wavenovel Chapter 1505 I can't hold on any longer
Chapter 1505 I can't hold on any longer
Chapter 1505 I can't hold on any longer
"Well……"
A long, soft murmur filled the restless bedroom. Bae Joo-hyun lay on her back on the bed, her long, black hair scattered messily on the pillow, making her skin appear even whiter and more delicate.
A faint blush spread across her face, like rouge spreading across her cheeks. Fine beads of sweat slid slowly down her neck and collarbone, dampening a few strands of hair that playfully clung to her neck.
On April 8th, Ji Kyung-won finally returned from South America. After returning, he went to the company to say hello, put down his luggage, and was then invited here by Bae Joo-hyun.
This young lady is probably getting older; she seems to be getting more and more fierce these days.
After resting for a while, the two each drank a glass of water, took a shower, and then got dressed and ate together.
Unlike Bae Suzy, Bae Joo-hyun didn't enroll in a cooking class. However, she probably learned a few tricks from her mother. Although her skills weren't as refined as Bae Suzy's, the food still tasted pretty good. With some food always kept in the refrigerator, she could make a decent meal.
She didn't eat much herself, just sipped her soup quietly, sitting across from him, watching Chi Jingyuan eat with tender eyes.
She would occasionally pick up her chopsticks to serve him food, and eventually she simply pushed all the dishes and soup in front of Chi Jingyuan to make it easier for him to eat.
She had just finished showering and was completely bare-faced, without a trace of makeup. Her jet-black hair was tied up in a high, round bun, with wispy strands falling on either side of her face, making her face appear even smaller and more delicate.
Her eyebrows and eyes were clean and gentle, simple and graceful. Such a appearance was truly pleasing to the eye and a feast for the eyes, making even the food seem more delicious.
"...You participated in the third season of 'Produce 101'?"
During the meal, Bae Joo-hyun asked curiously, "Something came to mind."
"Yes, the production team invited me several times before."
Chi Jingyuan nodded as he ate. He was in a good mood to talk since they hadn't seen each other for a few days, and he went on to say a little more: "This year's 'Produce 101' isn't doing very well. The previous two seasons have made the audience a bit tired of it, so the online response isn't ideal. Many people aren't interested, so we need to create some hype or have a popular celebrity participate..."
As he spoke, Chi Kyung-won pursed his lips, clearly accepting the title of 'popular artist' quite willingly.
"Speaking of which, I have to attend the pre-recording production meeting tomorrow. I heard from Jae-hyun that recording will start in the next couple of days... It was supposed to start today, but I delayed it by a day."
"We know you're the most popular!"
Seeing Chi Jingyuan's lovestruck expression, the young lady giggled and played along.
"Hey, why aren't you eating this? Try it, try it! We bought this when we went to the supermarket last time, and Taeyeon unnie said it was delicious..."
Bae Joo-hyun took the initiative to pick up a small dried fish for Ji Kyung-won and put it in his bowl, but Ji Kyung-won just pursed his lips slightly when he saw it.
He only stopped eating after taking a bite, and even pushed it a little further away.
It was both salty and sour, and he almost threw up.
Not only does she have bizarre tastes, but she also recommends them to others. Kim Tae-yeon is really causing harm to others.
"Did you arrange Seungwan's schedule for that OST?" Bae Joo-hyun rested her chin on her hands, blinked at Ji Kyung-won for a while, then remembered something: "She's been recording for the past few days."
"Yes, the TV series I recently filmed needed a female voice for its OST, so I approached her."
Chi Jingyuan nodded.
The OST work for "Spying" started a long time ago. The producer also specifically asked him to listen to it, and Ji Kyung-won also gave some suggestions. Two of the more important songs were more suitable for male voices, so he didn't interfere and let the production team find singers. However, there was one song that was more suitable for female voices, and after thinking about it, Ji Kyung-won asked Son Seung-wan if she wanted to sing it.
Son Seung-wan readily agreed.
“She was very happy to receive this job. She really likes singing OSTs, and she seems to like this song very much as well.”
Bae Joo-hyun said with a smile, "I've been in a great mood in the dorm these past few days."
