Chapter 10

"Kangta, do you think they will turn around and leave when they see me?" In a private room of a barbecue restaurant, An Minhuan, looking uneasy, asked Kangta, who was sitting beside him. Today, Kangta had invited all the members of HOT, Shinhwa, and SES, who were once under S.M.

"Turn around and leave? I don't think so." Kangta shook his head. After noticing the change in An Minhuan's personality, Kangta and An Minhuan had become increasingly close, treating An Minhuan like a younger brother.

"But, I can't help feeling so uneasy." An Minhuan was deeply worried; his heart had been pounding since they entered the room.

"All I can do is give you a chance." Kangta, seeing An Minhuan's nervousness, felt helpless and said, "Back then, your personality was indeed terrible, and you offended everyone. It's impossible for them not to resent you. Now, if you want to seek forgiveness, it depends on your performance. Didn't Xi Jun forgive you?"

Wen Xijun, a member of HOT who remained at S.M., had also met An Minhuan. Like Kangta, he was surprised by the significant change in An Minhuan. However, after receiving An Minhuan's sincere apology, Wen Xijun forgave him, and their relationship gradually became closer.

"Don't joke around, don't joke around." Just as An Minhuan was about to speak to ease his unease, a commotion came from the door, and then the door was pushed open. It was the six members of Shinhwa.

Shinhwa, who trained alongside An Minhuan and HOT, debuted later than them. The group consisted of Eric, Lee Min-woo, Shin Hye-sung, Kim Dong-wan, Andy, and Junjin. Despite HOT and Sechs Kies being at their peak, Shinhwa still managed to carve out a place for themselves and even reached the top. Otherwise, the company wouldn't have been so severely impacted by Shinhwa's collective departure from S.M.

"Hey, Kangta, what's so important that you've gathered us all here?" The six members greeted Kangta as they entered, not even glancing at An Minhuan. They, of course, recognized An Minhuan; his profile appeared on the S.M. website, and they recognized him immediately. However, they were still angry and didn't want to acknowledge him.

"It's mainly for Minhuan." Kangta was straightforward.

"Minhuan?" The six members glanced at An Minhuan mockingly and said, "Hey, isn't this our once-incomparable An Minhuan? Back from military service, huh? Are you planning a grand return?"

An Minhuan listened to their sarcastic remarks with an awkward expression and apologized, "I'm sorry, brothers. I was immature back then and offended you."

"Oh, oh, don't be like that, we can't handle it." The six members, though momentarily stunned by An Minhuan's apology, continued to mock him.

"Alright, alright, Minhuan was just a kid back then, 13 or 14 years old. What did he know?" Kangta, unable to stand it, interjected, trying to explain. Though he had hesitated to speak up earlier, was it really that hard to speak up?

"A kid? His behavior back then wasn't that of a kid. He looked down on us, as if we were beneath his notice." Eric mocked.

An Minhuan's eyes dimmed, but he felt no disappointment or resentment. The seeds he sowed back then had led to this treatment today, and he couldn't blame anyone else.

"Alright." Lee Min-woo, perhaps noticing An Minhuan's dim eyes, gently pulled Eric to stop him.

"Alright what?" Andy said, "It's not every day we get to see a big star, a senior, right?" The last sentence was directed at An Minhuan.

"I'm really sorry." An Minhuan stood up and bowed formally to the six members.

Their reaction was one of surprise. They knew An Minhuan had returned, but they didn't know about his change, and Kangta hadn't told them. Seeing An Minhuan's sincere apology, their mocking attitude dissipated. Though they still harbored resentment, Kangta's words were true: An Minhuan was only 13 or 14 back then. They might complain and be angry, but they couldn't truly resent him, as he was just a child, their youngest brother. It was impossible for them to have no feelings for him.

As Shinhwa arrived, the others followed one by one. They all mocked An Minhuan upon entering, but after his sincere apology, they forgave him with a mix of surprise and disbelief. Especially the three members of SES, who were more emotional, immediately treated An Minhuan like a younger brother.

An Minhuan hadn't expected the resolution to be so easy. He had overestimated the severity of the situation. After all, even if An Minhuan was arrogant and self-important, he was still just a 13 or 14-year-old child, the youngest at S.M. They all had some affection for him, and over the years, this affection had only deepened, not faded. The reason for their resentment was simple: love and concern.

Years later, the S.M. artists finally gathered together, evoking a flood of emotions. Though they were now in different companies, the memories of training and playing together were still vivid.

"Minhuan, when are you planning to make a comeback?" After forgiving An Minhuan, they began to show concern for him. They all knew about his difficult situation.

"Comeback? I don't know, maybe not." An Minhuan said with a hint of disappointment. The rumors were too strong, especially in Korea. But he didn't want to leave the stage.

An Minhuan's melancholic words made the atmosphere tense. They wanted to comfort him but didn't know how. As veterans in the entertainment industry, they knew that a comeback wasn't easy.

"There will be a way." Kangta said.

"Right, with Minhuan's talent and Teacher Lee's fondness for him, it's impossible for him to be left behind the scenes." The others also chimed in to comfort him.

"Ha, it seems you all still have some complaints about Teacher Lee favoring me back then." An Minhuan, seeing the mood turn somber, tried to lighten it with a joke.

"Of course." An Minhuan's attempt to change the subject was childish, but they had interacted a lot over the past five years and could see through it. However, they knew the topic wasn't suitable and went along with it. "Back then, I was complaining that the company only needed Minhuan, so why were they even promoting us?"

"You were lucky." Jang Woo-hyuk said, "We, who debuted with Minhuan, felt the impact the most. We were utterly crushed by Minhuan, to the point where we couldn't even look Teacher Lee in the eye."

"Exactly, his debut single broke a million sales. How were we supposed to live with that?" An Seung-ho recalled with a bitter smile.

"Who said you had bad luck?" The Shinhwa and SES members, who had been sulking, now laughed and mocked them.

The atmosphere lightened as they reminisced. An Minhuan occasionally mentioned how he had envied them, like when he saw Jang Woo-hyuk's excellent dancing and practiced hard, even breaking his hand without realizing it.

The gathering lasted until the early hours of the morning. Except for the three women, everyone was drunk. This left Bada and the others to call their managers and help carry the 'dead bodies,' which was quite a task.

During a break when An Minhuan went to the restroom, they all decided to help him make a comeback. Despite the impact of their disbandment or departure from the company, they still had high popularity in the entertainment industry, far surpassing ordinary people. Over the years, they had also made many connections.

Of course, they didn't tell An Minhuan about this decision. An Minhuan was blacklisted by all the companies, and they weren't sure if their connections could help him. It was better not to give him false hope. Even if they succeeded, they didn't plan to tell An Minhuan. This gathering not only resolved their long-standing grievances but also truly recognized An Minhuan as a younger brother. Helping a brother was a selfless act, and they didn't even want An Minhuan to know it was their help.

This is why, in the future, when An Minhuan stood at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry, he still treated them like family. He understood that they had genuinely accepted him and helped him return to the stage during his darkest times, using their own methods.