Chapter 66: Chocolate

single "Growl" publicly released its music video teaser. The atmosphere has reached fever pitch!Even before its official release, many forums have threads dedicated to finding groups to play it."EXO..., The Peninsula Asteroid

"Anihaseyo..."

After the six members of k team entered the studio, they followed their manager to greet the PD and staff with a bow. The four members of Red Velvet on the side also hurriedly bowed when they saw their seniors enter, and for a moment, greetings echoed back and forth.

When greeting, several people smiled at each other. Geon Seo-gi and Sun Seungwan saw Jiyeong after, although they didn't speak because of the occasion, they both chuckled and winked. However, it seemed a little odd that Joohyun was behaving this way. She looked at Jiyeong for two seconds, smiled slightly with her lips pursed, then proactively shifted her gaze to the empty ground beside her, her flickering avoidance giving the impression that she was dodging something.

Chi Jingyuan smiled at the staff beside him without any abnormality, but he understood something in his heart.

"I'm a bit late, huh" PD smiled and casually said to Lee Seong-hwan.

Team K was about ten minutes late compared to the agreed upon time.

"I'm so sorry for the delay. There was terrible traffic on the way here..." Lee Seong-hwan said with an apologetic smile.

"It's fine, go change your clothes first. Let's talk later..." PD just said it casually, then waved his hand.

These more professional studios all come equipped with dressing rooms for makeup and changing. Everyone nodded in agreement and headed to their designated dressing rooms to put on the advertising outfits they had already prepared.

They had already gotten their hair done at a beauty salon before they arrived, so all they needed to do was change into a new outfit. Red Velvet's members seemed to be the same way, because as soon as Ji-yeong walked in, she saw their signature four-colored hair tips and the very noticeable full-coverage eyeliner.

Their hair color has now become a major target of online black fans' attacks, because of the inexplicable parrot close-up with the "v" beginning, making black fans call them without using their names, directly replacing them with parrots, like "pink-feathered parrot," "blue-feathered parrot," etc.

A darker nickname is that even parrots are too lazy to call it a parrot, and directly call it "grass chicken."

To be honest, Ji-won thinks their debut hair color isn't actually that bad. It's kind of trendy. The reason it became a nickname now can only be said to be partly due to the influence of some makeup choices, and mostly because of bad timing.

Today's ad shoot is for Lotte 'Pepero Chocolate Stick'. It's a chocolate-filled wafer stick made by Lotte Foods and comes in various flavors. It's perfect for kids and young people who love snacks.

This ad didn't prepare any particularly fancy outfits, just very ordinary casual wear. Pool Jingyuan wore a simple yet picky white shirt and jeans combination, the collar button was unbuttoned, and the other members were similar, but to differentiate some shirts were black, some had bow ties, and some wore suspenders.

A few members of the k-team changed their clothes and walked out from the resting room. At this time, a few members of Red Velvet had already come out. They were wearing the outfits from their debut song "V," white with red stripes and numbered, similar to cheerleading uniforms. The four of them were now sitting on stools and sofas placed against the wall. Some were watching the busy staff bustling around in the field, while others stared blankly at their fingers.

This shooting location is a spacious hall with several chairs and leather sofas surrounding it. In the center of the hall, there are a few wooden tables, which are now neatly arranged with samples of chocolate bars. Besides the tables, there are also many opened and unopened boxes in the corners of the room, all filled with packs of chocolate bars.

If people who love this snack saw it, they'd probably be over the moon.

The staff are currently making the final preparations for the set, and PD is directing them while also explaining something to the many crowd actors standing nearby.

This ad not only has celebrities participating, but also has a lot of extras to create a lively atmosphere.

Seeing that the filming was still some time away, a few members of team k walked over to Red Velvet. The familiar faces chatted and laughed together, with Park Chan-yeol even sharing his experience shooting commercials as a senior, giving the younger girls some enthusiastic guidance.

Chi Jingyuan didn't go with them. He looked around and walked to a corner, taking out a bag of chocolate bars from an open sample box beside him. He unwrapped one directly and put it in his mouth for a taste.

Although he endorsed this brand's snacks, he hasn't actually tasted them yet. It seems a bit irresponsible when you say it out loud.

After chewing twice, Chi Jingyuan's eyes lit up. The taste was really good, crisp and sweet, with a rich aroma of peanuts.

He picked up the packaging bag and took a closer look, discovering that he had gotten the peanut chocolate flavor. No wonder it tasted so rich.

