Hye-rin let out a soft chuckle, her fingers tightening briefly on the wheel. "Yeah, I rember her. Anyway, that drama changed my life. I got more and more opportunities in dramas and movies. Eventually, I went from caos and small roles to second leads and now even main leads… And I give the entire credit to my manager."
She took a slow breath before continuing. "I owe her a lot. So now that she finally has ti to focus on her own life, I want her to take it easy. I don't want to rely on soone else when the person I trust the most isn't here."
Tianzhu nodded, understanding the sentint.
Loyalty was sothiing rare in the world, much less in the Entertainnt industry, where money, fa, and opportunities matter more, whether it is for a celebrity or a manager.
It was sothing rare in this industry.
After another mont of quiet, he finally spoke. "She sounds like a good person."
Hye-rin smiled, glancing at him again. "She is."
The car continued its steady pace down the road, the conversation fading into another comfortable silence. But this ti, it wasn't awkward anymore.
This ti, it was Hye-rin who took the initiative to continue the conversation.
"Xueli-unnie told you're from Novarusk." She glanced at him briefly before returning her focus to the road. "How are you adjusting here?"
Tianzhu let out a small chuckle and shook his head. "I'm not exactly from Siberia… I was born here and just moved there after graduation for career opportunities… And also because of the marriage…"
Keeping his expression casual, he pulled out his phone and scrolled through his gallery before handing it to Hye-rin.
On the screen was a picture of his kids. One of them, Hye-rin, was already recognized, but she feigned ignorance and reacted as if she was looking at the picture for the first ti, widening her eyes as she glanced between the screen and Tianzhu. "I know that you have twin kids, but I didn't expect they were this big… You must have married very young."
Tianzhu leaned back against his seat and nodded. "Yeah. Both of them are 18 already…" Hye-rin's gaze softened. "Your daughter's looks were quite striking, I must."
"I guess she got the best of our looks combined," Tianzhu replied with a small smirk, taking back his phone.
Then, without much thought, he added, feeding her lies… "I married when I was 20. I was working for an oligarch back then… But after my wife died in childbirth, I quit the job and joined a company with fixed working hours. Worked there for 12 years, and after that, I opened a convenience store with my savings. And now that my children are big and my daughter wants to be in the Entertainnt world, I had to relocate to my hotown, here to Hangzhou, and started working for Xueli-jiejie, whom I have known since childhood."
There was a brief pause before Hye-rin quietly said, "I'm sorry about the loss of your wife. I don't have kids, but I grew up in a single-parent household. My parents divorced and split us sisters; my younger sister went with my mom, and I stayed with my dad. He suffered quite a bit, raising up. He couldn't go out with his friends, couldn't date girls and have serious relationships, couldn't go on trips, and it suffered him even more when I hit puberty… So, I know how tough it must have been for you, who even handled two kids on your own…"
Tianzhu shook his head, offering a reassuring smile. "It's alright. It's been a long ti." At the sa ti, he felt touched in his heart, feeling that soone understood the suffering he went through without him having to say it.
However, her words almost brought silence between them again. The air between them felt a little heavier for a while, but fortunately, Hyerin smoothly shifted the topic. "Anyway, you said your daughter wants to be in the Entertainnt business. Does she want to beco an actress or…"
Tianzhu replied right away. "An idol…"
Then after a brief pause, he exhaled, half-laughing. "She was gifted in fighting and to so extent, playing guitar, but she wants to join an agency as a trainee and beco an idol. I fully support her though… I don't want her to beco a hunter and risk her life anyway…"
Hye-rin grinned. "If she really wants to beco an idol… well, she's got a long road ahead of her." She turned the wheel smoothly as the traffic light turned green. "Idol life isn't as glamorous as people think. I have been one, so, you can trust my words…"
Tianzhu tilted his head slightly, intrigued. "Go on."
Hye-rin smirked. "You sure? Once I start talking, I might not stop and you might regret asking ."
