Chapter 97: You'll Know When You Hear It

antic relationships between the couples which are already exciting, other aspects like class differences, the power struggles of wealthy families, the coldness and preciousness of family ties, are all...「…………」

First, there are individual shots of each person. Then, all the members stand in a line here and look at the sun in the sky.

"Right here, remember this place."

"This shot is very simple. It can be a smile, a pursed lip, or even a neutral expression. But remember, don't overdo the expressions. Don't look at the camera, look up at the sky, or at the sun. Got it"

PD scanned the EXO members standing before him, their hands nervously rubbing together as they breathed heavily. With a commanding right hand gesture, he instructed them on the key points to focus on during the upcoming shoot.

"Alright, I understand."

Nine people immediately responded.

At this time, they were on the east coast of Gangwon-do. Including EXO, dozens of staff members had arrived before dawn to bring a fiery atmosphere to the chilly beach. The self-provided lighting lamps illuminated the pitch-black beach, and various shooting equipment had already been set up and was being checked.

Yesterday, the recording work for "Let It Be" has officially finished and entered the post-production stage. EXO has subsequently begun filming the MV.

Because it's a winter song and there are no choreography, the MV design is relatively simple. All the shots before can be filmed on location in Seoul or built sets. Only the last shot needs to be filmed on site in Gangwon-do with a sunrise scene.

After finishing up last night, I went back to the dorm and didn't really sleep much. I just dozed off for a bit. By a little past one, everyone got up and, following the staff who were already prepared, we drove from Seoul to Gangwon-do. As soon as we arrived, we started rushing to do our makeup and set up the equipment.

Chi Jingyuan was still drowsy and confused, but as soon as he stepped onto the beach, a cold wind blew, instantly waking him up. The sea breeze at dawn stung his cheeks, it felt a little painful. He kept rubbing his hands under his coat to warm himself up. Fortunately, the assistant handed everyone a cup of hot drink, which slightly eased the discomfort.

"He noticed that Wu Shixun and Park Chan-lyeok, along with a few others, didn't seem to feel the cold. They were each holding their phones and striking poses for selfies, probably planning to upload them to their SNS in the next couple of days."

Walking a few steps onto the beach, Ji-won saw this unfamiliar yet strangely familiar place. He couldn't help but remember when they, twelve of them, filmed EXO's first variety show, "EXO's Shoti", here. It seemed like back then, playing in the water at this seaside was truly a lot of fun.

Remember when the survival show ended and the twelve members watched the sunrise on this beach Each person said a blessing, what did he say at that time

Chi Jingyuan couldn't quite remember, but looking at the calm yet dark and deep sea in front of him, he suddenly felt a lot of emotion.

Speaking of which, the MV's ending was filmed here on his suggestion to the company.

Since he was already there, he also took out his phone and found a well-lit spot to take two selfies. His last update was when he received the MMA Awards trophy, a certified photo expressing gratitude to fans and organizers, a very business-like update. The last time before that was a long time ago.

"Time's almost up, let me check my makeup and get changed. Hurry hurry!"

After taking a few pictures, the PD over there grabbed a megaphone and shouted twice, so the members quickly ran over.

Everything was ready, and the shoot after sunrise went smoothly. After finishing the last shot, I thanked the crew and got into the van to return to Seoul.

Seeing the considerably emptier nanny car, Ji Jingyuan felt a little unaccustomed for a moment.

When EXO was originally active, they usually split into two groups, K and M, each riding in their own van. However, after three members left from M, this practice became unnecessary. Now, both vans are available for whichever members want to use them. With the addition of him to this van, there are now four people inside, a stark contrast to the crowded conditions they experienced before.

Originally, Ji Jingyuan was planning to head straight to the set, but just now Lee Seonghwan said they needed to go back for a small meeting first.

According to our current progress, the return time of this winter single has already

has been formally confirmed.

Back in the company practice room, Lee Seunghwan also knew that the members still had things to do afterwards and didn't beat around the bush. He stood in the middle, clapped his hands, and started explaining: "The official comeback date has been set for next month, December 4th."

We will be performing a special stage of "Natural Flow" at MAMA on December 3rd, and then officially releasing the audio and MV on the 4th. As long as the performance at the stage is impressive, we can leverage MAMA's influence to directly achieve the best promotion.

"Performing 'Naturally' on MAMA's stage" Several members were taken aback, with Kim Junmyeon repeating the question in disbelief.

