Chapter 148: Becoming a Senior

Entertainment Around You - No Pop-ups

Setting Time: April 2007
Recommended Song: Leo Ku - Loving Too Late
Disclaimer: This work is purely fictional. Please do not project it onto reality. Any resemblance is 100% a coincidence!

It had been a while since Jiang Yihan returned from Phuket. After a brief rest, he plunged back into his intense schedule. Ever since the release of his album on January 11th, Jiang Yihan's album had generated the highest sales in South Korea over the past decade. His third full-length album broke the ten-year sales record with one million copies sold, creating a veritable miracle.

Ever since the late 1990s Asian financial crisis, the South Korean record market had been on a downward spiral. A decade ago, records like those of Kim Min-jong, Shin Sung-hhun, and H.O.T selling over one million copies had become mere history. In recent years, the market had become even more sluggish; selling over 300,000 copies was already considered a remarkable achievement, and surpassing 100,000 copies could easily land an artist in the top ten of the year-end sales charts. Now, Jiang Yihan's record had miraculously surpassed one million copies. This record surprised not only Jiang Yihan himself and One Entertainment, but even the South Korean public.

Although the 300,000 copies of Jiang Yihan's first album and the 600,000 copies of his second had already given a shot in the arm to the South Korean music market, one million copies was a qualitative leap—an entirely different tier of transformation. It crowned Jiang Yihan as South Korea's most dazzling national singer of the past ten years. It was hard to tell whether the South Koreans should feel happy or unhappy that such an honor was achieved by a foreign singer.

Jiang Yihan's third album achieved 3.5 million copies across Asia, reigning supreme and becoming the champion of the 2007 Asian album sales chart. While such figures might only be considered decent in Western markets or in Asia a decade ago, in today's music market, Jiang Yihan's achievement was enough to make all other singers look up to him in awe. Meanwhile, fueled by the stimulus from the Chinese market, including the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions, Jiang Yihan's first Chinese album ultimately locked in the third spot on the 2007 Asian album sales chart early on with an astonishing 2.8 million copies sold.

It could be said that Jiang Yihan was now not merely a singer, but a phenomenon—a phenomenon that swept across the entire Asian continent. Asia was only the first step; in One Entertainment's plan and in Castle's heart, the next step ought to be the Western markets. Yet in Jiang Yihan's mind, that was a very distant future. What needed to be done right now was to keep moving forward diligently, taking one solid step at a time. After all, having learned a lesson from last year's experience, being overly hasty was simply not feasible.

Therefore, Jiang Yihan was still making appearances at music show recording studios. Even though his track "Rainbow" had claimed the number one spot on the charts for a consecutive ten weeks, Jiang Yihan remained professional, attending meticulously to every single detail and every single job. Naturally, it was precisely this kind of dedication and perseverance that allowed everyone to witness his hard work and persistence, ultimately leading to the achievements he enjoyed today.

Following the ten-week run at number one, Jiang Yihan began promoting his second title track. Originally, it should have been "Fool's Tears," but due to the overwhelming popularity of "Intersleep," even though Jiang Yihan hadn't been actively promoting it, the song consistently hovered in the top five of the charts, while "Fool's Tears" fluctuated within the top ten. Of course, the even more astonishing advantage was that all ten tracks from Jiang Yihan's album held positions within the top 35 of the charts. When factoring in his previous albums and his first Chinese album, Jiang Yihan alone had a staggering 18 songs occupying the top one hundred spots. Yet, even with such overwhelming dominance, everyone had long grown used to it. For a singer who had made history, achieving such results was merely the baseline.

Right now, Jiang Yihan was in his waiting room, preparing for today's stage performance. The difficulty level of "Intersleep" was extremely high; every time he sang it, he had to prepare thoroughly.

