23: Chapter 23 The Person I Like

Jessica Jung's voice was clear, almost jarring, in the quiet study.

She leaned against the edge of the desk, bending forward slightly. Her eyes, which always carried a sense of cold distance, were now at the intersection of moonlight and desk lamp light, staring sharply at Song Tianhao as if to pierce through his calm, ripple-free facade and dig out the calculations and true intentions that might lie beneath.

The plate of cold, barely touched Korean beef sat on the desktop between them like a silent boundary marker.

Song Tianhao did not answer immediately. He didn't even look at Jessica Jung's scrutinizing face, nor did he look at the plate of food.

He simply leaned back into his large leather office chair, tapped his fingers on the armrest twice, and let his gaze rest calmly on a void on the desktop, as if thinking or perhaps just organizing his words.

The study was very quiet, with only the faint hum of the central air conditioning and the distant sounds of cars belonging to the deep night in Gangnam District occasionally drifting in from outside the window.

The halo of the desk lamp cast a circle of warm yellow on the dark desktop, enveloping one side of Jessica Jung's body, while the other side was bathed in the cold moonlight, making her look like a fragile snow sculpture that might melt at any moment between the light and shadow.

A few seconds of silence were stretched long in the tense atmosphere.

Then, Song Tianhao moved. He reached out and woke the laptop that was in sleep mode on the desk. The screen lit up, reflecting a ghostly blue light onto his expressionless face.

He operated the mouse a few times and opened a folder containing many video files marked with dates. He scrolled quickly and found one of them, titled "Dream Concert Audience Side Shot _ Unreleased."

This was the Dream Concert from last year, the one with the "Black Ocean."

Jessica Jung's pupils contracted almost imperceptibly, and her fingers, bracing against the edge of the table, trembled slightly from the force.

She watched as Song Tianhao opened the video. There was no sound, just some shaky, clearly fan-recorded footage of the audience. In the footage, the support area belonging to Girls Generation was pitch black, forming a cruel contrast with the star-like sea of lights from other fandoms around them.

The camera swept past quickly, and one could clearly see a few scattered figures sitting in that darkness, mostly with heads bowed or expressionless. They were a small number of staff or trainee managers arranged by the company to hold up the scene, their faces written with awkwardness and an indifferent, detached attitude.

However, just as the camera was about to move away from the edge of that dark area, the image suddenly paused, then was enlarged and zoomed in. It focused on an inconspicuous spot in the very last row, in the very corner of that pitch-black area.

There sat a dozen or so girls. They hadn't turned off their glow sticks like the others, nor were they bowing their heads or expressionless.

They were huddled together, each of them gripping their glow sticks tightly—the support color for Girls Generation. But they didn't dare to light them up, just holding them tightly as if they were the last piece of driftwood for a drowning person.

Their faces were all very young, their eyes filled with tears, shimmering with broken light under the radiance reflecting from the distant stage, a radiance that did not belong to them.

They stared fixedly at the nine figures on stage who were still persisting in singing amidst the darkness and silence, their lips trembling, seemingly humming along silently, or perhaps trying desperately to suppress their crying.

One of the girls with a ponytail, in addition to her glow stick, was also tightly clutching a slogan banner. Even though the shot was blurry, one could barely make out the words "Girls Generation" on it, as well as a cartoon avatar of Jessica Jung.

That girl was crying the hardest, tears rolling down continuously, but the slogan banner she held was never let go from start to finish.

The video was not long, only a dozen seconds, and ended quickly. The image froze at the moment the girl was crying and holding the slogan banner.

Song Tianhao turned off the video. The study was once again dominated by the desk lamp light and moonlight.

He looked up and finally looked at Jessica Jung. Jessica Jung was still maintaining her leaning posture, but her body had stiffened, her eyes fixed on the darkened computer screen, as if that frozen image was still burning her retinas.

