Chapter 99: MAMA

light.Cheonggyecheon Stream is a long stream located within Seoul. It extends from Gwangwhamun Square to Dongdaemun. The sidewalks along the stream are a popular place for citizens to relax and take w..."XOXOXOXO!"

"Ahhh, Yuan, look here, just look at me!"

"I love you, Chan-yeol. I love you..."

Members' continuous departures from the group seem to have had no impact on EXO's popularity in Hong Kong. As they exited Hong Kong International Airport, they were greeted with enthusiastic cheers from fans. Standing in a formation, the fans each held up banners and signs. Upon seeing EXO emerge, they erupted in thunderous applause, amplifying the already somewhat noisy airport environment.

There were also a few people resembling reporters holding cameras and frantically taking pictures of EXO and the fans who came to pick them up. They seemed to have found some great news material.

Chi Jingyuan trailed behind the team, watching the numerous posters of himself being held up by local fans. Under the guidance of his assistant, he clasped his hands together and slowly squeezed forward, gently bowing to the fans on both sides in gratitude. Every place he was looked at would immediately cause the screams to escalate.

Such enthusiastic reception made many members happy on the surface, but in their hearts, they felt a little puzzled. It seemed that EXO was welcomed even more enthusiastically this year compared to last year's visit.

Is the food here not affected by the withdrawal

After boarding the already prepared bus, the group headed straight to the hotel. On the way, manager Lee Seung-hwan, as usual, briefed them on some things to note. XO, being a group that has debuted for two and a half years now, is no longer as naive as they were in their rookie days. This was also their third time participating in MAMA, so they already had quite a bit of experience. Lee Seung-hwan briefly outlined the schedule for the next two days and didn't say much else.

What's interesting is that this year he didn't restrict EXO members from leaving the hotel like before. He didn't even mention it, he just said to not run around when resting and to report where they are going.

Several members looked pleased after hearing this. The company's management of EXO is noticeably looser compared to their rookie days.

As it turned out, because this year's venue was the same as last year's 2013 MAMA, which was also held at the AsiaWorld-Expo, the company gave EXO the exact same hotel they had last year. When he walked in and saw the fountain at the entrance, even Ji-sung felt a sense of familiarity.

After checking into the hotel and freshening up, they immediately got back in the car and headed to the venue, the AsiaWorld-Expo, for a site visit and rehearsal.

Before, we practiced many times in the rehearsal room. For several songs, the stage presence and choreography were already very familiar. However, there are still many things to pay attention to during a formal performance, including cooperating with the company's set design and some special effects production, the use of lifts, the timing and route for costume changes, etc. All these need to be rehearsed on site.

"I've already told you about the specific process, but there will still be some differences when we get on stage. We EXO practiced a lot of actions in coordination with the special effects before our opening performance, standing in the nine-grid formation... I won't go into details."

After arriving at the venue and waiting for a while, all members of EXO and their team took the stage to start rehearsing. The nine members gathered in a circle, seriously listening to several stage instructors from ** Company explain the detailed process.

After the opening nine-palace performance is over and the lights go out, everyone pulls back the curtain to enter the first stage, "dope". This one needs no further explanation... After the performance of "dope" ends, dancers will pull up silk ribbons for about forty seconds. Along with the falling LED lights, it takes almost a minute. At this time, you use the fastest speed to get off the stage and go directly to the elevator position. On the way, your assistants will help you take off the "dope" stage costumes. Then Jingyuan goes up first to start the special stage of "Follow the Flow", and other members follow in order one by one.

"Remember, when you're on stage the ceiling will be covered with strings of lightbulbs. Please don't touch them. Whether they are faulty and leaking electricity or not securely fastened and could be pulled down, touching them could cause a stage accident. Understand"

"Got it."

Nine people nodded to show that they understood.

This time, in order to make the special stage for the winter single "Follow the Flow" more memorable, ** company has made a lot of preparations.

During the song's stage performance, besides the specially designed lighting, dozens or even hundreds of LED string lights would be hung from the ceiling, directly covering most of the stage. They would change color along with the progress of the song, creating a dreamy stage effect while also setting and enhancing the atmosphere.

These things the organizers don't care about, these are all prepared by ** company itself.

After "Go With The Flow" was kai's solo dance, the others used this time to transition. This transition time was more generous, going offstage to change clothes and then directly to the elevator. Finally, it was time for the stage of "Addiction," which wasn't anything special...

"The process is just this process, nothing complicated. Let's just go through it once, and we can talk about it as we practice."

