes and chiseled jawline.
He must be handsome when he was young.
"Ms Goen, please take a seat. Welcome to Berliz." His English was impeccable.
"Let's get started. Here is your starting package, so you'll be responsible for teaching the adult class Monday to Friday from 9-11am and 7-9pm. You have free time in between, but if any of your colleagues get sick you must be ready to replace them. I would like you to always dress professionally when you teach, no jeans and t-shirts, and at least wear basic make up because you're Berliz's face now."
"I understand Mr. Park, is there anything else that I need to take note of?"
"Honestly, you look slightly different in the picture you sent me." He sighed. "I'm going to be blunt here. You look much heavier and sloppier in real life. I was impressed by your GPA and academic achievements, so I decided to hire you over other applicants. So please don't disappoint me and take care of your appearance quickly, because as I said you are Berliz's face now and I need you to show our high standard in everything, do you understand me?"
I was stunned. I knew I didn't look my best at the moment but to be called unattractive straight to my face by a stranger completely shocked me.
"O-ok Mr. Park, I will do something about it." I stuttered.
"If you have any questions, please ask my secretary Ms. Han. She'll now introduce you to the other instructors."
I went out of his room feeling numb but still trying to put a stiff smile on my face as Ms. Han guided me around the building.
"Lana, meet Jane, Richard, Brad and Kevin. Our senior instructor, Claire, is out with our client now but you'll meet her later."
After a blurry introduction, I started my first class accompanied by Kevin since it was my first day. At the end of our classes, we all went to get drinks, but in my head I kept thinking about what Mr. Park said to me.
You're not enough.
I tried to shake that evil thought out of my brain.

"YoonMi ya, are you sleeping?" I knocked on YoonMi's door when I got back to the guesthouse.
"Aniyo eonni, come in. What's the matter? You look sad, bad day at work?"
"Am I too fat? Too ugly?" YoonMi seemed to be conceiving the proper reply in her mind as she opened her mouth but closed it again.
"It's ok YoonMi, you can tell me the truth."
"Well, for American standard you are probably not fat, but in Korea yes you are considered chubby. Did your boss say something? You know, employers here put extra attention on their employees' appearance especially if you are in the service industry."
"Then what am I supposed to do? He asked me to lose weight and basically be prettier quickly." Frustrated I buried my head in her pillow.
"I'll help you eonni, there are some idol crash diets that you can follow and I can teach you about skincare and makeup."
"Really? You'll help me? Thank you YoonMi!" I pulled her into a hug. "What should I do to repay you?"
"Mm.. you can teach me English? I want to be like my Namjoon who's so cool when he speaks English."
"Ok deal!"

After 1 month
"Ms. Goen, may I have a word?" Director Park called me out as I was leaving my class. "Meet me in my office."
My palms were sweating, scared of what he was going to say to me because he usually only communicated with the instructors through Ms. Han.
God, I hope he's not firing me.
"Ms. Goen, I see that you've listened to what I said and took it to heart. I'm very impressed, you look much much better now."
Yeah dude, after I almost fainted several times because of that crazy crash diet, it better be worth it. I don't want to see a sweet potato ever again in my life.
My skin and face were radiant and healthy-looking too, thanks to YoonMi's guidance. I admitted I looked good now and gained more confidence because of it.
"On top of that, our students gave excellent reviews on your teaching. Most of them say you have a fresh approach in teaching English that makes it simpler and more interesting. I'll just cut to the chase, do you know BTS?"
My heart skipped a beat.
Oh God oh God.
"Yes, I do. Actually I'm a fan Sir."
"Ok, that makes it a bit complicated." He frowned. "As you know, Claire has been working with an exclusive client of us since last year, but she has an emergency that she must attend to in England so I need to find a replacement, fast. That exclusive client is Big Hit Entertainment."
Oh my God!! Lana please don't faint.
"Since you are proven to be a great instructor, I thought I'd give you a chance, but with you being a fan I'm now worried about how you'll react when you see them."
"Mr. Park, I promise I'll stay cool and professional at all times. And I'll sign any confidentiality agreement. I won't disappoint you." Trying to keep my calm, I uttered the words as steadily as possible.
He seemed to contemplate his options, furrowing his brows.
"Okay, I'll give you a chance, but you have to remember that you're carrying Berliz's reputation on your shoulder and I can't afford to lose Big Hit. You also have to keep quite on this, you can't tell anyone. I literally mean anyone, not your parents, your best friend, your boyfriend, or even any of your acquaintance in America."
"Yes Mr. Park."
"You also have to sign confidentiality agreement. Every time you enter Big Hit, your phone has to be turned off at all times. You have to be discreet and professional, you can't take pictures of or with them. You can't talk about things other than your teaching material, which will be reviewed by me and Big Hit's managers beforehand. One more very important thing, don't post anything about this on any social media platform, don't even give subtle hints. Do you understand Ms. Goen?"
"Yes, Mr.Park. I'll do everything as you say."
"Good. Here are the papers you need to sign."
My hands shook uncontrollably as I signed my name on every piece of the thick stack of papers. I felt like my heart was about to burst.
YoonMi will flip out if I tell her that I'm about to be Bangtan's English instructor.
I shake my head lightly to focus on the papers.
Contain your excitement! You can't tell anyone about this!
"One more thing, the guys are going to America so please prepare some possible interview materials and train them well."
America? World tour? Award show? Okay I have to stop guessing, focus on being their teacher Lana!
"Yes Mr. Park, I'll prepare the material diligently."
I got out of Director Park's office and immediately went to the empty employee's restroom.
"Oh. My. Goooddddd!!!! Aaaaahhhh!!!"
I couldn't contain my happiness anymore and shouted with my hands across my mouth, hoping my muffled scream wouldn't attract any attention.
What did I do to deserve this? My dream is about to come true!!