Chapter Seven: Kim Jaejoong (II)

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“But Jaejoong, why did you come here?” Li Ran asked with some confusion as he stepped out of the kitchen. “I heard you guys are on break today. Aren’t you going home?” Knowing that Jaejoong didn’t want to talk about this topic, Jiang Yihan tugged at Li Ran’s hand. “Let’s talk about it some other time, okay?” Then he turned to Jaejoong and said, “Since you’re here today, just have dinner with us and relax.”

With that, Jiang Yihan headed into the kitchen, showing off his culinary skills. “It’s a pity that Yiyi seems to be out with Kwon Jiyong tonight. If that little troublemaker were home, it’d be much livelier. Hey, Jaejoong, did Yiyi ever mention Kwon Jiyong to you?”

“You’re like her father, always with so many questions,” Li Ran quipped, taking out the tea set and preparing tea. “Didn’t Yiyi say Kwon Jiyong is a trainee? He’s been training for six or seven years, getting ready to debut.”

“Yiyi is Jiang Yihan’s younger sister. She came here to study together,” Li Ran explained when he saw Jaejoong’s puzzled look. “She recently made a new friend, and her brother just can’t stop worrying, asking all sorts of questions—it’s just his nature.”

“A trainee? Why does it feel like you’re a manager and our family’s always tangled with the entertainment industry?” Jiang Yihan poked his head out of the kitchen, pouting a bit.

“You really are something.” Li Ran soon finished brewing the tea and brought it over. “You know how much Yiyi adores you. She tells you everything—she just hasn’t had the chance yet. Don’t you remember? Every time some boy gives her a love letter or something, she always tells you. I bet if you don’t approve of her boyfriend in the future, it’ll be over before it starts.” Even with a stranger present, Li Ran, who was usually so reserved, couldn’t help but gossip when it came to the Jiang siblings.

“True, haha.” Jiang Yihan grinned widely, clearly pleased with the answer. “Yiyi’s boyfriend has to pass her test and mine too before it counts!”

“Yihan, you’re really close with your sister, aren’t you?” Jaejoong asked, intrigued by Jiang Yihan’s pride.

Hearing Jaejoong’s question, Jiang Yihan began speaking at length from the kitchen, while Li Ran, sitting with Jaejoong in the living room and watching TV, occasionally chimed in. The atmosphere was light and cheerful. Jaejoong quickly got comfortable, his laughter blending in with theirs. Coming from a family with eight older sisters, he’d never really experienced brotherly companionship. Since debuting, his schedule had been so busy he rarely went home and hadn’t felt the warmth of family in a long time. The happy, cozy vibe of Li Ran and Jiang Yihan’s home made him feel at ease.

Not long after, four dishes and a soup were set on the table. “Didn’t know we’d have a guest today, so there’s nothing fancy—just some simple southern Chinese home cooking,” Jiang Yihan said as he sat down, waiting for Li Ran to serve the rice. “Try it and see if you like it.”

After Li Ran served everyone, he sat down as well.

“It’s delicious,” Jaejoong praised after tasting it. “I didn’t expect you to be such a good cook. I can make a few dishes too—next time, let me cook for you.”

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“As long as you like it,” Jiang Yihan replied, his broad smile warming the table. Jaejoong, clearly unable to resist his cheerful demeanor, felt himself growing closer to this friend. Jiang Yihan then picked up his chopsticks and served both Li Ran and Jaejoong some more food—a thoughtful habit of his.

“By the way, Jaejoong, which company is Kwon Jiyong training with? Yiyi mentioned it once, but I forgot. It’s not your company, right?”

“No, he’s with YG,” Li Ran recalled.

“YG?” Jaejoong looked up. “Their hip hop music is really good. They’re a strong rival to our company.”

“That’s right,” Li Ran said, continuing the conversation. “YG is one of South Korea’s top five entertainment companies. They’re known for their talent and don’t focus much on appearance. Artists like Wheesung, Big Mama, and Se7en are some of Korea’s top singers. They’re very strong competitors, and the rivalry with MS and JYP has been fierce these last few years.”

“Wow, sounds like a great company—really rivals yours.” Jiang Yihan, not knowing the industry well, could only marvel.

“The best companies each have their strengths,” Jaejoong added. “Competition is naturally intense.”

The meal continued with lively conversation, mostly led by Jiang Yihan, who gestured enthusiastically at the high points, drawing everyone into his stories and world. By the end of dinner, almost an hour had passed.

“All right, I’m full. Your turn to wash the dishes, Jaejoong,” Jiang Yihan said, grinning at Jaejoong’s surprised expression. “What? You don’t want to? No way! We split the work— I cook, Li Ran makes tea and tidies up, so naturally you do the dishes. Go on!”

With this, Jiang Yihan made it clear that Jaejoong was a friend, a true friend—not a guest. Since they were friends, why shouldn’t they share the chores? Even though it was just a few hours together, Jaejoong was touched by Jiang Yihan’s open-hearted cheer and happily took the dishes to wash.

“Jaejoong, what’s your MS company like? Li Ran says it’s huge,” Jiang Yihan asked once they’d all sat down again, conversation drifting toward the entertainment industry and the MS company.

