Chapter Sixteen: The Plan Proceeds (Part One) (Second Update)

  Mmm, second update, seeking recommendations~

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  A woman's mind is like the June sky in Seoul, mysterious and changeable. Even Ahn Jun-ho, who has honed his instincts through years of experience in the business world, can't always tell what a woman is thinking. And this woman is only 16 years old, an age when emotions are particularly volatile and unpredictable.

  Summer rain, coming and going quickly, more than ten minutes later, the wind outside the window began to weaken, in the extremely high sky, the cloud layer seemed to have squeezed out all the water, appearing much thinner, with sunlight slowly penetrating through, the world was no longer pitch black, hazy like early morning.

  The rumbling thunder gradually faded away, the rain changed from a downpour to a sparse patter, pattering down quietly. Zheng Xiuyan, who was crouching under the window, listened to the sound of the raindrops and felt a sense of calm in her heart.

  I don't know if it's because that terrifying apocalyptic scene has passed, or...

  She secretly glanced at Ahn Jun-hee, who was staring blankly at the ceiling with his head raised, wondering what he was thinking about, and her mouth curved into a shy smile.

  She was afraid of the quiet in the darkness, but she liked to enjoy the peace and quiet now. She didn't know how long she had been secretly looking at him until An Junhe seemed to feel it, turned his head, and looked over. Only then did she hurriedly lift her head, tidy up her hair, and calm down her racing heart.

  "It seems that the electricity won't be coming back for a while." Noticing An Junhe's flustered state, he didn't think much of it and assumed it was just the girl being a bit awkward after escaping her previous fear. He changed the subject, "The weather might change again, take advantage of the rain letting up now and head home with Yuner and the others, don't get stuck here."

  "Hmm..."

  As soon as she agreed, Ahn Jun-ho started making a call. Due to their frequent outdoor training sessions, each of the girls' homes had been equipped with mobile phones. When the call connected, Yoon-ah, Soo-young, and Yuri were still fooling around, and even Soo-young had been caught up in their teasing at some point. The sudden change in weather hadn't affected them at all. Ahn Jun-ho repeated what he had previously told Jung Soo-young, and the giggling girls suddenly remembered and hastily agreed to prepare to head back and meet up with Jung Soo-young.

  "They will be back soon." An Junhe said, standing up and stretching his limbs. It wasn't until then that he had a chance to examine his poor arm. With the gradually brightening light outside the window, he could see that on his muscular arm, two rows of deep scars, like crescent moons, were imprinted, with flesh turned inside out.

  She shot Zheng Xiuyan a speechless glance, pinching him like that, and those who didn't know would probably think she had deep hatred for him!

  An Junhe fetched some water to clean up a bit, then didn't bother with it anymore and prepared to go home and apply medicine. As he waited boredly, Zheng Xiuyan, who was still curled up in a ball on the other side, suddenly spoke out in a muffled voice: "I'm sorry..."

  An Junhe knew she must have seen the wound on his arm, so he waved his hand and said, "It's nothing!"

  "Besides, last time's birthday wishes... you didn't even thank me!"

  "Huh?" Ahn Jun-hee was taken aback, he had thought that the funny interview with Joo Young was just a joke! At that time, of course, he didn't know Jung Soo-young, and when Joo Young asked him to say some words of blessing, for a moment he couldn't think of much, but suddenly remembered his feelings towards the trainees as a group on that day, and knowing that the person he was blessing had also worked hard for four years just like Park Jeong-soo, he felt sympathetic and said those words. Having taken care of his younger sister since childhood, he understood the various problems that boys would encounter at this age.

  Combined with the experience of practicing life, a encouraging blessing is very relevant.

  It wasn't until now that he thought back and felt as if he had suddenly grasped some of the girl's thoughts.

  Seo Joo-hyun stood up on the other side, her slightly raised head and sparkling eyes under her bangs showing that she had mustered up a lot of courage: "Next time... don't speak so gently to unfamiliar girls! It's very embarrassing!"

  Having said that, before An Junhe could react, the girl's face turned bright red and she ran away like a startled little rabbit.

  The girl's clear and gentle voice seemed to still be echoing in the room. After a while, An Junhe patted his forehead:

  What's going on?

  ……

  Before sending a few girls to sit on the car back home, An Junhe wanted to talk to Jung Soo-young alone several times, but the girl kept avoiding him, or just stared at him with a pair of pure eyes as if she didn't see him.

  The next few days were the same, leaving An Junhe speechless. The relationship between the two seemed to be the same as before, and others didn't notice anything different. Only An Junhe had some uncertain guesses, but because of the other party's non-cooperation, he couldn't confirm it, and naturally couldn't make a judgment.

  In the summer, in such a dull and seemingly ambiguous day, An Junhe quickly moved forward. After a while, he threw this matter to the back of his mind, because the company suddenly increased his workload, leaving him no time to consider these things.

  It's not just him, but gradually, Park Jeong-soo, Lee Hyeok-jae, and Kim Yeong-un, who are also very busy, seem to have been officially recognized by the company as a four-person team. Unlike before, when many class schedules were arranged according to individual circumstances, now they try their best to arrange them together, with the intention of deepening their tacit understanding of each other.