Li Ran, Jiang Ziyi, and Seohyun were busy with their own tasks out of sheer habit. The room was filled with bouquets, gifts, and food items that needed to be properly sorted.
"Bro, I told everyone on the official fan cafe not to send gifts to the broadcasting stations anymore, but to send them directly to the company instead. Sorting them out here is too troublesome, and there's nowhere left to sit," Jiang Ziyi suggested.

"These were all sent by his juniors, so there's nothing we can do," Li Ran said, looking up.

"Juniors? What juniors?" Jiang Yihan felt quite puzzled. Having suffered immensely because of seniors in the past, Jiang Yihan became extremely sensitive whenever he heard the words 'senior' or 'junior' now.

"You've already debuted for two years. You're considered a senior now, oh goodness," Li Ran explained. "Besides, with achievements as stellar as yours, there shouldn't be any shortage of people who view you as an idol and a role model."

"Exactly, exactly. Just the other day, Xiaolong told me there are a lot of people who want to get to know you, haha," Jiang Ziyi chimed in.

"Uh..." Jiang Yihan truly didn't know how to respond. From constantly greeting seniors with absolute politeness and civility upon his debut, to plunging into a major career slump due to seniors—which was also one of the biggest trials of his life—he had now somehow turned into a senior himself, a senior whom many looked up to with yearning. Who could say life wasn't wondrous? It was truly brimming with infinite possibilities.

While they were talking, a knock sounded on the door.

"Senior Jiang Yihan, may we come in?" a crisp voice called from the doorway.

Jiang Yihan stuck out his tongue; speak of the devil, and the juniors appeared. "Please come in," Jiang Yihan responded loudly.

"Then we will be intrusive." The door was pushed open, and when Jiang Yihan looked up, he burst out laughing—it was actually someone he knew.

The person who entered was none other than Min Sunye. Close behind her were four others, making it a five-member group. Right behind them followed a familiar PD, who was presumably filming a program.

"Hello, Senior Jiang Yihan. We are Wonder Girls. Please take good care of us," the five of them said in unison.

"Haha, hello, hello." Jiang Yihan felt somewhat unaccustomed to this. After all, he was used to being the one greeting others this way, and having people he knew walk in today made it feel even stranger.

"Senior Jiang Yihan, we are a group that just debuted this February, and we still have many shortcomings. If there's anything we don't know, we ask the senior to guide us," Min Sunye took the lead and said. Her eyes curved into crescents when she smiled, and the light flickering in her gaze carried a mischievous hint that brought a smile to Jiang Yihan's face.

"Haha, there isn't really much I can teach you. I still feel like I just debuted myself. Let's all work hard together from now on!" Jiang Yihan spoke smoothly to the camera, performing for the show out of habit.

Following convention, Jiang Yihan shared some advice based on his experience as a senior, bringing this segment of the recording to a temporary close.

"Sunye, what are you playing at? You gave me a start," Jiang Yihan breathed a sigh of relief only after the PD announced that the segment recording was complete.

"Haha, nothing really. We just debuted in February, but I've always wanted to visit you. You've been too busy and had no time, so I only managed to come today," Min Sunye said with a continued smile. Although she and Jiang Yihan had only crossed paths a few times, they didn't feel distant at all.

"Sunye unnie, do you know Senior Jiang Yihan?" asked a girl standing next to Min Sunye. Judging by the self-introduction earlier, her name seemed to be Yeeun.

"Yeah, we've met a few times," Min Sunye nodded.

"How does it feel now that you've debuted?" Jiang Yihan knew that Min Sunye had worked hard for nearly seven years; the hardships involved could not be fully captured in a few words. Now that she had finally debuted, she must have countless thoughts and emotions.

"It feels very nervous. Life is a bit different from before—apart from working hard, there's nothing else to do but keep working hard," Min Sunye said with a trace of excitement. Having strived for so long and finally debuted, her feelings were quite special.

"Ha, keep working hard then. I hope to see great results from you at the end of the year," Jiang Yihan said with a smile.