By the end of October, the company had already negotiated with the MAMA organizers. At that time, EXO's attendance at this year's MAMA Awards ceremony was confirmed, and the specific performance songs were also finalized. Besides Kai's solo dance used for transition, they would perform "dope," "kpearl" from this year's mini-album, and the title song "Obsession."

For this stage performance, they've been practicing a lot since the beginning of the month. They've even been rehearsing the nine-person version of the dance recently. Unexpectedly, they switched songs right before the performance date.

However, this decision is also quite good. The winter song itself wasn't highly prioritized by the company, and the promotional period was estimated to be about a week. Although the MAMA awards ceremony may not have a strong reputation or credibility, it places more emphasis on stage performances compared to the actual award presentation. Every year, whether it's the hype, discussion, or viewership, it attracts significant attention. Being able to perform "Let It Be" at this year's MAMA is considered a good opportunity to capitalize on the platform.

As long as the stage effects can make people's eyes light up, its publicity effect is unmatched by singing programs.

"Internally, we hadn't solidified a plan for the winter single before so we didn't think about this much. But since we decided to return with a winter single, the company definitely needed to rework the plan. After seeing that our comeback preparations could be finished before MAMA, the company communicated with the organizers about changing the song, and they were very willing to agree immediately. After all, it’s an XO song @first release, and it would also have a good promotional effect on MAMA."

The teachers are planning specific stage performances and special effects displays, and rehearsals will begin in a few days.

Seeing several members nod in understanding, Lee Seung Hwan also smiled with satisfaction and added: "Tonight we're flying to Japan. After this trip back from Tokyo, we need to quickly finish the last filming of the MV. Plus, there isn't much time left for post-production."

A few people looked at each other and replied in unison:

"Alaso..."

…………

> On the morning of November 21st, after concluding a three-day tour in Tokyo, Ji-sung from (G)I-DLE arrived at Incheon International Airport with the EXO members and their company's staff. He was carrying a single shoulder bag, pushing a suitcase, trailing behind the group. With assistants surrounding him, he took slow steps towards the airport exit.

This Tokyo concert was held at the National Stadium in Yoyogi. The three-day attendance statistics exceeded that of Fukuoka, Shanghai. A total of 42,000 tickets were sold for the event.

EXO, who has never debuted in Japan and only held two showcases there, being able to hold a 10,000-capacity concert in Japan for three consecutive days clearly demonstrates their popularity and market potential in Japan. The enthusiasm of Japanese fans is no less than that of Korean fans. Some of the most loyal fans display even greater fervor and generosity.

According to Ji Changwook himself, fans from the Peninsula, Xia Guo, and Neon each have their own unique characteristics. The latter two tend to be more devoted in their pursuit of stardom, but overall, as long as someone is a fan of XO, they are considered the best in the eyes of these idols.

This process is similar to the one in Fukuoka Station, and once again, Ikegami Gen is taking on the role of translator for the members. This approach has become a hot topic among Japanese fans, even trending on social media, because his fluency has earned him a lot of goodwill.

The past three days went very smoothly with no unexpected incidents. After the trip ended,

They took a plane back to the peninsula early the next morning.

At this time, there were many reporters surrounding them, seemingly waiting for them. As soon as EXO passed the security check and came out, they immediately focused on them. Counting from head to toe, they found that only 9 members of EXO returned, and they immediately became excited, picking up their cameras and starting to take pictures quickly.

As previously announced by **, after the conclusion of the Neon tour in November, Chanyeol will focus on domestic activities within China and will no longer participate in EXO's group activities.

Yesterday night, after the concert ended, y took the initiative to invite all the members to have a meal together, which also served as a formal farewell in front of the XO members.

Since it was his farewell dinner, regardless of whether anyone harbored resentment towards him or simply disliked him, everyone temporarily put aside their grievances and gave him face by attending. They also suppressed any negative emotions, at least outwardly appearing cordial.

Although the atmosphere at this meal wasn't great overall, it was clear that Y felt a lot of emotions. Without anyone urging him, he proactively drank a lot of alcohol, often reminiscing about his trainee days and some things that happened in the two years since his debut between sips.

Many things back then didn't feel particularly special, just ordinary. But after so long, when they were suddenly brought up in conversation, the scenes from the past flashed before our eyes, and it really evoked a lot of emotions from people.

Chi Jingyuan's relationship has always been distant, not as close as Han. Overall, he's just a familiar colleague. Even so, he was affected by the atmosphere and drank quite a bit, which could be considered a farewell to the last member of Xia Guo.

