"So you said he would do it, for real?" JYP who was on the phone with Jaemin's manager right now was in complete and utter shock.
Jaemin had never accepted appearing on a variety show, ever. He had denied all requests, he simply refused to attend one. It was currently July the 30th, and as of now, he had never appeared on TV aside from dramas and award/model shows even once.
Something seemed to be holding him back, it's just that he didn't know what that was. JYP had asked Jaemin if he would appear on some of them, and even tried to persuade him, but he just said no without any negotiation possible.
In the end, he accepted it, his fame was big enough, so he didn't even have to. He was only worried about what that would cause in the reaction of fans, since they also wanted him to appear on tv shows.
"Yes, I was suprised as well, he suddenly decided he'd accept the invitation from that show..... What was it called again...." The manager quickly browsed through all the invitations in his e-mail, and found the variety show he was looking for.
JYP thought for a bit and said, "Do you maybe know why he accepted to do it?"
The manager grinned, "I might have an idea, but I'm not sure."
JYP responded, "Go ahead and tell me"
"It's probably the guests on that particular episode, or maybe it's the nature of the show as well." said the manager.
"Oh who are the guests then?" asked JYP.
The manager looked at the list of guests and said, "It's a few members from Girl's Generation and KARA. And some other people, but those are probably not as important."
JYP couldn't help but laugh out loud, "That brat, is that why he did it? No wonder he accepted to go on Strong Heart, members of Girl's Generation are literally present in almost every episode."
Now that The Moon Embracing the Sun and The Thieves had ended airing, he was even more wanted on variety shows.
Every show wanted him, desperately. Even Star King, one of the most well-known tv programs, wasn't an exception.
Hell, even Running Man, the most popular tv show in South Korea, had invited him over to be a guest.
JYP continued on talking with the manager, "Ok, I'll talk to him about what he should be careful about, it is his first time on a variety show after all. His image has to be kept, he also shouldn't reveal anything shocking, I don't want to have any scandals about him showing up."
The manager hummed, "Hmmm, that's true, I'll send him to your office then, bye."
"Ok, bye" said JYP.
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Jaemin had received the message and was on his way to JYP right now.
He had thought about this very thoroughly, on what show he should appear on. And he eventually decided to go on Strong Heart.
His personality and image wasn't really fit for variety shows at all, so he would need to show something else instead of making a fool out of himself. It was the perfect chance to show that he wasn't only a master in acting, but a master in dancing as well.
It'd be better if his fans themselves requested him to join an idol group, and not him. He could avoid basically most of the hate that way, since he had already proven himself to be good enough to actually join one.
The career switch from an actor to an idol was unheard of, he would be the absolute first to try it. No well-known actor in Korea had become an idol, they just stayed actors. JYP had made a big gamble with him, it could go wrong, but it could also be an ultimate success.
It was usually idols that became actors, and not the otherway around.
Not many people outside of his company knew he could dance and sing, the amount of people who did knew could be counted on one hand.
How should he let the world know of his expertise? Variety show Strong Heart of course!
Running Man didn't really gave an opportunity to show the individual's talents, they just followed a course of objectives they had to complete that episode.
And although that wasn't wrong, he wasn't looking for something like that right now.
Strong Heart however, does give that opportunity.
There were numerous examples of this on youtube, mostly members of 2PM making a big fuss about their powerful and sexy dance style.
He planned on doing this as well, following the same concept.
And he had chosen the perfect episode to do this one, an episode with popular idols. And in the current generation, SNSD(~) was basically on top in every aspect that girl groups could have. KARA wasn't as popular as SNSD, but they were quite well-known in Japan and Korea.
Idol fans would come for them, his fans would come for him. Those idol fans would then eventually see some kind of uber handsome dude that was pretty much the best dancer in the whole industry, and then join his fandom.
Gaining support should be possible, if his deductions were correct.
And this is why he decided he'd go on Strong Heart, the intention to reveal his amazing dance skills.
Of course, he wanted to see the members of Girl's Generation as well.
His favorites were Taeyeon and Yoona, and they were there as well.
How could he not go?
After he knocked on the door of JYP's office, a "Come in!" followed.
He went in, and JYP inmediately began talking, "So you want to appear on Strong Heart first? Why?"
He answered, "Because I like the nature of the show, the MC, and the fact that I want to show that I can dance."
JYP looked suprised and pondered for a bit as he stroked his non-existent beard and said, "I was thinking about that as well, it's a smart move. You'd better do well though, be careful as well with the acrobatics. Also, don't sing, it doesn't fit the show. Appear on another show if you want to show your singing."
So JYP agreed with him as well.
The CEO pervert has some insight indeed.
JYP continued lecturing him about the things he had to be careful about and what kind of attitude he should show. He also told him about the show itself, what it was like, how the MC's were etc.
Strong Heart was a show were celebrities tell either funny or special stories about their lives, the MC's and other guests would then react, and the celebrity who tells the story also has the chance to further explain it, for example: through actions.
It's also a way to clear up rumors about them, but he wasn't in need for that.
All in all, if he was polite and focussed on his part, then it was all good.
He told JYP on what he was planning on saying, which were a few details and facts about his life as an actor, and revealing the fact that he was actually an idol trainee.
Nobody knew that, they just thought that he was a rookie actor signed under JYP Entertainment.
It would become hot news, for sure.
His circumstances were special, he didn't follow the same route as the other trainees. He couldn't even if he wanted to, imagine a famous actor suddenly joining a group of unknown trainees. It would become a mess.
After becoming an actor, he mainly did individual training.
He only did some of the evaluations, the rest he basically skipped. And even those, were to be done in private, he couldn't really join the other trainees anymore.
He also didn't sleep in the trainee bunks anymore, he slept in his own house. It had gotten a bit complicated staying there after a while, so JYP decided he'd move back into his house again.
Jinyoung, his bunk mate, was a bit sad to see him go, but was also happy for him that he was doing so well. Jinyoung also told him that he too wanted to start acting, which didn't suprise him.
He acted in Dream High 2, and a few other movies and dramas, but they were all minor roles or not so popular ones.
He decided he'd help him with that, help him with getting a good role in a popular drama
There were also a lot of other things he had to do still....
He had a lot on his hands, and he loved it.