Chapter 106: Romantic Entanglements

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Entertainment Around You - No Pop-ups
Story Timeline: November 2006
Recommended Song: YUI - Tomorrow's Way (Anime "Bleach" OST)
Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional. Please do not project it onto real individuals. Any similarities are purely coincidental!

When Lee Soo-man contacted Lee Tong, seeing the caller ID felt both unexpected and yet within reason—that was Lee Tong’s thought.

"Is there something you need from me, Brother Lee?" In private, Lee Tong always addressed Lee Soo-man as "Brother."

"Lee Tong, I don't think you’ve taken recent events to heart. In our line of work, there are no permanent enemies, only interests, right?" Being sensible people, Lee Soo-man didn't beat around the bush. "I was wondering if there’s a chance for Jiang Yihan and us to collaborate?"

"Haha, Brother Lee, why trouble yourself with a personal call for such a small matter? A simple notice to your younger brother would have sufficed. No problem, of course, no problem at all." Lee Tong laughed heartily, though the hidden thorns in his words made Lee Soo-man’s temper flare. Still, he suppressed it. As Lee Soo-man said, in this circle, as long as there is no deep-seated hatred, interests can bridge any divide. Although Jiang Yihan’s momentum was currently strong, he had only just recovered, and he had no immediate plans to appear in public. Furthermore, the SM Company’s influence remained, even if their reputation had suffered. Therefore, a collaboration had only benefits and no drawbacks for Jiang Yihan. Lee Tong certainly had no reason to refuse. "I wonder who Brother Lee intends to have collaborate with Yihan, and when you’re planning for this to happen?"

Lee Soo-man had clearly thought about this question for a long time and answered naturally. "How about Han Geng? Being Chinese like Jiang Yihan, the collaboration should go smoothly. As for the timing, how about Jiang Yihan’s third album?"

Lee Soo-man had learned of Jiang Yihan’s plans for a third album and seized this opportunity to make a quick decision, hoping to use Han Geng’s identity as a Chinese national to shift public attention away from the Lu Xianfeng and Cheng Shi incidents. If only Lee Soo-man knew that it was Han Geng who had taken the videotape—though he would likely never find out.

"Han Geng? Absolutely no problem." Lee Tong knew the inside story and naturally smiled quite happily. "As for the third album, I can’t be sure yet; I have to ask Yihan. He is the producer for this album and has written almost all the lyrics and music himself. So, if there is to be a collaboration, I must ask him first. How about this? I’ll give him a call later and get back to you, Brother Lee, is that alright?"

After hanging up, Lee Tong smiled and went back to his own business.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yihan was busy filming. Recently, he had been juggling album production and filming; time seemed to be running out. Therefore, for the time being, Jiang Yihan had no intention of appearing in public. Although there were many people outside who wanted to see him and many who anticipated his "comeback," Jiang Yihan remained focused on his movie and album.

This movie told a sad love story.

Jiang Yihan played a 20-year-old mute youth. His mother had passed away from illness, and the young man lived a very hard life, caring for his younger brother. By chance, the young man found a mobile phone but could not find the owner. During that time, a girl kept sending text messages to the phone. The youth replied, telling her that he had found the phone and couldn't locate the original owner. Unexpectedly, the girl continued to keep in touch with the youth via text. It turned out that the girl had broken up with the phone's owner for a specific reason, but she still wanted to be friends, only to be rejected. Two disappointed souls began chatting through text messages.

Lee Hyori played a 23-year-old leukemia patient. Her boyfriend had left her because of her illness; she understood and just wanted to remain ordinary friends, occasionally texting, but she never received a reply. One day, the other party suddenly replied, but it wasn't her boyfriend—it was a stranger saying he had picked up the lost phone. At that moment, she needed someone to confide in, so she began chatting with him. Two hearts gradually drew closer through the back-and-forth text messages.

Today’s scene was an emotional one, an awkward interaction for both Jiang Yihan and Lee Hyori.

