Chapter 128: Behind the Scenes

nsistent with his previous promise.Taking this opportunity, he went on to explain the comeback plan, emphasizing how much the company values EXO and the substantial investment made for this comeback....The two groups who returned together for the interview also share another very noticeable common point: in both groups today, there is a member with strikingly visible, red hair.

Sunny from Girls' Generation and Kumi from Girl's Day, the former has bright red hair while the latter has a slightly darker reddish brown.

If you look at it from Chi Jingyuan's perspective, he doesn't want to say much about Sunny's makeup. As for Jin Yirong's, it's not bad, at least her long hair isn't stuck to her scalp on both sides, and with her figure, she's actually quite sexy.

After each member performed a part of their newly composed song, the interview concluded. The screen then cut to the stage as backstage personnel let out a collective sigh of relief after the camera's indicator light dimmed.

Although they were all familiar with each other, there wasn't time for pleasantries. After Ji Jingyuan and the two MCs said goodbye to each other and the two female groups, they all left separately.

Next up is MAMAMOO, a four-member girl group that debuted slightly earlier than Red Velvet last year. While their debut album had a decent initial sound source ranking, the response wasn't overwhelming.

From their pre-debut days to now, most people's evaluation of this group has been average, especially in terms of appearance. Many people have criticized their looks, calling them "not the look of an idol at all."

The company isn't a large one, and there are rumors within the industry that this comeback happens to coincide with MAMAMOO's first anniversary since their debut. If this comeback doesn't go well, the agency could potentially shut down directly. So this time might be their last album.

But last month they released their second mini album "PkFunky", the title track "UOhAhYeh" although hasn't gotten any number one wins on music shows yet, but the other aspects of their performance are very good. Although Melon chart performance is half, in other music source charts, it performed exceptionally well.

This led to a lot of attention from the public, and their popularity rose quickly during this time. The fan club membership increased by thousands every day, making them one of the most successful fourth-generation girl groups in the past two years, second only to Red Velvet.

These days, on Korean online communities, many people are saying that in the first round of this year's girl group summer war, MAMAMOO is the victor.

This victory doesn't refer to winning on the charts, as both Sistar and AOA are ranked higher than them. Instead, it means that this group gained the most benefits, saw the greatest return on investment, and experienced the fastest rise in popularity during this comeback.

Now it seems that in the competition among newly debuted girl groups in the past two years, Pe Zhuxuan and her group are going to have many more rivals.

Chi Jingyuan glanced at the young lady beside him who was watching the stage performance, thinking to himself.

"I'm so happy."

"Dizzy and lightheaded, my heart pounding."

">……”

"Let's party here."

"And so, the revelry continued."

At the backstage entrance, Ji Jingyuan watched all the performances of the day with an admiring gaze, especially the highlight, the debut stages of Girl's Generation and Girls' Day's title tracks.

Although they are both from the ** family, honestly, in his opinion, he prefers Girls' Generation's "rgybell" a little more.

《party》 feels a bit too sweet, even though it's supposed to be a summery and refreshing style. Listening to it still feels a little cloying, especially the "..y!" part. The choreography with two hands shaking on either side of their head like bunny ears is also too over-the-top cute and doesn't quite fit their age.

If it were made by Red Velvet, it would probably be cuter.

Ji Jingyuan and (literal translation: Pei Juhyuk) took the lead, all the participating guests walked onto the stage from backstage. He was thinking to himself while secretly looking at the younger predecessors who had just finished their performance on stage.

"On Music Bank's second week of July, EXO, and EXO... Who exactly will be first place Um... Which song will win first place"

At the very front of the stage, when the camera panned to her, Pei Zhuxuan began delivering the opening remarks in a crisp tone. However, halfway through, she seemed to realize something wasn't quite right and quickly changed her wording.

The spot usually reserved for a stand-in on either side of MC is also empty, and the other idols are all standing in a row behind.

Especially, a few people on sistar's faces were wearing smiles, but deep down in their hearts, they were actually a little helpless.

They were a strong competitor on several other music shows. They've already won 4 #1 spots competing against AOA and BIGBANG these past few days, but unfortunately, on "Music Bank" and "Music Core," the two shows without an elimination system, they continue to be overshadowed by "boywithv" who has been promoting for over a month. Despite having excellent digital scores, there's always a feeling that something is missing.

This week, time with the girls and my "small hours" routine are returning. Things will get more difficult from now on.

"...Combining the final scores, today's winner is... EXO's boywithv, a strong contender!"

Pei Zhuhyun grinned brightly, clapped her hands twice and then handed the trophy to Ji Seongwon. After receiving the trophy, Ji Seongwon took a look at it and began his acceptance speech.

