Peninsula Cicada Song Diary

Under Pei Xiyan's meticulous care, Pei Zhuxuan recovered after a few days of rest.

And so the African wildebeest began its long migration once again.

Singapore concert, Peace Festival concert, Popular Culture and Arts Awards... Among them, the Popular Culture and Arts Awards, Red Velvet was one of only two idol groups invited to participate this year, and they received an award from the Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism on site. Bae Joo-hyun even specially sent him a photo of the medal.

Last year, thanks to "Red Flavor," the Red Velvet sedan, which had been building up its popularity, successfully entered the high-speed rail of popularity. This year, its visit to the north, its return to the mainland, and the awards it received are like installing a nitrogen-fueled engine for the sedan, giving it an unstoppable momentum.

For example, during their comeback this summer, Bae Suk-yeon admitted that "Power Up" was not as good as "Red Flavor," but on the day of its release, it went viral across the internet and became SM Entertainment's first hit song, reaching a million listens in two days and firmly solidifying Red Velvet's title as the queen of summer.

These achievements are genuine, and there's a high probability that this momentum will continue in the next comeback.

Although he didn't participate in the next comeback, he listened to the demo of the title track "rbb" written by his teacher. He thought it was a very trendy and dazzling style and therefore had no intention of participating.

It's now late October, and there's still almost a month until Red Velvet's comeback.

It's been almost three weeks now, and Meng still hasn't come to find Pei Xiyan.

It's true that one should be used to waiting, but Pei Xiyan didn't think it was normal. Three weeks is a lot of time to do: complete three or four games, watch dozens of movies, listen to thousands of songs, even develop a habit... and complete a demo.

During the day, Pei Xiyan didn't have time to think about the dream. He was scrolling through his mouse, searching for Park Jin-young's email address. Once he found it, he would send the demo he had already completed to him.

He didn't expect a quick reply. Park Jin-young was the president of the company, and he should be very busy. But less than half an hour later, while he was browsing the news, he received an urgent phone call.

"Junior, is this really just a demo?" Park Jin-young's excitement was palpable on the other end of the phone.

"Yes, senior."

"Aside from the lack of lyrics, everything else is, in my opinion, an extremely mature work!" Park Jin-young said. "It's rich in sections, incorporates many elements, and the opening electronic 'dalla dalla' is a real eye-opener! The moment I heard it, I felt it belonged to ITZY's teen crush!"

"I'm glad you're satisfied, senior," Pei Xiyan said.

He did indeed create many unconventional arrangements because of his "different" concept. For example, he used external tones instead of inner tones in the bass chords on the downbeats. He also used an FM sine wave octave higher to modulate an old sine wave and then used a filter to do some plug processing, creating a different FM bass, and so on.

In K-pop, this would be considered unorthodox.

"Satisfied, extremely satisfied!" Park Jin-young's voice sounded like the excitement of Bo Ya meeting Zi Qi, wishing he could drink and sing with Pei Xiyan right now, and then play a beautiful tune of "High Mountains and Flowing Water".

He put his ideas into practice, saying, "I wonder if my junior is free now? Could you come to JYP and discuss the demo with me?"

"Now......?"

Pei Xiyan pondered for a moment before walking out of the recording studio and looking towards the window at the end of the corridor.

It's a little past nine o'clock, but the distant horizon is as gray as dusk. Under the gray sky, the tall buildings stand like nameless tombstones in a desolate wilderness. The river is also very dark, making it impossible to see the ripples on it.

It certainly didn't look like good weather; dark clouds loomed over the city, and a storm seemed imminent.

Bo Ya, don't you know? Who would listen to you play "High Mountains and Flowing Water" when it's about to rain? Not only would people get soaked, but the firewood I'm carrying would also get damp, and then we wouldn't be able to start a fire! Pei Xiyan silently complained.

He walked back to the recording studio in silence, and Park Jin-young realized what was happening, "Um, the weather is definitely a bit off today."

"Junior, shall we meet tomorrow..."

