Chapter 10

"First path, very simple, go back to school and continue studying, find a boy, fall in love, get married, and treat this trainee life as a dream from your youth." Yoon Hyun bent his first finger that he had extended out.

"Second path, while there's still time, go learn singing and dancing. The next few years will be the best era for you girls who dream of becoming stars," Yoon Hyun bent his second finger and took a deep breath: "It will also be the worst era."

"Third path, continue on your current path, study acting diligently, and develop a performance style that suits you. Whether it takes three years, five years, or ten years, one day, your efforts will wash away all the sand covering the gold." Yoon Hyun bent his last finger.

"Think about your own path. At a time like this, I can't give you more advice." Yoon Hyun concluded.

"But Bora told me you didn't say the same to her." Lee Ji-hyun gave a somewhat self-deprecating smile, "You helped her choose what she should do."

"That's because I know what Bora wants. So I can persuade the devil in her mind from a friend's perspective. But Ji-hyun, do you know what you want? When Bora doesn't know what to do, she seeks help from everyone, listens to others' advice, and faces it positively. But what about you? You lock yourself away, not listening or seeing. Is that enough? Although you usually appear strong and mature, in this matter, you are not as good as Bora." Yoon Hyun said coldly. He tried to make Quan Bao's actions seem calm and rational, and also tried to give himself and Quan Bao a way out.

"Am I really useless?" Lee Ji-hyun said, almost to herself, "Then you don't have to care about me. After all, it's not too late to quit now."

"If this is your final choice, I support you." Yoon Hyun said, despite the angry look from Quan Bao. "But, are you really willing to give up? Is this what you really want?"

Quan Bao finally couldn't hold back and grabbed a sofa cushion, throwing it at Yoon Hyun. She regretted calling Yoon Hyun over. How could this guy be so clueless about women?

And Lee Ji-hyun had already started crying.

She cried for a long time.

Until the box of tissues was empty, and her eyes were swollen like peaches, she finally slowly stopped crying.

"Have you thought it through?" Yoon Hyun sat beside her calmly, handing her tissues one by one.

"I have." Lee Ji-hyun nodded and then stopped talking.

There was no need to ask what her decision was. This was a kind of默契 (understanding).

"My sister and Hae Eun-jung get along well," Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and continued, "Find an opportunity to have a meal together. Although you are competitors in the company, I hope you understand that dreams are a game for those with the ability. Those already in the game must continuously improve themselves to avoid being eliminated."

"Yoon Hyun... oppa," Lee Ji-hyun hesitated, "You said a lot of sweet but meaningful things today."

"As long as you can take it to heart, I won't have said it in vain." Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and said, "I can give you some advice. If you are really interested in acting, I suggest you watch some of Tae-hee's performances. I think you can learn from her. Although it might not be good for you..."

"Don't leave it half-said," Quan Bao, seeing Lee Ji-hyun's mood finally return to normal, burst out, "What do you mean it might not be good? What's there to learn from?"

"Actually, I think both Ji-hyun and Bora, with such outstanding appearances, even if acting is difficult, you could try shooting some ads. It would be a good direction for development." Yoon Hyun said, "Like Tae-hee, since last year, she hasn't been shooting many dramas, but she still takes on ads, which is quick and not tiring."

"That's Kim Tae-hee!" Quan Bao was speechless, "If I were from Seoul University, I could try to learn from her."

"You can try some smaller ad auditions, and when it comes to negotiating contracts, have the company send an agent, and naturally, you will have an artist contract..." Yoon Hyun outlined the development plan he had designed for them.

"You talk like you're serious. Why don't you be our agent?" Lee Ji-hyun said half-jokingly. "Having a Seoul University high achiever as an agent sounds great."

"I don't mind if you're not afraid I'll mess you up. The most important thing for an agent is connections, which I lack." Yoon Hyun said indifferently.

"Oppa, if I'm serious, what do you think?" Lee Ji-hyun said seriously.

