This is a story that happened on the planet Earth.
Winter is coming, the weather is getting colder. People put on down jackets, gloves and scarves. Everyone is dressed up like a little fat man, tightly wrapped up, without even a crack.
Ah, something seems wrong. At least on the streets you can still see many girls who prefer style to temperature and wear short skirts and stockings.
Three days ago, Seoul, South Korea welcomed the first heavy snowfall of winter. It has been snowing intermittently until today. The whole city has been dyed white, and the roads are lined with snow. For office workers, this season is really damn annoying.
Apgujeong is a district in Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea. Apgujeong has developed into one of the most famous shopping districts in Seoul, mainly selling high-end consumer goods, most of which are imported brands from Europe and the United States, and has become an indicator of Korean fashion trends.
For foreigners, especially young people, Apgujeong is not only a shopping area, but also has a special symbol, that is, SM.Entertainment, the most famous entertainment company in South Korea.
SM Entertainment Co., Ltd. (SM.Entertainment) is a large-scale artist planning and management company in South Korea. It was founded by singer-turned-actor Lee Soo-man in 1989. Its name "SM" is the abbreviation of "Star Museum" in English...
After years of development, the company's scale has expanded countless times compared to its initial days. However, there have also been many turmoil, such as the imprisonment of the founder Lee Soo-man, etc., but ultimately none of them caused much lasting damage to the company.
The reason is that the background...
In South Korea, a small country covering an area of ​​99,237 square kilometers, in addition to the competition among multiple parties, politics and business have long been mixed together. It can be said that group companies and families control the economic lifeline of the entire country. Here, background is more practical than anything else.
Unfortunately, not everyone has this background.
At No. 521, Apgujeong 2-dong, Gangnam, Seoul, South Korea, there is a somewhat old-fashioned four-story building. This is the famous star-making factory SM.
Today is December 12, 2006, not a special day. Apart from the fact that the murderer of a murder that occurred in the city a week ago is still on the run, there has been no news worthy of attention during this period.
At this moment, behind the building, in the flower bed at the back door of the company, two girls and a man were talking about something, and soon a woman's angry shout was heard. It was a voice that was so angry that perhaps hatred would be more appropriate to express it.
"Scum, bastard, I don't have a brother like you, I've already said I don't have a brother like you!"
"Please don't come to me again. I don't want to have anything to do with a scum like you!"
A girl with long black hair and delicate features, wearing an old-fashioned grey coat and bleached jeans, was shouting angrily at a stern-looking man in front of her, wearing a baseball cap, a black down jacket and sweatpants, with a bruise on his face.
The innocent-looking girl in a white down jacket stood there stiffly, as if frightened. It was the first time she saw Ouni burst out with such energy. She usually thought that this sister was a little cold and difficult to approach, but she rarely saw her lose her temper like this. Looking at the hatred and anger in her eyes, the girl didn't know what to say, because the man in front of her was...
"Xiu Yan, I..."
"Don't say anything. I don't want to hear you say it. Also, don't come to me again. Xiaoxian, let's go!" The girl named Xiu Yan said harshly, then turned around, grabbed the girl next to her and walked towards the back door.
The man in the baseball cap hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed her left hand, shouting, "Wait a minute, Xiuyan, I have something to tell you, and something to give you!"
"Let me go, scumbag!"
“Bang!”
The girl named Xiu Yan turned around and slapped the man in the face without any hesitation. The slap was so strong that the man's head tilted. The baseball cap with the subtitle DIE printed on it fell into the snow, and a shiny bald head appeared.
A bald handsome man with a stern face appeared in front of the two people. It was just with the shining bald head that this cold-looking man became somewhat cute.
But at this moment, his expression was very hurt, and his left cheek was red. The slap just now was definitely not a joke, nor was it an aberration in the movie, but a real slap.
But the man felt more pain in his heart than the pain on his cheek.
Soo-yeon looked at her right hand, then at the man, gritted her teeth, turned around, pulled the stunned girl and ran quickly into the building.
In the snow, the bald man stood there blankly, looking up at the snowflakes falling from the sky, his eyes slightly moist, there was no grievance or anger, only sadness in his eyes.
He lowered his head, turned around, and reluctantly walked towards the street outside.