The instructor stood with his hands gesturing wildly on the stage, giving a long speech. Chi Jingyuan and several others listened intently, jotting down notes as they went along. They hurriedly responded in unison:

Understood.

"Let's begin."

……

Because there were many performing guests who needed rehearsals, EXO didn't have much time. However, the main thing was to familiarize themselves with the process and rehearse a few times. After that, there weren't really any problems.

Chi Jingyuan thinks the most difficult part is that during transitions, they have to run a little faster. It takes about twenty seconds just for the elevator to go up, and the time allotted for them to transition isn't much. If they trip and fall while getting off stage to change clothes, things will get interesting.

In the afternoon, they managed to squeeze in another practice session before EXO left the venue and went out for a meal together. Afterwards, they returned to the hotel to enjoy some free time.

Want to go out for a walk tonight

How about coming over tonight

In the hotel room, Ji-yeong was leaning against the bed playing a game on his phone when it suddenly started ringing continuously. He paused the game, picked up his phone, and saw that he had received two invitation text messages, one from Suzy Bae and one from Kim Yeong-ro.

Although Miss A didn't make a comeback this year, because of the huge success of "so", she has been performing on stage with Ji Chang-wook at several important year-end stages. This year's MAMA is no exception. Besides performing on stage, they are almost guaranteed to win 'Best Collaboration Song Award'.

After arriving on Hong Kong Island in the afternoon, Bae Suzy texted Park Kyung-won. The hotel JYP booked for her was quite close to EXO's location, both near the AsiaWorld-Expo.

And Girls' Day, as one of the hottest girl groups this year, also attended this MAMA. However, her special relationship with Ji-sung seemed to have a distant feeling. They haven't contacted each other much for a while, but judging from her appearance and tone, she didn't seem to mind these things.

It's just a matter of getting along. We're not officially dating.

These two seemed to have made an agreement, as they both invited him at almost the same time. Ji Jingyuan was stunned for two seconds after seeing this, feeling rather amused in his heart.

Is Pei Suzy and Kim Yae-rang this in sync He really didn't see it.

The company has relaxed its management of EXO quite a bit and hasn't restricted their outings. Just after returning to the hotel, Park Chan-yeol, Kim Jong-in, and a few others went out happily together to play. Judging by the time, they are probably off to some scenic spot for a team adventure.

"I'm a bit tired today, maybe next time."

"Let's talk later, I'm too lazy to go out."

After thinking about it, Chi Jingyuan sent both of them a message each and, too lazy to check their replies, casually tossed his phone aside. He picked up the game console and continued playing.

As for the invitation from the two, Ji Jingyuan wasn't really interested. Going out for a stroll was just going out for a stroll, there wasn't much meaning to it. Since this overseas trip meant they couldn't stay out all night and had to return to the hotel, he didn't see much appeal. The next two days were also the MAMA event, with reporters and fans everywhere. Hong Kong reporters are notorious for being good at their job, so going out with any one of them made it very easy to be photographed. Things could get complicated then.

Speaking of which, Girls' Generation seemed to have been photographed by paparazzi in Hong Kong a few years ago. The report showed two people suspected to be members of Girls' Generation partying with a wealthy businessman and then stumbling like they were drunk and falling into a trash heap on the street, losing their composure. This became known as the "Lan Kwai Fong Incident." Because only their backs were captured in the photos, it remains unclear who they are to this day. Even though ** and the members of Girls' Generation have issued statements clarifying that they weren't in the photos, many people online still enjoy speculating about who they might be.

Although Chi Jingyuan didn't ask his childhood friends if they were the ones in the photo, he naturally took a look at it. In his opinion, if he had to choose someone from his childhood...

That person must be senior YoonA, because the legs of one person in the photo look very awkward from the back.

I don't know when the few members who went out to play last night would be back. Anyway, the next day after he woke up, Ji Jingyuan saw them and thought they looked pretty good. It seems that the water and soil in Hong Kong really nourish people.

Today is the day of MAMA, and all members of EXO woke up early to continue running to the venue for rehearsals, including performing "so" with Suzy Bae.

This rehearsal was a full run-through of the evening's entire program. Almost all of the participating guests were present, making it much more formal than yesterday's site visit.

After walking the red carpet in the morning, EXO didn't even have time for a meal before rushing to the salon to get their hair and makeup done. At around 3 pm, they were picked up by a car and started their pre-ceremony routine: walking the red carpet, signing autographs, and giving interviews. By the time they finally arrived at the venue and waited for the ceremony to begin, Ji Changwook felt physically drained. In order to look their best for the evening's event, they hadn't eaten much since the night before, and by now, they were starving.