"Hmph, so your tail's already wagging?"
However, Chi Jingyuan curled his lip upon hearing this: "I hate people who get carried away with their success. I'll call her and change her later."
"Haha, you're so mean."
Bae Joo-hyun chuckled upon hearing this and poked him with her finger from afar: "Why do you always target Seung-wan? She was praising you in the dorm yesterday."
"What did you praise me for?"
"She praised you for being a good friend and for your acting skills. It seems she watched some clips of you while recording the OST and was full of praise for your performance." The young lady earnestly spoke up for her member.
"Well……"
Upon hearing this, Chi Jingyuan blinked slightly, raised his eyebrows, and curled the corners of his mouth up slightly.
Their judgment is pretty good.
Forget it, I won't change her~
The two would occasionally pass food to each other, sometimes bickering and joking around. Occasionally, Ji Kyung-won would make a joke, and Bae Joo-hyun would laugh and retort. They were having a great time playing around with their clinking bowls and chopsticks.
"By the way, when is your next comeback?"
Having almost finished eating, Chi Jingyuan wiped his mouth and asked curiously, "What's wrong?"
"I don't know yet. We'll announce it at a meeting in a few days. 'Bad Boy' is actually a trilogy concept, with two more albums based on the same concept to follow. This comeback has been quite successful, so the company should arrange it soon."
Bae Joo-hyun carried the bowl into the kitchen, then came out and said, "But I heard from my manager that we might try going to Japan next."
Neon lights?
"Yes, we should release a Japanese album."
Bae Joo-hyun nodded: "Your XO and TWICE are doing very well in Japan, so the company might want us to give it a try."
Judging from her tone, Bae Joo-hyun seems quite excited.
But Chi Jingyuan wasn't so optimistic: "Neon isn't easy to conquer, back then..."
EXO wasn't actually very successful at the time; their later success was largely due to their hit song "Uchiage Hanabi," which perfectly captured the Japanese sensibility.
However, he didn't say anything to discourage them. He just responded and then casually said, "Speaking of the comeback, I submitted a song to the company before I left. I guess you guys will sing it."
"Song?"
"Yes, I wrote it after I came back from France last time."
"Huh? Let me hear it quickly."
You'll hear it then.
"Is it going to be another surprise song?"
What is a surprise song?
"Like the song 'I Loved'."
"Who told you that 'I Loved' is..." Chi Jingyuan wanted to explain, but he was defeated by Bae Joo-hyun's suddenly fierce gaze, raised his hands in surrender, and shut his mouth.
Just as he was about to say something, the phone next to him suddenly rang.
Chi Jingyuan picked it up and looked at it. As soon as he saw the name of the sender, his eyebrows suddenly twitched.
It was sent by Kim Ji-won.
"I saw on the news you guys are back? Want to come over for a drink?"
hiss.
Upon seeing Kim Ji-won's invitation, Ji Kyung-won's lips twitched inwardly.
After filming wrapped on "The Spy" and for almost a week before he left Seoul for overseas, he met with Kim Ji-won almost every day.
I thought that after being away from Seoul for more than a week, this woman's enthusiasm might have waned a bit.
I didn't expect it to be so addictive?
"Who is it?" Bae Joo-hyun, who was tidying up her clothes nearby, heard the noise and looked over curiously.
"My friend invited me to go drinking."
Chi Jingyuan's expression remained unchanged, and what he said was the complete truth.
"Who?"
Bae Joo-hyun asked casually, then immediately added, "Want to drink? Do you want me to join you?"
However, the way she looked at Chi Jingyuan seemed a little strange.
"Sure~"
Chi Jingyuan nodded readily.
Despite her beautiful appearance and somewhat unsociable personality, Bae Joo-hyun has an impressive alcohol tolerance, ranking among the top in Red Velvet.
"..."
Hearing Ji Jingyuan agree so readily and casually, Bae Joo-hyun tilted her head again, and wrinkled her nose, seemingly thinking of something.
"Tch, forget it~"
…………
I just got back to be Bae Joo-hyun's hand double, and before I was even done, they were already asking me to drink.
Before I even arrived in my car, Bae Suzy called again.
