From interview to love? One young journalistâs life changes forever with a single interviewâŚ
When 25-year-old Paris receives a life-altering opportunity to interview Walking Dream, the biggest Korean boy band in the world, she jumps at the chance. The band members leave her feeling like sheâs in a dream of her own when the interview goes so well they ask for her number so they can stay in touch.
She forms new and inspiring connections with the boys, but the eldest member of the band, Dal, makes her heart flutterâŚ
But the thing is, Walking Dream is contractually not allowed to date, a very common practice among Korean entertainment agencies. And on top of that, just as her relationships are getting stronger, the band must leave on a world tour, and that means they'll be out of reach for months. Despite it all, she falls head over heels for Dal, but asking him to risk everything just isnât possible⌠sometimes loving someone means letting them go. Does their love stand a chance? Or are they doomed before they even start?
From interview to love? One young journalistâs life changes forever with a single interviewâŚ
When 25-year-old Paris receives a life-altering opportunity to interview Walking Dream, the biggest Korean boy band in the world, she jumps at the chance. The band members leave her feeling like sheâs in a dream of her own when the interview goes so well they ask for her number so they can stay in touch.
She forms new and inspiring connections with the boys, but the eldest member of the band, Dal, makes her heart flutterâŚ
But the thing is, Walking Dream is contractually not allowed to date, a very common practice among Korean entertainment agencies. And on top of that, just as her relationships are getting stronger, the band must leave on a world tour, and that means they'll be out of reach for months. Despite it all, she falls head over heels for Dal, but asking him to risk everything just isnât possible⌠sometimes loving someone means letting them go. Does their love stand a chance? Or are they doomed before they even start?
Iâve written a lot of interesting stories in the past weeks.
Some on small 2SLGBTQIA+ organizations, others on Indigenous national undertakings, and one on Rainbow Railroadâs latest lifesaving donation to a homeless gay man.
So, when my boss, Alexis, steps out of her office and waves me over, I wonder if Iâve done anything wrong. She has an open-door policy, so she usually just walks over to my cubicle if she wants to talk to me. I work for a local magazine in Montreal in a small office crammed with a dozen employees, so talking behind closed doors often smells⌠suspicious.
Shaking off my nerves, I walk over to Alexisâs office. I straighten my back and feel my confidence rising as I do so. I admit that Iâm not a very confident girl in my day-to-day life so Iâve come up with little strategies to help boost my confidence when I need it and keeping a straight posture, even puffing out my chest, can help with that.
âParis, please close the door and have a seat.â Alexis gestures toward the empty chair facing her cream-coloured Ikea desk.
I do as Iâm told, impatient to hear what all the secrecy is about. She even made me close the door. Somethingâs going on. Sitting on the leather chair, I cross my legs and readjust my fishnet stockings, trying to appear cool and natural.
âI bet youâre wondering why I called you in here, huh?â she asks, with a wide mysterious smile showing off her shiny white teeth. Her long, dark brown hair flows perfectly down to her chest, just a shade darker than her skin, and creates a striking contrast with her forest green suit. Sheâs the portrait of confidence. She carries herself like a woman who knows sheâs gorgeous and capable. Sometimes (more like most of the time), I wish I was her.
I reply to her smile with a raised eyebrow.
âI rarely get to be locked up in here. There must be a fascinating reason,â I drawl.
âOh, you donât know what youâre in for.â
Alexis leans back in her seat and rubs her hands together, her smile even bigger now. Iâve rarely seen her this excited. The last time was because she scored the first-ever interview with the owner of a new Chinese restaurant in town.
Maybe I shouldnât expect too much from this.
âIâve been told you speak Korean fluently. Is that true?â
Huh?
Well, thatâs certainly not what I was expecting to hear. But it is true. For my last semester in university about two years ago, I went to Korea for an exchange program. I spent four months there, studying journalism while learning Korean. It was the most valuable experience of my life. It was perfect because travelling the world and reporting stories from all over the globe were the main interests that got me to study journalism in the first place.
But my favourite part of the trip: I made lifelong friends, Se-yeong and Chung-hee, whom I still keep close contact with.
