Chapter 1: Home and Pain

  "Ah!"

  A low cry of surprise rose up, An Junhe suddenly sat up, cold sweat pouring down his forehead like rain.

  His heart was racing violently, his mind still immersed in a desperate scene from a few seconds ago. After a while, he finally broke free from the palpitations and wiped away the cold sweat on his forehead. He glanced around at his surroundings - it was a bus in motion, with the beach and azure ocean visible through the window to the right of the mountain range outside. He sat in the last row, someone in the front row opened the window, and the chilly spring breeze poured in, making his clothes soaked with sweat feel icy cold, just like the fear that lingered in his mind a moment ago, as if it had seeped into his bones.

  Seeing himself still on the bus, An Junhe's tense nerves relaxed a bit, and he slowly let out a long breath.

  "It's just a dream..."

  It's been a while since I had that kind of dream. Before this, he thought he had already forgotten it, but it turned out that was just himself deceiving himself.

  Perhaps having heard the movement behind him, the person sitting in front of An Junhe, who had opened the car window, turned his head and said with some embarrassment: "Sorry, I'm a bit carsick, so I opened the window. I saw you were sleeping earlier and didn't say anything to you, sorry about that!"

  This is a middle-aged man with a rather elegant face, the frameless glasses on his nose bridge make him look very intellectual, but his pale complexion looks sickly and not very spirited, probably really having motion sickness.

  Listening to that person's Jeollabuk-do accent, Ahn Jun-hee was stunned for a moment before reacting and shaking his head slightly: "It's okay."

  Although he said so, the man took a closer look at An Junhe's forehead and collar, which were drenched in sweat, and still turned back to close the window. Then, he turned his head and smiled: "The cold wind isn't good for you either... Young fellow, have you just been discharged from the army?"

  "Huh?"

  An Junhe, who was lost in thought, stared blankly for a moment before looking at the middle-aged man with suspicion. The man chuckled and pointed to An Junhe's nearly shaved head and his olive green military uniform pants and T-shirt.

  An Junhe let out a sigh of relief and forced a smile, "Yeah, I just got out this morning."

  "Oh, your home is in Busan?"

  The final destination of this bus is Busan, Ahn Jun-hee nodded, actually with his current mood, he really didn't want to chat about anything, but the environment in which he grew up made him unable to refuse an elder's inquiry, so he had no choice but to suppress his emotions and force a smile to make small talk.

  The middle-aged man seemed to be unaware of this, still talking about sex, "Ah——, voluntary service ah, in recent years many young people choose this, it's all because of the economic crisis, like when we were young, military service was something that couldn't be avoided, there were many siblings at home, life was already difficult, and once you went to serve, one less labor force would make things even harder, many people escaped from serving back then! Speaking of which……" He carefully examined An Junhe's appearance, suddenly asking: "Young man, have you thought about what to do after retiring? Now it's very hard to find a job, even university graduates who retired have gone to wash dishes, the competition is fierce!"

  An Junhe furrowed his brow, somewhat perplexed by the question, and after some deliberation, cautiously replied: "I haven't thought about it yet."

  He didn't lie, from the moment he learned of his discharge, his mind was in a mess, nothing was considered, just slightly packed up and rushed home, his entire thoughts were covered with sadness and some kind of fear of fate, where did he have time to think so much.

  Upon hearing his words, the middle-aged man's small eyes hidden behind his glasses widened slightly as he hastily asked: "Then have you ever considered becoming a star? Your physical conditions are great... um, extremely good, and listening to your speech, your voice is also beautiful. With such conditions, it would be a waste if you didn't become a star..."

  As he spoke, he suddenly patted his head, then flipped through the briefcase on his leg, pulled out a business card, and handed it over with both hands: "Sorry for the rudeness, I've been talking for so long without introducing myself. My name is Quan Baogen, I'm an agent under S·M Company, also a talent scout, please take care of me!"

  "Yes, I'm An Junhe. Nice to meet you!" An Junhe hastily bowed his head and accepted the business card. In this country, no matter what one thinks in their heart, surface etiquette is a must to remember at all times, otherwise it's very likely to be stuck. Therefore, although he was somewhat impatient in his heart, he still didn't show any perfunctoriness at this time, and his etiquette was very thorough.

  A middle-aged man named Quan Baogen opposite, seeing An Junhe take the business card, smiled with satisfaction and asked: "How is it? Want to consider it?"

  An Junhe carefully looked at the business card in his hand, and indeed there was S·M's LOGO on it. He naturally knew about this company, whether it was HOT, SES, BOA, An Qi Xuan, Shinhwa, or the recently popular TVXQ, all of these Asian superstar groups were trained by this management company, and its reputation had long been intimidating. Being able to work as a manager in that company was already quite impressive, and looking at the business card, the self-introduction of this person named Kwon Boa was humble, he was not only a manager but also the head of the publicity department.