Her face looked even paler in the moonlight, her lips pressed into a bloodless straight line, her chest rising and falling slightly, her breathing somewhat disordered.

"I bought you all," Song Tianhao's voice rang out in the silence, steady and without ripples, yet every word was clear, "for many reasons. One of them, perhaps the least important one, is commercial consideration. But there is one reason that I feel it is necessary to tell you."

He paused, his gaze landing on Jessica Jung's dazed face.

"Because until the very last moment, in that corner where everyone had turned their backs, and even the people in your own company felt you were a 'trouble' and a 'disgrace,' there were still people crying for you."

He pointed to the darkened computer screen, "Crying for you, even if they didn't dare to light up their glow sticks, they still held on tightly to that affection, unwilling to let go."

Jessica Jung's body trembled almost imperceptibly.

Song Tianhao continued, his tone still flat, yet as if carrying something heavy: "They are waiting. Waiting for an 'into the new world' that might never come. Waiting for an answer about 'belief' that might just be their own wishful thinking."

He looked at Jessica Jung, his voice very light, yet weighing a thousand pounds:

"As for what I am after..."

He paused, as if weighing his words, or as if simply stating a fact:

"What I am after, perhaps, is to let those girls who are still crying in the corner, clutching their slogan banners, not have to hide in the darkness to cry next time. To let them stand upright in the brightest place, holding the brightest slogan banners, screaming for you, and being proud of you."

"Instead of only being able to watch the person they like being sold off as a 'bad asset' or a 'money-losing commodity,' not even daring to make a sound while crying."

"What I am after is to let 'waiting' have a result. To let 'belief' not turn into a joke."

"Are you satisfied with this answer, Jessica Jung-xi?"

Jessica Jung did not speak. She still stared at the darkened screen, as if she could see through the black LCD screen, seeing again that girl in the corner who was crying, wearing a hairclip with her avatar on it.

Those tiny rays of light belonging to "fans," which had been deliberately ignored by S.M. Entertainment and Lee Soo-man, and which they themselves had selectively forgotten in their pain, were now spread out nakedly before her by Song Tianhao in such a cruel yet gentle way.

That was not a business blueprint, not a declaration of ambition, and not even some noble sentiment. It was just a wish so simple it was almost plain, to let those who were still waiting not have to be disappointed again.

This was more... difficult to deal with than any answer she had anticipated—ambition, calculation, or even hypocritical sympathy. Because it was too real, so real that it shattered all the suspicion and defenses she had wrapped herself in with a cold, hard shell.

The study fell into silence again, but the nature of this silence had changed. It was no longer a tense confrontation, but a stagnation of chaotic thoughts after being impacted by a huge amount of information.

After a long time, so long that the moonlight outside the window seemed to have shifted a little, Jessica Jung finally straightened her body slowly. She still did not look at Song Tianhao, her gaze lowered, landing on her own hands that were bracing against the edge of the table.

She spoke, her voice much lower than before, hoarse, carrying a hint of imperceptible trembling, no longer having sharp questioning, but more like a weary confession:

"I... have a younger sister."

Song Tianhao listened quietly, not interrupting.

"Her name is Krystal, Krystal Jung." Jessica Jung's speaking speed was very slow, each word said with great difficulty, "She is currently a trainee at S.M. Entertainment."

She finally looked up, looking at Song Tianhao, with struggle, pain, and a deeply hidden, almost instinctive desire to protect in her eyes.

"The reason I entered this circle in the beginning... was very cliché. I wanted to make money, I wanted to be seen. But later, staying at S.M. Entertainment, enduring so much, was to a large extent because of Krystal."

Her voice grew lower and lower, "I wanted to succeed, wanted to establish a firm foothold, wanted to have enough power. When she needs it, I can protect her, at least... not let her suffer the hardships I have suffered."

This was a secret she had never fully revealed to anyone at S.M. Entertainment, or even to the members of Girls Generation. Her younger sister was the softest, and most untouchable, weak spot beneath her hard shell.