"Either you're crazy, or you like me, which can also be seen as you being crazy, so you're really crazy." Yoon Hyun said seriously.

They looked at each other and laughed. But Quan Bao couldn't laugh.

The spring break quickly came to an end, and in the new year, many people's lives changed.

Under Yoon Hyun's encouragement, Quan Bao and Lee Ji-hyun finally became nodding acquaintances with Hae Eun-jung. Although they were still competitors, at least the surface was more harmonious. Surprisingly, Hae Eun-jung was easy to talk to. After a few meals with Yoon Ji-hui and the others, she exchanged phone numbers with Yoon Hyun and became a fairly close friend.

Quan Bao and Lee Ji-hyun started trying to find some ad CF shooting opportunities on their own.

Perhaps by taking a step back, their horizons suddenly broadened. In just a week, each of them found a CF shooting opportunity. Although they were small ads and didn't pay much, for them, it was a significant achievement.

Because the money was not much, they didn't inform the company. The CCM actor trainee contract was relatively loose, and with their seniority, since the company didn't help them, it didn't interfere with what the two girls did on their own.

So before the new semester started, Yoon Hyun became their voluntary driver and temporary assistant for the CF shootings.

To avoid looking too embarrassing as an assistant, under the combined pressure of the two, they went to Myeongdong and bought three sets of clothes that looked like an entertainment agent's outfit. However, because their styles were so different, it ended up looking a bit odd. Fortunately, with Yoon Ji-hui's extensive experience, she managed to control the two excited girls and helped Yoon Hyun choose a clean, neat, and stable-looking outfit.

When Yoon Hyun first wore this outfit to pick up Quan Bao for the CF shooting, he left Quan Bao speechless for a while before she finally recovered.

"How come I didn't notice how handsome Yoon Hyun is after more than a year!" After a long pause, Quan Bao finally said.

The CF shooting went smoothly. It was a food print ad, and Quan Bao's full charm and some appropriate acting, along with makeup preparation, completed the shooting in four hours.

During the shooting, Yoon Hyun chatted with the photographer and PD like a real agent. Initially, he meant well, but he realized his presence was actually affecting their work efficiency, so he awkwardly retreated to a corner to carry Quan Bao's bag and read his composition book.

When he accompanied Lee Ji-hyun to shoot the clothing ad, Yoon Hyun was more experienced... and completely became a bag-carrying assistant.

This kind of companionship only happened once, as Yoon Hyun soon entered his second year of studies. At the same time, with Yoon Ji-hui's due date approaching, Yoon Hyun had more things to worry about.

At this time, the semi-idle Kim Tae-hee played the role of a best friend, transforming from a national goddess to a babysitter for a pregnant woman, which deeply moved the Yoon siblings.

But no matter what, Kim Tae-hee was still Kim Tae-hee. Even though she temporarily cut all her acting activities to take care of her best friend, there were still those annoying sasaeng fans in Korea.

To avoid making things difficult for Kim Tae-hee, although Yoon Hyun's home was big enough, he was forced to apply for a dorm at school...

But even if he didn't live at home, he still had to go home to check on his sister, and naturally, he was photographed by sasaeng fans.

This caused a big stir. Although Kim Tae-hee had never been a pure idol, this didn't affect her being seen as the national ideal. Now, the ideal was living in a strange man's house...

Kim Tae-hee had to hold a small press conference to explain the situation, stating that she was staying at her best friend's house to take care of her pregnancy, and the boy was just her friend's younger brother.

But even so, Yoon Hyun became famous.

Curious people quickly found out all sorts of information about Yoon Hyun, including his status as a Seoul University philosophy student, which reignited the baseless rumors with Kim Tae-hee. After accompanying Quan Bao and the others to shoot ads, Yoon Hyun started to pay attention to, or rather, was forced to pay attention to, his appearance and dressing. A Seoul University high achiever who had already served in the military and was sunny and handsome... he was the perfect image of countless infatuated girls' dream boyfriends!

