Chapter 39

"Huff!!"

"Wow, that was really scary just now!" Quan Baolan heaved a sigh of relief, patting her chest in relief.

The glass door of the recording studio next to them also opened, and the Kim brothers came out with bruised noses and swollen faces.

Lee Ji-hyun, who had been sitting to the side, fell silent for a moment before suddenly speaking up: "Although he has never told us, I think there must be a reason for Lee Huanle to do this. I believe it must be very important to him, which is why he spends all his time on these things. I always feel like he's carrying a heavy burden. Perhaps we should take him more seriously. You three are his friends, so I think you should understand him better."

Lee Ji-hyun's gentle voice made the entire room fall silent. Even Zheng Junying, who had been about to doze off, sat up straight and thought carefully. From the first day they met this guy, he had never stopped practicing. In the morning, it was guitar, in the afternoon, it was dance, and in the evening, there was probably some theoretical study. Otherwise, he wouldn't have improved so quickly.

Now, thinking about it, if it was just a hobby, who would go to such lengths? Zheng Junying's puzzled expression changed, and he tried to muster his energy... but his eyelids started to slowly close and open, close and open again.

The Kim brothers, on the other hand, looked much more serious. Hearing Lee Ji-huan's words, they realized that Lee Huanle wasn't just playing around. Unlike them, who were making music for fun and to do what they liked, Lee Huanle seemed to have a deeper purpose.

As friends, the two suddenly felt a bit embarrassed, especially Kim Aenam, who had always sped up the singing rhythm during the recording, saying it sounded better that way, and even influenced Kim Ae-sik to do the same.

"Cough, cough, well said. As friends, we really haven't been doing our job. But I've always had a question I wanted to ask..." Kim Aenam, wearing a black hoodie, admitted his mistake and then suddenly asked.

"What?"

"Are you the girlfriend of Team Leader Huanle?"

"Spit!" Quan Baolan, who was drinking water and thinking about Lee Ji-huan's words, sprayed water directly. Kim Ae-sik, who had just walked past him to rest, got wet.

...

"Hello, Mr. Lee Huanle, I am PD Ahn Jung-hwan from SBS's STARKING program!"

Hearing the woman's voice on the phone, Lee Huanle's breathing became slightly heavier. His phone number had definitely not been exposed. Although the plan had been underway for over ten days, and the identities of the others had been somewhat exposed, Lee Huanle's identity had not been revealed. Apart from occasionally replying to fans' comments on video websites, Lee Huanle had not even disclosed his SNS.

Now, the PD from the TV station had managed to contact him, which could only mean that his first plan was far more successful than he had imagined, and it might also mean that Lee Min-ho had acted a bit earlier.

As Lee Huanle had guessed, it was after the program recording that some writers and PDs were discussing what kind of odd people to feature in the next episode. Someone mentioned the recently popular Happy Musician and his rookie team.

The PD had the idea to invite them, but the real creator couldn't be contacted, and they hadn't disclosed any contact information, so they were worried they might not be able to reach him, and it wasn't that urgent.

When Lee Min-ho heard this, he took the opportunity to join the conversation and casually mentioned that he knew the Happy Musician, a young brother he had met at a gym in the past, and that they were still in touch. He then gave the PD the phone number.

This led to the current contact...

Of course, what BOOM (Lee Min-ho) said was all a lie. In fact, a few years ago, this guy had been flirting with girls in Hongdae with his friends and had almost been beaten to death by a small-time thug. In the end, he was saved by Lee Huanle and a few friends who had come to reason with the thugs.

They then got to know each other, but they weren't really friends. However, BOOM knew Lee Huanle's name in Hongdae.

A month ago, Lee Huanle contacted him through BOOM's manager's work phone. At first, BOOM's manager didn't want to bother with it, but Lee Huanle directly said, "You just need to tell Lee Min-ho that I'm Lee Huanle, and he owes me a favor. Now it's time to pay it back. If he doesn't, he'll have to deal with the consequences."

After hearing this, the manager thought about it and told BOOM. This scared Lee Min-ho, who often went to bars in Hongdae. He had naturally heard of Lee Huanle's legend. This guy was even more dangerous than a black belt. If he were to provoke him, who knew what he might do.

In the end, Lee Min-ho contacted him. What Lee Huanle wanted him to do was simple: to become an internet celebrity within a month and then help him get on STARKING. If he couldn't get on STARKING, then he could go on MBC's "Introducing a Friend of a Star." Once this was done, they would be even.

Of course, Lee Huanle was more interested in STARKING. He wasn't just going there to perform and get recognized by the public, though that was one of his goals. He also wanted to take down one of the two major mountains in Korean variety shows, Kang Ho-dong.

From the moment he made up his mind, Lee Huanle fully utilized every resource he could.

Compared to his three-part online plan, getting contacted by STARKING after only two parts made him feel a bit better.

Standing in the hallway outside, Lee Huanle feigned confusion and asked, "SBS? STARKING? I wonder why PD Ahn Jung-hwan is contacting me. It would be better if you could verify your identity!"

The woman on the other end of the phone laughed and said, "Mr. Lee Huanle, if you have time to come to SBS, you can verify my identity. Also, I got your phone number from your friend Lee Min-ho, also known as the artist BOOM. If you have any doubts, you can verify with him!"

"Ah, I see. No need to verify then. I wonder why PD Ahn is contacting me. You're not inviting me to the show, are you?" Lee Huanle asked with a slightly flat tone, but he was very excited inside.

"Hehe, Mr. Lee Huanle, you're very smart. The reason I'm contacting you is to invite you to our show. Have you seen STARKING before?"

"Of course, I have!" Lee Huanle replied confidently, and then... nothing.

Ahn Jung-hwan on the other end of the phone was speechless. How was she supposed to respond to that?

"Mr. Lee Huanle, I wonder if you and your friends are interested in participating in the next recording. Given your current online popularity, we can allocate at least 20 minutes of airtime for you, of course, provided you have enough performance content!" Ahn Jung-hwan didn't want to waste time and simply stated what the program could offer. In fact, Lee Huanle and his team were indeed very popular. The most important thing was that while the identities of people like Quan Baolan had been exposed, the true creator, Lee Huanle, remained a mystery to many. Especially because of the second song, many young people really liked this rookie creator because the lyrics resonated with them.

So if Lee Huanle participated in the show, it would definitely attract a lot of viewers. Even if it only increased the ratings by 1%, it would be a good deal. Of course, even if it didn't work, they wouldn't lose much, as the show had too many participants who were already in the same boat.