Chapter 36: Addiction

eats set up at the back of the stage, with one person seated at each. From the back of the stage, the judges can watch the performance.This stage setup is very similar to a blind date show in China,...The Korean Peninsula asteroid

In a Korean restaurant called 'o' on the west side of JYP Building, near Xuanling Road, four or five trainees from Neon were gathered around a table eating lunch.

This shop specializes in Korean bibimbap. Because the taste is good and the price is affordable, it's quite famous in the neighborhood. Some trainees from large and small entertainment companies nearby often come here to try it together.

Everyone was eating with big spoonsfuls, having gone hungry since morning. But there were two exceptions.

One was Hirano Momoko, who is still managing her figure through dieting. She didn't even order food, just a glass of water and sat there sipping it and joining in the festivities.

Next to him, Mingnan took a few bites and then put down his spoon, pulling out his phone as if he had lost his appetite.

"Ooh..." After scrolling through her phone for a while, Nanami Minase looked up and blinked at Momoko Hinaizumi. "Can I borrow your Wi-Fi"

"Well, alright." Iwai Momo, battling hunger as she sipped water, puckered her cheeks and nodded.

After connecting her to Wi-Fi with a single operation, Minami Nanami bent over and started fiddling with her phone.

"Has V from EXO come out yet" Asakusa Sashana, sitting beside him, shoved a big mouthful of bibimbap into her mouth and mumbled with an oily sheen.

She knew without asking what Minami was doing.

"Nope, just a few minutes more." Minami shook her head lightly.

"Waaah..." She forced the food down her throat and, after a moment of thought, Kozaki Sashas suddenly became interested and asked, "By the way, how much was the pre-order for XO's new album"

"780,000."

"How much" She felt like she had misheard, her mouth slightly agape in disbelief.

"780,000 I just saw the announcement not long ago." He glanced at her and twitched his mouth.

"This… is a bit too much, right What was the sales figure for the 2p seniors' last comeback album"

"I don't know."

"You still say you're a fan of 2P..." Minatsu KAZAKI glanced at her, curiosity getting the better of her. She took out her phone and checked, ten seconds later she smacked her lips: "Less than 120,000"

She chewed over the two sales figures, feeling that they were from completely different tiers of idols.

He was just 2P, who used to be a very popular and influential male group on the peninsula before.

After eating a few more bites, she saw that Minei Minami and Minei Momoko had gathered together nearby. Her eyes lit up, and she went over to them: "It's public now"

Seeing the two nod, she smiled and was about to go over and watch together, opening her mouth to ask for a headphone. But when she raised her eyes, she saw that Nanami's pair of headphones had already been divided by the two people, each with one. And both were staring intently at the screen, not looking at her at all.

Feeling like she was abandoned, she wrinkled her nose and glanced at them. With a soft snort, she took out her phone, connected her earphones, and opened a webpage.

The scene opens with a low, ominous voice. Then, an electronic melody blending with drumbeats fills the air. Within a massive hexagonal maze, members of EXO appear one by one. Trapped with no way out, they sit silently against the walls, struggling, searching, wandering, but unable to find their direction.

A simple glance at the artwork evokes a faint pang of heartache, and the craftsmanship and quality are clearly superior to those of ordinary V's.

"What does this maze mean"

Minazuki Sazan asked, tilting her head. Unlike Namiki and the others, she wasn't particularly interested in EXO. She had only skimmed the news about their recent concept photos and teasers.

"This time, the main song concept is describing how someone becomes addicted to love and can't extricate themselves, like being lost in a maze."

Naomi finally heard her words and turned her head to explain.

"Hmm..." Minazuki Sashana nodded knowingly.

"Starting!" A reminder, Nan quickly turned and lowered her head to look at her phone.

"e!"

The synthesized voice of a human officially marks the beginning of v's chapter, as if inviting you to step into this labyrinth.

"papapapa…"

The scene shifts, Jin Jun-myeon points at the camera to begin, accompanied by a somewhat eerie yet rhythmically strong, extremely precise series of applause. The camera pulls back, revealing a white backdrop wall covered in black mosquito coil patterns.

The first thing that catches your eye is the four members standing together, Chanyeol and Kai are on each side, supporting one leg of Kim Junmyeon each, lifting him up. Meanwhile, D.O. lies flat on the bottom, with all four of them still rapidly clapping their hands.

And the space between them just happened to form a neat hexagon, perfectly aligning with the maze concept of their main song. Just the opening act alone made everyone who understood it feel a sudden spark of brilliance.

The camera passed through the hexagon, and after a brief solo dance by Wu Shixun, with a wave of his hand, the camera seemed to be pushed forward to Ji Jingyuan's face.

