Chapter 36

In order to celebrate the collection surpassing a thousand... (new writer, I'm already very grateful for this number)

Today, there are two updates; this is the second chapter.

Alright, it's mainly because the previous chapter was a bit short... This chapter is to make up for it. Hehe.

===== I am a dividing line =====

Yoon Hyun didn’t know how he ended up in the Girls' Generation waiting room.

However, these nine young girls still showed great respect to Yoon Hyun. Except for Yoon Ah, who had just completed "The Challenge of Ten Thousand Won" and was in the recovery period from hunger, and only gave Yoon Hyun a glare, the others all gave him sweet smiles.

Yoon Hyun felt like he had gone from hell to heaven.

“Yoon Hyun oppa, how is your piano preparation going?” Seohyun asked, a bit worried.

Yoon Hyun recalled his first meeting with this upright young girl. At that time, Seohyun was holding such a large piano score, she must be very good at playing the piano, right?

“Yeah, it should be fine. It won’t delay Taeyeon’s performance,” Yoon Hyun smiled gently.

“Kids, it’s time to go and pay respects to the seniors!” the Girls' Generation manager suddenly said.

“Then, Yoon Hyun oppa, please wait here for a moment. We’ll come back after paying respects to the seniors,” Taeyeon, as the guest she invited, tried her best to take care of him.

“No problem, go ahead,” Yoon Hyun smiled, “I’ll probably have to go soon too.”

Then the nine girls filed out, and the waiting room instantly became quiet.

Yoon Hyun, bored, sent text messages to urge his manager to come over quickly.

After a while, Kim Sooyeon finally returned, and then Yoon Hyun also went out to pay respects to the seniors during the promotional period.

Because it was a special stage, the performance time was scheduled earlier, so the rehearsal time was also scheduled earlier.

So, after hastily paying respects to the seniors, Yoon Hyun went on stage with Taeyeon.

“Why is there a microphone next to the piano?” Yoon Hyun looked at the microphone placed next to the piano, a bit puzzled.

“Oppa, you can sing a few lines if you want!” Taeyeon laughed.

“I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of you!” Yoon Hyun shook his head.

“No, you have to sing, at least a part of the chorus,” Taeyeon started to pout at Yoon Hyun.

This was the first time Yoon Hyun had seen the young-looking Taeyeon pout. Compared to her, Jun Bora was just an upright young girl! Park Jiyeon was like an aunt!

Too scary!

Yoon Hyun felt more goosebumps watching himself act as a cold-blooded killer than he did now.

Like waves of wheat... Who knew why Taeyeon’s pouting was so lethal...

Then, he shamefully gave in...

Then came the rehearsal.

Taeyeon left the second chorus to Yoon Hyun. Since it was a song he wrote himself, Yoon Hyun didn’t forget the lyrics he wrote and sang along with Taeyeon.

“Oppa, excessive modesty is pride,” Taeyeon, who had been a bit gloomy after coming off the stage, finally said before entering the waiting room.

“What do you mean?” Yoon Hyun was a bit puzzled.

“Oppa, you sang much better than me,” Taeyeon’s mood was a bit low, “It’s really hurtful.”

“Did you sing seriously just now?” Yoon Hyun didn’t expect that.

“Yes! Very seriously.”

“But I thought you were just singing casually.”

“...” Taeyeon lowered her head, feeling wronged.

“Sigh, for a girl your age, this song is indeed a bit...” Yoon Hyun sighed helplessly.

“Sorry, oppa,” Taeyeon humbly accepted the criticism.

“It’s okay, there’s still time. I’ll help you adjust,” Yoon Hyun, feeling sorry for her, said straightforwardly.

“Thank you. I’m troubling you, oppa,” Taeyeon’s mood was still low.

The two entered the waiting room.

“What’s wrong, unnie?” Tiffany, who was sensitive, noticed Taeyeon’s low mood.

“Recently, my emotions have been too high, and I can’t get into the feeling when singing. I feel like I’m not singing as well as I should, so I’m a bit hurt,” Yoon Hyun explained with a smile, “Don’t worry, I’ll help her adjust.”

The waiting room, which had been full of laughter, immediately became awkward.

“If it’s too difficult for you to find that feeling again, it’s a bit unfair to you,” Yoon Hyun said straightforwardly to Taeyeon, who was sitting opposite him but had her head down.

