Chapter Twenty: Obtain Another One to Tell

nt to delve into it.The figure of the little girl who stood out from the crowd and radiated loneliness in front of JYP's building before flashed before my eyes.She is alone outside and doesn't know th..."I went to that store a few times these past two days. EXO's album sold the best, and they usually give posters when you buy an album there. But sometimes when I go, the EXO posters are already gone..."

“It’s a pity that this version of 《e》 doesn't have individual photocards, otherwise I think it would sell even better. I see many fans on s's official website asking why there aren't more versions released, like popular members like Yuan, Chanle, and Sehun. Especially Yuan, their fans actually want to buy individual cards.”

Actually, a lot of XO's old fans were wavering this time because of last year's incident, including many friends I know who didn't buy the pre-sale due to some disappointment or worry. However, most people have already come back to the fandom and started frantically moving their albums all these days. They all came back after watching the *e* video and stage performances.

Listening attentively to her classmate Kim Hwi-me's enthusiastic explanation of EXO, Lee Yoon-jeon nodded in understanding from time to time.

As a new EXO fan, she is very curious about everything her idol does.

Lee Yun-jeon is a high school senior at a nearby girls' school. Although she, like others, has always been interested in Kpop, she had her own bias and didn't feel much about EXO, which became popular throughout the peninsula over the past two years. Even when her close friend, Kim Hye-mi, a senior fan who got into EXO since "Growl" era, recommended it countless times, she remained unmoved. Even though she admitted that EXO was indeed very popular and that each member had an amazing face value, she just lacked the feeling to immerse herself in it.

Later, EXO had some problems. First, there were rumors about relationships, and then members left one after another. Naturally, she stopped being a fan. Even her loyal fan, Kim Hwi-mi, almost quit because of the members leaving. She was shaken for a while. It wasn't until she listened to their winter single "Let it Flow" released at the end of last year that she regained her resolve and continued to be a fan. However, after that, she didn't really recommend them to her good friend Lee Yun-jin anymore.

...Just the other day, EXO made a comeback with their debut album. The response to their title track after its release online was very positive. Kim Hwi-mi seemed to have come back to life and excitedly started recommending it to me. With a mindset of showing face to her close friend and also wanting to see the excitement, Lee Yoon-jeon casually watched EXO's first stage performance on "Inkigayo"...

Then I came to buy it today.

I don't know why, but even though EXO's hit songs from before were so popular, whether it was "Growl," "Overdose," or even their peak straight-up hit "Dope," Lee Junho has seen them and admitted they're cool, but he just doesn't feel anything.

However, this time, after watching the initial stage of "callbaby" and seeing Ji Jingyuan sitting on a gray-haired sofa, she suddenly felt her heart pounding, and her whole mind was trembling uncontrollably.

"What 'falling into a rabbit hole in one second' refers to is this feeling."

When this feeling arises, climbing walls becomes perfectly natural.

She really likes the song "Callbaby". The melody, lyrics, and choreography of the whole song all highlight a strong sense of fashion. Not only does it appeal to her because of Ji Jingyuan, who she got into the group for, but the styling of the other members also hits her spot.

Today, just happened to have time, the two of them went to the nearest record store near the school to buy a special.

“Why doesn’t S sell single copies Wouldn't it be better if there were several versions available to increase sales” Li Yunzhen asked curiously after hearing her friend’s introduction.

Kim Hwi-mee obviously has better access to information. Without much thought, she casually said: "According to the analysis of Unnie from the fan club, it's probably for the regular 2nd album, which will be released in a four-part compilation. Maybe s is afraid that releasing too many singles and albums before the most important regular 2nd album could affect its sales, so they're holding back the individual single releases and keeping fans on their toes until the release of the regular 2nd album. Once it's released, there will definitely be many different versions."

"That's right, actually I really want to buy yuan's sealed album..."

As the two chatted, they soon arrived at their destination: a physical record store called oltrack.

This record store is located next to Longshan MRT Station, on the 6th floor of Illparkall Mid-Bridge Bookstore. It mainly focuses on online sales, so the physical store isn't very large, but it's not small either. Occasionally, some television variety shows will film here. I heard that even Girls' Generation's Seo Hyun and Jung Yong Hwa (Red Sweet Potato Couple) have filmed here before, so it has a certain reputation among fans.

However, the main reason Li Yunzhen and the others came here was because it was the closest.

Just got to the sixth floor, and a huge EXO nine-member poster was hung on the signboard at the entrance. Many people around couldn't help but stop and watch it.

This record store is quite popular with plenty of customers coming and going, making for a lively atmosphere.

"This time, they finally have a bit of conscience. The group's single album "e" has a pretty good configuration, and everything is done quite delicately. The main thing is that the members' photocards are all very well taken this time."