At that moment, the PD stepped forward. "Yihan, do you know Min Sunye? She's the leader of Wonder Girls."

"Oh, I know her, I know her. We happened to meet by coincidence once before and got acquainted," Jiang Yihan knew the PD wanted to ask for his opinion on Min Sunye, so he naturally continued, "Sunye is a very hardworking friend with a great personality and a pretty face. I'm really looking forward to her future performances." With that, Jiang Yihan gave a playful wink.

"Senior, could you give me an autograph?" The young female named Yeeun stepped forward.

"Haha, they all like you very much. When they found out they were coming to see you, their notebooks were prepared long ago," Min Sunye explained with a smile.

Jiang Yihan's confusion was finally resolved. He took the notebook and quickly signed his name. "We'll have plenty of chances to meet in the future, you guys keep working hard!" Jiang Yihan's smile remained as charming as ever.

Since they still had to visit other seniors, the five girls soon left Jiang Yihan's waiting room. Waving and smiling goodbye to Min Sunye, Jiang Yihan felt it was quite surreal. Friends he had been chatting with just like that had now debuted and become his juniors—it truly was wondrous.

However, the room wasn't quiet for long before another knock came at the door. "Yihan hyung, can I come in?"

After Jiang Yihan gave his confirmation, the person who walked in turned out to be the five-member group Big Bang. G-Dragon walked in with familiar ease, gave Jiang Yihan a hug, and then exchanged a smiling glance with Jiang Ziyi, though he didn't walk over because camera crews were following right behind.

"Ah, it's you!" Jiang Yihan cried out when he spotted the PD trailing behind them. The trailing PD turned out to be none other than the PD of *A Dash of Affection* (or *Won-Won/Ten Thousand Won Happiness*), with whom Jiang Yihan had once completed a week-long challenge. Because the memories were so vivid, Jiang Yihan blurted out immediately, "Which one of you is so pitiful as to be doing the challenge? This PD is really bad and won't let you eat anything at all."

"Jiang Yihan, our show naturally doesn't allow eating anything," the PD said, wearing an expression of blatant grievance that left onlookers unable to hold back their laughter.

"It's me," T.O.P raised his hand with an utterly depressed look on his face.

"Aigoo, poor child. How many days has it been? Do you know who your opponent is?" Jiang Yihan consoled him.

"It's already been four days. My opponent is Senior Son Ho-young from g.o.d," T.O.P pouted and complained. "Senior Son Ho-young spent all his money, and then during the mid-term check, he won the competition and swapped all my money away."

"Aigoo..." Jiang Yihan let out a surprised cry, followed immediately by a burst of laughter. What an unfortunate kid. However, upon seeing T.O.P's thoroughly dejected expression, Jiang Yihan hurriedly stepped forward to give him a hug, then offered a remedial remedy: "How about this? If you perform a special talent for us, you can pick whatever you want to eat from my stash."

As soon as Jiang Yihan finished speaking, T.O.P's eyes shot straight toward the table.

"T.O.P hyung, there's so much food here," shouted Seungri, the youngest member, formerly known as Lee Seung-hyun. "Yihan hyung, how come you have so much food here?"

"Fans sent all of it," Jiang Yihan said with a smile.

"Whoa, Yihan hyung, you really have a lot of gifts," G-Dragon, being quite familiar with him already, didn't stand on ceremony either. He simply pulled up a chair, sat down, and started eating. "I didn't have time to eat lunch today, so I'll just eat at Yihan hyung's place."

"You heartless guys..." T.O.P, who wasn't allowed to eat, stood in place looking deeply aggrieved. Suddenly recalling what Jiang Yihan had just said, T.O.P's eyes locked onto the large pizza box on the table. "Yihan hyung, you promised, right? If I show my special talent, I can pick whatever I want from here." His gaze remained glued to the pizza.

"Haha, of course, absolutely. Don't worry, I always keep my word," Jiang Yihan replied with a smile.