He immediately crouched down and rummaged through the box. There were quite a few flavors, besides peanuts, including almonds, cookie bits, crispy rice, and more. Looking at them made him want to open two more bags to try.

I thought about it but decided against it. I just wrote it down and plan to buy a few boxes when I go back and keep them in the dorm to eat slowly. It's also a way to support the brand I'm endorsing.

He stood up, leaning against the wall as he ate a chocolate bar, watching the few members of Team K and Daebak who were laughing and talking over there. Interestingly, Seulgi hadn't really participated at all. She sat alone a little further away, her head lowered as if deep in thought. Her smooth long hair cascaded down from both sides of her face, obscuring most of her expression. From where Ji-yeong was standing, it was hard to tell what kind of mood or state she was in.

However, through the unnatural look on Bae Joo-hyun's face when they first met, Ji Kyeong-won could also roughly guess the other person's mood and thoughts.

It's possible that because the group's situation wasn't good and she was scolded so harshly, she's very sad. It's also possible that it's because she had been expecting this for so long, imagining such a beautiful debut, but the reality is so different that it's really hard for her to accept. It's even possible that Irene saw the online rumors about her dating Ji-won and that added to her distress.

She may have one, or maybe not, but she is clearly not doing well right now. She seems a little embarrassed, or perhaps hesitant to face Chi Jingyuan.

Maybe it was pride, or maybe something else…

Ji Jingyuan stood there and looked at her for a while. Bae Joo-hyun didn't feel it, she just sat there in a daze, seeming to have no energy. He raised his eyes and thought for a moment before walking straight over and sitting down next to Bae Joo-hyun.

Suddenly, someone sat down beside her, startling and waking her up. Bae Joo-hyun hurriedly turned her head and saw it was Kim Jung-hyeon, after which she let out a sigh of relief. However, she seemed to have remembered something, glanced at him, pursed her lips, then turned away again, continuing to stare at her own shoes without speaking.

Chi Jingyuan said nothing. He leaned forward, watching the busy staff in the field while continuing to eat the chocolate bar in his hand. The faint cracking sound as he chewed seemed particularly jarring in their quiet little space.

After sitting in silence for two minutes, Ji Jingyuan took out a chocolate bar from the packaging bag and passed it to Pei Zhuxuan.

Looking at the snack in front of her, Bae Joohyun hesitated for a moment, tilting her head slightly to stare blankly at Ji-Seong. She didn't know what he meant.

Still, she didn't make a sound. Ji Jingyuan ate while nudging her with his mouth to try it, then pushed forward a bit more, directly delivering the chocolate bar to Pei Zhuxuan's lips.

Jimin stared at him for a few seconds, then unconsciously bit her lip. After hesitating for a few seconds, she leaned forward suddenly and opened her mouth to bite the chocolate bar. Ji-won naturally let go, smiling as he watched her lips tremble slightly as she chewed. At the same time, he winked at Jimin's gaze.

Look at her with your eyes and say, 'How is it Doesn't it taste good'

Looking at Ji Chengyuan like this, Bae Joohyun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Her eyes were bright and brimming with tears, looking rather comical.

However, this chocolate bar is really tasty.

After finishing the chocolate, it seemed like Park Soo-hyuk was afraid that there would be chocolate stuck on her lips so she lightly licked her lips in a circle. Then, looking at Park Ji-won who had been staring at her, she smoothed down the hair by her left ear and couldn't help but smile softly.

He smiled twice and, glancing at her, Qi Jingyuan picked up a stick and put it in his own mouth. He didn't feed her anymore, after all, there were so many people around and it wasn't appropriate. This time, he passed the bag over to her so she could take it herself.

Peizehyun looked noticeably more spirited than before. She glanced at him, then pulled out a cigarette and took tiny puffs, munching on it like a rabbit nibbling carrots.

After she finished eating, she looked over, and Ji Jingyuan also timely handed the packaging bag back to her.

The two of them sat like this in a rather secluded corner, each eating their food one bite at a time. Since Chi Jingyuan had started sitting beside her, the two hadn't spoken a word, but the atmosphere had subtly shifted.

Actually, there's nothing much to say.

EXO-K and the other members of Red Velvet, who were sitting not far from the two of them, also noticed the situation. However, after looking at each other for a moment, they all chuckled silently and tacitly agreed not to come over and tease them, allowing that small patch of space to remain quietly warm until the very end.