  He is already one of the middle management personnel.

  However, An Junhe didn't show any emotions, quietly looked at the next business card, out of politeness, and solemnly put it away. Facing the other's inquiring gaze, his lips moved slightly as he said softly: "I'm a premature retiree..."

  Quan Bao's face was filled with a smile, his expression momentarily frozen.

  In South Korea, early discharge from military service only occurs in two situations: either the serviceman himself has a chronic illness or disability that affects his health, or there is a major family emergency that requires him to leave the military to take care of his family.

  Thinking of this, he let out a sigh. No matter what kind of situation An Junhe was in, the fact that he said it meant that the other party was tactfully refusing him.

  "...Since An Junhe refused, Quan Baogen wouldn't be so unreasonable as to pester him. He patted An Junhe's shoulder, sighed and turned his head around, muttering in a barely audible voice: "What a pity..."

  Kwon Bo-geun had noticed the handsome young man from the moment he got on the bus with An Jun-he. Having worked at SM for 5 years, in a place where stars were created, he had seen all sorts of good-looking men and women, but someone as refined as An Jun-he was rare, giving him a sense of astonishment. What moved his heart even more was the young man's demeanor, probably due to his time in the military, which made him stand out from the typical Korean pretty boy with a soft appearance. His short hair stood upright, accentuating his sharp facial features and making him look energetic and spirited. Even when he looked tired as soon as he got on the bus, one glance at him still gave off an air of freshness, like being hit by sunlight.

  At first, he was a bit hesitant. People with such sharp personalities are not actually suitable for being stars. This type of person usually has strong self-confidence to the point of being self-centered, doing their own thing, and even more so, they like to stand out from the crowd, having a strong tendency to go against tradition. In the Korean entertainment circle, anyone who dares to go against tradition will be crushed into pieces by traditional forces.

  However, when he waited for An Junhe to wake up and started a conversation, that moment of hesitation was immediately thrown out of the sky.

  From the moment he started talking, Quan Baogen felt that An Junhe didn't want to talk much with him, but even so, he didn't show any impatience or dissatisfaction, and maintained a polite attitude of being neither close nor distant.

  Quan Baogen has always believed that for a person to be successful, the first step is to learn how to control one's emotions. Those who wear their heart on their sleeve will not go far.

  An Junhe didn't have the energy to guess what Quan Baogen was thinking, for him, the other party made a suggestion and he refused, that's all there is to it.

  He turned his head to look out the window, and the sky had already darkened. In the southwest sky, the hazy sun of spring was quietly hiding behind the mountains on the other side. The clean highway reflected a pale orange light, stretching out into the wilderness. The bus drove quietly above it, with the trees and hills retreating continuously on both sides. The early spring sea breeze had already made the greenery start to climb up the fields, they were continuous, forming a dark patch in the rapidly moving line of sight, extending outwards, spreading across the land.

  In this undulating grayness, at the end of the winding highway, a majestic city sitting by the sea appeared before one's eyes.

  That was his familiar hometown - Busan.

  It's been almost two years since I left home, and as I get closer again, the excitement and joy that should have been there are not even a little bit present. Sorrow is like the end of the horizon, that city which gets bigger and bigger as the distance gets shorter, gradually filling up his entire heart. At some point, tears suddenly fell down.

  "Hmm..."

  He took a few deep breaths, controlling his emotions that were almost on the verge of collapse, and wiped away his tears.

  Before his eyes, the scene from yesterday seemed to replay itself - Lieutenant Commander sighed and pushed several documents on the desk in front of him. The first page had two large characters "Obituary" that filled the white paper, piercing his eyes and stabbing into his heart.

  He had thought that such a scene would be enough to see once and not again, but he had seen it twice. Two months ago, the scene had appeared in his dream, which he considered as excessive homesickness, and even ridiculed himself - "Mom's body is so good, how could she suddenly..."

  But never thought that scene became a reality yesterday.

  Yes, mom's body is fine, but in this world, there are things that can take away life besides time and illness.

  "Mom..."

  …………

  Kwon Bobae thought about it over and over, but still felt sorry. As the bus merged with the traffic flow into Busan and finally stopped at the station, he picked up his backpack and got off first. Ahn Jun-hee, whose spirit seemed to be getting more depressed along with the sky, called out: "Ahn Jun-hee, if possible, please think about it again, okay?"

  The response was the other party's back view quickly leaving in a taxi.

  Didn't you hear?