“Our company? It’s great—one of the top in Korea, with a lot of well-known artists and a massive number of trainees. We have the strongest resources; for example, YG doesn’t have as many trainees as we do. But on the downside…” Jaejoong hesitated, but then decided to share, “The downside is that the contracts are super long—eight or ten years is normal, almost like a lifetime contract. And then there are all these rumors—bad ones—about our director, Lee Soo Man, beating and scolding the artists.”

“What? Beating them? Is that true?” Jiang Yihan’s eyes widened in shock.

“I haven’t experienced it myself, so I can’t say for sure,” Jaejoong replied, uncertain. “But who knows what might happen in the future? Rumors always have some basis. They don’t just appear out of thin air.”

“Is that true, Li Ran?” Jiang Yihan turned to ask.

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“How would I know? I’m not in management,” Li Ran answered with a helpless shrug. “But I think so too—rumors don’t start for no reason. Even top groups like H.O.T. and Shinhwa had stories about being beaten. Whether it’s true or not, the stories are always quite detailed. You have to understand, in Korea, it’s not like Hong Kong where paparazzi make up stories just to get attention. In Korea, news might be exaggerated, but most of it is based on facts.”

Jiang Yihan sighed, thinking about the tough life of entertainers. “So it’s probably true. Wow. But honestly, being an artist is really hard. From what Jaejoong said, being a trainee takes years—you never know when you’ll debut, and even after debuting, there’s no guarantee you’ll get noticed or become a top artist. And these days, artists have less and less privacy. It’s tough!”

“Yeah, it is.” Jaejoong gazed into his teacup, watching the steam rise as memories surfaced. “Back when I was a trainee, life was really tough. There were days when I didn’t have money for food—not even enough for a bowl of noodles. And I had no idea what the future would bring, whether I’d ever debut, whether I’d made the right choice, or if it was all worth it after five or six years. But I made a lot of friends during those years—we worked hard together, suffered together. That’s probably the one bright spot about being a trainee. When I finally debuted, it felt sudden, but I was happy. At first, maybe because I wasn’t expressive or didn’t smile much, my popularity was low—the lowest in the group, actually.” At this, Jiang Yihan leaned in to scrutinize Jaejoong, who blushed. Jiang Yihan laughed, “I think you’re great. If it were me, I’d like you the best.”

“Haha, only a nice guy like you would say that,” Jaejoong chuckled. “At the time, my low popularity really worried me. I couldn’t sleep at night—I was so upset. Maybe after being in the group for a while, my popularity grew, but so did my troubles. There’s no way to protect your privacy—being an artist comes with that price, and even knowing it in advance doesn’t make it any easier to accept when it actually happens.”

The room fell silent for a while. Jaejoong seemed to struggle with his emotions, his expression shifting. Jiang Yihan wondered if he’d brought up something Jaejoong didn’t want to remember and was about to change the subject when Jaejoong suddenly began to cry. Both Jiang Yihan and Li Ran were at a loss.

Finally, Jaejoong made up his mind and poured out his heart. “Not long ago, the company’s higher-ups called me into the office and beat me up. They told me to leave TVXQ.”

Just a few words, but they shocked Jiang Yihan and Li Ran speechless.

“The company thinks I’m not popular enough to stay in TVXQ, so they told me to quit. I refused, so they beat me—punches and kicks. They only hit my body so the bruises wouldn’t show. Before, when Shinhwa’s Andy was beaten in the face, Shinhwa’s fans made a huge fuss, so this time the company knew not to hit my face.” Jaejoong’s tears wouldn’t stop. “My groupmates begged the company for me—they even knelt, but it was no use. They were beaten too because of me. Yihan, what should I do? What should I do? I don’t want to leave. I don’t want to leave TVXQ.” (Note: This is based on the real “Yellow Rose Incident” involving TVXQ. You can look it up; it’s far more complicated than I can say here.)

Jiang Yihan didn’t know what to say—he simply held Jaejoong gently, letting him cry it out, softly patting his back. The warm yellow glow of the lamp gave the room a gentle, comforting atmosphere. Jiang Yihan’s quiet support gradually soothed Jaejoong, whose sobs eventually faded as exhaustion overcame him. The pressure of recent days—the physical pain, the mental strain—had worn him to the bone. His escape today hadn’t relieved his frustration, but after crying it all out, it was as if his spirit had been completely drained, and he slipped into sleep.

In his dreams, Jaejoong could be heard muttering, “Don’t hit me, don’t hit me… I don’t want to leave.” Hearing these words, Jiang Yihan’s heart ached for his new friend, not knowing how else to express his feelings except through sympathy. The entertainment industry’s complexity is beyond most people’s understanding—not only the endless training and the need to constantly learn to avoid being replaced, but also the power struggles between artists, and the conflicts of interest between artists and management. And, of course, there’s the hidden violence of some companies that only industry insiders know about. The glamorous life of a celebrity hides countless tears, known only to the artists themselves.

Jiang Yihan carried Jaejoong to the bedroom and laid him on the bed, then returned to the table to sit with Li Ran. They sipped their tea in silence, accompanied only by the faint sound of wind outside the window, the ticking of the clock, Jaejoong’s occasional murmurs and soft sobs, and the noisy laughter from the TV. That was all there was to the world.