Chapter 95 "7 Hours" - Listen to GD's new album and I guarantee you...
When Coldy made his comeback in January, xxxibgdrgn immediately promoted it, and his girlfriend's beautiful, snow-white face from the album cover appeared directly on his account, accompanied by three emojis.
(Cat) (Snowman) (Goblet)
The bewildered fans pondered for a long time, guessing in various directions, thinking it meant he was drinking with his cat and Coldy at home, before finally solving the mystery.
"Cat"→Cat→C
"Snowman" → ye-ti → a homophone for "yet" → meaning ancient or past in Korean → "Old" in English
"Goblet" → Shaped like a Y
It was actually just expressing "Coldy" and using the name to show support, but the homophonic ways were varied, which shows that GDxi loves homophony the most.
After the hair was untied, fans joked, "Oppa! I'm really impressed!"
"Even the way Chicken Goes Roll is so unique in its advertising."
"Why not add a heart emoji to express your love for Coldy?"
Kwon Ji-yong actually replied to the last message.
This is...
It means that this name already contains a lot of love, so there's no need to add any more hearts, otherwise it would overflow.
While making fans swoon with sweetness, it also put a lot of pressure on Jiang Tinghan.
With Kwon Ji-yong's comeback imminent, she couldn't possibly not help with the promotion, but she needed to carefully craft the copy. Copying Kwon Ji-yong's approach would be too unoriginal and would feel like a loss, while writing a normal short essay would be too ordinary. She wanted something more interesting.
Before that, she needed to come up with an interesting comment. She first liked Kwon Ji-yong's post, and then appeared in the comments section.
My face probably wouldn't be so pale if I drank a glass of wine from a stemmed glass.
It refers to the overly pale face on the cover.
Kwon Ji-yong even chatted with her.
There's some new wine I brought home in the wine cabinet; it tastes really good!
A while later, Jiang Tinghan replied again: [Having tasted it [photo of him holding a wine glass]]
fan:"???"
They began to condemn it.
This is the comments section, not your bed!
[You guys chatted as naturally as if you were at home. Can't you just talk face-to-face? Do you have to show it to us?]
Is drinking in broad daylight part of your enjoyment?
What kind of play is this now?!
On February 25th, G-Dragon, celebrating his 19th anniversary in the industry, released his third full-length album, "Ubermensch," which means "superman" in German. The album incorporates Nietzsche's various interpretations of the "superman."
Besides the already released tracks "Power," "Home Sweet Home," and "Snow Nails," the album has eight songs remaining: the title track "Too Bad," "7 Hours," and six other tracks: "Drama," "Three Times," "IBELONGIIU," "Take Me," "Bonamana," and "GYGO-DROP."
As expected, all eight songs neatly dominated the charts, with Kwon Ji-yong's name appearing on Melon's charts from number one to number eight. "7 Hours" debuted at number one and garnered over 500,000 listens on its first day, along with 80,000 likes. The listenership and like ratio were significantly higher than other idols' hit songs.
After all, this is a song that fans have been waiting for for over two years, from 2022 to 2025!!!
They waited so long for this song that the flowers withered. Fans who were still in love at the time may have already broken up. They cried their eyes out while listening to the last few seconds of "7 Hours" on lonely nights. Finally, they heard the whole song "7 Hours"!
It still has that Dragon-style love song vibe!
"Drama" is a slightly melancholic love song written with a single piano, a style that G-Dragon excels at. However, fans hear a sense of gratitude in it, with one line in Chinese, one in Japanese, and one in Korean in the lyrics, representing his thanks to fans in the three countries that have supported him the longest. "7 Hours," on the other hand, has a richer and more heart-wrenching arrangement. Compared to "Drama," it evokes a bruise-like pain in the heart, a pain that appears and disappears without warning, a continuous ache.
These are heartbreak anthems that the general public would love, songs that make you want to cry as soon as you hear them.
[Ahhhh, the finished product really didn't disappoint me! Kwon Ji-yong, you're a genius!]
[GDxi really must have been dumped so many times to write so many classic love songs! Creating masterpieces after being dumped is a piece of cake for him!]
