sbdcsierra Chapter 1468 You
Chapter 1468 You
Chapter 1468 You
Chi Jingyuan's phone kept vibrating, and the screen was almost completely filled with text message notifications popping up.
He glanced down and saw that not only had Tzuyu, Sana Minatozaki, and Nayeon sent him text messages, but even Dahyun and Chaeyoung had sent them. What was even more interesting was that all of their text messages contained the exact same content.
Rewind a few minutes. On their way back to the practice room, the Twice members were still curiously discussing Ji Kyung-won's involvement in the production of the new title track.
"Should we ask Jingyuan oppa?"
After speculating for a while, Sana Minatozaki took out her phone and made a suggestion.
The others immediately agreed. Instead of guessing, they decided to just ask the person directly, since they knew each other so well.
"Oh my!" Just then, Son Chaeyoung suddenly raised her hand high, her eyes gleaming with mischief, and said excitedly, "Since we're going to ask anyway, why don't we send text messages together and see who Oppa replies to first?"
"We played this once before, how about we do it again?"
Judging from her enthusiastic expression, it seemed like she had found some fun game again.
"Okay, sure."
Upon hearing this, Lim Nayeon instantly perked up.
“That works too.” Yu Dingyan nodded.
"Who won last time?" someone forgot.
"Hum~"
Lim Nayeon raised her chin demurely and puffed out her chest.
She won last time... She has a lot of tricks up her sleeve.
Upon hearing this, Sana Minatozaki unconsciously pursed her lips, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes.
...Last time she played this game, Chi Jingyuan deliberately ignored her, leaving her with very bad memories.
It seems like this short guy was the one who suggested it last time...
She glanced at the excited Sun Caiying.
However, this time it will definitely be different.
"Everyone should receive the same message; don't rush to be the first to receive it!"
"Let's check each other to prevent cheating. Jihyo, are you going to do it...?"
The group of people got together and, after some discussion, finalized the process.
In this lively moment where almost the entire group was involved, everyone tacitly refrained from calling on Mina… although Mina herself actually really wanted to try it this time.
But that might put him in a difficult position.
...
On the other side, Ji Jingyuan looked at the identical text messages on his phone and smiled wryly. He could tell at a glance that the TWICE members were playing a game of 'who to reply to first'.
I've played it once before.
Looking at the same text message, Chi Jingyuan immediately ignored Zhou Ziyu... Even without any other reason, he would deliberately reply to her last.
It's nothing, it's just for his wicked sense of humor. He enjoys seeing this black girl pout and secretly feel dissatisfied... Even though she's not in front of him, he can easily imagine it.
Then... Lim Nayeon cheated again.
Not only did they post it half a second earlier than others, but they also added a cute little emoji at the end.
Even Chi Kyung-won couldn't help but laugh when he saw it.
Why does that rabbit have so many little movements?
Finally, his gaze fell on Sana Minatozaki's text message, and his fingertips paused slightly.
Remembering how he deliberately ignored her during the last game, which caused her to accumulate negative emotions afterward... a ripple of emotion stirred in her heart.
Chi Jingyuan hesitated for a second before opening Minatozaki Sana's text message and replying.
This can be considered... making up for the small regret from last time.
Meanwhile, in Twice's practice room, everyone held their breath, staring intently at their phones. The once bustling practice room suddenly became unusually quiet, with only the sound of their breathing and the vibration of their phones remaining. Everyone wore an expression of tension and anticipation.
Although it's just a small game... it's still Chi Kyung-won after all.
Suddenly, a cell phone vibrated, crisp and abrupt.
"Whose phone is ringing?"
Suppressing her excitement, Son Chaeyoung immediately asked... Judging from her expression, she didn't care at all whether she received a reply or not; she just wanted to watch the excitement.
All eyes followed the direction of the vibration and finally landed on Sana Minatozaki.
A really nice blush gold iPhone X.
"..."
Sana Minatozaki looked at her vibrating phone, and the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up. The curve and movement of the smile were extremely clear and lively. Her eyes instantly filled with laughter, and even her eyes curved into crescents.
I deliberately ignored her last time, which made her sad for a long time, so this time I'm making sure to be the first to reply to her~
...You bastard.
She didn't shy away from it, picked up her phone, and waved it confidently in front of everyone, her tone full of pride and excitement: "It's me, hehe, Oppa replied to me first!"
