Chapter Ninety There are still twelve minutes left

t up as he took out his phone and played it.A familiar chorus of tropical rainforest bird calls, followed by a strangely pungent prelude from ginger and chili peppers, the word "Bang!" ignited the pas..."How is it going now"

In the office of YG company's president, a small briefing meeting was currently underway. President Yang Hyun Suk was attentively listening to reports from various departments regarding their preparations for Big Bang's comeback.

After 2NE1's disbandment, YG Entertainment fell into some problems. Last year, the rookie boy group NER debuted with surprisingly good results, but for unknown reasons, YG didn't let NER capitalize on their momentum and continue releasing songs to solidify their popularity. Instead of any comeback plans this entire year, they only held a few fan meetings and small-scale tours.

Another new boy group is preparing to debut, and the company's current revenue pillar still relies on Big Bang, who debuted almost ten years ago.

The longer their debut time, the higher their seniority and status naturally become. However, this isn't all for the better. After so many years since their debut, the five members of Big Bang have changed drastically compared to their past selves. Due to individual maturity and expanding networks, the group has become very difficult to manage, often requiring the company to clean up their messes. Some even have minds no longer focused on idol work.

However, yg has no choice. The pillar can't fall, especially now. Both yg and s, to a certain extent, have already been set up. These two top male groups, new and old, whoever loses in this direct confrontation, losing face is actually a small matter. Not to mention the resources invested previously going down the drain. The series of chain reactions brought about will seriously affect the group's image status and the company's massive revenue.

Moreover, YG's highly confident comeback of BIGBANG in May only ended up neck and neck with EXO, leaving Yang Hyun Suk quite disappointed. Now, with even more resources invested, he expects this June comeback to be a definite victory in the final battle.

“Besides the television station, we have already invested a lot of resources in publicity, including music advertisements on video websites, homepage promotion on audio sources websites, and after the release of the audio and video, there will also be a large number of relevant press releases from the media…”

We also notified and organized several large-scale fan clubs for bigbang to carry out planned organizational rankings...

"Meanwhile, a lot of pre-heating was also done on the Xia Guo side. The large-scale promotion on the Penguin Music homepage has already started to take effect, and through cooperative companies, several mainstream social media platforms have purchased the top spot for three consecutive days. After three days, there will be another week of continuous keyword and category hot searches, all ranked in the most prominent position at the top of the rankings."

All parties have invested a great deal of resources and are fully prepared.

The head of the publicity department stood up, holding the materials in his hand. He began to report with ease and familiarity. His words were clear and concise, following the rules meticulously, just like a company elite.

"Hmm..." Yang Xianxu didn't seem too happy. He lightly tapped his head with a black baseball cap, "What's the market feedback"

"This time's heat is very high, the discussion, search, and related data such as keywords are all higher than the return of this in May. It has been in the top rankings of entertainment headlines for a week. According to our statistics and analysis, due to the great success of 《》, it has increased the enthusiasm of fans and passers-by. Over 89% of the surveyed listeners said that they have more expectations for this 《a》."

However, after increasing investment, the pre-sale side did not see a significant increase but instead had a slight decline. As of today, the 29th, it reached 60,000 tickets, and it is expected to reach 70,000 before the official launch.

Following the usual practice in the United States, releasing a string of singles can lead to listener fatigue. Typically, the first album enjoys the highest sales, followed by a gradual decline. According to market analysis, this is considered normal data fluctuation. Additionally, factors such as the limited number of songs and simpler arrangements on single albums contribute to lower consumer appeal. Domestic audiences generally prefer purchasing full-length albums with meticulous production and a wider selection of tracks.

Moreover, the promotion in Xia Guo has also been very effective. On Penguin Music, over one million people pre-ordered the new song "a" within a day.

"...Yang Xiueshuo also had a copy of the same document in front of him. He listened and read at the same time. After the head's voice fell, he remained silent for a moment before speaking again: "What about over there"

He didn't say names, but several people in the office knew he was talking about S and EXO.

Although there are no precise figures, based on relevant feedback, s has also put in a lot of effort and resources in all aspects, and due to the large size and high popularity of EXO's fan base, their heat is not inferior to ours.