This melody is so sad, I'm already feeling emo.
This is a melody that will go viral worldwide, letting the whole world know that GD was dumped by Coldy.
[If I hadn't known how loving GC was, hearing this song would have felt like the sky was falling. It felt like a breakup that had reached the point of no return, and the pain was second only to "Untitled".]
[But it seems like they weren't even talking back then. Was it really that heartbreaking to be told not to continue after just getting to know each other? Although GD was very sad at the time, I found it kind of funny.]
This shows that GD really liked Coldy back then and really wanted to be with her.
Wow, eight new songs released! And it's another one of Dragon's 88 Universe!
This is amazing! I thought there would only be five new songs, but with the previous three, it makes a total of eight.
["Was it all just my delusion? Or was I just a temporary melody?" If you listen carefully, you'll hear "My Coldy" and "melody" overlapping in this sentence.]
["7 hours, this winter is so cold, you kept my spring on the other side." This chorus line is the essence; "cold" and "you" together simply mean "Coldy," amazing! If this song had been released before the two went public with their relationship, it would have definitely gone viral.]
[The timing of the song release is also very important, and GD was too bold. He put Coldy's name in the lyrics when things were still very uncertain. Oppa, if you don't end up with him, this kind of behavior is very annoying.]
【No, how did you guys even find out? I didn't hear it and didn't notice anything strange about the lyrics. I'm practically deaf and blind, I'm going to become a little deaf shrimp!】
[“My phone’s message box is too clear.” “A touch of red on the horizon is not as bright as an exclamation mark.” It’s confirmed that I’ve been blocked. Poor chicken, I should get lost. Kenchana, ningningningningning~]
[kkk I'm going to sing it out loud! It reminds me of how Oppa kept singing "kenchana" after learning a new meme on "Good Day." Even internet addicts have days when they can't keep up with internet speed.]
If Coldy had made that Kenchana cha, he would have known, right?
[Oppa's writing is so artistic, it has a touch of melancholy and artistic youth vibe. I'm sorry, but it's even funnier. Did the lyrics become more romantic just because Paris was mentioned as the location?]
["J'ai reve qu'on se tenait la main sous la lune en dansant un tango, et qu'on s'embrassait sans fin dans un coin sans personne." There's also French for this, meaning "I once imagined us holding hands and dancing a tango under the moon, kissing endlessly in a secluded corner." How romantic! These things aren't just fantasies anymore, are they? But in the context of this song, it becomes quite sad. The subtext is, "I once imagined those romantic scenes, but in reality, our love couldn't even allow us to hold hands in broad daylight."]
【Kenchana~ These days, nobody cares if you hold hands in broad daylight on the street. It would be strange if GC didn't hold hands in public.】
GD's voice is absolutely amazing when he sings French; it made my heart pound! It's so captivating!
I want to hear a live version of "7 Hours," and I want to hear G-Dragon sing this line of French to Coldy!
[This is absolutely a golden song for long-distance relationships! If someone could give me a foreign partner, I'd love to have a passionate, cross-cultural romance too!]
[There's a reason why they garnered over 500,000 listens on their first day. If Melon's overall market hadn't been sluggish, I think they could have easily achieved a million listens. Apple Music even took number one in Korea! Our oppa isn't just a Melon champion; he's also doing very well on Apple Music, which has become increasingly popular in Korea in recent years!]
[It feels like this is going to be another chart-topping hit like "Snow Nails." GD and Coldy are going to dominate Melon for the next six months.]
[Haha, 7 Hours stole Crazy Kingdom's crown! It was the queen who pushed the queen!]
Why do "Drama" and "Too Bad" have music videos, but "7 Hours" doesn't? That's unfair, G-Dragon!
This song doesn't need a music video; the story is real. Just watch the real-life GC, and you'll be fine.
[Internally, they've already filmed two music videos in a row. Does GC really need to film a third collaborative music video? They must be getting tired of it, and the audience must be getting bored too.]
[Damn it! But I want to see it! I'll love any number of music videos GC makes!]
[Ah! Did Brother Long sing in Chinese in "Drama"?! And his pronunciation is pretty good, did Sister Han teach him?]
