Shine (Jung novel)

Seventeen year old Korean-American Rachel Kim is ready to put everything on the line for a chance to be a K-pop sensation. Recruited into one of South Korea's biggest music labels DB Entertainment six years ago, Rachel is well-versed on what it takes to make it as an idol in the making—train at every possible minute, don't let anyone see you mess up, and don't date.

But at seventeen, her window to make it is narrowing quickly. When rumors start circulating around the company that DB Entertainment is planning on debuting a new girl-group soon, Rachel sets her sights on that final line-up. She knows that if she misses her shot here, there's little hope she'll be around to get another one in six years.

Rachel understands knowing the rules isn't enough when she has forces going against her. Fellow trainee Choo Mina, the daughter of one of South Korea's most powerful chaebols, is out to get her after an unfortunate misunderstanding over seniority occurred on her very first day as a trainee. That, and the CEO Mr. Noh's supposed preferential treatment towards her, has left Rachel with the persona "Korean American princess".

Rachel's mother proves to be an obstacle herself, pushing Rachel to put more focus on her school work and less on training. As a former sports-star, Rachel's mom knows all about the pressure competition puts on young people. She doesn't want Rachel to put all her attention on a dream that might not come true. Thankfully, Rachel's dad and her sister Leah are a lot more supportive, though Rachel still has to juggle hours spent training with classes at Seoul International School.

And then Rachel bumps into Jason Lee and she's faced with another obstacle. Jason is DB Entertainment's golden boy. He's the lead singer of Next Boyz, the label's latest hit boy-group. The more she sees Jason, the closer they become, until Rachel seriously has to confront the fact that pursuing a relationship like this could rob her of her dream.

When her audition for the female part in DB Entertainment's upcoming duet is sabotaged by Mina, Rachel looks for another way to stand out. She goes to her mentor Chung Yujin for help and they concoct a plan to make a viral video of Rachel singing. But when she gets to the jazz club Yujin directs her to, Rachel realizes she won't just be singing, she'll be singing a duet with Jason.

The plan works, but with an unexpected twist. The higher-ups had already chosen Mina to perform the duet with Jason, but Rachel's video impresses them so much that they decide to make all three of them sing together. The song's success sends the trio on tour across Asia and North America. Mina and Rachel's relationship becomes even more complicated on tour. Just when she thinks they're bonding, Mina accuses Rachel of sabotaging her, after she slips on stage wearing the heels she'd lent her. Things get even worse when Rachel discovers a paparazzi photo of Mina and Jason looking suspiciously close.

But it's all a publicity stunt. Not just Mina and Jason, but also Rachel's relationship with him. She discovers that all their secret dates were really just orchestrated to promote Jason, who wants to leave Next Boyz to go solo. Except while Mina had known it was all fake, Rachel hadn't. Though Jason insists that his feelings for her are real, Rachel breaks up with him. She learns then that the world she's so desperate to enter is even more cutthroat than she thought and that she needs to be even more careful to avoid getting burned.

Now, to the outside world, Mina and Rachel are vipers while Jason is portrayed as the innocent party, a young man left heartbroken. But despite all this, Rachel is determined to keep going, especially when she gets chosen to be in the long-awaited girl-group Girls Forever. No matter what gets thrown her way, she's going to fight for her time in the spotlight. So after Mina attempts one more sabotage by blackmailing her with a video of Rachel and Jason kissing, Rachel doesn't hesitate the next time she sees Mina flaunt her phone and its secret contents. Right before their debut stage, Rachel grabs it and destroys it on the spot. And then, she walks out on center stage, with eight girls trailing behind her, and steps right into the spotlight.

Shine By Jessica Jung Official Publisher Page