The manager also smiled and said, "Right, I almost forgot that you and Kim Tae-hee are school seniors and juniors. Didn't you ever see Senior Kim Tae-hee at school?"
Lee Yu-ho also glared at the manager with a gloomy look and said irritably, "Uncle, I only entered in 2005, and Senior Kim Tae-hee graduated in 2005. Where would I have met her?"
"Ha ha ha... You entered when Kim Tae-hee graduated, so you probably only heard about the senior's legend, right? By the way, in our industry, the 'schoolmates' group' always helps each other. However... As far as I know, there aren't many people from Seoul National University in this circle. There are only the seniors like Lee Soon-jae, Kang Bo-zi, Kim Tae-hee, and yes, Lee Soo-man from S.M. is also your schoolmate. There are many more from Dongguk University's Department of Theater and Film."
"Schoolmates group? Indeed, people from the same school should interact more and help each other. This industry is tough to survive in. By the way, which show are you scheduled to perform on for this comeback?"
"Which show could it be? It's M-net's 'M!Countdown' tomorrow, and you have performances for the next four days."
"Oh, I actually quite like performance shows. Although the stage time is only a few minutes, from rehearsal to the actual performance, I can rest for 3 to 4 hours in the waiting room. Ha ha ha... By the way, Uncle, aren't we getting paid this month? When can I collect mine?"
"I've already settled mine. As for yours? I think it will be at the end of the month. After all, your earnings aren't like mine. From the last album, you should have around 20 billion won. This year, you should earn at least 100 billion won for the company. This is after deducting the artist's share, employee benefits, and all travel expenses."
Lee Yu-ho was also shocked by the amount and couldn't help but curse, "What the hell, I earn that much alone? Then S.M. must earn 560 billion won a year?"
"Ha ha, not quite. Currently, S.M. only has TVXQ carrying the load. Super Junior, Girls' Generation, and SHINee still fall short. They might earn around 230 billion won a year."
"It's not that bad, actually. Korean entertainment companies are far behind those in the real industry. No wonder artists with popularity all run to foreign countries. Like Zhang Na-ra and Choi Jin-ri, they all go to China to make money. I hear that for a commercial performance, singing three songs can earn you around 560,000 won, which is about 23 million won. A regular CF can earn you 100 million won. The more I think about it, the more tempted I get. Tsk tsk tsk..."
"Ha ha ha... You're thinking too much. An artist's income is proportional to their popularity. Let's not go too far. When Bae Yong-joon starred in 'Taewang Ssin-ge,' he earned 250 million won per episode, which is 5 billion won for the entire series. That's why many choose to become actors. Actors have the highest status in this industry, and that status is all about income."
"National MC Yoo Jae-suk, right? He earns about 20 million won per episode, let's say 20 million. That's the top MC rate. Four episodes a month is 80 million won. Bae Yong-joon earns as much in one episode as Yoo Jae-suk does in 10 episodes, which is two months of variety shows. Do you see the difference? That's why many singers want to transition to acting, it's all about the income."
The manager then smiled at Lee Yu-ho and said, "How about you? Are you interested in learning acting and following RAIN's path to act in dramas?"
Lee Yu-ho burst out laughing when he heard RAIN, "Pfft~~~ I don't want to follow him. Every movie he acts in flops. Hollywood? Ha ha ha... I'll stick to singing my songs." Everyone in the car laughed at Lee Yu-ho's words.
...
Lee Yu-ho was chatting with his manager on the way to the shooting location, while Kim Tae-hee was sitting in her limousine and asking her manager, "Isn't it a couple photo shoot today? Who am I working with?"
Kim Tae-hee's manager smiled and replied, "The person you're working with... is quite famous. Who has been on the news headlines the most recently?"
Kim Tae-hee immediately understood, "It can't be my junior, Lee Yu-ho, right? His news today was huge... He topped the news charts twice in just three hours. But the songs he writes are really good; he's very talented."