Even someone as tough as Chi Jingyuan is starting to feel the strain.
Fortunately, the heavy workload that is about to begin will leave Chi Jingyuan with little free time.
EXO returned to Seoul on April 8th. It has been almost a month since their comeback on March 10th, and their comeback is nearing its end. There are only a few activities left in their home country, and then it will be over.
Overall, the results this time met expectations. Whether it's music sales, music show performances, popularity, or online data, they all met EXO's standards.
But as Park Jae-hyun said before, there wasn't much improvement compared to before.
What's satisfying is that their biggest competitor, Wanna One, initially had a strong momentum, but they ruined their own career.
Its momentum has waned significantly, and its reputation has declined. Although it has garnered a new group of more dedicated and loyal fans, it is still not comparable to what it used to be.
Moreover, as a limited-time group, their activity time is running out, so overall they no longer pose a significant threat to EXO.
However, the market for boy groups has indeed been divided up... but now EXO doesn't seem to care as much about the domestic market as before.
Or rather, it's not that they don't care, but rather that they have new goals and ambitions.
Overall, EXO has made up for the gap of more than a year of no activities on the Korean Peninsula and returned to its undisputed TOP1 position.
In addition, there are a lot of projects planned in Japan this year, so this comeback is just the beginning, and it should get better and better as expected.
The next day, Chi Jingyuan came to the company for a meeting.
In the conference room, company executives, team agents, and the planning team were all present, and various data about this comeback were displayed on the big screen.
Including music streaming trends, sales details, variety show ratings, brand sponsorship feedback, fan activity responses... all data far exceeded expectations.
Ultimately, it was confirmed that EXO's comeback achieved its intended goals, and Lee Soo-man led the way in acknowledging the team's hard work and efforts.
Then the meeting moved into its core segment, finalizing the annual plans for EXO as a group and its members for 20XX.
The staff distributed the printed itinerary to each member. Chi Jingyuan took the form and carefully looked through it. The itinerary was densely packed and planned in great detail.
Four months have passed this year, and the two core projects of Baekhyun's solo debut and EXO's group comeback have been completed.
The plans for the upcoming major events have also been finalized.
On April 15th, Oh Sehun made his solo debut.
Chi Kyung-won knew this. The album was completed in April, and the recent promotional activities had already begun. When he was browsing the forum last night, he saw many of Oh Sehun's fans promoting and recommending it, and a lot of official materials were also released. It was clear that the company had invested a lot of resources.
In May, the sub-unit CBX released their second mini-album, marking the start of their comeback.
From June to July, EXO released their second full-length album in Japan, further cultivating the Japanese market, and embarked on their fifth tour.
From July to August, Ji Kyung-won released his first English single and was preparing his second solo album.
From August to September, EXO released their third mini-album, marking their second group comeback of the year.
In October and November, Kim Jong-in made his solo debut.
They plan to release a special album or collaboration track to conclude their year-long music schedule.
The entire schedule is written on the table. Although it is April now, EXO and all its members have already finalized their music plans for the whole year.
This is a fairly formal plan, involving the release of an album. Other smaller projects, such as OSTs and subway tracks, were not included.
Chi Jingyuan sighed softly.
Looking at the extremely tight schedule, you can tell that this year is going to be busy.
…………
After the company meeting, Ji Jingyuan rushed to Mnet headquarters to attend the pre-production meeting for "Produce 48".
When they arrived at the venue, all the mentors were already there. After confirming that Chi Jingyuan would participate, the production team finalized the complete mentor lineup as quickly as possible, with clear division of labor.
The vocal mentors are Lee Hong-ki, lead vocalist of FTIsland, and Kang Ji-hyun, lead vocalist of SISTAR. The rap mentor is Cheetah, a talented rapper. The dance mentors are Bae Yoon-jung, a veteran choreographer who participated in the recording of the first season, Choi Young-joon, and May J Lee, a well-known choreographer. All of them have rich stage experience and their professionalism is beyond doubt.
When Chi Jingyuan arrived, everyone stood up to greet him, and the atmosphere was harmonious.
