Chapter 89

Korea is a country with a strict senior-junior hierarchy, where seniors have absolute authority over juniors. When facing seniors, juniors must unconditionally obey, regardless of the seniors' demands, whether they are reasonable or not. As a junior, one can only choose to obey and endure.

However, not everything is absolute. Although seniors have absolute authority over juniors, if a senior is only a second- or third-rate figure, they would not dare to be overly demanding when facing a super-popular idol or a top-tier group. After all, the Anti-fans in Korea are not to be underestimated.

Sometimes, some seniors, for better development or to build connections for their future, might even give up their senior status and deliberately flatter and praise juniors.

A typical example of this is in the two major Korean variety shows, "Love Letter" and "X-Man." In these shows, the guests, despite being seniors, were very considerate of the members of TVXQ. To some extent, this was a deliberate act of flattery, hoping to form a good relationship so that they could rely on TVXQ for help in the future. Even if they couldn't get help, they could still confidently talk about their connection with TVXQ on the show, which would surprise the audience both on-site and at home.

If facing a super-popular idol, Shin Jung-hwan might be polite, even very polite and flattering. But now, in the public waiting room, since it is a public waiting room, it is certain that all the artists present are either newcomers or second- or third-rate singers. Given Shin Jung-hwan's senior status, he can completely ignore the presence of others.

"Ha ha, you are the new DSP artist, Kim Yoo-beom?" Ignoring the greetings from the five or six junior artists in the public waiting room, Shin Jung-hwan walked directly to Kim Yoo-beom, looked at him a few times, and asked with a smile.

"Yes, senior, I am the new DSP artist, Kim Yoo-beom. Please take care of me, senior!" Kim Yoo-beom, in his role as a junior, bowed respectfully to Shin Jung-hwan.

This bow to Shin Jung-hwan was the most willing bow Kim Yoo-beom had made since coming to KBS. Compared to the seniors who deliberately made things difficult for him, Shin Jung-hwan's intervention was clearly a help, and Kim Yoo-beom was naturally grateful.

Although Kim Yoo-beom is not easily moved, he had no choice. Over the past two days, while participating in music programs at MBC and KBS, the cold looks from seniors were the best he could expect. Not being made to do difficult tasks was already a blessing.

This time, encountering Shin Jung-hwan, who had just spoken up for him, was the first time in two days that Kim Yoo-beom had met a senior who helped him, and he felt a small sense of gratitude.

"Go buy me a bottle of cola!" Shin Jung-hwan suddenly said to his assistant, who, without a word, turned and walked out of the waiting room, clearly going to buy cola as instructed.

Shin Jung-hwan's action immediately made everyone in the public waiting room pause, and then they all realized that Shin Jung-hwan was planning to teach someone a lesson.

This scene thoroughly frightened the third-rate singer who had just asked Kim Yoo-beom to buy cola. Thinking about drinking cola, not only the potential harm to his voice, but the carbon dioxide in cola could make him burp during a performance, which would be disastrous.

Thinking about this, the senior who had ordered Kim Yoo-beom to buy cola was frightened. Although he was only a third-rate singer, precisely because of his low status, any mistake could be disastrous.

Without popularity, any mistake could lead to harsh criticism and even abandonment by the agency under the immense pressure and influence.

As a singer, committing such a low-level mistake as drinking cola before a performance and burping on stage would be met with intense disdain and criticism from fans.

"Senior, I, I..."

"Shut up, Lee Min-jeon, right!" Shin Jung-hwan rudely cut off Lee Min-jeon's words, then glared at him until Lee Min-jeon lowered his head, not daring to look at Shin Jung-hwan.

"Instead of learning good things, you learn to act like a senior. Nice!" Looking at the trembling Lee Min-jeon, Shin Jung-hwan's face was full of disdain and anger.

It's important to note that Shin Jung-hwan debuted in 1994, a time when the Korean music industry was marked by clear conflicts and hostility.

During that era, artists from different agencies could truly be enemies, even competing on stage, dancing, singing, and engaging in verbal sparring.

In that crazy era, the authority of seniors over juniors was unimaginable.

To put it bluntly, in those days, seniors could take out their bad moods on juniors, and physical punishment was considered mild. Some seniors might even slap a junior as they passed by, then walk away without a word, and the junior had to endure it.

Shin Jung-hwan, who debuted in 1994, experienced this era. His debut performance was not good, and his comical appearance often led to humiliating requests from seniors, such as barking like a dog or crawling like a dog.

Being called to perform funny dances or tell jokes, and getting slapped if they weren't funny, was a common occurrence. With this experience, Shin Jung-hwan naturally despised the behavior of seniors making life difficult for juniors, even to the point of hatred.

For Shin Jung-hwan, such behavior was absolutely intolerable, especially when it happened in front of him, as it reminded him of his own difficult early days.

When encountering such situations, Shin Jung-hwan's first reaction was to turn and walk away, out of sight and out of mind. If the person was a junior, however, he would make them experience the methods seniors used to discipline juniors in his early days.

Lee Min-jeon, a third-rate singer from a small agency, debuted in 1999 and has not gained much popularity. When Shin Jung-hwan, passing through the public waiting room, saw him bullying Kim Yoo-beom, he became angry and could not hold back, leading to the events that followed.

---

Page break for ads

---

Page break for ads