peninsula asteroid.

Chapter 859: Face Control~
"It seems that there is a little bit..."

"Why aren't there a few large main waiting rooms?"

When Byun Baekhyun said this, Kim Jong-in, Kim Jong-dae and others immediately echoed him. Several EXO members didn't find a place to sit, but frowned slightly as they observed the slightly narrow waiting room.

Today's MMA is held at the Gocheok Dome in Guro District, and EXO has held concerts here for several days. They are very familiar with the backstage of the Gocheok Dome. They all know that there are many suitable lounges backstage here.

To be honest, the area of ​​this waiting room is okay and spacious, but for a large group like EXO with nine members, as well as the management team and many codies who will always be around, it will seem a little small.

But even if it is crowded, it is not unusable...it is just that the organizer should be aware of such details.

Manager An Chengyuan also felt that there was something wrong. He looked around and frowned slightly. He waved his hand and said something before walking out: "You guys take a seat first. I'll go talk to the on-site PD..."

The other members also nodded and sat down without taking it too seriously. Chi Jingyuan was too lazy to care about such things. He found a seat on the sofa by the side, put his things down, and started to catch up on his sleep.

I heard some noise while half asleep and half awake, it seemed that An Chengyuan had returned.

"I went to take a look, and so far all the bands that have come to the scene have similar lounges, except that Crystal Boys has a bigger one... Never mind, it doesn't matter if it's smaller."

"I asked the on-site PD, and we will start rehearsing in half an hour. You guys should get ready and someone will notify you later... By the way, remember to call Jingyuan when the time comes..."

...Chi Jingyuan felt that he had not fallen asleep for two minutes after closing his eyes when he was called up. With hazy eyes, he followed the team to rehearse. It was not until he walked out of the backstage and arrived in front of the stage, and the heater was turned off and the temperature around him suddenly dropped, that he woke up a little. The proficiency that had formed muscle memory drove him to take his position on the stage, and he listened to the instructions of the live PD and swayed to the music.

As for rehearsal, it’s mainly about rehearsing the process; the movements don’t need to be so specific.

After going through the process three times in a row, EXO's rehearsal for today came to an end. PD Ji Jingyuan bowed and said goodbye and walked down from the stage. When he was walking through the cold metal audio cabinet area behind the stage, he suddenly heard a voice greeting him: "Senior Aniha Saiyo~"

Chi Jingyuan shuddered and opened his eyes. He looked to the side and found that it was IOI. He smiled and nodded along with the other members: "Oh, hello~"

After greeting each other, they passed each other without saying much. Chi Jingyuan felt that it might be a bit chilly here because there were too many metal sound cabinets, so he quickened his pace and left the area. When he was about to walk to the backstage, he suddenly remembered something and asked curiously, "What are they doing here? Why don't they go to the waiting room? Haven't they finished rehearsing yet?"

"No, we've already finished rehearsing. Um, I just asked..."

Park Chanyeol, who was standing next to him, shook his head after hearing this. He paused for a second, then moved closer and whispered, "It seems that IOI...didn't arrange a waiting room."

"Ah? When did you ask?"

"It was just before we went on stage for rehearsal, when you dozed off."

Chi Jingyuan was very surprised when he heard this.

Their EXO waiting room is just a little bit smaller, but it is completely gone at IOI?
He's been in the industry for so many years, of course he understands the ins and outs of this. Gocheok Dome is so big that there are so many empty rooms backstage, so there must be a shortage of space, and the organizer will definitely not miss such an important guest when arranging the waiting room... So there must be some shady reason why they deliberately didn't arrange any for them.

It feels a bit like the 12 year-end music festival, when the PD on site deliberately didn't give Tara a seat and made them stand in the aisle...

"It's only a little past five now. Don't they have to stand here for more than ten hours? The red carpet doesn't seem to start until six in the evening?" Chi Jingyuan couldn't help but look back, but the sound area was dark and there was not much light, so he couldn't see clearly. He could only see a few dark figures.

“Uh…” Park Chanyeol raised his eyebrows, his expression a little strange: “It seems that… they didn’t arrange a red carpet either.”

"what?"

Chi Jingyuan was a little surprised and speechless when he heard this...

He knew that the organizers of MMA and CJEM of 101 did not get along well, but he did not expect it to be to this extent.

"No, I'm not that stupid. I'll probably get in the nanny car in a little while... It's definitely better than staying here."

Seeing that XO members were discussing, team leader Jin Junmyeon quickly interrupted and said, "Let's not get involved in this matter... Let's go back quickly."

In the Peninsula music industry, these entertainment and brokerage companies compete secretly, and sabotage and various small tricks often occur. If the company is not strong enough, the idols under its management will always be looked down upon or even face some unfair treatment.