  Quan Baogen was stunned for a moment, then reacted and scolded himself in his heart: What's the point of thinking so much nonsense? Now he didn't even get the other person's contact information. This time they parted ways, probably never to meet again. It's not easy to find someone who makes your own heart move!

  Just then, his phone rang, temporarily dispelling his self-reproach. He hastily picked it up, and the voice on the other end made him straighten up, involuntarily lowering his posture: "Ah, yes, President... Yes, I've arrived in Busan, just got off the train... Yes, I'll communicate well with them... Yes, yes..."

  It wasn't until the other party hung up the phone that Quan Baogen realized he had already bent down, and sweat had crawled onto his temples.

  It was just a phone call, but it brought him so much pressure that he broke out in cold sweat. He secretly smiled wryly and recalled the face of Li Xiufull, thin and aloof, as well as his violent temper, and involuntarily shuddered.

  "Alas, I'd better stop daydreaming. Even if it's a good sapling, it can't feed me now. I should focus on doing my job well!"

  In two months, SM will be holding its eighth Best Selection Conference. Every department in the company is busy with preparations, but accidents keep happening one after another. Originally, Gwon Bo-seon was in charge of the selection for Jeollabuk-do, as he is from Jeonju and would have an easier time at home. However, a few days ago, the head of the Busan office got into a car accident and is currently hospitalized and unable to work. The company had no choice but to transfer him nearby to take charge and represent the company in dealing with the aftermath of the accident.

  Just now, President Li Xiufull's phone call was to instruct these things. Quan Baogen could hear that the other party's family members in the car accident were a bit troublesome and had been entangled for a long time, seriously delaying the company's deployment work in Busan, making President Li Xiufull's already scarce patience drop to its lowest point. Even through the phone, across the vast distance, it seemed as if one could feel the tyrant's anger brewing about to erupt.

  The top management of the company, Quan Baogen also knew a little about it. It is said that Li Xiufull's recent days have not been very good. The board of directors has been intolerant of his arbitrary behavior, and with several mistakes in handling company affairs, it seems that several major shareholders are now united to weaken his shares.

  Seeing the company he founded and developed with his own hands being taken away by a group of capitalists, it's no wonder that the originally hot-tempered person is in a bad mood.

  Shaking his head, Quan Baogen wiped the sweat from his temples and hailed a taxi. After giving an address, he leaned back in the rear seat and closed his eyes to rest.

  Tomorrow is going to be busy!

  …………

  As the night grew darker, the taxi finally arrived at its destination. Through the glass, Ahn Jun-heo gazed at the street he had grown up on for over a decade, familiar with every blade of grass and tree. He took a deep breath, suppressing the sourness in his nose and the pain that seemed to be bursting out of his chest. After paying the fare, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and walked slowly towards a certain house he knew well.

  It was a two-story white building, different from the heavy Korean-style buildings around it. It was square and neatly planned, but there was no highlight to it. However, today it has become the focus of everyone's attention on the entire street.

  The eaves of the small building were hung with white paper flowers, and several white lanterns with the character "奠" written on them were hidden behind the flowers, emitting a faint glow. In the area illuminated by the light, the gate was open, and the stacked flower wreaths created a heavy atmosphere. Faintly, mournful music drifted out from inside the house, carried away by the wind through the night sky, swirling around Ahn Jun-hee's side as he hesitated to look this way from afar.

  The next moment, he ran out, and the pain and a little hope that had been suppressed for so long, all of which was just a lucky chance in a dream, with his heart beating violently due to running, drumming in his chest.

  A tall figure walked through the gate filled with flower circles, and a backpack fell to the ground behind him, making a heavy thud. The neighbors and relatives who had come to help in the small yard saw someone rush in like a madman, dashing straight into the house. They were stunned for a moment before shouting: "Ah, it's Junhe! Junhe is back!"

  "Quickly, someone grab hold of him and don't let him see."

  The whole building suddenly became noisy and chaotic, with a scream, a group of people rushed out of the house, holding An Junhe tightly, faces flashing in front of his eyes, the noisy comfort seemed to reverberate in his ears as if separated by a layer of glass.

  "Jun He, calm down!"

  "Jun He, Jun He, don't scare your brother, calm down, calm down!"

  “……”

  All of this was no longer important, as he struggled to free himself from the crowd's commotion and finally saw the coffin placed horizontally in the center of the living room, along with a black-and-white photograph standing upright on top of it, surrounded by several candles.

  In the photo, a beautiful woman smiled slightly, the candlelight flickered, making her eyes seem to be looking at this place vividly.

  At that moment, the emotions that had been suppressed for so long finally burst out.

  "Ah———"

  A mournful wail burst out violently with tears, outside the small door, people were surging and making a racket, while inside, the coffin and photos stood quietly.

  So distinct and clear-cut, as if two worlds!