Chapter 178: Take a Look Anyway

rything was over, only Sunny, Kim Hyo-yeon, and Ji-hyeong were left in the room."Oh my..." Jin Hyoyeon flopped onto the sofa, and Sunny followed suit, leaning against her. It was clear that both of th..."It can't be cut too short. The bangs still need to be kept a bit, even the police have long hair, and there are quite a few of them..."

And if it were completely cut into a crew cut, it wouldn't really look like a police officer, more like a serviceman...

"However, Jingyuan, your facial features are really great. Short hair actually looks very handsome on you. Paired with your softer facial features, it can also balance out the sharpness of short hair, making your overall look less aggressive."

"Perfect!"

Cody's sister worked tirelessly on Chi Jingyuan's head, manipulating various tools while engaging him in lively conversation. Accompanying this was the visible reduction of Chi Jingyuan's hair, which had been growing for over a year. After an hour or so, Cody exclaimed with satisfaction and clapped her hands. Chi Jingyuan stood up from his chair sporting a hairstyle drastically different from yesterday’s, and peered seriously at his reflection in the mirror.

The long hair from before is gone, replaced by a medium-length crew cut. It's shorter than before but not as short as a buzz cut. The forehead has a few stray bangs, and the temples are noticeably shorter, revealing the entire jawline. The top of the head is styled with some loose waves, adding a touch of fashion.

Overall, there's a refreshing and eye-catching feel. Compared to previous styles, it's a completely different vibe. It's hard to say which is better or worse. Right now, [he/she] looks much more energetic, and the short hair really highlights [his/her] already excellent facial features, making [him/her] look even more stunning on camera.

As an idol, hairstyle is very important. Many times, idols change their style through different hairstyles. Some idols who don't have outstanding looks or average appearance need various hairstyles to cover up their flaws and achieve a concealing effect.

Speaking of which, this is the first time that Chi Jingyuan has cut his hair this short since his debut. Although he had some adjustments during previous shoots, he never cut it this short before.

Although it doesn't look quite like an idol style, fortunately the effect is still pretty good.

Chi Jingyuan looked at himself in the mirror, left and right, nodding secretly and feeling quite satisfied.

And for a long time to come, your hair will be much easier to manage.

"Oh my goodness, Jingyuan, your style…"

After getting his hair cut and returning to the dormitory, everyone in EXO went wild when they saw Kai's new hairstyle. They all rushed over to admire it, constantly giving their opinions and comments.

"That's too short, haha..."

"I think he's pretty handsome, and he has a lot of style." Do Kyung-soo pinched his chin and looked at Jiung-won's hairstyle with satisfaction. "That role is a police officer, right It's really fitting."

"Will the fans be unhappy"

"How is that possible, brother Don't you understand fans If they knew Jingyuan cut his hair short for a role, they would only be proud and boast to fans of other groups... Besides, I think Jingyuan looks really good with this hairstyle. It makes me want to try it myself!"

"Hey, do you think you're Jingyuan That hairstyle will make your face look too long..."

"Teeth one xi ba…"

The second round of auditions for 《signal》 was scheduled for November 10th, the day after EXO returned from Japan. This perfectly avoided a scheduling conflict with Park Kyung-hwan who was there at the time. It's clear that ** Entertainment had communicated with the production team about this.

This audition will decide the final casting for the male lead role of Park Hae-young in this drama. Besides Ji Chang-wook, Lee Dong-hwan also came.

Another candidate, Lee Jong Suk, may have received inside information and knowing his chances for the role were slim, he directly opted out of the audition. After all, he's been very popular in recent years, considered one of the most sought-after young actors, with plenty of roles to choose from. There was no need for him to expend so much effort on a role with little chance of success.

"Jingyuan xi is here, ah wow, he's really handsome, come sit down."

"Senior, Anihaseyo."

