Chapter Thirty-Nine: Kim Jaejoong's Contract

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Entertainment at Your Side – No Pop-ups
Story timeline: March 2005
Recommended song: Darren Hayes – "Darkness"
Statement: This is a work of fiction. Please do not associate it with real people or events. Any similarities are purely coincidental.

“You little rascal, how did you find my mom without telling me? I ended up making a fool of myself on stage because of you,” Jiang Yihan exclaimed as soon as he stepped off the stage, throwing himself onto Li Ran and giving him a hard bite. Li Ran didn’t say anything, just smiled and let Jiang Yihan vent his frustration.

Jiang Yihan didn’t keep it up for long—there were people all around, and he started to feel a bit embarrassed. Outside, the audience still hadn’t dispersed; instead, they were chanting “Encore! Encore!”, hoping to see Jiang Yihan return to the stage. Jin Xiaoxi gave Jiang Yihan a questioning look, asking if he wanted to do an encore and perform another song. Before Jiang Yihan could answer, Li Ran spoke up, “No encore, there’ll be more chances in the future. Just go out and calm the audience, and tell them they can start buying support merchandise on the official website in a week. That should do it. Let’s leave first, or we won’t be able to get out.”

Jin Xiaoxi didn’t hesitate, immediately heading back on stage to reassure the fans. Meanwhile, Li Ran, Jiang Yihan, and Kim Jaejoong left first, while Jiang Ziyi and Xu Xian stayed behind to help with the aftermath. Director Han didn’t leave either—she was still filming some wrap-up shots, bringing her months-long project to a close.

Stepping out the back door, Jiang Yihan was met with a packed crowd, pushing forward relentlessly. Everywhere, placards and banners bearing Jiang Yihan’s name jostled above the heads of the crowd. These were fans who hadn’t managed to get into the venue but refused to leave, choosing instead to wait outside. For the first time, Jiang Yihan felt the intensity of such adulation, and was a bit dazed. Before he could collect himself, Li Ran grabbed him and Kim Jaejoong and started pushing through the crowd. He could feel hands reaching for him, tugging at his clothes, and the noise around them was so loud and chaotic it made his ears ache.

Fortunately, there weren’t too many people, and the distance to the van wasn’t far. Soon enough, the three of them clambered into the vehicle—“clambered” being the apt word, since people were still grabbing at their clothes, trying to prevent them from getting in. Once inside, Li Ran started the vehicle, while Jiang Yihan and Kim Jaejoong waved to the fans pressed against the windows, who pounded on the glass as if they might break it, trying to get Jiang Yihan’s attention. It was a nerve-wracking moment, but once the car pulled away, the situation was finally under control.

Jiang Yihan patted his chest, breathing out in relief. “Jaejoong, is it like this every time you go out? It’s exhausting.”

Kim Jaejoong looked at the disheveled Jiang Yihan and couldn’t help laughing, “Yeah, I’m used to it now. You’ll have to get used to it too—your popularity is rising so fast.”

Jiang Yihan gave an embarrassed laugh. “By the way, did your company just let you come here? Didn’t they give you any trouble?”

At this question, Kim Jaejoong’s face darkened. Noticing this, Jiang Yihan quickly pressed for details. After a moment’s hesitation, Kim Jaejoong confessed; he didn’t want to lie to his brother. “Our company didn’t let me come. They said we can’t have any association with you. But I had a two-hour break this afternoon since my schedule ended early, so I snuck out to come here.”

“What? Jaejoong, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Jiang Yihan became anxious. “If your company forbids you, you shouldn’t risk it. Just call me instead. What if your boss finds out and gets angry? The year-end incident wasn’t that long ago. If you do this again, the higher-ups will have more ammunition against you. What are we going to do?”

Seeing Jiang Yihan’s genuine worry, Kim Jaejoong, though concerned, felt that his actions today were worth it. “Don’t worry about me. After the Yellow Rose incident, I’ve grown a lot. I still have a five-year contract with MS Company—they can do whatever they want with me. What I did today was just a catalyst. If they really want to punish me, they’d find some other excuse even if I didn’t do this. So don’t worry. Besides, I was really happy to see your fan meeting today. You don’t need to worry about me either.”

Jiang Yihan’s eyes grew moist as Kim Jaejoong explained. He gently patted his friend’s shoulder and fell silent. Neither spoke again until Kim Jaejoong got out of the car at the MS Company building; the atmosphere in the van was thick with worry and tension. But Kim Jaejoong had no regrets. He hugged Jiang Yihan before resolutely stepping out. Watching him go, Jiang Yihan sighed and rubbed his forehead. “Li Ran, do you think I’ll run into something like this in the future?”

Li Ran did not answer. He simply sighed. No one could predict what the future held; they were both still novices in the entertainment world. After a long silence, Li Ran finally said, “Kitty, why don’t we ask Uncle Li Tong if he has any solutions?”

