Chapter 116: The Airport

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Entertainment Is by Your Side — No Pop-Ups
Story Start Date: January 2007
Recommended Song: SS501 — “The Song That Calls You”
Disclaimer: This story is entirely fictional. Please do not identify yourself with anyone in it. Any resemblance to actual people or events is one hundred percent coincidental!

When news broke that Jiang Yihan had left Korea to carry out his own activities in China, the entire Korean media erupted. All the Castles were thrown into a panic, and even the four major television stations felt completely deceived. However, when Li Ran contacted the four stations and informed them that Jiang Yihan would officially return to the Korean stage during the week after January 15, they had nothing more to say.

Once word spread that Jiang Yihan would return to Korea after spending a week in China, the agitated Castles gradually regained their composure. Although they remained excited and dissatisfied, they canceled their original plan to stage a sit-in protest outside One Company.

Amid the uproar, Jiang Yihan boarded a plane to China on January 13. Even after changing his flight several times, his itinerary was ultimately discovered by the Korean Castles. Nearly two thousand of them arrived at Incheon Airport, cramming the entire international terminal until it was completely impassable.

Jiang Yihan, however, did not appear in the airport lobby. He went directly from the underground parking lot to customs. From there, he could vaguely see the commotion outside. Curious for a moment, he stepped out, exposing himself at the main entrance—and the Castles immediately spotted him.

Screams erupted at once.

“Ahhh!”

“Young Master! Young Master!”

The cries echoed throughout the airport lobby. Although Jiang Yihan’s eardrums had endured years of training, they were still being tortured. Seeing the international passengers around him disturbed by the noise, Jiang Yihan began to feel a little embarrassed. He placed a finger to his lips and made a quiet gesture, and only then did the Castles gradually settle down.

At the very front, looking thoroughly disheveled from being crushed by the crowd, were Kang Jae-min and Seong Young-joo, whom he had not seen in a long time. As representatives, the two told Jiang Yihan, “Young Master, we’ll be waiting for you to come back!”

Jiang Yihan smiled, then bowed to everyone before entering customs and disappearing from their view. As for how thrilled the Castles were afterward, and how disappointed they became once he was gone, that was another matter entirely. Jiang Yihan still ran into trouble after entering the departure lounge.

Since no one had expected his itinerary to be leaked—or realized that people of such a broad range of ages knew him—Jiang Yihan had chosen an economy-class ticket. After entering the departure lounge, he and the more than ten people accompanying him were gradually recognized, and trouble slowly began to follow.

At first, only a few young people nearby recognized Jiang Yihan. They remained relatively calm, forcing themselves to suppress their excitement as they approached him for autographs and photographs, then left in overwhelming happiness.

Gradually, more and more people found out. Passengers waiting nearby began gathering around them. Once someone lost control and shouted, the entire departure lounge descended into chaos. Everyone crowded over. Most of the people there were Korean or Chinese, and the majority knew Jiang Yihan; only a small portion had come merely to watch the excitement.

Whatever the reason, the chaos had already begun. Jiang Yihan was like a small boat tossed about on the sea, pushed from side to side by the crowd, while maintaining a smile and signing autographs for those nearby. His ears were filled with every kind of request, Korean and Chinese overlapping in a constant stream. Before long, his head began to spin.

The more than ten people accompanying him, including Li Ran and Jiang Ziyi, struggled to maintain order around him, but their efforts were futile. More people continued pouring in from behind. Whenever those in front managed to retreat slightly, they were immediately shoved forward again, unable to control themselves.

The situation did not ease until five minutes later, when airport security arrived. Escorted by a group of guards, Jiang Yihan was given special permission to wait in the VIP lounge, separated from the crowd outside.

Korea was bitterly cold in January, yet Jiang Yihan wanted to take off his coat. He had sweated so much that he felt extremely uncomfortable.

“How did things get like this today? This is way too exaggerated.” Even Jiang Yihan found it somewhat amusing as he said it, unsure whether he should feel happy or find it ridiculous. For the past few months, he had walked openly through the streets without anyone paying attention to him. What, then, was this situation now?

“It just proves how popular you are. Isn’t that a good thing?” Jiang Ziyi wiped the sweat from her forehead and spoke with a cheerful smile.

“We didn’t anticipate this at all. We’ll have to be more careful after arriving in China and prevent the same thing from happening again.” Li Ran was already thinking about what would happen once they reached China.

Naturally, the trip to China was the most important matter. Li Ran had to consider how to be a qualified manager. When TVXQ had gone to Japan, he had flown there several times himself. Personally overseeing and arranging everything was what mattered most. Although TVXQ had its own supervising manager, Li Ran was their chief manager, so caring for them was his responsibility.

