Introduction:

"Shirin, can you get back here quickly? Someone's in our home right now. He looks like he's a Korean and he kept on saying that he wants to talk to us, both of us for that matter. He wouldn't leave without seeing us both, he said."

"What?! I'll be back there in a few. Wait for me. See you, Mizuki."

"Sure. Just come back here quickly, okay?"

"Yeah. Bye."

Clutching her phone, Shirin began running back to the direction of her home. Wondering what purpose the Korean has for coming to Japan just to see them both and on an urgent occasion, she thought that she should definitely know what was happening. She has to know what's on and she has to know it now. Argh, she thought. I'm getting very nervous here. I'm almost there, Mizuki. I'm just a few minutes away. She began to run faster.
================================================================================

 Chapter 1

"Daddy, tama po ba ang ginagawa ko dito sa takdang aralin ko?" Shirin asked her father.
"Ayan! Ang talino mo talaga anak! Sa akin ka talaga nagmana!" Her Filipino father told her with a smile.
"저녁 식사 준비 됐나요 (Ja nyeok sik sa jun bi do(ae)tt na yo)" Her Korean mom called in Shirin's room.
"Yeh Ohmma!" Shirin called back.

"So dinner's ready, let's go Shirin." Her father called her, speaking in his fluent English.
"Opo, Daddy." Shirin answered in Filipino once more.

Shirin was born in Seoul to a Filipino father and Korean mother. She was a lively, outgoing child who lived her first ten years in Korea happily. That was until her mom died due to a heart attack. She then, along with her father, went to the Philippines and spent a few years there. From being a lively, cheerful, and loud girl, Shirin became a quiet person and a loner. She would just go to a corner and listen to songs through the last thing which her mom gave her, a black and blue music player, an mp4 player.

During her stay in the Philippines, despite being a loner, she was always recognized as the top honor in her batch and was always the greatest achiever. Despite her then introverted self, she was very good in academics. She was so good that even if she started studying at three years old, she still skipped a year of elementary and got accelerated on the next level. Her first ten years in Korea were her preschool and elementary years and she studied high school (a science high school) and college (the top college on a full scholarship) in the Philippines, wherein she graduated with the highest honors once more. During her college years, she took up mastery of four languages: English, Filipino, Nihonggo, and Korean, which were the languages very useful to learn during that time. Her easy mastery of the language came from her father who was very fluent in the said languages because her father was an interpreter for different celebrities and famous people.

While she was still in college, her dad fell in love and married a Japanese who was residing in the Philippines. She was happy for her parents and she also loved her stepmother dearly. The stepmother and stepdaughter were close and no conflict aroused from them. After graduating at age 18 and being a stepdaughter at 17, they moved to Japan. A year after that, both her parents passed away, her father due to stroke and her stepmother, pneumonia.

The Japanese government took notice of Shirin and decided to support her with money and basic needs. Along with others who have the same situation as her, the Japanese government made homes for them to move into. Along with those people who are like her is Mizuki, who happened to be the child of her stepmother's best friend. They requested to be moved in the same house, and the Japanese government agreed.

Though they know each other through their parents, Mizuki and Shirin don't really know each other personally. Living together, Miizuki thought Shirin to be too quiet and introverted. But as the months passed, Mizuki found Shirin to be very intelligent and talented. She found out that Shirin can master a full dance routine in less than 2 hours, hard ones at that. Also, her singing and acting skills were way above average. Shirin found out, on the other hand, that Mizuki has a gift of conversation and languages as well. She can also do dubbing as she can change her voice and act through it. Mizuki also is a great public speaker and has no problems on speech writing and literary work creation. Both of them have talents way above average. Between the two, Mizuki had a few times wherein she envied Shirin. But Shirin would always convince her that it's not just her who has talents and that Mizuki has them too.  

When they were spending Christmas together, with Shirin age 18 and Mizuki 19, the two girls talked about their dreams.

"Hey Shirin, you haven't told me about what you want to do in your life. You're 18 and you should be thinking about it already."
"Well, I want to apply the things I learned for 4 years. Also, since performing arts is my hobby that I'm serious with, I would like to use that, too."
"Really? But why can't I see you going to auditions, trainings and so on?"
" Well, as much as I would have loved to do dancing, I focus more on the aspect of me which can earn quick money, which is the language aspect."
"Wow. You really have something ahead of you. But what do you feel about doing a dance group with three or four other members?"
"It would be a challenge, moving on the dancefloor together. But I think it would be great. How about you? Would you seriously pursue public speaking?"
"Yeah I would."

With that, Mizuki built up a strong resolve. Shirin is never gonna brush her performing arts talent aside.

When the week of Shirin's 19th birthday came, Mizuki asked her to master 3 dance routines and videotaped her rehearsal and performance with each of them. The songs were Love So Sweet by Arashi and the songs Coward by SS501 and Irony by Wonder Girls. Knowing Shirin, she finished mastering everything in 3 days. From there, she kept the videos in her laptop (both of them has one from the Japanese government) for storage. Also, she kept files of her self-written speeches and literary works, her intuition telling her that she could use this in the future.

Walking down the street going to a store, she found on the tv store news about an impending project between the South Korean and Japanese government. She decided that it was the chance for both of them to achieve their dreams. She called the Japanese government and submitted the information and certificates to the Camaraderie Project.

"Your very wonderful talents will not be wasted, Shirin. I assure you that." Mizuki said to herself.

***

"Sir, we have videos and attachments to the applications."
"Let me see that. Impressive speeches and literary works. Amazing span of dance step learning. Incredible."
"Sir?"
"What are the names of these girls?"
"Matsumoto Shirin and Kagara Mizuki."
"Their Korean names?"
"Mizuki, from her Korean father is named as Jang Yu Mi."
"And Matsumoto Shirin?"
"It's not her father but her mother who is Korean, Sir. But in her application, it is said that you can call her Song Shi Rin. The Song surname from her mother."
"I understand. Then, I percieve a plan. Call the spokesperson for the Korean government and DSP entertainment. There are going to be products of the Camaraderie Project. Search the database for other girls who might have the exact same talent or even similar talents to these girls."

***