*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

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Chapter 1

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

·         Starting with the title, “Code 543”, if you add 5 + 4 + 3, you get 12 which symbolizes the united strength of EXO when they had twelve members.

In the story, as well as in real life, EXO performed at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena for their EXO PLANET #2 – The EXO’luXion Tour and they have appeared on “After School Club”.

“Smile for Weibo!” as quoted by character Oh Sehun, refers to Sehun’s popularity on Weibo. He even received the Weibo Star Award in February 2016 and has over 5.3 million followers.

Korean Terminology:

·         “hyung” is a term used by a younger male towards an older male who are close, meaning “brother”

·         “netizens” is a term used to describe a person on the internet, particularly in a chat room or comment section

References/Scene Pictures:

·        EXO Age: 20s (Based on International Age)

·        “Jelly Baby” by AOA Cream (Song Link)

·        Drop That by EXO (Performance Link)

·        Sing For You by EXO (Music Video Link)

         EXO’s “Second Box” (Album Package Link) 

Scenes - Top left: Gyeongbu Expressway; Top Right: Olympic Gymnastics Arena, Bottom Left: YTN Headquarters; Bottom Right: After School Club

Chapter 2

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

·in the story, as well as in real life, Park Chanyeol and Byun Baekhyun are roommates at EXO’s Dorm. Baekhyun also took cyber classes with Kyung Hee Cyber University (along with Chanyeol and Suho) under their Culture and Arts Business Administration department. 

“Morning Bacon” as quoted by character Park Chanyeol, is a nickname given to Byun Baekhyun by international fans who have difficulty in pronouncing his real name.

Upon the release of EXO’s Tokyo Dome DVD, a scene revealed that Park Chanyeol had suffered from Hypoxia which closely parallels Hypoxemia. Thus, this was the condition chosen for the story.  

In the story, Byun Baekhyun calls Park Chanyeol “Chanho” and the room that Park Chanyeol is in while he is in the hospital is “Room 61”. “Chanho” was Park Chanyeol’s nickname as a child, after the famous Korean baseball player Park Chanho who’s jersey number was 61. 61 is also the number that Park Chanyeol selected to be on his jersey in real life.

Coming back to the title, “Code 543”, is a medical code in the story used when characters flat line. If Park Chanyeol is under a “Code 543”, he is essentially “dead”, therefore meaning that he cannot live under a “Code 543”. This inability to be alive under a “Code 543” symbolizes EXO’s shift from OT12 to OT9 (referring to the departure of Tao, Luhan, and Kris).

Korean Terminology:

·         “ChanBaek” is the ship name for the relationship between Chanyeol and Baekhyun. Another popular ship name used for them is “BaekYeol”.

Honorifics are used in the Korean language to denote the relationship between both the subject of the sentence and the audience. Honorifics express the differences in social status between speakers. For example, how one speaks to someone younger then them is different to how they speak to someone older than them. Different words are used depending on the gender of the audience as well. For example, a male would call a close, older male "hyung" whereas he would call a close, older female "noona".

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “Call Me Baby” by EXO (Song Link)

·         “Overdose” by EXO (Dance Practice Link)

Scenes - Top: EXO Dorm; Bottom Left: Seoul National University Hospital Emergency Room; Bottom Right: SM Entertainment Dance Practice Room 

Chapter 3

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In real life, Suho was the leader of EXO-K (as Kris was the leader of EXO-M). After the departure of 3/6 of EXO-M, Suho maintained his leadership role over the remaining members, thus “EXO”. EXO debuted (started) on April 8, 2012.

·         In the story, as well as in real life, Lee Sooman is the chairman of SM Entertainment. He is a South Korean music mogul, musician, and record producer.

Korean Terminology:

·         A “rookie” is a term used in the world of KPOP to describe a trainee or a new individual/group under a South Korean Music Label. 

Banchan is the Korean word for "side-dishes". When ordering at a Korean restaurant, you are often given banchan with rice. Banchan can include dishes such as Kimchi, Oi Sobagi (cucumber kimchi), Sukjunamul (marinated mung bean sprouts), Kkadugi (cubed radish kimchi), Myulchi Bokkeum (stir-fried dried anchovies), Yeongeum Jorin (sweet soy glazed lotus root), Ojingeochae Muchim (dried shredded squid), and/or Japchae (stir fried glass noodles).