I wonder how those female artists manage to stick to a strict diet and exercise regimen for weeks leading up to a major event, all to fit into their custom-made gowns.

Anyway, he can't do it.

After grabbing a few cookies from Wu Shihun's hands, Ji Jingyuan didn't go out to network with Kim Jun-myeon and Park Chan-lyeol like the others. He just stayed in the separated backstage lounge, squinting his eyes and resting, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

Come on!

As six o'clock approached, Chi Jingyuan received a text message from Zhou Tzuyu. Looking at the silly smiling face emoji in the middle of the screen, Chi Jingyuan felt as if Zhou Tzuyu was grinning foolishly right before him.

He let out a breath and chuckled, returning with a 'smile'.

At this time, Li Chenghuan rushed out from outside with a notebook and directly called him: "Let's start immediately. Everyone else will wait backstage first until the staff notifies them. Jingyuan, you go to the artist's seat now to listen to the field arrangement. You'll have your award as soon as the show opens."

"Alaos." Without even checking if Zhou Tzuyu had sent any messages, Ji Jingyuan put his phone away, stood up, gave a hand signal, and ran to the mirror first to have dy check if there were any problems with his styling. Then, he walked out quickly with the staff waiting at the door.

Because large award ceremonies have many guests, and several large boy groups like EXO, the artist seats set up outside generally can't accommodate so many people. The organizer will arrange the seating in the artist seats according to the time of awarding prizes and performances, separating the guests. Guests must sit in the artist seats before receiving an award, while artists about to perform will come down early to prepare.

Following the staff, I arrived at the artist's seating area and found my place. I glanced at Bae Suzy who was seated next to me but didn't say anything. Ji Kyeong-won smiled and nodded at a few artists sitting closer to him, greeting them.

This year's MAMA, compared to last year, Park Ji-won saw a lot of familiar faces, such as GD, INFINITE, and SISTAR, several big-name artists.

Besides EXO, Crayon Pop, who were incredibly popular in the latter half of last year, have already faded from the spotlight.

The audience had all taken their seats. Amidst the bustling noise, the lights on the ceiling gradually dimmed, signaling the official start. A deafening roar erupted throughout the venue, only subsiding after the music began.

At 6:00 p.m. sharp, the 2014 MAMA Awards ceremony officially began, and under the gaze of countless viewers, the first performance was a passionate rap performance by a group of rappers that no one could name.

Several rappers showed off tattoos covering their arms, chunky gold chains around their necks, and a hip-hop vibe as they performed on stage with powerful lyrics.

Although he couldn't remember his name, Ji Jingyuan managed to recognize that this was probably a contestant from this year's Peninsula's most popular rap program, "Show The Money," one of whom was supposedly a YG trainee. He remembered hearing one of the XO members mention it casually in the dorm.

The opening rap performance didn't quite get the crowd going. Local Hong Kong audiences mostly couldn't understand what they were singing about, but they still enthusiastically waved their light sticks and screamed in support.

After playing the VCR featuring all the attending performers for this year's MAMA, host Song Seung-heon took to the stage.

Song Seung-heon is one of the most well-known male actors from the Korean peninsula who rose to fame in Asia at the beginning of the millennium. His starring role in *Blue Life and Death* was a huge success. However, his momentum has weakened in recent years and he hasn't had any particularly breakout works. Nevertheless, his performance as one of the leads in the romantic film *Human Toxin*, released in mid-year, featuring highly unconventional and explicit scenes, also caused quite a stir.

This year's stage setup is in the shape of a Chinese character "T". The main stage extends into a long walkway leading to the secondary stage, which is then connected straight to the artist's seating area. The three areas are clearly aligned in a line.

"Hello everyone, I am Song Seung-heon."

He stood on the main stage and greeted the local audience with a simple hello, which was met with cheers. However, that was all he said. It was clear that he didn't speak the language well and had only prepared that one phrase beforehand.

He smoothly switched to English: "Welcome everyone to the biggest music festival in Asia, the 2014 MAMA, and it's an honor to be here in beautiful Hong Kong."

Tonight will feature many incredible performances, are you ready to enjoy them

"Wow!" Song Seung-heon's name still carries a lot of weight, and the audience reaction since his appearance has been quite enthusiastic.

After the host's opening remarks, the ceremony quickly moved on to the first award: Best Newcomer.

This year, the girl group Red Velvet, who debuted under ** Entertainment, didn't even make it onto the candidate list. Ji Kyeong-won, after watching the candidate VCRs, had to admit that each trainee's performance was far better than Red Velvet's. Even GOT7, which didn't have a big splash at its debut, couldn't catch up to them.