Many infatuated girls flooded into Seoul University, where they heard even more explosive news about Yoon Hyun from more knowledgeable people: he was likely to be one of the few students in Seoul University's history to graduate early. Although he was just entering his second year, he had already accumulated enough credits to graduate.

In one year, he completed four years of courses, and at Seoul University! Then, Yoon Hyun shamefully became a spectacle on campus.

Fortunately, Yoon Hyun's mental strength was strong, and he didn't become a modern version of a historical figure who was watched to death. Of course, there was another reason: this semester, he chose as many courses as he did last semester.

To the point that after seeing his course selection, even the department head had to find time to talk to him to confirm what he was doing.

No one knew what he said to the department head, but after he came out of the office, his course schedule didn't change, and he continued to attend classes as he did last semester.

The baseless rumors with Kim Tae-hee didn't really take off and were soon forgotten.

Soon, Yoon Hyun was about to become an uncle.

The due date was the next day, so now Yoon Hyun, Kim Tae-hee, and Kim Tae-hee's younger brother, Kim Heng-soo, were all at the hospital with Yoon Ji-hui.

The atmosphere was a bit tense.

"Sis, at this point, there's something I have to ask you," Yoon Hyun looked at Kim Tae-hee, who was humming and peeling an apple, and Kim Heng-soo, who was playing with a PSP, and spoke with some difficulty.

"What is it?" Yoon Ji-hui was so nervous that she was in a daze.

"The doctor just asked me to fill out a registration form." Yoon Hyun paused. Kim Tae-hee immediately stopped her work, frowned, and looked at her younger brother.

"The father's name and information section is blank." Yoon Hyun felt Kim Tae-hee's gaze was piercing, turned his face, and avoided her eyes but still insisted on saying, "It's not a big deal. But the child's name, according to tradition, should be given by the family elders. When do you plan to tell your father?"

"You can also give the child a name since you are an elder." Yoon Ji-hui's face turned pale.

"What will the child's surname be?" Yoon Hyun didn't plan to let his sister off.

"Boy takes your surname, girl takes mine." Yoon Ji-hui said.

"..." Yoon Hyun was deeply impressed by his sister.

"Xian, you and Heng-soo go out for a while." Kim Tae-hee put down the fruit and knife and said to Yoon Hyun and Kim Heng-soo.

Kim Heng-soo, who had also heard the conversation, sighed and turned to leave the room. Yoon Hyun, seeing the serious look in Kim Tae-hee's eyes, scratched his head and walked out.

About an hour later, Kim Tae-hee let them back in.

Yoon Ji-hui looked calm, as if nothing had happened, but Kim Tae-hee's eyes were red, as if she had just cried.

"Tae-hee, I feel bad," Yoon Hyun said.

"It's not your fault," Kim Tae-hee shook her head.

"Sis, I will still call Father," Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and said, biting his lip.

"Even if you don't, I will. But definitely after the child's full moon." Yoon Ji-hui remained calm.

Yoon Hyun nodded and didn't say anything.

The next events went more smoothly than expected. Yoon Ji-hui showed signs of labor a few hours before the due date and was pushed into the operating room.

Yoon Hyun and Kim Tae-hee, like headless flies, wandered around outside the operating room.

Thanks to Yoon Ji-hui's consistent dancing, her physical condition was still good, and the child was born smoothly, a little girl. According to Yoon Ji-hui's wishes, the child took her surname, and the name would be given by the child's grandfather.

After giving birth, Yoon Ji-hui was in a state of exhaustion but still insisted on calling her father before resting.

As Yoon Hyun expected, there was no angry roar or endless questioning on the other end of the phone.

"Understood. Take care of yourself." Her father left only these words.

But Yoon Ji-hui's face was filled with a happy smile.

I'm a mother now!

Yoon Hyun's expression was much more complex: How will I clean up this mess?