The KE campus was enormous. It took Kaija half a day just to see everything.
With Camille's icy professionalism, the whole experience felt more like an inspection rather than a tour.
Cafés, restaurants, dance studios, recording booths, office buildings. Camille rattled through them all in exhaustive detail, listing rules, procedures, and where to go for what.
Camille also mentioned she wouldn't be managing Kaija directly. A man named Esko would handle that, and Kaija would meet him once training began.
When the tour finally ended, Camille led her to the dormitory complex and stopped at the tallest building.
"Here's your key card," Camille said, handing the card to her. "Your room is on the 20th floor, Room 1. Please save my number and send me your account details.
"If you need anything, you may call me anytime, Ms. Sepala. Just please, refrain from contacting Mr. Kosonen directly.
"A chauffeur will pick you up this afternoon to collect your belongings. Your training begins tomorrow."
Kaija nodded stiffly. "Thank you, Camille."
"One more thing," Camille added, her voice chilling a few degrees down. "Please refrain from addressing Mr. Kosonen by his name in front of others."
With that, she gave Kaija a deep, stiff bow and walked away.
Kaija lingered at the doorway for a moment, watching Camille go.
"Hmm, is it just me, or that woman has something for her handsome big boss?" she muttered, turning away at last.
Before she could step through the entrance, a mellow voice called out to her.
Before she could step inside, a mellow voice called out to her.
"Hello, miss? You're a new artist? You're so pretty!"
Inevitably, her attention shifted toward where that voice came from.
The girl who had just spoken was walking toward her with a bright smile.
She looked about Kaija's age, with pastel-pink hair and light brown eyes that sparkled like smoky quartz.
Kaija had no idea what the girl had just said. She was the prettiest girl Kaija had ever seen, probably even more stunning than Marja.
The girl's face looked familiar to her, though. She must have seen this girl somewhere before.
"I didn't know there's an artist as beautiful as you at KE!" the pink-haired girl gasped, waving cheerfully. "I'm Liisi! Nice to meet you!"
Kaija's brow shot up in recognition of the name. Even with her limited grasp of pop music, she knew the girl's name.
Liisi here was the most popular member of the idol girl group Lipstick that had taken S Country by storm over the past three years.
Though Kaija never listened to their songs, they'd appeared on banners for big cosmetic brands, and maybe on the packages of her favorite potato chips.
"I'm Kaija," she said over a lukewarm tone, "I'm not an artist yet, just a trainee."
Liisi's smile faltered slightly at Kaija's words, but she quickly recovered, her lips curving up again.
"Oh? That can't be right," Liisi said sweetly. "Building S is reserved for the most privileged and senior artists at KE. Me and my girls, we're still sharing a flat in building B. You must be teasing me, sister."
For some reason, the way Liisi said those honeyed words only made Kaija's skin prickle. It reminded her of the niceties she used to exchange with her peers back in her flight attendant job.
She forced a polite smile in return. "Then maybe there's been some mistake. Guess I'll have to ask Mr. Kosonen again about this arrangement."
Liisi's expression stiffened at the mention of Mr. Kosonen.
"You… you've talked to Mr. Kosonen?" she stuttered, brown eyes wide in disbelief.
"Yeah?" Kaija said, raising a brow at the shock written all over Liisi's. "I mean, I signed the contract with him just this morning in his office."
What was Liisi even talking about? How else was she gonna sign a contract with Charles, if she hadn't met him?
The smile returned to Liisi's face, sharper this time.
"Goodness, sister!" she exclaimed. "You must be extremely talented for Mr. Kosonen to meet you personally and sign your contract himself. I've been here for eight years now, and I've never been allowed on that floor."
The cheeriness in that tone once again made Kaija want to squirm. "Then how did you even started?" she asked, frowning.
"Everything was handled through our manager from the beginning, sister," Liisi replied brightly. "From the moment we auditioned, throughout the training, after we debuted, all the way till now."
Kaija's frown deepened. So, it seemed like Charles Kosonen had taken a few unusual choices with her.
She didn't know whether she should feel blessed or nervous about this little special treatment.
"Sorry, I'd love to talk more," Kaija said, "but I'll need to settle in today and check with Mr. Kosonen again about the lodging thing." Inside, she mostly couldn't stand that cheery, mellow voice any single minute longer.
Liisi's tone lightened, still oblivious to the ice on Kaija's face. "Of course, sister! If you need anything, just come to Building B, 2nd floor. I'd love to show you around!"
At last, Kaija headed inside, leaving the pink-haired girl behind.
For some reason, she felt a cold chill running down her spine, as if Liisi's eyes were still clinging on her back as she moved to the elevator.
"This place is surely filled with strange people," she muttered, pressing the elevator button. "Oh, great, I am one of them now.
"Would that turn me into them soon? Or am I already strange like them but I'm just too blind-sided to even realize that?
"Oh well... whatever. As long as I get to keep all my organs exactly where they're supposed to be, then life is good, I guess..."
As the elevator brought her up, she went through the training program detailed in the contract papers.
"Alright, let's see..." she mumbled, eyes wandering over the last page of the thick document. "Vocal training... basic. Behavioral and etiquette training... boring. Media and public relations? What the hell is that for? Hmm, guess I will find out soon enough.
"Wait, what the fuck is this? Dance training?!"
Almost immediately, her forehead banged against the elevator in a loud thud.
"Fucking hell, no," she muttered, lifting the papers up once more with trembling hands as if to confirm whether this nightmare was real or not.
"Of course they would want a singer who could dance!" she groaned. "And what the hell is this here? Acting and Modeling?
"Why would they even ask that much a singer these days?
"Can't I just write songs, sing and go home?
"Urgh! No wonder why those people have to train for years and years to debut and become idols!"
The elevator doors slid open, cutting into her frustrated monologue.
A long corridor stretched to both her left and right.
"Oh dear, they must be fucking kidding me," she muttered, wandering across the long corridor twice to make sure she had seen it right.
There were only two rooms on the entire 20th floor! And her room, Room 1, was on the left side.
When she walked in, the room wasn't exactly a room. It was a full four-bedroom flat with four massive bathrooms, a dressing room bigger than my own bedroom, a kitchen that looked like a piece of modern art, and a gigantic balcony with a private pool.
At that point, she was even more certain she'd been given the wrong room.
She gave Camille a call despite how reluctant she felt toward the idea.
"There's no mistake, Ms. Sepala," Camille said flatly. "Mr. Kosonen told me personally that you are to stay in Room 1, 20th floor, Building S."
Then the woman hung up abruptly, just like her boss.
Kaija stared at the phone, dumbfounded.
Now she had to figure out how to fit the tiny amount of belongings she had in her apartment into this massive flat.
"Great," she muttered, tossing the phone aside. "Guess I have four beds to take turns every night then."
As she dragged her two large suitcases back to Room 1 later that evening, her gaze inevitably drifted over the door standing silently shut at the other end of the long corridor.
"Hmm," she hummed, staring at the number 2 plated on the wooden door, deciding whether to knock for a friendly greeting or not.
"Nah, forget it," she muttered, turning away at last. "Sorry, new neighbor, but the introvert in me is exhausted today. See you around then, whoever you are, if you even exist."