Chapter 28: A Disastrous Start

e got softer and softer until finally, Ji Jingyuan had to lean in close to hear her."Well, Tzuyu-ssi..."Ji Jingyuan's heart was churning with emotions, and for a moment, he didn't know what to say. He...After leaving the advertising company, the group got into a van. Cui Jichang, their newly assigned assistant, was driving, Lee Seung-hwan was in the passenger seat, and Park Kyung-won was resting in the back seat.

"Jingyuan, how do you feel" As the car started, Lee Seung-hwan glanced at Ji Kyung-won from the rearview mirror and asked with concern.

"It's alright, not much difficulty. It feels pretty simple filming commercials." Ji Jingyuan looked at the street scenery outside the car window and said casually.

These days, while filming the commercial, his manager Lee Seung-hwan and assistant Choi Ji-chang have been following him everywhere. Lee Seung-hwan, being EXO's manager room head, originally had a lot of authority in front of the members and frequently reprimanded them.

However, when facing Chi Jingyuan, he didn't put on any airs and often acted very approachable. When no other members were around, they seemed more casual and less formal.

This was also Li Chenghuan's own suggestion.

"It's not that simple, it's because you have a real talent for photography."

Lee Seung-hwan let out a derisive laugh: “I heard from other group’s managers before that when they were filming commercials with their members, they were so exhausted. The expressions weren't right, the movements were stiff, and the PD on set was constantly getting angry. The atmosphere was terrible. Every NG, he had to apologize to the staff for a long time and still couldn't get any good looks. It's really…”

"Unlike Jingyuan, you were only a little nervous during your first commercial shoot. Afterward, you quickly got into the groove and did even better. Today's milk commercial case is a great example; everyone is very satisfied and keeps praising you."

After several days of working together and comparing himself to his colleagues, Lee Seong-hwan expressed genuine admiration for Ji Kyeong-won: “The director of this case, Kim Jae-long, is a very experienced ad director who often shoots small-scale projects. He's quite well-known in the industry. I heard he has a bad temper and likes to scold people, but I didn't see that today at all.”

"There are so many rumors going around, but don't believe everything you hear. Director Kim Jin-long seems to have a pretty good temper."

Ji Jingyuan recalled the director from just now, and found that he basically had a smile throughout the whole process. After filming, he even came over to praise him for two sentences, completely unlike the viciousness rumored about him.

"Okay, Brother Cheng Huan, are there any other cases" Chi Jingyuan asked.

"Today your progress is really too fast. Originally, the plan was to shoot for a whole day, so there's nothing scheduled now. On the 26th, I will be attending another clothing advertisement." Lee Seung-hwan took out his phone memo and said.

What about that combination

"Ugh..." Hearing this question, Lee Seung-hwan's face, which had just been filled with joy, immediately turned grim. His sparse eyebrows furrowed together deeply, and he let out a heavy sigh.

Today is April 24th, more than half a month has passed since EXO-K's official debut on SBS Inkigayo, and the situation so far...is very bad.

Before their official debut, they received a lot of attention because it was ** Entertainment's large-scale male group project after several years. Plus, the company continuously invested various resources and materials to maintain their exposure.

Every few days, a member's video is released online, along with the innovative concept of two teams debuting in two different countries, keeping the heat constantly high.

Moreover, after the release of his debut video, he became a hot topic, gaining a large number of fans while keeping EXO's popularity at a high level. It can be said that it crushed other male groups who debuted around the same time.

Of course, there have always been fans of other groups who dislike EXO and post negative comments in various comment sections. However, this hasn't had much effect and has only added to the hype.

However, after EXO-K's official debut stage aired and the MV and audio source of their debut song "MAMA" were released, negative reviews immediately flooded in.

Whether it's a male or female idol group, the vast majority of members gain fans and increase their popularity through personal charm. However, radiating one's charm requires a medium, and before an idol group becomes famous, they rely most on songs as a vehicle when they don't have many entertainment resources.

This song "MAMA" is very professionally done, from the preparation to the filming and even the post-production. ** company really put a lot of effort into it. If you were to ask some professionals for their opinion, I think they would consider it a good work.

But it's a pity that they are not going to participate in the competition, but to develop a group and absorb fans.

But from the perspective of most ordinary fans on the street, they don't care whether you are professional or not, whether you put your heart into it. In their eyes, there is only like and dislike, good-sounding and bad-sounding.

...in the eyes of most ordinary people on the peninsula, 《MAMA》 is just unappealing and disliked.

And while the company put a lot of heart into it, what they came up with wasn't well-received.

The debut stage performance outfit was powerless to criticize, the main song style was not at all the style liked by people from the peninsula, and in the MV it was even more... It was another ugly outfit, another ghost mask, another roar and shout, and another set of inherited second-middle concept...

The company's efforts seem to be going in the opposite direction.

After their debut stage, they went on several more stages in a row.

On April 12th, they had a six-minute performance on M!Countdown on the M television channel.

On April 13th, they appeared on KBS Music Bank and performed "history" and "MAMA", with a stage time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

Over the next few days, EXO-K appeared on all three major music programs and also accepted a talk show interview for MBC's MicShoion.

It has to be said that ** Entertainment's resource investment is still considerable. Not many groups can continuously appear on various music shows despite receiving so much criticism in their early debut period.

It's a pity that the heavy investment seems to have backfired...Because they mostly performed the poorly-reviewed 《MAMA》 on stage.

Every time they take the stage, a wave of negative comments follows them like a shadow.

And after so many days of fermentation, as long as logging in news about entertainment groups,

Congratulations to ** company for the birth of the worst boy group ever! Big win! Please let me know before you disband kkkk.

excluding Yuan, the rest of them are arguably the ugliest boy group in ** Entertainment history.

"Why remove Yuan Aren't they a group Even if you add Yuan, on average, they are the ugliest group ** Entertainment has ever had!"

"The ugliest is not necessarily true, SHINee can also be a candidate. But they are definitely the most unprofitable group."

"This theme song is too bad, isn't it"

"Who can explain what 'MAMA' is all about A group of guys on stage shouting oh mama oh mama"

"Dead , it was hyped up for so long, but in the end, this is what they came out with. We totally destroyed them."

I recommend a new boy band, they are super handsome and all of them are talented. Their works also convey the message of opposing school violence, which shows their strong sense of social responsibility. They are definitely the next TOP!

"Can others even move Not even one person and they dare to call themselves TOP, don't make me laugh,

"

“…………”

The entire internet is rife with mockery towards the group EXO. Most of these casual observers just spout insults and then move on, showing no further interest.

Besides fans of other boy groups who debuted around the same time, it is surprisingly the fans of senior artists from the same company who are the most persistent in their daily barrage of insults and biting sarcasm.

This novel is first published on Traditional Chinese Novel Networkirely the same, but when they perform them together, it gives people a great feeling, a sense of ease and mastery."I've seen the behind-the-scenes footage of "Roar," you should have too... Right, Yuan...