Taeyeon nodded wordlessly.

“Then try to step out of yourself,” Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and said, “Put yourself in the position of an observer, looking at this story from the outside. As an observer, narrate, reflect, and evaluate... Try to sing it with that kind of emotion, and let me hear it.”

Taeyeon thought for a moment and started to sing softly.

“Stop. It’s still not right,” Yoon Hyun shook his head.

Taeyeon’s tears were almost flowing.

“Crying won’t help,” Yoon Hyun said a bit irritably.

Taeyeon’s tears started to flow.

“Cry more and your makeup will smudge! You’ll have to redo it!” Yoon Hyun’s words were still harsh.

But such words definitely wouldn’t stop someone from crying.

Taeyeon cried even harder.

Yoon Ah, who was standing nearby, couldn’t bear to see Taeyeon cry and wanted to come over to help, but was stopped by Yoon Hyun’s stern glare.

Even Yoon Ah, who was closest to Yoon Hyun, was stopped, so the others didn’t dare to come over.

The atmosphere in the waiting room became even more awkward.

“Sing it again,” Yoon Hyun said coldly, ignoring Taeyeon’s tears.

Taeyeon tried to stop her crying and started to sing again.

“Hmm. Your breathing is still steady. It’s clear that you’ve put in some effort with your singing,” Yoon Hyun said softly, as if he didn’t care whether Taeyeon heard him or not.

Taeyeon’s tears slowly stopped.

“But if it’s still like this, it’s better not to go on stage for this special performance. It won’t be good for Girls' Generation,” Yoon Hyun, after giving her a bit of encouragement, gave her a harsh warning.

Taeyeon was really stunned.

“The stage needs sincerity,” Yoon Hyun thought for a moment and continued, “I don’t know if you remember what I said to you the first time I met you in the waiting room. Seohyun, do you remember?”

“I remember. Senior,” although Taeyeon being bullied by Yoon Hyun made Seohyun uncomfortable, she still answered obediently. But “oppa” had become “senior.”

“What did I say?” Yoon Hyun felt that this upright young girl was the perfect partner for a comedy act.

“You told us not to forget our初心 (initial intentions). And you said, the more criticism we can withstand, the more praise we can receive,” Seohyun summarized in her own words.

“Hmm. Initial intentions. Taeyeon, do you remember why you became a trainee at S.M? Do you remember what you were working hard for at the beginning?” Yoon Hyun, although grateful for Seohyun’s cooperation, decided to ignore the girl for now and continue lecturing Taeyeon.

“To let others hear the songs I want to sing,” Taeyeon thought for a moment and answered, her voice tinged with tears.

“Right, to let others hear you sing. So, what are you singing for now? What are you going on stage for? Tired? Don’t want to go? Where is the excitement and nervousness of your first stage? How long have you been a debutee? Are you already so weighed down by the schedule that you’ve lost your passion and creativity?” Yoon Hyun’s tone immediately became very strict. “Are you just singing for the schedule, waving to fans for the image, and dancing for the camera? Is this what you wanted at the beginning?”

“Or do you all think this way?” Yoon Hyun sternly scanned the other girls. He had felt a chill down his back from the hateful looks of these girls.

Perhaps because Yoon Hyun’s words were so righteous, the girls all lowered their heads.

“Taeyeon,” Yoon Hyun, very satisfied, continued to focus his fire on the small captain, “Since the last time I heard your voice in the recording studio, I felt you were a singer. Is there a difference between a singer and other artists? No, they all have to act and appear on variety shows. Why do we do this?” Yoon Hyun, while lecturing Taeyeon, suddenly had a realization himself. Yes, how long has it been since he last sang properly? “To maintain exposure and fame, so we can enjoy singing on stage. Not to become famous through singing and then act and appear on variety shows.”

Taeyeon’s crying slowly stopped, and she raised her head, her eyes red, and nodded at Yoon Hyun.

“You understand. Adjust your state. In ten minutes, if you’re still not ready, I’ll sing the song,” Yoon Hyun issued the final ultimatum, then stood up and left the waiting room.

“Do you think they can understand your good intentions?” Kim Sooyeon, who followed Yoon Hyun out of the inner room, looked at him and said, “To be so concerned about these girls, who do you like? Which one of them can compare to...”