"Where's the data"

As of today, EXO's fourth EP "l" has reached 590,000 pre-orders, surpassing the final sales figures of their previous releases "x" and "o". It is projected to match the first release "e".

"So, these four singles albums together have sold over two million copies" Hearing this number, Yang Xian-shuo directly interrupted the report. His face under the brim of his hat twitched, his brow furrowed in a mix of surprise and bewilderment.

"The head of the department first responded with a sound, then flipped through the documents in his hand, hesitated for a moment, and then lowered his voice: "Including this time's pre-sale of 《l》, the current accurate number is 2.24 million."

"Oh my god, these stupid fans have gone crazy! They're willing to give up their lives for this album Did the physical album from 15 years ago sell seven million copies"

With a few forceful taps of his finger on the table, Yang Xian-shuo appeared quite displeased.

They are just some young idols with no particular features. Their music style is also very ordinary. Under the company's management, they have no personal characteristics at all, and they can be produced like products on an assembly line.

It's just that they might be a bit better looking, and some members are quite talented. What makes fans go crazy for them like this They seem completely unaffected by the overall market trend. Their sales figures are always in another league compared to everyone else, and even their public image has improved a lot lately.

It must be that he watered it down himself....

After spending several dozen seconds suppressing the agitated emotions churning within him, Yang Xian-shuo raised his chin and gestured for the other party to continue.

** also made relevant layouts and promotions in China. Although EXO has stopped activities, due to its deep cultivation of the Chinese market over the years, the sales performance of their recent comebacks has shown an increasing trend. At the same time, the pre-order for digital singles on QQ Music reached 940,000.

"Both sides are currently similar in terms of heat, discussion, and audience reach, so it ultimately boils down to the quality of the music. We've already gotten our hands on EXO's new album through stores that carry pre-orders, listened to the original main track, and done some analysis."

“This time EXO's title song is still a relatively ordinary dance track, but there have been some changes in the musical style. Coupled with the lyrics having some interaction and gratitude towards fans, we think that the acceptance level of ordinary listeners shouldn't be very high. The shooting location for V was also relatively simple. Overall, it still has a certain gap compared to 《bangbangbang》.”

"Is that so."

As for the elites of his own company, Yang Hyun Suk still believed in them. This time, YG's top management was very confident in Big Bang's "A," and hearing their words gave him even more reassurance.

"Continue with the preparations, at least keep the momentum high for the first week. Sales... forget about it, the digital release has to showcase our strengths, if we don't get number one, it's a failure."

After discussing other matters further, Yang Xueshuo finally summarized. Then, he suddenly remembered something:

"Exo's new album, give it to me a little later so I can listen to it."

"Yes!"

……

After both groups released their teasers, the battle between the company and fans began. In a short time, things went back to how they were at the end of April and early May. Every forum was flooded with news about the two boy bands, with all sorts of discussion threads, analysis posts, language posts popping up everywhere. There were even already completed performance score reports.

After the first round of competition and with the company increasing its investment, this time around, the hype and buzz are noticeably higher than before. Some people who were unaware of the situation after browsing several forums only felt that at the moment, Kpop was left with only EXO and BigBang as the two male groups.

Even though MingMing hasn't officially returned yet, the popularity and discussion space of other groups that debuted around the same time have been significantly squeezed. Even shee and kara, popular groups who recently released new songs and are currently in the midst of a promotional period, haven't escaped this phenomenon. The public's attention has been completely captured by the first and second place contenders, leaving little room for these other groups to shine. Fans of some of these groups are even starting to lose hope.

Two days flew by. On the afternoon of the 29th, in the C resting room backstage at KBS's Music Bank.

"What are you looking at"

After a short rest and waking up, Ji Changwook blinked a few times before coming back to his senses. He noticed that Pei Zhuxuan, sitting beside him, had been staring intently at him with her eyes, her gaze seeming fixed on the top of his head. He rubbed his slightly red eyes and turned his head to ask.

Although the hype and excitement have already reached fever pitch, the company and members place great importance on this comeback. However, before June arrives, EXO still has important concert schedules to attend to. After releasing the second version of the teaser on the 28th, the entire EXO group boarded a plane to Shanghai, China, participating in several interview activities while simultaneously conducting rehearsals at the venue.

