Chapter 71

"Jin Yufan!" Hearing Jin Yufan's self-introduction, the five members of HOT, who had not paid much attention to Jin Yufan before, were momentarily stunned. Then, they all subconsciously stared at Jin Yufan and exclaimed in low voices.

"Um~~~ Yes, seniors, I am Jin Yufan!" The strong reaction from HOT made Jin Yufan pause for a moment, but he quickly recovered and continued to bow and speak.

"Ah, you're Jin Yufan, huh!" Lee Jae-won, the maknae of HOT, frowned and carefully examined Jin Yufan a few times, then said with a cold and somewhat disdainful tone.

"Yes, seniors!" Although Jin Yufan could hear the disdain and coldness in Lee Jae-won's voice, Lee Jae-won was still a senior to him. Despite feeling annoyed inside, Jin Yufan continued to be very respectful on the surface.

Unexpectedly, Jin Yufan was still so polite, which made Lee Jae-won feel somewhat annoyed. He continued, "Just you, tsk tsk tsk~~~ You're just like that, and what about breaking..."

"Enough!" Before Lee Jae-won could finish, Lee Hyori and Moon Hee-jun, who were standing nearby, interrupted him almost simultaneously.

"Seniors, I don't know what our Jin Yufan has done to offend you, but is it necessary to target a child who hasn't even debuted yet?" Lee Hyori looked at Lee Jae-won coldly, her tone calm but tinged with anger.

After all, Lee Hyori was very close to and cared deeply for Jin Yufan, her "younger brother." As the youngest in her family, she had never had a younger brother or sister. Now, the members of Fin.K.L were like her sisters, and Jin Yufan was naturally her "younger brother."

Lee Hyori herself would never harshly scold Jin Yufan, and she never expected that bringing Jin Yufan to visit HOT would result in Lee Jae-won's cold and sarcastic remarks. This made Lee Hyori feel both bewildered and thoroughly angry.

Whether it was because Lee Hyori treated Jin Yufan like her own younger brother and couldn't tolerate others saying anything about him, or because Jin Yufan was brought by Lee Hyori to visit seniors and Lee Jae-won's actions were a complete lack of respect, Lee Hyori was thoroughly angry.

Those who knew Lee Hyori well knew that she was a straightforward and very loyal person. If such a person really considers you a friend, they won't care about anything, but if they start to get serious, it means they are very angry, and the consequences can be severe.

"Um..." Lee Hyori's question finally made Lee Jae-won realize that Lee Hyori was standing nearby.

Thinking about his behavior and words just now, he indeed hadn't given Lee Hyori any face, which made him somewhat afraid.

After all, in recent years, as Fin.K.L's popularity grew, they faced many challenges, but Lee Hyori, as the leader, had resolved all of them.

Although Lee Jae-won and Lee Hyori were not very familiar, this didn't mean he didn't know about Lee Hyori's methods. They were in the same industry, and even if he hadn't seen her methods, he had certainly heard about them.

Now, hearing Lee Hyori call him "senior," Lee Jae-won was a bit flustered. After all, Lee Hyori was older than Lee Jae-won, and even Kangta in HOT was younger than Lee Hyori.

Usually, everyone was very casual and didn't care about seniority, but now that Lee Hyori called him "senior," the consequences were much more serious.

Seeing that Lee Hyori was really angry, Moon Hee-jun looked at Lee Jae-won helplessly, sighed, and stepped forward.

After all, Moon Hee-jun was the leader of HOT. Now that Lee Jae-won and Lee Hyori were at odds, and considering that Lee Hyori and Fin.K.L had the qualifications to stand up to HOT, and that Lee Hyori had a wide network in the industry, Moon Hee-jun, as the leader, had to step in, no matter how unwilling he felt.

"Hyori, come here, come here!" Moon Hee-jun said, pulling Lee Hyori to a corner of the waiting room while the HOT staff discreetly left to give them some space.

"Hyori, this is all Lee Jae-won's fault. I apologize on his behalf. Please also apologize to Jin Yufan later!" Moon Hee-jun pulled Lee Hyori to the corner, glanced at Jin Yufan and Lee Jae-won, and then looked at the other members and the HOT staff, bowing his head and speaking softly.

"Brother Hee-jun, what exactly is going on? Why is Lee Jae-won targeting Jin Yufan? Jin Yufan hasn't even debuted and couldn't have offended Senior Lee Jae-won."

Seeing Moon Hee-jun's humility, Lee Hyori wasn't the type to be stubborn. However, she was still curious about why Lee Jae-won was targeting Jin Yufan.

"Ah~~~" Moon Hee-jun sighed, looked at Lee Jae-won, who looked awkward and somewhat fierce due to Lee Hyori's questioning, and shook his head with a bitter smile. "It's all because of your junior. Recently, he has been making a big fuss about debuting, just like our company's BOA, and is considered a lifelong rival. It's that simple. Lee Jae-won is still young and has been brainwashed by the company, feeling very tense, just like a few years ago."

Hearing Moon Hee-jun's explanation, Lee Hyori instantly understood why Lee Jae-won was targeting Jin Yufan.

A few years ago, the tension was very high, and as a veteran, Lee Hyori understood this. After all, she had been through those times. The meaning was simple: a few years ago, the major competing agencies and their artists were all at odds with each other, and the relationships were very hostile.

Lee Jae-won was targeting Jin Yufan because Jin Yufan was from DSP Entertainment, which was currently seen as the biggest rival to their company's BOA. With his mindset and views still stuck in the intense rivalry of a few years ago, it was natural for Lee Jae-won to target Jin Yufan.

Not for any other reason, but because Lee Jae-won was from S.M. Entertainment, and Jin Yufan was from DSP Entertainment. As the main competitor of S.M. Entertainment, seeing someone from DSP Entertainment, unless they were at the level of Fin.K.L, targeting and bullying them was very normal.

Of course, Lee Jae-won was also very disdainful and annoyed by Fin.K.L, but given their status and popularity in the music industry, he didn't dare to target them.

Understanding the reason, Lee Hyori didn't say anything more. She just said softly, "I see, I understand. I'll take Jin Yufan now. He's a rookie, and we have many seniors to visit today."

After getting Moon Hee-jun's nod, Lee Hyori turned to Jin Yufan, gave Lee Jae-won a final, deep look, and then coldly snorted. Without another word, she bowed to the other HOT members and left with Jin Yufan.

Perhaps no one knew that Jin Yufan's first small conflict with an artist in the industry had just occurred in this unremarkable waiting room.

As Lee Hyori and Jin Yufan left, Moon Hee-jun looked at Lee Jae-won, who was clenching his fists in anger, and sighed helplessly. However, he didn't say anything, as the current situation of HOT in the company was very bad, which was his biggest concern.

Kangta and Tony's eyes were filled with complex emotions, as if they were deeply thinking about something. As for the cool guy Jang Woo-hyuk, he sat in a chair with a blank expression, letting the stylist fix his hair and playing with his phone, seemingly oblivious to what had just happened.

If Jin Yufan hadn't left, he might have seen the different reactions of the five members of HOT and couldn't help but sigh: "HOT is really falling apart now!"