“Shut up,” Yoon Hyun was a bit irritable, still not out of his role.

“Hey, are you still in character? Haven’t you come out of it yet?” Kim Sooyeon wasn’t afraid at all.

“... How did you know I was acting?” Yoon Hyun was a bit depressed. He wasn’t really angry just now; he just wanted to stimulate Taeyeon. After all, it was just one stage, and he didn’t get that angry. But he had clearly fooled all the girls in the room, and he didn’t know why he didn’t fool Kim Sooyeon.

“I’ve seen you act for so long. Before you act, you always have some habitual small movements, like preparing to get into character. After seeing it so many times, I naturally know,” Kim Sooyeon said disdainfully.

“Small movements? What small movements?” Yoon Hyun was a bit puzzled.

“I won’t tell you,” Kim Sooyeon glared at Yoon Hyun, “If I tell you, it won’t work anymore.”

Yoon Hyun started to feel depressed and tried to find any habitual small movements he might have.

But these are subconscious things; how could you possibly discover them by thinking about them!

After a while, Yoon Hyun walked back into the Girls' Generation waiting room.

Yuri, Sunny, and Tiffany, who were sitting next to Taeyeon and comforting her, stood up like they were electrocuted when they saw Yoon Hyun come in, but they didn’t move away. Instead, they stood in front of Taeyeon, blocking her intentionally or unintentionally.

Yoon Hyun naturally noticed this detail and smiled slightly.

These nine girls had attended the premiere of "The Chaser." Seeing Yoon Hyun smile, several of them couldn’t help but shiver.

“Taeyeon, how are you prepared?” Yoon Hyun ignored the other girls.

Taeyeon didn’t answer, still keeping her head down.

“Do you want to cancel the stage performance?” Yoon Hyun asked casually.

“No, I can do it,” Taeyeon quickly said.

“Ms. Myeonsun, help Taeyeon touch up her makeup,” Yoon Hyun turned to his makeup artist.

At that time, Girls' Generation didn’t have a dedicated makeup artist, so the managers handled touch-ups, which were far inferior to a professional like Jeong Myeonsun.

The other girls, seeing that Yoon Hyun wasn’t going to continue to make things difficult for Taeyeon, dispersed.

Jeong Myeonsun skillfully helped Taeyeon touch up her makeup, praising her skin to try to ease the awkward atmosphere.

Yoon Hyun sat alone in a corner away from everyone, closing his eyes to rest.

“Oppa, I’m done with my makeup,” Taeyeon, after finishing her makeup, walked to Yoon Hyun and bowed.

Yoon Hyun opened his eyes, looked at Taeyeon, whose eyes were still red, and felt a bit sorry for her, but he quickly suppressed this emotion and slowly nodded.

“Oppa, do you need me to sing it again?” Taeyeon asked.

“Are you ready?” Yoon Hyun didn’t answer.

“I’m ready.”

“Do you like singing?” Yoon Hyun asked Taeyeon seriously.

Taeyeon was a bit stunned and nodded.

“Do you like it?” Yoon Hyun asked again, like a drill sergeant.

“Yes!” Taeyeon answered firmly, like a soldier.

“Hmm. Then, when you go on stage, sing it for those who like you and like this song,” Yoon Hyun nodded and closed his eyes again.

The atmosphere gradually became lively, and the other girls started to chat quietly.

Soon, the PD came to notify them that the special stage was about to start.

On stage, there was a snow-white piano on each side. Yoon Hyun, dressed in a black suit, sat at one piano.

Taeyeon, dressed in a white dress, sat on a bar stool on the other side of the stage.

Seeing Yoon Hyun and Taeyeon come on stage, even without an MC’s introduction, the audience immediately knew what the special stage was, and loud cheers and applause filled the venue.

In the cheers, the shouts for Yoon Hyun were much louder than for Taeyeon.

Yoon Hyun, sitting at the piano, frowned. He had avoided mentioning his appearance on the forum today to prevent the fans from overshadowing Girls' Generation’s comeback stage, but he hadn’t expected this situation. So, he made a gesture that surprised both the audience and the PD: he stood up, put his finger to his lips, and pointed to Taeyeon.

The venue immediately fell silent.

Yoon Hyun smiled and bowed to the audience, then made a gesture inviting Taeyeon to start, and sat back at the piano.

His fingers fell,