Chapter 135: Storm

ually opening the door, but seeing his expression, she said something and then stopped."The popularity of our group has increased a lot lately, and I think you all feel it too. The situation with sasa..."Live streaming"

Faced with the new names suggested by their manager, several members echoed in surprise.

This wasn't some high-level meeting, but rather a small internal gathering held by EXO and their management agency. The purpose was primarily to discuss recent schedules and important points to note. Among them, Lee Seong-hwan, the main manager, held the highest position.

"Hmm."

Li Chenghuan nodded and, with a practiced eye, looked over a stack of files as he introduced them: "It's NAVER...NAVER, you can't possibly not know about that...They are launching a new app for celebrity video content called Vlive. This app is said to have many features, but the main function is live streaming by celebrities."

"Since you were being so serious, I thought it was something big. Livestreams aren't that uncommon, we've already done a few times before, like for our debut anniversary or something like that." Park Chan-yeol seemed a little disappointed as he chuckled and chimed in.

"And compared to some of the previous live broadcasts we've had, this Vlive has a few key differences. Besides broadcasting the scheduled activities, the main focus of this Vlive is on surprise livestreams. It's more spontaneous and natural than regular broadcasts. You'll see the specific differences for yourselves when the time comes."

“This APP will open external testing on August 1st, and XO is the first batch to experience it. It will officially launch on September 1st. In order to promote it, the operator has invited XO to conduct several days of live broadcasts simultaneously with the launch, which is considered the best way to build a reputation and occupy the market...”

Although Li Chenghuan's last two sentences did not directly boast, they still made everyone in the conference room feel very comfortable. Some people couldn't help but smile with restraint and pride as they listened.

The current situation is indeed like this. Among the peninsula boy groups, EXO is at its peak with visible popularity and influence. While VLive may have invited many artist groups during its launch days, EXO was the most prioritized one.

"The other party is very serious and sincere about us. In the future, we will have many perks and more resources when using Vlive. The company sees great potential in this app and has already taken notice. After the app officially launches, the other party will also collaborate with more of our artists."

"Just to let you know in advance, once the test starts in August, we'll be the first group to use it. After the official launch, we'll definitely have a meeting to discuss the specific content for the livestream, but Suho, you guys should also think about it yourselves. After all, the livestream content still depends on you guys to create. Remember to share your ideas when the time comes."

Distributing the A4 papers in his hands, Li Chenghuan gave one last instruction.

"Got it, bro."

XO's members responded with a few cheers, and several of them seemed quite interested in the live stream.

However, Chi Jingyuan didn't think there was anything special about it. He wasn't particularly feeling anything about this "surprise live stream," and he was just treating it as an ordinary work trip now.

After introducing and explaining EXO's recent important schedule and group activities over the past half month, they began to focus on each member's individual activities and solo variety shows during this time.

"Chan-lye, don't forget tomorrow's 'Law of the Jungle' production launch event, remember to prepare well..."

"SUHO, we need to reshoot a few shots from the last recording of King of Masked Singer..."

"Xiuini's ickeyouseClub will be filming a new episode tomorrow…"

"And there's Jongdae, Sehun, and Beomgyu, you guys' magazine photoshoot..."

As EXO's popularity skyrocketed, surpassing gbang to become the new generation of male group TOP. With their growing fame, they are now reaping the rewards. The entire group is highly sought after by various endorsement brands and advertising companies. Their fees have noticeably increased compared to before.

Variety shows are even more so. Although due to scheduling and cost reasons, some programs EXO as a whole can't appear on, the invitations for individual members are still highly sought after because basically, whenever an EXO member makes an appearance, it has a noticeable effect on viewership ratings.

In recent times, aside from Ji-seong's activities, other members of XO have taken on numerous variety show collaborations. Several have been quite successful, including shows like "The Law of the Jungle" with impressive viewership ratings. Adding to this is the unclear situation surrounding 3rd Brother, who remains a fixture on China's "Limitless Challenge," XO now appears to be transitioning into a variety show group.

In the fashion realm, there are also quite a few members who have received shooting schedules from fashion magazines. Besides Ji Chang-wook, Kim Jong-min and Woo Se-hun have relatively better resources. However, as of now, none of the other members' invitations have included first-tier publications like Vogue shoots. There is a noticeable gap compared to Ji Chang-wook's previous photoshoot for VOGUE magazine cover.

The only reason it hasn't been released yet is that the cover he shot was put on VOGUE Korea's most important September issue.

