Chapter 2

In the practice room of SW, Lee Joo-young sat to one side, watching the back of the boy at the piano. The boy had a bandage wrapped around his head, and he was none other than the recently returned from the hospital, Moon Jung-woo. At the door, a group of boys and girls around twelve or thirteen years old gathered, with Lee Soon-kyu leading them. He pursed his lips, looking at Moon Jung-woo's hands as they glided over the keys, inwardly questioning whether his request to play the piano was just a show of stubbornness.

A melodious tune began, and with just a few notes, the group recognized it as "From the Beginning to Now" from last year's popular drama "Winter Love Song." Praises filled the air, and even Lee Joo-young nodded in approval. Only Lee Soon-kyu was somewhat resentful, turning to glare at the others, "Just because he can play the piano? Haven't you learned it too? What a fuss."

"Can't come back to me, it's impossible now. I should stop loving you..."

Before the trainees could say anything, the singing began along with the piano. Lee Soon-kyu immediately felt relieved. Such a sad and deep song, a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy in the early stages of his voice change trying to interpret it would only highlight the inadequacy of his voice. One should have self-awareness, not just rely on good looks to be blindly arrogant.

At this moment, she had already given up on him, waiting for him to be politely rejected by her father, the president of SW, or even if he was accepted because of his looks, to be thoroughly reprimanded. Whether it was really for his own good or just to vent her frustration at being called "ugly girl" was something only she knew. However...

"Good... so sad." "Why do I feel like crying?" "He must have some sad story, right?" "Did he just break up? How old is he?"

The comments from the surrounding trainees echoed in her ears, but Lee Soon-kyu was too engrossed to pay attention, captivated by the singing and the boy playing the piano. A thought suddenly flashed in her mind, something her father had once said but she couldn't understand at the time.

Instruments, voice, even lyrics are just aids. True music is emotion. The most direct, effective, and essential way to resonate with the audience is through感染. So music has no form; as long as you can achieve this goal, using notes to convey your emotions to the audience, you succeed. Or rather, you can't really call it success, because the reason for infecting the audience is just sharing. Sharing your emotions, your joys and sorrows.

His voice was young and somewhat shrill, typical of the early stages of voice change, making it a bit hard to get used to. It was even the opposite of the original singer's deep voice. But with the piano, you overlooked his voice. He used his singing and lyrics to convey a very straightforward atmosphere, one that could be summed up in four words: I am very sad.

When the song ended, the last note vibrated in the ears and struck the heart, leaving the audience in a daze for a long time. Until a moment later, a female voice with a strange Korean accent broke the silence: "That was beautiful. Is he a new trainee?" Lee Soon-kyu turned instinctively and hurriedly bowed: "Ayumi unni, Soojin unni, Jung-in unni, hello."

Along with Lee Soon-kyu, the other trainees greeted them, but they addressed them as seniors. The three who greeted Lee Soon-kyu were the members of Suger: Ayumi, Park Soojin, and Hwang Jung-in. The other member, Lu Huiseng, was away due to family matters and would return in a few days. At this moment, they were the only group of artists in the company, the main pillars.

Lee Joo-young stood up, and the three members of Suger walked in and bowed: "President." Lee Joo-young nodded, and Ayumi extended her hand: "Happy New Year, President. Please give us our New Year's money." The trainees had strange expressions, and Lee Soon-kyu couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh. The oldest and most outgoing was this unni. Just as she was about to say something, her head was lightly tapped.

Lee Soon-kyu frowned and turned back, looking at the tall and beautiful girl who was about eight or nine years older than her: "Unni! You're the reason I can't grow taller, always tapping my head!" The beautiful girl wrapped her arm around Lee Soon-kyu and dismissed the trainees: "Dad, who is this kid? He came to apply as a trainee on his first day of work?"

Lee Joo-young was talking to the members of Suger, especially scolding Ayumi for her lack of respect. Hearing the question, he turned back, remembering the main person who had been forgotten. He waved to Moon Jung-woo, who had already stood up, and smiled: "Let me introduce you. This is a boy I met at the company entrance today, Moon Jung-woo. He wants to apply to become a trainee at SW."

After introducing him, he pointed to the beautiful girl who was holding Lee Soon-kyu: "This is Soon-kyu's older sister, Eun-gyu, who is now Suger's manager." Moon Jung-woo bowed: "Hello, Eun-gyu unni." Lee Soon-kyu, dissatisfied, said: "You call me Eun-gyu on our first meeting? Don't you think that's disrespectful?" Moon Jung-woo's face was calm as he looked at Lee Soon-kyu: "Do you care that I didn't call you?"

Pfft. Ayumi covered her mouth and laughed, and Park Soojin and Hwang Jung-in couldn't help but smile. Lee Soon-kyu narrowed her already small eyes: "Hey, you're speaking informally to me? How old are you this year?" Moon Jung-woo frowned slightly: "You always say 'ya ya ya' to me. Is that formal language? Just because I'm younger, I should listen to you?" "You!"

Lee Eun-gyu laughed and wrapped her arm around Lee Soon-kyu, finding the boy interesting. Knowing that Soon-kyu was the president's daughter and that the decision to become a trainee was up to the president, he still dared to offend her so openly. Was he not afraid of being rejected?

However, after hearing the piano and singing from the corridor and seeing the boy's appearance, Lee Eun-gyu felt a bit more at ease. He had talent, and his looks were definitely those of a future idol. Though young, he could be well-cultivated. She wondered if the boy was aware of his advantages, but SW wasn't a big company. A child with such conditions could easily enter S.M. There was no need to worry about being rejected.