Park Young-ho walked over and explained the flow of the scene. "Later is the scene where you meet for the first time. Yihan, you’ve chatted via phone for so long, and now you finally have the chance to meet. When you arrive at the hospital and see Hyori, you need to show an expression of being stunned. But at the same time, you must feel hesitant because you cannot speak and don't know how to communicate with her; you feel timid. During your hesitation, Hyori, you need to see Yihan standing in the distance. Since he didn't say who he was, you must portray that feeling of familiarity, confirming that he is the person you’ve been looking for. The expression needs that subtle sense of telepathy. But you also hesitate because, due to your illness, you have no time and no right to enjoy love, so you are also timid. Finally, you both just stand there, looking at each other. This is the scene we are filming. It’s a few minutes long with no lines, so your expressions and emotions must be precise to achieve the effect. Understand?"

Jiang Yihan and Lee Hyori listened carefully and then followed the stage manager to walk through the positions. How Jiang Yihan would walk over, how the camera would shoot, where Lee Hyori would look, where Jiang Yihan should be, and finally, the position for their eye contact. Once the positioning was understood, it was time for the rehearsal. After the stage manager explained it several times, the positioning was basically set.

Action!
Lee Hyori sat in a chair; Jiang Yihan walked over from a distance. Seeing the woman sitting in the chair from afar, with the breeze gently blowing her white clothes and looking at her profile as she sat quietly—everything was so beautiful—a shy smile appeared on Jiang Yihan’s face. In his shyness, he leaned forward, prepared to walk over, but then stopped. The smile on his face gradually faded. Jiang Yihan tried to make some sounds but realized it was all in vain. The loneliness on his face became more and more obvious, and his head gradually lowered. Although his eyes were still looking at Lee Hyori in the distance, the luster in his eyes had vanished, replaced by the disappointment of something out of reach.

Lee Hyori sat in the chair, waiting for the person in her heart. Suddenly, she looked up and saw the person in the distance. She looked closely, tilting her head as if, in that instant, there was a sudden telepathy. Her expression instantly softened, and the emotion in her eyes could not be hidden; her cheeks turned slightly pink. Lee Hyori stood up because she was certain that the person before her was the one she was meant to meet today. But after taking only two steps, she stopped. She looked at her hospital gown and remembered her illness. The radiance on her face gradually dimmed, and her smile disappeared. She just stood there blankly, pulling at her coat as if feeling an endless chill.

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The two just stood there looking at each other, helpless and sorrowful.

"OK!"
After 8 retakes, Park Young-ho finally shouted "OK." It was very exhausting to have a performance without lines, relying only on the eyes. Next came the supplementary shots—panoramas, close-ups of backs, etc. After working for nearly 3 more hours, the scene finally reached a temporary conclusion.

"Yihan, how do you think I should convey a sense of loss with just my back?" Lee Hyori asked for advice.

"The back? A sense of loss... let me think." Jiang Yihan pondered, shaking his head. "Is this feeling right?" Jiang Yihan stood up, slightly hunched his shoulders inward, lowered his head a bit, and let his back slouch slightly.

"That doesn't seem right. That feels more like sadness," Lee Hyori said, tilting her head and carefully sensing the feeling.

Jiang Yihan stood there and pondered again. Acting is something that only improves with continuous practice; the more you think about it, the more you discover.

How is a sense of loss different from sadness? What should the expression of this emotion feel like to the viewer? What should the conveyed mood and content be? Jiang Yihan thought carefully. A few minutes later, he hesitated and tried again.

Jiang Yihan relaxed his shoulders, let them slump, and allowed his arms to hang limply by his sides.

"That’s it, that’s it! But it needs to be a bit more obvious; add something more," Lee Hyori clapped, though she still felt something was missing and couldn't quite put it into words.

Jiang Yihan pondered for a while longer, then suddenly clapped and laughed, the joy on his face evident. "Hyori-noona, how about this?"

Jiang Yihan kept his shoulders relaxed and slumped, arms limp, then gently tilted his head about 5 degrees to the front-left, let out a long sigh, and pulled his chest inward. Immediately, the feeling emerged—a sense of loss tinged with regret and helplessness.

Lee Hyori also carefully experienced this feeling. She thought about what kind of state this body language represented and what she should be thinking in her own heart to express her loss. Only with strong immersion could the feeling be conveyed through body language.

As the discussion deepened, the two gained a further understanding of how to perform certain emotions.

Studying acting was something Jiang Yihan had been very keen on lately, and he found it increasingly interesting. At home, however, he had no time to study acting because he also needed to put effort into his album production.

