Peninsula: It’s just a dream, are you serious?

Chapter 526 He Likes Krystal Jung

The next day, September 8th, arrived quickly, around 9 PM.

The Korean Peninsula's online community has become quite lively due to a post made by JYP's official website an hour ago.

The announcement was simple: former Wonder Girls member Lee Sunmi's solo song will be officially released on major music streaming platforms at midnight tonight.

The reason why netizens were somewhat agitated by this post is that JYP's recent promotions have indicated that this is Chen Yan's first album produced entirely independently.

Who is Chen Yan?

Chen Yan was one of the three girl group songs that became hits between the end of June and August, making Girl's Day and Apink, two newly popular girl groups, famous.

He was hailed as a top female idol by netizens and fans, but his song "Roar" released in early August was a harsh slap in the face, and his face still hurts a little.

Because the winds of "Roar" still haven't stopped blowing.

As of yesterday, the album "Roar" has sold over 80 copies.

The record-breaking sales of over 100,000 units once again shook the entire industry. Although the sales growth was not as strong as in previous weeks and the growth rate had slowed down significantly, it was still growing at a steady pace.

Industry insiders are now eager to see how many copies this album will sell by the end of the year.

Will it reach 85, 90, or 95? Or will it make history and become the first album from Peninsula to sell over a million copies in 12 years since 2001?

Just thinking about it is enough to give one a jolt.

Riding the wave of popularity created by "Growl," EXO soared to new heights, making this rookie boy group, which had debuted less than two years ago, one of the most popular boy groups on the Korean Peninsula, subtly surpassing the veteran powerhouse Bigbang.

It's not just on the Korean Peninsula; the entire group has experienced a rapid increase in popularity in Asian countries such as China and Japan, and has even gained a certain level of popularity in Europe and America.

And just yesterday, on the stage of SBS's "Inkigayo," EXO won their 16th number one trophy since they started performing music shows with "Growl," and then officially announced their withdrawal from music show promotions.

Upon hearing this news, some entertainment companies whose artists were about to return breathed a sigh of relief.

But after breathing a sigh of relief, I couldn't help but click my tongue in amazement.

That's 16 individual numbers.

The entertainment companies that are most likely to cry are those whose artists are making a comeback in August.

In early August, they encountered a large destroyer like f(x)'s "First Tooth," and later they encountered a nuclear submarine like "Growl." In one comeback, they really didn't get anything.

Not only did they not get a single spot, but their popularity didn't increase much either, because it was all absorbed by f(x) and EXO.

Most importantly, both of these songs are by Chen Yan.

Against this backdrop, Chen Yan, as the creator and producer of the song "Roar" and one of the main creators of this phenomenal popularity, naturally received high attention from the industry and the public for his every word and action.

JYP is currently promoting Chen Yan's first independently produced album, which is naturally attracting a lot of attention.

Of course, neither the industry nor the public expected Lee Sunmi's album to achieve the same success as "Growl".

If Chen Yan could write a song or make an album now and generate the same level of popularity and amazing success as "Roar," then what's the point of them doing this?

It would be better if they all joined JYP and became subsidiaries of JYP, so that the entire Korean music scene would only have the voice of JYP.

They are simply paying close attention to Chen Yan's new works, after all, Chen Yan can now be said to be a trendsetter in the entire industry.

Besides the fact that Lee Sunmi's solo album is Chen Yan's first album produced independently, there is another point of discussion among netizens.

Yesterday, JYP Entertainment released another video on their official website showing Lee Sunmi practicing dance in the practice room.

The dance itself doesn't have much content; the key point is that, according to the promotional material, the idea for Lee Sunmi's dance was provided by Chen Yan.

Upon seeing this, netizens' curiosity was instantly piqued.

Then netizens quickly discovered that this was not the first time Chen Yan had provided creative ideas for girl group dances.

The last one was Girl's Day's "Something". At that time, Dream Tea Entertainment's promotional materials also stated that the dance idea for "Something" was provided by Chen Yan.

Upon discovering this, netizens, especially male netizens, were once again invigorated.

The dance to "Something" really won their hearts.

The allure of lifting her skirt, the squatting motion, and those four pairs of beautiful, white legs still linger in their memories. They often revisit the music video alone in their rented room late at night.

Coincidentally, according to JYP's announcement, Lee Sunmi's "Gashina," like "Something," is also a sexy dance.

