Chapter 42 The Little Princess of S.M.

"Clap, clap, clap."

"Oppa, try to make your movements a bit more fluid."

"Clap, clap, clap."

"Right, don't be afraid, I'm fine."

[Quail egg]... bah. Yoo Ji-min wore a deeply focused and serious expression as she taught.

She was a responsible person; since she had promised to teach Myung Eon Taekwondo, she was going to do it properly.

Director Park had been a bit hesitant at first. After all, Myung Eon was a major client, and Yoo Ji-min was merely a trainee at the dojang, not a professional instructor. If anything went wrong, it wouldn't be easy to handle.

Later on, it was Myung Eon himself who spoke up, and the matter was finally settled.

Feeling that her abilities and hard work had been recognized, Yoo Ji-min secretly resolved in her heart that she must not let this oppa down.

The girl didn't even stop to think that teaching wasn't even her actual job; her primary role should have been that of a trainee.

"Ji-min, I feel like the flying kick is a bit harder than I imagined." Myung Eon paused to wipe away his sweat. He had really been trying hard just now, and the kid certainly hadn't disappointed him.

Truth be told, when Yoo Ji-min put on a straight face, she really did have the aura of a proper teacher.

However, she couldn't laugh; the moment she smiled, the illusion shattered.

When she wasn't smiling, she looked like a cold-blooded snake, but the second she smiled, she turned right back into a little quail egg.

Yoo Ji-min pondered for a moment. "Oppa, you're an adult with a slightly heavier build, so of course it's not going to be that easy. Just practice a bit more and you'll get it."

She had actually studied online tutorials she had purchased, specifically to prevent being stumped by any questions Myung Eon might ask.

"Ji-min, how old were you when you started learning Taekwondo?"

"Twelve. I earned my black belt last year."

Children had relatively more free time. Back then, Yoo Ji-min used to practice two or three times a week, taking roughly three years to reach the black belt level.

"That's truly impressive. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I never would have believed that such a pretty girl could be a Taekwondo expert." Myung Eon wiped the sweat from his brow, picked up a bottle of sports drink, and handed it to Yoo Ji-min.

Aside from the lesson fees, he covered all of Yoo Ji-min's transportation costs, as well as the drinks and snacks during their sessions.

Yoo Ji-min had felt a bit embarrassed about it at first, but she had slowly gotten used to it over time.

When Myung Eon was good to people, he never made a grand display of it. It was always as silent and nourishing as a spring rain, as if... such a person had simply always existed by your side.

Yoo Ji-min unconsciously twisted the bottle cap. "How am I pretty? There are plenty of real beauties at S.M."

"No way, I've been in Seoul for so long and I've never noticed."

Listening to a young girl's innermost thoughts from time to time was quite interesting.

"Really."

"Then who on earth is prettier than you?" Myung Eon finally caught his breath. Having a bum left leg really made things troublesome whenever an exercise required using his legs.

In the back of his mind, he was still half-hoping he might hear Kim Min-jeong's name.

Yoo Ji-min blurted out a name without a moment's hesitation: "Lami."

"Lami?"

It was a name he had never heard before.

In truth, Myung Eon had heard Kim Min-jeong talk quite a bit about school and her trainee life. The little one had even made a new friend—seeming to call her... Kim Chae-hyun—but Lami's name had never come up.

"Yeah, come to think of it, she's even three years younger than me." Yoo Ji-min propped her chin in her hand. "Yet... she joined S.M. years ago, and she's even an open trainee. Everyone calls her the Little Princess."

Lami Kim Sung-kyung could be said to be a massive mountain looming over all female trainees at S.M.

She had entered S.M. at the tender age of six due to her exceptional looks, receiving high praise from many senior artists. By ten, she became an open public trainee, and was virtually recognized within the company as the center of the next-generation girl group.

Come to think of it, every generation of female trainees at S.M. seemed to have a princess.

Girls' Generation's pre-debut member Stella, Choi Soo-young's close friend, even occupied the center position in their pre-shot debut photos before voluntarily giving up her debut spot and returning to the United States.

F(x) member Choi Sulli had similarly entered the company at a very young age; even Lee Soo-man would pull her close when speaking.

And then there was Lami Kim Sung-kyung. Countless people could be said to be waiting for her debut.

Myung Eon frowned slightly. He hadn't expected S.M. to harbor such a presence. Yoo Ji-min's rival meant she was Kim Min-jeong's rival as well.

"Ji-min, aesthetics are entirely subjective. I think you look really cool when you're practicing Taekwondo." Myung Eon gave the girl a thumbs-up. "Being a trainee is a long and arduous journey; persistence is what matters most."

"Oppa, you sound like you speak from a lot of experience."

"I have friends who used to be trainees."

Im Na-yeon's path to debut had been far more convoluted. The most severe instance had occurred in 2014, when JYP was originally preparing to launch a new girl group. Im Na-yeon and Yoo Jeong-yeon were both prospective members of the lineup, and they had even shot their debut promotional materials.

As a result, it fell through.

To this day, Myung Eon still remembered the sight of Im Na-yeon crying, while Yoo Jeong-yeon stopped practicing altogether and went off to work part-time jobs.

The greatest blessing amidst that misfortune was that they hadn't given up, and ultimately waited until hope arrived.

"I've only just started training, so I'm definitely going to keep going." Yoo Ji-min pumped herself up. She had entered S.M. not long ago, arriving at around the same time as Kim Min-jeong.

Her enthusiasm was still burning strong.

"Since Teacher Yoo is so motivated, I need to work hard on my practice too. Let's do our best together."

"Yeah, fighting!"

...

"Lami, little uncle, how did you suddenly think of asking about her?"

Kim Min-jeong asked with a curious look on her face.

"I saw it in the news while browsing online—S.M.'s Little Princess, haven't you heard of her?" Myung Eon slurped up a large mouthful of black bean noodles. This dish paired with sweet and sour pork actually tasted pretty good.

Flames of gossip burned in Kim Min-jeong's eyes. "Of course I've heard of her. She's a legendary figure among the female trainees at S.M. If only I could become someone like that."

"Have you ever met her?"

"I've seen her a few times. I just entered the company, so the classes we take are completely different."

S.M. had a mature trainee training system, and trainees at different stages took different classes. Lami was already a senior veteran among the trainees, or perhaps it was more accurate to call her a debut-ready candidate.

Everyone believed that this thirteen-year-old girl would debut in the next girl group.

"Feeling any pressure?" Myung Eon put down his chopsticks.

"Of course, but no matter how amazing she is, she's only one person. Girls' Generation and Twice have nine members each."

Debuting in a group wasn't an either-or relationship; as long as you could compete for one of the debut slots, that was all that mattered.

Myung Eon nodded. The little one had a rather steady mental core, which was perhaps related to the fact that she hadn't experienced any real setbacks yet. The young girl was still far from knowing the hardships of the journey ahead.

"Have you made any new friends recently?"

"Nope."

...

"Xiaoyan, Director Kim Na-jung has sent out the notice. The script reading session is about to take place."

Jung Won-ryong was reporting Myung Eon's upcoming schedule to him.

A script reading session was where the main cast gathered to familiarize themselves with and discuss the script, usually held a week or two before filming began.

"Alright, I understand."