Suddenly, the phone rang. It was Li Ran.

"What's up today?" Jiang Yihan turned his speakers down as he answered.

"Are you home right now?" Li Ran was in a very noisy place. "I’m at the TVXQ recording studio and will probably be home in an hour. I just wanted to tell you that Uncle Lee Tong has finished negotiating the collaboration between you and SM Company."

"Collaboration? Why?" Jiang Yihan was still somewhat surprised.

"Sigh, it’s mainly for the benefits. Besides, SM Company’s strength is still there, and collaborating with them is good for us too," Li Ran explained.

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"Oh, and who am I collaborating with?" Jiang Yihan was still a bit reluctant.

"Haha, I knew you’d be reluctant," Li Ran laughed. "You’ll definitely like the partner. It’s Han Geng."

"Ah? It’s Han Geng? Well, that’s great then!" Jiang Yihan immediately smiled. "So when is the collaboration, and how will it work?"

"Just for your third album; a duet should be quite good. Doing it this way will also have a better direct effect," Li Ran stated the plan.

Jiang Yihan agreed and hung up the phone.

Speaking of Han Geng, Jiang Yihan’s mind began to fill with the Han Geng he knew: a slender figure, medium-long black hair, a somewhat innocent smile, a very kind accent, with dancing being his forte, and his emotional ballads being quite good. He had come to South Korea alone, endured a long trainee life, faced various difficulties in debuting, and even after standing on stage, he continued to face criticism from all sides, yet he remained optimistic and worked hard. As Han Geng himself said, he was a kind man.

Thinking of this, a melody seemed to flow through Jiang Yihan’s mind. He turned on the recorder, closed his eyes, and placed his hands gently on the piano. Note by note, the music flowed naturally, forming a beautiful melody. It was a fast-paced song with a strong rhythm; playing it on the piano felt like it lacked some masculine strength. After the prototype of the song emerged, Jiang Yihan felt it didn't reach the feeling he had in his heart, so he finally took the music to his teacher.

After nearly 5 hours of creation, it was already past 2:00 AM. Jiang Yihan pulled Li Ran, who had already fallen asleep, out of bed and rushed to his teacher's house overnight. Pulled from his quilt in the middle of the night, the teacher’s initially angry face changed as he saw the score in Jiang Yihan’s hand, and he began to hum along softly while grumbling.

"This is amazing! There’s no problem with this piece. Yihan, when did you write this? It’s truly brilliant." The teacher didn't hold back his praise.

"Just today. I’m quite satisfied with it too." Jiang Yihan was happy that his work was being validated. "In this song, I want to express a man’s strength. It might be recorded as a duet, but I always feel it’s missing something, so I came to see you to see if you could give me some advice."

"A man’s strength? Do you have ideas for the lyrics?" The teacher frowned and asked.

"Yes, it roughly describes a man who has experienced the vicissitudes of life but still finds the courage to live strongly." Jiang Yihan described his idea.

"What kind of feeling is this 'vicissitudes of life' you mention?" The teacher asked in detail.

"Actually, when I was writing this, I was thinking more about how hard it is to make it in our circle. But if the lyrics are written that realistically and objectively, the audience's capacity to accept them might be limited." Jiang Yihan was also worried about whether his idea could be well realized.

"I see." The teacher stroked his chin for a long time and made a suggestion. "How about this? Write the 'vicissitudes' as social phenomena—like life not going as planned, work being difficult, love being unfulfilled. There are many such men. Facing life's setbacks, we all face them strongly; what you convey is a positive, upward spirit."

Jiang Yihan thought about it carefully. A strong, positive spirit—if Han Geng were to express it, it would be very fitting. He nodded in agreement. "What about the instruments? I used the piano, but it feels too delicate."

"The piano definitely won't work. This is a fast-paced hip-hop song meant for dancing; using the piano is naturally too soft." The teacher quickly rejected it. "Use electronic sounds; try adding fast, rhythmic drum beats."

Speaking of his own profession and seeing such a good song, the teacher’s spirit also picked up. Except for Li Ran, who had fallen asleep, Jiang Yihan and his teacher immediately started experimenting in the home recording studio until the sky began to brighten, and the music for the song was finally completely composed.

Broken Cat's Nagging Time: Second update today!