Chapter Nineteen: Colleagues

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Entertainment Around Us – No Pop-up
Story Time: January 2005
Recommended Song: SS501 – Fighter
Disclaimer: This is a work of pure fiction; any resemblance to real persons is purely coincidental!

With the rhythmic beat of the drums, Jiang Yihan practiced his dance in front of the large mirror in the rehearsal studio. His body moved fluidly to the music, his steps light and agile, and there was a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corner of his lips.

It had been a few days since Jiang Ziyi and Kwon Jiyong had met. Jiang Yihan’s mood was quite good, and his motivation for practice was stronger than ever.

Suddenly, the door of the rehearsal room was pushed open, and several people about Jiang Yihan’s age walked in. The one in front lifted his chin slightly, his eyes brimming with confidence, and his mouth curled disdainfully to the left, an unmistakable look of contempt. Before Jiang Yihan could even take a good look at everyone, the leader spoke.

“So, you’re Jiang Yihan?” The derision in his voice was obvious, even to a fool.

Jiang Yihan didn’t answer directly. Instead, he walked over to the side and turned off the music, then returned, politely extending his right hand for a handshake. “Hello, I’m Jiang Yihan.”

But the other party had no intention of introducing himself, going straight to the point. “Give me one reason why you’re better than me.”

“Huh?” Jiang Yihan didn’t quite understand the other’s purpose, so he probed, “Excuse me, who are you?”

“I’ve been training for seven years, since I was fifteen. Why do you get to debut instead of me?” The person’s anger grew as he spoke. “I’ve put in so much time, I’m already considered the most promising trainee among the ABC group. The president has praised me many times for my excellence. I’ve sweated, been injured, practiced day and night—so why do you get to debut and not me!” The last sentence was nearly a roar, catching Jiang Yihan off guard.

He knew well how difficult it was to debut in Korea, given the rigorous training system. For someone like him, a foreigner, to be preparing for an album after less than a month of training was nothing short of a miracle. He’d realized this, but he had overlooked just how many people would be unable to accept or tolerate this “miracle.”

As Jiang Yihan was considering how to calm the other down, the person spoke again. “You have talent, the president values you, but do you really think you can bear the weight of those expectations? And now that *Company* has announced they’ll blacklist you, the president has been running around, using every connection we have to protect you. What advantage do you have over us?”

“I…” Jiang Yihan began, but the words seemed stuck in his throat. After a moment’s thought, he replied, “Calm down first. I know how hard you’ve all worked and how much you hope to debut. So I understand that this news must be hard to bear. But I think we each have our strengths; the president just happened to think I fit the timing for debut. Don’t overthink it.”

“What do you mean, we each have our strengths? You’ve only trained for a month. What gives you the right to compare yourself to us? Tell me!” The other seemed to lose all reason, showing no sign of calming down.

“I didn’t mean I want to compare myself to you,” Jiang Yihan replied, helpless but still trying to comfort him. “What I meant was—”

He didn’t get to finish. The other threw a punch at him; Jiang Yihan, caught off guard, felt a burning pain as the fist landed squarely on his face, causing him to stagger back several steps. The other continued to shout, “What do you mean, you’re not comparing yourself to us? Just tell me, why is it you and not me? Why!”

Fighting had never been Jiang Yihan’s forte, but at this moment, he found himself growing angry. The other was acting like a child throwing a tantrum. “Then tell me, what did I do wrong? Who debuts isn’t even up to me.” His voice grew louder, his presence stronger. “You yelling at me won’t change anything. Maybe I’m not as good as you, but the company decided I’d debut. What can I say?” As soon as he said it, he realized he’d made things worse; he’d been reasonable, but now he’d only provoked the other further.

Sure enough, the other was enraged, his handsome face flushed, veins bulging on his forehead, and he lunged at Jiang Yihan. The two fell into a scuffle, fists landing wherever they could.

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Jiang Yihan instinctively shielded his head, not knowing what else to do; to joke, he wasn’t even sure how to fight back.

At that moment, the person pinning him down was suddenly pulled away. Jiang Yihan looked up to see Li Ran’s back. Li Ran, tall and well-built, had always been good at fighting. The two began to grapple, Li Ran gaining the upper hand. Jiang Yihan hurried over to pull him away, while the others with the instigator did the same.

