I desperately want to win on the peninsula

August 24th, around noon.

Lee Min-young was a fan who had been following Monstax since their debut. Later, she unknowingly became a die-hard fan of Lim Gan-chiao and lost interest in the other members. This was mainly because she was extremely controlling. In the Monstax group, his looks were so outstanding that he was on a completely different level, so it was only natural that she favored him.

In order to win his photocard, I spent all my allowance to buy ten copies of his debut album. I didn't win the first eight albums, and I was extremely frustrated at the time.

Fortunately, luck was on her side, and she finally drew the ninth one. Now she sticks it on the back of her phone, keeping it with her all day long. She takes it out to look at it whenever she has free time, showing her utmost loyalty.

Ever since Starship started announcing Monstax's impending return a few days ago, she's been excitedly checking the official news every day, reading through almost every piece of the promotional content.

However, news about Lin Qianqiao is extremely scarce, and she has repeatedly cursed the company for being inhumane.

Starship usually releases content between noon and afternoon, and she was scrolling through the webpage out of sheer boredom, having given up hope of seeing anything today.

Finally, after her tireless refreshing, the page displayed the latest content. In addition to the album concept introduction, Li Minying's long-awaited Lin Qianqiao also appeared, instantly catching her eye. She quickly zoomed in on the image to browse it.

The style of this comeback can be described as dark and gothic, with a gloomy and mysterious background and wild clothing.

This time it's a solo promotional photo. Lee Min-young didn't need to look for anyone; she immediately saw Lin Qianqiao wearing a patchwork flight jacket. In particular, her eye-catching pink hair was styled in a side part with clear and beautiful texture, showcasing her delicate features and superior appearance.

In the promotional photo, he tilts his head slightly upward, looking down at the camera with a cold and sharp gaze, like a villain, full of provocation.

That icy gaze seemed to pierce through the screen and strike Li Minying's heart. She unconsciously clenched her fists and let out a series of gasps.

"Aaaaaah! Kyo!!! What are you doing?!"

There's more than just one promotional photo. There's also a side profile shot in the shadows under the hood of a black hoodie. This pose has a more relaxed and casual feel, with less sharpness and more allure in the eyes, like an unintentional glance back and a light smile.

Lee Min-young felt her heart skip a beat after watching it, thinking he was like a seductive enchantress.

This brand new comeback look is absolutely stunning! The entire set of promotional photos is so beautiful, it's like a lifelong phone wallpaper. Lee Min-young was practically drooling over the photos before remembering she hadn't checked the forums, and hurriedly clicked into the fan site.

Unsurprisingly, the promotional photos and screenshots were all over the place, along with materials praising the comeback without reservation.

Many people have already started to gather and push for sales, and posts planning this comeback have been pinned to the top of the charts, showing how much fans value this comeback.

After a while, fans started sharing content and promotional photos of the comeback on various forums, acting as unofficial promoters.

Because Lin Qianqiao brought his own audience from the "SMTM" program, he quickly attracted a lot of onlookers. After all, his popularity was quite high during this summer vacation, and he frequently made it to the top of the trending searches.

Even some female hip-hop fans who didn't know Lin Qianqiao was an idol couldn't help but be attracted by the promotional photos and started searching for information about his comeback on various search engines.

This level of discussion naturally caught the attention of Starship's publicity department, who quickly released more information and began planning the upcoming MV teaser.

The entire Monstax team was excited and looking forward to the results of this comeback.

Meanwhile, in the Starship training room.

Facing the intense training ahead of her debut, Kim Jiyeon knew that people are more prone to making mistakes when they are close to success, and any problem could lead to failure.

From Cube to Starship seeking her debut opportunity, she has no choice but to wait. Now, all she can do is cheer up, grit her teeth, and persevere, believing that her moment of success will eventually come.

After the dance class ended, the tired girls were finally allowed to rest for a while at the dance teacher's signal. At this time, no one spoke in the practice room. Some wiped their sweat, some drank water, and everyone was exhausted.

The peaceful atmosphere of the practice room was shattered when Li Xiatian let out a loud "Moya!" The natural loud voice instantly attracted the attention of everyone in the practice room, and they couldn't help but turn their eyes to him.

"Summer! What are you doing, jumping around like that?" Exy patted his chest, looking startled.