References/Scene Pictures:

·         EXO Age: late teens/early 20s (Based on International Age)

Scenes - Left: SM Entertainment; Right: Lee Sooman

Chapter 4

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In the story, as well as in real life, Park Chanyeol calls Byun Baekhyun “Puppy” as a nickname. This nickname stemmed from the concept that Baekhyun’s personality is loud, boisterous, and he can’t sit still for even a slight moment (like the dog breed, Beagle). Thus the term ‘Beagle Line’ was coined and includes Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Chen.

·         In the story, as well as in real life,  EXO appears on the SBS-R Power FM CulTwo Show (Radio) with hosts Jeong Chanwoo and Kim Taegyun.

Korean Terminology:

“EXO-Ls” is a term used to describe the fans/fan club of EXO. The concept was derived from having the two sub-groups, EXO-K and EXO-M, so that their fans would be L which falls in between K and M so that their fans can be surrounded by EXO where EXO can love and protect them.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “laryngeal prominence = Adam’s apple (the projection at the front of the neck formed by the thyroid cartilage of the larynx, often prominent in men)

Chapter 5 – None

Chapter 6

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In this chapter, Baekhyun angers Chanyeol by talking to the media about his “Unpretty Rapstar” performance. This is in reference to when Chanyeol appears on Unpretty Rapstar and let’s just say his lyrics were not too kind. He received a lot of hate from netizens who said that he was a bad rapper because of this. You can click [here] to read the lyrics from his rap (in Korean and English).

Chapter 7

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In the field scene, Chanyeol attempts to pet a chicken. This refers to the infamous video (seen [here]) where he chases a chicken around trying to catch it on the show “Roommate”.

“Do you want to build a snowman?” Chanyeol asks Baekhyun. This is referencing Chanyeol’s obsession with the movie Frozen. His favorite character is Anna and has been recorded several times singing the soundtrack from the movie (seen [here]).

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “Two Moons” by EXO (Song Link) From Chanyeol’s mix tape that said “roll like a buffalo”

·         School of Rock (Movie Link)

Scenes - Left: Chanyeol’s cat ear hat; Right: Chanyeol’s black Supreme hoodie

Chapter 8

Korean Terminology:

·         “oppa” is a term used by a younger female towards an older male who are close, meaning “brother”

References/Scene Pictures:

·         Rokurinsha (View Restaurant Menu)

·         “You Are” by Park Chanyeol (Song Link)

Scenes - Top Left: Incheon International Airport; Top Right: Tokyo International Airport; Middle: Mandarin Oriental Hotel; Bottom Left: Kamata Station; Bottom Right: University of Tokyo Hospital

Chapter 9

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

·         The Pepero game was originally played by Sehun and Lay. They too took their game too far and did not pull back. You can watch the magic [here].

Korean Terminology:

·         SNS = social networking sites

·         “Soju” is considered to be South Korea’s most popular alcoholic beverage.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         The Dark Knight (Movie Link)

·         “Love Me Right” by EXO (Performance Link)

·         “Uh-ee” by Crayon Pop (Music Video Link)

Scenes - Left: SMTOWN Halloween Party; Right: SHINee dorm

Chapter 10

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In one scene, Sehun and Baekhyun are talking about a girl named Taeyeon. The joke in the story about Sehun getting his hickey from Taeyeon comes from the alleged real life relationship between Baekhyun and Taeyeon that went south.

Korean Terminology:

The ‘Lunar New Year’ refers to the day of the second new moon after the winter solstice. It is one of the most significant traditional Korean holidays celebrated over three days.

·         “noona” is a term used by a younger male towards an older female who are close, meaning “sister”

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “Christmas Day” by EXO (Performance Link)

Baekhyun makes a comment about not knowing where Sehun was on the “Kinsey Scale”. The Kinsey Scale attempts to describe a person’s ual experience at a given time. You can read more about this [here].

Chapter 11

References/Scene Pictures:

In this chapter, the character Kim Jihoo was introduced. Kim Jihoo was an actor and fashion model who publicly came out as a gay man on April 21, 2008 on the reality television show, Coming Out. Shortly after the episode, he was bombarded with hateful messages denouncing his uality. He was dropped from his management company and many tv programs cancelled his appearances. On October 6, 2008, Kim Jihoo hung himself at his home in Jamsil. He was added into the story as a way to remember and honor him. He spoke out in a country and during a time when no one wanted to listen and unfortunately, he paid for that with his life. 

