Chapter 1: A Trainee

a circle with Kai in the center. After a synchronized dance, they struck the Endg pose. As two powerful drumbeats echoed, the screen went black, revealing the ** and EXO logos. The MV concluded.“…………”..."The world is full of wonders and strangeness."

"It is hard to distinguish truth from falsehood."

"Call baby, call baby."

"callbabycallbaby."

In the practice room, the music of "callbaby" played over and over again. Ji Kyeong-won and the other members followed along, practicing their choreography repeatedly. They kept rehearsing for this debut title track.

After completing the Hunan TV New Year's Eve party, EXO flew back to Seoul early in the morning. Although New Year's Day is a very important holiday here, for artists, there is no such thing as a statutory holiday at all. As soon as Ji Kyeong-won and the others got back from their greetings, they went straight to the company to start preparing for their new album.

《callbaby》 being the title track of EXO's four-part single album this time is very important to them in every way. When it comes to satisfying fans' long-awaited expectations as much as possible, it also needs to make a strong first impression and set a good start for EXO's subsequent singles.

For this song, "callbaby," ** spent a lot of effort on promotion and planning. Besides the high-profile promotional video, they also put great emphasis on choreography. To make the dance moves unique, the company didn't invite any KPOP dance teachers from the peninsula. Instead, they invited NappyTabs, a very famous choreographic team from the United States who had previously worked for stars like Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, and Shakira, to choreograph the MV for this song.

This is really a big investment, the choreography fees for this dance team are much higher than local teams, they're not even in the same league. ** really went all out for XO's comeback this time.

The choreography for 《callbaby》 is already finished. EXO has been practicing it on and off since late last year, totaling about ten days. They have the rhythm and movements down pat, so now the focus is on refining details and coordination, especially the uniformity of the chorus group dance which remains a challenge.

To be honest, the choreography for this song isn't easy. It requires a lot of coordination and teamwork between the members, and there are also some individual dancers who are weaker in certain areas...

"This song (dance) is mainly hip hop and jazz, the rhythm and movement of the body are very important, many parts require coordination between limbs and the body…"

After watching them jump a few times, the dance teacher began to step forward and point out some of the dancers' problems: "Beomgyu, what are you doing with that move"

As she spoke, the dance teacher raised her hands to the sides and swayed them forward, demonstrating a dance move while frowning at Bian Berxian: “You look so stiff here, like you’re walking with a limp.”

Bian Berhian pursed his lips and stuck out his tongue. Every time they practiced for a new song, it was a kind of torment and challenge for some members.

"Can, your steps need to be more flexible, keep up with the beat! Every time you reach that point, you always fall behind a beat. Even though you're tall, you don't have to be so stiff. Besides, being tall and rigid makes your movements even more obvious..."

"And lastly, this big crab step, what are you guys doing Baekhyun, when you do the crab walk, can't you open your arms Do you have to keep them tucked in to stay balanced If you open them, you'll fall over Then why even dance And Suho, you're tilting your head back and craning your neck with your feet so high, what are you doing Are you even doing the crab walk Is this a move from our choreography Did you come up with it yourself"

"You guys wait and see the repy I just recorded, see how bad your part is."

When this teacher was mentioned, he got angry. His voice raised and his tone became harsh as he gave them a scolding. The few people who were called out pouted, knowing they were in the wrong, and didn't dare to speak. They clenched their fists and lowered their heads, staring at the floor patterns.

After scolding for a while, the teacher calmed down and her tone became much more gentle as she continued to explain:

"The last crab step is very important, if you jump well it's a good kill part. I've said this so many times, it has to be natural and neat."

“We've been practicing for almost half a month now, and the movements are already familiar. However, there are still many areas that need to be improved, and the progress is a bit slow... 《callbaby》needs to be practiced well and then filmed into an MV. After that, there's 《sprgday》, 《Golden Kingdom》and several other songs. You all know how heavy our tasks are, come on, work hard!”

"Got it." All members replied in unison.

"Take a look at the repy you just practiced twice, try to find the reason yourself, and then continue."

Several people sat together watching the recorded dance practice. The beginning part was fine, they had already practiced it very familiarly. However, when they reached the crab step at the end, it was really as the teacher said, they danced very poorly. Ji Jingyuan first stared at himself in the C position and didn't notice anything wrong. Then he looked at Kim Jun-myeon, and Beon Baekhyun and a few others who were mentioned almost laughed out loud. These two brothers really danced one worse than the other, one very stylish choreography was danced by them like a circus act.

These two people actually know this themselves, it's just that they feel out of place with this dance move. Even after practicing many times, it still feels awkward to perform.

After finishing the rept, they practiced for another half hour. Everyone was sweating profusely and gasping for breath before finally entering their break time as instructed by their teacher.