  Such an unusual move, Park Jeong-soo and others did not think it was inappropriate, but Ahn Jun-hee, who knew the company's future plans well, knew that the plan for the large-scale male group that would be popular all over Asia had already started preparations.

  It seems like I've also been designated as one of them within the company.

  This discovery made An Jun's eyebrows tightly locked. If he were an ordinary trainee, having such a debut opportunity would be sought after, even if there were many people in the group he was in. With his ability, it wouldn't be too difficult to stand out among them.

  But in reality... he has his own plan!

  An Junhe directly went to find Quan Baogen.

  "What did you say?"

  In the office, Quan Baogen was surprised, slowly withdrawing the smile he had shown when he saw An Junhe, his eyes puzzled as he stared at him, seemingly doubting that he had misheard.

  An Junhe's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he repeated, "I'm saying, is the company going to debut a boy group?"

  He suddenly stood up and walked to the door, looked around, then closed the door and stared at An Junhe strangely, "How did you know about this?"

  He wasn't too tense, perhaps in other companies, the leakage of a business plan would be a big deal, but in an entertainment agency like SM, the harm caused by a leak is very small and can almost be ignored. After all, the products being promoted are artists, and even if rival companies knew their plans, they would need to have the ability to produce goods of similar quality to counterattack.

  Regardless of the quality and quantity of trainees, SM never feared any other company.

  But this kind of thing, no matter how careless you are, is only suitable for saying behind closed doors. If the company finds out, they will investigate.

  "I'm guessing." An Junhe replied.

  Quan Baogen was surprised: "Guess what?" Then he lost his smile and shook his head, "You little kid, you're really sensitive!"

  Although he was a little surprised, he wasn't too unexpected. The company had already started making preparations. There would always be movements that could be detected. In his impression, An Junhe had always been clever and good at observing, guessing the company's plan through subtle clues wasn't too difficult.

  He smiled and leaned back in his office chair, "Not bad, the company does have this plan, it will be implemented soon. How come you're so anxious to run over here and ask me, do you want to join that team?"

  Perhaps An Junhe was too low-key, and he couldn't see the passion for pursuit in many things. It's rare to see him so enthusiastic this time, and Quan Baogen couldn't help but tease him, looking at his anxious appearance, and then make a big reversal, telling him that he had actually been internally set by the company.

  At that time, I don't know what kind of performance this always very calm kid will have.

  Just as he was about to fulfill his malicious intentions, An Junhe's next words gave him a slap in the face.

  Getting the answer from Bao Gen, An Junhe lowered his eyelids, "Uncle Bao Gen, no matter what, I don't want to join that combination!"

  This sentence was like a thunderclap on a clear day, heavily striking Guan Baogen's brain, stunning him for a moment, and then his eyebrows furrowed fiercely, "What do you mean? Don't want to join?"

  "Yes, to be exact, I don't want to form a Taoist sect!"

  An Junhe said lightly.

  He never forgot why he became an artist in the first place. He didn't have a dream of becoming a star, and making money as a singer was even more absurd. He just wanted to fulfill his sister's unattainable dreams, striving for the day when he could give her the entire stage he had built with his own hands, letting her freely express and indulge in her own truncated aspirations.

  Such a simple and stubborn goal is only for Ahn Jun-ho and Ahn Ji-soo, with no room for anyone else to join!

  Looking at An Junhe's calm face, yet hiding a determined expression, Quan Baogen subconsciously wanted to scold him for this idea, but swallowed his words back.

  It's not a short time that they've been together, and Guan Baogen has come to understand An Junhe. Once he makes up his mind, no one can shake it. In the past, he had admired An Junhe's unwavering determination in pursuing a goal, but now he finds it a headache.

  He smiled wryly and gave up his efforts to scold and persuade, "You want to go solo?"

  "Yes!"

  "The company won't agree with that." Guan Baogen shook his head, "This doesn't fit the company's style, our most experienced are combinations, SOLO..."

  The conversation wasn't over yet, when Ahn Jun-ho suddenly burst out laughing. "Uncle Baek-gyun, this kind of talk might fool others, but we both know it's just an excuse. The real reason the company is pushing for group activities is that they require a smaller investment and can promote multiple artists at once with the same budget, bringing in more profits for the company. This is the foundation laid by the large pool of trainees accumulated over time, but it doesn't mean the company isn't capable or experienced enough to produce solo artists... otherwise, how would seniors like Kangta and BoA have spoken up?"

  "Uh..."

  Quan Baogen was speechless, feeling only a bitter taste in his mouth. He looked at An Junhe helplessly, "Since you understand the company's true purpose, why do you still insist on doing this? To guarantee profits, they won't agree."

  "Uncle Bao Gen, don't jump to conclusions so easily. If you don't try it out, how will you know if it won't work?" An Junhe's face wore a faint smile as he pulled out a newspaper and gently pressed it onto the table, pushing it in front of Quan Bao Gen. "At least, when they can push out a product without spending a single cent..."

  The newspaper was pushed in front of him, with big bold black headlines that caught Quan Baogen's eye:

  The 50th International Adoption Year, Director Lee Hyung-min and Screenwriter Lee Kyung-hee present a TV drama on adoption!

  "...No need to spend a single penny, just stand behind me and support me when I need help!"

  ;