This bag of chocolate didn't have many, and it was quickly eaten by Park Ji-yeong and Bae Joo-hyeon. After finishing, Park Ji-yeong didn't go for more, the two just sat quietly there, watching the staff walking back and forth, as if they were looking at a beautiful natural landscape.

And my mood, like appreciating a beautiful view, improved considerably.

After a while, PD finally finished his work and clapped his hands to call everyone over. He began to explain the shooting process.

This ad is very simple overall. It shows a group of people cheering and laughing, facing the camera with bright, enthusiastic smiles and giving each other chocolate bars as gifts.

You don't need any deep meaning or plot, just keep it simple and fun to watch. Make people laugh and smile. It should be engaging and easy for even children to film.

The process was detailed and explained, after several rehearsals the official filming began.

The overall shooting focuses mainly on exo-k, but red velvet also has a lot of screen time.

Of course, this kind of advertisement is no problem for experienced exo. Interestingly, several members of red velvet were in high spirits as soon as they entered the set, completely shaking off their slightly low mood before. They seemed very excited in front of the camera.

Especially Pei Zhuhyun, she looked noticeably different from when she first came out. Seeing her holding a chocolate bar in each hand and placing them on both sides of her cheeks, grinning happily with a silly smile, while her short legs hopped up and down in place, Ji Kyeongwon found himself inexplicably amused.

A few hours later, after the advertisement shoot was finished, the two groups and the staff said their goodbyes and left first. They took the elevator down to the parking lot together. Since both managers were present, they didn't say much.

As they said their goodbyes to each other at the sides of the parking lot, Red Velvet waited on the spot for their senior EXO members to leave and head towards the van. At the back of the line, Ji-seong looked at Joy and her friends, pursed his lips, extended his hand and gave her a fist bump as encouragement, then without waiting for a response, quickened his pace and followed onto the van, closing the door behind him.

Only a few disparate, inexplicable glances remained.

……

After filming this commercial, Team K once again dispersed into their individual schedules. In addition to unavoidable advertising promotions, Ji Jingyuan also re-entered his white-collar work life.

Although Han's departure from EXO had a lot of negative impacts, there were some positive aspects as well. At least after he left, the negative public opinion caused a significant reduction in team activities. Even running errands was nowhere near as busy as before. Every member suddenly had a lot of free time. Members like Oh Sehun, who didn't have much work anyway, have been spending their days practicing in the studio and at the dorm, to the point where they are almost getting bored.

It was not until noon on August 15th that company S officially announced the launch of EXO's official global fan club, 'EXO-L', as well as its mobile application. The recruitment for fan club members began worldwide.

After fans join the EXO-L club, besides being able to light up the members' stars, a must-have feature for chasing stars, they can also gain a faster understanding of all the members' movements, participate in chats and interactions with EXO, and even apply to attend events attended by EXO through this app.

As soon as the news broke, EXO-L's official website was bombarded with countless visits within two minutes of going online, causing it to crash instantly. This left the person in charge, who had boasted about being well-prepared beforehand, sweating profusely and frantically jumping around.

Even if the official website is down, it can't stop the endless enthusiasm of xo fans. The number of members in the official club is still growing at an extremely fast rate.

At the same time, s also officially announced on sns that EXO's official fan name is 'EXO-L' and explained its profound meaning. It also added that the members personally gave all fans a nickname called 'Aeli'.

From now on, EXO fans who were once numerous but had no official name, only calling themselves "planet rice," finally have their own official title. More formally, they call themselves 'EXO-L,' and more affectionately, they are called 'Elie.'

The title "Planet" became a thing of the past. This name, popularized by EXO's recent explosion in popularity, sent chills down the spines of countless rival fans, who dared not speak out. In a remarkably short period, it left an indelible mark on the history of fandom within the Korean music scene.

It's considered a natural end.

Meanwhile, to support the promotion, all members also uploaded 'L' hand gesture certification photos on their personal SNS.

"How come you're taking another one of those downward-facing selfies Your 'L' hand gesture looks deformed... and the lighting isn't good either. The background is just the corridor outside our practice room, aren't you being too perfunctory"

Wu Shixun frowned, looking at the photo on his phone, couldn't help but complain to Ji Jingyuan who was sitting nearby.

Today is the day of the first town family concert in 2014. At this time, most of the artists from s company are at the venue. The Seoul World Cup Stadium has already set up the backstage and is preparing for rehearsals. EXO's last rehearsal has just finished, and they have returned to the backstage lounge after coming down from the stage. The ten members who have finished their makeup are sitting loosely in a large lounge with each other and familiar seniors, chatting casually.