Woo Shi-hun and Kim Jong-in went to the refrigerator and brought out a bunch of drinks, giving one to each person. Then, a few people went to the restroom, while the other members sat on the floor against the wall, chatting and drinking their beverages.

"It's been said that we practiced for half a month, but at the end of last year, we were all busy with year-end schedules. We only managed to squeeze in some practice time during our breaks, and it wasn't really for long. I think we're progressing pretty well already, and if everything goes smoothly, we should be able to finish filming the MV this month." Park Chan-yeol took a sip of his coffee and, remembering how he'd just been criticized, grumbled with some annoyance.

"Alright, we're not just working on the dance for "callbaby", there's also the MV to shoot. While "Spring Day" is a ballad, it still has choreography, and then there's "Golden Country", and we don't even need to mention "lht" later on. By the way, Jingyuan, have you and the teachers finished the choreography for "Spring Day" and "boywithlove""

Kim Jun-myeon sighed and then said something fair, turning his head to look at Ji Kyeong-won and ask.

This time, the four most important title tracks were given to two external choreography teams by the company, and the other two were entrusted to internal teams. They still collaborated with **'s choreography team and choreographer Kiwon. Preparations have been underway since December last year when the project officially began.

“We’re almost there, just need to tweak a few things. Once the company gives it the okay, we can start training you guys.” Ji Jingyuan swallowed the orange juice, his cheeks deflated, and met everyone's gaze with an OK sign.

Jin Jun-mian nodded and took a sip, "So that's it, our mission is very heavy, and it's best to make the most of these two months when we have more free time to practice well. If we wait until after the official comeback, then it will be troublesome..."

He's right, although it's still two or three months until the return of the first single "E" and almost half a year until "L", most of the preparation work, including singing and dancing practice, is best completed within these next two or three months of free time.

If I have to wait until my return, the workload will be really heavy. There are singing, interviews, variety shows, commercial performances, and concerts every day. The schedule is packed, and I'll even have to rush back for overtime dance practice at night. Just thinking about it makes me know how tired I'll be.

Now the progress is going a bit faster, so it will be easier later on. Actually, EXO's preparation time for this comeback was quite intense.

Park Chan-wook took a sip of water, thought for a moment, and then nodded. “I guess so,”

After chatting for a bit about the album preparations, Xiu and Beomgyu, who had gone to the restroom, came back and casually shifted the topic to today's hottest news just released.

Kim Jong-dae, who was very interested in the matter, brought it up: "By the way, you said that my ex-wife started dating someone else. Wouldn't the Samsung heir be angry"

Today, January 1st, the notorious celebrity media reporting website Dispatch has leaked another couple in a relationship: Lee Jung-jae and Lim Se-ling.

This couple, the man is a well-known actor from the peninsula, while the woman is even more extraordinary. She hails from a wealthy family and was previously married to the Samsung prince.

After the news came out, there was a huge discussion online. The people of the peninsula themselves are both disgusted with and curious about chaebols. As a standard chaebol daughter, Lin Shi-ling's relationship with actor Lee Jung-jae naturally attracted a lot of attention.

Some people online also left messages expressing concern, fearing that the Samsung heir might be enraged and send assassins to kill Lee Jung-jae.

This kind of thing is very likely to happen in a TV drama, but it's a bit hard to predict in real life.

"Hahaha… he shouldn't be angry, right He wasn't just finding out about this now. If he was going to be mad, he should have been already…" Hearing this, Chi Jingyuan couldn't hold back his laughter and shook his head, helping Kim Jong-dae straighten out his logic.

That's not necessarily true. Maybe they were able to bear it before the exposure, but now that it's out in the open, things have just gotten worse

I think it's…

Several people were gossiping about the affairs of the Samsung heir during their free time, chatting animatedly. They even discussed in detail the true reasons behind their divorce and what kind of relationship Lee Jung-jae and the prince currently had, including how they should address each other when they met.

Chi Jingyuan felt that if the Crown Prince heard this, he probably wouldn't be too angry with Lee Jung-jae. Instead, he might send assassins to deal with all of you gossiping men.

Although Chi Jingyuan himself participated as well.

Although the recent couple exposed by D社 caused quite a stir, they were still a bit removed from EXO. Ji-sung felt that this year's news wasn't as explosive as last year's reveal of IU and Lee Sung-gi. That was truly a nationwide sensation, even EXO members were glued to their phones, constantly refreshing the feeds, it was quite the online frenzy.

It's a shame, if only it was still Unnie this year…

After chatting for a while, they continued their practice. As dinner time approached, Lee Seunghwan arrived at the practice room, standing on the side watching the members finish this round of dance, then beckoned them over and explained something.

"After you go back these two days, remember to clean up a bit. First, sort out everything that belongs to you. In two days, the company will send someone to help you pack your belongings. We're moving dorms."

