Chapter 157 It Really Was Me

Scene Time: April 2007
Recommended Song: BIGBANG -- Strong Boy (Seungri Solo)
Disclaimer: This work is purely fictional. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental!

Jiang Yihan shook his head. Although going out that afternoon had been relaxing and fun, his heart was now a complete mess. Should he accept or not? Knowing full well that he had also developed feelings for Lee Hyori, he found himself shrinking back. Jiang Yihan hated this version of himself, even despising why he could not simply make a firm decision, why he could not grit his teeth and harden his heart. Yet matters of the heart were always like this; even if one loved deeply, any lingering hesitation made it impossible to commit fully. Right now, Jiang Yihan was caught in exactly that state—still held back by doubts.

After returning home, Jiang Yihan hesitated for a moment before heading to the practice room. With filming scheduled to start tomorrow, he had no idea how much time he would have left to maintain his practice routine. He might as well make the most of whatever time he had now.

Stepping into the practice room, Jiang Yihan found that it was already in use. It was the three girls selected a few days prior to prepare for their debut. The track they were practicing was a classic S.E.S song. While the three girls had no issues with their dance steps or vocals, their sense of immersion and confidence fell short, making their expressions lack charm.

"Clap, clap, clap..." As the song ended, Jiang Yihan began to applaud. The three girls—Yoon Eun-ah, Heo Jung-ah, and Lin Yue—all turned around simultaneously. Seeing that it was Jiang Yihan, the three of them hurriedly bowed to greet their senior.

"Why are the three of you still practicing? Where are the other guys? Are they all slacking off?" Jiang Yihan said with a warm smile. Since these trainees preparing for their debut were at most sixteen years old, they were still just kids in his eyes. He did not carry much of a senior's airs, but he certainly felt like an older brother.

"Hehe, no. They lost a game just now, so the five of them ran out to buy drinks," Yoon Eun-ah said happily, clearly showing that the girls and boys got along very well.

"Ha, those rascals," Jiang Yihan laughed heartily. "Right, looking at your practice just now, did you feel like anything was off?"

Jiang Yihan's question left the three girls looking at each other in blank dismay.

"Out of the three of you, Lin Yue did slightly better, but it's still not enough," Jiang Yihan said, stepping forward to directly demonstrate a short segment of the dance. He showed two different expressions: the first, though smiling, somehow lacked something in the eyes and physical movements; the second was the pure, captivating charm Jiang Yihan radiated effortlessly even in casual sportswear.

"Well? Did you notice the difference?" Jiang Yihan asked, wiping the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. All three girls knew there was a vast difference, but they could not find the right words to describe it at that moment.

"I know. It's confidence." The voice came from the doorway, where the boys had just returned holding a large pile of ice cream. It was Cheng Yu who had spoken.

"Hehe, still sharp as ever, kid. Tell us how you sensed it," Jiang Yihan said, affectionately rubbing the top of Cheng Yu's head with a word of praise.

"Yihan-hyung taught me before: on stage, being confident and lacking confidence look completely different. You have to believe in your heart that you are the best on that stage. Even if your movements differ slightly from practice, every single gesture will radiate your own charm, and your expressions and gaze will convey so much more," Cheng Yu spoke fluently, clearly remembering Jiang Yihan's previous teachings vividly. "The same dance, but with different emotions revealed through facial expressions and eyes, the effect changes entirely. When you are confident, even a slight smile makes people feel completely at ease; but when you lack confidence, even a broad grin makes people feel like you aren't actually smiling. And the eyes are the most important part—everything revealed in your gaze is your view of yourself, so your eyes must be confident. Only on a stage like that can you truly showcase your charm."

After Cheng Yu finished, everyone had a sudden epiphany. In essence, the biggest difference was the genuine emotion from within, expressed through Jiang Yihan's movements, expressions, and gaze, which ultimately allowed one to command the stage.

However, explaining it theoretically was one thing; manifesting it was not nearly as easy. That was why some people were simply born for the stage. The radiance they emitted upon it was enough to make everyone turn their heads—it was a talent. What Jiang Yihan possessed was precisely that kind of talent, the kind that drew all eyes even when he was not on stage.

Without such innate talent, one could only control every movement through relentless practice. Only when practice reached a certain threshold would the resulting aura truly become one of confidence.

Through the explanations given by Jiang Yihan and Cheng Yu, everyone finally understood the concept. At the same time, they grasped the vital importance of practice. Sometimes, stepping onto the stage for the same song required practicing hundreds or even thousands of times, until the mere sound of the music automatically set the body in motion. Only then would one's performance truly possess charm.

