Chapter 13 "The Poet" An Junhe (Part 1) (Second Update)

  Second update, seeking recommendations~

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  When I returned to the activity room on the floor, Dong Bang Shin Ki had already arrived. Lee Hyeok-jae and one of its members, Kim Jun-su, were good friends. An Jun-hyuk had heard him boast many times before, and now seeing him chatting with Dong Bang Shin Ki was probably not bragging.

  As soon as he saw him coming in, He Zai beckoned, "Junhe, over here!"

  He probably wants to introduce him to Dongfang Shenqi and a few other seniors who debuted earlier than him.

  As expected, after the past, He Zai warmly put his arm around his shoulder and smiled: "This is Junhe, An Junhe, you guys are so busy this year, don't know yet, this guy is very powerful, just entered the company for a few months and has already debuted, and still in both film and television and music, I'm so envious of him."

  As he introduced himself with enthusiasm and a bit of exaggeration, one young man among the five was the first to extend his hand: "Hello, I'm Kim Jun-su!"

  "Hello, senior!" An Junhe respectfully shook hands with him, "He Zai has mentioned you many times in my ear."

  Kim Jun-ho burst out laughing, "Then I'd better be careful. That Hae-jae guy is always muttering about me, he's definitely trying to get me to treat him to food and drinks. So from now on, if you hear Hae-jae muttering about you, quickly stay far away from him."

  "Ah, Kim Jun-su!" Lee Hyeok-jae angrily raised one fist, "Do you see this? A sand-pot-sized fist! You dare to slander me, are you looking for death?"

  Jin Junxiu remained unmoved, merely rolling up his sleeves to reveal muscular arms with bulging veins, and provocatively raised an eyebrow at him.

  "……" Li Hezai's eyes widened, staring at the bulging muscles, his lips trembling a few times, and he couldn't believe it, pinching himself, "Really? Ah, when did you practice this?"

  He ignored him and started acting weird, the other people from Dongfang Shenqi came over to greet him after Kim Jun-su, but they weren't as enthusiastic as Kim Jun-su. On one hand, it was because they really didn't know each other well and didn't have any common friends. On the other hand, it was naturally due to their differences.

  It's said that they debuted in the same year, but they have already captured the hearts of 10-year-old girls, released an album and are extremely popular. In comparison, An Jun-he and them are not even on the same level.

  Ahn Jun-hee could understand the lukewarm attitude of a few people, but it didn't mean he would accept it. He said a few words to Hwang Jae and Kim Joon-soo before taking his leave, pulling Tae-yeon along to find Park Jung-soo and Kim Hee-seon.

  Found the corner where he was waiting before, only Park Jeong-soo was left there, eating snacks in boredom. Seeing Ahn Jun-hee coming over, he was about to say something when he suddenly saw Tae-yeon and was taken aback for a moment. Then his gaze swept back and forth between Ahn Jun-hee and Tae-yeon, with a somewhat ambiguous look in his eyes.

  At the sight of his expression, An Junhe knew he was thinking too much again and lazily asked, "Where's Xi Cheng?"

  "He's going to be the host in a moment, and he's gone out to prepare, without even introducing himself?"

  He poured two glasses of drinks for himself and Taeyeon, Ahn Jun-he looked at him and then reluctantly introduced, "This is Taeyeon, my junior sister. In the future when I'm not in the company, please help take care of her!"

  "Don't worry, don't worry, it's definitely going to be okay." Park Jeong-soo smiled slyly and gave him a man-to-man look of envy, then turned to Tae-yeon and said: "Tae-yeon, you're doing well!"

  "Hello, senior!" Taeyeon bowed stiffly, usually quiet when there were outsiders around.

  "From now on, just call me brother, haha!" The tone was extremely ambiguous.

  An Jun-he stared at him speechlessly, while Tae-yeon just smiled awkwardly with pursed lips. At this moment, a commotion came from near the door, and several people looked over through the gaps in the crowd to see Soo-young, Yoo-ri, and Yun-ah, as well as two other girls they didn't know very well, rushing in from outside in a flurry. Just as An Jun-he was about to call out to them, the crowd on that side suddenly became excited, with someone blowing a whistle, more people applauding loudly, and others pulling out pre-prepared confetti and colored streamers to spray wildly towards the door, creating a kaleidoscope of colors in an instant.