TVXQ’s popularity in Japan was currently rising rapidly, and they had already achieved some impressive results. Li Ran’s hard work had played a major part in that success. Now that Jiang Yihan was going to China, Li Ran would be both chief manager and supervising manager—in fact, the only manager—so he would naturally have an even harder time.

Before he had even arrived in China, Jiang Yihan experienced the treatment of a major star aboard the plane. When an artist became so famous that the crew feared disturbing the surrounding passengers and moved him to the VIP cabin, that artist could already be called a star. But when a star became famous enough that even flight attendants accustomed to all manner of celebrities, along with the usually unseen captain, came out to ask for autographs and photographs, then that star was truly a major celebrity.

At that moment, Jiang Yihan was exactly that.

Looking at the happy smile on the man’s face and the three stripes on his sleeve—the insignia of a captain—Jiang Yihan could hardly believe this was really happening. Only after his first friendly meeting with a captain in his life did he finally calm down.

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The hour-and-a-half flight was not long. By the time they reached Beijing Airport, Jiang Yihan had just awakened from his sleep. After gently bidding farewell to the flight attendants and the captain, he was the first to leave the plane.

“Lazy Cat, wait here for a moment. Let them go out first and check the situation outside,” Li Ran said, worried that the same thing that had happened in Korea might happen here, with crowds of people waiting to receive him.

“If there isn’t a single person outside, or there are only two or three stray cats, that would be hilarious. Ha ha!” Jiang Yihan clapped his hands and burst out laughing.

While they were joking, the people sent to inspect the situation returned. After explaining everything to Li Ran, they watched him turn toward Jiang Yihan with a grim expression.

“You can be happy now. There are probably more than two thousand people waiting for you outside.”

Jiang Yihan’s immediate reaction was simple: he was stunned.

At that moment, the manager of the airport lobby appeared.

“Hello. Are you Mr. Jiang Yihan?”

The familiar Chinese made Jiang Yihan feel especially comfortable.

“Hello, hello. What’s the matter?” Jiang Yihan and Li Ran stood before the manager and asked about the situation.

“It’s like this: there are too many people waiting outside—conservatively speaking, more than two thousand already. It would be better if you waited a little longer and left through the VIP passage, wouldn’t it?” The manager was also worried that the situation outside might spiral out of control.

“VIP? When we made the arrangements earlier, we were told that we couldn’t use that route today,” Li Ran questioned.

The manager wiped the sweat from his forehead. He certainly could not say that they had assumed Jiang Yihan was not important enough to cause such a commotion. Though that was what he was thinking, he said instead, “Some circumstances have changed. Originally, it wasn’t available, but we can make an exception for Mr. Jiang Yihan.”

“Hmph.” Li Ran snorted unhappily.

The manager hurriedly said, “Then please wait here for a moment. I’ll go make the arrangements now.” He left first.

“Xu Xian, touch up Lazy Cat’s makeup. He doesn’t look quite as good as usual after the flight,” Li Ran instructed Xu Xian before turning to make arrangements with the rest of the group.

Airport Lobby

“Hasn’t the Young Master’s plane arrived? Why hasn’t he come out yet?” asked the first Castle.

“Exactly. It’s already been twenty minutes. Could he have too much luggage and still be waiting for it?” said a second Castle.

“Could he have gone straight through the VIP passage?” someone asked.

The moment the words left his mouth, a chorus of “No!” rose from the surrounding crowd.

“He wouldn’t. I saw a black Audi A6 parked outside just now. It’s probably there to pick up the Young Master, so he should still be coming out this way. If he were using the VIP passage, that car wouldn’t be here. It would have gone straight to the underground parking lot,” said a Castle who clearly knew a great deal about the arrangements.

“Then why hasn’t he come out yet? This is killing me!”

The Castles outside were growing increasingly anxious, while things were just as lively inside with Jiang Yihan. Airport staff came over in pairs and threes, one after another, asking for autographs and photographs.

Airport employees really did have the best perks.

Suddenly, the Castles at the very front began screaming. Those farther back, unable to see what was happening, joined in as well. But after a while, they realized that it was not Jiang Yihan who had appeared—it was Li Ran.

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“That’s the Young Master’s manager, Li Ran! It’s Li Ran! Ahhh! The Young Master has arrived! He’s inside, he’s inside!” one Castle shouted, unable to contain her excitement.

It seemed that Li Ran was also widely recognized among the Castles.