No wonder they had him wear autumn clothes when filming...

After everyone had spoken, it was Pool Jingyuan's turn.

"Jingyuan, tomorrow there's a recording of 'Infinite Challenge Song Festival,' this time at BC Studio. You have to get to the TV station broadcast hall in the morning, remember to prepare... By the way, did you watch the third episode of 'Song Festival' that aired on the 18th" Lee Seunghwan said, then looked over.

"Not yet, I haven't had much time these past two days." Ji Jingyuan blinked, indicating that he hadn't seen it.

"Now, every episode of 'Song Festival' has seen a significant increase in viewership. The broadcast the day before yesterday caused a lot of discussion, especially regarding your team's final song style and what kind of songs you and IU will each present. The buzz surrounding these two topics is extremely high… Have you got any ideas yet for the songs you'll be using"

"Well, it's almost done, just need to do some editing and arrangement."

"So fast"

Lee Seong-hwan recently hasn't kept up with the details of Ji-yeong’s variety show, and he was clearly surprised by his progress. He gave Ji-yeong a surprised glance, nodded, and continued, “The song is already out, that’s good… This year’s ‘Song Festival’ has attracted much more attention and heat than the company initially expected. Especially your subunit with IU has drawn in many viewers who didn’t usually watch the show. It's considered one of the hottest topics in the variety world, even the music industry right now…”

"Although this heat is a good thing, it raises the audience's expectations and interest. At the same time, your public image, or the public's perception of you, has always been that of an outstandingly talented composer. And if the quality of the songs you finally deliver doesn't meet the public's demands, or if your song quality is noticeably inferior to IU's...you understand"

"Well, I know, bro." Ji Jingyuan nodded.

He knew what the other party meant. Of course, the expectations and attention from the outside world were a good thing, but at the same time, it was also a burden. If the final song quality was too poor and failed to meet the audience's psychological expectations, it would disappoint many people and generate negative emotions. At the same time, it would also affect Chi Jingyuan's very positive image.

And because they are in a group with IU, both of them have the character setting of "genius" or "music girl". If one person writes a song that is too average, it is easy to be criticized by the outside world.

Although it's just an entertainment song, it can't be too bad. It definitely shouldn't be like some of the mediocre songs in previous editions of the music festival that didn't meet the standard.

However, Chi Jingyuan feels pretty good about the song he prepared for this performance.

"Do you have confidence"

Lee Seung-hwan looked at Ji Chang-wook and asked a question, then watched him nod casually before letting out a sigh of relief and smiling. "That's good. If there are any problems with the arrangement or production, please communicate with the company at any time... By the way, let me hear it when it's finished, I'm really looking forward to it..."

"We are too."

"Haha, let's listen together then."

With the last cheers and laughter, the meeting was brought to a close by Lee Seung Hwan's clap. Back in Seoul, there weren't any big group activities for these two days, so after exchanging greetings, the members went their separate ways, either running errands or catching up on their own affairs.

Chi Jingyuan then went to the music room after eating something, preparing to polish up that song from the Song Festival again while he had some free time today.

However, instead of starting work right away, he went online and opened the third episode replay of "Infinite Challenge Music Festival" aired on the 18th. He adjusted the progress bar and glanced at their portion of the filming.

However, speaking of which, that day's recording session lasted almost ten hours in total. In the end, only about ten minutes of their segment was actually broadcast. Making these kinds of variety shows is truly challenging.

This episode was recorded as the first meeting of the three members after they were divided into groups. The recording location is his current music room. The main content is that the three meet and discuss the theme and style of this song.

Although it was quite a while ago, he still remembered that recording session. IU really left a deep impression on him that day.

Seeing IU once again carrying that iconic, body-crushing guitar, her expression was a bit timid, almost shy as she stepped into the music room. Park Ji-won couldn't help but laugh again.

This sister is really interesting.

Next, the trio chatted and discussed aspects of songwriting.

As an outside observer, it's easy to see that at the beginning of this group, besides Zheng Hengdun, the other members, Ji Kyeong-won and IU, were obviously not very familiar with each other. Their conversation was a bit stiff, and they spoke and acted deliberately politely.

But when it came to discussing the song's theme and style, these two who were just moments ago getting along famously immediately became quite rigid. Although they expressed their opinions with smiles and engaged in discussion, one insisted on pop while the other stuck to ballads, neither willing to budge an inch. It was as if this matter concerned their own self-respect.