When T.O.P went for it, his skills proved to be thoroughly seasoned. A short rap performance left Jiang Yihan completely in awe; T.O.P was indeed a born rapper, with a sense of rhythm and tone so comfortable that anyone listening would involuntarily start tapping along. As the brief rap segment ended, Jiang Yihan genuinely applauded, offering sincere praise.

Seeing that Jiang Yihan had agreed, T.O.P cast an eager look toward the PD. Looking rather embarrassed, the PD hesitated before saying, "He can buy a small portion to eat at a discount, but it really can't be free."

"Alright then, a tiny slice of pizza for 300 won" (whereas a whole, good-sized pizza usually cost tens of thousands of won and was cut into about 8 slices). Jiang Yihan stated this with an assertive tone.

"Yihan, that's way too cheap..." The PD's "No way" was cut off midway by Jiang Yihan's fierce interruption: "Does it work or not? My Castle fans and Big Bang's V.I.P are watching, you know!"

Hearing Jiang Yihan's threat, a chill ran down the PD's spine. Although he knew Jiang Yihan was surely joking, the PD wasn't certain whether the Castle fandom would take it as a joke or take it seriously. If they took it really seriously... well, after hesitating for just a few seconds, the PD quickly nodded in agreement.

Jiang Yihan instantly broke into a radiant, beaming smile. "The PD is the best, haha. T.O.P, hurry up and thank the PD, then go eat your pizza." The PD's depression contrasted sharply with T.O.P's radiant joy, marking a resounding victory for Jiang Yihan.

"Jiang Yihan, are you very close with Big Bang?" While T.O.P was busy eating, the PD naturally shifted to interviewing Jiang Yihan. Securing an interview slot with Jiang Yihan was notoriously difficult nowadays, so the PD was naturally seizing the opportunity.

"Yeah, we've known each other for a long time. Haha, if we really trace it back, we knew each other even before my debut," Jiang Yihan glanced at G-Dragon and burst into hearty laughter. In a spot where the camera couldn't capture, Jiang Ziyi and G-Dragon had naturally ended up sitting right next to each other. "Later on, we had plenty of chances to get to know each other better. I got quite close with leader G-Dragon and the youngest, Seungri, and after we became partners in the same company, I grew close with all five guys. Our dorms aren't far apart either, so they often come over to my place to hang out."

"Then what kind of juniors do you think they are?" asked the PD, trotting out a classic question.

"They haven't even debuted for a year yet, but their performances are truly exceptional. They helped out a lot with this album of mine too. When it comes to hip-hop, they're better than me, haha! I believe they'll go very far on their path ahead," Jiang Yihan said sincerely. He knew Big Bang's capabilities inside and out, and he believed their future success wouldn't be far off.

"And what about T.O.P? How does he view Senior Jiang Yihan?" the PD asked T.O.P, who looked supremely satisfied after finishing a slice of pizza.

"Haha, Yihan hyung treats us really well. He often takes us out to eat and helps us a lot during practice sessions," T.O.P answered earnestly. "We hadn't debuted long ago and didn't know much about many things, but whenever Yihan hyung had time, he would come and teach us. Even though Yihan hyung is now the top singer in South Korea and arguably all of Asia, whenever he's with us, he still hangs out like one of the guys and treats us genuinely well."

"That's right, Yihan hyung isn't like our senior; he's more like our real older brother," Seungri added cheerfully.

"It looks like your bond is genuinely strong," the PD could tell these were heartfelt words rather than a performance for the cameras. "Lastly, does Jiang Yihan have anything to say to T.O.P regarding the recording of *Ten Thousand Won Happiness* over the next few days?"

"Haha, T.O.P, bear the hunger well, haha. Once you win, Yihan hyung will buy you something delicious." Jiang Yihan said into the camera with a smile.

Only then did the PD wrap up this segment of filming.