"With everything I have, I can no longer go back now."

“This is clearly dangerous poisoning.”

"so bad apher."

Chi Jingyuan gestured towards the camera with a sharp, icy look in his eyes as he sang the first line of the lyrics.

The voice was soft with a hint of heaviness and a touch of rasp, instantly drawing you into a labyrinthine musical maze with no apparent exit.

He was wearing a deep red short-sleeved undershirt with a large maze logo on his chest. Over it, he had a black fitted jacket and black and red striped pants on his lower body. He wore brown leather boots with dark patterns all over them.

His jet-black hair, subtly tinged with a deep crimson under the rather dim lighting. Paired with his swept-up bangs revealing his entire forehead, he sported a slightly messy and wild look. Particularly striking were his sharp eyes, so different from his usual demeanor. The moment he appeared on screen, he instantly captivated everyone's attention.

Each person has two sets of costumes. At the beginning, everyone wears a set of retro-style patchwork outfits in contrasting colors. Among them, Chi Jingyuan in red and black stands out the most.

"...Fatal, intoxicated in that haze..."

"Oh she wants."

"Oh she's got it."

"Oh, she hurts!"

"Love the intensifying craving!"

The drums suddenly quickened, and with the change in rhythm, the six members stood in a line, jumping and swaying their shoulders rhythmically in a jump rope-like motion. This somewhat awkward movement was unexpectedly stylish here. As the final part played out along with the jump rope action, Ji Jingyuan jumped up one step forward and into the camera's view.

Only to see the six members of team k all raising their heads and turning slightly towards the back, with their right hands raised and placed in front of their foreheads, creating an atmosphere of readiness.

The next second, everyone abruptly lowered their heads and turned around. At this moment, the screen seamlessly switched to a new scene. In the blink of an eye, the previously dimly lit setting transformed into a bright and spacious labyrinth hall. The hexagonal ceiling lights shone blindingly white, and everyone's attire had changed to neatly tailored suits.

The music video for 《overdose》 has two sets, corresponding to each member's two outfits. The entire video seamlessly switches between these two sets.

At the same time, the first chorus of Team K started:

"Soohedoctor, catch me! Just tell me that."

"Love is a disease, overdose."

Time slowly passed, making it increasingly difficult to hold on.

The clothing change transformed the look completely, adopting a style unlike anything before. The suit resembled a gown, adorned with constantly flashing white lights. Opulence and mystery intertwined, creating a contradictory yet harmonious feeling.

"Touch, your love, this is a drug overdose."

"Touch, your love, this is a poison overdose."

At this point in the story, Kim Jun Myeon, Do Kyung Soo, and Oh Sehun quickly knelt on the ground with their legs spread apart. The one slightly forward was behind the other two, forming a triangle.

The other three members stood behind them, their hands rhythmically tapping on their heads like drums. The three kneeling members also swayed their heads and shoulders in time with the movement.

This tapping action was just like inputting a default password. After finishing, the three people standing behind raised their hands to their heads in a vague grasp and then held them high, waving back and forth as if they were directing the three people in front, like they were controlling their brains sending out commands.

And the three people in front were also swaying left and right following the commands from behind, the frequency of their limb movements was completely consistent with those behind them. They truly looked like puppets being controlled, kneeling and standing on both sides, the movements of the three created a strange and wonderful harmony.

The scene switched back to the previous location and outfits. Wu Shixun was controlled, rolling into the center position, making gestures pointing at the camera to indicate a transition.

Then team k left the camera and team a entered for the second verse.

This choreography really amazed many viewers. The coordination was excellent, making it look very cool, and it's very characteristic and well-suited to the theme of the song "Overdose".

Being manipulated, unable to extricate oneself.

Some more invested individuals have started unconsciously bobbing their heads and instinctively making tapping motions with their hands, their eyes scanning the surroundings as if searching for someone they could control.

For example, Azusagawa Sakurasawa.

She looked around and saw that the friends beside her were each doing their own thing, especially Nami Minami and Momo Hina who were glued to their phones together, their heads practically touching.

Finding the situation rather dull, she looked back at her phone screen and soon her eyes lit up.

The choreography for this section of the chorus between this team and K-Team isn't exactly the same, each has its own unique style. While K-Team had more camera focus on Kai and Ji-Seong, this team's center Han got the most camera time, followed by...

If you compare carefully, you'll find that the dance rhythm and strength of Team B are noticeably weaker than Team K. Y and Han are alright, but the other members are slightly weaker, especially with Baekhyun. It's clear they still have room for improvement.

After the last part of the team's performance, the scene transitioned to a new set and a suit-clad look. Ji Jingyuan appeared on screen, standing with Tao in front of the camera. He tilted his head and puffed out his cheeks, extending both index fingers to quickly tap lightly on the sides of his face while the accompaniment played a rhythmic "du du du" sound.

