Chapter 23

Jin Yufan's home is not far from DSP Entertainment; to be precise, it's just a little over half an hour's walk. This is particularly rare in the Gangnam District, where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold.

Just this fact alone made Jin Yufan grateful for the attention and care from the upper management of DSP Entertainment. Finding such a close residence near DSP Entertainment was indeed very rare. If the upper management did not value and care for him, it would have been impossible to find such a place.

Walking along the sidewalk, watching the traffic on the road, Jin Yufan couldn't help but smile. It seemed that his decision to walk to and from the company every day, regardless of the weather, was the right one. Although taking a vehicle would be faster, considering the bustling nature of the route between his home and the company, it wouldn't be much quicker than walking.

Of course, the main reason Jin Yufan chose to walk was to think. Yes, to think about the gains and losses of recent days, to organize his thoughts, to consider his tasks for the day, and to ponder how his or others' actions might affect him.

In short, it was a time for random thoughts. You can't expect someone with an IQ over 200 to stop thinking randomly when there's nothing else to distract him. What seems like random thinking now might, at some point, be very helpful.

Today, he had encountered Kim Jideok, a towering figure in both the Korean entertainment industry and the teaching profession. Naturally, Jin Yufan's thoughts were focused on Kim Jideok.

On the way, Jin Yufan carefully recalled every detail of his meeting with Kim Jideok, including his tone, expressions, and even his body language.

In the end, Jin Yufan was certain that Kim Jideok was very interested in him, or rather, that his performance so far had greatly impressed Kim Jideok, leading him to consider taking Jin Yufan as a student.

Otherwise, based on what Jin Yufan had learned from Park Ji-ju and his meeting with Kim Jideok, he could tell that Kim Jideok was a man of few words.

If his performance had not impressed Kim Jideok, or if Kim Jideok had not been moved to take him as a student, he would not have said those final words and given that advice.

Thinking about this, Jin Yufan couldn't help but smile. "It seems my performance today was pretty good. Hmm, the effect was nice. It looks like my reactions and responses today were quite appropriate. I'll give myself a passing score of 60!" Satisfied with this thought, Jin Yufan stopped thinking and looked up to see where he was. He suddenly realized he had arrived home.

"Ha ha, so fast. It seems that thinking about problems when there's nothing else to do is a good way to pass the time!" He smiled, shook his head, and quickened his pace toward home.

Once again, he had to admit that DSP Entertainment was really great to him. First, they didn't force him to stay in the trainee dormitory. Instead, they found him a two-bedroom apartment outside, which, though only about 50 square meters in total, was more than enough for Jin Yufan.

As a mere trainee, he had not only a super trainee contract with fixed annual leave and a salary but also a residence arranged to the standards of an artist. What more could Jin Yufan want?

When he first moved in, Jin Yufan, not knowing anyone, had to ask the four members of Fin.K.L for help. Of course, moving was secondary; the main reason was to celebrate his new home.

However, Jin Yufan never expected that when the four members of Fin.K.L saw the residence DSP Entertainment had prepared for him, they were thoroughly envious. As a result, Jin Yufan suffered a lot at their hands.

Although Jin Yufan knew deep down that the Fin.K.L members really considered him a close younger brother and were not putting on a show, it was also true that they had been very busy and under a lot of pressure. This was their way of letting off steam.

Therefore, Jin Yufan did not resist. But it did prove that the residence DSP Entertainment had prepared for him was indeed something that even the top group Fin.K.L envied.

This showed that DSP Entertainment was really good to Jin Yufan, and he secretly decided that if nothing unexpected happened and DSP Entertainment did not betray him, he would be happy to stay with the company for life.

"Grandma, I'm home!" Jin Yufan shouted as he opened the door.

"Got it, got it. You're always so crazy and never serious!" As Jin Yufan turned to close the door, his grandmother, Lee Ji-na, walked out of her bedroom, looking at him with a kind expression.

Yes, Jin Yufan and his grandmother currently lived together. The reason DSP Entertainment arranged a two-bedroom apartment for him was to accommodate both him and his grandmother, Lee Ji-na.

Back in Busan, when facing Park Ji-ju, Jin Yufan strongly insisted that his grandmother come with him to Seoul, even using the phrase "filial piety comes first."

In a Korea deeply influenced by Chinese cultural traditions, this phrase was highly valued. This is evident from the way elders can freely discipline and criticize their juniors, even if they are much younger, as long as they debuted a day earlier. In such a culture, respect for elders is paramount.

Therefore, when faced with Jin Yufan's strong words, Park Ji-ju had no choice but to agree. Moreover, she admired Jin Yufan for his concern for his elderly grandmother, taking on the role of the family's man and supporting the family with his own strength.

With Jin Yufan's insistence on filial piety, and Park Ji-ju's help and persuasion, the upper management of DSP Entertainment, or more accurately, Lee Ho-yeon, finally agreed to let Jin Yufan bring his grandmother to Seoul and provided a better residence for both of them.

Even if DSP Entertainment and Lee Ho-yeon valued Jin Yufan highly, they would not have arranged an artist-standard residence for him. However, with his grandmother, Lee Ji-na, also needing to be accommodated, Lee Ho-yeon had to carefully consider the arrangement.

Jin Yufan was just a trainee under DSP Entertainment, and how he was arranged was up to the company. Even with the attention, he could not be treated with such favoritism, as it would cause jealousy and resentment among the company's artists and trainees, leading to gossip.

Since Jin Yufan and his grandmother, Lee Ji-na, were clearly going to live together, and Lee Ji-na could not be left alone, Lee Ho-yeon would not arrange for them to stay in the company's trainee dormitory.

The conditions in the dormitory were suitable for trainees, but adding an elderly person like Lee Ji-na was a different matter. Lee Ho-yeon did not have the nerve to arrange for them to stay in the trainee dormitory.

Otherwise, if this were to become public knowledge in a country like Korea, where relationships and hierarchy are highly valued, and the older the person, the more authority and privilege they have, the public pressure would be devastating for DSP Entertainment. Even Lee Ho-yeon himself would have to kneel and beg for forgiveness, and the only way out would be to leave Korea forever.

Clearly, Lee Ho-yeon would not let it come to that, nor would he dare to arrange for Jin Yufan and Lee Ji-na to stay in the company's trainee dormitory.

Therefore, after much effort, the company found a two-bedroom apartment not far from the company for the two of them.

Of course, when Jin Yufan strongly insisted that his grandmother, Lee Ji-na, come with him to Seoul, the elderly woman's attachment to her hometown made her initially refuse.

However, when faced with Jin Yufan's words, "Grandma, don't worry, I'm so young, can I live alone in Seoul?" she finally gave in and agreed to come to Seoul with him.

After all, for Lee Ji-na, Jin Yufan was her only family, her only hope and expectation. She would endure any hardship and even risk her life to ensure that Jin Yufan did not suffer a single bit of委屈 or harm.