Until this episode, they remained at an impasse, with neither side convincing the other, leaving the remaining suspense for the next installment.

This contrast between the beginning and end, along with the seemingly polite but actually confident and persistent standoff between the two, makes the audience find it very interesting. It also generates a strong interest in the final outcome.

And the editing team also specifically left suspense, which is no wonder it caused a stir after its broadcast.

"Of all the groups, this one is the most interesting. Although it seems a bit awkward at first glance, it turns out to be quite interesting in the end... The two people have different opinions, one insists on fast-paced pop music, and the other insists on slow, sentimental ballads. In the end, it's unclear who can persuade the other."

"I'm really looking forward to this collaboration between the two of them, oh wait, it's three people, including Jung Hyung-don kkkk"

Wow, Yuan noticed IU was wearing a short skirt and directly gave her a pillow. He's so considerate!

"Give them a pairing! When I saw this scene, I wanted to ship Yuan and IU so bad. Wow, suddenly I feel like they'd be a great match..."

Chi Jingyuan, who was looking at the comments below, couldn't help but chuckle wryly after seeing this CP-shipping comment.

This audience's hope might be a little difficult to achieve, as IU is currently in a relationship. While she hasn't made it public, it's not a big secret within the industry. Ji Kyung-won heard about it from Park Chan-wook a while ago, and apparently they've been dating for quite some time.

After casually browsing the comments for a while, Chi Jingyuan put down his phone and began to enter work mode.

He made quick progress on the song he prepared for "The Song Festival," both in terms of melody and lyrics.

He didn't originally intend to use this song as a band song, but after deciding to include it, he found that the original tune was very suitable for this style and also quite suitable for adapting into a ballad.

The lyrics are not difficult to write; it's just about extending them through inspiration and imagination, telling a story or stacking up words.

But this name...

At this moment, Chi Jingyuan was looking at the computer screen. His gaze was fixed on the song title position. After a moment of hesitation, he couldn't help but start thinking.

Before the lyrics were written, the placeholder song title was "Stars," but now it seems a bit too straightforward. It doesn't quite capture the depth and style of the lyrics.

What should we change it to...

After sitting on the bench and pondering for two minutes, it seemed as if something had crossed his mind. Chi Jingyuan let out a light chuckle, retracted the title "Star," and gently typed in a new one:

The Tower House

…………

The weather is overcast.

Wu Shih-hsin stood at the stage connecting to the exit, peering out at the gloomy, overcast sky. He said with a hint of worry, "I hope it won't rain later."

And the other EXO members standing around, hearing this, couldn't help but also glance up at the sky.

Today is the 23rd, and they are at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena right now, getting ready for the LOTTELovelyYoung concert that will be held here tonight.

This is another theme concert hosted by LOTTE to promote themselves and give back to fans, inviting many artists and idol groups who have collaborated with them and are currently popular. Both the number of audience members and the lineup of guests at the Pindis concert are top-notch.

At this time, EXO was at the edge of the backstage exit, preparing for their upcoming stage rehearsal.

Ji Jingyuan's gaze shifted from the rehearsing Infinite to the sky, following their lead.

Over the past two days, he has not only nearly finished working on the song "Rooftop" but also participated in the recording of "Infinite Challenge Music Festival." This time, the theme was "Mid-break and Contradictions," where five groups, while separately producing songs, experienced some conflicts or friction. This segment, through some small games, aims to integrate everyone's emotions and reconcile disagreements within each group, accelerating the songwriting process.

Actually, this episode wasn't really necessary for Pool Kyung-won's team. Although he and IU had a lot of disagreements at first, they quickly made up and progressed at an amazing speed in the subsequent recordings. While other teams were still debating what song to use, their side directly decided on the style and DEO for two songs. Even now, Pool Kyung-won's capital city track is almost finished.

So this time he also didn't have a chance to perform. He just acted out a few scenes and played some small games according to the script given by the writer, and that was considered a successful completion of his work.

"Didn't you check the weather forecast It said there would be heavy rain today. Before we came in, didn't some of the early viewers prepare raincoats"

Faced with the astonishment of this group, Kim Gyung-sik expressed some helplessness.

Don't they look at the weather forecast

"The weather forecast is unreliable, often saying it will rain but never actually doing so. I stopped looking at it a long time ago." It seemed to be a face-saving attempt, as the first person to mention the bad weather, Wu Shixun, tried to defend himself with two more sentences.