"Oh!"

This cute face-slapping action paired with the cheek-pinching, makes Ji Jingyuan's appearance and gaze irresistible to countless female fans, causing their hearts to skip a beat.

And under the strong, slightly psychedelic rhythm of the song "Overdose", this incredibly cute choreographic transition suddenly appears, creating a sense of contrast.

This time, in order to showcase the theme of 'addiction', most of the twelve members' makeup focused on thick eyeliner, all with the current popular full-coverage style. And Jiyoung was one of the few members who didn't wear this type of makeup.

Because dy thinks he doesn't need it.

The way Tao lined his eyes with black eyeliner in the side-by-side photo was a bit too heavy. Even though they were doing the same actions, there was a noticeable disconnect. This, combined with their differences in appearance, unintentionally highlighted both Ji Jingyuan's superiority and versatility.

Kim Jun-myeon grabs his chest and moves forward, while the other members behind him continuously bow their heads and clap, shifting positions as they officially enter EXO's twelve-member group dance.

"I can't stop now."

"Right now, this very moment, you are..."

"e, x, o."

Facing the camera, after a signature group greeting gesture, eleven members surrounded themselves in a circle. Park Chan-leek, standing in the center, began his solo rap, which was also his only part.

Park Chan-wook moved around the stage while making directing gestures. At this time, the lights also began to flicker constantly, creating a hazy and unreal feeling. The other members followed his movements, swaying and leaning back in an orderly manner. This was another unique choreography that was manipulated, with distinctive group dance moves and excellent coordination leaving a deep impression on the audience, making one want to rewind and watch it again.

With Wu Shixun's "heydocter!" marking the end of the rap stage, V officially entered the finale.

Even a long separation seems so beautiful.

"touch, your lover, this is a drug overdose."

"touch, your lover, this is a drug overdose."

The last chorus, the two teams line up in two rows. The one at the front starts first, and the people behind follow a beat slower than the ones in front, making a chain-like movement like a human centipede.

Then, both sides simultaneously retreated to create space in the middle. As the long-awaited tao surged forward, he performed a somersault. The camera panned up, ending v's song portion.

Then came a few seconds of close-up shots on k team's main player kai. The camera suddenly pulled back, revealing the logo for this mini season 2 and the s logo on the screen. v officially ended.

“…………”

After they finished watching, several people stared at the last two large logos for a few seconds, as if savoring the aftertaste. They didn't raise their heads again until a while later.

"This choreography is so impressive, it's both cool and unique."

Penguins' face scrunched up and she shook her head, unable to help but sigh. Then she added, "The members of xo are really handsome, especially...yuan."

Halfway through her sentence, she glanced at Minami and said with a hint of regret, "It seems like there aren't many cameras here."

"EXO is a group of twelve, so there wasn't that much to split up anyway." Minatozaki Sana said fairly. "And Yuan senpai really already had enough camera time, several were even unforgettable killing parts, like this one, that one..."

Saying that, she turned her body forward slightly, imitating the part of Chi Jingyuan she had just seen, puffed out her cheeks and started to tap with both hands, while also making a "du du du" sound with her mouth.

Nearby, Minami and oo saw this and laughed. They followed suit, tilting their heads and puffing out their cheeks to imitate him. For a moment, several neon trainees at the table began to mimic Chi Jingyuan.

I only watched it once, but this face-slapping choreography is really impressive, and it's actually quite beautiful to do.

Before the leak, many people had seen it, but it's not comparable to the official high-definition version at all. It's not even in the same league.

After finishing, they discussed the just-watched v for a couple of sentences. Nanami was originally planning to rewind and watch it again, but since everyone had finished their meal and was preparing to return to the company, she gave up.

It was only the last time she looked at the final fixed maze logo on the screen, but her heart felt interesting and strangely complex.

Maze...

Addicted...

…………

"Our presale is breaking records, right"

Just after finishing his styling, Do Kyung-Soo came back and immediately plunged into the crowd, asking with great concern.

Today marks the official comeback stage, and all of EXO-K members are currently in the waiting room behind 《！》's backstage except for Kim Jong In and Wu Se Hoon who are still getting their hair and makeup done. The other members are all crammed onto a sofa, even with Park Chan Yeol sitting on the armrest.

"Sold out, pre-sale 77 million 8710 copies, currently the highest pre-order sales record for boy groups." Kim Jun Myeon's face was full of joy, this number when he said it really made the whole person a little excited.

Following the momentum of "Growl," many casual fans and a large number of EXO fans across the peninsula are highly anticipating and valuing this comeback. Even though it's just a mini album, the incredible pre-order numbers undeniably demonstrate the immense support and love fans have for EXO's endeavors.