"Are you home"

"Ooh ooh ooh…"

As soon as they heard the news, the members immediately got excited, sweating and dancing with glee. Kim Jong-dae and Baekhyun were mimicking a gorilla's voice, shouting non-stop, like they were crazy.

EXO's current dormitory has been lived in since before their debut. After the popularity of "Growl" in 2013, when sasaeng fans found out where they lived, they talked about moving. However, there was no news about it after that, and it wasn't until mid-2014 that they brought it up again, but nothing came of it until the end of the year. This time, in 2015, it seems like they are finally going to follow through.

Dormitories are places that directly affect the quality of their lives. Although they have lived in the current dormitories for over two years and have some attachment to them, if they had a choice, everyone would definitely want to live in bigger and better ones.

"Bro, when are you changing These two days" Park Chan-hyeok asked at the right time.

"It's not recent, these past few days you guys should first pack everything up, moving is probably going to have to wait until after Chinese New Year."

"Where is that new apartment complex located, and how big is it" Kim Jun-Myeon asked the question everyone was most curious about.

“As for that…” Lee Seong-hwan smiled cryptically, then burst into laughter and gave a thumbs up. “The new dormitory is in Cheongdam-dong. I checked it out the other day. It’s really spacious, maybe three to four hundred pyeong. The company has already prepared all kinds of electrical appliances for you…”

And the location is great too, it's in Jiangnan District and very close to the company's new office building, so commuting will be very convenient in the future.

"Go!"

"Oh..."

This message is really great because the practice wasn't going well, and after a tiring day, my mood suddenly improved a lot. A few people cheered up too.

"A new office building The one in Sanchong" Ji Jingyuan chimed in, "Brother, when will the company move into the new building"

"Although the building has already been constructed, this still depends on what the company says later. It will probably take a few months." Li Chenghuan said he was also unsure.

Looking around at the excited members, he also smiled and patted his hands together: "Okay, stop fooling around. We changed dorms because our XO is gaining more and more status in the company. Our old dorm no longer matches our current position. This is all thanks to our hard work step by step... You all know how important this comeback is for us. Keep working hard, fight!"

Nine people raised their hands and gave each other a high five.

"Fight!"

…………

As the year drew to a close and the new year arrived, Chi Jingyuan's personal activities also decreased. He focused most of his energy on preparing for his new album.

However, besides practicing dance at the company these two days, he also specifically set aside fixed time to attend driving lessons. His older brother, Chi Jingxu, arranged a school for him and found an experienced instructor for one-on-one guidance. He would go over every afternoon to practice.

It's very quick to get the 2 types of driver's licenses for private cars on the peninsula. If you already know how to drive, you could get your license in a day if it was just an exam. Even if you're just average, not too stupid, you should be able to get it within a week.

Although it's quite convenient to have Park Jin as a driver every time he goes out, and there's no worry about any risks of exposure, honestly, sometimes it's still a bit inconvenient having someone else present during private appointments like dates. Jiyeong has wanted to learn how to drive for a long time, but last year he just couldn't find the time. Fortunately, with fewer activities at the beginning of this year, he took this opportunity to start driving lessons.

Following the celebrity couple's New Year's Day controversy, another scandal involving a well-known artist has surfaced these past two days. Popular actor and singer Zhang Geon-suk, once known as the "Asian Prince," has faced constant backlash and attacks from netizens, leading to significant setbacks in his acting career. Many brand partnerships have been dissolved, and today he officially announced his decision to withdraw from "Three Meals a Day," a highly popular reality show currently being filmed.

He has been embroiled in a tax evasion scandal since last year. In July 2014, media reports alleged his involvement in another massive tax evasion scheme. Despite multiple attempts by him and his management company to explain and clarify the situation, and even proactively making up for the taxes, the negative impact persists to this day.

Even though the tax bureau's investigation showed that the tax evasion was not due to intentional accounting errors, and therefore no criminal charges were filed, his business suffered greatly, and his reputation plummeted.

Jang Geun Suk became extremely popular a few years ago after starring in several hit television dramas consecutively. He was even called "the Asian Prince". Many of his dramas are still widely known today, such as "Beethoven Virus", "Fast Sword Hong Gil Dong", and "You're Beautiful". His career path has been very successful, and among male solo artists, he is considered one of the most successful.

But ever since he and senior YoonA filmed "Love Rain," his upward trajectory suddenly took a 90-degree turn. The hot momentum he had before was abruptly halted.

After starring in two timeless masterpieces, "Love Rain" with Lee Yeon Hee and IU's "Pretty Man," she took a year off from acting.

Then he was exposed for tax evasion.

