Chapter 71

At 4:30 PM, STARKING was mostly recorded, and it was time for a break again. Li Huanle left the room and went straight to find Jiang Hudong.

In a certain waiting room, Jiang Hudong and Li Huanle sat facing each other, staring at each other with wide eyes, and the atmosphere was a bit strange.

Could the two be... cough, cough.

After another half a minute, Jiang Hudong finally couldn't help but sigh and said, "Don't worry, I will keep my promise. However, I hope you can tell me what we need to shoot, as the work of artists is quite busy and tight. Plus, there's the issue of image, so I can't guarantee that I can convince all the members to join in the shooting!"

Jiang Hudong's words indicated that he would unconditionally fulfill his promise, but the other members of the 21st century were a different story.

Li Huanle was relieved that Jiang Hudong would keep his word and then said seriously, "Let me be honest. This time, we need to shoot a... music video. You will also need to sing a song and learn a dance. Of course, if you want to earn some extra money, you can directly release it through the company. MC Mong and Yoon Ji-sun are both signed with companies, so it's not a difficult task. If it becomes popular, it will also be beneficial for you."

"Wait!! Are you sure I didn't hear wrong? You want us to sing, dance, shoot an MV, and even release it?" Jiang Hudong felt like he was hearing things.

Li Huanle nodded and smiled, "Of course not. But don't worry too much, after all, it's not a live performance. For the singing part, there are professional singers in 21 who can handle most of the content. The song has a lot of rap, so there's no need to worry about the singing. The only tricky part is the dance, but it's not difficult. We don't need a live performance, and we can shoot it in segments. A few minutes of dance can be mastered with just a few days of practice!"

Jiang Hudong didn't say anything, just looked at Li Huanle strangely. After a while, he asked, "Li Huanle, I don't know how to say this. Since I lost to you, I will unconditionally keep our agreement, as long as it's not intentionally embarrassing me. However, I need to tell the others and let them decide for themselves. Also, I'm really curious about your reasons for doing this and for participating in the show!"

Seeing Jiang Hudong's serious expression, Li Huanle, while admiring him, also replied seriously, "Because I'm still a rookie creator. Instead of submitting songs to entertainment companies and getting meager creation fees, I'd rather find a way to use these songs myself and promote myself to the maximum extent. In the entertainment industry, not having connections is quite tragic. Plus, I'm used to being free and don't want to join someone else's company. Also, you must have heard the raps of Kim Ae-nam and Kim Ae-seok earlier. You should be able to guess my personality from them!"

Li Huanle wasn't joking. Although he wasn't completely honest, he was telling the truth. Jiang Hudong was quite surprised and didn't doubt the authenticity of his words. On the contrary, he thought Li Huanle was a young man with ideas and the ability to act, and also quite honest.

"In that case, there's no problem. I'll tell them about this next week during the recording. I'll call you then. If it doesn't work out, I can help you find a few more people to make up the numbers. You need six people, right?" Jiang Hudong also saw this as a way to build a good relationship. As Li Huanle said, connections in the entertainment industry are very important. From today's interaction, Li Huanle was indeed a talented composer. Although he wasn't very knowledgeable about music, he could tell from others' reactions and his own appreciation skills.

Li Huanle was pleasantly surprised and nodded with a smile, "Thanks, Senior. But it doesn't have to be six people; five is also fine. The song is still in the arrangement stage, and I'll finish the final version in a while. If it's convenient, let's exchange phone numbers!"

"Haha, don't call me Senior. You're a mischievous kid who tricked me. Besides, after hearing those two brothers' raps, I don't think 'Senior' is a good word anymore. If you don't mind, just call me Brother. But your strength is really impressive. The strategy you used earlier was great, hitting the mark right away. It seems my body is getting weaker!"

"Haha, Brother Hudong, you had three boxed meals at lunch!"

The two laughed and joked for a bit, then exchanged phone numbers, establishing a preliminary relationship. Of course, calling each other 'Brother' was just a way to be a bit closer, not a real brotherly relationship.

After talking with Jiang Hudong, Li Huanle was also ready to leave. Although he wanted to wait for Jiang Minjing, he decided to go home first after some thought.

However, when he opened the door, he saw Shin Ji standing there. Li Huanle greeted her with a smile.

But Shin Ji blocked the door and asked a question that surprised Li Huanle.

"Are you Li Huanle from Hongik High School?"

...

Jiang Hudong, who was following behind Li Huanle, saw the two seemed to know each other or had something to say, and was curious and a bit gossipy. But he eventually chose to close the door and leave the waiting room.

"Shin Ji, I am indeed Li Huanle from Hongik High School. Is there something you need?" Li Huanle rubbed his nose, a bit awkwardly asked.

Shin Ji, getting a positive answer, looked at Li Huanle excitedly, then suddenly bowed 90 degrees, her voice choked with emotion, "Thank you, really thank you!"

Li Huanle, standing in the middle of the room, was taken aback and quickly waved his hands, "No, no... Wait, what are you thanking me for?"

Shin Ji straightened up, wiped her eyes slightly, and said excitedly, "Actually, we didn't know until three years ago, during a fan meeting when we chatted with a fan. We learned that in the 2002 ten-thousand-people rally concert, you helped us so much. Later, we went to Hongik High School to look for you, but we couldn't find any records about you. I never thought I would meet you here, so I was so excited earlier. Now that I'm sure you are Li Huanle from Hongik High School, I'm really happy!"

Hearing this, Li Huanle finally understood the reason and smiled with a bit of nostalgia, "Haha, when I was young, I was also a fan. I really liked Koyote, especially Balloon Sister. She was quite innocent when she first debuted!"

"Haha, are you praising me or teasing me?" Shin Ji wiped her eyes and said happily, genuinely grateful to Li Huanle.

Actually, during the period when Koyote's 4th album was about to be released, member Kim Choo was forced to leave the group due to a drug scandal. Jin Zhongmin and Shin Ji were also suspected of being involved (later confirmed that they were not). Koyote entered its most difficult period, and the group faced the possibility of disbanding. So, Koyote organized the "ten-thousand-people rally," which took place in a relatively remote square in Jeonju, with the goal of gathering 5,000 people.

If they couldn't reach this number, the group would disband. If they succeeded, Koyote could continue.

In the end, they succeeded, gathering over 6,000 people. Later, Jin Zhongmin and Shin Ji learned that on that day, one person brought 300 students from Seoul to Jeonju. Even more surprisingly, on the way to the venue, they coerced over 200 more students to join them.

Even without those 500 people, they would have still reached the 5,000-person standard, but the warmth of this timely help was something Koyote's Jin Zhongmin and Shin Ji could never ignore.

Not to mention, after the concert, the leader of those students was taken to the police station by the Jeonju police.

At that time, Li Huanle was only 16, but once he went wild, he really did anything. That was one of the few times Li Huanle acted like a bad guy, a moment of youthful recklessness.

...

PS: I've been stuck with writer's block for the past two days because of the Clean Internet Action (even I had to censor myself). Many of the plots I had planned have completely changed. Today, it's finally much better, but the content I wrote over the past two days might be a bit bland and chaotic. I hope everyone can understand. I've finally managed to transition out of it.

Of course, all this content is in my drafts and will be uploaded over the next few days.

Also, about that cooking wine... after much hesitation, I poured it out (┬＿┬).

This is a bit of a spoiler for you all.

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