Everyone looked at Jiang Yihan with envy. Everyone in the company knew of Jiang Yihan's hard work, and coupled with his innate, magnetic allure, his performances always carried an alluring quality that immersed everyone in the radiance of his stage presence. Jiang Yihan was truly a person born for the stage.

"Haha, don't look at me like that, it feels really weird," Jiang Yihan joked when he saw everyone staring at him so intently. "Hurry up and practice, or you'll be in big trouble if your manager yells at you."

Only then did the group of big kids break apart amidst giggles and return to their practice.

Since this practice room was occupied, Jiang Yihan had no choice but to head to the room directly across the hall. Just as he stepped out, his phone rang.

"Hello, Yoon-ah? What's up?" Jiang Yihan asked as he walked while drinking water.

"Lazy Cat, where are you? Come over to the company right now, there are some things to discuss with you," Lee Ran cut straight to the point without any preamble.

"Oh, I'm at the company, in the practice room corridor. What floor are you on? I'll come up." Jiang Yihan changed direction and headed toward the elevator.

Lee Ran turned his head to look at Jiang Haotian standing behind him. Jiang Haotian rubbed his temples and said softly, "Let's talk in Lee Tong's office." Lee Ran stared at Jiang Haotian and shook his head slightly. Father? Boss? Then Lee Ran walked out, saying, "Go to Uncle Lee's. I'll wait for you in the office."

Jiang Haotian sighed as he looked at the closing office door. Although he was trying hard to bridge the gap between himself and Jiang Yihan, he found that all his efforts were in vain—a gap of over a dozen years could not be filled just by wishing it so. Moreover, Jiang Haotian thought of the child in his wife's belly, due to be born in just a few days. At that thought, Jiang Haotian could almost vividly imagine Jiang Yihan's expression. Closing his eyes, he was forced to cruelly realize that maintaining their current working relationship was indeed the most suitable dynamic for the two of them.

"Uncle Lee, what's up? Is there something you wanted me for?" Jiang Yihan pushed open the door to Lee Tong's office. He was already very familiar with it, so he skipped the formalities and asked directly.

"Hehe, you brat." Lee Tong was reviewing the proposal given to him by Lee Ran. Hearing the voice and looking up to see Jiang Yihan enter, he smiled. "What, am I not allowed to call you unless there's an emergency?"

"Haha, if there's no emergency, I'll go back to practicing. Running all the way up here is a real hassle," Jiang Yihan joked playfully.

Yet Lee Tong didn't let him leave, instead smiling as he watched Jiang Yihan, who had already started to back away. "If you go back down now, won't you have to come back up later? You're the one making trouble for yourself, I won't care."

"Hmph." Jiang Yihan made a face at Lee Tong before walking over to the sofa and sitting down. "Alright, what is it, Uncle Lee?"

"Let Lee Ran tell you. I've only got a little bit left of this document to finish reading," Lee Tong said as he sat down and continued reviewing the proposal in his hands.

"Well, Lazy Cat, the company has decided to put you in charge as the producer for the two upcoming groups. It's settled," Lee Ran announced.

Jiang Yihan sighed. "Of course it's me."

"What? You unwilling?" Lee Tong looked up, intentionally putting on a stern expression.

"Hehe, being a producer is an affirmation of a musician, of course I'm okay with it. I just didn't expect it to actually be finalized." Jiang Haotian had mentioned this to Jiang Yihan before, but Jiang Yihan thought the probability was relatively low; after all, his qualifications were still thin, and in the music industry, he could only be considered a fresh newcomer. He hadn't expected the company to actually hand him such a heavy responsibility as a producer, which was indeed a recognition of his ability. "Besides, I'm worried I won't have the time. I'm so busy right now."

"As for time, working hard is a given, but the company has already stepped in to negotiate your schedule with the television stations to minimize your commitments," Lee Tong said, feeling a pang of sympathy for Jiang Yihan's heavy workload, which was taking a toll on his health. The main reason the company had to step in and negotiate with the stations was to maintain good relations with them; Lee Ran's standing as a manager alone clearly wasn't influential enough. Stepping forward in the name of ONE Corporation put them on equal footing, and coupled with ONE's current strength and Jiang Yihan's immense influence, their leverage was much greater now.

