Chapter 18: Liu Zhen

Liu Menglong's lips twitched a few times, thinking to himself, "Oh no... How did she catch me?" She hasn't eaten in the cafeteria for two months, why is she here today? They are all so busy, they are almost debuting...

"Liu Zhen, you're here to eat!"

As Liu Zhen walked by, some trainees put down their chopsticks and bowed to greet her. Li Yunzai glanced at her a few times, feeling that this woman called "Liu Zhen" was even prettier than BoA, probably because she was older.

"Don't let go... Bullying a ten-year-old, do you have any shame? It's fine if you bully other trainees, but now you're bullying a child... You're really getting more and more capable. Don't you want to enter Class A?!" Jin Liu Zhen sternly said, with the air of a big sister.

"Liu Zhen, you don't know, this brat doesn't respect his seniors, speaks rudely, and disrespects his seniors. I'm just giving him a lesson so he doesn't become even more unruly in the future!" Liu Menglong chuckled.

Liu Zhen glared at him, but before she could speak, Li Yunzai interjected, "I didn't, they were bullying me... bullying me because I'm young! What seniors, pah!"

Liu Zhen was taken aback, a bit surprised. She didn't expect Li Yunzai to be so stubborn and dare to speak to his seniors like that. Disrespecting seniors is very serious. Even some artists who have already debuted still show great respect to their senior trainees. Li Yunzai has committed a serious offense.

"Liu Zhen, you see, this kid is so stubborn, he won't admit his mistakes. If we don't teach him a lesson, he'll become even more unruly. At his young age, he already looks down on everyone, relying on the attention from the CEO and the two producers, he dares to speak to seniors like that. Will he still respect us in the future?"

"That's right, Liu Zhen, he just tripped and fell, spilling Liu Menglong's meal. Liu Menglong asked him to pay for it and clean up, but he got angry and threw the money at Liu Menglong. If we don't teach him a lesson, who knows what he'll do in the future!" Another trainee around fifteen or sixteen explained for Liu Menglong.

Liu Zhen frowned, her good impression of Li Yunzai diminished. She had just passed by and happened to see Liu Menglong about to hit Li Yunzai, but she didn't know that Li Yunzai had provoked Liu Menglong like this. It's no wonder Liu Menglong was so angry.

Senior trainees bullying junior trainees is common, but seeing Li Yunzai's young age, Liu Zhen frowned. She wanted to speak up for him, but then thought that at his young age, Li Yunzai was already arrogant because of the company's attention, and he needed a lesson.

For a moment, Liu Zhen was in a dilemma.

"Liu Zhen, you should just leave, pretend you didn't see... If we don't teach this kid a lesson, he might offend you in the future!" The Class B trainees who were close to Liu Menglong said.

Liu Zhen's heart moved, thinking it was a good idea. But before she could move, a group of people walked in, led by Moon Jung-ho.

Moon Jung-ho's reputation in the company was second only to the five members of HOT. The five people behind him were also highly respected among the trainees, and anyone who saw them would bow and greet them.

They had just come down to eat and then continue recording, but when they entered the cafeteria, they saw Li Yunzai being held by the ear.

"What's going on... Liu Menglong, let go!" Shin Hye-sung shouted.

Liu Menglong, like a rat seeing a cat, immediately let go of Li Yunzai's ear, as if it was electrified.

"Brother Hye-sung... This kid is too disrespectful, I'm just teaching him a lesson!" Liu Menglong repeated his earlier explanation.

Moon Jung-ho gave him a cold look, then turned to Li Yunzai, "Yunzai, tell me, what really happened... Although it's wrong not to respect your seniors, if someone uses their seniority to bully others, that's a big mistake!"

Li Yunzai glared at Liu Menglong and recounted the whole incident. Liu Zhen's face changed, almost hitting Liu Menglong.

"Brother Jung-ho... He was disrespectful, I was just teaching him a lesson..." Liu Menglong's confidence waned in front of Moon Jung-ho.

"Liu Menglong... Do we not know who you are? You're getting cocky because you're about to enter Class A, right? Do you think entering Class A means you have the ability to debut? A trainee who has lost their morals, no matter how strong, will never debut!" Moon Jung-ho shouted, Liu Menglong instinctively shrunk his head. Then Moon Jung-ho turned to the other trainees, "You are here to be trainees, not to act like senior lords. If you want the respect of your juniors, first see if you deserve it! Bullying a ten-year-old, do you deserve their respect? Tell me, do you?"

