Ch 6 – Bad Moon on the Rise…

JUST BEFORE WOLF ERA

Kyungsoo is in the recording studio, going over his verse of “Goodbye, Summer” with the producer. He’s done about 5 takes, and they’re both almost satisfied with it, agreeing to go for one more. Right before he starts, he sees members of f(x) wander into the studio through the clear windows of the booth. He starts to greet his sunbaes, bowing low, and they respond with quick bows as Amber apologizes on their behalf. “Sorry! We didn’t realize you were in the booth – thought we caught you at a break. Please, continue. I’m excited to hear how it sounds with male vocals, haha,” Amber gushes in a friendly manner.

‘Oh that’s right. She wrote this,’ Kyungsoo remembers. “Ah, I hope I don’t disappoint you, Amber-sunbaenim. I think we just figured out the first verse, and I hope I do it justice.” Amber waves off his polite concerns while Krystal whispers something to Luna that Kyungsoo can’t quite catch. “You’ll be great, Kyungsoo-ssi.”

The music cues up, and Kyungsoo does his best to not be nervous and just sing with the same warm, reminiscent tone he had been practicing earlier.

As he finishes the section, he hears Krystal stage whisper to Amber, “Wow, he’s nailed it.” Luna nods enthusiastically as Amber praises him directly, “That’s perfect! I knew your vocals could really capture the mood I was going for when I wrote the song, but you really embodied the emotion behind it, too. Very cool.” The producer agrees, gives him a thumbs up, and motions for him to come out of the booth to join them.

Kyungsoo maneuvers around the tight space, not really made for 5 people, and tries not to jostle anyone. The girls slide closer together on the couch to make space for him, with Luna on the far side, Amber, and then Krystal who’s closest to him and now inviting him to take the seat on the end. “I’m glad you all could come. I’d heard that we might have to do all of our recordings separately due to your busy schedules.” Kyungsoo finds himself feeling nervous and fidgety in front of his successful sunbaes in the industry, even if he is older than them. The producer has started discussing details in earnest with Amber, and Kyungsoo can’t even see Luna now, so he focuses his attention on Krystal next to him. ‘Relax. They seem nice, and Krystal is Jongin’s friend, so maybe she’ll be easy to talk to.’

Krystal’s responds casually, “Yeah, we’ve been pretty swamped preparing for this album, but we wanted to make recording together a priority to get the harmonies perfect… You’re good friends with Jongin, right?”

Kyungsoo smiles warmly. “Yeah, I put up with his nonsense better than most, I suppose.”

Krystal snorts in amused understanding. “Okay, yeah, you clearly do know him. He’s great but sometimes he’s a bit too much like his puppies, all hyper and goofy and crap.”

“Totally. And his aegyo whining – it’s endearing sometimes but more often makes me want to hit him.” (‘You’re full of crap, even if that’s your general take on it with others, you loved when Jongin was needy towards you,’ says a voice in the back of his head, which he promptly ignores.)

“Ugh, tell me about it. Then again, I just hate aegyo in general. I keep hoping they’ll stop asking me to do it as I get older because I just can’t stand it. I’m more the ‘stare people down and make them think I’ve got a voodoo doll with their name on it’ type,” Krystal deadpans.

“Nice. I’ve been told I pull off a mean or bored ‘ off’ look a lot better than aegyo concepts as well, which I’m about 1000 times more comfortable with,” Kyungsoo says with a smirk. They lapse into comfortable silence, just sizing each other up and appreciating how much they’re on the same page. ‘She’s cool,’ he thinks. ‘I wonder if Jongin gets along with both of us because of our similarities.’

The producer asks Krystal to get into the booth to record her part, and Kyungsoo gives her an encouraging smile. He was right: it was nice to hang out with people outside his group for once.

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EXO GETS THEIR FIRST WIN WITH “WOLF!”

[+700, -14] They deserve it - they spent the year between releases working hard. Good job, EXO.

[+799, -152] I mean, at first, I couldn't stand the song, but now I can't help but howl along. What is this dark magic??

[+502, -30] The MVs were really good. The drama ver was corny but highly entertaining, keke.

“GROWL” ROCKS THE NATION: IS EXO OFFICIALLY THE REPRESENTATIVE KPOP BOY BAND?

[+976, -20] I don't care who you are and how you feel about Kpop: this song is dope.

[+435, -125] Yassss, EXO saranghae!

[+366, -64] Will be on repeat for basically forever.

2013 has officially been too good to be true. After all the years of training, all the hard work promoting like crazy the year before, things are finally paying off, and Jongin almost can’t believe his luck. His group is on top, and the feeling is unbelievable. His professional life is at an all time high, and the dancer doesn’t dare to dream it’ll last forever, but the future for the next few years as SM’s “it” group and money maker is looking blindly bright. As for his personal life, he really can’t complain. Winning helps the members gel even more; after all, it’s easier to get along when everyone’s in a good mood and they all share so many reasons to smile more, laugh more readily, and protect each other from the swarms of sometimes crazy fans or anti-fans. Jongin’s worried the mobs might swallow up and steal away one of the smaller members some day in an airport and no one will notice until it’s too late. For that reaso