Sure enough, his crow's mouth really worked. Just as Infinite finished rehearsing a few songs, the moment EXO stepped onto the stage, it started to drizzle.

At first, it was just a few restrained drops. But by afternoon, the sky unleashed its fury, with torrential rain sweeping across the city in an instant, shrouding everything in gloom. The heavy raindrops pounding on the ground created a deafening din that could even be heard from the comfort of an indoor lounge.

This is no longer a heavy rain, it can be classified as a downpour.

Even though it will definitely affect the performance on stage, rain won't affect the start of the show. And although Ji-seong and they might complain a few words, they are actually already used to it.

After all, as a popular group, who doesn't have a few famous stages in the rain

EXO's rain-soaked performance of "AA" at a family concert has become a fan favorite. Related videos and member POVs on YouTube have garnered incredibly high views, even casual viewers are left impressed after watching it.

Speaking of it, Tao seems to be walking this path because of the stage...

As the designated time arrived, tens of thousands of audience members in raincoats took their seats. The LOTTE concert officially began.

Although the weather was bad, the enthusiasm of the audience at the event did not decrease. Perhaps due to the heavy rain, there was a sense of admiration for the idols' professionalism. Even if the idols on stage were not their favorites, most of the audience still gave them enthusiastic support, making the atmosphere very lively.

But the idols who were enthusiastically performing on stage looked very miserable after they came off. Every performer who walked into the backstage after finishing a performance was soaked all over, looking like they had just been pulled out of a lake.

For example, when Red Velvet just got back to the backstage, all five of them were drenched like drowned chickens. As soon as they entered the lounge, the assistant and manager who had been waiting there wrapped them up with dry towels.

First wipe yourself off, then change your clothes to avoid catching a cold.

Among them, the most miserable were Ginger Seqi and Pei Zhuxuan, who contributed to the scene of fans cheering with their "mutual finger" performance earlier. These two people were just now on stage sweetly interacting with each other, but now their eyes are closed, their noses, eyebrows, and chins are all wrinkled together, their hair and bangs are stuck to their faces, and they open their hands for assistants to help wipe their bodies.

However, since they were all soaked through, today's young lady wearing a pleated skirt revealed legs covered in water streaks. Under the illumination of indoor incandescent lights, these streaks shimmered and swirled with a crystal-like sheen, looking as lovely as pure white jade.

Looking at the busy S assistants, Ji Jingyuan really wanted to lend a hand.

It's a shame that there are too many people around.

Finally, it was EXO’s turn to take the stage. The nine members, all dressed in crisp pink suits with white shirts and pants, appeared on stage and were immediately met with thunderous cheers from the audience. This brought the already hot atmosphere of the venue to a fever pitch.

It was said to be a star-studded concert, with each performer's fan group and company allocated entrance tickets. However, in reality, out of the tens of thousands of spectators who attended today, more than half were EXO fans, Alei. Standing on the stage, one could see a sea of Alei at a glance, the countless silver-white Alei sticks being the best proof.

First, they performed a song from their regular 2nd album "EXODUS". Then, the electronic intro of "Roar" sounded, instantly igniting the passion of all the audience and fans. A joyous chorus once again filled the entire venue.

Having a solo concert in the midst of an EXO concert isn't anything new. Whether it's the members themselves, EXO-Ls, or even fans from other groups, everyone is used to this by now.

Heavy rain poured down, soaking him the moment he stepped onto the stage. Within two minutes, his clothes were completely drenched. Despite this, Ki-seong forcefully squeezed his eyes shut and gave his all to perform the song's dance.

Although the heavy rain was quite impactful, my hair got soaked as soon as I stepped out, and my eyes were a bit hard to open. My clothes and socks were sticky and uncomfortable. The stage floor became especially slippery after getting wet, even miming without a microphone made me worried about an electrical short in the earpiece.

However, the enthusiastic cheers and support from the audience and fans greatly reduced the discomfort caused by the weather. At least for Ji Jingyuan, although he was suffering at the moment, his body still felt quite hot.

However, an accident suddenly occurred.

When Ji-won stood on stage in his position, performing "Roar" with the other members for what felt like the hundredth time, he just crouched down during the iconic Thomas move, his hand still not touching the ground, his left leg suddenly slipped, causing him to lose his balance instantly. His right knee immediately knelt onto the floor.

"Hiss…"

(End of the chapter) moved the microphone a little away, reached out and with force wiped his forehead, brushing the bangs to the side. He pursed his lips, squinted, and shook his head vigorously.He felt like he was taki...