Chapter 1 SM Company (Second Update)

  In early April 2004, the southern coastal areas were still chilly, but in Hanzhong City in the north, spring was already coming to an end.

  On the streets and alleys, many young girls in their youth have changed into revealing short sleeves, hot pants, and denim skirts, complementing the nearly 30-degree high temperature at noon, making people feel as if they are hit by a wave of youthful heat.

  This scene is most commonly seen in Gangnam, the busiest district of Seoul, especially in front of the old building with a blue S·Mtown sign at Apgujeong 2-dong. Many girls, some shy and others provocative, mostly wearing school uniforms, are hanging out there.

  These are fans, at the end of last year, SM company heavily promoted a five-member group Dong Bang Shin Ki to make up for the loss caused by H.O.T's disbandment. The five handsome boys immediately took over H.O.T's popularity in the 10s with the strong packaging and promotional power of the company, and their fan base expanded rapidly, surpassing many old teams in just a few months.

  Dozens of meters away, An Junhe, who had just gotten out of a taxi, looked at the group of girls wandering around over there. Every time they found someone trying to get into the company, they would shriek and swarm over, wanting to see if it was their idol. He couldn't help but shake his head.

  "It's crazy!"

  After Zhi Xiu was discharged from the hospital, he brought her to Hancheng. It had been almost a week since then. After settling everything down, he finally arrived at S.M Company.

  On the one hand, only by entering the largest star-making factory in the entertainment industry can he quickly rise to prominence using its resources. On the other hand, there are still unsettled scores with certain people within S.M. waiting for him to settle, what's more thrilling than growing up under the wing of an enemy while they're still unaware?

  He likes such stimulating games.

  A faint smile played on his lips, but An Junhe didn't go forward. In his dreams, he had always been more concerned about the entertainment industry because of his sister. He naturally knew the name of TVXQ, the only popular group in SM Entertainment at the moment. When people mentioned them, their first impression was the largest fan base and the craziness of the fans. At this time, those girls waiting outside the company's gate were probably their fans. An Junhe knew his own appearance, if he went over rashly, he might be pulled into a mess by those girls who would get excited at the sight of a handsome guy. Just now, he saw a pretty good-looking guy being blocked at the door, surrounded and touched by them, with small hands all over him, that guy was so embarrassed he didn't know where to put his hands.

  He took out his mobile phone, dialed a number, and soon someone picked up on the other end. It was a thick, middle-aged voice that sounded tired: "Hello? Junhe? Where are you?"

  "Baogen Shu, I'm currently outside the company's main gate. The entrance is blocked by fans and I couldn't get in."

  "Oh... like this, you go to the back door, there are fewer people over there, I'll wait for you there."

  "Uh-huh, okay."

  He hung up the phone, and An Junhe pulled out a hat from his pocket and put it on. His delicate face was shaded by the brim of the hat, and his sharp temperament also retreated, restoring him to an ordinary young man's appearance. With both hands in his pockets, he strolled leisurely towards the back door.

  Compared to the front door, S·M's back door is even more disreputable. It's unknown how long it has been since it was last painted, with peeling walls and cracks everywhere, and many messy graffiti drawings on it, making it look like a public toilet entrance at first glance.

  But in contrast to its shabby exterior, it's clear that what's inside is the real focus of attention. The back door was also surrounded by many people, most of whom were holding mobile phones and cameras, staring intently at the dark doorway without even a flicker of interest in Ahn Jun-hee's arrival.

  "Are these private meals?"

  An Junhe thought that Korea was a country without paparazzi, but there was a special fan group that was even more terrifying than the paparazzi. People called them "private fans" or "sasaeng fans", which literally means fans who like to follow and secretly take pictures of their idols' private lives.

  These fans, idols hit or scold are not, many people can only turn a blind eye, when they do not exist, such an attitude, naturally also makes them more and more arrogant.

  But that's none of his business, An Junhe has already seen the back door, Quan Baogen poked out half of his body and beckoned him to come over, so he ran over.

  A female fan who was slightly excited to see a figure appearing at the back door, but found out it was just an uncle and squatted down again. When she saw Ahn Jun-hee running towards the back door, she subconsciously raised her camera and took a shot, then scratched her head in confusion and looked at her companion: "Is that also a celebrity?"

  "I don't know, I don't care, I'm just chasing after Tian Ge."

  The female fan pulled out the photo from her camera, which was Ahn Jun-hee running sideways, his raised head revealing a refined profile. The female fan exclaimed: "Wow, so handsome..."

  Her companion glanced at her sideways and snorted disdainfully, "Pfft, how handsome can a side profile be? You're such an idiot!"

  "You're the one who's infatuated with good-looking guys, what's wrong with that?"

  Only like Tian Ge!

