Chapter 98

"In the recording studio of S.M., Jung Chun-won, for the first time, did not maintain his usual seriousness during a lesson, welcoming the student, Kim Tae-yeon, who had just finished a practice song, with applause and a teasing tone, saying, 'Not bad! Very good!'

Since taking a long leave to focus on practice, this student of his seemed more stable. She used to be more introverted and guarded, but now, there was a hint of calmness. No matter what he said, she would listen, but only smile, rarely reacting excessively.

This shift in emotions was reversed. The teacher should be more authoritative, and the student should be more lively and mischievous. Instead, Jung Chun-won occasionally joked, while Kim Tae-yeon only cooperated, without being mischievous.

'Teacher, did I sing well just now?' Kim Tae-yeon looked up at Jung Chun-won, her face full of inquiry.

Jung Chun-won shook his head helplessly, 'When you came out, I said, "Not bad, very good." Didn't you hear it?'

Kim Tae-yeon looked at Jung Chun-won with an innocent expression, fidgeting with her fingers and timidly said, 'The applause was too loud, I couldn't hear clearly.'

Jung Chun-won was taken aback for a moment, seeing a hint of a smile in Kim Tae-yeon's eyes, and raised his hand to gesture. Kim Tae-yeon giggled and jumped, dodging his pat. Despite her supposed change to being less mischievous, she was now teasing her teacher.

Jung Chun-won glared at her, 'Wait until your father comes, I'll tell him.'

Kim Tae-yeon instinctively turned to look at the door, and Jung Chun-won laughed, 'What? Scared?'

Kim Tae-yeon bit her lip, gave Jung Chun-won a glare, and pouted as she sat down, 'Teacher, really, how was it? I'm going to participate in S.M.'s youth selection competition this year. Is this level good enough?'

When it came to serious matters, Jung Chun-won also put away his smile, frowned, and thought carefully before speaking with confidence, 'Don't worry, no problem. As long as you perform like this, you will definitely get good results... maybe even first place.'

Kim Tae-yeon sighed in relief and bowed with a smile, 'It's all thanks to the teacher. If I get first place...'

Kim Tae-yeon suddenly paused, silently lowering her head, not continuing.

Jung Chun-won had many students, but many were just nominal. The one he truly cared about was this one. Seeing Kim Tae-yeon suddenly become silent when mentioning the ranking, he thought she was worried about her position, but he just changed his expression and pretended not to notice.

It was also just then that Kim Tae-yeon's father came to pick her up, and Jung Chun-won greeted them and saw them out of the recording studio. Watching the student follow her father into the stairs, Jung Chun-won chuckled, shook his head, and stood with his arms crossed.

In fact, he hadn't told Kim Tae-yeon the truth. With his status as an S.M. debut artist and his ability to compose, it wasn't just Yu Yong-jin who was the company's treasure in creation. However, it was impossible for him to do everything.

Because S.M. rarely accepted works from outside, they placed great importance on cultivating their own lyricists and composers. Recommending a trainee like Kim Tae-yeon was actually a piece of cake. Even when Kim Tae-yeon was singing with him, the company's big boss, Lee Soo-man, had been secretly listening a few times.

He praised Kim Tae-yeon's voice and singing skills and told Jung Chun-won that such a student must be retained. Jung Chun-won himself wanted her to go through the normal path to be polished. The ranking didn't matter; even if she didn't get first place or any other good ranking, her talent and hard work were enough to enter the dream factory of the entertainment industry.

'My student, Jung Chun-won, just singing, how could there be any problem?' He muttered proudly and turned back into the recording studio.

He had the right to be proud; at least Kim Tae-yeon's performance and abilities were worth boasting about. What he didn't know was that his student, Kim Tae-yeon, wasn't thinking about the ranking at all.