She then introduced Moon Jung-woo to Suger, whom he already knew. After all, they were already established artists, having debuted a year ago with good popularity. If Lee Eun-gyu could realize this, how could Lee Joo-young, as the president, not? After the greetings, he took Moon Jung-woo to the president's office, deciding to thoroughly investigate this mysterious boy. He had many curiosities and things to understand about this boy.

"Almost colliding with you at the company entrance, I apologize first." Lee Joo-young didn't mention anything else, just smiled and apologized for the earlier incident. Moon Jung-woo was taken aback, slightly bowing: "It's not your fault; I fell and hurt my head myself." Lee Joo-young didn't mind, waving it off. After a moment of thought, he slowly put on a serious expression: "You play the piano well, showing a solid foundation. Although your voice is in the early stages of change and not very stable, the quality is good, with a strong resonance, and your emotional expression is particularly outstanding."

Tapping his fingers on the table, Lee Joo-young's expression was serious: "You came today to apply as a trainee at SW?" Moon Jung-woo paused, slowly raising his head: "President, I know what you want to ask. But I only want to tell you that I want to be a trainee and then debut as an artist. Beyond that... can we not ask about the rest?"

Lee Joo-young was taken aback, not knowing whether to laugh or cry: "Jung-woo, can I call you Jung-woo?" Seeing Moon Jung-woo nod, Lee Joo-young stood up and sat next to him: "You're thirteen years old, as you told me. By Korean standards, you'll be fourteen after today. I'm naturally curious why you came to SW on your birthday with a bleeding head, and upon waking up, you demanded to become a trainee. But even if it's not out of curiosity, I need to know your family background. You're young, but not too young. As a trainee, you should still be under the care of a guardian. Moreover, you're still in school. If your family isn't in Seoul, we can't solve the issues of transferring schools or having your parents pick you up. In such a situation, the company has no right to accept you."

Moon Jung-woo lowered his head, not responding. Lee Joo-young thought for a moment, stood up, and poured a cup of warm water, placing it in front of him: "There's one more thing I'm curious about. SW is a small company, and I'm the president, but the company only has one group of artists. The few staff members are all assigned to maintain Suger's daily activities. My second daughter is also assigned as their manager. I not only have to personally select but also personally teach. Moreover, because the company is small, most trainees go to larger companies like S.M. and DSP."

Pushing the warm water to him, Lee Joo-young spoke calmly: "I'm telling you this so you know that your conditions are good enough to try for a larger company." "I know." Lee Joo-young was taken aback, looking at Moon Jung-woo: "What did you say?" Moon Jung-woo lightly coughed, took a sip of water, and put the cup down: "Actually, there's nothing special. I want to be an artist, but my father disagrees. Today, on my birthday, I had an argument with my father. Then..."

It was indeed simple, a common issue among many trainees. But simple doesn't mean easy to solve, especially given Moon Jung-woo's appearance and demeanor, which suggested he wasn't from an ordinary family. In Korea, being an idol or an artist isn't as glamorous as it seems. The status is low, the competition is fierce, the requirements are strict, and the work is very demanding, with the added pressure of anti-fans, a unique form of attack in Korea.

Talking about dreams is too superficial. Perhaps one starts this career because of dreams, but as time passes and one encounters various difficulties and hardships in the entertainment industry, few can persist because of their dreams. Yet, why do so many people still pursue this career? It's undeniable that a significant portion of these children do it for the money.

Yes, for the money. Being an idol is hard and tiring. But even so, if one successfully debuts, as long as it's not a complete failure, the earnings will be more than a regular job, which is also one of the reasons they are targeted by anti-fans. So, even if parents support their children, they are willing to subsidize them after their debut, seeing it as an investment. And if they become popular, they might earn ten or a hundred times more.

Although with the development of society, attitudes are becoming more open. Many families no longer restrict their children from entering this industry just because of their financial conditions. Even children from wealthy families, even those who can be called second-generation tycoons, enter this industry. However, if such identities are revealed, it can harm the family's reputation and the idol's image, so no one usually discloses them easily.

Not 100%, but the majority of families that firmly oppose their children becoming trainees and entering the idol industry are those that are not short of money. Even families that don't care about money but care about their reputation don't want their children to enter this industry, which they see as low-status and could tarnish their family's image.

Lee Joo-young carefully examined Moon Jung-woo from head to toe again. His demeanor, skin, face, and clothes. He didn't miss any detail, combining it with his thoughts, behavior, and words, and had a rough idea. After a moment of thought, he spoke softly: "Given this situation, if your family firmly disagrees, larger companies probably won't accept you... This is also why you didn't apply to larger companies, right?"

Moon Jung-woo paused, slightly nodding in acknowledgment. Lee Joo-young laughed and waved his hand: "Let's not talk about that for now. Show me all your talents, and I'll consider the rest."

Moon Jung-woo suddenly looked up: "If you can't solve my problems, what's the point of being all-around?" Lee Joo-young was taken aback, smiling and sitting in front of him, looking directly into his eyes: "If you don't have any particularly noteworthy talent, why should I help you solve these issues?" Moon Jung-woo looked at Lee Joo-young, and Lee Joo-young looked back at Moon Jung-woo, the atmosphere becoming silent.

Neither of them knew that the door, which had not been fully closed, had a pair of narrow eyes watching everything, not letting go for a moment.

{Piaotian Literature}