Chapter 149: Again

hhh…………""Ooh!"Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed through the dormitory. It was loud and filled with terror, ringing in everyone's ears instantly.Unprepared, Chi Jingyuan was startled by the sound and...The night sky was pitch black with no stars, and the moon wasn't very bright either. It was really nothing to look at.

But Chi Jingyuan stood by the window for a while, finally awakened by the sound of the waiter's footsteps bringing up the dishes. He looked up once more, sighed, and closed the window. Then he rubbed his cheeks and returned to the private room.

This time participating in the song festival special, his harvest is still pretty good. Although because of his own popularity base already large, he didn't have a rapid and visible increase in fame like [Name] or [Name], but relying on the recent "Unbeatable" surge in viewership, as well as the program viewers and online lasting for over a month of continuous high heat and attention, his national popularity also saw a noticeable rise, gaining a group of fans who were not originally following boy groups.

And when the final episode airs after a week, along with the release of the sound sources for "O-house" songs, it's highly likely that the show's momentum and the quality of the songs themselves will lead to another surge in popularity.

Having met Zheng Hengdun and Lee Ji-eun, two pretty good friends this time, the harvest in the music world is still quite considerable.

Mostly, Chi Jingyuan thinks that the program schedule of the past two months has been quite interesting and fulfilling.

I stayed up late and had dinner with the Infinite Challenge production team and guests until around 1:00 AM. After that, we took a nanny van back to our Seoul dormitory all night long. Because it was dark when we left, we got back to the dorm almost at 4:00 AM. At the same time, I was drunk, so I just washed up briefly and fell asleep on the bed.

When Chi Jingyuan's brain was still a little fuzzy the next morning, his manager woke him up and he got into an SUV with the other XO members to go to the venue. He was drowsy all the way there.

He was the last one to rest yesterday, while the other members were quite energetic. As soon as they got in the car, they started chattering away. Ji Kyeong-won couldn't hear a word and just sat there dazed for a while. After opening the car window and letting the cool morning breeze blow on his face, he felt a little more awake.

"Tremble..."

A gentle breeze blew and he felt much better. Just as Chi Jingyuan had let out a sigh of relief, his phone in his pocket suddenly vibrated.

It turned out to be a text message from Chou Tzu-yu. When I opened it, there was also a selfie inside.

In the photo, she is wearing a navy blue school uniform. The camera angle is at a 45-degree slant. Her long brown hair falls over her shoulders. Her face is short and round, with eyes that are trying hard to open wide and a slightly parted mouth. Although she's smiling, there's an air of naiveté about her expression.

Chi Jingyuan took a close look at the photo and found a problem with the girl, she was really bad at taking selfies. Although, like other girls, she often bragged about taking beautiful selfies, but occasionally when she sent him pictures to see, they always felt weird. Either the angle was wrong or her expression was off, looking much worse than in real life.

Next to the photo, there are three words written: "Go to school!" It is obvious that this girl is on her way to school and took a selfie to send to him. She seems to want to strike up a conversation.

Looking at this slightly sudden photo, Ji Jingyuan suddenly chuckled after a few seconds.

He somewhat understood what Zhou Tzuyu meant.

This girl seems to be a little worried that last night's conversation might affect the relationship between the two of them in the future. She may not want the two people's long-established mode of getting along to change, and she probably fears that Chi Jingyuan will change his attitude or opinion towards her because of last night's phone call.

It's just all sorts of little girl anxieties and worries.

But he didn't say it explicitly.

So this morning, I acted like nothing had happened and even picked such an early time to send him a silly selfie. I guess he was just trying to get a feel for how I was doing.

Although they often chatted and occasionally sent each other selfies in the past, Tzuyu wouldn't usually send messages this early unless there was something important.

It feels a bit forced, doesn't it

But...

Chi Jingyuan smiled and shook his head.

But, she is really quite cute.

He was looking at the photo of Zhou Tzuyu's silly expression in it. He tapped the screen with his hands and replied back without any politeness:

"How ugly!"

After finishing his reply, he closed his eyes and took a breath of the morning breeze blowing in from outside. He felt much more energized afterward and joined the group in the back row who were joking and laughing.

Meanwhile, Tzuyu Zhou, who was sitting in the nanny car with two other members and being sent to school by her manager, saw Ji-seong's reply after that. The nervousness she had felt just a moment ago instantly subsided, and a smile gently curled at the corner of her lips, as if her mood had brightened considerably.

After a moment of contemplation, he replied with three words: "That's ugly." However, he couldn't help but wrinkle his nose and let out a soft snort.

"You're the ugly one!"

……

Today, I woke up early because there's a very important concert happening today. It's the "70th Anniversary DMZ Peace Concert" hosted by the government and MBC. Since it's such an important commemorative performance, the company is putting a lot of emphasis on it. EXO, who haven't had any group schedules for several days, has reunited early this morning at the venue, the World Cup Stadium, to prepare and rehearse.