"Let's do it today, senior." Pei Xiyan suddenly said, looking at the news that suddenly scrolled to the webpage, "Actually, I've also been wanting to eat at the company's organic cafeteria."

"Hahaha, even the hidden Cicada can't resist the charm of an organic cafeteria." Park Jin-young laughed heartily.

"Yes, it's quite delicious," Pei Xiyan said. "It's very nutritious, so at least Nuna won't worry about me becoming malnourished from eating takeout every day."

"That's the allure of organic farming, junior! You know that, right...?"

Once the topic of organic farming came up, Park Jin-young would launch into a long, rambling monologue, like a teacher extending class time, trying to impart unfinished knowledge to his students, unaware that they were actually full of complaints. Pei Xiyan was an exception; his strength lay in his patience, occasionally chiming in with a comment. The two chatted back and forth for over ten minutes, until Teacher Park realized that break time was running out, and both he and his students had another class to teach. Only then did they reluctantly end the session before the bell rang.

"...Then I'll wait for my junior in the cafeteria."

"it is good."

After putting her phone away, Pei Xiyan glanced at the news again: "Comingback imminent! TWICE will participate in 'Idol Room' again after four months. Photos taken on their way to work yesterday."

Muhammad said: If the mountain will not come to me, I will go to the mountain.

He wants to check out JYP.

......

The wind was howling outside, and the sound of cars on the road was drowned out by the wind.

In the coffee shop on the first floor of JYP, Sana Minato breathed on the glass window facing the street and then drew a simple smiley face with three strokes.

The manager was ordering coffee at the front desk, while the members were resting in the practice room. She couldn't stay idle, so she followed them downstairs, thinking she could help carry things later.

Lately, the members have become increasingly reliant on coffee, including myself. With an increasingly busy and seemingly endless schedule, they can only rely on coffee to stay awake. In the past, it was to prevent them from fainting during activities, but now it's to prevent them from falling asleep during practice.

The outline of the smiling face began to fade. Sana Minatozaki wiped it with her sleeve, exhaled, and wrote the English word "Cicada" stroke by stroke on the fog.

This guy is really something else. He's younger than me, but he's already quite famous. I heard he earns more in a year just from royalties than I do.

But compared to all that, what Minatozaki Sana was most concerned about was the inexplicable sense of familiarity he exuded. Worried that her memory might be playing tricks on her, she even called home to ask her mother if she knew a boy with the surname Pei. Minatozaki's mother's answer was simple and blunt:

Are there any surnames like "Bae" in Osaka?

There was no Osaka, so Minatozaki's mother had no recollection of it.

Cicada didn't last long either; the moisture around the edges of the glass began to drip. Sana Minatozaki lifted her sleeve to wipe it again, and as she lowered her sleeve, a figure walked straight into the small area of ​​glass she was wiping.

Black hair, thin, and... the white that the sky couldn't hide.

"Is this glass some kind of wishing wall?" Minatozaki Sana murmured.

There weren't many people outside JYP. Pei Xiyan walked past the coffee shop with her hands in her pockets, and just like last time, she subconsciously glanced over there.

The lights were on inside, illuminating a head of reddish-brown hair by the window. She was wearing a mint green sweater and black-rimmed glasses that covered half of her face. Behind the lenses were bright, sparkling eyes, as if they contained jewels.

Time seemed to have been paused. Separated by glass, by the sound of the wind and the music from inside the store, the two stared at each other blankly.

A few seconds later, the world returned to normal.

Pei Xiyan saw Minatozaki Sana smile, then breathe on the glass, creating a small patch of white mist, and write on it with her finger:

H...E...L...L...O...

Hello.

She wrote the letters backwards because Pei Xiyan saw a normal word.

After finishing writing, Sana Minatozaki waved cheerfully at him, her smile like the brilliant sunshine piercing through the dark clouds.

Thump, thump, thump...thump.

Pei Xiyan knew her heart skipped a beat again.

It was a solid mistake; I missed a beat the second time.