But due to his personal schedule, Ji-seong flew back to Seoul alone with his manager after spending a day in Shanghai. After participating in promotions for two brands, he arrived at KBS to record Music Bank.

After finishing the recording today, he had to fly overnight to Shanghai. The teacher said that traveling back and forth by plane as a "flying person" was really tiring, especially for someone with a fear of heights like him. Fortunately, the journey between the two cities was only two hours, which allowed him to catch his breath.

Just after finishing the script rehearsal, Tai Jingyuan took a short nap. He just woke up not long ago.

"I wonder what your blue hair would look like up close." Bae Joohyun looked at him with a smile in her eyes, clearly curious.

She clearly watched the trailer for "boywithv" and her eyes now showed a very strong interest in Ji-yeong, the blue-haired boy.

"Oh, it's alright, I guess."

"To..."

Qi Jingyuan sighed when he heard this, got up from the sofa while saying so, and handed back the sleep mask that Pei Zhuxuan had just taken out of her bag and personally put on his neck.

It's a light pink floral lace design that gives off a very feminine vibe. The soft eye mask lifts slightly, brushing against the bridge of the nose, releasing a fresh and alluring fragrance. Even seconds later, there's still a lingering scent in the air.

"Just okay You don't seem to like this hair color very much." After taking the eye mask, she folded it neatly and put it into the bag beside her. At the same time, she glanced at him curiously: "Now there are a lot of your fans online discussing XO's latest teaser and comeback, especially the second teaser. Your glance at the end is particularly popular, even fewer people are scolding me..."

She was clearly very displeased with Alice, even in private chats she would occasionally throw a jab at her.

"I think it's just so-so..."

For this hair color to make fans so excited, even Ci Jingyuan was a little puzzled. He felt it wasn't as good-looking as the smoky gray from last time.

"By the way, would you like to listen first I have a sound source on my phone." Saying that, Ji Jingyuan picked up the phone beside him and shook it.

"Hmm... No!"

After briefly considering, Bae Suzy softly refused: "It's more interesting to watch it myself when the time comes."

"Alright." Seeing her interest, Ji Jingyuan chuckled softly and waved his hand casually. He just spoke off the cuff.

"However, I think the blue-haired shot of you in the trailer was really cool."

As she spoke, Pei Zhuxuan's gaze shifted upwards, her eyes twinkling with a hint of light as she smiled warmly and generously at him.

That shot wasn't finished, there's a little bit more at the end.

"What... Don't tell me I have to go see it myself... But wouldn't you want to dye your hair blue next time you record a program"

"What a pain! Dream on!"

"Just dye it a little..."

Despite being a senior by a year, born in 1991, she insisted on acting like a little girl, putting on airs of cuteness. She gently swayed her arm while lightly touching Chi Jingyuan's arm, and blinked her big eyes at him incessantly.

Well, now~

…………

EXO's second tour's first mainland China performance was held at the Mercedes-Benz Culture Center in Shanghai on the 30th and 31st, with nearly 30,000 audience members attending both shows. The atmosphere of the entire venue was completely heated up, not losing to the explosive atmosphere created by fans at the Seoul stop.

This is the first time EXO has held a concert in mainland China since all members of the group left last summer. Due to the turmoil during that period, the fan base split and turned on each other, leading to the group's suspension of activities and several other reasons, which made ** Entertainment and the co-organizing company slightly worried about EXO's popularity in China right now, fearing that the venue might be too large and the tickets might not sell out.

So, both shows in this magic city didn't open up the entire venue. For a full capacity of 18,000 people, only over 14,000 seats were available.

It was a delightful surprise for the company, though there was a tinge of regret. Their worries were completely unfounded. Unlike fans on the peninsula, mainland fans, while engaging in various support activities like cheering boards and chart-topping, had significantly fewer opportunities to see their idols in person. Fans here could only catch glimpses of Ji-Seong and the others online, and they were eagerly looking forward to a chance encounter.

The ticket window was sold out in less than a second as soon as it opened. Some people just hesitated for a moment and missed their chance to buy tickets.