"It's Sana~"
Everyone gasped in surprise, but it was understandable if it was Sana Minatozaki.
However, Chou Tzu-yu unconsciously wrinkled her nose, secretly thinking that Chi Ching-yuan must have done it on purpose.
Lim Na-yeon pouted, muttering to herself with a dissatisfied expression.
...Can't even cheat? Damn the Earth Light!
Since the outcome was already decided, and Ji Jingyuan only replied to Minatozaki Sana, the Twice members simply surrounded Minatozaki Sana and started chatting with Ji Jingyuan directly on her phone.
The question was about "What is Love".
Ji Kyung-won didn't hide anything and talked about the production process of "What is Love"... Jin-young asked him to help rearrange the music, and he agreed after learning that it was Twice's title track. Later, he felt that the song was good and got some inspiration. In order to match the MV plan, he also slightly modified a few lines of lyrics.
Sana Minatozaki, holding her phone, quickly typed a question amidst the onlookers of the other members: "Oppa, Oppa, the manager said the MV will use your proposal. What exactly will the MV look like?"
……
"What did he say? What did he say?"
Seeing that Sana Minatozaki's phone rang again, a few people on the periphery, who couldn't see the screen at all, asked anxiously.
"he……"
Sana Minatosaki seemed somewhat displeased, and also looked like she wanted to laugh, so she picked up her phone and waved it at them:
He asked us to guess.
…………
After finishing his conversation with Twice, Ji Kyung-won put away his phone and was about to leave SM Entertainment for the practice room when his phone suddenly rang again. The caller ID showed it was Lee Soo-man.
A hint of doubt arose in Chi Jingyuan's mind, after all, they had just met.
Without thinking too much about it, he answered the call, and Lee Soo-man's voice came through the next second:
"Jingyuan, there's something I forgot to tell you. Do you have anything planned for this afternoon?"
"afternoon……"
Chi Jingyuan thought about his schedule: "Later is the stage practice for the closing ceremony of the XO Winter Olympics. After the practice, I don't have anything to do in the afternoon."
He has been on set for almost half a month, and the filming is going smoothly. These past two days, he hasn't had any scenes to film, so he has a lot more free time.
"What a coincidence."
Upon hearing this, Lee Soo-man smiled and explained his purpose: "There's a trainee showcase at COEX this afternoon, and I was planning to go check on the kids, so I thought of you, Kyungwon..."
"How about we go check out the company's juniors and give them some feedback on the new girl group they're preparing?"
"Oh?"
Upon hearing this, Chi Jingyuan blinked slightly.
Upon hearing the words "new girl group" and "trainees," Ji Kyung-won's mind immediately conjured up the image of Yoo Jimin.
He got up; it had been a long time since he'd seen the girl.
The last text message he sent was a greeting a week ago. At the time, Chi Jingyuan was filming and didn't reply. He saw it later but was too lazy to reply... Although this is his habit, I don't know if he misunderstood her attitude, which made this big-breasted girl a little embarrassed.
"Okay."
Chi Jingyuan pondered for a moment, then smiled and agreed, "I'll come find you after practice."
"Okay, see you this afternoon."
…………
Inside SM's large practice room, the lights were on and the stage facilities were complete. The company had specially set up a simple stage model for the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics. Several Winter Olympics staff members were also present, patiently explaining the stage precautions and movement requirements to the EXO members. The atmosphere was serious and focused.
The members of XO, dressed in loose practice clothes, stood neatly on the stage, listening attentively to the staff's explanations and nodding in response from time to time.
The performance schedule has been finalized, consisting of three stages: solo dance, entrance performance, and group performance.
Before the main stage performance begins, there will be a solo performance segment where two members will wear traditional Korean hanbok and dance a modified version of a traditional dance to showcase the traditional culture of the peninsula.
After discussions, the organizers and SM Entertainment selected two performers as...
"Yuan and suho~"
As soon as the staff member finished speaking, the other members showed obvious envy on their faces and looked at Ji Kyung-won and Kim Jun-myeon.
Being able to perform a solo in traditional costume at the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics is an extremely high honor for the members of Peninsula and a rare opportunity for exposure.
Everyone wants it.
However, Ji Jingyuan shook his head slightly after hearing this and calmly expressed his concerns: "Manager, I don't think I'm suitable for this solo performance."