Not only is today, but also the 15th there's a "National Chorus" performance that still requires EXO's participation. Two consecutive days are this kind of very politically charged concert, it's impossible to push off.

And during the day besides attending the concert, at night Ji-seong also had to return to the company for overtime work, making time to record Kim Tae Yeon's solo album.

"Because you are."

"...like the radiance of rain..."

"Stop!"

At this time, they are recording one of the tracks, "UR". This song is considered to be one of the most favorite songs by Ji Chang Wook in Taeyeon's solo album besides the title track "I".

But similarly, the difficulty of singing this song is also very high. Even with Taeyeon's level, recording it wasn't as smooth as she had imagined before.

Although Kim Taeyeon was singing passionately into the microphone in the recording booth, Ji-Sung outside the soundproof room directly shouted "stop," and the sound engineer operating the software equipment also pressed pause.

Chi Jingyuan bent down and spoke into the microphone, pointing out the part of the recording that didn't work well: "The emotion isn't quite there, and the infectiousness is lacking. Let's do it again."

"... "

Even though Kim Taeyeon was interrupted mid-song, she didn't show any displeasure. After listening to Ji Kyungwon's advice, she nodded and, holding her earphones, started singing again.

Like the gleam of rain...

"Stop, it's that same question again."

As radiant as the gleam of falling rain...

"Stop, this time is not as good as last time. Taeyeon nunna, your voice is a gentle and thick type. Your strengths are emotion and expressiveness. We've already analyzed the song 《UR》, you need to grasp the feeling in this section well..."

"Come again..."

"OK, this time is good, keep going."

Through this period of collaboration, Kim Taeyeon has witnessed many times Park Seo-joon's work style and his serious attitude towards entering a working state. The entire album production team has also been working together for a long time.

While they have a good relationship, Chi Jingyuan will never relax his standards when it comes to work.

To be honest, Kim Tae-yeon thinks it's better to be stricter, she spared no effort for this album.

At this moment, both of them had just finished a strenuous performance and rushed back to the studio to record, with hardly any rest except for a few sips of water in between.

Even if it means being extra strict, we're going all out to ensure the highest possible quality in the end.

"Stop, this high note, your breath is getting a little ragged."

"Stop…"

After recording for a while, another string of mistakes happened. Chi Jingyuan felt that Kim Taeyeon's state wasn't quite right and tentatively asked, "Do you want to take a break"

"No, no, I just need a minute to find my groove." Kim Taeyeon waved her hand dismissively, took a deep breath and closed her eyes, gently tapping her head as if adjusting her settings. After about a minute or two, she opened her eyes and gestured towards the outside: "Okay, let's go."

Her golden, slightly wavy hair was tied up and slanted to one side of her shoulder. In the recording studio's lights, it seemed a little dull, lacking the shine and luster of under camera lights. She wore casual clothes she had changed into after performing, with large headphones on her head, almost covering half her head.

From Ji Jingyuan's perspective, she probably looked rather tired at the moment. It could be due to exhaustion from recent work, or perhaps it was simply because it was getting late. Compared to her usual dazzling presence as a top idol, she seemed quite ordinary and lacked her usual sparkle.

But her petite frame seemed to contain a boundless amount of energy, especially when she closed her eyes slightly, propped up her earphones, and started singing into the microphone again. A surge of confidence and focus suddenly erupted from within her, surrounding the area like an invisible aura, captivating everyone's gaze.

"Covering the entire night sky"

"Youarestar"

"YeahUR~"

……

"OK, that's about it for today. Let's call it a day."

He worked all the way until late at night, and when he saw that the progress was almost enough, Chi Jingyuan called to stop today's recording and announced that work was over.

It was clear that everyone was tired at this point. When he said this, the once vibrant and spirited Taeyeon, who had been singing with such gusto just moments ago, wilted like a dried flower. She patted her chest and let out a long, deep sigh of relief.

Even if you love singing and making albums, people get tired eventually.

"Good to see you."

"You've worked hard."

As they packed up, greeting each other casually, Ji Jingyuan and Kim Tae-yeon received drinks from their respective assistants. They tore them open and took a few large gulps before starting to discuss the recording schedule for later.

"So, are you guys coming back on the 18th" Ji-seong took a couple of sips from his drink, put it down beside him, flipped open his notepad to glance at the schedule for the next few days, then looked up and asked.

"On the 18th and 19th, they will release the music video for their title track and the album. Their first stage performance will be on the 21st, which is also the day you and Irene host Music Bank. However, promotional activities are expected to start from the 18th."

Kim Tae-yeon was sipping her drink through a straw, reluctantly putting it down only to take another swig. Without even thinking, she blurted out the next schedule.

“Starting from the 18th, let's put a hold on the recording work here for a week. There are already so many things to attend to with the return, and being too tired won't do either. People can only take so much.” Ji-seong nodded, then began arranging the following tasks: “Let's resume after the Girls’ Generation side gets through their busiest first week.”

"Well, okay."