"Unnie, look at the company's official website! Kyo's comeback look is amazing!" Li Xiatian excitedly shouted, showing Exy her phone screen and gesturing for her to check it out.

Upon hearing that it was a promotional photo of Kyo, Exy instantly perked up. Because she was a bit far away from Li Xiatian and couldn't see the contents of the phone clearly, she felt a little anxious.

Ever since she was going to participate in "UR", I have watched every episode of "SMTM" without missing a single one. Lin Qianqiao's performance was really outstanding. From the early audition stage, she showed her super strong a cappella skills, to the 60-second fire pit challenge that went viral and was sought after by many mentors, and then to her amazing solo performance of "Shut Up".

She witnessed all of this. Sometimes Exy would admire Lin Qianqiao's strength and fantasize about having the same performance in "UR" and being favored by countless people, unconsciously drawing herself into his story.

She admired this performance and at the same time regarded Lin Qianqiao as her goal.

She had completely forgotten about Zhou Xian's performance; she was just too familiar with it. Once she got into it, she felt like ants were crawling all over her, making her feel extremely uncomfortable.

The main reason was the news from the artist department that they could share the music library, which made her incredibly excited. The tension of participating in the program immediately eased, and she felt much more confident.

So when Exy heard news about Lin Qianqiao, he was more excited than anyone else in the practice room. He immediately got up, walked to the floor where his belongings were, rummaged through his bag, and took out his phone to search for information.

"Oh my god! Really? No wonder the company kept Kyo's promotional photos a secret for so long. They were saving a big surprise."

Ren Duorong, who was closest to Li Xiatian, leaned close to her and stared at the pictures on her phone with wide eyes, looking like she understood. If she wore black-rimmed glasses at this moment, she could probably imitate a certain elementary school student who is a death god. Xue'e, who had already been informed, also made a move, but her every move was quite nimble, like a thief.

"Let me see!" Luda nestled between them, resting her head on their shoulders, her eyes scanning Li Xiatian's phone. The moment she saw the screen, she exclaimed in surprise, "It really is! This look suits him so well!"

Seeing that Luda was doing the same, the others in the practice room curiously gathered around, and then a chorus of "frog" sounds filled the air, making it look like a pond to anyone who didn't know better...

After reading it, we started discussing the Monstax regression content.

"The results should be pretty good this time."

"With such great performances from Joo-heon and Kyo in 'SMTM,' a lot of people must have noticed. Their casual fanbase must be huge, so it's all about sales. But Kyo's new look is really captivating; it feels like it could drain all my fans..."

"Indeed, I just checked the fan club page, and the fans are really taking this comeback seriously. They're already planning a concentrated push on the charts, so the results are sure to be great. Their first number one spot is just around the corner!"

"..."

Apart from the youngest, Lin Qianqiao and LM, who were essentially parachuted in, the other five members were all familiar with each other.

After all, the trainees arranged by the company are either from the same cohort or classmates from the same school. They have grown up together since childhood, and those with better relationships have already started sending messages to inquire about information.

……

Cheongdam-dong, JYP Cafeteria.

Sitting at the dining table, Minatozaki Natsusa chewed her food with a hazy look in her eyes. In her daze, she squinted and nodded her head. When she looked up, a look of confusion flashed in her eyes, completely unaware of what had happened.

After swallowing the food, she felt so tired and sleepy... she couldn't muster any energy at all.

The whole process of practicing, recording songs, and shooting music videos went well during this period, and the time was just enough.

But afterwards there were foreign language classes, acting classes, and etiquette classes, which left the undebuted actress completely overwhelmed. She would go back to her dorm, wash up quickly, lie down on her bed, and fall asleep immediately, without any time or space to relax. She was exhausted.

She felt frustrated just thinking about Lin Qianqiao's casual suggestion last time; she couldn't figure out where she could squeeze out even a tiny bit of time to exercise.

She really wanted to grab him and interrogate him, but she knew it was impossible. Minatozaki Natsusa sighed. The chances of the two meeting were few and far between, let alone interrogating him.

After finishing their lunch, they picked up their trays, placed them in the dishwashing area, and turned to leave. The two fellow villagers were not eating at the cafeteria today; instead, they chose to go downstairs to buy bread for lunch... saying they were trying to lose weight.

Sana Minatozaki has recently learned her lesson and stopped dieting, otherwise she really would have to be careful not to stumble while walking, just like he said.

