Chapter 22 X-man (2)

  Yesterday's second update!

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  "Ah, almost forgot, here!" Thinking about the matter at hand, Quan Baogen had been holding onto his notebook since getting on the car, writing and drawing to arrange the schedule. Suddenly remembering something, he pulled out a few A4 papers from his bag and handed them over. Facing An Junhe's questioning gaze, he shrugged: "Some information about X-man, as well as the list of guests attending today's event and their resumes... I know you don't usually watch variety shows, so I specially collected this for you."

  "Thanks, Uncle Bao Gen!"

  "Don't be polite with me."

  "Hah!"

  An Junhe shook his head and smiled, ignoring his pretended look of dissatisfaction, and began to flip through the few randomly bound documents in his hand.

  Although he doesn't watch much variety shows, it doesn't mean he doesn't know X-man. This program, which started broadcasting in November 2003, has now taken the first place in ratings among all variety shows. Its extremely high ratings have even threatened the position of TV dramas. It was from this show that variety programs gradually rose from being at the bottom of the entertainment industry to becoming a national trend within a year, and now its influence is something that no one can ignore.

  And for his affiliated SM company, this program has even more significance.

  Last year, Shinhwa parted ways with the company on bad terms. Following the company's usual practice since the HOT era, they wouldn't let go of their intention to freeze them out. At first, being frozen out and unable to participate in activities, Shinhwa naturally had no way to gain exposure, and their popularity plummeted rapidly. In desperation, Andy joined X-man as a fixed guest starting from episode 2, followed by Lee Min-woo and Jun Jin. According to Ahn Jun-young, the company's de facto leader Lee Soo-man didn't take the small variety show seriously and didn't think Shinhwa could achieve anything through it. However, unexpectedly, this small show that aired only once a week helped Shinhwa regain a large amount of lost popularity, catching the company off guard, and by the time they tried to exert pressure, it was too late.

  That was the company's first defeat. Although there were factors of underestimating the enemy, X-man's role in promoting the myth of rising again from the east also cannot be ignored.

  The company also began to notice the power of variety shows from that time on, but it was only noticed and not taken seriously. However, no one expected its development to be so rapid, in just a year's time, programs represented by X-man had higher and higher ratings, each episode would trigger discussions and hot pursuit on the internet. The rising status became important enough that singers promoted their songs, actors promoted TV dramas and movies, etc., also began to regard them as an important platform for promotion, and scrambled to join in.

  As far as An Junhe knew, Quan Baogen had been very active in order to let him participate in the 32nd period as a guest.

  In the data, there is not much introduction to the X-man program itself, which is normal, after all, it's just a game entertainment program for entertaining the masses, and doesn't need to set up too many levels or foreshadowing. The entire program consists of three simple small games: "United Horse Riding", "Of Course", and "Couple Heroes Forever". If that were all, there wouldn't be much highlight, but its innovative design lies in the fact that at the beginning of each episode, the PDs on duty will choose one "X-man" from among the 16 performing guests, consisting of 10 men and 6 women.

  The selected X-man, only he himself knows, others are not clear. The task of the X-man is to be a traitor, find ways to make his own team lose, and cannot be caught, which counts as completing the task.

  The task is also rewarded, and the three mini-games of the program will be divided into two groups to compete against each other. The winning group will receive a charity prize of 10 million won. After the game, all participants vote to choose who they think is the X-man, and the person selected stands on stage for verification by the program team. If this selection reveals the X-man, the charity prize will be donated in the name of all challengers except the X-man. If not revealed, the donated prize will belong to the X-man personally.

  Stars participate in the program, bringing ratings to the program. Stars also rely on the broadcast of the program to bring joy to the audience, increase exposure and maintain popularity. In the end, if they win the game, they can even donate a sum of charity funds, leaving a good impression on the audience. The program team also uses the stars' hands to repay society.

  It can be said that one move achieves three gains, no wonder the program is so popular.

  As he browsed through the materials, An Junhe thought to himself. Then he started looking at another list of guests who would be attending this time, Quan Baogen had collected it very meticulously, recording when these guests debuted, what achievements they had made, and what experiences they had been through. Although there were no particularly private details, it was simple yet not rough, allowing people to grasp the other person's preferences at first glance, striving to leave a good impression from the start, which was quite painstaking.

  He flipped through a few pages, and suddenly a light fragrance wafted up to his nose. He turned around to see a girl quietly approaching him, seemingly wanting to take a look at the materials in his hand. At this moment, she was discovered by him, and the girl hastily straightened her body, smiling nervously.

  That is Kim Bo-kyung, a member of the girl group "Cheon Sang Ji Hee The Grace" that SM Entertainment plans to debut this year. Her stage name is Stephanie.

  Since last year, the company has been planning a senior-junior pairing mode (Bora and Ahn Jun-hee), which has proven to be effective. As a result, the company officially included this mode in the new artist debut plan, and Taeheon is one of the first beneficiaries. The group, who are scheduled to release their single in May, are now working hard under this mode to accumulate popularity. Dana followed Kangta to China for activities, while Lina and Sunday, who have debuted before, went to Japan with Bora and Dongfang Shengqi.