Among the crowd, a number of front row positions were bought up by scalpers who obtained tickets from unknown sources and inflated their prices to ten or even twenty times their original value. However, many fans were still willing to buy them.

It must be true love.

In addition, it is worth mentioning that a number of star artists attended both performances, and some even came to the backstage through connections to take photos with EXO.

The past two years have seen K-pop flourish significantly in mainland China. The Hallyu wave, encompassing Korean dramas and entertainment, has also swept across Southeast Asia. This has led to widespread admiration for K-pop stars among many people in mainland China, including celebrities.

Of course, the focus is on the top few. The Lakers are ignored.

Among them, Big Bang and EXO are the most popular. In the past few years, Big Bang has attracted a large number of celebrity fans in mainland China thanks to its unique music style and GD's unconventional fashion sense. In recent years, EXO has emerged as a strong contender, with its massive fan base bringing unprecedented exposure, catching up quickly. Additionally, Park Seo-joon, through his role in "The Heirs" and various appearances on variety shows and endorsements, has also gained many celebrity fans. Similar to GD for Big Bang, Park Seo-joon is the most popular member among EXO.

Among them, a treasure artist from Hong Kong Island was the most enthusiastic. She even publicly confessed to being a loyal fan of Park Ji-sung on the show. Not only did she cheer for EXO on Weibo multiple times, but she also posted photos of her purchased albums and autographs. This time at the concert, she specially went backstage through the organizer and took a happy picture with Park Ji-sung and a few others.

Actually, some people don't really like Kpop that much. They just say they do because it's popular and trendy. It's all about creating a persona and showing off their coolness. This way, they can win over fans and get some exposure.

But whether or not they were true fans, since people were giving him so much face, Chi Jingyuan naturally also sincerely expressed his gratitude and was flattered.

The concert was held for two days, and even though the music video and audio would be released at midnight on the 31st, EXO still performed in Shanghai on that day. Fortunately, there were no music shows or important events scheduled for the first few days of June. Their debut stage was set for June 4th on the show "!", so they didn't have to rush. They just needed to return before June 2nd to conduct promotions and record some programs.

While Pyo Ji-won and EXO are busy preparing for their concert and comeback stage, some people who know them well have started discussing the current online buzz and immense popularity among themselves in private.

"Who do you think will win"

In the practice room of one of the groups on the third floor of JYP in the show "SIXTEEN," Park Jihyo, showing great interest, asked GOT7's two members JB and BamBam who had dropped by.

The members of are a little more relaxed lately than before. Because the show's production team is taking into account the audience feedback after the airing, and the popularity of each trainee affects how their roles are designed, as well as the editing and trimming of camera shots, so the filming schedule has slowed down a lot. Previously, with preparation and practice time included, they filmed an episode every week. Now, even after this long, they still haven't filmed the next episode. They spend every day taking various classes and practicing to improve themselves.

And just after I finished practicing this afternoon and was resting there, JB and Baba came over to say hello. This kind of visit is quite common. Basically, since many people in GOT7 and "Sixteen" knew each other during their trainee days, they had collaborated many times during the monthly exams. Even more so now that they have debuted as seniors, it's natural for them to maintain their relationships. A lot of people are willing to do so if they have a chance.

Nayeon, Tzuyu and a few others were laughing and chatting at the door. Tzuyu, not being as familiar with them, just greeted them before sitting down and listening intently.

After a casual chat about their recent happenings, the group naturally drifted towards the hottest topic in the K-pop scene these days. And the biggest buzz this past week was undoubtedly the upcoming comebacks of EXO and BigBang, which were causing a frenzy both online and offline. As soon as the topic came up, the girls' interest piqued instantly. Park Jihyo jumped right in with a question.

After all, they are still trainees. Even though they are considered insiders, they don't understand many things clearly. It's like baba, those who have debuted have come into contact with more people and should know a lot more.

In comparison to the female idols’ curiosity and enthusiasm, the two male idols seemed somewhat disengaged when discussing this topic. They didn't appear very interested and paid little attention to who won or lost between the two boy groups.