But they are not free and clear yet, they still need to go to rehearsals for their respective collaborative stages later.

"Why take selfies Because I have a good-looking face. Why... and it's convenient to take and fast too."

Pool Jingyuan turned his head and glanced at him, then suddenly frowned as if remembering something: "No, why are you always staring at my s Is it for you to see With that time, can't you go browse the s of those female idols instead What's wrong with you"

Ji Jingyuan's strange gaze made Wu Shixun feel very uncomfortable. He instantly understood the other party's meaning and grimaced, "Don't disgust me... I just went to see how many fans you have now by the way."

"Sehun cares a lot about this..." Do Kyung-Soo smiled mischievously, exposing Wu Sehun: "He likes to check the number of fans on his members' SNS when he's free, and then calculate where he ranks among all the members in his heart."

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"So conceited You're really bored, aren't you..." Chi Jingyuan scoffed as soon as he heard it: "Then where are you ranked now I remember..."

"Greetings, seniors..."

Before Chi Jingyuan could finish his sentence, a crisp greeting cut him off. He followed the sound and saw that several girls had walked up to them unnoticed while they were chatting, bowing politely towards them.

Ji Jingyuan's carefree, lazy smile instantly disappeared and was replaced by a business-like one. He then nodded politely along with the other EXO members standing beside him.

He casually glanced at the six or seven girls in front of him. He knew them; he had seen them yesterday when he came to rehearse for the show in advance. They were members of srookies, and they would also have a stage at this family concert. The performers were divided into male and female teams.

Although he had met them, Chi Jingyuan didn't actually know them. He couldn't even remember who was who or what their names were.

However, Pei Joo Hyuk and the others are quite familiar with these trainees. It is said that several of them were members of the Red Velvet debut group before and may join their group in the future.

"Yilin..."

As soon as I thought of them, I heard the voice of Kim Se-qi. When I turned my head, I saw all four members of Red Velvet walking over from the side. Kim Se-qi ran the fastest and reached the trainees in front, grinning as she shook an arms with one of the shorter girls. Then she greeted the others.

Just now, Red Velvet greeted EXO backstage. They probably just came back from rehearsals.

Pei Zhuhyun followed Jiang Shiqi, smiled at Ji Jingyuan and waved lightly, then ran to chat with the little girl.

She came to watch and this little girl named 'Erlina' seemed very close.

"When is our rehearsal" Sun Shengwan walked up to Chi Jingyuan and winked.

"Come on, it's fine. We don't really need to rehearse for this kind of stage performance anyway…" Ji Jingyuan glanced up and down at Sun Shengwan: "This dress doesn't seem to suit you very well…and the heel of your shoes is a bit too high."

Son Seung-wan has changed into the outfit for the collaborative stage. The white dress is covered with black crosses, and her left shoulder is exposed. She looks much more mature.

But Chi Jingyuan looked at her and felt that her outfit lacked the vibrancy and cheerfulness she used to have, as if it had been swallowed up.

"Don't you think it looks nice I think it's pretty good." After hearing this, she felt a little nervous and lowered her head to look at her skirt. Later on, she frowned: "I don't want to wear such high heels either, my feet are killing me. Who made Jingyuan so tall If I don't wear them, standing next to you, I'll look like a child. It's just too awkward."

"Come on, I heard that girls can still grow a little bit taller when they're 22. You still have hope." Looking at Son Se-wan sitting beside him, somewhat uncomfortably taking off her high heels and stretching her feet, Ji Kyeong-won casually comforted her with a sentence.

"Really" Sun Seungwan's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this, her interest piqued. However, she quickly regained her composure and a look of suspicion filled her face. She glanced at Bae Joohyun beside her unintentionally, and the suspicion in her eyes intensified considerably.

Her little look made Ji-yeong unable to hold back and burst into laughter. His laughter caught Bae Joo-hyun's attention, and she curiously looked at him with her eyes, asking what was the matter.

With the setting sun, Chi Jingyuan saw Sun Shengwan staring at him with a crazed look in his eyes. He couldn't help but laugh and waved his hand, indicating that it was nothing. Seeing this, Sun Shengwan immediately let out a sigh of relief and pointed at Chi Jingyuan, giving him an exaggerated expression of "You are truly a good brother".

After chatting for a while, Ji Jingyuan saw that Jin Taeyeon and a few others were waving at him. He said a word to the person next to him and walked over to chat casually with several members of Girls' Generation, but he was called away for rehearsals by the staff soon after.

