Chapter 17: The Stage of Departure (5)

  Don't mind the shortage, as I came back late and only deleted a bit without adding much supplement, so the word count is not enough... Actually, I still feel unsatisfied, unfortunately, there's no time to modify it anymore, just post it!

  Thanks for the rewards from Xue Xiang Mario, Yi Xiao Ru Xu, Bei Feng Qian Qi and Fu Chen Si classmates!

  ===============

  Outside the recording studio of Music Bank, a small dispute broke out a few hours ago. The program team suddenly ended the originally promised open rehearsal, not allowing the audience to enter and watch again. This news made fans who came to support their idols feel unacceptable, especially the most numerous Ahn Jun-hee's fans, many of whom were students who took an afternoon off to participate in Music Bank just to have more contact with their idol. After waiting for a long time, they got this result - what made them even more dissatisfied was that the sudden announcement of the end of the open rehearsal was at the time when Ahn Jun-hee was about to take the stage.

  "What's wrong with us? Everyone else has seen it, why can't our uncle?"

  "Is your program team suppressing our uncle?"

  Outside the broadcasting hall, a crowd of people was in an uproar, asking questions one after another to the several program staff members who were guarding the door. Because the PD's decision was too sudden, these staff members didn't know what was going on either and couldn't answer anything. Facing the increasingly intense questioning from the crowd, they all sweated profusely.

  Fortunately, it didn't take long for the program PD to receive a message and send someone over to comfort them, saying that not publicly disclosing Ahn Jun-hee's rehearsal was in preparation for a surprise, hoping fans would understand.

  If things were left here, it wouldn't be a big deal. An Junhe's fans are indeed passionate and young, so they can't hold back their emotions and sometimes appear impulsive, but they're not unreasonable people. After hearing the explanation, they immediately shifted their attention and started excitedly guessing with their companions what the surprise was, even the show crew was being mysterious about it.

  But fans of other singers would not let it go.

  "An Junhe is being suspenseful, why does he want us to accompany him, I didn't come here just to watch him."

  "Some people in the crowd shouted, and immediately there were scattered echoes of approval: 'Exactly, he's creating suspense on his own, why won't he even let us watch our family's rehearsal?' 'Isn't that too overbearing?' 'Is your TV station owned by him?'"

  Protesting, some people who are not satisfied with An Junhe - not many of Cao Chengmo's fans, of course, also excluding those with ulterior motives - at this time will not hide their dislike and can't help but mock and ridicule, such as "No wonder it's so popular, the TV station is also helping to promote it" , "There's no way, if someone doesn't go through the back door, they won't be able to get famous", "What's the use of just promoting, in the end you still have to look at your strength, and he... Ha!"

  As they stirred up trouble, other singers' fan groups also gradually joined in, and for a time, the three words "An Jun He" became the target of public criticism.

  However, An Junhe's fans were not afraid of provocation and immediately had sharp-tongued rebuttals. Their advantage lay in their large numbers, as well as the support of Bao'er fans, and they were generally younger, with an average age of over 20 years old, which made it difficult for others to argue with a group of young girls.

  So in the end, it wasn't too serious, just a few insults were exchanged, and the scene was chaotic for a while. Later, the TV station took measures to separate the two parties by dispatching security personnel, not allowing them to have any further contact with each other, and the small conflict dissipated.

  Both sides stood outside the broadcasting hall, clearly divided, until more than 4 pm, when the live broadcast was about to start, they finally received a notice to enter.

  The TV station's security personnel stood guard at the door, as if they were facing a formidable enemy, maintaining order. The scene was chaotic, although not very large, but it also scared them. If both sides really got into a fight in the heat of the moment, the consequences would be unpredictable. For the TV station, it would be an indelible stain that could lead to job losses for those involved, and at this point, they naturally had to be on high alert to prevent another clash.

  Among the crowd that continued to enter, Taeyeon and YoonA were also lining up. The previous argument had not involved the two girls, of course, but YoonA had wanted to go up and scold a few sentences, only to be pulled back by Taeyeon.

  Yuner, who was still in a bad mood, pouted her mouth even after several hours had passed: "Why did sister pull me over at that time?!"

  "You guys are not being good to Jun-hyuk hyung." Tae-yeon, who was wearing black-framed glasses and looked rather unassuming, had an unusually serious expression. Perhaps as a bystander, she had already vaguely noticed that Jun-hyuk's fans were mostly young people who tended to be impulsive, and whenever they defended their idol, they would get emotional and swarm up at the slightest provocation, refusing to back down until they had trampled their opponent to death, like a boiling pot of oil that would explode as soon as a drop of water was added.