  As one of the company's only seniors, Ahn Jun-hee naturally couldn't escape the responsibility of leading his juniors. Since "1 Minute 1 Second" has a female vocal part and Bae Da-hye, who was originally supposed to collaborate with him, couldn't abandon her schedule in Japan to promote the song with him, Stephanie was arranged by the company to replace Bae's role after their debut stage and has been following him for activities recently.

  But looking at her, An Junhe couldn't help but sigh. The company had pushed them out too hastily, and even now they still hadn't determined their style. Dispersing the members to engage in individual activities was also a bad move. Although many people were already paying attention to them, and even a fan club had been established, this popularity was fleeting. Without a fixed style, without a good song that matched their style, the popularity would come quickly, but it would also disperse just as quickly.

  It's precisely because he understands this that he has been paying attention to the girl's efforts recently, which is why he sighed and felt a pity, but was unable to do anything about it.

  He is not even free to produce his own album, and it was only after Guan Baogen fought for a long time that the company agreed to let him write the main song himself. Not to mention that their group is the product of someone's wild ambition, and no one else is allowed to interfere.

  Shaking his head slightly, he dispelled the fleeting sense of regret in his mind. After a moment's thought, he handed over the materials and smiled at Stephanie, who looked surprised: "You take a good look too. Later on, you won't be at a loss for words. If you can get along well with these seniors, it will be very helpful to your future development."

  Stephanie looked at the stack of documents in surprise, then looked at him, and for a moment she was so excited that she seemed to have forgotten how to speak. After a while, she came back to her senses, hastily took over, and stuttered with gratitude: "Th-thank you... thank you, thank you, senior!"

  An Junhe waved his hand, "Don't be so formal all the time, didn't I tell you? You're my junior sister, we're also from the same hometown, and our ages are close, let's just be friends, no need to always mind the seniority."

  "Yes, yes, I know, senior!"

  An Junhe helplessly rubbed his forehead and stopped talking, leaning against the window to rest with his eyes closed.

  The car sped along the road, and my body swayed gently with the occasional jolts, before I knew it, I had fallen asleep. I didn't know how long I slept, until I was woken up by Gwon Bo-geun, and when I opened my eyes, the car had already arrived at the SBS TV headquarters building in Yangcheon-gu.

  The exterior of the SBS building, mainly made of glass, exudes a modern atmosphere distinct from KBS and MBC, making it a landmark in Mapo-gu, Seoul. It is also known as the "multi-functional building" (due to its frequent appearances in SBS-produced dramas, guest-starring as various fictional TV stations, cafes, high-end office buildings, and even airports). This building has given birth to three major shows that currently support the variety show industry: X-Man, Love Letter, and Ya Shim Manman!

  An Jun-hyuk hasn't been here before, last week's popular song was sung live on the air, and the live venue is at SBS Public Broadcasting Hall in Deungchon-dong. It's also my first time coming here. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to take a look around because I came after finishing a commercial performance, and X-man's recording time was almost up, so after getting off the car, he was surrounded by Kwon Bo-geun, Choi Sung-yoo, and others, and rushed to the program production team. He first met with the PD on duty and greeted him, then found the writer and got the script, and went straight to the main waiting room.

  Actually, with his current popularity, he should have a single waiting room, but since it's his first time here, as a newcomer, he has to give the seniors a good impression. Besides, from what he knows, even senior artists who participate in this variety show wouldn't stay in a single waiting room - there are too many guests and limited camera shots, if you don't make an effort to get along with people, you'll be edited out of the whole episode!

  This experience comes from Kim Jong-kook, among the people An Jun-he knows, only he has participated in X-man the most times, and can be considered experienced. Before coming, An Jun-he specially called to ask for advice.

  A group of people arrived outside the main waiting room, and An Junhe was about to knock on the door when he heard a faint voice inside saying, "...... Later there will be new people coming, Qiangzhu and Hu Dong help take care of them."

  "Oh, no problem, is he your junior?"

  "He's really famous, I'd like to get to know him! It's Zhong Guo, a friend of Zhong Guo, he just called and asked for my help."

  Hearing this, An Jun's heart warmed up.

  The speaker is Liu Zai Shi, also known as the "grasshopper", a popular gagman with strong affinity and likability, who can make almost everyone like him, and one of the two pillars supporting the variety show circle (the other being Jiang Hu Dong, host of "Emotional Intelligence" and "Night Talk").

  When he called earlier, Kim Jong-kook only casually mentioned that he was friends with Yoo Jae-suk because he didn't know how close their relationship was and to avoid troubling him, Ahn Jun-hee also didn't mention asking for his help in making introductions. Unexpectedly, he had already done it quietly.

  Thinking of that guy who can't see his eyes when he smiles, with a voice, personality and physique that don't match at all, Ahn Jun-hee smiled slightly and knocked on the door. The voices inside stopped abruptly, and he opened the door to enter the spacious main control room. As soon as he entered, three people turned their heads and bowed one by one: "Senior, hello! I'm new recruit Ahn Jun-hee..."