Everyone lowered their heads, Moon Jung-ho's presence was too strong, his aura pressing down on everyone.

Li Yunzai was amazed at Moon Jung-ho's authority among the trainees. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped forward, "Brother Jung-ho, forget it..."

Park Jong-jae and the others shook their heads, thinking, "This kid is really clueless, speaking up at a time like this, he's asking for trouble."

"Don't plead for them, I haven't even scolded you yet! When you see a senior, you should greet them. Respecting seniors is the most basic principle, don't you understand?" Moon Jung-ho scolded Li Yunzai.

Li Yunzai instinctively took a few steps back, not expecting to be scolded for pleading for them. He felt a bit uncomfortable and nodded.

Seeing Li Yunzai's awkward expression, Park Jong-jae and the others chuckled.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Those who need to eat, eat. Those who need to train, go train! Do you have so much free time?"

Many trainees who were eating put down their spoons and chopsticks and ran out.

"You should leave too... Next time, don't act like a senior and bully others. If you say others don't respect you, think about whether you deserve their respect!" Kim Wan-dong said sternly to Liu Menglong.

Liu Menglong nodded and quickly left the cafeteria.

"Yunzai, clean up here, we'll go get you some food!" Lee Sun-ho patted Li Yunzai's head and joined the queue.

Li Yunzai obediently took a broom and dustpan from the corner, cleaned up the spilled food, and threw it in the trash. Soon, he was sitting with Moon Jung-ho, Liu Zhen, and the others, eating.

"Are you okay, did Liu Menglong hurt your ear?" Lee Min-woo asked, holding his chopsticks and chuckling.

"Not at all... I'm not afraid of him!" Li Yunzai said, glancing at Moon Jung-ho.

"Hey, you're quite vengeful, still remembering Brother Jung-ho scolding you! You're too young to understand his good intentions! If Brother Jung-ho had protected you openly, they would have envied you even more and given you a hard time behind your back. Scolding you was just for show, to make it look like Brother Jung-ho wasn't favoring you, but speaking from a fair position!" Kim Wan-dong explained.

Li Yunzai was taken aback, not expecting scolding to have such a meaning. But thinking about it, he found Kim Wan-dong's words reasonable. Moon Jung-ho could help him temporarily, but not forever. If others gave him a hard time, he would be helpless.

"Sorry, Brother Jung-ho... I didn't know you were so thoughtful!" Li Yunzai apologized, lowering his head.

Moon Jung-ho chuckled, "It's okay... You're young, of course you don't understand these things! When you grow up, you'll naturally understand. Also, you just joined the company, so many people don't know you yet. In the future, when you see someone older, whether you know them or not, if they are taller and older, you should greet them respectfully. This will leave a good impression. Over time, you'll find that the trainees around you are easy to get along with. And when you know more people in the company, you won't have to bow to everyone!

Also, don't try to compete with Liu Menglong. If you want to outshine them, work hard, train more than others, and do your best in the monthly exams. Usually, if you get first place three times in a row, you can advance to Class B.

When you enter Class B, then you can compete with Liu Menglong using your strength, and defeat him convincingly!"

"Got it... I'll remember!" Li Yunzai nodded heavily, feeling that every word Moon Jung-ho said made sense.

"Yunzai, I'm sorry, I misunderstood you!" Liu Zhen said apologetically.

"No, no... Don't say that, Liu Zhen, it was all Liu Menglong's fault!" Liu Zhen was close to Moon Jung-ho and respected by the trainees, Li Yunzai wanted to be closer to her.

"Hehe, you're quite cute. Here, have some ribs!" Liu Zhen said, putting the ribs from her plate onto Li Yunzai's.

"Liu Zhen, how can you still be so naive, believing what Liu Menglong says? You both have the same surname, are you related?" Shin Hye-sung teased.

"Go away... If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute!" Liu Zhen glared at him, and Shin Hye-sung chuckled.

"Liu Zhen, aren't you about to debut soon? Is the exact date set?" Kim Wan-dong asked while eating.

Liu Zhen paused, "Not yet, it should be in November. We'll debut before you, as the company's second group!" She said with a proud expression.