"Then when will the song collection process be finished?" Jiang Yihan didn't ask further about other matters; Lee Ran would definitely take care of his schedule, so there was nothing to worry about there. He preferred to focus on his producer duties. "If I'm going to be filming dramas next time, I might not have much time to come and oversee the song collection."

"Actually, the song collection is almost done. By then, we'll burn all the master tracks onto discs so you can listen to them while resting on the set. Once you listen through them, you just need to set the concept for the album and select the tracks. After that, we'll arrange recording sessions around your schedule," Lee Tong outlined the plan. "Of course, if you have the time to personally craft the title track for them, that would naturally be even better."

Jiang Yihan rolled his eyes. "Oh please, I'm only human, alright?" Seeing Jiang Yihan's playful look, Lee Tong chuckled. "You're human alright—an invincible little human."

Lee Tong's teasing tone brought smiles to all three of them.

"As for the title track, if I can produce it myself, that's obviously best. I'll see how things go; if not, I'll still pay close attention during the track selection process." Jiang Yihan had only produced an album once before, so he still had a lot to learn and naturally didn't want to rush things blindly. "So now, are the names chosen for the two groups of eight people?"

"Not yet. A professional styling team is currently designing their looks and unifying their styles. Of course, the final decision will still rest with you." Lee Tong updated him on the current progress, noting that the debut preparations for these rookies were now officially on track. "Do you have any plans for what route they should take? Ballads, dance tracks, or something else?"

"There really is so much work," Jiang Yihan rubbed his temples, already anticipating the hardship as he tried to visualize the framework of this album. "I don't have any ideas at the moment. But right now, dance tracks dominate the Korean market, so doing hip-hop probably has a higher chance of breaking through. I'll need to plan the specifics further."

"Right, you know the trends in Korean pop music nowadays, so figure it out yourself," Lee Tong trusted Jiang Yihan's judgment regarding musical style. "However, Korea hasn't produced a successful girl group in a long time. You should give serious thought to their positioning this time."

Ever since S.E.S and Fin.K.L, Korea had not produced any prominent girl groups for three or four years. Most girl groups were somewhat "short-lived" and struggled to achieve widespread fame. The current Korean music scene was the undisputed territory of boy bands—boy bands found it easier to achieve fame, though the competition was fierce, whereas girl groups found it extraordinarily difficult even to break through. Naturally, careful planning was required. While Wonder Girls had recently debuted and received a positive response, they still lagged behind other rookie boy groups, and the obstacles to their development were clearly quite significant. Right now, girl groups represented a massive, largely vacant cake in the Korean music industry, but figuring out how to claim it was a profound challenge that every company was currently exploring and researching.

"Still, don't rush; their debut isn't urgent yet. Your drama filming is the priority right now, so make sure your schedule is properly arranged," Lee Tong instructed, showing his concern for Jiang Yihan's busy life. "Your health comes first; don't overwork yourself."

"Hehe, I know, don't worry. Even if you didn't say it, Yoon-ah keeps me on a very tight leash," Jiang Yihan said with a cheerful smile. "Then I'll head back down first. I can start working once you give me the master tracks. For now, I'm going to go practice—who knows if I'll even find the time to keep practicing once filming starts." Jiang Yihan stretched lazily, preparing to leave.

"Right, right," Lee Tong called out to Jiang Yihan at the doorway, as well as Lee Ran who had just stood up. "Lee Ran, that house the sponsor previously gifted to Yihan is ready for interior remodeling. How do you guys want to handle it?"

"House? What house?" Jiang Yihan clearly paid little attention to such matters; even if Lee Ran had mentioned it to him before, he didn't remember.

"Didn't I tell you before that a sponsor gifted you a villa?" Lee Ran was unfazed, knowing Jiang Yihan must have forgotten again. Ignoring Jiang Yihan's bewildered expression, Lee Ran turned to answer, "Talk to Xiao Yi about this; she's in charge of it. I've already spoken with her. She mentioned that Lazy Cat has way too many gifts and sponsor clothes with nowhere to store them, so she can handle the interior layout and design too—she's more familiar with that."

Lee Tong nodded, after which Lee Ran and Jiang Yihan walked out together.

A house was just a house; for Jiang Yihan at this point, money was nothing more than a string of numbers. What mattered far more right now was his filming schedule and the two upcoming albums he had to produce.

Returning to the practice room, Jiang Yihan sat quietly and began to ponder the development of the two groups. In the current Korean music scene where artists were too numerous to count, breaking through the fierce competition—whether for a boy group or a girl group—was by no means an easy task.