"No need to be so polite, I've been wanting to meet you for ages…"

Two candidates, Park Ji-won and Lee Do-hun, met in the waiting room of tvN. Although they are both competing for the lead role, which is a highly coveted position, and Lee Do-hun probably knows through his connections that he's falling behind in the competition, he doesn't seem upset or hostile at all. Instead, he warmly greets Park Ji-won with a natural wave when he sees him.

Having been around in the circles for so long, and without any substantial conflicts, no matter what, things seem to be going well on the surface.

And Ji Jingyuan naturally also responded with politeness and a smile, sitting beside Lee Dihun and chatting with him.

He also has short hair, apparently cut specifically for this role. However, it's a little longer than Pool Jingyuan's.

From Lee Deok-hwa's words, it seems he is quite optimistic about this drama "Signal." After all, he hasn't had a representative work since his discharge. This project, with its excellent cast and promising success as tvN's 10th anniversary special project, is particularly important to him.

It's a pity to have met such a powerful director as Kim Won-sik and someone with connections like Ji Kyeong-won.

Chi Jingyuan responded enthusiastically, through the conversation he felt good about this guy, and felt a little pity for him in his heart.

But since they're all able to sit here and try on clothes, it means they're all connected somehow. It's just that his connection is a little bit more...forced. They all understand each other implicitly, so there's no need to be embarrassed.

This time, the four main creative personnel from last time's crew participated in the audition again. The process was basically the same, except that besides performing a few scenes of Park Hae-young's role, they also changed several sets of character costumes.

After the audition, Kim Gwan-sik and Park Jin-young, as well as Lee Do-hun, exchanged some words individually. However, they didn't decide on the roles immediately but asked them to go back and wait for news.

I don't know what Lee Deok-hun is thinking, but Park Ji-won seems pretty confident.

After finishing the fitting, I went to the company for a busy afternoon and returned to the dormitory only in the evening.

How does the fitting go

The few members who hadn't gone out seemed quite interested in Ji Jingyuan's audition results. As soon as he returned, they all looked over at him curiously. Some were too embarrassed to speak up, but others had no such qualms and directly asked.

Although EXO is on a break these two days, many members still have their own individual schedules. For example, Do Kyung-Soo went to film yesterday afternoon, and the one who was obviously bored at the dorm watching TV all day must be someone whose schedule isn't quite satisfactory.

"It's okay."

He waved his hand casually, and after changing his shoes, Chi Jingyuan walked toward the restroom. "I think it's OK, but the results aren't out yet."

He chatted casually with them in the living room for a bit, then Park Jyeong-won returned to his own room. Do Kyung-soo and Woo Se-hun weren't there. After closing the door, he was left alone in the spacious bedroom, but he enjoyed the peace and quiet.

Ji Jingyuan originally planned to review his lecture notes, but as soon as he took out the book, he paused for a moment, as if remembering something. He then smiled and picked up his phone, aiming the camera at himself and taking a selfie. He didn't add any caption and directly sent it to Park Soo-hyun.

Every time the little sister has a new stylish look, she remembers to send him a beautiful selfie for him to admire. Although Ji Jingyuan doesn't have this habit, he wouldn't be too bad to not respond at all.

"You got a haircut!!! (Round eyes)"

Red Velvet, who is currently not active, should be quite free. Irene replied very quickly, and through a series of question marks, it can be seen that she was still surprised by Ji-sung's new hairstyle.

Chi Jingyuan responded with a smiley face.

"When did you cut it How come it's so short"

"It was cut yesterday. It's for the audition of a new television drama because the character requires short hair."

"New TV drama, did you pass the audition"

"Almost there."

Pei Zhuxuan crossed her legs on her bed and sent a text message. She immediately clicked on the selfie that Ji Jingyuan had just sent over, blinking her eyes seriously at this very novel short hairstyle. Although the lighting in this selfie was average and the angle was casual, it still made her smile for a while before she clicked save. Her nimble fingers tapped on the screen: “Is the new drama confirmed Keuka! And this new hairstyle is also very handsome, Mo Shi Da. It's just that the lighting is a bit dark…”

On the other side, Ji-yeong saw the message and immediately understood what the other person meant. He was about to say something when his phone suddenly rang. It was his manager, Lee Seung-hwan, calling.