I'm so curious about my brother's current Chinese level. Is he able to communicate with my sister in Chinese?
[So touching is that line, "You always ask me how deep my love for you is"]
As I listened to the songs one by one, I soon came across "Three Times and Five Times." This song stood out from the very title, as it not only had the original Korean name but also a Chinese name. The producer credits included Coldy, who wrote the lyrics, composed the music, and arranged the song.
The intro features spoken word that fits the atmosphere and has a rhythm, similar to songs like "Lies" and "Day by Day," uttered by a rather cool female voice, like water droplets dripping from a slightly melting ice cube.
"Happy birthday, G-Dragon, Mia-nee, I wasn't there during those times."
Then came Kwon Ji-yong's slightly hoarse voice, starting with the line about finding an abandoned phone booth in a corner of the city. Every time the phone rang, it played sounds from the past, including Kwon Ji-yong's self-introduction when he debuted, and the sounds of dogs and cats. The first sound was a faint bark, which became more powerful later on, and there seemed to be cheers from fans.
Although the accompaniment samples many sound effects, they blend together perfectly without feeling clashing. It's a cool post-rock song with a languid bass line.
The accompaniment's youthful voice of a twenty-year-old Kwon Ji-yong intertwined with the voice of a man already in his mid-thirties, giving listeners a moment of disorientation, realizing how much time had passed.
Time is the cruelest weapon.
Even if this song isn't very good, as long as GC's names are on it, the results will definitely be good. But how could it not be good if GC's names are on it?!
Even though it was a ballad without any prior promotion, "Three Times" garnered 300,000 listens on its first day, second only to "7 Hours" and "Too Bad". Some people felt that the song was too light and lacked the strong GD vibe, while others really liked this new style and were moved by the lyrics.
The first line of the lyrics is "Kaho, little guy, how are you?" I can't believe I'll see Kaho again in 2025. I'm so touched. It reminds me of the lyrics from "Superstar": "Iye, very good, good boy, great, gently come here." Did Unnie write these lyrics? Is it not only a birthday song for Oppa, but also a tribute to the departed Kaho?
【Huh? If it's a birthday song, then it must have been written before at least August last year? This must be some unreleased material, right? How come unnie said on "I Alone" that there were no unreleased songs? You're lying~】
[kkk might have already been given to Oppa, so it doesn't count as her own song.]
[Judging from the Chinese text... could it be his 35th birthday? That would be two years ago, sigh. Did Oppa receive this song for his birthday in 2023? Was it created around the same time as "Snow Nails"?]
[G-Dragon's creative style is completely different from Coldy's. He keeps each song a secret for so long. Wasn't "HSH" a song he wrote for Bigbang a long time ago? He's kept fans waiting for so long!]
[What's most infuriating is that he even spoiled the plot! If I didn't know the songs he wrote a few years ago, I wouldn't have any expectations. "7 Hours" and "Take Me" made me wait from 2022 to 2025! Coldy's approach is much better for fans' hearts.]
[Who told this guy to have over a hundred songs in his repertoire, while Coldy unnie has zero? There's no chance for Coldy to even ask for a discarded song.]
[This way, both of their latest albums will bear each other's names. It's hard to explain, but I feel like they've done something very meaningful. As a listener, I've deeply felt what love is. I thought that after seeing so many overused love stories, I had stopped treating other people's love as mere entertainment. But now I've learned so much. I didn't realize that you can love someone like this and feel happiness like this.]
[It's a deep level of love, stemming from feeling apologetic for not being there for the other person after hearing about their past experiences.]
[Unnie is really good at portraying everything GD has been through. Just describing his past stories in an objective tone is enough to make people feel sorry for him. GD, even though it's February now, I still want to wish you a happy birthday in advance. How could you have gone through so much pressure and suffocation?]
[The reverse is also true; it feels like GD has always felt sorry for Coldy. In one part, the lyrics "I love you, you were my one chai in a bitter world. You left me a whisper — 'Won't Cry'" suddenly appeared.]
"One chai" sounds like "旺财" (Wangcai) in Chinese, and "Won't Cry" sounds like "旺财" pronounced quickly. Plus, this phrase sounds like something a dog would say to Coldy.