Artists under big companies have some protection in this regard. EXO only encountered some bad things when they first debuted, but they have basically not encountered any bad things in recent years.

...Today's lounge is indeed a little smaller, but Chi Jingyuan didn't think there was any problem.

Kim Junmyeon was right. This kind of thing had nothing to do with idols. Chi Jingyuan sighed softly and didn't say much. He followed him into the backstage.

...But he is not very familiar with them. If it was Chou Tzu-yu, or the group that Ming Jingnan was in encountered such a thing, he might have to find a way to help.

After returning to the backstage, the heating was everywhere, which seemed to dispel some of the chill. After walking a few steps, he came to the waiting room area. As soon as Chi Jingyuan turned a corner, he saw a few familiar faces in the small rest area on the side of the corridor in front.

Red Velvet's Kang Seulgi and Son Seungwan, as well as TWice's Lim Nayeon, Minatozaki Sana and Yu Jeongyeon, these five people somehow got together and were chatting.

People from both sides greeted each other after seeing each other. The other members went straight to the waiting room without much greeting. Wu Sehun and Chi Jingyuan, who originally wanted to leave, stayed and exchanged a few words because they saw an acquaintance.

Red Velvet probably arrived early as well. Seulgi and the others were all wearing casual clothes. Nayeon and the others also took off the name tags they were wearing when they met just now. Their faces were rosy and it looked like they had just finished their meal.

"Jingyuan Oppa!"

"Oppa, you look so depressed~"

"a little sick"

After the meeting just now, Yu Jeongyeon and Minatozaki Sana obviously looked concerned when they saw Ji Jingyuan, and Ji Jingyuan responded with a buzzing sound. Especially when facing Minatozaki Sana who looked like she was not an outsider and came close to look at him, he took the initiative to step back two steps: "Don't get too close to me..."

The cold is indeed a bit serious. I can't smell anything even though I'm so close.

Except for Lim Nayeon, Ji Kyung-won and the other two members of Twice said a few words, then looked at Kang Seul-gi and Son Seung-wan, who suddenly stopped talking and secretly observed after EXO arrived: "When did you come?"

Sun Shengwan hesitated for a moment and said nothing. Jiang Seulgi replied with a smile: "We came a long time ago. We were here at three in the morning."

"Well, it's really hard... By the way, is Yeri not okay yet?" Ji Jingyuan remembered something, looked around, and did not ask Bae Joo-hyun, but asked Kim Ye-rin instead.

Kim Ye-rin and Bae Joo-hyun were involved in a traffic accident last month. Bae Joo-hyun was lucky and nothing happened. She resumed her activities the next day, but Kim Ye-rin was a bit unlucky and was sent directly to the hospital.

Although SM issued an announcement, it was somewhat vague saying that Kim Ye-rin's injury was not serious, reassuring the concerned fans.

But as an insider, Chi Jingyuan knew that, actually... her condition was quite serious. It was said that she had injured her spine, which was quite troublesome. It had been almost two months and she still hadn't recovered.

After asking Pei Zhuxuan about it, Chi Jingyuan helped her transfer to another hospital and found a professional professor. Later, he received a thank-you call from the girl.

Although her tone was as bright and cheerful as before, Chi Jingyuan could tell that Jin Yilin's injury had a great impact on her overall health.

She was already unpopular in the team, and was scolded by haters every day. When she was on the rise, she had a car accident and had to rest for three months. Some people believed that she would be kicked out of the group.

Not to mention the impact of injuries to the spine on future life...

"not yet……"

With a soft sigh, Jiang Seulgi was a little depressed when talking about this, but she immediately changed her mood and added: "But I heard from the agent that Yeri has recovered well and will be able to return to the team in a while."

"That's good……"

Chi Jingyuan has always had a good impression of Kim Ye-rin, who has a very cheerful personality. He nodded when he heard this, and his mood improved a little... He also noticed that Lin Nayeon seemed to have the same reaction as him, and she also looked relieved.

He seemed to have heard from someone that Lim Nayeon and Kim Yerin have a good relationship.

"Okay, you guys chat, I'm leaving first..."

"Goodbye, Oppa~"

After a brief greeting, Chi Jingyuan did not stay any longer. He nodded gently to a few people, especially to Minatozaki Sana who waved goodbye sweetly, and left directly towards the waiting room.

Several people watched Chi Jingyuan leave, but Sun Shengwan's face obviously darkened. Chi Jingyuan had been there for a few minutes and had no communication with her at all. She felt that Chi Jingyuan might have left first because he had some opinions about her.