As soon as this pre-order number comes out, it means that EXO's mini album has a very high probability of reaching their own million sales record again last year. It just depends on how long it takes.

Last year's regular edition of "xoxo" sold nearly 1.5 million copies, breaking the ceiling for album sales on the peninsula and redefining the market. It was a shot in the arm for the stagnant K-pop industry, proving that there is still room for growth.

But even until today, in 2014, after half a year with so many singers and idols returning and releasing so many albums, the only group that can reach this ceiling is still EXO. Everyone else is at least two levels behind. Even senior groups within the same company like SJ and Girls' Generation are the same.

It's amazing how many fans xo has, and how many hardcore fans are willing to spend real money supporting their idol. Their devotion is truly fervent.

"But this time, there were a lot more fans buying albums from Xia Guo over there, and the ratio of losses to wins increased a lot." Kim Jun-myeon found another peculiarity.

"Yeah, there are definitely a lot more than last year."

Qi Jingyuan also looked at his phone and nodded.

In the 7,787,100 pre-sale figures, the Korean version reached 4,521,600 copies, while the Summer version sold 3,265,500 copies, accounting for over 40% of the total.

Last year, during the "XOXO" era, EXO was popular in China but their sales proportion wasn't very large. However, this time with "Overdose", there was a very obvious increase. The number of Chinese fans and their purchasing power saw a significant rise.

池景源 because of his popularity in the drama "The Heirs" and his participation in various activities in Xia Guo, significantly raised XO's awareness. Combined with the constant promotion from the group's continuous activities, XO's popularity has seen a substantial boost. This increase in popularity is directly reflected in their sales figures.

"Besides pre-orders, as of this afternoon, the real-time sales on g list have already exceeded 40,000 copies. With this growth rate, it's uncertain if we can reach 100,000 within 24 hours." Kim Jun-myeon was still tirelessly reporting good news, and the entire resting room was enveloped in an atmosphere of excitement. Every word he spoke raised the temperature in the room by a degree."

The two over there who were getting their hair done also pricked up their ears, listening. They nodded their heads from time to time, seeming a little anxious inside. They probably couldn't wait to finish and run over to share the good news with the other members.

Because of last year's success, this return will surely be very good. In fact, both the company and the members had already anticipated this outcome before, but after their dreams became reality, everyone was still incredibly excited and overwhelmed.

"Who held the previous record for highest single-day album sales"

"I just checked, BIGBANG's mini-album 'Tonight' sold 50,000 copies in one day, but that was due to data delays. Still, it's a record," Kim Jun Myeon said confidently, really preparing for everything.

"Then our trend will just break their record, right"

"But ours is the sum of both Korean and Chinese versions, while theirs is just a single version's sales."

"Rest assured, even the single version will definitely exceed expectations."

"Where's the source" Do Kyung-soo was already grinning so widely that his lips could barely contain it, his thick eyebrows dancing like they were alive.

"Look yourself." Kim Jun-myeon held his phone screen towards him, displaying the real-time Melon chart rankings.

Upon its release at noon, the mini album "overdose" topped all charts instantly. All six songs on the album secured the top six spots across major music platforms. The pre-released track "dope," which had dropped in ranking after its previous release, also regained its position and climbed back to fourth place.

Among the songs, including the lead single "Overdose" and the included track "Eedu", three songs simultaneously soared to the top of the charts. On the Gengie chart, all tracks from the album debuted at the top, a powerful debut that came as a surprise to many.

It's the first time in lon history for three songs from an album to simultaneously chart at number one.

...Since the audio source was released several hours ago, the lead song "overdose" has already broken charts twice in a row, and this explosive power is still continuing.

The pre-release audio leak incident, coupled with the company's relentless promotion efforts these days and the popularity of the pre-released song "dope," which has sparked widespread discussion, as well as the lingering heat from "Growl" have all contributed to EXO's second mini album achieving terrifyingly low digital scores.

From the trend of this comeback's first day, the appearance of "" has significantly improved EXO's YouTube data, which wasn't outstanding before. Currently, EXO excels in every aspect, from sales to streaming numbers, fan count, and loyalty. Many of their metrics have even surpassed those of the previous boy group BIGBANG, with sales being multiple times higher.

However, YouTube and the sound source are still inferior to the former, especially the sound source.

If the YouTube data could be even stronger, and if the audio had a bit more punch, they could even declare victory right here, right now.

First published on the Traditional Chinese Novel Network on Old School traditionalism and Yearbook commemorative albums, with a style similar to school graduation photos.This concept is reflected in the album packaging, cover, and illustrations.During the...