The dorm stuff had already been packed up. He didn't return to the peninsula with the rest of the group this time, instead catching a flight back to Xia Guo at the same time as them. It seems his personal studio is setting up very smoothly, receiving many offers before they even have an official activity. After going back this time, he'll immediately start filming for a variety show.

Speaking of the three members who returned to XO, each one is doing really well. They've taken on many endorsements, variety shows, and TV dramas. Especially Han, the first one to go back. He was originally the captain and main member of M team, EXO's TOP popularity, he has the highest fame and heat.

After he returned, he quickly became a top-tier star as soon as the short period of turmoil passed. He received countless high-profile resources and overwhelmed Wu Saik, who had been enjoying life comfortably after being the first to take the risk. Wu Saik's space for survival was directly squeezed.

Chi Jingyuan also had some resentment towards the three departing members, but no matter what, they were teammates after all. Although he didn't say it out loud, he still sent the words he once said to Han to the other two in his heart. He could only say that life has dreams, and everyone shines in their own way.

As EXO exited the airport and got into their van, it wasn't long before various posts appeared online such as:

"Y has officially returned to China, leaving EXO with nine members."

News headlines such as "All members of Xia Guo have withdrawn, what's next for XO"

Then, various data showed that the once-dominant boy group was rapidly declining, no longer possessing the momentum of an unstoppable force among new generation boy groups. On the other hand, other third-generation boy groups were catching up.

Lastly, mentioning a male idol group for promotion and comparison, such as f(x), B1A4, or GOT7.

The posture of being someone who belittles others to flatter them is very obvious.

I don't know how much funding other boy groups' agencies have poured into marketing. Since the beginning of the month, there hasn't been a break in these kinds of messages online. They make it sound like EXO is about to disband right away. No wonder some fans went to the filming location to camp out before. After all, these marketing news stories are so convincing and well-presented.

Anyway, not many media outlets or marketing accounts are optimistic about EXO's nine-member comeback achieving past glories. One by one, they come to criticize and step on it, while promoting other groups at the same time. There's no need to elaborate on their true intentions.

Recently, there has been a lot of heated exchange between fans of Ailee and several boy groups online. ** Entertainment hasn't responded to anything, so it's unclear if they are simply ignoring it or...

It's not necessary to respond, the members of XO have started to get angry about it too. Some people like Park Chan-wook even publicly sarcastically criticized these marketing accounts, but now that they see so many of them, they've gotten used to it.

However, when EXO returned to the peninsula from Japan today, ** Entertainment also officially announced that EXO would be making a comeback next month with their winter single "BeenThrough (Go With The Flow)". They will be performing a special stage at the MAMA Awards ceremony on December 3rd and releasing the audio and MV on December 4th.

It was also noted that the winter single "Naturally" features Yuan, a member of EXO, who participated in both the arrangement and songwriting. It is a pop ballad with soulful piano melodies, a rock-infused drumbeat, and other sound elements.

After a period of silence following the continuous departure of members, EXO, which had been shrouded in speculation and rumors, finally announced its comeback. The news immediately drew widespread attention from fans and the general public.

"This is the best news I've seen in a while, finally waiting for the Oppa's comeback! I'm so excited..."

"Is this another song produced by Yuan The name "Follow the Flow" sounds really nice too. It feels like the members are expressing their thoughts and feelings about the XO stage, I'm really looking forward to it."

But last December was still a winter special, it was a mini album release! How come this year it's just a single and there's no physical album, it's obviously a resource downgrade. The things that happened to EXO in the second half of the year seem to have had a big impact, they even don't have a winter album anymore, sigh...

"As a supporter of IU, it's really disappointing that we can't buy the album. However, we will definitely work hard on the charts!"

Fans are very excited about the news of EXO's winter comeback. The comeback naturally proves that all those rumors about their disbandment circulating online were just nonsense. However, many fans are very dissatisfied with **'s decision to only release a digital single for this comeback, believing it is evidence that EXO's resources have been taken away by the company.

As for the fans of Blackpink and other boy groups, naturally there was a wave of mockery: "What time is it Still doing winter specials They don't even have a brain, do they"

"XO is really pitiful, they were so close to the top in the first half of the year, Asia's biggest boy group, by the end of the year they didn't even get a mini album from their company, they could only put together a digital single to appease fans, I almost died laughing kkkk, Alice fans are so lucky! Envious!"