She felt very upset that her good friend had turned out like this.

"...Don't think too much~"

Wu Se-hun looked strange, as if he had noticed something, and explained in a natural tone, "He is too sleepy. He has been looking like he hasn't woken up since this morning. He was in a daze during the rehearsal just now. He must have gone back to the waiting room to sleep now."

Son Seungwan looked over after hearing this and seemed to be in a better mood, while Kang Seulgi nodded: "Jingyuan looks particularly listless, with dark circles under his eyes... I rarely see him with dark circles under his eyes."

"He has been busy with his unfinished collaboration song these past few days, and has been working overtime at the company until midnight every day... There seemed to be another problem with the filming yesterday, and he didn't come back until the early hours of the morning. He didn't get much sleep at all."

Wu Se-hun said with great understanding, and then rubbed his nose: "And he seemed to have caught a cold when he was working overtime the day before yesterday. It was quite serious. I don't know what he was rushing to do. He had to go to the company to work overtime to compose music when he had a cold. He must be crazy... I feel like I have it a little bit too. I wonder if I was infected by him."

"Well, it's really hard..."

Minatozaki Sana sighed sincerely, her sweet voice accompanied by a small sigh, making people feel that she really cares about Chi Jingyuan. Then she seemed to have discovered something important, blinking her eyes and looking at Wu Sehun: "Collaboration song? Is Jingyuan Oppa going to collaborate with someone on a song again?"

"!"

After hearing what she said, Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Seungwan all looked over curiously.

This is the first time they have heard of this... Didn't they just work together on "Really Really"? It's still on the inner circle of the melon chart.

"Forehead……"

Wu Se-hun felt that he seemed to have said too much. He paused for a second and pretended to be dumb and directly changed the subject: "It seems so. I don't really understand it. I heard him mention it occasionally..."

He was good at playing dumb and fooling people, and although she was not very familiar with Sana Minatozaki, she was not as familiar with Wu Sehun as Yu Jeongyeon, so it was not easy to continue asking. She smiled sweetly and kept it in mind without asking again.

94line was the main theme, and Lim Nayeon and Minatozaki Sana were both lively and sociable. Since they had nothing to do at the moment, they just started chatting here:
"…We heard that SM holds a Halloween party every year and we were so jealous. Nayeon loves this kind of party and even complained that our company didn't hold one."

“Next time, Jeongyeon, you guys can just come directly. The company will definitely welcome you. But it’s just that it’s not very lively this year… Actually, I suddenly feel that if the two companies hold a Halloween party together next year like the previous trainee showcase, it will definitely be very interesting!”

"Wow, I'm so excited!!"

"...did you exchange contact information with him? I remember that Shengwan is quite obsessed with looks, just a little less than Jingyuan."

"...Is Jingyuan Oppa also obsessed with looks?"

"Of course, even though he always pretends to be good-looking, he is actually the one who is most obsessed with looks. He has his own aesthetic sense. When he thinks you are not good-looking, he becomes the most polite person in the world."

"Hahaha, it turns out to be like this..."

…………

Chi Jingyuan could no longer hear the discussions and complaints behind him. After returning to the waiting room, he just found a place to sleep. He was woken up a few times occasionally because of something. He managed to get a good sleep throughout the day. When he started to put on makeup in the afternoon, his dark circles were covered by makeup, and he finally felt a little more energetic.

It has been raining in Seoul in recent days, and the temperature has dropped significantly. It was still drizzling in the evening today. The organizers did not arrange for fans to watch the event on site, and all the reporters were wearing transparent raincoats and were serious. The entire red carpet event was a bit lackluster. The only thing heard was the host Kim Shin-young trying her best to stir up the atmosphere in front of the camera.

However, it is regrettable that last year, Twice was not even qualified to participate in MMA, let alone the red carpet. However, this year, in just one year, they were able to appear on the red carpet as the finale. Among so many guests and groups, they only appeared before EXO, the last main attraction. The replacement is really a bit shocking.

There were many people around while waiting for the red carpet, so there was no chance to communicate, but Chi Jingyuan took in the dressing of his girlfriend and several others...

Although the black and white sequined hip skirt is a bit weird, the off-shoulder look and the black silk calf socks are still quite eye-catching, especially the black thin striped collar on Mingjing Nan's neck, which makes people look over...

But the temperature today is really low. Chi Jingyuan felt cold even wearing a coat. It is really hard to imagine what it feels like for these female artists and idols to walk the red carpet in skirts outdoors.

After all the foreplay including the red carpet and interviews were done, it was almost time for the official opening. EXO walked out of the artist channel and came to the artist seats under the guidance of the venue staff.