Connect directly.

"Hello there."

"Jǐngyuán, are you in the dormitory" Li Chenghuan's voice was very energetic and his tone sounded noticeably excited.

"Yeah, just got back."

Hearing the tone of voice, Chi Jingyuan had a premonition that this call was going to be about something. He casually replied while looking around, then stood up and went to the side cabinet to get a pack of chocolate bars. He sat back down, opened his textbook, and ate them while talking on the phone.

"Just now, the company received a message from the *Signal* drama crew... The audition results are out..." Lee Seong-hwan paused here, clearly wanting to drop a bombshell.

"Um, munch..."

But from his voice, one could tell that Ji Jingyuan was very calm. He didn't speak, he just ate a chocolate bar, the sound of crunching echoing softly.

"Haha... " didn't work out. Lee Seong-hwan wasn't embarrassed either. After laughing a few times, he directly said the message he just received: "The results of both auditions were great. The male lead role of Park Hae-young in the drama 'signal' is ours! Haha, I heard from my friends there that actually, the crew had almost decided to let you play it during the first audition. This time was just a formality."

"Are you sure I thought we had to wait a few more days. This is great."

Hearing that things were settled, Chi Jingyuan also let out a slight breath of relief. This period of time, he seriously memorized the script and pondered over the characters for the audition preparation. It could be considered the best outcome.

"Yes, it's said that Director Kim Won-suk played a big role. Remember to call and thank him later, you need to keep this relationship good."

“Got it, bro. No need to tell me.”

“We can start negotiating the contract tomorrow. The company will send someone to talk to them.” At this point, Lee Seong-hwan’s voice became slightly lower: “By the way, your pay for this one probably won't be very high. Although tvN and Astory are putting in a lot of support and investment, most of the resources have been put into the production itself. The other two main actors, Jo Jin-woong and Kim Hye-soo, also aren’t getting paid too much…”

"I heard that Kim Hye Soo really liked the script and even lowered her pay to star in this."

How much did it drop by

The exact number is unclear, but it's probably around 55 million Korean won per episode.

It's not much, indeed.

Upon hearing this number, Chi Jingyuan paused for a moment.

Five million Korean won per episode is already a great number for most actors, but it depends on who it is. Not to mention others, just looking at Park Seo-joon, when he filmed The Heirs in 2013, his pay was already close to this number.

Although actresses generally earn significantly less than male actors, Kim Hye Soo's salary has indeed decreased compared to her status.

Salary isn't the most important thing to Ji Jingyuan, but the agency definitely cares about it. After thinking for a moment, he instructed Li Cheng Huan: "As for the salary, just let the company handle it. But it would be best if it remained consistent with the other two leads."

"Don't worry, the company knows what's important." Lee Seung-hwan also replied seriously.

Compared to paychecks, the various endorsement activities that come following a television drama's immense popularity after its broadcast are the real source of revenue.

We chatted for a few more minutes about the television drama, and as they were about to hang up, Chi Jingyuan remembered something and asked, "When do we start filming Have you heard anything"

I specifically asked, and they said that preparations are still ongoing. The estimated time for the crew to start filming is around mid-December.

"Mid-December… Wasn't that when we just had our winter special return"

"Yes, but don't worry, the company will coordinate the schedule well. Compared to filming a TV drama, it is acceptable to miss a singing event if necessary."

Okay, thanks for your hard work.

After Pooling Jingyuan thanked him, he hung up the phone. He looked up and thought for a moment, organizing the information he had just heard from Li Chenghuan and writing it down. This call was still very timely and saved him one less worry.

He let out a breath and lowered his head, only to find that Pei Zhuxuan had sent another message after he'd answered the phone call. They were chatting happily just before, but then he received a long call. It seemed like the girl was a bit displeased because she didn't get a response to her last hint. He probably guessed that Ji Jingyuan had something urgent to attend to, so she didn't say anything else, only sending a teasing message:

"Humph... I'm going to take a bath."