Among the mentors, some are quite familiar faces, such as Kang Ji-hyun from SISTAR. Although SISTAR has disbanded now, EXO's debut years were the peak of the girl group era, and I saw her many times at events.
Bae Yoon-jung also collaborated with EXO.
In addition, representatives from various entertainment agencies were also present in the conference room, including Starship Entertainment, Yuehua Entertainment, and other companies that Ji Jingyuan had seen on the pre-selection list.
The company representatives were exceptionally enthusiastic when they met Chi Jingyuan, and they all took the initiative to greet him and exchange pleasantries, their words full of politeness.
The chief PD was still Ahn Joon-young. Once everyone was present, the meeting officially began.
The production team clarified that, apart from serving as the representative of the national producers, there were no restrictions placed on Ji Kyung-won's role as a mentor.
In other words, he is a 'general tutor' who can participate in commenting on various fields such as vocals, dance, and rap, and provide professional guidance. His authority far exceeds that of other tutors.
Subsequently, An Junying assigned roles to the mentors, clearly defining their responsibilities. Some were responsible for giving stern feedback, acting as the "good cop" to maintain professional standards, while others were responsible for providing gentle guidance, acting as the "bad cop" to soothe the trainees' emotions.
Chi Jingyuan's core task is to control the overall pace of the show, the hosting process, maintain a neutral stance, interpret the competition rules, soothe the trainees' emotions in a timely manner, balance professionalism and warmth, and support the overall atmosphere of the show.
In short... he can do anything.
During the meeting, the production team specifically mentioned that the contestants included a large number of Japanese trainees, whose overall strength was weaker than that of the trainees from the Korean Peninsula. This point would be used as the core gimmick of the program to generate buzz and increase viewership.
The evaluation criteria for trainees were also clarified, continuing the A to F grading system, with scores based on a comprehensive evaluation of vocal performance, dance, and stage presence.
Although the show had already finalized some of the pre-selected spots and had a predetermined script, the recording process did not follow the script exactly.
The trainees' live performance, the mentors' on-the-spot comments, and their stage presence are all subject to many variables, directly affecting the show's broadcast effect and the contestants' popularity.
Much of this requires the input of both the student and their mentor, so it's not without its significance.
The process and script will then be flexibly adjusted based on the results of the on-site recording and the audience's reaction after the broadcast.
Finally, the production team explained in detail the recording location and camera setup.
"The main studio is located at the Mnet Studio Center in Gyeonggi Province, Seoul. The entire studio covers an area of approximately 800 square meters and features a dedicated U-shaped stage, which facilitates a comprehensive display of the trainees' performances."
"A total of 6 main fixed cameras were set up to cover the entire stage and the mentors' seats; 2 side cameras were set up to follow the trainees as they entered, waited, and captured close-up expressions of the mentors."
"A high-speed motion camera will be added to the front of the stage to capture dance details, and the sound team will also set up a separate microphone. The mentors' microphones are all directional to ensure that their comments are not drowned out by ambient noise..."
The director of the photography crew spoke quite loudly, and I could hear him clearly.
Chi Jingyuan listened quietly, nodding occasionally.
Regardless of whether it was pre-selected or not, the overall production quality of the show is quite good. This production team has already produced two seasons of "Produce 101" over two years, so they are quite experienced in making shows.
The final production meeting concluded with Ahn Joon-young's enthusiastic encouragement:
"The first episode recording will officially begin on the 12th. It is expected to be a continuous recording session of 20 to 24 hours. The schedule is tight. We hope that all mentors and staff will give their all and work together to create a new hit show and recreate the glory of the 101 series!"
…………
The production meeting officially ended, and the other mentors packed up and left one after another. However, Ji Kyung-won was kept behind by Ahn Joon-young to continue discussing the core details of the program.
Compared to other mentors, as the representative of the national producers, he bears greater responsibility and is involved in more aspects, with many core processes requiring separate communication and finalization.
After all the matters were discussed, it was nearly dusk when Chi Jingyuan walked out of the Mnet building.
"Ring~"
He had just gotten into the car when his phone suddenly rang.
When I picked it up, I was surprised to find that it was a call from Lim Yoona.