“Uncle Li? What could he do—warn the higher-ups at MS Company?” Jiang Yihan thought for a moment. “The only real way would be for them to leave MS Company. That’s about it.”

“Leave?” Li Ran’s eyes lit up at the word, and he said excitedly, “That’s right! Why can’t we have Uncle Li buy out the contracts of TVXQ’s members and make them our own artists? We’d be their bosses!”

“What? Our company buying them? Is that even possible?” Jiang Yihan’s spirits lifted at the thought of a solution, his mind racing. “But our company’s not exactly in great shape right now. Could we even afford that kind of money?”

“True, our company’s situation isn’t ideal either. But there’s no use speculating; let’s just call Uncle Li and ask.” Li Ran handed his phone to Jiang Yihan as he was driving and couldn’t make the call himself.

After dialing, it took a while before Li Tong answered, sounding tired—he’d been working almost non-stop planning Jiang Yihan’s events and schedule. “Hello, Li Ran, what’s up?”

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“Uncle Li, it’s me, Yihan,” Jiang Yihan jumped straight to the point. “Uncle Li, what would you think about trying to sign TVXQ to our company?”

“Give me a reason,” Li Tong’s mind snapped into work mode, cutting to the chase.

“I believe they’ll be a hit—absolutely! They could be our company’s ace group,” Jiang Yihan replied without hesitation. As for the real reason (because the damn cat said so—), he couldn’t exactly say he wanted to rescue Kim Jaejoong and the others from MS Company.

“You’re that sure?” Li Tong asked.

“Yes!” Jiang Yihan answered firmly, bracing himself.

Li Tong didn’t respond right away, but his mind was racing. TVXQ had only debuted a year ago, but judging by the current trend, they were doing well. They had just won several rookie awards at various ceremonies and showed good prospects. However, the recent rumors about a possible disbandment at MS Company weren’t unfounded—Li Tong, being an industry insider, was well informed. It was clear that MS Company’s management wasn’t fully confident in TVXQ’s future; if not for the fans’ unwavering support, the group might have already split up. Their achievements so far placed them among the top rookies, but they hadn’t yet shown the potential of top-tier stars. Still, Jiang Yihan’s confidence suggested there was more to it. Despite the company’s current financial strain, it might be worth a shot, if only to provoke MS Company and test the waters. Even if it wasn’t for Jiang Yihan or for the group’s potential, it would be worth it just to challenge the competition.

His mind spun through countless scenarios, but in reality only a few minutes had passed. For Jiang Yihan, the wait felt like hours. Finally, Li Tong spoke: “I’ll give it a try.” At those words, Jiang Yihan cheered. No one knew how it would turn out, but every journey starts with a single step, doesn’t it?

In the days that followed, Li Ran disappeared, leaving Jiang Yihan to manage his schedule alone. Most of his gigs were radio shows—a great way to promote his music to a wider audience—along with magazine shoots and a few public performances to show his skills. There were only a few days left before the filming of “Love Letter,” and Jiang Yihan started watching past episodes to get a feel for how the show worked. He found it genuinely entertaining and was starting to look forward to the shoot.

So where had Li Ran gone? He was working with Li Tong on the contract negotiations for TVXQ. As expected, after that day, Kim Jaejoong couldn’t avoid being punished—this time more severely. According to Jiang Yihan’s description over the phone, “he’s been bedridden, sore all over, barely able to move. No serious injuries, but his muscles are all extremely tense, and he’s resting now.” The group continued their schedules, minus Kim Jaejoong; the official word was that he was “down with a severe cold.”

Li Tong had already approached MS Company several times. Initially, their reaction was extremely defensive—ABC Company had already managed to poach Jiang Yihan right under their noses, and now they wanted to negotiate for other contracted artists? MS Company felt insulted and refused to budge. But after several meetings, some members of MS Company’s management began to think that TVXQ’s lineup was less than perfect and unlikely to reach the heights of H.O.T. or Shinhwa, so selling wasn’t out of the question. Internal divisions began to appear—this was Li Tong’s opportunity. After several arduous negotiations, Li Tong finally secured an initial meeting. Recently, Li Ran had been helping Li Tong prepare, and today the two of them were heading to MS Company for talks.

Li Tong and Li Ran had been waiting in the reception room for half an hour, but hadn’t seen a soul—not even a cup of tea. Li Tong joked to Li Ran, “This is what you call lacking grace.” But they had to wait; after all, they were in the weaker position.

At last, people arrived. Three men: the big boss of MS Company, Lee Soo-man; TVXQ’s manager; and a third, unfamiliar face whom Li Tong recognized as one of MS’s shareholders. The five of them sat in silence for a while, until Li Tong broke it.

“You’ve considered our proposal?”

“Why should we sell their contracts to you?” prompted by Lee Soo-man, the manager spoke up.