The Townes family concert officially started at 4:00 PM, with nearly 20,000 spectators creating an incredibly lively atmosphere in the entire venue.

As the hottest idol group in the company right now, EXO naturally performed last. However, the collaboration stage by Ji-sung and Seung-wan, along with Na and Henry, was placed in the middle segment.

"It's been so long since I heard from you."

Do you know that my birthday is coming up

As Sun Shengwan and Ji Jingyuan walked out slowly from both sides of the stage, singing the lyrics together, they met in the center and stood side by side. The audience erupted in a loud scream, mixed with some surprised questions. It seemed that many people were wondering who the girl singing with Yuan was.

Red Velvet has been heavily criticized online, but in reality, each member's individual fame is quite low. Even many black fans don't know, or are too lazy to call their names, directly using hair color nickname forms like "red hair" and "blue hair parrot" instead.

And even fewer people recognize them.

"For you, and only for you."

I may not be able to give you the world yet.

But now I'm willing to ask for your promise.

The last chorus, the two stood at the forefront of the central stage, one singing passionately, occasionally glancing at each other and then smiling back. It didn't feel particularly ambiguous, but rather very harmonious instead.

Both are the main vocalists of their respective groups, and their collaboration is excellent. Ji-young intentionally gave the stage to Seongwan to showcase her performance, and her high notes in the final chorus were truly impressive.

After today, at least the nearly 20,000 audience members present should remember Sun Shengwan's face and name. After all, a girl who can perform on stage with Ji Jingyuan cannot help but leave a deep impression.

And she really sings well...

Chi Jingyuan decided that the next time he saw Zheng Endi, he would directly tell her that she didn't sing "allforyou" as well as Sun Shengwan. He looked forward to seeing Zheng Endi pretending to be disdainful on the surface while secretly getting irritated and tapping her feet. It would surely be a spectacular sight.

At the end of the concert, all the performing artists took the stage to sing a chorus of the classic song "hope". A group of senior artists who had debuted for many years, such as SJ, SHE, and Girls' Generation, were playing around and having fun on stage. There weren't many people actually singing seriously, but the audience below loved seeing this scene and cheered non-stop with enthusiastic responses.

EXO has debuted for over two years and is no longer a rookie. They have participated in so many family concerts and are already accustomed to it. They are with familiar friends and play around on stage as usual. The only ones who seem a bit restrained are the recently debuted Red Velvet. The four members stand among the crowd, smiling and waving their hands, seemingly wanting to participate in the seniors' jokes but struggling to blend in.

But newcomers are all like this. Even 12-year-old XO at the end of the family concert, seeing them by the pool, made her instantly think of herself in the past.

Moreover, although they are all from the same company, most of them are just colleagues and have limited personal connections. Only a few are truly close to each other. It takes time and experience to build genuine familiarity among the majority.

Of all the performances throughout the entire show, if we had to say which left the most lasting impression on the audience and was something they would still be talking about afterwards, it wouldn't be the solo performances by several popular groups, nor would it be the duet stage featuring Ji Jingyuan and Sun Shengwan.

Instead, it was formed by a temporary all-male impersonation group called boysday, composed of Sechan, Cho Kyuhyun, Choi Siwon, and Kim Junmyeon. The four men, wearing wigs, makeup, and sexy revealing miniskirts, danced to Girls' Generation's hit songs on stage. Their performance of "Sothing," a song with a very complaining vibe, instantly ignited the audience's enthusiasm, making it the most exciting moment of the entire concert.

Even Ji Jingyuan was shocked by their outfit and the stage. He knew that leader Kim Jun-myeon and a few other hyungs had prepared this stage in private, and he even saw them practicing together, but they were just wearing casual clothes during the rehearsals, so no one expected such a speechless performance on the official stage.

He feels this stage will definitely become Jin Junmian's lifetime black history, have to say these brothers are really going all out.

Regardless of how you say it, the first family concert of 2014 has come to a successful conclusion. The next one will have to wait until October 4th in Tokyo.

…………

Three days passed in a flash, and it was August 18th, the day the script discussion meeting for the "The Untamed" crew was held.

Ji Jingyuan followed Park Bo-gum into the tvN headquarters building in Sangamdong, Mapo District. They walked straight to the conference room where the crew had instructed them to meet.

First release on the Traditional Chinese Novels Websiteothing her hair on both sides. She would smooth it every now and then, and when she wasn't touching her hair, her hands seemed to not know where to go, stiffly placed in front of her. Her own eyes wer...