  Although she didn't have a clear understanding of this, she knew that such behavior was wrong. If they continued like this, they would push An Junhe to the opposite side of many artists. She still remembered what An Junhe had told her before - the current entertainment circle is not like it used to be, with a shrinking market in various fields, making artists natural rivals. A small factor could turn into animosity. The specific meaning of this was unclear to her young mind, but she knew that causing too many people to harbor resentment was a sad thing, just like what she had experienced - being excluded and isolated by others.

  When she heard her words, Yun'er looked puzzled and tilted her head, then shook her head in dissatisfaction: "But they're really annoying, sister also heard what they said, it's like...like..." The girl with limited vocabulary was stuck on "like" for a long time and couldn't find a suitable adjective, her face turned red from holding back.

  At this time, another team waiting on the side, several or holding Cao Chengmo's poster, or women with banners in their hands, seemed to have heard the conversation over here and looked over coldly.

  A woman with a poster tucked under her arm and a ponytail, raised an eyebrow at Yoon-ah and said with a fake smile: "The quality of the fans reflects the kind of idol they are."

  Her voice was not intentionally restrained, and it came over very clearly. When Taeyeon frowned and looked away, the woman behind her, perhaps a companion of hers, snorted and curled up her lip: "Yeah, nowadays there are more and more idiots and fools."

  Sharp words cut like a knife, piercing deeply, Yun'er's eyes widened, those two usually transparent eyes that seemed like two black crystal beads, flashed with anger: "What did you say!"

  In the company, being able to earn the nickname "Mixed World Demon King" with Xiuying and others, it's not just because of her mischievous nature, but also shows that girls are not easy to mess with. As she shouted loudly, she rolled up her sleeves, as if ready to fight at any moment.

  Earlier, to avoid another argument between the two parties, the program team divided the queue into two lines. One line was led by Cao Cheng's fan club, consisting of mostly women, while the other line consisted of Ahn Jun-hee and Bomi's fans. At first, due to the noisy environment, Yoon-ah and Tae-yeon's fans in front and behind did not hear what the two women said. However, when Yoon-ah suddenly shouted out, seeing her angry expression and the cold smiles of the two women, it was clear that something had happened, given their recent conflict. As Tae-yeon restrained Yoon-ah, who was furious, some of Ahn Jun-hee's fans also gathered behind them with unpleasant expressions, glaring at the other side.

  No matter how sharp-tongued they were, they were still ordinary girls after all. The two women saw the team next to them suddenly disperse, and a large crowd of people rushed over, even with their own allies supporting them, they were momentarily stunned.

  The ponytail who spoke first swallowed a mouthful of saliva and shouted at Rong Er in a fierce tone, "What does it have to do with you what we're talking about, huh?"

  On the other hand, the security guards of the TV station maintaining order also found signs of chaos on this side and rushed over to separate the two teams again.

  After a brief disruption in the queue, it continued to move forward slowly. Although the atmosphere on both sides was still very tense, those two women didn't dare speak out of turn again, probably because they had just been scared. On this side, Yun'er, who was furious, was pulled by Taeyeon and didn't have a chance to try out the boxing she learned from Yulie.

  People kept entering the broadcasting hall, and soon it was YoonA's and TaeYeon's turn. As they entered, the two women in the same row as them, perhaps unwilling to be overshadowed by a group of young girls, left before them, provocatively raising their thumbs at this side and saying disdainfully: "No matter how loudly you call out, singing is still about ability, one of us is the crown prince's, what's An JunHe compared to that?"

  "You..."

  Regardless of Yun's fierce expression, the two women walked away to the other side of the audience seats after speaking. The program team separated An Jun-hee and Cho Seong-mo's respective cheering teams to avoid any conflicts.

  Tae-yeon, who had rarely become tough, dragged Yoon-ah to their area and sat her down. Yoon-ah, still sulking, kept her head down and remained unenthusiastic until almost everyone had entered and the lights began to dim gradually. Then, she suddenly asked Tae-yeon in a low voice, "Sister, can't Jun-hyuk hyung really get first place?"

  In fact, this is what all Ahn Hyo-seop's fans are worried about. On the day "Memory" was released, the first-day sales made all fans cheer loudly, thinking that their idol could sweep away all opponents like last year's TV series at the end of the year. However, the sudden appearance of senior Cao Chengmo has made this uncertain.

  The main reason for the outbreak of "An Chao fan rivalry" on the internet is a kind of insecurity hidden in the hearts of An Junhe's fan group. Although they firmly believe that An Junhe is forever the best, however... the opponent is too strong, not everyone has the courage and confidence to challenge a giant with total record sales of over 8 million.