"Digital single...kkkkk, this kind of cost-free comeback already shows that the company doesn't have high expectations for them, otherwise they wouldn't be so perfunctory. In recent six months, ** should only have groups like Red Velvet, who just debuted, use digital singles to come back, right Anyway, it doesn't cost much, even if there is a loss, it doesn't matter. I didn't expect EXO to fall to this point either. Speaking of these two groups, which one will disband first"

"It should be Red Velvet, XO even if it's less popular than before, the fan base is still here, there aren't many male groups on the peninsula that can catch up to them, the parrot group still can't compete, I guess they will make a comeback next year, and this kind of situation should disband."

> "Who disbanded first EXO said, 'I don't know either, let it be kkkkk.'"

Seeing these black fans go wild as if it's just a digital single, Ji Chengyuan is both helpless and amused. This winter song "Go With the Flow" has been played around by this group of haters, and they don't know how it relates to Red Velvet.

It's really something that Red Velvet can be criticized for anything.

As for the fans' doubts about resource downgrade, it's not necessary. Although Pool Kyungsun submitted the planning proposal, the company is still discussing it. However, whether or not it will be adopted, it is clear that EXO's comeback this time will definitely be the one with the most resources invested by the company.

However, the other aspects Ai-len mentioned weren't wrong. This winter single was rushed, and the company didn't seem to take it too seriously. Plus, this was already after Ji-seong had fought with the company for it. If they had followed **'s initial plan of releasing it as a "game promotional song," that would have been truly dismissive.

Actually, the main reason is that Ji Jingyuan really likes this time.

This song "Go with the Flow" and the lyrics are very meaningful to him, otherwise he wouldn't bother arguing with the company. After all, next year's comeback is the real focus, and time is already so tight now.

But since they've already done it, they definitely want to do their best within the framework. And this time, the company also helped them secure a special stage performance opportunity for this song at MAMA. All in all, it's not too perfunctory.

…………

Have you chosen your winter single yet "Follow the Flow," it sounds familiar, is there a special meaning behind this name

During his overtime in the "The Uncanny Counter" drama set, Ji Chang Wook saw a message from IU that she sent him an hour ago. He was busy with his scenes just then and didn't have time to check it. Now that he finished filming and had a break, he finally saw the message.

Since that walk by the river at the beginning of the month, Bae Joo-hyeon's negative emotions had lessened considerably and she was back to normal.

Although she's not as frequent in messaging Park Ji-sung as she was before her debut, she still sometimes takes the initiative to chat with him when she gets her phone at night.

It can be seen that ambition and pride still leave a fire in Park Soo-hyeon's heart.

"The meaning behind it might be a little there, you'll know when you hear it."

After taking two gulps of the coffee that Cui Zhichang had prepared for him, Ji Jingyuan sat there quickly replying.

"Just finished filming Wasn't the set pretty cold (Curious)"

Jennie seems to be really relaxed, just moments after Ji-won went back she came right back over. It's obvious that she was probably playing on her phone the whole time.

After appearing on several variety shows last month with no success, Red Velvet has entered a semi-hiatus state. The entire group has no schedule or activities. The promotions for 《BeNatural》 have also ended with zero wins. Now, they spend their days either practicing in the dance studio or relaxing at the dorm, preparing for year-end stages on various television stations while waiting for news of their next comeback.

Ji Jingyuan held a cup of coffee in one hand and tapped on the screen with the other: "It's not finished, just taking a temporary break. I might be working until one or two in the morning today. After that, we have to shoot an MV. Today is going to be a long day... It's actually not cold, the crew has the heating on full blast, it's even a bit hot."

"That must be really tough (poor you)…. I saw the company's announcement, is this winter single another one of your original compositions, Jingyuan xi"

Seeing this question, Chi Jingyuan hesitated for a few seconds, swallowed the coffee in his mouth and then laughed:

"The melody is, the lyrics... are not."

"Pei Zhuxuan retorted instantly, "It wasn't you who wrote it Then who did The company announcement said it was all completed by you."

"The company also thought I did it all alone, but actually some of the words weren't mine. I heard them from other people."

"Who is it"

"You'll know once you hear it."

First release on the Traditional Chinese Novel Networkhows have officially called back EXID to perform again. Today's "Music Bank" is their first comeback stage.Ji Jingyuan looked at their expressions and felt like they weren't very used to the atmospher...