Speaking it out now was less an act of trust in Song Tianhao, and more a cathartic release after being backed into a corner, a desperate act of defiance—and also... a final test. She wanted to see how this new president would react to her 'weak spot.'

Song Tianhao listened without any expression of surprise, not even moving an eyebrow. He just nodded calmly, as if he had already known about this.

Then, he spoke a name, and mentioned a document that Jessica Jung never expected him to know about—a top-secret project belonging to S.M. Entertainment:

"Krystal Jung. A public trainee at S.M. Entertainment, consistently receiving 'A' grades in both dance and vocal evaluations, personality evaluation... cold on the outside but warm on the inside, a bit shy. One of the core members of the new girl group f(x) that S.M. Entertainment is secretly preparing, slated as the main vocalist, lead dancer, and the youngest member. Right?"

The color instantly drained from Jessica Jung's face. She widened her eyes, looking at Song Tianhao in disbelief, as if she were looking at a monster.

f(x)? Core member? Main vocalist, lead dancer, youngest member? These were internal details that even she had only heard rumors about through extremely secretive private channels, and she wasn't even sure if they were true. How did Song Tianhao know them so clearly? Even the personality evaluation...

Song Tianhao ignored her shock. He reached out, pulled open a desk drawer, took out a file that wasn't very thick but was neatly bound, and pushed it in front of Jessica Jung.

There was nothing written on the cover of the file, but when she opened the first page, Jessica Jung's breathing completely stopped.

It was a copy of a project proposal. The title read: 'S.M. Entertainment New Concept Girl Group f(x) Debut Proposal.' It detailed the member composition, roles, stylistic direction, expected debut time, preliminary song selections, and so on.

On the page listing the members, Krystal Jung's name was prominently displayed, and the role description following it was word-for-word what Song Tianhao had just said: main vocalist, lead dancer, and youngest member. And on the last page of the proposal, at the signature line, was a flamboyant, sweeping signature that she knew all too well: Lee Soo-man.

Jessica Jung's fingers trembled as she traced the signature, her fingertips ice-cold. The authenticity of this proposal was beyond doubt. Song Tianhao could even get his hands on this... Just how deeply had he infiltrated S.M. Entertainment? And how much did he know about her and her sister's situation?

The massive amount of information and the shock left her mind blank, stripping her of all ability to think.

Song Tianhao watched her despondent state, his tone remaining calm but carrying an undeniable weight: "Your sister is very talented, and S.M. Entertainment's plans for her are very clear. But you know that at S.M. Entertainment, plans are always just plans; they can change at any time for various reasons.

Especially when her sister is no longer an artist under S.M. Entertainment, and has even become... a 'rival'."

These words were like a bucket of ice water, snapping Jessica Jung awake.

That's right, she had left S.M. Entertainment, joined Sky Entertainment, and become a "traitor" and "rival" in Lee Soo-man's eyes. Would Krystal's situation at S.M. Entertainment... be affected by this? Could she even be implicated?

Fear instantly tightened around her heart.

Just then, Song Tianhao picked up the desk phone and dialed a number. The call was answered quickly, and a male voice, sleepy but instantly alert, came through: "President?"

It was the voice of the company's legal counsel, clearly awakened from his sleep.

"Sorry to bother you, Attorney Kim." Song Tianhao's voice was steady as usual. "Please draft an agreement proposal now. The main content is: a right of first refusal agreement for Sky Entertainment regarding the existing trainee contract of S.M. Entertainment trainee Krystal Jung. Yes, right of first refusal.

If S.M. Entertainment intends to transfer or dispose of Krystal Jung's contract in the future, Sky Entertainment will have the first priority to purchase it under the same conditions. The agreement must be rigorous, leaving room for price negotiation, but the core terms must be firm. I want to see the draft on my desk by ten o'clock tomorrow morning."