Sitting in the private car heading to Jeonju, with her father driving beside her, Kim Tae-yeon took off her shoes, hugged her knees, and curled up in the seat, leaning against the door and looking out the window at the quickly passing buildings and trees. Her reflection in the car window still looked like a middle school student, but for some reason, her eyes had a hint of winter melancholy.

Every time he saw his daughter sitting like this, Kim Tae-yeon's father would tease her with a smile. But over the past month, he felt more and more heartache. Yet, he had no better solution. Life always brings many experiences, and this is inevitable and unchangeable. What you can't predict is when these experiences will come. Sometimes they come late, sometimes early, but rarely at the right time.

Parents are never completely rational with their children because there is one thing they can never do: in their eyes, no matter how old their children are, they are still children. Because of this, they can't judge when their children are too young or too old to experience something. So, these things can only be experienced and understood by the children themselves.

Kim Tae-yeon didn't know that her father was thinking about her mood, as her mind was full of thoughts about someone else. First place? That means the best, right? The selection competition, being a competition, must involve a comparison. He said that if his vocal cords recovered, he would come back to challenge me again. I don't know his current situation, or how he is doing.

Her best friend had transferred to another school. The senior who wanted to teach her a lesson had already graduated. After the exams tomorrow and the day after, she would be in the third year of junior high school. From then on, the terms "senior" and "junior" would be far from her for a year. But, will he come back? Will he?

Slowly closing her eyes, the world disappeared into darkness. But the shadow of a person, a face more beautiful than any girl's, gradually became clear. Standing on the second-floor steps of the abandoned teaching building, he extended his hand to her, wanting to take her away from that world of escape. Kim Tae-yeon hadn't been there for a whole month.

"Father, I want to sleep a little," Kim Tae-yeon said as if in a dream.

Her father turned to look at her, struggled to get a coat from the back seat, and covered her, 'I thought you were already asleep.'

Kim Tae-yeon covered herself with the coat but suddenly opened her eyes again, 'Father, I'll chat with you.'

"Really?" Her father couldn't help but laugh, looking at Kim Tae-yeon, who was smiling like a cute little cat.

Her father shook his head, 'Rest, I'll wake you when we get there. You have exams tomorrow, and you have a lot of missed lessons to catch up on.'

Kim Tae-yeon wrapped herself in the coat, looking even smaller and more cat-like, 'Since I've made this choice, it's impossible to do everything.'

Her father paused, speaking softly, 'What about the boy you worked with? Didn't he manage to do both? I heard he was the top student in the entire grade.'

Kim Tae-yeon pursed her lips and turned away in a huff, 'I won't chat with you anymore, I'm going to sleep!'

Her father smiled, looking at the road ahead, but soon his smile faded, and he sighed softly, 'You understand that it's impossible to do everything. Sometimes I wonder if supporting you to become a singer and a star is the right thing to do.'

Kim Tae-yeon's body trembled, and she frowned, turning to look at her father, not caring that the coat had slipped to her feet, 'Father... you're not letting me be a trainee anymore?!'

Her father looked at her anxious expression and smiled, shaking his head, 'No, as a parent, how can I not support what my child likes?'

Kim Tae-yeon instinctively sighed in relief but couldn't help but ask, 'Then why did you say that suddenly?'

Her father pondered for a moment and spoke calmly, 'In the eyes of ordinary people, being an idol means making money by looks. Few people think about the sacrifices they make. Few people care about the works. When you enter an entertainment company, it's clearly not a place to cultivate artists, but to cultivate idols. Even after becoming a trainee and practicing, you might not become famous after debuting. But if you get older, you might miss the age to learn survival skills and become disconnected from society.'

Turning to look at Kim Tae-yeon, her father smiled, 'Have you thought about these things?'

(Indeed, the early bird gets the worm. Today, I woke up early again, posted this, and hope for some votes and favorites. Thank you to Yeyeoqinqchenxi and Woshikinggaoxi for your support. Thank you. O(∩_∩)O)

Page flip, AD starts

Page flip, AD ends