Scenes: Jamggodae Coffee Shop in Samcheongdong

Chapter 12 

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

At the very end of this chapter, Chanyeol whispers “I promise” to Baekhyun. This references EXO’s song “Promise” in which some of the lyrics read “You always waited for me…I’m sorry, I love you… please believe in me like you do now…I’ll hug you, I’ll hold your hands, I’ll give it my all. I want to protect your smile, always…and you longed for me as you remembered the memories, my heart ached for you…I want to hold onto you and ask you to not leave…I want to live and breathe next to you for all of my life.“ By including those words at the end in the story, Chanyeol is essentially saying all of those words to Baekhyun in that moment.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “Wolf” by EXO (Song Link) Chanyeol’s ringtone that interrupts his intimate moment with Baekhyun

·         “Promise” by EXO (Song Link)

Chapter 13

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In the story readers are hit with the harsh reality of Tao and Kris leaving EXO. In case you are new to the EXO-L fandom here is a short rundown: EXO was formed in 2012 with twelve members. Six went into subgroup EXO-K and the other six went into sub group EXO-M. After a long and harsh battle with SM Entertainment, members Tao, Kris, (and Luhan) left EXO leaving the nine members we currently have today. This was a very difficult time for EXO-Ls and still remains a sensitive topic within the fandom so tread lightly if you pursue questions.

Korean Terminology:

“Conscription” is a South Korean custom in which all men born in the country that are between the ages of 19 and 35 are mandated to serve two years of military or national service.

References/Scene Pictures:

“Play Boy” by EXO (Performance Link) Song being sung when Baekhyun mentioned having to wrap his arm around Chanyeol and sing about playboys. Chanyeol and Baekhyun have never been paired in real life but it is still a hot little number to watch.

·         Good World Seoul is the live music café owned by Park Chanyeol’s father

Scenes - Left: Good World Seoul; Right: ASAN Medical Center

Chapter 14

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In one scene, Chanyeol quotes “I don’t really have a choice, do I?” in which Lee Sooman replies “not really.” This is symbolizing the “slave contracts” that KPOP Idols are assumed to be placed under by their management company. One important thing to realize is that management companies spend a lot of money to “transform” these men and women into “idols”. The money that they invest is effectively a loan that the future idols have to pay back. The money from the success of the idol group goes to paying back this loan, often leaving very little for the artists themselves. Another complaint from onlookers is about the long and intense hours. These contracts start during their training periods and are almost used as a way to weed out the weak. It may seem harsh but the management company is only concerned about protecting their investments. Idols make most of their money doing concerts as fans will pay a lot to see their idols live. So the concerts must be perfect thus requiring extensive hours for preparation of vocals and choreography. The topic of slave contracts has always been an issue with KPOP idols. Fans see them as large corporations taking advantage of their idols and mistreating them where as most idols feel that the pros of these contracts outweigh the cons because they get to live their dream. Yes, they do not make a lot of money but almost everything that they need is provided for them by their management company leaving little use for the funds that they do get. However, some of the sacrifices that these men and women make do often become extreme. Idols have spoken out before about not being allowed to have a cell phone, romantic relationships, or time to deal with medical issues. At the end of the day, onlookers can only speculate. Are those who leave being ungrateful? Are those who stay being treated like slaves? These are questions that only the idols themselves can answer.

In the opening scene where the boys are walking through the hospital, they were in a discussion about a V App stream. This is referencing Chanyeol and Sehun’s actual V App stream that can be viewed [here] (Skip to 17:35).  All of the events in the story actually occurred in the video.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “Baby Don’t Cry” by EXO (Song Link) The lyrics that Chanyeol quotes in one scene to Baekhyun

·         “Bangarang” by Skrillex (Song Link) The song that Sehun is dancing to in the V App Stream

Chapter 15

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

Chapter 15 discusses a very serious issue that is currently happening in South Korea involving KPOP idols and what are known as “sasaeng fans”. A sasaeng fan is generally a female between the age of 13 and 22 who stalk their favorite KPOP idol(s) and invade their privacy using questionable methods. At any given time, popular idols are said to have an estimated 100 “full-time" stalkers on their heels. From tracking their vehicles with GPS systems, breaking and entering their homes, to hiring a special taxi service that caters to these fans to allow them to stalk their idols, this behavior is becoming increasingly more dangerous. Why does the government of South Korea allow this you may ask? Well, for starters, it’s extremely difficult for the government to intact laws against sasaeng fans because they are such a small percentage of the population. Secondly, the management companies of these idols do not want to do anything to fight back against them because sasaeng fans are sadly a large source of money for these idols and corporations. They infiltrate every business, facility, and information source that could get them closer to their idols. I could preach all day about the horrible acts these people have committed against KPOP idols but let’s focus on the main point - their behavior is getting out of control and one day, it’s going to cost one of these idols their lives.