Seeing the text, Chi Jingyuan seemed to recall her expression and smiled, shaking his head before putting down his phone. He finally began his review for the night.

……

"Recently, Jingyuan, you've been quite busy with work on the CF front..."

"The Lotte duty-free store is getting new vertical billboards, and many brands like Chow Tai Fook from mainland China, Taobao mobile, Penguin Video, etc., need to shoot special New Year ads..."

In **'s meeting room, Ji-seong was discussing with his team the personal schedule for the next few months of the year. His personal manager, Park Jae-hyun, was holding a stack of documents and introducing them one by one to Ji-seong. Several assistants sitting beside him were also taking notes with documents and pens, while Ji-seong listened attentively and occasionally nodded or interjected to confirm.

Every year, the end of the year is the busiest time, not only for EXO as a whole group in terms of TV appearances, but also individually. Especially for someone like him who has many endorsements in mainland China, there are many special New Year's plans from mainland brands that he needs to participate in.

"...Besides, the closest and most urgent push right now comes from LG. Their V series flagship model, LGV10, which was recently released in Asia this month, has performed exceptionally well. They are currently preparing for a second wave of TV commercials. This round of ads will be divided into several versions, each targeting mainland China, Asia, and the peninsula."

"So soon a second version of the ad Looks like this V10 is selling well in Asia."

Having received a stack of documents from Park Jae-hyun, Ji Jingyuan casually flipped through them and asked a question.

This phone's ad was already filmed before, but that version was aimed at the American market. Besides actor Ji Chang-wook as the spokesperson, there were also many black and white people involved.

I can't believe it's already time to shoot a new commercial after only a month.

"After this phone went on sale in October, its sales in the US didn't meet expectations. For nearly a month, it only sold about 10,000 units per day. However, the V10's response in Asia surprised the brand. The response was very enthusiastic in many places. Due to a shopping event called 'Double Eleven' in mainland China, online sales platforms sold out directly... That's why they rushed to shoot new ads to meet promotional needs. And for you, your influence and popularity in Asia, especially in mainland China, are what the brand values most."

Park Jae-hyun clearly had talked with LG more than once, and he seemed to know every aspect of the data. He introduced it to Ji-sung very fluently.

As he spoke, he flipped out another stack of bound materials from the briefcase beside him and handed them to Chi Jingyuan. "This time's ad shoot will still have you as the main character, but according to the plan, there will be other female artists and models who will be paired with you and appear in promotional activities. It's kind of like being a semi-official spokesperson... This is the list of potential collaborators prepared by the advertising company. They are all recommended by major entertainment agencies. After screening, they think these are some suitable artists or models... They value our opinions very much, so take a look and see if there are any you like or find appropriate..."

"We're not really the best people to be involved in this, let the advertising agency decide. I don't mind who they choose to work with."

This time, Chi Jingyuan didn't answer. He just waved his hand to show he was too lazy to participate.

For normal work, if there were no special circumstances, he wouldn't like to get involved too much in these matters. And many times, the advertising company would only be polite because LG valued him. If he frequently interfered, it would inevitably lead to some conflicts.

"What if..."

But at this time, Pu was not willing to take it back. Instead, he still maintained the posture of offering it, his eyes flickering as if hinting and repeating: “Why don’t you take a look, Jingyuan”

"...Are there any particular candidates in mind"

Qi Jingyuan immediately understood what this guy meant. He rolled his eyes, reached out and took the documents, placed them on the table, crossed his legs and flipped through them, while quietly asking a question.

Park Jae-hyun didn't reply, he just smiled and shrugged.

Within two minutes, Chi Jingyuan understood what his brother meant.

Because he hadn't flipped past two pages, a familiar name and face appeared in his eyes within the data.Although there are some imperfections, judging from the momentum of the first two days since their return, Apink's performance this time is even more impressive than before. As Jung Eunji predicted ea...