Li Ran had come out to inspect the situation and determine the safest way to proceed. Outside the barriers, the fans were packed together. Huge banners bearing Jiang Yihan’s photograph and various words of encouragement hung in several places.

Li Ran surveyed the scene, trying to work out how they could leave safely—or, more accurately, whether there was any way to leave at all. There were simply too many people.

After finishing his inspection, Li Ran went back inside, and the Castles at the scene became excited again.

“The Young Master is right inside! He’s right inside! Ahhh, I’m so excited!”

That sentence summed up the feelings of most of the Castles.

Suddenly, another group of Castles on the right began screaming. When the news reached those on the left, they were consumed with envy. Jiang Yihan had just come out on the right to observe the situation. Seeing how many people were there, he had waved to everyone, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

Meanwhile, the so-called “culprit” was having a wonderful time playing with Jiang Ziyi. After his makeup was finished, Jiang Yihan could no longer sit still. He pulled Jiang Ziyi into a simple game of “Boys and Girls Pair Up,” and soon the room erupted in delighted laughter.

An hour passed. It was an hour of waiting for both the crowd and Jiang Yihan, and what they finally received was the news that the VIP passage still could not be used. Because Jiang Yihan’s request had not been approved, the VIP route had been assigned for another purpose during that time. He would still have to leave through the main lobby.

Li Ran could only think, I knew this would happen.

In the end, they had to go through the lobby. Everyone stood up and prepared themselves, while Li Ran quickly arranged the group. Only then did they proceed in a grand procession out of the departure lounge.

The first few people were staff members carrying luggage, so the crowd outside did not react at once. But when Jiang Ziyi emerged, people had only just recognized her when Jiang Yihan followed immediately afterward, with Li Ran behind him.

“Ahhhhhhhhh!”

That was the only sound at the scene.

Jiang Yihan looked to his left and saw the excited Castles. He smiled and waved to them, provoking an even louder roar. In an instant, camera flashes and screams completely filled the area.

At first, the barriers protected them, and they made their way forward without much difficulty. But once they passed beyond the barrier, the Castles surged toward them. Li Ran hurriedly directed the accompanying staff to take positions on either side of Jiang Yihan, hoping to form a protective ring and escort everyone out together.

There were simply too many people pushing from behind. The group could not form a proper circle of protection. Jiang Yihan and Jiang Ziyi were squeezed together, while Li Ran walked behind them, separated by two people. The entire group moved forward slowly.

Jiang Yihan could feel his coat being tugged repeatedly, giving him the unsettling impression that it was about to be torn apart. Fortunately, no one struck him directly in the face; otherwise, he would certainly have been frightened. He could not keep his center of gravity steady and swayed constantly from side to side. The crowd pressing in from the left kept forcing him farther in that direction.

After enduring countless tugs and innumerable footprints on his shoes, Jiang Yihan finally reached the entrance. A breath of fresh air drifted toward him, but before he could step outside and enjoy it, the crowd behind him suddenly surged forward and slammed him and Jiang Ziyi hard against the glass doors.

In the briefest fraction of a second, Jiang Yihan pulled Jiang Ziyi slightly to the left to protect her from injury, then collided with the glass door himself. A deep, violent thud rang out. Jiang Ziyi struck the door immediately afterward, but thanks to Jiang Yihan’s impact absorbing some of the force, she felt only a little pain.

Jiang Yihan felt a faint ache in his head and right shoulder.

Thank goodness. I’m fine.

He prepared to keep moving.

At that moment, Li Ran suddenly forced his way through. Relying on his build and strength, he pushed forward with all his might. Seeing Jiang Yihan and Jiang Ziyi’s condition, he knew they had to move quickly.

He reached the two of them, grabbed Jiang Yihan’s hand, and struggled toward the exit. Once they broke through the crowd, he took several large strides toward the black Audi A6. The doors were already open, and Li Ran forcefully shoved Jiang Yihan inside as people continued pouring forward behind them.

A group of people grabbed the car doors and refused to let them close. Although they did not climb into the vehicle, the car could not move either.

Jiang Yihan said to those beside the car, “Please watch out for your own safety. This is too dangerous. I’ll be appearing at the event tomorrow, so we’ll be able to see each other again. See you tomorrow, all right?”

But his words were completely drowned out by the screams. Everyone was too excited to hear him, and probably only a few people caught what he said. Besides, even if those in front heard him, those behind them continued pushing forward.

After several tense minutes, the people at the front finally released their grip. Li Ran slammed the door shut, and the car pulled away.

By then, nearly two hours had passed since Jiang Yihan arrived at Beijing International Airport.

It had truly been difficult to get out of the airport—it had taken two whole hours.