Zhang Gensen's last two drama partners, one went to mainland China to film and became beautiful, the other had a booming career, but he seemed to be cursed with bad luck in everything. He always felt that his fortune was being sucked away by some magical power.

Besides the recent hot topics, what has caused the most discussion today is a notice just released online.

The Jeju National Tax Service recently released the 2014 National Tax Statistics Yearbook, which provides detailed statistical data on the average income of Korean celebrity artists. According to the yearbook, the average income of entertainers in Korea last year was 47.64 million won, not much higher than the average annual income of 37 million won for ordinary office workers on the peninsula.

After the message came out, many people expressed that the income level of celebrities was really beyond their expectations, surprisingly low.

"I used to think that the life of a celebrity was just like in Korean dramas, but I didn't expect there to be such a big difference."

"Earning 40 million Korean won a year is considered quite ordinary, I wonder why there are so many children in our country who rush to become trainees..."

“And that's the average income after. Last year, the top three earners in the entertainment industry ranking were Kim Soo-hyun, Park Seo-joon, and Jeon Ji-hyun, all of whom earned hundreds of billions. Averaging them out is just over 40 million. So how low is the income of bottom-tier entertainers…”

I heard that there are many idol groups who have debuted for years but still can't get their share of the company's profits. They live in basements and have to work part-time jobs, relying on their families to make ends meet.

"That's not quite right. The income of an industry should be looked at both in terms of the average and the top earners. Top-tier celebrities earn far more than that. Take Chi Jingyuan, for example, he earned hundreds of billions in just two years after his debut. Do you know what that concept means How many years would a salaryman have to work to earn what he earns in a year If an artist does well, they actually have a promising future."

"Can you be a little more realistic Someone like Ji Seong is once-in-a-generation talent. Even in a top group like EXO, he stands out as an unparalleled idol. Is that really something to use as an example Come on, get real."

Because of this report, there has been a lot of discussion online about the income of idol artists. The true income of celebrities is now clearly presented to everyone.

Through all the recent news, many people have realized that even among celebrities, the gap in income can be much larger than between ordinary people. Top-tier stars earn hundreds of billions a year, while those without popularity don't even have their names known by anyone. They quietly operate for a few days and then disband without making a single dollar.

The entertainment industry may look glamorous, but that's only true for the successful few.

I can only say that none of the lines are easy to do.

"None of these lines are easy to do..." Chi Jingyuan sat in the back row of the nanny car, looking at the heated online discussions about idol income, and couldn't help but sigh.

He just finished practicing his car skills and Park Jae-hyun, who has been waiting nearby, picked him up. They are now heading to have a meal before returning to the company to practice dancing.

"If Jingyuan is considered bad, then there won't be any idols left in this line of work." Park Jae-hyun, who was driving, couldn't help but chuckle at his pretense. He looked at the rearview mirror and said helplessly.

"Well, I guess so..." Ji Jingyuan looked at his phone and pursed his lips, feeling that Park Bo-gyeom's words made sense.

"By the way, I contacted an ad endorsement a while ago. I put the materials in the back seat. Shooting will start in a few days, you can take a look."

Bok pointed at something beside him, and while he was talking, Ji Jingyuan nodded and picked up a file bag next to him. He took out the materials inside and spread them out to read them.

"Sasonite, the New Shining One"

"Yes, "Sasonite". They signed with Kim Soo-hyun and the Hong Kong artist Beibei last year, but their contracts have expired and they won't be renewing. This time, the brand chose you because of your image and popularity. The endorsement contract is almost finalized."

Park Jaehyun nodded and gave a simple explanation: "This time it's the 'Sasonite' RED series, which is a brand of extremely popular business casual bags. A series of promotional advertisements will be filmed."

"The trainee" Ji Jingyuan was a little surprised by what the document showed.

"Yeah, the people they selected from the advertising agency to work with you are a YG trainee who hasn't officially debuted yet. Apparently, they were strongly pushed by YG itself. But to receive this case, her family must have some connections... I've seen her information, although she hasn't debuted, she has already filmed many advertisements before, so she's not exactly a pure rookie..."

Pu Zhixian pondered for a moment before tentatively asking, "But I still feel that with your current popularity and influence, collaborating with a newcomer wouldn't be very suitable. However, the main thing is to see Jingyuan's opinion. If you're not happy, I'll go communicate with the advertising agency."

Chi Jingyuan looked at the photo of the trainee attached to the data, always feeling a little familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.

After thinking for a long time, he really couldn't remember. It seemed he hadn't left too deep an impression on him. Chi Jingyuan put the data aside, leaned back in his chair and looked out the window, tilting his head and casually replied:

Never mind.

First release on the繁體小說網official Korean version on YouTube has exceeded 2.7 million views in a day, the Chinese version has reached 1.5 million views.The number of clicks for the title song is noticeably lower than that of t...