“First, we’re very sincere—the conditions are negotiable,” Li Ran said. Li Tong smiled, and the three opposite looked at him with interest. “Second, you’re not that fond of them. From various signs, it’s clear you don’t have that much faith in them. And finally, we’re all businessmen, aren’t we?”

After Li Ran’s brief but pointed statement, Lee Soo-man smiled but didn’t answer. “I heard you used to work at MS—such talent, a pity you didn’t stay. Would you be interested in coming back?”

Li Ran shook his head, smiling, his eyes full of quiet resolve.

Lee Soo-man didn’t press the issue, instead glancing at Li Tong and taking a drink of water before speaking. “Honestly, the first two reasons aren’t enough to bring us to the table. There’s only one real reason—we’re all in it for profit. Who doesn’t like that?”

Li Tong and Li Ran waited for the other side to state their terms.

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“We still have five years left on their contracts,” the manager spoke again. “Five years, five billion won.”

Hearing the figure, neither Li Tong nor Li Ran was surprised—MS Company wouldn’t be MS Company if they didn’t play hardball. Li Tong smiled and took a sip of water. “Profit is why we’re here, but the first two points are why we’re negotiating, aren’t they?”

Li Ran took over. “Let’s look at TVXQ’s achievements in their first year: seven commercials, four songs that hit number one (this is a rough count, so forgive any inaccuracies), and they’ve swept all the year-end rookie awards. That’s truly impressive for a debut group. But do you really think a rookie group is worth five billion won?”

Lee Soo-man was increasingly impressed with Li Ran—straight to the heart of the matter, but he still didn’t reply. Instead, the shareholder spoke. “What’s your offer?”

It was a blunt question, but it put Li Tong in a difficult position—too high and they’d lose out, too low and it would show a lack of sincerity. After a moment’s hesitation, he offered the figure he and Li Ran had discussed earlier. “Five years, two billion won.”

“Hahaha, your sincerity is sorely lacking. I don’t see any reason to continue this conversation,” the shareholder said, standing up to leave.

“I think it’s your sincerity that’s lacking,” Li Tong replied calmly, just as experienced as Lee Soo-man—showing not a hint of panic. He didn’t even look at the shareholder, as if the man were a clown, but fixed his gaze on Lee Soo-man. “President Lee, what do you think of my offer?”

A heavy silence fell as the two adversaries stared each other down, as if they could find answers written on each other’s faces. At last, Li Ran broke the silence with a single sentence: “Don’t any of your shareholders see them as a ticking time bomb?”

The shareholder, halfway to the door, promptly sat back down, and Lee Soo-man turned his attention to Li Ran. Li Tong, appearing nonchalant as he sipped his tea, was drenched in sweat. Lee Soo-man’s formidable presence made Li Tong uneasy—after just a short stare-down, he felt like a chick being eyed by a hawk. He struggled to keep calm, but was grateful when Li Ran redirected Lee Soo-man’s focus.

Li Ran collected his thoughts and continued, “You don’t have absolute confidence in them. You’re not sure they can sustain this momentum in the future. The five young men are becoming harder to control, even starting to rebel, which means you can’t maintain your grip on them. On top of that, their fans’ ‘unruly’ behavior has challenged your authority. I believe many of you are already preparing to let them go—hence this meeting, isn’t it?”

Those few sentences were the result of long discussion between Li Tong and Li Ran, and they had perfectly pinpointed MS Company’s concerns. Although Lee Soo-man still wore a calm, smiling face, the manager and shareholder were clearly unsettled, beads of sweat visible on their foreheads.

Lee Soo-man regarded Li Ran for a long while, but Li Ran’s impassive expression betrayed nothing. Eventually, Lee Soo-man sighed. “How did we ever let such talent slip through our fingers?”

Author’s Note:
First, about the double updates—I admit, my chapters run over 4,000 words, sometimes even 5,000, so two updates a day is a real struggle. But don’t worry, the book’s already at 185,000 words, and hitting 200,000 will only take a few more days; after that, I’ll try to do two updates a day as much as possible, and at the very least keep up with one per day. If you still feel it’s not enough, well, there’s not much I can do—writing as a newbie doesn’t always go smoothly.

Second, Qin Xiao, there’s no need to apologize! As I’ve said before, I’ll follow my own outline. It’s normal for readers to see different things in the same book—that’s part of the charm, isn’t it? I’ll keep writing as planned. When “Love Letter” is filmed, I’ll try to be as detailed as possible, and after you read it, feel free to give me feedback on what to improve.

P.S. Please send lots of recommendation votes!
P.P.S. I just searched for my book and found it all over the place—I’m dizzy! I only post on Qidian, but there’s one site that’s especially fast—just ten minutes after I update, it’s already there. Impressive! Anyway, that’s just a random aside—feel free to ignore it.