Taking out the bank card from his pocket and looking at it, the bald man muttered, "Why not give it to a lawyer? If that fails, I believe the things can be handed over to them!"
"elder brother!"
“Xiu-jung!”
The girl, who had been watching the entire scene from the corner of the building, finally rushed out. The bald man turned around and saw his sister, who was wearing a black coat and two pigtails and running towards him quickly. The expression on his face finally eased a little. Looking at his sister flying towards him, he hurriedly stretched out his hands and hugged her. Standing on the side of the street, he attracted a lot of attention. Holding his sister, who was like a little bear, the bald man walked back to the flower bed.
After putting his sister down, he looked at her delicate little face which was a little red because of the weather, and quickly squatted down and asked, "Is it very cold? Why don't you put on more clothes? Look at your hands, they are frozen!"
Xiujing shook her head and looked at her brother's red cheeks with some heartache. Suddenly, she reached out her hand and touched the man's left cheek with some anger and said, "Ouni is too much. How can she hit my brother? How can she do that? Does it hurt my brother?"
Feeling his sister's somewhat cold hand gently stroking his cheek, the bald man's cold heart gradually regained warmth and a smile finally broke out on his face. His stern temperament instantly dissipated, as if he was the warm sunshine in winter, illuminating the surrounding world and making people feel comfortable and at ease.
"No, I'm going to find my sister. How could she do this!" Seeing the angry Soo-jung turning around and wanting to argue with her sister, the bald man hurriedly grabbed her.
"Don't go. You know why your sister hates me so much. You promised your brother to keep it a secret, so you can't tell it and don't go to find your sister, okay?" The bald man touched Soo-jung's hair, grabbed the cold little hand with his warm big hand, put it to his mouth, and gently blew out hot air to help his sister keep warm.
Soo-jung and Sooyeon are famous sisters in SM, and they are also famous iceberg sisters. Their surname is Zheng, the same as the man in front of them. Krystal Jung, Jessica Jung, and actually there is a Zheng Xiuheng. They are three siblings, but few people in the company know about this.
The bald man in front of you is Zheng Xiuheng.
"Are you able to handle the company's practice? Is anyone bullying you? If so, you must tell your brother, okay? And are you having any problems in life? Is the money your brother gives you enough every month?" Zheng Xiuheng asked with concern, holding his sister's hand, his expression a little worried.
The old-style building next to it is SM Entertainment, which is known as the star-making factory of South Korea. The thirteen-year-old sister joined the company this year. Of course, she is not an ordinary employee. Here, children of this age have only one identity, that is, trainees.
Almost every company in Korea has trainees. According to their plans, the companies will hold auditions regularly to select outstanding reserve talents for training. This star-making operation model in the Korean and Japanese entertainment industries has a fairly mature process.
The training before debut is the most important part of the company. As a trainee, the company will set a different training time for different situations, ranging from a few months to seven or eight years, and generally two to three years. When you have completed your training, you may get a chance to debut. If the opportunity does not come, perhaps the trainee's efforts over the years will be wasted, and you may never become a star on the stage.
It is well known that the life of Korean trainees is difficult. The larger the entertainment company, the more professional and rigorous the training methods. It can be said that these companies are the places closest to some people's dreams, but they are also the places where countless dreams disappear.
As an older brother, Zheng Xiuheng was unable to be by the side of his two younger sisters who had joined the company very early, and he always worried about their living conditions.
Zheng Xiujing looked at her brother with red eyes. He was her dearest brother and the only relative besides her sister. Because he was her closest relative, she did not call him that like ordinary Korean girls did. Instead, she liked to call Zheng Xiuheng "brother" sweetly in Chinese. This way, she could show that the relationship between her and her brother is special.
Thinking about what my brother did, and how my sister scolded and beat him just now, I felt really sad and angry. But seeing my brother's caring look, my heart softened, so I asked, "Well, my life in the company is very good. Although practice is very hard, I can also learn a lot. I also have to go to class every day. It's okay to take a little break secretly. I will save the money my brother gave me. As for unnie, I don't know much!"
"Silly girl, why don't you use the money I gave you? Buy yourself some delicious food and clothes, and don't let your brother worry about you!" After saying that, Zheng Xiuheng stretched out his left hand and gently scratched Xiujing's little nose, and his eyes finally relaxed a little.