They aren't women, interested in male idols. They are the same gender and both members of a boy idol group. Seeing the popularity of others explode, with widespread discussion, while their own group is struggling—they have been steadily underwhelming since debut, and haven't had a comeback in over half a year—it's strange if they can stay calm about it.

Though they felt a bit annoyed inside, the two still had to put on a facade when faced with several beautiful girls looking at them with eager expressions.

"I think it's probably Big Bang, they have so many casual listeners and their sound quality is really good. You'll know after you debut, sound source is really important…" jb thought about it for a short moment before stating his judgement.

"But Xo's sound sources are pretty good too, no matter 'callbaby', 'Spring Day' or 'Aiming Sniper', the sound source results are all excellent." Yu Dingyan retorted softly, then gave a shy smile to Lin Na Yeon who was looking over reflexively.

"Exo... is okay, I guess, but they're still a bit behind Big Bang. They rely more on their fans, and their fans are seriously huge and crazy."

"I haven't really been exposed to bigbang… But I'm not a big fan of exo." At this point, baba chimed in with a couple of comments.

"Why" Several girls immediately looked over, their eyes filled with curiosity from Baba's tone. There was a hint of gossip and intrigue in his words, the kind of thing that always piqued their interest.

Because of Jealousy

"I think they're a bit arrogant. Sometimes when fans meet them backstage, they just give a quick nod as a greeting. After all, they're incredibly popular, so it's understandable."

He certainly couldn't say his true thoughts. After rolling his eyes, he glanced nonchalantly at Lim Na-yeon on his left and immediately put on the airs of a senior idol. He casually mentioned an encounter with EXO backstage, and finally added, "Especially the maknae Yuan, EXO's most popular member is him, but he's also the most annoying... I remember several times when I went to their resting room to greet them, he was lying on the couch playing video games and completely ignored me. He didn't even look at me…"

"Don't be fooled by his always sunny smile, it's all for show. Many of his close friends have told me he's actually quite difficult to get close to in private... And I feel like every time he smiles, there's something else behind it, like he looks down on you."

"Ah, jjia" Minazuki Shizuka didn't speak, she just listened. However, Yu Dingyan and Park Ji-hyo and the others were quite interested, exclaiming in surprise, or starting to ask questions, believing or not believing what they heard.

While Im Na-yeon's eyes lit up, she blinked and immediately agreed, "Wow, do you feel the same way too"

“...”

Whether it's true or not, this kind of insider secret can pique people's interest, and the discussion heats up immediately.

Zhou Tzuyu, who had been sitting beside him, quietly glanced at him with a slanted eye when she heard Baba's words. Then she quickly turned back to look at the floor in front of her, and at the same time, her lips curled up slightly.

Well, I don't even know who Chi Jingyuan is.

She was slightly annoyed and drew a few lines on the ground with her hand, as if that could somehow shut that noisy male idol up.

Suddenly, she remembered a conversation she had once had with Chi Jingyuan about appearance and jealousy. She recalled what Chi Jingyuan had said at the time:

Especially within the industry, many male and female artists harbor the greatest hostility towards their peers of the same sex who are exceptionally good-looking. This is even more true for those with higher popularity. This is because envy and jealousy are at play, while they show the greatest tolerance towards those who are less attractive and less popular than themselves. This is simply to elevate themselves and seek comfort in numbers.

"How do you know"

"Because I am very lenient with you..."

"

You... are disgusting.

"

Remembering a casual chat from before, Zhou Tzuyu blinked unconsciously and looked up at the person still arranging the pool scenery with Kris and Baekhyun. Seeing that he was probably wearing full makeup especially for visiting, covering most of his forehead and half of his eyes, and occasionally shaking his fringe back and forth on purpose, she let out a soft hum in her heart and smiled down.

……

By a little past eleven at night, several girls who had just returned to the dorm and finished queuing up to wash up were sitting on the sofa expectantly, with their legs crossed and phones in hand, tapping away.

Yu Dingyan glanced at his watch.

"There are still twelve minutes."

Original Novel Release at https://www.fanyinuxiaoshuo.comim, rolled his eyes and said in an irritated tone: “If you don’t want to eat bibimbap, why don't you go with Jinwoo and the others to eat pizza”"Forget it," Park Chan-hyeok sighed, remembering that he...