Peninsula 2017: Is the system living in the past?

The next day.

10:30 a.m.

Office of the Representative Director of Banana Culture, Gangnam-gu.

The atmosphere was fairly good, but also a bit tense.

In the spacious office's reception area, Chen Yufan and Li Haoyang sat upright on the sofa.

Today is the day they arranged to meet with Jiang Xingchen to discuss their comeback styling concept.

EXID is about to return.

However, the design concept has yet to be finalized.

Lead vocalist Heo Solji is currently in a long-term recovery period due to hyperthyroidism.

The return in the first half of the year was not as successful as expected.

With all these factors combined, both of them became somewhat anxious.

"Knock knock knock..."

The assistant pushed open the office door. "Representative, the designer has arrived."

Both of their eyes turned to the doorway.

Jiang Xingchen walked in.

Her outfit was different from what she wore when we last met.

He changed into a more formal dark casual suit today, but without a tie.

He was carrying that black tote bag across his shoulder.

She exudes an aura of shrewdness and competence.

"Designer, I've finally waited for you!"

Seeing him appear at the door, Chen Yufan and the other person stood up with smiles to greet him.

"Representative Chen, Producer Li, it's nice to see you again." He replied with a smile, then strode into the office.

As he walked, he casually took his tablet out of his bag.

When they reached the two people.

The tablet was unlocked and a PowerPoint presentation was open.

He has to go to the film set in Namyang City soon, so his schedule is tight and he doesn't plan to spend too much time here.

"With Heo Solji absent, EXID's advantage in vocal range has dropped sharply. Trying to compete head-on in this area would put too much pressure on the others."

"You could actually tell from their previous two comebacks."

"Therefore, for this comeback, we must shift the audience's attention from their ears to their eyes."

Seeing that he got straight to the point as soon as he arrived, Chen Yufan and Li Haoyang also put aside their pleasantries and focused their attention on the lit screen.

The sexiness that appeared on the screen was not the usual kind.

Instead, it's a set of visually striking concept images—retro funk and sexiness.

A vibrant, glistening red background.

The cold, piercing blue light.

The remaining four members of EXID wore oversized suits, but underneath they wore extremely sexy tight-fitting bralettes and patent leather boots.

The style is like Girl Crush, but a little different.

The two looked at Jiang Xingchen almost simultaneously, wanting to hear his explanation.

A new concept like 'Newtro'?

"It's not a completely new concept, just some adjustments made to Girl Crush," Jiang Xingchen noticed the look in their eyes and seemed to have guessed what they were thinking.

"Alpha Female: Confident, independent, and decisive."

He pointed to the screen and said, "Using highly saturated red and blue contrasting colors, we create a visually psychedelic effect."

"To captivate the audience with this violent aesthetic of color from the very first glance at the music video."

"Then use styling to shape one's temperament."

"As for whether it will be five people or four people."

"Even if they know that EXID is a five-member group, at this time, most of their attention will be focused on what is in front of them, and they will ignore everything else."

With these few words from him.

Chen Yufan and Li Haoyang both caught their breath.

The two exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other's eyes.

This style not only fits EXID's overall concept for this comeback, but it's also exactly what they wanted.

The "memorable points" that allow EXID to catch the eye among a crowd of styles, whether innocent or sexy!

"Designer-nim."

Chen Yufan's attitude immediately became much more polite. "We'll take this concept. Name your price!"

...

...

An hour later.

Jiang Xingchen walked out of the SK V1 Center building where Banana Culture Entertainment was located.

The sun was shining brightly at that moment.

He was in a good mood.

Chen Yufan was very satisfied with the concept he proposed, so he immediately decided to cooperate with him.

This collaboration is a customized project.

Therefore, the cost includes not only the designer's concept planning fee, but also the production cost of a single garment.

There's more than one music show stage, so naturally there will be more than one set of stage outfits.

So the overall price is quite good.

In short, we made money.

Stop briefly at the roadside.

The top-of-the-line Maybach from yesterday slowly pulled up in front of me.

He casually opened the car door, got in, said "To Nanyangzhou," and then fell into thought.

The driver, who already knew his work assignments for the next few days, said nothing. After fastening his seatbelt, he silently shifted gears and drove away.

Ring ring...

His phone rang not long after he drove off.

Upon taking it out, I saw it was a call from Park Jiyeon.

The call connected easily.

"Yabusa, Jiyeon, the timing of your call is quite convenient. I just came from Banana Culture and am on my way to Nanyangju."

In the front row, noticing him answer the phone, the driver raised his hand and pressed a button on the center console.

A thick pane of glass rose up, separating the front and back rows.

On the other end of the phone, Park Jiyeon, who was resting at home, raised an eyebrow when she heard that he was on his way to Namyangju.

"Are you really going to be Eun-jung unnie's assistant for a few days?"

"Well, before we address her current problem."

"Aigoo, as expected, the old guard is not as good as the newcomers. The treatment these unnies receive, tsk tsk..."

After confirming that he hadn't just said it casually the night before, he immediately made a sarcastic remark.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Xingchen burst into laughter.

"I've choreographed such a cool dance for you, and you're still not satisfied!"

"The first time you approached me, it was just a bottle of banana milk that cost 3000 won."

"Why do I feel like there will be several more opportunities like this to dredge up old grievances?"

"I'm even wondering what tricks you'll pull when you meet the other unnies?"

Park Ji-yeon also gave her response to Jiang Xingchen's statement.

In conversation...

Well...

It's incredibly sour.

"whispering sound..."

Park Jiyeon let out a soft hum.

Then, they got down to the real business that had brought up the phone call—the matter of Ham Eun-jung, and whether it was easy to resolve.

"It's not easy to solve."

"What?"

"I can't do this question, it's too hard!"

"Hey, you're kidding me again!"

The exaggerated voice made Park Jiyeon, who had just sat up straight, roll her eyes and then urge him to quickly tell her what happened yesterday.

Jiang Xingchen laughed and began to recount the events of yesterday in a calm and unhurried manner.

As time passed, the car gradually approached Nanyangzhou.

At this time.

The comprehensive film and television base in Nanyangzhou.

Filming for "Diverse Daughters-in-Law" is in full swing.

Ham Eun-jung continued her good form from yesterday, and there were no major mistakes during the morning's filming.

"Okay, click... this take is good!"

With a greeting from Lee Jae-jin, another scene was successfully completed.

After glancing at the time, he picked up the megaphone he had just put down and announced that everyone should have lunch and rest for a while.

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd around him cheered.

Finally, I can rest.

Having nothing to do at the moment, I didn't bother to grab my boxed lunch, but instead quickly walked toward the food cart parked under the shade of the trees.

At times like these, an iced Americano is the perfect remedy.

That's right, a food truck for cheering.

Before work started this morning, the same luxurious food truck that had been there yesterday arrived at the site again, which surprised many people.

It was precisely because of this that Ham Eun-jung received a lot of thanks early on.

The same thing is happening now.

"Unnie, I put your coffee in a thermos."

When assistant Ha Min-young saw Ham Eun-jung approaching, she immediately handed her a cup, along with a churros. "The churros from this food truck are delicious!"

"Is that so..."

Ham Eun-jung smiled and accepted the coffee, sipping it while looking outside.

It's already past midnight.

The parking space for the food truck was still empty.

He blinked rapidly twice, seemingly lost in thought.

Just as she was about to turn around and go back to the dressing room to rest.

A car reflecting the blinding sunlight appeared on the horizon.

"Min-young, could you please go get another cup of coffee?"

......