  ……

  An Junhe slipped in through the back door, unaware of the conversation outside. When he saw Quan Baogen again, the middle-aged man who had once worn gold-rimmed glasses and exuded a refined elegance now looked completely different. Although his appearance was still immaculately groomed, the dark eye bags, prominent black circles under his eyes, and the despair hidden between his eyebrows all revealed that he was now troubled by worries. Even when he saw An Junhe for a moment, he forced himself to smile.

  "Is it like this every day here?"

  Noticing that Quan Baogen didn't want to reveal his troubles, An Junhe tactfully didn't ask and instead half-jokingly pointed outside and asked.

  Quan Baogen smiled and said, "It's about right. Teenage girls in their early teens are the most impulsive, and at times they would do anything to chase after their idols."

  As he spoke, he patted Ahn Jun-hee's shoulder. "New to Seoul, still getting used to it? I've been busy the past few days and didn't have time to meet up with you. Have you found a place to live?"

  "Found it, in Miandao Cave."

  Quan Baogen slightly furrowed his brow, "Why look over there? It's too far from the company."

  "It's cheap!" An Junhe said.

  When he heard this, Quan Baogen swallowed the words that were about to come out of his mouth. He didn't ask much about An Junhe's family, so he didn't know what the situation was like. His limited understanding was also through An Junhe's oral account, but from the first time they met on the bus, he knew that An Junhe had retired in advance and returned home, and he more or less understood that the other party's family must have been having difficulties.

  Even if he knew about it, he would be powerless and could only secretly sigh in his heart, silently showing sympathy.

  Thinking of this, he grasped An Junhe's shoulder and forced a smile: "Let's go, I'll take you on a tour of the company. This will be your usual haunt from now on, so get familiar with the place."

  As they spoke, he went ahead and walked forward.

  An Junhe fell back several steps and followed behind him.

  The building of S·M company looks shabby outside, and its momentum and reputation are quite inconsistent. However, the interior space is actually very large, with complete infrastructure. Quan Baogen took An Junhe to visit the front desk and cafeteria on the first floor before taking him upstairs to see the practice room.

  Today is the weekend, school is closed, but many students who are still in practice have not taken advantage of this rare time to go shopping and play like their peers, but instead rushed over here, rested for a while, and then practiced dance and vocal music in each practice room on their own initiative.

  In Korea, since the trainee system was implemented, outsiders only see the glamorous side of artists packaged by entertainment companies and admire them with envy, but few people think about what they have sacrificed for their glamour.

  Every artist who debuts is a hardworking genius.

  Kwon Bo-geun seemed to have a lot of authority within the company, or rather among the trainees. As he walked by, the trainees would unconsciously step aside and bow, while Kwon Bo-geun didn't even acknowledge them, only introducing Ahn Jun-hyuk to the functions of each practice room with an air of nonchalance that was usually present on his face, as if even the worries in his heart had disappeared.

  Of course, as a follower of Quan Baogen, An Junhe also attracted the attention of many trainees, including curiosity, inquiry, and more jealousy and inexplicable hostility.

  "They say S.M. Entertainment's trainees are fiercely competitive, looks like it's true!"

  An Junhe thought to himself, this wasn't unexpected. Where there are people, there is competition. Not to mention the things he had experienced in his dreams, even in the military, there existed a fierce competitive atmosphere, and it was even more naked. Many times, two troops would use all sorts of despicable tricks to strike down their opponents just for an internal ranking.

  An Junhe, who had long been tempered, ignored those hostile eyes and talked to Quan Baogen with ease - compared to the old slippery guys in the army, these guys who didn't even know how to hide their emotions weren't even qualified to be put in his eyes.

  At this time, the two of them walked to the door of a very large practice room. Quan Baogen stopped in his tracks and pointed at the nameplate on the door, saying to An Junhe: "This is the company's largest dance practice room. After we go to the cafeteria for lunch, we'll come back here this afternoon and conduct your assessment in this practice room."

  As he spoke, he looked around the practice room and saw An Junhe looking a bit distracted, thinking that he was nervous, so he smiled and said: "Don't worry, your voice is good, your looks are even better, even if you're not skilled at singing or dancing, I can guarantee that you'll be able to sign a contract. The company values appearance the most, let alone you have extra points for your temperament."

  Startled by his words, Ahn Jun-hee came back to himself and smiled faintly, saying nothing.

  He wouldn't be nervous at all, he just thought of something else, like how to surprise the judges!

  But it's also good that Quan Baogen misunderstood like this, and let him have a surprise too!

  Just as An Junhe was about to speak, the tightly closed door of the practice room beside him suddenly opened, and a girl with half-long hair burst out, making a giggling sound like a little boy. Behind her, another girl with slightly dark skin, holding a slipper in her hand, chased after her, gritting her teeth and shouting: "Ah! You stop right there!"

  That little boy was like a girl, running and turning back to make faces: "Don't stand still, don't stand still, come chase me!"

  Before she had finished speaking, she rushed into An Junhe's arms.