Walking into the music store, both Kim Hwi-mi and Lee Un-jeon were familiar with the place as they headed straight for the Kpop album section. As they walked, Kim Hwi-mi introduced the place to her friend while also unable to help but smack her lips:

“This time in the 《e》 album, yuan has a super cool card, it's the one with his ash-blonde hair style. I saw someone in the fan club who got it, it's really so handsome! Yesterday I checked and the price of this card has skyrocketed. Ai xi doesn't know if s intentionally reduced the number of cards included for that specific version. I bought 10 albums but didn't get it… yuan's other cards are actually pretty good too, but the hair colors are all original colors, only this one is from his ash-blonde hairstyle in this comeback v. It's really eye-catching and has a lot of collectible value.”

Besides Yuan's expensive card, the other ones that look better are from ChanYeol and Sehun, but they aren't as hyped up in price...

"Oh my, I really, really, really want that grey hair card..."

In Kim Hye-mi's heartfelt and envious recounting, the two walked to the best counter of the audio-visual store.

Here are the top 10 best-selling albums, ranked from highest to lowest sales.

The most eye-catching position, the top two albums at first glance look exactly the same logo, only the colors are different, respectively, is EXO's single album "E" Korean and Chinese version.

Down below, you can still see albums from groups like VIXX, SHINee, and 4Minute. These are all recently returned groups with high popularity.

At this time, there were still quite a few people in front of the best counter. Eight or nine people gathered around looking at something. Under everyone's gaze, a pretty girl with long, straight black hair suddenly strode from behind to the shelf and directly reached out to grab a large handful of the Korean version of 'e'. Afterwards, she struggled to bring it back and counted them in her hand, discovering that she was still short by a few. She then reached out again to take three more, recounted them again to make a whole number, and a happy smile appeared on her face. Satisfied, she squeezed out of the crowd and walked towards the cashier.

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"This is Alice, isn't it"

Li Yunzhen personally witnessed the girl's buying process, and couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

Currently, the physical album market in the K-Pop industry is really not doing well. Most groups can't even sell a decent amount of albums. Not to mention girl groups, male groups with physical album sales reaching 100,000 units could be considered top-tier.

It's like many EXO fans buy five or ten albums at once, which is really uncommon among other groups' fandoms.

Just like Lee Eun-jin herself, back when she was in a different group, she used to buy albums one by one. Seeing this female Alice now, she really feels inadequate.

The two people watched for a while, then Lee Yun-jeon walked forward and took a Korean version of "e" from the shelf.

"Just take one..."

She still doesn't like buying a lot of things at once. And even though singles albums aren't expensive, as a student with no income, the financial pressure of buying many albums at once is still quite high.

Li Yunzhen is also preparing to save money to buy the sequels 《x》, 《o》, 《l》, and the regular album.

"One ticket is enough, actually. Many girls aren't from wealthy families. Like me, and the girl who just spoke, I think we both saved for a very long time to buy this many. After all, XO didn't release a winter collection last year, so the money we saved wasn't spent."

Kim Hwi-mee, as if fearing her relatives' embarrassment, proactively smoothed things over and added at the end, "But she might also just be trying to get a small card..."

"..."

Li Yunzhen and she looked at each other and smiled, then they strolled around for a few more laps before going to the cashier to pay.

At this time, quite a few people were buying albums, and the two cashiers were overwhelmed. It took quite a while for their turn to come.

“You will get a poster of XO, which member do you want You can also choose the group one.” The cashier scanned the barcode and smiled, pointing to the side where there were several large containers full of rolled-up posters. On the back wall, some of the most popular artist photos were also pasted.

"Do you have yuan I need yuan." Lee Yoon-jeon didn't hesitate and spoke directly.

"Sorry, yuan's personal poster is out of stock today, it's estimated that it will be available later." The cashier apologized with a smile, and said apologetically very skillfully. Looking at him, it seemed like he had said this countless times today.

Then… a group one.

"Okay."

"Good to see you."

As soon as the payment was made, when Li Yunzhen and the other person were about to leave with their bags, a rather piercing scream suddenly came from the front. Although it wasn't pleasant to hear, it was clearly filled with surprise and excitement.

"Ahhh, I got it!"

The sound instantly drew the attention of several people nearby. Li Yunzhen and her companion also curiously walked over, discovering that it was Ai Li, the long-haired girl who had just bought dozens of albums before them, who was screaming. After paying, she didn't leave, but sat down at the table placed outside the door and started unpacking the albums right away. There was a large pile of unwrapped packages and albums in front of her.

And at this moment, she sprang up from her chair, holding a small card in her left hand and waving her right hand wildly through the air, venting her excitement. After a few swings, she seemed to feel it wasn't enough, so she simply jumped repeatedly on the spot, making a series of "bang bang" sounds against the floor.