This year's MMA artist seats are still arranged in the small area on the left side of the main stage, with four rows of long soft benches covered with silver sequin patterns.

EXO was placed at the front, having the entire first row to themselves.

Chi Jingyuan and his group were the last to arrive. At this time, many people were already sitting in the rows behind the artist seats. Except for the empty first row, Twice and the lonely Jung Eun-ji sat in the second row, and then Blackpink, Gfriend, ZIco, and Red Velvet.
After seeing EXO coming, Twice, who was closest to them, and Blakcpink, who was behind them, immediately stood up and saluted, bowing very politely... Under the gaze of the surrounding cameras and fans, they completed the customary etiquette.

EXO nodded in response and prepared to sit down. Chi Jingyuan was very experienced and directly took the seat on the far right. Just as he was about to sit down, he heard the stage attendant who brought them here called him: "Jingyuanxi, please sit here."

He turned around and saw the stage manager pointing to the C position in the middle of the first row, obviously wanting him to sit in the most conspicuous position.

Several members of Twice who had not yet sat down heard the noise and looked over. Chi Jingyuan, who happened to be facing them, raised his head and glanced around casually. Apart from Ming Jingnan who was looking at him with shining eyes, he directly looked at Zhou Ziyu who was pursing her lips slightly.

...She has purple hair today and wears the same thin black necklace as Mingjing Nan. Her short face looks really pretty.

Except it's a little dark.

"Ani, Ani, I'll just sit next to you." After a brief eye contact, Chi Jingyuan withdrew his gaze, but had no intention of obeying the staff. He smiled and waved his hand, then sat down on the rightmost seat.

Kim Junmyeon is already sitting there, wouldn't it embarrass him if you ask me to sit over there?

Moreover, he had participated in such occasions many times and had already gained experience. The more remote it was, the more relaxed it was.

The stage manager seemed a little dissatisfied with his insistence, but he didn't say anything more, so EXO sat down... and after Chi Jingyuan observed where the members next to him were sitting, he turned around and looked at the acquaintance right behind him.

Jung Eun-ji!
This Busan girl left the group today and came to participate in MMA alone. She was wearing a beautiful and exquisite long dress. She looked like a goddess, sitting quietly and elegantly on the far right of the second row, two seats away from Twice's closest member Lin Nayeon, and just behind Ji Jingyuan.

"What a coincidence?" Chi Jingyuan half turned around, raised his right hand and shook it with a smile.

He slept all day backstage today and didn't move around much. He didn't have a chance to communicate in the waiting room during the red carpet session just now. Now he is in good spirits after a day of rest and he is very happy to see his good friend behind him.

"Snapped……"

Zheng Endi held back her laughter, stretched out her hand and gave Chi Jingyuan a high-five with a little force, then she tied her hair up, pursed her big mouth, and pretended to be a goddess without saying a word.

After all, she is a senior, with so many juniors eavesdropping around her and wearing such a formal dress, of course she has to show some attitude... It's understandable.

"Tsk~"

But the more he saw her like this, the more Chi Jingyuan wanted to tease her. He looked her up and down and said, "I'm not used to seeing you sitting here alone in this dress~"

"Ah……"

As a good friend, she could of course understand the sarcasm in his words. Zheng Endi gritted her teeth and laughed, fighting back: "Then who are you more accustomed to seeing, it's..."

She was just about to make fun of Son Na Eun's name as usual, but suddenly she thought of something and the words were stuck in her mouth. Then she turned her head slightly and glanced at Ming Jingnan, who was sitting in the same row with her on the left, four or five seats away. There was something indescribably strange in her eyes.

She realized that the girlfriend of the dead guy in front of her was sitting next to her. Not only were a TOP male idol and a popular female idol in a relationship, they were also sitting in the front and back rows at the award ceremony... These two really know how to have fun.

Even she felt it was thrilling and inexplicably excited.

Seeing Jung Eun-ji turn her head, Ji Kyung-won also reflexively followed her gaze and looked in that direction, but he did not see Ming Jingnan because his view was blocked by the profile of Lin Nayeon who was closest to him.

He didn't care much about it. Just when he was about to look over, he suddenly found that Lin Nayeon, who was originally looking forward with a smile and seemed to have not noticed anything about their movement, seemed to have felt his gaze at the first moment.

Then she didn't know what happened to this Heizi, her whole eyes and expression seemed to freeze for a moment.

The next second, Lin Nayeon turned her head quickly and unnaturally, as if she was a clockwork puppet, and twisted to the right stumblingly, turning the profile that was originally facing Ji Jingyuan into a three-quarter profile with a forced smile.

(End of this chapter)