  "Don't worry!" Taeyeon patted her hand reassuringly and said, "You'll definitely get it!"

  She doesn't worship An Junhe, but her faith in him is more than enough, perhaps even to the point of being blind.

  It's just Ahn Jun Heo!

  As she thought so, she looked towards the stage in front of her. The lights dimmed for a moment and then a spotlight shone down. Namgung Min and So Yi-hyun, the two MCs, slowly took the stage amidst the bright light.

  Music Bank, live broadcast starts!

  ……

  "The live broadcast has started!"

  The waiting room had a TV. After the rehearsal ended and they returned here, Quan Baogen turned it on. The middle-aged man stared at the screen intently, waiting for the show to start.

  Contrary to his urgent appearance, An Junhe didn't seem to care about these things and instead lay back on the sofa with his eyes closed.

  In the waiting room, of course, it wasn't just him and Kwon Bo-geon. Apart from Bae Do-hwan, who was also there, there were Seong Si-kyeong and Kim Jong-guk. Baek Ji-young left after a short while as she still had to attend to her own album matters. In fact, she couldn't stay long as she was still in a dormant period. Ha Ji-won accompanied So Ji-sub to the audience seats to watch, but it wasn't that they didn't want to go on stage to show their support for Ahn Jun-hyuk. It's just that So Ji-sub was still serving his military duty and taking leave wasn't easy. If his unit found out he attended a TV program, no matter what the reason, they would definitely report him to the Military Manpower Administration and severely punish him.

  As for Ha Ji-won, on the one hand, she needs to accompany So Ji-sub, and on the other hand, it's also to avoid suspicion, after all, she had rumors with Ahn Joon-young before, and performing together again would inevitably lead to speculation.

  The room was a bit quiet, with only the TV's low volume and hushed conversations in the corner. After Ahn Jun-hee closed his eyes to rest, Kim Jong-kook and Sung Si-kyung shrank into the corner, whispering to each other. The topic of conversation naturally revolved around Ahn Jun-hee. In fact, before receiving Hwang Chi-yeol's invitation, they had already had similar thoughts, and even if Hwang hadn't mentioned it, on this debut day, they would have found a way to come and attend.

  Everything originated from the day I just met Ahn Jun-hee, or more accurately, because of Baek Ji-young.

  Baek Ji-young's experiences in the entertainment industry have been widely known for a long time. The difficulties and hardships she has endured are well understood by everyone in the industry. At the peak of her career, she was betrayed by her ex-boyfriend, and to this day, the indecent video from back then is still circulating online. She has also suffered a comprehensive ban from fans, media, and production companies.

  Sometimes I think about it, and can't help but feel a sense of crisis, as if one's lips are gone and teeth are cold. Everyone is in the same profession, who knows that today's popularity will turn into tomorrow's downfall? Being abandoned by everyone, looking around, all you see is indifference and alienation. The sadness is accompanied by an even deeper disappointment with this increasingly ruthless entertainment circle.

  Even if there is such a sense of crisis, whether it's Seungri or Jung Joon-young, what they can feel more is powerlessness. They are not gods, even if they have the heart to help, facing that terrible and intimidating blockade, they can only escape again and again. Finding all sorts of reasons for themselves, afraid of fan backlash, afraid of malicious media sensationalism, but in the end, it's just fear of getting involved, fear of ruining their own future due to weakness.

  But it was on that very day that a young man named An Junhe, with a gentle smile, told them how shameful their hesitation was.

  He promised to write songs for Bai Zhiying!

  And he did, not long after, they saw on the internet that there were media reports and his and Baek Ji-young's own admissions. For several months, occasionally when the two met up, they would feel a bit embarrassed talking about it, two big seniors, whose abilities weren't even as good as those of a newcomer.

  But at the same time, my heart beats slightly faster.

  Others may not know how they look at it, maybe they think Ahn Jun-hee's choice to help Baek Ji-young is a big mistake, and maybe they'll even say with a sneer, "A newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger." But for people like Sung Shi-kyung and Kim Jong-kook who know him well, what's more important is the sparkle in Ahn Jun-hee's character that this shows. In today's increasingly cold-blooded entertainment industry, there aren't many people left who will help others like this.

  So at this critical moment of his debut, they came and prepared to perform with him on the same stage, using their seniority to boost him again.

  This is to maintain that shining point, and also to leave a way out for oneself - just like I thought before, no one knows if they will fall into embarrassment and desperation in the future.

  This kind of emotional investment thinking may be accompanied by utilitarianism, but it is the most realistic reflection of reality. The exchange of emotions is a cycle of investing and harvesting.