The entire song is written around GD, so I think the line about Coldy and Wangcai wasn't written by Coldy, but rather added by GD himself.
Ahhh! You guys always make my eyes well up with tears while I'm watching your videos. How can you cherish each other to this extent? You take every little detail to heart.
[GD's golden wedding anniversary needs no explanation!]
Online reviews of the new album are mixed. Because it's G-Dragon's album, and because the public tends to be more critical and even prejudiced towards him than others, there are more negative reviews. Some people have commented that "7 Hours is 2.0 of If You" and used this as evidence that "GD has run out of ideas."
However, this did not affect the continued success of the new album, nor did it affect the public's love for "7 Hours". There are quite a few listeners who fell in love with post-rock music because of "3 Times". Many of them are pure listeners who are not interested in who GD is dating. They just became fans of G-Dragon because the songs are good.
This year, G-Dragon, who turned 35 to 37, gained a huge number of fans and is experiencing what seems like the umpteenth spring in his career. However, he has been in the spring for almost 19 years since his debut, it's just a matter of how warm or not the spring is.
In China, where sentimental ballads are the norm, the release of "7 Hours" caused a huge stir. It was quickly labeled with popular tags such as "only for high-level players," "full of sense of destiny," "it's that time of year again to listen to XX," "the god who controls the intro," and "growing pains and the rainy season." The three-minute song was divided into many parts and became popular on various platforms. The intro became popular, the chorus became popular, the bridge became popular, and any excerpt paired with the atmospheric scenery could get hundreds of thousands to millions of likes. A transition video could get tens of millions of likes. There were countless people who liked the whole song. Within two weeks of its release, the number of favorites on QQ Music had exceeded one million. The comment section became a gathering place for many people to feel emo in the middle of the night. Hundreds or thousands of names unrelated to G-Dragon or Coldy appeared, followed by a sentence like "I miss you" or "How are you doing?"
Fans couldn't stop it, because under any popular love song, there would be people telling their own love stories that no one really cared about, or leaving a "XXX, I love you" to express their deep feelings. But this is also proof that the song has been heard by many passersby.
This process is very familiar. Last year, after the release of "Snow Nails", it swept across the Chinese internet in the same way. Many people also call "Cold" a "must-listen atmospheric song for winter". I have always loved this kind of music. You can tell by looking at the data that "if you" has 20 million collections on QQ Music and more than 40 million collections on various platforms.
A life in which Chinese people are drawn to and deeply love sorrowful and lyrical songs.
Many bystanders, unaware of the background, asked in confusion: "Did Kwon Ji-yong and Jiang Tinghan break up? It seems like we just saw them together not long ago. Idols really do have fast-food relationships. It's a pity they were such a good match..."
There are really a lot of people who think that the Chinese son-in-law is going to run away!
Fans quickly explained the background story of the song, while passersby suddenly realized and burst into laughter: "So Kwon Ji-yong is this cute? He released a divine song overnight after being blocked!"
The story spread like wildfire, and with marketing accounts amplifying it, G's "blocking story" quickly spread across most of the internet, becoming a viral sensation along with the song.
While feeling guilty, the fans said, "Brother Long, I'm sorry," they laughed along with the passersby. Laughing is fine, and it's even healthier. Anyway, as long as GC is happy now, that's enough. After all, marketing accounts always add a paragraph about how great GC is to ride on his popularity.
Besides that, Chinese fans are also busy being happy that Kwon Ji-yong confessed his love for them in Chinese in "Drama". I have always kept them in my heart!
So... is the song "Bonamana" realistic or fictional? Does it depict a mistress rising to power through such means? Is the male mistress in the "Snow Nails" music video actually based on real-life events?!
It's obvious that this is impossible. Most fans are just joking and won't take it seriously. They also teased, "Brother Long is still Brother Long. His skills in writing erotic songs are as superb as ever."
Jiang Tinghan, of course, wouldn't forget to promote her boyfriend's album, sending him a carefully crafted message that took her three seconds to come up with, along with a promotional image for Kwon Ji-yong's new album.