Back in the practice room, she saw Hirai Momo and Mina sitting cross-legged in the corner, leaning against the wall and looking at their phones. They seemed quite focused. Minatozaki Sana walked towards them.

Mina seemed to sense something, looked up at Sana Minatozaki who was approaching, then smiled and waved, "Sana-chan~"

"What are Mina and Momo looking at?" Minatozaki Sana sat on the ground and glanced at Hirai Momo's phone screen. She couldn't see it clearly in the light reflection. Hirai Momo looked up when she heard the voice, and when she saw it was her, she grinned and waved for her to come over and look together.

"Mono said that a senior they know is coming back soon, and they released a trailer today. We're watching this..." Mina said, noticing that Sana Minato had already squeezed next to Momo Hirai, their faces close together as they looked at their phones.

She glanced at it and sometimes envied the relationship between the two, always sticking up to each other.

"I can't believe I didn't notice this senior's style last time. This pink hair look is absolutely stunning." Hirai Momo and Mani Mina couldn't quite explain the situation, but Minatozaki Sana definitely understood, so she started commenting. While she was talking, her eyes were glued to her phone, sparkling...

To be honest, after seeing Momo Hirai's new look this time, my impression of him was completely overturned. I really didn't expect that he would look so approachable in person, but he would change completely in the promotional poster. It's unbelievable.

But he really is handsome!

Upon hearing this, Minatozaki Sana glanced at Hirai Momo, knowing full well that she was a hardcore sucker for good looks. "Last time he was practicing nearby, and he was dressed very casually, which is perfectly normal."

"That's true... but true masters don't reveal their abilities, I really didn't expect that." Hirai Momo clicked her tongue, feeling a pang of regret that she hadn't been able to witness her senior's refined side in real life.

Mina was a little confused, but she didn't ask any questions. Everyone has their own secrets, so she just sat quietly to the side and listened. Some things you'll know when you're supposed to know, there's no rush.

She actually remembered Lin Qianqiao from the poster; she had bumped into him in the elevator before. However, the other two girls seemed to know him better than she did, which was why she was a little confused.

Hirai Momo was very talkative. What she didn't know was that Minatozaki Sana had seen the promotional photos of the character even earlier than her, and they were now quietly stored in her phone's photo album.

The content was completely different from the official poster. As Sana Minato looked at the exquisite makeup on the screen, she could only picture him being a little silly in private.

For example, his smug expression with pursed lips and raised eyebrows, and his posed photos of him blowing bubble gum while leaning back—these contrasting photos were not seen in the promotional photos by Sana Minatozaki, as if they were a little secret between the two of them.

As soon as she thought of this, a glint of light flashed in her eyes, and her pursed lips curled up slightly.

Actually, what impressed her most was the last picture, in which he was dressed almost exactly like in the poster.

However, the styling is completely different. His hairstyle is a slightly messy comic book textured back hair, his eye makeup outlines a dark contour, his facial features are delicate and three-dimensional, and his superior looks stand out from the picture, like a man who stepped out of a comic book, as if he was drawn stroke by stroke.

This wasn't announced on the official SNS either; she was the only one enjoying it. Sana Minato's earlier frustration vanished instantly. She leaned her head on Momo Hirai's shoulder and calmed down, feeling much more at peace.

The Twice members gradually returned to the practice room, so it wasn't surprising to see the three Japanese members sitting in a row. It would have been strange if they hadn't seen this scene.

The girl with the bunny teeth walked into the practice room and casually found a seat. Following her was the cool girl, and then the big weirdo.

"Hehe, sneaking off to have a bibimbap is so satisfying, it's been so long since I've had a full meal." The bunny-toothed girl personally led two relatives and friends to do something naughty, but her face showed a "I'm so proud" look.

"Mo... don't say that in the practice room." The cool girl glared at the girl with the bunny teeth upon hearing this.

"Yeah, unnie has to keep it a secret," the eccentric girl chimed in.

"Alas~" The bunny-toothed girl was sullen and resentful.

While they were chatting in the practice room, the teacher soon came in, clapped her hands, and signaled for the practice to continue.

Amidst sighs and groans, everyone gathered together and stood in their respective positions in front of the huge floor-to-ceiling mirror.

As the teacher pressed play in the corner, the accompanying music started playing, and they immediately got into the zone, like a wound-up toy.