Ji Kyung-won is not a citizen of the Korean Peninsula but an American citizen. If someone brings this up afterward, it will have some negative impact.
This was a major reason why "Descendants of the Sun" didn't participate.
If no one pays attention to this kind of thing, nothing will happen. But if someone deliberately stirs up trouble, the pride of the people on the peninsula is enough to make them lose their temper, and it can easily cause bad consequences.
There's no need to take that risk for this.
Many people online have previously lamented, "If he were Korean, he could have everything."
Every time he saw such comments, Chi Jingyuan would just purse his lips... He had already obtained everything long ago.
Moreover, apart from this reason, Ji Kyung-won didn't actually have too many expectations for this stage.
Moreover, compared to the other Peninsula members who valued the significance of this solo performance, Ji Kyung-won honestly didn't care much about it. Apart from the very grand stage, it didn't hold any special meaning for him.
This is also one of the subtle differences between him and the other members.
"so……"
Upon hearing his idea, the organizers and SM Entertainment staff immediately agreed that it made sense. Since Ji Kyung-won had proactively declined, they wouldn't insist and decided to discuss the candidate again.
The other EXO members' eyes lit up when they heard that Ji Kyung-won had backed down.
Chi Jingyuan's refusal means that the opportunity will fall to one of them.
Chi Jingyuan saw their reactions and chuckled inwardly.
Now they'll have something to compete with.
According to the schedule, there is a special entrance ceremony after the individual solo performance, but we can't rehearse it here. After that, it's the group stage.
This time, they chose "Growl" for the stage, which is considered EXO's most well-known song on the Korean Peninsula.
Although all the EXO members were already very familiar with the dance for "Growl," this time it was a special venue with new choreography and positioning, so they had to practice all over again.
Actually... it seems quite strange to Ji Kyung-won that a boy band would perform this type of dance music at an event like the Winter Olympics.
It just doesn't feel that traditional.
However, the closing ceremony is essentially a concert-like event, and K-pop is considered a national treasure of the Korean Peninsula, so it's not so bad when you think about it that way.
He felt that although "Roar" was very popular on the peninsula and widely sung, its overall style and artistic conception were not quite suitable for the Winter Olympics.
In comparison, he felt that the company's new single "Power," which has not yet been released, was more suitable—the song has a grand and positive style, and the lyrics are full of power, which fits the Winter Olympics' "Faster, Higher, Stronger" concept very well.
If they can be exposed on this big stage in advance, it will not only showcase EXO's charm, but also serve as a warm-up for their future comeback, making it a great way to promote the group.
However, he couldn't make the decision himself; he could only offer suggestions.
…………
After practice, Ji Kyung-won tidied up briefly and headed to the meeting point he had arranged with Lee Soo-man. After meeting up, the two drove together to SM COEX to watch the trainees' showcase.
It's been a while since Chi Jingyuan last came here.
The two soon arrived at SM COEX, and Ji Kyung-won followed Lee Soo-man into the venue.
The decor is exquisite and grand, the lobby is spacious and bright, the floor is paved with smooth marble, the walls are hung with posters of SM artists, the lighting is soft, and the facilities are complete, exuding high-end and professionalism everywhere.
Ji Kyung-won recalled that SM's trainee showcases used to be held in small venues or directly in the company's practice room, and were not large in scale.
It's clear that SM Entertainment has indeed been developing better and better over the years.
As soon as they entered the lobby, a manager in a suit came up to them with a respectful smile and greeted them, "President, Jingyuan-xi, you've arrived. Please come in."
"Thank you for your hard work." Lee Soo-man smiled and nodded, exchanged a few pleasantries with the head of the department, and then led Ji Kyung-won toward the performance venue.
Along the way, Lee Soo-man told Ji Kyung-won about the company's recent situation, his tone full of pride: "Kyung-won, as you know, since EXO reached the top in the last two years, they have become the symbol of the Korean Peninsula boy group, and their popularity has remained high. Now the company is also developing better and better."
"Now more and more young trainees want to become the next Yuan, the next EXO, so the company has a lot more trainees than before, and the number of people recruited has also increased significantly. Even many young people from overseas come to Korea specifically to apply to our company as trainees."
"It's not just the number of male trainees, there are also a lot more female trainees now."
Lee Soo-man added with a smile, his tone carrying a hint of "happy trouble": "The nine-member girl group project that the company planned this time seems to be a bit insufficient now. Recently, the company's senior management has been thinking about another girl group project to cultivate more outstanding female artists."