Seeing the others still wanting to continue, Jiang Yihan shouted at them, “You’ve trained so long—you know your own abilities. Why worry about whether you can debut or not? Don’t you have any confidence in yourselves? Is that why you’re here demanding why it’s me and not you? If you had faith, you’d keep practicing and believe you’d debut in your own time!”

Hearing this, the ringleader glared at Jiang Yihan and Li Ran, breathing heavily. After a while, he approached and said, “This isn’t over,” before leaving. Li Ran, still fuming, wanted to go after him, but Jiang Yihan held him back.

The remaining three or four hesitated, then turned and left as well, save for one. The one left behind was about 1.65 meters tall, with a baby face that was quite adorable.

Li Ran eyed him warily. “What do you want? Planning to fight again?”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry.” To their surprise, the baby-faced boy bowed in apology, leaving both Jiang Yihan and Li Ran puzzled.

“Hello, my name is Cheng Yu. I’m 13.” The baby-faced boy introduced himself. Unsure how to respond, Jiang Yihan and Li Ran simply watched as Cheng Yu continued, “The one who fought you is our senior trainee, Lin Erxiang.”

He sat down on the spot. “I’ve only been here six months, but the older trainees say our company’s strength has been declining, so there are fewer debut opportunities, and barely anyone becomes popular after debuting. Many seniors have already auditioned for other companies. Lin Erxiang has been here the longest and is the most senior among the remaining trainees. The president has always praised him and was even planning to form a group with him. The company had been collecting songs and formed a temporary group to test out new tracks. But after you arrived, the company started focusing all its plans around you, even transferring the songs we’d been working on to your music team for your debut.”

As Cheng Yu explained, Jiang Yihan and Li Ran gradually understood the whole situation. “Lin Erxiang has always worked hard and pinned his hopes on debuting. But he’s also known for bearing grudges and being petty. Once he figured out what was happening, he started stirring us up to cause you trouble. That’s why we came today. We didn’t expect things to get physical. I know Lin Erxiang was at fault, but Jiang Yihan, please don’t tell the president. If you do, he’ll definitely be expelled.”

“What I’m curious about is why you joined in causing trouble but are now telling us all this?” Jiang Yihan asked, intrigued.

“I know it’s hard for you to trust me after what happened just now,” Cheng Yu said, sounding older than his years. Six months of trainee life, with its constant competition and schemes, had taught him much. “But from your conversation, it’s clear you’re not someone who likes stirring up trouble—it was Lin Erxiang provoking things all along. The rest of us only realized he was trying to drag us down with him to avoid punishment after hearing you talk. And he lost control and threw the first punch. That’s why I stayed, hoping you’d forgive me.”

After Cheng Yu finished, only the sound of breathing filled the empty studio. After a long while, Jiang Yihan finally spoke. “Sigh… I understand how hard you’ve all worked. Even though I’ve only trained a month, the relentless daily grind has shown me how tough this life is. Debuting was always your dream, and for me to come out of nowhere and get the chance first, it’s normal for you to be upset. I regret it too. But your way of dealing with it isn’t right.” He sighed again. “Cheng Yu, go on back. Trust me, I’m not one to make trouble, nor am I a gossip.”

Cheng Yu glanced at Li Ran, then at Jiang Yihan, a faint smile on his lips. “Jiang Yihan, you really are a good person—not at all like the rumors say.”

Jiang Yihan raised an inquiring eyebrow—rumors? From whom? Seeing his look, Cheng Yu smiled knowingly, and Jiang Yihan immediately understood: Lin Erxiang had been badmouthing him behind his back. But what could he do? A person’s mouth was their own.

Cheng Yu stood, bowed, and took his leave.

Li Ran carried Jiang Yihan home. Clearly, practice was over for today—he needed to go back and treat his injuries.

“Feels like we’re kids again,” Jiang Yihan said wearily. As a child, he’d always been weak and the target of bullying; Li Ran often had to come to his rescue.

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“My dad hasn’t hit me lately,” Li Ran remarked blandly, and both of them shared a knowing smile.