Tianzhu chuckled. "I don't mind. I need to know what I'm dealing with if my daughter insists on this. I wish to know how an Idol's life will be like."
Hye-rin smiled softly before letting out a short sigh. "Well, if I had to put briefly…" She tapped her fingers lightly against the steering wheel as if gathering her thoughts.
"It's… brutal."
Tianzhu raised an eyebrow. "Brutal?"
"Yeah," she chuckled dryly. "People only see the glitz and glamour, but the early years are hell."
She glanced at him briefly before turning her eyes back to the road. "Even for a group like ours, which had a diocre fan base, we had to push ourselves to exhaustion. Daily practice was intense—hours of singing, dancing, and even acting training. And if you weren't naturally talented? Well… too bad. You had to work twice as hard and still couldn't expect a chance to debut."
Tianzhu listened quietly, his brows furrowing slightly.
"And then, there's the diet. It's the worst thing you can imagine," Hye-rin continued with a shake of her head. "You'd think companies would be strict in maintaining their artist in shape, but it isn't simply strictness. They forced us to go on extre diets to maintain them. So girls barely eat, like surviving on just one single apple and a banana, and water for all day. It was all about looking good on cara."
She cast him a side glance before adding, "Of course, face jobs are also a thing. Nose adjustnts, Botox injections—everyone does sothing to fit the industry's beauty standards. Our faces have to be flawless all the ti…"
Tianzhu humd in acknowledgnt, though he couldn't help but find it unsettling. "That sounds… exhausting and quite disturbing."
Hye-rin nodded. "It is. And the worst part? It doesn't get easier after the debut. If anything, it gets harder."
Tianzhu tilted his head. "How so?"
Hye-rin let out a soft chuckle, but this ti, there was sothing nostalgic in her expression. "Once you debut, you start chasing fa, relevance, staying on top. The competition is brutal, and the industry is always looking for the next big thing. You can't afford to slack off. Cuz once you do, so other group will take away your spot. And without a strong, dedicated fanbase, a group will always have a risk of disbandnt. No fanbase, no inco. No inco, the company will lose interest. No interest, no good songs. No good songs, no views, and a loss. When losses accumulate, the company will have no choice but to fire everyone or worse, force their artists to beco escorts for their investors."
Tianzhu leaned back slightly, taking in her words. "Sounds like a never-ending battle." But in his head, he thought, "As long as Vera is skilled and money is poured in, she doesn't have to worry about anything. And with around, there won't be anyone who will take advantage of her…"
"It is." Hye-rin's lips curled into a small, genuine smile. "But… you know what makes it worth it?"
Tianzhu glanced at her. "What?"
Her eyes softened as she spoke. "The cheers."
Tianzhu blinked.
"When you're on stage, under those bright lights, and you hear the crowd screaming your na… It's indescribable." She laughed lightly. "Those ten seconds, twenty seconds of applause—it makes everything worth it. That mont of pure energy, of knowing that people appreciate what you've worked so hard for… it motivates you like nothing else."
Tianzhu studied her expression—the way her eyes glead with both fondness and longing.
"Of course," she added after a pause, "as your fa grows and that kind of applause becos normal, you kind of… lose the excitent. It becos a routine, and you start looking for sothing else to chase." She shrugged. "It's just part of the cycle, I guess."
Tianzhu nodded to himself, his fingers tapping lightly against his knee. While he wondered what topic he should bring up to continue this conversation, a growl was heard from beside.
Tianzhu blinked. He turned his head slightly, and Hye-rin imdiately turned red.
"Did you just—"
"No! That wasn't !" she blurted out, looking anywhere but at him.
Tianzhu raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "Lying only makes it worse."
Hye-rin groaned and covered her face with one hand, still keeping the other on the wheel. "Ugh. This is so embarrassing…"
Chuckling, Tianzhu leaned back in his seat. "Did you skip lunch?"
Reviews
All reviews (0)