It's obvious that everyone is really excited.

When Kim Hye-mi heard this, she immediately quickened her pace and walked over. Her eyes were bright as they directly landed on the card in the girl's hand. After seeing it, her entire body froze, her mouth slightly opened, and her eyes widened. Her pupils were filled with bitterness and envy.

"She maxed out that yuan-priced card" Seeing her friend like this, Lee Yunzhen immediately understood. She walked forward and asked softly.

“Yeah, that one is super cool, super expensive, super rare, and super stylish…” Kim Hwee-mi wasn't feeling well at all. She had bought ten albums too, but she hadn't even gotten a whiff of it. Why did this woman in front of her get to open one, and just happened to do it right in front of her

It seems like the girls who came closer were also EXO fans. This long-haired beauty was quite generous, with a hint of pride, and carefully showed them her photocard, which immediately caused quite a few exclamations.

“...”

After taking a careful look, Li Yunzhen pursed her lips. She now understood why this Yuan's small card was so popular among Ai Li and Yuan fans.

This small card is dominated by a portrait of Chi Jingyuan. Taking up two-thirds of the space, the image is a slightly tilted, full-face shot. He stares calmly at the camera with a barely perceptible smile. In his dark eyes, there's a hint of curiosity and longing. His soft features and ash-gray hair, styled in a slightly tousled manner, perfectly complement each other. The result is both fresh and natural, yet unexpectedly fashionable.

When he was photographed, he seemed to be outdoors. A few stray hairs on his forehead were blown gently by the wind, and a tuft of hair that stood up added a touch of life and vivacity to the whole picture.

It's not a sharp, intense kind of handsomeness, but rather a kind that feels extremely comfortable to look at. Looking at it gives you both psychological and visual satisfaction, fulfilling your need for feedback and leaving you wanting to keep looking more and more.

To be honest, after taking a glance at the card, Lee Yun-jeon was also slightly taken aback... She was tempted. She really wanted to immediately open the album in her hand to see if it was this sky-high card. If not, she would hate to turn around and go to the container to buy a bunch of albums, just to get this card.

"Wow! Oh my! You actually opened this card! I really wanted it..."

"Anihasaiyo, have you perhaps considered using this yuan card"

"...".

Seeing Kim Hwee-mi rush over, her eyes filled with lust as she gazed at the small card in Ae Ri's hand, several girls who clearly were EXO fans also crowded around, chattering excitedly and even some directly asking to buy it. Lee Un-jeon bit her lip, pressing the newly purchased album against her chest, a surge of anticipation welling up within her.

"Be sure to turn it on!"

…………

The first week's performance on "Inkigayo" was indeed very effective, and in the following days there were often discussions about it online. Excluding those with obvious biases, whether praise or criticism, the general audience's feedback was quite positive. The main points of praise centered around the choreography, the performers' expressiveness, and the one-take transition effects. For a while, there was an abundance of accolades.

The next day, fans at the official event and online uploaded fan-recorded videos of the initial stage performance on YouTube. Some fans were disappointed because only half of "" was recorded, as the pre-recorded outdoor and backstage segments were not captured. Although the latter part of the performance was quite cool, watching only half without the beginning's lead-in felt unsatisfying.

Instead, "butterfly" has seen a bit of a surge on stage. While this non-title track didn't garner much attention after its audio release, despite landing at number two immediately, it saw a noticeable increase in listens after the performance aired. The official SBS channel replay views alone are impressive, and every member has been popular on fancams since. Especially Ji Kyeong-won, whose individual stage cam view count has been skyrocketing these days. The comments below are full of praise, even he seems embarrassed to read them!

What "stage fairy," "light god," "broken feeling," "white moonlight" and other rainbow farts really make him feel embarrassed.

I can only say that the Ailis are really too warm and hospitable.

Following the overwhelmingly positive reception during its initial stage, EXO has been continuously participating in various schedules, interviews, and promotional activities this week. Coupled with the substantial resources invested by ** Entertainment across all fronts, EXO's popularity has been steadily soaring. Online entertainment sections are buzzing with discussions about them, and signs of a significant surge are already emerging in various aspects.

The most obvious is the sharp increase in sales. Before the comeback on number 1, 《e》's pre-sale was only 430,000 copies. This was not only lower than s's expectations but also nearly half of last year's 《Addiction》 pre-sale figures.

But these days, especially after the official return, sales have been steadily increasing. In just four or five days, both versions of the album have sold nearly 160,000 copies, and this trend is showing no signs of slowing down. This abnormal surge in sales has truly surprised industry insiders and other idol groups.

These new fans don't know if they're old fans who have returned after taking a break, or new fans who just recently got into the fandom.