Another inspiration for this chapter was the fatal car accident involving KPOP idol group Ladies’ Code. On September 3, 2014 around 1:30 AM, Ladies’ Code was traveling back from a schedule in rainy weather conditions. Their manager was behind the wheel, driving at excessive speeds of 85 mph in a 62 mph zone for over 19 miles. Their manager suddenly lost control of the wheel, hydroplanin,g before crashing into a protective wall on the Yeongdong Expressway. Member EunB was declared dead on arrival and member RiSe succumbed to her injures four days later. An investigation done by the National Institute of Scientific Investigation revealed and confirmed that the cause of the accident was due to their manager’s reckless driving. Their manager was arrested, found guilty on all charges, and sentenced to 14 months in jail. 

In 2013, EXO-M was also reportedly in a minor car accident due to sasaeng fans chasing them. Luckily, no one was hurt but their vehicle had still sustained damage to door and the members who were in the vehicle were left frightened. 

All of the information above was merged together to provide a chilling prediction of what can happen in the future if the recklessness involving KPOP idols, from both sasaeng fans and idols’ management companies, continues down this fatal path.

Chapter 16

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In this chapter, it was mentioned that the boys were delayed in their return home from their North American tour due to adding performances in Atlanta and Toronto. This scene heavily symbolizes the scandal involving My Music Taste and EXO’s actual North American Tour. Long story short - MMT told fans they could vote which cities EXO went to. Fans voted for Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Atlanta but they found out later that the cities had been pre-chosen. Fans were outraged by the misleading and lies so in this story, “Atlanta and Toronto” were added to the tour as a way to symbolize the injustice that both cities faced.

Another scene involves Suho speaking to a mystery girl at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company in New York. This is referring to the infamous real life scenario where the boys tried to eat at the restaurant but the majority essentially had to walk back out without getting to eat due to the crowding and harassment of fans.

References/Scene Pictures:

“Unfair” by EXO (Performance Link) Video Sehun and Baekhyun watch of EXO in their “outfits”. Sehun’s outfit in real life was traded out for Luhan’s outfit in the story.

“History” by EXO (Song Link) 

Chapter 17

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

The scene where the boys are in Beijing for an awards ceremony represents the achievements that Luhan has made in China since launching his solo career. This scene symbolizes the hope that EXO still finds a way to support Luhan even though he has departed the group.

There is a scene where Kai is eating chicken burritos. This is referring to the infamous V App Stream that EXO did right before their last performance on their North American tour where Kai was shoving his face with a chicken burrito making funny faces into the camera. What a hoot.

KCON is an annual K-POP music festival in the United States (LA & NY), Japan, and Dubai. EXO-M attended KCON in Los Angeles in 2012.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “Little Things” by One Direction (Song Link)

Chapter 18

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In one scene, Baekhyun tells Chanyeol that Sehun had mentioned that things that are stolen are better. This is referring to yet again, another V App Stream, in which Chanyeol asks Sehun where he got his green slippers from and Sehun replied that he stole them from Suho and that things, especially food, tasted better when they were stolen (jokingly, of course).

Chapter 19

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

I choose the coloration of Sehun’s proposal ring based on the information that his favorite colors were supposedly black and white. Sehun and Luhan now wear gold rings to show they are married but Sehun still wears his proposal ring around his neck.

In the scene with Chanyeol and Junseo, Chanyeol grabs Junseo’s blanket and “bunny stuffie”. This is to symbolize the event at the EXO'luXion [dot] in Seoul when the boys dressed up in animal onesies. Suho’s animal of choice was, you guessed it, a bunny.

Chanyeol’s ring design was inspired by [this] image. The ring in this image is white gold with black diamonds; but as to not overshadow Sehun’s ring, the stones were changed to sapphires in the story.