Well, my curiosity and anticipation have increased even more.

Thus, the topic of Lee Sunmi's new song on the internet rose steadily through spontaneous discussions among many netizens, eventually making it onto Naver's trending list.

A few minutes later, it was midnight.

People sitting in front of their computer screens or mobile phones clicked on Melon's official website and searched for the song "Gashina".

However, most of them chose to watch the music video while listening to the song.

A few minutes later, around the time the song ended, comments appeared in the comment section below the song, apart from the check-in comments.

[Ouch, those legs are killing me! And that pistol dance, it really hit me instantly.]

[That's a pistol, it's clearly the key to unlock my heart; those are legs, they're clearly the passageway into my heart.]

[Wow, how come I never noticed how sexy Lee Sunmi is before? She's completely different from her Wonder Girls days. I'm a fan now.]

[As expected of PD Chen's productions, they're always top-notch. The catchy melody and the pistol in the dance perfectly combine to elevate the song's memorability to another level.]

[It's thanks to PD Chen that we understand us! These legs are so beautiful... no, I mean, this song is so beautiful!]

The song's comment section and online discussions grew rapidly over time, which also reflects the high level of public attention to the song.

Half an hour later, the hashtags 【Chen Yan's new work is as good as ever】 and 【Lee Sunmi's new solo song "Gashina"】 both became trending topics.

Amidst the online discussions, time quickly reached 1:00 PM, the exact time Melon's real-time rankings were updated.

The charts have been updated, and "Gashina" has risen to third place on Melon's real-time chart.

Upon seeing this ranking, some industry insiders and entertainment company executives showed no surprise.

They also don't think that it's a mistake for Chen Yan's work not to suddenly drop to the top of the real-time charts after "Roar".

On the contrary, the fact that Lee Sunmi, an idol with relatively little popularity, was able to debut at number three on the real-time charts with her first solo performance already speaks volumes about Chen Yan's ability to promote talent.

It's worth noting that, excluding f(x), Girl's Day, who weren't very popular before, was ranked 19th on the real-time charts when they released "Something".

Later, Apink, who was slightly more popular, replaced them, and "nonono" ranked 5th on the real-time charts at the time.

Now, Lee Sunmi, an idol with similar popularity to Apink back then, has suddenly jumped to third place on the real-time charts.

Getting into the top three of the real-time rankings is much harder than getting into the top five.

What does this mean?
This shows that after the phenomenal success of "Roar," Chen Yan's reputation and fame have increased significantly, and his ability to promote others has become even stronger.

Lee Sunmi's current achievements are the best proof of this.

They have reason to believe that if it were another idol with slightly higher popularity than Lee Sunmi today, they might actually have jumped to the top of the real-time charts.

Having reached this conclusion, many people are already imagining the scene of their company's artists reaping both fame and fortune if they can collaborate with Chen Yan next year.

Meanwhile, in Cheongdam-dong, at Chen Yan's home.

After replying to Li Xuanmei's thank-you message, Chen Yan turned off his phone and placed it on the bedside table.

Instead of paying attention to the online buzz, I stared at the ceiling, just like last night, and pondered Krystal Jung's situation once again.

He wasn't the type of person who would repeatedly run away from or subconsciously ignore problems. After returning home from JYP in the morning, he didn't actually go straight to sleep.

Instead, he lay in bed and recalled everything that had happened between him and Jung Soo-jung from the beginning to the present. When it comes to matters of the heart, if there are no answers right away, then calmly sorting out their past is a good way to find the answer.

Then Chen Yan did find the answer—he liked Krystal Jung.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly when it started, but it seems like it was during that date when they were trying to create a scandal, and he suddenly thought Krystal's eyes were really beautiful.

Or perhaps it was when he dreamt of Krystal Jung and G-Dragon having a scandal, and he subconsciously felt a little uncomfortable.

It could also have started even earlier, from the moment he met her and began to enjoy teasing girls.

That's why he felt a pang of heartache when he saw Krystal crying in his dream a few days ago.

That's because he likes her, not because he treats her like a younger sister or because he cares for her.

When he figured this out, for some reason, he felt inexplicably relieved, as if a knot had disappeared, and he felt much lighter overall.

But
With a heavy sigh, Chen Yan banished the image of the girl with her smiling eyes from his mind.

But understanding it is one thing, but he can't do anything about it.