Even an iron man couldn't handle working all night every day during the comeback preparation period. Kim Taeyeon nodded in agreement, but she rolled her eyes and raised her hand, suggesting, "Then let's record more these two days. We'll just work overtime like today. Anyway, we don't have a comeback until the 18th. I'm relatively relaxed for the next two days before the comeback."

"But I can't..."

"With a shrug, Chi Jingyuan looked at her speechlessly: 'After my performance tomorrow ends, I have to fly to Hong Kong Island with the members overnight, then there will be two days of concerts. I guess it'll be the 18th when I get back.'"

"Oh right, XO still has performances. I remember now." She blinked and gave a nervous little laugh.

"Don't worry, our progress so far is very fast. We're completely on schedule, even ahead of it… That settles it then. I'll have In-Hyun send the specific work schedule to Director Kim later."

Kim Soo-k is Taeyeon's personal manager. She usually accompanies her during solo activities and is now quite familiar with Ji Kyeong-won as well.

After confirming the next recording schedule, Pool Jeong-won and Kim Tae-yeon bid farewell to all the staff members. Pool Jeong-won and Kim Tae-yeon each rode the elevator down with their manager or assistant, heading towards the parking lot together.

"By the way, Jingyuan, have you seen our comeback trailer"

The agent silently trailed behind, while Ji Jingyuan and Kim Tae-yeon stood in front, sipping drinks and chatting softly. As they talked, Kim Tae-yeon brought up the subject.

After a hiatus of over a month following their activities for "Party," Girls' Generation is finally making a comeback with their first full-length album in over a year. This album, the fifth studio album featuring two title tracks, was released today with a teaser for one of its main songs, "lionheart," which has quickly become a trending topic.

The results of 《party》 can only be said to be OK, but not particularly good. After all, it's just a pre-release album, mainly for hype. Whether SHAE can defend its position as the number one girl group after going through the turbulence of “Love Era” and member departures remains to be seen in this regular album release.

If it succeeds, then it’s naturally “as expected of Girls' Generation,” “Girls' Generation will never fall, so don’t even think about usurping their throne.”

If it's going to collapse... then there's only the graceful descent.

Of course, I watched it.

Stepping out of the elevator, Chi Jingyuan replied naturally.

He specifically went online to look at it today.

"What do you think of the trailer Which part left the biggest impression on you"

"Which song 《Lionheart》"

"Hmm."

"Um, the most memorable place" Ji Jingyuan seemed to be recalling his feelings at the time, a little hesitant about whether he should say it.

"Yeah, go ahead!" Kim Taeyeon held a drink and curiously stared at him.

Although this sister has short legs, her steps are not slow, and she walks side by side without falling behind at all.

Chi Jingyuan paused for a moment, his expression was quite interesting, but he still said: "My deepest impression of your trailer... is that Yuri senior in the trailer is really shining black! Her skin tone looks completely different from the others, and she's also in the C position. You can't help but see her. I stared at her the whole time, and I was a little puzzled at the time, stealing the scene like this..."

"Hahaha..."

"Stealing the spotlight... ahhahaha..."

After hearing some nonsensical words from Ji Jingyuan, Kim Taeyeon first froze for a moment, then couldn't hold back and raised her head with a loud laugh, her hohoho trademark smile instantly resonated through the empty and silent train station.

Someone who doesn't know thinks it's haunted.

“Oh, Mo, you’re so mean… I was just asking about the song, who asked you that” She gave him a glare, though her face still betrayed a smile she couldn't quite hide. “But what you said isn’t entirely wrong, Yuri did go a bit overboard this time. I don’t know how she managed to pull it off, maybe she really wanted the spotlight… But please don’t say that to her face, ahhahahaha…”

The song, “Lionheart,” is pretty good, but I think it’s a little too sweet. I heard that “youthink” has a more mature style When is it coming out

"Too sweet That's not bad! ... The day after tomorrow."

"Let's see what happens then, Nana. What about a comeback when we're old" She had already walked to her nanny car and was getting ready to say goodbye. After she stopped, Chi Jingyuan stood still and waved his hand at her.

Kim Taeyeon looked a little tired, but her expression was very happy. She smiled and clapped enthusiastically.

"Go for it!"

……

"By the way, Jingyuan, I didn't have time to say it in the evening."

On the way back to the dormitory, Park Jae-hyun, who was driving, seemed to have remembered something and suddenly spoke, making Ji Kyeong-won, who had been half asleep in the backseat, open his eyes. “About that thing you asked me to handle last time, the role in 'Love & Wish' for Suzy Bae… it’s almost settled.”

Thank you guys for the rewards, monthly tickets, and recommendations. I really appreciate it.

Eight or nine months should pass relatively quickly, but it won't be a smooth transition. After all, there are still some things that need to be addressed.

(End of Chapter)"Jo Cheon-yu, who was in full force and imposing, was abruptly interrupted. He felt a lump of air stuck in his throat, making it hard to breathe. Muttering under his breath, he turned his head and gla...