Now onward to the big bucket of feels. Do you have your tissues ready? Luhan’s proposal to Sehun’s speech holds a large amount of symbolism. From the very first line: “we started as friends under circumstances that pushed our limits…” This is very clearly referencing to how Sehun and Luhan met in real life - as trainees for SM Entertainment. They were friends before debuting with EXO and continued to remain close friends until the very end. The line “I am so proud of what we are and what we’ve become” is to symbolize the hope that although Sehun and Luhan do not publically communicate, that they do still continue to privately support each other and be proud of the achievements that both of them have accomplished in the past few years. The line “…do some navigating, you sat there patiently waiting…” refers to the hope that one day, Sehun and Luhan will find their way back to each other. Regardless of how they see their relationship, there is no denying that Sehun and Luhan truly loved one another and connected in a way that was so beautiful.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         Age: 30s (Based on International Age)

Scenes - Top Left: House in Gangnam District; Top Right: Ibiza; Bottom Left: Palladium Hotel Don Carlos; Bottom Right: Castle of Ibiza

Chapter 20

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

During an interview with ‘Star Today’ Suho mentioned that he would be interested in trying to work on a solo album. He also mentioned that he is interested in music that is romantic and artistic, like poetry, and that he has been writing songs over the years.

Korean Terminology:

·         8,000 ₩ is approximately $7 USD

·         “Hite” is a popular beer in South Korea. 

·         “Dooboo Jorim” is a braised tofu. This was the appetizer that Chanyeol and Baekhyun ate.

·         “Patbingsu” is a shaved ice dessert that comes in many combinations. This was the dessert that Chanyeol and Baekhyun ate.

References/Scene Pictures:

The “frenulum” mentioned frequently in scenes throughout the story is a patch of skin on the underside of a man’s , right under the head, that contains many sensitive nerves. Making contact with this often brings pleasure to men.

Scenes - Top Left: Club Arena; Top Right: Lab 24; Bottom: Bukhansan National Park

Chapter 21

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “Pony” by Ginuwine (Song Link and Magic Mike Performance Link)

·         “My Lady” by EXO (Performance Link)

Scenes - Left: Chanyeol with eyeliner; Right: Chanyeol’s black rim hat

Chapter 22

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

·         In the story, as well as in real life, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were playing “footsie”. You can view more about this [here]. 

During Chanyeol and Baekhyun’s vow exchange, Chanyeol and Baekhyun mentioned ‘light’ and ‘fire’. This symbolizes Chanyeol’s power symbol which is fire and Baekhyun’s power symbol which is light. You can read more about this concept [here]. 

References/Scene Pictures:

Scenes: Aqua Kauai Beach Resort

Chapter 23

References/Scene Pictures:

Sehun’s family really has a dog that is a Bichon breed named Vivi 

Chapter 24

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

On 07/13/13 Chanyeol and Xiumin did an interview on ShimSimTaPa in which they discussed their past pets. Chanyeol mentioned that he had dogs and cats growing up but had to give them away when his parents moved house. Chanyeol also mentioned that after he moved into EXO’s dorm, he developed an allergy towards pets. It is rumored that his sister Yoora, had to even get rid of her cat because of Chanyeol’s allergies.

In the story, as well as in real life, EXO shot a Baskin-Robbins commercial in which they played on a large bouncy house slip n’ slide. You can view footage from that here.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         Age: 40s (Based on International Age)

Chapter 25

Symbolism/EXO Parallelism:

In EXO’s drama series ‘EXO Next Door’ Chanyeol wears a music note necklace given to him by his grandfather. This necklace holds important symbolism in the drama as it is meant to bring Chanyeol good luck. One day Chanyeol loses the necklace and brings on a series of bad luck. Chanyeol remembered that his grandfather had another necklace just like that one so he and the other members of EXO-K go to his grandfather’s house to find the necklace. Chanyeol soon finds out that his grandfather had given the necklace to Chanyeol’s childhood friend/neighbor who becomes his love interest in a love triangle with DO later in the drama plot.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         Age: 50s (Based on International Age)

Scenes - Left: Jia’s prom dress; Right: music note necklace

Chapter 26

Korean Terminology:

·         “Kimchi” is a traditional Korean side made of vegetables with a variety of seasonings including napa cabbage, radish, scallions, or cucumber.

References/Scene Pictures:

·         “A Thousand Years” by Christina Perri (Instrumental Cover) (Song Link)

Scenes - Left: Hyatt Regency Jeju; Right: The Ritz Carlton Seoul

Chapter 27 

Korean Terminology:

·         “maknae” is a term used to describe the youngest individual in a group