Li Ran’s father firmly believed in the philosophy that spare the rod, spoil the child. At the slightest disagreement, he’d resort to corporal punishment. Jiang Yihan was the only one who could persuade Li Ran’s father not to hit his son, sometimes even cheering him up in the process.

With Li Ran’s mention of his father, the two recalled memories from the past. They strolled down the nighttime street, stars scattered across the cold winter sky, the chill biting at their faces. Li Ran carried Jiang Yihan on his back, just as he had in their childhood, making it feel as though they were kids once more.

A few days later, Li Tong found out about the incident. When he asked Jiang Yihan about it, Jiang Yihan kept his promise to Cheng Yu. “Uncle Li, it’s fine—I’m fine. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Sigh…” Li Tong looked at Jiang Yihan’s gentle smile. Jiang Yihan was always so considerate, so optimistic—his faint smile was like a spring breeze. “Yihan, you’ve always been so thoughtful. Do you know how I found out about this?”

Confused, Jiang Yihan listened as Li Tong recounted the story. It turned out that Lin Erxiang had been poached by a manager named Cheng Shi from MS Company. He decided to leave, thinking he’d have a brighter future there. But before going, Lin Erxiang couldn’t help himself and asked Li Tong directly what made Yihan better, so he could leave with peace of mind.

Jiang Yihan was moved by this, wondering if he would ever see Lin Erxiang again, or what it would be like if they did meet. A brief encounter, a fight—such was fate in Jiang Yihan’s eyes.

“Do you know how I answered him?” Li Tong asked, like a child wanting to play a guessing game, but Jiang Yihan remained unmoved, giving nothing away. So Li Tong answered himself, “I just said, ‘The fact that you came to ask me means you’re not as good as him.’”

“Pff.” Yihan and Li Ran responded with simultaneous disdain.

“What’s with you two?” Li Tong was quite pleased with his answer but was disappointed by their reaction. “Lin Erxiang is very talented, but his personality is too prone to holding grudges and being calculative. At first, he might win over a lot of seniors, but in the long run, he’ll lose their trust because of his scheming ways. I had him train for years, and in terms of skill, he’s ready—but I set him extra culture classes, hoping to polish off his sharp edges and teach him humility. Unfortunately, after a year, he still let me down.”

“P!” Li Tong’s long speech was met with a synchronized and dismissive retort from both Jiang Yihan and Li Ran, leaving him deflated.

“You’d already decided to let Lin Erxiang debut, right?” Jiang Yihan continued, seeing the look of surprise on Li Tong’s face, and pressed on, “Li Ran saw it in the company’s plans—the first member of your new group was always going to be Lin Erxiang. All that stuff about grudges and being calculative was just an excuse for you to buy time to choose the other members. You just didn’t expect Lin Erxiang to lose his patience and leave, right?”

Li Tong’s embarrassed expression confirmed Jiang Yihan’s deduction. After a few coughs, he shifted the topic. “Now that he’s gone to MS Company, they’ll probably assess him thoroughly. I believe his skills are up to the task. He’ll be your rival one day. And with his personality, you two are bound to have clashes.”

“Well, there’s nothing for it. He has his way of doing things, and I have mine. If conflict arises, it’s unavoidable.” Jiang Yihan sighed. “Best I focus on my album for now. If I can’t even get that done, I won’t even get to debut, let alone have rivals! Haha.”

A Note from Broken Cat: I saw in the comments that some readers mentioned issues with Jiang Ziyi’s character, and I realized this is my first time writing a novel—there are definitely plot holes and overlooked details, and I apologize for that. Thank you all for your feedback.

Let me explain: Jiang Ziyi and Kwon Jiyong met in September and only confirmed their relationship in December, so the timeline is normal—I just haven’t written much about it. Second, Jiang Ziyi’s role as the younger sister is important, not just a filler. Originally, I planned for her to become Jiang Yihan’s assistant, but couldn’t find a way for her to leave school and join his life, so her role has seemed negligible. In my design, Li Ran and Jiang Ziyi are important to Jiang Yihan and will have more development later. But since this is my first novel, the early sections lack detail and character control, which made Jiang Ziyi’s presence feel abrupt and her boyfriend appear out of nowhere. I apologize for that! I’ll pay more attention in the future and revise earlier sections as needed.

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