Although he was the MC today, EXO didn't perform on stage because they weren't present. So there wasn't an encore stage either. After giving a speech of thanks, today’s Music Bank came to an end. As the artists bid farewell to the audience, they all returned backstage. A long line of artists stood on both sides of the corridor outside the backstage exit, chatting quietly and waiting to thank all the staff members of the program.

Pool Kyungwon and Park Jihyun as MCs were the last to enter. When he walked in and stood at the edge of the entrance, the four members of Girl's Day, who were closest, immediately smiled and raised an eyebrow at him, looking very familiar.

That is indeed quite familiar.

Before EXO became popular, they met each other through the show "Idol Athletics Championships" two years ago. Not only Pool Kyung-won, but also several EXO members and Girls' Day were quite familiar with each other. Not to mention that he had a brief relationship with Kim Ah-jung before, dating openly for several times.

Although we haven't been in touch much for the past year, we all knew each other's personalities and ways of getting along before, so it hasn't affected our relationship.

"Dafu, I actually saw a real person! Could the one standing before me be Yuan from XO"

Li Hui-li was the most lively of them all. Seeing Chi Jingyuan glance at her, she raised an eyebrow in response and then covered her heart with both hands, making an expression of extreme surprise. Then, as if her excitement had overwhelmed her heart, she frowned and gasped for breath.

"Hahaha..."

A few people beside them burst into laughter. Ji Jingyuan tilted his head and watched her performance, it was truly impressive, her acting was quite good.

After admiring her acting for a while, he laughed and said: “Haven't we met several times already How come you're just realizing it now”

"This is the closest one, isn't it Haha." Lee Hyeri shook her head and said in a cute voice, then couldn't help but laugh herself.

Indeed, every time they met just now, she was always around. Because the two groups were competing, there wasn't much interaction between them, so they only greeted each other with pool Jingyuan.

Pei Zhuhyun looked a little surprised. She didn't know that Ji Jingyuan and the members of Girl's Day were this familiar with each other. She followed along and smiled twice, blinked her eyes, then nodded and stood aside, saying nothing.

"tsk tsk, not even there to sing but still managed to get first place, what an enviable talent." Kim Yeong-ryung flipped her crimson hair, holding up the first-place trophy from Ji-seong's hand, her tone sounding a bit envious: "How many times is this now"

Along with the swaying hair, came a wave of fragrance. Ji Jingyuan glanced at Pei Zhuxuan, who was smiling beside him, and leaned against the wall in the corridor. He raised his head, pondered for a moment, then spread his hands and said: "This... I've forgotten too. I haven't really counted."

"Oh, listen to that tone. Being angry is just different."

Jin Yae-jeong heard this boastful speech and couldn't help but roll her eyes. Then, she seemed to notice Ji-won's recent little actions, and her gaze inadvertently glanced lightly at Bae Joo-hyun, taking in that white face with a blush.

While Pei Joo-hyuk seemed not to feel the same way, she and Ji Kyeong-won did the same action, leaning against the other side of the wall, holding a microphone in each hand, smiling with her lips pursed, her gaze downward.

"Forget it..." However, Kim Yaeong didn't look at him much, instead turning to gaze at Ji Kyeong-won. She raised her chin slightly, and in her eyes with shining beauty contacts, there seemed to be a hint: "Free in two days Come out"

Chi Jingyuan understood the other person's meaning, but he didn't give a reply. Instead, he looked at Jin YARong silently: "Are you guys this free to come back... Let's talk about it later."

"Alright then."

It seemed as if he sensed some rejection in their words, so Kim Yaeong didn't say much more. The few of them then chatted casually about other things. After about ten minutes, the staff from "Music Bank" entered one by one, and then voices of "Thank you for your hard work" rang out consecutively.

Besides being enthusiastically greeted by the staff of "Silver Sound" upon arrival, who smiled warmly at Ji Chang Wook and even patted his shoulder, it was also fellow MC IU, along with the veteran idols from Girls' Generation, who managed to reciprocate their smiles.

While facing thanks from other artists, these staff members mostly just smiled faintly, or even merely nodded without much of a smile and quickly passed through, accepting the greetings as they were due.

In fact, Chi Jingyuan had seen this himself several times. The staff of due to mistakes in recording the stage or something like that, would curse and scold idols and even their managers harshly, and the other party couldn't retort, they could only apologize with a bow.

It can only be said that under the existing system, most idols with low popularity, small companies, and little experience are still somewhat powerless when facing TV stations and program crew members.

But there are light ones and heavy ones, such as the male MC being watched by many faint gazes.

After all the performers had left, Park Ji-won and Jennie went to the office with the production team for a brief meeting. After summarizing the program, they bid farewell to the staff and returned backstage together.

Where do you guys usually go to have fun

Slowly pacing down the hallway, Pei Zhuxuan suddenly spoke beside her, her tone natural and her voice crisp.