  On the other hand, Bao Er, who was alone, seemed a bit shy. She didn't know Cheng Shi Jing and Jin Zhong Guo before, only knowing that they debuted much earlier than her, making them seniors. Plus, she had been focusing on the Japanese market, so she felt somewhat unfamiliar with the domestic circle and didn't have many common topics to talk about. Except for exchanging greetings when they first met, she hadn't spoken again.

  But unfamiliarity doesn't mean she didn't have a sense of wonder, the biggest impression domestic circles gave her was that there were strict barriers between seniors and juniors, it's always been juniors showing respect to seniors, but never seen seniors actively promoting juniors.

  She quietly looked at An Junhe who was leaning on the sofa, for the first time clearly realizing that they hadn't known each other for a long time. At least, she had never known that he knew so many seniors and their relationship was so good.

  If she said jealousy was just a joke before, then now she really has a jealous feeling...

  On the wall-mounted TV screen, Music Bank's live broadcast unfolded slowly. After waiting for a long time to see Baekho finally appear on air, he only watched for a bit before becoming impatient and couldn't bear to look anymore, instead starting to pace back and forth, clearly very nervous.

  An Junhe, who was meditating with his eyes closed, couldn't continue after a while due to the sound of footsteps coming and going. He opened his eyes and smiled wryly: "Baogen Shu, don't be too nervous!"

  Quan Baogen was taken aback, then quickly nodded: "...oh, okay, okay, I'm not nervous, not nervous, you continue to rest!" As he said this, he sat down, but An Junhe, who had already been disturbed, no longer felt like resting. He sat up, slightly adjusted his clothes, and silently watched TV.

  Seungri and Jin Guk, who were standing in the corner, came over and laughed, saying: "You rascal, how did your heart grow? If I didn't know better, I'd think today was your manager's debut!"

  An Junhe shrugged, looking rather nonchalant, "Born that way! Last year when I was filming in Australia, the psychologist hired by the crew said I have a big heart, you guys can't help but envy me!"

  Cheng Shi Jing looked at him speechlessly, just about to say something, when Jin Zhong Guo laughed and said: "You're nervous, right? After all, 1 minute and 1 second is a cappella, you've always sung ballads, are you afraid of making a fool of yourself?"

  "Afraid of losing face?" Cheng Shi Jing curled her lips, "Worry about yourself first, Mosquito Sound!"

  Although Music Bank gave An Junhe many conveniences, there were some conditions that couldn't be negotiated, such as the fact that some veteran popular singers usually sang two songs, while he only had one. This was the usual treatment for newcomers, and even this point couldn't be broken, otherwise the program team wouldn't be able to explain it to other singers.

  So the ones who performed on the same stage had to force themselves to perform rap, Kim Jong-kook was a bit better since he debuted as part of a group and sang R&B style songs before, but Jung Chul-kyo had a harder time.

  Three people were chatting and laughing when Gwon Bo-geun, who couldn't wait any longer, went out to take a look at the situation. Before long, he ran back and interrupted their conversation: "Jun-hyuk, hurry up and get ready, it's almost your turn."

  It suddenly dawned on me when I glanced at the time that an hour-long live broadcast had already reached its second half.

  An Jun-hee quickly tidied up his clothes and walked out of the waiting room with Bao Er, Cheng Shi Jing, and Jin Zhong Guo, surrounded by agents and assistants.

  At this time, the backstage of the auditorium outside the waiting room was the busiest, waiting to go on stage or singers who had already gone off stage, shuttling back and forth in the corridor, plus assistants, agents and even backing dancers... The entire corridor was packed with people.

  A group of 7 or 8 people, including Ahn Jun-hee, were ordinary in scale, but Seongpo and Kim Jong-kook stood out. Both were senior singers, and any singer who saw them would be stunned for a moment before hastily bowing and greeting them, then inexplicably watching as they walked through the backstage passageway with Ahn Jun-hee, seemingly about to go on stage.

  "That's strange, did those two seniors release a song too? I haven't heard about it."

  Such doubts have arisen in the minds of many people, and during the previous rehearsals, not everyone was present, because An Junhe's rehearsal time was relatively late, and most singers were not very clear about the specific situation.

  But there are also people who know, for example — Tei!

  Looking at those few figures quickly disappearing into the distance, this singer who debuted in January last year couldn't help but let out a melancholy sigh.

  Since his debut last year, there have been many praises from the outside world, but in fact, he is not happy at all. Sometimes he wonders if his luck has really gotten worse, when he debuted with his agency last year, they carefully chose a time period that was relatively weak in competition at the beginning of the year, and his initial development went well, as a newcomer, his sales and streaming numbers continued to rise, it seemed like he was about to become a huge star, but just a few days later, the media had just started shouting about his first-week sales of 100,000, and had just crowned him the title of Newcomer King of the Year, when SG, who also debuted in January, gave him a heavy blow.