With EXO's comeback showing strong prospects and gaining momentum, the online forum environment seems to have returned to a period when Ailee reigned supreme.

"Attachment: This Week's Album Sales Ranking Data Chart"

"Alright, I've posted the data. The top two spots belong to EXO's single album "e" with its two versions, you can see the numbers yourself. Before the Oppa's comeback a while back, you guys hyped it up for half the day. To prove it, we put it right on top: the myth of beating EXO and VIXX is also listed here. **TOWN’s regular 12th album "we" by神話 - Ordinary Edition sales volume, edition launched on March 3rd sales volume , total sales volume."

VIXX's single album "Boys & Girls" which returned on February 24th has just surpassed 60,000 in sales as of noon today. It's actually a pretty good result. I won't mention 4U specifically, don't be afraid to say we bully them because we are girl group...

As for the source, I won't say anything. The two songs from 《e》 are solidly staying in the top charts with a really good after-taste. Unlike some people who return and their main tracks fly off the charts within days... This is what you call the two top male groups that can knock EXO down and expose its true form I really want to interview those black fans and opposing fandom members now, what are their feelings like

"kkkk, I'm dying laughing. They were making fun of xo's pre-sale price being low back then, but it was still several times lower than your main product. Want to see your dad's xo lake Too bad, by the time your main product disbands, we won't even care."

“This comeback of is really amazing, the digital charts are impressive and the album sales are excellent. No one seems to be talking about their previous relationship or disbandment rumors anymore. Exo's nine-member return clearly shows signs of reaching its peak again. If their subsequent releases can maintain the same quality as , I'm very optimistic about Exo this year. I even think that if everything goes smoothly, they could top the charts this year... Of course, our Exo is definitely no match for those top-tier boy groups who boast about their comebacks with two first place wins and tens of thousands of album sales.”

"Oh my, kkk, can you please stop insulting people by name"

“I don't know what you brain-dead fans are so happy about. 《callbaby》 is obviously much worse than 《咆孝》. These days it looks hot, all thanks to the mindless hype from fans and the company's operation. In reality, go out on the streets yourself and see if you can often hear this song playing in shops. 《咆孝》 from 2013 was truly popular, played everywhere – on the streets, in schools, etc. That was real fire. This 《callbaby》 is just fake hype, artificial hype, marketing hype.”

“LMAO, what clan are you from Can your tone be any more sour Are you saying "The Roar" isn't XO's song And is it really necessary to compare groups like this You're so interesting, little one. Is it that hard to admit XO's comeback was a huge success”

"Aren't the delusional fans getting a bit too cocky It's only the second week, and not even one of them has gotten first place yet. This week's "theshow" and "shoion" didn't have any wins either, and yesterday's "!" was still VIXX. I really don't know what you guys are so happy about. You keep bragging about how good their comeback results are and how popular they are, but where is the first place"

"Can you guys open your eyes What's the point of making up stuff like this (hands up) Exo doesn't usually go on small music shows like 《theshow》 and 《shoion》. For yesterday's 《!20th Anniversary Special Program》, they needed to perform various nostalgic stages, so exo didn't go either. It's not surprising that they didn't get first place. Besides, they even got first place as a substitute in their absence. Yesterday's score was only slightly lower than VIXX's, and keep in mind, VIXX has been promoting for the third week and accumulated a lot of scores. Just from broadcast points alone, their score is much higher than exo's. So it's no big deal if they got first place. Anyway, tomorrow on 《Music Bank》, first place will definitely be exo's (hands up)."

"Is this Alice Then let's just have a head-on collision tomorrow, and see if your Oppa can get the first place for their comeback. All I can say is that in terms of data and real-life performance, whether it's神話 or VIXX, they are definitely much better than EXO."

"Please, can those black fans stop bringing up our past Is it interesting to be a fake fan The brothers' return is meant to give back to their fans. We're already so happy to see them on stage again. There's no truth to claims that they are creating drama or competing with juniors... And comparing sales figures to EXO Are you out of your mind Who in the entire K-pop scene can even compete with them If you want to compare, go compare with the groups that these black fans actually support. Please don't drag our group into this."

"Take VIXX away, please don't involve us anymore. Trouble from EXO's fans won't help anything this time. We fans are already very satisfied with VICX's comeback results, we don't need to surpass EXO, we just need to do our best."

"Hahaha, I'm dying of laughter! Even the fans can't stand these disguised black fans anymore. A bunch of cowards who won't reveal their true identities, homeless stray dogs!"

“Damn it! Let's talk about the ranking after I get to first place. You little bastard!”

Peninsula Asteroid

This novel was first published on www.ftxs.comn-through was as intense as a real performance, with every move executed with full effort and precision. After several minutes of dancing, everyone was drenched in sweat and gasping for air when they...