Chapter 437: Sixteen-Year-Old Shin Ryujin
Jiang Shu looked at Shin Ryujin, who was standing still in a daze, thought for a moment, and then stood up.
“Youzhen.”
“Yes.” Shin Ryujin snapped out of her daze and instinctively bowed to Jiang Shu.
“Come with me.”
Shin Ryujin silently followed Jiang Shu’s steps.
The two arrived at JYP’s lounge area together and found an empty spot to sit down.
“You heard everything?”
Shin Ryujin nodded silently.
“Now do you know why I looked at you that way in the practice room?”
Shin Ryujin shook her head slightly.
“I’ll show you a video.” Seeing that she still hadn’t understood, Jiang Shu took out his phone, found an edited clip of Shin Ryujin participating in Yang Hyun-suk’s audition variety show, and handed it to Shin Ryujin across from him.
Shin Ryujin was initially wondering what it was, but when she saw her sixteen-year-old self on the screen, for some reason, her eyes instantly turned red.
She instinctively reached out to cover her mouth, her nose tingled slightly, and her eyes welled up as she looked at her past self on the screen.
Looking at her younger self in the video, Shin Ryujin had already realized what Jiang Shu was talking about.
Confidence.
The youthful vigor of a girl.
Sixteen-year-old Shin Ryujin was confident, flamboyant, and carried an unstoppable aura, firmly believing that as long as she worked hard to become stronger, she could achieve everything she wanted and realize her dream of becoming a big star.
Twenty-three-year-old Shin Ryujin was calm, indifferent, with only a compromise to the current situation; her ambition had long faded, leaving only a sense of relief to live each day as it came.
If her seven-year-ago self saw the current Shin Ryujin, she might be very disappointed…
Shin Ryujin didn’t want to cry in front of Jiang Shu, a stranger, but the more she tried not to cry, the more uncontrollable her tears became.
In just a moment, tears were already streaming down her cheeks. Shin Ryujin looked at herself on the screen, her eyes filled with memories of the past.
Jiang Shu didn’t say anything, he just handed Shin Ryujin a pack of tissues.
“Thank you,” Shin Ryujin said in a hoarse voice.
“I know regaining confidence is a very difficult process, but I believe you can do it. Although we’ve only known each other for less than a day in real life, I’ve actually known you for a long time.”
“I’ve seen your youthful vigor and your confident flamboyance on stage. I believe that the former Shin Ryujin will return.”
With that, Jiang Shu stood up.
Shin Ryujin looked up at Jiang Shu, seeing a gentle smile on his face.
“No matter what, in my concept, you will always be the core of ITZY.”
At this moment, Jiang Shu seemed to glow in Shin Ryujin’s eyes.
…
President’s office.
A few minutes after Jiang Shu and Shin Ryujin finished their conversation, Zheng Xu called him into the office.
“You haven’t even started what you promised me, and you’re already contradicting your direct superior?” Zheng Xu said to Jiang Shu with a serious expression, his words carrying a stern interrogation.
But Jiang Shu remained unfazed, looking completely unaffected.
“The President wants ITZY to become popular again. I don’t have the authority to manage the mess in the second division, but for ITZY’s production team, I will remove all factors that hinder ITZY’s resurgence, even if it’s my direct superior.”
Seeing that Jiang Shu, this young man, wasn’t intimidated by him, Zheng Xu was slightly surprised.
Their previous conversation made him realize that Jiang Shu was a talent, and seeing him again today, he also had the makings of a good manager.
“Since I’ve given you the authority, you can decide on personnel changes within the ITZY production team yourself. But she is still your direct superior, so you can be more subtle.” Seeing that he couldn’t intimidate Jiang Shu, Zheng Xu stopped pretending.
“No,” Jiang Shu shook his head slightly, “We have fundamental differences in opinion. She wants to continue Yeji’s core position, but facts have proven that without Youzhen as the core, Yeji cannot support ITZY’s concept.”
“I don’t care who the core is.” Zheng Xu waved his hand, “I only care if ITZY’s comeback this time can show improvement.”
“As long as Shin Ryujin is moved back to the center position, I guarantee it can,” Jiang Shu said.
“Then do as you say.” Zheng Xu slammed his hand on the table, “I don’t care about the process. You are now the general producer of the ITZY production team, and I want to see results from this comeback.”
Jiang Shu looked down on JYP’s production department; could Zheng Xu look up to it?
He was just the general producer of one production team, not TWICE’s, so he could do whatever he wanted.
“Okay.”
“Go,” Zheng Xu waved his hand and said.
Jiang Shu bowed to Zheng Xu, then exited the office.
Jiang Shu raised his hand and rubbed his temples.
Shin Ryujin also didn’t know what the situation was now. Don’t look at how well he spoke, but if regaining confidence could be solved with a few words, then there wouldn’t be the saying, “youthful spirit is a non-renewable resource.”
“Still need to add more fuel to the fire,” Jiang Shu glanced at the President’s office behind him, turned, and quickly left.
…
Shin Ryujin returned to the practice room in a daze; the members had already dispersed.
ITZY’s schedule wasn’t very packed. Not to mention the top five, even their junior group NMIXX had a busier schedule than ITZY.
Of course, there wasn’t much to compare between two groups in similar predicaments.
ITZY’s light schedule meant they had a lot of free time.
After the meeting, all the members except Shin Ryujin had left.
Shin Ryujin could actually sense that, apart from her, the other four didn’t carry as heavy a psychological burden.
Although they were disappointed by the group’s decline from prosperity, their own positions were supporting roles, so the sense of disparity was naturally easier to bear than for Shin Ryujin, an absolute core who was once widely adored and then knocked off her pedestal.
From being the absolute core to now being a sub-center, this kind of disparity is naturally something only she truly understood.
Sitting blankly on the sofa, Shin Ryujin’s mind was constantly filled with images deeply buried in her memory.
These were memories she had deliberately forgotten.
Her current self felt ashamed and unworthy of the past, which made Shin Ryujin instinctively resist recalling those beautiful memories.
But Jiang Shu’s words today made her remember once again the omnipotent self she once was.
If she had another chance, would the outcome be different?
Shin Ryujin wasn’t sure. She actually really wanted to try, wanted to try with Jiang Shu, who seemed to understand her so well.
But she no longer had the courage to stand up again.
Making a decision on a whim and actually doing it are two completely different things.
Shin Ryujin wanted to try again, but she couldn’t muster the courage, let alone regain confidence to pursue her so-called dreams…
Yes, her so-called dreams.
At this moment, Shin Ryujin even felt that her dreams were so ridiculous in the face of this pathetic reality.
Curled up on the sofa, this posture seemed to bring her a little warmth.
Sunlight streamed into the practice room, creating two distinct worlds with the shaded area where Shin Ryujin was, like a clear divide.