As expected, the Best Rookie award went to YG's new boy group, the 'Monster Rookie', Woner.

Their debut results are truly astonishing. Their title song "Empty" achieved first place on music charts five days after their debut, and even though it was released in August, by December (just four months later), it has already entered the top 40 of Melon's year-end chart and is still climbing steadily. For a male group, this debut sound source is simply amazing.

Chi Jingyuan thinks that in the absence of other companies operating, NER is very likely to sweep all the newcomer awards this year.

It seems like NER is also very excited. He said a lot of heartfelt words on stage, thanking many people. At the same time, the camera focused on the audience below, and many of them were holding their banners and cheering items. In just a few months since their debut, they already have so many fans and popularity. The future prospects of this new boy group are really good. I wonder how successful they are compared to EXO's debut.

The award for Best Dance Performance SOLO next went to Lisa.

This such a long name sounds like a consolation prize...

Speaking of Lee Sun-mi, she's an old acquaintance. She went solo twice in 2013 after leaving , the first time coinciding with EXO's "Growl," and the second time with Ji Kyung-won and Bae Soo-ji's "so." This sense of fate is overflowing.

Two consecutive title track releases didn't result in the solo response she had hoped for. The buzz and discussion surrounding them were overshadowed by other projects, and she even failed to secure a #1 spot on music charts. However, both of her solo songs were actually quite good. Last year's "24 Hours Isn't Enough" and this year's "Full Moon" performed well in terms of audio sources and garnered a dedicated fanbase.

Lee Sun-mi was clearly well-prepared, and in her red gown, she stood out when accepting the award.

After her performance, the lights dimmed and it was time for the stage act.

At this time, the other members of EXO also quietly came to the artist seats from the passage and sat down, waiting for their awards to be presented.

This time, the performance is Girls' Day's hit song from this year, "Sothg," which is being called the pinnacle of their "femme fatale" concept.

It has to be said that after someone becomes popular, their energy and spirit look different. Ji Jingyuan hasn't seen Jin Yaryeong and several members of Girls' Day for a while. Now seeing them on stage, they feel much better looking than before. It's not just a matter of makeup and clothing, but also a kind of confidence that radiates from within.

Speaking of which, Kim Ah-jung is really pretty today. With black hair and red lips, the black dress with a high slit and her fair long legs create a striking contrast.

In the remaining light, Yu Guang noticed a VJ holding a camera filming him. Ji Jingyuan relaxed his posture and watched the stage with a gentle smile, seemingly enjoying the performance onstage.

At this time, the big screen switched to a close-up of Ji Chengyuan. His black hair was styled neatly, and his all-black suit made his figure stand out. The smile on his face instantly sent the fans and audience in the stands into a frenzy, screaming excitedly. Scattered calls of "EXO" and "Yuan" could still be heard.

Then, close-ups of several XO members in the distance were shown, each eliciting cheers, clearly demonstrating the director's understanding of how to best excite the audience.

Next up was Aliee's performance, followed by award presenters Gao Ziqi and Cai Lin taking the stage. They bantered back and forth for a bit before finally announcing the winner of this category: "The 2014 MAMA Award for Best Collaboration Song goes to..."

"Yuan, Suzy, *So*."

Upon hearing their names, Ji Chang Wook and his neighbor Suzy stood up together, exchanging a smile. Then, they bowed to the artists congratulating them nearby.

EXO's members were even more excited than Ji Chang Wook when he won the award. The ones closest to him rushed over and hugged his back, giving it a couple of pats. They clapped excitedly and quickly, while Park Chan Yeol even came over to give him two thumbs up.

It's not like they're winning any grand prizes, so it's not like they should be putting in so much effort. But a little hype isn't bad either, at least the fans can brag about their team spirit...

Ji Chang Wook and the members clapped happily, then walked to the sub stage with Suzy.

He was dressed in a black suit and pants, while Bae Suzy wore a white long dress and high heels. She wasn't much shorter than Ji Changwook. The two of them, both tall with long legs, stood out among idols. Seeing them together on the big screen certainly caught the attention of many viewers. They thought they looked really good together.

But Alice certainly wouldn't think that way, and some people who are currently paying attention to Ji Jingyuan wouldn't think that way either.

First published on the Traditional Chinese Novel Networkess, I only know my own. I don't know the specific progress of others, and we rarely talk about it... After all, the members all have their own careers. The second contract definitely involves a lot o...