They were the ones that introduced me to Korean pop culture, which I didnât know much about before then. They showed me their favourite K-pop bands and K-dramas. They didnât need to push that hard for me to fall in love with the genres: South Korea knows how to entertain, no doubt about that. And, gosh, they sure know how to pick their actors and idolsâŚ
My desire to keep in touch with my friends, as well as my increasing interest in Korean content, caused me to continue to study Korean after I returned home. I can proudly say that I can now watch K-dramas and listen to K-pop without subtitles. Yay me.
Learning Korean was also a way for me to connect with a part of my identity that I didnât have the chance to explore while growing up. I was raised in Canada by my mother, Elizabeth, but I never got the opportunity to meet my dad, whoâs Korean and has never shown his face to me.
âYes, actually, I do.â
Alexisâs smile brightens, crinkles forming at the corners of her dark eyes, and she claps her hands together in excitement. She leans forward and rests her elbows on her desk.
âGreat!â she beams. âThen I have a special assignment for you, but we canât spread the news just yet.â
What kind of special assignment could require speaking Korean? Especially in Montreal? Our magazine is relatively small: we only publish stories in English and French and rarely venture out of these two languages. We publish special editions in other languages at times, such as Arabic and Spanish, to reach other important audiences by commissioning articles from native speakers. Maybe thatâs what this is about.
âYou wonât believe this,â Alexis continues, âbut I finally got in touch with June Entertainment after sending them requests for interviews for months. Theyâre the most popular entertainment agency in Korea. Have you ever heard of them?â
âWell, of course! I donât live under a bridge. The whole freaking world knows who they are.â
How could I not know them? They are the ones that created the most popular boy band in history: Walking Dream. One of the first K-pop groups I was introduced to and fell in love with.
âWhat about it?â I ask further.
âAfter much insisting on our part, they agreed to let us be the first Canadian media to interview Walking Dream regarding their latest album, Donât Fall Asleep, thatâs set to be released this Friday.â
My heart jumps in my throat.
Wait.
Wait a freaking minute. Did the world just stop turning? Did I hear correctly? Walking Dream?
I stare at Alexis, eyes wide, mouth slightly gaping.
âI swear to God, Iâll strangle you if youâre joking,â I breathe out, the threat slipping out of me without restraint.
She sits back in her seat, flipping her long dark brown hair proudly over her shoulder. She crosses her arms and grins at me.
âI got word that Walking Dream was coming to North America to promote their new album, and, of course, your girl could not miss this opportunity. I wrote them email after email and eventually got to them on the phone. I still donât know how I did it, but I convinced them that starting their promotion in Montreal with our magazine was their smartest choice. They were convinced and said yes. I mean, shit, I probably was a badass negotiator in another life!â
I canât believe it. Sheâs being serious right now. I can tell just by how genuine her excitement feels.
Walking Dream is coming here. To Montreal. To our small office on Mont-Royal Avenue. The most popular band of our time.
âYouâre shitting me, Alexis. Oh my God! Youâre a fucking queen!â
âI know!â
We instinctively both stand up and high-five each other.
My smile rips from ear to ear. One part of me is happy that our little magazine is getting this amazing opportunity. This will surely, undoubtedly, boost our visibility. Maybe itâll give us the chance to work with other great artists.
But an even bigger part of me is being selfish. I want to meet the boys. The band consists of four very different guys with distinct personalities and talents. They all bring something unique to the group. Their talent and passion are truly inspiring; it would be a dream come true to get to talk about it with them. But what I love the most is their personalities and their dynamic as a band.
These guys are not afraid to be themselves even if it means breaking traditional male stereotypes. Zero ounce of toxic masculinity. They also have the most wholesome message they send to the world in every one of their songs, albums, and performances: self-love and self-fulfillment. They do their best to spread only love, and it is truly comforting to hear and experience. Theyâre simply adorable and lovable artists.
After Alexis and I have calmed down, she drops a literal bomb on me: âSo yeah, I want you to interview them.â
I stop my giddying then and there.
âWait, what? Are you serious?â
âI sure am. The boys will feel most comfortable if they know the interviewer can understand them. It will also be good for our image if the world sees us trying to do our best to accommodate our guests.â
âAgain: youâre kidding!â
Alexis crosses her arms over her chest and frowns at me. âYou cannot be fangirling like this during the interview, honey. Iâm warning you. Iâll take you off the assignment if you canât control yourself. Can I trust you?â
My entire body goes still as I repress every ounce of me that is desperate to celebrate. âYes, chief!â I reply, doing a military salute.