Kim Tae-hee's manager nodded and said, "Yes, you're working with your junior, Lee Yu-ho today. To be honest, the songs he writes are really good, and I enjoy listening to them. I'll ask him for an autograph today."
Kim Tae-hee soon arrived at the shooting location, but when she saw the road leading to the entrance of the studio packed with high school girls and many reporters, she was stunned, "What... What's going on here?"
"It's Lee Yu-ho's fans. His schedule might have been leaked." She honked the horn, and the fans made way for Kim Tae-hee's car to enter.
Seeing the crowd of high school girls, Kim Tae-hee frowned, "Aren't the producers going to ask them to leave?"
"Ha ha... It's free publicity. Do you think the producers would intervene? Let's go in." As soon as Kim Tae-hee's manager finished speaking, a scream came from outside, "Ah~~~~~~~~"
"Yu-ho oppa!!!"
"Yu-ho oppa!!! 'Saranghae'!!!!"
The crowd immediately rushed towards Lee Yu-ho's limousine, completely ignoring Kim Tae-hee. Her manager quickly seized the opportunity, "You get out of the car and go to the studio. I'll park the car and join you. There are too many people; Lee Yu-ho won't be able to get in for a while." There were at least a few hundred people.
Lee Yu-ho's limousine was surrounded, and he was dumbfounded, "What? How did these people know my schedule? They came here to block me?"
The manager also shook his head, "I don't know. Talk to your fans and ask them to clear the way."
Lee Yu-ho rolled down the passenger window and waved to the fans outside. Another round of screams erupted. Lee Yu-ho made a 'shh' gesture and shouted to the fans, "Feathers in front, please clear the way. Our car can't move. If we stay here, the police will come and give us a ticket."
Lee Yu-ho's words were effective, and the fans automatically made a path for his limousine to enter the alley. The fans continued to follow the limousine.
Lee Yu-ho then said to the manager, "Eun-ju, get out of the car with me, Uncle, you go park the car." The fans kept following the limousine, so they couldn't park on the side, and Lee Yu-ho had to get out.
Lee Yu-ho called to the fans by the car door to let him out. After he got out, the fans surrounded him, taking photos. The fans in front of the car also moved away, and the car was able to drive off.
Lee Yu-ho then asked the fans, "How did you find out about my schedule?"
Various voices answered, and Lee Yu-ho heard the gist of it, "Yu-ho oppa, someone posted your schedule on a website. Many people didn't believe it, but we did, so we came."
Lee Yu-ho smiled, "Thank you, dear Feathers, for coming to support me. How about this: I'll give you five minutes to take photos. After five minutes, I need to go to the studio to work. Please don't stay here and block the traffic. If you have school, go back to class; skipping isn't good."
The high school girls shouted, "Okay!!" and took out their phones to take photos of Lee Yu-ho. At this moment, a reporter squeezed in and asked, "Lee Yu-ho, I'm a reporter from XXX newspaper. Congratulations on your English single debuting at No. 9 on the 'Billboard Hot 100.' Are you planning to develop in the U.S.?"
"Oh? Debut at No. 9? I haven't received any notification from the company yet, thank you for letting me know. Whether I go to the U.S. or not isn't up to me, but I can confirm that my schedule for the next month is full. So, I definitely won't be going to the U.S. this month. The breach of contract fee would scare the company to death. As for whether I will go and when, that depends on the company's arrangements."
"Lee Yu-ho, your Korean and English singles have both achieved great success. Especially your 'Sorry' gave everyone a pleasant surprise with a new look. Your dance skills are also impressive. How long did you practice the dance for this song?"
"Dance? Actually, I started practicing this dance after my first MV, 'Like Being Shot.' I didn't debut for about two months due to school, and during that time, I kept practicing. Overall, I practiced for about half a year for this dance." After answering the reporter's question, Lee Yu-ho asked the fans, "Is my dancing okay? Do you like 'Sorry'?"