  Newcomers who emerged at the same time as him, lightly took away all the honors that were originally supposed to fall into his pocket, with extremely high sales, making all the spotlight gather on them, leaving only a few seemingly praising but actually comforting articles for him.

  Originally thought this year would be better, still struggling to choose a time period with the weakest competition, who knew, no SG, but then encountered An Junhe...

  He smiled wryly, recalling the other's terrifying record: on the first day of album release, the first title track completed an all-kill in music shows, ruthlessly sweeping him down to second place. Also on the same day, the album sales topped the charts, brutally killing his single-day and weekly chart-topping records.

  When the media reports on him, they usually mention that he... is a shame - An Junhe surpasses Tei, An Junhe knocks down Tei, An Junhe crushes Tei...

  For a moment, I felt like I was back in last year.

  Even now, this guy is more terrifying than last year's SG combination.

  Shaking his head, Tei could imagine that when An Junhe took the stage, he would cause a sensation among people. Under such a sensation, today's performance by anyone on stage, including Cao Chengmo, would be nothing to speak of!

  Today everyone has to bow down at the feet of that newcomer!

  ……

  A few people who had already passed through the backstage passage didn't care what others thought of them, the lights in the passage were dim and stretched all the way to the end, where a faint sense of dynamic dance music surged over, along with some screams and cheers from fans at the scene.

  From there on out, it's the stage, Ahn Jun-hyuk's dream destination.

  But he was never a person who would let emotions override reason, although excited, the closer he got to the stage, the unfinished singing on the stage and the shouting from under the stage became clearer in his ears, his heart also calmed down, as if walking in a dark forest, surrounded by cool morning mist, all sounds were silent. It was like a lake, not a ripple, clear as a mirror.

  Until he walked behind the curtain at the exit, his breathing seemed to have stopped in this tranquility, faint and imperceptible.

  He could clearly feel Quan Baogen, who had been nagging him not to be nervous beside him, and he could also capture the tremble of his lips with each word. On the other side, Bao'er seemed calm, but her heartbeat was gradually speeding up, and he could even more clearly perceive the astonished gaze of Cheng Shi Jing and Jin Zhongguo behind him.

  At this moment, his body was like a mirror that reflected everything in his mind, the whole world was clearly presented to his senses.

  This peaceful state made Cheng Shi Jing and Jin Zhong Guo, who had been paying attention to him, quite surprised. Although they had long understood his calmness, he was still able to maintain such serenity at this time, which was truly beyond their expectations.

  Only Bao'er didn't feel it, she took the silence as nervousness, patted An Junhe's thick back with her hand and stuck out her tongue at him: "Don't be tense, I'll accompany you."

  Her coquettish appearance made the calm and peaceful heart lake suddenly shatter, the noisy waves came again, in the dim light, An Junhe's eyes slightly narrowed, then lost a smile, under her encouraging gaze, he nodded: "Hmm!"

  A moment later, the music outside the curtain stopped, and applause came from below the stage.

  A staff member who had been standing at the exit looking out, hastily turned around and beckoned to Ahn Jun-hee and others, "Ahn Jun-hee, please hurry up and get ready, it's time to go on stage." As he spoke, he lifted the curtain, from here you could see that outside the stage was shrouded in darkness, only where the two MCs were standing was illuminated by a beam of light.

  An Junhe pressed the earpiece embedded in his ear canal, nodded after confirming it was secure, and walked out first.

  At the moment of passing through the exit, a strange feeling floated up in his heart.

  It's very spacious outside!

  Except for the beam of light from the spotlight in front, all the lights went out, connecting the stage and the audience seats with a vast expanse of darkness. However, in that darkness, one could vaguely see the dark shadows in front of the stage, and the darkness seemed to bring them closer, as if they were within arm's reach, pressing down heavily with thick blackness.

  This is a visual impact, and what belongs to the auditory is the rustling of whispers from all directions, which is people's low talk.

  In front of him, the two MCs were still saying their opening words, and the extendable stage was quietly expanding its area. At a certain moment, Nan Gongmin's voice suddenly rose high, he waved his hand and pointed behind him: "Let's welcome, 19-year-old uncle, a newcomer singer who created many miracles as soon as he debuted——"

  An Junhe!

  A beam of spotlight suddenly shone over, and the dazzling light enveloped him in an instant. In the darkness ahead, those seemingly endless pressing figures, with a loud crash ——

  Thunderous applause!