Seeing Lee Soo-man's expression—a mixture of happiness and distress, and a hint of smugness—Chi Kyung-won listened and nodded, understanding the situation perfectly.
With EXO's rise to the top and his continued popularity, SM Entertainment, which was already firmly in first place among the three major companies, has surged ahead, completely widening the gap with the other two companies. Its stock price has more than doubled compared to the other two combined.
It's only natural that they would attract more trainees.
"Many trainees in the company look up to you, Jingyuan. Your occasional appearance is a great encouragement to the younger generation."
Lee Soo-man patted Ji Kyung-won on the shoulder, clearly treating him like a motivational injection for the trainees.
"If I'm here every day, won't they be able to debut in less than a week?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Kyung-won jokingly remarked, making Lee Soo-man burst into laughter.
The two chatted as they walked, with the room leader occasionally providing additional information about the venue. Soon, they arrived at the showcase performance venue.
The venue wasn't very large, but it was exquisitely decorated, with a stage, lighting, sound system, and other facilities all in place. There were already quite a few audience members in the audience, many of whom were company staff, as well as some invited industry professionals. The atmosphere was very lively, and it really felt like a small concert.
Lee Soo-man and Ji Kyung-won found a quiet spot in the back row to sit down.
On stage were several male trainees dressed in matching outfits, performing EXO's "Blood Sweat & Tears." Ji Kyung-won watched intently for a while and found them to be quite good; their movements were synchronized, powerful, and their eyes conveyed a strong presence. It was clear they had put in a lot of practice, and they looked quite professional.
Lee Soo-man leaned close to Ji Kyung-won, lowered his voice, and whispered, "These male trainees are all highly regarded by the company. The one on the left is Song Eun-seok, and the one on the right is Jung Sung-chan. They are both very promising kids, very talented in dancing, and also good at singing."
"Looks good."
Chi Jingyuan nodded in agreement, but he wasn't actually very interested in the male trainees.
The two chatted while watching the performance on stage. Although Lee Soo-man was the president of SM Entertainment, he couldn't possibly know all the trainees. He only knew some of the trainees with great potential or those that the company was focusing on developing.
When encountering an unfamiliar trainee, the room leader will introduce them in detail, including their name, age, and special skills.
Hearing this, Chi Jingyuan gained a much better understanding of the younger generation in his company.
After watching for about ten minutes, three groups of trainees had already performed on stage. As the third group finished their performance, enthusiastic applause rang out from the audience. Then, several girls dressed in a pure and innocent style slowly walked onto the stage.
Chi Jingyuan raised an eyebrow slightly and instantly spotted the girl slightly to the left of the center.
Who else could it be but Liu Zhimin?
Lee Soo-man also saw Yoo Ji-min and said to Chi Kyung-won with a smile, "Half of these girls are candidates for the company's new girl group. They are all very promising and work very hard in training."
He paused, as if suddenly remembering something, then turned to look at Chi Jingyuan and asked with a smile, "By the way, there's one of them who I remember working with before, filming your solo music video, right?"
"Ah."
Hearing Lee Soo-man's voice, Ji Kyung-won nodded, glanced at the female trainees on the stage, and noticed that one or two of them looked familiar; he seemed to have seen them before.
But their gazes couldn't help but be drawn to Liu Zhimin.
Her features are delicate, her figure is well-proportioned, and she seems... to have remained unchanged.
At this moment, the female trainees on stage were ready to perform, and the background music slowly began to play—it was Twice's "TT".
However, it does fit their current style of dress quite well.
As Chi Kyung-won watched Yoo Ji-min perform on stage, his expression gradually became somewhat strange.
Although the style of the song "TT" is cute, it doesn't quite match Liu Zhimin, or even the trainees next to her, especially Liu Zhimin, whose dancing inexplicably gives off a silly feeling.
and……
Chi Jingyuan blinked.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt that Liu Zhimin's breasts seemed bigger, especially her chest. Wearing a loose, youthful dress, they bounced with her movements while she danced, making them particularly eye-catching.
"...Naomuhei, Naomuhei~"
Just then, Liu Zhimin, who was dancing earnestly, inadvertently glanced at the audience below the stage.
"..."
Her gaze casually swept towards the back row, but in that instant, it met Chi Jingyuan's eyes.