Alexis eyes me for a second, but she seems convinced by my display of self-discipline, so she goes on. âGreat! I trust you to come up with questions that will set us apart from other media outlets. Itâs what youâre best at. This is our chance to get our name out there, and I know you can do this for us. Do not disappoint me.â
âI will not, Maâam!â
âThe interview is scheduled for Friday of next week. Youâll need to submit your questions before Wednesday, so I can review and approve them before D-day if need be. Youâre dismissed.â
I bow slightly, trying to hold back my gushing smile. After all, I need to show Alexis I can control my inner fangirl. I would never forgive myself if she took me off this once-in-a-lifetime assignment.
This is a life-changing opportunity for me, both professionally and personally. I never had the chance to go to a Walking Dream concert, even though Iâve always wanted to. But this, in some way, is even better. In addition to getting up close and personal with the boys, this interview might be the most important project Iâve ever worked on.
Iâll need to give it my all.
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My next couple of days are spent watching Walking Dream interviews, ones with Korean media and ones with American media. Through my research, Iâve mainly focused on the boysâ reactions to the questions and noted a couple of things:
1.     KTâthe leaderâis the only one who speaks fluent English. The rest of themâDal, Jong-in, and Seo-junâare less engaged and talkative during interviews held in English. And who can blame them? Language barriers are hard to overcome.
2.     They arenât very good at hiding their pre-established answers, making them seem a little disingenuous.
3.     They seem to react well to silly, random questions when there arenât too many of them.
4.     They love giving funny answers, but theyâre very passionate about their work and how they became who they are today.
I have a better view of what I want to do with these notes in mind. I want diversity, while staying in the realm of appropriate and relevant. Some interviewers will ramp up the energy to stand out, which can sometimes be a good idea but can also be a big flop if the boys arenât up for it. Iâll try to avoid that.
Their album was finally released on Friday, one week before the interview. Iâve been listening to it on repeat ever since, of course, for research, and because itâs damn good. The boys were the ones that did all the work on this album: lyrics, music, production, visuals, promotions. Everything. Itâs the very first time they have complete responsibility over their album. The five previous ones were all written and produced by their agency.
The boys did a wonderful job on Donât Fall Asleep. The lyrics, especially, are particularly touching and meaningful. They wrote them during the pandemic last year, so the songs primarily talk about feelings of loneliness, togetherness, and healing. I canât wait to ask more about it during the interviews.
This unexpected opportunity feels like a dream, and maybe it is. Itâs so unbelievable that I feel like Iâll wake up next Friday, and Alexis will tell me it was all just a prank. Nothing that good has ever happened to me. The best thing that happened to me was that semester spent in Korea, which changed my whole life. But it wasnât a chance opportunity or something I dreamed about for years before it happened. This interview with Walking Dream is a dream come true and Iâll be damned if it gets taken away from me.
This interview is mine.
*this review sits at 2.5 stars - somewhere between "not for me" and "worth reading".*
I want to preface this review by saying that I'm an avid reader devouring hundreds of books a year and thousands over my time reading, and because of this I know I have high standards for books - especially regarding the author's writing because this makes or breaks the book for me. The plot can be great but if the writing is not up to a standard level, it can be the novel's downfall. That is what happened here. I read 50% of the book so while this was a 'did not finish' I read enough to confidently write a review based off my reading experience.
The summary lured me in because it was different from the usual romance and I was excited about reading my very first K-pop romance. The cover is beautiful and vibrant and promises a cute romance but I'm not sure the writing reached the expectations I was expecting. The writing didn't start off strong - the opening chapters are crucial for luring in the reader and hooking them into reading the rest and the writing felt incomplete and amateur. We were told a lot and shown little with a lack of information - this made it difficult for me to connect with the characters because the speech didn't seem authentic and the description wasn't there - this was the same throughout.
There were some aspects I really enjoyed - like how Korean traditions were included and the cute-like blooming romance. Overall, the novel has real potential, and I'm sure there will be many who enjoy it, but for me it didn't quite hit the spot. I do, however, wish the author the best of luck in any future writing endeavours!