"Huh"

Suddenly, he heard a voice from beside him. Ji Jingyuan was stunned for a second, but he quickly recovered and turned his head to look. He saw the little sister walking ahead with a serious expression, her little butt twisting as she walked, yet she didn't even glance at him. A knowing smile crept onto his face.

Pei Zhuhyun is really observant. Although she didn't speak much just now, it seems like she sensed something from the conversation and attitude between Ji Kyeongwon and Kim Yaeong.

But this is just speculation, of course. It happened a long time ago, and the truth is unknown. Besides, she wouldn't and couldn't gossip about Chi Jingyuan's social relationships.

It was just because of that bit of animosity and speculation that she felt a little stifled inside. Now, she finally couldn't help but casually bring up the topic they had discussed before.

Seeing her little appearance, Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but smile.

Why is it so cute

"With whom If it's with the members, there are so many things we can do together, like having meals, watching movies, going to concerts, and all sorts of fun activities. I even went cycling with them along the riverbank one night..."

A smile played on his lips, and he blinked seriously as he answered the other person's question. He didn't seem to notice anything different.

"If it were a girls' day out with those members, the options would be limited. We'd probably just have dinner and sing karaoke or something like that. But I haven't participated in any recently..."

"At this point, he paused, looking at Park Chae-hyun: "Which one do you want"

"What Which one" She seemed to be caught off guard, turning her head in confusion.

Chi Jingyuan's eyes met hers. Looking into his dark pupils, she nodded naturally: "Let's go out and play together. Where do you want to go"

"You..."

After hearing this, Pei Zhuxuan froze for a moment, then her lips twitched slightly, her expression a little strange, as if she wanted to laugh but held it back. Immediately, she made a dismissive gesture and rolled her eyes at Ji Jingyuan, replying with a smile in her eyes:

"Are you guys this busy and free... Let's talk later."

After finishing her sentence, she hummed softly and quickened her pace, intentionally overtaking the person in front. But accelerating also naturally increased the frequency of her little butt wiggling.

Chi Jingyuan leaned back and looked at the scenery ahead, chuckling softly before chasing after him.

……

As for some aspects of Pyo Ji-hye's personality, Ki Jung-won has come to know her fairly well. Especially as their relationship grows closer, the little habits and quirks she never shows to others are slowly revealed to him.

Perhaps because she is older, Jeon Somi is quite mature in many ways. She is thoughtful and good at taking care of people.

When she is with Chi Jingyuan, no matter who she faces, she always appears confident and composed. Even if she might be unhappy, angry, or jealous about something inside, she rarely lets these negative emotions show in front of others. While she takes great care to protect Chi Jingyuan's face, she also maintains her own unique style.

Not assertive, not shy, always beautiful.

But in fact, this sister has quite a lot of little thoughts and is also very sensitive. At the same time, when facing many things, she is also very competitive, and sometimes she even shows off her pride, so it's easy for her to accumulate some emotions.

In the past, she would often keep things bottled up inside herself. However, now she has become accustomed to venting in front of Chi Jingyuan.

Either just act like you don't care and point out the problem, then let Ji Jingyuan figure it out himself.

This kind of contrast makes Chi Jingyuan find it very interesting, and this way of getting along also makes him feel very relaxed and comfortable.

Just like now, he seemed a little upset when we were at the TV station earlier. But after work tonight, when he got back to the dorm, he texted me and we chatted. He even sent me some photos of nail polish colors and asked which one looked best.

tsk tsk.

They all look good, right

While the two were happily chatting on their phones, ** Company also made a new move. On the eleventh day of EXO's second regular album "EXO-L" release, the physical sales volume had reached 980,000, just one step away from 1 million. Under the anticipation and calls of countless fans, and also to promote sales, they finally released a lot of this time EXO's related materials on their official account. Especially four photos of behind-the-scenes content during the preparation of the single album were all edited together and released.

Fans who had been eagerly anticipating this moment and wanted to know more about what the members were like at work were ecstatic. This comeback also captivated fans of other male groups, intrigued by EXO's successful return and regular second album, as well as a large number of casual observers.

After the official upload, there wasn't much promotion done, and quickly a massive influx of clicks came pouring in wave after wave.

However, after clicking play, the first part of the album's behind-the-scenes footage surprised, amazed, and satisfied many people.

On the screen, it seems to be in a conference room. Chi Jingyuan has a serious expression and is introducing something to others.

I think we can adopt this pattern for our return this time…

(The End)

This novel is first published on the Traditional Chinese Novel Network.eally fast..."Wu Shixun puffed out his cheeks, the food in his mouth not yet swallowed. He looked up at Ji Jingyuan and beckoned him, "Come eat quickly, don't waste time. We have other things to do la...