the artists' faces for close-ups. And the camera constantly switches to the live feed, showing everyone's expressions in plain sight.Like at this kind of award ceremony, all the artists would be seate..."I'm not saying your schedule there isn't tough, with all the non-stop running around and frequent travel. But how come I feel like you've put on a little weight"

After flying back to Seoul, Ji-sung took a short break in the afternoon and after dinner, he met with his members at the company's practice room for the first time in almost half a month. Meanwhile, Woo-seok looked at him with a frown, scrutinizing Ji-sung from head to toe with suspicion.

"That's just an illusion. My figure and weight have always been pretty stable, not much fluctuation... I guess the image of me in your mind is too good and has been somewhat mythologized. Or maybe you miss me too much."

Chi Jingyuan was quite friendly towards them after seeing them. He smiled and joked with them, and then added thoughtfully afterwards: "But the food in Xia Guo is really great, it's the only comfort in this devilish schedule. If I didn't have self-control, I would have gained at least a few pounds."

Members saw Ji-yeong and greeted him with smiles, chatting about how he was doing. After a while they each sat on the floor, some talking softly to each other, others playing on their phones.

What's the situation

Ji-yeong keenly sensed that the atmosphere was off, and he softly asked Do Kyung-Soo, who was sitting beside him.

"...it's not because of this comeback."

Do Kyung-Soo glanced subtly to the left and right, then leaned closer to Ji-won's ear and whispered, "After our return, the popularity and schedules of several main vocalists have noticeably increased. We are the ones performing on stage for most of the singing performances. Someone is unhappy about this and has expressed their opinion.

"> "..."

" Let me know if you have other text you'd like translated!

After hearing this, Chi Jingyuan nodded in understanding.

Although everyone knew this situation would happen when the plan was first announced, knowing it in your heart is completely different from actually seeing it with your own eyes.

Even though it was expected beforehand, seeing several vocalists' popularity increase at a visible rate and their schedules becoming packed, while other members could only sit and watch, naturally gave rise to feelings of dissatisfaction.

This is also the most obvious change EXO has undergone after their team's popularity skyrocketed and came out of their trough period. The members' career ambition has also increased significantly with the group's rise in popularity.

Some members might secretly compete even if they don't say anything outwardly, while others will express it directly.

Leaving aside the topic of Chi Jingyuan, the competition among members has become increasingly obvious. This is a natural trend that occurs when a group's popularity rises.

Most idol groups on the peninsula are like this, after all, if they don't have a bit of ambition, why come to be an idol and want their popularity to rise

To see other members who were previously about the same popularity as you suddenly overtake you, anyone would feel a little off balance.

Of course, there are also those few, the more Buddhist ones who don't really care about such things. They spend their days just slacking off and fishing for praise.

However, most of these people come from privileged families, so they have the confidence to not care about those things.

The eerie atmosphere didn't last long, as soon as the manager, Lee Seong-hwan, came in with several dance instructors.

"Jingyuan, you look great."

Lee Seung-hwan saw Ji Kyung-won and enthusiastically walked over to pat him on the shoulder with a warm smile.

"Brother, I'm holding on, but actually my eyes are almost too heavy to open." Chi Jingyuan pursed his lips and smiled wryly in reply.

"Haha..."

Li Chenghuan laughed happily, and after a few casual exchanges, they got down to business.

"After Jingyuan returns to the team, you guys should practice together first and get familiar with each other. The stage for 'superhit' tomorrow won't be made in time, so just prepare for the three stages on the 21st, 22nd, and 24th."

"December 21st and 22nd will be Christmas specials, where all of EXO will perform our song "Chrismas Day". On the 24th, it's the first time our five main vocalists will be performing together singing "Miracle of December", but that's not the key point."

Lee Seung-hwan began explaining the specific schedule of EXO for the following days after Ji-seong returned.

“The main focus is on the St.ownweek concert on the 24th and 25th. Jingyuan, while you were in Xia Guo, the other members have already been rehearsing for several days. Some of the performances with FX are definitely too late for you to catch up, but it doesn't matter. Your progress on the other EXO solo stages is a bit behind, so you need to put in a little extra effort these two days.”

"These songs we've all practiced before, it should be pretty quick to get familiar with them again."

Upon hearing Lee Seung-hwan's words, Ji Kyeong-won nodded to indicate that he understood.

Townweek is the latest concert brand launched by ** Company, following the previous townlive family concert. It will officially open on December 21st this year at KINTEX in Ilsan, a satellite city of Seoul.

Unlike the last townlive family concert where all artists under the label performed together, this time week is a dedicated stage for each individual group.

From the 21st to the 30th, it will last for a total of nine days. Initially, it's shee, on the 22nd it's Girls' Generation, on the 24th and 25th it's FX and EXO together, on the 26th and 27th it's TVXQ, and the last two days are SJ.

It is worth mentioning that EXO and f(x)'s performances were on Christmas Day, which is a major holiday for the Korean Peninsula. For many people, it is even more important than Lunar New Year.

The atmosphere over those two days was definitely more lively, celebrating the festival with fans, their workload was quite heavy.

“The most important stage performances are these few, and I'll let you know about other solo schedules later. You guys start preparing first.”

Finally, Li Chenghuan clapped his hands and summed up.

He could actually tell that the atmosphere within EXO had been a bit heavy lately, but these things were all arranged by the company, and Lee Seung-hwan couldn't say anything about it.

However, in his view, competition among members, with a strong sense of winning and ambition, is a good thing.

"Inside."

"Got it, bro."

Members responded one after another, and then, under the guidance and supervision of the dance instructor, they began preparing to make contact.

When he was active in Asia, he worked as an actor and didn't need to perform on stage. He would only occasionally sing a couple of songs in bars.

Including the time spent filming, Ji Jingyuan hadn't danced for over half a month. When he started moving again, he felt slightly stiff at first.

However, the clumsiness only lasted for a short while; before long, he entered his state.

The task is still pretty heavy. It's fine with the song and dance stage, just one or two songs. The key is that there are quite a few performance songs at the concert. Just going through them from beginning to end takes a considerable amount of time.

As Li Chenghuan said, they have practiced all the songs and dances for the concert a long time ago. This time, they just need to review them once, and familiarize themselves with the stage layout in advance before the concert.

It's simple to say, but I'm definitely going to have to work overtime these days.

…………

After jumping for more than an hour, the members were panting and took a break. They grabbed a bottle of water and sat down to drink it.

"Our group variety show has been aired, have you watched it, Jingyuan"

In the dorm, three members were sitting together chatting. As they talked, Wu Shixun suddenly brought up the variety show they had filmed before.

Their EXO group variety show, "EXO's Showtime," officially aired on MBC at the end of November. Ji-sung watched the first episode before leaving for the peninsula.

"I only watched the first episode. My schedule has been too busy afterward, so I haven't had time to watch any more. What are the reviews like"

Chi Jingyuan swallowed the water in his mouth and stared at the other person with squinted eyes.

This novel is first published on the Traditional Chinese Novels website.fiddling with the grill, flipping the meat over and over, but hadn't taken a single bite, just kept drinking.Chi Jingyuan could feel the other person's sadness, disappointment, and deep sense of helpl...