A voice on the other end responded with a quick "Yes," while sounds of rapid note-taking could be heard.

Song Tianhao hung up the phone and looked at Jessica Jung, who was completely stunned, as if her soul had left her body.

"Right of first refusal." He repeated it, his tone as casual as if he were talking about tomorrow's weather. "It can't guarantee one hundred percent, but at least it's an insurance policy. It will ensure your sister's days at S.M. Entertainment won't become too unbearable because of your choices.

If in the future... S.M. Entertainment really can't accommodate her, or if she wants to leave, at least she will have another option: she can come to your side."

He paused, watching the complex, tearful sheen rapidly gathering in Jessica Jung's eyes—a mix of shock, fear, disbelief, and a faint glimmer of hope, like finding a lifeline in a desperate situation.

"Now," Song Tianhao's voice softened slightly, but still carried an authoritative tone, "take this plate of food in front of you back to the kitchen to heat it up, then finish it, and go back to your room to sleep."

He pointed to the clock on the wall; the hands were already pointing past one in the morning.

"Starting tomorrow, you only need to think about one thing: how to be that 'Ice Princess' Jessica Jung who shines on stage and makes fans willingly hold up their slogan banners."

His gaze was sharp as he looked at her, as if he could see into the depths of her soul.

"And not a Jessica Jung who lives every moment under the heavy identity of 'I am Krystal Jung's sister, I must protect her'."

"Your value is, first and foremost, yourself. Only then are you anyone's sister. Do you understand?"

Jessica Jung stared at him blankly, her lips trembling. Finally, she couldn't control her tears, which rolled down in large drops, splashing onto the sleek desk and onto the back of her own cold hand.

She suddenly lowered her head, her shoulders shaking violently, but she bit her lip hard to keep herself from making a sound.

It was an emotional release after the long-taut string in her heart suddenly loosened, and all her feigned strength and indifference had been seen through and offered a tangible way out.

She didn't say "thank you," nor did she answer "I understand." She just picked up the plate of cold Korean beef with trembling hands, turned around like a puppet without strings, and walked out of the study with unsteady steps.

The door closed gently behind her, cutting off the warm glow of the desk lamp inside, and separating her from the man who had just dealt her a heavy blow, yet simultaneously handed her a lifeline.

The study returned to silence. Song Tianhao leaned back in his chair and rubbed his tight temples.

This hurdle with Jessica Jung could be considered initially cleared. But the cost was that he had exposed his grasp of S.M. Entertainment's internal information. This had both advantages and disadvantages. Next, the other members, especially Kim Taeyeon and Im Yoona, would also need to be stabilized in different ways.

He glanced at the copy of the f(x) proposal on the table, his expression complex. This document had, of course, been obtained through "special channels" and system check-ins.

But before that, stabilizing the morale and eliminating Jessica Jung's worries about her sister was necessary.

Just as he was organizing his thoughts, the phone on the table vibrated, and the screen lit up.

It was a text message from Kim Taeyeon.

[President, sorry to bother you so late. Im Yoona seems to have had a nightmare; she keeps crying and talking in her sleep. I'm a bit worried... Do you have any calming medication over there? Or, can I come over to get some?]

Im Yoona had a nightmare? It seems the shock of the day and the psychological trauma of the Black Ocean were not that easy to overcome. As the leader, Kim Taeyeon's pressure was likely even greater than Jessica Jung's.

Song Tianhao didn't hesitate; he picked up his phone and quickly replied:

[No need to come over. I'll be there immediately.]

He put away his phone, stood up, grabbed the jacket draped over the back of his chair, and walked quickly out of the study. The hallway was very quiet, with only the sound of his own footsteps.

He first returned to his room and took a small bottle of mild calming medication from the emergency medicine kit—this had been prescribed by the doctor for the T-ara members previously, just in case—and then headed toward the floor where the Girls Generation members lived.