Chapter 126: The Jeonju Optician's Shop
The MAMA Awards invitation arrived two days after Lee Ji-eun and Jiang Shu finished speaking.
Jiang Shu was nominated for the Annual Best Producer award, and MAMA invited him to attend the awards ceremony. Jiang Shu, in turn, had Choi Ji-yeon inform MAMA that he and Lee Ji-eun would attend the ceremony together.
Besides Jiang Shu, DM Entertainment's IVE, IU, and Red Velvet all received invitations. As the year-end approached, various TV stations began recording their year-end celebrations.
Although they were said to be live broadcasts, they were actually pre-recorded, and all the groups had to rush to different venues for filming in advance. IVE, Red Velvet, and IU were no exception.
Especially IVE, as DM Entertainment's most popular group, they were constantly busy. Schedules that were supposed to end around 11 PM now stretched until the early hours of the morning.
Even Jiang Shu hadn't seen Liu Zhimin and Zhang Yuanying for some time.
While the artists were busy, he, as the CEO, wasn't idle either. Besides following them around to film videos, he also had to teach the exclusive trainees.
Yes, teach.
Jiang Shu, as a Chinese national, was well aware of how vast the Chinese market was and how profitable it could be. Artists in Korean Entertainment who wished to tap into this market needed to know what they could and could not say.
Thus, courses on preventing controversies began, with Jiang Shu personally serving as the instructor for the exclusive trainees.
In addition to the exclusive trainees, debuted artists also received reminders about relevant content. As artists, they should pay even more attention to this.
On the afternoon of November 20th, in the trainee classroom on the second floor of DM Entertainment.
“Hello, CEO!”
The girls stood up and bowed in unison to Jiang Shu.
“Please sit down,” Jiang Shu said, waving his hand from the podium. The trainee classroom was designed like a tiered lecture hall, resembling a university classroom.
“Most of what needed to be said has been said. Today's class won't be about precautions. Your senior group IVE's reality show has aired, so let's watch and see what needs attention regarding an artist's words and actions,” Jiang Shu said, beckoning Kwon Eunbi, who was sitting in the first row.
“Eunbi, come up and play the video.”
“Yes.” Kwon Eunbi, whom Jiang Shu had appointed as class monitor, jogged to the stage and skillfully operated the teaching computer.
Jiang Shu preferred not to do things himself if he could avoid it. Kwon Eunbi originally didn't know how to do these things, but now she was forced to learn.
Jiang Shu walked down from the podium with a laser pointer. Seeing Jiang Shu approach, Kim Minju, who was sitting next to Ahn Yujin, quietly moved one seat inwards, making space for Jiang Shu.
Jiang Shu walked over and sat down.
Behind him, Kim Minjeong looked enviously at Kim Minju's back, then turned her gaze to Jiang Shu in front.
Everyone could see how good the CEO was to Kim Minju, and she wondered what made her so special.
At this moment, Kwon Eunbi also finished adjusting the video. After clicking play, she jogged to turn off the classroom lights, then placed the remote control in front of Jiang Shu, and finally returned to her seat.
Some trainees had watched the reality show, but others hadn't, and watching a video alone felt completely different from watching it with a group of people.
The reality show began to play. IVE's reality show was a trip to Jeonju, where they played games and filmed. Jiang Shu only knew the location; he hadn't seen the raw footage of what was specifically filmed. This was his first time seeing it.
As the video played, the classroom was quiet, with only the sound of the reality show playing.
Suddenly, Jiang Shu pressed the pause button, and then the trainees saw the red dot of the laser pointer circling the subtitles.
“Pay attention. Xiao Yuan and Xiao Liu's tone of voice is very casual, but they are still using honorifics. This is something you need to learn. I've noticed many artists and trainees, because they are very close in private, will overlook the senior-junior concept and use informal or even plain language. This is absolutely not allowed. Remember that.”
After Jiang Shu finished speaking, he resumed playing the video.
As the video progressed, Jiang Shu would occasionally pause it to explain to the trainees what they should do.
Zhang Yuanying appeared most frequently because she talked the most, like a machine gun, non-stop. Next was Liu Zhimin. These two twin stars were also in a league of their own when it came to being talkative.
“Huh? There’s an optician’s shop here. Ouni, aren’t you going to buy a pair of black-rimmed glasses?” As the members were city walking, Zhang Yuanying saw an optician’s shop by the roadside and suddenly asked Liu Zhimin.
Liu Zhimin was startled.
“I didn’t expect you to remember.”
“Of course! I remember everything Ouni says.” Zhang Yuanying had a very amusing expression, as if asking for praise.
But Jiang Shu’s focus wasn't there; it was on…
After pausing the video and looking at the optician's storefront, Jiang Shu frowned.
This storefront… why does it look so familiar? It seems like I've seen it somewhere.
He thought for a while but couldn't recall, so he continued playing.
This completely baffled the trainees. Why did it continue playing? Was there a problem just now?
Their confusion did not affect the video's continued playback. After the IVE members reached a consensus, they swarmed into the not-so-large optician's shop.
A line of text appeared on the screen.
【Filmed with the consent of the person involved】
Then, the salesclerk, who was huddled in a corner, stood up.
She wasn't tall, even appearing shorter than the shortest Lily, and standing in front of the counter, she looked like a middle school student.
But on camera, the girl's visuals were quite striking. Her harmonious features, displayed on screen, still showed the subject's outstanding appearance.
Jiang Shu looked at this face, and his pupils suddenly contracted.
What the heck?
Jeonju! Optician's shop!
That's why it looked familiar!
“Karina? Yuan Ying? Are you… IVE?!” The girl in front of the counter widened her eyes, covering her mouth and exclaiming as she looked at the members.
“Ouni, you know us?” Zhang Yuanying looked at the girl in surprise, saying excitedly.
“Yes! I’ve been following you since ‘I AM’.” The girl nodded heavily.
“Thank you for your support!” Zhang Yuanying chuckled and thanked the girl. “Ouni, you’re so pretty. If you debuted, you’d be a big star too!”
“What? Is Yuan Ying saying she’s a big star?” Liu Zhimin teased from the side.
“Hmm~ why not?” Zhang Yuanying said playfully.
Jiang Shu, staring at the girl, almost couldn't hold back when he heard this.
Had he become Old Man Zhang?
But it didn't matter!
Looking at the girl on the screen, Jiang Shu's eyes were filled with longing.
“I’m already twenty-nine, I can’t be an artist,” the girl said with a smile.
“What?” All the IVE members looked at the girl, who looked about twenty-three or twenty-four, in shock.
“Ouni is twenty-nine? You have such a baby face!” Zhang Yuanying exclaimed in admiration. It wasn't flattery; she genuinely felt that way.
“Thank you.” The girl smiled and nodded, gesturing to Zhang Yuanying.
Looking at Kim Tae-yeon, who was strikingly similar to her in his memory from 2014, Jiang Shu strongly agreed with Zhang Yuanying's words.