There are some lines that cannot be crossed; once crossed, things will start to get out of control.

He had promised Jessica Jung's older sister that he wouldn't do anything to Krystal Jung, so he couldn't do anything.

What will happen to Jessica Jung if she does something?
So let's continue as we are now, and not cross any boundaries.

Thinking of this, Chen Yan pursed his lips and sighed softly.

Suppressing all his thoughts, he reached out and turned off the bedroom light.

I can't think about it anymore, time to sleep!

Meanwhile, at home in the southern part of the city.

Jessica Jung sat quietly on the sofa in the living room, her unfocused eyes staring blankly ahead, lost in thought.

"click"

A few minutes later, the door opened, and after a series of footsteps, Yoona, dressed in pajamas, appeared in the living room.

Seeing Jessica Jung sitting there in a daze, she pursed her lips and walked over.

Jessica Jung hasn't gone back to her dorm these past few days because she's afraid others will notice something unusual.

During the day, things were fine, as everyone rarely saw each other. At night, everyone was mostly training together, and Jessica Jung had a habit of spacing out, so the others didn't notice anything unusual.

As for Chen Yan, he naturally used the excuse that he was too busy during this period to get by. He didn't ask any questions and just asked the group to come to his place that night.

For the past two nights, she, Kim Tae-yeon, and Lee Soon-kyu have been taking turns staying at Jessica Jung's house with her.

Jessica Jung is prone to emotional instability when she's alone, so it's always good to have someone by her side.

Walking up to her, Lim Yoona softly called out, "Unnie."

After being called twice, Jessica Jung finally reacted, her eyes refocusing as she turned to look at her.

"Ok?"

"It's getting late, it's time to rest."

"Oh."

Jessica glanced at the wall clock, responded, then looked at Yoona and suddenly pursed her lips.

"Yoona".

A determined glint flashed in her eyes as Jessica Jung said, "I've thought it through and I'm mentally prepared. I want to talk to Krystal. What do you think?"

"Of course."

Yoona smiled and sat down next to her: "Unnie, you and Krystal should have a good talk, you can definitely solve the problem."

"Yes, I'll talk to Soojung right now."

Seemingly afraid that she would hesitate again after a while, Jessica Jung picked up her phone after speaking, opened Kakao, clicked on one of the pinned profile pictures, quickly edited a message and sent it.

Jessica Jung: Krystal, when do you have time to come home? I want to have a good talk with you.

Looking at the message on her phone that the message had been successfully sent, Jessica Jung pursed her lips nervously.

A few seconds later, the message's unread status suddenly changed to read status.

Krystal was still awake; she had checked the messages.

Jessica Jung gripped her phone tighter.

Sometimes, a long ten or twenty seconds would pass before a reply appeared in the chat box.

Crystal: My schedule has been quite full these past few days.

Upon seeing the news, Jessica Jung immediately became depressed.

Is she really that busy, or is she avoiding me?

Just then, another message popped up in the chat box.

Krystal: Let's talk about it in a few days after you finish your concert. I'll have time then, and you'll have time too. I'll be going home then.

Jessica Jung immediately perked up and quickly replied: Okay, I understand.

Crystal: Yeah, I'm going to sleep now. Unnie, you should get some rest too.

Jessica Jung: Okay, goodnight.

Crystal: Goodnight.

After carefully reviewing the message again, Jessica Jung looked up at Yoona, and the two smiled at each other.

On the other end of the phone, inside f(x)'s dormitory.

After replying to the message, Krystal Jung turned off her phone, put it down, and seemed lost in thought for a moment.

Unnie, I also need some time to prepare myself mentally.

Time flew by, and several more days passed quickly, until September 13th arrived.

That morning, Chen Yan sat in his office, one hand on the keyboard and the other holding the mouse, staring intently at the computer screen, occasionally moving his hands.

A few minutes later, he withdrew his hands, leaned back slightly in his chair, subconsciously let out a soft sigh, and a smile appeared on his lips.

The OST for "The Heirs" is complete.

After stretching his body, Chen Yan saved the file.

Just then, a cell phone rang.

He reached for his phone, saw the caller ID, and frowned slightly in confusion before answering the call.

"Hey"

Upon hearing the voice on the other end of the phone, Chen Yan's brows furrowed instantly.

"Okay, I understand, I'll go there now."

He hung up the phone, turned off his computer, and then got up and walked quickly outside.

(End of this chapter)