One album cover for "Ubermensch" resembles a crimson and orange-yellow sunset. Another is a pictorial featuring Kwon Ji-yong, whose black urchin-shaped haircut and downward-looking gaze are very eye-catching. It's a very bold and artistic hairstyle, and Jiang Tinghan feels that this urchin-shaped haircut will become the most famous urchin-shaped haircut in the world.
[@Coldyyy: Giving a listener a coupon that will never be blocked]
Although fans said, "But I don't even have unnie's contact information, so I don't even have a chance to be blocked," they still stubbornly contributed to the new album's listenership.
Kwon Ji-yong was sitting next to her at the time. Jiang Tinghan was hiding and wouldn't let him see what she typed, so Kwon Ji-yong had to go on Instagram to see it himself. After seeing it, he blurted out, "Wow!"
He arrived faster than many fans, immediately leaving a comment on the post.
【me……？】
Although the reply was simple, everyone who saw it could imagine his aggrieved tone. Fans who loved to watch the drama quickly liked the post and put it at the top of the list, leaving comments like "hahahahaha".
Does this mean GD might be blacklisted by Coldy in the future?
[Playing your own own memes is the most fatal mistake]
[This is serious, unnie, come and comfort him, GDxi looks like he's about to cry.]
Jiang Tinghan: [You had it on lock. (Crown)]
This means "You've already locked it in," a hip-hop slang term that refers to complete control, or "You already have it."
Okay, I guess I was overthinking it. I've become a clown again, dread.
You guys! Ugh! You're hopeless!
[I should have known. I was so stupid, really. How could GC ever say something that would make the other person angry? It always turns into sweet nothings in the end.]
[Completely outrageous! (Crazy!) It's not just about showing affection in Korean and Chinese anymore, now they're venturing into English slang! Teacher Jiang, Teacher Quan, I don't want to go to class anymore! Let this bad student who doesn't like studying have a break!]
[This must have made GD really happy, I bet he's grinning like an idiot at the screen right now.]
Kwon Ji-yong didn't just grin foolishly. He directly pulled Jiang Tinghan aside and gave her a passionate kiss. Then, something even more important happened.
"Honey, I'm having my solo concert next month, how about coming as a guest?"
Jiang Tinghan pursed his slightly numb lips and asked seriously, "Are there any other guests?"
Kwon Ji-yong: "Yes, do you remember Wing, the champion of the beatbox competition I watched recently? I think he's pretty good, and I'd like to try collaborating with him. Also, CL, Taeyang, and Daesung."
Jiang Tinghan's tone was tinged with nostalgia: "Ah, it's been so long since I've seen Senior CL."
I haven't seen her since the audition, but I contacted CL again recently when I was working with Park Bom, saying we should find some time to have dinner together.
Kwon Ji-yong smiled and said, "Baby, you'll see me at my concert, and we can even have dinner together."
Killing two birds with one stone.
Jiang Tinghan rested her chin on her hand and thought for a moment: "But I feel like we already have enough guests. Oppa, you have a China tour planned, right?"
Kwon Ji-yong: "Inland, Macau, Hong Kong and Taipei, the three major venues, should be in June, July and August."
Jiang Tinghan snapped her fingers crisply, having made up her mind: "How about inviting me as a guest again during the August tour? I was originally going back to China in August anyway."
This year, because she has to return to the mainland and couldn't go home for the Lunar New Year, she will have to go back for her birthday.
Kwon Ji-yong accepted her suggestion in less than a second: "Sure!"
He glanced at his newly released tour schedule: "The Hong Kong concert is just one day after Tinghan's birthday, so we can leave a little earlier on the 8th to celebrate for you before I go to rehearse."
Jiang Tinghan: "Sounds good."
Although it was still February, the two of them were already dreaming about the wonderful month of August.
-----------------------
The author's note: Ideals are lofty, but reality is harsh. Mr. G-Dragon underestimated his popularity, constantly adding extra shows until he grew tired of it.
I feel like this story won't end until this year's MAMA [pat on the head][pat on the head][pat on the head] This terrible MAMA sound recording really makes me angry, and it definitely deserves a scolding from our sister Kou.
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