  Under the suddenly heated atmosphere, Xi Ze accompanied a girl who was probably only in her early teens, smiling as they entered.

  At that moment when she saw the girl, Tae-yeon, who had been closely following Ahn Jun-hee, suddenly gasped and exclaimed in a low voice: "It's Bao'er!"

  Yes, this girl who just came in, wearing casual clothes that are just barely decent, with a baseball cap on her head, looking no different from the young girls you see everywhere on the streets, is none other than Kwon Bo-ah, who has been all the rage in Asia in recent years.

  Outside the crowd, Xi Ze and she had a warm conversation for a few words, then led her onto the stage, took down the microphone, coughed dryly several times, smiled and asked the crowd below: "Does everyone know who this is?"

  The response was a neat and thunderous shout: "Bao'er——!" Mixed in were also a few dissatisfied voices: "Jin Xicheng, you're old, do you need to ask?" "Even Bao'er's seniors don't recognize him, let's just poke our eyes out and be done with it, useless Xicheng!"

  Heechul laughed loudly on stage, "This is a necessary step for the host, you know what I mean." Ignoring the protests from below, he continued, "Kangta sunbae had something urgent come up and can't make it, let me apologize to everyone..."

  Suddenly, there were girls wailing under the stage, but more people were lightly exhaling, as if they had suddenly become much more relaxed. This was not disrespect, but Kangta's seniority was simply too high, basically growing up with the company, a true veteran. This gathering was in a very casual form, without so many rules, and the company held it to let trainees and artists have fun, if he came, the scene would immediately drop by more than ten degrees, these people who had debuted or not yet debuted, who dared to be open in front of him?

  It seems like Kangta's excuse of having something urgent is actually just a pretext because he knows he doesn't fit in with this kind of gathering.

  Heechul, undisturbed by the noise from below, continued with a calm demeanor to deliver some more Mid-Autumn Festival greetings, mostly consisting of the company's reflections on the past and prospects for the future, before finally announcing: "......the gathering officially begins!"

  The people who had been waiting under the stage for half a day, hastily applauded and bid him to leave the stage quickly. However, Xi Ze stood still, waiting for the applause to gradually weaken before blinking his eyes: "I haven't finished speaking yet, what's wrong with you guys?"

  "Ah, hurry up and roll away, nonsense!"

  "Haha, just kidding, you guys really have no sense of humor... OK, so let's get started with the first activity. First, we invite our senior who has already debuted to sing a song for the juniors. Please welcome Kwon Bo-ah..."

  In the corner below, looking at the small stage, Bao'er was smiling brightly and confidently took over the microphone handed by Jin Xi Che, starting to sing along with some boys' cheering and the accompaniment slowly playing from the speaker beside. An Jun He, like others, lightly clapped his hands following the rhythm, then felt a tight grip on his arm, turned around to see Tae Yeon tightly hugging his arm, looking at Bao'er with a tense face and an excited expression that couldn't be suppressed.

  "Uh, Taeyeon, are you a fan of Baek A Yeon?"

  "Uh-huh!" The girl nodded quickly.

  "Hehe, then I'll go find her to get an autograph later, and I'll also ask for one on your behalf... Hmm, Xi Ze is quite close to her, with him around, she shouldn't refuse, right?"

  Taeyeon looked at him strangely: "Huh? Are you also a fan of Baekhyun?"

  "I'm not, but my sister is... You all worship Bao'er, you must have something in common, I'll arrange for you to meet her another day."

  While speaking, Bao Er had already finished her short performance on stage and handed the microphone back to Hee Chul. "Wow, Bao Er sunbae is indeed famous all over Asia, her singing voice is really heavenly... Ah, don't kick me, I'm not exaggerating, your song is really good... Haha, okay, okay, no more joking around, next up is a senior who debuted this year..."

  The conversation isn't over yet, and then a female voice loudly shouted "TVXQ", Key and some members of TVXQ are also very close, hearing this immediately pretended to be disdainful: "I won't call them, die from anger, haha...... Please welcome - Ahn Jun-hee!"

  An Jun-he, who was laughing at Hye-tae's antics from under the stage, was taken aback by the sudden shout, and he hadn't expected Hye-tae to call out to him first, so he was a bit slow to react.