"Tch... What's so great about that! Just a few months earlier, we'll see who wins more awards after debuting, that's the real measure of strength!" Park Jong-jae said with enthusiasm.

"You're right, if we could be as popular as the HOT seniors, that would be great! But we still have a lot of room for improvement, let's keep working hard!" Liu Zhen said reflectively.

"By the way, Yunzai, how was your first day of class?" Kim Wan-dong asked Li Yunzai.

Li Yunzai's face turned grim, "Brother Wan-dong, you were right, no wonder you emphasized perseverance so much... The training is too painful. I have to stretch my legs after dinner, and I still have six sets left, 250 each... I probably won't be able to sleep until midnight!"

Kim Wan-dong and Moon Jung-ho exchanged glances, surprised that Li Yunzai's first day of training was so intense, especially for a ten-year-old who had just started.

"Persist... It will get better. You haven't learned dance before, so you have to start with the basics. Stretching is just the most basic. When I learned dance, my teacher required ten sets, I did fifteen. If the teacher said 1000 each set, I did 1500. Only by putting in the effort will you get results. Do your best, okay?" Moon Jung-ho advised.

Li Yunzai was amazed, not expecting them to be so intense, already with a heavy training load, and still adding more. No wonder they were so outstanding and chosen to debut...

"Take it one step at a time... Learn the basics well, and in the future, learning Breaking, Hip-Hop, mechanical dance, jazz, and reggae will be easier. Although the last two are usually for girls, boys can also do them and bring a different flavor, which you will need to learn in the future... But let's not talk about that now, you'll learn as you go!" Shin Hye-sung said, eating and teaching Li Yunzai.

"Yunzai, wake up early tomorrow, we do vocal training every morning, and I can teach you too!" Moon Jung-ho suddenly said.

Li Yunzai's face lit up, nodding eagerly. Having them give him extra lessons would be great. Moon Jung-ho and the others' singing skills were impressive, truly top-notch.

"What... Yunzai lives with you?" Liu Zhen asked, surprised.

"Yes... What's wrong? Do you like him? We can let him live with you... You have an empty room, right!" Shin Hye-sung teased.

Liu Zhen rolled her eyes, "You're really ridiculous..."

Liu Zhen and Moon Jung-ho's group seemed to have a good relationship, which puzzled Li Yunzai. Weren't male and female trainees supposed to keep a distance and not be too close? How could they be so intimate?

"Brother Wan-dong... Aren't trainees supposed to keep a distance... How can you be so close to Liu Zhen?" Li Yunzai asked.

Kim Wan-dong and the others chuckled, Park Jong-jae explained, "That's for you, the rule doesn't apply to us... We're about to debut, the company won't restrict us with so many rules. As long as there's no scandal, it's fine! When you become a big star, you can even date, as long as you inform the company first!"

"I didn't expect it to be so free after debuting!" Li Yunzai exclaimed.

"Free!" Moon Jung-ho and the others shook their heads, thinking, "Is there really freedom when you become an artist?"

Twenty minutes later, the eight of them finished eating and returned to the recording studio and practice room.

When Li Yunzai entered the practice room, the trainees looked at him. He silently returned to the corner, lifted his right leg onto the bar, and started stretching again.

...

At night, the stars twinkled, even in the bustling commercial district of Gangnam, the bright moon and stars were visible in the sky.

Lee Soo-man stood by the window, gazing at the sky, lost in thought. Kim Sung-soo, sitting on the sofa, said, "Did you hear about what happened in the cafeteria this evening?"

"Hmm... It's a small matter!" Lee Soo-man replied.

"Ah... This is not a small matter. The trainees should get along well, otherwise, if they are full of intrigue, it will be counterproductive! Yunzai is young, I'm worried he might be bullied!" Kim Sung-soo sighed.

Lee Soo-man turned around, "Right now, we just need to focus on training high-quality trainees. When the company grows and stabilizes, and there are more trainees, we can address this issue. We don't have the energy for it now!"

Kim Sung-soo thought Lee Soo-man had a point. There weren't many trainees yet, so it was fine to put this issue aside for now.

"By the way, how was BoA's first day of training?" Lee Soo-man perked up when he mentioned BoA.

Kim Sung-soo smiled, "She's really good. Both the vocal and dance teachers praised her, saying she's a gem and will surely become great in the future!"

As he spoke, Lee Soo-man's smile grew wider...

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