  The atmosphere on the scene also suddenly cooled down when Hee-chul shouted Ahn Jun-hee's name, and many people looked at each other in dismay. Only Soo-young, Yoo-ri, and Yoon-ah, after being stunned for a moment, immediately applauded vigorously. Other people, under their influence, gradually responded with applause as well, but undoubtedly without much enthusiasm. More people were applauding while whispering to each other.

  An Jun-hyeok's reputation in the company is quite loud, but not particularly positive. The trainees present are generally more active and have better grades, so they can hear some news about the company. A few months ago, An Jun-hyeok was already a topic of conversation among these trainees after dinner because of the company's cold attitude towards him, not to mention that his name has been "sweeping" the internet recently.

  Kim Hee-chul didn't call out to Dong Bang Shin Ki first, but instead called Ahn Jun-hyuk. It was just a joke, but also meant to praise this good friend. However, the reaction of the people below the stage was beyond his expectation.

  Looking at the crowd whispering to each other, he frowned, feeling a bit guilty and embarrassed, not knowing what to do for the best, when he saw An Junhe standing up from the corner.

  As he stood up, the whole room suddenly fell silent, with all eyes fixed on him, following his footsteps as they moved. The gazes that shot towards him were filled with indifference, curiosity, and ridicule, a mix of attitudes that seemed to be watching a joke.

  "What a failure I am!"

  As he walked onto the stage, Ahn Jun-he felt a bit helpless under the gaze of those watching him.

  He had always known that many trainees in the company looked down on him, not because he had a cold relationship with the company's high-level executives, nor was it because he was too handsome. It was because he debuted... He only practiced for a few months before debuting, and his short training career didn't establish enough prestige for him. Many people were jealous of him and felt mentally unbalanced. Whenever they mentioned him, it was probably with sour comments like "What's so great about him?" or "A guy who just got lucky".

  He understands their weak mentality, so he never calculates and always maintains his low-key style.

  It's just that these people seem to regard that as weakness.

  As I stepped onto the stage, amidst Hee-chul's worried gaze, the moment I took over the microphone, a few male students' jeering voices rose from below, breaking the previous tranquility, and the buzzing noise started again.

  It's really troublesome...

  He took the microphone and coughed a few times, "Ah, Xi Ze suddenly called me up here, I didn't have any preparation, I'm afraid that in a moment, singing will become a joke."

  Laughter erupted from the audience, the atmosphere was quite enthusiastic, everyone shouted "hurry up and sing", seemingly impatient, but how many had good intentions?

  He gazed at them, with a faintly discernible sneer in his eyes.

  "Oh, it seems like everyone is very enthusiastic. Well, I'll return the favor by singing a song I wrote recently, should be pretty good... Um, does anyone help me find a blank sheet of staff paper? And instruments, don't need many, just an electronic keyboard and a drum set would do."

  A song written by myself?

  Everyone was slightly stunned, and then more people showed a smile, what did he think writing songs were? Anyone can casually write some melodies, but a song needs very deep composition and arrangement skills. It can be said that in the company, only Kangta has the qualifications to say "I wrote a song".

  Thinking of this, those who were slightly interested in his singing immediately became lazy to pay attention again, while another part became more interested - interested in how he would make a fool of himself.

  Then, some of the boys responded very actively and immediately ran out. At the same time, he turned around to look at Hee-chul and Bao-er, who were not looking too good, and smiled: "Hee-chul hyung, can you help me with the drumming and chorus later? And, Bao-er sunbae, can I ask for your help in singing the female part?"

  "Me?" Bao'er was stunned for a moment, then nodded in Xi Cheng's gaze and smiled: "Of course I can!"

  Not long after, the person who ran out to find the five-line score came back first. An Junhe opened a blank notebook and quickly wrote down a section of melody. When he finished, he handed the score to Baoer and Xitiao, and several other boys also brought over a drum set and electronic keyboard from a nearby practice room.

  Everything is ready.

  An Junhe stood in front of the electronic piano, looking out at the sea of people below. On those faces, some familiar ones were worried and made encouraging gestures, some indifferent ones slightly raised an eyebrow, some mocking ones sneered, and there were also those who didn't know him, apathetically eating snacks and chatting to themselves.

  Keeping a low profile for too long, since you can't wait, then just burst out.

  The next moment, soft music started playing.

  ;